#idk how they'll get this together in five episodes

[emloafs]

thinking about how traumatized every single teenager in that room is after seeing a dead kid with a knife sticking out of him...... and how horribly the writers are going to fumble that, ignore it, and push the story along

[oodlyenough]

arcane s2 act 2

so my main criticism of act 1 was that everything felt rushed. that has not gotten better lol

i knew going in that two seasons -- of nine episodes, and short 40 minute episodes at that -- was probably going to be too little. and it is. well. what can you do, i guess. i'm glad this isn't my number 1 fandom interest the way it was in 2022 because if it were i'd be much more bothered lol. many of the beats we're hitting are beats i like on paper but we are blitzing through them so fast they have no time to breathe or sink in before we're onto the next one.

also i respect the huge amount of effort that goes into creating an animated series that looks the way this looks, but these episodes are so short. the runtime is 40 minutes and five of that is credits and another five of that is our obligatory stylized music video. it's just too little time to dedicate to a large ensemble cast and a complex plot. it sucks to be watching the final season of a show and realize you haven't seen [Major Character] for entire episodes, or entire acts (!). outside of jinx and ambessa, it feels like everyone's fave is getting shortchanged on screentime, some more than others. with only three episodes left it's hard to imagine they'll manage to resolve everyone's arc and all the outstanding mysteries and bring everything to a satisfying conclusion. fans freaked out when they first accidentally let slip that after s2 they were moving away from these characters and fans were right. womp womp

more detailed spoiler stuff:

sevika. the hair. why :(

"jinx is a symbol of resistance" is one of those things that i didn't feel they entirely set up. sure, she has pushed back on piltover -- but every time she has, piltover has cracked down even harder on zaun. there's really no zaunites who resent her for that? hm

isha is a character i struggle with because i thought everything about her was too on the nose in act 1 and then we had open act 2 with jinx stating the thesis aloud to the camera. "gee you remind me of my old self powder. i wonder if this is how silco felt about me, powder." lol

i was DARING the show to have vi flashback to punching powder after she hit isha lmaooo. impressed they resisted

whatever tho i did enjoy the jinx-sevika-isha unit while it lasted

vander's werewolf self going back to the hideout he used to share with silco... their jackets hung together... bro...

i have to say i'm actually not sure i like the felicia stuff that much. i don't know. arcane isn't subtle ever and this felt like another sledgehammer. i think i also ... actually derive a bit less meaning from vander taking them in/silco raising jinx if actually vander and silco were besties with their mom and knew them growing up, too. not that it stopped silco from wanting to murk vi lmao so i guess it's no guarantee of his affection for jinx, but... yeah. idk. subtle as a brick: that's arcane

also was this telling me that vander saw felicia die during a rebellion they all incited, flipped out and blamed silco and tried to DROWN HIM ... like... jesus man that's pretty harsh lmao i'd start villain monologuing too

mel in the torture labyrinth was interesting, and i loved getting to meet a version of her sexy brother kino. as soon as [man's voice] appeared i was like omg is it her sexy brother... and it was! sort of! i'm assuming his look and personality and voice match real kino even if he was some kind of trick monster thing. i like the medarda family lore and i liked getting to see mel and kino interact, if briefly

on the other hand, mel being trapped in the torture labyrinth meaning that's her only 5 minutes of screentime for all of act 2 and the reveal is that she has magic powers which we already surmised from the s1 cliffhanger... i don't know... and an illegitimate baby plot? like... we have so many plots. please.

also she's totally pregnant and i hate that. lol.

i started this season ambessa's number 1 fan and i have enjoyed her but also there is a lot of her, when other major characters from s1 get little screentime. i had hoped seeing more ambessa would mean seeing more of ambessa and mel, bc their relationship with each other is very interesting, but... nope??? i mean, sure there's act 3, but we've had six episodes so far of little.

caitlyn's arc was such a disappointment to me. the end of act 1 with her was such a strong stark scene and by the time we pick up with her in act 2 we've already montaged past all her war crimes and into the part where she feels bad about them and is ready to turn a new leaf. like. come on man.

her reunion with vi was way too smooth. i would love vi to be angry with her for her bullshit. maybe they'll fight again next act, they fight all the time, but like... ugh. 2.1 was such a big falling out and then vi just shrugs it off and we're back to "cupcake". poor vi the writers dgaf about her

viktor's cult was not what i expected at all, i expected something more outwardly sinister lol. people on twitter are arguing back and forth about how obviously evil it was but i am not sure that's the case -- or like -- i mean i think as an audience member aware you're watching a tv show, it's easy to be like "this is clearly evil and will be revealed as such later", but just in terms of what the show is putting down in act 2 i think it's presented as this bastion of hope which is then destroyed. in act 3 we will find out why it was destroyed, i assume, and can retroactively decide if that was a good decision or not.

sky. sis. i wish they like. made you a person in s1. i have no frame of reference for if this feels like the real sky whose consciousness is now in the void (like viktor's seems to be?) or if she's like the hexcore's avatar for getting what it wants (which is what i feel act 1 implied), because they did not spend time in s1 to establish her

i joked in s1 a lot about salo getting a front row seat to jayce and viktor's weird gay thing over the years so it's nice he got to participate in their last conversation flkhghgl. but this was another scene where i felt the pacing was nerfing things -- i like the general exchange on paper, that there's been this time apart and viktor wants to show jayce what he's working on and jayce is all fucked up and bitter or whatever, but in real time their reunion, split, and then this scene happen in such a condensed time ... we haven't really seen either of them apart, we didn't see jayce's time growing bitter or whatever and even if we see it in act 3 it's belated?

i also thought it was odd how viktor was like "i was clouded by emotion" when honestly their breakup was the most emotionless he'd ever been to that point lol

it is very funny to think that jayce came out of s1 and the hell void and the lesson he learned was he should continue shooting first and asking questions never

i can think of several possible explanations for jayce's behaviour, ranging from "something i'd be super into" all the way to "i don't want to type it out in fear of invoking it into the universe". so i'm trying not to speculate all that much tbh, lest i grow attached to the former and get the latter

"peacock princes... an old family joke" and "you once told me every system has limits" are two great examples of stuff feeling rushed. these so clearly feel like they should be callbacks to scenes we actually *saw* but they just aren't. because we never got flashback kino, and viktor and sky never held a conversation until she died.

ekko and heimerdinger died on the way to their home planet...

this all sounds exceedingly negative listed out, when in reality i was mostly having a good time. it's just... the cracks are starting to show as the the show strains under the pressure of accomplishing all its goals in a measly 18 episodes. that crunch means any time someone's watching a scene about a plot or characters they like less they're going to start feeling impatient, any time a musical number doesn't hit (and i have to be honest, s2 is more misses than hits for me so far) they're going to feel impatient... i don't know. i find it difficult to see how they'll pull all of this off without leaving the audience thinking "jeeze that needed another season", or "why did they waste time on X when i wanted to see Y".

[laladellakang]

YES YES YES PLEASE I’m literally down for anything whether it’s a drabble or some ideas u just had just give me sth 😭😭😭( on a serious note tho it’s fine take your time love)

thank you so much!! here’s some of the drafts i have so far! maybe you guys have some ideas to add on these?

"Della?" Jungwon looked up from his phone to look at the girl beside him. He could've sworn he heard her breath get heavier.

"Look at Koya!" her eyes were watering when she showed him a video of her youngest cat. "He's so cute," she tried to blink the tears away. She can't ruin her makeup or she'll get scolded and probably cry harder.

"He really is so cute. He kinda looks like his mom," he helped fan the tears away. "Here, have a lollipop."

"Yay!"

[della’s period episode]

"It also sucks that I wasn't the first one," SHIT, I'm fucking blushing.

I know these guys literally just asked me to be their girlfriend but it's still crazy to me that they actually have feelings for me. Like- Jake actually wants to kiss me? Holy fuck.

[first kisses, della’s pov]

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"We can have a few sessions together if you want. That way we can meet more often," it's no secret that Kazuha (well.. Le Sserafim in general) wants to get closer to the girl. Given that they're the same age, in the same industry, from the same company, and that she can speak Kazuha's mother tongue really well.

"I would like that," Kazuha reciprocated Della's high-five.

[extras: hybe caterers]

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"Guys- go play the strawberry game or something with the kids while Jay and I check in," Heeseung instructed the rest of Enha.

"Okay, hyung, "Okay, oppa," the six and their kids watched them walk away.

"Let's get some boba," everyone agreed with Sunoo's suggestion.

They knew that they can't play such games in places like the airport. They'll be way too loud.

[the en-family goes to disneyland tokyo]

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"No but- I'll be so offended if my cooking skills were compared to Sunghoon-oppa," Della joined. "Niki and Sunoo are not that bad."

[ Park Sunghoon (20): Number 1 worst cook in ENHYPEN ]

[en-o’clock 14&15]

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"So Della, you're going to be standing on top of here, and just stand there," the staff instructed the girl dressed in a white gown. "We'll shoot a few far away shots with Enhypen in the bottom and then you can come down for the close ups, okay?"

"Yes, understood," Della nodded her head once.

[au: nonidol!della]

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Della would say that she was comfortable with virtually all of her stage outfits.

Everything was tested beforehand so she was never worried about flashing anyone, especially with how hard their choreos go.

[della wardrobe malfunction (or something like that but i just can’t figure it out)]

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“Hear me out..." Heeseung leaned against the sink. "Have you ever seen any of us naked?"

"Bro- ew," Jake's eyes widened.

[nsfw: ramyeonz threesome]

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"You're gonna win. No way," the older laughed. "Try with one of the guys."

"Let's try, Lala," Youngbin suddenly offered.

[scenario: the guys getting jealous during i-land]

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"Two what?!" Jake asked, laughing at what Della called them, causing her to burst too.

"Today I was supposed to be alone but two invaders decided to join," Della translated in Korean, talking in between laughs.

"Guys she called us idiots!" Jake protested, still off-camera and making Della laugh more.

"Sunghoon-oppa and Jake-oppa!" Della announced with an applause. The two boys appeared from both sides of the screen, Jake from the left and Sunghoon on the right.

[v-live: jallahoon (y’all this was OLD OLD. over a year old omg)]

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several thumbnails i planned to use but… idk now

[della living up to the korea’s siren title]

[kang della giving major dom vibes]

[whoever put tyd together is a genius]

[enhypen: our favourite poly couple part 63278129]

[leechiourdes]

Ticciwork headcanons because I adore them together (also; rant about Clockwork after the hcs)

Since its pretty hard for them to go out on "normal" dates (because of the whole...serial killer thing) their ideal date is going out on little trips through the Forest. They'll set up picnics by lakes, stargaze during the earliest of mornings or the latest of nights, sit together by rivers and watch the water rush by, simple little things like that. Of course, they'll also have the occasional going out to kill an innocent family of five "dates" together.

Clockwork still draws for fun, and she always shows her drawings to Toby. When they first started dating, she was pretty scared of showing them to him (considering how she lost her last boyfriend) but Toby loved them. Seeing how he's also well acquainted with blood, guts, gore, and the smell of rotting flesh, Nat's gore art isn't repulsive or shocking to him.

They aren't too big on pda. Toby's got ADHD and all the sensory issues that come with it, so he doesn't really like being touched in any way. Nat doesn't like being touched because it reminds her of her brother. Instead, they give copious amounts of sweet talk to one another, get each other nice gifts, help each other out when they're having trouble with something, and comfort each other if they're feeling sad or scared.

They don't usually sleep in the same bed, but occasionally will, especially if either of them are going through an episode.

They like to watch movies at home. They will fr kick everyone else out of the Mansion's living room so they can be alone and watch their Adam Sandler movies together

If they were to ever have a child together, they would probably name the kid Quincy because they're both terrible at naming things. (If not Quincy, then Ulysses, Dakota or Morgan)

Before they were dating, it was Toby who caught feelings for Nat first. He thought she was really cool, but that she was way out of his league and wouldn't even think about doing so much as holding his hand. He would endlessly talk about his crush on her to EJ, since he knew that he was the only one who would keep it a secret.

It got so bad EJ eventually said "Just tell her how you feel and be yourself." Toby was so inspired by these words he went up to Nat and said "Hey girl, your ass makes me forget about my dead family." Suffice to say, Nat fell in love instantly.

I really don't like how the fandom portrays Clockwork. I see her being depicted as this stone-cold, tough as nails, ass-kicking, emotionless girlboss who either hates a person or tolerates them, no inbetween. I don't like that characterization at all. Seeing as she was or is canonically dating Toby, and Toby's general personality is pretty much agreed to be "angsty, really odd pyromaniac-adjacent guy who probably watched Spiderverse once and it became his whole personality for like a week," I feel like Natalie should be like, more similar to him, you know?? Like, I feel with the type of person Toby is, he wouldn't like dating someone like the current fanon Clockwork. She seems like the type of be a sarcastic, easygoing person who loves watching those documentaries about how popular bands broke up late at night, not as cold and distant as people portray her as. Idk, that's just me, but I get really frustrated when I see her characterized like this. I NEED her to loosen up! I NEED her to stop being such a hardass! I NEED the fandom's characterization of her to CHANGE!!

[flameohotwife]

Hi, I really like the straightforward way you answer things so I'd like to ask you this question I've seen asked before but people sort of danced around it. Would there have really been any harm in having Katara and Zuko hook up briefly and/or Aang and Toph or Aang and Onji or another girl hook up briefly, try a relationship, realize it wasn't for them and then Katara and Aang get together at the end?

Maybe I'm being over optimistic but I think at least some of the Z*tara stuff that goes around is because there was never really anything definite in canon with them so people can always say it would have been better or whatever even though it probably wouldn't have been. They'll never know so it will always be in that possible stage, you know?

For an example, I really didn't like Masami in Korra even though I liked Mako and Asami individually. When Korra started pressing Mako hard I was so rooting for Makorra. Then it happened and I realized pretty quickly it sucked and they were not the right people for each other. I couldn't wait for it to end. Idk if I would have had those same feelings if it never happened though. As much as I love Korrasami now, if Makorra had never been canon even for a short time I'd probably still be thinking "Korrasami is great but Makorra might have worked."

Maybe none of this makes sense, but I feel like a lot of the people who are screaming that Katara was robbed of a relationship with Zuko and Aang and Toph should have ended up together would be very silent if there had been that subplot in the show, because it would have been up close and personal how incompatible those couples were. Just curious your thoughts, sorry for rambling.

Hi anon! This is really interesting and not something I'd really thought of outside of fics I've read before. To answer your question, no, I don't think there would have been any *harm* in having either Aang or Katara have other relationships before getting together. Lots and lots of people have to have multiple relationships before they find the partner that's right for them, if that's something they're looking for! And what you said about korrasami/makorra makes a lot of sense.

I think there are just a few things to keep in mind here. One is that Katara *did* have a minor fling with Jet. No, she didn't have one with Zuko, but remember that she *HATED* Zuko until like the last five or six episodes. That's not a lot of time to throw a romantic thing together with everything else that was going on (like, trying to end a century-long war).

Another thing to keep in mind is that, while most people need to go through multiple relationships, some do not. I happen to be one of those people who married the first person I ever dated, and seeing that same type of relationship represented on screen in SUCH a healthy way gives me all the butterflies. I KNOW it's not the most realistic in terms of statistics and that it can contribute to purity culture if not done/interpreted properly. Which is why I say that there is NOTHING wrong with the idea of Aang and Katara having other relationships before getting together. However. Aang was crushing on Katara from their first moment, and Katara felt a strong connection to Aang immediately as well (remember that she was ready to leave her tribe with him by the second episode). Both of them grew in their feelings throughout the show. So while there is nothing wrong with the idea of them getting with someone else first, there's also no need for it, narratively (other than to potentially quiet the ship wars). Sometimes, you just *know,* and when that happens you don't need to explore other possible relationships. Aang and Katara definitely *knew.*

Also remember that AtLA is aimed at younger audiences than LoK was. Romance was present in AtLA, but it wasn't a major plot point, or even really a secondary one. FRIENDSHIP had a much stronger emphasis than romance in that show. And the characters in AtLA are much younger than the characters in LoK. So pre-/young teens having multiple relationships in the span of 9ish months (which is the time span over which AtLA takes place) in the middle of a war is a lot less realistic than older teens doing the same thing over the span of several years, like we see in LoK.

Ultimately, I think you make a really great point, anon, and it's something that people like to explore a lot through fic, but I don't personally think it would have worked in the actual show, in terms of the story the writers were trying to tell, the audience they were trying to tell it to, the time span of the show and the ages/personalities of the characters. That's just *my* opinion, though. I'm sure other people will have differing viewpoints. Also, honestly, I'm not interested in de-bunking other ships. Everyone is free to ship what they want, regardless of whether or not *I* think it's realistic/would work/etc. I ship what I want to ship and block all the other tags, haha, and my internet time is much happier for it. This was really interesting to think about though, so thanks so much for the ask!

[ninacarstairss]

This town- Niall Horan parallels with young Royals

Waking up to kiss you and nobody's there (both missing each other 😭)

Yesterday I thought I saw your shadow running round (they hang out together in the town so it must be hard for Simon 😭)

It's funny how things never change in this old town (Simon thought this and that was why he wanted to move out)

And I want to tell you everything

The words I never got to say the first time around (the I love you that he didn't say in the last episode 😭)

And I remember everything

Wish I was there with you now

If the whole world was watching I'd still dance with you (I don't want to be anybody secret, I'm sure Simon will be proud to let everyone knows that Wille is his boyfriend 😭)

Drive highways and byways to be there with you (he literally went at 3am to see Wille in the soccer field)

Over and over the only truth (they love each other)

Everything comes back to you ( they'll get back together in season 2)

Please stop me, I'll we never stop crying if we continue this 😭😭

NO NO NO IM NEVER GONNA STOP CRYING AFTER THIS ONEOENEONE GABY THIS IS PAINFUL BUT ITS ALSO LITERALLY THEIR SONG???

SIMON SEEING SHADOWS OF WILLE AROUND TOWN AND BEING HAUNTED BY THE WORDS HE DIDNT SAY AND NOT WANTING TO BE A SECRET BUT THE ONE AND ONLY TRUTH IS THAT THEY LOVE EACH OTHER AO MUCH 😭😭😭

IDK WHAT WE STARTED BUT ITS SOMEHOW THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ASSOCIATION EVER AND THE MOST PAINFUL ONE

now i’m gonna go play this town on repeat and cry for five years and add in some louis and harry to cry some more 😭😭😭

[stargirlwnchstr]

I saw this and was like not gonna do anything other than like it, mainly because it's almost five am and I shouldn't get myself worked up giving my opinion, but fuck it.

I agree with this totally.

I saw so much Rucas in them and I did not ship rucas back then (mainly because Riley and Farkle had WAY more chemistry) and I always disliked jandi. They're too predictable for me idk.

THOUGH. That scene in the last ep. Honestly, that was probably one of my favorite scenes in the whole show. They were communicating correctly, accepting their mistakes, their faulty relationship...

Jonah asking to keep the bracelet without any meaning this time meant so much. Them sitting down and talking and recognizing they rushed and that they were, in fact, not a great couple was the best thing those two ever did on the show.

The "I wonder what would have happened if we met when we were older" or something like that I don't remember it's five am sorry okay? IT'S SO GOOD. It shocked me. I was like they're gonna try to be together again and god no please but it probably is my second favorite scene of the whole episode. It felt right, and I'm sure for Andi and Jonah (if you know, they were real) also felt right. Both of them are happy, they'll see each other, they'll grow and maybe in the future they would give it another shot with a different mindset and I would really like to see how that would be. Lol who knew I could actually have feelings for jandi?

Also, that scene somehow felt a bit like the "someday?" "Someday." Joshaya had and I looove joshaya so it made me happy to see the possibility once they get their shit together and feel ready.

Okay I'm done sorry I loved that scene and their ending. I'm not sure if my rant went well with the post actually but I hope it did I really need to go sleep.

I remember thinking Jandi was gonna be another Rucas and be that cliche couple that ends up happily ever after. The fact Disney is all over Jandi and promotes them all the time despite Terri never intending on making them endgame really took me by surprise. Jandi was more of a tragedy than a love story tbh.

They are definitely more realistic than most middle school relationships portrayed on television. They met and developed feelings for each other but they could never really be on the same page. Andi spent most of S1-2 being miserable because Jonah would barely put in any effort in their relationship. And then Jonah would go back to Andi when he realizes he wants what he can’t have or uses Andi to control his anxiety. And overtime, Andi got sick of waiting for Jonah because he is definitely not mature enough for a real, committed relationship and I’m not sure if he will ever be (I hc Jonah as ace/aro now) so she realized she deserved better and moved on. S3 Andi was so much more fun and happier to watch because she didn’t have to worry about what Jonah thought of her and she just got to live her life without all the drama.

Andi getting into art school and having her parents finally getting married is the best endgame Terri could have given her.