#im still not over s2 act 3

[fei-scribbles]

jayvik stickers :))

[something-awful1]

oh.

Here's a fun little sorter I put together for Arcane characters! Reblog with your list!

Let the sorting commence!

[adieutristana]

Hi hi hi! Was wondering if you could do a jinx x reader fic where instead of ekko saving her from blowing herself up it was the reader

Tyy <333

of course! thank you for the request <3

two out of three finals knocked out, then one more tomorrow and im free 💔

summary: fem! reader saves jinx from blowing herself up.

characters included: jinx

tags/warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, suicidal ideation, mentions of poor mental health, s2 spoilers, (some) fluff at the end, reader does not have ekko's time traveling skills (sorry)

men dni.

jinx stands on a ledge, dark tears staining her pale cheeks. long, blue braids gone. her shoes taken away, nail beds raw. she stands, with one of her own bombs, pulling at the safety pin. testing her own fate with each pull growing stronger and stronger.

pulling, pulling, pulling.

until she hears your footsteps, slowly looking over her shoulder. jinx looks through you, her eyes so utterly blank and dull. she looks so… defeated. she’s out of energy and out of resolve. she doesn’t say anything to you, though, only turns back to the bomb in her hands. pulling the pin one more time-

until you wordlessly sprint towards her, throwing your arms around her in a way that miraculously didn’t throw her off her balance. clasping both hands over hers, physically restraining her from putting the bomb to use.

“please, jinx, can we talk about this?”

you plead, your eyes desperately searching for any kind of reason. her eyes are downcast, her face relaxed. too relaxed. her voice comes out in a soft yet exhausted whisper.

“leave me alone, (y/n).”

“no.”

jinx tries to wriggle her hands out of your grasp, her shoulders thrashing with the movements and face contorting. she’s impatient. she wants to do this and get it over with.

“you’re too late.”

she says, still trying to escape your hold. still grasping her bomb, desperately trying to find any kind of purchase. anything. she’s given up, she’s done. there isn’t a point.

“too late for what?”

you gasp, now in a full wrestle with your girlfriend. wrapped around jinx from behind, your hands over hers, sharp nails scratching your skin and jinx writhing. grunting. she’s so frustrated yet so empty, and it makes your heart ache inside your chest. with the loss of isha, being thrown in jail, losing almost everyone she had… you understood jinx. finding motivation to keep living was already difficult enough for her, but almost all of those things had been ripped away from her.

it rips you into pieces seeing your girlfriend like this. you’ve seen it all: her breakdowns. screaming and crying because voices and hallucinations won’t leave her alone. her trying to act as if she doesn’t care when she gets blown off by her sister. coming home with bruises and cuts from god knows where after a mission, or even worse, coming home an inch from death. but never have you seen jinx like this.

jinx’s knees buckle under her and she falls to the ground, but your grasp is still strong.

“drop it, jinx.”

“no.”

“drop it.”

and to your surprise, she does drop it. you hoped to whatever was out there that this was the end of it, that she would give up. she would go home with you and finally tell you exactly what brought her to this point. stationery, the bomb falls on the floor, rolling away from the both of you and jinx staying in that kneeling position.

until she doesn’t.

“i’m tired of talking.”

she mutters under her breath, making her way to a ledge without so much as looking back at you. your senses are blown into full panic mode as you spring to your feet to sprint towards her, reaching for her braids to restrain her from stepping over- but they’re gone. your hand shot to the clasp of her top. holding jinx in place as if her life depended on it, probably because it did.

“jinx, baby, please. i know that things have been hard, you’re not happy. but you have to stay alive. for me, if nothing or nobody else. please.”

you plead. you circle jinx to stand in front of her, placing your hands on her shoulders gently. almost afraid that she’ll break if you handle her too harshly, especially after just restraining her to stop her from killing herself. your eyes are filled with tears just waiting to spill, your lips pressed into a thin line. and then you feel jinx begin to tremble.

like a bridge that's lost its foundation, shaking and threatening to combust. her breathing is getting quicker, her eyes are darting from place to place to place, but never once settling on you.

"jinx."

you squeeze her shoulders, looking into her eyes, desperately trying to get through to your girlfriend. there has to be something you can do, surely. how come nothing is working? you've already pulled out all of the stops, what more could you do? what, if anything, would be successful? the tears in your eyes spill over, but you don't make any sound. you can't. you have to hold it together for jinx's sake.

jinx swallows tentatively. quivering.

"i... i can't do this anymore."

"of course you can," you whisper. reaching up to cup one of her cheeks with your hand, but she jerks away.

"everyone i get close to dies. or they leave. mylo, claggor, vander, isha... will you be next?"

she asks, finally locking eyes with you. it's clear that it's a rhetorical question- jinx doesn't want an answer. she wouldn't be able to handle an answer, not right now.

“no. no. i’m not leaving, jinx- and i don’t plan on dying any time soon. please, listen to me.”

you beg her, still looking into her eyes, half-lidded and glowing pink. one hand coming up to try and cup jinx’s cheek again, and this time, she allows it. this is a good sign. you’re getting somewhere.

“i have to break the cycle. i have to do something to fix all of this,” she says. “i’ve done so much i can’t come back from. what else is there to do?”

“walk away.” you whisper.

“what?”

“walk away. you don’t need to die, jinx, walk away. go somewhere. take me with you. you can still break the cycle without doing this.”

your thumb is brushing her cheek, your own cheeks stained with dried tears.

“what is your death going to fix? if anything, it’ll cause more pain. zaun will be fine if you walk away, but could you imagine what would happen if you died?”

jinx looks down, and another tear falls from your eye.

“please, you have to stay. i’ll come with you. i’ll do anything. just please, baby, don’t die. i don’t know what i would do with myself if you did.”

you plead with jinx. desperation is obvious in your tone, her jaw quivering, threatening to cry herself. she’s spent.

you feel jinx’s hand slowly, hesitantly coming to rest atop yours on her cheek, and all she does is nod. slowly.

“let’s go home.”

you whisper, brushing a lock of hair from out of her eyes.

“what do i do from here?”

jinx asks, her voice low and unsure.

“we’ll figure something out. i promise.”

[ginho001]

hiiii bestiieee *pretend we're at a sleepover* tell me ur inhun headcanons ur currently obsessed with <3333

sleepover bestie I’m so sorry this took me days to reply to HORRID of me truly HORRID

in-ho’s nervous habit is biting on the inside of his cheek.

despite appearances, in-ho was actually the one who smoked pot in college. the hardest thing gi-hun is touched is liquor

sidenote to above but when in-ho finds this out they have a very sexually charged shotgunning session. (green courtesy of Thanos probably)

I like to think that like LJJ does irl, gi-hun constantly wrings his hands and fingers. However I think he does it while he’s idle. when he’s stressed he’s pretty still, we know from s1 he has the freeze response so boom evidence for ya

ok hear me out for this one chat but I think in-ho would have a tattoo. just a little one from an idiot time in college or like his late wife’s favorite flower or something, something he just slaps a bandage over in a bathhouse and is good. Maybe on his obliques or smth

as in-ho is a fan of reading, I think he is secretly a very big fan of heavily rehearsed and role-played sex things. for example like meeting gi-hun in a bar and acting like strangers and having a “one night stand” despite being married for like 3 yrs lmao.

alr gi-hun back to u hunny no u ain’t escaping me. I think gi-hun has a really sensitive nose. Like not hannibal lecter nose but like leftovers in the fridge that smell fine to in-ho gi-hun will throw away based on smell. Just a lil quirk he has 🤭 bc of this I think he has a lil bit of in-ho sweat kink he will take to the grave

gi-hun wears flowy shorts sometimes when he’s like mopping or cleaning shit and it looks like a skirt and short circuits in-ho’s brain

despite the show in s2 showing in-ho with virtually no fallout from the shoulder gunshot wound, I think realistically he would have some fallout from it considering his age. it’s not debilitating or anything for him, but when the weather changes or he grabs something a tad too heavy it flares up and hurts him. most the time he keeps it to himself but occasionally gi-hun catches it and treats him for the night w/ a hot bath and massage. in-ho is rlly not a big fan of this at first bc he’s so used to being the caretaker for his partners, but eventually he gets over it and when probed will just tell gi-hun if his shoulder is bugging him.

AND SLEEPOVER BESTIE. NOT THAT YOU ASKED BUT I HAVE SOME ABO ONES TO SHARE. these r a little more nsfw so if that’s not your thing dw about it and scroll! I’ll leave it under a cut ❤️

alpha or beta in-ho is valid to me. in my psycho abo head im a proponent of any bitch can get an omega pregnant idc.

gi-hun has fertility issues, i like to think because of overusing suppressants at some point in his life. all the more surprising for his geriatric ass when in-ho knocks him up 💀

gi-hun wasn’t really aware nests were supposed to take up as much space as he needed, so when in-ho walks into the bedroom one day when gi-hun’s in preheat, he like busts a gut laughing because gi-hun has built his nest on his side of the bed with like a very distinct pillow boundary. They figure it out after tho dw

In my world omega gi-hun has the gihussy and therefore he is a squirter. I said what I said. In-ho loves it idc what y’all say about NONE OF IT

after the 2nd games gi-hun doesn’t cut his hair again, and bc of that gihun baby always gets a hold of it and tugs. It drives him nuts but he can’t bear to cut it because the baby always laughs their head off abt it, which makes in-ho smile too.

in-ho, especially in the case that he’s an alpha, is a hovering nervous parent. Gi-hun has the experience of ga-yeong, but he doesn’t. He got so close to it but never quite got the opportunity, and for the first three months he can hardly let go of baby, he’s so scared something is going to take them away from him. he doesn’t express it verbally ever because he KNOWS he’s irrational, but gi-hun can always get a sense of when he walks in the room, sees gi-hun and baby and gets uneasy. at those times gi-hun always offers to let him hold, or if baby is eating to let him come and watch and support the hold. my precious fuckin babies all of em SOB.

anyways thank u pookies that is all for now ✌️ AGAIN IM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN REPLY

[eternalera]

so people have been wondering why caitvi is a lot less popular now within the arcane fandom than ships with timebomb or jayvik and as someone who ships them let me explain mostly why this is happening, of course mostly from the writing perspective as there is likely some misogyny included in said reason but thats just what ive heard and not seen (this does NOT mean it isnt happening though). and im also not including it because im just addressing why even some caitvi shippers (that i know) ended up not caring for it in s2

(click read more because this... this is a long one)

first off im stating that this is just a combination of what ive seen from other people and my own opinions. in your opinion these points can be completely dogshit and thats okay because they're opinions. not fact. with that being said lets get started.

1. Tension, s2 act 2 kills almost ALL of the tension that the first act sets up. in the first act you have them getting together, you have them finally kissing and breaking the previous tension in s1 then to keep people interested in the ship in the same episode they have them breakup. and this works people talked a SHIT ton about this and were going feral over it, looking at the trailer and seeing 'oh look at emo vi and her dictator gf!!' and even the 'there are two ways to handle a gay break up' memes. it was all over.

people were feral, waiting for the next act to see them interact and have beef with each other (before inevitably getting back together because we all knew it would happen). but in act two we dont really get that. we get the aftermath from vi's perspective and kinda cait's???? but then we have their interaction and people are hyped at this moment. because this is the moment. the one that they were all waiting for and there's a small scuffle before... it stops.

vi calls cait cupcake and... all if forgiven rather quickly in that scene (obviously in act 3 they have some more drama but we'll talk about it later). they have their moment and its cute. you have cait folding after being called cupcake, its cute. but thats just the thing. its nothing else but cute. there are still stakes dont get me wrong but that moment is just... so bad for cait's character. she has the whole dictator arc and it just takes vi calling her a pet name for her to switch sides.

and yes its adorable, its everything you want in a ship. but it doesnt really make sense when you take in account everything that they've been building up for cait. her dictator arc, her gassing zaun, training with ambessa, losing her mother, breaking up with vi. it all seems undermined by vi calling her a petname and all of the sudden the tension is taken out of their relationship.

they get back together (sorta) and help plan to take down ambessa and that's all it took. its like having a really evil villain who did a ton of bad things but the good guy gives them a pep talk (vi doesnt even do that) and all of the sudden their mind changes completely

it's not realistic, it doesn't make sense.

then you have act 3 and where vi actually confronts cait about ambessa and her going along with her actions and they have a small argument thats kinda just resolved by cait saying that she knows what she did wrong and that she tried helping jinx not get arrested too and then BAM there's a shift in the argument and then we're back to jinx and it never gets brought up again (correct me if im wrong)

their relationship follows this, happy moment, create something that causes tension, build up tension, refuse to follow through.

its like its tightening a string on an instrument to get a tone but before you pluck it the string loosens and all of the sudden you get this really really dull and kinda disgusting sound that doesn't leave you feeling 100% satisfied in the end

or if you're an artist almost filling in a circle completely but at the last second you color just a little bit outside the lines. it's not satisfying.

2. The sex scene, this is just mostly stuff ive seen and while i dont agree with all of it i must say that they do have their valid points of thinking that the scene was a little misplaced. most of the complaints of seen of this is that vi was out of character and that she should've been looking for jinx since it was implied that jinx was going to kill herself to 'fix' everything. and while i dont think vi couldve really known this i do see where theyre coming from as vi is inherently protective of jinx and her actions and even if there was the slightest chance that she might harm herself vi would do anything in her power to stop it and... she just doesnt.

when cait unlocks the cell she doesnt rush out to jinx, she just wallows a bit longer and mopes (WHICH IS FUCKING VALID BTW). then you have cait talk to her and... SEX. yeah there is other stuff between that but some people felt that they shouldve had them have their talk and then had vi rush out to help jinx.

a lot of people also felt that cait was taking advantage of vi in this moment (i do NOT agree with this at all) to an emotional extent and saying how the scene didnt feel right because vi wasnt in her best state (i agree slightly with this) and that the sex in the cell wasnt really reclaiming anything from all those years of being in the cell like the directors originally intended it to

then you have people saying that it was misplaced (and i kinda agree) and that it just felt so sudden for the both of them especially considering everything with them and then there's the next reason...

3. Caitlyn herself, there was so much drama about her character. in the first arc you have people defending her actions and who were ready to die for her and people getting mad at her, saying she was the worst and that she didnt deserve vi after what she did to her. this also comes with her character being set up to do a lot of evil shit in the future. there was drama (when is there not) and that meant the majority of people loved or hated her with a slim minority not really caring her for at all.

she was implied to have gassed zaun (actually its not even really implied as she, vi, and the gang do it that one episode in a montage and they actually show them doing it for like... a scene or two) and overall just have been a really shitty person to zaunites. she slept with maddie (which people HATED) and they kept leading up to her being the big bad the person who vi would have to convince but once again... they meet and all tension is ruined.

cait's character is one of the best and worst things in arcane. they did such a good job setting her up only to fumble last second and yeah... thats enough to effectively kill a ship as one half of it is the other character (assuming is a monogamy ofc) and 50% is not passing. people arent going to be as committed to a ship when they hate the other character in it and thats just a fact

4. Time, it just... didnt work. timebomb got a full episode (practically) devoted to it and jayvik was kinda in there as crumbs. not to mention that their entire arc is sprinkled a lot more effectively and more long lasting throughout s2 of arcane. with timebomb THEY GOT A WHOLE EPISODE

people already like both characters of ekko and jinx so yeah theyre going to go feral over what coudlve been. the dance, everything and it effectively builds up tension with showing us how good everything couldve been and fully releases it in a satissfying way with ekko's leave. with jayvik you have him going insane and realizing that he has to kill viktor in order to stop what happens in the future (GIVING US THE ANSWER TO WHAT HAPPENED IN EP6 and this also gives us more tension in the relationship when viktor comes back).

you have ekko stopping jinx from ending her life (another reason people didnt like the sex scene cause jinx was actively trynna off herself during it) and telling her to give living another chance because you can build something more you can start again. and you also have the implications of them drawing on themselves in the artbook and just in general during the show. you have the hot air balloon contraption that they create. its everything

jayce then meets with viktor in the room and there is tension so much tension and it all goes to them. then you have jayce confronting and giving himself to viktor on the battlefield and its so well written. now, personally i have my issues with how jayce talk not jutsu-ed viktor into stop being evil or whatever (personally that scene was like a 6/10 for me). "BUT WAIT WHAT ABOUT YOUR COMPLAINTS WITH VI AND CAIT AND CAIT FOLDING AFTER BEING CALLED CUPCAKE?!?!" they would be lessened if we were shown them talking and discussing what happened, what went wrong. with them we dont do that, we dont get the release of them regretting what they've done, their actions. that declaration of love.

with jayvik we do (love can be interpreted as romantic or platonic) and they probably spend more time in that scene talking about each other and how much they care for one another than caitvi do in the entirety of s2 when it comes to discussing their relationship.

basically what happened was that the writers confirmed 'yes theyre canon now, nothing else is going to happen to them. okay time to focus on other things' and caitvi got sidelined SO HARD in the end that come people stopped caring for them entirely and put more attention to ships and dynamics that were getting more attention and love from the show.

basically thats all i could think of and its 1am so sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes lol. tell me if i got anything wrong, if you agree or just your general opinions on the matter because this is what i could find/gather about them. have a good day/night everybody :)

[hexhomos]

Can I ask...what actually happens with Viktor in S2?? I keep hearing people being really vague about it being Bad but I haven't seen the leaks and now cannot find out anything that isn't just someone saying they won't say anything;; I just want to temper my expectations bc I was only excited for S2 for his storyline (+ Jayce interactions) and I'm getting the impression they don't do.....much?? with it?

spoiling stuff for real under the cut

As of ep5, Viktor:

-Doesn't have his mask or armor

-Has no outspoken ideological drive

-Has never once expressed interest in the traditional venues of transhumanism ocurring all around him

-Never made blitzcrank, never did shit ONSCREEN

-The only tangible reference we get to the machine herald is this shot of cards back on s1:

I genuinely dont know if he has even 5 full minutes of actual footage across all of these episodes lmfao...

His contributions to the story are, in sequence:

-stuck in stasis. jayce waits by his bedside for over an episode

-emerges from coma, immediately rebuffs all of jayce’s warm affectionate advances to the point its a little comical. looks like a dried grape, barely any bigger. declares that he's mad over not being left to DIE; he has to go away now. he hears... her voice! oh! that girl who spoke one time in s1 and that he ignored in every scene!

-left the lab buttnaked and barefoot with a blanket jayce wrapped around him to explore the streets on zaun. a bunch of sick homeless guys (who are, of course, shimmer addicts, see my note about war on terror) think he must be augmented so they want to kill him for scraps and parts. But they dont know that viktor is jesus now. he turns his stigmata palm to that guy who sold out caitlyn in s1 and proceeds to magically cure the lepers.

-this is his last scene for a little while. we Hear Of Him when one of the disabled councilors is looking for ways to deal with his pain from the accident. arcane loves looking over the shoulder of the rich and powerful like they are the main drivers and movers of the story

-like an hour of footage later, jayce reemerges (from a nexus-type of situation) and he finds one of Viktor’s servants -- its that councilor guy-- doing something unspecified. He's surprised to see jayce and tells him that he may speak to viktor; viktor says he misses him and wants to see him and basically "my bad man i was tripping when i said that shit to you the writers needed some lazy disagreement point," but he sounds really cult-leader sleazy and jayce is really mad over being left behind. Jayce is having some flashbacks to void monsters in the other side and tells servant guy he's not allowed to let him go. Servant councilor guy says well too bad! Im going! So jayce pulverizes him with his hammer. based jayce. he looks like brown bearded dante from devil may cry

That's the ep5 clifhanger. i think you can tell how i feel.

My predictions are as follows: jayce tracks him down to his lair and we get a showdown that is a vague reference to their original character bios battle; the one where viktor sics a bunch of brainwashed people on him and the building falls over everyone from the impact. It's possible that viktor is still not wearing his armor, and in this altercation jayce beats him up so bad or dismembers him enough that in act 3 he will have built one. That feels insulting to me but they legitimately have been very lazy.

oh and jayce also has a magical stigmata now. i hope they get to scissor those things together

[menofprogress]

Here are some of my hot (or maybe tepid) takes about arcane:

(Under the cut bc i got wordy lol)

-the show could have used another season or like at least 5 more eps per season. Thats not a dig at the creators bc we know they were already forced to cut stuff out, but imho it shows a little, esp in s2. I fully believe Sevika was one of the biggest victims here, i genuinely believe she had an arc in s2 act 3 that was fully cut. And her being one of the biggest defenders of zaunite independence also means that by cutting her they basically gutted that storyline.

-the sheer lack of time with some characters also means that i simply did not connect with some of them, which made their deaths kind of underwhelming. Like i gasped when loris, isha, elora and sky died, but i cant say i was actually sad. That might be a me problem, but i need a little more time and info on a character to feel literally anything about them.

-on the other hand: we need to accept that sometimes background or minor characters are just that. No they werent robbed, no they werent underwritten, theyre simply not that important and thats OK bc theyre characters, not real people. You dont need to give equal attention to all characters for it to be "fair". And i sometimes feel like ppl think they HAVE to bemoan this. esp when its a female character a lot of fans talk about "sidelining" or "theyre using them as a plot device!!" Buddy, sometimes characters are literally just there to move the plot along, thats not inherently a social justice issue. (Ive seen this the most with sky and lest and like.... sorry, they were never gonna be more important than this. They can still be your fave, but just bc you wanted to see more of them doesnt mean they were sidelined for nefarious reasons)

-however sometimes the problem isnt that a character got too little screentime. S2 is a perfect example to show you can do a lot of character work in less time (viktor, ekko) and little character work with a lot of screentime (vi, sorry). Viktor and ekko were missing for entire episodes and managed to have full character arcs and vi was kind of there the whole time, but stuff just happened to her? Like she does do a lot, she looks incredibly cool, i liked watching her scenes, but her motivations, her goals and her values are ALL over the place. I love caitvi, but it did kinda ruin vis integrity when she threw away core beliefs (she becomes an enforcer, she temporarily agrees to kill jinx, she participates in chem warfare against the undercity) for cait. Hmmmmm.....

-i wasnt that deep in the fandom in s1 so i might have simply missed it or i might just not be following assholes, but the "jayvik shippers hate mel" thing never made sense to me. NOT because i dont believe it, bc i sure as hell have seen enough mlm shippers be fully misogynistic or racist, but the way ppl (mainly meljay shippers lbr) talked about jayvik shippers being horrible to mel like it was this HUGE thing confused me bc i personally have seen like 2 fanfics where they horribly mischaracterise mel to be a viktor-hating bitch, but thats it? Like, was that an actual problem or was it ppl deliberately misunderstanding stuff? (One specific example: ive seen someone accuse jayvik shippers of being misogynists bc they accused mel of manipulating jayce and sidelining Viktor. Which is a canonical thing happening in the show. Like ofc you can word it in a way to make mel a horrid evil bitch, im sure there are ppl who DO hate mel and think she is an evil succubus, but this person in particular just seemed upset about the fact that ppl were talking about things that mel canonically did.) This is a genuine question, bc from my pov after s1 mel was one of the fan faves and jayvik wasnt THAT big of a deal until s2. I literally saw a hundred times more jayce hate than i did mel hate, but maybe thats not the universal arcane fandom experience? Like, again, i HAVE seen (for lack of a better term) fujoshis get wildly hateful towards female characters in the vicinity of their ship, i was just pleasantly surprised that the arcane fandom seemingly DIDNT. So the unrestrained resentment and bitterness of some fans after jayvik "went canon" caught me off guard.

-the reason i ask this: i saw a video where someone talked about some rando homophobic timebomb fans who apparently resented caitvi for getting a happy ending instead of jinx and ekko. So i commented "i s2g het-shippers act like theyre an oppressed group sometimes" to which another person responded "well jayvik fans were really shitty about mel, soo...." and i was so fucking confused bc what? The video wasnt even about mel or jayvik?? They just heard me make a snarky comment about het ships and immediately felt called out. But yeah thats what prompted my question.

-i dont get the thirst for the fish man. I get the salo thirst even less. I cheered when jayce bonked him.

-i actually dont want jayce or viktor to appear in future projects. While i love the idea of them being ~not dead~, i think any further canonical storylines about them would devalue the extremely emotional ending they had. Like, imagine if they only bring one of them back?? What then?? No, i actually prefer post-canon fix it fanfics in this case. (Cough cough esp bc this way i can still plausibly delude myself into them being actually canon and yall KNOW it probably would not stay this way if their story continues)

[thewintercorner]

guess who's back to yap about vitalasy!

looking so deeply at s2 recently got me back onto the worldender and cycles analysis grind but from a different perspective and ohhh man has that been fruitful

i've always had this feeling about vitalasy that he got the cycles but didn't Get them. he saw the cycles, could identify them as they were happening, but didn't understand why -- except he did seem to understand why? okay, so maybe he gets why but he doesn't get enough of the indomitability of that why to know it's impossible to overcome it. except he knows when to give up. and he knows when the big sacrifices are necessary and effective. and--

point is, i always had this weird dissonance about vitalasy that i couldn't ever really overcome. for pretty much all of the time i've watched lifesteal, i've operated off of an assumption that reckoning with the cycles, understanding them, would inevitably lead a player to become a worldender. in my mind, there was no world in which a player saw their world for what it was - constantly decaying, dying from the moment it comes into existence - and doesn't then seek to put it out of its misery as quickly as they can.

and yet, there was vitalasy. there was this player that fought so hard against the end of the world, and yet seemed to understand on some deep level that there was only so much he could do. here was this player that started preparing to fight decimation almost as soon as he learnt their name. here was this player, ever self-sacrificial, who always seemed to know exactly when and what to sacrifice to let the server live on.

he acted with such calculation and talked about the server in a way that clearly spoke to at least some understanding of the cycles -- certainly much more than the average player, at least, especially in season 3. and yet, he wasn't a worldender - and yet, he fought to save it, over and over again. why the anomaly?

then, i watched spoke's s2 video again, and something about worldending clicked. the thing about worldending is that it is a wildly selfless task. to end the world, you must be willing to give up everything you have ever cared about, everything you have ever loved, in pursuit of a more graceful end to the world that it would give itself. and it's not just giving up; you have to be willing to kill, to annihilate all those things. it is selfless destruction of your entire existence. nothing you care about can remain.

it raises a question: where's the compassion? where's the room for it, for humanity, in an act like that? the answer, i think, is simple: there really isn't any.

turn back to vitalasy. here is this player, this person, with so much love to give that it seems to spill out of his heart at every opportunity. vitalasy loves fiercely, loves his friends and his home and his server. he loves all of it so much i couldn't imagine him ever ending the world.

worldending is selfless. selflessness is a choice one has to make. therefore, is there not another choice? can one not choose instead to be selfish?

im going to start quoting the original flow of thoughts (written in the back of my linguistics notebook; i loveee not paying attention in class) here, because i think i wrote it better then than i could rephrase it now:

"perhaps there is another option: to be selfish. to reckon with the cycles and the inevitable decay, to look in the eyes of death and still choose your friends. to foresee the apocalypse is not to accept it; by many moral codes, it would be a an act of monumental apathy to sit back and idly watch - or worse yet, fight to accelerate - the end of the world as you've seen it. understanding the cycles is a predisposition, not the diagnosis. to quote jacob geller (go watch his vids if you haven't!!), some people can more easily imagine learning to die that learning to fight. in the context of lifesteal, it's understandable. but amongst the war and fire, there is still love. vi loves fiercely, vibrantly, stubbornly. of course he is going to fight. of course he will use the reckoning to understand how best to fight the cycles. yes, they are inevitable. yes, he fights for an infinite end, an eternal battle. is an extra day of loving not worth it? he claws moment from the death grip of the reality he exists in because the love is worth it. the sacrifices he makes are worth it because he's buying them more time. the world is cruel, but he refuses to be part of the cruelty."

tl;dr: the other option is to let the love win over the despair, to fight to live instead of fighting to die.

this is what vitalasy does. in knowing the cycles, he turns himself into a more effective weapon against them. he's self-sacrificial to a fault, but it becomes an advantage when he uses that to take the moral cost, take the heart cost, to take his entire life and fight the fight that no one else is ready to touch. vitalasy is so often villianized because he uses the same methods as the bad guys; the part people miss is that he uses their techniques against them. yes, he dupes in s4; how else are they meant to fight the other dupers when the end the world? yes, he feeds one more death to decimation in his sacrifice at the end of s3 -- because it lets six others get revived.

there is not only dread. in the darkness, there is light. vitalasy just eluded me for so long because he was the first to see it.

(there is a whole other discussion to be had on the implications of this on oath!zam, especially in light of recent events. i plan to write a companion post to this sometime soon going through all of those :))

[funnyscienceman]

look s2 was ass and i hate ori in a pod and dictator cait shouldve been explored more and so much and so much theres so much wrong with it, the writers were ass, i fucking hate riot, never trust that company for anything ever, AND ALSO jayvik makes me fucking cry man. i was so deadfaced for most of act 3 (aside from bursting into laughter when it got so absurd i felt like i was losing my sanity) but then they started throwing the fucking flashbacks to s1 at you and there was viktor being himself again, happy and funny and him and jayce nerding out over science magic whateverthefuck, and jayce said "all i want is my partner back," and externally i was like slack-jawed, blinking, shocked. like wait really? we're getting a fucking she-ra ending? this couldve been built up to so much better this is coming from fucking nowhere but really?? jayvik is back it's fucking back it's real??!?!??

and it was so overwhelming. internally i couldve been bursting into fucking tears. im still reeling over it more than a week later, like. is this what it felt like when tfgraves finally got to have their thing in pride 2022? people are saying jayce and viktor died in that explosion and maybe, maybe not, but that didn't feel sad to me. i guess it could be, it's impossible for me to take s2 seriously from a storytelling standpoint, but this isn't about that. like. two guys choosing each other over everything and everyone else. the sheer fucking devotion between them that toed the line of text and subtext since season fucking one. it's right there, on full display, center stage, and this is the actual culmination of the story i guess. wasnt set up at all this cast was way too bloated for its own good, but the fact that it exists. the fact that it's been brought to the forefront, they are FORCING YOU to talk about it. that one showrunner fucking lost his marbles on twitter because it was so hard to ignore, because the love there was just so unabashed and shameless and visible

I'm. I dunno. This is dredging up a lot of old feelings of loneliness being a trans gay man feeling like an outsider looking in to the queer community. It's a lot. And it's like conflicting so much with how ass arcane handled both its queers and poc, like as much as i love jayvik i also haaaate how mel and sky got fucking shafted, like did you have to do it like that??? and idk how much of the jayvik ending itself is queerbaiting or crumbs or whatever — if it is at all, idk, im not a philosopher or analyst in that regard — but. i just dont know if i've ever felt so seen. is that even the word for it??? maybe my feelings are just all over the place because it's so fresh? my feelings could change, i dunno. i still dont feel like rewatching s2 in full, all the way through, because it was such a slog and it disrespected 99% of the characters so hard, viktor included (singed got out mostly unscathed and i still consider that a christmas miracle) the most i can handle are individual clips and thinking about jayce and viktor doing like a reverse Weathering With You in that magic space stuff was… what the fuck man. i'm breaking. i'm falling apart.

(throwback to this one thing i doodled aaages and ages ago hdmdhdndnc)

idk. i dunno if any of this made any sense. im like rambling into the void rn. um. sorry this is a mess 👍

[did-sm1-say-catfish]

s2 ep7- Jhonny watches Danny Dhantom!!

---

more jazz in this episode!! love her <3

fentonsibs my beloveds

---

ever since i started watching this show, the blue to green eyes phantom trasnition in the intro has bugged me. right as the line “when he first woke up he realized he has snow white hair, and glowing green eyes” plays, he looks in the mirror, as phantom (white hair) and blue eyes, but his eyes turn green shortly after. Why??? his hair was already white, which was the other primary change noted in the song, but his eyes stayed blue until he blinked! which, i was thinking maybe he just needed to blink fo rit to take effect? but in that case, why wouldnt they have changed while he was lying with his eyes closed, dead? why were his eyes closed when he was dead? child sensoring obvi but it just doesnt make any sense? why would it take that long to reach his eyes??? maybe the electrical ghost shock acted as bleach somehow?? idk???? it still makes zero sense to me. idk. someone help

---

fenton family vacayyyyy!!!

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“i wont stop until we cxatch a ghost and tear it apart molecule by molecule!!!” uhm sir ur son is traumatized. every single molecule 

---

only he (danny) can see the pirate ghosts. awww... danny needs comfort. so much danny comfort. 

i mean i get why his family would just be thinking he's crazy but what if there is a ghost???

---

‘spin the crazy outta him’ uhmmm this feels like abuse. danny bl;ink twice if you need help. he needs help. guys i think he needs help. 

i think we need to call cps

---

i think he’s feeling the trauma. hes trauamtized. he needs help. 

he needs help!! my poor guy

---

jazz: im going to take care of you!! despite your protests!! there is no place you can go that i wont follow!! danny: oh really? *walks into boys bathroom*

do it jazz, transition. 

---

lancer, hearing danny fighting the bathroom, to jazz: if thats ur brother he needs more fiber. see to it. thx jazz 

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awww shes trying to helppppP!!!! i love you jazz smmmmmm!!!! cmaping trip fo rthe troubled teen awghdijkjbhvcdblfdkhjbkldskchjvg!!

---

---

danny genuinely tweaking out now that he has to leave home. guys i think my ocd projecting is valid now. i now declare him crazy. i just need to give him morality ocd for funsies. no other reason. 

guys ik theres probs an invis ghost but him going crazy like. its kinda comforting. i need him to get psych help please. it would fix me i think. and maybe him. well- lets not go too far now

---

fenton ointment?? naahhhh. fointment?? yeahhhh. 

---

omg he wasnt imagining uit!!!! its the little kiddie!! the kid ghost!! from before!! wasnt he a pirate before? yes. i think yes.

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“cowbrat”?? marry me danny 

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ohhh only kids can see the brat ghostttt ahhh. that explains why danny was going crazy. and jazz cant see it cuz shes so grown up. ahhh fun

---

“the healing touch of dayglow orange spandex” uhmmm ok jack. you do you boo

hold on i wonder if thats like. an actual paint color or something.

---

literally just the psych ward. but camping

---

this is a flashback???from when danny didnt know jazz knew?? ok that makes a lot more sense now

---

danny: jazz is a spazz jazz is a spazz 🎶  jazz: cut it out you little brat!! danny: i know you are, but what am i? 

the most sibling interaction of interacting siblings 

---

jazz: A GHOST!!! UR NOT CRAZY!!!  danny: you have now stooped to my level. thank you for shopping at fentonmart 

im sorry what is that dialogue??> i love it but?? i dont think it makes sense???

---

jack: pulls weapon out of god knows where maddie: jackkk where did that weapon come from?? jack: id rather not say...

ABHSGDHJDHGAHJHS that joke wouldve flown over my head as a kid!! LMFAOOO im so glad im watching it now 

---

i love how jazz obviously is trying to help danny as phantom but dannys just like: huh i like this help. im not going to question it because i dont want to have a crisis. thanks for the accidental toss of the fenton thermos into my hand!! 

---

all in all, this episode was cool. Very very sad, much fentonsibs angst, and heaps of danny angst.

sorry for the delay in coming out with this one, ive been very busy.

my formatting is shit please forgive me

[world-smitten]

just finished Arcane season 2 & how could something be so good, and yet so bad? Felt like a yoyo because the writers clearly knew what they were doing, but they wouldn't have been able to take the wild swings they did without Fortiche's production strength. If s1 got around its 9 episode limitations by being lean, spare and hyper-focused, s2 goes wildly in the other direction, a maximalist "bang-for-your-buck" approach that clearly favours the animation. Like Riot always knew that Fortiche was their trump card but i dont think even they could predict how quickly and massively beloved the studio's house style would be. So the plot feels like it's structured both to set up future shows, but also to give Fortiche every single opportunity to flex their skills. Its a season that's intensely cinematic and layered in the ways it visually conveys the external action and the internal psychology of its characters. But this maximalist approach to animation is something im getting slightly tired of - post spiderverse fatigue i guess (to put it simply). But the production isnt as insufferable as ATSV was, partly because all of the characters are a stronger emsemble, but also because the operatic multiverses, timelines etc all feel like a shell to hold the characters vast feelings about themselves & each other. Like the mechanics of time travel are meant to hold Ekko's twin loves of Zaun & Jinx; even the worldending Arcane mumbo jumbo is meant to express Jayce & Viktor's love of each other, of these two men going on a journey of discovery and work together, and where that journey ends.

the problem with the high-concept, big-feeling approach is that it blows away everything that s1 worked towards - namely that this conflict was about two sisters, and two cities. Zaun becomes a passenger to the story. So much gets picked up & left behind. The deep foundation that s1 set up gets built on in patchwork, and very few characters feel like they're written to their full potential. I also think that making Viktor the final boss was frankly ridiculous - why should his journey to heal himself lead him to such a hyperbolic end? Jayce's speech about why Viktor was fine the way he was would be great in any other context - in this context, it neatly sidesteps that there were structural reasons for Viktor's illness. But ofc, when your writing barrels towards the abstract, all kinds of structural, tangible world-building gets left behind.

Much to love (Ambessa, Mel & Ekko's storylines, even Jinx's kinda worked) - and i'll forever love this show for writing black characters that fully take part in the politics and magic of their world. But boyyyy what a crazy rollercoaster. The only consistent act was act 1, and then act 2 & 3 were ping-pong in terms of quality. Eps 4 & 7 were soo beautiful, but what followed them - yikes 😬. Those godawful "music" videos at the start of each ep (so glad they dropped that gimmick in act 3!) & I'm still not over how jarring that Vander flashback w/ Silco & Felicia was. Like wtf.

[skyartworkzzz]

Have you watched Arcane and if you did what do you think about it now that its over?

My only real complain is that sezon 2 act 3 felt really rushed and we should have like an episode or two more to tie everything together

HI OKAY SO I havent watched watched Arcane s2 but Ive seen a LOT of clips + spoilers so it. feels like I did watch at least the most important parts

And altho I cannot judge the Acts specifically, my overall review is (spoilers below maybe + be warned theres hate to some characters too Im dramatic):

I hate Jayce

I hate Viktor for fcking Vander up and coming back in time over and over to try and give Jayce the correct rune. Other than that, he is forgiven cuz I too wouldve given up on the fucked up world we are living in-

I hate Jayce

From what Ive seen, Caitlyn was forgiven too easily she should get fcked for becoming a dictator and jeopardizing her mother's legacy in an act of revenge, losing an eye was not enough (I LOVE CAITVI I DO BUT VI IS TOO FCKING NICE)

I hate Jayce

I STILL FCKING HATE SILCO BUT IN THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE??? HES FORGIVEN. ONLY THERE. THE ORIGINAL ONE CAN DIE FOR ALL I CARE

I hate Jayce

TIMEBOMB IS CANON IDGAF WE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON

I hate Jayc-

[froggerland]

Omg i watched the terror when i had just started s2 of game of thrones on a rewatch (i still am, actually, rewatching got s2, because the terror made it basicslly unwatchable to me when there's a scene beyond the wall, also this was just a month ago) and your comparison of them when talking about details on characters (even - and maybe especially minor characters) makes sooooo much sense to me!!!!! Also i was talking with my bf (who also has watched the terror bc of my recommendation) about lord of the rings and i joked about how the fans of the movies have watched them so many times that at this point even side characters/totally background people (or even a siege weapon... with Lore!) have became fan favourites, and it's funny to think about this because he rewatched the terror this week and he told me that he barely noticed bridgens and peglar at his first watch, and now their scenes made him sad, so it's so fascinating to me that the terror is a show with So Much details on everything and everyone like im sure i missed a couple of character acts on my first watch and now i will understand much of What Was Happening much better. And not only because i've watched it already but also because ive read a little more about the franklin expedition. Anyway I came here just to say i loved the comparison with game of thrones but this got wayyyy too long and YOU ARE RIGHT WE NEED MORE STUFF LIKE THE TERROR!!!!!

Yes yes YES!! Kept nodding harder and harder while reading this, you're so right

1. Yes I can't take Mace Raider serious anymore either bc I'm like "Sir John Franklin what in God's name are you doing beyond The Wall" (same for Edmure Tully lowkey)

2. People loving the most minor characters in GoT and the Terror is so real and I think that's an indicator for a good show, I came on here and people were foaming at the mouth over Tom Hartnell, I was like "who THE FUCK is that" (fun fact when he dies and Crozier coos his "you did so well son" speech (absolute crack cocaine for daddy issues havers like me btw) I thought Hartnell was ACTUALLY his son and I was a next level oblivious the entire time ahshjwjsh)

3. I feel like you can tell that both stories really respect the fact that they're working with history, GRRM is famously a historian above anything else, if you read a little into medieval history he took A LOT straight up from the history books but without tweaking it to make it more palatable for modern audiences. Same for the Terror, no quirky dialog, all true to the historical setting and that's what I fucking LOVE

[tsixofcrows]

introduction!!

hey guyss im kinda rebranding this whole acc because why not?? im sienna i LOVE reading, writing, films and music. i've recently delved into a deep hole filled with uquizzes and started making them so i'll link them later!!

my favourite books/movies/series

daisy jones and the six!! PLEASE talk to me about this book or the show or literally anything related to it. my absolute favourite book.

star wars and the mcu. i'm a longtime fan of both of these franchises, but with star wars i watch most of the projects with my dad so i'm a bit slow on the new ones :')

grishaverse!! i fear i was given king of scars a few months ago and forgot about it but im planning on restarting i promise. nina zenik is my favourite character<33

marauders/harry potter. i'm reading crimson rivers right now and it's literally the only fanfiction i've ever read don't sue me.

ALL holly jackson books! she's so incredible i love her writing.

PERCY JACKSONN yes i was the weird kid in intermediate with a pjo obsession and still am.

im on s2 of gossip girl and i'm obsessed

my favourite music artists

taylor swift. i honestly don't care if you don't like her music just respect her and the people that do love her! my top four albums are red, ttpd, midnights and evermore.

sabrina carpenter my fav pop princess! my favourite songs are already over + opposite bonus mention to why.

mckenna grace! one of my idols i love her acting and her music. my favourite is probably haunted house<3

CHAPPELL ROAN YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST'S FAVOURITE ARTIST!!! the one and only. my favourites are red wine supernova, pink pony club, guilty pleasure and love me anyway.

lindsay liebro my FAVOURITE small artist ever she's so sweet and two ghosts and no one you can save are like top 5 songs ever.

miss renee rapp! im an i wish, moon and tummy hurts girl. constantly waiting for new music from the queen herself.

my uquizzes so far (will update with more<3)

[thefringespod]

Hello dear wanderers! Its time again for another #AudioDramaSunday! We're going to start with my relisten of The Grotto because I love emotional pain. Yes I knew what was going to happen, yes I still cried a bunch. The first 4 eps of The Grotto are out now and they're amazing

The mini episode of @tellnotalespod from this week made my heart hurt 😭 I'm so happy to hear from Julia and Riley but also im back to needing to shake Leo for what they've done

@camlannpod released their first episode this week and my gods yall its already so so beautiful. Between the voice acting and the music and the writing I could scream about it forever its just. Absolutely gorgeous. I can't wait to see what else happens in this show!!

New @somewhereohio fucked me up (affectionate) Green and Sterling just. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. And then the end of the episode???? Rat Grimes is written a masterful show and it makes me so worried every week I love it so so much

I finished season 1 of The Storage Papers this week and wow. Just wow. I love an anthology with an overarching plot and I love a podcast that is its own fictional podcast and the Storage Papers checks both of those podcasts. Also Jeremy Enfinger is a stellar VA!

Here on the Fringes we've released the first bit of our midseason break content: a feed drop of @souloperatorpod episode 1! You already know im biased (and right) about everything Tot does but it's truly an amazing episode

Also theres only 3 more episode to write for the Fringes!

And over on @forgedbondspod I've finished up episode 19! Only 5 more episodes to write before stuff starts going out to our incredible cast and im so excited to start getting to hear these lovely lovely folks voice my silly little characters

That's all for this week! Starting s2 of The Storage Papers this week and likely doing an Ethics Town relisten because I finally got Tay to start Ethics Town and it makes me want to listen again

[time-is-restored]

oh shit i forgot here's another one, this time its an old neal caffrey analysis rant (this one fueled by insomnia, and written much earlier into my first watch of white collar - i think early season 3??):

im gonna be weird about white collar but the thing is so many people are weird about white collar in the wrong direction

like woobifying neal to hell and back or inventing whole new personalities for el or . i don’t even know how to describe what they do to peter

like the thing about neal is he Is a magpie he’s just a surprisingly loyal one, he flits from shiny thing to person to ideal, sure, but certain classes of ppl can fully hold his attention

peter holds his attention bc he is good as in skilled (it’s borderline canon that no one else can catch him, or even really come close), and extremely principled w a cunning streak which neal basically approaches as like. a puzzle box, bc like none of their principles line up so he’s curious how the apparent closed system rube goldberg machine of his morals work LOL

then it becomes a dedication through loyalty, in that peter sticks his neck out multiple times due to faith in neal, and neal is EXTREMELY weak to loyalty/consistency (gestures at the mess of his childhood)

and due to generally low self image (morals wise, he kind of thinks he sucks? like he’s competent and cool and charming and everything, but he also tends to consider himself a nuisance, w how he’s disruptive to ‘normal’ / ‘good’ people) that dedication can become disproportionate

we see through kate (and later, adler) that the easiest way to con neal/get him acting against his own self interest IS to cultivate that loyalty

there’s an easy archetype to it, even, in that u present him with a competent, smart individual (bonus points if they’re a conventionally attractive woman), but have her off limits in some way (uninterested, taken, stand off ish, whatever), activate his thief urge to ‘take’ what he wants, then when they are friends/partners whatever, his inadvertent guilt over like. corrupting/endangering this person/tricking them about who he ‘really’ is will loop around into VERY strong loyalty, and a commitment to being whatever they want him to be x2, bc he Cannot handle being left behind LMAO

peter simultaneously feeds into + challenges this framework, bc he clearly has the least biased opinion about who neal is, even though he’s still wrong about a lot of things. and beyond that, he REALLY likes neal, thinks he’s interesting and funny, but at the start of the show can’t deal with even 0.01% of his chaotic neutral methods

WHICH IN TURN!! actually breaks through some of Neal’s shit bc:

peter picked him out of prison before neal had changed at all

he essentially sees his role, from as early as ep 1, as tactically breaking the law where peter can’t/won’t, in ways that help them close the case faster

after peter (more or less) gives a thumbs up the first time he does this, neals puzzle box brain goes ‘oh?? morally grey bestie??? CRIME BESTIE????’ and now he’s trying to ‘solve’ peter’s moral code

this is actually almost in complete opposition to elizabeth, who is compete open and clear about her affection and friendship w him basically since they meet, and apparently has no prerequisites for it. which, again, pointing to the low self esteem, triggers the ‘oh god what have i done to deserve this i haven’t even CONNED her yet’ so he’s low key more invested in + comitted to elizabeth in a specific. 'i want to be on good terms w this person' targeted way than he initially was w peter (since their mutual obsession manifests so fucking frequently as 'what, you're gonna hit me? you're gonna hit me with that big bat? better make it hurt. better kill me in one shot!' style antagonism)

HENCE the constant check ins w their relationship, reminding peter about anniversaries and dinner times etc, though that’s also due to a general fascination he has w stability + permanence

we learn in s2 he was seriously considering proposing to kate, and that he genuinely wanted to take the ‘true love’ way out of the conman life, even though he wasn’t quite sure whether it would stick, hence we see a lot in s2 his fascination w peter + els marriage, along with june (crime aunty <3)‘s relationship w her passed husband

a lot of his dedication to peter circa s2 is, by my reckoning, explicitly because peter is so determined to stick with Neal, and doesn’t give up on him/their deal even when it would be entirely reasonable (neal admits to crimes, gets put back in prison, constantly breaks rules and goes looking for kate) which is like. neal HATES being trapped, but he also REALLY values consistency + competency

hence the complexes, y'know?