#its literally just the characters i mention

[ladyofthehightower]

i posted this on tiktok and twitter (im mycomputerissad on both) and OF COURSE people are being rude and frankly stupid. lots of comments mad at me for attacking the writers and showrunners, who i didnt even mention. mad at me for excusing alicents actions, which i didnt do. mad at me for acting like alicent had it worse than aemma arryn, which i didnt do.

it's so weird how quickly this spread outside my usual circle and people started taking the post in bad faith when all i said was literally: anyway. i just think it's weird that people have literally NO empathy for her, especially when it comes to her and her children.

and they proved me right! here's a link to the tiktok, and to the tweet if you wanna scroll through insane comments and quote retweets complaining about things and borderline attacking me for things they're literally projecting on to me and the post, because most of what they're mad about literally isn't even true.

like here, which is a tame but recent example. they're just assuming my tone is negative and that the post is a veiled attack at rhaenyra... they couldn't possibly understand that i'm just comparing rhaenyra and alicent because they're the same age, they're both main characters and with their relationship and history it seems the most obvious comparison to make. genuinely, its weird. IT'S WEIRD!!!!!!

and then this tweet which was obviously about my post... literally just making things up to be mad about! i never said ANY of that!

and it's all very frustrating!!! being attacked for things i didnt say!!!

but we ball. at least yall on tumblr can read and act normal! and im grateful!

alicent & motherhood

thinking abt that tiktok someone made about why we never see alicent giving birth, but we see aemma, laena and rhaenyra TWICE and how it's a way to disconnect alicent from motherhood, but also a way to keep the audience from perhaps empathising with her.

THIS alicent...

... is the alicent that gave birth to all her children. alicent was like 15/16 giving birth to aegon, and 18/19 giving birth to daeron. ik the hotd timeline/character ages are kinda cooked but like she was a mother of four before turning 20.

when alicent was pregnant with her fourth child, rhaenyra was pregnant with her first. not to mention that rhaenyra chose the father of her children, and while of course there was pressure on her to get pregnant, alicent had absolutely no choice in it. not when, or with who. would it have continued? would she have had more children if viserys didn't get so sick?

anyway. i just think it's weird that people have literally NO empathy for her, especially when it comes to her and her children.

[sevikas-biceps]

[TLDR: me attempting to make sense of the Arcane's eldritchness, which sounds ironic in hindsight but hear me out]

Revelation after revelation aside, there are many pieces of foreshadowing that tell us why Viktor's commune wasn't as great as it seemed.

Visually speaking, all the clues are right there.

The first thing we see of the slums of Zaun is this.

Vi, leading their little group, is astonished to find such a thing—and to think that Huck was there, serving as one of its ushers! Huck, who she immediately calls a filthy traitor; having succumbed to shimmer the last time she saw him—meaning he'd turned to Silco both literally and figuratively—what with his use of the drug and the fact that he'd ratted her and Caitlyn out to the tycoon.

Miss Ma'am is bamboozled.

How the hell did he end up there? At this...paradise? At the slums, which, only a few weeks or months ago; was still dark, dusty, violet, and violent!

Something has changed, obviously; and Huck himself admits that his past was him 'at his worst'. Simply awful. But the Herald had saved him. And because of that, he was leading a better life, now. Naturally, at this point, Vi and Jinx seem wary.

There's gotta be a catch, no?

The landscape and the characters exemplify this.

Let's start with the land itself. Look at how empty it actually looks. Yes, there's a field of flowers. Yes, there's a community, teeming with life. Yes, it's literally heaven. But the lighting. The colours. It's so...bleak. Like a dream. The mountains are green, but they're cast in grey and white; and added with the negative space, there's an eeriness to it that contrasts Piltover's version of an eutopia.

You can argue it being the vast resource difference, as Topside is the superior city for a reason, but the commune is still filled with numerous individuals with just as much creativity as their counterparts. Intelligent and sentient beings—people, with minds to set to whatever task may be at hand.

Now, let's think of the people.

The biggest difference between the two communities is this: the 'healed' of Viktor's paradise wear only one mode of dress: white. It's almost uniform—which is notable, as, previously in the episode, Viktor speaks of 'chaos'. We see how fascinated he was by the mess that Vander's psyche had become, and in an attempt at detangling that chaos, he was 'setting things right' inside the man's mind. Bringing him back to something resembling normalcy. Order.

This is particularly significant for the fact that, in the game, he's remembered for his philosophy on glorious evolution (also mentioned in the show, as we know)—which is centred on the enhancement of the human body to transcend its fleshly limits.

Piltover, in contrast—and by extension the 'unhealed' of Zaun—go against this code. We see shimmer addicts, we see corrupt individuals, we see bigoted populations, we see conflict between the cities. We see human nature at its finest. Even the episode titles, all the way from Season 1, display this.

S1E1: Welcome to the Playground S1E2: Some Mysteries are Better Left Unsolved S1E3: The Base Violence Necessary for Change S1E4: Happy Progress Day! S1E5: Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy S1E6: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down S1E7: The Boy Saviour S1E8: Oil and Water S1E9: The Monster You Created S2E1: Heavy is the Crown S2E2: Watch It All Burn S2E3: Finally Got the Name Right S2E4: Paint the Town Blue S2E5: Blisters and Bedrock S2E6: The Message Hidden Within the Pattern

Again, human nature. Colourful, tumultuous, unsynchronised. A need for knowledge. A need for violence. A need for change. A need for exploration. A need for control. Everything that we can have, we take.

That's the point of Viktor's quote:

I understand now. The message hidden within the pattern. The reason for our failures in the commune. The doctor was right—it's inescapable. Humanity. Our very essence. Our emotions—rage, compassion, hate. Two sides of the same coin, inextricably bound. That which inspires us to our greatest good is also the cause of our greatest evil.

It's a paradox.

This is a sophisticated conjuration. A singularity, simultaneously self-replicating and self-annihilating.

He wasn't just talking about the Arcane. It wasn't just about that 'voice' he and Sky heard when gazing at Jayce through Salo's eyes. It's also about humanity.

So, how does that relate to his commune?

Here's the thing: it looks like heaven, but later on, when Viktor dies and everyone else follows, it's practically limbo. It's liminal. Initially, you only have the vague sense that there's something off about it, but you can't tell what. It's filled with people, yet at the same time, it looks like it shouldn't have any to begin with. Mysterious. Suspicious. Almost dreadful; something that makes you realise: if you think about it too hard, you'd drive yourself insane.

There's something intrinsically natural about the commune, something untouched by human hands; but there's also something intrinsically human about it, something unnatural, cultivated in a way nature itself cannot replicate. That's the catch. It should be a balance of both. An ideal community would show this.

Viktor's connection to the Hexcore tells us that he's, in part, transcended both humanity and the natural world. He's breached the ineffable and the incomprehensible, and brought it into the existence(s) of those who could know of and experience it. Bringing 'paradise' to those who were never meant to realise what it was. Forcing onto them the Arcane, even when done with the best intentions.

For the suffering Zaunites, they have everything they could possibly want: food, water, shelter, rest, belonging, peace, survival; the life that they once could only dream of having. It's perfect. They don't have to be in pain, not anymore.

But the commune is isolated. This is very much seen in the gate symbolism: all are welcome, but once inside, you'll never want to leave. You'll never have to. Because to be cured by the hands of the Herald means to bear his mark. To be saved is to bind yourself to him.

The open archway is also a taunt: the gate is open, it'll always be open, but would you ever risk going back out? Would you really trade this for anything else?

Are you truly willing to leave paradise? Are you truly willing to part with the Arcane?

The Arcane, which had given them everything they'd yearned for through Viktor.

Now, see here: Vi catches a glimpse of Singed exiting Viktor's abode. It's presumably the healing tent, as his main 'bubble' (the place where he 'recharges', so to speak) is the one in the distance.

The point is: Vi sees Singed leave the healing tent. What makes this suspicious is the fact that the man left unhealed.

Note that, prior to this point, the sisters have reconciled and were even willing to stay in this little underground haven despite their initial scepticisms. They, just like everyone else, have been lulled into the comfort the commune provided. So, to see someone else suddenly exiting Viktor's watch—someone with no traces of the Herald's touch, someone who's still bandaged and deformed—is a wake-up call.

Why else would you go into the healing tent, to the commune, if not to have yourself cured or seek respite? Why is this man, who'd obviously be easier work to deal with compared to Vander, not 'saved'?

Vi follows him. Then, Singed leaves the commune entirely.

In her eyes, someone had willingly turned away from 'paradise'.

Logically, this begs the question: Why?

Because that's where the fantasy ends.

Right as Vi comes to the gate, the camera cuts to that Noxian spear upfront. A threat to the 'perfection' that existed within the borders. A reminder that the world outside still exists; a world that Viktor hasn't touched in its entirety, a world that still begs to be saved, a world that is still human at its core brimming and simmering.

That's the reason Viktor's named a herald: he's an omen. He'd brought about a transformation to those he healed. To the slums. Providing a drastic shift in people's lives (or whatever 'life' still counted for those he'd influenced) that left many devastated when Jayce blew a hole in his chest.

By spreading the use of the Arcane through other agents (again, the 'healed'), he essentially reproduced the effects of the power that he had at his disposal, while at the same time allowed himself to better comprehend how the Arcane worked—and by extension, allowed that very power to adapt.

But at the same time, he himself is also the key to undoing it.

From Jayce and Ekko, S2E3:

Viktor hypothesised that there may be something he called 'wild runes'. Patterns that occur naturally when the border between our world and the Arcane is thin. Runes like the ones you use in Hextech. What's the difference between those and wild runes? Pass me a tome. So, I used words you understood in order to elicit your action. This is what Hextech runes are. Pass me a tome. Pass me a tome! There—you sighed. Still a kind of language. A sound, but not words. Something raw; natural. That's wild runes. In most places, the Arcane is dormant—but here and there, it's more active. Wild runes are— —sort of like its fingerprints. Exactly! ...so, you're telling me: that pattern is on my tree, because you pissed the Arcane off with all your demands?

Viktor being infused with the Hexcore—which we can reasonably assume is a wild rune, as can also be seen with its matrix—makes it so that he himself acts as what a Hextech rune would do to it (the Hexcore). Through Viktor, the Arcane is refined, and in a process that doesn't completely destabilise (compared to pure Hextech, as can be seen with the weapons). For Viktor to lose control or to be harmed means making that magic either go wild (the weapons) or make it dissipate (the commune).

That's why the fantasy 'ends' at the entrance of the commune: anything past that is out of Viktor's reach, and remains 'untouched' by the Arcane.

From Jinx, S1E5:

So, all about these runes: they form some sort of mathy, magicky gateway...to the realm of heebie-jeebies. And this turns it on!

Say it again: the runes make a gateway. The Hexcore was a rune matrix, an array of wild runes that formed a singular entity. An entity which is now 'one' with Viktor. It means being the 'Herald' is also being the 'gateway' for the Arcane. The traditional role of a herald is to proclaim and carry messages; we don't know what message the Arcane itself wants to send, but we do know for a fact that Viktor is at least doing its work in creating that commune in the slums of Zaun.

From Singed, S1E6 & S2E6:

The mutation must survive. You must survive, Viktor.

The Machine Herald himself is self-replicating and self-annihilating. He can 'cure' the afflicted, thus infusing the Arcane into other individuals and replicating its structure inside them. And at the same time, the Arcane is also what 'kills' him—with Jayce using (what looked to be a mutated version of) the hexcrystal of his hammer to blow through Viktor's chest, where we know the Hexcore was placed during Jayce's revival of him in Act 1.

This is why the commune, despite its purpose as a safe haven, also exists as a place of great danger. Why it really isn't all That™, even despite Viktor creating it as a safe space for many.

See this exchange between Vi and Jinx:

This place...do you think it could actually work? Underground utopia, run by a skinny tin Machine Herald. Maybe when Piltover slides into the Sump.

Jinx was right in calling it for what it is, despite the words being in jest. A utopia. Working 'when Piltover slides into the Sump'.

It's an impractical scheme. Too perfect. Too good to be true.

An impossibility.

Do you believe in fate, Doctor? Our paths carved before us. Guided by an invisible hand? Not fate. Evolution. Nature's greatest force, forever in flux. No. Evolution has a destination. Not to combat nature, but to supersede it. The final, glorious evolution. But he isn't a specimen—he's a man. And he needs my help. I will not sacrifice his humanity for your cause. You may leave. Very well. But I assume you understand already: if you perish, this community is soon to follow.

Viktor understands. He understands. He just wasn't ready to admit it to himself when Singed said it.

I understand now. The message hidden within the pattern. The reason for our failures in the commune. The doctor was right—it's inescapable. Humanity.

Human nature and human essence aren't self-sustaining. That's why the Arcane was so effective in 'healing' all those people. Their humanity hampered them from healing themselves; both in the sense of the human bodily condition (the limits of the physical self), and in the sense of humaneness (of empathy, of choice). The human body cannot survive its own traumas without an artificial means of a cure (case in point: Vander). And the Arcane acted as its solution.

Mere instinct doesn't let you live—you need to learn how to direct your life after survival. To adapt. To grow. Humanity, self-replicating and self-annihilating; the escape from that cycle, that's the glorious evolution Viktor speaks of.

A utopia. Impossible and impractical. Humanity: that which inspires us to our greatest good, and the cause of our greatest evil.

[lazycranberrydoodles]

hi i don't know if i have questions specifically but want you to know i'm obsessed with your transfem hua cheng and he xuan and that it's super meaningful to me to see other people doing transfem characters and headcanons and I love to see it and love your art so much too so thank you for doing that!!!

yw!!!

hua cheng and he xuan have such interesting relationships to their bodies and powers. to me, trans headcanons not only acknowledge their complex identities within the text, but also add a layer of meaning. plus i just love drawing and writing girls.

more of my thoughts on trans & tfem huaxuan below.

⚠️warnings for: mention of transphobia, canon typical violence, tgcf spoilers⚠️

hua cheng is incredibly metaphorically trans. being born under the star of solitude with a cursed eye, he spent his childhood enduring abuse and covering up his face. (one thing that especially sticks with me for a transmasculine headcanon is that he is smaller than expected for a 10 year old, canonically due to malnutrition). still, he snuck into the army out of a sense of duty (re: tmasc hc, i believe he lied about both his age and his gender to enlist). however, to become crimson rain sought flower, instead of harming others, he wrenches the source of his pain (his eye) out of his body with his own hands. once he removes his eye, instead of dying like a weaker spirit would have, he becomes much more powerful and starts forging an identity for himself. his self-mutilation doesn't just free him from the burden of his cursed eye; he eventually claims blood as his signature. for his whole life, hua cheng has been injured and beaten, but after tong'lu, blood becomes a symbol of his power. his blood rain shows that he does not shy away from brutality and that he feels at home within violence.

this is why i'm always talking about hua cheng's DIY top surgery within the kiln. hua cheng carved up his own body in a way that massively empowered him. he reclaims violence as his own natural habitat, rather than something he has been forced to endure. i think this is very transgender; transphobic rhetoric often labels medical transition as mutilation, but to many of us, that is how we become our true selves. it is a tool to make us stronger.

hua cheng's story is about self-determination. despite his circumstances, he was able to literally brute force fate and luck into his favor with the power of his devotion. i also like to read ghost city (and hua cheng's other miscellaneous acts of good) as a metaphor for disability. to the public, it's dangerous and sinful, but in actuality it is hua cheng's way of 'saving the common people'. ghost city provides safe haven for the undead and their wares, making both the mortal and ghost realms safer. the traditional channel for serving believers is from heaven, but hua cheng forged his own path and refused to take part in its corrupt system. he has a radically different approach to executing his goals, so he is excommunicated and misunderstood outside of the vilified community that he provides a home for (the ghost city residents).

it's important to me that hua cheng is trans -- whether in hualian or hualesbians -- because her story revolves around forging her own path, turning the parts of her body that she hated into sources of power, and defining herself (SHE NAMED HERSELF FLOWER CITY!!!). as a spirit, she hangs around because she wants to be the best version of herself: not out of self-love, but because she is a means to an end (the end being xie lian's will).

beefleaf are literally genderfluid in the text. i personally read shi qingxuan as a trans woman rather than genderfluid because she is 1) more powerful as a woman and 2) does it for fun -- being a woman brings her joy. she begrudgingly turns back into a man when her brother tells her she needs to be more proper. additionally, she was raised as a girl and -- iirc -- doesn't have a problem with this.

he xuan, in addition switching back and forth between male and female forms, also has a very trans narrative. they were literally forced to live the wrong life. his power, similarly to hua cheng's, also comes from their body (eating other ghosts). however, hers is additive. she, to me, is the type of trans person that doesn't see their transition as a loss of anything, only a gain (hua cheng, on the other hand, enthusiastically lost his weakened past self). hua cheng killed the girl he used to be, while he xuan morphed into an unrecognizable, more powerful version of herself. hua cheng purposefully built his ideal self, while he xuan strayed from her AGAB more passively.

i don't think that he xuan would crossdress with shi qingxuan if she didn't want to. even if that was the case, i think their woman-sona is very developed for a guy that reportedly doesn't like it. in my headcanon, she is still in denial by the end of the novel. i think that both his love for shi qingxuan AND the unsettling feeling of gender dysphoria would keep him from dissipating. my final and silliest reason for headcanoning he xuan as nonbinary tfem is that she eats a ton because she's on estrogen and is trying to gain boob weight.

tl;dr: trans women can accumulate power by cutting out their eyes and eating ghosts and i think that's awesome

[tipsyjaehyun]

The biggest plot hole of this show is its characters' lack of accountability. Why is Joke the only one to face consequences of his actions? And no one else does. In ep 1, he robs and lies to Jack for which he is abandoned by his family, he has to go to jail and Jack also beats the fuck out of him. We all know what happened in ep 10-11.

But what about others? The three pigs gang steals from Aran, he is literally thrown out of his home and then what? Just because he is taken in by Tattoo they are all a happy friend group now, Aran forgives them and never mentions it again. They literally ruined his life.

Tattoo betrays them twice, Hoy and him drive away leaving Joke behind, Tattoo calls the police on his friends. Had it not been for Jack (in ep 3), Joke would have probably been killed off. But what happens after that? He is forgiven by everyone, because you know his "upbringing and circumstances".

Jack, who says oh so painful things to Joke time and time again, treats him like dirt, and is literally the first one to break their promise of leaving the shady life behind but of course, a sweet cuddle is enough for people to forgive him.

Save!!! He poisoned Jack's grandma, literally played with the lives of the entire community, someone died because of him but what happened? All he had to do was tend to Jack's bruises and play the fucking game and suddenly he's a hero!

But no, of course Joke does not deserve forgiveness! He does not even deserve a chance to explain himself. It's as if everyone else is living in some kind of mystical land where actions have minimal to almost no consequences and Joke is the only human out there.

I love this show with all my heart and it's probably gonna end up as the best show of the year for me but this kind of dualism towards Joke really pisses me off.

[l0vagrend]

What is "arcane" and what happened to Jayce and Viktor ? [+Ekko]

[ aka an arcane theory ramble based on League of Legends lore and what we know from the show ]

I. Runes

We know runes are powerful symbols and magical energy that is / was used by mages a long time ago, but was banished and forgotten by Piltover, because of the influence of Heimerdinger. Who saw what magic can do and how it can lead to ruin.

Jayce was saved by a mage and arcane/magical energy [hence the crystal in his wrist].

In the game's lore, there exist the most powerful runes, the World Runes. These runes are speculated to be the creator of everything in Runeterra. Everything came from these runes. However since they hold this enormous power, they are very dangerous and in wrong hands can cause ruin and destruction. Posessing just one rune, a fracture of a rune even, is enough to corrupt its wielder's mind. [khm Lord of the Rings].

I believe "arcane" aka magic, comes from these runes, and is present all over the land.

II. Ryze, the rune mage

In the game, a character named Ryze wields the task of collecting the World Runes to keep away from civilizations. He witnessed the runes destructive powers first hand during the Rune Wars. Where nations posessing just even one rune made them hungry for power.

Ryze binds each rune in a secret location far away from the eyes of others.

The Runes and arcane surrounding Ryze transformed his body, extended his life span. He went from a human looking mage to a purple rune mage. [Viktor is purple as well where his body made contact with the Hexcore]

III. In Legends of Runeterra

Legends of Runeterra is another Riot Games game revolving around the world of LoL. In it 5 shards of the World Runes are mentioned : shard of madness, shard of betrayal, shard of violence, shard of hope, shard of reverence. However there are at least 9 runes we know of from both Ryze's lore and Runeterra's.

So there is a possibility that a 6th Rune is present in the Arcane storyline.

IV. Hextech, artificial magic

Jayce created artificial arcane energy based on his experience with a mage. Hextech merges ancient magical powers with technology and machines.

HEX LITERALLY MEANS CURSE.

RUNETERRA HAS THE WORD RUNE IN IT.

But back to being normal !

V. Wild runes

Wild runes could mean that the original form of runes and arcane is present beyond the artifical machinery. It evolves and corrupts the environment around itself [see Victor's followers, the Hexgate, Ekko's tree].

VI. But where did Jayce go ?

I have 2 ideas for the whole Hexgate mind-fuckery. 1) its just arcane and runes related, 2) its arcane AND time related.

Its possible that the Wild Runes showed Jayce through visions the foreseeable future of the arcane corruption getting really out of hand [Victor and his followers changing in huge ways mentally not just physically].

But also Jayce himself got corrupted by the Wild Rune. His mind is all over the place.

His new LoL skin has a voice line that goes like :

"Unmade, made again. I never know how much of me is left."

Which could imply that he was changed in a much deeper level. I mean hell he looks fucked up and fused with arcane energy.

VII. What will happen with Viktor ?

He will lose his humanity fully and turn to machinery, become against humans and what makes them humans overall. I mean that is just canon LoL lore so its most likely to happen.

He will most likely be reconstructed, because his conciousness is still active and well in some kind of aether.

But also, in the intro we can see Jayce's hand is the one putting the mask on Viktor, he is the reason, like a butterfly effect that caused Viktor to become who he is, the Machine Herald.

[there is a highly likely possibility that LoL Viktor will receive a rework after Arcane to fit the canon]

VIII. What will happen to Ekko ?

In the game he has time related abilities, so it would fit that when he comes back he gains these abilities. Rewinding time will be useful thats for sure ! [Idk about Heimerdinger tho]

BUT this is all i could come up with so far and these are just thoughts and theories ! :]]

posts/videos that inspired me to make this : 1, 2, where did jayce go ?, the cataclysm, ryze cinematic explained

[katerinaaqu]

Have you heard of the korean bl manga Ennead that takes the actual Egyptian mythology and twists it so much it's not even a joke?

Especially about Seth, for some reason in the manga he gets assaulted more times than any dark romance on booktok and then have him and Horus his niece be a thing.

Now some will say "Greek myths did the same with relationships" and i am like are they aware that these ancient myths with this modern adaptation isn't the same thing???

Especially Egyptian deities who were religious figures and now if you search online well be prepared 😭

I am aware of its existence but never read it. I have to confess some of the arts looked nice but just by looking at that I was like "nope! Another modern 'adaptation'!

Not gonna lie, first time I saw it I was like "oh finally we have some egyptian mythology mention!" but then I saw some clips here and there and I was like "Nope!". Then I must confess (if you see my profile and my takes on the ATROCIOUS adaptations of my culture's mythology -Greek-) I was like... "oh...someone else's mythology is butchered for a change!" So yeah basically a twist of the actual myth behind Seth and Horus where Seth pretended wishing to bed Horus, Horus deflects him and gathers his seed in his hands. His mother spreads then Horus's seed to some lettuse that is Seth's favorite so basically when Seth eats it and "takes in Horus's seed" without knowing, he brags to the council of the gods that he has managed to seduce and conquer Horus so others would mock him but then the gods call upon each of their seed from the gods and of course Horus's seed appears as a halow around Seth's head so Seth is humiliated instead I am not even surprised anymore that they do this at this point! They just take a mythical and symbolic scene and they turn it into some twisted SL whatever version to get others to get excited!

But man yeah I know it is terrible! I keep struggling with it every day especially with mainstream stuff that basically RUIN the myths for the world in my opinion especially with the changes (see for example PJO, Miller's books or Epic the Musical's plot) that basically make the world SOOOOOO revolved around these modern "adaptations" that is not even a joke, they literally use them almost as sources or as substitute for them! And it is infuriating to me. And yeah not only do they speak on them as if they are the substitute of sources but also they speak to those who point out that they are NOT as if they just bring up the usual "the myths have versions. This is one of them" like noooooo? If I create an SNL version of Star Wars does it make me an official creator? If I make Lord of the Rings Characters fuck with each other does that make me equal to Tolkien?! And yeah that is of course not even the same level as people who use ancient cultures' "modern adaptations" to not only substitute the actual sources but also to speak as if they are equivalent! Or even worse as if these "modern adaptations" are somehow "correcting" the ancient sources! That is what infuriates me the most when it happens!

[missingininaction]

alright, friends, i might say something you don't like but i think it's important. not just to defend a character, but because i think this is literally making people's experience and relationship with this game worse.

give jimmy like two seconds to exist.

by hating jimmy so much you refuse to even say his name, and judge real, living people for liking him, you are cheapening your experience by boiling down the main character to the most ~yuckiest~ moments. and, by not making a seperate space for hating on him, you are drowning out the voices of people who actually have nuanced things to say about his character. you know, the skilled writers and artists that feed the fandom? limitation is what kills fandoms, you have to know that.

is jimmy a good person? no. is he a good captain/companion/worker? Absolutely Not! he crumbles like dust under any pressure and he immediately shifts blame off of himself, he is an actively harmful individual and it's right to be upset by his actions. i literally had to stop myself from saying "man FUCK jimmy." multiple times because i didn't want to spoil how terrible he got to my friends when i showed the game to them.

but you have to understand; people are more than their actions. thats part of the entire point of the game. thats why its so abstract. you are meant to think about the nuances of their situation.

we can agree that anya was way more as a woman than what happened to her and what she did as a result of it, right? that despite her best efforts, she was a victim of circumstance, and she deserves to be understood and analyzed fully?

then why, seeing a fictional man who has done immoral things, are you so disgusted you won't even draw, write or discuss him outside of hate? what is that doing for you, to ignore literally the main character of the game because of his actions?

now, this is not to say people can't hate jimmy. i understand it! as someone who has been a victim of s/a and abuse, i understand if you hate him and are even triggered by him to the point of avoiding mention of him. (but...why are you in this fandom? ((not aggressive im genuinely asking)))

you can feel however you want about any character, my goal is not to control people. but i thought it was common knowledge to not hatepost about someone in their tag? over actual insight into his character and, you know, the main themes of the game?

jimmy is a man who has struggled his whole life. both him and curly confirm that in the game. he's unable to control his emotional outbursts, and he likely had no idea what to expect from being in fucking SPACE for over a year with people he probably didn't even know before that trip. and pony express and their corporate safety corner cutting certainly didnt help, did it?

for one reason or another, he most likely was never actually taught how to manage his emotions. that's just how it is sometimes, growing up as a man. and it would make sense if he was forced to deal with everything himself, no? he always complains, but he still says he'll handle it. because that's what he's always had to do. and this is just the start of what i could say about what made him the way that he is.

he's a victim too, not only of his own actions.

surprise surprise, people who do awful things can also be victims.

honestly, this entire situation baffles me. how are you going to avoid one of the main characters of the game, let alone the one you play as ninety percent of the time? mind you, curly is also guilty, and i am happy to see at least some people giving him space for nuance. because he is also a victim!!! why is it so impossible to see jimmy as nuanced, when literally every other character also has incredible depth to them??

you're tarnishing and spitting on the beautiful writing of this game just because one character is too icky for you to feel comfortable thinking about for too long. it's horror, you absolute morons. it's supposed to make you uncomfortable.

if you hate jimmy, i dont blame you. but please, please, make your own space for it. be kind to people who want to explore jimmy and the darker themes, and like him for what his character represents. this is a video game fandom, not a witch hunt. and please, learn some fandom etiquette while you're at it, okay? okay. thank you

also just say his name. its not a slur youre not gonna go to hell if you say jimmy. like this isn't as important but still it just feels like a microcosm of this whole thing.

[ropebunnykant]

after watching the first episode, there are a loooot of things that stand out to me in terms of characterization in parallel to taming and i think i’m coming to the conclusion that actually all of them are katherine

wild thing to say i know, and obviously fadel fits the storytelling role (character needing to be tied down in order for sibling to be able to have a partner) but weirdly enough, he is the least like katherine in personality

style actually mimics petruchio’s personality quite a lot - he’s loud and unabashed and stubborn. but those are also traits of katherine. part of the reason petruchio is able to “tame” katherine is because he matches her wits and isn’t afraid to stand toe to toe with her - they’re a lot alike at the end of the day.

and with bison, he is being portrayed to be the wildcard between him and fadel when katherine is meant to be the wildcard. she’s unpredictable and violent and is the cause of a lot of bianca’s grief and that’s exactly the case with bison for fadel. he gets drunk, shoots wildly at karaoke, and then they have to move and fadel is pissed about it! and like bison also has bianca traits as well, but their dynamic seems totally switched from the play

as for kant, his personality seems less like katherine’s, but he is also another instance of needing to be “tamed.” a reformed criminal trying to get his record scrubbed. not to mention he literally has katherine’s line tattooed on his back - “if i be waspish, best beware my sting,” which i find fascinating in its own right. especially because it’s written on a tattoo of what appear to be angel wings when he actually has a bee tattoo on his chest. and like the line itself makes sense out of context because it implies people need to be weary of him - ie bison needs to be weary of trusting him - but in context it’s even more interesting because petruchio’s response is “my remedy is then to pluck it out.” he will pluck out her stinger - he will tame her. bison will tame him!

and with fadel i’m honestly kind of fascinated by the fact that despite being the katherine, the shrew, the one that needs to be tamed - he is arguably the calmest among the bunch, with the most patience? like yes, he physically dragged style out of the restaurant, but that was after style was the worst customer ever and if this was a true katherine, he would have thrown him out immediately. i do wonder if it’s because jojo is leaning into the idea of katherine being misunderstood, which is a very popular idea. that for some reason everyone thinks of fadel as this wild card, this shrew, but he’s actually just kind of a guy that will flip if his patience is really tested. it’s a little early to really tell but it’s interesting either way!

[sapphiresaphics]

Probably because those arguments are… wrong?

Like I mentioned already in another post, someone on here was complaining they didn’t understand why Victor was flying through space. And I had to explain to him he’s not LITERALLY flying through space. The space backgrounds are symbolic of him being ethereal and unteathered to reality. He’s not literally flying through space like a human space ship. And he blocked me for pointing that out.

Like that’s just someone being flat out WRONG in their interpretation of what’s happening. Viktor isn’t a space ship. He’s not literally flying through the cosmos.

My issue is less about people understanding the themes properly (it’s a work of art, and art is subjective most of the time) but rather this bizarre hypocritical attitude towards the show for being “too fast paced” while m the show is spending a lot of time focusing on the issues they seem to be missing. Like how did Vi and Jinx just flip back into sister mode? Gee I dunno.. wish there was a whole 40 min episode dedicated to seeing them work out their issues on screen… oh wait there was!

Also news flash, not all criticism is valid.

Some is just BAD. Bad criticism doesn’t deserve to be treated with the same respect as good faith criticism. If you say “X didn’t happen” and I point out in the episode where it very literally did happen… your original criticism is invalid.

I don’t think that the writers all always right. There are plenty of valid criticisms you can lobby against the show. Absolutely. But when you intentionally misunderstand the themes, or ignore them all together, or whine that character X serves no purpose because you’re ignoring half the plot.. that’s on YOU. Not the writers. If you willingly ignore what the show is telling you, you only have yourself to blame for that.

For example, calling Caitlyn a dictator. She’s not a dictator. The show doesn’t think she’s a dictator. She doesn’t say or do the things a dictator does. So when you criticize Caitlyn for being a dictator and get confused when she doesn’t do a dictator thing, that’s on YOU for using the wrong terminology to describe her actions and her character. And if you KEEP DOING IT, that’s again on you for not allowing yourself the ability to look at things from a different perspective.

As to the ideological stuff… that’s mostly because you WANT it to be about classism and oppression through power. And while that definitely is a running THEME of the show… I don’t think it’s the MAIN theme. I think the main theme is about family bonds and how all actions we take for them can have amazing and disastrous consequences. Viktor himself basically sums up the thesis of the show in his latest episode.

So when you look at the show from THAT perspective a lot of the weird hang ups you guys have start to make sense. Vi says Jinx is not her sister anymore and that Powder is gone. This is not true. Jinx says Jinx is gone, that is not true. Vander’s death broke the family apart. Vander being alive brings them back together. Caitlyn loves Vi. She’s done terrible terrible things out of the misguided attempt to protect the people around her, which sadly includes hurting Vi. Just like Vander and Silco did. Jayce and Viktor work towards saving humanity, but they are always on polar ends of the spectrum. Family is super important to Ambessa, which is why she’s working so hard to secure HexTech so she can protect her family (and Mel) from the Black Rose. And it causes her to do terrible terrible things. Every single plot point in this show is about FAMILY. And that’s going to matter when the Arcane rears its ugly head. The Arcane is going to try and break up the familiar bonds. It’s going to challenge and test those boundaries like it’s already doing with Jayce and Victor.

Class and oppression and systemic issues help explain WHY characters do what they do… but they’re not the main cause of things. Silco would’ve tried to kill Vander without Jayce’s Hex Tech interference after all. Jinx and Vi would’ve come to blows one way or another without the Arcane core going wild. The classism and systemic oppression is background noise. It’s there to set the scene. The REAL problem they have to face is the Arcane and what it’s going to do to try and separate everyone. To take away their individuality and choices (good and bad) that make them who they are.

So yeah, when you complain that you thought this show was about fixing Piltover and Zaun and you’re mad that “lore” is coming in… that’s why I think you’re wrong. Because the Arcane is going to challenge the bonds that unite everyone together. And the systemic issues are background dressing to set up the ultimate conflict of pure unchecked evil.

Happy?

I find it hilarious when the show called ARCANE starts talking about the ARCANE and the ARCANE starts having a more prominent role in the trajectory of the show named ARCANE that people are only now complaining about “lore” being added to the show.

Like, my dudes… the show was about the ARCANE. Now that it’s reacting and developing and becoming the big thing the whole show is heading towards… NOW you’re worried about the “lore” messing things up??!

Hahah

Sorry guys. I know we started with class inequality, and that’s definitely a theme of the show… but the TRUE star has ALWAYS been the ARCANE and how it reacts to the events around it.

They wouldn’t have named the show ARCANE if they weren’t going to address the ARCANE.

[virtue-and-beneviolence]

Take what you want and go

Or what the tr characters take when you break up

Just the gifts you gave them (y'all had some good times and they probably don't want to overstep)

Baji, Kakucho, Emma, Shinichiro, Benkei, Mochi

The kitchen table/mattress (they're practical, or broke, or both)

Inui, Shuji, Shion, South, Baji

The passwords to every sub you shared (a quiet but defiant move)

Shion, Ran, Yuzuha, Takeomi, Muto

Every photo they can find (they're so whipped please give them a second chance)

Rindou, Kazutora, Hina, Hakkai, Takemichi, Angry

Every hoodie you ever borrowed (you don't get to be cozy in their stuff on these terms :/)

Muto, South, Senju, Inui, Sanzu, Rindou

The entire pantry (a truly special kind of petty)

Mikey, Shion, Baji, Takeomi

The whole ass apartment (can't kick them out of their home, and they don't let you forget it)

Kisaki, Kokonoi, Taiju, Izana

Takes nothing (and fuck, that hurts way more than you expected)

Izana, Kisaki, Draken, Smiley

[citrusai]

taash said "they were doing it" and people ran with the interpretation of an npc that doesn't know solas or the history of the elvhenan even when bellara interjected and said, no, that's not right. that's not how it was for the elvhenan. they formed bonds before they had physical bodies. and people ran to doompost or create weird anti-solavellan shit even though mythal & solas refer to each other as old friends and when she releases him there is no tenderness or love in it. it is the act of unchaining a dog from his post, the stepping down of a general. but to each their own ig.

[ruporas]

special operatives (silly interaction beneath read more)

[ID: Digital Art in color of Trigun Maximum, characters included are Wolfwood, Elendira, and Legato in a casual meeting situation. The piece consists of orangey yellow lighting and purple shadows. Wolfwood sits on the left side, facing Elendira who’s on the right. He’s seated on a plain wooden chair with one knee up and he’s holding the strap to his Punisher in his left hand while his right sits against his thigh, He has an irritated expression as he speaks to Elendira. Elendira is sitting in a fancier seat, her right arm rests against Wolfwood’s propped up knee, her left hand holds her suitcase. She’s sitting cross legged with an amused expression. Legato can be seen in the back at the center of the image in his mobile body case, one of his eyes shown to be glaring at Wolfwood. End ID]

[ID: Sketch, uncolored comic. Elendira says to Wolfwood, “I’m not telling you to dedicate yourself to him, but just accept the situation at hand. We could get along better if we were on the same page.” Wolfwood responds, “Don’t peg me me for an optimist. I’m not dumb. But, I’m also not going to just live in resignation. Plus, I don’t have any interest in getting along with ya.” Elendira coos, “Aw, you sure? I have a wonderful shoulder to cry on when the weak people you’re trying to protect eventually dies in the coming months. Though, I guess it’s fine. Someone like you might just die before then anyway...” She snickers in her hand while Wolfwood is speechless and just glares. Legato is faintly drawn in the back, glaring at Wolfwood, muttering “worthless” repetitively. End ID]

[fluffyartbl0g]

The one piece reread only makes the hardest moments hit even harder,,,, even when you’re rereading it poorly in portugese

Or AKA, i found out today that HINATA SHOYO reads one piece and I haven’t recovered since

[arrowheadedbitch]

I now have the idea in my head of class 1a doing a fun little make up a song on the spot game where you get a random word and you have to make up a song about it while Jirou plays the backing track (most of it is just hilariously bad songs with baller as hell guitar in the background)

Mineta managed to sneak a paper with the inspiration word "sex" into the hat while no one was looking and Denki draws it

They try to make him redraw but end up agreeing to let him keep the word as long as he's kind of classy about it and agrees to at least try to have a little nuance or whatever

He improvises the song Juno, as Sabrina Carpenter doesn't exist in mha so it's free game and I'm a sucker for the idea of someone improvising a really good song when you thought they'd me shit (at one point mineta heckles that Kaminari is being too tame [he is definitely not] and demands he at least works the word horny in or something, give him something to work with! And that's when he works in the "I'm so fucking hoorny" line lol)

Everyone freaks out, of course, and Mina totes recorded the whole thing. When they ask who tf Juno is, he just says that he chose the reference because he knew for a fact none of them would get it

Eventually, after days of being begged to tell them who Juno is, he is finally bribed with Endeavor's credit card (not by Todoroki but by someone who convinced Todoroki to let them borrow it, which was NOT hard lmao) he finally tells them "Juno is an American movie about teenage pregnancy" and they all lose their minds

Sorry, had to get this out of my head somehow

[tenderpreyy]

​I’m thinking again about Astarions sexuality and how I've seen some people (to be fair, just a few) talk about it. Mainly, people pointing out his flamboyant behavior, and that us as players are learning more about his past male lovers than female ones and basically all these things for some people pointing to him being gay or at least not interested in women in the same way he is in men. And him only being a romance option regardless of gender, because, well, all companions are and he is therefore just "playersexual", only showing interest in female player characters because he has to, because of the game mechanics.

I think what really rubs me the wrong way about this topic is that it echoes the kind of things bi/pan people (speaking as a bisexual woman myself) find themselves dealing with irl. Whether through some form of internalized biphobia or from the outside through other people's comments. Of course this is about a fictional character so it’s not like he has any feelings that could be hurt. But when i see people tallying up how often he mentions men vs. how often he mentions women it really reminds me of a way of thinking I sometimes fall into in regards to my own sexuality. This is definitely just an internalized response and not something I actually believe when I truly think about it for a second, but I know these patterns of thought very well. Of observing my own behavior. How often do I find which gender attractive? Am I attracted "enough" to women? Do I talk about men's attractiveness too often? Is it the other way around? Am I only saying this woman is attractive to prove something to myself? I literally have a girlfriend and my attitude towards mine or other's sexual orientation is generally a huge big "whatever, I don't care". And I still have a passing thought like that from time to time.

So seeing people talk about a fictional character in this way really sends home how many people (whether consciously or unconsciously) see attraction as some sort of equation, you can solve, where in the end you get a result of either gay or straight.

[dykedvonte]

i saw that u have ur own hc for curly and jimmy's backstory; do you have one for anya as well?

I do!!! It's actually a lot less depressing than you think!

I imagine that Anya grew up in an average happy family, well average for whatever lower middle class family is in a world we can assume exist in a place where late stage capitalism won. I'll try to keep this in line with how I describe Curly and Jimmy's backstories but she had a family that tried to uplift her when it matter. They paid attention to what she cared about and made sure they knew she cared. I believe they couldn't support her in school due to her path and the modern expenses but they encouraged her and her every choice. She didn't have parties but she got gifts to help her express and explore herself.

Life was something I think Anya handled well. She was not the top student but she was a good student. She managed her job and school as well as she could and took the PE job so she could go back. She had nothing saved up but she planned in accordance, hence her concern about the baby. She had a good circle of people, maybe not someone who ever got her, but people that heard her out and understood enough to where she always got herself. She had partners and thought about futures but always thought about hers specifically first, not selfishly, but truly asking if they were facing the same directions.

She was always in her own head, not in a bad way though. She was always thinking about what she could do. I think she just liked knowing she could. I think she became a nurse because she wanted to give people choice in the same way she understood it. Doctors just fix a problem but nurses walk you through it, I think Anya

I genuinely believe that because she lived thinking of all the choices she had and all the ways she could overcome things, the fact that she was trapped on board with so little escape and choices, while not being heard or understood really just put the pin in her final acts of agency.