#like in the characters and aesthetics that are in 2 vs 1

[pyreflydust]

I kept putting off Monster Rancher 2 until I made it further in the first one which was already silly but now makes even less sense since I just restarted that one again so I was like yeah I can play both at once whenever I feel like it fine and...

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS

[thatsthat24]

Sanderstober 2024

SANDERSTOBER IS HERE! Once again, my friends and I are creating art prompts for you all to try your hand at for every day of this month, if you'd like! Try one, try some, try all! If you miss a day but still want to do a prompt from a day you missed, please go ahead! This is all just for fun. If you'd like to share your creations, you can use #Sanderstober2024. I'd love to see! Hope you enjoy them! 🍁

October 1: Always gotta start out this day with the traditional prompt! take a character from media or OC and draw how they look on September 30th vs. how they look on October 1st!

October 2: Create a sheet ghost, but featuring the pattern of a sheet/blanket you own or maybe used to own when you were younger. - This idea came from my friend, Andrea!

October 3: A quick Google search of “keyblade designs” (the weapon from Kingdom Hearts) would show you how the weapon changes based off the property the character goes to! Design a keyblade based around any piece of media, as if the main character from Kingdom Hearts traveled there… - This idea came from my friend, Rene!

October 4: There’s a lot of fast food and cereal mascots out there… I think you know where I’m going with this. Take any of those mascots and turn them into a MONSTER or KILLER.

October 5: This one’s a play off a prompt from last year AND it’s a writing prompt! Take any famous character from a horror film, and create a nursery rhyme about them. You can make it completely innocent, or, like many nursery rhymes, remain dark but disguised in pretty language.

October 6: Take your favorite animal… and dress it as your dream profession. - This idea came from my friend, Talyn!

October 7: Take one of your favorite movies and reimagine if it had been marketed as a different genre (e.g. Hellraiser as a family comedy, Goodfellas as a romance, etc.) - This idea came from my friend, Joan!

October 8: Turning things into Pokemon tends to be a favorite prompt of mine, and this year, the category is… fast food! Take any fast food of your choice, create a Pokemon, and name it!

October 9: Take any foreign animation cartoon and draw them in the style of a western animation! - This idea from my friend, Dominic!

October 10: Definitely a sucker for fall fashion and aesthetic, so take any character or group of characters from one of your favorite pieces of content and give them a fall aesthetic makeover.

October 11: Crows collect shiny things… what things might the nest of a crow contain from one of your favorite fictional universes? - This idea came from my friend, Lev!

October 12: Take any color and ONLY use that color in order to depict a Halloween, horror movie, or fall scene.

October 13: A very expressionistic vibe for this prompt: draw the aura which you hope to be walking in during fall or Halloween. - This idea came from my friend, Valerie!

October 14: There’s LOTS of new words and sayings out there (skibidi, rizz, Ohio, ick, etc.). Google some, you’ll learn a couple new ones. I want you to create a Halloween monster/creature/cryptid based off one of these new words, as if they were the names of the creatures themself (Oh my gosh… it’s the legendary Los Angeles Ick…)

October 15: Sure, people are scared of Halloween monsters… but are there things that would be scary to those monsters? Get creative and depict some things/scenarios that would be terrifying to a typical Halloween creature! - This idea came from my friend, Jackie!

October 16: Those new horror-fied versions of fast food/cereal monsters from October 4 need weapons… take a meal or the cereal from the brand you got your mascot from, and create a weapon inspired by it!

October 17: There has been lots of theorizing in the fields of science on how the human body may evolve in order to either perform modern tasks better or survive… SO, imagine up a human evolution that has adapted to survive some environment (fire, spider bites, rejection), or one that has adapted to perform a certain task (tennis, gaming, folding clothes). - This idea comes from my friend, Joan!

October 18: So, Toy Story 5 has been announced… draw the next toy that’s gonna be introduced as a character in it.

October 19: Returning to an annual favorite of mine… take any character(s) from a piece of media and depict them in the style of a Tim Burton character.

October 20: As a play off of Dominic’s suggestion from an earlier day, take any western animation’s characters and depict them in the style of a foreign animation!

October 21: Taking inspiration from the movie, Hocus Pocus, take any character from a piece of media and depict them riding what *they* would probably bewitch into a broomstick if they had to in a pinch!

October 22: They’re giving your favorite background character a spin-off series. What does the poster for it look like? - This idea is from my friend, Dominic!

October 23: Ok… that monster/killer mascot you made on October 4th? The movie has to have a setting. Maybe an appropriate building? Maybe an entire town… Depict that setting…

October24: Take a character from your favorite movie/tv show and depict them as if they were a character in a fighting game like Smash Bros. or Street Fighter! What does their special/ultimate move look like? - This idea came from my friend, David!

October 25: Take any fun/special memory from your life and create a children’s book cover inspired by it. - This idea came from my friend, Stephanie!

October 26: Take your favorite classic Halloween monster and use them as inspiration for a new species of insect… - This idea came from my friend, Dahlia!

October 27: This feels like a classic for any time of year: take any favorite piece of media and cast the Sanders Sides in it.

October 28: [Any of your favorite pieces of media] … and Zombies

October 29: Think of a very important key object from one of your favorite movies or tv shows that the protagonist(s) finds. Now imagine they never stumbled upon it. What would it look like 100 years later? What else may have happened to it if the protagonist never found it? - This idea came from my friend, Chantz!

October 30: Now… we combine the ideas together to make the ultimate new Halloween villain! Take your creations from October 4th, 8th, 16th, and 23rd, and place them all together to create a scene of them terrorizing the main protagonists!

October 31: And, as a classic end-of-the-month tradition, today’s prompt is about celebrating the reason for the season, Halloween! Imagine if Halloween was like New Year’s Eve for Halloween creatures/characters. What would they look like, dressed all fancy for the occasion and celebrating?

Got the list fully completed! Looking forward to whatever you all create! 

[obstinaterixatrix]

anyway did you know that someone uploaded the tv-n subs for toqger on archive.org

it has all the episodes, plus the gaim crossover episode that’s supposed to be watched sometime early on. the gaim crossover can be skipped, there’s like one (1) funny scene that got big on tumblr so just look at that post and that’s all you need. it does *not* have the films or specials, but this upload does

Galaxy Line SOS, listed as ‘Ressha Sentai Toqger Movie’: takes place between eps 20 and 21, it’s a cute and fun movie :)

Farewell, Ticket! The Wasteland Super ToQ Battle!!, listed as ‘Ressha Sentai Toqger Special DVD’: takes place between ep 26 and 27 and is MANDATORY

ToQger vs. Kyoryuger, listed basically as-is: takes place between ep 35 and 36, a character from Galaxy Line S.O.S comes back for a cameo, also a cute and fun movie

Ninninger vs. ToQger - post-series, I don’t remember this one and it’s not on the playlist so it’s probably not important

They Went and Came Back Again Ressha Sentai ToQGer: Super ToQ 7gou of Dreams, listed as ‘Ressha Sentai Toqger Returns’: post series, also pretty mandatory

as for ‘why toei’s baby train toy commercial is worth watching’:

It’s written for children in an intelligent way, there are a lot of lessons that I thought were delivered kindly and conscientiously

It’s written intelligently in general, both the heroes and the villains have goals with a lot of room for interesting progression; the heroes start with trying to regain their memories, the villains start with trying to resurrect the emperor of darkness, and both storylines are balanced really well. Some of those twists and developments Got Me

It’s mostly lighthearted, very sincere, and some of the emotional beats are really devastating… episode 32 does make me tear up every watch

The fight choreography is fun! Since the theme is imagination, they can get pretty goofy/playful in some eps

One of the gimmicks is that the sentai team can switch colors, which means while it has a traditionally structured sentai team—male red, 2 girls and 3 guys—there are times where the gals are red and the guys are pink, and I like that :)

The villain aesthetics

[nicolekart]

Jentry Chau vs the Underworld – Kit theory 

Okay, so I recently finished watching “Jentry Chau vs the Underworld” and got a little hyperfixation about it, but I see that not many people are talking about this cartoon.

And since I don't have a chance to do any fan art for the time being, I'll at least do a little bit of writing.

A small disclaimer: This is not a super specific theory, but more of a loose thinking and musing about additional storylines, because I think these characters and the story had much more potential than was tapped, or they were given to tap. I know I'm probably reading too much into things, but let's just be delusional for 5 minutes. You know… for fun.

I guess I don't need to say there are spoilers?

So, what if the plan for Kit's character was a bit different beforehand, or if we have some hint of what will happen to him next?

It's just that, I admit, I feel that his plot could have been handled better, more deeply (like many things in general), and I can't shake the feeling that there is a certain inconsistency that scratches at the back of my head - which is the bird motif.

1. The theme of a bird with 1 wing from another post

Link to the post.

When I saw this post, some way into the early episodes, I began to pay more attention.

It is about a mythical Chinese creature in the form of a bird with one eye and one wing, which has to unite with another bird in order to fly. The author of the post draws attention to this sense of incompleteness, of lacking something, which Kit has in regard to the lack of a soul.

The creature's other name is Jian, and it is also described as a good omen, a symbol of protection, a messenger between the divine and mortal realms.

2. His design

Link to the post on IG

 One of the character designers shared concept art of Kit, in which he has a medallion signed as using this very creature's theme. In the end, Kit appears to have a plain pink necklace.

However, the wing motif remains on his shirt.

In the shirtless art, we see a scar (which didn't make it into the series either), but it's on the same side as the missing wing would have been. Also, the design on the shirt. 

Maybe the plan was to rewrite the Jian myth, where he didn't just have one wing, but lost it?

2 Kit's character in the intro

And while the design thing can be explained by the fact that it was an old concept that didn't make it into the final version, why were some of the wing motifs left, like his shirt (but about that in a moment).

The main question is, why was it left in the intro in such a literal way? Just for aesthetic reasons? Didn't they want to show what kind of demon he is right away? Why are his eyes purple when he has white ones in the show? On the other hand, Michael's eyes when he has visions are identical to those in the episodes?

In the post, the artist mentions that the theme of the one-winged bird is a tragic story, and yet Kit is a tragic character in a way, and that he looks so dramatic in the intro... But doesn't it seem a little off to you? I mean, as much as possible... it might have been the only reason to use such a motif, but all in all, why would one demon have the attributes of another demon/mythical creature?

4. The feather theme of the woman in the vision

 As I mentioned, there are still the feather/wing motifs.

In episode 6, in the visions that Cheng haunts Kit with, there is a woman who first turns into dark feathers, and then has a medallion that might resemble a stylized wing. 

They say everything in animation is intentional, so why?

5. Torn pages from the bestiary

This is probably the least solid guess, nevertheless....

It seems that most demons in the bestiary have 2 pages dedicated to them. (Even probably Ed considering that the one on the page next to him is his picture).

However, the Painted skin demon only has one page, and the next pages are torn out. I know that this could just be a hint as to the further plot of the episode, and the whole scene was just to show Jentry the missing pages. But if I remember correctly, they weren't addressed anymore in the plot (like a lot of things in general but well).

The point is that why would the pages torn out of BESTIARIUS contain anything about Jentry's powers if they originated from the Yellow Emperor and, as Gugu suggested, are worthy of a god. I would assume that the power that some mythical emperor might have possessed would rather have come from the Gods, which is why the demons fear it so much, or the Mogui who crave it so deeply, since such power is not available to Diju beings.

So what if these pages are a continuation of the Painted Skin Demon chapter. What if he wasn't always like this? Maybe there is a further (earlier) part of the legend? What if they combined two of the myths together? Like the Fallen Good Omen, for example, that's why he loves people so much and wants to be among them again.

Although in the scene at the end of the episode his chapter is already on another page, not next to the torn out pages....

6. Potential rebirth/return to the former form/getting his soul back from Diju

What if Jentry was right and the soul is not a uniquely human thing. I'm not saying that all demons have a typical soul, because they would probably have already figured it out. But maybe they can develop/ grow one? Or something similar to it. Gugu says they'll give them a funeral... all of them. That means Kit, as well. What if, thanks to this ritual, his soul could pass to the afterlife, or to Diju given that he did however kill some people and generally has things to repent for?

Maybe in a later storyline they could get his soul back, he could be reborn. Or, theorizing about bird motifs, he could return to favor as a good omen.

From other stories, like Journey to the West, we know how often Heaven liked to punish celestial beings (and that's how the one-winged bird is described – a celestial being, not a demon) by turning them into demons, or how often animal-like creatures escaped into the human world and took the forms of demons.

That's pretty much it. I just wanted to point out a few things that I found interesting.

What do you guys think? I haven't written anything like this for years and I feel a bit weird 😅

And please, if you haven't already, watch JCVTU. We need season 2. 💗

[yandere-wishes]

Who are your fav authors on here, why and what are your fav fics from them?

Anon, I don't think you're aware of the beast you've just unleashed!

So strap in cause this is going to be long.

Right off the bat, we have, @thefudge. I'm trying so hard not to sound like a deranged fangirl right now. But trust me when I say that I am OBSESSED with every single thing they write! I have read their fics SO SO many times and It's impossible to pick a single favorite one. So here are my top 5

Waiting for the barbarians

Within you is everything I am

I won't be these clothes I burn

His little dead wife 

god complex

Honestly, guys go check out their work they have so many stories spanning countless fandoms. They're literally the ones that got me into Star Wars in the first place! @thefudge I SWEAR I'm not a crazy fangirl, I just really love your writing and works!!

@yandere-romanticaa goes without saying, I've been a HUGE fan of Ana's since literally forever. She was actually one of the Yandere blogs that inspired me to start writing on Tumblr. Again I can't pick just one of her works I love so here's a top 5 list

Wanna Be yours 

Yandere! William Moriarty 

Yandere! Miguel O'hara

Yandere! Nikolai #1 and #2

Yandere! Dazai comparisons

She writes for so many fandoms and updates very frequently. She's also such an amazing and fun person so hearing her stories is always a treat!! Love you lots bestie!!

@fragileheartbeats is another amazing author I love her frigid aesthetic and how it adds a layer of etherealness to all her stories. Her scenarios are magical and written in such a way they evoke such sweet feelings. Honestly reading her stories makes me feel like I'm wrapped in a blanket with hot chocolate watching as the snow silently falls outside. 

Cute little things that melt their hearts (jjk) 

White Swan (jjk) 

How it feels to be loved by them (jjk) 

First kiss (jjk) 

When they become dads (jjk) 

These five are my TOP FAV works from her they're honestly so well-written and utterly adorable!! Guys I'm not kidding go follow her, she is literally my wify!!

@irresistible-revolution

I'm new to their work. BUT "A Coffin Made of Glass" is so beautifully written. It's dead dove yet so utterly bewitching. It takes place in the space between famous Star Wars scenes and gives a more in-depth view of the character's actions and sentiments. 

@spacexseven, omg where do I even begin? Okay, so they just have such a natural way with words. Their stories flow SO smoothly it's honestly astonishing! They've written two Childe fics, "Broken Vows" and "Mandatory Obligations" that I'm wholly obsessed with. The dialogue they write also feels so natural and forthcoming, it's absolutely enticing!!

@rrairey another author whose work I've recently gotten into!! If you're a Sukuna fan then her blog is the place to go. 

Love

Sukuna vs Plushie (a literal BANGER!!)

Gojo vs Plushie

Trust

Bracelet

Seriously, go check out her work!! The way she writes dialogue between the characters and the reader is so utterly perfect. It makes you feel as if you are right there saying those exact words. The scenarios (although) fictional feel so real thanks to her wonderful writing style. 

@dear-yandere needs no introduction, she's a staple in the yandere community. Her stories always blend love and creepiness to a perfect extent. Can I take a moment to just appreciate how poetic and GORGEOUS all her stories are?? Like seriously!! "Almost god" is my favorite fanfic of ALL TIME!! And don't even get me started on "Cry for Me"!! 

This turned out long I don't think anyone was expecting an essay. To be honest I consume more fanfics than published books nowadays so I guess it's a given to have such a long list. 

[jellolegos]

could you talk more about rhaenyra's sword? i saw your comments on twitter and thought they were really interesting!!

of course! I love to talk about hotd :)

Mandatory disclaimer: what didn't fit in the twitter 200 characters is that I am by no means an expert, and I think this would fall even further outside of my research area than the late mediaeval palaeography stuff did, so just my layman's take :)

Something I noticed thanks to the BTS videos that were circulating this week is that the crossguard is much stubbier on the sword Rhaenyra picks up than on Blackfyre and Dark Sister.

vs.

On rewatch, their sword is clearly more reminiscent of a Merovingian (or Frankish) sword, than any of the other ones we've seen.

(An example from the BM, Sutton Hoo)

Merovingian/Migration Period/Carolingian/Viking swords all carry this distinctively shorter crossguard, evolved from Roman spatha. They usually have an equally stubby pommel, which grows to be more standardised in the period of Frankish export with 3-5 lobes, transitioning from Merovingian/Migration period to Carolingian/Viking swords. The lobes are obviously not applicable to the show sword since it has decorative dragon wings, but you might be able to see the resemblence of a weighter and wider pommel when compared to other swords we've seen in the show.

(HotD heirloom, a 'Viking sword' from the BM)

Since we also got confirmation that it is Valyrian steel, if we can assume the sword evolution in HotD parallels Western Europe, then we know that this sword predates Dark Sister and Blackfyre and pre-dates the Valyrian conquest.

(an illumination of a wielder of a Frankish 3-lobed pommel sword in the Stuttgart Psalter vs. Visenya's longer crossguard sword in the show manuscript)

Why does it matter?

I wish I had a more articulate way to put this but it feels like another example of Rhaenyra's tension between her inheritance derived from Valyrian heritage and her struggle to make manifest that inheritance, employing Valyrian aesthetic over a practical combat weapon. We see both practical swords (if memory serves, one of those is Harwin's?) with wider crossguards and this heirlooms on the table, but she reaches for this one specifically.

Importantly, we actually see why those stubby crossguards fell out of favour in the fight between Jacerys and Aegon in the training yard. In the scene the wider crossguard allows Jacerys to catch and thrust Aegon's sword to the side. Although the inward taper on Rhaenyra's sword might have served a similar function (allowing someone to 'catch' a blade), the stubby (and, like in real life, decorative) crossguard would have likely resulted in the wielder losing an arm. Therefore we know that Rhaenyra's heirloom would be at a disadvantage in real combat.

Thus, we are presented with two themes of her sword: it is ancient and deeply Valyrian, and it is almost certainly useless (think someone brandishing a flintlock).

I find the sword design a totally enchanting detail and one that really enriches her arc for the season. Through the sword choice, along with her gravitation to Visenya, her adoption of an increasingly Valyrian dress code, and the messianic themes in the scene with the dragon seeds, we see Rhaenyra struggling with assembling a patchwork of diplomatic and martial authority over a shoddy semi-divine Valyrian blueprint in an ultimately futile fight toward the Iron Throne.

I love Rhaenyra as a character deeply for it, and love the show for making those choices, what a beautiful and subtle way to flesh out some of the tension between all of those competing factors.

I think the obvious caveat is that this analysis assumes 1) HotD sword evolution is the same as Western European sword evolution and 2) that this design is intentional. The former obviously cannot be 100% true, there were no Roman spathas lying around in Valyria just as there were no dragons in Aachen. I don't know that we can assume the latter is true either, I'm not entirely sure it was intentional and I'm not sure if they had a set mediaevalist or similar to consult on the swords, I think there were enough mistakes in the manuscript to make me think not... but I could be wrong!

Admittedly, I think this can veer into 'the curtains were just blue' territory, and I debated whether or not I wanted to post that twitter thread at all. But what I will say is that I think analysis of art (be it props, colouring, lighting, etc.) can be a venerative exercise as much as an intellectual one. I want to, in my own life as much as possible, push back against passive consumption of media, so if it's overanalysis then it's overanalysis! Honestly, hearing different interpretations on the same media is the best part of fandom, so maybe it was intentional maybe it wasn't, but how fun is it to try and understand it anyway.

There are 22,000 of you now, so maybe this will find the right ears: KEEP THIS AS RHAENYRA'S SWORD FOR S3, ITS A GREAT CHOICE :) (or if you are hbo's propmaster, dm me and tell me I'm right!)

[icanseethefuture333]

PAC: How you see your appearance vs how other people percieve your beauty 🤍

Please feel free to leave a tip $$$

"I see your true colors shining through. . . And that's why I love you 🌈"

Pile 1:

Shufflemancy -

Platform Shoes by Slayyyter

Splish Splash by DreamDoll ft. Cupcakke

Say Yes To Heaven by Lana Del Rey

Ace of Water, The Emperor, & Seven of Water "Illusion"

You are just tooooo cute, Pile 1 💞! Literally the embodiment of sugar, spice, and everything nice. I feel like you are a very cute and adorable person. Your appearance could be feminine and clean. I'm thinking of the pink, coquette aesthetic. I also see glossy lips, nail sets, and long eyelashes (you could wear extensions or need to go get them filled in again). You see yourself as gentle and caring. You may think you are fragile or dainty? Or resemble characters from those 2000s movies or you remind people of a novel love interest. Your style could be either soft, mcbling, or y2k, possibly a mixture of them all. You could use like childhood movies, stuffed animals, or shopping for comfort or as a coping method. There is also something unique about your appearance, perhaps you have beauty mark, freckles, a crooked tooth, round cheeks, etc. You have something that makes you stand out! Which is really cool :D! How people percieve your beauty - they think you are unreal somehow? They think you are like "Hollywood star" beauty. Even though you are not "perfect" it makes you likeable and relatable. For those who have a social media influence or popular regarding to their school, hometown, etc. Some might even wonder if you had plastic surgery done. Also for those wondering if you'd look good with plastic surgery - yes you would! I'm not seeing anything too extreme as regards to plastic surgery but for those who like the "bimbo" look they could totally rock it. Or you are able to transform yourself with makeup. People who identify as more masculine or men find you so attractive. You could be popular amongst mascfems, studs, or men who are comfortable with their masculinity. It's giving "my girl can wear whatever she wants because I know how to fight". For any men reading this 🥰 I feel like people are so in awe or you! Like you would be the prettiest man anyone has ever seen in their life. (Clarified by The Moon. Faking It by Sasha Alex Sloan). Aw you really are a sensitive person deep down, pile 1. I feel like not many get to see you when you are down or know about the late nights you stayed up crying. You may have had your heart broken before or had your heart broken by someone more than once (I'm so sorry :(!). I feel like when you have your moments of depression or feel sadness you feel really self conscious. So you could use makeup as a mask to cover to what you're feeling down. You don't have to fake a smile or portray being happy, baby. Try to practice some self care and focus on your inner beauty when you feel deep down. Spend time with a trusted friend and tell then what's been on your mind. Practicing affirmations and mirror work can also help past wounds. Take care of that precious, tenderheart of yours my little carebear 🐻!

Pile 2:

Shufflemancy -

I Am Who Am (Killin' Time) by Mac Miller ft. Niko Randa

Wake Up by Logic ft. Lucy Rose

Wife You Up by Russ

King of Fire, Adjustment, & The Sun

Pile 2, I feel that you are a natural beauty! You're not one for wearing lots of makeup or styling your hair too much. I see that you just really like to be comfortable. For how you view yourself, you could really like your facial structure :)! Your cheekbones might be defined or you have a nice jawline. On a typical day to day, your everyday style would consist of your hair pulled up into a ponytail or bun, wearing sweats, or a t shirt and jeans. You could also be a hard worker or your job requires you to have shifts early in the morning. For some of you in this pile, you could work in a café and make coffee, tea, boba, smoothies, or anything to do with drinks. People at your job love coming to you because you give great customer service. Also they see you as "girl/boy next door type". A friendly, good citizen. For how others percieve your beauty - they think your features are balanced and harmonious. Perhaps your face is quite symmetrical or your beauty feels familiar. You also have a very radiant smile or your laugh could be unexpected! You are a very bright and charming person ☀️! (Clarified by Four of Earth "Stability". Baby Girl by Chloe x Halle) I feel that you have been putting off a dream or haven't been paying attention to your inner child. pile 2. What have you done for yourself lately? You should take a break and focus on doing some fun activities to take care of your spirit. You are very generous towards others but seem to neglect your own needs sometimes! Try to go for a nice walk or be in nature, it'll do you some good! Also don't be afraid of being silly, you don't have to be so serious all the time. Perhaps doing volunteer work at a children's school or museum could let your playful side come out to play. Your inner child also wants to do some coloring or dancing. For some people in this pile, leap frog could be significant or a favorite childhood game 🐸.

Pile 3:

Shufflemancy -

Stretch You Out by Summer Walker ft. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie

Masquerade by Siouxxie Sixxsta

Test Drive by Ariana Grande

Two of Earth "Change", Nine of Water "Joy", & Nine of Earth "Gain"

This pile is very specific. I'm seeing dark hair, dark eyes, and fair to medium skintones. Your hair could be straight and black or dark brown (some of you have dyed your hair a wine red). Your eyes are almond shaped and your eyebrows are arched. If you identify as feminine, you really give off like 2014 ig baddie vibes, pile 3! Some of you could be black, Hispanic/Latin, or Southeast Asian descent. I'm reminded of those tiktoks of girls doing "chicana" makeup, so that could be how you like to do your makeup. For the fellas, you could have nice eyebrows, and a moustache that compliments your full lips. I feel very strongly that you have Scorpio, Sagittarius, or Virgo in your big 3. For how you view yourself, you don't like to stick with one look, you are always changing up your appearance 😂. I feel like when you are sticking to one thing for too long you're like "ugh I need to dye my hair" or "I need a new tattoo". You always have a different style. You like to switch it up every now and then. For how others see your beauty, they see you as very abundant! You may wear high quality jewelry (diamond earrings, gold necklace, etc.), luxury brands, and expensive shoes (some people here are sneakerheads 👟). They could admire as well that you're generous with your wealth and you could do a lot or provide for your family. (Clarified by Four of Water "Comfort". Again by P-Lo, E-40, & LaRussell). Some of you could like to party?! LMAO. In my card there is otters here and I feel that you have a group of friends that you hang out with on a daily basis. Some of you could like to go out clubbing and enjoy drinking alcohol? 😂 You usually have to be responsible in your family but with your friends you get to be the one who can be reckless instead. There's something about a car so if that doesn't resonate with you, either you or your friend take turns being designated drivers. Be careful when driving, pile 3! Have fun rolling with the homies 🚗

Pile 4:

Shufflemancy -

Unique by Miliyah

Smoke Weed Eat P*ssy by Ängie

Roof by Rico Nasty

Four of Fire "Perfection", Ace of Earth, & Four of Air of "Truce"

Pile 4, you are really confident in yourself! I'm seeing that you don't really care what other thinks about how you look and live to please yourself. Your style could be alternative, you have bangs, and your hair has layers. Perhaps you have a mullet, curtain bangs, or a feathered layers. Some of you have your hair dyed with highlights such as green, blue, blonde, etc. For your makeup, your eyeliner could have a thick wing, or you have a signature smokey eye look. You could also like to have wear faux freckles or you have actual freckles. Your lips could often be seen with black lip liner and a signature cherry red lipstick. You could have piercings, I'm seeing specifically a septum piercing, snake bites, or gauges. There could also be a tattoo on your shoulder, forearm, or back, even possibly a sleeve. There could be Aries, Taurus, or Aquarius in your big 3 as well. You could also be apart of the LGBTQ+ community. How people perceive your beauty is that you have a tough exterior but deep down you are a calm and peaceful person. Which is interesting in comparison to your appearance. Your aura is comforting and nice to be around :D! (Clarified by Six of Fire "Success". Falling for U by Peachy!, MXMTOON) This is so cute 🥺! So there is someone who secretly has a crush on you or you have some secret admirers. Possibly someone in your friend or group you interact with on a daily basis. They are super shy around you and wish they could tell you how pretty/handsome that you are ☺️. If you already know who this is and feel the same way, perhaps encourage them a bit or flirt with them so they could confess their feelings 💞 (*sniffles* I ship 🤧😍)

Pile 5:

Shufflemancy -

Use Your Heart - Interlude by SWV

Love You Down by Ready For The World

Freakend by Megan Thee Stallion

The Empress, Ace of Water, & Temperance

Okay Pile 5, I know this is tired and old but... Mommy? Yes. Mommy? Yes. I cannot 😭 Some of you could give off milf vibes and you know this. You are either mature for your age or this pile is for my ladies in their 30s and up (It's giving "Damn Ms.Parker finer than a motherf*cker, I'd knock the dust OFF that p*ssy!" 😂😂😂). This Pile is very feminine and sensual. Your body could be very curvaceous 😏 body shaped like a figure 8 fr. Your lips could be plump and kissable as well 😚. If you identify as a masculine (either pronouns, style, gender, etc). You are just a very beautiful man. You could possibly get babied by the female figures in your life lol. Perhaps you have older sisters or a lot of women in your family. You just appear as the people would say "written by a woman". You could like to wear long flowy dresses, heels, cardigans, blouses, etc. Some people here could love the 80s/90s aesthetic. I'm visualizing somebody with big fluffy curls. Also you could attract partners who are younger than you or crave someone who is maternal in their life 🥴. (Clarified by The High Priestess. So Much More by Xaiver Omär) For how people perceive your beauty, you are down to earth, and just naturally stunning. You could have a good heart as well and possibly do some sort of service for the community. You could be great with kids or love animals as well. Religion or spirituality is significant in your life. So your devotion to God or your faith in the spiritual realm is admirable. People find you wise and want to gain knowledge from your life lessons. I feel that some of you may worry people only consider you just a pretty face with a nice body but that's far from the truth. The people who do appreciate you think you are so kind and memorable to them. Also if you ever feel insecure or lonely, your spirit guides want you to know how much they love you. So if you ever need someone to comfort you in a time of need, call upon your deities, angels, etc.

Pile 6:

Shufflemancy -

Girls by Kid Cudi ft Too $hort

Single by The Neighbourhood

겨울 탓 (Winter) by SAAY ft. Woo

The Tower, Eight of Earth "Circumspection", & Ace of Air

Trigger warning

This is interesting. So Pile 6, I see that your appearance actually makes you feel stress or turmoil at times. You could be really self conscious about how you look. For some of you, you could have experienced some sort of traumatic event, or had an injury which drastically caused for you to change. For example, you could have burn scars, large bruises, etc. Some other messages coming through that your self image is warped due to experiencing some sort of abuse (either from a partner, bullying at school, etc). I am really sorry for everything you're going 🥺! I wish you healing and hope you can grow to learn to like how you look. Just know that what other people said or done to you is never your fault and just projecting their own self hatred and insecurities onto you. Now to talk about your physical traits that stand out. You have wavy light brown hair, brown to hazel eyes, and textured skin (sun spots, freckles, wrinkles, etc). For how people perceive your beauty, I see you have some supporters who find your story very motivational. People in your family know the hard work and the steps you took in order to survive and they commend you for it. This is a selective message for only of a few of you but your ancestors have been with you since the beginning of your journey. In this card there is a family of elephants, animals who are known to never forget. Your guides want you to remember the people who did you wrong but also learn to not hold grudges because it will hinder your growth. Practicing journaling, shadow work, and using prompts could help improve your self esteem and provide clarity as to why you have such negative thoughts about your appearance. Also maybe asking your loved ones what makes you beautiful could you help a boost of condience. (Clarified by Mother of Earth. Glitch by Buddy ft. Tinashe) I feel as you get older, you are going to appreciate yourself, your life, and the lessons it had for you. I'm even seeing as you age you will look even more beautiful! One day your will develop wrinkles in the corner of your eyes and see gray hairs at your roots but you will find yourself to be happy about it. Gratitude is a big thing here. The reason why it's because you have to think about not many people live a long life so the fact that you will be blessed to do that, is amazing! Also for some of you I could see that you will look into manifestation. Perhaps you will use law of attraction, subliminals, or affirmations to work on your confidence and feeling more beautiful. You will start trusting your intuition and experiencing "glitches" in the matrix. You will see life doesn't have to be so hard or always be difficult, there can be wonderful moments as well.

Pile 7:

Shufflemancy -

January 28th by J. Cole

AMERICAN GURL by Kilo Kish

EARTHA by Jamila Woods

Six of Air "Knowledge", Five of Air "Conflict, & The Hermit (reversed)

Pile 7, I feel that you are just now acknowledging how beautiful you are! Perhaps you went through a period of being a wallflower or were very shy. You are coming out of your shell and taking steps in embracing your beauty :D! Awesome! Your appearance could be very ethereal. I'm getting that you have features that stand out and you are beautiful with an eclectic style. I'm reminded of like a alien or stars in the galaxy (some of you could be interested in starseeds, sci-fi, or conspiracy theories). This message could be only for some but there was either a friend or ex partner that you had in your life that was jealous of you. They would put you down so you wouldn't feel confident in yourself (Yuck! What a hater 🙄). This caused you to feel self conscious and out of place but now you are taking back your power. You are realizing this person was just projecting their own issues onto you. If this person is still in your life, I highly advise that you cut this person off! They don't wish to see you happy or succeed. I am sure you know who this person is as well. (Clarified by The Star. Vamp by Father ft Tommy Genesis) Oh yeah this person is gonna be fucking miserable 😂. You are gonna experience a huge glow up, Pile 7! I feel like this person has been giving you the evil eye and your spirit guides are not playing that shit. They are gonna get what's coming to them for trying to dim your light and sabotage you. The energy vampire will be gone 🧛🏽‍♀️! You are going to be healing your self esteem and from the past wounds people have inflicted onto you. You get to shine bright and be the star that you are my lovely, pile 7 🌠 Congratulations!

Pile 8:

Shufflemancy -

BIBI Vengeance by BIBI

Icy by Kim Petras

Do You? By Troyboi

The Magus, The High Priestess, & Mother of Air

Pile 8, honestly you are cool as fuck 😎! You could be a model or into fashion, if not, you totally should to start pursuing something along those lines of a career because you have such a chic aura! I'm seeing that you could have sleek hair, slanted eyes, and a prominent facial structure. I'm being reminded of models like Sora Choi and Anok Yai. You could have cool toned skin and wear colors that contrast well with your undertones. You have almost like a ice queen/king presence. People could be intimidated by your presence or find you very intriguing. You could have a popular social media presence or would be eventually be big on the internet. I believe you are aware that because of your appearance it could be marketable or know your looks could attract financial wealth. For how others perceive your beauty; They consider you mysterious, smart, and strong. (Clarified by Two of Air "Equilibrium". DICTATOR by REI AMI.) I'm being reminded of Azula from The Avatar: The Last Airbender. She was raised to be a weapon by her father but was just only a teenager. She began to crack under pressure and suffered a mental breakdown in the dual with her brother Zuko and Katara. You could have a duality to yourself. On the outside, you are stoic and regal - but deep down you could be sentimental and nervous. You could be nostalgic about some things in your life and possibly worry about if you are making the right decisions. Some of you could have parents with strong expectations as well. Please don't be so hard on yourself, pile 8! It's okay to make mistakes for that is how we learn. I know it can be scary to be vulnerable but try to let others in and get to know you for the real you. You could have a avoidant attachment and often doubt others when they try to show their love for you. You don't trust many people and either stay alone or only have a few close friends that you adore. I'm seeing also that you are artistic and have a strong work ethic. For some of you, you could have anxiety, which affects your mental health. Try to pick up a hobby to help calm you down or ease those racing thoughts of yours. Being in nature, socializing with animals, or going to a art class could be helpful or significant to some of you.

Pile 9:

Shufflemancy -

Press Your Number by Taemin

Deja Vu by ATEEZ

Pretty by FAKY

Daughter of Fire, Ace of Fire, & Wheel of Fortune

Omg pile 9, you are my hotties 🥵😍!!! You know you're the shit and nobody could tell you different (period!). You really have the mindset of being the "main character" and live life to the fullest. You could have short hair, buzzcut, or part of your head is shaved while the rest of it is long (Word to Doja: "Lost a lil' weight, but I ain't never lost a tushy. Lookin' good, but now my bald head match my 🐱"). You could also have a prominent nose, plump lips, darker skin, piercings (eyebrow, nose, or lip? Possibly all 3!), and a tummy pouch (you could have a belly button piercing too). Some of you could be proud of your booty or like to twerk, don't matter the size 😂. You wear bangles, crystals, waistbeads, and gold hoops. As for your style you dress like it's summer all the time. You could wear tube tops, crop tops, denim shorts/capris, baggy jeans, flip flops, and sneakers. You could get compliments a lot and be told that your style is "fresh". For how people perceive your beauty, they think you are lucky, blessed, and a joy to be around! I'm getting a vision of someone rub their hands ��🏽. So people want to rub off some of your luck. NSFW but some people want to feel up on you 😂. They think your skin looks radiant and soft or want to touch your curves/muscles. (Clarified by The Sun. Going Off by P-Lo) Idk why I'm hearing "Step outside hoe. Step outside!" 🤣 You are enjoying your freedom and letting loose. You could be the type of person people always see on social media traveling places or partying. If any of you still live with your parents, y'all are stressing your mfin' parents tf OUT 😭💀! You could have to sneak out or lie about where you're going with a cover up outfit just to go places. You get away with a lot though because of how much they love you 😮‍💨 I'm getting some of you could be the youngest child. Your family think you can be a knucklehead but they love your energy and you make them laugh and smile during the hard times. Also this could be a message for a select few but some of y'all need to stop getting into fights or arguments 😭! Please learn to pick and choose your battles lol. Make sure to handle your substances responsibly (Mary Jane by Rick James came on so if you guys like to smoke weed or drink alcohol, be careful of your surroundings 😅!).

[flock-of-cassowaries]

So I’m not endorsing Fight Club - it’s a problematic book with a deeply toxic cultural legacy - but as a queer AFAB millennial who grew up in the sunken place of really wanting to identify with images of traditional masculinity… that shit rocked my world circa 2006.

And it just occurred to me how easily you could map Fight Club’s core plot conceit* onto NBC Hannibal (especially season 1); and that got me thinking about the parallels and differences between these two works.

Spoilers for a 28-year-old movie below the cut.

*the core plot conceit of Fight Club is that the two principal characters - the charismatic and dangerous Tyler Durden, and the story’s unnamed narrator - are in fact one person. The narrator is not aware of this until the final act.

(Also - I’ve added headings, because I know this is very long and rambly, and I feel an appropriate amount of shame about that. )

[How this idea originally occurred to me]

So what originally got me thinking about this is that in NBC Hannibal, Will is always tired, while Hannibal, mysteriously, seems to have at least 40 hours available for crafts and hobbies in every day.

This maps very neatly onto the way time seems to work for Tyler Durden, vs. how it works for the insomnia-plagued narrator.

[Main thesis]

But there’s a lot more similarities than that - most notably, the overall arc of the narrator-Tyler / Will-Hannibal relationship:

1. Both Hannibal Lecter and Tyler Durden breeze into our main character’s lives, and very quickly install themselves at the very centre of it.

2. Both become an object of unacknowledged homoerotic yearning for the main character, before finally being revealed to be extremely dangerous villains who were manipulating the main character all along, and who were instrumental in blowing up the main characters’ lives.

3. Ultimately, in both works, the main character ultimately rejects their “friend” by attempting suicide in a way that will kill both of them (and, in doing so, stops the “friend” from committing further harm).

[Bonus Round]

Other parallels include:

- that Hannibal and Tyler are both exceptionally ostentatious in their mode of dress, in contrast to our comparatively mousey main characters.

- that they both serve to invite the main character to embrace violence (something the narrator in Fight Club does easily, but which Will Graham, to his credit, resists).

- Hannibal’s ritualized sadistic physical torture of Will (in Mizumono, and the again in Dolce / Digestivo) also mirrors the scene in Fight Club where Tyler burns the narrator’s hand.

- Hannibal and Tyler also both enter the main character’s lives at a time when they are struggling with insomnia based on guilt related to their jobs. (Jobs, btw, where both of them have bosses they cannot stand and do not respect.)

[Alana Bloom and Marla Singer]

I also think the Marla Singer / Alana Bloom parallel is interesting.

In both cases, these women are implied to be the only woman who might, possibly be a match for the main character - someone who could possibly understand them enough to form a possibly-healthy relationship.

Instead, however, Alana and Marla end up forming relationships with Hannibal and Tyler (respectively).

In both works, this makes the main character despair (even as it is implied that the woman would actually rather be with the main character than with Hannibal / Tyler).

[Bonus Round II - Electric Boogaloo]

Also, on a more superficial level, both Marla and Alana have stunningly pale skin and dark hair (much as both Tyler and Hannibal are sandy blondes who seem larger-than-life in comparison to our dark-haired, ruddy-complexioned protagonist).

I would also like to rapidly recognize:

- the aesthetic similarities in Randall Tier’s death and that of Jared Leto’s character in the film version of Fight Club

- the amusing parallel of both Tyler and Hannibal creatively repurposing dead human tissue, which they then gleefully give to rich people who do not know what they are consuming (Tyler, by making medical-waste human fat into bougie soap; Hannibal, by making murder victims into gourmet meals)

- the way that the “the line between us has begun to blur” theming in Season 3 of Hannibal echoes the “literally the same person” reveal in Fight Club

[Conclusion]

With all this in mind, I think it would be very possible (and potentially quite fun) to plot out a Fight Club AU of Hannibal, wherein there is no Hannibal Lecter. (Might explain why he has such a stupid fucking name. Yeah, I said it. It’s fucking dumb that his name rhymes with “cannibal”. Fight me, Thomas Harris.)

[Appendix - Contrasts]

That said, the differences are also quite notable:

1. Whereas Tyler Durden seduces the narrator in Fight Club with the promise of validation from a male social group, Hannibal Lecter’s pitch to Will is that he recognizes that Will is is unique and special, and appreciated him as such.

2. Tyler Durden is overtly political, positioning himself as outside the system, and explicitly anti-capitalist. Hannibal Lecter, on the other hand, is apolitical, and perfectly comfortable being a member of the ruling class. There is no anti-capitalist motive to his crimes against the rich.

3. In rejecting Tyler, the narrator in Fight Club (especially in the film version) symbolically reclaims his heterosexuality, and is implied to have formed a bond with Marla; whereas Will Graham (literally) embraces Hannibal even as he rejects him, and Alana has long since been clearly shown to have adopted a position of “To hell with these gay idiots”.

4. While imperfect, Will Graham is a lot more sympathetic than the narrator of Fight Club; both because of how vigorously he resists Hannibal (as alluded to above), and in terms of what we see of him before he falls under Hannibal’s spell:

— Will’s guilt stems from an action (shooting Gareth Jacob Hobbs) that most people would consider morally-correct. In Fight Club, on the other hand, the narrator’s guilt stems from condemning strangers to die in order to save his company money.

— The narrator in Fight Club is shown to have been driven by his insomnia to the point of engaging in vampiric support-group grief tourism (which - yikes). By contrast, Will is seen calling Jack Crawford out on the inherently exploitative nature of his “Evil Minds Museum”.

— Whereas the narrator in Fight Club lives a life of hollow consumerist grasping, Will is shown to live a materially-simple life, which he generously shares with a menagerie of abandoned dogs. It is easy to imagine that he would put his dogs’ needs ahead of his own, given that we see him putting time and energy into rescuing and washing Winston, even at the end of a long, exhausting workday.

[Postscript]

I literally typed this whole-ass essay out before I remembered that Edward Norton (who played the narrator in Fight Club) also once played Will Graham (in the 2002 film Red Dragon, which I have not seen, but which I remember Bryan Fuller having credited with giving him the idea to write NBC Hannibal).

[bestworstcase]

actually. on reflection, i’m questioning my presupposition that tyrian and mercury will be hiding their affiliation with salem from the crown. i don’t think that holds up necessarily.

firstly, the main narrative motivation for tyrian and mercury to be undercover (from the writers standpoint, i’m not talking character motivation) is to give mercury a way out in the form of betraying tyrian to jax and gill – but this can still happen if tyrian and mercury are upfront about acting on salem’s behalf if 1. they represent salem as an ally to the crown’s cause (her war is against the huntsman academies, as is the crown’s, enemy of my enemy is my friend – that this doesn’t contradict ruby’s characterization of salem in the broadcast helps) and 2. mercury comes to believe that tyrian is right that salem seeks only annihilation.

so that all checks out still.

and. ok

if gillian is indeed the summer maiden:

when did she become so?

does the inner circle know?

well. sidelong glance. i may or may not be right about jaune/gillian but even in the event that i’m not, it does feel worth noting here that gillian is in many ways anti-pyrrha.

pyrrha is a world-renowned athlete and prodigy who “always felt it was her destiny to become a huntress, to protect the world” – who believed in that so strongly she chose to die for it. her teachers and headmaster implicitly believe that she carries her team (& qrow voices this perception). she’s chosen by ozpin to become the fall maiden’s new vessel by means of transferring amber’s aura, her soul, into pyrrha. she had a powerful semblance that gave her such an edge that she seemed untouchable – the invincible girl.

gillian, too, was “top of her class,” “ambitious,” “would have been a fantastic huntress” according to her former teacher and headmaster at shade, if only her brother hadn’t “held her back.” gill, too, is guided by belief in destiny and, mirroring pyrrha’s unflagging and wholehearted support of jaune, gillian is devoted to her brother, happily splitting her aura with him and following his lead without a trace of resentment. and her semblance makes her quite literally untouchable both in the sense that bullets just bounce off her and in the sense that if she gets her hands on you she can steal your aura; her semblance isn’t permanent and seems to not do lasting harm but in every other respect gill is a walking aura transfer machine.

even aesthetically: pyrrha’s red-and-bronze vs gillian’s blue-and-silver. complimentary colors. pyrrha’s circlet, gill’s diadem. pyrrha’s bronze armband, the silver armband worn by members of the crown. there’s a noticeable repetition of design elements here, and while it’s touch to compare a visual design to prose descriptions, taken in combination with the character parallelism…

the point being. if gillian is the summer maiden, then i think – irrespective of whatever degree of involvement jaune has narratively – this pattern will likely hold.

now. with that in mind, four things:

#1. jax was expelled from shade academy for unknown reasons, and gillian dropped out to leave with him because he asked her to. the circumstances of his expulsion are never stated; rumpole remembers him as “arrogant” but not particularly motivated, and theodore as a “weak, scared little boy” who “never stepped up,” so – importantly – it doesn’t seem like he was kicked out for misconduct. there’s no mention of cheating or bullying, only this perception that he was sort of worthless and holding gillian back.

#2. carmine escalados and bertilak celadon were academic partners at shade academy during the same time jax and gillian attended the school, and while they weren’t on the same team, carmine and gillian were evidently close friends (bertilak remarks that carmine affectionately called gill ‘queenie’ during their school days).

#3. in ‘after the fall,’ bertilak says… this.

Fox and Bertilak circled each other. “You’re a disgraceful excuse for a Huntsman,” Fox said. “It’s easy for you to say, with all those lofty ideas Ozpin and Theodore drilled into your heads. ‘Being a Huntsman is a calling and a privilege, not to be taken lightly.’ ” Fox had heard his professors at Beacon and Shade give exactly that speech. Bertilak spat. It was so hot, Fox heard the liquid sizzle and evaporate as it hit the sand. “They’re just words. You think your headmasters and professors are model Huntsmen? They’re worse than all the rest of us. You want to know why I barely graduated? I was tired of being used as a tool.”

which is, as i’ve said before, a bit… um. hm. why does this guy – this random huntsman who attended shade and barely made it to graduation – have a chip on his shoulder about ozpin? why – like, bertilak does not have anything like raven’s rhetorical flair, but adjusting for stylistic differences this is verbatim what raven says of oz in v5.

“they’re worse than all the rest of us.” vs “old man oz has a great and terrible secret, one that could spread fear across the world…”

”the truth is that truth is hard to come by.… by now, i’m sure your uncle has told ruby and her friends plenty of stories.” vs “they’re just words,” spat on the ground.

why does bertilak celadon sound like he actually has a clue what’s going on?

#4. jax began to plan and prepare for his coup as soon as he and gillian left shade academy, and while he tries to convince himself that the group responsible for the attacks on beacon and haven might disregard vacuo as unimportant, he does clearly anticipate that this adversary will come for vacuo, and he’s thinking ahead to withstanding that assault.

now, that’s not necessarily unreasonable even if jax knows nothing – the aborted attack on haven was publicly linked to cinder and her associates. but his specific phrasing is: “whomever had been targeting the other kingdoms.”

cinder and her associates aren’t anonymous. the mistrali newscaster in 6.2 reports their full names, with photographs of each of them. jax doesn’t own a scroll and almost certainly didn’t watch the vytal tournament, but he’s clearly quite well-informed of the international news and the crown’s inner circle do use scrolls. he has every reason to know cinder by name, know that she orchestrated both the attacks on beacon and haven, and yet he apparently takes it as a given that there is someone else acting behind the scenes, someone unknown.

why?

well.

i’ve speculated before that ozpin had pyrrha in mind as a maiden candidate from the start and deliberately placed her in an otherwise forgettable team led by a nakedly unqualified loser with the intention of separating her from that team for special instruction later – clearly they’re just holding her back from achieving her full potential, right? – as a pretext for secretly training her as a maiden.

if gillian is narratively a sort of inverse-pyrrha, then – well, firstly, gill’s ideological commitments are all wrong for a maiden as far as ozpin’s circle is concerned. she and jax were open about their interest in the “family legacy” at shade, there is no way gillian would have been chosen to receive the summer maiden’s power. but of course it’s quite easy for a maiden to slip the leash; all it would take is for the maiden to be distracted or killed too swiftly to fix her thoughts on the ‘correct’ candidate or pass away in her sleep or any number of other possibilities, and whoops!

whether gillian became the summer maiden before or during her time at shade, she wouldn’t have been the intended candidate – but the inner circle can’t, like, murder a child to anoint their intended maiden, they have to work with what they’ve got. at least she was a student, you know?

her brother is more fanatical than she is. her brother’s holding her back. her brother is a bad influence on her. he’s got to go.

she’s the summer maiden. she has to be brought into the fold, to keep the power out of salem’s hands. it is imperative to get her to cooperate. right? so she gets the same kind of introduction to the conspiracy that pyrrha did – the slow drop of partial information, the “we can tell you more once we know you’re with us,” the vague but deeply ominous talk of the world being in grave danger, of a terrible, secret threat – a shadowy adversary – appeals to her earnest desire to do right by the people of vacuo.

but theodore – and ozpin – misjudge her. they ask her to keep all this secret from her twin. her brother, with whom she quite literally voluntarily shares her soul because he’s sick and she loves him. of course she’s not going to keep secrets from her brother. and if theodore uses the boy’s failure to “step up” as a pretext to expel him, counting on gillian’s ambition and academic excellence to keep her in school, well.

jax went to her and told her he was being expelled, and he remembers her looking as horrified then as she does when he tells her he means to see it through or die trying. and then he asked her to come with him and she did. but when he asks her to die with him for their destiny, she refuses, and betrays him to save them both. because gillian – unlike pyrrha – is not somebody who can set aside her heart for the sake of her supposed destiny.

you see where i’m going with this? if gillian got treated to the same coercive pressure and mysterious secrets routine pyrrha did because theodore clocked her as the summer maiden, and jax was expelled in a ploy to remove him as an influence on gillian which backfired because she refused to abandon her brother, then… why the hell wouldn’t they tell their friends what happened? and that’s why bertilak celadon, Random Nobody, seems to know more than he should. his school partner was gillian’s best friend.

which brings me back around to tyrian and mercury and what they’re going to tell the twins. because.

the thing is.

if jax and gillian have had pyrrha-level knowledge of ozpin’s conspiracy this whole time, they know there’s a mysterious adversary whom the huntsman academies were established to defend against. the headmaster of shade tried to recruit gillian for that cause, and she refused. just a few years later this adversary kicked beacon and beacon crumpled like a house of cards. haven didn’t go down quite so hard, but its faculty is dead and the school is closed now.

mistral is fine, though.

their coup fails. ruby’s broadcast fills in some details: the mysterious adversary is named salem, and everything she is doing, ruby says, is to “tear down the huntsman academies.”

funny, that’s exactly what jax and gillian want to do!! anyway less than twenty-four hours after that, the entire kingdom of atlas is wiped off the map and thousands of refugees flood into vacuo.

consider this from the twins point of view. they hate the huntsman academies. salem also, apparently, hates the huntsman academies. they had been under the impression that this mysterious adversary sought to bring down the kingdoms, but now this huntress who clearly knows what she’s talking about is informing the whole world that salem… just wants to get rid of the academies. and hey, after haven academy shut down, salem very much did not go on a rampage razing mistral to the ground.

so. like.

compared to theodore – who’s bending over backward to accommodate thousands of refugees at the expense of vacuo’s own people, all for the sake of fighting an adversary that the huntsmen academies are obviously, laughably unprepared to actually withstand considering that it’s been maybe a year since beacon fell and 3/4 of those schools are no longer operational with two having been completely destroyed – from the twins point of view salem really does not sound so bad.

she wants to tear down shade academy. well, so do they, and so do a lot of very, very angry vacuans who support them.

say tyrian and mercury break the twins out of jail and the twins ask, are you looking to join up with the crown, and tyrian and mercury go, actually no, we’re here as salem’s emissaries. that relic locked up under shade academy is rightfully hers, that’s all she wants… and you hold the key to the vault. if salem helps you take shade academy, and you hand over the relic, she’ll not only leave vacuo in peace but also support your claim to rule.

which really is not a bad deal for them and they have no reason to doubt the truth of salem’s stated motivations because salem’s enemies said she’s doing all this to tear the academies down!! academies jax and gillian also want to tear down!!

the point being that there isn’t actually much incentive for tyrian to misrepresent himself as not an agent of salem’s, as long as he keeps his mouth shut about what (he believes) her true motivations are. and while jax and gillian are xenophobic reactionaries, they’re also demonstrably willing to work with “outsiders” who agree with their cause.

carmine is from atlas, for example.

and if the crown is knowingly allying itself with salem, a) the stakes of the civil war are higher and it will be that much harder to resolve, and b) the narrative can break new ground after multiple arcs of antagonistic factions being unwittingly manipulated. so there’s some compelling reasons from a writing perspective go that route. and it adds up from a character standpoint as far as the key players are all concerned.

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 1, Match 6 ALL KNOWING AND ALL AGONY vs. TEAR DROP

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for AKAA:

"AKAA is wonderful song with such bitter irony, bc that doesn't look like song someone who was voted inno… And we know more about Haruka! we see his mother! AND "MAKE MY DREAMU COME TRUE"??? NO I AM NOT CRYING YOU ARE CRYING (also I should say this is first song i heard and I love AKAA so, so much <3 let's do it <3)"

---

1. It establishes so much of Haruka's character and backstory that was omitted from Weakness!! It helps shape Haruka's character so much and really helped with voting.

2.THE VOCALS OH MY GOD. This song really lets the voice of Haruka's VA shine!! It has some really nice growls but also has that soft part in the bridge!!

Overall it's just really good I love Haruka Sakurai

---

Propaganda for AKAA:

Definitely one of the most hype songs from T2

The vocals are Banging

Absolutely love the taxidermy symbolism

Haruka is a sad little puppy

Everyone stand for the Mommy Issues Athem 🫡

Propaganda for TEAR DROP:

"yuno kashiki enthusiast here anyways tear drop propaganda WE BALL

let's start off with the lyrics! holy fuck, i'm so glad yuno finally got to say what she's wanted to say!!

and she fully shows the fact that she does compensated dating through the lyrics ("the wanted wanting the wanted")

and even if it sounds like she's scolding the audience for the song, she's also scolding her clients! they only perceive her as a certain type of character and deciding that's all she is. She's upset that we decided based on how "naïve" she looked instead of her actual crime (to be honest, I could write a whole analysis into why her murder is perfect for her character anywa) and she doesn't care what will happen to her, she needs her opinions heard

also kinda rap section?? banger fr

THE VISUALS!! GOOD LORD THE VISUALS!!! THEY ARE SO BANGER!!! they're really pretty and gosh i literally don't know what to say, the scene where vampire is in the background and it transitions to yuno sitting on her bed... the pink tinted glasses (YES FUCK I LOVE THAT MAN!!!!) THE COAT!! THOSE INBETWREN SCENES i'm obbing

AND THE INSTRUMENTAL!! PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU ALL LISTEN TO THE INSTRUMRNTAL OF HER SONG THERES SO MANY SMALL DETAILS!! SIRENS, TEAR DROPS RAHHH THE CLAPS/CLICKING TJE TECHNO PIANO GUITAR??? THE INSTRIMENTS I CANT NAME I THINK THEY ALL HAVE SOME READON OF BEING IN THE SONG AND I WILL FIND OUT IN AN ANAKYSIS POST I JUDT LOVE IT AUEUEU

literally tear drop is the banger ever i listen to this shit religiously thank you for listening to my tear drop propaganda"

---

-Yuno’s voice. Enough said. -The imagery in the MV is brilliantly used, and doesn’t shy away from the horrors of Yuno’s line of work. -Vampire cameo!!! -Almost Lo-Fi vibes to the instrumental?? I can’t really explain it but it’s a vibe and I’m 100% here for it,

---

"For teardrop: The pink aesthetic in the MV as a whole makes it super nice to look at :D"

[serpentarii]

M O R D L U S T ; september 22nd, 2024

finally getting around to doing these more often now that i'm making money moves in the draft (this is a lie, i am making moves into my friends' dms to scream) so that means i have an excuse to make self-indulgent WIP edits.

my primary protagonist vératre, formerly known as voir, has been made sufficiently weird, and i think i've found a way to smoothly integrate all of the new scenes i added when i reformatted her half of the plot.

i've also been in my overthinking era to make sure that everything from color symbolism, animal motifs, to the specific variations of words characters use has a purpose. 90% of it will not be apparent in the actual draft so, to paraphrase myself, i'm like gay sisyphus opening and closing notion.

but, i do plan on making some character aesthetic intros, tv show edits, and finally getting around to that animal symbolism post 🐯

transcript below the cut:

Pale blue light flooded into the crate as the lid was pried off, then abruptly overturned, sending Aleksander tumbling out between a set of familiar armchairs. His attention traveled up the front of a familiar desk and landed at an unsmiling familiar face.  Sitting quietly on the other side of the desk was Lady Kos, regal as a queen and ten times wealthier, with pearl droplets woven into her dark braids, dressed in chiffon and lace from trailing hem to high, starched collar.  She was melting wax, her movements swift and assured as she poured a small pool onto the folds of an envelope and stamped it with a sigil Aleksander knew to dread. She took a sip of riesling, soundlessly replacing her glass onto the wood, before setting her sights on him.  “Herr Aleksander Fox,” she said at last. 

and since i haven't done this in like 4 years, surprise bitch. i'm doing a novel prep tag in here now.

first look ;

describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch) ;

a businessman-turned-thief finds himself entangled with a pair of opposing assassins and the roles they unknowingly play in a much grander conspiracy.

how long do you plan for your novel to be (novella, standalone, series, etc.)? ;

a standalone, thank god. the technical term would be roman fleuve, since i am planning future standalone works that take place within the same universe.

what is your novel’s aesthetic? ;

ancient buildings overtaken by nature, cemeteries at midnight, poisonous flowers, venomous snakes, whispering in shadowy alcoves, masquerade balls, bloodstained feathers, veiled truths

what other stories inspire your novel? ;

the his dark materials series by philip pullman, uprooted by naomi novik, classic gothic lit, fairy tales in general, and uh,,,,,,,exodus.

share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel ;

main character ;

who is your protagonist? ;

my two main protagonists/POVs are liferuiner and wannabe businessman aleksander fox, and vératre, a notorious poisoner struggling her way through a quarter-life crisis.

who is their closest ally? ;

aleksander's closest ally, at least in the beginning, is his friend heidi, an information broker with a secret :) and vératre begrudgingly accepts the help of salicaire, another assassin, since they are both nosy and want answers.

who is their enemy? ;

aleksander vs. the ospirin family (a fight he is nawt winning) and the church

what do they want more than anything? ;

so, to be cryptic, 3/4 of the leads in mordlust are all reflections of each other, what they could have been and what they want to be. the last of them is the mirror. they see in him what they want to see. and what they want, shockingly, is prestige, power, belonging, etc. they've always felt like strangers in their own skin and will go to terrible lengths to fit themselves into a society that was not made for them.

why can’t they have it? ;

dirty dirty politics for which they are mere pawns ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

what do they wrongly believe about themselves? ;

that because they've been hurt, they are justified in hurting others in pursuit of their goals.

draw your protagonist! (or share a description) ;

aleksander is a classic dandy with a hyperfixation on his vintage fox fur coat, which he wears even when it's wildly out of season and out of fashion because it's the nicest thing he owns. he's also usually seen wearing kid leather gloves and a golden cravat pin he received from his patroness. he's got green eyes, short auburn hair, lots of freckles, and more people would find him handsome if he didn't smile like he knew your fly was down and was refusing to tell you.

vératre's lips are stained purple due to. reasons. and so she wears a veil, which is not uncommon for particularly devout women. she has medium length brown hair she keeps pinned up into tight plaits and a notably long neck. also, she has pretty privilege because shits fucked and having attractive lay servants representing the house/church is common practice. since she works as a kitchen maid most of the week, she's often wearing her uniform w/ an apron. and sometimes she wears isme's black feathered cloak.

drawing wise, i do have this chart, courtesy of alex @bitethebard:

plot points ;

what is the internal conflict? ;

aleksander and vératre, being parallels of each other, have somewhat similar internal conflicts. they both came from nameless villages out in the countryside and share a burning desire to be more. in vératre's case it's v much a "be careful what you wish for" situation, because in receiving everything she thought she wanted she's no longer herself and unhappier than ever. aleksander is younger and earlier along in his journey, but barreling down the same path. except the choices he makes fucks shit up for the people around him more than they effect himself.

what is the external conflict? ;

again, cutthroat politics (literally). everyone has something they'd kill for.

what is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist? ;

other than dying horribly, probably being tethered to an uncaring master, praying to uncaring gods, and trying to find comfort in an uncaring church for the rest of their miserable lives.

what secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story? ;

aleksander is entangled in a pseudo-liar revealed plot, which i kinda hate, but as an extremely unreliable narrator his priorities are not in proper order... vératre is witnessing the horrors.

do you know how it ends? ;

yeah

bits & bobs ;

what is the theme? ;

blind faith is dangerous. you must learn to take responsibility for both the good and the bad actions you take, and attaching yourself to someone or something at random to validate your own existence isn't healthy. holiness exists not only in gods but in small moments of happiness and in the people we love. and lastly don't fucking steal someone's skin and sell it on the black market.

what is a recurring symbol? ;

thorns.

where is the story set? (share a description!) ;

niederbrinn, the capital city of falkenreik, which is loosely inspired by pre-german empire prussia. it's filled with tons of gothic™ architecture and fun locations like cathedrals, catacombs, and creature shops. it's situated closer to the malevolent eldritch forest than most would like.

do you have any images or scenes in your mind already? ;

hell yeah

what excited you about this story? ;

mostly isme. and then the other 3 protags ig 🙄

tell us about your usual writing method! ;

these days, i usually write a rough outline and expand it using the snowflake method, incorporating ideas, themes, and worldbuilding along the way. then i make a proper outline where i figure out chapters, acts, the dreaded midpoint, etc. i don't write in chronological order so this helps a ton with out-of-context lines since i have a reference for where i want them based on the location/emotional state of the characters. getting myself to actually sit down and WRITE the damn thing is the problem, shout out to my fellow procrastinating perfectionists <33

if you made it to this point you are sexy and i love you, byeeee !!

[californianedgeworth]

I wrote this tirade about the Gavinners' theme in my notes app months ago but I had no Ace Attorney fans to share it with but I have a tumblr blog now so I will unleash it upon all of you:

We only know 2 of the 5 Gavinner members. There have to be 5 since there are two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a keyboard player as established by the instruments in Turnabout Serenade. But the only ones with canon appearances and names are the guitarists, Klavier Gavin and Daryan Crescend. Since we know less than half of the band, it sends my mind running who the others could be. It would have been so fun to see all the designs of the band, but we don’t! So I just have to imagine what they look like, possibly based off of Klavier and Daryan. Some people have made their own headcanons and fanart, and I like them but I feel like there’s an important matter they never touch on.

As far as Klavier goes, his design is straightforward. 

(sorry his png is so damn big. I figured out how to edit in html to make the image smaller but every time I save the textpost draft it undoes my edit. no I will not open a photo editor to size him down)

When I show a picture of him to my friends who haven’t played Ace Attorney, they ask if he’s a rockstar. And he is! His design conveys the fact. He’s also a lawyer, so his style strikes somewhere between courtroom attire and rockstar. A lot of the Ace Attorney designs are fun and great at conveying character, and I’d say Klavier is a pretty solid design.

But then there’s Daryan, who is dressed like a shark. 

Idk if anyone else agrees but I’m not a fan of Daryan’s design. I also don’t really like him as a character either tbh. If he wasn’t holding a guitar, would it even be clear that he’s a rockstar? All the Gavinners members are part of law enforcement, but you can’t really tell Daryan is a police officer either. His design kind of bewilders me. With Klavier, you can tell a lot just by looking at him. What comes to mind when you look at Daryan is “shark man”. I mean, shark man’s a sick design concept, but I don’t like looking at Daryan! I think it has a lot to do with his ugly ass hair. His hoodie’s fun, but I don't like his hair. It's an unfortunate shape. And I think the people agree: half the fanart I see of him, they change his hair.

Usually with bands, you expect them to share a common style. But in the rock band the Gavinners, one of the members is dressed like a rockstar, and one of them is dressed like a shark. Like, I guess you could argue that Daryan is kind of in line, and his fashion fits into the rocker style. But I don’t know, in my mind the fact he’s a shark guy makes him very inconsistent with Klavier to me. So that got me wondering, what percentage of the Gavinners is dressed as rockstars vs Gavinners dressed as marine animals? I thought through some of the possibilities and proposed the ones that are funniest to me

Ratio 1 - 4 Rockstars to 1 Marine-Themed Star

This would mean Daryan is the odd one out. The weirdo who is a little too into Sharkboy and Lava Girl. A band of 4 guys who wear similar rockstar styles and then there’s just Daryan in his shark hoodie. 

Ratio 2 - Split 2 to 3 Either Way

In this scenario, the band can’t agree on what their theme is. Half are dressed in chains and leather, the other half are out of a marine biology textbook

Ratio 3 - 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 1

The Gavinners has no theming in the costume department. Each member is dressed however they like. Aesthetic nightmare

Ratio 4 - 1 Rockstar to 4 Marine-Themed Stars

I imagine it like this:

A 16-year-old Klavier Gavin walks into the studio, which at that time is the Gavin family’s garage. The Gavinners have just come together recently, and are rehearsing for their first show. But when Klavier enters, he finds his band mates are dressed up as a shark, a wrasse, a clownfish, and a lobster.

Klavier is confused, because he thought that the Gavinners was going to be themed after Klavier Gavin. He expresses this thought to his band.

Daryan tells him that since Klavier decided to name the band after himself, it was only fair the rest of the band mates got to choose the theme. And they were all super into sea life, so they dressed up as their favorite marine animals.

Klavier is annoyed they didn’t talk through it with him and says that maybe their theme is getting a little muddled. But since they’re all so enthusiastic, he’ll try it out. And he wants to be a merman. 

All the other members side eye Klavier. A merman isn’t a real animal, they tell him. Maybe he could be a manatee, a seahorse, a sea angel, a parrot fish? All of those creatures are just as majestic and beautiful as mermen, and they actually exist. Despite Klavier’s protests, the rest of the band does not budge. They persuade him to be a parrotfish.

The day comes for their first show. They got Klavier a parrotfish costume, which he keeps making faces at as they set up.

Klavier tells the other Gavinners he doesn’t want to wear the fish head hat since it will cover up his fresh haircut, but they insist he should. As they get ready in the dressing room, Klavier excuses himself to the bathroom.

When they’re called to the stage, Klavier has not returned. They assume he might already be onstage, or will be there soon. As they all get there and Klavier does not, they start to feel concern. Klavier is their lead singer and guitarist. He’d been thinking of nothing but their show for days, so it’s strange he’s suddenly missing. They ask the manager to delay the curtain call for a few minutes. The manager denies them, saying they’re on a tight schedule and they don’t want to delay the performers coming after the Gavinners. The band considers going into the bathroom to check on Klavier, or if they could perform without him.

As the curtain begins to rise, Klavier finally walks out on stage and joins the rest of them. But he’s not in a parrotfish costume. He is in a matching black shirt and pants combo with silver chains. Not even close to being parrotfish themed. The bandmates are shocked, but know they can’t make a fuss about it when the show is starting. They give him glares while they play. But they know they must look so bad when they’re all dressed up as various fish and an arthropod while their lead singer isn’t. The performance is received well despite the tension, but there are some mild comments on how strange the costuming is. Once it’s over, the bandmates confront Klavier, but he absolutely refuses to dress as a parrotfish for any of their future shows. When they realize they can’t change his mind (and they still won’t change their minds about letting him be a merman), they agree to just go to shows that way. Four of them dressed up as ocean animals, while the lead singer is not.

Over time, the other bandmates eventually give up on the whole marine life shtick. If they’re not all coordinated, what’s the point? And from their dressing room in the AA4, it looks like the band’s styling is in line with Klavier’s. But as the other members shed their marine life costumes, one keeps his through it all: Daryan. As the band builds regard and a fan base, he remembers how Klavier ruined their theme. So many of their arguments over the music and the band image are started because Daryan is secretly wounded no one dresses up as a fish with him. Now this gets into theory territory because I believe this could be his true motivator in Turnabout Serenade—

[yamayuandadu]

1. What are some aspects of Huli Jing (Chinese Fox Spirits) you feel deserve more attention in fictional media featuring them? 2. What are some subtle differences between Chinese stories about them vs Japanese ones that most people don't pick up on?

Tbh I don’t really like huli jing as the default term, not least because there’s an argument to be made that due to the modern metaphorical use it might lead to the misconception that it describes a being who can only be female (tbf, that IS a common misunderstanding already), which is entirely unwarranted, as male fox stories were abundant at least before the Ming and Qing periods (side note: wiktionary incorrectly claims huli jing is specifically a term for the nine-tailed fox which is… deeply puzzling to say the least). It’s not really the most commonly used in academic literature either, huxian seems to be the #1 option and it also has the bonus of being the most common - default, even - designation for foxes in the Qing period already according to Xiaofei Kang. I’m not really sure if huli jing is all that more common than huwang (I really like this one), humei (another favorite; not least because its derivative humei gui is a rare translation of dakini and can probably be directly credited for the development of Dakiniten in Japan), huyao, huguai, hugui, husui and so on. Ultimately given that plain hu is hardly uncommon in stories dealing with supernatural foxes, and the fact that the idea was very much that every single real specimen possesses at least some supernatural powers, I also see no strong reason to avoid simply calling a fox a fox.

Linguistic considerations aside: what’s missing is what was originally at the core. I don’t really get the impression that most modern media with foxes in them does much with the fact that the classic stories often used foxes to represent The Other. And while obviously “Tang period stereotype of a Sogdian” is not exactly a character archetype very relevant today, you’d think that if anything this would overall be a topic of even more interest to modern audiences. While the historical examples typically deal with The Other defined by ethnicity or class, it’s not like the framework can’t be adapted to deal with other matters.

A related but not fully identical aspect of many of the original stories which I personally don’t see much is that the average fox character appears to often be driven by assorted neuroses and paranoid fears, which, similarly, you’d think would if anything be even more interesting to modern audiences. Obviously, this often reflects the anxieties of the original compilers - such as low level officials from humble backgrounds who struggled with navigating the hermetic world of hereditary nobility. However, some of them are universal - it’s not like a sense of alienation is rare today.

I think a lot of media with fox characters is too preoccupied with superficial fox aesthetics (terribly sorry to disappoint everyone but I’m not aware of any historical precedent for “human with fox ears” depictions) over actually exploring who or what did the fox represent. I genuinely can’t stomach any of these tiresome meme posts on here related to that. As for the second question, at least before the Edo period, the Buddhist component is arguably much stronger in fox literature in Japan than in China. While a foreign monk is one of the default human guises of foxes in Chinese literature, this is not quite the same prominence. Meanwhile, in Japan the medieval explosion in the popularity of fox literature can be directly attributed to Buddhism and new ideas about enlightenment, reinterpreted as tied to an innate “Buddha nature” present in all living beings - I wrote about this in more detail in my Tamamizu article some time ago. It’s not accidental that the original version of Tamamo no Mae is basically a weird twist on Sutra of Humane Kings and involves a lengthy debate over esoteric religious matters. As far as I can tell, the kuda-gitsune type “fox or superficially fox-like animal as a familiar” stuff with foxes as agents of sorcerers is limited to Japan too. There is the famous notion of Daoist formulas meant to control ghosts and foxes, but these are more exorcistic in nature. There are specific cases of sorcery scares specifically linked to claims foxes are performing it, though, fwiw (see Cult of the Fox, p. 19).

[gwenyundreiko]

I need to scream about Arcane S2 (spoilers for the whole season)

Alright, it's been 2 days since I've watched the end of Arcane, and I'm still in a bad mood over it, so I am going to scream into the void about it, and hopefully it will allow me to move on.

I do not like the second season of Arcane.

Season 1 ? Absolute banger, still love it. I love it even more after recently watching it a second time in preparation for season 2.

Season 2 though ? ... I will not go into the details (because I feel like I would need to rewatch it again to be more accurate, and I don't want to do that), so I am just going to write about how I feel about it now that it is over.

Season 2 has left me deeply unsatisfied, to say the least. I think this feeling comes from the fact that most characters' arcs look like they were either cut short, or didn't really go anywhere. This makes the entire story feel pointless; an undeniable marvel of aesthetics and animation put in service of nothing.

I could talk about a lot of the main cast, but I'll only talk about Vi, her relationship with Caitlyn, and the Zaun vs Pilltover theme.

First off : Vi, the character who fought tooth and nails for those she loved and always tried to do the right thing. Accepting responsibility for everyone who looked up to her... and got nothing for it in the end but pain. From the start of the serie, she is set up to be one of the protagonists, along with her sister and Caitlyn. Yet the story feels pervert in the way it insists to both :make Vi suffer without giving her any sort of confort or moment to express her feelings ; and make all of her actions be pointless.

In episode 8, when she says "I always make the wrong choice and lose everyone", we have to admit that from a narrative point of view, she is absolutely right. For the first time, Vi is self pitying. She's shown as vulnerable, doubtful, almost sounding like she's giving up by saying that all she ever does is useless or worse. This is incredibly out of character for her, and yet the story proves her right. Nothing she does matters in any meaningful way. She doesn't even contribute to the final battle : she gets stranded in the defence of the artillery tower (which turned out not to be a key asset in the battle), then go 1v2 Warwick with Jinx, and Jinx ends up sacrificing herself to kill it, but only AFTER the battle is over and all the narrative tension has calmed down. (Sidenote : yes yes I know it is hinted that Jinx is still alive, but still. Let's agree that it's in bad taste for a suicidal character's triumphant moment to be a reckless act of self sacrifice, independently of the outcome.)

Vi gets mistreated throughout the whole storry and gets nothing in the end despite her bravery and efforts. No matter how hard she fought, she still ends up separated from her sister and she still loses Vander. The only thing she gets in the end is a girlfriend with whom she basically had no tender moment since their breakup, making Vi feel like a rescue dog at Caitlyn's house, but let's talk about her relationship with Caitlyn in more depth.

I'll say this first : I love the sex scene. It's tender and passionate. It's a bit awkward, but in such a relatable way that it only makes the moment sweeter. It does an excellent job at showing us how the characters feel about each other. Taken on its own, it's perfect. Two people that love each other so much they just need to have each other right here, right now... I just wish their relationship around it was more fleshed out.

From what we get to see on screen, they get a really messy break up in episode 3, and then never interact again until crossing paths at the commune. In the meantime, Caitlyn has allied herself with Ambessa, declared martial law on Zaun and is oppressing it with the full extent of her legitimate violence... but upon seeing Vi again, she instantly switches side to go against Ambessa with a rushed plan.

We get absolutely no other insight into their emotions or thoughts at this moment. No scene to show that despite their conflicts and standing on opposite sides, there is still tenderness and affection between the two of them that could hint at them getting back together. Instead, Vi calls her a petname once, and it's done, no further convincing needed. (Sidenote again : this makes Caitlyn look impulsive and irrational, when everything that comes before shows us that she is smart, collected and patient. Here, she instantly abandons everything she was previously fighting for, even at the risk of putting her entire city in danger. This includes abandonning her vandetta against Jinx, which is the reason why they split up in the first place, but this isn't adressed between Vi and Cait ever again either.)

After that, Vi holds her accountable for her actions for the time of 1 dialogue.

Then they barely interact again until the jailcell scene. Hell, once the battle starts, I don't think the two of them interact AT ALL until the epilogue.

The lack of substance in the portrayal of their relationship makes this sweet and tender sex scene feel like a spur of the moment thing. An almost self-destructive action from Vi trying to scrape at any possible source of confort after being cut out by her sister. A good thing happening for the wrong reasons. (Mind you, a hate sex scene would have worked wonders in my opinion, but that's not what we got.)

So yeah, given all of that, I'm struggling to see how Vi ending up with Caitlyn is supposed to be a meaningful and happy resolution to her story, when this relationship is barely shown on screen during season 2.

Finally, let's talk about the Zaun vs Piltover situation : it goes nowhere.

An entire 5 acts showing us that Piltover treats Zaun like shit, turning it into a ghetto and leaving it to rot in its own misery . The promo campaign for season 2 teased us a revolution... and in the end, we barely see any change. The way the story resolves implies that now that Zaun and Pilltover have triumphed over a shared ennemy, they grieve together and make peace because they have learned that war comes at too high a cost, and Zaun gets to be represented by ONE councilor.

I'm sorry but either the show tried something and missed, or the show was just incredibly shallow from the beginning. This conflict was set up from the first second of the show by having the main characters be orphaned by cops in a popular uprising which only looks more and more justified as we learn more about Zaun. That is to say that Topside doesn't care about Zaunites. From what we can tell, Heimerdinger has been leading the city for 300 years, and he discovers just now that Zaun has problems ?? Piltover prides itself for being the city of progress and equality, while exploiting the misery of the people that are LITERRALY BENEATH THEM. It's the final shot of THE FIRST SCENE IN THE SHOW, the topside people are sitting ON TOP of Zaun, reaping the benefits while throwing their wastes at them.

I think there's no better illustration for how Piltover considers Zaun than the scene where Jayce announces to the Council that Silco has demanded independance. All the councilors lose their shit. They are OUTRAGED by the demand. Clearly, Piltover considers Zaun its property. People to exploit, whose need and misery they can ignore, and ultimately, a problem to be solved through the police by having them arrested/beaten up/killed.

So either the show was indeed trying to tell a story about class struggle and oppression, and failed to deliver a satisfying conclusion; or the show was only interested in the appearance and flavor of class struggle only as a vessel for the cliché of "the cycle of violence". Which hmm, yeah it's 2024. I don't think anyone needs me to write an entire section about the necessity of fighting for human rights and resisting oppression.

I could have talked about how pitfighter Vi was 60% of the promo for Season 2, and yet was done and gone in a minute, which was also what we got with the promo, or how a French animation studio decided to call an independant, pacifist and egalitarian community " The Commune" (if you know you know); I could have also talked about Jinx's character, and how the show portrays her self healing from her devouring guilt, but I'll stop rambling here. I hate that I have wrote this, because I don't want to spread negativity. I'd rather spend this kind of energy on things I love.

The thing is, I really really wish I enjoyed Arcane season 2, because season 1 means a lot to me. Vi's character awakened something in me. It is representation I never knew I needed and it changed me. I know this sounds silly. It's only a fictionnal story after all, but it helped me grow into a better and more hopeful person. In the end, I just feel like season 2 went too far too fast, and left me behind to try and pick up the pieces of my expectations. If you've made it this far, I sincerely thank you, and I hope you have a beautiful rest of the day.

[thestupidhelmet]

How would you have written the Jay and Leia's first time storyline? You talked about how there was no emotional impact and it basically just fell flat, so how would you have handled it?

Hi! 😃

Within the context of T9S as it is, that's a tough question to answer. Jay and Leia's first time storyline fits the overall lighter, more superficial tone of T9S vs. T7S.

I would've rewritten Jay and Leia's whole storyline, tbh. I would've given both characters different core characterizations, particularly Jay. Leia's malaise and unhappiness at her Chicago life would remain the same; the cause for it would be deeper.

The foundation of their relationship would've built on depth rather than the superficiality of a Kelso clone who's capable of lasting growth and a Leia whose unhappiness is portrayed as significantly deeper than the reasons the show gives for it.

Like Eric/Donna and Jackie/Hyde before them in T7S, Jay and Leia would've connected with each other through finding solace from their woes in each other as well as joy.

Donna is Eric freedom from his (perceived and actual) suffocating and hyper-controlled home life. Eric is Donna's emotional stability and safety that she doesn't have at home.

Jackie is Hyde's challenger to face his fears of abandonment and his teacher that he's not unlovable. Hyde is Jackie's teacher that love isn't shiny presents and obedience but acts of love, like sacrificing what makes him happy to cheer her up, going to jail in her stead, becoming homeless (almost) to protect her reputation, and so much more.

Jay and Leia's relationship lacks depth because the characters do. As I've written previously, Jay in actuality would not be a Kelso clone with his upbringing by two ever-divorcing, ever-remarrying parents who are in a toxic relationship. He'd have a lot of emotional baggage and, hopefully, be a thoughtful kid rather than being a relatively carefree womanizer who overuses the word bro.

Leia is raised by two loving parents in a healthy relationship yet suffers from a sadness that is portrayed (intentionally or not) as mild depression. Finding joy and freedom in Point Place starts with her discovering Gwen, who is her real force of change. T9S would've needed Leia to stumble upon Jay, not Gwen, letting loose in his room to forge that bond.

Like Eric and Donna, their relationship would've begun platonically. Their first attraction to each other would be emotional, not aesthetic or sexual. In season 1, we would've seen their bond develop and grow, connecting Leia to Jay's friend group and -- perhaps -- causing some insecurity-jealousy-resentment from Jay's best friend, Nate. At the end of season 1, Jay and Leia's emotional bond has transformed into a romantic one, and they kiss.

In season 2, Part 1, Jay and Leia would navigate figuring out whether they want to "sacrifice" their friendship for a romance. Leia might be idealistic about it because of her parents' relationship while Jay is more cautious because his parents' relationship sucks. He'd rather keep a healthy friendship with Leia than risk a potentially toxic romance with her.

But with guidance from his friends and Red and Kitty, he realizes he and Leia don't have to be Jackie and Kelso or Eric and Donna. They can be Jay and Leia. Part 1 ends with Jay and Leia officiallybin a romantic relationship.

In season 2, Part 2, Leia is sex-positive and ready to have that connection with Jay. Jay, however, has witnessed how sex tears his family apart. He's afraid that having sex might turn him into his dad, and he'd never want to hurt Leia the way his dad hurts his mom. This would be a nice parallel and reversal of Eric and Donna's storyline in T7S.

Leia, and perhaps other characters, help Jay understand that he's nothing like his dad. He's not selfish or narcissistic. That he worries about hurting Leia proves this fact (as does so much more). Betsy, too, could've been used as an ally rather than an antagonistic. She and Jay could've bonded over and validated their dad's awfulness to their mothers.

Jay and Leia connecting sexually, having their first time, would be an affirmation of the freedom and joy they've found in each other. The actual act could've been awkward, although Donna prepared Leia how to make it less awkward. Sexually-experienced Nate could've given Jay good advice: 1) jerking off earlier in the day so that he'd last longer with Leia and 2) all about foreplay being important (although it might've been an hilarious callback to T7S had Kitty told him this information).

The scene itself, with all the emotional build up of season 1 through much of season 2, would've allowed for Jay and Leia's first time to have a similar emotional impact for the audience as Eric and Donna's.

In the aftermath, Leia is blissful and shares TMI with her friends. Jay, though, is happy but anxious. He still thinks he's got a ticking time bomb of his dad's infidelity in him. So he proposes he and Leia not have sex again for a while. In his mind, this will prove he doesn't need sex to be happy.

Leia: You mean like a week?

Jay: More like a month, maybe two. Three at the most.

Leia: I might be in Chicago or California by then if my mom doesn't let me stay in Point Place.

To Leia's mind, she thinks Jay hated having sex with her.

This conflict is resolved swiftly, however (in an episode). Jay admits enthusiastically that he loved having sex with Leia. He felt super close to her. He's just afraid he'll sleep with another girl.

Leia: Do you was to sleep with another girl?

Jay: No! But what if it's instinct, like salmon returning to where they were born to spawn?

Leia grasps his shoulders gently and kisses him. Afterward, she says, "Were you thinking another girl then?"

Jay: I wasn't thinking at all! I just --

Jay kisses Leia back, passionately. This leads to them making love again.

As they hold each other in bed, Leia says, "Still scared?"

Jay: Of what?

Leia: Cheating on me with other girls.

Jay (deadpan): What is cheating? Or other girls? I don't understand these alien concepts.

He and Leia grin at each other then make out.

***

The deeper the characters, the deeper the storylines. T9S's writing isn't deep. It's easy. It's funny but nowhere near as funny as T7S because -- at its best -- T7S's humor rose organically from the deeper characters and their deeper storylines.

T9S is another case of having a great opportunity, a great cast, and squandering it by writing toward the middle to satisfy nostalgic T7S fans and appeal to new ones. T7S didn't have the pressure of being a sequel to another show. Its creators were free to be fully original.

[imagine-a-sanctuary-like-this]

Some early thoughts on Arcane S2

Just a few thoughts on the 1st Act of the new season. No strong commitments or opinions just yet, it's still early on in the story. I'll start with what I especially liked, then cycle into things I'd have liked to see done differently.

Animation

Visually, this season's a step up from the last. I've especially enjoyed the differently-stylized into sequences to each episode (the charcoal-like funeral, the overlords' last supper and the Grey, respectively). I've read some complaints about the music-video-esque treatment of the fights, but I enjoyed that. The music's not my thing, but it fits the steampunk/sci-fi-fantasy aesthetic pretty well.

Vi/Cait

Good to see it become canon! I also like the tragedy they seem to be setting up, and I do like how they wrote their relationship. Again, have read complaints about them getting together and breaking up too quickly, but I think it makes sense - the kiss is a pay-off to almost a season's worth of build-up. The breakup is the result of the gap between the characters' beliefs, conditions and natures. There's always been tension between them, and they're not perfect for each other, so them getting together all at once would not have been believable. Also, since Act 1 sees basically everything uprooted and thrust into chaos, it makes sense for them to make impulsive decisions trying to find comfort. Sure, they're probably not deeply in love, they've known each other for a short time, but they've clearly liked each other for a while. I don't really get where the people that think it's rushed are coming from.

Cait's arc set-up

I really like where it's going! The arc they seem to be setting up looks like it'll be about the effects of grief on perpetuating hatred and violence, which fits right in with the story. I do wonder if they'll attempt to take Cait to the 'extreme' and then bring her back in a sort of redemption arc. It seems like that might be difficult to do after some point. But I'm excited to find out where it's going.

Jinx, Isha and Sevika

Not much to say here, I like how Jinx's family themes continue even after Silco's death. All kinds of nice parallels going on. I like it.

Alright, now for the stuff I'm not so positive on. There's quite a bit, but simply because it is easier to criticize than to praise, especially when S1 has set a very high standard.

Too many plotlines

I've seen people talk about pacing issues, and I do agree, but to me the more fundamental problem (which is the cause of the first) is that this season's juggling too many plotlines. Just the ones that come to mind:

(1) Zaun vs Piltover, undercity uprising (2) Mel and the Black Rose (3) Ambessa's Noxus interference (4) "The Arcane is waking up" (5) Vi, Jinx and Warwick family drama (6) Victor's becoming (7) Vi and Cait relationship drama (8) Singed

My hope is that these will be bettered by uniting some of the plotlines. Victor and the Arcane will probably end up one storyline, same with the Black Rose and Noxus. Still, the story feels over-loaded with STORIES, and not in a very water-tight writing kind of way, but rather in a 'there's too much going on' kind of way. I'm afraid that they will not have enough screentime to set up, develop and pay off all of these, while also doing justice to the character arcs. I might be wrong, we will see.

For now, I feel like they should have cut one of the plotlines above to make more space for the story to breathe. It's also a little thematically messy. There's usually at least a loose thematic connection (family, using magic/science for good/bad, dangers of the arcane, oppression), but sometimes it feels too loose. Again, I'm sure some of this will come with time as we get these 'looser' plots developed, like the Black Rose, Noxus's political interests, etc. Hopefully, they can pay it off right.

A consequence of so much going on is, yes, some moments are not given enough time. This was most evident for me in the Jayce/Viktor goodbye scene. Perhaps it is meant to be underwhelming and this will be relevant later, but as it stands, it's rushed. I've seen someone given another good example, Jayce and Heimer's reunion scene - it should have been tensed with residual conflict, but there's kind of... nothing.

Another consequence is that some characters screentime feels insufficient for their story importance (e.g., Jayce, Viktor, Ekko), while others', excessive (Maddie, the enforcer dudes). Isha's screentime is fine, since she works as a parallel to Powder, and Salo's is also alright because of politics plotline. I've seen some leaks about Maddie which I will not detail here, but I'm not sure that they justify her abundant screentime.

Scale of conflict

I quite dislike the seeming shift away from the core Zaun vs Piltover conflict towards a more 'global' feel. Makes sense for S2 to have a bigger scope, but this is a little too big for my liking. Both the Arcane waking up and the Noxus stuff is very global, and since the show is more about Arcane than about world politics, I would've preferred to have seen the latter cut down in favour of more screentime to the former, as well as main characters from S1.

I also quite dislike the 'let's put aside our political differences to save the world' direction that this all seems to be winding up to, because it kind of puts the more interesting, interpersonal conflict on hold, and takes what I'd consider the 'easy way out' of the moral difficulties of the conflict. I do not know if this is what they will do this season, but it feels like they're edging towards that with the Jayce, Ekko, Heimer and Victor stuff (and possibly the Grey?).

Viktor and Agency

Once again, with so little screentime it's difficult to tell, but the set-up seems to suggest a certain direction here, which I can't say I like. It's unclear whether Viktor is controlled or mind-addled by the Hexcore, but I do dislike the seeming lack of emotion. If he's controlled, it kind of takes away from what S1 was building towards. I do like that Jayce is pushed to use the Hexcore on Viktor (he chooses to do it, despite promising to destroy it), but I feel like the fallout would have been more compelling, especially in terms of Viktor as a character, if he'd seemed more in-control.

They seem to have chosen to go with something else, and I don't doubt they have an idea for his arc, but I wish there'd been more of the original League concept in Arcane's Viktor. As it stands, all the desperation from S1, the anger and helplessness, have sort of... gone, without a good conclusion (I don't really consider Sky's death a good conclusion). Or at least, without one for now. I thought that S1 had been building up to the Machine Herald stuff. Maybe this is an intentional subversion. I've never found Viktor's character to be very compelling, but he was at his best when pushed to desperate measures by his dying body.

This is a matter of personal enjoyment, but I do genuinely hope they bring some emotions back for him, and I really hope he is not controlled by the Hexcore.