#neon ‚ vis.

[sqwigeon]

Neon Genesis Arcane

[froegs]

the siblings ever

[angelinthefire]

"Blisters and bedrock" and The Flashback

So I know the flashback scene with Felicia in s2e5 is controversial. So I wanted to take the time to understand it properly, and do a close rewatch.

And I realized that even though I watched the episode like four times before, I never properly evaluated what was going on with Vander, I wasn't thinking of him as a character in his own right, just as a symbol of Vi and Jinx's past, and hence I didn't understand the scene until now.

Of course, it's all about "blisters and bedrock". That phrase is the name of the episode, the line is repeated three times, obviously it's important. So what does it mean?

The first time we hear it, it's in Vander's garbled memories. The memory that's most impactful to him is the failed rebellion on the bridge and its aftermath.

There's fighting, there's Silco looking at him sadly, with almost child-like sadness, there's Felicia's dead body, then Vander trying to drown Silco.

Those memories are followed by his recent experience killing the enforcers at Stillwater, then by seeing Powder, and a still-blurry image of Vi, even though he hasn't actually seen her yet since he awoke as Warwick, almost as though Powder's presence implies Vi.

Then there's the image of Felicia at the jukebox, and then a disfigured Silco, toasting "blisters and bedrock". It's ghostly, almost accusatory, said as Vander's being faced with the gory injury he inflicted. But what it means is a mystery.

The next instance of the phrase is in Vander's apology letter. He gives his little explanation for his actions, and signs off, "blisters and bedrock." Still not super clear. The letter itself is kind of weak, as far as apologies go. And then there's this cryptic phrase at the end.

Finally, Warwick/Vander is drawn to the girls by the scent of Isha's blood. When he first sees Vi, she almost looks like a two-headed creature from his POV shot, with her massive gauntlets looking sort of like heads, with the glowing hextech gems as their eyes (And I think I need to make a separate post about Vi in this episode, because it's so good). They fight. But then she lowers her guard and he sees her, and that's when we get the full flashback.

Right off the bat, it's established that Vander and Felicia are close. He knows that the song she picked has some special significance. The way they look at each other is kind of flirty too.

They're celebrating the opening of The Last Drop, which they intend to be a pillar for the community of the Lanes (which is a very shop-local approach to politics, but whatever). We knew this was Vander and Silco's endeavor, and Felicia is the only other one there, which means she has a special place in their lives.

Silco is largely passive in the scene. We get a cute little bait-and-switch where it seems like he's going to be a super-serious revolutionary, but then he says something playful instead ("I'm bozo one"), so we get a glimpse of what he used to be like, and what the dynamic of his relationship with Vander was.

And then we get to the reveal that Felicia is pregnant. Now, I think what happens next has been twisted through discourse, so I want to quote it directly:

Felicia: The second I told you I put you on the hook. You two are going to figure this Zaun thing out. I don't care if you have to carve it out of the bedrock covered in blisters. You're not allowed to fail anymore. For her. For me. Vander: What’s the point if we can't raise an ankle-biter or two? Silco: To Zaun, then. Blisters and bedrock.

I've seen people characterize this as Vander and Silco promising to look after Felicia's child. It's not that at all. She's not telling them to look after her kid. She's telling them to succeed at winning independence for Zaun for the sake of her child.

"I don't care if you have to carve it out of the bedrock covered in blisters. You're not allowed to fail." That is: Do whatever it takes. Even if it's hard, and ugly, and painful. That's how you'll help my child.

Vander agrees - what they're fighting for is future generations of Zaunites.

And Silco turns it into a toast. Blisters and bedrock - whatever it takes.

So now we know that in the first ghostly flashback, "blisters and bedrock" was an accusation, it was a manifestation of Vander's guilt. "We said, 'whatever it takes'. And look at Felicia. Look at me."

"Blisters and bedrock" gives Vander's apology letter new meaning too. It turns a kind of weak explanation into something much more meaningful. He's saying he'll do what it takes to patch things up.

In an episode all about regrets and missed chances and forgiveness, it really resonates.

And there's one more instance of "blisters and bedrock" being used - in the song "The Beast" off the season 2 soundtrack.

Vander isn't really able to express himself as Warwick. So the songs providing a very literal window into what he's going through is useful. The lyrics of "What have they done to us", used towards the end of the episode, are just straight-up what Vander's thinking in that scene. I don't think the lyrics to "The Beast" are used in the show, but they're very straightforward too.

Here are the lyrics to the bridge of that song:

What happened to the place where we left off Any progress erased, I was dead wrong Couldn't carve out a place, every dream that we chased Through the blisters and bedrock

Vander is recognizing his failure.

When Vander put down his gauntlets to look after Vi and Powder, he wasn't keeping a promise to Felicia. He was *breaking* his promise to her.

The flashback frames the conflict between Vander and Silco in more personal terms too. In terms of what united them, they both promised to fight for Zaun for the sake of Felicia's child. But when those two things are posed against each other, Silco is willing to kill kids in order to fight for Zaun, while Vander gives up the fight for Zaun to protect the kids.

I think it's significant that the flashback doesn't end on "blisters and bedrock". It ends on Vander suggesting a baby name, showing where his priorities are going to be

And when he sees Vi, as Warwick, he sees the girl who he gave up the fight for. He's remembering his failures, he's tormented by his failures. But Vi, and Powder, are worth it for him.

[coloursteelsexappeal]

Vice City, Leonida; 2025

[primsheep]

Angry oil slick 💜

[strawberryspuffy]

V1 = VI

[rubidimum]

sketchdumppp

i just be drawing random shit these days i guess

[autisticaradiamegido]

day 90

happy tdov here's the faves who, incidentally, i do headcanon as all being various flavors of trans

[rachhkelll]

shinji the infp

[gekinetic]

Post-stream twitter post image (11/05/2023) Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

[saskietypeset]

So, I got a little silly last night and made this. It’s based off the Jock-Nerd/Prep-Goth alignment chart. So I figured that some people might like an explanation for the placements.

Gino: He is a hunky himbo. And he is an all around cool dude.

Kallen: She definitely cares about her fitness, but from the moments we see her as a student she doesn’t really come off as a prep.

Asuka: If she was real she would be a punk.

Suzaku: Ok this is where I had to make an important decision. Is a nerd someone who is into comics, movies, games or someone more intellectual. Ultimately I went with the former, which is why I have Suzaku as a true prep.

Rei: She is peak normie. And that’s about it.

Lelouch: The Zero Suit is an extravagant goth kid’s dream outfit. But once again he is more intellectual, but not necessarily a nerd.

Randy: Oh Randy, it’s made apparent that his is a gamer, he also shows some interest in Table-Top RPGs. He’s not completely preppy, but he’s a hell of a lot more preppy than the boy to his right.

Shinji: He totally reads comics and plays games as a way to escape from reality.

Julian: Well he is very clearly a goth, he also runs “Der Monster Klub” where he and his friends play Table-Top RPGs.

[styrofauxm]

If the entire appeal of your final episode is the romantic relationships (in a show that isn't about that), then you made a bad final episode.

[five16]

figured i would put this out there bc i've seen vi being attacked about it online a few times - vi has no understanding of her sister's mental health. she has no understanding of her own mental health. vi isn't going to miraculously know everything jinx has gone through, but that's a two way street. these two characters are fundamentally flawed. often times actions are taken at face value, it's a recurring theme in the show. i also don't fuck with the idea that vi is fully to blame for jinx's path in life. she was 15 / 16 & had just witnessed everyone she had loved dying, only to find out it was her sister that was the cause. she reacted, she was shown to regret it & tried to go back for her, but fucking marcus.

anyway, all this to say, vi has no real understanding of her sister's mental health & shouldn't be held to a standard where she should.

[soledads-graveyard]

please send requests......

hello friends! i'm would like to write.

i only write wlw romance!!!!!!!(fluff/imagines/oneshots mostly!) but id do platonic scenarios and headcanons for men

id feel the most comfortable writing romance for:

arcane -> vi or cait

sdv -> haley, abigail

valorant???? -> fade, deadlock, neon, kj, maybe jett

pokemon -> RIKA RIKA RIKA, ask? I've only played a few of the games so :<

idk mha? -> jirou

atla/lok -> korra, kuvira

mobile suit gundam TWFM: suletta, miorine, nika

id write platonically for any character I know of, otherwise, ask about other fandoms/character from these listed fandoms,, anyone is honestly fair game bc I've seen a lot of media just.. can't remember anything rn......! PLEASE

[plainmoth]

I recently saw the first trailer for the sequel to the Arcane series and immediately felt like drawing the two sisters from the series! The result is this double page in my sketchbook. Because I had so much fun with the last drawing with the neon color. I based the whole thing on this style.

[girl-bateman]

Album Aesthetic;

Currents, Tame Impala.