#that my love for her was greater than her love for me

[eponymous-rose]

Some (many) thoughts on Arcane s2 while it's still fresh in my mind:

(tw: discussion of fictional depictions of suicide)

I'm gonna do some nitpicking here, but only because I really did like it overall - I think for me s1 was a solid 10/10 and this season was an 8.5/10, so I'm certainly looking forward to rewatching it! The animation was a big step up from s1's incredible work, the music was great, the performances were fantastic. I do think the overall writing/story fell down a bit, though.

It's weird, because my go-to when character arcs feel rushed is to want more episodes, but I don't think that necessarily would have solved my issues with this season.

Cait turned on Ambessa on a dime - we love to see it, but I think we maybe needed a few more overt hints of her discomfort with her position, maybe a sense of wrongness in their adoptive relationship and some parallels with Jinx & Silco given what Vi says early on ("why are you the one acting like her?"). Ambessa believes her daughter to be lost, and Cait has lost a mother - they were certainly playing on that substitution, but the eventual turn, while fun, felt a bit quick and unearned. I saw someone joke about the word "Cupcake" flipping Cait back like a sleeper agent, but that's kinda how abrupt things felt.

I think Mel's plot largely hung together okay, although it was pretty disconnected from everyone except Ambessa - would've loved to have seen some acknowledgement that Cait was filling her shoes as Daughter for a while there.

Isha was sweet and I liked the parallels with the Powder-Vi relationship (LOVED Jinx running with the pink chalk and Isha with the blue), but I think the sacrifice metaphor got a little muddled. The parallels with Powder charging in and killing everyone around her, versus Isha charging in and saving everyone but herself felt a little forced and I struggled to see how they served the greater narrative. The whole point of Powder's failure was a messy combination of bad luck, overcompensating for what she perceived as a lack of confidence in her, etc. Isha had Jinx's confidence on her side, I guess, and now of course we have the foreshadowing of Jinx dying to save someone else, which she's been trying to do since Act II.

Suicide was a pretty heavy concept throughout the first season. We had the parallels of Jayce and Viktor, we had the little-remarked-upon moment where Viktor hesitates before cutting the wire on Jinx's bomb. I actually think this season did pretty well with those two (although I'll talk about a couple things that irked me below), but the concept that we can't escape the things that we've done and we instead have to find salvation in those around us felt kind of contrary to Jinx's finally finding a way to die for her sister. I don't know that Jinx's story was necessarily supposed to feel satisfying or complete, but without another season there's not much to dig through there.

And that brings up the main reason I don't think more episodes would have resolved my quibbles with this season: it was pretty prone to overexplaining. To me, one of the most exceptional things about that first season was how little it explained. You had these gorgeous, evocative flashes of Vander trying to kill Silco, Silco stabbing him and fleeing into the night, and that's all we needed! That's it! We didn't need to know the specifics, we didn't need more backstory than that - the whole point of the season was that these kids are trying to make their own stories, and these guys have set the stage and are in the process of bowing out. Much as I loved the glimpses this season into the past generation's adventures, it felt like it was pinning something down that was more effectively left to the imagination.

There were also some weird fumbles with discussions of disability, especially in that last episode. I loved so much of what season one did with it - the older generation of Zaunites almost all had some form of disability due to the way they'd been systematically poisoned and their constant exposure to danger, and that was a really in-your-face way to challenge the early "why can't we all get along" stuff. And so much of Viktor's and Jayce's arcs are tied in with the sense of time running out and how Heimerdinger's long-term goals are incompatible with helping the people suffering right now. But instead we get this weird "you didn't like your imperfections so you tried to eliminate all imperfections", which doesn't quite ring true.

We just fundamentally didn't get to a resolution that I think was heavily implied, especially in Act II. "No one in power is innocent" is a great, raw line, but we didn't really see it play out. Instead, we have everyone stopping from othering each other in order to band together against an even bigger Other. As a side note, I don't think that Sevika's ending is meant to be a positive thing - we see from the skeptical looks of others that she's got a long road ahead. The revolution we saw coming just sort of fizzled out, and I think it's still on the horizon, which makes things feel incomplete.

There were also a lot of notes that repeated instead of echoing or harmonizing. We had variations on the theme of Vander dying three different times. We had Vi being unable to kill her sister several times. The repetition felt a bit like it was filling time instead of moving things forward the way s1's plot kept pushing.

This season is also the first time I felt the hand of League of Legends Canon shoving the plot into place. We knew Vi was heading for that enforcer uniform, but after the initial conflict it sometimes felt more like we just unlocked a new skin for the character. The Vander-as-Warwick stuff was kind of silly and out of left field, although it was executed pretty well and certainly pulled at the ol' heartstrings. Ekko getting his time abilities was fun and impacted the final fight, but I feel like we were missing something there as well that I'm having a harder time putting my finger on. Some of Viktor's lines felt designed to make the League players in the audience go "HE SAID THE THING". And I hate the feeling of setting up the Next Installment in the Cinematic Universe, probably just because I'm exhausted with Marvel stuff - I'd love for an adaptation like this to be able to really and truly stand on its own.

Overall, it just felt less like the characters were driving the story and more like they were ticking off boxes, which is just something that any good finale has to contend with one way or another.

Anyway, that's a lot of nitpicking. Fundamentally, this felt almost like it was a really strong fic that did a surprisingly good job of wrapping everything up and was stunningly put together in places... but still lacked the spark of the original.

Stuff I loved: Vi/Cait getting a pretty strong arc and certainly the first lesbian sex scene I've ever seen in a TV-14 cartoon. Animation and score was stunning. I did love the what-if of episode 7 - something I've been waiting for them to acknowledge is that literally everything that happens in the show follows from that one break-in during episode one. I actually think Vi and Jinx's reunion and reconciliation felt earned.

I'm curious how I'll feel on subsequent rewatches - the first time I watched s1, I remember being blown away but not in a "this is the best thing ever" way, and it wasn't until the second time that it really clicked for me.

[lizzybeeee]

The Lucanis vs Illario story would have had greater emotional depth/intrigue if the writers didn't water down how fucked up the Crows are as an organization.

Just some thoughts about how, out of all the side villains, Illario had some great potential to be a really interesting/tragic character in my opinion.

TL;DR: Zevran Aranai has a knife with Caterina's name on it for good reason and Lucanis/Illario need therapy...or whatever the Thedas equivalent is called...talking to Rook, I dunno

Going into DATV as a new player, or even as a returning one, the whitewashing of the Crows has a lot of the potential complexities of that life simply ignored or barely touched upon. The entire 'Illario vs Lucanis' boils down to: Illario seething in the shadows about Lucanis being the 'best boy'™ of the family while Illario is an after thought - which he is.

Let's be real, Illario is not subtle and immediately comes across as the Scar to Lucanis' 'Mufasa'. It's a questline with a very straightforward villain who has pretty lackluster motivations from what info we're provided - being 'I want power and to be the First Talon'. The game does very little explore what motivations he may have beyond being jealous of Lucanis/wanting more power.

However, if you play the quest line knowing what previous games have set up about the Crows - about how cutthroat and brutal the life is behind the glamour - then you can see that the entire Lucanis vs Illario conflict has amazing potential to be a dramatic tragedy.

We've seen how the life of Crow can affect Zevran - someone who was sold into the life through child-slavery. How interesting would it be to see how the life of a Crow can affect someone who was born into it? It's pretty clear in-game that Caterina intends for her grandchildren to carry on the family tradition - despite the fact that this 'family tradition' has likely led to the deaths of most of her grandchildren and however many children she had.

If there's banter about how Illario's/Lucanis' parents/cousins died specifically I haven't heard it, but the impression I got in-game was that it was likely linked to the Crows/politics in some way? Feel free to correct me! Still majorly fucked up that she pushes her grandsons into this life regardless!

Lucanis/Illario's situation was not like Zevran's - who was sold into the Crow's through slavery, with no one to speak up for him. Caterina was a woman who had power, who knew what the life of a Crow meant, and who still pushed those she 'loved' into it because is consolidated her place in the system. For all the Crows talk of 'family' Caterina doesn't seem to give a shit about them unless if they're contributing to the family business in some way - not to mention the whole 'you fail and we kill you' clause of being a Crow in the first place.

In the 'Wigmaker Job' from Tevinter Nights Lucanis talks about how Caterina hit him [also Illario] with her cane for mistakes and had him spend days without food/water. How he used to hate her but now 'realizes' that it was her way of ensuring he survived the life of being an Antivan Crow. Did it end up protecting them? It likely pushed them both to refine their skills out of fear. It's likely that simply by association with her they would be targets and thus needed to know how to take care of themselves and fight.

But why have him as a Crow in the first place? Why not simply train them well to defend themselves? You can't deny that she doesn't benefit from having her grandchildren in the family business - intentionally wanting Lucanis to take over her position as First Talon. The Antivan Crows are a force to be reckoned with and being one brings a whole lot of power in Antiva - being part of the elite of that group even more so.

If the game showed us the ugly reality of the Crows - the brutality of the lifestyle and how cutthroat the organization is, it could have really added some depth to Illario's betrayal - having it be more than "I want more power/respect" to "this is the result of what you taught me was valuable in life."

Warden: "Do you actually enjoy being an assassin?" Zevran: "And why not? There are many things to enjoy about being a Crow in Antiva. You are respected. You are feared. The authorities go out of their way to overlook your trespasses. Even the rewards are nothing to turn your nose up at."

Illario, bitter about Caterina favoring Lucanis - resentful of the fact that she has already decided that Lucanis will be her successor, being offered power by the Venatori (at the expense of the Crows) and accepting because why not? How different is it from what the Crows do? Isn't power and status the whole point of working yourself up in the Crows? Getting into a relationship with Zara because why not? Isn't sex part of the allure of being a Crow? Why can't he have this? Why shouldn't he have this?

Rook: "When we met, it didn't seem like Illario and Caterina were close." Lucanis: "It was hard to be close to her. Even for me. And...I was her favorite."

Why would he have connections to his family? Why should he? Caterina certainly never seemed to value 'family' beyond what they could do for her and their family legacy. Most of his family is already dead, and of those that remain the only parental figure he has obviously favors Lucanis. We don't have a lot of evidence in-game to show that Illario ever really cared for Lucanis, but the prequel story 'The Wake' and Lucanis' own banter imply that they were practically brothers, best friends. Perhaps he did care and then ceased to at some point, perhaps he didn't at all, or perhaps he accepted that an early death for them both was inevitable like everyone else in their family. Dead now or later - what was the difference? At least if Illario sells him out now to the Venatori then he'll get something from it instead of another dead family member to bury.

It's the tragic result of raising a child in an environment where he was taught and experienced the need for self-preservation at all costs. Constantly threatened, punished, and made well aware of that fact that his life was an expendable commodity. Then, when things in the world went to shit he picked the only option that made sense to him. To save himself.

The irony of the potential fall of the Crows, the fall of House Dellamorte, coming at the hands of one of their own - not because he had a change of heart but because he was taught too well by them. The Crows view those that fail them as disposable, someone to be discarded - if the Crows fail Illario, what is to stop him from applying that mindset to them?

But this would require the writers to acknowledge how messed up the Crows are and we can't do that to our 'Noble Freedom Fighters'™. They'll also need to address Zevran's existence and what lore was established in past games...and we can't have that either lmao.

[max--phillips]

Okay here goes

First, the spoiler free stuff:

Ridley Scott knows how to make a fucking film.

If I don’t see fics of Acacius x reader x Lucilla I will begin biting

If you are going in it for Pedro, I will warn you his character is very important but kind of… idk, shallow is too strong of a word, but not very fleshed out. I don’t think that’s an issue in the greater scheme of the movie though, it makes sense in the plot and doesn’t feel out of place or bad in the universe.

If you are going in it for Paul Mescal, you will not be disappointed.

Please watch the first movie first. The story will not make any fucking sense if you don’t.

Just the right amount of flashbacks and footage from the first movie . Chefs kiss

Ridley Scott really said “all emperors and tyrants are nasty little freaks with terrible vibes”

Oh also if you’re squeamish about gore and stuff like. It’s a movie about gladiators so set your expectations accordingly. There is an instance of a disembodied head used as a prop. So y’know

Okay, spoilery stuff below the cut

Arishat was hot :( rip

Monkeys at the beginning? Terrible. 0/10 did not enjoy that. Also did not enjoy seeing and hearing Mr. Mescal BITING ONE

I love Ravi I would watch a whole movie just about him tending to gladiators’ wounds quite frankly. Give me that story

We love to see bisexuality on screen (even though that wasn’t a social identity at the time but we’re not here to talk about that) what with the concubines and drunk as fuck Macrinus

Speaking of drunk as fuck Macrinus: that whole scene was so fucking funny. They’re like that meme about people getting high. You know the one

Speaking of Macrinus—Denzel Washington stole the show. When TIME magazine pushed a story to me today headlined “Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel Washington,” I was like, pshhhh, nah. But it really does. It’s not about him? But it’s his fucking show.

The politics . THE POLITICS

It feels a little heavy handed right now but that wasn’t probably how it was intended, given it was made before. Y’know. The election. But the whole dream of Rome being a place where everyone is equal and cared for but you can only whisper it or it’ll shatter? Yeah.

Oh, right, Acacius: that dude is so tired he does NOT want to be there. Let him go home to his hot wife. Alas, his hot wife is the way she is and like… no good deed goes unpunished.

And I fucking called it with my text post a few months ago. Two (2) movies now where Denzel Washington (either directly or indirectly) kills Pedro Pascal. Brilliant

Admittedly selfishly I would’ve liked to see more of him. But it felt like the correct thing in the context of the story. If he didn’t die then, if he wasn’t the inciting event for the uprising of the people of Rome, it wouldn’t have made sense and it would’ve just been fan service and “look, we got Pedro Pascal!” at that point.

I would’ve liked to see a more in-depth exploration of the change in relationship between Lucius and Lucilla—it seems like they went from Lucius screaming at her to get out to them hugging it out without any real development between the two of them specifically. Obviously a lot had happened in the world of the movie at that point but nonetheless

Macrinus shooting Lucilla was his Icarus moment. There was no coming back from that. “But what about Geta” “but what about Caracalla” no. It was Lucilla. If she’d gotten got by the praetorian guards or something else, it would’ve been fine. But because it was Macrinus there was nowhere he could go from there other than [checks notes] getting his hand chopped off and then gutted in a dirty irrigation ditch.

Remember kids, the people in power who are causing all of the things going wrong in the world have names and addresses and are mortal <3

Also another takeaway from the movie: imperialism, religious extremism, ableism, and authoritarianism will be the end of us all <3

Anyway. Good movie. Can’t wait to watch it again in my own home with subtitles so I can actually like… process everything everyone was saying LMAO and take better reaction notes.

I’m still sitting in the theater parking lot it’s been like 30 minutes LMAO okay thanks for coming to my tedtalk or whatever

[thebctman]

I could write so much about Vi and how my perspective of her anger has changed as I’ve grown.

VI’s anger is the steady hum beneath her blood given to her the moment we first see her. Vi is born waiting. She is born waiting for a chance to make it. To protect her family and it is her only salvation.

Her anger is a product of Piltover. She was born in the crack of a city that spit acid onto her. She was born hungry and that has never left. She aches and wants for a life better for her sister. She wants to make sure that her little siblings will never know the feeling that people will see you as a lesser being.

And she fails. She fails again and again to protect her family and it haunts her. She cannot grieve in prison, and she has always been in a prison so the hum of her tears turns to the rage in her fists.

And at the time, when season 1 came out I saw myself in VI’s anger. I was 15 and I saw myself in her brashness, her love and her want. I grew up with the knowledge that I will always be judged for something that will forever be out of my control. That no matter what I do, there will always be someone who sees me as the dirt underneath their boots.

And that anger showed. It was passionate and it was fuel. And I saw myself in her anger and part that still hasn’t changed even now. But now looking back, 3 years later, I see how much of a child Vi was. I’m at the cusp of adulthood and all I can look at when I see Act 1 Vi is the roundness of her cheeks and the stars in her eyes. I see a young teenager who wants to make it out.

She is begging to make it out. 3 years later, and it’s still what I’m begging for as well. Her anger were love are intertwined and inexchangeable in the midst of her capacity to express her love. It is only when Vi breaks free of her prison and learns how to grieve, to truly process what was lost that she is able to live.

Her anger is her beating heart but so is her love. Her ability to love is much greater than her capacity to forgive and it truly is wonderful to see. She loves so deeply with Cait, with Jinx, with Ekko and everyone she choses to protect.

Her anger is her armor that gives away to love whenever she is within someone she trusts.

[amaru-love-writings]

a very exhausted hunter

It had been a long day for the hunter as well as for the leader of Onychinus. As the person on the leather vest louged on the love couch, the woman in black and red went from side to side, the cheeky crow on her right shoulder, acting as a third pair of eyes - even without a need to, so used to the task was the mechanical bird.

“So, you’re just gonna enjoy the comforts of my house and not even tell me what’s gotten you in such state?” asked Sy from the kitchen, in a voice that denounced a hint of playfulness despite the serious tone of her captivating voice.

The hunter shifted their position and rested their head on the bent arm, now sending glances to the other room of the gothic mansion, a sigh escapes despite their attempts to remain as quiet as possible; after all, this was not their home - even if the woman did nothing to shoo them away; quite the opposite, actually, invited them in at any chance; and they had to really use a convincing excuse to leave.

“It’s the same as usual”, their lips form every syllable slowly, their eyes closing softly as the incandescent lights of the rich lamps lulled them to a calm state.

The clicking of heels announced her presence in the study - on of the many rooms the hunter had been while staying in the company of the Sy; and admitedly, their favorite right after the king size bathroom.

“Well, you’re not usually resting in such an uncomfortable position, look at how your arm is bent!”

The hunter’s eyes locked on Sy’s, the red ocean was deeper than any scar the lounging person had; thankfully, she was not using her evol to extract the truth here.

“It’s part of the job...” they said in a tired tone; and after welcoming a yawn they continued, never loking away from Sy’s form - which now had found a place on the seat right in front of the exhausted hunter -, “it’s just endless, you know... I’m sick of killing, no matter what it is.”

There was such a truth to their statement, Sy never thought they would see in the usually bright and naive hunter. A smile of understanding sat on her defined lips, “it’s just as I told you, you’re more than welcome to stay... and to leave the association of yours. I swear, they will grind you to dust.” She sounded defeated, already hearing their determined speech about saving lives, and sacrifice for the greater good, blah, blah, blah. Her eyes were already closing, announcing a headache from having to listen to it; her fingers massaging her temples.

However, what followed was silence, absolute silence; like the one right after a successful cleaning.

And the woman looked at them, expectant eyes and a slight confused frown of brows; her lips twitching to ask ‘aren’t you gonna preach?’

Instead what came was a focused frown in the hunter’s expression, a calculated movement of their body to sit, and then after a few false starts, they murmur to themselves - yet, the silver-haired woman heard it all, due to her proximity, and infatuation with the hunter.

“You might have a point, Sy. Maybe it’s time I bail...”, then, they were staring deeply into her eyes; as if absorbing her. And people said she had intense eyes.

Sy was about to ask the hunter to repeat themselves, she knew this was not a dream; she had never had pleasant dreams. This... this was everything she had ever wanted to hear.

“My doors are always open, sweetie”, she smiled and her body moved like a wild cat as she sauntered to the love seat, “if you worked for me, you wouldn’t have to get your hands dirty. Ever.”

Her lips held a dangerous promise; and her eyes drew the hunter in. As if hypnotized, they heard ‘devour her, devour her, devour her, devour her, devour her’ non-stop. Each time, the deeper version of their voice would drown them further; leading the hunter closer - mentally and phisically - to the alluring presence of the leader. A hue of burgundy was born from their shared glances.

All of the unspoken words ceased to exist on both of their minds as the warmth of the leader and the hunter’s mingled, hands threw caution and reservation to the air; a crash of teeth, lips and tongues filled the air with unresatrined passion.

The hunter made little to no effort; Sy being the driving force that reached and set the course of their journey; it did not mean the hunter laid passively, they responded with fervor of their own to every touch.

A lughter bubbled from the woman’s chest, “plus, I pay better”. Her tone was filled with teasing, but her eyes softened, full of rewarding affection.

The hunter under her threw their head back, a soft smile finally resting on their lips, “health insurance included?” A mirth gleamed on their purple orbs, their time to tease.

“Sweetie, with me you won’t even need it”. Another feverish kiss took their shared breath away. And another touch that tipped the balance further inside the hunter’s already hazy mind.

“When do i start?” From this angle, the woman could see their somewhat sharp canines; which prompted her to bite their jaw.

With a satisfacted smirk, Sy cooed, “how about now?”

The soft grip on Sy’s head and the earnest kiss she got sealed the contract, “i hope it’ll be long term. I’m not willing to let this job go.” They mused in a gruff tone.

The night was teeming with breathy assurances and pleasure sounds; the only other sound was the approving caw, caw, caw of the ever-present Mephisto, now perched on the bust of some Greek goddess. The zone had become delightfully quiet, and it would take the sunlight to finally tear the lovers apart.

A.N.: This is a fanfic for Love and Deepspace. All the rights are reserved to Infold. This is only meant for entertainment and appreciation for the world of Lnds. Please, do not repost, copy or translate. Feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated! Enjoy.

[min3nc]

ah yes, that will do— i am done. so done, legit got like… yknow, i have 0 will to live left as of now. sayonara, suckers!

[raayllum]

You've done this before. If you care so much about them, set them free. / Take my heart.

2x08 / 5x03 / 5x08 / 6x03 / 6x08

[hopeinthebox]

tagged by the exceptional @cordiallyfuturedwight and @cosmicdreamgrl thanks ever so much my loves <33

now tagging some heroes @aprylynn @thvinyl @visionsofgideontheninth @hoseeok @btscontentenjoyer @jihopesjoint @monismochi @raplinenthusiasts <333 and everyone else

[hellgram]

also with all the damage the show did to jon's reputation as a good northern lad and wildling i hope germ comes out with like. yeah he's rhaegar and lyanna's son and the name she gave him while bleeding out on the birthing bed alone but for her big brother holding her hand in a tower with no way to know that baby aegon had been murdered leaving the title of Egg 6 up for grabs was like. howland.

[eimearkuopio]

Schrödinger's Messiah. He is both dead and alive until we open the box. If we have had enough faith, He will be alive.

I'm not ready to open the box yet. It's been too long. I believe, but I am afraid. So if you want to open it, do it yourself. I'm going to go set up the Resurrection Feast and hope it won't be a funeral.

[somuchbetterthanthat]

Emily is the absolute worst but also holy. shit. the horror of your husband begging you to agree to reprogram you, as a robot, so that you can "be happy together again" i'm. holy shit.

[infizero]

mario & sonic at the olympic games is genuinely the greatest thing on earth i hope they never stop making them

[8bitpizzacoupons]

every few months my love of Grace Armstrong grabs me by the throat and whips me against the wall like a ragdoll

she is SUCH A GOOD CHARACTER i wanna post about her more but my thoughts get so incoherent cuz theres just!! so much to dive into!!

[tigergendermoved2tigergender]

I'm ngl the longer it's been since I've played TOTK the less I like it I think

[softpine]

i have to tell you guys i’m not a skeptic anymore, i believe in ghosts now and my cousin can see dead people for real :D

[defensivelee]

mary is such a mood in her letters to frances like. girl i feel you. i love them Adjectives too