#the arcane hype got me thinking about them that’s so fucked up

[scrapoddles]

A jock and her nun (with and without spirit Halloween face paint)

[archangeldyke-all]

angelllll i need your advice babe! i’m starting to panic about the fact that this is the last arcane season so we won’t be getting any new content of sevika or the other characters after this. they’re all really important characters to me and it’s making me REALLY fucking sad to think about the fact that the hype will die down eventually and then what?? we just have to forget about them?? do you have any thoughts or advice because as dumb as this may sound it’s really making me panic and spiral haha :(( i just love these characters and this world so much and i don’t want to ever be without them

this isn't dumb!! it's totally natural to feel some kind of anxiety when something you love so much is coming to an end. the only thing i can say to comfort you is that 1. i'll be writing about sevika forever, probably, and i'm sure other people will continue writing for other arcane characters, 2. hopefully another show will come along to fill the void! with even more lesbians to love! and 3 and i think most comfortingly: the arcane writers have had season 2 written since they wrote season 1! so while i doubt all the plotlines will be tied up in a nice little bow, there will be some sense of closure at the end, and i trust that the writers will make it a good enough ending that we don't feel empty at the end, but more like... complete?

i hope this helped you a little bit baby! i think the most important thing to remember is that it isn't over yet! season 2 still isn't even out yet! we've got 3 fun weeks of watching and fangirling coming up in november, and after that i imagine the hype will be alive and well for months if not years to come. i don't think arcane is the kind of show that just disappears once it's over-- it's one of a kind and it's been so impactful in so many communities-- i think in a few decades it'll be a classic of the adult animation genre, and i think it'll have fans for years and years to come.

[its-mekjt]

Favourite parts of 3×96 (potential spoilers below the break)

in this episode of critical role, i was joined by bairn (my highland cow stuffed teddy), a bottle of water, an attempt at psychology revision (which failed), a few malted milk biscuits and a sense of impending doom because i agreed to work 12 to 10 tomorrow.

PART ONE

▪︎ this is caleb widogast in an alternate universe btw

▪︎ WHAT LITTLE COTTAGE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN.

▪︎ laura just pulling out a box of tissues.

▪︎ dorian just finding out about the lesbians

▪︎ "fearne and i had a threesome-" // "excuse me?"

▪︎ YES, LAUDNA IS POWERFUL WITHOUT HER, AND IT MAKES ME SOB THAT SHE THINKS SHE ISN'T.

▪︎ fearne loml. she can do no wrong. she's here for EVERYONE. SHE LOVES THEM ALL.

▪︎ "normally, i avert my gaze by looking down, but he's under me." (looks at ceiling instead).

▪︎ travis just slapping marisha and immediately thinking he's hurt her. CSCKLUNG.

▪︎ ah yes. the sibling life. beating the SHIT out of one another. (me and my sister did this bit she got taller than me, and i forgot my own strength, so we were forced to stop)

▪︎ i need the laura bailey vs delilah briarwood one shot.

▪︎ CHETNEY IS ME.

▪︎ bells bells plays spin the bottle when

▪︎ imogen and laudna NOOOO.

▪︎ ashton and fearne YESSSSS.

▪︎ BERTRANDS BLADE. i'm SOBBING.

▪︎ dorian is committed to the aesthetic (the blue)

▪︎ "it's like pulp in my orange juice, get it the fuck out." i'm using that.

▪︎ SUIT UP MONTAGE LETS GO.

▪︎ me looking at dorian's new fit: since when did this become a WHORE HOUSE

▪︎ fearne and ashton's fabric swap

▪︎ they're all going to freeze, but they're all going to look great doing it

▪︎ 'seth' is a bitch about timetables

▪︎ OH GOD HE'S BEHIND THE DOOR

▪︎ dorian blew them up

▪︎ why do i think gelidon is about to appear

▪︎ orym made them go near tal'dorei

▪︎ at least they're in eiselcross now.

PART TWO

▪︎ everybody FUCKING RUN

▪︎ essek swearing

▪︎ "stop fucking floating and lie down essek." fjord stone has entered the chat.

▪︎ guidance, it's nice to have.

▪︎ ESSEK USING ONE OF CALEB'S SPELLS. AWWWWW.

▪︎ of course essek has a face mask.

▪︎ ashton cannot climb trees. too buff.

▪︎ panocy top.

▪︎ JESUS CHRIST +12 TO STEALTH? (also matt's face)

▪︎ what the fuck is happening in aeor

▪︎ oh! bones!

▪︎ OH MY GOD THE TOMB TAKERS

▪︎ essek was a salmon. caleb had to carry him.

▪︎ GRIM PSYCHOMETRY (morbid geometry) ON THE DOME WOOOO

▪︎ creepy slow moving skeleton

▪︎ THEY'RE SINGING THAT SONG (https://youtu.be/ZjlYFWLUDBQ?si=jJlkyaksau0pcsmt)

▪︎ essek is a nursery teacher dealing with a group of children who won't stop touching everything

▪︎ arcane eye let's go

▪︎ who killed those vanguard members?

▪︎ peeking into that tent, then popping out like: nah, i don't need that seered into my mind

▪︎ a fight between them? oh. mind control?

▪︎ oh my giddy aunt, what the hell happened here?

▪︎ well. that's a violent way to go. love it.

▪︎ 🎶asmodeus🎶

▪︎ CHESTY MCCARVEY

▪︎ "there's a faint grinding sound-" // "son of a bitch."

▪︎ the witches + ashton

▪︎ NATURAL 1

▪︎ NOTHING NEEDS TO BE THAT TALL

▪︎ it's giving pale man from pan's labyrinth (oh my god, i have to write a 40 mark essay on pan's labyrinth and city of god in my film exam)

▪︎ MAW.

▪︎ SOMETHING CRAWLING OUT OF IT? FUCK OFF.

▪︎ robbie and taliesin are so hyped for this.

▪︎ two weeks of emotional damage, a week of physical damage.

▪︎ MY LORD THAT MAP IS GORGEOUS

there's a week long break, so there won't be one of these next friday/saturday. see y'all in a couple weeks!

[moldybonessmell]

Arcane Season 2 Finale Critique

// SPOILERS ARCANE SEASON 2

Disclaimer: This is a wonderful show with amazing animation, character design, representation and more, and me pointing out flaws does not take away from this amazing project. I do not aim to put down this show or work done into creating it. Many people tell how amazing it is, but it's also interesting to analyse what are the cons.

So now, I'm going to go through all the plot points that made me raise my eyebrow...

Caitlyn just taking this high rank status so easily?? I get there doen't seem to be democracy in Piltover political system with a bunch of simply influential people being at rule. Cait nepo baby let's go ig But I can ignore that just for the sake of plot moving, alright

My biggest pet peev about this season is that we were getting hyped up about Zaun and Piltover civil war and Jinx being the leader but this kinda never properly happened huh???

Cait was teased to be a brutal dictator bla bla but she didn't do much?? Just tried to not let Ambessa take full control over the city and that's pretty much it. This one also endged me for no reason at all

Jinx was foreshadowed to lead a riot but we never really got one. What was all the build up for? She's even in the opening with a flag. Like yeah she brought people to fight Vik's zombies but I don't know, this left me confused.

The main fight was against an intruder aka Ambessa with a subplot of Black Rose revenge that was questionable bc who.. cares? (if you don't know LOL lore) AND against a bunch of overpowered zombies.

Like yeah cool we finally did a full circle but it all feels SO RUSHED

Each of these sub-plots should have been a different season, but creators kinda just cut these up and slappped them together and you can feel it.

I love arcane I think it has amazing animation, and character design, and representation, but bro does the plot for 2nd season dissappoint.

It felt like creators tried real hard to not go too dark (with Cait for example not becoming a full-on dictator) so it just feels like i got edged the entire time (and got edged in the bad sense)

By the way, we still don't know what Ambessa did to cause all this drama with The Black Rose, there's still no answer.

Also this whole thing with Maddie. Yeah Ambessa is smart and cunning bla bla bla but making "the other woman" love interest evil just for the sake of it is such an outdated and problematic trope. This "conflict" is as old as fandoms on internet - people hate on a person who's supposedly gets in the way of a main couple, when they're not even evil. Like if not for that one line Maddie didn't do anything bad to Cait and even tried to stop her from intruding Zaun. There were no other signs, it's a plot twist for a shock value and that's it. And it's kinda lame. "I told you so" moment like okay whatever you got a ton of post from people justifiyng their hate of Maddie cool ig (I'm not her fan btw I'm just annoyed at this)

Also, CaitVi instead of talking their feelings out and working on the relationship, they just made Vi say "I don't care you had someone else" and that's it. It's so damn lazy. Like yeah, once again, not enough time ig, but I would rather have them talking it out intead of a sex scene you know.

Also, what the fuck was this sex scene?? We have Vi, who's definitely traumatised from spending time in prison and now she gets locked up again, but instead of showing reaction, we only see her crying for Jinx. So, we counting: first, traumatizing place (sexual violence is pretty common in prisons too, so who tf knows what she could have experienced there), second, she's very distraught about Jinx and in a very vulnerable emotional state. And all this makes the worst fucking possible place and time for sex. Like yeah, we could speculate whether it's Vi's fucked up coping mechanism and whatsoever, but the show itself doesn't show anything related to that, and moreover, it seems like it's supposed to be a long awaited sensual scene. I don't know man, I'm just pissed off.

About Vi's writing in this season. I've touched on that in this post, but will say again. I don't like how the show doesn't really elaborate on Vi's trauma, like ever. We got like one full scene with her in fight club and two short reactions from her, but they were about other people. First breakup, then worrying about Jinx, then, finally, we got her reacting to Vander going mad and then Jinx's death. But in comparisons with other main characters (and Vi is supposed to be in the main cast) we got WHOLE ARCS about their trauma and long elaborate scenes with their mental breakdowns. It's not bad to have characters just to push development of other charas, but Vi wasn't positioned like this in the first season. She's a part of the main cast and helps with rebellions, but doesn't get development for herself this season. The just stands up and goes and does what other characters need her to do (Cait hunting Jinx, Jinx searching Vander and the standing up against Ambessa). I'm dissapointed at her being just a sister and just a love interest.

Other parts we don't know about is Vander and Silco conflict and what actually happened that Vander tried to kill him when they were close friends before.

This is it. This is my subjective view of the Arcane finale, I would like to hear your thoughts about it and maybe some details I could overlook.

[megaalodon]

Arcane ramblings!

1 | Heavy Is The Crown

Pacing is fast as fuck, but I can dig it.

So Mels gold things are magic? And she keeps it a secret? I'm intrigued.

Jayce uses the Hexcore to save Viktor... It's fine and understandable, but I think the only time the fast pacing bothered me.

The subtle animation on Caitlyn when the coffin closes on her mother. The way she tries to look at her just a little bit longer...

I like that while Caitlyn feels hate and anger she is a bit more introspective with it. Feel right for her character and it's refreshing to see in fiction.

Mel facing failure... He wavering (?) with the Hextech in the end...

Jayce's (accidental) child killing has consequences and he really had to face grave danger because of it. I liked that too.

The council members are all so fucking traumatized, holy hell. They are not likeable, but I do feel sorry for them still.

Hextech weapons. The thought is terrifying. Hyped for Viktors reaction, tbh.

Vi finding a new purpose... for now. She is drifting, I think, without somebody to protect.

The new characters... don't know what to think about them, yet. But they seem okay. It's just a lot to take in, after such an episode.

Insane episode overall. Feels dangerous.

2 | Watch It All Burn

A fitting end for Silco, back in the water, all his orderly hair floating free

Loved the scene between Jinx and Sevika

The focus on Sevika was very welcome too

The gambling based arm... sillyyy! Kinda loved the contrast between it and Jinx's declaration to kill (?) the rest of her family.

Intrigued by the little girl she picked up, too. I enjoy their interactions.

The way Vi The Protector turned to Vi The Monster, echoing the enforcers in the very first scene of the series. Truly tragic.

Ekko, Jayce and Heimerdinger... fine enough scenes but they felt a bit disjointed from the rest.

Jayce and Viktor needed a lot more time to breathe. Viktors new form did need a lot of more time in general. The pacing really fails those two at the moment.

I do find Viktor as a messiah pretty interesting, tho.

He and Jinx are on a rise in the Undercity, I think. Two new leaders. That is the core of the episode to me.

A bit more overt humor than the last episode. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. But it was never horrible.

3 | Finally Got The Name Right

My headphones died while watching. Very frustrating. I think this episode has some really mighty sound that I could not hear because of my shitty emergency headphones. Will rewatch it as soon as my new ones arrive. Could not get into this episode like that, sady.

I like Caitlyn as a powerful pawn, even though I'm not so hot about that Black Roses plot so far. But we will see.

I feel so sorry for Vi, holy shit!

Ekko, Jayce, Heimerdinger scenes worked better for me this time. I think Heimerdinger is a bit to... cutiefied? To adorable for the role he played in creating Piltover, tbh.

[den-of-evil]

Yk there's all this hype about Arcane now that season two is on the horizon, but all that it's done for me is remind me that, I Don't Like Arcane.

And that fucking sucks, because it has gorgeous animation, amazing storytelling, great acting and music and pacing. Objectively, Arcane is great.

But I still don't like it.

It probably started a few months ago, I was sad that despite the fact that almost every one of my favorite characters were from Piltover or Zaun, only one of them was in Arcane, and he was no more than a side character.

And then I lamented the loss of Ekko's signature mohawk, Cait's stupid hat, Vi's goggles and dumb little corset, Jinx's basically bikini, and a lot of other stuff. If you look at it from an objective standpoint, that's probably all very good design choices, but I still missed them.

And then it got bigger. The character choices, the world building, Ekko in his entirety. Maybe it was just bias because I grew to love the base game and its mess of a lore, but I stopped looking at Arcane as this great masterpiece and starting looking at it as this warped version of the stuff I actually liked.

I think the fandom is partially to blame. They take Arcane as gospel and ignore anything that isn't in it. They belittle characters for the crime of not existing when the writers' room was going on. And I know, I know, it's just a vocal minority, but they're very vocal and very annoying and I just wish they'd stop because Arcane isn't even that fucking good.

Or maybe it is, and I'm just jaded. Maybe I'm just so tired of trying to talk about League with people and them knowing nothing about actual League of Legends. Maybe I'm just tired of opening up fics and seeing my favorite character get bashed for no reason. I'm tired of seeing my characters and ships dragged through the mud, and I'm tired of acting like Arcane is the second coming of christ.

I don't like Arcane. I don't like how it messes with the lore in unnecessary ways. I don't like how it treats Ekko. And I don't like how it's created a wave of elitist fans who think they're better than everyone else in the fandom. And I'm really fucking tired of being told to "just ignore them".

[theoutcastrogue]

lol

So Treantmonk has the new PHB, and is not allowed to talk about anything WotC hasn't publicly announced. Here are his comments [mine in brackets].

Rogue

the new Rogue is more powerful compared to 2014, but didn't get as much as the new Fighter and Barbarian (and probably the Monk), who "got a ton of stuff". Hence, it's now "the weakest class". But it's not as far behind as Monks were in 5e, and ranged Rogues work very well. [methinks this assessment only measures damage output and nothing else]

they removed Disarm from Cunning Strikes [awww WHY?? don't care, I'm putting it back]

Reliable Talent moved to "significantly lower" level, much sooner than lvl 11 [cool]

no improved scaling for sneak attack [was that ever on the table?]

rogue damage lags behind other non-casters in melee/thrown, not in ranged [he's judging from playtests, and I'm not sure if that takes Weapon Mastery into account; but hey, if it checks out, I'm already hyped to transfer my 5e houserule (where you can sneak attack once per turn per target) to 5.5 – I was worried it'd be unbalanced now that a melee Rogue with Nick weapon mastery can potentially attack 3 times per turn, and from lvl 1!]

they didn't mention "one other little increase"

Assassin

Assassinate: advantage on initiative, advantage on the 1st round vs anyone who hasn't acted yet, and if you sneak attack on that 1st round you deal extra dmg = rogue lvl [okay, yeah, that's pathetic. assassinate did have issues, but the crit wasn't one of them.]

the improved Steady Aim is called Roving Aim, it's at lvl 9, and doesn't let you move willy nilly like the video might make you think: you have to take bonus action first, attack second, and only then can move. [this appears to fuck melee assassins, who need to get into melee range, for no discernible reason. WHY.]

Impostor now at lvl 9 and "significantly better", easier to use, doesn't take 3 hours any more [called Masterful Mimicry, now it takes only… 1 hour. big whoop, but at least I hope you can Short Rest at the same time]

Envenom Weapons (from Cunning Strikes) is so good for assassins that they should use it all the time unless the target is immune [normally, you give up 1d6 of sneak attack dmg to give the target the poisoned condition if they fail a CON save. assassins also deal 2d6 poison dmg, and it ignores resistance to poison. but I think monsters often have high CON saves, so it doesn't seem that much of a no-brainer to me]

at lvl 17, Death Strike doesn't require surprise, only a sneak attack on the 1st round of combat, so it should happen almost every time [and it doubles the damage. but the damage isn't a crit any more, so eh. at that lvl assassins should one-shot people left and right]

Arcane Trickster

there's more than "one bit of redesign"

can take any spell from the wizard spell list

Mage Hand has been enhanced, can't tell us how [I really hope it's "you can cast it silently now"]

Spell Thief at lvl 17 is boosted, not hugely, but improved

Soulknife

apparently Soulknife replaced Swashbuckler at the last minute

there are slight changes to how psychic energy dice are determined and recovered

psychic blade range is substantially improved

opportunity attacks are now allowed with psychic blade, but not all reaction attacks (so no Commander's Strike for example)

Thief

not a lot of changes to Second Story Work [I'm more worried about the playtest's huge and unnecessary nerf to Fast Hands, but no news on that front]

Supreme Sneak at lvl 9 is a Cunning Strikes option. it's got a cost, but if you use it all the time, you're hidden all the time, you sneak attack all the time, and don't need to spend your bonus action on Steady Aim

Use Magic Device lets you potentially use less charges on magic items, and use scrolls. the odds aren't great, so take proficiency and expertise in Arcana

tiny enhancement on the lvl 17 feature [Thief's Reflexes]

D&D 5.5: The New Rogue

This being a promo video, everything of course sounds peachy, and only changes that give players more power/options are mentioned.

That said, if they haven't veered off from the latest Unearthed Arcana version (which managed to excite me! see here), this should be a fantastic improvement all around.

Except Stealth mechanics. (They're not mentioned in the video, I'm only judging from UA.). I swear there's a dark curse on D&D and we just can't have good, elegant, and intuitive stealth mechanics in this game.

And here's some art from the video, featuring Rogue, Assassin, Thief, Arcane Trickster and Soulknife.

rogues are SO COOL you guys, I'll NEVER get over them

[imlosingmyfuckingmindgirl]

past week, dec 24.

actually i should have written this yesternight. but, these fuckers were dancing throughout the night and i was also sucked in, so i decided to dance too, and i got fucking wasted. as soon i hit the bed, i slept. lol. so here i am, writing this on a empty stomach. waiting for these people to shut up so i can eat my food in peace. vroski, i want peace. i want solace here, real solace bruh. i feel like i don't wanna do this anymore by xxxtentacion. current song playing - nova - whitley on loop. hmm, past week was exhausting ngl, i had to submit the engineering graphics on friday, right?. i did not do shit, all week. i had to calculate my time on how i was about to the work without missing my friday classes. then i woke up at 6 am on friday and aced all that stuff under 2 hours. and these fuckers did that shit all night, still they could not complete it. we had tests throughout the week. EE test got me fucked up bad, physics too. I scored a 6/15 on physics, by fucking studying on that day. like damn, i was expecting i'd get a two or three. but okay, i think i got enough. i just get more cold, as time goes over and over. this lyric is so fucking relatable lol. do i write my journals good? i feel like i need to exchange these with someone, more preferably with someone who i feel connected. lemme just go and get my fucking food. to be continued. so here i am, writing after eating my dinner and watching the fourth episode of arcane. damn this arcane so good bruh. anyway, we had tests and a hectic ass scheduled week, but now im glad its over and not so glad because another one is loading after this weekend. plus plus PLUS, we just got to know that we are having our midsems from 31st dec. like what the fuck bruh. we have papers on both the days, 31st and 1st. like fuck me. plus those two papers are the worst. fucking ME111 and PSC. i hate them both. very much. we had been told that midsems will be from 2nd Jan, not 31st Dec. fucking hell. fuck this college, seriously. current song - lil uzi vert - ashanti. song gets me so hyped lol. i dont know why i get so jolly while i reminisce about the old days. no matter how they were, good or bad, mostly bad, i would still want to go back to them. somewhere someone said that people like us see the world through rose-tinted glasses, thinking that everything was fine in the past, even when it was not. i dont even know why that happenss. anyway, i had some great moments too, went to surathkal with 2 of my other friends, ate some food there and then we went to the beach, where they give this nice cola for just 10 rs. so fucking fireeee. plus on today, this christmas eve, for the first time i actually went to a church and saw their celebrations. they were nice, some beautiful ladies singing the choir and the students in robes placing some kind of christmas paper on the chairs. the vibe was really nice. i liked it. i wanted the christmas feeling as some of my friends are enjoying themselves in kolkata. and here i am, in this fucking heat with no feeling that the year is ending. lol. i guess this christmas eve was a good day, and now i am feeling sleepy. i think i will write my journal next friday. lets see what happens then. take care, wherever you are. love you. -alister

[archived-and-moving]

Well so... did you like Arcane? Favorite character, moment, etc? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Anon. Oh sweet anon I'm so very sorry you asked this (no im not >:))

Anyway, I loved Arcane. I'd just kind of...decided not to watch it for a few months now, so I missed a lot of the hype when it first came out. (Which, I'm pretty sure will be around 11-ish months while writing this. So uhm. It's been a little bit.) I'm not quite sure why, it's just kind of hard for my brain sometimes, even when my friends really like a piece of media and recommend it to me.

I was actually going on a quick trip, and needed entertainment, so I frantically texted one of my closest friends and boom!!! She recommended I watched Arcane! So finally a downloaded the fourth episode (blaming my phone's funky storage on this one) and watched Happy Progress Day in a good bit of confusion before going back and watching the first three when I got home.

So! Some thoughts: (Spoilers for anyone who's thinking about watching Arcane. It's really good and I truly recommend it, but you will be seriously spoiled if you read any further. You've been warned.)

Favorite Character: Oh!! That's so very hard because I don't think there's a character's writing that I specifically dislike! I enjoy how each and every character is so incredibly interwoven into the plot. However, I think I'm going to have to narrow it down to 3.

First is: Jinx!

Everyone and their mother I feel like has made art about Jinx, and also talked about her, from what little I've seen of the fandom. But goddamn does she deserve it.

She's so incredibly fucked up, but the narrative really makes you understand her actions and why they happen. It almost makes you root for her in a way. The way that her backstory is set up, from start to end is simply incredible.

Each and every path that she faces is another nail in the coffin for what she used to be. Her narrative arc is one of corruption, and her struggle with mental illness is one that is so compelling that whenever the show switches to her POV, I can't help but fist pump and also whisper a horrified "No" at the same time.

Because she's descending into a path of madness driven on by some serious abandonment, a rough life from the get-go, and the urge to convince someone that she's worth the trouble. She's worth it so please please please don't let her go. Don't leave her.

It's such a heartbreaking cycle that truly gets into my emotions and makes me feel. I'm obsessed with the way that the narrative does not throw her away like many of the characters coinciding with her arc are portrayed as doing, but also the way that it balances out her tragic past elements with some absolute badass scenes with such dope action and visuals that the screen she's on is only slightly tinged with sadness.

I wish I could put it into better words, but Jinx is simply off-the-walls in a way that is so unnervingly fun, but also devastating to watch as she scrambles to keep the people she loves close when she feels them drift away.

2. Heimerdinger

You don't understand my love for this eccentric ex-councillor. If I could go out and get lunch with any of these characters it'd be him. I want him to sloppily write all of his ideas on a napkin that I try to decipher for hours, only to fall back onto my bed in defeat.

I want to hear him talk about issues he think are important, and what he finds to be integral to his life. I would literally listen to this dude talk for hours and hours upon end, and watch with childlike wonder at his glorious inventions.

He's literally soooooooo amazing and I love him. I love the way that he was first introduced too!! He's just a goofball who really doesn't try to be funny. And omg when he's wandering the streets and shows the girl the top?? When he finds Ekko???

You literally cannot fathom how wiggily this man makes me feel.

Also I think it's something about his history.

He's seen dangerous devices before. He's seen the rise and the fall of entire planets and populations. He's built a city from the ground up, only upon the idea of progress and the scientific method. He wishes for those around him to let their curiosity take hold and lead them to projects and places all around them.

He truly wishes that everyone has the chance to be a scientist, and he's such an oxymoron. He's a scientist who gets stuck in the ways of his past, and it's a battle that he fights throughout all of his screen-time during the show.

I love Heimerdinger so much <33

Also have you seen his mustache?

[ID: Heimerdinger looking just off to the right, his face contorted in anger with his two fists on a table that reaches up to his waist. END ID]

And finally, last but not least:

Caitlyn Kiramman

This one isn't as rooted in narrative drive as it is for how amazingly Caitlyn fits into the show as a main character simply through her dynamics with other characters alone.

I'm head over heels for her friendship with Jayce. I love the scene that they share in Happy Progress Day, I'm over the moon with the fact that for her investigation she lets Vi go, only to grow to love her as their narrative throws shit at them that they have to face together.

I love that through Caitlyn, we get to see the soft side of Vi come back, the protectivness, the love, and the bickering that comes with it is absolutely a delight. I swear the two of them could have a spin-off Nancy Drew-esc story and I would read it.

And the way that Jinx sees her as a threat? The way that when she sees Vi finding love and being able to cope with her trauma by moving forward, she thinks that there is only one place at Vi's side. That she thinks that Vi is betraying her?

You don't understand. I'm going feral.

I also think that Caitlyn's ambition to do what she loves no matter who tells her otherwise is simply proven wrong. For the girl will be an enforcer, she knows that she will. No one can stop her.

Also she and Vi may or may not be in love and I simply think that that is absolutely a relationship that I need in my life as sapphic (?) myself.

(Honorable mentions go to Viktor and Mel. You both deserve the world and I adore them to bits.)

My favorite things about the show:

Dude. Dude this show is so incredible writing-wise. It tells a compelling story, grappling with so many issues at once and somehow managing to do it all in a clear way. The representation is at it's peak, because these characters are not gay for extra points, they are not black to check off a box. They are deeply thought out characters with narrative arcs that bounce off their traits. They are not simply marketing ploys and it's refreshing. (godDAMN my standards are low)

Anyway the storytelling capabilities that this show pulls off with the dynamic characters bouncing off one another, a seamless timeskip, lore that pulls me in and fascinates me as a consumer, and themes that pique my interest makes it one of my favorite shows of all time.

The art style too. Gah!! I'm in love with the way that the characters' designs work, the way that the lighting is handled in different scenes, the painting look that the models take. It's such an amazing and most likely time-consuming animation style, but it turned into one of the most gorgeous-looking shows that I've ever seen.

And dude. dude. The. The the the. The soundtrack. The incredibly differing soundtrack that varies from song to song, depending on the mood that the show is trying to capture is OUGh. Snakes, Enemy? Such bops, would sprint to them anytime, 11/10.

Favorite scene?

*shaking uncontrollably* The fucking ending one. The last scene takes into account all of the factors that make Arcane such a special show as a whole, and it wraps 'em up in this nice little present for the show to end off on.

The way that Silco is killed like any other man, the way that betrayal bleeds into his eyes as he dies, acceptance in his words as Jinx cradles his head in her hands, apologizing profusely for what she's done.

The narrative parallel to the line "She's a loose canon" so much earlier in the show is a stab to the heart as you watch the light fade from his eyes.

The way that What Could Have Been plays hauntingly through the entire scene, the viewer's eyes dreading the way that it's about to end. And the way that the characters' expressions twist in different ways as the final missile blows into the council window, the way that Mel's figure is highlighted before it's hit.

There are many scenes that are incredible, but this one might be my up at one of my favorites of all time.

To get even more specific, the way that Caitlyn's slow motion sob turns into her mother's resigned face as she makes her vote--that part literally broke me.

I think that literally might be my favorite shot in the entire show.

Anyway, to summarize my incredibly long post of thoughts, Arcane is a cinematic masterpiece, and I wish I could go into more detail, but it's like 12am and my brain isn't really up to the task. Thank you so much for the ask, needless to say, I loved the show to bits <33

[mellointheory]

I posted 23,594 times in 2021

4298 posts created (18%)

19296 posts reblogged (82%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 4.5 posts.

I added 3,886 tags in 2021

#mello asks - 1287 posts

#punz - 745 posts

#mello liveblogs - 553 posts

#awesamdude - 302 posts

#antfrost - 272 posts

#ponk - 183 posts

#foolish gamers - 174 posts

#vgumiho - 143 posts

#velvetiscake - 135 posts

#badboyhalo - 92 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#also it's so funny to me the idea that sapnap and quackity literally had no idea that they were soulmates because they both have black hair

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

ppl be like "i need to watch a based streamer who calls out their chat whenever theyre dumb and doesnt have an audience of eleven year olds" like sneegsnag isnt right there

2433 notes • Posted 2021-07-26 21:47:50 GMT

#4

I think one of the most interesting things about Arcane was that, for an action tv show, it surprisingly managed to go without glorifying that violence.

There's a tendency of action media to lean into the fight scenes, to let us glorify in the violence. Look what they can do, look what they can be. And Arcane had those moments, of course, but it never let us dwell on them. Even in the first episode, every single time a blow was struck it told us that was inherently a tragedy. The first fight takes place and we cheer for our heroes until we take a look from Jinx's eyes and see she's horrified by the violence. That's why all the blood and bruises and broken teeth in the show mean so much, because the camera stops and makes us look.

The only fight that managed to stay calm and smooth all the way through was the Firelight's first attack on the blimp, before Jinx came out with guns blazing. And they were, notably, not there to fight. They came in fast, immobilized the hostiles without trying to harm them, and focused on the Shimmer. That wasn't a fight, it was a prevention. And it was the only one that managed not to carry that taint of tragedy.

The Jinx and Ekko fight was a battle between two champions with amazing abilities and an upbeat soundtrack. We were hyped for it, we adored it. And then it shows us the two of them as children, different shots juxtaposing the man and woman each of them became with the round-faced child that they used to be. When Ekko has Jinx on the ground at his mercy, face bleeding and eyes panicked, we can't glory in it. Because he stops to realize that this used to be his friend, and so do we. There was no triumph in that fight. He won, he faltered, and she blew them both up.

Jayce and Vi's fight was what we'd always been waiting for: the final use of Hextech in a battle. And it broke his heart. He killed a child there. When Vi announced she was keeping the gauntlets any lesser show would have had them fight, just to have the demonstration. Look at them, they're powerful, look at what they can do against each other. Instead Arcane had him walk away.

Even in the final moments of the episode, we never got the Vi vs. Jinx fight. Because that was her sister and there was no violence there, only grief. It was about love and family and being able to heal something that was broken and finding out that no, she couldn't fix it. Violence wasn't what either of them wanted and of course it's not what we got.

For an action series to demonstrate over and over that once it comes to blows, no one wins...it's shocking to me how they managed to do that. But time and time again we saw characters come to blows and our hearts broke every time.

2546 notes • Posted 2021-11-24 15:53:34 GMT

#3

We now have solid confirmation of c!Ant's motivations for joining the Eggpire. I think I might cry.

Red "exists or existed"

If there is a backstory where Red is fucking dead and Antfrost joined the Egg because it promised to bring back his boyfriend, I'm going to fucking lose my shit.

Transcript below the cut.

I donoed asking if c!Ant was canonically single, or if some version of Red existed in dsmp canon.

Antfrost: I don't know quite what's happening with lore--I've tried to hint--I've tried to do some hints. I will say, I've tried to do some hints, lore-wise, that Red exists in some way, either exists or existed, but I don't really know because he's not on the SMP and I don't know if he's getting added or not because that's up to Dream entirely and, you know, who knows. I've tried to hint at it, I've tried to hint at it. I don't know if anybody saw, at the banquet I, um, I added a little cake. Um...basically what I was trying to do there--I'm just gonna explain the character--I was going to try to hint that that like, the Egg's promise to me and the reason that I was following it was because the Egg was promising me Red. Uhm...which obviously...

*dono noise*

That was why I added the cake. I don't know how many people picked up on that, that was why I added the cake. I mean, it was pretty obvious, but you know.

2902 notes • Posted 2021-06-08 05:21:12 GMT

#2

people who think techno broke dream out of prison because they're friends are so fucking funny. dream was in prison for ten months and techno gave zero shits. ranboo goes to prison and techno leads a jailbreak literally the next day. that shit's hilarious.

2975 notes • Posted 2021-11-29 19:47:14 GMT

#1

Actually there's no way the egg is Velvet because according to Tommy the egg said "MMMMMM EGG LIKE PUSSY" but on the other hand. That sounds like something Velvet would actually say.

4433 notes • Posted 2021-04-04 13:30:13 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[potatochipflavor]

Your OCs have cool names. Tell me everything about them, immediately

Oh they are my dnd characters! Sorry I didnt see this I use mobile.

Azaezel is a warlock who lived in the woods for 20 years cause some fucked up shit that happened at the magic academy she was at. She didnt INTEND to be a warlock but hey bad grades at wizard school can lead to some... drastic measures lol. EDIT cause I forgot: Azzy is a purple Teifling with silver hair.

Skulcrath Turnuroth was the first name fantasy name generator made and it was just so fucking edgy sounding I stuck with it lol. Shes a black scaled dragonborn sorcerer raised by the Evil Dragon Cult of Tiamat. Since she is a sorceror she was heralded at "the chosen one" but every time it was mentioned she HAD to ask "but chosen for What?" She got a different answer every time ranging from "to be an instrument of Tiamat's return" to "I dont fucking know or care who are you again?" And since shes dumb as bricks she didnt ever live up to the evil expectations of the cult. She was eventually just stuffed in a box and shipped off on a boat. That's where the party found her lmao. Shes got an INT of 8 so she mispronounces words with 4 or more syllables (fasternating, exerplination) and has memory issues which is most of the reason the cult didnt want her around anymore. Very much the "evil character who does evil so bad she does good instead" Oh she also has a magical wooden training sword. It doesnt break, but it also doesnt hurt that much. It's her arcane focus and she has to swing it to cast spells.

Now my favorite, Grokever the Severer, is a half-orc half-fire giant (so orc stat block but just BEEG and BEEFY ((7 foot 6)) and SHE is a Rune Knight Fighter so. You know. Can double in size to smash harder. She was a gladiatorial slave in the underdark, where her father orc also fought and caught the eye (and eventually heart) of a fire giant noble master rune smith. She wasnt made to fight until she was 15 but then she went on to thrive in that environment for 10 years. Eventually, her parents' relationship was discovered and was ruled as a "disgrace" to the other noble houses of the fire giants so all 3 of them were masked in iron (think like a torture device) and had them fight in a deathmatch. However, Grokever refused to kill them, so they were executed in front of her. However, upon a noble being revealed and executed there was a large ruckus of some sort idk how but Grokever managed to escape up to the surface. She had a rough time of it before she actually learned common (not many speakers in the underdark gladiator pits) but she DID make her way to the public fighting pits of Ironstone. There was a rule against killing in place there, but some chucklefuck put Grokever, a half giant, up against a goblin for her debut match. She uses a greataxe. That goblin very quickly and accidentally because two halves of a goblin, clean down the middle. Thus she was dubbed "The Severer" and she fucking THRIVED playing the 'heel' character on stage. In the 10 years shes been in Ironstone, shes won the organized Championship FOUR times, and is current standing champion. That is, FOR NOW *GASP*!

See, Skulcrath (Skully for short) and Grokever are in the same campaign, but Skully is very bad at doing magic on purpose. On a trip to deal with some Goblins (classic first quest) Skully was demonstrating that her sword must be swung in order for magic to happen. Except she accidentally teleported. Into Grokever's Hype Up room right before a Beast Match (sometimes its boxing people sometimes its killing monsters). Skully promptly got clocked. One strange thing about Skully's physiology though, is that due to a lifetime of whacking her head on doorframes (shes also seven foot tal) her neck has adjusted and is INCREDIBLY flexible. So her head just rolled around, no damage. The wild magic that went off earlier apparantly wasnt yet concluded, as both characters now teleported back to the forest road Skully came from. Grokever threw a second punch right as Skully's head finished the rotation from the first punch, and she KO'd right there. Thankfully Skully only had to make ONE death save before the rest of the party could succeed on a medicine check lmao. Now grokever has to make the trip BACK into town as her rival challenges her in 7 days. Except, now that shes out of the safety of the town, that Underdark Bounty on her head has tallied up some casualties. Seems like someone may have simply used Skully's magical incompetence to get Grokever out of the city and into thier crosshairs.... Azaezel is a different game.

[patricksilvrrozartistry]

Current Music Obsessions: October 1 - 16, 2018

Well. I'm obviously working on purging my watch later playlist because this list is LONG. So let's get started with the honorable mentions.

MaYaN - Saints Don't Die Progenie Terrestre Pura - Twisted Silhouette LVCI - Not Yours Suodeth - Gauja The Number Zero - Web of Truth Trail of Tears - Poisonous Tongues Harpyie - Berserker A Metaphor for Betrayal - Confess Rave the Reqviem - Are Yov Happy Now, Fidelio? Jem - Come On Closer Shadowrise - To Live and Die For Dust in Mind - This is the End MaYaN - Tornado of Thoughts (I Don't Think Therefore I Am) Dim7 - Spinecrawler Oudn - Chaos Ignea - Queen Dies Black Mirrors - Mind Shape Bif Naked - Lucky MaYaN - The Power Process Illuminata - Phoenix Infinite Tales - Innocent St. Evil BrightStorm - Vampire Setanera - Spettralia Michael Romeo - Djinn Bysantine - The Cicada Tree Lena Katina - Косы Victorius - Lazer Tooth Tiger Elyose - Psychosis feat. Mark Jansen (Epica, MaYaN) The White Swan - Pelvic Sorcery

And now for the MANY obsessions.

1. The Last Martyr - Into the Black

This a really great find on Spaceuntravel that really caught me by surprise. I'm so glad I decided to give this song a shot, because it's super great. I wasn't sold at first, but when homegirl started screaming I was totally on board. I'm definitely am gonna check out more from these guys.

2. Asphodelia - Cassandra

I found these guys through IG one day when the band/singer liked a post or followed me, so I decided to check them out. The song is fairly simple, but the impression it leaves is a strong one. Their singer has a really pretty voice and the video is so striking with the look she wears where she's sporting the contacts.

3. Zahna - Underneath

Ok, from now on, I'm gonna put Spaceuntravel at the beginning of my statements for any song from them since I keep finding such great jams from that channel. This is a really beautiful alternative metal track and I'm obsessed with the lead singer's voice. There's just something about it that I'm just over the moon about. And the song is pretty catchy too, so that definitely helps.

4. Dol Ammad - Force of Freedom

This song is my favorite off their new album. The middle in particular is absolutely everything to me. There's something about that one singer just softly singing those lines and the rhythm that just really gets me. It's such a simple song, but the production and execution make it the excellent track it is.

5. Lavinium/Levinia - Alluring Fear

After discovering Levinia, I decided to look more into them and found their bandcamp where I saw they had their first demo/EP of the same title when they were originally called Lavinium. This song is definitely one of my favorites off that demo and is an absolute powerhouse of a track. I can't wait for Levinia's debut EP, Liberation, to drop on Halloween. These guys have quickly become a band on my immediate radar, and the fact that they are a symphonic metal band from the States that are this good blows me away.

6. Leprous - Contaminate Me (live)

Thank you Facebook memories for rekindling my love for this ballbuster of a track. Ihsahn is a fucking beast. He really takes this song to the next level, especially on this live version. And Einar's voice is gorgeous as always. I really love the fact that him and I have similar vocal ranges.

7. MaYaN - The Flaming Rage of God

This is my favorite song off Dhyana. It's so dramatic and powerful. The choirs in the beginning are absolutely everything. The verses where Laura and the male singer (not sure if it's Henning or Adam) are singing are so epic and haunting. They harmonize together so well. The pacing of this song is so great and I love the solos. Definitely give this track a listen.

8. Battlelore - Journey to Undying Lands

Another song I rekindled my love for thanks to Facebook memories. Definitely one of my favorite early tracks from them and the video for it looks like a legit movie. It's so exciting to know that they're working on a new album after such a long hiatus.

9. The Anix - This Machine

This is the second single they've released and I'm so hyped now for their upcoming release. This song has so much energy behind it, but still has an ambience to it in the verses leading up to the chorus. I hope a lot the new album packs in a lot of energy like this and Fight the Future. I love the softer, ambient tracks, but these tracks really show off the singer's voice so well, and he's got a beautiful one.

10. Chthonic - Millennia's Faith Undone feat. HOCC

This is the latest single these guys have put out and it's an intense one. These guys are a symphonic-ish blackened death metal band from Taiwan that I've known of for a little while now, and this is my favorite song I've heard from them so far. The energy behind it and the female guest singer has a lovely voice that adds such a great dynamic to the song.

11. Alesti - Eye of the Storm feat. Diego Tekuo

Spaceuntravel. This track isn't that special, but the production and Diego's voice are wonderful. This is the second song I've heard him on (the other is The Hidden Truth by Against Myself, which shows off a lot of his vocal talents) and is nice to hear this kind of singing from him. He's got a nice voice.

12. Sick N' Beautiful - Megalomaniacal

I discovered these guys after finding the singer on IG one day and holy tits is this a fun song. I'm definitely am gonna check out their new album, The Art of Sex. It sounds like it'll be just as fun and wild as this song. I live for the sci-fi vibes of their look and the video is so much fun to along with how fun the song is. I love their singer's green hair and her look in the video is amazing.

13. Sirenia - Love Like Cyanide feat. Yannis Papadopoulos (Beast in Black)

I wasn't so sure how I felt about this new single of theirs at first, but it grew on me and became an obsession. It's a bit all over the place in experimenting with different sounds. You got some symphonic metal, gothic metal, power metal, black metal. It's a big melting pot of different stuff and oddly everything mesh well together. It's a definite improvement over the last album, I'll say that much.

14. Dead Can Dance - Sanvean (live)

My Facebook memories really gave me a lot of stuff to reminisce over. This live performance is absolutely divine. Lisa is an absolute goddess and she proves it with this performance. I'm so excited for the new album to come out.

15. Dark Sarah - Golden Moth

I wasn't too keen on listening to the new album since a lot of the singles have been pretty lack luster, but this song changed my mind. This song is exactly what I needed to hear from them. It's full of so much beauty and emotion. And don't get me started on how amazing and gorgeous the video is. I can't get enough of it.

16. Eliza Red - Still

I can't remember how exactly I found this guy, but I found a song of his and thought it was too short and found this song, which in my opinion is also too short. But that doesn't stop the fact that I absolutely love it. It's an atmospheric r&b track and his voice is so lovely. I'm definitely am gonna look more into him, even though all his songs are super short.

17. Soulextract - Cryosleep

Spaceuntravel. This song became an obsession for one possible reason only: SPACE SHIT. I love it when songs are about space. Hello, I'm Patrick and I'm a sci-fi buff who's obsessed with space and the universe. Anyways, the song itself is pretty simple, but the execution and the fact it's about space shit is what makes me love it so much.

18. Meg Myers - Numb

I found this song through an IG ad one day when browsing through stories and had to check it out immediately. It's a great alternative track that has a punk vibe to it. I'm really interested in checking out more from her and seeing just what else her music entails.

19. Soul Desire - From the Flames

This is one of my favorites off their debut EP. It's such a lovely song that really shows off their front woman's range and the beauty of her voice. It's much slower compared to the other songs, but that's what helps it to stand out.

20. Northward - Get What You Give

This project is looking like it's gonna be an amazing one. After listening to an interview Floor did recently, it turns out that this is going to be strictly a rock project, so no soprano moments (hopefully Nightwish will incorporate that aspect of her voice way more in the new album). I'm still hoping there will be some growls that will pop up here and there though. Anyways, this is a really fun track that has some groovy verses. She gets some good high notes in the chorus, especially the final one, which is always wonderful to hear from her.

21. Hydria - Enjoy Your Greed

This is a throwback track for me. The second verse randomly popped into my head one day and I wound up rekindling my love for this track. I really need to get back into these guys. They had a really great symphonic metal sound and Raquel's voice is so lovely and stands out next to a lot of singers in the genre.

22. Arcane Roots - Curtains

Found this song one day when I tuned into a Metal Ass Gaming stream on Twitch. Jake decided to play this album and I had to give this and a couple other songs a listen and I wound up falling madly in love with this one. This song is pure proof as to why I love prog so much. It starts out really ambient (like Sigur Ros level ambient) and slowly picks up pace and then jumps into some hard-hitting djenty progressive metal. It's such an amazing track and you bet your sweet ass I'm gonna check out more from them.

So yeah. A SUPER LONG list. I know. I can't guarantee that the next half of the month will have a super long list, but it just might. At least we got some really great jams out of this though.

[jessieleaf]

Critical Role Episode 86 (I think)

Haven’t done one of these in a while. This post is all spoilers so block that stuff.

For the first time in weeks, I’ve tuned into Critical Role actually looking forward to just being happy and calm. Like, we’ve come to expect just week after week of harrowing battles and dire situations, but for the first time, we got an episode where no one had their lives on the line. 

There was no battle, no threat hanging over our heads (I don’t count Hotis. Fuck Hotis), and just in general, our favorite adventurers got to do what they wanted to do. Get drunk, hang out, and talk smack about Taryon. Also they got a ship. Captained by my new wife. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I can’t tell you how goddamned happy I was. I was actually smiling before this episode, rather than summoning demons and selling my soul to make sure everyone got resurrected at the end of the day.

I gotta say, I love Taryon. I’ve got a few friends who were just devastated that Scanlan left and despise this guy (which I can agree with to some degree) but I love this new dynamic.

Percy’s outright reaction to him was...perfect. Sam knows how to push their buttons, and it’s totally believable for this character. To have someone undermine Percy while he silently stews is just...and to have it by this jack-ass no less is just absolutely wonderful.

So we tied up some loose ends, learned that Taryon has got a mobster dad, and Vex did a nice thing for Jarrett (I was hoping they’d follow through on that)

Tary, as expected, got bored immediately. Granted he didn’t understand (because these guys didn’t even tell him their names) but still, you can’t expect to just suddenly go on an adventure. These people are strangers to you. You are not going suddenly hop on this train and expect a spree of heroics.

And thus, we go back to Whitestone and the hazing commences. I love that Taliesin was getting so defensive of his home being called “Quaint.” I was so on board with that. Like “How dare you, this place is magnificent. Stop insulting gun son’s home.” 

Vex talking to Jarrett is always a treat. Those two have a good dynamic and I would love to see them hang out more. Like, permanently. As in, as a baroness, Jarrett becomes one of Vex’ahlia’s personal guards. Please. Jarrett in Whitestone is the best. The fact that he wants to stay there warms my heart.

I love that Grog has found a new chew toy, and Vax has just...I don’t know I think they’ve come to have a better understanding for one another and just...their buds no and I love it. But Grog’s gotta have something to amuse him, so we get the Tary hazing (which I do not promote this was wrong on many levels and these people are assholes. Self aware assholes, but assholes all the same (but then again, Tary was an asshole to them so I guess they see it as fair)). We got to see a bit of Tary’s fighting style, and then we get to see hime cry. Also, the fact that Marisha didn’t have Keyleth do anything to stop this was...quesitonable. I guess we’ve broken Keyleth to the point where she deems hazing to be an appropriate way to get to know someone.

I loved this scene. Sam is one of the best improv actors I’ve ever come across. I mean, come on. I felt all that ridiculous emotion. We now know what Taryon is really all about and I love that he deals with it by keeping up the facade. It’s such a ridiculous and over exaggerated mirror of Vox Machina and I still can’t believe that this is still all improv acting. Goodness. I don’t think Tary is evil, I just think he is going to continue to be an asshole, just (in his mind) on the down low. His ego is still his driving factor and I can’t help but just get giddy at any future interactions.

YOU PUT SHAUN IN THE SAME ROOM AS TARY AND DID NOT GIVE ME ANYTHING OF IT?! WHERE WERE MY ARCANE SONS? I NEEDED THAT INTERACTION!!!

Still it was a good getting drunk scene. More insight on Taryon, Percy and Tary finally hitting it off, some cute Grog moments, BOULDER PARCHMENT SHEARS, and Scrooge McDucking it (Thank the lord for this ship it’s such a good ship and I’m so happy it’s going strong).

Skipping ahead to the next morning, we go to the Earth Ashari, see what those people are like (I’m so happy we get to see them all. I was really beginning to wonder if we’d ever get the full tour of all the elements.) Taryon’s little comment about Keyleth intrigued me. Was he lying about finding her to appear like a good leader, or was he being sincere? IDK, share your thoughts below.

We get to Emon after that, AND MY NEW WIFE APPEARS OH SWEET LORD SHE FITS MY AESTHETIC SO HARD I THOUGHT I MIGHT EXPLODE! Give me more of her. I need my sexy, wild, totally not a former pirate Captain Adella. (Same Keyleth, same.)

SEA ADVENTURES!!!

SEA ADVENTURES!!!

PIRATES! SEA MONSTERS! EVERYONE FREAKING OUT WHEN KEYLETH FUCKING PARTS ANOTHER STORM! I AM HYPED AND THIS IS THE EXACT STORY LINE WE NEED AFTER ALL THIS SHIT!

And thus concludes my episode reaction. I had fun for the first time in a while after watching this episode. I was so happy to finally get this, to get an episode where we could relax and be assholes again. Tying up these loose ends is refreshing and good for the soul. It felt like friends hanging out with friends again. I shall grace my blog with art, hopefully today, but we shall see. Have a good day lovelies!

[fourth-axis]

DA:I and a whole lot of elfy shit (previously)

Leading the inquisition as a pointy-eared mage felt a bit like putting on two left shoes and your armor backwards, a deeply ill-fitting suit further cemented every time someone asked if you BELIEVE and the options on your table were to: - conform - dodge the question - tell them to stick the Maker up their ass 

but then, BUT THEN the Arbor Wilds happened and hooo boy! *stuffs Sera into a trunk* let’s talk elfy shit.

the REVELATIONS, the minds BLOWN, history SHATTERED, gods TALKED TO!! bullet list time:

i’m pretty certain that singularly devastating moment in the beginning when you inquisitor asks what a temple of mythal is, is a glitch and a bug and i will accept no other alternative

also Morrigan schooling me on eluvians....... where was my elfy “i know this shit” option?

the fall of Arlathan was caused by ancient elves warring among themselves and Tevinter pretty much just swooped in to feed on a corpse ahahahaHAHWHAT

at this point i’m assuming the elven pantheon was just a bunch of really powerful mages. lbr here, there’s no gods around, Andraste herself was probably a mage too and “the maker” a spirit from the fade 

and i’m MAD CACKLIN at the possible irony of Tevinter molding itself into a slavedriven mageocracy after the old elven empire because--

the face tattoos are slave markings

??????

???????????

exchanging local slavers for foreign slavers. oh man this race has 0% luck! Trespasser better hold some answers here. i like them markings, they look cool :<

Flemeth carries to soul of Mythal

“You cannot posses the unwilling.” Well if that doesn’t point to Morrigan being the next vessel then i don’t know what does

and by next vessel, i mean right there in the epilogue where Flemeth is interacting with the eluvian

don’t even talk to me about Loki Solas rn, i don’t know what to think other than painful betrayal and a thousand questions

when she’s all you do The People proud, i’m like tears in my eyes bro, this is monumental

the all-around best use of inquisition points was grabbing history knowledge and arcane knowledge. the utter satisfaction of summing Flemeth’s story in one sentence and having her sarcastically comment on it was The Best™

that awkward moment when no one in your party gives a shit or likes that you performed elven rituals, except for an Ancient Egg and a Vint....... y’all.

...NO I’m NOT done! i built you Andrastean fucks a chantry in the garden, i gave you a place to practice your religion while i had no love for it, and they can’t even muster decency when their inquisitor enters his own place of worship? get off!

we’re totaly ignoring that ppl were dying outside while i solved puzzles. absolutely irrelevant. 

ok but telling Solas and Morrigan to get a room when they tried to outnerd the other 8′D lmao perfect

figuring out who get’s to drink from The Well of Freaky Shit was a doozy, and it’s gonna keep haunting me through every playthrough

i refused because RP reasons, but it probably would have been the best fitting choice to drink. but when the Egg gives you such a stalwart NO then you know something’s rotten here. and it kinda was. kinda.

and yet, it also fits very nicely with Morrigan from a player perspective

also it gave me a chance to say “LOL now you gotta listen to your mom haha ;D”

i love my character so much, he even threw bear puns in Stone-Bear Hold. Cassandra’s groan was music to my ears

speaking of bear puns, the Jaws of Hakkon dlc was a wild loretastic ride that gets two thumbs up and more fuel for my chantry disdain

oh, what’s that? the first inquisitor and founder of the Seekers of Truth was an elven mage too? and history the Chantry buried all knowledge of him? and they abused his rite of tranquility to lobotomize mages? 

oh wow. what a shock. i am truly surprised. ಠ_ಠ

the descent was good too. the moment i saw lyrium veins looked like actual cardiovascular veins i was screaming “we’re WALKING INSIDE A TITAN!” it took my character a while to catch on but boy was i glad to hear him say it

Titan blood! but who killed it--them? the elven gods? lyrium hunger intensifies and all that??

????

Coryphishit was such a steamrolled battle though, i barely even felt it. after such a hype train of lore discovery, his end was so anticlimactic, and the game’s (first) end was so... happy? it just didn’t feel right. it wrapped up with a bow too nicely (minus Solas, wtf man...) and i didn’t even lose an arm. I was mourning that arm the moment it got the anchor so imagine my surprise when the game “ends” and not only is my hand still there but it’s not even killing me? that i know off... clearly the true ending is in Trespasser but that doesn’t erase the fact that Coryphilulz was just not a good villain. He needed more screen time post Haven destruction.

The final party was v nice and a bit sad, as more than half of your inner circle had that “we’ll be leaving soon” vibe :< listening to Varric talk of Kirkwall made me so Hawke-nostalgic, Leliana would be off to murder the Chantry into a new era of tolerance, Cass i hope goes to rebuild the Seekers proper, Blackwall on one of those redemption journeys, Sera off to do Jenny shit probably, Cole and Bull might be sticking around at least, and Curly and Josie. that’s a nice thought. Viv is def going back to Orlais to play some stone cold games and eat fancy cakes, and Dorian is off to get political in Tevinter. 

...that’s a one way ticked to assasiantion if i ever heard one. good intention bro, but i can’t let you do that *inquisitor rolls 20 on emotional blackmail* Dorian: well i guess i could stay a little longer Damn right you will. 

the last shot you get in the quarters, that balcony sunset hug triumvirate, it made me want to fling myself into the fucking sun. it was just so---so---*clenches fist* cute.

i gotta say, at this point (game finished, minus Trespasser) i can’t imagine any other race filling the shoes of the inquisitor with quite as much payoff as an elf mage.