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ratatattouille · 2 months ago

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Why The Arcane S2 Finale Fumbled, Part I

arcane season 2 was artistically beautiful and thematically cheap. every interesting and meaningful thing it did with its characters (even in season 2 act 2) was reduced to romanticized bullshit, utterly divorced from its season 1 roots. it's so bad it can be considered pro-status quo propaganda (and i do mean that). good ships aside (and i do mean the caitivi, jayvik, timebomb holy triad), this season squats and shits on every zaunite character in the show. not just their zaunite-ness, but how it literally shaped who they were as characters.

Let's start with Vi:

Vi and Vander:

Vi's loyalty to The Lanes always went beyond Powder. Zaun was her father's, Vander's dream. Zaun was her friends and her family. When she's giving Caitlyn a tour of The Lanes, we see how much she embodies and revels in Zaunite culture (esp in the food scene). She took responsibility for the vulnerable, like Vander taught her to. Her "protective" trait extended to ALL the vulnerable in The Lanes, because Vander taught her that. It wasn't EVER just Powder. Zaun is her HOME. As a child, she wanted to make a name for herself IN ZAUN "one day, this city's gonna respect us." You can make the excuse that Vander's death meant that side of her died, but it clearly didn't because of how she regarded it while showing Caitlyn around. "Family" to Vander, extended to the vulnerable of Zaun, which is how Vi and Powder came to be his "daughters" in the first place. Because Zaun was for THEM. Zaun WAS THEM. Vander and Silco "weren't allowed to fail" at Zaun (i.e. the two daughters).

Additionally, Vi and Jinx were supposed to succeed where Vander and Silco hadn't: forgiving each other and uniting so they could realize their dream for a free Zaun. A big reason why Zaun struggles to be free is because of their own internal divisions (the different gangs fighting for scraps). But if they united, they would be able to liberate themselves from Piltover (who is still the enemy). The whole reason the others are prosperous in the alternate timeline Ekko and Heimerdinger travel to is because Vander and Silco reconcile (not because Vi dies).

Vander also passes on his sense of responsibility to Vi. He tells a repeatedly vengeful Vi how her ambition to show up her oppressors can overshadow the more pressing priority of looking after those more vulnerable than her i.e. Powder. Like Silco, his advice to his daughter is steeped in his own trauma of getting so zealous he didn’t stop to think what it would cost.

Vi and Caitlyn:

Caitlyn was an interesting development for Vi, particularly because Caitlyn mirrored Vander's care for all people. Caitlyn was an enforcer that wanted to truly understand and help people. This challenged Vi's biases and also gave them a common goal. Caitlyn appealed to Vi because she gave Vi renewed hope for peace in The Lanes. That Zaun could be free through co-operation instead of violence. Her whole teaming up with Caitlyn, romance aside, was predicated on Vi brokering for peace between Zaun and Piltover (and getting revenge on Silco).

The first break-up between the two (Season 1's "Oil and Water") centred around Jinx, more or less. Vi believes Silco is a threat to peace between Piltover and Zaun (even though The Lanes aren't known as Zaun to her, I'm just using the names interchangeably). She believes Jinx is acting out due to Silco's influence, as well (and she isn't wrong). Had Caitlyn not been injured on the bridge (and had Jinx not felt betrayed by Vi), Vi was going to leave her in pursuit of Jinx. Vi has also never fit into Piltover (and that's also shown in Season 2 act 1-2). She makes no connections with Piltovians besides Cait and (an already disillusioned) Loris who we see for like two seconds.

Vi and Jinx:

This show was ALWAYS about a tale of two sisters/cities. When Vi becomes an enforcer, it isn't because she's switched loyalties. She wants peace for The Lanes, she just wants to take Silco's creation--Jinx--out of the equation so it can work. Her priority, like Vander’s, is to keep the vulnerable of The Lanes safe, and both were willing to co-operate with Piltover to protect the people they loved. She believes, like Vander did with Silco, that Jinx (and by extension Zaun) is her responsibility. That the reason bad things happened to Zaunites (Vi’s and Powder’s parents dead on the bridge, Jinx’s mania) is their fault.

Vi blames herself for creating Jinx as Vander does for creating Silco. The only reason Vi agrees to Caitlyn's plan is because, again, their two goals align: get Jinx. The difference is Vi wants to kill Jinx to kill Silco, while Cait wants to kill Jinx to get her city (mother) back. Vi is still explicitly concerned about Jinx, who she has come to see as a threat to other people she loves (e.g. Ekko, Cait, etc). Vi became an enforcer to protect The Lanes and the (appearance) of peace. Vi internalized Vander’s words and doesn’t want war, even if it means Zaun never becomes independent. But she is doing it as penance for what she feels she didn’t do that led Jinx to become what she is.

The show in season 2 TOTALLY LOST THIS FOCUS. Vi's guilt at hunting down her own people with enforcers is ALSO ignored a lot by fandom, especially because her post-breakup scene where she goes full goth is framed as regret for letting Cait down (rather than the self-disgust she would feel for joining her oppressors). Vi played a part in creating Jinx and her enforcer-arc is still centred around Jinx. This gets shoved aside for romance with Cait. All the time we could spend post-breakup focusing on the sisters, quickly circles back to Cait.

Cait, who, literally became a dictator and weaponized the air ducts her mother had created to SAVE ZAUNITES. The whole thing is viewed as Vi betraying Cait instead of Vi betraying Jinx/Zaun/her family and Cait betraying Vi ("promise me you won't change") and her mother. Cait was the one who sought to help Zaun (like her mother) but betrayed who she was when she was willing to kill Isha, an innocent child.

Vi would feel even more guilty at how she is literally in an enforcer's suit when she is about to kill Jinx, the only family she has left. She is literally hunting down Jinx, a Zaunite, like the enforcers had her parents. But we barely explore that. It’s just off to chasing Vander/Warwick only for it to not matter anyways!

(ALSO IMPORTANT: Just to further prove my point on how integral the sister's love for each other was, every show started with a record playing. The cover of the disc was Vi and Jinx. They were always the center focus of the story. The song that the record played? Likely "Our Love" by Curtis Harding and Jazmine Sullivan which goes "Our love is a bubblin' fountain, our love, that flows into the sea, our love, deeper than the ocean, our love for eternity." This love deeper-than-the-ocean can apparently crumble in the face of a dictator girlfriend you've known for less than a year lmao).

Summary of Fumbles:

-Vi's and Jinx's relationship becomes secondary not just to the entire plot of the show but to Vi's arc. Zaun and Piltover's conflict was set up to be the epitome of the show, and the fact that it got shelved for some (ahem military propaganda) epic battle between humans and robots is very telling about the writers and showrunners.

-Vi forgives Cait easily and prematurely, trashing Vi's true loyalties as established in earlier seasons/episodes and robbing Cait’s actions of their appropriate weight.

-(above is an excerpt from Amanda Overton's interview with TheGamer) The culmination of love for Vi's character ends with Caitlyn and not Jinx. Vi's character, whose love is explicitly centred on Zaun and her family, reaches its peak in romance with a Piltovian. To quote Amanda further: "If Vi had no one left to protect, she would fall in love." As if Vi had no ambition outside of protecting her family. As if her dream since she was a kid wasn't tied so much into Zaun. As if the reason she wore an enforcer outfit wasn't because of Zaun. As if Zaunites aren't suffering right under her nose. As if she was the only kid in Stillwater Prison and struggled to survive the whole time she was there. I can't pretend to stomach it. (Again, it's not that Vi shouldn't be happy, it's that the ship had to shove this aspect of her character aside for it to work). If they wanted to really commit to the Vi-in-video game origin story, they should have set it up better and stuck to it.

-Vi herself takes a back seat in most of season 2, and becomes a passive, guilt-riddled yes-man to Cait

-Vander's re-introduction is almost completely worthless to the plot and narrative (he comes back just to die), and he is used as a cheap way to re-unite (and then separate) the daughters in a way that has no significance to the themes (also, Silco as Jinx's father is completely ignored during this time)

-Cait's deferral to fascism should have been permanent. Idc about the shippers at this point. Vi and Cait should have never come back from Cait shoving the back of her gun into Vi's injured side (let alone the gassing of the ducts). Vi would've never forgiven her, attraction or no. The fact that Cait could become a dictator after losing one parent is proof of their class divides (after all, Vi held onto hope despite losing all her parents to enforcers and Jinx was all she had left of her family). That should have cemented the death of that relationship (and it would have made for more compelling storytelling on class). I’m thinking it was kept because it matters more to white Western audiences to have a Romeo x Juliet rendition that assuages their classist sensitivities. Cait becoming a fascist made sense and was true to her character and the world. Vi forgiving her (and then having sex with her in the prison she was thrown into as a child?) destroyed both her character and the narrative.

Yeah, yeah, Vi was overwhelmed by the breadth of love and forgiveness Caitlyn had in letting Jinx go, but that's bare minimum shit. Vi "always choosing wrong" because she *checks notes* keeps trying to reconcile with her sister instead of letting her go since she isn't Powder anymore? So she resolves her guilt by choosing her own pleasure and putting herself first for once. Okay, I don't have a problem with that except that Vi and Jinx were supposed to succeed where Vander and Silco hadn't--by reconciling! And you still won't get me to like the fact that so much of Vi's character arc gets held up in a Piltovian who encouraged her to do the worst shit to her OWN PEOPLE and then fucking turned on her when she couldn't kill her sister. It is frankly amazing how we're supposed to celebrate Caitlyn literally coming between the sisters. I'd rather Vi forgiving Jinx than Caitlyn. And if the whole appeal of Vi's relationship with Caitlyn is that she was overwhelmed with love for how Caitlyn forgave Jinx after she killed her mother, I don't see how a relationship with Cait automatically makes Vi feel less guilty, since Cait also makes her feel guilty for choosing Jinx (remember her accusation "you will always choose her" like sorry I don't want to kill my orphaned, traumatized sister who I ripped into for making an honest mistake as a child and who has carried that since). Caitlyn (as others have pointed out) got a whole ceremony for her mother and instantly turned on Vi's people. The Vi I know would have been like, "You really are all the same," and FUCKING DIPPED. And there's a little acknowledgement of this in act 1 where Vi accuses Caitlyn of acting like Jinx.

Both Jinx and Caitlyn are emotional labour for Vi. Vi still wants to protect Caitlyn from Jinx. There's not that much of a difference, lol, except that Caitlyn is a privileged Piltovian and Jinx is a victim of the abysmal childhood she suffered at the hands of enforcers. Yet the show is more or less saying Vi pursuing reconciliation with Jinx was a bad choice for Vi and the reason the cycle of violence continued (for some reason). The sister reconciliation was what I was here for, personally. Cute ships aside. But noooo, Vi should forgive Cait (not Jinx) to stop the cycle.

And having jail sex is a liberating act for her because it's where they had their meet-cute. (And we're all good bc Caitlyn gave up the Kiramman seat, lmao, like sure okay).

It's frankly made the ship that much more unpalatable. If Vi had to be destroyed as a character for the ship to work, then the ship wasn't all that good (even though it started off that way). It's honestly left such a bad taste in my mouth. What a fuck you to oppressed groups that whole subplot was. (And it's made worse by the fact that the creator thought that was somehow an empowering and liberating act for Vi, like fuck that).

Let's Talk About Victor:

Viktor and Heimerdinger:

Heimerdinger and Viktor were the most polar of opposites. Heimerdinger was not only a privileged, ulta-wealthy Piltovian, but he had a comparatively endless lifespan while Viktor's own human life-span was cut short due to being a Zaunite, born at the bottom of the barrel and raised on toxic fumes that led to his terminal illness. Viktor's desperation to unlock the Arcane was explicitly about him overcoming his circumstances, his illness, his premature death. It wasn't merely about his internalized ableism, but the unjust way in which he had to suffer. Heimmerdinger could afford patience because he had all the time and resources in the world, but Viktor didn't. Not merely because he was a mortal, but because he was a Zaunite.

Viktor and Singed:

Viktor's arc with hextech is foreshadowed with his childhood interaction with Singed. I understand that in the games, Viktor is a villain-type character and his catchphrase or whatever is "Join the Glorious Evolution," which the show hinted at from Season 1 when Singed explained his experiments to Viktor. While Viktor is horrified by Singed killing the creature that he eventually uses for shimmer, Viktor later says, "I understand," hinting that he saw the sacrifice (and death) necessary to "heal" the world of its ailments. Both Viktor and Singed grow up in The Lanes, and both have ailments they want to cure (for Viktor it is his lung cancer and for Singed its his daughter's dying). In season 2, Viktor tells Singed that while he understands what healing all those people could cost him, he will not sacrifice their humanity for Singed's cause. This is because of Sky’s death (which is partly why it is her who is in the Arcane with him).

Sky’s death is what makes Viktor beg Jayce to destroy the hex core, since he couldn’t do it himself. He is willing to die if that means no more innocent people do. But here’s where I get a little touchy. VIKTOR didn’t KNOW she was there. Viktor was simply desperate to live. Sky’s death was not malicious (even if it’s true to his character that he’d feel guilty anyways). It is at this point that Viktor has Jayce promise him to destroy the hex core (and by god is this where a lot of my contention with the finale comes from). Also, it is important to note that Viktor’s self-loathing is depicted only in regard to Sky’s death (NOT HIS BAD LEG). Now Viktor feels guilty not just for Sky’s death, but also necessarily for trying to live (AND PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND). TRYING TO LIVE is subtly treated as an AMBITION that, for Viktor, interfered with his ethics. (And please note that in the end, Singed, who repeatedly embraces unethical practices for reviving his dying daughter gets what he wants).

Anyway, in S2, Jayce blasts Viktor in the chest and all that conviction goes out the window. All this despite Sky (his conscience and “humanity”) being there with him in the astro-nether. Now Viktor's idea of becoming a higher being is just getting rid of emotion (apparently because Jayce did it or something). Jayce killing him without explanation was all of a sudden all he needed to become a divine dictator. The same Viktor that looked terminal illness in the face and preferred to spare others instead of himself? The same Viktor who's immediate action after waking up with a new body was to go and use the arcane he wished had been destroyed to help others? Because the arcane is corrupting him? That’s convenient for a certain political narrative. Especially because anyone would hesitate pressing a button (in Viktor’s case smashing the hex core) that would guarantee their death. Viktor was being human, not corrupt.

Viktor and Jayce:

Now, I think Jayce's speech had some merit and could have been framed better with a little more time and thought. The philosophical idea of perfection or a perfect world (one which Piltoverians strive toward) being untenable, maybe even undesirable, is a fascinating concept worth exploring. BUT MAKING IT ABOUT SOME INTERNALIZED ABLEISM FROM VIKTOR IS FUCKING STUPID!!!! I'm sorry, but Piltover being the city of progress until it actually included becoming progressive with Zaun was absolutely one of the things Jayce and Viktor's sub-plot was trying to explore.

Viktor WANTED TO LIVE. Viktor wanted his people to STOP SUFFERING. Viktor WAS RIGHT. He wasn't merely eliminating "imperfections" (and of FUCKING COURSE A PILTOVIAN WOULD SEE IT THAT WAY), he was trying to cure sick and dying people who did nothing to deserve it. He was buying them time that people like Jayce and Heimmerdinger had in spades, but Viktor and Zaunites had stolen from them.

Children dying of disease and violence in The Lanes was by Piltovian design! It was not some predestined cosmic necessity. Viktor WAS RIGHT TO HATE HIS FUCKING TERMINAL ILLNESS ARE THESE GUYS INSANE??! Wtf kind of message is Viktor embracing it as part of himself sending to vulnerable, impoverished and ill people? Is that supposed to be some kind of fucking comfort? Fuck off right to hell!

Like I'm glad if it resonated with any disabled people, but Viktor's struggle with his body was a protest against Piltover, not himself, and I hate that the writers gutted that character development. Viktor's and Jayce's paths "diverged a long time ago" because Jayce had the luxury and time of pursuing his dream while Viktor didn't. Viktor, even up there as a scholar of Piltover, was still getting the Zaunite treatment.

Jayce had the time to pursue a better world, while Viktor had to struggle for a little more time. When Viktor becomes part of the arcane, suddenly he has all the time in the world to realize HIS OWN DREAM. Why would wanting a better world for others have to result in "dreamless solitude"? Why does wanting progress equal wanting perfection? You are changing the subject and that is cheating!!!!

Viktor becoming obsessed with fixing what ailed humanity was warranted, and his extremism was hinted to have been due in part to the effect the arcane had on him, but it still made the themes of arcane a joke. There was so much potential and the writers (and showrunners) just squandered it for some more romantic bullshit.

The Glorious Fumblings (A Summary):

-"Humanity, our very essence, is inescapable. Our emotions, rage, compassion, hate. Two sides of the same coin, intractably bound. That which inspires us to our greatest good is also the cause of our greatest evil.” That's a neat quote, but wars don't start simply due to emotions or whatever. This lacks class analysis, and it's annoying that the writers made this the whole theme of season 2 (and retroactively the show) in a story on class divides. Cait did not merely gas the Zaunites because of her mother, but because of her privileged upbringing that made it more acceptable to her to view Zaunites as animals (remember Ekko telling her enforcers “hunt us down like animals"). Cait knew the humanity of Zaunites was real. She just chose to ignore it because she could afford to. While it is interesting that Viktor would come to see being human as a flaw that destroys any hope of achieving peace (conflict theory would like a word with you), it ignored that fascism is not an inherently human trait and detracts from how or why it persists in the first place. It's almost the same as saying men/white people oppress women/poc because the latter were mean to them. It's victim-blaming (and false lmao). The British didn't colonize the Americans because the natives did anything to them. All prejudice is unjustified, that's what makes it prejudice. Again, Cait became a fascist when her mom died, but Vi still drew the line at killing children and even council members despite losing every single one of her family members to Piltover's violence against The Lanes. AND THAT’S JUST IT. Why the Zaunites do what they do isn’t simply because of love and hate, but because of the desperate circumstances they are forced into by their oppressors. Why the Piltovians do what they do, isn’t because of love or hate, but because they are bread in luxury and affluence. Pretending that’s not the case is an insult to the work put into Arcane’s first season (and anyone with a brain and basic empathy).

-Jayce's speech would have been cute in another story, but it's downright insulting in Arcane's. Yes, yes, Jayce's words would have been the only ones to have broken the real Viktor out of Arcane Viktor's grasp by appealing to this deep childhood wound, but Viktor's desperation was not to belong (because his leg kept him from playing with other children) but TO LIVE (because he was dying of an illness). Jayce's speech isn't bad, just misplaced. Like most of the finale.

-Viktor did not have to become a fascist-aligned deity in his quest to heal people. It is a typical MCU thing to have a "villain" that's technically right and then destroy their entire character to make their (correct) philosophy untenable by making them do something extreme. Typical pro-status quo propaganda trope. I DON’T CARE if it was so we could get some game version of him. Viktor was right in bringing progress and his discoveries to The Lanes instead of devoting his efforts to Piltover, the fake city of progress.

-While I am annoyed that the climax of the show hinged on Jayce and Viktor and hextech (a tool to explore the inequalities of Piltover and Zaun) instead of Jinx and Vi, I think it kinda makes sense. Hextech built what Piltover has now become. Jayce, Viktor and hextech kinda represent Piltover (what it could be) and Jinx and Vi represent The Lanes (and the Zaun it could be). Both would have been integral, but the story shouldn't have hinged on hextech, IMO. Hextech should have remained a tool to explore the politics of both cities, but instead it overshadowed everything, cheapening the story's themes, characters and world-building.

-Jayce calling the Zaunites to arms was downright absurd. But not as absurd as Zaunites volunteering.

And Then There's Jinx:

Jinx and Isha:

Isha's only use, as far as I'm concerned, was to be a reconciling force between the sisters. When Cait was willing to shoot her to get to Jinx, that should have stopped Vi right there and brought her back to defending Jinx 100% I DON’T CARE. When Isha sacrificed her life to save Jinx, that should have been Jinx's wake-up call right there and helped her understand why Vi kept leaving her out of missions as a kid. But instead what do we get? Depressed, suicidal Jinx and an astoundingly even more resentful and indifferent Vi. Now Jinx sees herself as even more of a poison to those she loves (because she can’t protect them like Vi can and frequently kills them while trying to do so). Jinx, who has always wanted to be useful to those she loves. Who pursued her own hextech inventions in order to give her siblings a fighting chance when facing down Silco. Who wants to give Zaun a fighting chance as Silco's daughter (and Isha’s surrogate mother). To be useful to the goals and dreams of her family. Isha was the perfect opportunity to bring the sisters together and get Jinx to embrace all she is (both the Jinx that Vi rejects and the Powder that Silco rejected), but no. Instead, the kid was some kind of foreshadowing to Jinx's own heroic self-sacrifice for her sister (a message that left both sister's arcs unfinished). Or perhaps, Isha was a commentary on the cycle of violence. But that this sub-plot really wasn't needed given what we'd already established in Season 1.

Why do I say this?

Because the cycle of violence is not a "Jinx" issue, but a Piltover one, and the writers making it an interpersonal issue instead of a political/sociological one damaged the story and what Jinx's character could have meant to mentally ill people like her. It wasn't illogical storytelling, just far less meaningful than it could have been. It would have been more powerful and moving and impactful for Jinx to realize where the true cycle of violence (as established the whole fucking show from the dead parents on the bridge, to Vander and Silco, to Jinx and Vi, to Jinx and Ekko, to Isha and Warwick, to Cait and Vi, etc) was coming from.

Jinx needed to accept herself and the love others showed toward her (Silco, Vander, Ekko and Vi). Jinx keeps blowing things up because she repeatedly rejects herself (both Powder and Jinx), ignoring the good she's done and tried to do. Isha was a call back to the good Jinx has done and can continue to do for Zaun and others. Isha and Sevika understood (even though Silco unfairly set it up) that Jinx was actually their good luck, their hope, more than just a hex (pun intended) on the city. After all, Jinx made Sevika her new arm (even though she's the reason Sevika lost her arm in the first place), which further proves that Jinx had the capacity to fix some of what she broke. It would have been better for her to embrace responsibility and have the faith to try and fix things (ESP her relationship with Vi). While it is not unrealistic or necessarily bad writing that she would fake her own death to run away and start over (or just die) trying to save Vi, the arc people she represented deserved was her embracing Vi back, not accepting that she was a curse in Vi's life. And most definitely NOT romanticizing her pain.

Jinx and Ekko:

Ekko's and Jinx's relationship is precisely an exploration of how Piltover's violence against Zaun forced these children with entire futures ahead of them (they are both child prodigies) into endless war and hellish heroism. Ekko and Jinx are repeatedly shown to be hesitant and even unwilling to participate in violence against others, especially their own. Ekko does not hate Jinx, though he wants to, and Jinx does not like who she is when she's violent. She is trigger-happy because she already expects Vi and Ekko to want to kill her (projecting her self-loathing on them, but not entirely unreasonably). She doesn't have faith in their love or mercy because she doesn't see any part of herself as redeemable or loveable, which is why she consistently sabotages her life (but not without help from Vi and others).

Ekko and Jinx are symbols of progress for Zaun AND Piltover (and Heimerdinger saw that, especially when Ekko insisted he had to go back to his timeline, even if the one he had landed in was better). Heimmerdinger saw what they could have been in the alternate timeline, all the genius that was squandered in The Lanes. Jinx and Ekko are the ones most willing to put an end to violence and injustice because both of them are nostalgic for their families. All that’s ever kept them going is the love of their families. Jinx just doesn't have the same faith in her ability to be their hero as Ekko does, but Ekko manages to convince her for a moment anyways.

Ekko recognizes (like Silco, Viktor and Isha) how integral Jinx is to the creation of a new world. She injects colour and life and hope into Zaun and is the only one who can unite all warring factions in Zaun in the first place. I know people have gripes with this Jinx being the hero of Zaun when she literally killed Silco, opening the market for other gangs, but her most famous act is the bombing of the Council, which pretty much all Zaunites were unaware was about to grant them independence. To the average citizen of Zaun and Piltover, Jinx was the symbol of a revolution (even if Jinx didn’t see herself that way and didn’t really want to be). Both her and Ekko are rebel leaders, but that is hardly used in Zaun's interests in the end. (ALSO THAT WHOLE CONVERSATION WITH VIKTOR AND JINX WHERE HE SAID SHE COULD BE USEFUL TO HIS WORK. This show would have won with a Viktor and Jinx team-up to unite Zaun--also in parallel to Jayce and Vi's team up. We could have had it all!)

Jinx and Silco:

This, is only second to Vi in the most FUMBLED things about Jinx. Silco was her guide once Vander died and Vi ran away. Silco not only took care of her, but gave her purpose (someone to love and be loved by and protect) and nurtured her talent (one that many others scorned). Silco accepted Jinx even though he weaponized her (which backfired for him). As much as Silco WAS WRONG to lie about Vi (manipulating Jinx) and even try to kill Vi (which was a dumbass move on his part), he wasn't wrong about Jinx's path to healing: self-acceptance and self-forgiveness. And even though Silco's own stupidity led Jinx to "embrace" Silco's version of Jinx to the point that she bombed the Council right when they'd granted Zaun independence (I wanted to fucking kill myself watching that), Jinx was still not ENTIRELY a jinx as Jinx (e.g. when she rescued Zaunites from Stillwater Prison). This fucked up dude did a whole John-the-Baptist thing where Vander tried to drown him with Jinx so she could embrace her Jinx-ness. But I don't think he was telling her to embrace that she was a curse like Vi meant it, but to embrace her new life (baptism is all about death and rebirth) and her new self and take responsibility for it.

Silco, like Ekko, was the one who saved Jinx from death and offered Jinx a home. While everyone else patronized Jinx for her own childhood trauma, Silco was gentle, understanding and provided space for that, even when her psychosis killed him. He showed zero resentment toward her. But when Silco dies and Vander returns, Jinx just . . . oopsie, doopsie! Forgets about Silco until one final hallucination she has of him in the jail cell. The only one she has where he talks. And what does he say? She needs to break the cycle. How? Not by eliminating Piltover or gaining Zaun's independence like he'd talked about and dreamed about. Not by accepting herself as Jinx and Powder, the inventor, the fighter, daughter of both Silco and Vander, but by offing herself? Leaving her family to think she's dead? Embracing the lie that she really was the poison in their lives and the reason none of them could be happy? The reason they died? NICE! SWELL! WHAT A SATISFYING, INSPIRING CONCLUSION! Even worse, they made her "death" staged. I'm sorry, but do we really believe that this same girl who killed herself multiple times in front of Ekko just 24 hours ago somehow found the will to live and escape into air ducts when she was falling with Vander? She decided to live right when she was about to die? And let's not forget that she was falling to the same song that was playing when she was trying to commit suicide. Why? And why would a heroic death (staged or not) be any form of character growth for Jinx in the first place? When her whole thing is distrusting the love offered to her? Or was she accepting herself by being the one to kill Vander because she knew Vi couldn't? Either way, it's cheap!

I Wonder Who Put All Those Holes In You (Fumbling Summary):

-Vander's letter to Silco could have been why she hallucinated Silco talking to her about forgiveness, but breaking the cycle here is about forgiving (unapologetic) Piltovians instead of herself, which needed to happen to complete her arc.

-Isha and Vander misery porn

-(above is an excerpt from Amanda Overton's TheGamer interview) to paraphrase: "SO OUR GRAND CONCLUSION TO VI AND JINX'S ARC WAS TO CONFIRM THAT YES, JINX WAS INDEED A JINX (AND NOT PILTOVER OR ANYTHING HAHA) AND THE SISTERS WOULD ONLY HAVE PEACE IF THEY NEVER RECONCILED - JUST LIKE THEIR FATHERS BECAUSE THAT WORKED OUT SO WELL THE FIRST TIME! :D THE REASON THEIR LIVES ARE IN SHAMBLES ARE PURELY BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN PERSONAL FAILINGS AND NOT AT ALL BECAUSE OF THE SITUATION PILTOVIANS HAVE PUT ZAUNITES IN! XD WE THINK THIS IS ALSO A FANTASTIC THING TO TELL MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE." :)

-Jinx being the reluctant Girl Saviour of Zaun after clinging onto her identity as a jinx so she didn't have to take responsibility for Zaun should have been the completion of her arc, IMO. As far as Jinx's arc is concerned, she was meant to reject the identity of jinx that Vi gave her and embrace the identity of Jinx that Zaun gave her. Loveable and capable of doing the right thing and saving others. Using hex-tech, something Jayce and Piltover had levelled against her people, against them. And she does this to some extent, but we don't even get a hint as to why Ekko's speech worked (and how he got her to fight alongside him and the Firelights in the first place). We know she does so for Vi, but she so quickly gives up once she and her sister are back on the same team. She allies herself with her sister just to die and then fuck off to another land? BRUH! Like act 3 is SO FRUSTRATING!

Conclusion

If the focus had been on the coming war between Zaun and Piltover, then we could have better explored the internal struggles happening with Vi's and Jinx's characters. Using Isha and Vander as misery porn for Jinx was a bad move. I stand by that. Isha didn't need to die that uselessly. Jinx did not need more "trauma" for any character development (positive or negative). It's not unrealistic that Jinx would be depressed after Isha's death (and that Isha was likely meant to symbolize the constant cycle of violence), but that this sub-plot really wasn't needed given what we'd already established in Season 1.

These are where my gripes with Jinx's and Viktor's arcs in S2 really lie: the story tries to strip the political from the personal! Viktor, on waking up with the arcane in him, goes back to The Lanes, and what does he see? The cycle that Silco mentions in Jinx's hallucination in the cell. This cycle is not merely coming from the interpersonal struggle Zaunites have, but rather, the forces behind those struggles: the starvation, the lack of resources, the poverty. All caused by Piltover. Where Season 2 fails while Season 1 succeeded, is it points the camera away from Piltover as the origin of all this mess, and instead, makes it a stupid cosmic clash between chaos and order (kinda fascist ngl). Zaun lost, and Arcane Season 1 had the tits to show why those in The Lanes were always on a losing streak: Piltover. The commitment to saving Piltover instead of destroying it ruined so many arcs, most notoriously Vi's and Jinx's. This should have ended in a war between the two cities, not one where both fought against robo-people and Ambessa.

But what, instead, do the writers brandish as this solution to the cycle?

Fucking forgiveness (of those who harm and oppress you) and acceptance of your (physical) imperfections (like that's what we were apparently talking about, which no, it wasn't). By refusing to acknowledge Piltover's hand in the desperation and violence and struggle the Zaunite characters find themselves, the show inadvertently ends up excusing Piltover.

TLDR: Bad message to send to oppressed people, mentally ill people, and people dying of terminal illnesses, lmao. The Zaunites ALL LOST with this one.

And I'm going to make a Part 2 to really get into it, but from the perspective of three Piltover characters (and one Zaunite) that really prove my point: Jayce, Mel, Caitlyn and Ekko.

P.S.: It's okay if you think the show is good because it succeeds in many other things, I just think it drops the ball in the places I've mentioned. But if your main criticism of my criticisms is going to be defending your ships, please find another post. Oppression is a serious reality that deserves serious depiction and it's insulting to have such necessary political discussions devolve into dumbass ship wars.

EDIT: I honestly did not expect this post to get more than 20 likes lmao, and i must admit that this was more of a thought dump than a super-deep analysis, but i'm glad a lot of it has resonated with so many of you!

EDIT AGAIN: Here's PART 2.

#zaun #arcane #arcane season 2 #jayvik #timebomb #ekkojinx #caitlyn kiramman #vi #vander #silco #jinx #ekko #isha arcane #jinx and isha #caitvi

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gothamundernightlight · 7 months ago

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Random Shit the Waynes Do on Social Media

Dick:

- The white whale of D1 and Olympic gymnastics athletes; always stitches their stunts and challenges, executing them perfectly, but no one knows who he is or who trained him

- Shares pictures of random children, and the whole internet becomes a detective trying to figure out if Bruce Wayne adopted another kid or if his gymnastics students won another trophy

- Photo montages of Haley being the cutest, which slowly transitions into Haley in whatever cute hat the internet can send to Dick’s PO Box

- Random video of him skydiving while giving tips on what to do if your chute doesn’t deploy. He never deploys his chute doing the video and no one can tell if it’s a bit or not.

Jason:

- AI Voiceover text posts providing surprisingly insightful analysis into classic literature

- A full six part rant on the Broadway adaptation of “The Great Gatsy”

- Random selfies complete with wildly made up backstories of any and every new injury he has

- Prank war on Damian specifically (this was intended for Talia but his finger slipped and now the whole internet loves it)

Tim:

- Randomly goes live to do study/work/research with me sessions complete with an actually decent Lofi soundtrack that no one can find (He totally mixes it himself but won’t admit it)

- Did ONE social media vlog for WE’s marketing division and it went so viral he gets forced to do more. The dead eyed stare he gives the camera with every stupid dance the intern teaches him makes the video top-tier

- Cute couples videos with Bernard

- Skateboard tricks (and fails)

- Screenshots of text conversations between him and his siblings discussing the most random shit??

Cass:

- Dance routines/pre-show/GRWM videos

- Shakily filmed videos of her kicking Dick’s ass and everyone just calls her a baddie in the comments. She doesn’t know what that means but she appreciates the love.

- Her and Steph’s late night food runs with the two of them just belting out to a song in a dark parking lot

Steph:

- Posts riddles and puzzles and how to solve them. She’s really good at it. Riddler hates her.

- Apartment tour of all the purple shit she owns. She’ll never admit that the room she’s showing off is her Wayne Manor bedroom, so everyone believes she just has a moderately sized loft apartment somewhere and she just never shows the kitchenette

- Her and Cass’s late night food runs with the two of them just belting out to a song in a dark parking lot

- POV shots of her going up to the boys asking them random questions. Dick matches her energy. Jason tells her to fuck off. Tim is barely conscious. Damian always has an overly rational answer to take the fun out of it. Duke just stares blankly at her (he always comes back later with a proper answer now that he’s had time to think about it). Bruce just stares blankly at her

Damian:

- Art reveals that never get many views but he’s still proud of nonetheless. Dick always comments on them to hype him up

- Accidentally recreates a popular vine that went viral and it’s just him insulting fellow GA kids under his breath but one of them says hi to him and he’s instantly polite back. His most popular video

- The multi-part experiment of him trying to Pavlov Tim, and when it actually works, Tim just chases Damian around the manor. The video cuts to black frames after Tim takes a flying launch at him

- All the pet videos. There are so many. People try to cancel him for exploiting them, but Damian clearly demonstrates that he would never force his animals to participate for views and how they will just leave if they don’t want to do something. Batcow is in the background just two-stepping unprompted

Duke:

- Every morning without fail, he posts a daily sunrise pic of Gotham, with a positive affirmation caption. One day he’s sick and he wakes up to a thousand messages of people panicking because their favorite poster has disappeared. He never misses a sunrise again

- Passionate rants about local government. Will not shut up about it. He might be an anarchist, but he’s forever remain optimistic that one day the systems that define society will one day actually work for all people. Bruce has every single one saved so he can implement Duke’s ideas into reality

- Boxing videos of him training with Luke. It’s never meant to be a thirst trap…but sometimes it is

- Dumb selfies. Duke unironically loves taking them, no matter what face he pulls, what filter he uses, not even caring where he is. This gets him in trouble the one time he posts one of him leaning off the edge of a high rise roof

Babs:

- Constant lectures on cybersecurity and internet safety. She teaches this at the library as a volunteer but feels she can reach a lot of people by building a platform

- Computer build stuff. Brands reach out to her for her reviews and she thoroughly discusses each product in length

- Rarely posts about her disability, but absolutely tears people to shreds when they make ableist comments about her. The only time she brings it up first is when City Hall takes over a month to fix their elevator and she calls them out on it

Harper:

- Electronics repairs. She constantly takes things apart to teach people how to fix it, and this can range from toys to cars. On more than one occasion , her video has been interrupted by someone who planned to be using the vehicle she’s just taken apart

- 2 AM hair dye/maintenance sessions. She constantly gets comments from men being like “Therapy works too, y’know” or “No, you’re so beautiful? Why would you do that to yourself.” She responds to the comments with a video of a gun pointed at the camera with the sole caption being “Fuck Off.”

- Gym videos. She and Dick work out together and he’s the ultimate hype man

- Outfit montages of her getting ready for a random gala and she’s always pulling off the most masc-looking suits that look gorgeous on her

Helena:

- Target practice. She does all kinds of trick shots and crazy crossbow stunts in a wide variety of outfits. Her most popular video is of her in a corset and platform heels.

- Her and Steph bonding over all things purple

- Outfit of the Day posts. The girl has expensive tastes and she absolutely shows it off.

Bruce:

- Occasionally does promo stuff for WE (because Tim refuses to do all of it, and their social media intern won’t back down)

- Shares absolutely wild stories from his college years that somehow always get proven to be true even when the whole comments section is just like “this seems false???”

- Kid tour. He saw one mom do it and felt sad bc he’s never get the kids to agree, but somehow they all did (Alfred bribed them.)

- Shares everything from each one of the charities he’s involved with. Has reposted every single one of their posts on his own personal channel. It raises them hundreds of followers each time.

- One of the kids posted a video montage of Bruce being Brucie and it’s so utterly humiliating? But he won’t delete it because all of the comments say he’s their favorite billionaire and that’s more than his own kids will say.

- Random Pride Month post. Every year it catches people by surprise and every gossip magazine always wonders if Bruce is coming out. He’s just being an ally (and potentially is in denial).

Alfred:

- Prefers not to use social media, but one of the boys filmed him doing random things to teach the internet how to do things properly, like making the bed, doing laundry, etc. Is the internet’s favorite grandpa.

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mortalfaerie · 5 months ago

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hi here's a little series on what i think the gravity falls kids grew up to do since they're 25 now

Pacifica "Paz" Northwest

after weirdmagedden, she became increasingly disenchanted with her parent's and their worldview, which led her to start questioning the structures around her

though they sold the mansion, her parents had a lot of money in real estate and they live in a condo building they own in town

she took a job at greasy's diner initially as an act of rebellion but stuck around throughout high school because it gave her a refreshing taste of the real world

she got really into politics, also initially as an act of rebellion, but did eventually become a really staunch take-no-shit feminist and went to protests in portland

she reconnected with the twins one summer during their teen years once she had "been cured of her rich girl mentality" (-mabel) and she and mabel became pretty close. things remained a little awkward with dipper when they were teens, but they relaxed once he realized she did actually care about mabel and wasn't going to hurt her

she's actually very analytical and level headed, which makes her a good foil to dipper - who continues seeking out mysteries to solve in gravity falls

she continued competitive golf and even won some local and regional titles in the women's junior division, which gets her an offer to go play golf at UCLA (conveniently, also where dipper goes)

she got access to her trust fund when she turned eighteen, and relies a lot less on her parents after that. she continues to try to have a relationship with them but it very aware of the toll they take on her, leading her to go low-contact with them in university.

she joins a sorority (i think kkg, she feels like a kappa) and probably ends up as treasurer or some other leadership position

she majors in political science, makes the dean's list, and gets an honors degree. she considers becoming a lawyer, but decides she's more interested in public policy & decides to go into policy analysis & international relations

she and dipper have a prolonged will-they-won't-they throughout college, finally getting together in the summer before their senior year. this borrowed from rockslide on ao3 but hilariously, she doesn't realize he's trans until she sees his too surgery scars for the first time because 1) she only ever knew him as a guy and 2) she only saw him in the summers growing up.

her parents disapprove of their relationship and generally the pines family, which is the straw that breaks the camel's back for her to go fully no contact. after that point, she's embraced by the pines family as one of their own.

she graduates magnum cum laude and dipper is her biggest supporter. he gets an offer to do his doctorate in archeology at king's college london, which ends up working perfectly because she gets a job at the us embassy in london.

they move to england together and rent a flat in a new building because even though the historic ones are beautiful, she can't deal with more ghosts.

i think by this point they've been there for two and a half years and they've gotten a cat (named tyrone, or ty for short) and dipper's just made the transition from phd student to phd candidate and started his dissertation.

#gravity falls #pacifica northwest #dipper pines #trans dipper pines #mystery twins #mabel pines #dipcifica #dipper x pacifica

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wolfiesmoon · 1 year ago

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My princess

baji x fem!reader

another one for my baji girlies😘😘😘😘😘😘

do not be fooled by the title by the way this is not what it seems😈 @riabriyn one tag for uuuu

Also warning there's a few swear words!

"So, where is he?" your friend asked, glancing at her watch. You had finally promised your friends that they'd get to meet your new boyfriend. They complain that he's all you've been talking about lately and you can't really blame them since that's the truth.

You're just really happy that you have a boyfriend like the rest of them, is all.

"He should arrive right about now." You smiled happily. You can't wait to see him already.

You heard the sound of a motorcycle in the distance and your smile widened, knowing he was about to arrive. Oh, you'll show him off so hard. All your friends are gonna be so jealous.

When he stopped in front of you and your friends, you ran up to him and hugged him before he could even step off the bike. "I missed you, babe!"

"You literally saw me yesterday." He sounded annoyed but he hugged you back.

You looked back at your friends as Baji got off the bike, eyebrow raising at their shocked expressions.

"That's... your boyfriend?" One of them asked cautiously. You nodded slowly.

"Girl, you should have told us your boyfriend is uhhh... a delinquent." Your friend picked her words carefully, too afraid to upset your mystery of a boyfriend.

"But I told you about him..." Baji was looking in between all of you, trying to understand your collective confusion.

"You told us that he's your little princess and that he brings you flowers and takes you to cat cafés. I think all of us collectively imagined something different."

"All these things still hold true, though. Can't he be a delinquent but also super sweet?" You shrugged. You didn't lie a single time when you said those things.

"You call me your what now?" Baji placed a hand on your shoulder, still in disbelief.

"I call you my little princess!" You smiled warmly at him, turning around and hugging him once more. Despite his shock, he hugged you back again.

"Why the fuck would you call me that? Couldn't you have picked something better?" Your friends just watched the two of you, not sure what to do.

You pouted. "But little princess fits you so well..."

"What exactly screams little princess about me to you?" He asked. Your friends asked the same question internally.

"You're so cute and sweet and you have the prettiest hair. All princess qualities."

Ok, now your friends just think you're delusional. And so does Baji, a little bit. Though he loves you regardless.

"Listen, can't you just call me something better?"

"Hmmmm... how about 'my little meow meow'?" You offered after thinking for a few seconds.

"I asked for something better." Baji sighed.

Normally it wasn't his thing to back off from anything really, but he had a feeling you would come up with something even more embarrasing if he kept pushing. You kind of remind him of his mom back when he was younger. She kept insisting to call him the most embarrasing nicknames, even in front of his friends.

Those nicknames are a secret he'll make Mikey take to the grave.

"Whatever, just call me your princess or something. I don't give a shit anymore." He huffed.

He watched your face light up and you thanked him excitedly, to which he just clicked his tongue in return.

Your friends noted that his cheeks are a little red. What an odd pair the two of you are.

𐙚 ‧₊˚ ⋅Bonus fic (You thought it was over? Think again😈😈😈)

"Aaah, you look so cute, I could just squish your cheeks!" Baji had to slap your hand away because you were actually going to do it.

He let you play with his hair since you kept asking to and now he has a baby pink bow tied into a ponytail on his head.

"Awww, you're no fun." You placed your hands back down, pouting playfully.

He happened to glance at the clock, realising that he was supposed to be having a first division meeting very soon. The way you played with his hair relaxed him so much that he lost track of time.

He shot upright, making you flinch slightly.

"Where are you going?" you asked, worried you upset him.

"Shit. I have a meeting." he hissed behind clenched teeth. Well, you suppose you can't blame him. Though you did want to play with his hair for way longer.

He quickly left, hopping onto his motorcycle and driving off to the meeting location. One thing he would never do is be late to his own meeting.

Luckily, he arrived a bit before everyone else did, with only Chifuyu waiting for him there. "Oh, Baji-san, I- What's that?" Chifuyu pointed at the pretty pink bow.

Oh, he completely forgot about that. Normally he would be embarrased because of something like this, but strangely, the bow you put in his hair filled him with a sense of pride. Like a sign that he's really yours.

Before Baji could explain the bow, everyone from the first division stopped in front of the meeting place on their bikes.

"Let's begin." Baji sat down on the edge of the fountain across from the other gang members.

All of the gang members gathered were visibly holding back laughter, some even let a few giggles slip.

This irked Baji to no end.

"You guys got a problem with my girlfriend's sense of style? Laugh at me, I fucking dare you." Everyone's expressions instantly straightened at Baji's scary face.

Chifuyu let out a little "ohhh..." since he figured out that you were the one who gave him that bow.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. So yesterday..." as he talked about the reason they're even having this meeting, he was filled with a sense of pride.

That pretty pink bow is proof that he has a beautiful girlfriend and he isn't afraid to show her off.

#˗ˏˋ ★ ♡ 「Wolfie’s other works」 ♡ ★ ˎˊ˗#tokyo revengers x you #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo rev x reader #tokyo rev x you #tokyo rev x y/n #baji x you #baji x y/n #baji keisuke x reader #baji x reader #baji keisuke #baji keisuke x you #baji fluff

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esotheria-sims · 6 months ago

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Long Overdue Life Update

Whew, the title sounds kinda ominous, doesn't it?

Lemme say right off the bat that this isn't some Big PSA post or anything to that effect. I'm only checking in because I've been quiet for a while and figured an update is the least I can do. 🙂

Nothing major or life-changing is happening on my end; I've just been shitty at finding the time for sim-blogging these past months due to work and other day-to-day rl stuff, though I have been simming a bit in the background. Mostly going on download sprees and sorting cc, but I'm also about two-thirds through my next BaCC rotation and have a few new hair and handswap wips that are share-ready save for previews.

Oh and also: I got a new puppy! She's a 3-and-a-half-months-old Jack Russel mix and the main culprit for the abovementioned lack-of-time for simming. The cute lil' attention hog wants ALL the cuddles! "PC time? What PC time? Pet me instead, hooman!"

Everyone, this is Lucy!

Other things of note in my life, in no particular order:

We've had relatives from Croatia visiting last week with their kids. The kids are super smart and super cute but with the energy levels of a medium-sized nuclear reactor. It's been fun.

I finally went to see a Rammstein concert!!! 🤯 The experience of a lifetime, holy shit. I literally have no words to describe how mesmerizing that stage was. Like, I shit you not, I have 3 GBs worth of concert footage.

Speaking of metal: Gojira KILLED IT at the Olympics Opening! Also: Turkish Shooter Guy and Norwegian Muffin Man are living rent-free in my head. I'm the worst, I only follow professional sports for the memes.😆

I've been moved to a new division at work and am currently sitting in a small office with the two biggest goobers in the entire institution. Between that and me finally having accumulated enough knowledge + experience to have a clue what I'm doing, work's been pretty stress-free for once.

Conversely, my colleagues from the old division are struggling due to lack of staff, too much work, mismanagement, internal strife, and pressure from both within and outside the institution. I feel so bad for them, but at the same time, a selfish part of me is grateful that I'm not there to suffer the shitshow on my own hide.

I have unanswered asks from (probably) months ago and am Very Ashamed of the fact. I'll get back to you guys, I promise! 😰

#text post #non sims #personal #rl

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physalian · 7 months ago

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Transformers Prime Appreciation Post

You know what. You know what?? This show has featured in so much of my writing advice, it deserves its own “This show is amazing and has amazing writing and shit you can learn from it to be a better writer” post. It’s streamable on Netflix at the time of this post. I own it on DVD. I have all three seasons on actual, physical discs that I bought new for my DVD collection. That’s how much I love this show.

What is TFP? TFP aired on The Hub network, the joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Channel that died after MLP ended, I think. We lost cable before that happened. TFP was probably single-handedly sustained by MLP money for a while, like the rest of HBO on GOT.

This show came out when I entered high school and I have extremely vivid memories of some of the constant previews they showed of the season 1 finale 3-parter, to the point where whenever I watch the scenes that were in those teasers, I still get a physical reaction from being bludgeoned over the head with those lines of dialogue.

I used to scroll ahead in the TV guide as far as the scheduled programming allowed, just to catch snippets of what episodes were slated to air within the next month. This show was the shit.

But it was too expensive and its budget got eaten by Friendship is Magic. The bronies ruin everything I guess.

It’s 3 seasons (technically 2.5 since 3 was only greenlit for half its episode count) of near-perfection and a tv-movie. There are a few weak episodes, sure, and one absolute dud of a clipshow episode, but there are no awful episodes. There ain’t no “Great Divide” for this show.

Why you should watch it:

1. A “kids” show that absolutely takes itself seriously

One of the Autobots dies 5 minutes into the series and it’s the inciting incident for the entire story. He gets blown up, taken prisoner, and then stabbed through his chest by a Decepticon’s fist without warning. He then gets brought back as a zombie, killed again, infects his partner with the zombie juice when she’s trying to save him, and dies for good.

Two main characters get straight-up murdered, long-running characters whose deaths have lofty consequences for the narrative. There’s betrayals, double-agents, robot torture, robots getting eaten alive by scraplets, gaslighting of an amnesiac, near-murders of POWs, near-murders of fan-favorites who get so hurt, their recovery spans 4 whole episodes, attempted child murder, terrorism, and mad science.

But there is also some heavy emotional shit. The surviving partner of the zombie is damaged by his loss for the entire show because she can’t properly manage her grief. There’s characters going on suicide missions to avenge their dead/dying friends, getting beat to shit while a child watches helplessly on the sidelines screaming at them to get up and run through tears. There’s war flashbacks to dead friends and comrades and the terror and fallout of being eons-old soldiers.

There’s quiet moments, too, about grief and loss and living with disability and disfigurement from battlefield wounds. There’s the machinations of a tragic villain, openly and explicitly abused in front of his whole team and who keeps crawling back and groveling at his master’s feet and his internal identity crisis over who he is, if he’s not with his abuser. There’s the fallout of an extremely divisive trolley problem where a normally calm and collected character loses their shit with grief over the decision that was made. There’s the quiet rumblings of dissent and rebellion in the ranks and all the backstabbing that follows.

And there’s clever moments. Rogues and rebels orchestrating complex and interwoven plots to further their agendas. A POW who no one would ever expect to be captured absolutely trouncing their captives and laughing all the while while they free themselves. Characters who always have a backup plan to force others into awful predicaments.

The first episode after the 5-episode mini-movie that opens the show features an A-plot about school science projects, and a B-plot about waking a loyal ‘Con from stasis and trying to convince him to bow down to the ‘Cons’ temp leader, Starscream, while Megatron is elsewhere. It does not end well for him. The very next episode features robots getting eaten alive by alien metal termites.

2. Depth of Character

Beyond the actual plot, the villains might be more compelling characters than the heroes across many arcs and episodes. You’ve got five main autobots for most of the show that generally fit the 5-man band:

Optimus: Leader

Ratchet: Smart Guy

Bulkhead: Tough Guy

Arcee: Lancer

Bumblebee: Heart

Also guest starring the Alien Robot Cowboy Samurai known as Wheeljack, he’s amazing.

These characters have some really rich episodes and arcs, and moments where they have to put their own values, wants, and agendas aside for the greater good or the problem at hand. They feel like real people, for lack of a better word. They laugh, they cry, they rage, they grieve, and since the show is one long storyline, what happens seemingly inconsequentially in season 1 will come back to haunt them in season 3.

But then you have the villains, an extremely dysfunctional team of “every man for himself, we’re all not here because we like each other, but because we hate the Autobots,” and I can tell from the fanfic that the ‘Cons are the much more popular characters to write about.

Megatron: The fascist narcissist warlord

Starscream: His scheming SIC both too smart and too dumb for his own good

Soundwave: The utterly badass TIC comms chief who never loses and is insanely, fiercely loyal to the cause

KnockOut: The absolutely gay-as-fuck cosmedic surgeon/chief of medical voiced by Daran Norris, who’s only design requirement was to make him a sexy sportscar, and they ended up with a cherry red Aston Martin. One of his first lines in the show is "*whistle* Sweet rims” at Optimus in truck mode.

Breakdown: KO’s himbo, canon* boyfriend with some of the best, cringey puns

Airachnid: Arcee’s arch nemesis, the only other female transformer, a “love to loathe her” type

And others down the line for both teams.

*Canon insofar as a kids show on a kids network allows a la “we’ve given you as much subtext as we can, do the rest”.

KO is technically my favorite but it’s a tossup between many and that is a feat, especially when they’re the villains. They are all extremely compelling characters.

3. The Story

With some exceptions, episodes don’t happen in isolation. Most of season 1 is a bit random with a foggy throughline, but season 2 is utterly amazing, sans that one clipshow the producers probably insisted on.

Season 2 is the show’s finest hour and without spoiling anything: The end of season 1 sees this database that had been in the ‘Cons possession suddenly now with the means to decode and decrypt whatever’s locked behind it. The database contains coordinates on Earth of a myriad of confiscated weapons, ancient relics, and the like and the entire season is one big fetch quest with both sides racing and beating the shit out of each other to decode coordinates and retrieve the relics before the other side.

The macguffins are pretty cool in their own right (alien mustard gas, a giant Final Fantasy sword, an alien nuke, a phase-shifter) but it’s the intensity of the story and the action and drama that happens around the various quests that is so amazing.

At one point, the show takes four episodes to tackle a fetch quest across four separate relics that involves the entire cast on both sides and the two rogues all gunning for their targets at the same time, ending with one character critically injured that grinds the whole plot to a stop.

The show is one long story, as I mentioned, where something that happens in episode 2 shows up again as critically important in episode 40 and that’s a heck of an achievement on the writers’ part, making it all feel like it was planned that way from the start, even though it wasn’t.

Season 3 is… lesser, mostly because it has half as many episodes because the show was canceled. However, the writers knew about the cancellation early enough to still deliver a satisfying story, and wrap up loose ends with a tv-movie that is also pretty good.

Episode-to-episode there’s definitely a mixed bag of what kind of tone you’ll get. It’s still a kids show and there are human characters so there are some lesser episodes with the humans’ lives as the focus and the Autobots running support. Then you’ll have small-screen perfection, but like I said, there’s never a single episode of story (not clipshow) that I skip upon rewatch, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. The second “clipshow” episode is far and gone above the first, told through the eyes of a character as they’re on trial, only their scenes through the story, as they await judgment that might see them executed.

4. The Production Value

The majority of the animation budget rightfully went to the transformers themselves, which left the environments and the human characters a little rough around the edges. But you came for alien robots and before I got this show on DVD, I streamed crap quality episodes online. Once I saw these characters in full HD color, for the first time since it aired on TV, I was blown away. The reflections are, bar none, the best part. Which seems like a strange hill to die on but these are shiny metal giants. There’s some shots where you can see the reactions of other characters reflected hazily in the chest plates of the speaking character, and this is kids animated TV.

Some episodes do stand out, possibly because they changed studios, but some do have some off-kilter coloring or shadows, but you wouldn’t notice if you’re not like me and have picked some scenes apart frame by frame.

The music, also, is amazing. It’s grand and epic and far and gone from the 80s synthesizers, with a few choir tracks thrown in. The foley and sound design can get a little gratuitous with the metal-on-metal squeals, but none of it ever feels out of place.

I bought the directors’ commentary without knowing it for seasons 1 and 3 and they talked about having all the digital screens in the backgrounds of both bases constantly moving and showing data, not just static, blank images, and it really ups the feel of the quality and care put into the show when there’s always something cool to look at in every frame.

There are also some money shots. At one point there’s a fight that demands Optimus and Megatron join forces and with zero dialogue between them, only choreography in the span of about 25 seconds of animation shows you that these two really were old friends, old allies, old confidants. Their moves are mirrored, back to back, showing that Megatron clearly taught Optimus how to fight and this shot, the one at the top of the post, is too good to not spoil.

5. The Writing

Beyond the overall arcs, I mentioned in my “How to make your writing less stiff” post that the dialogue in this show is stellar. Due to animation budgets, they didn’t have the means to fully render a huge variety of environments, and that includes anything on Cybertron. So, when necessary, outside of when characters actually go to Cybertron later in the show, they use some beautiful matte paintings and voiceover narration by Ratchet, absolutely dumping exposition on the audience in spectacular fashion.

I have the director’s commentary. I know Ratchet’s monologues were a thing of beauty. They also had the cast all recording their dialogue at once, standing in a big U for more natural line deliveries.

The actual writing though, from the different ways the characters speak to the lore, the backstories, how the show can be a horror trip one minute and a kids’ science fair the next, showed incredible variety and flexibility in the writers’ room.

Optimus’ lines remain my favorite because they’re just that juicy, but then you have characters like Starscream, a perpetual schemer who loves to hear himself talk, pontificating whenever he can about his plans and how much he hates Megatron and how self-important he is. Or other righteous characters who use Big Words like Optimus that don’t feel out of place against somebody like KnockOut who says stuff like “I like the way I look in steel-belted radials” or Wheeljack who clearly learned English from watching Clint Eastwood movies.

Or, a later character, Shockwave, the most “robotic” of the robots and very poncy and scientific with the way he talks and interprets the world, with most of his lines including whether or not a character’s choices were “logical”.

This show is fantastic at creating tension out of mundanity and keeping you on the edge of your seat for nail-biting action scenes. You feel the anguish and the grief with the characters. Their rage and elation and devastation.

Some faults, because I love this show and I can recognize them

The human characters are… well, teenagers. Miko is pretty divisive, you’ve got the camp of “wah she’s a girl and she’s annoying” and just people who don’t find them as compelling. Which, fair. Their animation is a bit gummy and sometimes they disappear for entire episodes and their human world arcs are kind of abandoned. They’re not the best, but this isn’t about humans, it’s about transformers.

Due to probably time constraints with the show being canceled, some transformers’ arcs also felt abandoned or not given their due time to shine (of which fanfic has made painfully clear and rectified). It’s a very tight plot, but there are some dangling loose ends.

Sometimes it is incredibly in-your-face that this is a show meant to sell toys, particularly in season 3 with the whole uh, “we must become beast hunters” and the soft rebrand.

There exists a subplot of C-list villains, human militants who want to dissect cybertronian biology and make weapons. While some of their episodes are absolute bangers, you can tell the writers were getting sick of them before they’re finally written out of the show.

And a few awkward lines here and there.

Other cool shit if nothing else has convinced you

No love triangle or romantic subplot for the two female robots and one of the female humans. You can read one of Arcee’s relationships as romantic or platonic, but she is far beyond just “the girl” of the group, she’s a badass. The other romantic subplot is between a mom who’s deadbeat ex-husband is inexplicably missing, and a pot-bellied Army vet, and it’s really sweet and healthy.

(I think) incredible representation of characters with disability, in Bumblebee’s various war scars and his mutism.

The Gays. I swear there’s a page in the art book (of which I am desperate to find a copy of) for KnockOut and the caption of his art legit says something like “we made him too sexy, oops”.

So. Many. Puns. Puns that know they’re awful and relish in it. Dad jokes, too.

Ratchet losing his mind over how human children can get “twisted limbs and metal burn” if they do a dangerous thing before realizing the latter does not apply. Ratchet losing his mind in general. Just all of the cranky medic. Jeffrey Combs can make a phone book entertaining.

One of the last times we’ll probably get Peter Cullen and Frank Welker together doing Optimus and Megatron, the OGs. And also, one tiny moment where Frank has to say “treasure” and he still flubs it just like he does for Fred in Scooby Doo.

Consistency between character injuries. If Optimus’ sword breaks in a battle, whenever he summons it before he can have time to fix it, it’s still broken in ensuing shots.

An episode of zombies infecting the Decepticons’ ship and Starscream and KnockOut accidentally admitting they love each other while cowering in terror, while also calling back to a different pair of characters they did not witness saying the exact same lines.

Optimus transforming, ramming Megatron in the chest in truck mode, booting him off a cliff, and using his tires to melt rubber in Megatron’s face once they land because he is pissed.

All of Starscream’s immensely satisfying comeuppance for situations he gets himself into.

Using the murder termites for good in a rather horrifying death of a random goon.

Megatron’s hate boner for Optimus that clearly shows how badly these two don’t actually want to kill each other, despite having a million chances to do so, because like Batman and the Joker, “you and I are destined to do this for eternity,” and killing one would leave the other alone, after eons of fighting.

The gorgeous matte paintings.

—

Somebody on here once drew KnockOut with Autobot blue eyes and I have not been able to find that post since. If anyone sees it, please send it to me, it was gorgeous.

Now go watch this show. You can do it in a weekend.

#appreciation post #transformers prime #transformers #tfp #animation #long post

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iceclew · 1 month ago

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3rd Division grown-ups having a few drinks too much at the christmas fair. (at least Kafka and Nakanoshima had)

I dunno.. it came to me and I did not stop myself, what else can I say, cause.. what better time draw my personal headcanon of overly-freezing Hoshina than christmas, plus sprinkle a bit off overly attacked Kafka on top to enlighten myself, right?

And I am not used to draw the other platoon leaders plus Okonomi, so they look especially weird, but 'm still glad I managed to give em a try as well!!

So maybe they DID went to an awfully european looking christmas fair and had a drink, and Hoshina didn't catch the time right and had to hurry and come in work clothing, and maybe it was awfully cold, and he already did borrow Kafka's scarf, but was still freezing, so said Kafka aka. the Kaiju-termal-walking-radiator, also aka. Mr.-Had-a-few-drinks-too-much is helping out to keep the second best fighter of the 3rd Division from death by cold for the sake of the country that is of course..? And Nakanoshima would be weeping so hard in simp-girl-style, and Kafka would make so much fun about how drunk she is(while not being any more sober of course) and all the others would cringe the shit because of them.. And Hoshina.exe just stopped working because of all the internal screaming, wether the not-freeze-anymore part is actually reason enough for everyone around to justify him not stepping out of the situation. Also Okonogi is wailing cause she explicitly told him about the appointment, plus offered to get warmer clothes for him, but he refused since that would mean she's had to leave only to get him stuff. And Nakanoshima "whispers" to herself that she can't wait to get a picture of them for the 3D BL, and everybody is looking at her like wtf u talking about drunk woman, and that's when Ikaruga's looses it. And Mina? Mina is having the time of her life, enjoying all the good time they're having :) (plus already made a selfie with all of them in the back in secret)

Yeah...that's my weird thoughts around christmas, this is the stuff I am thinking about. Very merry, I know.... XD

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, OR A GREAT DAY IN GENERAL FOR THOSE NOT CELEBRATING!! :)

*lying on the floor hands in her red face*

why DAFUCK am I still doing this to myself!?!?! I absolutelly HATE illustratiing at the moment, I can't do colours, I can't to backgrounds, and there is so much WEIRD in this *points at all of it* ..you know what fck it. It IS what it FCKING is, my overly cringe christmas present for you guys. XD

...no, for real now

I found a place to stay that inspires me like nothing did in over a decade, and I am utterly grateful for that. As much as others might say, this is "just" fandom/social media/internet/not RL, this is all very real to me, and simply made me feel better in times I was low or struggling. And this also was the start to switch my own mindset of what I love and what I want to do, what I perhaps can do, and therefore the time on this site and with you guys was very special to me so far.. :)

Feel HUGGED and SMOOCHED, wherever you are, and however you do or do not celebrate, have a good one :)

#Since the festivities take place on christmas eve (24th) in my country I'm already posting this today #I am talking to much to make myself feel better and justify my own work again #*shoves that aside*#merry christmus kaiju fans :)#kn8 #kaiju no 8 #kaiju no. 8 #kafhoshi #icy's art #ice draws very cringy but she draws #mutuals and followers and tumblr people feel loved you are amazing

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forwntrx · 1 year ago

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GIRLS LIKE GIRLS ┊͙˚. 13. THE JEALOUS TYPE

𑁍┊how i met you (written flashback)

sweat stuck to your forehead. the higher ups of sm entertainment judged you with sharp, razor focused eyes. they looked at your curves. your thighs. they noted your attitude. your flow. your stability. they only wanted the best of the best.

out of the six in the room, you knew you had a spot on this team.

it wasn’t arrogance. you just knew. you heard it in the upper offices, in overheard meetings with shareholders, this girl group was made for you.

it was just a matter of keeping up with their word—proving yourself over and over, so they’d never have a doubt in your mind. that you wanted this. and you did. more than you had ever wanted to breathe, eat, or drink anything.

the song came to an end. the six of you are in the final poses. you turned around to the representatives at the back of the room. white nametags stuck to your clothes with a number.

you’re number one. the representatives call you out by name. you come forward, and this time they will give you a one word response. pass or fail.

this was the final cut. the final decision on who would be in the group and who wouldn’t.

you’re called first. they looked at you for what could be the final time. they’ve studied you for years.

each one of them nodded their head. internally, you breathed out in relief. not because you thought you wouldn’t make it, but because now you could live without constantly looking over your shoulder. you moved to the other side of the room. who would be next?

the other girls’ in the room, some of them you’ve known for a long time, looked terrified. you held your fingers together, wishing for good results for jimin and yizhuo. luckily, jimin is called second and yizhuo third. the rest of the girls looked ready to vomit, except for one. it’s like the more time went on, the calmer she got. and then you saw why.

you had barely talked to her. she had joined the same time as jimin and yizhuo. they were both her friends. you thought at first she had hated you based on the way she avoided you. but jimin assured you that she was just shy.

but this was not shy behavior. she was confident, assured, even more so as her name was said.

“kim minjeong. pass.”

jimin and yizhuo cheered. the two girls left broke out into tears. you felt the sting. one of the representatives lifted up, and rubbed both of their shoulders.

good luck next time, the representative said.

the four of you bow to them and it finally set in. you were teammates now. no longer did you have to compete and compare.

now, you could be real friends.

jimin offered to treat for the meal out in celebration. you shared millions of laughs and hugs. but still, your eyes only gloss over minjeongs (you hope you are remembering her name correctly). you have no idea what to do—or what to talk about?

how come you always knew what to say except for right now? jimin and yizhou seem to notice the division between you two. as you both finish up eating, yizhou offered to head for ice cream, being the youngest she nominated you to buy. you rolled your eyes before agreeing.

“whoever’s there last is a rotten egg!!” yizhou winked to you, before grabbing jimin and running down the street.

you knew what she was doing; you weren’t gonna run after them, and it seemed like minjeong wasn’t doing that shit either.

you both laugh together for a moment, because yizhou is unbelievable. but then the laughter ended.

there’s an awkward silence that settles between you two. you can feel her eyes on you for a moment. then, you look at her—properly that is. she didn’t wear much makeup, if any at all. her hair is long, and shiny, and her face is oddly..cute? that’s the only way you describe it. you wanted to hug her until she got tired of you and threw you off.

you really wanted to be her friend.

so you smiled at her. “i’m yn. you’re minjeong right?”

minjeong smiled back, then nodded. “that’s me. i think i’ve met you somewhere, no?”

you hum and tap your chin like your in deep thought. “maybe in a mall somewhere?”

“i thought i saw you at that one spa?” minjeong asked with a furrowed eyebrow. there’s a certain glimmer in her eye. like she saw something in you that you didn’t understand.

you will see it more and more over the years.

you both fell into laughter. you shook your head and pointed to the ice cream shop only a bit away.

“how about we race and see who gets there first?”

she rolled her eyes. “i’m winning.”

you grinned. “wanna bet?”

years later, she’d turn into your best friend. aeri would join the group after this. aespa, the name of your group, would debut and soon become something more than just friends.

𑁍┊i’ve waited years

you were tolerating the situation. just one more day. then things would go back to normal. that’s what you kept telling yourself.

the van felt tighter somehow. even though minjeong was right next to you, you two couldn’t be more far apart.

schedules felt long and boring without you two laughing and giggling the whole time. your fingers were cold. your lips were blue. your heart was angry. it was barely december and seoul’s weather still had your teeth helplessly chattering, fingers shaking inside the pockets of your fur jacket. you want to hold her hands, they were always warm like baskets of oven-baked bread, but she was so cold now.

you were good at pretending for others, but you had little luck when it came to minjeong. it’s hard to act like you don’t feel her eyes on you.

her glare never eased up.

it was at practice when you messed up a dance move. at interviews when you laughed and smiled. at schedules when you greeted other groups. at twelve hour flights fresh out the airport.

she wouldn’t say anything. wouldn’t even open her mouth to let you know what was going on. she would just blink and look at you with those big pretty eyes of hers.

you hated the way she frowned when you spoke. you wanted her to smile. somehow, you made her feel this way, and you had no idea how.

you tried to touch her, hold onto her, hold onto some part of her she had now locked away from you; and become confused when she just..pushes you away. like you meant nothing.

you kept trying. everytime, she’d brush you off with a timid, half-assed laugh.

at first it hurt.

then it started to annoy the shit out of you. it was breaking you. there was only so much you could take.

now, it’s the second week of schedules. as of today, minjeong has ignored you for a solid five days. you asked jimin about it, and she just shook her head. then, you asked ning ning. she wore that guilty look on her face like she knew.

last, you went to aeri. they all knew what was going on, but no one wanted to be the one to break the truth. aeri is the only one who’ll tell you a little portion of it.

she’s mad, she told you. yeah, you already knew that. so you asked why. she shrugged, and said, when isn’t she? and you rolled your eyes.

you finally understood at a particularly late practice. in three weeks time, your group would be releasing a single for sm station. a remake of a popular girl group song. you liked your parts. you and minjeong went toe-for-toe with drawn-out high notes, and she sounded beautiful.

the legendary boa was mentoring you all, making sure everything being worked on was crisp, pristine, and neat. you’ve been worked this hard before, but that didn’t make it less tiring.

you knew the dance well. you had picked it up the fastest. five minutes. but that didn’t mean you were a robot. in the middle of the song, you collapse. the whole room rumbled in annoyance.

you breathed hardly, and made something of an apology. aeri instantly dropped to your side and rubbed your back.

“don’t worry about it, yn. you’ve been going hard this whole time. calm down,” she smiled, trying to make the tense air lighter.

though no one said anything about it, everyone was tired and wanted to go home. your inability to keep going was only making things worse. you wish you could pull it together, but the pain in your abs from hours and hours of hardwork begged you to rest.

beside you, minjeong whispered. “how many times are you gonna mess up the same part?” you almost snapped. it took everything in you to close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

not in front of boa. not right now. you opened your eyes and glared up at her. she looked away in surprise. yeah, i definitely heard you.

“all right,” boa said, her eyes flickering from you to minjeong in confusion. “someone get her some water, and we’ll go over this tomorrow i think. i’m gettin’ a little tired. yn?”

everyone let out a little noise in relief. ten hours of practice, and now, they were granted with a couple hours of sleep.

you looked up to boa. “i’m sorry. i don’t know what’s up with me today.”

boa shook her head. “you’re fine. you’re a phenomenal dancer. one of the best i’ve met. that’s not what i want you to worry about.”

jimin ran to grab you some water and once she had your bottle, kneeled beside you and carefully held the drink to your lips. you gulp it down in five seconds. she pulled it away from your lips and nodded. aeri, still beside you, continued to rub your back supportively. though everyone was tired, they still would always make sure you were good. minjeong, even with how things were with you two, was looking down at you worriedly.

“you okay?” she asked. “i’m sorry for my comment. i let my tiredness get the best of me.”

you wiped away the excess water from the corner of your lips. “it’s whatever.” you’re cold. she winced. yeah, you can do it too.

boa made a face at your communication. you can tell by her face what she’ll say next. you want to wince next. fuck.

“i can tell you both know it well, but yn, i want you to work with minjeong for a short while on the part you two have together. there seems to be a little bit of tension here. for it to have the best look, you have to work together.”

easier said than done.

the others waste little to no time on getting out the room. your manager peaked his head inside, said he’d back for you two later, and ushered the others out the building. you groaned as the door shut behind him. now there was no telling when he’d be back. ‘a short while’ could be another two hours.

you weren’t fond of picking up others messes. to you, this was a mess that wasn’t your responsibility to fix. minjeong was mad. okay? you had already asked her five million times what was wrong. it was her choice to sit there, mope, and glare at you instead of helping you fix the issue.

jimin is the last to leave the room. she gave you both a look and whispered to you. fix it. why was it always your responsibility?

you loved minjeong. you did. but you weren’t doing shit until she said something.

the practice room is eerily quiet. you noticed her small movements. she walked across the sleek wood, rummaged through her bag, drunk some water, closed the cap, and took her position at the mirror. you turn to look at her, head to toe—messy hair, grey sweatpants, loose grey t-shirt, bare face. you loved her like this. she looked so new. not like winter, but like minjeong.

you wished she would look back at you.

instead, she spoke.

“let’s just do the part so we can go home and sleep.” she said.

“yeah, sure.” you slowly nodded your head. you hated the way her words lingered in the air. you lean forward to a long table on the left side of the mirrors. there’s some cds on the table and a music player. you press down on the familiar track, and quickly get into position before it began. an electronic beat entered your ears. you count down.

jimin opened the song, then ning ning, then you.

you mumbled the lyrics, expertly and skillfully dancing on the beat. minjeong followed after you with small little moves, only going all out when her parts come on. her voice is strong, powerful, and feminine. she had gotten her lines down in two takes. if there was one thing minjeong could do, it was sing her ass off.

you tried your hardest to just focus on your own body in the mirror, how it moves and flows from years of practice and natural talent. but minjeong is distracting. there’s something about her dancing. it’s not unique or jaw-breaking. but it’s sharp, and steady, and focused. she knew what she was doing. she loved what she was doing.

you missed your part. you blinked. fuck. she was distracting. you quickly tried to match up your footwork with hers but you’re a beat behind. minjeong let out an exasperated sigh.

she paused the song and quickly spun around to you with arms folded against her chest. “what’s up with you?”

you have to stop yourself from screaming. why is she making this your fault? why is she acting like YOU did this?

“what’s up with me? what’s up with you!” you didn’t know why your voice was so loud. it’s been years since you’ve spoken like this to her. you didn’t raise your voice much, it wasn’t in your personality but you couldn’t help it. minjeong pushed your buttons and now she took it too far.

“what?” she asked, playing dumb.

“don’t WHAT me! you’ve been avoiding me for days. in real life, in texts, at work! it’s exhausting!”

her eyes narrowed and her bottom lip quivered with anger. you both took steps. breaking the gap between you two. you got the closest you have gotten in days. you could smell her easily. sweat, amber, and vanilla. you could almost taste her.

“i’m exhausting?” she asked, her voice growing louder.

“you know that’s not what i meant!” you’re almost yelling. she is too.

“sure it is! you’ve stopped making time for me!started hanging out with other people! stopped texting when you go out! what am i suppose to think, yn?”

you laughed in a slightly condescending way. she recoiled. “i’m not your girlfriend, minjeong! i don’t need to constantly update you on my whereabouts!”

her face flashed with hurt, before it quickly went away. “you disappeared, yn! you can’t do that. you could’ve been hurt, or dead, or something—i don’t know! you don’t just abandon your friends!”

you stared at her for a moment. she’s talking about after the show. when you snuck off with yunjin. she’s still upset over it.

both of you are breathing hard. her chest rose and fell. the room was quiet. you hyper-focus on the sound of fast cars zooming through seoul, the energetic chatter of people on the streets, the sizzling pans of street vendors. the faint violin strings from another practice room. she surveyed your face, searching for any type of an answer.

“you sound jealous of yunjin.” you said. it made perfect sense. you had friends, but none of them were as important to you as minjeong. she never had to deal with competition before.

how she saw it, yunjin was competition. you didn’t see it the same way. you could admit you had messed up in this situation, as everyone was saying. but you can tell that’s not the only thing she’s upset over. minjeong won’t admit it, but you knew it was yunjin.

minjeong is shocked. she shook her head. “i’m not!” she yelled again.

“yunjin is my friend, you’re my friend!” now you’re yelling again. minjeong is quick to cut you off.

“please,” she’s exasperated. she’s close. your eyes widened, but you don’t take a step back, “don’t lie to me. i know you.”

you paused. you didn’t think of it much—the possibility of your feelings for yunjin. you liked her company, you thought she was cute. maybe pretty. no, honestly, she was beautiful. but feelings? that was something big, that was something too tangible for someone like you. that was real. you didn’t do real. not like that.

you loved your career. your band mates. your fans. your friends. you didn’t have room in your life for a relationship. for something so new.

“i don’t have feelings for yunjin!” do you mean it? you don’t know. this is all new. and it might be real.

minjeong wanted to believe you did. “yn—“

this time, you cut her off. “be honest with me! for once, minjeong. tell me the truth.”

you’re high off the tension, off the senseless anger. you closed the space, whatever is left, between you two. her eyes widened next and for some reason, they flicker down and then back up to your eyes. what?

she swallowed. it’s quiet again. she couldn’t deflect now.

“if it’s not yunjin, then i’m seriously confused. i just want to fix things, okay—” you tried to continue, but minjeong groaned.

“fuck it.” minjeong’s fingers grabbed onto your waist, jutting you forward. you gasped.

she scrambled your brain into soup. your skin felt like it was on fire. your eyes fell onto her lips. they’re so pink. you’ve never seen them this close—her breath fanned against your lips—this barely made sense. you can’t form a sentence, or even think, because none of this made sense.

“m..minjeong..” you are able to whisper out.

minjeong is in another world. she’s usually shy, non-confrontational, always in her own head, but now she’s present. here with you.

“would you be surprised if i told you i’ve wanted to kiss you since i met you?”

you’re lightheaded. what? you tried to make a sentence, but it just came out in a gibberish mess. she laughed a little.

“you’re always so cute when you’re confused.”

you want to say something, anything, but then she asked you a question.

“can i kiss you?”

and you swear you can hear your heartbeat in your ears. this is real. too real. and you should say no, but she’s too pretty like this—and something deep inside of you wanted this—and then you’re nodding your head—but then she’s talking again.

“i need to hear you say it.”

you knew that a kiss would change everything—your relationship would never be the same—are you ready for that? are you ready for this? but then her lips parted slightly, and you lost all train of thought, and for some reason you’re whispering—“kiss me,” so gently you thought she didn’t hear you.

but she did. she’s just taking it in. like she had been waiting for this. you realize that she had. and then her lips were pressing onto yours.

her fingers cupped your cheek, and you leaned into the touch. her scent of amber and vanilla is overpowering you, but you couldn’t get enough.

the kiss was careful, scared—and you start to panic—you’ve never done this before, with minjeong and—you thought of yunjin.

no. no. no. you pulled away before you could overthink even more.

minjeong realized instantly that second. you regretted it. her cheeks’ fled red. “i’m sorry, yn. so sorry. i—i’m sorry.”

you hated the way she hid from you. you wanted to tell her, you don’t regret her. it. but you don’t know what you’re feeling right now. but still, you reach out to her, but she’s already running from you.

running from her emotions, again. running from communication, again.

“wait, minjeong—”

but she’s already gone, and the door of the practice room slammed after her.

you stood alone. confused. you took the ride back to the dorms by yourself.

yunjin called you later that night.

you declined it.

𑁍┊masterlist －previous — next

and that’s act one

i enjoyed this throughouly

don’t worry yunyn agenda you will have a comeback!!! ;)

𑁍┊ a/n: i’m sorry, i’m really putting y’all through it 😭😭😭

𑁍┊ taglist: open :) @runawaymazola @wintersgff @winieter @luvjanexx @justme-idle @sewiouslyz @lcv3lies @yerisdumbass @nasyu-kookies @kchwnsgf @jeindall777 @dr-wholehearted @thoughtfulqueenlady @yunalvrrr @juhyunsthirdwife @haerinfangs @awkwardtoafault @idk-idc-rn @unforgiven-000-hotline @dream-chasers-things @pandafuriosa60 @1r3n31ty

#winter x reader #yunjin #aespa #aespa imagines #aespa smau #aespa x fem reader #huh yunjin #kpop crack #kpop smau #lesserafim yunjin #gxg #lesserafim smau #aespa x reader #aespa scenarios #kim minjeong x reader

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slavicbee · 9 months ago

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This whole situation with Fico is so bizzare to me. While I do not want him to die, he sort of put this on himself with the way he’s been putting blame on anybody but himself. And he had it coming, whether we like it or not.

No person in the Slovak politics is as divisive as he is. Some people blindly worship the ground he walks on, some people relentlessly criticise him, and some people downright hate his guts. True, I have my own grievances with him, and I’d rather not have him anywhere near the amount of power he has. But he does. And he’s been shot.

The repercussions of this are potentially very severe. His already unreasonably high animosity towards the freedom of speech will worsen and the coalition, which, let’s not lie to ourselves, is extremely conservative, corrupt and prone to power trips, can and already is blaming the press, the independent journalists, and the liberal opposition.

They do not see that no normal representative member of the opposition, which is already trying to do everything in its power to gain the trust of the conservative public, would stoop this low, and that a move like this could cost them any ounce of following they have. They do not care. They will say anything, do anything, to push their propaganda to make themselves the victims.

The attack on Fico is a symptom of a larger issue. The parliament had already crumbled under its own pressure before, back when Matovič was the PM. With a historical event like this, I can see it crumbling again, and harder. This government is such a mess that I cannot see it surviving in any productive, healthy way.

At least for the moment, the world is watching. It may not give a shit, we rarely make the international news as it is, but at least for this brief moment, the world has its eyes on us. The government needs to realize that Slovakia is not a closed circle, and that we are a part of a larger picture, and that we are responsible for our future, that they are inscribing themselves into history books, culturing this hostile environment in which the ordinary citizen has to live.

I already predicted that things will get much worse before they get better. I will not be surprised if this is just the beginning.

#ťumbľr #slovakia #Robert Fico #assassination attempt

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shitpostingkats · 5 months ago

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Can I please have some dark world administrative lore. Read your "Jaden Yuki has to take care of a pack of middle schoolers" and now im obsessed. Very much looking forward to the fic you mentioned where Yuri becomes Jaden's intern/apprentice because I would love to see their relationship development/dynamic and also. I need more administrative lore. I would absolutely read your entire 15 slide powerpoint

I have such a regular amount of Dark World lore. It is a very sane amount of worldbuilding I did. The next fic in the series definitely isn't going to be more underworld office comedy schennanigans with absurd amounts of exposition and complex workplace drama.

(One of these is a lie.)

For the dark world administrative lore, I decided to use file no. 4 of the Master Guide 2 card storylines as a jumping off point, and then the lore just ballooned from there. The powerpoint exists for my own referencing purposes, because even if most of the dark world generals don't appear (yet >:), it is important it exists to me.

Let's start with our head of state and his primary advisors!

Third King of the Dark World, babey!!! You know him, you love him, it's the Yuki!

Not too much to say about our Supreme Boi that isn't gonna be covered in future fics. The most relevant information, going into the as-of-yet-untitled next gc au fic, is thinking about what the hot mess that is dark world politics from an outside perspective. Like, imagine you're one of the other interdimensional courts that exist in the wider yugioh canon and just

Yuri doesn't have a slide in my powerpoint :(

I can say that in the gc au after he settles into the dark world and starts being involved in running the kingdom, Jaden goes in and officially names him an official of the dark world. At first, Yuri demanded he also be called "Supreme King", because he's a little shit like that. They compromise on "Supreme Prince".

None of the other officials call him that. They just call him "The Princeling"

Beiige, my beloved long suffering paper pusher <3

Jaden does, in fact, end up giving him a scarf at some point.

Under our King, Prince, and Vanguard, we have the newly promoted heads of Millitary and Wellfare. There is technically a third branch of of the government, Security, but rather than have a single representative, the duties of security are actually divided into Internal and External. Or, more specifically, The Wild Hunt and Renge And His Weird Daughter.