#they are all deeply terrible

[sunsetconcert]

Had one of those standard “IntSys are fucking cowards and didn’t give a bunch of characters the supports they deserved” mental breakdowns, and realised that I really kind of hate Felix’s supports.

Mostly because they’re garbage.

There are two kinds of Felix Supports and both of them are terrible. There are Woman Supports where Felix is a big tsundere and has some Wacky Romcom Hijinks with a girl, and there are Faerghus Supports, where he basically screams FAERGHUS FUCKING SUCKS into the void as people from Faerghus talk about how much they like Faerghus.

What Felix ABSOLUTELY needed was actual supports outside his house, and more importantly, he needed to talk to more people who understood his point of view. Like, for example, Raphael. Which, I can already hear people saying I’m crazy. But Raph doesn’t give two shits about honour, and his reason for becoming a knight is explicitly not linked to any big huge noble goal - Raph just wants cash for his sister to live on. That’s it. Pragmatism is a huge thing with Felix, so they’d definitely have some stuff to talk about. EDIT: So while writing this, I checked, and apparently they have a 3 Hopes support, and it’s... Certainly a thing. Because another “Raph Likes Meat” support was just what he needed. Thanks, IntSys.

Then you have Ferdinand, and I legitimately think that a Felix-Ferdinand support would be the best one in the entire game. They’re both very driven individuals, but while Ferdinand is always dreaming of the future, Felix... Doesn’t have anything to be driven for - and in fact, in many endings, will simply fade into the mists of history alone, with no connection to the living people who surround him... Which essentially makes him White Clouds Byleth. The argument between the two about honour, duty, and purpose would be deeply fascinating, I feel.

Now Lysithea. I know Felix has a support with Lysithea. But it’s bad and terrible and I hate it. Maybe they could both talk about how their efforts are basically sidelined, and that everyone thinks they “work too hard” for some reason. Or that they discuss their weird workout/life balance. Or maybe they develop a fun duo technique where Lysithea uses Warp to teleport him around. Or like. Literally anything except Lysithea being a weird cake fetishist.

And Jeritza. Do I even have to EXPLAIN why Felix and Jeritza not having a support is fucking stupid?

Anyways. TL;DR - Felix deserved better than to be reduced to Rodrigue 2 Electric Boogaloo.

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Jayce and the fallacy of the butterfly effect in Arcane's narrative

If Jayce's symbol is the butterfly, then my theory is that we're going into a full "butterfly effect" narrative in Act 2. Either we'll watch it happen, or we'll only see Jayce come out the other side of it changed by the experience, knowing - or more importantly, THINKING he knows - what to do to change the future. Literally, to "defend tomorrow."

tl;dr: Jayce will encounter the butterfly effect in season 2. Viktor and Mel both foreshadowed this in season 1. I think Jayce will fixate on Viktor and will believe that stopping or changing Viktor either in the past or the present - most likely the present - will mean he can save the future. I believe this will lead to an even worse tragedy and may have the same effect as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ekko's approach to changing the future by sticking closer to the present - considering only tiny increments of time to alter more immediate future outcomes - will be the superior approach. I also think that Jayce attempting to change the future will create the conditions that push Viktor to become the Machine Herald.

One of the most common reactions even the casual viewer had to Arcane season 1 was this: "If [character] had just done this one small thing a little differently, [tragic event] wouldn't have happened!"

Arcane has been called a Greek tragedy for the main reason that because of how well built up the characters' personalities and reasonings are, there's no other way season 1 could have gone. There was no stopping the multiple tragedies that occurred, because with one event leading to another, the chain of seemingly inevitable events goes too far back to identify what one singular event caused everything, what one character made what one decision to put our characters on the terrible paths they walked.

Arcane is about to investigate this idea in its own narrative, and I think that Jayce will be the character to stumble into the flawed idea that you can change one event, or stop one character, and change the future for the better. This is because Jayce struggles with a few very interesting character flaws, one of them being that he believes himself to be the main character, and it is therefore his responsibility to intervene, be a hero, and fix things.

Viktor and Mel both foreshadow Jayce's future encounter with the butterfly effect.

Recall that Viktor said: "There is always a choice."

Jayce sees choices in black and white, believes that he has no other options but to go along with what he's persuaded and pushed into, and acts too boldly with too much power multiple times.

Recall that Mel said: "We can't change what fate has in store for us, but we don't have to face it alone."

Jayce tries to solve big problems on his own, and though he delegates to Enforcers and the like, Jayce relies on his reasoning and his alone to make important decisions if he doesn't simply become persuaded - usually through strong emotions like fear - by other characters. In addition, since Mel is specifically talking about Viktor's plight here, it's worth mentioning that while Jayce did say that he would help Viktor in acts 2 and 3 of season 1, Jayce does wind up leaving Viktor to face his fate alone. When Jayce tries to change that fate in s2 ep1, ep2 shows that only tragedy can come of this as well.

Viktor and Mel's statements here are not contradictory. Viktor makes the point that you can always make a choice. In context, he's literally referring to the classic "secret third option," because given a choice between aggression and passivity, war and surrender, Viktor chooses to defuse the bomb instead. Mel, interestingly, seems to believe that destiny is fixed in a broad sense, and she operates as a politician and diplomat and investor who navigates that line of destiny in the most optimal way possible. In reality, in context, she is referring to the fact that Viktor can't change the way he was born and so he has no way to change his fate and therefore must face it, which is true - she's only missing the information that Viktor actually does have the means to change his illness and his body. Her wisdom still applies however, because he'll have to accept the hand that fate deals him after he makes that choice. Will he face it alone, or not?

There is always a choice, there's even secret third options, because having a fate doesn't mean that you are doomed to make only one possible series of choices. What it does mean is that each choice comes with a hand that fate deals you. It is impossible to know what all of these branching choices and consequences are in advance, and it is just as impossible in hindsight - the branches are too complex and the end outcomes are all equally meaningful, just different. If Arcane season 2 is to be a tragedy, it may show us that each possible outcome is still tragic if you fall for the fallacy of the butterfly effect.

Jayce is counseled by some of the wisest, cleverest characters with the deepest life experiences in Arcane, but he hardly ever takes that counsel to heart. If he does, he still acts on that counsel in flawed ways that have unintended consequences. This will come to a head in season 2.

Viktor and Jayce both have a butterfly following them around in season 1. The butterfly effect refers to one small seemingly insignificant event changing the course of history, and changing that event therefore changes history. Viktor bled over the railing of a Hexgate in season 1:

And Heimerdinger sees what we can only assume is Viktor's blood contaminating (?) the Hexgate in s2 ep3:

This might be the seemingly unimportant "inciting incident" that Jayce (and Heimerdinger and Ekko) settle on as something that should be avoided or erased by changing the past (if they time-travel with Ekko, for example).

I doubt that, if this is what this crew chooses to fixate on, it will be the only event that is considered as something to change. But let's take this and run with it for the sake of discussion.

As silly as it sounds, how do you stop Viktor from allowing his blood to come into contact with the arcane? Stop Viktor's involvement with the Academy entirely? Don't invent Hextech at all? But what if someone else invents Hextech besides Jayce? What if future tragedy befalls Piltover because it didn't invent Hextech?

The possibilities and what-ifs could branch on forever. But because Jayce is who he is, and because his tragedy with Viktor is still raw and recent and frightening, I think Jayce's butterfly effect experience will have to do with Viktor.

My personal prediction is that the timeskip between s2 ep3 and ep4 will be Jayce experiencing a timeline where Viktor, taken over by the Hexcore, brings about an apocalyptic event similar to what Heimerdinger experienced in his past. Either Jayce and co. can't go into the past to change the present, or Heimerdinger and/or Ekko advise strongly against it to avoid a paradox. This will lead to them re-entering the canon Arcane timeline before this apocalypse, but still after the timeskip. Jayce, believing that destroying Viktor and his cult will save the future, and believing that resurrecting Viktor was Jayce's mistake to fix, attacks him. But the consequences don't unfold the way he hopes, because trying to change fate once the cards have already been dealt has led to tragedy before.

The butterfly is a symbol of something other than just the butterfly effect - change, evolution, and rebirth. If the butterfly symbolizes the butterfly effect for Jayce, then I think it has a different meaning for Viktor - the change and rebirth meaning.

I've always found it very interesting that we see a similar-looking butterfly on Progress Day... but made of metal.

Every time Viktor's situation changes, he adapts and evolves. If Jayce attacks him, if his cult is destroyed, if the Hexcore is causing Viktor to decay, if all of these things happen at once - he'll just evolve again, and I think the Machine Herald is the next step. And the Machine Herald will be a triumph for Viktor, but Jayce will believe that he's created something even worse. The resulting feud will be a personal nightmare for both of them.

I think this still allows Viktor to use his own agency to choose to become the Machine Herald (the MH will probably be the "secret third option" that saves Viktor, or there will be a secret third option that ends the feud) while still allowing Jayce to be offended and horrified at whatever the Machine Herald represents or is trying to do in the undercity. Introducing the element of time travel allows Arcane to explore the meta concept of tragedy and fate that season 1 was built on while showing that you can't "solve" a tragedy, because there are other terrible possibilities lurking behind alternate choices. Especially if what you're trying to change is singular people or events and not systems of power.

This is why Ekko's approach with his Z-drive will be superior to Jayce's sweeping attempt at changing the future. Ekko's goal has always been societal change. He creates his own punk society in the undercity, more progressive and successful than anything Vander or Silco ever created, and a better bastion of safety, hope, and progress than what Heimerdinger founded in Piltover. Trying to change systems by going back in time is most likely futile. But taking what Ekko has already built in the Firelights, curing his tree, and fighting for the Firelights' survival bit by bit by optimizing the present with the Z-drive shows that:

It's more worth it to focus on becoming wise (Ekko's mask is an owl) and making choices you won't regret

It's best if you don't face your fate alone (act as a collective and take care of each other)

Consider every option, not just the obvious black and white choices

Maintain and fix what you've already built instead of abandoning it once things get difficult

Adapt as needed if the choices you made lead to dark consequences, and once again, stick together and take care of each other when the bad times do come

That's my Act 2 but, ultimately, my season 2 prediction based on the butterfly symbolism we've already seen. Ekko's involvement is what will give the series the at least partial happy ending that the creators have referred to. I personally don't think that the Viktor/Jayce feud will end quite so well, but maybe, they will still survive.

[katabay]

bayek, doing some exploring :)

[jzargo]

Never has "you praise a male character for the same traits you hate a female character for" been more true than with how fans react to Astarion vs Minthara

[lynxalon]

i've seen a fair bit of... pessimism about dorym lately, esp with the ep107, for example wondering if dorian's opposing views on the gods making orym fall out of love, and i have to say. i very highly doubt it, ur fr talking about the man who has held on to will for so long, holding onto will's family and affectionately calling this *his* family too because that didn't stop when will died. i dont think falling out of love is an option or even a thought to orym.

that said, we know that orym has contingencies for if anyone in bells hells crosses the line into being a version of themselves they would despise, for anyone who jeopardizes their mission. his mission. i think, for the first time since knowing dorian, orym finally has a contingency for him. the longer dorian is back, the more orym sees how scarred he is by what's happened (understandable so) and knows that dorian is with bells hells all the way. but if he isn't...

[necromancer-nonbinary]

I put this together months back when I decided to burn a dvd of the movie and only realized yesterday looking at a bunch of cool art in the tag that I never bragged about it to more than like two people. so: my Emesis Blue DVD cover, complete with a rave review from the comments section.

Bonus: here it is with the rest of my little collection :)

[pocaarii]

ENTRADA illustration I did for fun

[fernlessbastard]

hot take moment cwilbur is literally just psychotic as all hell and i think people got way too comfortable villianizing the shit out of a man who was clearly portraying signs of severe mental illness. cwilbur was like im so fucking paranoid and scared and i think everyone is out to get me and hurt me and ive spiralled to the point i cant reach out to the people closest to me because im so afraid and lost in this spiral and im having constant panic attacks and hurting myself because i dong know what to do with myself and the only way out for me is to die. and everybody was like EVIL MAN WHO ENJOYS HURTING OTHERS AND IS ABUSIVE ON PURPOSE AND A VILLAIN AND SHOULD NEVER BE TRUSTED AGAIN. and then he came back and was like im still deeply troubled and afraid but im desperately trying to make up for the wrongs i did in the past and the people i hurt in my own way and communication is really hard for me but i hope people know that im truely sorry and i love them. im going to try my hardest to fix this in the only way i know how and then respectfully remove myself from the situation because i feel thats the kindest thing i can do to the people ive hurt. and people were like ABUSER ABUSER ABUSER EVIL MAN ABUSER. like girl

Yeah no based true real no questions asked

I'd hope I manage to portray Wilbur the way he deserves in my content, cause that man is heavily bpd coded and he just needs therapy and someone who genuinely loves him but also can handle his bullshit (which has exclusively and reliably been Quackity like, canonically)

But yeah no completely agreed. The man has issues and has definitely fucked up a lot but at the end of the day he really does need love and care and patience, but also boundaries (and therapy and meds, obviously)

[venomouslilith]

.

[vorgoth]

just saw a post accusing everyone who criticized veilguard of being the reason we might not get another game with diverse characters again

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Since you answered an ask of how Movie!Tails could react to the Shatter Variants of Tails from Sonic Prime, I'm curious to say my first ask to you, what do you think Movie!Sonic would react and think? 👀

especially towards Nine (⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)

Oooooh how interesting...

I'll give it a shot!

My only disclaimer is that, like before, my answer will be a mixture of my interpretation of canon and headcanon. Here's the previous ask about movie!Tails's opinions as well in case anyone reading hasn't read it: X

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Prime!Tails

First impression:

"Tails!"

Almost certainly the sight of Tails would be a familiar one, even if prime!Tails doesn't look exactly like movie!Tails. So (kind of how Prime!Sonic tended to do with some of the variants), I think he'd assume pretty quickly that Prime!Tails and Movie!Tails are almost the same/extremely similar, especially if he had a chance to see a window into Prime!Tails' life

The only other thing I could say is that depending on what Movie!Sonic has a chance to see, he could perhaps clock Prime!Tails as being a bit more confident and Prime!Sonic and Prime!Tails having a closer relationship? But it's also Sonic so he'd see the surface level similarities and probably assume they're similar enough as a first impression😂

After getting to know them:

This is one of those cases where two people are so similar that the differences would stand out more when Sonic actually meets him.

Since he's a roll with the punches kinda hedgehog, I don't think it would be especially hard for him to get used to fighting alongside Prime!Tails, but I do think he would notice the differences in how the two fight and the difference in confidence levels. He seems like the kind of hedgehog who would kind of start commenting on a difference out of the blue too. Something like "So you're used to things like this?" (in reference to fighting badniks and Eggman quite a lot) or "You guys are close" (in reference to Prime!Sonic and Prime!Tails fighting together).

Final addition. I think he'd be able to get along with Prime!Tails fairly well (though how he reacts to stuff like physical intimacy from Prime!Tails would be dependent on how close he is to Movie!Tails at that time), and at least once I feel like he'd go "I wonder if me and my Tails will be like that one day" (in reference to Prime!Sonic's best friendship with Prime!Tails)

ㅤ

Sails

First impression:

*cue gasp* "Pirate Tails?!"

He doesn’t have the most active filter either, so if it was a first meeting specifically (as opposed to viewing a highlight real/recording of him existing), I feel like Prime Sonic would be asking if the pirate thing is a costume or legit. Also wouldn't put it past him to do some decent–ish to terrible pirate speak/impressions at least once

After getting to know them:

I'm gonna be honest, depending on how the first meeting goes and how well acquainted Sails is with Prime!Sonic, I feel like either movie Sails would either be annoyed with Sonic initially or they'd hit it off (personally I like to headcanon that Sails likes to use riddles/say weird stuff just to mess with people, and would enjoy getting into the occasional prank war (something I feel movie!Sonic would enjoy as well)) and be irritating together.

I think upon finding out most differences between Sails and Movie!Tails, the bulk of Movie!Sonic’s reactions would be like "well, he's a pirate and he lives on a ship so that figures". It could potentially throw him a bit off that Sails isn't as tech savvy, but I think the similarities (and some differences) are fine enough for Movie!Sonic to feel like Sails is someone he can have a fun time hanging with

ㅤ

Mangey

First impression:

Like Tails in the previous post, Sonic in general can be a bit judgy. The first impression in this case depends upon what he sees of Mangey or how meeting him goes. If it's an out of context thing, like Movie!Tails, I feel like there's a pretty fair probability that he'll also wonder if Mangey is just feral/crazy. With that being said, I feel that that by the end of Prime Mangey warmed up to Prime!Sonic pretty well. So even though Movie!Sonic isn't the exact same guy, I think Mangey could potentially be excited/happy to see him in a first meeting scenario. In this kind of scenario, I can see Mangey doing stuff like hanging fairly close to movie!Sonic and potentially being playful with him. (Since I headcanon Mangey as selectively mute and largely nonverbal) I feel like Movie!Sonic in this case would see Mangey as sweet and kind of quiet, but ultimately not think too hard about why that is.

After getting to know them:

Like with Movie!Tails, I think Movie!Sonic would come to understand Mangey and his situation/who he is better over time. Also, no matter his first impression, by this point I know in my bones movie!Sonic would find Mangey to be kinda cute. I feel like he'd enjoy training with Mangey (for fighting), he'd absolutely end up playing games with him (maybe even playing some form of catch?), and, if he's fairly comfortable with his own Tails, I can see Movie!Sonic being able to lounge with Mangey curled up sleeping on him (purring a little even?).

While Mangey isn't especially tech savvy (but definitely surprisingly so, given the lack of technology where he lives), I can see him deciding that Mangey and movie!Tails are fairly similar to him. A natural with technology, cute, loyal, can fly...I mean he's basically just Tails but if the fox was less of an explicit prodigy and talked less, right? Right?

(That’s more of how I feel movie!Sonic would decide to feel about Mangey. Not sure if Movie!Tails would be a bit offended or not if Movie!Sonic said that last statement in his presence lol😂)

ㅤ

Nine

First impression:

This is Movie!Sonic so...

"Tails but...edgier?"

This is another one where his first impressions are context heavy. So like pre-s3 Nine I can see him taking note of Nine being kind of a loner, and even getting confirmation that this is a version of Tails who's good with tech and mechanics. During Prime S3? There's a pretty good chance he'll see that out of context, nod, and be like "Oh, so. Evil Tails. Explains the outfit." Post S3? I can see him taking note of Nine being good with tech (especially if he's working on some project or another), but, ultimately, I think he'd see how alone he Nine and think it to be sad. Movie!Sonic is...acquainted with the feeling of being alone and having no one.

After getting to know them:

If Movie!Sonic ended up learning pieces of Nine's backstory at some point, I can sort of see him holding onto some of those little similarities with Movie!Tails' backstory. Since there was no Sonic in Nine's universe, he didn't have any hero he could look up to. He didn't have anyone who could make him feel "normal". So I think some of the similarities there would make him feel sad that Nine has...never really had anyone on his side (much less growing up with any friends or family). And, as I mentioned earlier, I think Movie!Sonic would definitely be able to empathize with Nine's loneliness, in the way that he feels sad that he’s had to endure that (both back when Nine isolated himself out of fear, and post Prime when Nine is isolated from everyone, including the person he wants to be beside most).

Even knowing everything Nine has done, I still think Movie!Sonic would want him to be able to really be at home and to not be alone anymore one day. No matter how he has to contextualize Nine's past actions for himself (whether misguided, out of fear/trauma, or something bad he's trying to atone for now), Movie!Sonic is the kind of hedgehog who would be able to see Nine's loneliness and want to help him. After all, did he not still help Movie!Knuckles when he was in danger and invite him into his home? Did he not attempt to advise Knuckles when Knuckles couldn't feel at home on Earth, care about Earth, or fathom pursue a purpose outside protecting the Master Emerald?

So yeah, in short, I feel like Movie!Sonic would be able to empathize with Nine's loneliness. I think he would see those little similarities to his Tails and could even potentially wonder if this is how Movie!Tails could have turned out under different circumstances. And I think if he spent time with Nine, he would want to help him get to...a better place in his life, so to speak (whether that means trying to give advice, visting him often, or giving him the tools/means to move forward).

Honestly...I don't think if they got emotionally/personally involved with Nine in any way Movie!Tails or Movie!Sonic could ignore his situation.

ㅤ

[yellow-faerie]

#0060509 Statement of Fatima Bakhash, regarding the reading habits of her grandson, Jonathan Sims.

In other words, I wrote a TMA fic where Jon's grandmother gives a statement about her grandson's childhood, when he started becoming an Avatar of the Eye much, much earlier.

[you-me-we-04]

Got called "Meemaw" by my cousin (4 years younger) for saying I was going to see Dan and Phil in December

[chaoticgoodcaptain]

today, i've heard "best friend" by juice wrld and it makes me so happy that patrick stump sounds so happy on that song like i know he loves music but before the fob tour he sounded professional yet there was just this slight hint of apathy, now i swear he's living his best life truly enjoying his work

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

idk why, but your art is the image my browser uses for tumblr, which means I get to look at it all the time~

Tumblr said “you need a silly little guy to wave at you” and boy howdy is that silly guy waving.

[tavina-writes]

I am, perhaps, still trying to think about how I want to talk about this. And yes, this is about US politics and the election and the results of that and I recognize we might all be very tired about it so this is nothing particularly new.

But I admit that I keep thinking about this over this weekend and coming back to this thought ever since we had this conversation at our weekly general TA meeting so like, here it is for what it's worth!

I hate how like, at our last TA meeting 11/8/24, several days post election, we were told that if any trump supporters tried to be disruptive in our classrooms we could 1) order them to get out 2) end class early or 3) call the police.

Just. Tired. And sad. Like at least the administration has our backs about "if you feel like you're in danger call the police and end class early you don't have to deal with the people trying to break into your classroom or whatever" but also just.

Wow! Love how our state of affairs now is that like "in this sleepy little college town home to 78 thousand people or less unless it's college gameday, you might have fascist disruptions because checks notes the university's very controversial stance on climate change has caused all the TAs to be briefed on "call the police in case of a disruptive force in your classroom.""

Also for anyone who didn't vote because they thought Harris wasn't ideologically pure enough: a very fuck you you've put my students and I's lives at risk unfollow me and get out.