#wow that was so fucking long

[the-casual-cheesecake]

WHAT A GREAT QUESTION, ANON! I have been wildly (and uncharacteristically for me, an ex omegaverse hater) obsessed with omegaverse Exos since I got into Exo, and my thoughts on them recently changed drastically, so what good timing you have! 

I’ll first start with saying that I don’t like betas, and never include them in any thoughts about omegaverse. I just think they’re boring– though I do have friends who have managed to make them VERY interesting; I just think I don’t have anything insightful or interesting to say about them myself.

And for a second note, I think it’s important to describe what I think omegaverse is for really: because it has many meanings that change based on who’s writing in it. For me, omegaverse makes most sense as a formalization of power dynamics. One could make the argument that it’s inherently kinky (and in fact, I do). It’s less about inherent sexuality OR gender, and more about inherent power structures and how someone could play with them. This is not to say that interesting discussions can’t happen in omegaverse about sexuality or gender– because they absolutely can and do, but I think mostly, it’s about biological power, in a way that our actual society thinks exists and tries to enforce (violently and forcefully), that is actually made real via omegaverse.

For the Fandom Olds among us, this interpretation would not come as a surprise, considering omegaverse took the place of BDSM AUs in fandom!

A third note, all of my omegaverse content always and forever will be poly! Poly packs 5eva!!! 

ANYWAY, EXOS!

[vibrates] they are pack, your honor… 

Pack alpha: Minseok

Alphas: Junmyeon, Jongdae, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo

Omegas: Yixing, Baekhyun, Jongin, Sehunnie

Minseok:

As the oldest, and from the fact that Minseok in canon refused to be Exo-M’s leader, it just makes so much sense for him to be the pack alpha but not the band leader. He has the character of a supervisor dom. He’s not involved with everyone in the band and entangled with them– because, frankly, they are too loud and too messy, and he has no energy to deal with so many people needing his attention and involvement. But he is a steady presence that they can all depend on. He listens to their problems and pets them about them. He scruffs the alphas into place when necessary (and reassures them that even if they fuck up, he’ll be there to help), and spends time with the omegas when they need him, and makes sure that their needs are taken care of and that they don’t feel too lost in the pack. 

I’m pretty sure that even in omegaverse, Minseok is queer, and he probably prefers alphas to omegas; less mess, and more satisfaction in bringing them to heel.

Naturally, the person he’s closest to in the pack is Jongdae, this is canon in any and all universes. They’re the gossip husbands, drinking late at night and talking about the rest of the band like two intensely invested aunties, but being steady and gentle with the others the rest of the time. They probably sleep together, but they’re definitely not monogamous, and as in canon, probably are both aware that Jongdae would actually like to settle down with a mate at some point.

Minseok spends the omegas’ heats with them if they want him to, as do all the alphas– because the Exos are all very very busy and alternate being with the omegas depending on their schedules. His favorite is probably Sehunnie though, because Sehun is whiny but pliant and obedient in heat; the rest are complicated (will get to them!)

Junmyeon:

I imagine him to be as neurotic in omegaverse as he is in canon. He’s a sadist and is terrified of this fact. He takes his job as leader so seriously that it fucks with his head and makes him make very strange personal decisions. He’s an alpha and a dom, but the fact that he’s so scared of his sadism makes him show his belly to his pack and try so hard to be gentle and soft that the overcorrection makes him seem awkward instead. 

I think, if I were to transplant canon onto omegaverse, that Junmyeon did not overcorrect so hard until a while after debut; because at first he would punish the Exos for mistakes as harshly as a supervisor, and oooof that probably gave him such a headrush that it turned into kink for him IMMEDIATELY.

Junmeon is Like This in canon really, so what makes omegaverse so much worse for him is that it formalizes all the power dynamics in head in a way that makes it so easy to take advantage of. And he is so convinced the sadism makes him a bad person, that having omegas begging for him in heat, crying and in pain without him even having to do a single thing to them except be there, simply would take him to pieces. Just imagine canon Junmyeon with the power to bite someone and claim them biologically forever… the man wrote the Exos’ names on his damn body, he would lose his fucking mind!!!

Anyway, I think therefore, that Junmyeon is terrified MOST of Baekhyun and Yixing, the resident omega masochists in the band– and to an extent, Chanyeol, who is a masochist but not omega. So, I would imagine him being SO WEIRD with all three of them. Too strict and mean to Chanyeol, and so wary as to almost be avoidant of Yixing, and strangely both overprotective and overconfident in Baekhyun.

Hilariously, he and Sehun click very comfortably, because Sehun isn’t a masochist or a sub. He’s just very into being indulged and having things done for him and to him, and it makes him vibe enough like a sub that it’s hot, but not enough to terrify Junmyeon or cause him to have intense sadistic emotion about Sehun. This also means they’re not super compatible actually lmao, they’re just comfortable enough that they stick together.

I think Junmyeon and Minseok have an interesting relationship, where Minseok would like to be hyung and head alpha for Junmyeon but Junmyeon is too weird about being perceived to be submitting to anyone that whenever Minseok tries to support him, Junymeon just pretends to be Fine™ harder.

Generally though, Junmyeon is a good leader. He’s incredibly competent when it comes to the band’s relationships with management, and he’s incredibly protective and invested in the wellbeing of his pack members. All of his weirdness sort of impacts him internally, but it works to present him the way he desires his image to be externally.

Yixing:

[vibrates] He… the baby… 

He’s an omega and a sub. He came into the band with much Trauma™ (familial, as in canon D: ), which made him need so much affection and love that it makes him seem hungry. He pushes himself so hard that it makes him ill often, and it makes it difficult to care about him, because to do so means people have to constantly love him and see him be hurt. He doesn’t have the instincts that lets him trust people to catch him if he falls, so he simply always feels that he’s on his own, even if he isn’t.

In omegaverse, he probably has very difficult heats. Trauma and hormone fuckery do not go well together in any universe, so his heats probably fuck with his emotions massively. And the fact that most of his injuries are spine-related, means that his pelvic floor is just fucked, and would mean his heats actually physically hurt!!!! 

The emotional part means that during his heats, he clings so hard to the people next to him to make sure they don’t leave, that he leaves bruises and scratch marks. He probably cries and howls if any of the alphas get up to get him food because he’s scared they’re not coming back and that he’ll be abandoned. He probably wants to be mated and sobs when he isn’t, even though outside of heat he would know it would be a bad idea to mate.

The physical part means he’s in miserable (very unusual) pain throughout.

This makes it a large ordeal to deal with for the pack. Especially considering they are all so tired and so busy and barely have time to rest anyway. And the fact that they have a rotational system for alphas spending time with the in-heat omegas so they don’t miss schedules, which in Yixing’s case simply doesn’t work. 

They do love him, but he’s difficult to help. It stresses everyone out and makes the alphas feels horrible and bad at their jobs.

Yixing probably gets on suppressants at some point and simply never comes off them, especially when he starts spending more time in China without any pack around :( 

Outside of heat, he smells sweet and is comforting to be around. He’s so skin hungry that he’ll always want to cling to a pack member when they’re home, which they are only happy to do. And he’s good at being hyung to the younger members. He’s also massively good at his job as an artist, it just, you know, kills his body oops… TT

Being away from the pack does make everything worse for him, though. It’s a sore subject for Junmyeon and Minseok especially, that they let one of their pack omegas run off that way where they can’t help him at all. It makes everyone sad.

[Cake lies down on the floor] Yeah… Yixing… 

Baekhyun:

He’s an omega, a sub, and a sadist (masochist too, fun combo!) Baekhyun is highly invested in being important to everyone. He wants to be loved so much that he wants to own all the Exos and be owned by all of them, but he’s very aware of how this sounds so he’s just privately insane about this, but publicly all jokey and fun, rather than deeply intense.

The fact that he’s a sadist makes him a strange omega for alphas. So, I bet Baekhyun enjoys being with the omegas most often– bet it almost makes him think he’s like Minseok, and likes omegas more than alphas; but that’s not true. What he really needs is an alpha who would put a hand on his neck and put him in his place but also lets him bite and scratch and be mean to them as well. He needs to sub for his health and well being, but he also needs to feel that it’s safe to sub by being allowed to do horrible things to his alpha/dom and feel like he has power in the relationship. Subbing is so so vulnerable for Baekhyun, it makes him terrified to his bones, but he also wants it really badly.

Anyway, as in canon lmao, Minseok finds Baekhyun too messy and difficult to deal with, so he just flirts and toys with him a little, and probably sleeps with Baekhyun during heats if he’s needed, but doesn’t really let Baekhyun in his bed outside of heat. 

Chanyeol is too vulnerable to deal with Baekhyun’s barbed wire words and pointy claws, he takes it too personally, and Baekhyun has to be careful around him. Though when Baekhyun is careful, they’re good friends, and Baekhyun does enjoy sleeping with him and toying with him a little. 

Sehunnie is probably Baekyun’s go-to for sex outside of heats (points to the unreal amounts of Baekhyun biting Sehun photos in canon.)

Junmyeon and and Baekhyun are insanely compatible but they have no idea. Junmyeon is terrified of being too much and hurting people but if he actually does hurt Baekhyun (sexy), Baekhyun would lose his goddamn mind. Because Baekhyun needs intensity most of all, he needs to feel like his partner is obsessed with him: and Junmyeon is the most intense person in this band.

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun probably have good sex, but Kyungsoo has absolutely no tollerance for Baekhyun trying to exercise power– which is hot! But you know, it doesn’t let Baekhyun relax entirely with him. It’s the same with Jongdae probably, except Jongdae is nicer about it. 

Chanyeol:

He’s an alpha but he’s not interested in holding power over people, it makes him deeply uncomfortable. He’s not a dom, and not a sub, but he does enjoy power games when they’re meant to bring people closer together and build trust. 

He frequently goes through periods of being super insecure about how he presents as an alpha, and trying to be more masc and domineering, but it only ever ends up making him feel worse. And during those periods, he often feels like going to the other alphas for help and support is a weakness and tries to do everything himself, including figuring out his own mental blocks– this almost never works.

He clashes with Junmyeon a lot, because he both wants Junmyeon’s attention and admiration and praise, and wants Junmyeon’s to see him as an alpha and respect his authority, and Junmyeon is, as stated before, WEIRD about power things!!!

Though Minseok knows how to be good to Chanyeol and often compensates where Junmyeon fails. So does Jongdae, though he spent a while not really understanding why Chanyeol is the way he is and why he struggles with the things he struggles with. 

Kyungsoo’s steadiness and assuredness in himself makes him a good friend to Chanyeol. It helps to look to Kyungsoo when Chanyeol is in flux and feels like nothing is static enough to hold onto. 

Sechan are like canon Sechan, naturally. They are weird about power dynamics together in a way that helps both of them. It makes Chanyeol feel at ease that he’s not holding any power via the fact that he’s alpha or hyung over Sehun, and it makes Sehun happy to feel like he holds Chanyeol’s leash and can make him do whatever he wants. What Sehun often wants Chanyeol to do though, is to take care of things for him: take care of food and buying things, and making sure Sehun is comfortable, to fuck Sehun well and not make Sehun do things, and to praise Sehun in front of other people and let Sehun bask in the fact that he’s getting everything he wants. All of this makes Chanyeol feel good and useful and like a good alpha! It’s great! 

Jongdae:

He’s one of the people I hesitated for a very long time before assigning an omegaverse dynamic to. I eventually settled on alpha because he’s a caretaker and – although subtle– is actually a little bit of a control freak. He also finds too much contentment in, for example, calming Baekhyun down and making him behave, for him not to be some sort of flavor of dom. 

He and Minseok fit well together because they both respect hierarchies a lot, and they respect inner pack workings. They also have the same casual but firm way that they approach their own internal moral compasses. They’re both stubborn and hard to convince to change, which makes them both comfortable, considering they are also both very influential and find it easy to change other people just by being around. They make each other feel safe to exercise the full breadth of their inherent power without the threat that this would affect the other in any way.

The fact that they are both doms, however, makes them incompatible long-term as sexual and romantic partners, even though they adore each other and probably do sleep together often. It’s a fact they are both aware of– though I am unsure if they both feel the axact same way about it. I change my mind often about this. Is Minseok sadder than Jongdae about this? Are they both just Fine? Don’t know. I’m not a Xiuchenist for real, but I do believe in them! So, I find myself thinking about this often. 

Jongdae, like Minseok, finds Baekhyun too much to deal with. But he finds Junmyeon funny and gets less stressed out about the fact that Junmyeon won’t let him help than Minseok does. Because Jongdae isn’t the pack leader and he’s younger, he finds it easier to insert himself into Junmyeon’s business and meddle sometimes, without stepping to hard on Junmyeon’s toes. 

He is soft with Yixing, and is sad for him, but Jongdae is very strict with himself about things which he cannot change, so he doesn’t let himself dwell on this often. 

It took him a few years to understand Chanyeol’s little neuroses but he did eventually, so now he knows how to care for Chanyeol and that satisfies him greatly.

He’s generally very gentle and full of advice and pets for all younger and older pack members.

He has a stroke of sadism in him, but it’s not consuming like Junmyeon’s is, and he’s Normal about it. It’s very to do with sex for him, rather than his personality.

Kyungsoo:

He’s an alpha, and he’s possessive as fuck. He’s also a very sensible person, and has decided very early on that he will not be getting romantically involved with any of his members because they’re all insane and they’ll drive him out of his mind if he wants to go full possessive alpha on them! 

He does think Jongin is incredibly hot and is very soft with him. He’s also known to be soft with Sehun, though he’d never admit to it. 

He’s a neutral party in the pack, though he has a deep sense of justice and will stand with whoever he thinks is wronged in an argument. 

I don’t have many Ksoo thoughts, he gives me a headache, his personality is impenetrable! Sorry 🙈

Jongin:

You might have noticed I’ve not spoken much about him with the other members, and that’s because I firmly believe that, while he is a part of this pack, he’s bonded to Taemin. Taemin is his alpha, and they are each other’s persons. Jongin only spends heats with the pack when Taemin is unavailable.

In the Exo pack, Nini is soft and baby. He lounges over the alphas and scents the other omegas and takes care of them. But he’s also stubborn and strong, and because he’s been mated for such a long time, thinks that all the others and their weird relationship problems are so tiring and silly! 

That’s why he gets on with Kyungsoo a lot. Kyungsoo does not have weird relationship problems, because he simply has no messy relationships in the band XD They get to make fun of the others from their little cocoon. 

Nini knows how to depend on the others to help him, and he’s very good at being a stabalizing and sensible influence in the pack.

Him and Taemin make each other so much better, and take care of each other’s needs so well that Nini effectively doesn’t need a pack. They just add to his life and he adores them. It makes him a very steady presence.

Sehun:

He effectively takes the role of a pack omega but not because he needs it, because the pack does. It’s good for them to have someone they can spoil and love this way. He gives them the opportunity of all feeling like they get to take care of him and be good for the pack by doing so; and by doing so, he gets to comfort them and take care of them without them feeling like they’re asking for care. 

Sehun has large emotions about the pack, he needs all of them, and feels like they all need each other. He’s mostly quiet about it, though, he’s not a words person. He just flops in someone’s lap when he’s having emotions.

As in canon, he’s been in love with Chanyeol for years, but it takes them an insanely long time to work out what they are to each other. This lands Sehun in Junmyeon and Baekhyun’s beds often. 

He’s an omega, but not a sub or a dom. Like Chanyeol, he enjoys toying with power dynamics broadcast trust. Though he would melt into the center of the earth if Chanyeol bit him and mated him. And he would die if Chanyeol had a collar on and let himself be ordered around by Sehun. It’s all very deeply unusual and not standard bdsm XD 

I feel like I talked about Sehun’s relationships with the other members throughout the answer above, so I won’t repeat them here! 

Anyway… wow that was long. Anon, I am so sorry if this is way more than you expected!!! I hope you enjoy it regardless!!!!!!!! I have many thoughts about this, clearly! XD 

[dayvan]

some dogwashing doodling

[possamble]

Needlessly close reading and long commentary on chapter 57 and how the audience actually has an extremely limited view on what Marcille has been like over the course of her life.

I am once again thinking about how pre-dungeon Marcille is so quiet and stoic that she seems like a completely different person. How jarring chapter 57 is for the audience. Like you have Marcille, who has been just the most blindingly expressive person with resting baby face

And then the chapter drops a title page of Marcille hearing from Falin for the first time in four years and it's like.

Who is that. Genuinely. Would you even realize that's Marcille without the context clues?

And then the chapter just keeps coming in with the sucker punches.

We have SEEN Marcille meet strangers. It was never with this understated of a smile.

literally who the hell is this. the few times the audience gets to see some Signature Marcille Faces that they're used to is when she finally gets to see Falin again

when she's testing out her new spells

(and when Laios and Falin are fantasizing about her being their damsel in distress, funnily enough)

And then finally. Finally you get to a fully recognizable Marcille when she fucking DIES and comes back to life to geek out about necromancy.

We know she loves magic. We know she loves Falin. So it's not so surprising that she wouldn't be able to keep a mask up when thinking or talking about the things she loves. But why the mask in the first place? Where does it come from? It's tempting to think that, maybe, Falin's departure just hurt her so much that it turned her into a quiet person.

But that's only half true. If you go back, the first instance you see of this incredibly mild personality is actually introduced much earlier, in chapter 17.

What if she was always like that. What if her default after her father died was to hold people at arm's length, to never really emote past being polite and friendly. What if Falin was the first person who was able to bring her out of her shell, and when she left, Marcille just went back to how she was.

And when comparing her detached demeanour with someone else...

It's not exact, but wouldn't you say there's a resemblance? Wouldn't you think she might be trying her best to imitate what she saw of her own mother working as an accomplished mage?

It would certainly explain why she's hiding behind her portrait in her nightmare, at least.

We aren't told that Marcille has been distancing herself from everyone around her using a mature and dignified personality she modelled off her mother. But we sure as hell are shown it, I think.

[maythearo]

The cast I drew on sticky notes!

[violent138]

Batfamily member's civilian identity becomes some serial killer's target because it fits some profile. Cue said murderer going after this member of the Batfamily, earning a very shocked and mildly exasperated set of swear words and then getting their ass kicked. The Batfamily member doesn't even bother calling the cops, just tosses the would be killer in the back of their car (which has bloody gloves in the seat and weird files on people), leading the murderer to conclude they're in the presence of a much worse serial killer.

Tldr: Outsider POV fic where a Batfamily member earns the undying adoration of an actual murderer and it's a slow, convoluted process to getting the evidence to arrest them while also protecting their secret identity.

[gossippool]

so i do think it's very interesting how, at least from what i've observed, people see/depict worst logan as kind of different from the x men logan in terms of their propensity for violence, or rather how this violence is released. i think it has to do with a couple of things:

as many have pointed out, wade is the only one who has ever been able to match him in a fight. so it makes sense that people would headcanon their relationship as involving fights on the regular. but also;

most of what we see from him in the movie is him fighting, and so we assume that he has a tendency towards it, especially since the past he's trying to escape from is exactly that: him being violent towards others, including those who don't deserve it. i think this has definitely subconsciously shaped some people's perception of him in some way.

but i think it's good to remember that what we are shown isn't proportionate to who he is, because the movie necessarily can't develop his character much outside of the plot. i don't think worst logan and x-men logan are different at all in the sense of x-men logan being "gentler", because not only have we just not had the chance to see worst logan act otherwise, but x-men logan also has this same animalistic violence in him. we can see how quickly he unleashes himself in the movies when the situation calls for it, and even when he's doing it to protect, there's still that rage underneath it all.

worst logan is violent towards wade because 1. he's projecting, and 2. wade can take it. but also it's a symptom of something else that he hasn't worked through, possibly decades of trauma he hasn't worked through. i'm working on a fic that explores this rn, but my headcanon is that his post-x-men rampage was a sort of addiction for him because of the release it gave him, which he then replaced with getting shitfaced, and finding someone who could take him in a fight (wade) could be a reversion to the former addiction if he doesn't work on it. (i think that especially with superhero movies, it's so easy to brush off violence as just another normal thing, but realistically, a failure to unpack all that baggage could escalate his problems into something way worse.)

so imo i think worst logan is practically the same, if not very similar, to x-men logan, just that he's a variant that was dealt the worst card, but we interpret his character differently because all we're shown is what he became because of it. we all know logan is gentle with his lovers, and i think that unless wade shows that he enjoys it, logan would not be violent towards him just because wade can take it. just because you can doesn't mean you should, and i think he of all people would understand that

[puppyeared]

meow

[machineheraldbabe]

Viktor's (subverted) Aristotelian Tragedy

A common sentiment I’m seeing throughout post-finale Viktor discourse is an understandable concern or distaste for the element of choice lost throughout his story. I know a lot of us – myself included – expected more time spent on his transformation, along with emphasis on the anger/rage/betrayal fueling it. But seeing him allow Singed to “begin the process” in episode 8 reminded me of Arcane’s origins – tragedy. Bear with me for another long analysis :)

Aristotle wrote the following on the tragedy: “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself…with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.” He also emphasized that the true tragic hero couldn’t be perfect, and his downfall into such catharsis-inducing circumstances was reliant on a fatal flaw, oftentimes pride.

Viktor fits this mold, as do many Arcane characters, and it stands to reason that this was intentional since the writing team has reiterated that the show is a tragedy, at its core.

Regarding Viktor’s fatal flaw, I’d argue it’s pride, but it manifests very uniquely. He never makes any grand declarations about his success and doesn’t draw attention to himself in any clear way throughout season one (“Progress Day” comes to mind). Instead, his pride manifests as staunch independence and self-reliance that lead to his downfall; his unwillingness to break his stoic mold arguably led to his use of the Hexcore…so it goes.

Fascinating caveat: Viktor’s pride is a defense mechanism, a necessary tool he built in order to survive and succeed in a hostile environment to people of his station. His self-reliance is increasingly desperate as his illness worsens. He’s cornered by fate but banks on the sanctity of choice at every turn – in season one, Viktor is bound by the conviction that we all have a choice. It’s why he’s so distressed when Jayce makes the wrong one regarding weaponizing Hextech.

“There is always a choice.”

Viktor’s choice to fuse with the Hexcore is the classic Aristotelian fatal flaw moment, the singular incident that opens the flood gates for eventual catharsis. We watch Viktor make an irreparable choice, one that we know to be bad, and endure the repercussions. He then makes the choice to abandon the Hexcore, and end his life, but audiences can’t shake the feeling that those consequences aren’t leaving anytime soon.

So why is Viktor so anti-choice in his final season 2, act 3 form?

Choice is Viktor’s weapon. Pride is what leads him to abusing it. Despite how uncomfortable and depressing it is to watch, Viktor’s slow descent into the Herald is a perfect twist of fate. The Arcane is even so insidious that it meshes with his original intent, to help those suffering in the undercity, while convincing him that their subservience is healing. He becomes responsible for their choices. He knows what’s best because he’s relieving the Gloriously Evolved of their suffering, right? The utopia is for the greater good, yes?

Admittedly, it was really hard watching act 3 Viktor descend fully into his choiceless ethos. But we can still relate it to his tragic flaw – his pride has mushroomed into coldhearted omniscience; not only does he know what’s best for everyone, evolution, but he also has the sense to make the choice for them to supersede their “baser instincts.” The grief we feel upon seeing this perverted, violent version of himself, as far removed from Viktor as possible, is the culmination of Aristotle’s treatise on tragedy. The catharsis is the rock-bottom Machine Herald.

"Choice is false."

But then Arcane decided to basically make Jayvik canon (get out of here, Christian Linke) and destroyed the early drafts of this post. I’m going to rapid-fire this next bit:

Jayce forces Viktor back to life. Viktor has no agency in his season 2 inciting incident. Again, it’s distressing when we mourn his agency, but it remains in accordance with Aristotelian tragedy.

Viktor clings to humanity as long as he possibly can. When Jayce calls out Viktor’s trajectory, alleging that his old partner had died in the Council chamber, whatever is left of Viktor gives way to the Arcane because his last tether has been snapped.

Jayce knows the game – Old Man Jenkins Mage Viktor told him so. Jayce becomes the linchpin in subverting Viktor’s tragedy. He knows what must happen. He understands now.

Machine Herald Viktor is given the chance to undo his fatal flaw, to reverse the catharsis, when he sees Old Man Jenkins Mage Viktor. With Jayce’s help, he takes it.

Given that it’s a version of Viktor who ultimately frees him from himself by empowering Jayce, we can gather that Viktor has liberated himself from his tragedy.

Aristotle’s catharsis is rapidly transformed from something based in release to something healing – Viktor’s tether to humanity returns. He grasps it. The walls of his pride and self-reliance collapse. He accepts Jayce’s help, finally being seen as the full individual he is. Catharsis ensues, for sure, but I don’t think it’s based in the typical tragedy genre.

All this to say, I think Viktor’s arc was, in fact, carefully constructed. He represents the Aristotelian descent into a fatal flaw and that’s very distressing to see unfold, especially since he embodied the tragic hero archetype so well from day one. However, Jayce undoes this narrative and we’re given an incredibly subversive ending that I, personally, never saw coming.

I’m sure that Mage Viktor has a much larger bearing on this analysis than I’m accounting for. But for now, suffice to say that he is Viktor’s way out of the tragedy. TALK ABOUT CHOICE!

This doesn’t erase anyone’s discomfort for Viktor having less and less agency, but I’d like to emphasize the logic and literary precedent behind the story decisions.

PS: here's a quick source I looked at about Aristotelian tragedies. I hope to re-up on Greek tragedies so I can get more specific about the parallels Arcane draws from them.

[lanadelreis]

drake: haha i’m gonna diss kendrick

kendrick lamar’s honest to god reaction:

[cerealmonster15]

ocean floor ♦️🐬

[sluckythewizard]

FIIIINALLY almost nailed my designs for lizzie and caspian can i get a HEEEELLL YEAAH???? i think these two make a vvery cute duo and i cannt wait to see them again. i also hope they both get hurt reaaaallly really badly. togeter

[chasing-faith-and-fate]

Moon 27

Moon 26 | Moon 28

[cometblaster2070]

i think another reason why i REALLY love the eah shannon hale books (aside from how generally amazing they are) is how shannon hale expands more on the royal and rebel problem.

like in the show, we don't really explore the sides of the royals and rebels beyond the usual stance of whether they go against following their stories and support raven, or whether they want to follow their stories and condemn raven for not signing and starting the entire rebel movement.

but in the books i love how shannon hale expands upon the sheer amount of utter classism present in the eah world, and especially present in this school; perfectly encapsulating how those in power are very, very concerned about keeping this brand of classism ongoing, about keeping that divide between the 'Royals' and the 'Commoners' apparent.

just the little details of the royals and the commoners having different seats in the auditorium, with the royals having comfortable padded seats as opposed to the commoners having more uncomfortable and hard chairs, how they both have different common rooms; just the little details in general which highlight how the entire concept of destinies and signing the book and legacies is a system that is established in order to keep this classism going.

the legacy system honestly just breeds more of this classism; it tells the royals they are above the commoners and it tells them about how they deserve the happy endings and the prince charmings and the glittering gold palaces, and it tells the commoners of their place beneath the royals and firmly shows them the differences between themselves and the royals and how the commoners should be happy and complacent with the endings that they get.

overall, it tells both of these groups to simply accept what is being presented to them; presents the narrative that change is unfamiliar and dangerous and bad, and as such, they should never question their system and should instead just be happy with what they get, because, surely, this system is fair, so it just ends up being what they deserve.

hell, even the fact that before raven basically formed the royal/rebel movement, people were simply separated on the basis of being royals and commoners; it could literally not be made more obvious.

anyways, i just love the way shannon hale's books expand on this and i love how you can very clearly see the ignorance present in the eah world and how everyone's worldview is turned on its head because of raven and her actions 10/10.

[marciliedonato]

So... Apparently UA s4 is a massive flop.... I'm not saying we need to start bullying* showrunners and writers and networks/streamers (*putting pressure on them to do right by beloved pieces of media with passionate fan bases so much so that they feel they'll get the guillotine if they do anything less than perfect and justice by the story/characters) but.... We need to start bullying showrunners and writers and networks/streamers again. These mfs have gotten too comfortable

[dimension-20-every-introduction]

Everyone Introduced in Dimension 20′s Mentopolis episode 1

[frobby]

Nothing is stronger than the bond between a girl and a piece of media they brushed off 10 years ago that they now realized is the greatest thing ever made