#but this really needed more than 3 episodes ^^''

[mortalscience]

criminal minds 18x08 Tara thoughts behind cut (SPOILERS)

oh, my sweet, sweet, Tara. MY GIRL. I knew this would be an emotional journey for her and it was. ;_; also could like, the show chill on the dead parent trauma for five minutes though? LMAO. i really loved it though, i saw a lot of myself in tara in this episode. i cried like 3 times hahaha. "how can you all just go on? the world needs to stop and feel what i'm feeling." <- REALLLLL. "they don't want to know what it was like for me: a motherless daughter" <- OH OKAY JUST COME FOR ME. tara coming to terms with her anger and grief regarding her mom, probably the one lingering issue she had, so that it would free her up to move forward in life, was a wonderful journey. <3 couldn't be me tho, i'll never get married hahahaha.

which, dude, I thought everyone was lowkey reaching about the tarbecca engagement, how did y'all predict that? LOL. i just went along for the ride cause it was a cute idea but damn. props. you guys called it. it was so sweet! and everyone was so happy. rossi shouting in italian! and that cut to jj - i think it was lowkey a little healing for her to see this for tara. and penelope about to explode from joy lmao. nothing she loves more than a BAU engagement. it was really great for the team to have a nice, happy moment. (and i'm sure it's the calm before the storm of whatever the hell is gonna go down in the last two eps of the season.)

hooray for the return of the codependent BAU team, having all their major life events happen in front of or with each other, LOOLLL.

GARVEZ MOMENT!!!! luke and penelope standing next to each other during the proposal and a shoulder bump :D :D :D :D :D my cutiesssssssss!

not me partially predicting some stuff in this episode in this fic i wrote hahaha. sadly, instead of luke wondering why he couldn't get ahold of penelope, it was emily. hilarious though, when emily walked into voit's room and saw penelope and was just like aughhhghh. the groan of long suffering acceptance.

poor penelope feeling guilt over tate andrews and equating herself with a serial killer. and it was strangely sweet how voit kind of connected with her in a paternal sense. and it makes sense that voit would like penelope cause she's the only one that's been kind to him. but i am glad that emily, while obviously feeling a little bit frustrated by penelope, told penelope that she didn't need to explain and that she didn't sound crazy. <3 <3

loved emily's 'tired' speech at the BAU. girl we're all tired, this season has been WIILLDDDD

luke and jj showing up at the hospital and luke shooting eye daggers at evan while he hugged rebecca was so funny to me. he was like STAY AWAY FROM MY BESTIE'S GIRLFRIEND. ASSHOLE.

FRANKLY i'm not entirely sold on evan's innocence - aside from just being a jerk who tried to move in on rebecca while her girlfriend was in the hospital. i feel like the likelihood is low that he is involved - i'm like 95% sure he really was just a red herring all along - but it just still seems off. could be because the actor is playing him so smarmy. haha.

the unknown potential maria jones connection has got me about ready to go back and watch that episode to look for clues myself hahahaha. I NEED TO KNOW!

voit referenced "collateral damage" - meaning all the people who died because they crossed paths with him - of which 'CollateRal' is the name of next week's episode. what does it meannnn. someone will die next episode? or maybe it's to do with whatever's going on with maria jones' case.

what else did voit want to tell tyler about alison?????

tyler thinking penelope's computer wouldn't be locked and touching penelope's stuff. ahaha. that scene made me laugh.

there sure was a lot of stuff pointing the finger at ochoa as the disciple this episode.

we have: ochoa being strangely concerned about voit going back to prison and him needing to "accept" it, the statement of "I believe you are different" in a slightly reverent tone, the suspicion about the disciple being someone who knows all about voit's memory issues so hospital staff are high possibilities and yet emily hand-waving ochoa as a suspect because of her "reputation", ochoa thinking it would be "the best thing for the both of them" for tyler and voit to work together (maybe with the hope that interacting with tyler would revert voit). INTERESTING.

there also sure was a lot of stuff making tyler look bad this episode.

tyler went SO HARD on this evan theory, which if had turned out to be true would have been a point in favor of him not being the disciple. but since evan was framed, it just makes tyler look like he totally went after the guy. D: D: we're not gonna know who the disciple is until we know!! they are throwing so much evidence at both ochoa and tyler at this point hahaha. DAMNIT!! (but omg I am loving this! WHO IS ITTTT. what a great mystery!!!)

all in all, another BANGER EPISODE from what is shaping up to be a legendary season!!

[starrydreamerluna]

Huntrix was formed on a survival show-

-to test the trainees compatibility with rumi and the rest of the public. To see who had the spark to become a demon hunter.

Zoey(14) auditions with a sunlight sisters song she wrote an extended part for so she could rap, because Bobby sent it in for her wanting her to at least try to pursue music.

Mira(16) gets scouted at a dance meet where no one knows who she is so she ends up hiding herself as mira and dying her hair black so no one recognises her on the show.

Rumi(15) was a shoe in obviously, but she'd not guaranteed for the final lineup if the honmoon doesn't resonate with her enough (she can use it still though because the sunlight sisters are still technically active and rumi inherited her mothers claim to use it)

There's a few weeks of the usual training and covering songs before Celine starts being able to whittle down her shortlist and starts encouraging the girls to push themselves to connect with the music theyre performing and think how the audience will connect with it.

Zoey rumi and mira get put together by chance and outperform the other teams in a Sunlight sisters themed challenge/mission where the girls really made the songs their own. Mira choreographs new parts including an improved dancebreak, rumi opts up in her high notes and adlibs but also guides her teammates on harmonies and zoey kills it with her best rap yet.

When it gets down to the final 10 girls one of them gets injured in a practice room and has to pull out after she's found by rumi and Celine, leaving 3 teams of three girls. Celine therefore decides to pull out the final challenge- she wants each team to work with eschother and as much staff as they need to produce a demo debut. What do they want their debut to sound like, what foot are they putting forward? How are they gonna present themselves to their fans?

The ones who resonate the strongest with the honmoon will win their debut. They have 6 weeks. (During which the actual episodes start airing.)

There's a bit of angst and hurt going between the teams and their members, zoey is panicking about her heritage and ability because people are calling her western and her schoolmates are watching her. Mira realises people are starting to figure out who she is, and rumi knows that a demon attacked the trainee that got hurt, trying to prevent the hunters coming together.

before Celine can know for sure who her apprentices may be demons break into rumi, mira and zoeys practice session and they find out about it all because rumi has to defend them. When she gets pinned in comes mira with a steal chair and 14 year old zoey uses her cheerleading experience to kick a few demons back.

Unfortunately they do steal something: zoeys notebook which fucking devastates her. Rumi promises its okay.

Zoey in all her childish dumbassery decides to sneak out that night to go get her notebook back, partly her own drive, partly a tempt by gwi-ma to get her killed once he found out it had a lot of confessions of her anxiety throughout the show.

Mira was on her way back after being confronted by her parents about everything when zoey left. She's so angry at them she decided to cut off contact because she felt so at home in the dorms.

Both of them accidentally unknowingly tear the honmoon and its rumi to the rescue, until yknow. The girls summon their weapons for the first time. They start writing the song then and there, zoey inspired by the sounds of the honmoon for a baseline, mira channeling her want to beat shit up into choreography and rumi's awkward sassy ass coming up with the hook while insulting demons.

Zoey calls in Bobby for support because he's her legal guardian while she's in Korea and he starts helping manage their tasks and they get the demo done with enough time to go on a few more hunts to get the notebook back because Bobby let's it slip how important they are to zoey.

Celine isn't happy with them when she finds them after biting off more than they can chew.

She is incredibly impressed two days later when they perform their song at the live finale and the honmoon soars in recognition of its new guardians.

[habaritess]

I have so many god dang emotions about season 4. Some really good, some baaaaaadddddd. But one thing I wanted to point out...

SPOILERS

Carmy confesses to Sydney on episode one. Sydney pretty much turns him down and/or he takes her reaction to it as a rejection.

Carmy: I don't like dysfunction.

Sydney: Okay than, what do you like?

Carmy: I like this ( while looking at her pointedly).

Sydney pauses while giving him a look.

I could be reading too much into it( looking at my Claire posts), but the only thing "this" could be at that moment was them being side by side, standing close together and chatting. He likes their relationship, and Sydney pretty much scoffs at it and tells him he sounds miserable even saying that. Dude admits out loud how "that hurt" and I really believe that's him taking it as a rejection. I thought that this scene meant that the rest of the season will feature Carmy growing to be better in his well being and showing her a side of himself that is truly "alive"... but after watching the entire season, I truly think this scene was meant to spell the end of sdycarmy for good. Carmy does like Sydney, but any chance he had with her he seems to have lost it, and this scene seems to reinforce that Sydney is not the one.

I no longer think they are endgame. Despite everything, EVERYTHING we've seen between the two, this season truly did blew it all out of the water. I strongly felt that narratively speaking, if they had a chance of happening, they needed to lay the groundwork this season. The Claire issue was suppose to be done with from the first or second episode, and have that chapter in his life be an obvious closure... but it's not. In fact, Claire as the endgame is more alive and well than ever before. It makes no sense for Sydcarmy to happen with Claire still in his life. What was annoying is that, the situations that SHOULD have brought them closer together, they narratively had them have those scenes with other characters rather than each other, even though they were RIGHT there. It makes no sense why Carmy wouldn't be with Sydney at the hospital. It makes no sense that Carmy called Claire before he meet up with his mother. It makes no sense that Sydney danced with Richie and not get one with Carmy. If we get another season, it just wouldn't make narrative sense for Carmy and Sydney to get together. It would look like it came out of nowhere after Carmy got with Claire in season 2, spent all of season 3 pining for her, than have season 4 leave them in a will they/wont they hang up.

It's confusing as hell after looking at what we were giving with Sydney and Carmy in the first two seasons which hinted so strongly at them getting together...

I have a lot of feelings on this matter. There were a lot of things I liked about this season, but the way the show handle their relationship is really off putting. And I'm not saying it as them not being romantic is bad. I wanted to see more of them in their partnership. They as a partnership, have some of the best chemistry I've seen in a show, but both season 3 & 4 decided to push that aside.

Got a lot to say on the matter, but I'm going to stop it for now.

[presidentdisastraofgallifrey]

Doctor Who is Better When it is Monster-of-the-Week

(I have evidence for my opinions, but obligatory disclaimer that these are my opinions, it's fine if you disagree but do not yell at me about it)

Doctors 1-3: didn't really have arcs of any sort, only Situations and character development. Even the unit thing was more a setting-situation than a story arc. There were excellent stories and really bad ones

This makes the Key to Time the first real plot arc, and while it could be worse it's largely agreed upon that it was unnecessary to tie these episodes together into a Mission. And as it was, they were barely even connected otherwise. So yes I enjoyed them, but they didn't need to be an arc

The rest of Four was generally very good with some obvious misses

Turlough was sort of a halfway attempt at an arc, but I'm not sure if I should even count it because we didn't really see the moment when he shifted from an assassin to a companion

This makes the next real, complete arc Trial of a Timelord, one of the most disliked eras of classic who, and it wasn't for Colin Baker's acting ability. Even so, they tried to have it both ways here, both an arc and a series of unconnected stories, and it didn't really work. The courtroom scenes were fun, though

No more arcs for the rest of classic who

The only arc-adjacent thing in Nine's season is the Bad Wolf foreshadowing, which might have been cool but ended up just being foreshadowing and then a conclusion that only kind of made sense

Ten's I think was both overrated and genuinely good, as both Moffat and RTD are better at singular stories than ongoing arcs and he didn't really have much in the way of season-long plot arcs. Again, just foreshadowing and then conclusions

Eleven #1: The Cracks in the Universe. There are Eleven episodes I like, and his characterization is fun. But I don't think any of his arcs worked because I don't think they were thought out as stories so much as a collection of things that sounded cool. Cracks in time eating history might have been cool, but then the answer was that Amy had to stay in stasis for 2000 years, Rory basically willed himself into being real instead of an automaton, and they wrote themselves into such a corner the only way to fix the universe was to have Amy be able to inexplicably remember a Doctor who no longer existed. I maintain that if they did this today as a way of resetting the history of alien invasions, instead of when the whole fandom was lusting after Matt Smith, it would be a wildly unpopular decision

Eleven #2: River. I love River as a character, even on the show. I hate absolutely everything about her backstory. She could have been a mystery in her own right, someone cool and unusual and with no ties to the Doctor before meeting him out of order and marrying him. I would have liked that. Instead, it was apparently necessary to make the Doctor's wife the child of the woman who's been clearly in love with him most of his life, and oh yeah she's only in love with him because she was brainwashed to be obsessed with him in a murderous way then spent years listening to her mother (!!) as a kid obsess about his mysterious perfection. And that's not meant to be creepy at all. I am bonus extra annoyed about this because they actually do have good chemistry and I like their dynamic, but this mess was unnecessary. And don't even get me started on how they'd had him meet so few friends and allies that when they tried to do a reunion like they did for Ten, they had to make a bunch up in the moment and pretend you should know them

Eleven #3: Clara. She's an intriguing mystery to the Doctor because he keeps seeing her throughout history. You're supposed to agree because she's cute. That's the whole arc.

Twelve #1: Clara and Danny. I actually enjoy a lot more of Clara's character and the stories here, but making her fall in love with someone the Doctor hates for no good reason, lie to both of them to balance her life, kill him off because they wrote themselves into a corner again and need her free to travel with the Doctor, and then never mention him or how that broke history again was not needed

Twelve #2: Missy's redemption. Ok, I actually liked this one. I do think they waited too long to do the reveal and didn't leave time to do it properly, but I enjoyed it anyway

Thirteen #1: Timeless Children. I don't feel like I should really count this as an arc in quite the same way, but someone will point it out if I don't mention it. It feels more like the earlier things, more individual stories that have some foreshadowing towards a big conclusion

Thirteen #2: The Flux. I like a lot of the storytelling here, but making it one big stakes-raising, universe-ending story was completely unnecessary

Fifteen #1: Ruby. One of the worst arcs, as so much of this season was dedicated to questions about Ruby's origins that are never answered in a way that makes any sense

Fifteen #2: Returning Belinda to Earth. This one is better purely because it leaves more room for monster-of-the-week stories between the arc plot. And yes, until the finale it remains one of my favorite seasons. But again, they built up a compelling mystery and then answered it in the worst way possible that didn't even address what was happening in a satisfying way

So basically, I think Doctor Who as a show functions better when it is made up of adventure stories that remember previous continuity but don't try to link together into a bigger, higher-stakes overarching plot because no one who writes for this show can keep track of more than two plot points at a time and usually even if the arc was good I would argue it wouldn't add that much to the story or character

[satanzayoru25341]

Stormy Night, Shattered Lives

Featuring: Bucky Barnes x Friend!Reader

Summary: In the night, the stormy night, our lives have been destroyed as we discuss frustration and disappointment related to the Oscars, including criticism of the Thunderbolts* industry, mentions of box office failures, and emotional distress. It also touches on Marvel and MCU history, speculative predictions, and calls for change in entertainment.

Warning: Oscars-related disappointment and frustration, mentions of box office failure, discussion of film industry criticism, expressions of emotional distress, calls for change and action in the entertainment industry, mentions of Marvel and MCU history, and speculative predictions and demands for recognition

NOTE: The following is inspired by a scene from the Squid Game Season 2 episode "One More Game"

The tension in the room was palpable. The Oscars had come and gone, leaving behind a trail of disappointment for some, and triumph for others. But for you, for the Thunderbolts, and for the complainants who had gathered here, there was still unfinished business.

A female Oscars complainant sat in the corner, tears streaming down her face. The weight of the moment pressed down on her, the sting of rejection and lost hope evident in her expression.

Oscars Complainant #2, a man with furrowed brows and clenched fists, turned to you. "Mate, you're still part of Bucky's meeting. You could wait for the announcement someday. I don't have that choice."

You watched as the scene shifted to Oscars Complainant #1, her face a mask of sorrow.

"I don't want to watch the Oscars nor Marvel anymore, please," she whispered. "I can't risk myself not getting what I want. Because of this, Scarlett Johansson was forced to ask to be removed after Thunderbolts flopped at the box office."

Oscars Complainant #2 sighed, shaking his head. "Everything else, they have not been revealed, and I want to know one person that did this to the film, but I only know it's the critics and the reviews that caused a sweet success to become a bittersweet disappointment. I owed more than the nominations when the Spanish musical film Emilia Pérez won the awards. For us to have a chance, I need to join the assembly with the decision I made. I want everything to have a shot at a fresh start and to make Scarlett feel better."

Oscars Complainant #3 scoffed. "And what if it's not real? Everything won't even surprise everyone else, and nothing can make Scarlett feel happy. You think they'd really want that? If they are fake, that's it. It's over, you're done! And they get nothing! Can't you see that?"

You stepped forward, your voice firm. "Oh, forget that, don't let him scare you! Wicked. Anora. I'm Still Here. And don't forget the best animated feature, Flow. These are the only things that won awards at the Oscars. None of this is happening there." You pointed to the projector screen, your heart pounding. "Plus, look. There's still time to make a decision. And that means, over many people are getting this far! We've waited so many months, days, and all these times already, right? So let's just make MCU history with something we've come for!"

A familiar presence entered the room. The weight of his footsteps, the quiet confidence in his stance—it was Bucky Barnes.

"Well said, mate," Bucky murmured, his steel-blue eyes locking onto yours. "There's no point in standing here, doing nothing." He turned to the Thunderbolts and the Oscars complainants. "You all heard her. You know these predictions inside out. It's why you're all here!"

A chorus of agreement rippled through the crowd.

"Yeah!" Oscars Complainant #4 shouted.

Bucky nodded, determination settling in his features. "Right? So let's encourage the Oscars to make a decision! Until we all get what we came for. Just—" He raised his fist. "Make them announce that Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Zoë Saldaña will sing The Song of Voltes V for their very own reunion at our event. No more, no less!"

Your heart swelled with excitement. You raised both fists. "Yeah! Make this happen, we can do it!"

Bucky grinned, his energy infectious. He struck a cheering pose. "Make this happen!"

You joined him, your voice strong. "Make this happen!"

The room erupted in chants. The Thunderbolts—Yelena Belova, Alexei Shostakov, John Walker, Ava Starr, Antonia Dreykov, and Bob Reynolds—joined in, their voices blending with the Oscars complainants and the audience.

"Make this happen! Make this happen! Make this happen!"

The chant looped, growing louder, stronger.

And in that moment, standing beside Bucky Barnes, you knew—this was more than just a plea for recognition. This was a movement. A fight for something greater.

And together, you would make it happen.

Yes, this is my first Bucky Barnes x Reader post! But this time, the reader will be an ally in this one!

[nikikeya]

Oh I've had it up to here with this bullshit lie of her crashing out on him "Only Once". She does it every damn episode:

EP 1: Freaking out over Jax having keys and the hypothetical centipede in her room.

EP 2: Yelling about Jax stealing her key and saying her hair looked like licorice in front of Fudge.

EP 3: She skipped the yelling and just tied him up for the entire adventure.

EP 4: Mommy and Daddy are fighting AGAIN.

He annoys her, and she yells at him. It happens all the time: ITS THEIR WHOLE DYNAMIC. Ragatha is the Loving Big Sis archetype and Jax is the Annoying Kid Brother. Stop making it sound like this was her first and only offence. And what's more, stop taking it so serious that they did fight. It's just how they are. Jax was sadder about Zooble wanting an adventure where he couldn't speak. ((Tho personally I think that was left over ptsd from being bound and gagged the entirety of the previous episode.)) then he was about Ragatha putting him on blast. (Least till she mentioned his dead pet frog. Then big sads.)

Neither is innocent, and they both need to get their shit together. Honestly I wish Pomni wouldn't have interrupted and just let them really blow up, and get it all out. Sometimes it's best to lance a wound rather than keeping on covering it up...

I honestly think this wouldn't have been so bad if Jax had tried to stand up for himself like he did in EP 4. Here tho he just sat there, and took it. And so that sorta triggered a protectiveness in people.

It’s very ironic and funny to see people freaking villainize Ragatha for losing it for once, ONCE! Geez, relax people. I never even liked her as a character in the first place but she does not deserve the hate. Jax has been an absolute dick to everybody for 5 eps straight but it never seemed to bother people. And yes, he has his own reasons to behave the way he does but that only explains his behavior, but does not excuse it in any way. The same goes for Ragatha. There are some valid reasons why she’s such a people pleaser. Does that explain her? Yea, but does not excuse her either. Honestly it’s hard to tell whose behavior, and coping mechanism is better and less hurtful towards the others and themselves.

[fortune-maiden]

Did... did Tsukasa just die?

And that was the 7 Zios special... I have so many questions

[owlheartt]

Something I really like about timebomb is that Ekko actually knows what he's getting into.

I'm not really seeing it get talked about but in season 1 they mention that Ekko and the firelights help people addicted to shimmer get off it and lead more fulfilling lives within the community. I should probably rewatch the scene for the exact wording (might be misremembering tbh) but that comment implies A LOT.

First: Ekko's mission is helping people where he can, he would probably try and help Jinx even if he wasn't in love with her

Second: He has experience dealing with severe mental illness as that often goes hand in hand with drug abuse, namely depression/suicidal ideation like what Jinx was exhibiting

Third: He's probably mapped out best course of action FOR dealing with this and has already figured out his own limits/boundaries. Meaning he knew what he was getting into trying to talk Jinx out of suicide, and was thus more equipped to deal with the aftermath

Fourth: He's probably helped ex members of Silco's gang. The firelights seem to have a theme of healing and repairing and recovering, so they've probably also learned to forgive. If they're mission is to rebuild the lanes into a safe space, they can't exclude people they don't like, they have to make room for them. I think they fought Silco out of necessity, and I doubt Jinx would be the first person they help who's killed one of them.

These all might be a bit of a stretch but I think it really fits. Beyond that, it shows that Ekko can ACTUALLY help Jinx. As much as unconditional love can do, Ekko has the tools for Jinx's recovery and a path ready for her. He also probably knows that her "healthy" will look different from AU Powder's "healthy." On top of that, I expect he knows how to respect her even in the middle of psychotic breaks and won't agitate her already frail mental state

[o-sunny-day]

Im gonna post this here cause it’s not finished…but fun unfinished comic things!!!

had fun experimenting with the paneling and making Caine not encased in one because he has free range n all that

My ep 5 wishes/prediction/context to the comic below!!!

Caine literally said “motivation! thats what my adventures have been missing” SO ANYWHO NOW IM REALLY WORRIED

I think, since its practically confirmed its gonna be a sports theme episode, ep 5 will have a win/lose condition where if you lose then youll have a punishment or somethin and that stress might make Ragatha show a bit of her true colors?? Just an idea!

also if youll notice- the quality sky rockets in the last page THATS CAUSE I STARTED THIS LIKE A MONTH AGO 😭 who knew drawing the same characters over and over in your sketch book would have an effect on your ability!!?!??

speaking of which, take my sillies

[sapphiresaphics]

Alright, let’s do this:

1. “Why is Vi an enforcer?”

Because Piltover was going to invade Zaun and thousands of people were going to die as a result. Vi initially refused to join the enforcers for all the same reasons you listed above. She wasn’t going to join up.

But then the memorial attack happened and Piltover is out for BLOOD. They were originally going to send in troops to enforce things, but after the memorial attack it was about to be an all-out WAR.

UNTIL Caitlyn and Vi agree to team up and do targeted stealth attacks instead of an all out war. VI’s goal for helping Zaun has always been to get rid of Silco and his henchmen, so doing these targeted attacks on JUST the chembarons fits right in line with her way to solve the problems of Zaun AND prevents an all out war from happening where innocent people will be caught in the crossfire. Caitlyn literally explains this to the council when she barges in at the end of episode 1, were you not paying attention?

And yeah, it sucks. And Vi doesn’t want to be in that uniform. She looks absolutely miserable. But she’s also practical. She knows if she doesn’t do this, so many lives are going to be lost. If there’s a way she can keep Zaun from being invaded, while taking out Silco’s goons AND potentially catching her sister… she’s gonna take it. If that means joining the enforcers then she’s gonna do it.

What part of her aligning with Cailtyn makes you think she AGREES with what the enforcers stand for? Vander aligned with Grayson and he clearly didn’t agree with them either. Alliances don’t mean endorsement. Vi is an enforcer because if she didn’t then it was going to be the bridge attack all over again.

2. This complaint that “we didn’t see everything” is really stupid, especially if you enjoyed Season 1 because Arcane is nothing if not efficient in its storytelling. Season 1 literally skips over 7 years of all the characters lives and you have to piece together information yourself to gather what happened using context clues. Season 2 is no different. How is the pit fighter montage any different than Season 1 skipping 7 years and watching Powder go from bumbling child to brilliant mechanic/gunslinger between episodes?

You can wish there was more, but the fact of the matter is that what we got is just the right amount of information we needed to piece things together. We didn’t need to see Vi getting beat up for 3 episodes to learn she’s miserable.

3. This idea that “vi is stagnating as a character” is grossly uncharitable and demeaning to her arc. Vi is constantly changing in Season 2, wtf are you on about!?? Vi is the metaphorical bridge between Piltover (Caitlyn) and Zaun (Jinx) for all of season 2. She tries DESPERATELY to fight for/unite both sides all through the season. Vi is constantly being torn left and right trying to please everyone and she takes no time to work on herself. That’s the opposite of stagnating.

You clearly have a lot of anger in you and I think you need to take a moment and step back and relax. You’ve skipped over big pieces of information to concoct these really extreme complaints and you need to chill out. Arcane is dense and filled with a lot of layers, just because you haven’t peeled them all back yet doesn’t mean it’s bad writing.

okay so to preface this 1. I am about to talk A LOT and probably ramble without editing because.. I kinda just want to word vomit and get my thoughts out into the air and 2. I AM ENCOURAGING COMMENTS and feedback and none of this is inherently negative or overly criticizing.. what I mean by this is, I’m not attacking anyone or saying that arcane is bad or these characters are bad, I’m looking at the story and the writing from a broader standpoint (at least I hope) and I’m not a hardass who’s gonna be a dick, this is genuinely just such an anomaly to me… I digress,

what dafurk is going on with season 2 of arcane???? like.. first and foremost I’m apologizing to any caitvi truthers out there but I really *really* hate caitvi in s2. (EDIT: this sounds overly harsh, their relationship is not what I hate full disclosure I thought they were super cute in s1 and was hoping for development in s2 but I thought it was handled oddly on both fronts!!) vi’s character is actually obliterated in.. listless ways, but first and foremost what I see lies at the root of everything I find wrong(??) with vi’s character is, unfortunately, cait, or revolves around her

1. vi became an enforcer.. what

I’m sure many, many people have addressed this before, but like.. what? there is little to no justification for her choosing to agree with vi and just join the police force !! yes ^_^ she so outright refuses and literally like.. throws the badge on the floor because she thinks it’s ridiculous— cait herself thinks it’s ridiculous— and then… turns around and teams up. I hardly even know how to formulate my own thoughts on this but like, initially, she was in Stillwater for 7 years.. put there BY ENFORCERS, and even expresses how privileged Piltovians and power are to just wave their hand and have people be dragged off without giving a shit what happens to them and how it completely alters their lives and character. enforcers are arguably the heart of what makes Piltover Piltover, at least in the show and to zaunites, and she should have no interest on that fact alone that it is their fault she spent a huge portion of her life locked up and basically matured in a prison.

aside from that one obvious plot point, another is vi’s parents were murdered by enforcers. I note this second because I *guess* it’s arguable that this can be put on the side because she was a child I GUESS?? And like, she didn’t have a solid concept of what enforcers stood for and looked at them more holistically but also.. THEY KILLED HER PARENTS?? IM DEAD AS HELL. uhm. Yeah that’s all I have to say there?? like yes let’s join the team that was responsible for my lack of parents for almost the entirety of my life and robbed my baby sister of the chance to even know them long enough for the little time I even did..!

also, why does vi give a single fuck about what enforcers stand for? the whole point of enforcers is, like law enforcement, to protect Piltover and its citizens and what it stands for blah blah blah, like.. girl not only were u were in prison for seven years and were severely disconnected from the world, but they’ve also spent ur entire life and years before u torturing the your people and are constantly contributing towards biased and prejudiced opinions/actions against. yeah, you can argue that she wants to protect caitlyn but is that really enough of a reason?? she doesn’t need to be on their team to assist her first of all, second of all, I think there’s a pretty clear line between protecting and helping caitlyn and.. yk, backing the fucking enforcers

and don’t even get me wrong, I love the fact that caitlyn shows vi a different side of enforcers and demonstrates that not all of them are the same and there is hope for progress because cait believes in change for the better— but cait in s2… erm.. engaging in chemical warfare.. committing war crimes.. willing to endanger literal children directly and indirectly… and innocents in general.. yeah I’m honestly just gonna leave that there, which leaves the basis of vi’s possible enforcer support completely spineless since cait just goes batshit

so, in my opinion at least, the idea alone of vi joining the enforcers is laughable— the act of her doing so is very unbelievable to me and felt inconsistent to her character

and sort of a branch off

2. vi’s character.. going nowhere (exaggeration)

maybe I’ve just been thinking about it too much but I really feel like we (arcane) kinda just gave up on vi which was actually so heartbreaking for me because I loved vi so much in the first season and I think that her story as a character was great but now she kind of just feels like she’s there to uh.. be caitlyn’s bitch idk don’t hate me sorry :3

like we really don’t see her grow and I think that the magnitude of the story they were trying to tell is to fault for this. so much of what I really wanted to see from the story (not just vi) was in a timeskip, and what we did see just wasn’t.. satisfying I guess? like the grey sequence and vi’s enforcer montage was a timeskip/music video thing which was mildly confusing and very unfulfilling. and honestly, I get it, season two was covering so much and you can’t do it all.. BUT ALSO WHY DID WE MAKE IT TWO SEASONS tears in my eyes, but we don’t really get to see how she reconciles and copes with being an enforcer since i doubt it was an easy choice (even though it highkey seemed like one…) and it had to be difficult carting people she once called her own off to prison to suffer a similar fate as herself and stomping around in a gas mask while erm gassing likely many innocent zaunites.. but we don’t get to see any of that, we just see the result of her on a united front with the same people who killed her parents and stand for everything she doesn’t as the ultimate betrayal of her sister.. and that’s really it, I mean, the most she does to act out against the enforcers or cait is not letting her harm a literal child! which is funny when you consider she was about to let caitlyn shoot her sister in the head but okay ..

I had more to say about this section but my head is moving a million miles a minute and I have short term memory loss atp.

other than that her emo arc was, yes, hot but also didn’t amount to anything? she proceeds to say she didn’t care that caitlyn was with anyone else when she was crashing out about it for like.. idk six months and we don’t see her really come to terms with the fact that she could lose caitlyn (essentially losing everyone) and process through her trauma so that she won’t rot in the same guilt if she does leave.. which basically implies if caitlyn does leave again we get pitfighter vi again.. yeah..?? it all just felt very anticlimactic and was a throwaway idea of how vi spent passing her time after her and caitlyn parted ways. I also really dislike the idea/implication that it’s caitlyn alone that sent her over the edge and that caitlyn alone is responsible for her breakdown, like I would’ve loved to see in the montage of her getting wasted hallucinations of like.. vander or jinx or any of her family to illustrate that caitlyn was more of a final straw that made her guilt insurmountable rather than just an average wlw situationship crash out (happy pride)

I don’t think we see enough of vi grieving the loss of powder either (again, I acknowledge the time crunch here but this is just from a holistic perspective) it feels like she moves on way too quickly and we see her suffering, like I said, more over caitlyn than the loss of her family, what she’d been fighting for all of s1 and what was her primary motivation and driving force for those years she spent in prison. this is about vi, I know, but both of the sisters reconciliation with each other was just.. not consistent to me and I didn’t understand how they were so chill with each other so quickly and we got that aggression when jinx first visits vi but I didn’t feel the emotion or real depth of.. everything their relationship and lives have amounted or come to

vi feels very stand still this season and I HATE to see it because there was so much and still IS so much to do with her character and I feel it really went to waste here and the only progression she showed was her being like.. ‘powder/my sister is gone,’ and even then it was only really heard and not felt the way I at least personally believe it should’ve been

I feel like I’ve rambled long enough and this became a vi-centric thing but there is plenty more I have to say about this season that isn’t here although I doubt anyone is reading allat… if u are and DO care about my other thoughts I’d love to make a continuation but thank u and kudos for making it this far if u did and I’d love to hear outside thoughts :33

[johanna-swann]

"911's most intense season yet!" - According to whom???

[lylahammar]

I've been rewatching the first two seasons of The Bear so I can watch the third season that just came out and man the character writing in this show makes me froth at the mouth it's like some of the best arcs I've ever seen in a TV series

[canadianlucifer]

While I was reading Blue Exorcist I didn't fully register just how dark the Illuminati arc was, but watching it animated... holy shit.

I could not imagine going through what Izumo has and is going through. And being in the place of any of the other students? Dealing with unkillable regenerating zombies speaking to me in broken up bits saying they want to go home? Having so much pressure to do things most adults wouldn't be able to do? AT 15 YEARS OLD??

I feel like this is the turning point for the series bc it goes from "heehoo funny with epic fights and some character bonding" to "everyone you love is going to die if you don't fight right now. This world is bleak and horrifying under the thin veil we have created and the fate of it rests on your shoulders, all of you."

[sanjarka]

in retrospect i was probably only obsessed with jim and pam (so much so that i even published one chapter from my fic which is something I'm still find the guts to do for everlark) because they got the treatment that i wish nick and jess got. they got to be the heart of story and the main couple and everything while after their break up nick and jess were never treated right again.

[sskk-manifesto]

--

[chipthekeeper]

Ranking Velcinta moments by how insane they make me feel, a(n overly) comprehensive list

As promised, here's my way too detailed ranking of all 18-ish of their moments. This (predictably) got obnoxiously long toward the end, so venture under the cut if you actually care and/or don't mind a lot of scrolling.

18. Valley One (Ep. 6)

I'm relatively sane about this. Except when I think about how they probably slept in that little hut the night before. Also when I think about how this is one of the very few shots in which they're both visible and (relatively) in focus.

17. "No farewells tonight." (Ep. 5)

Mostly was insane about this when the episode first came out and I was SO. FUCKING. WORRIED. that they were gonna die in the next one.

16. "What are they doing?" (Ep. 5)

Girlfriends who scowl together stay together (please Tony Gilroy I'm begging you).

15. Feeding the dray (Ep. 5)

The fact that Cinta is smiling here is what makes me most crazy. Also I just adore this flash of simple domesticity with them. Ahh, what could have been....

14. "Have you heard from Cinta?" (Ep. 7)

Vel not being able to look Kleya in the eye when she asks about Cinta makes me crazy mostly for the whole "Vel/Kleya exes" plot but of course this whole part had me jumping out of my seat on first watch.

13. "The rebellion comes first. We take what's left." (Ep. 9)

VEL FINDING STRENGTH IN CINTA'S WORDS AND USING THEM TO HELP MON WITH HER DOUBTS TOO I'M !!!!!

(went all-caps way before I thought I would, maybe this one should be higher....)

12. Into the smoke (Ep. 12)

She looks so worried when Cinta isn't where she's supposed to be and then she sprints INTO the melee while everyone else is running AWAY. I'M NOT FINE!!!!

11. At the campfire (Ep. 4)

I swear to y'all that the first time I watched this episode and saw them sitting so close I was like "oh. hey" fully intending to ship them even if that was literally all we got. And then holy fucking shit we got everything I was too afraid to ask for. So this moment always has a special place in my heart.

10. "What's she doing?" (Ep. 4)

It. Makes. Me. CRAZY. That the first time they share a scene together, they're literally always in the same frame.

CRAZY.

Like....they've been connected from the VERY beginning, even if the show revealed them being together rather slowly. Also it's everything to me that the first time we see Cinta it's Taramyn asking her what Vel is up to bringing a new guy in. Because if anyone would know, it would be her.

9. "Stay focused, Clem." (Ep. 5)

All of the territorial Vel stuff is great to me but I especially love this moment. First of all Cinta's little smirk. And also it's just so....idk it's a quiet moment of contemplation and probably anxiety but we can't not take a second to tell Clem to back off.

I'm combining this with the "you can dress yourself" bit too because that moment just makes me laugh with how Vel's always in the background watching and then immediately jumps up to give Clem the business and use his scuffle with Skeen as an excuse to mark her territory.

8. "Closet?" "Empty." (Ep. 12)

That bit of dialogue made my gay little self so happy and then they went and did the whole "that's blood" "it's not mine" thing and I'll never recover. Vel being so concerned that she won't even let Cinta keep packing, but then at the very end she's a little impressed/turned on??? 10/10 no notes. (okay I have one note and that's "you're really just going to leave me hanging like that for two years?????" but that's a different post)

7. "Get down!" (Ep. 6)

Truly one of my favorite scenes in the whole show is when Vel almost loses her shit at the top of the dam. The tension is insane, her fear is PALPABLE, and I absolutely love that it's Cinta just calling her out for stalling and then yelling at her that breaks her out of it.

But the thing that makes me feel most crazy about this scene is this:

Someone please explain to me WHY Cinta makes the jump while looking directly at Vel. EXPLAIN IT TO ME. Or else I will just continue to believe it's because part of her is scared up there too and looking at Vel is what helps her take the leap. That is a crazy thought -- I'm pretty sure she's fine -- but if it's not that then I don't get why she's even facing that way??

6. This (Ep. 8)

THE MUSIC. THE FADE. THE SORROW. I like literally can't even talk about this one. But it does make me feel a lot how obvious it is that Vel's thoughts are soooooooooo far from the fight here:

While at the same time there's not a thought in Cinta's head about her:

Breaks my fucking heart.

5. "No. She didn't tell me." (Ep. 5)

Whew. This moment. For a while I was mostly happy about this moment because it was just one more piece of evidence that they were together before that was fully confirmed.

But then my headcanon brain took over while I was writing my multichapter fic and it has been fucking me up ever since. Because I'm always going to wonder if all their drama was always going to happen the way it did or if Vel betraying Cinta's trust as a partner was some kind of breaking point.

Is that probably just me? Yes. Does it matter? Not to this ranking.

4. "She's already sharin' a blanket if that's what you're wonderin'." (Ep. 5)

I was!!! I was wonderin'!!!!! And I will forever use this phrase as a euphemism for being a lesbian.

What I would not give........to experience this line and this shot for the first time again. Or at least know what I sounded like giving a joyous shout.

3. "Tell me you'll be alright." (Ep. 6)

This is the one that I would probably sound the most insane trying to talk about out loud. It would be a lot of me like verbally keysmashing and somehow going "!!!!!!" out loud.

The hand-hold that saved my life? The EMOTION in their eyes when they look at each other??? Vel starting to go in for the goodbye kiss right in front of the hostages' salad but then just not????????

Fuck.

FUCK!!!!!!!

2. "Come away from the window." (Ep. 12)

I have to start by talking about Vel's cute little sad grin in this scene when she's like "nice to see you too" and Cinta like glares back at her. That made me feel crazy enough but then this whole scene that I want to say I can't even put into words even though I have in fact already done it.

The desperation on Vel's part is what kills me. Not that she's desperate for attention or love or whatever people always try to pin on her here (and of course it is that to some degree) but that she's desperate to keep Cinta from losing herself. She's so desperate but all she can do is ask. All she can do is hope Cinta will turn around and take a break. And she does.

BUT WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENS AFTER THAT TONY GILROY?!

I have never screamed so loud about a scene just ending.

Whatever, it gave me something to write and I enjoyed doing that.

1. "You love me because I show you what you need to see." (Ep. 8)

And here we are. The scene that has taken up space in my brain more than any other single thing since I saw it. I've been over it so many times. Watching and taking notes, staring at the gifs, studying the screencaps, trying to wrap my head around every little line and gesture and movement and emotion. I've spent hours on it, and I still find myself coming back to think about it and wondering if I've truly understood it all.

Just getting them reunited after Aldhani was such a relief (even though it was jarring at first to just see Cinta and be like "how the fuck did you get here?"). But then the conversation just knocked me on my ass.

"Haven't we been apart long enough?" YES YOU HAVE!!

"We take what's left." NOOOO TAKE IT ALL

"That's cold...even for you." Stabbing me in the face would be less painful.

And then...hearing the words "you love me" from one woman to another woman in a Star Wars show....not a book, not a comic...a show. Truly meant everything to me. I was so fucking happy to hear those words that I couldn't even process how goddamn sad the rest of it was until later. Once I did I had a stomachache for an entire week. I have one again right now.

And then it ends with the most fucking beautiful hand-hold and yet another tiny look that makes me feel crazy in and of itself (which I've done a whole post on by itself), and despite my broken heart I have hope.

If I am ever able to watch this scene and not feel seventeen emotions at once, it's over for me.

Easy number one.