#i have a problem. this is too long

[niemensch]

Hear me out. (OG + SVSS) Luo Binghe? - He’s a fucking vampire. Yes. I am serious. Canonically.

Xin Mo? Vampire. Yes. I am serious.

Xin Mo and Luo Binghe together? They are either to be seen as toxic codependent 🧛vampire besties🧛‍♂️ or as one ✨unified✨ concept of one (1) vampire. Take your pick.

Also, In the words of Ch.4, Shen Qingqiu: ��You are no simple demon, Luo Binghe.”

In my own words, if you are interested in Vampire LBH, my first (Vampire SY-centric) fic chapter inspired by this is out, and more to come, prologue with 5k for now!:)

Anyways! Let’s not get caught up in different mythologies and their cultural differences. There’s no vampire canon anyways. Biggest point to be made here, imo? Jiangshi - aka chinese Vampires do not suck blood to stay alive, but rather Qi, which can also be extracted in Chinese mythology through the act of dual cultivating.

They have long fingernails, white skin, some are said to have red eyes. While most of them are described as corpse-like trapped in a rigid state of movement, some texts also talk about the ‘stronger’ Jiangshi that are able to look almost human-like and move without any restrictions.

Their creation myth is too big to summarise here since there are a lot of sources on it, but relevant for us: Injustice before (or after!) death triggers their transformation, something we also know to cause heart demons. They lose part of their soul concerned with morality and reason in the process and are controlled entirely by their hunger for Yang Qi, since they are Yin creatures.

Some sources also state that they turn others by ‘injecting’ a poison, that possibly enables them to control them too. Sound familiar yet? (Also, Blood Parasites? Hello?)

Let’s roll this Bingge-shaped fact-dough out, I only have so much space. I will start with a quick list and then go into more detail after for anybody interested. My sources in reply later.

Heavenly Demons are not ‘natural’, but were created - turned - because heavenly beings succumbed to sin - heart demons. Their descendants are said to unlock the full potential of their strength through being triggered into this state of moral degeneration again.

Canon OG Luo Binghe is constantly in a state of uncontrollable mindless bloodlust and sexual desire - he fills his harem with what SY guesses to be a three-digit number because he’s that insatiable, while committing countless heinous crimes, yet still described himself constantly caught in a state of hunger, never ‘satisfied’.

Xin Mo is the heart demon sword that both ‘turns’ and ‘triggers’ Luo Binghe into his ‘final’ strongest form - both of them are bound by this connection. OG Luo Binghe is said to run around with his sword wrapped in seals in order to try to contain it at some point and SVSS Luo Binghe himself is unable to escape the sword’s thrall alone, almost turning mindless in the process. - Only dual cultivation aka Qi injection via Shen Yuan (aka man aka Yang Energy) sacrificing his entire life force, absorbing his demon energy, the ‘yin’, finally ‘saves’ him from turning so.

OG LBH’s harem? Here’s my theory as to why his vampirism meant he never, including narratively-spiritually-wise, was happy with them and always adding more in search of ‘final’ fulfilment.

Assuming y’all are on board with my vampire theory - pwease be - we established they need Yang Qi to balance themselves out, instinctively seeking it through mindless dual cultivation in some cases. We never learn a lot about cultivation specifics in SVSS, but assuming the often-used cultivation lore thread that women’s Qi tends to be mostly Yin-natured with way less Yang than a male cultivator naturally has? He was basically putting a band-aid on a gaping, gigantic wound that way, only getting so much Yang Energy through the sexual exchange. Even without Xin Mo, LBH has still been shown, both in PIDW and SVSS to be losing his sanity and morals btw. One of them ended up happy with just a single person though - and feeling fulfilled. What’s the difference between the two? SY. Guy with phallus. Phallus - Yang Energy. SY specifically? Man too. Yang Energy.

LBH is not just a fucking vampire, he’s by ‘biological’ impulse driven by his Qi imbalance, one attracted to male - Yang energy (or dick💛 to put it differently and a bit simplistic). He’s a 💁 vampire. Symbolically at least. That’s why the fix-it SVSS was gay. The power of healing cock. This concludes my essay on how OG LBH getting dicked down by a trans-woman in his harem could have turned him sane and saved the PIDW world, thank you.

🧛 End. Thank you.

I wrote a bit more about the details and mechanics of Jiangshi, so if you are interested just click to read more, but it’s not needed, just additional info.

Noted that this is just touching on the chinese side of vampirism, there’s enough for another essay about his western vampire traits, like inhumane beauty, thrall, blood and its control, fangs, red eyes, obsession, mystical powers, and so on!

Canon: Heavenly Demons are not born, but created. Why do we care? The reason for their creation is them succumbing to sin/darkness. They were heavenly beings that “fell” and turned into the demons we know them as in the process. It is even said that their heart demons are what makes them strong and/or keeps them going as heavenly demons. (Ch. 2 + 4)

While it could be argued that the marker of ‘darkening’ aka the Zuiyin mark on Luo Binghe’s forehead (according to canon) could happen to anybody and is a process of general demonification it does not make my vampire argument here inoperative. Luo Binghe’s race and acquittal of Xin Mo only applies to him, making his case a separate matter.

Chinese Vampires, aka Jiangshi? One (of two) originator(s) of their definition, Yuan Mei talks about the specifics of their creation: He reasons that the human soul is split in two parts, the po and the hun.

The po is yin aspected, it is the ‘animal’ instinct that is concerned with base desires like food, reproduction, etc. and associated with earth and darkness. - You may know yin as the feminine energy.

The hun is yang aspected, it develops later in life and is the ‘human reason’, associated with light and heaven. - You may know yang as the masculine energy.

In the case of Shen Yuan’s importance for LBH this is even more relevant. After all, we could interpret his ‘transmigration’ into SQQ’s body as his hun (‘the mind’) leaving his po aspect (‘the body’). Since SQQ’s body is considered dead and therefore without po (in theory, to be argued maybe) purely the ‘hun’ governs SY in SQQ’s body. Aka Yang Qi. The contra piece to the po of LBH, who is Yin natured by virtue of vampirism/heavenly demon race.

➡️ When a person dies their hun normally ascends to heaven while the po is left behind and absorbed back by the earth. When the po refuses to leave the body, caused by unjust death and grievances, the Jiangshi is created - characterised by being purely yin aspected, without any yang energy.

The missing of their hun part leaves them reduced to their animal desires - driven by constant violent bloodlust and rabid sexual desire. They are without reason or empathy - basically a sort of moral degeneration and loss of empathy happens. Sound familiar?

Here’s what canon has to say about Luo Binghe’s “transformation” into a Heavenly Demon:

“Luo Binghe was lost to his bloodlust. He didn’t know why, only that his head ached like it was about to explode, and he nearly collapsed to his knees. His entire body roiled with a desire to inflict savage cruelty.”

Further, the imbalance of Yin-Yang makes Jiangshi’s crave the missing yang qi, which they desperately continue to extract from their victims - mostly through Qi and sexual contact. In some folklore they can turn others into Jiangshi by “poisoning” them with their own blood/Qi, or even control them with it.

Hmmmmm. So, say someone happened to be in possession of a sword literally called ‘Heart Demon’, is also a heavenly demon who is said to get stronger with the harnessing of his heart demons? And this someone is implied, if not explicitly said, to be full of Yin Energy to the point it further spirals him into darkness while his sword continues to consume his mind and feed off his QI? Say, he also needs constant, unending QI injection by dual cultivating forever in order to stabilise his extremely imbalanced Yin-Yang, always in a state of ‘hunger’ and ‘lust’? To the point canon OG and SVSS Luo Binghe is noted to have lost his sanity and humanity to this need?

He also has long fingernails, pale skin, inhumane beauty, the ability to teleport (as Jiangshi’s do), manipulate blood/their life force in order to control others, is inhumanly strong….to just point out a few similarities.

—> Vampire✅🧛

Additional clarification: While Jiangshi are mostly seen as the chinese version of Vampires, that originates from a marketing strategy back in the 1970/80s to capture the western market in the movie industry. They are much closer to what we consider as zombie in western mythology, though there are quite a few important vampire overlaps too. In this specific case though, I see LBH as a western and chinese blend of vampire mythology so I took the liberty of still calling Jiangshi the ‘chinese version of a vampire’.

(Can you tell I’m totally, completely normal about this?💀)

[idolomantises]

Okay so I’m not going to lie, part of why I haven’t been drawing Mara a lot is for three reasons:

1. She had an entire plotline planned that I ended up scrapping and redoing but that meant putting her in the backseat for a bit.

2. Im honestly afraid of drawing her 20 fallen angel partners I feel like I go a little insane even thinking about it. 20 characters with unique designs and outfits? No, I’m exploding in real life.

3. I’ve been slowly regretting making her a succubus. She was originally an Imp but I didn’t have a base idea for the imp design yet so I just went with a succubus but I’ve been wanting to add more demon characters that weren’t just succubi and hellhounds.

Unfortunately the way people treated the redesigns (specifically Domino’s where I had people messaging me for WEEKS to change it back), makes me kind of unsure if I wanna do a full species swap lmfao. Mara is very cute and I love her OG design, I just don’t want her to be another succubus, so it’s frustrating.

Damn. Remember when this webcomic was a hobby for me.

[neoheros]

“morning samu!”

the bells that hang by onigiri miya’s front door ring loudly as you enter the building, the sound of your voice accompanied with a chipper smile on your face as the early morning begins.

osamu barely looks up from the counter at your arrival, not needing to see you to know that it is you, and even if he is too busy fiddling with the register, he still smiles knowing that you’re here.

not that it would be anything special if you were, you were here practically everyday at this point, it might as well be part of osamu’s morning routine to welcome you in.

not that he minds — he’d never — but not that he’d tell you that, anyway.

“good morning.” he says to you, the smile on his face obvious now as you can hear it in his voice, but he still doesn’t look up from the register, too immersed in the work to tear himself away.

“seat yourself, will ya? bit busy here at the moment.”

you shrug off your coat from your shoulders as you hear him, nodding to yourself as you pick the table you like the most, and you call out, teasing, “alright but if you ask me to serve myself too, i’ll be expecting a paycheck from you.”

you slightly hear him chuckle a bit at that, too busy to respond, but you understand anyway considering the incoming morning rush.

knowing osamu, your closest friend for years, he must be knee deep in question marks as he tries to commandeer both the cashier and the kitchen by himself, too stubborn to hire anyone else, and way too confident to ask for any bit of help.

you’ll save the scoldings you have in mind for him later.

now, you’re preoccupied.

you pull the chair on your table out for your guest this morning, a small gesture of your hand to get him to seat across from you as you make yourself comfortable, and once all that’s settled, you hand him one of the menus to choose from.

the menu isn’t complicated at all — mainly the reason you took him here — and you’re sort-of proud of yourself for bringing him here in the first place.

after all, what better first date than the restaurant you already go to every single day?

your date gives you a smile, “so, you come here often?”

from the counter afar, there’s a sound of the register suddenly closing in on itself that can be heard loudly, a loud “clang!” echoing throughout the entire building.

osamu blinks, his attention suddenly torn away from the register in front of him, confusion settling in his face as his eyebrows furrow together, his languid smile dropping slowly and he looks up — finally.

from where he stands, the first person he sees is you, you’re laughing and smiling and you’re all dressed so nicely today that it almost makes him smile — but then he sees you’re talking to someone else, someone you brought here, someone across from you, and that doesn’t make him smile at all.

“yeah, it’s my favorite restaurant.” he hears you reply, the smile in your voice evident.

and as much as osamu just loves to hear how much you like his establishment, he’d rather you say it to him and not to anyone else.

there’s a bitter taste in his mouth. he feels like he just got the wind punched out of him as he continues to stare.

did you seriously bring a guy to his restaurant for a date?

“what can i get ya this mornin’?” there’s an obvious frown sitting on osamu’s face as he stands near your table, a pad of paper in his palm as his other hand holds a pen lazily.

it took him a lot of energy to force himself away from the counter and actually walk over to you and your … date, but he figured the more he ignored you, the more likely you were gonna come after him for not … well … doing his job.

“jeez. reign it in with the joy, please.” you tease, your morning spirits undeterred by his newfound persona of he-who-hates-all-things.

osamu sighs, dramatically, and he straightens up slightly to look at you more professionally now, “i’ve got the new flavors in this morning, they’re new and experimental so you get the chance— alright, what the hell is that?”

you look down to where his pointing, an exasperated look on his face as he gestures at the very bright object you brought with you today that was just distracting enough to bring him out of his spiel, and you smile even wider— proud.

“my shoes!” you nod with excitement, grabbing them from the paperbag on the floor as you take them out to show him.

“those are shoes?” his eyebrows furrow together tightly.

“well, i broke them, that’s why they look so clanky and the steel stuff ended up hanging outside the sole part, so i was planning on fixing it today during my break time at work.”

osamu looks at you, deadpanned, “they look like they could kill somebody.”

and you scoff, “so dramatic today.”

you sneak a peek over at the other side of the table to check on your date, and your smile remains when you see him still pre-occupied with the menu, browsing his options as he gives you a small smile while he listens to the conversation.

back to osamu now, he still looks frustrated at — well, you’re not really sure at what — and there’s a deep expression that settles on his face as he looks at you like you’ve just stolen his pen.

a second passes.

“hand them over.” he suddenly tells you, a big sigh coming from him as his shoulders fall with defeat.

you turn to him, “what?”

“hand over the shoes.”

“samu, i know they look bad, but that doesn’t mean you can take them from me!”

osamu breathes in very loudly as he stares at you, his frown impossibly getting deeper the more he stays here it seems, and with another swallow of possibly his last straw, he puts the pad down.

“give me the shoes so i can fix them, you idiot.” he tells you, his tone as quiet as he can make it, and he swears, if you had not been one of his closest friends, you’d been out of your seat five minutes ago.

you cross your arms over your chest, “you know how to fix shoes?”

and he scoffs, “i don’t, but i figure my chances are better than yours.”

your expression finally breaks into a small smile, defeated, yes, but you did get out of fixing your shoes yourself, which is a win in its own case, and a scenario only possible with osamu by your side.

“you win.” you throw your hands in the air, and show him a wide grin as you hand over the shoes, “thank you very much.”

osamu takes the shoes from you and puts it at the empty table behind him, begrudged, but amused, not like he wouldn’t do anything for you anyways.

your date leans over to you slowly — an action that makes osamu want to roll his eyes all the way to the back of his head.

he gives you a smile, “you get good service here.”

and you reply back, “i know the owner.”

osamu ignores the wink you give him, and he gives you an unamused look as you grin. he shakes his head to himself and grabs the pad of paper once again before clearing his throat.

“order?”

“i’ll have two of my usual orders, and then one of each of the new flavors to go.” you tell him, proud at not having to look at the menu anymore to know what you like.

you do come here every morning after all.

osamu gives you a short nod, listing down your request, and begrudgingly, he turns to the other person at the table, “and you?”

“i’m just not sure.” your date tells him, humming to himself as he picks up the menu again. “give me a second.”

the gray haired man gives you a look; almost 10 minutes with that menu and he still hasn’t decided?

you give him an apologetic look, “oh, then, i guess hold off on mine too.”

osamu shakes his head, sighing, “i might run out of the new ones.”

and your date looks up from the menu to give you a wanton smile, “go ahead, order, i’ll be fine.”

you shake your head, polite, “no, it’s okay, i’ll wait for you. take your time.”

osamu clears his throat. adamant. “i’m almost out and i can’t make more.”

you shoot him a look. “then set some aside for me.”

and he squints his eyes. “it’s first come, first serve.”

there’s a stark frown on your face now too. your eyebrows tightly knit as you shoot the man in front of you a hard glare.

you have no idea why he’s making this morning so hard on you for no reason at all, but you’re about to say something to his remark if it weren’t for the sudden ringing on the phone that interrupted the conversation.

“i’m sorry, i might have to go.” your date intervenes suddenly, the ringing of his phone going off as he stands up and grabs his things from the table.

you look at him expectantly, “you do?”

“yes, something came up,” he tells you, apologetic and giving you a sad smile. he leans down anyway to come squeeze your hand quickly, and he says, “i’ll call you?”

you give him a small nod, “sure.”

not that you can do anything else about it, you say your goodbyes, and suddenly, not even twenty minutes in to your first date with him, he’s off and leaving.

the bells on the door ring loudly as the door closes with a slam.

your head falls on the table once he’s gone.

“well.” you grumble. “that was a bust.”

osamu puts a hand on his hip as he watches you, “ya seriously cannot be hung up like this on the world’s slowest reader.”

you lift your head up slightly to roll your eyes at him, watching him with squinted eyes as he walks away and disappears into the kitchen.

obviously, you weren’t hung up on this stupid date. you didn’t want to go on this stupid date anyway!

dating sucks. and it sucks even more when it’s forced on you last minute by a work friend who you’re definitely not talking to outside of the work place anymore.

you grumble again at the thought.

great, and you were having such a good morning too.

you let your head fall back on the table.

a minute passes in your sulking mess before you hear the sound of a plate being pushed across the table breaks you from your world of wallowing.

“here.”

osamu looks at you from the side, his gaze much softer now as he keeps his hand on his hip, and he watches as your confused look when you see him falls on the playe in front of you.

your usual order, and the new ones to go.

you look up at him, “but i thought you didn’t ring my order in?”

and osamu, defeated, rolls his eyes slightly, but you don’t miss the way his lips curl upwards even just a tiny bit.

you come in here every single day, every single morning, and order the same exact thing. rain or shine, he can also expect to greet you in as you come in those doors and greet him with that big smile you never fail to give him.

he can’t help it, it’s part of his routine now too.

atsumu keeps pestering him on hiring somebody to man the front desk so he can lessen his work load, but that would mean what? give up the chance to see you come in everyday? give up the way you say his name when you say good morning? give up your smile and your laugh and the way you tease and mock and tarry?

you’re the best part of his mornings working here, even when you’re with somebody else, you’re still the person he looks most forward to seeing every single day.

he rolls his eyes but you see him smile anyway.

“i already set these aside before you came in anyway.”

[royalarchivist]

Jaiden: How did you guys even find out that, um... Chayanne's admin plays Cucurucho? [Reading chat] Ohhh, accidentally played the soundboard as Chayanne? That's hilarious actually. I wanna see the clip of Phil reacting to that.

Jaiden: I love– I love the way that Phil laughs, it's just such a hearty, genuine laugh. The few times that I've made him laugh, I've felt really good about myself! [Embarrassed laugh] Because he makes me feel much funnier than I am, you know?

Jaiden talks about silly QSMP moments and laughter. 💜

[ Full Subtitle Transcript ↓ ]

—

TRANSCRIPT

Jaiden: How did you guys even find out that, um... Chayanne's admin plays Cucurucho? Did they just tell- tell Phil? Did- were they just hangin' out? [Reading chat] "The same username"? Ohhh. [Reading chat] "It was a mistake"? ...Wait, what was the mistake? What do you mean "it was an accident"?

Jaiden: Ohhh, accidentally played the soundboard [Laughs] as Chayanne? That's hilarious actually. [Laughs] What di- what did he say, was he just like, "Ha ha ha"? [Laughs]

[Old clip of Bad, Fit, and the Eggs] Bad: –have one of the things I'm looking for. Chayanne: [Cucurucho voice] HA HA HA Bad: What was that? Fit: You heard that too, right? Chayanne: [Cucurucho voice] NO Bad: ...What the fudge was that. Fit: Wait–

Jaiden: [Reading chat] "He said 'no'" [Laughs] That's so funny. [Laughs] I wanna see the clip of Phil reacting to that. I love– I love the way that Phil laughs, it's just such a hearty, genuine laugh.

[Clip of Phil laughing]

Jaiden: The few times that I've made him laugh, I've felt really good about myself! [Embarrassed laugh] Because he makes me feel much funnier than I am, you know?

[Old clip of Phil and Jaiden] Jaiden: Oh, that's awesome! And then it– [She gets snagged by the machine] Jaiden: Oh– Ahh! Phil: Be careful! Jaiden: AAAAAᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃᵃ — [Her screams fade as she's dragged away] Phil: [Laughs] There she goes! [Hits his desk and laughs]

[Another old clip plays] Jaiden: [Singing along to "It's Been So Long" from FNAF] It's been so long, since I've last seen my– Phil: What is happening? [Laughs, then laughs more seeing Jaiden's mask] PFTTT– [Laughs] Jaiden: [Laughing] Phil: Jesus Christ–

Jaiden: It's just like, such a good laugh! I wish I had a– a like, more-hearty laugh. You know? You know what I'm talking about? My laugh is kinda like... Uh, you know how you guys compare Foolish's laugh to like, the... window cleaner? Like a– [Squeaky window-cleaning sound]

[Short clip of Foolish covering his face with one hand and making the squeaky laugh he's known for, slapping the arm of his chair as he keeps laughing]

Jaiden: I can't do it– [Laughs] It doesn't sound like that. I think mine is like... Because like, I do like, "Hee hee hee!" and I also like, breathe in, like– [Squeaky sound] You know? So I think– My laugh kinda just sounds like... Like, after you spray the window, and you're like, cleaning it. Like, wiping it down with a cloth. You know? That's what my laugh sounds like. I wish it was more of like a, "Ha ha ha."

[Short clip of Cucurucho saying "HA HA HA"]

Jaiden: But, I mean, I'm not complaining. I don't think– I don't think "laugh anxiety" is something that I wanna– is not a path I would really wanna go down. [Quiet laugh] It's like- sometimes, you just gotta pick your battles. [Laughs]

Jaiden: [Reading chat] "You have a good laugh" Thank you. [Quiet laugh]

[boarloved-art]

ghost girl no longer wip...they did it...they made it out of wip-dom.....

[grif-hawaiian-rolls]

You're gonna look at me and tell me that I'm wrong?

[astral-herald]

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.

[p1ctur3]

@octdl-lee

Random captive TDL au lore dump and some behind the scenes stuff since you asked so nicely :]

Dark in captivity

victim did use dark as a way to train and get the mercs and him used to the box

victim and agent (i would probably explore their dynamic in this au also, mitsi would haunt this narrative because yes)

some behind the scenes things

additional art

[medicalunprofessional]

never change, man !

[sporelings-au]

I have a question

How do you feel about mother spore in a Victorian dress? Like those big fancy dresses? I got it stuck in my head and now I can't stop thinking about it

[brekkie-e]

Ok. I am all for giving Veilgaurd the space to be it's own game and appreciate it for what it is, but every time I see a person who openly talks about only getting in to dragon age this year or some other nonsense go off about how long term fans hate the game cause they cant handle change I see red.

I mean, to be a Dragon Age fan, you have to be able to accept change. Change is at the core of the experience. Whether that's a good thing or bad thing is a different question. But if you're a long-term fan of the series, you've succeeded in the task of accepting change.

The criticisms of Veilgaurd are, in my opinion, a little unique to the franchise. For all Inquisition tweaked certain lore and it irritated a lot of people- it did so with self-awareness and intention. I am thinking about how it did the Dalish dirty in many respects. For all I do not agree with that writing direction, the game itself atleast acknowledges it is 1. New information. 2. Dependent on the clan. 3. Gives you the room to roleplay your character according to previously established lore. This is just one example, of course.

Veilgaurd is unique in the fact it ignores much of the series pre-established lore and in no way owns up to it.

I have seen a lot of hateful comments about how Origins hasn't been the framework of the series since 2009. And yeah, sure to a degree that is true. The gameplay certainly got tossed out. But in many ways, Dragon Age 2 is a direct continuation of that world and setting. DA2 and Origins and the lore they established are solid and share a vision. Play as a Mahariel and engage with Merril's clan. It's the same world. The same npc's. Inquisition does not deviate that far from that vision when you look past the companions all playing devil's advocate.

I really don't think everyone disappointed with this game or finding it lacking are "blinded by nostalgia." Most Dragon Age fans will be the first ones to tell you the franchise is a mess. But acting like the games that established it as beloved to it's fans are no longer relevant is so nasty to me. You as a newer fan would not be able to play Veilgaurd if the older fans had not made the previous titles financial successes. If they had not kept the love for the series alive, this new game would never have made it out of development.

The game is good. It's enjoyable to play. It's not without its charms. It should be given room to shine for what it is. It's a miracle we have it given the development journey it went on.

But it's also a massive smack in the face to many people who loved all three previous titles. And that's a bad thing. And I hope future titles remember the lore and tone of the series better.

These two things can both be true.

[deoidesign]

Return date for my webcomic, Time and Time Again!

It's been set for a while but sometimes they change the date without warning, so I'll keep you updated if anything changes!

I'm extremely proud of the work I've been doing on it, I can't wait to share everything!

See you then!

[swhhdr-wthhr]

don’t you hate it when your brother brings the guy who tried to kill you a bunch of times to your party

original meme under cut

[phonification]

i cant stop thinking of ghost knife possessing balloon whenever hes hanging out with suitcase and goofing around

[bunnieswithknives]

AGHHhhh I swore off Inanimate Insanity after the Cabby disrespect but then I heard they were KILLING PEOPLE IN THE FINALLE???? I want to rewatch the season before I draw anything serious but Oh my god the plot twist makes me feral

[vaguely-concerned]

seeing people claim that lucanis is 'bad representation' is hilarious to me because in so many ways he's really the closest anything has ever gotten to capturing my own personal experience. sorry for being bad real life queer and mental health/neurodiversity representation folks 😔 I'll take time to reflect and do some work on myself and try to do better in the future