#shimmer season

[endearingsalt]

stream shimmer season by not my weekend today

[akwardlyuncool]

Class Favorites: Albums That Needed More Time Or Came Out Too Late To Be Official Favorites

General Note: Y'all know albums that I don't have physical copies of are more likely to end up here and that is what it is.

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Placement/Intention by Watsky

So what had happened was.... In preparation for what probably would be my last Watsky show, I went and binged his last 3 albums: Complaint, Placement and Intention, with emphasis on the last two, so I wouldn't look silly at the concert and ended up not dedicated enough personal time to any one of them in particular. It was a failure on my part, however I did not look silly at the show and Watsky ended up being one of my top 5 artists of the year. That's all fine and dandy, but I truly do need to give these albums more attention than just treating them like I'm binging for a test. There's great stuff in here, that I've been bumping even before 2023. I know I will fall even more in love with this whole body of work, that I'm so proud of, if I literally chilled with them. I now have Complaint and Placement on CD, so that should help as well.

Top 2 Placement Recommendations:

Undermine ft. Raquel Rodriguez (Track 4)

The Price of Growing Up (Track 6)

Top 2 Intention Recommendations:

Nothing Like That Last Time (Track 10)

What's The Move ft. T-Pain (Track 2)

Sunday At Foxwoods by Boys Like Girls

I wanted to give it to the Boys anyway cause I saw them in concert this year (wonderful show) and had many songs from the album on repeat, for most of the year, however the full release came out in later October and my quest to get a physical copy hasn't been so great. Target sold out of the copy that I wanted and the CD that I bought off eBay came broken, so things just weren't working out. All of that being said, I have no doubt that when I finally get my CD and listen to everything in order, front to back, it will reaffirm what I already feel and that's that THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN. They're just so good and I'm here for everything, except for their fashion choice of the American flag lol. Y'all-ternative is real and Boys Like Girls are leading that charge. (Yes I am cringe, leave me alone.) Anyway the album is fantastic and even though I haven't done a full run through, I don't need to, to tell you that.

Top 2 Recommendations (Yes this is hard, cause I know half the album):

New Love (Track 5)

Blood and Sugar (Track 4)

*Bonus: The Outside (Outsiders Version) ft. 3OH!3, State Champs, The Summer Set and The Ready Set

I added this song and specifically this version because I think it's the best way to get the full effect of this moment and what it feels like with Boys Like Girls coming back to us. At the end of the day I think I love other songs slightly more, but this song gets me going every time.

SHIMMER.SEASON by Not My Weekend

I didn't think I was going to talk about this album because it came out in November, but then I had an end of the year binge of Not My Weekend as a whole, that's still kinda kicking and figured why not include it here so that maybe it will make it to all the main stuff in 2024. So I'm shouting it out here and now, but to be fair, this will be it's only appearance for ACF23. I also just don't want to have to go rework all of the categories that have already been long since completed, cause they would bump several folks.

Anyway SHIMMER.SEASON is the general wave for me right now. It's what I got on "out of album order" repeat and what I imagine will stay in rotation for some time to come. I'm not sure if I've listened to it front to back but I feel like I've played the Not My Weekend artist station on Spotify so many times now that I've heard all 10 songs at least once and some of them at least 20. Again it's what we doing right now. Also I don't think Patrick Gilchrist emphasizes the line "b*tch I might be!" enough when he does Lighting for in his Instagram videos, just sayin.

Top 2 Recommendations:

LIGHTING ft. Brian Butcher (Track 7)

SHUT.UP (Track 9)

[thoughtsfromparkerave]

LIGHTNING (ft Brian Butcher) — Not My Weekend

[zinmystery]

Twilight clone redesigns!!!! i love those fellas

i like to hc that sunset is part kirin! and i imagine she got the flame hair during "my past is not today" and she was VERY surprised when going back through the mirror

the other two i don't really have many headcanons for, surprisingly! despite being some of my faves

[dapper-lil-arts]

Just finished watching season 8. Two words. Racist. baby.

[blackbackedjackal]

I've had ponies on the brain for weeks this was bound to happen.

[shimmerluna]

i want to learn august's whole character and how the Swedish monarchy works just so I can write a fic about him hating it and ultimately being the one to end the monarchy

[mollysunder]

Shimmer & The Glorious Evolution: A Love Story

We can see how a specialized high quality strain of Rio's shimmer can alter the biology of living organisms to make users produce their own shimmer, as is the case with Jinx. So what will happen now that Rio's specialized shimmer has been exposed to an artificial life form, i.e. the hexcore?

What Has the Hexcore Done Without Shimmer?

Prior to the hexcore's exposure to shimmer infused blood we've only seen it capable of releasing short bursts of massive energy when Viktor experiments with it.

When exposed to human blood the hexcore reacted by "consuming" a drop of it. The blood effected the entire magical dimension the hexcore connects to by turning it to a shade of purple similar to the plants found in Singed's cave.

Later we see that this newly blood infused hexcore's magic turned purple and is able to not only react to organic matter such as plants, but stimulate their growth in turn (not for long of course). The affected plants also take on the purple tinge similar to the hexcore's magic.

What Have We Seen the Shimmered Hexcore Do So Far?

Once Viktor exposed the hexcore to his shimmer infused blood it was capable of producing a longer lasting stable state with its test subject twice. Initially, what exactly happened to Viktor's leg was up to interpretation, but later on animators in Bridging the Rift confirmed that Viktor's new leg and hand are made of metal.

This means that the hexcore took Viktor's flesh and shimmer infused blood (more than the first time) and exchanged it for an arcane/shimmer configured metalic replacement. His skin is gone and we're looking at what his muscle has been converted to.

The transmutation of Viktor's hand and leg into metal could have only been facilitated through the use of shimmer. It was likely the remaining shimmer in Viktor's system that prevented him from being absorbed into the hexcore. Without a sufficient amount of shimmer, a regular human hand does not equal a shimmerized arcane metalic hand. The flesh, bone, and blood of an entire adult woman and a pitance of shimmer is worth the hand it provides.

What Will Happen Next Season?

The further the hexcore directly interfaces with organic matter the more similar it becomes in appearance and ability to shimmer. Where it improves health and strength at increasing biological costs. Once Viktor realizes that he's missing the "Inspiration" rune, the rune matrix will finally be complete and reach a "stable" state.

A "stable" state could mean the hexcore could reliably interact with and alter organic matter like Rio's shimmer is capable of. Based on the notes Sky left behind, her research focused on plant biology. In theory, a "perfect" hexcore could not only stimulate plant life to grow impressively, they could be durable enough to survive in extreme environments like Zaun.

While there is evidence that shimmer and its byproducts can enhance plant growth, especially in Zaun, there is a catch. Any plant affected by a hexcore corrupted by Rio's specialized shimmer would be altered in a way that makes them capable of being producing shimmer independently.

Just from Viktor's experiment with a hexcore exposed to a single drop of blood, the plants began to glow purple like the plants Rio would eat and break down into shimmer. Except, like Jinx the hexcore would pass down its own strain to the plant subjects that's compatible with the hexcore's "exchange" requirements.

But why would Viktor want to create plants capable of producing MORE shimmer for Zaun. Simple! Without shimmer you can't get... The Glorious Evolution. It's already been mentioned that Viktor's limbs have become metal, and to make his transformation complete he'll need more shimmer. For others to become like him, he needs more shimmer.

but...

Who Would Be Willing to Follow the Herald's Path?

Shimmer addicts like Huck and those who live in the sump with dying flesh and residual concentrations of shimmer in their bodies could be "healed" from their state of deterioration through the hexcore.

In Bridging the Rift we actually saw an unfinished clip of Viktor reaching his metalic hand to reach out and grab the face of a shimmer addict. Upon further inspection of the unidentified character's scars, we can guess this is Huck.

There's also the underlying culture of flesh sacrifice in Zaun, which is actually in the same vein as the Church of the Gloriously Evolved. In League, specifically through Camille's lore, the Church of the Gloriously Evolved actually exists outside of and likely before the Machine Herald came to the scene. The Church's roots even stretch into both Zaun & Piltover.

They believe that you must sacrifice something close and dear (like diseased flesh) with the faith that something better will take its place. Splinters of this organization likely made Silco an object of worship admiring his power and assuming the shimmer he brought was the miracle they sacrificed so much for already. Without Silco and his shimmer, Viktor and his hexcore would become the Church's new object of adoration as they bring shimmer AND immediate transmutation.

Finally, there's Sevika. In the tarot seen, Sevika drew a winning hand with a pair of card, Death and The Magician, that resemble Jinx and Viktor respectively. The scene may foreshadow that Jinx and Viktor will be the trump cards to win her Zaun's independence. But How will that work with Viktor?

You could argue that Sevika could bring Viktor in to repair her arm, but there's an entire industry backed up by a chembaron, Smeech, to fulfill that need. Viktor's going to need to bring something new to the table to be brought into the fold, and that could be shimmer infused plants and the "healing" properties of the hexcore. And I'm sure Sevika's pragmatic enough to know that for Zaun to survive Piltover's retaliation she'll need to bolster her resources in manpower and shimmer... lots of it.

Whether Sevika will be able to handle the cult of personality around the Machine Herald, especially if Jinx ends up siding him is a whole other discussion.

[tofreezetime]

for you

[backstabber128]

"Nothing ever stays dead."

[maplepamcake]

That Mononoke scene but Them. 💙 ❤️

[oleander-neruim]

The shimmering princess of Dawn, Miss Geminitay herself

Inktober Day 28 Sparkle

Some different angles for the shine

Flat penning & sketch

[starry-nights12]

Jinx is ready to claw Vi's eyes out like the feral animal she is-

[archangeldyke-all]

curious to know what u guys think about the theory that sevika's going to be renata glasc from lol in season 2? there's a lot of similarities, but there's also a ton of differences (mostly in renata's lore and backstory compared to what we know about sevika's-- but then again a lot of the lore's been changed for arcane characters...) idk i just keep thinking about the 'sevika quits smoking in season 2' spoiler, which makes me think either a. she dies because that's been the smoking metaphor so far or b. she has to quit because it's fucking with her lungs (she does have smokers cough in season 1,) which leads to her wearing a mask all the time... idk! what do u guys think??

[rocketrouquine]

Are you telling me there was absolutely no CGI involved and that fucking Rhys Darby really came at Taika from this distance, underwater like a seagod of sun… I… I… I have no words.

[dapper-lil-arts]

Another one down -v- this chapter takes place in like, 200 days in-story or so, so it had to be a bit more busy of a cover. Still like it tho!