#just realized this
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Arcane does a fun thing with its narrative Darkest Hour.
Or: yet another post about how insanely smart this show is and how absolutely genius its writers are (and how jealous of them I am).
For the uninitiated, the Darkest Hour is the moment just before the climax in which the heroes are at their lowest point. When the Avengers are scattered and Loki opens the portal in NYC, when the Falcon has escaped the Death Star but lost Obi-Wan, when the Fire Nation is set to annihilate the Earth Kingdom, when Frodo fails to destroy the Ring at the Crack of Doom. The heroes must confront their flaws and change for the better for a happy ending.
Arcane’s darkest hour is, of course, in Act 3. One might place it at the very end of episode 9, and that’s certainly where the story is at its most hopeless. But I’d contend it starts as early as the end of episode 8 and carries on through the entirety of episode 9.
After all, that’s when Caitlyn and Vi have separated, lost all hope, and Cait is kidnapped by Jinx. Jinx’s mind is fully gone and throughout the episode everything falls apart around her. Silco is losing control of his chembarons and may well have lost his daughter, the thing most precious to him, and is only barely keeping his powerful façade in line. Zaun has realized how ridiculously outmatched they are in a war with Piltover and the revolutionary cause has become almost impossible. Viktor has manslaughtered his assistant and may never be cured. Jayce has manslaughtered a child and finally realizes how quickly he’s losing his morals. Mel and her mother are fully separating and she is struggling with her warlike destiny. Sevika gets the absolute snot beat out of her and limps to an empty office without a boss.
So yeah. Lot of personal Darkest Hours going on.
“But what’s the interesting thing?” I hear you ask in my ear. I don’t know why I hear you. Shut up. I’m writing. Are you even real?
Excuse me.
Arcane’s interesting twist on the Darkest Hour lies in part of the trope that I didn’t mention. That’s in the villain.
Most stories with a clear-cut villain have a plot structure something like this:
Whether things are going well for one side is inversely proportional to the other. During the Darkest Hour, when the hero is at their weakest, the villain is at their most dominant.
Wait… isn’t Silco the villain of Arcane? Not to be too blunt, but he’s having a shit time. Things are falling apart for him just as badly as for everyone else.
That's the trick. Caitlyn and Vi are suffering. Jinx is suffering. Silco is suffering. Jayce is suffering. Viktor is suffering. Zaun as a whole is suffering. There is only one party in the whole story that isn't suffering, that actually is benefitting from this horrid state of affairs...
EKKO AND HEIMERDINGER
Kidding. They're not really a part of this dance. A big part of Arcane's theming is that acting to help people without an agenda is simply more virtuous than fighting for any invariably-flawed nation that innately perpetuates the cycle of violence.
No, the side that is doing fine is the other that is conspicuously absent from my two prior lists. While the characters that make up its leadership are experiencing personal Darkest Hours, the organization itself is essentially on top of the world, having just scored a huge victory and getting set to bring the war to an end before it even begins. I mentioned how poor the situation for the Undercity looks, but not its counterpart.
Piltover.
Wasn't it so that Piltover started this whole mess? Didn't their oppression cause the revolt that orphaned Vi and Powder's parents? Isn't it their actions that drive Silco to ever greater extremes? Isn't it their normalized political backstabbing that causes Jayce to sacrifice his principles because that's the only way to get ahead? Isn't it their corrupt police force that lets Silco operate his drug empire with impunity?
Silco might look the part. He might be the most personally evil character, might be the one who causes the most misery for our main protagonists Vi and Powder.
But structurally, the shining city of Piltover, its political machine, and its Enforcers are the actual villains of Arcane.
#arcane#darkest hour#writing#silco#piltover#zaun#piltover and zaun#heroes and villains#good writing#just realized this#still noticing new things#even two full years later#i love this show#has someone said this before?#long post
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Eddie: So cheerleading, huh?
Buck: Yeah, turns out I'm the perfect spotter with all the muscle I built over the summer.
Eddie: I can see that. Really big...
Buck: Isn't it great? Now I get to be there on the field cheering you on, Eds!
Eddie, daydreaming: Cool. Uh, how tight did you say those pants were again?
#teen!au#buddie#911 show#911 on abc#incorrect 911 quotes#incorrect quotes#eddie diaz#evan buckley#what if#cheerleader!buck#just realized this#buck could fit so many high school tropes
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my only resolution for the new year is to do the best that I can and all the little things that make me happy. Eating all the foods I love, going to the bookstore and thrifting bc they bring me peace, drawing and doing nails, running my business when my health allows me..I’m not worrying about trying to live up to these impossible standards and set these goals I’ll never reach. Done that before with vision boards, manifestations, etc and only ended up being disappointed when I couldn’t do it. all my socials are gone except for here because I’m not going to doom scroll + wallow in other’s misery or even compare myself to them. when it comes to writing, I’ll only work on what fulfills me and get back to the rest later and I won’t entertain nonsense. (unless I get a good laugh out of it). I won’t go into 2024 with a depressed attitude but I’m not gonna feed myself faux aspirations. I just wanna ✨be✨ and that’s good enough.
#long winded but oh well#happy nye or wtv#just realized this#I want everybody to have a prosperous new year#but please don’t burn yourselves out trying to chase things that are unattainable#give yourself grace and don’t allow the chase of trying to become a ‘new you’ cost you your happiness#you’re still just as perfect if you accomplish nothing or just a few things#cherry chats 🍒
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Something I just remembered is that Atsushi, Dazai, Akutagawa, and Chuuya are literally college aged. Atsushi is the same age as a college freshman and skk are the same age as college seniors (in the US, the ages for that might be diff in other countries)
And I’ve said that about Atsushi before but like, goddamn
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guys this is so “all stars must die one day” (name) and alhaitham coded
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You don’t actually have to be good at your hobbies
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Just thinking about this:
Aimsey: I have spent three years working to make sure that this merch is perfect for my fans, I made sure the texture is nice and that the designs are very me and suitable for everyone to wear
Meanwhile Lovejoy: So we have a hot pink balaclava-
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So I just realized what in hell is bad is supposedly an 18+ game...
WTH I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW I THOUGHT IT WAS SOME KIND OF OTOME GAME LIKE OBEY ME OR SOMETHING 😭😭😭😭😭
THIS IS WHY I ALWAYS GOTTA CHECK THE FANDOM SO I DON'T ACCIDENTALLY POST/REPOST ABOUT 18+ THINGS WTF 😭😭😭😭😭💀
THIS IS THE WILDEST THING I'VE LEARNED IN A WHOLE WHILE, I WAS STARTING TO LIKE THE CHARACTERS TOO OMFG 😭😭😭😭☠💀
NOOOO NOT MY INNOCENCE GIVE IT BACK
#realization#yourfavepookiebear#whb#what in hell is bad#what in 'hell' is bad#wtf💀#just realized this#actually traumatized#things i wasn't supposed to see
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oh my god tenna isn't going to be a big butch tv woman oh my god oh my god....
#^ crying so hard#just realized this#i just thought about it. that's the only thing tenna will ever be in my mind?! a big beautiful mob boss butch?! and there's going to be a#different tenna in the actual game?!??#so unfair. litchrally.#deltarune#ask tvland#<- I GUESS?!? how do i tag this specific tenna?!?!#tenna deltarune#ah right#tvlandofficial#how did i forget the name... fake fan.....
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A tragic aspect of a Gale/dark urge relationship is that they both have to constantly be on guard with each other. One slip, where the durge loses control and Gale fails to stop them, then it’s all over. Not just for them but for everyone around them
#just realized this#damn that one hurts#bg3 gale#Gale dekarios#gale of waterdeep#the dark urge#durge
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Dear lord.
I just realized why that scene in the Sloth episode was so wrong. Blitz says “I can’t say that word anymore.” as if there was somehow a time where saying that was “ok” to do.
youtube
When I don’t know if Vivienne knows this…
Or Brandon Rodgers…
But the r word was never “ok”.
Not “anymore”, not ever.
Same for any other term of it’s kind.
It’s the reason why that disability scene in “OOPS!” was so cringeworthy to me as someone who is disabled.
It felt like inspiration p^^n rather than being genuine because the show treats disabilities (illiteracy, autism, etc.) like a “joke” anywhere else. It’s such a inconsistent way to present disability representation and it just makes any scene where they try to go “oh, representation matters to us suddenly!” feel disingenuous overall since they keep doing the same thing with their representation of minorities.
Sequel to this post:
#helluva boss#helluva boss criticism#disabled representation#disabilities#just realized this#Youtube
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yo why the bottom right one small as hell
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Azula gives off big-time Drow energy.
Azula: You said "the tides would not allow us to bring the ship in." Do the tides command this ship?
Captain: No, Princess.
Azula: And if I were to have you thrown overboard, would the tides think twice about having you smashed against the rocky shore?
Captain: No, Princess.
Azula: Maybe you should worry less about the tides, who've already made up their mind about killing you, and more about me, who's still mulling it over.
She would have thrived in Menzobarrazzan.
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The Mikey factor
Carmy is not letting it rip because the one who always told him to face things and LET IT RIP was his best friend, his brother, his Mikey.
And that's killing him.
Whenever he can finally let it rip, now without Mikey pushing him, he will finally take that evolutionary step he so desperately needs, and he will, at last, be able to say and do all the things he can't find the right way to say and do now.
youtube
#sydcarmy#carmen berzatto#the bear fx#the bear#the bear hulu#syd x carmen#mikey berzatto#omg#just realized this#Youtube#GINGERPOVS
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I didn’t know Strahd was little over 42. I thought to listen to the book on Audible and there he is in his 40’s.
Plus the fact he have grey in his beard is something I need. I want him to embrace his beard.
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