This Is So Accurate I-

It's 3am. My friend and I are taking an Uber back home from a party. On the way, I’m explaining my Skyrim fanfiction idea and my OC's backstory to them. The driver is a nice guy but he stays quiet for the duration of my story. I'm the first one to get off, my friend keeps going.

I get home and I see a text from them.

The Uber driver liked my fanfiction idea and asked them if he could read it somewhere.

Big stronk dude with his fuckass hammer and his stupid shoulder armor waiting on his knees for his eldritch god bf to materialize behind him and oh so tenderly penetrate his brain with his magic fingers

This is one of the sentences ever.

Since everyone is talking about that concept art of Jayce and Viktor fighting, it's useful to know that the concept artist, Suheb Zako, also posted it on their twitter with some context.

It is early concept art for a final fight between Jayce and Viktor in the hexzone sorry I'm not calling it that astral plane. There's a link in the twitter thread to an anime clip that gives you a sense of what the vibe would've been.

It's not totally clear when in the development/production process this art is from, but I wouldn't be surprised if Jayce and Viktor originally had a dynamic that was more like their game counterparts. In that case a knock-down-drag-out fight in the astral plane might've fit better. But in the final version of the show it wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well as what we got, and not just because it would have seemed out of character for what the characters and their relationship arc became in the finished show.

First of all, we already did have a knock-down-drag-out fight between them. That's the Council chamber fight scene. It would've felt like a repeated beat and that's the last thing you want in your big finale. When you have characters who fight each other multiple times, you want each fight to reflect a progression of their relationship.

Secondly, by the end of the show, Viktor is absurdly overpowered compared to any other character. Once he goes full Machine Herald he is basically a god. A conventional fight scene is just not gonna do it here. You need a twist, some way to win that doesn't involve being stronger than him. And the trump card being The Power of Unconditional Love (And Also This Time Machine Getting Chucked at Your Head) fits perfectly with the show's themes.

Thirdly, the final episode is ALL action. In an episode that's one massive battle, it takes a lot of work to make individual pieces of action stand out. (And generally, you do it not by making the fighting look Super Duper Extra Cool, but with character work.) But any scenes between the characters that are not action are automatically gonna pop because they're so different in pacing and energy from everything around them.

I haven't seen as many people discussing this set of keyframes, but the changes here are also fascinating:

Because Viktor assimilating Jayce as a battle move is almost the complete opposite of what we got in the finished show, and what we got in the finished show is so fucking good. It's one of my favorite moments in the whole damn series.

I've already written about it here, but playing it so that Jayce doesn't get surprised or overpowered but chooses to allow Viktor to bring him into the astral plane as a last-ditch effort to reach whatever is left of Viktor's humanity is sooooooo narratively sexy. (And also just. Sexy. Big stronk dude with his fuckass hammer and his stupid shoulder armor waiting on his knees for his eldritch god bf to materialize behind him and oh so tenderly penetrate his brain with his magic fingers, listen I am not making this up this is just what happens, no homoerotic fight scene could ever top this.)

It also fits with the motif of a number of characters winning their individual battles in the finale by surrender/submission/potential self-sacrifice. It fits with Caitlyn realizing that to cut the string of protective runes off Ambessa's arm she has to allow Ambessa to get within stabbing distance of her face. And of course, Jinx forcing Vi to let her go by popping the gemstone out of her gauntlet and letting herself fall with Warwick.

Arcane has fantastic action storytelling and part of good action storytelling is knowing when to have the character stop fighting each other. Seeing the early concept art is cool to see how much things evolved, but I'm glad they moved away from just trying to do an epic boss fight because what we ended up with is so much more interesting.

This art made me finally understand and put into words my obsession with Silco's design.

His face makes him successfully pull off so many different aesthetics. He's supposed to be kind of ugly, with his chipped teeth and weird (but very kissable) lip shape and hooked nose. But he's also beautiful, with his almond-shaped eyes and slim jaw. Older Silco is simultaneously an elegant, refined gentleman, a DILF if you will, but also a shiver-inducing monstrous villain. And that's already an amazing combo.

But then, Season 2 came out and they gave us younger Silco who's a lanky, introverted but slightly slutty revolutionary twink. How many people/characters can you name that fit so many different boxes so seamlessly? I don't know if the character designers had his younger version already in mind when designing him but I believe if his face was even just slightly different, there would be something off with either version of him.

SCREAMING CRYING I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

Widomauk still haunts me every day of my life because it's SUCH a good dynamic and if Molly hadn't fuckin died we could have had a traumatized angsty Liam character x unhinged hedonistic Taliesin character romance and that would've been absolutely unparalleled

The aesthetic of młodzieniec

an Charisma

sometimes you gotta See

Okay I gotta talk about the Kuleshov Effect for a minute because I see a lot of people talking about how Silco and Vi were looking at each other on the bridge and it's got me scratching at the walls.

The Kuleshov Effect is a film editing effect. It is a mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation.

In other words, the way a movie or show is edited influences the way you think or feel about it. This kind of subtle manipulation is very powerful and is used throughout film and television to guide the audience's emotional journey and can be used to influence characterization and plot just by putting things in the right order. When people talk about "unintentional implications from the writers" I have noticed several times that the cause of the unintentional implication actually being the editing, not the writing.

On the bridge just before the opening credits of episode 8, we have two perspectives: Vi's perspective and Silco's perspective. Rather than show what Vi's doing in one long sequence, and then switch to Silco's perspective in one long sequence, the editors break these sequences into smaller shots and inter-cut them.

The most common use of intercutting like this is when shooting dialogue: cut to one character, cut to the other. Because of this, to our minds, this sequence looks like they are having a silent conversation, but they aren't. They can't even see each other.

Silco can't see beyond the smog, flood lights, and oncoming parade of enforcers, and it's safe to assume Vi can't see past these obstacles either. They have no way or reason of knowing the other is observing the bridge.

So, now that we know they can't see each other, let's look at what happens if we reorder the clips so these are two distinct sequences rather than one long one.

The sequences on their own are not staged the way a conversation would be staged, because both characters are in the centers of their respective frames.

Vi is looking at the bridge where her childhood friend was about to fight her sister so she could get away. The last thing that happened on the bridge that she knows of is another bomb going off, just one. She doesn't know if Ekko or Jinx are still alive. Maybe she's wondering if she should have stayed instead of leaving Jinx again.

Silco is panicked and caught off guard by his own reaction. He has a moment of emotional vulnerability while his back is turned to his employees and while the enforcers are still too far away to see what's happening on his face. He steels himself before standing up, and faces down the enforcers before walking away.

So, why edit this scene this way? If they can't see each other, why make it look like they can? Specifically because they wanted these characters to have an emotional exchange, but can't, because they are physically too far apart. Vi and Silco only get two scenes together and they only talk directly to each other once. This helps fill in a hole where we want these two to interact, but plot-wise it makes no sense for them to be able to. The editors change the entire meaning of both of these sequences if the emotions on their faces are a conversation.

What I like about this is that it gives you two options for how to interpret this, and both can be true at the same time. You can look at each sequence on its own, and you can look at it the way the editors were manipulating you into seeing it. I do love what they've done here, and I think it's important when analyzing media to know what tools and techniques the creators have used to tell their story and be able to deconstruct their little tricks to inform your interpretation.

Anyway thank you @sweetestsixshooter for reminding me I wanted to write this down lmao

I'm sick so you know what that means?

Another episode of...

✨️ Yohna moments I often think about ✨️

Moving another thread across to here and it is a Yohna one you lucky sausages. It is a long post, I'll apologise now.

Let's talk about this scene from the 2001 anime

Spoiler for main series and some elements of Flowers

This was a non manga scene added to the 2001 series. I honestly believe that this scene was added in replacement of the moment Anna asked to stay with Yoh the night before he lives for America.

I believe that the 2001 production team wanted to give Yoh and Anna a scene alone before he left for America. Something to show them acting like a couple. To show that actually they do care for each other. But it had to be done in the most Yoh and Anna way.

Now, Yoh and Anna are a very private couple. Everything happens behind closed doors. Yoh and Anna are not about big declarations of love or PDA. Be it Takei's choice to portray them like this, or his refusal to write full on romance we will not speak on it . So this scene had to be very 'them'.

I mean, I pray for the day we finally get some flashbacks of baby Hana in Middle East. I will not shut up about it. I just want to see them FIGHT TOGETHER. Or just working together as a team because I NEED IT. Just let them be a cute married couple please.

GIVE ME THE YOHNA SPIN OFF TAKEI! I KNOW ANNA IS ONE OF YOUR FAVS. STOP DENYING YOURSELF. BRING HER BACK.

*ahem*

Anyway, back to the scene.

The lead up to this scene is pretty interesting. During school, Manta picks up that Anna has been acting weird.

It amazed me that Yoh did not notice her acting a little off. But, to be fair to Yoh, he has been training very hard and is super tired. The gang had recently been to China to rescue Ren, so our boy must be pretty exhausted, and more than likely falling a sleep in classes.

But omg, he is so clueless. Please help this man.

I mean, either Yoh is so distracted with other stuff, or he doesn't think Anna would be affected by his departure. They lived so long apart back in Izumo so why would this be any different?

I believe that having now lived with each other, their relationship had changed and they are now closer. They act more like a couple. I'm pretty sure by now they have had their first kiss and spoke about their feelings for each other.

Please also offer some thoughts on clueless Yoh 🙏

That is until....

Manta outright tells the gang that he is sad that they will all be leaving.

Yoh, Horohoro and Ryu have been acting like it is nothing, and just a part of their lives. Ryu does tell Manta that they do feel sad but they are dealing with it in their own way.

I think this is where the realisation clicks in Yoh's head that actually, Anna could be feeling the same. That she is sad too, but showing it in her own way. Maybe she did want to spend time together that evening? But I don't think Anna would ever meaningfully get in the way of Yoh seeing his friends. She knows how important they are to Yoh.

Wanna take a walk with me?

Yoh might have been sitting on this idea since the meal out with the guys, and he waited till the last moment to ask Anna to go for a walk.

I think this shows how nervous Yoh is about exploring his feelings with Anna, because who goes out for a walk just before they go to bed? When they are already in their nightwear?

I think that, in the 2001 anime, the emotions are there, but they are teenagers figuring out their feelings for each other and how to express themselves. I'm a romantic, sorry

BUT LOOK AT THE BABIES!!!

Yoh is always a reassurance for Anna. She pushes him to become the best person he can become, and Yoh is always there to reassure and support Anna. They just work together so well. They are a team.

On their late night walk, they talk about normal stuff such as the Patch Village, the SK fight, Anna of course tells Yoh that he better not lose.

But I think there is more to be said about what they don't say, or hidden meanings.

This moment here

I tell you, I can hear the brain clogs ticking in that little Asakura head.

After seeing Anna is cold, Yoh presents her with a warm drink.

We know Anna is always ordering Yoh around, but she never asked him go and get her a drink. Is it one of the first times in the show we see Yoh just do something for Anna without her asking or ordering him to do so.

YOHNA BIG BRAIN THEORY MOMENT 🧠

I struggle to word this but I will try. I feel like Anna is trying to keep her true feelings unwraps (as usual), but this time she is doing it to Yoh.

Anna is cold and is seen as trying to keep herself warm. She doesn't ask for help. She doesn't tell Yoh that she is cold. It is her issue and she will deal with it on her own.

Now let's apply that to her emotions.

Anna has grown close to Yoh and is now sad that he is going to America. There is a chance that she might not see him again, but she just carries on as usual. She doesn't tell Yoh she is sad or express it. She knows Yoh has to focus, and it is his duty to progress in the Shaman Fights.

Yoh and Anna are often said to have an 'unspoken communication', and this was one of those turning points as a couple.

I feel like they became stronger after this. And look, I know the scene could be classed as non-cannon as it didn't happen in the manga but its here and I'm going to talk about it!

ITS WARM!

Like his love for her! 😭😭😭

I read too much romance guys. I'm too loved up. I'm sorry I'm like this.

BUT LOOK AT HIS FACE!!!

Tell me this boy isn't in love!

Tell me he isn't thinking how actually, he is pretty lucky to have someone like Anna.

And really, no matter what they are about to face, everything will work out.

I don't know man. I love the addition of this scene in the 2001 version. Likely one of my favourites, along with a selection of others.

I'll go back into my hiding hole now. That was longer than I thought it would be, and it you made it to the end, well done 😌