crazzypanda1

[crazzypanda1]

the way that caitlyn removes the guards from the prison so that vi can get in and so that jinx can leave really shows how far she's come from act one. the most important part of that was the fact that she gave vi a choice. vi and jinx could have just left, and cait could very well have known that it's a possibility that she'll never see vi again.

and she did it anyway.

this was a literal and metaphorical act of letting go. she loves vi without conditions, respects her so much she's willing to let her do whatever she wants, even if that means she leaves her.

complete 180 from act one when she pushed and prodded vi into joining the enforcers and her mission, subtly (or not so subtly) disregarding her history and her values. i would have loved a full Conversation™ between them just as much as anyone, but these two have always spoken louder through actions than words and this was very much on brand.

caitlyn kiramman, the woman that you are.

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CAITVI SESBIAN LEX GUYS SESBIAN LEX

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CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS LITTLE DETAIL DURING THE SESBIAN LEX SCENE?!

THAT VI GOES ON HER TIP TOES?!?!

JUST SO SHE CAN NUZZLE HER FACE INTO CAIT'S SHOULDER?!?!?

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SHE’S ALIVE!! I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL! THE AIRSHIP AT THE END!!! THE GLITCHY END CREDITS!! THE AIR VENTS!!! THE GLITCH! CAITLYN’S SMIRK AT THE END!!!

[crazzypanda1]

#subtle foreshadowing?

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i need this butch so bad

[crazzypanda1]

Hiya! Can you do a snippet about person a and person b in a loving relationship but person a ends up falling under influence of a love potion and falling for person c. Person a is aware of being under a love potion but can’t help the feeling they feel for person c and feels guilty they feel nothing for person b

“It’s a love potion,” B said. “It’s not your fault.” 

“What?” 

B smiled at them, gently.  “We’ve been married for five years - I know what you look like when you’re in love with me. It’s okay. Just, take a breath. Tell me what’s going on in your head.”

Ever since ‘the incident’ as they were calling it, A had been going through the motions. They still remembered the little acts of care they used to do after all, the words, the routines of love even if it was harder when it felt like they were going through the motions out of duty more than real emotion. 

A stared at them. 

B squeezed their hand, and A’s heart and head had forgotten love but the body remembered in nerve ending and memory. 

A sat down next to them and took a deep, shaky breath. 

The first thing they had done, when they learned what exactly they had drank, was tell B. That was what you did in good relationships, you talked about the problems. But they hadn’t told them...

“I feel nothing.” It felt both like release and poison to finally say it aloud. “Absolutely nothing. It’s not even that I suddenly have strong negative emotions towards you...there’s just nothing. I’m so sorry.” The rancid guilt of it twisted them up inside. 

“Well, you love me,” B said, calm and reasonable as ever. “The potion has to muffle that somehow. You feeling nothing is a lot more comforting than anything else, actually.”

“Really?” That wasn’t something A had thought of. They’d thought...well, they’d thought that perhaps they’d never loved B properly, if it could all be wiped away so easily. If they were truly in love, shouldn’t the power of love burn through the potion? 

“Really.” A sighed. “Love, real love, isn’t built in a day or a week. It’s not going to break in one either. We’ll fix this and - in the meantime, we’ll adapt. If you’re not feeling it now that’s okay. Plenty of marriages go through that. We survive.”

“You make it sound so easy.” 

B’s smile grew a fraction tighter.  “Not easy. Not easy at all.” They laughed, mirthlessly. “I think this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But - as said, love potion. It’s rather extenuating circumstances, don’t you think? It’s not like you can control your feelings when your feelings are literally drugged by your abusive fucker of an ex.” 

The love potion they had been given was set to last for one year.

“It’s not-”

“Not abuse?” B looked at them. “I appreciate you love them at the moment, they’ve made sure of that, and I appreciate you want to defend them because of that but...giving someone a love potion.” B looked sick. “No one can consent under a love potion. You know that.”

“It feels real.” Another confession, barely audible. 

B swallowed, but nodded. 

It was A’s turn to squeeze their hand, because that was what someone would do. “I could disappear for a year,” they said, softly. “Then you wouldn’t have to watch this. You wouldn’t have to watch me -” Be in love with someone else. They couldn’t finish. 

B’s shoulders tensed.

“You’re vulnerable. You may not love me right now, but I bloody adore you. You don’t leave people you love alone in this state.” 

And A...A didn’t love them, they didn’t even feel a stirring for those words which would have once made everything in them ache so sweetly. 

But they remembered that they would have. 

They remembered the routines of love. 

They just had to last the year, right? Plenty of people survived a year in tormented love, the kind of love that burned and snagged at your attention, consumed you. It wasn’t B, even in the honeymoon period, B had always been something safer than the feeling that the poets liked to rave about it. They were home. 

C was...C was fireworks, and the chance to end up in smoke and wreckage and leave the stars blazing, and...

They were memories too. 

The routines of ups and downs, of C going through their phone because they didn’t trust A and didn’t want to share them with anybody. It was the screaming fights and the dramatic romantic gestures that tried to sweep all of those things away as if the fear didn’t matter. It was the ‘I want you so badly’ that it was flattering and terrifying, and then a little hollow because it had never mattered to C if A wanted as much right then. 

Flattering, the love potion, whispered again. B doesn’t love like you that. Wouldn’t B be screaming at you if they actually cared about you? Nobody would be this sensible about you loving someone else if they actually loved you. 

C was a love potion. 

A heady cocktail. A toxic theft. 

A had worked so hard to get over at that feeling, and now it coursed in their veins again, slipped into a drink. 

And A...A wanted, in the way that moths wanted light even if they would die for it.

A felt the first sob tear from their throat. 

They couldn’t wait for this year to be done. 

This was not the kind of love worth having.

B held them, and they felt nothing. 

“One year, sweetheart,” B murmured against their ear. “We’ll get through this too.”

They would.

[crazzypanda1]

I actually quite like how Vi and Cait were both focused enough on their shared goal to ignore the bad blood between them for the moment. Cait wanted to prevent Ambessa from getting her hands on Warwick and using him like a bio weapon, and obviously Vi would want to save him from the same fate, and it’s very juicy how they both trusted each other to accomplish it. Plus it looks like we get an explosive argument next act so it just means we’re simmering things to a good boil.

Also by having that need for reconciliation untouched and still lingering between them, we get really good tension like this.

Yeah Fortiche, I bet you’re really proud of how you portrayed Caitvi this season this fucking closeup has more tension in the one second it was on screen than a fucking violin string, well fucking done. The tension’s always the sexiest part.

[crazzypanda1]

Any advice for figuring out how to work on writing characters arguing?

I’m just curious and also I mistakenly derailed part of my writing over struggling to write a scene of characters starting an argument that was meant to escalate.

Writing Notes: Arguments

Arguing is full of tension.

Even benign conversations between friends so often belies subtextual personal agendas that are antagonistic or covertly full of anger or upset.

Honesty itself sometimes is the product of extreme tension and upset.

One’s resistance to telling the truth to another or admitting to oneself a truth can be excruciatingly tense and stressful, even between lovers.

SIDESTEPPING

You instantly create conflict in dialogue when you avoid “on the nose” responses.

On the nose means a direct response, sometimes even echoing the previous line.

You can avoid direct response:

With a statement that is unrelated to the prompting dialogue

By answering a question with a question

With a line of dialogue that is going to need some explanation

Also consider using silence:

“Are you ready to go, dear?” Bob asked. Sylvia said nothing.

Or use an action response:

“Are you ready to go, dear?” Bob asked. Sylvia picked up the mirror.

OPPOSING AGENDAS

Always know what each character wants in a given scene.

If a character in a scene is just taking up space, give him an agenda or get him out of there. Or cut the scene entirely.

Scenes require conflict or tension, even if it’s subtle.

Before you write the scene, note what each character wants.

Then spend a few moments playing with those motivations.

List 3 other possible motives for each of the characters, then mix and match to decide which ones will make for the best conflict.

It is also important to create tension among allies.

One of the danger points in fiction is when two friends, or people who are at least on the same side, have a talk about what’s going on. The trouble is there might not be any trouble between them. So much of the dialogue becomes a friendly chat.

This will violate Alfred Hitchcock’s axiom (Hitchcock once said that a good story is “life, with the dull parts taken out.”).

The fastest way to handle it is to make sure there is tension manifested from the start.

Create tension in at least one of the characters, preferably the viewpoint character.

Example: When you have Allison meeting Melissa, her college friend, for coffee, don’t have them sit down and start talking as if nothing’s wrong in the world. Put the trouble of the story into Allison’s mind and nervous system and make it an impediment to her conversation with Melissa. In Melissa, place something that might be in opposition to Allison’s needs. Allison needs to ask Melissa’s advice about a crumbling marriage. Maybe Melissa is full of news about her sister’s impending wedding to a wonderful man and gushes about the prospects.

Spend some time brainstorming about the ways two friends or allies can be at odds. Then weave those things into the dialogue.

DIALOGUE AS WEAPON

Look for places where you can use dialogue as a weapon, a means for your characters to charge ahead in order to get what they want.

Keep in mind that dialogue is action.

It’s a physical act used by characters to help them get what they want. If they don’t want anything in a scene, they shouldn’t be there.

Note that not all weapons are explosive. They can be small and sharp, too.

PARENT-ADULT-CHILD

A great tool for creating instant conflict in dialogue is the Parent-Adult-Child model, popularized in the book Games People Play by Eric Berne (1964). This school of psychology is called Transactional Analysis.

The theory holds that we tend to occupy roles in life and relationships.

The 3 primary roles are Parent, Adult, and Child (PAC):

The Parent - the seat of authority, the one who can “lay down the law.” S/he has the raw strength, from position or otherwise, to rule and then enforce his/her rulings.

The Adult - the objective one, the one who sees things rationally and is therefore the best one to analyze a situation. “Let’s be adult about this,” one might say in the midst of an argument.

The Child - not rational, and not with any real power. So what does s/he do? Reacts emotionally. Throws tantrums to try to get his/her way. Even an adult can do this. We’ve all seen clandestine videos that prove this point.

So it is a helpful thing to consider what role each character is assuming in a scene.

How do they see themselves? What is their actual role? (It may indeed be different than what they perceive it to be.)

Most important, how will they act in order to accomplish their goal in the scene?

Answering these questions can give you a way to shape your dialogue so there is constant tension and conflict throughout.

Also consider that the characters might change their roles (try something new) in order to get their way. Thus, this is a never-ending source of conflict possibilities and only takes a few moments to set up.

TIP ON DIALOGUE

Look at all of your dialogue exchanges, especially ones that run for a page or more.

Analyze what roles the characters think they’re inhabiting.

Rework the dialogue by getting each character to be more assertive in their claimed role. (Also note that a character can change roles as a matter of strategy. For example, if the Parent isn’t working, a character might switch to pouting like a Child in order to get his way.)

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

Hope this helps with your writing!

[crazzypanda1]

Okay my quick Act 3 thoughts!!

I’m all wound up on coffee and caitvi and feelings

As someone who watched Sliders growing up all I could think was how much I would love an Ekko Sliders series. My only criticism was we didn’t get to see Cait in that world but that’s okay I’m sure us fanficcers/artists aren’t gonna let that go 😂

I was confused why Zaun was doing SO well, surely Hextech didn’t make that much of a difference, and it clicked for me later that Hextech wasn’t the only fork in the road. Silco and Vander making the choice to forgive each other was also a coin flip, and that would have had the hugest effect.

I love Ekko so getting that episode was wonderful.

RIP Heimerdinger, your song was a banger.

Jinx with her hair down and Vi running in to hug her broke my heart

As a final fantasy nerd White Mage Mel rules.

The jail scene!! It was everything I wanted - Cait’s “yeah I’m hot” face when she takes off her shirt, both of them playfully pushing to see who would go first, Cait wanting to take it slow while Vi’s impatient, Vi fumbling the pants, them giggling and smiling. It lasted way longer than I thought it would too and I like that we only got the start so there’s still lots to be left to the imagination let’s go three million fanfics

Also Vi’s “I don’t fucking care” lmao

The fucking WAR cutting into the council scenes before we dive headfirst into it was great. As a LOTR fan, the big guy lol. Rip to Loris. Someone please put armour on Vi.

Now was Maddie always on Ambessa’s side or did she betray Cait out of heartbreak because that second one was my first thought and I texted my gf “they really are giving us the full lesbian experience, Cait’s one night stand betrayed and tried to kill her cause Vi came back.” This is my headcanon no one correct me.

Cait going all in on Ambessa was amazing?!? And her and Mel duoing?! Had on my bingo card that Mel was gonna take Ambessa out, that was so satisfying. I was deeply scared Cait was actually going to die, she was completely unafraid of death.

I have a zombie phobia and the viktor bots made me sooooooo uncomfortable, I was flinching so much 😩

While I did not romance Gale in BG3 I’ve seen enough of his scenes that Viktor and Jayce’s space convos all I could think about. Also I don’t ship Jayvik but i see the vision.

I’ve teared up but never genuinely cried at thr show but, while I had a very strong feeling Jinx was going to martyr herself so that didn’t shock me, oof Vi’s grief and the flashback to their first night in Vander’s care had me crying. I had to pause for a second so I wouldn’t miss the rest.

COUNCILLOR SEVIKA I was positive she was going to die you have no idea how loud i cheered. It looks like Cait retired House Kiramman from the council so I wonder what she’s doing now.

My overall thoughts is that I feel like a bit more breathing room would have been nice. It didn’t feel rushed so much as short; what they showed was effective for the its plot but a little bit more space would have been enjoyable for myself personally. Season 1 felt like a television series, and this felt more like three consecutive films BUT I do think part of my feeling that way is the fact that I’ve been waiting and thinking for this and i have to untangle my expectations.

There’s a LOT in the last episode that I think is gonna need multiple rewatches. I would have liked to see more in the end, but I suspect we’re going to get tie ins, comics, books, little gatcha games, more stuff to make money to round up the story. It ended very ‘to be revisited’ open imo.

And my BIG thought:

Cait with an eyepatch is so hot.

No no for real lol. The fact that two of the main characters in a plot-heavy, story driven show are a lesbian couple who’s relationship not only drives their character actions but also part of the plot. That they’re blatantly affectionate onscreen, got an intimate scene that wasn’t gratuitous but passionate and playful, their romance doesn’t distract from their individual growth as characters but compliments it. It was treated respectfully. That they came out battered and bruised and not unaffected but they LIVED. And that the final scene, of the entire series, is them together. And that the title of the episode is Vi’s line to Caitlyn, her own snide little way of saying ‘I love you’

Because it’s the partnership and the differences and all the little ways we help and hurt each other and there’s so much, so much more in the future but they’re facing it together.

Anyway it’s 8am here, the sun’s risen in the time of me finishing the show and writing this, I have a busy weekend I need to prepare for, and I’m overall going to need a couple days and a rewatch to process all this but

I can’t believe we got this.

It’s been a great ride guys. ✌️

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ARCANE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 2x09 - “Dirt Under Your Fingernails” ↳ "I think the cycle only ends when you find the will to walk away."

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Do you really think I needed all the guards at the Hexgates? Sorry to say, you've grown a bit predictable.

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Had a feeling I might find you here. I really believed she'd help. Say it. You told me so. I was an idiot to trust her. I went behind your back. I choose wrong every time. And because of it, I've lost everyone.

VIOLET & CAITLYN in ARCANE 2x08 "Killing is a Cycle"

[crazzypanda1]

in what mad world would i trust someone like you // sorry to say you've grown a bit predictable

[crazzypanda1]

Family scruffing pt2!

+this

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we're breaking you out // we're gonna get you out of there, vander