#I am not looking for criticism on this post

[oo-li]

please follow the instructions !! it took me a total of 30 minutes to write my comment, it isn't hard to do. you can even look at other posted comments for ideas on what to include to support your own comment !

i'll include mine under the read more, but please do not copy and paste this as your own- make yours unique and include facts !

"I am writing to the Council on Environmental Quality regarding docket number CEQ-2025-0002. It is alarming to me as a citizen born in Colorado and raised in Pennsylvania that President Trump would rescind late former President Carter's Executive Order 11991. To start, I would like to highlight a few key moments in our country's history that first led to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) being drafted and signed into law before I further stress on the importance the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); not just for the NEPA, but for every single person in the United States.

Going back to the 1960s- the very period my parents were born- there were rising concerns amongst the general public about the environment we all take for granted each day. The Sixties were vital in our country's growth and shaping our current day life for many reasons, from progress in eliminating social and racial inequalities to technological and medical advancements to the development of highways. In 1956, Interstate 70 (I-70) would begin construction across the country, first starting in Missouri with the Mark Twain Expressway. Kansas would also complete the first section of I-70 in November of that same year, allowing many to travel along the two-lane section of U.S. 40. This expansion in connecting surburban neighborhoods and cities across the nation. Despite the economic gains as a result of the Interstate Highway System, its construction raised worries due to the destruction of many communities and ecosystems. That, in combination with public awareness from Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962), lead to public outcry and the highway revolts countrywide. As NEPA was being drafted in 1969, there was even more public outrage in response to the Santa Barbara oil spill that same year. Our citizens cared very deeply about the environment of our nation, the highway revolts mentioned earlier would continue to occur even into the next decade. When information and data became public, masses would listen and show up in protection for nature. NEPA was and still is a vital tool for the public to have access to information on environmental impacts before decisions are made.

Once NEPA was signed into law in 1970 by former President Nixon, the newly established Council on Environmental Quality would begin its duties as outlined. This marked the beginning of development projects not just being reviewed, it allowed for space and time to have improvements made to plans before they became set in stone. Often these reviews and studies are seen as lost profit and wasted time by investors and agencies, however without them projects like Florida's Everglades Parkway could have destroyed critical habitats to its state's ecosystem and threaten essential water supplies the entire state relies upon. As a result of engineers and planners accounting for the impact on wildlife, flow of freshwater through the Big Cyprus and Everglades wetlands, and limited access to the highway for landowners, the final design had: incorporated 24 wildlife underpasses and 40 miles of fencing along the route; eliminated frontage roads by buying purchasing local access rights, allowing for controlled growth of communities; added cable barriers where needed and scheduled construction to be done around the rain season of the area (avoiding delays, damage to in progress sites, and rain carrying debris from construction sites into wetlands). Instead of being a burden to the project, it had actually provided otherwise unknown vital information to lead the state of Florida towards building the most sustainable and best possible facility. This is just one instance where CEQ assisted developing projects in the country by enforcing NEPA and there have been countless more.

By allowing the CEQ to continue to uphold NEPA regulations, our nation will only continue to prosper. Making federal agencies use clear and concise language when turning in their reviews and studies in combination with publicly known set regulations give our country the best backbone for all future development projects and construction works. The CEQ is a vital branch of the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and by removing its ability to enforce NEPA regulations puts our nation at severe risk of putting not just nature in danger, but every person residing here too. I cannot stress enough how important it is to protect the CEQ's ability to do its job in accordance with NEPA. I urge you to reconsider this action."

We have 30 days until the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) laws are rescinded. This is the 50-year bedrock of American conservation. Normally, these actions take years but the administration has provided 30 days for public comment gutting clean water and clean air. Drop what you’re doing, before you make any more calls or read any more social media posts, please populate the Federal Register with dissent.

A. Go to https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/25/2025-03014/removal-of-national-environmental-policy-act-implementing-regulations

B. Click on the green rectangle in the upper right corner ("SUBMIT A PUBLIC COMMENT") .

C. Fill in your comment, and info at the bottom, and SUBMIT COMMENT.

[mythals-whore]

Some thoughts on fandom engagement

Post got long but TL;DR engagement is low, Never Ever Stop Creating! fandom is community and everyone needs to participate

extended thoughts and personal anecdote under the cut:

For writers:

I have turned off Kudos emails from ao3. I found myself checking my email and feeling discouraged when I didn't get them. So i turned the emails off so I wouldn't know I wasn't getting them. Even now when I go to my dashboard, I specifically do not look at the bottom of the work to see those numbers.

This is not me telling you to do the same thing. It is easier said than done, and I understand that. But that's what I had to do to have a good time.

Because for a little while, posting made it less fun. I felt like people didn't like it. I was being overly critical of myself, couldn't write more than three sentences without feeling like I was garbage and my work was garbage and I should just quit. I would post a chapter and then immediately want to take the whole thing down. But then I realized...

I have about four half-finished projects in my WIP folder. I have written like 500,000 words that no one has ever read. Because I had fun doing it! Because I enjoy writing!!

And the point of this isn't to say writers shouldn't want or expect engagement. That is not at all what I'm saying!

What I am saying is that if you enjoy writing and you find that posting your work is making you feel unmotivated, discouraged, and you're not having fun anymore it is okay to take it down. It’s okay to make your work private for a while. It's okay to turn off Kudos emails or even comments. Whatever you need to do to make it fun again, do that. If you enjoy creating, please do not let the lack of engagement stop you!

It's been really helpful for me to find a community of creators! Without the support of @thedissonantverses @flowersforthemachines and @basedonconjecture I may have deleted my work months ago!

And that said, if you want someone to read your work, there are so many people (including and especially me) who would love to read and promote you! Participate in WIP Wednesday and Writing Weekend! Promote your own work!! Promote other creators' work! This is how we build community!

For readers:

If you love fanfic, and fanart and fandom in general engage with it. The urge to take down your work is real! And not unique to me! If writers don't get kudos or comments or replies on tumblr, they will delete their work. If there's a fic you find, and you enjoy it but you don't engage with it do not be surprised if you log on one day and it isn't there anymore. Or if it gets orphaned. Or if they simply stop updating it.

Fandom is meant to be a community. The whole purpose of it is to enjoy the things you enjoy with other people. If you're consuming free work (be that fanfic, fan art or something else) and you're not liking or reblogging or commenting then those people will stop sharing it.

And my personal take, while we're here: I do not get it.

I do not understand why there are people out there who do not jump at the chance to directly engage with authors and artists who make things that you enjoy. You can tell them personally how much you like their work! You can ask them questions! You can send them your unhinged ramblings on The Character.

And before anyone comes to my replies and says: I never know what to say ))):

Here is a non-comprehensive list of 10 slightly unhinged things that I've actually commented on fics (some edited for brevity)

I am chewing on glass.

bye i’m putting my fist through the wall 😭

These two are consuming my every waking thought

That ruined me i fear. I have passed away

THIS IS LITERATURE. absolutely tore my heart out.

You are sick in the head my friend

Im gonna sip on this sentence a while.🤌🏻

how could you do this to them? writing about this in my burn book brb

A) You absolutely cooked here B) how fucking dare you?

 kicking my feet and giggling!!!!!

And this isn't just for ao3/fanfic writers. Fanartists deserve love too! Artists love feedback!! The more unhinged the better!! Tell us we're evil! Quote our work back to us! Tell us you're smashing through walls like the Kool-aid man! Tell us that our work is making you scream and cry and blush!

No one is expecting you to leave several long paragraphs with an actual annotated review (not that that wouldn't also be welcome). Comment! Engage! Community is the whole point!

This also goes for finding Tumblr mutuals, by the way. If you want to make friends with people on here engage with their content! Like their posts! Reply to them! Send asks and messages!

Stop being afraid to enjoy things! That is like...all we are doing here.

[bwat5-blog]

Let's Chat: Caitlyn Kiramman

**DISCUSSION AND RESPONSE TO ARCANE SO SPOLIER WARNING**

**LONG POST NOT KIDDING**

@xxbrightshadowxx

Happy March Third to you my fellow Arcane fan. It is quite obvious to anyone with a pulse that we are on far opposite ends of the spectrum of the fandom. That being said, you have made a fairly large amount of posts I've considered responding to, and I find this a much cleaner way of responding than all this re-blogging and commenting nonsense.

As it is clearly an issue for you, and I feel quite differently, we are gonna talk Caitlyn Kiramman. And as you identify yourself as "the biggest hater" I feel confident you won't mind a bit of friendly discourse. Since there is no efficient way to respond to multiple posts in one re-blog, each title in bold blue lettering will link directly to your post in question.

Recent Post Regarding Caitlyn Stans

So this of course is your most recent post I believe:

"I think the thing I hate the most about Caitlyn is her stans"

I don't have too much to say here as you are entitled to your opinions and this post is really just that. You don't feel Caitlyn was well executed as a morally grey character, you don't feel Caitlyn fans admit her mistakes, that is all within your rights. Really the only thing I will say is that as a fan of Caitlyn's character and of she and Vi's relationship, it has become increasingly difficult to spend any time discussing her wrong-doing with any detail or nuance, because so much of the rhetoric around her is completely out of control and false.

Comparing Violence In Timebomb VS Violence In Caitvi

So in this post you are comparing your criticism of violence between Ekko and Jinx during their fight on the bridge, against your criticism of violence between Caitlyn and Vi after fight against Jinx & Sevika. Speaking for myself, I am not sure why anyone would be comparing these incidents at all. They are totally different. However, I wanted to point something regarding your approach to this post.

Let's look at the amount of detail and context you include regarding Ekko & Jinx:

"Ekko and Jinx were on opposite sides of a conflict"- You go on to elaborate and explain well.

"Jinx was already known at that time to kill firelights, why would they like eachother? (for sake of honesty you wrote "why would they not" but I feel like the typo and your meaning was very clear, happens to me all the time) And with the situation on the bridge, Jinx killed a lot of enforcers. they were already in a situation of violence".

"They weren't in a romantic relationship".

"They weren't on good terms".

This is well done. You give their current status with each-other, the context for the immediate events that lead them here, a bit of their history and so on. Hardly a deep dive, but I feel like I have a good sense of where Jinx and Ekko are as characters in relation to each other.

Now let's look at your depiction of the leadup to the incident between Caitlyn & Vi:

"They kiss which basically establishes they like each other a lot"

"They were on good terms with each-other and were allies".

"They were working together to take down Jinx".

Okay all good so far I agree to each point even if we are not discussing of the complexity of what is going on between them. I cannot disagree with any of these points. But. Now we get into your list of circumstances leading to Caitlyn hitting Vi:

"Vi stops Caitlyn from shooting at Jinx when there was a moving child on top of her because shooting a weapon when there is a child nearby especially if said shooter is not in the best mindset is not a good idea".

"They (Sevika, Caitlyn and Isha) escape". (Clearly you meant Jinx, no harm no foul)

"Caitlyn insults Vi by saying she's just like the rest of Zaun and isn't different (which is also very ignorant by implying that the norm is bad and evil Zaunites and Vi is some exception to this norm) also saying it's her (Jinx) blood in your veins".

"She walks away and Vi grabs Caitlyn and asks why are you the one acting like her".

"Eight seconds pass before Caitlyn hits Vi in the stomach with her gun, before leaving her alone".

You then give your wrap-up comments regarding the incident:

Recap that they were on good terms and kissed before the fight

"The Violence had already wound down"- You elaborate on Jinx and friends already being gone and that it was no longer life or death.

You make a point showing Vi wasn't going to hit Caitlyn, elaborating that it was not a fight, but assault

"The show never acknowledges this"

"Caitlyn never apologizes for hitting Vi or leaving her. They just move straight to sex"

RESPONSE:

Alrighty. so in summary, you have presented the incident between Caitlyn and Vi as something like this-

A happy couple working together to catch Jinx get into a fight with Jinx and Sevika. Vi stops Caitlyn from shooting because it endangered a kid. So Caitlyn insults Vi, shows anti-zaun prejudice, then assaults Vi for no reason.

There are several things I'd say matter regarding this incident going into it that you did not mention. And while their exclusion does paint Caitlyn as a mean and spoiled rich girl who assaulted Vi for not getting what she wanted, it is incorrect in its entirety.

Caitlyn's Mental State-

I feel it is only reasonable to consider the impact of the long and unmentioned list of violent trauma Caitlyn has experienced over a very short period leading to this incident. After all, when we discuss the incident and its aftermath how could such things not matter? To that end, fortunately I recently prepared a time-stamped list of the relevant information on another post that covers all of the traumatic incidents needed-

Lured along with several other Enforcers to a burning building with a fake child's voice by Jinx shortly before she blows it up. She is the only survivor: S1 E4 13:29- Sequence begins

Shoots Sevika repeatedly to save Vi's life. More than likely the first time she has ever discharged her weapon at a living person. It doesn't matter the reason or justification, violence impacts you emotionally. S1 E5 5:28- Sequence begins

Survives escaping Silco and his addict/goons deep in the undercity including dodging a collapsing building. S1 E6 13:16- Sequence begins

Meets Jinx for the first time. Has weapon pointed at her. Then survives fight with Firelights. S1 E6 7:05- Sequence begins

Leader of The Enforcers shoots Ekko, and is about to shoot her while several of her peers stand and watch. Shortly after Jinx blows up the bridge, killing almost everyone, then attacks Caitlyn & Vi both intentionally trying to kill them.S1 E7 10:41- Sequence begins

Kidnapped by Jinx from the shower of her childhood home. She is nude at the time. At some point Jinx makes her dress in Enforcer uniform. S1 E8 4:35- Sequence begins *It seems like recent sources from the artbook confirm Jinx held Caitlyn for an entire day but I don't have that in front of me to confirm so we can call it speculation*

She is held bound and gagged and forced to participate in Jinx's Dinner Party: S1 E9 12:55- Sequence begins

- Listens to Jinx try and convince Vi to murder her - Manages to get free and has a gun on Jinx. Spares her at Vi's urging and gets knocked out - Jinx kills Caitlyn's mother, two other councilors, maims 2 others, and destroys the council chamber

8. Survives attack on her mother and other councilor's memorial by Zaun: S2 E1 16:26- Sequence begins

9. Survives operation of Task Force into Zaun: S2 E3 beginning of episode:

Now I know what you are probably thinking. But As I said earlier we need to remember that violence leaves a mark on you. We aren't talking fault or any of that right now. I'm just talking what state of mind is she in. So I'm sure reasonably you can see how at the very least a few days of urban combat would be raising her stress, aggression, fear and all of that.

10. Survives events of Ventilation chamber: S2 E3 18:51 sequence begins

- Survives fight with Sevika - After holding her shot for Vi the first time, Vi blocks her shot the second time and she is denied what she sees as justice (again, just suspend judgement and try to only think of impact on her state of mind)

That, is a tremendous amount of violence and death in a relatively short amount of time. Now, I don't know about you. But to me, that all seems like it may impact a persons behavior and decision making until they have time to heal and to grieve properly.

Conclusion- Mentally and emotionally Caitlyn is totally destroyed having had no time or opportunity to heal from a long series of violent, destabilizing, and immensely traumatic events.

Caitlyn & Jinx-

So the last list was more comprehensive, but we also need to discuss Caitlyn & Jinx. Why? I mean Jinx is what this all boils down to. She's the monster in Caitlyn's mind. She discusses it with Jayce, and we see it when the strike team attacks the arcade and Caitlyn shoots at what she thinks is Jinx in a wide-eyed and manic state. I'm not going to re-list everything but just think about it.

Jinx has almost killed Caitlyn repeatedly, she killed several Enforcers Caitlyn knew as people. She abducted Caitlyn naked from her home. Caitlyn spared her and Jinx killed her mother. Hate Caitlyn, call her every name in the book, label her anything you please. But if you are discussing and acting in good faith, these facts are not in dispute.

Conclusion- Caitlyn is going into this facing down someone she is very likely terrified of, and hates with all of her heart.

Caitlyn & Vi-

As you correctly point out Caitlyn and Vi are romantically linked and working together in their pursuit of Jinx. However, there is some helpful context when analyzing this situation I think should be considered:

Jinx is Vi's little sister.

Caitlyn had Jinx at gun point and did not fire because Vi begged her. Then Jinx killed her mother.

Caitlyn asked Vi to wear the enforcer badge being honest about her fear, and Vi said yes willingly. But the Enforcers still killed Vi's parents.

Before their first kiss that you mention, we see Caitlyn being uncharacteristically aggressive with an unarmed Heenot. It is bad enough to the point that Vi takes her aside and after asking to dismiss the other team members, tearfully asks Caitlyn to promise she won't change.

Vi tells to Caitlyn she is ready for it all to end, and tells Caitlyn to take the shot if she gets the chance.

Conclusion- Caitlyn and Vi go after Jinx with the both of them knowing Vi begged Caitlyn to show mercy and now Caitlyn's mother is dead, and that Vi is wearing the badge of her parents killers to try and make things right. Caitlyn is clearly losing herself to the violence and anger of everything going on, and before the confrontation Vi tells Caitlyn she knows it has to end. Not exactly simple or casual.

The Incident Itself:

So the fight goes down, and as you said it eventually comes down to Caitlyn demanding that Vi move while Vi refused to do so due to the danger to Isha. You do make a point of mentioning the shooter (Caitlyn) not being in the best mental state (which I think we have established is like saying its a tad windy in the middle of a tornado), and then we move to the aftermath where it goes down like you describe:

Caitlyn is upset with Vi for blocking the shot

Vi insists she shouldn't have had to stop Caitlyn due to the danger to the child

Caitlyn states that she thought Vi was different but she isn't. "It's her blood in your veins":

Stopping here for a moment. This was not a statement of prejudice against Zaun. She is comparing Vi to Jinx, not all of the Undercity. I can back this up with the following points:

The entire quote (S2 E3 begins 10:47) "I keep telling myself that you're different. But you're not. It's her blood in your veins".

This is quite clearly one continuing statement from Caitlyn. She specifically compares Vi to Jinx. Not to Zaunites or anyone else. Just Jinx.

Vi then responds (S2 E3 10:39) "Then why are you the one acting like her?".

This entire thing is all centered around Jinx in the dialogue and obviously linked narratively. It isn't about Zaunites in general.

4. I covered Vi's response above so from there, Vi grabs Caitlyn as she is leaving, shifts her grip to a less aggressive place, then after several seconds Caitlyn hits her.

5. Caitlyn shows clear regret before leaving:

Overall conclusion for the incident itself:

As I said, this is the overall picture you give of this incident with the amount of context and detail you included:

A happy couple working together to catch Jinx get into a fight with Jinx and Sevika. Vi stops Caitlyn from shooting because it endangered a kid. So Caitlyn insults Vi, shows anti-zaun prejudice, then assaults Vi for no reason.

But when you actually take the entire picture into account, this wildly differs from the actual events of the show.

Caitlyn is dealing with ENORMOUS amount of unresolved trauma

Jinx is the central focus of Caitlyn's rage and fear

Vi and Caitlyn care for each-other deeply, but between them is:

A- Vi being Jinx's older sister B- Vi begged Caitlyn for Jinx's life and Jinx killed Caitlyn's mother C- Enforcers killed Vi's parents and Caitlyn asked her to put on the badge D- Their first kiss is in the wake of Vi being afraid of how Caitlyn is changing from all of the violence and death around them

Caitlyn is clearly out of control when Vi is trying to stop her from shooting-

A- Caitlyn fires twice with Vi in the way even striking her gauntlet once B- Caitlyn just keeps saying the same thing over and over "Move.. She's not getting away again!"

As far as the dialogue only goes they both say something terrible in the aftermath-

A- Caitlyn tells Vi she is no different than Jinx. Knowing the guilt and horror Vi feels over what her sister has become. The guilt over Caitlyn's mother. And that Vi put on the badge to follow her on this mission. B- Vi tells Caitlyn she is acting like Jinx. Knowing full well Jinx almost killed Caitlyn repeatedly. Abducted her. And killed her mother

Not that it excuses or makes it okay. But Caitlyn shows clear remorse after hitting Vi.

Wrap Up:

Please understand, this is not about saying it was okay for Caitlyn to hit Vi. Far from. But as I said in response to that first post, we can't even get to that because of situations like this. The unfortunately simplistic version of events you provided completely misrepresents what actually occurred. It isn't about justification. Caitlyn hitting Vi cannot be justified. But it is about proper understanding based on what actually occurred. And not excluding or simplifying things to serve the purpose of demonizing her beyond what is reasonable. Let's take a look at your wrap up points-

1. Recap that they were on good terms and kissed before the fight Caitlyn growing steadily more angry and violent while dynamic between she and Vi was extremely complex 2. "The Violence had already wound down"- You elaborate on Jinx and friends already being gone and that it was no longer life or death. True the fight was over. But Caitlyn was still operating at a ten emotionally and mentally, it takes time for you to come down from that state.

3. You make a point showing Vi wasn't going to hit Caitlyn, elaborating that it was not a fight, but assault

Totally agree, not sure where this is coming from, I guess some people have suggested it or something?

4. "The show never acknowledges this"

Just because you don't consider it enough doesn't mean it didn't happen 5. "Caitlyn never apologizes for hitting Vi or leaving her. They just move straight to sex"

Caitlyn makes amends repeatedly through her deeds rather than her words:

Helps to save Vander

When Vi is wounded and Jinx is exposed she doesn't even look at Jinx, runs to save Vi instead

Keeps Jinx in the bunker rather than Stillwater, and holds off on any judgement until Vi is awake even though she could have taken her revenge and no one in Piltover would have cared

Moves the guards away so Vi can free Jinx if she chooses. Even knowing Vi may leave and Caitlyn would never see her again

*VI initiated their sex scene. Caitlyn even interrupted to make sure she was honest about Maddie*

Your last line asks the following question: "You see why this leaves a bad impression?"

My answer is yes. But it is one born of a gross over-simplification of the events leading to this moment and exclusion of anything challenging the clear anti-Caitlyn bias in your writing.

Comparing Season One Caitlyn Against Season Two

Alrighty last one I promise. So this whole post comparing your feelings about Caitlyn in season 1 to season 2. Fairly cut and dry in terms of concept. Lets look at some things you acknowledge about Caitlyn in season 1:

"Shes genuine. I never once doubted in season 1 that she had good intentions"

"She believed in justice and was ignorant to the system that pushes her family forward while pushing others down and when she's confronted with this she's defensive about it"

"Her arc is learning about the oppression the system Piltover installed was bad and wanted change to help those in the undercity"

You then acknowledge her arc did not complete in season one and that you and many others expectation was to see she and Vi forge a new path for Piltover. So lets look at your observations regarding Caitlyn in season two:

"Caitlyn looses her mom and bam, facism and dictatorship!"

"We can't let the privileged girl face consequences!"

"Grief is not an excuse for what she did"

"She gassed and used nuclear warfare against the defenseless in Zaun"

"What she and Jinx did were two different things" you clarify below:

- "Jinx did what she did because of the oppression of Topside. Everything happened because of the class problems of Piltover" - "But Caitlyn? Yes loosing a parent figure is bad, but Caitlyn proved that those were anti topside: Jinx, Sevika, and Silco were right. The police brutality, the abuse of power, the gassing the city, everything".

6. "She gets no consequences. No, her loosing an eye wasn't a consequence for her becoming a dictator. That happened because she betrayed Ambessa. And even if it was, loosing an eye is not equal to what she did. Caitlyn got to walk away scot free. She got to go back to her mansion with Vi"

Response:

Okay, first off lets get this clarified. What you observed about the hard swing in Caitlyn's trajectory was correct. It was also the point. We already listed the long list of things that happen to Caitlyn piling up higher and higher that lead to her breaking point. Then this happens. So yes, her season two arc swings hard from what we were expecting. I suspect if you were almost murdered repeatedly, abducted, spared the woman who did those things and then watched her kill your mother you might also have some chaotic emotions and mental health for a while.

Now to keep things simple lets just go point by point, so my number 1 corresponds with your number 1 regarding season 2. Pretty simple.

1. Well as we have stated now in full and fleshed out detail there is immensely more to it than losing her mother. You make no mention of the manipulations and actions of Ambessa Medarda in Caitlyn's arc but I'm not detailing all of that. This is already too long. I'll link those docs at the end should you want to read them. It should also be noted Caitlyn is neither a fascist or a dictator. The elite of Piltover agree to declare Martial Law, and they agree to Caitlyn as commander. We can do the whole technical definition of both if you really need me to but I don't think that's needed right now. 2. Caitlyn faces a variety of consequences but you repeat yourself so I'll say more for number 6

3. Agreed. Grief is no excuse. As we have now shown conclusively, it goes so far beyond just grief. But also as we have discussed it is not about excusing anything. It is about understanding. And there can be no understanding as long as we are unwilling to look at her story honestly.

4. Regarding the nuclear warfare comment I apologize. I'm not meaning to be rude, but I have absolutely no clue what you are referencing and therefore cannot give that a thorough response. Regarding the gas, no she didn't. They used The Grey targeting the chem-barons and their soldiers. This was confirmed by Amanda Overton (who I know many of you disregard, but she was one of the creators like it or not), and there is no evidence to the contrary. This does include clearing the area of civilians to keep them out of the fighting. While it is true anything gas based cannot be absolutely contained, there is a tremendous difference between being specific and controlled in their use, versus just letting it loose all over. The imagery showing people running in the streets is from two sources: A- Cassandra Kiramman's files when Caitlyn is learning about The Grey: It's clearly old, with a faded old parchment sort of look to it. The building and the clothes are all different as well. B- The hellfire video- Let's actually look at this:

"We used The Grey to clear the streets! To keep people safe!"

Sound familiar? That's what Vi tells Jinx. You may notice those people are up, and running. They aren't on their backs choking. They are hunting armed criminals with access to Shimmer, and a terrorist who likes to blow things up. Clearing the area seems prudent.

And in case you have seen any of those posts regarding the "scenes they deleted to make Caitlyn look better" Hellfire isn't a pro-Caitlyn propaganda moment in the show. They aren't glamorizing her here. Look at some of the lyrics:

Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason? Is it bad that I'm making friends with my demons, and Living by a couple deadly sins Just to make sure I finish what you began

Does it seem like they are portraying this as a good thing? No. This whole sequence is Caitlyn losing herself. Giving in more to her rage and her pain and surrendering her values in the pursuit of "justice". But lying and exaggerating don't help anything. They only divert attention away from the true meaning of the narrative.

And before we move on lets just get this out of the way. There is no evidence that short term exposure to The Grey harms anyone long term. While there is an abundance of evidence to suggest it does not. We can speculate til the cows come home about what might happen. But at the end of the day this is fiction, and The Grey does not exist. What's accurate is what we are shown is accurate.

5. Well as we have discussed repeatedly Caitlyn's motivations are immensely more complicated and involved than grief over her mother.

Regarding Jinx, this is it's own topic and one I've written on fairly recently. I'll link that here as well. But let's take a quick look here at her actions regardless of motivation:

Lit a building on fire, lured in several enforcers including Caitlyn using a fake child's voice and then blew it up to steal hex tech. Killed everyone but Caitlyn.

Killed countless Firelights.

Attacked the bridge killing several people (Marcus and clearly proven corrupt Enforcers no big loss) but then attacked and actively tried to kill Caitlyn and Vi.

Blew herself up and almost killed Ekko after he stopped fighting

Abducted Caitlyn nude from her home, dressed her in her Enforcer uniform, held her close to a day.

Bound and gagged Caitlyn and made her listen while Jinx tried to convince Vi to murder her.

After Caitlyn spared her life, Jinx knocked her out. She then proceeded to kill Caitlyn's mother, two other councilors, main 2 more, injure at least Viktor and I'm sure other's we don't see, and destroy the chamber. The fall out of this attack opens the door for Piltover retaliation bringing it down on Zaun.

Unleashes The Grey all over Piltover.

If you want to give Jinx a free pass for all of that because of Piltover, I'm afraid you and I cannot agree.

Regarding proving Silco and Sevika right. These supposed champions of Zaun:

Directly and intentionally killed Vander, Grayson and Benzo

Caused the deaths of Mylo and Claggor by taking Vander

Tried to kill Vi

Silco was quite possibly about to kill Powder before she hugged him

They unleash Shimmer on their people. A proven dangerous, addictive drug that mutates its users and can turn them into monsters.

"anti-topside" Silco pays corrupt top-side cops to hunt and kill Firelights for opposing him

Regarding Silco: He promised Jinx and Vi's mother to make a safer Zaun for the then unborn Vi. He tried to kill Vi on the steps of Felicia and Conal's dilapidated home, using destitute Zaunites hooked on the drug he flooded the lanes with.

Regarding Sevika: She knew those kids the entire time they were with Vander. As stated, she plays a part in Vander's death leading to the deaths of Mylo and Claggor, tries to kill Vi repeatedly, and even though she helped orphan Jinx the second time she clearly and intentionally messes with her head in hopes Silco will cast Jinx out.

6. Regarding formal consequences, such as the law or something. As stated Martial Law and by extension Caitlyn was all agreed to by the Piltover elite and totally lawful within the bounds of this universe. Caitlyn's actions didn't actually violate real-world standards either (I've checked) but it's important to remember this isn't the real world. She can't be held to account for violating the Geneva convention in a world with no Geneva.

Regarding consequences in the story she absolutely did. We only see her for a brief moment after defeating Ambessa but her injuries were horrendous. With her power and resources, Caitlyn could have fled if she chose. No one could make her fight. Instead she fought on the front line and faced Ambessa, and sacrificed her eye, and almost her life. And that is to say nothing of the immense mental/emotional trauma of everything that has occurred.

If you aren't counting any of that because she chose to take that risk, I'll say this.

How did we reach the point where someone subjecting themselves to harm to make things right, isn't as righteous as watching them be forced to? It sounds to me like you loved Caitlyn as long as she wasn't affected by anything she went through.

WRAP UP:

This is insanely long. I do apologize for that but I knew it was going to be going in. Responding to multiple posts in one just comes out that way. I totally understand if you just TLDR and move on with your life. But if you do respond , I look forward to your thoughts.

Below as promised I will link my docs reference to the manipulations of Ambessa Medarda and Maddie Nolan on Caitlyn, as well as my recent post regarding Jinx and her motivations. Thank you.

Ambessa Medarda's Manipulation & Control

Maddie Nolan's Manipulation & Control

Jinx was never fighting her oppressor

[shadowwolfmemes]

Criticizing @8iid

This has got to be fucking satire, bro! 😭

I almost want to laugh myself into oblivion because there's no fucking way! 🤣

@starcrezt Look at this shit.

"We aren't evil, the world made us that way 😔" ahh asks.

I'll have to keep a lookout for a future post that goes "Together, we will all prevail and rise above the antis" ahh speech.

Girl please, you shouldn't be talking. You literally talk like a rejected super Marvel villain. No wonder why Marvel won't accept you because of this.

Also, what's your deal with adding random 8's in your sentences. That's like me adding "shadow" or "wolf" in every sentence I type out.

Again, look who's talking. You're lying if you claim you have self awareness.

"O-oh, I have OCD, so I can't block people."

Yeah fucking right. I'll take anything you say with huge mounds of salt. I have signs of OCD (possibly) and even I have no problem blocking people. I have a feeling you're lying and just saying that because you want to troll people more.

I said it once and I'll say it again, I am highly certain you're sending yourself those asks. Wanna know why I think that way?

Because for one, anyone can switch up their speaking patterns. Two, you're sending yourself that to make yourself feel like the mighty bigger person whilst standing at the very bottom of the muddy pit.

You can't say it's true if you don't have proof.

"You don't have to say something for it to 8e true."

Wouldn't that defeat the sole purpose of it being true? Yeah, it's safe to say you completely lost that argument. Don't say shit unless you got actual back up.

That's the most least intimidating threat I've heard. In fact, none of your threats are scaring anybody.

You can try as much as you want, nobody is shivering in their timbers.

It's funny when you do it, but when someone does the same to you, it's harassment?

Interesting... /sar

I only got three words for this...

Delusional Zoophile Check.

Calling everyone weird while also sending death threats, weird spelling, fucking your dog, telling people to kill themselves, sending one of my mutuals actual gore (my mutual is a minor btw), sending my mutual your SH cuts, etc.

Shall I continue on?

8iid, you realize no one's scared of you either, right?

You think you're intimidating, but you're less scary than a baby tiger trying to roar for the first time.

Again with the hypocrisy, I see. I shouldn't be surprised because that's all you're known for.

Also, if you feel suicidal and blocked Starcrezt, that means they won the argument. So much for the tough act, @8iid.

What is this grammar? I know what you're implying, but still...

Fix your spelling at least...

But you can get banned off Tumblr, whether you get sued or not. Even if you come back, we'll still pray on your downfall. When you do, we'll be the ones laughing and mocking the fuck out of you.

Actually, we can. I'm autistic yet I'm criticizing almost everything you're doing right now. So, what point are you making? Also, being autistic and physically disabled doesn't give you the right to be an asshole. Just saying.

Also also, criticizing you is not the same as having zero reading comprehension. Complain as much as you want, it's true because you're making it true.

I mean, the way you're typing is proving my friend they got a bigger brain. So, what now?

Not sorry to burst your bubble, but TransID's fit into the ableist category. How, you ask?

It's simple, really. It's because you're trying so hard to be something you're not or something you don't truly have.

For example, I'm an African American. If I said I wanted to be Asian even though I came from the USA and decided to "transition" to be Japanese instead, don't you think that'd make me racist? The answer is yes.

Also, mocking a disorder is ableist.

So, let me get this straight. You're sending death threats and calling my friends "retards" because of... what? Because one of my moots said your paraphile is bad? I think the easiest solution would to block, but of course, a simpleton like you couldn't possibly know how to locate the block button.

"This isn't an anime"

Also you: *Proceeds to laugh like you're in an anime*

14 yet you're acting like a spoiled, edgy, cringelord. But what else do I expect from 14 year old's?

More like a shame to society as a whole. It's funnier how some radqueers want nothing to do with you.

"Avengers! Rise!" ahh post

Yeah, because it's so cool to harass people instead of blocking. Look how cool and edgy I am, guys! 🤪 /j

CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES, THIS IS MY LAST RESORT. 😔

We get it, you're so emo.

Aight, I'm done. Let's see what you say. I ain't scared of you.

[itsfunnybcuzitstrue]

the full post on the catcher in the rye and solitaire including: references, similarities and some analyses

notes:

'holden caulfield' is the main character's name in the catcher in the rye

i am not saying that any of these similarities (both the minor and major ones) were intended by alice- they're just things that i noticed!

major references to the catcher in the rye that i noticed in solitaire, the first one was confirmed by alice herself:

michael holden's name is inspired by the main character of the catcher in the rye- holden caulfield

holden caulfield wears a red hunting hat and tori dreams about being caught by a boy wearing a red hunting hat every time she tries to jump off a cliff in her dream (click here for the full explanation)

in part 1, chapter 23 of solitaire ben hope punches charlie. michael holden rushes to charlie's side and asks him if charlie knows who he is, and tori narrates that he says ' “Michael Holden.” Then he grins manically. “Holden . . . funny . . .” ' -> i am 100% sure that this is a reference to catcher in the rye due to the first bullet point

this one isn't really a reference, but in 'after' in solitaire charlie tells his parents what happened, to which his dad responds that this is probably because he read the catcher in the rye too many times when he was a teenager. becky then says 'jesus. can't any teenager be sad and, like, not be compared to that book?' but it's quite funny that despite this quote solitaire is labelled as 'the catcher in the rye for the digital age' by critics

major similarities i noticed between the two books:

both books take place in a snowy, wintery setting

holden caulfield and michael holden are around the same height (holden is 6'2.5", michael 6'3")

both holden's roomate- stradlater- and tori's best friend- becky allen- give holden and tori slaps/pats on the cheek which both holden and tori hate

in chapter 11 of solitaire at becky's party, tori hides in the bathroom bc she feels uncomfortable and washes her hands 3x. in chapter 3 of the catcher in the rye when holden is in the bathroom with his roomate, he turns the tap on and off which he says is a 'nervous habit' he has

holden and tori both get bloody wounds which they both decide they like the look of

holden and tori's school environment saddens them

holden and tori are both atheists

holden and tori both go ice skating with a friend, and they are both bad at ice skating

holden and tori are both good at english

minor similarities i noticed between the two books:

holden and tori both have quite hostile relationships with their parents

holden's teacher 'spencer' is notable for his nods, and tori's teacher mr kent is notable for his long pauses- both teachers have a defining characteristic

both tori and holden write bad essays about a topic they have no interest in, both of which get read out to them by their disappointed teachers

the main characters of both books- holden, tori and michael- are all excellent liars

holden and tori can be quite sarcastic

both holden and tori encounter people that their sibling used to date- i know charlie and ben didn't exactly date, it's just the only word i can think of to summarise these relationships- and neither of them like said people

holden and tori are both very close to their younger sibling of the opposite sex- the reason this isn't in major similarities is because alice oseman has said tori and charlie's relationship was based off of her own relationship with her brother

holden and tori are both insomniacs

a farewell to arms and the great gatsby are mentioned in both books

both holden and tori have younger siblings who are more intelligent than you’d expect

analyses:

this analysis isn't as coherent as the next one, but holden says that he really likes 'the great gatsby' and in solitaire, lucas ryan tells tori that 'the great gatsby' is about being in love with a dream. in the catcher in the rye it's clear that holden is in love with his dream of preserving the innocence of childhood and youth as a whole (click here for a full analysis on the theme of childhood in the catcher in the rye) -> similarly in solitaire lucas ryan is obsessed with this image of tori that he has created in his head based off of their shared childhood history

both holden and tori yearn for the past- holden wants to preserve the innocence of childhood (see the link above), and i think it's safe to say that the two of them both want to preserve the ease of childhood too -> the first example i can think of for tori is when she says in part 1, chapter 6 'if I could swap bodies with someone for a day, I would choose oliver'. the next when charlie relapses in part 1, chapter 13 and she says 'i'm glad that he's [oliver's] never understood what's wrong with charlie.' and the final example being when she has a breakdown in part 2, chapter 7 and says to charlie 'my life was so normal before. i used to hate being so bored, but i want that back. i didn't care about anything before [...] but before solitaire, everything was fine. i was fine. i used to be fine'

if you liked solitaire then you should definitely read the catcher in the rye

[dreadfutures]

The people who don't engage with thoughtful criticism *from their own friends* and only look at whatever randomly shows up in their For You tab or the main tags unfiltered have such a skewed view of what the core problems are with the game and their defensiveness and rebuttals are just heartfelt "I enjoyed the game it can't be bad!" for the most part

I also enjoyed the game, it is objectively a very well crafted game. It is the best DA game to play. I like the characters. We agree on that. Have you taken the time to consider the gaping plot hole i tripped on, the complete loss of the main character's motivation, the "don't look behind the curtain" metaphysics of Thedas and its accompanying morality, the criticism of the game's clear message that the status quo is god, or the racism that many fans of color can't overlook? You're just going to gloss over how racist and awful Taash's quest is for anyone who comes from a mixed experience because we got our trans rep? You're just gonna ignore the upsetting non-progress, anti-community, and racist messaging baked into Harding's quest? Your essays about how the game made you feel good are not helping. I'm happy for you. I'm happy Lace Harding is allowed to be angry. I'm happy Taash found a queer community and their mom's dying breath validated them. I'm happy both your choices for Archon and all the good guys around them think slavery is bad and are going to take care of it. If you don't want to look deeper, fine, but stop making "essays" that "address" "the haters" because they aren't essays (they aren't structured arguments), they aren't addressing criticisms that are in good faith (because you are ignoring all of them very pointedly except for the absolutely wildest batshit takes you saw on YouTube 2 months ago being parroted by some random Tumblr user you've never met before in the main tag), and I'm not a hater 😔

I keep going and touching grass and recentering my fandom experience with people who just enjoy the game and aren't defensive about it and then someone has to come out swinging with "people who have problems with this game are just reactionary haters because it made me feel good and I am the only person who considered that we needed a story that makes us feel good right now and just like every other DA game these haters will go away--"

You know, I think a lot of the criticisms I have for DA4 are actually founded in some real soul searching and serious thought that I had post-game, after the warm fuzzy feelings wore off. The more I think about them and re-play the game and re-experience those moments, the deeper my concerns and critique go. That is not reactionary "she wasn't the bioware game ***I*** built up in my head" y'know?

[blinday]

1. Not a specific character, but it does feel very passive agressive. Yes, it does seem like fandom policing. It's all in the intent. Like, what's the point of it? "Oh look. You like a white character amongst your shows? Shame on you." That's stupid.

2. a) I don't know, but I doubt it's something like 'oooh! The only white character in the show! I'm gonna kin them instead of the mc'.

b) It certainly criticizes it. Or do you have a different purpose for this comic? You certainly made it seem like it's a bad thing to pay the white characters more attention than the poc ones.

c) Yes. Yes, actually. I've been and seen fandoms in which a character was there for very short period of time and got a lot of attention. Hell, the whole thing in MLP is that background characters get backstories because the fans love them.

3. Actually, no. Most of my favorite characters are black/asian/blasian coded ninja turtles. I like the characters based on how skrunkly and hurt shaped they are.

4. Yes. I do think there's a reason. White people already have many spaces for them, so it's frustrating when they're more beloved than a poc character. Even so, it doesn't make it wrong or bad or harmful for people to like them. What I personally do is to promote my favorites and make content for them.

5. Well. I saw something stupid that a lot of people talk about and decided to give my own 2 cents, since you know. It's the internet. And sometimes it's important to see other perspectives.

For the last question: Actually, no! I was raised in South Africa and am a Brazilian, now living in Brazil with my black boyfriend and family members. Speaking of which, before I posted, I asked for his input, because of the amount of people saying I don't have a say in this because I'm most likely white. I didn’t want to be disrespectful. Well, let's just say, he beta read this response and endorsed it. So. I think I'm in the clear.

Also, I tend to use sarcasm and paused structure sentencing to make my posts humorous. I don't have anything against you personally, I just wanted to participate in the debate. It is a funny comic and it's something that does happen. It's a bit annoying, but I just don't think it's harmful or too deep.

[milkcioccolato]

Now, we need to have a serious discussion

Actually no, it’s not a discussion. I’m going to speak and you’re going to listen

It has come to my attention that my ship might be problematic to some because the characters had little crushes on eachother when one was around 18YO and the other around 16YO (characters that will not have a relationship with eachother until they’re both into their 20s)

If you think something like this hurts your sensibilities and you find it gross, please, PLEASE block me

I don’t like having the same conversation thousands of times with people who think they’re these knights of political justice that get so inflated in their "goodness" And being "morally better" Than anything becomes a fight, even stupid fucking things that no ACTUAL REAL LIFE PERSON WOULD FIND PROBLEMATIC!

I need some of you to engage in the real world a bit more and stop eating up every single things these moral paladins feed you as "problematic" and "weirdo behavior" and things like that

Someone can dislike you without being a "narcissist"

Someone can tell you you’re wrong without "gaslighting you"

Someone can definitely make a comic about two TEENAGERS having crushes for eachother without being a "proshipper"

You look ridiculous. Live in the real world please.

[yudol-skorbi]

i am at the point where if i dont finish now i'll newer finish so yeah the rest of the gaaaaaang

[poorshadowspaintedqueens]

I have spent my life studying premodern European literature.

Let's start there. You cannot study premodern Europe without grappling with the fact that you're going to end up reading things that are absolutely horrifying from a modern perspective. This goes double if you're from a marginalized group, triple if you had to learn the actual meaning of the word "intersectional" to define how you fit into the world.

There are works of art (books, films, music, visual art) that I love--and I do mean love, as in baked into my very soul and being--that were created by people who, if they met me on the street, would spit in my face at best and possibly do far worse. I have studied these books, learned them through and through, taught them to other people as things I love. But I will never be able to unsee or ignore the fact that the author would have seen me, a fellow human being, as subhuman.

This requires time and patience. It requires sitting with yourself, with what you love, and understanding that just because you love it, that doesn't make it perfect or right. Human beings are flawed, and so is our art. To deny that is to deny everything that went into that art.

Nor is it as simple as throwing up one's hands and yelling about Barthes and the death of the author. Because art (of any sort) is not produced in a vacuum, nor should is be treated as such. You cannot properly understand any artwork without understanding its context.

And, let's be clear: Terrible people can produce beautiful art. Richard Wagner was a piece of shit trashfire, but Isoldes Liebestod is hard-wired to make me cry.* Perhaps more relevantly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Joss Whedon were foundational to my understanding of media and to my own writing style. I still see fragments in my writing to this day. Does that make me a bad person for having been influenced by a bad person? I like to think not. But I'm also willing to look back on Buffy with fresh eyes and see the flaws alongside those things I still love about it.

In a sense, it really is about perspective. And maybe the problem with so many of these viral posts is that they're being blasted out before anyone has taken the time to think about them. It took me a long time--not to mention 4 years of graduate school and 10+ of teaching--to get to where I am now. We shouldn't expect everyone to immediately figure out how to read critically, and it's not fair to dogpile people for things they haven't learned yet. But this goes both ways--if you like a thing, and somebody points out a problematic aspect of the thing, maybe stop assuming they're wrong and consider you might not know as much as you think you know.

* The fact that Jessye Norman sings it so divinely would probably also make Wagner really mad.

Of course, it borders on stating the obvious to point out that all the people in the notes of that one txttletale post going "actually no, conservatives ARE incapable of making good art because good art requires empathy/compassion/kindness/understanding other people's perspectives/[insert vaguely good-sounding virtue that conservatives supposedly lack here]" are just mentally doing the whole "every media i like is secretly leftist" thing.

But digging down further and on a less obvious note, I think the reason WHY so many liberals and vibes-based leftists are constantly doing the "every media I like is secretly leftist" thing is because they don't actually fundamentally disagree that much with the basic assumptions about the world that support conservative ideologies, they just dislike when they manifest in the form of explicit bigotry.

So when those assumptions are baked into a piece of art (especially a piece of art that is *good*) in the form of undertones instead of explicit bigotry they just come off as The Way The World Is and completely fail to register as conservative to them.

[cyanityinsanity101]

i haven't really posted about hazshit hotel even critically before- but I wanted to edit a screenshot to try and redesign the whole color of the pride ring.

[ My edit ]

[ Original ]

[eternalmomentss]

Rewatching EXU Prime and Kymal and I am fucking inconsolable.

[shorthaltsjester]

Imogen Temult, Exaltant Hope of the Red Storm

Heroes and Monsters by Penny & Sparrow // Critical Role Campaign 3

[artsekey]

It really does look like pivoting to Harris has thrown the Republican party for a loop. She's speaking clearly, concisely, and with wit; if she were to be put in the ring with Trump, it would be a knockout if only because she's coherent.

I'm voting blue regardless, but I've started to feel like I've moved from voting for the 'least bad' option to someone I might actually be more passionate in supporting.

[independent-fics]

Leverage | The Beginning and The End Parallels

Leverage (2008-2012)

01x01 The Nigerian Job

05x15 The Long Good-bye Job

[thesheriffandthebrawler]

WOMAN.