#Make Warmongering Stop

[sylvialovej]

Make Your Warmongering Western Politicians Shut their Mouths and Let There Be Peace!

Let these Rothschild agents in their Time is Up. 2000 years Overdue! Have you heard the word Peace come out of the mouths of any Western Politicians once? No, you have not because they want war! So that they can keep thieving all of our Wealth and resources and kill us while they are at it. They are doing this as if it is for you. Your government representatives who work for you, who must…

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF TUCHANKA: TURIAN PLATOON

Featuring: Cmdr. Sophie Shepard, Lt. James Vega, EDI, and Lt. Tarquin Victus With: Lt. Steve Cortez and The Ninth Turian Platoon Decisions like these weigh heavy on me- when I was a General, I could pass them up the chain of command. But now? I'm all I've got. I'm beginning to understand why leaders so often seem lonely... Worst case scenarios aren't just theories- they're what you'll be dealing with five minutes from now. Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021)

[amischiefofmuses]

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[fir-fireweed]

Intro Post for my new WIP, “Cantata.” If you haven’t yet read my completed IF, “Viatica,” you can find it here on itch.

A low fantasy IF loosely based on the Italian Renaissance period, with a steampunk edge.

DEMO on Itch

SYNOPSIS

The story is set in Saleste, an empire with a long history of expansionism and colonization. It is a vast, wealthy empire, very much set in notions of classism and noble privilege. And its warmongering has only grown more brazen under the current regis (monarch). Saleste is currently at a stalemate with Tinebaille, a neighboring island nation the empire has repeatedly tried, and failed, to conquer.

Within the empire, technically citizens but not, are the Iredicci. The Iredicci are as much a religion as they are a race—less like priests and more like monks or shamans. The Iredicci can hear and feel the cordis, the harmonic pulse that connects all living things, and they connect to it through song. Iredicci have excellent hearing, but their defining feature is their voice—they have an echo to their voice, a resonance of two pitches at once. The regis asked the Iredicci elders to use their unique gift to help him conquer Tinebaille, but as a peaceful people, they refused.

A simple, nomadic people, the Iredicci were traditionally welcome in all corners of the Saleste Empire. But as steam technology progressed and the push for new resources grew, a prejudice developed against them. The regis spread propaganda against the Iredicci, painting them as an inferior, uncivilized people who leeched off the empire rather than aided it. Over the years they stopped being welcome. Eventually, their travel was restricted, and the Iredicci were forced to live in settlement camps.

You are one of the Iredicci, born into such a camp. The elders sing songs of past travels and wonders you have never seen. Ever the optimists, the elders tell you to take heart. To be thankful you are among friends and family. That things can’t possibly get any worse.

Until they do.

Historians and politicians would call it The Proelium, a righteous battle against the traitorous Iredicci. What it really was, was the systematic genocide of your people. In one night, soldiers attacked every settlement camp across the empire. No one was spared—not the elders, not the children, not your mother.

It was mere whim that you snuck out of camp that evening, a mischievous escapade with a friend that ironically saved your life. You are taken in by your friend’s family and kept safe. But with survivors being hunted and killed, you must conceal your identity. So, you pretend to be deaf and mute.

Journey through the empire of Saleste and beyond. Grow from a child into an adult. Make friends, lovers, allies, and enemies. How will they react when your secret comes to light? Will you abandon your song in favor of machine? Join the rebel forces against the tyrant regis? Will you heal the wounds of the realm and restore balance? Or plunge it further into chaos?

MAGIC

There is no magic in the traditional sense, but your people are attuned to the cordis, the harmonies of the earth. Your song brings rain to drought ridden areas, quiets thunderstorms, tames wildfires, and soothes hearts. You can also attune to a specific element, which corresponds to one of the senses:

Earth/Smell

Air/Sight

Fire/Touch

Water/Taste

FEATURES

Play as male, female or nonbinary—you’ll be able to choose your pronouns independent of your body type.

Customize your character’s appearance and personality.

Choose your attunement/proficiency with the cordis. This choice will heavily influence gameplay, affecting combat, weapon specialization, character interactions, and problem-solving situations. Choose wisely!

Create 2 character names: your birth name and an alias. The Iredicci have culturally unique names, so your birth name will be limited to a preset selection. But you will go by an alias of your own choosing for most of the story.

Develop your relationship with your adopted sister. Are you friends or rivals?

Romance! Or not. Romance 1 of 4 possible love interests, or choose the platonic route with the best of friends.

Save a wild animal from a hunter’s trap and gain a steadfast companion. Because fur baby.

THE MC

The game begins with you at age 7. When you are 12, your camp is slaughtered during The Proelium. With your voice and heightened hearing identifying you as Iredicci, you pretend to be deaf and mute in order to hide your heritage. The main game occurs 13 years after The Proelium, when you are 25.

ROMANCE OPTIONS

Calliope Cato (she/her)

The inventor/artificer, Calliope can build and fix any machine. She is 2 years younger than you, petite, with gold eyes, rich brown skin and black hair in multiple braids. Her hair and clothes are adorned in rings, belts, and pins which double as tools. She carries a man’s cane sword with her everywhere, which she wields in a fight along with a hand crossbow. She’s curious, optimistic, excitable, and easily distracted by her many projects, but much of that is to keep her mind occupied. In quiet moments when she thinks no one is looking, you glimpse a profound sadness on her features.

Corinne Xenakis (she/her)

The leader of the rebels, Corinne works to overthrow the monarchy and aid the surviving Iredicci where possible. She is 6 years older than you. She is tall, with long, sandy brown hair usually worn in a messy bun or loosely braided bun, hazel eyes, and beige skin tanned by the sun. Quiet, serious and aloof, she feels a tremendous responsibility for those under her command. Corinne is a contradiction—she has the grace and manners of a noblewoman, yet fights with military precision that is uncommon for females of noble lineage. She is deadly when double wielding her flintlocks or axes. While not cold, she is not overly familiar or friendly with anyone, and very tight-lipped about her past. What does she guard so fiercely behind her armor?

Vicente Aloi (he/they)

The bastard prince, Vicente is calculating, ruthless and driven. They are the same age as you, and they, too, lost their mother the night of The Proelium, though under different circumstances. But while you were adopted into a loving family, he is the unwanted son of the regis, trained to be a lethal tool. He has long, midnight blue-black hair, icy blue eyes, and high defined cheekbones. The edges of a tattoo are barely visible on his neck above the collar of his doublet… wings, perhaps? It’s beautiful. He’s beautiful, though you’d never tell him for fear he’d take his rapier to your neck simply for looking. Will your plans align with his, or are you merely another pawn in his schemes?

Bayram Durmaz (he/him)

The son of the Aydem, the matriarchal leader of Tinebaille. Bayram is 4 years older than you. He has golden-honey skin, light brown eyes, and dark brown, tightly-curled hair that he usually wears back in a ponytail or half ponytail. He is tall and broad, muscular but not toned, with a rounded edge to his stomach and chest. A sprawling, colorful tattoo, the mosaic artwork of his people, covers the entirety of his back. He is boisterous, bold, and a shameless flirt. With his young sister bearing the weight of succession, he’s been free to explore the islands to his heart’s content, and is familiar with every bay, inlet, and harbor. He is equally skilled at wielding a spear, sailing a ship, and charming hearts.

CONTENT WARNING

This story is intended for mature audiences. Possibly triggering topics present in the story include blood, violence, death (including child death), trauma & PTSD, mature language, sexual content (optional), classism, sexism, bigotry, and the persecution of a fictional people. Be advised, you are also pretending to have a disability for at least half the story.

The music is intentionally loud in certain parts of the story. This is to mimic the noise and emotions that the MC is experiencing, as sound is an integral feature of your race. It may be uncomfortable for some readers, so please read with caution.

PINTEREST click here

[goodolreliablejake]

Fantasy races are an uncomfortable concept, because they present a world that literally works the way racists think that it works. The attempts to mitigate this problem often fail to address the core concern, merely making the idea more palatable.

A big example is trying to correct by changing the language from "races" to "species." This attempt fails for two reasons:

1) Exactly! Racists think that people of other races are a different species. That's the foundation of "race science," phrenology, all of it.

2) Are demihumans different species, though? Like, the interactions between elves and dwarves don't resemble the interactions between different species in our world. They don't act like snakes and lemurs, or whales and krill, or even cats and dogs. More often we've got different groups of people, who may speak different languages and have different cultural practices, engaging in diplomacy or war and struggling to coexist. In practice, they are treated as nations: ethnicities. Except they're ethnicities who are biologically distinct enough to have objective differences in ability.

This is something that puts me on edge in Mass Effect, otherwise one of my favorite games. True, the game ultimately lands on condemning the genophage, and it's not subtle about that. I mean just look at the name... But it's still considered debatable, morally grey, and Mordin Solus remains one of the most charming and enduring heroes of the series. The setting has bent over backwards to make every racist stereotype and talking point as legitimate as possible. In this setting, it is objectively true, scientifically proven that it is in the DNA of Krogans to naturally be violent, warmongering killing machines whose explosively rapid breeding poses an existential threat to the galaxy. That in turn is meant to make us think that maybe forced sterilization is something worth considering. It's hard to ignore the parallels to real life racist propaganda. I don't think it's malicious, just ungrounded and thoughtless; the result of creators to whom these ideals are abstract thought experiments, rather than reflections of real history.

Another big example is Dark Elves. They try to make it okay, to mitigate the message by fleshing them out as characters, by scapegoating an abusive deity rather than an ingrained nature, by erasing the monster manual description that reads "Always Chaotic Evil," by trending skin tone away from black and towards purple, or gray, even pale white. But none of it really changes the core issue, does it? The idea of drow is to equate dark skin with evil, to fetishize that idea, and to tell a story about a subsect of people cast into darkness as a result of sin in a direct parallel to racist Christian beliefs about dark skin being a curse or punishment from God.

So, do I think we need to cancel Mass Effect and stop playing D&D or telling stories about drow? No, not really. I mean... I do all these things. Truth is, I don't have an actionable solution, for myself or anyone. But the dynamic is clearly present and worth describing. And the attempts to challenge it are often insufficient, more about making ourselves feel better about what we're already doing than enacting real change.

[p-taryn-dactyl]

I saw you were taking Ambessa request so I've had something in mind for weeks now because I just love that milf. Sorry for the bad spelling and grammar.

Ambessa x priestess! Reader from a country she helped conquer. The country is run by the priestesses so when the reader is brought to Ambessa with the other priestesses Ambessa finds the reader interesting because she's the only one not scared.

This can a series of you want it to beI've asked so many people and they never end up doing it or they go inactive🥲

a/n: hi! i really like this prompt and hopefully i did it justice 🫶🏻 if y'all want this to be a series it can be! also, this is for all requests, if you want 🌶️ plz mention it in request bc i feel weird just adding it word count: 1.7k warning(s): i mean ambessa is not exactly the best person however she's hot; mentions of blood and battle; suggestiveness; use of y/n; manipulation? tag(s): @thesevi0lentdelights @sevyscoven

all things end

The halls you once danced through as a child were now stained with blood, smeared with the resistance of your people. Noxian soldiers formed a wall around you and your fellow priestesses as you were paraded through the halls of the castle, the survivors of the Noxian invasion, desperate for a glimpse of their leaders, formed a crowd. The soldiers pushed through the people, their skin stained with blood and their weapons drawn. Your kingdom wasn't one of war, your people unfamiliar with the craft of violence. To Noxus, you were soft, a country pliable enough to shape in their vision. You knew where the soldiers were taking you, the path one you had walked every morning since becoming a Priestess of Zhritsa. The center of the castle, where you would go to do your morning prayers, to feel the sun through the stained glass window on the ceiling, to hear the requests your people would bring to you. It was the hub of your government, the place where decisions happened.

Now it was where Ambessa Medarda waited.

Following Zhritsan custom, you and your fellow Priestesses wore white veils of mourning, the pure fabric growing dirty as you dragged your feet towards what you assumed was death. A mask of marble weighed heavy on your face, grounding you to reality. In one last act of defiance, you had convinced your fellow priestesses to follow you in donning your ceremonial crowns, sending the message of being the true rulers of Zhritsa. The attire of the Priestesses of Zhritsa was rumored to have scared off countless conquerors, the ghostly movements of the veils and the emotionless masks where only the eyes could be seen were now your only hope in making the Noxian invaders leave.

Suddenly, the soldiers stopped, their spears hitting the ground rhythmically as they parted, revealing Ambessa sitting upon the middle throne, her posture comanding and confident. Upon seeing all of you, you noticed an unsettled expression flash through Ambessa's eyes before it was replaced by the stare of the Wolf. She stood, waving her hand through the air.

"Lift your veils and remove your masks, I belive I am owed the faces of the former rulers of this...quaint kingdom."

Your resolve grew stronger as you lifted your veil, your hands steady as you removed your mask, your eyes glaring straight ahead at the warmonger. Your fellow Priestesses, however, shook with fear as their veils were raised and their masks removed. One of your sisters dropped her mask, the shattering of the marble echoing throughout the chamber. Noxian soldiers moved forward as if her clumsiness was an attack, you moved just as quick, standing in front of her, your eyes daring the soldiers to get closer as your Sister picked up the shards of her mask with shaking hands. Ambessa watched you with careful precision, making her way down the steps of the throne, her steps surprisingly quiet. The soldiers stood down as she grew closer, your defiant gaze now settled on her. She smirked lightly, removing her war mask, raising an eyebrow.

"There. Now we can all see each other." Her eyes held a type of humor that didn't amuse you. You didn't ignore the way blood was splattered across her towering form, reminding you of the countless lives of your people she slaughtered to get where she is. Ambessa grew closer to you, her eyes analysing you. Your eyes never left hers, willing to die in one last act of resistance for your country. The Noxian soldiers had stripped you of any weapons, even the ceremonial knives with blunt edges. However, in your stance in front of your Sister, you, as stealthily as possible, had picked up one of the shards of the broken mask. You lunged forward, the pathetic excuse of a weapon in your hand, aiming for her throat. Like it was a simple game, Ambessa maneuvered expertly, grapping your wrist and twisting with just enough force that the piece of mask fell from your hand where she kicked it away. Her grip on your wrist was firm, yet not painful as she pulled you close to her. You had to look up to see her face, her expression one of withheld laughter.

"She'll come with me. Take the others away."

The soldiers acted immediately, grabbing your Sisters and pulling them out of the room, their cries sending daggers into your soul. You struggled against Ambessa's grip on your arm as she too started leaving the room.

Was this how you were to die? Alone and by the hands of Ambessa Medarda? Surely she was dragging you to certain death, as a wolf has no mercy. Yet as you were pulled through the familiar halls of the castle, you felt her grip grow softer. Soon it was as if you were holding hands with the woman who was covered in the blood of your people. She stopped in front of a familiar set of doors, your stomach dropping as you realized you now stood in front of your chambers. Ambessa turned to look at you, cocking her head slightly and raising an eyebrow. Her hand left your wrist, instead now taking its place on your lower back as she pushed you forward lightly.

"Open the doors, my Lady." Her voice held a mocking tone, yet you detected a hint of warmth, sending your mind spiralling in confusion. You wanted to defy her, stand your ground against letting her into your room, but your eyes fell on the sword hanging from Ambessa's hips. If you could prolong your life by even a few minutes, you would. Holding your head high, you twisted the handle, pushing the doors open, revealing your room. Ambessa stepped in first, looking around before walking over to the balcony, where you could see your kingdom in almost it's entirety. Cautiously, you went to stand next to the imposing woman, some of the fight drained from you as you imagined your Sisters being tortured under the Noxian soldiers hands. Was it because of your outburst that they were taken away?

In your thoughts, you had grasped the railing of your balcony, your eyes unfocused as your thoughts spiraled.

"Don't tell me you've lost that fire in your eyes." Ambessa's rich voice broke you from your spiral, her words causing you to spin around to face her, bringing the anger back to your face.

"Why?" You spit out, "Do you want to watch it die out as you kill me in my room?"

Ambessa almost looked taken aback, like she didn't expect the venom dripping from your words. Still, she carefully composed herself, moving so now she caged you in on the balcony with her muscular arms. Her eyes were glued to yours, making you unable to look away. There was a light smirk on her lips as she spoke.

"There it is. I have no interest in killing you, Y/N. You've caught my interest with your fire, your willingness to fight back even though," she interupted herself with a laugh before continuing, "there was no chance of you winning. I admire that." You stood frozen as her eyes examined your face. Being this close to the general, you felt your anger slip slightly, feeling heat rise to your cheeks as you realized just how intimidatingly beautiful she was. It bothered you, how someone who's committed such horrible acts could be one of the most beautiful women you've ever seen. Ambessa took a step back, her arms no longer caging you in and you felt annoyed at yourself for being disappointed.

"We're going to be here a while, my soldiers and I. I would rather not have to spill any more senseless blood," She walked back into your room, expecting you to follow her and you did, "You've shown strength while others reek of weakness. Know this, young one, this isn't an act of mercy. Keeping you alive keeps stronger enemies at bay." She sat on your bed, leaning forward on her knees and clasping her hands together as she continued to pierce you with her gaze. You didn't know where to go, a stranger in your own room. You just returned her gaze, once more holding up your chin as you responded.

"And what is the price for this act of 'non-mercy'?" You decided that if she was letting you live, you would at least be yourself, cocking your head to the side and raising an eyebrow. You also crossed your arms, a grounding position for you as Ambessa just smiled at your petulance. She beckoned you to stand in front of her, positioning you so you know stood in between her thighs. One of her heads took it's place on your waist while the other cupped your chin and held her face in place so you were now eye to eye. Her touch sent chills down your spine, a flash of anger going through you as how your body was reacting to your countries conqueror.

"Show me more of your fire, teach me more about Zhrista so that my protection isn't just at the surface. All I ask is loyalty and all your needs will be met."

All my needs? Your mind supplied unhelpfully, making you unintentionally blush as you pushed those thoughts away, though it was hard with how Ambessa's eyes were looking into yours, awaiting an answer. You still held contempt for the woman in front of you, however your mind thought through Ambessa's offer. Your kingdom was a beautiful one, yes, strong only in trade and exports, your military lacking in skills of war. Ambessa's presence, while slightly annoying, could help strengthen your people's safety. You thought about your fellow Sisters, your certainty of their deaths fading away as you continued to examine Ambessa's expression.

You came to a decision, one that would change the course of your life and the trajectory of your kingdom forever.

Boldly, you got as close to Ambessa as you could without being in her lap, reveling the slight surprise her eyes radiated. You felt her grip on your waist tighten as you nodded, silently giving your agreement.

If she wanted your fire, you would set her ablaze.

a/n: hi! i hope this wasn't awful, im still new to writing for arcane, let alone ambessa (love her so much, it's a concern). thank you for reading!!

[qiu-yan]

wei wuxian vs. pragmatism: what MDZS intends to say about righteousness

copy/pasting most of my rather bitchy reply into its own individual post because i think it deserves to stand on its own.

so i think we can all agree that MXTX intends for us to read MDZS and conclude that wei wuxian is ultimately a deeply heroic and righteous person. whether you as the reader agree with this assessment of wei wuxian's moral character is another question entirely, but at the very least it is fairly obvious to all of us that MXTX intends for us to read him as a good person.

so why does MXTX call wei wuxian a good person? what aspects of his character and which of his choices make him a good person? what moral framework and what definition of morality does MXTX employ in order to call wei wuxian a good person?

i posit that MXTX argues that wei wuxian is heroic precisely because he is not pragmatic - because he adheres to his moral ideals despite the consequences, and because he did not make moral sacrifices at critical junctures of his life. the first half of this post will argue that wei wuxian is not pragmatic. the second half of this post will argue that this is exactly why wei wuxian is heroic, and that the moral framework employed by MXTX is deeply idealistic instead.

so let's begin.

let's start by establishing two things.

first: what MXTX argues about morality through the narrative of MDZS and the reader's own beliefs about morality are two different things. me saying "MDZS argues that xyz is righteousness" and me saying "i think xyz is righteousness" are two different statements. the following analysis is concerned not with what i myself consider to be righteous, but rather what MXTX argues through MDZS is righteous.

second: wei wuxian is not pragmatic.

what does it mean to be pragmatic? unless we are speaking about the school of philosophy specifically (which i am not here), being pragmatic means being grounded in reality and focused on practical outcomes. it means being result-oriented and considering the consequences of your actions before you act; it means acting only after you have considered the potential consequences of all possible courses of action and have then decided which outcomes are acceptable. being pragmatic also means recognizing when achieving everything you want is impossible. and, in such situations, being pragmatic thus entails compromising to achieve a desired outcome, even if that means you don’t get everything they want. to put it in edgier terms, being pragmatic means being able to make moral sacrifices.

an idealistic person attempts the impossible. a pragmatic person recognizes when something truly is impossible.

wei wuxian is not pragmatic.

first, wei wuxian is not someone who carefully considers the consequences of his actions before he acts. in fact, he displays a startling lack of consideration for consequences. it repeatedly falls upon other characters to either try (and fail) to hold him back.

when wei wuxian punched jin zixuan for insulting first jiang yanli and then jiang cheng, did he consider that jiang fengmian and jin guangshan might then dissolve the betrothal, and that jiang yanli might have wanted to make a decision regarding that on her own? no. he just punched jin zixuan because he was mad that jin zixuan had insulted two people he loved.

when wen chao threatened mianmian, and lan wangji and jin zixuan stood up for mianmian, and then wei wuxian stood up for them by holding wen chao hostage in turn - did he consider that there might be consequences for humiliating and threatening the life of the son of a warmongering great sect leader who has already proven capable of attacking other sects? no. did he stop and think "alright, wen ruohan has already attacked the cloud recesses, which proves that he's willing to wage war against the other sects. threatening the son of a sect leader is an easy way to earn any sect leader's ire, and since i'm the first disciple of the jiang sect, this puts not just me but the entire jiang sect on wen ruohan's shitlist"? no. it would be one thing if wei wuxian weighed this possibility and then decided that rescuing an innocent girl and the people who defended her was more important was worth the risk - that would show that he considered the consequences and then made his choice. but the thought simply never entered his mind. he acted simply because he wanted to save mianmian, jin zixuan, and lan wangji from the wens; he did not think beyond that.

when wei wuxian busted the wen remnants out of the qiongqi pass labor camp, did he have a clear plan as to how he was going to weather the political fallout? did he have a plan more detailed than "live quietly in the burial mounds until everyone forgets about us"? no. when jiang cheng challenged him as to how he was going to survive the situation, he did not in fact offer anything more concrete than "we'll just wait for everyone else to forget about us." he blustered about being a once-in-a-generation genius who could accomplish the impossible, but he provided no actual plan as to how he was going to do it. this leads me to conclude that wei wuxian did not in fact have a long-term plan for handling the consequences when he went ham at the qiongqi pass camp - that, instead of weighing the consequences and then making his decision, he instead decided immediately that this was something he had to do, consequences be damned.

and then - on top of this - all of his following actions then point in the exact opposite direction of his stated plan of waiting for everyone to forget about them. because instead of doing anything to fade into the background, everything wei wuxian did instead just convinced the jianghu he was an intolerable threat.

and this was not a sustainable strategy.

one thing i really appreciate about MXTX is that she does not make the rest of the jianghu into one-dimensional villainous morons. it's quite easy for lazy writers who want a persecution plotline to have the rest of the story's society magically start hating on the protagonist for no good reason, to make every background character in the story's world a three-braincell moron. but MXTX is not that author. it speaks to MXTX's skill as an author that, from the perspective of the rest of the jianghu, fearing wei wuxian as a mortal threat was an entirely reasonable conclusion for them to come to.

first, the gentry's most recent direct interaction with wei wuxian during this time period is him threatening to kill all of them. when jin zixun doesn't give him the information he wants, wei wuxian straight up says: "if i want to kill everyone here, who can stop me? who dares stop me?" this is a threat! and - surprise - threatening to kill people naturally makes people think that you want to kill them! 

next, wei wuxian refined wen ning's dead body into the first sentient fierce corpse in history, and also the strongest fierce corpse in living memory - and then took wen ning with him on night-hunts. that's where the reputation of "the yiling patriarch and his ghost general" comes from. this very naturally made the rest of society fear him even more, because now the guy who has just recently threatened to kill you has demonstrated even more of the power to easily do so! the unparalleled power to do so, which no one else possesses and it would be very hard for anyone else to counter! add in the fact that wei wuxian's activities were also attracting prospective disciples - people gathering outside the burial mounds because they wanted to learn demonic cultivation - and naturally the public is even more frightened, because now it looks like the guy who threatened to kill all of you is also gathering the political force to do so!

the public is incorrect about wei wuxian's intentions, of course. but what does wei wuxian do to correct these misconceptions? to rehabilitate his public image, because now his public image has the life of not just himself but also all the wen remnants under his protection riding on it? to prove to the public that he isn't an active threat to their lives - that he does not seek to murder them all in their beds - that it is safe for them to allow him to live, and that they can in fact survive if they don't kill him?

nothing.

it would be one thing if the story mentioned how wei wuxian tried to correct the malicious rumors about himself and failed. but that is not what happened. what happened is that wei wuxian sat on his corpse mountain and let everyone else say what they wanted to say. and when he left his corpse mountain, it was to bring his one-of-a-kind unparalleled sentient fierce corpse with him on night-hunts, which of course just fanned the flames of the rumors instead. he doesn't even tell the prospective pupils camped on his front door to fuck off - he just sneaks in through the back door.

this is not pragmatic behavior. though you can argue that wei wuxian's strategy here was to become so powerful and so scary that no one would dare try to fight him, anyone with a brain can tell you that this is not a sustainable solution in the long-term. first, if you want to use threats to keep someone from attacking you, you also need to promise stability - you need to give people the reassurance that if they don't start shit with you, then you'll leave them alone too. if you drive the "threat" factor too high, as wei wuxian did, you instead end up convincing people that if they do nothing you'll kill them anyways - that they have no choice but to kill you if they want to survive.

second, if you want to use threats to keep someone from attacking you, you also need to prepare for the inevitability that, if someone does end up getting hurt, everyone will blame you first and no one will want to hear your side of the story. after all, if someone gets hurt, then the first suspect everyone looks towards will be the guy who's been consistently saying "i'm strong enough to hurt you! i'm strong enough to hurt you! don't start shit with me because i'm strong enough to end you!" for the past few months. this is basic common sense. and yes, the society of MDZS is unfair - wei wuxian deserved a proper trial and investigation after the death of jin zixuan. but the fact that society is unfair is something a pragmatic person would have recognized and planned for.

wei wuxian did not recognize and plan for this reality. even after he accidentally kills jin zixuan, wei wuxian still insists that if only the jianghu investigates jin zixun's hundred holes curse, they'll see that wei wuxian didn't cast the hundred holes curse, they'll see that there was more scheming going on, etc etc. wen qing has to directly spell out for him that, at this point, society no longer cares about the truth of the matter. it seems that wei wuxian was actually oddly idealistic about the true nature of his society all the way until the very end.

all of this leads me to conclude that, when wei wuxian busted the wen remnants out of the qiongqi pass labor camp, he did so without considering the consequences of his actions. he assumed that he could improvise and weasel his way out of this situation, as he's always done in the past with his typical genius - only this time, he was wrong.

wei wuxian acts without considering the consequences of his actions. he does not make a decision only after carefully deliberating over all of the potential outcomes - not at all. instead, he acts in the moment - not out of any rational consideration of potential outcomes, but rather because it is simply something he must do. this by definition makes him a deeply unpragmatic person.

to put it into more familiar terms, for wei wuxian, the righteousness of an action comes not from its consequences, but are rather inherent to the action itself. even if he were doomed to fail, he could not give up on the wen remnants.

second, at critical junctures, wei wuxian is unable to make moral sacrifices. to be pragmatic is to know when you have to sacrifice: to know when, in order to achieve the most inalienable of your goals, you have to give up on some of your other goals. this is something wei wuxian is consistently unable to do.

of course, when it comes to his own wellbeing, wei wuxian is all too willing to sacrifice. he'll carve out any number of his internal organs to save those he loves. but this honestly speaks less to wei wuxian's moral framework and more to his lack of self-worth from a troubled upbringing.

because, when it comes to any moral cause, wei wuxian is entirely unable to sacrifice anything, even if being unable to sacrifice entails more negative consequences. wei wuxian could not sacrifice mianmian, jin zixuan, and lan wangji to wen chao and his goons, so he took action and took wen chao hostage himself. to sit back and do nothing as wen chao threatened the lives of those three was simply unthinkable for him - even if it meant taking a course of action that put yunmeng jiang in danger.

wei wuxian's relationship with jiang cheng deteriorated because jiang cheng did not know about the golden core transfer: because jiang cheng did not know that wei wuxian could no longer cultivate, from jiang cheng's point of view, it looked like wei wuxian was just refusing to help out and fulfill his promises for kicks. wei wuxian could have made things a lot easier for himself and also any wen remnants he chose to rescue had he simply told jiang cheng the truth - but he knew that finding out the truth of the golden core transfer would make jiang cheng miserable, and [jiang cheng's happiness] was not something he was willing to sacrifice.

wei wuxian's single most prominent moral decision is his refusal to allow the wen remnants to be sacrificed. anyone with a shred of political sense had to know that rescuing the wen remnants and then protecting them would be near impossible - that it entails making an enemy of the jin, and due to the jins' power, the entire jianghu. wei wuxian himself knew this; he is no moron. wei wuxian also had no long-term plan, no allies, and significantly less power than the rest of the world believed. yet, despite this all, he acted anyways, because he could not let the wen remnants be sacrificed.

the wen remnants wei wuxian rescued from the qiongqi pass labor camp included both regular civilians and cultivators. perhaps wei wuxian could have negotiated a proper release for the non-cultivating civilians, such as granny wen and a-yuan, had he chosen to give up on the cultivators. but - the question of whether this would have worked or not aside - this was not a sacrifice wei wuxian would be willing to make.

nor could wei wuxian sacrifice the safety of yunmeng jiang. i am firmly of the belief that, had yunmeng jiang formally stood by wei wuxian's side after wei wuxian attacked the jin-run labor camp, lanling jin would have eventually declared war on yunmeng jiang, and yunmeng jiang's would inevitably be destroyed. both wei wuxian and jiang cheng understood this as well - which is why wei wuxian told jiang cheng to let him go.

(you can argue - successfully - that wei wuxian did in fact sacrifice [his obligations to yunmeng jiang and his promise to jiang cheng] by leaving yunmeng jiang to protect the wen remnants. this is true. but i think that - from wei wuxian's point of view - this was not much of a sacrifice, because due to wei wuxian lacking a golden core, he already viewed himself as mostly useless to yunmeng jiang. so him leaving - in his view - is not really that much of a loss for yunmeng jiang.)

wei wuxian promised wen qing that he would return wen ning's consciousness to his corpse. when wei wuxian made this promise, he had no idea if he could actually pull it off or not. but then he did - and, in the process, created the most dangerous weapon the jianghu had seen in living memory. wen ning specifically, or moreso wei wuxian's inability to control him, leads to so much of wei wuxian's eventual downfall: wei wuxian loses control of wen ning and accidentally kills jin zixuan; when wen ning goes to turn himself in at jinlintai, he ends up going berserk again and killing another 10-20 jin and lan cultivators, which leads to the nightless city pledge conference. frankly, wei wuxian could have avoided a lot of trouble - or at the very least, a lot of the public's fear - had he not raised wen ning from the dead. it's not like he'd be completely defenseless without wen ning, either. but wei wuxian promised wen qing he would resurrect wen ning - and he could not sacrifice his promise to wen qing because of what wen qing had already done for him.

a pragmatic person is able to make sacrifices, including moral ones. at the very least, a pragmatic person recognizes when sacrifice is inevitable, when all paths lead to something being lost. a pragmatic person, put in the trolley problem, would recognize that there were only two options and that both options involve sacrifice: either he must kill one person, or he must allow five people to die. there is no path forwards in which all six people live.

wei wuxian is unable to make moral sacrifices. he clings on to all of these moral causes, all of these promises and obligations, and it is precisely because he attempts to hold onto all of them that he ends up losing everything. to reuse the previous example, wei wuxian in the trolley problem tried to save all six people because he could not accept any of the sacrifices made inevitable by the trolley problem.

to put this all together - wei wuxian is not a pragmatic person. he makes decisions with his gut, not his head - he does not consider the consequences of his actions before he acts. nor is wei wuxian able to make sacrifices - even necessary ones in order to avoid greater tragedies.

but. none of this means that wei wuxian is not a deeply heroic person. rather, to do what you believe to be righteous and attempt to live up to your ideals despite the consequences is exactly what MXTX lauds as moral. and to be unable to make a moral sacrifice when everyone else in your society easily does so is in fact deeply heroic.

it is precisely because wei wuxian is not pragmatic that MXTX declares him a hero.

some people, including myself, favor a moral framework that centers pragmatism and reason as virtues. to us, the ideal moral character is someone who makes decisions based on reason and not emotion, who considers the potential consequences of every course of action before making a decision, and who then, based on these inferred future consequences, uses reason to deduce which of all of the possible outcomes is the most preferable.

but this does not in fact describe wei wuxian, nor is this how wei wuxian views ethics. and to be honest, i don't think this is how MXTX views ethics either.

in all three of her stories, MXTX repeatedly comes down harder on the characters who make pragmatic decisions, the characters who are willing to sacrifice. in fact, killing sunshot soldiers while acting as wen ruohan's spy, and then killing nie mingjue's men in order to ensure a chance at killing wen ruohan and saving nie mingjue, was the pragmatic thing for meng yao to do, because that was the least bloody path forwards towards a sunshot victory over qishan wen. in fact, cutting ties with wei wuxian after he attacked the jin-run qiongqi pass labor camp was the pragmatic thing for jiang cheng to do, because it was the only path forward that did not put yunmeng jiang, his first and foremost responsibility, in the line of fire. and yet (though the situation is less clear with jin guangyao), MDZS as a narrative criticizes both jin guangyao and jiang cheng for these decisions - because, to MDZS, righteousness does not lie in pragmatism.

(this is a statement i personally disagree with. but we are here to discuss what MDZS wants to say about pragmatism and righteousness, not what i want to say about pragmatism and righteousness.)

by contrast, the one single act for which deeply controversial jiang cheng is ultimately lauded for in the narrative is also his single least pragmatic, most emotional act. the one single act of jiang cheng's that MDZS does not criticize is when, after the fall of lotus pier, jiang cheng ran out from his hiding spot to distract the wen soldiers from seeing wei wuxian. from a filial, duty-based point of view, this was a deeply stupid and unpragmatic course of action: jiang cheng's first and foremost duty, as the sole surviving jiang and new sect leader jiang, was to survive, rebuild his sect, and avenge his parents. from a consequentialist point of view, this impulsive choice is also what led to the domino-fall of tragedy that followed, since jiang cheng then got captured and had his golden core melted, which then led to everything else. yet this stupid, unpragmatic, and impulsive decision is ultimately the one act MDZS considers to be jiang cheng's single most heroic.

the key as to what MDZS considers to be heroic, what it considers to be righteous, lies in the jiang family motto: 明知不可而为之, attempt the impossible. this line, taken from the analects of confucius, can be considered to be a deeply deontological ideal. i find this twitter thread (warning to my followers: does kind of dunk on JC) to be rather helpful in elucidating this line's meaning. 

to attempt the impossible, to try what shouldn't be tried. "ask yourself not whether you can do it, but whether you should...consider not the result but rather the journey - have a clear conscience regardless of outcome." in other words, what matters is less whether you succeeded or failed, or what sort of outcome your actions brought about - what matters is that you tried. what matters is that, in the face of overwhelming odds, you tried to do what you think is right. and even if you end up failing - even if everyone you sought to protect ended up dying - the fact that you tried still has moral weight.

this is why it was righteous of wei wuxian to save the wen remnants - even though the ultimate consequences of that decision were overall negative, even though everyone wei wuxian tried to protect died. in fact, if wei wuxian had died immediately - if he had been shot down by jin archers at the qiongqi pass labor camp the moment he came within their range - if he had died before any wen in the labor camp realized someone wanted to save him - he would still be a righteous person. because, for MDZS, what makes an action righteous is not its consequences. for MDZS, what makes a person righteous is not what impact their actions have on the world, but rather that they have the sort of moral character that leads them to never give up on their ideals.

wei wuxian does not consider the consequences of his actions before he acts. or, should i say - wei wuxian makes decisions despite their consequences, because despite the consequences there are simply some moral causes he simply cannot give up on. wei wuxian did not save the wen remnants because it was pragmatic to do so. it was in fact deeply unpragmatic to do so. no - wei wuxian saved the wen remnants without a concrete long-term plan, without having thought through anything beforehand, with the knowledge of how weak he was in reality - because he could not give up on the wen remnants, consequences be damned.

to have some moral causes you simply cannot give up on, no matter the consequences - to MXTX, is deeply heroic. in this sense, MXTX's moral philosophy is not pragmatic at all, because to be pragmatic is to be concerned with practical consequences. instead, both wei wuxian and MXTX herself are deeply idealistic, because what matters to them are ideals and principles that extend beyond consequence.

as the linked twitter thread notes, this is why MXTX waits until the very end of the book to reveal that wen yuan, now lan sizhui, lived. this is why wangxian only meet mianmian and her family at the end of the book. this is why all of the cumulative positive impacts of wei wuxian's resurrection -  jin ling forgiving wei wuxian, jin guangyao, and wen ning, for one - are kept to the end of the story: because MDZS needs to move away from the consequentialist argument. MDZS needs to establish that wei wuxian's righteousness is separate from the impact of his actions: that wei wuxian isn't righteous merely because his actions had a positive impact for which others can thank him, but rather because the actions he undertook were inherently righteous on their own. that even if none of these positive impacts existed - if wen yuan had also died, if mianmian hadn't made it - then wei wuxian's choices would still be moral.

this is also why MDZS ultimately comes down harder on characters like jiang cheng and jin guangyao, even though a more results-oriented moral framework would instead laud such characters. both jiang cheng and jin guangyao are deeply pragmatic characters: they put concrete results before abstract moral ideals, and they're willing to compromise on their ideals in order to achieve better results. i am a JC stan and a jiggy apologist because of these exact traits. but MDZS is a narrative that criticizes such pragmatism and instead holds up wei wuxian's idealism as a moral ideal - so, in order to advance its themes, the MDZS narrative ends up criticizing both jiang cheng and jin guangyao.

ultimately, this idealism - this criticism of pragmatism - lies at the heart of MDZS's themes. wei wuxian's righteousness is directly connected to the fact that he is not pragmatic. the fact that wei wuxian makes moral decisions despite the consequences, and that he is unable to sacrifice any moral cause - is all part of what makes him at once deeply unpragmatic and deeply heroic.

---

you see, the funny thing here is that i personally disagree with this theme. as i've said before, i'm a utilitarian. to me, the morality of an action does in fact arise from its consequences; to me, someone who compromises on their ideals to achieve better results is preferable to someone who adheres to all of their ideals and then loses everything. the character i consider to have had the greatest positive impact on this story's world is jin guangyao. the character i consider to have most dutifully fulfilled his obligations is jiang cheng.

therefore, i disagree with basically everything i wrote up there about "trying": i think that if you try to do the right thing, fail epically, and in the process of your failure get a bunch of other people killed as well, the fact that you failed this badly does in fact matter quite a bit. the bulk of my more haterish posts are born from this fundamental disagreement with what MDZS posits is righteousness.

however. as a reader i must recognize that [what i consider to be moral] and [what the author of this story considers to be moral] are two different things. my own moral philosophy may be heavily results-oriented, but MXTX's is much less so. therefore, regardless of what i think of wei wuxian, i conclude that MXTX ultimately intends for us to read wei wuxian as a heroic figure for the exact reasons i gave above - and that fact must then inform every analysis of MDZS i write.

[reconstructwriter]

Star Wars Fix-it: The Holonet Edition

The well-bribed algorithms of the Holonet should have relegated Tookruta1387’s clip to the tender hearts of a few friends. The days of spontaneous viral posts – without credits to grease the wheels – died not long after the rise of megacorps in the Republic. But the poster was either lucky or savvy enough to play the algorithms because “Jedi Being Cold” exploded. Screens, conversation, even news. And their post was just the start of a trend…

“Jedi Being Cold”: An old transport ship, frost coating the inside of its windows. A corner swathed in a nest of robes. Within three padawans snuggle together, fast asleep. If they were cats they’d be purring. One is purring despite a lack of feline attributes. A hand nudges them with a datastick, only for it to float away to a cloud of similar items.

“Jedi Being Cold” part 2: A snow-covered lake. One knight finishes sculpting a realistic snow tiger. Two others Force push each other like hocky pucks across the ice. One goes flying towards the statue. An expression of ‘oh crap’. Incredible, Force- assisted acrobatics deftly avoids the sculpture but crashes right into the sculptor in a tangle of limbs, sending them skidding into a snow-bank. The third Jedi pokes their head into the many-limbed hole and gets snowballed for the trouble.

“Jedi Stealing Children”: A child at a slave auction. A robed figure swoops in like a hawk, slicing through chains with their lightsaber and ripping apart cages with the Force. The camera pans to one slaver Force shoved into a cage, clearly furious as the Jedi escapes with a whole crowd of people, many children.

“Jedi Stealing Children” becomes the title for 1287 pictures, clips and gifs before someone adjusts the algorithm. This makes them surprisingly hot commodities on the Dark Holo, especially the one with a Nautolan Master dramatically fleeing the capture attempts of a horde of children – ending in one dramatic arm reaching out as kids bury him

“Jedi As Warmongers”: A young Padawan, blood splattered, has a ‘does it get better’ look on their trembling face as they stare up at their Master. The Master is even grimier and gorier as they gather their Padawan up with an ‘I’m sorry but no’. The Padawan weeps and shakes, burying their face in their Master’s robes, who has silent tears down their face. In the background is a war zone.

“Jedi as Warmongers: part 2” Has war holomovie music playing in the background as the snap-thumm of a lightsaber echoes, vivid blue piercing the dark. The blade raises over something, is brought down…over a block of cheese and loaf of bread. The Jedi padawan gleefully declares: “Grilled Cheese for all!” The sound of sprinting footsteps is heard and a dramatic “Noooo,” from a Jedi Knight.

“Jedi as Warmongers: part 3”: The music has switched to aftermath of war horror, the kitchen looks like a cheese atomic bomb hit. The children are cleaning up and one wipes cheese with bread and pops it in their mouth: “grilled cheese for all!” An adult admonishes “You spit that out right now that’s not sanitary.” In the background the Jedi Knight is doing the same thing.

“Jedi Showing Off” Is Yoda’s contribution to this mess – which is just him going through an entire stack of photo-albums on his previous padawans. He opens the last book to Dooku the Padawan when Dooku the Master barges in: “Stop this indignity immediately!” The camera shows an intense close-up of someone’s palm. “Who even taught you how to operate holo-video? –” feed cuts off.

“Jedi Dignity”: Feed resumes from a different perspective as Master Dooku – previous camera still in hand – gives Yoda and several other watching Jedi a lecture on appropriate Holonet-posting behavior. “Not appropriate baby photos are?” Yoda asks, a card-shark’s spread of pictures with Dooku’s baby face. Dooku yanks them out of Yoda’s hands. “Not without m-the person’s permission!” Does a double-take. “Are you filming –?” Horrified glower. “Mace you traitor!” Video abruptly cuts off. Permanently this time.

Not even algorithm adjustments – and there are clearly several – can stop that from becoming viral. “Mace you traitor!” becomes slang for the latest generation. Mace himself rolls with it. Dooku attempts to entomb himself in the archives until this all blows over.

Actions may speak louder than words but memes speak loudest of all.

[mollysunder]

The synopsis of Chosen of the Wolf has me really thinking about how Noxian and Zaunite children don't have childhoods, they're almost automatically put to work. Obviously Mel is afforded far greater material comfort and luxury than someone like Jinx ever had, but that doesn't cancel out that long before we could ever consider Mel an adult she's been using her skills to advance her mother's plans.

The one time we see Mel as a child, she's with Ambessa in Ionia, a war zone, acting like she's in a training phase for a role as Ambessa's advisor, because that's what she's doing, advising her mother on the aftermath of Noxus' campaign of conquest. Now in the prequel novel, we see that Mel has been put to task to shore up support for Ambessa in the family's current war of succession to be the head of the Medarda Clan.

Mel seems to have only been in her twenties when we meet her in Arcane, and her exile has lasted for well over a decade, so she couldn't have been more than a teenager during the succession crisis. And here Mel is employed as a diplomat for her mother's war.

It's really the same position Silco had Jinx in but for different reasons, their thing was consolidating power through violence and politics to make Zaun independent, while Ambessa and Mel's dynamic (warmonger mother and intrigue daughter) suited the expansionist agenda of the Medarda Clan and Noxus in general. The important part is that the role of parent and child is blurred as both duos become working "partners" that only exist because they're set in systems that necessitates violence and dehumanization at early ages.

The problem of course for people like Mel and Jinx is that neither stopped being children, and so they get the worst of both worlds. Both just had to work for their parents, and the skill and quality they put into it became entangled with how they were rewarded with approval and affection from their parent. And I can not stress this enough, they're never equals to their parent.

[le-fruit-de-la-passion]

Does a bad ending ruin a good story? A comprehensive guide to my feelings on the Arcane finale

*Spoilers for Arcane season 2*

So. You just finished the show, and you're staring at the screen in bewilderment. Perhaps you’re even with some friends, shouting words of confusion to the rolling credits. Try as you might, you can barely hear them, because a single thought echoes in your mind and pushes away any other:

“What the fuck just happened?”

If this happened to you, then boy oh boy, we're on the same boat. If it didn't, well, I'm glad for you friend! We might not have been looking for the same things from this story. But this is my post, meaning I will give my opinions (which are objectively correct because this is my blog and I'm the mayor here) on everything that Arcane broke and failed to deliver in its last 2 episodes.

Let's start with characters, and why none of it mattered.

Jinx symbolized the fear we all have of not belonging somewhere, of not having anything to call home or anyone to call a family. Her anger stemmed from wanting to carve a place in a society and a world that had so harshly rejected her (i.e., Vi leaving her). Her existence was a huge middle finger to all that refused to let her live, a fight to build herself something wholeheartedly hers (hence her being an inventor). It was proof that despite the world telling her she was better off dead, she would never stop fighting to prove it wrong.

… and she died.

She died, and that means all the suffering she went through to exist simply amounted to nothing. She left nothing behind either, no trace of a legacy, something that would have left her mark on that world. Isha, the child she raised as a daughter, died. Silco, who she taught love and care to, died. Vander, who she brought back from years of trauma and torture, died. Jinx fought so hard to live, and in the end, it was as if she hadn't lived at all.

Viktor is most certainly the character that made me the angriest, because of how attached I am to the person he is in season 1 (and even the first two acts of season 2 to an extent). Everything that made him so beautifully complex… gone, in about 10 minutes. There was NO reason to make him the surprise ultimate villain. Viktor had always, always been a pacificist. That's why he was so adamant Hextech not be used as a weapon. That's why every time there were chances to test hextech to hurt, he tried to learn how it could heal. Yes, his fusion with the hexcore had changed him; but NOT into a man who didn't care for human life. He wanted to help all the hurt done to his people. People like him, living day to day in the undercity, but who had never gotten a chance to crawl out of their hell. His community was about HEALING, not controlling. The very IDEA that he would accept killing innocents and ally with Noxus, the warmongers, is so ridiculous I could genuinely laugh if it didn't make me so angry. The show needed an easy, black-and-white showdown to conclude a story that would have needed so much more time to tell. And they chose Viktor. Because it was the easy way out. It was the perfect foil to the return of the Golden Boy. And that PISSES me off.

There is this really shitty concept in popular media that the handicapped/chronically ill character is always in the pursuit of being “cured” and that they need outside help to realize “that their imperfections make them perfect”. Fuck. You. As someone with chronic illness and who just finished beating blood cancer, fuck you. That realization, that you're you with every part of your being, even the ‘bad’ ones, cannot come from outside. It's YOU who needs to learn it. It's you who needs to discover how your body and your mind are so much stronger than you previously thought them to be. Not your lover, your family, your friends, or God forbid your able-bodied lab partner. You. Others may tell you as many times as they want your illness doesn't define you; it won't matter until you, yourself, have understood why and have accepted it. Having someone swoop in and “fix” Viktor with a “you don't have to change uwu” is just….. so reductive I can barely find the words for it. That was VIKTOR’S path to find, and not Jayce’s role to find it for him.

Also… Viktor wasn't trying to ‘fix’ his leg; he was trying to find a cure to a deadly illness ravaging his body and no doubt the bodies of many in Zaun. The HELL is the message here??? That he should have just rolled with it because the deadly illness was part of him??? Again, as a cancer survivor. Fuck right off.

Of course, I can't just ignore the hideous get-up they put him in at the end. The man who laughed at Jayce's narcissism….you want me to believe… he would put on that fucking edge lord costume and not DIE of embarrassment??? The design makes no sense from a narrative standpoint either: if his cane has become the sceptre, why is he still keeping it? He doesn't need it anymore to walk, and it's a reminder of his weaknesses as a human that he apparently hated so much. Why the hell does he keep it then? And the hexclaw. Where did that bad boy come out from?? Did you all see a secret extra bonus scene where he steals it from the lab, because I sure didn't. It doesn't add anything to his sets of powers either it’s… it's a fucking laser gun. WHY. And oh sweet god that mask… there would have been so many ways of designing a mask more meaningful than the one from LoL. This one is just. A piece of metal he spawned in embryo. Get it? Because he's made of metal now and also hiding his face means no more humanity? Get it?? Of fucking course you do, because this was the easiest and worst possible way they could have integrated the mask.

Viktor and Jayce had a fantastic dynamic in that Viktor had started out as the loner, the underdog scientist from the slums; while Jayce was the leader figure, living in comfort that made him attachingly naive, his face plastered on posters stroking his ego. The shift is delightfully slow, as Viktor gains in confidence and determination to see his invention through no matter what, while Jayce is confronted with harsher and harsher truths about the world he so blissfully ignored. By Act 2, they have fully switched roles: Viktor is now the leader figure, a symbol of the future for the people, while Jayce is desperately alone, both physically in the hexcore anomaly, and mentally in being the only one who has seen the devastating future. Excellent stuff. What would be a great way to push these parallels further and to show the complexity of these characters, and perhaps how they can balance each other out? Well, Fortiche sure didn't know, now Viktor is the bad bad guy and Jayce is mister hero. Zaun bad, Piltover good. All nuance, gone. Proving that indeed, the man from poverty and inequality turns out evil, while the one from comfort and wealth turns out to be the hero of the story. The whole “giving a warm speech to the bad villain about how you care for them, somehow immediately changing their ways, and dying together to save the world” can work well in shounen anime where friendship is magic, or in the Ben 10 live-action movie (yes, that's the plot, I thought that wasn't deep when I was like 7 years old so imagine now), but not in a show like Arcane. Not with the ethical and moral nuances they have accustomed us to.

And now, let's explore...

Plotholes and incomplete storylines galore.

Ekko’s tree and the contamination of Zaun from Piltover? Fuck that. The huge showdown between the two opposite yet sister cities, like Jinx and Vi, that has been built up for two seasons? Fuck that. And for what?

For the Noxus sequel teaser.

Mel’s plotline about finding her mage origins had NOTHING to do with the main plot. Absolutely nothing. It added 0 twists or intrigues to the story, and served no purpose except making her a deus ex machina for a broken ending. All it was there for was to lay the base for a following show on Noxus and the Black Rose. Time that could have been spent either giving Mel a proper arc related to the plot, or giving all the other rushed character arcs more development.

Finally, and I deeply regret having to say this, but… the end of Vi and Cait's relationship was majorly disappointing to me. As an LGBTQ+ person myself, who feels attraction to women, it was a delight to have such a realistically portrayed w/w relationship on screen. Popular media tends to portray m/m relationships as these doomed, sinful feelings between two repressed guys, while w/w relationships are shown to just be all sunshine and rainbows and teddy bears, because two women together are a cute little accessory to have on screen. It’s non-threatening. But not Cait and Vi; their bond was raw, and rocky, with violent lows and passionate highs in a world that seemed to want to keep them apart. Their separation and the introduction of Maddie showed the reality of a w/w relationship, where fights and cheating ARE things that happen, because they're two adult women with different beliefs, objectives, an trauma. Putting them back together, as if nothing had happened, without giving us anything about how their relationship would have evolved from the breakup? I'd never thought I'd say this, but it's too easy. How about Caitlyn's literal descent into fascism??? We’ll just ignore that? Vi will just ignore that?

As with everything else, this last part of Arcane destroys all the complex emotions that exist between these characters, the resentment, the anger, the frustration, built upon years of different social conditioning… gone. Because they had 2 episodes left to wrap it up, and there was no way to make a coherent and natural transition to them getting back together with that kind of time. And can I just say. The decision to have Vi, symbol of Zaun, go down on Caitlyn, symbol of Piltover and enforcers, in a prison cell that has held innocent Zaunites and represents their complete lack of freedom as individuals by a cop state that oppresses them….. yeah, bad. So bad.

And… the multiverse. Yup, they went the multiverse route. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing: the concept of multiverses itself is interesting in a vacuum, and quite a few properties have managed to make it work coherently. But it has been terribly overused and bastardized in serialized content in the last few years, for the simple reason that it's extremely practical. Why make a new, original series when you already have worlds and characters that are developed, and come with built-in fans? It's a money-saving hack! Why dedicate yourself to an ending that is meaningful in its finality and wraps the story properly when you can just say “It's just one ending in the multiverse!”. It takes away any accountability to the fans, and leaves the door open to a potential other version of the story! The perfect combo!

…except in practice, it comes off as lazy in a medium where that trope is overly saturated (don't start me on Marvel), and like a cowardly way of escaping from the responsibility of really taking the time to craft a good, solid ending to end your story.

So, with all that said: does it ruin Arcane for me? No, absolutely not, and I don’t think it should be for you either. The intricate artistry and raw talent that went into making the first season (and I would say a majority of the two first acts of season 2) is undeniable, and will stay undeniable. Nothing can touch that story. It will forever be one of my favourite pieces of animated media, which is saying a lot because I'm currently getting my master's degree on that topic.

However, it does give Arcane, as a whole rather than two separate seasons/entities, a very bittersweet feeling that is hard to forget. Thinking of what could have been, just if a little more time had been given to the minds behind the masterpiece you so loved… it's its own form of heartbreak. Academics have even compared it to experiencing a form of death of a loved one, before they ever got to reach their fullest potential and live the life they deserved. It may sound dramatic, but the feelings you feel in this moment, watching the horrible end of a fiction you have so much love for, are real. No one can take those away from you. You're allowed to grieve the loss of something that meant a lot to you.

Tldr; No, Arcane is not a bad series because of its rushed and incomprehensible ending. As they say, it's all about the journey, not the destination, even if that's one of the parts we tend to remember the most. And I don't know about you, but this was one of the best journeys I've ever been on.

[bwat5-blog]

Good Example Of What I Mean

**Spoilers For Arcane**

Okay. So, regarding my recent ranting on the topic of people making baseless arguments and by extension my harping on them, this is what I mean. And for the record, I'm not new to the internet. this sort of idiocy is far from cutting edge trolling. I know that. But as we are all here routinely in this space devoted to this story, I saw this earlier this morning and it happened to be a great example of what I posted last night.

First of all, I am not re-blogging the person who had posted it with sincerity because I broke my own rule and responded to an Arcane Critical post last night and woke up to 20+ comments this morning. That's on me. But I will say I am not mentioning this just because of one stupid meme. I have seen some variety of this statement countless ways:

"Caitlyn suffers for the first time and loses her mom and everyone acts like its an excuse to hurt all of Zaun".

This kind of thing right here is exactly what I mean when I say some of yall are just flat wrong. I can't tell if it is intentional or not, because you quite literally have to ignore massive chunks of the show to believe something like this, but at the end of the day when I say some takes are not worthy of discussion this is what I mean.

By the way, this isn't even about our man Silco here. I can't read enough to tell if anything in that box is real words or not but he has lived forty something years of history in this world. You better believe his box would be full. Because here's the thing. It isn't about agreeing or disagreeing with his reasons. It's about recognizing that he has them. THAT is consuming this story in a way that is worthy of respect and discussion.

But this?:

Survives being lured by child's voice to building fire by Jinx that kills six other enforcers

Almost killed by Jinx on bridge where Vi is also almost killed

Taken hostage nude in her child-hood home, forced to dress in Enforcer clothing and bound and gagged while Jinx tries to convince Vi to murder Caitlyn

Spares Jinx at Vi's request

Jinx smashes Caitlyn with gun and kills Caitlyn's mother, 2 other councilors, and blows up building

Attack squad of Zaunites crashes memorial killing several including almost Caitlyn and Vi

They know Jinx has weaponized hex-tech and has proven a threat

Comes up with plan for strike team after Vi (not blaming her she was right just pointing out) tells her they have to find a way to stop the invasion of Zaun.

Survives brutal fight with Sevika, saves Vi from Isha (presumably, we don't know if Isha would have shot), and after she held the shot for Vi the first time, Vi swore she was ready to end it this time, Vi blocks her shot. (Vi was right and Caitlyn was in complete mental health spiral, just giving some perspective).

After all that an incredibly talented manipulating warmonger takes over and that's all she wrote.

And of course that is to say nothing of the fact that the people I'm irritated with completely leave out the concept of Caitlyn's grief and trauma when considering her actions and story at all. Ignoring it in your consideration I can agree to label as ignorance. Disregarding it because you think the fact that she comes from privilege means she is unaffected by extreme traumatic violence and loss, or worse undeserving of recognition and care from it, that I'm afraid is a question of humanity.

As I have stated before none of this is to say I expect anyone to agree with everything or even anything Caitlyn did. She is a complex character and her decisions in many cases are SUPPOSED to be hard/impossible to accept. The way we each connect to these characters and this world is what makes it special. But stuff like this? You can do better.

[faelapis]

this sucks. but please don't just blame voters. especially not minority groups who "didn't vote hard enough" or whatever. they're going to suffer through this, same as you. so please, blame the people in power. the campaign was bad.

the liz cheney strategy was always, always complete wishcasting. centrist dems WANT the electorate to be all moderate republican suburbanites who make 200k a year. that has never been reality.

everything else can be discussed. but, it needs to be said that the "moderate republican" strategy was awful. dems valued war-loving neocons with 13% approval rating over winning. they valued protecting joe biden's feelings above winning. they valued love for israel above winning. they valued shifting right above winning.

there was never, ever data to suggest liz cheney neocon shit swayed anyone in a positive direction. never. that was just what dems wanted to happen, because they are neocons. all data showed that harris breaking from biden on gaza would've helped. all data showed she should have promised bigger economic change. but dems valued their own ideological right-wing shift above winning.

we can talk about voters as well. yes, men suck. they don't care about women, minorities, lgbt+ people. but i will never let the democratic party establishment live this down. they're the ones who ran this campaign.

they're going to find ways to blame the left. they always do. they're going to say that they were too woke, they didn't hate trans people enough, latino men are too misogynistic, etc. those are takes i've already started to see. and they're going to try to use all of that to shift even further right.

our job now is to not let them. never let them live this down. never let the democratic party run another center-right, warmonger, pro genocide, anti peace, anti immigration, neocon campaign again. ever. it normalizes republican positions as the "correct" ones. it gives voters a permission structure to see trumpism as "normal." ffs, kamala harris said the border wall was a "good idea."

that is not "bipartisanship." this is capitulation to fascism.

finally, please take care of yourself. i know emotions are high. i know shit sucks, i know nothing good will come from this. but you are one person. you, alone, could not stop this. you need to do everything you can to protect yourself. please stay safe. try to find a community that is accepting and loves you. we must never give up.

organize. protest. keep fighting. and take care.

[starlight-tav]

I'm going fucking insane over Jayce & Viktor so I offer you an unhinged ramble about the butterfly and the narrative structure of their relationship. I apologize in advanced for being batshit.

So Viktor and Jayce's relationship is a chiastic structure. A chiasm is where the beginning and end of a story point to the middle of it, creating an X or ∞ (a chiasma is also a structure in genetics, if you've seen the word in science classes before.)

This means that the rise and fall of the narrative mirror each other (parallelism). There are many parallels in Jayce and Viktor's relationship, with one of the most overt being "Am I interrupting?" and one of the more covert examples being Viktor's belief in Jayce's dream to use science to bring access to the Arcane ("Our hextech dream") and Jayce's belief in Viktor leading them to shattering access to the Arcane web ("We finish this together.")

At the center of this narrative is death and resurrection (metamorphosis). The first season ends with Viktor's death, and the second begins with his resurrection, the literal center of the story.

Now, Arcane is about love in its entirety. All-encompassing, earth-shattering, life-giving, life-taking love. Love, which inspires our greatest evil and our greatest good, is something that changes us. Love which can lead to grief, can make us into our worst selves (consider the warmongering), but it can also make us into our kindest selves (consider Isha.)

Jayce's love for Viktor saves him but it also changes him. Twice. When Viktor dies, Jayce is unwilling to let him go and uses the hexcore to resurrect him. This transforms Viktor into the Herald.

When Jayce is forced into the alternate reality where he experiences the decline of his body and the struggle to climb from the depths to the surface (a narrative representation of empathy), he finally understands Viktor. This transformative understanding primes him to fulfill his promises to Viktor, past and future - to destroy the hexcore and stop the Arcane from bleeding out all over reality; to save Viktor.

The butterfly is a well-know symbol of transformation, so it's no accident that it follows Viktor and Jayce from the very beginning to the very end. But it isn't just a visual representation of love and its power, but a reminder of the very structure of their narrative.

Because Arcane is also about perspective - narratives. Silco and Vander show us how our shared experiences can yield different motivations, as do Jinx and Vi, and Ambessa and Mel too. Every single one of these characters is motivated by love, but their methods are opposing forces.

We see, time and time again, that those with the most power are those who control the narrative (power in Zaun creating a righteous rebellion vs power in Piltover creating a narrative of dangerous insurrection), and that power lacking empathy is corruptive (Cait and Ambessa forsaking empathy in favor of violently seizing control vs. Vi and Mel embodying empathy to save that which they love.)

At the center of all of this conflict is partnership. Failed partnerships, like Vander & Silco and redeeming partnerships, like Ekko & Jinx. Viktor and Jayce share a dream, and that dreams bleeds the Arcane, corrupting reality. But when they forsake their partnership (Jayce joining the council and Viktor leaving the lab), it nearly destroys everything.

When they lean into their affection, when they utilize empathy, when they let their love be transformative, they heal the Arcane and reality. In their final moments, they mirror each other, and as they're scattered into all timelines and all possibilities by the explosion they are transformed into something cosmic together. Their story ends as it began.

We know from the lifecycle of the butterfly, by the structure of the narrative, that beginnings and endings are not so finite. Love is both a constant ("in all timelines, in all possibilities") and an anomaly ("That which inspires us to our greatest good, is also the cause of our greatest evil".) It is the infinite, and the infinite is not a line with a beginning and an end, but a tangle of time and potential.

The chiastic structure of Jayce and Viktor's relationship is one that shows that love itself is the most powerful and transformative force in nature. It demonstrates that love doesn't just have the potential create or destroy but to do both at the same time; that reality isn't binary, but it is symmetrical. A butterfly was always a caterpillar and a caterpillar was always a butterfly; it experiences both, not one or the other (there's even a moment where it's neither and both all at once!)

Love is imperfect. People are imperfect. When Jayce is transformed in the depths of Zaun, he finally understands this. He carries this revelation to the height of Piltover where he finds Viktor waiting for him.

"There is no prize to perfection, only an end to pursuit."

If love were perfect it would stagnate, dreamless. Recognizing its power is seeing it for all its good and evil, and choosing it all the same.

"You were never broken, Viktor. There's beauty in imperfections. They made you who you are. An inseparable piece of everything I admired about you."

Viktor's transformation isn't from a broken man into the Herald, it's from a man believing himself unworthy of love to one knowing he is loved unconditionally. If love were perfect it would require perfection of us. But it isn't and it doesn't. Only Jayce can show Viktor this, because Jayce loves Viktor and Viktor loves Jayce.

"I thought I wanted to give magic to the world, but all I want is my partner back."

Think about Singed telling Viktor that "Love and legacy are the sacrifices we make for progress."

And Viktor responding, "Jayce will understand."

He did understand eventually, only he sacrifices progress and legacy for love and transformation. Love is not the opposite of progress, perfection is the opposite of progress. In a perfect world, there is no need to dream together. Jayce understands this. He shows Viktor this. And together they change.

I've always been bad at concluding paragraphs, but I hope my rambling has made sense up to the point. TLDR; the butterfly is a visual representation of Jayce and Viktor's narrative as one of love and transformation.

[volatilebrat4103]

Broken cycles and fixed bonds (Part 6)

The morning rolls around, the sunlight steaming through the window, casting a warm glow over the room causing Y/N to stir.  Her eyes slowly flutter open as she takes in the surroundings of the unfamiliar room, feeling weight on her chest she looks down to find her blue bell beauty sound asleep on top of her.  She takes the opportunity to admire her girlfriend’s beauty, the sunlight delicately dancing across her skin, highlighting her sharp features, in this moment alone Jinx looked to be ethereal, sculpted by the gods themselves, perfection at its finest. 

After some time of simply revealing in Jinx’s beauty, Y/N slowly and carefully slips out form under her trying desperately not to wake her lover form her peaceful slumber.  Once she had successfully escaped her girlfriends’ clutches, she quietly moves to the corner of the room where their bags sit before rummaging through them to find a decent change of clothes for the day.

Once dressed Y/N makes her way back to the bed, placing a gently kiss to Jinx’s forehead before exiting the room, now on a mission to have a cup of tea.  She navigates through the house managing to find the large kitchen where she is quick to put the kettle on the stove.  With her back facing the doorway and her hands busy preparing a cup when her ears suddenly twitch at a faint noise, “Morning Cait, care for a cup?” she asks whilst still focused on the task at hand.  “Even after all these years I still cannot get used to that” Caitlyn chuckles as she enters the room.  “I suppose being half Vastaya has it’s benefits” she jokes while her sister laughs with a shake of her head taking a seat at the kitchen island. 

“Indeed, it does, although I’m not sure if it’s the Vastayan heritage or just your natural sneaky streak” Caitlyn teases with a playful glint in her eyes causing her sister to chuckle as she turns to her with a steaming cup of tea in hand, loving smile etched onto her face. “Perhaps it’s both” she shrugs as she sets the cup in front of Caitlyn, moving to prepare yet another cup for herself.

“Um, I can we talk?” Caitlyn asks after a beat of silence, “listen I know there is a lot happening right now, but I need to leave the city for a while” She says nervously swirling the tea in her cup. “What’s the catch?”  Y/N continues her ministrations curious for her sister’s answer.  “I was hoping in my absence you could…take over my duties?”  She asks, her gaze shifting to her cup nervously, her question catches Y/N off guard as she stops in her tracks, glancing at her hands in thought. 

“Why not ask dad?”  She breaks the silence as she slowly continues her task.  “I though it more appropriate to ask you, you are the second to the head of the house, so naturally if I were to step out it would be your duty to take my place” Caitlyn rambles on, desperately trying to put reason behind it.  Y/N’s eyes narrow as she pour the steaming water into her cup, her mind racing with implications.  “And what exactly would be the reason for your…temporary departure?” Her tone measured, as she adds a spoonful of sugar to her tea.  Caitlyn’s eyes flicker up to meet her sister’s back, a hint of unease dancing in their depths before she looks back down at her cup.

“I have business to attend to in Noxus”  At her admission Y/N’s head snaps around, her eyes locking on Caitlyn, a spark of curiosity igniting within them.  “Noxus?” she repeats, her voice low and even, setting her tea down on the counter.  “What kind of business could you possibly have with that warmongering place?”  her tone is cautious as she leans against the counter, her eyes carefully studding Caitlyn’s face.  “An old friend and former council woman stays there, I need her assistance with a matter”  Caitlyn speaks over the rim of her cup, avoiding eye contact with her sister, she isn’t lying nor is she telling the full truth and her sister could tell as her eyes narrow, her piercing gaze studying Caitlyn’s every move.

Although it had been years since they last saw each other Y/N knows her sister well enough to detect the subtle hint of evasiveness in her tone and the nervous movements. “I see,” Y/N says slowly, her voice remaining neutral as she pushes off the counter walking over to the table, her eyes never leaving Caitlyn’s face.  “And how long will you be gone for?” She asks catching Caitlyn’s eyes over the brim of her own cup, the latter looking away from her towering form.  “A couple of weeks at the most” She admits, once again looking up at her younger sister, Y/N’s eyes fixated on her, her expression unreadable whilst she takes another sip of her tea. 

The silence between them is palpable, filled with unspoken questions and concerns.  Finally breaking the silence, her voice low and measured, “I’ll take care of things here, but you owe me and explanation when you return Cait”  At this Caitlyn’s head snaps to her sister and nods in appreciation, “Thank you.”

The sisters simple smile at one another enjoying both the company and the beverage when suddenly Caitlyn speak up, “Oh, I have spoken to the tailor to fix you a new wardrobe, she will need you measurements so please do stop there in your free time” Y/N chuckles at the implications behind her words, “you’re unbelievable sometimes” shaking her head at her sister’s antics.  “And while you’re at it, take Jinx for her measurements as well” she adds with a smile drawing a laugh out of the other, she was truly overconfident at times, luckily it played out in her favour…this time.

“A bit presumptuous there dear sister” shaking her head in affectionate exasperation, eyes sparkling with amusement eliciting a laugh form the older Kiramman.  Once the sisters settle down a sleepy voice echoes in the hallway, “what’s going on?” A sleepy Jinx walks in rubbing her eyes, a cute crease on her cheek from the pillow.  “Looks like we are staying for a while trinket” Y/N makes her way over to the bluenette, a warm smile etched into her features as she places a chaste kiss to her lips before moving to make her some tea.

Jinx’s eyes light up with a warm smile as she watches Y/N move across the kitchen, her gaze following the gently sway of her hips.  She is quick to follow her girlfriend, tenderly wrapping her arms around Y/N’s waist from behind, placing tender kisses to her cloth covered skin.  “mmmh, can I skip the tea and have you?”  Jinx’s voice husky from sleep, her words causing Caitlyn to choke on her tea whilst Y/N’s cheeks flush crimson as she feels Jinx’s warm breath against her skin, her hands move to hold Jinx’s leaning back into her embrace.

“Behave trinket,” she whispers, her voice trembling with amusement as she glances over at her sister who is still violently coughing and spluttering, her eyes watering from the tea entering her windpipe.  “Really?” she manages through her wheezing whilst the latter laughs handing a cup to her girlfriend, her eyes sparkling with mirth.  “Sorry sis” Y/N tries to stifle her grin and look apologetic.  Jinx however just leans back against the counter, a sly smile playing at her lips as an idea forms.  She is quick to grab a fistful of Y/N’s shirt, pulling the surprised woman in for a deep kiss.  The taller woman is stunned for a moment, eyes widening in shock before she slowly melts into the kiss, her lips parting to deepen it.

The world around them slips and fades to the background leaving the couple lost in the passion of the moment.  Caitlyn, still seated at the table, clears her throat, a hint of a smile on her face however it falls on deaf ears.  Y/N forgetting they are in company picks Jinx up by her thighs placing her on the countertop to continue their make out session.  “What am I just invisible, get a room” Caitlyn’s face scrunches up in disgust as she throws her teaspoon at her sister effectively breaking them apart.  Realising what just happened Y/N flushes crimson once more, her eyes darting to her sister in embarrassment, meanwhile Jinx, still sitting on the countertop, looks like the cat who at the canary, a mischievous grin decorating her face. 

“Sorry Cait,” Y/N smiles at the absurdness of the situation as she helps the girl from the counter whilst her sister rolls her good eye, shaking her head in both disturbance and amusement.  “I’m going to get ready for the day…and try to singe that image from my mind.”  With that the oldest woman walks out the room leaving a giggle couple behind.  “Am I worth the embarrassment?”  Jinx smirks pulling Y/N closer, their lips ghosting each other’s, “Always trinket” Y/N whispers back seductively before closing the gap and reconnecting their lips in a searing kiss. 

Vi becomes the next victim as she walks into the kitchen unsuspecting stumbling in on her little sister tongue tied with Cait’s.  Saying nothing  Vi walks up to the couple still lip locked, suddenly smacking the back of Y/N’s head effectively breaking them apart.  “That’s still my little sister” Vi warns as the couple pant, Y/N rubbing the spot on the back of her head looking sheepishly at the older woman. Jinx however sees this as the perfect opportunity to mess with her girlfriend, grinning mischievously she steps on her tiptoes pulling Y/N’s head down slightly to whisper in her ear.  Her whispered words leave Y/N absolutely flustered.

Vi raises her brow challengingly, her expression stern but a hint of amusement dancing behind her eyes, “Save it for later lovebirds,” Vi walks past them to fix herself something to drink.  “We’ve got a busy day today, there is a meeting with the council and Cait wants you with her today Y/N, as for you sis, I’ll see you later, I need to get to work” she makes her way out the room before stopping in the doorway.  “Oh, and Y/N” Vi calls out earning her attention, “hands above the waist, that’s still my little sister” Y/N nods with a flushed face, Jinx standing next to her desperately trying to stifle a laugh.

Vi raises a wary brow before taking her leave and walking out the front door, as soon as she is out of earshot the bluenette bursts out laugh, doubling over clutching her stomach. “H-hands above the waist,” Jinx barely gets out through her laughter as her girlfriend stands flabbergasted at the situation.  Her irritation and embarrassment  growing as Jinx still doesn’t settle down, rolling her eyes she pulls Jinx flush against her front eliciting a gasp from her, “Like this?” Y/N sultry husks as her hands journey to Jinx’s ass, taking a handful to squeeze drawing out an involuntary moan from the smaller woman.  To their luck Caitlyn once again walks in, groaning once she sees the position they are in.

“And Jinx, the same applies for you, that too is my little sister,” its now Jinx’s turn to be flustered in embarrassment, a cute pink dusting her cheeks as she holds up her hands feigning surrender.  Y/N chuckles at the absurdity of the situation head shaking with mirth.

“I suggest you get ready for the day, Y/N we have a meeting to attend, and Jinx I have arranged to have you with Vi for the day so please behave” Caitlyn explains as she tidies up the mess in the kitchen.  “Give us five” the couple quickly exit the room hand in hand to prepare for the long day ahead, “And no funny business!” Caitlyn shouts after them leaving the women giggling.  A long day it will be indeed.

Chapter summary  

Taglist:

@brocoliisscared @zhivaxo

[abla-soso]

"Alicent didn't choose to have her kids, so she doesn't owe them anything"

This is not the argument, you goddamn buffons.

We're not saying that Alicent is obligated to love her children. She isn't. We're saying that children who are produces of rape don't deserve to be actively endangerd or put to death by their mothers. They didn't fucking chose how they were conceived!

Alicent is not simply abandoning her sons, and you know it. She is actively putting their lives in danger (unintentionally, I must say).

But you don't see any issue with that! You think Alicent is entitled to intentionally throw away her "impure" sons like trash and send them to their deaths because she didn't chose to have them.

The same sons she raised to live in a non-stop fight or flight mood throughout their entire lives (wow, I wonder how they turned into warmongering freaks!!) because she drilled into their heads that their sister will absolutely kill them after their father's death. Going as far as to literally drag her oldest son and force him to be king and then force her other son to fight in his cause.

Now that their sister is coming to kill them... she's now somehow entitled to abandon them to her? How? Why? That's not how it fucking works.

And it kills me when they bring up Aemond's and Aegon's crimes and how they're grown adults who should be responsible for their actions, as if that's fucking relevant to the argument at all.

You fuckers make all kinds of excuses for Alicent's bad choices and bad parenting because she suffered truama - despite her being a grown ass adult when she forced Aegon to be king and forced Aemond to fight for his cause - but dismiss the effects of truama Aemond and Aegon suffered. Because it ruins your whole argument when you acknowledge Alicent's big role in the truama that shaped both of her sons into the men you hate.

And it's astonishing how you don't take your shitty argument to their logical conclusion. Helaena is a product of marital rape, too. I don't see you idiots cheering for Alicent to send her to her death. She doesn't owe her anything, right? Why not just run away and leave her to Rhaenyra's mercy? Oh I forgot! She "earned" something from Alicent by being "pure". This is totally not a narssastic parenting style, folks!

[quill-firefly]

A Reflection of You in Blue (SG TFOne Fanfic)

Original TF:One Optimus Prime ends up in a TF:One Shattered Glass universe and meets that universe's Megatron.

The difference in their universes couldn't be more clear.

---

Honestly, I wrote this fic for me and only me HAHAHA

Oh my god I love Shattered Glass so much and I really wanted to make the original tfone Optimus meet shattered glass tfone Megatron. Slight warning though that a lot of the stuff here is from my personal AU of a Shattered Glass TF:One. I'm happy to answer any questions if something is confusing. Just know that a lot of the references here are based primarily on the Fanclub Shattered Glass comics.

But yeah, I wanted to indulge myself a bit and write this fanfic hahaha.

---

“Are the cuffs necessary?”

He tested the metal restraints, wincing as a bolt of electricity ran down his servos. Optimus sighed, dropping his servos back against his lap. His tired blue optics warily looked up at the mech beside him, anticipating the cannon that would press against his helm at any moment. Instead of pain, he could only feel relief as the cuts on his shoulder were slowly repaired. Those servos - familiar yet so different - that only ever inflicted injury, could now only heal. Optimus couldn’t even bring his processor around to acknowledge this. Well, he could hardly process… everything.

“Soundwave verified that what you said was true, but please understand that everyone is still wary of you.” The mech stood back, having finished the repair process. Optimus could feel the energon in his cables turn cold as his optics met the other mech’s. It was the faceplate that threw him off. He looked so much like him… but everything was different. Instead of the dull gray frame, black helm, and red optics that pursued him even in his dreams, this mech was a brighter white. Even the black accents he had weren’t imposing. “This is to keep up morale.”

Morale… Optimus would laugh if the whole thing wasn’t driving him insane. The Decepticons and morale? Every Autobot knew that Starscream would have murdered Megatron and vice versa if the two didn’t have the same aligned goal. Even then, it was a common sight to see the two trying to kill one another even on the battlefield. Shaking his helm slightly, he turned back to this universe’s Megatron. The mech stared back at him, not a hint of emotion in that singular blue optic (and that detail freaked him out more than everything else had). “I won’t hurt anyone here.”

“I trust you. You’re different from the Optimus Prime of this universe. I don’t mean just the paint job but in personality.” Aside from the missing optic, it unnerved Optimus how cold this Megatron’s voice was. He had gotten so used to hearing his name yelled across the battlefield in rage that he had already forgotten what D-16 had sounded like. Has he always sounded this empty? No, Optimus had fond memories of D-16, even if he had forgotten his voice. “I trusted you since you first opened your intake. The Optimus Prime of this universe never calls me Megatron.”

“What does he call you?” It was a redundant question but honestly Optimus didn’t know what else to say. What could he say? Just a few joors ago, he had been in Iacon with his fellow Autobots, and now he was a universe away where apparently Primus was evil, some Primes were warmongers, and he was the current reason for the civil war happening in Cybertron. Even more confusing, the Decepticons were actually good and trying to stop this universe’s Optimus Prime even though Primus had given him the Matrix of Leadership. He needed a long recharge after all this.

“I think we both know.” Megatron let out a tired vent, optic closing before suddenly approaching. Unable to help himself, Optimus flinched back, expecting a phantom punch towards his helm. He felt almost guilty as Megatron stopped. It would take some adjusting. Even if he did look different, Optimus couldn’t forget his Megatron - the mech who was nothing now but rage and vengeance. This universe’s Megatron didn’t deserve to be stared at with distrust, but he couldn't forget the cycles of fighting that had left their mark on him. “He never flinches.”

Megatron said quietly, and then he was gone.

—

“My universe’s Megatron, even before he took on Megatronus’ cog, is a tankbot. Why do you have wings?” After finding himself stuck in this universe, Optimus spent most of his time by Megatron’s side, much to the suspicion of Starscream. Still, this Starscream (who was the leader of the Decepticons, and that did make Optimus laugh) had let it happen since Megatron had vouched for Optimus’ good character - and he needed Optimus nearby while he worked on a way to bring Optimus back to his universe. “And you’re a scientist! I’m not saying my Megatron is stupid, but… he wouldn’t…”

“There are many differences between your universe and mine.” Megatron stated impassively, hardly staring down from the equations he was pouring himself over. It had taken some time, but Optimus had come to find out that this Megatron was the Decepticon’s medic and scientist, with mathematics being a side passion of his. It was hard to process that the Shockwave wasn’t the mad scientist of this universe. Not that Megatron was mad, if anything, he had been nothing but apathetic around Optimus. “In your universe, your D-16 had resigned himself to the mines. I… A part of me could never.”

“That doesn’t explain the wings.” He knew he was pushing it, and he knew it really wasn’t what Optimus wanted to ask. It was that singular optic that continued to run in his processor. If this Megatron was a medic and scientist, why hadn’t he replaced it by now? Surely it wasn’t because he lacked the scraps or materials for it? Megatron finally looked up at him, and Optimus regretted trying to get the mech’s attention. Looking at that optic made him nauseous. “You still changed your designation to Megatron in this universe, so you must have Megatronus Prime’s cog.”

“I changed my designation because I admired Megatronus Prime, and to separate myself from my past.” The other mech scoffed out in irritation. It was the first emotion Optimus had managed to coax out of him. “As I said, our universes are different. Your Matrix of Leadership restored the transformation cogs of the cogless. Primus isn’t so kind in this universe. While he had granted us the return of energon, the transformation cogs were not restored. You said that your Megatron took Sentinel’s cog - which had originally been Megatronus’ - I did no such thing. Sentinel never even took Megatronus’ cog.”

“Then…?” He had considered the possibility that somehow Megatronus Prime had been a Cybertronian jet in this universe, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Optimus nearly panicked before Megatron had clarified he hadn’t taken Sentinel’s cog. The Sentinel in his universe had wings, and if everyone in this universe was different from who they were in his universe, had there been a possibility that Sentinel had been good? Optimus could hardly process the thought. Still, a part of him felt proud and slightly satisfied that Megatron hadn’t resorted to taking Sentinel’s cog. “If the transformation cogs weren’t restored…”

“There is one similarity you both share, it’s that you don’t know when to stop pushing and searching for information you shouldn't have, Prime.” The anger disappeared just as quickly as it had come. Optimus met the shocked look in Megatron’s optic, the mech surprised at his own rage. Megatron headed quickly towards the doors. “Understand this. When Primus… When your god has forsaken you, then sometimes you have to pave your own path forward. You can’t rely on a god that doesn’t care for you. Sometimes, you have no one but yourself.”

Then Megatron was fleeing out the door.

—

“I’m sorry.” It was the first words that Megatron had said after their confrontation. Optimus looked up from the datapad he had been reading through. They haven’t had any luck in finding a way to send him back, so Optimus had busied himself by learning this universe’s history. It was hard though with the limited information (he wondered if there had been a deliberate erasure of the records…). He had nothing else to do, especially since Megatron had avoided him after the incident. “I lost my temper at you, and I think I owe you an explanation for my reaction.”

Before Optimus could object, the mech had already sat down beside him. Selfish as it was, Optimus wished Megatron had sat to his left, since at this angle, he could see the empty socket where Megatron’s left optic should have been. “As you know, during a war, desperate measures happen and it can’t be helped when energon is spilled. The Decepticons have never resorted to extreme measures in the same way our Autobots have and I’m sure in the same way your Decepticons have either. Except one. I’ve eradicated any trace of the technology so it could never be repeated.”

Megatron let out a weak laugh. “The other Decepticons were furious. Possibly the only time Starscream had turned his anger on me… It was unethical of me, but I think at the time, I needed to do it. I was still D-16 then, and I was still cogless. It was only a few astroweeks after we’d been banished to the surface by Optimus Prime. I had been sparkbroken and I thought I would die from the betrayal. It would have been selfish to do so, not when I knew that Cybertron couldn’t be left at the hands of a tyrant.”

There was a tense silence, and Optimus knew that Megatron was stalling. He should really tell the mech to stop. He wasn’t owed an explanation… but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious. Megatron went on, “You would know, I think, but it isn’t easy fighting a mech you once loved. I knew that if I wanted to take down the mad Prime, I would have to do something really drastic. I only ever tested it on myself. I would never let any mech undergo the process. The technology has since been destroyed. It’s for the best.”

Optimus looked down to find that Megatron had curled his servos into fists, and his face was contorted in pain. “I reprogrammed all the emotions I had ever held for my Orion Pax. I couldn’t separate him from the mech he had become, so I forced myself to remove the feelings I had for him. It shouldn’t have been done, but the mech who I had been - when I had been D-16 - couldn’t live knowing he’d been betrayed by the one mech he thought would always stand by his side. Now… Now all I feel for that Prime is apathy.”

Awkwardly, Megatron placed a servo on his shoulder, as if to console him before quickly running away. Optimus sat there, taking in the information. Apathy. Megatron felt nothing for his universe’s Optimus Prime. He could piece the rest without the other mech having to say it. He had run off after their confrontation because he had been scared. He assumed that since he was just a different version of this universe’s Optimus Prime, that he would feel nothing towards him too. Optimus’ thoughts didn’t stop there.

He couldn’t help but wonder if his Megatron would have done the same thing.

—

“Your optic…”

The other mech stared at the wall, unable to meet Optimus’ own gaze. He had found out by accident. He had been reckless and left the Decepticon base during an ongoing battle. He had only wanted to help. While he had been on the battlefield, he had finally caught sight of his counterpart. Instead of the blue, this universe’s Optimus Prime was painted in purple. Honestly, they might have looked the same if it weren’t for the difference in color, but there was one difference that still scared him. The optics. One was red… and the other blue.

“You banished your D-16 to the surface. If I still had my emotions for this universe’s Orion Pax, I think I would feel jealous that you hadn’t hurt your D-16 so badly.” Megatron walked past him, giving him a look over his shoulder pad as if to check if he would follow. Optimus did. He had waited until Megatron had finished repairing the mechs that had been injured during the recent battle to ask him about his optics. Now they were both in the hallway outside the medical bay. The air felt tense. “Mine wanted to take away my optics.”

Optimus stayed silent. Honestly, what could he have said after hearing that? Never ever had he considered doing that to another mech. Not even his Megatron who wouldn’t hesitate to kill him! That lone blue optic stared up at him, waiting for his response but Optimus needed a moment to vent. He could never imagine… The more he learned about this universe’s Optimus Prime, the more he felt lucky that the Decepticons and Megatron in his universe weren’t that depraved in the processor. He could hardly believe that a version of himself would ever be capable of such brutality. “W-why?”

“If I refused to see things his way, then I didn’t deserve to see at all.” Despite the coldness and indifference in Megatron’s voice, Optimus could only feel the horror that the other mech must have felt when he could still feel emotions for what had happened to him. “He pinned me down. It was foolish to fight him without a cog but I needed to stop him before he caused more damage to Iacon. He didn’t take my betrayal well. He had taken out one optic before Starscream got him off me. Then, I fled with the High Guard.”

When his universe’s D-16 had shot him with a cannon, at least he had felt some remorse. At the end, Megatron had let him fall. Still, even after what his former friend had done… Even after the pain of betrayal Optimus had felt - how sparkbroken he had been at the loss - he would never have hurt Megatron that way. He couldn’t convince him, so he let him leave. From the way this Megatron spoke, it was almost as though he hadn’t been banished - as if his Optimus had wanted to keep him, even if it meant hurting him that badly.

“You don’t have to live like this, Megatron. You’re a medic. You could repair it yourself.” Optimus couldn’t understand why Megatron remained this way. That lone blue optic met his gaze, and in them, he could almost see the last remnants of affection that D-16 held for his Orion Pax.

“I keep it as a reminder of what I had lost, what I had chosen to do to try to forget, and…” Megatron gave him a sad smile. “As a hope that one day, he may be able to see through my optics, the way I couldn’t see through his.”

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In my actual SG TF:One AU, Megatron loses his arm because Optimus did axe it before banishing him. In this fic he's missing an optic and wasn't exactly banished mostly because I came across a really good fanart on Twitter and I couldn't stop thinking about it skksks