#Vi becoming a cop for her is crazy

[ropes3amthoughts]

I’m so glad I watched Arcane because I got like 3 posts that were full of gifs of Caitlyn and Vi kissing on my dash in a row and if I hadn’t just watched it I would’ve gotten spoiled lmao

[bumblydumbly]

Already said this but since everybody is too busy on the failmance happening im gonna say it again: Vi starting their confrontation by saying “never thought [my sister] would orphan kids” only to be stopped from killing jinx. By an orphan kid.

[thelesbiansuperjesus]

bro i'm tired of seeing the most brainrot takes on arcane, especially relating to vi like "erm... she's a cop now... thats problematic...😥"

holy fucking shit thats actually like the whole point. like the whole point of her character is to show the bending of morals that can happen in a person under certain circumstances, and in this case the circumstances are that her sister is a legit terrorist. (im also not anti jinx btw i luv her too)

also, she isn't fucking real. applying the same ethics to fictional characters that we do to real life people is never a good way to process media. and liking vi as a character does not automatically mean you love cops. christ. like am i crazy? is this not common sense?

also, i feel like with the reveal that she's an enforcer, people just automatically forgot all the character development that she went through the entire show, like she obviously does not just automatically become #1 enforcer/piltover lover.

christ, look at her and tell me that's the face of someone who's absolutely pumped to be an enforcer. like have we all just forgotten who vi is as a character? and if you are genuinely clutching your pearls over the fact that vi is an enforcer now, i'm sorry to say that you just don't know league lore cuz this was always gonna happen. like she's a cop in the damn game i don't know what you expected.

also, arcane has always been explicitly very anti-police brutality/ anti- oppression in it's themes. i mean, it isn't spoon fed to you, and it doesn't portray everything as black and white, just how nothing is black and white in real life, but it is very good at getting these themes across. do yall genuinely think it has thrown that all away and is now a super pro establishment alt right copoganda? NO! obviously not! and that isnt what vi as a character is here to represent.

also i saw some rando on here dissing vi, and then said that SILCO is a better person?! and dont get me wrong, i fucking love silco, he's so cool to watch and is an endlessly interesting character, but are we as a society really gonna pretend that the drug lord who floods poor neighborhoods with drugs for is own personal gain is the morally superior character? sometimes i feel like you guys did not learn basic reading comprehension. like these are very simple concepts to grasp i'm afraid.

ok im done thanks 4 reading :) i had to rant a little lol

[guiltycorp]

Damn i really want to know tf happened in the writing room of arcane s2. Some of the downgrades were inevitable due to the show's corporate limitations (not being able to progress the class war story in a meaningful way, having to tie things back to league of legends in terms of making playable characters more appealing to well, play... rip Mel and Viktor in particular), sure. But i still feel like it's even worse than that? There are so many bad decisions that i couldn't even start listing them all... the characters, plot, pacing, themes, it's just such a mess? Even the dialogue writing, it feels much more mm Marvel at its worst i suppose. What i am most bothered by is probably just the straight up harmful messaging so um... Cycles of violence and abuse can be broken by individual decisions to become a better person! Got nothing to do with systemic oppression, living conditions, mental health issues, you can just conveniently ignore aaall the social context, live laugh love and then things get better automatically yep, oppressors famously stop oppressing you when you show them that you're harmless and won't put up a fight anymore. Literally three out of three suicidal characters dying to redeem themselves? Not even in a tragic/cathartic way but in a bittersweet 'they finally atoned for their mistakes' way? Groundbreaking lmao. Romantic relationship between Vi and Caitlyn including no communication about their biggest fight, just conveniently skipping to sex and getting back together - would have loved that if it was framed as the unhealthy fucked up thing that it is, skipping over Vi's hurt and her background to once again become a cop, her girlfriend's direct underling at that (!) due to her not having any other support systems... But nope that was our cute lesbian romance wrapped up, a good thing all around, not concerning at all. Jayce telling Viktor that what he 'always admired about him' was his disability and his deadly disease (??? from a character who spent the whole s1 and first act of s2 desperately trying to help Viktor find a cure? sure) and that those imperfections don't need fixing, just wtf truly. Magic bullshit was also weird, some implications of 'natural magic is ok, but achieving that power through other means corrupts you into a crazy robot bitch or just wilts your trees i guess', but tbh it was written in such a weird and inconsistent way that we can skip this one... Yeah actually a lot of things were just such a mess that I feel silly pointing to specific moments or lines I didn't like, I mean duh, it barely makes sense as a story at all... I am happy we have s1 which comparatively was a masterpiece, and i also really enjoyed s2 act1, i truly believed it would lead somewhere good at the time, my mind still kind of cuts off the story at that point when i think about it, that WAS the open ending of the show to me (is it possible that there were rewrites? targeting act 2 and 3? idk, wishful thinking perhaps). Despite my extremely negative feelings about this season's conclusion i remain glad that so many people appreciate the show regardless, it is clear that there was STILL a lot of love in the process of its creation (although i'd argue that even some of the visual aspects of the show suffered in quality, once again i have to wonder about behind the scenes mood of it all) and i get very upset when i see creatives online despairing over reception of their projects even when i'm absolutely in the disgruntled crowd hahaha... ...however yeah, this wasn't great In a world that increasingly grows more and more right-wing politically... we really needed something different i think.

[flowerspeakz]

Lmao I remember seeing images of vi as a pitfighter and thinking "noo spoilers 😭" (I didn't want to know ANYTHING about season 2 before watching it--get the best experience, yk?).

But like,,, Vi's pitfighter phase was so insignificant? Like actually so brushed over? I totally forgot about it because it had one stupid montage and that's it.

Why did she even become a pitfighter? Ik that it's her coping with her life falling apart, by why pitfighting? And also where's the pitfighting happening? And why is that vander replacement there? What??? Can they not like continue the insane worldbuilding they had from before please?

ffs I'm tired of people claiming that people critiquing arcane have no media literacy and want to be spoon fed. Be so fr the first season of arcane is so so SO GOOD because the reasoning behind characters' decisions were explained/shown before the decision was made. (silco choosing that kid to be the first human shimmer weapon because that kid fucked up his recon mission on vi/powder/mylo/claggor so badly, powder wanting to prove that she isn't a jinx because mylo keeps dissing her about it, marcus being a mess of a dirty cop because his family's safety is in silco's hands, etc, etc)

Characters are not real people. Sure, a real person can make decisions out of left field. Yeah, real people have microexpressions that can tell you a lot about what they're thining. But a character's motivations and how they think should be clear to the audience (generally, ofc there's exceptions im not stupid yo).

Yeah, I know why each character did what they did in s2, but not in the way I did in s1. Not in a way that matters.

I mean, I totally forgot that Mel and Jayce were in a relationship in s1. Where did that go?? I guess people are so obsessed with jayvik that they were probably celebrating that the writers forgor about that important character/plot point. You're telling me not a single character has ANY curiosity??? Jayce sees that Mel is a mage and doesn't, yk, insist on getting the full story??? And vice versa??? Even if they implied that that conversation happens off-screen that's not enough. Seeing how these two very close characters express these very traumatic events to each other would be such a good look into their internal mindscapes and how they view the crazy shit that just happened to them. But nooo. We can't explore their relationship together because jayce needs to be obsessed with viktor.

GOD I want a bi character in a show to come out of a same-sex relationship and end up in a "straight" relationship just to watch the internet fucking implode. Every bi/plurisexual person deserves a smooch on the forehead and a little voice that tells them 'love who you love, nothing could make you less queer than you are. yeah, people sure do think otherwise but fuck them ong holy shit'

omggg dont even get me started on caitvi... can we not get a healthy wlw relationship that isn't rooted in codependency and general toxicity?? "people just cant let lesbians have anything can they," i've heard people say in response to people criticising the caitvi sex scene... NO! I want sapphics to know that they can have healthy, non-abusive relationships where you, yk, actually talk to your partner and ARENT just the dirt under their nails. tf.

[httplilyyy]

𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 || 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑

pairing: tara carpenter x reader

summary: you’re in a franchise now

warnings: descriptions of violence, swearing, scream vi spoilers, bad writing

word count: 4.6k

a/n: i didn’t really know how to end this but i tried my best. i also added a few references to the older scream movies, so see if you can spot them :)

scream masterlist | prev. part | next part

002. he’s back (man behind the mask) - alice cooper

‘he’s back, the man behind the mask.’

You stood in shock. Eyes focused on the backdoor of the store, swinging backwards and forwards. Not quite believing ghostface was in there with you, Tara and Sam. 

“It’s happening again.” Tara trembled against your side. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” you repeated, turning to face the younger Carpenter, “you're okay.”

“But-”

“Don't do that. You're okay.” You said softly, rubbing your hands up and down her arms.

You kept your gaze on Tara, watching as she processed what just happened. Pulling her against you, she rested her head on your chest.

You placed your chin on the top of her head, looking over at Sam, a tint of worry and fear glistening in your eyes.

The three of you were quickly ushered into a cop car, each of you sitting in the back with Tara in the middle, trying to get as close to you as she could. 

The journey to the police station was quiet, the dull noise of the radio breaking the silence. You had your head resting against the window, a million thoughts running around in your mind.

You couldn't help it but your mind kept going back to the call you had gotten from ghostface. What did they mean by they wanted to see you suffer? Was it you they wanted to kill? Or was it someone else? 

And most important of all. How did they know your secret?

All whilst those thoughts were at the forefront of your mind, Tara leaned her head on your shoulder. Your fingers gently brushed over her knuckles before tracing the scar on her hand, only stopping when the car came to a halt at the station. 

The three of you were let out of the back of the cop car and led into a room where pictures of the crime scene littered over the table. You sat to Tara’s left whilst Sam sat to her right, each of you tired after the events in the store.

You were just about to start a conversation when Detective Bailey walked in the room. He sat on the chair in front of you three and looked at you intently.

“This was found next to the body at the apartment crime scene.” Bailey said, throwing a ghostface mask on the table. “The dna said it belonged to someone called Richie Kirsch.”

Sam snapped her head up at the name, a look of confusion written on her face. 

“Does that ring a bell?” Bailey asked, making you look between Tara and Sam, the both of them shocked at the name drop.

“We’re familiar with him.” Sam replied, her face not showing any emotion.

“The one that attacked us had a different mask on.” Tara said, turning to look at Bailey. “It's kinda more beat up, like it's older.” 

“I gotta ask, do you have alibis from earlier tonight?” Bailey questioned, nodding to what Tara had said.

“I was at a party with my friends.” Tara said, leaning back in her chair.

“And you, y/n?” Bailey asked, looking at you with a smile, one that was far from friendly.

“I was at the party too.” You shrugged, looking straight into his eyes.

“I was at my therapists,” Sam cut in, “I can give you his information. You can call and check if you want. Then I met Tara and y/n at that party. Where I tased someone… Unrelated.”

“Was that before or after this?” Bailey wondered, sounding a little irritated as he moved his gaze off you and onto the older Carpenter showing a video on his phone of Sam pushing the woman from earlier.

“Before.” Sam said.

“The point is, we were with someone the whole night.” You said, becoming very tired of the questioning. 

“So, our roommate's dad just happened to pull our case.” Sam stated, not believing that was entirely true.

“That would be a crazy coincidence right?” Bailey replied.

“Yeah.” 

“The detective who had the case, he offered it to me because it involves Quinn. But I can totally give it back if you're uncomfortable. It’s up to you.”

Sam looked at Tara, the younger girl didn't seem to mind so Sam took her judgement and replied.

“It’s fine.”

“So if the man who attacked you did steal your licence and planted it next to the body. Then it will probably be somebody close to you.” Bailey said, causing Sam to look a little dejected. “How long have you known your friends?”

“Well we moved here with Mindy, Chad and y/n for summer semester like six months ago.” Tara said, looking at you. “So Quinn, Ethan, Anika all since then.” 

“I think I can vouch for Quinn so that's one less we have to worry about.” Bailey said. “Do the three of you have anyone that might wanna target you?”

You let out a huffed laugh as you saw Sam roll her eyes with an exasperated look on her face.

“Not anyone who’s still alive.” Tara said, shaking her head.

“Yikes.” Bailey commented with raised eyebrows.

“Tell me about it.” You mumbled, running a hand down your face.

Suddenly the door opened behind Bailey and an officer came in. 

“The fbi is here, they need jurisdiction.” The man said.

“Where are they?” Bailey questioned, shooting up from his seat to follow the police officer.

“Jesus christ.” You muttered, leaning back on your chair, head tilting up to look at the ceiling.

“I’ve never known you to be so quiet.” Tara teased, smacking you on the stomach.

“Hey!” You exclaimed, holding onto your stomach.

“Oh come on, I didn't hit you that hard.” Tara chuckled.

“You did, I think you broke something.” You joked, continuing your dramatics.

“Come on, you two. We’re leaving.” Sam said abruptly, getting up from her chair.

“Wait what?” You said, very confused as Tara dragged you out of your chair by your arm. “Where are we going?”

“I don't know, just follow my sister.” Tara answered, pulling you along beside her.

As you walked side by side with Tara and Sam, you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. Slowly pulling out your phone, you made sure to check the number this time. 

Stopping in your tracks, you immediately knew who was calling you. Due to your abrupt halt, Sam and Tara were looking at you with confused glances.

“You okay, y/n?” Tara questioned, eyes scanning your face for any signs of emotion however it was completely blank.

“Uh, yeah.” You said, clearing your throat with a small cough. You looked up from your phone and at the younger Carpenter. “I’ve just got to take this call.”

“We’ll wait here for you.” Sam smiled. 

“It’s no problem, you go on, I'll catch up.” 

With reluctant nods, Sam and Tara walked away from you. Your finger hovered over the answer button and just as it was about to go to voicemail you picked it up.

“Hello again, y/n.”

“You know, you are starting to really piss me off.” You answered, kicking the ground by your feet.

“Now, now, that’s not a nice way to greet someone, is it?” They replied, causing you to practically hear their smirk.

“Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Let me try that again. Hey, ghostface, how’s it going?”

“That’s better.”

“Okay, cut the bullshit. What do you want?” You snapped, moving to lean your back against a nearby wall.

“How about a little trip down memory lane?”

“And what could you possibly know about my past?”

“Everything.”

“Huh, funny.” You scoffed, looking around you, making sure no one could hear your conversation.

“You don't believe me, do you?”

“Why should I?”

“One of your old friends is right around the corner.” They said, ignoring your question.

“One of my old friends?”

“Yes. Now I'm sure you remember the night.”

“What night?”

“Two-thousand and eleven was a wonderful year, wasn't it?” They asked rhetorically, ignoring you once again.

“For some.” You shrugged.

“Not for you though, was it?”

“Depends.”

“Poor nine year old y/n.” 

“Okay, I am sick of your shit. Stop fucking around and tell me what you know.” You said loudly, pushing yourself off the wall and into the middle of the hallway.

“You miss her don’t you? I mean she was your sister after all. Even if she did turn out to be a murderer.”

“Fuck you.” You said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, so vulgar.” They exclaimed.

“Keep my sister’s name out of your mouth.”

“Well, I haven't even said her name yet, have I? What was it again? I can't seem to remember it.” They teased, sending shivers up your spine. “Was it Jamie? No, that doesn't seem right. Jenny, still no. Oh I know.”

“Oh do you now?” You asked sarcastically.

“Jill.” 

All of a sudden everything in your body went cold. Your heart was pounding out of your chest and your breath got caught in your throat.

You couldn't think of a reply, your brain replaying that night in your head. 

“Ooh, I know everything about you y/n.”

Before you could think of a response the line went dead and you were left standing in an empty police station hallway, your thoughts running over a million miles an hour.

You let out a shaky breath, placing your phone back in your pocket before making your way to where Sam and Tara walked off to.

As you rounded a corner, you saw Sam and Tara talking with Bailey as well as someone you thought you wouldn't see ever again.

“Kirby?” You muttered, stepping into view.

“Y/n?” She replied, shock evident on her face.

“You guys know each other?” Sam questioned, looking between you two.

“Yeah, we…” Kirby trailed off, still in a little shock. 

“It's a long story.” You said, sending Kirby a smile.

Kirby let out a small chuckle before walking towards you and engulfing you in a hug.

As you caught up with Kirby, a police officer came up to the five of you and handed Bailey some paperwork along with a second ghostface mask. 

“He left this mask at the bodega, dna traces of two individuals; Charlie Walker, Jill Roberts. Both deceased.”

As Jill’s name was mentioned, Kirby felt your body go stiff in her arms. She rubbed a soothing hand along your arm before detaching herself from you.

“Ghostface killers of two-thousand and eleven. Charlie Walker gave me this.” Kirby said as she lifted up her shirt to show a scar of where she had been stabbed in the abdomen. “Is this the mask he was wearing when he attacked you?”

“No.” Tara replied, as she and her sister shook their heads together, you however were still stuck in a trance.

“So he’s leaving them on purpose.” Bailey stated.

“Which means whoever is doing this is a student of the killers who came before.” Kirby added. “Maybe he believes Sam’s the latest in the long line.”

Once Kirby finished her sentence, she moved her gaze back onto you. Although Sam and Tara didn’t know you were related to Jill, Kirby did. 

If ghostface was going after Sam, then that meant they were also going to come for you.

Oh how you wished what Kirby said was wrong. 

“Yeah, goodluck with that.” Sam said, sarcasm present in her tone. “We’re getting out of town.” 

Sam walked past Bailey and Kirby, Tara following behind. The younger Carpenter grabbed onto your hand and she pulled you along too. 

“I’m sorry but that’s not possible.” Bailey said, causing the three of you to turn back around.

“And why is that?” You questioned, feeling your temper rise and your patience completely dissipate from your body. 

“The three of you are each persons of interest to a double homicide so you’re not allowed to leave town, sorry.”

“Are you serious?” Tara asked, not believing what he said.

“How am I involved?” You wondered.

“He’s right.” Kirby nodded. “But, if we work together-”

“We’re going.” Sam cut her off pulling you and Tara along with her. With one last look at Kirby, you were pulled away from her and towards the exit of the station.

Sam led the three of you out of the police station with purpose and slammed open the doors to the outside. You were met with a hoard of news reporters bombarding you all with questions. 

Sam walked ahead of you and Tara, pushing her way through the reporters while you wrapped a protective arm around Tara’s shoulders, pulling her into you as the two of you stayed close behind Sam.

Each question, name drop and sentence thrown at the three of you were ignored apart from one voice that stuck out. 

“Gale Weathers, Channel Four.”

“Oh you’ve got to be shitting me.” You muttered, turning around to face the woman.

“Do you three think you’re the reason that the ghostface killer has come to the big apple?” Gale questioned, her gaze focusing on you for a moment longer, softening slightly.

Sam scoffed, pretending to turn around only for her to throw a punch at Gale. The older woman dodged the attempt as everyone gasped at what they just saw.

“Nice try sweety but I've done this dance before.” Gale said smugly but her last word was cut off as another hand came swinging towards her face. This time she didn’t have time to dodge and a right hook was sent to her cheek.

You looked at Tara in pure shock, a smile taking over your features. 

“Stay away from us.” Tara threatened as she walked away, you and Sam following her with proud glances.

“Are you really still mad at me?” Gale questioned, following after the three of you.

“You said you wouldn't write a book about what happened.” Sam said, turning to face the woman with anger. “And then you wrote a book about what happened!”

“Oh come on.” Gale sighed. “Somebody was gonna write about it. It’s what I do.”

“I heard you couldn't sell the movie rights.” Tara cut in, a deadly look on her face.

“It's all about true crime limited series these days.” Gale responded with an eye roll.

“After everything we went through together.” Sam shook her head. “What would Dewey think?” 

“That's a low blow.” Gale said, and you let out a small whistle of agreement.

“Your book was a low blow.” Sam rebutted. “You called me unstable and a born killer.”

“That’s taken out of context.”

“That's literally a quote.” You pointed out, sending a smile to Gale which turned out more like a grimace.

“You don't think what you wrote has something to do with what's happening to us?” Tara exclaimed.

“Come on.” You said, pulling both Carpenters to a parked up taxi.

“I talked to Sidney.” Gale said, causing the three of you to stop in your tracks once again.

You sighed to yourself, looking up at the sky, wondering what else this woman could possibly say.

“She’s not coming here is she?” Tara asked, worry laced in her tone.

“No.” Gale shook her head. “She sends her love but she’s taking the kids and Mark someplace safe. She deserves to have her happy ending.”

“And that much we agree.” Sam said before opening the back door to the taxi and getting in. 

You held the door open for Tara waiting for her to get in but Gale spoke up again.

“Hey I want to catch this fucker as much as you do.” Gale said, raising her voice a little.

“Maybe.” Tara shrugged. “Or maybe you're just afraid that without Ghostface in your life, you're gonna fade away.”

Tara gave the woman one last look before getting into the taxi.

“Did you get all that on film?” You smirked, pointing to the multiple cameras behind Gale. 

Gale looked at you with an irritated glint to her eye causing you to chuckle. Just as you were about to get in the taxi, Gale called out your name.

“Y/n, can I talk to you for a second?” She pleaded. 

You let out a small sigh, looking back at Tara. She gave you a small nod and you promised to only be a few minutes.

“What’s going on, Gale?” You questioned, a hand rubbing your forehead.

“H-how are you feeling?” Gale wondered.

“How am I feeling?” You repeated, sarcasm laced in your voice. “Since when did you care?”

“Sidney has been asking about you.”

“Then why couldn’t she just contact me?” You scoffed.

“She's trying to keep a low profile and-”

“And texting me will blow her cover? Bullshit, she’s my cousin.”

“Look, y/n. you’ve been through this twice-”

“So what? I was nine the first time! Nine!” You said, raising your voice. “That doesn’t mean I'm used to it by now!”

“I know I just-”

“My own sister stabbed me! That will do something to a person. Especially a child.”

“I want to be there for you, y/n.” Gale said softly.

“Look, Gale.” You started, a long sigh spilled from your lips. “I don’t think I can go through this again.”

“I know, this is my sixth time and it feels like the first.”

“I’m scared, Gale. I’m so scared.” You whispered, your bottom lip quivering.

“I’d think you were a psycho if you weren’t.” Gale said, letting out a wet chuckle as tears fell from her own eyes.

“They know.” You said, wiping your eyes. “They know about Jill.”

“Maybe it’s time to tell your friends. Before Ghostface does.”

“Maybe, I’ll think about it. Just not yet.”

“Okay.”

“I uh- I have to go.” You mumbled, looking back at Tara and Sam in the taxi, the younger girl giving you a worried glance as she spotted the tear marks on your face.

“Yeah, okay. You have my number so call me. I’ll always pick up.”

“Will do.” You smiled, moving your hand to squeeze hers before backing away and into the taxi.

You closed the car door with one last look at Gale, the taxi driver drove off.

“Nice punch by the way.” You teased Tara, using your elbow to nudge her side.

“Shut up.” Tara mumbled, locking her arm with yours as she rested her head against your shoulder, her fingers intertwined with yours.

“Where are we going?” You questioned, looking down at the smaller girl leaning against your side.

“We’re going to the park to meet up with everyone.” Tara replied.

“No doubt it will entail one of Mindy’s rants.” You said, causing Tara and Sam to chuckle.

“Probably.”

“Actually, I'll put a bet on that. Five dollars Mindy brings up us being in a sequel or something.”

“No chance, I'd like to keep my money.” Tara said, patting a hand on your thigh.

“You're no fun.” You sighed.

The rest of the ride to the park was filled with jokes and laughter, despite what had happened the night before. Before you knew it, the taxi driver had stopped and the three of you were getting out.

It didn't take long for you to find your friends and after you greeted everybody, you sat down beside Tara, in between her and Ethan. The only person who wasn’t sitting down was Mindy, who stood in front of you all.

“Okay nerds, listen up.” Mindy said, clapping her hands above her head to gain everyone's attention. “As terrifying as this all is, I'm actually glad I get a chance to redeem myself for not calling the killers last time… it's fine, okay.”

“Here we go.” You muttered under your breath earning an elbow to the ribs from tara.

“The way I see it, someone is out to make a sequel to the requel.” Mindy continued.

“Called it.” You whispered in Tara's ear, the girl trying to keep the corners of her mouth from turning into a smile.

“Um- what's a requel?” Anika questioned, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked up at her girlfriend.

“You're beautiful sweetie.” Mindy said, pointing to the girl with her hands. “Let’s hold questions till the end.”

“Stab took place in Woodsboro, Stab Two took place in college.” Sam spoke up.

“So do you think that the killer is trying to copy the movies?” Tara asked, looking up at Mindy.

“That is one possibility.” Mindy nodded. “Heroes now in college, check. Suspicious new characters brought in to round out the suspect list and/or the body count. Check, check and check.”

“I don't like this.” Ethan said, shaking his head before looking away.

“But it can't just be about Stab Two.” Mindy said, ignoring Ethan as she continued to explain her point.

“Why not?” Tara wondered, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked up to Mindy once again.

“It makes sense if this were just a sequel.” Mindy explained. “But we're not in a sequel because nobody just makes sequels anymore. We’re in a franchise! And there are certain rules to a continuing franchise.”

“I had a feeling.” Sam sighed, looking to the ground.

“Is this making sense to you?” You questioned, leaning towards Ethan who shook his head. “Okay at least it's not just me.”

“Rule one!” Mindy said loudly as she started to pace around. “Everything is bigger than last time! Bigger budget, bigger cast, bigger body count, longer chases, shootouts, beheadings. You gotta top what happened before to keep people coming back.” 

“Beheadings?” Chad asked, looking up from his notebook and at his sister.

“Beheadings.” Mindy confirmed, nodding her head. “Rule two, whatever happened last time, expect the opposite. Franchises only survive by subverting expectations, if the killers last time were whiny, snowflake, film nerds with letterboxd accounts instead of personalities, you can bet the opposite will be true here.”

“Has she breathed yet?” You mumbled to the two next to you, Ethan letting out a quiet snort of laughter whilst Tara shook her head with a small smile gracing her lips.

“And rule three, no one is safe.” Mindy said, calming down a little. “Legacy characters are cannon fodder at this point. Usually brought back only to be killed off in some cheap bit for nostalgia. It’s not looking too good for Gale and Kirby, oh and that isn’t even the worst part!”

“This is the part where she tells us the worst part.” Chad said, looking up from his notebook only for a second.

"The worst part is, franchises are just continuing episodic instalments designed to boost an ip. Which means, main characters are completely expendable now too, Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, Ellen Ripley, Sally Hardesty, Jigsaw, Tony Stark, James Bond, I mean even Luke Skywalker, all die so that their franchises can live on." Mindy ranted. "That means it's just not the friend group, any of us can go at any time. Especially Sam and Tara.”

“Well that’s just brilliant then, isn’t it.” You sighed, running a hand through your hair, glancing over to Tara who was already looking at you.

"W-wait, any of us?" Ethan asked as he looked up at Mindy who nodded. "Does- am I in the friend group?"

"Yeah".

"Am I like one of the targets of-”

“Mhm.”

“Am I gonna die a virgin?”

You almost choked on your own spit, leaning forward as Tara patted your back, looking at the boy with a laugh.

Mindy looked away for a moment, a grimace on her face. "That was...a weird overshare. But it brings us to our current suspects, Ethan, the shy, dorky guy who no one suspects because he's so shy and dorky.”

Ethan shook his head as Mindy took a step up to him. "Okay, wait, why am I on the suspect list? Because I'm randomly Chad's roommate?"

"Roommate lotteries can be juked, you could've fixed it to get in next to us.” Mindy stated and Ethan just rolled his eyes before slumping back while Mindy turned to look at Quinn.

"Quinn, the slutty roommate, a horror movie classic.”

"Sex positive, but thank you?" Quinn said, tilting her head.

Mindy just hummed before turning back to look at Tara and Sam. "How did you come to live with Sam and Tara?"

"I answered their ad online?"

"Okay! Say no more! You've already implicated yourself enough!" Mindy yelled. 

"It was an anonymous ad, Mindy. And you know we vetted her plus her dad's a cop-" Tara said, looking at Mindy as she defended her roommate.

"And that makes it more likely that she's the killer because having a cop dad is a great cover, do you not remember how these movies work, Tara?"

"Is she always like this?" Quinn asked, leaning forward as she spoke to Sam, the older Carpenter shrugging as her response.

"Anika.” Mindy smiled, walking over to her girlfriend who blew her a kiss, Mindy doing the same to her before looking at her more seriously. "Never trust the love interest.” 

“Okay, so...we have our rules. And we have our suspects.” Sam said, wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Wait, wait.” Ethan interrupted, looking up at Mindy. "What about you guys?"

"I mean, I think it's pretty safe to rule out the five of us who went through this last year in Woodsboro.” Mindy said, crossing her arms as she looked at the boy. 

"Agreed.” Chad smiled, pointing his pencil at Mindy. 

"Um, not agreed. What if the trauma you all went through caused one or more of you to snap?" Quinn remarked, shaking her head. 

Ethan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I mean, or the thing you got from the killings made you thirsty for more? I mean, to be honest here, some of the theories online about Sam are-"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Tara snapped at the boy.

“Let’s not go there, buddy.” You said, patting him on the shoulder, a little too harshly making Ethan let out a small wince at the action.

"Okay.” Anika nodded, sitting up straighter. "She's right, though. I mean, face facts, if we're all suspects, you're all suspects.”

Mindy just crossed her arms as she thought about those words for a moment not knowing how to reply.

“Okay, I'm leaving now.” You said, slapping your hands to your knees before standing up.

“Where are you going?” Tara questioned, looking up at you.

“Probably to kill someone.” Ethan muttered under his breath.

“Funny.” You replied sarcastically, staring the boy down. “I was going to get some food for later.”

“I’ll come with you.” Tara said, standing up quickly.

“Yeah, okay.” You smiled. “Anyone else want to come?” 

“Might as well.” Mindy shrugged.

“Anika, do you want to come?” You asked, looking at the girl still sitting down.

“No, it’s all good, I'll meet you later.” She replied with a smile.

“Anyone else?” You asked once more but everyone shook their heads and you gave them a nod of acknowledgement. “Guess it’s just us three.”

“Cool, we’ll see you in a bit.” Mindy said, giving her girlfriend a kiss before walking off with you and Tara.

“Be careful.” The three of you heard Sam’s voice come from behind you and you saw how Tara rolled her eyes at her sister.

“She’s just looking out for you because she loves you, y’know.” You chuckled, nudging Tara with your elbow.

“Clearly Chad doesn't care about me.” Mindy said, seeing as Chad didn’t say anything to her before she left.

“Alright, enough about siblings, last one to the store is a rotten egg.” You said quickly before you ran off ahead of your two friends.

“Child. They are a literal child.” Tara mumbled, shaking her head.

“You’re still going to run though, aren’t you.” Mindy said, speeding up a little.

“Of course.” Tara chuckled.

[joonebugg]

Live Joonebugg Arcane reaction

Go watch Arcabe before reading further, it's really good

Spoilers under the cut

Episode 1

Kinda cool how Jayce used a smaller hammer initially and then Vi shows up with a giant hammer to help him. Idk if it was intentional but considering the care that's put I to the show I think it was

SHE BECAME A COP⁉️

Puppies :]

Episode 2

Tbh Jinx my fav, love manic pixie dream girls frfr (ik she's way more than that but you all get what I mean)

Yaaaa get it girlll

The poow smoke😭😭😭/pos

Omfg shut uppp nerddddd/j

Me when I'm high on that za (I've never been on that za ever)

WHO IS THAT BADDIE⁉️👅👅👅

HE'S ALIVE⁉️

Bro survived in the gelatinous cube

PURPLE GUY⁉️

Okay are these guys faggots or what?

THEY ARE‼️

Wait did I misinterpret partner orrrr?

EKKO!!!!!!!!

I love this stupid little gremlin guy, he so whimsical and jolly core

He so mischievous

That "Ekko" was lowkey rooted in hate

Need the flashing mushroom thing STAT

Killing that munchkin man with my lazer eyes

Bro is a fucking pussyyyyyy

That little kid so sillay

Episode 3

That rose is really pretty :]

God I love lesbians

Knew they were gonna fag it up

Love Lest, so cunty

"Oh, ball sockets"😭😭😭/vpos

Love Jinx's little decorations. You get it, whimsical girl!

Woahg

FUCK THE POLICE!!!!!!

Hello???

Pretty colors :]

NO WAY CAIT REALLY JUST SAID THAT

Eugenics core...☹️

Absolutely stunning visuals

What the hell is happening

Wait nvm I get it

HOLD THE PHONE

Episode 4

These songs are all bangerrrrssss

Dude this is actually so cute

BROOO😭😭😭/VPOS

So they're just targeting blue haired people now?

That bird mask person literally me

ISHA NOOOOOO!!!!!!

So they're just arresting little kids now too?

What is that creature?

I heart punks chat

THE OLD LADYYYYY😭😭/VPOS

Poor Isha☹️

Hello mama👅👅👅(that creature thing)

WAIT HOLY SHIT!!!!!!! VANDER!!!!!!!

Episode 5

Dude she is out of it

That lion mask EATS UP

This architecture is lovely

They need to start slap eachother like siblings do

ISHA☹️☹️☹️

Wahhhhh😢😢😢

WAHHHHHHHHH😭😭😭

WOAHG!!!

God I love this show

Duuuude.......

WAHHHHHHHH😭😭😭

HOLY MAMA👅👅👅HELLO BEAUTIFUL😻

Episode 6

Isha's little nod😭

Victor becoming a godlike entity was not on my 2024 bingo card

"He is worth the risk"😢😢😢

Bro like Jesus Christ if you kinda think about it

Sorry

The watercolor is lovely

No fucking way chat

Killing these guys with my super laser eyes if they hurt Viktor or anyone in this crazy ass cult he built

GRAHHHH I HATE PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF POWER!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU JINX I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU

YAY!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYYAYAYA

THINGS ARE GOING RIGHT YAY

My boy is OUT OF IT

WAHHHHHH😢😢😢

JAYCE WHAT THE FUCK

Oh goddddddd

☹️

SHOOTING JAYCE WITH MY SUPER LAZER EYES

ISHA WHAT ARE YOU DOING

ISHA NOOOO😭😭😭

Episode 7

YAY!!! EKKO

This is so epic...guh

Wait why the hell is this guy a twunk again?

Wait nvm I think I get it

Dear lort

Oh mine gott

THIS SONGGGGGG RAHHHHHH

Hear me out on those things chasing Jayce rn

Love that I only had one super serious thought and that was it

Jayce is going through the fucking ringer rn

How innovative!

God I absolutely adore this alternate timeline stuff

These subtitle actually suck ass omfg [sings french] spell out the words💀

Dear lort

Oh my goodness gracious

Episode 8

Holy shit she is gorgeous...guh

Mel😻

Nothing like chewing on ice at 1 AM binging the second season of Arcane right fellas?

Okay back to the original universe now

Jesus christ this thing has some insane power who gave this to him?

Oh my lort

Huh?

Hear me out on that thing Viktor is using to talk to Jayce

Like hey there mama👅👅👅come here often?

God damn her hair is so long

Oh emm gee

THEY'RE BEING DRAFTED⁉️

Sorry I'm being a tad bit silly rn

Getting freaky faggot style

WAIT THAT WAS A JOKE THAT WAS A JOKE I DIDN'T KNOW THEY WOULD GET FREAKY FAGGOT STYLE FOR REAL HOLY SHIT

SHE ATE HER OUT⁉️

Going from that scene to a serious scene was kinda crazy

VANDOR OH MY GOD

My guy☹️

NOOOOOOOOO😢😢😢

Episode 9

2016 gacha life ass song /pos

Istg I've been here for like hours never even checked how many episodes there are. I think there's 10

Idk

GUH...

I heart Maddie bro she a cutie patootie

I say while there is an active war going on

Thought that since episode one👅👅👅

Gorsh

WHAT THE FUCK MADDIE WHAT THE FUCK

☹️

JINX!!!!!!!!😝😝😝

Viktor☹️

Absolutely adore those porcelain mannequin looking things. They were animated immaculately

Grandparents kitty cate came in, her name is Ebony :] (like the black piano keys)

Oh my gah

God these visuals are beautiful

GET HIS ASS EKKO

This is so beautiful guys I'm actually crying

Goodness gracious

Guys I'm being g so serious when I say this brought me to tears

Oh my god it's over😢😢😢

[theartofdyingx]

Boogeyman

Part VI- the Creels

1986. Hawkins

Nadya went to bring Eddie Munson some supplies, she obviously didn’t want the guy to starve to death. She already knew him, cause she sometimes, when everything became too much, bought some weed and stuff like that from him. She hoped she wouldn’t startle the boy, or think she came as the detective Montgomery. She went straight to the boat house.

-Eddie, it’s me, you know Nadya - she warned him as she entered.

He quickly got out from under the covers.

-Montgomery, what are you doing here?- he looked suspicious.

-Well, Eddie, it looks like we’re both involved in the same shitty supernatural mess.

-You too? I thought you were just a cop-like ugh something, who likes to break the law with me.

She chuckled at that.

-No, the other’s probably already mentioned me to you, I’m the other lab experimented girl, who still has her powers.

-Oh you? Nooo that sounds insane. You as one kind of superhero… utterly insane- he seemed like he just got high on the new information.

-Yeah, I know.It’s unbelievable - she muttered.- I’m not a superhero actually.

-Well, you sound like one, if we put aside the cop thing.

Nadya groaned at that.

-Fuck, I’m no cop Eddie, don’t associate me with them.

-Okay, okay - he held up his hands in defense. Nadya leaned against one of the metal walls.- What are you experimented kids called, by the way? - he asked as he started eating.

-Well, I’m for one called the ‘Fair lady’- she answered, but the look the boy gave, showed he didn’t have a single clue on what’s she talking about.-Hungarian mythical being. Christians call me a demon, pagans a fairy of sorts. Can drive people to madness, lure men to do whatever I want, get with the spiritual world, although that’s more of like a necromancer - she explained quickly.

-Woah, that sounds batshit crazy, but still cool- he looked amazed.- You are a fairy, I can’t even believe they exist.

-I’m not a…- she was interrupted.

-What did they do with you in the lab?- he was quick to ask. Nadya didn’t want to answer to that, but as if on cue, the other’s called her on the radio.

-Nadya, it’s Dustin, we really need you right now, we’ll be at the Wheeler’s house.

-Well I need to go, but it was fun meeting you Munson- she said, as she was heading towards to door.

-Wait- Eddie quickly said, he went to her and passed her a box with weed in it- I owe you.

Nadya could only smile mischievously as she accepted it, and left.

At the Wheeler’s

-So the point is, Max is in danger- Lucas finished.

-You mean you can become Vecna’s next victim, anytime? - she looked at Max, who held no emotions on her face as she was writing letters.

-Yep, that’s pretty much the case - she answered.

-Shit, shit shit- Nadya muttered under her breath.- Okay so we go with the theory that Victor Creel said the truth and his house was haunted, right?

-Yes- Nancy said, still not knowing where she was heading with this.

-So that means he was the only survivor of the massacre. In his opinion he was left alive as some form of punishment but that sounds bull.

-You mean there must’ve been a different reason?

-Yes, I mean it doesn’t sound like it’s in Vecna’s nature to keep him alive for that, especially if he was preying on them for the exact reasons.

-So we have to go and see him- Nancy said.- But we can’t just get in... but I have on idea.

-What exactly is your plan?- Steve asked.

-Nadya, you and Robin will come with me, I’ll get us some letters first- she left after she announced that.

Steve sighed.

-Guess that means I’m still babysitting.

Nadya patted his shoulder.

-Yep, that’s right, big guy.

Pennhurst Asylum

The three of them finally reached their destination, sawing patients in the garden as they walked straight towards the entrance.

-This is totally not it - Robin complained, as she was trying to fit her dress, to feel more comfortable.- Seriously how can anyone breath in this stuff?

-Well we need this, so please suck it up- Nance answered.-We really need this to go okay, so please stay put and let me and Nadya do the talking.

It kind of started to piss Nadya off, how Nancy treated Robin. She loved both of them, like they were her sisters, so she was definitely going to settle the matter between them after this.

This place made her shiver, the people here reminded her of her time in the laboratory, at least what she remembered of it.

They stalked towards the receptionist.

-Hi- Nancy started.- We’re the criminal psychology students, Mr. Hatch already expects us.

The woman nodded towards the guards and they accompanied them to Hatch’s office.

They were waiting, while he examined their papers. Nadya felt like somehow, their lie will be discovered, but tried to shook off this feeling from her insides.

-Excellent - Hatch said looking at them.- The three of you are seem like great students, but Victor Creel is not a regular patient here. He is a convicted murderer, you need higher permission to visit him.And the three of you seem so young to have completed such degrees.

-Geniuses exists, sir- Nadya said- We are, very sorry we weren’t able the ask for the permission, but we are really in a need of this information for our thesis.

-Why have you waited so long, your thesis is due in a month- he looked at them with his stern glance, that reminded Nadya to Dr. Brenner’s face, when she did something bad.

-I’m sorry sir- Robin started, to their surprise.-but we have already asked for permission three times, and we were denied of it. We are sick and tired of the fact that just because our gender is not the same as our classmates, we’re getting denied of this things. I came here, all dressed up, but you know what in 1978 I was at summer camp. I heard a story. The story of Victor Creel, and I wanted to understand ever since, how could someone would be capable of such heinous things. This took me straight to this path, I’m standing on, and I’m damn good at this, sir.- she finished in a rushed tone, it seemed to make Hatch reconsider their position, like it was a miracle, Nadya didn’t have to use her powers to let them talk to the guy.

-Five minutes- Hatch said finally.

-Thank you so much sir.

They were being led through different rooms in the hospital, one caught their attention.

-The music seems to comfort them, it sometimes can reach parts of the brain, words can’t- he explained to them.

They were finally down there standing before Victor Creel.

-Mr. Creel- Nadya started- we came to hear your side of the story, the real side of the massacre inside your house.

-I’ve talked to enough psychiatrists by now - his tone was raspy, like he hadn’t talked in a while, which most definitely was true.

-Sir, we aren’t like them, I promise- Nancy said- in fact, we believe you. The demon, that haunted your house. It came back, and it’s gonna hurt our friends if you don’t help us.

The man slowly turned at that, his eyes too were missing. This wasn’t mentioned in any of the articles they’ve read.

-You want to hear my story- he said.- Be my guest then, but I'll warn you, there’s nothing you can do if it returned...My wife, had some legacy, which we bought a house from as we moved to Hawkins.We thought it would be better for our little boy, Henry- Nadya took a sharp breath when she heard that name again.- You know he was a sensitive boy, my wife thought he was broken, but he just needed a place where he could belong to. Unfortunately we didn’t pick right. It started with dead animals around our house, then came the visions, I got flashbacks… from the war. My wife saw things that weren’t there, we all had nightmares. One day we sat down to have dinner. The music radio started playing without anyone laying a finger on it. And when I turned back I saw my wife floating, her bones breaking, and then she was dead - he was sobbing at this point. Nadya felt like she couldn’t stand on her legs, images yet again filled her brain of the laboratory and there stood a light haired boy who did the some to one of their siblings.

-Nadya, you okay?- Robin asked. Nadya was there in front of the cell again and she nodded.

-I grabbed my children and ran to the door, but it was closed, and I was back at the war, hearing the sound of an angel, I slowly came back to my senses, and found my children, on the ground. Little Henry was still alive, but he died in a coma two weeks later. So this is my story, that is all I can tell, and good luck fighting off that monster.

He didn’t speak to them again, but the door to the basement suddenly opened, Hatch came down with guards following him, and oh, Nadya thought, they were so screwed.

[guileheroine]

arcane thoughts

as usual, putting things down for posterity so i dont forget my fresh impressions!  [spoilers]

i’ve watched the show twice in the last ~week and i love it!

didn’t rly know anything going in (apart from hearing it was good) but what i didn’t expect is that it would fulfil one of my deepest narrative kinks: the intense, fucked up, tragic (found)family stuff here is my bread, butter, juice & jam!! vi & jinx, vi & vander (😖😖 i found them the immediate emotional core pre-timeskip), jinx & silco (😖😖😖!!!!!), vander & silco, it’s a LOT. the angst, the difficult loyalties, the being each other’s achilles heels of it all. front-and-center family dynamics in spec-fic are always a lance to my heart and few things have scratched this itch so good. out of a strong ensemble cast where i like everyone i’d prob pick those characters as my fav for this reason

jinx shouldn’t work as well as she does bc girl!joker isn’t usually my vibe wrt character types but the groundwork is solid, there’s much more going on than those aesthetics & her being ~teehee crazy! vi was my early fave (kids who act like adults are just ugh… the responsibility she felt not just for the siblings but also vander like. i cant think about it tbh), and maybe i’m still dean winchester-pilled but the eldest child x bruiser combo is simply elite, stacking that temperament over that backstory. kinda love how woobifiable they both are yes i will put them in a jar. the contrast between their trauma is compelling—jinx is erratic & indulgent, and frayed by silco’s influence, while vi clearly represses out of a sense of guilt/responsibility and prison survival mode. and then with all these divergences theyre just talking over each other, even tho they sort of want the same thing they dont know how to get there! irreparable (?) sibling drama! abandonment drama! knife and fork please!! (sidenote after wading into fandom a bit, im truly ecstatic they made complicated & mutually raw family dynamics the show’s centre, even tho it’s predictably not that legible to Fandom and its ‘ship/stan or bust’ orientation)

i think part 1 was the strongest — the whole show is tight but the later parts, as more of a setup for the future, don’t have a bow around them in the same way

ep 3 specifically was where i became thoroughly engaged, it’s like this masterful Greek Tragedy conga, definitely sth i’ll return to when i want to be emotionally hollowed out. just writing this makes me wanna go back 

mel is STUNNING, maybe the most aesthetically pleasing character design i’ve ever seen. saw a pic of her before i knew the show and i was like 😩😩😩. the gold accents, arm/thigh braces, goooorgeous. i didn’t find her as interesting until the stuff with her mum came in, but rewatching in that light rly endeared me. looking forward to how she squares what happens at the end of s1 with her anti-war convictions (if she survives). also would like to know more about what her brother was like?

deeply intrigued by what viktor’s Final Form will look like, he feels like a little gnaw on my heart when i think about the show. a quietly magnetic understated character. viktor and mel doing a lot of legwork in dragging jayce into relevance for me. solid ot3 potential there, but i also dig the two jayce pairings (the fact that i think he and mel have basically no chemistry but it’s still cute lol) jayce is cute tbh! and there’s that dash of overreach to all three that i adore, good foils

he talks shit but heimerdinger getting kicked off the council and scurrying off destroyed me, whyyy did they make him look like the devastating combo of old man + babie

plotwise, much to consider & my thoughts congealed better on rewatch- the class warfare plotline could go well, fingers are crossed. it’d be cool to see the piltover charas that are being positioned as heroes like jayce and caitlyn have their moral frameworks blown open and excavated more (bc there’s a point where the good cop naivete becomes odd/grating in smart grownup characters no matter how well intentioned). ensure the inequality, corruption etc is a character motive rather than an overly accentuated but ultimately incidental detail (im looking darkly at lok s1). basically ig i hope the show knows it hasnt set up a both-sides situation in its deep, sustained worldbuilding even if a few enforcers got blown up. likewise really hope they don’t file off the chip on vi’s shoulder just bc she’s working with piltover and jinx made a mess

one thing i had a little trouble with was silco’s motivations—if he wanted justice for the undercity then why the drug kingpin stuff that laid it low? i guess he’s pretty fucked up and the profit + power motive can definitely coexist with high ideals esp in a brutal survival context but now he’s gone i’m excited to see how the undercity charas negotiate their future, amongst themselves even more so than with piltover. also when he went to vander’s statue after the parley w jayce and drew that dad/daughter parallel hurgleee

sevika. she could be such a good anti-hero! im not usually a villain person but tbh no one really read as a villain. i wonder what underlied her striking loyalty and how she’ll configure her place w/o silco, and yeah better articulation of the zaunites’ motivations🙏🏽 

caitlyn/vi: good!! a normally paced gay ship comfortably nestled between ship tease and canon. the class dynamic they keep gesturing to is very tasty (the scene in the rain?? bollywood!) hope there’s more angst before it goes Canon canon— the ship has a lovely crackle to it and would be well served by a fuller contention w their differences (which are big + interesting even if theyve become close in a war-bond/chemistry way. otherwise yeah might feel like a disservice to the charas if swept under for ship preservation)

i neeeeed more ekko (and the firelights) loved their whole setup! no punk like solarpunk. wish we saw him with jinx more—would have made their charged reunion mega effective if we saw him with her as a kid the way we saw him with vi

the quality and density of the writing for such a short show bodes well. they’re juggling a lot very deftly so happy to give the benefit of the doubt wrt any nitpicks/worries. the characters all feel like dimensional and nuanced manifestations of their archetypes, in a way that makes me wanna keep a permanent distance from fanon bc i know how it goes there

the two vi/sevika fights 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽. the first time in my life that ive felt like an action fan. (also is there #content of them?? asking for a whore)

the pov shot of mel leaning in to kiss jayce is theee funniest thing ever, idk why i find them so funny (affectionate). that pov shot of vi when caitlyn strokes her cheek makes me want to kiss the animators’ feeeeet

whole show makes me wanna kiss the artists’ feet tbh. you can tell they got to express themselves, and all the stylistic stuff is super cool—rly works and the visual intensity didn’t put me off even tho it’s something i can find very overstimulating in the wrong show. it recalls spiderverse very strongly. i want to watch it on like a home cinema screen (rich people hmu). the gestures are so expressive and subtle in a way i often miss when watching animation (coming to cartoons from live action, i admit that ive never rly been convinced that cartoon charas can have a physical- not just textual- chemistry). this feels like the best of both worlds but it’s actually only animation. masterful

soundtrack slaps. the songs are used to great tonal effect. that sequence to ‘our love’ when the enforcers are coming in and vi’s going to give herself up was excellent and caused stirrings even when i had barely any attachment to the charas. the show is so cinematic. also i highly dont recommend carefully listening to the sting song in ep9 and thinking about the abandonment drama. 

grateful that it has really lit my fire as a fan!! it’s been a few years since i felt so engaged with sth that actually feels like a world, and not just for one or two aspects of it. i was honestly almost certain that i had just aged out of that kind of hyperfixation-excitement. very happy :D

in conclusion: 

[vanillann]

flashback vi (spencer reid x f.reader)

warning: mentions of crime, swearing, and slow burn (this chapter sucks i’m sorry)

word count: 924

flashback masterlist

“I wanna watch the whole thing burn.”

Penelope's voice echoed through the room but it wasn’t Pen, not the Pen I know and love.

“Oh my god-“ Pene stood up from the spinning chair and ran into Morgan’s arms.

Spencer gently knocked on the door and nodded to me. I placed a hand on Pen but she only smiled and told me to go.

“Keep an eye on her, I’m the only one allowed to go crazy here.”

Pen smiled and Morgan nodded, I took that as my sign to follow Spencer.

“Have you found out anything?”

Spencer nodded as he opened a different door, Blake, Rossi, and Hotch all sat around a table.

“Mr. Smith showed up in this post, Blake can confirm the verbiage is Russell. I looked over at her while she gave me a sad smile.

“Russell in jail, that means there is a silent killer,” I looked over to Hotch who nodded and looked back over the victims.

“We just need a way to find him.”

I thought over the past, the scar that sat perfectly on my shoulder.

“Let me go undercover.”

Spencer laughed from beside me, the others looking at me seriously.

“I’m serious, that night Russell got arrested and all the new outlets made me out to be a prostitute. If he sees my face he might want to finish and get started.

“No-”

“She's got a point Reid,” Rossi spoke, raising an eyebrow at Hotch.

Spencer grabbed the side of my AC/DC shirt, lifting up the sleeve to see the scar. It ran across my shoulder and slightly ran up my collarbone.

“This is what Russell did to you, you want round 2?”

I scoff, grabbing my sleeve and pulling back down. I felt the anger bubble inside me, the fact that Spencer thinks he gets a say in this pissed me off more.

“We’ll put it on the back burner for now,” Hotch spoke, looking between us two. before looking back at three board full of victims' faces.

I rolled my eyes and stormed from the room, the sound of footsteps stayed on my tail.

“(Y/N).”

“What was that Reid?”

I saw multiple cops looking us both over and the way he drew away from my voice.

“You have no right to act like you know what happened that night, how I got that fucking scar.”

“Look I’m sorry but-”

“But? You really want to throw a but in this conversation right now?”

Spencer licked his tips, which would have made me feel stupid butterflies but right now with the anger in my blood, that didn't matter.

“I didn’t think, my judgment was clouded,” Spencer ran a simple hand up and down the back of his neck.

“Well mine wasn’t, I meant what I said back there.”

I turned around and ran through the glass door that led to the front of the building. I let the warm air of San Jose wash over my face, the sight of the nearby taxi had cogs turning in my head.

Without another word I ran to the taxi, tapping on the door to walk up the sleeping driver. He woke up with a jump, a smirk playing at my lips.

I pulled out my phone, bringing up Hotchner contact information.

(Y/N): I’m going to head over to Shane, see what I can find

Seconds passed before Hotch sent me a text right back, bringing another smile to my face.

Hotch: I’m only saying okay cause you need fresh air

I opened the back of the taxi, showing the taxi driver the address that sat in the text message.

“Yes ma’am.”

The taxi driver moved the buckle around his body and hit the gas pedal.

*

After the short drive with the taxi driver, Fred, I stood in front of the steel doors from before. My phone pinged again, I finally pulled in my pocket to check who was blowing up my phone.

Spence: (Y/N) can you come back?

Spence: Hotch told me what your doing, please be safe.

Spence: You must hate me if your making me use this stupid phone.

I laughed at the last text, trying not to stay mad at him for being a friend.

Friend, I hate that word at this point.

(Y/N): I'll be back before you know it bud

I smiled to myself as the three little dots played at the bottom of my screen, but quickly disappeared as fast as they came .

I pushed the steel doors open, slipping my phone into my back pocket. I heard a light ding but couldn't pay attention as the screen in front unfolded.

Shane looked at me wide-eyed before he hit the floor, his assistant staring at me with a wicked smirk.

“Two for the price of one?”

I looked down at Shane, looking back up quickly at the unsub.

I grabbed the gun from my hostler, pointing at him before the power in the room went out, the smell door casing behind me.

I tried looking around, hopeful the power would come back soon. The sudden feeling of pain shot through my skull, cold metal taking my senses out.

I fell to the floor, my body suddenly becoming hot even if everything around me was freezing cold.

“Flashback,” I whisper to myself, hoping somehow and somewhere Spencer would hear me, even if he was miles away.

“You want flashbacks?”

The feeling metal smashed into my head, the situation faded from my head until I felt like nothing.

part v part vii

flashback tag list:

@summer-writes @snitchthewitch @mortallythoughtfulgurl @l0ve-0f-my-life @101donuts @siwiecola @eldahae @hot-mess-express99 @itlittlefangirl @afuckingshituniverse @mollygetssherlockcoffee @tinylumpiaa @kermitsaysgayrights @matthewreid

[ropes3amthoughts]

New Arcane episodes were insane

Holy fucking shit you guys I have like a jillion things to say like wow is Mel a witch or something I’m glad she’s alive the show keeps fake out killing her and I would be devastated if they killed my girl for real and yay we finally got to see the beast and holy shit the beast is Vander and awwwwwww Isha and Jinx are like sisters omfggggggg and holy shit Vi looks insane and I love the visuals of the show so much omg like the general style of it and those watercolor flashbacks and those like scratchy flashbacks and the like flashy colorful fight scenes and just everything wowwwwww and omfg they’re like a happy family dude I almost started like screaming when Caitlyn was with Vi and then when they were together again also I think I did scream when Vi showed up in the pit fighting scene lol I was so excited to see her again Viiiiiiiiii my girlllll I love herrrrrr <33333 also I kind of expected there to be more pit fight stuff because all the people talking about it but I’m not disappointed also I think people should keep talking about it anyways because that flashy jump cut sequence thing with the like rock music was sooooo awesome I loved it also dudeeeeee holy shit bro the parallels at the end of the last episode???? Like Jayce shooting Viktor which causes all the people to die when everyone else is happy and finally at peace and stuff if just like when Jinx shot the council meeting when they were voting for peace and then Isha using the gun to explode stuff to save everyone like Jinx did when she was little???? Dudeeeee there’s so much crazy shit I probably missed so much and this isn’t my live reactions because I was glued to the screen that shit was so cool honestly I didn’t expect things to work out as well as they did and like lol they didn’t work out very well like Vander is fucked Viktor is dead all those people are dead Isha might be dead there’s like fighting and stuff but like Vi + Jinx + Caitlyn reunion was not something I expected honestly like it felt like Caitlyn was becoming super massively evil and like at the beginning when she was with Maddie I was like “holy shit she just broke up with Vi and she’s already got a new bitch who’s also a cop” but then she’s like good now? I feel like her change of heart was a little odd because like Vi clearly missed her lmao the seeing her face everywhere and stuff but Caitlyn was the one who pushed her away and stuff and she got a new girl and started attacking people and like maybe that was the point to make it seem like she changed but she was the same? Maybe that’s kind of the message or something because like Jinx changed a lot but she was still a good person and cared about Isha and Vander changed into a beast but he still had some humanity and cared about the girls and stuff and like wow something about people and change and like idk man wow my brain is like turning around bzz bzz I’m so excited for the next episodes that was crazyyyyyy oh yeah also the one scene where Caitlyn’s eye was overlapping with Jinx when she was looking at the poster through the glass was crazy too wait dudeeeee do you think the glass thing kind of matches up with Jinx’s thing she says about Isha making her feel like she has a pair of glasses on they both get like a new lens on the world or something idk man this show is so awesome the visuals the story the characters the everything dawg I’m so so so hyped that’s insane I’m lowkey tempted to write down a bunch of theories down on paper so I can take it to school and show my super cool friend who also likes Arcane bc like I’m probably gonna forget all the stuff I had to say lmao but like dude it’s so awesome so cool yayyyyyyy

I just realized this is gonna be so awful to read in that big blob like that sorry to anybody reading this this is like a very messy dump of my thoughts

[rye-views]

Ghostbusters II (1989) dir. Ivan Reitman. 7.3/10

I like this new sign of the ghostbusters. Very cute.

I like Egon the most.

I once again feel that whenever people are trying to make others comprehend something crazy, you can’t sound crazy yourself. You have make it sound as rational as possible or else they won’t even try to hear you out.

Spoiler: [About the ghostbusters 5 years after stopping Gozer. They have been put out of business by being charged for damages and having a restraining order against investigate the supernatural. Ray owns an occult bookstore. Winston and he often dress up as ghostbusters and go to children’s birthday parties, despite everyone thinking their frauds. Peter is a TV show host about the world of psychics and considers himself a fraud. Egon is working in a lab to see the effects on the environment from positive and negative human emotions. Dana and Peter had broken up and she just divorced her husband, but is taking care of her infant, Oscar. She works at a museum restoring old pieces. Her boss, Janosz, aims to attain her love often. He is seeing over a large portrait of Vigo the Carpathian, until it comes to life and orders him to bring him a baby so that he may take its life and come back to rule. He requests if he can have it’s mom (Dana) if he brings her baby and he said yes for he’ll be the baby to them being his parents. Dana is talking to Ray and Egon, specifically requesting that Peter doesn’t know, about Oscar being in his carriage yet being strolled uncontrollably across several streets. They investigate, but have brought along Peter since he forced it out of them. They cut into the road and discover a large river of pink slime underneath the city. They are stopped by the cops after being discovered they aren’t part of the phone company. At this time, they rushedly bring Ray back up since he was grappled down. He bumps into the power line and the whole city is in a blackout. They are brought into court for breaking laws and the judge finds them guilty since he doesn’t believe in the paranormal. At this time, the slime that was used for evidence, erupts. It reveals two ghosts of the Scoleri brothers, who the judge ad sentenced to death. He takes back his order and they are free to capture the ghosts, which they do. Dana is about to bathe with Oscar until slime comes from her bathtub tap and turns into a form that was about to attack her. She rushes to Peter’s and stays there for a bit. They restart their relationship and go out to dinner as Louis and Janine babysit and hook up at the same time. The ghostbusters come to Peter to ask to join them on the journey to investigate the slime river, but he declines to go to dinner. They go by themselves after much experimentation and learning that the slime reacts to people’s emotions. It becomes good slime or bad slime based on that and so far, it’s all bad since most of New York is bad. Winston falls into the slime after trying to measure it and they all follow after it. Winston and Ray fight above ground and they blame it on the bad effects of the slime. They tell their findings to Peter, while he’s at dinner and they are covered in slime. They also conclude that the slime is headed to the museum, which they know is where Vigo’s painting is. They investigated Vigo and the painting after Dana claimed it kept staring at her. They founded that their is his presence living in the painting and he was as torturer during his time and a powerful magician who claimed death can’t stop him since it’s only a matter of time until he comes back. The ghostbusters go and tell the mayor, who no longer wants anything to do with them since they are considered fraudsters. The mayor’s assistant, Jack, has them committed to a psych ward. At this time, Janosz briefly becomes a spirit and steals Oscar, who has waddled to the ledge of the building. Dana tried to save him, but was too late so heads quickly to the museum. She gets there and can’t retrieve her son since Vigo is so strong. The slime ends up covering the entire museum so no one can get in or out. The slime then is everywhere and causes chaos. The mayor learns of this and wants the ghostbusters back. He fires Jack after learning where the ghostbusters are and they are released. They use their proton packs on the museum slime, but it doesn’t do anything. They think of the Statue of Liberty as a symbol for everyone to unite under. They go

to it and cover it in slime and put on music, which it reacts positively to. The statue gets up and goes to the museum and breaks them a way in. The whole city starts singing along to the museum at the same time. The team breaks in, covers Janosz in positive slime, and he is knocked out. They save Oscar and the possession doesn’t happen. They appear to not be able to stop Vigo, but everyone’s singing eventually weakens him. They then destroy Vigo and the painting is replaced with an image of them as a painting. Everyone cheers as things go back to normal.]

[guiltycorp]

Thinking about how back when Get Jinxed was released I briefly became interested enough to at least read up a little on the lore, and how I was completely disinterested in Vi back then because she felt like a class traitor and a classic ‘hot-headed cop’ character and not much else.  And Jinx seemed like a practically harmless ‘crazy fun’ type of character, making it that much easier to root for her.  Just a charismatic outlaw taunting a duo of good&bad cops (Caitlyn and Vi), right?  But Arcane turned everything up on its head for me personally!  It’s such a relief that it ended where it did, because I really do not want to see Arcane!Vi become an Enforcer for Piltover :(   Especially so because Arcane solidified Jinx’s character as an actual threat to people’s lives, a violent person without any benevolent motivations. Soooo if Vi became an actual cop under Piltover’s government it would seem like the story explicitly says that Zaun = bad and Piltover = good, seeing as how the two sisters are the core of that specific story and Jinx is the drive behind a lot of misery in the show. Good on them to avoid that! I mean, there’re certain shades of this in the lore anyway, but the series largely goes for moral ambiguity, painting most Piltover characters as deeply flawed and privileged individuals, delving into Undercity’s issues with a certain amount of nuance. Plus Vi, Ekko and Viktor are all presented as morally good characters with the intentions of helping people (if anything I wish we had more time dedicated to Ekko’s accomplishments and the process of building his safe haven in Zaun).    If we keep league’s lore in mind, Viktor’s eventual transformation into a cyborg and him suggesting to fix humanity’s problems by turning people into machines does make sense, sure - a bit tragic, but nevertheless more humane than say, Singed’s alternative path. And as far as i know Ekko remains true to himself, too.  But Vi deciding to become a cop under Caitlyn, the new sheriff? ehhh Let’s see, she put the whole Undercity at risk by trespassing into Piltover and burglarizing property under the protection of a prominent noble house who has a seat at the Council - easily forgiven because she was still a child, but nevertheless a notable start to her character arc.  We learn that she spent her entire adolescence in prison, she then gets out with the aim of finding her sister and getting vengeance against Silco and talks a lot about how much things suck and how she wishes it was different, about fixing it, seems like a natural progression for her to take up Vander’s mantle, join Ekko and actually do something for her city. But nope, after she incites Jayce to take out Silco’s supply of shimmer and beats Sevika her plans get cut short and Arcane ends before Vi is able to do anything substantial (her failure to talk Jinx down not really her fault after all). And that’s good, because at this point in the narrative her going to Piltover would look... well, rather pathetic? Deciding to go where the grass is greener, essentially working against the city she failed to defend. Could be explained as some form of repentance bc of Council’s destruction, could be that becoming an enforcer would be the only way for her to have the opportunity to police Zaun’s streets without encountering problems from Piltover itself, but it’s still a bad look for a girl whose parents were literally murdered by enforcers during a violent protest and who then repeatedly fell short of helping anyone. Even the pairing of Caitlyn/Vi when it’s like, a duo of lesbian cops who work for the benefit of the richer half of their society, just seems ehh to me...  Am I wrong? I haven’t really seen people talk about this but then again I’ve never been too deep into LoL.    

[marquillosource]

Crackpot Alternate Universe - Crossovers galore !!! ♥

You know how I love Spanish shows and love even more to make little crossovers in my head? I mean, it honestly just happens. Sometimes I have too many shows and plotlines in my head and they find a way to converge. 

So, now, my crazy brain has mixed La Casa de Papel, Vis a Vis and Élite.

We start with Vis a Vis and with Fabio :

Remember how Fabio (Vis a Vis) was a cop - and a damn good one - before quitting his job and becoming a CO at the prison??

sidenote - look how handsome he is ♥♥♥  ayyyy

Here’s what I propose - What if he was colleagues with Raquel and Alicia?

At the Academy, Raquel briefly dated Fabio and got secretly pregnant. Raquel’s father, who didn’t want her to ruin her life at such an early age by having a baby, helped her give the baby up for adoption. He'd convinced her that both her and Fabio were too young, both starting their careers... and a baby would only complicate things.

Fabio never knew about the baby. She just took off, to supposedly study foreign policy abroad or something like that, and then returned to the Academy a year later like nothing happened.

Not long after, Raquel and her father get into an intense argument about the adoption. She accuses him of having coerced her into giving up her son and tells him how she regrets her decision, but that it’s too late now. After the fight, Raquel’s father gets into his car and has a heart attack while driving, resulting in him crashing his car and dying. To this day, Raquel blames herself for his death.

Enter Élite and Guzmán :

With Élite’s second season coming soon to Netflix and all these trailers and promos being released, I’ve been reminded how much I love my boy Guzmán♥

(and sure, he was kind of prickly at first... but he grew on me! and tbh, I I think he has more than proved himself!)

What made me connect Guzmán with all the rest, you might ask... 

Well, besides his gorgeous looks and that he kind of reminds me of a young Fabio - all tall and good looking with those pretty blue eyes... 

GUZMÁN . IS . ADOPTED  !!!!

YEAH! Yuuuup! That’s right!! ADOPTED!!

(yeah, yeah, whatever...in élite’s canon, he was adopted when his birth parents died when he was really young... don’t ruin my fantasy with logic!!!!)

He was adopted by a rich family. Which, at the time of his adoption, was the ultimate deciding factor for Raquel. This childless couple would be able to give her baby everything he could possibly need...

And all the ages do kind of match up!!!!  

( # I live for my fantasies !! )

Present Time !!!

Throughout the years, Raquel has used her station on the Police Force and her clearance to keep tabs on her son and make sure he’s okay. Ángel, her new work partner, notices this and asks her about it. Raquel confides in him with the truth. Being the good guy that he is, being her closest friend and already wearing his love-goggles, he swears to keep her secret.  

Alicia somehow finds out about this dirt on Raquel (I don’t think it would be through Ángel though, he’s loyal AF to Raquel) and decides to use it against her. Like, maybe she didn’t care enough to turn Sergio in for Paula (because she knows her daughter, along with her mother, is protected in a safe location), but would she feel the same way about protecting her son???

On one of their conversations over the phone, Alicia taunts Raquel.

Being the psycho that she is, Alicia tells Raquel that becoming a mother truly is life-changing and now, that she is having her own son, she realizes how much children mean to their mothers.

She reveals that she knows everything about Raquel’s secret. Maybe even brings Guzmán into the Police tent like she did with Nairobi’s son, so Raquel would know for sure that she has him.

Raquel is shooketh. She can’t believe that not only does Alicia knows about her secret, but that she had him in her grasp.

But she isn’t the only one taken aback.

Sergio is incredibly confused with the exchange. Who was this Guzmán? And what did he mean to Raquel, for her to have such a reaction at the mere mention of his name... In all the extensive research he’d done on Inspector Murillo before the first heist, he’d uncovered most of her life - both the professional and the personal - and there was no mention of any Guzmán.

Of course, later on... when he asks her about it, she tells him everything and probably tells him to go away, to get away from her, to change their route so she would have no idea where to find him. Because she doesn’t know what might happen next. She knows what Alicia was capable of, how far she would go. If she did anything to hurt Guzmán, Raquel would have no choice but to turn Sergio in to save her son.

But Sergio refuses to leave her side. Instead, he vows to help her find her son and get him away from Alicia and the Police.

...

Ooh! Maybe I’ll write this into a fic. Guuurl, my fingers are itching for it!!!!

...

Bonuses we’d get from all of this:

Sergio being jealous of Fabio!!

Raquel bonding with her son

Guzmán meeting his little sister Paula

Knowing more about Raquel’s past

Sergio surprising Raquel by finding her son and getting him to Palawan♥

and did I mention JEALOUS!Sergio

[dennismahaginagain]

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A Screenplay Evaluation/Critique:

PERCEPTION

FINAL COMMENTS:

“Perception” is a dark mini drama/mystery rendered by the writer in the mode of a classic Twilight Zone episode. This short film is hung on the bones of a fine script which reminds us that things are not what they seem, even when we believe we sense something unseemly. 

“Perception” is packed with expertly-wrought irony and misdirection, and comes complete with a twist ending so well-disguised and executed we are left shaken as viewers, wondering what clues we missed, and feeling we are not the same people we were at the instant we settled in to watch the film. In “Perception” we see the influence of Kubrick, and Ray Bradbury, and Rod Serling as previously mentioned.

Kudos to the writer, with caveats.

The first problematic issues that become apparent vis a vis “Perception” are grammatical errors and typos which infrequently litter the script, including one instance wherein the writer employs the word “towards” when “toward” would be a better choice; in another instance, the filmmaker writes, “to draw out,” — as in “to draw out the crazy screaming” when what is no doubt meant by the writer is to “drown out the crazy screaming…” The script could benefit from a thorough proofread/copy edit.

Secondly, there is a “sticking point” with the Denouement— or, more specifically, the scene immediately preceding the faux-happy pre-work/school Connor family gathering in front of the house, an ending which perfectly reprises the opening scene, bringing us “full-circle” as viewers. In the penultimate scene, which is mostly visual description, we as viewers first realize we’ve been fooled, as to the muffled noises of insinuated spousal violence we heard all the way through the film, and we see this commotion is really coming from a different part of the house: the room of a disturbed third child, and the boy’s live-in nurse. It is these two all along, struggling against each other and causing the commotion we previously attribute to husband/wife physical abuse.

What this nearly-ending scene does not leave us with—is a full and immediate sense of the potential extent of the sinister subtext. We see the child peacefully sleeping, and the nurse, placid in a rocking chair. Yes, we’ve been fooled by misdirection. Yet, is the nurse a danger to the boy?

Is the boy a danger to the nurse?

To be an heir to the “Hitchcockian/Serling mode” a short film such as “Perception” would do well to at least pose these questions, even if they are, in the end, unanswerable. Images such as the following, would address the issue handily: The child’s eyes suddenly flying open to watch the nurse, when he was apparently fast asleep. The nurse coldly refilling a hypodermic syringe, while she squints over her bi vocals, to inscrutably glance at the prostrate boy. Even a childish scrawl in a notebook splayed open on the floor, spelling out the word, H E L P would be a more-than-appropriate device, to raise the “chill level” in the room, and turn this film into an experience as unforgettable as it is unsettling.

As it stands, “Perception” is a more-than-competent short film, with nearly flawless story structure, pacing, dialogue, and characterization. It should translate quite nicely to the screen, as a capable heir to the throne of Twilight Zone. Again, kudos to the writer/creator. She deserves recognition for her efforts.

A POEM I WROTE, ABOUT SUICIDE:

DEL

There’s a twin in my time

exempt from this sin.

Bedraggled, appalled

and relegated

to the fringe.

FUCK, MAN, STOP!— he says

raising his 

arm, a traffic cop,

cobalt eyes brimming

with love.

Everybody knows him.

They long to hear

this voice

one more time.

[night-springs]

MARY idk if uve talked abt this before but what was violets relationship w/ julius like?? im super curious

KDSFHSDKF MICAH im so excited to talk abt this oh my god tysm….. also im so fucking sorry this took so long, i had way too much to say about it… ok so for context, violets canon playthrough order is vice kings > carnales > rollerz

…also, since its super obvious when reading this, i always wanted julius’ seemingly blatant distaste for johnny to have come into play in some form at like… any point in the series really. but since volition never went anywhere with it im taking it into my own lil gremlin hands

(background to this interpretation of julius)

in a word it was.. complicated. they were never close. when they met, julius was just looking for more recruits, the saints needed all the help they could get, but he thought he saw something in that skinny, terrified kid when him and troy saved her from being caught in the middle of a turf war. plus the kid owed him a life debt, and that aint a bad thing to have in his position. but, to violet… sure his speech about taking back the city to “save lives” was nice and all, but its not why she joined. she was homeless, starving, had nowhere to go and no options. she didnt even really have to think about the offer, becoming a saint just made sense. it was a step towards something, even if she didnt know exactly what it was, and so violet showed up in the churchyard the very next morning

from julius’ pov, violet took to fighting like a fish to water. capable, willing to do whatever it took, never talked back or questioned orders, and owed him their loyalty? to be honest she was basically the perfect little soldier. he thought this kid had a serious chance of being one of their key members… and he wasnt wrong. but in truth violet was terrified. when troy took her to buy a gun and had her kill someone for the first time with it, she managed to keep it together until she dropped him off and he was just out of sight. then she vomited all over the passengers seat of the car. the constant terror made it hard for her to sleep at night. a broken nose, bloody bandages over cuts from close calls with stray bullets, too many bruises to count and it didnt take long for her knuckles to become more scars than skin. for a while she was arguably more of a wreck than she was before she joined up

but at the same time, joining up improved things for violet. before this shed been sleeping in an alleyway, but now at night she could sleep in the church, and the other saints were friendly to her. then, when she got her first share of money? she went and bought herself a full meal and almost cried on the spot. soon, after pocketing as much cash as she could from dead rival gangsters wallets, she saved enough to get a loft right in saints row, and it was a shitty one, but she didnt fucking care. she loved that loft. from her point of view, julius was giving her the chance to save her own life. all she had to do in return was kill people for him. and she rationalized it to herself that way. if she had to kill other people to survive, then so be it

….and then violet began to realize how much of an adrenaline junkie she is, and holy fuck did she love to fight. if she had an opportunity to ditch the gun and just go in with a bat or even just her fists, she took it. the rush of risking her life became something she thought was fun. plus the respect she got as a saint? people were afraid of her, and she had anyone wearing purple on her side. the thrill, the power, the money, the loyalty… without her even really realizing it, running with gangs went from a means to an end to something that she enjoyed. but this change happens slowly, over the course of taking over stilwater. in truth, julius’ betrayal was what finally tipped her all the way

julius starts to hate her before they even finish off the vice kings. hed assigned her to helping out gat first, thinking even if dex was overseeing everything, their youngest lieutenant would need someone who could handle it if one of his crazy plans went south. but the trail of carnage and destruction violet and johnny left behind was the exact opposite of what julius wanted. he thought itd be over once the VKs were finished and he could assign violet to working with another (more stable) lieutenant, but after gat had taken that shotgun blast to the knee to help the kid escape and shed gone in alone to save him, the two were practically attached at the hip. the kid would follow gat around like a lost puppy, and the only person johnny spent more time with than violet was his girlfriend. then, once tanya was dead, he overhears a rumor that the supposedly mute kid could not only talk, but she would only speak to johnny or aisha. apparently gat had gone asking around if the kid had spoken to anyone else before him, and thats how everyone found out (gat was slightly offended when he found out violet spoke to aisha first, long before vi made that horrible hepatitis joke to him, and aisha had been keeping it a secret for her)

julius had never liked gat, he didnt care about ending the gang wars and was only there because he was bloodthirsty and lived for violence. and now he and the kid julius was becoming increasingly cautious of were feeding off of each others recklessness. not only were those two a volatile mix, but it seemed like julius was losing control of playa because of it… and that was bad news for him

johnnys sidelined, and banned from helping with any moves against the carnales and rollerz. julius told him it was because of his injury, which they both knew was a bullshit reason; hed been fucking up the vice kings just fine even with his messed up knee. gat did not take it well, and there was a shouting match that violet walked in on. vi was upset of course, her and gat were friends now and she liked running missions with him, but she wasnt going to argue. even if playa didnt understand julius’ decision, she didnt question him, but there was a lot of tension between johnny and julius after that, especially when it seemed like julius was actively trying to keep vi and johnny away from each other. anytime theyd hang out at the church, if julius saw them together you could feel the tension fill up the room, and more often than not hed just send violet out with some bullshit orders. the two quickly learned to hang out away from the church after that

by the time the carnales are history and theyre gunning for the rollerz, julius knows how badly he fucked up. thinking he could start a new gang, and control it? he was naive. theyd taken over almost all of stilwater, but at what cost? how much of the city had they destroyed along the way? and at the center of all that carnage was violet. the more of the city they take over because of her, the more disgusted she makes julius. he needed to stop the saints, stop her, but he has to do it carefully. if anyone realized it, or that he was trying to get playa killed, the gang would turn on him in an instant. the rest of the saints idolize playa, and they all know shes a big part of the reason for their success. if anything happened to julius, the gang would rally around violet, and he knows it

at first he was just sending her into risky situations because of the faith he had in her, but for a while now hed been sending her on straight up suicidal tasks on purpose, hoping someone would finally just take her out before she caused any more harm or became even more of a problem. but she just keeps coming back. doesnt matter if its just her against an entire stronghold of god knows how many seasoned gang members, shell walk out only a little worse for wear. julius starts to wonder just how terrifying this kid is, and all the while violet never even notices that julius is doing this, shes just doing what shes told. hes all praise whenever they speak, trying to keep her placated. troy notices the risks julius always seems to take with violet, but he just thinks julius is putting too much faith in the kid and driving her too hard. he starts trying to look after vi in his own ways to make up for it (thats how they become friends) but he never realizes julius’ true intentions until its far too late

vi and lin are flying solo now, with almost no help from the other lieutenants. julius makes it look like hes putting more faith in violet, no more kid gloves. of course vi and lin get in over their heads like that, and when lin gets killed and vi ends up in the hospital, julius wishes to god that she had just drowned in the river with lin

and then, soon after, its done. the vice kings, the carnales, the rollerz, theyre all a memory. the saints own the whole damn city, or whatevers left of it. and then julius gets arrested, and he finds out troy is a cop, and julius knows its all over…. but troy offers him a deal: get johnny and playa out, and he can walk. he gets the idea right there, to kill violet himself. theres no way shes going to stop, and julius knows it

violet knew driving over to the dock that she was walking into a trap, but if it was to get julius back, it didnt really matter. shed already murdered a major public figure and the chief of police trying to get him back, shooting her way out of another situation almost seemed pretty fuckin mild at that point. so it doesnt surprise her when hughes’ men surround her; no, what does surprise her is the sudden loud beeping, the confused look on hughes face, and something in her gut screaming at her to run. whether it was the wall of henchmen between her and the explosion, or the split second before the bomb went off that she used to rush forward and leap just over the railing that saved her life there, shes never sure. maybe it was both. either way, the burns scarring her back for the rest of her life show she didnt get off scot-free

five years later, and within 24 hours of waking up and breaking out of prison, shes already visited the police station and listened to the tapes. and once shes heard them, violet is seething. she did EVERYTHING for julius, became a murderer, risked her life, followed all his orders without question! and he took five years of her life away! tried to take all of it away! something in her just snaps, and she sets up the meeting with dex that same night

julius thought hed be meeting up with dex, but in truth he isnt surprised to see violet instead; hed been dreading the possibility of this day since he first learned that shed survived the explosion. but even so, even after what he did, it quickly becomes obvious that julius genuinely doesnt believe that violet will follow through with payback. and violet is livid, feels like somebody hollowed her insides out and theres nothing but anger under her skin anymore. despite everything he doesnt know her at all, still thinks shes this loyal little teenager who will do whatever shes told. a dog on a leash, because he never learned that she could be more than that, that she was more than that

and then, hearing him hold himself over her? violet knows who she is and whats she done, shes under no illusions about that. but hearing julius somehow think hes the good guy, that hes morally better than her after everything he did, everything he ordered her to do… it adds a whole new level of hatred. not to even mention how he tries to leverage saving her life over her again, after shed MORE than paid back that debt. thats the last straw, and she kills him. never regrets that choice for a single second for the rest of her life

after that, violets just… angry. shes like that for years. julius took everything good she ever had away from her, and every person she kills is another “fuck you” to his memory. gang member, cop, civilian, she doesnt care anymore. julius wanted to save the city from her? good. shell burn the whole fucking thing down just to spite him

she doesnt get over that for a long time