#shown to me so i wanted to show it to you

[delilahsturniolo]

— ୨୧ matt apologizes to you after an argument

contains angst, fluff.

silence filled the room as you sat on matt’s bed, with your knees tucked to your chest. your gaze was focused on your lap, as your eyes glossed over with tears. all you could even think about was matt, guilt filled your chest. you hated when someone you loved was mad at you, especially your own boyfriend. you and matt had gotten into a pretty heated argument a few hours ago about not having enough time for each other.

there was yelling, screaming, crying. it was something that’s been haunting you for the past few hours, something you just wanted to be over. matt never ever dared to yell at you, and you never wanted to argue with him in the first place. it was all just built up stress and frustration from the past few days, and you just had an outburst. matt decided to leave you alone for now, you were too upset for him to talk to you.

you sniffled, letting out a soft sob as your warm tears spilled over. you felt so fucking guilty, you hadn’t even shown matt how much you loved him in the past few days, you had been so busy and stressed out. you understood why he was angry, you just wished you could do better. as you cried to yourself, you abruptly stopped as you heard a soft knock on the door. matt.

“baby? are you in here?” matt spoke, his voice as soft as a whisper. you sniffled, wiping your tears sloppily. “yeah.” your voice broke, fuck. matt noticed this, he knew you were crying, and it devastated him. he never wanted to make you cry in the first place. “is it okay if i come in?” matt asked, you let out a small “mhm”, sitting up properly as matt entered the room.

the door slowly creaked open, matt shut it behind him after he walked in. his gaze immediately went over to you, he was no longer angry, now he just wanted to make things right, he wanted to show you how much he cared, despite the fact that he was still a little upset about earlier. matt sighed softly, sitting down on his bed in front of you. “look at me.” matt instructed, his voice softer than earlier, but still firm.

matt gently brushed a piece of your hair behind your ears as you slowly looked up at him. his heart sank at the sight of your puffy eyes and tear streaked face. “i’m sorry, i’m so sorry. i shouldn’t have yelled at you.” matt blurted out, the guilt was eating him up inside, it was unbearable. “i’m not here to hurt you, i want you to know i love you, okay?” matt gently leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to your lips before pulling you into his arms. you nodded, muttering a small “i love you” as you allowed yourself to completely collapse in matt’s arms, you both knew you couldn’t stay mad at each other forever.

“i’m sorry too, i just wish i could be better for you.” you muttered, sniffling into matt’s shoulder. he only shook his head, making you lift your head up to look at him. “you’re doing amazing, honey. you didn’t do anything wrong, you’re perfect the way you are, and i love you more than anything, alright? don’t worry about it right now, you have nothing to be sorry for.” matt reassured you, you immediately felt better, realizing how much he cared for you.

matt delicately hushed you, his hand rubbing your back in circular motions as you rested your head on his shoulder. you were just tired now, so much relief filled your body. “you can sleep, sweetheart. i’ll be here.” matt hummed quietly, rocking you back and forth in his arms.

despite how bad you guys fought, you still loved each other. despite how upset matt was at you earlier, he was still madly in love with you. he was mature enough to apologize first, even though sometimes you could be stubborn after fighting, you knew matt didn’t mean anything at all. matt’s top priority as of right now was making sure you knew how much he cared about you, and how he was no longer angry with you. he loved you so much.

© delilahsturniolo do not copy, re use, or modify any of my works.

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[mythalism]

It struck me how profoundly uninterested the writers ultimately were in modern elves and elven culture. After 4 games, Origins is still the only one to offer up any info on them (with 2 adding certain tidbits) & it really hit me how colored their view is by their indigenous coding such that the elves aren't really shown to have any kind of society/civilization when compared to the dwarves 4 example, a people on the brink of extinction facing an almost perpetual Blight, yet still not solely defined by their struggle against the darkspawn. I don't mean to pit them against each other, but once I made the comparison I couldn't unsee it. We're challenged to show respect and learn about their customs & history as soon as we enter Orzammar and u cannot gain their aid until u fully engage with & submit to their political demands (Halamshiral wishes it had what Orzammar has!), your only influence is who comes out on top, and even that is a decision that has to be made by really getting a feel of their society and their different wants & needs, depending on caste & political allegiances. Whereas u can stroll into the Dalish camp and nothing stops u from only tackling the main quest, which is saving them from their curse (which turns out to be saving them from themselves<-a clue that'll become relevant later) by ideally convincing Zathrian to kill himself, an elf whose Hatred of Humans has gone too far (however justified his thirst for vengeance is) so he can be succeeded by Lanaya, a city-born elf who, despite being kidnapped as a child and kept as a slave, bears no grudge against humans. I'd be more forgiving if this wouldn't set the tone for their portrayal in subsequent games & didn't turn into 1 of 2 major(&only!) themes they cared to explore wrt elves. This obsession w/ elves not being agreeable enough can already be seen in the conversations u can have in their camp where at least 3 NPCs apologise for not being friendlier and I guess to make up for this cardinal sin all the side-quests (2 conv+2 fetch-quests) reward u with cool loot ranging from prized possessions to priceless artifacts, & the fact that u can get your hands on 2 valuable books on elven history teaches us early on that with minimal effort, any part of their history, no matter how sacred, becomes available for consumption. It seems important to add that both books can be given to the Mad Hermit who says he's gonna wipe his ass with them (this also reminds me of when Marethari gifts Hawke the Somniari book for no reason & it gets added directly to your trash pile). Which brings me to the other big theme: elven history is not for elves to explore and reclaim (&any attempt is dangerous+must be punished). While dwarves are allowed to be stewards of their own history&culture, and their pursuit of reclaiming thaigs & lost history (&their deep respect & attachment to that history) is generally presented as noble, elves are afforded no such dignity. I never realised the discrepancy, but from the start you have no choice but to take a dwarf with u when exploring the Deep Roads, whether that's Oghren, Shale, Valta or Varric, you are a partner & a guest, and, while u may help them in their journey of discovery, they always retain sovereignty. The only equivalent would be us getting an autistic Dalish girlie w/ a special interest in elvhen history whenever they feel like expanding the lore, using them as a vehicle for that, then punishing them for their 'overzealous' interest in their own past.

Velanna lucks out by virtue of being a dlc char & becoming a Warden, but she's still presented as being too into the elfy stuff even for her own clan, with the final straw that leads to her expulsion being wanting to get revenge on the humans who tried to burn their clan alive & took her sister(or so she thought). I appreciate that she's not shamed for her interest in elvhen history, but it's telling that the focus is on how misguided her quest for avenging her people is, with even her clan, when u meet them, still blaming her for her sister's fate & saying they're better off without her (interesting that Justice also disapproves, while at the same time berating Anders for not 'striking a blow against his oppressors, so they can do this to no one else', but apparently Velanna should atone to her oppressors and 'teach them'). Her best ending slide also has her warming to humankind & saving a whole village of them, as if that was our primary concern/her biggest problem to overcome, not making peace with her sister's fate.

Speaking of learning lessons, Merrill gets taught a harsh one, and while u can be supportive of her, you cannot escape this lesson, whatever u do: it is the height of hubris for elves to try and reclaim their past (or think they have a right to it), only humans can safely do it. Another ostracized First, one may be fooled into thinking the objection to Merrill is only the blood magic thing, but her first quest makes it clear the question u r being asked isn't is she right to use blood magic or should she limit herself to safer methods, but does she have a right to her People's history? It's so explicit that Merrill invokes that very right, vir sulevanan, in order to get the Arulin'Holm, a tool 'as old as Arlathan itself', only, after performing the service to her clan asked of her, Marethari hands YOU this artifact that'd been in their possession since before the fall of the Dales and tasks u with holding her heritage hostage!! And instead of her being disqualified from being Keeper ever again, you're left to interview Merrill to see if she deserves smth that belongs to her & u can choose to keep it from her! Why?? Marethari could've just not given it to her. Ofc, this all comes to a head in Pride's End where Merrill is yet again denied agency by her Keeper, & worse still, that baton is passed directly to you after her death, with u having to accept your paternalistic role or else slaughter her entire clan bc they don't accept any other answer than u taking full responsibility for Merrill. And, if u still need it drilled into u what this is really about, her rivalry path culminates, not in her disavowing blood magic forever, but in smashing her eluvian. Her friendship path also makes me uncomfortable, the conclusion being her clan are too backwards to ever get it, but at least she's free to chart her own course now. Set by you, ofc. You have the final say now, remember? Still, this is the last time the Dalish are a faction with any sort of agency. Maybe that's why you can wipe them out both times.

In Inq, sadly, they're relegated to a brief stop on the map on the way to saving their colonizers, a formality in order to gain access to their ruins, 1 of their warriors, & have the pleasure of picking the Dales clean without all that pesky white guilt! They even call the quest A Dalish Perspective when you're still viewing them thru a settler's lens; they're a problem to be solved, a list of complaints, they have no interiority, no ambient dialogue & the only lines they have are strictly quest related. They also pay the ultimate price for trying to reclaim their history, their deaths as inevitable as your success in safely claiming them. Twice Inquisition asks u: isn't their history safer, then, in the Chantry's hands? Morrigan's whole spiel fits here, too, ofc, as a human mage who argues her (stolen)knowledge gives her more of a right to the Well than any Dalish could hope to have. I also find it sad that in JoH, you discover Ameridan, & instead of getting to talk to his surviving clan, the only conclusion to his quest is this: it's the elves' fault the Dales fell.

All of this to say, the conclusion 2 Bellara's arc doesn't come out of nowhere when you consider it a culmination of this throughline. You finally get to answer once and for all: do elves deserve to recover their lost history? At least you can say yes.

10/10 no notes. only thing i have to add is how interesting it is that the devs had an inkling of awareness of how harmful their writing of the elves was in previous games - epler mentioned how they took the criticism of how you can kill an entire dalish clan in every single game into consideration with veilguard.... and the conclusion was that...... "the elves had their time to shine"? and they should be relegated to basically set dressing in the background of a story revolving entirely around their own history and religion? and told "get over it. just move on." instead of just... portraying them with more nuance, sensitivity and empathy? maybe hiring some more diverse writers? a sensitivity reader/editor? or just ignore the problem entirely........ there is no war in ba sing se..... there is no elven oppression in thedas....

[pricesprincess]

Hi! I was wondering if you were willing to write for Price using prompt #5 from list 2? Thank you! 🥰

18+ mdni - prompts

hello! this was so much fun to write! thank you for sending one in! 🥰

tags: fem reader with a bush + explicit smut + I gave him a domesticity/housewife kink whatever you wanna call it lmao

Heat came in waves, taking away the sweet spring air, turning the days into a muggy nightmare, suffocating everything in a heat that made it hard to breathe and caused you to sweat when you stepped outside, but at least it gave you an excuse to buy new swimsuits.

John handed you his card when you told him that you were going shopping for the upcoming vacation you both had planned. It was a weekend getaway at a hotel—nothing fancy. Still, it was where you two could focus on each other, ignoring everything and everyone.

You knew that your husband got a hard-on anytime he knew he was taking real good care of you, judging by that smile that curled your lips and the way you smothered him in sweet honey kisses.

Paperwork kept him tied to his desk at home, going over the monthly bills, something he never wanted you to worry your pretty little head about but he'd never stop you from getting a job if you wanted it.

It didn't take long for you to grab a few bathing suits, cover ups, and a sundress you knew would rile John up. One was skimpy, the fabric barely covering anything, and that would be the first one you would show off. It made you flush thinking about his reaction.

Twenty minutes after swiping the card, you slipped into the tobacco shop to pick out a few cigars for John before your car was pulling up into the driveway, your fingers clutching the bags when you got out.

Excitement fizzled in your veins as you hurried inside, shutting the door with your foot calling out to John. "Honey, I'm home!" You giggled hearing his footsteps from upstairs to greet you.

John always said that when he came home and you picked up on it quickly. "Get everythin' you needed luv?" He asked with a slight hum looking at the the bags in your hand. You nodded and wrapped one arm around his waist to nuzzle your face into him inhaling deeply.

"Yes, and more, sit on the couch for me please baby. I have something to show you." John let you gently push him toward the living room watching him plop down on the middle of the couch.

He leaned back, spreading his legs tapping his knee. "What are you up to?" He drawled in that thick accent that made you ache. Your giggles filled the air as you walked into the kitchen to shed your clothes letting it pool at your ankles before pulling out the first suit.

This one was the tamest of them all, a one piece that had your tits pressed together and hugged your curves. Once the straps were in place you grabbed the box of cigars and poked your head out.

"Shut your eyes please!" You sang hearing John chuckle before you tip-toed out to the living room to stand close to him. "Open."

You could feel the heat licking down your spine and pool in your tummy as John's eyes assessed you, starting from your flustered face to your pedicured toes. "Turn for me darlin', let me see."

You giggled and obeyed turning around with a twirl then you placed the box of cigars on his knee with a wink. "I have a few more, didn't know which one was the best for our vacation. Do you like?"

John rubbed at his beard, his heavy eyes on you making you shift. "Like? No, lovie. You look stunnin', good enough to eat." His praise made your skin burst with heat as you giggled and hurried to the kitchen stripping once more to pull on the skimpy bathing suit.

The other suits would have to be shown off later because if John thought the one piece was stunning? This one was sure to have his jaw on the floor, the cool air from the ac made you shiver before stepping out into the living room again humming John's name.

"Bloody hell, you're goin' to kill me." He muttered, his eyes latched onto the way your tits jiggled, the thin fabric barely hiding the stiff peak of our nipple and the pubic hair peaking from the sides of the bottom of your suit making his cock twitch in his pants.

You stepped closer, swaying your hips until you perched on his knee, your hands resting on his lower stomach watching the way he unashamedly checked you out like it was his first time seeing you.

His rough fingers grazed over your soft belly hearing how your breath hitched just from his touch then his mouth was on yours and he was shifting you to straddle him feeling the bulge of his dick throbbing against the thin material covering your slick pussy.

You leaned forward wrapping your arms around his neck, your tongue glided against his before twirling them together as his fingers played with the ends of the ties before slowly tugging letting your top fall loose, your tits bare and your stiff nipples brush against his shirt.

John's breath fanned against your neck as his tongue traced your erratic pulse chuckling when you gasped, your fingers curled into his shirt humping him, your clit aching to be played with, licked, sucked.

"My dirty girl, wearin' practically nothin' on our vacation, desperate for some attention?" He rasped, mocking you knowing how it gets your cunt dripping wet for him, you rolled your eyes playfully and shrugged as you leaned in and kissed him, nipping his bottom lip.

The space between you grew hotter as your breaths mingled together, his fingers tracing your nipples before pinching them making you squeal and hump him again, your hips working to find your orgasm but John grasped your hips stopping you.

You opened your mouth to say something but John had shifted and pinned you under him, your legs wrapping around his waist while he flipped your bathing suit top to bare your tits to his greedy gaze.

John stared at you, his hand roaming your stomach and chest watching you squirm and giggle. "Needy and responsive, I'm one lucky bastard." He rasped, his fingers trailing down to the hem of your bottoms barely sliding in to graze against the slick making his fingers sticky.

"Fuckin' drippin' for me." He sighed letting his fingers dip lower until he was rubbing your clit making you moan and hips to roll.

comments and reblogs are appreciated ♡

[lolitalovess]

Behind closed doors.

sum: arranged marriage caitlyn kiramman x reader

warnings: this is short but i put my whole pussy into it, reader lowkey has issues, my girl cait does aswell, hardly proofread, INSANE lesbian yearning

you've always appreciated the way the kiramman manor looks at night, after the sun has lulled itself to sleep in orange hues and the moon is reborn - surrounded by black inc and a thousand stars visible through the large windows of you and your shared wife's room, the night-life of piltover with tall buildings and bright lights shown to your tired eyes from linen curtains pulled back.

it distracted you from how your back grew sore from your position of sitting against the headboard, and why you were here in the first place. you gazed down at your resting wife - she's gorgeous, with prussian blue hair fanning over her pillow and framing her face. you're jealous of her peace in her deep state of unconscious sleep the way her comforter is tucked to her chest and the way it rises and falls with every passing breath.

you had been sitting with your busy thoughts for far too long, you could hardly handle yourself anymore. you've never understood the purpose of getting married ever since you first learnt the term as a young girl. to know someone for a few years and finally like them enough to buy expensive rings and voice vowels to one another, which, most of the time, are bullshit.

but caitlyn kiramman, a woman full of so much dark blue woe and sorrow had just taken your heart, and it felt like a sin. was it? to find your arranged wife attractive, to yearn for her love, despite never showing affection or doing anything remotely intimate. it felt like it was.

the area surrounding you consisted of deafening silence like before, though you could swear that the dark shadows of the manor could morth into tall figurines watching you, especially the one heading toward you. you feel a wave of hotness manufactured out of pure anxiety travel through your body until you see azure blue eyes looking into yours with confusion and longing for your warmth next to hers in bed.

"i couldn't sleep." you speak quickly, voice soft in attempt to not ruin her peace. "go back to bed. it's too cold out here for you to just be wearing that robe."

she leaned her hip against the counter next to you, reaching her arms out for you as quickly as you started talking. it was almost like a hug, with her hands interlocking with eachother around your torso from the side, a small frown playing her lips while she studied the side of your face.

“can’t sleep or won’t sleep?” she asked softly, her accent slipping. she knew what it was like being up all night, in her own terms, alone with her thoughts in the empty felt rooms of the precinct. "go back to bed." you repeated, tilting your head to the side to rest it against her chest, which had her instinctively squeezing around her hands around your waist tighter to support you, enjoying the sight and feel of your body against hers. her hands on you would have you feeling like you were on fire if you weren't so tired. "i'll sleep in one of the guests."

it was a rare thing for the two of you to be physical, as much as it always bothered caitlyn how you would never stay close to her unless you needed something, felt unsafe, or was cold. otherwise, they would never touch, as much as your souls yearned for it. "nonsense," she spoke, her hands rubbing gentle circles against your side before speaking again, her deep voice soft and tender, not wanting to wake anyone up, or disturb her wife.

"sleep in the bed with me tonight. it'll be warmer." she added, taking a small step back as if it the action alone would convince you. the weight of your body being tugged along with her ever so slightly and gently had you focused on following her warmth and familiar smell of vanilla and lavender rather than pulling away.

the two of you stood in silence for a few minutes that felt like hours, the quiet beat of her heartbeat present in your ears whilst you felt sleep threatening to take over your conciousness. you knew you could fall asleep like this if you let yourself. "okay."

she was gently tugging you along with her out of the kitchen and back into the bedroom the moment you agreed, where the moonlight filtered through the slightly parted curtains that exposed the view from outside of the city, it was beautiful, even at night. the door was pushed open slowly and closed behind the two of you just as quickly, her feet taking herself to sit down on the edge of her familiar bed, swinging her long legs up and over to get completely on the bed once more. “come here,” she softly spoke as she patted the space next to her.

you complied at the soft demand from your wife, beginning to walk over to the bed opposite side of the bed, the silk covers pulled over your legs and to your waist after you settled. you felt the comforting action of sleep clouding your mind like every other night, the familiar feel of your jade wedding ring cold around your finger.

maybe caitlyn wasn't so bad.

the lesbian yearning goes crazyy... not gonna lie this concept has been in my drafts for AWHILE and i really enjoyed writing something that wasn't vi and smut for once 😭 might do another part to this, lmk what you think and want ♡

[imsofreakingtired]

Have you done YouTuber reader x Sevika? Like Stephanie soo, Reader does both podcasts and YouTube videos while Sevika is in the back supporting her and agreeing like Mr mangobutt😭 Pls ilysm you’re so talented and amazing I will jump through the screen just to hug you💔

I LOVE THIS IDEA SO MUCH (except i have the media literacy of a 50 year old so idk how well i can pull this off) also argh anon you are so sweet 🫶

hcs: Sevika x Youtuber!reader

Sevika herself doesn't have an online presence (i mean NONE. no instagram no facebook not even a damn Pinterest.) and she is a little confused by the random things you ask her to do for your videos but she goes along with it

for those of you who are old enough to remember this... she thoroughly enjoyed dumping a bucket of ice water on you

you generally do vlogs, and it took a while for Sevika to consent to having her face be shown in your videos. up till then she was just your buff partner with her face either blurred or only shown from the shoulders down and most of your subscribers assumed she was your husband until the grand face reveal.

and the comments were apocalyptic.

She shows up in your vlogs once she gets more comfortable being in front of the camera. One time she wandered into the room while you were doing a Q&A live and “Sevika, the view count went up by 500 since you came into the frame." “Everyone is just simping for you I feel like you should just take over” “What’s ‘simping’?”  “They want to know if you wear makeup or if you just have a naturally lethal face card.” “I understood the first half of that sentence…” 

Mukbang lives and Sevika is just quietly eating next to you, minding her own business, occasionally feeding you a fry or piece of chicken and then-  “They’re saying they suddenly wanna be a piece of fried chicken” “I am leaving.”

You do that "my girlfriend does the voice over for my makeup grwm" trend and Sevika's behind you saying shit like “Now I’m gonna beat the living shit out of my skin with this funny smelling paste…” “As you can see I’m using this wedge of a dishwashing sponge to put more gunk on my face…” “This pencil actually just makes me look like a panda but— ow!” [You smacked her on the arm] *starts laughing into the mic*  *annoying lip smacking into the mic* 

when you do travel vlogs Sevika takes the role of videographer incredibly seriously. Sunglasses on, cigarette dangling from her lips, crouching in front of you to get the angle just right.

People beg for Sevika to start her own youtube channel, she gets as far as creating an account...but doesn't post anything except 2 minute videos of your cats

She watches every single video you upload. At full volume in the other room. Even while you are in the midst of filming another video.

And then comments on the videos while you are filming.

"Hey guys, welcome back to my cha-" "This lighting makes you look like a ghoul." "SEVIKA, I SWEAR TO GOD-"

Likes to ruin takes by kissing you or pulling you close to her and nuzzling her face in your neck. You can't even be mad about it

"Why do you even bother with this youtube shit? You could be in the movies." "You think you could handle seeing me in a romance with another actor?" "..." ~~~

[sublimati0ns]

daily koss #15: TOXIC OLD MAN YAOI 🤤

SAVE ME YOU, SOMEBODY SAVE ME YOU — I’M YOU’RE SCREAMING FOR A LIFE THAT I YOU CANNOT HAVE

I really wanted to redraw the part of s01e14 where Starscream grabs Knock Out’s face but in reverse… And since I posted fluff for day 13, I thought an edgier illust would be a fun contrast! I think they do love and care for each other despite being bad (SS) or weird (KO) at showing it, but both of them are still Horrible people with Problems so there’s also a lot of uncertainty and resentment between them.

Given their interactions in canon I feel like Knock Out has more to seethe about than Starscream (who rarely got mad at KO directly and more just doesn’t know how to not take his stress out on other people), but I don’t think all of KO’s grievances are valid LMAO It felt to me that he caught feelings (platonic and/or romantic), and when that energy wasn’t clearly reciprocated, his petty and narcissistic ass took it very personally.

[iscdisc]

Whiteboard doodles for today !

Tang Shen supremacy 5ever- 🫶

I desperately want a 2012 timeline to exist where Shredder gets redeemed (At least, as much as he can realistically speaking-) and Tang Shen never passes away- But I know it's kind of impossible for both those things to exist at the same time,, 😭 Lmao

But imagine if Yoshi (Splinter) acknowledged Saki's (Shredder's) deteriorating mental health (Which is canon. Have you seen this man in Season 4? LMAO) and tries to reach out more. Despite knowing how much his brother wants his dead. Despite knowing he's the reason his wife is gone and his daughter didn't know he existed for years / painted him as her Mother's murderer.

Because if you really dissect Saki as a character, he's kind of an understandable / "relatable" antagonist-?? His biological Father (Honestly whole family I'm sure-) was murdered by his new adoptive Father (Yoshi's), his entire clan was taken out and he was swiftly indoctrinated into the Hamato Clan as an infant, I'm sure he practically got the Naruto treatment from the Hamato Clan (Always being judged for descending from the Foot Clan, like he asked for that or something-), Yoshi presumably was treated significantly better than him + was most definitely the favorite child between the two of them when it came to their Father-

This is getting a little theoretical here, since we don't exactly know the timeline between Tang Shen and Yoshi & Saki, but my personal opinion is that:

Saki met Tang Shen first- He had a very surreal connection with her and finally felt understood by somebody / wasn't treated differently because of his bloodline connections, right. Probably because he still has a lot of growth to do as a person, they had a falling out and the relationship ended (Tang Shen absolutely being the one to call it off-). Then after some time she ends up being in a romantic relationship with Yoshi and stays with him. To me, this is the most logical course of events considering what we see in the S3 episode, "Tale of the Yokai"-

But the reason I explained all this is because I feel like this is yet another thing that Saki feels the Hamato Clan has stolen from him. He has nothing, everything that he did have was taken from him, and he's treated as some sort of vile creature that needs to be "shown the proper path". I also want to throw out the possibility that their Father (Yoshi's Father-) being an unreliable narrator, since we don't get a lot of context behind the Foot Clan and whether or not they were actually bad people- I know historically speaking, the Foot Clan has always been the villains in this franchise, but for 2012 specifically we never truly got any proof of that (in my opinion) prior to Shredder's reign as head of the Foot- You know what I mean? (Though I know this is yet another thing that can be chalked up to poor writing / world building-)

During the same episode, "Tale of the Yokai", we witness Saki openly call out Yoshi for not caring about Tang Shen enough and for not caring about him. This is something I'd also love to get into at some point, since I think this would've been a really deep and complicated Character Arc for Splinter to have potentially gone through ! Because in my personal opinion, I don't think Splinter doesn't care about the people that he claims to care about + love immensely, I just think he doesn't show it in the way that he believes he is showing it- He doesn't always understand how his actions are being perceived by those people, you know what I mean?? That's exactly why I say Shredder should have had a Redemption Arc and Splinter should have been a huge part of that, because at the end of the day you can understand why Saki is so upset as a person-?? All he wanted was somebody to genuinely love him for who he was and not try to change him or blame him for something he wasn't even alive for at the time. I think Splinter really needed to prove to him that he does love him. I also think Splinter should go through similar efforts with his sons first before making an attempt with Saki- Since I know a lot of people have issues with his parenting / feel he didn't love any of his sons except Leo (Which I half agree, half disagree- Also talking about Splinter's lack of self-awareness or situational awareness sometimes, I feel like that's why he never really addressed the favoritism with Leo.,, Because he was his Father's favorite child, so why would he have that kind of self-reflection when he didn't notice it between himself and his brother- You know? 😭).

The point is, I think Saki is just a deeply hurt / scarred man and because he was constantly left his own devices and quite frankly self-isolated, he just got worse and worse,, You can honestly see that deterioration throughout the series with how delusional he becomes towards the end- I promise I'll stop yapping after this, but can we talk about the moment that Shredder had during the S4 episode, "The Super Shredder" when he was describing constantly seeing Splinter in his nightmares and him having this condescending face all the time-?? 😭

[quailfence]

[Image description: Grayscale Ace Attorney fancomic. There are some drawings of braids, and on them are panels of Phoenix's eyes. He says, ;You're braid, they're-" He then closes his eyes and says, "A-Ah, sorry. I was just thinking aloud…" Iris smiles and says, "It's fine. I want you to know, Mr. Wright." She narrates, "Although I started having this hairstyle to help Dahlia - I don't think of her when I wear it."

A flashback shows Iris as Dahlia. She turns around and smiles, the comic turning to shades of red as she does so. College Phoenix grins, and Iris narrates "I think of my Feenie."

College Phoenix is shown braiding a strand of hair. Iris narrates "My Feenie, who learned to braid my hair." Phoenix asks, "You likey?" Dahlia replies, "Yes!!"

The last page is a mix of red and grayscale. Iris looks forwards sadly and narrates, "Although Dahlia doesn't need me anymore, these braids help me remember that I can be happy." The comic ends with Phoenix and Iris smiling and touching their foreheads together. End description.]

@aa-described @aceattorney-described

Inspired by this comic by @baker-chan-senpai and this post by @cornertheculprit !!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

recently i've been decorating my guest room a bit more, now that you can auto battles, which in turn got me paying more attention to the kinds of style characters prefer. with some it feels pretty predictable (like lilia's unique + cute combo or azul's stylish elegance), while others are slightly harder for me to decode. since i feel like there's quite the intent behind those decisions (cater's preference for cute things as well as simple things or jade's preference being not only stylish but also simple, practical) and you're very insightful, i was wondering if you had any thoughts on the topic :)

I think the characters’ theme preferences make sense overall! Some might just take a little more brain power to come to a reasonable conclusion. For example, Cater might like Cute things due to his mother and older sisters’ influence—but also due to the shallow Magicam obsessed persona he usually shows the world. His true nature might gravitate more to Basic things, as we see him with makeup products that have minimal packaging and pretty toned down colors in his Relax in Room SSR card. Jade likes Stylish things, as he makes efforts to present as well-groomed… to get people to trust him. He also likes Basic because he has a talent for finding practical uses for things—both people and items, as he can easily manipulate both to suit his needs. I’m not going to comment on every possible character, since there’s way too many to speak about individually. However, you can basically follow this logic for each of them:

Riddle — Stylish, Unique

Trey — Elegant, Cute

Cater — Cute, Basic

Ace — Unique, Stylish

Deuce — Basic, Elegant

Leona — Elegant, Unique

Ruggie — Cute, Basic

Jack — Basic, Stylish

Azul — Elegant, Stylish

Jade — Stylish, Basic

Floyd — Unique, Cute

Kalim — Cute, Unique

Jamil — Stylish, Elegant

Vil — Elegant, Stylish

Rook — Unique, Elegant

Epel — Basic, Cute

Idia — Unique, Elegant

Ortho— Unique, Cute

Malleus — Stylish, Basic

Lilia — Cute, Unique

Silver — Basic, Elegant

Sebek — Stylish, Unique

Grim — Cute, Basic

Rollo — Elegant, Stylish

Fellow — Unique, Cute

Crowley — Stylish, Basic

Crewel — Elegant, Stylish

Trein — Elegant, Basic

It’s really interesting how furniture theme preferences can easily translate into other aspects of characters’ individual tastes. For example, themes could indicate something about the character��s… well, character, or personal style, even style preferences for a potential partner or for dressing friends.

If we looked at shared theme preferences:

Basic + Cute/Cute + Basic: Cater, Ruggie, Epel, Grim

Basic + Elegant/Elegant + Basic: Deuce, Silver, Trein

Basic + Stylish/Stylish + Basic: Jack, Jade, Malleus, Crowley

Elegant + Cute: Trey

Unique + Cute/Cute + Unique: Floyd, Kalim, Ortho, Lilia, Fellow

Elegant + Unique/Unique + Elegant: Leona, Rook, Idia

Stylish + Elegant/Elegant + Stylish: Azul, Jamil, Vil, Rollo, Crewel

Stylish + Unique/Unique + Stylish: Riddle, Ace, Sebek

Deuce and Silver, both children of single parents, share the same themes. Funny, cuz Silver says he’d want Deuce as his brother in his Union Birthday vignettes.

Malleus and Crowley having the same themes will feed the “Crowley is Malleus’s long last dad” theory 😂

Trey is the only character so far with a theme preference unique to him.

NOT LEONA AND ROOK HAVING SIMILAR TASTES… I just picture Rook hovering in their shared homeroom and blabbing about interior design and Leona hating that he agrees with ROOK HUNT of all people 💀 (Idia probably hates sharing his tastes with these two, lol)

Vil and Crewel having the same themes makes sense. They have similar aesthetic sense, I think. They also worked together in the Fairy Gala events.

Interesting how Ace shares tastes with Riddle and Sebek, two people he is shown to frequently butt heads with.

If we break the groupings down into their top preference (because yes, order matters and the first/top theme is given priority):

Elegant: Trey, Leona, Azul, Vil, Rollo, Crewel, Trein

Unique: Ace, Ruggie, Floyd, Rook, Idia, Ortho, Fellow

Basic: Deuce, Jack, Epel, Silver

Stylish: Riddle, Jade, Jamil, Malleus, Sebek, Crowley

Cute: Cater, Kalim, Lilia, Grim

bcjsbsjenke Crewel and Trein both like Elegant but they also fight like a dog and cat… The irony.

Fitting how “the outcasts” like Unique. Ace the Heartslabyul rebel, Ruggie the extreme poverty representation and disliked hyena, Floyd the flippant, Rook THE local weirdo, Idia the shut-in, Ortho the robot, and Fellow the man with unfortunate life circumstances.

Basic likers 😭 I was not surprised to find Jack and Epel here… They’re pretty practical.

Class 2E boys (Riddle and Jade) like Stylish. Dnsbkwdbkdks Aw, Sebek also shares this with Malleus…

Light/Pop Music Club share a love for Cute!! That’s a nice touch www

[endreal]

my spouse took it upon theirself to sell the ps4 and buy a blue ray player and roku since we never actually play games on it and had a buyer on craigslist within literal hours of posting. which means there's been (and continues to be) a lag between the removal of the source of media, and the replacement media sources. and in the meantime what have they committed to doing?

watching broadcast television.

now I've never been a huge TV person - when my younger sibling and I were kids we had a very clearly defined TV sharing schedule, in which I would watch whatever I wanted whenever it was on unless my sibling wanted to watch something else in which case Endreal was shit outta luck. by my mid teens it was just easier not to be interested in TV shows. but this new experiment of my spouse's has shown me three significant things from the last time I was watching broadcast TV with any regularity -

first, there's a lot of shit out there, and like 80% of it appears to be reruns of stuff I ended up never seeing in the 90s and 00s.

second, commercials are worse. like the quality of commercials is worse, and also there are more of them. I remember when a primetime drama on broadcast TV was ~47 minutes accounting for ad breaks and now new stuff seems to be keyed to roughly 42? that's basically 36 seconds of ads for every 2 minutes of programming! is youtube even that bad yet? genuine question - I exclusively use an ad blocker so I have no idea. and on top of that I've witnessed a nefariously sneaky thing - end of episode split screen with the credits running on one half and another ad running on the other half.

third, PBS (we currently live in the US) is solid gold. like yes the programming seems to be all over the place and I have no idea what the rhyme or rhythm of it is but it's so cool that I got to a) learn facts about ospreys from a cartoon guy in a hummingbird suit, b) watch a vegan cooking programme hosted by a woman who was charmingly annoying in a way that seems uniquely achievable only by Italian-Americans, and c) a bipartisan discussion of local current events including a proposed teacher pay bill being discussed by the legislature of the state I live in. and all in the same day!

basically, broadcast TV is weird, idk how much I like it, and in spite of that if you live in the US and have a few bucks to spare please consider supporting your local public broadcasters!

[sorry-not-feeling-it-right-now]

One thing about Smitten is that he is quite good at recognising the emotions of others, but this part of him is highly overlooked because of, well, his unhealthy attachment towards to princess. The only time he’s shown that part of his character is in the Thorn chapter, where he recognises the pain and self hatred Thorn has for herself and is 100 percent on team cutting her free from her bindings. He’s not even mad at Oppy siding with killing the Princess at all, as he just quickly forgives him and be like “oh water under the bridge”. With how protective he is over the Princess you’d think he’d be more angry at him, but he isn’t. Which is very interesting to me. One of the ways you can get Smitten in the Thorn route (aside from flirting) is to by recognise that the two of you are putting yourself in a cycle of pain, and then handing her the weapon (symbolising your trust) despite that, logically, you’d know that you would be stabbed. And yet he did that anyway.

The differences of the two versions of Smittens in HEA and Thorn lies in how much you know about the Princess. In Thorn, he’s seen how we’ve hurt her. He’s seen how much it had changed her, turning her into someone who is bitter and untrusting. So with he intention to redeem himself and to show that he is apologetic for what we’ve done, he gave her the implement (aka letting down his walls). For HEA however, he literally just met her. To get to HEA, he recognises that the Princess is upset with your decision of wanting the stay in the cabin forever. But because he(and by extension Quiet) fears being alone in an unfamiliar environment he pushes those doubts aside in order to make the both of you happy.

Both Smitten and Broken are emotionally open people, except when one sees the other upset his first instinct is to lift them back up and gently remind them that they’re worthy of love and kindness, while the other would sit down quietly with the other and listen to their woes.

(Reminds me of a fic that @/writingdevil wrote… it’s a poly fic between Smitten Broken and Oppy. Go read it. It’s really sweet)

I am on the team of “Smitten can become better if we just get him away from the Princess for a little while”. While his love and devotion for her is genuine, his fear of being alone that leads to his unhealthy need to please her and make her happy is. Something. Actually a lot of the Voices need some time out away from the Princess.

[djpisskink]

this. exactly.

i figured it went hand in hand with my extreme dislike of people who need constant reassurance. that overwhelming dependance feels sticky and gross. and i don't ever want it to contaminate me.

i don't need anyone. the fact that anyone would assume that i do, that they'd jump to coddle me, makes me literally sick. don't approach me when i'm sitting by myself. don't look at the way i dress and talk and tell me i'm "valid". don't try to protect me. you don't know me, because i would never willingly show my truest self to you. i don't need your "i love you and i care about you" post. it doesn't comfort me, it makes me squeamish.

people tend to react very strongly to you outright rejecting their support and validation though. either by thinking you're a jerk [easier to deal with] or by doubling down on their idea that you're a poor little mentally ill thing who needs to be shown love and appreciation by force until it gets through their disordered skull [awful horrible get away from me]. so in the end it tends to be a grin and bear it thing.

Sometimes I find it so repulsive to be given reassurance or people trying to offer support and validation. It just feels patronizing and degrading as if I couldn't come to those conclusions myself.

Maybe the extended portion of my childhood and adolescence of being the youngest in my immediate and extended family contributed to that. Just being treated like a baby constantly and being told half truths and nothing because they thought I wouldn't understand things. Being entertainment because they thought I was cute.

Hearing things like "if your abuser ever bothers you let me know", "I promise this is a safe space", "you are worthy of love", produces this uncontrollable disgust in me. Please just shut up.

[alternate-real-ities]

I’ve been on a weight loss journey and I just found out from my doctor and nutritionist that I’m no longer overweight, I would love to see what happened to me in other universes.

First of all, let me just say congratulations on your incredible achievement! Losing weight is no easy feat, and the fact that you've managed to shed those extra pounds and reach a healthy weight is truly something to be proud of. I can only imagine how hard you've worked, how many sacrifices you've made, and how much dedication you've shown to get to this point. So from the bottom of my heart, well done! Now, let's talk about what might have happened to you in other universes...

I've found this universe where you're a total beefcake. Like, seriously, you're a walking, talking, muscle-bound Adonis. I guess all those hours in the gym really paid off, huh?

Every inch of your body is chiselled and defined, sculpted to perfection by hours of hard work and dedication. And let me tell you, it shows. I can almost smell the heady mix of sweat and musk rolling off your body in waves. It's intoxicating, making my knees go weak and my mouth water. Your skin glistens, a light sheen highlighting every ridge and valley of your sculpted muscles.

Don't even get me started on those arms - each one thicker than my waist, corded with power. I can just imagine how incredible they'd feel wrapped around me, crushing me against that rock-hard chest.

But it's not just your top half that's been blessed by the gods of gym. Oh no, you've got a set of legs on you that could make a marathon runner weep with envy. Those thunder thighs and that juicy, muscular bubble butt... fuck, I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it.

And as for what's nestled in those tight shorts? Well, let's just say that the outline of your impressive manhood is enough to make a grown boy like me drool like a puppy. I bet it's thick and heavy, swinging between your legs like a pendulum, begging to be freed from its cloth prison.

In this universe, you're not just a sexy beast - you're a god among men. A beefy, muscular daddy who could make even the most seasoned twink tremble with desire. And fuck, do I want to be the lucky little slut who gets to worship at your altar, tracing every inch of your glorious body with my tongue until you roar with pleasure and claim me as yours.

Also, I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I've stumbled into a parallel universe where you're a bit more of a lad.

Here, you're a bit different from the previous muscle beast we saw. Your muscular frame, honed by years of manual labour and football at the pub, is usually clad in musky Adidas gear that clings to your curves like a second skin.

Fuck me, but you're the epitome of a fit, rugged, working-class stud. The kind of bloke who could bench press me and fuck me silly all at once. I bet that cock of yours is thick and heavy, swinging between your legs as you strut around in those tight pants, just waiting to split me open on it.

And as you take a long drag from your cigarette, I can catch a whiff of your scent carried on the breeze - sweat, smoke, and cheap cologne, a heady cocktail that makes my head spin with desire. Your eyes, cold and calculating as they rake over my body, tell me you're not used to playing nice. This version of you takes what he wants, consequences be damned. And fuck if that isn't the hottest thing I've ever seen.

I can only imagine the filthy things you'd whisper in my ear as you pinned me against the wall, rough hands roaming my body, leaving marks on my skin. The way you'd grind your hips into mine until we were both aching and desperate for more. One can only dream...

In another universe, you've transformed into a total Japanese e-boy wet dream. Gone are the extra pounds that once slowed you down - your doctor and nutritionist just crowned you fit as fuck! And oh, how the multiverse has blessed you.

In this reality, you're sporting a lean, muscular physique that fills out your tight black hoodie in all the right places. Hell, even your glasses - stylish and sleek with black frames - can't distract from your smouldering good looks.

But it's not all about looks (even though, damn, could this guy be any more gorgeous?). Nope, your multiversal twin is packing some serious smarts too. You're a gamer god, fingers flying over your keyboard/controler as you dominate online matches in your cluttered yet cosy flat. The glow of your monitors lights up your handsome face as you grind on your opponents, and I bet that's not the only thing you grind on.

Wait until you see yourself in the reflection of your 4K screen - the way your hair falls messily over your forehead, the glint of sweat on your brow from intense gameplay, that mischievous smirk playing at your full lips. I bet people are surprised when they see a little nerd with such fit body. This alternate reality version of you is a total wet dream come true - gaming glory, cute boys falling at your feet, and a sexy e-boy body that has everyone drooling.

So there you have it, a glimpse into what might have happened to you in other universes. I hope you enjoyed the journey, and I wish you all the best as you continue on your path to health and happiness. Keep up the good work, and remember that you are strong, capable, and deserving of all the good things that life has to offer. Congratulations again on your weight loss, and may your future be filled with joy, love, and success. You deserve it.

[vampzyb4tz]

Baby Fever 🤒

A/N: This is Dick Grayson x Reader. It's kinda bad 😞 but who cares man.. Have fun reading this, lovey <3

Warnings: smut, breeding kink, unprotected p in v (don't do this!! Do as I say, not as I write), fingering, oral f! receiving. English is not my first language!!

ALL REPOSTS ARE WELCOME!!

-------------------------------------------------------

Dick was proudly holding your hand, and beaming. This honeymoon had been amazing. You two had been dating for five years, engaged for one, and now finally he's been married to the love of his life for a week.

Nothing could possibly make this better. As you both are walking down, you see a cute little café. "Hey, baby. Let's go in there."

Bruce gave him a shit ton of money, and he planned to spoil you with every penny.

As you two walked inside and you were looking up at the menu, Dick began scanning the shop. This was his honeymoon, and he deserved to have a break. However, he was just so used to making sure there were no threats.

Instead of danger, he spotted a baby. Her face was all messy, as she giggled. She had been eating ice cream. Dick was now shown just how much he needed a kid with you.

"Babe... Can I talk to you about something?" He asked, swallowing as he looked at you. The last thing he needed was to upset you by begging for a baby. Then, you looked up at him with those pretty eyes of yours. He was smitten.

"Mhmm, what is it, Dickie?" You asked, smiling up at him. He internally sighed. "Uh... I'm just gonna come out and say it. I want a family with you, and I want to start trying."

You damn near choked on the breath you were breathing. You both went from getting something to eat, to talking about a family. But... You both knew that you wanted kids, as this came up before. Your honeymoon was the perfect time to start.

"Me too, Dick.. Why don't we get out of here?" You proposed, smiling up at him in the way that made him cave immediately.

He loved seeing you like this, and he could already tell that you were going to be an amazing mother. He leaned down again, kissing you softly and with all the tenderness in the world. When he pulled back, he bit his lip again and smirked once more.

"Alright then, sweetheart. Let's head back to the hotel. No more waiting."

It was a short walk back to the hotel, and Dick kept his hand on your lower back almost the entire time. The moment you guys got into the elevator, he pushed you against the wall, and began leaving kisses and love bites on your neck.

"Baby... " he said, his voice low and breathy. "You just can't wait, can you sweetheart? You want me to put a baby in you right this minute."

Your head fell back, giving him full access to your neck. Your hands threaded into his hair, and began playing with his hair as he kissed your neck. His breeding kink was showing.

"Mm... I do, I want to have your baby.. Fuck, I wanna carry your baby so bad. But, it looks like you're the one who can't wait, Dickie. We're not even in the room yet, and you're all over me." You responded, laughing softly.

He groaned softly against your neck, the sound a bit like a moan. He knew you were right. He was usually a bit more patient, but he was desperate to fulfill the promise he just made.

The second the ding of the elevator signaled that you were at your floor, he pulled back from your neck. His hands gripped your upper thighs, and suddenly he'd lifted you up off the floor and into his arms as he quickly made his way to the door.

"Can you blame me?" He asked, still carrying you. "This is literally all I want right now."

Your lips attached to his instantly, and you both kissed as he fumbled with the door. Eventually, the door swung open. He threw the keys off to the side, as your tongue invaded his mouth. A soft whine left your lips as you tasted him, and he dropped the 'Do Not Disturb' sign onto the door handle, before swinging it shut.

Within the blink of an eye, he was on his knees in front of you. His face buried in your cunt, raven strands being tugged on by your long fingers, and long thick fingers pumping in and out of you. Your head fell back, and his name left your lips like a prayer.

His tongue was lapping at your clit like a needy puppy, before going down to rub all over your slit like a starved man. Moans poured out of your lips as he did what he knew you liked.

"DICK!! Fuck, mi vida.." You breathed out, feeling yourself approach the edge. His fingers curled, hitting that spongy spot inside of you.

"Cum.. Cum on my tongue, baby." He said, the vibrations sending you over the edge. Before you knew it, you were coming crashing down on his tongue with a scream. He lapped up everything you gave him like an obedient puppy.

Once he was sure you were prepared for him, he slid his pants down. His perfect dick was freed from his boxers, slapping against his stomach with a quick 'Fwip!' noise. He grabbed it, stroking his cock while he looked down at you. His thumb rubbed over his pretty pink head that you so desperately wanted to kiss..

Once he was done waiting, he positioned himself at your entrance. "Get ready, baby.. Deep breaths, and just relax. I got you, I'm here." He cooed, as he pushed in. Inch by inch, you took him. Once he bottomed out, tears pricked at the corner of your eyes. He kissed your tits, gently sucking on your nipples as he waited for permission.

"Mmm.. I'm ready, babe.." And that was all he needed to hear from you. He began moving in, and out, moaning when it felt really good for him. Your eyes squeezed shut, savoring as he split you open.

"Mm... Good girl. Fuck, baby... you feel so good. So warm, and tight... This cunt is all mine, so eager to suck me in.. So wet, because my wife got all excited about getting bred by her big strong husband.." He said, circling your clit. Your hands grabbed at his back, as you only moaned in response.

"Fuck... You're about to spasm on my cock, huh? Getting so excited for this? I knew that you couldn't wait. You want that baby as much as I do." He said, his balls swinging and hitting your ass as he thrusted. "Oh, is my girl clenching? She can't wait for her husband to shoot his load inside of her? You're my little princess. I'm gonna dump my cum in you, and give you my goddamn baby, love." He groaned.

He could feel his balls tightening. Moans were leaving your lips, as his tip kept abusing that spot that made you see stars. Not to mention his finger pad against your clit. You were starting to feel overstimulated, and you haven't even came yet. That was, until he began sucking on your breasts that jiggled under him.

It was too much for him. With a moan, your back arched, and you came on his dick. He smirked, until the feeling of you spasming around him started to feel like too much. Soon enough, he was painting your insides with pearlescent squirts while groaning.

Safe to say, when you guys came back from your honeymoon, you had some news for the family!! 🤭

[queenpancak]

A problem I have with RDR2 is how it never really tries to make Arthur feel like a bad person save for the debt collecting missions. Your perspective is extremely biased in this game (whether intentional or unintentional) and as a result High Honor Arthur feels more like Arthur realizing he was always secretly good than a bad man trying to be better. Arthur's last ride with the pretty music and everyone telling him how secretly good he is feels so self aggrandizing. It does make attempts with Mrs. Downes and her resorting to prostitution but it happens so late in the game that we're already fully on Arthur's side and understand he's going to do the right thing.

You're never allowed to truly grapple with Arthur's misdeeds because you're always predominately on Arthur's side, a natural consequence of him being our main protagonist but an issue nonetheless. The game writes the entire world around this idea however, and that is an issue. It's referenced multiple times that the gang initially began very Robin Hood-esque and Arthur even says that they were never about killing folk. He criticizes Dutch for murdering the woman in Guarma saying that Dutch always told Arthur never to do things like that, so the ideology of the gang also appears to be built around the idea that they were never truly reprehensible while telling you they were and Arthur is remorseful.

It wants you to feel like Arthur is a bad man while never committing to the idea that he actually is. It's trying to romanticize and justify the earlier days of the gang while simultaneously trying to tell you they're bad. It's as if they are saying "The gang is bad but they're not like bad bad, arthur is bad but hes also secretly good and has been this whole time."

It feels less like redemption and more self-actualization. Like trying to have their cake and eat it too. Showing Arthur be progressive, not racist, kind, morally infallible while also saying he's a bad man. Let’s take a look at this cutscene between Arthur and Sister Calderon.

Arthur: I'm, uh... I'm dyin', Sister. Yeah, I got TB. I got it... beatin' a man, to death... for a few bucks. I've lived a bad life, Sister...

Sister Calderón: We've all lived bad lives, Mr. Morgan. We all sin... but I know you.

Arthur: You don't know me.

Sister Calderón: Forgive me, but... that's the problem. You don't know you.

Arthur: What do you mean?

Sister Calderón: I don't know... whenever we happen to meet, you're always helping people and smiling.

He quite literally confesses to murdering a man for money yet the narrative through Sister Calderon insists that he’s secretly good. "We all sin" is NOT an appropriate response to "I beat a poor farmer to death for $5.” In another scene. Arthur confesses to being an outlaw and Sister Calderon literally laughs and says "What fun!" As a nun, she holds a moral authority over most other characters and through this, her judgement is taken more seriously by players than say the opinion of Mary-Beth or Jimmy Brooks.

"Oh yeah this gang? they're bad people but on the dl they aren't actually bad bad so you don't have to care about that. Arthur is bad? Well yes but actually he's not and he's a good man so we'll have characters say this verbatim throughout the story so you don't forget, but just so we are clear he is bad."

The gang is almost always portrayed in the right. Most of the fights are with other gangs or law enforcement, never civilians because killing civilians would ruin the illusion of good. The debt collecting missions make an attempt but in the end Strauss receives the blame from Arthur who kicks him out.

Note how the other gangs are never humanized in the same way the Van Der Linde gang is. None of the other gangs even have women. They're always portrayed as worse, more evil versions who are shown preying on citizens and people trying to get by, as if the Van Der Linde gang are the only outlaws who are actually secretly good.

The same applies to how people view Dutch. Dutch is often infantilized by the community and the blame shifts entirely onto Micah for the downfall of the gang, with people often thinking everything went wrong because he was a rat and manipulated Dutch. It's a perfect representation of how the gang treats Arthur and Dutch, with Dutch taking Micah's place. Arthur is the good man driven astray by insidious forces (Dutch, Strauss.) 

Let's take an even more concerning conversation where Mary-Beth serves as a mouthpiece for the narrative:

"Killing and robbing folks I didn't need to."

"My, you have been busy."

"That's one way of looking at it."

"You're a good man, Arthur. Underneath, I mean."

"I've lost my mind, Mary-Beth. It's finally happened, I don't feel in control."

"Stay calm and do what you do best."

"Seems I'm best at Mayhem. I'm no better than Micah."

"Yes you are. Just do what you gotta do and stop getting into trouble." 

The messaging here is especially egregious because it doesn't even make an attempt to frame Arthur's actions as reprehensible, and Mary Beth becomes such a blatant mouthpiece for the narrative. Note how this conversation is also used to make you hate Micah and like Arthur. Arthur is confessing to things that Micah would do as a one dimensionally despicable character but Mary-Beth blatantly says he is not like Micah. Micah is a reference point, yet the game never wants you to think that they're in any way similar. Micah is abusive to animals, Arthur is kind to them. Micah is racist, Arthur doesn't care about race. Micah is an easy figure to hate, and much of the game’s narrative contrasts Arthur with Micah to reinforce the idea that Arthur, despite his flaws, is not only an inherently better person but a genuinely good person at that. When Arthur confesses to these crimes or when he brushes off the excessive praise he receives, you can tell that you're not expected to agree with Arthur. You're not supposed to believe Arthur when he confesses he is similar to Micah, you're supposed to agree with Mary-Beth. This moment makes it clear that Arthur’s confession is not meant to be taken seriously. The narrative directly invalidates Arthur’s own feelings of guilt by positioning Mary-Beth as the moral authority

The problem isn't that Arthur is capable of good and evil. The problem is that the narrative seems to want to have the aesthetic of a flawed reprehensible protagonist while reminding you he's secretly good and always has been and he's better than everyone else. The game uses perspective, music, dialogue, symbolism and his journals to manipulate the player into believing that Arthur is both a bad man while also secretly being an amazing exceptional person with a good heart.

Arthur isn't forced to learn he COULD be a good person. He's forced to learn that he always was one deep down and now it's about bringing it outward, but at the same time it's always been outward because the women love to meatride constantly telling him he's good. This is clear during the final ride with Arthur going back to Beaver Hollow as That's The Way It Is plays, while we hear various characters throughout the story call Arthur a good man. It feels very self absorbed, especially including Jimmy Brooks calling Arthur a good man without context. That context being Arthur rescuing Jimmy from a cliff and subtly threatening him into submission, undermining the quote.

It's as if Arthur is trying his hardest to be a complex reprehensible yet not irredeemable man yet the game insists on telling him he's wrong because they need you to like him and sympathize with him. They're terrified of ever forcing you to question his decisions and always make sure you know he's not truly a bad person. Arthur does try, very hard. He talks about losing control, about being violent and no good, killing people senselessly. He's trying DESPERATELY to be fallible, but the game won't let him. It's always undercut by someone of moral authority patting him on the back and reminding him he's good.

High Honor Arthur isn't a redemption story. It's a self-actualizing one.

[bwat5-blog]

Caitlyn Kiramman Discussion Response: @xxbrightshadowxx

**Discussion of Arcane so obviously spoiler warning for entire show**

***REALLY LONG***

Before We Begin: To anyone aside from the user I tagged who reads this, please don't post anything aggressive on here. We have all done plenty of mud-slinging, INCLUDING ME. I am not judging or ragging on anyone. But they responded kindly and respectfully and have just asked for the same, which I intend to honor. Thank you.

Part One Of Discussion

Good morning, I have read through your entire response and as promised have returned to give my response as well. First of all, thank you for taking the time to read and respond at all. I'm just another internet random and you certainly don't owe me a moment of your time. Second, thank you for leaving the door open for good discussion and debate. I linked part one of this with your response as well up top in blue, and will paste your response below. That way this doesn't turn into an enormously long post, but we can see what was said and the response on this page.

Your Responses:

Hello. I will not lie, this is very impressive. You break down information and your response is effective. It’s organized, you get your point through very thoroughly. You also did it without insulting me which is a lot more than some tumblr users and TikTok users could do for me. You’re right it’s clear you and I are on opposite ends of how we felt about Caitlyn in season 2. Some of your points did change some of my thinking towards Caitlyn and some I still have the same feelings to.

You’re right Caitlyn was not in the right headspace when she went against Jinx and has a lot of PTSD from her so she wasn’t in the best of mind when she hit her. I’ll agree with that. For your point that Caitlyn apologized to Vi through her actions I have to disagree with that. That’s because the show never truly acknowledges Caitlyn leaving or hitting Vi. Her saving Vander, she does get a point for that however her running to Vi when she was injured instead of Jink just shows she still cares about her not that she’s necessarily sorry. Her keeping Jinx in the bunker rather than Stillwater, and holding off on any judgement until Vi is awake isn’t shown to be Caitlyn doing that because she wants to apologize to Vi. Her letting Vi free Jinx, while that could show she’s apologizing and making amends, it falls flat because Jinx leaves Vi so it doesn’t feel as effective, at least for me.

As for the gray and Ambessa’s manipulation: I also disagree with. Ambessa, while she did orchestra the attack at the funeral and put Caitlyn in charge, Caitlyn chose to use the gray on Zaun. The gray is a gas. That is what I meant by nuclear/chemical warfare(should’ve been more specific, sorry) You cannot control a gas once it’s released. And the gray isn’t just a tear gas or anything it is a life ending gas that could kill people. We learn this from Viktor who was dying from it in season 1. And the excuse that it was Chembarons they were using it on doesn’t help it. It does not matter if the chembarons weren’t good people and were criminals. They were still people. You mentioned the deleted scenes that make Caitlyn look better and I actually haven’t seen them. I’ll look into them when I’m less busy. But you mentioned deleted scenes and how there are no proven longer term effects to such a ‘short’ amount. There is a deleted scene of Ekko bringing people to the firelight base, people that aren’t one of the chembarons that were coughing from the gray. People who weren’t chembarons were also affected by the gray. But then again, it was a deleted scenes so it is a weak rebuttal since it wasn’t actually in the show. You are right, the show doesn’t glorify the gassing but it doesn’t ever acknowledge the event after it happens. No one calls out Caitlyn on the morality of using the gray or the effects it could have on the people. She doesn’t get consequences for gassing people or hurting Vi. The show doesn’t even mention the hit again after it happens. When Vi does call her out, it’s not for her attacks on Zaun. It’s for listening to Ambessa.

About Jinx, Sevika, and Silco. I do believe you simplify their actions. I do give Jinx more slack because she is a product of Piltover’s neglect and oppression. Don’t get me wrong, she’s crazy and very violent. But all her issues stem from Piltover’s abuse Enforcers killed her parents during whah seemed to be a protest against Piltover. Silco did affect her and made her who she was but he wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t already affected by Piltover. yes, Silco is awful. He wants more than anything to get revenge on Topside rather than freedom for Zaun which causes him to do things that hurt his own people without remorse. But the only reason he was the way he was from resentment for Piltover constantly treating them like crap as stated before in season 1. His resentment overtook his want for freedom for his people and it turned him for the worse. If Topside treated Zaun better, Silco would’ve never become the monster he was. And as for Sevika, it’s implied she’s also a product of Piltover’s neglect. The reason why the killed Vander is because Vander was bending to Piltover’s will. He might’ve stopped the enforcers going down there but Zaun was still fighting for scraps, they were still treated as less and Vi calls him out for it. Im not saying them attacking and trying to kill the kids makes it right. But what I am saying is if you want to say Caitlyn is complex then you have to admit that Silco, Sevika, and Jinx are as well. Caitlyn, she gets consequences for going against Ambessa by her injuries but she doesn’t get consequences for hurting Vi or gassing Zaun. Also, it’s not that I only love Caitlyn when she isn’t affected by the things she went through. It’s just that I don’t love how the writers handled the direction her character went through even though I think they could’ve made it work with their vision. As a tumblr user I like said: ‘they wanted the aesthetic of a person gone down the wrong path while still making them seem good in their eyes’.

To finish this long reply, you make great points in the defense of Caitlyn, some making me take on a new perspective. there is so much more I most likely missed or counterpoints you might have for me. I also plan to read through your analysis posts to see how you interpreted them. If you do and want to rebuttal I’d be interested to see what you have to say as long as you stay respectful to me and I’ll do the same for you.

End Your Responses

You disagree that Caitlyn ever truly apologizes for hitting and leaving Vi-

Okay I responded to your overall complaint that Caitlyn never really apologizes to Vi. I stated that while it is correct she never verbally apologizes, she does so through her deeds.

You responded to each point, explaining why you still don't feel that it was truly addressed and Caitlyn truly apologized:

"For your point that Caitlyn apologized to Vi through her actions I have to disagree with that. That’s because the show never truly acknowledges Caitlyn leaving or hitting Vi"

You then responded to each point:

1. We agree on Caitlyn helping save Vander. 2. You feel that prioritizing saving Vi over hurting Jinx was more an expression of still caring for Vi rather any remorse for her actions. 3. You feel that Caitlyn keeping Jinx in the bunker and holding off on judgement was not shown as an apology. 4. You feel that while allowing Vi to free Jinx could be seen as making amends, it falls flat because Jinx leaves. (you make a point of mentioning at it does so at least for you)

Okay, so I already mentioned the actions I consider her expressions of apology and remorse. But we need to talk about her words as well. There are three big moments that show her feelings about her actions in particular:

S2 E8 28:51- "I know!"

Vi has confronted Caitlyn over Jinx being locked up. When Caitlyn says it was clear Jinx was a contingency in the commune because Vi didn't trust her, Vi straight up calls her out-

"Can you blame me? How long were you sidled up with that shifty, self-serving war pig? She oinked poison in your ear and you just ate it"

Our timestamped quote is how Caitlyn responds. She is clearly upset and angry with herself. She knows what she did and is acknowledging her wrong doing in allowing herself to be twisted up and used by Ambessa.

S2 E8 28:19- "We can't erase our mistakes. None of us"

The conversation continues. Vi tells her that Jinx has changed and this is how Caitlyn responds. But again, we have to look at Caitlyn is actually saying.

"None of Us"

They have been talking about Jinx. Caitlyn is verbally equating herself with Jinx. The woman she hated so intensely it drove her to this point. The woman who killed her mother. And even though she is saying it about Jinx she is saying it about herself as well.

She is looking at Vi and saying in another way- "Nothing can erase what I did"

S2 E8 27:06- "No amount of good deeds can undo our crimes!...Hating you... I've hated myself. I just don't have the energy for it any longer".

So as we know, following her conversation with Vi Caitlyn goes to see Jinx in the bunker and they have this moment.

So once again, Caitlyn verbally equates herself with Jinx. This time speaking to Jinx directly. That is twice now she has placed herself on the same level as the woman who killed her mother, who she allowed her hate for to drive herself so far over crossing the line. Twice that she has expressed the belief there is no way that not only Jinx, but that SHE can make things right.

And perhaps most telling of all, it is not to Vi who she loves, that she admits she has hated herself. It's to Jinx. The woman who once haunted her literal waking steps, who she hated with such intensity that she cast aside everything she believed in, who killed her mother. I suspect guilt doesn't even begin to cover how she feels.

Okay. Now, I am well aware that none of that is a direct apology to Vi over what she did. My reason for mentioning those moments is that we have to remember Caitlyn is not a character known for outward display of emotion. Not that it doesn't happen, but no matter how you feel about her I think we can agree she is never really shown to be the overly mushy type. Look at the moment tells her father she could have stopped Jinx:

S2 E1 30:30- "I had the shot"

We at least agreed Caitlyn went through some seriously messed up stuff in season one. So she has been through all of that, now she is dealing with her mother's death and sitting on the couch next to her father. And this is all she says. Staring down at the ground with teary eyes she says this one thing, blaming herself.

She was never the sort that was going to fall on her knees and beg Vi's forgiveness. It just isn't in line with her personality or depiction. So keeping that in mind I would argue we need to view her actions I listed with this new context in mind that I have given:

1. She is aware and admitting she messed up and is clearly angry over it 2. She feels that nothing can erase what she did 3. She feels no good deed can undo her crimes 4. She is placing herself on the same level as Jinx 5. She hates herself for what she did 6. She is not the sort of character to express herself through her words

Saving Vander: We agreed on this one

Prioritizing saving Vi over hurting Jinx: I actually do see your point here even with this context. But, I think that the fact that when Caitlyn didn't have time to think and just had to tact, her eyes never left the woman she hurt so terribly in pursuit of her hatred even though the object of said hatred was there with her back turned. And I think that speaks greatly to the change in Caitlyn's heart.

Holding Jinx in the bunker and postponing judgement: So this is the first one where Caitlyn has any measure of time to think. When I say this is a way of making amends I don't mean Caitlyn saw it as-

"I screwed up, if I keep Jinx out of Stillwater and don't execute her maybe I can make things right"

Caitlyn doesn't believe she can make things right, as we have seen. She doesn't think anything she does can erase her crimes. And she sees herself in the same light as the woman who killed her mother. She hates herself.

Regarding this point, we have to remember Caitlyn is not the only person who wanted Jinx's head on a plate. The elite of Piltover, the families of every Enforcer she killed, there are countless people who would be baying for Jinx's execution. But Caitlyn keeps her close, and even though she was still The Commander at that time and had all authority needed to do so, she does not hurt her. She waits for Vi, because even if she can't make it right, she doesn't want to make it any worse.

Allowing Vi to free Jinx: So on this one you stated you can see it as making amends, but it fell flat for you because Jinx left Vi. You are of course entitled to your opinion and I understand if you feel that way. All I'd say I suppose is that just to remember what the weight of that decision actually means regarding Caitlyn. She set aside her hatred of her mother's killer, in favor of her love for Vi. Even if it would mean she lost Vi forever.

You disagree with my points regarding Caitlyn & The Grey-

Regarding the use of The Grey you raise several points:

1. You admit that while Ambessa orchestrated the attack on the memorial, Caitlyn made the choice to use The Grey 2. You clarify your overall complaint was her use of chemical warfare against the defenseless of Zaun regarding your point in your original post- "She gassed and used nuclear warfare against the defenseless in Zaun" (You clarified you meant chemical) 3. You state The Grey is not like tear gas, it is fatal. And that we learn this from Viktor who was dying of it in season one. 4. The use of The Grey is not justified just because The Chem-Barons are criminals, as they are still people 5. There were people affected who were not bad guys 6. The show does not acknowledge using The Grey, she faces no consequences for it, and when Vi calls her out it is for Ambessa, not for her actions in Zaun

Caitlyn made the decision to use The Grey on her own:

She absolutely did. No arguments. But I will say I think considering the context is extremely important and something that is often left aside when this comes up. I am posting a section of another post I did below that addresses this topic exactly. Part of this post was proving Ambessa set up the attack as well so ignore that as we already agree.

***START OLD POST***

Let's go back in time to the aftermath of Jinx's attack on the council and what their plan of retaliation entails. S2 E1 33:37-Ambessa smirking at Mel as Salo explains "I thought it prudent to solicit the advice of such an experienced veteran"

S2 E1 33:20- Salo finishes explaining his plan- "We flood the undercity with Enforcers, armed with Hextech"

S2 E1 33:18- Caitlyn immediately protests "innocents will be caught in the cross fire"

S2 E1 32:02-31:58- Mel agrees to a form of the plan after Salo continues to push. "I'll agree to endorse the invasion. But I draw the line at Hextech".

Okay. So we have established the Council's intention in clear and precise language with examples straight out of content- INVASION. But! There's a problem. Because what does Ambessa actually want? Fully weaponized hextech. How do we know this? Well she told us-

S1 E9 33:35- "If there is a chance hextech can be weaponized, we must have it" Ambessa says after being confronted by Mel

S1 E9 33:32- "Piltover isn't your testing ground" Mel responds S1 E9 33:23- "I can't believe you'd start a war just to cover your ass" Mel continues S1 E9 33:20- " I would set the world ablaze to protect our family" Ambessa admits

Alright so we know the Council's plan. And we know Ambessa's motivation, including how far she'd go to achieve it and that comes straight from her own mouth. She openly admits she'd not only start a war, but light the world on fire to do what she views as needed to protect her family. The council's failure to ratify Salo's plan of all out aggression counters her goal.

So how does she push it to that point? The memorial attack. She sent her man Rictus to assist the Chem Baron Renni, giving her the chance for revenge on Jayce during the memorial. She of course then came to the rescue with her people, killing Renni herself. We see evidence of all of this below:

S2 E3 5:48- Flashback begins showing everything we just discussed

Ambessa's goal: Weaponized Hextech at any cost

Council's plan: Invasion without Hextech

Ambessa's response: Organizes a full Zaunite incursion in the middle of a memorial service killing several and stoking hostility and fear to an all time high

Back to Caitlyn-

Okay finally we are back. So as I said, she protests the invasion plan but is denied. We see this clearly. The memorial attack occurs and of course we know from there Caitlyn forms the plan for the strike team, goes to the council, then she and the team go into Zaun utilizing The Grey and so on. So lets review the conversation leading her to create the team. It's after the memorial attack. She is understandably quite upset- no matter how much you don't like her they got attacked during a memorial for her mom- and she and Vi talk.

S2 E1 7:48 to 7:41- Vi tells Caitlyn "you need to find a way to call off the invasion... This battle was on your soil. Down there, you'll be on their terms" S2 E1 7:35 to 7:27- In response to Vi telling Caitlyn they need to change it when Caitlyn says "none of this is on our terms" Caitlyn says "I don't know how okay? She leaves this giant hole, and I'm just supposed to fill it. Like she was never here to begin with."

S2 E1 5:26 to 5:16- Salo is speaking to the others in the wake of the attack pressing once more for the full weaponization of Hextech. "We can't afford anymore handwringing. If we do not defend ourselves with Hextech, our principles will mean nothing".

And from there as we know, she uses The Kiramman Key and learns about The Grey. From there we get the "Heavy Is The Crown" sequence where the strike team is revealed.

Conclusion:

Caitlyn formed the strike team and used The Grey as an alternative to The Invasion. She only did so because of The Memorial Attack.

Ambessa conclusively and undeniably orchestrated the memorial attack.

Ambessa did so after declaring in her own words in season 1 after being accused of being willing to start a war "I would set the world ablaze to protect our family"

Caitlyn used The Grey because of Ambessa and the events she orchestrated.

***END OLD POST BACK TO CURRENT DOC**

So all of that mess to say, while I do of course agree that the end of the day Caitlyn made the choice. I all too often see this component totally left out. Ambessa intentionally and knowingly orchestrated not only an attack, but an attack during a memorial knowing it would enrage people. If she hadn't done we never would have arrived where we do.

Addressing points 2-4: Caitlyn used chemical warfare against the defenseless, it is fatal, and the use of it against the criminal element does not justify its use as they are still human beings.

Okay, the reason I am addressing three points in one is these all fall under the same issue. There has been quite a lot of criticism levelled at Caitlyn all under the heading of chemical warfare. All with mention of the real-world definitions and laws that classify such things, and the accusations of how she violated them. At the end of the day, this is all a work of fiction. So real-world technical standards of war crimes, chemical warfare and so on have no meaning in-world.

And that of course isn't to say there is anything wrong with analyzing fiction through a real world lens to a point. If you are interested as an exercise in curiosity I delved into how the use of The Grey would be classified per The Chemical Weapons Convention myself. To the best of my ability I deduced it would actually be called a "Riot Control Agent" or "RCA", not a "Chemical Weapon". It's linked below but I realize sending additional documents when I'm already on here writing novels is obnoxious.

Grey War Crime Doc

So setting aside the real-world standards at least for this conversation (you are of course entitled to stick to them for yourself as see fit), we can very much so talk about The Grey with what we are given from content.

Is The Grey Fatal?

Long Term Exposure: Absolutely it can be. We see the sketches of those Zaunites when caitlyn is using the key with those terrible injuries. Viktor actually isn't confirmed to be sick from The Grey itself but more than likely. There is all sorts of dialogue and plenty of evidence to back this up.

Short Term Exposure: There is zero evidence to support this. Every single person we see exposed during the Strike Team's use of it, during Silco's use of it, and during the final battle is either alive, or quite clearly died from something else. Of course as I said in the other post, we can speculate. But we can speculate about all sorts of things. Vi's repeated head trauma alone is very likely to end in seizures or CTE if we want to get into that. Sevika is a chain smoker. Jinx is infused with shimmer and looks like she weighs roughly 90 pounds who knows what her future holds. That could go on forever. But if short term exposure is fatal as you suggest, this is a list of characters who are going to die of complications, or should have died already-

Caitlyn

Vi

Jinx (I know but I'm of the camp that she survived)

Steb

Sevika

Piltover boy Ambessa uses as an anti-zaun prop

Heenot

And those are just the ones whose names we know. There are many things in our world that are extremely dangerous when exposed to excessive quantities, but quite mundane at lesser quantities. All evidence given by the show itself suggests The Grey falls into this category.

2. Did Caitlyn Gas The Defenseless?

First, lets review her named targets of The Strike Team:

Jinx

Associates of Silco (the chem-barons)

Shimmer

So at the very least, her named targets are not anyone defenseless. Now as we know, the deployment of The Grey was via the ventilation system Cassandra Kiramman herself created. This means two things:

-It wasn't being dropped as bombs, or fired from cannons or any of that. It was coming from specific points at chosen times. -Caitlyn had control of it. Not arguing what she did with it yet, just that she herself was the one "at the wheel" if you will. And we do get confirmation of this via the Hellfire animation with plans showing the controls and actual images of Caitlyn using them

I bring that up only to show that it was not just some sort of random flooding of The Undercity.

Moving on! So, we know they at the absolute least did not enter Zaun intending to target anyone defenseless or innocent, and that Caitlyn did have some amount of control over its use. Now we come to this quote by writer/creator Amanda Overton:

"It was strategic to a pin point. Still, is that forgivable?"

Now I know as I stated before in the original post, many people who are very unhappy with Caitlyn's story in season two have made up their mind to ignore/disregard this quote. If you feel that way, I cannot argue it because that is your right. But as she is one of the creators and she did say it, I factor it into my conversation and will continue to do so.

Now, we of course do have the address the issue of it being a gas, fictional or not. I absolutely agree that there was no way it could be controlled completely. And we do see this, in S2 E2 31:29 Smeech and his crew arrive at Margot's base to find the grey leaking out of the big statue's eyes and mouth to a point. But I would point out two things.

This is what it looks like outside-

It looks thick but some of that is regular Zaun smog we always see, plus Smeech and his associated while covering the mouths are able to speak quite freely with only a bit of coughing

2. This is what it looks like where they actually let it loose just on the other side-

So my point is this. I absolutely agree they could not guarantee it would only impact their chosen targets. But I would say that clearly the system they use is giving them at least a decent amount of control.

In Review:

Caitlyn very specifically names targets that only pose a threat to everyone's safety, Piltover & Zaun alike.

The deployment of The Grey is proven to be under her control to a point.

One of the creators of the show confirmed Caitlyn used The Grey in a strategic manner

While acknowledging and recognizing that The Grey cannot be contained completely, the evidence we see of that very thing suggests that environmental exposure is fairly controlled at least while dealing with Chem-Baron bases themselves.

So my question regarding this topic is as follows: Which of these two statements seems more fair and honest given this topic?

Caitlyn gassed the defenseless.

Caitlyn used the grey in a tactical and strategic fashion, but in her growing anger and hate failed to account for the potential risk to the defenseless of Zaun.

Because as I have said several times now. I'm not out to justify her wrong doing. Just to bring down the heat of the rhetoric around her story so it can be discussed fairly and honestly.

3. Was gassing the Chem-Barons unjust?

So this is again something that is going to come down a lot to opinion. But, we can certainly discuss it. To review a few pertinent factors:

Caitlyn's strike team is an alternative to a full invasion, as we saw.

The chem-barons have weapons and shimmer.

The Grey is only proven to be fatal with long-term exposure. Otherwise it is temporarily debilitating like tear gas.

So, Piltovan retaliation is coming. That is not up for debate. The chem-barons are extremely dangerous. If Caitlyn doesn't use The Grey, and they want to stop the invasion as we showed earlier, what is her option?

Fighting. Room to room, floor to floor, more than likely fatal fighting. Instead of using the grey and arresting everyone while they are coughing up a fit, more than likely a lot of people are going to die.

And we have to remember, while of course the Chem-Barons are people. They are very dangerous, and they are not good for Zaun either. We see Sevika trying to stop their turf wars because they are ripping Zaun apart. And this section of lyrics for Suckers put it quite plainly as Jinx is walking through the fracturing Undercity-

"Dirty little animals You cannibals, eat your supper One by one, all these vultures keep coming"

As we are given scenes of them destroying each other. These are violent, greedy, evil people ripping their home apart.

Something we should also address is that at least Chross (if not the other barons) has forced child labor somewhere in his organization. We see them being taken during the Suckers montage. So, does this mean if there were children in a base that got hit with the grey then they did as well?

Yes it certainly does. But keeping in mind that the alternative is for Enforcers who don't care who they hurt wielding hex-tech weapons to storm these bases shooting shooting at will, what is the better option for these kids? The Grey, or a bullet?

The show does not acknowledge using The Grey, she faces no consequences for it, and when Vi calls her out it is for Ambessa, not for her actions in Zaun

Okay, so this is kind of the wrap up regarding The Grey. So in review:

1. No in-canon evidence of being fatal from their use 2. It was used in the most controlled fashion they could 3. The alternative to the strike team was a full invasion, and the alternative to The Grey within the strike team was active and likely much more deadly fighting 4. The people they did target were dangerous, well armed, and posed a threat to everyone's safety

So what does all that mean?

It means that the use of The Grey, is not wrong for the reasons people have made it out to be. Not in this instance. Let's return to just the small bit of lyrics from "Hellfire"-

"Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason? Is it bad that I'm making friends with my demons"

Putting Jinx aside because her dynamic with Caitlyn is obviously much more complicated, the strike team's goals are good for everyone. Shimmer is a blight on Zaun. Ekko himself says so. And we have already covered the barons. Removing these things is undeniably good for Zaun. And with the alternative being an invasion or what would clearly be much more deadly fighting, I genuinely cannot fathom a way in which they could have done this better. What they are doing, is not the issue. It's why.

Caitlyn doesn't lead a strike team into Zaun to liberate the people of The Undercity from these threats that Piltover's negligence and abuse have allowed to flourish. That would be another issue entirely. She is there chasing her hate, her rage, and her need for revenge, and she doesn't see it because she can justify it under doing "the right thing". She doesn't see that its "for the wrong reason". And therefore is leading her down a darker and darker path, no matter how many lives it saved.

Something of note: Ekko is still in Zaun when this is going on. Now, I saw a post recently that suggested the writers left him out simply because they didn't want to address the fact that he would have to fight Vi and Caitlyn if he was present in these scenes. However, as stated I am more inclined to analyze the story I was given. Therefore, if you consider all the evidence I have presented, and that Ekko had not yet vanished to the AU, what is the only logical result? He at the very least tacitly approved. Because he was such a champion for his people, if this was all truly so terrible, I think we can agree he would have been in their business immediately.

So regarding your complaint, I would say my response is that The Grey isn't what she has to apologize for. That's why it isn't a focal point moving forward. Especially from Vi who was there beside her.

You disagree with my oversimplification of Jinx, Silco and Sevika-

So actually I can answer this one fairly easily. You are 100% correct. My sort of quick and dirty list of the actions of these three characters was exactly that. It lacked the detail it should have had. And given that one of things I have addressed frequently is the lack of context to Caitlyn's actions many people to demonize her unfairly, that was wrong of me. Your closing to statement to this section is one I agree with entirely-

"But what I am saying is if you want to say Caitlyn is complex then you have to admit that Silco, Sevika, and Jinx are as well."

In closing before your comments to me you revisit the topic of Caitlyn's consequences-

You see her consequences as for going against Ambessa only, not for her actions in Zaun or for hurting Vi

You don't love how the writers handled her character and story

You share a quote you agree with- "they wanted the aesthetic of a person gone down the wrong path while still making them seem good in their eyes'

Regarding Consequences:

Well as we have discussed this may just be one of those things we feel differently about. I think if you were looking for "eye for an eye" transactional sort of punishment that isn't what this story is.

But, I will try to give a clear list of what I see as consequences of her actions. I'll leave it to you to decide what heading they belong under. Keeping in mind of course that some of things are more nebulous in definition, such as long term mental health impact, but I feel that in a show like Arcane it is reasonable to assume these characters would experience such things.

Immense physical injuries: Fight against Ambessa

Immense guilt: All of it. As we established because she says in plain english, she hates herself. And if you really think about how this spiderwebs into everything that has happened there will likely be a part of Caitlyn that NEVER stops punishing herself for this

They almost lost the fight until Zaun showed. And Zaun initially didn't show yes because of their history but also because of the occupation

Mental trauma like you wouldn't believe: I mean take your pick, but the woman she was sharing a bed with while Vi was gone almost murdered her

Now, I see all of that as consequences of her mistakes and decisions in season two. Listed below is the Miriam Webster definition of consequence.

Now, I don't post that to be an arrogant jerk. I know you know what a consequence is. I post it because more and more I am getting the impression that many fans who feel as you do are looking for this:

And again, if that is how you feel, that is your prerogative. But the way I view the events that unfold, she will be living with the consequences of her actions for the rest of her life. And if you are looking for punishment, from who?

As stated, everything she did was entirely lawful. Now I am of course not saying that makes it okay. Far from. But she acted completely and totally within the bounds of the rules and laws set by this shows world. So there is no judicial punishment to be meted out.

And if you are looking for the other sort of punishment- retribution , then from whom?

Vi- Vi loves her. And Vi is also aware that Caitlyn spared Jinx's life at Vi's pleading and her entire life was ripped apart. Vi is also aware of what it feels like to lose control in a terrible moment and hurt someone you love (By the way I'm not one of those people equating Caitlyn hitting Vi to Vi hitting Powder. Clearly the actions of children versus adults, just saying Vi knows how that feels). Vi also saw who Caitlyn was before she lost her way. The same Caitlyn who saved her life repeatedly, and who comforted her after the fight on the bridge. The same Caitlyn who helped save Vander at the drop of a hat and who let Vi free her mother's killer, because she loves Vi more than she hates her.

Zaun- Regarding the grey, we have discussed that. As far as I'm concerned Caitlyn removed terrible threats from the streets of Zaun. Now talking about the occupation and Martial Law does Caitlyn owe a debt to Zaun? Of course. But Caitlyn's debt is not Piltover's. She shouldn't have to shoulder the last however many years of oppression and negligence because that nothing to do with her. The worst deeds of the occupation were done without her knowledge and away from her eyes. She was manipulated and used by an extremely intelligent and calculating war monger who stoked the conflict for her own designs. It doesn't excuse her letting herself be blinded to it for the sake of her vengeance. But she was hardly the head of the snake either.

And in closing regarding consequence or punishment, I'll say this. I know her near-death was because she fought Ambessa. But let's not forget what a victory for Ambessa and Viktor meant. Viktor intended to evolve all of humanity. Caitlyn willingly put her life on the line, and almost lost it, for a battle that mattered to the future of Zaun just as much as Piltover. And when it was all said and done,(although I acknowledge we never really get the specifics on how it works in terms a new councilor being chosen) Caitlyn doesn't sit in her mother's old seat. A Zaunite does.

You don't love how the writers handled it:

Nothing for this one that is entirely your right

"they wanted the aesthetic of a person gone down the wrong path while still making them seem good in their eyes"

So it's hard to dig too much into another person's quote. But I have seen something to the effect going around so I think I understand.

There has been a lot of commentary lately essentially saying it's like they were unwilling to commit to Caitlyn's villainous arc. That by continuing to use plot points and scenes that show her in a sympathetic light, they failed to stick the landing regarding her "turn to the dark side"

If (And I do mean if because this is someone else's quote and I don't want to put words in your mouth) that is what you mean I just cannot see it.

You yourself clearly outline Caitlyn as a good person in season one. So the way I see it:

Good person in season one + Conflicted person who makes mistakes in season two= Conflicted good person who makes mistakes.

They don't fully commit to her being a villain, because she never was one.

WRAP UP:

Good god I'm obnoxious. I feel like this is somehow even longer. I'm really sorry lol. Anyway, I really appreciate you for being willing to engage and discuss. If you are done I totally get it but I'd love to keep on if you are up for it. I'm genuinely enjoying the chance for some good respectful debate. Thank you for your time.