#and once the plot lost the plot

[violent-viscera]

okay, so most definitely an unpopular opinion considering the amount of caitlyn fans/stans (in addition to fans solely bc of caitvi) but i wanted to articulate my thoughts on her s2.

firstly, i loved the idea of her character in s1. along with jayce, i understand that they were both fundamentally flawed due to inherent, latent prejudices that they held against zaunites. they often misspoke and stepped out of line when speaking to ppl like vi and viktor just on the basis of their privilege of being born piltovan.

but it was interesting to see how their good hearts and intentions led them to being forced to face their troubled and unfair prejudices. of course, i didn't agree with how they viewed zaunites, but i was rooting for them to become spearheads of change and reform.

anyway, i digress to where i am now where i am feel incredibly disappointed by the writing of her character.

i love a good villainess and was actually quite excited to see where her fascist arc would take her. it would be such a diametric, polar opposite of her character in s1 where she was slowly beginning to see piltover's role in the systematic oppression of zaun.

it would've been compelling to see her become completely lost to her grief and rage and the message behind how the repercussions of cataclysmic calamity that she and jinx cause as mirrors of one another would've been interesting (ie. jinx shooting a rocket launcher at the council in her loss of silco vs. caitlyn gassing innocent civilians in a bid to discover jinx after losing her mother)

but again, the writing didn't do much for me in the way of caitlyn or her mother in s2 in so many different ways.

i understand that there are nuances and complexities in difficult mother-daughter relationships and i understand caitlyn has every right to grieve. but her grief is not parallel to the grief of vi or jinx or any other zaunite when most of the misfortune that befell zaunite deaths can indirectly stem from the choices made by ppl like cassandra and the council.

yes, cassandra built systems to ensure that the grey did not completely suffocate zaunites. but this still by no means absolves all her other sins in her complacency in the oppression of zaunites–not to mention her attitude towards zaunites or anyone else that she deems "less than"

caitlyn's villain arc was watery and diluted at best. it was initially really interesting to see count caitlyn and her cape step up to the plate under ambessa's encouragement, but by the next episode she was already wavering and uncommitted. it seemed like a pointless route to entertain with how brief it was. and as others mentioned, caitlyn was being a cruel asshole without the direction of ambessa with the usage of chemical warfare.

caitlyn's choices had very little repercussions throughout the season. she hits vi with a rifle and turns her back on her and is basically instantly forgiven. she performs chemical warfare and her guilty conscience is the only real consequence she faces. she loses her eye in a fight, yes, but it is also a battle she invited when she accepted tutelage under ambessa to sustain a fascist regime. she makes it blatantly clear that she accepts vi bc she views vi as an entity separate of the rest of the animals of zaun and there isn't really any content that implies these views have changed or that there will be any reform imminent for enforcers/piltovan-zaun relations aside from reluctantly allowing Sevika a spot on the council

i dont even want to get into how vi become completely a shell of the amazing, compelling character she was in s1 and how the heart and soul of the show (the sisters' rs) was essentially abandoned to make caitvi happen rather than rly considering the optics and pragmatism of having an oppressed, falsely imprisoned, vulnerable zaunite being with an enforcer without due sensitivity and consideration of what needs happen to make caitvi happen in a sensible fashion.

i just feel like by the end of the show, caitlyn ends up right where she started where she's a privileged piltovan living her cushy life with no repercussions. there was no real reason to write her as an empathetic character, struggling with what she knew as a piltovan vs. what she sees when she is with vi down in zaun, bc in the end, the empathy did nothing to change how she treated zaunites or how her enforcers operate on the day-to-day.

and i actually think if the writers didn't try to play caitvi off as being a healthy, beautiful representation of a lesbian relationship instead of toxic one marred by power imbalances, it would've been a compelling and tragic message.

TLDR: i think many ppl have expressed their disappointment in how vi (and jinx) were written in s2, but i also think the writers did a terrible job in writing caitlyn as well.

[katsinspats]

Tragic: Guy you based your entire villain backstory on doesn't even remember you

[truuskn]

Spotlight: Jazz is peak Prowl being able to comfort Jazz even though Jazz doesn't want to open up about how he's feeling and Prowl completely respects that

i love their dynamic so much here and in "all hail megatron", it's such a shame that their connection ended up being completely forgotten in the rest of idw series... reading "optimus prime" and coming across that one frame, observing what we have had and lost because the authors couldn't keep in mind how and who they were writing... it actually hurts

you guys. you guys! why are you doing this to us. why is it so hard for you to keep track on your story!! why do we have to see their relationship... fall apart?? without a decent look at it?? somewhere out there, in the background?? we're just left with the fact that they are over or maybe never even were there in the first place

prowl and jazz had so much potential at some point of idw history. the way how well they worked together despite all the difficulties, how sincerely prowl supported jazz even though he remained very closed off and aloof the whole time, how he really tried to be a good loyal friend, respected jazz's personal boundaries, didn't push, didn't go too far with his concern, didn't except anything in return and was just there to help... a rare bright moment for this version of my poor boy :'D

there were so many opportunities to develop this further, to show how they could exist in the new cybertronian future for which they had gone through so much hardship, how could they fight all the problems that were coming down on them, together, exactly as it was on earth. but, alas, we have to accept that they were quickly brushed aside and forgotten. a little time passes and they become strangers. forever. their entire bond is just erased. because that's how idw works with their characters...

[eye-crescented]

No act of charity goes unresented

[froggerland]

Divine vision struck again but I fear my mortal hands couldn't do it justice again (there's literally like,, 3 scenes of them together)

[beaulesbian]

ONE PIECE ep. 1107 || "What's wrong, Luffy?"

& ch. 1075

[mayordea]

trick & treat, and a happy halloween! the final prompt for @lurkamargarine's vsynthtober prompt list! wanted to put all my eggs in this one lol. completed on 10/29, would only be fitting to wait to post it~

[professorsta]

To be The Chosen One and lose

wild play by the fates

[sporesgalaxy]

in my dream last night they released a bill cipher themed soda called Decipher and I tried to go get some but insane wacky nonsense kept interrupting me before I could. I mean the nonsense had to do with the plot of the rest of the dream but it just kept showing up at the exact moment that I was about to get my soda. Ive just remembered the plot of the rest of the dream was that all of the straw hat piratds were there at tbis theme park we were in and some other group of pirates were trying to bully nico robin. the other pirate group was goth btw. their captain almost died from getting splashed with acid (by nico robin) (it was justified). But I didnt see that happen bc really I was mostly focused on getting my dumb soda.

[w1ld-wr1t3r]

I'm not even 15 minutes into rewatching Interstellar and I think there is a chance my imagination is running wild again . . .

I have at least half a loose fic plot already hELP.

[torchickentacos]

I figured it out, you're the designated sitcom B plot character. Like that post about how the B plots are always stuff like "found $100 on the ground" and "a bird is very here"? That's you. You have fun escapades like "my favorite Chinese restaurant keeps sending me giant cups of sauce" and "I had to figure out where to buy a pig fetus" and "spent six hours getting a woodpecker out of my garage" that's sitcom B plot character shenanigans. Kudos honestly.

Oh my god you're right 😭 and I've had several "A bird is very here" situations somehow, actually??? There was the woodpecker in my garage in mid-june and I spent hours trying to get it to leave, there's the neighbor's chicken that gets loose, like, every morning in the summer somehow (I have chased this chicken down the street several times, and she was being a chatty girlie this morning), and there's been numerous injured birds I've caught for the local wildlife center (my mom and I used to be on-call for animal transports, but we stopped for H5N1).

Bonus bird pictures for the birds that are Very Here :)

[foundnthestars]

every time i sit down to write a stan & dip pov chapter it's like half plot/half dip just crashing the fuck out but i've gotta remember this is the poor kid's like absolute worst case scenario unfolding in real time so it's just the way its gotta be

[saintcarrionn]

yes the made-up war torn country thing was annoying and it WAS massively out of character for yu-yeon to be like hey yknow my wife of three years who has repeatedly risked her life for me under extreme circumstances including but not limited to crashing multiple cars? yeah i'm gonna leave her on her own for six months and disappear without saying a word and go do vigilante war hero shit in this made-up country. and nothing about this plan is gonna backfire bro promise 🙏 and then get surprised that she would a) be upset that he disappeared, b) decide to take matters into her own hands and travel to a warzone to find him and finally c) get kidnapped. one thing this man has GOT to know by now abt hee joo is she will be getting kidnapped. she'll get herself out of it fine sure but she Will very much be kidnapped. it just happens to her girl can't catch a break. supremely kidnappable human

BUT. all of this is forgiven for the simple facts of baek yu-yeon's arms in that one jungle scene and the shot of park do-jae at the end. in true makjang fashion nothing makes sense and all of it compels me

[stebbinsgreyhoundfursuit]

How reading Baker,Mcrives,& Stebbins all die in direct secession to each other & Garratys varying reactions (somber acceptance & the purest greif & sadness for what precious thing was lost & what coudve been, what shoudve been ; Denial, Barganing, & a far too late desprate defiance like no other gone as soon as it was gained & he was lost; simple confusion followed by the only thing that could fall on garraty after so many losses: numbness .) Felt 🤕🤕🤕....

[magnetic-regent-magneto]

🎉

[jadeandquartzes]

something with exu calamity and 43 perhaps? 👀

"My dress was not made for stairs," Patia says petulantly. She can't see if Nydas reacts to the comment; he's at least twenty steps ahead of her, already vanishing around the next bend of the spiraling passage. Only the faint clinking sound of gold beads is proof that he hasn't abandoned her entirely. "This is terrible. This is the worst. This is why I prefer to teleport places. Are we there yet?"

"Aren't you hundreds of years of age?" Nydas muses. "Yet you're still so impatient. You should work on that, Archmage."

Ah, so he can hear her. Phenomenal. Patia rolls her eyes to the heavens and wonders if the gods are laughing. It seems like they'd get a kick out of this whole situation. "Are you calling me old now, Nydas? Very grown-up. Very endearing."

"Well, if the shoe fits...."

"Oh, shut up," Patia says. She winces as she realizes it's the same exasperated tone she tends to deploy with members of the Ring of Silver when they talk over her in meetings, or with disrespectful councilmen who yawn through her arcane presentations.

But Nydas just laughs - a friendly sound, warm and low, inclusive of her instead of barbed at her heart. It echoes off the tower walls like a peal of thunder. Something twists beneath her collarbone. The sensation is sharp, but not entirely painful.

"Almost there, Archmage," he says, and has the audacity to somehow make it sound gallant. "I promise, it'll be worth it."

A few moments later, his words become true. Patia steps out onto the top of the tower, lifting her emerald skirts around her ankles. She has to shield her eyes with one hand from the sudden blaze of afternoon light. The Sorcerer's University is located at one of the highest points in all of Avalir, directly north of the falls that bear her family's name. It's so high up that from the top of this belltower, the rest of the city isn't even visible.

Instead, Patia is treated to an endless expanse of clouds, a vast white ocean that eddies out in every direction. Rainbows glimmer in the far distance, catching every facet of the afternoon sun. Far below, she can catch glimpses of the university courtyard, lined with blossoming trees and red-brick dormitories.

Signs of construction are visible all around her, which makes sense. The last stone was laid on this belltower barely a week ago. The expensive marble beneath her heels is still slick with rain from the storm this morning. It's jadestone; Nydas must have imported it from Vasselheim. He's spent so much money to build this place. He acts like it's nothing whenever it comes up in council meetings though, downplaying the costs and shrugging off the labor.

Patia realizes, belatedly, that he must be doing so in order to keep it safe from politics. From interference. If he wanted to, he could levy the university in every city meeting, couldn't he? It would be a fantastic bargaining chip for Avalir's Guildmaster. But he doesn't want to do that. He actually wants to build something real up here.

Hmm. What a curious thought.

When she turns around, Nydas is lounging on the ground, heedless of the puddles. His boots are kicked up onto the outer wall. He's flipped down a pair of bifocal tinted lenses onto his nose to shield his eyes from the sun. It's disarmingly attractive. Worst of all, he doesn't even seem to notice the fact. What a terrible man. She really must stop learning to like him. It can't be good for her health.

"Do you like the view?" he says. "Highest point of the city, as of five days ago."

For some reason, he's lowered his voice down to a whisper, which is oceans away from its normal outlandish boom. Patia picks up her skirts and lowers herself to sit beside him.

"Why are we whispering, Nydas?"

"Classes are in session," Nydas says with a grin. "They officially started this morning. Sound carries, Archmage! We wouldn't want to disturb the children learning their first cantrips."

"Oh, cantrips." Patia puts a mocking twist on the word. "Shouldn't they know those already? I'm quite certain I was born with the ability to cast Dancing Lights."

"Not all of us can be so lucky, Archmage," Nydas says. He winks at her. "Some of us have to claw our way up. Don't begrudge them too much. After all, they're not yet as skilled as you."

Damn it, there he goes again! Using her proper title. Respecting her. Not rising to the bait. Terrible, terrible man. She can't believe they're going to be colleages.

"No one is," she says with a prim little sniff, just to regain a scrap of self-image in this whole mess. This whole strange, lovely mess, where they're sneaking onto rooftops like schoolchildren and giggling about it like lovers. Perish the thought. "No one will ever be as skilled as me. I am unparalleled, Guildmaster. Don't you forget it."

"Oh, I won't," Nydas says. "And I most certainly agree. The Archmage Por'co is the finest of us all."

He flicks his wrist, and suddenly, there's a glass goblet in his hand, seemingly out of nowhere. It's half-full with glittering golden wine. He passes her a matching one, and raises his own cup in a toast. His eyes are sparkling - humor, certainly, but no mockery. Damn it, damn it. She really doesn't want to like him.

It seems, unfortunately, that that ship might have just sailed.

She raises her cup, and clinks glass against glass. This is neither the time nor the place for sentimentality.

"Much appreciated, Guildmaster. I suspect we'll make an excellent team."