#linking for easy access in the source !!

[jaeyxns]

Jake ◦ Daebak Show S3 Ep. 12

[batsplat]

love all the archival work! one question, sometimes (indeed most times) when i google certain quotes to find the source article, google cannot find anything. this quote from vale for example:

"In 2014, I and the others were "bombarded" with questions about Marquez. So I understood even more what my opponents must have felt in the past, because a rider never wants to talk about his rivals. It's also true, However, this is how the world of sport goes: people want to hear about the number one. Marquez now has the same media pressure that I had in the past."

the screenshot you provided is very clear and yet i cannot trace the words to anything whatsoever! and unfortunately this has happened enough times that i kind of have to ask… should i use a different search engine? or are there journal archives your frequent? and no hurries whatsoever i know this is a big ask… but i would appreciate any help!

oh this one's quick to answer haha I didn't even need to consult my notes - the article's here! the reason it doesn't come up immediately in search engines is that the original article was in italian, so I just threw the first sentence into google translate and. voila

I try to stick to the habit of providing sources and if I made that ranch post now, I would have properly put a list of sources at the bottom of the post lol. if you can't find a quote through a search engine, it's going to generally be for one of the following reasons:

the quote is from an article in a different language, typically italian or spanish (the german publication speedweek also gets used semi-regularly)

the quote is from a book, which I DO try to be extra diligent in providing a citation for that reason

the quote is from an article that is no longer available on the internet. it might be in my notes because I copied it there and, if I'm smart, I will have made sure I can still access the article using the wayback machine (which is sometimes what I use to find things in the first place). if I'm not smart, then my doc becomes the last reservoir of lost knowledge I suppose

the quote is transcribed from a video/podcast

I should also say that my notes aren't perfect since... well, most of them have existed a lot longer than me starting to blog on tumblr about motogp. there is just stuff I'll quickly pull from my lil mind maps or whatever when I post, which is where the 'being too lazy to give a source' thing sometimes comes in. when it's english language articles I'm not too bothered because I know people can find it pretty quickly with the use of a search engine if they are thus inclined; with the other stuff I'm trying to be more diligent. but yeah, unfortunately for three of those there's no great fix - the language one is the only one I can recommend. which, btw, if you're looking to do your own motogp research, this one is absolutely invaluable. there is a lot of stuff I've only found because I started searching for stuff using italian and spanish keywords. hope that helps!

[echoekhi]

I’m Declaring War Against “What If” Videos: Project Copy-Knight

What Are “What If” Videos?

These videos follow a common recipe: A narrator, given a fandom (usually anime ones like My Hero Academia and Naruto), explores an alternative timeline where something is different. Maybe the main character has extra powers, maybe a key plot point goes differently. They then go on and make up a whole new story, detailing the conflicts and romance between characters, much like an ordinary fanfic.

Except, they are fanfics. Actual fanfics, pulled off AO3, FFN and Wattpad, given a different title, with random thumbnail and background images added to them, narrated by computer text-to-speech synthesizers.

They are very easy to make: pick a fanfic, copy all the text into a text-to-speech generator, mix the resulting audio file with some generic art from the fandom as the background, give it a snappy title like “What if Deku had the Power of Ten Rings”, photoshop an attention-grabbing thumbnail, dump it onto YouTube and get thousands of views.

In fact, the process is so straightforward and requires so little effort, it’s pretty clear some of these channels have automated pipelines to pump these out en-masse. They don’t bother with asking the fic authors for permission. Sometimes they don’t even bother with putting the fic’s link in the description or crediting the author. These content-farms then monetise these videos, so they get a cut from YouTube’s ads.

In short, an industry has emerged from the systematic copyright theft of fanfiction, for profit.

Project Copy-Knight

Since the adversaries almost certainly have automated systems set up for this, the only realistic countermeasure is with another automated system. Identifying fanfics manually by listening to the videos and searching them up with tags is just too slow and impractical.

And so, I came up with a simple automated pipeline to identify the original authors of “What If” videos.

It would go download these videos, run speech recognition on it, search the text through a database full of AO3 fics, and identify which work it came from. After manual confirmation, the original authors will be notified that their works have been subject to copyright theft, and instructions provided on how to DMCA-strike the channel out of existence.

I built a prototype over the weekend, and it works surprisingly well:

On a randomly-selected YouTube channel (in this case Infinite Paradox Fanfic), the toolchain was able to identify the origin of half of the content. The raw output, after manual verification, turned out to be extremely accurate. The time taken to identify the source of a video was about 5 minutes, most of those were spent running Whisper, and the actual full-text-search query and Levenshtein analysis was less than 5 seconds.

The other videos probably came from fanfiction websites other than AO3, like fanfiction.net or Wattpad. As I do not have access to archives of those websites, I cannot identify the other ones, but they are almost certainly not original.

Armed with this fantastic proof-of-concept, I’m officially declaring war against “What If” videos. The mission statement of Project Copy-Knight will be the elimination of “What If” videos based on the theft of AO3 content on YouTube.

I Need Your Help

I am acutely aware that I cannot accomplish this on my own. There are many moving parts in this system that simply cannot be completely automated – like the selection of YouTube channels to feed into the toolchain, the manual verification step to prevent false-positives being sent to authors, the reaching-out to authors who have comments disabled, etc, etc.

So, if you are interested in helping to defend fanworks, or just want to have a chat or ask about the technical details of the toolchain, please consider joining my Discord server. I could really use your help.

------

See full blog article and acknowledgements here: https://echoekhi.com/2023/11/25/project-copy-knight/

[nattikay]

There are lots of resources out there! 😸 When it comes to creating names, or transliterating existing ones like Lyle, the thing you'll probably want to look into most is alphabet and syllable structure. This video is a good introduction to the Na'vi alphabet, and the Horen (big reference document that compiles all currently known Na'vi grammar) has this flow chart for making valid syllables!

If the chart is a little confusing, don't worry; Karyu Olly also has this excellent beginner-friendly Name Guide that explains all of it with lots of examples!

And of course, if you're looking to learn more about the language, I have a bunch more nifty resources linked in this post, including dictionaries, video lessons, and workbooks! 😸

Lyle? Nah, Ly'al!

I have wanted to do a Recom-coded playthrough of Frontiers of Pandora for a long time now. Modeling game characters after myself or fictional characters that I like is something like a hobby for me, from Skyrim to Sims - and now in my favorite game ever, I've brought my favorite Recom to the western side of Pandora. Sorry, Quaritch stans. Lyle Wainfleet has that "FTW" tattoo for a reason. I like to think it means "For the Win." Beyond using the in-game customization(limited but still good) to match my Sarentu's features as closely as I can to Lyle's, playing around with shadows and lighting in photo mode helps to highlight what makes them look similar. It is a fun little way to kill time, take cool pictures, or start a fresh playthrough.

[sunderwight]

Okay, concept:

Luo Binghe grew up very poor prior to arriving to QJP. And when he first got to QJP, he was ostracized and neglected. So there are probably a lot of phrases, terms, and ideas that he didn't know were things until SY arrived and started actually teaching him. Right? So the bulk of what he did learn, he learned directly from Shen Yuan's own slightly messy attempts to fake ancient scholarly credentials.

Plus, QJP is supposed to be the peak of scholars and well-read, fancy intellectuals, and YQY probably also doesn't know shit about most of that stuff (having also been a former illiterate street child) and of course is incredibly predisposed to take Shen Qingqiu's side on virtually anything. Especially something frivolous or linked to their shared past, such as someone, say Qi Qingqi, accusing Shen Qingqiu of making up a literary reference or "gibberish" word. If something Shen Qingqiu says is something no one else seems to know, that just proves he's more worldly and well-read than the rest of his peers. Also, Shang Qinghua will probably know it, and despite his many (many) character flaws, Shang Qinghua reads a lot too. There's really very little to convince a former street child turned Demon Emperor whose former education began and ended with Shen Qingqiu specifically and Meng Mo (wildly out-of-touch with human culture anyway) to suspect that some of the difficult-to-source references his master makes really have no worldly source (in this world).

So Luo Binghe, in his quest to become as knowledgeable of all things about his shizun and keep up with him as well as possible, and maybe also put down some arguments he's overheard once and for all, eventually gets annoyed because CLEARLY there is a wealth of cultural knowledge contemporary to Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua that didn't survive to his own generation. His efforts at hunting down all the sources being referenced and origins of certain philosophical ideas or terminology keep coming up empty in certain departments. He's been over the entire QJP library with a fine-tooth comb, but QJP focuses on things pertaining to cultivation, history, and knowledge. Obviously, there are gaps. The archives are unlikely to keep pop cultural references and lowbrow literature, and Luo Binghe begins to suspect (from what tastes his master seems to share with his shishu) that that is that actual source he's missing.

The trashy yellow books and romance literature of their generation! Bawdy poems and lewd artworks so on! Heck, that's probably even where the shared "code" (bad English) comes into play -- disciples are always trying to sneak forbidden material past their teachers and smuggle naughty books into the dormitories. Knowing Shizun and Shang Qinghua, Luo Binghe honestly wouldn't be surprised if the two of them were racketeering that shit in their own disciple days. Shang Qinghua acquiring materials, Shen Qingqiu acquiring buyers, both of them making their extra spending money off of secretly supplying Cang Qiong's population with contraband fiction and art.

Also, that would explain why both Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua get flustered and refuse to elaborate if someone asks them what this or that strange turn of phrase refers to. Shen Qingqiu has a very thin face for actually discussing erotica, and Shang Qinghua doesn't like being caught doing illegal shit.

Luo Binghe desperately needs access to trash lit that's older than he is. However, most of that stuff is not printed to last, and turning it up is like trying to find old Spirk zines without the internet.

Shang Qinghua, the obvious go-to source, also seems to not really have anything that old anymore (intimidating him is laughably easy, if he had anything he would have coughed it up by the second or third time Luo Binghe asked and frowned at the same time), and if Shen Qingqiu did have anything he wouldn't want to be questioned about it. Asking too much might even get it destroyed in an act of excessive embarrassment.

Which means there is just one other person Luo Binghe knows who might be able to lead him to some sources. One other person he is absolutely, 100% certain was extensively reading trashy literature around the same time that Shizun was a young man. Someone who would know where to go to even begin looking for it.

Luo Binghe is going to have to ask Tianlang Jun for help with something.

[arcanistsanctum]

‎‎​‌‏‏. Reverse:1999 Resource Guide

These are links to some of the archives, lorecrafters and guidemakers that I follow and regard highly for their expertise, dedication, and contributions to the community. Making this list is also for my convenience.

If you know other sources, please share them! I will edit the post and add them here. Maybe one day I will also contribute to transcripts on a separate blog. We don't have enough of such precious records for a heavily lore and story-based game! Feel free to share your lorecrafting website/blog/channel too!

Archives

Websites/Blogsites

Huiji (CN) - CN Fanwiki, written in CN, with consistent updates. Really goated. Gamekee (CN) - Another CN Fanwiki, also written in CN. Some pages may not be updated. Arcanist Sanctum (Global) - That's us! R1999 Logs (Global) - Has some main, event and anecdote story transcripts. Reverse: 1999 Wiki (Global) - EN Fanwiki. They may be behind on working through some profiles, records and transcripts. UTTU Merui (Global and CN) - The website is also WIP. But it is shaping to contain news (including EN translations for CN updates), character profiles, story transcripts, music list, timeline, and I believe recorded CGs too.

Repositories

Myssal's Assets Repository (CN) - In-game assets. It has everything. Myssal just that goated. reverse 1999 png (CN) - PNGs/cutouts telegram. Russian language but you can use character tags by clicking on pinned message. They accept requests, but you probably will have to ask them in Russian. Their cutouts can be accessed and downloaded by going through post comments. Posts with arrows. reverserenders (Global) - official art renders tumblr blog. They accept requests!

Documents

Abyss_Idiot's links (Global) - Transcripts, archives and general lore. Actually lots of records done by several Discord members. May not be updated. As of making this list, I haven't seen anything from 2.0 onwards.

Youtube

八咫烏_Merui (CN & Global) - Event and main story playthroughs without commentary Reverse: 1999 Timekeeper (Global) - They have everything recorded. And I mean everything. Reverse 1999 Archive (Global) - On hiatus (?), they pretty much covered event and main stories up to Notes on Shuori.

Lorecrafting & Story Analysis

Youtube

Apeironite - Pretty chill format. Interesting in-depth analyses. As of now, I don't know any other YT content creator who tackles on game lore as much as he has. FructoseTolerant - While there have yet many Reverse:1999 character analysis content in her channel, once she does post one, it's really good. I recommend watching and listening to her thoughts!

Guidemakers

Websites/Blogsites

Prydwen (CN & Global) - Tierlists, psychube recs and character guides Gnomon (Global) - I am in-love with this website tbh. Has all character information, including sprites! Effect descriptions, material sources and descriptions, resonance build (up to R15), psychube recs, team recs, and very easy to follow guide on how to play each character + rotations! Also has information on series of dusks artefacts and mechanics, reveries in the rain guides, and tips for mane's bulletin! GAAAAAHHH!

Documents

Discord Community Tierlist (CN) - Tierlists, calculators, builds. Likely where most of the global theorycrafting started. bluforest's Scuffed Page for Recommended Resonance Layouts (CN) - Also has resonance codes! Spiritzhl's Unit Build Guide (CN) - Psychubes, resonance, portrays, reveries and euphoria info, critter rehabilitation guide. Arcalive Reverse 1999 (outdated) - Written in KR. Resonance and psychube recommendations, calculators.

Youtube

Jakazin (CN & Global) - Comprehensive character guides Devibul (CN) - Puzzle guides, character showcases Destroth (Global) - Comprehensive character guides, showcases

Useful Tools

Kornblume (CN & Global) - Character planning and summoning history Closure++ (CN) - Planning and calculations, and written in CN. Here's MaTeIriA's guide to using it if you can't understand CN like me. It does have a built-in EN language option but it doesn't work for me. I don't know if it works for you. Depending on your device, you may also have to zoom out to see the entire page. Timekeeper (Global) - Summon tracking

[yolkochan]

How @tigreblvnc Gains Engagement from Artists Without Proper Credit (19/2/25)

Helloo, it’s Yoko (@yolkochan), and I’m an artist in the bllkblr community. I believe in the importance of properly crediting creators, not just for ethical reasons but because artists deserve recognition for their work. 

Unfortunately, there are people who consistently repost artwork without giving artists proper credit, benefiting from the engagement while the original creators remain overlooked. This post highlights one such case—@tigreblvnc(Tetsuo/Suo)— who has repeatedly done this more times than I can count.

This problem has been recently brought to my attention by multiple people in this community. As a professional artist myself, I feel a responsibility to call out this pattern and raise awareness about why proper crediting matters. Despite knowing that I may lose some followers due to this post.

(20/2/25 Edit: @tigreblvnc has deleted his blog 5 hours after the release of this post. Sooo….)

I do not condone the harassment of anyone mentioned within this post.

@tigreblvnc is a well-known blogger in the Blue Lock Tumblr community, frequently analyzing characters like Michael Kaiser and reposting fanart. However, his repeated failure to properly credit artists has raised serious concerns. Instead of clearly naming artists in the captions, he relies on small, greyed-out “source” links that are easy to miss. As a result, he continues to gain thousands of likes and reblogs from art that isn’t his—without giving artists the recognition they deserve.

Below are multiple examples demonstrating this pattern.

Evidence of Improper Crediting

Examples of what someone would see when scrolling:

Link to post

Art by ogata69 on X

(underneath this post is literally another art repost lol) 2. Link to post

Art by asamashi288753 on X

Original posts: 1 2

3. Link to post

Art by asamashi288753 on X

Original posts: 1 2

4. Link to post

Art by ttioo14 on X

Original posts: 1 2 3

5. Link to post

Art by eppaya_okoge on X

The original posts of these artworks have been deleted.

This specific case is even more egregious since this artist doesn’t even allow reposts without permission.

In all of these screenshots, he posts their artwork without naming them in the caption.

The only credit is a small “source” text (greyed out as well) that is easy to miss when scrolling. (The link only goes to the profile, not the original post). This shows that this isn’t a one-time mistake but a repeated behavior over multiple posts, these are just a few examples from over 20+ similar instances. His top posts are almost all art reposts.

With at least 20+ instances, it’s hard to believe it’s purely accidental. 

Whether intentional or not, this kind of crediting prioritizes his own engagement over actually giving artists the recognition they deserve. If he genuinely didn’t realize, now he knows- and if he keeps doing it, that’s a choice.

Common concerns:

1. “He’s not making money off it, what’s the harm??”

Engagement is a form of profit. If his top posts are all art reposts, he’s gaining a following, likes, and influence off other people's work.

Engagement stays on his post, not the artist’s — when a repost gets thousands of likes while the original post goes unnoticed, the artist loses visibility and recognition.

2. “He did credit the artist, see? The source is right there!”

A hidden, greyed-out link isn’t real credit and  people won’t click the source - the link is small, greyed-out, and easy to miss while scrolling. If the artist’s name isn’t visible in the caption, many won’t bother checking. Proper credit means making the artist’s name visible and easily accessible. 

If people need to dig through tiny text to find the source, it’s not actual recognition—just plausible deniability.

On another note, he didn’t actually credit it himself, it was an automatic attachment by Tumblr which can be explained better here by @feathers-little-nest .

3.  “He’s just sharing art he likes! It’s not that deep.”

If he really liked and respected the art, he’d want people to find the artist.

Art reposting without proper credit is disrespectful because it reduces an artist’s work to engagement bait.

4. “Not everyone knows how to credit properly!”

Maybe once or twice, but after 20+ posts, he’s had plenty of time to learn.

5. “At least he’s not claiming the art as his own.”

That’s the bare minimum.

Also, multiple people have told me they thought that was his art due to the unclear credit, this can also be seen on the reblogs. And he doesn’t try to correct them.

Now you may be asking, how do I properly credit an artist then?

I will show you in the below examples, but on Tumblr (not cross-platform) I specifically encourage you to never repost someone’s work, just reblog the original post. Always check if the artists allow reposts in the first place in their bio and try to ask for permission before doing so.

Some basics are to mention the artist's name clearly in the caption and linking the original post.

Here’s 2 examples of how to properly credit an artist if you’re reposting them on a different platform.

1.

Art by @rokuii on Tumblr

(please support her!!💗💗)

2. Made by @sunriozz on (X/Tumblr)

also support her too! <3

End Note

This is not only a callout to him but also a callout to the many fanfic writers in this fandom who use fanart/fanedits in their fics (as a cover to grab attention, etc), and other art reposters in this fandom who use Pinterest without crediting the respective artists clearly in the post.

Suo’s repeated failure to credit artists properly is not just an oversight—it’s a pattern that prioritizes his own engagement over the visibility of the original creators. Whether intentional or not, this practice actively harms artists by preventing them from receiving the recognition and support they deserve. Please do not make the same mistakes as he did.

If he genuinely respects artists, he should:

Start clearly crediting artists in the captions, not just in hidden “source” links.

Retroactively update past posts with proper credit.

Refrain from reposting art unless he is willing to credit correctly or have permission from the artist.

There are other skeletons inside his closet and personal matters that I cannot publicly address, but they are worth considering. This post is also the reason why I haven’t been active in a while.

At the end of the day, artists deserve to be credited properly, not used for engagement. If you support artists, follow them directly, engage with their work, and avoid boosting repost accounts that don’t credit correctly.

[tragedynoir]

— server exclusive: DIAL-UP + [ link ]

this template was made possible thanks to my monthly patrons and one-time donors on ko-fi! receive a supporter-exclusive template when you support me there.

a free, semi-mobile friendly five-page google doc template for a cute, minimalist social media platform. it's easy to edit, and every page is easy to duplicate and re-arrange to really make it your own! i started working on this for the server's third creator's sprint, a shell challenge, but finally finished it in time for the holidays!

to access the template, join my discord server (in the link above or in source) and find it under the new releases or templates masterlist channels. enjoy!

feel free to edit as you please, but please do not remove the credit, resell, redistribute or claim as yours whether wholesale, in part, or modified.

if you like my work, a reblog really helps me get this out to more people! ♡

[laosinsin]

"S-Classes That I Raised": A Repository of Translations

What's It About: In a changed world with dungeons, and monsters and Hunters, lowly F-Rank Hunter Han Yoojin gets the chance to turn back time after his estranged younger brother - an elite S-Rank Hunter - Han Yoohyun, dies saving his life.

This time around, starting from before their relationship really worsened, he's determined to make sure he gets the best possible outcomes for himself and his brother, and just live quietly beyond that, but looks that won't be so easy when the world is coming to an end, and now all the S-rank hunters around can't stay away from Yoojin.

(It's not a harem novel (mostly). It's Yoojin and his so so many kids and some friends and some situationships. This cover has quite a few people missing from the cast, tbh, even if it does have all the more key ones. The blond man in the top center - NOT the villain - regardless of this cover lmao)

Where to Read It

There are a lot of chapters and quite a few translations floating around in different stages of doneness, so putting this together for reference, with some latest-as-of-2025 info.

The Original (aka the novel in Korean)

The main story in Korean seems wrapped up and finished as of May 2025. Clocking a whopping 1165 (sweet sweet) Chapters across the Main Story and the 2 Sequels (Side Story and After Story)

Main Story: 856 Chapters + 14 Chapters of an Epilogue

(This is usually available and often considered one complete work of 870 Chapters. Epilogue Chapter 1 is sometimes just Main Story Chapter 857 also)

This is available to read on a whole bunch of sites such as Naver, Kakaopage, Ridibooks, Munpia, both in ebook and chapter form, as well as on more 🏴‍☠️ platforms where knovel raws thrive.

Side Story: 167 Chapters (Completed)

Afterwords: 128 Chapters (Completed)

These are, as of now, Naver exclusive and only available on the most hellish of the websites to buy from if you're not in SK, IMO (i.e. Naver). Hopefully this will change. These are also a bit tough to find raws of on 🏴‍☠️ platforms, ime.

Where to read the Translations!

Main Story Chapters 1 -400: The primary source of translation currently is SFS Translations' version! One needs to contact them for access to their locked/gdocs version (access can take a few days, but generally not more than 3-5 days) This is currently the best and most-up-to-date translation, as far as I know.

Beyond this, we venture into MTL land.

- Main Story Chapters 350 - 870 (aka till the end): Naive_twilight has put together a MTL epub and pdf available for Chapters 350-870 on reddit. While it is MTL, it is pretty decently understandable, IMO. But you would still want to re-read the chapters once they are released in actual translation, because this is a novel with layers and layers of stuff going on in the narration and dialogue. - Side Story Chapters 1-167 (aka complete): Naive_twilight to the rescue again, with an epub MTL file on reddit, updated just a few weeks ago. And that's where we are for now. After Story translation isn't available yet, will update this post, as/when there is something to link.

- Other than the Story itself, the author has also done extensive Q&As, which detail out a ton of worldbuilding and characterization notes, and a great collection/translation of some of them by dbgdbw can be found here on tumblr (uhhh, tumblr post linking to gdocs file?)

Other Misc Translations Under the Cut

As I said, this is a story with a lot of translations out there, and also this is a story with laters of stuff going on in the narration and dialogue, so sometimes it is very fun indeed to read different versions/takes on the same chapter. (And sometimes you just can't wait until you get access to SFS Translation's version, so you start elsewhere while you wait ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

- Chapter 1-330 (330- 350 is Patreon-locked) - MattReading Translations is on Wordpress, and the main/current translation linked on NovelUpdates. This is ongoing, and updates pretty frequently. Pretty decent - I think the flow of translation feels more natural in some earlier bits and gets a bit sloppier in later chapters - but the site is just ad-city central if you're on mobile. - FreeWebnovel - Chapters 1-261, but this seems to be abandoned and last updated 6+ months ago. This is also, I think the version, one will find in epub/PDF files of early chapters if one goes looking, and I think it uses text from older unedited raws, as opposed to the latest ones. And hence misses some pretty key new scenes/moments. So unfortunately, decent epub/pdfs for the early chapters are not currently easily findable. - dbgdbw - Very explanatory and informative translations on tumblr with extensive culture and translation notes for some selected chapters in the 183-350 chapter range, and then a lot of selected chapters all the way to the end. Definitely worth a look, especially if you are into the han-brothers relationship.

I think that's more or less the main versions that are out there, that I am aware of. Will update as and when new things pop up, and also please do let me know if I have missed something which is out there!

(Also thank you and shoutout to sctir who put together a similar post 3 years back, which is what got me started on this journey and helped me find the good stuff beyond the novelupdates entry)

[verstappen100]

An ongoing Daniel Ricciardo video collection ❤️🍯🦡☀️

adding links to vimeo and youtube finds (under the cut, so it'll update reblogs as I add more links over time!)

hello!! This is definitely not a comprehensive list, mostly filing under things that are just new to me as a more recent fan! it's cool when I stumble upon a vid I haven't seen or one I recognize from a gif set! so I'm adding them in a list of links here in case anyone else is curious ❤️ some are like 30 second commercial spots & others are longer interviews, most so far from 2014-2020 🎥🎤✨

okay allons-y!!

Sourced from Vimeo

not chronologically organized (yet!) so I've just added the upload date atm for a date approximation; have yet to look into all the uploading accounts, too, so there is definitely way more out there to see!

📍Update 01-01-2025:

Btw if you click a link in the tumblr app and it shows a tumblr page saying "There's nothing here" sadly many of the vimeo links are not redirecting correctly atm 😭

the videos are still up and available (thankfully!! and they can be found by searching the titles on vimeo [which are listed for each vid before the upload date part below]) but!! I will be making like a Google doc with all the links, since tumblr insists on adding this redirect bologna and I'm not tech savvy enough to know why its not working hehe 🙃 I'll be back this weekend with a fix and the new link list!

lastly here's the link for DR's brand vimeo which also has the overall site search option at the top for easy access 🔍 not linked but copy-and-pastable into Google or Safari etc: https://vimeo.com/user50821531

thanks y'all!! ❤️

update 01-05-2025 I'm sorry y'all!! I have been fighting a fever all weekend 😭 so I have yet to compile everything, but the Google doc with all the working links will be here asap!! ❤️ (update 02-02-2025 omg I'm taking 5ever! Sorry y'all, I've not forgotten, life has been hella busy but I'll be adding all the vimeo links to a file soon!! Thanks for being so patient with me! hope everyone is well!! ❤️)

definitely starting with the dozens of videos on DR's official brand Vimeo (which has the delightful Sunday Night Flights series of casual post-race recaps) link

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen paint Aston Martins in Hosier Lane - Uploaded on Mar 21, 2018 - link

Daniel Ricciardo - T Magazine Aus BTS spot - Uploaded on Jan 14, 2023 - link

Ricciardo, favorito para el GP de Singapur - Uploaded on Oct 25, 2016 - link

Red Bull - Camper Race BEHIND THE SCENES | Max Verstappen und Daniel Ricciardo - Uploaded on May 29, 2017 - link

Red Bull InFrames - Singapore GP with Daniel Ricciardo - Uploaded on Oct 25, 2017 - link

Daniel Ricciardo drives Renault Clio - Uploaded on Jul 24, 2014 - link (ah the image in the collage above is for the other Clio commercial linked below and vice versa!! I got them mixed up when adding screenshots hehe. Pobody's nerfect)

Daniel Ricciardo | Race Service (parallel parking with some slightly haunting editing) - Uploaded on May 22, 2022 - link

Season Break - Daniel Ricciardo - Uploaded on Jan 30, 2020 - link

Daniel Ricciardo x Hilton - Uploaded on Feb 7, 2023 - link

Optus TVC Daniel Ricciardo - Uploaded on Dec 17, 2024 - link

Fox Sports - I Am Daniel Ricciardo (bananas editing /positive) - Uploaded on Apr 9, 2017 - link

ESPN AUSSIES ABROAD: DANIEL RICCIARDO - LIFE IN THE FAST LANE Opener - Uploaded on Apr 21, 2016 (I have yet to watch the full documentary!) - link

ESPN AUSSIES ABROAD- DANIEL RICCIARDO - LIFE IN THE FAST LANE Preview 2 - Uploaded on Apr 21, 2016 - link

Daniel Ricciardo: Uncut (😳🥴 sorry mind in the gutter, this is a longer interview tho!) - Uploaded on Sep 17, 2017 - link

Daniel Ricciardo Feature - Uploaded on Mar 28, 2018 - link

Renault Clio I Ricciardo I Augusto Gimenez Zapiola - Uploaded on Sep 3, 2020 - link

Sky Sports Ident - F1 - Ricciardo - Uploaded on Jan 5, 2018 - link

PIRELLI: DANIEL RICCIARDO P ZERO WORLD - Uploaded on Aug 12, 2016 - link

C4F1 Daniel Ricciardo Interview Australia 2019 - Uploaded on Mar 20, 2019 - link

Daniel Ricciardo_comp_1005 - Uploaded on Dec 11, 2017 - link

Daniel Ricciardo x Artura - Uploaded on Feb 10, 2021 - link

Daniel Ricciardo drives the Triple Eight Project Sandman V8 Supercar - Uploaded on Mar 16, 2016 - link

Red Bull Racing x PUMA USGP Launch at Austin Speed Shop - Uploaded on Mar 7, 2017 - link

TAG Heuer Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 2018 Global Commercial - Uploaded on Jul 12, 2019 - link

Red Bull : One day in the life of Daniel Ricciardo - Uploaded on Apr 15, 2016 - link

Carsales // Celebrity Drive with Daniel Ricciardo - Uploaded on Aug 1, 2023 - link

On_set_with_Daniel_Ricciardo.mov - Uploaded on Nov 22, 2021 - link

Castrol EDGE Daniel Ricciardo Live on The Edge - Uploaded on Jun 4, 2020 - link

Aston Martin Racing - Daniel Ricciardo vs Darren Turner - Uploaded on Dec 17, 2021 - link

Red Bull Racing Daniel Ricciardo Photoshoot - Behind the scenes - Uploaded on Sep 16, 2020 - link

Dan Ricciardo and Alissa Smith - Silverstone 2018 Interview - Uploaded on Apr 14, 2019 - link

YouTube

omg I have yet to properly dive into YouTube! probs this section will just be as I come across things (Vimeo is much more manageable for perusing)

[2017 F1]日本GP ダニエル・リカルド&マックス・フェルスタッペン トークショー Daniel Ricciardo & Max Verstappen's talk show - 10-08-2017 - link

Added 01-01-2025 - Daniel Ricciardo on Malaysian GP - 09-27-2017 - link

Added 01-02-2025 - Q & A with Tonio Liuzzi and Daniel Ricciardo - 08-31-2011 - link

Added 01-05-2025 - Trackwalk with Daniel Ricciardo, Korea - 10-17-2011 - link

Added 02-02-2025 - Daniel Ricciardo's "Ultimate F1 Track Layout" interview - 09-22-2016 - link

more to come soon!! ❤️ thank you for stopping by!

[alltimefail]

Agency Assignments: A comprehensive to-do list for saving Dead Boy Detectives!

I'm very easily overwhelmed, so I wanted to break down all the ways to help "Save Dead Boy Detectives" that I have seen floating around. This is meant to be something you can reference when you feel like there is so much you need and want to do to help, but don't know how or where to start.

Note: I will be updating this post as we go when necessary, so feel free to bookmark it in your browser for easy access, add it to your homepage, whatever! I'll always have a link to it in my Pinned Navigation post on my blog as well!

It is of the utmost importance that we fight as an organized, well-informed front. We need to be on the same page if we're going to save our show, so let's get into it! 💜💀🔎

➪ First and foremost, follow @savethedeadboys! They're going to be our best resource during this fight.

➪ Next, follow @deadboyagency for news and updates: they've been around since the show dropped and have been an invaluable source of information the entire time.

Now for some task breakdowns:

"One-Time" Tasks

➪ Like the header says, these things can only be done once. Once you do them, you don't have to give them any space in your mind.

Sign the petition*

Review & Rate Dead Boy Detectives on Google, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes. Be sure on IMDB you don't just rate the show as a whole, but you also rate each individual episode! You can also "Like" the show on Google and click "Watched" which helps the show's engagement scores. (If there are other popular sites I haven't listed here, feel free to share them and rate Dead Boy Detectives highly on them!)

Notify Netflix customer service (through their online chat feature) that you're unhappy with the cancelation of Dead Boy Detectives. This is a short, 5-minute task that I wrote a guide on (with an example message) here!

"Repeat" Tasks:

➪ These tasks can become a part of your daily routine; do what works best for you! You don't have to do every single one of these tasks every day if that is overwhelming!

Share the petition* over and over again, on every one of your socials! Make everyone you love sign it!

Stream Dead Boy Detectives!* Keep it on a loop in the background on low volume as much as possible. Try to get others to stream it as well, especially if they haven't watched it before! Netflix cares about VIEWS: views save shows and I broke down the reasoning here. (Bonus: if you post over on Twitter about your rewatch, use the tag #ReviveDeadBoyDetectives)

Talk about Dead Boy Detectives!* You're probably doing that already, but just be sure that you're tagging your posts. Here on Tumblr use the "Dead Boy Detectives" tag at least (to boost our tag to trending) and anywhere that uses hashtags (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram for example) I would recommend #SaveDeadBoyDetectives and #DeadBoyDetectives as those seem to be the most commonly used tags! IMPORTANT: do not use more than 20 tags here on Tumblr! Any more than 20 and your posts might be marked as spam and hidden from the tags!

Create art, edits for TikTok, fics, gif sets, doodles, crafts, analysis posts, and so on for Dead Boy Detectives.* Having fun is important, too! This is an extension of the "Talk about Dead Boy Detectives" point, but it needs to be stated - don't remove the joy from the fight. If a drawing of our boys or a smutty fic with your favorite trickster cat king is what you can bring to the fight on any given day, that is a perfectly valuable contribution! It's not all emails and hashtags.

Daily request a show through Netflix. Bonus if you're signed in! (I do 3-5 times a day)

Send Emails advocating for Dead Boy Detectives (Email list & Email Template). You can do this as much as you want or just one time.

Send Snail-mail (physical letters) to Netflix advocating for Dead Boy Detectives. I also send a copy of my letters to Warner Bros. Studios. Again, you can do this one time or multiple times. There are dates set aside for "mass" mail sending as well, so check out info on that here!

Interact with articles posted about Dead Boy Detectives. Read them, share them, comment on them, thank the writer for writing them, etc. We want lots of press about the cancellation, and supporting journalists and publications will make them want to write about Dead Boy Detectives more.

NOTE: Anything marked with a * means it's extremely important; if you can only do a few things, these tasks are the ones that you should focus on first. Remember to take care of yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint, so don't burn yourself out!

WE WILL SAVE THIS SHOW.

Say that to yourself as many times as it takes for you to believe it. We're doing this to get justice for the writers, the actors, for ourselves, and assert to these companies that diverse, queer stories are not disposable one-offs; they deserve to be told in full!

Hugs and Handshakes to you all - whatever will suffice. 💜 Always feel free to reach out if you have any questions, whether that be through private message or my ask box. I'm not going anywhere!

- V

[trans-luis-serra-navarro]

Serennedy Pride Week 2025 Announcement!!

[ June 20th - 27th ]

Hello again!! Last year I [ @wisecrackingeric-2 ] hosted #serennedyprideweek in celebration of Pride Month, and since then I’ve had quite a lot of people asking me if I’d do it again this year, and well… here we are!! #SerennedyPrideWeek2025 goes from June 20th - 27th!!

| PROMPTS | RULES |

| AO3 |

—

#SerennedyPrideWeek sits right in the middle of @/chrisker-week [ June 1st - 7th ] and @/puppynivans ‘s Nivanfield Week [ June 29th - July 3rd ], so please be respectful of other shippers if you plan on joining!! Dates may also be subject to change if the events end up clashing. Any inappropriate behaviour towards other shippers will not be tolerated and you will be blocked from the event.

If you need to contact me about the event or have any questions / need accessibility options, please message me on my main @wisecrackingeric-2 as this side blog doesn’t allow messages!! :D I’m the only person running this event, so apologies if it takes me a while to get back to you!!

The FAQ is under the cut for any questions you may have, but I’m mainly setting up this event to uplift and celebrate Queer art & artists during Pride Month, so to anyone who plans on joining; Remember to take care of yourself, Good Luck and Have Fun!!! Happy Pride Month in advance!! :D

((Reblogs are really appreciated, Thank You!! ^^))

—

“How do I join the event?

It’s easy!! All you’ve gotta do is post your submission with the tag #serennedyprideweek2025 and I’ll reblog it!! Just PLEASE pretty please make sure to spell it correctly so I can find it!! :D

“Is it OK if I don’t do all the prompts / if I can only join for one or two days?”

That’s perfectly fine!!! You don’t have to commit to drawing something for every day of the week if you can’t!! This event just just for fun, so don’t feel pressured to make something for every prompt or feel discouraged from joining if you only have time to do one or two of the days!! :D

“Can I combine prompts? How strictly do I have to follow them?”

You can follow the prompts as closely or as little as you’d like!! You’re also more than welcome to merge them or move them to different dates if that suits you better!!

“Will this event be hosted on other sites?”

Nope!! Tumblr is really the only social media I use, but you’re MORE than welcome to post your art/writing etc on other websites!!!

“What mediums are allowed?”

Anything and everything!!!! Art, animation, collages, writing, song fics, edits, traditional art, photography, crafting etc etc etc- go wild!!!! The ONLY mediums I won’t allow are generative AI (this includes character ai conversations) of any kind or art that’s been traced from another artists work/art that’s been traced from a base with no link to the original source.

“Is there anything that ISN’T allowed in this event?”

The ‘Rules’ section linked at the top of the post goes into this a bit more!! I recommend giving it a read :D

[ask-the-prose]

Do Your Research

This phrase is regularly thrown around writeblr and for good reason. It's important to research what you are writing about to know what to include, what can be fudged, and how to depict whatever you're writing. I see "do your research" most thrown around by well-meaning and highly traditionally educated writers. It's solid advice, after all!

But how do you research?

For those writers who don't already have the research skills necessary to write something comfortably already downloaded into your brain, I put this guide together for you.

Where do I even start?

It's a daunting task, research. But the best place to start is with the most basic, stupidest question you can think of. I'm going to talk about something that I already know a lot about: fighting.

When researching fight scenes, a great way to start is to look up what different weapons are. There are tons out there! So ask the stupid questions. What is a sword? What is a gun? How heavy are they?

Google and Wikipedia can help you a lot with these basic-level questions. They aren't great sources for academic articles, but remember, this is fiction. It doesn't need to be perfect, and it doesn't need to be 100% accurate if you don't want it to be. But knowing what is true to life will help you write well. Just like knowing the rules of writing will help you break them.

You may find in your basic research sweep that you have a lot more specific questions. Write them all down. It doesn't matter if they seem obvious. Write them down because they will be useful later.

How To Use Wikipedia Correctly

Wikipedia is a testament to cooperative human knowledge. It's also easy to edit by anonymous users, which means there is a lot of room for inaccuracies and misleading information. Wikipedia is usually pretty good about flagging when a source is needed or when misleading language is obvious, but Wikipedia itself isn't always the most accurate or in-depth source.

Wikipedia is, however, an excellent collection of sources. When I'm researching a subject that I know nothing about, say Norse mythology, a good starting point is the Wikipedia page for Odin. You'll get a little background on Odin's name and Germanic roots, a little backstory on some of the stories, where they appear, and how they are told.

When you read one of the sentences, and it sparks a new question, write the question down, and then click on the superscript number. This will take you directly to the linked source for the stated fact. Click through to that source. Now you have the source where the claim was made. This source may not be a primary source, but a secondary source can still lead you to new discoveries and details that will help you.

By "source-hopping," you can find your way across the internet to different pieces of information more reliably. This information may repeat itself, but you will also find new sources and new avenues of information that can be just as useful.

You mean I don't need a library?

Use your library. Libraries in many parts of the US are free to join, and they have a wealth of information that can be easily downloaded online or accessed via hardcopy books.

You don't, however, need to read every source in the library for any given topic, and you certainly don't need to read the whole book. Academic books are different from fiction. Often their chapters are divided by topic and concept and not by chronological events like a history textbook.

For example, one of my favorite academic books about legislative policy and how policy is passed in the US, by John Kingdon, discusses multiple concepts. These concepts build off one another, but ultimately if you want to know about one specific concept, you can skip to that chapter. This is common in sociological academic books as well.

Going off of my Norse Mythology example in the last section, a book detailing the Norse deities and the stories connected to them will include chapters on each member of the major pantheon. But if I only care about Odin, I can focus on just the chapters about Odin.

Academic Articles and How To Read Them

I know you all know how to read. But learning how to read academic articles and books is a skill unto itself. It's one I didn't quite fully grasp until grad school. Learn to skim. When looking at articles published in journals that include original research, they tend to follow a set structure, and the order in which you read them is not obvious. At all.

Start with the abstract. This is a summary of the paper that will include, in about half a page to a page, the research question, hypothesis, methods/analysis, and conclusions. This abstract will help you determine if the answer to your question is even in this article. Are they asking the right question?

Next, read the research question and hypothesis. The hypothesis will include details about the theory and why the researcher thinks what they think. The literature review will go into much more depth about theories, what other people have done and said, and how that ties into the research of the present article. You don't need to read that just yet.

Skim the methods and analysis section. Look at every data table and graph included and try to find patterns yourself. You don't need to read every word of this section, especially if you don't understand a lot of the words and jargon used. Some key points to consider are: qualitative vs. quantitative data, sample size, confounding factors, and results.

(Some definitions for those of you who are unfamiliar with these terms. Qualitative data is data that cannot be quantified into a number. These are usually stories and anecdotes. Quantitative data is data that can be transferred into a numerical representation. You can't graph qualitative data (directly), but you can graph quantitative data. Sample size is the number of people or things counted (n when used in academic articles). Your sample size can indicate how generalizable your conclusions are. So pay attention. Did the author interview 300 subjects? Or 30? There will be a difference. A confounding factor is a factor that may affect the working theory. An example of a theory would be "increasing LGBTQ resources in a neighborhood would decrease LGBTQ hate crimes in that area." A confounding factor would be "increased reporting of hate crimes in the area." The theory, including the confounding factor, would look like "increasing LGBTQ resources in a neighborhood would increase the reporting of hate crimes in the area, which increases the number of hate crimes measured in that area." The confounding factor changes the outcome because it is a factor not considered in the original theory. When looking at research, see if you can think of anything that may change the theory based on how that factor interacts with the broader concept. Finally, the results are different from the conclusions. The results tell you what the methods spit out. Analysis tells you what the results say, and conclusions tell you what generalizations can be made based on the analysis.)

Next, read the conclusion section. This section will tell you what general conclusions can be made from the information found in the paper. This will tell you what the author found in their research.

Finally, once you've done all that, go back to the literature review section. You don't have to read it necessarily, but reading it will give you an idea of what is in each sourced paper. Take note of the authors and papers sourced in the literature review and repeat the process on those papers. You will get a wide variety of expert opinions on whatever concept or niche you're researching.

Starting to notice a pattern?

My research methods may not necessarily work for everybody, but they are pretty standard practice. You may notice that throughout this guide, I've told you to "source-hop" or follow the sources cited in whatever source you find first. This is incredibly important. You need to know who people are citing when they make claims.

This guide focused on secondary sources for most of the guide. Primary sources are slightly different. Primary sources require understanding the person who created the source, who they were, and their motivations. You also may need to do a little digging into what certain words or phrases meant at the time it was written based on what you are researching. The Prose Edda, for example, is a telling of the Norse mythology stories written by an Icelandic historian in the 13th century. If you do not speak the language spoken in Iceland in 1232, you probably won't be able to read anything close to the original document. In fact, the document was lost for about 300 years. Now there are translations, and those translations are as close to the primary source you can get on Norse Mythology. But even then, you are reading through several veils of translation. Take these things into account when analyzing primary documents.

Research Takes Practice

You won't get everything you need to know immediately. And researching subjects you have no background knowledge of can be daunting, confusing, and frustrating. It takes practice. I learned how to research through higher formal education. But you don't need a degree to write, so why should you need a degree to collect information? I genuinely hope this guide helps others peel away some of the confusion and frustration so they can collect knowledge as voraciously as I do.

– Indy

[lonely-coconut]

New blinkie credit system idea

Heyo, new idea for my blinkie site today! So, right now for each blinkie they are linked to their source, and then it also says the source when hovered over, and it has a screenshot of the source (in an html comment) in case the credit link dies one day.

The problem is, that’s a whole lot of bologna. With this current system, I will have to swap the credit link for a screenshot link whenever an old link dies. And, well… how am I supposed to know when a credit link dies?? I’m not checking random blinkies 24/7. (Well, I kind of am… but that’s because I’m coding my blinkie site. Shh.) Would I make some kind of reporting system so users can tell me when they find a broken credit link? Or, will I have to tell the users that if a link is broken, to go into the code to find the screenshot?

No, those are both ridiculous and inefficient. Ideally, I won’t have to update a blinkie’s code at all, and the site should be accessible and intuitive to everyone. Once a blinkie’s in, it’s in, and good to go forever. That’s how it should be anyway. So my solution? Give each blinkie a link to it’s source AND a link to it's screenshot! I didn’t think this would be possible or easy, but with some css I think I’ve figured it out! Check it out gang:

(Blinkie source btw)

When you hover over a blinkie, you get three options. A link to the source, a link to the screenshot proving the creator, and a link to view the blinkie at full size! And, the blinkie itself is still linked to the source as well, so a simple click will still take you there. With this new system, I won’t have to update anything. Instead, on site I will explain like “Hey, each blinkie is linked to it’s source, but if the link is broken, you can view a screenshot which proves who the creator is by hovering over the blinkie!”

This goes so hard. I’m very happy about it. This means that I won’t have to update the site for credit over time, and the site should ideally still work perfectly fine without my intervention for years to come! The credit for every blinkie shall be immortalized, and accessible to all. It’s very exciting! Things are going just so swell right now.

Edit: Posting this today since I forgot it in my drafts lol. Since then the dropdown css looks a lot better, and I also made variations for each blinkie color! I’m not going to have this on day one (focusing more on quantity over quality right now), but I plan to go back and implement this at some point!

[toxicanonymity]

https://www.tumblr.com/negraarmadura/744964931151101952/slowly-intensely?source=share

Raider!Joel and sweet pea 🥵🥵🥵

gif link (gif for inspo, not physical description of reader)

Imagine falling asleep on top of him, hugging him with all your limbs, thighs spread, easy access. and you wake up with his cockhead nudging at your wet little hole. He pushes his length into you, his fingers digging into the plush of your ass, your chest fluttering at the stretch. You push back on him and he pushes further in. Your hips tilt to meet the gentle rock of his, and then he's all in. He moves you on him, spreading your cheeks with his firm grip on your ass. The push of his hips is powerful, but the pace is slow and intimate. His brow furrows, his eyes darken, and you've learned this look of his says, you're mine.

[bwat5-blog]

The Commander: Part Two

**Spoilers For All Of Arcane**

***LONG I AM NOT KIDDING***

We jump back into the exploration of Caitlyn's story ash she leads the strike team into Zaun. She names three objective:

Locate Jinx

Dismantle Shimmer

Neutralize any agents still loyal to Silco

Now in the interest of clarity and rational thinking, let us take a moment to examine each of these objectives without consideration of Caitlyn's current mental state, as well as an objective look into the use of the grey. I will indicate the beginning and end of this section clearly. The reason I am making a point of this, is so that you know I am going to discuss the moral and ethical concerns here. But, this is really when people started losing their mind regarding Caitlyn's arc so lets begin with turning down the temperature, and taking a more rational look at what unfolds.

The Strike Team:

"Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason? Is it bad that I'm making friends with my demons, and living by a couple deadly sins just to make sure I finish what you began..... let it rain down hellfire, can't hide away. it's judgement day, and no one gets out alive"("Hellfire" Fever 333")

Logic Based Examination Of the Strike Team's Objectives And Methods:

Locate Jinx- As members of the audience, it is easy to hear Caitlyn and feel outrage. We have seen Jinx's suffering and struggle since she was a little girl named Powder. We have seen that Silco used Caitlyn's presence in the undercity to drive Vi and Jinx apart, and that Sevika did so with the express intent of driving Jinx further into chaos. But to the entity that is "Piltover", what does Jinx actually represent?

A- The theft of the gemstone in which six enforcers were killed, and a building was burned down.

B- The bombing of the Bridge, in which several enforcers were killed.

C- The assassination of three councilors, destruction of the council chamber, paralyzing Salo from the waist down, and maiming Shoola's eye

D- As I stated in part one, although we the audience know that Jinx was not involved in the attack on the memorial, in the wake of her killing the council members and being known as the "daughter" of Silco, it is completely reasonable that the people of Piltover are linking her to this attack as well.

Caitlyn's emotional link aside, Jinx has come to represent a dangerous and highly intelligent threat to the safety of Piltover. They do not see her wandering the streets of Zaun afterward, ready to die. They see that a violent terrorist gained access to the most powerful innovation of their life time, weaponized it extremely fast implying her brilliance, conducted what they understand to be a political assassination, and then sent soldiers into Piltover during a time of grief to kill more. Again, this is all to be considered without Caitlyn's impact. It is simply the facts as they understand them.

2. Dismantle Shimmer- Shimmer and Hextech are the answers to each other. Topside has their great source of power, and the undercity has theirs. And while the intent to dismantle it seems to have more to do with taking that weapon away from their enemies than anything, Shimmer is a dangerous, unstable, highly addictive drug that caused a tremendous amount of suffering in the undercity. It's long term exposure leading to addiction, mutation, and death.

3. Neutralize Any Agents Still Loyal To Silco- So what we see when the strike team begins their operation, is that they are targeting the Chem-Barons and their operations primarily having to do with Shimmer. The Chem-Barons are dangerous crime lords pushing Shimmer and murdering those who stand against them. As we see in "Watch It All Burn" they are ripping the undercity apart in their struggle for power, despite Sevika's efforts to make them stop.

"Dirty little animals, you cannibals, eat your supper.. one by one all these vultures keep coming".. ("Sucker" Marcus king)

These are NOT good people. They are not freedom fighters. They are not speaking truth to power and standing for the oppressed. They are violent and selfish criminals who even if they believed in a cause once, have long since abandoned it in favor of greed, and power.

Now, moving forward from that look at their objectives, let's talk about what got our hash-tagger (I haven't forgotten about you and welcome back!) and their friends rage smashing their keyboards.

The Grey-

Origin-

Using the Kiramman key, Caitlyn learns that her forebears created the ventilation system used filter the toxins from the air in the undercity. It is first described as "factory smog trapped underground", and from what we are given to understand, Piltover scientists have weaponized it for the strike team's purposes. Although we do see Silco use some version of it to bring the Chem-Barons into line when they question him.

Confirmed Effects-

Painful irritation to eyes: We this across its multiple uses for the most recent example, look at Cait's eyes during the final fight against Ambessa in season 2.

Nasal irritation: Heenot seems to sneeze quite a bit from exposure

Painful irritation to the throat: Every person exposed immediately starts to cough, hack, that sort of thing quite violently

Trouble breathing to the point of incapacitation: Multiple examples, some people seem to take it better than others.

Now, what did I not list? Death. There is a reason. There is not a single indication anywhere that the use of The Grey in these short term combat situations has killed anyone. In fact, we have repeated examples of characters who are exposed and are very much alive:

Caitlyn Kiramman: Exposed during fight against Ambessa and her forces.

Steb: Exposed during fight against Ambessa and her forces.

Heenot: Left hanging exposed in the grey By Jinx.

Jinx: Exposed when the strike team comes for her in the arcade.

Finn (dead but not because of gas): Exposed by Silco in season one. Now in fairness, whatever Silco had was clearly not the same form as what the strike team are using, but if anything it seems more violent, as the Chem-Barrons react far more quickly than we see people reacting to the grey.

Throughout Arcane, there are multiple statements regarding the "poisoning of our air" when people of Zaun speak about Topside. This is to do with pollution,smog and runoff from the mines and industry of Piltover. That's what the strike team is using, weaponized pollution to incapacitate enemies and drive people off the streets who are not fighting. And just like severe pollution would there be long term health effects if you were consistently exposed? Certainly. We see this in the diagrams Caitlyn is inspecting regarding the ventilation. But that is not what is happening here. In order to maintain proper perspective and not let rhetoric blind us, below you will find a very brief list of real world chemical weapons and a few of their side effects:

Sarin Gas: Cardiac arrest, coma, paralysis, respiratory failure

VX Gas: Seizures, Increased fluid buildup in airway and digestive tract, flaccid paralysis, death

They are quite clearly not the same. And if you consider the fact that they are chasing someone who is quite fond of using explosives, using a weapon that clears innocent people off of the streets and incapacitates enemies meaning they don't have to kill them, is far from the great crime against humanity people have made it out to be.

End Of Logic Only Based Analysis

Okay, now that we have that out of the way let's get back to why we are all here, Caitlyn Kiramman. If you refer to the lyrics of the song that plays during a look into the strike-team's actions, even just the first line tells us where her head space is. "Can I do the right thing, for the wrong reasons". The reason I just went through all of that above, is that it is easy to see how Caitlyn can justify all of this in her mind. The Strike Team is the alternative to a full-scale invasion, first off. And they want to dismantle the operations of the violent criminals that are tearing the Undercity apart, as well as catch the person who brought this most recent storm of Piltover's wrath upon the innocents of Zaun.

But as we see, Caitlyn is falling further and further into her rage and pain as this operation continues. Even in the cinematic for hellfire, her face is so clear. This mission is not about justice or liberating Zaun from the criminals so willing to harm their own, it is about revenge. If you recall, in part one I discussed and cited the potential emotional and mental effects of exposure to violence someone may suffer from. Caitlyn has in NO WAY BEGUN TO HEAL. And now she is leading her team in urban warfare, in the streets of Zaun losing more of herself day by day.

To conclude, we need to discuss two primary factors in all of this regarding Caitlyn's mental state, as we lead up to the battle of the ventilation chamber.

The Grey:

Have the fandom completely and totally lost their minds regarding the grey. Yes. I'm sorry, but yes. Take a moment and consider if they weren't using it, it scares away innocents and incapacitates those who would fight. Whatever the death toll was during this operation, it would have been much worse if they had a full-on firefight in every situation.... And to those who say "well they didn't have to be there in the first place" remember that the alternative here is a full-scale military invasion with hex-tech wielding enforcers. After the memorial attack there is no question, Piltover is coming.

However, what it is also, it is a perversion of Caitlyn's families good work. A twisting of what her forebears designed to give the people of the undercity good clean air. The point here is following the theme given to us by song in the beginning, the right thing for the wrong reasons. Caitlyn is able to hide from the truth of the darkness growing in her because this all seems so righteous. But the woman who loves her and she loves in return sees through her, which brings us to another consideration.

Vi:

Vi's turn as an Enforcer is extremely controversial in the fandom, and there is a lot of discussion about the various facets of her story. Here, we are focusing on Caitlyn, but for what I should hope are beyond obvious reasons, Vi is immensely important to Caitlyn's story. So that end, we need to understand a few points:

Vi made her own choice: Listen y’all, anyone who has been keeping up with me knows Vi is my favorite character. I have vigorously defended the character against the bizarre and idiotic criticisms that have been levelled at her since this season and will continue to do so happily. But people blaming Caitlyn for Vi being here are wrong. There is a conversation to be had about Caitlyn asking Vi to come and wear the uniform (and we are going to), but Vi made the decision for herself. No one put a gun to her head.

Caitlyn asked Vi to come and wear the uniform: As previously stated, Vi made her own choice. But, I think if we consider how Caitlyn has treated Vi throughout the story, the fact that she would ever ask Vi to come and do this, to wear the symbol of her parents murderers and do violence in Zaun's streets, speaks fairly significantly to her tunnel vision regarding their mission and her lessening ability to consider the consequences of her actions as she becomes more and more violent. Caitlyn has only ever been kind and loving to Vi, but the part of her that has to know what all of this is doing to her, is sinking further and further below the waves.

The Kiss-

Before confronting Jinx and Sevika, Vi asks Caitlyn for a moment, having seen the darkness consuming her. They come to an agreement on sending the rest of the team home, for fear of Jinx using their inexperience against them. It is then that they have a discussion that will impact both of them for months to come:

Caitlyn: "I can't let her get away again. Are you sure you're ready to..?"

Vi: "My sister is gone... there's only Jinx now. It has to end. I'm so sorry about your mother, I'm sorry I can't bring her back. Please just, everyone in my life has changed. Promise me you won't change"

Vi tears up, clearly overwhelmed and Caitlyn kisses her, saying "I won't".

It's a very moving moment and one fans of their love have been waiting for a very long time. Sadly, it is also quite clear that it was a doomed promise to ask for. Because the reality is that Caitlyn has already changed and been changing. It isn't a fair thing of Vi to expect Caitlyn to remain unchanged in this overwhelming situation. But Vi isn't being malicious, she has lost quite literally everyone she has ever cared for, and sees the last person she has left changing in front of her, she is afraid. And for Caitlyn's part, she sees the woman she loves, showing the vulnerability and fear and need of comfort that she knows Vi will only let her see, and she wants to be that for her. Wants to make her feel better. But on some level Caitlyn knows she can't honor that promise, so she doesn't make one. She says "i won't".

The Ventilation Chamber:

        Finally, for the first time since Jinx killed her mother, Caitlyn is face to face with the living embodiment of her nightmares. I am certainly not going over the entire list again, but I encourage you to revisit the list of reasons Caitlyn has to hate/fear Jinx.  When it all comes to a head, Caitlyn has her rifle on Jinx, with Isha trying to shield her, and Vi makes her stop. Trying to reason with her due to the risk of hitting Isha. After Sevika detonates the charges and Vi and Cait are thrown into the next chamber, Caitlyn insists she had the shot still in defiance of Vi’s bringing up the risk of hitting Isha. They lash out verbally at one another, with Caitlyn hitting Vi in the stomach with her rifle and leaving her behind. We need to more closely examine what we are seeing to understand this situation appropriately:

Vi tries to call out to Caitlyn repeatedly and tell her “She’s a child”, all Caitlyn responds with is “Move, she’s not getting away again”: We know Caitlyn. There is quite literally no scenario in which the Caitlyn we know would endanger the life of a child. But here, it’s like she can’t even see Isha. She is wide eyed, breathing heavy, looks incredibly angry, and even fires twice, striking Vi’s glove once.  She is showing extreme tunnel vision and single-minded rage putting the life of a child and the woman she loves at risk with her actions. Everything about the way she is behaving suggests a severe episode related to her PTSD, standing face to face with the source of her trauma.

Caitlyn tells Vi she is no different than Jinx because of the blood in her veins and hits her in the stomach with her rife stock, abandoning her: Okay, as I have said, Vi is my favorite character. So yes, when I saw this part I wanted to reach through the screen and choke her out. But again, we have to take a step back for a moment. I know I have not done much of a job in explaining it, but Caitlyn has been demonstrating consistently mounting psychological trauma since this all started. Now she has survived a violent confrontation and come face to face with the symbol of all of it. Just a refresher as to what she is feeling in this moment:

Guilt- She had a shot on Jinx that very first time. So, she has been carrying that with her regarding her mother’s death

Hatred- I think it’s totally fair to say she legitimately and completely hates Jinx given everything that has happened

Fear- She is terrified of Jinx. I have listed all of the reasons why, but for Caitlyn this moment is being face to face with the monster and at the end of the movie. Except in this version, the person you love stops you from finishing the monster. (in Caitlyn’s emotionally overloaded POV)

Betrayal- Although Vi had a totally valid reason for stopping Caitlyn, Caitlyn is not in a place where she can see that. In this moment all she can process is that Vi told her she was ready for it to end before they went into that chamber, and then Vi stopped her.

Shame- Look at her eyes a moment after she hits Vi. She is clearly full of regret and leaves quickly

As I have stated previously, simply from a layman’s perspective there seems to be quite of bit of evidence of Caitlyn’s trauma wreaking havoc on her ability to process and deal with this situation in any way that she normally would.

A Lamb To The Slaughter:

Standing at the general assembly while Ambessa makes her speech, we need to take stock of where Caitlyn is at this moment emotionally and mentally:

Survived series of multiple violent incidents that almost claimed her life over very short time

She is twenty-three years old

Abducted from her childhood home and terrorized

Mother murdered

Survived attack at mother’s memorial

Lead team in urban warfare in Zaun

Stopped from getting revenge on jinx for all of it

Romantic partner is gone

Grieving, exhausted, angry, afraid, guilty, betrayed, and full of hate

So when Ambessa Medarda, a warlord, a literal leader of men promises justice and names her the commander, she has no chance at resisting her. She is vulnerable and alone, with a highly intelligent older figure filling the role of the parent she lost, telling her to weaponize her suffering, promising her justice. Sound Familiar?

Before we move into discussing her time as the "Dictator", I do also want to draw attention to something. As I said, Caitlyn is 23 years old. Every person in that assembly knows who she is. They know she is extremely young, and despite her remarkable accomplishments she is also in immense emotional turmoil. Do any of the older people there do anything as a warlord in her fifties calls Caitlyn and essentially rubberstamp's her forehead with the word "SCAPEGOAT!". No they don't. And please, don't misunderstand this to mean I do think Caitlyn is accountable for her mistakes and decisions both up til now and moving forward. But you have to actively be ignoring details not to see that Caitlyn has been manipulated and used by Ambessa.

The "Dictator":

First and foremost, a word on the pacing of this part of Caitlyn's story. There are many varying opinions on the handling of pacing in season 2. I have made mine known, and so will spare you the diatribe here. I will simply say, that for such an important part of her story, we don't spend a lot of time with her. The fact that she doesn't have one scene clearly indicating she is thinking of Vi is a felony offense. I don't care where the pillows are with Maddie.

Hashtagger! We are finally here, she is the figurehead of a system of marshal law. Very exciting stuff. I know you have been waiting, eager to use the word fascist and other fun names. But stick with me. You will be surprised what you can learn when you actually watch the show.

What We Actually Know:

Per comments from Amanda Overton, it has been 3-6 months since the events of "Finally Got The Name Right"

She is in a romantic relationship with Maddie, who we have the hindsight of knowing is a Noxian Spy

Zaun has been fully occupied with checkpoints and inspections

Jinx has become a symbol to Zaun

Ambessa conducting secret hex-tech experiments and brutal interrogations

She has forbidden use of the cells like Vi was in

Has become close.. or at least something like it with Ambessa

In the time since we last saw her, Caitlyn has become a very different person than we left off. She seems tired, cold and withdrawn. She frequently expresses doubt and concern over how things are happening but cannot bring herself to put a stop to it when given the chance at various points (or more accurately being tested to see if she will try to put a stop to it I suppose). The fandom at large has taken this part of Caitlyn's story and used it to turn her into Idi Amin. This is completely laughable. While Caitlyn is responsible for her mistakes and her bad decisions, the truth here is that she is a young woman who has been totally submerged by her inner darkness. She is being manipulated to the highest degree, and has been made a scapegoat by a woman she has come to trust. First and foremost to get an understanding of this time for her, we have to discuss she and Ambessa.

Caitlyn & Ambessa-

Much like Silco and Jinx, I do not doubt that Ambessa has come to care for Caitlyn in some way. Ambessa has focused a great deal on teaching her and does seem to actually believe in her to some degree, as Rictus will later share with her. But ultimately, Caitlyn has been a target of Ambessa's manipulations much longer than she can image. We know that the Memorial attack was orchestrated to exacerbate the conflict between the two cities. And when Caitlyn enters the council chamber afterward to announce her strike-team's mission, Ambessa is quite clearly impressed. So when it all comes to head after the Strike Team's mission has failed, Ambessa moves in, filling the hole in Caitlyn's life and guiding her away from the light. We learn some important things in these interactions between or about them, regarding Ambessa's manipulation of her:

When speaking to Rictus, Ambessa says "the moment WE seize control of this backwater". She is not talking about Caitlyn. There are no illusions here as to who is in charge.

"I've learned so much from her..she delivered us Zaun as she promised... who knows how many would have died". Caitlyn talking about Ambessa to Maddie. The Noxian spy Ambessa put in Caitlyn's bed.

Caitlyn and Ambessa acknowledge mutual lack of trust between them.

Caitlyn questions Ambessa over violence being done by them. States arrests require cause. We see that Ambessa likes that fire in Caitlyn , and they have conversation regarding forgiveness: "Maybe you have the strength I do not.. to forgive.. and trust in tomorrow"... This is a powerful moment because Ambessa is using it to guilt Caitlyn into keep fighting, but in reality it becomes Caitlyn's greatest strength.

Ambessa trains Caitlyn in combat, calls her kin. And teaches Caitlyn the very thing she will one day use to defeat her.. sacrifice

"There are moments when your in so deep, it feels easier to just swim down...." (It's quiet uptown, Hamilton)

We are not witnessing the reign of a power hungry despot in Caitlyn. We are seeing a broken and angry young woman whose greatest failing is believing what this vastly more experienced mentor is telling her is the right thing. And even when she knows deep down it's not, cannot bring herself to believe there is any hope left. We are given many examples of the conflict she is feeling:

"Up again?"- We learn from Maddie Caitlyn has not been sleeping well

"I never thought it would go on this long... I don't know what I thought"- Caitlyn expressing clear regret over how things have gone down

Questions Ambessa over Rictus inciting violence

Questions Ambessa as to why peace is always the justification for violence

Has forbidden the use of cells like the one Vi was in

Considers Singed a monster for creating Shimmer

As I have stated in other documents moving forward from here especially we just take off at a dead spring regarding Caitlyn's story. From here on out we are dealing with her making things right with Vi and the fallout of that decision regarding Ambessa, and of her time as the Dictator over the two cities. I know I have done the pivotal moments of Caitlyn's story in the past, but given the pacing here it still seems the best way to dig into this, so that is how I will proceed.

Reunion with Vi & Beginning Of Redemption:

Vi and Caitlyn finally meet again, on the ridge outside of the commune. Caitlyn is scouting and jumps Vi, not realizing who she is due to her appearance. I have spoken on this quite a bit recently, and I even enjoyed a lovely conversation with some people who feel differently than I do. But that being said, this is how this all reads for me. Caitlyn has shut herself off completely to the chance of Vi still caring for her. All that we have seen of Caitlyn during her Dictatorship is that she has essentially given up. She won't risk pulling out of Zaun for fear of something worse happening, she bends to Ambessa with every explanation of why these wrong doings are necessary, you get the idea. So she certainly is closing herself off and distancing herself from the chance of the woman she loves still caring for her. Until she hears her nickname.

Now I have seen someone say that her eyes soften because it means the distance between them, like she is upset. I disagree. Caitlyn is extremely stiff until Vi calls her cupcake. And if Vi was holding her at arms length by using that nickname, she wouldn't trust her with the information about Vander. In truth, it takes the love of her life, a woman who refused to give up on those she cares for completely even in the darkest of times, to reignite hope in Caitlyn that there is a way out of that darkness. And so she makes the decision to help. Now what does that actually mean:

Turning on Ambessa

Losing support of the Noxian soldiers

Losing control of undercity which means Jinx

Starting A War

This takes us to our next moment showing the changes in her. Once the violence in the commune has already started.

Choosing Love: Part One

It's a quick moment. But right then and there the object of all of Caitlyn's hatred and rage is running by her, her back exposed to Caitlyn's rifle, and her eyes never leave Vi

Choosing Love: Part Two

So first of all not the right GIF i know, I couldn't find one of her in Caitlyn's bed for season 2. But the point, is that Caitlyn has been watching over Vi personally in her own room.

Taking Accountability:

Vi wakes from her injuries sustained saving her sisters life, and she and Caitlyn finally have a chance to talk. First and foremost she just looks so downtrodden. She knows how badly she has hurt the people she loves and is trying so hard to hold it together to make things right. But when she and Vi get into the crux of the conversation there are several important moments:

"I KNOW!"- Caitlyn admits to everything Vi is accusing her of

"We can't erase our mistakes, none of us"- Caitlyn including herself in those who have done wrong

Caitlyn then goes to speak with Jinx and gives us another big clue as to where her mind is:

"No amount of good deeds can undo our crimes"- Once again, placing herself on level ground with jinx

"Hating you.. I've hated myself.. I just don't have the energy for it any longer"- Admitting to hating herself for what she has done

Choosing Love: Part Three

Think back if you will, to the Battle of the Ventilation Chamber. Caitlyn Kiramman, wild eyes, ragged breath, completely enraged beyond reason, tried to take a shot at Jinx that could have easily killed a little girl, and then struck Vi and abandoned her. With everything they have through since that terrible day, Caitlyn has opened the way for the woman she loves, to free her mother's killer if she chooses. And when she finds Vi, she goes to comfort her, to validate her, to let her know that she is loved and that her undying heart is special and worthy of love as well. This is a truly beautiful scene that goes so far past a sex scene it's really hard to put into words how much meaning is conveyed in how it all plays out. There are a lot of excellent breakdowns and such if you wish to look, but for me I will say this. Caitlyn has shown Vi that her love for her is more important than hate could ever be. And in that moment, showed a strength Ambessa herself admitted she does not possess.

The Commander Reborn:

When she was a young girl, Caitlyn was asked a question. "Begs the question young Kiramman, what are you shooting for?" She knows now. Caitlyn stands on the front lines of the battle with her people. She is involved in a variety of incredible action sequences but the point, is that while she did lose herself, her values and her purpose to all of that rage and pain, she found her way back again.

Where once she allowed Ambessa Medarda to put her boot on the neck of the Undercity in the name of Caitlyn's grief, now Caitlyn stands on the front lines against her former mentor at only twenty-four years of age. And it is not without cost. She is stabbed, beaten, almost killed when Maddie's betrayal is revealed, and utilizing Ambessa's lesson sacrifices her own eye to stop her. And that is to say nothing of the mental trauma she has endured. But she is stronger, more resilient, and more sure of herself than she ever was. And, she is no longer alone.

With the occupation of Zaun ended, the council restored, and Caitlyn surrendering the Kiramman seat to none other than Sevika, she and Violet finally are allowed to just live, love, and heal with one another. It seems she has suspicions that Jinx survived the final battle (as we all do) but the show runners made the decision not to address that for now.

Caitlyn's story is truly one of dramatic change. She begins as a well intentioned but naïve enforcer, and ends as a respected commander who shed her own blood to keep the people she once failed safe. She and Vi have immeasurable healing before them, that is undeniable. But in such a dark and violent world, these two souls found one another and clawed their way back to each-other in the face of everything that was thrown at them. And it is through that bond that they will find their happiness.

My friends i went way... way... more in-depth on some of this than I thought. But I thought it was important... I think so much of the nonsense regarding this character is because she being labeled according to a single fast look instead of people seeing the truth of her incredible story. As always with these long ones, i feel like I probably wandered a little and if so I apologize. But I hope I managed to convey the depth of this character in at least some small way. To anyone patient enough to read this I thank you, to those who go even further and respond, I love learning more about this story from you all. Keep standing up for stories that matter.. Til next time!