explaining sapphic content

[chronicsyd]

I would like to remind everyone getting all fussy about the "dirt under your fingernails" line from Vi is that psychologically, the meaning of the phrase "dirt under your fingernails" means "staying grounded, humble, and connected, to keep one's head out of the clouds, always keep one's feet on the ground, never get too caught up in one's self, spend some time on the front line."

By saying "nothings gonna clean me out" she means that she's going to stay connected to Caitlyn, this is basically a love confession from Vi. And its a line that fits Vi's character really well considering that for the entire show she's spent her time being caught up in herself, questioning the decisions she makes and her relationship with others (namely Jinx and Caitlyn). she's finally grounding herself, and I find that extremely poetic.

[harrowharksboner]

CAITLYN TAKING HER TOP OFF VI GETTING MESMERIZED BY HER BOOBS CAITLYN SMILING AND LOOKING PROUD OF HER KIRAMMOUNTAINS OH THIS IS ABSOLUTE CINEMA

[turbolezgooo]

Villain arc or something else?

The Paint the Town Blue montage hits hard but also creates a misleading picture of what Cait was doing vs Ambessa. Ambessa orchestrated everything leading up to the police state as we saw in 'Finally Got the Name Right'. We also see her being portrayed as the person in charge as she looms over and takes advantage of Cait who is visibly in mourning and grief.

Cait on the other hand has her obsession with finding Jinx. The threads that streak through her face in the montage show how she's blinded and obscured by her singular focus as everything descends into chaos.

This was intentional to make people believe that Cait is no longer sympathetic to Zaun. But we see in the same episode right after the montage with her talk with Maddie that she is having to choose a lesser evil.

The way she is explicitly portrayed is a setup for the explicit and implicit revelations of her intentions in 'The Message Hidden in the Pattern' and 'Killing is a Cycle' episodes. I'll leave with what Cait said as she argues with Vi in the aftermath of the commune. If you don't give her the benefit of the doubt, we'll never see who she really is and what she has done or will do.

More on this in my other posts: https://www.tumblr.com/turbolezgooo/768342683166146560/to-everyone-who-hates-cait-or-calls-her-a-dictator?source=share

[turbolezgooo]

Why ya'll hate on Cait and call her a dictator?

Well-written characters often have a story deeper than what you explicitly see them do or hear them say. Just because everything is set in a fantasy world, doesn't mean that characters are not affected by tragic events and the human condition.

First of all, Cait wasn't the one who made a police state. Ambessa and the council did that. Ambessa orchestrated the whole thing. Cait went along with it because she was turned around by grief. That shit messes with your judgment, but she was still trying to do what she and Vi agreed on. To focus on the real problem and prevent hurting innocent people.

Cait tried to control an unraveling situation AND literal warlord WHILE being inexperienced in how to deal with it, having a big ol' lesbian break up, AND dying inside.

You could see that when Cait argued to Ambessa that there are innocent people and there MUST be justifiable cause to arrest anyone. In Cait and Ambessa's interactions it's implied that Cait was getting in the way of Ambessa's agenda off-screen. She tried to keep something worse from happening because she does acknowledge the historical and current oppression of Zaunites.

This mirrors the way she offered Vi the badge to give her a voice in what happens to her sister if the enforcers caught her. The enforcers coming after Jinx was going to happen regardless of Cait. She took control by volunteering and taking precautions. See- While they did use gas, Vi would never agree to something that would permanently hurt the people of Zaun. The tactic gave them fewer chances of having to physically fight Zaunites who were just trying to defend themselves. Believe it or not, it was a controlled operation until grief got the better of Cait and things looked worse than it actually was.

The way that Cait deeply believes in equality in spite of a personal vendetta is why Ambessa sent Maddie to try and control her by 'filling' her hole (no pun intended). When Maddie attempted to have Cait stop the police state situation and withdraw, she did focus on Jinx at first but the second part of not wanting to make things worse was something she had a lot more to say about before Maddie interrupted. And Cait was right. What would have happened if she hadn't taken the role and played along? A puppet councillor or Ambessa herself would have been the figure head and do so much worse. Those people don't have the same perspective and understanding as Cait.

When Cait and Vi argue about listening to a war pig oink poison in her ear, she yells "I know!" as she throws a piece of war ship used in strategizing. You can tell her role was a strategic choice to have some control over the events that unfolded. That's why Vi didn't villinize her. Vi understood that Cait never really accepted anything Ambessa said. That's why she helped Vi at the commune. Cait was a double agent taking shit from all sides to stop worse things from happening.

She had grief and really crap options, but she always chose the lesser of the evils to try and stay true to who she really was. She even resigns in her argument with Vi, that she didn't put Jinx, her own mother's killer, in jail or punish her in any way. It's another example of her faltering in decision-making when overwhelming or unexpected things happen and it also tells us what she is. She's human. She doesn't make excuses for taking on an objectively bad role and making mistakes. When she said "We can't erase our mistakes.", she's also talking about herself. She takes responsibility and tries to do good. In the end, all she wanted was closure for her grief by having Jinx accept responsibility NOT by killing or abusing her or innocent Zaunites for that matter.

Imo there's a lot in Arcane that shows Cait as a flawed but inherently good person, and Vi absolutely knows it. They see each other warts and all. If you think CaitVi's lex scene was poorly written read this: https://www.tumblr.com/turbolezgooo/768190482340773888/bro-this-outrage-about-caitvi-relationship-in-s2?source=share

[adorascake]

i think this fandom's main issue with caitlyn is that we're so used to having shows, movies, books, etc. end with the main conflicts resolved. everything has always been wrapped up for us perfectly with a bow. but some of us forget that arcane has always taken on a very realistic perspective—problems are never resolved. they are deeply rooted in society and in other problems.

so people are upset that caitlyn didn't apologize and that she got off "easy" while other characters didn't get a happy ending. y'all...she didn't get a happy ending. neither did vi or anyone else. that's the price of war. you may get a positive outcome within the destruction, but it's not going to be a happy one.

s2 ends when things are just beginning for piltover, true progress. that's why caitlyn asks vi if she's still in this fight, because their work is just starting, especially caitlyn's. s1 is supposed to represent these characters at their cores, right? you seriously don't think she's going to be rolling up her sleeves and being the first person out there working to make piltover and zaun better places for everyone?

actions speak louder than words. her regret for her mistakes was evident to me on my first (and so far, only) watch. just because we don't see an apology on screen or see her actively working to make things right—which, by the way act III was the beginning of that work—doesn't mean she isn't remorseful and won't atone for her actions.

besides, you seriously think vi would let her off that easy? fuck no. vi has always been honest, first and foremost, and she's comfortable enough with caitlyn to know she can call her out on her shit.

[turbolezgooo]

I think people also miss the fact that Cait was drowning in grief. After all, people do crazy "unspeakable" things for their own version of love. If you take a closer look at Cait, she was never a person who hated people for their circumstances in life or wanted to oppress them. In fact, she took every chance to understand people and tried to stop Ambessa from crossing the line and hurting innocent people. Emphasis on -tried- cause Ambessa is a literal warlord and Cait is inexperienced in every way and she doesn't know who was "innocent"/who was not to blame in her mindset. Cait didn't even put Jinx in prison or punish her as soon as she was caught. She went to talk to her to have her take responsibility. She acknowledged that she hated herself for hating Jinx (aka becoming what she didn't want to be, working with Ambessa, and hurting people). In the end, she realized that Jinx wasn't the monster she thought she was. It was never about Zaunites or class when it came to Cait. While it doesn't absolve her crimes as she said, this was her experiencing grief and looking for some type of closure.

[turbolezgooo]

Bro this outrage about CaitVi relationship in S2 is baseless

Come on. They started their adventure when they met in jail. There was already tension and attraction the moment they met but it was all swept aside because of their individual agenda (Finding a lost sister, proving themselves, saving people, etc). Everything started with some things unspoken. Every time bad things happened they never blamed each other. When Vi stopped Cait from shooting Jinx, Cait never said it was the wrong choice or that it was Vi's fault that her mom died. Cait came to Vi's arms and they held each other. Cait's suggestion for Vi to join the enforcers wasn't a fully thought-out delivery as she admitted later on but it was her offer to allow Vi to make choices when they went after her sister. Cait understood the importance of Jinx to Vi even after Jinx killed her mother. The only problem they had was that Vi wasn't ready to let go of her sister, but she trusted Cait to do what "needed" to be done. To take the step she never could. It was a deep and personal problem that Cait never took offense to and how could anyone?

Cait was upset after Vi stopped her from taking the shot again, but that wasn't really because she wanted Jinx dead. It was because she had unresolved grief. Sadness, anger, rebound relationships, burying herself in work- all telltale signs. While it was messed up for Vi to say what she said in the pit, Cait did reflect on how she was "acting more like Jinx". When Cait spoke with Singed, she understood how an act of love can seem "unspeakable" to others (like why Vi kept protecting Jinx even though she had killed Cait's mother and her adoptive family). On the other side of the coin. Vi laments everything she decides relating to her sister and literally beats herself up over the consequences along with what she said in the pit to Cait. She felt she had lost everything again because of her choices and what she said. Then Jinx, Vander, and Isha came back along-- she had another shot to save her family. When Singed walks out of the commune, it's actually pretty symbolic that Vi walks a similar path and ends up seeing Cait again. At this point, Cait already has some time to think about what happened between her and Vi. You could see there's the spark of passion and trust first before even a hint of resentment. In the aftermath of the commune, Vi is upset at Cait that Jinx is in prison but there's a lot to back up her reaction. She didn't trust Cait fully with her sister and father on the line because she didn't know if grief and Ambessa still had a hold on Cait. And of course, Vi's own experience of losing her family and imprisonment is a trigger. When all the cards were down, they held space for each other. Even though Cait still hated Jinx, she saw how Jinx wanted her sister safe. She didn't make the decision to put Jinx in prison, she didn't punish her, or make decisions without Vi. Although Vi should have responded better to Cait saying Jinx still needed to take responsibility, Cait needed to hear the echo of who she was- grounded and someone who does believe in people. Cait's and Jinx's interaction shows where Cait was moving towards. An understanding. A clearer picture of who Jinx really was and how she saw herself. How she wasn't the villain she thought she was. Why Vi keeps trying to save her over and over. The similarities between the two sisters. Cait and Vi both just needed time & space to get back to a mutual understanding of themselves and each other. Cait affirms her understanding and acceptance of Vi and her family by staging the breakout. Vi affirms that she understands and accepts whatever Cait does due to grief or clouded judgment. Nothing changed their feelings for each other. The jail scene is a culmination of their journey as individuals and as a couple. They come back to the start but now everything else that came in the way is gone. No responsibilities. Nothing to prove. All that's left are two women who've been through hell and came away with more understanding and love for each other. It wasn't out of place IMO.

I feel that the relationship was NOT underdeveloped or 'badly' written. You just need to understand unwavering love. If you've ever consumed sapphic content, ya'll have to really read between the lines and dig deep lmao. Everything ended with some things unspoken. That's just how sapphic content traditionally has been. Watch a Portrait of a Lady on Fire and write an essay or something. Do better. Be gayer.