maximusmaximillian

[maximusmaximillian]

I loved, LOVED, our canon AU!Powder. Still witty and acerbic, but kinder. Still has her hallucinations and delusions, but they're better managed, expressed in healthy and constructive ways. Where Jinx's shrine to her brothers is hostile, dangerous, a place to spiral in solitude, Powder's shrine to her sister is warm and inviting, a place to remember her with a friend. And while some might think Claggor's goggles are a more interesting visual tribute than incorporating Vi's pink into her hair and makeup, the latter turned Powder's color scheme into the bi flag, so I'm all fucking for it.

[maximusmaximillian]

i’ve absolutely loved the way vi’s appearance has been modified throughout this season.

in act 1, she retains her season 1 look, which could be seen as symbolic of an enduring self image of someone who must be unyielding and unchanging, i.e. someone who can protect zaun. this strength was borne of anger and grief surrounding the loss of her family, and her unchanged appearance makes clear that this vision of who vi believes herself to be still prevails. she becomes an enforcer after the attack on the memorial—not because she forsakes zaun, but because she believes she can’t protect anyone from jinx without the badge.

this is also the same hair she had when she first met and worked with caitlyn. we get the impression that she wants to be the same tough fighter who can keep them both afloat, but considering that vi seems most vulnerable in the presence of caitlyn—who causes her to suffer by persuading her to become an enforcer—we know this is futile. this theme is present during their first kiss, where vi almost buckles while caitlyn stands up straight.

then after caitlyn’s betrayal, a drastic change to her appearance occurs. she dyes her hair black and applies black eyeshadow, even black paint, to her face. she paints on a defensive facade to hide how vulnerable she is and her misery over making the wrong choice again and again and again. she tries to seem dangerous by making her rage visible but only ends up making her pain visible. hints of pink show through at the ends of her hair.

then jinx asks her to help her save vander, to overcome her lasting hatred for the hope of reuniting their family, and she actually does. she makes herself vulnerable again, and is rewarded by an unreal reconnection with jinx in the serene surroundings of viktor’s commune. she feels a flicker of hope that they might save their father. vi has the chance to forge a self-image that is not related to loss, and she seeks her younger self: the person who would put herself in harm’s way for her sister without a second thought.

then she bumps into caitlyn, who describes her as “an angry oil slick”. vi doesn’t respond with anger as she usually would—she just lets caitlyn see her. “don’t sugarcoat it, cupcake.” her dyed hair and shadowed eyes become a metamorphic signal. i believe caitlyn senses vi’s changing relationship with anger and is pushed to confront her own. she leaves her vendetta behind and defects.

in episode 8, vi’s hair is reverting back to pink and growing longer.

she goes to a locked up, grieving jinx and immediately opens her cage. vi’s transformation is almost complete; she has overcome the rage that made her reject powder all those years ago and replaced it with the desire to hold her sister even if her sister won’t hold her back.

succumbing to the loss of isha and vander, jinx traps vi in the cell and leaves, but it doesn’t matter. vi has become a force of love, not rage. caitlyn finds her, and reveals that she met vi halfway and allowed her to free jinx. caitlyn, too, has let go of her revenge motive. unlike vi, caitlyn’s appearance hasn’t changed, but she still expresses—through actions, not words—that she won’t let her anger control her any longer. she finally affirms her loyalty to vi. now on the same page, they kiss for a second time.

by the end of the finale, some remnants of vi’s transformation remain: her dark eyeshadow, her longer hair. she has come to terms with the things which she allowed to haunt her for a long time, but she must still learn what to do with her grief. she leans on caitlyn’s shoulder and accepts her support. interestingly, a physical change has at last found caitlyn, who wears an eye patch. after losing her mother at the start of the season she tried to remain unchanged and unwavering, but came to the realisation that her obsessive, grief-fuelled anger was obscuring her vision. her eye patch represents both an altered worldview and a newfound vulnerability; her skilled sharpshooting will definitely be impeded.

arcane teaches its characters that sometimes being vulnerable is not the same as being weak, and that attaining emotional clear-sightedness is a turning point on the path to self actualisation.

[maximusmaximillian]

quick rant about the caitvi sesbian lex scene cause whatttt (amazing perfection art btw) but DO but do people not understand subtext? Expositional dialogue? Emotional vulnerability??? Like oh my word the Vi slander is annoying like generally speaking I’ve heard people literally say it’s out of character for Vi to not give a shit about jinx, miss the suicidal tendencies etc but like imagine being in Vi’s shoes. Here you are, expecting to be reprimanded by your then ex gf because once again here you are giving people you care about the benefit of doubt, because you love them that much, because you are a selfless individual that always put the needs of others above your own. You expect to be condemned for choosing wrong. (Rightfully so) But then the tables turn Caitlyn basically admits she planned the whole ordeal, knew Vi would free jinx so ultimately when we read between the lines it’s her saying she chooses Vi above anything else is willing to let go of whatever personal grudges she had in the past towards jinx/any unresolved feelings/hatred for her sister because she loves Vi that much. It’s such a heartfelt moment, Vi realising this hence the whole being-lost-in-the-moment thing god forbid Vi allows herself to be emotionally vulnerable for once to give into her NEEDS I love that scene so MUCH because it’s the first time caitvi get to be “selfish”, instead of focusing on fighting losing battles but yeah lets say vi is a heartless pos for fucking cait in a cell ig lmao

[maximusmaximillian]

「 LEAGUE OF LEGENDS 」

[ Icons :: Arcane ]

➯ ˢᵉ ᵘˢᵃʳ˒ ᶠᵃᵛᵒʳ˒ ᶜʳᵉᵈⁱᵗᵃʳ @ᵁʳᵃⁿᵘˢᴹᵃⁿᵍ

[maximusmaximillian]

Arcane conclusion = no thoughts head empty just

[maximusmaximillian]

From what I've observed

Arcane S1 = ATLA: universally acclaimed; everyone loved the characters, the story, depiction of certain topics, thematic cohesion, animation style, etc; argue that it deserves a spot in the hall of fame of all media ever created; a masterclass of storytelling, worldbuilding, and characterization.

Arcane S2 = TLOK: very divisive; some people think it's on the same level as the original; others think it's garbage that must be forgotten forever; some people think that it falls short of the original and has some major flaws but still think it stands on its own two feet as a good piece of media; some are just here for the sapphics.

[maximusmaximillian]

Got Jinx dying right but the circumstances were different.

Still hurts.

Y'all...

Do you think Vi is going to kill Jinx at the end? 🤔

Cause in Ep3, we saw that Jinx was pretty much ready to die by Vi's hand. And Christian Linke said that this season was about redemption...

So what if, at the end, after they've reconciled and finally come to an understanding, Vi finally let's Powder go, either by mercykilling her or letting her die in peace.

[maximusmaximillian]

Y'all...

Do you think Vi is going to kill Jinx at the end? 🤔

Cause in Ep3, we saw that Jinx was pretty much ready to die by Vi's hand. And Christian Linke said that this season was about redemption...

So what if, at the end, after they've reconciled and finally come to an understanding, Vi finally let's Powder go, either by mercykilling her or letting her die in peace.

[maximusmaximillian]

If I had a nickel for every Arcane sex scene that happens whilst someone else close to them was having a crisis and on the verge of dying, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

[maximusmaximillian]

ARCANE LEAGUE OF LESBIANS: 2x08 - “Killing is a Cycle”

[maximusmaximillian]

they have an effect on me

[maximusmaximillian]

Finished Act III. Emotional roller coaster aside, I think it's really good despite its flaws.

Now it's time to rewatch the entire series from the very first episode to see how it holds up as a cohesive story... 🙃

[maximusmaximillian]

she... oh I love women :')

[maximusmaximillian]

I’m the weirdest kind of extremely online because I would be severely offline if it wasn’t for tumblr. you genuinely can’t reach me anywhere else other than tumblr I simply don’t use other social media. I don’t even like texting or calling people. I only like hanging out with people irl and being on tumblr and reading the weather forecast

[maximusmaximillian]

my body's on the line now, i can't fight this time now, i can feel the light shine on my face. did i disappoint you? will they still let me over if i cross the line? honestly, i thought i was fully prepared for the threshold in store. stay your pretty eyes on course. i guess i never really faced my fears before. so stay with me because my body's on the line now.

[maximusmaximillian]

Shes choking here mind you, she's being choked, you can literally hear it, air being almost impossible to breathe in, yet she STILL reaches out for Elora, screaming for her and trying to get to her, she's not scared for herself at this moment. She just didn't want to lose her close friend.

Do you know how painful it is to scream without having enough air in your lungs?? You can hear the raw, brutal and burn of her voice.

and y'all were a little too quick to judge on why Mel slammed "kino"s face into the wall. No she's not becoming violent, the foe killed her brother and Elora, that's the least insane thing she could do at that moment.

And this poor woman hello??? I'm still not over all these frames.

The fact that she was panicked from DRIPPING WATER just makes me wonder how painful it really was, the torture she'd been through this entire episode was insane. I'm surprised we haven't seen her bruise or bleed at all throughout the entire season, makes me wonder if she has healing abilities.

What kills me the most is that even after being hurt both emotionally AND physically, she still thinks of others rather than herself, she only ever started worrying after she woke up, she was scared, panicking, yet she never speaks of her pains, she was upset over the death of Elora. That's all she thought of, not the horrors of being grabbed, but the horrors of being unable to move and do anything within her abilities to save her friend.

She'd always been like this, ever since the death of that unnamed girl that hangs over her head, death haunts her, that's the price of having been blessed by kindred apparently.

ALSO; I apologize for anyone who'd sent me asks, I've been really busy and ill try my best to get to them as soon as I can ♡

[maximusmaximillian]

I'm WHEEZING at arcane twitter's general consensus on this moment