#I cannot stress enough this is not arcane

[sheriff-caitlyn]

There is something inherently important about Caitlyn and Vi's respective natures and personalities that make them Piltover's Finest. Caitlyn was released Jan 2011, and Vi in December 2012, so Riot had plenty of time to make Vi a proper narrative foil to one of the original Champions. And yet it seems like the most important aspects of their characterisation are forgotten, glossed over, or outright ignored in how Caitlyn and Vi are depicted.

Caitlyn is Intention, Vi is Impulse.

The sniper rifle is a tool to handle problems from a long distance away; magnifying lenses on a hat help bring small details in to focus. Caitlyn focuses on a goal, and then looks at every step in the long and short term to achieve that goal. She has single-minded purpose but is able to cover a lot of ground, to have unique perspectives on and multiple opportunities for her desired end result because she has a view of the big picture. She sees how everything is connected, no matter how arbitrary. Every move she makes - socially, politically, nationally, and even on the Fields of Justice - is both deliberate and carefully-deliberated. She leaves nothing to chance. Everything is calculated. Her intention is what matters most; her intent is what makes her powerful, dangerous, unstoppable.

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

"Me, miss? Not by a long shot."

"I have the tools for the job."

"Nowhere to hide."

"Go ahead. Run. I'll give you a five minute head start."

Fists are up close, personal; the gauntlets are hand-crafted, engineered by Vi's own hands to suit her own hands. Vi is reactionary, surrounding herself by the world, immersing herself in sound and sensation and situation and choosing to act in accordance with what feels the most urgent. Vi acts on whatever is closest to her reach or nearest to her immediate needs; she prefers short-term solutions because those are, in her mind, the most necessary solutions. Immediate needs should be met immediately. She doesn't look for the easiest solution, but she looks for the simplest one, the most expedient one. She is adaptive, and quick-witted, and capable of handing upsets and change step by step, without flinching. Vi's impulses guide her every step, trusting chance and circumstance and personal talent to back her up and make her next step possible. Her adaptability and her willingness to be personally-involved is the reason that her 'one foot in front of the other' style of action is so powerful.

"Sometimes you gotta make a door."

"One girl wrecking crew!"

"Let's get crackin'!"

"I like your smile. Makes a nice target."

"Plan? I don't need a plan."

Personified by their weapons of choice, these women are both forces of change in their respective cities. They are both incredibly effective on their own. Caitlyn had her plan and her rules and her methods that involved no-one but herself, and Vi was quick to repeatedly declare 'I'm my own backup'. They do not need each other in order to get things done, to have a wide positive impact on their community or for the people they care about.

And yet, they can do more together than they would apart.

Caitlyn can be distant from those she loves and those she is trying to save, can come across as cold and detached. She does not show her emotions well, if at all; she has more in common with the hextech rifle she carries than with other people. Caitlyn was capable of changing Piltover and becoming Sheriff all on her own, but she was not liked or respected by the people she was trying to save until she had a more-humanising force by her side. A short-sighted answer might be that Vi was so violent and dangerous it made the calmer Caitlyn more appealing by comparison, but that isn't the case at all.

Vi's past is lost to shadow, stolen by those in power who sculpted in misery, so to fight this aching void she surrounds herself with people who need help. She's used to being the underdog, to having the deck stacked against her, but she has built herself to be the strength of others, to fight on their behalf. She looks for joy and resistance in equal measure. Vi is smart, and intuitive, and has a very strong moral compass, even if - especially if - it causes her to clash with the powers that be, those in charge who don't do things they right way or for the right reason.

Both of them are raging against the world in their way. Both of them see potential in the world, for it and for everyone in it, to be better.

It is Caitlyn's intention and methodology that gives Vi the opportunity to do something bigger than the most-immediate threat in Zaun. It is Vi's impulse to send Piltover's trash back across the bay that connects her to Caitlyn, that gives Caitlyn the idea and means to encourage others and affect greater change. Like iron sharpening iron, the two of them improved each other as they began to interact. Of course they clashed when they first met, when Vi found Caitlyn too rigid and Caitlyn found Vi too reckless, but it was in these clashes that they learned to work together, to see from new perspectives. A sniper can't watch her own back. A boxer can't see beyond the ring. But together, they're more powerful than they would be apart. They've got each others' backs, they mitigate each others' weaknesses and boost each others' strengths, and they learn from each other.

Caitlyn is one of the few who can see, acknowledge, and respect the intelligence Vi is trying to hide, both in terms of Vi being an incredibly-talented engineer but also in Vi's social adeptness and comprehension of human motivations. It's Vi who can see Caitlyn's self-imposed isolation for what it is, and call her out on times when a more personal touch is necessary. Caitlyn has learned to be 'more human', to see the impact beyond just statistics and social change, to learn to accept other people into her life. Vi has had the chance to see that structure and morals can co-exist, that not every rule needs to be broken, that sometimes stillness and quietness can be productive.

Caitlyn and Vi are still their own people. Caitlyn will always lead with her intention, and Vi will always follow her impulse, but they'll do it together, mindful of each others' thoughts and methodologies. They've had years to turn their partnership into a kind of dance. It's not perfect, but they know each other so well, to the point of anticipation in movement and thought and action. Caitlyn - in purple, with her sniper rifle - and Vi - in pink, with her gauntlets - are the perfect team, and together they've brought Piltover into a (near-literal) Golden Age as well as been there to lead the city-state through disaster and reconstruction. They've even started making headway into helping those in Zaun, or at least inspiring others to step up and see them as a challenge to be equalled. They are Piltover's Finest, because they match and rival and equal each other, as foils, as partners, as symbols.

And that's something that Arcane absolutely failed to understand.

[cynical-canidae]

Me after Arcane finale showing up to Riot HQ to destroy the servers and prevent thousands from making the biggest mistake of their life (downloading League of Legends)

[solar-eclippse]

"We're all upset about cop!Vi"

No we're not, personally I love watching victims become perpetrators and characters becoming the very thing they sought to destroy

[rainysofsunshineao3]

Guys

my crazy - but tbh, is it really so crazy - theory is that baby lost her braids and middle finger setting off a bomb that either was something the same as the bridge in season 1 or something that totally gave Zaun their final edge against piltover trust.

Picture from this blog btw -> @yourhandsomestepdad

[franollie]

i was so wrapped up in jayce not understanding that i didn’t even consider the tragedy being in him understanding

[murdermeadow]

in brief, I'm so upset. I wish people understood. Jinx and Vi mean so much to me, I feel I know them and am intertwined with them at a personal level. they are my world because no other media has captured such deep and relatable siblinghood like this before. they are intrinsically intertwined and no one seems to understand that they never, ever, truly hated each other at their cores. all they want is the best for each other. but that feeling is shrouded in hatred by the actions the other took to survive, and do what they thought they could do help. Vi wanted to believe that her sister was dead because she couldn't accept the reality that her absence is what caused the sister she loved so much to spiral completely out of control. Jinx wanted to believe that her sister had completely abandoned her and wasn't worth reaching out towards, because if she haphazardly cauterized the wound then she'd never have to deal with it again. but the thing is that they can never get out of each other's minds, and lives. Vi is her protector, that is what she vowed. Jinx wants to do the same for her, but can never find just the right way. they are bound, forever. nothing and no one could truly tear them apart, no matter how awful things become. their hearts are magnetized, always drawn to the other, knowing that is where they belong. sisters until the end.

[bloodied-dagger]

my “for you” page is fucked. Completely unusable

[gemstarstarlight]

Everyone go check out the arcane tag the lesbians are losing it

[quacaserous]

just finished arcane.... fortiche & riot games you might want to sleep with one eye open tonight ☺️

[sleebiebear]

this is my bi-monthly 'i miss arcane' post hi. i miss arcane. i am not ready for the person ill revert back into when s2 drops

[hauntingblue]

WE STILL GOT ARCANEEEEE

[sheriff-caitlyn]

[x]

[takethistoyourstardust]

I do wanna shout them out by name, because they were very instrumental in the cosplays coming together! The three girls were Stella Chuu, Jessica Nigri, and Zerggiee!

i just have to say. LOVE that they have their fujoshi crew with them pulling up fanart and fan animations that they can recreate. it's so fucking funny it's just bbno$, will neff, and three dyed hair girls cheering off camera every time they kiss or hit a gayass jayvik pose it's great

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

⭕️👋Hi I’m new, I really like your character analysis, world lore analysis etc,…I think they’re very accurate and provide more insight into the twisted wonderland world,

do you think NRC gets enough funding cause they’ve been losing to RSA for like almost 100 years now and the Magift incident where the recruiter’s and scouts probably didn’t really pay attention to most of the players cause of Malleus .I know they probably get funding and tuition and stuff from affluent parents who care about the quality of education & environment of their children but is that really enough? Is Crowley secret Stressed about funding cause of their losing streak to RSA???

I just wondered what your thoughts were on the matter

Hello and thank you very much ^^ It always warms my heart to hear that people enjoy my more analytical writings!

Now to answer your question, I don’t think NRC is hurting for money. Like, at all.

You did bring up a fair point about NRC’s almost a 100 year loss streak to RSA + the lack of interested Spelldrive/Magical Shift scouts in book 2, but that’s not enough of the big picture. RSA is only one rival magic school out of several. Just because NRC is not doing well against one other school doesn’t mean that NRC is suddenly deemed “lesser”—NRC is still considered a top arcane academy and eclipses other magical institutions like Noble Bell College. In regards to the pro recruiters, I don’t think it has a huge impact?? Sports is only one sector at NRC; they’re still doing relatively well outside of it (such as in academics, extracurriculars, and connections for internships) in the grand scheme of things. Update: Trein states in his vignettes that NRC is falling behind RSA in academics, which isn’t great news—but again, RSA is but one school for comparison. NRC still ranks above several other magic schools. Things like not winning VDC and not being noticed by scouts seems to only really impact the career prospects of students who were interested in the entertainment/sports industries; I doubt that this would seriously hurt whatever funding NRC is receiving.

Night Raven College is a private school, so they are most likely receiving money from tuition and not the government. Though tuition is not explicitly mentioned in TWST (at least not that I am aware of), if we assume the average cost for one student to attend a British boarding school—for which NRC is modeled after—that means 25,000 pounds per person, PER YEAR. Let us assume that NRC had only 800 students (this is the rough estimate TWST provides us). That means, from one year’s worth of tuition alone, the school is raking in 20,000,000 pounds or 4,058,310,000 madol. Note that this is just money in, not yet factoring for expenditures, taxes, etc.

The school also receives 10% of Mostro Lounge’s proceeds, and while we cannot put an exact number to that, we do know that most menu items range from 600 to 1500 madol. The lounge must also make significant enough money to pay for its ingredients, nice silverware (something which Azul stresses to give customers a high class experience), and even provide pay to workers (Ruggie would not be doing labor for free and refers to his time at Mostro Lounge as “a job”; see: his Ceremonial Robes vignettes). While this doesn’t make up a large part of NRC’s money, it’s still a nice little bonus to account for.

NRC also has many, MANY wealthy students, including literal celebrities and royalty. In fact, the upper middle class to flat-out rich make up the majority of the main cast (close to like 70-75%). If this is also the case for the regular mob students, then there are many other ways for the school to get huge donations. In the main story alone, two significant donations are mentioned: Kalim's dad gave enough money for NRC to completely renovate Scarabia and the Shroud parents paid for all the damages caused to the school's buildings. Additionally, Crowley says that the Shrouds made "substantial contributions toward expanding [NRC's] facilities."

Please note that this is just donations from current students’ families. Think about potential donations coming from NRC alumni too!!

It should be noted that NRC has the financial power to spend liberally, and no one really says that this will put the school in a touch spot. For example, all students are provided free uniforms (school, dorm, PE, robes, labwear, etc.; even the birthday outfits are said to be provided by the school), but they have to pay for replacements if they fuck up their first one(s). Crowley literally buys up Sam's entire stock of goods during Ghost Marriage... and if you know anything about Sam, it's that he can magically keep things "IN STOCK NOW!!" Crowley even indicates in one of his voice lines that he is in constant competitions to buy out Sam's stock and has scarcely managed to one-up him--so the fact that Crowley does buy out Sam during an event is meaningful and speaks to how much of the school's money he is throwing to save it. He also tells Sam to bill the school for the cost of the fairy dust in Fairy Gala.

Both times, Crowley complains about how he would rather not spend money, but he does so anyway. This in of itself does NOT prove that NRC is in need of money, this is just proof of Crowley's cheapness. (We see many other examples of this greed and stinginess of his; he guilts Yuu for spending money on them, constantly tries to get free food and souvenirs from his students, and cuts costs for Halloween candy.) If NRC were truly hurting financially though, then they would not be able to throw lavish events or donate back to the community, both of which still happen multiple times. For example, NRC holds a huge Halloween event every year in which they open their campus to outsiders. This event is entirely free and involves a budget large enough for each dorm to create intricate decorations and costumes for 800ish students. There is also enough money to throw a celebration party for the students at the end of it—and let’s remember, NRC has the money to afford five star ghost chefs to regularly cater, serve in the cafeteria, AND teach their Culinary Crucibles/Master Chef courses.

While explaining the nature of the Halloween events, Crewel cites that NRC has survived this long in part due to the "While explaining the nature of the Halloween events, Crewel cites that NRC has survived this long in part due to the "understanding, cooperation, and subsistence of Sage's Island locals." This implies that the immediate community on the island also supports NRC in some ways. Perhaps it isn't financially, but it's clear that NRC still has social capital and a good reputation in spite of its losses to RSA.

In Port Fest, Crowley states that setup, food supplies, and all other expenses will be covered by the school. Half of the proceeds will then be donated to charity and the other half will be granted to the students to celebrate their hard work. Again, would NRC be giving away this money if they really needed it for the institution itself? They're not obligated to give money to the students, yet Crowley easily agreed when Azul asked for an incentive.

And let's not forget the school cultural festival, which was largely open for the public to attend. If they choose to spend on additional things (such as food and drink or VDC tickets, which are a "hot commodity"), that's on the individual. The school itself is hosting the event for free.

Yuu is offered a large sum of money (if the NRC tribe wins VDC)... and Ramshackle renovations (from Crowley) in book 5 in exchange for letting the boys host their training camp in their dorm. Look at how old and run-down Ramshackle is; there is no doubt that such repairs would be pretty expensive—but Crowley doesn't complain about the cost, he's not above bribing someone to make himself and his school look good.

Crowley caring about his reputation isn't new either, it's a pattern. We see him getting upset at NRC's loss in book 5 and lamenting bad publicity/being excited about good publicity in numerous events (Ghost Marriage, Wish Upon a Star, etc.) The school has been under his care for a long time, so naturally he will feel proud and/or slighted whenever NRC is involved.

This leads me to the conclusion that Crowley, the figurehead and headmaster of NRC, and his own personality quirks are being misconstrued as an indication that NRC is in a bad financial spot. His own fixation on triumphing over their rival school, acquiring and maintaining material goods for himself, and wanting positive attention do not reflect the state of the school. Notice how no one but Crowley whines about the financials and how while Crowley still complains about spending money, he has no qualms with spending lavishly himself on school events and holidays. This means NRC has money to spare, but Crowley is just stingy about how those funds are allocated.

[amisace]

Just finished rewatching Arcane in my language (Italian) just because I thought it would be funny (but jokes on me I'm in tears for the second time) but I cannot stress enough about jayvik because they used the word 'partner' maybe once in the entire show EVEN IN THE LAST EP WHEN THEY LITERALLY WERE HAVING A SOULMATES MOMENT THEY HAD THE AUDACITY TO USE 'MY BEST FRIEND' NO I'M SORRY WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WHY ARE WE BEING SO HOMOFOBIC ARE WE SEEING THE SAME THING?! 'colleagues' and 'my best friend' my fucking ass, I'm so done

[redxluna]

This is the very best wake up gift, ohmyGOD!

No idea what to do with this as of yet, but I'm stuck on the concept of Jayce self-deprecatingly acknowledging that he's not the ideal for an Omega only for Viktor to be left utterly bewildered because, while that might be the case for Piltover, it's not for Zaun where to call Jayce a coveted Omega standard would be an understatement.

(Edited to add: I have a soft spot for reversal from the norm scenarios where Omegas, being literal life givers, get to call the shots to an extent, so just the idea of Jayce sheepishly laughing over no one coming forward to court him while Viktor's just stuck in, "???" mode because, in Zaun, this man could literally order suitors to prove themselves worthy.)