#IM GOING INSANE OVER ARCANE AND JAYVIK It’s

[pastej]

Late night work leads to well deserved naps 🌙

[flowerspeakz]

Lmao I remember seeing images of vi as a pitfighter and thinking "noo spoilers 😭" (I didn't want to know ANYTHING about season 2 before watching it--get the best experience, yk?).

But like,,, Vi's pitfighter phase was so insignificant? Like actually so brushed over? I totally forgot about it because it had one stupid montage and that's it.

Why did she even become a pitfighter? Ik that it's her coping with her life falling apart, by why pitfighting? And also where's the pitfighting happening? And why is that vander replacement there? What??? Can they not like continue the insane worldbuilding they had from before please?

ffs I'm tired of people claiming that people critiquing arcane have no media literacy and want to be spoon fed. Be so fr the first season of arcane is so so SO GOOD because the reasoning behind characters' decisions were explained/shown before the decision was made. (silco choosing that kid to be the first human shimmer weapon because that kid fucked up his recon mission on vi/powder/mylo/claggor so badly, powder wanting to prove that she isn't a jinx because mylo keeps dissing her about it, marcus being a mess of a dirty cop because his family's safety is in silco's hands, etc, etc)

Characters are not real people. Sure, a real person can make decisions out of left field. Yeah, real people have microexpressions that can tell you a lot about what they're thining. But a character's motivations and how they think should be clear to the audience (generally, ofc there's exceptions im not stupid yo).

Yeah, I know why each character did what they did in s2, but not in the way I did in s1. Not in a way that matters.

I mean, I totally forgot that Mel and Jayce were in a relationship in s1. Where did that go?? I guess people are so obsessed with jayvik that they were probably celebrating that the writers forgor about that important character/plot point. You're telling me not a single character has ANY curiosity??? Jayce sees that Mel is a mage and doesn't, yk, insist on getting the full story??? And vice versa??? Even if they implied that that conversation happens off-screen that's not enough. Seeing how these two very close characters express these very traumatic events to each other would be such a good look into their internal mindscapes and how they view the crazy shit that just happened to them. But nooo. We can't explore their relationship together because jayce needs to be obsessed with viktor.

GOD I want a bi character in a show to come out of a same-sex relationship and end up in a "straight" relationship just to watch the internet fucking implode. Every bi/plurisexual person deserves a smooch on the forehead and a little voice that tells them 'love who you love, nothing could make you less queer than you are. yeah, people sure do think otherwise but fuck them ong holy shit'

omggg dont even get me started on caitvi... can we not get a healthy wlw relationship that isn't rooted in codependency and general toxicity?? "people just cant let lesbians have anything can they," i've heard people say in response to people criticising the caitvi sex scene... NO! I want sapphics to know that they can have healthy, non-abusive relationships where you, yk, actually talk to your partner and ARENT just the dirt under their nails. tf.

[sinfiltrate]

Act 3 spoilers. (pt 2)

JAYCE TIME!!! I love that man and I NEED to talk about him.

Again, I'm gonna start with what I'm happy about.

I enjoy how they demonstrated his ingenuity and perseverance in episode 7. Making a leg brace out of his hammer? Eating whatever animals came through that cave? Being able to tolerate those beings that watched his every move without going completely insane? It was amazing to see someone who was previously suicidal fight so hard to live.

I was pleasantly surprised with how he could still be considerate after everything that happened to him. He hadn't let that experience erase his former self entirely, his kindness was still able to pull through, which is just another example of his tenacity.

The development of his relationship with Viktor. It was beautiful seeing Jayce admit that he admired Viktor all along, and his imperfections even more so. All of you who ever thought the opposite of him BE ASHAMED. He loved Viktor so much, and after everything, finally realized that Viktor should've been his top priority because he's what he cared about this whole time.

Jayce looked absolutely gorgeous in this act, as expected, THANK YOU.

Now, what I'm mostly just disappointed by.

The lack of attention paid to his hallucinations. There was one more in episode 8 and that was it. I guess I was just expecting more of that, considering how frequent it was in episode 5 and 6. I really wanted them to explore his trauma. Surviving for what seems to be months in an abandoned part of the world that you took part in destroying, unintentionally or not, can do A LOT to someone's head, especially someone like Jayce, who had once been so naive to and inexperienced with suffering. He was NOT privileged, mind you, but he was raised in Piltover, a city built on peace and wealth.

The ending Jayce received was, to me at least, underwhelming. It's a win for JayVik fans, but it is NOT a win for Jayce Talis fans (or just me idk man IM UNSATISFIED). I feel like it really undermines Jayce as a character, revealing that his entire life begins and ends with Viktor since he is the mage he met as a kid. It makes it seem that Jayce was simply a pawn in Viktor's story, like nothing he did ever actually meant anything because no matter what, he was going to drop it all for Viktor. Endearing in a romantic aspect, yes, but disappointing in every other. I really wanted more for him. I would've honestly preferred it if the mage wasn't Viktor, rather some other league character that could become a bigger part of the next series they're making. Having it be Viktor makes the world seem so small.

The build-up of him during episode 9 was ultimately unnecessary. He didn't even fight in the war, let alone fight Viktor while in his Machine Herald form. He just ended up talking to him with a "this isn't you" type beat and then proceeded to warp out of existence with Viktor. NOT DEAD... btw.. he's alive and well just on another astral plane don't get it twisted. I understand that they're soulmates destined to meet each other in every universe, but I didn't expect such a happy ending for them. I WANTED A BOSS FIGHT WITH SPIT BLOOD AND TEARS

Also, I feel like there was no true explanation as to why the gemstone had to be imbedded in Jayce's wrist? Was it simply so he could carry it into wherever Viktor was? For me, I genuinely thought it would give Jayce some type of control over magic, unlock his inner arcane or SOMETHING. The way Viktor said Jayce had too touched the arcane made me think that's exactly what was going to happen, like Jayce was going to unlock his connection to magic through the stone literally being inside him. It could've been an explanation as to why magic fascinates him so much, he just needed a link to it, straight from the source to realize his full potential. I'm honestly sad that they didn't delve deeper into that. Him and Mel would've been so powerful together. SOMEONE MAKE A FIC OF JAYCE BEING A MAGE PLEEEASE IT WOULD BE SOOOO COOL CMON GUYS

Back to episode 7, I also expected Jayce to fight those things he saw while in the other dimension. It would've been fascinating to see how severely they affected his mental state, considering they were literally breathing down his neck the entire time he was there. I would've liked to see him one day just snap and dismantle one of those things. Seeing how they weren't violent upon his arrival, I doubt they'd fight back, and he'd just take out all his rage and sadness and guilt on them. It would explain why he was so unfazed when he killed salo; both because he knows it isn't truly him and he's already killed so many, it no longer has an effect. And it might've given him more battle IQ, using them as test dummies and learning how to defend himself. That would've been a cool segment of his time spent there. There just wasn't enough time to go that deep.

In conclusion, they could've made him so much cooler, just saying. But seriously, I think I expected too much out of this act, and the second season in general. And I love Jayce, the end.

[mouthsfullofsharpteeth]

i literally feel like season 2 of arcane has changed my brain chemistry like im going insane over here. season 1 it was vi and jinx that had me emotionally wrecked and season 2 its jayvik that have me going through the one million stages of grief. and jinx and vi are still killing me from this season, and jayvik still had me enamored in season 1, but WOW WOWOOWOWOWOOWWOOWOOW. im rattling off the walls of my enclosure