#Ishas character pisses me off

[bichletmepickaname]

I’m going to be real. Arcane act 2 is going pretty shit. And I don’t have high hopes for the next and last act. I really believe it should have had 3 season because this whole second act feels like it should have been its own season.

Arcane whole show not tell thing has been thrown out the window too often to count. Or it has characters do things without explanation. Too much time with one character too little time with another. I do not know how they are going to wrap this up satisfyingly in three more episodes.

I’m still very invested in arcane even with its flaws. I am too attached to the characters story world and fandom to start to really dislike it over some writing flaws. But I am a little disappointed and worried going forward.

[666silco]

This is something I’ve wanted to do since my first one, I have updated my character tierlist from s1 to s2 now that it’s finished! I always think these are fun so I just wanted to post them. As you can see my opinions on many characters changed quite a bit. Also these are in order, even for very minor characters. The “first” one is accurate to the one I made in 2022 when I first watched the show, I just remade it so the tierlists match.

[idolomantises]

Thoughts on Arcane season 2

I didn’t like this season

It’s not bad, but I found it incredibly rushed, cramped and deeply unsatisfying

While season 1 had several protagonists it was also pretty obvious that Vi and Jinx were the emotional core of the entire show so why on earth was their dynamic barely explored here

Vi went from being my favorite character to a character I found deeply frustrating and annoying. What the hell is her personality of getting her sister back and fucking the hot lesbian. She has no consistency whatsoever and it’s something I don’t think the show realizes how batshit the constant flip flopping in. What do you mean you sister tells you she’s going to kill herself and then you start fucking your messy situationship

I don’t really care for Jayvik but I found Jayce’s confession very sweet.

Mel my beautiful queen they’re gonna call you a Mary Sue

What the fuck was with all that Witch shit and Ambessa’s death was incredibly unsatisfying

Victor fans who kept begging the team to not make him a hot buff robot so he can still be a skinny twink pisses me off so bad because now we have an inferior twink robot design. I know fans probably didn’t influence this but I also need to complain about their lack of taste like what do you mean you didn’t want to see a hot buff robot man.

Ekko feels like an incredibly unimportant character and I’m pretty sure fans only like him because of what he can do for Jinx. A part of me wished he actually did hold a grudge just to see how fans reacted.

Season 1 was all about setting up emotional complexities and how nobody was truly evil and the show made it seem like there was no way for anyone to fully recovery from this but everyone is holding hands and singing kumbaya’s so alright nevermind then

This show was honestly a little too in love with Jinx. I did not enjoy her writing in acts 1 and 2.

The jokes were really bad this season

The songs oh my god the SONGS. I didn’t mind them in season 1 but in season 2 it started to remind me of love is blind and anyone who has watched that show would know what a massive insult that is.

Caitvi lesbian sex scene and I couldn’t even enjoy it because the writing was pissing me off

Caitlyn should’ve continued her little fascist arc.

Mel’s arc this season felt like weird fanfiction.

A bunch of random side characters die off unceremoniously after the show gave them so much unnecessary screen time

I hated Isha sorry. I’ve never seen a character more clearly made to die.

Jinx death means nothing to me because I know she isn’t dead so why even do all that lol

I will never call this show sexist but it has done a massive disservice to its female characters.

[le-fruit-de-la-passion]

Does a bad ending ruin a good story? A comprehensive guide to my feelings on the Arcane finale

*Spoilers for Arcane season 2*

So. You just finished the show, and you're staring at the screen in bewilderment. Perhaps you’re even with some friends, shouting words of confusion to the rolling credits. Try as you might, you can barely hear them, because a single thought echoes in your mind and pushes away any other:

��What the fuck just happened?”

If this happened to you, then boy oh boy, we're on the same boat. If it didn't, well, I'm glad for you friend! We might not have been looking for the same things from this story. But this is my post, meaning I will give my opinions (which are objectively correct because this is my blog and I'm the mayor here) on everything that Arcane broke and failed to deliver in its last 2 episodes.

Let's start with characters, and why none of it mattered.

Jinx symbolized the fear we all have of not belonging somewhere, of not having anything to call home or anyone to call a family. Her anger stemmed from wanting to carve a place in a society and a world that had so harshly rejected her (i.e., Vi leaving her). Her existence was a huge middle finger to all that refused to let her live, a fight to build herself something wholeheartedly hers (hence her being an inventor). It was proof that despite the world telling her she was better off dead, she would never stop fighting to prove it wrong.

… and she died.

She died, and that means all the suffering she went through to exist simply amounted to nothing. She left nothing behind either, no trace of a legacy, something that would have left her mark on that world. Isha, the child she raised as a daughter, died. Silco, who she taught love and care to, died. Vander, who she brought back from years of trauma and torture, died. Jinx fought so hard to live, and in the end, it was as if she hadn't lived at all.

Viktor is most certainly the character that made me the angriest, because of how attached I am to the person he is in season 1 (and even the first two acts of season 2 to an extent). Everything that made him so beautifully complex… gone, in about 10 minutes. There was NO reason to make him the surprise ultimate villain. Viktor had always, always been a pacificist. That's why he was so adamant Hextech not be used as a weapon. That's why every time there were chances to test hextech to hurt, he tried to learn how it could heal. Yes, his fusion with the hexcore had changed him; but NOT into a man who didn't care for human life. He wanted to help all the hurt done to his people. People like him, living day to day in the undercity, but who had never gotten a chance to crawl out of their hell. His community was about HEALING, not controlling. The very IDEA that he would accept killing innocents and ally with Noxus, the warmongers, is so ridiculous I could genuinely laugh if it didn't make me so angry. The show needed an easy, black-and-white showdown to conclude a story that would have needed so much more time to tell. And they chose Viktor. Because it was the easy way out. It was the perfect foil to the return of the Golden Boy. And that PISSES me off.

There is this really shitty concept in popular media that the handicapped/chronically ill character is always in the pursuit of being “cured” and that they need outside help to realize “that their imperfections make them perfect”. Fuck. You. As someone with chronic illness and who just finished beating blood cancer, fuck you. That realization, that you're you with every part of your being, even the ‘bad’ ones, cannot come from outside. It's YOU who needs to learn it. It's you who needs to discover how your body and your mind are so much stronger than you previously thought them to be. Not your lover, your family, your friends, or God forbid your able-bodied lab partner. You. Others may tell you as many times as they want your illness doesn't define you; it won't matter until you, yourself, have understood why and have accepted it. Having someone swoop in and “fix” Viktor with a “you don't have to change uwu” is just….. so reductive I can barely find the words for it. That was VIKTOR’S path to find, and not Jayce’s role to find it for him.

Also… Viktor wasn't trying to ‘fix’ his leg; he was trying to find a cure to a deadly illness ravaging his body and no doubt the bodies of many in Zaun. The HELL is the message here??? That he should have just rolled with it because the deadly illness was part of him??? Again, as a cancer survivor. Fuck right off.

Of course, I can't just ignore the hideous get-up they put him in at the end. The man who laughed at Jayce's narcissism….you want me to believe… he would put on that fucking edge lord costume and not DIE of embarrassment??? The design makes no sense from a narrative standpoint either: if his cane has become the sceptre, why is he still keeping it? He doesn't need it anymore to walk, and it's a reminder of his weaknesses as a human that he apparently hated so much. Why the hell does he keep it then? And the hexclaw. Where did that bad boy come out from?? Did you all see a secret extra bonus scene where he steals it from the lab, because I sure didn't. It doesn't add anything to his sets of powers either it’s… it's a fucking laser gun. WHY. And oh sweet god that mask… there would have been so many ways of designing a mask more meaningful than the one from LoL. This one is just. A piece of metal he spawned in embryo. Get it? Because he's made of metal now and also hiding his face means no more humanity? Get it?? Of fucking course you do, because this was the easiest and worst possible way they could have integrated the mask.

Viktor and Jayce had a fantastic dynamic in that Viktor had started out as the loner, the underdog scientist from the slums; while Jayce was the leader figure, living in comfort that made him attachingly naive, his face plastered on posters stroking his ego. The shift is delightfully slow, as Viktor gains in confidence and determination to see his invention through no matter what, while Jayce is confronted with harsher and harsher truths about the world he so blissfully ignored. By Act 2, they have fully switched roles: Viktor is now the leader figure, a symbol of the future for the people, while Jayce is desperately alone, both physically in the hexcore anomaly, and mentally in being the only one who has seen the devastating future. Excellent stuff. What would be a great way to push these parallels further and to show the complexity of these characters, and perhaps how they can balance each other out? Well, Fortiche sure didn't know, now Viktor is the bad bad guy and Jayce is mister hero. Zaun bad, Piltover good. All nuance, gone. Proving that indeed, the man from poverty and inequality turns out evil, while the one from comfort and wealth turns out to be the hero of the story. The whole “giving a warm speech to the bad villain about how you care for them, somehow immediately changing their ways, and dying together to save the world” can work well in shounen anime where friendship is magic, or in the Ben 10 live-action movie (yes, that's the plot, I thought that wasn't deep when I was like 7 years old so imagine now), but not in a show like Arcane. Not with the ethical and moral nuances they have accustomed us to.

And now, let's explore...

Plotholes and incomplete storylines galore.

Ekko’s tree and the contamination of Zaun from Piltover? Fuck that. The huge showdown between the two opposite yet sister cities, like Jinx and Vi, that has been built up for two seasons? Fuck that. And for what?

For the Noxus sequel teaser.

Mel’s plotline about finding her mage origins had NOTHING to do with the main plot. Absolutely nothing. It added 0 twists or intrigues to the story, and served no purpose except making her a deus ex machina for a broken ending. All it was there for was to lay the base for a following show on Noxus and the Black Rose. Time that could have been spent either giving Mel a proper arc related to the plot, or giving all the other rushed character arcs more development.

Finally, and I deeply regret having to say this, but… the end of Vi and Cait's relationship was majorly disappointing to me. As an LGBTQ+ person myself, who feels attraction to women, it was a delight to have such a realistically portrayed w/w relationship on screen. Popular media tends to portray m/m relationships as these doomed, sinful feelings between two repressed guys, while w/w relationships are shown to just be all sunshine and rainbows and teddy bears, because two women together are a cute little accessory to have on screen. It’s non-threatening. But not Cait and Vi; their bond was raw, and rocky, with violent lows and passionate highs in a world that seemed to want to keep them apart. Their separation and the introduction of Maddie showed the reality of a w/w relationship, where fights and cheating ARE things that happen, because they're two adult women with different beliefs, objectives, an trauma. Putting them back together, as if nothing had happened, without giving us anything about how their relationship would have evolved from the breakup? I'd never thought I'd say this, but it's too easy. How about Caitlyn's literal descent into fascism??? We’ll just ignore that? Vi will just ignore that?

As with everything else, this last part of Arcane destroys all the complex emotions that exist between these characters, the resentment, the anger, the frustration, built upon years of different social conditioning… gone. Because they had 2 episodes left to wrap it up, and there was no way to make a coherent and natural transition to them getting back together with that kind of time. And can I just say. The decision to have Vi, symbol of Zaun, go down on Caitlyn, symbol of Piltover and enforcers, in a prison cell that has held innocent Zaunites and represents their complete lack of freedom as individuals by a cop state that oppresses them….. yeah, bad. So bad.

And… the multiverse. Yup, they went the multiverse route. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing: the concept of multiverses itself is interesting in a vacuum, and quite a few properties have managed to make it work coherently. But it has been terribly overused and bastardized in serialized content in the last few years, for the simple reason that it's extremely practical. Why make a new, original series when you already have worlds and characters that are developed, and come with built-in fans? It's a money-saving hack! Why dedicate yourself to an ending that is meaningful in its finality and wraps the story properly when you can just say “It's just one ending in the multiverse!”. It takes away any accountability to the fans, and leaves the door open to a potential other version of the story! The perfect combo!

…except in practice, it comes off as lazy in a medium where that trope is overly saturated (don't start me on Marvel), and like a cowardly way of escaping from the responsibility of really taking the time to craft a good, solid ending to end your story.

So, with all that said: does it ruin Arcane for me? No, absolutely not, and I don’t think it should be for you either. The intricate artistry and raw talent that went into making the first season (and I would say a majority of the two first acts of season 2) is undeniable, and will stay undeniable. Nothing can touch that story. It will forever be one of my favourite pieces of animated media, which is saying a lot because I'm currently getting my master's degree on that topic.

However, it does give Arcane, as a whole rather than two separate seasons/entities, a very bittersweet feeling that is hard to forget. Thinking of what could have been, just if a little more time had been given to the minds behind the masterpiece you so loved… it's its own form of heartbreak. Academics have even compared it to experiencing a form of death of a loved one, before they ever got to reach their fullest potential and live the life they deserved. It may sound dramatic, but the feelings you feel in this moment, watching the horrible end of a fiction you have so much love for, are real. No one can take those away from you. You're allowed to grieve the loss of something that meant a lot to you.

Tldr; No, Arcane is not a bad series because of its rushed and incomprehensible ending. As they say, it's all about the journey, not the destination, even if that's one of the parts we tend to remember the most. And I don't know about you, but this was one of the best journeys I've ever been on.

[a-confused-spoon]

So about Caitvi...

I'm no one to judge whether or not caitvi is good representation. As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy if the lesbians watching the show are happy.

...you know what does piss me off though? A teeny tiny bit more than just "a little"?

Seeing some people defend the absence of a conversation between Caitlyn and Vi with "actions matter more than words".

Like...okay, first thing first, season 2 makes it pretty clear that's bullshit given how every other pairing previously at odds resolved things through the almighty power of talking things out: Vander wrote a letter to Silco and they became gay dads in the au, Ekko went through all possible combinations of words to convince Jinx not to blow herself up, and whatever the fuck Viktor and Jayce had going on in the finale... So yeah, crazy thing to say about this season;

Secondly, when we say "actions matter more than words", are we just not counting the verbal promise of not changing followed by abuse/ pain caused by the very much action of hitting a victim of police brutality who has utterly betrayed herself and her people for the sake of helping the same exact person who hit her because she pointed out "hey, maybe don't risk shooting a child"?

GRANTED this and most of what I'll say next is applicable to most of season 2 imo- we barely get to sit with the seriousness of a situation we just have to skip to the next one, so I wouldn't say it's a caitvi thing alone... nevertheless it's present there too, so back to the main conversation-

We know Caitlyn regrets it, but does she ever understand why it's so fucked up that she did that? Vi has a rush of emotions after realizing what Cait has done and is happy to stay with her, but once they... finish in that prison, does Vi really respect herself as an individual who has gone through some tough shit or is it a passive "fuck it we ball" attitude all the way to the finale where she wears once again the enforcer badge?

Caitlyn's personal character development (one that has to do with seemingly grief alone and nothing to do with classism and power dynamics which are a massive part of the problem both on a micro and macro level) shouldn't be something that "makes up" for what she did to Vi in episode 3, and because Vi's character was criminally neglected we never really get to see her actually give a shit about herself beyond, allegedly, her relationship with Cait- which is fucked, considering Vi always ever only sees herself in relation to others (Cait or Jinx for the most part) and never as a stand alone person.

That's why that conversation was pretty much needed here.

Aside from the fact that having a conversation with a partner isn't just saying "sorry", it's about being vulnerable, letting them know you see them, telling them where you stand, being just openly honest with one another etc. (aka is an integral part of the relationship itself), it also would've been an excellent way to let all the development they couldn't show for a lack of time still shine through dialogue.

No, it's not a "wanting things spelled out", it's a "they quite literally did that a bunch of times already in this very season, so they might as well do it for the main romance too since a conversation would also be fitting for the current situation"; examples might include that one scene with Silco and Ekko in episode 7 about forgiveness, or that one scene of Isha and Jinx where Jinx literally spells out "hey you remind me of Powder, meaning myself when I was younger, the younger self I thought I left behind-" (insert that one clip of Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove).

And before anyone puts words in my mouth, this isn't coming from a place of hate for either Caitlyn and Vi or Caitvi as a ship; engaging in criticism isn't hate for what's being critiqued, so please don't assume that some conversations don't come from a place of love for the show and the characters just because they don't openly praise every bit of what we got.

edit: ...tell you what, the more I think about it the more it seems that the issues I have with how this ship comes to be aren't even super specific to these characters and their relationship, but are actually the same exact things I don't love about the general writing of season 2 on a bigger scale (lack of commentary on class oppression, character arcs that feel unfinished or cut short, the theme of love and forgiveness ending up undermining the seriousness of some situations- I'm not complaining about the theme itself nor I'm saying it comes out of nowhere, I'm saying that probably due to the pacing/lack of time we can't sit with how fucked up some stuff is before getting to the point of "love > anything else"... which isn't a wrong sentiment, I'm just talking about the journey to get there)

[identityflawed]

to every single arcane fan on the planet who is pissed at caitlyn for her actions in s2 act 1, please listen to me:

you are right to be pissed, that’s kind of the point, but hating her means you have to hate… like every other character. grief is a powerful factor in almost all of arcane and the motives of every character are based in something they’ve lost: whether it’s family, ideals, reputation, land, etc, they’re all dealing with loss and that causes them to act in morally-challenging ways. because that’s what grief does. a loss unthinkable causes actions unthinkable.

caitlyn joins the grief club a bit later than your other main characters, jinx and vi. but unlike jinx and vi, we actually see cait’s actions fresh off the block. the time cuts in act 1 only showed the clean-cut effects of losing their parents on the bridge, and then the new jinx and vi that occurred after the five (?) year time-skip after the explosion in the warehouse. you don’t see them when they’re full of raw grief and terror and illogical actions. you don’t see how severely vi was beaten in prison, how she must’ve lashed out in response to being taken away from her sister, how she continuously made the situation worse for herself because she felt like she deserved it, that she should’ve fought harder, been a better leader and a better sister. we don’t see jinx’s mental breakdowns afterwards, we don’t see how silco grooms her, how he uses her for his literal and emotional goals, how she’s shattered and how she pushes people away because of her own mistakes… but we’re seeing it with caitlyn, we’re seeing the rawness that comes with all of it, and we’re seeing how that impacts the narrative and other characters. people who haven’t grieved don’t seem to understand that it is like containing a storm, and you cannot do it by yourself, all of the time, and sometimes it gets out to other people if they press hard enough.

arcane is very cyclical in the way that all characters follow the same path, over and over again. caitlyn and jinx are following narrative paths, especially when you compare ambessa to silco. i do wonder if jinx knows that silco stabbed vander, that he was the one who ruined everything, hired the goons to jump them and scared her into dropping their haul from jayce’s workshop, etc. i wonder if the reason she continues to spiral is because she doesn’t know, and if caitlyn will get the same treatment with ambessa’s betrayals and her hand in the attack on the memorial.

whatever the case, you cannot defend jinx and hate caitlyn. they are not the same, i understand, but they are both products of massive grief that they blame themselves heavily for.

back to the idea of grief being a storm, because the most common gripe i see with caitlyn is how she promised vi she wouldn’t change, and then changed within a day. this isn’t… this is not an unreasonable course of action from caitlyn, given the situation and how she’s feeling. she is like… at most, a couple weeks out after her mother’s death. it is still an incredibly fresh wound, and she is sort of hinging her entire self-worth and identity on her ability to make the shot that resolves this feeling inside of her. she doesn’t get to make that shot, and fresh off of that miss, that realization that the fight is going to be prolonged and that vi is not as unattached to jinx as she says she is…

both of them made strange promises in that tunnel that they didn’t quite keep. how can you blame vi or caitlyn for picking their family over the girl they met less than a month ago? isha was a wildcard in that fight, but they both knew that caitlyn wouldn’t actually miss the shot. vi didn’t flinch when caitlyn shot 2 inches behind her, vi didn’t flinch when cait shot the gun out of isha’s hand, or the finger from jinx’s, etc, etc. it wasn’t about missing, it was the realization for vi that she can’t just cut herself off from her sister (especially when there’s signs that powder is still in there), that it is much easier said than done. and for cait, it was the realization that vi is not with her. that vi never changed.

that’s kind of the issue. vi didn’t want caitlyn to change, but caitlyn wanted vi to change, and they’re both in situations that demand change and stagnancy, respectively. see what i’m saying? does any of this make sense?

[mikodrawnnarratives]

Arcane s2 heavily critical: more discussing suicide in arcane

Something about Jinx's ending being discussed as tragic really rubs me the wrong way. I've seen one analysis try to spin it as beautiful and it really fucking irks me

And I haven't been quiet about her ending pissing me off, both if she survived and if she didn't.

If she didn't survive the arcane writers really did just say "If you identify with this character, have troubles, feel like you are a jinx, killing yourself is totally a good solution!" Which is a message that has already hurt suicidal people! Even if they didn't intend it, they did send that message. They didn't do nearly enough to make it any different

If she DID for 1) Where is she getting this sudden willingness to live? If Ekkos visit changed her mind that much then it definitely should have had more screentime 2) WHY ARE THEY LEAVING THIS SO FUCKING OPEN ENDED?? So many people are going to miss the clues, this should have been a priority so "it's not too late to build something new" hits hard

Another thing I thought of is that one tumblr post about the key things that make up a tragedy and some being that This didn't have to happen, things could have been different if the characters made different decisions, but since they are these these characters that would Never Happen.

But Jinx killing herself wasn't inevitable. Jinx isn't destined to ruin everything. She isn't destined to be miserable. We SAW her be happy with Isha, we SAW that she could do good. Then Isha sacrifices herself and it regresses Jinx back to the beginning of the season, even more depressed and ready to kill herself.

This is not a fucking tragedy. This is an insulting ending, an insulting season tbh, for such a great character who deserved better. A tragedy would be better than this. This is sad for sad sake

I wonder if anyone has made any videos on this season relying too much on parallels. That is what EVERYONE praising the season goes on and ON about and it doesn't make up for the shitty writing imo

[thataromanticbisexual]

I have an arcane 'hot take'

I wish they ended season two off at the end of act 2—now stay with please just stay with me for a moment!!

just so you know this is a really long rant so i'm sorry in advance, spoilerss ahead ofc!

main focus characters mentioned + timebomb—

────────── ⊹ ⊱ ☆ ⊰ ⊹ ──────────

Most of us know (at least i think everyone knows) that arcane was originally supposed to be a five season show, i repeat a five season show. And i really fucking wish they kept it this way, or at least made it a season longer than it ended up being. But don't get me wrong, i'm happy (and maybe a little heartbroken) with the ending we got. I just wish they didn't condense it down into the two seaon show.

In all honesty, It felt a tiny bit rushed. And yes, maybe that was our fault for making so many theories, but either way, they introduced so SO many new themes, for non league players (like myself) an episode or half on magic on it's own, and don't get me started on the new characters. There wasn't enough time to explore all of their backstories, or their motives in only nine episodes. We needed more time, i'm sure we can all agree on that, right? Do you get what i mean?

To get a better idea of what I mean next I’ve provided visual representation, oh yeah

Personally think this would’ve been a pretty good ending for the season. The cliffhanger would leave fans pissed but it would do numbers.

So instead of cramming all of the seasons plots + sub plots into those three acts, they could extend it and explore those points in more detail and depth. We'd be able to develop a much better understanding of those plots.

─────────────────────────

An example of the extended plots i'd like to make clear is Maddie. She was iffy from the start. Sure she was cute and seemed sweet and all, but there was something off about her. And then we learn that she was actually working under Ambessa's wing, fuck we've already missed so much.

Why was she working for Ambessa? Why was she smiling like a bitch when she was abt to shoot Cait? Did she have ulterior motives outside of being a pawn in Ambessa's game? There's other points that i can't think of right now, but there's missing infomation. There is holes.

Then there's Enforcer Vi, Act 2 Caitlyn and Vi. Their arcs in the story were watered down DRASTICALLY. In a simple summary, we witnessed vi become an enforcer, the caitvi get together and divorce in the same episode. Then we saw the start and the end of Caitlyn's dictator arc from the 6 month timeskip in like under 20 minutes of screentime. And we also got 2 lousy minutes of pit fighter Vi from said timeskip. There was major external and internal struggle for the both of them during this time in their lives and it impacted them a shit tonne in different ways, and it was basically was skipped over like it was nothing. These experiences alone impacted their mental health heavily. We could’ve gotten so much more from this!! Be so fucking for real.

And then there's Jinx and Isha. We got flashbacks during Act 2 Ep6, but thats the thing, they were just flashbacks. We didn't get to experience the whole thing. We see this huge change in Jinx after the time skip, and it was all because she had Isha to ground her. And we see nothing of this. The character development was pivotal, and we missed it.

Same slightly goes for Ep9. Jinx lost Isha, and she's about to kill herself. Then Ekko steps in and saves the day. Next time we fucking see them they're in different outfits, they've got paint and doodles on each other, AND they've teamed up? Ugh! Again we've missed so much. And to top it all off, it was confirmed that they scrapped at least 30 minutes of timebomb footage between?? God damn.

All of these points could have been explored deeper if only we had more time. More of Maddie’s story, more of pit fighter Vi, more of dictator Cait, more of Jinx, Isha, Ekko.

Sometimes these things can’t be helped but it would’ve been so nice.

Got opinions? If you do I’d actually love to hear more theories from you people. I love to see your thoughts and stand points.

(and i also just want to point out that theres a FUCKING petition to relase the extended cut of the caitvi sesbian lex scene, which is so crazy and insane... anyway heres the link if you want it)

[hutaotown]

act 1 had me tweakin out but act 2 feels bittersweet yk? like of course im sad over the possible??? character deaths, but everything felt necessary and like it was happening for a reason. viktors little speech about humanity really confirmed this. it seems like he realized that what he said to jayce earlier was right and killing him is what needed to happen. everything seemed like a dream and its only natural that it all comes crumbling down and tragic shit happens to the characters that only wanted the best.

ANYWAYS, back to my normal nonsense here are some less existential thoughts.

- sevika KILLED ME. like how did they make her hotter??? especially w that ugly ah haircut????

- im also becoming a jayce stan like viktor was hot ash w that long hair, but jayce??? ho mama im boutta BUST.

- vi punching isha??? like girl will always be a kid attacker smh. loving small parallels between jinx and isha tho super funsies.

- when cait knocked out vi and took her to ambessa i was so so scared UNTIL i realized that vi was tied up. like it just HIT ME bc caitlyn KNOWS that vi can get out of situations like that. i got so hype after that.

- it seems like isha will become more of a symbol than jinx. from how she showed up at the rally to what went down at the end of the season. its giving rue in the hunger games, how she is seen as the innocence in this horrible conflict.

- that undercity doctor ALWAYS pissed me off i dont even remember his name thats how much beef i have with this man.

- even with all this beef i still understand all sides and love the politically tension because its ALWAYS more complicated than right and wrong.

- MEL WHERE ARE UUUU GIRL JOIN ZAUN PLSSSSSS COME TO US.

- im SO excited for the chromakopia edits on tiktok they always hit

- i hope vi and jinx stayed chill for the rest of the season i CANT have them beefing again. also excited to see how caitlyn fits into this dynamic.

- I CANT BELIEVE I ALMOST FORGOT THE FELICIA VANDER SILCO FLASHBACK!!! i genuinely LOVED seeing their relationship and younger silco made me cry a bit :( he deserved better.

- last thing i swear but jinx ate vi up in their fight the way she was like girl we both psychotic stop crashing out over your girlfriend and lock innnn

- also im a maddie defender SUE ME

[k3n-dyll]

just scrolled through an account on here of a person who hates ambessa and says shes a bad mother for hitting mel (i mean true) but their fave characters are silco and singed.... am i reaching or am i seeing something here

NO YOU AREN'T REACHING! SINGED???? He and Ambessa have similar motives let's be so serious. Yes, Ambessa does have a lot of political motives for sure, but damn near every action that lady took was in an attempt to protect what was left of her family. Does that make her a good mother or a good person at all? Absolutely not, I love Ambessa and I can acknowledge that but that's what I'm saying! So many Silco stans will love him and try to make it seem like he was this great father to Jinx and that he did nothing wrong when we can SEE how he groomed her into a weapon for his own gain, and he put her through Hell to do it. We can SEE how much healthier Jinx looked and acted when it was just her and Isha.

It's not even the hating on Ambessa that pisses me off, you can hate her all you want, shit, she was pissing me the fuck off in both seasons, and you can even like Silco and Singed, I don't care - I just think turning around and trying to justify the actions of people like Silco and Singed while crucifying Ambessa for doing the same shit that makes me incredibly suspicious of the thought process behind it. Like why can Silco put Jinx through Hell and get half of Zaun hooked on drugs for his own gain and still have his actions justified? Why can Singed be the reason behind damn near everything and still be justified in his actions? It feels like something those kind of people need to unpack internally with themselves and their own bias

[zenlikestoread]

ARCANE S2 ACT 3 PREDICTIONS!!!

SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING UP TO S2 ACT 3

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1. Viktor Easter Arc. He’ll be back but different. More twinkish I fear. (He’ll come back but less hexy.)

2. Jayce flashback, maybe he confides in someone and we get to see all the shit he went through. I also think time here works differently. I think he’s been to the future and saw what Viktor was planning. (His glorious evolution which is making everyone robots)

3. CAITLIN GETS HER SHIT ROCKED!! (PLEASE) (She’s like the one character that can actually piss me off.)

4. Guys I do not think Vander will make it. (I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BUT I CANT GET MH HOPES UP)

5. I don’t think Isha will make it either. (I fear this was always gonna happen. Sweet summer child, I will miss you.)

6. Ekko timebomb shit?? I hope my bbg comes back okay but also maybe the Arcane HexBall shit has given him his time powers and he’ll use it and save the day! (Maybe not “save the day” but yk.)

7. Firelight base gets fucked up… (I don’t want it to happen but so far not much has happened with it so I’m preparing for the worst)

Overall… I’m scared. Please please may Ekko, Vi, Mel, and Viktor be so safe. And Jayce as well on behalf of my dear buddy Fish. 🙏🏾

[theoddest1]

“vi didn’t know jinx was gonna commit suicide, she didn’t see the conversation with Silco” she knew jinx was gonna do SOMETHING. She knows her dangerous her sister is and she just watched the little girl that healed/loved jinx die in front of them, she’s pretty fucking far from ok. I love how Isha, Silco and Sevika all care more about jinx than her own sister. Act 3 pisses me off. A bad ending to a beautiful fantastic series

At one point, Vi cared just as much as those 3, but now, she just seems like a bastardization of her own character. It's so sad cause I LOVE Vi. She is one of my favorite characters, but her behavior in the final 2 episodes... didn't feel like her....

[sapphiresaphics]

Fuck this stupid hellsite.

Someone made a post about Isha being “ableist” and I thought that was weird to say so I replied by saying that was a really flat black and white interpretation of her character because I felt like there was way more to her than that.

The person responded with points that actually made sense and clarified their point and I was about to write back to them thanking them for their contribution…

But I can’t.

Because they fucking BLOCKED me.

WTF is wrong with this fandom? I have never encountered so many people who just instantly block you for even the most trivial of things. Isn’t this the site where people are supposed to respond with well thought out essays and discuss media more thoroughly??? I WAS GOING TO FUCKING AGREE WITH THEM! WE WERE ON THE SAME SIDE!

I fundamentally do not understand what’s happening in this fandom. I’m part of so many different fandoms and I’ve never encountered so many people willing to be ignorant and spiteful and hateful for no good god damn reason, and it’s really pissing me off.

What am I doing wrong? Am I not supposed to engage with ANYONE on this site? Am I not supposed to respond to the stuff I see people saying? Am I just supposed to nod and agree and maintain an echo chamber of people all saying “yes!” to me at all times? That sure as hell doesn’t seem healthy to me…

Or am I just too old and I expect people to reply back when you say stuff and actually have a back and forth discussion? Is that my problem? Do people NOT do that anymore?

[gravecircuit]

Act 2 Review + Act 3 theories (FULL spoilers)

ouch

Maddie is up there waiting in Caitlyn's bed while this Shakespearean bloodbath is going down lmaoooooo

Jayce pancaking Salo made me cackle like an idiot, I heard the mario bros game over theme play when he did that, put that thing down you murderhobo omg

Vi didn't see the slap coming because Jinx was winding that one up since Season 1, Episode 3

I really thought Cait army vs. Jinx army was going to be a more fleshed out / dramatic arc but I'm not against the Metal Gear Powder episode we got instead.

My previous theory of it not being LeBlanc is essentially debunked in this batch - I was theorizing against it because of power scaling but looking at Mel's power, I thought she would have a force field but she's got some sort of phoenix force thing going on. (There's theories out now that MEL technically blew up the council in reflex to deflect the jinx rocket). I'll leave the Du Couteau theory on the shelf, but if were going all the way up to LeBlanc's office + reading all of Ambessa's lines, what on earth did Kino do to piss off DRACULA!?

To go further, because of in game descriptions people were speculating if the "Pantheon" in Ambessa's music video was just some Noxian stand in. But the Ambessa plot snippet + Mel's power maybe being hereditary makes me think actual Pantheon might be on the menu, as in, Mel is the child of the Matriarch and Aspect of War. Pin this for now, I'll browse the wiki again later.

Silco, Vander, Felicia flashback: new context dropped. Literal actual godfathers of Zaun. At this point how many generations back does sibling conflict go omg, Felicia's a descendent of Morgana or something.

Cait doing a 180 out of her heel turn felt a little rushed to me. We didn't see "commander" Caitlyn command anything?? It felt like she was in that ceremonial position Jayce offered her in season 1, it's like, "I'm a dictator /j" - Vi also didn't seem mad enough idk, off screen timeskip call her cupcake kiss and make up end scene bleh. They switch back sides with very little conflict idk.

"I won't fail, I swear it." Did Jayce enter the Viktorverse? Who else would he swear to if he's tasked with crossing that line?

Isha. Fortiche established 2 new cinnamon rolls in Act 1. The way they terrorize us with both of them in opposite ways omfg.

Overall, Act 2 felt like a lot of bullet points wanted to be covered. but still keeping Vi & Jinx as the through line. It's not perfectly paced, but I still think that they will stick the landing (especially after the end of this batch aaaaa).

Act 3 thoughts:

The Noxian invasion seems to be kicking off in Act 3, I wonder if there are any other tricks remaining up Ambessa's sleeve or if another Noxian character is who show's up with the air balloons / army. (Cast feels pretty full as it is but still)

It looks like Mel escapes and returns to Piltover maaaaybe in episode 7? The thing with Mel's story is again, I don't know what Piltover should do if LeBlanc actually rolls up. Everyone fire all their abilities I guess.

On that note, I really doubt any other characters are coming in as backup for Piltover. Maybe some from Zaun? (Urgot clutch LOL no). "Prototype Blitzcranks" might be used idk.

Heimerdinger might hard carry. Also, the in-game Arcane theme turrets looking like hex gates I think is intentional. Potential Piltover death laser incoming?

I'm hopping on the train of thought that Act 3 will have a scene of everyone dying and Ekko going "you're probably wondering how we got here" *rewinds the tape*

I think Viktor will be the final boss.

[fyeahnix]

Been thinking about Sevika a bit and I had some thoughts.... Vander included as well.

First off I'm leaving this untagged because I don't want the wrong people to get a hold of this but you can reblog if you want.

Second, to be clear, I have not seen/read/consumed any leaks about anything related to Arcane out of choice. I wanted to see this series unfold on release days and enjoy being unspoiled with most of the rest of the fandom. Nothing I say here regarding theories will have anything to do with leaks. If they do, I promise you it's coincidence or I'm just good at reading the tea leaves. That being said, please for my sake and the people reading this post, don't be an asshole and say anything related to any leaked content, vague mention or not. Actually if you read any leaks related to this, I'd really prefer if you kept any and all comments to yourself. This is primarily for folks like me who are just theorizing for fun until we get more officially released info.

Anyway let me start..

Life and Death

As I've said before, I am still fearing Sevika's death. That remains true even after Act 1 of the season has concluded. We know from the teasers and trailers that Sevika is getting a wardrobe update and a new look for Act 2 and beyond. But I still fear what will happen. I do think her situation can either go one of two ways:

Sevika Lives

I haven't had a chance to actually write this out in a fic yet but one of my headcanons for Sevika is that she'd heavily reconsider the real fight for Zaun if she met someone who she really and truly grew to care for and love. And not because she's flaky or Zaun doesn't matter. But because these life and death situations are incredibly more difficult when you have people in mind to protect. What happens if you die? Who will protect them when you're gone? Is it worth setting them up for heartache by putting yourselves in the line of fire? That's a lot to consider.

Season 1 showed us that Sevika thought Vander was weak for not taking the fight to Zaun a second time. But what she didn't understand was that he had loved ones to look after—kids. Would it be worth making them parentless a second time for Zaun's liberation? Who would look after them? That's a tough question to answer. And I think the rest of this season will build up to Sevika coming to the same realization that Vander and Silco did before her—is putting my home and life in danger worth risking losing my loved ones or my loved ones losing me?

I hate that now I just look like a damn copycat if this ends up coming to fruition but that's just the stress of being a slow ass writer. Oh well lol.

In any case, since it looks like Jinx is gonna be the real deal when it comes to taking the fight to Piltover, I'm willing to bet that Zaun will win their independence. It looks like they have it now in the current (now old) League lore so I don't think that outcome will change. If that wasn't the case, I'd say Sevika would probably give that fight up and live or straight up leave Zaun to go elsewhere.

Sevika Dies

I can see Sevika's death happen one of two ways:

1) Killed by Enforcers. This is obvious. Unfortunately it happens to a lot of Zaunites. I can see this happening to her either by getting caught somewhere unawares or protecting either Jinx and/or Isha.

2) Warwick*. This is...a tricky one. Most of us who know the absolute bare minimum of League lore know that Warwick is a genetically modified werewolf created by Singed but outside of that, I don't think we ever got his full identity (I know Riot has a short story for him but I haven't read it). It's pretty obvious by now that Vander is becoming Warwick. The big question is going to be what does that mean for the rest of the characters and Zaun? And how much of his memories will Warwick retain from being Vander?

If he does retain flashes of those memories, I can see him being pissed about what he may see as a betrayal and decide to kill Sevika for supporting Silco.....

More On Vander/Warwick

....HOWEVER....

I think it's also completely possible that Warwick retains some of his memories BUT encounters Sevika while she's with Jinx and Isha. And his memories of Jinx stop him from killing Sevika which would be VERY INTERESTING for two reasons. One, I think it would mean a lot to him to see his kid being protected and accepted by someone he felt betrayed him. That maybe he thought wrong of her because this kid he once knew as sweet and innocent likes her. And two, Jinx says to Smeech right before their fight that people close to her usually end up dead. Well what if Sevika ends up alive when confronting Warwick because she's around Jinx? That would be an interesting flip from last season and that statement overall.

Second point here. About Zaun's liberation, what if Warwick ends up being a key weapon to helping liberate them? The Chem Tanks attack on Piltover was devastating and if it wasn't for the Noxians, they would have caused quite a lot of destruction. Warwick's abilities are unknown right now and it doesn't even look like he's fully completed his transformation. The Enforcers hear about a giant ass wolf man monster roaming the streets of Zaun or too many die at his hands and are like "actually nvm they can fucking have their independence."

I'm almost sure the creators have said it's possible for more Arcane characters to become Legends in League so maybe Sevika could become one at some point? Idk

So yeah I am still bracing myself for the worst but ultimately just enjoying any screen time we get with her. According to the intro sequence, she ain't important enough to make a main character, so it's possible she's doomed OR she might be one of the characters who has their story expanded in a future League universe work when Arcane ends, which I'm almost sure will happen with Ambessa.

[ultfreakme]

Hi, Riki! How are you? Now that you've finished Arcane, what are your top 5 fav moments from the series (you can pick top 5 each for s1 & s2 or top 5 from s1 + s2)? Also, who are your top 3 fav characters? Which do you like best s1 or s2? Why?

So, I'm kinda confused, can I ask why are there so many hate for CaitVi & JayVic ships? Sorry if I ask too much....

Hi!!! I'm doing good~~ Thanks for asking anon!

Hmm, this is hard, I think I overall liked S1 better, so top favorites scenes:

Vi parkouring through the Undercity: I am a sucker for Vi, I just like seeing her happy and that was the happiest we ever see her.

Vi + Jayce taking down the Shimmer manufacturers. The fight was too cool.

Sevika + Jinx vs. Smeech: I love the song and the fight is just fun

Ekko in the final fight rewinding time: I have a huge soft spot for him and I am so happy he got his moment. That sequence where he's fighting the robots and keeps turning back time to redo things was amazing.

Jinx & Isha montage when Isha took the shot against Vander: Super painful, but also beautiful

Favorite characters!

Vi, easily my favorite from the entire show. She always was and she always will be. She has so much love inside her, and she keeps loving people and protecting people. It's to her detriment, but it's a part of her to be a protector. I wish the narrative would've let her love without hurting for once.

Ekko: I don't post about him often, most of my arcane posts are like, jayvik, but that's primarily because i have a hard line between personal stuff and fandom stuff. Ekko is who's going to stick with me for a lifetime. His leadership, the things he stood for, and his heart are simply beautiful. A person who saw all the darkness the undercity had to offer and decided to make something beautiful anyways. Someone who'll never, ever give up on hope. I wish I could be like him. I love characters who can hope despite the bleakness of the world because I can't, and I hope I can learn from them.

Viktor: Idk his arc is just very compelling to me and made me see things from a new perspective. It's kind of an overdone story but the way it was written explored him really well.

Season 1 is easily my favorite. I liked Arcane because of the classism and ableism discussion but that died down in S2. I still had hope for the liberation of Zaun, Vi was the MC, there seemed to be hope for a revolution.

Okay so the hate for CaitVi and Jayvik...

CaitVi:

To keep it short, a lot of people have issues with Caitlyn's barely addressed fascism and the large class and power difference between Cait and Vi. Caitlyn gassed the undercity, she was about to shoot a child when Vi was telling her to stop, then hit Vi, and she never apologizes for any of it directly. No one even really confronts her about ti and the one person who does is framed by the narrative as being just as awful as her(Jinx, also I think Jinx is a lot more forgiveable). She also calls Zaunites animals & got Vi to be an enforcer when they're the ones who killed her parents and locked her up in prison.

The tone-deaf writing of the class issues and police brutality, when many people are still watching people who look like Caitlyn do things that caitlyn did as an enforcer during real-life protests. The story equates Jinx's grief & Zaunite's violence born primarily as a form of protest and a way to fight back as equal to Caitlyn going into dictatorship after one tragedy. Specifically, POC have major issues with CaitVi because of this.

JayVik:

They're now trending and getting far more attention than CaitVi. People are saying it's fandom misogyny in play again, which definitely plays a role. A lot of JayVik fans post a lot of racist takes on Mel or completely mischaracterize her. Same for Sky. The POC women getting sidelined for the men.

There's also, like homophobes pissed off that people are saying jayvik can be read as romantic. One of the head writers, christian Linke, said stuff that just made the "Is jayvik canon?" question worse and there's lots of infighting. Or there was, it seems to have died down a little bit afaik.

That's all from me!!! DW about the questions I love answering asks!!!! Hope the last bits gave an idea of what's happening rn?