#Mels experienced this very differently and I'll make a post about her at some point- I just wanna make sure my points are got across better

[seaweedstarshine]

Sometimes I think of Amy Pond, who grew up being called mad by those who wielded the word as a tool of exclusion and shame —

Amy Pond, who though forced into the hands of four psychiatrists, still clung to that which they called madness until those systems which elevate psychosocial conformity above humanity stripped it from her —

Amy Pond, whose imaginary friend reappeared for a single hour after twelve years and reignited that faith before disappearing for two more years —

Amy Pond, who spent those those two years under the same implicit threat ingrained in her through psychiatric violence, and thus began to believe the man who stopped the invasion was “just a madman with a box,” only for him to agree, and to also call her “mad, impossible Amy Pond,” reframing madness as non-negative for the first time in her life —

Amy Pond, who ignored the disembodied voice of her imaginary friend even as she ran away with him for real, who still lived each day with the traumatic internalization of deviancy dictated upon her by the psychiatric-industrial complex that shaped her from childhood —

Amy Pond, who wouldn't acknowledge the Doctor's voice, such that it took an Angel in her eye that was literally killing her to ensure she couldn't reality check herself —

Amy Pond, who stood before a room which muttered about “the psychiatrists we brought her to,” and though afraid, escaped their rigid parameters of acceptable existence.

[arcadiabaytornado]

can u elaborate on how the weapons each arcane character fights with represent their personality n how max makes the choice about who to sacrifice depending on what she feels she needs to do? i love reading u ramble

Okay. Here's the deal. I'll make a post later about why Max leans toward sacrificing Arcadia Bay, but I'm not going to do it in this post because this post got LONG. I know you said you like my rambling, which I appreciate, but I think this post is going is going to be long even for the ramble enjoyers.

The first character I'm going to talk about is Caitlyn. She fights primarily with a gun, a long ranged weapon. The difference between a melee weapon and a long ranged weapon is pretty big. With a melee weapon, like gauntlets, you have to get up close and personal to commit an act of violence. While with a ranged weapon, like a gun, it's easier to distance yourself from your actions. That's notable for a character like Caitlyn who is A: Very kind and not someone who relishes in violence. B: Very privileged and has never experienced violence in the same way Vi has.

By using a gun Caitlyn is able to distance herself from the violence. Which matches her personality when you think about her well meaning but also often naive view of the world. However, there's another character that uses a gun that isn't much like Caitlyn.

More Undercut

And that's Jinx.

So does everything I say about why Caitlyn uses a gun still apply? Yep! Because Jinx uses a gun when we're supposed to be drawing a parallel between her and Powder. She uses a gun during the dock fight where she hallucinates Vi's face on the pink haired girl. She uses a gun when she kills Markus, the man who took Powder's sister away from her. She uses a gun to try to kill Caitlyn, a "monster" that Vi once would have forced to go away. Finally, she uses a gun to kill Silco when he threatens Vi. I think when Jinx uses a gun we're supposed to be thinking of her in terms of Powder, and that's why she uses a weapon that is less destructive than the weapon she uses when she wants to be Jinx: Bombs.

Bombs, much like Jinx, are chaotic and unpredictable. Once you throw one there's no real way to mitigate the damage or even 100% predict how much harm they'll do. That's very symbolic of Jinx, who's mental state has deteriorated to the point where she's very unstable and hard to predict. It's also noteworthy that Jinx, a character who is haunted by her past trauma, uses a weapon that can be a trigger for her, as we see with the bunny scene. I think that's symbolic of Jinx still living in the past, and wanting to prove to herself and others that her creations can be helpful to Silco's crusade. That is until Episode 9, when she gives up and tragically accepts herself (and therefore her creations) as a "jinx" and decides to bomb the council.

Speaking of the council! Mel is the only character who doesn't have a true weapon and doesn't engage with violence! This ties neatly into her trauma and resentment of her war mongering Mother, and her choice in the end to not vote for war with Zaun. It makes me wonder if, next season, (assuming she's alive) she'll come back with some kind of weapon, or if she'll stay defiant by staying unarmed.

Sevika is somewhat similar to Mel in the fact that she doesn't have a traditional weapon, but unlike Mel she is a fighter. She uses her enhanced arm to fist fight, which I think ties into her dedication and loyalty to Zaun. Fighting is part of survival in Zaun. We see that with teen Vi, Vander, and Silco. Sevika is no different from them in the way that she knows how to defend herself. and I think the fact that she fights with a mechanical arm ties into another aspect of Zaun: The technology.

Technology is what Viktor has begun to use as a weapon, albeit, unintentionally. While Viktor wants to use the tech for the good of himself and others, the hex core in his possession ends up killing Sky. This is symbolic of the way Viktor isn't actively trying to cause harm with tech, but he causes it all the same in a desperate attempt to save his own life.

Jayce is much the same. While he's not actively trying to cause harm with tech, he still does so. I find this interesting because Jayce's character could be summed up by one word: Progress. We usually see progress within tech/society/whatever else as a positive thing, but Arcane asks us the question "What happens when society takes a step toward a more destructive path?" And I think this question is symbolized by Jayce's hammer. A hammer is a tool that can be used for far more than causing harm to people. It's a tool often used to create new things, which is why it's heavily symbolic when Jayce rigs the hammer with hex tech technology to makes it more of a weapon than a tool.

His rigged hammer is symbolic of Jayce taking progress and warping into something dangerous. Which is a harsh contrast to Vi, who uses a weapon that is only really made for fighting.

Vi uses gauntlets, a melee weapon used for combat. Combat is a large part of Vi's character. Her skill in fighting is what she uses to survive in the streets of Zaun, and for both better and worse, it's what she typically defaults to when facing adversary. It only makes sense for a "hands on" character like Vi to have a weapon that is best used in a hand-to-hand fight. All of this could also be applied to Vander, another character who uses gauntlets, as he was just as hot-headed as Vi back in the day. Which ties into my next point:

It's further symbolic that she uses Vander's gloves. Vi is Vander's prodigy, and by the end of season 1, she closely replicates him in an ideological fashion. She no longer wants a big bloody war between Piltover and Zaun like she did as a teen, and has started taking steps to do things more diplomatically. Vi uses Vander's gloves because her arc is a parallel to his. But do you know who else's arc parallels Vander's?

Silco. The leader turned Father.

Silco uses a knife as his weapon. In criminology, knives are often considered as "personal" weapons because you have to get close to someone to use it. That's very symbolic of the fact that Silco only uses the knife on Vander, someone he was close with before their idea of Zaun took them in different directions. Him using a knife could also be a reference to the phrase "stabbed in the back" as he literally stabs Vander in the back after Vander tries to drown him.

That's my analysis of the weapons of each prominent Arcane character. I would do a better job closing out this post, but I wrote a small book above and I'm tired of typing so...post over. Scroll on. Thank you for reading.

[animalarte]

When Elizabeth and Meliodas first met (part 1)

Hi! I decided I wanted to make an English version of this fanfic 'cause many of you don't speak in Spanish (even if not many end up reading it).

Spanish version here (the second part in Spanish is linked to it)

I'm rewriting everything myself so there may be some different things from the Spanish version, but the idea will be the same. I'll be posting both the new chapter and the English version of the previous one in the same week (more or less, if nothing gets in the way) so let's see where this takes us.

Part 2 - part 3

Wandering through the vast lands of Britain, the demon ended up there once again. He had just told his brother to take the army back to the kingdom, while he cleared his mind.

War was hell. The constant suffering and death was getting the best of him, and if he didn't cool out, it would drive him mad. This place, hidden from the rest of the world, was his special spot, the only place where he could relax. It was a clearing in a very dense forest, with a natural leaf roof that only let the light from the sun and moon go through. The trees were so tangled, only something less than a meter tall could cross.

All his life, Meliodas had lived under the protection of his father in the Demon Realm. There, the light form the goddesses could not reach, and the miasma allowed a good development for the little ones. Before the war, demons and goddesses always hated each other. It was their nature. But their leaders kept a non-violence truce in order to prevent a mayor bloodshed and probable continent degradation. But it had been broken. He could still remember that night, when it all changed. Most people didn't know about it, everyone thought the demons had started the war. But it wasn't true. There was no point in complaining now, though. So many had died from both sides that it wouldn't stop, even if the truth was revealed. Specially the Demon King, his father, would never back down. Since that night, he hadn't been himself. He didn't care if his people died or lived through the battles. He seemed to have forgotten his sons were just children, demanding them to become strong at a very young age, to go out there and kill the enemy without hesitation. Like they had the same motivations as him to fight. All the old king could think of, was getting his revenge on the Supreme Goddess. His little brother couldn't remember, he was too young when it happened, but he wouldn't forget it.

This place was the only reason he wasn't crazy like his father. The sound of the leaves and birds singing filling the wind. The warmth of the dimmed sun and the fact that no one came here, mad it the only site where war didn't exist. He had to hid it from others to keep it that way.

That day, he had fallen asleep on the high grass. It was so peaceful, all the stress of the last big battle just melted away. A fox curiously sniffing his hair woke him up. He sat to caress it, and saw her. A winged girl with silver hair was chilling not far from him. She was... so beautiful. Meliodas didn't understand how he had missed such a powerful source of magic so close to him, and why this goddess hadn't attacked him in his sleep. He hadn't realized he was staring until she opened her eyes, and gave back a smile as the fox ran into her arms and licked her cheek. Mel couldn't help the warmth that the scene gave him. That kind of happiness he had only experienced a few times in his life. He relaxed again.

-I didn't think I would find someone here. Do you come often?- She said with a sweet and calm voice. Mel had gotten unaccustomed to being talked like that, with no fear. He liked it.

-Any time I need a break. I had never seen you around- He'd had such a nice evening so far that his voice wasn't even the usual arrogant. And this goddess didn't seem mean either. He had no reason to be in the defensive.

-If I can get away of my bodyguards- Great, Meliodas thought, she's someone important. Sometime, I'll have to take care of her. -I love coming here. Is the only place I know without suffering. Sorry I didn't announce myself, you were sleeping so peacefully I couldn't bring myself to disturb you- Mel thought this must be some kind of joke. No goddess was like that. Her light was so intense, she couldn't be a regular one. But her magic wasn't the usual threatening. Instead it was gentile and cozy. He couldn't quite understand the feeling of being near her.

-Who are you- He asked with distrust.

-My name is Elizabeth- She said with no further explanation -And you? I barely realized you were a demon-

-I'm... Meliodas- He hesitated before revealing himself. Surely this goddess would attack him when she knew who he was. But she didn't even react with the name. Instead she smiled politely and began playing with the fox.

-Who knew that when demons sleep, their mark disappears? I don't usually get the chance to speak with your kind- She looked at him in the eyes, now black -What is your world like?- She seemed to be honestly asking. Mel couldn't find any indication that she was planning something or trying to get info out of him, so he decided to answer nicely.

-It's very different from this one. There is never this much light, and the miasma is part of the air. People live their life with their families, and children go wherever they want. Usually, the King makes sure they are all safe- He was describing what the kingdom used to be before the war with sincerity, though it couldn't be because of the girl's mental powers. He had trained specially to keep his mind strong and out of the goddesses reach.

-Don't families fight each other?- He looked at her strangely, before remembering how most of the world saw demons, like mindless monsters.

-Of course not. Each family is very united, and respect the others. Also they usually live far away from each other, since they all are adapted to different environments. Our King keeps everyone with a home, covering their needs. Interactions are only voluntary- He said. He was surprised Elizabeth was still listening. Usually no one cared for the demon's way of living.

-They are all so different?- She asked.

-Yeah. Only those related look alike- Eli thought of it for a minute. Then said:

-But I only saw a few different kinds of demons in the battlefield- Mel got a little disappointed. This girl participated in the war. She wasn't innocent, and probably had murdered many of his subjects with that bright light. He pushed the thought aside. He still didn't want the conversation to end.

-Those are just low-ranked soldiers. They can follow orders and fight, but don't have the comprehension to lead a life. In times of peace, they are usually adopted by the local families. They can feel love and fear, so they are considered our equals, though most of them can hardly make up a sentence-

-Aren't those considered as a lower class? And don't your differences divide you?- Meliodas knew where this wired ideas came from, but he decided to be patient with her.

-No. We all know what it is like to be rejected and hated by other races that consider us different in a negative way, so we have each other's back- He had almost forgotten how it was living among the other inhabitants of the Underworld. The children learned to act with others like they were all one big family, that had no prejudices and integrated everyone equally, even the servants and the princes. He used to be just like everyone else, feel part of something bigger. He hadn't realized how much he missed that, and he wondered if his home would be like that ever again. He got lost in thought, to find Elizabeth with a look of sadness.

-It must be heaven- She said. Mel knew she actually lived in heaven, so he didn't understand.

-What do you mean?- She took a deep breath.

-Where I come from, society is made of prejudices and first impressions. Social classes are identified by how perfect the goddess can be. It is a huge pressure, and many hide their despair before realizing they feel it. It's always been this way, it cannot be changed. But at the end of the day, I feel very lonely, like I don't know anybody and no one really knows me- For some reason, Meliodas couldn't bare to see her like this. The very thought made him sad, but he didn't know why or how to make it go away. All he knew, is that he was getting a little jealous on the fox that was now sleeping on Eli's lap, getting her to caress him under the chaw and behind the ears.

-I'm lonely too. Ever since the war began, all I did was train and fight. I never saw my friends again, I don't even know if they are still alive, and I find it very hard to get close to my only brother, who recently gave up on trying so talk to me- He found himself saying. As the words came out of his moth, his mind processed the truth within them. A tear came down his cheek before he could stop it -Killing and fighting all the time, even if you don't care for the other's life, can degrade someone's soul- His voice cracked for the first time in years, and though he was sad, he didn't want the moment to end. Because when it did, he would have to pretend not to feel anything again. The goddess sighted at him with sympathy, and said:

-You don't seem like the kind that would kill and wouldn't care. You're such a nice guy- Meliodas didn't think she could be talking about him. She had only known him for a few minutes. The fox got up and rubbed his fur on the demon's arm like proving her point.

-You're also nicer than most goddesses I know. They are all coldblooded- A little laugh came out of that depressed grin, at last.

-I know. They all follow the orders of our Goddess, the Supreme Deity. They also consider the demons as their absolute enemies, and think that killing them is nothing to be regretful for. Actually they celebrate it. I can't understand that- This girl was definitely something. It had been a long time since Mel last hoped for someone from an other race to say something of the sort, and he couldn't believe what he heard. He let the surprise and and amazement permeate his face. Then he looked up, and saw how late it had gotten. He was supposed to have returned by now.

He got up and looked back at Elizabeth one more time. -Will I find you here tomorrow?- She smiled at him.

-Sure- She said. He approached a hole in the branches, hidden from view but big enough for him to fit, and left.