#THE FACT THAT VANDER AND SILCO KNEW THEIR MOTHER

[camifornilla]

RIOT YOU FUCKASS SONS OF BITCHES HOW DARE YOU BRING IN “OUR LOVE” DURING THIS FATHER(S) DAUGHTER(S) TRAGIC MEMORY MOMENT. WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS

[hauntingblue]

ARCANE EPISODE 7!!!!

MY GOD I WASNT READY FOR ANY OF THIS!!! WHAT WAS THAT!!!

Also ekko wallpaper I got with my fries lmao

[srslylini]

what made season 1 so stunningly good was that every scene could be explained with stuff that happened on screen.

Why did Vi know where to find Vander after Silco took him? well of course because of Ekko who was established in the first few minutes of the first episode to be the character to be on look out.

Why did Powder follow the others to the abandoned building? why because she wanted to feel useful, she wanted for her stuff to work and she wanted to help. She wanted to not be the Jinx. This was all established through character moments that were natural and normal human interactions.

Why did Mel invest in Jayce? Why because first of all her own mother sent her away so seeing Jayce's mother stand up for her son must've hit her. And we see her talking about having to find new investments. Of course she would. He sounds interesting enough. Why not try it? If it doesn't work banishment is still on the table.

Why did Viktor help Jayce? Because he didn't want to stand in Heimerdingers shadow as just an assistant anymore. He was sick and knew the problems of the undercity first hand, he wanted to help. Of course he would, if there was a chance hextech could do it.

Why did Marcus continue to help Silco even after Graysons death? Why, because of his daughter or course. He could be threatened, molded and used. He wanted to establish big things, and was hasty in his youth, and we see 1. Silco exploit that and 2. Marcus regret that.

Why did a shimmer induced Huck help Caitlyn out? Why because as early as the very first episode in Vanders first speaking scene he gets help from Vander and well why wouldn't he then show that help for Vi, knowing he can?

literally every scene makes sense, everything can be explained with stuff that we SEE in the show. There isn't anything "off screen" or just not there.

Now tell me

Why did Caitlyn suddenly switch sides again in season 2 act 2? Why and how did Mel know that her brother wasn't actually her brother? Why did she know how to solve the puzzle? Why is Viktor suddenly floating in the universe? Why does Ambessa just ignore her daughter being abscent outside of that one throw away line? Why do Maddie, Loris and Isha exist? Every chatacter existed for a reason that wasn't just Plot even if they sometimes were just for Plot in season 1. But Maddie, Loris and even ISHA for gods sake, really are just Plot. Isha not as much as Maddie and Loris and thank god for that but still, her character, while I still hope it isn't true, existed to die and further Jinx's pain.

it's just so ugh

Edit: A lot (and I mean a LOT) of people have told me how Kino did make sense and I agree with that now. Though I stand firm with my opinion that we should've gotten to know him before so we could have figured it out even easier with Mel, there were actually signs I didn't notice myself before. Thank's for that.

Plus I will not back down on the fact that Mel just knowing the solution to the puzzle "makes sense cause sHe WaS ShOwn TO Be gOoD WiTh PuZZLes" is stupid. Yes, I know she is smart and good with that. But that's like a whole different thing. It's such a leap I don't know how some of you don't see it.

[silk-o]

I could talk so much about this promotional video. And how it lied about season 2

Jinx is being depicted as going to storm Piltover. This never happens. Jinx never actively goes to war with Piltover.

(In fact, she's made to forgive Piltover and apologise to Caitlyn that she killed her mom. Which Jinx would NEVER do. She DESPISED Caitlyn and her mother was on the council which has oppressed Zaun for the entirety of Jinx's life.)

This false imagery of Jinx going to war also matches the intro scene where she's waving the flag and becoming a symbol/leading a revolution. It promises a plot line that was completely unexplored as Jinx never actually led any sort of rebellion, and in fact hid away with Isha instead. (Not to mention that the Zaunite rebellion went nowhere and got dropped after act 2)

I would even go as far as to say that Isha was created to completely erase Silco and the impact of his death. To make it so that Jinx wouldn't become a revolutionary as a reaction to his death, despite the fact that she shoots at the Council as one of her first acts after his passing.

Even as Powder she wanted to fight back against Piltover and Jinx HATED enforcers. She killed them without a second thought, even humming songs as she casually killed them. She was raised by Silco, who wanted an independent Zaun. It would make sense for her to storm Piltover with Fishbones, as depicted here. But she doesn't. Because she decides that "Jinx is dead" and that she's going to hide out with Isha.

Then there's the Vi shadow. There's SO MUCH that could be said.

1, that Vi is now in her sisters shadow. This is sliiightly touched upon when Vi sees that Jinx is being painted on a mural with Vander - Jinx is Vander's successor, whereas it was supposed to be Vi. But even this symbolism is strange. Why would Jinx be depicted this way? Vander was never a revolutionary, he maintained the status quo, so she isn't his successor.

(The reason is that the writers were trying to erase Jinx and Silco's dynamic so they focused on Jinx and Vander being father and daughter which was. A really strange choice imo. Especially as it turned Warwick from a monster due to his transformation to a lucid dog that they were trying to save for a whole act. And then some. Only for him to die twice. Which wasted screentime in a show that already had a problem with pacing)

2, that Vi actually doesn't like Piltover either and that she ALSO wants to rebel, seeing as she's being depicted as a rebel's shadow. Which would fit her character a lot better than her joining the enforcers with barely any resistance or insight into her thoughts after the initial "No Cait I can't".

It would also remove her passiveness when Caitlyn was gassing Zaun. Vi had NOTHING to say? SERIOUSLY? The woman who, in season one, said "You enforcers are all the same, just asshole criminals in fancy uniforms"? She has barely any thoughts about Caitlyn's cruelty? Vi's character was completely brutalised this season and it's so sad to see. I knew Vi was going to become an enforcer, I know that that's her title in the game, but like THIS? It doesn't fit how Arcane set up Vi's character!

Not to mention that Vi was sad that the council got hit with a missile. That she said she would hunt Jinx down for what she did. Vi never had any attachments to the council. Shes been oppressed by the council her whole life. She SHOULDN'T be sad about what happened. Sure, she could sympathise that Caitlyn lost a parent, but she shouldn't be so broken up that the council was bombed.

Vi's character was so cheapened and flat this season. Her arc was non existent.

And Jinx? Jinx was completely ooc from what we saw in s1 and especially after the finale of that season.

For a show that was meant to be about the two sisters... the writers really fumbled both of them.

And it's so horribly disappointing

[vi-tamine]

hey!! would you write vi with childhood crush!reader and they've spent years liking each other but were too oblivious/insecure to confess, then vi gets with caitlyn in s1 leaving reader heartbroken but then they break up so vi and reader finally get together? like a angst to fluff... only if you dont mind obviously!!

after the storm (vi x reader)

words: 2,7k (oh... my god...)

genre(s): fluff and angst

warnings: kind of drunk vi, vi x childhood crush!reader

n/a: maybe I've gone a little overboard with this request but omg I had such a good time writing about my girl…. little reminder that english isnt my first language, im sorry if there are spelling or grammar mistakes <3 hope u enjoy!

When you were younger, you frequented the famous The Last Drop in the undercity, where you became friends with a small group of somewhat brothers. You frequented that bar because, apart from the fact that they had a delicious tomato juice that you had never tasted anywhere else, there was a certain pinkhead girl who had accepted you into the group and integrated you into it as if you had always been part of it. 

You both had very different personalities, while she was hard, determined and direct, you were more quiet and reserved in certain aspects. And yet, you complemented each other perfectly.  You admired her a lot, or so you thought. 

Little by little, you both grew to trust each other. You frequented her space, she invited you on adventures with her group and she told you things she couldn't tell her younger sister or her brothers. 

You wanted to mentally beat yourself up when you realized that you no longer saw Vi as a friend, but that you were beginning to feel a certain attraction to her. They were confusing feelings for you at the age you were. You never said anything because you finally had a friend you felt you could count on and you didn't want to spoil your friendship with those silly feelings you were sure you could ignore.

One day, the subway city seemed to go to hell and was covered in mourning. Vander passed away and you never heard from the boys, Powder or Vi again. 

.

You attended to one last customer as you escorted him to the door, said goodbye in a light whisper and closed the door as you turned the Closed sign. After your mother's passing, leaving you completely alone in the undercity, you took over your business, a humble junkyard frequented, as far as you knew, by some of Silco's henchmen. 

Leaning on the counter, you noticed that one of the shelves was missing a few knick-knacks, and frowning you realized that the wretch had stolen them. You cursed to yourself as you lightly tapped the counter. Since that day had been hard days for you, you were facing the world all alone. You knew that Powder, or Jinx, as she now called herself, was “fine”, but you still knew nothing about the others, not even Ekko, with whom you had exchanged a few words.

You heard knocking at the door. “Closed, it says so on the sign” you shouted from inside the shop as you finished packing up. Still, the knocking did not stop. 

Snorting, you headed for the door, opening it in complete anger. “It's closed! Don't you know how-” you shut up when you saw the person in front of you. That totally unmistakable pink hair, the freckles on her nose and her powder blue eyes staring straight at you. “Vi?” you muttered in a whisper. You felt her arms wrap around you tightly, and you still confused, it took you a little while to return her embrace. 

You felt the warmth of her body against yours hit you full on, and you definitely felt like you were going to burst into tears. She was so beautiful, grown up, more grown up, stronger, more everything. 

“Where were you all this time?” you mumbled asking into the crook of her neck, still not letting go of her arms. “Stillwater” she replied in a whisper, still wrapping her arms around you. You stood for a while longer holding each other, you had needed this for a long time, and to be honest, you had to hold back the urge you had to cry. 

“You're... so changed” she murmured once she broke away, looking you up and down, ending up in your eyes. You let out a giggle. 

“Not you, you look the same. You have the same punk face you had seven years ago” you joked with her while you gave a light tap on her arm, noticing how stiff it was. Seeing her made you feel strange, you felt the same as when you were little, you still had that feeling towards her, but it was possible that having seen her again after so many years, had increased those feelings.  “How did you get out of jail? And why did they arrest you in the first place?” in Zaun the word was spreading fast, but from that day on you shut yourself away from taking care of your mother and the store, you didn't know anything about what had happened. Vi gave you a brief summary, told you everything that happened that day and how it all went. You couldn't believe what you were hearing, a piece inside you shattered as you learned of your friends' passing. 

“And about how I got out...let's just say  the council got me out” you arched an eyebrow at her response. What would the council want her for? 

The door burst open. A girl, who looked about your age, blue hair and slanted sky coloured eyes, appeared in this one. You frowned, for she did not look like someone proper from Zaun, despite her robes. 

“Vi? You got it?” the girl spoke to the girl. Confused, you looked at her.

“Have what?” you asked, looking at your once friend. She looked at you, you watched as she swallowed, and when she was about to speak, the taller one cut her off.

“Information. About Jinx” your gaze shifted to the stranger. Her gaze towards you, while trying to be neutral, you could sense a bit of distaste in it. You didn't understand anything, but what you did seem to understand was that they knew each other. 

“Give me a few minutes, cupcake” you felt something inside you snap a little more. the taller one snorted and walked out of the store again, slamming the door behind her. What's wrong with her? you asked yourself, still staring at the door.

“Who is she?” you asked in a whisper. 

“Caitlyn Kiramman, the officer who pulled me out of Stillwater” Vi replied as she shrugged her shoulders. You mumbled lightly. You had a lot of questions. 

“Cupcake?” you asked in a mocking tone, though to be honest, you hadn't been the least bit amused.  A few years ago it had been you she called in that nickname, “because you were so sweet, like a cupcake” she had once told you. “Are you with a piltoverian?” you asked, this time, raising your voice a little higher than you would have liked.

“What?” Vi shrugged. “What's your problem? It's not like you released me from prison, honey” she teased wryly as she looked directly at you. At this point, you got the feeling that Vi had forgotten her entire past, or at least a past where you belonged in her life. Years ago you thought she might reciprocate your feelings, perhaps. Now it was clear that had never been the case for her. 

“Go away. I don't have any information from Jinx. Ask somewhere else” you spoke softly. You really were out of strength to fight. You didn't want to, at least not with her. Taking her by the shoulder you accompanied her to the door, and opening it, without saying goodbye, you slammed the door once she set foot on the street. You closed the door with every possible lock. 

“Anything?” ”Nothing. Never mind, we'll ask at the brothel” after those murmurs on the other side of the wall, you couldn't help but feel your tears start to fall one after the other more and more abundantly. You felt a pressure in your chest, you felt full of guilt. You were alone again, with your heart hanging in your hands. 

You thought maybe you had overreacted, that you shouldn't have treated Vi like that after not having seen her for so many years, but your feelings got the better of you.

And once again, you decided to disengage from the issue and whatever happened from that point on. 

.

One more day in your routine, you closed the store once the last customer of the day had already walked through the door to go out into the street. As usual, you swore on the sign indicating that the store was closed to the public, and began to sweep and tidy up the shop to have it ready for the next day first thing in the morning. 

The last six months had been an odyssey for you. You did not stop hearing everywhere you went about the return of Vi, about everything that was happening in the city above and especially what was happening with Jinx. You stayed on the sidelines, even though wherever you went you were gathering information.

You had been thinking a lot during this time, thinking about the pinkhead and how everything could have been different if only the Piltover girl had not been there. You didn't blame Vi, you knew she had every right to hang out with whomever she wanted, but you couldn't help but feel angry and jealous at the slightest thought that she would never be with you. 

You heard a knock at the door. You sighed, you were not in the mood for this kind of nonsense. You ignored the knocking, the sign was clear, they would notice. Even though you kept sweeping and cleaning, the knocking didn't stop and your patience was limited. Just as you were about to say something to the person who kept insisting, the sound of the door opening startled you. You turned to complain, but you saw her.

She was significantly changed. Her pink hair was badly dyed a very dark black color, and her eyes were made up in a totally disastrous way. She was dressed in black and several bandages covered various parts of her body. You frowned at the sight of her looking like that.

“Did you fall in a puddle of oil?” you asked as you went back to your work. You heard her snort. Glancing sideways at her you noticed she was wobbling a bit, and taking a couple of steps forward, she looked like she was almost going to fall, leaning against the counter. You put the broom aside and approached her, the smell of alcohol becoming more and more present. “Have you been drinking?” you asked. She simply nodded. You snorted a little and bit your tongue. 

You slipped one of her arms over your shoulder, and holding her by the waist, guided her to the back of the store to go upstairs to your apartment. She stumbled over her own feet as she walked, making your steps clumsy as you climbed the stairs. She mumbled things you couldn't understand, but she seemed hurt, for some reason. 

Once you got up to the apartment, you directed her to the living room to sit her carefully on the couch. She looked at everything with curiosity, and in silence, you went to the kitchen to bring her a glass of water. You held the glass out to her and she, with a murmur of thanks, took a sip.

“It hasn't changed a bit...” she murmured still observing the humble decor of your living room. “And your mother? How is she?” he asked awkwardly. You didn't answer, didn't even look at her, just shrugged. Vi got the message right away. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't- fuck, sorry” she mumbled setting aside the glass. 

“Why did you drink so much?” you asked leaning against the back of the couch. Vi did the same, settled back and let out a sigh. She even seemed to find it hard to speak. “Drink water” you took the glass again and held it out to her. She heeded and took another sip. 

“Things aren't going well...” she muttered. You knew what she was talking about, nothing was right when a war between two cities was about to explode. 

“Something I heard” you simply mentioned. Vi looked at you. The only thing she thought when she looked at you was that the dim light coming through the window really fell in a very angelic way on your body. She always thought you were a jewel in the rough,  someone who didn't have to belong to this city, someone who deserved better from everything life had given her. “Your girlfriend? All good with her?” when she heard those words come out of your mouth she frowned and growled. 

“No,” she replied. She didn't add anything else. You didn't want to ask either, you supposed that also added to things not going well. 

“I'm sorry” you mumbled. You weren't sorry. If you had to be honest, you were kind of glad it hadn't worked out with that girl. The atmosphere was starting to feel tense as you weren't talking anymore. You listened to Vi take sip after sip of water. She started to sit up a bit, you took it for granted that she was starting to sober up and become more aware of the situation. 

 Still silent, you felt her head rest on your shoulder. “You don't know how much i've missed you all these years” she murmured. You felt her hair brush against your cheek, and you couldn't help but fall into nostalgia, letting your cheek rest against her head. “I've missed you so much too, Vi...” you felt her hand brush against yours before taking her fingers in yours. Her hand was warm, unlike yours, which always had cold fingers. You enjoyed the warmth her body emanated, closing your eyes slightly, enjoying the company you both gave each other.

For her part, Vi during her stay in Stillwater, always dreamed of a scenario similar to this, without the alcohol and tragedies in between. Just you and her sharing such a sweet moment as you were doing at that moment. Ever since she was little she had always felt a certain attraction to you, you were always so sweet and positive that she felt you two complemented each other perfectly. You could say that her heart melted a little more when, that same night, instead of kicking her out of your tent, you offered her your help and shelter. 

“Thank you, for everything” she murmured still leaning against you, stroking the back of your hand with her thumb. You felt, hearing her voice so calm, your heart skip a beat. 

“You don't have to give them away. I wasn't going to let you down, you're my Vi” you murmured back. The girl couldn't help but smile. Your Vi. She was yours. 

“And you're my cupcake” you rolled your eyes, letting out a chuckle. 

“That's not so clear to me, cutie” you joked, referencing that it was the same nickname she had used with her ex.

“You’re mine too” Vi sat up on the couch, both of them very close to each other. Her eyes connected with yours and you both became lost in each other's gaze. Placing her hand on your chin, she brought her lips to yours, leaving a small kiss on them. You felt a slight shiver run down your spine. You had just experienced what you always wanted, and in such a sweet way, that you could only think you were dreaming. But when Vi started kissing you one after another, feeling her lips on yours, you knew it was real. You reciprocated each of the kisses Vi gave you sweetly, and as you parted, you both looked at each other and laughed lightly.

“You don't know how long I wanted to do this,” Vi said leaning her head back against the back of the couch, looking directly at you as she kept smiling, her cheeks rosy. 

“You don't know how long I've waited for you to do this” you leaned against her, leaving a kiss on her cheek. “I've always liked you, you know? These years have been torture...to think you could have been-” Vi stopped you when you felt her hand on your cheek, caressing it in the sweetest way possible.

“Time has passed, and I'm already here. And I'm not going to move from your side.” you smiled at the girl's words. You took it as a correspondence. 

After the storm you were finally starting to see the sun. 

[sourslip]

Vander's flashback sequence here has made so much about this season click for me - the song "Remember Me" has the narrator asking themself to remember who they are, and we see Vander remember Vi, Powder, Mylo, and Claggor, we see him remember Silco, Benzo, and Felicia

and Vander's the most obvious example of this, but this is the scene that made it click for me - these characters are remembering themselves through connecting with other people, whether in their memories or in the present. Jinx connected with Isha, and through it we see her connect with her joy and sisterly love again

Vi, too, has been disconnected from the world since she was thrown in Stillwater, and when she got out, the sister Vi thought she still knew was so far gone her sister might as well have been dead

and Vi began connecting with Caitlyn through her search for her sister, which was a new, tenuous source of hope - and one that she clung to desperately - but was too easily broken by Caitlyn's own grief and fixation on revenge

so Vi was then cut off from everyone she let get close and who she thought she could trust, and it put her in a bad, self-destructive spot

but when Jinx discovers Vander is still alive, she reaches out to Vi, having already begun to remember herself as a daughter and a sister who cares deeply about her family - and Vi ultimately put her faith in Jinx's word that this was Vander - when trust wasn't something Vi gave her the first time they lost Vander

and through that found her father again - found her family again - and she reconnected with the part of herself that was willing to trust the people around her that she loves, was open to reconciling past hurts even if those people have changed

and so, when Caitlyn showed up near the commune and asked Vi why she was down there, having already revealed they were after Vander, Vi was ready to try trusting Caitlyn again with the truth

Caitlyn - as Ambessa pointed out - was also deeply disconnected having lost her mother, her father a shell, pushed away Vi, and Jayce missing. she was easy for Ambessa to manipulate into terrible actions, but reconnecting with Vi was a catalyst for Caitlyn to finally push back against Ambessa's constant infringement on what Caitlyn used to believe were her core principles of justice to help Vi save her father from further manipulation by a warlord

the fact that Jinx saved Caitlyn from Rictus when she once resented Caitlyn for taking her sister's care now that she's helped save Vander in efforts to keep Jinx' family together

and that an armed Caitlyn ran past Jinx right beside her in the fighting, more concerned with Vi's injury than her revenge, after connecting with Vi and seeing how saving Vander, reuniting Vi's family, and cutting the Noxians loose was right thing to do - Caitlyn has started to get back in touch with what really matters

and it all started with a scared little girl who, while running away and hiding from the monsters in Zaun, fell into Jinx's life

and during her time with Jinx, Isha gained her own courage

[rnadett]

I love how Ekko's stans project their hatred onto Caitlyn, but completely turn a blind eye to Heimerdinger, who was, by the way, the embodiment of white male privilege.

The basis for this claim is most evident in the fact that he receives almost ZERO hate from the fans, even though for 200 years he couldn’t be bothered to cross that damn bridge and see how far behind Zaun was compared to Piltover. Not even after Jinx and Vi’s parents died in the civil war. He was like "Yeah, that's none of my business"??? But if a female character breaks down because, her mother was murdered, suddenly everyone loses their mind. Now, that’s the real hypocritical attitude and misogyny.

Also, the fact that no one has criticized Ekko and Heimerdinger’s interaction speaks volumes.

Ekko knew that the professor was the most influential man in Piltover for >>>GENERATIONS<<<, yet there was no confrontation between them.

Imagine if that mf had even once stepped out of his bubble before Vander's and Silco's character was even born—none of this shit would've happened. And yet, he gets away with it and the writers gets away with it.

Overall: None of Cait's actions was the best but some of you just really hate women and let men get away with everything.

Edit:

This tweet reeks of hypocrisy and reinforces exactly what I wrote above. The fandom forgave Heimerdinger and portrays him as the Piltoverian who took responsibility for his actions, even though his redemption wasn't on-screen either. The guy literally only lifted a finger after being kicked off the council, and even when they shifted to an alternate universe, there was no ON-SCREEN evidence that he initiated any changes in Zaun. He spent the whole time singing songs, and people felt sympathy for him because he died in the end — which, frankly, was the least he could do.

No one looks past the façade because they see a cute autistic grandpa, while on the other side, we have a grieving young woman who’s being exploited. She didn't need 40 or 200 years to realize the weight of her actions and is fighting tooth and nail to rewrite the future.

This is what I was talking about when I mentioned misogyny. Everyone forgives the grandpa figure for everything, and even Christian was able to comment on a tweet that painted him as the only Piltoverian who took responsibility.

[queermediaismypassion]

so i've been seeing people complain that the vander and silco backstory with the girls' mom retconned season 1 and i'm absolutely baffled by it

i always found the bridge scene a little confusing because of how trusting the girls were of vander after seeing him beat people up. sure, he wasn't in an enforcer uniform, but i'd still be scared of a big man like that who was just beating people to death lol. knowing they already knew eachother before the bridge, that he helped raise them as sort of an uncle, makes it make more sense. (i never saw it as a flaw of the scene, it was always really touching, but the added context helps)

the thing i see most people bring up is the fact that the girls would've known silco. yeah, and ? they never state that they have no idea who that man is, do they ? just because they don't talk about his past with them in season 1 doesn't mean introducing that in season 2 is retconning anything, it adds context.

i imagine silco is a sore topic for vander, and powder was so young who know how much she remembers of him. it makes complete sense to me that they wouldn't really talk about it and only focus on who silco is now in the present.

now as stated above, we don't really know how much powder remembers of him. we don't see him be as involved with raising the girls as vander in the flashback, but that doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't as involved. we see the flashbacks through viktor poking around in vander's brain after all.

we don't knowwhat powder is thinking when she tackles him with a hug; whether she was just desperately seeking comfort from the nearest person or from silco because she knows him. it does, however, add some context to how easily silco gave in and hugged her back instead of following through and killing her. not only did he see himself in her, he was close with her mother and watched her grow up. we know silco is more than willing to exploit and threaten kids. he was fully intending to kill powder until the moment she hugged him, but i'm not so sure he would've taken pity on just any child who did that if he had no history with them.

i'd love to see some arguments for why you think the backstory retconned season 1 if there's others, but the ones i've seen so far just makes me think people jumped to conclusions without actually thinking back on season 1 and just went with their understanding of it that was formed with missing context.

don't get me wrong, you're allowed to dislike the backstory if you liked the story better thinking vander was a complete stranger when he took them in and/or that silco and powder/jinx were complete strangers. disliking it and saying it retconned season 1 are however two completely different things.

[bwat5-blog]

**Spoilers for all of Arcane**

WHY THIS SHOW MATTERS FOR ME

"Why do we tell Stories? To try and make sense of a world that can be terrifying and enormous.. I don't know that your story will be long be known.. but it did happen- and it did matter"- Brennan Lee Mulligan, Critical Role, EXU Calamity

Arcane has become a true phenomenon. With record breaking viewership transcending various countries, age groups, sexual orientation, and more. You need look no further for an example than the fact that Heimerdinger's song was recorded more than 25 times by the various voice actors representing our favorite absent minded professor, in different countries and languages around the world. So I suppose the question then, is why?

This is hardly a simple question. Like any media, people are enjoying it for all kinds of reasons. There are die-hard LOL players who love seeing these characters and worlds brought to life. There are people reveling in the enormous diversity of representation in the characters. There are those who love the story of the sisters, Caitlyn and Vi's love story, or the sinister mystery that unfolds as the Arcane itself wakes up in this world. The list of reasons people love this show is endless and rightfully so. So I am writing to explain mine because, primarily, the opportunity to share my thoughts/feelings on this incredible story and discuss, and learn and interact with you all has been a true pleasure as we celebrate the achievement this tale has been. As always, for anyone bored enough to read these I appreciate you.

For me, the best stories have and always will make you look deeper into the humanity of our own world through the lens of the story itself. Don't get me wrong, Arcane is FULL of epic spectacle. incredible fights, beautiful animation and music, and more. It's a tale of magic unleashed and warlords and mad scientists. And please do NOT misunderstand me, I LOVE all of those things. It's just that for me, that's not why this story will always live on long after its over.

Vi is a bad-ass brawler who from a young age is literally holding her own with armed adult thugs and able to throw hands wearing Vander's gauntlets. She is tough and brave and an absolute hardass..She is also a young woman who never knew romantic affection before being thrown into a dark, terrifying prison for seven years.. Who is terrified of losing the last family she has left to the point that she cannot put herself first ..and who just needs her dad

Silco is a brutal crime lord who experiments on the vulnerable of the under city and does not hesitate to kill anyone who crosses him. He takes a scared little girl who is in so much pain and twists her up, and weaponizes her grief to the point that she becomes someone new.. someone darker.. He is also a broken, lonely, maimed man who was almost killed by someone he loved as a brother and is desperately trying to hold on to the young woman he loves as a daughter

Caitlyn is a sheltered but brilliant and wealthy woman who is "an excellent shot" ,and becomes a leader of soldiers and someone willing to sacrifice herself in the name of the greater good.. She is also a young woman who has to learn to see herself in the woman she hates/who killed her mother, learning to set aside that hatred, and rage, and grief in order to move on and keep living, and find peace.

I could go on about other characters or expound on the ones I just mentioned, and have in fact done so in other posts. But you get the idea. These characters (and the others) are so rich, dark, nuanced and beautiful. And when you strip away the magic, and the mutated beasts, and the colorful smoke and music what is left? The struggle of the oppressed against their oppressors, a young woman overcoming her inner demons to become a hero to her people, a warrior who had her childhood stolen from her learning that she deserves happiness and peace. I could go on. There are so many of these examples and they all make up the tapestry that is this show.

This is why I continue to champion understanding and accurate recognition of this show. Because it deserves it. Because the stories of these characters and their fight against the darkness of the world in ways grand and small, are the stories that have illuminated our path forward as people for all of time. In today's age of instant-gratification and flash and noise it's easy to forget the impact of things like this on who we are.. But to those of us who believe in the importance of such stories, it always has mattered. And it always will.

“It's like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.”

― Samwise Gamgee

[melmedarda]

You know how Arcane has a theme of undoing by a daughter? In the first season, we've witnessed Vander's and Silco's due to their love for their daughters. And in season 2, we may yet see the same theme. Ambessa was not undone by Mel. In fact, Mel was sent away solely that she would not be undone. But now, Ambessa is trying to bring Mel home, and she may yet be undone. And Vander-turned-the-Wolf Warwick. He was undone by one daughter, he may yet be undone by another he once considered daughter, a child made in his image. And it leaves you to wonder if the undoing will be a bringing to justice, or if it will be their death.

Or perhaps it is the inverse. In season 1, it is Jinx, a daughter of Zaun who brings undoing to Piltover. And in season 2, Caitlyn, a daughter of Piltover will no doubt bring undoing to Zaun, but also to Piltover by being consumed with vengeance for the death of her mother. A crusade against the undercity in her mother's honor. Haunted. And Jinx, who will no doubt be haunted by Silco in her hallucinations. And Vi, whose only safe space has been Vander, even in her hallucinations, will no doubt be haunted by Warwick. A sick and twisted phantom of the man she once knew as a father. And Mel, over whom Ambessa's shadow hangs over like an omen. Is there anything so haunting as a parent?

[chiaseed149]

Arcane S2 Rant (Felicia and her Daughters)

This is just a rant off the dome about the inclusion of Felicia into the arcane s2 narrative and why the show massively fumbled it imo

I may be reaching but something about Arcane s2 that really rubbed me the wrong way was that the narrative made it lowkey feel like Jinx was more Felicia's daughter than Vi was.

There are countless visual and character parallels made between Jinx and Felicia (especially in episode 5 and 7) isn't inherently bad but when coupled with the fact that Vi has none; it doesn't sit right with me.If anything, Vi should be more like Felicia because she knew her longer and yet we see a majority of Felicia's legacy through Jinx instead. From mannerisms to looks to philosophy, it's all from a woman that Jinx most likely does not remember vividly.

also the inclusion of Silco partially taking Powder in because she is Felicia's daughter like Vi isn't equally her daughter. Now knowing how close Silco was to Felicia AND young Vi makes it so much more sinister the lengths he went to cause her harm knowing full well who she is. Like he wanted that girl DEAD and yet is implied to have cared for Felicia and her children as Vander did ABSOLUTELY NOT. I can no longer accept the argument that Silco saw Vi as more Vander's child than Felicia's when Jinx spent the same amount of time and her more formative childhood development years with him...

I wish we had gotten one of the childhood flashbacks from Vi's point of view (we already have countless flashbacks on Vi's part of Caitlyn and Vander, what's one more of her actual mother) because she was a ful 10 years old when Felicia dies and yet we never really see her mention it. Especially with how much we see Caitlyn deal with the loss of her mother, it would have been really insightful for Vi to take about losing her own mother in a similar fashion just on the otherside of the war (but this would require the writers to not be cowards and actually have meaningful and challenging, nuanced conversations between Vi and other characters... the writers really did not like doing that this season). Ideally, I think the flashback should have happened at the end of epsiode 9 when Vander dies again -- in this, I think it should have been a flashback of ALL the things people Vi has lost at this point (Felicia, her father, vander, mylo, claggor, her youth, powder, warwick, etc...) but the narrative doesn't allow vi to have these moments of vulnerability so i guess not.

Alas, I think that the inclusion of Felicia was entirely for Jinx's benefit which is really disappointing because I feel like a lot of things were also done for her benefit when the story is about two sisters, not about a girl and her sister's girlfriend while the sister in question is left to simply react to their actions.

[frostybearpaws]

random robot au facts & tidbits

Sevika’s initial name was Eve 8, she chose the name Sevika for herself when she was twelve.

When Singed first found Sevika she attacked him with the intent to kill and eat, but she was so tired from being born she fell asleep gnawing on his arm.

Sevika was “born” from a tree.

Those in Piltover have a more uniform and proportionally humanoid appearance compared to those in Zaun.

Most enforcers in Piltover were never children. Sevika was also born an adult.

Singed knew Cassandra Kiramman’s mother, her name was Claudia.

Cassandra knew Orianna as a girl. Orianna was her first crush.

As a polyp Silco was marked with a deep notch to be harvested as a trimming. He however was missed and found upon “hatching” and raised by a couple in the undercity.

Silco was supposed to have four arms but has three because of the notch caused the two arms on his left side to never un-fuse.

The notch also left Silco with short legs that make walking more difficult.

Sevika likes salt licks.

Mel has a centaur body type.

Ambessa has a centaur body type as well. She very much has the physique of a draft horse.

Jayce Talis can turn into a cube furnace. (He deadass looks like the thing from Minecraft)

Sevika is too heavy and unable to talk on two legs, instead she walks on her back legs and wings.

Jinx has four tentacles coming out of the back of her head that she uses in leu of her wing arms.

Benzo walks on his forelimbs and grabs stuff with her back hands.

Vander is a quadruped.

The first time Sevika and Silco met she tries to eat him.

Marcus is one of the few high ranking enforcers who wasn’t born a child.

Marcus had to gain permission before he had Wren.

The first few weeks of her life Sevika went on a killling spree know as The Riverside Massacres.

Heimerdinger was on the council and was the turning vote which okayed the Disassembler project.

Sevika has vague memories from inside her tube.

You’ll never guess who Vi’s sire is.

Runeterra was a war ground which is made of many crashed ships.

As the name of the au suggests, the species that they are is made from a marriage of nature and technology.

Ask me questions if you have any!

[caitlynsbiggestfan]

𝑉𝐼 𝑀𝐼𝑁𝐼－𝑅𝐴𝑁𝑇

I hate when we’re discussing Vi and we pivot to her loyalty to Zaun just because I know done bullshit is about to come out. There are two very popular opinions in the subject that are just so stupid

she didn’t care for Zaun in the first place

she intentionally betrayed her city in favor of her lover

In question of one it’s just overall stupidity. Vi evidently in season one does care for her city, even as a child. She openly displays her wants to fight against Piltover aka their oppressors, she immediately is revolted by the fact that Vander is cutting deals with them, and overall has no sympathy for top side(which could be seen as a good or bad thing). However, we also see her face the reality of a good chunk of the people Vander once held trust for, betray him in favor of Silco’s less than peaceful plans. She also spends the next eight years in Stillwater, which easily could’ve been filled with Silco’s goons who have no problem to his bidding from a prison. Then when she gets out the fandom expects her first thought to be her “city”. The same city who at the end of the day turned their backs on Vander which to her is turning their backs on her and led to the deaths of her father and two brothers. So now all she has is her little sister who she still thinks is waiting for her. We know that Vi is a very family-centered character—she loves her family and will do anything to hold onto them so if her little sister is all she has left to hang onto. Vi’s gonna do that instead of caring for a city that doesn’t care for her and ravaged by shimmer to the point where the community her family had built was destroyed

Now when it comes to opinion two it’s a little trickier because for some of reason season two Vi is too complicated to get for some of this fandom, but I understand why. A lot of people see the show as something that revolves around solely Jinx when it doesn’t. this kind of feeds off my point from before, but Vi is very family oriented. After she’s faced with the reality that the Powder she knew is dead, she clings onto Caitlyn because she’s the last person she has. She feels guilty to a certain degree for the grief that Caitlyn has to go through for a monster of her creation or at least in her head. This stems from Vi’s responsibility to play mother and big sister to not only her little sister but tattoo other children. She sees herself responsible for the creation of Jinx because that’s all she ever known. A permanent sense of motherly responsibility for the people around her

[deiastormborn]

Arcane Season 2 Finale theory. (Jinx, Cait and Vi)

Heya. Since I was somehow on a roll with my theories about the show previously, and I somehow hit the nail on 90% of the things I predicted, here is a new theory of mine.

Jinx is not dead. Yes, of course, that makes sense considering League of Legends exists, and everything that happened in Arcane happened before the game. Arcane was made canon, and a lot of current lore is being rewritten to match the show, so to people that play the game it's no surprise that Jinx is most likely alive. But how?

Here is what I think:

After Jinx said 'I didn't know your mom was in there', Cait realized that Jinx did in fact change. Or, at the very least, could relate to her pain and mistakes. If you think about it, Jinx's actions were mostly fueled with grief, and the rocket that was shot at the council building happened right after Silco died, who was like a father to Jinx. Caitlyn lost her mother, and became angrier, irrational, fueled with revenge. I think Jinx saying that to Caitlyn made her relate, and maybe understand what is hidden below all the madness that Jinx has in her.

I think Caitlyn and Jinx had a dialogue behind the scenes, that was not shown to us. Knowing Caitlyn's character and somewhat a soft heart, I think Caitlyn sat down and told Jinx that she can't be truely free due to the volume of the crimes that she has done. My idea is that Caitlyn tossed the idea to Jinx about escaping, fleeing, and faking her death. Didn't Caitlyn tell Vi that she became too predictable? Doesn't it mean that Caitlyn knew that Vi will try to free Jinx? Didn't Caitlyn say something about this place being thoroughly guarded too? Yet Jinx managed to escape anyhow?

I genuinely don't think it was done without Caitlyn's interference.

Maybe, after the talk that Caitlyn had with Jinx behind the scenes, Jinx asked Caitlyn to keep Vi oblivious to everything that is happening. Hence why Jinx said that Vi deserves to be with Caitlyn - that could not have gone out of nowhere. Caitlyn and Jinx didn't interact enough in the show for Jinx to say that. And Vi never really spoke to Jinx about Caitlyn for her to make this conclusion.

Now, possibly, Jinx took the whole 'fake the death' quite literal, since we see her go quite suicidal after that. It is possible that she thought that it is pointless, and genuinely didn't want to try and run anymore, hence why she attempted to blow herself up. Luckily, Ekko came in, and the rest we know.

However, it doesn't sit right with me. Not just because Jinx is very much alive in game, but also the fact that we were shown Caitlyn looking at the tower where Jinx fell, while holding the Jinx's monkey bomb in her hand. She also let go of a slight smile when she zoomed in on all the exits and rooms in the tower. Something tells me Jinx knew how to escape, and something tells me Caitlyn was the one who told her. Something also tells me that the balloon we saw at the very last scene of the whole show might have had Jinx in it.

The show is notorious for showing scenes that always mean and imply something. I previously had a theory where I drew a parallel between Vander, Silco and Felicia, with Caitlyn, Vi and Jinx, where Felicia was bringing Vander and Silco closer to each other, and her death ended up splitting them both. I truly think Caitlyn was meant to be the same mediator for Jinx and Vi as Felicia was for Vander and Silco. And maybe that was it. Maybe that's what happened.

Knowing Caitlyn, she is more than capable of forgiveness, and seeing good in people. I think it would be in her character to help Jinx escape, even if it is at a cost of lying to someone she loves.

And, since we see Jinx tell Vi to let go, I think it would be in her character to ask Caitlyn to keep Vi in the shadows.

[low-budget-korra]

Comments on Arcane s02 e1-3

-As someone who is still dealing with the loss of my father, I can guarantee that this type of pain is something else and it truly changes you. Caitlyn lost her mother in an act of violence, terrorism, so of course she will be full of anger and urging for revenge. And also, of course she also felt guilty about it, like she said to her dad, she had the shot on Jinx but didn't shoot.

I've seen people commenting as if Caitlyn had volunteered to be Ambessa second hand and now that I've seen I'm like ? Bruh did y'all didn't see the masterful power and pressure move Ambessa thrown on Caitlyn? After that speech, there was no way she could say "no", those people would eat her alive and she would possibly be treated as a traitor, especially because of her proximity with Vi

-And I KNEW Ambessa was behind it all

-"I'm the one that created that monster" no Vi, you didn't 🥺. See? That's exactly when Jinx loses me. She doesn't take accountability for her actions and blames Vi for it.

"but she is traumatized" grl tell me one one character in that show who ain't?

Okay, let me say something serious. Being traumatized, doesn't give you the right to hurt others. Assholes can be traumatized too, and I'm saying this because I've already seen people hide behind their mental illness and trauma just so they could hurt others and not be held accountable for that.

Jinx asking if Caitlyn and Vi had sex before the fight began, was brutal lmao

-We got the CaiVi kiss but at what cost??? 😭

I think what made Caitlyn snap was being compared to Jinx

-If something happens with Maddie, I will kill everybody in the show and myself. What an sweetheart. In fact, I like all of CaitVi squad

Something I can't say about that kid who follows Jinx. I'm sorry but I couldn't care less about that child.

-And the assholes attack again, and guess who will suffer the consequences?? In my comments on s1 I talked about the need to know how to pick the battles we fight. And Silco's gang just reunited the stronger enemy against them, and the people of Piltover won't care about any more ruthless or aggressive response against Zaun. Now more than ever, they think of them as vile monsters who need to be put down.

What Jinx and Silco started will just result in the death of more innocents, especially the people of Zaun.

-Gotta say, watching Sevika be all "we don't hand over our people" speech, the same of she took as a weakness when Vander spoke.... character development.

Viktor basically became Jesus. I'm sorry but that scene when he wakes up and was like "peace off bruh ✌️" to Jayce, and leaves him...it was so not funny but still made me laugh

-wtf is happening with the Hex? Also, yeah, now I get why Riot almost went broke after making this

[thewistlingbadger]

Let me explain something very quickly: connection is a vital part of humanity and the best stories center connections for that same reason. There's a reason we as a race of beings are obsessed with romance, friendship, and family. The best way to get an audience invested in a story and invested in characters is by showcasing the relationships within the story and the relationships each character has. You can tell the audience so much just by the scenes that you choose to include in the story. It is seriously one of the most overpowered storytelling hacks of all time.

It is for this reason that Arcane is such a beloved show. All the show is is interwoven relationship after interwoven relationship, everything connects together and it's why we feel so passionately for these characters and for the story. I'm explaining this to you now so that way you can understand what I mean when I say season 2 currently has a big storytelling problem. That problem being the Caitlyn problem.

Last season Caitlyn was a pretty positively received character. She was likable enough and we liked the relationship she had with key characters Vi and Jayce. However season 2 has really started to focus on her, and the way it's choosing to tell her story is not only detrimental to her character, but detrimental to the show.

In season two Caitlyn becomes a much darker character after the murder of her mother. She ends up doing tons of terrible things all for the sake of avenging her mother's death. The biggest problem with this is that we barely got to see any interaction between her and her mother in the last season. The most we saw was Caitlyn being discontent with her mother's expectations of her, Caitlyn's mom being prejudiced towards Vi, Caitlyn's mom scolding her for being too arrogant/naive/stupid, and Caitlyn's mom giving her a little gesture encouragement to follow vi after the diaster of the council meeting. This is literally all we get between these two characters, and now we're supposed to rally behind Caitlin because she lost her mom?

WHO CARES? WHY SHOULD THE AUDIENCE CARE THAT CASSANDRA IS DEAD?! WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP CAIT HAD WITH HER MOM? IT WASN'T SHOWN TO US! We never get a flashback scene to show us what this relationship used to be like before it was strained. We never actually get one-on-one with these two characters. This is why you see a mass amount of people not associating with Caitlyn anymore. While the audience can understand the pain of losing a parent and feel pity, that pity can only be extended so far when the relationship was never treated as being important.

Just to give you a reference, the entirety of act 1 focused on the relationship between the sisters and Vander, as well as sister to sister. The fact that we got to see what the everyday lives of those characters look like and how those relationships functioned gave us something to care about.

The entirety of act 2 and 3 had emphasis on the relationship between jinx and Silco. The moments that were shown between those two characters elicited such a violent reaction from the audience that people debate the nature of their relationship TO THIS DAY.

There's a reason why we feel absolutely gutted for Jinx at the end of act 3. There's a reason why we feel heartbroken at the death of Vander. There's a reason why we will defend Jinx for blowing up the council. There's a reason why we defend Vi for punching her kid sister. It's because we were shown the value and importance of these relationships. We don't feel anything when Cassandra dies because they never gave us anything to actually care about. The only people defending Caitlyn right now are her dickriders. Almost the entirety of the fandom has turned on this girl overnight because the show failed to prove to us why Caitlyn would go this far for a mother we knew she had issues with.

And the issue is not the fact that Cassandra was a minor character, because ekko is also a minor character and we only got one scene between him and jinx that explained their relationship, and it's widely regarded across the fandom as the best scene in the entire show. We never even get to SEE the relationship between Vander and silco and yet it's one of the most fascinating things people like to talk about because the story gave us hints about the nature of that relationship.

I'm so completely and utterly shocked that season 2 is having a problem with showing relationships when it was such a strength of season 1. That, and because it's such an easy issue to fix. All they have to do is either show us flashbacks between the two of them, or emphasize how Caitlyn feels terrible about the way their relationship ended. The show has yet to do either. Until they give me a reason to give a SHIT about Cassandra and Caitlyn relationship, I'm not going to. And to be honest I feel like the boat has sailed because that was stuff they were supposed to either sprinkle in throughout the entirety of the season or just get it out of the way and act one. And they haven't done either yet.