#arcane season two arc one

[mild-incompetence]

Arcane S2A1

Damn they made those statues quick as hell.

Viktor went through two betrayals in quick succession both from Jayce. First the hexcore then the hex-weapons. (Damn. Guess it’s time to go become Moses🤷‍♂️.

You know what really gets me about this scene. Jayce just lets Viktor walk way. Like my guy. Viktor is your terminal ill best friend who just survived a terrorist attack by cocooning himself in a magic crystal that, might I add, you just learned ate a person last week. After an unspecified amount of time he wakes up looking like that and talking about how he can’t feel cold, and you just let him leave. JAYCE THE MAN DOESN’T HAVE PANTS!!!

God this show is so pretty!!!

I like this scene because Caitlyn only gets aggressive when he starts taking about how the gas is effecting him. Almost as though she doesn’t want to hear about the consequences of her actions.

What Vi didn’t know at the time was that the Caitlyn she wanted to keep is already gone and that the Caitlyn she’s asking not to change is already unrecognizable.

Oh, you hate to see it (casual classism).

I love the parallel. Ambessa is doing literally the exact same thing to both of them (if it ain’t broke).

Vive la révolution

[beepfuckingbeeprichie]

Jinx and Caitlyn are officially my favorite parallels this season and I love what the show is doing.

Jinx and Cait simultaneously lost a parent and were then immediately thrusted into a some measure of responsibility— Caitlyn as sheriff, Jinx as a parental figure and almost a partner to Sevika. And despite their upbringings and past history, they pivot to unexpected directions.

Jinx grieves Silco in the River and let’s him go. We’ve only seen Jinx hallucinate once in these three episodes, and it was Silco asking her if she was ready to go. As she exits the river, it intercuts with scenes from last season of her baptism with Silco in the same river. Jinx has finally decided who she is, and without Silco to make her worse (love him, but he did), she almost immediately begins on a path of healing. She rebuilds past relationships by connecting with Sevika, they mutually commiserate Silco’s memory, and then she makes a gift for Sevika as a bid for connection. She even begrudgingly builds a new relationship with Isha, who has basically imprinted on her like a duck.

Cait’s first appearance is being one of the only clear things in the stylized backdrop of her mothers funeral. The scratchy style of some parts are even reminiscent of Jinx’s visual hallucinations. People reach out to Caitlyn, and while she doesn’t necessarily push them away at first, she isn’t communicating effectively. Her and her dad have a brief conversation and she springs the enforcer badge on Vi with no context. By episode three, she’s almost entirely isolated herself from her former support system, told her girlfriend that she’s not “one of the good ones”, and uses the responsibility she’s been given as a weapon.

Caitlyn learns about the air ducts through her mother’s key, which are specifically for directing clean air into Zaun, and immediately weaponizes it. Not sure how long Jinx has known ab them, but she’s actually the one who uses the ducts to direct clean air into Zaun. And she’s the terrorist!!

Caitlyn’s weapons get upgraded to be more brutal, efficient killing machines. We’ve seen Jinx use her gun, obviously, but one of her bombs is simply filled with glitter. Sevika’s arm is decked out to play music, shoot fireworks, even has a punch option, which isn’t very effective if you’re going for the kill. They’re still weapons, but they’re fun, and arguably less dangerous than the hex core and more authentic to Jinx’s personality. Even the paint in clearing out the air ducts is just that- paint. She could have weaponized it, and chose not to.

Even the small things characterize them! Jinx channels her grief into a creative outlet, while Caitlyn searches for catharsis through violence! A good example is when she seeks catharsis by shooting the cardboard figure of jinx at the pop up gun range.

They’re both trying to find final closure through killing someone, they’re being thrust into roles of leadership, they’ve lost a parent, they now both have a complicated relationship with Vi. I’m really excited to see how things develop, as Jinx about to become the symbol of Zaun and Caitlyn has just become a puppet dictator.

[connecting-the-stars]

Ekko will help Jinx

My theory for Act 2 (spoilers for Act 1)

Trigger warnings:

Discussion of suicidal thoughts/ideation

Okay, bear with me. I’ve seen no act 2 or 3 leaks or screen shots. But I’m fully bought on the idea that Ekko is going to help Jinx in her healing journey. (Might be my bias talking).

spoilers below:

Merch:

The merch released shows Jinx’s new design and it is such a light/less defeated look on her. Like her face doesn’t carry this misery and exhaustion upon her, from all her grief. The morbidly relieved/expectant expression on her face when she was ready for Vi to kill her, that is gone. Most noticeable is the fact that both of her iconic braids are gone, hair cropped short that is so reminiscent of Vi’s in season one. Her clothes are brighter, Fishbones gets a modification and fixed, like the air around her is just less heavy. (Albeit this is from one picture and it could be wildly out of context.) Her design change is just miles away from her current form. I’m half convinced this is her final look in Act 3 and she gets the chance to heal.

There’s a time-skip basically confirmed for this season, whether it occurs in act 2 or 3, things will change for Jinx.

Time-skip:

The time-skip is most likely around a year or at least several months. If act 2 has the Brainy Boys on vacation in another realm for a few episodes, Jinx will be facing the start of Zaun’s revolution and the undercity turning to her, Vi will most likely be shunned by the undercity and lean more on her alcoholic tendencies (her fighting pit era), Ambessa will be manipulating Cait, the firelights without a leader. But if they open an episode with the Boys returning and them being confronted by this time skip and whatever had occurred in the hex gate — like fish out of water they will have to learn about everything thats changed, for better or worse. Jayce with Mel missing and Cait’s corruption, Hemidinger with the fact that the hex gate is unsafe, and Ekko and the impact of Jinx’s revolution upon the undercity and the firelights.

Seems like the teaser for Act 2 is setting up the firelights to join Jinx’s efforts and movement, believing Ekko is dead as they place him on the mural. We see him fighting with Vi on the firelight hoverboards and his hair is longer, this could be an act 3 event. But I doubt that either of them would be supporting Piltover’s current stance, so they are most likely fighting with Jinx’s forces against Piltover and Ambessa’s army. (The team up is real guys.) Ekko will see her movement for Zuan and positive impacts on the undercity not being run on shimmer, and he will find Jinx

However, before this war fully breaks out, Act 2 confirms that Jinx is gonna face Warwick / Vander’s reanimated body… and you know who else is fighting him? Vi. I think something is going to happen with Singe sending Warwick out upon Jinx or upon her revolutionary group, and Jinx gets involved to stop him. Jinx with her shimmer enhancements are awesome and has accelerated speed, but Warwick is gonna outmatch her, especially if she realizes who he used to be. We’ve only seen Jinx’s scratchy distortion once or twice so far, mainly when Vi was revealed to her as an enforcer. But seeing Vander back from the dead and worse off than ever, her guilt and horror is going to be off the charts. I think she loses ground, and gets hurt - badly. The teaser shows someone (most likely Sevika ) carrying Isha to safety, the scene is soaked in this blood red fog, the same as the Warwick fight. Several accounts over on Twitter are pointing out that Isha is reaching out to someone off screen, that she seems to be scared for Jinx’s safety. There’s a shot of Vi standing alone against Warwick, and I think she is going to save Jinx.

Oh Okay… now on to

Time - Bomb:

The famous Bridge Scene. Wow. Am I right? So of course, this scene has been analyzed up and down and inside out, but to reiterate; Jinx’s nickname of “The Boy Savior” just hits different now. (It’s important enough that it’s the Name of an episode). In the Blu-ray behind the scenes/making of Arcane the writers discuss: the cut scene of younger Ekko searching for a way to rescue powder because he believes she is a prisoner. When he finds Powder recently turned Jinx and tries to save her from Silco to then have her violently refuse (the detail of her slapping him the same way Vi did to her at the end of Act 1: S1.). She does not want to be rescued and does not accept help. In addition to the venom of her voice, the condescension, like she does not see him as the capable resistance leader. They are similar ages, the only kids of the first act of the Undercity to remain in the lanes, Jinx the prodigy of Silco, and Ekko completely alone in the Lanes. Silco keeps reminding Jinx, especially when Vi returns, that no one from her old life will care for her. He compares his and Vander’s fallout to Powder’s and Vi’s, pushing this narrative that it’s them against the world. Telling her to bury Powder, and that Vi has not returned for her but for the hextech crystal.

Character Mirrors/Foils:

Metal / Nature

Silco’s / Vander’s Image

Raven / Firelight

Past / Future

Isolation / Community

Jinx stuck in the past with her ghosts and her mistakes and Ekko forced to grow up faster and choosing to become a caretaker of those who can’t defend themselves. (Becomes a protector like Vander had once been, that Vi had been.) He puts all his efforts into making a safe haven for those impacted by Silco’s gangs and shimmer products, and he wants to build a community that supports a better tomorrow.

“It’s not enough to give people what they need to survive; you have to give them what they need to live.”

Ekko is still quite young and yet he chose a role of helping those around him and created a positive community, while Jinx became more and more of Slico’s tool, of learning his beliefs and violence. (S1E6: Silco’s outburst after Vi and Cait escape in season 1, wonder how many times he did the same thing in front of her. Also him referring to Jinx as the prize of Vander’s kids, like he is fully aware of Jinx’s genius mind and engineering skills.) Jinx often being depicted alone in her hanger, talking to her ghosts. Jinx feeding into her own insecurities and feeling that she has to prove herself to Silco and be useful in a way she had not been seen as powder in their family group. Her disregard for the damage Slico brings to the lanes with shimmer and her blowing up the building during progress day in Piltover not concerned with who gets hurt. Ekko and his firelights becoming antagonists to shimmer verses Jinx and Slico’s forces as they protect the products.

Further the visual imagery and visual parallels between them are so interesting.

[pictures above from twitter account: @Chi11in_Like_a]

So I believe that Ekko and Jinx have this strong connection to one another, even more so with learning about the cut scene from season 1, and Ekko is going to pull on that more so than ever. The writers confirm: They “saw” each other during that still moment on the bridge, the children they used to be. They were not enemies, they were not on opposing sides, they did not want to kill the other. Their expressions in this scene when time slows, it kills me. Of course, the scene plays out, Jinx uses a sneak attack and everything blows up in their faces. Ekko gets this look of shock on his face as he looks between the bomb and Jinx, and my heart breaks. Jinx nearly dies from this (this is one of many times that she is entirely careless with her own life), Ekko is hurt for the remainder of the season. But the moment of recognition, of their childhood games, of them laughing, of the sullen ash atmosphere of the bridge being met with both of them falling into old patterns. The mood shifted entirely, elevated by the music. The music in this show never stops amazing me.

I do not remember if I looked deeper into Jinx’s reckless tendencies in season 1, but this year on my several rewatches, I have definitely noticed. She is not afraid of dying, she’s not afraid of getting hurt. As powder, she was so scared of fighting and of getting injures, throwing the haul from the over city into the river to get away from an attacker. Jinx does not care if she dies. I think she assumes that she is too far gone, that no one can help her. I think she believes no one is willing to try. After watching Vi race back to Cait on the bridge when Marcus betrays them and shoots Ekko, Jinx sees her only remaining blood leaving her again. (S1:E7) Season 2 episode 3 fight between Vi and Jinx, crushes me. Her encouraging Vi to go through with killing her, her guilt over what happened to their family.

Back to season 2, Jinx gets away from Warwick, from Vi, and hides out alone and emotionally distraught. (Ella Purnell’s performance blows me away, the guttural screams and cries make me want to sob.) Jinx is at a breaking point, I think she has made it back to her lair, and the ghosts are back in full force. The neon paint and the dolls of her family, the dark empty hanger around her. Jinx will hear Silco again. “Have you had enough?” Her belief that she can only break things and makes everything worse being heightened by Warwick/Vander returning, after starting to build connection and bond with Isha and Sevika. Having Isha’s protection and admiration uplifting Jinx in a way she never expected, and then to have this relapse and massive reminder of her past mistake. Her being responsible for both Vander’s and Silco’s deaths, that Isha and everyone close to her will meet that same fate. Despite Sevika and Jinx finding common ground, I do not believe Sevika would be the person to help her in this situation. She’s bleeding out and heavily wounded, she is alone, she’s at rock bottom in the way she was when everything happened that night. Jinx looks over the edge of the turbine blade. Jinx looks at her pistol.

Cold metal brushes her temple.

Ekko finds her.

I think Ekko will bring her back from the edge. He will be a voice of reason and comfort despite everything they’ve gone through, because of it. Because despite the deaths and Silco and shimmer, he still sees her. The child who only ever wanted to help her family. Despite what he told Vi, the implication that his denial pushed him forward, that Jinx isn’t Powder anymore. But Ekko still sees his childhood friend, and grieves her. He misses his friend.

Tell me this shot from the trailer does not scream that he wants to help Jinx? Really gonna live up to the nickname.

(The strand of blue hair on the left side of the scene.) I fully believe Ekko is talking to Jinx. The last episode of Act 2 is going to be their conversation, and it will end right before we see what is Jinx’s final decision.

He will help her, if she allows herself to accept help. To understand that there are people from her old life that do still care for her. To have no one in the lanes that understood her, that knew her and what she’s done, and for him to reach out a hand first. Isha and Sevika are closer to Jinx than anyone currently, but neither of them know everything or share history in the same way. Ekko will be the one to try to mend this rift. Multiple times the show has demonstrated how kind and generous Ekko is. (Refusing to turn away refugees in the undercity, of giving Hemidinger a chance). If she accepts his help, he can heal her physical wounds and they can start healing her emotional wounds.

Dark thoughts of the end, of ending one’s self, is such a heavy thing to cope with. I want Jinx to have someone on her side, for them to support her through it. She is such a well written character and the way they have showed her mental health struggles. I hope her arc becomes more hopeful.

Act 3:

Ekko will help Jinx fix Fishbones, she’ll dawn hourglass symbols, and work together eventually with Vi again. Maybe, finding common enemies and allies, fighting alongside each other. Zuan’s revolution vs Piltover. Jinx will see Isha again, being the guardian she herself needed when she was growing up. Learning forgiveness for herself and others. Talking things out, and not being interrupted.

Jinx’s healing journey!

I’m very excited for the rest of this season. These two are my favs. (I could be very wrong and none of this is on track, but this is apart of the intrigue of getting invested where characters stories go. Theorizing about what is going on, where the characters will end up.)

- If Timebomb talks to one another I will be over the moon. Years of crumbs lol.

- The fact there is a song named “My Dearest/Best Enemy” [I’m like 67% it is a Timebomb song]

[classy-disaster]

i just realized vi made it through her first ever arc without getting kidnapped

i'm so proud of her

[rosyborealis]

Now we know why Mia Sinclair Jenness (Powder’s VA) said that “I Bet on Losing Dogs” by Mitski is the song that describes season two

Lyrics below the cut if anyone wants to feel even more sad

My baby, my baby

You’re my baby, say it to me

Baby, my baby

Tell your baby that I’m your baby

I bet on losing dogs

I know they’re losing and I’ll pay for my place by the ring

Where I’ll be looking in their eyes when they’re down

I’ll be there on their side

I’m losing by their side

…

Will you let me, baby, lose on losing dogs?

I know they’re losing and I’ll pay for my place

By the ring

Where I’ll be looking in their eyes when they’re down

I wanna feel it

I bet on losing dogs

I always want you when I’m finally fine

How you’d be over me looking in my eyes when I come

Someone to watch me die

Someone to watch me die

I bet on losing dogs (did you get that?)

[lyrics from Spotify]

[gildeddlily]

Caitlyn! girl! you have the right to suffer and grieve but not at the expense of innocents! and to think that you wanted to be different! you're being no different than the ones before you! what about progress, what about justice, what about your ideals!

[snakes-of-the-undercity]

My thoughts on the end of act 2 (heavy warning for spoilers) -

Vander’s end/the death of Isha -

Vander’s last love was violence. He could never escape it, he could never be separated from it. And so instead he buried it, turned his violence into fuel to protect his own, his first love; his family. But, as Jinx said in the first season, ‘nothing ever stays gone’. He was never delusioned enough to believe that his violence was gone, but he thought he could control it. He couldn’t and that manifested itself in Warwick. Though I doubt Warwick is dead, Vander now most certainly is.

He died to the hand of that which he loved; his family. He died trying to protect them, he died while bringing them together. I’m not sure what this will do to the family of the heart of Zaun but I hope this will not destroy them. They all carry something of his, it would be a shame to waste it.

Vi holds his violence, Jinx his madness, and Sevika his ideals, though those are only surface level things. Sevika also holds his violence and his drive for family, Jinx holds his want for peace (surprising as that is) and isolation, his escapism, and Vi holds his drive, his want for things to get better, his need for others to be safe. Of course there’s other things they embody, but at the end of the day the story of the heart of Zaun is a story about fathers. How Vander was a father to Vi and Jinx, how Vi was a sort of father to Powder, how Sevika’s own father shaped her into being this protector and king maker of Zaun, how they are dealing of the repercussions of fathers (Silco and Singed), and how they were all a ‘father’ in some way to Isha.

In that same way it is a show about daughters and death. How one single act of ignorance, a drive to help that was seen as such good at first can turn from beauty to bodies lain across the rubble of these cities. How Jinx’s sister, her ward, died trying to help. Died in the way Powder did. And now, once again, vander has died. Their family is shattered once again. And once again they lost their father to a well meaning little girl.

Because at the end of the day this is a story of fathers and daughters, of family.

And, at the end of the day, this story is a tragedy.

Authors note - Might not be cooking with this, I am very sleep deprived— just finished watching and typed this out so yeah! Probs will have more + some old art later

[albinokittens300]

Okay, sequel to this Ekko post. As promised, this time focusing on the him and the Firelights.

Long and the short: I am thinking is possible something happens to scatter the Firelights. This something is what prompts probabbly the two things we know: Ekko seems to be going to Piltover for something (lets just say it's most likely hextech, or something similar), repeatedly. And the Firelights have been pretty clearly seen among Jinx's supporters.

Now, if or not this is the tree being destroyed, the hideout being attacked, or just general problems with a war going on in Zaun isn't clear but I am thinking SOMETHING happens to the Firelights pritty early on to make them kinda splinter up, prompting Ekko to need to do something about it and some of the Firelights to begin to support Jinx.

Now...I will make clear I don't think Ekko stops leading the Firelights and Jinx begins to. Cause honestly that sounds awful, off character wise for both of them and generally is not good. I think Ekko sees after whatever scatters most of them that he needs to get help, something in Piltover being what he needs to do that (again, probably hextech to power his Z-Drive). Hence, why he and Hiem sneak in and possibly prompts Ekko to return in disguise.

And to assure anyone who is worried: Ekko would also have to reunite and continue leading the Firelights after this because we see him leading a group of them in what looks like the last battle (the one with a lot of Noxus soldiers). So yea, whatever the reason for his absence is, it's temporary and they continue to stand with him.

Thank you all for reading my blocks of text and run on idea here XD.

[silentgrim]

rewatched the ending and yeah. its giving game of thrones

[syngularitysyn]

It's all fun and memes to joke about how Caitlyn immediately switched sides the moment she hears Vi call her cupcake again. And I do it too. But to me, the switch wasn't abrupt at all.

From the first scene in episode four, Caitlyn already says that the martial law has been going on much longer than she wanted. In the next scene, you see her standing up to Ambessa, using her words back at her, for which Ambessa calls her fearless. It shows that Caitlin has not given up control and is not being puppeteered by Ambessa. She's in control still, but her singular focus is still on Jinx like it was in act one.

Vi was right that Caitlyn is behaving like Jinx, but it was probably the worst thing Vi could have said to her, no matter how true, cause Caitlyn was too deep in her quest for 'justice' in her grief. That's why she reacted so violently.

Jinx is the target of her obsession, or her in her mind for justice, even though what she really wants is vengeance, and being compared to Jinx cut deep. Vi had noticed the similarity before in season one, but that was before Jinx kidnapped Caitlyn and wanted her dead.

In the beginning of episode four, she feels that it's been going on too long, but even after all those months her obsession is still stronger. Her obsession with getting vengeance, finding Jinx, killing Jinx, is still stronger than her moral compass, which she has abandoned to avenge her mother and fill her mother's shoes.

But over the course of the second act before she sees Vi again, there are multiple things that happen that make Caitlyn understand she has to stop, that what she's doing isn't right or justifiable.

Some of these were not initially clear to me when I first watched it. but one thing I realized today while I was working out is that one crucial moment for Caitlyn's arc in act two is with Singed.

Taking her singular focus off Jinx for a moment, Caitlyn does what she does best and figures out who Singed is, and what he's responsible for. She uncovers that Singed is actually the formerly revered alchemist Dr. Corin Reveck, who used to work with Heimerdinger at the academy. Arcane implies he is from Piltover and became a Zaunite after being kicked out of Piltover. He helped build up Piltover to what it is, and now he is ravaging Zaun with shimmer, weapons and monsters.

When she calls him a monster and asks him "why do all this?", he tells her he did it 'for love'. Out of love for his deceased daughter.

And I think that that is one of the crucial moments where Caitlyn starts to realize that what she is doing is not very different from him.

She's doing things her old self would never have approved, of out of love and grief for her deceased mother.

When she sees Vi again, she doesn't suddenly switch sides, she's already been doubting her chosen course of action. She initially says "you can't be here", because Caitlyn is trying to believe she's doing the right thing still, and knows Vi is a threat to that belief/lie.

Vi calling her cupcake though, is one of the last drops in the bucket. She left Vi to do what she thought she needed to do, what her mother might have done. What she's doing out of guilt for not saving her mother when she had the chance. She even tried to be with a girl her mother would have approved of.

When Vi calls her cupcake, all the feelings she's been trying to stuff away come flooding back. She snaps out of this self-imposed love-deprived state she's been in, and she can no longer deny she loves Vi.

When Vi tells her that she's trying to save her dad, I think that is the moment she actually switches sides. That was the last drop. That is the moment where she realizes there are still people she loves, who love her, who are still alive and they need her help, and that is more important than her horrible campaign for vengeance out of grief, otherwise she's no different than Singed.

[teastyun]

¨༺ the sweet taste of submission

arcane sevika x female reader pirate au (nsfw)

being blackmailed into piracy, you never expected anything less than cruelty to encounter you in your foreseeable future. but what happens if you become best friends with the captain's quartermaster? are you able to prevent any further feelings from developing?

a/n: happy release of season 2!! i'm watching the first arc at a public viewing event in my city with my closest friends and hope to win all the plushies hehe,, update: i did not win any plushies but i got a vi voodoo-doll from the series made by jinx and several other things including a coin with sevika on it 🥹

mastlerlist

walking into your crews' favourite tavern called The Last Drop, the hot and stuffy atmosphere immediately hits you as you're able to only her the chatting and brawling of your crew mates. the tavern is filled with almost your whole crew drinking and singing popular sea shanties as one of two guys would drunkly wrestle in the farthest corner of the wooden tavern, but your eyes only caught on Sevika at the biggest table through the dimmed lights talking to her mates despite all the commotion surrounding her.

Sevika is in her usual thin black linen shirt, where a few buttons were missing and her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing her slightly damaged prosthetic arm from today's battle. her other biological muscular arm looks taken up by scratches and bruises, which also coats her collarbone and cheek with hints of dried blood and forming bruises. her revealing muscular cleavage is layered with sweat, making it hard for you to look away from someone who was once only a close friend to you.

"y/n! you're in a for round or not?" your best friend calls over the loud noises of the crew from the table they managed to claim. your eyes left Sevika and followed the voice, where your friend held up a tankard of rum and deck of cards which were about to spill all over the table due to your already tipsy friend.

grinning, you pushed yourself through the crowd, desperately hoping no one saw you gawking at Sevika a minute ago. battling the hot and damp temperatures of the room, you opened a few buttons of your linen shirt beneath your leather vest before you sit down on the seat your friend saved you.

"at least try to not gawk at her like a nasty dog," your friend murmurs as they filled your tankard with rum and eye you with playful eyes. "eyes on the drink," you counter your friend who was about to spill your tankard.

you take a silent gulp of your drink and a mouthful of bread, before y'all's night officially start with your first round of poker, trying desperately to forget Sevika, who is plaguing your mind.

only a few weeks ago, you and Sevika were inseparable from the day you two were blackmailed to join piracy with Slico as your Captain. at first, you two started as mere sailors, but Sevika eventually became the Captain's trusty quartermaster. you, on the other hand, voluntarily remained the chef cook of the ship, loving your own big quarters that was daily filled with most of the crew eating whatever you managed to provide that day. Sevika would always stay in late in your kitchen, eating with you after the crew left and helping you wash up the mess of the day. you two were always touchy, especially when you two were alone in each other's quarters, separated from reality. she would always put her lower hand at your back when she reached to grab something next to you and rest her arm on your shoulder as you tell her your most private thoughts on anything. as much as she liked to touch you, you would always massage her sore muscles she requested after any battles (aching to hear her rare small moans casually escaping) and help her fix her mechanical arm anytime she's too tired for it.

the problem is, your liking for her didn't stop just there. recently, you've noticed the uneasy feeling in your stomach whenever she was with you, which you desperately tried to get rid off in order to save your friendship. you tried to put as much distance between you and Sevika as you could, which she slowly but surely noticed over time. confused by your actions, she also distanced herself from you. your once close friendship turned into confusion and slowly into unaccounted hatred. not only did you loose your friendship, but the romantic feelings for her grew even stronger due to the lack of interaction with her. and fuck, you hated everything about it. you're hyperaware of her presence anytime she's near you and you can't help but grow agitated at her presence that fills any room you're in.you even tried to fuck your horniness out of your system with several other women, but nothing hindered the constant thoughts you have of Sevika plaguing your mind. the image of her touching, groping, fucking you eft your knees weak at the mere thought of it.

as you sip from your tankard and relish the sweet burn in your throat, a gaze lingering on you burns into your consciousness. your first instinct is for your eyes to wander to Sevika, who's eyes seemed to be fixed on anything but you. as your eyes wanted to wander back to your group, all of a sudden you notice the tavern girl sitting down in Sevika's lap. her lacy white straps of her garment fell off her shoulders, revealing her bust to Sevika's sight, who grinned at her before her eyes knowingly set on you. questioning your gaze, her eyebrow arched as she kissed the woman's shoulder. her grey piercing eyes never leave yours as her lips trace her collarbone.

your breath starts to quicken up, not able to leave your eyes off of her kissing the woman's bare breasts as she moans and throws her head back, unaware of the game you and Sevika were playing in that moment with each other.

"i need to go," you tell your best friend, before you leave them the rest of your deck and finish the last drop of the tavern's burned rum, desperate for any numbing of the storm of emotions that were risking to bust inside of you. your friend stops mid-action to examine your unclear gaze.

"don't do anything stupid," they tell you with affection in their eyes, but respecting the distance you seem to need. you smile before you wave at your crew to call it a night. you desperately try not to throw another glance at Sevika as you exit The Last Drop and enter the humid night.

inhaling the smell of sea, you push the sweaty strands of hair off your face and exhale shakily before you try to process whatever happened inside the tavern.

desperate to feel the deck beneath your worn leather boots, you walk away from the loud tavern and head to your ship.

arriving at the docks, a mate on night watch nods at you before he returns to his duties. his gaze towards the vibrant town. the slight sway of the ship immediately calms your senses as you walk further on the ship.

stopping at the worn wooden railing, you rest your weight on your forearms and link your fingers to stop them from trembling. the sea always mesmerised you since you work for Captain Silco. it's truly the only place in the world that calms you merely by it existing. beneath the silver moonlight the sea glitters magically in reflection to it. the only sounds audible are the waves hitting the shore and the rafts of the ship occasionally flapping with a hue of wind, leaving you at ease.

the heavy creaks of wood beneath someone's feet rip you from your peace as you immediately recognised the person behind the sound, but your eyes maintain fixated on the waves dancing around the ship.

the person joins you as she turns to lean against the railing with her back to the sea, watching you as you still avoid eye contact with her.

"why are you avoiding me?" Sevika crosses her arms and cocks her head closer in your direction. her grey eyes slice you open and all the peace you just restored was instantly destroyed.

"why would you look at me with someone's tits up your face?" you counter bluntly, still avoiding any eye contact with her.

she chuckled merely at your response, "why, would you have preferred them to be your tits?"

shocked, your eyebrows furrow and you loosen your hands to grab the railing, "what? fuck, no!" your voice rises.

"then why would you care about whose tits are in my face?" her voice sounds unusually calm, sending you into a spiral of emotions as you turn to finally make eye contact with her for the first time since the incident at the tavern.

your hand automatically grabs the hilt of your sword tugged into the leather scabbard around your waist, needing any support as you try to challenge the grey eyes piercing into yours. Sevika notices your motion but chooses not to comment on it.

"answer my fucking question," she takes a step towards you and you can feel her breath mingling on your skin. "tell me, why are you avoiding me?" she says slowly, watching every move of yours closely.

unsure about how to react, you maintain the tense eye contact with her. you're trembling on the inside and your grip on the hilt of your sword hardens to avoid your muscles from starting to shake.

"because i can't stand your face," you lie to her. "i can't stand your presence anymore," you continue. taking a deep breath, you whisper with only truth "and i don't know how to feel about you anymore."

her eyebrows furrow as she comprehends your words. she seems to look for any signs of emotions on your face, before she bluntly says "i don't believe you."

"prove it." she pushes you with her biological arm, "fight me, love. show me how much you can't stand my presence."

you stumble a step back at the nickname, gripping your sword even tighter as you free it from its hilt. she pushes the sleeves of her shirt up as she stretches the sharp pointy fingers on her mechanical arm, watching every move of yours. you are a skilled fighter, but you prefer to not fight your beloved ones, especially those who you secretly adore to an extend that's slowly killing you inside.

Sevika flicks the blade of your sword against her mechanic arm, but you were quick to dodge her swinging her arm back. it only results in you two going further into the fight, leading her to leave several small cuts across your torso as you managed to dodge any of her attacks on you. across her eyebrow sat a small deep cut from the tip of your sword, the blood dripping down her face. the fight becomes more serious and deadly with each second you fight.

the eyeing of night watchers expands into a crowd including half the crew watching the ongoing fight. "looks like we've got an audience," Sevika mumbles as she smears the blood off of her eye with her bare hand.

catching your breath, you turn to examine the audience around you two. "i assume our fight has became more interesting than their gambling games in the tavern?" you say in a low tone only Sevika could audibly understand. she grins at your question before she counters, "how sweet of you to think that we haven't become their new gambling game, love."

"what?" you exclaim in surprise as she arches an eyebrow at you and her grin deepens. "Renni?" she calls into the audience, revealing a tall guy with a mechanic nose and green vibrant cords attached to it. he's handling any gambling games in your crew.

"yes, quartermaster?" he responds, resulting the chatter in the audience to silence immediately. "how many people bet on me winning the most rounds?"

the gambling master grins at her question. "the whole crew, quartermaster. all but one," he calls, eyeing the girl in striped red trousers and long blue braids dangling as she spins to him. her dirty gunpowder-covered hand shot into the air.

grinning, you watch Sevika narrow her eyes at the girl who's showing nothing but pride in her evaluation of you winning.

huffing, Sevika turns to you and mumbles, "don't get your hopes up, the Captain's daughter never won a bet in her life."

cocking your head at her damaged ego, you whisper with a wicked smile "i don't care," before Jinx intervenes with a pointed finger at you two, "actually, i've won several bets concerning you guys."

you watch Jinx with curiosity as Sevika only narrows her eyes at her again.

"several?" you question in confusion.

"how many times have you guys bet on us?" Sevika asks, her eyes wandering through the crowd as she watches everyone's reaction.

"i lost count." Renni states simply. "but it was usually whether you guys would fuck or kill each other." the crew laughs at Renni's blunt truth. you blankly stare at him as you loosen the grip on the hilt of sword. Sevika chuckles at the situation as she whispers to you, "so, they actually believe we'd fuck each other rather than kill."

"what's your take on that, y/n?" she continues as the tip of her sharp finger trails your jawline. the sensation of the light pressure clouds your mind and no words can be formed in your head all of a sudden. she knowingly smiles at your reaction and her finger travels beneath your chin as she guides your eyes to look at her, her breath mingling with yours.

your unoccupied hand pulls your hidden dagger out of your vest as you press it against her throat. her grey eyes darken as she grins at your unexpected move. she holds her hand in the air, showing any submission that was left in her.

"do you actually want to know?" you whisper as your eyes move between her narrow eyes and full lips despite her grin, the tip of your dagger pressing into her dark skin as a drop of blood runs down her neck.

her eyes darken at your question and the next thing you felt was her hand at your lower back pulling you on the hard wooden deck. your sword loudly slides across the wooden deck, hitting several obstacles of all kinds on its way.

she straddles your hips as her mechanic hand squeezes your throat and the biological one pins your wrists above your head, the dagger still in a tight grip in your dominant hand. "fuck," you murmur but wouldn't dare to break eye contact with her. "that was a dirty move."

"you can forfeit now, if you want." she suggests. "and why the fuck you wouldn't even dare to look at me all those weeks." she moves closer to whisper in your ear, "Jinx will loose her bet either way, may as well save your energy."

you gasp as a shudder ran down your spine as her breath tickled your sensitive skin beneath your ear. gathering all your strength, you try to pull your wrists out of her grasp. "i never yield," you say as she looks at you with the wicked smile of hers. your conversation was so quiet, only you two were able to hear each other as the crew chatted and the waves were dancing.

"i strongly recommend you to yield, love. save yourself some embarrassment," she tells you, but you're not having it. you try to lift your hips, but her core presses you even harder into the wood. "if you want me to yield, you have to make me," you whisper with a shaky breath that escapes mouth as you feel heat shooting down your core at the position you two are in. she quirks her eyebrow at you as she watches you writhe beneath her. your eyes wander down her neck to the her buttoned down shirt, revealing heavy breasts and pointy nipples through the thin linen. wandering down further, you see the swell of her core pressed into yours and you feel your breath becoming uneven.

"you're obviously loosing," she whispers. you squirm beneath her and your movements seem to affect Sevika as well. she presses her legs even harder against your waist, but can't help the heavy sigh that left her mouth as the scabbard around your waist seems to graze her core. "just yield," she said breathlessly as her eyes darken.

a shaky breath escapes your lips and you stop your squirming, visibly satisfying Sevika as her grip on you loosens. you immediately start fighting again and almost knock her off, but she grumbled "fucking stop," before she readjusted her grip on you and slid her leg beneath yours.

her mouth corners pull into a sly grin as she watches your reaction. your eyes went wide as you gasp, your warm and soft core directly pressing onto her knee. still, you try to push her off by trying to lift your hips, but the thin cotton of your brown trousers didn't do you any justice. your clit pulses at the friction and you try not to roll your eyes. she leans down to whisper, "what's wrong, love?" as her eyes switch between your eyes and your lips. "yield," she commands as her shining grey eyes pierce yours.

"no," you whisper and you feel her mechanical hand tighten around your throat. her knee pressed upwards and your head falls back as your eyes flutter closed from the friction you're experiencing down in your core. you name rolls of your tongue as you moan, arching your back as she readjusts her knee against you.

"i can basically feel your heat through your trousers," she whispers breathlessly, "you must be so wet right now."

shocked if anyone would hear you two, you gasp and tried to wiggle your wrists free, but miserably fail again. "what if anyone hears us?" you ask, but your eyes wouldn't leave hers to look around. that piercing gaze of hers results in another rush of heat spiking through your legs right into your core. "so, go on and yield," she tells you as she's grinning again, "so we can finish it in your quarters."

exaggerating her point, she presses her knee upward, sending your back arching. you almost forgot where you are, until crew mates were chanting Sevika's name. despite the crew's chanting, she keeps her gaze fixed on you as she closes her eyes to whisper against your lips, "please."

"yield, so i can finally fucking kiss you," she whispers breathlessly and you feel her lips grazing against yours. exhaling, you look at her with such intensity in your eyes, wondering if she really just said what you heard.

"fine," you murmur. smiling, she finally releases her hold on you as you push yourself up to yell, "i yield!"

standing, Sevika reaches out to help you stand up as the crowd cheers as if they've just won a triumph in a battle. you swear you heard a frustrated Jinx trotting off, leaving you chuckling in disbelief. the crowd disperses over the whole deck and Sevika whispers "i'll make it up to you, love."

"just," you start, "just shut up and hurry." you go to grab your sword as you push through the group of people. you hear her chuckle somewhere behind you and you can't suppress the smile that's growing on your lips. pushing your sword back into your scabbard, you walk down the stairs to your kitchen quarters with Sevika close behind you. her real hand rests on your lower back until you reach downstairs, away from any noise and other drunk pirates.

you turn around to pull her into an aching, hot and longing kiss. fuck, her full lips felt so soft compared to the rough and deep kiss, leaving you moaning as she bites your lower lip.

your sword hits the wooden table behind you as Sevika hoists you up on it. the kiss grows more frantic with every second, both of you sighing and moaning as the other would occasionally bite at the others lip. your arms slip behind her neck and her mechanical arm pulls you even closer to you as she stands between your thighs, which are hooked around her waist.

moaning, you grind against her trousers' seam, which you felt her press onto your core a few minutes ago. you break the wet kiss as your head falls back, feeling the perfect angle pushing against your clothed clit.

she grunts before her hands slip to hold each side of your hip to stop your frantic movements.

"fuck, i'm about to come undone if you won't stop, love," she says as she rests her forehead on her shoulder to catch her breath after she manages to stop the grindings between the two of you. before you could respond, she kissed you rough and messy as her hands slide over hips up to your waist.

her name spilled out of her lips after her real hand moved further up to cup your tit beneath your leather vest. her thumb teases your still clothed nipple as both of your hands softly pulled her hair, urging her on to continue. "Sev-," you gasp as her index and thumb pinched your nipple.

she's watching every single move of yours like you're the most beautiful person she ever witnessed. your eyes hazily fix on hers and you feel the emotions rising in all of a sudden. looking at her, you’re reminded of the feelings you’ve recently developed for her and the fact that you still owe her an explanation for your behaviour the last few weeks.

nonetheless, she smiles at you as you’re seemingly lost in your own thoughts. "Sev," you say again, trying to start whatever coherent sentence you were about to voice, but her lips on the shell of your ear interrupted the last string of thoughts you had.

"go on, love," she whispers and a shudder runs down your spine from her warm breath tickling your nerves. inhaling, you try to not concentrate on her lips that were moving down further and further with every wet kiss she presses on your skin. not to forget, her hand was caressing your tit, although it already moved on to your other one.

"i‘m sorry," you say, your hands playing with her hair to calm yourself. "i‘m so sorry, Sev," you continue, in- and exhaling to calm yourself "i really didn’t want to treat you like an enemy the last few weeks."

Sevika stops in her kisses as she expands her posture to look eye-to-eye with you. her mechanical hand still rests on your lower back as your hand drive off of her. continuing on, you look away almost in shame, "i don’t know why i haven’t communicated my feelings with you from the start. i hope you can forgive me for the last few weeks."

a smile grows slowly on her lips as she’s lost in her own thoughts, "so you have feelings for me, love?"

surprised by her reaction, you answer "i mean, isn’t it obvious considering what we’re doing right now? you’re hand is still on my tit!"

laughing, you shake your head at her surprised face but the smile on her lips never left. her mentioned hand moves up to your neck to pull you into a heartbreakingly loving kiss that you never want to stop.

"i forgive you, love," she whispers against your lips, "under one condition."

breaking the kiss and looking at her expectingly, she continues, "promise me to always come to me if something is in your mind. i don’t want us to end in a fight again."

smiling, you answer, "i promise." hooking your arms around her neck again, you say with a grin on your face "speaking of our fight, you still owe me something."

"you don’t have to remind me," she says with a laugh before her lips find yours again before her hand finds the opening of your scabbard. skilled with only her mechanical hand, she opens your trousers and traces the lines of your underwear.

"just so you know," she says as the sharp tip of her index finger slides down your pussy, "when we grew apart, i slowly realised that you mean more to me than a best friend."

she presses a kiss on your forehead, then on your cheek and lastly on your lips before she pulls away to react to her finger circling your clit over the cotton of your underwear. sighing from the sensation and love at the same time, you smile at her through hazed eyes as your hand slides down to trace her suggestive cleavage you were eyeing the whole night before you pinched her pointy nipple underneath her shirt.

exhaling in pleasure, her movements quicken on your clit. your breathing grows more rapid with every bolt of sensitivity you feel in your core. realising how close you were, she releases her hold on you and swaps her mechanical hand with her biological as she slips two fingers into your fold underneath your underwear. you whimper when she enters you with both thick fingers at the same time, but her kisses around your throat soothe the sting, which quickly turned into pure pleasure. moaning, you feel her curling her fingers to test your g-spot, making you see stars as she sucks and bites hickeys on your neck.

grasping for any hold on her, one hand fists the back of her shirt as the other one pulls on her hair as her movements quicken with every moan that escapes you. the table beneath you creaks loudly with every thrust of her, but when you come, the only thing you were able to process was the stars you were seeing and the sound of your heartbeat pulsing in your ears. you scream her name as your long orgasm takes several seconds, leaving you panting with tears in your eyes.

when you're able to recognise your surroundings again, you see Sevika watching you with unsteady breaths and clouded eyes. "fuck, my soul left me for a second," you indirectly praise her and she immediately smiles at your sentence. again, she leaves several kisses around your face.

"i'm so glad to finally call you mine."

[moonsdancer]

#like do guys do know that ‘yay this character is perfect in every single way and the only ones with braincells<3’ is not#the progressive statement you think it is#a step up from the insane misogynoir during s1 era but still not great#it’s how nobody really focuses on mel or ekko’s characters on their own and water them down to being ‘perfect#never did anything wrong ever’. which they are but like… how to say this…#i feel arcane didn’t allow them to be fully fleshed characters#and gets some mvp scenes but that’s not a compensation for actually giving them proper attention and fully fleshing them out#i might be the minority but mel is a step up from ekko since she had more of an arc but again they barely fleshed it out before making her#op enough to defeat leblanc (was it leblanc?) in her own domain#like that is literally insulting to mel it’s a cop out and just reducing her to a cool moment#in compensation for not giving enough attention to her black rose arc#it wasn’t cathartic because there was no build up to those moments

I don’t know how to say this exactly but like… fandom and show are kinda weird about Mel and Ekko and it is very much rooted in racism

[sol-iscus]

❗️Mild arcane spoilers ❗️

Miiight ruffle some feathers.

Not EVEN going to lie, unnecessary ship wars aside, the fan base has developed such a deep love and understanding for these characters (because let’s be honest, there are some pretty intelligent people giving eye opening analyses) that after the finale, it appears that we have a better understanding of them than the actual writers.

We deserved better as the audience after all the hype over the years, all the waiting, even after some episodes got leaked a while ago, most of us remained respectful and waited to see what this season would bring us. The core characters ABSOLUTELY deserved better as well.

It felt as if I was watching all of the characters’ development be erased in real time, or become sidelined and nearly mute after being propped up to appear as if they were going to have a significant arc.

With the amount of episodes we had, it felt like they were trying to cram a bunch of different storylines into one 9 episode season and that left us with annoying plot holes and rushed sequences.

And I’m just gonna say it.

If a certain relationship needed to be sacrificed if it meant that other characters had the proper development they needed and DESERVED, then I would have preferred that much, MUCH more than that undercooked finale.

Don’t. Even. Get me started on that caitvi scene. In the cell? Right after that conversation she had with her sister? Don’t give me that nonsense about how it’s vi reclaiming her power or something. (An actual weird ass statement from Amanda Overton in a Q&A video about how that was Vi reclaiming and working through her trauma in that cell).

No apology? No groveling for forgiveness? That little argument they had lasted like five seconds and didn’t even address the earlier conflict that happened in the show after cait left vi. And before any of you say “cait apologized with her actions”

I don’t care. Two things can be true at once, she can and should have apologized directly as well as displayed that with her actions.

Moving on to Mel??? We did not nearly have enough time to explore her new abilities as a mage, her armor, and her connection to the black rose. As I said, the storylines this season should have been more refined so we could focus on a central group of characters. They did nothing but hint at her armor from the end of season 1 all the way up until now.

Also maybe I’m hallucinating, but did we ever find out what happened to the firelight’s tree?? That’s one of the main reasons Ekko and Heimerdinger went to the lab isn’t it? HELLO?

Next on my list, Jinx. This girl has suffered to no end.

- Lost her whole family except for Vi.

- Almost died once and was brought back to life.

- Tried to end her life several more times

And you slap us all in the face by writing her off?

“Oh but she may not be GONE gone, look at the glitching at the end!"

I. Don’t. Care. It’s the principle.

I’m sick and tired of seeing characters that struggle with mental health and keep having one bad event after another happen to them, never receiving a proper ending. What messages are the writers sending with this? That death is basically the answer because there’s no hope for them? Cool. That was not an honorable act of self sacrifice, that was plain insulting.

Instead, if they still really wanted to have a Jinx redemption arc and a chance to rekindle her relationship with Vi, having her tap into engineering for the betterment of Zaun would have been the better route.

We should have gotten an extra extended episode since this is last season for the Piltover/Zaun region, and for Jinx and Vi's story. I really want to blame Riot for being greedy and possibly becoming too cocky with the popularity of Arcane that they think anything would suffice because It's Arcane.

[bringthekaos]

I'm excited for your thoughts on the new season if/when you share them

It has legit taken me 3 days to come to terms with Act 1. Enough to be able to speak about it. Gunna apologize in advance for the wall of text, and I’m hiding it under a break for spoiler reasons. Also prefacing with these are all just my opinions. All are free to disagree with me and RB with discussions/theories etc. just don’t be a dick about it, I’m not engaging in any discourse.

Ok. So. I have mixed feelings, and I’m aware that this is because I don’t have the whole story yet. So this is all contingent on how the rest of the season plays out.

First and foremost, I’m… wildly swinging back and forth between love and disappointment for Viktor’s arc. So first the negative, and I’ll try to keep it brief because a lot of people have already expressed this and I don’t need to be beating that particular dead horse.

Viktor has had his agency, his bodily autonomy, his original ideas and nearly everything that made him Viktor stripped away. Nothing so far has been his choice. And while this could have worked just fine for an original character, he wasn’t. So there is a massive disconnect between what this character was/should have been. In League, it was all his choice (albeit with a healthy dose of mental illness thrown in, but still). AND it was very heavily suggested that many of the augmentations he performed weren’t as extensive as he lead everyone to believe (namely the controlling/dousing of his emotions). But it appears that whatever the Hexcore did to him, it’s real. He is clearly having a difficult time accessing his emotions, and if he can feel anything, it is limited to the point of him being completely stoic. And the thing with stoic characters is that you obliterate any emotional payoff for the audience. It’s very hard to make an audience feel an emotional connection to a character’s story arc when they themselves don’t feel anything (I have a theory about this though, but I’ll address it a little later in this post). And then there is the issue of Blitzcrank. Blitz was Viktor’s whole world, after his exile. How are they going to swing that? Like, I’m not even asking for Blitz to be in Arcane (that would be great, but I really don’t think they have time). But I stg if they take Blitz away from Viktor, make them someone else’s invention (my suspicion is Heimer or he finds the idea in Sky’s journal)… I’m sorry but no. This was Viktor’s idea, Viktor’s genius. I will genuinely be extremely upset if they take that from him too.

Then there is the whole situation with Sky. First, this girl was fridged. She was nothing but a plot device and continues to be just that. It feels hollow and forced, especially now that he’s hallucinating her as some sort of penance for what he did. (I have seen the prevalent theory that it’s the Hexcore using her image and his guilt to manipulate him, given that it “ate” her, and we have seen it “manipulate” him before when it punished him for trying to destroy it). But back to Sky—he barely acknowledged that poor girl. The reason for that can be argued, whether it’s because he’s gay or because he was just so wrapped up in his one-track minded research. But regardless, there just wasn’t enough setup between those two for this whole thing to have as much weight and meaning as I think it’s supposed to. Honestly to me (TO ME) it reeks of comphet. It feels like that random woman they threw at Poe Dameron to No Homo him. I’m not even asking for Jayvik canon. But the creators were well aware of this ship, after all it’s the second most popular ship in this show and it’s been around since 2012 when Jayce was literally created for Viktor. I’m asking for the bare minimum here—that it’s left open-ended as it was in League, open for interpretation.

Last negative I have is the whole Viktor Jesus thing. The first problem is I am pretty violently agnostic, and messiah narratives have never spoken to me. I don’t enjoy them, they feel weak. The whole “ordained by a higher power” thing is just… stale. Especially when this character originally had no higher power, he gave it to himself through his own hard work and ingenuity. Honestly, Viktor’s original arc is about as far from a Jesus allegory as you can possibly get. And I am absolutely terrified that they’re going to end said Jesus arc the way you’d expect—with him dying for it. Which leaves the moral of his story “disabled man should have just accepted that he was going to die despite the fact that it was the oppression and xenophobia of Piltover that left him out to dry, without proper health care, accessibility, equality, or equity that lead to his terminal diagnosis to begin with.” Which is a very oppressor-centric narrative and we do not need another one of those.

Sorry, I know I said I’d keep the negatives brief, and that was… not. My bad. But moving on!

I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it, I did. I am working to embrace this new Viktor narrative and work it into my brain in a way that doesn’t ruin the ship for me. So without further ado, the positives.

Jayce.

Jayce.

Jayce.

I’d have to go back and time it, but it feels like he got more screen time in this first act than the entirety of the first season combined, and his character shined for it. It humanized him in ways season one never did. He’s caring, he’s devoted, and he loved Viktor! No matter what kind of love you think it is, it proves he loved Viktor without a doubt. He carried Viktor several city blocks to the lab to save him, and then YES, he broke his promise about the Hexcore because he couldn’t stand the thought of losing him!

And he’s funny! (The scene where he picks up the regular sized hammer in the fight against Renni and made that “this is ironic” face?? And then basically the entire interaction with Ekko? The hand me a tome thing, and then when he basically pulled this when Ekko suggested “so this is all your fault cuz you pissed off the Arcane”:

GOD that shit was great. Jayce’s personality just shined, and maybe it’s too much to hope, but maybe this will douse a little of the hate. Because instead of being a subtle hint at all of those things being true about him, it’s now overt. And when people lack media literacy, the hints have to be overt.

And th-the. The h. The HUG SCENE. I don’t think I will ever emotionally recover from that scene. Starting with Viktor who, despite being clearly emotionally—I dunno, vacant I guess—sounded so lost and scared when he said “what am I?” For me, it was whispers of that scene from The Last Unicorn: “what have you done to me?” And my poor sweet Jayce, who clearly hasn’t left this damn lab except to go to Cassandra’s memorial. Sleeping on the desk and bleeding through his bandages because he doesn’t want to spend a moment away from Viktor while he “recovers.” And his euphoric response when he finds Viktor alive, when he realizes he hasn’t lost him. And I OWE HIM AN APOLOGY, goddamn. I said in a post that “Jayce will not understand.” I thought that was how Arcane was gunna start the divorce. But Jayce genuinely did not care, as long as his lover friend was alive. And just… Jayce being so affectionate through this entire scene. The hug obviously, but also blurting things he thought he’d never get to say to Viktor—“I’m resigning from the council, my place was always here in the lab with you.”

And… the hug itself. I know we’re all analyzing it frame by goddamn frame, but I see exactly what everyone else sees—there is a moment where Viktor very subtly smiles. But it’s gone in an instant, and it turns bittersweet. LOOK AT HIM.

There is something there, it’s just buried. Deep beneath the surface. It seems to say “I want this, I have wanted this for so long.” But then he realizes something, something I don’t think we’re meant to understand yet. Maybe that he doesn’t feel anything about it anymore, and he recognizes that this should upset him and it doesn’t. Or perhaps it’s something more along the lines of “it’s too late.” Whatever it is, I think this is the exact moment he knows he has to walk away. Because he knows he’ll cave to the affection, he said it himself. (Which is another thing entirely. His voice changes when he says that. Something in him is reacting to that word. Maybe he’s fighting against it, or maybe he’s fighting to get it back. But something made him almost growl that word.)

Which leads me to my final thought (for this post anyway, cuz it’s turning into a novel); Viktor is still in there. He can still feel things, I just think they’re extremely muted by whatever the Hexcore did/continues to do to him, or he has to fight to express them. Because he also smiled at the hallucination of Sky after he “cured” Huck. And if he feels nothing, he wouldn’t have been “joyous” at the thought of her being proud of him, approving of the good things he’s trying to do in her memory. He wouldn’t crave that validation, that vindication from her. So I’m hopeful that we start to see this shell crack a little, especially if those visions of Sky are the Hexcore manipulating him through guilt. It will start to erode him, no matter how stoic he has become. And literally the only thing I’m clinging to is that Jayce will see this and try to pull him out. “He’s still in there and I have to save him.” And that maybe it’ll start to work.

[mistresscitrusslice]

The Season 2 Opening. We Must Discuss.

First of all, small beans. Instead of static, lifeless statues, this time we get moving humans. Mel features significantly more than I expected, so she'll probably be a much more major character than I expected for a non-champion character and I'm so happy for her. I believe the use of moving people instead of statues signifies that immense change will be happening. What we thought was literally set in stone in Season 1 will be turned on its head in Season 2.

Okay, on to the really concerning matters.

Yuhuh. Jinx moves too fast for me to get a good screenshot, but she gestures like this around her face a lot. I think we all already know about the Caitlyn-Jinx parallels, but my sister suggests it could be a red herring for the actual resemblances she has to Silco.

Sis gets credit for the following observation, but Caitlyn's daydream sequences about shooting Jinx are controlled and clearly separated from reality unlike Jinx's.

However, sis has not seen ep 2 yet, where Caitlyn does have that moment in the arcade where she shoots her vision of Jinx among the wooden dummies. Not only does this more closely resemble Jinx's hallucinations, it also parallels Jinx shooting the harmless crow in s1 e5. By the time the strike squad are about to leave, she can clearly tell that what she thought might be Jinx was really just a harmless wooden standee. Startling, but harmless. She shoots it anyway.

Caitlyn is totally gonna spiral more, and maybe she'll start losing her grip on reality too, but for now, she has more in common with Silco than she does with Jinx. Did anyone else get reminded of Silco's coat when Ambessa put the supervillain cape on Caitlyn? The collars don't look similar but they still eerily resemble each other, you get me?

Ok back to intro stuff

Vi wipes off her name from her face. That's two tattoos that are rendered impermanent in this opening theme. In the Fenty x Arcane video, they mention that Mel's golden freckles are tattoos. Later in the intro song, we also see her golden freckles gone. Change, impermanence. That seems to be a theme here.

Vi is literally erasing her name from her face. In any normal circumstance, I'd say that means she wants a change of identity, a desire to start over. However, I know that Vi's League lore involves amnesia. Does she really drink herself into that bad of a stupor? Jkjk. I assumed that her amnesia was replaced by the Stillwater imprisonment to explain how she got topside and with the enforcers, but perhaps I was wrong. Maybe they do still intend to go the amnesia or partial amnesia route with her.

The teasers implied that Vi shares the genetic trait that has Jinx predisposed to hallucinations. It's possible that this eventually contributes to her loss of memory, but I wouldn't call it quite yet. However, if this happens during her emo era when I'm assuming she has no support system, she'll be very vulnerable, unlike if it were to happen while she was still partnered with Caitlyn, in which case they could easily fill in most blanks in her memory.

I have no idea what to make of this. It's clear as day what they're paralleling, but why? Why the flashlight scene? My best guess is that they're trying to draw on déjà vu, implying a repetition of history, but why this particular moment? They could've easily chosen anything else in Jayce's s1 arc. He has many more memorable moments than this. Let's see, I'm literally making this up as I go.

This meeting was a pivotal moment for Jayce. Both his meeting with Viktor and his meeting with Mel changed his fate. The Viktor one is pretty self-explanatory, but without meeting Mel, they would've both just gotten exiled or locked up again. With Mel, they had someone in power who could vouch for them.

That begs the question, is Jayce meeting someone new? Or is this a reintroduction to someone he's already known before, a new meeting after a long time apart or after a significant change, maybe a change in them both. I believe it must be someone who was involved in the original hallway scene.

Jayce is either looking at Mel again or at Viktor. Given the amount of Viktor/Mel parallels in Season 1, I believe Jayce is looking at Viktor after he's undergone his likely final evolution. That'll obviously be another pivotal moment for him... but will it be a good one like it was with Mel? Viktor has power now. He's performing miracles. He's, like, two steps away from parting the Pilt River like it's the Red Sea. He seems to hold a grudge against Jayce, though, for *checks notes* saving his life? Jk I know he feels like he's losing autonomy and like Jayce didn't respect his wishes with the Hexcore and Jayce obviously couldn't let Viktor die when he'd fought so hard to stay alive before.

Anyway, I feel like this could easily be both a good omen and a bad omen for Jayce. More than anything, I feel like it'll be an epiphany. He is quite literally seeing the light. The light at the end of the dark tunnel? The light of the heavens at the end of his life? The light of a revelation sent by a god he once knew as a man?

Seeing Mel screaming bloody murder during the opening, this was the first place my mind went to. The pose doesn't match up exactly, and Jinx/Powder's screams are definitely wilder, but I feel like there's definitely something here. Is there anyone else who screams like this, thrusting their head forward and keeping their arms back?

We also see the shadow hands from this earlier shot:

I'm thinking of the Black Rose (is that their name?) kidnapping her in thin air, incorporeal hands reaching at her and snatching my joy the love of my life Mel away. It could also represent people grasping at the power Mel wields, both as the wealthiest Council member and as a Noxian princess, one of the closest people to Ambessa, the one wielding the most power right now.

Mel is really out of her depth right now. Her power and influence is up for grabs if she dares to blink and let her guard down. I'm also surprised that we don't see her fight back at all when there's danger around. I thought she might have more battle experience as she was raised by Ambessa. For those people wondering about her magical powers, I think she would've used them by now if she had them. Council attack aside, which could've been Viktor's magic, she wasn't able to do anything about the memorial attack or her own kidnapping. I think they're trying to show us that Mel is not as untouchable as she presents herself. Under the right circumstances, she's just as vulnerable as any civilian.

The sliver of light? My sister pointed out that it looks just like the crack of light between two double doors. Almost closed... or barely open? It appears in pretty much everyone's shot in the opening, but it's right down the center of Mel's face here. Is she torn between two sides? Is this about an impossible choice she has to make?

The spotlight is also on her. That's two sources of light. It looks like a red sun. All eyes on her as the surviving voice of the Council?

And her expression... shock, fear, horror. The heavy breathing, the look on her face... I feel eerily like I've seen it on someone else before. I can't place who, but I'm getting déjà vu from this. Does anyone else recognize this expression and these mannerisms?

[thenationofzaun]

Thoughts on Act 1 of Arcane Season 2

The positives:

- The animation is fucking incredible.

- Jinx and Sevika teaming up watered my crops and cleansed my skin.

- Underwater goodbye with Jinx and Silco. That scene was made specifically for me.

- Jinx's voice actress continues to be excellent.

- Loved the designs of all the Chembarons. The glimpse we got of the gang wars was also interesting. Unfortunately, too tiny a glimpse. Which brings me to...

The negatives:

- Too many plotlines. They stuffed the season with too much shit which is why each individual plot gets a much shorter screentime than it should. Smeech is introduced and killed in the same episode. Chembarons' gang wars, a huge issue which has repercussions on the entire Undercity, gets only one musical montage before moving on. And this is coming from someone who loved that montage, as well as the song. My favourite on the soundtrack so far. But musical montages shouldn't come at the expense of the story and definitely shouldn't replace the story. There are just way too many music video scenes in general that feel like a way to condense a storyline into the sparknotes version because they don't have the screentime to flesh it out. And they would have the screentime if they cut out all the extra stuffing. Look I'm happy for the League fans who are excited for the Black Rose and all that, but what the hell is it doing in a Piltover/Zaun show. And with zero foreshadowing in Season 1 too. It would definitely be easier to swallow if they had at least hinted at it in the first season. They could have kept Ambessa's beef with this magic cult for a Noxus show. The P/Z narrative has enough to deal with, enough characters to handle already.

- The new side characters are uninteresting and generic. Maddie and the two other enforcers (we don't even know their names after three episodes LMAO) are bland. We know nothing about their characters or personalities. Maddie looks like a rookie, and one of the dudes is an alcoholic, yet they get chosen for an elite strikeforce to capture Jinx? Isha is pretty generic too - the token cute kid that needs protecting. I get the role she will play in Jinx's arc. But that's the problem - she should be a character in her own right, not just a vehicle for someone else's character development. A good example is Mylo. He died for Jinx's arc, but when he was alive he was a distinct character with his own personality. We had a sense of his insecurities, his goals, who he was as a person. Name a single personality trait of Isha and Maddie other than "generically nice person". That's right. You can't.

- Whatever the hell is going on with Viktor. He wakes up from his coma and immediately rejects Jayce so quickly that it was funny. Apparently disapproves of Jayce using the Hexcore to save his life, but then immediately goes to use the Hexcore to save random Undercity people. Bruh. I also don't really like the way the fridged woman from last season seems to be his motivation so far. Nor the way he seems to have no agency in his Machine Herald arc. Instead of Viktor himself believing in transhumanism and mechanizing himself, Jayce does it for him. Instead of Viktor having an ideological drive and wanting a "Glorious Evolution", he is driven by guilt over Sky. Meh. Also he's not even mechanized, instead he's weirdly fleshy?? In a magical way?? More like The Magic Herald :(

- Vi. Her whole character is a mess. Insanely rushed arc which I find unacceptable for one of THE main characters and one of the faces of the show. She and Jinx are supposed to be the leads, their relationship the heart of the story, but so far only Jinx is a well-written fleshed out chaacter with a believable arc. I have too much to say about Vi so I'll expand more on this on another post.

- So much nuance and detail is missing. How does Heimerdinger feel about his ex-colleagues being killed? Does he care? Does he feel guilt? Relieved that he wasn't in the chamber when the bombing happened? No clue! Let's have comedy Mission Impossible instead! How does Ekko feel about the Council attack? Does he approve of it? Think Jinx went too far? How does he feel that she even survived their fight to begin with? No clue! Here, have him joking around with a Councilor for a bit (someone whom Ekko logically should despise), then he can talk Science with Jayce and all three get sent to another dimension together. Yay. What does Vi think happened to Ekko? The last time she saw him, he was fighting Jinx to the death to give Vi and Cait time to escape. He could be dead for all she knows and she doesn't give a fuck. Doesn't even think about him nor mention him once. It's like the writers forgot they're childhood friends. What does the entirety of Zaun make of Silco's death? I assume they heard about it from Piltover (who heard about it from Caitlyn), but how do they think it happened? His body is gone and to Zaun it seems he just mysteriously disappeared. Are there conspiracy theories? Conflicting accounts and rumours? So much nuance that would give the world and characters more depth, sacrificed so we can pack in more rushed subplots and music videos.

- Caitlyn "Wifebeater" Kiramman. And Caitvi in general. So far Caitlyn has guilt-tripped Vi, manipulated her into joining the enforcers, insulted her and then physically abused her. After Vi sacrificed everything for Cait, wore a badge she hates for Cait, even let Cait kill her own fucking sister (and only intervened when the random kid got involved). Why should I give a shit about such a one-sided relationship lmao. "B-but Cait's mom is dead so she's sad about it", every other fucking character in this show has dead parents. Half the cast has faced unfathomable amounts of trauma and pain that make Cait's pale in comparison. Nothing justifies her hitting Vi. "B-b-but it's a parallel to when Vi hit Powder", a shit parallel then. Because the circumstances are not even remotely comparable. "God forbid lesbians do anything🤪", give me a break with this corny bullshit. Be serious for a second. I'm not even a Vi fan and I think she deserves better than this mess of a relationship. The power dynamic between them makes it worse. The way Caitlyn is one of the richest people in the city and Vi is broke. The way Caitlyn is highly educated and Vi never went to school and spent her entire teen years locked in a box. Did the writers think about all this when writing their relationship? Keep in mind, Vi met Caitlyn like a week ago. She barely knows this chick. She's been out of prison FOR A WEEK. Where she was physically abused every fucking day. Putting her in a relationship with a cop who hits her would certainly be a choice! Do I have faith this show will handle it with care? Not really, no. They already ignore Vi's prison trauma. Most likely they will make Vi forgive Cait way too easily because "muh mummy muh grief".