#ekko I love you so much

[ideologyofone]

I’m sorry but I will truly never get over Ekko who lost his mentor and all his friends at a young age, then spent the rest of his childhood building a beautiful and strong community that helped get shimmer addicts off the streets and give them a new life that thrived off of trust, respect, and loyalty while slowly watching the girl he loves lose herself to her psyche and become an unhinged suicidal terrorist who he is unable to save despite repeated attempts at it. And THEN gets booted into an alternate reality where he learns he could have had EVERYTHING, the beautiful and thriving community, the education, his family, and the girl he loves and he heartbreakingly leaves it all behind because he knows he doesn’t belong there and he has to go back to save his people which he DOES multiple times at great risk despite knowing what overextending his z-drive could do only to end up completely alone in the end. The most selfless character in the entire series. That’s my boy savior.

[exhausted-kari]

This is my new favourite final girl

[agreentealeaf]

i saw people on tiktok talking about how AU ekko and powder are taller and look healthier because they were properly fed and just have healthier lifestyles and i fear this broke me

[Image Description:

The first two images are of Jinx/Powder and Ekko from the alternate timeline in Arcane. Jinx has pale, pinkish skin with a warm glow and a round face. She looks forward with bright, shiny eyes.

Alternate Ekko looks similarly young and healthy with glowing skin.

The second two images are of Jinx and Ekko from the normal timeline. Jinx holds a gun to her head as she appears to be about to say something. Her skin is sickly pale, almost translucent. Her eyes are darker and sunken in, and her cheekbones are prominent.

Normal timeline Ekko does not have the same stark differences, but his skin is slightly duller, and his cheekbones are somewhat more pronounced. The difference is made more stark by the fact that he appears downcast.

End Image Description]

[bookish-cravings]

Ekko is literally the BIGGEST advocate for the undercity and the one that’s actually been helping people and the fact that he’s never brought into conversations about undercity activism and the fact that I’ve seen more people giving Jinx, Vi, Silco, and even CAITLYN credit for trying to help and better their lives is so??

I guarantee if Ekko was a white boy you guys wouldn’t ignore or forget about him as much

Edit: Hey guys!! Contrary to popular belief, this post was not, in fact, an open invitation to try and argue this point with me, and it ALSO wasn't an open invitation to start calling me a bitch or ableist slurs, instead of trying to convince POC that fandoms don't actually criticize/ignore/sideline POC characters at a higher rate, please spend that energy on scrolling <3

[l-herz]

Vi: The View Between Villages

[aq2003]

i feel like some people r missing the tragedy of timebomb somewhat bc i've seen a few ppl say that ekko was only in love with powder in the alt universe and not jinx, and it's like.. first of all they are the same person. they are the same person in different circumstances. but secondly ekko seeing that good universe, i think, instilled in him the belief that fixing the problems in his universe was still possible, that peace between piltover and zaun was still possible, that jinx wasn't doomed or irredeemable. ppl highlight his selflessness in being able to leave the good universe behind, but i think a big part of WHY he left was bc of the hope he had for his world. that's why timebomb is so tragic to me! ekko returned with the drive to make everything right, strengthened by knowing it wasn't some unattainable out-of-reach goal. and he came so so so close but was still a little too late

[dryya-doesnt]

I SWEAR I STILL DRAW ITS FINALS WEEK…some timebomb doodles

[astral-herald]

arcane's depiction vs. endorsement and why it flopped

~ i think i'm finally ready to complain ~

My general opinion of season 2 is potential squandered. My recent post about Viktor's storyline as an intentional tragedy lets ya'll know that I did, for the most part, enjoy his arc (hot take, I know, and I know lots of people disagree with me, and I fully understand). If he'd gotten the screen time necessary to pull it off, it would have been legendary in my book. But the lack of screen time, even in the case of the season's eventual BBEG, speaks to my greatest issue with Arcane: no commitment.

(Critical) Discussion of Jinx, Ekko, Sevika, Vi, and Viktor below!

Arcane, as a tragedy (I've said this word too many times to count smh), asks the plot, "what is the worst thing that could possibly happen to this character?" and answers in kind. This is why we get Viktor's lost agency until the very end (and like I've said in the past, I completely understand and hold space for those who dislike this route).

If we ask this same question of the following characters, the scope of loss and despair innate to Arcane's final narrative is made very clear:

Sevika: a revolutionary forever devoted to the cause, not the individual, is nominated as an individual to represent the masses in a governmental body that has no interest in her class-conscious ideal.

Ekko: the people's hero in every sense of the word who never sees the fruits of his labor/sacrifice and who goes without the acknowledgement he deserves (more than any other Arcane character).

Vi: the ultimate victim of Piltover police brutality coerced, through grief, trauma, and loss, into working for the system that oppressed her. Even Caitlyn, for all her good intentions, seems incapable of ever understanding this.

Viktor: a genius hellbent on ending the same suffering he endured at the hands of Piltover's oppression has his agency revoked, driving him to inflict the same choicelessness he endured on Zaunite innocents.

On paper, these arcs are devastatingly sensical. And we don't always need happy endings in our stories (I'd sure like them, more often than not, of course). We can and should witness the harsh realities of class oppression if we don't experience them ourselves. The writing team painstakingly crafted and foreshadowed these worst-case scenarios throughout season 1. For example, in 1x07, Ekko being immediately shot at by Marcus at the bridge confirms our suspicions that Piltover Enforcers are a lost cause, not just full of bad apples but internally broken beyond repair. It felt that, despite all the hope, this struggle was doomed, and we were careening toward something dark - "In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good."

Had these arcs been successful, audiences would be confronted with the systemic issues we see today that implicate the physical and mental health of downtrodden individuals on account of lazy, prejudiced leadership. This actively happens. It is actively happening, sans the fantasy of it all. This is where Arcane should have shined: they depict the tragedy of these characters, but DO NOT endorse it.

But Arcane chickens out and the entire thing fails. Here are the Flop Era Spark Notes:

Maddie is the egregious bad apple stereotype that absolves all other agents of the regime. She clearly is not a stand-in for Enforcers at large because, all of a sudden, they're capable of coordinated artillery strikes that are necessary to the defense of Piltover, which the viewer must suddenly and abundantly care about. So glad she died. Also, Arcane, you cannot introduce abject warfare in the last 30 minutes of your show successfully.

Jinx's "revolutionary" plot was a red herring, and Sevika humbly vying for the spot was never delivered upon. They pay lip service to the Undercity organizing, but the scene is interrupted for larger (messier) plot concerns almost immediately. No commitment. No depiction to even refrain from endorsing.

Ekko and the Firelight Tree. Clearly this was set up as a means of showing how Piltover's mistakes were physically seeping into the only sanctuary left in Zaun. Yet this is just...never resolved? If someone has some insights into this, please let me know. No depiction. No discussion about endorsement.

What could Vi specifically gain by aligning with the Enforcers/Piltover? Human connection with Cait, sure, but why return to them in 2x06? Vi's character begged all season for development, but she kept returning to her nonsensical error of her ways (looking backwards) until the very end, and this is basically what "kills" Jinx. This is a nod to her lonesomeness post 1x03, sure, but to what end? Again, why the Enforcers?!? Oh, because now that Cait has been redeemed and Sevika is in Piltover to save the day, there are no systemic issues left to fix? Sure, Riot.

WHY DEVELOP VIKTOR'S ENTIRE HEXCORE ARC OFF SCREEN?I'M ADMITTEDLY BIASED ABOUT THIS, BUT THE AMOUNT OF DISCUSSIONS I'VE HAD WITH VIKTOR NATION ABOUT THE DEGREE TO WHICH HE WAS INFLUENCED/MANIPULATED BY THE HEXCORE (now that we know Sky was a manifestation of his humanity, not her Actual Self) IS DESPICABLE. HIS COMPROMISED AGENCY NEEDS TO BE FRONT AND CENTER AND OBVIOUS, OR ELSE IT SURE SEEMS LIKE RIOT IS ENDORSING THE LACK OF AGENCY IN VIKTOR'S STORY. I shouldn't have to make 1k word posts to explain this. I'll do it because I love him with my whole heart, but still.

I begged and pleaded for months for BBEG Viktor (I'm really proud of my predictions from October), but by introducing a villain/conflict beyond the Piltover/Zaun dichotomy, Riot severed all threads of class conflict that were so rife and exciting in season 1. The proletariat and the bourgeoise will never coalesce like they did by the end of 2x09 without systemic revolution. Sevika is just one individual. Ekko's people need him. Jinx and Viktor are gone. Vi is downtrodden, and we have SO LITTLE to show for it.

In summary, we just didn't get enough explicit explanation of any character development to make Arcane-As-Tragedy successful. They did not stick the landing. The finale leaves us all with various bad tastes in our mouth. Instead of lamenting the harsh reality of oppression, I'm confused about what Riot prioritizes and agrees with, what they aim to criticize, and what they condemn.

I'll die on the hill that revoking Viktor's agency has the potential to be one of the greatest tragic hero storylines I've ever seen, but it's a lonely hill because I'm fighting against the writing team's consistent flops. At least Balayage Viktor was so gorgeous.

shameless self plug for my earlier discussion about the innate political clashes in season 1 that were abandoned for flashy fantasy fights in season 2:

[aestheticmusicalhoe]

Arcane spoilers

Yeah no yeah I am definitely breathing in a totally rhythmic and healthy manner and not losing my absolute MIND over this right here

[ideologyofone]

Saved everyone and lost everything

The boy savior ❤️

[snakes-of-the-undercity]

Potentially deep fried take -

Maddie (our adorable pro-martial law ginger) is essentially just topside powder. She’s a girl who’s grown up around violence but in such a way that it seems almost idealistic as she hasn’t seen the real horrors of it. Her idol(s) are viewed as leader figures in regard to her country and her own ‘family’ (Cait/Ambessa & Vi in Maddies case and Vander/Sev & Vi for powder)

Her willingness to commit acts of violence for approval and/or what she perceives as ‘justice’ are also very similar to Powder.

She’s written as disarmingly sweet but also rather ignorant, as is Powder (though for different reasons; Maddies ignorance is to the undercity and the world whereas Powder was ignorant to the intentions and rules of others, both of which has directly or indirectly contributed to major conflicts in the story)

They both think themselves capable of more than they are, as evidenced by Powder killing her entire family ‘only trying to help’ (god I hate that line it makes me want to scream) and Maddie attempting to take on Shimmer knights and joining Caits task force even though she seems to be a new recruit with little remarkable skill.

Maddie also, like Powder, doesn’t seem to care about large-scale problems and more so on what those closest to her think and approve of.

And idk I’m just hung up on the whole ‘idealizing violence without a proper understanding of it because those they look up too have had to use it’ thing ig

[sunfyrisms]

it’s genuinely so sad seeing some people blaming vi for cait leaving her, because it’s exactly what people did with the whole powder situation.

vi was a child when she saw the brutal, horrific end of her brothers and fathers. she was a child, she was hurt, physically and mentally, she lashed out at powder. it is clearly a mistake that she regretted. she looked at her bloodied fist in horror, started crying when she looks at powder, and she left to collect herself. because she was the only one powder has left, and powder was the only one she has left. vander’s last words to her were instructing her to take care of powder. she needed a moment, just a moment, to grieve. but the moment she saw powder is in danger? she immediately got up. she was ready for another fight. she was ready to protect her sister, without hesitation, even after fighting and losing the rest of their family before her very eyes.

i think a lot of people take jinx’s words as an immediate, inherit truth. “you created jinx.” perhaps it’s because jinx herself is the one who said it. but i don’t think vi did that. vi was in prison, as a child, surrounded by violence. constantly beaten, constantly hungry, but she never once forgot about powder. not a day, not an hour, went by that she didn’t think about her little sister. the first thing she does upon getting out of prison is immediately try to find powder. powder may have been traumatized by that fateful night, rightfully so, vi was too, but i don’t think vi created jinx. silco was the one who created jinx. he manipulated her, worsened her mental state, the whole nine yards. i’m not here to discuss whether he loved her because that’s ultimately not what this post is about. what i’m saying is that vi didn’t create jinx, but she blames herself for it anyway. she blames herself for abandoning powder, for not being able to protect her, for her roughness.

it’s so painstakingly obvious she isn’t willing to do that again. she isn’t willing to hurt those she loves. as a result, she’s so soft, so gentle, with caitlyn. she wipes away her tears, holds her, and genuinely sympathizes with her loss. she is able to be there for caitlyn because she has lost people time and time again. she joins caitlyn’s elite force to compensate for her actions (because, again, she openly states she believes she created the monster that is jinx). she becomes the thing she hated most to attempt to right her wrongs, but she still has her morals, she’s growing increasingly uncomfortable with caitlyn’s increasingly violent and cold deposition.

vi is scared of what caitlyn is becoming. she is openly scared of caitlyn, of how unrecognizable her rage and grief is making her. she doesn’t call out caitlyn’s rapidly growing hatred and dehumanization of her own people, not at first. but she’s scared. she’s scared what’s happening to the woman who was shown the reality of what her people face, what’s happening to the woman who genuinely wanted to make a difference, the woman who is ultimately kind as she is naive, the woman who gave away her only means of protection to save vi.

after their battle against jinx and sevika, she voices her concerns. she openly asks caitlyn what’s wrong with her. when she says caitlyn is acting like jinx, she isn’t being cruel. she’s trying to bring caitlyn back to reality. she’s saying “you’re losing yourself and it’s scaring me”. she grabs caitlyn’s arm, but, remembering that she hurt powder, what resulted from that, she immediately loosens her grip, positions her hand so she’s gently holding caitlyn’s wrist. she’s not willing to hurt caitlyn. she wants a productive conversation, she wants to understand, she wants to communicate, she wants caitlyn to understand that she’s becoming something dangerous, and she will do something she will regret.

caitlyn is triggered by vi’s words. she likely, at least subconsciously, resents and blames vi for her mother’s death. vi pleaded with caitlyn not to kill jinx, and caitlyn hesitated, and that resulted in the death of her mother. to be clear, i don’t blame vi for cassandra’s death, because she legitimately had nothing to do with it. but i think caitlyn blames her. she blames her for stopping her a second time, and takes vi’s statement as a direct comparison to her and her mother’s killer. on a surface level, it might have been, but i think it was a warning. it was a warning to caitlyn that her grief and rage were blinding her and she was betraying the morals she held so closely in season one. she’s actively becoming unrecognizable to vi like how jinx is unrecognizable to her, and she doesn’t want that. she doesn’t want caitlyn to lose herself.

in the end, that softness, it doesn’t matter. it doesn’t matter that she tried so hard to go about it differently, to be gentle rather than strong. because caitlyn strikes her in the same place she healed her wounds. caitlyn strikes her with her weapon, looks at her with such obvious contempt and disdain, just like the enforcers she’s encountered her entire life, and vi knows she’s lost her, just like she’s lost everyone. caitlyn is unrecognizable, blinded by her hatred, and vi is alone. she’s left alone after the woman who promised to not change changes so deeply and so badly.

i think that’s the tragedy of vi. she learns from her mistakes, she tries to be gentle, she carries the grief of everyone she loves, and she loves very deeply. however, she can’t save people who don’t want to be saved. she can’t stop people she loves from becoming their worst selves.

[rainysofsunshineao3]

No one talk to me i'm thinking about how Jinx and her movable home have Ekko's hourglass and Ekko and his board have Jinx's "X" painted on them

[saneandrocking]

heyyy confession time: i don't give a fuck about cait. like, not an once of a fuck actually. the gold coffin was the last drop for me. this is not to say she's not a good written character, but yeah fuck that fascist she can gag on that gun of hers all she wants. fuck all of pilltover btw never expect me to have something to say to defende them.

[gloridoesntexist]

MA MEILLEURE ENNEMIEEEEEEEEEEEEE STROMAE MON ENFANCE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH suis normale je promet mais????? bro???? comment sois je normale dans ces conditions de merde???? aider moi???? TIMEBOMB SAVE ME. serieusement, vous ne comprennez pas comment cet chanson m'affecte,, stromae EST mon enfance (papaoutais me passe par la tête à ce jour),, les journées de couleurs avec du JustDance publié sur YT sur les TBI... VOUS NE ME COMPRENNEZ PAS STROMAE VEUT ME TUER PERSONELLEMENT. ça se fit fr, je me met à feu,, il n'y a pas de solution

[miyakuli]

Arcane is one of the best animated show I watched, that's it, I said it