#even if Ambessa planned to do this all along

[avelera]

Theory: Why Jayce had to attack Cult Leader Viktor

It's a lot of conjecture, and I'm possibly reading more into the scene than the show intended, but I keep thinking about why Viktor abandoned Jayce in Arcane in 2.02, only to be glad to see him later and wish to meet in person. So here's what I'm thinking:

We actually got confirmation that "Sky" was the Hexcore all along.

We have Viktor saying that he left because he was "clouded by emotion". (Bookmark this one because I'm going to make the case that it was the opposite: that this moment was actually Viktor's choice and it was to protect Jayce on a subconscious level, because the Hexcore later welcomes Jayce back and wants to see him in person, in an attempt to assimilate him.)

We have some signs that there were weapons blueprints on the table, namely Cait's sniper rifle, which some fans pointed out could have been upsetting for Viktor to see, enough for him to leave. Certainly S1 Viktor was horrified by the idea of Hextech weaponry.

But, Viktor will later offer his assimilation robot army to Ambessa. And his robots are extremely effective Hextech weapons on their own, even if he sees them as peaceful assimilators, they are brutally effective in a pinch, judging just by the fact that it took Mel AND Jayce to take down Viktor's proxy robot in the Council chamber. So there is some hypocrisy shenanigans going on there with "no Hextech weapons." Unless, of course, it's Viktor who is against weapons and the Hexcore who is in favor of them, and sells the idea to Viktor by making the case that robot assimilation is a "peaceful" use of Hextech.

Now, if you go back to the Sky meta shared above, Showrunner Christian Linke says the Hexcore is the one who wants the Glorious Evolution. It's the one that wants to spread and give Viktor more power and influence. And the reason Sky took off was because its mission was done, Viktor had accepted the Glorious Evolution and the power Singed offered. It no longer needed to project "Sky" at him to string him along into doing what it wanted.

In general, there's a lot that's weird about what happens to Viktor after he leaves the lab. A man of science starting a cult is weird. The glowing footsteps he sees on the way to the shimmer victim shanty town are weird. It's notable that shimmer was what was needed for Viktor's own initial fusing with the Hexcore, so going after shimmer addicts is the perfect way to ensure that assimilation, if you're the Hexcore and you want to grow yourself.

We also have Viktor's voice which fades in and out of robotic monstrousness depending on what he's saying. It crackled over it just being "affection" keeping him and Jayce together. As the Machine Herald in 2.09, it mostly stays monstrous, but it drops down into his own voice, in a whisper without the overlay, when he calls the war around them a "senseless conflict". That feels like a true belief held by Viktor, rather than the will of a Hexcore that wants to spread, multiply, and assimilate everything.

And here's the kicker for me: why didn't Viktor heal Jayce when Jayce hugged him in that room? Jayce's wounds were pronounced and horrible from Renni's chainsaw, there's no way Viktor could have missed them. And why didn't he take the opportunity to assimilate Jayce, since they had skin to skin contact?

This is where I'd argue that it's because Viktor still was more himself at that point. And it could be argued that one reason he ran out of that room was to protect Jayce, on a subconscious level, from being assimilated.

The Hexcore-pretending-to-be-Sky needed to gradually seduce Viktor into going along with assimilation. It posed assimilation as healing, it showed Viktor the suffering of the shimmer addicts and the undercity in general. It played to Viktor's life long desire to make the world a better place, but it feels wrong because it's through mysticism rather than science.

And then, I would argue, once it had convinced Viktor to enact its plan by "healing" people to grow its power and influence, it wanted Jayce next as another addition to the cult and perhaps to incorporate one of the few people who could stop it. So it was not Viktor necessarily inviting Jayce back to the commune, it was the Hexcore posing as Viktor. I'm sure part of Viktor did want to see Jayce again, but we have to juxtapose the oddness of that moment with how Viktor soon after the transformation got as far away from Jayce as possible.

It would make sense, then if Wizard Viktor when he gave his instructions to Jayce really did need to be adamant that Jayce destroys Cult Leader Viktor rather than talk to him. Because Cult Leader Viktor was seductive, and he had just enough of real Viktor's motives and personality left to make a seductive case for Jayce that this was the way for Hextech to help the world.

So Jayce couldn't hesitate, he couldn't let Cult Leader Viktor (who is an unknowing instrument of the Hexcore's desire to expand itself) get a word in edgewise because of how quickly that Viktor could probably seduce Jayce into joining him. Hence the brutality and speed of the attack.

Because Cult Leader Viktor did have to be destroyed. The cult was never a good thing. The good that was left in Viktor was heading towards the disappointment of his ideals shortly in any case, either through running out of power, or from Ambessa's imminent attack. Jayce joining Viktor's cult would have doomed the world and the only way to keep him from joining was to fight rather than talk to Viktor, and that went against every fiber of Jayce's being, because Cult Leader Viktor was almost literally designed in a lab to get Jayce to surrender to him rather than fight him.

And I think we should be really suspicious of how freshly transformed Viktor pushed Jayce away, while Cult Leader Viktor wanted to pull him back in, especially with the implication that it was the Hexcore that wanted to assimilate Jayce in that moment, and just how effective it would have been at seducing Jayce into accepting assimilation if not for Future Viktor's explicit warning.

[cullen-rutherford-wifey]

They really let this bitch off the hook huh?

[rainydayssj]

So do the writers just hate Vi or what?

1) Completely glossed over the pit fighting making her emo look feel out of place and irrelevant and not the complete loss of identity it was made out to be

2) No further exploration of Vi’s emotional breakdown, no comments on finally experiencing the betrayal she had inflicted on powder, no return to the violent and oppressive relationship with enforcers/topside that Cait’s actions should have incited, no interactions with her dad-shaped friend and everything he reminds her of (maybe reckoning with her fundamental flaws and past actions), no insight on anything she could possibly be thinking = no character development

3) Abruptly reunited and pulled into a wild goose chase to find her dad instead of the meaningful and emotional return to her sister we would have expected after everything (the sister banter and squabble was funny tho)

4) Worst of all she is somehow immediately on the same page with the person that left her on her knees in some of the worst pain of her life after the majority of it was spent being put down by people just like Cait?? No realizations about their power dynamic or connections to Zaun’s oppression as a whole? All is forgiven even after she slams you into the literal fucking dirt AGAIN? Like what was even the point (Yes I saw the trailer I know Vi gives her some shit but something tells me any disagreements after the fact aren’t going to be as potent) and what a loss of some good lesbian angst

5) The sigh I sighed when the last scrap of agency they were finally allowing Vi to have (spitting in Cait’s face, taking on Ambessa, etc.) was actually all Caitlyn’s plan and she was just going along with it??

I’m tying so hard not to be too bitter but it really is such a tragedy to throw all this potential and previous development away.. and for what? I guess we’ll see..

I demand reparations in the form of a 40 minute Caitvi sex scene thank you very much.

[lazyveran]

final thoughts! from the outside it looks like caitlyn was 'forgiven' too easily, but i dont think thats whats happening.

her running into vi while ambessa is gearing up to raid a peaceful commune for a weapon led to them by, in caitlyn's own words, a monster, was probably a final straw of some kind for caitlyn. because it's starkly obvious that caitlyn is only in this for jinx. ep 4 she laments the fact this war is taking so long - she was only ever in it for selfish justice, one she hasn't even seen yet. now she's only got the flimsy excuse of war for peace, one she doesn't even believe in if she's questioning ambessa on it.

but jinx. jinx jinx jinx. its all about revenge. ambessa stoked the flames of her anger using jinx, implying forgiveness when caitlyn can see none. that's all it ever was. all of the control and war and oppression has only been about jinx.

so raiding a peaceful place for ambessa's weapon grates her. she knows its wrong. she doesnt really want to do it, there's still good in her. and then vi shows up, and she's trying to save her father, and she calls caitlyn cupcake and caitlyn just wants to do something good and uncomplicated for once. so she goes along with vi's plan. vi couldn't save her sister, caitlyn wouldn't allow that either, but maybe she can help save something else for vi. she wants to do good by her, it's her father. she can help, maybe she can work towards vi forgiving her. she knows what ambessa is doing is wrong.

but. caitlyn has no idea jinx was also there. that vi was with jinx. that their father had brought them together. she might have never agreed to help if she had known - and vi probably knew that. caitlyn's been played, but she's been played by her own weak spot and compassion for vi.

none of it has been forgiven. it's taken her a month to start to wake up, pick herself up from the angry, blind mess she is. she was tricked, she still despises jinx and wants her dead. but despite that she helped vi, she's seen what ambessa's true intentions are. it's a start.

[gwenyundreiko]

I need to scream about Arcane S2 (spoilers for the whole season)

Alright, it's been 2 days since I've watched the end of Arcane, and I'm still in a bad mood over it, so I am going to scream into the void about it, and hopefully it will allow me to move on.

I do not like the second season of Arcane.

Season 1 ? Absolute banger, still love it. I love it even more after recently watching it a second time in preparation for season 2.

Season 2 though ? ... I will not go into the details (because I feel like I would need to rewatch it again to be more accurate, and I don't want to do that), so I am just going to write about how I feel about it now that it is over.

Season 2 has left me deeply unsatisfied, to say the least. I think this feeling comes from the fact that most characters' arcs look like they were either cut short, or didn't really go anywhere. This makes the entire story feel pointless; an undeniable marvel of aesthetics and animation put in service of nothing.

I could talk about a lot of the main cast, but I'll only talk about Vi, her relationship with Caitlyn, and the Zaun vs Pilltover theme.

First off : Vi, the character who fought tooth and nails for those she loved and always tried to do the right thing. Accepting responsibility for everyone who looked up to her... and got nothing for it in the end but pain. From the start of the serie, she is set up to be one of the protagonists, along with her sister and Caitlyn. Yet the story feels pervert in the way it insists to both :make Vi suffer without giving her any sort of confort or moment to express her feelings ; and make all of her actions be pointless.

In episode 8, when she says "I always make the wrong choice and lose everyone", we have to admit that from a narrative point of view, she is absolutely right. For the first time, Vi is self pitying. She's shown as vulnerable, doubtful, almost sounding like she's giving up by saying that all she ever does is useless or worse. This is incredibly out of character for her, and yet the story proves her right. Nothing she does matters in any meaningful way. She doesn't even contribute to the final battle : she gets stranded in the defence of the artillery tower (which turned out not to be a key asset in the battle), then go 1v2 Warwick with Jinx, and Jinx ends up sacrificing herself to kill it, but only AFTER the battle is over and all the narrative tension has calmed down. (Sidenote : yes yes I know it is hinted that Jinx is still alive, but still. Let's agree that it's in bad taste for a suicidal character's triumphant moment to be a reckless act of self sacrifice, independently of the outcome.)

Vi gets mistreated throughout the whole storry and gets nothing in the end despite her bravery and efforts. No matter how hard she fought, she still ends up separated from her sister and she still loses Vander. The only thing she gets in the end is a girlfriend with whom she basically had no tender moment since their breakup, making Vi feel like a rescue dog at Caitlyn's house, but let's talk about her relationship with Caitlyn in more depth.

I'll say this first : I love the sex scene. It's tender and passionate. It's a bit awkward, but in such a relatable way that it only makes the moment sweeter. It does an excellent job at showing us how the characters feel about each other. Taken on its own, it's perfect. Two people that love each other so much they just need to have each other right here, right now... I just wish their relationship around it was more fleshed out.

From what we get to see on screen, they get a really messy break up in episode 3, and then never interact again until crossing paths at the commune. In the meantime, Caitlyn has allied herself with Ambessa, declared martial law on Zaun and is oppressing it with the full extent of her legitimate violence... but upon seeing Vi again, she instantly switches side to go against Ambessa with a rushed plan.

We get absolutely no other insight into their emotions or thoughts at this moment. No scene to show that despite their conflicts and standing on opposite sides, there is still tenderness and affection between the two of them that could hint at them getting back together. Instead, Vi calls her a petname once, and it's done, no further convincing needed. (Sidenote again : this makes Caitlyn look impulsive and irrational, when everything that comes before shows us that she is smart, collected and patient. Here, she instantly abandons everything she was previously fighting for, even at the risk of putting her entire city in danger. This includes abandonning her vandetta against Jinx, which is the reason why they split up in the first place, but this isn't adressed between Vi and Cait ever again either.)

After that, Vi holds her accountable for her actions for the time of 1 dialogue.

Then they barely interact again until the jailcell scene. Hell, once the battle starts, I don't think the two of them interact AT ALL until the epilogue.

The lack of substance in the portrayal of their relationship makes this sweet and tender sex scene feel like a spur of the moment thing. An almost self-destructive action from Vi trying to scrape at any possible source of confort after being cut out by her sister. A good thing happening for the wrong reasons. (Mind you, a hate sex scene would have worked wonders in my opinion, but that's not what we got.)

So yeah, given all of that, I'm struggling to see how Vi ending up with Caitlyn is supposed to be a meaningful and happy resolution to her story, when this relationship is barely shown on screen during season 2.

Finally, let's talk about the Zaun vs Piltover situation : it goes nowhere.

An entire 5 acts showing us that Piltover treats Zaun like shit, turning it into a ghetto and leaving it to rot in its own misery . The promo campaign for season 2 teased us a revolution... and in the end, we barely see any change. The way the story resolves implies that now that Zaun and Pilltover have triumphed over a shared ennemy, they grieve together and make peace because they have learned that war comes at too high a cost, and Zaun gets to be represented by ONE councilor.

I'm sorry but either the show tried something and missed, or the show was just incredibly shallow from the beginning. This conflict was set up from the first second of the show by having the main characters be orphaned by cops in a popular uprising which only looks more and more justified as we learn more about Zaun. That is to say that Topside doesn't care about Zaunites. From what we can tell, Heimerdinger has been leading the city for 300 years, and he discovers just now that Zaun has problems ?? Piltover prides itself for being the city of progress and equality, while exploiting the misery of the people that are LITERRALY BENEATH THEM. It's the final shot of THE FIRST SCENE IN THE SHOW, the topside people are sitting ON TOP of Zaun, reaping the benefits while throwing their wastes at them.

I think there's no better illustration for how Piltover considers Zaun than the scene where Jayce announces to the Council that Silco has demanded independance. All the councilors lose their shit. They are OUTRAGED by the demand. Clearly, Piltover considers Zaun its property. People to exploit, whose need and misery they can ignore, and ultimately, a problem to be solved through the police by having them arrested/beaten up/killed.

So either the show was indeed trying to tell a story about class struggle and oppression, and failed to deliver a satisfying conclusion; or the show was only interested in the appearance and flavor of class struggle only as a vessel for the cliché of "the cycle of violence". Which hmm, yeah it's 2024. I don't think anyone needs me to write an entire section about the necessity of fighting for human rights and resisting oppression.

I could have talked about how pitfighter Vi was 60% of the promo for Season 2, and yet was done and gone in a minute, which was also what we got with the promo, or how a French animation studio decided to call an independant, pacifist and egalitarian community " The Commune" (if you know you know); I could have also talked about Jinx's character, and how the show portrays her self healing from her devouring guilt, but I'll stop rambling here. I hate that I have wrote this, because I don't want to spread negativity. I'd rather spend this kind of energy on things I love.

The thing is, I really really wish I enjoyed Arcane season 2, because season 1 means a lot to me. Vi's character awakened something in me. It is representation I never knew I needed and it changed me. I know this sounds silly. It's only a fictionnal story after all, but it helped me grow into a better and more hopeful person. In the end, I just feel like season 2 went too far too fast, and left me behind to try and pick up the pieces of my expectations. If you've made it this far, I sincerely thank you, and I hope you have a beautiful rest of the day.

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

Caitlyn and Vi have such a good chemistry in this show it's heartrending.

It's all in how they just instantly gel with one another after weeks, months, even a year(?) apart. Vi shows up and gives Caitlyn an out to her current circumstances and like, aye. No shit Caitlyn gives up. Vi fills the hole in her heart Ambessa constantly tries and fails to occupy.

Here's Caitlyn, outside of the most peaceful and beautiful encampment she's ever seen, at the site of the place she gave up her rifle to get medicine for Vi in. This place where Silco, the might of the underworld, faced her down. And now all the mutated addicts are cured. There's light. There's a man here who just wants to talk and heal.

Healing. It's all Caitlyn wants, no matter how many times Ambessa speaks Vengeance. Now she's here, outside of the place she nearly lost her lead, her love interest, her power. On the hunt for a bloodthirsty beast and there is none. She doesn't want to raid this place, she's clearly stepping over her own lines if she does it.

Then Vi shows up. Even she's here, hurting and depressed and desperate to heal and she says, in essence,

"That monster is my dad. We're trying to help him."

And Caitlyn must finally understand in that moment that she's about to lose everything, again. Make another monster. And it's so effortless, how Vi fills her heart even when there's so much left unresolved between them. So easy to make a plan and be her own woman instead of a pawn. Vi's willingness to take on hurt so that they can build a future they want rather than what's expected of them. She gets hit, again, with that same damn rifle that tore them apart but now it's about them coming back together. Romantically? Platonically? It doesn't matter, all that matters is that together they can do It. Whatever It is.

It's just, I love that. I love it!

A big part of Season 2's themes is, to me, the question:

"You were pushed here by forces beyond your control. You're the result of a long series of dominoes you never even saw. Now I'm asking, do you want to be the monster they've created?"

Jinx was asked this. Viktor was asked. Singed was even asked.

Caitlyn was so sure the answer was yes, at the Shrine of Janna. And I really believe all her anger and reaction at Vi was because she helped her stay true to the self she actually wants to be. The Self who sees the same situation, and is asked the same question. "Are innocent lives worth a justice you're not even sure exists?" Only now she's sure Vi was right, that she was close to losing herself but now she can't find another way. She's willing to go along with it, if only because she can't stop the gears of the machine. That's why she goes alone, without enforcers and only Noxus. I wonder if she was willing to take all the blame for the blood spilled in the hunt for the monster. Until Vi returns to her side and gives her the chance to do it right.

Of course she leaps at it. What's the first thing you would do if you were given your wings back?

These two can do anything together, and I think that's really beautiful.

[nyctophiliq]

✮ — MOMMY OR DADDY? ; sevika, renata glasc, cassandra, ambessa, grayson, vayne, samira

minors dni; afab reader. nsfw ! — lowercase writing intended, suggestive themes, mommy and daddy kink,

moss' notes; you might not see eye to eye with my headcanons or characteristics that i defined as being more mommy or more daddy, but please enjoy this nonetheless!

first laying some grounds for the criteria of what i define or use as characteristics for deciding who is more mommy and who is more daddy. THIS FIC IS NOT ABOUT ROLE PLAY, IT'S ABOUT THE KINK !

— MOMMY

mommies are more nurturing, they utter kind words to cherish, care for and protect you, help or courage whatever your dreams or goals are. they are good at telling you how they feel, and although they might take some convincing to do so, they are open about their feelings so the two of you can work any problems or discomfort out quickly and as effectively as possible. they are protective like a mother figure, they don't just protect you from physical harm with their words but would rather lie for you than have you in any conflict. she often tries to take interest in your interest, maybe look after it, and suggests making time with her regarding that interest. they are so affectionate you might get sick of them, and they express their emotion overbearingly which might cause you to think they are being clingy and overshooting the point of validation.

— DADDY

daddies have a harder time expressing their emotions, either because they are closed off or are afraid they won't appear as strong in your eyes as they originally deemed you see them. they would rather see you in jail as a cause of teaching you a lesson than have you get away with murder. they are protective like a father figure, and they use physical force if they need to so to not see you harmed. they rather show their feelings through physical touch rather than uttering sweet words to you out loud. she often shows you her current hyper fixation, trying to rope you into the loop of it and convince you to make plans with her while she had already had you confined to a chair just doing that. they might seem distant because of their lack of showing their emotions and you might rule them ignorant, cold, and uncaring of how you are but that is not true! they care about you deeply, they just have a hard time verbalizing it.

— sevika ˖⁠♡

sevika is a person who won’t hesitate to kill anyone for you and then ask for a reward, say that you should thank her in whatever way you see fit. she strings you along like a puppet to get you wherever she wants you, and persuade you to do things with her or for her. she won’t cross a line, that is something you can be certain about, but she will say some words that you might not all favor. she acts daddy, with all her aggressive words and moves, walking tall and proud, ready to give out some slaps to keep those around her in place. behind closed doors, she is less demanding and less of a “tough guy” but still not enough to give in to her gentle emotions and rant about how much she loves you. she is a person who picks a play time partner by how fun it will be, that she gets the most out of it but not with you, not anymore, she is ready to settle just doesn’t know how. call her daddy, she will like it! she will be even more proud of herself, hearing you call her such a thing gives her a newer perspective and opens up the vulnerable side of her knowing that you trust her like this.

“got ya a pretty present, princess! it’s your favorite, i went through real trouble to get it so you gotta thank it later, alright? come with me to that game i told ya about?”

— cassandra ˖⁠♡

she is a true mommy, the fittest of them all, if not for being a mom already, then because she would have a feel for being it. she carries herself around with not only presitge but with the kind of gaze that you know she cares about those who are around her. the councilwoman will pay extra attention to whatever interests you and share some of her tips for saving money so you can do more of your hobby. she won’t be too explicit about her affection towards you out in public, but behind closed doors she utters the most beautiful of compliments, calls you her sweetest girl, that no wealth can compare to you. cassandra will need a little time to warm up to the idea of being a mommy in a sexual context and that it means that she takes care of you in a different kind of sense rather than the usual mom duties.

“my sweetest girl, surely there is non i can help you with right now? say to word and i am taking you home, you don’t really have to be around here if you don’t like. i take you home, we have lunch, play a little maybe, or just sit around, hm?”

— renata glasc ˖⁠♡

renata is the perfect definition of a mommy, without a question. she has the means to support you financially, the power and influence to help you reach your wildest dreams. she loves spoiling you, be it your favorite food, snack, or something you have wanted and just mentioned to her that you planned to buy it. she likes checking in on you if not hourly, either she appears or one of her most trusted fellows, making sure you are well and content. this might sound possessive and it is, but she is just so terrified of something happening to you while she is not there, she would rather hear you complain than not hear you at all. she might be a little closed off, a tad bit embarrassed about how she has a liking for being called mommy but that shouldn’t stop you from calling her that, she will click into the rhythm very soon and will call herself mommy, playing along.

“have you had a good day? my day was like usual, work towering high but i got you something because i knew my darling would be very fond of it. go ahead… open up, don’t make me wait too long.”

— ambessa ˖⁠♡

ambessa rather punch a hole through a wall, start another war, or begin her angered rant about some fool that tried to wife her before talking about her truest feelings. there are no such things as emotions in front of her people, she is a warlord, and she is supposed to be scary rather than scared. she is fearless, a true warrior, and a really hard nut to crack- ambessa is the perfect definition of a daddy. while she adores the title of being a daddy to you, but she would much appreciate it if you’d address her as mistress or warlord, but she is fit for a daddy whenever you feel like calling her one. she can be cruel sometimes, making you practice the sort of skills of survival that piltover no longer sees necessary, shedding blood and coerce you into taking a life, prove her if it comes to it you can protect yourself. ambessa can’t admit out loud that she is starved for being touched and so she sometimes can go overboard with physical attention, just give her a hug out of the blue and she will be thinking about it for the rest of her life.

“is there anything you don’t do for me, my girl?

— grayson ˖⁠♡

grayson’s shell radiates the typical daddy vibes, a person who is afraid to commit to their feelings and would rather gift you something than tell you how much she loves you. but grayson isn’t really a daddy, she is a mommy without a doubt. she is very protective of you, and would risk her job even if you think that’s silly, she would lie instead of seeing you behind bars, and not without reason. she might not be the wealthiest person, being an enforcer isn’t the highest-paying job, but her connections can help you to climb some ladders if needed. grayson has never been a mom, the closest she got was maybe training caitlyn and when you call her mommy for the first time it’s just something she gets drunk off of and becomes a little addicted. she is overbearingly loving, can’t stop calling you sweet pet names and tell you how pretty you are, how she can’t get over the fact that she finally can settle down and not be afraid of taking a bigger step in her life alone.

“dearest of mine, i am sorry for being late, but this job… thankfully i am staying home, like it or not. what about if we go around the city, visit your favorite café for an afternoon sweet?”

— vayne ˖⁠♡

shauna needed no introduction to the name calling, although she started out calling herself daddy which is very understandable. she is closed off, not at all willing to let anyone be emotionally close to her due to her fear of them being taken away once again. she does appear to be on the daddy side because of her need for vengeance, the way she fights, talks, and lives her everyday life but soon will grow into the more mommy side of her personality. shauna will always be a mommy, she just needs a little more time to really appreciate being called one. with the space left for her she will be more open, now you won’t need to use those clues you picked up along the way to understand how she is feeling because she will tell you herself how she feels.

“my moon, the night is still not clear of the demons but i will never let them take you, i would never ever let that happen. if it means that i have to give up hunting them, then be it, as long as i can keep you safe.”

— samira ˖⁠♡

samira is the person who if caught in the right moment can be very open about her feelings and won’t shut you out or shut down as soon as she realizes she is getting weaker and weaker with each word she utters. her appearance, her strong frame, the clothes she wears, and the way she talks all scream mommy. being called mommy would be a new thing for her, she had never really thought about this kind of thing, but then not a lot stayed with her as long as you have. samira might be a fighter, a woman who brings both a gun and a sword to a fight, spreading herself thing but don’t forget about her just because she looks so put together, mommies can hide their emotions well.

“habib albi, my sword is not a pretty toy to play with, at least not like this! you are gonna cut yourself, can’t have you bleeding my pretty girl. gotta keep you safe, okay?”

tag list ; @mxyx-rx444 @darlingmisa @einrosa @sevikasangel @nopealoupe @pixiegirlz @gonegonethankyouuu @xthescarletbitch @orang3-ish @bigboobslilheart

[jinxcrownguard]

I was supposed to be busy this week/end so I wouldn't have time to watch act 2, but my friend spoiled me unintentionally and it dragged me into watching it in bits between my work. I have thoughts about it.

Act 2 exposes some more of the corny dialog that I had an issue with in act 1, but ups it to MCU territory by having quips and just incredibly played out, on the nose, and cliche moments

Vander's letter to Silco was such an obvious "It's addressed to X, but it's really about Y" moments in the series it was so heavy handed and feankly unnecessary.

"You really are a" "Big stinking hero!" It was corny but made me laugh only because it was Sevika and Jinx. Isha, a literal plot device dropped into Jinx's narrative not three minutes old, obvious death flags from the start, had no speaking lines, and only existed to dangle the idea of hope in front of Jinx only to snatch it away in the most obvious writing decision ever.

Caitlyn and Vi being reunited was bland as fuck like good for you guys I guess but, again, there is so little justification on why they're suddenly back on good terms again. Like I get it she loves Vi, she wants to help her save what's left of her family, but literally why did she jumped to agreeing?? Remember when she found out Jinx was Vi's sister? Remember the hesitation?

Vi told Cait that her dad was the savage monster that killed 20+ Enforcers at Stillwater and she hardly even reacts she just goes along with this plan of Vi's. Ambessa has been helping her secure "peace" for Piltover in their campaign against Zaun for months now. Sure there were seeds of doubt and mistrust, but nothing so grand that it would automatically turn traitor on her. Especially since episode 4 has her defending Ambessa, saying they've only gotten this far because of her.

Not to mention the total 180 from "Zaun's animalistic savagery knows no bounds" to "my girlfriend needs to save her furry father and I need to help her" The only logic pathways we get to answer these lingering questions are weak at best and unsatisfactory at worst.

The Vi and Jinx reconciliation was rushed imo as well, but I've always said that you could understand that because we've seen for ourselves that no matter what Jinx has always loved Vi. And Vi spent seven years of her life thinking about nothing other than getting back to Powder/Jinx. Their rush to forgive one another is rushed but the path to getting there is solid enough that you don't really mind it.

Sevika can never catch a break, hardly in this act but that's okay I still love her. It was good seeing Jinx step into her cqc bag and utilize her shimmer to gain advantages in fights. Caitlyn sparring with Ambessa was great and she looked so pretty. I was happy to have Viktor and Jinx interact at least once, their dynamic was exactly what I imagined, they'd be best friends.

Vi's butt looks great in those leather pants. Corny as it was, Jinx and Sevika's moments are the best part of this act. Jinx trying to calm down Vander during his rampage seemed really stupid and I can't really get behind the logic of it. She should have been running to secure Isha and get her somewhere safe, not try to calm down your rampaging father who's spitting up lava. Like girl you couldn't beat him in his base form, what the fuck do you think you're going to do now?

Singed being a mix of Corrin Reveck and his League self makes sense in the case that giving him Reveck's daughter humanizes Singed to a better degree, but it still feels kind of weird. Man doesn't look like Reveck in the slightest he is straight up just Singed. Identity theft.

It's also very silly to me that Ambessa is doing so little in searching for her daughter, like it's kind of weak that you have all the smoke for Piltover and Zaun but a cult snatched your kid up under your nose and you're sitting on your hands because you assume you can't beat them without lightning in a bottle.

Ekko, Jayce, and Heimerdinger are hardly in season 2 which isn't too surprising. Ekko and Heimerdinger don't have much of a presence in season 1 past a certain point anyway. I know Ekko's time breaking abilities are about to help "fix" this mess to a heavy degree but I'm not going to like it at all. Jinx, once again on the verge of suicide, and Ekko swoops in like "I care about you :(" mind you, he has been presumed dead for months now and Jinx gave next to no fucks about it or the Firelights. Vi still doesn't know that Ekko even survived season 1. Mans is not loved by these two at all. Especially not enough to warrent any sort of relationship with Jinx, I'd literally kill myself it's such a bad writing move especially this late in the final season.

Caitlyn's spec ops really didn't matter in the slightest. Shoutout Maddie for getting the hexstrap but you also do not function as a character. Also her accent was a little off to me in act 2, idk why.

All said and done, act 2 does some things better than act 1, and some things worse. I think it just shows how much those 10+ years of work and rewrites that season 1 got was incredibly necessary because season 2 can not match up by any measure other than it looks good and it's Arcane. But that's about it. I don't really think I'll be watching act 3.

[local-lamppost]

Act 2, Innitial thoughts, It's 4:30am

First of all: I really need to stop staying up late to binge this show...

SO!

Overall I feel a little bit of everything except happiness. It was all rather confusing and chaotic, which I think was meant to go along with the mess that the natural world is currently in, but is more likely a pacing issue. Act 1 could be quick in some places, but this act had far more 'trust me, happened off screen' moments and I'm not a fan.

Aside from that I liked it, my issue of pacing stems from me wanting to see more of these characters. Some were punished by pacing more than others. Viktor was fine, it was perfect A to B from where we left him to where we pick up; unlike Vi and Cait reconciliation.

Vi and Cait need a proper chat. I think Cait disagreed with Ambessa's plan of attack and would have found a way to disrupt things even without finding Vi. Cait's rage has simmered down it seems(still bringing up potential harm to innocents), her focus back on Jinx instead of the Undercity, so it makes sense for her to go against an assault on a peaceful settlement. Her finding Vi was just an added advantage.

The two of them haven't buried the hatchet. Vi must have something to say about what Vi has turned both cities into, and Cait has to acknowledge what her actions have done to her home and the woman she loves. I'm hoping them working together now is just a patch job for the bigger problem to be fixed in Act 3.

Vi and Jinx were adorable. I love that Jinx knew that Vi was pit fighting from the start, keeping an eye on her not out of care but just in case (maybe to get herself some money too, since she was betting on her sister) and that she immediately went to Vi after discovering Vander. The two of them felt like sister for the first time since season 1 act 1. Even their fight was less actively trying to hurt each other and more sibling brawl. It did work to show just how much of a mess Vi is, as she had trouble dealing with Jinx-who even on shimmer should be no physical match for Vi. I think Isha helped as a kind of filter between them, along with Vander. Jinx and Vi had to rely on each other for the first time ever, not even when Jinx was Powder did Vi rely on her. I think seeing Jinx older sister Isha put something into place for Vi. She sees that Jinx can love and care, and that give Vi hope.

And Isha... Isha who became a mirror of Powder, an off shoot of Powder that blows up an off shoot of Vander.

Non verbal characters in animation are always fun to watch because it gives the animators full control. Every gesture and expression has to add to something because there isn't any dialog to assist. A way to progress the story and give a character character through expression alone, and they knocked it outta the park.

Isha dying her hair, playing the monster game, drawing fake smoke tattoos, etc, all to imitate Jinx is adorable. I also love how she isn't just a tag along, but actively pushes Jinx into doing something to the point Jinx thinks she's in cahoots with Sevika. It's foolish to hope she lives, but god do I hope Isha lived.

Viktor is interesting. He is so unbothered by everything, with only the faintest sense of self remaining. I still think Sky is just figment of the Hexcore/Arcane, an avatar for him to play off of. His determination to help others at the cost of himself is that last strand that connects him to humanity, it's his hope and empathy.

And that's what Jayce kills, not the Arcane. There is not doubt in my mind the Herald survived, but Viktor is gone.

I know people are giving Jayce a lot of flack, but I'm holding out on learning what he experienced in his days/weeks spent inside the Arcane. It seemed to tear at his psyche, leaving him with the sole goal to destroy it's spread; and who was spreading it faster than Viktor?

We have yet to see Heimerdinger and Ekko return from the other side so, here's to act 3.

Confirmation on what Singed has been doing.

Lastly, Warwick. I loved the perspective shots with him, I loved his design and voice, and I love Vander. I did not realize just how much I've missed him.

The flashbacks with him, Silco and Felicia (Vi and Jinx's mom) were so bittersweet. Blister's a brimstone, what could've beens, and the promise of the future through children. The song and art for the sequence too was just heartbreaking; not to mention that Vander named Violet. It also seems to be confirmed that toddler Vi would hang out at the Last Drop with her folks, Vander, and Silco which is adorable.

I'm honestly not sure if Isha's attack will kill him, cause quite a bit of damage certainly, but he's been shown to regenerate quickly and from deadly attacks.

[mollysunder]

Mel and Jinx, Co-Presidents of the Black Sheep Club

Isn't it crazy the way Jinx and Mel never interact but are practically foils to each other throughout the show? They both started out as black sheeps of their respective families for essentially the same reason, both excelled at different set of skills their families wouldn't or couldn't prioritize for their goals.

The traits that alienated both Mel and Jinx within their own families, and eventually had them torn away from them, also landed them in a place where their skills are valued. In Piltover, Mel becomes a master of court and the informal Head of Piltover’s council in a relatively short amount of time. With Silco’s resources, Jinx becomes one of Zaun's brightest and deadliest engineers and the best shot there is down there.

Ambessa, and Noxus in general, had no motivation to adopt Mel's perspective on diplomacy as it had the potential to weaken their family's standing. Vander wasn't equipped to handle or cultivate Jinx's skills in firearms or engineering nor was he in position where he could. Sure, Vander could support the other kids in their more manual pursuits, like boxing, lockpicking, and general physical strength building, but that's all he could do for Zaun in general. Vander as a leader was just maintaining Zaun in a way that didn't challenge Piltover's dominance, he couldn't support Jinx's skills because those were areas Piltover used to assert force over Zaun.

Jinx and Mel are both characters that are well acclimated to violence thanks to their mentors (Ambessa, Vander, and Silco) and environment, and are now effective actors of violences in their respective spheres. It's obvious with Jinx, she's a willing force within Silco’s empire. Jinx also runs around with grenades and guns and rockets killing enforcers and firelights alike. With Mel, she oversees an incredibly violent hierarchical system as the informal head of Piltover’s council that does cause on screen civilian casualties. Mel herself is also comfortable sending a militarized force into Zaun to shakedown the populace to assert the illusion of control. Even Mel's plans for hextech (outside of weaponizing it) were a form of economic violence to Zaun as it made Piltover less dependent on Zaunite labor, the one thing they could leverage.

Where the two really diverge is how they handle power and conflict. From the beginning Mel enjoyed being the politician behind the current, never putting herself in full risk of fallout by hiding behind her choice of figurehead. This passivity that helps Mel avert risk extends throughout business and social life. Mel doesn't seek out Jayce on his hextech theory she stumbles upon him in when he's breaking into the Academy. When Mel's upset with Jayce she lets him come to her. When Mel misses out on new hextech investors she let's an opportunity present itself to let her make up for it rather than confront Jayce. Mel almost never actively attempts to be vulnerable in matters of business or of the heart.

Jinx is quite literally the complete opposite. Jinx refuses to be passive throughout the show, when presented with a problem, especially one that makes her vulnerable, Jinx immediately decides she'll solve it her way. When Vi tells her she can't come to save Vander, Jinx goes anyway to use her experimental bombs. When the destroyed Shimmer shipment set Silco's operation back further widening the gap between PnZ, Jinx decides to steal the hexgem and frame the Firelights for it. After Silco tells Jinx that Marcus will crack soon, she kills him along with his closest men at the bridge, once again framing the Firelights for it. What use were those Enforcers if they were going to flip soon? Jinx doesn't wait to be self righteous, or for others to come to her. Jinx chose to confront her loved ones by kidnapping them and forced them to decide how they're relationship was going to be based on the choices Jinx gave them.

It's ironic how these two have never met, and yet they both work as one another's boogeyman. For Jinx, Mel practically is Piltover, this bright shining machine that unrepentantly tore apart her life. Mel is wholly uncaring of the fallout of her past decisions that led to conflict with Zaun and solidly remained transfixed by her "line goes up" style definition of progress the entire time until it came back to bite her. For Mel, Jinx is like the stuff of her nightmares, brutal and single-mindedly ruthless in her goals that she achieves through violent means. Mel gravitated more to the advisor role because she not only hated war, but feared the consequences of being at the mercy of people like her mother, people like Jinx.

Jinx and Mel have such potential when you explore both as foils of one another. I could go on and on about their light and dark motifs, how their respective hqs are placed at the very top and extreme bottom of their cities, or how Mel gets Jayce and Jinx gets Viktor in the hextech divorce, but I won't. It's better to wonder how they'll converge in the aftermath of the finale.

[ambelle]

Ep 8 thoughts

Mel!!!! She looks so good! I’m still confused though and I don’t want to look into the lore. Like not in the slightest.

Viktors powers are creepy af. And poor Sky has zero agency.

At this point what does Ambessa even want? She wanted hextech weapons and got them so… now what?

Cait cares about Jinx now? I have whiplash with this cait vi jinx plot and not in a good way.

Meljay reunion not going the way I expected at all. Yikes. First couple fight I’ll take that too

Jayvik stop trying to murder each other for 5 seconds challenge failed.

Okay battle couple Meljay and then talking like mature adults. No pregnancy but they are solid as ever.

So Ambessa is working with Viktor now… I do not understand her goals bruh. America I am confusion.

Whatever Mel Jayce and Ekko better live at the end of this.

Someone free Vi from her stupid ass plot. Not even a sex scene can distract me from how dumb this all was.

Ambessa wtf is your game plan please make sense. You wanna fight the rose but feel the need to wipe out everyone along with Viktor? This is illogical. Also it’s illegal to hit Mel you’re going to jail!!!

The writing for Sky is abysmal and I demand compensation.

[mouthpoisons]

final(?) random additions to the theory. read the other stuff first or this will make zero sense

''why are you so set on viktor becoming the apocalypse wizard and this predetermined fate/fixed path in time that everything in the show is doomed to build up to to begin with'' - heimerdinger, primarily. also the tarot cards. cait's ''viktor's at the center of all this isnt he?'' trailer line-drop is very telling as well. heimer has seen it happen before, he knows exactly how it happens ''ive seen nations destroyed by a single seed and it looked exactly like this''. he is our wise old prophet that we dont take seriously because hes an out of touch hooty hoo ass who looks like a small annoying dog (hes my least favourite character on a personal level but the way hes written is genius). that scene where jayce is reading a book and he turns the page and finds a drawing of himself, too, is SO obvious. viktor is destined to end the world.

''if viktor was evolving into the apocalypse wizard then how come his power was declining in ep6'' - he was aware of his decline, and he sent salo to steal gems for him from the hexgate in ep5. jayce, very importantly, intervened. in any case i dont believe the apocalypse wizard form was to be super long lived, i described it as ''going supernova'' in another post. his power is finite and he has finite resources available to him. it also adds up that the hexcore will weaken/die along with viktors power burst which will even allow him the ability to ask jayce to go back in time and kill him to begin with. the presumed sequence of events if jayce never showed up is; salo steals the gems, ep6 mostly happens as normal, but then viktor has to Level Up and use the gems to Become The Wizard to defend his camp against ambessa and a raging warwick

''didnt warwick go all lava-y because viktor died?'' - i dont think so! im pretty sure singed finally managed to stab him with that mystery juice; we see him getting back up and standing in the shadows during viktor's speech montage. the fight was on the brink of happening with or without lava warwick but i think its a fixed point in the timeline either way

on singed suggesting that viktor needs shimmer to ''complete his work and stabilise himself etc etc'' - think about it. the first time he transmutated his leg (with shimmer) in season 1, it went well! it went so well that he immediately tried it again without having any shimmer on hand, and then it ended badly and his whole trajectory as a character changed for the worst in an instant. without the context of season 2 we're supposed to see this as kind of an icarus moment/the fatal consequences of his chronic risk taking behaviour but if you take into account the rest of my theory, theres a meta reading there. i believe that singed is right and viktor needs one final transmutation using shimmer, but he aint gonna like it and its going to be enough painful misery to make him hate jayce and loathe humanity. singed is likely to die smiling while being ripped to shreds by viktor as he Finally Gloriously Evolves and Completes His Work

''if viktor needed to be miserable and guilty to create the right trajectory for the apocalypse wizard to emerge then how come sky dying makes him almost kill himself? doesnt the arcanes plan completely unravel in that scenario?'' - it literally doesnt matter as long as viktor Dies before becoming The Magician. i think in that situation the hexcore wouldve found a way back to his body. ik this is a convoluted non-answer but think about it theres no way jayce wouldnt just do the exact same shit if viktor managed to die in a different way first. but if we can assume that viktor promising jayce to destroy the hexcore/let him die is going to be a HUGE plot point in act 3 then in a way that whole conversation is simply more important than the fact jayce just happened to walk in at the right moment there.

''but sky dying makes viktor resent the hexcore and wish for it to be destroyed so again how does that help the arcanes plan'' - again i think she was blindsided in that moment and had to act drastically. when she was walking down the hall she was formulating the next step in an entirely different plan but had to QUICKLY insert herself to keep viktor on course. it simply wasnt the best case scenario for her, and he resents the hexcore now, but so what? *makes him fall over to tell him off* and do u really believe in that fuck ass orb's ability to anticipate that jayce would stop being orpheus and do what viktor asks of him in order to truly save him? ya right. jayce has been an orpheus since day 1, That's His Narrative. the arcane is counting on it, and him breaking out of it will be his ''jinx''

[anamateurhumanbeing]

Finished Act 1 of Arcane's second season. It was alright. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but It definitely felt weaker than any of season 1's acts. But it was still overall good, and there's definitely a lot of interesting setup that has me excited for the rest of the season.

Spoiler-filled ramble below.

Caitlyn is becoming a full on villain. Using the vent systems designed by her mother to help the people of Zaun, as a weapon against them in order to avenge her, cold. And then there's the scene where she attempts to shoot Jinx despite Vi and Isha being in the way. Sure she wasn't trying to hurt either of them, but the fact is she still took that risk. And of course the ending, with her becoming the general under Ambessa's thumb. I love all of it. I thought Caitlyn was a pretty good character in Season 1, but her villain arc is far more interesting than anything she did last season, and the best part of this one. I hope she gets worse.

Ambessa's a pretty good character too. I called her staging the attack on the memorial, and I do love how ruthless she is but I am glad there is some nuance to her, as she clearly does miss her son and care for Mel. I can't wait to see more of her with Caitlyn.

What they're doing with Jinx is interesting. I like that she and Sevika have become allies, finding common ground after Silco's death. Her becoming a more heroic figure to the people of Zaun is a pretty interesting direction to take her after last season was more about her becoming a villain, especially as a parallel to Caitlyn becoming darker in her pursuit of Jinx. I need to see them have a 1 v 1 fight. I must confess though, I do not care much for the kid, and I think her jumping inbetween Vi and Jinx during their otherwise really great fight did not feel earned because of how little Jinx and Isha actually bonded. I am looking forward to seeing more though, and I hope Jinx is simultaneously a better and worse role-model than Silco. Oh yeah, the Silco water scene was beautiful.

All the stuff about Jayce, Ekko, Heimerdinger, Mel, and Viktor was all neat, but all of that was more setup, so I don't have many strong feelings on any of them. Nothing bad, but nothing great so far either. It was fun seeing Jayce and Ekko interact though.

And then there's Vi. This is where the act lost me. Going in I was already wondering how they were going to make Vi becoming an enforcer feel natural. The answer? They didn't! Vi changing her mind and becoming an enforcer felt like it happened way to soon. But I would have been fine with it if it was just Vi becoming an enforcer, it's her going along with Caitlyn's plan to literally gas the lanes that I cannot buy. I said I like Caitlyn going down that path, but Vi following her down it really doesn't make sense. Perhaps it would have made more sense if we actually saw how Vi felt about becoming an enforcer and attacking her home, but despite showing Vi's turmoil before becoming an enforcer, they forget to show her turmoil after becoming an enforcer.

I thought her relationship with Jinx was good. I was a little iffy on how easily she was ready to say she had no sister at first, but as the act progressed, it felt more like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Jinx or Caitlyn. Speaking of Vi and Caitlyn, will I get crucified if I say I don't like how CaitVi was handled? And I thought Vi becoming an enforcer was rushed, it felt like they just brushed by an entire seasons worth of development and drama with their relationship. I didn't really care about them falling out, because they literally became a couple at the start of the same episode. It is a real shame, because Vi was one of my favourite characters last season. While I certainly think they can still get Vi's character back on track, I am not sure how they'll make Caitlyn and Vi get back together, or if I even still want that.

Aside from maybe a few clumsy lines of dialogue, Vi really was the only weak link in the act, everything else was great. The music, the animation, the art, the fights, all just as good as Season 1, cannot wait for next week to get more.

[phoenixlionme]

Arcane Act 3 Theory

Now I know the title for this theory is Act 3 but my theory begins in Act 2. And I will be doing this theory in a form of a timeline, which are just bullet points as I do not know how to do a fancy timeline edit.

Warwick plays a small but vital role - Despite his repeated presence in the S2 trailers, I think he will only play a major role in Act 2. What's that? Kicking off the Caitvi reconciliation and Ambessa vs Jinx for Act 3 (maybe the end of Act 2 into Act 3). So, something happens that involves Warwick that brings the four together - Vi gets injured and Cait abandons her revenge to save her; some altercation between Jinx and Ambessa happens which turns deadlier

Interplay of Love and Life vs Hate and Death - Involving the gifs of Ambessa and Jinx, we see they're in a similar yellow background and we know that some of the Firelights begin to side with Jinx despite previous history. Now, here's a sad thought - Jinx takes over the Firelight hideout with the Ekko loyalists leaving to find newer refuge. Ambessa finds said hideout and unleashes her attack; and Jinx and her followers get CRUSHED, many (or all) of them die. This would explain Jinx's bloody nose and scared expression - she finally becomes a leader and get trounced by someone more experienced than her and no emotional ties. Also, Sevika gets killed, I'm thinking by Ambessa's hands. Now, what about the "Interplay of Love and Life" bit? Well, given how the former two were prominently featured along with Caitvi, I (like to) think during this battle, Caitvi have completed their reconciliation via beautiful lovemaking. It would serve as a contrast - two women finding love and peace with one another while another try to kill each other. Double symbolism if the scene of Jinx vs Ambessa is surrounded by fire (since Jinx symbolizes fire) and the possible Caitvi love scene involves them making love in a shower (because Caitlyn is symbolized via water).

Jinx Execution - Ambessa strongly believes in killing symbols of resistance to squash future ones. So, after the above bloodbath, she kidnaps Jinx and plans to kill the former. Now, somehow Caitlyn and Vi find out and in amazing twist of ironic drama, they both make a plan to save Jinx. Even more ironic if Caitlyn makes the decision to save Jinx, only to show her growth.

Saving Jinx - This theory would tie in with the popular theory that the person Vi is carrying is a disguised Jinx. Plus, given how the creators love to mislead fans with their trailers, the part where we see an injured Caitlyn before transitioning to Jinx flying her airship would be subtle foreshadowing - I already theorized that scene oof Jinx on the airship is at the end where she leaves the two cities. Now, if my theory turns out to be true, the transition from the trailer makes sense - it was because of Caitlyn's actions that led to Jinx's survival.

Ties in to Theme of "Progress come with a price" - That line was from an official Arcane account and it make sense. Caitlyn, at her core, wants peace and after undergoing her own arc realizes it can be achieved only through giving up something. In other words, Caitlyn gives up the chance to kill her mother's murderer in order to spare the innocent lives of Zaun and Piltover.

[wutheringheightsfilm]

I would love to hear your opinion on Viktor Arcane's arc in season 2 because I have seen people praising it and people hating it but not many people discussing the ableism of [spoilers!!] basically killing him in the first episode and then having Jayce bring him back against his will in a way that strips his physical and mental autonomy away, after season 1 spent the majority of his arc hyping the evils of Messing With The Arcane But Only When The Zaunites Do It, so that Viktor can realize he is in the moral wrong for trying to not die from the disease he got from growing up in the underclass. And the show fridges his lab assistant (also implied from Zaun) to teach him this. Jayce who has so far primarily reaped the benefits of selling Hextech to Piltover, is the one to "learn" that it's bad to mess with the Arcane (this coincidentally happens the only time we see him physically in Zaun) and the solution is of course [spoilers!!] kill Viktor, who's magically curing addiction and disability and possessing people now. And if they bring Viktor back it will probably be because Singed pulled a Rio on him. On top of this, Ekko is just fucking gone during the occupation of Zaun and we don't see him again for the entire Act. Sorry for the rant in your inbox I'm just really happy to find someone else who thinks Arcane sucks aside from the dropped potential of the side characters. Fans of OG Lore were looking forward to Viktor's political radicalization against Piltover. Hilarious to think they would ever do that in hindsight

Okay hi anon I'm finally caught up and can answer you now LOL

yeah the politics of arcane are bad. like incredibly so. it's kind of shocking to say that the best arcane can pull is like, hamfisted liberalism.

i think jayce has literally always been ableist towards viktor as well as classist and not once has he ever had to grapple with that. jayce is my least favorite character and if he doesn't even get some sort of comeuppance for the absolute destruction he's caused i'm going to eat my shoe. though i will say this is the second time we've seen him in zaun, the first time was when he literally murdered one of silco's child laborers lol and had...right, zero repercussions for that because as it turns out of course it was ambessa's plan all along and everything has been somehow engineered by her. oh i was soooo eye rolling when that was revealed.

i also really didn't like sky's death either; i'm glad they kept her in some aspect (like being with viktor in the arcane-space or whatever it's called i don't know i don't go to league of legends) but imo her death was unnecessary and there would have been a better way of getting viktor entwined in the arcane than that.

it's crazy to me that you're absolutely right; viktor has to constantly pay the price for trying to not die of a disease he had no choice in getting (not that anyone ever has a choice in getting a disease, but you know what i mean) and he literally gets killed for trying to help heal other people. which i mean you could definitely argue the whole jesus arc for viktor is strange (it is) and this show definitely has negative attitudes towards both addiction and disability no matter what. i'm not disabled so really i don't have much space to speak here, but i absolutely do think this show is ableist.

THE FACT THAT EKKO IS GONE IS SO? like where's my man???? he was literally gone the whole fucking time and i find that so fucking nasty i'm sorry. both mel and ekko, two of the most fascinating characters, have been shoved aside this entire season in order to make way for jayce's constant bullshit and whatever problems poor cop caitlyn has. when i say i have never given less of a fuck about caitlyn i truly do mean that. it honestly upsets me that caitvi or whatever is as popular as it is because i thought we all collectively decided we don't fuck with cops. but i suppose not

and it's totally okay for the rant in my inbox!!! please feel free to discuss however much you want from me, i have had so many negative feelings about this show and i'm starting to feel like i'm going to get killed in the town square for it LOL

ETA: i didn't even know viktor was supposed to get radicalized against piltover. oh what we could've had

[eddawrites]

Put on your tinfoil hats, bois, gals and pals, because we're going on a conspiracy ride, a short one but tumultuous nonetheless.

Now repeat after me: Elora is sus.

In fact, I think that she's a Noxian spy. And let me tell you why.

Let’s start at the very beginning, with Mel’s very first scene, because I want to call your attention to a very specific detail.

In their introduction both Mel and Elora are wearing white attire - in colour theory this is the colour most frequently used to represent purity and innocence, but also peace and moral goodness. The colour is often also associated with new beginnings, and they are both, at this point, starting over in Piltover.

We don’t have the exact time frame for Mel’s exile other than that it lasted over a decade and that the timeskip might be somewhere around 5-7 years (not even the writers themselves have a definite answer), but it’s clear at this point that Mel is still just establishing herself in the city and that she has been appointed to the council only recently - as evidenced by her glaring gap in knowledge regarding Piltover’s anti-magic policies and much lesser political pull than we see her exact later on. It is quite obvious that Mel at this point is still motivated by proving herself to her mother and returning to Noxus at her earliest convenience, with Elora - likely a Noxian herself - following along.

After the timeskip, Mel’s actions remain more or less the same, but her motivations seem to have changed significantly. The plan of winning back her mother’s favour did not work, she is sceptical and a bit jaded, but she continues promoting her vision for Piltover regardless, finding fulfilment in helping the city progress. Notably, Mel’s wardrobe does not change; while she switches dresses on a few occasions, she still keeps to her iconic white dress in the majority of her scenes.

Elora, however, now seems to be showing her true colours so to speak, dressing herself in red - one of the primary colours on the Noxian colour palette. 

While Mel appears to be straying further and further from her initial objectives and instead starts to embrace Piltover as her new home; Elora’s wardrobe seems to be signalling the opposite - that she is a loyal servant of Noxus. Elora is, quite literally, a turncoat, her loyalty seemingly no longer lying with Mel, hence the contrasting colour palettes.

Now you might be wondering whose ass I pulled this idea from and my response is quite simple: the ass is called the script and it’s, in fact, not an ass at all. 

This manifests as a couple of lines that most of the audience would dismiss as throwaway, but if Arcane has taught me anything, it’s that almost everything is significant or will be at some point. Anyway, in their scenes, Elora is consistently bringing up Mel’s family, in one way or another trying to remind Mel of her original goal in Piltover - the approval of her mother. In fact, we find out in ep. 8 that Mel actively despises her mother and nigh immediately rejects Ambessa’s (albeit a very manipulative and transactional) attempt at reconciliation.

Now let’s take a look at those lines. First, we have ep. 4:

284: 00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 [Elora] Fundraiser's going well. 285: 00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 Your mother would be proud. 286: 00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 Hmm… Would she?

Here, Elora seems to be gently reminding Mel why she’s doing all this, but Mel appears to have resigned on ever garnering her mother’s attention, dismissing Elora’s remark. But the conversation becomes even more interesting when the subject turns to Jayce:

289: 00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 The only one actually worth my time is him. 290: 00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 The golden boy. [Elora chuckles] 291: 00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 Ah, he's won Piltover's heart.

Mel, with a chuckle, notes that Jayce has won over Piltover. But as she says so, she continues to gaze at a passing blimp with his painted face for some moments until Elora directs her attention to Jayce himself, entering the scene. Clearly the show is conveying more than is said.

A similar exchange happens in ep. 5:

332: 00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 He's been quite the investment. 333: 00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 Indeed. Better than expected.

Now this to me sounds like almost textbook example of deflection. While Elora does not ask her question directly, she appears to be probing Mel about her relationship with Jayce, which at this point we know is still strictly professional; however, Mel behaviour is already starting to betray her attraction to him. She avoids answering Elora’s inquiries about her feelings even as she stares at Jayce, or his likeness, with quite obvious heart eyes.

It’s interesting that even though the show casts Elora into the role of Mel’s shadowy confidante, informant and a possible spy, it would appear that Mel avoids confiding in her. Typically, a character of this ilk would be privy to such personal details, but not so Elora. Before initiating her relationship with Jayce, Mel seems to lack any familiar relationships in Piltover (going as far as dismissing other socialites as not worth her time) with the exception of Elora. Yet there are barely - if indeed any - hints at friendship between the two. It is all quite tepid. I suspect that this is actually because Mel knows that Elora is reporting all of her goings-on to her mother, as I shall demonstrate in a bit.

Now, why would Mel tolerate such a thing, you ask? Well, because the spy that you know about is far less dangerous than the spy that you do not. If Mel were to send Elora away, the next person sent to spy on her might be more covert. Moreover, her mother’s spy or not, Mel has uses for Elora, and the awareness of the connection between the two allows Mel to control the information flow somewhat. After all, Elora is present during Mel’s every single outing except for the council meetings, or her private moments with Jayce. And whenever Elora is not around, Mel is free to truly be herself. Notably, Mel’s first night with Jayce happens at his abode (you can read all about that in my sextech analysis), away from Elora’s prying eyes and ears, and here we see Mel break her public persona for the first time, confiding in Jayce that despite her conqueror upbringing, she would like to be a giver like him and lead society to enlightment.

And yet, when Ambessa Medarda arrives in Piltover, she appears to be incredibly well-informed in spite of Mel’s best efforts to deny her feelings for Jayce, immediately calling attention to the fact that Mel and Jayce are romantically involved (not just to Mel, but also to Jayce himself), moreover, that he’s considering building hextech weapons even though Mel had only asked him to arm Piltover in the previous episode:

193: 00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 Your Jayce Talis has turned his eye to Hextech weaponry. 194: 00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 [scoffs] I knew it.

332: 00:20:32 --> 00:20:35 [Mrs. Medarda] I see why this province and my daughter have fallen for you.

Given that we know Mel despises her mother and has not talked to her in over a decade, it is very suspect that Ambessa seems to be privy to the details of her daughter’s personal life. In fact, at this point, Ambessa likely has a better grasp on Mel’s feelings for Jayce than even Mel herself. So how does she know? Because, as I’ve said previously, Elora has relayed the information to her. 

Ambessa’s arrival appears to be incredibly convenient - not only has she arrived just in time to ask Mel for a hextech weapon to use against her political rivals, but possibly also to put an end to this new liaison that could potentially tether Mel to Piltover for good. Notice that Elora is very deferential, bowing throughout most of the scene, even though Ambessa addresses her in a cordial way.

Now that we’ve gotten the textual evidence out of the day, indulge me in a bit of theory-crafting. My theory is that Elora is a hostage of sorts to the Medardas (think Theon Greyjoy from A Song of Ice and Fire or Game of Thrones), her return to Noxus - to her home and family - might actually be conditioned by Mel embracing the Medarda philosophy and so ending her exile. It then makes sense why she would keep reminding Mel of her family, the once intense need for Ambessa’s approval, and attempt to gauge the true depth of Mel’s affections for Jayce. Without Mel, she can’t go back to her home.

Or - and I find this possibility especially intriguing - Elora is not only spying for Mel and on Mel for the Medardas, but also spying on the Medardas for a third party. And Noxus is certainly not lacking for interested third parties. Perhaps Elora might even be an important player of the game herself.

All in all, I’m really interested to see what s2 has in store for her, regardless of whether my conspiracy theories ultimately end up disproven or not.

Until then, remember: Elora is sus.

PS: Picture the kinds of reports Elora has sent Ambessa over the years, with these two idiots yearning for each other from afar. Ambessa probably received a fullblown 100k+ pining/unresolved sexual tension fanfic that we all deserve and some of us need 😏😂