#she is top three arcane character to me

[nthflower]

All I can think about is Mel today

[low-budget-korra]

Arcane Hot Takes

1. The hate on Jayce is mostly for no reason. He was a good guy, genuinely nice and with no toxic masculinity. He never created Hextec to be a weapon or to destroy the world. And only got really mad when Jinx stole his creation and honestly? He had the right to be mad at that. He ain't perfect, he made mistakes but c'mon guys.

2. If you hate on s2 Caitlyn but idolize Silco, you're a hypocrite. The difference is that Caitlyn did all blinded by grief while Silco did blinded by the thirst for power

And speaking of Silco…No, he is not this revolutionary man some of the fandom make him out to be. He was a Mafia boss who filled the streets with drugs, divided and weakened his own community and even used child work in his factories. Yeah, he was not some Che Guevara freedom fighter. All he had was beautiful speeches abt it.

And also not this perfect father figure for Jinx, as he kept filling her paranoias and manipulating her

3. The writers made a miracle managing to end the show in a nice way, but the truth is that Arcane needed at least one more season to be perfect. 

In s2 they rely too much on characters' micro expressions and subtext. Which is not a bad thing at all, but in a first view a lot of things get missed

I already saw s2 three times, so if you think things were poorly explained, try to watch a second time. Better, binge s1 and s2 and I guarantee that a lot of stuff you think was outta nowhere, will make sense.

4. Caitlyn had the best character arc in season 2. Experiencing the phases of grief, getting radicalized and manipulated, opening her eyes and realizing what she was doing, a subtle yet important redemption.

And I Say "subtle" bc even if for me it was obvious, I know for a lot of people, it wasn't.

Also, the haters don't want her to recognize what she did wrong bc she already did, just not with those on the nose dialogues. The haters wanted her to be punished, which she also was. Girl was stabbed in the abdomen, betrayed by her right hand, was almost executed in front of her men, got beat up with a knife still in her abdomen and lost an eye. Yeah, I think she was punished enough and if you wanted more, just admit that you are a bit sadistic and move on

5. Arcane is fiction. Sure, it takes insp in real life problems but is still fiction. Its cool to be able to recognize the themes but project our world problems, anger and frustration towards the characters is stupid and makes you miss a lot of good stuff in the show. If you act radical abt the show, you don't have the right to judge someone that goes radical after losing her mom to a terrorist attack.

It doesn't matter if her mother was rich or something. In fact, Cassandra was one of the few council members, maybe the only one, who actually did something good for the Zaunites as she was the one that created those air filters for people in Zaun, the workers, be able to breathe without getting cancer or smt.

Yes, I know it's the bare minimum but she was the only one doing something. Heimerdinger in his 200y never did something like that and only tried to help Zaun when he was expelled from the council.

6. Vi didn know Jinx was wanting to off herself. Jinx already tricked her a couple times before and “breaking the circle” , from Vi’s pov could mean a lot of things. From offing herself to explode things again. She doesn't watch Arcane guys, she doesn't know Jinx as well as we do.

7. Having Zaunites helping Piltover in the battle wasn't lazy writing or disrespectful. It was literally about the fate of their world, y'all thing Ambessa and Viktor would stop with just Piltover? Who y'all think would be the next target? 

They also used the enforcers uniform because it is a tactical one, useful in a situation like a battle. I can hate on the police all I want but in a situation like that, I would rather go to battle with that stupid uniform and bullet proof vest than go on a simple tank top, jeans and converse.

And this shows how better the Zaunites are compared to Piltover and it's enforcers. They were willing to shallow their hate, their pride and help their oppressors for the greater good. That's a good heart, maturity and emotional intelligence.

[hyperfix-wip]

Next to You

Pairing: Hobie Brown x GN!Reader/ Spider-Punk x GN!Reader

Word count: 1.3k

Author's Note: I am not sorry @the-kr8tor , @yumeaoka-chan , @pleaktale. And @rexlroze , YOU have specifically kickstarted the Loser!Hobie rabbit hole, and I have now got myself into loving these losers lmao. I'd like to thank @pinksugarscrub for beta reading for me and helping me out with this piece! Also, this piece contains some spoilers for Arcane Season 2, so don't read it if you don't want to be spoiled!

Tags: Lovestruck!Hobie, Loser!R, Nerd!R, Fluff, Spoilers for Arcane Season 2, Some Explicit Language

Hobie knew what he signed up for when he asked you out.

Despite your typically quiet personality, he knew you were passionate at heart. He knew that when he jumped through the portal to your universe and landed on your bed, only to see you bawling your eyes out over an animated show before you screamed bloody murder from his sudden arrival and fell down on the floor. He knew that when he looked around your room and saw all the posters of different shows and artists covering your walls, all your favorite books and figurines lined up on your shelves, the sketchbooks filled with all of your favorite characters in your specific art style. He knew that when his eyes landed on your pajama bottoms with some cute bison-like mascot from a show he overheard you talk about with Miles at the Spider Society. 

Even if you were scrambling off the floor, too flustered to make any coherent words to him while struggling to pause your show, he knew he liked this new side of you he discovered. And he especially knew he he was smitten with you the moment he asked you about the show you were watching, watching your eyes instantly light up before you drag him onto the bed and restart the show for him, obliviously nestling against his side while you eagerly ran your mouth about the premise of the show.

Yeah, he knew what he signed up for when he asked you out after binging the whole series with you.

Which was why he was prepared for you bawling your eyes out and smearing clear snot on his shirt while he cradled you in his arms. He gently shushed you while the end credits quietly ran in the background, running his long nimble fingers through your hair before pressing his lips against the top of your head.

“ ’s okay, lovie,” he whispered against your skin as he peppered more tender kisses, “I know, I know…”

Hiccups and sobs wracked up your body as you buried your face into his chest, your voice muffled into the cotton fabric. “It’s– It’s not fair! They were– they were together again! The writers couldn’t even let them be together for one full day?!”

Hobie quietly pulled the fluffy duvet from the end of your bed over the two of you, wrapping you into a tight embrace within the blanket and in his arms. “I know, darling, I know…”

“It’s just– it hurts so much! The fact that Isha was the one who did that, and it just paralleled with–”

“Yes, I know, luv–”

“Like, they didn’t have make Isha’s last moments an alternate version of Powder’s attempt in Season One where Powder’s plan worked–”

“I know, sweetheart–”

“And the pastel colors during the memory sequence for Isha– fuck– she basically remembers the Undercity as this bright and fun place because of Jinx, and not only did Jinx and Vi had to relive the trauma of losing Vander through Warwick again, but Jinx had to basically watch her baby sister, her inner child, and a version of herself sacrifice herself in front of her eyes…”

A hiccup wracked up your body again before fresh tears flooded your red-rimmed eyes, and Hobie wrapped his arms tighter around you while you sobbed into his chest again. “Fuck– I can’t– I don’t think I’m gonna last for the next three episodes–”

Hobie shushed you gently again while brushing his lips along your hairline, his fingers gently scratching your scalp while his other hand reached out for the cup of water he set to the side before you played the new episode. “C’mon, sit up for me, lovie,” he whispered against your forehead before carefully shifting the both of you up against the headboard. “Don’ wan’cha ta turn int’a raisin on me…”

You could only nod with a sniffle in response, blinking away the bleary tears in your eyes and snorting the clear mucus back up your red nose, before you sat up and grabbed the plastic cup from him. The moment you took a sip, the cool water instantly flooded and alleviated your raw throat, and you slowly drained the cup until it turned up empty.

A small smile curled up on Hobie’s lips as he gingerly grabbed the cup from your hands and set it back onto your nightstand. Without another thought Hobie then grabbed the hem of his shirt and peeled it off, goosebumps instantly pricking his skin as the cold air hit it, before gently pushing the shirt against your nose.

“Blow.”

You instantly obliged and blew your nose into his shirt, and he carefully pinched your nose and rubbed the snot off before tossing it across the room and on top of the pile of your dirty laundry in your hamper.

“Kobe.”

“Still don’ know who tha’ bloke is, but sure, lovie.”

A shaky chortle slipped through your lips before Hobie pulled you back into his arms and wrapped the blanket over you two again.

“Y’know, you could've gotten up to get a napkin instead of using your shirt–”

“It is too bloody cold to get out of this bed,” Hobie snickered while tucking your head underneath his chin. “Plus my shirt was already your personal snot rag, so it didn’t make a difference.”

You rolled your eyes with a sniffle before you nuzzled against his chest, and he in turn pressed his lips against your forehead again with a slight smirk. Your television gently illuminated the both of you in the dark, and you glanced up to see the blue light glinting from his piercings and his warm, dark eyes. His face softened at the sight of you, with splotchy skin and red-rimmed eyes, and he couldn't help but find you adorable in that moment. His arms pulled away in lieu of cupping your cheeks with his hands, and he gently tilted your head up to brush his lips against yours in a brief, comforting kiss. Your lips reluctantly parted from each other, with you trying to chase his lips to steal another one in vain, before he wrapped his arms around you in another tight embrace.

“...was this season as good as you hoped it would be, lovie?”

“God, yes, it’s so fucking good.”

Hobie huffed out a small chuckle while you tangled his lanky legs with yours. “Like, I can’t wait for Act Three to come out in a few days, but I also know it’s going to hurt so much watching those last episodes and have to watch the conclusion of it…”

Hobie nodded along with a tender smile as he gazed back down, his chest warming up as you started your cute little rant again. One of his hands trailed up your back and lingered on the back of your neck, gently massaging it while you continued talking.

“Like, I know there is going to be a clusterfuck of emotional damage for me at the end of this season. We still gotta see Ekko and Heimerdinger, we gotta see what’s gonna happen next for Jinx, Vi and Caitlyn, and we also have to deal with Jayce and Viktor– oh my god, that fucking scene of Jayce aiming that fucking cannon at Viktor–”

Hobie’s smile grew softer the more he listened to you, your voice still slightly raw and hoarse from the prolonged crying and your eyes glinted with the same eager light he saw that fateful day months ago, and his chest warms up just the same, his heart just as smitten with you as before.

You instantly stopped talking the moment a weight pressed down against the top of your head, and you pushed your head up to see Hobie’s eyes closed and his lips parted with shallow breaths. Your heart fluttered at the sight of the sleeping man huddled against you, his demeanor relaxed and languid as his lips curled up into a small, boyish smile, before you carefully pulled the blanket over him and pressed a gentle peck against his lips and nestled against him to join him in his slumber.

-----

Song Recommendation of the Day courtesy of @pinksugarscrub

[futchbatman]

i (foolishly) decided to step out of my little side pocket of the arcane fandom to see what people are saying about mel in regards to jayvik... and bruh. i wasted like... a couple minutes of my life reading a jayvik shipper's long ass take dismissing the misogynoir in the arcane fandom and i just need to rant.

there's nothing wrong with jayvik. there's nothing wrong with YOU if you like jayvik.

but having your head so deep up a ship's ass you don't notice the people around you being anti-black? then pretending like black fans are just making shit up to “spite your ship” or whatever bullshit you believe to make yourself feel better after pointing out the misogynoir that the fandom isn't even trying to hide? it's shit like this that prevents me, and a lot of other black fans from enjoying certain media in general.

and i just wanna say i don't think a lot of people are anti-jayvik because they're "butthurt" or whatever the fuck y'all say. IT'S BECAUSE Y'ALL ARE FUCKING WEIRDDDDDD WHEN IT COMES TO MEL.

ntm a couple days ago i saw a goofy ass Instagram reel saying "y'all couldn't even handle jayvik" nigga WHO? WHO IS Y'ALL? let's be so fr, jayvik is the most popular, well received ship in the whole show. go to the arcane ao3 tag right now and you'll see that shit in the top three up there with timebomb and caitvi (we also need to talk about how common it is for interracial relationships in media and fandoms to only be mainstreamed as long as one of the partners is white... but i digress, i digress.)

we can't handle a fandom doing what it does best; pairing the two men together and shitting on the woman? gtf 😭 this has been happening since the birth of the Internet. Hell, probably even before.

And the real kicker is, you don't HAVE to like Mel. I can understand why some people may not like her, and I'm not gonna sit here and say you have to like her just because she's black. But a lot of people are just regurgitating nasty anti-black talking points to justify their hatred for her instead of ACTUALLY having a valid reason to dislike her character.

mel is a colonizer. i won't deny that in the slightest. but the mass majority of the fandom don't care to dig deeper than the surface level representation she's given. it's always "she manipulated jayce!"/"she called them investments!" nigga go bathe.

i knew as soon as viktor appeared on screen the fandom was finna show they ass over that white man. i just KNEW fujo brain worms would takeover and all logic would go out the window. but trust me. you jayvik niggas aren't oppressed for wanting these men to kiss. y'all aren't even a minority. quit acting like you gotta protect yourself from big bad mel medarda and her stans.

and it's not even ALL jayvik shippers, but it's too damn many. they saw black woman near their fave and immediately decided to lynch her character. i'm saying lynch metaphorically and literally because of that disgusting jayvik serial killer au floating around in mel's tag. i have something to say about that to but i'll make another post. i'm disgusted, not shocked, and disappointed that this behavior is so normalized in fandom spaces.

since arcane season two decided to be more ship driven than narrative driven i feel like a lot of y'all feel... entitled, and people feel like they finally have the opportunity to express their anti-blackness in an environment where they can pull the homophobia and ableism card once you call out the weird shit they're doing.

tl;dr i don't wanna hear a jayvik shipper, nay, a NONBLACK person speak on fandom misogynoir ever again because y'all are just loud and wrong every damn time, and stop acting like black fans are fucking stupid for addressing it.

[avelera]

what kind of music do you think viktor and jayce listen to?

Damned if I know, bro, lol. Two of the times we get music in the universe of the show in S1 are basically memes, one is Jinx listening to her own League theme song and the other is Imagine Dragons at the Last Drop.

I guess we also get the opera but it's definitely implied that opera is seen as stuffy and out of date there much like it is in our world, (whether or not that's true, not trying to piss off the irl opera fans lol) since Jayce hasn't been in ages, it's like going to see the Nutcracker at Christmas is the impression I get if you're not a rich Councilor there to wheel and deal.

I guess in S2 we get the Innovation Day dance in the alternate timeline to "Ma Meilleure Ennemie" happening in universe too. And technically we get "Come Play" blaring from the speakers of Jinx's balloon.

Mostly I just bring this up to point out the kind of music they have in that world, as far as we know. The Arcane world itself (at least Piltover's corner of it) seems based on the late 19th century/early 20th century but of course the music we get is all modern, from the soundtrack.

It's never quite made clear if the music we hear is the music they hear. For example, in Lord of the Rings, technically Frodo's name is Maura Labingi, Tolkien is "translating" the original work and updating it for our sensibilities, so is Jinx really listening to "Get Jinxed" or is she listening to some other song and we're hearing her theme song and it would be an in-world equivalent for her? Arcane never really gets grounded enough in a pseudo-historical time period to imply they're doing that so I guess we just have to assume we hear what the character is hearing, even if it seems 4th wall/reality breaking.

So since we have no in-universe evidence for what Jayce and Viktor listen to, but we do know there's like gramophones in that world and they listen to modern music and basically have the same musical profile as modern day, let me suggest:

Viktor listens to focus/trance music when he's alone in the lab. Basically anything he can work to all day as a background hum that won't interfere with his thoughts.

Jayce... I'm sorry Jayce, I love you, but he doesn't strike me as musically inclined as such so I kinda want to give him somewhat basic bitch "whatever is popular right now idk" music tastes with a few scattered favorites for things that are very personal to him.

Like, Jayce listened to Arcane Universe Coldplay's "The Scientist" on loop for three days after Viktor left him, he likes whatever the Top 40 music on the radio is right now, he knows a few bands and has been to a few concerts that he enjoyed but he would be endlessly frustrating to anyone with in-depth or sophisticated music tastes. He told Viktor 'play whatever you want' in the lab because he genuinely doesn't care, he's hyperfocusing himself anyway, but he does grow a gradual and genuine fondness for Viktor's weird-ass trance music.

[thataromanticbisexual]

I have an arcane 'hot take'

I wish they ended season two off at the end of act 2—now stay with please just stay with me for a moment!!

just so you know this is a really long rant so i'm sorry in advance, spoilerss ahead ofc!

main focus characters mentioned + timebomb—

────────── ⊹ ⊱ ☆ ⊰ ⊹ ──────────

Most of us know (at least i think everyone knows) that arcane was originally supposed to be a five season show, i repeat a five season show. And i really fucking wish they kept it this way, or at least made it a season longer than it ended up being. But don't get me wrong, i'm happy (and maybe a little heartbroken) with the ending we got. I just wish they didn't condense it down into the two seaon show.

In all honesty, It felt a tiny bit rushed. And yes, maybe that was our fault for making so many theories, but either way, they introduced so SO many new themes, for non league players (like myself) an episode or half on magic on it's own, and don't get me started on the new characters. There wasn't enough time to explore all of their backstories, or their motives in only nine episodes. We needed more time, i'm sure we can all agree on that, right? Do you get what i mean?

To get a better idea of what I mean next I’ve provided visual representation, oh yeah

Personally think this would’ve been a pretty good ending for the season. The cliffhanger would leave fans pissed but it would do numbers.

So instead of cramming all of the seasons plots + sub plots into those three acts, they could extend it and explore those points in more detail and depth. We'd be able to develop a much better understanding of those plots.

─────────────────────────

An example of the extended plots i'd like to make clear is Maddie. She was iffy from the start. Sure she was cute and seemed sweet and all, but there was something off about her. And then we learn that she was actually working under Ambessa's wing, fuck we've already missed so much.

Why was she working for Ambessa? Why was she smiling like a bitch when she was abt to shoot Cait? Did she have ulterior motives outside of being a pawn in Ambessa's game? There's other points that i can't think of right now, but there's missing infomation. There is holes.

Then there's Enforcer Vi, Act 2 Caitlyn and Vi. Their arcs in the story were watered down DRASTICALLY. In a simple summary, we witnessed vi become an enforcer, the caitvi get together and divorce in the same episode. Then we saw the start and the end of Caitlyn's dictator arc from the 6 month timeskip in like under 20 minutes of screentime. And we also got 2 lousy minutes of pit fighter Vi from said timeskip. There was major external and internal struggle for the both of them during this time in their lives and it impacted them a shit tonne in different ways, and it was basically was skipped over like it was nothing. These experiences alone impacted their mental health heavily. We could’ve gotten so much more from this!! Be so fucking for real.

And then there's Jinx and Isha. We got flashbacks during Act 2 Ep6, but thats the thing, they were just flashbacks. We didn't get to experience the whole thing. We see this huge change in Jinx after the time skip, and it was all because she had Isha to ground her. And we see nothing of this. The character development was pivotal, and we missed it.

Same slightly goes for Ep9. Jinx lost Isha, and she's about to kill herself. Then Ekko steps in and saves the day. Next time we fucking see them they're in different outfits, they've got paint and doodles on each other, AND they've teamed up? Ugh! Again we've missed so much. And to top it all off, it was confirmed that they scrapped at least 30 minutes of timebomb footage between?? God damn.

All of these points could have been explored deeper if only we had more time. More of Maddie’s story, more of pit fighter Vi, more of dictator Cait, more of Jinx, Isha, Ekko.

Sometimes these things can’t be helped but it would’ve been so nice.

Got opinions? If you do I’d actually love to hear more theories from you people. I love to see your thoughts and stand points.

(and i also just want to point out that theres a FUCKING petition to relase the extended cut of the caitvi sesbian lex scene, which is so crazy and insane... anyway heres the link if you want it)

[pinewoodpipit]

waitt hiii why did u not like arcane season 2? bc it was a little allover the place? i wanna hear ur thoughts. i liked it bc ekko is my baby and thr intro was cool 🙏

-ur biggest fan

Oof, there's a lot to say about this and honestly I don't know if I want to get too far into it. As a basic explanation, the writing in season 2 was absolute dogwater, not just compared to season 1, but in general. They gutted 2/3 of their writing team from season 1 until just three people were left (and having only three writers is insane for a show of this scale, by the way) and it really showed.

The writers (thank you Christian Linke for oversharing and throwing a public tantrum when people didn't respond well to season 2's ending) openly admit that the show sidelined Vi and Jinx's storylines to focus instead on Jayce and Viktor. They bit off more than they could chew with derailing the Piltover/Zaun conflict to bring in an external force that gave them an excuse to ignore all the oppression Piltover has been putting Zaun through. In a show that set up a clear message about political independence and breaking free from oppressive forces, they took the easy way out that let them avoid saying anything at all, and just made Piltover and Zaun hold hands and team up like there's no bad blood between them at all and Piltover wasn't an actively occupying force in Zaun since Jinx's rocket.

Don't even get me started on Caitlyn's writing, too... People will defend her to the moon and back but she had a fucking terribly written redemption arc and I don't understand why people will defend her actions instead of mourning the incredible arc she should have had if only the writers cared enough to write their characters consistently. Every character was written badly in season 2, but Caitlyn and Vi got the worst of it, in my opinion. Vi had the most miserable ending of any character when she deserved so much better, and Caitlyn's character was completely destroyed because they didn't take the time or care to make sure she was handled delicately.

On top of that, there's the blatant racism and transphobia in the fandom. Mel is treated beyond horrifically by the fandom, as is Ekko. Caitlyn's race is constantly erased. Vi's masculinity is constantly erased and transphobes fight tooth and nail to argue that she isn't a butch, to the point of forming harassment campaigns against any artists who enjoy transmasc Vi headcanons. I remember back in season 1 there was also a horrific amount of lesbophobia in the fandom too, which just completely cements me out of enjoying any of this. The show was disappointing, and the fandom is filled with so much toxicity and bigotry it's suffocating to be around. The writers have their own history of dodgy behaviour too which I don't care to get into but completely ruins any benefit of the doubt they might have had, such as Christian Linke calling Zaunites "svengalis", which, in case you didn't know, is an antisemitic caricature. It's all one big, ugly mess that I don't want to touch with a 10-foot pole.

Overall... yeah. Season 2 was a total failure for me. I think they failed to do almost any of their characters any justice, they failed to make any actual point when season 1 had set up some really interesting messages, and the fandom has utterly destroyed any desire I had to push through my disappointment. I honestly think there's very little they could have done to make this train crash worse.

[b4ssbr3aker]

“You people call an Asian woman a Nazi, then get pissy we call you out for it? How is that “ableist” or a “slur?” Heck, I’ve heard you guys call Caitlyn “white privileged” which is just… ????????”

I’m sure there’s Cait antis who do, I’m personally not one of them as I would call her inherently classist, self-absorbed, an aristocrat, a woman with a sheltered upbringing which somewhat contributes to her being out of touch, a woman with fairly serious identity issues when it comes to trying to figure out who she is outside of the power and privilege her last name holds and outside of her socioeconomic status, a seemingly liberal and idealist but corrupt cop who’s fascist ideals come to the forefront when in grief and a dictator with the moral backbone of those inflatable people you usually see in front of a car dealership place.

I don’t agree with calling her a Nazi as that factually wouldn’t be completely true, but why don’t you say that directly to the people on here who do call her a Nazi, rather than a post made three weeks ago that is calling out a select amount of Cait stans who spew out anti-Blackness, showcase their own classist ideals when it comes to talking about Zaun and it’s people as a whole, who showcase Antisemitism, who showcase Zionism, and showcase Ableism.

When it comes to Caitlyn’s race, she is both Asian and White, and it’s been demonstrated that she’s certainly White-passing as I’ve seen numerous fans of the show on various social media platforms have been surprised upon finding out that Cait is Asian as well as White. In the context of the show alone, no she doesn’t exhibit White Privilege in particular as the social constructs of White Supremacy within the capitalist system aren’t present in the societies showcased in Arcane. Put into the context of the real world, especially if she still had the socioeconomic status she did in Arcane in the real world then she wouldn’t exactly have White Privilege but she’d certainly have White-passing privilege…that and in the show she is in a societal position is that in which, in the real world, would be typical of White people would hold.

The racism of some Cait stans also come out when it comes to their defense of Caitlyn herself as the presence of those who inflict the harmful racial stereotype of Asian women being infantilised onto her when dismissing the severity of her actions is ubiquitous. It (it being those who eagerly dismiss Caitlyn’s actions) also exhibits a slightly different form of infantilisation extended towards White people when it it comes to absolving them from their actions in order to uphold their power. I may also argue that misogyny comes into play in regards to infantilising Caitlyn.

I’ve also seen it being applied to the Caitlyn and Vi top/bottom discourse, with the complete opposite swing of that pendulum being to be extremely derogatory and dehumanising towards Vi due to her class, trauma and her physical stature, i.e. that one infamous piece of fanart that was a part of a comic strip that ended up getting deleted on twitter, but that’s a separate discussion (don’t get me started on the blatant butchphobia).

And with how present racism is in the fandom, though I haven’t personally seen it, I unfortunately wouldn’t be surprised if, instead of giving valid criticism of her actions, people just straight up spouted anti-Asian rhetoric towards Caitlyn (and any other Asian characters in the show).

[EDIT: a couple of hours after I wrote this I came across this tiktok video which mentions how recently on tiktok there was a fanartist who posted a series of their works, one of which included a historically and incredibly racist depiction of Caitlyn with the nickname ‘Caitler’, and while the original creator of the video and I in some aspects have differing opinions on the show and Caitlyn herself, they make some excellent points about racism within the arcane fandom so I recommend watching it.]

The ableist slurs come in when some of the deluded defenders of the show (omnipresent in the comment sections of you and some of your mutuals may I add) go ahead and straight up harass acrits across multiple social media to the point where it doesn’t even become about the show anymore, it’s just straight up mass cyber bullying which has caused some acrits to be straight up driven off the internet or adjust their presence on the internet to assume anonymity so that they’re no longer targeted for harassment. You and some of your mutuals’ followers hunt us down like we’re fucking trophy animals and flood our notifications with ableist slurs such as the r-slur, lunatic, psychopath, sociopath, psychotic, assuming that we have low IQ, and more, as well as displaying anti-Blackness when some Black people who watched the show expressed incredibly valid critique of the writers’ depiction of classism and police brutality, as well as critique of people in the fandom, relating it to their socioculturally collective experience, and being completely undermined and dismissed, being told that they’re reading too much into it and/or just being straight up subjected to racism themselves. You and your mutuals wilfully ignore this and one of your mutuals has actively endorsed it in the past by, verbatim, “calling open season” on one arcane critical person to their followers.

“Like when I hate something I try to move on and find something else I like.”

You literally disprove that on this site alone every day. I am yet to see you take on that very advice. Next.

“The only reason I fight you guys on tumblr is because you guys actively SHOVE your hate into the main Arcane hashtags where I’m gonna see it.”

It’s still discussion of the show Arcane at the end of the day so of course acrits are gonna use those tags. Also you say that as if you aren’t actively scrolling through the arcane critical hashtag and other tags adjacent to it, based off of what I’ve observed. You shit-piling on acrits is a good majority of your content which likely means without us your account would be pretty scarce so you can thank us for keeping you relevant in arcane tumblr if that’s something you care about. Additionally, given how often you do it, I don’t think it would be that far-fetched of me to assume you get an adrenalin rush from doing so which explains both the consistency and the written tone in your responses.

[ao3feed-piltovers-finest]

QT Interval

by Champagne_out_of_plastic

Vi looked at her heart rate monitor and saw the numbers rapidly climbing. And it had everything to do with the fact that her nurse was quite possibly the most attractive woman she had ever seen. The beautiful woman put the stethoscope in her ears and Vi could feel her heart fluttering.

"Okay Vi, now if you could loosen your gown a little for me, I'm going to take a listen to your heart and lungs."

Oh god. This gorgeous woman was going to be touching her tits. She untied the top bow of her gown, pulling it away from her chest.

Caitlyn stood close enough that Vi could smell a subtle perfume, as she pressed the silver end of the stethoscope to her chest.

"Now I'm going to need you to take a deep breath in and out."

Vi suddenly forgot how to breathe.

 ----------- Vi accidentally overdoses on her meds because of her ADHD. She hates hospitals, but maybe it won't be so bad if the hot nurse keeps distracting her.

Words: 5122, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/F

Characters: Caitlyn (League of Legends), Vi (League of Legends), Jinx (League of Legends), Ekko (League of Legends), Jayce (League of Legends), Viktor (League of Legends), Mel Medarda, Sevika (Arcane: League of Legends), Loris (Arcane: League of Legends), Grayson (Arcane: League of Legends), Tobias Kiramman

Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)

Additional Tags: Background Jinx/Ekko, Hospitals, Medical Trauma, Panic Attacks, Needle Phobia, Anxiety, likely PTSD, medical setting, prescription medication overdose, Overdose, accidental prescription medication overdose, it's not super violent but vi has flashbacks, Past Medical Abuse, PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, ADHD related self esteem issues, anxiety related self esteem issues, Vi has a needle phobia, Anxiety Attacks, Autistic Caitlyn (League of Legends), Adhd vi, patient!Vi, Nurse!Caitlyn, AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drug Use, technically, they're all prescribed drugs though, Medical Jargon, college student Ekko, College Student Jinx, Professor Viktor, Doctor Jayce, please excuse any inaccuracies in regards to medical stuff and how hospitals work I only worked at one for maybe an hour a day for three months, Medical Inaccuracies, Past Medical Trauma, vi and jinx both have past medical trauma, jinx became jinx because she dissociated so hard after a medical incident, meet cute, caitlyn is vi's nurse, Useless Lesbians, Slow Burn, because they cant date while vi's a patient there thats super unethical, but theyre both really attracted to each other, Vi Needs a Hug (League of Legends), Vi Needs Therapy (League of Legends), Vi Needs a Break (League of Legends), Hurt/Comfort, mentions of vi being in prison, corrupt cops doing corrupt cop things that result in vi having a felony, vi works at an animal shelter, and pictures of animals make her feel happy, cait knows exactly what to do to calm vi down, vi witnessed parts of her parents dying, thats partially where the medical trauma comes in, vander is alive but he's on a camping trip with milo and claggor and they dont have reception, so basically you won't see them but they'll be referenced, some fluff some angst, its a fancy expensive hospital so maybe thats why its not overcrowded idk, Seizures, vi has temporary heart issues

Read onA03. from AO3 works tagged ‘Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)’

[neminomnom]

Arcane characters as/ taking care of dogs

Okay so this is kinda a two in one; how they would take care of a dog if they had one and if they was a dog- it’s a bit random, but it’s all I can think of!! I hope you enjoy

Includes- Vi, jinx, Caitlyn, Silco, au powder and Ekko :)

Violet

-If Violet was a type of dog, it would be a staffy, or a pit bull, quite similar breeds, and I’m going to go with a staffy. Inteligent, loyal, reliable, bold, courageous, affectionate and protective when they need to be- all these words describing a staffy and Vi fits every one of them perfectly, staffys look scary on the outside, but they are really just soft giants on the inside.

-If she had a dog, it would be an Australian Shepard called rocky, it’s a bit basic for a dog name but the pair get along like a house on fire, she would bring rocky along with her to most places unless they are too dangerous. Vi made sure that rocky was well trained, she also taught him fun tricks like spin, talk and how to play dead.

-Vi found rocky near the zaunite side of the river separating the two sistering cities, he was in pretty good condition and probably ran off from somewhere, but no owner was in sight by a mile so vi decided to take him in and make sure he was SPOILED.

Jinx

-Jinx would be a small but feisty dog- like a chihuahua, jinx would be a very vocal chihuahua, even though they have a reputation for barking quite a lot, if jinx was the chihuahua then times that barking by three. Protective over the people they love, smart, alert and quite active despite their small size, jinx fits this dog quite well if you’re asking me.

-Jinx and her Pomeranian, jules, would be the most unstoppable duo in all of zaun. Jules used to be a white, fluffy dog, but now? She has hot pink and bright blue dye on the end parts of her fur, with patches of it missing, jules wouldn’t bark that often, but she growls a lot, it’s surprising that this loopy creature hasn’t fallen off the sides of jinx’s chaotic hideout.

-Jinx stole the dog off someone, but it wasn’t fully on purpose- ish. She saw the grumpy git when silco was in a meeting, it was Margot’s, but she never had time for it yet loved it, and jinx saw that opportunity gleaming like the sun infront of her and grabbed it straight away.

Caitlyn

-so, we see in the family photo of Caitlyn and her parents that they have two Dobermans, so it would make sense for Caitlyn to be a Doberman, but I think Caitlyn would be a Weimaraner. Weimaraners are very proud, intelligent, loyal and sometimes can be a bit possessive at time, similar to Caitlyn. But, she would be a decently behaved dog.

-As I mentioned in the paragraph above, Caitlyn has two dobermans, Caitlyn has always had dogs in the house, so she knows how to take care of them, their needs and she knows not what to do with them and what to do with them. The two dobermans are girls, one called Laura and the other called Elena, they act like gaurd dogs for the kirrammans- not that they need them, but they are extremely good trained dogs.

-they originally wanted only one dog, but due to Cassandra being so busy with the council and Tobias being a doctor, they didn’t want want the dogs to get lonely, so they got another to make Caitlyn, and the first dog happy.

Silco

-A bloodhound, no questions asked, he would be an old, grumpy bloodhound. Patient, loyal, mild- mannered and can be gentle, put silco next to a bloodhound and you can’t tell the difference, the size may be, but apart from that, they are quite similar. If silco was a dog, he wouldn’t like little kids and would end up growling at them if their sticky fingers go anywhere near him.

-Meanwhile, silco is probably a cat person, but he found this ratty, underweight, angry chihuahua in an alleyway, he didn’t want it at all, it was just another responsibility on top of all the others, but after the thing kept on following him for ten minutes and barking at him, he had enough sympathy to pick it up, he was originally going to make jinx take care of it, but ended up growing attached.

-Silco didn’t really have a name for it in the first few months, he just called it ‘the thing’ or ‘the dog’, but after having said creature and properly bonding with it, Silco decided to name it something what atleast I would deem quite out of character for a man like Silco, Fluffy. Yup, fluffy.

Powder

- quite like herself from the other universe yet slightly different, Powder would be a Pomeranian, full of life and would probably be the most silliest and happeist dog on the planet. Lively, intelligent yet playful, vocal, bold, extroverted and can sometimes be feisty when needed to be, sounds pretty much like powder, if you ask me.

-If she had a dog, that thing would be so spoiled, she named it Vivienne and it would be a beagle. The name reminded her of Vi, but it wasn’t exactly her name so it managed to bring back all the happy memories and not the bad ones, she calls the dog ‘viv’ for short. Sunset walks throughout the two sistering cities with Ekko and Vivienne are one of her favourite things to do in the summertime.

-She found the dog moping around the last drop like a sorry little thing, begging people for scraps despite vander most likely putting food out for it, and she just decided to take it to her hideout, and when she did, the beagle would constantly go to where Vi was, sleeping by the old painting of her- that’s how powder fully decided on her name.

Ekko

-Despite his nickname being ‘little man’ in the real world, if Ekko was a dog he would be a Husky, and if you know a thing or two about that breed then you know that they are far from little. Out going, friendly, intelligent, vocal, alert, active and playful, and Ekko just gives husky vibes. sure they are mostly playful, but they are also chill and friendly like I just listed.

-Right, so now we have little man #1 and little man #2, ( Ekko being the first little man, of course) Since jack russels arnt exactly the largest of dogs out there, so the name fits well. The dog would be called shaggy- not after scooby doo, but because how stupid this dog looks, it’s not common to have a fluffy jack russel. That dog is quite active, sure they already have a reputation for being fast and liking exercise, but this dog is FASTTT. Does it just hang around the fire light tree most the time? Yup, but that dog has everything it could want.

- Shaggy was originally someone else’s dog- an old man’s dog who was also a recovering shimmer addict at the firelight place. Sadly the old guy died quite quickly despite actively trying to get better, and for a while shaggy just ran free but no one really fed him so, Ekko started putting bowls of food and water out for him and took him out sometimes if it’s safe.

[azdoine]

Who Cares If It's Worth The Candle?

Three days ago I wrote an article on some recent rational stories. I had not read any fiction of this kind since the days of Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres, and, since I con­stantly heard animated discussions of the merits of the rational writers, I was curious to see what they were like today. The specimens I tried I found disappointing, and I made some rather derogatory remarks in connec­tion with my impressions of the genre in general. To my surprise, this brought me letters of protest in a volume and of a passionate earnestness which had hardly been elicited even by my occasional criticisms of Dath Ilan. Of the thirty-nine letters that have reached me, only seven approve my strictures. The writers of almost all the others seem deeply offended and shocked, and they all say almost exactly the same thing: that I had simply not read the right novels and that I would surely have a different opinion if I would only try this or that author recommended by the correspondent. In many of these letters there was a note of asperity, and one lady went so far as to declare that she would never read my articles again unless I were prepared to reconsider my position. In the meantime, furthermore, a number of other writers have published articles defending the rational story: Alexander Wales, Scott Alexander, Eneasz Brodski and Daystar Eld have all had something to say on the subject—nor has the um­brageous Eliezer Yudkowsky failed to raise his voice.

Overwhelmed by so much insistence, I at last wrote my correspondents that I would try to correct any in­justice by undertaking to read some of the authors that had received the most recommendations and taking the whole matter up again. The writer that my correspondents were most nearly unanimous in putting at the top was Mister Domagoj Kurmaić, who was pressed upon me by eighteen people, and the book of his that eight of them were sure I could not fail to enjoy was a time loop caper called Mother of Learning. Well, I set out to read Mother of Learning in the hope of tasting some novel excitement, and I declare that it seems to me one of the dullest books I have ever en­countered in any field. The first part of it is all about magic as it is practiced in university and contains a lot of information of the kind that you might expect to find in an encyclopedia article on tabletop role-playing-games. I skipped a good deal of this, and found myself skipping, also, a large section of the conversations between conventional scholastic characters: “Oh, here’s Xvim with the coursework. People may say what they like about coursework, but it does go on all through the quarter and make a backdrop,” etc. There was also a dreadful stock student of the undiagnosed autistic kind, with the embarrassing name of Zorian Kazinski, and, although he was the focal character of the novel, being Mister Domagoj Kurmaić’s version of the necessary Phil Connors prisoner, I had to skip a good deal of him too. In the meantime, I was losing the story, which had not got a firm grip on my attention, but I went back and picked it up and steadfastly pushed through to the end, and there I discovered that the whole point was that phenomenal arcane power can’t fix a broken family or mend estranged relationships. Not a bad idea for a character piece, and O. Henry would have known how to dramatize it in an entertaining tale of five thousand words, but Mister Kurmaić had not hesitated to pad it out to a book of seven hundred thousand, contriving one of those hackneyed cock-and-bull stories where the protagonist’s disability is a secret power, and larding the whole thing with details of training arcs, bits of quaint lore from OSR monster manuals, and the awful whimsical patter of worldbuilding.

I had often heard people say that Domagoj Kurmaić wrote well, and I felt that my correspondents had been playing him as their literary ace. But, really, he does not write very well: it is simply that he is more con­sciously literary than most of the other rational-story writers and that he thus attracts attention in a field which is mostly on a sub-literary level. In any serious department of fiction, his writing would not appear to have any distinction at all. Yet, commonplace in this re­spect though he is, he gives an impression of brilliant talent if we put him beside Mister Wertifloke, whose The Waves Arisen was also suggested by several corre­spondents. Mister Yudkowsky has put himself on record as be­lieving that Mister Wertifloke, as well as Mister Walker and Mister Solguard, writes his novels in "excellent prose," and this throws for me a good deal of light on Mr. Yudkowsky’s opinions as a critic. I hadn't quite realized before, though I had noted his own rather messy style, to what degree he was insensitive to writing. I do not see how it is possible for anyone with a feeling for words to describe the unap­petizing sawdust which Mister Wertifloke has poured into his pages as "excellent prose" or as prose at all except in the sense that distinguishes prose from verse. And here again the book is mostly padding. There is the notion that unregulated use of power would lead to climate disaster and the collapse of modern civilization, but this is embedded in the dialogue and doings of a lot of self-replicating warrior-magicians who are even more tedious than those of Mother of Learning.

The enthusiastic reader of rational stories will indig­nantly object at this point that I am reading for the wrong things: that I ought not to be expecting good writing, characterization, human interest or even atmos­phere. He is right, of course, though I was not fully aware of it till I attempted Project Lawful, con­sidered by connoisseurs one of the best books of two of the masters of this school. This tale I found completely unreadable. The story and the writing both showed a surface so wooden and dead that I could not keep my mind on the page. How can you care about liberating those damned who have never really been put in torment, because the writer hasn't any ability of even the most ordinary kind to persuade you to see them or feel them? How can you probe the the depths of the characters who surround the protagonist, because they are all simply fodder for dramatic irony? It was then that I understood that a true connoisseur of this fiction must be able to suspend the demands of his imagination and literary taste and take the thing as an intellectual widget. But how you arrive at that state of mind is what I do not understand.

In the light of this revelation, I feel that it is probably irrelevant to mention that I enjoyed The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, by Lurina, more than the novels of any of these luminaries. There is a tinge of black magic that gives it a little of the interest of a horror story, and the author has a virtuosity at playing with alternative hypotheses that makes this trick of rational fiction more amusing than it usually is. I want, however, to take up certain points made by some of the above-mentioned articles. Mr. Munchkin informs the non-expert that the rational novel is a kind of game in which the reader of a given story, in order to play properly his hand, should bring his full attention to the stage. Common sense, it seems, is insufficient: the reader must be versed with Bayesian statistics, game theory, artificial intelligence, theory of mind, and modal realism. This may be true, but I shall never qualify. I would rather read golden age detective fiction, which at least does not involve the consumption of hundreds of ill-written blog posts.

An argument leveled by my interlocutors is that contemporary genre fiction has become so vapid, so abstracted or mass-market, that the public have had to take to the rational story as the only department of fiction where verisimilitude survives. This seems to me to involve two fallacies. On the one hand, it is surely not true that “the common authors of today” - to quote Ms. Neocalico - “have often,” in contrast to the authors of the past, “little or no story to tell,” that “they have allowed themselves to be persuaded that continuity is no consideration.” It is true, of course, that urban fantasy and comics - which, I suppose, must be accounted the emptiest going - have their various modern ways of boring and playing tricks on the reader. But how about the dreadful fanon and reinterpretations that one has to get over in HPMOR? The soft-serve science in Worm? The Deus Ex Machina of Unsong, in which the villain surrenders his cause? Is there anything in first-rate popular fiction quite so gratuitous as these longueurs? Even Rowling and Gaiman do certainly have stories to tell, and they have organized their works with an intensity which has been relatively rare in genre fiction and which, to my mind, more than makes up for the occasional arbitrariness of their narratives.

On the other hand, it seems to me—for reasons sug­gested above—a fantastic misrepresentation to say that the average rational story is an example of good story-telling. The gift for telling stories is uncommon, like other artistic gifts, and the only one of this group of writers—the writers my correspondents have praised—who seems to me to possess it to any degree is Mr. Alexander Wales. Worth the Candle is the only one of these books that I have read all of and read with enjoyment. But Wales, though in the community he’s lauded as a master, does not really belong to this school of rationalist fiction. What he writes is a work of portal fantasy which has less in common with Yudkowsky than with Stephen Donaldson and Michael Ende - the highbrow isekai which has substituted the blue text of numbers going up for the invisible backdrop of psychodrama. It is not simply a question here of a puzzle which has been put together but of an experience conveyed to the reader, the wonder and terror of an otherworld that is continually revealed in all its varied and unlikely forms. To write such a novel successfully you must be able to invent character and incident and to generate atmosphere, and all this Mr. Wales can do. It was only when I got to the end that I felt my old rational-story depression descending upon me again - because here again, as is so often the case, the explanation of the ontological mystery, when it comes, isn’t interesting enough. It fails to justify the excitement produced by the elaborate buildup of picturesque and sinister happenings, and one cannot help feeling cheated.

My experience with this second batch of novels has, therefore, been even more disillusioning than my expe­rience with the first, and my final conclusion is that the reading of rational stories is simply a kind of vice that, for silliness and minor harmfulness, ranks somewhere be­tween LitRPG and xianxia. This conclusion seems borne out by the violence of the letters I have been receiving. Rational-story readers feel guilty, they are habitually on the defensive, and all their talk about "well-written" fanfics is simply an excuse for their vice, like the reasons that the alcoholic can always pro­duce for a drink. One of the letters I have had shows the addict in his frankest and most shameless phase. This lady begins by pretending, like the others, to guide me in my choice, but she breaks down and tells the whole dreadful truth. Though she has read, she says, hundreds of rational stories, "it is surprising," she finally con­fesses, "how few I would recommend to another. However, a poor rational story is better than none at all. Try again. With a little better luck, you'll find one you admire and enjoy. Then you, too, may be a rationalist."

This letter has made my blood run cold: so the opium smoker tells the novice not to mind if the first pipe makes him sick; and I fall back for reassurance on the valiant little band of my readers who sympathize with my views on the subject. One of these tells me that I have underestimated both the badness of rational stories themselves and the lax mental habits of those who en­joy them. The worst of it is, he says, that the true addict, half the time, never even learns how to be less wrong. The addict reads not to find anything out but merely to get the mild stimulation of a few shows of wits and of the suspense itself of waiting until the protagonist takes over the world. That this strategy of conquest is nothing at all and does not really explain how to systematically win does not matter to such a reader. He has learned from his long indulgence how to connive with the author in the swindle: he does not pay any real attention when the disappointment occurs, he does not think back and check the chain of reasoning, he simply closes the tab and starts another.

To rational-story addicts, then, I say: Please do not write me any more letters telling me that I have not read the right books. And to the seven correspondents who are with me and who in some cases have thanked me for helping them to liberate themselves from a habit which they recognized as wasteful of time and degrading to the intellect but into which they had been bullied by convention and the portentously performed hijacking of Greg Egan and Charles Stross—to these staunch and pure spirits I say: Friends, we represent a minority, but Literature is on our side. With so many fine web novels to be read, so much to be studied and known, there is no need to bore ourselves with this rubbish. And with the URL shortage pressing on all publication and many first-rate writers forced out of the top 100 on Royal Road, we shall do well to discourage the squandering of this wordcount that might be put to better use.

[f0rlorn]

flicker in the dark → coral

coral!tbosas x reader

notes → in which you meet the tribute you will be mentoring, and she turns out to be something you never would’ve expected. feminine intended reader though i do not know if pronouns are brought up.

warnings → y’all, she is so over the top ooc… (i molded her character after vi from arcane lol 🙈) not edited & uploaded via iphone!! i also haven’t written in months lol

    trailing behind your fellow mentor and dear friend, lysistrata vickers, you couldn’t help but grow anxious of the impending meeting with the tribute you had been assigned. nearing the zoo where the tributes were being kept in this year, your heart rate sped up. the practice of mentoring a tribute was something that had never been done before, so nerves were on edge. and on top of that, the thought of the twenty-four district children being kept on display in a monkey house was enough to make you shiver with disgust. though, it was not much better than the horse stables they had been kept in prior to this year. if you were lucky, your tribute would be willing to cooperate with you like coriolanus’ girl, lucy gray, had. thoughts swamped your brain as lyssie dragged you to the front of the cage, about to part ways with you to find her respective tribute, the hulking district twelve boy.

     “y/n, you have nothing to lose here. we’re simply here to help them get through this as easily and… painlessly as possible,” she said, muttering the last phrase with underlying bitterness. both lysistrata and yourself were not fans of the hunger games. the prospect of dehumanizing and stripping the rights, as well as dignity, away from children your own age was safe to say, unappealing. with the war long over, shouldn’t the killing have ended by now too?

     “i know, lyssie, i just…” you paused, averting your gaze, “don’t know if i’ll be able to face her knowing what she’s about to go through. to think she’s our age, too… it’s… i don’t know how i can even help her.” you couldn’t find the words to accurately form your thought, but lysistrata understood.

     “i get it, i do. just show her what you brought her.” lysistrata patted you on the back and wandered towards the side of the enclosure that her tribute resided in. it didn’t take long to spot your tribute, who’s name you learned to be coral. her fiery red hair could be pinpointed from a mile away.

     you sighed, slowly walking up to the metal bars of the enclosure. “coral?” you tried, catching the attention of some tributes sitting closer to the bars, but not coral. pausing, you pursed your lips and tried again, calling out for her louder. this got the attention of her district partner, mizzen, who nudged coral. she looked up at mizzen and he nodded towards you. unsure of what exactly to do as they both glared at you, you waved sheepishly. coral gave a look to mizzen, then stood, striding over to where you were standing.

     as she reached the bars, you had to shift your gaze upwards to look her in the eye. “and who might you be, doll face?” she asked, her tone condescending as she eyed you up and down.

  “hi, i’m y/n, i’ll be your mentor for the games.” you stuck your hand through the bars to her and attempted to introduce yourself, but realized that the hand you had offered was holding the bag of items that you had brought for her. you quickly placed it down for a second to properly shake her hand, only for her to ignore the gesture and continue to stare expectantly.

      “mendor, huh? so rainbow girl was right after all.” you nodded in agreement, assuming she was referring to lucy gray. “so what are you gonna do for me?” you paused, thinking of the best way to put it.

     “i’m going to try my best to help you win. and take care of you, of course.” the look she gave you made you think you had three heads, and you shrunk under her gaze.

     “i’m sorry, sweetheart, but how are you going to help me?” she almost laughed.

     “well, my job as a mentor is to introduce you to the public, to make you more appealing so that people will want to watch the games.” you explained.

     “appealing, huh. am i not already?” coral asked mockingly, criticizing your choice of words. she moved forward to grip to bars and stooped down boldly to be eye to eye with you. you stuttered, quickly looking away in embarrassment.

     “i mean- yes- but that wasn’t what i meant, really!” you quickly tried, but she simply laughed at you. regaining her posture, she glanced at the bag you had set on the floor.

     “and what’s this?” she queried, urging you to pick it up and show her.

     “i brought you some food!” you offered, “you should really eat if you want to make it into the arena with enough strength to fight.” you tried, which was a dumb, obvious statement, but it seemed like a safe bet.

     “i appreciate the sentiment, sweetheart. but you don’t know what i need and don’t need.” despite the nickname, her tone was brimmed with hostility. you didn’t blame her for refusing the food, your very essence reeked of privilege, and you could tell she wasn’t one to accept pity favors. the stark contrast of your ironed uniform and manicured nails next to her unwashed attire and nails covered in dirt was off putting. you could not imagine how she felt being here, being forced to play a losing game. and on top of that, the ones who had put her in this position claimed to want to help her. the war was hard for everybody, but your family had managed to pick itself back up off of it’s feet. on the other hand, families in the district had to pay the price for lives they did not take.

     “i’m just trying to help, coral, really. these games are- they’re horrible. if i had a choice i wouldn’t participate. but i don’t. so the least i could do is help you get through them.” you spilled your opinion to her in hopes that she would accept the sustenance. picking the bag up off of the ground, you unzipped it, allowing her to take a look at the food you had brought.

     stuffed full of homemade chicken and cheese sandwiches, as well as some other miscellaneous foods sitting closer to the bottom, it was evident you had spent time trying to organize food for her to have. she glanced at the bag, then whipped her head around towards mizzen, calling him towards her. he approached and she showed him the arrangement of foods. you saw his eyes light up and you couldn’t help but feel helpful, as small a gesture as it was.

     “i don’t know if they’ve fed you or not, but…” you trailed off, allowing them to take a few of the sandwiches and an abundance of fruit, as well as a hardboiled egg or two. peering around at the rest of the tributes, some of which had been staring at the bag of food, you realized that if you were to give them the whole contents of the bag now, others would try to steal some. and while that was not necessarily a bad thing, considering your guilt for them in this situation, you had made these strictly for coral, and mizzen was just a part of the package. “coral, maybe you should eat these now. i don’t think it’s the greatest idea to hand over all of the food right now.” you suggested. she quickly realized what you meant and plopped down to the floor, egg in mouth and mizzen close behind. as you looked down at her sitting criss-cross in shock, she gestured for you to take a seat as well. it was like a picnic of some sorts. the odd, repulsive sort of one, but a picnic nonetheless.

     the pair made no effort to make conversation as they chowed down their food, and you couldn’t blame them. you twiddled your thumbs in silence for a solid twelve minutes before anyone had spoken up. scoping out the rest of the tributes, you realized that coral was a very strong contender compared to some of the other girls. the thought that the odds may be in her favor brought a smile to your face. “thanks, cupcake.” coral was already on her feet before you could even process the statement. you stood, dusting the dirt off of your uniform before smiling at coral.

     “it’s what i’m here for. i’ll try to check in as much as i can. there’s some events that the gamemakers are planning, too. they want to hold one on one mentor-tribute interviews, a tour of the arena, as well as an additional interview that will be aired to panem.” you informed her and mizzen, who made sure to stand close by.

     “so this won’t be the last i see of you?” she asked.

     “most definitely not.” you confirmed, nodding.

     “good.” she winked, turning away with mizzen in tow. from the interaction, she proved to be quite the enigma. despite her circumstances, she still had a confident, collected, and enticing aura about her, leaving you in awe, if not more.

[thedeadhead]

SPOILERS FOR WIZARD WITCH AND THE WILD ONE ARC THREE IF NOT CAUGHT UP

————

As a warlock I make my bread and creature butter off of being a third party, so here’s my current analysis on the teams at play based on current information:

Team Wizard:

I was REALLY let down by the wizards for their subterfuge and taking advantage of Ame’s trust of Suvi, but now that we understand more of the character of these other witches, I’m comfortable being pro-wizard again. I will say this music box plan is something I as a professional would never do; since I could not afford to burn a bridge like that (and I don’t have a giant fucking bass pro shop pyramid to protect me and my arcane geek squad). Pour one out for the wizard Straw.

Wait no

Team Witch:

Tell you what gang, I don’t need an aura effect that makes people do saves or go bananas, cause ol’ Mr. Z has this thing called manners. Plus I’m just so darn charming anyways. Indri; fuck your ice castle, I hope the coal spirits unionize and Nief becomes their union rep. My favorite witch is still Ame.

Eursalon;

On the right path, loved the pancake doodle— like a cherry on top to two wildly different stories. Wonder if paintings could cause magical effects if he put his breath into them. Unless that’s not how that works.

Ame:

Get Tof to unionize the other spirits; that’ll slow indri down

Suvi:

I want to be so mad at the wizard Sky but I soooooo get it dude and why she’s doing what she’s doing. But I can hate SteeI really reallllyyy wonder what her best friend Stone would have to say if she saw her give this order to the child she trusted her with.

Fox:

Way to go cool dog

[phoephan-123]

Jinx is Alive! (Arcane Theory #1)

Hi! It has been quite a while. 

My life has been chaotic, but I have been online! Though I haven’t been creating anything. Not having the energy to write since my life has been full of many ups and downs, but since I feel like my life is getting back on track, why not an Arcane theory?

Jinx is one of my favorite characters, so I felt it deemed necessary to write one about her since the ending was a bit confusing and probably needed explanation for those who didn’t understand. If you are reading this and haven’t watched Season 2 of Arcane or haven’t watched it all, what are you doing here? Go watch it!

For those who haven’t watched it, trust me. It’s better than the game. Clear your mind of LOL (League of Legends) and give it a try.

The series is...A M A Z I N G.

An incredible story, well-rounded characters, amazing soundtrack, and a top three in my favorite series of this year. Nothing can top it in my opinion. 

Nothing.

Now I will be diving into my theory below so please if you don’t want to be spoiled. . .this is your last warning!

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While her death is implied and isn’t exactly confirmed by the creators of Arcane, I believe there is enough evidence to support that Jinx lives. Not only are there references to the first episode, but Caitlyn, herself, kind of confirms it here.

We see Caitlyn at the end of Season 2, episode 9, looking at the image of where Jinx fell with Vander- or well- “Warwick,” seeing if there is a way Jinx survived. Which there is. 

The air ducts.

We can see here that there is a shimmer of pink from the explosion, evading to the right where the air ducts are, which is a common occurrence with Jinx throughout Season 2 and even towards the end of Season one of Arcane. 

Caitlyn even zooms into the blueprints and contemplates for a moment before Vi starts to hum the song Powder had sung in the beginning of Season one, episode one. 

While I do believe it is Vi grieving, I think it is also a subtle nod to Jinx being alive, but only subtle.

The other is the blimp during the end of Season 2. In episode one, Season one of Arcane, Powder makes a comment to a passing blimp overhead. 

It isn’t Caitlyn or Vi in the blimp during the end. They are back in Piltover in Caitlyn’s home evident by the familiar space we have seen a few times before.

Well if Jinx was alive, why didn’t she say anything to Vi? Why didn’t she go back to Zaun?

I think Jinx had nothing more to return to.

Zaun and Piltover started to make amends by the end and she matured throughout the series. Isha showed Jinx what responsibility and sacrifice was like and in turn when Vi and Jinx reconnected, fighting against Warwick, she was ready to die for her.

I think this led her to want to start a new life. To move on from her past and become someone new. She even told Vi that she didn’t need to worry about her anymore, so it would make sense she wouldn’t go back. I believe she would have wanted to break that cycle of violence between them. To let her sister go as she is happy with Caitlyn. 

Knowing everyone is okay and that Zaun doesn’t need her anymore, she left. To start anew.

Does this mean she’ll make an appearance later on in other shows that Riot has planned? No. I don’t believe so, but I don’t think her story is far from over. For now, however, her story is done and I respect it.

While the ending to Arcane is open for possibilities, this is just a theory after all. I do hope my girl is still living, despite the explosion. If you have made it this far, thanks for reading!

[slavicbeastie]

Arcane season 2 trailer

Oh wow I'm so excited by this trailer. Spiking adrenaline...I'm scurrying up walls like spider on meth 🤪

Some thoughts:

- it seems to me that Mel is alive (Yay!). Maybe hurt. Ambessa doesn't sound angry enough for death. Also fuck you Ambessa with your "wrath must be met with wrath". What about Piltover's wrath to Undercity over decades and centuries, huh? But you're a war mongering tryant (and textbook narcissist), you wouldn't recognise concepts of justice and fairness it they slapped you in the face. She's on the bottom of my Arcane's characters' likeability list for sure. I don't care that she has got impressive physique. I hate that they gave her place in the game (yes she's even below Marcus and Finn. At least they have decency to be dead).

- Cait being all decisive and competent 😎 But if she's leading attack on Undercity, what are those Noxian soldiers about? Does she work together with Ambessa? *shudder* I like Cait but I kinda want her to fail in all three objectives. Sorry pretty officer, but I'm on side of Zaun's revolution and independence from Piltover's boot. And you sending in enforcers doesn't seem in support of that.

- Vi looks terrible in enforcer uniform. Terrible. And she continues her trend from the very beginning of the series of contradicting her own words to Jinx. How long that "Nothing ever going to change that." held up, huh? A few days? A month? Normally I would give benefit of the doubt due to deceptive trailer's editing, but as I said, it's hardly the first time. When it comes to Jinx, one must take her every statement with a pound of salt. Especially positive ones... I hope I am wrong, tho. Let me be wrong, trailer is lying, and after a breather and time to think, Vi is better than in S1 act three in relating to Jinx.

- Ooh chembarons fighting directly? Yay? Singed under enforcers' gunpoint! I know he's terrible mad scientist but someone save him. Jinx? Sevika? Victor??

- I'm surprised how happy I am to see Sevika again! I always strongly disliked her attitude to Jinx (she was kinda Silco's crew Mylo) so I didn't mind when Jinx hurt her, but I really love to see her back to full strength and fighting for Zaun. Also I am excited for Warwick?!

- Ekko is there. that's it

- and last but definitely not least - JINX! Most important in fact! Every bit of/about Jinx is absolutely BRILLIANT. *rolles around in utter joy* I'm so happy to see her again! 🥰 They already managed to exceed my expectations for her in season 2 in this very trailer. Can you imagine what it'll be to see all they did through nine eps 🤯

From the top - Is that great statue head of Jinx behind chembarons!!!! Is she now their symbol/role model or maybe even some kind of leader!? is that her in hooded cape? Like in that s2 poster? I would love her in cape! She deserves cool cape!

That mural?! THE JINX MURAL!!!! 😍 It's Arcane's rendition of Liberty Leading the People, painting about French revolution! *explodes into fireworks of happiness* Our girl is so legendary that not one but two great works of art are referenced through her🥰 She is revolutionary for Zaun! Or the very least literally symbol of revolution. People behind her have all blue coloured hair. Possibility of Inxs or just sign of people's alignment/allegiance to her?

Despite all the turmoil, planning and fighting my favourite girl still has time for her art installations. Of course she has! Standing there on the pillar with Silco's face saying sarcastic line. (edit: oops it's monkey actually)That's pure theatre. She should really try hand in writing a dramatic play. I think pitch black comedy would be best bet. I wonder if she'll found out that Vi already said her name right before, when she grassed on her to Council. She looks so fierce fighting. Go Jinx go!!!

That's all for now. If we don't get anything else until November I'll be fine. This is more than enough until then😌🤗💙💙

[stormycs15]

⸻ Topside, Male Oc x Reader ⸻

chapter one: (Everywhere the light touches)

characters: female reader, Vi, Powder, Mylo, Claggor, enforcers

genre: fanfiction, Arcane season 1

summary: Life has been hard for you're friends and family in the Lanes. Doing odd jobs to get by is second nature for you, but will one job topside really change your lives?

word count: 2496

Previous / Next

Your POV

I held onto the pipe I was climbing, my hands sweaty as I tried with all my strength to pull myself up. The pipe groaned under the weight I was placing on it. I swallowed, rethinking this idea. Once I reached a good position, I turned and looked around with hesitant eyes. I had to squint to see the extravagant town in front of us, since it was a bright and sunny day. Looking down, I noticed it seemed higher than I thought it would. Vi was taking us so high, and I was newer to this, so I felt like my actions were very clumsy and slow. But that didn't stop me. I looked up slightly, meeting Violet's eyes. She nodded down at me. I pursed my lips and hoisted myself up some more, gaining some confidence.

“We are almost there, come on.” She grunted at everyone, trying to encourage them, and I followed her gaze, looking down at the three underneath me: Powder, Mylo, and Claggor. They all seemed to be struggling to climb the vertical building. I just returned my thoughts to climbing up the pipe with ease.

“Aw, man!” I could hear Mylo groan, not the happiest about this situation. I quickly ignored his complaining and followed Violet up the rest of the wall. I reached the ledge, pulling myself up with strained lungs. I got to my feet, looking in awe at Piltover. My breaths were heavy from the climb.

“Woah.” I could hear Powder say from next to me, making me look over and give her a small smile as she returned it. We barely got to see the top side.

“It’s nice to get above it all, huh,” Violet says as my attention turns back to the clean trees and buildings that lay in front of us like an entirely different world. As everyone got up onto the roof, a large blimp flew past us. I looked at the view in complete awe.

“One day I am going to ride one of those things,” Powder says under her breath in a determined tone. I looked at her with a smile, I knew how much she was infatuated with seeing the new world, as much as I was. I probably fed her fantasy a bit since I told her the stories my father told me. I placed my hand in her hair, ruffling her blue locks.

“And one day I’m going to shoot one down,” Mylo says, pointing a finger gun at it as if to shoot it down. But I just roll my eyes, pushing his arm down silently. My attention was brought to Claggor as he looked over Piltover nervously. We weren’t supposed to be topside… Vandor made that very clear. Calyx wouldn’t be happy either, more because we didn’t invite him.

“Vi, you sure about this? If we get caught…” Claggor starts to say, and I turn to her with a hesitant nod, not liking the plan, because it would be more than just Vandor mad at me.

“We aren’t going to get caught. We will be in and out before anyone even notices. We have [y/n] after all.” She says, going to the edge of the building, looking for the town square, trying to figure out where we were in terms of finding out our jobs location. I gave a nervous sigh, letting it get lost in the strong winds that were flowing over the buildings. Violet looks to me with a nod, and I step forward, eyeing all of the possible paths on the way to our destination.

"How long is this going to take? I'm hungry," I hear Mylo say from behind me. After another second passes, I point in the direction of the town square, already having a path in mind. I turn to Violet for her approval, and she nods at me.

"Alright then, everyone, follow [y/n]... and just don't look down," she says as I jump into action, sliding down the roof onto an apartment balcony. I stand on the poles of the balcony railing and motion for them to come one at a time. Violet comes down first, leaping over the gap with no problem. I turn, seeing Claggor about to slide down, but Mylo brushes past him with a smirk, making Claggor roll his eyes and follow right behind. By the time Mylo lands on one side, Claggor lands right next to him, cupcake in mouth.

"Couldn't we have just walked?" I hear Claggor ask from the other side of the gap.

"Gotta stay out of sight for this one," Violet says, looking back over at us. I am trying to get Powder to go next in case she falls; maybe I could save her. But she is just looking down and taking deep breaths.

"Called it! This is on you, Vi," Mylo says, referring to Powder, and I glare over at the male.

"[y/n] can carry her over," Claggor says, motioning to me, but Violet holds up her hand.

"No. Powder, look at me! What did I tell you... you're ready. So you got this." she says, looking at me, and I nod at her as Powder starts to get ready to jump off the roof. Keeping herself up with a small gasp, jumping over with ease, she gets to the other side, only to come up shorter than the rest. I could see Violet's eyes go wide, reaching her hand out, but I sprang into action and leaped over, catching Powder before she could fall backward. She looks up at my taller self, giving me a thankful smile. Us three girls sigh in relief.

"Thanks," I hear her say, regaining her balance as we turn to the others. I just nod. As we walk, I could see Mylo rolling his eyes at Powder and me. I reach my hand out, shoving him back, making it so he was walking behind Claggor. He was starting to get on my nerves. I start to lead them by shimmying along the edge of the rooftop. I focus on keeping my back glued to the wall, leading the others.

"What if Vandor finds out we are all the way up here?" Claggor asks, earning a few looks from the rest of us silently agreeing with his concern. I just keep moving, knowing if I stopped now, I would definitely turn back. I hear Violet sigh, annoyed, so I keep my mouth shut.

"Look around! Do you think anyone topside is going hungry? Besides, this is exactly the kind of job Vandor would have pulled at our age. He is probably sending Cal on missions like these. I'm going. Are you with me or not?" she asks, stopping and turning to look at them. I look down, not wanting to look at the others. I could hear no protests, so I stood my ground from the front as she took up the back.

"Vandor's going to kill us," Claggor says behind me. I nod at his comment. Even if this mission goes well, we're bound to get a good lecture from the man himself.

"Only if we screw up… So don't screw up," she says with a stern look before turning to me and nodding. I return the gesture and lean forward, catching myself as I land on the balcony below us. I peer through the doors and listen… it seems no one's been home.

"All clear," I signal to the others, indicating it's safe to hop down. They descend one by one. Mylo, eager to get to work, tries the door but finds the handle won't budge.

"Who locks their balcony?" he asks, pulling out a lockpick and getting to work. I turn to help Vi with the rest of our team. Claggor and I glance over the railing, exchanging frowns.

"There are a lot of enforcers down there," he says. I nod, scanning for possible escape routes.

"That means we're in the right place," Violet remarks. She turns to Mylo, "You going to get that door open anytime soon?"

"Working on it," Mylo says, aggravated. I remain quiet, not wanting to add pressure. "Seeing as I'm the only one who knows how to pick locks, I suggest—" But before Mylo can finish, Violet strides forward and kicks the door open. Mylo flinches, startled by her sudden action. Claggor brushes past him as he follows Violet into the apartment, with Powder close behind.

"Animals…" Mylo grumbles, turning to me. Seeing my outstretched hand, he reluctantly takes it. I help pull him up before we enter ourselves. I glance around, furrowing my brows—this place seems fancy, but everything's arranged in a chaotic order. Everyone soon disperses, exploring the room.

"You know, Claggor, for once you're right. We are definitely not supposed to be here," Mylo says with a mischievous grin. He admires the place, greedily rubbing his hands together before examining some gadgets. I scan the bookshelves but find nothing interesting. Spotting a few gadgets on a small table, I examine them briefly before tossing them into the bag in the middle of the room.

"Must be an inventor," Vi muses. I turn to see a huge chalkboard covered in equations and blueprints. Squinting, I try to make sense of it all. On the desk beside the chalkboard, I notice a book and pick it up, flipping through its pages.

"This man is either crazy or a genius," I mutter, struggling to decipher the scribbled hypotheses and outcomes.

"Whoa, I think this is a real Valdiani," Powder exclaims excitedly. I look over to see her holding a small object that opens and plays a delicate jingle. Gently closing the book in my hands—but not letting go—I approach her to admire the intricate invention.

"Oh yeah? What about this?" Mylo asks with a smirk, brandishing another gadget he clearly thinks is valuable.

"That's a nose hair trimmer," I say with a giggle as Mylo's face falls at my words.

"Keep an eye out for anything valuable, Powder. Before the boys fill the bag with junk," Violet says, making me chuckle. I reopen the book, reading it and wondering if I should bring it with us.

"Uh... guys?" Claggor comments, drawing my attention to a mechanism on the desk covered in papers. I blink, staring at the blue stone placed in its center. As I approach it with the others, my hand moves of its own accord.

"Wait, Vi... How the hell did we find this place?" Claggor asks, looking at the pink-haired girl. As my finger nears the stone, I feel a zap and wince, pulling back my hand. The tingling shock courses through my body, but I can't tear my eyes away from the blue stone.

"It was a tip from Little Man," I hear her say, and I roll my eyes.

"Little Man?" Mylo asks in disbelief, questioning our decision to trust the small boy's information.

"Just leave it. C'mon," Vi says harshly, finally breaking me out of my trance—though my eyes still linger on the small blue orb. I shake my head and return to searching the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Powder start to walk down a hallway.

"How can anyone have so much stuff?" I hear Claggor ask as I follow Powder, overhearing their conversation.

"Simple, just get born lucky," Mylo says, making me huff in amusement and roll my eyes. As I reach the hallway, I notice papers pinned to the wall. Examining them, I begin to understand what this person might be creating. Approaching the room, I see Powder opening a chest filled with the same blue stones as the one I just encountered. As I'm about to move closer, I hear footsteps. I freeze, then quickly retreat to the others.

"Psst," I hiss quietly. Vi turns to me, eyebrows furrowed. I nod urgently, and she frowns.

"Mylo," she says quickly. He springs into action as I dash back down the hallway. Mylo wedges a chair against the door handle.

"Powder, we've got to go!" I hiss. She flinches, grabs the stones, and follows me as I hastily tidy up. I help Vi gather our loot, but as I'm lifting the bag, an explosion rips through the apartment. We're thrown across the room. I slam into the bookshelf and crumple to the floor, groaning and clutching my stomach. I push myself up to see Violet already at my side, ready to help.

We've definitely been discovered. The balcony starts to give way, and I help Vi ensure the others are secure before we hear screams from below. I swear silently, staring at the spot where Violet and I had just been standing—now a gaping hole in the floor stories above the street.

We spring into action, running. If we don't move now, we'll certainly be caught. Violet motions for me to take the lead, and I don't hesitate. I guide us out of Piltover, Enforcers' shouts echoing behind us. I dart around a corner, gesturing for the others to follow. The pursuers close in as I round another corner, feeling more confident as we near the underground. I wrench off a sewer lid and motion for them to enter.

"Oh man, not again! I just got this shirt!" Mylo yells as Violet kicks him down the putrid shaft. Claggor follows, then Powder. I dive in after them, with Violet close behind. I land hard on my side at the bottom, hissing through clenched teeth.

"I thought last time was the last time we were gonna do this," Mylo complains. I roll my eyes, shifting into a sitting position.

"Well, this time's the last time," Vi says harshly, her annoyance with the boy's complaints growing.

"Guys, what was that? What the hell happened back there?" Claggor asks. Everyone turns to Powder and me. I furrow my eyebrows.

"I don't know… I didn't do anything," Powder says defensively.

"Yeah, come on. We all didn't expect the owners to return so quickly," I say, earning an eye roll from Mylo. My face falls and I clench my fists.

"You could fill a damn library with all the things you didn't do," he mumbles. I stand up, ready to knock some sense into him.

"Guys, we just emptied a Piltover penthouse right under the enforcers' noses," Vi says, gathering everyone's attention. Everyone smiles but me. We might have done that, but we got caught in the process. There's no doubt trouble will come for us—or be waiting when we get back to the Lanes. I sigh, shaking my head as I walk out of the trash chute into the underground.