#though i honestly hated iokath WAY more than umbara

[angelicfangirl]

UNPOPULAR SWTOR OPINION TIME WOOOOO. Arcann reactions and things, feel free to ignore :P

Also wow this got long, uh, APOLOGIES TO THOSE ON MOBILE. There’s a reason my fic needs a beta ok I get sidetracked very easily. 

So I’ve been seeing a lot on my dash the last few days since the news broke where dataminers found code confirming the beginning of a romance with Arcann. 

AND ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE AND DEMONS. EVERYWHERE. SO TERRIFYING. THE WORLD IS ENDING. 

Nah actually it was just a bunch of people being either really bitter or really excited. 

I, obviously, am one of the more excited ones. I created Calli around this time last year to romance Arcann on a whim after I was introduced to actually thinking about his character and his background rather than just groaning and hating him every time he was on screen (seriously i HATED HIM SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA). So I’m really looking forward to her having her canon romance in game - even as I have little faith in Bioware doing a good job with the romance. The episodic format of their writing at the moment.... it leave a lot to be desired, and a lot of characters are falling by the wayside in the process.

Related note: Um maybe don’t be an extra rude piece of shit to people who are excited about this. I of course would really love to see some of the old comps back first but you know what? I’d rather have an Arcann romance than nothing. I’d rather something involving a comp that could have been killed off rather than continue down the train to where they all leave us and it’s just Mastermind T7 and Gault’s Minigolf Tournament of Doom. (seriously it’s a matter of time before they get Lana too, Drew K’s creepy crush on her aside). IT WAS T7 ALL ALONG I KNEW IT.

And then there’s been a LOT of talk about whether Arcann deserves a romance. Which, um, is a little weird. He has done some absolutely horrific things (behind the scenes mostly, because the game has a massive problem with scale and consequences) but you know what if he’s actually still around at this point then you made the decision to trust him and Senya. Maybe that doesn’t absolve everything but hey guys, he’s here by your choice. 

AND ALSO talk about him being brainwashed by the Voss into being good which is just ????? where did this come from???? My first take my first playthrough with goody-two-shoes Lieca (my Jedi Consular) was “oh cool the Voss are healing him with their cool Force healing stuff cause he, you know, NEARLY DIED and therefore requires a crapton of healing to LIVE”. Kinda like the nifty Force Healing ritual you can choose to partake in in the Shrine of Healing where your comp can volunteer in your place and you cry forever at Felix being a total sweetheart. But you give part of your life to physically heal a Voss, not to brainwash them. 

And then Arcann leaves for several months (I think?) in-game and by the time you see him again he’s all I’M GOOD NOW and DRAMATIC DECLARATIONS OF ALLEGIANCE and chill Arcann we’ve met like 4 times now and you’ve tried to kill me most of those times Lieca is going to need a moment. 

But he’s not just being good because of the Voss? A) The Voss concept of morality is completely different to the rest of the galaxy. Why the hell would they turn someone to the light in the first place? B) How would that even work? They’re not the Jedi Council in KOTOR, they’re not corrupting memories or anything. He’s not amnesiac. C) Appearing on the rooftop is not the first good decision he’s ever made???

Like I get the people that really don’t like Arcann - his writing is pretty terrible at times, he makes evil decisions for NO GOOD REASON, he is an all-around jerk. I was certainly one of those that used to HATE him. Skipped through every cutscene, cursing him the entire time. 

But then I’ve talked with a few other fandom peeps and you start to see a bit more of a pattern if you pay attention. Especially if you’re nice to him. He’s not PURE GOOD ANGEL OF LIGHT AND HAPPINESS but nor is he IRREDEEMABLE ASSHOLE OF DARKNESS (aka his smug father)

Arcann had no reason to be nice to you in KOTFE chapter 1 if you told Valk to piss off cause he’s a gross abusive asshole. He was raised as an obedient prince - his job was to stand there and let valk do what he wanted. But the second the room is clear and there were no witnesses (and no-one to try to stop him) he sets you free and tried to attack his father. But he fails, and you strike, and Valk does his SUPER CREEPY FORCE-BONDING MIND-INVASION STUFF (which obviously Arcann was not entirely expecting). And Vaylin walks in and then there’s witnesses again and he’s like “oh this? Yeah. Um. The outlander did it. LOCK THEM UP I’M EMPEROR NOW.” Because, um, this is literally what he was raised to do. In a moment of panic, in untested waters, he retreats to what he knows. 

His cutscenes with Vaylin also sometimes indicate a few moments of him trying. He reminisces about Thexan, outright faltering at the mention of how badly it all ended, and clearly panics (no seriously, the cutscene is zoomed on his face. Watch his expression) when Vaylin says Thexan was such a good brother. He and Vaylin only have each other, she’s with him right? This is the right thing to do right?

Father doesn’t care about us, he only cares about the Outlander, but it’s fine, it’s all fine, we’re the ones in charge not him. 

And he continues to do shitty things and weirdly just lets the Outlander and Senya roam his planet (seriously Arcann you’re such a dumb shit you should be stopping us) and then Heskal calls to say he’s found the Outlander. 

Arcann knew where we were before and didn’t care. The difference here is Heskal, someone Arcann clearly despises and vice versa. Going solely off canon - Arcann ordered the deaths of the Scions, and kills all of them as soon as he shows up. But he stops and tries to reason with you. 

Here’s where it gets interesting. Arcann gives you the option of surrender - which is kinda weird for your enemy. He’s fairly calm and polite about it too. You can either tell him to fuck off, pretend to go along with it and then tell him to fuck off, or you can legitimately surrender. 

And I will forever be so angry at the person who convinced me to surrender to him because wow. Wow. UNCALLED FOR. He’s clearly prepared to actually go through with it, all pleased you’re being good...and then Valkorion shows up and all hell breaks loose. 

“I don’t know what I hate more. Cowardice, or INCOMPETENCE” and you literally see Arcann shrink back. He’s animated to hunch over, his expression sad. This Emperor who ten seconds ago was being affably evil and “ah good you’re going along with my plan” - one sentence from his father and nope, it’s all downhill from there. “You will *never* be rid of me Arcann. Not until you Kill. The. Outlander!”

Which is also very rude Valkorion we have the same body right now you dipshit. Anyway, Arcann’s just like “have it your way father” and the story progresses from there as usual. But it’s telling that again, away from other people and their expectations, he tries to do the right thing before someone reminds him of his place. 

Skip ahead a few chapters and you get more random monstrous acts (Arcann I cannot believe you destroyed five planets for the EVULS you dumb shit. Ugh seriously, be more tactical. THE GAME SAYS YOU’RE GOOD AT THIS BUT YOU’RE CLEARLY NOT. Ahem). And then we get to KOTFE chapter 16. 

Again, you fight Arcann in a room with no witnesses. And this time Valk isn’t going to show up, it’s just you and him. And he’s so angry that Valk isn’t there. Valkorion is the reason he’s doing all of this - he raised him this way, he taunted him, it’s all about Valkorion. But the only one there is you. “Face me Father!”

“I had fear beaten out of me before I could crawl” which is a...little disconcerting Arcann. And then you fight and it’s a terribly confusing fight I still get messed up with because haha one on one fights with a healer. Lieca survived but I’m still not sure how, and it skips to the cutscenes where you escape and leave him to die. But Senya shows up, desperate to save her son, and drags him out of the rubble. 

He thought no-one cared. Even Valkorion didn’t show up to yell at him. But his mother is there, the woman he refused to fight earlier in KOTFE and the woman I’m fairly certain he doesn’t directly threaten or agree with Vaylin about (but I could be wrong - let me know lol). And she saves him. And then Vaylin shows up to try to kill Senya and he pushes her out of the way.

He’s not a good person. he’s done horrible things. But he won’t let another family member die at the hands of another. The scene is deliberately set to match the scene where Thexan died - except the roles are reversed and he’s pushing Vaylin away from attacking Senya, not the one being pulled back. He could have let Senya die - he’s dying anyway, what’s the point? vaylin was the only family he had for years, surely he should be more loyal to her? But he chooses Senya. He makes the good choice again, but this time it sticks. 

He doesn’t rage and scream and pace, he accepts his place in her shuttle. This is probably my wishful thinking but his eyes even seem lighter in that scene where he looks all sad and broken. 

So he’s made lots of shitty choices, but a few good ones along the way. And we go to Voss, because he’s dying and Senya is out of chances and hope. And the Voss are neutral and have Force healing, which is probably why she chose them over someone else. 

And I’m pretty damn sure we don’t see Arcann’s eyes until he is on the shuttle. Again, according to game canon, it’s months between KOTFE chap 16 and KOTET chap 1. He’s had months with just his mother and his own thoughts. And the deciding factor in his light vs dark storyline at this point - Did you kill Senya?

If you kill Senya, he would feel it, absolutely. The one piece of his family who was good and kind and alive and loved him - and you killed her. And probably his hope along with it. Compare his dialogue in chapter 6 on the rooftop if Arcann is dark vs light. It’s a LOT more defeatist if he’s dark. He gives up, he goes back to what he knows, his eyes are yellow. (also you can tell him his panicked Force attack when he wakes up is what killed Senya which absolutely breaks my heart because wow that’s fucking cruel. Way to be a dick and refuse to face your choices DS outlander)

If you save Senya, he doesn’t change back. He still has his hope, he still has his choices. His eyes are blue, because he had the choice to choose light and he did. Before he got to Voss, before they healed him. He chose the light. he chose his mother, his family, over his power.

And he’s far calmer when he meets you on the palace. It’s “take my sister alive” not “HUNT MY SISTER DOWN”. He literally sounds angrier when he’s dark - Erik has given him COMPLETELY different tones as well as the writing team’s different lines and I LOVE IT

Ok this is turning into comparing the Arcann’s (seriously there’s videos of both of them in that chapter it’s a little bit terrifying). BUT MY POINT. If he’s light, he renounces Valkorion. 

In chapter 8 of KOTFE when you surrendered? Everything was fine until valkorion showed up and then he snapped and tried to kill you. Valkorion tries again and he’s just like “yeah sorry but I’m not yours anymore” “you have no son”. And I’m so proud of him. Yes people get shitty that that development happened off screen but at least it happened?

Within the format of the story and the limited time given to him by Bioware, he changes significantly and it’s building on the little choices from KOTFE, not just out of the blue “brainwashing” from the Voss. It’s his choices that matter choice is an illusion. 

Hmm I forgot my point. I was distracted by screaming about the differences in the Arcanns. 

BASICALLY, no he wasn’t “brainwashed” by the Voss, yes he’s still a bit shit but he’s trying, yes he deserves a second chance, and yes I’m going to romance the shit out of that boy and you can’t stop me. 

Oh and for everyone going IF HE FLIRTS WITH ME I’LL KILL HIM ok wow you can just say no guys. Even if the “turning him down” option is rude and you “don’t want to be rude” I think MURDER is a little more rude than rejection, just saying.