#vander and felicia being the vi and jayce of their generation

[weirdagnes]

While I love the idea that Felicia and Silco were besties first before they met Vander and Connol, I am also inlove with the idea of besties Loser Hunk Vander and Girlfail Cringe Felicia meeting first, then pining over Hotgirl Silco and Just-Some-Guy Connol.

Felicia, the woman with suitors lining up on her feet, somehow failing to rizz the most plain and simple guy like Connol.

Then Vander, big macho guy with high temper, suddenly clumsy and acting like a kicked puppy around this aloof smartass Silco.

Felicia giving Vander bad advices on how to make a move on Silco, which ends up making Vander look horribly cringe. In turn, Vander tries to set Felicia up with Connol by directly talking to the man (Felicia is so fucking embarrassed when he does this. Connol is oblivious to all attempts until Silco spells it out for him).

Everyone thought Vander + Felicia and Connol + Silco were the ones dating each other, so it came as a surprise when they double-dated and everyone saw the other kissing the other's "partner.” It made everyone so confused they just concluded they were a polycule and minded their own business (it’d do them no good poking around their business, Vander looks scary enough as it is)

[420technoblazeit]

vi and jinx's parents dying on the same bridge where jayce sets up the barricade in season 1 makes that decision feel more impactful but also so much more frustrating because jayce had absolutely no idea about the history of that place. piltovians always look down on the undercity but go through such lengths to cover up their past crimes that nobody in the new generation has any idea about them. and it leads to such a lack of understanding in even the most sympathetic people to their cause because they interpret their actions as senseless violence instead of resulting from decades of systematic oppression

the worst part of it is that on zaun's side the people who would remember what they're fighting for, that original dream of independence and a better life for people in the undercity, are dying off. vander, silco, and felicia, the original founders of the zaun movement, are all gone. and sevika's trying to carry on their dream but struggles to find people willing to join her cause. even in season 1 the criminal underlords who stood against silco didn't know about the grey and its history. it's all being forgotten

[arcane-ish]

The s2 Silco/Vander/Felicia flashback

@lady-griffin stealing the conversation from over there, because we are already yapping so long on somebody else's topic.

If I was doing that scene, without completely rewriting or removing it – I would have made it less of a flashback and more of memory. Have things be disjointed or non-real elements included; Vander’s memories have been torn up again and again and again but Vi calling his name was enough for him to put them together and be cognizant enough to be himself again... but those memories are still broken up. It’s not 100%. Some possible thoughts - having flickers of other people being in the bar too (making it feel more like a community and not just three best friends) and then it just becomes Vander, Silco, and Felicia because those two are who he tried so hard to remember. Maybe we see the mom dancing with the dad, but he keeps flickering in and out and disappears altogether because Vander wasn’t desperate to remember him as much when he was being experimented on by Singed; but Felicia and Silco, his girls, his kids – he clung to those memories so they're more solid for him, but even they’re not perfectly remembered, because he literally can't. Maybe young Silco keeps appearing with his eye after the river or the barnacle version of him creeps through for a second or two.

You know, that's a really interesting point. I have issues with that scene and not all of them are really the writing. My thoughts here are bit disjointed, so I'll try to collect em.

I don't like the fated/connected from the start stuff

ie I don't care for the "Vander named Vi/Felicia told him first" stuff, just like I don't care about the "Jayce encounted Viktor as a child". It's just genuinely a trope I don't care for much.

I don't mind CaitVi just nearly missing each other at the heist of Jayce's lab. And I don't mind Timebomb being playmates as kids and that being the origin of their story.

But if like the show had instead given us a scene for Vander and Silco where let's say Vander flashes back to his parent and the parent suddenly drops a scrawny kid into his room and says "you gonna take care of him now". That would have been just about my least favorite turn of events. Even though they are my biggest ship.

It's not great as a "fated" type story

I don't like fated type stories in general but I can see when they work like JayVik obviously did for a lot of people. And you can tell those stories about platonic love.

But to me that isn't really there.

Because the flashback emphasizes Vander's connection with Vi (he named her) but most of the season emphasizes his relationship with Jinx more. Which I don't think is that unnatural, as season 1 is more from Vi's POV and season 2 is more Jinx's POV, it makes sense that those seasons would emphasize each main characters connection with him.

But that means it doesn't work as a tragic fated story.

He named her, but he dies with Jinx. And his last scene that we know of (putting both girls to bed, blowing out the candle) emphasizes both of girls fairly equally.

If his death had been more about him dying for Vi maybe it would have rung better, more poetic more fated. Or if him and Vi had gotten one proper scene chilling together, just about the two of them.

Like let's say the scene Jinx and Vi share at the place with their height measurements, if that had been Warwick and Vi instead, maybe their story would have felt more whole.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to change it, that scene was important for Jinx and Vi. But Warwick and Vi not getting a scene like that contributes to Vi and Vander's story feeling like it's been left dangling. (ie that Vi hallucinates Loris as Vander)

So getting a big "fated" type scene but then having the storyline feel like it's kind of dangling, doesn't really pull together. Which to me enhances the feeling that the scene feels cheesy.

Felicia's role is both too big and too small

I generally have a bit of an issue with how a lot of the minor s2 characters are written. That a lot of them feel less plausible/in the world. I have this with Isha, with Maddie and also with Felicia.

The art of season 1 was that everybody and their wants and needs felt very plausible within the world. A lot of the s2 characters (Felicia, Isha and Maddie spring to mind) feel more "plopped into the world to do their purpose and then fuck off".

Felicia before season 1 was just glimpses, dead body on the bridge, flashes in Vi's memory. And suddenly she gets this big fat scene that focuses on her and her needs and her ideas.

... and then she's pretty much gone from the story. Yes, she's not completely gone, you can argue Vi and Jinx have their bonding scene and that is the end of her "arc"/her fullfilling your purpose.

I just feel like a little bit more might have tied it together more.

ie Jinx hallucinates her and she tells her not to give up

or she shows up in Warwick's healing dream as a guide kind of like Skye

or she shows up in Vi's hallucinations as a comforting presence

or she shows up in Vander's final "putting the kids to bed" dream

or have her statement be more in line with the "message of the series" that is later voiced by Jinx's hallucination of Silco

Don't get me wrong, as I like Silco and Vander, I'm glad that that scene wasn't an intro to "oh great, now everything is going to be about her now".

But the imo relative lack of follow through makes it weird to me that the scene is like that (long, very focused on her)

The visuals are boring

I think you actually hit the nail on the head.

When wrote my review/reaction to that scene, I think I settled on this very early that my biggest pet peeve isn't what happens in that scene or is said, but that it feels off. They look too clean, too well fed. Why no dirt, no scars, no tattoos, no ripped clothes, hard muscles from work? Why not try to communicate more about the setting?

Arcane so far has been really good of really characterizing the different eras of the Last Drop. And it feels that just off that it's that empty and has that little personality. (ie if they wanted to emphasize that it's been freshly built and it's before the grand opening they could have had like tools lying around, brooms and buckets)

Or give me Felicia having the same dialogue, but have her actually be ragged, with bags under her eyes, ripped cloths, dirt on her cheek. Make them feel like proper young revolutionaries rather than like well fed students chilling.

That's why I personally prefer the little flashes of Silco in Warwicks memories as he runs through the mines. They communicate so much more personality.

Arcane has done flashbacks that felt very realistic, very plausible, like the Caitlyn or Viktor child flashbacks. And they have done flashbacks that clearly mix stuff that happened with like impressions (uninjured Silco floating in really deep water versus Silco being drowned by Vander in clearly less deep water). And then we have things like are like clearly warped, to the extent of having an off the wall style like the Remember Me video or the Isha montage.

The fact that the Drop is that empty makes it feel like a capsule in time. It doesn't feel like a realistic place that tells us a lot about the circumstances that they live in (even though it would have been super interesting to get a glimpse into the Zaun of the past).

Okay, so let's embrace it's not a realistic, scene, it's just Vander's memory. So what does it tell us abour Vander? Is it his happy place? Then why does the style look so different from other memories? Does it communicate that he cared a lot about Felicia? Then why not build on that again.

I guess the idea of the scene is to emphasize that Vander was connected and bound to the girls from the very start. And his love for the girls is like the only thing that keeps Warwick slightly tethered to thir world in s2. But I dunno, it still feels kind of off to me.

I naturally rag a lot about the writing (just because a lot of the time it's just so clear that they infused scenes with so much more personality and meaning with the animation alone, without any dialogue being needed). But that's really a scene where the writing is "okay", but the animation is kind of uninspired/they could have done more to give it personality. IMO it stands out as one of the more boring scenes of the show.

As for improvements in animation alone:

like you say, flashes of other things, to continue with the theme of Vander's memories being very fractured

make the characters more ragged, make them feel more like a realistic part of the world, imply something about how much work it was for them to get the drop

But that's kind of the thing too. I think the Remember Me montage suggests that Vi had a relatively happy childhood. Which in turn implies that period of peace between them getting the Last Drop and the Bridge.

So maybe they didn't want the implication that life in the past was a constant struggle, to make it work better as a baseline of peace that Jinx and Vi can bond over.

I dunno, to me the scene just feels "off". It feels very "blunt" and kind of not very economic in both the writing and the animation.

Like, when I think of a scene like Caitlyn telling Jayce that she's upset about Jinx. The writing is very blunt and on the nose there as well, but the animation and the scenery with the wind, it tries to communicate something to us about what Caitlyn is feeling, how "stormy" it is inside of her. It's still a building scene "because Caitlyn feels this way, she will later do X".

Compared to that the flashback scene just feels kind of ... flat to me. Very uneconomic about what it communicates compared to the length. (and I don't mean that every scene has to be economic, like clearly Arcane will hold on a scene in order to wallow deeply in that emotion, where the emotion or a badass fight scene is the kill shot of a scene, but it's not that type of scene. Or if it was meant as a "wallow in nostalgia" scene it is outdone by the much more excessive Remember Me)

It's not the worst scene, I don't hate it. There are aspects about it that I like (I like Silco's diary, I like Bozo 1 and Bozo 2, I like the ankle biters). It maybe communicates a bit about what world/backstory the writers imagined (carved from bedrock) even though it does pretty much only in dialogue rather than also in animation.

But I think of scenes like Vi and Jinx walking into Silco and Vander's old hideout and Jinx touching the jackets and imo that does just such a better, more subtle job of communicating things on so many layers (communicate something about Vi and Jinx and their relationship to each other, their relationship with Silco and Vander, Vander and Silco's relationship with each other, something about the time).

I do wonder why it was that way. Like, they clearly wanted to show as a little about Vander and Silco's past. But why do it that way?

Did they throw in the "Vander named Vi" part because they think it's important or because they were worried some people might not get that it's the same woman from Vi's flashbacks? Did they want to set up "Felicia asked both Vander and Silco to take care of the girls" to create a bedrock to explain why Vander and Silco are together in the AU?

[sorceressofthesky]

Something that really strikes me about the Zauntrio flashback is the fact that Silco only has two lines in the entire 3-minute scene. First, he says, "Oh, you're sadly mistaken. I'm bozo 1." Then, "To Zaun, then; blisters and bedrock." That's all he contributes. He does shut his notebook and move closer to the group after Felicia shares the news, but that's it. He has no comments to make about his seemingly close friend's pregnancy. No questions, no reassurance, hardly even a reaction beyond the knee-jerk surprise and a few vague smiles.

I've seen people say that Silco's villain arc makes no sense with the context of this "happy family" scene, but the way I read it is the complete opposite. He doesn't seem particularly thrilled about kids being in the picture. He seems like he's suppressing something. Faintly smiling and throwing out vague uplifting statements but tactfully dodging the actual elephant in the room. Whatever he's thinking is something he wants to keep to himself.

By the time we've met up with them in Season 1, Silco wanted a revolution and control, while Vander wanted peace between Piltover and Zaun. It wasn't always like that, though, and the implication is that Vander's perspective changed once he became responsible for the kids. So I think what we're witnessing in the flashback scene is the very first cracks in the trio. It's Silco realising that it isn't always going to be just the three of them. It's him questioning what this all means for the bloody revolution and hard-earned independence he always envisioned.

It's only a few small fractures at this stage, but those cracks would've only grown once Vi and Powder were actually in the picture. If Vander's flashbacks as Warwick are anything to go by, Silco didn't have much of a role in raising the kids even when he was still friends with Vander and Felicia. A pseudo-family wasn't what he wanted, so he drifted apart from the trio, a force in the background trying to keep Vander's head in the game when there were so many distractions to pull him off track.

All this building tension culminates on the bridge, where Silco started the fight that got Felicia and Connol killed. That's where their paths diverge entirely; where Vander realises that family and community is his priority now, not blind violence and carnage, while Silco doubles down on his idea of revolution at all costs. Without Felicia there to hold them together, the two remaining halves split apart, and Vander attempts to drown him.

This would explain why Silco is so nonchalant about potentially killing Vi as early as Episode 3, despite her being Felicia's child. We know he believes that power "comes to those who will do anything to achieve it". I find it hard to imagine that mentality started only after Vander tried to kill him. It might have only been seeds of dormant ruthlessness back then, but it's enough to believe that this is the same Silco who threatens Marcus using his daughter and shows no regard for the death of Renni's son. Silco does not care about children or the sanctity of a new generation. He does not believe in family.

But despite all of this, I do think he recognised Powder. He saw himself in her when he witnessed Vi's abandonment and betrayal. It was easy to rationalise the decision to take her in; he recognised her potential to become an asset to their revolution. But whether there were deeper emotions there from the beginning or if those only formed with time, he definitely did not expect to love her like a parent. That was not his nature, as far as he knew. It was only after he was given the ultimatum by Jayce that he truly understood Vander's perspective, and by then, he was already undone.

[zaundads]

my current subscription list

I thought it might be fun to share what's currently on my A03 subscription list and why. It seems like I have a fondness for fluffy AUs ;)

In no particular orders and only stuff that is unfinished right now (so inherently no oneshots), but at least has a couple of chapters.

River Water : I think this one is pretty popular and well known. It's an omegaverse with alpha Vander and omega Silco where Viktor is Vander and Silco's bio kids and they reconnect when Viktor and Jayce show up in Zaun after being banished. Lot's of angst and big drama (ie Vander didn't now of Silco's existance) and Zaundads reconnecting maybe to some extent as they watch JayVik also becoming close.

Trapped By A Singlar Fate: Young Zaundads getting togehter story, a very cool approach to Felicia (being a much younger Jinx like little sister type character) and impeccable world building.

Grading on a Curve: Eeeeeee, sexy, funny college AU with jock!Vander and standoffish!Silco.

Please Be Rude: Modern AU: I must have a soft spot for nervous wreck Silco.

The Lightkeeper: Siren!Silco targets the mysterious new lighthouse keeper. Siren!Silco x Werewolf!Vander. I really dig the hints at siren background lore and see above for my soft spot for chaotic wreck Silco. It did take me a couple of chapters to really get into it, but once things heat up between Silco and Vander, I'm definitley there.

"Inofficial Subscription List":

this isn't actually on my subscription list, but I have an eye out for them. Some of them are quite new, so I'm still not sure whether they'll be my thing.

This Devotion May Contain Side Effects: yeah, yeah, it's the comments/praise here on tumblr that convinced me to check it out. I like to pretend that fics that focus on dad-ly stuff (in this case Silco and Vander, particularly Silco, taking in and raising orphan Viktor) can't get me, but this one really is as good, though hints of Vander's dark side vis a vis Silco are starting to show up. But it's generally very good and good depiction of the darkness Zaunites have to put up with.

Pinned Under Glass: There seems to be a good season for Silco torture. AU where Silco got captured by an evil enforcer and slowly over years got turned into his pet bride. Vander stumbles across him and is shocked when Silco pretends not to recongnize him. The tags forsee dark stuff but the setup intrigued me.

Falling Downwards Into The Light: Between Lightkeeper, Pinned Under Glass, things like Hound Goes Feral I think I might an unhealthy fondness for captured Silco. Here Vander is the capturer (when an injured Silco drags himself towards the Last Drop after some... business with a chem baron). Vander is quite dark, Silco is very crafty. (it reminded me quite a lot of a similar story by Rimeko) I don't know whether it will end up being too dark for my taste, but so far I'm still reading.

Full House: This author has written some banger Vander/Jayce daddykink. I didn't feel their solo Vander/Silco prequel quite as much, but I have my eye on this. Silco and Vander reunite and imo their chemistry is so thick to me as world weary older men reuniting, even though they are just having a conversation (I might also have a secret fondness for the trope of Vander instantly dumping Jayce the second Silco shows up). I hope I will ike the foursome with JayVik that the tags promise. And I just love the mental image of how Silco has spent his time away as a letter column/agony aunt/sex advice columnist so much.

I wish somebody would write this as a full fledged fic, I feel Silco's agony aunt response letters would be hilarious.

[note that I'm personally super bad at reading things if I missed the beginning and it feels like it already has too many chapters by the time I get into it, there's highly rated, regularly updating wips that I'm scaredy cat about getting into even though it's on my todo list]

[melina-mellow]

I love Pacific Rim and I love Arcane so I combined them to make an Arcane Pacific Rim AU that focuses on Timebom, Caitvi, Jayvik, Zaundads and Melvika.

This will be part 2 of this AU and you can find the general outline for Jayvik, Caitvi and Timebom for this AU in Part 1

Anyway let's get on with Part 2!!! Featuring divorced dads and reluctant allies yuri.

Mel and Savika:

Mel is from a family of Jaeger pilots. It was expected of her to follow the family tradition and become a pilot herself, like her mother, father and brother.

Sevika used to be a pilot from Zaun. She was one of the best, but now works to train young pilots in Zaun with Silco. She lost her arm, in the Kaiju attack on Zaun years ago.

Mel and Sevika first met years ago back when Sevika was still a pilot. They did not get along at all.

Sevika has been co-pilots with a lot of people, she was even Vander's partner for a few missions before Vi officially graduate the pilot academy.

Despite not being a Jaeger pilot, Mel (just like Cait) is a universally compatible drift partner. Her first ever drift partner being Jayce, before he decided to pilot solo to face Viktor.

Mel and Sevika meet again when Silco starts negotiations with the council. Despite Mel and Silco leading the negotiations, Sevika and Vander's input is what cements their alliance.

Thus begins the reluctant alliance between Mel and Sevika as they prepare for battle.

Silco and Vander:

Vander and Silco are the second generation Jaeger pilots, they became pilots when the two-pilot system was put into place.

Vander's co-pilot and the person he had the highest drift compatibility was actually with Benzo! This was back when the drift mantrix wasn't as stable so every drift score needed to be 100% to prevent the pilots from any issues.

Silco's co-pilot was Felicia. Silco was one of the last to find a partner in this graduation batch. Felicia stopped piloting when she got pregnant with Powder, she was already taking less missions when she had Vi, but stopped completely after Powder. Without a partner, Silco now joined the strategist team working behind the scene. (A role some say suited him better some would say)

Vander and Benzo came back from many successful missions due to Silco's support.

Silco and Vander's relationship fell apart due to one Kaiju attack on Zaun, Piltover refused to provide support leading many Zaunite casualties (Felicia and her husband included) which fueled Silco's hatred for Piltover.

I'M FINALLY DONE WITH PART TWO THANK FUCK! IT ONLY TOOK LIKE A MONTH!

[my-halo-is-a-little-broken]

Examples of what i had hoped they would expand on (I would have loved filler episodes or at least wish they hadn't cut so much out):

What exactly did Silco do that made Vander attack? We know it's connected to the bridge and Felica, but we never know what the reason was other than a vague, "Vander wanted to stop fighting, Silco didn't".

How did Vander and Silco make up in the au? Did Vi trigger Silco to go back to blisters and bedrock upon learning one of Felicia's kids, the very first one that created the blisters and bedrock convo, was no longer living?

Did the girls, or at least Vi, know Silco at all from the "before" times?

Was it Silco and Vander making up that led to the undercity improving? Was it something else, like Heimerdingers' influence? It couldn't have just been Hextech not being invented.

What was Vi and Jinxs bio dad like?

How did Viktor manage to make it from the Undercity and rise all the way up to being Heimerdingers assistant? I'm not saying it's impossible, but we've seen the barriers and such that make it hard for people from the Undercity to achieve great heights in Piltover.

What happened to make the Firelights even consider listening to Sevika and seeminly develop a partnership? Was it a talk? Desperation? Scar doesn't seem the type to fold easily.

Sevika's reaction to Isha, or anything from her in Act 3, really. How did she get on the council, and what was her reaction to it?

Jinx and Echo prepping for the final battle. I wanna know how they made Jinxs' dirigible(?).

Who did Ambessa fall in love with? What exactly did she steal? Was it Mel in general? Or the magic Mel ended up with?

Did Jayce end up jumping in the au, or was he just exiled? Did he and Cait blow up in the apartment explosion?

Why did Vi trust Loris so much? What was their friendship like?

Why was Loris not on the front lines or being the "shield" he's shown as?

What was with the look in Stillwater when Ambessa saw the disgused Jinx and Sevika?

Vi's pitfighting arc.

Jinx and Isha getting close.

Mel. Her time captured, getting back to Piltover, anything to do with her.

Singed creating Warwick. That was a long time to experiment on a (seemingly) lifeless body until things turned just right for it to "work".

What happened to Lest?

Does Vi know about Cait's suspicions about Jinx living? I personally don't think so, as I feel Vi wouldn't give up on trying to reunite with her. Even with Jinxs permission to be happy with Cait, Vi isn't the type to give up on her sister. She would at least want to keep in contact. You're telling me this woman survived years in Stillwater and all the other bullshit mainly for her sister, and then just decides to let her go?

How does Warwick "survive" (like being able to make blood) Isha blowing everything up with the gems, but apparently doesn't survive falling and Jinxs bomb? I know he has regeneration, but one of those is worse than the other, and yet he survives it.

Do Ekko and Vi bond more? Both of them have lost Powder/Jinx, and they're the only two left from each others childhood.

I'm sure this will eventually get covered in the other series they're planning, but it appears Orianna (is that how you spell her name? Idk, I don't play LoL) is similar to the creatures Viktor makes, so how is she "alive"?

Is Bandle City outside of timelines, or is Heimer gone from "our" timeliness forever?

[thewistlingbadger]

Why don't the Zaunites have last names?

It's a question I've seen being asked across the fandom for several different reasons. While I believe the reason has to do with showing contrast between piltover and zaun, I'd like to present two reasons that would logically make sense within the universe

1. Inheritance

In Piltover, name is everything. It is birth right, privilege, status, and inheritance. But zaunites don't have any of those. Zaunites don't live long enough or have access to the materials to generate wealth that can be passed down to the next generation. Last names are used to identify an individual to a family or house. When one asks for your last name, they might mention a member of your family. Even though they barely know you, they know of someone in your family. This is a kind of inheritance in its own right, outside of the normal kind of inheritance we think about. We see Caitlyn time and time again benefit solely from her last name. But there is no sense of inheritance in the undercity. When Felicia and Connel died, did jinx and vi get rights to their house? No. When Vander died did the girls get rights to the bar? No. When Benzo died did ekko get the shop? No. When Silco died did Jinx get rights to The Last Drop, his shimmer industry, or his enterprise that is modern day Zaun? No. Because the undercity doesn't operate under a system of inheritance. Nothing is given to you, everything must be taken. When Vander died, the girls didn't get the bar. Silco took it. When silco died, jinx didn't inherit his position in zaun. Instead the chem barons fought each other over his power vacuum and Jinx wasn't even considered in the running. You don't get to inherit things in zaun because in zaun, other people take the opportunity they see without any regard as to if they have any right to take that opportunity.

2. Family

Piltover and Zaun have very different concepts of Family. Piltover families are rigid in their design. They are definitive and biological. Caitlyn Kiramman's only family is Tobias and Cassandra Kiramman. Mel Merdarda's only family is Kino and Ambessa Merdarda. Jayce Talis's only family is Ximena Talis. The only people that are considered family are those that share blood. But zaun has a very different concept of family, because most family members die early in life and don't get to live long enough to actually start and uphold a familial relationship. All of Jinx's parents die before they actually get to see her become her own functioning adult. Because blood family is so rare in zaun, family isn't considered to be those who share DNA; Family are those who you choose. Silco and Jinx are family. Isha and Jinx are family. Mylo, claggor, vi, jinx, and Vander are all family. Jinx and Sevika are family. Singed and Viktor are family. Vander, silco, and Felicia were family. There are no surnames in Zaun because your family changes so often. One day, you're with your biological parents and then the next you're living with a stranger who took you in after you became an orphan. Last names carry a history that zaunites aren't afforded because their death rates are so high.

[miadearden]

Arcane Season 2 Act 2 thoughts!

I think there’s something to say about this show’s willingness to kill off kids that every time Isha was on screen in this act I was saying “is it now? Is this where they’re going to kill her? I know this kid is getting offed at some point the only question is when”

That said, I do like the death they chose for her - how it ties back to Powder use of the hextech gems all the way back in 103. Lot of parallels in general between Isha and Power, and it was pretty clear Jinx (and Vi) saw that.

While we’re mentioning Jinx and Vi - holy shit episode 5. Not that we have the last three episodes yet, but ep05 is definitely my favourite of the season so far, if not my favourite of the entire show. Jinx immediately going to Vi when she finds out about Vander, the parallels between their conflict and the conflict between Silco and Vander.

Also the bit of history we get of Silco, Vander and Felicia, Vi and Powder’s mum, being this trio of friends who were all envisioning a better life and wanting it specifically for these two little girls. Just adds that bit of extra tragedy to Felicia’s death, Vander and Silco’s rift, and everything that happened after.

And then we get Vi at the end of the episode trusting Jinx’s conviction that Warwick is Vander and because of that they’re able to reach that bit of consciousness left in him together. Yeah episode 5 had me feeling all the feels.

I don’t have too much to say about the other storylines lmao I’m mostly still thinking about Jinx and Vi but hey I’ll try.

Confirmation that Mel has magic! And somehow it ties to the black rose which is interesting. I liked that the rose was trying to use her brother’s image to get her to figure out her powers (paralleled nicely to the sibling theme with Jinx and Vi too) and that Mel realised that. Not much else happening there, no doubt it’s going to come into play more in the last act with the things that will be happening there.

I think the ball was dropped a bit on Caitlyn in this act? Like we see her push back a bit against Ambessa in the starts of the act, but generally she felt pretty passive up until ep06 when she decided to team back up with Vi. I might have to rewatch these three eps again (and closer to the last three eps) to get a better idea, but yeah generally I think Cait fell a bit flat.

Not much to say on Jayce, as I’m sure we’re going to learn what happened with him at the start of ep07 (and Ekko and Heimerdinger too - THERE WAS NO EKKO THIS ACT I’M SAD) - however it was very funny in our watch party as we were all screaming JAYCE NO YOU’RE GONNA FUCK EVERYTHING UP during his actions in ep06. And well, yeah lmao

All of Viktor’s cult members screaming in unison and bluescreening when Jayce killed him was fucking haunting.

I was getting kinda worried partway through this act that we’re doing to much that we’re not really going to be able to wrap up properly. I’m still a little concerned, however with the way the last episode ended I think we’ve cleared a few things off the board that will make the final act tidier.

Predictions - I think the Piltover v Zaun is going to be put into an uneasy truce at this point, as the main conflict will now be fending off Ambessa and the Noxians. Secondary conflict - whatever Jayce found out about hextech and the arcane. Also now that Jayce is back on the map and in the same area as Ambessa, its possible she’ll finally get her hands on the scientist she wants to make hextech work for her, so that’s how those two plots will converge.

I think for the most part, the Vander subplot will be classed as over now, and probably most of the Viktor subplot too (though I’d say there might be a few more effects on that part). And we’ll get a lot more Mel and Black Rose stuff going on as it relates to Ambessa. I wanna hope we’ll get a lot more Ekko too? (he’s in the opening twice, I wanna believe he’ll have a big part) Though at this stage, apart from him also going on the hextech trip with Jayce and possibly learning what Jayce did, I don’t see where too much more of him will fit in.

As for Jinx and Vi, I wouldn’t be surprised if Isha’s death and Vander’s going beyond the point of being saved might put a rift back between Jinx and Vi. Particularly with Vi reconnecting with Caitlyn and likely wanting to help her against the Noxians too. I wanna hope that won’t be the case, but I don’t really expect this show to be a happy ending type show.

Anyway, yeah! I think that’s all the thoughts I have. Until next time!

[gravecircuit]

Act 2 Review + Act 3 theories (FULL spoilers)

ouch

Maddie is up there waiting in Caitlyn's bed while this Shakespearean bloodbath is going down lmaoooooo

Jayce pancaking Salo made me cackle like an idiot, I heard the mario bros game over theme play when he did that, put that thing down you murderhobo omg

Vi didn't see the slap coming because Jinx was winding that one up since Season 1, Episode 3

I really thought Cait army vs. Jinx army was going to be a more fleshed out / dramatic arc but I'm not against the Metal Gear Powder episode we got instead.

My previous theory of it not being LeBlanc is essentially debunked in this batch - I was theorizing against it because of power scaling but looking at Mel's power, I thought she would have a force field but she's got some sort of phoenix force thing going on. (There's theories out now that MEL technically blew up the council in reflex to deflect the jinx rocket). I'll leave the Du Couteau theory on the shelf, but if were going all the way up to LeBlanc's office + reading all of Ambessa's lines, what on earth did Kino do to piss off DRACULA!?

To go further, because of in game descriptions people were speculating if the "Pantheon" in Ambessa's music video was just some Noxian stand in. But the Ambessa plot snippet + Mel's power maybe being hereditary makes me think actual Pantheon might be on the menu, as in, Mel is the child of the Matriarch and Aspect of War. Pin this for now, I'll browse the wiki again later.

Silco, Vander, Felicia flashback: new context dropped. Literal actual godfathers of Zaun. At this point how many generations back does sibling conflict go omg, Felicia's a descendent of Morgana or something.

Cait doing a 180 out of her heel turn felt a little rushed to me. We didn't see "commander" Caitlyn command anything?? It felt like she was in that ceremonial position Jayce offered her in season 1, it's like, "I'm a dictator /j" - Vi also didn't seem mad enough idk, off screen timeskip call her cupcake kiss and make up end scene bleh. They switch back sides with very little conflict idk.

"I won't fail, I swear it." Did Jayce enter the Viktorverse? Who else would he swear to if he's tasked with crossing that line?

Isha. Fortiche established 2 new cinnamon rolls in Act 1. The way they terrorize us with both of them in opposite ways omfg.

Overall, Act 2 felt like a lot of bullet points wanted to be covered. but still keeping Vi & Jinx as the through line. It's not perfectly paced, but I still think that they will stick the landing (especially after the end of this batch aaaaa).

Act 3 thoughts:

The Noxian invasion seems to be kicking off in Act 3, I wonder if there are any other tricks remaining up Ambessa's sleeve or if another Noxian character is who show's up with the air balloons / army. (Cast feels pretty full as it is but still)

It looks like Mel escapes and returns to Piltover maaaaybe in episode 7? The thing with Mel's story is again, I don't know what Piltover should do if LeBlanc actually rolls up. Everyone fire all their abilities I guess.

On that note, I really doubt any other characters are coming in as backup for Piltover. Maybe some from Zaun? (Urgot clutch LOL no). "Prototype Blitzcranks" might be used idk.

Heimerdinger might hard carry. Also, the in-game Arcane theme turrets looking like hex gates I think is intentional. Potential Piltover death laser incoming?

I'm hopping on the train of thought that Act 3 will have a scene of everyone dying and Ekko going "you're probably wondering how we got here" *rewinds the tape*

I think Viktor will be the final boss.

[gynecolology]

I know this is just a one off cute fanart but it represents such an important, if implied, part of Arcane. I want to see more people talking about the WHOLE blended and extended family holistically. It’s wider than a lot of fans realize and the many dynamics within it have grown through time and through wars and it WAS a family, despite having turned many conflicts in on itself and being generally riddled with tragedy and heartbreak. Much of it can even be assumed through the tiniest of environmental details, passage of time, character decisions, etc.

It’s not just the sisters. I think a lot of people consider the only family to really be just Vander, Vi, and Jinx, maybe Mylo and Claggor on a good day. But it’s this giant interconnected web- Felicia, Connol, Vi, Jinx, Vander, Silco, Benzo, Ekko, Isha, and even unconventional/later additions, peripheral characters to the “main” family story:

Sevika and her unwavering loyalty to Silco when a flick of the wrist could’ve cut him in half and likely given her more direct influence in the Lanes. To the people of the undercity, even when she could have actively benefitted by turning in someone she had a difficult relationship with in the first place- Jinx. Jinx, whose trauma and psychosis she came to sympathize with when before she had weaponized it, and whose adoptive daughter/sister she protected unflinchingly when faced with a horrifying enemy. To the nation of Zaun she eventually is chosen to advocate for, having held it together after the sudden death of a leader.

Cait through her continued love of Vi- they are married, your honor- during exceptionally difficult events like the fallout of her girlfriend’s sister having killed her mother, or the consequences of her hurtful navigation of systemic power over Vi’s home.

Jayce as an older brother figure to Cait, and a bridge between the factions of a house divided by history, economy, geography. As the inventor whose ideas led to formative tragedy for Vi/Jinx/everyone across the multiverse despite best intentions. Almost like a cousin who, similarly to Mel, disappears and eventually returns as an irrevocably changed member of the family.

Viktor, whose story unites those factions, whose experiences in both worlds create some of the most innovative developments the show depicts, whose disability affects all of his exchanges across both sides of the conflict. Viktor, the partner Jayce lived and died for.

Heimerdinger as an intellectual uncle to MANY- the Council, Jayce, Viktor, Ekko- and a guidepost in the quest for knowledge in both Zaun and Piltover.

Even brothers in arms like Loris, Steb- fighting side by side against EXISTENTIAL danger, shoulder to shoulder with Vi, Cait, and eventually Jinx, Mel, Ekko, Sevika, Jayce. A sudden and deep betrayal from yet another “sister”- Maddie. A “mother,” Ambessa. A father made unrecognizable, Warwick.

The show of course focuses on the two sisters first, and their two adoptive fathers second as an historical echo of their own tragic story- but much of their community and their extended family were practically one and the same. Their allies, their enemies, their battles, their interests, their priorities, they all overlapped, evolved, and interacted across decades and universes.

Their stories are compelling not just because of a flawless execution of the themes of grief, generational trauma, oppression, reconciliation, and parental influence, but also because of these extended threads supporting the richness of the narrative itself as well as the authenticity of the world it occupies. Even if much of it can only be assumed from context, or fueled by somewhat unfounded fanbase fantasies, art like this is so meaningful in illustrating what some of those threads may have looked like, had the show been given enough time and resources to explore them further.

On an unrelated note I’m not ok

they were a family your honour

[ao3feed-arcane]

Tougher Than Steel

by wexdc1 Vi trades the chaos of the boxing ring for a bodyguard job, thanks to her mother’s persistence. But her new role protecting Caitlyn Kiramman, a detective who doesn’t want her there, proves to be its own fight. Or, A modern AU where Mrs. Kiramman hires Vi as (Detective) Caitlyn’s bodyguard, and Cait is dramatic about it as usual. Words: 1607, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Multi Characters: Caitlyn (League of Legends), Vi (League of Legends), Felicia (Arcane: League of Legends), Vander (League of Legends), Cassandra Kiramman, Jinx (League of Legends), Ekko (League of Legends), Jayce (League of Legends), Mel Medarda Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends), Caitlyn & Vi (League of Legends), Ekko/Jinx (League of Legends), Connol/Felicia (Arcane: League of Legends) Additional Tags: Modern AU, Angst, Caitvi, Mutual Pining, Workplace Romance, angry mongoose, vi being a teasing little shit, Slow Burn, Uncovering crimes, Detectives, Protective Vi (League of Legends), Detective Caitlyn (League of Legends), Bodyguard Vi, caitlyn being moody and dramatic, slow burn (?), Sexual Tension read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/TuKNfan