randomcoolstuffthatilike

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

Caitlyn Kiramman can be a main character that goes through a massive character arc where she starts out as a happy go lucky enforcer who is naive about the system she works for, thinks she can change it from within, ends up falling victim to her own prejudices that she hasn't had the time or wherewithal to work through, contributes to the system she thought she was dedicated to change, make some serious mistakes and harm others, feel immense guilt and self hatred for those mistakes, directly betrays the system in order to atone for those mistakes, and people will still say Arcane has a pro cop message in season 2.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

Consider that Arcane didn't abandon its themes of class warfare in season 2, but that it stayed true to its original intent: telling the story of the cyclical nature of violence, and how throughout all history, humanity still hasn't cracked the code in breaking it. Consider that this story was never meant to have a truly happy ending, and that when the writers said they were writing a tragedy, and that no one would truly be happy watching the end, they meant it.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

I need people to hear this.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

over the course of watching arcane, vi absolutely stole my heart in more ways than one. her character is one of the most complex, misunderstood, and realistic out of the entire show

vi was shoved into prison at 15 years old, getting out 7 years later with nothing. every character in the show had somebody and moved on. ekko had the firelights, caitlyn had her family, jayce and viktor had each other, jinx had silco, sevika, then even isha. vi had no one. being locked away in such an environment, knowing full well you're the reason why your sister got taken by an evil man, does a number on you. vi had no chance to develop a sense of self, it is very prevalent in both seasons.

vi has little direction unless it's for someone else (which in turn is why i believe cait had a negative impact on her in s2 act 1, influencing her into being an enforcer + vi rationalizing it as a lesser of two evils, using the grey on chembarons vs allowing enforcers to storm the undercity). almost, if not every action she made was to help others, because she is so beyond selfless. it's her fatal flaw. like vander said to her, "you have a good heart". vi clings to people like glue because she cannot bear being alone again, letting the ones she loves slip through her fingers like sand.

she's just as traumatized as jinx, but her trauma is displayed in more subtle, self-destructive behavior as we see in episode 5 when she truly believed she lost everything again. which in turn is why I point to her being realistic, in real life it isn't obvious to spot when someone has trauma, it isn't supposed to be obvious. vi is the perfect example of that she finally got to choose for herself in the end, not be everyone else's plot device to make their lives better. i feel like she was written beautifully, everyone wants to dog on her for choosing to be in love? the past 2 seasons she chased jinx through every crack in the earth. she tried her damn hardest! jinx chose to cut the rope and let her be happy, let her go. much to vi’s dismay, we all know that was the last thing vi ever wanted. i love her so dearly, my favorite girl :(

(also, caitvi being canon makes me as a lesbian feel represented, i love them a lot. no more burying your gays trope! yay!)

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

one of the saddest things to me abt vi that i haven’t rly seen anyone talk abt is the fact that she never rly got the ability or privilege of learning how to do much else other than to be mainly good at fighting.

she’s learned that fighting is how you protect yourself and others, and protection is how you show love.

not to mention, she ended up getting unfairly sent to stillwater for years, and if caitlyn hadn’t broken her out, it would have most likely been forever.

she’s just never rly had the time to learn smth else to excel at.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

"I'm done blaming myself for your mistakes"

This line by Vi pretty much sums up her conflict in Act 1 of season 2, but I have yet to see it discussed. The point is, in fact, that Vi does blame herself, which is why she is unable to properly call Cait out. If Jinx specifically were not the one responsible for Cassandra's death, I doubt Vi would have stayed silent in front of Cait calling Zaunites animals or that she would have accepted many of Cait's actions without saying a word.

Vi still feels at fault for Powder becoming Jinx, which makes her vulnerable and willing to compromise on her morals, so that Caitlyn would not leave her. Ironically, I think this behavior is among the reasons why their love story does not work out in the first Act. They fail to communicate properly.

On the one hand Cait treats Vi badly. She insults Vi's people and insists that Vi should become an enforcer, despite her knowing of Vi's painful past. Obviously this is wrong, but personally I think it stems from Caitlyn's poor attempt to reconcile her love for Vi with her hate for Jinx:

"Three faces keep spinning through my mind. I see mother when they found her. And every fiber of me just sinks like in dark water. But then there is Jinx. Laughing. I want to tear that laugh from her throat forever. Then I see Vi. I asked her to put on the uniform. Suffice to say, she declined."

Cait's solution is to have be become a part of her society, so that she can keep on hating Jinx and the "bad" Zaunites, while loving Vi and the "good" Zaunites. Except it obviously does not work.

On the other hand Vi is unable to call Cait out. And the whole point is that Cait needed someone to call her out. She is grieving, but she is obviously becoming like the enforcers she once despised. Like the enforcers Vi despised. She negates Cassandra's legacy, by using her ventilation system to poison the air. She acts cruelly against a man, who is unharmed and who has clearly been hurt by that same gas she weaponized. She is ready to shoot a child (even if she does not intend to kill her), so that she can get at Jinx. Vi clearly sees all of this, which is why she asks Cait not to change:

Vi: Everyone in my life has changed. Promise me you won't change.

However, she fails to confront Cait about it all. Except that when you are in a relationship, you must feel secure and free to call the other person out. Even to get into a fight with the other person. Still, Vi is so terrified of losing Cait too, that she is indecisive. And in the end she is tragically left behind by Cait.

This happens because Vi herself has not yet decided who she wants to be. Is she a Zaunite or an Enforcer? Does she want to kill Jinx or not? Vi can't choose. Jinx even calls her out on this:

Jinx: Plastering my face all over, so someone else would do your dirty work?

She tells Cait she wants Jinx dead, but the moment she can kill Jinx she doesn't. Sure, Isha comes between them, but after Cait disarms Isha, Vi could pretty easily take Isha away from Jinx and let Cait kill her sister. However, she does not. That is clearly because she sees Powder in Isha. Jinx and Isha embraced are clearly representative of who Jinx is as a whole. She is an unstable terrorist, but she is also a hurt child. That is who Jinx is and that is what Vi (and Jinx herself) needs to see and to reconcile. Even now, Vi insists that Powder is dead and that only Jinx remains. However, Jinx is Powder no matter how much Silco, Jinx herself and Vi insist she isn't. She still clearly is.

It is just that Powder has changed, but this is normal. Just like it is normal Vi herself has changed and will need to change again, so that she can decide who she really wants to be. Just like Jinx and just like Cait will have to do.

As a side note, I am loving the foiling between Cait and Jinx. They have always been foils, but while last season focused on how this juxtaposition impacts Jinx, right now we are seeing how it impacts Cait.

In season 1, Jinx sees Cait as Vi replacing her. In a sense, Jinx's jealousy of Vi stems from that same inability to accept change. Jinx too deep down hopes she can go back to being the innocent Powder and that Vi can love her, like she did in the past. However, that is not possible because people change and forge new relationships. Jinx forges a bond with Silco she can't simply erase because Vi wants to. Just like she can't erase the one with Vi simply because Silco wants to. Similarly, Vi has a new bond with Cait that she can't break simply because Jinx asks her to. So, Caitlyn is really who Jinx wants to be. Someone complementary to Vi in battle, but also reliable, dependent, lovable. By the end of season 1, Jin realizes she can't really be that person anymore and interiorizes there is a part of her Vi can't understand. That same part Silco instead accepts.

Silco: Don't cry. You are perfect.

In season 2, Jinx becomes Cait's dark side. She is really Cait's Joker, as she is the one who challenges Cait's sense of justice and morals:

Cait: It's her blood in your veins. Vi: Then why are you the one acting like her?

Cait is letting grief and pain change her for the worse, just like Powder was transformed by her own losses and traumas. Cait keeps insisting she is different from Jinx, but she isn't. In fact, her whole fiasco kinds of hint at it symbolically. Cait poisons the underground city in her attempt to catch Jinx. Only for Jinx rewinding the ventilation system, so that the poison Cait used is sent back to Piltover. Jinx literally acts like Cait's mirror, which is why Cait's shot ends up hitting exactly this, a mirror. As in, Cait can't really kill Jinx without hurting both herself, Vi and the whole city :P

I am curious to see how their foiling will develop, now that both girls are growing into the leaders of their opposite factions.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

"Jinx left so Vi wouldn't have to choose between them, she left so Vi could finally be happy"

Is anyone else bothered by the implication that a relatively NEW girlfriend would be capable of making someone just as if not MORE happy than healing their relationship with their sister, who they spent YEARS wanting to make up with?

Me personally, I can get over a bad breakup. But if either of my sisters DIED, or simply chose to actively walk out of my life forever, that would fucking break me. I would not, in fact, move on. And maybe it's different for you guys, but Vi consistently spent an entire season trying to find and make up with Jinx. I don't know what the hell happened in season 2, but her saying "the only thing that kept me going was the thought of getting back to you" about her 7-year prison sentence doesn't sound like "I'll be better off with this girl I've dated for a total of 2 weeks".

Why is there an immediate assumption that any romantic relationship holds just as much if not MORE weight than any platonic/familial one? I'm sorry but why is it even a contest? I'm fully convinced that in season 1, had Jinx not demanded Vi kill Caitlyn- aka take a life, ANY life- and instead asked for LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE, she'd have done it. Remember what she said? She said they could leave the entire city behind, just the two of them, and never come back. She was ready to leave their home, leave Caitlyn, leave all of it, for Jinx. Because at the end of the day, all she wanted was her sister back. But suddenly season 2 rolls around and it's "Caitlyn makes her happier." When? Where? How? I don't see any scenes of Caitlyn making Vi happy. Oh but she did hit her though, after getting upset that Vi didn't want her to shoot at a kid.

I'm sick of romantic relationships being taken as "naturally" being the priority. Maybe if you're married with kids or something, you'll prioritize your partner over your friends, sure (but if you have kids they still take priority over your partner IMO). But a 2-week-long situationship? I've known people who get ghosted after longer than that. Fucking be real with me.

I'm simply not convinced that Caitlyn should matter this much to Vi so quickly. It shouldn't even be a competition. I genuinely cannot imagine Vi, who's SOLE MOTIVATION in season 1 was Jinx, and who's SOLE MOTIVATION in EVERY UNIVERSE and TIMELINE was her FAMILY, would ever "move on" and "be happier" with any romantic partner. Callous as it may sound, she can always get another girlfriend. There's no replacing her sister.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

i love you nuance i love you characters who aren't wholly good or wholly bad i love you characters that are messier than audiences want them to be i love you stories with no true heroes or true villains i love you stories that don't force you to take one side or another and let you make your own choice i love stories that make you actually think i love you nuance because to be nuanced is to be human

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

I will never be over this

Cold Inside

Why is it the same time every year?

The rain turns to snow and Whitestone freezes over

The gnomes and haflings all run inside

And laugh and play around a roaring fire

Winter’s Crest, you’re just not for me

You make me shiver and shake

Even Pate couldn’t see

That you warm people’s hearts

But mine has a flaw

Please won’t you let me thaw

Im feeling old

She don’t age because she’s undead

But I’m feeling bold

She gives unsettling presents

Won’t someone tell me why I feel so cold inside

Probably cause your dead

Shut up Chetney

I’d hug the Dawnfather

I don’t think he likes hugs

I’d eat a whole fireball

The acid reflex

No matter how hard I try, I feel so cold inside

Don’t worry, Laudna I got an idea

Well, what if I just skiiter down you arm and do a little dance

While you sit all snuggles up round the toasty fireplace

Would that be enough to melt away the ice?

You’re cute Pate, but still feel so cold inside

What if I bake for you a three-part harmony?

Hot Winter’s Crest pie with warm shell and rum jelly and cut you the hottest

Burn the roof of your mouth slice

Oh, that sounds delicious

But it would soon turn cold inside

What if I took all my scrap wood and sawdust and wood shavings

I set them on fire

It was really hot

If it wasn’t enough, I’d make the fire bigger

And the village would be on fire and I’d be on fire

And then you’d be on fire

How does that sound? Do you think that would warm you up?

Chetney, I appreciate the effort, but I think you’re just describing arson

Yeah, so what?

I’m feeling old

She don’t age because she’s undead

But I’m feeling bold

She gives unsettling presents

Won’t someone tell me why I feel so cold inside

Well, you don’t have a heartbeat

Mate, I’m warning you

I’d walk across the wasteland

walk across the wasteland

To shake a phoenix by the burning hands

La da da da

No matter how hard I try, I feel so cold inside

La da da da da

Feel so cold inside

La da da da da

I feel so cold , so cold

Why is it the same time of every year

You act so coy, I think you enjoy

It say your frozen, but the you decide to sit your freezing bones down by my side

And start melting once I get near

I give you the same gift I give you every year

A kiss on the cheek, we all know what happens next

Everybody hit the deck

Why is everybody hiding all of a sudden? Nobody ever tells me anything… Oh My God

*firework sounds*

I’m feeling hot

It’s a holiday tradition

And I like it a lot

The great Laudna ignition

Thank the stars in the sky, now I feel so warm inside

I tell you it's bigger every year

Oh, Winter’s Crest

Oh, Winter’s Crest

You’re the time that I love best

La da da da

By the end of the night, I feel so warm

When we’re all together, we can’t help but sing along

By the end of the night we feels so warm inside

Every year she burns my goddamn eyebrows off

*definitely don’t think I got all the lyrics correct

Black: Laudna

Red: Pate

Golden: FCG

Blue: Chetney

Purple: Imogen

Green: everyone

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

starting the Vi would be the best Mom ever agenda today.

She'd always listen, always help, always give advice. She'd always be there and she would also apologize if she did do something wrong. Her kids would respect her because she'd give them respect.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

I need to make a habit of staying offline for like, a week after a show finishes, because I remember the feeling I had after finishing the finale of arcane. Like I had truly never been touched by a show like that before. I had felt all the feelings--elation, sadness, wonder. I didn't walk into season 2 expecting every character to be happy by the end. I walked into it knowing I was going to be told a great story like I had with season 1. And I was right. Great stories aren't always ones with happy endings. Great stories are ones that make you think and feel, immensely. And I feel like I was given a great gift with season 2 of arcane.

And then I come online to see the absolutely rotted discourse about bad writing and unpleasant character arcs and lack of ability to follow the plot. Thank God I processed how I felt about the show beforehand. Y'all can't take away the pleasure I had experiencing this show. You can be miserable if you're so determined to. Because that's what it is--you went into the show with preconceived notions and got upset when those weren't met. You're determined to be upset by a story that you weren't expecting to be given.

I am determined to not let y'all influence the fact that arcane is one of the most intelligent and beautiful pieces of media ever created, worked on by an amazing team of writers and animators and voice actors and music producers, who are all human and flawed and still came out with this wonderful, beautiful thing.

Arcane is a gift, and y'all may take it for granted, but I don't.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

Just wrapped up the new Collector Mode for Mighty Marbles! In this mode, you’ll chase down coins hidden in tricky spots you might skip in Standard Mode. Think you can collect them all? Now with super shiny coins! I love shiny things!

I love making this game with passion and I am so excited to share it with the world, but somehow I need to let the world know. Unfortunately the way steam works is the more wishlists the more visibility, so if you are interested it is super appreciated :)

Wishlist on steam or visit the website to find out more mightymarbles.com

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

Arcane video from my tiktok

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

thinking about caitlyn kiramman and how her lack of words are so fundamental to the end shape of her character. cait doesn’t say “i’m sorry” when Vi yells at her about being Ambessa’s puppet, she yells “i know” because she’s intelligent enough to see the spiral of events but not enough to know how to stop it. she doesn’t say “i’m sorry” but the very next scene she attempts to make peace with jinx. she doesn’t say “i’m sorry” but she calls off the guards so Vi can secretly try to save her sister—a terrible plan but one that Vi needs to do.

caitlyn isn’t surprised to find that jinx escaped. she expects Vi to be locked away by her sister so that she won’t chase her. because that’s the doomed tragedy of them.

everyone knows Jinx can’t be saved except for Vi.

Vi wants so badly to believe her love will somehow save her sister but it never will. her fatal flaw is that she will always try and she will always fail. and then caitlyn knows Vi will unjustly blame herself, so she’s there at the cells to ground her and remind her that this is how it’s always been. you’re getting predictable.

and then vi finally understands that caitlyn pulled all the strings for this. that she gave her another chance to open a cell and go after her sister, even knowing it would never work. it’s an apology and it’s cait saying “i know who you are.”

caitlyn kiramman doesn’t use words, she takes meaningful action because she’s only half the charismatic councilor her mother wanted her to be. she’s grown up an outsider and keeps a careful mask for everyone except violet, which is why season one opened her up so magically. she’s naturally stoic and reserved but she’s bold.

and then vi has to kiss her right then in the cells. because meaningful action means so much more than words to someone like her, who just wants to be of service to the people she loves. what caitlyn did was a reciprocation of her love language. and then Vi acts more by instantly showing her love, giving caitlyn all her love, because she’s the only person in this story willing to accept it. without hurt or heartbreak, vi can pour this massive heart she has into the only hands capable of understanding it. of being tender with it.

because caitlyn knows that vi is devoted to such a massive fault, but it doesn’t deserve to be punished. not any longer.

caitlyn kiramman doesn’t use words, but she keeps the burden of jinx locked away in her heart. all so that vi can finally know what a safe home and peace feels like ♥️ AUGH

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

I didn't expect that there were people who say that the problems that happened in the show were bc of Vi. But It's good there are people defending her. Are they crazy leave my girl alone!

I mean it's very clear who caused the problem. Jayce bc he made the hextech stones. And Silco later on, but he seems to have become a good person in another universe.

And like the same thing said by a person named Ellie: "Vi's death or rather the child's death stopped Hextech getting green lit"

Bc they saw that this is something that causes people to die, so the council will not approve its manufacture, and Jayce after seeing a dead child will certainly not work on hextech or anything related to magic anymore.

Btw I want to make a post later and talk about my opinion of the show and how this season was not as good as season 1, there are a lot of disappointing and unsatisfying things about it and the writers did not succeed in telling the story well. Especially act 3 was very rushed. Anyway I will not talk more now I will talk about that in the next post

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

I knew we would eventually reach a point where masses of people would misinterpret Arcane, but I never imagined it would be this bad.

Yes, I absolutely agree that season 2 was rushed, especially Act 3, and it is undeniable that the series would have benefited from at least one more episode if not an entire act. However, the current discourse about the show is so superficial that it's impossible to have a conversation about anything deeper but a mere synopsis of the characters and story.

So many of you expected this series to hold your hand and dumb everything down so you can understand it. But when it wasn't the case, you all started rioting and calling the characters vague, the plot bad, and the ships underdeveloped.

The amount of people who value spoken text more than the actions of the characters is worrying. And more worrying than that is the amount of those who interpret the said actions so superficially. I can't believe it needs to be explained that it wasn't Vi's death that led to the "good" timeline, but the lack of hextech. The result would have been the same if either of them had died. It wasn't about Vi, but about the child that died because of dangerous technology and that therefore that technology must not be used. The mischaracterization of Vi in general is insane. Call me biased and unfair, but the moment I hear you don't like her I will assume you didn't understand the show.

Also, the whole discourse around Caitvi scene in episode 8 is giving brainsmooth. No, Vi didn't choose Cait over Jinx, quite the opposite. No, Cait didn't plan all of it to fuck Vi. No, Vi didn't do it because she felt forced or because she is a horny animal who doesn't care about her sister. No, them fucking in a cell is not about the class difference, but about the fact that Vi felt an insane rush of emotions after realizing that Cait would let go of her revenge and help Jinx escape, all for her. Yes, I do agree that it would be nice if we got a longer conversation between Vi and Caitlyn and it would feel great to hear Cait apologize, but I'll always value actions over words. Her talking to Jinx, recognizing that she is just as bad as her, and choosing to trust Vi that her sister can change, thus letting Jinx escape will always mean more than any verbal apology and I'll die on that hill.

Also, it was Jinx's decision to let go and walk away. It was not about Vi trying to get to Vander, but about Jinx being tired of everything. Even if that fight didn't happen, the result would be the same: Jinx would leave because she knows that Vi couldn't do that. She knew that the two of them couldn't have a normal life together and that Vi would never give up on her. Jinx didn't "die" because Vi pushed her or failed her, but because she loved her too much. Whether you believe that she is dead or that she escaped, it's her decision either way.

Again, I agree that too much happened too quickly, but stop confusing your stupidity and inability to read between the lines with the quality of the series.

Arcane is flawed but still brilliant.

[randomcoolstuffthatilike]

I’m so so incredibly happy & satisfied with the ending of Arcane. I’m extremely grateful for everything we got & that I even got the opportunity to watch a series like Arcane in my lifetime. This show was a labour of passion for all involved & I’m extremely grateful for their efforts.

Tbh I’ve been blocking anyone who’s been expressing majority negative opinions about the second season & just really nitpicking it in general.

Perfectionism is a disease & perfection in of itself is destruction — which was the ultimate lesson of the show.