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. Itās 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.
Itās 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 itās this giant interconnected web- Felicia, Connol, Vi, Jinx, Vander, Silco, Benzo, Ekko, Isha, and even unconventional/later additions, peripheral characters to the āmainā family story:
Sevika and her unwavering loyalty to Silco when a flick of the wrist couldāve 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 girlfriendās sister having killed her mother, or the consequences of her hurtful navigation of systemic power over Viās 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 āsisterā- Maddie. A āmother,ā 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 Iām not ok
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origamiaround
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