ARCANE LOOKING BACK | Episode 1: Untold Stories
Arcane wrapped one year ago but there’s still stories we haven’t told. We sat down with the Arcane cast, crew, and fans to talk about moments from production, initial concepts, fan experiences, and everything in-between.
In this episode, Fortiche artists reveal the story behind Sevika’s arm, Arcane co-creator Alex Yee discusses stories the team initially explored, and Arcane fans share their favorite moments from the series.
Thumbs on his lower back, pressing, rotating, either side of his spine. It felt amazing. He was bent, part-way through his roll-down. Arms loose, hanging to the floor. Blood in his temples. He didn’t know who was touching him. It was far from the first time shit like this had happened. Actors were touchy. Sometimes they just needed a reminder.
Lor rolled up, bouncing his shoulders. Determined to finish his warm-up. “Excuse me?” He caught the man in the studio mirror before really seeing him. Shit.
He recognized him, of course. There had been chemistry reads. But, seeing him sweaty, hair loose, he looked like his poster. Alistair Rodriguez. Except for the ratty t-shirt. First transman to headline a Marvel movie.
Alistair looked at his hands, as if they had surprised him. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t ask at all, did I?” he laughed, seeming mortified. Tucked his hair behind his ear. The tip was flushing. His ear. The tip of his ear was flushing.
“No,” Lor Melnyk said. “Is that something I should be prepared for?” he kept his voice in Viktor’s register. It was a little lower than his natural speaking voice. He had done his vocal warm-ups in the apartment.
Palms out, supplicating. “No. I will absolutely be a professional, from here on out. Consent. I’m a big supporter of consent. Supporter doesn’t seem like the right word. I do consent? Is consent something you do?”
Continuing, speaking faster, “And I don’t, I’m, this isn’t how I want to be conducting myself. It isn’t how I usually conduct, not that it matters. Impact, not intent. I’m so sorry. I’m a nervous talker. Did I say that?” Hands together in prayer. “If there’s anything I can do? Anything.”
Lor frowned. “Well, my ass was in the air. I see the appeal.”
Rodriguez’s eyes widened.
Lor smiled, slowly, licking the corner of his lip. Patted Alistair’s bicep. “I’m fucking with you.”
“Oh,” exhaled. “Good.” Ran his hand through his hair, the motion lifting his shirt. The muscles above his hips were also like his poster. “Actually, wait. That’s not good.”
“Did you get Jinx’s gift basket?” Lor asked, lunging into another stretch. He wasn’t differently-abled like his character, but he had an ablation surgery on his right leg which caused him to favour it. Needed to spend extra time on his hips.
Alistair laughed again. “Yes,” he said. Looked around the studio, conspiratorial. “Did yours have glitter?”
Kat (Jinx) had insisted that she was ‘going method’ and wanted to be called by her character name. Lor nodded. “Glitter bomb. I threw out my shirt.”
“It got in my mouth. I think it’s still in me.”
A few of the other actors had also asked to be referred to by their character names. Lor supposed in solidarity with Jinx. He thought it was a little silly. But he did too many silly things himself to complain.
He stuck his hand out. “I know we’ve met. But, officially, Lor Melnyk.” Behind him, Vi and Vander were casually harmonizing. Musical theatre brats. They sounded like angels.
Alistair shook it. His fingers warm. “Al. I won’t make you call me Jayce,” he said.
“Do you want to be called Jayce?” He raised his eyebrows.
“No,” held the handshake too long. Withdrew, ears flushing, embarrassed again. It was a cute look on him. “Worked too hard for this name.” Grinned to soften the blow.
———————————————————————
“So, when does your character fall in love?” Al asked. He was wearing glasses, writing in ballpoint pen on his script. The pen was madness.
Lor was already erasing one of his action-verbs, back against the studio mirror-wall. “Love?” he asked, not looking up.
He rolled his script, using it to gesture like a wand. The paper was impossibly tattered, Lor wondered what the hell Alistair had been doing with it. “I’m playing it, like the first seed is.” Al mimed grabbing something. Looked at him, hurt. Micro-expressions flitting across his face, “I don’t even know your name.”
“That early?” Lor asked. Lor was a hypocrite.
His glasses were perilously close to the end of his nose. “Yeah. It’s, Jayce is choosing to live. He’s going to kill himself. And he chooses not to.”
He paced around the sprung floor of the studio barefoot. “At first, the scene, it’s because Viktor’s the first person to listen to him, make him feel heard. Not crazy. It’s all this rush of emotion and decision. But, when it’s all over, and he picks up his wrist-thing. Bracelet? I don’t know what to call it. He’s like, I need to know who this man is in front of me. Who is he?”
Al finished his circling, squatting in front of Lor. Staring at him with hazel-brown eyes. Slid his glasses up the smallest amount. “This man, he’s not just a pretty face. I’m sure he has a name or something.”
Lor pushed Alistair’s glasses the rest of the way up his nose. “Or something.”
“Hey, consent!” he yelped, rolling back on his heels, one hand behind him so he didn’t tip over.
“I think we’re even now.”
Al scooched his butt across the floor, so he was beside him, back to the mirror. “I’m almost positive that’s not how it works.”
“And I don’t think you need those glasses.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I think you wear them because they make you look cute.”
He whipped off the spectacles like he was in a Bond movie. “You’re wrong.” Squinted. “I’m blind.” Put the glasses back on, poking his cheek. Lor wasn’t sure if the poke was for effect. “I was expecting you to say your line.”
Melnyk erased another action verb. “Are we running it?”
Read more (a03 link)
(If you'd be so kind as to hand me a delicious kudos over on a03 it makes my fic look sexier to new readers)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
"Do a backflip" becoming the crew's go to joke with all the high up shots.
Starts with Viktor and Jayce in The apartment at night. Scene goes a little janky because it's their first meeting and they still are getting their footing right. Viktor's notices Jay is a little nervous being on the edge of the building despite safety harnesses. Despite his long years in spy franchises Vik understands the fear. So instead of letting Jay say his line for his characters name He adds: "but if you choose to jump. Do a backflip would you? I've never seen someone do it." Breaking the tension and making the retake less scary for his fellow actor.
Later on its Mel on a break with the flute of carbonated apple juice with Jay between shots. She mutters: "I could do a backflip off this balcony. Make the party truly memorable." Jayce laughs. The moment is caught by jinx recording the BTS stuff.
Over the Hexgates when Viktor "hears the Arcane". Jayce gets him back. Sliging his arm around his shoulder to say "hey, you alright? You know not everyone can manage a backflip." "if I got the tragectory right-" Vik plays it just as serious. Five whole minutes of just backflipping off to the Hexcore talk between them. Nose bloody. The mechanism breaking at one point causing a samurai like spurt to come out. Which is played up for laughs.
Jinx and Ekko showing their Kid counterparts how to actually do a backflip. Learning a dance routine with backflipping involved. Vi and Cait are harmonizing while their kid counterparts are beatboxing terribly.
Later in the scene with Viktor considering Jumping Jayce says "Am I interrupting your backflip practice?" Which does nearly make Vik fall out as he laughs.
When someone dares Vander to do a backflip in Warwick costume. Setting up for the final scene between him, Vi and Jinx. He just flips his middle finger up behind his back.
Even Ambessa gets in one it once. After they get the chest pounding intimidating scene done, as soon as cut is called she says loudly: "Now young Kiramenn you shall do the time honored tradition of backflipping off this building. Make us all proud, and succeed in a triple flip."
The video for the Arcane behind the scenes (BTS) and to see how the show that we love came to be released today!
Watch now!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz4-38d3-AE#
My favourite art concepts I saw in the video
Theres even a clip of Claggor helping Powder! Which is accurate because in episode 1 he automatically offered to help her when she was having trouble on the roof before Vi stopped him.
ARCANE LOOKING BACK | Episode 1: Untold Stories
↳ "Vander, after specifically losing people that he did see as family. And I think the most gut wrenching part of it was Vi and Powder and, you know, having to somehow try to explain to them why their parents, who followed him, weren't coming back. It made it that he had the same reaction that Silco had. I think that the bottled up frustration was more that he could deal with, and he turned on him."
