#arcane opinion

[azural83]

They were so wrong for making us believe that their relationship would be an important part of the season by releasing this as the first poster

[stanlunter]

Why don't we talk about how Melvika is extremely overrated for a ship that makes no sense and ruins the characters

I mean, I usually love crackships, they're often interesting and can reveal the characters from new sides and make an unusual dynamic

Even in Arcane there are some good or not bad crackships that I treat fine, but Melvika? Seems like the only reason why it exists is bc the fandom likes headcanoning them wlw and bc it's a "masculine"/"feminine" dynamic which for some reason is often a must have in any wlw ship

But the problem is that Sevika absolutely despises pilties, esp from the council and would never tolerate Mel, it just goes against all her views and arc. While also the fans love turning Sevika into some dog/slave/servant for Mel that stays on her side and goes against Zaun. Should I even explain how classisit and disgusting it is? And how much it mischaracterises and downplays Sevika who would never be like this for a piltie? Even while working for Silco she afforded herself being openly rude to him and was completely honest that she would betray him if there's someone better for Zaun, cuz she did it for her own views, not for Silco. Also in most of the content Mel is some manipulative madame who uses Sevika as either some lady-in-waiting or a personal knight, which makes no sense for Sevika either.

.It's even worse with Sembessa cuz besides all that Ambessa also caused so much problems to the undercity and used its discrimination against it btw, but at least it's not as popular

While Mel, who grew up with a cold mother who appreciated violence and was against peaceful ways of resolving the conflicts, would have no reasons to fond for someone who's for radical methods of fight who would never cooperate or compromise with those from the opposite side. Considering with what Mel loved in Jayce: his softness, aspiration of the innovations, faith in the best for everyone and some naiveness about it. Their frankness, sort of valnurability, tenderness, emotionality and sensuality were a huge part of the relationship that made Mel feel loved and cared about. Obviously, we didn't see how Sevika act in relationship, but she didn't show any of it, even when she had a lot of emotions inside, we haven't seen her showing any emotion besides anger so there are no reasons to think she would be open enough for Mel, since she never was with anyone else it's out of character for her, which is why I don't think their relationship could work out or even start in the first place

I'm free for other opinions tho and would glad to hear what other people think about them

[insomniadreamzz]

Even if Timebomb is canon I can still dislike it. You don’t have to like something only because it’s canon.

[daydreamerhabitz]

All my controversial/unpopular personal opinions about Arcane in general because I haven't gotten over it yet and don't care if the hype is already over.

• Ekko's character had so much potential and was completely butchered/wasted;

• That being said, Timebomb is such a terrible ship that they needed a whole au to justify it instead of actually trying to explore the whole dumpster fire that is canon Jinx and Ekko's dynamic. Might be because I'm gay for Jinx, but I felt nauseous watching that episode. It was a waste of time;

• Vi. Poor Vi. What they did to you in season 2 was horrible. Season 1 Vi would have never joined the enforcers and I say that having been a league player before watching Arcane (Yes, I liked torturing myself). They established such a beautiful character, only to completely ignore her core values and personality for the sake of the narrative. That's not good writing. I saw someone once mention that it would have been interesting if Vi had been forced to join them and gosh, it would have been such a blast! It could have been a way to further introduce Caitlyn's descent into dictatorship, show more of Vi's inner struggles and maybe we could have seen Vi being a sort of double agent for the firelights... Vi deserved way better than what she got;

• CaitVi was cute in season 1, but terrible in season 2. I stopped shipping it entirely;

• Caitlyn's whole villain/dictator arc ended too quickly and she needed a better redemption. Or not. Make her worse before she gets slowly better;

• Sevika, Ekko, Mel.... Aka, all the beautiful characters of color of the show who had interesting stories to tell, but were reduced to shells of they could have been. Seriously. The whole black rose arc was so confusing and felt so rushed. The firelights? What firelights, they completely forgot about them until it was time for the music video/final battle. Sevika being given a council seat felt like an attempt to make up for how she was put aside for the sake of a bad written narrative;

• The firelights would have never teamed up with Jinx. I love my girl but they had beef with her. She murdered thousands of them for gods' sake!

• Speaking of her. Jinx, love of my life, my wife.... I'm a psychology student, so I'm aware mental illnesses are very subjective to person and cannot be precisely predicted. Many people found her characterization off in season 2 and indeed, it was very different, but not completely impossible in my view. However, by the way it was written, it made a lot of people interpret it as it suddenly healed by Isha or Silco's death, which is... well, unrealistic. A child's presence could be an emotional anchor and getting out of a toxic environment helps a lot, but it certainly doesn't make your all mental health issues almost 100% disappear. Anyways, like all things in season 2, it could have been written better. Killing her off in the end also sent a terrible message and felt like a stab in the back to the many mentally ill viewers who related to her;

• Isha, adorable baby, but she was just a narrative tool. I knew she was going die the moment I saw her;

• Speaking of narrative tools, so was Maddie. They put her there so we'd be focused on hating her instead of noticing how problematic CaitVi got;

• Ekko and Heimerdinger should have had some conflict with each other. You're telling me that Ekko, my baby boy, would completely ignore the fact that the furr ball had a part to play in Zaun's terrible living by turning a blind eye to it? Nuh Uh!

• Arcane should have had more seasons or more episodes because it needed more time to tie together all the elements introduced in season 1;

• CaitVi's sex scene in the prison cell was disgusting. There, I said it. (And don't go calling me homophobic because guess what? I'm one of them queers!) Vi just failed in trying to get her sister back for like the hundredth time and is probably worried sick because Jinx was clearly suicidal, plus she's IN A CELL, a place where she spent years being tortured in, and then the writers go off and make her go "Oh yes, sex." Even if she did it for the sake of coping, how can I think it's okay for Caitlyn to come onto Vi, who's clearly in a vulnerable position? This was the nail in the coffin for me;

• The whole "hextech is evil because magic is evil and corrupted and blah blah blah' is lazy. LAAAAZY. Instead, talk about how any scientific discovery, any tool, magic or not, can be harmful if used incorrectly. ACTUALLY, use the whole original league lore where the crystal thingies were actually the souls from those bugs I forgot the name of and make a parallel of how Piltover's progress was built on the blood and detriment of the people of Zaun;

• Jesus Magic Herald Viktor was great, but Machine Herald Viktor will be missed;

Anyways, I think have more of these, but my head stopped working right now. So byeee!

[duohex]

mel appreciation post

[soratatakano]

For some time now, I've been turning over a question that often comes up in the fandom:

Did Silco exploit minors for labor?

I debated whether this was worth analyzing, but I’ve learned that if an idea lingers in your head like Ellie's cordyceps, you eventually have to face it. So I began to dig deeper—mainly into the lives of Zaun’s children and teenagers, both before and after the events of episode three in season one.

The first kids we meet are Vander’s group.

What more can be said about them that hasn’t been said already? Still, I’ll mention it. Despite their young age, they wanted to fight, to strike back at the people above, refusing to accept Zaun’s oppression. From the exchange between Mylo and Vi, it’s clear they started long before we saw them on screen.

Mylo’s words to Vi—

You were twice the person at half her age

—make that obvious.

But I don’t want to highlight their resistance or determination despite their age. The truth is, in Zaun there is no childhood as we know it. Everyone is forced to grow up fast, especially those who’ve lost their families. And there are more of them than we’ll ever know.

Much like Vander’s four, Ekko lived in similar circumstances. It’s never explained what Benzo was to him, but they treated each other as family. Benzo gave the boy shelter, work, and belonging. When Ekko first appears, he’s repairing a clock despite being so young. He minds the shop in Benzo’s absence—he even serves Jayce when he arrives.

These are just a few examples, but the point is clear:

Zaun’s children are not helpless innocents without agency.

Remember that when you argue with me later.

And here—although I’m not sure where to place it chronologically—young Viktor deserves mention. We see him playing with a mechanical boat while other children swim carefree in the water. Polluted, full of oil and waste, yet they laugh as if it were a paradise. Joy matters more than poison, at least in that fleeting moment.

And there he is. Pale, fragile, walking with a cane even as a boy. He plays alone, in the shadows.

What does this show us? Exactly what is on screen. Zaun is toxic, its children pay the price—disease, frailty, lives cut short. And that’s the point: it doesn’t matter if it was before Vander, during his 'rule', or after Silco rose to power. Zaun was always poisoned. Someone always suffered. And someone always fought back.

So let’s move to another group: the young adults who weren’t raised in Vander’s circle.

I mean people like Deckard.

He didn’t leave the best impression, did he? Aggressive, restless, spoiling for a fight. From his clash with Vi’s group, it’s obvious they knew each other—this wasn’t the first encounter. Deckard embodies that part of Zaun’s youth who either don’t see a way out, don’t want to, or actively choose not to. Maybe for him, joining Silco’s ranks felt like the only option. A gang instead of a family.

Among Silco’s thugs, Deckard carved out a place for himself. Was he just like the others? Perhaps. But one thing is certain: he had his reasons. Whatever they were, he still chose that path—and I will repeat that to the end.

Deckard represents those who saw no other survival than to embrace crime—for a roof over their heads, for coin, for food. Maybe even for a sense of belonging. Zaun is full of such young men and women. Let’s be honest: crime thrives there. Maybe some joined Silco out of hunger, maybe out of anger at Piltover. Maybe because poverty left them nothing else. The answers are many. The questions are endless.

And then there were others. Teenagers making their own reckless choices.

After Silco’s rise, another group emerged—the Firelights.

They too sought safety for Zaun, but fought in their own way, against their own enemies. Not Piltover, but Silco and the barons. They gathered around Ekko’s tree, building refuge, creating a different answer to what the Lanes offered. And it was their decision to be there. Some even risked their lives to destroy Shimmer.

When Jinx reappears on a ship, one Firelight is a girl. Her age and hair make Jinx mistake her for Vi. That’s because she remembers her sister as a teenager. This girl wasn’t a child anymore—but she wasn’t fully grown either. She’s the kind of figure I focus on now. And we can safely assume her fight against Silco was her own choice. Of all people, Ekko would never force anyone to follow him.

Still, what I’ve just described concerns mainly the young who were searching for direction—those who lost their families, or were cast aside by them. But Zaun isn’t only them.

One image lingers with me: a little girl, much younger, face smeared with grime, but smiling. She reached out to Heimerdinger for a toy, only to be quickly pulled back by her mother. That brief glimpse reminds us—Zaun isn’t made up solely of disillusioned teenagers. But who will this child grow up to be, if she survives? Will she leave her family? Or inherit their world? Her future remains untold. And perhaps that’s the point.

So what am I showing here?

A glimpse into the lives of young people in Zaun, because even though many would like to, you can't blame Silco for everything. Assuming that the quality of life for youth collapsed the moment he took over is simply wrong.

I call them young people because they’re far past childhood but not yet fully grown adults. They had the misfortune of being born on the wrong side of the river.

In Zaun, childhood doesn’t exist—not as we know it. They were forced to grow up faster than necessary. Whether they had a family, became orphans taken in by someone, or had to fend for themselves and chose the darker path, what seems inconceivable to us is everyday life for them.

I’ll repeat that for emphasis:

Kids in Zaun had to grow up fast to survive.

That’s why their paths, choices, and mistakes are the consequences of actions taken by minds older than their years. Decisions—that’s the word I want you to remember as you read on.

Okay, but I promised you another discussion about Silco, and I’m still talking about teenagers.

Let me get to the point.

I don’t believe Silco exploited minors for labor.

By 'exploited', I mean forced.

Let’s start with Silco’s attitude toward them.

The first interaction we saw was with Deckard. From the very beginning, it was clear that he was just a pawn, the smallest cog in the business. If he fell out, no one would go looking for him.

During the interrogation, when the boy failed, Silco’s men clearly threatened him with violence—showing that if they wanted, they could hurt him much worse. A game of cat and mouse. Brutal? Yes. Necessary? Probably only to maintain fear and respect. But it’s obvious that Silco didn’t care about Deckard himself.

After obtaining valuable information, Silco gave one order:

Give him a meal. But keep him off the streets.

He was completely indifferent to the boy—only the information mattered. A meal as a reward sounds absurd, but perhaps not when poverty reigned in Zaun. A clever move that kept Deckard around longer, or so I think.

Using him as a test subject for Shimmer wasn’t even about morality. It wasn’t about him at all. Anyone could have been chosen at that moment.

Silco did what he does best: he got inside his head. Maybe he had heard of him, maybe he checked who he was. By giving his speech about power, he gave Deckard a vision: If you want to be someone, reach for it. And in that moment, Shimmer could give him the strength he craved.

Did Silco manipulate him? I reluctantly admit—yes. But he didn’t force it down his throat. He left the choice to the boy, though he probably sensed what his answer would be. Silco waited for Deckard to make the move, simply offering the drug. Morally dubious and manipulative, yes—but the final step was Deckard’s. Knowing it could kill him, he still reached for it.

No, I am not blaming the victims of addiction here in any way.

I just want to show there was no coercion in Silco’s behavior toward them. Manipulation? Yes. Tempting them with dreams? A better life? Absolutely. But not coercion. Because coercion doesn’t win loyalty. Immoral, but undeniably clever.

Silco didn’t see them as teenagers, but as adults. Probably because he had to grow up quickly himself, raised on the streets. He knows this city doesn’t forgive, doesn’t reward—it only takes away. Only those who can endure survive. And those like him rise higher: the ones unafraid to reach for more.

Silco didn’t coddle them. Since they chose to join his ranks, they were treated like everyone else. No special privileges because of age. No patting on the head or indulgence.

He behaved similarly toward Vi.

When she came with Mylo and Claggor to Vander, Silco was waiting with his men, ready to fight—anything to stop Vander’s escape.

And Vi stood her ground. With her adoptive father’s gloves, she faced the thug we all know. She knowingly stood against an older, stronger opponent. She knew what she was doing, buying time for the others. She was attacked without hesitation—with a knife, with the clear intention to kill.

Because to Silco, she wasn’t Vi, wasn’t a child. Maybe he forgot she was Felicia’s daughter, or maybe no one thought of it when writing the series. In that moment, she was simply an enemy. An obstacle to be removed to complete the plan.

In his gaze as he watched Vi, there was focus, assessment. He didn’t underestimate her just because she was a child. No—she was Vander’s ward. He knew she could be dangerous. And she exceeded his expectations when she almost knocked out her attacker.

When he went outside after Vander fell from the building like a ball of fire, he looked for Vi. Knife in hand, he searched for the one who had thwarted his plans. Seeing Powder by Vander’s body, the only thing he asked was where her sister was.

Was it to eliminate her for good?

Or to bring her to his side?

Good question.

But he definitely saw her as a threat. Not as a child.

What am I getting at? What I said at the beginning. From Silco’s behavior and interactions, I’ve gleaned this awkwardness in his dealings with younger people. It’s as if he doesn’t see their age, only their potential, their threat, or their usefulness.

And if you think this is far-fetched, that I’m twisting things to defend a character I’m unhealthily obsessed with—I get it. But I’m just trying to look from every angle and chew it over.

As I mentioned earlier, putting all the blame on Silco for the exploitation of minors only shows how much focus he gets—and how little thought is given to the other barons. They could have been doing the same thing, yet I don’t hear anyone talking about Margot employing minors to serve her clientele.

Silco wasn’t alone.

He is portrayed as a cruel tyrant. A ruthless mafioso who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. I don’t dispute that. I know what he did. I know what he was capable of.

But no matter what I think, one thought gnaws at me at night like my cat wanting to play.

We all know the factory scene at the end of the season. I’ll get to that in a moment. But before that, it’s time for Jinx.

Specifically, one particular scene with her.

After the Firelighters’ attack on the shimmer shipment, Jinx has her moment in Silco’s office when she explains what went wrong—why the cargo was lost. Silco doesn’t go easy on her either, saying:

Today’s screw-up will set us back weeks.

He doesn’t accuse her directly but lays out the consequences of her actions. His daughter, the child he took in, wasn’t patted on the head or praised. No—he calmly pointed out the mistake and the price she’d pay if it happened again.

But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.

I’m doing this for us, Jinx. All of us. The sons and daughters of Zaun deserve more than their runoff.

That one scene kept me awake at night.

Because it clashes with the image of a criminal who would force others to work. This man, for whom loyalty was worth its weight in gold. I can’t—I don’t want to—believe that someone saying those words, with that expression, with such conviction and desperation for Zaun’s independence, could be the same man who chained others into labor.

No. What I see is acceptance of young people working for him, but not under duress. That’s why I suspect those handling shimmer were in fact paid. I can’t see it any other way.

In Zaun, where survival often meant grabbing income wherever possible, many would willingly take on dangerous or shady jobs. That’s not unique to Runeterra—it’s something we know from our own world. So what about Zaun, where morality worked differently?

Hazardous, illegal labor probably offered a salary tempting enough to draw in many—young people included. Shimmer production was still a niche then and needed hands. And what’s more tempting than money? A willing worker is always more useful than someone forced.

And then we sink to the very bottom—where Renni’s son’s body fell.

What do we really know about him, besides the fact that he died? I have my theories.

As her son, he wasn’t a manual laborer. Renni loved him—that much is clear from her reaction when she found him. He was better dressed, cleaner, and seemed familiar with the factory’s workings.

When Jayce stormed in with the enforcers, he raised the alarm instantly. That suggests a role higher than production-line work.

I believe it was a deal between Renni and Silco that placed him there. Maybe through him she kept an eye on Silco. I don’t believe she would’ve sold her own son into near-slavery when she herself had influence in Zaun.

When Jayce looks over the people gathered after the factory fight, two shots stick in my mind. One wide, with the enforcers guarding the detainees.

And more importantly—a close-up of the younger workers’ faces. Exhausted, hollow, lifeless. Waiting for arrest without protest. They don’t argue, don’t cry, don’t beg for mercy. They don’t even try to run or claim they were forced. They just wait. With the weary acceptance of someone who’s been caught.

I find it hard to believe these are the faces of people locked in a basement and let out for twelve-hour shifts.

Silco didn’t act morally in using that labor force—offering money, maybe drugs, in exchange for work. I don’t deny it’s manipulative. I’m not excusing him.

But I keep insisting:

I don’t believe he forced anyone to work for him.

Not Silco, who valued loyalty above all else.

And now we move into the controversial second season.

If it weren’t for episode two—and my favorite song, Sucker—this rant would never have been written.

What am I talking about?

That one shot, that one image: the hunt for children. It haunted me. I couldn’t rest knowing the answer was so close and yet just out of reach.

The people in that scene? Chross’s men. Their clothing and other shots from the sequence give it away.

These children—much younger than anyone I’ve described before—were simply kidnapped. Dragged from the streets as if they weren’t people but objects.

And this isn’t a metaphor, though I wish it were. Isha too was hunted. I don’t even want to imagine what happened to those kids. Forced into shimmer labor to keep Silco’s legacy alive? That was Smeech’s territory. Maybe there weren’t enough workers, so they targeted those easiest to control—children. Or maybe the goals were darker still. Worse than becoming Margot’s playthings?

That will remain unanswered.

But I’ll leave you, and myself, with one question.

Since the first season never shows what we later saw in season two episode two—doesn’t that mean that under Silco’s reign, children were spared at least that fate?

Did Silco, knowing exactly how cruel the other barons could be, keep their impulses in check? Was he the only one who truly did it for the sons and daughters of Zaun—making sure the city’s future wasn’t simply sold out?

Yes. I want to believe so.

That Silco, for all he was, kept the kids safe from being trafficked.

[izoldalovesthesun]

“Out of Character”

Hmm. Okay, this may be considered a hot take, please be nice.

I think, when someone is consuming media and they say “this character would not do that” or “why did they behave so out of character,” this is the wrong pattern of thinking.

If something is canon in fiction, then I don’t think that any part of the story is meant to be treated as an outlier or exception or that it “doesn’t count.” It *does* count if it’s part of the canon.

So instead of thinking “they behaved out of character,” you should analyze it again and include that part as being *in* character. The character *does* act like that. It *is* in character. You, maybe, just didn’t like their choices. That’s okay, too. But it’s incorrect to say they behaved “out of character” if that’s how the character was written to behave.

Also, you can consider that no one is totally stagnant all the time. People change, characters evolve.

I behave differently now compared to even just a few years ago, but I wouldn’t say I’m acting out of character. I’ve just changed a bit in response to events and time passing.

[wooldamenace]

I made more Arcane fan art. And a quick disclaimer I don't like szn 2 Caitvi. Like I feel their dynamic was written by a white person who is friends with their less privileged friends to piss off their bigoted parents as a form of rebellion. So this fanart will reflect my ideas on their dynamic. So, uhm, diehard ignorant caitvi defenders, this is your chance to leave.

BOO CAITVI BOOO 👎🏾👎🏾

my native american self watching caitlyn call the ppl of Zaun animals in front of Vi: