Oh, how I've missed the Arcane fandom. This community never really disappeared thanks to an active flow of fiction, art, and theories in the three years since the first season aired, but now the fandom is back and more active than ever.
Every single social media timeline I still bother to frequent is filled with discussions of the first act, artwork depicting favorites all dressed up in new clothes, along with thoughtful critiques and theories about what's to come. Most of all, though, this fandom is an incredibly thirsty bunch of fruity sheepdogs waiting to be let out of their pen. To my shame, I'm right there with them. Lock me up before I run away and start barking at Caitlyn.
Arcane has a drink for every type of thirst
Arcane's champion champions have been part of the League of Legends universe for over a decade, but the way Fortiche and Netflix have reimagined them is exactly why they've remained so firmly etched in the memory. There was once a brawler designed for the male gaze, while Arcane transforms the Piltover fighter into a shorter, more masculine woman with clear queer codes sprinkled throughout her design. Her facial features, body language and tone of voice are completely different and strongly representative of the world she grew up in.
It's also incredibly sexy, with a lesbian friend of mine recently telling me that their love life is in ruins because no matter how much they vibe with someone, they'll never be Vi. Imagine creating a character so wonderful that it brings an entire sexuality to its knees. Absolute behavior of the icons.
When I spoke with some of the show's creative team before the release of the first act, we talked about the intentions behind Vi's design, specifically how Arcane transformed her into a more masculine character, but one that still values her femininity: “Vi was not violent at the beginning, she was a very sweet girl,” explains co-director Pascal Charrue. “When we return to the first [character] drawing on the bridge at the beginning of season 1 was very kind and loving, just like Powder, but then he saw his parents die. And during this moment, she changed.
Vi and Caitlyn are Arcane's signature romance and also a femme/butch lesbian couple that never fails to make me kick my legs like a schoolgirl. They are so perfect.
This recognition from Fortiche was celebrated throughout the fandom, with a butch lesbian at the forefront of one of the biggest animated shows in the world, a form of representation that queer people have been waiting for. It only made fans more drawn to Vi and everything she represents, and how she's become a symbol of both aggression and vulnerability.
Then there's Caitlyn, a more feminine sapphic character who towers over Vi in both stature and authority, equally attractive in appearance and personality while still managing to be flawed, complicated, and a perfect foil to Vi's disposition.
His love stories range from the tragic Yuri to the toxic Yaoi
Then there's Jayce and Viktor, whose interactions in the first act convinced me that Arcane's writing team has been reading fanfiction. Instead of saving the kingdom from imminent destruction, Jayce decides to use the Hexcore to save his dying partner, even if it means he will see him transformed into a magical messiah corrupted by the arcane.
When Viktor gets up and walks around again, there are several touches between the two men that suggest a bond that is more than platonic. I was exchanging glances with a friend who immediately had to Google whether it was a canon love story or not, because they definitely gave off a very fruity vibration.
One fan even predicted the opening scene of the Arcane season two years ago in his own comic dedicated to Jayce and Viktor. I told you it was fruity.
The animation in Arcane is so intricate and detailed that fans like me are bound to read every little detail, right down to the eye movements and body language, which tell us more about the characters than dialogue ever could. Let's take a look at the kissing scene between Vi and Caitlyn and how it was initiated. Caitlyn makes the first move, making it clear that she has the ultimate authority and Vi often waits for her to enter her personal space. Then, after looking down from Vi's eyes to her lips, he pulls her into a long, passionate kiss. Yes, I may have seen it several times…
But it's this detail, and the way it brings the characters to life in such an intimate way, that has given fans the drive to create their own art, write their own stories, and to do so in a bawdy yet creative way. It's a story and a cast of characters thrust into the unfair circumstances of adulthood, so you expect this to be accompanied by feelings of romance and lust, canon or otherwise. I've seen GIFs of Caitlyn strolling around that queer fans treat like the Mona Lisa, or a closer examination of Vi's man spread and how that reinforces exactly what makes her butch presentation so appealing.
This thirst is not exploitative, it is celebratory
Fortiche also seems to be there with us, with how many characters are depicted in thirsty and attractive ways that seem purposeful. She moves through it with a beautiful aura of confidence that cements her queer identity at every moment, while Caitlyn is a fierce, commanding, yet vulnerable leader who is desperate for the touch of another woman to make her feel like she's worth something. .
The first season hints at these representations, but so far the second season takes them much further and, in a way, feels like an answer to everything we loved and wanted to see more of from Arcane. Previously, I thought it was impossible for the romance between Vi and Caitlyn to be made so explicit, and now Netflix uses it as a marketing pillar. He is well aware that his characters seem incredible, and there is charm not only in the stories that are told, but in the way the characters within them look, behave and interact.
I will always be amazed at how quickly artists create new pieces within hours of releasing trailers and episodes. I wish I was that talented…
Jayce and Viktor aren't canon, and probably never will be, but there's more than enough fuel to draw our own conclusions and tell new stories outside of that. Arcane fans are a thirsty bunch, to the point of being overwhelming at times, but it only takes a few seconds to learn that these reactions come from a place of love, understanding, and feeling seen for the people we are. Vi and Caitlyn are also really, really, really cute.
