The same place in 2021:
*Takes you by the shoulders* I ADORE character profiles and character trivia and likes and dislikes sections. I love knowing this ruthless, heartless, cruel man of a character has a childish dislike for mandarin oranges. I believe in the inherent beauty of all characters, no matter the background or moral stance, being made fundamentally human by assigning them insignificant culinary preferences. I stand by the supremacy of humanizing villains by giving them relatable tastes and trivial interests and ordinary hobbies. I treasure the hidden reminders that everyone is inherently human even when everything else we know about a character might suggest the contrary.
hand study as an excuse to draw mel
Rainer Maria Rilke, tr. by A. Poulin Jr., Duino Elegies and The Sonnets to Orpheus
jayce enduring a symbolic rendition of viktor's trauma is so painful and so, so clever.
being stricken down and immobilized through sheer accident or, in viktor's case, a cruelly random quirk that caused his disability.
then physically dragging himself from the lowest level of zaun to piltover, much like how viktor spent his youth reaching toward the promise piltover offered, but only if he could "pull himself up by the boot straps" and get there on his own. socioeconomic forces working against him be damned.
i appreciate arcane reminding us of viktor's origins - the reason he is so called to help people and, eventually, save himself - and putting jayce through the ringer - the contrast between he and viktor's lived experiences is front and center throughout season 1. the writers send jayce, and the audience, on a grueling journey to contemplate those experiences and how they've manifested in these intertwined characters.
fifteen
Yuta, my love I know you love flair and all but dont destroy the building just for your entrance please.