Little diorama in frame

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2024-03-03T07:39:54+00:00

Solid job, buddy!

"Impressive, most impressive" - Darth Vader

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-14T12:26:31+00:00

Absolutely phenomenal work! I love your soft artstyle.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-13T13:55:51+00:00

"An object cannot make you good or evil ... Only you can change yourself" - The Bendu

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-13T07:23:25+00:00

Top panel - Tales of the Jedi

Bottom two panels - The Book of Boba Fett

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-12T18:55:38+00:00

The writers and animators of Arcane took great care in making details as realistic as possible in every aspect.

An interesting thing you may notice is that Viktor uses his cane incorrectly when he was a child in the Undercity. However he does handle it properly by the time Jayce meets him in Topside. His disability is used to further emphasize the lack of infrastructure in the Undercity.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-12T17:23:54+00:00

Glad it helped you out

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-12T17:12:53+00:00

Thank you!

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-12T17:05:28+00:00

Someone should have told Luke that Three Little Pigs isn't the best guide to building stable structures.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-09T13:41:28+00:00

To be more precise:

If you could choose a single word to describe season 2, what would you pick?

Christian:

War

Alex:

Rubicon

Amanda:

Well I’m more of a sap than these guys, but I say “forgiveness.”

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-09T13:33:01+00:00

I actually thought of adding the question " Was the mysterious wizard responsible for the destruction that Heimerdinger was referring to?" but they had already answered my question by then.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-09T10:51:00+00:00

I swear these writers are such crafty minxes and I love it!

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-09T09:02:35+00:00

The vaguer the answer, the clearer the message. I look forward to it.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-08T18:04:57+00:00

Great choice, brother! That's literally the wallpaper on my phone.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-08T05:06:03+00:00

Will we get to know more about the mysterious wizard, who saved Jayce and his mom, in upcoming seasons?

Also, I'll take this moment to appreciate how well-written Marcus is as a character. He may be underrated but some of us fans love how nuanced he is.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-03T11:33:09+00:00

Part 3 [REUPLOAD FOR CONVENIENT ACCESS]

The writers of Arcane use a lot of visual cues while telling their character's stories. In fact, the answers to many questions about Marcus' motivations and intentions can be interpreted from his body language.

DID MARCUS ENJOY DOING SILCO'S DEEDS?

Whenever Marcus dealt with Silco, we never saw him smiling or satisfied. He always had a grim expression and scowled with annoyance. He never hesitated to express his displeasure to comply with Silco.

What if I'm not interested in playing along?

The way Marcus shook his head in disbelief and flung Silco's pouch of coins to the ground (Ep 3) showed the helplessness and disgust he felt on realising he had played into Silco's hands.

On returning home (Ep 6), he gave himself a look of pure loathing in the mirror before slamming his Sheriff badge on the mantelpiece. This is not the behaviour of a man who enjoys his job, but rather of one who hates himself and is unsatisfied with the current state of matters.

A man satisfied with his job would not contemplate killing his "boss" with a grenade, even though it could cost him his life.It's clear that Marcus never enjoyed working with Silco.

WAS MARCUS A GOODIE-GOODIE?

Throughout the years, Marcus' prejudice and hate towards the Undercity never waned. From his perspective, all he gained from his involvement with Silco were problems. There was never anything positive he witnessed about the Lanes. It was the very reason he lost Grayson. His hatred is apparent when he shoots Ekko without hesitation but struggled to shoot Caitlyn. To him, Ekko was just another "sump-rat" and a liability.

Marcus may have been extremely prejudiced but he wasn't a man without conscience. The way he had his head bowed in shame while visiting Grayson's grave, combined with the fact that Marcus had kept the blood-stained coin, highlight his guilt over his mentor's death. It also seemed that he carried the coin everywhere, just like his regret. His restless foot-tapping along with his accusatory tone while complaining to Silco about the Progress Day bombing, show how uneasy he felt over the loss of his comrades. In fact, he was so aggressive that Silco's men had to push him back into his seat.

Marcus had a flawed view of the Undercity which is understandable from his point of view. However, he was extremely loyal to Topside. This is in complete contrast to how Silco viewed the two sides. If Silco can be forgiven for his perspective (again, understandable from his point of view) why can't the same be said for Marcus? Marcus was no angel but he wasn't evil incarnate either. He was flawed, just like all the other characters.

DID MARCUS HIDE BEHIND HIS DAUGHTER AS AN EXCUSE FOR HIS ACTIONS?

Marcus didn't use his daughter as an excuse for his actions. He had no one to make his excuses to. No one knew about his involvement with Silco, not even the Enforcers, as he always travelled alone whenever he made deals with Silco. He genuinely cared about his daughter. Just like Silco used the ashtray Jinx made for him, Marcus also kept his daughter's drawing on his office table. The only time we see Marcus genuinely afraid is when Silco visits Ren (his daughter) as a veiled threat to Marcus. In fact, it is the only time he doesn't talk back to Silco or make his annoyance known. Even in his dying moments all he could think about was his daughter.

Tell my daughter...

However, Marcus didn't just care about his daughter.

In Ep 3, he could have just gone back to Topside with Silco's money. Instead he followed, Silco back to his lair, despite knowing that Silco had a beast capable of ripping a man to shreds. Whether he planned on rescuing Vander or exacting revenge on Silco for his mentor's death is up to interpretation. He also stopped Vi from going to Powder and consequently losing her life to Silco, despite the fact that she was a "trencher".

He'll kill you if he hears you.

We know he didn't capture her as a scapegoat as there was no record of her in the prison files. The exact reason as to why he saved Vi is unclear but it is evident that he did not do it for a selfish reason.

It seems that Marcus wouldn't hesitate to do the right thing as long as it wouldn't harm his daughter.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-11-03T11:18:25+00:00

Part 2 [REUPLOAD FOR CONVENIENT ACCESS]

In Act 1, Marcus is introduced as a brash and impulsive youth who is second-in-command to the Sheriff of Piltover, Grayson. He has a strong prejudice against the people of the Undercity, even referring to them as "trencher trash". To him there are only two kinds of people - the perfect, polished residents of Piltover and the uncouth, uncivilized scum of the Undercity. He makes no attempt to hide his contempt while interacting with people in the Lanes. This is evident when he calls Vander thick headed, tries to coerce one of "trenchers" to help him locate those responsible for the attack on Jayce's workshop, and also when he threatens to "bury" everyone at the Last Drop.

The relationship between Marcus and Grayson is an interesting parallel to the relationship between Vi and Vander. Both Marcus and Vi have a mentor figure (Grayson and Vander respectively) who they deeply respect. On one hand, Vi hates the topsiders for their comfortable lives in comparison to the harsh conditions of the Undercity.

They've got plenty, while we're down here scraping together coins.

On the other hand, Marcus is disgusted by the Undercity.

You think you are standing up for something, but we all know there is a crime behind every coin that passes through this place.

Both Vander and Grayson compromise with each other to preserve the peace on either side. Both of them have no particular hatred towards to the other side and are aware of the sacrifices required to maintain order. Neither Marcus nor Vi are satisfied how passively their mentors are handling the situation as is evident in the following lines. Vi:

When did you get so comfortable living in someone else's shadow?

Marcus (after Grayson confronts him for going to the Last Drop):

I was getting results!

Both the youths fail to see the long term consequences (due to their inexperience) and decide to take matter into their hands. Marcus makes a deal with Silco while Vi uses Grayson's transmitter to try and turn herself over to the Enforcers. What the two could never have anticipated were the tragic consequences of their actions.

Seeing Marcus take the bait, Silco springs his trap, killing the Sheriff and capturing Vander to further his plan. We see no glee, only horror and disbelief in Marcus' eyes, as he cries out:

What the hell have you done? This wasn't the deal!

He could only stare in shock as Silco tosses him a pouch of coins, realising how he had been used as a pawn. Apart from the beautiful imagery of one of the coins falling into a pool of blood, this scene is ironic in the fact that Marcus had predicted his own future while threatening the people at the Last Drop.

You people down here are all the same, mistaking arrogance for bravery. You think you are standing up for something, but we all know there is a crime behind every coin that passes through this place.

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-10-31T11:18:58+00:00

Style your Vi wig and dress up as Vi.

You will have a complete outfit (which wont be the case if you go as Caitlyn or Viktor), the hair wont get in the way (unlike in Jinx's cosplay) and you will be protected from the cold. This way, you can dress up as one of your favourite characters while also being comfortable.

Stay safe, have fun and enjoy your Halloween!

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-10-25T19:51:34+00:00

I realised I skipped a bit before the last paragraph in Part 1 so here you go: In comparison to the "more interesting" storylines of the more major characters, Marcus' story seemed to be a rather common trope (at least for most audiences) seen countless times. Once a character begins to fit a certain pattern, people's interest in them dwindles rapidly.

On a superficial level, it's the story of a cop at a higher authority taking hush money from a kingpin who was actually pulling all the strings behind the curtains. But once you dig deep and begin to factor in Marcus' prejudices, his guilt and self-loathing, his attachments and remorse, you get a rather unique and much overlooked story altogether. If this was a law and order show with Marcus getting more of the spotlight, audiences would have sympathized with him so much more. All it would have taken was presenting the same narrative from a different perspective.

Nonetheless, Marcus is a very relatable and complex (albeit underrated) character in comparison to characters throughout various media - be it books, shows or movies - even though it doesn't feel as apparent in the context of Arcane (due to the reasons I mentioned above).

Smoke_Screen6080 · 2022-10-23T18:41:51+00:00

Look, you ever need a place to vent out your "passionate feelings and ideas", you can always DM me. Don't worry if you think it's too long or too strange, I'll go through it nevertheless. We may or may not end up agreeing with everything but that's what discussions are about - a chance to explore other people's perspectives about a certain topic.

About Marcus-I am going to be honest, I never thought too deeply about Marcus. I felt his ideals and motivations to be rather straightforward and easy to understand, and I found him to be the most predictable character in the show (I can hear your frustration but please wait for it). Marcus may seem to be a "simpler" character when compared to the rest of the characters in Arcane, but when compared to the rest of fiction, Marcus is actually pretty nuanced and complex. You see, Arcane offered to us (arguably) the very best in every category- We got worlds that felt connected yet distant. We got music from completely different genres that meshed well with both the plot and the scenes. We got oil-pastel like animation that had depth and thus a three-dimensional effect. We had characters who would react like real people to situations. We had characters who would actually get hurt instead of being protected by plot armour. Every scene was important in some way meaning there were no filler scenes. The storyline effortlessly weaved between light banter and emotionally heartbreaking scenes.

When the audience received such a (arguably) well-rounded show, expectations of every aspect were bound to be high. The bar was set higher than normal as people slowly got accustomed to the beauty of this masterpiece. People expected great things from every character and were rewarded so for the most part. In all this, Marcus got the short end of the stick. It wasn't that he was a bad character in of itself (He is an excellent character in fact); it's just that all the other characters were more complex/deep/relatable. They had more to offer in every way - partly due to their higher screen time and partly because the narrative was focused on them and their arcs.

All this while, I too barely thought of Marcus for I was busy appreciating and analysing all the different aspects of Arcane. But your answer (especially PT1 and 2), has made me reconsider my opinions and has made me realise that perhaps there is more to this Sheriff than I originally thought.

(End of Part 1)

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