This Is The Most Real Thing Ever

Similarities between TLOU 1 & 2 and Arcane.

Beginning first with plot elements and environment, then to overlaps between characters.

Potential spoilers for season one and two of Arcane and The Last of Us Part One and Part Two. But I did my best to skirt around them.

The QZs and Piltover.

The quarantine zones of the TLOU are the remains left of the United States government after martial law was declared in response to the outbreak. And they are run in the same way as martial law, where force is used to control the population.

Food rations are controlled and hoarded. Resources are scare. But your option otherwise is to risk roughing it on your own against infected and nature.

It is a terribly repressive system, which sparks the emergence of the Fireflies.

Similar, to Piltover. Mostly through the lens of residence of the under city.

Enforces stomping through the streets, imprisoning your neighbors, breaking up families, using violence as a tool for control.

Furthermore, Piltover ignores the lack of resources in the undercity, has no member of the council who’s from the undercity to represent them (until the end of the series), and exploits there weaknesses for profit.

The Fireflies and The Firelights.

Both the Fireflies and the Firelights exist to do the same thing: challenge an oppressive government and bring hope for the future. And they both use any means necessary to achieve their goals.

Although, the Firelights also have the added challenge of Silco’s control of the Undercity.

Additional, they’re pretty much named the same things. Firelights are just the Arcane universes version of fireflies (or lightning bugs, whatever your preferred name for them)

“When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light.”

Spores and Toxic Gas (The Gray)

I also can’t help but draw parallels between airborne spores from TLOU and the gas from the mines in Arcane.

Both result in coughing and choking initially. Spores lead always to infection and death, unless your Ellie. The Gray, as it’s referred to in the show, is shown to have numerous side effects, if you don’t suffocate from exposure to its gas form. Most notable examples, Viktor and Silco. The disease Viktor has, I’d guess leukemia, seems to be a result of exposure to pollution in his childhood. And Silco’s left eye is left in a constant battle of corruption after a wound he receives there is exposed to polluted river water. Both of which would lead to death if treatment wasn’t possible (Shimmer).

Violet and Ellie

I’ll start with a silly point first before the heartbreak: both are gay. Neither give a specific identity, but for generally purpose, and because of only seeing romantic relations between them and other woman, lesbian is what we’ll call it.

Here we have too powerful, strong willed, quick witted, lesbian woman as main characters in a narrative about overcoming hardships and heartbreak.

Now the overlaps in those hardships and heartbreaks.

Both are orphaned at a young age. Vi after an uprising gone wrong. Ellie’s is never revealed in the games. And then both are adopted by a new father figure. Vander and Joel respectively.

Both are taught survival and fighting techniques from them. Both see the adoptive father as their real father. Then both of them lose said father. Both of them feel responsible for that death.

Vi eventually heals from this loss by the end of the series, and while she definitely carries the grief of that loss through the show, she doesn’t follow the same kind revenge plot that Ellie does. What Ellie does belongs in a completely different post.

Abby and Jinx

I almost didn’t include this because at first I thought the only narrative similarity between the two would be the responsibility of the previous mentioned death of the father figures. Abby kills Joel. Jinx (Powder) (accidentally) kills Vander.

Especially because I consider Vander Jinx’s father, too. Regardless of her relationship Silco after his passing.

But then I thought about Lev and Isha. Abby and Lev relationship in the game exists to mirror the relationship between Ellie and Joel.

And while I could see an argument that Isha is meant to help Jinx heal, especially heal the relationship between herself and Vi, I still place her in a role of motherhood or caregiver for Isha.

Jinx learns so much about love, forgiveness, and hope from Isha. Similar to how Abby found forgiveness for Joel actions once she finally experienced what it means to live for someone else.

Jinx sees herself in Isha, just as Abby saw herself in Lev.

Joel and Vander

As you could probably gather from the previous two points, both these characters are father figures.

Joel takes Ellie under his wing after circumstances lead the to travel across the country in hopes Ellie’s immunity will lead to a cure. But at the end of the game, when complications arise, he saved Ellie, leaving body after body in his wake.

Vander, friends with their mother and father, already knew Violet and Powder. He in fact lead the uprising against Piltover that would result in the death of their parents. He adopts them then, and shifts focus into making the holding the Undercity together the best he can, even alliancing himself with enforcers to try and keeps his daughters as safe as he can.

I’m not gonna spoil anything, but the point is these two men would do anything, and I mean anything, for the safety of their daughters.

Bombs

Maybe a dumb point, but bomb mechanics in TLOU is one of the most fun aspects of the gameplay. And Jinx’s most infamous for her bombs.

If I missed anything or got something wrong, please let me know!

Also, enjoy an tik tok edit of them. @violetswifes.

could you make this easy for me

As an ex-catholic, I will always have special place in my heart for weird Catholic stuff.

I present:

Used for your last rites, I think.

Trying to figure out shadows.

I can’t remember if this was from Pinterest or something I screenshotted from tik tok.

I love to draw little flower people.

"you can't make me forget you"

When I go CD shopping, I usually take pictures of the ones I think look cool but aren’t sure about.

That way I can go and listen to it on Spotify first.

Here’s some; excited to listen to them!

Is anyone out there familiar with these albums?