Pride Month Picks: If You Think Arcane Is Straight You Watched It Wrong

thegamer.com:

This article is part of Pride Month Picks, a collection of pieces that aim to highlight queer representation across games, television, film, books, and more throughout June.

A few weeks ago I met up with some friends from school for the first time in years and our mutual love for games, animation, and just being massive nerds around each other returned in a matter of moments. It was nostalgic bliss, and with two of our group massively into League of Legends, the conversation inevitably fell onto Arcane.

I told them how much I adored the show’s queer representation, and how the relationship between Cait and Vi was a slow building example of sapphic brilliance that felt strangely real despite the fantastical setting. Suddenly, both of them looked at me and said, “I dunno, I guess it was a little gay but I didn’t really see it.” I apologise profusely to these two friends if they happen to be reading this, but what the fuck are you on about?

Related: Girls Don’t “Graduate” From Animation, Networks Are Failing Them

For years, I thought lesbians were meant to be oblivious when it came to romance or noticing signs of love and flirtation, but it turns out my straight friends couldn’t catch a gay girl unless she’s screaming about eating pussy from the rooftops. Arcane doesn’t cement Cait and Vi’s relationship with a vocal confession or a kiss in the first season, but the dialogue and body language between them was so ripe with queer intention that it never once needed to. It is abundantly clear that their relationship is a core focus of the show that will only be built upon in the years to come. If you don’t see that, I’m sorry but you absolutely watched Arcane wrong.

Arcane caught the attention of queer audiences everywhere