Arcane Anew

Playing League and watching Arcane is like smoking weed and drinking at the same time: dangerous and addictive. It leads to long nights of playing League and listening to Arcane episodes on repeat. Orion was on his, what could've been, fourth forty-five-minute match of the night.

"Why is top lane 0/5/2 again?!"

He raged, as the fourth episode of Arcane started playing in the background. He didn't pay much attention to it, though, as he watched the top lane hard-pushing, with the enemy top lane at 3/0/2 and the enemy jungle nearby. And, of course, just like a poorly written play, the enemy jungle showed up to increase that kill count.

Orion sat back in disbelief, his hands slightly lifted from the keyboard and mouse, mouth agape, watching as the sixth death played out in just fifteen minutes for top-lane.

"No... No. I'm done," Orion stated angrily, as he alt-tabbed and right-clicked to close the game. He knew he'd be sent to the leaver's queue, but he didn't care. His frustration and anger had taken over.

Sighing, he clicked around aimlessly, then leaned back in his seat, ready to watch the fourth episode—maybe for the fourth or fifth time. It wasn't like he'd intentionally gotten stuck in this rut after finishing college. He was in a waiting period, about to start a new job, just trying to pass the time.

"Better this than the military again..." he muttered to himself. It was more of a passing moment of depression as he settled deeper into his addiction to the series, sipping on his vodka and OJ mix. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to join the military again—sickness had damaged his nervous system. He wasn't even sure if it was his nervous system, and ironically, he refused to see a doctor, overwhelmed by the conflicting narratives swirling around it.

Coping? Maybe. Depressed? No. He'd found success in college and secured a job. There were regrets, sure—thoughts of what could have been—but he wasn't dwelling on them. No. "Just keep swimming," as the cartoon saying goes. And with that, he took another sip of his drink.

"Hopefully, the website will be back up soon so I can study for the certification exams," he thought to himself. It was the last hurdle before he could begin. His eyes shifted back to the screen when an out-of-place message appeared on his stream:

"Would you like to enter Runeterra?"

His baffled response, "The Fuck?"