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Zuko finding out about the gaang's shenanigans and vice versa part 2

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Zuko: Sokka I still can't believe master Piandao trained you. Did you get to make your own sword as well?

Sokka: yes I did! At first I was scared it wouldn't work, but I'm glad he allowed me to use the meteorite for it!

Zuko: ... i'm sorry did you say meteorite?

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Toph: it was such a coincidence running into your uncle in ba sing se.

Zuko: yea, it was very weird for him being back, y'know, since he kinda laid a 100 day seige on the city a few years prior

Toph, who hadn't connected the two dots until now: ... THE DRAGON OF THE WEST??

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Aang: Katara... you sound like Jet

Zuko, who definitely knows a guy named Jet:

Katara: this is different. Jet attacked the innocent.

Zuko, now suspecting they were talking about the same Jet:

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Zuko: how did toph even end up becoming a pro wrestler?

Aang: she did it to escape from her oppressive parents

Zuko: oh, that sucks

Aang: yeah, those beifongs sure were strict with her

Zuko, who probably has knowledge of the aristocracy in the other nations: THE BEIFONGS???

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doodles part2

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ONCE AND FUTURE

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zukka au where aunt wu looks straight at sokka and instead of telling him that his future is full of pain and anguish caused by his own hand, she tells him that he’s going to marry the fire lord and sokka is like “EXCUSE ME?”

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arcane stufff

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How Vi Changed

I’ve seen a number of people talk about they don’t understand Jinx’s line to Vi: “You’ve changed too.” Some comments note how this doesn’t seem to make sense because Vi *seems* like the most static character in the show.

I completely understand the confusion, because on the surface that’s true, adult Vi definitely does act very much the same as teen Vi. She’s brash, courageous, hot-headed etc. Her surface attitude and personality are basically the same. People have noted that it’s almost like Vi went into stasis when she went to prison and she remained the same while the rest of the world outside completely changed. This is especially true when you compare her to her sister, because Jinx of acts 2 and 3 is an almost completely different person from Powder in act 1, so much so that it practically slaps you in the face. However, Vi has we might say *subconsciously* changed in a way that’s not immediately obvious but is almost as radical as the changes in Jinx (in some ways perhaps more so).

Vi in act 1 is extremely rebellious against the class structure of Piltover. We’re shown multiple times how resentful she is against the enforcers and the topsiders in general for living it up in the sun while the undercity inhabitants scramble for scraps. Episode one starts with her going on a dangerous, risky mission to score from a pretty difficult mark just for a chance to strike in the very heart of Piltover. By episode 2 she’s ready to go to war over harassment from the enforcers. Powder of course is intensely aware of all of this, and this is how Jinx remembers Vi. 

Now think about Vi in acts 2 and 3. Does she show any of that revolutionary spirit? No, quite the opposite. She still despises enforcers and Piltover’s upper class as her first interactions with Caitlyn make clear (although this too significantly softens the longer she spends with Caitlyn), but at no point does she show any inclination to go to war against the class structure. In fact in her famous rain breakup scene with Caitlyn she very obviously (bitterly) accepts it as an immutable reality.

In fact, she accepts it so much that at the first opportunity she throws her lot in with a Piltover noble (Jayce) and the enforcers for a shot at revenge against undercity criminals and coldly justifies the collateral death of a child in the process. Can you possibly imagine act 1 Vi doing something like that?? Of course not. 

Now there’s a couple of reasons for this shift. First of all, for Vi, Silco’s criminal empire, not the class structure, not the enforcers, are her main enemy now because of what happened That Night, because Silco and his goons are primarily responsible for her losing her (second) family.

But there’s also Vi’s experience in prison to consider. If you read her Council Archives files you can see a subtle but extremely significant shift in her character over the course of the 7 or so years she was at Stillwater.  The first violent incident she initiates is against a guard, where she attacks and strangles him with her handcuffs. The file says that she was so violent “that additional staff arrived on the scene and subdued the prisoner” which means, essentially, that a bunch of guards jumped her and beat the shit out of her. We know of course from episode 5 that the guards beat her regularly.  After that initial report, there is no other record of her attacking guards. All the other violent incidents reported in her files are against fellow prisoners, when she attacks, beats up, and interrogates Silco’s associates (or inmates she believes are associated with Silco). Interestingly the files also mention that when guards arrived on the scene to intervene one time when she was fighting other prisoners, Vi let herself be led away without incident. So what can we surmise from this? It’s simple; the enforcers, on some level, broke her. They pounded it (literally) into her head that fighting against the power structure is futile. She of course still hates that structure with all her heart, but she gave up trying to fight against it. So what does she do? She fights with the power structure instead. She turns her anger and violence against her fellow prisoners because hey, that’s a fight she can win. 

In short, Vi was “institutionalized” 

(tip of my hat to my favorite prison movie, The Shawshank Redemption)

This same psychology is still entrenched once Vi gets out of Stillwater. Basically the same power structure is in place in the city at large, it’s just a bigger prison, with the topsiders as the guards and the undercity the prison. So yeah, sure, the enforcers and topsiders still suck. But fighting them is pointless. Vander basically told her that point blank in the last real conversation they had together.

But Silco and his goons? They can, and should, be beaten. 

This is actually a complete inversion of act 1 Vi’s psychology.

Jinx on the other hand has had the exact opposite experience. Her experience with enforcers over the past 7 years (or however long) has been seeing Marcus, the Sheriff of Piltover himself, come to Silco hat in hand every week and take his marching orders in exchange for some coin. And the enforcers have gradually lost their foothold in the undercity as Silco became more and more powerful to the point that, to Jinx, the enforcers probably seem pathetically weak. Also, as a bomb maker instead of a fist fighter, Jinx can absolutely win in a fight against enforcers in a way Vi never could, which she shows when she almost lazily wipes out an entire heavily armed enforcer checkpoint like she’s stomping on an anthill. 

So when Vi comes back to the undercity working with enforcers (and even falling in love with one ffs!!), smashing up a shimmer factory, and even basically destroying The Last Drop, her old home, Jinx sees (correctly) that Vi has changed, perhaps as much as she has. Perhaps even more so. This is very important to keep in mind as we go forward into season 2, because Jinx is not the only one in the middle of a Corruption Arc. Vi absolutely is too, it’s just more subtle and insidious as she becomes a tool of a corrupt and oppressive power system.

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Recently finished reading the Six of Crows duology! Loved this crew’s banter and following them through all their chaotic schemes!!

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@pscentral event 06: favorite characters ↳JINX, A.K.A. THE LOOSE CANNON

Sheesh! I’m not that crazy!

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You cannot even begin to comprehend Reigen Arataka. He pretends to be psychic for a living. He’s been cancelled on twitter. He has godlike massage skills. His closest friends are middle schoolers. He convinced multiple high-ranking members of a terrorist group to rejoin society. He met aliens and gave them his pajama shirt. He made his own website and it looks hideous. He knows how to fire a gun. He gives surprisingly good advice. He was once trapped in a parallel dimension and almost starved to death. He ranked 4th in the national whac-a-mole championship

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Absolutely obsessed with the facerig that takes Jinx back to Powder. Blows my mind.

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‘The Sandman: Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death of The Endless’ by David Mack

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Mylo took out his own feelings of inadequacy onto Jinx, and exacerbated hers.

I've seen lots of people say that Mylo was right in his belittling of Jinx, that he was only verbalizing a truth that Vi refused to see, or that while he could've been nicer when criticizing Jinx, his claim that she really was a bad luck charm that should be left behind was accurate. I disagree with this.

I can't stress enough that Mylo's constant bullying of Jinx revealed more about him than it did her. Mylo was an extremely insecure teenager who had little confidence in his own place within their group, who felt like he wasn't contributing as much as he would've liked to, and had a need to impress Vi, whom he looked up to. And he dealt with this by doing what a lot of insecure people do - belittle someone else who A) threatens their ego, or B) is an easy target (is weaker than them or has obvious shortcomings). This makes that other person the black sheep of the group, so they don't have to be. And Jinx fit both criteria.

In his very first appearance, you'll notice how often Mylo looks at Vi for approval. He's happy when she acknowledges him after his joke,

and then immediately looks to her when he successfully replicates her leap from one roof to another.

But during the actual job, it's clear that Mylo contributes very little. First, he takes too long to pick the lock on the door, and Vi has to kick it open.

Then, he has trouble distinguishing between valuable items and junk.

But you know who does know how to discern between items that are valuable and ones that aren't? Jinx. And Vi calls this out right in front of Mylo, embarrassing him. Notice how bothered he is by her comment.

Of course, Jinx goes on to make her own blunders during the job, but this just strengthens my point. Jinx fits criteria A) and B). She has valuable skills that Mylo doesn't, and Vi, someone he admires, calls attention to it. And she's accident-prone and screws up in more obvious, explosive ways than he does. Of course he picks on her. It's a good way to draw the group's attention away from his own shortcomings and onto hers.

During the street fight later on (that Mylo carelessly provoked), Vi and Claggor come out on top like badasses. Meanwhile, Mylo struggles and Vi has to save him.

But what happens right after that? Jinx gets cornered and loses their entire haul, except for the crystals. Mylo is (very understandably) frustrated and scolds her for this, but his performance in that fight was second worst after Jinx. His treatment of Jinx is mostly genuine frustration at her mistakes screwing them all over, and partially a way to bolster his own low self esteem. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't quite work. Vi has taken note of all of Mylo's mistakes despite his best efforts to deflect the spotlight onto Jinx's. And she calls him out for them when he, yet again, begins insulting her little sister.

But even after this, he still insults Jinx the very next episode. Right after Claggor teases him about losing to Jinx in a shooting game.

Now, Mylo wasn't a useless screw up with nothing to contribute, and neither was young Jinx. Without Mylo, Vander wouldn't have gotten free of his shackles and been able to protect and save Vi. But to accomplish freeing Vander, he needed encouragement and positive reinforcement to boost his confidence in himself and his abilities (things he denied Jinx).

Mylo wasn't useless, he was just incredibly insecure that he might be viewed that way and desperate to shield himself from being perceived as such. So he ostracized Jinx, a younger, weaker person who made a lot of mistakes he could easily call attention to, who also made him feel a little threatened since she was skilled in ways he wasn't. It's a very human reaction, typical of an immature teenager. He doesn't deserve to be dragged through the mud, but in no way were his "criticisms" wholly true, needed, or helpful. They were the words of an insecure boy, desperate not to be deemed the weak link in the group. And they had a greatly damaging effect on Jinx's self worth and insecurities.

It's cool that Mylo is a character with this much depth considering he dies in the third episode. And this just makes me even sadder to see the effect his bullying had on Jinx, considering they both had very similar insecurities.

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Arcane | 1.04

You were supposed to guard the cargo!

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Jinx by Happeh_

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the fact that hughie got his apology from a-train and literally nothing changed!!! it was never about the apology! it was never about robin! it was about hughie feeling wronged and powerless!!! thank god they are explicitly stating it!!!

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june 2022 pride celebration DAY 6: FREE CHOICE

Heartstopper + Accurate Texting Habits

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Something I find neat about Silco and Jinx is how Jinx was made in fire

While Silco was made in water

And this reflects very clearly into their personalities.

Silco's calm, powerful, and adaptable.

On the surface it's calm blue waters but underneath he's the current that guides the ship that is the under city.

And trying to cross him is like going against a hurricane. You can try to fight a force of nature, but really the only result will be drowning.

Meanwhile, Jinx is loud, explosive, and chaotic.

She has a creative spark that she channels through her weapons and art, and all of it is unabashedly bright with explosions and neon colors.

Emotionally she fluctuates and grabs onto any fuel that comes her way. One moment she's a candle and the next she's a wildfire and you can never predict which one you will get.

But then the show runners swap the roles with visual design.

Silco's got a red and gold color motif, a scar that looks like a burn, and an orange eye.

Jinx has long blue hair and tattoos that look almost like waves.

Silco's water, but looks like fire, and Jinx is fire, but looks like water.