#Matilda Kiramman

[blood-starved-beast]

I mean, there might be more portraits there we haven't seen but given we see three initials in the Caitlyn views slideshow and then three portraits before that I figured that meant that Matilda the Pirate was the one to establish the family and its holdings in Piltover. So only a couple of generations.

But it would be cool if that were the case regardless. They saw that need cause they are an expat family with different impression of what the ppl of Zaun/Piltover needed and fulfilled that. It would be interesting especially cause while the portrait itself is very regal, Matilda's not dressed as extravagantly as say her daughter or granddaughter. So maybe she wasn't born into money? Made in Bilgewater/Ionia waters (Matilda looks more Asian than her daughter or Cassandra based on her face).

i realized during my s1 rewatch that they say that viktor's illness was caused by the pollution in zaun. and later when the rest of zaun's criminal overlords try to intimidate silco he uses his immunity to poison gas, build up over decades of living in polluted air, to establish dominance over them. there's a good chance that the reason why vi and jinx and the other younger zaunites don't have the same illness that viktor does is because of the ventilation system caitlyn's mother implemented. which would also line up timeline wise because there's roughly a 10 year age gap between viktor and vi. the continuity in this show is insane

[blood-starved-beast]

Can we talk about how s2 confirmed that Matilda the Pirate was real?

EDIT:

[sky-ham]

Promised a friend last year that I'd draw a football AU, also 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. 🇦🇺 semifinals tomorrow

[foxy-cleo6]

[caitlynprotector]

hahhahahahahahhahaha *starts sobbing uncontrollably*

caitlyn went from being willing to hand over her gun without hesitation to keep vi—someone she barely knew—alive, to gripping it tightly, not caring about her own life or vi’s

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

‘empire under fire’ (abandoned 🫣) vs ‘hunting prize’ (ALMOST DONE 😱): PART 2/3: empire under fire

‘empire under fire’s plot messes with Caitlyn’s character. She was (supposed) to be ruthless, classist and very opportunistic. The Firelights are taking shimmer factory and shimmer factory down, therefore messing with the Topsiders’ (specifically the Kirammans) business.

Caitlyn has been begging for a chance to be able to join the council and this is her chance. She’s planted in the Firelight base to eliminate them, posing as ‘Matilda’ to get close to everyone as Vi is in a vulnerable place trying to take care of Jinx and Ekko (she’s losing control of them), Jinx is trying to keep up with the infiltrations and not let her demons take over (she’s already very suspicious of ans nervous about ‘Matilda’) and Ekko who’s throwing himself into each shimmer raid without breaks despite the Firelights starting to overflow (he’s learned it from Vi).

The general conflict (that was planned…) was that Caitlyn’s feelings and attachments to not just Vi and the Firelights would mess with her life goal that she’s been convinced would make her good enough her entire life. Generational trauma was going to be a big factor in this one when it came to Caitlyn and there was supposed to be a flashback to Cassandra not very positive childhood with her own strict and intense mother.

I was SO ready to throw myself into this story, but I don’t think I was genuinely prepared to keep up with it.

We all know that multi chapter fics are very hard to continue and I always promised myself I would never abandon a fic but… here I am.

In the next post I’ll get into the ‘why’ of it all….

[xfanzonly]

Vi and caitlyn have a daughter and her name is Matilda

That’s it that’s my post

[shadowhearthallowleaf]

my gay ass brain every time they say matilda

[winwinwinterb]

"My great-grandmother Matilda, the, uh... pirate." This gif set missed that word. And it's my favorite part of this whole exchange.

Also Caitlyn mistakenly thinks SHE is Matilda, not Vi, who literally answered Pim's "what's your name?" with Matilda. Which is probably because her brain short-circuited after Vi called her cupcake.

It also shows she isn't interested in Pim calling her "whatever you want." So she desperately tries to take control in a situation she is wholly uncomfortable with by immediately making the legend that is Matilda.

Caitvi Scenes: 17/? ↳ The birth of Matilda.

[fishyfod]

“Ah, yes. Matilda.”

In Episode 5, “Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy”, Vi and Caitlyn visit a brothel to gather information about Jinx. Vi suggests that Caitlyn pretend she works there, Caitlyn is affronted by her suggestions, and Vi attempts to cajole her into it (”You’re hot, cupcake.”). Vi stops a passerby who asks for her name, to which she answers: “Matilda. But - you can call her whatever you want.”

[Pictured: Caitlyn floundering to invent a backstory for “Matilda”.]

Vi leaves as Caitlyn hurriedly explains the origin of her alias to the passerby to keep up the ruse. Despite her initial awkwardness, Caitlyn is evidently a quick learner.

But, why the name Matilda? It could be a meaningless name chosen on a whim, but perhaps there is more to it than it may seem. Does Caitlyn share any similarities to Matilda, heroine of the book by Roald Dahl with the same name? Is she the only character from Arcane who does so?

Caitlyn as Matilda Wormwood

Matilda Wormwood is a genius child and a particular gift for language. Her family, however, refuses to acknowledge her outstanding abilities, discourage her interest in books, and go as far as abusing her. She finds hope in her teacher Jennifer Honey, who nurtures her intelligence and and attempts to move her up a few grades, but is stopped by the cruel headmistress Agatha Trunchbull and Matlida’s apathetic parents.

Caitlyn, like Matilda, is misunderstood by her parents. They coddle her since childhood and encourage her to partake in upper-class society, whilst actively sabotaging her career as an enforcer. Although her relationship with her parents is far better than Matilda’s, Cait’s parents willingness to abuse their political influence to station her in their family tent during Progress Day, and even fire Cait from her job after the explosion in Episode 4, show their relationship is fraught with tension and imbalance of power. Arguably this is only out of worry for Caitlyn’s well-being, but the end result is still the same - Caitlyn’s parents are actively upending her chosen life in favor of their vision for it, no matter her talents and personal interests. Jayce follows in their footsteps, going as far as proposing Caitlyn work in his private security detail, a desk job unsuited for her skills.

In the flashback in Episode 5 Chief Enforcer Grayson recognizes Caitlyn’s drive and ambition to better herself, as well as her frustration with her parents (did they bribe Grayson so she could win?). She loses on purpose to Cait not to mock her, but as recognition of her sharpshooting skills. Grayson is clearly an inspiration to Cait as a model enforcer fighting for justice rather than personal gain, and we later see Cait follow in her footsteps to become an enforcer and an upholder of justice, Grayson’s spiritual (if not official) successor. In that, Grayson is to Cait what Jennifer is to Matilda, a mentor who recognizes her natural talents and encourages her pursuit of them in contrast to their parents. Unfortunately, Grayson dies in Episode 3 before Cait even enrolls and is replaced by Marcus, who acts as her Agatha. Marcus doesn’t want Caitlyn to meddle in his corrupt investigations and distances her from where her detective talents might truly shine, instead positioning her at low-risk security details at the behest of her parents. Like Agatha, who robbed Jennifer of her inheritance, Marcus robbed Grayson’s position as chief and accepts bribery from Silco. Caitlyn is Matilda whose Jennifer was taken away from her, left powerless in the hands of Agatha (Marcus) and her parents, with the final nail in the coffin her dismissal from active duty in the end of Episode 4.

Of course, this assumes Caitlyn’s passion is to be an Enforcer, but that’s not quite right - to Caitlyn being an Enforcer is merely the stepping stone to do what’s right. Caitlyn has no qualms bending and breaking the rules if it makes the world a better place (and why shouldn’t she? Unjust power had only imprisoned her in the shackles of others), and losing her job does not persuade her to stop her investigations of the Undercity. She visits Stillwater Prison and frees Vi to help her in her investigations, and in some sense, finally meets the true Jennifer Honey.

Vi as Jennifer Honey

Vi plays the role of Jennifer Honey (with some alterations) for two characters in Arcane, both Matildas, the first of which is Caitlyn. This is where Arcane and Matilda definitely diverge; Vi and Cait’s relationship is one of partnership with romantic interest, whereas Jennifer and Matilda have a familiar bond until Jennifer eventually adopts Matilda. What is similar is the opportunity Jennifer and Vi give to Matilda and Caitlyn to better themselves. Vi is Cait’s guide to the Undercity and introduces her to the biggest injustice in all of Arcane, that of Piltover versus Zaun. She challenges Cait’s status and privilege, changing her perception of Zaun and in turn bettering Caitlyn. In unconventional fashion, by throwing Caitlyn into the poorest neighborhoods of Zaun Vi leads her to where she could make real change and observe worse injustice than she ever saw up top, and where Cait’s willingness to do good can thrive and flourish. It also parallels her with Grayson, Cait’s first Jennifer, who first questioned Cait’s motivation to become an enforcer; after Vi brought her to Zaun, Caitlyn finally has her answer - to fight the injustice between the torn cities. Likewise, Marcus literally imprisoned Vi (supposedly for her own safety, in practice to preserve the new status quo he made with Silco) and is partly responsible for Vander’s death like Agatha. He even unjustly frames Ekko and the Firelights whose goal is to retake Zaun from Silco, like Agatha terrorized Matilda’s classmates in the book.

There is, however, a major drawback to positing Vi as Caitlyn’s Jennifer - Jennifer is an adult and Matilda’s a child, whereas both Vi and Caitlyn are adults. This matters because thematically Matilda isn’t about children taking on the responsibilities of adults, but about how responsible adults that are caring improve the lives of the kids. After all, Matilda loses her powers of telekinesis when Agatha is fired from the school and she moves on to a higher grade befitting of her capabilities, she doesn’t need them when the adults do their job properly with care. So to assert Vi as Caitlyn’s Jennifer would be to consider her the “adult” in the relationship, when their relationship is based entirely on equal standing between them. Instead I think a better argument would be that either Vi is “Jennifer who is equal to Matilda” (which I will get back to later), or that Vi is Jennifer - Jinx’s Jennifer.

To Jinx, Vi could be considered a mix of an (unusually caring) Matilda’s mother and a failed Jennifer. During Act I, Vi is always singled out as the only one who believes in Powder’s genius and future success and encourages her to keep trying and use her untapped potential. This is unlike the rest of Powder’s family and especially Mylo who mostly see Powder as a nuisance in their operations. Only, after Powder’s bomb leads to catastrophe, Vi rejects Powder and her inventions and blames them for the death of her family, symbolized by Vi calling Powder “Jinx” like Mylo did. The safety and support Jennifer gives Matilda is snatched away in this moment, making Vi a Jennifer who “betrayed��� Jinx’s Matilda. Vi’s attempt to reconcile with Jinx in Acts II and III are her attempts to regain the trust she lost in Act I, in the vain hope Jennifer can prove to Matilda she believes in her in truth. If we follow this analogy further this places Silco as the Agatha to Vi alongside Marcus, both as the killer of Jennifer’s father (Vander) and the stealer of Vander’s position as leader of the Undercity, Vi’s unofficial “inheritance”.

Vi and Caitlyn’s relationship is that of a mismatched Jennifer and Matilda who unexpectedly find comfort and support in each other, despite many surface-level differences in station. They do mirror Jennifer and Matilda, but it is because they are not each other’s Jennifer and Matilda that they can be different, that they can stand on equal grounds as two adults. It makes sense then that Jinx would feel jealous of Caitlyn stealing Vi’s care as if Jennifer is taking care of the wrong Matilda.

Jinx as Matilda Wormwood

I would be remiss to not expound on Jinx as Matilda. Young Jinx, or Powder, was the black sheep of Vi’s gang whose talents are seen as more of a hazard than a benefit. In a world where Zaun and Piltover would stand on equal ground, Powder would’ve probably thrived in the academy, but this opportunity is an impossible dream in the poverty-ridden Undercity. Although this clearly heavily-affected Powder’s psyche and belief in herself, so long as Vi continued to support her she still always had someone on her side - until the accident, that is. With no more family left, and the one family member she trusted to always have her back betray her, Powder is left utterly alone without support and without understanding.

This is where Silco comes in and “adopts” her, which poses the possibility that although to Vi’s Jennifer Silco acts as Agatha, to Jinx Silco is Jennifer. Silco encourages Jinx improve her inventions and research the Arcane crystals, and even sends her out on missions, trusting her to fight where Vi couldn’t. He considers her more important than Sevika (a minor Agatha to Jinx and Vi, if you will) and is later even willing to go out to war against Piltover rather than losing her. It’s interesting that Silco and Jinx’s relationship start with her adoption, when this is where Jennifer and Matilda’s relationship ends. Vander could be considered Silco’s Agatha who already lost by the time Matilda (Jinx) and Jennifer (Silco) met. Except, that’s not quite right - Silco is Agatha to Jinx as well, because it was Silco that killed Vander and stole Vi’s place (as Agatha did) and it is Silco that hunts down the Firelights (Matilda’s schoolmates). Silco may have let Jinx flourish under his care, but he also used her for his own selfish needs and is directly responsible to her unstable mentality and trauma.

Matilda in the story develops telekinesis to combat Agatha, and later concocts a plan to drive her away and free Jennifer of her influence. Afterwards Agatha vanishes, is replaced by the caring deputy headmaster, and Jennifer adopts Matilda when her family runs away to escape imprisonment. Like Matilda, Jinx kills Marcus and Silco, the Agatha’s of Arcane. Unlike in Matilda, the removal of Agatha solves very little.

To what end?

Analysis based on allusions is always riddled with asterisks, because in trying to draw similarities one often ignores the finest details that differentiate media from each other. I made the choice to view Arcane through the lens of Matilda, and I should always be mindful of its limitations. Sometimes it’s the differences that can shed more light in the analysis.

Matilda is not a story about children taking on the responsibilities of adults - it’s about the difference good adults can make in Children’s growth. But nobody in Arcane is a child, because it’s not a story about children - it’s a story of the choices adults make when facing injustice and what lead to those choices. Caitlyn and Vi cannot be Matilda and Jennifer unless they are both adults who are equal, unless Caitlyn can make the choice to work without being an Enforcer as a child can’t do. Jinx and Silco cannot be Matilda and Jennifer/Agatha without considering how Silco used Jinx to his own gains, yet they still held some twisted affection to each other regardless.

Jinx and Vi cannot be Matilda and Jennifer because they grew up and became different people; because Powder is no more and Jinx has taken her place; because Vi in a moment of vulnerability lashed out at Powder and lost everything; because Jinx was so badly hurt but is ultimately still responsible to the crimes and damages she made; because Vi cannot keep on pretending Jinx is only a child she still needs to take care of. Jinx wants Vi to be the adult that cared and Vi wants Jinx to be the child that needs protecting, but that time is long gone. They must make amends not as Vi and Powder, or Jennifer and Matilda; they need to learn who Vi and Jinx are.

[piltover-sharpshooter]

🙶 Sell yourself for short among others~? What a terrible fate would that be. 🙷 Soft-spoken & silken her voice is, as the Matron carefully leans from behind the Sheriff's seat. Delicate digits playfully provoke the ghost of a caress below her chin, as subtle kisses trace a path of dark purple lipstick across her neck up to her ear.

🙶 Is Sweet Matilda wishing to lose herself entirely tonight with her wishes~? What would she wish for her partner to be tonight? 🙷 It's all a little game, of course, a servitude offering from even the details of her own appearance if her Fiancé so wishes to play. For her, the Enchantress would enjoy portraying any fantasy her desires could be looking for~

🙶 A Gentleman, A Lady, A Vastayan, A Nymph... Your Lover or a Stranger, anything you wish. Just let me bloom any flower for you to bask on, my Beloved Sun... let me be devoted solely to your glow~ 🙷 A subtle purring, along her arms embracing her shoulders just seconds before traveling far down.

🙶 Mistress Kiramman~ ♥ 🙷

Ah like an angel descending from the skies, ready to answer the wish off a believer's prayer. It was true, her dear black Rose was not like the others, not like the other's in the least, she was always the one that could take the sheriff for who she was, no hold bars, no words left unsaid.

She watches the witch transform into each of the characters she mentions, a man, a woman, a cat girl, her first time in the zaun brothel, and yet of all the forms, it was the one that she always wore, the true Emilia Leblanc, that she liked to play the most.

To know that the leader of the black rose, Emilia Leblanc, true ruler of Noxus...would grovel at her feet, would beg for praise and punishment, and would not ask for her to stop...to never have to ask permission, even in pretend...it was intoxicating.

"Please remain as you are, my forevermore raven..." The sheriff leaned into the kisses, one hand going to the side of Leblanc's head before purring back to her. "My dear Black Rose, I shall always stand by you, so please..."

She roughly grabbed the hair and pulled her closer onto a kiss, her eyes filled with hunger and unrestrained desire.

"Beg more~" She said connecting their lips.

@regina-tenebris

[piltover-sharpshooter]

Kengou sets his glass down in the special 'Kiramman suite', sitting across from his friend. "...Matilda? Seriously? You couldn't think of a better name?"

"STOP!"She immediately screamed, covering his mouth before anyone could hear. She looked around to confirm that, then let him go, glaring and grabbing the glass.

"It wasn't my idea...it was Vi's. And I couldn't come up with anything better faster"