#also Jinx and Silco are SO TOXIC AND SO NOT GOOD FOR EACH OTHER

[ak800]

The pure storytelling potential of Jinx and Silcos journey during the timeskip in Arcane is just so amazing. And it‘s all for the fans to explore - I wouldn’t even want to know what canonically happened - everyone can make that time their own, in their own stories, in fan fiction and comics and it‘s just so amazing!! The possibilities are endless.

Especially the comedic potential :)) Imagine:

Silco has to figure out how to deal with a child (which is hard but especially hard if said child likes to blow stuff up for fun) and then after Silco got used to dealing with an emotionally unstable child, he had to learn how to deal with an EMOTIONALLY UNSTABLE TEENAGER

Did Jinx need braces? Her teeth looked pretty good, so maybe Silco had to drag her every month or so to Singend so he could adjust her braces. Did Jinx go through some heavy acne phase and Silco had to keep her from constantly scratching her pimples bloody? Was he the poor sod that had to explain that “yes, periods hurt and no, you are not gonna die. No Jinx, your organs are still fine. Yes, about half of society has this.” Did Silco stress himself out about birthday presents for a girl that he has already spoiled far too much? Did he spent hours trying to find the perfect kind of paint for his perfect little daughter, that had already grown so much?

(Tw: implied suicide attempt/self harm mention + toxic relationships)

Did Silco have to walk into Jinx’s room one day just to see her lying on the floor, having drunk half a bottle of paint thinner - the one he got her together with the paint for her last birthday - Did he have to wonder that maybe he could have saved her from this? From her own weakness? From the horrors her so called “family” put her through? And when he took her to Singend so he could save his daughter, did he wonder why she couldn’t see just how perfect she truly is? That she is everything his nation of Zaun is supposed to be - strong, stubborn, wild, biting, clawing, powerful - perfect.

[loxalotl]

Piltover is the problem (*Arcane S1 spoilers*)

Throughout Arcane, Jinx is torn between Vi's "Powder", and Silco's "Jinx". Both love her, but neither accept who she is until Silco's final realistion where he switches from "Jinx is perfect" to "You're perfect." 

Something he was desperate to hear from Vander, who gives up on Silco, betrays him and leaves him for dead thinking he doesn't have the capacity to change. But Silco proves him wrong: "Is there anything so undoing as a daughter". Jinx did what Vander couldn't. Gave him something else to believe in. Focussed that anger and injustice.

And Silco did it. He paved the way for peace. And had a good argument for not handing in Jinx for the murder of a couple of guards when Piltover has been systematically murdering hundreds of children and adults alike in the mines etc.. Oh, but it wasn't them directly, so doesn't count? No. Their inaction was what pulled the trigger. And Jayce doesn't even consider being held accountable for the murder of that boy (again, irregardless of all the out-of-sight so out-of-mind deaths). If brokering peace is enough for him, it should be enough for Jinx and Silco too, particularly when Piltover's body count is so much higher.

When it comes down to it, Piltover are the worst kind of abuser. They're the government who acts all nice and shiny and righteous while quietly enforcing child labour, enabling destruction of the environment, gas-lighting anyone who speaks against them, and promoting an unsustainable and lavish lifestyle based on self-interest at the expense of others. The quiet, deep-rooted, insidious evil that points it's finger at any opposers screaming "look, big bad thing threatening our civilised way of life!"

And Vander and Vi are not the "good guys" either. They're another kind of toxic. The "normal" people with a saviour complex who don't understand/accept anyone different, and part of what pushed Silco and Jinx over the edge (because, yes, Silco and Jinx have crossed a line, there is no excusing that). Neither are the Firelights necessarily the "good guys". They are so focussed on infighting in Zaun that they seem to have forgotten about the root cause of their problems. You know, Piltover? The people who have been quietly murdering your families and loved ones for the past X number of years??? Jeez. Remember the bigger picture guys.

Now, we may have been robbed of the "Silco figuring out how to properly dad" in Season 2 as it doesn't fit into Riots universe (looking at you, AO3), but I can only hope it doesn't turn into the "Vi fixes Jinx" show. Jinx doesn't need fixing. She needs people to accept who she is, and access to mental health care so she can focus that brilliance into productive things. People can be not okay but still valid. Yes, Silco was a "bad guy", but he was also a product of Piltover's exploitation, suppression and abuse (hello? Can we address this please?), as well as Vander's betrayal. He was very deliberate in his cruelty. It all had a purpose. Zaun needed someone to step up as nothing else was working (hello Jinx). Was it the right thing to do? Morally, no. But was it the lesser evil that would overall result in the fewest deaths? Who knows.

The key takeaway for me is that Runeterra DESPERATELY needs access to good quality, free mental health services (as do we all). Also, the world could also come a long way if we a) try to be nicer to each other and b) take a closer look at those really in power ('cos there is a whole lotta grey out there).

But that's how I see it. And I think one of the great things this show has done has sparked these discussions on acceptance, equality, mental health etc. It's okay to not be okay. You're not alone, so just be nice to each other. We're all on this lump of space rock together, and for anyone out there who feels lost, I'm sending all the love and hugs in the universe💜

And yeah, watch this show. It's perfect.

[sandraharissa]

I’ve seen somebody call the dynamic between Cait, Vi and Jinx a love triangle and they praised arcane for utilizing it in a unique way that doesn’t solely involve romantic love. And I completely agree, but the thing is is that arcane did it so much that those love triangles are all over the place. It really is such a unique concept to apply this kind of dynamic to platonic relationships cos typically ppl don’t think of platonic bonds as exclusive, so how would the conflict of two relationships that are inherently in opposition to each other even work in that case? and yet, when arcane figured out how to do it they went all in.

Firstly and most speculatively we have Silco, Vander and Benzo. Vander and Benzo seem like best friends and Silco and Vander were ‘brothers’ but I get the vibe that Silco and Benzo never got along and there was no love lost there. They just purely dislike each other from what we’ve seen and it seems like the only reason they’d hang out is cos of both of their connections to Vander. If there was a deeper character choice there for Vander to make when choosing between the two that is not explored in arcane.

Then there’s Sevika, Silco and Jinx, and again, Sevika and Jinx are the two closest ppl to Silco and the only ones he seems to have any sentimental feelings towards, and yet Sevika and Jinx can’t stand each other, likely only hang out in each other’s vicinity bcos of Silco and would murder each other if they could. Again, there’s no love there and it’s almost like a competition for Silco’s favor. Sevika also represents his devotion to his dream and Jinx his devotion to her, his family.

And then there’s Silco, Jinx and Vi. With the two characters being the two closest bonds Jinx ever had and both being her care-takers. The two are in competition with each other over Jinx and are actively trying to kill each other. They represent the mutually exclusive options of morality/sanity and immorality/madness.

Then there’s the aforementioned Jinx, Vi and Cait. With yet again, the two being the absolute closest ppl to Vi in the world and yet themselves being mortal enemies to each other who’d kill each other if they were left together in a room. If I were to give these characters their thing then I think it’d be Cait representing morality, a future that Vi could have, hope and a healthy relationship where Jinx represents immorality, the past, guilt and a toxic relationship. Altho the finale and Jinx leaving wasn’t really a choice Vi was making between the two. And notice how so far it’s the first example of a romantic relationship being a part of these love triangles.

And lastly a shout-out to our Piltover characters with Mel, Jayce and Viktor being portrayed as tho the romance gets in the way of Jayce and Viktor’s friendship and vice versa. Altho so far it’s subtle cos shit hasn’t hit the fan yet.

I could be missing one but just the examples I already listed are so many, and they cover most main characters and all the most crucial players. Thinking about it, if they hadn’t cut out the Ekko flashback I’d probs be able to add Ekko, Jinx and Silco to the list. (Maybe even Mylo, Vi and Powder count, if Vi agrees with Mylo then Powder’s a jinx, if she protects Powder then Mylo gets his face bashed in and she just gets a pass. Also what about Vi, Cait and Cassandra? could they count? it's kinda underdeveloped but they kinda fit)

But anyway, great majority of the bonds involved in all these triangles are platonic and there’s always intricate character reasons why certain bonds, platonic vs platonic or platonic vs romantic, are actually mutually exclusive. But even stuff as simple as ‘they don’t vibe with each other’ is good enough to justify a completely platonic love triangle where a person has to choose between relationships that on the surface level don’t seem incompatible, like two friends or family members. Most of the competing relationships also typically represent two drastically different choices/life paths a person could choose, where the choice of one inherently excludes the other person from being a part of the character’s life, like a ‘going down a path I can’t follow’ situation. If Silco picks Jinx then Sevika wouldn’t be able to follow him anymore. If Jinx picks madness then Vi can’t follow her anymore. Etc. etc.

[essentialthyme]

My hottest take is that Cait is an interesting character but she becomes infinitely more interesting when I think of her having a psychosexual hate/love obsession with Jinx. Like they'd tear each other apart but Season 2 really wants us to see the two of them as mirrors to each other. Like Caitlyn's moment of frustration in Jinx's lair when she shoots that cutout? You can see Cait's eyes do this haunting flash of black and white for a split second. It's like when Jinx's shimmer kicks in and her eyes leave these trails of light behind her. It's so good.

I'm not loving Vi this season so far, I understand her motives I just think the writing around her is rather weak, which is more of a result of having to keep Arcane somewhat aligned with League's lore. Like Vi is obviously going to be an Enforcer because she's an Enforcer in the game, one of the most famous Enforcers to ever exist and one half of Piltover's Finest. Like she is predestined to be a cop, but her journey to getting there is one I'm not too happy with simply because the path didn't offer a lot of growth or regression, her decision to join the Enforcers is one thing, but her gassing her neighbors is a whole problem in itself.

I would be surprised if a lot of them end up turning on her, simply because she was gone for upwards of ten years, comes back with THEE Enforcer princess Caitlyn Kiramman, is somewhat involved with taking down Silco's gang-- one of the major players in the advancement of Zaunites--then comes back again with a strike force of Enforcers and a toxic gas to choke out her neighbors. Like from their perspective Vi must seem like a total traitor.

Caitlyn is...my baby girl like I adore her so much but girl is taking that steep decline into fascism. Which is colored by both her grief, rage, frustration, and fear; similar to Jinx in act 2 of season 1, she feels betrayed and the people she thought she could count on are failing her. I'm sad she's going through it this season, even though I completely stand with whatever Jinx does to Piltover, but it's a little upsetting that people are either "she's totally evil" or "she's innocent" about her this season. Like I hate what she's doing but I love her character, I love messy characters, I love it when women are angry and violent and evil.

This is ranty, I forgot the main point of this ask was to spread my CaitJinx toxic lesbianisim agenda

There has always been a link between Caitlyn and Jinx, and I can't exactly articulate it well, or better than other people have already done, but yeah, I love that Caitlyn is affected by everything that has happened to her, that she reacts so viscerally to Jinx. I always liked the human element of Arcane's storytelling, and this is no different.

Now about Vi, I don't get the issue many people are seeing. Not only I felt it was shown that the strike team used the gas tactically against the their targets, we're also talking about the same Vi who stormed a factory in season one without knowing who was inside and tried to convince Jayce to keep going after he killed a kid. I'm going to see if I find the post again, but someone talked about how Ekko is the character people think Vi is, and I'm seeing it a lot in fandom rn. I saw someone say Vi was horrified by Caitlyn's questioning, and I just don't see it: Vi has punched first and asked questions later, if at all. I think she is worried. This season Vi is not the focus, just as Caitlyn wasn't in the first season, but we can see three things about her: she is wracked with guilt and grief (which is the driving force of her joining the enforces, "righting her wrongs"), she is worried about Caitlyn, and finally, at the end, she is hurt. The next episodes seem to focus on her, so I'm hopeful!

Ultimately, I think I'm really going to enjoy the season, if the first arc is anything to go by. Caitlyn falling down into this dictatorial path is tragic, but that's the thing about Arcane, there's so many preventable tragic shit happening because of how things play out, of how characters react to things, because of the emotions they feel and can't deal with. I felt the same way watching Caitlyn hit Vi as I did watching Vi hit Jinx. I anguished at Vi ending up in prison in the aftermath, and I despaired when Caitlyn stepped up into Ambessa's play. I think stories like these have the potential to be incredible, and I hope they can stick the landing. Idk lol I'm enjoying it.

But yeah, even though I am a simp for Vi and Cait's relationship, I can see the CaitJinx appeal: toxic yuri rise!

[space-blue]

Hello my friend, I am in need of some…..assistance, shall we say. My friend recently watched Arcane, and is severely unconvinced that Silco actually cared about Jinx. (I think they’re too much of a Vi stan to have ANY positive outlook on Silco /hj). I’m horrible at analyzing things and making good arguments, heh, so I was wondering about your own insights on this! (Unless you already have a post that digs into this btw) In any case, I love your posts and I hope you keep it up! ♥️

Heya anon!

Interesting ask! I'm flattered you came to me, but I'm not sure my answer will be exactly what you expect... Because technically, I don't need to say anything about Silco himself to make my case. 

I think the issue here is that your friend mistakes their (perfectly legitimate) dislike for Silco with intent on the creators' part.

Arcane strove to convey the fact that Silco and Jinx love each other (platonically) and are in an extremely unhealthy codependent relationship of support that is the best either has available.

It is clear in text and subtext both, and in the many comments animators and writers have made about the show, and the countless meta posts made in fandom. It's just how it is. The fact that most everyone out there picked up on it should also be a good case for it.

Basically, Arcane is MEANT to be seen in that way. The artists behind the show *meant* for the viewers to understand that Silco loves Jinx and comes to realise she's as good as a "daughter" to him and that she matters more than his dreams of Zaun. It is text, and sometimes extremely unsubtle subtext.

Your friend is welcome to apply their own feelings — "I dislike Silco and how his influence separated the girls" for example. That's a perfectly valid way to feel! "He made Jinx worse" is also a very fine opinion to have, and tumblr is a great place to have such meta debates.

But such meta debates start ranging into the "interpretation" side of things, where you're filling in the holes in canon with your own perceptions.

"Silco didn't love Jinx" however goes against what the narrative is trying to SAY. It literally makes the ending IRRELEVANT. If Jinx and Silco didn't love each other in their own codependent and twisted ways, then his death at her hands would not trigger the mental state that provokes her to shoot the council.

If it wasn't profusely established that Silco cares for her, then his choosing her over his lifelong obsession for a Free Nation of Zaun would come out of left field. 

Picture this: It's episode 9 and Sevika is wounded in the factory attack. Silco rushes to her side and kisses her brow and goes to beg Jayce for peace.

Does that sound likely? Wouldn't you be like... "erm... where does this come from?"

That's because the show establishes, in both text and subtext, that Silco and Sevika have a serious, no-nonsense work relationship around a shared dream and a shared ruthless nature, but they have no actual feelings beyond appreciation for what each brings to the table. Silco is definitely not partial to her. He doesn't take time out of his day for her, doesn't even tolerate her messing up the carpet when she's wounded. In comparison he's very soft with Jinx.

Anyway, plenty of posts have been made that point to Jinx and Silco's relationship being both adorable and toxic as hell. It's a well discussed topic. The fact they are close and in a father & daughter relationship is broadly accepted as "canon" because it's the text the show offers. 

"Headcanons" then enters the picture, which is like "this is never shown in the show, but I believe that [Silco was an orphan who met Vander very young]". 

I think it becomes “fanon” when such ideas get wildly popular. 

Then there are "meta" posts, which are more along the lines of "Given what we see here and there in text and subtext, I believe the show is trying to say XYZ"

Some meta of mine for example is how I think Vander is who Silco learned the "power comes to those who would do anything to achieve it" lesson from. This is not text. It's the subtext that I chose to interpret that way. People can agree or disagree. 

Another one with hot debate is "Did Silco strap Vander down because he planned on injecting him with shimmer?" — We don't know. I think not. Some people are convinced that yes, he would have. We can each write meta posts about it (and we HAVE). These are theories. Our "understanding" of the character of Silco influences our opinion. Each is valid.

This is a grey area, and the place your friend is probably sort of getting lost in. They have a dark opinion of Silco and mistake this to mean he's always bad (or meant to not love Jinx, because him loving Jinx makes them feel off) when he's clearly portrayed as a morally grey character. Someone with good goals, warped by his life of suffering and trauma at the hands of oppressors, who wants the best for everyone, whatever the (dire) cost. Someone who can be likeable or unlikeable, depending on the viewer. A very human, flawed character, but a character who has (1) person in his life he needs and emotionally cares for. Jinx.

For a different example... I dislike Cait. I think she's horrible. I despise her for her attitude in the show and have little patience for her despite many fandom friends excusing her by pointing out she's very sheltered. I could wax a long time about how my reading of her makes her a character that I despise, and how the show could have rescued her in my eyes with some minor adjustments of her attitude and lines of dialogue.

This does not mean Cait is meant to be despicable. The show clearly sets her up as a good guy. Naive, privileged, but wanting to do good. She's one of the better Piltovans actually, with her arc going up towards a greater understanding and compassion, instead of away from it (like Jayce, who instead radicalises himself by playing politics when he has 2 brain cells and they only meet when it's science time).

I can distinguish "what the show wanted Cait to be" from "what I'm taking from the show about Cait" from "the Cait I want to write about, how I can make her into a character I appreciate more because doing this and that would make her so much better". 

For more on this topic of text/meta analysis, here are some recommendations!

Channels like Overly Sarcastic Productions have great videos like the "Trope Talk" series that dive into film and literary tropes.

Lessons from the Screenplay

Every Frame A Painting

Jacob Geller

Nerdwriter1

Now You See It

Just Write

I highly recommend Crash Course series on Media Literacy. It's short 10min-ish videos that make, well, the perfect crash course. 

If you feel comfortable giving those recs to your friend, go ahead!

If you want to try and persuade her that Silco is "maybe not that bad" in a more subtle way and they actually reads fanfic, you can try and recommend my "Fathers and Daughters" fic.

It's majorly Vi's PoV as she's freed early from jail after a sham trial, and Silco takes her in, mostly motivated by making Powder better. It's hard for Vi, and it takes a LONG ASS TIME for her to come around to him being more than what she assumed, or accept that he likes Powder without any... intent behind it. I'm basically assuming Vi is like your friend, strongly biased against him, and slowly going on a journey of self discovery and growth where she influences everyone around her for the better, but also reconciles herself to the idea Silco isn't "evil" and Vander wasn't a perfect hero. 

This might be the more... subtle way of getting your friend to pivot point of view. Like cooking a frog by slowly upping the temperature of the water lmao.

Hope this helped! End of the day, they don't have to like Silco. We all have taste and impressions. Nothing will make me like season 1 Cait but a better season 2 Cait (maybe), so I get it. 

[ravenkinnie]

arcane for the ask game bc someone got to dc before me

otp

canon caitvi is unmatched but they tie with vanco because fanon caitvi is hellish and fanon vanco is genius

favorite canon pairing

caitvi like. just a god tier ship man

worst pairing ever

lightcannon not because the ship itself is even bad but because I don't like lux djdjjdjd and a) when you stan jinx she's inescapable, she's fucking everywhere and fucking everyone b) I spent hours levelling up this bitch in LoR bc I needed to level up a demacian champion and she was the only one unlocked and I hated every moment of it, when you lose and she busts out her stupid fucking lines "losing is an opportunity to shine even brighter <3" shut the fuck up you bleached cunt no one asked you. the pain of not liking theee most popular wlw ship for your blorbo never ends

guilty pleasure pairing

caitjinx, I'm so sorry lads they just compel me, they are both my blorbos and I love when pretty women hate each other

a pairing you want to see more

every single caitlyn rare pair because they are like, particularly rare jdjdjdjdj same for vi but caitlyn is my best gal yk. I do realise it's because caitvi is just that good and also neither of them have any friends djjdhdhdjd but the content for these is always so good I'm perpetually starving

that pairing everyone likes but you're like "lol no"

both jayvik and timebomb ngl not even because of the ships, because the concept of timebomb is interesting and jayvik is just a standard slash ship yk. but girl the fandom for these... if fanon caitvi is bad this is like beyond bad

favorite non-romantic pair

silco and jinx <333333 they are horrible they are amazing they are toxic they are vulnerable they love each other they make everyone uncomfortable literally making myself sick and fucked up every day thinking about them

[storiumemporium]

Arcane Headcanons feat. Pokémon - What Pokémon each character has:

Characters: Jayce - Jinx - Viktor - Vi

(A/N: Listen I've been playing Legends Arceus okay? My creativity is easily distracted 😭

Also this was written on mobile so if it's jank das my bad.)

Jayce:

Pubbies!

Okay, to be more specific: Arcanine, Mightyena and Rockruff

They're the only ones he has, and came about entirely for companionship.

Despite being unevolved, Rockruff is the very first Pokémon Jayce ever owned. He found it one day as a child, digging through their garbage and decided to sneak it scraps from the kitchen.

Naturally, it came back, so Jayce fed the Rockruff again.

And then the next day.

And then the day after that.

Eventually, little Jayce snuck the Rockruff into his home, and by the time he'd been caught they were inseparable.

Arcanine, originally Growlithe, was a gift after the blizzard.

Simply put, PTSD is hard for even the strongest most badass people, let alone a young child who watched his mother almost die in front of him.

He would fly into a wild panic over even the smallest flurries of snow, and it was a fear that wasn't going away and never would no matter how hard they tried, until a family friend bestowed Jayce with his newest friend.

It wasn't easy at first, Growlithe and Rockruff are natural enemies- but Jayce had begun to sleep full nights for the first time since the incident, nestled between the bodies of his two closest companions.

Mightyena came to him in it's current evolution

He found it during the raid on Silco's factory, caged up and tormented.

The creature was vicious, snarling and snapping and drooling everywhere and yet- Jayce couldn't bring himself to leave it.

He has scars on his forearms to show for it.

Mightyena is Jayce's loyalest guard now, despite his attempts to domesticate it.

Jinx:

Banette

Need I say more?

It's the only Pokémon she has, and the only one she needs.

A discarded child that found a discarded doll.

Silco was beyond hesitant to let Jinx- then Powder- have the Banette. It's a rare Pokémon in Zaun with a nasty reputation that precedes it and Silco isn't exactly comfortable letting a child have a creature with such an infamous temperament.

Though Jinx doesn't know it, and likely never will, it's actually Sevika that convinces him.

She's beyond attached to the Pokémon, throwing the full weight of her abandonment issues onto it and it seemingly reciprocating, Sevika points out pragmatically that a dangerous Pokémon is also a good Pokémon for protection, and Banette doesn't seem to possess any desire to harm her.

Banette goes everywhere Jinx does, and has been painted accordingly, done in the familiar chaotic Magenta and Cyan doodles of her own hand- likewise, Jinx has a tattoo of Banette, particularly the zipper-smile, across her throat.

Viktor:

Listen, listen okay? Bear with me here:

Garbodor, Weezing, and Muk.

Likewise I think later on he comes into possession of Golurk and Audino.

Garbodor, Weezing and Muk- Trubbish Koffing and Grimer at the time, would have all come into Viktors life within days or weeks of each other.

Viktor is hyperaware that he is an outcast, a reject.

So when he meets his trio? Well it feels meant to be.

They become his best friends where he has none, and Viktor guides the three to places of high toxicity where they can feast- similarly, the three protect Viktor savagely. Relentlessly chasing away would-be bullies.

In a way, the three Pokémon shape Viktor into the man he is today; creatures that are horribly mistreated, borne from the filth and detritus rampant in Zaun. A living legacy to the suffering of his people.

But he doesn't resent the Pokémon for that, he loves them dearly in fact. Hypothesizing that they formed in an attempt to combat the rampaging toxicity of the Undercity, Viktor's research prior to Jayce heavily involved this line of thought.

Golurk was a snide insult in the form of a gift. Pokémon like Weezing, Muk and Garbodor simply don't exist in Piltover, and those that weren't fazed by his disability and place of origin most certainly were by the filthy Pokémon that followed him loyally.

The Pokémon was left with a simple note: 'Do try to clean yourself up.' Despite this, Viktor didn't have it in him to get rid of the automaton. Rather, he affectionately named the Pokémon Blitzcrank and added him to his family. Now Viktor's presence is announced by the powerful thudding of Golurks feet, as well as his toxic friends.

Audino was last, and frankly? Audino chose him, not the other way around.

Audino found him at the height of his disease progressing and began to loyally follow him around, a tendril of its ear wrapped faithfully around the palm of his hand.

Even at the height of his bitterness, Viktor had to admit he was comforted by the sweet Pokémons presence.

It's the only one he has without a Pokéball.

Vi:

Lopunny, Smeargle, and Machoke.

Lopunny was the first, of course, then a Buneary with a missing ear, being bullied by some local kids and their Pokémon, Vi had jumped in to protect it.

Immediate partners for life.

Buneary developed a temper from Vi, picking fights with everything and everyone it could, and subsequently despite the many times it had to be nursed back to health, it evolved within months of meeting Vi.

Now a Lopunny, it became very protective of Vi, much to her chagrin.

Machoke was next, originally a Machop, it had consistently gone to pick fights with Vi's Lopunny, no matter how many times it fainted.

Vi realized the Machop didn't do this with any other Pokémon, only her Lopunny, and realized that the little Machop was infatuated.

No matter the attempts to shoo it away, Vi new the Machop was a permanent fixture in their lives and decided to catch him, adding him to the team.

Smeargle was Powder's, before the factory.

She finds it again with Caitlyn, down in the Sump after her fight with Sevika.

It's half feral, scarred and afraid, but Vi manages to coax it to recognition. Much like herself, and much like Powder, it would never be the same again.

But that's okay.

[selenestarmoon]

Piltover and Zaun, Hextech and Shimmer

We all know that Piltover and Zaun are cities that share many elements with each other: rulers disconnected from their respective cities (Piltover Council for Piltover Chem-barons for Zaun), intelligent personalities (Jayce and Jinx) and other similarities, another of the elements that equate the two cities and that I liked the most are

the Hextech

and the Shimmer.

Hextech and Shimmer are means that both cities use to make their citizens more powerful, to advance and evolve.

Piltover is the city of progress, the cradle of the greatest technological advances, it always has its eyes on the horizon, on tomorrow. Hextech is Jayce and Viktor's masterpiece created with the purpose of improving people's lives and giving them a better future: the portals that improve the transport of goods between cities, the Atlas Gauntlets so that miners can work faster, they get less tired and protect them from possible landslides in the mines or the hexclaw to improve the work of artificers. In Jayce's words, he wanted his technology to be a tool to build a new and better world. Hextech has the ability to learn from its environment and adapt to the needs of its user without losing the purpose of its creation (example: the Atlas Gauntlets create a shield for Vi because it adapted to her need to protect herself and also the Atlas Gauntlets fulfill the purpose of their creation which is to protect their users in the mines).

On the other hand, Zaun cannot look to the horizon. Its people are always underground, in the shadow of Piltover and the light hardly reaches. In addition, poisonous gases flood the streets, causing damage to the health of children who are unlucky enough to be born on this side of the river, as happened with Viktor. In Zaun everyone consumes Shimmer but why would anyone want to consume something so toxic and deadly, sacrificing their physical and mental health in the process? that's because zaunites don't have a longer life expectancy. Many zaunites died from the noxious gases, others from hunger and cold, and others simply died in an alley during a fight. In Zaun people don't live but survive and that is why they are willing to sacrifice tomorrow to have a guaranteed today. Another reason why the zaunites consume Shimmer is because by giving its users greater physical strength, Shimmer invites them to have a fantasy of power because, being aware of their precarious situation and how the piltovians live in great luxury, they also want to be strong, big and powerful like the piltovians. It's the same case as that of people who smoke or use drugs: they know that they are damaging their health but they seek an escape from reality and forget their problems temporarily, being more powerful but Shimmer, like any other drug, corrupts and converts its users into monsters stripping them of their humanity.

This contrast is even seen in the colors of both: the blue color of Hextech is related to the aesthetic of Piltover and its ideals of goodness and progress, it symbolizes the color of the sky of the horizon that the piltovians look at constantly looking for progress, looking for tomorrow. While the Shimmer is purple because in a certain way, purple is a corrupted version of blue, a color that has the beautiful and noble blue of Hextech and Piltover plus the red that represents blood, in this way the purple of Shimmer represents Zaun's connection to Piltover (blue) and the zaunites' blood who die daily and the rest who struggle to survive another day (red).

Hextech was created by a piltovian (Jayce) and a zaunite (Viktor) to help others and ensure a future while Shimmer was created by an ex-piltovian (Singed) in collaboration with a zaunite (Silco) to improve and strengthen the body of anyone at the cost of their humanity just to have one more day of life.

[tenderwenders]

So I finished all 9 episodes of Arcane on Netflix (and spent hours replaying the soundtrack because the music is SO GOOD, everyone listen to Dynasties and Dystopias right now).. Now that I’ve have some time for the initial excitement to wear off, I’m just gonna ramble about what I liked and what I thought could’ve been better.

First, the strongest aspects of the show was definitely the animation and the strength of the characters. Everyone already knows about Fortiche’s mind-blowing animation quality, but Arcane was INCREDIBLE in how nuanced and detailed it was. All the characters’ movements felt real and natural, and there were hundreds of emotions conveyed through facial expression and body language alone. That’s insane.

Next, the characters. They each had a depth and complexity to them that felt authentic and believable, strongly because the narrative frequently used family connections to deepen their actions and responses. My thoughts aren’t organized enough yet for anything too in-depth, but right off the bat I appreciated the genuinely fatherly love Silco had for Jinx (even if objectively he wasn’t a very good father; the father she wanted, sure, but not the one she needed), the way Mel Medarda’s political cunning and ambition exist side by side with her genuine compassion and desire to help (revealed in episode 8-9, after her mother’s arrival), how Caitlyn is genuinely driven to help others and empathetic to their pain even if she was sheltered from the world by her mother, etc.

Everyone, regardless of whether I liked them or not, had their own line of reasoning for what they did and it felt believable. I certainly didn’t like Marcus, the corrupt cop, but I was sympathetic to his fear of what Silco might do to his daughter if he broke off their partnership. Jayce and his hostility to Zaun, eventually storming the place only to retreat stricken with guilt over accidentally killing a child and choosing to liberate Zaun so he’ll no longer have to be responsible for actually fixing the situation there, was frustrating and annoying but I did understand his reaction. Jinx’s descent into madness thanks to years of untreated trauma and mental illness was painfully believable, and Sevika turning against Vander and choosing Silco for more forceful action made sense.

The show also did a great job of not shying away from the way violence is inherently a tragedy where no one really wins. The blood, the pain, the family left behind, the innocent lives lost. Everything has a consequence, and the show steering away from portraying fight scenes in a solely glorious, satisfying light was pretty refreshing. Even in the epic Ekko vs Jinx fight, despite the cool music, the mere fact that they’re facing off against each other is a tragedy because they used to be friends. The badass music cuts immediately once the 2D art style depicting their childhood game stops and the scene reverts back to the present: the bright colors are gone, everything’s gray and muted and there’s nothing triumphant about Ekko beating the shit out of Jinx. 

I appreciated a host of other things like the world-building (the first introduction to the Lanes made my jaw drop, it was so breathtaking), the diversity in design (no two characters look the same; they may look similar if they’re related, but there was a variety of heights, figures, skin tones, facial structures, etc.), the excellent writing techniques focusing on the theme of duality, the consistency of the characters, etc.

But I was disappointed by the centrist politics of the show. 

Like, the wealth and prosperity of Piltover only exists with the suffering of Zaun! Piltover doesn’t give a shit about Zaun except to keep them firmly at the bottom of the social ladder, miserably impoverished. And Zaun’s suffering -- the toxic waters and air, the lack of resources, the infighting, the violence, the drug addiction (post-Silco takeover) -- is a direct result of Piltover’s capitalism. With that it mind, is Silco really wrong for wanting independence for Zaun? Sure his methods certainly aren’t commendable, like flooding the Lanes with Shimmer and killing people when convenient, but in his position I’m honestly not sure how many people could resist becoming radicalized.

But anyway, the point is that the narrative seems to hammer home the “the cycle of violence must end” point, claiming violence on both sides is wrong and condemnable, but... Again, two centuries of Piltover fucking over Zaun and resisting any of Zaun’s attempts to improve their conditions. Piltover is directly responsible for Zaun’s poverty and high crime levels, but they’re absolved of all responsibility in the narrative. Killing people is bad, sure, but at some point the oppressed will feel they can only resort to violence to be heard because otherwise no one will listen. There’s a time for peaceful protest, but if no one is listening... if no one will even let you speak... I can’t help but sympathize with Zaun. (Even if most of the attacks on Piltover this season was done by Jinx, who acted independently and to earn Silco’s approval.)

The diversity in races was nice to see, as we POC really don’t get enough representation, but I was a bit put out by how so many of the wealthy Piltoverians were POC. Mel Medarda is black, with a black mother who is highly militaristic and implied to be imperialistic; Marcus, the corrupt cop, looks Asian; Caitlyn looks half-Asian herself, with an Asian father; Sevika, Silco’s right hand woman, is definitely brown; and Jayce, scientist boy wonder with a lust for power that’s starting to turn him into a pretty unlikeable (if understandable) guy, also may be brown. In contrast, aside from Ekko the main characters from Zaun are all white: Vi and Jinx, Vander, Silco, even Mylo and Claggor. 

I don’t know. In the context that Piltover is a city ruled mostly by self-serving, egotistical and hypocritical members of the 1%, a hyper capitalist establishment, I’m uncomfortable with the fact that so many of the POC are part of that upper echelon. (Like... Caitlyn, I love you, but can you quit the police force....) And it may be me being too sensitive, but while I appreciated Mr. Kiramman’s portrayal of warm and supportive fatherhood that is so often denied to men in media... the fact that he looks Asian and has a white wife who seems more assertive and powerful than him reminded me a bit of those unflattering stereotypes of Asian men as meek and submissive. Apparently the original Caitlyn was just white in the games, so.. while I do like having more Asian representation, I can’t help but be cautious of the writers’ decision to portray her father as an Asian man. (Then again, a lot of the producers were Asian men themselves: the writer, Alex Yee, most notably. They probably know to swerve from those stereotypes.)

Eh. I don’t know. It would’ve been nice if Viktor, at the very least, was a POC. And on the topic of Viktor, while I love him I was certainly not impressed by how Sky, his assistant, was definitely a woman of color... and got blown up to ashes to further his character development. Yeesh.

Overall I REALLY enjoyed Arcane, it was the most riveting piece of visual media I’ve enjoyed in literal years, but the centrist approach to tackling the problems of systemic oppression and what should be done about it was disappointing. Not surprising, but given the top notch quality of everything else I don’t think I can be blamed for having higher expectations.

Ok, rant over!

[misterewrites]

Shattered Echoes (Arcane)

Hello everyone! E here with a surprising update! Arcane. Great show, great writing, great characters! just amazing! I love it so much! BUT if this makes you wanna play league of legends....maybe don't it. It's not as bad as it used to be but...yeah....toxicity. If you do wanna play, try wildrift. it's a lighter version of league and not as toxic but still a bit. There’s also legends of runeterra which is a hearthstone styled card game with a single player experience.  You can also just play league with bots. Less likely to have assholes chilling out in the lobby. Oh! the ruined king rpg which is a really good rpg especially 30 bucks BUT follows the adventure of some other characters and might be spoilery for future seasons. If you’d like more information about this story, beyond the keep reading sign for spoiler purposes. 

So some things I wanna clear up with this: Spoilers for episode 7 of Arcane. That's why I didn't tag them in case. Also possible spoilers for future seasons about a character's abilities cuz this is based on a single line interaction in game along with other factors. Given how well integrated their in game abilities are to the show characters, yeah it's happening (I’m so excited!)

Have a great day! happy holidays, may you be happy, safe and sound. Wash your hands, wear your mask, keep yourself and your loved ones safe, push for global vaccination cuz im getting really fucking tired of this shit. BYEEEEE! Enjoy! share with your friends, comment, reblog and feedback i love it all! and deeply appreciate it.

Here’s the story over on Ao3 *no character tags for now so everyone has enough of a chance to catch up but I will add them later.* https://archiveofourown.org/works/35929279

Here’s the rest of my work over here https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrE42/pseuds/MrE42

And I hope you’re doing great! Bye! to the other side of the fence!

Okay this is your last warning. turn around lest ye be spoiled.

3

2

1

Ekko and Jinx. Honestly their little interactions in the Enemy music video, that one line of dialogue “I used to have a crush on you. Until you started talking to the gun) and honestly the whole idea of them being fierce enemies that used to have crushes on each other. It was too tempting and it was perfect to break ya'll hearts. Also not too intense descriptions of violence but just warning in case.

Also I'm not too caught up on all of League lore and it's not official but Ekko is probably bi given that pulsefire Ekko skin and Pulsefire Ezreal were dating and one of the artists or writers have a link to a little story they had them being flirty exes if that's more your speed. *not official cuz riot are cowards and need to try to hit every demographic they can*

Summary: Remember when we were kids: playing war with toy guns and wooden swords, caught up in glory and revenge without realizing the price?

 Remember the childish promise I made you when I went too far and you cried? A home beyond the dirtied streets and polluted air we wallowed in. 

Once upon a time I wanted to give you a new life but now you keep trying to take mine.

-----

Life has a twisted sense of humor sometimes. It pushes and pulls people towards their destiny in complex, unforeseen ways. It doesn’t matter how long it takes: A second, a week, a year. Every choice you make leads you to the middle of a messed up punchline.

The uncaring, unrelenting grand clockwork of the universe and it loved punching Ekko in the face.

That’s why he was here on this stupid bridge, surrounded by corpses with the smell of iron and smoke burning his lungs.

The sheriff of Piltover had been in Silco’s pocket which is why the enforcers were putting so much pressure on the Firelights while Silco worked unopposed. It’d been so obvious in hindsight but like they say in the lanes: Hindsight’s a bitch.

Thankfully so was dumb luck. The asshole shot his armor and while Ekko was going to have one hell of a nasty bruise, he’d live.

Which was good because he wasn’t finished yet.

Ekko gripped the bat tightly, his fingers stiff and cold from the night air. His heart raced with only the thundering of blood all he could hear as he took his place between Vi and Her.

Jinx stared his way, her gaze cold and ruthless. Her usual manic demeanor was gone today. Maybe seeing her sister buried her insanity for a moment, maybe she recognized her childhood friend. Either way it didn’t matter. It claw its way out of her sooner or later.

It always did.

-----

Jinx’s heart raged violently in her chest, each beat sending an uncontrollable fury coursing through her body as the world turned dark and static.

Vi. Vi. Vi. Vi.

She left. She left me. SHE LEFT ME! VI!

“Is that Ekko?” Clagger’s voice asked curiously from nowhere “He seriously grew up.”

Ekko. Ekko. Ekko.

Mylo’s voice scoffed in that irritating way only he could manage “Come on. Scrawny Ekko grew into that? Please. What’s he think he is? Some kind of boy savior?”

Hee boy savior. That’s a good one.

“Oh look who it is.” Jinx growled, unable to keep the anger or hurt out of her voice “The boy savior!”

Ekko looked away for a moment, feeling small and foolish. He’d wanted to believe Vi. He wanted to believe that Powder was still inside the monster he had fought tooth and nail for years. He wanted…..hoped that seeing him without his mask or the trappings of her hated enemy would stir something, anything in her.

He used to have a crush on her. Until she started talking to the gun. Oh yeah and helped corrupt Zaun and murdered his people.

He sighed tiredly.

Yep, he could feel the bruise starting to form.

This was all a game to Jinx: Pain, death, even the rage and horror meant nothing more than a sick thrill to Silco’s ward.

‘Fine’ he chuckled to himself, a small grin forming on his lips despite the situation ‘she wants to play? Let’s play.’

He slid the chain of his pocket watch into the palm of his hand and swung the timepiece back and forth, the ticking of the gears beating rhythmically as if keeping tempo to some unheard song.

-----

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Jinx scoffed to herself. He was really going to drag this out huh? Typical Ekko.

“Man, he really loves that watch.” Mylo sneered rudely.

“Well yeah.” Clagger replied gently “He used to carry it all the time.”

Jinx smiled cruelly while she placed a new round into her gun ‘I’ll play. We all know how this ended last time.’

Tick tick tick tick.

“Heh.” Jinx smirked, turning away from him and taking a gunslinger’s pose. A familiar one.

-----

Powder’s laughter filled the air for a moment, an echo from a time long past. He could still see her clearly: The crudely drawn eyeball thing on an old cooking pan she’d use for her helmet. Bright pink war paint on her cheeks, giggling and smiling as she threw up a mocking peace sign.

Ekko still remembered that fight distinctly even now: His reckless charge forward, wooden sword high in hand. The paintball whizzing by his head as he bobbed back and forth between them. Powder’s first shot followed by two more in quick secession. His ill fated jump and the decisive blow, paint splattering across the metal plate he used for armor. The embarrassment he felt as he angrily tossed his pocket watch to the floor and broke it.

Took him a whole month to fix it up. Finding the parts alone had been a massive headache but taught him a valuable lesson about breaking things in the Lanes: Don’t unless you want to spend the next few weeks fixing it.

Well this time it was going to be different because this wasn’t pretend anymore. No second chances or mercy for either this time around.

With one fluid motion, he pulled the watch into his hand. He clicked it, stopping the timer and breaking into a furious sprint.

Jinx drew her pistol with an expert hand. She bit her lip in anticipation as the gun twirled in her grip before she fired the first shot.

Ekko ducked low and pushed forward, the bullet barely missing his head. He rose to his feet, a fierce scowl on his face.

Pew, pew. Jinx let out two more shots out of habit than any conscious choice but Ekko was counting on it: He pivoted his on a foot, bending his body away from his hated foe before launching into a side flip, the projectiles sailed by without a scratch as he contorted his body to avoid the attacks.

He landed gracefully for a moment before launching himself into the air with as much force as he could muster. He rose his bat, gripping it for dear life while he prepared a mighty swing.

-----

Jinx was awestruck by the sight before her: the spotlight flickered on and off yet illuminated her enemy in its harsh light. Terror washed over her as she saw Ekko for as he truly was: not a child clutching onto a piece of wood and playing hero. Nor was he the leader of the Firelights, thorn in her and Silco’s side as they rose to power.

In this moment Ekko was beyond Jinx’s fragmented comprehension: He was an avenging angel, blazing with the fury of the dead and wronged. He descended from on high to deliver judgment onto her personally and would show her no mercy.

Jinx eyes widened in surprise and fear, the weight of her sins crawling down her spine. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe. Her finger trembled on the trigger but she couldn’t bring herself to pull it.

“It’s not like that.” Clagger’s voice whispered softly “It’s not your fault.”

Mylo’s laugh echoed harshly through the night air “Of course it’s her fault! Look what’s she done. Bridge full of dead enforcers and Ekko, little baby Ekko about to bash her skull in! How much of a jinx do you need to be piss off Ekko?”

Ekko swung, knocking Jinx down and sending her tumbling to the floor face first. She whirled around and aimed her pistol directly at Ekko’s face. He batted it away and swung again. She reeled backwards and was unprepared for Ekko’s fist to slam into her face.

Jinx’s main advantage was that she was stronger than she looked. She was no Vi but most people assumed she couldn’t be much of a threat without her guns. They, of course, forgot this was the girl who totted a minigun around no problem all the time.

Ekko knew better. Ekko had been fighting Silco and Jinx long enough to know Jinx would knock him off balance and regain control of the fight if her let her.

So he didn’t.

He drove another fist into her cheek then pinned her with his makeshift bat. She thrashed wildly: She pushed back against him, trying to get him off her. She lashed out with her hands and tried to scratch and claw his eyes out but Ekko remained steadfast.

Until.

Ekko pulled his hand back and balled it into a fist.

He paused, breathing heavily as he found himself looking upon not Jinx but Powder. Her eyes were wide with fear, blood dripping down her nose. Scared, unsure Powder.

She really was in there under the layers of sick joy and twisted mania.

Vi was right.

Ekko could feel his heart stop. He could feel pain and regret seep into old wounds he’d thought he healed.

What happened to us? How did we get here? Two enemies fighting to the death on a ill fated momentum to our failures.

She recognized him, confused and lost about what was going on.

Powder.

'I used to have a crush on you.’ Ekko thought to himself.

-----

Powder wasn’t sure how she got here, pinned under her friend and beaten into an inch of her life.

Actually she did know how she ended up in this mess: She remembered being Silco’s attack dog. She remembered the lives she took, the destruction she caused. How she helped her beloved Lanes descend into a cesspool of crime, drugs and corruption.

Vander wanted them to be better, to do better than he did. He wanted his children to live in an age of peace and love, where no one was lesser because Piltover said so.

And she ruined it when she killed him. Killed Mylo and Clagger. Broke Vi.

She really was a jinx, huh?

She was so tired. Her bones ached, her heart felt like it was tearing itself in two. Everything she’s done and for what? She just tried to murder Vi! She just tried to kill Ekko! And all over some random girl Vi was with? Because she couldn’t see how the world was burning and she was the one that lit the match.

God she was pathetic. No wonder she was alone.

No. Not alone. Not really.

Ekko never left her. He stayed with her. True it was thwarting her attempts to take over the undercity but he never stopped. He was always there, ready to stop the next shipment of shimmer or robbing Silco blind.

He grew to be so handsome. She remembered them hanging in the alleyway, dancing and laughing without a care in the world. When they both tried to copy Vi’s form, her strength. The terrible way they both punched.

Ekko never left her.

Maybe he never would.

‘I’m a monster.’ She whispered silently ‘a terrible creature who shouldn’t exist. This needs to stop. I’m sorry Ekko, Vi. I think it’s time Powder fell down a well for good.’

She pulled out one of her chompers from her belt.

She needed to say goodbye to Ekko. To warn him to get far away from her as she finally ended this madness once and for all.

Powder tried to force her broken jaw to speak.

Jinx clamped it shut.

‘NO!” The mania grinned and leered as Powder felt herself slip into the darkness. ‘If we’re going to go I’m taking him with me! After all, we’d never be alone. Not anymore!’

Powder tried to fight back but it was too late, she was too weak to keep going. Jinx had returned. Her hold on their psyche was too strong, too overwhelming to overcome.

Goodbye Ekko. I’m sorry.

-----

Jinx felt nothing as she pulled the pin on the chomper. She just laid there and waited for the explosion to go off. She always wondered how effective her booms were and now she’d get to finally find out.

Ekko stared in confusion at the chomper biting at empty air. Powder was gone and he found himself staring at Jinx again.

Realization hit. He had lost her again and she had returned.

She always did.

He pulled back, loosening his grip on Jinx and trying to find way out.

Boom.

-----

Ekko’s eyes fluttered open. There was a cold sense of dread that washed over him in his sleep but it seemed to be gone now.

That happened on occasion: Little chills or phantom pains he felt out of nowhere. Aches, stiff joints. Once or twice his bones would throb dully like he’d broken them once upon a time. But they always passed a moment later and the doctors said he was perfectly healthy. Not a single thing wrong with him. Well all things considering.

He glanced back to see Powder still sleeping, her arms clutching onto his waist tightly as if she was afraid he’d vanish into thin air.

He looked out the window and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the massive tree still looming over them: a reminder that even here in the dark, dank sewers life thrived.

Him and Powder actually found this place not so long ago when they were exploring. It took forever to convince Vander and more importantly Vi to let them take a few of the younger kids and elderly here so they could be safe while the pair worked to clean up the streets of the undercity.

It wasn’t perfect by all means and lord knows every other week some sort some asshat or the sheriff of Piltover Marcus tried to undermine Vander’s control but luckily he had Vi looking out for him. And she finally learned to stop blocking punches with her face.

Clagger was somewhere around here. He’d come by to run some ideas about a new gauntlets for Powder’s sister. Vander’s old mining gear was classic but just because something worked did not mean it could not be improved.

Benzo had taught him that. He really missed the old man.

Ekko slowly slipped out of Powder’s grip as not to wake her.

Life was good. It was better than he had ever dreamt.

He smiled to himself before noticing one of his unfinished projects haphazardly laying on his drawer.

It was his old pocket watch he used to carry around everywhere, its hands still frozen in place when he chucked it to the ground after losing to Powder for the fifth time in a row.

He’d been meaning to fix the old thing up but between Silco’s attempted coup a few years back, helping Vander keep peace in the Lanes and this new side project among all the other ideas he’s been playing with, he never really had the time anymore.

Boy what he’d do for an extra few seconds in the day.

“Ekko?” Powder’s voice groggily called from bed.

Ekko smiled gently “Here sweetie.”

“Ugh. Don’t call me that.”

“Honey?”

“Stop! It’s too early for this.”

“You love it.”

Powder waved him off tiredly “yeah yeah you dork. Why you up?”

Ekko paused, wondering if he should tell her about why he wasn’t sleeping.

“That thing I told you about” Ekko admitted after a moment “The whole feelings of dread, phantom pains?”

Powder nodded in understanding “You are way too stressed out.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“I’m perfect angel.” Powder stuck out her tongue at at him “Mostly.”

“Mhm. You mean like that time you were gonna chase after your sister to the clearly dangerous warehouse with orbs you barely understood?”

Powder pouted “One time….Hey. Did I ever thank you for staying with me that night?”

“Only every time it comes up.” Ekko chuckled before he waved her away “we were kids. It was a scary time. I don’t blame you. I was going to hide in the shop but….I didn’t want to be alone.”

Powder smiled gratefully “Me either. I was losing my mind when Vi left me. Thank god you showed up when you did. I was ready to throw all those hexstones in my monkey and just throw caution to the wind.”

“You? Cautious?” Ekko raised an eyebrow playfully “Never heard that in the same sentence unless not is in between.”

“Shut up and come to bed. It’s cold and my heater is picking on me.”

“Yes dear.”

“You sound like Vi when she talks to her girlfriend. A piltie of all things.”

Ekko grinned to himself as he made his way back to bed and let his loving girlfriend clamp onto him for dear life.

He really should fix that watch.

Eh, maybe later.

[rappaccini]

ooooKAY unstructured arcane thoughts

first off, no familiarity with the game this is based on so i can say nothing re how it deals with the lore.

animation gorgeous. that hybrid of computer/hand-drawn we've all been wanting for years now is finally here, and it's wonderful.

you can really tell that every single frame is carefully thought out, and rewatches are gonna be gold.

the art style is a great blend of art nouveau and steampunk. the color pops, the light and shadows are excellent. exactly my trash.

..... i'm not a fan of the ost. all the pop songs feel out of place with the world. i also do Not like how every episode has to stop the plot to give us a music video of characters walking around to one of those songs. there had to be a better way to do that.

and the random bursts of experimental animation are cool, but feel like they're for a music video or opening rather than the show itself. it just distracts.

(not jinx's delusions though. they really captured it so well)

i really respect the plot for having the balls to give us a third of the season as prologue. it's absolutely vital and i think a lesser show might've skipped it.

and the themes are great in how they're implemented. subtlety matters.

and i think the three-act structure is interesting. once again, waiting a week for new episodes is better than binging. this is a textbook case of why: give people time to engage, and to get others on board. give it space, and it'll grow.

the characters are the best part by far. everyone's fully realized, nuanced and complex. no one sticks to their archetype, and all their motivations and actions feel completely earned. we have heroes who are douchelords and villains who are incredibly human.

mel really shines when her mommy issues come out, and viktor levels up when he starts microdosing magic meth.

i like vi and cait individually and as a couple but i don't Love them. refreshingly it’s simply because i find others more interesting and not out of any issues with their writing.

ekko's role as the character who lowkey has all the answers to main plot's conflict is great. i respect the subtlety of his inclusion and would like to see him eventually preside over the story.

silco. goddamn. what a great villain. it'd have been so easy to make him a mustache twirler, but giving him that strong code of ethics, and that connection to jinx, was such a brilliant twist. it'd have been so easy to make him her big bad abusive overlord, but making him a genuinely caring and loyal mentor whose toxicity stems from his own trauma and his misguided attempt to protect her.... brilliant.

and jinx. man. yeah, she's the breakout here and she deserves it. what a great character. watching her unravel into villainy was incredible. (also... jinx just is what margot robbie's desperately trying to get her harley quinn to be)

granted..... these writers really struggle with romance.

vi/cait is good. predictable, but good. i am not particularly passionate about them but i am interested in seeing how they grow from here.

the mel/jayce romance was not good. can't tell if they wanted us to think she's just using him for his tech the whole time, or if at some point it turned genuine, but it just felt ingenuine the whole time.

made worse bc both mel and jayce have more organic chemistry with other people. mel/elora and jayce/viktor felt so much more honest and i hate that it seems accidental.

also viktor/sky........ tf was that. dude never shows her any inch of interest, yet the show acts like it's meant to be. i like how her dusting affects him, what with his guilt, but the crush did not need to be there.

.... so i'm gathering that jinx and ekko are meant to have some kind of romantic vibe, and that the writers really wanted that fight to be 'look at how sad these two former friends trying to kill each other is' but i didn't gather that at ALL in the first three eps. he just seemed like that kid from your neighborhood you wait for the bus for together, not an actual close friend jinx had. if thats the case, they fucked up.

so if jinx/ekko is happening, they have to fix that big gaping hole in their history and actually fill it in with the shit they keep saying is there. if they do, i think it could work, though it’d have to happen in a way that doesn’t strip jinx or her agency.

alright yes i know ~the creators confirmed that jinx and silco are entirely platonic, and she acts that way because she's childish~ but that's bull. you don't have two characters have that kind of consistent interaction without intending some kind of sexual subtext. girl straddles his lap several times, they caress each other's faces, and they keep almost-kissing (not to mention the baptism scene where he literally gets her wet). it really skeeves me out that people keep insisting that jinx behaves that way towards silco because ~she's just so childish~. children don't do that, especially not with parental figures. like.... really? how is that better than two adults having a relationship with an age gap.

the ambiguity of that relationship is what makes it so enthralling, and honestly hearing the story keep saying "DID WE MENTION SHE'S HIS DAUGHTER" just feels like the writers trying to cover up what they made. own it fam: he's not her dad, he's her daddy. their relationship is fucked up, after all. it makes sense that it might cross another line too.

i'm in a rare place where i'm totally content with where the jinx-silco vibe leads them. it feels earned and complete.

speaking of accidental subtext, it really does seem like jinx and vi want to fuck each other. the jealousy jinx has towards her sister's gf is.... So Much. on god if they wrote them as childhood-friends-with-crushes instead of sisters you wouldn't have to change a thing. maybe they should have.

in general.... just about everything fires on all cylinders. the writing, the characterization, the pacing, the editing, the animation. this is how you fucking do it.

the best part i think is that this could have easily been another shitty videogame cashgrab, and instead they took the source material, deepened and improved upon it and did something entirely new. it's one of those shows that gives you faith in the state of storytelling.

uh yeah anyway. show great, easily one of the best animated series ever made and it's just on season 1, and i'm in a rare position where i trust the creators to follow through.

[sweethurtss]

DON’T REBLOG

People should stop lying about Silco being a good dad. He was a loving dad, but he was also a manipulative and bad dad.

He couldn’t accept his daughter for who she was as Powder. He didn’t want Powder, the scared little girl who would bravely do anything for her family and to help people, who wanted to prove herself worthy and an equal contributor to society to her siblings.

Silco wanted and nurtured ‘Jinx’ because he could empathize and see himself in the poor rejected child. He gave her his trauma and anger, nursed her on his poison - his violence, literally baptizing her in toxic water. He didn’t want better for her, he wanted her to want revenge just like him.

And it’s VERY clear that he makes a distinction between these two aspects of Jinx/Powder’s identity because SHE views those two names as separate people. It’s why she offers to Vi that she can be Powder ‘again’, it’s why she labeled those two seats with both of her identities — because she was told that Jinx and Powder cannot coexist, they are not synonymous even though we HAVE seen those two aspects coexist before when Jinx was just a mean nickname from her brother, Mylo; and was a culmination of her greatest fear — which was why it was so impactful when Vi never called her a jinx until she finally did in the aftermath of losing everyone they love — a traumatic moment for both of them, and something that not only was wrong, but a moment that Vi rightfully deeply regrets.

So, even though they clearly love each other and are very connected, Silco wasn’t a good influence on her. And he never even tries to claim he has done his best to do right by her? I think Silco knows exactly how he fucked her up, especially when he starts trying to turn her against Vi at the dinner table scene. And even if he’s willing to let her do as she wants now, I think that it was important to him that he had someone in his life who could fully understand the pain and rejection he had gone through. He liked having a compatriot in his misery, someone who could belong to that same ugly hurting feeling.

And it’s because of that connection, that bond, that she became his weakness in a time where everyone is looking to tear him down, waiting for him to mess up. Only then does he realize there could ever be more to life than that pain that he had nursed both of them on for the past six to ten years. And he ends up at the feet of the man he had thought was so weak and pathetic for being in this very same position so many years ago. Or rather what’s left of that man, his cold and unhearing statue, to whom Silco can confide:

“Oh, it all makes sense now, brother. Is there anything so undoing as a daughter?”

[joons]

episode 3 of arcane

oh no, my favorite enforcer died. inevitable in retrospect, since no one who provides stability can be allowed to live.

viktor/jayce is my everything, maybe they will make out while floating

councilwoman mel also gives me vivienne vibes from dragon age, i love her much

ok, the underworld/lanes plot in this episode was, like, MY BREATH WAS HITCHED THE WHOLE TIME, heart racing, in awe, everything hurtsss

i can already feel vi vs. powder discourse coming over the horizon, so i'm ... glad they have both made really terrible mistakes already and i don't have to hear anyone saying one is the good sister. i love them both so much, like vi just really made me sad in the second episode when talking to vander about the right time to take action, and powder/jinx is darling. her tears this episode were so frantic and gutwrenching. her hopes, dashed, her smile, gone.

also completely blown away by the scenes of silco in the river. the flashes of him at peace interspersed with that brutal, panicked violence is beautiful - this is how he finds peace now, through the fight, the "base violence that brings change." everytime i see vander strangling him with his massive hands ... whew, the imagery (and the obvious parallel with vi punching jinx this episode).

i still feel like we'll learn more about the silco/vander relationship. i'm pretty sure they are actually brothers and not just brothers-in-arms? and i am still not sure if the river toxins are what caused silco's deformities. i thought so, but vander was in there just as long? idk what is happening, what vander was trying to do to him. they must have had some argument that led to vander snapping on him.

oh, but i want to mention how much i love that the lanes are literally toxic. MMMMM.

it seemed to me that silco liked vi's ability to fight and wants her either for more weird experiments or just as someone who would ally with him in the fight against pilterwhatever. but he may have changed his mind on that by the end of the ep, we'll see.

and i got so excited as soon as i saw that silco and jinx were on a collision course. reminds me so much of slade/terra. and you can see that silco really didn't know what he was going to do until she hugged him, and even then, it's still possible he was going to just kill her and get rid of her, but HIS E Y E S. there is truly nothing, nothing, i love more than people "saving" each other by entrenching themselves into a cult. that codependence is a big, big theme i always return to in my favorite stories and in my own writing, it's so complicated and selfish and cruel and beautiful, and there's so much redemptive force in it.

silco: "i'm glad you still had it in you" [stabs vander]

monster!vander: >:(

silco: O_(*)

[roastybeans]

No dude you're so right. That scene was so wonderful to me because even though Jinx took it as "Powder fell down a well" and completely disconnected herself from her past self, it showed she was living with it. She was acknowledging her trauma instead of burying it and that's such a huge step in healing!!!! She can't make peace with it and accept that Powder is still Jinx (as in the same person, you kill that deadname sis) but she has taken the first steps towards it.

To go from having items that hold incredible emotional value, that also are triggering to you, hidden away to having them out in the open??? That's so huge, I still keep mine locked away in a box.

And to the "Silco is teaching her unhealthy coping mechanism" people that I know are out there, where exactly do you see a therapist office? Where? Show me a screen shot. Show me the medical insurance cards and college programs people can even GET a degree in anything mental health related. This world (sadly) doesn't have those resources so get off your bullshit. These are characters TRYING to live with horrible trauma, trying their best, and these are issues WE can relate too.

Like @vibeechecker I've had the chance to get professional help and while yes every character in this show needs some help and therapy, using that as a way to negate what (and how) they're going through is so condescending. No one is perfectly going to deal with their trauma, it's messy and like op said, you've got good and bad days. And this show does a beautiful job showing that.

Absolutely notice the unhealthy coping mechanism, but celebrate the growth and healing too. Learn from the toxic survival traits, but find comfort in knowing that even in this show, two fucked up and broken people can still help each other not feel alone as they heal.

I just wanna mention, ppl say that the bathe/baptist/betrayal talk/river scene or whatever u wanna call it between jinx and silco isn’t what she needed. But like he was giving her someone to relate to so she doesn’t feel alone and additionally, again with “jinx is perfect,” making her feel loved and emotionally safe. Also, everyones different.. different things work for someone and then doesn’t work for others.. but idk abt you but that talk with silco really did seem to help jinx. It seemed to be something she needed. Because she was able to make the device using the hextech, something that earlier she had a difficult time due to trauma. And it’s not like she was forcing herself to do it for Silco, she was spinning and smiling. She was able to do it with joy. Not to mention, if she still had a hard time, I believe she would make that clear given the fact she did the first time. Also someone else pointed this out, but she kept items from events surrounding her trauma (the bunny toy, the flare ect.). In the first scene, where she has an episode, they’re hidden and only become visible because of the blast. But in the next scene, they’re always visible and near her when she’s working. So, in my opinion, it’s safe to say that scene actually was 100% good for jinx and something she needed.

Tho lil note, obviously that’s not gonna just make her trauma and issues go away. Thats not how it works. But I feel like that should be a given with anything. Copeing mechanisms, talks and lifting convos like this don’t fix shi. It’s a mix of that, the person in question (being jinx) and their willingness and so forth. And, more personal, but as someone who has been getting professional help for years, there is no such thing as truly ‘getting better.’ probably harsh to say, but there’s no perfect so like yeah, nothing truly ““fixes”” anything tbh. Not to say it doesn’t get better. It does, it just never gets “perfect” or “fixed” or somthn