#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.

[sandraharissa]

I think one of the many things wrong with Jinx this season is how like, half of her personality was cut off and thrown out.

Like her reaction to grief. We see her suicidal after Silco’s death and she’ll be again very suicidal after Isha’s death. Makes sense. Don’t have notes on that part. However I have so much notes on her rage. In s1 we see Powder sometimes responding to bad situation by being shy and sad, but sometimes she reacts in a more adversarial way, like complaining they should try fighting Piltover or trying to stand up to Mylo. But we also get these moments like when she’s left behind and has an absolute meltdown and starts wrecking shit but more importantly her reaction to Silco. He says they’ll show them all and she throws the audience the most rage fueled look you’ve ever seen. When really pushed beyond her limits this is Powder’s emotional reaction to tragedy/being wronged. We see that all throughout acts II and III and we see it when she blows up the council after Silco dies. And that’s the problem cos that’s the part that’s missing from s2. They cut her personality in half and only kept one half. Anger as part of her personality and reaction to grief was discarded when writing her in s2. Even tho she goes through a lot of grieving in s2.

Another example is Isha. Jinx prioritizing family and just chilling? Wanting affectionate interactions with family? Having an easier relationship with a younger family member cos there aren’t any expectations or need to prove anything or gain anyone’s attention? No fear of abandonment/betrayal? She just has this kid who hero worships her and follows her around like a puppy so no stress? No notes. However I have a lot of notes about Jinx’s paranoia and how not normal and possessive and toxic she is about relationships. And I have notes on the generational trauma. Where did all that go? That’s not how ppl work. Living in a messed up society and Silco’s parenting won’t just evaporate like that cos Isha is just so overwhelmingly cute. It’s more likely that Jinx would corrupt the kid. (which you could argue on paper she does cos the kid in the end thought that suicide was dope but why did the narrative frame it as this beautiful thing lol)

And on the topic of fighting Piltover where did “we beat the enforcers with just the four of us imagine what the whole Lanes could do” go? Jinx definitely prioritized family more but she wasn’t neutral or indifferent on the Piltover matter. The enforcers wrong her/hurt her/threaten her family yet again, they kidnapped Isha, and she just acts panicked and sad, but also jokes and quips while on the mission. Where’s the rage and hatred and desire for revenge on the ppl who wronged her? Sometimes it’s just ppl around her being mean or lying or smth, anyone could be her enemy, like Sevika, Silco or Vi, but a lot of the time it’s Piltover, they killed her parents, they were her fathers’ enemies and drove them to hate each other, they chased them as kids and tried to arrest them, they kidnapped and abused Vi in prison all her adolescence, they would have killed Vi so she blew up the whole blockade, Council tried to turn Silco against her and now he’s dead so she bombs them, all her life she can see that the quality of their life is bad bcos of Piltover, she’s in Jayce’s apartment and immediately goes for the sandwich. Jinx doesn’t come off as a very politically/ideologically motivated character but what happened to all her personal beef with Piltover?

They also inexplicably just ceased to write her fucking up all the time. what about her y’know, being a jinx? In s1 even in acts II and III when she is proficient in fighting and bomb-making they still constantly show her being more of a burden and fucking up in other ways. While never explained (which was good) to me it came off as a symptom of trauma and being neurodivergent, like how ADHD kids can’t escape the allegations that they’re lazy, but on a meta level it did make it feel like she was supernaturally cursed. Part of what felt so profound and empowering about s1 finale and her embracing being jinx it that it was her embracing that she’s different (and ‘wrong’ in some ways) and can never live a happy life in the society she lives in and so she lashes out. Now she just chills and nothing ever doesn’t go her way (ig until Isha died but that wasn’t even directly her fault, Isha just acted on her own choice and agency). Suddenly her mental issues don’t exist or get in the way of her socializing and being a part of society. This bigoted, violent and unfair society.

Don’t even get me started on her mannerisms. Remember how she would bite her lip? I’m not sure if she does that even once in s2. “Sister, thought I missed her”??? let Jinx rhyme sometimes and in general say weird shit, not one-liners.

So the only way for the writers to have Jinx do nothing, heal up completely and just chill with a kid in her lair (and really everything else she does (or doesn’t do) this season) is to get rid of half of her personality, the traits that would dictate she take action and feel wrath and lash out/hurt her loved ones in the process.

All of her tragic traits from s1 that made her Jinx were just erased, not changed throughout the course of an arc, absent from the get go, so that they can have her say that Jinx is dead and have it make sense in the context of s2 cos from her very first appearance is s2 this Jinx was devoid of pretty much all of her jinx-y character traits from s1.

[sherbertquake56]

okay I’m dropping some of my fable arcane au thoughts before the new episodes drop tomorrow even tho most of it is based on season 1 anyway—

so some basic taggings for you that I based the AU around:

1. Icarus as Jinx.

powder vs jinx is just the sherbert vs icarus name thing. toxic father. unhealthy relationship with sibling. a lil crazy and maybe evil. thinks that they are at fault for the things around them. lil bombs? nah- little SPLASH potions. hearing and seeing mylo and claggor? it’s Haley- it’s literally Haley—

2. Fable as Silco.

okay fable’s design WAS partially inspired by silco— they literally look the same— they’re both a man with two priorities: take over and make his own nation & care for child.

you know the ending scene of season 1? where they’re sitting at the table? THAT. With Jinx assuming that he’s gonna give her up to topside and him getting the first chance to talk and saying “her name is JINX!” i could write an essay on that for icarus. they’re so toxic and it’s so perfect. also that scene at the start of s2 ep2? YEAH THAT—

3. Centross as Ekko

This one is controversial and up to debate but i will die on this hill— SO THE S1 BRIDGE FIGHT. I am so willing to put aside any possible prison duo gay-ness in this AU for that rivalry/fight. they were friends!!! they were so good!! and now they wanna KILL EACH OTHER!! it’s great.

It’s also specifically thinking of Ekko’s tree home as solstice— older Ekko very much has the vibe of Violet specifically-

4. Arisanna as Sevika

I DONT KNOW WHY BUT IT MAKES SENSE TO ME. It’s specifically vexed Ari during the coworkers era but idk it just feels right— I look at her relationship with Silco and Jinx and go ‘hmmm this could be something’

[I will also say there is an argument here for swapping Centross and Ari tho— big tree city as Ari rebuilding the records goes hard, and angsty fighty toxic with jinx centross is also good— it’s like 50/50 for me]

5. Isla as Vander

LET ISLA BE A BADASS IN THIS AU. SHE DESERVES IT— something something raising vi and powder alone, something something the backstory with silco— there’s something there and it hits really hard in scenes where vi sees vander and helps her get back up— also I look at jinx and vander and I go “mmmm this is in fact how icarus sees Isla”

6. Rae as Vi

This was obvious given the above but LISTEN— in this ALTERNATE UNIVERSE OF EVENTS I think it would be fun- do I think that vi perfectly fits canon rae? no. But in this world it would KICK ASS. rae deserves to beat some people up— got kicked out of the overworld (zaun) by fable (silco) and had to go to the end (piltover) to get away from him?? rae end prince aus are already here so why not end rae also punching people huh??? also. gay people.

———

Okay— here’s where I need some help, thoughts, and opinions from you all…

1. Caitlyn.

POLYAMORY IS HARD TO TAG AND I DONT KNOW WHO FITS BEST?? For me, season 1 Caitlyn fits best as Caspian, but season 2 Caitlyn is more for Fenris— so I’m very stuck. yes absolutely give thoughts on this please—

2. Viktor as Aax (but how does that work)

Viktor absolutely should be Aax— mr. Scientist / lab experiment / turned religious figure vessel for god is CORRECT. But honestly the rest of Piltover gang is really hard with Rae as Vi— Jayce/Viktor/Mel is yelling at me to be the polycule but aGH— ya know??? very stuck on this so I instead look at the coworkers and go “mm good yes—”

Random other tags I think also make sense:

- Ulysses as that Telchin looking mf Stev— mans took out one lil medical device as his fish self and I said YUP

- The hexcore big orb thing underground as Quixis— big white glitch orb room make things go wack. couldn’t be easier than that.

———

Anyways that’s all— I’ve been rotating this in my mind for like a week and have had way too many thoughts about it thank you for your time—

[eerna]

When I think about arcane arc 2, I’m just really :/ that it feels like they dropped the ball on their generational trauma theme. Like, we didn’t properly explore Ambessa and Cait’s new dynamic and Caitlyn had no reflection on her mother’s death anymore, Ambessa forgot about Mel??, Jinx was “fixed” by Isha, we have once again sidelined Ekko and his revolutionaries plot, and Vi and Jinx, who were trying to Kill each other two eps ago, are chill now (listen the catty fight was fun but ya know. besides that.) Like what about revolution eating up innocence and your sons and daughters and toxic coping strategies being passed down! Idk, I guess has someone who is a bit of a tragedy enjoyer (tho I like optimistic/happy endings lol) and someone who really likes toxic nuanced relationship (and arcane really focused on familial too!! which I love) I feel they really lost themselves trying to go the fluff route. This just isn’t that type of show. This is also why I think Vander’s character kinda threw a wrench in season 2; was there really a point to be made in bringing him back? Kinda thought he had already served his purpose but Idk! There’s other things to critique, and even things I enjoyed too, but I think if I had to boil down the main sentiment why I didn’t like arc two, it would be losing this character thread. So much of season 1 hinged on it, so many great scenes came out of it, feels bizarre fumbling it so bad in arc 2…

Yeah T.T The Vander one hits especially hard, because like. He really is done here. There is no reason for him to exist in the story anymore. The show even agrees with us, they brought him back ONLY to take him away from the girls again, and that is just stupid and boring. Sure, Warwick has to exist bc LoL, but there was no need to introduce him into the plot - the hints in s1 were plenty enough to give him a backstory.

And the most important part: WHAT ABOUT REVOLUTION EATING UP INNOCENCE AND YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS AND TOXIC COPING STRATEGIES BEING PASSED DOWN!!! HELLO???? THE MAIN THEME OF SEASON 1???????? It was about a bunch of revolutionaries trying to do good for their families, and how good intentions don't mean good results. Vi learned the passive rejection of a revolution from Vander, Jinx learned individualistic toxic obsession from Silco, Mel rejected her mother's "kill before you get killed" policy. None of this is important in s2 anymore!! I thought Isha would die in an act of revolution, bringing home the "is revolution worth risking the people you are doing it for in the first place" theme, but no. No! Because we are abandoning that line of thought! And you're right, the reason for that is the dumb family fluff they suddenly pivoted into. I adore family stories and relationships, but I'm not buying the Vander-Jinx-Vi-Isha unit for a moment. Jinx-Isha-Sevika, which had good setups, was abandoned and for WHAT!!!! CHEAP FLUFF???? Augh. Sad.

[flowerspeakz]

Lmao I remember seeing images of vi as a pitfighter and thinking "noo spoilers 😭" (I didn't want to know ANYTHING about season 2 before watching it--get the best experience, yk?).

But like,,, Vi's pitfighter phase was so insignificant? Like actually so brushed over? I totally forgot about it because it had one stupid montage and that's it.

Why did she even become a pitfighter? Ik that it's her coping with her life falling apart, by why pitfighting? And also where's the pitfighting happening? And why is that vander replacement there? What??? Can they not like continue the insane worldbuilding they had from before please?

ffs I'm tired of people claiming that people critiquing arcane have no media literacy and want to be spoon fed. Be so fr the first season of arcane is so so SO GOOD because the reasoning behind characters' decisions were explained/shown before the decision was made. (silco choosing that kid to be the first human shimmer weapon because that kid fucked up his recon mission on vi/powder/mylo/claggor so badly, powder wanting to prove that she isn't a jinx because mylo keeps dissing her about it, marcus being a mess of a dirty cop because his family's safety is in silco's hands, etc, etc)

Characters are not real people. Sure, a real person can make decisions out of left field. Yeah, real people have microexpressions that can tell you a lot about what they're thining. But a character's motivations and how they think should be clear to the audience (generally, ofc there's exceptions im not stupid yo).

Yeah, I know why each character did what they did in s2, but not in the way I did in s1. Not in a way that matters.

I mean, I totally forgot that Mel and Jayce were in a relationship in s1. Where did that go?? I guess people are so obsessed with jayvik that they were probably celebrating that the writers forgor about that important character/plot point. You're telling me not a single character has ANY curiosity??? Jayce sees that Mel is a mage and doesn't, yk, insist on getting the full story??? And vice versa??? Even if they implied that that conversation happens off-screen that's not enough. Seeing how these two very close characters express these very traumatic events to each other would be such a good look into their internal mindscapes and how they view the crazy shit that just happened to them. But nooo. We can't explore their relationship together because jayce needs to be obsessed with viktor.

GOD I want a bi character in a show to come out of a same-sex relationship and end up in a "straight" relationship just to watch the internet fucking implode. Every bi/plurisexual person deserves a smooch on the forehead and a little voice that tells them 'love who you love, nothing could make you less queer than you are. yeah, people sure do think otherwise but fuck them ong holy shit'

omggg dont even get me started on caitvi... can we not get a healthy wlw relationship that isn't rooted in codependency and general toxicity?? "people just cant let lesbians have anything can they," i've heard people say in response to people criticising the caitvi sex scene... NO! I want sapphics to know that they can have healthy, non-abusive relationships where you, yk, actually talk to your partner and ARENT just the dirt under their nails. tf.

[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.

[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!

[dayoldbaguette]

you know what? I'm not done.

This season has not only ruined my day, but my weekend too. This is my 'Rise of the Skywalker'

the mage who gave Jayce the stone being Viktor just made Jayce 10 times more boring, and that's a tough thing to do given that I personally never liked Jayce. At first for petty personal reasons, which I have since come to recognize reflect more about my mental state at the time of first watch than his actual character, but. also, the motivation of 'i saw magic once as a kid and was so wowed by it I now want to bring it into existence to help people and if I don't get to do that I will kill myself' felt a little, unreal(?) to me. It can't just be magic and desire to help? You'd have to have more than just 'desire to create magic' on your mind if not getting to do so leads to you contemplating ending your life so there's gotta be underlying self-worth issues there. Like, for aforementioned petty reasons, I kept seeing his desire to help people as a front for his actual desire for admiration, that's how I interpreted his rise to politics and leaving science behind. He gets caught up in the power and fame a little bit too much, until he realizes that his actions and power come with a lot of responsiblity and the crimes you commit in power will haunt you. That was his arc. But at least, for all my petty interpretations of his motives that made certain he was never going to be my favorite, at least he was everywhere. He was everywhere, he knew basically every major character apart Jinx I think, and had some sort of interaction. He also had a unique backstory moment with a character no one else had met, which made him unique and shaped who he is. Finding out that mage was Viktor the whole time ruined any chance of him being an independent actor. His actions were all fated, predetermined by Viktor's wishes. In combination with the fact that him knowing literally everyone went nowhere, in the end only his connection to Viktor mattered and like. Sorry to the shippers, but, that is extremely boring.

Pretty much all of Jayce's other motives and beliefs got thrown out the window when we went into 'now this is about magic and Viktor' territory. None of his other dealings, his changing beliefs of what Zaun's fate should be, come up in most of season 2. He literally knew Silco and wanted to hand Zaun it's independence. Never does he bring this up anywhere in dealings with Zaun, though I suppose they didn't need to cause the political unrest between Zaun and Piltover is basically set dressing this season and once the war began Zaun put up basically no meaningful resistance. Christ, almighty, I could write my bachelor's thesis on this season's pitfalls.

I am going to pretend this entire season didn't exist.

Viktor makes no sense as a main villain for the Piltover and Zaun show, while Ambessa could've been good as a kind of, independent agent working to set Piltover and Zaun against each other but ultimately have idk, maybe Cait be the villain? Make Piltover's oppression of Zaun be the villain. but that was never going to happen because we had to devote half the run time to Noxian succession troubles and whatever the hell the black rose is.

Another thing about Jinx's 'death'. Her flying away is actually such a depressing ending despite how it's framed. It really seems to suggest that for her, healing with the people that now accept her is impossible and the only option to have a degree of peace is to walk away. This isn't 'choosing to build something new' or 'hoping for a better tomorrow'. This is giving up on all that, frankly. Surrendering yourself to aimless wandering and abandoning the people who love you because. reasons. (I guess that she feels her sister will never have peace while she's 'alive' and vice versa?). Like yeah okay, to heal sometimes you need to walk away but. It's not like this was a toxic family scenario we're staying would mean continuing to suffer. This was a case where she didn't feel like her family could accept her as she was, and when they did she thought it didn't matter cause she had already decided the only way out was to run away. It's just. Why are both Jinx and Vi acting like their worst, most self-loathing selves, but this time it's meant to be a happy ending or whatever. Like no. Both of them ended up in places that don't feel happy or even like good resolutions to their characters. Jinx shouldn't end the series alone, having pushed away all the people that love her ('I believe i'm a hassle to the people I love' is literally the crux of her split from powder to jinx when Vi literally says she ruins everything to her oh my god who came up with this ending), and Vi shouldn't end in the worst possible version of Caitvi, eternally chaining herself to a person to protect while seeing herself as lesser than Cait ('im the dirt under your nails' in the context of the completely dropped 'addressing societal inequality' plot is. icky.) Like, it's framed like the good ending, but it's a bit like placing cute rom-com music over a psychological horror movie.

re: arcane season 2 finale

Long summary of my viewing experience under the cut:

A summary:

They really dropped the ball on the whole social issues plot and theme, in like, everyone's stories, huh. rip Sevika, I knew the end was near when they gave you that terrible hair cut (fr, zaun needs better barbers on top of everything else). There was no point where it feels like Piltover was forced to reckon with its actions towards Zaun in a major way. There was no uprising, no recognition that maybe we shouldn't have retaliated like this post council chamber explosion. guess the oppression continues as usual (or okay, small incremental changes through sevika on the council I guess but like, narratively this feels deeply unsatisfying). Zaun should've pressured Piltover into giving them independence or smth during the attack. But no. Turns out Piltover can oppress Zaun all they like and only tear down the barricades when they need more meat for the war meat grinder.

wow. they really ruined caitvi huh. yeah. who went 'i'm the dirt under your nails' would be cute and similarly, who said 'oh yeah this sex scene in A JAIL CELL, right after your sister heavily implied she's about to go off herself, with your ex who has not quit oppressing the city you're from or even apologized for all she's said/done' is about true love and not, you know, reeking of desperation that in another show I would assume would be reflective of like, having such incredibly low-self esteem this would be rock bottom. Grow a backbone Vi, your girlfriend thinks you're an animal and has yet to apologize for it.

magic is boring and I feel nothing now. I liked it more when magic was basically a metaphor for technology in unequal societies. Viktor was more interesting then, and this 'humanity is a weakness' conflict is much less interesting than the social issues conflict we had in the first season. I'm not a jayvik shipper, thoroughly ambivalent towards them, I just. Could not manage to care about that plotline at all basically.

Episode 7 is the only good part. they really teleported into a coffee shop AU/everybody* (except Vi) lives fanfic of their own show. can someone write a season 2 that had episode 7's energy. (and I don't mean I want it to be perfect reality I just want that sort of episode, focused on like, 1-2 events with lots of character work back. It's by no means perfect, but I at least feel something positive about it without feeling hollow so)

visuals and artsy montages are cool but they are not an excuse for literally skipping character development. they literally just. did not give any character development to cait between ep 3 and 4 and just hoped we'd be fine with it. what. last episode she hated these people so much she wanted to gas them and become dictator, next episode post time skip she's gotten what, bored?

This is silly but I don't like jinx's hair in the final scenes. i like the multiple dyes, but she went too short in the back. it's giving witness era katy perry a little bit. and her outfit without the hood to make it cool is just not it.

they really did my girl dirty. justice for jinx, give her the redemption she deserves. by this I mean 1) isha felt like a stock character there to flip jinx's switch from happy to suicidal, felt like a cheap manipulative trick and 2) making her die/fake her death is uhhh, dumb. no, I refuse, she deserves the chance to work to make zaun and piltover better, just like she deserves to finally have a good relationship with her sister

Justice for my boy ekko. give him a seat on the council, why does he end the series alone and mourning a girl who prob isn't dead

the ending feels hollow tbh. the social issue aspect of it is secondary to well, the arcane, and ironically arcane to me was never about 'the arcane', but about everything surrounding it. It's not about magic, but the people it affects. without issues that we face irl to ground a story about magic, it becomes hollow. a pretty dream or thought experiment. what part of 'my friend has become jesus and is now convinced he needs to destroy emotions because they make us flawed' is relatable. wish the resolution to the series was you know, something that felt like a puzzle coming together, a resolution that involves all the characters, not literally just a 'I know you're somewhere in there' fight between Jayce and Viktor, one which Ekko is the only one to contribute to, and this by just, chucking his machine at Vik's head. what. what does that mean other than. if you encounter a magical problem throw a magic machine at it. cool. great story. I love investing my time in this. what thrilling character driven storytelling. don't you feel like all of the character development has been leading to this pivotal drive chucking scene??? Aren't you impressed by our wit and clever writing???

honestly, they should've given us less ambessa and mel drama. all felt very disconnected from the rest of the plotlines

we never get time to linger, we never get time for character development, it's like we have a list of beats to hit with no regard for how we get there. 'evolution has a destination' indeed, victor, and the destination is apparently all this season cared about, who cares about the journey and characters on it, right?

ugh. it's 3 am. I want to go to sleep.

[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.

[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.

[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.