#and 2) if they DID lock jinx up vi would KILL THEM

[brionysea]

in act i piltover doesn't care that the people they're threatening war over to get arrested are a group of four children and in act iii piltover doesn't care that jinx is a mentally compromised teenager who sometimes acts even younger than she is due to The Trauma and who needs help not to be locked up in a cell like vi was. i am so on vi's side about piltover's prison system being awful because what the hell is wrong with them

[thenationofzaun]

A Dark Vi in Season 2:

I'm hoping for a darker take on Vi in season 2. Imagine if Vi takes up a bitter attitude towards Jinx that's similar to Ekko's before the bridge fight - "Powder's gone, all that's left is Jinx." I say before the bridge fight because I think Ekko had a moment of growth there in his view of Jinx, where he was forced to confront the truth that Powder and Jinx are the same person, no matter how much he tries to divorce them to make it easier to kill Jinx.

Back to Vi, it's possible that in response to Jinx's rebuff of her, she bitterly disowns Jinx right back. Not immediately, no. I think Vi in the immediate aftermath of the finale would still be self-blaming, devastated, and confused. But after a while, when Jinx continues to demonstrate her disinterest in reconciling with Vi and her zeal in warring with Piltover of her own accord, even in the absence of Silco, Vi's view of her sister would have to change. I could see anger and resentment creeping in after a while. Vi would have to accept that her sister willingly rebuffed her and chose Silco, willingly ditched Vander's side. Vi might give in to that petty, indignant anger of a child upset with her sibling - "she left me, she is not my sister anymore!"

I can imagine her taking up an attitude like "I don't have a sister. My sister died a long time ago." Kind of like Ekko including Powder on his "wall of the dead" mural. It'd be growth for Vi, just not a positive one. She'd finally accept that there's no "bringing the old Powder back", but she'd pivot all the way to the other end of the spectrum with "you know what, fuck Jinx, the Powder I loved is dead and gone." This would be doubly sad and ironic considering her words in episode 9 - "Are we still sisters?" "Nothing is ever going to change that."

Imagine her telling Ekko "you were right" as she finally agrees with what he said to her in episode 7, but Ekko just has mixed feelings because he himself has since realized he was wrong in saying that. The Powder they loved is not dead, has never been dead. She's still here. She just made choices they disagreed with. She chose to join their enemy. And that's a much harder truth to live with than simply insisting she died and calling it a day.

Vi's view of her sister perfectly parallels her view of the undercity. In season 1 it was horror to find that the old version, the one under Vander, has changed so much in the time she was locked up. It was a refusal to accept this change, an insistence that the old home/sister can still be brought back, all she had to do was remove Silco's rule/influence and she'd restore her home/sister to the way it used to be.

They could continue this parallel in season 2. Vi could give in to anger and disown them both. Begin grieving Vander's undercity and Powder in tandem, while scorning Silco's Zaun and Jinx. She could fall out with Ekko due to this. Where he still wants to live in and help heal the undercity, Vi wants to leave it and turn against it. Vi could blame the undercity for allowing Silco's takeover and "not lifting a finger to stop him". She could take on a harsh view of her people, the Lanes in particular - "They betrayed Vander, they allowed the rise of Chembarons, did nothing to avenge my family in my absence. They're weak." She'd butt heads with Ekko over this, straining their relationship.

It would push her further into the arms of Caitlyn (and Piltover). She'd bury her pain in rage against all of "Silco's ilk". She'd want to wipe out all his loyalists and the Chembarons, since she couldn't fulfill her vengeance on him specifically. She'd think the best way to accomplish this goal is through tougher enforcement and punitive measures from the enforcers/Council. Basically the same thing she did in episode 8 but on steroids, eventually leading to her joining the enforcers. Imagine Ekko's reaction. He has spent the last 7-8 years feeling betrayed by Jinx for joining his enemy. Now Vi returns to him from the dead, and even she betrays him by joining another of his enemies? While the sisters are so preoccupied with feeling abandoned by each other, Ekko feels abandoned by them both. The game has Ekko admonishing Vi as a traitor so I'm excited to see it in the show.

But of course, Vi's elaborate talk of "Powder is dead and only Jinx remains" would just be her way of coping and rationalizing her sister's betrayal. Just like Ekko, it'd be her way of convincing herself she can fight and kill Jinx. But when it comes down to it, she wouldn't actually want Jinx dead. The conflict this would cause with Caitlyn and Piltover... imagine Vi is fighting Jinx and at the last moment, she can't bring herself to deliver the final blow. Jinx gets away and now Vi is disgraced by topsiders, who question her loyalty to them. "Of course we shouldn't have trusted a trencher on the force." Now she is rejected by both cities. Hated by Piltover for bigoted reasons and for her relation to Jinx, hated by Zaunites for being a class traitor.

She'd be a complete outcast, and from here, there could be a lot of character growth. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before finding your way back up. Maybe she could dig into Vander's past and find out about his falling out with Silco. Uncovering the past of her beloved mentor whom she idolized, she'd begin to see him for the flawed man he actually was. Realize that he'd have never wanted her to give in to rage. Never wanted her to help bring Piltover's wrath down on Zaun. She'd begin to understand not just Vander, but Silco too, and Jinx's love for him. Not be happy with it of course, just understanding. That's what I'm hoping for in the end - not a reconciliation between the sisters, just a bittersweet understanding. Accepting of each others' choices even if they disagree with them. Anyway, I'm interested to see what they do with Vi's character in Season 2, since I found her to be underwritten in Season 1.

TLDR: A darker, angrier take on Vi in Season 2 could lead to some very interesting places.

[thanakite]

I would like to think that raising/taking care of Isha also made Jinx understand Vi better, and is what led to her going to get her to help with Vander and all that

Like, yes Vi fucked up, but Powder fucked up too and really Vi was a kid just like Powder was a kid and like Jinx is still a kid

Isha messing with things at the checkpoint and then eventually getting arrested because she went to the rally? They were things that obviously Jinx didn't want her doing and generally she had to clean up the mess of it in one form or another (and granted the checkpoint stuff was barely a mess for her to clean up, but did lead to Sevika trying to get her to go to the rally which she didn't want to deal with so still relevant), and really they weren't even big fuck ups (like yes getting locked in Stillwater wasn't great and the Warwick attack worsened it but that wasn't Isha's doing and it's not like someone they really cared about got killed in the attack)

On the other hand, Vi had to deal with some fairly significant fuck ups from Powder. Yes we have no clue about the other problems she caused before what we are shown just that she had "jinxed every job." What we do see definitely isn't good, but all things considered we are nearly 100% guaranteed that, that was the absolute worse of her fuck ups, up until that point (Seeing as she couldn't have killed her family before than and if she had already blown up a Piltover building this probably wouldn't have been as big a deal or she would have already been dealt with, and if she had chucked their loot into the river before then she wouldn't have been passed it during the fight AND there is no way Mylo would have let it go that this had happened before). So really, Powder's other fuck ups that we're only vaguely aware of couldn't have been TOO bad, but likely would have been within a similar scope to what Isha has done (maybe better or worse and maybe more often since we were given very little time with Isha) but all things considered, she knew that before that last major fuck up, Vi looked out for her, loved her, protected her, and encouraged her, and she had really been a solid older sister to her before than, doing her best to take care of her

The Arcane Fandom Wiki lists that Vi was 7-10 years old in the episode 1 flashback to when their parents died. For the 5-8 years after that Vi was likely a mixture of big sister and parent (even with Vander also taking care of them, Vi very clearly always saw Powder as her responsibility) which is A LOT to take on at that age on top of just everything it meant to be living in the Lanes AND the fact that she had to deal with their parents' deaths too (and as she was older she likely remembers finding their bodies and such, whereas Jinx seemed to remember much less about them)

The Arcane Fandom Wiki lists that Jinx was 18 in the later parts of season 1 and early parts of season 2, making her older than Vi was (15) when the whole shit show of Act 1 went down, and with enough time and clarity I think raising/taking care of Isha would have shown her that Vi was doing the best she could, but that she was just a kid then too, and really a kid who just watched her family die in front of her again only to find that her sister who she had told to stay at home was responsible. Yes, there were much better ways she could have reacted to the situation, but considering their history, how old Vi was at the time, the build up to this, and just the trauma of it all, that's really asking too much of someone who was just a kid, just as it would be asking too much of Powder to have miraculously known how dangerous what she was doing was and then not doing it, when really no one was trying to stop her from doing dangerous things that led to this before then (like not letting a kid who isn't even a teenager make bombs that she fills with nails? I know they hadn't worked before, but really what did they expect would happen in time if she kept at it (as they encouraged!) and eventually got it to work?)

I truly believe that Isha helped Jinx see things from her past more clearly and I like to think that if we had longer seasons for shows still we wouldn't have gotten to see more of that effect and direct parallels and such, but with how little time you have in 18 total episodes across 2 seasons, it's understandable why we didn't, still, I think this was a very important factor in turning around how Jinx was going and in providing her insight into how the people who raised her (Vander, Vi, and Silco) truly were

[poisonousquinzel]

we didn't even see Sevika's reaction to Isha dying... she didn't say a damned word since episode 4 from what I remember. like is her being on the council supposed to be a fix all to the shit Piltover's done? It doesn't even look like there's any other Zaunites there it's just her.

Cait and Vi barely even argued before fucking in a prison cell like Caitlyn didn't become a dictator and spent the entire Act 1-2 time skip authorizing and causing terror in the Undercity but there's one comment we saw in the trailer talking about her having Ambessa as her right hand and thats it, as if Caitlyn didn't have anything else to idk apologize for?? Did I miss something??

She smacked Vi with her gun and nearly murdered a child the last time they'd seen each other before episode 6, but nothing of Cait's downward spiral in the first few episodes was addressed outside of just the connection with Ambessa and that was barely! She's a fucking adult and we didn't even hear her say sorry. She doesn't apologize to Vi.

Vi woke up, found out her sister was locked up, fought with her ex who's spent the past like 4 episodes being a full out fascist.

"she wasn't there for my benefit. You didn't trust me to follow through" she says that as if that one dude wouldn't have killed her if Jinx hadn't been there? like baby you wouldn't have followed through because you would be dead!

"can you blame me? How long were you sidled up with that shifty, self serving war pig? She oinked poison in your ear and you just ate it!"

"I know!"

And Caitlyn saying multiple times about not being able to erase our mistakes and good deeds not crossing out our crimes, while just.... going on to not acknowledge the full scope of her own war crimes.

And then after getting locked up by Jinx and being told she's gonna go kill herself in so many words, Vi... acts like that's not what was going on with her? it's not even addressed as an urgent thing it's as if she was just like "no fuck you sis I won't fight for your cause cause I'm an unpredictable rebel" and not implying that she was gonna go off herself.

it's just a moment for Vi to beat herself up more and go on about how Caitlyn was right about how she shouldn't trust Jinx and that she went behind her back, that she chooses wrong every time and that because of her decisions she's lost everyone.

She didn't choose wrong when she stopped Caitlyn from killing Jinx and Isha in episode 3.

but the only response to Vi beating herself up Caitlyn has is to point out she'd moved all the guards to the Hexgates and to say that she's gotten a bit predictable.

and then the sex scene happens. In the jail cell Jinx had spent the entire time skip, one long enough that Vi's hair is grown out, trapped in festering alone thinking about dying.

just wow, what an atmosphere, how romantic

just saw that Amanda has said in a Q&A abt episode 8 that them doing it in the cell was a way of "Vi reclaiming her prison trauma" which is....... a decision. the idea is there but fuck the execution sucked man lmao

VI didn't even react to Ekko being back!

and to have Vi in their ending clip say she's "the dirt under her nails, cupcake. Nothing's gonna clean me out"

what the actual fuck? is that supposed to be cute after all the comments Caitlyn's made about Zaunite being lesser, being animals, saying that it's in her blood? something she doesn't address or grow from or apologize for?

are we supposed to believe that everything that was inflicted on the Undercity by Piltover is just water under the bridge now cause some magic robots fucked shit up for a bit? no acknowledgement of the oppression or using chemical warfare on innocent people or arresting people without cause, or the hundreds of other examples of Piltover lording themselves over the Undercity that happened before the show. The conditions they allowed and thrived off of, the ones that led to Zaun being something needed in the first place.

everything in terms of that foundational conflict feels like it was just completely dropped to focus on the magic plot and Ambessa and it's just... not front lined again. Ambessa did not cause the conditions in Zaun, she made things worse for them, but she wasn't in Piltover for the large majority of this. In the grand scheme of Piltover / Zaun she is an incredibly new player in that fight and came in on the side of the oppressors knowingly and took that to her advantage. Same with Hextech and stuff, this conflict goes so much further back then that and it's wounds cannot be healed by lackluster and minimal effort and a refusal to acknowledge how in the wrong Piltover has been. The pain and suffering caused throughout the decades at the hands of Enforcers, long before Hextech or Ambessa came into the picture.

idk, for me it was just disappointing and a let down ending for a season I was otherwise really enjoying.

[seankayos]

Arcane Season 2 Part 2 thoughts and theories

Because holy shit this show has grabbed me and isn't letting go, cannot wait till next.

Also what the fuck, I need to process

So right off the bat the pacing is a lot faster, like I remember Season 1 was like being on a rollcoaster, this feels like jumping out of a plane. Exhilarating, but definitely an escalation. Still works though, at least so far.

I knew Isha was fated to die the second I saw her in the previews, she was just too damn cute and too damn close to Jinx for the writers to resist, and honestly I'm kind of OK with it? As interesting as Jinx essentially retiring to be a stay at home mum was I think I'd rather see her process grief from a position of love rather than trauma. Plus, you know, Isha wanted to be just like Jinx, and what's more Jinx than blowing up Vander?

Speaking of the most dysfunctional family anywhere in Zaun, Piltover or anywhere else, holy shit I loved Warwick in this, a genuinely terrifying werewolf that spat blood everywhere and yet made you feel genuine sorrow at his condition as well. Dude's been through it and then some.

Cait and Vi are still going strong through their divorce arc as I knew they would, with everything that's gone on these two are solidly locked in as the end game couple now. One more argument to let Vi finally get a win in (because seriously, for being the designated bruiser she can't win a fist fight for shit this season) before the much anticipated sex scene that they allegedly upped the rating for. Going off Vi spitting on Cait and then her wiping it across her mouth, shit's going to get freaky.

I've already reblogged something about Viktor but I just want to say I absolutely loved every part of the compound, but especially how understatedly creepy the whole thing was? Like, yeah, art nouveau cyber-magic hivemind hippies, fucking awesome, but none of feel like real people, at least compared to Zaun or Piltover. I think the flashes of them we get from Jayce's perspective of them as warped and broken puppets is accurate, they are peaceful because Viktor thinks that's what peace and cooperation look like, when in reality it's more like unquestioning obedience. Shame though, I really did love Viktor's whole mind quest to the soul of Vander, regardless of how badly it went.

As for Jayce, big theory time; this is a time travel plot now and we're seeing Jayce at the end of it. Those flashes we see are actually from some hypothetical bad future where Viktor expands his 'glorious evolution' to all of Piltover and Zaun and it all goes horribly wrong, hence why he looks so much older (even accounting for the.....roughly 4 months, I guess, time skip) and so incredibly haggard and traumatized. Dude's got a Mad Max shout out knee brace, you don't just get those unless you're from The Dark Future™. My guess is Viktor asked Jayce to go back and kill him, which is why he keeps repeating he won't fail and just kills Viktor with basically zero hesitation. Or, more accurately, kills the Hexcore, leaving Viktor alive(ish) to become something else. After all, from what I can tell from the League lore videos I watched a while back, VIktor used to be able to buy a Hexcore prototype that looked like the purple one we saw, but also had a normal Hexcore that provided different upgrades. He might start again down a different road that avoids the Bad Future but which makes him more of the explicit villain.

[moldybonessmell]

My thoughts on the arcane finale except I write them as I progress through last episodes of season 2 and edit after I finish the show PART 2: EPISODE 8

// SPOILERS ARCANE SEASON 2 ACT 3

S2E8

Finally Mel haven't heard of her in a while

Ohhh the gold armor everyone speculated about I see I see 👀

Mages and all that is cool but we have like 2 episodes left I have no idea what's going on and there's no way there's enough time to elaborate on all that💀💀 Yeah I think riot will make yet another series based on LOL and this is foreshadowing sorta still idk what Ambessa did and what for was all this conflict at all

Not Singed usb-plugging Vander into arcane💀💀💀💀

What do you mean "the blood should sustain Viktor for a short while"💀💀 We're getting the glorious evolution anyway aren't we😔

Not the mechanical voice bye💀

"This is the Glorious Evolution" Oh well😔

Ambessa, you do not bring your whole army to an obsessed maniac who possesses bodies, did you not learn this in the crazy girlbosses school?😟 Especially when the possessed start fucking floating in the air💀💀 Now we get the humanity extinction because of it🙄🙄🙄

"Loris, spill it out" Bro don't scare me like this she's just arrested🤡🤡

Also, the awkward meeting with Cait's situationship, oof. I gotta be honest tho, I'm only looking at Cait being snatched af right now, I'm too gay for this😔

Jinx suicidal again. I've had my hopes Isha magically survived, but I think it's for sure now she died. Jinx with her hair unbraided is so poetically vulnerable, also her giving Cait some closure saying she didn't know about her mom being in the council. Kinda feeling like she wouldn't do this knowing someone's mom in there in the way her own got killed, but also this would be the perfect revenge kinda thing🤔. I just know Cait goes crazy knowing she's done so much and had so much sorrow and anger at Jinx, when the latter didn't even know she killed Cait's mom specifically. This one is a devastating interaction. I just hope Cait can let it go now.

Realising these two paragraphs going one after other be like:

Jayce be looking so hot after all this trauma gees

Not me re-reading all that in my drafts and being done with myself🙄

His hammer reacting to Mel appearing hmm feels like a foreshadowing 👀 It was just that arcane reacts to mages of smth? idk bro a lot of the stuff is not answered

"Because you used me, and Viktor, for Hextech", Oof💀

"You never give up on me, are you?" I'm not crying it's just tears😭😭😭

Ngl I never liked the way the show never really elaborates on Vi's trauma. What do you mean she's locked up again, which is definitely traumatic, but we didn't even get a reaction to the situation except her worrying for Jinx💀 Why is Vi one of the main characters but seem to be just a person to show compassion for other characters and never has her own problems addressed? Her getting drunk and fighting dudes is not enough to show her trauma. In the end she does have an episode seeing Vander but it still doesn't feel enough for me. She always just gets up and goes and does whatever Jinx or Cait need her to do💀💀 She's really one of the lazily written charas in the show😔 I don't even care for lesbian sex bro why is Vi just a love interest at this point💀

Oh Vander is gone gone now.

..And so is Viktor.

Other parts: Part 1 Episode 7 Part 3 Episode 9

[space-blue]

Excellent!! 10/10!! Hit that reading bar and get in there everyone, this is perfect!

My only notes : I'd add that it would be nice if the 'slums' were actual slums and not 3 tents and people turned to animals. It'd be more costly, but it'd be nice if this was an actual slum, with ramshackle houses and tents and lots of extremely destitute living there, but as they see Vi and Cait flee among them and signs of pursuit, them shutting them out, locking themselves into any protection their homes can offer, would imo help both 'alienate' Vi more (her old community rejecting her out of fear) and make the traitor (whose name I forgot) stand out more as a helper/willing to risk danger to reach out, only to use the situation to get a fix.

To me, the fact Vi said she used to live down there made little sense. It's not a slum when you have ONE house and 5 tents. What was it like 20 years ago? Were there more houses? Or since there were no Shimmer victims then, did her mom and sis live there... alone? It was stupidly confusing and didn't bring anything imo. Having a community of struggling people first avoid her and then turn on her might help turn Vi away from her class and people.

My only disagreement : I think it'd be interesting if the Kiramman WERE on the council since forever, and that Vi learns that the lab she broke into was a Kiramman lab, and that the reason Vander got so pressed was because of that. Broke into the wrong lab.

I think this would increase the reasons for Vi and Cait to properly break up. Vi's line of 'oil and water' to me never really landed because they fell in love over zero reasons. They did some stuff together for 2 days. Cait should have triggered Vi's every red flag on the way there but instead she's smitten with her. She feels so much more brainless than she needs to be.

The Kiramman name would get in between them, and then prove worthless in helping when Vi talks to the Council. So the Kirammans are only ever good at bullying and killing Zaunites, right? This could deepen Vi's prejudice and make her lump Cait with her family, even though she already managed to separate Cait from 'all enforcers'.

It would mean that Vi needs to do the work to again see that Cait isn't just another 'Evil Kiramman', that her mother's doing on the Council when she was 5 or 8 years old isn't something she can carry. The Sins of the Mother and all that.

Meanwhile Cait would be forced to confront what her name is, what legacy it has, and she's finally seen the other side of the curtain, so now she knows what it means to people she can relate to. Her mom thinks she's "dealing with an uprising", authorising the "use of force", which from Cait's POV as an enforcer would translate into "shooting people like Vi's mom point blank".

They could both finally hit a major disagreement they may not manage to get over, even if they both do some work on themselves.

AND THEN Vi has to make the choice of killing Cait and WE WOULDN'T KNOW FOR A MOMENT!!

Because she was rolling in her bed just earlier, like come on. Nobody doubted her choice. But if her and Cait had a big fall out and a Romeo and Juliette moment over their families and the chasm it causes, and Vi going to deal with her feelings by going behind Cait's back and then trying to kill Sevika? That'd be an angry Vi, leaning into the violence. If she were shown to murmur to herself this is for Powder... If she screamed at Sevika about Powder... Like she's now fixating on this?

When offered the gun, we could have a serious beat moment where we wonder if Vi is angry, disappointed, and unhinged enough to *consider it*.

Heck, Vi could even have a line trying to defend Cait and *voicing* the fact she's not just a cop, not just a Kiramman, she's someone who tried to do good and fail. Something Vi could deeply relate to!

I think season 2 could then take it from there and take the time to deepen their relationships. Cait's mom dying by Jinx's hand will be hard enough, I don't think Kirammans on the council will even compare.

Anyway, love all your suggestions and think that your take is now my new 'fixed canon' fanon. Thank you. This sort of interactions is why I love doing meta posts.

The Better Cait & Vi Dynamic

I recently wrote a tiny Dark!Vi piece and someone politely commented on how they were not buying this for Vi's character. They also said that Caitlyn was the first person to show Vi kindness in probably a very long time, and it got me thinking that actually it's the opposite in quite a startling way

I will scratch that itch a little here

Caitlyn, despite being depicted as a do-gooder idealist, is literally not doing a kindness to Vi.

She is chasing clues, and has discovered that Vi is imprisoned without trial. She says :

"There's no records of you or your crimes, what are you here for?"

When Vi isn't compliant in her answers, she sighs, says "This was a waste of time" and leaves.

It's only when Vi reveals she knows who's behind the crimes that she takes an interest again, and only when Vi says "The Undercity will eat you alive" that she stops, clearly afraid and realizing the truth of it.

Caitlyn literally frees Vi so she can help her. She treats her like a tool. This may change later in the story, and we may see that Cait has some nicer traits but damn. Who sees someone doing 7-10 years jail time in the worst jail, without trial or due process, and does not bat an eye, does not insist for information, and then goes on to sell themselves as a paragon of justice? Another great case of grey characters.

I sort of regret the opportunity they had here :

If Vi had refused to answer Cait, even after knowing Cait is investigating what might well be her sister, wouldn't it be nicer if Cait had her freed anyway because it's the right thing to do?

Vi could have been thrown out without explanations and seen Cait outside by her boat, ask her "Why?"

Wouldn't Cait saying she can't stomach BS malpractice, like throwing people in Stillwater in shady and illegals ways, be more compelling?

Vi could look at her then, and honestly think : "Wow, maybe that enforcer is kind of alright." Maybe naive and young and obviously not yet into the whole "enforcing for power and profit" thing yet, but that would still give her a greater reason to trust her.

Vi could then decide to actively come along. Not because she's freed "to help" but because this enforcer did something she didn't have to, and isn't expecting a reward.

Vi could actively choose to reward her by having her back while she investigates the Undercity.

Wouldn't that be a better starting point for their relationship?

But what do i know, I've never written Cait yet besides a cameo lol

Hope this doesn't ruffle too many Caitvi feathers.

[heroinejinx]

‘Just you and I...’ (Jinx x Ekko, part 4 of ?)

Part 1: ‘Like we used to.’

Part 2: ‘Shit happens, right?’

Part 3: ‘Again. Always.’

Jinx next sees Ekko on the bridge (yes, the bridge...) Will they fight, or can he get through to her this time? (1200 words)

TW: violence, reference to death, mental health, paranoia 

The little butterflies I’d tinkered with served me well. Maximum devastation. Beautiful. The plume of green flames and smoke cleared a little as I coasted through the wreckage, humming to myself. The song that never left my head. Strange little earworm.

Zapper dealt with one of the few enforcers still breathing as I made my way towards my prize. Knelt to scoop up the gemstone in its neat little carrier. And there they were. Together. My sister and the enforcer.

Vi could barely look at me. But Caitlyn? Her face distorted into a callous grin. She’d gotten what she wanted. How could Vi have chosen her?

How dare she stand there, taunting me like that?

Pow-Pow shot them apart, sent them flying in opposite directions, but through the divide Ekko came swinging. He sent the poor girl spinning out from my grip before he circled back at me and knocked away my bounty, narrowly missing my body.

Had he missed on purpose? What was he trying to do? Scare me? Disarm me? Both?

Pfft. As if Ekko could ever scare me.

Gemstone safe in that contraption of his, he flung it at Vi and yelled for them both to leave. My stomach twisted as she helped Caitlyn to her feet and turned. One look back was all she gave me.

What was that? Pity? Horror? Regret? Real nice, big sister. Coward. Liar.

I scowled. Shrugged her off. If that was her choice, I wouldn’t cry about it. Vi had abandoned me. Again. No surprises there. Whoopedy-fucking-doo.

There were bigger fish to fry. Ekko-shaped fish. He must’ve fixed his piece-of-shit glider by himself after I left it broken.

He had it on the roof, genius.

Of course. He was there, too. Why couldn’t he leave well alone? I didn’t want him near me. He was everywhere. Following me. Sticking his nose into other people’s business.

Why did he have the gemstone? Why was he even with Vi and Caitlyn in the first place?

After the roof, dumb ass. The Firelights took them.

Right. They were all against me. All three of them. And the rest. Plotting. Conniving. Whispering behind my back. Probably planning to sell me out to enforcers first chance they got. Why wouldn’t they? I wasn’t worth saving. I’d proven that.

Ekko squared up for a duel, eyes so serious. It was just us and the smoke, so thick it stung to keep my eyes open. But I remained focused. Fixed on his petite yet sturdy frame. Prone for whatever was about to happen.

‘Well, if it isn’t the boy saviour!’ 

He huffed in response. Donned a smug-as-shit smirk.

What was he expecting, a welcome parade? Technically, that was what the butterflies were for.

I could do it. Couldn’t I? I could kill him.

Excise your doubts, Jinx. Be what they fear, Jinx.

Yeah. I could totally kill him. Easy. Few shots from Zapper would’ve ended him. Blown him away, forever. Like all the others. No big.

We’d connected before, sure, but what was a little fooling around between sworn enemies? We weren’t lovers, that was damn clear. He didn’t want me. He’d never love me for all my parts. No one would. Why pretend otherwise, right?

Our eyes locked. Only a matter of time before one of us made the first move and started the fight.

And then he dropped his weapon, held his hands up in surrender.

I snorted into the grey night, dumbstruck. Talk about an anti-climax!

‘It’s just you and I, Jinx…’

He inched closer, and I trained Zapper right on his temple, my trigger finger restless.

‘I don’t want to fight you,’ he said, coming closer still. Calling my bluff.

I let off a warning shot to his left. My bullet grazed his ear as it hurtled past. Good job, bullet. He stopped still. Eyes drilled into mine like a jackhammer, as he stood poised, bathed in light. Calm exuded from him. 

Didn’t he realise I had a gun aimed at his head? Did he have a death wish, or was he fool enough to assume I didn’t?

He took another step. I fired off a second warning, and he moved in tandem. Closer, closer, closer. Goading me. Telling me I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t kill him.

What the fuck was his problem? Arrogant fucking bastard. Boy saviour with the complex to match, thinking he could fix every asshole in Runeterra with nothing but a sliver of charm, hope and positive thinking. And I thought I was crazy! Ha-ha-ha!

I fired off a third warning. He didn’t stop. Fourth. Fifth. I was running out of ammo. Probably his plan. It was all mind games with him.

The second he was in reaching distance, he drop-kicked Zapper out of my hand and thrust me to the ground, pinning me down with his glider.

Whoever fixed it had done a bang-up job, almost to my standards. Ekko’s handiwork was all over it. Despite the pain spiking up my torso from his weight pressing down on top of me, I chuckled. Proud.

He furrowed his brow, trying to read me.

Then it came. That look, that fucking look. Kid in a junkyard full of marvels…

Fuck you, Ekko.

My head emptied, lost in the universe of his rich brown eyes.

Ekko stared into me, and I could’ve sworn he saw Powder looking back. He saw me, and he loved me.

Those eyes didn’t lie. They told me to come with him, to trust him, to let him help me.

His lips curled up at the sides, barely enough to notice. No strings. No pressure. Just a smile, a gentle question.

I smiled back, and that was that. Decision made.

He stood and extended his hand, helped me to my feet and onto his glider. I balanced behind him, looped my arms around his strong waist.

As he prepared for take-off, I glanced back at the destruction. My destruction. Pow-Pow and Zapper lay where they had fallen. Abandoned. I couldn’t just leave them.

‘Wait!’ I ran back to collect my girls and shrugged Ekko a ‘sorry,’ as I secured them in place for the trip. Hopped back into place. Ready.

With a burst of energy, we were in the air. I clung tighter as we zipped through the night sky towards a viaduct leading out of the city, tearing across Piltover so fast it made my cheeks chatter and my gut drop with adrenaline. Divine.

How long before Silco sent his goons out searching for me? Maybe he’d assume I died in battle, thrown off the bridge into the river to drown. Same river that almost drowned him. Poetic, right? Ha!

It would’ve simplified things if Silco could’ve let me go. Let me die, like he should have. But he’d never stop looking. Dog with a fucking bone, couldn’t leave me alone. And I wanted him to.

In that moment, gliding with Ekko, I wanted Silco and every other fucker in Zaun and Piltover to forget I ever existed.

Ekko should’ve let me die on the bridge. Would’ve been better for everyone. I ruined everything. I’d ruin him if he wasn’t careful.

Or worse, Silco would kill him.

[sylvanas-girlkisser]

Do you think Silco was grooming Jinx?

Absolutely not, in fact I've made several posts arguing that the reason they put Jinx under Silco's wings was specifically in acknowledgement of how vulnerable to grooming Jinx might be without the proper support network.

Okay so like, reasons Silco wasn't grooming Jinx.

1) Actively empowering her: literally right up until the end, he's constantly reminding Jinx that she is deserving love and that she shouldn't change who she is to get it.

2) Gives her space: we can tell it's not easy for Silco, because he is someone who likes having things under control, but when Sevika tells him Jinx needs some time on her own, he stops looking for her.

3) Doesn't constrain her mobility: Jinx is free to run around Zaun as she pleases, and in fact she has her own space clearly outside of Silco's control (her workshop). In fact I would even argue Silco makes a point of respecting her privacy; only rarely coming down there and otherwise letting her come to him when they need to talk.

4) We also can't ignore the fact that Silco let's her have means of fighting back. Obviously being armed does not protect you from grooming or abuse, but It does show that Silco clearly wants her to be able to protect herself.

5) And let's not forget that when Jinx is violently lashing out against him, he lets it happen. He doesn't try to restrain her or fight back, he talks to her, explaining why he did what he did.

I get why people are accusing him of grooming (besides just fandom spaces' love of misappropriating incredibly serious concepts), his main role in the story is keeping Vi and Jinx apart. But he does genuinely believe, and perhaps rightfully so, that he is protecting Jinx.

When last he saw Vi, she was tearing into Jinx like no tomorrow, not to mention fucking punched her to the floor, before leaving her on the street. Then she shows up 10 years later out of the blue, with a cop in tow, after Jinx killed 20 cops at the macy's day parade? Yeah fat chance she's just here to talk about the good old days. When you then also consider Silco's obviously deeply traumatic experience of his own (adoptive?) older brother TRYING TO MURDER HIM, it makes sense that he assumes Vi is only here to hurt Jinx.

That's kinda the thing about the central conflict of Arcane, neither Silco or Vi are fully willing to let Jinx be her own person. Silco is projecting his own trauma on to Jinx, he needs Vi to want to hurt Jinx, because then he will have been right in killing Vander - At the same time, Vi still sees Jinx as Powder, she literally refuses to acknowledge the person Jinx became while she was away (which in itself is a result of Vi spending all those years essentially locked in time inside the walls of Stillwater prison, but that's the subject for a different rant).

And don't even get me started on Silco's talk about how the Pilties will never care for them; that's not grooming, that's life under capitalism. Jinx doesn't have the mental health to work in a mine, nor the charisma to dance for visiting topsiders and as such, in the eyes of Piltover, she's nothing but a waste of resources. The academy is never in a million years going to open it's doors to her - think of how many strokes of luck Viktor had to get where he ended up (as the shadow of a rich Piltover boy). He had a natural affinity for technology, was given private teaching by one of the greatest minds of a generation, was "discovered" by Heimerdinger which allowed him to stumble upon Jayce's journal; and on top of all that he and Jayce then had to in the span of one night crack the mysteries of hextech.

[wizardofrozz]

The Perfect Pair

Warnings: swearing, angst, mention of violence (please let me know if I miss something!)

Pairing: Loki x OFC

A/N: There’s a good chance I’ll post the next chapter too today 😊 *Character’s thoughts are in italics*

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Chapter 2: Mutual Goals

(Violet POV)

I woke with a start, panting as I looked around the room. I sighed when I remembered I snagged a room in Knowhere to sleep for the night after my encounter with that pain in the ass God. I tried to shake away the dream of him as I sat up in bed, but his irritatingly handsome face still lingered in my head. I pulled the blankets off my legs to slid out of bed, grabbing a robe and wandering over to the bathroom, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I walked into the bathroom, realizing there was another door on the opposite side. Hm must be a shared bathroom. I shrugged, hoping the other person would stay out for 5 minutes, and as if jinxing myself, the other door opened.             “Oh, you’re fucking kidding me!” I yelled, my head falling back. His eyes opened wider, any trace of sleep gone now, as the reality of the situation hit him.             “What are you doing here?” his eyes raking down my body. I crossed my arms, hiding the fact that I didn’t have a bra on under the robe I found. Loki shifted uncomfortably across the bathroom, shaking his legs slightly.             “I tried to get some sleep; what are you doing here?” I spat back at him.             “The same thing,” he raised an eyebrow.             “What are you doing in Knowhere?” I narrowed my eyes at him.             “Running an errand so I can move onto the next stage of my plan,” Loki said in a very nonchalant tone, leaning against the sink.             “Oh, and what would that be,” I said as I climbed to sit on the sink. I watched Loki’s eyes travel up my legs before he quickly locked eyes with me again.             “Rule Earth,” he smirked, his eyes sparkling.             “I’m coming,” I clapped my hands together, climbing off the sink.             “Did I miss the invitation you think I offered?” Loki asked, irritated.             “Oh no, but it lines up with my plans. I need a way there, so I’ll pledge to help with whatever gets me there,” I smiled over my shoulder. “When are you leaving?” I yelled from my room, sliding my leather suit up to my waist and dropping the robe to the floor.             “I didn’t agree-” Loki broke off. I turned around, still naked from the waist up, to find him standing in my doorway; his eyes widened as they traveled to my bare chest.             “Change your mind?” I snickered.             “Uh…I,” Loki stuttered. I broke his trance by pulling my sports bra over my head; his eyes snapped up to mine, watching me.             “Come on; maybe I’ll even sleep with you,” I winked, but his expression hardened.             “Sex won’t always get you want, whore,” he spat at me.             “That stings,” I overplayed the hurt before my face fell into a bored expression. “I don’t use sex for anything; I’m powerful enough that I don’t need to. I thought maybe if I offered a little reward for bringing me along, you might change your mind,” I smirked.             “And why would you think that’s the reward I’d want,” he narrowed his eyes, anger radiating off him.             “Your boner gives you away.” I nodded my head towards the bulge in his pants before pulling up the rest of my jump suit. Loki’s eyes widen, and his mouth fell open as he used both hands to cover himself, a bright blush creeping over his cheeks.             “Fine, I will not hesitate to kill you if you get in my way,” Loki said flatly.             “Gods, will you just decide. Do you want to kill me or fuck me? I can’t tell anymore,” I threw my arms up, turning my back to him.             “Both,” he finally said, walking back into the bathroom towards his room.                                                 /// 6 months later I followed the green cape down a damp cave, kicking rocks out of my way as I went.             “Are we almost there?” I groaned.             “Shut up,” Loki said over his shoulder, irritation lacing his voice.             “Bitch,” I spit out, but he ignored me. All of these errands were wearing my patience thin; Loki finally got the scepter he was pinning after, but we still haven’t made our way to New York yet. Nevertheless, the past six months haven’t been that bad; Loki sometimes can be warm and let it slip that he’s not entirely cold-hearted. *** I ordered Loki and me a drink from the bar, hoping to loosen him up.             “What is this?” he sniffed the drink, raising an eyebrow at me.             “Asgardian liquor, somehow they had it,” I smiled, taking a sip.             “Hm, the black market probably,” Loki took a sip of his drink and sighed. After at least three drinks, Loki and I started to feel the effects of the alcohol.             “What’s your favorite animal?” I giggled.             “Snakes,” Loki raised an eyebrow before snickering a little. “Reminds me of a time I played a prank on Thor. I turned myself into a snake because he loves them too, he picked me up, and I turned back into myself and stabbed him,” Loki laughed, honestly laughed. I was taken back by how much I enjoyed hearing it and how my chest tightened when he smiled. I laughed at the story Loki told me, just imagining Loki as a kid stabbing his brother.             “I miss my snake,” I finally said. “She was beautiful,” I sighed.             “What happened to her,” Loki cocked his head to the side.             “My father killed her,” my nostrils flared at the memory.             “Should’ve killed him instead,” Loki muttered, and I snorted. Loki kept telling me stories as we drank, opening up more and more as the alcohol flowed; I was surprised at how much we had in common and how easy it was to talk with him. We finally wrapped up the night, realizing I had way too much to drink; I stumbled a little as we made our way towards the rooms we rented. “You okay?” Loki’s brows pulled together, what seemed like concern on his face.             “A little too drunk,” I giggled, stumbling again. Loki instinctively reached out to grab me; after a few seconds he huffed, but picked me up, bridal style, and carried me the rest of the way. I laid my head on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat; he started humming quietly as he walked. I listened to the lullaby I remembered from my childhood and drifted off to sleep. ***  I momentarily smiled at the memory, but it lasted only a second when the irritated around this trek through the dark cave came back; I grumbled to myself, willing this fucking trip to end. I happened to notice a small pool not far in front of us; as we got closer, Loki stopped walking, holding his arm out, assuming I wasn’t paying attention. He was right; his arm slammed into my chest, stopping me before I walked into the pool.             “Will you ever learn?” Loki tried to hide his smirk.             “Unlikely,” I shrugged; he rolled his eyes but left it at that. Loki’s eyes fell shut as he concentrated on the pool in front of him; the small pool took on a slight green tint before Loki pulled his magic away.             “Let’s go,” Loki said, turning around.             “Where?” I looked back and forth between Loki and the pool.             “The room,” he looked over his shoulder, confused.             “What the fuck did we trek up here for! To waste our fucking time!” I yelled at him. Before I could react, Loki had me slammed up against the wall, his hand around my throat, his face inches from mine; I couldn’t help but squeeze my legs together when warmth started to grow between them.             “Watch your tongue, pet,” Loki barked at me.             “Make me,” I growled before spitting in his face.             “Oh darling, don’t tempt me.” A wicked look crossed his face as he wiped my spit off his cheek. For a split second, I thought I had finally gone too far, and he was going to kill me, so I figured I might as well make it worthwhile.             “At this point, I’d rather you kill me. Has to better than wandering around like an idiot because you can’t trust me enough to tell me anything!” I yelled in his face.             “Hm, I don’t think I will. I think the torture of the situation is much better,” Loki’s smile was downright terrifying, but I was too angry with him to care.             “Gods, I fucking hate you,” I spat at him. I tried to kick him in the nuts, but he closed his legs, only he wasn’t fast enough; my shin still hit them enough to get a reaction from him. His expression took on a different look that I couldn’t place; pain but something else too.             “You’ll be very sorry for that little one,” Loki’s voice was husky, rough.             “Aw, do you need me to rub them?” I mocked him. I reached down without him noticing and grabbed his balls hard enough that he sucked in a breath, and I saw discomfort in the lines of his face. I was sure he was going to kill me now, but his expression changed when I loosened the grip on him, my hand still hovering close; I watched his pupils grow, pushing out the bright green color of his eyes. Was his face even closer than before? “Loki?” I let out a strangled groan. He snapped out of his trance, blinking a few times before letting go of my throat, letting me fall to the floor; he stepped away from me and walked towards the way we came. “Don’t worry; I’m fine down here. I’ll get up myself,” I mumbled.             “Here,” he rolled his eyes but reached out to help me up. He didn’t step back when he helped me to my feet, so I was chest to chest with him when I stood up. I looked up, locking eyes with him, realizing how close our lips were. “Vi?” Loki whispered the nickname he used for me.             “Grow a pair and kiss me, for fucks sake,” I whispered harshly. My wish was his command; his lips crashed into mine, hard and urgent. My hand was still engulfed in his between us, holding me close; his free hand moved to the back of my neck, clamping down hard, holding me there. Our mouths moved together, our tongues dancing; I couldn’t hold back the moan that left my mouth. Loki responded with a slightly louder moan into my mouth. His mouth moving against mine sparked a strange feeling throughout my body; my skin felt too warm, too tight but at the same time perfect. Loki ripped his hand away from mine before pushing me back into the wall, his body holding me against the rocks, a bulge growing in his pants; I ran my hands up his chest, wishing he were wearing less. His hand moved from the back of my neck back around to my throat again, holding me against the wall; I bit his lip as I pulled away from his intoxicating kiss.             “Fuck,” Loki groaned, a shiver running through him.             “Loki,” I whispered, waiting for him to look at me.             “We should go,” he said, letting me go again, walking away.             “What the fuck?” I threw my hands up but begrudgingly followed. “Seriously, Loki, what the fuck was that!” I pointed back at the spot where we were just standing, but he ignored me. “Loki!” I yelled this time.             “Why aren’t you scared of me!” Loki turned abruptly, screaming in my face. I could tell he was hoping I cringed, but I stood in front of him with a blank expression.             “Why do you care about me?” I shot back, catching him off guard. He physically stumbled back at my words, not expecting me to say that. “I don’t know why I’m not scared of you. Maybe I welcome death. Kill me; it won’t make a difference. Or I just have no fear,” I kept my eyes locked on him the whole time.             “I don’t care for you,” he finally said, and I laughed at him.             “Could’ve fooled me,” I continued laughing, walking past him, back towards the entrance to the cave.             “What does that mean!” he yelled as he tried to catch up.             “Forget it, Loki,” I waved him off, continuing to walk out of the cave, listening to his footsteps behind me.

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Series Masterlist | Chapter 3

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