#but if acts that way towards ekko which she might

[lipstickchainsaw]

Alright, we're in episode 5, and Caitlyn is surveying the damage Warwick did to Stillwater, and both Ambessa's and her own forces.

Before we get to Singed, it's interesting that we see Ambessa with the injury from Warwick fully visible. It's the first time she's shown this kind of vulnerability to Caitlyn, I imagine. The fact that she doesn't have the answers either, and is showing it.

Furthermore, this shot really emphasises how Caitlyn looks like Silco. There's no way we're not meant to draw that conclusion here, which interestingly positions Ambessa as her Sevika in that look they share? It's a fun twist on that dynamic, because while Sevika has absolutely played Kingmaker for Zaun in a parallel to Ambessa establishing Caitlyn as the ruler of Piltover, but the differences in who actually holds the power in that dynamic makes this interesting in general, but this is the first time Ambessa actually feels like she's not the one in charge.

The fact that we get to see Caitlyn's detective-vision again is great, and combined with her monologue about 'Zaun's perversions' she's being a fantastic dictator here, and to build on my idea in the last post, I think this would've been the direction to go with her struggle for power against Ambessa.

Tie in the Silco parallels proper to make her a Piltover nationalist, looking for ways to lessen Ambessa's power by investigating the disappearances of Mel, Heimerdinger and Jayce. And where Ambessa's doing the 'brutal repressions of public protests' bit, have Caitlyn run a secret police crossing many a line during their investigation, have her do some things worth feeling guilty about come Act 3!

Hell, Heimerdinger was last seen in contact with Ekko, and Caitlyn knows more about the Firelights base than anyone else up in Piltover. Have her cross that line as her Enforcers grab Firelights in an attempt to figure out what Ambessa might be hiding ('Oh, Ekko also disappeared? How convenient.')

You tie together her Piltover nationalism, her bigoted attitude towards Zaun, her mistrust of Ambessa and her being an investigative type, and I think you can get her choice to turn on Ambessa to make sense without being itself a redemption (and also giving her things to do she needs redemption for.)

Given that Caitlyn's turn in episode 6 is the one I understand the least, I'm going to pay some additional attention to her scenes with Ambessa in this series of posts, to see if I can tease something out of this that I missed in my first viewing.

Starting with episode 4

For one, the image of Ambessa poking at a log in an attempt to get a little more out of a dying fire is a good image, but it does make me regret that we didn't get to see much of what Caitlyn's rule looked like when it was a roaring blaze.

Because the fire represents the efficacy of what Ambessa's trying to push in Caitlyn: her anger, her rage, her desire to get revenge. She frames this as Caitlyn's search for Jinx, because this is what she hopes to stoke in Caitlyn, but what makes this scene work is that it's also true of her own desire to have Mel back, even as she starts to displace some of this affection for her daughter onto Caitlyn herself.

Because Ambessa absolutely appreciates the fact that Caitlyn's willing to talk back, and able to use Ambessa's only rhetorical flourishes against her. It reminds her, in a way, of Mel, and just like Mel, this would-be daugher also talks about wanting peace without having to resort to violence.

Although Caitlyn's 'arrests require cause' bit is, again, odd, because you initiated martial law. You can blame Rictus for the fight all you like, but what situation do you think you're living under? There's a serious disconnect in how these two women see the oppressive regime they've initiated.

Then again, Ambessa understands war weariness and how to deal with it, so she coaxes a few more flames out of the dying embers, and off we go!

[starlooove]

I need a jinx and ekko building together montage

[lady-griffin]

My Arcane Season 2 Theories

I’m going to try and post some of my theories for Arcane S2 in more depth before it airs, but the chances of that seem to be less likely with each passing day.

So, here’s a list of some of my bigger theories.

I will admit, since this is the last season, I’m not as confident in some of these as I was before, so the theories are largely listed in order of how likely I think they are (more or less).

Also, if I happen to be right or wrong - please don't confirm either way with information from the leaks, as I want to watch the show and see for myself.

Theory 1

Heimerdinger didn’t just neglect the Undercity he took direct action against the “Undercity” or the group of people before there were even the Fissures.

Basically, Heimerdinger has a very dark past and he’s not exactly the sweet, grandfatherly wise-figure S1 made him out to be.

To be clear, I don’t think he’s putting on an act and I also don’t think he’s evil (necessarily), but I 100% believe he's done some truly horrific and objectively evil things, maybe not himself, but he certainly ordered them.

He’s justified his actions by telling himself and others it was necessary for the greater good, but that's rather subjective, especially when others who aren't you are suffering for this supposed "greater good."

There are dangerous threats and realities to this world, but that doesn’t justify the cruelty that’s happened to Zaun.

Some theories fall under this one

Theory 1A

A big part of “for the greater good” was to protect people from the ‘Arcane’ or to keep it hidden.

But because of his and Piltover actions, the 'Arcane' will now be found and used.

Heimerdinger has created an extremely vulnerable population of people who are suffering and are in dire need of help, and I think Viktor will try to help these people, but they will just become 'victims' of the Hexcore and the 'Arcane.' What exactly that means, I have no idea -

Nonetheless, Heimerdinger’s past actions will directly lead to what he was trying to prevent.

Theory 1B

A decent amount of Piltover’s history has been edited, erased, or straight up rewritten for the “greater good” and “keeping the peace.”

Theory 1C

Heimerdinger and Ekko will fall apart because of Heimerdinger’s actions in the past.

I think Heimerdinger will want Ekko to ignore the past (the opposite of what he was saying last season) and instead just look towards the future, but Ekko won’t.

Or even better, Ekko will realize you can't move forward until you address the past.

Theory 1D

Piltover may be 200 years old, but “Zaun” (Kha’Zhun or Osha Va Zaun) is significantly older; perhaps not 3,000 years old like in league lore, but it’s definitely older than Piltover.

Theory 1E

Genocide of mages. Lots of genocide.

Theory 2

Jinx and Ekko will team up and be allies.

Maybe this new found partnership won’t last until the end of the season, but I think their relationship will end on a far better point then it did in S1.

It might not be perfect or super happy, but there will at least be an indication of hope for these two.

Theory 3

Jinx won’t be immune to mind-control or mind-fuckery BUT it will be nearly impossible to keep her in that state.

While Jinx might easily succumb to someone taking over or messing with her mind, she will break free of it eventually and whoever (whatever) has done that to her should be terrified.

Obviously, this depends on who or what is going to be doing this and how they’ll do it, but unlike the majority of the other characters, Jinx doesn’t blindly trust her reality.

Because she can’t.

She's well aware that what she sees and hears isn’t always real, which is very unique to her.

The other characters have never had to question their reality let alone doubt what they’re seeing and hearing and that’ll make them even more vulnerable to this potential mind-fuckery or control than even Jinx is.

I also think Jinx is far more observant and intelligent then whoever (whatever) is going to be trying to control her thinks she is. Plus, her way of thinking and viewing the world is very unique to her and it won’t be easy to replicate and that’s not even including the fact she is very crazy.

Basically, I think Jinx’s mental instability is going to make her very vulnerable, but also give her a chance to fight back or really the life and experiences she’s had due to her mental instability will help her in one way or another.

A mini theory that's really more of a hope

BLANK will try to control or hurt Jinx using the memory or image of Silco, but this will be their downfall, as it won't work and they'll have a very furious Jinx to deal with.

Using Silco won’t work because Jinx can’t pretend she didn’t kill him, her guilt and self-loathing won’t let her. In addition, Jinx knew Silco better than anyone, certainly better than BLANK will know him, even if they are using Jinx's mind or memories.

What I’m really hoping for is Jinx won’t let anyone take Silco’s love away from her.

Silco’s love for his daughter will ultimately be a positive thing and help her when she’s at her lowest point – I'm imagining a similar scene to Vi being down for the count, but then “Vander” encouraged her to get up.

Theory 4

Vi won’t become Vi from the game; rather than becoming Piltover’s enforcer, she’ll end up as an enforcer for the Undercity – as in she’ll be a protector of Zaun.

Theory 5

Mel will be badly injured from Jinx’s bomb, but is ultimately saved by the Hexcore.

It will “heal” her, which won’t be a good thing in the end, as it will likely “corrupt” her and we’ll see her become a loyal servant to it or even controlled by it.

This could be why we see Ambessa in the area where that stained-glass bubble thing is, seemingly telling her men to charge while she has tears in her eyes.

Theory 6

Kino Medarda is alive.

Ambessa definitely think’s he dead, she wasn’t lying or trying to manipulate Mel, but Kino is alive and well (relatively speaking).

He’s either acting against his mother or whoever Ambessa thought killed him, or both. I think he will be an ally to his sister and if I'm right about Theory 5, important to her story and waking up from the Hexcore's control.

Theory 7

Jinx brought Fiddlesticks into the world in S1, Ep5 “Everyone Wants to Be My Enemy”

I’m sticking by this theory until the very end, even as it becomes more and more unlikely.

I just think it’s weird the first time we’re told how hextech works - basically opening up a gateway to the realm of the heebie-jeebies (Jinx’s words) and then after that explanation there’s a giant blast from Jinx's attempt at hextech, and then suddenly crows are very, very interested in Jinx.

Also let’s be real, Jinx is the one person whose luck is so bad that the first time she officially tries to use hextech, she opened a gateway or created a big enough rift which allowed Fiddlesticks back into the world.

Jayce and Viktor can play around with the stuff all they want without ever bringing forth any kind of demon, but Jinx does it ONCE and she summons the one and only primordial demon of fear, because of course she did. Of course, her luck is that bad.

And while not so much literally (though maybe, but I doubt it) there could be a bit of a Fiddlesticks vs Janna kind of thing with Jinx – as in who is Jinx?

Is she Fiddlestick’s Crow of Death or Janna’s Bluebird of Freedom?

I think if this were to happen it would be a symbolic “battle” more than anything, but this is a world where this stuff does indeed exist, so it's technically possible.

So, there we have it.

Some of these are pretty obvious, but I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention them. And others...

Listen if I happen to be right, I just want to point to this post and say – SEE!!! Look, I Was Right!!!!

But we shall see as November 9th (my birthday) approaches ever closer.

[cl-0v3r]

Any hopes or protections for act two or even three!? (Im asking for a friend(totally not just shy))

HIIIIIIIII ♡♡♡

I do infact have hopes and predictions for act two or even three !!! Not a lot of three tho because a week isn't enough time to think 😭

First of all, I think Mel is going to suffer the most in this act out of the other acts, she is in LeBlancs hands and leblanc tends to torture people she finds interesting (aka people w magic), not to mention she's her enemy's daughter. Wether its physical or psychological torture, she will make sure Mel will be on edge if it serves her an advantage. I feel like this act is when Mel sees, hears and learns about things that she'd never known before, so that really tips the cup for her into changing her course of action. As for if she will get out of it or not? I'm not really sure. She has armor, but we don't know how effective it is towards leblancs magic, I really hope she does get out and she most likely will find a way.

For act 3? there is nothing I could think of. I've heard people say something about how the trailers are mostly ~act 1- act 2, and honestly it all makes sense for it to be that way. I feel like act 3 is where everything ends, redemption starts, characters start going back to who they were at their core, characters pay the price, characters go through guilt and what not. So sum it up, its going to be more focused on characters emotional wellbeings rather than actions. I do think there will be an after-shock lf the war too, perhaps its where re-building happens.

Secondly, I think Jayce and Viktor are going to go through the ACTUAL break-up this act, with actual violence, considering there may be a timeskip? Viktor could've became machine herald already, and Jayce has grown a beard so, after sitting through viktors WONDERFUL MOSES SHENANIGANS he met his limit and went to stop him, or viktor finds Jayce in the undercity and approaches him. We also see caitlyn with a new gun so that could mean Jayce is still present on topside rather than completely focusing on ripping viktors head off.

Okay so caitlyn scares me, it scares me that Ekko is not there and caitlyn KNOWS where the firelight base is, I hope not but she might go there for god knows what, and lead the enforcers with her or soldiers or whoever, which could cause abseloute hell in the base.

I think the arcane will start appearing in random yet specific places too, the corruption will affect piltover and zaun negatively which could cause hindrance to everyone.

For ambessa, I feel like the reason she goes against the enforcers/vice versa is either because those aren't actual enforcers, but Inx/people of zaun. We saw vi carrying an enforcer on her back, which i don't think shes an enforcer here.. I think ambessa is going to go THROUGH IT with enemies all over.

Ekko, I think he builds his Z drive from wherever he is, I dont think it will be complete, but its going to be there. And he will actively be trying to find Jinx in admist of it all.

I think Jinx, Sevika and Isha will stay in the undercity for the most part, perhaps for preparation, or taking a rest, or maybe Jinx could be building things for everyone. but once they hear of them all being imprisoned she gets off of her ass and gets them out.

I want to see more character backstories too, that would make things so much more detrimental.

Im honestly not sure whats going to happen, I just hope Mel is safe and im really curious to know where they're going to take Viktor and Jayce, i need to see more of Ambessa aswell. I'm very excited for act 2 this week was LONG ENOUGH

THANK YOU FOR SENDING ME THIS ASK <33333

[voodoocuthulu]

My Thoughts on Arcane Season 1 and it’s characters.

—————————

My views on the show itself:

Arcane is one of my favorite animated series if not my all time favorite. The plot, scenery, and the art is so unique and beautiful done. It’s well done for the hard work put into it and I’m very excited for the release of episode 1 of season 2 and to see how both the stories and characters have progressed.

My favorite things in the show:

•The voice acting, each voice actor captures the essence of each character and how the emotions are meant to be perceived.

•Character arcs and development, each character is uniquely different not only by the designs in the shows progression, but also by the personalities and mental states of the characters.

•Representation of mental illness or mental health, the characters don’t really go through the mental illness issues, but visibly and through dialogue in the show where we can see how stable our characters are.

•The relationships between characters, I find that character relationship developments and clashes are really important to a plot. They made sure that these characters had very specific feelings towards other characters and that certain characters clashed a certain way.

———————————

My views on each character:

Jinx (Powder):

She is a very complicated character who’s suffering from psychosis ,but to be specific: BPD, PTSD, Schizophrenia, Survivors guilt, and Psychopathy. She is good comedic but also emotional pacing of the show. (Personally wish I can give this poor girl a hug).

Vi:

She is also a complex character who is somewhat hot head ,but knows when to keep her cool. She is a good character to watch doing most of the action,but the emotional parts are hard to watch between her and her sister Jinx (Powder). The worst to watch was for Vi to keep referencing Jinx as Powder and trying to get “Powder” back. Yet Powder was gone and jinx was wanting Vi to accept her for her changes. Vi not fully understanding continued to get her old sister back ,but got the ending of season 1 because of her misunderstanding of what jinx wanted from her.

Caitlyn:

Caitlyn was a good comedic relief when collabed with Vi, but they also make a good relief with their chemistry. The only thing is, it that her character didn’t really draw me in as some of the other characters.

Jayce:

He was essential for the plot ,but god i can’t find a character I dislike more. He is extremely negligent to the safety of others, this is in reference to Victor ,but also when giving Vi (Who is A CRIMINAL ) weapons which could lead to mass destruction.

Victor:

He is also can be considered negligent for his use of shimmer on his own body and even when tampering with magic in such a way that can cause harm to him and to others. He is a very compelling character and incredibly charming through the show when clashing with Jayce as characters.

Silco:

The Handsomest man and needs Best dad award. Thats all I have to say. Lmao.

Ekko:

(the realest mf) He is a really cool character with a awesome character design and personality when clashing with other characters such as Vi which he acts like a hard headed brother and with Jinx he acts like his younger self playing with a bestfriend ,but with a more aggressive approach now because of all the changes that happened after Vi got locked up, Vander died, and Silco took control of the undercity.

Overall:

Again over time my opinions might change if I were to rewatch again ,but this is my opinions for the time being until then, let me know if you agree or have your own opinions.

[mollysunder]

What If Jinx and Local Cuisine (LC) Were in Cahoots?

A writer for Arcane confirmed that Jinx does have friends that will be revealed next season, and I realized LC might actually fit the bill as one of them.

First, I should explain what kinds of traits make people gravitate towards Jinx.

From the few scenes we see of LC, he actually demonstrates the kind of traits that would make him compatible for Jinx's circle. People in Zaun, from regular chempunks to Inx members admire (and even champions like Sylas) Jinx because she satisfies/inspires their desire for revenge against their oppressors in Piltover. These are people that accept the necessity of violence and choose to go further by reveling in it as a source of catharsis.

What does this have to do with LC? Well the first time we meet LC is at the brothel where he was seen wearing the Wolf's mask. The Wolf is a part of a twin personification of death in Runeterra, known as the Kindred. The Lamb represents quick and painless death and wears a wolf mask, while the Wolf wears a white lamb mask and represents violent and painful death. The Wolf associated with punishment because when you refuse the Lamb's "gift" by resisting death the Wolf will relentlessly hunt down the fying to tear them apart to make them submit.

LC's association with the Wolf, related to violent death, has fueled speculation on his purpose going into season 2. Even if you don't subscribe to the theory that he's related to the princess beheaded by Ambessa and he's on a revenge quest, the show chose to depict him as an entity kills with a violent passion.

If the theory's true why wouldn't LC want to see Piltover burn as much as the Medardas if the theory's true? The princess theory offers solid motivation for why he wouldn't just be targeting the Medardas, but Piltover too. While Noxus is the warmongering expansionist empire that killed the princess, Piltover is the nation that facilitates its survival as vital trading partner to the empire. The advent of the hexgates has likely only improved the efficiency of Noxian warband supply lines. People like the Medardas invest in Piltover to keep themselves wealthy and on top, hell the practically run it now.

A righteous thirst for revenge and no compunction with violence against Piltover makes Jinx and LC potentially birds of a feather. If that's true then LC could theoretically fulfill a critical component for Jinx's operation, information.

For Jinx to pull of even half her exploits she needs an intel source, and LC is the most obvious connection. LC is the only character from Zaun that can regularly move between the two cities on legitimate business to meet his high profile clients like Ambessa without drawing attention. If most of his Piltovan clients act like Ambessa, then they probably talk about sensitive topics at and around him all the time, like the one between Ambessa and Jayce that led to the refinery raid. LC is probably the best source of informal knowledge on ongoing developments in Piltover's highest circles of society.

There's no way Jinx could pull of the heist without prior inside knowledge. The shipment raid and the heist all happened on the same day, Progress Day, within a handful of hours. Jinx would have had to know that there was a hexgem to steal in the first place, because that was a guarded secret. Even the first time she robbed a home in Piltover required an outside party, Ekko, to case the joint for her. Instead of robbing a nice trinket from a great house for Silco as an apology, which she was entirely capable of, instead she KNEW to target the hextech workshop. Jinx knew where the guards would be posted and what abandoned building to set on fire and rig with explosives. Almost like she already had intel on the hexgem and decided to strike when it was convienent.

I'd also like to include the fact that even in the concept art for Jinx's hideout we see Jinx in the zone on her work bench while a mysterious figure comfortably leans into her space.

While the figure has few discernible features that matches with most of Zaun's cast in the show and the concept art, there is one determinable feature. The figure has a sleeve with a red and gold stripe pattern similar to the one LC wears at the brothel.

The mysterious figure also lounges on the rail in a similar fashion to how we the audience were first properly introduced to LC.

Personally, I think it makes sense for Jinx to make friends with figure like LC because not only do the have similar goals, Silco would likely approve of it too. Silco doesn't like Vi or Ekko because they threaten his relationship with Jinx, someone like LC, who doesn't work for him, but is still under his purview won't do that.

And honestly, LC gives the same vibes as Chadd, a violent, organized, and prominent member of the Inx (Jinx followers), just with less hero worship.

Sidenote: Wouldn't it be hilarious if it were the case that the only reason Jimx knew how to break into the Kiramman's home is because LC told her about it. You can bet this dude went on jobs as an escort to atleast one Councilor's party in their home.

[shimmerbeasts]

They were in a constant push and pull with one another. Ekko fought his conditioning with all his might, while his body craved it more than everything. Jinx could see it in taught muscles and the smears of saliva down his chin. He was so very hungry, and she was more than willing to supply relief from that hunger.

Unlike Ekko, Jinx had never fought her conditioning. Even though Silco had warned her that during this process, he would have to act as something different than her father and that he would be forced to not know her. Yet even with that dark premise, Jinx had not backed down. She wanted this. She wanted to help him in the way, he loved the most, whether he wanted to admit it or not. And thus Jinx had endured the conditioning process, a hellscape beyond anything she had ever known.

More than once, the part of her, which was Powder, had wanted to plead for mercy and for it to end, more than once she had wanted to die, but Jinx had white-knuckled it out with clenched teeth knowing that the end result would be worth it. Besides, Silco had said that Jinx had to let Powder die and she had to admit that this conditioning made it feel like Powder had been thrown into a wall, broken and battered limbs making her unable to move.

Even so, despite all those hardships, Jinx had absolute faith in Silco. He had never betrayed her. He had never regarded her as a failure. And even when Jinx feared that he would see her as weak after she had messed up, in her heart, she knew that this would never happen. It was just the voices, trying to convince her of the opposite. They were lying. They always did. Silco said so. And Silco was no liar.

"Don't say it like that!", Jinx said, sounding offended, "If I wanted to punish you, I would do something way worse. No, I think it is perfectly right and just that you kill them. They followed your lead. There have to be consequences for their misjudgement."

The wrestle over the mask did not take too long. Even though Ekko could have easily bested her in close-quarter combat, if he focussed on it properly, Jinx used the panic he had over her unleashing his Hound to her advantage. She had grown stronger over the years, that was true, yet unfortunately, compared to Vi and Ekko, she would always be on the weaker side of physical power. The only way, Jinx could even the odds, was to not fight fairly.

Grim satisfaction flooded her as Ekko's exposed face marked him out as a liar towards the Firelights. These children had trusted the wrong boy. Ekko was no saviour. He was just as dependent upon the purple gold as any of the addicts out on the street were. He was a Chem-Baron, refusing to acknowledge his own nature. His lost boys and girls were right to call him a traitor, yet they had no idea just how deep his betrayal went. But that was okay. Jinx would show them.

Jinx tactfully backed away a bit as Ekko found himself inhaling the Hound Shimmer from the mask, she had strapped to his face. Her own experience had shown her that the more you fought against the transformation, the more painful it would be for you. And Ekko fought hard, his body twisting and turning, limbs flailing. No doubt, if he stood any closer to her, he would have hurt her too. But his Hound wouldn't allow it. Jinx had made sure of that.

The feralness in his gaze as the Hound fully took over was probably one of the most beautiful sights, Jinx could imagine. It enticed in her a feeling similar to how Powder had felt about Ekko when she was little. However, now that feeling had matured and grown into something akin to the sensations, she could see when Silco and Sevika chose to dance together during the annual ball of The Dance Of The Blue Swallow.

Yet at the same time, she could feel this overwhelming sense of excitement and thrill, crowing over the hunt, which was now closer than ever. Somehow, Jinx understood why Silco always wanted to be present when she hunted. He must be feeling the same emotion, just ten times deeper. After all, he wasn't a Hound himself; he was always the hunter.

Jinx chuckled darkly and began to smirk. Her eyes shone with sadism and glee. She raised her hand and closed her pinky and ring finger inwards, creating a finger gun. Aiming it at the group of Firelights behind Ekko, she made the gun go off with a soft "Peng" sound and said: "Sick'em."

None of the family behind him knew what he really was. Neither did any of the family back at home, save for Scar. All they had known was that he was their leader, the man who hid behind a mask most of the time. Why would they know? What reason would he give them to see anything past that? When this was a secret he hoped would have never come to light. A secret he'd been hiding for a long time.

Jinx had found him again, when he was still an addict on the street. She was with Silco the first time they reunited, and much to his regret she saw him shooting up shimmer at the age of 14. Then, a few years after he had met Scar, when he called it quits with his shimmer addiction...She found him again. Only, she didn't approve of the decision he had made. The monster he wanted so desperately to be rid of, she wanted to bring out and nurture in her own twisted way.

What Jinx had put him through, then had been the worst experience in his life. It also ensured that he would never be free of shimmer. He would never be free of her. It was because of her that he had to wear a mask, even in the comfort of his home. Even coming home to Scar after a hunt, to the person who knew his secret, he could see the sadness in their eyes, knowing they could do nothing. Ekko would be a slave to his monster as long as Jinx there. Just like she was now.

Ekko knew better than to lie to her, because she was right about one thing. The hound was absolutely famished and he cold feel the drool run down his chin as he tried to convince his body to back away. His body did not comply because it knew what it wanted, what it needed. The mask in her hand would supply that, as well as satisfy his monster.

"If this is your way of punishing me, then have me kill someone else, not them." He tried one last time to reason with her, "Like you said, they were following my lead, it's my fault."

To his credit he did manage to fight her when she unlatched his owl mask. However, it was a fight he lost as the mask was dumped to the ground. His eyes flickered towards where it fell, plotting a way to reach for it. In that split second that he looked back at the mask, he could feel his family's shock. The protruding veins from forced use were clear as day. Ekko could swear he heard one of them ask him why... call him a traitor.

He opened his mouth to defend himself, to somehow explain himself in the hopes that they would forgive him. Before that could happen Jinx held his face deceivingly soft, shifting his attention immediately. The way she spoke to him made his heart race. Whether it was him, or the excitement of his hound, he couldn't tell. But there was panic.

"No, I told you, I don't want to hurt them p-" The Firelight leader didn't have the chance to finish his sentence before he felt her hands in his dreadlocks. He once more opened his mouth to give her a piece of his mind, something that he would instantly regret. For the moment the mask was secured he inhaled the hound shimmer.

Shimmer completely over took his eyes, as his body began to convulse and reshape itself. His skin stretched painfully, creating a more muscular form neck down. Parts of his coat tore stretched with it, causing parts of it to tear as claws extended from fingers and teeth teeth expanding into fangs. Finally, his back arched as parts of his spine protruded through skin.

Ekko tried to fight it, but all his efforts did, was cause more agony. It was always more painful when he fought the change. As such feral screams of pain echoed through the area around them. By the end of the transformation his voice was so worn and scratchy. The growls emanating from his throat were deeper, more guttural.

Every vein in his body was lit up with the vibrant glow of shimmer, most hidden underneath clothing. The shimmer pulsing through him as the change finally completed and his body stilled. During it all he had stumbled back making enough space so that Jinx wouldn't get hurt in the process. The hound's way of making sure she was safe, even though Ekko would have loved to hurt her.

The hound, now in full control, glanced up at Jinx. There was a feral gaze in his eyes as it waited for the words. Waited for that sadistic grin she always bore when she sent him out on the hunt. The excitement was absolutely electric at the anticipation of the hunt, ready to kill every single firelight behind them.

[danothan]

im hoping i didnt misread your tone reading the tags and you do want to hear violyn shippers out but if u were /gen the reason that they appeal to me so much is the fact they are very different in every single way down to how they were raised but at the same time they are very similar with their motivations and goals in life they both want to help people and do good and while they certainly have quite a few hurdles to jump over they work together well and clearly trust each other very much despite their contrasts and differences and how they do have to jump a few hurdles to have a strong bond and might not click instantly but that doesn't mean the potential isn't there. also yeah youre right im a basic bitch and like tropes when ur a lesbian you gotta settle sometimes when it comes to rep. anyway hope u enjoyed the rant because it was a struggle to not make this longer

yes i was being genuine! i like getting other ppl’s perspectives, esp if it’s on smth i don’t understand. warning tho, i get pretty negative and definitely wordy underneath the cut

i think “potential” is the keyword here. i get the whole oil vs water metaphor in concept, but the execution leaves more to be desired. like you said, they’re fundamentally opposed in their upbringings and values. i mean after all, the first scene in arcane is the destruction caused by enforcers, ending on a shot of young vi glaring at them as she’s being carried away from her dead parents. that’s the kind of thing that sets the tone for the rest of the show, so it makes me wonder why we never feel the weight of that trauma after act 1. you’d think being wrongfully imprisoned for 6-7 years would make vi’s resentment grow even MORE, but i feel like she’s just toned down from her younger self if anything. before, she’d have a shouting match with vander over his betrayal of making deals with enforcers. couple episodes later, she’s teaming up with an enforcer herself? what changed?

i feel like they don’t have many shared goals either, esp not anything to bond over. so far all they really have in common is that they want to find jinx (for very different reasons) and they want to stop silco, which isn’t very romantic common ground lol. i’m not even sure i’d agree that they have the same motivation to help people bc vi is completely out of touch with the current political state of zaun and pretty much only has tunnel vision for finding her sister. and while caitlyn definitely wants to help people, she isn’t willing to listen to vi or ekko’s criticisms bc she gets too defensive over the idea that she might be part of a corrupt system. they’re barely ever on the same page

you say they clearly trust each other despite their differences, but i don’t think they should given this history. OR, if they did, it should be like my bookclub partner said and have vi fall headfirst into the relationship. and if this were to be the case, it would have to lean into vi’s emotional immaturity + lack of experience and give caitlyn growth + more awareness of their situation. but neither of these options happen, so caitvi toes the line without being able to commit to either side. it makes their relationship feel inconsistent and trivial to me

my bookclub partner and my sibling also brought up separate but enlightening points on the portrayal of their dynamic. f0r mentioned how they would be generic and frustrating to watch if the main conflict of their relationship was internalized homophobia, so it was a good writing choice to not include homophobia/sexism as a part of their society, and i agree with this. it’s an overdone trope used in place of actual substance, fantasy bigotry being a 1-to-1 with the real world just feels lazy. then my sibling noted that even though they technically don’t use this particular trope, their dynamic still carries the same story beats. their struggles and resistance towards each other feels subjective instead of being based on core themes of the story, like it’s a personal issue or a difference in personality and not the fact that they represent opposing sides of a class war?? this is why i don’t get what the big deal is over their break up. it felt like forced tension bc i wasn’t all that convinced they were in love after a few days, not to mention the breakup didn’t even last, so narratively i don’t see the point of having them separate if they were immediately going to get back together

again, if you’re going to use the oil vs water metaphor, lean into their differences. it shouldn’t be brought up when drama calls for it (“what, you don’t have parents?”), it should be the foundation of all of their interactions. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, jayvik represent the oil vs water metaphor better with the way external forces play into the difference in their values and create a divide between them despite their history and compatibility. hell, i feel more of that zaunite vs piltovan conflict between cait and jinx bc at least jinx’s trauma is written into their interactions

it almost feels like they’re having fun on their secret mission until vi remembers she’s supposed to hate cait. it’s the whole forbidden lovers trope that doesn’t actually feel forbidden bc there are no consequences for them being together. everything is just inferred because, well, they’re supposed to be opposites! so of course they’re on-and-off! but drawing conclusions from character fun facts is not the same as seeing those elements being purposefully utilized. this is what i mean when i say shippers have to rely on speculation. ultimately, caitvi is an underdeveloped on-and-off relationship that doesn’t commit to being either enemies OR lovers. it just feels like a messy high school love story in the middle of more interesting politics, found/unfound family, xenophobia/classism, magic, drugs, and terrorism

it’s a shame you say you have to settle, especially in a show like arcane where they don’t pull their punches for heavy and nuanced subjects. i feel like they set the bar too high to settle for a basic shipping trope. the other relationships in this show are intrinsic to and enhanced by the plot, and vice versa: you know they love each other but external forces play into their personal values and dynamics. caitvi deserves the same complexity and chemistry given to these other relationships

and for the record, i like both characters individually. i can see myself enjoying their relationship as it gets more developed. i think they have a lot of good moments in the show. but as of right now, based on canon only, caitvi is the weakest part of arcane’s writing

[doorhine]

I think some of my critique of the representation of poc, especially the Black characters, in Arcane would be reduced if Vi, Jinx, and Viktor were racebent. Again, poc ought to have roles where they aren’t suffering and are in powerful positions, but in a story like this with themes of classism and systematic oppression, to have almost all the characters of color be a part of the privileged class, cops, or working for an antagonistic white guy and then have the marginalized characters with the most screen time be white isn’t great, even though a lot of them are written with nuance in other ways like Mel and Sevika who I like a lot. Mel is a foreigner which I think adds some nuance to her character in general and in this specific context, but it’s still complicated given the imperialistic history of her family. I will say she stands out as her own character and not just support to Jayce’s narrative, which is important.

Ekko is a great character who doesn’t fall into any of those three roles, but he hasn’t been given the same amount of screen time characters like Vi, Jinx, and Viktor have and they’re the ones who speak the most, or have the most screen time to do so, about the issues the Undercity and its people face. Vi and Jinx, both as individuals and their relationship, are also the center of the story. Given what Jinx specifically represents in the narrative, as a significant product of Piltover’s failings, especially in the end of the season, it would be a more powerful message if she was racebent. Like, to have Silco refuse to give her up would’ve been more impactful if she was a woman of color instead of a white woman, because white women get to be prioritized and made into exceptions all the time. It would also make the scenes where Sevika gets beat up by Vi and Jinx, and I mostly refer to the part where Jinx displays her beat up body to send a message to Silco in his office, WAY less uncomfortable to watch for me because we’re made to root for Vi and Jinx.

In terms of Viktor, having him be the only one from Zaun in Piltover speaking to these issues when the council has, otherwise mostly white or non-human characters, but two dark skinned black women in it, rubs me the wrong way. Sky, a Black woman, is also fridged for some of his character development in act 3. There’s also fandom racism towards Mel's character because she’s a Black woman that gets in the way of a white mlm ship (If you like Viktor and Jayce because their dynamic is genuinely interesting and not because of racism/antiblackness you know who you are and won’t feel personally attacked by this). I personally like both Mel and Viktor and their dynamics with Jayce, but enjoying their characters is hard sometimes because of things like this that can clog the tags. 

Of course, these characters are based on a game so there’ll be people who say the show runners couldn’t just racebend characters that already exist, as though that hasn’t happened before in media and the show itself isn’t already diverging from previous canon in other ways. Also within Arcane itself, Caitlyn is shown to be Chinese and white based off of her voice actress and how her father looks and I seriously doubt that was canon before. But Caitlyn is more white passing/not very different from her original design so I haven’t seen, to my knowledge, people saying any negative things about that. Given that Hailee Steinfield’s maternal grandfather is Black and Filipino, I personally like the idea of Vi and Jinx being Black and Filipina as well. I don’t have a particular headcanon for what I’d racebend Viktor to be tho. 

I think I might also include Vander in this because it’d be nice if Vi and Jinx’s adoptive dad, who’s a liked figure in The Lanes and has had a huge impact on their lives, was also a poc. I’d probably keep Silco white, not because he’s antagonistic but because poor white people exist and I don’t have a problem with him and other notable characters from Zaun, with various moral alignments, like Benzo, Mylo, Claggor, and that lady Silco was allied with being white. I won’t pretend that there aren’t poc who are cops in real life either, but to have Vi and Jinx be racebent and visibly darker than Grayson, Marcus and Caitlyn would help make the juxtaposition of those characters together a bit less sketchy, at least to me. 

The way poc, and Black people specifically, are presented on this show is a complex discussion and I’m just one Black woman talking about this, but these are just some of my thoughts on the matter as of right now. There’s a lot of things I like about Arcane and it’s writing which is why I’m invested in the show. I just think tweaks like this could make an already nuanced and fleshed out story, richer.

[arcane-ish]

Talking Ships: Jinx/Ekko

Okay, I’ll be first to admit, that they probably shouldn’t be part of this discussion with how little they are actually featured on the show. So this is mostly for their outside Arcane canon, and even there it’s only subtle Ekko (when meeting Jinx in game): I had a crush, until you started talking to the gun.

So this is mostly about them as a concept. Arcane itself hasn’t really done much to build rapport between them at all, though the fact that they appear in each other’s videos and of course the mural in Ekko’s lair to me suggest that they do consider this canon. 

Still, within Arcane the dynamic is most noticable for its absence, particularly in the form of Ekko’s absence in Act 2. 

One wonders (okay at least I wonder) what exactly happened there. Jinx doesn’t seem to have any friends her age anymore. Ekko is the only one from the original group who is still around, with everybody else either being dead or in the case of Vi, disappeared. 

Did Ekko ever try to talk to Powder, but she didn’t want anything to do with him because he reminds her of her past? Did he feel like he couldn’t be around her because he blames her or blames himself (since it was always him giving them information that triggered all the events)? Did Silco prevent them from meeting up again? 

Of course, there is the speculation that Ekko is the masked leader of the Firelights. Which of course begets the question, how does he feel about the fact that Jinx killed at least one of his people (the one who looked like Vi, back in episode 4). I still have some hope that they will finally have some sort of a dynamic in Act 3 if Ekko really is the masked guy. 

On a fannish side, well there hasn’t really been a ton for people to latch onto. Though of course there is always the question, if Ekko has been an angsty white guy with time powers and an ill fated crush and on the manic girl, would he have gotten more fandom attention? 

Anyway, from a ship point of view the advantages are there, they know each other, are of a similar age, it is estalished they are fond of each other and that Ekko likely had some feelings for Jinx, they are also both genius level tinkerers from Zaun and seem to share a fairly similar outlook on life in regards to rebelling against Piltover, even if Ekko is slightly less violent than Jinx. 

Let’s Talk Ekko

I think structurally, as his League concept the most striking thing about Ekko are his time powers and his obsession with turning back time. I headcanon that as Ekko being deeply within his own head, obessing over getting the moment just right. When I imagine their ship, that’s what I tend to imagine as their biggest obstacle, that it’s never quite right for Ekko, that he always obsessed over the circumstances rather than just trying to declare his feelings and asking her out. 

I tend to (conjecture) picture Jinx as somebody who does like him enough that she would at least go on a date with him, but she does not like him enough to pursue him herself. 

The other problem with this ship of course is not just the concept that Ekko might have moral objections against Jinx’s action, he also seems to be very attached to her past, to Powder (his voice line in Legends of Runeterra, potentially the flashback of Powder in the teasers). So he is struggling with accepting her the way she is now when it is unclear whether one can ever separate Jinx and Powder again. 

Another thing that is interesting to me about Ekko comapared to the other tinkerer characters, that imo he has been protrayed as intensely social. Viktor and Jinx of course are a bit isolated by what they do, Jayce is social, but it seems leaning towards shallow social. Meanwhile it seems like Ekko tends to make friends and build himself a group or join one wherever he goes. It’s an interesting facette of his character, not completely sure what to make of it. 

Let’s Talk Jinx

A lot of what I said about in regards to Jinx and Silco holds true here as well, I struggle in general what exactly (romantic) happiness would look like for her, especially since I don’t think that one can undo or separate Powder out from Jinx anymore. 

I do think that their shared interests and that his revolutionary interests gel with her more hyper side (I can easily picture them riding the skies together on their gadgets) is a better match for her than most, but still, my feeling still stands, I think she likes him but not enough to force the issue if he’s not gonna do something about it (though I vacilliate on whether I head canon that she is aware that there is *something* on his side or whether she is unware). 

Overall

I have a soft spot for the tragedy of characters who might like somebody or each other but can never quite get there or stand in their way. However even if I them this little bit of preferentialism, I still have to come to a fairly bleak interpretation of them. 

1.) Do I think that they do/did they fuck?

2.) Do I think that they could be happy together? For both of these questions I really struggle to picture it and tend to fall on the “stand too much in their own way”. I would have to go really far into “their life is free of tragedy and hardship and they both go to university to study together and do both tinkering and art together” to really picture them dating. 

And I think even then I would probably imagine them parting eventually, I guess because I see Jinx as a bit of a “searching” character, much like Jayce. 

There is also the aspect that Ekko might be too attached to her past and not fully accept her the way she is now? Which of course doesn’t bode well for a relationship.

Final Grade: D (I really want to like them, but even I have to admit that Arcane at least gives one pretty much nothing to work with, the only reason why they don’t get an F is because they haven’t been too actively awful to each other) 

Disclaimer: these are my feelings as of the end of Act 2 of Arcane, my rating might go up or down drastically based on what happens in Act 3.

[ferinehuntressmoved]

　⸻ [ V ] I HADN'T MEANT TO LOSE HER TEMPER so badly, all she wanted to do was teach those punks a lesson. Seeing the tears in Jinx's eyes at such a young age, the way she looked so little compared to those five jerks. Something within her burned, it was a raging forest fire she couldn't contain anymore. The moment her fist connected with one of their faces, she lost it. Something pulled at her, within the depth of her mind, past her heart and into something dark. She saw red, and for the first time, she let the beast out. She twisted around, fist meeting face, hitting their stomachs and chest. When it was over with, a feral growl left her lips, and her fists were painted in their blood, like warpaint across her face and arms.

A part of her didn't even regret her actions, which scared her a bit. Something within her felt this feral need to rip apart those who dared threaten her family. It had taken her toll on her in prison, become harder, rougher, to the point she was losing herself. If Caitlyn hadn't gotten her out of there, and Jinx and the rest of the family didn't visit as often as they did, well... she might have lost herself forever. Even now, there was a part of her that stirred, threatening to take hold whenever someone looked at Ekko, Jinx, or Caitlyn wrong. She had changed that day when the star guardian gave her her powers only to lose them by killing those five punks.

But now she was back and she had no plans to ever leave her sister again. With her arms around Jinx, she pulled her close and pressed her cheek against the top of her head. These hugs made her day so much better, as she took a deep breath and kept her close. Her little chuckle made Vi smile, but it was so quiet that Vi knew it wasn't enough. "Come on, let's go get those brownies and you can tell me everything," Vi grinned, too happy to share.

Up in the loft, the brilliant sun shined in to warm the entire room and gave a beautiful viewpoint of Valoran City. The brownie's aroma of chocolate and sweetness filled the room and even made Vi's mouth water with delight. An orange toyger roamed the room, stretching her claws with a yawn but when she noticed their company immediately took on her natural form. In place of the small cat was a large tiger. Ashe's feathers on top of her head laid back for now, as she shifted clsoer toward to lick the side of Shiro's skulled face, a purr to see the other mediums.

"Don't eat them all, I want one," Vi teased, as she flopped down on top of the couch, kicking her feet up against one side and stretching her arms behind her head for a moment while the trio ate up the brownies happily. "I knew you would like them! Triple chocolate chunks, soft to the bite with very little crunch, just like you like them," Vi reached over to pick one up and started to eat on it as she listened to Jinx starting to complain about Poppy. Her eyes rolled in annoyance at the mention of the team.

It took everything in Vi's willpower not to go rip them each a new one. They acted all high and mighty as if they were the First Star's best team because they were first. Vi just scowled at the mention of Poppy's name a second time as she took another bite of the brownie to distract her mouth.

"What is it about these star guardians and," Vi put her hand up, her fingers and thump flapping open and close. "We must protect the world. Seriously, what has the world ever done for us except beat us down? I don't give two shits about the world," Vi grumbled as she sat up and put her legs on the ground, and leaned over to rest her arms against her legs. "How many times have you saved their asses? Oh let me count," Vi tapped her fingers and huffed. "More than the fingers I have on my hand," She finished off the brownie, sucking on her fingers to get the powder off them, and leaned backward.

"How pissed do you think they would be if you shot a pie out of your rocket right at their faces?" Vi questioned, unable to hide the smirk on her face at the idea of Jinx aiming her cannon rocket at Poppy just to fire off a pie. Maybe it might scare her enough to shut her up a little bit.

Five years without Vi had been the worst years of Jinx's life. Even more so than losing her parents. She had been too little to remember clearly what had happened on that fateful day. But she never forgot the day when those boys attacked her and Vi beat them to death to protect her little sister and their adoptive brother, Ekko. Jinx was certain: Had Caitlyn not pulled a lot of strings due to her immense wealth, Vi may have stayed in jail for much longer than just five years.

Those five years had only been made a bit easier by Jinx spending an excessive amount of time with her childhood friend, Lux Crownguard. The other girl was her peer in age and with her pink hair and bubbly, cheerful personality, Lux had excelled at chasing away these dark thoughts and worries temporarily. Lux had also quelled Jinx's impulsive fantasies of breaking Vi out of the prison.

Plus Caitlyn, Vander and Silco had taken her to prison to see Vi as much as possible. It still hadn't been the same and the worry of Vi being gone for so long kept Jinx awake many restless nights. Only Lux seemed to be able to soothe the troubled thoughts in her head. Only Lux could make her feel like she could fly before she ever gained her powers, granted to her by the First Star. Nowadays, Jinx felt immense care, affection and passion whenever she was around the pink-haired guardian.

However, that hadn't diminished her feelings for Vi in the slightest. If Jinx did not know better, she would say that now two people were occupying equal space in her heart. Or at least that was what it felt like most of the time. Melting into Vi's embrace, Jinx rubbed her chin against her sister's shoulder and shut her eyes. She could somewhat feel Vi shift around in her turn before strong, familiar arms wrapped around her. A weak chuckle escaped her lips as Vi remarked how Poppy could eat a dick.

The Loose Canon among the Star Guardians whispered: "Poppy can eat my ass. In a bad way." Leaning back in her sister's embrace, Jinx was about to nod and agree, however as soon as Vi remarked that she had gotten powdered brownies, her eyes grew wide. "Really?!", she asked, her infectious excitement summoning Kuro and Shiro out of her crystal bracelet and making the monstrous, cat-like familiars excitedly float around her. They miaowed and purred.

"We would all love some brownies."

The loft was the best place to read books in The Last Page. While its walls were still framed by bookshelves with a few books like fairy tales, novels, short stories, fantasy and thrillers, the large window on one side allowed them to overlook Valoran City fairly easily. Bean bag chairs, a small coffee table and a little rocking chair provided the comfort for long, intensive readings.

Vi had placed warm plates with powdered sugar on the coffee table. The brownies were stacked on top of each plate, white powdered sugar almost hiding their moist, tangy, chocolatey goodness. The sight caused Jinx to smile as she walked over and picked up one of the brownies. It was still warm. Kuro and Shiro inched closer, purring and miaowing, pawing at her sides.

"Easy, boys", Jinx said and broke off a bit from the brownie to feed each of her familiars with some of the chocolate treats. With their hunger satisfied, the two familiars settled down beside their guardian and Jinx began to eat the brownie herself. For a short while, the only sound in the loft was quiet chewing and humming as Jinx wolved down the brownie.

Smiling at her sister, Jinx said: "Your brownies are still the best, Vi." Her expression eclipsed. "I do not like having to practise my shooting skills with Poppy watching. I am not an aiming person." She gave a soft whine before she scratched Shiro behind his ears. "Poppy claimed that with my wild attitude, I would one day harm the innocent and how that was not how a Star Guardian was supposed to behave and how I would never be a real hero." Kuro dropped down on her shoulder and wrapped his tail around her arm as she reached for another brownie.

Lustlessly breaking it apart, she admitted: "After that comment, it was just a lot of the usual: You do not deserve to be a Star Guardian. You are a liability. Star Guardians have to protect the world. What did the First Star think when it chose you? Blah, blah, blah. Yucks!" She shoved the brownie into her mouth and growled. "I hate it."

[today-only-happens-once]

With Great Power - Chapter 5

Title: With Great Power – Chapter 5

Catch up (or read on AO3) here!

Fic summary: Thomas Sanders is just a regular social media personality. But when he gets bit by a spider during filming one of his YouTube videos, his whole life is about to turn upside down—whether he (or the aspects of his personality) want it to or not. Platonic LAMP/CALM + Character!Thomas. Spider-Man AU.

Chapter word count: 3,515

Chapter warnings: cursing, nightmare mention, anxiety mention, minor spoilers for Danny Phantom.

A/N: Almost a month later, here’s chapter 5! So sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy it! <3 Shoutout to @creativenostalgiastuff for her help as always. Edited by yours truly so all mistakes are mine.

Tags: @captain-loki-xavier, @human-dictionary, @the-peculiar-bi-tch, @mining-pup, @band-be-boss-blog, @asexual-trashbag, @samathekittycat, @why-should-i-tell-youu2, @theobsessor1, @always3charcoaltea, @changeling-ash, @logical-princey, @crimsonshadow323, @flickering-raven, @smokeyrutilequartz, @dontbugmeimantisocial, @liz-a-bell, @black-king-white-knight, @soijusthavetoask, @analogical-mess, @marvelfangeek09, @vigilantvirgil, @princelogical

Sorry for the delay, everyone! Thomas types out for Twitter, a couple days later. Wasn’t feeling great but we’re back at it! New CT coming to you soon!

He pauses, then looks up at Joan across from him, sitting on a chair in Picani’s office. “Hey, what if we did a livestream tomorrow?”

He still feels bad for having gone MIA for a week. Or, as MIA as Thomas ever really went. He’d texted Joan, Camden, and Talyn basically every day to tell them he still wasn’t feeling his best. It wasn’t… a total lie, he’d told himself despite the guilt that sat uncomfortably in his stomach. It definitely hadn’t helped that he’d consequentially been postponing finishing up the filming of Cartoon Therapy due to his absence. It had been a couple of weeks now without any video to post on either channel.

Joan looks up from laptop poised across their lap. “Uh, I can do that. As long as it ends before 6, ‘cause my piano lesson starts at 6:30.”

Thomas smiles. “Perfect. I just feel bad for making them wait, y’know?” To make up for it, he adds to the tweet, we’ll be having a Livestream tomorrow at 4! Open to everyone, not just members. Hope to see you all there!

“You can’t help that you got sick,” Joan replies as Thomas sends the tweet out. “They understand.”

“Yeah, but… y’know.” Thomas lifts a shoulder. “I just wanna do something for them.”

“It’s cool, man,” Joan replies. “I think it’s a good idea. And it’ll give us a nice break from the editing and shit.”

“Speaking of—” Thomas grabs the pen and journal prompts from the bookcase behind him—"how’s Camden handling his part of things? I haven’t talked to him about the vid in a while.”

“I think he’s almost done,” Joan replies. “We just gotta finish the last of Picani and we should have the rest of the footage he needs to finish his section.”

Thomas nods and adjusts the knot in the pastel green tie around his neck. It had seemed like every time they’d tried to film the rest of Picani, something got in the way. Thomas loved acting and he loved the filming stage of videos, but a small part of him just wanted to be done with it. The sooner he could be done filming, the sooner he could focus on… more pressing issues.

“Then let’s finish Picani,” Thomas says lightly. “We’ve just got the last scene with Valerie’s character, right?”

Joan nods. “Yep. Shouldn’t take long at all.”

“Awesome.” Thomas glances in the viewfinder and pushes the bangs that were falling into his eyes out of the way. “Ready when you are.”

Joan hits record on the camera, then looks down at their script. “I have to be the adult, y’know?”

Thomas taps his pen against his mouth, looking carefully at Valerie’s sightline. “You know, Elena… Danny’s older sister feels that way for much of the show, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Jazz is only a couple of years older than Danny. But she often feels like she has to be the adult in the family because she sees her parents as a bit… immature.” Thomas leans forward slightly. “So she acts way older than she really is. But that mentality ends up backfiring on her when she takes it a little too far.”

“Too far?”

Thomas places his pen on top of his journal in his lap. “In Season 2 Epsiode 7, Danny has to fight a ghost that can only be seen by kids while he’s on vacation with his family. Since Jazz acts and thinks of herself as an adult even though she’s only 16, she can’t see the ghost and starts to think—along with her parents—that Danny is going crazy.” Thomas pauses, remembering that they’d wanted to cut in with a video clip there. Then he continues. “Though her concern is well-intentioned, it leads her to trapping Danny and the ghost goes after their parents. It’s not until Danny is able to get Jazz to act like a kid again that she’s able to see the ghost, and ultimately help to save her family.”

Joan rolls their eyes to keep in character as they read Valerie’s lines. “Fine, but my family’s not under attack by ghosts.”

Thomas sighs. “You’re right. But the point is that Jazz thought acting like an adult was helping the people around her, when it really wasn’t. When she actually started acting her age was when she was able to be the most help—especially to her little brother, who was the whole reason she’d been acting so much older in the first place.”

“Huh…”

“From that point on,” Thomas continues, “Jazz tries to find a balance. She’s a mature person, and nobody was asking her to change that. But she also comes to understand the importance of still being a kid. She learns how to balance the two in a way that doesn’t ask her to sacrifice any part of who she is.”

Joan pauses. “I… guess I could try that. Maria isn’t a little kid anymore, even though I still think of her as my baby sister.”

Thomas gives a small, encouraging smile. “It’ll take some time. Learning balance is not as easy as flipping a switch. But it’s something we can continue to work on. It might even help your relationship with your sister in ways you don’t expect.”

Joan gives a single nod. “I’d like that.”

“Great!” Thomas grins. “So I’ll see you next week?”

“Definitely. And… thanks, Dr. Picani.”

“Any time, Elena.”

…

“We can tell them. Should we tell them? We can tell them. I think. Wait…”

Thomas laughs as Joan stumbles through their thoughts about half an hour in to the livestream. He laughs even harder when he sees the chat blowing up with people asking Joan to just say it already. They’d decided to go back to Thomas’s apartment for the livestream, if only for sake of tradition. Not every livestream had been from this location, but Thomas wanted some of the normalcy back. And Joan, though they’d seemed puzzled, didn’t appear to mind.

“I’m good to tell them who it is,” Thomas says.

“Wait, who as in the…” Joan arches an eyebrow. “Or…” They tilt their head. Perhaps strangely enough, Thomas knows exactly what they’re asking.

He laughs again. “Real name, not the character name.”

“Yeah, okay. That’s what I was thinking.” Thomas and Joan both look back at the camera.

“It’s Valerie,” Thomas says. “The new character we’re introducing is played by my friend, Valerie. Some of you probably know her, since she’s been in… a good number of our videos. We got really lucky that the schedules worked out, since she’s auditioning in Orlando at the moment.”

“Yeah, she’s actually been in a lot,” Joan says. They start counting on their fingers. “Reasons to Smile.”

“On the Spot in the Spotlight,” Thomas supplies. “Which we’re still planning on bringing back.”

“The first Tongue Twisted.” Joan snaps their fingers and points at him. “She’s been in a few of your shorts videos, too.”

“I feel like we’re missing something.” Thomas glances at the chat and smiles at the people shouting SANDERS SIDES in all caps. “That’s right! Goodness gracious, she was in two of the Sanders Sides videos.” He shakes his head. “Sorry, guys. Guess I’m still a little out of it.”

He manages a small, apologetic smile. But a moment later, there’s a flood of messages in the chat telling him not to worry, asking if he’s feeling better, reminding him to rest and drink water… he feels a sharp twist of guilt. He tries not to linger on it.

“Let’s see… other questions….” He watches the chat closely, the knot in his stomach loosening slightly as the messages filter from well wishes to questions again. One of them makes him frown. “Someone’s asking if I’ve seen the Ekko videos?” He glances over his shoulder towards Joan. “I haven’t. Is that a new thing? I don’t know if I’ve heard of them.”

Joan looks suddenly uncomfortable. They shrug, but its awkward and forced. “Yeah. It was all anyone was talking about a couple days ago.”

Thomas hadn’t been checking social media over the past week. A part of him felt relieved that they’d at least moved on from trying to identify who “Spider-Man” was. “What are they?”

Joan gives him a quick look. “I’ll… tell you after the livestream.” Thomas couldn’t quite read their expression, but there was a warning look in their eyes that made him nod his agreement. Whatever it was, Joan didn’t want to talk about it with an audience. They wanted to change the subject.

At Thomas’s nod, Joan leans forward to read the scrolling chat feed until they find a different question. Thomas glances at the screen as well, and sees a few questions with “Spider-Man” in them—they go too fast for him to identify what exactly they’re asking—and feels himself tense. Joan doesn’t seem to even notice the questions.

“Here’s one,” they say after a brief pause. “Thomas, if you could be any kitchen appliance, what would you be?”

As the livestream continues, Thomas finds himself falling into old, comforting habits. He’d always had fun doing livestreams, especially ones with Joan. He appreciated their ability to be thoughtful and intellectual one moment and crack a joke that would make Thomas’s stomach hurt from laughing the next. A part of him feels like he appreciates it now more than ever. Joan is his best friend, and he can tell them anything.

Well… almost.

The idea of telling them about the recent… abilities Thomas had come to acquire made his stomach squirm and his heartbeat quicken. He couldn’t quite explain why. Joan would probably be skeptical—even Thomas hadn’t believed it at first—but the powers were something he could prove, a voice that sounded an awful lot like Logan reminded him. He’d been proving his abilities to himself all week, after all. Maybe he knew there was a chance that Joan would freak out and never talk to him again. They wouldn’t do that. The thought sounds like Patton.

Even so, something whispers safer to not tell them in the back of his mind, and Thomas can’t help but believe it.

“I gotta go soon,” Joan says. They look at Thomas. “Should we end with Mind Meld or something?”

Thomas pushes his bangs out of his eyes. He smiles. “Yeah, let’s do it.” Thomas pauses, thinking of his first word. “Okay. Ready?”

“Yeah.”

“3. 2. 1. Giant,” Thomas chimes at the same time that Joan says, “Apple.”

Thomas laughs. “Giant and apple?” He makes a face. “I don’t even know where to go with that.”

Joan grins in amusement, then thinks. “Okay. I think I have one. Super and apple.”

Thomas stares at them in uncertainty before he gets an idea. “Okay. I do too. It’s kinda weird, though.”

“3. 2. 1. Honeycrisp,” Joan says at the same time Thomas spits out, “New York.”

“I was thinking like, a giant apple. New York?” Joan laughs. It makes Thomas laugh too.

“I was thinking like, ‘giant as in ‘big’ and then—”

“And then you went to Big Apple,” Joan finishes. “Okay. I kind of get that. Honeycrisp and New York. Uh.”

Thomas’s eyes widen as he frantically tries to think of some sort of connection before one occurs to him. “Okay! I think I got one. It’s… broad-ish?”

“Broadish?” Joan starts laughing again. “That’s very helpful.”

“Okay, like,” Thomas waves a hand. “Kinda broad.”

Joan furrows their brow before shrugging. “What the heck. 3. 2. 1.”

Thomas says ‘vendor’ and Joan says ‘food’. It takes another round before they both eventually end up saying ‘restaurant’. Thomas grins when they finally get there. He looks back at the camera.

“Took us a minute but we got there! Thanks for sticking around, guys. This was a lot of fun. Super glad we had the chance to do this.” He glances at the chat, laughing at all the reactions of people playing along. In the midst of the messages—some of them now transitioning to sweet goodbyes—he sees one that catches his eye.

oof after that ekko vid I could use a new reasons to smile

Something uncomfortable sits in Thomas’s chest, but he flashes a quick smile at the camera. “Love you all! Bye!”

He stops the livestream and closes his laptop. Joan sits back in their chair, the spark of amusement from the game of mind meld fades out of their eyes. He’s reminded suddenly of the solemn, uncomfortable look Joan had given him when he’d asked during the livestream about whatever the ‘Ekko video’ was about.

“I saw that message. I know what you’re thinking,” Joan chimes in quietly after a moment. “It’s… not something you really wanna watch, dude. Trust me.”

“Why?”

Joan sighs and reaches for their water bottle. “It’s just… this thing that freaked everyone out. I don’t know how to explain it, but Talyn had nightmares after they watched it.” They take a drink. “I think it’s just someone trying to get some attention. The best thing to do is probably not to give it to them, y’know?”

Thomas nods absently as Joan pushes back from the table and heads towards the kitchen. Talyn didn’t really spook easily. They played horror games for fun in the dark alone. Thomas had never really been that kind of person. But he can’t deny that he’s curious. A part of him does want to know, if only out of a morbid kind of curiosity of what could have that kind of impact on his friends. Even though Joan had talked about Talyn’s reaction, it was clear to Thomas that it had bothered them too.

Dishes clatter in the sink as Joan sets the water bottle they’d borrowed from Thomas amongst the plates and bowls that Thomas hadn’t gotten around to cleaning yet. Neither of them said anything, letting the whir of the AC unit fill the uncomfortable silence between them. Something about it had gotten under Joan’s skin. Something they weren’t telling Thomas.

Thomas opens his mouth to ask them about it when Joan interrupts him suddenly. “I don’t know, man. It was weird and it felt like a warning of some sort. Maybe that’s why Talyn and I both felt a little paranoid after we watched it.” Their dark eyes flicker up to Thomas as they turn from the sink to look at him through the cut out opening above the counter into the living room. “I just don’t really want to dwell on it.”

Thomas caves and nods. “Okay.”

“But if you want to do another Reasons to Smile, that might be fun. A few people in the chat were suggesting it. Maybe that’d be a good idea.” They cross back into the living room and grabs their jacket from the back of the chair.

“Sure,” Thomas says, still a little lost in his thoughts. What could be so bad about that video? “Yeah, I’ll reach out to Camden and the team and whoever is in town to see if they might wanna join in. Maybe I can get Lee or Mary Lee to join this time.”

“Cool.” Joan stops after they’ve pulled their jacket on. Thomas can feel their gaze on him. “You okay?”

Thomas blinks and shakes his head to clear it. “Yeah. Just worried,” he says honestly. He offers a faint smile. “You and Talyn don’t usually get freaked out easily.”

Joan gives him a look. “We have anxiety,” they deadpan teasingly. Thomas huffs a laugh, even though it does little to expel the tightness in his chest. Joan sighs softly. “Really, Thomas. We’re okay.”

Thomas nods again. “Okay.”

“I gotta run,” Joan says, sounding faintly apologetic. “I’m gonna be late for my lesson.”

Thomas gives them a smile that he hopes is reassuring. “Go. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Joan closes the door behind them.

…

Thomas slips his phone into the back pocket of his jeans and cranes his neck up towards the night sky. It’s  little late to be posting the Sunday Shout-Out video, but he liked the nighttime. The parking lot is empty except for his car, and even though he knows he ought to just go home given the hour, a part of him wants to stay out just a little longer.

Thomas sighs and jumps up on the trunk of his car and sits. He fold his hands behind his head and leans back against the windshield, looking up at the stars. Most of them are drowned out by the streetlights that illuminate the lot, but Thomas doesn’t mind. A cool breeze plays with the ends of his hair. It’s calming.

Thomas sighs and closes his eyes.

“I really ought to insist that you go home before too much longer, Thomas.”

The internet personality smiles faintly at the sound of his Logical Side’s voice. He cracks an eye open to find Logan standing beside the car, his arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow cocked. Thomas’s lips curl up in a faint smile.

“I know, Logan.”

“If you know, then why do you appear to be falling asleep in the middle of an abandoned parking lot?”

Thomas sits up. “I wasn’t falling asleep.”

Logan hums, seemingly unconvinced. “All the same. Optimal rest is necessary for you to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

“I know.” Thomas shakes his head a little, still smiling, and leans back again. “But this is nice.”

“This?” Thomas can hear the skepticism and confusion in Logan’s voice and tries not to laugh.

“Yes,” Thomas replies. He shifts over. “Take a seat. Try it out for yourself.”

There’s a brief pause, and Thomas isn’t sure whether or not Logan is going to take him up on the offer. Then Logan climbs up on the car, mirroring Thomas’s position beside him except for the folding his hands across his stomach rather than behind his head. Thomas smiles again. He’s a little surprised, although he supposes he shouldn’t be. Logan was the part of him that sought to learn, after all. And if Logan didn’t understand the appeal of something, he could usually be convinced to try it at least once.

“See?” Thomas says after a moment. “It’s nice.”

Logan doesn’t reply right away. “Perhaps.”

“The whole day was kind of nice, actually,” Thomas continues. He lets his eyes drift closed again. “It felt… normal.”

“Normal is a widely subjective term, Thomas.”

“Normal for me, I mean.” He takes in a deep breath of the night air. “Filming, livestreaming, hanging out with Joan. I think maybe I needed that. I needed a day to just be… normal again. Maybe not everything has to change, y’know?”

Logan doesn’t say anything. Thomas feels him shift beside him and he cracks an eye open. Logan is looking up at the sky. The streetlights reflect off the lens of his glasses. A short gust of wind tugs at the end of his stiped tie. There’s something in his expression that Thomas can’t quite read.

He doesn’t dwell on it. Thomas follows Logan’s gaze back up to the sky. “Do you remember,” Thomas asks, “when I was like, seven and wanted to be an astronaut?”

“Yes,” Logan replies. “I do remember that. It was an aspiration that lasted for nearly a full year.”

Thomas glances over at him. “Do you wish I still wanted that?”

Logan adjusts the frame of his glasses before folding his hands across his stomach again. “I don’t believe it’s that simple. I was more than content at your chosen field, Thomas, short-lived as your use of it may have been.”

“You’re talking about chemical engineering.”

“Indeed.” Logan is still looking up at the sky above them. “Although, such fields of study have many unexpected benefits. Perhaps it will prove useful yet.”

The corner of Thomas’s lips curls up in a faint smile. “Perhaps,” he says, echoing Logan from a moment ago. A comfortable silence settles between them. For all the times that Logan and Thomas had been at odds with each other, he’d never doubted that Logan was doing his best to look out for him, just like all of them always did. Most of the time, Thomas found Logan’s company a quiet kind of grounding. Calming. Tonight was no exception to that.

Thomas listens to the crickets and sound of distant car tires rolling on pavement for a long moment. His eyes drift shut again.

“You are getting tired,” Logan says softly, moments before Thomas was about to fall asleep. “I really must insist that you go home to ensure your safety.”

Thomas blinks his eyes open and sits up. He scrubs a hand across his eyes, bangs falling across his face in the process, and smiles tiredly at Logan as the Logical Side sits up beside him.

“You got it, Logan.” He pauses, the smile a little. “And… thanks.”

…

[lady-griffin]

There’s also a brilliance in how many of the characters are held back by their ‘now’ maladaptive survival techniques.

In real life, humans are very good at survival. Scary good. If something helps us survive and keeps us going, or even lessens the pain, our minds often latch onto it.

Leading to a new problem, basically the way in which we survived, holds us back from a healthy life or creates new traumas for us.

Silco survived by full on embracing his trauma, so it wouldn’t have power over him, so the fear wouldn’t control him.

Silco is able to work in a prominently underwater base, where being underwater is inescapable; he can think of his drowning in a calm manner and even find a positive in the experience; interact and ‘trust’ a whole bunch of different people that they’re not going to drown him; and face his sources of trauma (Vander, the pilt, Piltover) head on.

That’s impressive. That shouldn’t be ignored or not seen as a positive thing.

BUT how Silco did this, we can clearly see has led to some very maladaptive behaviors.

Silco has become consumed by proving his traumas don’t control him.

Silco is able to work with others without the fear of being drowned, because he has cut himself off emotionally from others. Silco doesn’t have a close attachment or any emotional bond with anyone he interacts with, so while yes, he is not terrified Singed might kill or drown him; it’s because Silco isn’t allowing himself to trust another person to the point that they can betray him, and if they did betray him, he’d not going to be emotionally hurt by it.

The physical act of being drowned by Vander hurt him for sure, look at his scar; but the emotional pain also did quite the number on him.

Now we do see Silco was able to form a significant and sincere emotional bond with Jinx.

But instead of this being a stepping stone to trusting, relying on and bonding with others, Silco just closes off his walls again, but this time, isolating his and jinx’s relationship inside.

Silco tries to protect Jinx from the betrayal he went through. He doesn’t want her to be controlled by her by own trauma or fear, but he also doesn’t want Jinx to be devastated when someone betrays her in the future, he doesn’t want her to be in that position.

But he isolated her. He made her trauma worse, by making her paranoid and unwilling to believe others when they actually don’t have ill will towards her (including Silco).

He left her with no security net, when he dies. She has no one. She’s alone.

Silco was her only significant bond. Vi and Ekko are from her days as powder, Jinx only had Silco.

And that’s the thing with survival tactics. They’re great. They help us in the moment and aftermath when we needed them most.

But, they’re for surviving, not for living.

The methods you used to help you to keep going forward, aren’t bad; but more often than not, they hold us back from living our lives.

i think what arcane does well is directly highlight how trauma, or the experience of being traumatized, is an inescapable by-product of living in/being raised in the socioeconomic conditions of zaun. the show also doesnt shy away from the idea that having or being with people who call themselves your “family” doesnt “solve” a person’s trauma; harm is harm, and being able to overcome that trauma takes time, and care, and meaningful processing of that trauma, beyond someone telling you that they’re on your side.

jinx and vi are the most obvious examples of this, so i wont talk about them here, but it’s interesting to see how all of the characters experience and grapple with some sort of trauma over the course of the series. 

silco, despite literally overthrowing vander, the symbol of his trauma, can’t help but keep talking about him—while this may be a strategy to remove jinx from her attachment to vander by consistently painting him in the worst possible light, i feel that silco is also struggling to process why vander, his brother, would try and brutally murder him. it seems that vander did this because he and silco had a split in their ideologies towards what zaun should do against piltover, with silco being the “sacrificial lamb” for peace. vander himself cannot forget or forgive what he has done, with his scar being the physical manifestation of that betrayal (and he *looks at singed* will be further traumatized). the politics of P&Z, then, provide the backdrop against which this trauma occurs—without it, vander and silco would arguably never have been pushed to their extremes. in a way, he reminds me of the mariner in Rime of the Ancient Mariner, who feels compelled to repeat his horrific experiences to those he meets and are willing to listen—despite all appearances, silco is still haunted by vander’s influence (and the pain he inflicted on him). his struggle to process his own trauma leads him to isolate jinx, allowing her to give in to her impulses under the idea that so long as they are “family,” they will never be consumed by their worst fears.  

ekko, despite being well-adjusted and proactively combatting the harms being done to the people of zaun, is also traumatized. his friends are killed in front of him by the person who was once powder, yet he also can’t help but memorialize her, clinging on to the memory of times when they could still be children. when vi hugs him after their reunion, we see, for a moment, not the leader of the firelights, but a young person who is scared and burdened by his role, one which is, again, a response to silco’s power over zaun and the political currency that shimmer has taken in and outside of it.

viktor is interesting because in addition to the obvious moment of trauma that he undergoes when sky is killed, his experience as a disabled zaunite in piltover is arguably a more potent, though less visible, form of social trauma, in which his personal agency as a reform-minded scientist is diminished by the lack of recognition that piltover gives to that agency. of course viktor believes in himself, of course he is intelligent and determined enough to make breakthroughs in his work, but the systemic restrictions created by ableism, class, and politics within piltover’s upper echelons—as well as his physical disease—arguably force him to experience a self-imposed “exile” from the human connections and social outlets that meaningfully would address that trauma. There’s also just the heartbreaking way that Viktor’s terminal illness is framed—at a surface level, baby viktor is traumatized from the sight of rio’s suffering, but at a thematic level, he is also re-traumatized when circumstances situate him as “another rio,” dying and (in the context of his political status as a Zaunite in Piltover) voiceless, not truly understood by heimerdinger or jayce (and how could they? one is immortal (with his own traumas with magic) and the other is trying his best to help but cannot, because of his good health and relatively privileged economic background, fully grasp the frustration and desperation of feeling a body break down from a disease caused by living in poverty as a child), and forced to rely, like rio, on singed. 

jayce and caitlyn, coming from the privilege of well-off families in piltover, experience trauma in relation to seeing the poverty and exploitation of zaun, and the violence that has resulted from the p&z conflict, with their own eyes. while this is not comparable to the lived experiences of those who come from zaun, this is, thematically, another “crossing the line” moment—the divisions between piltover and zaun, imposed and enforced by piltover, are breaking down in the sense that piltover can no longer turn a blind eye to its own complicity in engendering trauma. 

mel is another interesting case because her trauma stems from her fraught history with noxus and her mother. being exposed to the brutal bloodshed caused by noxus’ militaristic culture at such a young age is a trauma that will never leave mel, and, like the mariner, she expresses those experiences through art—her paintings arguably reflect the vibrancy and turmoil of her inner thoughts, otherwise guarded because of her political responsibilities. her trauma lingers on in the form of her mother, and specifically, her mother’s decision to exile her. while her mother may view this as the right thing to do (both for mel’s development and her own conscience), mel is the one who is burdened with this familial trauma—she clearly still respects and cares for her mother, but her mother’s emotional callousness, the dedication to noxus’ destructive ideals, and the flippancy with which her mother treats human lives all harm mel, and her mother does not see that. she is torn between her duty to family, her sense of needing to “prove her worth” to her mother, and her desire to pursue non-violent/more compassionate means of politics (though this compassion has not been extended to zaun for much of the series). being her mother’s daughter doesn’t erase her trauma, because forgiveness is earned and not bought with blood relationships, but i think it is meaningful that mel, like some of the other characters, slowly finds a way to deal this familial burden, the weight of her trauma, as act 3 nears its end. 

but harm is harm, and the harms done to zaun will inevitably be felt in its sister city, either at a personal or at a systemic level, and jinx’s missile—a last cry from someone who never had the chance to inch forward to a better life, away from the hurt she has shouldered from her city or her family—shatters that healing, that progress, that shining tower of dreams unattained.