#but seriously Jinx would be such a good villain

[deemee-ed]

alright, Jinx theory suckerss

this is probably a pretty basic theory, but I'm convinced Jinx will be the main antagonist in Season 2. And not just any antagonist, I believe she has it in her to be the VILLAIN. Hear me out:

Jinx may not have been the main antagonist in season 1, but we already know enough of her to understand her personality and motives

First of all, Jinx loves being a joy hunter. She's the opposite of Scratch in this: if she has a job, she's gonna do it. And she's gonna make sure to succeed. She even has her little army of sadfuckers sobgoblins following her orders. She loves her job. With Scratch as the new Chairman and going "yeah, y'all do whatever you want, I don't care" Jinx lost all her worth in the Ghost World. It doesn't matter how good she is at being a joy hunter, her role isn't needed anymore. I hardly doubt she enjoys this new government

Second, she is VERY determined to carry out her plans. And by that I mean she has no problems hurting others. She was willing to kill Molly (A CHILD) without hesitation, and right after Scratch revealed his friendship with a human Jinx immediately took him away to send him to the Flow of Failed Phantoms. She even sent Geoff in there because he was helping Molly. Yeah, she's not messing around.

Third, she HATES Molly and Scratch. Sure, this wasn't said out loud, but c'mon. Who wouldn't hate the people who basically got you fired? The people who got rid of a ruler you actually enjoyed following?

Fourth, we gotta look at a bigger picture for this one. So...

According to Bill Motz (one of the show's two creators), ghosts can become corrupted because of many reasons, one of them being focusing too much on themselves and their desires (↓his explanation↓)

Jinx suddenly finds herself in a completely different society with different rules that don't make her role relevant anymore. SHE is not relevant anymore. All the power she had is useless now. All her skills, all her gadgets. They are useless. SHE is useless. And I think this will get to her... What I'm trying to say is, I believe Jinx will become corrupted. We may see her normal self again first, but eventually she will be corrupted.

And... remember how corrupted ghosts change their look? Yeah... there's a certain ghost that caught my attention from the Season 2 trailer...

Let's assume that this is Jinx's corrupted form. Looks a lot like the Chairman, doesn't she?

Based on the look, I believe Jinx will not only come back as an enemy, BUT she will also become the new Chairman. Or at least she'll try to become that. A Chairman that wants to spread misery out of pure enjoyment, a corrupted ghost desperately trying to destroy joy.

Yeah. I believe Jinx will be the villain of this show.

EXTRAsss

If I'm wrong, Future me don't you dare making fun of me for this theory, you know we both want it to be true

I'm so hoping that we'll get a villain Jinx song UGH that would be SO COOL

Also Jinx literally appears in the Season 2 poster so she HAS to come back

she's judging the disney logo

[ablobwhowrites]

I wanna see some of the ex villain y/n au like it’s seriously seems so interesting and it could be good fuel for an amazing fanfic or something. Though I kinda wanna ask you to expand on that idea a bit more and what y/ns age would be is he more around Bruce’s age or dicks or Jason’s or Tim’s or Damian’s? I read a lot of Batman fanfics so. anyway enjoy your day/night

(Major heads up cause this is just me yapping)

Ex villain y/n is about the same age as Dick Grayson and basically lives with the batfamily at the manor and basically is traumatized to hell and back from their villain life and still now from having to deal with healing now. (They need years of therapy and lots of hugs and some hot cocoa and a blanket)

Because of a bad deck they where given had them spiral down because similar to jinx, they basically have two of themselves, one their villain persona they developed with the real them buried deep down but in a constant spiral down from their real self. Also taking inspiration to the jack stauber song ‘we see you, opal’ with them seeing what they have become after years of being taken in by slade as he lead them into becoming a killing machine and to let go of their last string of their sanity but after being freed from slades grasp by batman was taken in and helped by Batman.

Then it’s only the battle with themselves now. And even the villains are like ‘holy shit this kid is fucked up’ and do sometimes are able to take y/n under their wing to embrace revenge on people who wronged y/n. This also goes with the hero’s but more of trying to help them go back to normal or in a way without having revenge and just to try and fix themselves from being a villain maybe. (When they find out the shit slade did. Bro is going to die cause like bro made y/n a killing machine and basically kinda like that psychological stuff that happened with robin in the original teen titans show.) but over all when y/n is healing they show their interest with inventing and make small stuff like making little windup animals or drawing random things on papers or if their lucky going to go spray paint place when Jason, Tim or Dick are able to sneak them on patrol and Alfred keeps that a secret as he does sometimes have a sit down with y/n and let y/n talk and he listens or he talks and y/n listens. But sometimes they do snap at people sometimes and do get scared because of what they see themselves as, feeling like they are just a trapped in a jail of their own making and jinxing themselves on ever getting better than what slade made them. Maybe one day they will be free from their cage as door was never locked and it’s only y/n to take the step forward to open it.

(anyways, hope y'all like it plus if you like it, you guys can request more if you'd like. Might change their lore later but over all that's some of it. Hope y'all like it, drink water and stay healthy guys)

[superectojazzmage]

Among my mounting bad/unsure feelings about Arcane season two is a feeling of... I don't know, weirded outness over how Jinx is being handled. Just the way they seem to almost be trying to pretend like she wasn't depicted in season one as basically a sadistic, bloodthirsty, would-be school shooter who did shit like shooting animals for fun or blowing up buildings to try and impress her dad.

Like, the narrative of this season seems to be going out of it's way to handle her with kids gloves in a way that season one didn't, treating her as if she's just a "lol so quirky" kind of character or even a genuine revolutionary hero to be idolized as Zaun's leader compared to season one's "oh this lady is genuinely dangerously unstable and a threat to everyone around her". She's not treated as a villain - albeit a tragic one - she's treated like she's a flawed hero at worst.

Hell, I mean, you see it with the whole plot of Zaun following Jinx as a symbol of revolt. Because all throughout season one, Jinx's relationship with Zaun in even the most charitable light amounted to everyone except Silco being fucking TERRIFIED of her or outright hating her guts, and with good reason as she did nothing but make everyone's situations worse by being a mood-swinging killer who attacks anyone and anything around her at the slightest provocation and constantly goes into violent, hallucinatory fugue states at even the most mild of stresses. But than she blows up the council and suddenly everyone is literally equating her with a god worshiped in Zaun? Imagine if you saw people claiming the Unabomber was the Second Coming and you get an idea of how bizarre that is.

Everyone regarded Jinx as a walking bomb in season one. Even a lot of Silco's allies - from Sevika to Marcus - spent said first season saying Jinx was out-of-control and that killing her would be doing Silco a favor, and that was objectively true, especially considering Jinx ends up directly murdering Silco in yet another fit of blind rage and panic. Now we get season two and anyone who seriously opposes Jinx seems to be treated like either a jerk or a burgeoning extremist for not liking a terrorist who kills people because the voices in her head say to do it, and some people who despised Jinx in season like Sevika now act like they're just mildly annoyed by her childishness and weird behavior (something else that was played in a very creepy light in s1, but now seems treated like it's harmless).

Her crimes from season one and even this season are kinda brushed over; there's tepid acknowledgment that she killed Caitlyn's mom and two other councilors, but that's it and nobody really dwells on the fact that she basically did fantasy 9/11. And likewise, Caitlyn is treated as if she's becoming a violent zealot for shooting at Jinx while Isha is near, but nobody so much as comments on Jinx outright murdering numerous children through Grey-bombing Piltover or literally shooting a teenage Firelight in the back in season one just because she looked like Vi.

Speaking of Isha, I hate to say it, but she really does feel like she has no reason for existing beyond making Jinx look better. No themes of Jinx perpetuating the kind of abuse Silco inflicted on her by raising to be the monster she is, no acknowledgment of how dangerous somebody like Jinx would be as a mother, no questioning of the ethics of Jinx's actions, and Isha watching Jinx murder people is framed in a silly, comedic light compared to season one's blunt depiction of how Powder being exposed to violence from a young age warps her. Isha throws straight KILLS HERSELF via suicide bombing and it's framed as a heroic, beautiful act and not a horrific sight of a child being so radicalized by the terrorist that raised her that she thinks killing others and eve herself "for the cause" is good. The series dangles her and Jinx being friendly with each other in front of you like a parent jangling car keys at an infant. "Oooh look at Jinx and Isha dancing and dying their hair haha it's so cute don't think about bad things, Jinx is nice now!".

I just honestly am not a fan of this "Harley Quinnification" of Jinx after season one went out of it's way to tear down that kind of character. Such a big part of Jinx's portrayal there was ripping apart the idea of this manic pixie terrorist who is Totes Awesomes and only hurts bad guys as part of it's larger themes of the ugliness of violence and the dangers of valorizing it. And I really feel like we're losing that. Not even just with Jinx, but with Zaun as a whole, this season feels like it's going full "everything is Piltover's fault, Zaun didn't do nothing wrong, those Piltover babies should just shut up and let themselves be attacked for being big stupid oppressor doodoo heads!!!!" which feels very counterproductive to the series' messages and like frankly shit writing.

[gothamite-rambler]

Nightwing and Control Freak being frenemies

Context: Control Freak has mellowed out in the villain game, he does a lot of team ups and messing around, but when you reach a certain age of villainy you get bored. Nightwing is oddly one of the few heroes he likes in a frenemy way.

Nightwing and Control Freak stand on the sidelines as the other Titans engage in battle, their attention half on the fray and half on each other.

Control Freak (furrowing his brow): We should be fighting, right?

Nightwing (crossing his arms, looking unaffected): You're not a threat at the moment.

Control Freak (nervously chuckling): Same to you. So, uh… you want to talk about favorite movies? We might fight over that.

Nightwing (shrugging): Sure, why not? What's the scariest horror movie you've ever watched?

Control Freak (perking up): Good question! "Cabin Fever," the original. A lot of people don’t like that guy's movies, but I'm an Eli Roth fan. They're just insane, hardcore horror flicks.

Nightwing (smirking): So, you’re a fan of Rob Zombie's movies?

Control Freak (shaking his head emphatically): Nope! I could never get into them. It felt like he was forcing the bleak and edgy tone. It’s like, dude, you’re remaking Halloween—chill out.

Nightwing (nodding): I see your point, but I’d argue the first Halloween remake he did wasn’t terrible.

Control Freak (raising a finger): Okay, I’ll give that one a pass. It’s the sequel that felt… like—

Nightwing (interjecting, chuckling): A pizza cutter? All edge and no point.

Control Freak (grinning): Exactly! That's a great observation—I'm definitely using that. "The Devil's Rejects" had that edgy vibe, celebrating the bad guys with zero redeeming qualities. As a villain, I appreciate the praise, but honestly, none of the characters in that film were likable at all.

Nightwing (chuckling, nodding): Right? Not good when I’m rooting for nobody by the time the credits roll.

Control Freak (leaning in, eager): Exactly! I've rambled about my horror movie tastes; your turn. Let me guess: Friday the 13th!

Control Freak chuckled dryly, clearly joking around.

Nightwing (shaking his head): Nah, that stopped being scary after Jason went to Manhattan.

Control Freak (scoffing playfully): Don’t forget space!

Nightwing: True! Then it became enjoyably dumb horror. Honestly, the movie that scares me is "High School Musical." When those movies were out, I was terrified everyone would randomly start singing and dancing, and I’d be the only one who doesn’t know the words.

Nightwing let out a laugh-cackle, and Control Freak nodded in agreement with his perspective.

Control Freak: I respect that—I had to deal with those movies in high school. Gabrielle this, Troy that, dang it Sharpay was the true character to root for.

Nightwing (smirking): You would root for her, I respect that as well. The songs are catchy though.

Control Freak (chuckles): Facts.

Nightwing (leaning against a wall casually): You into musicals? There’s this one about a zombie outbreak where the zombies burst into song.

Control Freak (raising an eyebrow): Give me that title later. But be serious now—what’s the craziest intentional horror movie you’ve seen?

Nightwing (scratching his chin thoughtfully): Honestly, I can't think of anything I watched a long time ago, but "Smile" really got to me.

Control Freak (crossing his arms, nodding seriously): Hmph. We’re not fighting over that—because I freaking love that movie!

Suddenly, Raven slid over to the group after a punch from Jinx. She stood up, glaring at the men.

Raven (exasperated): For the love of—could you two stop chatting and fight?!

Control Freak (putting his hands up defensively): Excuse me, we’re talking, ma’am! Have you seen "Malignant"?

Nightwing (smirking again): Yes! It got awesome in the middle, didn't it?

Control Freak (enthusiastically agreeing): Dude, yes!

Raven (rolling her eyes, frustrated): Don’t mind us—enjoy your conversation about lame horror movies!

Raven stood and stomped off, grumbling to herself.

Control Freak (looking after her, bewildered): No offense, but I thought she'd be into horror movies.

Nightwing (chuckling softly): Nah, she gets nightmares. Just ignore her. So, what did you think was the best scene in "Malignant"?

Control Freak (grinning broadly): This is going to be a long talk because if we’re diving into favorite horror scenes, we really need to discuss the wild stuff in "Smile."

Beast Boy smiled, watching the two men engaged in conversation.

Beast Boy (with a big grin): That’s nice to see.

Raven (calling from a distance): Beast Boy!

Beast Boy (startled): I'M COMING, BABE!

[waywardsou2]

I just finished Arcane

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

I have spent the last 20 minutes laying on my bed and visibly shaking and violently sobbing.

Did anyone else have a visceral and physical reaction to watching that finale?

I don't even know where to begin I'm kinda just writing whatever comes to my mind first (which is kinda hard because my hands are shaking)

That...I was all over the place whilst watching that ending. I mean I couldn't tell who was dead, who was alive. I couldn't even tell who the fuck was winning at some points.

I loved the alternate realities. The dramatic juxtaposition between the two realities and their original onces was insane.

Ekko's life with Jinx and them building the machine it took Jayce and Viktor fucking years to build and making it even better?! LIke how the fuck did they do that?!?1

And then...how Vi died in that universe and Jinx had a bit of her hair in her own Thor and Loki style was...it hurt my heart

AND FUCKING POWDER AND EKKO. My god everyone was winning with their ships today. I ship it so much I fucking love them

And then Jayce falling down that fucking ravine and then having to bUILD THE SAME FUCKING LEG BRACE VIKTOR HAD

LIKE CMON DO YOU WANT TO DIE OF HEART FAILURE?!?!?

I mean did he help Viktor make a new brace?! Or did he study the notes Viktor had on his own leg brace and commit them to memory? LIKE HOW IN THE NAME OF FUCK did he remember how to build that because it was almost exactly the same.

And then fucking climb out of that ravine and then all the way to the top of the academy

AND I FUCKING KNEW THAT MAGE GUY WAS VIKTOR FROM SEASON 1 I FUCKING KNEW IT

And everything made sense in the end. Like the writers did so well at tying up every important loose end. Every character had an answer of some sort and every plot point linked up again

They did so well

I want to marry the entire crew.

But the fact that Jayce kept fighting for Viktor. I hated how he smashed Viktor in episode 4 (and not in the way I would have liked, if you catch my drift)

But it made sense in the end.

And the fact that he saved Viktor, how gay could these two get seriously. Honestly if anyone want's to might me that Jayvik isn't canon come and get me. Because that is a confession if I have ever seen one and I will fucking fight anyone who agrees otherwise. You people are blind

SPEAKING OF SHIPS

FUCKING VI AND CAIT. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. A WAR WAS ABOUT TO BREAK OUT AND THEY DECIDED TO FUCK?!?!?

I mean good for them I wasn't complaining. Finally, we got another amazing ship even more confirmed. Double confirmed even

(I am still shaking so fucking bad right now)

Literally everyone one here.

Viktor x Sky, Viktor x Jayce, Jayce x Mel, Ekko x Jinx, Vi x Cait, Vander x Felicia, Vander x Silco

Fucking everyone won here I would say. There is enough content for all of these ships to argue about them being canon in some capicty

Props to the fucking writers for how amazing this was

This was good fucking media

Strong female characters without making the male characters incopetend

LGBT representation for Lesbians, Trans people, Gay people, Bi people and gender non conforming people

Almost everyone won here

We got fantasy, sci-fi, redemption, good villains, villains you love to hate. Literally every character was hot. We got allies to lovers to enemies to lovers. We had so much fucking whump and angst

Literally everything was right there

Are you fucking kidding me

This was made by the people for the people

And the fight scenes and the art and the juxtapose of all the characters stories plus all of the overlapping similarities.

I just...I can't get over it. I am still. fucking. shaking.

I have so much to write and draw about now. I was working on an OC of mine and now I have so many one-shots I want to write. I almost don't want to do any canon divergence or AUs because it is so good with how it is. Honestly I think this is the only peice of media I have no descrepincies with.

I literally wouldn't change a thing

Despite having many characters gone I would like back. I just wouldn't change it

OMFG AND JINX'S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT (i ALMOST FORGOT) ARE YOU KIDDING ME. HER WHOLE ARC THROUGHOUT THE SERIES WAS AMAING!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I'll probably make another post after this is if I think of anything else but for now this is it.

(If I make a pt 2 you can find it here)

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

"We're gonna pull the greatest prank on Earth C."

Everyone turns to Egbert, a question in their eyes on the tip of their tongues. Egbert is wearing pants today but that's not always indicative of Egbert's preferred gender. As if sensing their confusion, Egbert grins widely.

"Hey guys, it's ya gurl, June here, with another behind the scenes video-" There's a flash of light and the aged copy of Colonel Sassacre's tome appears in her hands. "-we're about to push our prankster gambit through the roof."

"You keep saying that, as if saying it twice will explain anything," Jade points out.

"Well, I was thinking..."

"A dangerous endeavor for a rank amateur like yourself." Terezi cackles.

"Hush, grown ups are talking." June flaps a hand towards her, causing a burst of breeze. "Guys, we're gods."

"An astute observation," Rose says wryly.

"We're off to a great start," Dirk adds.

"Yeeeeeeees, but gods are like boom thunder lightning pchoooo floods and famine. They're like big freaking deals with fifty thousand stories. We're nothing like that!"

"Are you saying we should be?" Dave fakes a gasp. "Bug, is this the start of your villain arc?"

"Of course not, don't be an idiot, Dave! I'm just saying... what if people you know... Like right now, we have one actual story - our story - the way we lived, blah blah bluh. But so I was talking to Callie and they brought up a really good point about interpretations of characters and sure there's a singular canon characterization but reading is translation - it was a whole thing. The point-"

"So you do have one?" Terezi jeers.

"The point! If we want to not get freakin' mobbed by all of future Earth C-ians? C-ese? Whatever, then we gotta be a little more... mysterious. We gotta make them think they know us, but they really don't. We gotta have fifty thousand fan-interpretations. So when we walk down the street, we won't be recognized!"

"What if we want the recognition?" Jane cuts in. "We're gods now, as you said, and Earth C is our world to shape and rule as we see fit!"

"Woah, Janey..." Roxy sighs.

"Well, it's true."

"I wouldn't mind a time in the spotlight, myself..." Jake murmurs.

"With all due respect," Rose says to Jane. "We're sixteen going on seventeen. Of course, we want recognition - attention - perhaps even worship. But there's no reason we can't gain that masquerading as mortals. I'm sure a young woman of your caliber would be up to such a task." She crosses her arms and tilts her head up. "Not to put too fine a point on it but would gaining fame through godhood really satisfy you? Are you not a woman who like things a little hard, maybe even rough?"

"I love the way you make everything sound so gay," June jumps in. "But can we not hit on my ectomom in front her ectokid?"

"Seconded," Jade says, with ears flat against her head.

Jane puffs up. "Are you really trying to goad me into joining this-"

"It's a prank! Janey, I thought you looooooove pranks!" Roxy chimes in, cutting off Jane before she could really get going.

Dirk frowns, catching Rose's eye. "You seem really into this... Did you See something?"

"Are you saying I can't enjoy the occasional jape or jest, father dear?"

Dirk grimaces with his whole body. "Woah. How about no - never -"

"I'm down," Dave says, because Rose smells blood in the water and she's ready to tear Bro a new one. You just don't set Rose loose on an unsuspecting Bro. It's like part of the Bro-code.

"What? Seriously, Dave?" Karkat shouts.

"C'mon dude, like what's even the harm if we let her pull off this prank?"

"I - Sure! I fucking guess! Apart from we're trusting her to do anything right-"

"Hey!" June yells.

"Check it - she's basically throwing down a smokescreen all ninja style, confusing enemies and vanishing into the night. That's pretty dope."

"Whatever! Fine, I said it's fine! I just wanna go through the damn door before we fucking jinx ourselves again."

"As much as it pains me to admit, Baja Blast has a good idea," Terezi says as if each word was a pulled tooth from her mouth.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" June smirks. "I couldn't hear you, way up here. Mind saying that again? Louder this time so everyone can hear?"

"Oh June-buggy, I hope you die and I hope I'm there." Terezi licks her teeth.

"If Rose is championing June's cause, then I trust her," Kanaya adds.

"We can live like superheroes!" Jake claps his hands, wrapping his head around the idea. "We'll have secret alternate identities while we go about our mild-mannered lives! That's sporting good fun!"

Dirk and Jane share a look. Despite his shades, they somehow manage to communicate via expression alone. After many seconds of silence, Jane sighs and shrugs, which in turn causes Dirk to nod slightly.

"It does sound... fun..." Jane offers a shy grin. "The mischief we could accomplish with such a trick! I can only imagine."

Dirk turns to June. "So how are we doing this? How are we making this happen?"

June cheers. "I'm so glad you asked! Because I'm gonna need your help!"

[strawbunnysposts]

I binged a lot of Arcane edits and I have a disagreement with a common view on the character Silco. A lot of people say that he's the best father figure as in comparison to Vander.

I disagree ☝️🤓

Obviously, don't take my opinion seriously, I just want my opinion down because I love talking. It seems like the people behind Arcane purposefully made their interactions uncomfortable: reminder, that weird "baptism" scene.

Silco might have gained some fatherly-esque affection towards Jinx later on, but everything he does involving her just feels selfish and manipulative. At the end he says he would have never given her up and while it's a touching moment, she did just shoot him and he was dying. He didn't have to tell her the truth. His whole goal was to separate her from her family, which he did. Even if he really wasn't going to give her up, why? Is it because he cares about her or would it because he loses one of his biggest aspects?

But the thing about saving her life? Yeah, I'm a bit torn on that, because he saved her, but at what cost? I don't know if Vander would have done the same thing, I doubt it, but it just felt icky to me.

I just think it's weird that the fanbase romanticizes a kidnapper 😅 Like, yes, Silco is a good villain because his emotions and thought process are complex, but to say a man who manipulated and kidnapped a girl (and also killed her family) was the best father figure to said girl - I just think its weird.

Again, if you like the character Silco, I get it. I do like Silco as a villain, or antagonist, I'm merely stating my opinion because I like yapping 😋

[tgammsideblog]

Future Villain Arc for Jinx

For those who haven’t been keeping up with the most recent show’s AMAs, it has been confirmed by the creators that Jinx is going to be a main villain in Season 2. She also appeared in the Season 2 trailer, in what it looks like a nightmare sequence involving a dream version of her threatening Molly and Scratch.

Jinx appears in the Season 2 poster too. She is on top of the series’ title, glaring at Molly and Scratch who are under her. This already was hinting at her being an important character in this season, in this case, a main antagonist.

An interesting detail is that the Ghost Council except for Lucretia (who is looking curiously at Molly and Scratch) looks annoyed by Jinx’s presence, almost as they don’t want her to be there. While it doesn’t say much about the roles the Ghost Council is going to play this season, the poster hints that they are unlikely to join forces with Jinx and take Scratch out his chairman role. So far the Ghost Council has shown to be okay with Scratch being the new Chairman. This, however, could change in future episodes.

Going back to Jinx, she is a character that was first introduced in ¨The Jig Is Up¨ and she was an antagonist in the segment that followed ¨Molly vs The Ghost World¨. In both segments she was potrayed as someone who takes her job as joy hunter seriously, more than one time she express how it is her passion and what drives her in her afterlife. For Jinx being a joy hunter isn’t only just a job, it is her purpose. She showed to be clever and quite manipulative as she was pretending to be searching for the source of joy in Brighton, when in reality she was suspicious of Scratch having a human friend. In addition to this, she has a sadistic side, as she enjoys the idea of hunting and making people miserable.

Jinx is someone who cares about ghosts following the rules enforced by the Chairman and the Ghost Council. She is authoritarian and believes that those ghosts who break the rules should be sent to the Flow of Failed Phantoms or punished. She thinks of joy itself as some kind of disease and something that doesn’t belong to Ghost World.

Based on how important her job as joy hunter was to her, she very unlikely isn’t in favor of Scratch being the new chairman and dislikes even more how Scratch got rid of the scare reports and is giving more freedom to the ghosts. It wouldn’t be surprising if she got jealous of Scratch’s position as well given how she always worked hard in her job while Scratch was usually lazy in his role as scarer in Brighton. Jinx could think that she is someone more deserving of that role and that someone like Scratch shouldn’t be ruling in the Ghost World. All this is enough motivation for her to come up with a plan to become the new ruler of the Ghost World or to get revenge on Molly and Scratch.

Now, the thing is what her plan could be? Scratch is the only capable of using the Chairman’s robe (confirmed in an recent AMA).This means that if Jinx wants to rule the Ghost World, she can’t just steal the robe and use it to become the new chairman. She has to come up with a more complicated plan.

One theory i have is that she could come up with different scenarios to ruin Scratch’s reputation as a leader. Considering that Scratch doesn’t have the best qualities to be a good leader, it shouldn’t be too complicated for Jinx to make him look bad in front of other ghosts. Jinx could cause chaos in the Ghost World (without others finding out it was her) until many ghosts start to have doubts over Scratch as chairman. They would start to question why their ruler isn’t acting responsible as he should be. Jinx could take advantage of this and persuade others to think that she would be a better leader instead of Scratch.

After gaining some following, Jinx would have to come up with a plan to make Scratch lose the Chairman’s robe. She could also steal it and hide it somewhere where Scratch wouldn’t be able to find it. Without the robe, Scratch wouldn’t have the control and powers he needs to be the chairman. He would be powerless and other more powerful ghosts could easily beat him. That’s when Jinx could take control over the Ghost World and make the ghosts listen to her instead of Scratch. 

What follows would be Molly and Scratch trying to get control of the Ghost World back and maybe Scratch having a character arc about him realizing how irresponsible he has been regarding his duties as chairman. It could be about him redeeming himself and becoming a better leader by the end of the season.

It’s going to be interesting to see what plan she is going to come up with to mess with Scratch and Molly this season. Whatever it is, it looks like it is going to be huge.

[nightglider124]

Titans: Season 4 - Ep7 & Ep8 - Thoughts

Okay, now that I have watched the episodes multiple times (actually just the good bits tehe), I have overall thoughts and I thought I would share them!

I’m gonna try and focus on the stuff non dickkory related buuut if you catch me slipping, soz. I have always been very vocal about my priorities in this show and they are in the main three.

Episode 7: Caul’s Folly

The bit at the beginning where they like said bye to Jinx, I found kinda sweet. I still feel like she is going to pop up again. I don’t feel like she is proper dead... Maybe I am wrong but I haven’t seen anything to say the actress wasn’t returning for part 2 or anything. I would personally prefer if they kept her dead moreso cos I don’t feel she has any more of a part to play in the rest of it but yeah. At first, I didn’t think they were even gonna mention her and then Rachel did and I was like lmao okay cool. Glad that was cleared up. XD

Honestly, they’ve done such a good job of getting the vibe of bonkers cult for the Church of Blood like it’s so full of whackos but it all feels so believable tbh. I like Sebastian; he’s an interesting character and villain. I’ve always liked the Brother Blood storyline in all media forms through the years and this is no different.

I AM MISSING GAR TERRIBLY ALREADY. I proper felt his absence and I HATED IT. Like I get it, we’re gonna be getting a whole ep for my boy but like I miss his cute little face. Gar woulda been a mood if he was in the town with them. GOD. I can’t wait to see him again soon.

Conner... my guy. I fucking hate you this season. I get the Lex thing and what they’re going for and Joshua Orpin does phenomonelly as he makes it believable but FUCK ME. I am tired of his superieor bullshit XD. Like when he started blaming Dick for the plan going south, I was like are you for real and then Dick being like well fuckface we had a good plan but it went to shit cos of your dumb ass. I was like FUCK YEAH, TELL HIM DICK! I need Conner to not be a douche for much longer cos it’s grating af.

In addition to that, it was cool to see Mercy again. I was surprised since I don’t think anything had mentioned her making an appearance. Still hate her character but it was a cool little moment.

MY GOD. The whole interaction with Roberta was my absolute favourite. When she like inhaled Kory, I was cracking up and I peeped Dick’s smiling eyes ever so slightly when she did it. Hilarious. I loved it and I loved Roberta. 

I really REALLY love the clothing department for all the outfits but... my baby girl. Every outfit was a slay. OH! AND THE FUCKING JACKET!! IT SAYS WE <3 GAR AND OBVS THATS A NUDGE TO THE ICONIC SHIRT?? I really adored that little easter egg to the comics. Muchos appreciated.

I LOVE TIM AND BERNARD. They’re little idiots trying to figure shit out and I’m a sap for it tbh. AND GUUURL, they gots their own motel scene. I was like Yaaas TIM, go get your boo. I really like their relationship tbf. I was smiling through like all their scenes, especially at the motel.

Dick getting the shit kicked out of him in the police station made me physically wince; the fight-acting was amazeballs but ugh my boy, I was like bro, you’re getting fucked up. I get he obviously does not have the Nightwing suit with him but dang man, you got knocked about like a ragdoll.

I like the pace in this first episode; it brought me straight back into the flow and action of the season rather than acting as filler bs, at least I felt. 

-----

Episode 8: Dick & Carol & Ted & Kory

This episode killed me dead because of the dickkory; I just wanna get that out straight away cos... my god. It was glorious. These thoughts will be including DK cos how can I not; half the episode was them.

That frickin bedroom scene... them freaking and then Kory being like did we sleep together? And Dick is like NO. No? It was so funny; I was cackling. The comedic and the seriousness and the romance as well... it all worked surprisingly very well? Like it felt in the middle of chaos but it works?? I loved this episode more than maybe any other episode in the show. 

THE WEDDING RINGSSS. I just wanna say, they got changed. They didn’t need to keep them on. Maybe yes because they’re keeping up the appearances but PLS they both looked real comfy with wedding rings js. Some of the shots also really felt like they were intentionally showing them off. Maybe I was imagining it but some of the shots felt very pointed. Loved it.

Their outfits. THE OUTFITS. Barbieland could never. I just... they were so opposite to Dick and Kory but they looked so fucking cute. I wanted to die. It was the best thing ever. 

OH! THE MUSIC IN BOTH EPISODES FUCKING SLAPPED. The town knows how to do a playlist, ite? I was vibing for a lot of the time to the point I had to rewind bits cos I wasn’t paying attention. 

The scene with Sebastian cutting Rachel had me raging. Like, bitch lemme cut you and see what you think. Step away from my GURL. 

The scene where Dick has bought the recorders... I found Kory hilarious with her ‘Peak daddy bullshit’ line but aw, omg I felt bad for Dick like his poor face he was like, I’m just trying to save us :( It’s rare Kory proper loses her shit with him so I was like oh, this is not nice. I got her but also like he trying. 

Inhale... guys... them recording their memories... Kory’s had me sad. Anna’s voice was so sad like it was great. 

In addition to that... my poor heart when Dick came downstairs and Kory had turned into Carol like full pelt... I was like noooo. His face is like no.... no no no. Brenton does Dick’s facial expression just so damn well. 

POOR CAROL!KORY. She was so fragile all like oh im sorry, did I do something wrong. And, I really love how Dick went from yelling at her cos boy is frightened and frustrated but then softens and is like no, it’s not your fault, its mine. And yes, I adored the hand holding and promising not to leave her, even if it was her Carol self. But, I agree with others on that; Dick’s face was sad cos he knows its not Kory doing it.

KORY HEARING WHAT DICK SAID ON THE TAPE AHHHHHHHH. Im so mad tho. Like he loved her since season 1 what the actual fuck man. Which, actually makes sense why he backed off in s2 and s3 cos like Kory was the one who put it out there about them figuring themselves out before they attempted anything romantic so maybe Dick took that as she wasn’t into it as well as like the not going to San Fran with them? Which makes me sadder. Like giving her space and time but really being like i luv you Kory. UGH. IM SICK.

The radio room was grim; Dick just walking around in these blood pipes like its nothing like even Rachel was like gross dude. Dick just walks out after like nah its fine; I’m covered in some randos blood but its all good.

TEHE the last bit where Kory says about it not being the painful memories. He 10000% now knows she listened to his tape and knows he loves her. Like pls.

Ugh Conner... what are you doing and why do I feel like you’re gonna fuck shit up again, ya little douche. He best not cause any harm to the other Titans with his stupid ass antics. I swear to Jesus. 

That’s all of my long winded thoughts for both episodes! Can’t wait for next weeks and we get to see baby Gaaar!!

[yenerdybird]

Hello people of tumblr

I’m watching Arcane and I am now on ep 3

And if this is why she renamed herself Jinx I can and will cry

Oop found the thumbnail

Oh nooooo this is how she gets her name I can feeel it aaaaa

Oh dang drugs pass some over my way

Ok nvrmind I take back everything I said hurry and throw the bomb pls

Ah his little footsteps my goodness I would nvr be able to take this guy seriously

“Will you please stop hovering”

I don’t trust this counselor lady friggin sus

Is the little man noticing the tension between these two too

Monkey tiiiiime

Ok never mind what the heck

I hate this I hate everyone I hate my heart for making me feel things

Noooo the monkey head betrays me

“I knew you still-“ shut up shut your face which is stupid you stupid faced little man

Ah drugs is always the answer

Surprised pikachu face!?! We do not hit our little sisters young lady Even if they used a monkey bomb to inadvertently kill -

Ok wow for real though this is the worst. I can not imagine what they’re both going through mentally. I have little people I take care of and I can’t imagine what I would say damn

Oh my she’s gonna turn supervillain- welp! Who called it! It was me! Thanks I hate it! Talk about a villain origin story

My gift is both blessing and curse

[tails-is-cool]

[I decided to name the friend oc Light. Light has no relation to Light Yagami. This does not take itself seriously because I based Natural Causes off of my sibling and I think if I did take it seriously I would feel like I was jinxing it and I didn't want it to be like "oh haha it was all fake"]

I clear my throat away and look at the others in the meeting hall. I line up my stack of papers and clack them on the desk. The sound echoes to the darkest corners, and the green, dim movie-theater style lamps flicker.

"I called a meeting here because I will be taking some time off due to a family death."

Three people gasp. Another raises their eyebrows. Another puts two hands to their mouth in shock. Yes, I am fallible. Yes, I am glaring and this is not my usual resting expression. Yes, I have family and I'm not an orphan or only child or lonely or whatever. Yes, yes, yada yada yada. Shut up.

"As a result, you all- my closest friends, teammates, casual acquaintances, and- er, 'rivals'- get to hear my funeral rites." I pull a button out of my suit pocket and press it. A large white screen rolls down from the ceiling behind me, and a projector blinks on to display "The Obituary of A Beloved Adored Favorite YOUNGER Only Other Sibling Who Always Said She Was Older". A picture of her in the suit, smiling, is shown.

"Shit," someone says quietly. It's James. Fuck James, british fish-and-chips codswallopping gormless wallower. He didn't expect their day to go like this, did he? Neither did I, when I heard him talk about murdering my only relatively nice relative. Fuck your nice day or whatever.

"Shut the fuck up Jacob." He grumbles. "Be quiet. We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Natural Causes, the woman who fucked shit up as a climate activist, minor terrorist in the eyes of the government, disability advocate, and my sister." My friend, Light, cheers and this is why I love them. "She was great. I don't actually know what she liked other than playing those RPG video games and liking every food that I hated and vice versa, since memory issues are a bitch, but she was my sister and I fucking love her. We ate chips. Talked. We had a list of sibling quotes that were mainly me because I'm funnier. Whenever we haven't talked in a while, we just pick up again like the distance was never there. And.. now I'm, uh, not going to be able to experience that again."

Tears form in my eyes and I momentarily drop behind the lectern I'm trying to lecture behind to wipe them. I pop up again eleven seconds later and steel my gaze at James. I'd like to pretend my red eyes indicate lasers.

"She was a hero. Quite literally." Everyone momentarily "boo"s at the word. Some of them stop themselves. Light reflexively raises their hands to sign it and then puts them back down in shame. Two people continue booing well past three seconds and I take a stiletto heel from the lectern and throw it directly into the crowd in their general area. They stop.

"Unfortunately, you all had the misfortune to celebrate her death last week because she was a pain in the ass. We had a pizza party and Light got glutened by the Piescraper View three-for-one deal cauliflower crust. That one. A surprisingly foolish amount of you decided it was a good time to tell everyone how much you hated her for preventing you from blowing up hospitals, natural reserves, and election offices on voting days."

I rest one arm on the lectern and push one of the buttons in its panel with the other hand. A cage envelopes every villain in the room (not many- only six) and the place is immediately filled with the raucous protests of people who don't value human life. Light shoots a tentative look at me and pokes a foot out from between the bars. I nod. Light phases through the cage and steps out. One of the other villains transforms into a bird and swoops out of the room. They have a kid, but the four still in the cages don't have anyone who cares about them nor anyone to care about. They also don't happen to have the powers to escape. Silly me.

Someone (their villain name gets confusing sometimes) throws my stiletto heel back at me. I turn my head to watch, bored, as it flies directly past me, into the projection screen, and clatters to the ground. "You should have given that to someone with better aim," I say, and do a 'come hither' motion to Light as I press another button on the lectern. The floor recedes below the cage and the blue glow of a pool emerges as the cage slowly lowers.

"Water, really?" James says in his snooty idiot voice.

I shrug. "Drowning hurts," I stage whisper as I make my way down from the lectern and toss my suit jacket over it. I love water. I love swishing my arms in it, and really, villain life makes for amazing access to all the clean bodies of water I can swim in. Light sticks their hands in the pool next to me, smiling. Our hands ripple the water and make the light coalesce in random patterns.

"It hurts even more when you know no one is coming to save you, just like my mom never did because she never bothered to learn how to swim, just like when my dad held me underwater for a bit too long… just like right now." Light taps my shoulder (getting it wet) and raises an eyebrow at me. I shrug. "It's the last chance I'll get to traumadump on these guys." I shove a cold, drippy hand in my hair and pull out another remote control button. I click it. The cage falls into the water in a rush of bubbles and four people yelling at me. Suck it, James.

Light looks at me.

"I was getting impatient."

Light nods in understanding.

"I, uh… I am gonna have to take time off, though. It's been a lot. Would you be able to cover for me? I'll make that wheat-free bread recipe you liked last time."

Light nods in understanding.

You and your twin are opposites in this world of heroes and villains. One a villain, another a hero. You just heard one of your colleagues talk about how they killed your twin.

[gerrydelano]

g-d. silco corruption.

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

It honestly disturbs me, how much the Arcane fandom woobifys Silco.

Look, I get it. This is Tumblr, and putting villains in Leather Pants is kind of what we do here. But the extent to which the Arcane fandom coddles and even idolizes Silco is terrifying to me. Maybe I’m taking things too seriously, but it bugs me. And I feel that it needs to be out there.

-

-

Let’s get this straight. Silco was NOT:

-

A good man: This, at least, is something the fandom seems to be at least tangentially aware of so we won’t linger on it too long. But it still needs to be addressed. Silco threated to kill children, and judging by context clues he has done so in the past as it’s a credible threat. He killed, twisted, and did anything he could to get his way. But hey, again, the fandom seems to be aware of this.

-

A good leader: Silco was not a leader. He was a tyrant and a kingpin, ruling through fear and intimidation. He manufactured and distributed a toxic and addictive chemical substance that fostered dependency and addiction in the population, forcing them to be loyal to him. He allowed Singed to conduct horrific human experimentation straight out of Mengele's playbook.

I know he wants independence for Zaun, but independence under him? We’ve seen what kind of ship he runs, and I honestly believe that he’s even worse than Piltover’s neglect and indifference. He’s not some proletariat hero, he’s Josef Stalin in a trenchcoat.

-

A good father: Okay, this is where I risk a controversial opinion. 

SILCO WAS NOT A GOOD PARENT FOR JINX.

The fandom seems to be in love with how much Silco cared about Jinx, and I don’t disagree that Silco did, truly, love Jinx. But here’s the thing.

That’s not enough.

Silco’s response to trauma was to let it consume you and dominate your life. He fostered the same attitudes in Jinx, encouraging her worst behaviors and allowing her mental illness to fester and destroy her from the inside. Hell, he encouraged her to use it as her name, to let it define every part of her life.

And we see how much that damaged Jinx! She has visual and auditory hallucinations. Her abandonment issues are so intense that she tries to murder anyone she views as taking her loved ones away. And Silco allowed all this. Because he saw himself in Jinx. Because admitting she needed help would be admitting he was wrong. Because he finally had someone as fucked and damaged as him, and rather than helping her and making sure she got better, he dragged her down to his level.

But no, all the fandom hears is ���Don’t cry, you’re perfect”. Yes, Silco loved Jinx, but what people can’t seem to grasp is that love can be just as toxic and harmful as hate.

-

Look, I get it. It’s all fiction and I’m taking this way too seriously. I know that, in real life, people would recognize people like Silco as harmful and toxic. But this shit matters whether we admit it or not. Fiction affects us. It affects our perception of the world. And the amount of people who stan Silco is scary to me. People don’t seem to recognize how tragic the story of Arcane really is, how ruinous Silco was to the world around him.

Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox now. I just... I really had to get this off my chest.

[arcane-ish]

Silco and the bomb

Here’s the thing. I have a really hard time buying the narrative that Silco cared for Jinx primarily because he needs her to finish the bomb. Mostly because... I have a hard time buying that he cares that much about the bomb. 

1.) The whole thing literally falls into his lap. Like ... a smart evil master mind would maybe have checked the Piltover papers, read that Jayce is presenting this cool new thing and ordered Jinx to steal that thing for him so they can build a bomb. 

But ... he doesn’t. He has no fucking clue about it. Jinx on her own decides to steal it and present it to him as a gift. 

2.) There is no sense of urgency. Silco apparently has spent the entire timeskip twiddling his thumbs, building his empire, bribing Marcus. Yeah, presumably he has been consolidating his power, making money, maybe even making some improvement to the air quality. But there is no sense of urgency that his empire will crumble if he doesn’t have the bomb right now. There is no one seriously breathing down his neck, particularly not at the time when those interactions about the bomb happen. 

Silco and Jinx interact about the bomb mostly in Act 2 and at the very beginning of Act 3. Most bigger threats to Silco’s enterprise happen after that. There is the raiding of the factory which again he still seems to take in relative stride (and I would argue that it is a huge feature of Silco’s character that he adapts his plans to circumstances) and then there is more serious attempt on his life by the chem barons, which happens in the last episode. 

Again, the show has shown us what it looks like when Silco loses his chill, when he is bullshitting. But none of that seems to be in relation to the bomb. You never get the sense that he is that worried “omg, Jayce started checking the shipping manifestos!” or “omg, the Firelights attacked me!” nothing that would create a feeling of “ I must finish the bomb to regain control/to regain people’s respect”.

(for example, when Sevika tells him in episode 7 that business is bad he is 1.) confident 2.) really only cares about what is going on with Vi (note how he cares about Marcus stopping Caitlyn and Vi, doesn’t bring the crystal up once and instead wants to find Jinx, only to be persuaded by Sevika that Jinx will come to him [again that is what changes his mind, not Sevika stressing what a threat the chem barons are]))

3.) There is no sense of progression about the bomb on his side. We never see him drawing up a blackmail letter for the council (and before you say, he had his negotiation notes: none of those were bomb specific, for all we know he could have drawn those up either on the fly or years ago when the hexgates were introduced), we never saw him strategize with Sevika or Jinx what would be good targets to hit if they were going to use them, he doesn’t leave any dying word instructions to Jinx to use it or what to use it on, we never see him “advertise” or promise (like to Sevika or the chem barons) that the bomb is coming. 

Now he clearly must be aware that he has something that Piltover really wants, but at the same time imo he also comes across like he is genuinely surprised that the peace offer suddenly falls into his lap (just like the crystal came to him without him doing anything for it [this is a topic for another meta, but for all how people like to act like Silco is some all knowing mastermind, I actually think that his main strength as a villain are flexibility and bullshitting his way through things, he might act like he has everything planned ahead, but actually a lot of the time he evidently doesn’t even when he’s still faking it])

4,) Other than the attempt of his life, the other times when we see Silco lose his chill in Act 2 and 3 are all connected to Jinx. 

First when he hears that Vi is back from the dead. Then when Vi and Caitlyn get away from him. Then when Jinx is injured.  (plus when Jinx kills a truckload of enforcers, but this before the crystal enters his life)

Yes, he urges Jinx to finish the bomb. But here’s the thing, to me that doesn’t come across like he’s trying to distract Jinx from Vi so he can get her to focus back on the bomb. 

To me this comes across like he trying to get her to focus on the bomb so he can distract her from Vi, respectively distract her from thinking that he lied about Vi. (sidenote: I think at this point where Jinx calls him a liar I think she actually has already cracked the mystery of the hextech (which she doesn’t tell him), she just has lost the crystal itself (which he doesn’t seem to know))

I think Silco is somebody who desperately likes to pretend he doesn’t care and that he isn’t attached to anything who takes any loss in stride and just replaces the old plan with a new plan. (remember at the end of Act 1, Silco essentially loses most of his operation and has to rebuild and apparently rebuilds with a completely new plan, we generally see him as somebody who isn’t that attached to any one plan, any one shipment, any one factory, any one ally).  And while there is no doubt that the overall situation is causing him a literal headache, I do think we see that in some areas he struggles much more with retaining his image of indifference than in others, suggesting that those are the areas that he cares the most about (similarly with how in Act 1 he struggles the most with retaining his cool when it comes to Vander, showing fear/anger/getting carried away). 

5.) If the hextech is important, when Jinx suggests he should take it to Singed, how come he doesn’t even try? Wouldn’t that be sensible from a purely practical point of view? To at least try it? Get Singed’s opinion on it? 

6.) Why does Silco want the hextech weapon again? 

The only time he brings up the importance of the hextech is here: 

Once more “topside will have no power over us” seems more like an annoyance, it’s very vague and general. How is that so different from what Silco hasn’t achieved in all these years? 

And this is in direct context of him thinking that Marcus is thinking about flipping on him. 

But Marcus doesn’t? There is other times later where Silco actually goes to defend what Marcus is doing. 

Heck Marcus dies trying to follow Silco’s orders. One could argue, as far the as original problem is concerned (Marcus is faltering) that seems to have made been almost obsolete by Silco finding out that Marcus lied to him and increasing the pressure on Marcus. 

Summation: I totally get that the writing leaves it open that Silco might care about the bomb and get to the point where he puts serious pressure on Jinx. But it never gets there, he never actually does it. And imo his behavior is still consistent with somebody who didn’t give *that* much of a shit in the first place. Who had this more as a “nice to have” rather than something “must have right now, I’m in big trouble and that will solve all my problems”. (and imo his lack of additional actions other than telling Jinx twice “yeah, you should finish that” being a strong indicator that it’s not that important to him)

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a “Silco was a perfect father” post. With the “what do I lose but problems?” line, to me that shows that the constant criticism of Jinx was getting to him at some level even as he defended her. But my impression upon watching the show genuinely was that the hextech bomb to him really was just one of the many, many plates he was spinning at the same time, not the central piece of his priorities. 

[demon-blood-youths]

----- Davion & Rust -----

Hearing this, Rust had to ask, "Is it the Nagu vampires?" He asked the dragon seriously. It has to be right? After all...that has to be it. Rust had this feeling in his blood that is being stirred up by this.

"We need to go out and help them." Said Rust. Not only Ink is there but Breezy is as well.

----- Jaron and Melinda's group -----

"Good." Jaron said. Hearing that, it's a relief that no innocent people got caught up in this fight between them and the Nagu. "I don't know if you are informed about the situation but please stick with me." He told Deku and Dynamight.

"Like you two said, the fighting is getting worse, and right now you two need to get out of here. Tell the pro-heroes to focus on evacuating the civilians if they see any fight and do not engage the villains. Right now, I don't want any good people being a victim to them." Said Jaron.

The top priority is getting Echo to a healer. He goes to quickly text Fosh that Echo has been bitten and fed. She needs medical attention.

He sees that Fosh read the message and gives a emoji that says that the help is on the way.

"Now let's get out of here before the Nagu finds us!" Said Jaron to which Navarro goes to comfort Echo that everything is going to be okay.

---- Ink & Jinx -----

"Okay. Center drive...and go left." And after going left, there will be a hidden base building that Mouse would be there. Ink remembers that as she evades a swipe from one Nagu vampire before she impales the vampire through the chest with her great sword and throws it over her shoulder to which the vampire hits the other vamps to the floor. She goes to swing Valor Flame to set them ablaze, leaving nothing but ashes.

"It is!" Ink said. She went ahead using her demonic speed where one Nagu tries to sneak up on Ren before it was cut down by Ink. "Ren! Atsushi! You guys alright!" Ink said.

She sees Breezy. "Breezy!" She said.

~~~~Davion & Rust~~~~~~

"It seems those two made their move but judging on what I'm seeing..someone else is helping them. They wouldn't be able to pull this off. Someone is helping them." he said worried while seeing the chaos on the monitor.

"Right now, Ink along with the others went to check it out and it seems the attack happened at Central park."

"He's right Navarro. You got nothing to say sorry for..but I should be thanking you for helping her." she said even if Melinda looks to Echo but she was worried now.

"We are fine. We got the innocent out of the area so it should be clear of anyone else being here for now." Deku said worried. "But theirs been a lot of messy fighting because of those Nagu things. Their just attacking and trying to catch who they can." he said.

"Which they didn't! However, it seems most of the fighting is getting worse." Dynamight. "For right now, we need to leave this area and move on before we get stuck." he said.

"He's right. But we need to find Ophelia and Hex...Where were they located?" she asked but while talking Echo was looking again but she winces once more.

"Easy Echo, we'll help you okay. Don't worry.." she said but as she looks she noticed something. Where the Nagu bit her, small veins were seen on her skin as she was shaking. "Echo, hey what's wrong??" she asked but she got no response.

"............"

"We should hurry and find the healers..that don't look right." Dynamight said before they got ready to move.

~~~~~~~Ink & Jinx~~~~~~~

Jinx kicks two more away that came from the left but even seeing Rin and Denji slicing more and more away before showing up at the bridge. She looks around seeing it was a mess but thinks.

"Center drive...if we head there, we go to the left. Theirs a hidden base building there that Mouse would go in case of doing a back up check. We can find something there." she said punching another Nagu vampire.

"I'm sure we will find them but what about-" As soon as Denji said that, he sees two males running but they were carrying someone. Jinx noticed but saw.

"Wait, isn't that..." she saw seeing the one turning to fire at some Nagu that was being shot down by something. Bullets. Atsushi was carrying the other showing it was Breezy who was holding onto him.

"That's Ren and Atsushi!" Jinx said to Ink.

[avian-tardis]

What is Right and What is Easy

Chapter 1: Promises

-----

TW: PTSD, Self-harm, Survivor's guilt, Self-hatred

-----

The start of Harry's eighth year at Hogwarts was uneventful, a fairly odd experience if he was being honest. He couldn't think of a single uneventful start of year since he was 10 years old. But that's what it was; routine. Ordinary.

Of course, the aftermath of the war had far from settled. There were new reports every day, updating the wizarding world on the whereabouts of former death-eaters, debating whether their claims of the Imperius Curse's influence should be taken seriously. Once in a while, the obituaries included an old photograph, a victim of the war whose body had only just been found. Harry tried not to look at those pages, face after smiling face that made him feel responsible, whispering in his dreams. This was your fault. You could've prevented this.

Someone else may not see such a reality as uneventful, but for Harry Potter, the lack of a burning scar or slithery voice piercing his mind spelled the most ordinary life he'd had in a very, very long time.

Hogwarts was a safe place again. And as the teachers struggled with how to split up curriculum after an entire year gone down the drain, the eighth year students began to adjust to life with shared dormitories; the house dorms had no room for the eighth year students, so instead, Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Slytherins, and Ravenclaws alike were holed up in old, forgotten parts of the castle transformed into makeshift rooms.

Ron and Hermione were there too, of course. Even though eighth year had been optional for most students, almost the entirety of their class had returned to make up their final year of schooling. You couldn't have kept Hermione away if you tried, and Molly Weasley would not allow her son to miss out on such a wonderful opportunity - or, so Ron had claimed. His friends had a sneaking suspicion he had really wanted to return to the school of his own accord. The three of them, occasionally accompanied by Neville, had settled into a somewhat familiar routine.

The first month of the term passed without so much as a stray jinx or argument in the halls, and it seemed that things were beginning to become, well, perfect.

Well, not everything. For one thing, Harry and Ginny had split about three weeks before the start of term. It was a mutual thing, and while Harry still agreed that the break-up was for the best, he still missed the intimacy that their relationship had brought. They were still friends, of course, good friends, but there are some things that friends can't provide quite like a girlfriend or boyfriend can.

The other not-so-perfect thing came in the form of the uneasy tension between the students; after all, some of their parents had stood by Voldemort's side in the war. Some of those students had joined their parents, shooting curses at people with whom they'd been sharing classes for half their lives. Harry had seen students press themselves against the walls as they passed Slytherins in the hallways, avoiding them as if their betrayal were contagious. He felt as if he shouldn't watch when this happened, as if he didn't have the right.

No one understood that disdain, that wariness around Voldemort's followers better than Harry, and yet… somehow, he empathized with them. He remembered days when he was not looked at in the halls with reverence and awe, but with something much darker. When taunts and hatred would follow him like an ugly shadow along the corridors. And so as much as he wanted to, he couldn't hate them. Those kids may have been associated with villains, but they were still people. They were still just kids.

So, Harry made silent promises to himself. He would break down his prejudice against Slytherin, he would do his best to help and defend those who needed it, not just those that he felt deserved it. He would try to help them towards redemption.

It was all of this that was buzzing around in Harry's mind as he padded down the hall toward the bathroom. In years previous, he'd be wearing his invisibility cloak, checking and double-checking the Marauder's Map as he snuck out for a late-night adventure. But things had changed. Disregarding the fact that students in the Astronomy Tower dorm had permission to use this restroom at all hours (it was the closest one), the teachers had taken up a tendency to look the other way for older students breaking curfew. Especially the ones who fought in the war, who lost people to the battlefield. Especially the ones who woke up screaming, clutching a pillow in the place of someone who would never come back.

So Harry didn't peek around corners or duck into shadows as he walked steadily along the carpet. He simply walked, and allowed his thoughts to wander. He was finally brought back to reality at the end of the hall, when he noticed a light slicing its way out from under the bathroom door. He opened it quietly, hoping not to disturb whoever was inside. He felt a pang of irritation; after all, there was no real reason he needed to be in the restroom, he was just using it as an excuse to escape the dorms, to be by himself.

He was just thinking that perhaps he ought to hide in a stall and wait for whoever-it-was to leave when he heard a strange noise. He poked his head around the door to see what had made it.

Standing in front of a mirror, head bowed over the sink, stood a tall, slim figure with a shiny head of white-blonde hair, clad in green pajama pants. Scars ran across the length of his back, crisscrossing to make gruesome shapes, rippling every time the boy moved. Harry froze. This was all too similar to the time, two years ago, when he had found Malfoy in almost the exact same position, muttering over a sink without any knowledge of Harry's presence. The last time had ended with Harry almost killing him. He struggled to breathe as he watched Malfoy's body shaking, guilt and memories washing over him painfully.

He should leave. Now.

But the more he watched, the more he worried. Malfoy was muttering through sobs, rocking back and forth. Every few seconds, his body tensed up and he made a soul-wrenching hissing noise, then began to cry harder.

Harry tried to hear what it was Malfoy was saying.

"... stupid, completely and utterly stupid… bloody… worthless, he was right he was always right… can't do anything… now look at what I've done… anyone's fault I mean I did it to myself… hate it… can't…"

Harry pulled his head back into the corridor and swallowed. He couldn't leave. He had to do something. He and Malfoy weren't on opposite sides of a war anymore, and Harry had promises to keep. He took a deep breath and turned back to the door.

3… 2… 1. He knocked twice, soft and hesitant. After a couple of seconds, he opened the door all the way.

Malfoy turned his head to look at Harry, but the rest of his body stayed in place, frozen like a statue. Harry could see the faint scar running along his cheek now, a reminder of the last time they'd met like this in a bathroom. He glanced around nervously, unsure of what to do.

Malfoy spoke, struggling to keep his voice steady, trying to pretend that Harry couldn't clearly see the emotions and tears running across his face.

"What are you doing here, Potter?"

"I just…" Harry considered lying. Saying he just had to use the restroom, nothing more. But lying didn't feel like the right way to go, "I had to get out of the dormitories." He carefully closed the door behind him and took a step forward.

Malfoy turned his face back to the mirror, forcing himself to inhale slowly, to get control of his breathing. He ignored Harry's tentative approach.

As Harry got closer, he could see Malfoy in the mirror, hair falling over his eyes. His eyes traveled down, over his chest, until it reached his forearms. Harry let out a small gasp, stepping forward until he was directly behind Malfoy.

"Is this… what… what are you doing?"

"None of your business," Malfoy growled.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest, "Try again."

Malfoy scoffed, "You know, I think you should be happy, Potter," He wheeled around to face Harry, fear and desperation hiding beneath his aggression, "You're getting exactly what you've always wanted."

Harry shook his head as drops of blood dripped from Malfoy's fingers onto the tile.

"No," he muttered, grabbing Malfoy's elbow with one hand and pulling his wand from his pocket with the other, "No, no, I never wanted this."

He could see Malfoy's dark mark shifting slightly beneath the blood, dark ink staining down to the very bone. He finally realized what Malfoy was doing.

"You're trying to remove it?"

Malfoy wouldn't meet Harry's gaze. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face. He didn't speak. It didn't matter. Harry had his answer. His mind worked frantically, trying to remember - the spell, the one Snape had used, he had thought that it sounded like a song… Vulner… Vulnera…

"Vulnera Sanentur!" Harry held his wand over Malfoy's arm and repeated the spell over and over, hoping he had remembered it right. To his relief, Malfoy's skin spread, stretching over his forearm until it fused itself together, the wound shrinking until all that was left was small scabs, black ink, and a sink full of blood. Malfoy continuously attempted to pull his arm from Harry's grasp, but he refused to let go.

When he was done, and he finally let go of Malfoy's arm, he turned his attention to the blood, waving his wand and muttering Tergeo over the sink and floor. It was a moment before he remembered to do it for his clothing, too.

He turned back to find Malfoy sitting against the wall, head leaned back and eyes closed. He moved across the room to sit beside him, not too close but near enough to sense the other boy, breathing heavily beside him. It was uncomfortable, being this close to Malfoy. They had been enemies for so many years, Harry had become accustomed to one simple fact; if they were in the same room without professors around, they would either throw spells or insults at each other until someone else put a stop to it. Sitting with him like this, four feet away in silence as if they had some sort of alliance, was new and slightly unsettling.

After a few minutes, he turned to Malfoy and said quietly, "How many times?"

"What?"

"I mean, this isn't the first time you've done this, is it? How many times?"

Malfoy turned away, "A few."

Harry was silent again for a few moments. Then, "You have to stop. You can't do this to yourself."

Malfoy chuckled, cold and broken, "Oh no? Try and stop me."

"Why?" Harry turned his body to fully face Malfoy, "Why the hell would you keep doing this? You know it doesn't work. You're just torturing yourself."

Malfoy's eyes flicked towards Harry, then back away. He muttered, so quiet Harry almost didn't hear.

"Maybe I deserve to be tortured."

"Hey," Harry waited until Malfoy turned to look at him, "No one deserves to be tortured. Understand? No one."

"Oh, please. After what I've done?"

"So your story doesn't have a happy beginning. That doesn't make you who you are. It's the rest of your story that does that."

… Yes, Harry just stole from Kung Fu Panda. Moving on.

Malfoy scoffed, "Yeah, because refraining from hurting other people this year makes last year go away."

"No. But your past doesn't define you. You have to judge yourself based on who you are now, not who you used to be. I guess… I haven't done a very good job helping you believe that. Especially last year. I'm sorry for that." Harry paused. He hadn't even known his words were true until they left his mouth. Since when did he care about Malfoy's feelings? But he couldn't deny that he meant what he had just said, no matter how much it surprised him.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Potter."

Malfoy pushed himself up and headed for the door. Harry jumped up and ran in front of him, blocking his path.

Malfoy tried to push past him. Harry refused, pushing back as hard as he could.

"Let me through, Potter."

"No."

"I said. Let. Me. Through."

"And I said no. Look, Malfoy, we both know that I'm not your biggest fan. And you're not mine. But that doesn't mean I want anything to happen to you. I need to know that you won't do this to yourself again."

Something in Malfoy's expression changed. It was subtle; his eyes seemed to soften for a moment. Finally, he said, "Fine. If you're serious… then I promise."

It was nothing, really. Just empty words. But for some reason, Harry believed him. He moved aside and Malfoy left. Harry stood, staring at the door, for what felt like hours, thinking. Eventually, he sighed and made his way slowly back to the dormitories.

Malfoy lay awake in his bed, listening as Harry's footsteps slowly crept past the door toward his bunk. He didn't know why he had believed him. Didn't know why he'd made that promise. Didn't know why he intended to keep it. But that didn't matter. Something had changed, and he finally felt a little glimmer of hope, and maybe a tiny idea that he could eventually find peace.

Though neither of them said it, Harry and Draco both knew that this was a night to be kept strictly between the two of them. As long as they both kept their promises, no one would need to know.