#c: jinx powder of piltover

[bee-temporary-garbage-inactive]

Artist: J_Kaluzhnaya @ Twitter

[fortunxa]

Physical affection with Jinx

H E A D C A N O N S

╰┈➤ requested

Jinx x fem!reader

cw: mentions of nsfw, hallucinations

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Jinx is such a touch-starved girl.

She doesn’t shy away from physical contact, but paradoxically, it can catch her off-guard if she’s not the one initiating it—blame it on her childhood.

As you get to know her, start off gently with some light taps that get her attention.

She’ll often nudge your shoulder, drag her nails across your arm or leg as you’re talking, doodle on your skin, or simply grab your hand as she’s excitedly leading you somewhere.

Jinx is just so curious as to how you’d react, testing the waters.

But once you gain her trust, her innocent touches turn into proper hugs. And I don’t mean duvet-like embraces that let you breathe, but cocoon ones where you can feel every ounce of her as she holds you tightly.

This is the moment you realize she’s now afraid of losing you.

Those hugs come unexpectedly, like a predator pouncing on its prey, and you often stumble from her sheer force.

She’s definitely a waist/torso hugger, and believe it or not, it’s not because of her height but because she genuinely feels safer that way.

Shoulder hugs are traps, so be prepared for a paint bomb to find itself attached to your back.

She will be impressed if you can throw her over your shoulder.

Loves piggyback rides.

Pinky promises. It’s a childish gesture but one that holds enormous significance to her. She would link her finger with yours with those wide, innocent eyes. No take-backs.

– “You know that’s legally binding, right?”

If you’re her first kiss—which, let’s be honest, you probably are—her Jinx persona is nowhere to be found. It’s Powder now, and she’s so cautious as she closes the distance.

Her lips ghost over yours so lightly it almost tickles, but you let her take her time as she grapples with the newfound closeness. You don’t rush her, and when she finally kisses you, it’s slow and tentative. She wants to feel and analyze everything.

– “Was that good?”

As she gains confidence, she starts experimenting with the mix of sensations.

She’s attentive to your reactions, and she soon finds all of your sweet spots.

Will randomly kiss you, and it doesn’t matter where or when.

Forehead kisses, kisses on your neck, earlobes, stomach, hips, thighs… You name it. She adores every single one of them.

She’s the type to swap a piece of candy or gum through a kiss.

Jinx is all about PDA. She wants everyone to know you’re hers.

Hickeys, hickeys, and more hickeys.

Unfortunately, when the wrong people figured out that you’re her partner, it did get you kidnapped once as a way to undermine Silco. Take Jinx’s favorite person away, and she becomes erratic, unfit to carry out his plans.

Heavy on ‘once’ because the hell she brought them was enough to terrify anyone else with the same strategy.

The number of explosions that day alerted Piltover itself.

Talking to Silco and/or Sevika? She’s holding your hand, slightly pushing you behind her in a protective manner. Neither of them approves of your relationship, they deem it a distraction.

Much to Silco’s dismay, she will drag you into most of their private meetings and fidgets with your fingers if she gets bored.

You’re ordering at the bar? She’s either behind you with her arms around your waist or next to you with her hand on your hip as she’s pulling you closer.

You’re on a mission together? There she is, fighting back-to-back with you so she knows you’re there, unharmed. If you’re separated, she can’t concentrate properly anymore, and she keeps seeking you out in between firing her gun. She’s prioritizing your safety over anything else, which has gotten her injured quite a few times.

She insists that she can patch up her wounds herself, but once you see that goddamn stapler approaching a gash, you’re frantically snatching it away from her hands.

You tend to her injuries in such a caring and gentle way that it brings tears to her eyes.

At first, you’re worried you went too deep with the needle as you were stitching her cuts.

– “What’s wrong? Did that hurt? I’m so sorry–”

– “No one has ever done that for me before.”

Whenever the roles are reversed, and you’re the injured one, she’s in a frenzy. She’s muttering to herself as she grabs the first aid kit.

Stern face and furrowed brows, but despite it all, she tries to be delicate—‘tries’ because the voices are making her movements jerky.

– “Are you crazy?! What were you thinking? No, no, she wasn’t thinking at all…”

She will absolutely kiss your wound better afterward.

Cuddle time on her couch after a long day.

She loves it when you sweep her off her feet and carry her bridal style to lay her down.

She likes to be the little spoon but face toward you because your scent and the sound of your heartbeat calm her down.

Occasionally, she’ll be the big spoon to switch it up and make you feel secure, too.

Your presence helps with her night terrors, and she sleeps more often with you around.

But you always wake up with her hair in your mouth, her elbow on your face, and covers on the ground, and she’s snoring—occasionally drooling—in a starfish position.

– “Where the fuck did your pillow go?”

Morning kisses!!!

Morning sex.

Showering and taking baths together.

Hygiene isn’t a big thing in Zaun (shocker), so when you have time to get clean, you do it together. Washing each other’s hair, trying to get all the grime—and occasionally blood—out.

It’s a tender moment that turns entertaining—or sexual—rather quickly.

You’re washing off, and you turn around to see Jinx with a bubble beard, her face completely stoic. She starts pretending to be a Piltovan man as you’re laughing.

Or she’ll come up behind you and press her soapy body to yours as her fingers dip inside you.

Physical affection while she’s working on a project can go two ways:

When she’s confident in her work: She loves having you close, whether it’s by having you sit on her lap and vice versa or grabbing your hands for an impromptu dance break when she’s feeling her playlist. She’s babbling about her ideas and designs, explaining each step as you play with her braids.

When she’s experimenting: Do not come close or she’ll scream. She’ll be too scared to have you near in case she messes up an equation and causes an explosion. She will actually make you go elsewhere as a precaution. But she’ll be more than happy to show you her progress after!

You love painting each other’s nails, but she often chips hers.

She straddles you as she does your makeup and vice versa.

Will use her own saliva to clean up any messes.

Jinx absolutely adores trying out new looks on you, and she treats you like her human canvas.

Not only with makeup but with markers and paint, too.

She will draw out tattoo ideas and judge each placement.

Speaking of tattoos, you constantly trace hers with a light touch that sends shivers down her spine.

Brushing and playing with each other’s hair. She actually melts in your hands once you take her braids out and start massaging her scalp.

Will bite your arm out of excitement. The urge to chomp is just too great.

You comfort her differently depending on how bad her episode gets:

You either hold her impossibly close, hiding her face in your chest as you stroke her hair and start humming or talking about something she loves to ground her.

If she gets to a point where you can’t even approach without her backing away—or worse, getting violent—you dim every bright light and reduce any other stimuli. You don’t call her by her name—neither Jinx nor Powder—as both can trigger her even more. She will use some of her bombs to try and muffle the voices with the sounds of explosions, but you do hide any other weapons. You don’t talk too much or too loudly to not confuse her even more. Once she’s calm enough, it’s back to scenario number 1.

You’re both crying by the time her episode ends.

– “Please… Tell me you’re real.”

Jinx is so in tune with your emotions, and contrary to popular belief, she’s very empathetic.

She notices any tone or mood changes immediately.

If you’re mad at something or someone, she’ll be mad with you, if not even madder. You have her unconditional support because her trinket can do no wrong. She’s tracing her nails down your back or stroking your thigh as you’re rambling.

– “And then Sevika called me incompetent. Can you fucking believe it? How was I supposed to know that they put the shimmer there?!”

– “Sevika’s a bitch. That barrel was totally in your way.”

If you’re mad at her, she’ll spiral. You want to leave to cool down? Nuh-uh. She’s holding you so tightly, shaking like a leaf, that it makes your anger dissipate.

– “Don’t leave me, toots. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’ll be better.”

If you’re sad or crying, she cups your face in her hands and makes you look at her as she praises you. She wipes every tear away. This is also the only other time she will reach for a hug over your shoulders/around your neck—no paint bombs included. She just wants to cradle your head and soothe you.

[bwat5-blog]

The Commander: Part Two

**Spoilers For All Of Arcane**

***LONG I AM NOT KIDDING***

We jump back into the exploration of Caitlyn's story ash she leads the strike team into Zaun. She names three objective:

Locate Jinx

Dismantle Shimmer

Neutralize any agents still loyal to Silco

Now in the interest of clarity and rational thinking, let us take a moment to examine each of these objectives without consideration of Caitlyn's current mental state, as well as an objective look into the use of the grey. I will indicate the beginning and end of this section clearly. The reason I am making a point of this, is so that you know I am going to discuss the moral and ethical concerns here. But, this is really when people started losing their mind regarding Caitlyn's arc so lets begin with turning down the temperature, and taking a more rational look at what unfolds.

The Strike Team:

"Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason? Is it bad that I'm making friends with my demons, and living by a couple deadly sins just to make sure I finish what you began..... let it rain down hellfire, can't hide away. it's judgement day, and no one gets out alive"("Hellfire" Fever 333")

Logic Based Examination Of the Strike Team's Objectives And Methods:

Locate Jinx- As members of the audience, it is easy to hear Caitlyn and feel outrage. We have seen Jinx's suffering and struggle since she was a little girl named Powder. We have seen that Silco used Caitlyn's presence in the undercity to drive Vi and Jinx apart, and that Sevika did so with the express intent of driving Jinx further into chaos. But to the entity that is "Piltover", what does Jinx actually represent?

A- The theft of the gemstone in which six enforcers were killed, and a building was burned down.

B- The bombing of the Bridge, in which several enforcers were killed.

C- The assassination of three councilors, destruction of the council chamber, paralyzing Salo from the waist down, and maiming Shoola's eye

D- As I stated in part one, although we the audience know that Jinx was not involved in the attack on the memorial, in the wake of her killing the council members and being known as the "daughter" of Silco, it is completely reasonable that the people of Piltover are linking her to this attack as well.

Caitlyn's emotional link aside, Jinx has come to represent a dangerous and highly intelligent threat to the safety of Piltover. They do not see her wandering the streets of Zaun afterward, ready to die. They see that a violent terrorist gained access to the most powerful innovation of their life time, weaponized it extremely fast implying her brilliance, conducted what they understand to be a political assassination, and then sent soldiers into Piltover during a time of grief to kill more. Again, this is all to be considered without Caitlyn's impact. It is simply the facts as they understand them.

2. Dismantle Shimmer- Shimmer and Hextech are the answers to each other. Topside has their great source of power, and the undercity has theirs. And while the intent to dismantle it seems to have more to do with taking that weapon away from their enemies than anything, Shimmer is a dangerous, unstable, highly addictive drug that caused a tremendous amount of suffering in the undercity. It's long term exposure leading to addiction, mutation, and death.

3. Neutralize Any Agents Still Loyal To Silco- So what we see when the strike team begins their operation, is that they are targeting the Chem-Barons and their operations primarily having to do with Shimmer. The Chem-Barons are dangerous crime lords pushing Shimmer and murdering those who stand against them. As we see in "Watch It All Burn" they are ripping the undercity apart in their struggle for power, despite Sevika's efforts to make them stop.

"Dirty little animals, you cannibals, eat your supper.. one by one all these vultures keep coming".. ("Sucker" Marcus king)

These are NOT good people. They are not freedom fighters. They are not speaking truth to power and standing for the oppressed. They are violent and selfish criminals who even if they believed in a cause once, have long since abandoned it in favor of greed, and power.

Now, moving forward from that look at their objectives, let's talk about what got our hash-tagger (I haven't forgotten about you and welcome back!) and their friends rage smashing their keyboards.

The Grey-

Origin-

Using the Kiramman key, Caitlyn learns that her forebears created the ventilation system used filter the toxins from the air in the undercity. It is first described as "factory smog trapped underground", and from what we are given to understand, Piltover scientists have weaponized it for the strike team's purposes. Although we do see Silco use some version of it to bring the Chem-Barons into line when they question him.

Confirmed Effects-

Painful irritation to eyes: We this across its multiple uses for the most recent example, look at Cait's eyes during the final fight against Ambessa in season 2.

Nasal irritation: Heenot seems to sneeze quite a bit from exposure

Painful irritation to the throat: Every person exposed immediately starts to cough, hack, that sort of thing quite violently

Trouble breathing to the point of incapacitation: Multiple examples, some people seem to take it better than others.

Now, what did I not list? Death. There is a reason. There is not a single indication anywhere that the use of The Grey in these short term combat situations has killed anyone. In fact, we have repeated examples of characters who are exposed and are very much alive:

Caitlyn Kiramman: Exposed during fight against Ambessa and her forces.

Steb: Exposed during fight against Ambessa and her forces.

Heenot: Left hanging exposed in the grey By Jinx.

Jinx: Exposed when the strike team comes for her in the arcade.

Finn (dead but not because of gas): Exposed by Silco in season one. Now in fairness, whatever Silco had was clearly not the same form as what the strike team are using, but if anything it seems more violent, as the Chem-Barrons react far more quickly than we see people reacting to the grey.

Throughout Arcane, there are multiple statements regarding the "poisoning of our air" when people of Zaun speak about Topside. This is to do with pollution,smog and runoff from the mines and industry of Piltover. That's what the strike team is using, weaponized pollution to incapacitate enemies and drive people off the streets who are not fighting. And just like severe pollution would there be long term health effects if you were consistently exposed? Certainly. We see this in the diagrams Caitlyn is inspecting regarding the ventilation. But that is not what is happening here. In order to maintain proper perspective and not let rhetoric blind us, below you will find a very brief list of real world chemical weapons and a few of their side effects:

Sarin Gas: Cardiac arrest, coma, paralysis, respiratory failure

VX Gas: Seizures, Increased fluid buildup in airway and digestive tract, flaccid paralysis, death

They are quite clearly not the same. And if you consider the fact that they are chasing someone who is quite fond of using explosives, using a weapon that clears innocent people off of the streets and incapacitates enemies meaning they don't have to kill them, is far from the great crime against humanity people have made it out to be.

End Of Logic Only Based Analysis

Okay, now that we have that out of the way let's get back to why we are all here, Caitlyn Kiramman. If you refer to the lyrics of the song that plays during a look into the strike-team's actions, even just the first line tells us where her head space is. "Can I do the right thing, for the wrong reasons". The reason I just went through all of that above, is that it is easy to see how Caitlyn can justify all of this in her mind. The Strike Team is the alternative to a full-scale invasion, first off. And they want to dismantle the operations of the violent criminals that are tearing the Undercity apart, as well as catch the person who brought this most recent storm of Piltover's wrath upon the innocents of Zaun.

But as we see, Caitlyn is falling further and further into her rage and pain as this operation continues. Even in the cinematic for hellfire, her face is so clear. This mission is not about justice or liberating Zaun from the criminals so willing to harm their own, it is about revenge. If you recall, in part one I discussed and cited the potential emotional and mental effects of exposure to violence someone may suffer from. Caitlyn has in NO WAY BEGUN TO HEAL. And now she is leading her team in urban warfare, in the streets of Zaun losing more of herself day by day.

To conclude, we need to discuss two primary factors in all of this regarding Caitlyn's mental state, as we lead up to the battle of the ventilation chamber.

The Grey:

Have the fandom completely and totally lost their minds regarding the grey. Yes. I'm sorry, but yes. Take a moment and consider if they weren't using it, it scares away innocents and incapacitates those who would fight. Whatever the death toll was during this operation, it would have been much worse if they had a full-on firefight in every situation.... And to those who say "well they didn't have to be there in the first place" remember that the alternative here is a full-scale military invasion with hex-tech wielding enforcers. After the memorial attack there is no question, Piltover is coming.

However, what it is also, it is a perversion of Caitlyn's families good work. A twisting of what her forebears designed to give the people of the undercity good clean air. The point here is following the theme given to us by song in the beginning, the right thing for the wrong reasons. Caitlyn is able to hide from the truth of the darkness growing in her because this all seems so righteous. But the woman who loves her and she loves in return sees through her, which brings us to another consideration.

Vi:

Vi's turn as an Enforcer is extremely controversial in the fandom, and there is a lot of discussion about the various facets of her story. Here, we are focusing on Caitlyn, but for what I should hope are beyond obvious reasons, Vi is immensely important to Caitlyn's story. So that end, we need to understand a few points:

Vi made her own choice: Listen y’all, anyone who has been keeping up with me knows Vi is my favorite character. I have vigorously defended the character against the bizarre and idiotic criticisms that have been levelled at her since this season and will continue to do so happily. But people blaming Caitlyn for Vi being here are wrong. There is a conversation to be had about Caitlyn asking Vi to come and wear the uniform (and we are going to), but Vi made the decision for herself. No one put a gun to her head.

Caitlyn asked Vi to come and wear the uniform: As previously stated, Vi made her own choice. But, I think if we consider how Caitlyn has treated Vi throughout the story, the fact that she would ever ask Vi to come and do this, to wear the symbol of her parents murderers and do violence in Zaun's streets, speaks fairly significantly to her tunnel vision regarding their mission and her lessening ability to consider the consequences of her actions as she becomes more and more violent. Caitlyn has only ever been kind and loving to Vi, but the part of her that has to know what all of this is doing to her, is sinking further and further below the waves.

The Kiss-

Before confronting Jinx and Sevika, Vi asks Caitlyn for a moment, having seen the darkness consuming her. They come to an agreement on sending the rest of the team home, for fear of Jinx using their inexperience against them. It is then that they have a discussion that will impact both of them for months to come:

Caitlyn: "I can't let her get away again. Are you sure you're ready to..?"

Vi: "My sister is gone... there's only Jinx now. It has to end. I'm so sorry about your mother, I'm sorry I can't bring her back. Please just, everyone in my life has changed. Promise me you won't change"

Vi tears up, clearly overwhelmed and Caitlyn kisses her, saying "I won't".

It's a very moving moment and one fans of their love have been waiting for a very long time. Sadly, it is also quite clear that it was a doomed promise to ask for. Because the reality is that Caitlyn has already changed and been changing. It isn't a fair thing of Vi to expect Caitlyn to remain unchanged in this overwhelming situation. But Vi isn't being malicious, she has lost quite literally everyone she has ever cared for, and sees the last person she has left changing in front of her, she is afraid. And for Caitlyn's part, she sees the woman she loves, showing the vulnerability and fear and need of comfort that she knows Vi will only let her see, and she wants to be that for her. Wants to make her feel better. But on some level Caitlyn knows she can't honor that promise, so she doesn't make one. She says "i won't".

The Ventilation Chamber:

        Finally, for the first time since Jinx killed her mother, Caitlyn is face to face with the living embodiment of her nightmares. I am certainly not going over the entire list again, but I encourage you to revisit the list of reasons Caitlyn has to hate/fear Jinx.  When it all comes to a head, Caitlyn has her rifle on Jinx, with Isha trying to shield her, and Vi makes her stop. Trying to reason with her due to the risk of hitting Isha. After Sevika detonates the charges and Vi and Cait are thrown into the next chamber, Caitlyn insists she had the shot still in defiance of Vi’s bringing up the risk of hitting Isha. They lash out verbally at one another, with Caitlyn hitting Vi in the stomach with her rifle and leaving her behind. We need to more closely examine what we are seeing to understand this situation appropriately:

Vi tries to call out to Caitlyn repeatedly and tell her “She’s a child”, all Caitlyn responds with is “Move, she’s not getting away again”: We know Caitlyn. There is quite literally no scenario in which the Caitlyn we know would endanger the life of a child. But here, it’s like she can’t even see Isha. She is wide eyed, breathing heavy, looks incredibly angry, and even fires twice, striking Vi’s glove once.  She is showing extreme tunnel vision and single-minded rage putting the life of a child and the woman she loves at risk with her actions. Everything about the way she is behaving suggests a severe episode related to her PTSD, standing face to face with the source of her trauma.

Caitlyn tells Vi she is no different than Jinx because of the blood in her veins and hits her in the stomach with her rife stock, abandoning her: Okay, as I have said, Vi is my favorite character. So yes, when I saw this part I wanted to reach through the screen and choke her out. But again, we have to take a step back for a moment. I know I have not done much of a job in explaining it, but Caitlyn has been demonstrating consistently mounting psychological trauma since this all started. Now she has survived a violent confrontation and come face to face with the symbol of all of it. Just a refresher as to what she is feeling in this moment:

Guilt- She had a shot on Jinx that very first time. So, she has been carrying that with her regarding her mother’s death

Hatred- I think it’s totally fair to say she legitimately and completely hates Jinx given everything that has happened

Fear- She is terrified of Jinx. I have listed all of the reasons why, but for Caitlyn this moment is being face to face with the monster and at the end of the movie. Except in this version, the person you love stops you from finishing the monster. (in Caitlyn’s emotionally overloaded POV)

Betrayal- Although Vi had a totally valid reason for stopping Caitlyn, Caitlyn is not in a place where she can see that. In this moment all she can process is that Vi told her she was ready for it to end before they went into that chamber, and then Vi stopped her.

Shame- Look at her eyes a moment after she hits Vi. She is clearly full of regret and leaves quickly

As I have stated previously, simply from a layman’s perspective there seems to be quite of bit of evidence of Caitlyn’s trauma wreaking havoc on her ability to process and deal with this situation in any way that she normally would.

A Lamb To The Slaughter:

Standing at the general assembly while Ambessa makes her speech, we need to take stock of where Caitlyn is at this moment emotionally and mentally:

Survived series of multiple violent incidents that almost claimed her life over very short time

She is twenty-three years old

Abducted from her childhood home and terrorized

Mother murdered

Survived attack at mother’s memorial

Lead team in urban warfare in Zaun

Stopped from getting revenge on jinx for all of it

Romantic partner is gone

Grieving, exhausted, angry, afraid, guilty, betrayed, and full of hate

So when Ambessa Medarda, a warlord, a literal leader of men promises justice and names her the commander, she has no chance at resisting her. She is vulnerable and alone, with a highly intelligent older figure filling the role of the parent she lost, telling her to weaponize her suffering, promising her justice. Sound Familiar?

Before we move into discussing her time as the "Dictator", I do also want to draw attention to something. As I said, Caitlyn is 23 years old. Every person in that assembly knows who she is. They know she is extremely young, and despite her remarkable accomplishments she is also in immense emotional turmoil. Do any of the older people there do anything as a warlord in her fifties calls Caitlyn and essentially rubberstamp's her forehead with the word "SCAPEGOAT!". No they don't. And please, don't misunderstand this to mean I do think Caitlyn is accountable for her mistakes and decisions both up til now and moving forward. But you have to actively be ignoring details not to see that Caitlyn has been manipulated and used by Ambessa.

The "Dictator":

First and foremost, a word on the pacing of this part of Caitlyn's story. There are many varying opinions on the handling of pacing in season 2. I have made mine known, and so will spare you the diatribe here. I will simply say, that for such an important part of her story, we don't spend a lot of time with her. The fact that she doesn't have one scene clearly indicating she is thinking of Vi is a felony offense. I don't care where the pillows are with Maddie.

Hashtagger! We are finally here, she is the figurehead of a system of marshal law. Very exciting stuff. I know you have been waiting, eager to use the word fascist and other fun names. But stick with me. You will be surprised what you can learn when you actually watch the show.

What We Actually Know:

Per comments from Amanda Overton, it has been 3-6 months since the events of "Finally Got The Name Right"

She is in a romantic relationship with Maddie, who we have the hindsight of knowing is a Noxian Spy

Zaun has been fully occupied with checkpoints and inspections

Jinx has become a symbol to Zaun

Ambessa conducting secret hex-tech experiments and brutal interrogations

She has forbidden use of the cells like Vi was in

Has become close.. or at least something like it with Ambessa

In the time since we last saw her, Caitlyn has become a very different person than we left off. She seems tired, cold and withdrawn. She frequently expresses doubt and concern over how things are happening but cannot bring herself to put a stop to it when given the chance at various points (or more accurately being tested to see if she will try to put a stop to it I suppose). The fandom at large has taken this part of Caitlyn's story and used it to turn her into Idi Amin. This is completely laughable. While Caitlyn is responsible for her mistakes and her bad decisions, the truth here is that she is a young woman who has been totally submerged by her inner darkness. She is being manipulated to the highest degree, and has been made a scapegoat by a woman she has come to trust. First and foremost to get an understanding of this time for her, we have to discuss she and Ambessa.

Caitlyn & Ambessa-

Much like Silco and Jinx, I do not doubt that Ambessa has come to care for Caitlyn in some way. Ambessa has focused a great deal on teaching her and does seem to actually believe in her to some degree, as Rictus will later share with her. But ultimately, Caitlyn has been a target of Ambessa's manipulations much longer than she can image. We know that the Memorial attack was orchestrated to exacerbate the conflict between the two cities. And when Caitlyn enters the council chamber afterward to announce her strike-team's mission, Ambessa is quite clearly impressed. So when it all comes to head after the Strike Team's mission has failed, Ambessa moves in, filling the hole in Caitlyn's life and guiding her away from the light. We learn some important things in these interactions between or about them, regarding Ambessa's manipulation of her:

When speaking to Rictus, Ambessa says "the moment WE seize control of this backwater". She is not talking about Caitlyn. There are no illusions here as to who is in charge.

"I've learned so much from her..she delivered us Zaun as she promised... who knows how many would have died". Caitlyn talking about Ambessa to Maddie. The Noxian spy Ambessa put in Caitlyn's bed.

Caitlyn and Ambessa acknowledge mutual lack of trust between them.

Caitlyn questions Ambessa over violence being done by them. States arrests require cause. We see that Ambessa likes that fire in Caitlyn , and they have conversation regarding forgiveness: "Maybe you have the strength I do not.. to forgive.. and trust in tomorrow"... This is a powerful moment because Ambessa is using it to guilt Caitlyn into keep fighting, but in reality it becomes Caitlyn's greatest strength.

Ambessa trains Caitlyn in combat, calls her kin. And teaches Caitlyn the very thing she will one day use to defeat her.. sacrifice

"There are moments when your in so deep, it feels easier to just swim down...." (It's quiet uptown, Hamilton)

We are not witnessing the reign of a power hungry despot in Caitlyn. We are seeing a broken and angry young woman whose greatest failing is believing what this vastly more experienced mentor is telling her is the right thing. And even when she knows deep down it's not, cannot bring herself to believe there is any hope left. We are given many examples of the conflict she is feeling:

"Up again?"- We learn from Maddie Caitlyn has not been sleeping well

"I never thought it would go on this long... I don't know what I thought"- Caitlyn expressing clear regret over how things have gone down

Questions Ambessa over Rictus inciting violence

Questions Ambessa as to why peace is always the justification for violence

Has forbidden the use of cells like the one Vi was in

Considers Singed a monster for creating Shimmer

As I have stated in other documents moving forward from here especially we just take off at a dead spring regarding Caitlyn's story. From here on out we are dealing with her making things right with Vi and the fallout of that decision regarding Ambessa, and of her time as the Dictator over the two cities. I know I have done the pivotal moments of Caitlyn's story in the past, but given the pacing here it still seems the best way to dig into this, so that is how I will proceed.

Reunion with Vi & Beginning Of Redemption:

Vi and Caitlyn finally meet again, on the ridge outside of the commune. Caitlyn is scouting and jumps Vi, not realizing who she is due to her appearance. I have spoken on this quite a bit recently, and I even enjoyed a lovely conversation with some people who feel differently than I do. But that being said, this is how this all reads for me. Caitlyn has shut herself off completely to the chance of Vi still caring for her. All that we have seen of Caitlyn during her Dictatorship is that she has essentially given up. She won't risk pulling out of Zaun for fear of something worse happening, she bends to Ambessa with every explanation of why these wrong doings are necessary, you get the idea. So she certainly is closing herself off and distancing herself from the chance of the woman she loves still caring for her. Until she hears her nickname.

Now I have seen someone say that her eyes soften because it means the distance between them, like she is upset. I disagree. Caitlyn is extremely stiff until Vi calls her cupcake. And if Vi was holding her at arms length by using that nickname, she wouldn't trust her with the information about Vander. In truth, it takes the love of her life, a woman who refused to give up on those she cares for completely even in the darkest of times, to reignite hope in Caitlyn that there is a way out of that darkness. And so she makes the decision to help. Now what does that actually mean:

Turning on Ambessa

Losing support of the Noxian soldiers

Losing control of undercity which means Jinx

Starting A War

This takes us to our next moment showing the changes in her. Once the violence in the commune has already started.

Choosing Love: Part One

It's a quick moment. But right then and there the object of all of Caitlyn's hatred and rage is running by her, her back exposed to Caitlyn's rifle, and her eyes never leave Vi

Choosing Love: Part Two

So first of all not the right GIF i know, I couldn't find one of her in Caitlyn's bed for season 2. But the point, is that Caitlyn has been watching over Vi personally in her own room.

Taking Accountability:

Vi wakes from her injuries sustained saving her sisters life, and she and Caitlyn finally have a chance to talk. First and foremost she just looks so downtrodden. She knows how badly she has hurt the people she loves and is trying so hard to hold it together to make things right. But when she and Vi get into the crux of the conversation there are several important moments:

"I KNOW!"- Caitlyn admits to everything Vi is accusing her of

"We can't erase our mistakes, none of us"- Caitlyn including herself in those who have done wrong

Caitlyn then goes to speak with Jinx and gives us another big clue as to where her mind is:

"No amount of good deeds can undo our crimes"- Once again, placing herself on level ground with jinx

"Hating you.. I've hated myself.. I just don't have the energy for it any longer"- Admitting to hating herself for what she has done

Choosing Love: Part Three

Think back if you will, to the Battle of the Ventilation Chamber. Caitlyn Kiramman, wild eyes, ragged breath, completely enraged beyond reason, tried to take a shot at Jinx that could have easily killed a little girl, and then struck Vi and abandoned her. With everything they have through since that terrible day, Caitlyn has opened the way for the woman she loves, to free her mother's killer if she chooses. And when she finds Vi, she goes to comfort her, to validate her, to let her know that she is loved and that her undying heart is special and worthy of love as well. This is a truly beautiful scene that goes so far past a sex scene it's really hard to put into words how much meaning is conveyed in how it all plays out. There are a lot of excellent breakdowns and such if you wish to look, but for me I will say this. Caitlyn has shown Vi that her love for her is more important than hate could ever be. And in that moment, showed a strength Ambessa herself admitted she does not possess.

The Commander Reborn:

When she was a young girl, Caitlyn was asked a question. "Begs the question young Kiramman, what are you shooting for?" She knows now. Caitlyn stands on the front lines of the battle with her people. She is involved in a variety of incredible action sequences but the point, is that while she did lose herself, her values and her purpose to all of that rage and pain, she found her way back again.

Where once she allowed Ambessa Medarda to put her boot on the neck of the Undercity in the name of Caitlyn's grief, now Caitlyn stands on the front lines against her former mentor at only twenty-four years of age. And it is not without cost. She is stabbed, beaten, almost killed when Maddie's betrayal is revealed, and utilizing Ambessa's lesson sacrifices her own eye to stop her. And that is to say nothing of the mental trauma she has endured. But she is stronger, more resilient, and more sure of herself than she ever was. And, she is no longer alone.

With the occupation of Zaun ended, the council restored, and Caitlyn surrendering the Kiramman seat to none other than Sevika, she and Violet finally are allowed to just live, love, and heal with one another. It seems she has suspicions that Jinx survived the final battle (as we all do) but the show runners made the decision not to address that for now.

Caitlyn's story is truly one of dramatic change. She begins as a well intentioned but naïve enforcer, and ends as a respected commander who shed her own blood to keep the people she once failed safe. She and Vi have immeasurable healing before them, that is undeniable. But in such a dark and violent world, these two souls found one another and clawed their way back to each-other in the face of everything that was thrown at them. And it is through that bond that they will find their happiness.

My friends i went way... way... more in-depth on some of this than I thought. But I thought it was important... I think so much of the nonsense regarding this character is because she being labeled according to a single fast look instead of people seeing the truth of her incredible story. As always with these long ones, i feel like I probably wandered a little and if so I apologize. But I hope I managed to convey the depth of this character in at least some small way. To anyone patient enough to read this I thank you, to those who go even further and respond, I love learning more about this story from you all. Keep standing up for stories that matter.. Til next time!

[cl-0v3r]

Okay this is gonna be super rushed and probably have alot of mistakes but I need this out of my system so it will most likely be like half a shitpost !!!

When i think of Jinx and Mel at a flat level, i assume that they are very different from eachother, there is no personal connection between the two at all, they don't even know eachother and they both have very different roles in the show, not to mention the difference in demeanor and character as well.

But Arcane, a show full of parallels, always knows how to connect each of its characters to one another somehow, I find it amazing that you can find so many similarities despite their vast differences even if it was the most subtle thing ever, its like the tiniest bits of detail SCREAM at you.

One of my favorite (and most obvious) things about Mel and Jinx is the fact that they speak of their past THROUGH THEIR ART, I don't think I really need to go ahead and dissect this to the last atom since it's already very clear what their drawings mean to them and to the story, but they prefer to cope with their trauma by painting/making things that remind them of the past or has a relation to it, there is ALWAYS a piece (or pieces) of art about something that continues to HAUNT them to this day, for Jinx its "doodles" of the hallucinations of Mylo, Claggor & Vi who are almost everywhere she is, as for Mel its the bloody necklace thats hung above her head and over her bed alongside the painting of the immortal bastion to remind her about "home".

Whats even crazier is the fact that their art is also tied to the people who cast them out from their family, Powder before this was always called a Jinx ESPECIALLY by Mylo and she was considered weak and unable to handle things like the others, leading her to change and become somebody new after they left, sound a little familiar? Because Mel was also considered weak, sentimental, too soft to be a Medarda E S P E C I A L L Y by Ambessa at a young age, and what happened after? Gone. Afterwards, they find themselves in a new place where people "look up to them" or they're seen as someone with higher importance.

And I've spoken a bit about the visual similarities in an earlier post, but we gotta appreciate their attitudes towards their "parental" figures, I don't know why but its funny to see how much sass they throw at them, its what inspired this post actually. Maybe its just the satisfaction of seeing my two least favorite characters get the same honest reaction I have by my favorite characters 😭

They're both tired of their shit and its the best thing to ever exist.

Let's not forget how they both got genuinely angry at them as well? Jinx snatching Silcos injection from his hands and being pissed at him for lying to her about everyone being dead, while Mel slapped the goblet out of Ambessas hand, upset that she played with Jayce unrightfully so.

The color and design differences is a beautiful parallel too, Jinx is often surrounded by cold or dark colors like Blue, Green, black with a hint of purple and pink and dressed like her personality, while Mel is more light & Warm-toned with yellow/gold, red, white and a wee bit of black which is all matching to her Elegance. This is just a general parallel between characters of Zaun and Piltover overall, but its always very appealing when you compare them together.

And finally, its them completely letting go of their past selves and starting out new literally by the last episode after struggling with who they are the whole time, Powder was officially gone by the end of the season, and Mel was no longer Medarda. Jinx is just Jinx, Mel is just Mel, and they are both going to do things their own way and that was shown with how Mel took off her ring and painted over the Immortal Bastion with gold , and how Jinx launched her rocket towards the council with her own art on it too.

Its funny to think that thats the only physical connection they could possibly have and that its related to their character arcs, its related to them making a new big decision, it has a strong relation to their art, and a strong relation to them saying goodbye to their family.

Hope this made sense !!!!!!!! I honestly just want them to like idk hug or something and go to loo loo land and paint together or whatever in a different universe and cope with their shared trauma together no fuss no muss. Fanfic writers where did you go y'all are missing out on this super mega awesome cool older&younger sister / mother-daughter duo.

[arcane-ish]

Canon vs. Headcanon

I wanna talk about the status of canon versus headcanon (respectively impression).

First, yes, canon is overrated. Yes, you are allowed to death of the author. You can veer off from canon or just adopt the parts you like.

Here's what I think the difference is:

You can have your own headcanon. Nobody can force you to embrace something just because it's canon and canon wins.

But here's the rub: you don't get to force your headcanon on other people either.

Canon is something we can both look at it. It's the potential shared space we have and that we can veer off into different directions to.

I cannot look into your head. What makes sense to you might not make sense to me.

IMO headcanons are things that you can try to seduce people towards. Not something you can try to browbeat people into.

And no, you are not obligated to have encyclopedic knowledge of all aspects of just canon even though that is the small set of things that is actually roughly equally available to everybody with an interest in the fandom.

A lot of canon is still open to interpretation. Did A really love B? What did C mean when they said XYZ? How does D feel about UVW?

Some things are just facts in canon.

"The bar in Arcane is called The Last Drop" is an easily verifyable fact.

If you weren't paying attention in detail and you thought it was called "The Big Spot" and people point it out to you with evidence, no actually, it's the Last Drop, just take the L, say it's not that deep to you. But, no, you should not go on a big crusade where you try to force people to accept that it's called The Big Spot or at the very least the writers are at fault that you mistook the name for "Big Spot". Because that would be a shitty, asshole thing to do.

Again, no, you don't have to encyclopedic trivia knowledge over a piece of media. I for example paid relatively little attention to Viktor and Jayce's storyline so if I tried to sum it up, there's a decent chance I would forget things or mix them up or not notice all the details (like I was watching the Necrit video about like the symbolism of Viktor's clothes in his cult phase or his hair in the Arcane space and yeah, never got that from watching the show). Like, I've been writing Silco vs Vi meta for ages and I just realized I completely blink and missed the scene in Vi's old home even though that scene is very much about what she will later say to Silco about how she thinks he messed with Powder's head and how she sees him as a threat separate from Piltover. Mistakes happen.

So yes, this rant is about the "I thought Silco and Vander were bio brothers" thing. No. They were not bio brothers. This information is part of the main, shared canon. It's not hidden in some music video or artbook. It's not in some micro-expression body language or "actually that line has a special meaning if your mother tongue is Spanish" kind of thing. It's just there.

And no, it's not a crime if you didn't pay attention and the only thing that stuck to your memory is that the scene between Vander and Silco going head to head mirrored the scene where Vi and Powder go head to head and you drew your implications from there. And if you like that better, you can keep it and be happy with it. Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to pay equal attention to the scenes of all characters, especially if they aren't your faves.

That said: If you care enough to make a rage video or rage post or send people hate, then yes, I think you should actually have watched what you are talking about. You are wiling to inves the time and energy to make a rage video/rage post/send people hate mail, yes, you should have the time and energy to actually watch the scenes of what you're talking about.

Again, this is not a secret, hidden away in the corner of some music montage kind of thing. It's just …. there. Like I get why people might not catch Jinx's "like a brother" line, but this one?

It's just there, in plain sight. And yeah it should be enough to make you pause.

(and no, this is not about people answering when they've been explicitly asked about what their first, off the cuff, potentially shallow reactions to something were. This is specifically about people who create their own main piece of anti media and no, just expressing how you were surprised that your headcanon wasn't true is not anti media. It's imo at this point a bit late to the party, but it's not anti media)

[the-dragon-hearted]

Love in Arcane

There are a lot of themes in Arcane but an overarching theme is the dangers of love. Often times, love is put on a pedestal and mistaken as sacred. Love is always good, always "pure".

Arcane actively pushes against that.

I think a lot of the discourse surrounding some of the relationships wouldn't be as big if we recognized that love is just... not always a good thing. Silco and Jinx, Powder and Vi, Mel and Ambessa, they all display that - let me explain.

Silco and Jinx: Probably the most obvious example of this

Silco loves Jinx. This earnestly cannot be argued, he was willing to throw away his dream of an independent Zaun because he could not handle the idea of betraying her. Not losing her - betraying her. Hurting her. He was willing to give himself up, telling Jayce everything she did was what he ordered. It is not a possessive twisted love where he wants her near - he has spent her entire life promising that he won't betray her and he meant it.

BUT!

That does not mean Silco is a good father. He loves her - absolutely. But love is not always good. Everything Silco passed on to Jinx was an example of how he saw the world. Silco was a paranoid, hurt man and as such he made his daughter a paranoid, hurt woman. Love forms us, it teaches us and builds us. Silco loved Jinx but he hated Piltover. He was willing to use violence and use people to get to his goal and he taught Jinx that those methods were acceptable. And he loves Jinx, so she learned.

And after he dies, part of her healing is unlearning those lessons. It's no mistake the ghost of Silco she sees in that cell is a somber one - warning her about the cycle of violence she knows all too well. It's no mistake that Silco's solution was one he never managed to do.

A parent can love you, but that does not change who they are. It does not change what they teach you. Especially if they think they're right.

Powder and Vi: this one hits a lil personally for me

Violet is a parentified older sister, she doesn't just feel responsible for Powder - it's her purpose. It's more than a role to fill or a job to do, if something happens to Powder it is Violet's fault.

And Powder? Vi was everything to her. She looked to Vi for praise, for guidance. Everything she was supposed to seek out in a parent she had to look for in a fellow child. And when Violet leaves her (not really but that's how she understands it), she is ripped away from the only source of dependency she has. So there's a level of resentment there and a fear of further abandonment. Because if the most reliable person in her life can leave her, who won't?

When they reunite, Vi is trying to fulfill a role Jinx no longer needs. Jinx is independent. A lot of people try to say that Vi made Jinx or Silco made Jinx but remember that at the end of the day, Jinx is Jinx. She is a person who makes her own choices and has to find her own path. Violet can't recognize that until it's too late - and then, because she's known her whole life that it is her purpose to take responsibility for Powder, she betrays everything she ever stood for, puts on an enforcer badge, and takes to the streets to try to atone for her failure.

Vi sees Jinx as her failure.

And Jinx? When Vi comes back she tries to find that dependency she once knew. She tries to figure out if she can still depend on that sister who once meant the entire world to her. But she can't. She never should have. And learning that the person you idolize most sees you as either a child or a threat is gutting. Jinx is not a child, so she must be a threat. Because Vi can't love Jinx, she loves Powder. And Jinx can't be Powder anymore, and if that's the case then Violet can't love her.

They both do love each other. They love the memories of the other. Who they once were. When they start to learn about one another again and rekindle that siblinghood it becomes healthier - it's more meaningful and respectful but before then? No matter how hard Violet tried, even if Jinx had chosen to be Powder again, their love would not have been healthy. Violet needed to learn that Jinx was her own person. And that she was not responsible for her, not anymore. Jinx needed to find herself and recognize Vi's failures. Recognize Violet as a person too.

Because siblings change. They grow. Apart and then back together, usually. Siblings love each other but you have to love more than the person someone used to be. Otherwise, you're just pouring your grief on the person they've become.

Ambessa and Mel:

Perfectionist mother meets over-achiever, independent daughter. This is the clearest cut of all the relationships, in my opinion. We know Mel resents that her mother sent her away because she wanted to stay. She wanted to make her mother proud and if she couldn't make her proud she'd damn well spite her. And Ambessa? She loves Mel. She makes that very clear.

But sometimes, love is not something to desire. Sometimes love is synonymous with prison.

Ambessa's love meant she wanted her children to be survivors. Fighters. Winners. She wanted her children to be her.

Mel? Mel figured out quickly enough she didn't want to be her mother, she wanted to be herself. She feared what her mother could do but recognized the tactics and skills she honed were granted to her from the cradle.

That last word: "You have become the wolf."

The nail in the coffin. All the love, all the adoration in that tone, and yet Ambessa's love condemns Mel to a life she never wanted. Because now Mel is her mother's daughter. She is the wolf her mother raised. The heir. Mel loses everything she built and fought for as her Mother dies in her arms, by her hands.

Love. Succession. They can coexist with hate and damnation.

You can love someone and hurt them. Being loved can be hurtful. Love does not mean healthy. It does not mean good. Because love doesn't really have a tangible definition. You can love someone with everything in your body and still be bad for them. Someone can love you with all they have and yet haunt you long after their gone. I think we've placed love on this untouchable pedestal that we dare not touch or critique.

Because: "If it's bad for you it can't be love. No - people who love you don't hurt you. Love is only good. Love is good!"

It's important to know that being loved does not equal being happy, fulfilled, or safe. Better love exists. Healthy, meaningful, caring love exists. But even that will not always be perfect.

Love hurts. Love can be the most hurtful thing out there. Adoring someone rides a find line with glorifying them - love doesn't do that. Love knows your faults. It comes with faults. And adding the right combination of faults can make love a twisted sort of thing. Toxic is a word that's thrown around a lot and often separated from love.

Love can be toxic. It doesn't always become some separate entity, it just manifests sickeningly. Arcane shows us that.

It also shows us love can be good. It can forgive and accept. It can cradle and hold and save. It can last through dimensions and centuries, even through death. Love, like anything else, has many forms. Good and bad.

Doesn't Singed do atrocious things in the name of Love?

Doesn't Ekko recognize that even if he loves Powder, it's not his world. It's not his happiness to have. Doesn't leaving that love take strength?

Don't Viktor and Jayce find love in faults? In each other's shortcomings, not despite them but because of them?

Arcane encourages us to recognize Love's complexities and contradictions. And I think that's neat.

[thewistlingbadger]

The truth behind the supposed mural of jinx relies on question only: how much do the people of Zaun know?

I always thought that Jinx was a relatively well known person in Zaun due to her reputation. In Silco's organization, she is hated for two reasons. 1. Her unpredictability and violence is something to be feared. 2. Her unpredictability creates errors within the organization and she never receives consequences for her actions. However, when looking back, I realized that we never receive any opinion of jinx outside of the people that are/were used to being around her. There's a high possibility that the average zaunite doesn't actually know jinx that well, and either has little idea of her or ideas of her that were born out of misconceptions.

Here are the questions I have:

A. Do they know she's powder?

B. Do they know she killed silco?

C. Do they know she fired the missile?

D. Do they know how she feels about the liberation of Zaun?

E. Do they know she's alive?

I ask these because they all affect how she's viewed and the answer to any of these questions could be why she's seemingly being idolized by Zaunites.

A. If they know she's powder then it could be why she seems to have such a high image. We know that Zaunites tend to immortalize their heroes- we see this with the Vander statue. If they know she's powder, then the narrative becomes "she is the daughter of two of the most successful Zaun leaders". If they view her like this, it could be easy for them to sympathize with her and victimize her. She could easily become a vivid symbol of how Piltover oppression impacts Zaunites.

B. This one is the most important one to me. Silco was a very controversial leader that often did bad things for the sake of the greater good. If people know she killed Silco, I see them having two reactions. The first being one of joy. People that were anti-silco and saw him as an oppressor could start to celebrate Jinx for freeing them from him. This would also create a target on her back with Silco loyalists. For example, do you really think Sevika, Silco's most loyal employee, would team up with Jinx if she was aware that she killed Silco? However, if they don't know she killed him, they could see her as the next leader of Zaun, using next-in-line logic. They could once again feel sympathetic towards her. If they don't know she killed him, they can push the narrative that he was killed by Piltover, which would motivate people to fight.

C. This is another reason I can see her getting support. If they know it's her, some might support her for actually being the first to throw a punch at Piltover. If they don't know it's her, it's quite possible that they could view the war as random. They would feel attacked by Piltover, who is aggressively reacting to the missile and see this as an opportunity to fight back. If Piltover says Jinx is responsible for the attack and the people don't know this, they could use it to further scrutinize Piltover by basically saying "oh you got attacked? Of course you think it's one of us!". But Zaunites who don't want to fight could use this to villianize Jinx, as it would be her fault the war is here.

D. The weirdest thing to me about Jinx becoming a figure of rebellion is that it doesn't match with who we know she is. Jinx has always been a follower, not a leader. It is her nature to want to help, not to take charge. She has never cared deeply for Zaun liberation. Is it that her opinion has changed now that Silco is dead? Does she feel the need to avenge him and make good on his promise?

E. This one right here is special. To me, there seems to be two contradicting narrative in the trailer. One is that Jinx has become a new leader for Zaun, and the other is that Jinx is in hiding. These both can't really coexist. I am of the opinion that she is hiding for several reasons. I think she's hiding from Piltover, Zaunites hunting her, and has also isolated herself because she doesn't want to be around anyone else. When season 1 ended, she did what she needed to do, and then left, filled with shame for her actions. I feel like she's just chilling in her lair, waiting for her end to come. If Zaunites think she's dead, then there could be a narrative that Silco and his daughter were killed side by side by Piltover, fueling the fire that has begun in Zaun.

[sandraharissa]

I really absolutely love the idea of LoL Jinx being Jinx’s reputation, or maybe even a crazy persona she intentionally projects onto the world, but not how she really is.

There’s this passage from her game bio that hints at smth sinister and mysterious that happened and sets up the question of ‘what made Jinx the way she is?’.

No one knows for certain what happened to turn that sweet young child into a wildcard, infamous for her wanton acts of destruction.

But when she emerges and makes a name for herself as a terrorist the average citizen would only see her cackling as she blows up buildings and wouldn’t care to ponder this question. Well, her LoL behavior fits the stereotype of a crazy woman and it makes sense that in-universe ppl would perceive her like that and nothing more. She’d kinda become a boogeyman to Piltover/Zaun and they’d see her as such, as this exaggerated caricature of 'crazy'.

Ig what I’m trying to say is that we learn the story chronologically but imagine we first meet adult Jinx and then there are reveals or flashbacks. You’d never believe LoL Jinx has this much depth or such a real and tragic aspect to her. It could be a fantastic story on its own. So new characters having this kinda arc with Jinx where they first hear/see the fake persona and then gradually learn the truth about her could be super compelling. I think in a lot of ways it’s way more compelling than e.g. the observant Cait just going back and summing up Jinx to everybody else in Piltover in one sentence like 'her issues are a,b,c' like she watched Arcane alongside us and ig everybody's caught up now, no need to do these revelations through arcs and interactions.

Especially that there’s groundwork for this type of reveals with already established characters like Cait, Vi and Ekko. The story is intentionally constructed so that they don’t have nowhere near as much of an insight into Jinx that we got, like of course Cait would only see her as a psychopath, she investigated her crimes for months, nearly died in the explosion, saw her violent behavior during the reunion and bridge scenes and then got kidnapped and then witnessed her blowing up the government with her mom inside. And this sentiment also applies to everyone who didn’t know Powder and isn’t the audience. But even Vi and Ekko don’t seem to know enough to understand what’s going on. They knew Powder but as far as we know they have next to no interactions with her after she becomes Jinx and mainly just see her from her violent side and also from a distance.

Idk if this comparison makes sense but I get the impression that ppl’s takes on mcu Loki depend on whether they remember the events of Thor 1, and based on that they see him as tormented and complicated or a cartoon psychopath villain. So that’s kinda what I mean. LoL Jinx is if you skipped the set-up movies and went straight into Avengers and Arcane Jinx is if you watched everything chronologically and have full context for a character’s behavior. And while we already know enough to understand why Jinx became Jinx, it’s still a crucial and lingering question cos it’s a questions a lot of characters ponder and they never got that answer in s1. So s2 could explore their perspective, seeing Jinx only behaving like a maniac until finally getting answers to their questions.

Ig my point is that Arcane is clearly going in a different direction so I don't expect or want the characters to end up being identical to their game counterparts but I also find the idea that Jinx masks herself with an exaggerated crazy persona more compelling than the idea that she is perceived by everyone in s2 exactly as she is, even tho a huge part of s1 is how misunderstood she is by everyone around her and how she leans into her strengths and into how ppl perceive her for empowerment.

[lbulldesigns]

Arcane Choose Your Own Adventure (Fire the Rocket)

Jinx can't believe what she just heard.

Silco has betrayed her. Silco, who was constantly "reassuring her" that although everyone else may betray them, the two of them would always have each other's backs.

The man who believed in her. Believed in her inventions. Her skills. Her strengths. The man who showered her in affirmation and affection, who put a gun in her hand and pointed her towards a purpose and an enemy in Topside. Has betrayed her to the very people they are fighting.

She questions if everything has been a lie. If he ever actually cared about her, or if he just sniffed out her one disgusting weakness and exploited it.

She thinks back to all his hard won lessons, lectures, and baptisms.

She trusted this man, admittedly not entirely going by her interrogation in his office, but she still took his word as gospel. She turned her back entirely on Powder. On Ekko. Sweet Ekko, who only wanted to help. Fighting him on that bridge was one of the hardest things she ever had to do, but she did. For Silco.

And. It. Meant. NOTHING.

Her whole body begins to shake, that accursed Shimmer burning in her veins. Her breath quickens, her eyes burn with tears, and all around her the world fills with childish scratches and Mylo's mocking. And then just as suddenly it all stops. No scratches. No Mylo. Just a disconcerting stillness and silence.

Jinx blinks. Lazily wondering where the anger went. But there is nothing but emptiness in the place where it once was.

She is aware of tears running down her cheeks. So her body must be angry or sad or something, or just going through the motions.

Whatever.

It doesn't matter.

Nothing matters.

She doesn't matter.

With this she picks up Fishbones.

A distant memory drags itself from deep within, of a man sitting a young Powder on his lap, the smell of gunpowder and soot surrounding her as Papa reads a book about sharks to her.

Jinx attempts to swallow the lump in her throat as the sudden memory accosts her.

She made Fishbones for her Papa. Her real Papa.

She wonders if he would have given her up.

No. He died fighting them. And she will, too.

With this, she leaves her lair, her workshop, the place she has called "home" for some time now.

She traverses the city.

Sees Vi stumble out of The Last Drop battered and bruise. And keeps going.

She sees a woman shielding her child from a couple thugs. Jinx puts a few bullets in the assailants and continues on her way.

She finally comes to her destination. The Cannery. Where everything began.

She climbs the bridge facing Piltover and stares at what she calls, the Tower of Oppression.

Where the Council meet regularly to casually discuss how they can make life even more hellish for those below.

She can imagine them sipping on tea, or wine, or nibbling on finger foods whilst the rest of them starve. Hawting and Haa-ing at this and that.

Jinx hefts Fishbones onto her shoulder and takes aim.

The empty feeling is still there but right now it's sharing space with determination.

They want a monster. She will give them a monster.

If they want her. They can come find her themselves.

She places her finger on the trigger. And squeezes it.

Blue light blinds her, and she can distinctly hear the sound of her own cry over the sound of Fishbones.

Afterwards she sees a blue streak across a blood red moon.

And then.

Boom.

[darkyouthgentlemen]

arcane's final

Well, well, well... it’s the finale, and I’m not okay. Let’s break it down.

BE AWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD! (and srry for my english)

Ramblings about the last 3 episodes in the chronological order:

Vi seeing Lois as a Wander figure was gut-wrenching (especially considering what is going to happen in the last episode 😢)

Caitlyn’s brutality on Maddi oh ... for a moment I felt bad for her but as turned out, Catelyn's attitude got justified.

Jinx apologizing for C's mom? Meanwhile, Piltover soldiers — and Caitlyn herself — choose blood and felt that means justify the goal. The layers of moral grayness are SO much.

Jayce’s thinking: "Magic = Hextech = Arcane = Doom." Does he think all magic users are destined to destroy the world? And wait—could Mel somehow be tied to Arcane? (I’m spiraling.)

Powder/Jinx is the same across universes: pouring into others cups but never for themselves. Always feeling unworthy. It HURTS.

Silco hallucination: “Walking away” doesn’t HAVE to mean suicide, girl! And the glowing Hextech-blue eye? WHAT IF Silco is more than a hallucination—a ghost, maybe tied to the Arcane underworld? That scene gutted me. Silco comforting Jinx in his own twisted way even from underworld—I NEED TO BELIEVE THIS.

she just kept them there all this time…. Girl don’t close it!!!! you can do so much more

Viktor’s transformation into the Herald: it was terrifying. And overall this transition? From him wanting to create a perfect world, where the whole world being his some creepy doll-house and now he wants to eliminate the whole world.... it escalated pretty quickly (sure your lover not being very accepting of your new life direction and wanting to assasinate you isnt very motivating thing but still Viktor’s journey hauntingly tragic).

Oh and Zahnites’ epic entrance: ICONIC. It felt like there wasn't enough accent given to this moment or it can be my own feelings but still, it would hve been great to see more interactions about it. And Viktor’s entrance? Literal angelic imagery. His design is nightmare fuel in the best way.

Remember when Jinx dreamed of flying in the first episode? she made it evetually. Those days feel peaceful now

Sour Honey Iced Tea: What even was that?! Will it matter in the future? like getting your mind prepared to get wiped out? I NEED ANSWERS.

Ekko’s so much MC and the way writers implemented the time-travel ability was so beautiful. and those 4 seconds mattering so much in the finale.

I love the artists behind this design...

First time deing his eyes with the not-blurred pupil in forever, and he looks utterly shocked. My BABY

“Now all I want is my partner back.” Girl, I’m crying on the floor o(TヘTo).

"Why do you persist after everything Ive done?" his face is just

Victor and the Void: So the Void wasn’t manipulating him? It was all his choice?! or no??? a little confused by this part. But if it really was all Voctors choice the I guess friendship and forgiveness are a real thing that saved him? MY HEART.

Meanwhile, girls are in PTSD spiral. 💔

oh that hurt

Oh, and they DARED. Of course, they gave us another bittersweet trauma-filled father-daughter moment. Thanks for the tears.

Pretty much represents how we all felt at that moment

A season ago, who would have thought

In these series everyone's story gets to be told. You made it Singe,

What is this???

Caitlyn calling Jinx by her name? It’s a turning point for her and for us—an acknowledgment. Girls have a lot of stuff to do

I could keep screaming, but yeah. This finale hit like a freight train. Bittersweet, devastating, and absolutely perfect.... They are not going to leave us without any continuation, right???

[yellowmagicalgirl]

Unexpected Winter (Cold In Our Bones and Hearts and Hands)

Caitlyn and Vi are caught in a blizzard that Noxus unleashed on Zaun.

This was written for wolfraven80 on AO3 for the Battleship exchange.

AO3

FFN

SquidgeWorld

“Just a little further to the safehouse, Cupcake,” Vi said as the two of them walked through the frozen streets of Zaun. Even in the worst days of Vi’s childhood, it never got this cold. It snowed across the river, and it snowed Topside, but the fumes from the mines and the factories ensured a layer of heat would remain trapped in the Undercity.

It especially wouldn’t get so cold in the middle of summer, even Topside and in Piltover. Noxus was to blame for this. They had pointed a freezing weapon at Zaun as a form of revenge, and Caitlyn and Vi had been caught in the crossfire.

(And maybe, if the roles were reversed, Vi could understand them. Jinx had killed Ambessa's daughter. Maybe if someone from Noxus had killed Powder, Vi would do whatever it took to get her revenge. But Powder was Vi’s sister, and Zaun had once been Vi’s home. If Vi had to name a place and not a person, she would still probably consider the Undercity to be her home. Even though Jinx needed to be stopped, this wasn’t the way to do it. The senseless violence needed to stop, which was why Caitlyn and Vi clashed with Powder, Chem Barons, and Enforcers alike. And now weather-disrupting terrorists from Noxus as well if Vi got her hands on them.)

“It’s so c-c-cold,” Caitlyn said, teeth chattering. She had doused in water, earlier, when it was still warm. Vi had laughed at the time, teasing and flirting and not knowing just how dangerous it would become.

“Want me to hold your hand?” Vi hoped her bravado covered just how worried she was.

“Yes, p-please, once you t-t-take off those gauntlets.”

“These gauntlets are keeping my hands nice and warm.” Still, Vi took off one of her gauntlets, clipping it magnetically to her back. It was so cold.

Holding Cait’s hand was worth it. While Vi had the precision as to not crush a human hand in her gauntlet, the personal touch still wasn’t there. Plus, while the HexTech protected Vi from extreme temperatures, it didn’t protect Caitlyn or anyone else who touched the gauntlets with their bare skin from biting cold metal.

“I’ve got you, Cupcake. It’s just a little further to the Firelight safehouse Ekko set up. There’s a generator there, and even if that doesn’t work there’s a gas stove. You’re gonna be okay. I promise.”

[fortunxa]

── ⟢ JINX MASTERLIST

⟢ S T O R I E S

‘Blue hair, blue eyes, blue lights’

The chances of a blue-haired girl being chased by the cops and hopping in my car, simply yelling “Drive!” are low, but never zero.

↳ sequel — ‘Fourteen days’

They say the longer the wait, the sweeter the kiss. But, darling, I’m starving, so don’t keep me guessing.

‘Just come home’

In a mix of alcohol and jealousy, heartbreaks can get confusing.

‘Spoiler alert’ (nsfw)

Jinx knows that she can bring you more satisfaction than your book, and spoiler alert: she always gets what she wants.

‘The symbol’

“Piltover saw her as a terrorist, and Zaun’s rhetoric had twisted her into a martyr while she was still alive. She was a ghost haunting two cities, a myth both sides needed alive or dead.” Jinx. The loose cannon. The symbol.

‘The sound of her absence’

Bravery wasn’t in the noise, the chaos—it was in the silence that stood still against the storm.

⟢ H E A D C A N O N S

Physical affection with Jinx

Jinx with a drummer!reader

Jinx’s take on birthdays

streamer!Jinx

⟢ S E R I E S

Jinx x ballerina!reader (modern AU)

Y/N is quiet grace, a careful line drawn in the sand. Jinx is the tide, wild and unrelenting, crashing into her world with neon storms and laughter that feels like fire. Order meets chaos; calm meets wildfire. Yet Jinx’s rough hands hold her gently, and Y/N’s guarded heart softens in the storm.

𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 — Powder masterlist ⭑.ᐟ

[bwat5-blog]

Greetings! As you tagged this in such a way that suggests you wanted to share this with all of us, I went and took a quick peek at some other intellectual highlights from the treasure trove of insightful and well written discussion of your page. It seems to be the least I can do to share such wisdom with the other souls like me lost in the dark actually liking Caitlyn’s character. Now of course these are things you shared not wrote originally, and some of them are lacking the whole post, but I captured enough to really share the glory of each one!:

So this one was all about the writers stating Jinx realizing she’s been the problem in Vi’s life. Just a few things:

1. “Jinx pulled Vi out of her pitfighter arc”: Jinx visited Vi multiple times while she was spiraling and did nothing until Vander arrived. Now I personally do believe she was trying to watch over Vi to some degree, but that is essentially head canon at this point because there is nothing to back that up. Never mind that after “pulling her out” Jinx declares herself a hero for busting Zaun out of Stillwater while Vi was passed out in the bottom of a mug. Jinx hid during the entire occupation until Isha was taken,and Vi was in a suicidal spiral caused by among many other reasons- yes including Caitlyn- Jinx. Not exactly the genuine love and kindness way to go. And regarding Cait being too busy to care well that is true, this was during Caitlyn’s darkest period. Caused by Jinx.

2. “Jinx was the one that after everything Vi had done and how angry she was with her, who wanted to be a family with her”- Everything Vi had done?:

A- Like being kidnapped and thrown in prison after the only moment of cruelty she ever showed Powder but still spent seven years punishing herself for?

B- Or maybe getting stabbed, beaten, hunted and knocked out all trying to find Jinx once she was free?

C- Or maybe still trying to get through to Jinx after Jinx attacked the bridge then tried to kill Vi and Caitlyn?

D- Ohhh or maybe you mean when Vi convinced Caitlyn to show Jinx mercy after jinx had almost murdered Caitlyn repeatedly and abducted her nude from her own home? (Spoiler alert Jinx repaid that with knocking Caitlyn out and murdering her mother- ever so kind, truly a hero!)

E- Or even after knocking Caitlyn out how Vi still tries to get Jinx to come away with her?

F- Or maybe you mean when Vi became an Enforcer. After all of the above that Jinx had done. After Jinx’s actions guaranteed Piltover retaliation. So Vi goes with Caitlyn (whose plan stopped the full invasion btw) and brings down the chem-barons and Shimmer. You remember? The dangerous criminals and the poisonous drug that Jinx helped Silco unleash on their people.

And Jinx loved Vi and wanted to be family after “everything Vi had done”. What a champ.

3. Jinx brought them somewhere they could be happy and heal and be a family- No arguments here. Although I would point out it was all Vi’s idea for them to stay but minor point.

4. “the person they put her with couldn’t have given less of a shit. Just being a dictator and sleeping with someone else”- No argument Caitlyn lost her way big time. Now of course she wasn’t a dictator. She was freely given her authority, enforced it in a place she had full authority to do so, demanded arrests be lawful, challenged unnecessary violence and was still meeting with trade guilds to listen to their complaints and concerns. I do have one question on this one though. Did you miss the part where Caitlyn starts a war for Vi then creates the path for Vi to free Jinx from jail? You remember Jinx who murdered Caitlyn’s mother? You must have. Thats okay. Just rewatch S2 E8 and you will feel better pumpkin.

So this is of course another Caitvi cell scene was wrong and Cait didn’t deserve her happy ending but everyone else did:

1. “Jinx directly communicated suicidal ideation to Vi then went off to attempt. It’s almost portrayed in a way where Vi chooses Caitlyn (an enforcer, an oppressor) over her own sister”- She directly communicated no such thing. We as the audience have the benefit of omnipotence. Vi never saw Jinx blow herself and Ekko up, she never saw Jinx getting ready to blow herself up against Vander, Jinx says “there’s no good version of me…. Breaking the cycle” and Silco’s “projection” for lack of a better word said nothing to Jinx about death. Only walking away. So what Vi chose is the woman she loved (who just started a war for Vi and helped her free Jinx) over continuing to chase Jinx. For the first time ever. And if Vi had been the one to find her they would both be dead. The only reason Ekko succeeded was the Z-drive.

2. “It makes me bitter that caitvi got a good ending despite everything Caitlyn did, which she never apologized for, and it was never fully addressed”-

A- Started a war for Vi

B- Jinx’s back to Caitlyn while Caitlyn is armed, totally ignores Jinx and runs to wounded Vi

C- Helps Jinx get wounded Vi to safety

D- After Jinx willingly surrenders Caitlyn keeps her in the Kiramman bunker rather than Stillwater and passes no judgement until Vi is awake even though she could have executed her immediately

E- “I KNOW!”- acknowledges her wrongdoing

F- “We can’t erase our mistakes, none of us”- placing herself and Jinx on same level

G- “No amount of good deeds can erase our crimes!”- placing herself and Jinx on same level

H- “I’ve hated you, hated myself.. I don’t have the energy for it any longer”- acknowledging and admitting self hate for her mistakes

I- literally allows Vi to make her own choice in freeing Jinx AKA the woman who murdered Caitlyns mom among many other crimes

J- Willingly fights on the front line sacrificing her own body to put things right

K- Gives up her council seat to Zaun

3. Timebomb whining- Sorry your personal fan fic didn’t play out how you hoped 🥲

Another jail sex scene bad post:

“She kinda just does that shit on a whim”- Yall are the same people talking about season two robbing Vi of her “agency” but if she makes a choice you don’t like she did it on a “whim”? No. She did it because in that profound moment of feeling like she’d lost everyone the woman she loves came into that place of darkness with her, told her she’d laid down the hate that almost destroyed them, and trusted and respected Vi to make the right choice in freeing Jinx or not. Which Vi did, and Caitlyn isn’t angry or cold. She tries to comfort her with a dumb joke. She makes Vi feel loved, and accepted, and respected. And she showed her what she failed to show her before, that her love for Vi outweighs her hate for Jinx.

Not responding to the rest its just more of the same.

IN CONCLUSION:

Boy that was fun. I know you said there is nothing anyone could say to make you not hate her. Maybe the reason for that is based on the material you are sharing and reading. You need to elevate the discussions you’re engaging in! So, unhook your mind from the unending volcanic eruption of juvenile, shallow, brain-dead analysis that is Arcane Critical and come to the good side. We have cookies.

there is nothing anyone could say to make me not hate that blue haired fascist bitch

[wouldhope]

✉ @zcitgcistcr said: ❛ everything is going to be okay. ❜ // Vi @ Jinx c:

There's a surge of conflicting emotions rushing through her, and she feels like she's been swept away in the tidal wave -- her inner conflict clear from the shifting expressions on her face. Relief, anger, confusion, terror... She left you! She's just lying to get you to surrender -- those voices were so loud it felt like her ears were ringing. She lets out a low growl, grimacing as she covers her ears. No, no, she wouldn't have the nerve to lie again after everything... Right? Still, even if Vi meant what she said, there was no way it could be true. Not after everything that had happened, everything she'd done after becoming Jinx...

"No, it won't be!" She spits back, though there's more fear creeping into her voice than true vitriol, despite her best attempts to hide it. She can't decide if she wants to push her even further away or run into her arms and never let go. "I'm - I'm not the same person you knew back then. You want Pow-Pow, well - Powder is gone. I can't go back."

Right. She's Jinx now, the uncontrollable loose canon, the scorn of the Undercity and Piltover's worst nightmare. Not the girl Vi had loved back then... Before she went and screwed everything up like she always did. If Vi accepted her back and then left her again, well... She might just explode.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, sister."

[hastyprovocateur]

(SPOILERS FOR ARCANE S1 AND PREDICTIONS FOR S2)

Now yeah yeah, I know what they say about Jinx being a shimmer-fueled, feral, quick-draw who's totalled Caitlyn Kiramman once but I'd like to bring your attention to the fact that Caitlyn was hindered by Vi's hopes that Powder was still inside Jinx somewhere as well as her own hesitation regarding killing as she's never killed before. But that changes when her failure to take the shot results in the death of many more, including her own mother. This is a huge gateway into the psychology of the Caitlyn we know. The larger possibility for season 2 I want to explore is how Cassandra Kiramann's veritable death is going to affect Cait because Cait so far has been pragmatic with little to no skin in the game but with her mom gone, she becomes the new heir to the Kiramman throne and essentially the next Council superpower who is faced with an undoubted, violent terrorist attack that can greenlight war. In the case of the older Council being obliterated, I do not doubt that aside from Vi's undying hopes of "changing" Jinx, Caitlyn will gain complete surety of Jinx's capacities for evil and lose faith in rehabilitating Powder and by extension Vi's attempts to reach to her little sister. Whether Vi chooses Cait's side or not.

Contrary to the calm, reasonable, open to learn and slow-to-react Caitlyn in Season 1, the new, Season 2 Cait could be a) Fueled by her beloved mother's assassination b) a fresh (possible) break from Vi (Depending on who's side Vi takes after the Council is destroyed) her lover and closest link to the Undercity who is partially the reason she couldn't neutralise Jinx in time, allowing her to shoot up the Council building using the Hex crystal powered Fishbones shot c) If radicalised, Cait has access to any and all resources through her family to declare war and participate actively in it to kill Jinx. Not to mention access to all sorts of Hextech weapons she can put her hands on. d) unlike Jinx, Caitlyn is not easily distracted by mind games and isn't self-destructive. With her focus and obsession to do the right thing, shooting prowess, and quick thinking, like Vi said "And I thought Powder could get obsessed" they are a combat match made in heaven. With everything we've seen before, we know that Jinx can easily be outleveled, by Vi, and Ekko, at least in her non-shimmer state. The only thing cushioning her is the memory of Powder for both Vi and Ekko.

Caitlyn however, can bring Hextech to Chemtech just as easily and care nothing for Jinx/Powder outside of knowing that she's responsible for her mother's death and for the lives of many in the war ensuing. Big weights in the scales are both Vi and Ekko and it all depends on if they still stick by Jinx which I heavily doubt they will. Ekko already lost much faith in her, the remnants she killed on the bridge by blowing them both up. Not to mention the number of Firelights she's killed and also framed for her own actions. It's on Vi now... because I know Vander's voice is a big factor in her being attached to Powder and hope to unite them but I simply can't see her sticking up for her sister after she blew the Council up after killing Silco. She also saw her attack Caitlyn so consider that. If Vi sticks by Caitlyn and Ekko sticks by Piltover, Vi, and Caitlyn along with Heimerdinger AND CONSIDER Sevika and the Chem Barons turning against Jinx for crushing their dream to buy Zaun's freedom and killing The Industrialist who was at the forefront of Zaun's struggle for freedom... Jinx is going to be on the run for a long while with no one by her side unless she decides to surrender or give up the path she's currently on. Which is tough because with the blood on her hands, that's like a self-decreeing her death because the people against her, unlike Vi or Ekko, don't care if she changes. They just want her dead and out of the way.

This whole scenario changes only if between Zaun and Piltover comes a third party that threatens Vi's life in essence, because I can't see Jinx choosing to reconsider or defend anyone unless it's her sister. Even after Silco's death, she didn't lash out immediately at Vi when she could've killed her to avenge Silco and with how instinctively she killed Silco to protect her sister as well as firing away at the Council, I just know that atleast in that sense, the Powder who would do anything to protect her sister, is not dead and will most likely never die. It is the same for Vi. I'm just musing here but if any of this comes true I WARNED YOU!!

[arcane-ish]

(Relation-) Ship Scorecard

Vi/Cait: I struggled with this one. Like I feel like I should upgrade them higher because imo the pathos was well done and I enjoyed the pacing. Downside that it was more emotional angst and less flirty/sexy stuff. I have some issue with the Cait/Vi/Jinx “triangle” as a concept, but I do think the fanservice of Vi meeting Cait’s parents, them going to the council together and of course Vi being forced to choose by Jinx was god tier level. However, my personal feeling is that the writing for Caitlyn in Act 3 was a bit bland. It’s like they stuck her iinto a very standard idealistic good girl role and didn’t make a ton of use of her unique personality and “voice”. So personally would like to leave them at B+. I like them a lot, the fan service is still excellent. Might have been higher if they had found a way to slip a believable kiss in or found a better balance against Vi/Jinx. 

Vi/Jinx: The highs were insanely high (ie Vi telling Jinx they should run away together, Jinx despite all differences attacking Silco to protect Vi, Vi opening up about prison), but I have some quibbles. Imo Jinx’s fear that Vi doesn’t accept the new her was very believable and well done. However, I wasn’t so keen on Jinx’s jealousy of Caitlyn. Mostly because I feel like previously Powder’s abandonment issues seemed to be more about her screwing up and being worthless, not about not wanting Vi to spend time with other people. Nor did they bother to work out that Powder has a specific hate for enforcers. So it felt a bit contrieved for the sake of creating drama. Vi backing away as Silco takes off with the heavily injured/potentially dead Jinx also felt off. They are still insanely cool and the story about sisters who love each other but who might have grown apart is very cool in concept and again the conflict of whether Vi and and how much should accept Jinx was set up in a very interesting way. So I would say B+ for Act 3. 

Mel/Jayce: Act 3 fleshed out Mel’s backstory and clarified that she does feel some loyalty to Piltover. That said, even though they didn’t break up, continued their relationship and clarified that no, Mel is not just all about manipulation or self interest and Mel and Jayce are arguably more on the same page than ever, both having gained more depth (particularly Jayce with his trip to the Shimmer production plant), Act 3 didn’t really give them a ton of moments together that I consider emo (yes even when they are shown in bed together or when Mel is flirty with a shirtless Jayce), imo outside that smile right at the very end. I would say for them Act 3 was about both of them being a bit misguided and being reminded by others, most notably Viktor of you know, morals. I guess Mel’s mom had potential mom in law from hell energy. One could say they have an interesting foundation now, both seem to have every intention to stick with each other for now and no obvious points of conflict are there (well except for Mel’s mom’s meddling), so let’s see what season 2 plans for them. Overall, I would say they were a C in Act 3 due to lack of pathos. (I should probably note that this is written under the assumption that I don’t believe that Mel is dead [neither are Jayce or Viktor naturally])

Viktor/Jayce: I thought they fared considerably better in Act 3, once of course of course with the callbacks to Act 1. Viktor I think also worked as a conscience of the topside characters and imo he did it more effectively, with more emotional oomph than Cait. Relationshipwise what struck me as noticable is that Viktor is very secretive, has a lot of his adventures on his own and doesn’t share most of it with Jayce. Structurally imo it’s still  problem that Jayce gets to fan out so much more compared to Viktor, getting to interact with a variety of characters in all kinds of ways (Mel’s mom, Vi, Silco). I do think Jayce’s concern and wanting to balance things did come through (even if he was distracted by various things earlier in Act 3) as did elements of VIktor’s trust in Jayce. Over all, I would give it a B. 

Silco/Jinx: They were given considerable screentime and attention, lots of pathos, most notably on Silco’s side and of course reached their culmination in a way. Overall I think it was decently done. I think one could argue that Silco’s villain journey (in regards to his revolution and relatinoship with the underworld) petered out a bit, but I can be won over to the idea that that might have been intentional and their way of doing a complex character. Relationshipwise, I think Act 3 showed that as fairly one sided/slanted to Silco’s side, which probably is slightly more healthy than if Jinx cared more (basically I think it showed off in a variety of ways how Jinx cares less, but not as far as Jinx doesn’t care at all). Overall I would say ... I dunno A- within the context that it is supposed to be unhealthy and dramatic (and it’s good that it wasn’t dragged out too much)? 

Jinx/Ekko: Yes! They did something with them! Got a cool fight scene! Ekko got believably introduced as the sane thrid path of how society could be run! Considering how barely present they were as a dedicated dynamic in the other Acts literally anything is an upgrade. On a “shippy” side, it irked me that Ekko was that pessimistic about Jinx, yes even though it makes a ton of sense, consdiering she killed one of his crew in front of him in the beginning of Act 2. And yes even though of course we know he’s just talking a big game but then in the end can’t actually bring himself to kill her. Still, his pessmism is still bothersome and both characters seemed to shuffle off into their own conflicts fairly quickly with little mention of each other. (for example, in a more “shippy” version of Act 3 one coudl imagine for example Silco rather than his chembaron plot instead having a plot where he wants to hunt down Ekko for “killing” Jinx or Ekko being a presence at Jinx’s ghastly dinner). So, grade C, still underdeveloped, which is still up from the D they had before. Maybe other seasons could build from this if the writers are so inclined and build a more positive relationship (especiallly with how Ekko smybolizes hope in a lot of ways), but right now there isn’t that much there yet. 

Viktor/Sky: So that was a thing ... kind of? Personally I liked my headcanon about her being associated with the Firelights or the revolution more. I fele like I should compliment them for wringing a minimum of genuine pathos and sadness of something that was pretty much a nothing storyline (so, Viktor gonna tell Jayce and her family that Sky died in an unfortunate lab accident?), a minimum of depth was injected in them revealing Sky had been working on a project and Viktor cared at least enough to to grieve a little bit. Still, the truth is that it was barely developed and Sky essentially became a fridged women (I read a lot of commentary with compliments in how the show handled Mel and that she isn’t just a plot point but is giving he rown agency and motivation => well the same didn’t hold true for Sky) So overall grade D (minimum amoutn of pathos for essentially fridged side character story, I guess she did a good job of showing off Viktor’s caring side).  

(not grading Mama Medarda X anybody yet because it’s still too unclear)

Previous grades: 

Vi/Cait: B+ JayVik: C JayMel: C Jilco: ??? going on B Vi/Jinx: A