#chembaron renni

[mollysunder]

In "Jinx Fixes Everything" Silco apparently keeps portraits of the chembarons in a specific booth in the Last Drop, like a restaurant hangs photos of special guest. Silco really gassed up the chembarons' sense of self importance.

He kept a photo of himself there too.

Silco was also blackmailing all of them.

[arcanecitizens]

Chembaron Renni

Owner of the Slugerunners Renni and is involved in the creation of the chemtanks and a new type of shimmer that can power chemtech devices. We see this "greyish-green liquid" on the chemtanks but also on the augmented parts created by Smeech. She is linked to a missing persons investigation where multiple children were found straped to hospital beds and were being injected with the green shimmer. The purpose of the experiments being done on the children was not discovered.

Post info gathered from Counsil Archieves- The Grand Conspiracy and the Enter the Undercity event

[q8qwertyuiop8p]

Does Silco Know?

I'm surprised by the number of people I've talked who believe Silco is unaware of what Singed is doing to Vander, that it is all happening behind his back. Here I wanted to go over the reasons why Silco almost certainly played a roll in Warwick's creation, and perhaps even ordered it.

Weapon of War

Silco needs terrifying, never-before-seen weapons if an overwhelmingly underarmed Zaun is to scare Piltover into submission- it's why he has shimmer created and why he instructs Jinx to create Fishbones. It is likely that Warwick is intended to be another one of these wildcards.

Money and Strength

Singed's funding comes from Silco, so it would be difficult for him to hide such an audacious project. Singed also doesn't have the strength to carry shimmer-Vander's corpse away to his lab, but Silco's thugs do.

Holding On

Silco's biggest flaw is his inability to let the past and his loved ones go, and the way he, like Jinx, destroys what he loves. Silco romanticizes the betrayal and reminisces of the time he and Vander fought together. He refuses to give up on Vander, even forgiving him for the drowning and trying to reconcile. Vander has moved on, he refers to Silco as "brother" only in the past tense, but Silco continues to call Vander brother, even after the failed reconciliation and his "death." When Silco finds Jinx on the bridge, he tells Singed to keep her alive, even insists that "she can't die," despite being warned that the process will be torturous and it would be more merciful to let her go. He can't bring himself to do this because he loves her too much, too selfishly, to give her up to death or topside. Would it be that much of a stretch to suggest he did the same with Vander?

Hallucinations

After the explosion, Jinx hallucinates Vi, Mylo, and Claggor because she knows she killed them or indirectly caused their deaths. Jinx's bomb also helped to bring about Vander's demise, and she saw Vander's corpse. Despite this, she doesn't hallucinate him- not until e9, when she is already in a severe psychotic episode and Vi yells his name. Plus, in the concept for her minigun, she has scrawled "THREE LIVES" into one of the barrels. Mylo, Claggor, and Vi, but what about the fourth? It seems that Jinx may be aware that Vander is still alive, but how could she know unless Silco also knows?

When she finally does hallucinate Vander, she hallucinates scribbles of Warwick on or representing him.

So, if Silco knows, why would he talk to Vander's statue and not Warwick?

A- Privacy

Talking to Warwick means talking in the presence of Singed, who we see in e8 Silco doesn't trust. It's bad enough before you remember that not only does Silco say that Vander, who the undercity turned against, was right all along; he reveals that he is in the same spot Vander was in and is going to make the same decision; he is going to choose Jinx over Zaun, the same choice that lead to Vander's downfall. Silco is not going to risk Singed knowing that.

B- Pain

Throughout the show, Silco disassociates from pain, both his own and the pain he causes others. You can see this from the way he romanticizes his trauma, flinches and looks away at the cat being ripped apart, and reacts to the death of Renni's child. You can also see this when he kidnaps Vander- the blank, distant expression on arrival, the way he looks down and away when Benzo dies and Vander is punched, and how his good eye shines on the verge of tears. But he doesn't cry and he never does, because in his situation, to feel pain and empathy is a death sentence- the perfect way to prove your weakness and turn your allies against you. After all, it was his empathy towards Jinx that caused him to love her, and it was his love for her that turned Sevika and the chembarons against him. If killing Vander's friend and knocking him out was that painful for Silco, imagine how much worse it would be for him to see Vander disfigured, barely alive and in a constant state of mind-shattering agony, being sliced open and pumped full of chemicals. Singed had to drug Silco to keep him from going crazy over Jinx's similar transformation. Silco simply cannot bear to face the pain that he puts Vander through.

[constantfragmentation]

Silco Headcanon

Okay, whether you want to believe Silco was crushing on Felicia or he was just fond of her....

It really explains a lot in regards to Jinx and Vi.

I think Silco would have been both devastated at Felicia's death and proud that she died for a cause they believed in. Vander taking her kids, I believe, could have been a major sore spot with Silco.

Depending on when we want to believe the river betrayal happened (prior to the bridge battle or after), Silco doesn't appear to be on the bridge and why? Was he already so terribly injured he couldn't fight? That Silco stoked up the people's anger to where Vander couldn't back out of the battle and Felicia ended up dying?

I want to wonder if Vander prior to the battle, was having second thoughts. Felicia now had two kids and Vander was starting to see things differently. There were too many kids or people that would become collateral damage if they failed against Piltover. I'm thinking Vander began to believe they were going to lose big.

So perhaps, killing Silco was to way to end it before it became worse but by that time there was no stopping the rebellion and he still had to lead them in battle.

Yet, of course, the letter Vander wrote Silco signifies that the betrayal happened post-bridge battle. I wish the animators had not made them so young in Silco's flashback in S1E3 and then Vander clearly with a full beard in S1E1. I have to think that they didn't plan to expound on Silco/Vander post-S1. I believe they added the backstory because fans fell in love with these two characters.

So making her death the reason behind Vander killing Silco?. I kind of wish it was pre-battle that Vander had a change of heart but it was too late to back out, so he took it out on Silco thinking it would be a wrench in the cog and stop it. Silco jokingly claiming "#1" makes me feel like he thought he was the mastermind and Vander was just the muscle. So Vander used that muscle to stop him.

I think it works better if Vander tried to kill him before the battle, but it seems like Riot is making her the catalyst which I think is too easy a cop out. UNLESS, one of those kids is Vander's or Silco's.

Why is Felicia so important to kill your brother over? There are plenty of families, kids being put at risk but she is the big catalyst? Yeah, she's the mum of Vi/Jinx but why is she so important to Vander and Silco? Such importance needs to be explained.

When Silco says in S1E3 that Vander still kept his respect maybe that was because he still went through with the battle. Silco then adds, "until you played lapdog" and it all changed when he saw how Vander controlled the Lanes and worked with Enforcers and gave up all effort to combat Piltover.

So you have Felicia dead. Silco probably was barred by Vander in paying respects, etc. Vander talks to Benzo about Silco as that dark secret no one wants to know about.

Vi being the leader of the kids. She would be more on Silco's radar than Jinx. She is very much like Vander and that probably irks Silco to the bone if he considers Felicia a true patriot like himself. So, by extension he low-key hates Vi.

When he sees Jinx at Vander's dead body. He is vaguely aware she is Vi's sister and probably considering kidnapping or using her to get to Vi. It IS fucked up because these are KIDS. But Silco has a warped sense of life.

Most likely when he was a kid (as he chides Finn at the Chembaron meeting) he had nothing and most likely was a child labourer. So maybe he doesn't see Zaun kids as innocents and they are fair game. Hell, he has child labour making shimmer (Renni's son).

So, JInx tells him Vi isn't her sister anymore and he sees Vander's dead body. Vander isn't his brother anymore. But now he can take Felicia's younger child and mold her to what he though Felicia was? Like him? However, in S1 we don't see any conversation or hint of JInx knowing much about her mother or that Silco knew her.

As Jinx ages, she looks more and more like Felicia and I think that is a positive memory Silco chooses to keep. It makes him happy that he is protecting her daughter, helping her. He encourages her experimentation/scientific skills. Silco molds her into a version of himself, a patriot that maybe he chooses to believe Felicia was more like him than Vander turning her kids to his views.

SIlco lets Jinx gets away with EVERYTHING. He gives her important jobs that confound his subordinates like Sevika and piss off the Chembarons. No one touches Jinx. Silco won't allow it.

Smeech knows she's fair game now because Silco can't protect her anymore.

I think this is why Silco has a fragmented view of Jinx. He's sees a daughter he wants to nuture and protect but he also sees her as an equal and has absolute faith in her skills to build a weapon against Piltover. He struggles between the two. Treating her like his child an d treating her like a member of his team. Basically Felicia 2.0.

In her lab when he is so angry at what Jinx did in Piltover, only to see she stole the stone and he isn't giving her enough credit. And when she hugs him, he's reminded, she loves him like a father.

On the bridge after her fight with Ekko, Silco is mortified that he caused her death/injury. He sees the stone and realizes he put her in this position. She almost died because of him.

I wonder if that triggered a memory of Felicia dying on the bridge. He wasn't able to understand Vander and I think finding Jinx on the bridge was the beginning. He couldn't bear to lose Jinx. She can't die. It will kill him. He can't be the reason she dies.

So when he meets Jayce, he's protecting Jinx the whole time and when the ultimatum is handing her over to get everything he's always wanted, a free, independent Zaun. He can't do it. He cares too much . He still wants freedom but he'll find another way to do it.

At the tea party, he tells Jinx she means more to him than getting what he's always wanted. She knows how important that was to him, and you see it in her face. He calls her his daughter. She has the love and acceptance she's been looking for. It wasn't just Silco being protector/mentor. He sees her as HIS family.

I think that's why "you're perfect" hits so fucking hard. You know he loves her. In his own messed up way, all the mistakes he's made with Jinx, he loves her and was willing to give up his dream to keep her safe.

If Vi knows more about Silco than she lets on.... Sevika turning the knife by saying "she's like his daughter" is a real kick in the face. Because Sevika would probably know, wouldn't she??? Food for thought.

Fuck, I could talk about this all night but I have to go to bed if I want to get up for work tomorrow.

[arcane-temp-fandomblog]

Arcane season 2 predictions

aka Bingo time (blank one for you to make your own below)

Since this images became picture of ants with the text, top down - left right as follows:

Mel becomes disillusioned with Piltover and leaves Medarda clan

Mel’s main conflict is over who rules Piltover after the attack - fighting for influence over remnants of government structures with her mother

Singed and Heimerdingger had a falling out over Singe's attempts to save his daughter’s life

Jayce plays pivotal part in healing Viktor’s illness

Some of chembarons side with Ambessa/Piltover and hunt for Jinx because of the reward for her capture

Caitlyn and Vi have a true heart to heart where they discover the connection of their respective role models and that they were on two sides of the door in the explosion is Jayce’s apartment

Caitlyn uncovers the truth behind the bridge opening scene and how council played into it

Shimmer was initially made by Singed to help his daughter with pain as her organs failed and as possible cure - it is the same illness Viktor is suffering from

Singed is Corin Reveck - a piltovian inventor - whose daughter Orianna died from illness contracted in the undercity where she tried to help people (this is the reason for him joining Silco)

Jinx and Ekko reconcile

Viktor and Jayce continue their partnership - their places switch and Viktor is the ‘public facing’ one in Zaun as Machine Herald

Firelights are destroyed and it’s at leats partially because of Heimerdinger’s knowing their secret base location

Free! Undercity becomes independent

Vi becomes persona non grata in the Undercity because she was seen with enforcers in Ep 8

Silco and Vander learned about Osha Va’Zaun and that’s what sparked the idea of nation of Zaun

Caitlyn is pushed to become sheriff by the council since she’s ‘one of them’  unlike lower class person like Marcus

Caitlyn can not leave her position as sheriff by the end of the story because she’s protecting Vi - even if it’s a ceremonial position making her live behind the desk (something she didn’t want in E4)

Mel (knowingly or not) helped Amara to export chemtech to Noxus through cover of council’s illegal trade

Piltover edits the city’s history to upkeep it’s image as the City of Enlightenment - and that is why Jayce, Mel or Caitlyn don't know much about the bridge massacre

Mel’s golden jewellery that she always wears is Zhonya’s Hourglass

Viktor makes Sevika’s new arm

Viktor can already use magic without knowing it because as  Jayce proposed in E2 Arcane talents can be manufactured

Vi and Jayce are pursued by Renni’s chemtanks for revenge over her son’s death

Hexcore becomes Blitzcrank

Hoskel solves the puzzle Mel gave him

I had stuff like Jinx becomes symbol of revenge on Piltover but that was already in trailers. Same with Vander - Warwick.

Personally I hope for Sevika and Singed flashbacks in S2.

Anyway, if anyone wants to play along

[justanerddummie]

Pt2 of my rant

Ok so, I think Vi has been handed the shittiest hand of cards of all time.

Stuck between Cait and Jinx, still tied to the chair at the mad tea party forced to choose between her crazy sister and the kind enforcer, except this time it's Cait asking her to choose between a full blown war between Piltover and Zaun and putting on an enforcer uniform so Vi has chooses the lesser evil. She sacrifices her entire identity, her heart to save her people and I think that if she hadn't agreed to Cait's offer in the end Jayce would have armed the enforcers with hextech weapons, she managed to stall long enough to avoid it.

So, I really do think that Vi was the only person who so far has managed to make all the right choices. They might have not been the best choices but those were the ones she was handed and she had to work with it.

As for Cait, well, fuck.

Same as Vi, mentally she's stuck at the mad tea party, needing, craving the control Jinx took away from her knowing full well that behind Jinx and Silco there's a whole criminal organization that cheered when Jinx blew up her mother, that if invited to the party they would have loved to play with a councilor's daughter same as Jinx, so to be honest I'd say Caitlyn's need to be in control is pretty understandable, same as her rage.

Is it justifiable? Hell no, but understandable, yes.

Also, for a young woman who is incredibly traumatized she managed to keep her cool way better than anyone has ever given her credit to.

After the attack from Renni, not just Vi but also Cait managed to stop a full blown attack on Zaun by coming up with the idea of the strike team. Mel was getting cornered by both the other councilors and I honestly doubt she could find a way not to be out voted if Caitlyn hadn't barged in.

Anyway, back to the topic.

Yes, Caitlyn sacrificed a big chunk of her morality and legacy using the Grey, but strategically it made sense to use it. It kept them unseen so that the last two chembarons could not protect themselves from the attacks (btw it's left unclear if they were arrested or killed but I unfortunately think it's the latter, which is another extremely fucked up thing to add to the shit Cait's done in only three episodes so far) and also did in fact clear the streets of civilians as Vi claimed, like honestly if I would see a fucking nasty cloud of smoke coming my way I would make a run for my life.

As for the people they interrogated the only logical conclusion for me is that they were the people working in the shimmer factories we see them burn, who also have a much higher chance of knowing where the fuck Jinx is considering they were part of Silco's organization.

As for Heenot, Smeech's man, we can all see how Cait is already barely holding on to her sanity, she's way more aggressive than when we last left her and Vi is caught up to pace, she jumps in front of the guy as soon as Cait activates the rifle as if to protect him with her own body and Cait obviously clocks it and deflates quickly after, powering down the rifle.

Tension was already high.

The kiss was perfect in my opinion, both Cait and Vi were at their softest, and I know a lot of people might not agree with me but I really do feel like Cait was fighting the changes herself, that was all her talk with Jayce was about, how Cait is trying and unfortunately failing not to turn into this.

I also don't think Cait has tried to manipulate Vi in any way, honestly I don't think she had the emotional capacity, to deal with her Jinx trauma, the loss of her mother, her internal fight not to become a bigot and also manipulate the only person she felt comfortable enough to cry around.

Like, I think Caitlyn is smart but that is giving her too much credit she's not a master mind.

I think this also ties pretty well with the way she stopped Vi before going into the temple, I really do think she was about say something on the line of let's turn around, we don't have to do this, you don't have to do this but lost the fight with herself.

As for the fight at the temple, it was obviously full of armor plot, but I applaud the writers for working around it well enough to make it all seem quite believable. I loved it and I also loved Cait's insanity, the way she simply started shooting without aiming as soon as she felt Jinx slipping through her fingers once again and the way Vi had to catch the bullets with the gauntlets was pure madness considering how Cait refused to stop. It was a full blown panic attack at the shooting range happening and Sevika was the only one smart enough or maybe close enough to pull the fire alarm lever.

As for the last part. Well, Vi technically stopped her and Cait technically changed, there is no going back, the trust they once held in each other is completely gone and even though Vi tries to make Cait reason one more time, she can't, Cait is too far gone, in her mind there are no more good Zaunites only judgment and punishment to lash out and the first one who gets it is Vi.

I'm not going to lie, the only thing Cait got right in that episode is leaving after she hits Vi with the butt of her gun. I really think it would have been way worse if she apologized and Vi forgave her out of guilt.

I honestly have no more hope for CaitVi to happen, the things Cait did in only ep3 are enough to make me think that she should not be allowed within a mile of Vi's person. They had something special but it was broken and unless the writers pulled a miracle or reversed time there is no putting the pieces back together.

With that being said, I still enjoy Cait's character, I know it's weird but I really think that she is battling with a fear born from the deepest parts of her heart and hides behind every thought and emotion poisoning her entire being. I really do hope that she overcomes it, however if she doesn't she'd still be an amazing villain, and I support women's wrong, mostly almost all of them.

Bonus

I forgot about Singed in the last post but I think what we see are flashback of him right after the shimmer factory burned in s1.

That's it, I'm done.

[letters-to-rosie]

on today's episode of doing a materialist analysis of Arcane

okay so in that chembaron meeting, Renni says that trade is stopped at the bridge. what do people from Zaun sell the most when they go topside? what jobs do they do when they go across the river? I imagine it's kinda like a sundown town situation. how do the enforcers interact with these people? how tightly is the bridge usually controlled? is there more bribery going on (like probably lol)? what's life like if you're a regular guy from Zaun who does, say, janitorial work in Piltover?

[vaseflowerstt]

OOO OKKK

councilors (designs): 1.) Mel 2.) I don’t quite remember her name, but the one with the fun nails and steampunkish neck accessory 3.) Cassandra or the uh the robot (SORRY I can’t remember their names)

councilors (vibes): Mel, Cassandra, Jayce ig?

Chembarons: Renni, Finn, Margot

Question for Arcane Nation: who are your top three councilors? And who are your top three chembarons? Based on design and vibes.

[mollysunder]

Renni's attack on the memorial ceremony didn't need to be a part of some larger plot orchestrated by Ambessa. One of the reoccurring ideas in season 1 was that Piltover constantly underestimated and dehumanized their counterparts in Zaun. It was so second nature to the Piltovan cast that they couldn't see the direct line of their actions and consequences that lead to their situation.

Renni's attack is just another one of those consequences, because Jayce killed her son, didn't try to save him, walked away from his body, and didn't even offer Renni an apology. Of course Renni was going to try to kill him, she's a dangerous chembaron who's lost her factory and her child. It's genuinely insane to think no one thought this was a possibility, but it perfectly tracks with Piltover. The Piltovan cast constantly centers their own feelings and perspectives over their counterparts in Zaun.

"How could they do this at a memoria?!?", because Zaunites like Renni are grieving too. Her son didn't get any dignity when he died (and neither did Silco), so why should Piltover? Throwing Ambessa in as the secret puppet master just flattens the whole conflict because suddenly this natural progression in hostilities and critical failures in understanding are sidestepped by an outside party.

[q8qwertyuiop8p]

Silco Storyboards and Animation Processes

S1

E1- Silco's Introduction

E3- Opening Scene, Old Model

E3- Silco Stabs Vander and Meets Powder

E3- Silco Adopts Powder

E6- Silco Confronts Vi and Caitlyn

E6- Silco Threatens Vi/Cait

E6- Silco's Tantrum

E7- Chembaron Meeting

E7- Eye Injection

E9- Fin's Assassination Attempt Part I

E9- Fin's Assassination Attempt Part 2

E9- Silco and Renni Unrendered Animation

E9- Silco Ungagged

E9- Jinx's Breakdown, Vi/Silco Scream at Each Other

E9- Silco's Death

S1 2D VFX

???- Deleted Unrendered Animation, Old Model

[lamelinam]

The fight at the shimmer factory and the boy caught-in-between

The point of the scene wasn't: "Silco enslaves kids. What a monster! (Hurrah Piltover!)"

Instead, what this scene does is blur the lines between the child and the shimmer soldiers when confronted with the Uppercity's oppression.

The child lies amidst the fallen bodies of Undercity fighters...

It all flows back to Piltover

When you think on it, the kids working in the shimmer factories aren't enslaved to do so. Child labour is a tragedy, but this isn’t slavery orchestrated by a tyrannical Silco. The social situation depicted is instead much more nuanced, and the criticism more subtle than it seems. The causes aren't individual but systemic.

For instance, the boy who dies is a chembaron’s son. Factories, of shimmer or otherwise, seem to be a feature of the Undercity’s daily life that a large scale of the Underground citizens experience and work in, indiscriminately of age, sex or social standing, probably out of necessity in an impoverished and oppressed environment. Children mingle and work alongside the adults, without being whipped or physically abused. The conditions are deemed safe enough for the leaders to send in their own progeny for, I suppose, an educational experience, but also so they can fight, in their own way, “for the cause.”

So the Lanes’ child labour system hints at rather realistically complex economical, social, cultural issues of a place that would allow/require/need it, added to an ideological reason when it comes to shimmer factories.

Because, as Vi says (”He knew what he was signing up for.”), everyone down there probably buys in Silco's propaganda and believe they are fighting for the freedom of Zaun, making the weapon that will free them and eventually make this kind of work unnecessary.

(”Shouldn’t children be at school, instead?” Well, duh. I bet you developing the Undercity’s educative system is not on Piltover’s priority list.)

When Silco says that the boy died “fighting for the cause”, I think, in a way, it is true.

The child is the one who raises the alarm and wakes the shimmer guards: his actions directly responds to the enforcer’s rough treatment. He embodies the anger and hatred of the people of Zaun towards the symbol of Piltover’s abuse. Therefore he is the one who calls for the use of violence to answer in kind.

He is also the last casualty.

During the fight scene, even when the soundtrack and the hype reach their paroxysm, some elements announce the fall, make you uneasy amidst the elated display of power from our “heroes”. Hatred and killing intent deform Jayce’s face, while the previously faceless monster is donned a face and an expression, terrified, hunted.

Everything is too wild, too savage, too brutal, out-of-control, too... much. It is the excess that provokes the twist, the display of hubris that precedes the hamartia: the boy’s murder, signifying the end of the fight.

And something very interesting happens with the animation then: the juxtaposition of the shimmer soldier and the child.

This is a prime example on how animation can tell a story: here the circle closes. This motif is complete: kid -> shimmer soldier -> kid.

That frame is fascinating from a symbolical perspective: the shimmer guard disappears, completely drops out of the frame. In his stead, the boy takes the hit. The soldier literally merges with the boy. This juxtaposition, foreshadowed the moment the child calls the guards, reinforced by the first glimpse we saw of the scared guard inside that armour, is completed when the shimmer guard becomes the kid...!

In those last few seconds of the fight, each of those guards is given a face and an identity, in spite of shimmer and armour and inhuman abilities: that of children who have grown desperate and miserable in an environment that has done nothing but heap violence, humiliation and misery upon them.

Each shimmer soldier was a kid of the Undercity once. Every violence the Zaunites commit is born from the fury at the injustice they’ve experienced since childhood. Every violence done by Piltover eventually falls unto the a new generation of innocents, who will pay for the brutality and neglect of Piltover, and in turn yearn for retaliation.

Jayce looks at the victims of the Uppercity's sins, past, present and future, and, to his credit, he understands. Those faces, already resigned and resentful, are the ones he would one day face in a battlefield, and have to destroy. (The monsters they create.)

This episode isn’t about child labour, or at least it’s not interested in depicting it in a simplistic way (whips and chains à la Indiana Jones 2). More importantly, in a subtle way, it serves as a springboard to speak of child soldiering and the gearwheels of violence. Both tragedies are laid squarely at the foot of Piltover, calling out its original sin.

[in-sistant]

Singed made Shimmer and Silco is the supplier. Stopping Shimmer production means Silco shuts down every manu making Shimmer and the Zaunites and Pilties would now have to recreate it.. Zaun is currently full of power hungry chembarons scrambling too quickly for power, people who don't even have enough money to eat, and Shimmer addicts in the underground. It took Singed and Silco years to make Shimmer and that was calculated, a new attempt would be sporadic.

""Nose tube lady"" is named Renni and, S2 aside, she's in charge of chemical based weaponry, usually just simple (green) chemtech. Chemtech is very common in the Undercity as of rn, she just turns it into weaponry. She herself does not do the chemical production.

Pilties also use Shimmer *illegally*, and I doubt the ones using it are smart enough to make it themselves otherwise they wouldn't risk smuggling it across the border.

And Singed does not care lol Singed does things purely out of curiosity or for those he's loyal to. You can only get Shimmer from Singed or manus across Zaun and Singed would not have nearly enough interest to start his own manus for a drug that has already satiated his curiosity.

The fact that Silco was ready to stop Shimmer production for Zaun's freedom, but not give up Jinx says a lot. The Shimmer trade is the only leg Silco has to stand on, he has a lot of money, yeah, but he runs out of that money very quickly without Shimmer. The Undercity would have to quit cold turkey, he wouldn't be able to pay his employees, a bunch of underlings experiencing withdrawals and a bunch of unpaid employees in a city that has no doubt experienced the symptoms of inflation since Silco's rise aren't going to let him stay in power.

Stopping the Shimmer trade would more than likely force Silco to retire or get ripped apart by his own people.. whichever came first. But still he'd rather do that than give up Jinx. He flat out admits to be willing to give up his power before ever giving up his daughter.

[unilust]

I love Aubree for giving me precious shit like this.

Need part 2 tho.

[justwaytomuchfun]

Damn this is like an epidemic

[kingpins-and-revolutions]

Hello lovely Arcane beans, allow me to dig a little deeper into this (since I did some decent research for an RP/fic I'm working on) Building off of @zaunite-leo's comments, here's more info on the Chem Barons and what they provide to the undercity, and by extension, their use to Silco.

First and foremost, the chembarons are a sort of council (in a sense) for Zaun, even if they are a corrupt and underhanded one. Silco reached out to various crime lords loyal to him, and created the chem barons after he found suitable candidates.

Chross is in charge of The Hush Company, indeed a network of informants, spies, and fences across Zaun. He is one of Silco's more important chembarons, as he is the main vein of information collection across Zaun.

Margo is in charge of The Vyx; while mostly featuring brothels and other such amenities, her line of work focuses on supplying her clients with any form of pleasure they desires.

Finn and The Slickjaws are primarily over security (manpower), assassinations, and poisons, and stick to the shadows of the Undercity to do what needs done.

Smeech and The Scraphackers are in charge of the body modification industry. From gene splicing to full mechanical prosthetics/replacements, Smeech will provide you with anything you want, for the right coin. It's not unlikely that he helped arrange for Sevika's arm prosthetic.

Renni is a little less clear, but I believe The Sludgerunners supply the main chemtech components that run most of the undercity's civilian appliances and various other contraptions. I don't know what she personally would provide for Silco outside of perhaps another source of income for Zaun's under-the-table dealings.

I'm 90% certain these are correct, but I need to verify my sources. I'll be able to do that once I get off of work today (in a few hours). Expect a reblog and a clarification

After going to Enter the Undercity, I was able to learn a lot more information about the chem-barons, which is awesome since season 1 didn’t get time to focus on all of them. For those curious, here’s a guide to each chem-baron’s name and their company!

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The batshit Ren & Marcus headcanon you never asked for!

So I recently shared a Ren & Jinx fic here that has been doing stupidly well, considering... And I'm now feeling enabled to share this headcanon regarding Ren's mother.

You know who else is ginger, in Arcane? Two other people :

And isn't is a nice coincidence that Renni is called, well, Renni?

So here's what I suggest :

Renni had a daughter when she was young. Let's call her Roisin, to keep the R theme.

Renni was climbing the ranks fast and ready to make it as a chembaronness. Afraid for her daughter's safety, she sends her to live/study in Piltover.

There, Roisin falls prey to a very different danger... A very cute and charming man she falls in love with, and nobody with eyes can blame her... Marcus clearly was a snack in his youth. Imagine him in civvies, buying you a drink :

Unfortunately, Marcus is an enforcer (derogatory), and Renni is NOT having it. They get in a massive fight and Roisin breaks it off with her, choosing her enforcer boyfriend over her mother and her gang.

Then she's pregnant and gives birth to a cute baby girl (in this strange world where genetics are whack and an asian man somehow won't atomize your ginger genes).

Ren changes everything.

Roisin is just, say, 22, Marcus is 26, Ren wasn't planned... Despite their split, Roisin loves her mother and names her daughter after her. How could Renni resist this? A cute as fuck grandkid?? She can probably forgive Marcus for existing...

Now I'm going to drive off the deep end, so buckle up :

Roisin takes infant Ren down into Piltover for a weekend with her mother but is either recognised and attacked, or victim of a random attack, IDK. Also can't decide if it's on the way to Renni's, or coming back to Piltover, and if Renni has seen Ren before or not.

Anyway, Roisin dies, but her attackers flee without hurting the child, who is eventually returned to Marcus when Enforcers are called.

Bravo, we now have an idealistic young enforcer widowed by Zaunite violence. A year later, the events of Act I kick off, and Marcus isn't just a zealous dipshit, he's got a massive chip on his shoulder.

Evidently, Marcus cuts all ties with Renni. He's not about to risk his daughter's life in the Undercity. Not ever. She gets to grow up nice and sheltered in Piltover, despite her Zaun-blue eyes and distinctive ginger hair. She doesn't know about her extended family down in Zaun.

Mommy is in heaven... With a crown of stars...

Now, yes, that makes Renni's son be Ren's (late) uncle. If you'll indulge me, I'll make him into a very scrawny 12-13yo (Zaun isn't a good place to grow up in), meaning he was around 5-6 when Ren was born. Regarding Ren's age, refer to this post.

Not entirely uncommon for siblings to have 16 years of age difference, which would be the time between Roisin and dead-baby-uncle. RIP

Renni learnt her lesson too : don't send your kids to Piltover. It won't keep them safe. For her son she places her bet with Silco, and he goes to work in the shimmer factories and learn leadership there from the ground up.

But your kids aren't ever safe anywhere... [Thanks Jayce]

Now, I have to admit, I also enjoy what this implies for Grayson and Marcus. Because in episode 2, we're shown Marcus stepping way out of bounds, and get frustrated with Grayson. He's clearly her second, or else he wouldn't be with her in Council meetings, and it doesn't make sense that she'd pick someone who is impossible to work with, or a zealot who goes against the way she manages Zaun with Vander.

Marcus could have started as a great cop (whoa, no stone throwing, great in Grayson's pov ok) you know, good at his job, motivated... Gets to the top young. Then the above happens, and his rage and prejudice just leaks into the job. Now they're far more in opposition than usual. Grayson doesn't give him too much beef, like in episode 1 at Benzo's. She knows he's going through shit, she's cutting him slack. Until he goes and fucks shit up at the Last Drop.

Also. Wow. They really went and made the sniveling hateful cop into a hottie. They didn't have to but they did. Thanks Fortiche.

Anyway, that's how Marcus is actually Renni's son in law, thanks for coming to my TED talk. I might have to write Ren meeting Renni through Jinx, given how popular these two are right now...