#demacia

[demigoddessqueens]

Yeah, we’re definitely getting the two IT girls back

[yoshdookie]

They should all kiss btw

[vladstocker]

[undertheshivers]

And what if Jinx escaped? Left behind a few things to move forward? What if she finally rode on "one of those things" and got out of Zaun and Piltover?

What if on her travels—to heal, to find a new purpose, become a girl who isn't damned, to be someone who isn't reminded of her past in everywhere and everyone she looks—she ends up in Demacia?

What if the story continues after magic has been reintroduced into Runeterra and we see it through the perspective of the kingdom so against its very existence? Introduced to the girl who resents the deal she's been dealt in life and fears—if not ashamed—of who she is: part magic.

What if these two opposing characters, for whatever reason or another, meet?

Lux, ever the optimist. Jinx, the guilty pessimist.

Lux, the girl who hides who she is in fear of being rejected and captured. Jinx, the girl who's been rejected and unwanted far too many times to count.

Lux, with a dream of adventure yet stationed in one place because of duty. Jinx, almost chronically bound to do what she wants or deems the better choice, despite what anyone wants, tells, or expects of her.

What if Jinx inspires a new way of seeing the world for Lux—one where she's not limited by others and can become a truer version of herself? What if Lux inspires a new way of seeing the world for Jinx—one where she can learn to love who she is, rather than view herself as a curse?

WHAT IF?

[ohnoitstbskyen]

Was having a conversation with a friend about Old League lore. It got me curious, is Garens character still basically analogous to a genocide general, what with the mage hunt and all that, or has that largely been retconned away? I'm as familiar with league lore as I used to be.

It's more or less as it was. Mageseeker and the Lux comic have attempted to cast him as a reluctant soldier trying to resist bad orders to the best of his ability, but they haven't ever actually reckoned with any of his culpability and hypocrisy. It's one of those situations where the actions he is depicted as undertaking are astonishingly heinous when you think about them for even two seconds, but the story is invested in making sure you know that he personally feels very bad about doing it, and that in the name of nuance and fairness you should therefore be willing to be sympathetic with him.

Which. Y'know.

Asking us to hold sympathy for a guy who is dragging Extremely Obvious Metaphor For Queer People off to concentration, forced conversion and extermination camps is... I mean it was always a bit of an ask to make of a literate audience, but it's becoming ever more so as Current Year drags on.

idk I just don't have a lot of patience, in the present moment, for stories that try to leave heroic narrative space for people who hold pathetic loyalty to bad institutions, and commit atrocities in their name while shaking their head the whole time so everyone knows they mournfully disagree with what is currently being done, by them.

And if Garen was actually meant to be understood as some of the lowest scum of the earth: someone who knows better and does evil anyway, then that would make for an interesting story, but he's pretty consistently framed as a tragic figure doomed by his noble loyalty to a higher ideal, and oh don't you relate to his deep and complex struggle, such difficult moral questions he faces.

It feels telling of the audience that the story is written for, and the perspective it is written from.

[teradul]

Holy fuck Welcome to Noxus is amazing.

And I do mean that. And part of the hype is for how it folds Arcane in, but it also kinda has me worried.

Like, with Arcane and its canon, the best approach to the timeline is to let all of the cuncurrent events that work in a comic-book like environment of connected but mostly self-contained stories (that necessitates that concurrentness given the scope of the stories and the number of artists working on different parts at any given moment) to be spread out into a much larger timeline. Where a strong narrative drive can be better explored.

And with the state of the Noxian invasion of Ionia, especially the Singed of it all, it would be, imo, the best interest of the story to make Arcane as early in this timeline as possible. Before the first invasion of Ionia, AT LEAST. Makes sense, right?

But we see Katarina going against the Black Rose. And we see them talk about the next move while teasing what seems like Riven's Blade. And all of that is very much post-invasion stuff. Like, Katarina has her daggers infused, which also means we're post J3's death and in the middle of the Mage rebellion in Demacia, which is something that with "The Arcane is waking up" from the show, would have fit much more easily into the Sylas is recruited by the mageseekers part of that plotline than being forced to be happening right now.

We're currently 1 step removed from Arcane and shit is already looking wobbly at the seams because it was never intended to work like this, and even though Welcome to Noxus was incredibly hype and might be dethroning RISE to me, it very much needs you not to think too much about the broader universe implications, despite its purpose being trying to sell me on that broader universe.

[questionablecuttlefish]

Where is Jinx going?

Bilgewater is a strong contender, but don't discount Demacia.

Jinx/Lux is part of it. That's actually the oldest fan ship for Jinx and was the most popular for both of them in fanfic and fan art until Season Two dropped; the common claim that it's a fringe ship or 'only' in Star Guardian is inaccurate. It's been a part of League fandom for a long ass time. It started in 2014 in 'main Runeterra canon' only months after Jinx's launch and before either the Burning Bright video or Ekko existed. It was later boosted in popularity by the Wild Rift trailer, various promotional arts featuring the two together, and later by the Valoran Town animated series released in China. Why? Initially, just pairing the two poster girls of League together, probably, or the classic hero/lancer dynamic of the optimistic 'light' character with the edgy 'dark' character.

But since Lux's comic, the Mageseeker game and then Arcane there are more lore parallels between the two than ever; both are young women struggling with a society that hates them for something they didn't choose to be, both trusted an older mentor with revolutionary ideals who encouraged them to embrace their destructive powers and then betrayed them (Silco/Sylas), both accidentally unleashed their power and got people killed, both triggered a violent revolution, both have a complicated relationship with an older sibling (Vi/Garen). If they are romantic interests or just friends, Lux gets someone who will encourage her to embrace her magic and Jinx gets someone who won't judge her on her past and the potential for conflict and companionship and a very interesting, opposites-but-actually-mirrors dynamic is all there.

It's commonly dismissed by people ignorant of League's history and of the lore of both characters, but it DOES work. If you know, you know. 🦄

Outside of that, though, why Demacia? Doesn't seem like a place our crazy girl Jinx would want to go for any reason, ever, but the end of Arcane makes it more likely than even Bilgewater because at this stage Jinx is trying to cut her ties and move on from her old life. She wants to be:

FAR away from Noxus and Noxian influences (Demacia and Noxus are bitter enemies)

FAR from her "Jinx" identity and all the violence and chaos that stands for (if she wants to disappear and try to put it behind her and heal from her trauma, Demacia big, spacious, and quiet)

FAR away from her family and friends, so she can't be tempted to get involved in their lives and hurt them (as she sees it) again. (Demacia is waaaay over there, a lot farther than Bilgewater)

FAR AWAY from the Arcane that has, from the moment she picked up that first Hexcrystal, ruined her life and taken people she loves (Mylo, Claggor, Vander, Isha, and in a roundabout way, Vi) from her. (Demacia is a kingdom that despises magic and is full of magic-sucking stone made from magic sucking forests)

So I think it will entirely depend on the direction they want to take with Jinx from here. If they want her to continue to be a violent, chaotic crazy girl we know and love, they'll make her a mercenary pirate in Bilgewater, maybe tangle her up with Sarah Fortune's crew.

If they want her to try to turn her back on her "Jinx" identity and heal from her grief in peace and quiet, they'll take her to Demacia and she'll pop up unexpectedly, maybe as a tinkerer, or artisan, trying to reconnect with her Powder side.

This is where she could meet Lux (if they're going the Lightcannon route, which would make more people than you'd think very very happy) or otherwise get drawn out of her peaceful life and into the turmoils gripping Demacia, particularly as the Mage rebellion starts to break out. Particularly if Jinx ends up siding with the rebel mages, or siding with Lux either for or against Sylas's faction and/or the Mageseekers.

She has a bit of experience with being a rebel, she might end up using her experience with Hextech and the Arcane to give those rebels the edge, and "Jinx the reluctant pacifist being drawn back into her old chaotic ways to fight for a cause because deep down, she still longs for the thrills and the chaos and the noise" might be a really cool arc to take her on.

What do you think?

[yarozlav9zz]

Lux: Jinx, meet my brother Garen!

Jinx *finger guns*: Sup big man...

Garen: If you break my little sisters heart I will smite the Demacia out of you!!!

Jinx *inner thoughts*: So this is how Caitlyn felt...

[wisegirl25]

Idc what anyone says my baby Jinx needs to go to Ionia. The poor girl deserves a fucking vacation

Noxus is dealing with some insane threat which is going to make Viktor look like a walk in the park…not to mention all the insane shit with the Black Rose

Demacia…is Demacia (and no she does not need to go there “just to meet Lux” it is definitely not the place for her due to strict laws and blah blah even if it is pretty safe)

She needs time to heal among nature and magic pls and ty

However her in Bilgewater would be totally awesome so I could also accept that as another option

I’m pretty sure she canonically loves Bilgewater too

[misstakenme]

I don’t think Lightcannons dynamic is an ‘I can fix her’ and an ‘I can make her worse’ as many people, reasonably, think at first glance. I don’t think either of them have intentions anywhere close to that. I think they have way more in common than many people realize and if they were to be put together in the Arcane universe it would be more of a necessity for each other and that understanding, the comfort that comes with it, and also somewhat of a sudden realization of those things when they do meet. Like an “oh, thats how this is supposed to feel” moment, an epiphany even.

Oh, the brainrot.

[phalanxus]

Kayle and Morgana having a nice little chat about justice. I love their legends of Runeterra interactions so much!

[marianne-rogue-art]

This moment when you start resenting a project you love...

Pretend like we can touch EP5

[aurelion-solar]

Legends of Runeterra: Dreamlit Paths - Lux Followers Jarro Lightfeather - Dreamlight Alina - The Light of Demacia - Aberrant Mageseeker - The Petricite Hall - Luminosprite - Rising Light - Incandescence - Smoldering Smirk

[homo-arsonist]

I would like to ask a favor from the LOL and Lightcannon communities

Please provide me with all canon AND fanon facts about Demacia, Lux, the dynamic between Jinx and Lux, and absolutely anything about how Lux’s powers work.

I need all possible information

[mortalsteelq]

lightcannon in casual dress!

[ohnoitstbskyen]

The weirdest thing to me about League is that for some reason in a pool of amazing characters my brain latched into Lux of all people. Why? Who knows but I want her to leave Demacia and hunt down Nocturne and meet people who grew up with magic and accept her as she is and she learns through these experiences that she has to return home and really take a stand.

Why Lux. Why did it have to be Lux and not... idk Veigar or smth

Lux has a compelling story - not an especially original one, but a compelling one, built on compelling tropes.

She's this sheltered girl raised in privilege, who should have every reason in the world to simply embrace her fortune, go with the flow and live as her family wants her to. The Crownguards are more than capable of protecting her from the persecution that Demacia heaps on every other mage and magical creature, and more than happy to, so long as Lux lives up to the family name.

And yet... she can't do it. First of all, as she grows up, she becomes ever more sickly aware in her soul how inhuman the treatment of mages is under Demacian law, the brutality and oppression that is leveraged against them, all to prop up the legitimacy of the government. Second... she doesn't want to repress her magic. She has a light inside of her which is intrinsic to her being, a true and natural extension of who she is, how she exists in the world, and pushing it down and denying it is painful. She is full of curiosity about it, and eager to see what she can do with it, but she cannot be both a free mage and a Crownguard.

Lux is, in other words, a queer trans nonbinary lesbian genderqueer aroace gay gay gay homosexual gay. Or, to be less flippant, in her story magic is an extremely apt metaphor for queerness and how to navigate being queer in a bigoted environment.

It also works for other things, of course, there are other reasons to feel stifled and trapped by the rules and restrictions of society or by the demands of your family. Lux could also be a secret socialist, and the oppression of mages could reflect the way the bodies of the proletariat are abused to build capitalist state power - or you could read it as a theme of neurodivergency in a world that is still run on a lot of eugenicist logic. Although to be perfectly frank with you, if Lux is cishet, then I am a honey badger, her magic power is literally rainbow lasers.

So there are themes there, there are things to relate to, to hold on to, to be carried away by. There's a lot of great characters in League of Legends, all of which deserve better than to be owned by Riot Games, and Lux is one of them.

Also, her best friend is a building-sized himbo dragon statue which comes to life when she uses her magic around him and gives her friendly life advice while musing about how much he wants to punch kaiju in the face, which, like, I don't know how to NOT be charmed by that.