#just imagine how devastated Ekko would be

[bookish-cravings]

Saw somebody on TikTok point out that Caitlyn knows the location of the firelights base and it’s all I’ve been able to think about

Caitlyn I swear, if you touch that fucking tree—

[thenationofzaun]

This has been in the drafts for over a year and some of it is off base, but fuck it, I'm posting it anyway in light of the Season 2 news of a "dark and bitter outcast" Vi. I was right about that at least:

A Dark Vi in Season 2:

I'm hoping for a darker take on Vi in season 2. Imagine if Vi takes up a bitter attitude towards Jinx that's similar to Ekko's before the bridge fight - "Powder's gone, all that's left is Jinx." I say before the bridge fight because I think Ekko had a moment of growth there in his view of Jinx, where he was forced to confront the truth that Powder and Jinx are the same person, no matter how much he tries to divorce them to make it easier to kill Jinx.

Back to Vi, it's possible that in response to Jinx's rebuff of her, she bitterly disowns Jinx right back. Not immediately, no. I think Vi in the immediate aftermath of the finale would still be self-blaming, devastated, and confused. But after a while, when Jinx continues to demonstrate her disinterest in reconciling with Vi and her zeal in warring with Piltover of her own accord, even in the absence of Silco, Vi's view of her sister would have to change. I could see anger and resentment creeping in after a while. Vi would have to accept that her sister willingly rebuffed her and chose Silco, willingly ditched Vander's side. Vi might give in to that petty, indignant anger of a child upset with her sibling - "she left me, she is not my sister anymore!"

I can imagine her taking up an attitude like "I don't have a sister. My sister died a long time ago." Kind of like Ekko including Powder on his "wall of the dead" mural. It'd be growth for Vi, just not a positive one. She'd finally accept that there's no "bringing the old Powder back", but she'd pivot all the way to the other end of the spectrum with "you know what, fuck Jinx, the Powder I loved is dead and gone." This would be doubly sad and ironic considering her words in episode 9 - "Are we still sisters?" "Nothing is ever going to change that."

Imagine her telling Ekko "you were right" as she finally agrees with what he said to her in episode 7, but Ekko just has mixed feelings because he himself has since realized he was wrong in saying that. The Powder they loved is not dead, has never been dead. She's still here. She just made choices they disagreed with. She chose to join their enemy. And that's a much harder truth to live with than simply insisting she died and calling it a day.

Vi's view of her sister perfectly parallels her view of the undercity. In season 1 it was horror to find that the old version, the one under Vander, has changed so much in the time she was locked up. It was a refusal to accept this change, an insistence that the old home/sister can still be brought back, all she had to do was remove Silco's rule/influence and she'd restore her home/sister to the way it used to be.

They could continue this parallel in season 2. Vi could give in to anger and disown them both. Begin grieving Vander's undercity and Powder in tandem, while scorning Silco's Zaun and Jinx. She could fall out with Ekko due to this. Where he still wants to live in and help heal the undercity, Vi wants to leave it and turn against it. Vi could blame the undercity for allowing Silco's takeover and "not lifting a finger to stop him". She could take on a harsh view of her people, the Lanes in particular - "They betrayed Vander, they allowed the rise of Chembarons, did nothing to avenge my family in my absence. They're weak." She'd butt heads with Ekko over this, straining their relationship.

It would push her further into the arms of Caitlyn (and Piltover). She'd bury her pain in rage against all of "Silco's ilk". She'd want to wipe out all his loyalists and the Chembarons, since she couldn't fulfill her vengeance on him specifically. She'd think the best way to accomplish this goal is through tougher enforcement and punitive measures from the enforcers/Council. Basically the same thing she did in episode 8 but on steroids, eventually leading to her joining the enforcers.

But of course the arms of Piltover will prove to not be very welcoming. A large chunk of the enforcers are bigots who see "trenchers" as subhuman, so where would that leave Vi? How could she fit in with them without her origins colouring their view of her? Would she then feel rejected by both cities? I could see her ending up as a total outcast. Hated by Piltover for bigoted reasons and her relation to Jinx, hated by Zaun for being a sellout. This could trigger a lot of interesting growth for her. Sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom to find your way back up. But anyway, I'm interested to see what they do with Vi's character in Season 2, since I found her to be underwritten in Season 1.

TLDR: A darker, angrier take on Vi in Season 2 could lead to some very interesting places.

[sandraharissa]

So I’ve seen a take that this shot represents a potential future for Powder of being kinda like the Firelights leaving her as Jinx takes over. And I don’t think that’s a bad take, it just felt unsatisfying to me. I think the thing with this shot is that:

1) or there’s a completely alternate explanation cos the bug being inside her throat and crawling out is disturbing, and typically bugs on/inside a body are a source of horror in movies, so it’s weird that they’d attach this imagery to the symbol of Ekko and his gang. On top of that her eyes are closed until the firelight flies away, so again, weird imagery to show her “blind” when Powder, but awake/aware as Jinx.

2) or this is onto smth but I feel like smth is still missing. And so that got me thinking.

We know there was a scraped flashback scene between Ekko and Jinx. I think based on the concept art for little Jinx we can assume that it was created for that scene specifically and so the flashback would have taken place soon after ep 3 cos Powder looks exactly the same outside of the hairstyle. So in all likelihood that means Powder was the first person Ekko tried to rescue (like he did with all members of the Firelights), and if Powder went with him then she’d become the first of the Firelights with him before they would have found their other new friends. I kinda need this addition to be true cos then imo it makes this idea compelling, otherwise it’s kinda a tenuous connection. “Ekko is the leader of the Firelights and when he was little he was friends with Powder” – and that’s it, so we kinda need that scene that establishes that Powder was offered to become a Firelight but rejected it, so that the idea that “Powder loses /misses out on the potential future as a Firelight” would make sense.

Come to think of it and how the writers describe the scene as devastating/heart-breaking/smth like that, that would kinda count as a midway point for Jinx. We have the scene where Jinx is born, where her identity is solidified, but the Ekko flashback would have also counted as a devastating scene where Powder chooses to be Jinx and loses a loved one. So now I’m thinking that we’re missing quite the crucial piece of info cos of that scene being omitted. Obviously for Ekko but also crucially for the transformation from Powder to Jinx, which is kinda the main thing the show is about. I mean, we ARE missing the early Silco and Jinx dynamic, like, we can kinda imagine it, we know enough about her psychology and their relationship to put two and two together but it’s still interesting to think about SPECIFICALLY cos there was an alternative in Ekko but Powder days/weeks after ep 3 already prioritizes Silco over bonds/connections to her previous life.

A lot of ppl used to bring up the idea that even tho Silco is a flawed parent he probs still made Powder’s life better/safer than if she was an orphan, but Ekko somehow made it and we know he offered to help/rescue Powder so now I’m thinking the flashback might suggest the opposite, that Ekko found the tree really early on and that given a choice Powder picks Silco out of her own free will, even tho the alternative is just as good or even the better option. If the flashback was initially intended as the opening scene of ep 7 then that’d also mean the initial intention was to give the audience insight into why Ekko was so adamant that Powder is gone and that ‘she’s Silco’s now’. And maybe it’d also add context for their bridge fight scene (I feel like it’s needed).

And act 3 was also when the time for ambiguity passed and they started being really on the nose about the genuineness of Silco and Jinx’s relationship so this being the first scene of that act would be a really strong start, with it being shocking to the audience, communicating a shift in how Silco and Jinx’s relationship is portrayed and maybe even with it paralleling the last scene of act 2. If the scene was supposed to parallel Vi and Jinx’s reunion then that would show to the audience that ‘getting to Powder’ isn’t gonna be easy and therefore heighten the stakes for Vi’s future challenges.

[oreo-oro-orero]

I've always sort of a morbid fascination with how Ekko's time travel would affect his mind. We all know it affects him physically but I imagine a heavy mental toll just by his constant usage of it alone. I imagine the more he uses it the more his mind sorta starts to become jumbled, maybe he slowly starts to forget things or maybe even forget where he's at. He could have instances where while he believes he is saying something, all the other person hears is basically gibberish or he just says words out of order without realizing it. I've always imagined a scene where Ekko after countless uses of the drive, his money is starting to get even more jumbled and Jinx in an attempt to help him remember is like

"it's me little me, it's Jinx, it's......me Powder"

And Ekko just looks at her with a look of confusion and sadness and says, "I'm sorry but..... who's.... who's Powder?"Idk I just think that would be devastating ig😭

[deltadex]

(Be prepared, this is a brain dump)

I can't stop thinking about the fact that the emotional turmoil is going to be through the roof next season, especially for Vi and Caitlyn. During their struggle to de-escalate the war they've found themselves in, the mini-battles taking place in the back of their minds will be just as alive.

It only hit me now how much Caitlyn has been through in such a short time. She survived two explosions, witnessed many of her work colleagues die (which I assume is the first time she has experienced death), was taken hostage twice (first by Ekko then Jinx), and had her life threatened several times (e.g. held at gunpoint). I imagine it's still to hit her too...

And then there's the chance her mother won't survive the attack on the council, which will leave her devastated, if not in denial. The fact that it's caused by Vi's sister only makes this more complex and difficult to accept. The same person Caitlyn let Vi go after on the bridge, the same person she didn't want to sell out to the council, and the same person she chose not to incapacitate at the tea party. I don't think Caitlyn is going to become driven by revenge and try to kill Jinx, but I can definitely see her lose her cool.

Meeting Vi and getting to see the Undercity somehow became both a blessing and a curse, and I think it's possible she'll act upon the frustration caused by the circumstances they find themselves in. Thinking about this now it doesn't seem so unrealistic that we will see a Caitvi interaction "we'll probably hate" (e.g. Caitlyn lashing out at Vi. Nevertheless, I think she'll realise pretty soon afterwards that Vi isn't to blame for the mess their in).

Next season is where Caitlyn's character arc is really going to gain traction and I'm excited (and frankly scared) to see "a different side of her".

Vi also has her own struggles leading into season 2. She'll still be reeling from seeing her sister choose to walk away from her. The hope of "getting Powder back", the only thing on her mind for the past seven years, was shattered in an instant. On top of all this there's the huge possibility of Warwick (AKA Vander) being thrown into the mix. Finding out Vander is alive will rock Vi to her core and add to the barrage of emotions she won't have the time to feel.

(Sidenote: There's so much chaos going on already with the war and now there's possibly gonna be a blood-thirsty werewolf-man on the loose too? What a curveball! )

Besides Caitlyn and Vi's individual struggles, there's also the unresolved tension between them after the "Oil and water" scene. They don't quite know where they stand with each other, and I'm really curious to see how soon they'll address it.

Then there's the fact that Caitlyn probably overheard everything at Jinx's tea party before she was wheeled in, and just thought: "You were right Vi. I don't know anything about you." Up to this point she knew very little about Vi's past, and she still doesn't have the full picture.

Caitlyn is inquisitive, sometimes to a fault (e.g. "How do you not know if your sister is alive or dead?" "What, you don't have parents?"), and I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted some answers after everything she just heard. And even if Vi would rather forget about the past and avoid talking about it, Warwick is going to arrive and open up those old wounds. When she recognizes him, she's going to be distressed and Caitlyn's going to want to know why. This could lead to some heated conversations, especially if Vi is reluctant to share and Caitlyn is insistent on asking questions.

At this point, everything is happening at such a fast pace that they won't have the opportunity to have the heart-to-hearts (and mental breakdowns) they so desperately need. In some ways, their internal struggles are just as difficult to address as their external ones, and once they're able to reinstill peace in their world, they'll have no choice but to face them (you could only hope Arcane will be kind to us and have them crying in each other's arms by the end of the season)

There's this simple, great quote from Helen LaKelly Hunt: "Conflict is growth trying to happen", which is a really positive way to see Caitlyn and Vi's situation. I'm optimistic that if they overcome these challenges, they will not only grow as individuals, but will end up with a relationship that's stronger than they ever imagined.

Anyway, thanks for reading my brain dump ❤

[bichletmepickaname]

I really wanna go back to season 2 act 1. Because it was perfect. And I had so much hope for the series. Now I feel deflated. Like of course I love arcane still it’s just a little disappointing. And I would go back and enjoy some league lore content but that’s getting erased. So I feel really numb. I thought I felt numb from the ending because it was sad(which it was of course). But I think I really just feel numb because it’s so mixed.

I do really think I need to sit down and watch season 1 and season 2 all together and that will really be what ties it together and make it feel more whole. But I most disappointed for vi. This season she’s had no character development. People just develop more and more around her and she reacts.

Also the whole time travel Viktor thing could have been cut out and the Jayce and Viktor ending could have still worked. Imagine if Jayce went to that world and finds a devastated Viktor from that timeline. And he begged Jayce to fix it and told him how. The multiverse travel would have worked if he went back to the hex gates with the hammer from himself. Then the rest would have all made sense. Jayce would be initially dead set on stopping Viktor. But when he saw his Viktor it would crumble and he would stay. Getting the exact same ending as it had. Just without the stupid Viktor retcon.

And yes it was a retcon. Before it was shown it was supposed to be someone else.

As for Mel. I just wished there was more with her and her mother. Or a scene where her and Caitlyn bonded over the shared manipulation. Hit god was the scene where Ambessa dies in Mel’s arms was tragic. And bitter sweet “you are the wolf” Mel doesn’t want to be the wolf. But in Ambessa eyes she’s validating her. And then Mel is really left alone. Without Elora, or the council, her brother, her mom, her boyfriend. I really wanted to see her just break down at the end. She really deserved to just let it out. But it is in character for her to not.

I enjoyed episode 7 but alot of Ekko and Powders plot felt like it didn’t actually affect the plot itself other then the time travel thing. And Himerdinger deserved better. I do see why it was added I just wish we saw more of Jayce getting chased, tournamented and traumatized by the thing’s in the Hexcore corrupt dimension. Then it would have made more sense why he was so willing to kill salo and especially Viktor.

Jinx dying is actually one of the choices that gets hated in yet I don’t mind. Dead or alive she escaped. She knew she didn’t have a life there anymore so she let it go. And I actually liked that Isha didn’t have to be mentioned once for us to know why jinx was acting the way she was.

Caitlyn’s plot was really the same as act 2. I just wanted to see more actual dictatorship. But her team up with Mel was one I was waiting for for along time.

It would have been nice to see more of Jayce and Mel. But I do see why there wasn’t. There plots were vastly different from each others. There experiences, world versions and experiences were different. Thats what made them so interesting in season 1. But there plots were very separated none the less. So them having a kind of bitter sweet what felt like last goodbye was something that almost brought me to tears.

All and all. I did enjoy it. There are just some things I would tweak. But arcane s1 was so amazing that I just knew s2 couldn’t live up to it no matter how hard they tried.

[l1ve-l4ugh-lov3craft]

agh alphard as vander is a FANTASTIC idea!! i was stuck on who to put him as!!

with voldy as silco, i was honestly thinking you could even do a bit of canon divergence and rather than jinx’s loyalty to silco because he took her in, have regulus be loyal to voldemort not necessarily because he took him in, but more cos it was a way for him to get close enough to kill him?? idk if that makes sense?? but it could be a thing?? i dunno i feel like i have some sort of vision for that and idk how to explain it

okay okay okay proposition! snape as sevika, BUT THEN Peter as Marcus 👆and we do just a bit more canon divergence somehow that allows peter to have known james (even tho he’s the ekko character) cos i feel like the whole thing with him setting up and orchestrating the barricade, especially with it being the place that ekko and jinx fight and where ekko (so by extention james) almost dies?? it’s not ideal but it could be an option?? and then cos Minerva or Poppy (Imm leaning towards Minnie lol) would have known peter it would still hurt on that level?? idk let me know what you think

okay and here’s my essay on Ekko as James (though you’re SO right jayce is so james-coded). So ofc, that scene was a big factor when i was thinking about cos can you imagine??? just a lil canon divergence to have james and sirius have their iconic friendship, but after it all goes to hell in episode 1, they're split up??? and then the reunion they would have later in that scene??? DX Iconic. I would LIVE for it. And then also I think it would be really interesting to work with James and Regulus' dynamic as Ekko and Jinx equivalents?? Cos honestly, ideally I'd have James be Caitlin cos of the way Jinx got so jealous of her the same way reg did of james when he adn sirius became friends? But wolfstar is more important i'm sorry XD Unfortunately, I may have to forsake platonic moonwater in this au which is DEVASTATING cos I live for platonic moonwater QwQ Anyway and then i just think James fits a bit better into the scenes with Ekko than he does into Jayce's (even though it WOULD be a very neat take on james as a character to put him as jayce)

ANYWAY Lily as Jayce and Pandora as Victor??? PLEASE I'm obsessed that was SUCH a good ideaaaa!!! (and I'm a fan of jayvic AND pandalilly so things all work out whaaaaaaattt who said that) And I'm also a HUGE fan of putting Mary as Mel! Like YES! I love anything that encourages putting mary macDonald in more of a plot-heavy role in a story i love that woman (and the marylily content?? what???)

and of COURSE slughorn has to be heimerdinger oh my GOSH perfect idea 10/10, no notes!!

ADDITIONALLY to what you added, I also had the idea last night, if James is Ekko, to have the Firelights be called the Marauders? Kinda as homage to the marauders themselves?? Which is also why I'd love to have james and peter have more interaction even if he's in marcus' role, cos then once James takes Sirius and Remus to their hideout, all the four og marauders would be together and idk i just like it :)

hopefully this all made sense lollll XD

shoutout to @taleofapart-timepoet for this post about a marauders arcane au cos I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it all evening

I’d love to see a sort of looser based, slightly canon adjacent au?? a bit in the way crimson rivers was done where the big canon things do happen and there’s parallels, but creative liberites are taken

HEAR ME OUT

Vi - Sirius (obviously)

Jinx/Powder - Regulus (again, obvs)

Silco - Voldemort??? Maybe?? But I’m thinkin more in a crimson rivers tom riddle sort of way

Caitlin - Remus, of course

Ekko - Hear me out??? James?? and his and sirius’ dynamic is one that’s a bit different than vi and ekko’s in canon in a way i know but don’t feel like typing out so ask me if you want me to elaborate

Not sure who to do for the rest but SOMEONE PLEASE TALK TO ME ABOUT THIS I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS

[caitlynxviolet]

I really love your huge essays about CaitVi and Arcane <3 It feels like you can really defend a doctoral dissertation on this.

I wanted to know what you think about Vi's reaction when Jinx has a breakdown after Vi touches her. If you look frame by frame, you can see how surprised(?) and scared she is. Considering that Vi didn't see Powder's breakdown in episode 3, did she even know about them? I just imagine how much guilt Vi feels and how upset she is about all this, considering that it happens after she finds out that her sister is now calling herself Jinx.

(omg I’m so late to this I’m so sorry!! I was moving :/)

my huge essays askdnadsk im over here clogging everybody's dashboards :/ *expand* Thank you :') I'm glad you're loving these as much as I'm loving writing them.

Oof, yeah. Their reunion is heartbreaking in a lot of ways, but Jinx rejecting Vi's affection after being tormented by her own trauma is devastating for many reasons.

We've already established that Vi's love language is physical touch. She's affectionate with everyone she cares about, as we've seen in her relationship with Powder, Vander, Ekko and Caitlyn. This is important because that's how Jinx remembers Vi before physical touch was used against her. 

Vi is not used to having this type of affection denied. We haven’t seen a single instance of Powder rejecting Vi’s touch when she was younger. On the contrary, this is likely how Vi would initiate conflict resolution and attempt to defuse tension between them - through touch.

Powder loved Vi’s affection and she used to seek it too. She immediately physically comforted Vi in a moment of great distress. See how she melted in the palm of Vi’s hand there? Touch is how they convey their love for each other and how they comfort their loved ones.

So for Vi to reach out and have her method of conflict resolution denied is a pretty big deal. She doesn’t understand what’s going on with Jinx. Words aren’t helping. At this point, gestures aren’t either. It’s causing Jinx even more distress. Jinx’s sense of reality, her feeling of betrayal, and her trauma are blending together in her mind and nothing that Vi could do in this moment would soothe her little sister because she needs time out. 

Jinx would have needed space here. I need to think.

I truly think this is one aspect of Jinx that has changed significantly. Without Vi around and with a father figure as cold as Silco, Jinx didn’t have a person in her life to reciprocate that type of affection and she needs it. We see her seek Silco’s affection a lot more than we see her receiving physical touch as a form of affection from anyone. 

So now, Jinx is much more likely to fear physical touch and to perceive it as something negative. It hasn’t been reinforced as a powerful way to connect with the people she loves since Vi. She lost this means of comfort almost entirely.

It isn’t surprising that Vi would be taken aback when facing a reaction like this. I don’t think she’s ever seen Powder act this way. It hurts even more to think about how Jinx rejects Vi’s affection here specifically because she feels like it isn’t special anymore. It’s not their thing anymore, because she cares about the Enforcer too. 

[arcane-ish]

The Last Drop

What if in Arcane season 2 we see a flashback to the Last Drop when Silco and Vander ran it together and it's a mixture between Silco's taste in style and Vander's taste in style?

Of what if we see it and Silco's style is barely in it because either before the Drowning he hadn't fully come into his own style yet or he didn't have much say?

Will we get a fully redesigned Sevika!version of the Drop or will she aim to mostly preserve it the way Silco left it? (personally: I always got the impression that Silco designed the Drop more to the taste of his goons rather than his own anyway)

Or will some new power take it over and make it theirs? Or will we see Jinx go through a ruined, smashed version of it? (I could picture there being a ruined version and then it slowly gets repopulated in a "life finds a way" kind of way)

Will we get Warwick either walking through a smashed Last Drop or fighting somebody in a headquarters version of the Drop? If so, will he have a moment of recognition or will it actually be more devastating if he doesn't?

Will Jinx take it over or will her turbine room be her main lair or the cannery or will people/the manhunt drive her out of all of them, all the places she used to call home? Will Vi every make any attempts to take it The Drop? Or will Vi maybe visit another even more ruined and smashed version of it in an ultimate "you can't go home again" moment?

What if it becomes the location of a brutal fight showdown scene between either Vi and Jinx or Warwick and Vi or Warwick and Jinx forever "staining" the place? (while a fight between Warwick and Sevika there would probably be more normal)

But seriously, if Sevika keeps it mostly the same it could be a sign of how even with Silco gone she's still a follower at heart who doesn't really have her own style, while it would likely be a sign of emancipation if she puts her own mark on it. Meanwhile if Sevika is forced to abandon it it could emphasize how dire the situation is (though like a conversation of Sevika saying that it was always a shit location from a strategic point of view would also be interesting).

If there is a new big bad or big honcho in the undercity, it would also be interesting if they also try to make a headquarters there as a way of marking their territory, but I feel like most normal Zaunite badguys of meaningful power would choose a headquarters in the "fancier"/prettier parts of Zaun closer to the surface and it was just Silco and Vander's idiosyncrasies and ideological/emotional attachment that caused them to stick with it. I feel if it was ever abandoned it would always be taken over by somebody. I could picture it being taken over by a local gang, but like a big honcho mob boss/chem baron, somebody like Renata wouldn't necessarily bother with it. Urgot is like the only guy who I could picture moving into it, but him I imagine would likely choose something even deeper in the Zaun underbelly.

I could picture a version where Jinx goes there, finds it overtaken by random goons and going apeshit of them. I could picture a maybe super fluffy version where Jinx and Sevika are at peace/working together and Sevika promises that it will remain Jinx's home or that she is going to keep it in Silco's style. And I can just as well picture Jinx showing up, Sevika has taking it over and Sevika tells her to fuck off, she has no place there anymore.

I could picture enemies of Silco attacking The Drop and intentionally thrashing and marking it in their style as revenge on him. Now the Firelights moving in and making it in their creative style would also be an interesting development because of course Ekko would share Vander and Silco's way of being attached to the location trait. Though somebody nice from the community taking it over and maybe turning it into a safe haven, maybe in memory of Vander would also be touching.

(Considering how Fortiche loves to use symmetry and revisiting places and showing how they've changed, I'm sure we will see some glimpse of the Drop, with it just becoming Sevika's home base with only minor adjustments probably being the least interesting option)

[dragonshoard]

Ok but. Imagine if vander somehow survived but not as warwick. How do you think he'd react to jinx and vi?

oof Vander would be understandably horrified and upset, I'd think. He did his best to protect these kids from the world, to keep them from growing up to soon, and then he realizes that he failed completely. It's devastating!

I think he would try to help bring Jinx away from Silco's shadow, but at the same time I think all he can really see when he looks at her is Silco so he would eventually evolve into the same mindset as Ekko (though she doesn't act much like him, Vander sees where Silco's teachings have shaped the person she has become and that makes him extra guilty).

That, and I think he would want to focus on Vi and on helping her cope after having just gotten out of prison. It's one of those things that, I think, where choosing Vi over Jinx gives him the best chance for reconciliation overall (if he chooses Jinx, he loses Vi; if he choses Vi there is still a chance of Jinx one day coming back).

[tenspeed]

I have watched Arcane twice already and to spare my heart I am waiting a little longer for my third watch.

However I just keep thinking about how badly Vi, Ekko, and Powder have fucking suffered. They lost everything in one night and years later the gaps between them feel impossible to close but they are all they have left.

Ekkos mural having Powder who he mourned as much as Vi. Can you imagine how it felt to see her with Silco who killed Benzo and everyone else so he thinks. Watching him flood the undercity with Shimmer and turn the streets from a sort of family to a bunch of addicts and back stabbers. Having to be alone through all of that. How many times did he try and “save” Powder before he gave up?

Then sweet Vi sitting it a cell all those years knowing enforcers may come to beat her at any point. Thinking and fearing what happen to Ekko and Powder. Feeling like she failed to protect them. Everyday waiting and waiting for her chance to run to her sister. To find her! Only to see the trauma has ravaged her mental state. So much of episode 9 must have felt like slicing open her chest and just dumping a bucket of salt in. When Jinx says she made her that way. I know that sucked. I feel like Jinx doesn’t think Vi made her a monster only that she kept her going because of the “being different is what makes you strong” which Powder leaned into. However when she did it was like realizing her strength was being everything she is as Jinx. So I feel even if Vi had shot Cait Powder was never going to just be Powder. Also the “I thought maybe you could love me like you use to.” Doesn’t make me think Powder believes Vi doesn’t love her just that it isn’t the same way because she not doing something Vi approves of. With the visuals emphasizing that Silco accepted Jinx and Cait accepts the “new” Vi. Ugh punches me right in my soul.

Lastly Jinx. Would pay top dollar for her not to suffer. Her unintentionally killing and hurting the people she loves is like the worse possible bad luck anyone could have and I honestly can’t imagine who would be in a great space in Jinx’s shoes. Powder will always be there but Jinx is how she keeps going. I think trying to drag Powder back to center stage would be more destructive than simply trying to convince her not to murder indiscriminately. 😬 Silco, Clogger, Mylo, and Vander. She loved her family and loves Vi. I will stand and die on that hill. I don’t think they can be close like they use to be but I would love so deeply if they did not make them try and hurt each other I’d be real deal devastated.:/