#she still has some qualities that are so jinx

[shioricain]

And if I say they're the same?

[vincinnamontoast]

⠂☆ Vi SFW & NSFW HCs

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ tws/content warnings: nsfw towards the end :) not rlly proofread, a bit more modern au, lowercase intended

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ a/n: I’m still working on the story I wanted to post today but I wanted to put something out. so here are a little bit of my vi head cannons! this is lightly proofread with no organization tbh :>

☆ SFW/NSFW MIX

˚. starting off very in it, she worships you and the very soil you walk on. she will quite literally do whatever you say with no questions asked, but of course you don’t take advantage of that

˚. she does in fact snore. nothing crazy heavy and loud. just a light snore with some heavy breathing.

˚. she isn’t the best at regulating her emotions. she is very shamelessly vulnerable with her partner, and she loves being safe enough to feel small sometimes.

˚. she is a very light sleeper. any sense of movement and her eyes slightly open to ensure you’re fine. If so, she goes right back to sleep like nothing. will not move at all, and honestly it concerns you. she has to be sleeping on or near you. if you move away from her, she goes right back.

˚. baby needs so much love. she is a sucker for being babied. wash her hair in the shower, make her little snacks, smushing her cheeks and kissing her nose, tucking her in, and kissing her forehead. call her baby and she’s done for. she will never admit, but you can see it in the way her cheeks turn a warm peachy pink when you baby her. she loves reciprocation, so you can bet you’ll get the same exact love and treatment back

˚. she gets pretty frequent nightmares. she’ll panic inside until she realizes you are asleep next to her, then she’s rolled up into you

˚. loves being both big and little spoon

˚. Is in love with you and everything you do. she will sit and listen to you talk for hours about anything. while you talk, she admires you. the way you move, your voice, how every syllable slips from your lips like honey. she feels so woozy and intoxicated when she is with you. you wipe her off her toes by simply breathing in her direction

˚. she listens so well. you stare at a new game or a nice jacket for too long and you’ll have it by the end of the week. mention how you’ve been craving anything and she’ll have it cooked for you and fresh or ready for take out

˚. she is actually very smart (makes me sad some people call her stupid). she enjoys learning new things but she does get a bit impatient. although it does seem like she jumps into her fights head first, she has strategy and technique.

˚. she is pretty tech savvy. Jinx and Ekko taught her a lot of what she knows. (I do hc that jinx is very tech savvy and into computer software :p).

˚. she always tells you that she loves you. she just wants you to stay aware of how much you mean to her. when you’re both off at work, she ends up always missing you tremendously. she wakes up dreading the moment you both seperate in the morning. you can definitely expect her to blow up your phone with cute messages and comments about her day when she can.

˚. I indeed hc that she has a staring problem. she’s just intrigued easily by little things. she analyzes and is never sure when to look away. she stares at you. A LOT. she admires every single thing about you. every quality, every imperfection, all of it.

˚. very observant and attentive

˚. terrible road rage. she definitely puts up that middle finger and spits profanities

˚. so headstrong and can be very stubborn

˚. follows you everywhereeee. she can’t help it, she loves you so much and just wants you to be right there. she decides stops to following you one day, because she feels as if she’s being annoying. you both were watching movies. kissing her cheek, you stood up. she flexed for a moment, forgetting her plan. halfway down the hall, you noticed you couldn’t feel her right on your tail. when she wasn’t there, you walked back to the living room. she was sitting on the couch with her head down, like a sad puppy. “come here, baby”, was all you said before she jumped up, running to follow you. In truth, you loved it (she’s so puppy coded)

˚. she does talk with her mouth open out of habit. she does it in public when she has to say something.

˚. I believe that she isn’t picky BUT she does like to critique food. she is a food critic and will be honest with you. she is not the greatest cook but she loves to learn and try. she hasn’t dissatisfied you with a dish yet :p

˚. very protective but she knows you can protect yourself. that doesn’t matter though, it won’t change the fact that she is a protector

˚. she is always there for you always, will straight up leave work or anything to be with you if you’re having a bad day

˚. she isn’t the best with wording how she feels but she shows everything through her actions

˚. will defend you in anything, even if you are wrong. she is the defend you in public, correct you in private type

˚. she is an over thinker and does need reassurance sometimes. she is afraid to lose you in any way, but struggles to reassure herself that you aren’t going anywhere.

˚. she actually begs you to get the vi tat on your hip. when you do, she’ll get something that resembles you or your initials on hers

˚. she is so funny actually. she will have you falling over laughing with a shit eating grin on her face. when you both laugh together * chefs kiss *. her laugh is so cute. she does cackle and react with her body when she’s really into it. does in fact think brain rot shit like rizz and skibidi is funny

˚. very very helpful. she can also build shit. bob the builder lesbian fr. truly such a sweetheart and will do anything to help around the apartment you share

˚. she loves video games, choice horror and lore games are her favorite

˚. she is a bit messy, will leave her clothes on the floor and forgets to put her dishes in the sink. she just forgets to clean up after herself sometimes (as we all do honestly)

˚. tends to eat fast because she never knew when she’d eat growing up. It’s just one of her many habits in adulthood. she always makes sure that you have food to eat before she does. just like she did for all of her siblings growing up. she is a nurturer at heart

˚. physical touch is a HUGE love language for her. She loves skin to skin. Quality time is also one of her biggest. has got to be near you or at least have you in her eyesight, but she can respect your personal space.

˚. get jealous easily but she isn’t toxic about it. she’s used to everything being taken from her

˚. has a very gentle touch despite being how strong she is

˚. she can sing. she plays with your hair and sings softly n your neck when you’re sleepy

˚. huge softie. she tends to portray herself as tough, (and of course she is) but she is truly a teddy bear at heart.

˚. best person ever to chill out with. days where you’re both off work, lazy, and watching horror movies, eating, and playing games all day >>>> she’s down for anything honestly. she makes everything so fun and she is such a light to be around. she has her moments as we all do but you’re her partner and you’re there when she needs you

˚. she can be very annoying (i love ittt). can be pretty loud and constantly makes stupid jokes at the worst times.

˚. type who teases the fuck out of you constantly but when you tease her back, she gets so flustered. you both get huge boosts of confidence with each other and will flirt back and forth. It always ends with your eyes in the back of your head and her face between your legs.

˚. you worship her tattoos and kiss her along them all the time. breathing and kissing her neck while dragging your fingertips down the big one on her back. kiss her down it grrrrrr. makes her weak

˚. eats you out like a mad mann. depends on how eager she is but she usually has a method. she puts work into it every time, pleasure for you is pleasure for her. the way she holds you during it, you’re so important to her. your comfort is everything. she’s either the crazy in it type or the brutally slow but you can feel every single swipe and curl of her tongue type. rub her undercut and play with her hair >>>>>> she definitely moans when she’s eating you out

˚. she’s got so much energy and stamina. will have you bent and taking it every which way for hoursss

˚. Is such a good kisser. she is the ‘eat you whole’ type kisser. wants every part of your body on hers when you’re kissing. her hands stay up and down your body. will grab you by the back of your hair, hold your face gently, and guide your mouth into hers. soul connection type makeouts 24/7. always stops to look at you as you’re both panting, admiring each other

˚. grabs your face and makes you look at her when she fingers you. and she’s so good with it too. it’s so hard to maintain eye contact with her, because she makes you nervous. feeling your vision fade in and out because of how good it feels. “look at me” makes you feel things you thought you’d never

˚. she has nipple piercings (canonnnnnnnnn)

˚. she is a moaner and pretty vocal, they’re so soft and smooth coming from her heart shaped lips.

˚. she dirty talks so bad. she’ll have you feeling disgustinnggg afterwards

˚. her body is so warm and soft honestly, those bandages save her from a lot of the scruff she’d get.

˚. seeing her soft pink hair laid everywhere on the bed as you lay between her legs. her pussy melts in your mouth like honey butter and the sounds she makes>>>>

˚. a switch. lovesss to have you between her legs. to keep it quick, everything is messy, and nothing is ever boring with her

˚. she is a very loving and supportive partner

a/n: hope you liked! <3

[na0koz]

some jinx hcs!!!!! just general ones

toxic!jinx masterlist

- her love languages are physical touch and quality time. since you met you’ve spent more time than not with her and she honestly can’t go more than two days without seeing you. most of the time you hang out with her she’s touching you in some way as well. holding your hand or a strand of your hair, anything.

- loves to sit in your lap all curled up while you hold her head to your chest. it makes her feel safe and loved. she just crawls into your lap whenever she needs a little extra comfort.

- we all know jinx is a genius, and it’s no secret when she makes little trinkets for you. ones that play songs or light up, all completely from scratch. they’re all specific and meaningful to you or your relationship too, like your favourite song.

- it took a lot of convincing for her to meet your family. it wasn’t that she didn’t want to she was just so scared of what they would think of her. if they were going to make you stop seeing her or something. she knows she’s a little strange but she has no idea how she would come across to her girlfriend’s parents.

- i feel like she wouldn’t watch any movies or tv shows. like if you say “have you seen ___?” she’s like “what’s that” every single time. the only shows or movies she’s seen were with you.

- the same kinda goes in reverse for the music jinx listens to. she listens to purely underground artists but not in a pretentious annoying way. that’s just the music she likes and you’ve never heard of any of the bands she likes. she also has never heard of super popular artists like arctic monkeys or whatever.

- prefers when you do her hair. she lets you wash it, brush it and braid it. she says you just ‘do it better’ and she loves the feeling of your fingers in her hair.

- she doesn’t sleep that much, and when she does she really struggles to stay asleep. it’s a little easier when she sleeps with you, especially when you’re holding her but she still struggles. she goes days with basically no sleep and then one day will spend the whole day napping on your shoulder/in your lap.

- knows literally everything about you. she knows where you fell and got the barely visible scar on your calf when you were 11, she knows your favorite pasta recipe exactly, she knows exactly how to make you feel good.

- lovveeeesss when you call her nicknames. like literally anything. simple but she likes baby the most. she calls you stupid ones like ‘sexy’ and ‘hot stuff’ because she thinks romantic ones like the ones you use for her sound weird coming out of her mouth.

- loves bugs. she just lets spiders live in her apartment. she’s one of those people that says you shouldn’t put them outside because they eat the flies or ‘they’re more scared of you than you are of them!’

- really good at memorising numbers. examples include your phone number, street/house number, birthday, childhood home address… all coincidentally to do with you! coincidentally.

- tattooed your initial on herself somewhere you wouldn’t see at first. she was hesitant to have sex at first purely because she wasn’t sure how you’d react to seeing the first letter on your name on her v-line.

- has so many clothes???? you don’t know where she gets them from and when you ask her about it, she says it’s because she hadn’t grown since she was 14 so she’s got like several years worth of clothes gathered up.

- doesn’t blink like ever. you could be telling a story and she just stares at you the entire time. when you notice how she hasn’t blinked or looked away from you and start to stutter, she’s genuinely confused when you ask her why she doesn’t blink. “i do blink! just not right now…”

[fuckyeahisawthat]

What is Mage Viktor doing?

So it turns out I do have a take on what's going on with Mage Viktor, why he's messing with timelines in the way he is, and what he hoped to achieve by bringing Jayce to the torment nexus dimension and then sending him back to his own timeline armed with facial hair, trauma, and the ruthless determination to somehow stop his own Viktor.

Of course this is just my own reading; there are many ways you can interpret the reveals of the final episode. But it's become my preferred reading because it makes Mage Viktor come off as absolutely BATSHIT. The apotheosis of all Viktor's best and worst qualities. As he would be.

First we gotta lay out some fundamental principles about how I understand Viktor that will inform this reading.

Viktor was never being controlled by the Hexcore. This deserves its own whole meta, but tl;dr, I think it is directly antithetical to the core themes of the show to think that Viktor wasn't making his own decisions all through s2.

Over and over again in Arcane, we see characters become "monsters" and do monstrous things, and every time the thematic point is that this is still the person you love. When Vi says that her sister is dead because she is Jinx now and when Jayce says "my partner died in this room" THEY ARE BOTH WRONG. The person they love is different now but they're still in there and they can still be reached.

Viktor is transformed by something terrible happening to him (like many characters in the show!) but all his decisions are still his own and to me they seem like perfectly consistent--if extreme--extensions of what we know about him as a character before he gets a Hexcore heart.

So my analysis starts with the premise that Mage Viktor is not trying to free his past self from an outside influence. He's trying to hack his own character traits to make a different version of himself do what he wants.

Viktor is BOTH genuinely altruistic and compassionate AND deeply arrogant. This is such a banger combination and I think turning down the dial on either trait makes Viktor less interesting. I think Mage Viktor has genuine remorse about what he did in his timeline and he is, fundamentally, trying to find a way he could have stopped himself from killing everyone (within certain constraints; we'll get to that). When Jayce is able to show main timeline Herald Viktor his memories of what Viktor is about to do to their world, the first thing Viktor sees is not dead Jayce, or himself left alone in an empty world. It's all the ordinary people who are going to die terrified because of him.

I do not think any version of Viktor wanted this result. But Viktor is so convinced he is always right that his arrogance carries him right past the point of no return before he realizes oh actually I haven't freed everybody I have killed them.

So I do think Mage Viktor is trying to find a timeline where this doesn't happen, but he is not timeline-hopping in order to preemptively stop other versions of himself from making the same mistake. If he wanted to do that, he would just leave all the many many timelines where Jayce dies in a blizzard as a child alone. No Jayce who grows up obsessed with magic, goes around Academy rules to get the hex crystals, invents Hextech and gives Viktor the power to fuck everything up. Easy peasy.

But no. Instead, Viktor is actively going into other timelines and changing them at the point where Jayce would have died.

He is doing things that appear to make the sequence of events that leads to his world-ending magic blast WAY MORE LIKELY. And that's because...

Viktor is obsessively selfish when it comes to Jayce.

Mage Viktor wants to find a timeline where he doesn't doom the world but not at the expense of meeting Jayce and spending years doing science with him.

If the goal was only to prevent Jayce from dying in the blizzard, he could have done it quietly, waiting for Jayce to collapse in the snow and then transporting him to the base of the mountain, leaving before Jayce had any idea who saved him. Instead he makes SUCH A DRAMATIC PRODUCTION of it that Jayce remembers and can repeat the steps of the action years later, well enough that he actually produces a working spell from a barely-tested Hextech prototype. Mage Viktor wants that shit burned into baby Jayce's brain. He wants to make sure he fundamentally alters the arc of Jayce's life, bending it into a trajectory that collides with his own.

Viktor also (as far as we see) doesn't go the route of going back in time and killing his younger self, or steering the course of his own life along a path where he never meets Jayce. He doesn't even go for a timeline where he and Jayce meet each other but they don't invent Hextech. Now maybe it's the case that some time before our Jayce arrives in his timeline, Mage Viktor tried all that, and has figured out that none of those options work. (Maybe in some of those timelines Jayce is the one who goes Machine Herald, and there's no partner there to talk him off the ledge of ending the world.) But I think it's also possible that, now that he's gotten the experience in one timeline of spending years with Jayce making once-in-a-generation scientific breakthroughs together (which I truly believe is just as important a part of their relationship to Viktor as any romantic or sexual element might be)...he can't bear to deny any version of himself the chance of having that--even if the price is the rest of the world. Because a world where Jayce isn't his partner isn't a world worth saving.

So what I think Mage Viktor is doing is sitting there with his stubborn engineer brain and the husk of his dead soulmate, fiddling with the timelines like a Rubik's cube, going Not meeting Jayce CANNOT be the only option. There MUST be a timeline where Jayce and I meet each other and entangle our lives in an alarmingly codependent way AND we dodge the apocalypse at the last minute, I don't end up killing him, and we do not doom the world together. And I'm going to fucking find it.

So he's been hitting timeline after timeline, trying to find the combination of factors where everything works. He is not trying to preemptively save every timeline from himself, he is trying to prove to himself that meeting the love of his life doesn't doom the entire fucking world. It's devotion that is SO PROFOUNDLY SELFISH that he is willing to doom timeline after timeline, but driven by someone with enough compassion and pride that he doesn't want the guilt and shame of knowing he can only have this one life-changing thing if he ruins everything else for everyone, and enough arrogance to still look at this as a problem he must be smart enough to solve.

At some point in this process, I think he also figures out that Jayce is the only person who has any chance of reasoning with any version of himself. I think it's worth paying attention to the exact wording of his "in all timelines, in all possibilities" speech, because it's not just a love confession (although it is that).

"I thought I could bring an end to the world's suffering. But when every equation was solved, all that remained were fields of dreamless solitude. There is no prize to perfection. Only an end to pursuit. In all timelines, in all possibilities, only you can show me this."

And while this is some hella romantic cosmic soulmate level shit, it is also Viktor saying I need you, because you are the only person I have ever trusted enough to save me from myself.

It's the Hexcore promise all over again. Viktor knew he couldn't destroy his own creation. I read this not as Viktor being physically unable to destroy it because the Hexcore had some power over him, but not having the will to destroy it. Because this huge leap in Hextech technology was his big breakthrough and not (as I think he saw it) him supporting Jayce's dream. He knew he couldn't do it. So he asked Jayce to do it for him. Please, save me from my own pride, my desire to leave a legacy. I can't do it on my own.

It's a huge extension of trust, for Viktor to admit such a need. And now he's doing it again when the stakes are MUCH MUCH higher. I need you, because you are the only person who can show me the horror of what I am about to do and have me believe it.

Of course, the deep irony is that really the only person Viktor trusts to tell him he is wrong is HIMSELF FROM THE FUTURE. Astral plane Machine Herald Viktor is standing right behind Jayce, watching Jayce's memory of Mage Viktor telling him what the consequences of his actions will be, and that is the moment the horror sinks in and cracks him fully out of his machine shell.

But of course Jayce is the only person he would ever trust enough to carry such a message (from himself!!) to somewhere close enough to reach him.

It's not clear exactly how much of a detailed plan Mage Viktor has when he sends Jayce back to the main timeline, or how much of that plan he shares with Jayce. But I think he has figured out some broad strokes which affect how Jayce behaves.

(1) Jayce has to immediately go and kill commune Viktor. Squishing Salo is maybe a bonus side quest, but Jayce doesn't even take time to fucking shower before he heads for the commune. (I would love to see the part of the conversation where Mage Viktor is like yeah you know that pit you just climbed out of? Yeah the first thing you gotta do is go right back in there, all the way to the bottom, and find me looking like ethereal cyborg Jesus and blast a fucking hole through my chest.) Maybe this is because if Jayce waits around at all, commune Viktor finds a way to get to him and he folds and joins the cult. Maybe this is because there are just fewer variables involved in forcing Viktor to speedrun his own villain arc by Jayce repeatedly turning him down in one "perfect" form after another. Maybe Mage Viktor knows himself well enough to realize "yeah if you say no to me even ONE TIME but ESPECIALLY when you are HOT and SUFFERING I will go fucking apeshit and we can use that to our advantage."

(2) I think Mage Viktor has realized that he can only be stopped at the very very VERY last minute. He has to be able to see the direct line between what he is about to do right now and the arcane-blasted hell world he's about to create. Otherwise his ego will get in the way and tell him he is smart enough to figure out a way to somehow not kill everybody. Yeah Mage Viktor fucked that one up obviously, but I, main timeline Viktor, will be smart enough and well-intentioned enough when the time comes to simply not do that. I think this is why, for example, Jayce doesn't go to the commune trying to get Viktor to see the error of his ways. It won't work until it is allllmost too late.

Main timeline Viktor stops literally seconds before the point of no return. The arcane corruption spikes that we see everywhere in Mage Viktor's world are already starting to appear.

I think Mage Viktor knows that Jayce has to let him get right up to the edge, close enough to be looking over into the abyss, before he'll be able to pull him back.

But he knows Jayce can do that. That's what they do for each other, right?

This is why I think it was always the plan for Jayce to fight him all the way to the top of the Hexgate, and then surrender. Jayce has to survive until the end of the fight, and maybe for magical physics reasons he has to wait until Viktor sends the anomaly into the sky above the Hexgate. But once they get to the top of the Hexgate tower he stops trying to fight Viktor altogether. Maybe Mage Viktor told him exactly when it had to happen or maybe he just realizes this is the exact same place where he died in Mage Viktor's world; this is his last chance. But in any case, Jayce lands on the top of the Hexgate on his knees and he doesn't try to get up.

He waits, and when he senses Viktor behind him he doesn't try to fight or run away.

I think he knows, either because Mage Viktor told him or through his own intuition, that he has to let Viktor pull him into the astral plane if he wants a chance at reaching him.

How exactly he was going to get through to him and/or get close enough to share the memories before Viktor assimilated him...ehhhh I don't know if either of them had that figured out. The "you were never broken" part of Jayce's speech, while important from a character perspective...very crucially DOES NOT WORK. IT DOES NOT WORK AT ALL. Viktor is assimilating Jayce the whole time. You can see Jayce's astral body changing from the unique version that's still him (like his hands on the left, when he first enters the astral plane--which still look more or less human even though Viktor has already erased "imperfections" like the scrapes and cuts from his time in the pit and the arcane corruption that's spreading up and down his arm from where the rune is embedded) into a featureless gold blob like the other assimilated people.

You can watch the gold light creeping up his body steadily during those lines until it reaches his eyes.

The ONLY thing that stops this timeline from ending the same way Mage Viktor's does...is EKKO.

I think you can make the case that Mage Viktor sent Ekko to the no-Hextech timeline intentionally. But it is such a complex chain of causality for Ekko to get to the point where he's chucking a time machine at Herald Viktor's face that there is no way anyone--even a remorseful demigod with lots of time on his hands--could control every possible factor.

However elaborate Mage Viktor's plan was, and however determined Jayce was to keep his promise to him, it all would have failed if not for factors outside their control and random fucking chance.

Arcane is FULL of near-misses and what-could-have-beens and characters who are trying their best to do something getting knocked off course by consequences they never could have foreseen. Season 2 in particular introduces a persistent thread of chaos and the sense that even events that have understandable root causes are now spiraling out of characters' control. So it feels fitting that such a moment factors into the show's ending.

This is Jayce right before Ekko blasts through spacetime right above Viktor's head.

Yeah that guy was cooked.

The only thing that stops Jayce from being assimilated is Ekko breaking time to throw the Z drive at Viktor's face.

Which startles Viktor enough that he takes his hand off Jayce's head in the physical realm, and also breaks a piece of his machine mask off in the astral realm.

As he always does when one of his "perfect" bodies gets damaged, Viktor withdraws and tried to hide, enough that he lets go of the assimilation connection with Jayce.

Jayce starts to regain his own identity/autonomy.

And he gets a do-over. Exactly the same way Ekko used the Z drive to get a do-over with Jinx when he was trying to talk her out of suicide. Jayce gets another chance, and that's when he goes for "all I want is my partner back" and "because I promised you." Which works.

Mage Viktor's plan, I think, was for Jayce to help main timeline Viktor realize what he was doing before it was too late, and then give him the runestone, which allows him to release all the minds/souls that are connected to him before this becomes some runaway chain reaction of arcane power that swallows everything around him. (How the runestone does this exactly, and how the anomalies play into it, is stuff I am still thinking about. But tbh I am less concerned with the details of made-up magic physics than I am with the character beats.) Mage Viktor had accepted that main timeline Viktor was probably going to die in this process and he'd made peace with it. That's what "should" have happened anyway, if Viktor never found a way to forestall his illness, right? As long as this Viktor got to spend the best years of his life with his Jayce, it was okay.

I don't think Mage Viktor ever expected Jayce to stay there until the end. His goal was to save the world and spare Jayce from himself. And why would he plan otherwise? We know why Jayce stays, but Mage Viktor never got that part of the story. He schlorped up his own Jayce's consciousness with everyone else and maybe he only understood the depths of what Jayce felt for him in the moment that he was killing him. And main timeline Viktor certainly does not expect Jayce to stay. He's shocked when he realizes Jayce has no intention of leaving. No, that wasn't part of any master plan. That part was all Jayce.

[tackykachowch]

Jinx's appearance in s2 ep9 is a tragedy for her character. The writing throughout the season already tried its best to destroy absolutely everything meaningful to her and who she is at her core, and now we get the chance to see it visually.

I'll get this out of the way so nobody bothers me about it later: yes, I personally hate the design overall. But despite that if it was truthful to her character and reflected her journey well I wouldn't even squeak. Well, maybe one tiny time, but not make a whole post about it.

Alright, so right now I'm going to lign up all 3 of her designs and compare them in a sense how they represent Jinx as a character. I apologize for using The Wild Rift model because it's actual hell to find her s2 ep9 look in good quality and with a good view of the details.

There's a pretty stark difference between Powder and Jinx. The only element they share is gloves, but on Jinx they are modified and have a different color. There are however also similiar "motifs"(?), like purple stripes on clothes, Jinx's belts are positioned in a way that mirrors Powder's blue...thing on her pants; also Powder has a small braid on the side of her head, as well as golden hairpins, while Jinx has two braids that are waaay longer, but she still has golden elements that support her braids.

Now, the differences. Powder's clothes are layered and are made from different fabrics, covering almost her entire body. This represents that she's a shy, frightly girl with very low self-esteem. Jinx, on the other hand, has waaay more open skin, even to a somewhat inappropriate degree. This shows us that she became confident and doesn't care what others think of her, maybe even to a fault. Her boots in some way resemble jester's shoes, showing us her more light-hearted attitude, especially towards violence.

Also, unlike Powder, who only ever shot from a toy gun and made bombs that didn't work, Jinx is a prodigy bomb maker and a master shooter with (what seems like) a hand-made pistol, and on top of that has an also self-made machine gun. So from all of this we can pick up that this is the same person, but she changed in a huge way, hence why even her name is different.

Now, onto the Jinx we see in s2 ep9. She cut off her braids, colored streaks of her hair, especially on the bang, replaced her pants, top, and belts, made herself a hood, painted over her tattoos with x-es and Ekko's symbols, fused her machine gun with Fishbones, her recently made rocket launcher (ignore the wild rift picture for this part), and completely remade her pistol. The only things that carry over from her previous outfit are gloves, boots (which are now fully laced), her necklace aaaand yeah that's it. Motifs are left the same, except for her hair of course.

Now, I want to talk about a couple of elements in detail. Her hood is made from unknown material, and resembles some kind of monster, rather than a monkey, raven or shark, her previously established symbols. Like someone pointed out, it probably resembles drawings on Isha's helmet.

Also Jinx has pink markings under her eyes, just like Powder from Ekko's vision in season 1 ep7.

The bandages that replace her top are the same ones Vi has.

So, with all of that information, what can we tell about Jinx at the end of her journey? The obvious answer is that she decided to move on, but in what way? Accepting both "Powder" and "Jinx" parts of her? But then why did she paint over her tattoos? Something permanent, that shows how irreversibly she changed over the years, and will never become the same girl again? Moreover, why didn't she make the new tattoos, pink bullets? Yes yes, pink bullets. Both LoL Jinx and even s2 ep9 skin for Jinx in The Wild Rift have pink bullets tattoos, but arcane Jinx doesn't. Why tho? Well, of course, it's our good ol' pal Silco erasure. Because, you see, Jinx killed Silco with her Pow-Pow, and when she shoots with it, the bullets are seen as pink projectiles. So, not only does Jinx figuratively want to "paint over" her past with Silco, she also in no way wants to capture what she did to him and that in the very same night she finally accepted herself as Jinx. Of course we know that s2 writers didn't want to follow up on this decision, but adding a couple of effects onto her model isn't that big of a job. Anyway

Why did she go back to covering her legs entirely? Is she more careful now, orrr perhaps she seeks protection from someone? No. Why does she have paint all over her, and Ekko's symbols in particular? Is she a part of the Firelights now? Even if that's the case, it was never confirmed on screen. Why did she completely change her haircut, only leaving a bang? I guess hair holds the memories or whatever, so to start a new life you shouldn't have any memories of the previous one? Idk. Why did she replace her top with bandages like Vi's, if the last time they saw each other Jinx told Vi to let her go and forget about her? Idk. Why did she fuse Pow-Pow and Fishbones together? Idk.

The only things I more or less don't question are the hood and markings, but then again, I'm not really happy with the fact that we see Jinx in them in her "last" moments either. That's the part of my biggest problem with all of this, actually. It took around 10 years for Jinx to have such a big difference in how she looks, but the latest change happened literally overnight. No matter how you try to explain this, this is objectively terrible writing. In less than one episode the main character of the series drastically changed her appearance in ways that should tell us about a big character development, but we didn't get a chance to see any of it. Not the process, nor the development itself, because Jinx behaves in ep9 the same way she behaves in the rest of s2.

So, what was that all about? I guess they wanted to fill out the quota of a minimum of two outfit changes per season, but it's in no way justified within the show. And that's why this is a tragedy. Jinx went from the most well-written character in the show with incredible design and conflict to the writer's toy which only function is to be sacrificed.

[gildedpomegranates]

Vi and Jinx's relationship isn't unsalvageable, and their fight was pivotal in moving them forward.

From the beginning of s1 act II, their relationship has been fraught with misunderstanding. They both see each other through old lenses, as the girls they used to be. Vi doesn't want to see that Powder changed, and Jinx still sees Vi with the eyes of a child—as her devoted caretaker with little life of her own and with no flaws.

In season one, both Jinx and Vi refuse to recognize or acknowledge each other's flaws. For almost all of season 2 act I, it's all they can see. It leads them to this moment.

But this fight? It feels like nothing. It carries none of the emotional weight of any past Vi and Jinx scenes—not Vi slapping Powder, not Vi seeing how violent Jinx became, not Jinx seeing enforcer Vi betray their childhood hideout. Because coming into this fight, they both believe they're done; they don't care about each other anymore.

Let's take a look at the end of the fight.

When Isha jumps in, Vi is mid-swing. And Jinx's reaction?

She instinctively screams no. She's visibly terrified. Her breathing comes shaky.

The same girl that spent the entire fight unafraid, that gave in at the end because she's been looking for a way to die and figures her best bet is her own sister, looks like this at the prospect of the kid being harmed.

This is the first time since they've reunited that Vi sees Jinx genuinely caring about someone else's well-being—someone Vi sees as wholly innocent.

And just look at how Vi reacts:

It's like a switch flips. For a moment, she sees something in Jinx she convinced herself no longer existed: humanity.

But this is a two-way street. After Caitlyn refuses to back down, Vi blocks with her body, placing herself between them because it's the right thing to do. She stands up against her girlfriend for some random kid. Puts herself in danger to grab and redirect the weapon.

And the whole time, Jinx is desperately trying to get Isha off her and away from danger. But as soon as Vi does this, she stops. She trusts Vi enough to let Isha stay, to hold her closer.

Jinx had begun to see a warped, twisted version of Vi—one that never cared about her, one that willingly perpetuated violence against the Undercity, one that betrayed them both by becoming what they hated most.

But this moment breaks through that misconception, and she realizes a truth about Vi that Vander and season 1 Cait knew.

She has a good heart.

If season one was them failing to see each other's flaws and the beginning of season two was them only seeing the flaws, then this is a budding balance. The start to seeing each other as flawed human beings with redeeming qualities.

Besides, with their fight occurring so early in the season... We're gearing up for, if not reconciliation, then at least a true understanding and genuine closure.

[jayvikstolemyheart]

I want to know what would have happened to Viktor if he got the Jinx shimmer treatment from Singed.

The biggest thing is would it have fixed his leg and/or his disease. I’d also like to know how it would affect Viktor’s mental state, since it seemed to have an impact on Jinx mentally, but she was already pretty… ill before the procedure.

Maybe it could be that he still has to use the cane most of the time, but he can still do the small bursts of quick movement that Jinx can.

And for his lungs maybe the procedure helps, but because it’s a chronic condition he has to have continuous shimmer treatment.

But his mental state…

He could keep a steady head when he was doing his Shimmer + Hexcore treatment but in someways the Shimmer procedure that Singed use is perhaps more intense.

It would be so fun to see Viktor get a little drunk on the power. Using the same moves he uses when controlling the white doll in the council room (Not necessarily Jayce and Mel still being his enemies, just the vibes). Getting a little cocky, playful, because the first time ever the sheer effort of living does not cause immense pain and Viktor is giddy with the feeling.

I’d like to see Viktor get a little flirty with people, with Jayce (tho this is more my guilty pleasure speaking). Now that pain and mortality no longer weigh on his mind and he has more confidence in his body, Viktor feels like he can participate in the romantic/dating stuff he never had the time or energy for. Doesn’t hurt that he feels more attractive now having minimised his perceived flaws.

If Viktor and Jayce aren’t divorced during this, I’d love to see Jayce’s reactions. He would definitely be happy especially at first, seeing his friend life and a greatly increased quality of life. But I think Jayce would also worry about Viktor’s mindset. How Viktor seems to think that his value as a person has increased now, while Jayce always thought Viktor was amazing. And because the two can never communicate properly Viktor might get the idea that Jayce would prefer it if Viktor was always weak and feeble, sitting in the back corner while depending on Jayce to be the frontman. Of course that’s not the case but like I said, these two are terrible at talking about their feelings with each other at the right time. Some wrong moves here and there and we might get a Shimmer (Machine) Herald.

I never know how to wrap these up but I hope someone else can see my vision.

[axel-ambassador]

The Chaggie Timeline

Year 1

An outgoing Gryffindor and a meek Slytherin meet on the train before they're even sorted. Vaggie is anxious about what house she'll end up in, as her entire family has been different from each other. Charlie is nervous herself, but assured the both of them that things will be okay regardless of house.

They have many classes together, allowing them to nourish the bond they formed at the beginning. Vaggie is determined, yet cautious, while Charlie is excited, and rather rambunctious at times. They balance each other out, and greatly enjoy each other's company.

Year 2

Their bond only grows stronger. Vaggie finds that Charlie's energetic nature has rubbed off on her a little bit, allowing her to enjoy the little things. Charlie is happy to have a friend so waiting and ready to listen to her.

Vaggie, along with Lute, try out for the quidditch team. They make it, though only as benchwarmers. Still, Charlie is proud and happy for her all the same.

Year 3

Vaggie, having spent more time with pretentious pure blooded upperclassmen, can't help but ponder some of the bigoted comments they make to those of Gryffindor house. Even Adam, her house head, seems to hold the prejudice that Slytherins were superior, and shouldn't be associated with sloppy Gryffindors.

She finds herself growing distant from Charlie, whose friendship towards her was unwavering. Though, her own father had his own comments about conniving Slytherins, and how having one as a close friend would only end in betrayal and heartbreak.

At the end of the year, the Slytherin 3rd years plan a prank on Gryffindor's princess, and Vaggie can only watch as Charlie's struck with a leg locking jinx on the way to class. Charlie is bothered, but, knows Vaggie will stick up for her regardless, just like all the other times.

Only this time, she doesn't.

Year 4

Vaggie grows cold, avoiding any possible contact with the Morningstar heir. Any attempt to confront her, or patch things up from Charlie is met with at best, a glare and a cold shoulder, and at worst, a warning hex to stay away accompanied by some backhanded insult.

Charlie is hurt, betrayed, and above all, angry. Angry at the world, angry that Vaggie turned out to be just like her father had said she would, angry at herself for not realizing it sooner. She finds herself enamored with a cunning Ravenclaw boy, Sev. He's a bit of a jerk, but he's a distraction, and that's all she could really hope for.

Vaggie distracts herself with quidditch, now that enough students have graduated and she can finally fill a spot as a starting chaser. Lute is right there with her, waking her up early to practice, pulling all nighters when the homework gets to be too much, gushing over how brilliant of a teacher Adam is. Vaggie lets her. She needed a distraction.

Year 5

Vaggie finds herself missing the warmth that Charlie used to give. Throughout the year she pays closer attention to Charlie, seeing how much gloomier and sour she'd become, and noticing her relationship with that asshole Ravenclaw boy. He fit all the textbook Slytherin qualities, and yet...so did she. She'd been awful to Charlie, becoming the thing she'd feared most when being sorted to begin with, the stereotypical Slytherin.

She had something so good with someone so wonderful, and she'd gone and ruined it because she was too much of a coward to admit how much she cared for a so called, snobby Gryffindor. It was all lies. Charlie was nothing like everyone said she was, while she turned out to be everything everyone thought she was. A self fulfilling prophecy.

Charlie's relationship with Sev is rocky, to put it the least. He's a grade A douche. Selfish, rude, cocky, but he was so witty and intelligent under it all she supposed she didn't blame him if he had the knowledge to back up his arrogance. Still, nothing could quite fill the hole in her heart that Vaggie had left. Always there to patch her up, always there to listen.

But, whatever. Vaggie burned that bridge, and she wasn't going back.

Year 6

Vaggie puts any possible risks aside and makes an effort to prove that she's willing to rebuild the bridge she burnt down. It's little things at first, like saying hi in the halls, stealing glances when she could, picking up her books in the hall before walking away. Charlie is cautious, but, doesn't push her away, instead letting her be nice, letting her get a little closer.

Vaggie gets a little too bold come the final quidditch match of the year. She has an open shot to put Slytherin above the 150 point threshold, but...despite the massive crowd, manages to catch Charlie's glance. She's watching, unbothered. Vaggie hesitates a little too long to throw the quaffle, before a well aimed bludger knocks her off her broom.

Gryffindor scores with the stolen quaffle, and the red and gold seeker catches the snitch seconds after. Gryffindor wins the match, giving them enough points to guarantee the house cup.

Lute is furious. Her first year as captain, and they lost. Vaggie denies any accusations of throwing.

It's days later, when Charlie finally gets her alone, do they talk. Vaggie admits that, yes, she did throw for Charlie, as it was the least she could do to make up for her shitty behavior. Charlie is stunned by her words, knowing how much Vaggie loves quidditch. To throw the entire cup away for her...

Vaggie comes back to the dorm that night, unaware of an eavesdropper that heard the entire exchange. She ends up in the hospital wing...with a missing eye and two gashes on her back...she wakes up to a blonde haired visitor in a red and gold tie...

Year 7

Having the time to patch things up, and reconcile the deep connection they had, Charlie and Vaggie became a couple over the summer. Charlie was there for Vaggie's recovery, helping her when the back pain got to be too much, or when her lack of depth perception had her bumping into walls.

Vaggie couldn't be more thankful that Charlie was there for her. She apologized a million times over for her betrayal, laying out every insecurity. The need to feel like she was more than what others said, the prejudice that got burned into her mind, the idea that power over people was everything. Every single lie.

Charlie was just happy to have her Vaggie back, and Vaggie was happy to have her bubbly, bright Charlie. Everything was right again.

[jinxsleftmiddlefinger]

timebomb highschool au

(part 2)

(pt1) (pt3) (read on ao3)

description: timebomb highschool au pretty much sums it up lol. there’s also canon storylines (vander death, vi conflict etc.) but translated into a modern context

warnings: none

As it turns out, Ekko and the blue haired girl really did have math together. When he first met her in the office, Ekko hadn’t known what to think. Obviously, when he first walked in, he thought she was hot. She was wearing a cute black crop top, her stomach was toned like she worked out everyday, her hair was in a pretty braid, and her face matched in perfect harmony.

As for her personality, she was certainly…eccentric. Ekko wasn’t exactly opposed to it, but he has always been described as a more ‘chill’ and ‘laid back’ guy, so their vibes were on two different sides of the chart.

Like she said she would, Jinx led him to class and sat him down at the desk right beside hers, smiling brightly. Everyone around them seemed to be looking back at Ekko, wondering Who is he? and the looking at Jinx like Who’d you bring back?

“New kid.” He saw Jinx mouth at a girl with red hair. He shifted his gaze to see her waggle her eyebrows and mouth. “He’s kinda…” The red headed girl waved her hand towards her face, fanning herself like she was overheated.

Ekko looked down, blushing. He didn’t look over to see Jinx’s response to that comment on his supposed attractiveness.

The class was easy, even though he was arriving late in the year. He understood the worksheet quickly. Although Ekko wouldn’t call himself a nerd or even say that he particularly liked school, it had always come easy to him.

“You’re doing a nice job there,” Jinx nodded towards his sheet. 

He shifted his eyes over to her paper. She was also almost done, and she looked to be doing good. “So are you.”

“Meh,” She shrugged. “Not really my thing. I’m more of a gadgets and science gal, you know what I mean?”

For a second, Ekko was distracted by the sound of her voice. It had a raspy quality to it, but it was still sweet, and-

He stopped himself. You don’t even know her, stupid.

“Yeah, uh,” He stumbled over his words. “I’m into that stuff too.”

He looked back down at his sheet.

“One year for the robotics contest, I built this totally sick robot. Won first place. But I rigged it so that it would explode pink and blue glitter all over the judges just as they were awarding it…they’re still finding it all over the gym.” She giggles.

Ekko looks at the girl beside him. Maybe she is a little crazy.

“Did they disqualify you?”

She laughs harder. “Nah. They were too distracted by being covered in glitter to even think about that damn contest anymore.” She looks up at the wall, seeming lost in thought. “It was totally worth it.”

Jinx smirks at him when they both get yelled at for talking in class.

Even though she is not in his next class, Jinx takes him there anyway. She gives him a quick rundown of how the school works; who to avoid, who to make friends with.

“Oh, and.” She stops in front of the classroom 09. “If you ever need help with getting into some trouble or anything, let me know. I have…connections with the faculty, like I said before.” She smiles at him one more time before she’s lost in the crowd of the hallway.

Walking into classroom 09 alone, Ekko realizes that without Jinx there to guide him, he feels like a fish out of water in Zaun High. Everyone certainly looks at him like a fish that’s walking.

At lunch, Ekko doesn’t go to the cafeteria. For one, he’s not entirely sure where it is, and also, he has no one to sit with. So instead, he sits in the halls and messes around on his phone.

A boy sits down beside him, and he looks like he’s a year older than Ekko. A senior.

“You the new kid?” This boy doesn’t bother with introductions.

“Yeah.” Ekko crosses his arms over his body protectively.

“Hm.” The boy pauses. “I saw you hanging out with Jinx. I don’t know what she told you, but she’s bad news, ok? And honestly, there’s some boys here who would beat the shit out of you for getting to close to her.”

Ekko doesn’t know how to respond before the boy is gone, disappearing into the halls just like Jinx did.

He only spends a little time thinking about what he told him. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already deduced himself.

It wasn’t like he was actively seeking out Jinx anyway. But, if he was to bump into her again, well…he wouldn’t try to deter her.

[arcane-ish]

Okay, so about Mel

I have a lot of Mel fans on my "following" list, so know I'm on a different place than most of them. I thought I would still sit down as a more casual Mel enjoyer and try to explain why I listed Mel as one of the better things in the last arc and genuinely read her as having one of the better arcs.

First let me say, I think I get some of the disappointment. There apparently was a lot of acrimony in fandom. And there sadly is often always a lot of bitching about being right. It's also one of those really annoying instincts for fannish people to value being right or getting character/ship payoff over quality. The kind of crappy shows or reasons I've seen people defend just because their ship was in it.

And I include myself within that. Two of my favorite ships, Timebomb and Zaundads got some stuff, and that has deeply clouded my perception of the season, even though my more neutral opinion is that season 2 was extremely spotty.

I get that from "I had to fight people in fandom" point of view, Act 3 sucked. I get that from a personal fan engagement point of view, it is always easier to stay excited and produce media if have a ship to hold on to rather than just being the fan of a singular character.

I'm kind of in a special situation, that I've always lowkey not liked Jayce and really only found him tolerable around Mel. I thought the beginning of Act 3 was still reasonably respectful to them. They protect each other, they do a couple fight with each other.

Yes it's weird that Jayce brings up now of all times to complain about the past, but for me that was pretty much wrapped by them fighting together against Viktor. Then we have this moment where Mel explains her situation to Jayce, we have Jayce complimenting her. Honestly, before the last minutes went full on "zomg, looping timeline gifts and zapping into space together", I thought the MelJay was a bit muted, but decent enough in a finale that was generally super busy and where tons of other characters didn't have too deep writing either. But again, I see where characters wound up, completely changed people's perception of how they get there (ie that Mel and Jayce actually had a decent relationship throughout most of the show and that in my opinion both Jayce and Viktor always and Cait and Vi recently had some really spotty writing).

Somethign that is more easy for me to bear, because, like I said, I never liked Jayce that much, so it's easier for me to not care.

Everybody's Arc Was Kind Of Shit And Mel Was One Of The Better Ones

This is my basic premise of season 2. If I think of season 2, if I think of the characters who to me had the better arcs I come up with for example Sevika and Ekko.

They had better arcs because they stayed roughly in characters, formed some new relationships, got some badass moments and ended up in interesting places in the end. However both their arcs BRUTALLY suffered by lack of airtime and often missing from episodes or even arcs like Ekko.

I think Jinx had one of the better arcs, because it was very emotional and poignant, was constantly present, but even if felt choppy and all over the place at times and people are mixed on where it ended up.

I guess Jayce counts as somebody with a really meaty arc with lots of airtime, emotion, ending up in a different place, getting hero moments, saving the day etc. But like I said, I dislike Jayce too much to really think about whether his story was actually good this season.

I count Mel as among the better arcs, because she got at least semi-constent airtime, she imo stayed generally in character, she got to be badass, she ends up in a very interesting situation and they tried to be emotionally poigant with her and Ambessa. (her killing Ambessa giving major Jinx and Silco vibes even if the context was completely different) The pain of Mel's storyline has always been that she was a bit isolated from other characters, so I was happy that she at least got a badass fight together with Caitlyn. [honestly, in retrospect it's noteworthy that Mel got that spot with Caitlyn rather than Caitlyn fighting side by side with either her love Vi or her nemesis Jinx]

Just getting a badass fight isn't the same as actually getting poignant moments and developing a relationship with new characters. So that was definitely missing. People are just prone to not care as much about Mel's relationship with Ambessa, LeBlanc or Kino because from the point of view of the audience those are side or new characters and the audience only cares if the show really puts a ton of work in like in the case of Isha.

Overall the gist of Mel's storyline to me is that it seemed to be very League dictated. It's the origin story of Mel as a badass fighter, it sets up her character premise.

TBSkyen, a well known content creator in the League of Legends space, "reacted" to Arcane and he got quite angry at the finale, exclaiming something along the lines of "I thought this was gonna be a closed story, that the characters would complete their stories. But these stories are not complete, this is a sequel tease".

And that's exactly why Mel's story feels unfinished. She feels like she's part of that sequel tease (together with Cait looking at those strange map, maybe hinting at an alive Jinx).

There's a chance that Mel will get a proper resolution. But to be honest. I can't promise that. Maybe she'll get a badass Noxus based either animated or live action sequel... but we might have to wait 5-10 years for it.

Maybe the "Ambessa" novel is actually 95% about her. Maybe she will get a badass intro trailer like Ambessa. But I'm not gonna lie, even if the next season of League will be heavily Noxus based and they make heavy use of Mel in it. I'm not gonna lie, League's story telling can be very, very spotty. And even when it is decent, not everybody is particularly into collecting their infomation from short stories, splash arts, music vids, in game voice lines.

[ceo-of-sloppy-women]

No grave can hold my body down; I'll crawl home to her

chapter 5

Chapter 6

There are tables everywhere – not that it surprises you, this is a bar, after all. But they look new, untouched by the apocalypse. Someone built these recently. They’re quality, too, at least from the brief glance you manage at them. You wonder if the artisan is still around (and if they could make Sevika a dining table). Sitting amongst the tables, at the far end of the room, is a large and spacious bar with several stools in front of it. The place looks relatively deserted, apart from the blue-haired woman with her head thrown back in cackling laughter at a joke apparently cracked by the white-haired man next to her. Judging by the look on his face, the joke was far funnier than he intended it to be (if it was a joke at all). You know these two: Jinx and Ekko – they had been part of Sevika’s group on the way back. You’re about to open your mouth and call out to them when the door slams shut behind you. Jinx spins around instantly, grinning when she realizes it’s you.

“There she is, the lady of the hour!” Jinx cheers, rushing up to you and peeking her head out from behind the books. “How’s Sevika, did she –“ she switches to the other side, miming the glugging of a bottle – “Or, did big’an’scary keep her act together for the pretty lady?”

“Let me take those,” Vander says, picking up the stack from your arms with ease. You hadn’t even seen him polishing tables to your right.

“Sevika was… nice. We had a little mead, talked about some things, and I finally had a proper shower since this whole shit show started,” you inform Jinx, who giggles in delight.

“Did she mention her bees? Did she?!” Jinx has a manic smile on her face, clapping her hands when you nod. “Wonderful! You know, she and Grayson worked on their hives for ages. Had to get them just right – Sevika kept complaining the bees didn’t like them, so they weren’t producing as much honey. Turns out, she was kind of right – I mean they do produce more honey nowadays, so she’s gotta have been right.”

“Who’s Grayson?” you ask, following Jinx as she weaves through tables back to the bar.

Jinx spins on her heel and gapes at you for a moment: “Grayson! You know – organizer of patrols and all things safety. Spends her time making chairs, tables, fences and anything else wooden that needs doing. She helped us raise the barn! Any of this ringing a bell? Anything??”

“It’s all new to me. Sevika didn’t really mention much about how things function around here, or specifics about the bees. She did promise to show me them later.”

Jinx snorts a little. “Didn’t do much talking with broodin’ and beautiful, eh? Got too distracted by –“ she puts her fingers together, miming scissoring. You flush bright red.

“JINX! Stop distracting our new friend. She has enough on her plate, and you have a job to do today!” Silco calls from the landing of the staircase, hands on his hips.

“Sorry,” Jinx sing songs, downing her drink from the bar in one gulp. “We’ll go, we’ll go. Ekko’s got a new house for me to blow up anyway!”

You grab her arm as she’s passing by you: “We didn’t. Sevika and I are just… friends.”

“Whatever you say, toots! You can’t fool me, though – she doesn’t let just anyone stay with her. Or bring her to heel like that,” Jinx giggles, shrugging off your hand easily. She throws her arm over Ekko and grins at him: “Now, what do you say? Wanna to see how much I can explode today?”

Ekko rolls his eyes with a playful smile, allowing her to lead him out the door: “You know that’s not what we’re doing.”

“Can’t a lady have a little fun?” Jinx whines as Ekko pushes the door open and leaves you standing in the bar.

“Come on, Silco’s going to get his panties in a knot if we make him wait any longer,” Vander jokes next to you, nudging you with his elbow.

“I can take some books if you want, I know it’s a lot to carry,” you offer, following after him toward the second floor of the bar.

“I’ve got it,” he simply says, leading you upstairs.

Silco has already left the landing. You find him in his office, sitting behind a large desk in a refurbished chair with a back far too high to be anything less than extravagant. Dirty, stained windows sit behind him, giving just the barest glimpse out into the streets. Vander sets the books down on the coffee table, and Silco huffs, getting up and walking around his desk to take a seat on one of the couches instead. You sit on the couch opposite to the two of them, picking up your book off the top of the pile and placing it carefully on the coffee table. The table looks to be new – a lot of the furniture in the room does, especially the bookshelves lining the walls.

“Is this Grayson’s work as well?” you ask, breaking the silence as Silco lights a cigar.

“Yes, she was a former enforcer in Piltover – used to be stationed in the neighbourhood of our original bar. It wasn’t the safest area, so she was constantly in and out of our doors, usually helping people who needed a place to sleep at night or a hot meal. We took a lot of them in. She’d bring them, stay for a drink, get to know who she was helping. When the world went to shit, she was working – helped us get out of the city with as many people as we could manage… then she helped us go back in for those we left behind,” Vander explains, a sad smile creeping across his face at the memories.

“She sounds lovely,” you say softly. Enforcers aren’t always known for being nice, especially not where you’re from.

“Oh, don’t let him paint her with rose-coloured glasses,” Silco scoffs, smoke drifting away from his lips. “She was still an enforcer. We saw her shoot an unfair amount of people, raid buildings, enable other officers – all the same shit pigs get up to. She was corrupt through and through.”

“She’s different now, though. I think the apocalypse humanized her, made her care for people – or see we’re all really equal. Not just those who can take people in and those who need to be taken in,” Vander cuts in, trying to pad out Silco’s cynicism.

Silco shrugs a little, blowing out smoke: “Apocalypse did that to all of us. Some more so than others. Now we’ve got a former enforcer making us furniture and organizing patrol routes. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about.”

“Right, sorry, just wanted to get a better grip on… everything. Zaun is a little daunting – I haven’t been around people in a long time, and to suddenly be around so many makes me uncomfortable. I mean, you guys are the first settlement that didn’t turn me away at the door – not that I tried to join many, people just like to flat-out tell you the moment you walk into the trading post where you stand and where you don’t,” you confess, ducking your head a little as you flip the pages to the table of contents.

“We will happily answer any questions for you after we finish this meeting. Or, you can ask Sevika, I’m sure she’d be happy to fill you in,” Vander offers, staring down at the upside-down table of contents. “Now, Jinx mentioned something about a windmill?”

“Oh! Right, yes – I’ve got all sorts of stuff in here, windmill included. There’s also generators, musical instruments, and penicillin. You name it, I might have it.”

“It certainly seems so,” Silco mumbles, squinting at the book as he leans closer to read it. “Let’s start with a windmill – we only have so much flour, and what we have made by ourselves has been…”

“Gritty. The bread has been foul,” Vander shudders a little, pulling a face.

“Yeah, I get that. I would probably kill for a proper loaf of bread at this point,” you agree, flipping to the windmill page.

“I’d like to copy down the medical section for our doctor, though. Singed would be quite appreciative. While he is adept, he is not trained for the apocalypse. Many of his methods have been… touch and go.”

“I can understand that; I wasn’t trained for an apocalypse either. Hell, I have a philosophy degree! The most I was trained for was an archival position before the world went to shit – which is not exactly helpful during an apocalypse. I just kind of survived on my wits, and the random courses I took during university,” you chuckle, drumming your fingers on the book pages.

“We weren’t prepared for it either. No one was,” Vander says, scratching his chin. “Let’s copy down these instructions so we can give them to the construction team. Then, we’ll need to plan out an area for our new windmill!”

“While we’re copying down instructions, perhaps it would be wise to pick out several new projects?” Silco suggests, flipping back to the table of contents.

“Sounds good to me, as long as you have the paper for it,” you agree, flipping to the generator. “How about this?”

“We have been running out of gasoline,” Vander comments, staring over Silco’s shoulder.

“And there is a nearby river that the hydroelectric power plant runs off already,” Silco hums in agreement, nodding his head. “We can probably establish a few generators in the stronger run-off streams.”

The rest of the day is filled with the three of you pouring over the book, writing down instructions for new projects that can be worked on simultaneously. In the end, they wind up with instructions for various quality-of-life improvements that could aid the entire settlement. By the end, your hand is aching from transposing every little detail, cramping up around your pen in protest. Thankfully, Silco and Vander seem impressed, offering you a glass of brandy to celebrate the success of the meeting.

You’re about to put the book away when Vander squints at one of the subsections. With a thoughtful look on his face, he flips to it, nodding along as he reads. You glance over at the page he’s reading: a printing press. It would be helpful for the settlement, especially to educate the general public and any passing traders. Books were incredibly hard to come by these days. Silco seems to pay Vander little mind until he shoots up with a grin.

“We need this too!” he announces proudly as if he’s struck gold.

“Oh?” Silco leans over to read the page. “Ah, a printing press. You’re quite right, honey –“ he kisses Vander on the cheek – “But who could we get to even run such a thing? Everyone already has their jobs. I doubt anyone would take this on.”

“I could do it,” you offer before you can help yourself. You know he’s just trying to coax you into volunteering, but running a printing press sounded fun!

“You would?” Silco cocks an eyebrow and takes a slow sip of his brandy, as if assessing you. You sit up a bit straighter. “Well Vander, I think we have found our Archivist. That is if you’re really up for the challenge. You will need to make a lot of books, everything from cookbooks to survival skills to novels. And, you will need to make your own paper – I’m sure you’re aware that paper is quite a rare commodity nowadays. Are you sure you can handle that?”

“I can! I promise!” You’re giddy with anticipation, grinning ear from ear as Vander nudges the book toward you.

“Well, write it down. Then you can take it to Grayson and ask her to build it for you. Don’t worry, we’ll pay for it – you can pay us back later once you’ve sold your first few books.”

“Really? You mean it?” you clutch your pen, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Of course, although this will mean you will have to put up with Sevika for longer than expected. Your printing office will take priority over a house,” Silco states, swirling his brandy contemplatively.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, I don’t mind. Sevika is… kinda nice. Last night was the safest I have felt in a long time,” you confess, rubbing the back of your neck awkwardly.

Silco arches an eyebrow at you, burying a sly grin in the rim of his glass.

“I’m sure she’ll have no complaints either. You’re the first person she’s willingly let into her house,” Vander comments, leaning back on the couch.

“I thought Jinx stayed with her a few times?”

“Oh, she did, but that was never willingly on Sevika’s part,” Vander chuckles, shaking his head. “Jinx does what she wants; no one can stop her. Unfortunately for Sevika, Jinx has grown quite attached to her.”

“Unfortunately? Jinx doesn’t seem so bad that it would be unfortunate,” you press, taking a sip of your drink.

“Ah, so you don’t know about –“ Vander starts to say.

“You should get copying – daylight’s burning, and Grayson likes to close up shop early,” Silco interjects, eliminating the conversation as he presses Vander’s glass into the other man’s hands.   

You want to ask – to press Vander further on the information, but the tight-lipped, awkward look he now sports deters you. Whatever he was about to say is probably best to hear from Sevika herself. From what you’ve seen, Sevika had never been outwardly uncomfortable with Jinx, nor had she spoken ill of her. Not that she’s outwardly friendly with her, either. Yet, Jinx’s comment about Sevika’s arm rings in your ears: “Clean off.” You’d seen Sevika’s arm; it hadn’t looked blown off… it looked cut.

What weren’t they telling you? And why was it so important everyone dodged the topic as if it would burn them?

You copy the instructions for the printing press quickly; there are some supplies you’re not sure that the settlement has. Someone’s going to have to make a supply run at some point. Perhaps you can convince them to take you along, that way, you can grab exactly what you need. Maybe even some old books you can reprint – novels that people could enjoy. Maybe there are even some authors in the settlement willing to publish their work…

“Finished,” you state, closing the book.

“Excellent. Vander will escort you to Grayson, since you don’t know your way around yet. This will most likely take some time to assemble. In the meantime, you will be assigned various tasks around the settlement – everyone carries their own weight. I hear from Vander you held your own against infected?”

“More or less. Sevika saved me from a horde of them in a supermarket, but I can take one or two on my own without much struggle.”

Silco nods his head and finishes his drink: “For now, then, stick with Sevika. She’s been in need of a patrol partner for quite some time – her last one met an unfortunate demise to a belcher. I hope that’s not too much to ask?”

You grimace. Belchers are a fourth-stage infected: eventually, your insides rot away and turn to sludge, which is expelled from your body in a disgusting substance. Make the mistake of swallowing any (or getting it on an open wound), and you’ll find yourself infected as assuredly as a bite. Unfortunately, given the acidic nature of the belcher’s “contents,” it burns away at the body as well, making the infection process painful and grotesque. On the plus side, infected Belcher victims are often easier to kill due to their weakened state.

“I’m happy to tag along with her.”

“Perfect. Well then, get going, daylight is waning,” Silco announces, standing from his seat and ushering you up as well.

“Right, of course – thank you. For all of this. This is a wonderful opportunity, and I won’t let you down; I promise!”

Vander chuckles and ruffles your hair: “Relax, we’re not going to throw you out on your ass. Sevika would have a fit – and even if she wouldn’t, you’re one of us now. Get used to it.”

“Thank you,” you mumble again, ducking your head with a shy smile.

“Of course, we protect our own. Leave your book here, though. We aren’t taking it, but it will be safer in the Last Drop than stashed in Sevika’s home. If anyone comes looking for it, at least it won’t put the two of you at risk. Though the journals…” Silco trails off, eyeing the stack of journals.

“They’re for Singed! You mentioned how he enjoyed the spare notes I had – well these ones are copies of my observations on the infected. I tried to record them in case… actually, I’m not quite sure I have an exact reason. It just felt wrong not to record any information I could about them, in case someone was developing a cure.”

“Well, you’re in luck! Singed is working on a cure, and he will find these incredibly helpful. He was a scientist before everything went down the drain,” Silco informs you, picking up the first one and flipping through it. “Pictures too… good.”

“I’m glad I can help – hopefully, there’s something in there that can help with a cure. It… kinda feels weird to know someone so close by is working on a cure. Let alone that my journals could even possibly be helpful. A cure always felt like a fever dream…”

“With any luck, that dream will become reality soon enough,” Silco says, shutting the book. “Now, you should hurry over to Grayson’s. I’ve got work to do now – this settlement doesn’t organize itself.”

“Of course, thank you for this, again. It’s really something special. Good luck with your work, and thank you for the printing press. I’m saying thank you too many times! Okay, uh, yeah, I’m going to go before I say it again,” you chuckle nervously and head for the door, printing press instructions clutched in your hand.

“Take care!” Silco calls after you as he takes a seat at his desk.

Vander follows you out of the office and into the street. The bar is full of patrons now, bustling with life and laughter. You stick close to Vander, all but taking his hand in the vain effort to keep yourself calm. Adjusting to the influx of people seems to be a far more daunting task than you had initially hoped. Thankfully, Vander makes polite conversation about your life before the apocalypse as he leads you to Grayson’s, distracting you from the chaos. It helps you adjust to the expanding crowd – while the day has gone on, the breakfast rush has turned into the afternoon rush as people bustle from one building to the next. There’s even a diner a little way down the street opening its doors for customers, and a few food stands that overwhelm your senses with smells you haven’t even dared dream of for years. Your mouth waters a little, but you keep it to yourself, not wanting to put Vander out because you definitely don’t have any money on you. Instead, you follow him a few buildings down to a small storefront. The windows have been scrubbed free of dirt, with a freshly painted sign adorning them: Grayson’s Handcrafted Furniture.

Vander holds the door open for you, a tiny bell ringing. You step inside, ducking under his arm, and take in the storefront. The room is full of tables, chairs, shelves, dressers, cabinets – anything that could possibly be made out of wood is laid out on the shop floor. In the back, an older woman with a strong jaw, sharp cheekbones and a quirked eyebrow observes the two of you curiously. You swallow thickly – she’s undeniably beautiful, even as she fixes you with an almost scrutinizing gaze.

“Vander, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Grayson asks as Vander leads you over to the counter.

“This one here has a special commission to place. We need you to build a printing press for Zaun,” Vander informs her, patting your shoulder.

“A printing press? I wasn’t aware we had anyone who knew how to make those,” Grayson says, dragging her eyes up and down you in a slow, deliberate assessment. “Does this have something to do with the new woman I’ve been hearing about? The one that Sevika brought back with her, that is.”

“That would be me!” You speak up, informing her of your name.

“Ah, it’s nice to finally put a face to the rumours,” Grayson hums, holding you captive with stern yet delicate eye contact. “So… tell me about this printing press you need from me.”

“I have the instructions to build one here –“ you place them on the counter – “Silco and Vander mentioned you were the best furniture artisan in town. I was hoping to commission your services.”

Grayson hums, looking over the copied notes: “Always the flatterer, that one… This seems reasonable enough. I can have this done for you in a few weeks. Acquiring specific parts will be difficult, and there are some that I will need Jayce to make for me.”

“What kind of price am I looking at?” you ask as Vander leans against the counter, lighting a pipe.

“Considering this is for the benefit of the settlement…” Grayson holds her chin and stares at the page for a long moment, then back at you, making you squirm under her hard gaze before making a satisfied hum: “It’s free of charge.”

You gawk at her, unable to find the words. Sevika letting you stay at her place was one thing, but you could see the price tags on the pieces around you. They went for hefty sums – no doubt a commission would cost far more! Yet she’s willing to do this one for free?!

“Grayson, we can –“ Vander starts, whipping around in shock.

She holds up a hand and smiles: “I know you have the money, but it’s not necessary. I make enough from furniture that I can take on a few commissions for free. On one condition…”

“What is it?” you pipe up, snapping out of your speechless state.

“You print a few trashy romance novels. The world has finally slowed to a crawl to let me read more, and I find myself without anything to read,” Grayson sighs as if this is a deep, troubling concern of hers. She rubs the bridge of her nose before continuing: “They do not have to be very long or fancy, but I have a few that I can’t even open without the pages crumbling on me. If you promise to reprint them, I will consider this a fair trade.”

“I can absolutely do that,” you agree quickly, beaming at her. “I used to be an archivist; I know a thing or two about handling books delicately. Besides, there’s nothing better than a trashy romance novel once in a while.”

“I’m glad we’re in agreement,” Grayson says, picking up a stamp from the organizer next to her. She presses it against a blank portion of the paper, leaving behind a mark that reads ‘accepted.’ “Your printing press will be ready in a few weeks. Where should I send the notification of completion to?”

“Uh, Sevika’s residence. The printing shop is taking priority over finding me a house,” you answer, trying to play it off as if it’s nothing.

However, Grayson quirks an eyebrow up, regarding you more closely. She opens her mouth to speak when the door to the shop swings open and cuts her off. You turn around to see Sevika standing there, looking equal bits, annoyed and relieved. She sighs, placing her hand on her hip.

“There you are! Next time, leave a message at the bar before running off,” Sevika grumbles, not quite meeting your gaze. She shifts awkwardly, something clearly on the tip of her tongue she was refusing to speak.

“Sorry, I thought we’d be done before you and I could get back to the bar in time,” you admit, crossing the room to stand in front of her. “I didn’t mean to worry you… but I’m grateful that you did worry.”

“Yeah, yeah, suck up all you’d like. Still annoyed with you,” Sevika huffs, glaring down at you.

“Why don’t you two go get something to eat, I’ll finish up here?” Vander suggests from the counter, taking a puff of his pipe.

“We’re done here anyway – Vander and I just have a few things to discuss about other commissions,” Grayson adds, levelling her gaze to yours. “Feel free to say hello if you see me around Zaun, darling.”

“I – uh – will do – thank you for your generosity,” you squeak, blush creeping up on your cheeks.

“Come on, I’m hungry,” Sevika growls, grabbing your arm and dragging you out the door. You allow yourself to be dragged out, waving at Vander and Grayson politely as you rush to keep up with Sevika’s hurried footfalls.

[ellabssucker]

now that i stopped crying... arcane season 2 act II spoilers.

uhm, first off, what. the. fuck.

not even 30 minutes into rhe first episode, BOOM maddie and cait hooking up?? maddie is actually such a sweet, caring girl and i feel so bad for her. she probably spent an unreasonable amount of breath and time trying to change cait's mind when vi was able to in a second. that whole ordeal aside, we are FINALLY (actually it was pretty quick) cait's 'redemption'. or at least she's less blinded by rage now. i mean, she stood in a room with jinx and let her and vi have a family moment with vander instead of trying to blow her brains out. which i think it's progress. i liked cait so much better in this act and THE TENSION WITH VI?!? i just know we are getting sesbian lex on the third act on that one agreement scene.

then seeing jinx actually healthy and relatively sane actually HEALED my heart. i relate to jinx in a way I can't put into words, and she's really important to me, so seeing the positive impact isha had on her was really main focus this act.

which leads to my least favorite part. isha's death. i have a lot to say about it, but i genuinely can't without crying and my head already hurts. she was so important to jinx and I'm scared for how she's gonna deal with isha being gone (which I'm still holding hope for that to not be true). but aside how important isha was for jinx and how she became a part of the family, isha was just a kid. I'm not sure how old she was, and we don't see much of how her lofe was before jinx, but i can confidently say the probably few times in her life she felt safe were around jinx. it hurts to know that little girl probably went through so much, and in such a short time, she was able to build such a strong bond with jinx which lead to her sacrificing herself for her. the look on her face as she tan towards vander almost looked relieved that she could do this for jinx, after jinx did so much to protect her. we saw from early one isha would do anything to protect jinx as well, because she was all the family isha had. the kid deserved better. I really hope she makes a comeback, like we've seen multiple characters in this show do. i really hope she's okay. i won't get over the fact they found a family in each other and i think this is gonna affect jinx greatly. as for how, i think it's gonna be positive. as in, she's gonna use her destructiveness for good rather than bad, cause i genuinely think isha made jinx a better person. i think she brought powder back, but with all the good qualities jinx has.

moving on (lie) to vander, that man just can't catch a break. he deserves better. the writers are inflicting unnecessary pain fr. he finally got his daughters back (plus one) and was on his way to healing and returning to his human self. if only it wasn't for JAYCE.

this bitch ass motherfucker is clearly going through some kind of psychosis but WHAT THE FUCK JAYCE. jayce when i catch you jayce. honestly i don't know what happened to him during that time he was gone on the hex, but i can't get through my head that he would just kill viktor like that, especially knowing what would happen to all the people he healed. but for isha and vander, I really can't sympathize right now. i always found jayce to be self-absorbed and changed his mind every two seconds. he fucked up. he ruined a family. we waited 3 years for this only for this bitch to come and we lost not only viktor, but isha and vander under 10 minutes.

also, where the fuck is ekko?!

i also can't get over the fact that ambessa won't change. even after everything that's happened, she's still manipulating, hurting and killing, risking other people's lives and bribbing people to get her ways and cause even more damage. and talk about 'sacrife'. all she does is sacrifice other people, including her own daughter and son, for her own thirst of blood and selfish reasons. we've been shown time and time again, she is not a good mother, or a good person, or a good leader, and she does not think about anyone but herself.

also stop fucking with mel's head, like messing with her brother? that's fucked up.

i really liked the visual, colors, and music of this act. i think I've never cried harder but also tried to appreciate the cinematography at the same time (which is really hard by the way). i feel like is jinx all over the place, but also still has that touch of the arcane, i feel nostalgic when something reminds me of how the aesthetic was on the first season. it's different for sure, but the feelings are still there. maybe it's just cause it feels like home but i can still see what it used to be on what it is now.

it's a masterpiece. i loved it. it fucking ruined me.

[itryhardtomakethishouseahome]

Arcane characters saying "I love you" for the first time

Warnings~ none just fluff

Characters~ Vi, Jinx, Ekko

Summary~ You have been dating for a while but neither one of you has said the ‘L’ word yet.

Vi

When you and Vi were kids there was always something between you two and eventually you guys ended up dating. Mylo, Ekko, and Powder would tease both of you about it all the time. But that was a long time ago and things are different now. Everyone was different now. Powder became Jinx, Ekko went MIA, Mylo, Claggor, and Vander died, and Vi disappeared. You ended up working as an assassin for Silco so you could at least stay close to Jinx but that didn’t stop you from thinking about everyone you lost, especially Vi. 

One day you heard that some girl did a number on Sevika and decided to scout the streets from the roof of a random building. That’s when you saw her. You weren’t sure at first so you dropped down to get a closer look before walking up behind her.

“Vi?” You called cautiously while pulling your hood down. Vi and the women she was walking with both turned around. Her eyes widened as tears welled in yours. You ran up to her, wrapping your arms around her as she took you in hers. 

“I missed you Y/n.” She whispered before breaking the hug, her hands still on your shoulders. “I missed you too Violet.” A tear fell down your face. Vi smiled at the use of her full name as she rested her forehead against yours and cupped your cheek before letting all of her past feelings slip out.

“Come with us,” she begged. “I don’t wanna lose you again. I can’t. I love you too much.”

Jinx

You were on your way down to Jinx’s lair to drop off some materials for her projects when you heard an explosion. You ran as fast as you could to see what happened only to find blue particles wisping around and Jinx on the ground crying. 

“No! It was a mistake! It was a mistake.” She cried. You’ve seen her have episodes before but none like this. 

“Jinx?” You called, stepping towards her, dropping the box. Upon hearing your voice she ran into your arms and continued to sob into you. You held her as tight as you could, rubbing her back and occasionally shushing her. 

“It’s alright Jinx. You're okay.” You comforted her as best as you could but the voices in her head were too distracting. Picking her up, you walked over to the couch and sat with her on your lap, rocking her back and forth. You would stroke her hair, and whisper sweet nothings as she slowly stopped hyperventilating. 

“I’m sorry.” Jinx mumbled, her arms wrapped tight around your neck as she stared off into the distance. “You have nothing to apologize for.” You looked down at her before her eyes went to yours. She stared at you for a good minute before resting her head against your chest. “Why do you always take care of me?” She asked, voice raspy from the prior sobbing. 

“Because I care for you more than you’ll ever know.” You replied without hesitation. She fell silent for a few seconds.

“Do you love me?” Her voice was filled with caution out of fear of denial which confused you because you two were already dating.

“More than you ever know.” You stated as your eyes met hers. “Good” A smile grew on her face. “Cause I love you too.”

Ekko

After the Firelights mission on the aircraft, Ekko started to worry about you and your safety. Watching his people get shot left and right by Jinx really made him wonder if or when you were next. He would do anything to prevent that from happening even if you hated him for it. 

When the surviving firelights made it back to the hideout Ekko pulled you aside. Normally when he did this it was to go over plans for the next attack or simply for some quality time together but judging by the grip he had on your arm and how tense his muscles were you knew something was up.

“Ekko…what’s wrong?” No response, no falter in his grip or his stare. You hated when he ignored you, it made you feel like a small child and the way he looked at you was almost like he didn’t know what to do with you. 

“Well? What is it?” You were growing impatient. You knew something was up and it was most likely gonna end with a lecture. At this point you were just waiting for him to spit it out. He stared at you again for another five or so seconds before looking to the ground and sighing. You were surprised when he suddenly pulled you in for a strong hug.

“I just want you to be safe.” He admitted, resting his head on top of yours as you returned his embrace. 

“I know Ekko, I know-” “Which is I think that it would be best if…if you just stayed here.” He said hesitantly. You took a few seconds to process his words before pulling back enough to meet his eyes. “What are you saying?” Ekko sighed again, eyes roaming somewhere else before looking to you again. “Y/n I don’t want you on any more missions.” You scoffed and shoved him away as you turned to leave. 

“Look, you saw what she did to our people. That could’ve been you!” Ekko pleaded as he blocked you from the door. You tried your best to push him out of the way but unfortunately your efforts were in vain. You let out an annoyed huff before staring Ekko dead in the eyes. 

“I can take care of myself, I’ve survived this long haven’t I?” You honestly couldn’t believe that he was trying to keep you from missions. “This isn’t fair, you’ve gotten hurt before and so have half of the other firelights so why is it just me being benched?” You argued while resuming  your attempts to push him out of your way only for him to grip your wrists. “Because I love you!”

His words shocked you both. You looked up at him to make sure you heard him clearly. His eyes held pure surprise before he shut them and regained his composure. You could only stand there and wait for him to go on.

“I love you, and I don’t want to see you hurt.” Ekko whispered. His eyes were glued to the ground but you could see that he meant it. You walked up to him and gently lifted his chin. “Say it again.” Without hesitation Ekko took your hand in his and whispered.

“I love you.” You pulled him into a kiss to which he gladly accepted.

“I love you too”.

~

So sorry for the unnecessarily long wait😅 hopefully part two and possibly 3 will be out soon also I’m gonna try and expand to other games/shows (everyone stopped writing for Heisenberg so I’m just gonna take it upon myself to do so✨)

Feel free to repost! It’s much appreciated🫶🏼

[yolli-es]

StarGuardianAU!Jinx × FemReader 💫

I'm back now, as promised. Thanks to everyone who noticed my post and somehow interacted with it 🙌🏻

I've read these posts a thousand times already, but I'm still not sure about the content. English is not my native language, thank you for understanding

Jinx has always been a self-confident girl. And this quality was not always positive.

When Jinx received the power of starlight, her first reaction was "obviously it had to be me."

Her ego was boosted when Lux, her childhood friend, became the leader of the Star Guardians.

She liked it. She didn't take her powers seriously, even after several fights.

In addition to her powers, she also received two magical animals and a tattoo of two wings on his back. She named the white one "Shiro", and the black one "Kuro". They were cute, but don't be fooled by their appearance.

They were a match for Jinx.

While Lux and the others were stubbornly saving the universe and realizing the importance of their gift, Jinx... was having fun.

While the other Guardians' pets hovered nearby and helped cast spells like fairies, Jinx was using her pets as guns like an action movie heroine.

She never cared about the unnecessary destruction she caused. The fate of the universe didn't really concern her.

And so, this led to all the Guardians treating her like crap.

Even Lux couldn't stand Jinx's self-confidence and arrogance, but still didn't say anything to her.

People quickly took a dislike to Jinx as well. Many considered her the most destructive Star Guardian, with some even seeing her as a greater threat than the Fallen Guardians.

And then the irreparable happened.

Lux called Jinx a "Zoe's successor".

Zoe was one of the first Star Guardians, but she had no interest in peace and love. So she became a fallen Guardian and began killing new recruits and plunging worlds into chaos.

It was painful for Jinx. She didn't expect that even her childhood friend was against her.

She left the team at that very moment.

Unfortunately, everyone at school found out about Jinx's double life. Realizing that she was the "crazy star" everyone avoided her.

People were afraid of Jinx, very much so. Even those who had interacted with her before quite naturally could not look her in the eyes.

Jinx wasn't helping the situation at all, getting really aggressive about it. She just didn't understand why everyone was so concerned about her power?

Friends, as she used to call Lux and the others, simply turned a blind eye to it.

At this point you appear.

You were transferred only recently. You don't watch TV, and you don't follow Guardians' activities online. Not only that, but you were never a sociable teenager, so you preferred to avoid unnecessary attention.

Newcomers always get a lot of attention, and you weren't immune. You were looking for a quiet place and met Jinx. She seemed to be sleeping against the wall.

Her bright pink hair and sweet face drew you. You sat down quietly next to her.

Jinx, by the way, was not sleeping at that moment and your calm behavior alarmed her. After waiting a little, she opened her eyes and asked what you were doing here.

During the conversation, Jinx quickly realized that you had no idea who she was and thought that she was just an outcast here.

She guessed because of your tone, your pose, and even the way you looked at her. Apparently, you weren't outgoing and thought Jinx was the same. You probably thought she was sitting there because she was lonely.

It was a truth that Jinx wasn't prepared to accept. She was once the popular girl in school, and now she sits in a remote corner where there are no windows just to take a break from the whispers behind her back. She also has a limit to her patience.

It hurt her pride. However, having no other choice, since others were shying away from her, and she wasn't going to go back to Lux, Jinx resigned herself to it.

To keep you believing in your own legend, Jinx was never around you in public. You always sat in secluded areas of the school.

You didn't question why she was doing this and insisting on private conversations, so just chalked it all up to shyness.

You missed communicating with someone, so you were fine with her unspoken rule.

In your eyes Jinx listened attentively to everything you told her. She did not humiliate your interests and tastes, was understanding and quiet. And you adored Jinx, your first friend.

You saw yourself in her. Felt like Jinx understood you. You are so lucky that such a beautiful girl is here with you.

At first, Jinx wasn't too happy with your company and even thought about getting rid of you. But then you started telling her a bunch of things about yourself, showing her your things, and even bringing her food.

Jinx was usually the one who liked to talk, but now she didn't mind being the silent listener.

Then she started to really listen to you, memorize a lot of things. She liked that you were so sincere and so happy when she asked clarifying questions. Sometimes Jinx would ask something just to see the sparkle in your eyes, without really listening.

You never made Jinx talk about herself either, for which she was quietly grateful. Your unobtrusiveness strengthened her small attachment to you and your conversations.

This went on for about three months. It was enough for Jinx to finally get used to you and wait for you to come to our place. Yes, now it is our place. A couple of times there were other students there, but thanks to her new reputation, Jinx easily chased them away with a look.

You never noticed any of this. You saw the best in Jinx.

Confident, understanding and beautiful. Perfect for you.

Still, the truth had to come out, didn't it?

You overheard conversations about her in the toilet. The girls called her "the monster from the abyss" and "the curse." You got angry and even wanted to make them shut up.

You're too quiet for that, I'm sorry.

However, after that, you started listening to the conversations in the hallways and the dining room. Everyone was talking about the same thing, constantly calling her a curse.

You hated them. The Jinx you knew was understanding and quiet. There was no way she could destroy buildings and be so chaotic!

Jinx is just a name. You wanted to believe that everyone around her disliked her so much because of her name.

Jinx noticed you were acting strange for the last week. She wasn't stupid.

She immediately understood what was going on, but for the whole week she didn’t dare talk about it.

Jinx never cared what others thought. She believed in herself and knew she had nothing to be ashamed of, so she never made excuses. She is who she is and if people can't see the good in her, that's not her problem.

Then why does she now want to explain to you on her knees? It scared her.

You were the one who brought it up first.

Jinx, despite the incredible weight for her, told you the truth. Absolutely everything and in detail.

You just listened without expressing anything.

Unfortunately for her, you weren't an idiot and quickly put two and two together.

Luckily for her, you didn't care about her reputation.

"You hung out with me because everyone else abandoned you, right?"

Jinx bit her tongue. What could she say?

Seeing the growing disappointment in your eyes, Jinx was ready to cry.

No, no, no! Not you, please.

Jinx couldn't think of a better way to convince you of her sincerity than to start listing everything she remembered about you from your conversations. From a funny situation at your last school to your favorite nail on your right hand.

Jinx remembered everything about you.

It touched you. Her voice trembled and tears threatened to flow from her eyes, but she didn't stop despite her excitement, until you interrupted her.

She didn't lie, and you're not just a school fun anymore.

This is how you touched each other for the first time. With hugs.

PART TWO: StarGuardianAU!Jinx × FemReader

[rainwingmarvel7]

Just the Way You Are - Jinx x OC

Part I. Enemy

Thank you @chic-beyond-the-wall-oc-acct for encouraging me to start writing this!!!

(Dividers by @the-voice-beckons-below)

All his life, Kasper Glas had heard tales of the Undercity. None of them were good ones, all Shimmer, despair, and rotting bodies. He never thought that he would find himself there, much less seeking an audience with a crime lord the likes of Silco.

But desperate times called for desperate measures.

As he waited outside of Silco’s office, Kasper fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves, made of navy blue and gold fabric, threaded with lines of lighter blue like paned glass.

He was alone in the hallway, having been left there by Silco’s right hand woman, a muscular woman with a mechanical arm and an intimidating face named Sevika. She had sternly told him to wait, and so he had waited.

But as each moment passed, he began to wonder if he had made the wrong decision in coming. It wasn’t too late to turn back yet. He could just go home and pretend this had never happened. Maybe he would only get in a little trouble for going behind his family’s backs, and he could -

“Hey, pretty boy,” Sevika said gruffly, poking her head out to fix him with her cold gray eyes. “Silco is ready for you.”

“Uh, thank you,” Kasper responded. He adjusted his tie, patterned to look like blue stained glass, and stepped through the door as Sevika swung it open for him, trying to muster some measure of confidence.

Silco was there waiting for him, seated in a plush red chair, framed by the light shining through a massive circular window made of green glass behind him. In Silco’s hand was a lit cigar, and he took a drag from it as he watched Kasper walk into the room.

Silco was intimidating in a different way than Sevika. He was still and poised, like a snake waiting to strike, and his eyes seemed to pierce through Kasper, straight into his soul. There was scarring on one side of his face, and his iris was black, giving his orange pupil an eerie, glowing quality.

“Kasper Glas,” Silco drawled, blowing smoke from his thin lips. His voice was low and smooth, but there was also an unmistakable authority in every word he spoke. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Haven’t you already spoken to my father?” Kasper asked.

“Oh yes, I have,” Silco responded. He took another puff of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke through his nostrils. “And he told me you were coming and that I should listen to you. Now, I want to hear what you have to say.”

“Very well,” Kasper murmured, straightening his posture. “I have a proposal for you.”

“My, my. A proposal?” Silco echoed, sounding amused by the idea. “Did you hear that, Sevika? The boy has come to me with a proposal.”

Sevika snorted. “This should be good,” she remarked.

“Alright, Glas,” Silco said. He paused to put out his cigar, then folded his hands below his chin and leaned forward, focusing the intensity of his gaze on Kasper. “I’m listening.”

“As I’m sure you know, my family controls the majority of the glasswork industry in Piltover,” Kasper began.

“I am aware, yes,” Silco murmured.

“Well, for the past several years, it has been flourishing, and we are now looking to expand our dealings elsewhere,” Kasper continued.

“You want to do business with me?” Silco surmised, his brows raised with intrigue. “With Zaun?”

“I thought perhaps we might be able to come to an arrangement,” Kasper responded. He gestured towards the window behind Silco. “I’ve seen the what the Undercity is like. You’re doing what you can to keep it running, but with my family’s assistance, you could make real improvements to the infrastructure.”

Above him, Kasper heard something creak, but when he looked up, he couldn’t see anything. He frowned thoughtfully, returning his attention to Silco as he kept talking.

“Hm, that is quite the offer,” Silco observed. “But what would it cost me?”

“Nothing you couldn’t afford,” Kasper assured him. “It would be a mutually beneficial agreement for both of us. We receive your business, and in return, our services are yours.”

Silco’s brows raised with interest. “All of them?”

Kasper nodded solemnly. “All of them,” he promised.

Silco sat back in his chair, looking Kasper up and down with a thoughtful glint in his one good eye.

“I’ll admit, boy, you have my attention,” he said. “I will consider your proposal, but I will not make any guarantees as to whether or not I will ultimately agree. Is that understood?”

“Yes, it is,��� Kasper responded.

“Good,” Silco said. “I will let you know when I’ve made my decision. Now, I’m afraid I’m a very busy man, and there is other business I must attend to. Have a good day, Kasper Glas. Sevika will see you out.”

Before Kasper could get another word out, Sevika was already grabbing him by the shoulder and shoving him towards the door.

Once Sevika had escorted Kasper outside of the building, she gave him one last forceful nudge, sending him stumbling onto the street.

“See you around, kid,” she said with a smirk. “If you get that lucky.”

“Thanks-” Kasper started to say, but Sevika was already slamming the door closed in his face.

He stood there for a moment, dusting off his coat and exhaling a heavy sigh.

“Alright then,” he murmured. “Suppose I’ll just be on my way.”

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he started making his way down the street. He kept his pace quick, but not so much so that he drew more attention to himself than he already did.

It wasn’t long before he found himself approaching a large building with a giant, glowing green eye for a sign. In the eye’s pupil were the words “The Last Drop”, and Kasper realized it must have been a bar. It looked to be a popular one at that, as he could see several patrons coming and going, and even from the street, he could hear lively music and chatter from inside.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt to grab a drink,” Kasper remarked to himself thoughtfully. After his meeting with Silco, he could use something to calm his nerves, and he wasn’t exactly eager to return home just yet.

Squaring his shoulders and standing up a little straighter, Kasper made his way over to the entrance to The Last Drop. It was being guarded by two tough-looking bouncers who were only slightly less intimidating than Sevika, but he hoped that if he looked confident enough, they’d let him through.

It almost seemed to work, until one of the bouncers, a tall, muscular man with hands as big as Kasper’s head, grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him backward.

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold on there, Blondie,” he said gruffly. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To get a drink,” Kasper responded. He put his hands on his hips and glared at the bouncer with the indignant stare he had perfected from his father. “Why? Is that not allowed?”

“Not here, it’s not. This isn’t the place for you, Topsider,” the bouncer said, shoving Kasper backwards. “Now get lost.”

“Hey!” Kasper bristled, staggering back at few steps.

“Beat it, kid,” the second bouncer growled, coming up beside the first.

“Come on now, gentlemen, that’s no way to treat a guest,” a smooth, silky voice said from behind Kasper.

He glanced back to see a group of people led by a tall, olive-skinned man with jet black hair covering half his head, serpentine green eyes under hooded lids, and tattoos inked on every visible inch of his body, including his chest showing beneath his low-cut vest. The most striking thing about him, however, was that his entire jaw and lower teeth had been replaced with a golden prosthetic.

“You vouching for this guy, Finn?” the first bouncer asked the strange man.

“That’s right,” the man - Finn - responded, putting an arm around Kasper that he wanted to shrug off but dared not to. “The man just wants a drink, that’s all. No reason to cause a scene. And if it makes you feel better, I will personally ensure he doesn’t cause any trouble.”

The two bouncers exchanged a look, then the first nodded towards Finn in concession.

“Alright, he can go in,” he said, already stepping aside to allow them entry.

“Thank you,” Finn responded, rewarding the bouncer with the closest thing he could give to a charming smile. He gave Kasper a pat on his shoulder, resting his other hand on his chest as he guided him into the bar. “Come on, friend. Let me buy you a drink.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Kasper said, raising his voice over the music blaring through the crowded room. “I can afford it.”

“It’s no trouble,” Finn assured him. He chuckled, flashing Kasper his own version of a smirk. “I can afford it too.”

He led Kasper over to the bar, shooing two other patrons out of the way so that they could sit down. The bartender, a man with a square chin, sharp cheekbones, and small, black eyes. His ink-colored hair was a mess of curls at the top of his head, and his eyelids were dark, like he hadn’t slept in days. When he smiled, he showed his crooked teeth.

“Hey there, Finn,” he said, flipping the towel he had been cleaning with over his shoulder and leaning against the counter. He nodded towards Kasper, looking him up and down. “Who’s this Topside kid you got here?”

“This is my new friend,” Finn said. “Kasper Glas.”

“Oh-ho, this guy’s important,” the bartender laughed, pointing at Kasper.

“That’s right. And I was just going to buy him a drink.” He gave the bartender an expectant look, dropping some coins on the counter. “Two of your finest, on me.”

“You got it,” the bartender responded with an enthusiastic nod. He scooped the coins into his pocket, then moved away to pour their drinks.

“How do you know who I am?” Kasper asked Finn suspiciously.

“What?” Finn asked.

“You knew my name, but I never gave it to you,” Kasper said.

“No offense, Blondie, but you stick out like a sore thumb around here,” Finn pointed out, tugging on Kasper’s suit jacket for emphasis. “Everyone knows who you are the moment they look at you. Even if they don’t know your name, they know your type.”

Kasper raised a brow at him. “You didn’t answer my question,” he said. “How did you know my name?”

“Silco and I are business partners,” he responded, just as the bartender returned with their drinks. Finn paused to take a sip from his before continuing, “He mentioned he had an important meeting with some Piltover kid today. Didn’t take much digging to figure out it was with you.”

“So, what do you want with me?” Kasper asked expectantly. He swirled his glass in his hand, then raised it up to his lips to take a drink. It was strong, stronger than he was used to, but he didn’t let it show on his face. “It’s obvious that’s why you’re here.”

“Straight to business, I like it,” Finn remarked. “Alright. I’ll tell you.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “I thought you might appreciate the opportunity to work with someone more… agreeable than that old man on top.”

“You’ve got a problem with Silco?” Kasper asked.

“Let’s just say, he won’t be in charge for much longer,” Finn responded. “He’s fading, Glas. And my fellow partners and I, well, we’re getting pretty tired of doing his bidding. We want results. He’s not giving us enough of them.”

“Oh, I get it,” Kasper remarked. “You want my family’s business so you can get the edge on Silco, all so you can eventually get rid of him.”

“You’re quick,” Finn commented.

“And I’m not an idiot,” Kasper added. “I came here to do business with Silco, and only Silco. I’m not making any deals with you.” He slid his drink away from him and got out of his chair. “Thanks for the drink. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll just be on my way.”

Finn’s smirk became a snarl. “I don’t think so, kid,” he said. “Nobody walks out on me like that.”

“Oh yeah?” Kasper snapped. He started walking backwards, towards the door. “Well, I just did.”

Shoving his hands back into his pockets, Kasper turned his back on Finn, continuing on his way out of the bar without another word.

“You’re gonna regret this, kid!” Finn yelled after him. “You don’t know who the fuck you’re messing with!”

Kasper just kept walking.

Yeah, well, neither do you.

[ck-stone]

How I, a random nobody with too much time on my hands, would have tweaked: Arcane Season 2, Act 2

Just picture it; the dark levels of the undercity, lights flickering in the distance, fog smothering the ground. Our heroes are running through the labyrinth of alleys, anticipating Ambessa’s soldiers or Warwick at each turn. We hear panting. We hear screams in the background. The score is silence and warning horns and low droning strings and percussion that thumps like a heartbeat (think Rio's theme (Agatha All Along) meets the Winter Soldier's theme). One of the characters is bleeding and they press on, hunted down by the strange wolf with glowing eyes. The other refuses to abandon them knowing that they may be condemning themselves as well. We were robbed.

Let me be clear, I love Arcane. I think it’s a masterpiece, I am enjoying the new season, and Lord have I never been attracted to anyone in my life as much as I am attracted to Vi, but that doesn’t mean that I’m above admitting when there’s a drop in quality. And let’s call season 2, act 2 for what it was: a transitionary chapter. Everything that happened, happened only to move the characters into place for act 3 and set the stage for the finale of the play.

So let me enrage you with some of my opinions.

(Disclaimer: This is meant to be an equally thoughtful and comedic critique. These are my opinions, and a lot of this is practice for my own work. If you don’t like them don’t come at me. I don’t give a shit.)

Bringing Vander back was unnecessary and lazy.

Why? Well easy, we already did this in season 1. We lost Vander. We as the audience knew that he wasn’t going to get a happy ending. It was a repeat of an emotional moment that worked in season 1, so they did it again in season 2. It was the same trauma, the same heartbreak, and another dead sibling. Old tricks which felt stale.

I also bet if someone were to clip all the scenes where we got teases of Warwick, it would be longer than the scene that had actual Warwick in it. Now, I know that Arcane is not above retconning League of Legends lore to suit them, but Warwick was something that sat really weird in Arcane canon. Warwick in League lore is a bloodthirsty mindless animal. Aside from his creation, that is all we know. He’s this mysterious force that lingers in the background until your character has that goddamn symbol on your head and then you’re panicking cause you can either finish with the buff you’re trying to get your team and die, or run back to base and have your team scream at you when wolfboy gets the buff even though you have more kills than the ADC cause no one appreciates a good fucking jungle player. Warwick should have been that mysterious force. We needed more intrigue, more dread, more panic, more horror-esque moments where characters are being stalked and we, the audience, are biting our nails at the edge of our seats, unsure whether or not our favourites will make it out alive.

But we get it, they needed to bring the sisters back together. I just think they could have found a different way to do it and still achieve the same outcome; that Jinx now recognises the pressure and stress and guilt and fear Vi held as the eldest, that she no longer put Vi on a pedestal and now see her as a person, and that Vi recognises that Jinx has grown up without her and does not need to be saved, and therefore can stop defining herself by her ability to protect people.

Caitlyn’s development felt as stable as a wet noodle.

In the last act we watched the rapid descent as Caitlyn lost to her anger and grief. And then Vi calls her ‘Cupcake’ and we see the rapid uptick of her story, but none of the in between aside from some skulking around as Vampire Cait (still fucking hot though). We as the audience actually have very little to go on during this time. We don’t know how much of Ambessa’s propaganda Caitlyn fell for, we don’t know how much she questioned, we also don’t see any of the yearning that Ambessa claims Caitlyn was doing for Vi (but plenty of Vi pining, just your average wlw experience). In season 1 Caitlyn was possibly the most compassionate character, and so we can assume that with a little time, she was able to recover some of her nature, but unfortunately the writers seem to be delivering this information by just, telling us. When telling stories, we often say ‘show don’t tell’ as you know, that’s how you tell a story and engage the audience.

Also, her and Maddie just seemed so out of character. Maddie is a subordinate—it is a clear abuse of power—not even to mention that it can barely be called a distraction as Maddie brings enforcer talk to the bedroom. Perhaps that is the distraction. I understand the writers were trying for a juxtaposition of how Cait treats Maddie vs Vi, but it ultimately just feels like them throwing in sex for sex sake. The only thing I can think is that perhaps Maddie is playing a bigger role that we the audience have not been clued into yet. Perhaps she’s spying for Ambessa. Who fucking knows.

And (now this may just be me being sensitive to the topic so perhaps it is not as big a deal as I’m making it out to be) Caitlyn hitting Vi needs to be addressed. That is not a-o-fucking-kay people. Yes, because hitting your partner is bad, but also because hitting your partner, your caring, sensitive partner, who you know suffered years of physical abuse at the hands of your kind (enforcers), is super uber bad. This needs to be acknowledged between the characters, especially for Caitlyn’s arc, as this is testament to her becoming the very thing she fought against in season 1. In this instance, hitting Vi was a more symbolic act than it was a simple mistake, and hurt far deeper than just physical pain. She would need to accept that this was a thing she did, for both her and Vi’s healing, and take responsibility for her actions. In season 1, Caitlyn was horrified to learn about the way Vi was treated, and then went on to shut down the lower levels of Stillwater in season 2, so she clearly still feels strongly enough about it to take action. It would need to be addressed in order for them to move on. And if they end together without having established good communication first, then they will be toxic for each other (I ship it, but I’m also realistic).

Jayce and the mystery of teleportation.

Now, firstly I just want to say that Jayce and Viktor’s stories are poetic with how they mirror and intersect. The foreshadowing was beautiful, the little details like the cog, the fact that Jayce and Viktor represent the two sides of the Arcane; that which is always creating, and that which is always destroying itself. Arcane at its core is a story of siblings, being held together by affection, necessity, being torn apart by the world and ideologies (which includes the cities, as they’re sister cities), and these two are no exception.

My complaint about Jayce is that, how the FUCK did he get to Zaun? He has been missing for months, magically reappears in a structure that surely would have some form of security, and then hobbles his way through Piltover to Zaun looking like a madman, including through the checkpoints, with a Hextech weapon, and no one seems to question it. Realistically, with martial law in place, as well as a literal army surrounding the compound, Jayce would have had a much harder time getting to Viktor. Yes, I am nitpicking, but I am not about to suspend disbelief just because the scenes were pretty.

So then Stone, how would you have approached these points?

Firstly, those three episodes could have been two (and then one more episode to expand on what they already had).

We left characters like Ekko, Heimerdinger, and to an extent Mel and Sevika, to instead focus on a story we already knew the ending of (Vander), which only serves to lessen the impact as we as the audience have gone from guessing to anticipating. There’s an army in Zaun. Surely the rest of the city would have been at least curious about what Ambessa and her forces were doing in the undercity. Even if nothing came of it, you’d have Sevika trying to rally people to do something about it, and even this in itself would have built tension.

And as beautiful and melancholic as it all was, Vander’s backstory, meeting Jinx and Vi’s mother, was ultimately unnecessary beyond that of pulling heartstrings. It would have had a place in season 1 (especially as there’s nothing in season 1 that alludes to Jinx and Vi having known Vander prior to their parents dying, so it just feels like a rather major detail to overlook), but unfortunately in season 2, it simply cramped what was already a rush to the end. We got the letters to Silco, the photos, we as the audience could piece together the rest from there, and it would feel a little more bittersweet watching the sisters piece the past together too.

We needed more Warwick as Warwick. We could have just as easily had Jinx and Vi get back together for other reasons, perhaps due to Vi’s downward spiral into self-destruction, perhaps related to the chembarons and their search for Jinx, perhaps because Zaun is unifying and they kidnap Vi as she was an enforcer for like five minutes, perhaps still because of Warwick, but rather the threat he poses, especially if Ambessa gets her hands on him, and then had them meet up with everyone else as the Noxian was still hunting the wolf. It didn’t necessarily have to be at the compound where Hammertime (shellshocked) went to assassinate Robot Jesus. We could have had those dark scenes of hide-and-seek amongst the fog and caught glimpses of Vander within, just enough to leave the audience questioning and perhaps allow Vi and Jinx to escape alive (I really wanted those dark scenes of hide-and-seek amongst the fog).

We needed more of Caitlyn's development. There needed to be some sort of acknowledgement about what happened in the previous act. It didn't need to be a conversation—that could wait until act 3—but we at least needed to see something, even something as small as Caitlyn carrying guilt. They had a chance to lean into certain themes here, explore the type of person Caitlyn wanted to be, and have her face who she has become, see her at her lowest. Would her mother be proud of her? Does she feel as if she's making a difference? Has she become the evil she sought to destroy? They could have brought back the 'what are you shooting for?' line, which would have been a nice touch. Just anything to sow the seeds of her development.

Also, does Mel not question how she survived a torpedo to the fucking back without a scratch? Cause I sure as hell am.

But all that being said, act 2 was still decent.

And fuck did I cry when Isha said her goodbyes. That hurt. Like, a fucking lot. Looking forward to whatever emotional hell they have prepared for us in the final act.