#since warwick recognized jinx

[vilnan]

the return of the king (vander)

[q8qwertyuiop8p]

Why I HATE the Silco and Vander Flashback

As a Silco fan I was so hyped for it but now I wish it hadn't been in the show in the first place.

1- Ruins the Character's Reaoning

The only question this scene actually answered was why Vander betrayed Silco, and it answered it in one of the worst (and most annoyingly cliche) ways possible.

We knew from S1 and the writer's responses that Silco and Vander led the revolution, what happened on the bridge changed Vander, and then he betrays Silco. Most people came to the conclusion that, seeing the destruction and orphans, Vander decided fighting back was too risky and advocated for peace. Silco, on the other hand, believed that they needed to continue fighting for freedom and refused to give up. Vander, fearing that Silco would instigate more destruction and destroy more families, attempted to kill him to protect his people.

But now we know Vander apparently tried to kill him not because he was worried about his people, but because he was mad that his one friend died. This just makes Vander look way worse and takes away from the nuance of his character. Vander didn't take in the kids because he felt guilty for what he did, but because he knew their mom and had a duty to her to take them in. Did Silco's guilt for starting the fight that killed Jinx's mom cause him to adopt her, too? Everything being about their mom takes away from the character development and uniqueness in why these characters did what they did.

2- Left Questions Rather than Answers and Created Even More Inconsistencies

We already knew before Season 2 that Silco and Vander worked in the mines, that at least Vander was familiar with Felicia, and that Silco intigated the bridge fight by throwing a molotov, but so many things are unanswered or now incredibly inconsistent.

What is Benzo's relation to Silco and Vander? He knew Silco well enough to recognize older him in thick fog. Why does he hate Silco so much? Did he ever know Felicia, or did he only show up in Vander's life after the betrayal?

If Silco instigated the fight, why does Vander say it was also his fault in the letter? Why does Vander say to Benzo "We both know there's worse things than enforcers out their"? What is he talking about? He seems to be talking about Silco since he touches the brace covering the scar Silco slashed on his arm. But this makes no sense for Vander to talk so badly of Silco if he also blames himself and regrets what he has done to his brother so much.

Where was Silco after Vi and Jinx were born? We see Vander interacting with the kids and their parents after, but not Silco, and the kids do not recognize him in s1e3. It's like he just vanished and there is no clear reason why.

Why is Silco so eager to kill Vi and Jinx in S1E3 despite him knowing their mom and making that promise to her? The reasoning for him wanting to was already very murky but this just makes it worse and once again takes away from the nuance.

3- Silco's Design

Yet another inconsistency. I personally hate Silco's new hair and think it looks really stupid, but it is what it is. The real problem with it is that it doesn't fit with what we see in season 1.

In season 2, young Silco has long hair and bangs like Jinx's. But in season 1, during the betrayal, young Silco's hair isn't even shoulder-length and his bangs are way shorter. So perhaps he cut his hair sometime before the fight? But we see that even on the bridge, during the revolution, Silco's hair is long. His hair is even long when Warwick hallucinates a post betrayal Silco, even though Vander has seen Silco with shorter hair.

This is especially bizarre considering the inconsistency with Vander's hair in season one. During the drowning scene, he has no beard and is young, but during the bridge scene he has a beard and looks much older. The writers have stated that this was due to communication errors with Fortiche and that Vander and Silco were not meant to look so much younger during the betrayal, so that they would make a similar error again is odd.

(Speaking of the design, a 100% personal reason I was disappointed was that in the concept, Silco wears a sleeveless outfit that shows off his muscular arms, yet they once again gave him long sleeves. I know what you may be thinking, but imagine they showed Vi's abs in the concepts but didn't actually show them in the show. Keep in mind that not only is Silco the only major character to die before season 2, he is also the only one who we don't get to see fully or partially shirtless (even Heimerdinger can be seen shirtless in the s1 Chinese Artbook). I thought they would at least give us a brief glimpse of those arms but instead they took the extra time to model sleeves. I will never understand how we got to see shirtless Salo before Silco's biceps. ☹️)

Besides that I felt like the way Silco especially was animated was very off, like the animator had never seen a Silco scene before and knew nothing about the character. I knew he would be a bit different, such as being less pessimistic, since this was before the betrayal, but it was just way too off. It's difficult to describe and I'm still trying to put a finger on what exactly was the problem, but one thing I noticed was that his smile looked unlike the way he normally smiles. His eyes are usually half-lidded, even in the S1 flashback, but they aren't that way at all. And no, it isn't just that it's weird seeing him with two good eyes, because he never felt off at all in the s1 flashback. He just overall gave off Jason Spisak vibes instead of Silco.

I also really hate that the way they were animated gives off a bit of a feeling that they were both into Felicia. Please not Snape and Lily again.

[arcane-ish]

I'm low key intrigued by this shot in the trailer:

That's the Vander statue, right? I almost didn't recognize it, by how stern and general like it looks. In s1, the Vander statue always felt kind of warm and protective and affectionate. It's obviously a place of solace for Silco and it's full of doodles by Ekko's people and little things the Zaunites left on it.

Here, he looks like a british admiral on his fleet ship or something.

I probably expect way too much but I'd love the idea of Sevika being the one who knows the truth about the original revolution attempt and who is maybe aware of the difference between the narrative and the reality and decides to intentionally keep mum about it to preserve the revolution. I could picture her keeping quiet about how dangerous it was because she just wants the revolution to happen, or even throw Silco under the bus and conceal Vander's flaws because she sees people want to rally behind his positive image, or she could do the opposite, amp up stories about Vander and the revolution and conceal that he wanted to call it off.

I can't help but think that the statue looking so different to Sevika might symbolize how she saw him. That from her perspective he was a lot meaner or colder. Or that the way she looks up represents the mixed feelings she has towards him. To that he looms large that the big shoes that have to be filled just like Cait talked about filling Cassandra's shoes.

I wonder if this shot symbolizes (again with looking up) Vi being unsure whether she should join the revolution. Since we know that Vi will at some point be saving enforcers again, I suspect an original revolution attempt will fail in some way.

I could picture it like this, Sevika lies about how much Vander was in favor of the revolution. Vi is torn when she sees the melding of Jinx and Vander, because if Vander is on it, it must be good right? And then she finds out what really happened and she's no longer keen on the revolution.

(that said, I think it should be distinguished between whether Zaun defends on its own turf or attacks topside. We know somebody is attacking Singed at some point (only to get eaten by Warwick I presume), though that could easily be chem barons wanting access to shimmer, we also have shots that suggest more bridge level confrontations, but we don't know if these are current shots or from the past, we have Ekko and firelights flying in on Piltover but that doesn't necessarily feel hostile)

There we'll probably have this whole aspect of the Pilties will probably find out that the medicine (Noxians) is worse than the disease (Zaunites) and we have this whole other secret, Cait likely has to figure out at some point that Ambessa organized the Memorial Attack.

(I could picture Vi finding out and if she thinks the revolution is going bad rush to Cait to call off the attack on Zaun till she figures out the Noxian involvement. Or reverse, I could picture Cait finding out and rushing to Vi and asking her to help against the Noxians)

Sidenote: I don't really have super high hopes for getting young!Silco and Vander flashbacks, but in my perfect world the whole "the tale about the revolution is different from what it was actually like" thing would have Sevika giving this rousing speech about how the ones before them were these heroic and disciplined revolutionaries intercut with flashbacks of Vander and Silco getting drunk and goofing off at the Last Drop.

[wingedshadowfan]

⚠️arcane s2 act ii spoilers⚠️

to everyone wondering why vi chose to trust caitlyn so quickly, here's some potential reasons or explanations

if caitlyn wanted to, she could've actually caught vi and brought her down to ambessa, but she stopped and helped her up immediately upon recognizing her (and i'm not saying she could bcuz she can beat vi 1v1 but because she was armed and jumped her out of nowhere) - because she simply has no reason to hurt vi, and vi knows this. regardless of her feelings towards vi as a person, caitlyn's main goal as a commander is pursuing jinx even though she's currently on a mission to get the beast instead (i've explained in a previous post why this is smth she wouldn't want happening, especially the way it was going to happen, but she likely didn't have the time to explain all this to vi, but it could make vi trust her more if she did), in fact she tells vi she can't be there not bcuz caitlyn would harm her but bcuz someone else in that camp might, protecting vi

caitlyn presumably proceeds to hear vi out as vi tells her the monster ambessa is hunting is actually vander, her dad, who was thought to be dead for years and is now about to get healed, and vi knows caitlyn is still grieving her mother, doesn't necessarily know what caitlyn has been up to since they last saw each other, and obviously vi can't know what caitlyn is really thinking, but she hasn't attempted to flee, alert ambessa's army, or attack vi again - she's done the opposite, she's let her guard down immediately, joked, sat calmly, listened to her and readily believed her before making her (rather quick) choice to turn on ambessa

here vi might start to get suspicious but caitlyn goes above and beyond to retain what little trust vi has given her by telling her this, also letting her guard down and not trying to pull shit. caitlyn unconditionally shares the entire layout of ambessa's camp to vi - incredibly strategic information there's no going back from sharing, so even if vi ultimately chooses not to double cross ambessa with caitlyn, she can leave safely and alert someone else about what's going down. and yea, cait could be lying, but what are the odds and why would she, considering all she's done up until now? caitlyn can't force vi to take part but she knows it's the best chance either of them has got. so she keeps going. she gives vi her own gun's net munition, makes sure vi's in cuffs she can free herself easily from (gives her resources and control), and they plan it out together. vi feels safe enough and in control of the situation to even ask cait to hit her for authenticity.

and if we wanted to be practical and ignore the possibility of vi still harboring feelings for caitlyn and/or being touched by this display of trust and vulnerability, then here's what this looks like to vi: she's all alone with caitlyn, who she can probably take down (without alerting guards? not as probable anymore) or run away from/outrun. the fact of the matter stands: there's a whole army of trained soldiers knocking on their front door ready to invade a weaponless village that has nothing except vi, jinx, isha and warwick (who will all be surprised too). if singed and company don't make it there before vi does, manage to get past jinx and inject warwick, that is. so what choice does vi have exactly? she has to trust caitlyn. now.

and no, they're not back yet. there's much to discuss. but this is the start of something good.

[zorosnavigator]

Timebomb is more similar to everlark than ghostflower. the similarities are just. there. in term of character's story-arc, and especially if the writers had looked deeper into the 'Jinx' involuntary became the new symbol of Zaun resistance' subplot. but even then. there're so much between these 2 ships... Ekko's innovativity /leadership and all the work he did for his community (even if he 'gave up' at one point), the way he literally broke the time to save everyone's ass but he's not recognized as the one who did so (he doesn't become the revolutionary symbol that Jinx represent for Zaunites, the one people look up to ) ,

its still Jinx at the end of the day, Jinx who at her core, is more abt protecting Isha (Primrose) than rising a revolution but she will do it anyway, for her, as she finished Vander/Warwick to protect her sister. and god its been a long time since i watched the movies or read the novels but like, these surface comparaison are so obvious to me i'm surprised no one pointed it out yet

[justanerddummie]

I really wanted to make a post about about Viktor, he's one of my favorite characters after all but then I always spiral into a bunch of extremely clichè morality questions to which no one has the answer to. So I guess I'll just talk about a bunch of stuff that really hit me during ep 6.

How Viktor doesn't simply heal people, but also the land, the place when he first arrived was barren, no plants, no water, no sun, no nothing, now it is blooming, plants grow high and healthy in full cooperation with hextech and the sun shines non-stop. We can see some of them even have the purple lines like the ones that kept dying in Viktor's lab. I guess I really did enjoy the duality of Viktor needing shimmer to force hextech to work with nature, but having to sacrifice his morality to do so.

The way Viktor's comune was portrayed into such a positive light was quite jarring, at the end ep5 we see it in a very ambiguous way and now it seems that it's just a force of good. Like this is a hive-mind situation, then why does this place feel so warm and cozy? I blame it all on the warm colors and the light fortiche used to lull the viewer into a sense of safety.

Vi, baby, I know you feel the same, I know the promise of forgiveness has lured you in, but seriously except for the mistake of hitting your sister in the worst moments of both of your lives, which isn't justifiable but understandable you haven't done anything wrong ever since. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything bad in your life and start putting at least part of the blame on your sister and your gf 'cause seriously they fucked up way worse than you.

Why was Jinx's color palette clashing so much with the environment? I mean, Vi and Isha seemed to blend in just fine, fuck even Warwick felt fine at some point but Jinx felt like a thumb in a sore eye the entire time they were in the comune.

Singed I love you, I also really loved the way this episode felt more like a clash of his and Viktor's phylosophy more than anything else. The only thing I'm sorry about is how in the end he is always right.

I enjoyed Vander's flashback sugarcoated as they were, as they turned into Vi's memory. I guess that's the whole point of nostalgia so no notes here.

I guess that placing this episode at the end of act 2 was a really smart move, we've just come from five episodes of darkness and smoke, everything from the situations to the art felt oppressive and the moment it started I asked my self if I was watching the same show as five minutes before. Putting a breather right before the situations plunges back into darkness destroys the viewer's heart way more than keeping the tension high the entire time.

Ambessa doesn't look like your typical villain, and honestly I don't really recognize her as one. She's framed constantly as nothing but a warmonger, yet she rarely ever leads sword first. Is it because of her situation as a destituted Noxian looking for allies across sea? Is it because she fancies herself fox and wolf? Guess we'll see next act, hopefully.

Isha, I've been side eyeing that little girl since the begging of the season, everyone knew she was going to die, and we all cried like babies. I really do hope that they don't go the way the leaks have suggested, because seriously then what's the point? Other than that I want to watch act 3, because right now I'm honestly speechless.

[imaginelegends]

Shun

flood, catastrophe, upheaval

TW: Attempted Sexual Assault

Everything is fine. Nothing happened. Some wise guys try some funny business. She shut them down, sent a report to the tribunal - standard practice. Of course, the jerks only receive a slap on the wrist because the tribunal is notoriously useless. But at least, there’s documentation of their behavior for future reference.

As for her present situation, Lux is a high-level spellcaster - a veteran mage. She can protect herself and punish the greedy bastards without any help. Except she can’t shake their eyes. They watch her wherever she goes. Whispers trail after her, cluttering every corner of each room that she walks into. The cheeky hags don’t even try to hide that they’re talking about her, pointing and sneering - barely lowering their voices.

Fetish and kink are not uncommon among champions. Considering their career, it’s almost a given that they’d be into some strange sexual practices. Lux is aware of designated dungeons that some champions set up on the sly, because if they’re going to stay at the Institute for long periods of time, then they might as well make themselves at home. It shouldn’t be so abnormal for Lux to have… proclivities. And yet, with the way they’re treating her, one would think that they were puritans - chaste and celibate, and she is the lone harlot among them.

Not everyone cares, obviously. The Bilgewater folks barely blink at the newest rumors. The ones with a vested interest in Demacia - those cheerily smear her name. It doesn’t matter if her detractors are equally if not more depraved. She’s supposed to be different from them - a pure and radiant maiden. Any sexual appetite is unbefitting of her status.

Yet, she could handle that - their scorn, their gleeful revulsion. She has more trouble with the others… those that see the new rumors as an opportunity… Whenever she encounters them, their stares strip her down as if she was walking nude and nubile before them. Notably, the Zaunites do the most - licking their lips, snapping their teeth. They cackle whenever she flinches.

The infirmary gains a handful of new patients and it doesn’t stop them. Before, they would never dare. She was untouchable in many ways, and under the protection of powerful allies. Now, Garen and Jarvan, along with other full-time representatives, remain occupied with the upcoming match. As for Piltover, they hardly remain at the Institute, since most of them have proper jobs and responsibilities. She’s alone.

She’s fine. She can protect herself. She won’t rescind her self-imposed ban from all matches involving Jinx. And it’s not particularly difficult to avoid the Zaunites. There’s honestly very few of them at the Institute. With Jinx and Viktor conscripted for the match, there’s only Urgot, Twitch, Dr. Mundo, Warwick and Singed to deal with. A well-aimed light binding will take care of them if they try anything.

When she tires of the taunts thrown her way in the banquet hall, she picks up her tray and strides out, heading for her room. She occupies her mind with runic recitations and arcane diagrams - a defensive distraction from unpleasant thoughts. As she flings herself further into a meditative state, she ceases to account for the space around her, trusting her feet to find the way home.

Something snags her wrist.

Her arm is nearly wrenched from its socket as she is dragged to the side and slammed against the wall. A massive hand envelops her arm from the wrist to the elbow. Each finger is thicker than her bicep, and stronger than a band of steel. She blinks away the blurriness in her eyes as her brain furiously catches up with the visual input.

The hand is purple, connected to a thick wrist, attached to a meaty-hunk of an arm. Tattered scraps of fabric cling to a watermelon-sized bicep - the remnants of a once respectable doctor’s coat. She recognizes each detail individually but she can’t seem to put the pieces together. There’s pain blooming in the back of her skull where it connected rather rudely with the cement.

“Didn’t you hear Mundo calling you?”

Ah. That’s right.

Lux lifts her head to peer at the monstrous visage of one Dr. Mundo. Shit, she hopes that there’s only one. Right now, she’s seeing double-triple. And she knows that cloning isn’t one of the good doctor’s abilities.

“I - What -”

Reaching for her mana, she summons her baton. But Dr. Mundo is fast, which is one of his abilities, and he bats away the baton like swatting a particularly irksome fly. She hisses and throws a wild punch using her only free hand. The hit lands soundly against Dr. Mundo’s chin and it does absolutely nothing. He smirks at her and, with a dextrous maneuver - unexpected from such a large man, he seizes both of her arms in a single leathery fist.

“Don’t worry! Dr. Mundo likes them feisty!” His swollen tongue spreads a thick layer of spit across his gaping maw.

Lux gags as bile rises up her throat. The stench of his putrid breath is identical to the smell of a carcass rotting under the open sun. She’s forced to inhale through her mouth.

Despite Dr. Mundo’s lack of irises and pupils, she could tell that his gaze had fixated on her slightly parted lips as if she was some coquettish whore inviting him to taste. And sure enough, he pushes himself closer, pressing the wide girth of his body against her chest, sliding slightly as if rubbing himself on her boobs.

Lux is going to kill him.

She swings her legs, trying to find any leverage. But he is built for this kind of combat - up close and personal. Even if she could kick him, her feet would only find muscle tougher than cement. And without her baton, with both her hands trapped, she’s cut off from her magic - no shields, no bindings, no exploding singularities.

Dr. Mundo has captured her completely, and from the wicked grin he’s wearing, the good doctor is fully aware of this. Despite sounding like a toddler with special needs, he remains the genius capable of inventing super soldier serums. Given the right incentive, which she can feel pressing against the meat of her thigh, Dr. Mundo can orchestrate a successful ambush. And he did.

Adrenaline starts to surge through her as she reconciles with the severity of her situation. Most of the other champions remain at the banquet hall. She took a lesser used route to the Demacian dorms, hoping to avoid further harassment. Stupid. She set herself up.

“People say that pretty lady likes the Zaunites,” he cheerfully tells her. “Do not worry. Dr. Mundo also likes pretty lady. We will have lots of fun.”

Then he leans in, nuzzling the crook of her neck. Lux feels the way his nostrils flare as he sucks in her scent. She bucks with her whole body, desperately trying to pull away and push him off at the same time. Her eyes dart around the hallway, desperate to find something - anything that could help. The tray with her ruined lunch on the floor, the light sconce on a nearby pillar, the - the - that’s it. There’s nothing else. There’s nothing that she can use. There’s…

There’s footsteps. Someone’s coming. She can hear the clack of shoes against the stone floor. Someone’s heading her way.

“Let go of me!” She yells, using every squeeze of air in her lungs. “You fucking bastard! Don’t you dare! I’ll burn a hole through your torso!!!”

Dr. Mundo sneers. “Go on then. Do it.”

Lux snarls as she twists her head to the side. She gets a good look of the entryway, where this hall connects to the main foyer. As the footsteps get closer, she first sees a shadow - no obvious details, just a vague shape and size. Then someone steps into the entryway, pausing there for a single second. Due to the dim light, Lux can only see a silhouette - no facial features, no specific colors. But she knows the curve of those shoulders, the fragile lines of those limbs, and the tell-tale twin braids framing that torso.

It’s Jinx. It could only be Jinx.

Infinity is distilled into a second as they stare at each other. Jinx must clearly see the problem at hand. There’s nothing that could hide Dr. Mundo’s hulking mass. Lux has made an utter fool of herself, and yet, she nurses a secret relief. Jinx is here. Jinx can save her. Jinx will…

The second ends and the footsteps continue. Jinx walks away. There’s no stilted movement - no hesitancy in her steps. She simply goes, going, gone. Lux loses sight of her.

“Heh, pretty lady, did you think that bluebird would help you?” Dr. Mundo cackles. “You don’t know that bluebird told us all the stories. You’re a naughty girl - don’t lie to Dr. Mundo.”

Lux watches the empty entryway where Jinx once stood. White noise fills her head like the stuffing of a teddy bear and just as thick. A buzzing static spreads from the tips of her fingers to the roots of her hair. This can’t be happening. That didn’t just happen. There’s no way - It’s not possible - She wouldn’t have…

A deadweight presses against her ribs as fingernails start to dig into her belly. She watches as Dr. Mundo tugs her around like a pleasure doll just for him. It’s odd. She can’t quite comprehend that he’s touching her - that her body is in his hands. There’s a dull and distant awareness of danger - she needs to escape now.

With her mind so removed from the present circumstances, pure animal instinct takes over - sharpened by years behind the front lines as one of Demacia’s finest soldiers. Dr. Mundo is bowing his head, sloppy mouth and putrid tongue ready to touch her in some way. As he gets close, her eyes find a vein - plump and pulsing beneath the thin skin of his throat. Every other part of him is roided to resist physical damage - every part save for key exceptions.

She moves first - she moves fast. Before his lips could reach her, she launched herself forward, forcing her spine to bend. Her jaw clamps around his throat, right over that vein - possibly the carotid artery, then she bites down hard like a bear trap slamming shut.

Time moves very fast after that.

Later, much later, Lux will vaguely remember the taste of his sweat - the way his skin yielded to her teeth like the rubber of a balloon. She doesn’t have fangs - her incisors are the regular human kind. But adrenaline is one hell of a drug. She tore his throat open, and it was the carotid artery. An ordinary man would have bled out in seconds. Unfortunately, Dr. Mundo is no ordinary man.

He must have let her go, and she must have escaped. It’s all speculation since Lux can’t remember. Her body moved without any input from her mind because she lost her mind. Poof. Missing. Spam the MIA ping.

“Holy Morg…”

Lux finds herself in the training grounds behind the Demacia dorms. Burnt husks of target dummies surround her. The lemon-acid tang of her magic laces the air. Huh. Apparently, she’s been busy.

“Are you - no, of course you’re not okay…”

She twirls her baton, relishing the weight of it in her hand. There’s blood under her fingernails - already dried and tacky. It’s cold out here.

“Lux… What happened?”

She faces Quinn - good, reliable Quinn. The older woman is a respectable distance away, watching her with cautious concern. Quinn barely spends time at the Institute - a free-spirit, roaming through the wilderness of Demacia. And yet, the ranger-knight is here - how very strange.

“Lux? Can you hear me? Hello?”

She nods. Of course, she can hear her. There’s only a few meters of space between them and she’s not deaf. But Quinn doesn’t look any less… wary, which makes sense. Lux must be a gory sight, with a sliver of skin stuck to her chin and the splash of blood coating her chest piece. She hasn’t seen a mirror yet so she can only imagine her absolutely horrific appearance. It’s a good thing that red (or reddish brown) compliments her complexion nicely. Oh, wait, Quinn is talking.

“-shock. You might need a medic. Okay? Lux? Merciful Kindred, what happened to you?”

She could talk about the rumours. She could talk about Dr. Mundo’s attempted sexual assault. She could talk about the Institute’s internal issues - the glaring lack of actual protection for their champions. They claim to condemn violence but they never act on their condemnation - it’s all just lip service. She could tell Quinn that - any of that. Quinn should know these things.

“She left me…” Lux whispers.

The words fall out of her mouth like raindrops heralding a hurricane.

“She didn’t even look at me! Not really. She just walked away. Gone. She fucking left me!!”

Quinn flinches, stepping backwards. She opens her mouth to reply but Lux cuts her off with a scream. It’s a thoughtless sound of concentrated agony, accompanied by an eruption of immolating light. Magic responds to strong emotions and she sure has some strong emotions.

When Lux returns to her senses, the training grounds have transformed into a single, giant crater. Quinn had taken cover, unscathed save for a slightly singed cloak.

“Alright. You’re very upset.”

Lux snorts, rolling her eyes.

“I… Listen, I’m technically on the clock. But if you wanna talk about… um… then just let me know. Okay? I’ll be around.” Quinn coughs, clearing her throat. “If you don’t mind me asking, who is she?”

Lux stays silent, sinking down to sit on the dirt. An early evening breeze slides through her hair as she rubs a fist over her eyes. She breathes out.

“Yeah, I get it. I can lea-”

“It was Jinx.”

“... Pardon?”

“Jinx set me up. Jinx left me.”

Soil shifts somewhere above her. The sound prompts Lux to glance up. She catches sight of Quinn sliding down the crater, then jogging towards her. The ranger-knight moves with grace and blatant intent, fixating on Lux as if she was her quarry. Lux is too tired to be intimidated.

“You met with Jinx? Where? When?”

“Do I look like I would know? Before you approached me, I was completely divorced from reality. And you want me to give you timestamps of my encounter?”

“Lady Crownguard…”

“I’m sick of hearing that title! It’s meant to show respect but I only hear it when someone means to manipulate me. I don’t know anything, okay?!”

Like all champions, Quinn possesses an exceptional set of skills. If Lux has arcane prowess, then Quinn has visual acuity to match her partner, Valor. Her brown-nearly-amber eyes study Lux, seeking falsehoods in the body’s language. She must find none because she breathes in slowly, shoulders sagging, head tilting down. Lux can read body language too.

“Quinn… Why are you here?”

Her friend’s jaw clenches, and she takes a second too long to reply. “I am the finest tracker in Demacia. I can spot a trail in any forest.”

“Just-Just tell me.”

Quinn closes her eyes, affording Lux some privacy. “Jinx has escaped. Again.”

[sowearecleariamhere]

Ramble-y impressions and thoughts from my first watch of Arcane S2 Act 2

This is all I took down in my notes app, it is vaguely proofread

Of course - spoilers ahead!

Episode 4

• The beetle fight??? "We used to play a game, imagining bigger and bigger monsters" and not Jinx is playing that game with Isha T-T she is doing what she learned with her big sister with her new little sister! (Also might be some easter egg?? Feels that way?)

• ISHAS BRAIDS 😭😭😭 THE SIBLING ENERGY I AM CYRING

• I didnt know I needed big sis Jinx in my life T-T

• "She was more into... hitting things." - we dont see her face 😭 - ... "Someone put all these holes in you." - she tends not to address herself directly when it is a painful memory

• The shot of Jinx's crazy eye overlapping with Cait's in the magnifying glass (? Or whatever it is) goes crazy

• Ambessa to Cait: "You'll never rest knowing that she's out there" She's referring to Jinx, but maybe also to Mel since the Black Rose has her

• Jinx "talking" to Silco... T-T It's like she is waiting for her hallucinations to talk to her, but now they wont... maybe bc Isha is good for her? Stabilizing her?

• Singed holding a scalpel... not a differnt type of knife. Not ominous at all.

• Not her hallucinations back again, WITH Silco now that Isha was taken T-T

• BROO that warwick montage in red??  Looks so good

• Not jinx calling sevika "Lefty" xD

• Jinx's "look at this doofus guard" look at sevika

• "You look like a half-eaten circus tent" NOT THE SHADEEEE

• Not the smiley face on her middle finger "nail"

• "Whoo! Biiiig mama." (About sevika) Warden knows whats up :3

• Jinx tensing up as the prisoners approach her. She is only accustomed to being met with disdain and violence. Never has she been confronted with a group of people accepting her, being happy she is here, acknowledging her, revering her, touching her as if for good luck. Would not be surprised if this is some kind of turning point for her. That she realises she isn't alone, even if she can't know them all, but they are on her side, they (sorta) have a united cause. Or they can. If she chooses to participate. Bro I am bawling

• She is so visibly uncomfortable, she doesnt even know how to begin to react to that

• And the brothel leader too?!! Her being like "It's okay kiddo, you'll be fine, you’ve fought so hard"

• Isha crying in Jinx's arms, making Jinx cry, making me cry

• Gate shuddering, red smoke. Me: "Daddy's home~" xD

• J: "Get her(isha) out!" S: "You really are-" J: "Big fat hero." ..."It was something I could fix" callback kinda

• Not sevika being a stand-in for Vander carring Isha(Vi) away from a killing field (jinx/jinx and Vi's parents)

• I thought, is he gonna recognize his adoptive daughter by her trinkets, since she has grown up and aside from her hair colour she changed a lot... and that is what happened ajshdkakajdj

• And now Jinx doesn't really want to Die, she is crying even though she stops fighting back

• "Powder?"

• That is evillll

Episode 5

Oouf here we go

• Yesss get ready to be destroyed by Vi once again Lock!

• Vi I love you and your hook alshdkskda

• Former enforcer dude is like "That's my girl"

• Vi is shattered now too, she has a broken mirror, just like her sister. Also signifying once again that she has lost herself, is lost, does not know who she is or what to do

• The sister "talk" ? I was waiting for lets gooo

• Jinx "Vander... he's alive" ..."nothing ever stays dead"

• Crazy how at this moment, Jinx seems more mentally stable than Vi

• Minor point. Love how Caits hair looks in the cloak. Being the leader of a fascist military state has to have *some* upsides at least

• Cait you have fumbled your girlfriend AND your marbles

• Vi is *spicy* now. And by that I mean a bitch (not that I don't understand why)

• Also her eye makeup slaps. Her eyes look so pretty omg

• Mel casually unlocks some mechanism... Mel you smart devil

• The sisters looking at their dead father's things T-T

• Two estranged sisters that hate and love each other in the lair of their fathers who were brothers that hated and loved each other

• Vi reaching her hand out to comfort Jinx but retracting it T-T

• J: "If he(Silco) found this (Vander's letter to him), everything might have been different." The parallels tHE PARALLELS... also "What could have been" might as well start playing

• I swear if Isha dies I run amok, I will go berserk

• Young silco has the same fringe thingy as Jinx!!!

• Vander gives Felicia JINX'S CUPPPP

• DO THEY BOTH LOVE HER???

• singed said he hadnt found the right catalyst to vanders/ww mind yet

• What if it is Felicia/Vi??

• "Blisters and bedrock" !!!!! That is where vander and silco got their phrase from

• Is that why they wanted to establish Zaun? For her kids??? 😭😭😭 omg crying

• Omg it hit just hit me what if that is why silco hated vander? (One of the reasons at least) Vander took her kids in. And that is maybe why he (Silco) took powder in?? Because she "defected" too? From vander? Am I big braining or smooth braining rn??

• V: "What's the point if we cant raise an ankle biter or two?" HE IS CORRECT WITH THE TWO, ALSO THE ANKLE BITING xD I would be surprised if Powder/Jinx wasn't at some point biting her father figures

• But they really did take care of them!!!! Omg unified theory???

• "What are you waiting for? He's your dad too" crying screaming omg 😭😭😭😭

• The hug omg <3 I didn't think we'd get this T-T but I know what comes now will destroy me

• Viktor/Salo: "I suppose this is somewhat beyond what we left off." YA THINK.

• "I'm sorry you feel that way" what in the therapyspeak

• DAMN JAYCE. Didn't know it was pancake day. We have storebought you know

Episode 6

• "Ask for a miracle healer, get a metal fortune cookie." xD i can't

• BRO. I never thought I would hear "Powder" out of Viktor's mouth goddamn

• Vi: "What do you think?" Jinx: "You... actually want my opinion?" she sounds so disbelieving T-T

• The monage of Vander's memories has me sobbing. Ugly

• "What if we stayed?" "We?" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

• "Evolution has a destination. Not to combat nature, but to superceed it. The final, glorious evolution." HE SAID IT, HE SAID THE THINGGG

• Ngl Viktor's hair is beautifulll

• You just tackle your ex-gf like that Cait?? No hello?

• "Dont sugarcoat it, Cupcake." ....*sobbing in the distance* ouch

• "We tracked some sort of new chemweapon down here. A bloodthirsty murderous beast. What are you doing here?" "... Trying to save... my dad."

• Are they gonna scheme? Please tell me they are gonna scheme

• Jinx: "I had some time to think lately. Ever since you dropped into my life, it's like I put on glasses. Except I can't tell whether everything's blurry or clear." What did I say, Isha stabilizes Jinx's mental state <3

• "Being patient. Mm, still haven't quite cracked that one, but being tied up sure helps." *wheezing* your honor I love her

• "Don't. Touch my daughter!" Screaming. I love that we see Vander protecting Powder/Jinx <3

• Viktor looks as Jayce and his eyes are the color they way before...before he became arcane Jesus

• The screaming is horrifying

• Vander is crying, you're crying, I'm crying

• Them fighting side by side T-T this cant go well

• The montage 😭😭😭😭😭😭

• Isha is crying, Jinx is cying, I am crying, throwing up scratching my eyes out

• Stop it. Isha being like a AU powder, where instead of if being an accident and chaotic, she wields the power she has with a target. Self-sacrificing.

• AMBESSA. She said "Sacrifice" FUCK. HIE DID I NOT CLOCK THAT

• Istg if Isha is dead. I feel so bad for both of them, bc their relationship was so obviously healing for both of them. Only to have it ripped out from under their feet in the most cruel way

• Writers when I catch you it is on sight

• How am I supposed to wait a week?? How can it be over in a week????

[piltover-sharpshooter]

Cimeterium (Drabble)

Caitlyn was standing in front of Grayson's tomb. She hadn't been here in a while, and she didn't even know why she had come here in the first place. Perhaps that last debacle with Jinx had hit her harder than she thought, and as she admired the craftsmanship of her mentor's statue and the dedication to which it was maintained, she reached a conclusion that she had reached every time she had set foot in the graveyard.

She hated this place.

It was something she felt ever since she was a kid, she never got the purpose of Graveyards. She'd seen many as she grew up, Ionian graveyards with incense left on each tombstone, Demacian Catacombs filled with long dead heroes, Shuriman burial sites where only a few rocks would denote a body laid to rest...she hated each and every one. People didn't come here for the dead, they came here for themselves, to feel better (or worse), and stare at an empty space imagining the people who are dead to be listening. She had seen what happened to those poor souls that didn't pass on, and that was a fate much worse than death, so for her those who were dead, truly dead, were no longer there to listen.

A few feet away from where she was standing, past all the graves of former sheriffs, you'd find where a lot of the Enforcers and Wardens were laid to rest, good men and women (she hoped) who laid their lives for a good cause. During the time she was sheriff, she had to be there for each one, give speeches to their valor, console grieving people, and more than once get struck by angry family members. Each time she did this without doubt until she was no longer in charge.

And if you were to keep walking to the west, you'd find the Kiramman section of the graveyard, lavished in marble and purple, where many of 'the great Kiramman of old' were buried in highly decorated Mausoleums, as if you were to be entering a long forgotten city. As the heir, she had to attend each and every one of the extended family funerals, even if it was someone she didn't know or (frankly) cared for. This too, she did with no complains, and until her passing she'd have to.

Her passing...

She imagined first what her funeral would be like. Despite her instructions that she didn't want one (She didn't even want a grave with her name) , the city would suddenly recognize all she did and her family would put on a big show of it. People would say how great she truly was, the sacrifices she made, enemies would pretend to have respected her, and she'd get a statue just like Grayson's, most likely a better one. They might even name a park after her. People will debate for decades to come whether or not her death was just, whether if her crusade was just, and history would decide if she was hero or villain.

At that last thought she had to laugh.

"When the bullet enters my skull" She thought. "Why will it matter why? Why will anything?"

Then she imagined her death. Much like her mentor she'd be find in an alley, or the middle of the street, or the park they'd later name after her or wherever and her passing would not have been pretty. Decades of work deemed worthless in a split second decision as a mistake costs her everything, and she finally dies, like a dog put down after it's grown too old and too blind to be useful. She tried to think who'd be the one to end her, Jinx, Mundo, Warwick? Perhaps an outside threat. But no, grand final bouts like that only happened in melodramas, some random person will get lucky or reckless enough and end her. Much like Grayson

She'd not die for her city. People don't die for anything.

People just die.

A sigh escaped her mouth. Again she asked why she had come here? Perhaps she hoped this time would be different...it would be nice to be like father and come to places like this, talk to friends and family of old, finding...peace. But Caitlyn wasn't built for peace, and places like this were not built for her....still....

Closing her eyes she imagined that it was true, and sitting down in front of the cold stone with the visage of her mentor she began to talk, of herself, her achivements, how good of a person Grayson was, what an inspiration she was. Today, she'd try and do this with all the dead she knew here, even if it took her all day.

She hoped she was wrong and they were listening.

The hope would have to be enough.

[srslylini]

The way season 1 ended she was at a point so low she was ready to blow up a city (and like she did, she blew up the council). The start of season 2 showing her cathartic wasn't actually bad I liked that direction. It felt like they wanted to show her in a "nothing state" which depression also feels like.

they showed her as not caring about anything anymore (literally just walking through every scene in the music video sucker while everything just HAPPENS around her). The meeting with Isha, while still being a little bit odd since it felt like well they randomly put them together but that's something you can overlook, was amazing. She still just didn't care, played with her life.

Her reaction to seeing her sister being an enforcer? Gut punching. Extremely painful. The fight with her STILL being more in a nothing like state, just shooting the dude with her back turned to him felt very s1 which is good because again, Jinx in the end was like??? done.

and then.... act 2 happened. Suddenly they used Jinx's mental state as a Plot device. In season 1 it would ruin missions and her freaking out would happen no matter if "the plot needed it or not" if you get what I mean? The first mission we see on screen? fucked up because Jinx lost control. This happens throughout the first season, it doesn't just come when ever the writers need it to happen.

In season 2 it does. Suddenly in situations that should freak her out she doesn't. Suddenly they use it as a plot device. Why was she very calm and relaxed upon meeting Vander as warwick with Vi? Why did she not freak out when Vi and her fought in the mines?

Do we all remember what happened in season 1 episode 3? And how Jinx immediately lashed out as soon as a fight occured? What happened? Also why was she suddenly so very chill with Enforcers in act 2 and beyond? The joke with the Enforcer and her god damn fucking pants was so out of place I cannot even handle to think about it anymore. The fight with Warwick was good and I liked that in the end they again showed that she is ready to kill herself, at least there is continuity here but that is also never addressed and also... happens for Plot and plot only

it happens so warwick can see the bomb and so they can have him recognize her, like okay arcane writers? And then after that she is simply fine with her second father figure showing up again? You are telling me the girl who had such a mental break down last season over her sister returning would be absolutely fine and 🥺family🥺 upon seeing Vander? Where was the sense? Where was her having to deal with Silco and Vander in her mind? i don't WANT to see her tortured, duh, but they set that up and showed this happening to her in season 1, so this is just, I dont know, a plothole? You are telling me the same girl who blew up the council in s1, and like LOOK AT HER in that scene, is all cuddle cuddle with her past family whose death she always blamed herself for and was scared off?

Then Isha dying, and god do I have my problems with that but that's another thing, and THEN having Jinx never mention her again? Are you KIDDING ME? like it's not even just not mentioning her as much as it is just also Isha not appearing in her nightmares etc. That is NOT how they set Jinx up as a character. While the scene with Jinx in the prison with Silco turning up was chillingly heartbreaking it also didn't make sense if you take into account how they wrote her seeing things this season. In the one scene where she talked to Silco's chair she says he doesn't show up and then when she is in pain over Isha being caught suddenly he stands behind her? I mean maybe I missed something here but I literally sat there like huh.

In season 1 it happened not because it was needed but because it wasn't. As it should be. In this season it only happened when the Plot needed to move and that's just so incredibly weird to me. Especially cause I already saw people misinterpreting the Silco and Jinx prison scene. It was her subconscious telling her to kill herself not Silco trying to be "a positive influence".

And then or course, we have this tragic character Jinx. Who was shown to have a wish of death all throughout season 1 with how careless she was with her life (for example when she threw around the bombs in her hide out) and then throughout season 2 as well. Who saw a breath of life for a bit, taken from her.

To have a character like this ACTUALLY die by killing herself and then to paint it as a GOOD thing? This isn't a tragedy. This is straight up suicide glorification. I did not cry when I watched this scene, I did not feel sadness and grief. I was beyond mad and disgusted and might be for a long time to come.

I need more ppl to talk abt how awfully Jinx was treated this season. I am soooo angry and upset

[heraldofzaun]

Apotheosis

He was forty-eight when he retired from the League, sent off with a smattering of applause and not a single Summoner looking at the lenses of his mask.

Fifteen years of service to the Institute, seeing the faces of other Champions line with age or disappear from the roster to be replaced with more youthful counterparts. The immortals and nonhumans stayed for the most part - Kayle’s contract would far outlive the Institute itself, and many of the offworlders that she counts herself among have found that this institution is more of a home to them than Valoran, but… There have been some changes. Jayce retired five years previous. Viktor does not particularly care why - something about his cartilage eroding away after a decade of running and leaping and fighting for his life - but he knows that the man is not much more than a socialite now. Orianna is still in the League, her clockwork form archaic by modern-day standards. Only hobbyists and the old guard of Piltover’s scientific community use gears for the majority of a project now, as magic-touched circuitry far surpassed the potential of anything else. Viktor never particularly cared to know about many of the other champions that served during his time. Warwick was put down years ago when his bestial nature overpowered his last shred of reason - Soraka had cursed more than his form, it seemed. Jinx’s reign of senseless destruction was finished with a bang when she set too short of a fuse. Blitzcrank… Viktor does not keep up with the golem, but he still serves in the League. They have hardly talked. It is for the best.

The Summoners probably cheered after his send-off, free of having to look into his mind. His thoughts are not typical in their manner, he has found out, both in their content and style. (He took great care to learn how to shield his mind, of course - thinking of a project calls up images of it and he will never trust another with that level of access to his work again - and so the only thoughts Summoners can pluck from his mind are those related to the task at hand.) He has heard enough half-muffled thoughts from junior members of the Institute to know that they are convinced that his unique nature comes from tampering with his brain. There are no scars on his temples.

He retired because the League no longer held anything of interest for him. Viktor has lost count of the number of time his abilities on the Fields have been tweaked in the name of balance. He had to report every new surgery (from knee to hip, from wrist to elbow, elbow to shoulder… right hand replaced, right forearm - the list goes on) and every new model of prosthetic, lest his technology provide an unfair advantage over the hard-earned skill of others. Balance is the reason guns do not consistently beat swords, no matter how magical the steel of the latter. The Institute is set on giving each nation a fair chance in its geopolitical decisions. So they allow Demacia to stick to its principles as written in The Measured Tread and Ionia to its traditions. How they don’t see that their histories will be their undoing is a particularly human failing.

---

Viktor is well-aware of the nature of time. He does not have enough, he worries at fifty, to do the one thing he has wanted desperately for nearly two decades. His augments are strong, it’s his damnable flesh that is weakening after those fifteen years. Organs rebelling against their assigned tasks - there is a murmur in his heart when he listens, and nutrition seems harder and harder to get - as pain lances across the ports between flesh and metal. It is not faulty work on his behalf. It is the failure of the human form. Zaun’s life expectancy, when one accounts for the drop caused by infant mortality, is still lower than that of most other Institute-recognized nations. He knows this fact well, knows its source is the same thing that gave him his white streak, his hand, his internal deformities that he has known about since his youth when his father sat him down and told him with a gentleness unbecoming of a Zaunite surgeon. If he can’t save himself first… He turns away from his impossible task and sets on another, if only momentarily.

The robots are small, gold-plated things - meant to withstand the corrosion of Zaun. They function under his control, in the laboratory that he spends his every day in (at one point he’d brought in a cot, the travel from his now-unused home cutting down on precious time) now. They will be autonomous if necessary, the fleet of them equipped with enough intelligence to target the worst of the pollution. Giving them sentience is out of the question. He knows no being that can think for itself should be pressed into a job it does not choose, no matter how lofty of an ideal that is in Zaun. So they clean, or at least organize the waste and toxins. The battle is hopeless unless the factories change their practices, but it is something. Perhaps they will one day. Perhaps he will be the cause. The diversion took two years, and continual production will take longer. He is fifty-four now, but at least he has made a change if his body fails him tomorrow. A small change. A failure of his goals. He must keep working, until his dying breath if he must.

It is when he is fifty-six, hair long since grey (it had started going during his tenure as a Champion, he remembers) and body still on its inevitable decline, that he finally finds the missing piece. How to transfer, not copy. How to know that it will be him in the golden chassis he has created, not a him. He would have taken the latter option if necessary, knowing that his work is larger than himself or even Zaun, but this way his name will not be spoken of as a partial success (which is truly just a failure).

The machine is ready. He has familiarized himself with the theoretical process - he will sit, his mind linked with that of his new form via a helmet. His processing will be matched and then slowly offloaded until his body’s base functions cease and it dies, leaving him alive and well as a machine. He dons the helmet, technology whirring to life as his vision is blocked out. Emotions he thought were gone long ago return, perhaps to say their final goodbyes. Hope. Excitement. He can feel the sensation of being in two places at once, two sets of metal feet placed upon the floor, and it is exhilarating. It is fear next as the transfer nears its completion. His voluntary motor control has gone over to the other, presumably, but he had locked the chassis’ joints until the deed was done to prevent an accident. He cannot move. His senses are just the same, only sensation remaining as something that feels like a cruel joke at the moment. At least those inflicted with locked-in syndrome retain their vision. He feels impossibly small, impossibly trapped, eyes burning as his brain tries to get them to blink. Then the involuntary functions leave him. His chest is still as everything within it grinds to a halt and he begs his technology to have worked, for him not to die from stagnant blood and suffocation - drowning in air as a final testament to his utter failure. How long has it been? Should he be unconscious, or has the transfer taken that too? Five minutes. Five minutes until death, he knows this well, it is in every surgery book, how has it felt like hours as everything-

-Cyan eyes power on. His internals hum with electricity as the initial boot process looks for any errors to be patched. It finds none. He has done the impossible, and he feels… Viktor feels nothing.