Happy Mother's Day to our Arcane Moms ♡

extended author's notes for born into the stars, chapter 1

Discussion of the "unconventional love triangle" between Caitlyn, Vi, and Powder, implications of a modern au, and resolution of conflict under the cut

You know, I told myself I didn't want to write any other fic for a really long time after I finished paths cross, tangle into each other, and then a couple nights later I immediately started drafting more fic about modern au CaitVi, this time from Vi's perspective lmao.

CaitVi is appealing to me as a slow burn for many reasons really, a few being that (1) Caitlyn is a fascinating, complex character; though she's incredibly compassionate and kind, she's also very guarded and doesn't talk much about her own motivations and goals, hence the need for Vi's vulnerability to spur things a little bit, and (2) though it's acknowledged by both women in the show that they have something, an us, Vi is born into a position of always choosing Powder over her own desires, regardless of if she wants a romantic relationship with Caitlyn (I thought it was telling when Vi tells Jinx they can just leave together during the dinner scene).

In paths cross, tangle into each other, I took it upon myself to put CaitVi in a situation where perhaps Vi and Powder were doing better, living with Vander and not having much to deal with anymore besides occasional friendly conflict with Mylo and general gay people being kind of oblivious. In that fic, told from Caitlyn's pov, the main conflict they have to solve is deciphering what they want from each other and verbalizing it, particularly Caitlyn. But once Cait figures it out and decides to tell Vi, it's really smooth sailing from there.

I finished that fic perhaps wanting more, and thinking that Vi's characterization was lacking. She had elements of traits that I derived from the show (wearing her heart on her sleeve, being a little self-deprecating, wanting to take care of Caitlyn), but none of what I took to be the main conflict between Vi and Cait: Powder/Jinx. Though both are vying (no pun intended) for Vi's love, so long as Jinx is in the mix, Vi will always choose family.

And so, born into the stars started to be constructed as a fic, with similar sorts of reasoning for it taking place in a modern au. The circumstances the characters are in permit a resolution of their unconventional love triangle. In this au, Vi and Powder have a slightly codependent relationship, born out of their time suffering with Silco as an adoptive parent. Vi (similarly to the show) carries a lot of guilt regarding leaving Powder during her stay in juvie and similarly tries to tend to Powder the best she can, often at the expense of herself and her relationship with Caitlyn.

As a main conflict, Vi, Caitlyn, and Powder learn how exactly to "share" Vi, a feat made easier because Vander is still alive in the au and Powder has been introduced to Caitlyn in a friendly environment. Caitlyn is seen reaching out to Vi often for something more, and Vi often has trouble navigating whether or not she's able to accept Caitlyn's touch (figuratively and literally). On top of this, Powder often struggles with the thought of Vi not being in her life anymore, which comes in the way of Vi and Caitlyn's relationship progressing. The theme of wanting plays a crucial role in this story- because Vi considers herself a caretaker, a protector, she often fails to consider what she wants and whether or not she can get it. So character development for her means starting to listen to that voice in the back of her head that says that she wants "both".

Anyway, as usual, there should be some headcanons up for this chapter regarding how I characterized the three girls. If I said the last fic was important to me, this one is probably three times as important, inspired (as all art is) by my own experiences. My little sister and I have spent hours debating how the fic should play out with these three characters; she is a great source of help for me during plot development lol.

Thank you for reading! I'm aware that this is rambly, but I blame the neurodivergence. Last but not least: I love all three of these characters dearly. They're all very important to me. I hope I do them justice.