#but silco is just so /integral/ to the story and he gives it so much intrigue | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

watchmakermori · 2 years

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something I appreciate arcane for above all else is the perspective it takes on violence and change. it would have been so easy for this show to take a ‘violence is never the answer’ stance, wherein silco’s aggression and terrorism only make things worse for the people of zaun and his anger gets in the way of resolution. likewise, it also would’ve been very easy for this show to take a ‘violence is always the answer’ approach, leaning harder on the revolution aspect and taking the stance that compromise with oppressors is always failure. but instead, it approaches these themes with a lot more nuance, showing how violence can both aid and hinder progress, and how brokering peace can often only solve conflict in the short term

this is represented most keenly via vander and silco. we’re positioned to like vander, and his goals are sympathetic; he has an uneasy peace with the enforcers, which keeps the undercity in poverty but saves them from more tyrannical violence. it’s understandable why he wants this, after having lost so much in a previous revolution, but it ultimately hurts the city in the long run. constantly making peace with piltover leads to dissent amongst his own people, and his inaction is the catalyst that allows silco to take over. that puts the people of zaun in even more peril

but silco also represents change. he’s a ruthless kingpin who ravages his own people with shimmer, but the power he holds is what ultimately gives zaun a chance at independence. the council would never have entertained this when vander was in charge, because he bowed to their every whim. by becoming a genuine threat, silco gained bargaining power, and very nearly gained the independence he’d spent years grasping for

I really like that the thing which dooms zaun and piltover’s prospect of peace is not silco’s destructive nature. it’s his benevolence - his love for his daughter, who he refuses to give up. but on the other side of this, it is jinx’s violence that ultimately shatters any chance of peace between the two nations, when she makes the decision to attack the council

there are just so many layers to it, and this theme is present in more than just silco and vander’s characters too. we see how horrified jayce is when he accidentally - but brutally - kills a child in the undercity, but we also know that the council’s ongoing negligence towards zaun kills far more children, and he was happy to ignore that for years. we see how heimerdinger cautions against developing hextech for fear of the destruction it could cause, yet ignores the day-to-day suffering that hextech might alleviate, because he is privileged enough to turn away from it.

arcane is one of very few stories that successfully takes a big-picture look at how violence and peace are not necessarily polar opposites, and how sometimes brokering a peace to maintain an oppressive system is the most violent thing you can do. it manages to capture the nuances of how violence can both help and hinder a cause, without ever giving us an easy answer of how to resolve things. i love it so much and I hope that complexity carries through into the next season

#arcane #i just finished watching it for the second time and damn it really just is so good #that final episode is incredible #i'm glad silco died at the end of season 1 because it's the perfect arc for him #but I don't think any villian in future could ever be as good #there are lots of things that are good about arcane obviously #but silco is just so /integral/ to the story and he gives it so much intrigue #i've made peace with the fact that season 1 will probably always be the best one #but i'm excited for the future of arcane either way

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misterewrites · 2 years

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Shattered Echoes (Arcane)

Hello everyone! E here with a surprising update! Arcane. Great show, great writing, great characters! just amazing! I love it so much! BUT if this makes you wanna play league of legends....maybe don't it. It's not as bad as it used to be but...yeah....toxicity. If you do wanna play, try wildrift. it's a lighter version of league and not as toxic but still a bit. There’s also legends of runeterra which is a hearthstone styled card game with a single player experience. You can also just play league with bots. Less likely to have assholes chilling out in the lobby. Oh! the ruined king rpg which is a really good rpg especially 30 bucks BUT follows the adventure of some other characters and might be spoilery for future seasons. If you’d like more information about this story, beyond the keep reading sign for spoiler purposes.

So some things I wanna clear up with this: Spoilers for episode 7 of Arcane. That's why I didn't tag them in case. Also possible spoilers for future seasons about a character's abilities cuz this is based on a single line interaction in game along with other factors. Given how well integrated their in game abilities are to the show characters, yeah it's happening (I’m so excited!)

Have a great day! happy holidays, may you be happy, safe and sound. Wash your hands, wear your mask, keep yourself and your loved ones safe, push for global vaccination cuz im getting really fucking tired of this shit. BYEEEEE! Enjoy! share with your friends, comment, reblog and feedback i love it all! and deeply appreciate it.

Here’s the story over on Ao3 *no character tags for now so everyone has enough of a chance to catch up but I will add them later.* https://archiveofourown.org/works/35929279

Here’s the rest of my work over here https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrE42/pseuds/MrE42

And I hope you’re doing great! Bye! to the other side of the fence!

Okay this is your last warning. turn around lest ye be spoiled.

Ekko and Jinx. Honestly their little interactions in the Enemy music video, that one line of dialogue “I used to have a crush on you. Until you started talking to the gun) and honestly the whole idea of them being fierce enemies that used to have crushes on each other. It was too tempting and it was perfect to break ya'll hearts. Also not too intense descriptions of violence but just warning in case.

Also I'm not too caught up on all of League lore and it's not official but Ekko is probably bi given that pulsefire Ekko skin and Pulsefire Ezreal were dating and one of the artists or writers have a link to a little story they had them being flirty exes if that's more your speed. *not official cuz riot are cowards and need to try to hit every demographic they can*

Summary: Remember when we were kids: playing war with toy guns and wooden swords, caught up in glory and revenge without realizing the price?

Remember the childish promise I made you when I went too far and you cried? A home beyond the dirtied streets and polluted air we wallowed in.

Once upon a time I wanted to give you a new life but now you keep trying to take mine.

-----

Life has a twisted sense of humor sometimes. It pushes and pulls people towards their destiny in complex, unforeseen ways. It doesn’t matter how long it takes: A second, a week, a year. Every choice you make leads you to the middle of a messed up punchline.

The uncaring, unrelenting grand clockwork of the universe and it loved punching Ekko in the face.

That’s why he was here on this stupid bridge, surrounded by corpses with the smell of iron and smoke burning his lungs.

The sheriff of Piltover had been in Silco’s pocket which is why the enforcers were putting so much pressure on the Firelights while Silco worked unopposed. It’d been so obvious in hindsight but like they say in the lanes: Hindsight’s a bitch.

Thankfully so was dumb luck. The asshole shot his armor and while Ekko was going to have one hell of a nasty bruise, he’d live.

Which was good because he wasn’t finished yet.

Ekko gripped the bat tightly, his fingers stiff and cold from the night air. His heart raced with only the thundering of blood all he could hear as he took his place between Vi and Her.

Jinx stared his way, her gaze cold and ruthless. Her usual manic demeanor was gone today. Maybe seeing her sister buried her insanity for a moment, maybe she recognized her childhood friend. Either way it didn’t matter. It claw its way out of her sooner or later.

It always did.

-----

Jinx’s heart raged violently in her chest, each beat sending an uncontrollable fury coursing through her body as the world turned dark and static.

Vi. Vi. Vi. Vi.

She left. She left me. SHE LEFT ME! VI!

“Is that Ekko?” Clagger’s voice asked curiously from nowhere “He seriously grew up.”

Ekko. Ekko. Ekko.

Mylo’s voice scoffed in that irritating way only he could manage “Come on. Scrawny Ekko grew into that? Please. What’s he think he is? Some kind of boy savior?”

Hee boy savior. That’s a good one.

“Oh look who it is.” Jinx growled, unable to keep the anger or hurt out of her voice “The boy savior!”

Ekko looked away for a moment, feeling small and foolish. He’d wanted to believe Vi. He wanted to believe that Powder was still inside the monster he had fought tooth and nail for years. He wanted…..hoped that seeing him without his mask or the trappings of her hated enemy would stir something, anything in her.

He used to have a crush on her. Until she started talking to the gun. Oh yeah and helped corrupt Zaun and murdered his people.

He sighed tiredly.

Yep, he could feel the bruise starting to form.

This was all a game to Jinx: Pain, death, even the rage and horror meant nothing more than a sick thrill to Silco’s ward.

‘Fine’ he chuckled to himself, a small grin forming on his lips despite the situation ‘she wants to play? Let’s play.’

He slid the chain of his pocket watch into the palm of his hand and swung the timepiece back and forth, the ticking of the gears beating rhythmically as if keeping tempo to some unheard song.

-----

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Jinx scoffed to herself. He was really going to drag this out huh? Typical Ekko.

“Man, he really loves that watch.” Mylo sneered rudely.

“Well yeah.” Clagger replied gently “He used to carry it all the time.”

Jinx smiled cruelly while she placed a new round into her gun ‘I’ll play. We all know how this ended last time.’

Tick tick tick tick.

“Heh.” Jinx smirked, turning away from him and taking a gunslinger’s pose. A familiar one.

-----

Powder’s laughter filled the air for a moment, an echo from a time long past. He could still see her clearly: The crudely drawn eyeball thing on an old cooking pan she’d use for her helmet. Bright pink war paint on her cheeks, giggling and smiling as she threw up a mocking peace sign.

Ekko still remembered that fight distinctly even now: His reckless charge forward, wooden sword high in hand. The paintball whizzing by his head as he bobbed back and forth between them. Powder’s first shot followed by two more in quick secession. His ill fated jump and the decisive blow, paint splattering across the metal plate he used for armor. The embarrassment he felt as he angrily tossed his pocket watch to the floor and broke it.

Took him a whole month to fix it up. Finding the parts alone had been a massive headache but taught him a valuable lesson about breaking things in the Lanes: Don’t unless you want to spend the next few weeks fixing it.

Well this time it was going to be different because this wasn’t pretend anymore. No second chances or mercy for either this time around.

With one fluid motion, he pulled the watch into his hand. He clicked it, stopping the timer and breaking into a furious sprint.

Jinx drew her pistol with an expert hand. She bit her lip in anticipation as the gun twirled in her grip before she fired the first shot.

Ekko ducked low and pushed forward, the bullet barely missing his head. He rose to his feet, a fierce scowl on his face.

Pew, pew. Jinx let out two more shots out of habit than any conscious choice but Ekko was counting on it: He pivoted his on a foot, bending his body away from his hated foe before launching into a side flip, the projectiles sailed by without a scratch as he contorted his body to avoid the attacks.

He landed gracefully for a moment before launching himself into the air with as much force as he could muster. He rose his bat, gripping it for dear life while he prepared a mighty swing.

-----

Jinx was awestruck by the sight before her: the spotlight flickered on and off yet illuminated her enemy in its harsh light. Terror washed over her as she saw Ekko for as he truly was: not a child clutching onto a piece of wood and playing hero. Nor was he the leader of the Firelights, thorn in her and Silco’s side as they rose to power.

In this moment Ekko was beyond Jinx’s fragmented comprehension: He was an avenging angel, blazing with the fury of the dead and wronged. He descended from on high to deliver judgment onto her personally and would show her no mercy.

Jinx eyes widened in surprise and fear, the weight of her sins crawling down her spine. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe. Her finger trembled on the trigger but she couldn’t bring herself to pull it.

“It’s not like that.” Clagger’s voice whispered softly “It’s not your fault.”

Mylo’s laugh echoed harshly through the night air “Of course it’s her fault! Look what’s she done. Bridge full of dead enforcers and Ekko, little baby Ekko about to bash her skull in! How much of a jinx do you need to be piss off Ekko?”

Ekko swung, knocking Jinx down and sending her tumbling to the floor face first. She whirled around and aimed her pistol directly at Ekko’s face. He batted it away and swung again. She reeled backwards and was unprepared for Ekko’s fist to slam into her face.

Jinx’s main advantage was that she was stronger than she looked. She was no Vi but most people assumed she couldn’t be much of a threat without her guns. They, of course, forgot this was the girl who totted a minigun around no problem all the time.

Ekko knew better. Ekko had been fighting Silco and Jinx long enough to know Jinx would knock him off balance and regain control of the fight if her let her.

So he didn’t.

He drove another fist into her cheek then pinned her with his makeshift bat. She thrashed wildly: She pushed back against him, trying to get him off her. She lashed out with her hands and tried to scratch and claw his eyes out but Ekko remained steadfast.

Until.

Ekko pulled his hand back and balled it into a fist.

He paused, breathing heavily as he found himself looking upon not Jinx but Powder. Her eyes were wide with fear, blood dripping down her nose. Scared, unsure Powder.

She really was in there under the layers of sick joy and twisted mania.

Vi was right.

Ekko could feel his heart stop. He could feel pain and regret seep into old wounds he’d thought he healed.

What happened to us? How did we get here? Two enemies fighting to the death on a ill fated momentum to our failures.

She recognized him, confused and lost about what was going on.

Powder.

'I used to have a crush on you.’ Ekko thought to himself.

-----

Powder wasn’t sure how she got here, pinned under her friend and beaten into an inch of her life.

Actually she did know how she ended up in this mess: She remembered being Silco’s attack dog. She remembered the lives she took, the destruction she caused. How she helped her beloved Lanes descend into a cesspool of crime, drugs and corruption.

Vander wanted them to be better, to do better than he did. He wanted his children to live in an age of peace and love, where no one was lesser because Piltover said so.

And she ruined it when she killed him. Killed Mylo and Clagger. Broke Vi.

She really was a jinx, huh?

She was so tired. Her bones ached, her heart felt like it was tearing itself in two. Everything she’s done and for what? She just tried to murder Vi! She just tried to kill Ekko! And all over some random girl Vi was with? Because she couldn’t see how the world was burning and she was the one that lit the match.

God she was pathetic. No wonder she was alone.

No. Not alone. Not really.

Ekko never left her. He stayed with her. True it was thwarting her attempts to take over the undercity but he never stopped. He was always there, ready to stop the next shipment of shimmer or robbing Silco blind.

He grew to be so handsome. She remembered them hanging in the alleyway, dancing and laughing without a care in the world. When they both tried to copy Vi’s form, her strength. The terrible way they both punched.

Ekko never left her.

Maybe he never would.

‘I’m a monster.’ She whispered silently ‘a terrible creature who shouldn’t exist. This needs to stop. I’m sorry Ekko, Vi. I think it’s time Powder fell down a well for good.’

She pulled out one of her chompers from her belt.

She needed to say goodbye to Ekko. To warn him to get far away from her as she finally ended this madness once and for all.

Powder tried to force her broken jaw to speak.

Jinx clamped it shut.

‘NO!” The mania grinned and leered as Powder felt herself slip into the darkness. ‘If we’re going to go I’m taking him with me! After all, we’d never be alone. Not anymore!’

Powder tried to fight back but it was too late, she was too weak to keep going. Jinx had returned. Her hold on their psyche was too strong, too overwhelming to overcome.

Goodbye Ekko. I’m sorry.

-----

Jinx felt nothing as she pulled the pin on the chomper. She just laid there and waited for the explosion to go off. She always wondered how effective her booms were and now she’d get to finally find out.

Ekko stared in confusion at the chomper biting at empty air. Powder was gone and he found himself staring at Jinx again.

Realization hit. He had lost her again and she had returned.

She always did.

He pulled back, loosening his grip on Jinx and trying to find way out.

Boom.

-----

Ekko’s eyes fluttered open. There was a cold sense of dread that washed over him in his sleep but it seemed to be gone now.

That happened on occasion: Little chills or phantom pains he felt out of nowhere. Aches, stiff joints. Once or twice his bones would throb dully like he’d broken them once upon a time. But they always passed a moment later and the doctors said he was perfectly healthy. Not a single thing wrong with him. Well all things considering.

He glanced back to see Powder still sleeping, her arms clutching onto his waist tightly as if she was afraid he’d vanish into thin air.

He looked out the window and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the massive tree still looming over them: a reminder that even here in the dark, dank sewers life thrived.

Him and Powder actually found this place not so long ago when they were exploring. It took forever to convince Vander and more importantly Vi to let them take a few of the younger kids and elderly here so they could be safe while the pair worked to clean up the streets of the undercity.

It wasn’t perfect by all means and lord knows every other week some sort some asshat or the sheriff of Piltover Marcus tried to undermine Vander’s control but luckily he had Vi looking out for him. And she finally learned to stop blocking punches with her face.

Clagger was somewhere around here. He’d come by to run some ideas about a new gauntlets for Powder’s sister. Vander’s old mining gear was classic but just because something worked did not mean it could not be improved.

Benzo had taught him that. He really missed the old man.

Ekko slowly slipped out of Powder’s grip as not to wake her.

Life was good. It was better than he had ever dreamt.

He smiled to himself before noticing one of his unfinished projects haphazardly laying on his drawer.

It was his old pocket watch he used to carry around everywhere, its hands still frozen in place when he chucked it to the ground after losing to Powder for the fifth time in a row.

He’d been meaning to fix the old thing up but between Silco’s attempted coup a few years back, helping Vander keep peace in the Lanes and this new side project among all the other ideas he’s been playing with, he never really had the time anymore.

Boy what he’d do for an extra few seconds in the day.

“Ekko?” Powder’s voice groggily called from bed.

Ekko smiled gently “Here sweetie.”

“Ugh. Don’t call me that.”

“Honey?”

“Stop! It’s too early for this.”

“You love it.”

Powder waved him off tiredly “yeah yeah you dork. Why you up?”

Ekko paused, wondering if he should tell her about why he wasn’t sleeping.

“That thing I told you about” Ekko admitted after a moment “The whole feelings of dread, phantom pains?”

Powder nodded in understanding “You are way too stressed out.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“I’m perfect angel.” Powder stuck out her tongue at at him “Mostly.”

“Mhm. You mean like that time you were gonna chase after your sister to the clearly dangerous warehouse with orbs you barely understood?”

Powder pouted “One time….Hey. Did I ever thank you for staying with me that night?”

“Only every time it comes up.” Ekko chuckled before he waved her away “we were kids. It was a scary time. I don’t blame you. I was going to hide in the shop but….I didn’t want to be alone.”

Powder smiled gratefully “Me either. I was losing my mind when Vi left me. Thank god you showed up when you did. I was ready to throw all those hexstones in my monkey and just throw caution to the wind.”

“You? Cautious?” Ekko raised an eyebrow playfully “Never heard that in the same sentence unless not is in between.”

“Shut up and come to bed. It’s cold and my heater is picking on me.”

“Yes dear.”

“You sound like Vi when she talks to her girlfriend. A piltie of all things.”

Ekko grinned to himself as he made his way back to bed and let his loving girlfriend clamp onto him for dear life.

He really should fix that watch.

Eh, maybe later.

#Arcane #My story

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takerfoxx · 2 years

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Arcane, Season 1, Episode 5, "Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy," First Impressions!

Here things snap into place, sides are taken, and things rush toward their inevitable confrontation.

Okay, before I begin, did anyone else feel the direction on this episode was a little...weird? I don't mean within the scenes themselves; those were immaculate as always, with special attention to Jinx's shadowboxing Vi, the concert, and Jayce and Mel's lovemaking juxtaposed with Viktor's collapse. Those were just, you know...

No, I mean more of the transitions between the various POV's felt a little off, especially during the music video with Imagine Dragons' gratuitous cameo. I don't know, maybe that part could have stood to have a little more care done.

Anyway.

Vi and Caitlyn have now officially met and partnered up! We get the usual odd couple feeling each other up stuff, as Vi reacquaints to Zuan after being locked up for several years. And, uh, they really don't waste time with the subtext, do they? From the wall pin to Caitlyn getting really into chatting up that one girl in the brothel to, well, the hot cupcake line.

We better get a kiss next season.

So hey, each demonstrate their respective skills, gain respect for one another, you know the drill. Of more interest is Vi coming to grips with everything she's missed while she was gone, to Silco taking over The Last Drop to learning of Powder's fate. Or rather, beating it out of Sevika in a really awesome fight. It's clear that her turning on Powder has eaten her up all this time, and she is going to be desperate to reconnect with her sister. Only thing is, will Jinx want to reconnect with her.

Especially since Silco has decided that his girl needs some therapy, which he opts to give her himself, via symbolic baptism and all that. Plus, the whole shadowboxing bit. Yeah, Jinx is not going to be all that eager to go back to being sisters.

Speaking of! I really like that we saw the funeral for the enforcers that Jinx killed. Not only does it demonstrate that yes, they were people and not just disposable cannon fodder, but showing it through Marcus's eyes serves a story purpose too. It's clear that his deal with Silco has been good for him, but with Jinx going completely off the cuff and now hurting his own people, people he did care about, he is deeply regretting it, up to seriously contemplating killing both himself and Silco in one go. Yes, that scene actually got me for a second. Will it be enough for him to pull a face turn? Maybe, but I don't see him surviving.

Speaking of which, anyone feel like his daughter is going to turn out to be one of the child champions? Just me? Okay.

Upside, Jayce continues to impress as he adapts well to his new position as councilor. Naturally, he's horrified at all the corruption that's just swept under the rug, and wastes no time pissing everyone off trying to clean it up, especially given how many powerful people are involved.

Still, he's nothing but a quick thinker, and his solution is quite brilliant: use his own reputation as an innovator for lucrative technology and sway all the powerful people with dirty dealings to trade in said dirty dealings and invest in his stuff instead, thereby cutting off criminal contacts, keeping the powerful happy, and increasing his own influence while doing it. Dude's considered the golden boy for a reason.

And obviously, Mel approves. Like, really approves.

Okay, we all saw it coming, and all I can say is...Damn, good for you, guys. Go get you some!

Though I do see this leading to his own downfall in a way, as playing the game does run the risk of compromising his integrity. The whole Mel vs. Heimerdinger as opposing influences thing is fairly evident.

Unfortunately, things aren't looking so hot for Viktor, as his condition continues to worsen. I wonder how much corruption his tainted blood is going to cause the whole hexgate thing. No doubt it will kick off his own fall to darkness, the poor guy.

#arcane #league of legends #lol #vi #caitlyn #jinx #silco #jayce #mel #viktor #Everybody wants to be my enemy #reaction

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