I did it
I am SICK and TIRED of amber hate. Just because she didn't change herself for Mark. She is in no way a bad person. She knew what she wanted in a relationship, she knew what was healthy for her, and she knew it wasn't what she had with Mark. She loved him, but she also knew that their relationship was unhealthy, that Mark couldn't be what she needed, and that she couldn't be what Mark needed. And if I see Amber slander one more time I am going to lose my mind.
Oh how I love you modern Merlin as a medieval history professor. I can just imagine his students talking about him. "His lectures are great, he talks about it like he was actually there."
"Do NOT bring up Arthuriana he WILL go on an hour long rant and you WILL miss your last train home."
"He has this weird academic beef with Geoffrey Chaucer?!"
"His office reeks of herbs, lord knows what he puts in his morning tea."
"Dude's been teaching here for like 30 years and he still somehow looks 22."
"I swear to you, I saw his eyes turn gold one time during a lecture."
Since we know Jinx has survived (WE KNOW IT), and she went on her trip on the airship in the morning... It's still possible Jinx had an opportunity to say goodbye to Ekko just before this heartbreaking scene
And they kissed. But instead of this sweet innocent kiss, it was nasty... But unlike Ekko who said Powder 'Can we pretend like it's the first time'... it was Jinx who said 'Can we pretend like it isn't the last time'
Because there's no way they will be apart forever! They always have a chance to find each other no matter what...
feel the light shine on my face
hehe
my headcanon about the alternate timeline we see in s2ep7 is that instead of ekko and powder being close friends throughout their childhoods who became lovers with no friction, it actually took a while for them to bridge the gap that vi's death caused.
when we see ekko and powder go to vi's memorial for the first time and ekko asks if she was the one who caused their death, powder very quickly retorts that it was ekko's tip that ended up sending them on the job that killed her. i think that this is important not just because the writers wanted to explicitly say that the chain of events that led to the original timeline hinged on ekko's tip but also because in how quickly she said it, we can assume that this is something that's come up between them before.
ekko already is seen as a character who carries a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders, mostly self-ascribed, which i tend to characterize as being born partially of guilt. i think guilt is a large part of his character and it would be somewhat irresponsible to shrug that off when speaking about his character in the alternate timeline that the original ekko drops in on.
powder is characterized as brighter and happier than jinx when she grows up in this universe with a support system, obviously, but she still has a tendency to anger. this is shown through how she tells ekko to get out before she does something she'll regret rather than rolling over in the face of his interrogation and insensitive statements. she also holds a grudge, as we see it takes ekko physically taking her to see vi's painted memorial in the firelight lair before she stops scowling at him in the bar and warms up to him again.
looking at all of these things, i think it's a fair assumption to make that following vi's death, there was a period of time where powder directly blamed ekko for what happened, and that ekko blamed himself as well. this, in my opinion, doesn't cheapen their relationship when they grow up into the people we see in s2ep7, but deepens it.
i think the act of forgiving is something that takes a long time, whether you're forgiving yourself or someone else, and ekko and powder's relationship being as comfortable and easy as it is in s2ep7 speaks to the fact that they had a long stretch of time to get to that space where they could move past the circumstances that led to vi's death. at least, they both do until original timeline ekko drops in and reopens that wound, which in turn leads powder to throw blame back in his face, similarly to how i assume she must have done directly following vi's passing.
the idea that powder and ekko in this alternate timeline had to move past anger, grief, guilt, and blame makes their relationship feel more heartfelt than if they were locked in since day one and there was no more work to be done. love as something that has to be earned and worked for even in a world where things seem mostly ideal shows that it wasn't just a fluke that they got together but a deliberate continuous choice to work through trauma to allow themselves to be together.
it also legitimizes the idea that original timeline ekko and jinx could hypothetically be together as well. not just because we see "oh, one version of powder and ekko can get together so this one can, too" but because both versions have baggage to work past before getting together, but the universe we see displays how this pair managed that with the luxury of a support system and a kinder environment that original timeline ekko and jinx unfortunately weren't afforded.
i think this also makes their team-up in s2ep9 more heartfelt because we can see ekko move past blame when he comes back for jinx to help in the fight, similarly to how i assume ekko in the alternate timeline had to work through his own to eventually get together with powder. both relationships hinge on the fact that they have to put effort in to get comfortable with each other following the consequences of the job that ekko sent them on rather than letting the alternate universe relationship ultimately act as a fluke that can't be replicated because of how drastically different that world is.
This is all I can think about in this drama 🤣🤣
I think I'm really REALLY unwell.... why did I decide to binge watch Arcane s2? I HAVE NO IDEA
That infamous prison escape.