Valerie: "Danny, I Think Your Goth Friend Doesn't Like Me That Much"

Sick and TIRED of people claiming Ekko loved Alternate Universe Powder and not main universe Jinx. Throughout the series Ekko has continuously proven that he cares for Jinx dearly, through both canon actions and deleted scenes we know that Ekko cares deeply for Jinx.

Within the AU we're able to see an emotionally available Powder who was able to have a stable support system alongside a flourishing relationship. Which shows that Powder, Jinx, is fully able to be a good person. A normal human girl. Ekko is finally able to see this, that Powder is only so happy because she's lived so peacefully. He's always had a crush on her, it's lingering and it's never gone away. During the bridge scene, and Jinx's debut, we notice that Ekko freezes up both times when seeing jinx face to face. That she's able to draw out strong and violent reactions out of him that aren't exactly rational.

Usually people aren't able to do that to him, he's confrontational and stern because he's the Firelight leader, but we notice that most all of his decisions so far have been well thought out and responsible. In s1e4 we see him look at his stopwatch, see he has little time left before their crystals break, and he STILL goes to pursue Jinx. This is probably because he still harnesses strong feelings of hate towards Jinx, shock and frustration overwhelm him. Because it's Jinx who's done this, one of Silco's goons, but most importantly his childhood friend who's become so twisted. Scar is forced to grab Ekko and stop him before he goes too far, which shows off that Jinx does cause an especially strong emotional response for multiple reasons.

But the bridge scene shows that Ekko still does see the girls he's loved inside of Jinx. He hits her twice, neither time's does he get a good look at her face. But as he's winding up to hit her a third time, he pauses, he looks at her desperate face and he see's nothing more but an innocent girl. Which is why he stops, he still bears affection for her, clearly. The rest of the bridge scene is intimate enough but if I do have to mention anything, people who don't bear feelings for each other don't smirk at the other person like that.

When Ekko finds himself in the AU he's able to see Jinx/Powder in her most healthy form, finding ways of mourning and coping considered healthy. He see's pieces of Jinx inside of this Powder, her potential and what she could be. That's not something you do with someone you don't bear affection for. You don't look at the seemingly perfect version of someone and say that there's something missing; something missing that only versions that have gone through hell have. Pieces of herself that can't be replaced. Ekko doesn't just love Jinx.

He loves her entirety, he loves her innovative mind able of creating the worst war weapons. He loves that she's able to push herself to limits that he couldn't dream of, because he loves her for who she is. In both universes, what we notice is that they're both artists, they're both creators. Powder doesn't discard her love for gadgetry because she didn't experience atrocities, she's still unbelievably smart, being able to help Ekko create the anomaly. Being able to follow along while not knowing anything beforehand.

Jinx is able to crack hex tech with nothing more than Viktor's notes and some tinkering, this shows that no matter what universe, Jinx/Powder is an unbelievably talented and smart girl who could do so much.

Ekko is able to recognize that with Jinx's Genius it comes madness, and he simply would rather have her be both rather than an assistant. Not saying that he wouldn't love Alt Powder, I'm just saying that Arcane Ekko wouldn't be nearly as happy with her rather than Jinx. Because with Jinx comes crazy ideas and a leadership that matches his. That's the Jinx he never fell out of love with.

Even in both of these characters, Jinx and Powder have never been different. In each universe, they never got to blossom yet they're one bud. Two sides of a coin who'd never know the other existed if not for "what if's"

Powder is what Jinx is if she was happy, soft and delicate, she still holds the potential to create extraordinary devices, yet she doesn't because she never had the need to.

Jinx is what Powder would become if she was put under tremendous stress and trauma, devoid of a support system she turns to her gadgetry and weaponry, while slowly losing the part of herself that could be soft.

They both exist in one person, and Ekko is able to see both of them, and give them what they need in order to bloom. He's able to give Jinx unconditional yet not unhealthy amounts of support, and he's able to give Powder the push to expressing herself through her inventions more harshly.

Ekko realizes that Jinx is still Powder, no matter how many times she changes her name. Us as the audience is able to realize that Jinx is still able to love for Powder, because we've seen her interact with Isha. Isha is similar to Powder which is healing for Jinx. When Jinx loses Isha, we can see that she never truly let go of Powder, that Powder was never different from Jinx. That they're simply a part of herself she never wanted to accept until she saw it from another perspective.

But Ekko doesn't know this, yet he still has continuous faith in her that she's capable of change. We see Ekko actively pursue Jinx in order for her not to kill herself, because he loves her. He cares for her deeply and he wants to redeem himself by simply being there, even if he's late. Because what Jinx has needed all along was an unconditional companion. Which is what Ekko can be.

Being the support that someone needs, unconditionally.

If that's not love then I don't know what is.

AMBESSA YOU LEAVE THAT LITTLE CHILD ALONE

Wedding song

Jinx: You love me, right?

Ekko: Normally, I would say yes without hesitation, but I feel like this is going somewhere and I don't like it.

Timebomb my narrative doomed beloveds

Vi loved powder, Silco loved Jinx, but the girl herself is a jump between these two. She is who was looking at both chairs and making a choice. She is talking in the third person. She is both pink and blue. She is the combination of deadly and playful that fought Ekko on the bridge. And that's the girl he loves.

KMS.

!!!!!!

We are so back.

Ghostflower & Earth-8

In Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen: “Sitting In A Tree,” Miles and Gwen travel across the multiverse to find Jefferson Morales. One of the universes Gwen found is Earth-8, a dimension where her and Miles are married and have a superpowered family together. Considering that the comic was released in 2017, prior to ITSV’s 2018 release date, and is one of the major comics where Gwen and Miles interact with each other, one might wonder if Earth-8 will be incorporated into BTSV? One way Earth-8 can be incorporated in BTSV is by having Miles and Gwen’s universes collide to create Earth-8. There’s also a chance that this idea has been foreshadowed through the visual language of the SV films.

The idea of universes merging together was already present in ITSV with the Super-Collider that allows multiple dimensions to crash into each other. There’s also the classroom scene where Miles and Gwen meet each other for the first time and how behind them is a poster of two universes colliding:

This collision imagery is present in ATSV, such as when Gwen and Miles swing around New York and this “Whooosh” onomatopoeia between them has two o’s be connected to each other:

There’s also the scene where Gwen says goodbye to Miles and between them are two holes that are in the similar formation as the two o’s and the universe collision in the poster:

The repeated imagery of two enmeshed circles is not only representative of two universes colliding, but when flipped vertically it resembles the number 8, hence Earth-8. Additionally, this image is akin to the infinity symbol ♾️, which is fitting considering how much this couple is linked to the idea of infinite possibilities:

(The scene above is from ITSV when Gwen and Miles first meet in the classroom and Dr. Olivia Octavia is talking about the vastness of the multiverse in the background).

(This scene is from ATSV when Gwen tells Miles’s parents about his disappearance and what she has learned from him).

Admittedly, this theory is a bit of a reach and there’s plenty of other ways Earth-8 can be incorporated into BTSV, if it will at all. It is interesting though to speculate considering how Miles’s guidance counselor states, “Every person is their own universe” (an epithet used in the ATSV script as well). If this statement were to be true then Miles and Gwen’s universes colliding implicates that they’re one in the same, as stated by Miles when he was talking with Gwen at the Williamsburg Bank Building:

In a way this sentiment is true as they’re both creative types with cop fathers who lost a Peter Parker and struggle with their families’ expectations, along with having to lead a double life as Spiderpeople. Gwen and Miles acknowledging their similarities in the text, highlights the intentionality in their connection despite them coming from different dimensions that would have made them meeting impossible.

There’s also the scene at the Williamsburg Bank Building where Gwen does her own version of the shoulder touch with Miles. This resembles the collision imagery presented prior, where in a moment of vulnerability, Gwen chooses to collide into Miles and forge this connection between them.

Granted, this wouldn’t be the first time Miles and Gwen left their respective universes to live in another one though. After the end of the Ultimate comics, Earth-1610 got destroyed to have Miles and his friends and family move to Earth-616, since he was the main popular character from the comic line. More recently, Gwen has moved from her universe of Earth-65 to Earth-616 due to her own popularity. Fans’ reception is mixed to say the least because while Gwen and Miles residing in the mainstream Marvel universe of Earth-616 allows for more comic appearances, the downside is that it comes at the expense of their own stories as their status as the main Spiderperson will be overshadowed by Peter due to Earth-616 being his universe originally. This is further shown in Gwen’s case where she’s currently the only character from Earth-65 to make the move, thus leaving her supporting cast, distinct tone, and art style of her world behind. However, with Gwen and Miles having their respective universes be combined to create a new one, these issues can be resolved since they’ll likely keep their supporting casts and have a hybrid of their pre-existing art styles. Their statuses as Spiderpeople also won’t be overshadowed due to Earth-8 being created specifically for them, making it their universe to claim. This adds to the sentiment of how Miles and Gwen are “the same” as the overlaps in their characters allow them to complement each other, being two halves of the same story.

There’ll probably be plenty of multiverse shenanigans in BTSV and if they culminate into a major universal collision, we’ll just have to see when the movie comes out. However, whether it’s fate, destiny, or pure coincidence that brought Gwen and Miles together, the SV films seem to be going towards the star-crossed lovers route where they’ll have to find a tangible way to be together, which is through the creation of Earth-8.

Timebomb in a nutshell