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Thinking about the simple parrellel of Mel killing Maddie but saving Steb with her powers.

Using a force field around Maddie's head for the bullet while using a shield to protect Steb from a crossbow arrow

It scratches my brain when Steb instantly reacts to his surroundings. Like when he was able to pin point the incoming arrows and react before it hit/would have hit him before Mel saves our fishman

Also just like the little eye contact he makes with Mel after

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I have an idea for a fic

Alt timeline, blind date, these two,

Thoughts? :)

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Thoughts on Loris

I have more thoughts and theories than concrete understanding of his character

He either feels half-baked as a side character that had more to him or just my mind being unable to connect the dots so some of this kind of jumps around 

SO:

Loris is introduced as a sad somber guy still loosely wearing his enforcer uniform while off duty. When he meets Vi his first words are something like ‘did you lose someone in the attack’, the actions of him drinking insinuates that he most likely lost someone himself.

Appearance wise Loris has a section of his hair tied with a blue colored bead and pulled into his field of vision. It’s a stretch but when Ekko wears a colored band in his hair it’s to symbolize the ‘loss’ of Jinx/Powder in the finale episode. I think Loris wears the bead in his hair to be a constant reminder of his loss- by having it remain in his sight makes that loss a constant presence. 

Anyways, besides that Loris is shown in episode 1 to not want to go to the memorial when Vi pats him on the foot since he just closes his eyes and pretends to sleep

When he does go and the attack on the memorial happens he uses a shield, a shield that's seen discarded when Vi walks around the aftermath.  

It could be foreshadowing that he dies in battle, in episode 9 he dies the one time he doesn’t have his shield, or the shield might have some type of connection to the person he loss

Now the notes:

-His shield gets a hextech advancement

-On the striketeam he’s first to push their advances with his shield in E3, and when fighting he uses his shield to bash into them offensively,

 and later when he’s the one to first get injured and get a limp from Jinx’s traps the shield becomes a crutch and a safety net for him. (I think it’s interesting that it was only when he traveled in front of Caitlyn that he got hurt )

-Even with a limp, Loris does his best to react to shield Steb when the tunnel they climbed out of get’s Grey rerouted straight to them 

-His personality is consistently fatherly, comforting Vi, comforting Maddie when they see the murder dolls (his arrow deaths included), even comforting Vi again after being pushed away and reuniting with her without hard feelings

In that reunion scene when Vi subconsciously compares Loris to Vander we then see exactly their relationship  

-Loris seems to know his way around the undercity, keep in mind it’s most likely not from the strike team traveling because they mostly used the filtration system to get through/travel. He goes with Vi to the fighting ring and when she pushes him away he’s just fine leaving her to travel elsewhere. 

-Loris was the first to leave when the Noxus general (Ambessa) took over and began doing their saultes. I think he actually might have ties to the Undercity or had been from that side of the city before going topside to be an officer. I wish we knew what led to him taking said role, because like Steb who shows his compassion by being a medic on top of being an enforcer, Loris as only an enforcer shows it by choosing defensive gear over guns as his main weapon.

-Loris returns only when the Noxus have left/ are realized as the enemy and when he returns he returns with knowledge. It seems he might have fought them before or at least studied them. He teaches the enlisters how to fight the Noxus with a weapon that wasn’t a shield and yet he holds it easily 

- In the final episode (9) when he's using the Hextech technology repurposed as a canon, he works well with his team and Vi and I must reiterate its the only time in battle that he does not have a shield, and in the end the last time

 When Vi sees Loris dead she sees him with the side of his face that has the blue bead in his hair hanging mutely without light catching it.

 And that's his end. 

I don’t know, it’s like, I’m missing something. 

Maybe the blue is like a powder/jinx reference thing and when Loris dies and “Vander” appears and Jinx chooses to be Powder again (?) it shows that that side of Jinx is dead like how Vander is dead now that his consciousness was killed from the monster/wolf mutant thing. Since Vi saw Loris as Vander/father figure and Loris lost someone who is (PROBABLY) symbolized by the blue bead in his hair. 

It's a big fat stretch but I’m grasping at strings here and it shows lol

Hope I helped :D

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I love your brain so much. I was reviewing the scene you talked about, and I can't tell either, unfortunately, but it would be a cool detail if he didn't :,)

I also take great interest in expanding/wanting to see Steb's perspective on Hextech, considering his ties to the Arcane on a species level and due to his focus of minimal casualties in combat

As for how he's treated- we don't see a lot of Vastaya in the force! And if we focus on fishfolk, he's literally the only one! So I believe his treatment by Topsiders, especially when Marcus was sheriff, was most likely very poorly but mainly through microagression, since he still embodied what it meant to be a protector of the people with little outward resentment to officers around him, at least from what I could see

(AND BOY AM I WRITTING THAT IN DEPTH )

Hi! I wanted to create a collaboration of notes I had on Steb and his contribution to the plot of Arcane, also posted this on reddit, so here is everything from stuff I saw to things I hypothesized -

This is Steb:

You can look on his little fandom wiki tag for stuff that I don't touch BUT ESSENTIALLY

1 He appears in episode 1 as the silent officer who pokes Loris while Maddie talks to Vi. And from what I get from the conversation is that Steb had to have worked on the force long enough to be given Maddie as a junior officer that shadows him. An interesting combo considering he turned out to be reserved care and Maddie ended up being false cheer.

2 He's well trained in close combat and seems to prefer it on multiple occasions.

At the very beginning he holds a collapsible baton that seems to be geared more into disarming people or incapacitating them. During the attack on the memorial where he's not only the first to act but later when he reunites with Maddie and their surrounded by Shimmer mutants she seems to have given him a blade that Steb wasted no time in stabbing into the closest mutant. And it develops into him using dual single hand batons when he's enlisted on the strike team.

(We later see all mutants have spears in their head so I can't tell if he killed or not. But I do think he accidently killed the man that shot the flare because there was blood coming out, the mouth was parted open, and both Mel and Steb looked shocked.)

It isn't until episode 9 during the finale we see him shooting a gun that I think it resembles his decision that now he really doesn't have a choice other than to kill the enemy and save the platoon he was given to command (NOTE: I believe everyone he was given to command all ended up surviving) or die trying to knock people out and reduce casualties. I find it interesting especially since he's a medic in addition to being an enforcer.

3 HE IS SO AWARE OF EVERY LITTLE THING

Complete distrust to the Noxus when they arrive? Check. Wide eyed and stunned at Maddie and Caitlyn's decision to join the Noxus then literally checks out like Loris for a long while? Check. He's literally the person to see everything go down and just decides to assumably remove himself from the equation for the next few episodes before being called upon again AND I WISH I KNEW WHERE HE WENT (which has now led to me writing a fic but anyways)

4 Interesting things that I need to point out

-In the end of episode 1 where the strike team is introduced, Steb is the only one to not get a Hextech upgrade to his weaponry,

I assume this is from some type of moral code he continues to have where he refuses extreme force. Additionally, and its probably a stretch, the screen glitches over Maddie and Loris but focuses on him symbolizing he's the only one out of the three of them to live.

-His ears and his little cheek fin frills respond to EVERYTHING. Kind of reminding me of a fish's lateral line when it responds to vibrations in the water and stuff but anyways-

Considering he's some type of Vastya fishfolk, or half of cuz he has eyebrows and hair, it's interesting. I saw someone comment that the fishfolk had a connection to the Arcane and it's magic AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO COOL TO EXPAND ON BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE. That could have been the reason why he averted to using Hextech advancements. And the more in tune senses helping him stay alive.

As well as explain why he was the first to act like in E1 and E3 when the strike team meets Heenox.

- Speaking of E3, you can literally see him not even look up at the murder dolls which includes everyone's death or injury but his coming true. And when he does treat Heenox not only does he see the effects of the Grey but when Caitlyn loads her gun to shoot the man Steb is turning to Vi like a "Get your woman???" 

He seemed to loose trust in Caitlyn there, as I noted he was the only one to look back when their group split as Vi and Caitlyn went off to face Jinx alone.

I can one hundred percent imagine Steb getting angry as a medic when he realizes he was kept in the dark about the use of the Grey as well, because he's not only the one who has to treat it but also has to live with the realization they did more harm to innocents and Jinx was in the right for rerouting all the vents they opened to release it.

- It appears that he is selectively mute, I assume that is has something to do with his biology since Jericho, the street vendor showed in S1 and later in S2, doesn't speak either but is seen being able to laugh and yell just like Steb. Personally think Steb doesn't speak much because its hard to do/hurts.

Which would have been so interesting to have been explored or at least acknowledged because it would have hit so much harder when in E9 we presumably hear him shout for his unit to get up and move when his leadership was needed most. 

-Maddie's betrayal had to have hurt so bad for him. She was his shadow, the one he was suppose to teach and in the end her ambition for power took hold of her and was the reason for her end. And for him to be someone so observant and careful and let that go right past him must have killed a part of him because he probably excused some of her behaviors. Like how Maddie had called Vi "one of the good ones" when referencing her origin from the Undercity. OR even when they were leaving and when Steb motioned for her to follow him Maddie only went when she heard another officer in the distance call for her.

It definitely could have been expanded on if the Arcane team was given a bigger budget for him to sign and Maddie to mistranslate or even ignore his authority because of his disability. Like, she cares for him but not enough to respect him.

I feel like when Caitlyn woke up to see Steb sitting there that pain was shown heavily but not enough. 

Anyways!

If you made it to the end of my rant, yay, this is all the deep diving I'm using for a fic and I hope it helps, if you have any thoughts to add please do!

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Hi! I wanted to create a collaboration of notes I had on Steb and his contribution to the plot of Arcane, also posted this on reddit, so here is everything from stuff I saw to things I hypothesized -

This is Steb:

You can look on his little fandom wiki tag for stuff that I don't touch BUT ESSENTIALLY

1 He appears in episode 1 as the silent officer who pokes Loris while Maddie talks to Vi. And from what I get from the conversation is that Steb had to have worked on the force long enough to be given Maddie as a junior officer that shadows him. An interesting combo considering he turned out to be reserved care and Maddie ended up being false cheer.

2 He's well trained in close combat and seems to prefer it on multiple occasions.

At the very beginning he holds a collapsible baton that seems to be geared more into disarming people or incapacitating them. During the attack on the memorial where he's not only the first to act but later when he reunites with Maddie and their surrounded by Shimmer mutants she seems to have given him a blade that Steb wasted no time in stabbing into the closest mutant. And it develops into him using dual single hand batons when he's enlisted on the strike team.

(We later see all mutants have spears in their head so I can't tell if he killed or not. But I do think he accidently killed the man that shot the flare because there was blood coming out, the mouth was parted open, and both Mel and Steb looked shocked.)

It isn't until episode 9 during the finale we see him shooting a gun that I think it resembles his decision that now he really doesn't have a choice other than to kill the enemy and save the platoon he was given to command (NOTE: I believe everyone he was given to command all ended up surviving) or die trying to knock people out and reduce casualties. I find it interesting especially since he's a medic in addition to being an enforcer.

3 HE IS SO AWARE OF EVERY LITTLE THING

Complete distrust to the Noxus when they arrive? Check. Wide eyed and stunned at Maddie and Caitlyn's decision to join the Noxus then literally checks out like Loris for a long while? Check. He's literally the person to see everything go down and just decides to assumably remove himself from the equation for the next few episodes before being called upon again AND I WISH I KNEW WHERE HE WENT (which has now led to me writing a fic but anyways)

4 Interesting things that I need to point out

-In the end of episode 1 where the strike team is introduced, Steb is the only one to not get a Hextech upgrade to his weaponry,

I assume this is from some type of moral code he continues to have where he refuses extreme force. Additionally, and its probably a stretch, the screen glitches over Maddie and Loris but focuses on him symbolizing he's the only one out of the three of them to live.

-His ears and his little cheek fin frills respond to EVERYTHING. Kind of reminding me of a fish's lateral line when it responds to vibrations in the water and stuff but anyways-

Considering he's some type of Vastya fishfolk, or half of cuz he has eyebrows and hair, it's interesting. I saw someone comment that the fishfolk had a connection to the Arcane and it's magic AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO COOL TO EXPAND ON BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE. That could have been the reason why he averted to using Hextech advancements. And the more in tune senses helping him stay alive.

As well as explain why he was the first to act like in E1 and E3 when the strike team meets Heenox.

- Speaking of E3, you can literally see him not even look up at the murder dolls which includes everyone's death or injury but his coming true. And when he does treat Heenox not only does he see the effects of the Grey but when Caitlyn loads her gun to shoot the man Steb is turning to Vi like a "Get your woman???" 

He seemed to loose trust in Caitlyn there, as I noted he was the only one to look back when their group split as Vi and Caitlyn went off to face Jinx alone.

I can one hundred percent imagine Steb getting angry as a medic when he realizes he was kept in the dark about the use of the Grey as well, because he's not only the one who has to treat it but also has to live with the realization they did more harm to innocents and Jinx was in the right for rerouting all the vents they opened to release it.

- It appears that he is selectively mute, I assume that is has something to do with his biology since Jericho, the street vendor showed in S1 and later in S2, doesn't speak either but is seen being able to laugh and yell just like Steb. Personally think Steb doesn't speak much because its hard to do/hurts.

Which would have been so interesting to have been explored or at least acknowledged because it would have hit so much harder when in E9 we presumably hear him shout for his unit to get up and move when his leadership was needed most. 

-Maddie's betrayal had to have hurt so bad for him. She was his shadow, the one he was suppose to teach and in the end her ambition for power took hold of her and was the reason for her end. And for him to be someone so observant and careful and let that go right past him must have killed a part of him because he probably excused some of her behaviors. Like how Maddie had called Vi "one of the good ones" when referencing her origin from the Undercity. OR even when they were leaving and when Steb motioned for her to follow him Maddie only went when she heard another officer in the distance call for her.

It definitely could have been expanded on if the Arcane team was given a bigger budget for him to sign and Maddie to mistranslate or even ignore his authority because of his disability. Like, she cares for him but not enough to respect him.

I feel like when Caitlyn woke up to see Steb sitting there that pain was shown heavily but not enough. 

Anyways!

If you made it to the end of my rant, yay, this is all the deep diving I'm using for a fic and I hope it helps, if you have any thoughts to add please do!

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Hi, I do fics for various fandoms on ao3!

Thought it would be fun to put out all my ideas and the process for them somewhere, so here we have it

Hope you enjoy!