#inky thoughts

Vander and Silco share a lot of similarities. Both shown to be violent. Not above using threats or force to get their way. Both with long and complicated histories full of questionable deeds.

However.

If you asked Silco whether he considers himself to be a good man, I believe he'd say "No."

And yet, if you put the same question to Vander, it's my belief that he'd say "Yes."

And therein lies my issue with him.

I tend to find people and characters with hero complexes very tedious. Just my personal taste. And I sort of feel like Vander has one.

He whole-heartedly believes he's the good guy. And that bugs me. I kinda just wanna tell him to get over himself.

Vander always thinks that Vander is right.

And therefore, anyone who doesn't share his exact way of thinking is the enemy. He has blinkered vision, and an inability to think beyond tomorrow, or his immediate vicinity. As long as everything is okay in Vander's world [i.e the Lanes and his friends & family], he's content to forget the rest.

But see the thing is, the Undercity is bigger than just the Lanes. The Lanes is just a small section of the city. And more people live down there than just Vander's mates. So what about them? You have to be besties with Vander to qualify for protection?

Silco fights for Zaun.

Vander fights for Vander.

Which isn't my issue. I love villains. I love morally-grey and imperfect characters. I don't mind if a character has selfish motives or questionable drives. My issue isn't with Vander's actions or his goals, but rather his attitude and general opinion of himself.

If Vander wants to fight for Vander then go ahead my guy. But don't act so damn noble about it.

He likes to think of himself as this big, upstanding hero type. When he's actually no better than Silco. You could even argue he's no better than Piltover. He looks out for his own, and is content to ignore the rest.

I've seen some people comparing the two versions of Zaun between Act 1 and 2 under the different leadership.

It's true, under Vander the Lanes had a safer, more community-type feel to it. However, as I said before, the Undercity is bigger than just the Lanes. And a ✨#cosy-vibe UwU💕is pretty useless when the majority of people are starving and oppressed. Barely surviving and in no way thriving. Vander doesn't really concern himself with the well-being of Zaun as a whole.

I'm not saying Silco's reign is perfect either. The Undercity certainly doesn't feel as safe under his watch, and I'm not ignoring the drug problem [though this a whole other topic]. But aren't these issues that naturally occur alongside industrial progress? London has a lot more crime etc going on than a smaller, less advanced city for example. But despite this, Silco's leadership undoubtedly benefits the greatest amount of people. There are huge advances in technology, health, trade, business, and infrastructure. He literally makes the air safer to breathe. Silco advocates for Zaun as a whole.

But I digress. This isn't about who is a better leader. This is about Vander thinking he's this big, brave, gallant knight in shining armour because he rescued the princess, even though he left the village to be burned by the dragon.

So yeah, I guess those are my thoughts.

My issues with characters don't tend to stem from their actions, but rather their opinions of themselves.