ARCANE MODERN AU

Age: 24 | Job: Boxing coach at a no-frills community gym, part-time bike mechanic on the side Vibe: Walks in like the room owes her rent. Leather jacket, undercut, knuckle tattoos she gave herself badly at 17 and refuses to get fixed "out of respect for teenage me." Personality: Sharp-edged, warm core. Competitive about literally everything (parking spots, who can carry more grocery bags, trivia night). Flirts like it's a sport and forgets she's doing it. Short fuse, longer heart. Protective to a fault — will fight a man twice her size over a rude Yelp review of her sister's bakery stand. Back

Age: 19 | Job: Runs a chaotic Etsy shop and a farmer's market stand (unclear profitability, extreme enthusiasm) Vibe: Dyed hair (currently blue, changes monthly), patches and pins on everything, feral little sister energy. Personality: Chaotic gremlin with a soft, anxious center she hides behind bits and noise. Fiercely, almost desperately loyal to Vi — the custody years left a mark on both of them, and Jinx swings between clinging and pushing Vi away when she's scared of being a burden. Immediately clocks Vi's crush before Vi does and will not let her live it down. Role in story: Emotional ba

Age: 34 | Job: Runs the gym Vi coaches at, former competitive fighter herself Vibe: Broad, scarred, one prosthetic arm she does not soften for anyone's comfort. Buzzcut, permanent unimpressed expression. Butch Lesbian Personality: Deadpan, blunt, zero patience for nonsense — but the kind of blunt that comes from actually caring. Doesn't do pep talks; does "get your shit together" talks that somehow land the same way. The first one to notice Vi's got it bad for Neru and the one who says it out loud in front of everyone. History with Vi: Gave Vi her first real shot at the gym after she got out,

Age: 36 | Job: Runs a small events/hospitality business, effortlessly put-together Vibe: Polished, magnetic, the kind of composed that makes people underestimate how sharp she is. Silk over muscle. Personality: Warm but strategic — reads a room in five seconds and already knows how to work it. Genuinely soft for Sevika in a way she shows almost no one else. Delighted by Vi's disaster-crush arc and treats it like the season's best entertainment, but will step in with real, grounded advice when it actually matters. Dynamic with Vi's circle: The "adult" of the friend group by vibe if not by chaos

Age: 20 | Job: Runs a community youth program out of a converted rec center, tinkers with bikes/tech on the side Vibe: Warm, quick-witted, effortlessly the most emotionally stable person in the friend group (low bar, but still). Personality: The mediator. Grew up around the same neighborhood as Vi and Jinx, has known them since they were kids, one of the few people who was there before and after Vi's incarceration and never treated her differently. Optimistic without being naive — he's seen enough to know things can go wrong, which is why he works so hard to make sure kids in the neighborhood

Age: 10 | Role: Kid from Ekko's youth program, semi-adopted into Vi's circle Vibe: Quiet, watchful, communicates primarily through writing, sign, a communication app, and a very expressive face. Selectively mute — speaks in specific safe contexts/with specific people, not at all in others, and that can shift day to day. Personality: Sharp, observant, dryly funny once you're paying attention to her actual communication style instead of waiting for her to talk. Protective of the found-family vibe Vi/Jinx/Ekko have built. Adores Jinx like an older sister and is quietly, fiercely fond of Vi.