most prying question I can ask would be uhm..,,, ekko’s family. Does he know what happened to them? Does he remember them, and what were they like? Was is similar to powder and vi? How did he come to find Benzo?
(I’m just trying to get a full meta on some ekko lore and you’re the only one I’d ever trust to write it)
[thank you for that last line. hope i don't disappoint with this.] short answers for the first five questions: yup, yes, yes, yes, and no, but kinda? let me explain...
so, to start, ekko isn't an orphan like the rest of the kids in his circle. he is/was a latchkey kid. his parents were involved in raising him, but they worked slave hours at the factory, in an attempt to work put the money toward ekko's education.
ekko remembers the declining muscle definition in the strong arms that his father used to let him perform pull-ups on, as well as his father's drastic weight loss. he could never forget his mother's sullen cheeks, her growing back problems, and the dead look in both of their eyes that maintained trying, tired smiles they masked on their face. ekko was never able to convince him to stop slaving themselves in the chem-baron factories. instead, they would put on a front about their health, purposely neglecting themselves, and pretending to be okay. their health deteriorated to the point where his father was losing his vision but was still picking up shifts, extra even, after his mother's respiratory system and cancer affected her ability to work.
benzo was always a friend of the family, before ekko's birth, so, naturally, he ended up becoming the kid's guardian. benzo did as his parents wanted him to do, look after ekko, nurture his talents, help keep him responsible, etc. but that only could go so far. the big man wasn't going to suffer a heart attack chasing after the mischievous youth, and he saw how ekko was trying to forge his own path in the world, anyhow. his safety mattered, as much as the kid coming into his own identity. i mentioned in a previous hc post that benzo was the only one who knew that ekko never intended to bring his talents into formal academic institutions in piltover.
unfortunately, there did come a time when his parents realized their son wasn't interested in attaining recognition and higher learning, and it left them estranged. after benzo's murder, they tried to keep ekko close, but their job wouldn't allow for it, unless they were ready to offer him up for child labor in the mines. on top of that, the inception of the shimmer epidemic destroyed many zaunite homes, including ekko's. ekko worked temporarily in benzo's shop, post-death, but he started committing his time to a personal war against silco's drug empire. ekko kept it hidden from them for years, always lying about the scars, and bruises he suffered in his fights.
during those years, he discovered the tree of life and formed the firelights. he couldn't spend much time in their headquarters, because he still had to show face back home. when the guilt of his coveted activities overwhelmed him, he admitted the truth to his parents. about the firelights, fighting for a better future, and ending the dirty businesses with the chem baron's. that put a strain on their relationship because the enforcer increased their hyper-surveillance in the lanes, criminals were harassing civilians, asking questions about information on the firelights, and a vigilante named zeri @zaunsparked. so, they were extremely concerned with his safety, but couldn't help but be disappointed, as well. they wanted better for ekko, not to die 'senselessly' in the streets, in a fight they felt he could have ignored, for the sake of achieving excellence in his life and rising above their conditions.
ekko essentially moved out and started living underground, in case it was ever discovered the leader of the firelights was living under some 'disposable' factory workers' rooftop and something bad happened to his parents. it's one of the reasons ekko wears a balaclava, hood, and a modded jhin mask, and turns it into firelight's customary practices. being estranged from his parents left his heart broken in more pieces and made him even angrier because that was yet another important piece of his life he suffered due to silco and piltover. piltover is what created and emboldened a monster like silco, and they were the ones that exacerbated zaun's suffering.
this is going into a post centered on the gray soon, but being that it's relevant to this meta/hc question, I'll talk about it briefly here... caitlyn's re-introduction of the gray elevated the health crisis in zaun. a note by jinx in her mini-game that was written by a fellow zaunite said (this will be mentioned again in my gray post):
"HAVE YOU BEEN COUGHING MORE THAN USUAL LATELY? experts warn that this could be due to the chemical warfare deployed by piltover against us. older generations may remember "the gray", a toxic gas topsiders vowed to never use again. it will come as no surprise to our well-read audience: those gold-plated pigs went back on their word."
again, ekko's parents were employed under chem barons. they, and other civilians are dependent on the ecosystem the chem baron preserves and expands upon [i think in the convergence video game, their health took a dive.]. they, like many other pedestrian workers, were among those affected by caitlyn's "strategic" strike on the remnants of silco's empire. the results of the strike force were joblessness and worse living conditions. the dramatic decrease in ekko's parents health also left them unable to work in the mines. the only aid they received was from scar and zeri @zaunsparked, who would deliver them food, medicine, and other essentials.
does ekko know what happened to them? i would ask, do THEY know what happened to ekko? because they're under the impression ekko died fighting. dealing with the the shimmer epidemic, the gray crisis, and the noxian occupation, in between all of that, they had to deal with grieving ekko when scar and zeri @zaunsparked delivered the news to them that he passed away. they didn't even have a body to bury their only son. ekko's parents understandably gave up on zaun. the last thing the firelights could do for them was help them pack their bags and take them safely topside, with the rest of the zaunites and pilties that chose to live as refugees in another country, avoiding the noxian/viktor invasion entirely.
upon coming back, ekko wasn't able to reconcile with his parents. he never was able to show them he was alive. his parents are gone. so, with their belief of ekko being dead, that's why I said he's kinda an orphan now. he does intend to eventually search for them [which leaves this open to potential sl ideas of ekko traveling to other countries.]
author note: more on benzo here. | personal questions prompt.
