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Why are Jinx’s eyes glowing?


Jinx is a popular character from the League of Legends universe. She is a chaotic criminal from Zaun who wreaks havoc with her explosive hextech weapons. One of Jinx’s most striking features are her glowing pink eyes. In this article, we will explore the possible reasons behind Jinx’s unique glowing eyes.

Jinx’s backstory

To understand why Jinx’s eyes glow, we first need to look at her backstory. Jinx was born as Powder in Zaun and grew up on the streets with her friends. However, a tragic incident resulted in the death of her friends, leaving Powder traumatized. This traumatic event caused Powder to snap and take on the persona of Jinx. Jinx unleashed her rage and chaos onto the city of Zaun.

Theories on why Jinx’s eyes glow

There are a few popular theories that aim to explain why Jinx’s eyes have an unnatural glow:

Exposure to hextech material

Zaun is known for its prolific use of hextech, a type of magical technology. As someone living in Zaun, Jinx would have been exposed to unstable hextech materials from a young age. Prolonged exposure to these materials could have resulted in mutations like her glowing pink eyes.

Side effect of trauma

The trauma and madness Jinx experienced after losing her friends likely changed her physiology. Her glowing eyes could simply be a side effect of her shattered psyche. The glow signifies how unhinged and unpredictable she has become.

Consuming shimmer

Shimmer is a dangerous drug made from hextech materials. It grants superhuman abilities but has mutagenic side effects. Jinx may have consumed shimmer at some point, causing her eyes to gain an unnatural glow.

Theories explained in depth

Now let’s explore these three theories in more detail:

Exposure to hextech materials

Zaun is a haven for unregulated hextech experimentation which has polluted the city’s environment. As a child growing up in Zaun’s slums, Jinx would have been constantly exposed to unstable and dangerous hextech materials:

  • Airborne pollutants from hextech factories
  • Drinking contaminated water
  • Direct contact with leaking hextech chemicals and waste

This regular exposure could have caused mutations in Jinx during her developmental years. Glowing eyes are one of the more visible mutations but there could be many other changes within her body. Other Zaun characters like Ekko also have glowing features because of hextech exposure.

Evidence supporting the theory

There is plenty of evidence indicating prolonged hextech exposure is the reason for Jinx’s unique appearance:

  • Zaun has many chemtech augmented characters like Singed, Twitch, and Warwick
  • Piltover residents have no mutations since they live above the pollution
  • Jinx likely had no oversight or regulation stopping her from contacting hextech materials directly as a child
  • Other Zaun champions have similar mutations like glowing veins and skin discoloration

Side effect of trauma

Jinx’s transformation from Powder to Jinx was triggered by an intense traumatic event. She lost her entire family in a horrific accident. This caused irreparable psychological damage:

  • Detachment from reality and unstable emotions
  • Dramatic shift in personality
  • Hallucinations and difficulty separating fantasy from reality

Jinx’s psyche now operates on a completely different wavelength compared to others. Her physiology adapted to match her fractured mindset. The glowing eyes reflect how she is electrically charged with madness and unpredictability.

Evidence supporting the theory

There are a few clues indicating Jinx’s transformation is purely psychological:

  • Clear trigger event causing the change (trauma from accident)
  • Jinx’s behavior and speech patterns are extremely erratic
  • Differences are mainly psychological rather than physical
  • Some real mental illnesses cause pupil dilation and light sensitivity

Consuming shimmer

Shimmer is a potent street drug made from unstable hextech materials. Users gain increased strength and speed but also suffer extreme mutations:

  • Altered mental states and addiction
  • Skin discoloration and growths
  • Glowing eyes and veins

As someone deeply tied to the Zaun criminal underworld, Jinx could have taken shimmer to gain an edge. She may have continued taking it despite the mutations it caused. The drug’s mutagenic effects resulted in her pink glowing eyes.

Evidence supporting the theory

  • Other champions like Twitch and Warwick used shimmer
  • Jinx has superhuman strength and speed
  • Shimmer is known to cause glowing features
  • Easy access as a Zaun criminal

Comparing the theories

To get a better sense of which theory is most plausible, let’s compare them side-by-side:

Theory Pros Cons
Hextech exposure
  • Aligns with Zaun’s lore
  • Many supporting examples
  • Doesn’t explain sudden change from Powder
Psychological trauma
  • Explains drastic personality change
  • No definitive real-life cases of this
  • Other physical differences unexplained
Consuming shimmer
  • Explains enhanced abilities
  • Known to cause mutations
  • No direct evidence of shimmer use

Based on this comparison, exposure to hextech materials seems to be the most likely reason for Jinx’s glowing eyes. The theory is supported by extensive evidence and aligns logically with Jinx’s background growing up in a polluted Zaun. The psychological trauma may have contributed by pushing Jinx deeper into madness. But the groundwork for her mutations was already set during her developmental years.

Conclusion

In summary, the prevalent theory is that growing up in the toxic environs of Zaun caused mutations like Jinx’s glowing pink eyes. Prolonged exposure to hextech materials, chemicals, and pollution since childhood altered Jinx on a physiological level long before she became unhinged. The trauma and change to her psyche may have exacerbated the mutations. But the fundamental cause is likely the unsafe environment she was raised in. Her unique appearance symbolizes the consequences of unchecked hextech progress and paints Jinx as a product of Zaun’s reckless industrial ambition.