Was Ahri and Jhin in love?

Mandalorian 117·8/10/2017, 4:07:08 PM·8 votes·9,479 views

In Ahri's new lore, she said that she killed a man she was in love with. She said that she loved an artist who liked to paint flowers. Sounds familiar? But what if she thought she killed him, but he actually survived but has gone crazy because of it? What if she knew it, but she killed the man he once was. If that's the case, she probably has even more guilt that she created a psychotic killer that even Shen and Zed were traumatized over.

Now for Jhin's side of the story, he probably had no memory of the experience. However, he knew he was an artist, and this near death experience made him become obsessed with death. The story said while he was in prison, he revealed nothing about his past. Maybe he doesn't know much about himself anymore.

Just a thought.

42 Comments

Sharjo8/10/2017, 4:37:48 PM8 votes

Timeline wise it doesn't work:

"She grew drunk with memories that were not her own, and exhilarated in the lives of others. Through stolen visions, Ahri watched through their eyes as they pledged fealty to a temple of shadow, sacrificed offerings to a deity of the sun incarnate, encountered an avian tribe of vastaya that spoke only in song, and glimpsed mountainous landscapes unlike any she had seen. She experienced heartbreak and elation in tantalizing flashes that left her craving more, and wept at the massacres of Ionian villagers at the hands of Noxian invaders."

Ahri was struggling with her addiction before she met her lover and during the course of the Noxian Invasion. Jhin was in prison at the time.

RiotBioluminescence8/10/2017, 9:37:03 PM6 votes

So, I believe that Jhin had gone off the deep end before the Noxian invasion - Shen, Zed, and Kusho had been hunting the Golden Demon for years after all. Ahri's first encounter with humans was apparently encountering soldiers from a foreign land of stone and iron (maybe Noxians?)

If it was Noxian soldiers from the invasion that she first encountered, then Sharjo is right in that Jhin was not only imprisoned during most of the invasion, but had been a serial killer long before the invasion began. I think it's very unlikely* that it could have been a close encounter with Ahri that 'made' Jhin the killer he is today.

That's not to say that they haven't crossed paths since his release. Could have happened.

######*I feel there should be a more definite way to say this than 'very unlikely', but hell - Ekko and Zilean muck around with time, and gods walk amongst peasants, so who knows what's possible.

mkyner8/10/2017, 4:11:10 PM4 votes

This would only work if Ahri had four tails instead of nine.

EarthyMadness8/10/2017, 4:21:50 PM4 votes

Leading in from what MKYNER said, that doesn't necessarily have to be true. Ahri's kit is also number based. Her style revolves around 3 and 9. Her passive charges 9 times, and can trigger 3 charges per spell cast per target. Her Foxfire creates 3 flames, and her ultimate is 3 dashes, each with 3 flames, that can hit up to 3 targets. (I'm not sure about the Charm math, I've never looked at it.)

Assuming Jhin did only keep certain fragmented memories, one of them could easily be an obsession with numbers. But, which numbers? Well, he knows he's an artist, and he knows he likes the lotus flower, which is based around 4's.

It could still theoretically work.

Stars Shaper8/10/2017, 5:04:40 PM2 votes

That would be a great addition for both characters' dept.

TyrekGoldenspear8/10/2017, 4:49:33 PM2 votes

Aw man, this looks like an awesome theory! Shame our boy Sharjo told us it doesn't work with the timeline. But one can dream.

Barkingspider738/10/2017, 5:57:20 PM2 votes

The artist that is mentioned has some stories on the Vastayan page from back at Xayah/Rakan release. He is an actual artist. Jhin was not a painting artist, he was a stagehand with a theater troupe who murdered people at the different stops they made.

It is never mentioned that he paints or that he is an "artist", though he believes he makes art in his well thought out and theatrical killings. The only connection with the Ahri artist and Jhin is that they both like flowers. Which is not an uncommon attribute for people in general.

ExcessiveProtest8/10/2017, 10:05:15 PM2 votes

Seems a lot less likely with official responses, but I had a a writeup here on the subject if you're still interested. https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/GD/nUWekJ25-concerning-the-garden-of-forgetting-aka-just-another-crazy-fan-theory?comment=0001

Luther King Jr V6/20/2019, 3:27:59 PM1 votes

can confirm i was the jhin