#Form VI

[saphronethaleph]

Niman, the Way of the Rancor

Jango muttered a curse, closing his commlink.

You just couldn’t get the informants these days. Jango had bribed people in the Kaminoan facility to be informed if anyone showed up asking after him, but he hadn’t managed to get them to realize that the arrival of a starship not long after he’d returned from Coruscant might be important.

And now he’d only found out that a Jedi was present when they’d actually asked to see the template for the clones.

“Boba,” he said. “We might have an unexpected guest. And we might need to leave – soon.”

“Got it, dad,” his son replied. “Now?”

“No, the Jedi’s coming this way,” Jango replied. “I’ll try and trick them, then we leave as soon as they’re not here. Is all my armour hidden?”

The attendance chime went, and Jango rolled his head back and forth slightly as Boba went to answer it.

“Boba?” he heard Taun We ask. “Is your father here?”

“Don’t worry about little old me,” a calm voice added. “Just here to visit.”

“May we see him?” Taun We added.

“...sure,” Boba said, after several seconds of silence. “Uh. Dad! Taun We’s here!”

Jango moved around the corner of the apartment, to look at the visiting Jedi, and nearly swallowed his tongue.

There was a kriffing Rancor standing behind Taun We. A Rancor wearing a utility belt, attached to which were two lightsabers – one about the size of a small claw, the other big enough that Taun We could have used it as a neck splint.

“Welcome back, Jango,” Taun We said. “Was your trip productive?”

Jango blinked several times.

“...why is there a Rancor behind you?” he asked.

“Hello,” the Rancor said, in that same calm voice. “My name is Knight Tosh. Can I come in?”

Jango was still staring.

“Isn’t it ‘may’?” Boba asked, in the tones of a child who was trying to notice something he could process.

“I’m not sure how big the hallway is,” Tosh explained. “If there’s a problem with my fitting in, that’s fine, I can sit out here and we can talk.”

Putting actions to words, she sat down.

Jango wasn’t sure exactly how he’d decided that the Rancor was a ‘she’, but he supposed they probably did have genders.

“...you’re a Rancor?” he said, still trying to get past that essential point.

“Yes,” Tosh agreed. “A proud daughter of Dathomir. I’m told I’m named for my grandmother, who was the first of us to learn to read and write.”

She steepled the fingers on her enormous clawed hands.

“Aide We,” she said, a little more formally. “I must inform you that I’m here for a number of reasons, not just one. You see, I’ve been looking into a recent assassination attempt on that nice Senator Amidala.”

“Oh, goodness!” Taun We said. “That is most worrying.”

“It is,” Tosh agreed, with a surprisingly kindly smile given that it was a Rancor smiling, something that Jango’s brain kept circling around to. “The assassin is dead, which is fortunate, and I believe that Jango here did us the favour of eliminating her. So I wanted to thank him personally, and also ask if he had any idea why that might have happened… why he might have been hired to kill that particular shapeshifter, that is.”

Then she frowned. “Oh – but where are my manners? We should really start with how it is that you came to be the template for the clone army! It must be a fascinating story. I assume your young son there is involved, somehow?”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said, taking the mug from Cliegg Lars. “I think that’ll be enough for us for now.”

“Not a problem,” Cliegg replied. “You and the other Jedi are the one who rescued Anakin from his old life, that’d be enough to make you kin here, even before all you’ve done for us so far.”

“We do our best,” Obi-Wan smiled, taking a sip of the drink. “Very nice. Thank you again, Cliegg.”

“I don’t know what I expected,” Anakin admitted. “I never really imagined what it would be like to have my mom actually marry someone, but… I think he’s nice.”

“It’s not something the Jedi have much experience with,” Obi-Wan said. “I’m just as lost as you are, Anakin.”

“Are you sure this is a good place to hide out, Obi-Wan? Ani?” Padme asked.

She frowned, and waved her hand. “I don’t mean… that it’s a bad idea to be here. We’ve only been here two days and we’ve already rescued your mother, Ani. But if someone comes looking for us… we’re hiding with the only relatives Anakin has in the entire galaxy.”

“I’m quite sure that nobody will find us,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Yeah, I agree with Master Kenobi,” Anakin nodded. “If I was looking for where a Jedi was hiding, I’d never even think of looking for their family. Jedi just don’t think about family. It’s not something we do.”

“But the people who are trying to hunt me down… they do think about family, don’t they?” Padme said. “Or they might, anyway…”

“In which case, fortunately, we are in a very large desert,” Obi-Wan said. “Mos Espa would have been a suitable enough place to hide out, but now we’re off in the desert. A planet is a very big place to hide someone, Senator – and if there’s anyone in the galaxy who wouldn’t try to betray us, it’s Anakin’s close family. Even before we rescued his mother.”

Padme looked conflicted.

“I suppose you’re right,” she said. “I just worry that we’re too easy to find here. I don’t know how rational that is, but the extent of the resources available to our enemies…”

“Where would you have preferred?” Obi-Wan asked. “If this isn’t where you’d have thought to hide, where would you have hidden?”

“I’d have gone to Naboo,” Padme replied. “Relatives of my family have a house up in the lakes, in the mountains. It’s wonderful and calm and nobody ever goes there.”

“Actually, I like the sound of that, Master,” Anakin said. “Are you sure we can’t change plans and go there, now? There’s a lake there.”

“We brought a lake with us, Anakin,” Obi-Wan replied, tossing his head to indicate the beaten-up old freighter they’d used to get to Tatooine. “Or a large swimming pool, at least.”

Beru Lars chuckled.

“You three are terrible at this,” she said, from over in the corner. “We’re grateful for your arrival, but… none of you know the first thing about hiding.”

“We don’t?” Anakin asked. “What do you mean?”

“ Tatooine is a planet with slavery, which means a planet with crime,” Beru told them. “If you’re going into hiding, you want to get a good balance between the support network and being impossible to trace back to your owners.”

“Of course,” Padme murmured. “It’s a shame the Republic hasn’t been able to do anything about the slavery out here.”

“That’s your department, isn’t it” Beru asked. “With your being a senator, that is.”

“Padme’s brought it up in the Senate a few times,” Anakin said, defending her. “It’s never gone far, though.”

“Part of the problem is that the Republic doesn’t have the ability to do much about it,” Padme admitted. “We have a navy, but no real army – and bombarding Tatooine to help end slavery seems like a bad idea.”

Beru inclined her head.

“That’s fair,” she conceded. “It’s easy enough to forget that, out here. And I’d bet it seems hard to remember there are people in chains, when you’re on glittering Coruscant.”

“We could be doing more than we are,” Padme allowed. “Once this is over, I’ll see what I can do.”

Darth Tyrannus looked at Jango, his gaze calm. Calm, in the way that the ground was calm, under a descending meteor.

He was extremely unimpressed.

“You told her everything?” he asked, his fingers drumming on his belt next to the handle of his lightsaber.

“Not everything, but… more than I think I should have,” Jango replied, somewhat embarrassed. “You weren’t there. It was… I’d like to see you concentrate on what your story is when there’s a Rancor staring at you. Complimenting you. Offering you tips on how to make tea.”

He shook his head. “Saying that she could smell Coruscant on your clothes. And that’s before the fact that she’s a Jedi.”

Dooku sniffed.

“I think that if I were confronted with a Rancor, and it pulled out a lightsaber, I would be relieved,” he said.

There was a sort of soft thump behind him, and Jango glanced up before going pale and holding up his hands.

“Good afternoon,” a pleasant voice said. “Dooku, it’s nice to meet you at last. Should I call you Count? Or do you prefer the name Darth Tyrannus?”

Dooku knew what he was going to see behind him.

He knew it.

But he had to turn around and look anyway, and so he did.

“Tosh,” he said, and this time he did take his lightsaber off his belt – though he didn’t light it. “How did you get here?”

“A tracking beacon, of course,” Tosh replied. “Well, actually two, one of them was in the fidget spinner I gave young Boba, but I didn’t want him to feel embarrassed so I stuck one to Mr. Fett’s ship as well. I must say, I do like the climate here. Pleasantly dry.”

She smiled, in a way that was somehow disarming until you refocused and remembered what the smile was attached to. “You know, we’re actually somewhat related! In the Jedi sense, at least. I’m not sure how you’ve kept up with master-student relationships in the Temple since you left, but that nice dear Yoda trained me for a few years.”

Dooku did his very best to contain a nervous swallow.

“I have surpassed my old Master,” he said. “I doubt even he could defeat me now.”

“Oh, that’s quite possible,” Tosh agreed, nodding. “Yoda’s always been sentimental, you know. He finds it so hard to fight seriously. It’s not something I’d call a character flaw, but it is what it is.”

She shrugged. “I’d very much appreciate it if we didn’t have to fight today, you know. Since I know you’re a Sith, what about if you give me information on your Master? I know that betrayal is the kind of thing the Sith like to do, and that way we don’t have to fight.”

Dooku evaluated his options.

All it would take for his plans to hold together would be for him to be confident in his ability to defeat this Jedi Knight. This mere… Jedi Knight.

This mere… Rancor… Jedi Knight…

The other option was looking appealing. It was difficult to deny that.

“It’s hard to believe,” Mace Windu admitted, leaning back in his chair.

It was a common posture in the Jedi Council whenever this particular Knight was reporting to them, and Mace felt a most un-Jedi-like pang of jealousy for Yarael Poof. Long-necked and calm, the Quermian Master was the only one able to look Tosh in the eye without either leaning back or standing up.

“Hmm,” Yoda mused. “Mistaken you are not, I assume?”

“Being mistaken is always a possibility, Master,” Tosh answered. “But the plan that Dooku told me does seem to make a good deal of sense… it’s one of those plans where the Sith would win no matter which side of the war was triumphant.”

She spread her massive hands. “It could all be a lie… but it does explain a few things, which leads me to think it might be true. I’d recommend at least testing it.”

“A good approach,” Ki-Adi-Mundi said, to nods from Plo Koon and Sasee Tiin.

“It ties into what Master Gallia has been discovering recently as well,” the latter said. “The Trade Federation’s involvement in this is unsurprising, but the Techno Union, Intergalactic Bank Clan… again, investigation is needed.”

A ripple of agreement ran around the Council.

“And what of the clone army?” Yoda asked. “Commissioned by us, the Kaminoans were told.”

“Oh, I thought the best thing to do was to send them to make sure that nice Senator Amidala was safe,” Tosh replied, with a pleasant smile.

Windu frowned, then looked over at Yoda.

“When was the last time we got an update from Kenobi and Skywalker?” he asked.

“It’s been… a while,” Yarael Poof said, doing his neck exercises. “Last contact was shortly after they reached Tatooine. They were going to avoid broadcasting to make sure they weren’t tracked down.”

Mace Windu activated a holocommunicator.

“Old Folks Home to Guiding Light,” he said. “Knight Kenobi. What is your situation?”

“Guiding Light copies,” a hazy image of Obi-Wan Kenobi replied. “Master Windu, I think we just liberated Tatooine by accident.”

“By accident?” Ki-Adi-Mundi replied. “How exactly did you-”

He stopped, remembering the missions that Kenobi and his Padawan had been on.

“Never mind, carry on,” he requested. “What happened?”

“Someone sent us an army,” Obi-Wan said. “We didn’t actually order them to do anything, but Senator Amidala gave some speeches and I think things sort of escalated from there…”

[sw5w]

Duel in the Desert

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:16:58

[that-gay-jedi]

Did it hurt? When all the Niman practitioners died at Geonosis and it marked the end of an era? When the Jedi Order was never quite the same afterward? When the cultural impact of their loss low key shifted the way Anakin would turn out, and the galaxy's fate?

[molotovgrifter]

LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

[hanhahar]

Not arcane season 2 portraying ALL kinds of love,

Familial love, romantic love, platonic love (tho jayvic pushes it a bit), the love of a mentor and a student.

as they say: All is fair in love and war but neither love or war is ever fair.

Love can create war but love can also destroy it

[lazyveran]

the scene where jinx reads out the letter to vi is so so so important.

vi's idolised vander her entire life. he's her shining example of what to do, her golden heart, everything she was supposed to be and symbolise. and since his passing, it's been nothing but clawing her way back to his image. to his final words, to all of it.

only for jinx to take up that mantle. for vi's lurching attempts to make things right landing her as an enforcer on the other side of the river. it's why vi, despite not trusting jinx an inch, still goes with her to find vander. because vander was everything to vi, and if she can find him and make that right then maybe things would be okay. in everything else, her stinging failures and misery and loneliness, maybe saving vander would save herself too.

and then she finds the letter. the letter from vander to silco - silco, who vi sees as everything that went wrong. all the bad awful shit, why she lost powder, why she lost jinx. the reason why she went after her sister to try and stop (kill) her. and the letter is asking silco for forgiveness. forgiveness. and it all clicks into place.

because if vander, good and right vander, wanted to forgive silco, then whats stopping vi from forgiving jinx?

[abrillustrated]

see arcane is so funny because none of these bitches have friends. honestly wasnt super into jayvik until the finale because That Level of codependence that jayce and viktor have makes total sense when u realize that neither of them have Any fuckin friends. jayce has caitlyn and mel but they're off doing their own shit, and viktor has absolutely no friends except for jayce. mel and caitlyn also have no friends. all of vi's friends are dead. so.

[tackykachowch]

This is what they should've added to Jinx's design in season 2. Btw

UPD: I also want to add this screenshot of my tags on my first ever post about Jinx because I still agree with what I said

[thenationofzaun]

The Warwick lines we deserved:

The Warwick line we got:

"DON'T TOUCH MY DEOUGHTAAAA 😤😤😤😡😡😡"

[arctic-mizikio]

Augmented Human, C4-621 "Raven" (And Ayre)

[bramblesnbones]

more concepts ‘cause I’m still thinking!!

+the bonus headshots while I was playing with hairstyles

[peculiardiction]

OKAY a friend hyped me up to post at least this… plot bunny that got too far from the haunting hero’s server (dpxdc server), cause I’m literally always thinking about demon siblings aus,,,,,,,, Danny’s league assassins uniform getting reversed with his ghost form just Hits Different

Extra lil traditional sketch under cut!

It’s fine I promise I’m normal. So normal.

[ilinalta]

honestly, at this point I am not sure if i have any hopes fort TES6 being remarkable and, for me, it boils down to how we treat video games and media in general

TES is such a strong franchise because it was build when consuming media was SLOW. even up to morrowind you can't rush through it and make every choice carefully, as you're constantly risking losing your next battle if you are not careful enough.

oblivion and skyrim have both rapidly and vastly diverted from a very slow gameplay model, but still offered the depth of exploration for those who seek it. they still had books scattered all around, unmarked locations to find, when you simply were trying to catch the sunset from the best possible spot.

but i worry that this was the last moment to do that, to still write 300+ books found in the game and hope someone would read at least a few of them.

i worry that the greed, yes, but also the pace at which we are expected to consume makes this type of depth redundant.

[ninthriven]

working on a pair of arcane field guides & god i just love her face sm ;;

[mandareeboo]

I think Maddie provides a lot of the basic comforts Caitlyn needs. Warmth, companionship, support. She's a great woman, really. For most people, landing Maddie Nolen would be the highlight of their careers. Great girlfriend material.

But Caitlyn needs someone who knocks her upside the head (metaphorically), who remembers back routes through slums and can stitch a wound shut while laughing at her bad luck. She needs someone who can keep her honest, who reminds her of the bad things she's unintentionally doing along with the good. She needs Vi.

[stebeans]

Arcane F1AU

Switching over to Vi's pov. Takes place in the '24 race season, in both Caitvi's third season in F1. Vi with Janna Shimmer Wolf Racing (SW for short) and Caitlyn with Kiramman Racing (KR for short).

Warnings: multiple minor car crashes, swearing

Things get heated between their career long rivalry until it finally boils over for the world to see. Vi's a bit of a [justifiable?] dick. Caitlyn is a naive baby and oblivious to how much weight her family name holds. Special appearances by Jinx, Isha, Loris and Vander.

The Gloves are Off

Damacia Grand Prix

Under the dreary weather of Demacia's Great City Circuit, the paddock thrummed with controlled chaos. Pit crews scrambled to have their equipment checked and in place, the engineers coordinating with the mechanics in order to set up any last minute adjustments to the cars to suit the downpour of rain, and the drivers coordinating with the race engineers to run through the finalized strategies.

Stretching her neck, Vi pumped her shoulders up and down, throwing a couple shadowboxing jabs for good measure, calmly going over her superstitious routine formed back when she was karting and barely four feet tall. "Careful out there Vi. It's pouring much harder than in qualifying." Her sister and Shimmer Wolf's Chief Mechanic, warned as she handed over the balaclava as Vi finished slipping her arms through the sleeves of the black and red race suit, interspersed by various sponsors.

"Why is Demacia always raining?" Vi whined, pulling the balaclava over her already tousled hair.

"It's not always raining." Jinx replied, playfully poking Vi's ticklish spot along her side, earning an uncharacteristic squeal from Vi who's head had gotten caught in the balaclava. Isha, the officially adopted daughter of Jinx and unofficially adopted daughter for all of Shimmer Wolf, let out a giggle from beside her, dutifully gripping the driver's helmet in her small yet careful hands. "It's just usually rainy season when we race here. You should visit in the spring when the weather is warmer and the sun makes an appearance for more than a couple hours a day."

Vi, who had finally shoved her head through, shot Jinx a glare as she held her hands out protectively against her weak spot. "I would love to but we don't all have girlfriend's who own a freaking castle in Demacia to visit in the off-season." Vi teased, dodging another half-hearted attempt poke to her tickle spot.

"Not my girlfriend." Jinx muttered, deftly ignoring Isha's imploring look and Vi's stupidly annoying grin.

Shaking her head, Vi turned to Isha, who threw her a thumbs up as she smoothed the protective gear around her neck and tucked it into her racing suit before zipping up. "Okay kiddos, it's go time."

Vi held out fist to Jinx and Isha, both knocking their own fists against hers before climbing into the cockpit and settling into its familiar seat, almost a second home to her by now and was quite literally, molded to fit her ass. Reaching over, Vi accepted the helmet from Isha, ruffling the kid's brown mop of hair as thanks, who let out an exasperated huff, so much like Jinx, Vi couldn't help but chuckle.

Securing the race helmet in place, Vi reached out for the last of her gear. The race gloves were always the last to be put on. Vi slipped her signature wrapped hands into the gloves, flexing as she got a feel for them before resting them onto the steering wheel, turning the wheel right to left and feeling the car respond in kind.

"You ready Vi?" Loris, her race engineer sparked into her earpiece.

"Aren't I always?"

"You're clear to go for formation lap." He announced, just as the pit crew member of her motioned her car forward, ensuring both Jinx and Isha were in the clear.

Applying the gas, Vi inched the car forwards and out of the garage, the crowd thundering as they watched car by car exit out of the pit lane. The excitement was infectious as it roared from the crowd and settled deep within Vi's bones.

Later on

"Time to car behind is 1.576 seconds. It's Kiramman in P4."

Son of a bitch, Vi thought. She had been trying to shake Kiramman all race long to no avail. She shouldn't have been surprised with the way Kiramman had woven through the mid-field along with her when they had both qualified P8 and P9 respectively.

Turn 8 was coming up, notorious for running drivers off the track with the sharp angle. Biting her lip, Vi risked a glance at her side mirror, seeing nothing but water spray from her tires. Fuck, she couldn't see shit. Deciding to brake late, Vi went into the corner hot, typical of her racing style, rain or not, and was nearly clear of the corner when she felt something heavy just fucking slam into the right side of her chassis, knocking her head to the side as she struggled to control the car as she spun out from the collision.

"Oh nooooo!" The commentator exclaimed over the collective gasps from the crowds in the stands. "Looks like both Lanes and Kiramman are out of the race after that heavy crash! Both appear to be okay but that's the end of the race for them. Unfortunately the rain didn't do them any favors with low visibility and threatened tire grip."

"Agreed Marty, that clash between the titans was unavoidable. Looks like Lanes didn't see Kiramman in her blind spot going into the corner with the amount of water spray. And Kiramman caught too much of the curb going inside and that was all it took for her car to spin into Lanes. Not much you could do to avoid that."

"Disappointing race weekend for the both of them. They won't be happy with that DNF, especially Kiramman who had a DNF last week after touching wheels with the other Shimmer Wolf driver, Sevika, who slipped past in P3 after that racing incident."

"Shimmer Wolf sure is putting up a fight against Kiramman, both tough drivers who don't know the meaning of backing down. I'm sure team principal Marcus will have some words with his supposedly lead driver, heir or not to Kiramman Racing."

Vi barely acknowledged Caitlyn as she stormed towards the Shimmer Wolf garage, hands jerking angrily as she pulled off her racing helmet and gloves. She wasn't going to need it considering she had been run off track and into the barriers by the Kiramman Racing driver who was still stubbornly tailing her as she had all weekend long. Anger boiling over, Vi whipped around, shoving a finger into Caitlyn's chest, causing the blue haired driver to ground into an abrupt halt should she bowl them both over. "Why don't you fuck right off Kiramman." Vi growled, barely noticing the film crew hovering anxiously around the two, cameras steady and rolling. "Haven't you done enough damage already?"

"You surely aren't suggesting that crash was my fault?" She replied indignantly, her posh accent just grating against Vi's nerves.

Vi rolled her eyes, faintly aware of the way her drenched bangs stuck annoyingly against her forehead, a couple strands nearly poking her eye out. "Of course not." She snarked. "How dare I ever accuse the Perfect Piltie Princess of making a mistake."

Eyes narrowed dangerously, a spark of intensity simmering beneath the vibrant blues. Caitlyn knocked Vi's pointed finger away as she crossed her arms - the surprisingly toned arms highlighting against her wet racing suit with the way the fabric now clung to her lean yet athletically toned figure from the rain. Vi supposed she was quite valiant in the way she forced her eyes to maintain focus on Caitlyn's face and not on... other features.

"Come on Cupcake, I was ahead in the corner, I had the inside line. You didn't have room for that shit overtake to begin with."

Vi watched with concealed interest as Caitlyn worked her jaw back and forth. She had to admit, the Kiramman before her was a steel fortress when it came to keeping her emotions in check. Today however, appeared that the seemingly perfect mask was cracking. And Vi was going to enjoy shattering it completely.

"Doesn't really matter does it? We all know how the stewards will call it even after they "review" the footage. Must be nice to have the FIA in your back pocket."

Caitlyn's jaw clenched down so tightly Vi was surprised she didn't crack a molar. "Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."

Vi lifted her hands in mock surrender. "Hey now. I'm just saying aloud what everyone else is thinking."

Caitlyn shook her head indignantly, brushing past Vi with a shove to her shoulder. "Oh piss off."

"Go fuck a duck!"

Freljord Grand Prix - one week later

"Vi." Loris' voice chimed in her ears. "Stewards has announced that the overtake on Turn 17 was illegal. We've been ordered to give the position back to Kiramman."

"Fuck!" Vi shouted, knocking her head back into the seat and slamming her hand down on the wheel. "Can we dispute it? I was clean going into that corner and you know it. It's not my fault the Piltie Princess can't handle the pressure and locked up. If she knew how to drive she would've been able to keep her car on track."

"We're looking into it. In the meanwhile we need to give the position back."

Ignoring the directive, Vi shifted gears, pushing her car even faster through the chicane. The Shimmer Wolf model was a beast in turns. "Vi." Loris sounded exasperated. "Do you copy? Give the position back."

From the side mirror Vi caught the navy and gold car weaving through the chicane smooth as butter which only made her blood boil even more. Almost too easily, the Kiramman driver caught up despite the lock up and slight detour off track. The front wing of the Kiramman car was nearly touching her rear tires and Vi gripped her wheel even tighter. "This is wrong and you know it."

Even through the mic, Vi could hear the deep sigh. "I know Vi but we need to give the position back. You'll get her again. We just need to keep it clean."

Vi shook her head. Keep it clean? She has been clean all race long. The only one racing dirty was the annoying driver currently on her ass. Bending rules and regulations to suit her wins, having the FIA in her corner and God knows who else, fuck it was all just unfair. How naive Vi was to think it'll be an even playing field as she entered the F1 circuit. It wasn't like Janna Shimmer Wolf Racing was desperate for coin. They had a reliable engine, genius engineers and a supportive all-round team. It was vastly different from when she grew up forced to race Frankenstein-karts, pieces and parts salvaged and put together with meticulous care (and a whole lot of prayers) just to be able to compete with the big guns.

Jinx and her had been the laughing stock at every single damn race. Not one but two drivers from Zaun of all places was almost unheard of, not since Vander and Silco's era. And they treated them with as much respect like the two black marks staining the otherwise prestige sport everyone thought they were.

They were on the straight and any other time, Vi would've been pushing her engine to it's extent, draining every ounce of battery to gain as much time but with the Loris' orders in her ear she lifted her foot off the pedal just enough for the car to slow to allow the Kiramman car to pass.

Anger surged through her at the unjust predicament. Honestly she couldn't think of anything beyond the constant mantra of "unfair, unfair, unfair" as it drummed and bounced inside her head, the chanting getting louder and louder with every passing second, her vision nearly painted red in anger with it all.

Flicking her eye to the mirror, Vi watched as the Kiramman car start to make its move, sliding smoothly to the right in order to make the pass. The front wing of the navy and gold car was just a little over half clear to the right when Vi tapped her brakes just long enough for her car to slow immensely. Bracing for impact, she felt the Kiramman car plow top speed into her rear, clearly not anticipating the move.

"FUCKING HELL VI!" Loris screamed, his voice nearly blowing out her ear drums.

She felt the back of her car crumple after the hit as both cars skidded across the track only coming to a stop when they slammed into the barriers, mixed pieces of debris flying through the air and scattering across the track, jarring both drivers from the collision. Over the ringing in her ears, Loris' non-stop cursing, she heard the shocked gasp of the grandstand as the formerly P2 and P3 was knocked out of the race with less than 10 laps remaining.

"Red flag, red flag."

Yeah no shit, Vi thought wryly, eyeing the red flag waving on the sidelines just meters from her and the crash.

While the Kiramman car had ended sideways in the barriers, Vi ended up perpendicular to the track, allowing her to observe every fucking remaining car drive past her. Her angle also provided her with an unobstructed view of the Kiramman driver. The reaction from the crowd, just behind her was deafening. She could hear muffled taunting and curses, surprised that most of them were directed at the Kiramman driver and not herself, especially after that admittedly dick kamikaze move.

The gleaming gold race helmet - pretentious, Vi thought snidely - shook in disbelief and Vi supposed she was lucky she wasn't able to hear what had to be a string of that annoying posh shit that Piltie's passed as cursing, as Caitlyn repeatedly punched her steering wheel in frustration.

Vi smirked despite herself. Good to know that the Kiramman driver was prone to emotions other than detached coolness.

In the corner of her eye she could see the safety car deploy, and Vi revved the engine, pleased to hear it running, her tires squealing in place. "How's the car Vi?"

Testing the gas as soon as the last of the cars were passed and she was in the clear, Vi urged the car forward. It wasn't going to be pretty but granted the pit lane wasn't too far off she was sure she could limp the car as graciously as she could back to the garage.

Amusedly, she noted that Kiramman wasn't afforded that luxury, her left front tire was completely wrecked and blown, the front wing or what was left of it dangled precariously from the crushed nose and the other tire barely hung onto its axel. Yeah, that car was done for and it appeared that Kiramman had came to the same conclusion, pressing the button that shut off the engine, than working her nimble fingers to loosen the steering wheel from the shaft before unbuckling herself from the six-point safety harness. The crowd jeered and booed as the driver slipped out, shoulders hunched over dejectedly as she observed for a moment the extent of the damages before waving off the race marshall who had came bolting up the sidelines to check on their conditon, before vaulting over the concrete divider separating the track from the narrow pathway leading to the pit lane. That's gotta be one hell of a walk of shame, Vi thought.

"Vi. We need to talk when you return."

It wasn't Loris in her earpiece anymore. Fuck. She could practically feel his disappointment in that sentence alone. "Yeah, I hear you Vander."

Vi had just climbed out of the cockpit, where she parked the damaged car just in front of her garage, pulling and shoving her racing gloves into her suit pockets when she heard the startled shouts of her SW pit crew. "Hey you can't be here! Get the hell out!" Vi heard Mylo yell out.

Undeterred footsteps echoed against the pavement as Vi turned towards the commotion, an inkling of what was to come.

"What in the ever loving hell was that Lanes?" Caitlyn stormed from down the pit lane, catching everyone's attention in the vicinity. Instantly the media personnel allowed in the paddock gathered, they could smell the juicy story in the air and the ever alert documentary crew had their cameras poised at the clashing drivers in excitement. Distantly she could feel her crew coming in to support her as well. Vi clocked the way Jinx had stood slowly from where she had been observing the damages.

Vi supposed by the time she had gingerly lumbered her car through the pit lane and with Caitlyn Kiramman's freakishly long legs, they were bound to arrive at nearly the same time.

"Don't know what you're talking 'bout Cupcake." Vi shrugged, attempting to walk away. She could see Vander make his way from the pit wall, a look of concern and disappointment apparent across his features and her blood boiled. "I was slowing down to give you the pass. Can't blame me you don't know how to make a clean overtake for a position you don't deserve."

"Don't play coy Lanes." Caitlyn growled. "That was a shit dirty move and you know it. Brake checking me in the middle of a race? That was reckless and juvenile. There's no place for such games in F1, grow the fuck up."

Vi let out a dark chuckle. "You fucking want to talk about driving dirty? You better take a good long look in the mirror before you go around lecturing me about playing dirty. This was a long time coming Piltie Princess."

With a shout, Caitlyn hurled her helmet and HANS device to the ground, uncaring where it had bounced and landed as she surged forward, fisting a handful of Vi's racing suit between her fingers. No Zaunite worth their shit would ever allow someone to lay hands on them and Vi, well, she was the the scrappiest of all Zaunites. Her own bandaged hands came up instinctively, her hands gripping Caitlyn's collar and shoving her back none too gently, genuinely surprised when Caitlyn held on.

Blood rushed to her head, heart thumping inside her chest that all she could hear and see was the Kiramman driver in front of her, not even registering as other hands shot out to hold her back. Not realizing how they had pulled and shoved at Caitlyn as well. The cries of "hey, let it go!" and "no fighting in the paddock!" fell on deaf ears.

"You don't know fuck all about me!" Caitlyn shouted, shoving forward, her fist nearly throat punching Vi with all the jostling happening around them.

"You fucking Pilties are all the same! And you, Kiramman, are the worst of the worst!"

Vi returned the jab, her elbow catching Caitlyn across the jaw and knocking the driver off balance for a second.

Around them the crowd thundered as they shouted out encouragements and taunts, just as caught up in the moment as the drivers, their skirmish was being broadcasted on the big screen for all to see, no one interested in the race that was still happening in the background.

"HEY!" Vander's voice boomed above the cacophony. "KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW!" Two large hands gripped tightly to the collars of both drivers, easily ripping the two apart where the previously six pair of hands could barely get the two to separate.

The roar in Vi's ears began to settle, the post-fight feeling she hadn't experienced since her teenage years was slowly wearing off. "Vi, walk away. Now." Vander commanded before turning to Caitlyn with narrowed eyes. "And you. Don't ever fucking touch my driver again. You understand me Kiramman?"

Turning her nose slightly up, Caitlyn nodded stiffly. "Now fucking get out of here before you two make a bigger mess out of this shit." He said, shoving them both away.

Rage simmering and appropriately chastised Vi turned on her heels, whipping her race helmet off her head and slamming it on the ground as she stormed through the garage, ignoring the voices from the commentators droning in the background from the wall mounted tv.

"Looks like the rivalry between Lanes and Kiramman has finally come to a boil after a season long of tussles, penalties and crashes and we're only half way through! Both drivers caught on camera in an honest to god fisticuffs just in front of the Shimmer Wolf driver's garage. Are we watching amateur boxing or F1 racing for crying out loud?"

"I don't know Marty, but I can tell you that the fans ate that up. Heated emotions and passion is what both drivers showed us today. It's good entertainment at least."

"Yeah well if I'm Kiramman Racing's team principal I wouldn't be impressed with that showing. Come on, third DNF in a row? With how much in car damages to date? And duking it out in the paddock? You might freaking bloody think this is Kiramman's first year in karting! You'd expect better from someone like her."

"One hundred percent agree with you there Marty and going by the boos from the crowd I think you've got more than a handful of people in agreement. But let's be real here. This is Caitlyn Kiramman for god's sake. Her own team isn't going to replace her, not when mommy and daddy has a say."

"Well that's just the crux of it all, isn't it?"

Three weeks later in the midst of "silly season" Kiramman Racing announces that they've dropped lead driver Caitlyn Kiramman for the upcoming '25 F1 season.

TBC

Previously:

F1 Caitlyn Headcanon:

https://www.tumblr.com/stebeans/769238244811505664/arcane-f1au-my-headcanon?source=share

Caitlyn's F1 Interview

https://www.tumblr.com/stebeans/770436973830848512/arcane-f1au?source=share

Caitlyn's g!p sexy times:

https://www.tumblr.com/stebeans/770640335450849280/arcane-f1au?source=share