#JINX WAS READY TO DIE BY HER SISTER’S HANDS

[sofokl13]

tw: suicide

ok you know what?? i may not let jinx go actually. i think her conclusion can go both ways. there's some evidence she might've lived and i can't imagine riot actually killing of the most beloved character like this. but what if they do?

i know people have very strong opinions on characters sacrificing themselves, especially if said characters could achieve redemption any other way. they say it's depressing and shows that when you're broken enough, the only way is to kys. but, my two cents as someone who's been battling suicidal thoughts for years and maybe yearned for a sacrifice like this... i don't disapprove of this message. i think people deserve to go out on their terms. suicide isn't inherently bad. it's a human right. and jinx has been through so much that maybe it was the best choice for her. after all, that's what silco said; the only way to end the cycle is to opt out. she was ready to do that with burning everything left after her jinx-style, but in the end, she was ready to go out like a hero. instead of simply killing herself, she made it an act of love for her sister. she went out on her own terms.

on the other hand, if she's actually alive, it could be explained in a satisfactory way too (because IMO characters magically turning up alive isn't a much better trope either). as i wrote above, she lives like a jinx but doesn't die like one. it's her ultimate act. well, what if this is where jinx dies? her christening. jinx was born in the flames and died in the flames. instead, powder comes back. she passed the test. she's free now.

idk, this is going to be a controversial post probably, but i wanted to pour out my thoughts and feelings. i do hope jayce, viktor and heimerdinger don't come back because IMO their arcs were finished perfectly. but jinx is a more complex and volatile character. schrodinger's cat, even.

either way, she will always live in my heart. thank you, riot and fortiche.

[crystallizsch]

jinx arcane i love you you've done nothing wrong whatsoever

if i had a nickel for every time i liked a character with side bangs like this and braids i’d-

[fumifooms]

Jinx’s eyes and lost innocence

This sequence.

A bomb like she made in her youth. Except that unlike then, this one works, this one explodes… With paint and glitter and powder, instead of intending to kill or hurt.

The man who shielded himself from it sure that it would be his end, surprised, checking himself for wounds with disbelief, covered in paint, as if it was just some harmless prank. Relief. But the second surprise comes with the sound of the gun behind him. We see their eyes shift, both of them, her steeling and readying her shot without urgency and him understanding with urgency that yes, he is going to die, at her hand, and the bomb was just a fluke, a cruel prank, a distraction at best.

And this. These are the seconds that interest me, what ties it all together. The way we linger. The way she lingers. To, during a fight scene, slow down the pace to watch her face as she pulls the trigger and feels the recoil of her gun, watch her take in how she just took another life, watch her mouth part and her eyelids flutter when she notices the kid.

There are not enough emotions on her face for someone who just killed, but also there are more than there should be for a cold-blooded killer showing as much practice ease as she is. Does she always have this moment when killing someone? Did seeing her paint bomb go off, shooting someone covered in her paint and glitter of it, make her feel anything? Did she see the change in her that empowered her that she both loathes and clings onto in that split moment, too? Why did she even remake that first bomb? Why make it work and make it work to shoot off harmless fun showy things? Why indulge in this remnant of her past, why with that innocent intent intact stills if it didn’t get warped with the use of distracting an enemy to better sneak attack? Why taint that memory? Is the reaction only when she sees the kid?

Why does the camera linger, why does she linger? We’re not sure, and I’m sure she herself doesn’t know, but what we know is that she’s changed, and yeah, we’re low.

The kid, watching the fresh corpse fall, with curiosity more than anything.

Jinx with the gun gesture, reflecting their earlier conversation, referencing it. A shared secret, shared smirks, a relationship forming. Complicity. Jinx is knowingly or not taking her under her wing, shaping her by example like mentorship. A little girl that she resembled once getting desensitized to violence at her hand, encouraged to see killing positively. Empowering.

Episode 2 explores her past and upbringing in many ways, talking about Silco, her many mistakes, seeking out Sevika the last remnant of a person of her life with him and sticking with her, doing something for her despite knowing she should be betraying her any minute now. But fast forward to episode 3, the next time she has to confront it and herself.

Jinx praises Vi for finally using the right name for her, Jinx, and Vi talks about how she’ll kill her so she stops sullying the memory of Powder, blahblahblah. They exchange some punches and rows of bullets, we see Jinx’s eyes take in and calculate and shift here too, react and then react. Vi using the same mirror Caitlyn shot into intending to kill Jinx to shield herself from Jinx’s shot.

But this is it. When Vi uses her huge metal hextech fists to rip her invention, her gun, apart. Jinx is not the only one sullying memories, Vi is here, as an enforcer for Piltover, using Vander’s choice of weapon, and she uses it to hurt her, destroy her things, her inventions whose worth was such a source of insecurity and identity growing up.

This is when Jinx sees so very closely, at the other end of it, her sister’s rage and murderous intent as she rips metal apart.

We see her expression shift again and again during these few shots and the ones before and after. Her face as she watches Vi’s through the wires of her gun. As Vi roars. She grows less confident, less sure, more nervous, dare I say more fearful.

The music kicking up. Jinx’s face right then cutting to Jayce’s with a very similar expression, staring at something he doesn’t understand. "What have we done" he says.

Vi has always always been stronger than Jinx, inventions were how she made herself strong, and Vi can destroy them, Vi can rip metal apart.

And oh. Oh. This is truly really for real now. A fight to the death. No punches pulled.

She crawls away from Vi and it’s only the hextech malfunction that saves her.

Sevika smiles at Caitlyn biting her hand, with newfound respect as she draws blood. At her will, her bloodthirst, how far she’ll lower herself to hurt and fight. This is a scene about corruption arcs.

Jinx stands before Vi whose symbol of corruption just failed her, chained her to the ground vulnerable, and Jinx pulls the trigger just like Caitlyn, just like Vi was ready to do. No punches pulled.

Except they are. Jinx has steeled herself but Vi is softening. Vi is strong but she is vulnerable too and she can be made weak with Jinx’s guns and bombs.

And despite this when Jinx falls from her own weapon misfiring at a shot meant to kill her Vi is reaching out to catch, not hurt. Hold, not claw. Deflect, not counter.

Push, not punch.

Jinx’s eye shines pink like shimmer and this is when Vi shifts on the offensive, just before Jinx fires the shot that barelly misses her as she throws Jinx roughly at a wall.

And now they’ve fully switched places. The longer Vi has to fight Jinx the more she’s conflicted, the more Jinx loses herself to the fight the more she rages.

The chorus swells. "Just when you’ve done it all / you will turn it all / to ashes and blood" No words left to say, nothing left to mend.

She’s ready to die when she lunges at Vi with only her fists, she expects to die, hopes so. Knows from experience their respective results in that punching arcade game full well, even if she were to try with all her might, having tried all her might. She’s felt cursed by fate for a long time and she accepts it, just wants to go out with the most fireworks, to have been seen, to have mattered one way or another.

Vi punches the altar next to Jinx even as she’s got her pinned down defenseless and she readies her fist. And she has all the time to do it, she could have done it, except she couldn’t. And it costs them the chance to killl her.

The scene as a whole has a split focus on Jayce, Jinx and Vi centrally, and the song lyrics match that quite well. The full ones lyrics are worth looking at but to keep it quick: "How does it feel to reach the line that no one ever got to cross? Does it make you a god now?" A rethoric question of course, the song spells it out like it’s a damning wake-up call. The scene is all about regret. Our choices have led us here, it says. Jayce is dreading and afraid of what he’s done, Jinx is empty and as self-loathing as ever, Vi wants to stop blaming herself and is still conflicted on what side she should be on. "Catch the fire burning out your soul / Just make it die or you will turn it all / To ashes and blood" Jinx, accepting this is where she dies. She’s said in episode two she wants to kill the last of her family, but we all know it’s a lie, she’s never wanted to destroy and break things, never wanted to cause ashes and blood. She wants to fix things. She wants things to fix. She just wanted glitter bombs and arcade games. She wants there to be something left she can fix, but it’s all just dust now.

Jinx has never been in that place before, she took the time to draw all those Powders and Vis on pillars while waiting for her to show up so they can kill each other. She’s lingering on the past again, bringing it into the now to use it as a stage for battle.

Jayce is reckoning with the consequences of what he’s created and done, that he might cause a lot of ashes and blood. Vi being corrupted too, by Piltover, by rage, by Jinx, by Powder. Vi is being turned to ashes and blood, this is what jinx has made of her, what she’s made of herself. Vi is being corrupted too, by Piltover, by rage, by Jinx, by Powder. Vi has changed, too. Their whole society, their whole lives, their world figuratively and literally, it’s all crumbling.

"Every sin will be forgiven / If you lay down your weapons to the ground" But that’s not really how this works, is it. Jayce or Jinx can’t fix what they’ve done. Vi can’t say this, can’t fix her. No, they’ve dug their graves and the ground is where they’ll all be. Powder is dead.

Just when you think you’ve lost everything. Everything can get ruined and marred a little more, always. The past is not only in the past, it’s here and it’s haunting. Jinx will keep sullying the memory of Powder for Vi and Vi will keep tainting Jinx’s memories of her sister and their childhood.

[mvmnbnv]

Do you know what’s annoying me in this fandom ?

The fact that despite everything the show has been doing with ‘caitvi’; despite the fucking abuse; the lack of acknowledgment of that; how sped up their fucking relationship has been; dumb ass caitvi fans are literally STILL frothing at the mouth for the crumbs they’ve been given. All the while thinking it’s actual hot shit. I’m so fucking annoyed. Nobody is recognizing how badly the show is taking Caitlyn and Violet’s stupid romance arc. I you loved a ship so much, I figured you’d want it to be respected??? Doesn’t seem like the fans give a shit. ESPECIALLY about fucking Violet.

They just keep talking about wanting Cait and Vi to have hatesex. Man, fuck this fandom fr…

Everytime I see people talking about them having sex after all this I die on the inside. And yeah...there's just no respect for vi...like at all. From fans or from the show. Either ppl are so desperate they'll take anything or have already romanticized these gross behaviors to the point of thinking its cute. And now you have ppl trying to go "see?? Take that caitlyn haters! She does love vi!" .....mf based on what??? Second hand accounts?? Her being more than ready to hit vi again?? Not even asking how she's been at all?? Hitting her to begin with, leaving her for a year and fucking someone else?? How does this scream she loves vi to anyone...and the way vi had more anger for jinx than she did her is so annoying to me....the way she apparently still trusts her bothers the shit out of me, especially after that trust was literally broken. I don't think fans or the writers respect vi at all. And I'm not about to be gaslit into thinking this shit is good. Hell I have jinx who despite having every right to drop vi and want her gone after what she'd done she still goes looking for her and wants a relationship...she still gives a shit about her sister and looks out for her at her lowest. And I'm supposed to settle with someone who aside from what other characters say I can't even tell if they give af or not...? I'm so tirrreed

[sequenceofmind]

this image will continue to hunt me forever. the acceptance, the defeat. jinx did not care for her life anymore and she was ready to die at the hands of her sister. and vi's expression when she realises just how suicidal her baby sister is...

[violent-viscera]

(okay, i apologize i initially wrote this post as a reblog but i decided i wanted it to have its own separate post)

can we talk about jinx following vi around after their s2a1 fight? bc as much as i love the sisters, there's no two way out of recognizing that the girls were out for BLOOD. no mercy, no empathy, no affection.

look at the stoicism and determination on both sisters. wavering in their convictions, standing at opposite ends of the bank, one wearing blue for piltover and one wearing the grit of zaun.

next, these girls are going at each other. guns ablaze, iron fists curled and ready for action.

and arcane’s signature: blood and spit. completely refusing to shy away from how hard these are going at each other.

all this and vi revving up to deliver the final blow and jinx resigned to die at her sister’s hands.

and if theories are correct and a significant time lapse happens in act two (which is basically guaranteed)…i NEED and am fiending to know why jinx shows up and checks up on vi.

how did we end up here?

[lipstickchainsaw]

Alright, I have one more Arcane post in me before Act II (or maybe two, if I can find the time to get my thoughts on Jinx as Janna in order), so let's talk about Vi and Caitlyn, what they did to and for each other, and the fallout of episode 3.

Vi is a notoriously protective person; it's been her driving motivation from the very beginning, and the great tragedy of Vi as a character is that she has to watch herself lose the very people she's trying to protect often for reasons outside of her control.

Because her protectiveness, her self-conception as the older sibling, is the rock she built her identity on. It is the thing that kept her going in prison, even as the who she was protecting her sister from shifted from Piltover and its enforcers to Silco and his goons. It provided her with stable ground, and she needs that stable ground to fight from.

And then Acts II and III of season 1 are all about destroying that stable ground. Her home is no longer what she thought it was, her sister is so very different, what is she doing all this for? Who is the person she's protecting here? She burns every bridge with the Undercity in order to resolve this tension, tears down her childhood home, wrecks her second home in a (rather pointless) fight with Sevika, joins in an extrajudicial raid against her people, is willing to step over a dead kid to answer this question.

And in the end, she no longer recognises her sister at all.

All that's left, then, the only place she has left to go, is with the sole companion throughout this quest, the woman from Piltover, an enforcer, hell, a council woman's daughter, the woman who seemed to get it. That could be her rock. That could be the one she was useful for. That could give her the stability of purpose she needed.

So she clung to Caitlyn, trailed after her like a lost puppy, but that came with ever more compromises. Little ones, that no doubt irked, like being offered a job as an Enforcer, like hearing she was one of the good ones, having her people called animals to her face. She doesn't get upset about any of that (compare her to the way Viktor responds to Jayce when he crosses that line, and how Jayce actually reconsiders his stance as a result), she can't get upset about any of that.

Because if she got too upset about that, she might lose her rock, she might lose what keeps her here. She can't press Caitlyn on this, because Caitlyn might show herself as having changed, and then where does she go?

So she compromises further. She wears the uniform, she gasses the people of Zaun, ignores the moments where the Strike Team is more brutal than necessary, and when the cognitive dissonance here threatens to become too much, she tries to resolve it by begging Caitlyn to stay who she is, who Vi got to know in season 1, who Vi thought she was.

But when she has Jinx at her mercy, when Jinx is ready to die by her hand, Vi sees Powder in her eyes yet again, and hesitates (because Powder wants to die, but the world won't let her), but it doesn't stop her. What stops her is Isha throwing herself on top of Jinx to protect her, and what breaks the cognitive dissonance isn't even the thought that Caitlyn might shoot her, it's the fact that killing Jinx in front of Isha would create another Jinx.

And this time, Vi is the monster, because while she begged Caitlyn not to change, she had not realised how much she'd changed. How she forewent the 'good heart' Vander so praised her for. As this snaps into focus, she realises this is one bridge too far, one compromise she can't countenance.

And it gets her called evil by virtue of her blood.

So she loses the last bit of stable ground, and her step away from her moral event horizon sees her lose everything.

For Caitlyn- well, okay, look, I'm just going to quote what I said about her sociological role before the season started:

She has seen just enough from the Graysons of the world to see that as a more honest way of living life than what her mother does, and so she decides to slum it, insisting she should be treated just as everyone else, unaware of how her class privilege affects any of those interactions as well. Seeing it as a more honest living, as a goal to target with a single-minded focus, does lead her to approach the problem with a bit more understanding, allows her to actually see the Undercity and its many aspects, but even then, she's still coming from above, and her family is still responsible for much of that suffering, and when that check comes home, her appreciation for those nuances doesn't exactly survive.

Nailed it.

It has been noted that the name 'Kiramman' shows up a lot more in season 2 than it did in season 1, and that's because, in season 1, Caitlyn was removed from her sociological role. As she approached and moved beyond Grayson's appreciation for the Undercity, she got to live that more honest life she'd always dreamed of. She got to experience the Undercity alongside Vi, not as Caitlyn Kiramman, heir to one of the most influential families in Piltover, but as just another person.

She spent most of season 1 separated from her class position, but in season 2, she no longer gets to have that little luxury, because her last name starts mattering more than her again (last names the people of the Undercity don't have), and while she resists its trappings at first ('Hextech may keep us alive, Jayce, but it's not what will save us'), by the time she gets the key to the family records, accepts becoming the representative of the Kiramman legacy, she has very much lost that battle.

The thing that makes the Grey so thematically beautiful is that it is very much a representation of Caitlyn's grief choking Zaun, as she undoes her mother's good work to try to avenge her. It's a very rich representation, too, because it also narrows her perspective, and worsens the problems that already come with the single-minded, targeted focus that her sniper represents.

Because throughout it all, Vi's been there, and Vi, to Caitlyn, has been the proof that she is still living that more honest life. That she hasn't fully lost herself to grief and anger, that she's still able to see the good in Zaunites, so she can't be too far gone.

And so, as she takes aim at Jinx, knowing for certain that she'll make the shot (and justifiably so, I think), she doesn't see the stuff surrounding it, the consequences of shooting Jinx, and the way it will perpetuate the cycle of trauma and violence through Isha.

And she hasn't been able to see the journey Vi's been going through, and how Vi responds to her actions.

So when Vi resists her, she can either take a step back and ask herself what the fuck she's doing (like Jayce did), but that'd mean changing the target. The alternative, then, is that Vi is also one of Them, instead of one of Us. Because the position of 'one of the good ones' is inherently fragile.

And without Vi to keep her honest, to keep her Caitlyn instead of Kiramman, she lets Ambessa seduce her with that very name into becoming a dictator.

[vole-mon-amour]

2x04, part 2.

These two having this kind of dynamic in s1 would've been fun. Also, the fact that Sevika didn't turn away from her after Jinx had that meltdown and almost shot her. She and Silco :)

She's like a fun aunt or an older sister. Love the dynamic.

You guys don't know your heroes. Show some respect.

That's right <3 That's what you get. Get her ass, Sevika.

I'm in love with her. She's slaying this haircut.

The way Jinx says it, lol.

The way they draw tears and spit this season is over the top.

I don't think topsiders understand how screwed they are because it's Sevika and Jinx who rescue them. A symbol, indeed.

Look at this beautiful design.

I feel like the writing is very OOC for Jinx this season, especially compared to s2. True to the game, though. Or maybe they just want to show how Silco's death is affecting her.

Okay, she's Viktor now. Cult found and all of that. (But if Viktor dies, does that mean Jinx will die too?)

I'm feeling.

She's just a kid and she deserves better :( Honestly, fuck topsiders.

And Sevika is proud of Jinx.

I love this family so much. Silco is missed. I wonder what he'd thought of Isha. He could be gentle and sweet (and he was with Jinx).

Gotta admire Sevika for being ready to fight with one hand, and a human one at that. What a badass woman.

They are carrying this season on their bare shoulders. The irony is, that beast is kind of on their side. Kind of. If we forget that he's an experiment for the sake of testing him and his strenght. Dude doesn't care about people anymore.

Look at her and her design. I'm still so in love with this.

the fact that something in him still recognizes her ;_; And the fact that he can TALK, and he still has consciousness. Oh, we're in for such a wild ride.

[crimson8x]

Watching arcane the experience

Act 1 vi and powder lost their parents vander milo and claggor die vi is alone left alive and she's met with the realisation that it was powders monkey bomb she in rage hits her then removes herself from the situation then gets kidnapped taken to Stillwater prison for 7 years powder is taken by silco

Act 2 the short lived reunion jinx sees Cait the enforcer and immediately turns on vi during fighting vi realising what powder has become before being taken by the firelights jinx once again lost her sister

ACT 3 jinx thinks that silco will hand her over to piltover and vi has replaced her with an enforcer of all people at the bridge she was ready to die but silco saved her even though it was excruciating for her now she kidnapps vi and Caitlin who've broken up Cait is faced with a difficult decision her hesitation leads to jinx getting the upper hand jinx in her delusions shoots silco because he pointed the gun at vi then she fully accepts herself as jinx and shoots towards piltover

S2 ACT 1

Caitlyns mom died Vi begrudgingly puts on the enforcer uniform Jinx sees vi as an enforcer and has a breakdown vi asks Caitlin not to change later realising it's too late at the end caitlyns hitting vi at the same spot her stab wound which she helped heal leaving her alone in pain

Act 2 vi is loosing herself in fighting as a pit fighter ISA is taken by the enforcers jinx gets her back but is left fighting Warwick who recognises her as powder powder goes to vi and vi chokes her before coming with her they find vander he was getting better then jayce shoots Viktor making him go feral isa shoots at Warwick

Act 3

more heartbreak to come

Can't we have nice things for more than 5 seconds

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

On Death's Doorstep (pt 40/53?)

[<<First],,,,[<Prev],[Next>] [ODD Masterlist]

Word count: 1547

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Creativitwins

Warnings: suggestive clothing, alcohol, shenanigans, crimes

~~~START~~~

“ROMAN!” 

Roman jolted awake as their sibling threw themself onto his bed, causing him to bounce slightly. Remus didn’t seem to care that he’d been sleeping as she wiggled her way up until their head was on the pillow next to his.  

“What?” Roman groaned, their attempts to pull the duvet over his head hampered by Remus weighing the covers down.  

He used to have his own floor, so it was at least a little harder for Remus to bother them during their beauty sleep, but now he was staying in her guest room, and they could barge in whenever she wanted. Like when he was trying to sleep, for instance.  

“It’s midnight,” Remus explained, as though that meant anything.  

“So?” If Roman ducked a little, he could hide their face under the corner of the duvet.  

“It’s our birthday.” 

Oh.  

Their birthday.  

They’d forgotten about their birthday, what with everything else going on and all.  

Roman shimmied his hand out from under the comforter and held his pinky out to their sister.  

“Make a wish,” they said. She twined her own pinky with his and they both closed their eyes.  

This was their tradition, to make a wish on their birthday. They didn’t know when they’d been born, so they just did it at midnight.  

There were rules to the wish:  

It had to be lofty — too lofty to actually achieve, at least before their next birthday, anyway.  

It had to be selfish — no wasting it on anyone else.  

It had to be different — no wishing for the same thing every year.  

With those rules in mind, Roman closed their eyes and wished to be cast as the first gay Disney prince — his wishes were usually pretty similar every year, but he made sure they varied enough to follow the rules.  

“Roman?” Remus whispered after they had spent a few minutes in silence, eyes still closed.  

“Yeah?” He had almost drifted off again, but they fought to keep awake.  

“Can I sleep here tonight?” 

“Yeah.” They gave up on staying awake, but they thought he heard Remus whisper a thanks before they were out.  

The next morning, by unspoken mutual agreement, the two got dressed in their most flamboyant clothes and took full advantage of being two of the three people who could safely leave the building by hitting the town. They always preferred to be just the two of them on their birthday, which really worked out this year as Roman highly doubted either of their friends remembered — heck, Roman had almost forgotten, he could hardly blame Janus or Logan if they had forgotten too.  

The first stop on the birthday docket was their favorite cafe where their favorite baristas, a blue and pink haired woman named Jinx, was ready with their usual, plus two birthday cake pops.  

“Birthday pops for the birthday twins,” Jinx laughed as Remus snatched up her order hungrily.  

“Jinx, my love, I don’t know what we would do without you!” Roman pretended to swoon.  

“Die miserable, I’m afraid,” Jinx shook her head in mock sadness.  

“All too true!” Roman agreed. “Alas, if only I were in to women, and you attracted to men, we would be unstoppable!” 

“The gods are conspiring to keep up apart!” Jinx pretended to swoon as well.  

“Well if you ever get tired of flirting with Roman,” Remus rolled their eyes, having devoured their entire breakfast sandwich already. “I’m always available to be the other woman.” 

“Betrayed!” Roman cried dramatically. “And by my own flesh and blood no less!” 

Jinx laughed again, but valiantly attempted to sober up as another customer came through the door. “I still have to work, but you two paint the town red for me — or green, as the case may be — alright? Happy birthday.” 

“Goodbye, my beloved!” 

“Bye Jinx!” 

The two left the cafe, and once back out in the sunlight, Roman couldn’t resist twirling and allowing their scarlet skirt to flare around them. For just a moment, their spirits soared, then reality came crashing back on him.  

“We’re bad friends,” they observed glumly, the sunny weather no longer reflecting his mood.  

“Nah,” Remus waved his concern off. “We can’t exactly help anyone at this stage, and lying around feeling like shit isn’t gonna help anyone at any stage.” 

“You don’t feel bad that we’re treating ourselves?” 

“Nope! As Janus likes to say: self-care, bitch! They’d want us to be selfish today, as long as we aren’t getting in their way — which we’re not.” 

“A lot’s changed in a year.” Roman observed.  

“Hmm,” Remus agreed halfheartedly. “Maybe by next year we can overthrow the government!” 

“Please tell me that’s not what you wished for,” Roman begged — that sounded like a lot of work.  

“Nah, it’s what I wished for last year.” 

Roman stopped in his tracks to groan, but Remus kept walking, forcing Roman to rush to catch up.  

The second stop in their birthday outing was an occult shoppe in the mall that sold candles that Roman liked and oddities that Remus liked. Before and after the shoppe, they did some window shopping — also known as casing the joint, a birthday wasn’t a birthday if they didn’t commit some crimes — at the surrounding stores.  

In the center of the mall was a large, multileveled fountain. Roman and Remus spent over an hour and twenty-three dollars in dimes trying to outdo each other in terms of tossing coins into the fountain. Tosses were judged both on style and on distance from the fountain when the coin was tossed, bonus points were awarded depending on which level of the fountain the coin landed in. People sent them strange looks as they did this — while dressed in a flamboyant acid green bedazzled suit and a scarlet ball gown — but the twins hardly cared.  

They had lunch in the mall food court before heading back to their lair in order to suit up and rob the stores they had scouted earlier in the day. Coincidentally, the mall was the same one Thomas and Nico had been abducted from; the damage had been repaired, but Roman got some satisfaction in undoing those repairs.  

It was just a simple smash n’ grab, and with no heroes in the city, there wasn’t much resistance. With Dr. Frankenstein and Serpentine busy trying to infiltrate the government, the task of causing chaos throughout the city fell mostly on Gemini’s shoulders (there were other villains too, but Roman found most of them to be pompous jackasses not worth collaborating with), and petty crimes like robbing stores in the mall were encouraged. Roman ended up taking home a gorgeous ruby necklace that he would, unfortunately, have to be an idiot to wear in public any time soon; Remus got a large, glittering skull ring that she insisted on naming Yorick.  

They returned to their lair to stash their ill-gotten gains before returning to Remus’s their shared floor to pull off their third wardrobe change of the day. After grabbing a quick dinner at one of the food trucks that hung around the park, their final destination of day would be The Wrecking Ball, so Roman put on a pair of red booty shorts, a white mesh cut out top, leather harness, and a pair of white leather Prada boots he’d recently lifted.  

They met Remus, now wearing a pair of baggy black cargo pants, adorned with dozens of chains and spikes, six inch platforms, a thick leather collar, and a green crop-top that said in glittering letters WHORE,  back in the living room, and the two set out.  

The bar was packed by the time they arrived, the music blaring so loud that they could hardly think, their ears throbbing from the vibrations. The dance floor was packed, drinks sloshing wildly as bodies collided against each other to the beat — the DJ was keeping the energy pulsing, mixing Cher into Kylie Minogue into Britney and beyond. It didn’t take the twins long to find some marks to sucker into buying them drinks — a vodka cran for Roman, and a Dirty Shirley for Remus — before they abandoned their new suitors and hit the dance floor.  

They lost themselves in the beat, pickpocketing the occasional unsuspecting victim but predominantly just enjoying themselves, grinding against strangers and screaming the lyrics to Barbie Girl. Their drinks never ran empty — the club was packed and it was all too easy to bat their eyes and obtain another one. Roman felt like a prince when the DJ mixed Happy Birthday into the set-list for them, and he certainly auditioned plenty of handsome strangers for the role of prince charming.  

Roman wasn’t sure when it was that they managed to drag themselves back home, but even as exhausted as he was, they couldn’t help but notice a folded paper card lying on the kitchen island.  

Happy 23rd Birthday  -Janus 🐍 

Happy Birthday. There is a cake in your fridge, my apologies for not remembering sooner.   Regards, Logan 

Roman smiled and placed the card back on the counter. The cake could wait until tomorrow, when they could have their friends around them, and Patton, and Remy, Babs, Thomas, Nico. And maybe soon they could have another cake to share with Virgil… 

For now though, it was time for bed. 

~~~END~~~

Full disclosure, I did not write the clubbing scene because that is something I don’t know anything other than theory (I’m not a fan of loud, crowded places), my friend wrote that.

While I was waiting for my friend to read this chapter and fill in the club scene, I wrote the next chapter, so you’ll get that pretty soon :)

ODD taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @arsonic-knight @misunderstood-shadowling @lost-in-thought-20 @remy-the-lemon-berry @jinxcrafter @apinkline2715 @gothfoxx @donutsarepartybagels @xoaningout @meganmoneky14 @lunatatic

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

Book of Slays: My Fic Reviews and Recs 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

Summary and word count #️⃣:

When Vi lucks out and finds two tickets onto the RMS Titanic in the pocket of some weirdo she fought at a bar, she doesn't think life can get any better. Then she meets Caitlyn.

13 178 words, 6/10 chapters

Important Tags 🏷️:

Alternate Universe - Titanic (1997) Fusion, Arranged Marriage, No Lesbians Die

Characters/Relationships discussed and involved 👩🏾‍🤝‍👨🏼👩🏿‍🤝‍👩🏽👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻:

Caitlyn/Vi, Jinx and Vi, Caitlyn and Jayce, Caitlyn and Cassandra

Snippet 📖:

“Deckard carries cash? What an idiot!” She theatrically pulled the bills from the pocket, only to reveal two yellowed slips of paper rather than the green they’d been expecting. “Uh, Vi?"

Both sisters stopped short when they realized what Powder was holding. “Shit, Pow, don’t get oil on ‘em!” Vi carefully took them in her hands and brushed off what little grease had transferred onto the paper. The pair quickly ducked into an alleyway to read without the risk of someone seeing their newfound fortune.

Vi’s eyes skipped across the paper, lighting up brighter and brighter the more she read. “Powder,” she looked up into eager pink eyes and broke into a crazed grin. “We’re going to Piltover!”

My thoughts ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Very sweet <33

First off, I love the dynamic between Jayce and Caitlyn. They’re not resentful or controlling in this arranged marriage, they’re caring and understanding. Jayce gets Caitlyn’s predicament with the fact that she needs to be with him so she doesn’t suffer with any other man. A marriage of convenience but it conveniences the people in it 🫶🏾

Caitlyn and Vi are adorable and always will be. I love the fact that they’re already so attached and caring when it comes to each other. Them being each other’s safe space is very nice.

The plot… honestly interesting. Jinx and Vi are running away from Zaun, looking for a new life but they’re actually being followed. The sibling-like relationships in this fic are just very nicely done. Silco being this menacing presence even though he’s not there. Also the addition of Silco actually having an established connection with Vi instead of “I need to get Jinx away from Silco,” it’s an “I need to get us away from Silco,” is always interesting.

Cassandra is messy, elitist and quite controlling, as per usual, but I’m ready for her to come around and accept her daughter and her choices. Seeing Caitlyn try to live her best life despite her mother and her expectations, not letting her mother completely bring her down shows Caitlyn’s amazing strength and perseverance.

Overall, fun, sweet, interesting and ready for it to continue !!

[zoeykallus]

Arcane - Little Flower Part 4 – Before You Killed Me

Silco x female!reader

Warning: 18+

Violence/Blood/Near Death Experience/Drowning/Hurt/Strangulation/Pain/Drama/Brutality/Cursing

------

Author's Comment:

Heads up, reader is going through hell in this chapter. Buckle up if you are ready or skip it if you are faint of heart.

A shitload of Drama ahead.

I don't know why, I just blame the music again, if it's making sense or not. On repeat while writing: Too Many Tears

------

What Happened Before:

Little Flower

Little Flower Part 2 - Safe And Sound

Little Flower Part 3 - Cupidos

Part 4 - Before You Killed Me

The time you spent with Silco was almost always determined by languid tenderness. Still, your heart raced every time his hand touched you, his gaze crossed yours, or he entered the room you were in. But by now you had seen more of him, more of things you perhaps should not have seen. Things you couldn't forget. The underlying skepticism and fear that had always been there was still present, not severe because you didn't have to fear his wrath, but unyielding.

By now you spent most nights with him, though often alone in his bed as he worked late into the night. Sometimes, though, you would wake up in the morning and he would be lying next to you, sometimes awake, one arm wrapped around you, watching you sleep. Sometimes asleep, lying across the bed any one or more of his limbs tangled somewhere in the covers with you.

You had even made friends with Sevika by now. Well, more or less. Somehow she liked you much more now than at the beginning. You didn't exactly have the same interests, but in a certain sense you respected each other. You admired her loyalty, her courage and her strength. You witnessed the latter from time to time, Silco rarely got his own hands dirty. There were only a few exceptions.

The small syndicate that produced Cupidos, he took into his own hands, personally. He even took you with him. You remembered the day very vividly... Silco had given you a mask, a filter mask, he was wearing one himself when he walked into the building and threw a grenade created by Jinx into the room. Poisonous gas had spread to every little corner of the room. People had gone down gasping, bloody foam coming out of their mouths as they died in great agony, eyes wide open. The images still haunted you sometimes in your sleep.

Yes, you had wanted Silco to take the matter in hand and put an end to Cupidos, but it was more than just an ugly thing to witnes it. He had taken you with him because he wanted to show you that he kept his promise. But seeing those people die had been terrible. You had watched everything, not daring to look away because he was watching you. A part of you was still afraid of him. Even if you loved him by now, and sometimes you doubted yourself because of that.

You were sitting with Jinx in her cave working on a plan for a fancy revolver you were going to give to Silco. The gun looked elegant and fierce. A long muzzle, a big barrel with 12 chambers, an elegant grip with filigree engravings. Anyway, when the weapon was finished, it was supposed to look awesome.

Silco's daughter and you had become close, were almost like sisters by now. Jinx had experienced one or more traumas at some point in her life that she had never been able to come to terms with, something had broken inside her and led to her strongly fluctuating behavior. But by now you had figured out how to deal with it. She often sought your closeness, your comfort and she let you calm her down when she had one of her outbursts again. Basically, Jinx just needed a lot of attention and someone who listened to her, responded to her and gave her the feeling that she was not alone with everything that was going on inside her. Silco loved her, but he manipulated her much more than he helped her. But you didn't think he really realized how much of the damage she had done over the years came from him. Their relationship was an emotional dependency that had unhealthy traits. But you'd be careful not to say a word along those lines to Silco.

"Here look," Jinx said delightedly, holding out the drawing to you.

She had completed the pattern on the handle, it looked like angel wings swinging around a skull.

"That's really impressive, Jinx," you admitted honestly.

Around the skull were delicate rose vines you had drawn.

With a proud grin, the girl said, "I'm sure he'll like that, it was a great idea, Y/N."

Yes it had been your idea. Silco didn't talk about his birthday, so you decided without further ado that you would just give him something anyway and let Jinx in on your plan. The girl had immediately been on fire for your idea with the revolver and you had gone straight to work, discussed how the dimensions should be, which ammunition you wanted to have made for it, which blacksmith you wanted to commission with the individual parts and so on. You had been with her since morning and by now it was almost evening.

"I should probably get back to Silco now, he'll probably be annoyed that I've been gone so long, he doesn't like it when he can't see me for too long," you sighed in surrender.

"Man, he shouldn't make such a fuss!" said Jinx, rolling her eyes.

You laughed softly.

"I might even get him out of that habit someday, who knows".

On the way back, you were already a little nervous. Silco tended to pepper you with questions when you were gone too long, he was a sceptical and jealous man with serious trust issues and you weren't sure how good you were at hiding the fact that you and Jinx had been working on a gift for him. You weren't very good at lying, it was basically uncomfortable for you, so you were pretty bad at it and Silco had a talent for seeing through people, you in particular.

However, when you walked into his office, he was sitting behind his desk, elbows on the table, hands folded and resting against his forehead.

"Hey, I'm back."

Silco looked up at you very slowly. Something he actually did a lot when he was angry or wanted to intimidate someone, slow predatory movements. You blinked nervously, sensing immediately that there was something lurking behind his behavior.

"You've been gone a long time," he said simply in his smooth way.

"Yes, Jinx and I have been working out plans."

After a few seconds he said, "I see."

Unsure of what to say or do, you decided to do what you had planned anyway.

"Is it okay if I take a bath?"

He nodded and finally stared into emptiness again. Something was up, but usually he was coming on to you and he didn't like being probed or pushed. He liked to be in control of everything- how things were handled and when he shared what information with whom, was part of it. You had never seen him angry with you before and you weren't going to, so you shut up and silently made your way to the bathroom.

You poured yourself some water, made yourself a bubble bath and lay down in the tub. With a relaxed sigh you closed your eyes, let the warmth creep into your muscles and bones and felt how you gradually felt more and more weightless.

When you heard footsteps, you opened your eyes and saw Silco approaching the tub. His facial expression seemed strangely stony. Worried, you looked up at him, frowning.

"Is everything all right?" you asked cautiously.

Wordlessly, Silco sat down on the side of the tub. He reached out an arm to you and his hand gently rested on your sternum, just below your neck, and let it rest there, bent over you. The touch was gentle, yet it sent a chill down your spine, despite the hot bath water.

The expression on his face, it wasn't just stony, there was more, but you didn't know how to describe it. Something dark, angry and at the same time sad, was hiding behind his sea green eye.

"What plans have you worked out with Jinx today?" he asked quietly.

You blinked nervously, again, and knew immediately that he realized you were about to lie. What he didn't know was that you were just trying to hide a birthday gift.

"You weren't with, Jinx, were you?"

His voice had taken on a rough undertone and his chest heaved up and down heavily with each breath.

"What? Yes I was!" you protested.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" he suddenly exploded, making you wince.

"I'm not lying," you said very quietly.

He gritted his teeth and the next moment you found yourself underwater. Startled, you tried to come back up, but his hand on your sternum held you down. Panic rose in you. What had happened, why was he doing this to you!!! You swallowed water, your hands tried to pull yourself up at the edge of the tub, without success, Silco was stronger. Your fingers clawed at his arm, you managed to wriggle out from under the arm in the water and for a moment your head came above water.

Silco jumped into the tub, fully clothed, sat over you so that you could not escape from him again. Anger burned under his skin, anger and a deep sadness that caused him physical pain.

You coughed, clinging to his arms whose hands were around your neck. He didn't squeeze yet, didn't push you under either, just looked at you for the moment as you lay under him in the water your eyes widening, your lower lip quivering before a sob comes out of your mouth.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"You betrayed me," he growled.

"What are you talking about?" you asked, crying.

"You weren't with Jinx, you were at the docks! You were seen there, with the Firelights sabotaging one of my shipments!", his voice growled hoarsley.

You didn't have the faintest idea what he was talking about, before you could react, your head was under water again and Silco's hands were squeezing. Absolute panic flooded your mind, your fingers clawed into his dress shirt and tore the fabric apart.

There was only one thing that kept flashing through your mind, aside from the panic, the bottomless fear. Why? You had always known who he was, but still, fatally and naively, you had never expected him to do such a thing to you. You had done nothing wrong. Yet your head was under water, above you an angry Silco, with wet clothes, his hands around your neck, wet strands hanging down his forehead, a wild look on his face. For the first time you actually saw it, the monster.

The water that came through despite his stranglehold burned in your nose, your throat, your lungs, like liquid fire. The senseless fight for survival that your body waged without your conscious intervention lasted for what felt like eternities. Eternities full of fear and pain. At a certain point you wanted it to be over, it should stop, you couldn't bear it anymore. Suddenly your thoughts became fuzzy, your vision blurred, it no longer burned. You knew your eyes were open and yet it went dark. Finally.

"Everyone betrays me, everyone does at some point and now you did too..." he pressed out between clenched teeth.

A single tear rolled down his cheek. The pain was unbearable. He had trusted you, Silco had loved you, the more violent had been the shock when his informant told him what you had done. It ate him up inside within seconds, his reason dissolved into nothing.

Your resistance weakened. Your eyes were open, staring at him, blank yet reproachful. His arms and shoulders shook with tension and pain, there were scratches from your fingernails all over his arms, some were pretty deep and bleeding.

"What are you doing?!" he heard Sevika ask in horror.

He hadn't even noticed how she had come in. She had never dared to enter his private chambers before. Presumably she had heard something and had come to look and found this scene.

"She betrayed me..."

Sevika had never interfered or contradicted her boss before, but here and now, she grabbed his shoulder and hastily pulled him away from your motionless body.

She lifted you out of the tub with ease, as if you were just a doll.

"Fuck!" she cursed "Why did you do that?"

"She was at the docks this afternoon, with the Firelights, when our Shimmer delivery was sabotaged, Ronon saw her," he explained in a breaking voice, watching Sevika check for your pulse.

"Have you lost your mind!!! She was with Jinx all day, I was keeping an eye on both of them like you told me to! Why didn't you talk to me first!!!"

Silco felt the world suddenly spin around him faster, he felt sick and his chest seemed to tighten.

"That can't be... he saw her... he was sure of it," he muttered, staring at your motionless body.

Sevika began to perform CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation like she had seen on the docks before.

"Come on girl," she pressed out between ventilations "Breathe!"

Silco climbed out of the tub on wobbly legs and slumped down next to you and Sevika, leaving a trail of water, everything was wet.

"What have I done...?"

"You've lost it," Sevika grumbled "You snapped and acted without reason, that's what happened"

You just lay there and didn't move, didn't breathe, your eyes stared into eternal nothingness and ice-cold fear seized Silco, dragging him with it into an abyss without light.

"I didn't mean to do it..."

Sevika shot him a somber look, "Then why did you? I thought you loved her"

"...I do"

The next moment your body reared up, coughing. Sevika hastily turned you on your side so you could cough the water out of your lungs. She reached for a towel and placed it over your naked body.

Silco was still sitting there, slumped over, not daring to touch you. He stared at his hands then back at you. Those hands had killed you, the woman he loved, in blind rage, how could he ever let those hands touch you again?

Your body was trembling, but your eyes were closed, you were not quite yourself yet.

Sevika carefully wrapped you in the towel, lifted you up and carried you into the bedroom, where she laid you on the bed and covered you with a blanket.

"I don't know if she'll wake up again, but she's alive," she said to Silco who had silently followed her.

He suddenly felt very helpless for the first time in a long time and it scared him.

"Bring me Ronon," he said somberly.

When Sevika went to get Ronon, that snake, Silco changed into dry clothes. Just as he was closing the last button of his vest with trembling fingers, he heard a groan from you.

"Y/N? Little Flower, are you awake?" he asked softly and quietly, climbing onto the bed with you.

Another moan, finally your eyes opened fluttering open. When you saw his face above you, your eyes went wide. You wanted to scream, but from your throat came only a hoarse croak.

"I'm sorry, it's okay, don't panic...", he spoke to you.

You crawled away from him in panic, your heart running marathons.

Wrapping the covers around you, you struggled out of bed to get as far away from him as possible. You felt dizzy and almost fell, but managed to grab a bedpost. Silco got off the bed and approached you, wanting to help you, but when your head jerked in his direction and you looked at him with a look that resembled a cornered, injured animal, he stopped.

"I'm so sorry," he spoke softly.

"I don't care," you said, your voice hoarse and almost unintelligible.

Your hand went to your neck, feeling over the now dark marks where his hands had choked you. You wished so much for all of this not to be real, just a bad dream, but you knew it was real.

He lowered his head and looked at you like a beaten dog.

Very quietly he said, "That's not true."

"Yes it is, I want to get out of here!"

He gritted his teeth. It was understandable that you were scared and angry, you had every right to be, but this knowledge did not make the situation any easier for him.

Gently he asked you, "Where do you want to go? You don't have anywhere else to stay?"

"I don't care, I just want to get away from you!" you pressed out between quivering lips while tears streamed down your face.

It was not only your throat that hurt, it was everything, your whole existence hurt.

There was a long pause of silence in which you looked at each other, both full of pain and fear. But finally Silco took the floor again.

"Please don't go, little flower," he spoke in an husked voice.

"Where are my clothes?" you asked bitterly, ignoring his request.

"In the... In the bathroom, I think"

The next steps happened as if by themselves, your perception was still fuzzy and your overwhelmed mind blanked out a lot, among other things any sense of time and also some of the words Silco addressed to you. But you got the overall tenor. He was afraid to lose you, he didn't want you to leave.

"You should have thought about that before you killed me," you said flatly as you finally got dressed and walked past him out of the bedroom.

Only a moment later, he heard the door to his office open and slam back into the lock.

You didn't know where to go, first of all you wanted to get away from Silco. You had to sort yourself out, think, come to rest, plan next steps. But as soon as you reached a calm place, you sank wearily to your knees, breathing heavily and fighting another crying fit. Everything in you seemed to be on fire, your chest, your throat, your eyes, everything. You forced yourself to breathe deeply to calm down, but the next moment you were shaken by sobs again.

Sevika showed up at Silco's shortly after you left, with Ronon. Handcuffed, the stocky man with the red curls knelt in front of Silco. There was an icy silence, only Ronon's nervous breathing could be heard.

"You lied to me. I don't know why, but honestly I don't care. Y/N wasn't at the docks like you said," Silco finally addressed the man kneeling on the ground.

Ronon said nothing, he knew it didn't matter, he knew he was dead, now he could only hope it would be quick. But Silco would not do him that favor.

Silco walked up and down, Sevika as well as Ronon were silent, no one dared to say anything.

He was thinking about all sorts of things. He had never been a particularly accessible or loving person. The life he had lived up to that point had simply never allowed it. He himself had never experienced affection until you came into his life. Even if it had been rather bumpy in the beginning and he expressed his affection mainly physically, it was still there. It was something special, something he deeply appreciated. Today that had almost been taken away from him.

In his mind's eye he saw you under him in the water, his hands closed around your neck. How could he ever forget that image? How could he ever make you forgive him? How could he ever forgive himself? Quite abruptly, he threw a punch, hitting Ronon in the head and knocking him over. The man remained lying, not daring to get up.

Hot anger burned in Silco, consuming his every thought. He thought of what Vander had done back then, and the irony was biting. He had done to the only person he really cared about, aside from Jinx, what Vander had done to him.

Silco kicked, hitting Ronon square in the face with the heel of his boot, hearing his nose break and the man groan in pain.

Again and again images of you flared up in his mind, with each image he kicked. Teeth broke, cheekbones.

Ronon choked on his own blood, coughing and whimpering through broken jaw and teeth, "Please, have mercy."

"Sorry, all out of mercy," Silco growled, stomping on his face again and again and again.

[mangohgeckoh]

F! Reader x Soft Dad Silco

Warnings: none! Just soft dad silco

Word count: 2k

Summary: Romantic tension between Silco and his employee. His teen daughter, Jinx, sees right through it though and try’s to get the two together! (Low key based on the Leslie and Ben Sexual tension scene in Parks and Rec)

——

Five months. Five. Excruciating. Months.

It has been five damn months since Silco promoted me to being his personal assistant. The crime lord wanted to make sure his right hand had enough time to focus on missions, heists, and many beheadings to come. That’s where I came in. Unlike Sevika, I handled anything that didn’t have to do with violence. If Silco wanted a fresh brandy, I was there. If he needed papers filed or signed, here I am. If he needed his clothes ironed, well you get the picture.

But now since I’m almost always by his side, the tension between us has tensed more than before. Sure we’d pass each other every now and then when I worked as Jinx’s babysitter, but now I’m always behind him on the right as Sevika was behind him on the left. It’s not that I’m not grateful for this promotion, it’s just I only had to worry about the very rare moments of Silco dropping by. He rarely ever did. But when I saw the greyed hair and softened scowl saunter towards me I would almost always fold like a deck of cards.

I had worked as Jinx’s caretaker a little after Silco had taken her under his wing. And what a heroic story that was too! Poor little Jinx was abandoned by her sister to die only to be scooped up and rescued by the Eye of Zaun.

A little after working for Silco I started to…well…catch some unauthorized feelings for him. Never had I thought that I’d catch feelings for someone 20 years older than me. With his greying hair you’d think he was my father. After catching feelings for the crime boss I tried my best to distance myself from him in fear of being skinned alive if something flirty slipped out. It worked for a few years.

Until he promoted me.

So here I stand. A shaky teacup in hand, right behind the big man himself. I waited until his hand motioned me forwards to offer him his cup of earl grey. Silco accepted, bringing the dark porcelain to his pale lips. His mismatched eyes never peeled from his stack of documents.

Silco then, however, murmured. “Thank you, Dove.”

I nodded in acknowledgment. When Sevika didn’t know my name was actually Dove, she thought Silco and I were dating. It was pretty funny to watch her rough face contort into a grimace when she thought Silco referred to me as the pure bird of peace.

“Sevika, I cancel my next meeting.” He suddenly ordered. “But- sir,” The black haired tower of a woman stammered. “They are on their way to meet with you as we speak.”

The crime boss didn’t move from his chair, still in place like a rock sculpture. “That is why you’ll be outside my door to make sure they don’t interrupt my thought process.” The muscular woman stormed off, shutting the door violently with her robotic arm. I heard a breath of air leave Silco’s nostrils.

Metal clanged against the mahogany desk, catching my gaze to Silco’s lanky hand pushing the brass contraption to the side of the desk for me to see. I moved as if that was my que and picked up the syringe that hooked inside the cage of the contraption. A puff of smoke billowed out when the two pieces connected and I turned to the man who was busy signing a document.

“I’m ready to administer the medication, sir.” My words rolled out and caught on my chapped lips, turning into a mumble. “Hm?” Silco hummed in question. I was surprised he was so patient with me, I’ve seen what he is capable of when he wasn’t in the mood.

I repeated my poorly constructed sentence to which he turned to face me in his desk chair. Silco watched me expectedly, waiting for me to shoot the syringe into his eye. I gulped. This is probably my least favorite part of the job. Why you may ask? Because this totally ruins all my work of creating space between us to be sure my feeling wither away.

My knees found purchase on both sides of his hips in the cushion of the chair. My thighs held my bottom above his lap, being sure not to straddle him. My sweaty face held a little above his own as I held the medicine directly infront of his eye. Then, for a moment, I witness a glimpse of fear in his face. My heart melted, is the crimeboss of Zaun nervous? My finger hovered over the button before deciding that I should calm him down first.

“Did you see the new contracts on Shimmer territory rights?” I asked trying to get his mind off the needle infront of his black eyeball.

Again, he only responded in a “Mmhmm.”

“Well, I thought about you when I was organizing them.” I continued, trying to ease his stress. This caught his attention. “Oh?” His red pupil fixed on me and not the syringe pointed at his eye.

Just like that his anxiety transferred to me because I started to fumble with my worlds. “Well, I uh thought about you because, well, your logo was at the top Silco Industries.” I laughed nervously, not without stumbling over each syllable. The man who’s lap I was now sitting on watched me with amazement.

My method of distraction was working, but just as I was about to pull the trigger on the device, Silco spoke again. “Well I thought about you as well.” He replied nonchalantly.

My eyes met his and my arm that was holding the trinket became heavy. “You did?”

He scoffed and leaned back into the cushion of his chair. “Of course, I was thinking about how you were supposed to bring me the paper work.” Both of the mismatched eyes broke contact with my own, finding someone where else, anywhere else, to gaze. “Ah, right.” I felt my cheeks heat up with crimson before I regained myself to hold the device above his eye.

The syringe released into his deformed eye, injecting it with what I hope was medicine. The lanky man shot forward with a grunt, knocking his face into my chest. It took a moment for him to recover after hissing to realize his nose was against my corset. Now it was his turn to blush.

“Thank you for your assistance.” Silco grunted, gesturing for me to get off his lap. I nodded furiously and hopped off.

There was a moment of silence before Silco spoke. “I know you’re there.” He said quietly. What? Of course he knows I’m here. I was just administering his medication- oh. I looked up to see a pair of bright blue eyes piercing through the shadows above the beams that lined the ceiling. “Jinx!” I exclaimed, worried that she might fall. She’s been doing this since I’ve known her but even though the teen is now 18 I am still cautious.

The teen began to clap. “Wow you guys,” She giggled, her eyes darting between the two of us blushing adults. “That was actually painful to watch.”

I stepped away from Silco’s desk, knowing full well that it sometimes serves as a landing pad for his daughter. Her father had swiveled back to face the papers he was working on. “I haven’t an idea on what you mean, dear.”

Jinx only rolled her eyes and stood on the beams, pretending to fall as she strolled across the metal supports. “You two are working on becoming the non-couple with the most romantic tension in Zaun.”

Silco and I shot up. “What?!” The two of us exclaimed. Jinx sighed “Oh well, it’s not like you both are gonna act on it anyways.” She said with a devious smirk whilst checking her chipped nails. Silco’s eyes darted to mine. “We don’t-“

“I don’t like-“

“Like eachother-“ Both of our sentences stammered into eachother only making Jinx laugh. “Wow,” She started, shaking her head. The blue braids whipped around her body before dangling on either side of the beam where she stood. “You two are a class act.” The blue haired teen chuckled. The sentence sounded more like it was meant for herself but it was said loud enough to make Silco and I blush.

Her father groaned. “Jinx, come down here.” Her eyebrows shot up and made a face that would make you think that her dad had just challenged her. “Sure thing, daddio!” Jinx said cheerfully and jumped down, landing a muddy shoe print on Silco’s important papers.

He only watched with a slight pout. “Ooh, ah, sorry…” She murmured, stepping silently off the expensive desk. Silco’s hand found purchase on his face as his fingers rubbed his aching temple, nursing an incoming headache. “You’re tracking mud in here-“

“Pops,” Jinx interrupted, earning a surprised look from her old man. “Here me out.” She then began to clear her throat as if she was about to make a speech. “You need to just get over it and tell Dove how much you want to make her my new mom!” Her tattooed arm gestured to my body next to hers.

That made the two of us blush even harder, now we couldn’t even look at eachother. “I…” I began but loss my words to my trembling lips.

“Jinx, enough.” Silco sighed into his palm that was still caressing his temple. “Please dad, you tell me everyday,” This is where she made a terrible Silco impression. “Oh, Dove, your eyes caught the light of my lamp making them look like stars.”

“Or!” She took in another breath. “I don’t know how you can have oil on your clothes and still look radiant.”

Silence fell over the room. The only sound was the rolling of the wheels attached to the large chairthat Silco had pulled back out to sit in. “I never told you any of those.” He said, an eyebrow hooking upwards.

Jinx itched the back of her head nervously. “Okay I may have overheard you talking to yourself.” Silco, acting as if this was a normal conversation, smirked. “You know you’re grounded, right?” He said softly.

His daughter groaned, making me laugh. “Fine! Just make it worth my while and ask her out. I’m tired of all your lonesome groaning around here.”

I only watched Jinx, knowing well that her father’s eyes were fixed on me. “Very well.”

What. “Wait, what?” I turned, my face was searing hot from my blushing. “Were all those things she said even true?” I asked, stepping back as he pursued me slowly.

Silco paid his daughter a compliment. “It appears my daughter is a keen listener.”

“Duh!” I heard Jinx say.

“But I do think it is time I act on my feelings.”

I froze and Silco had caught up to me. “Dove Marana, would you like to get a drink with me?” He asked, his piercing eyes were kind and soft, so was his voice.

“Yes.”

—-

Bonus:

Silco took me in his arms and the two of us embraced for a good while.

“BOOO!” Jinx groaned from behind us. “Dear, you’re ruining the moment.” Silco said within our hug. “No, dad, actually ask her if she wants to be my new mom!”

Her father let go of our hug. “That’s too fast, pumpkin.“

“No! Here I’ll prove it. Dove, wanna be my new mommy?” Jinx shot me the puppy dog eyes. I laughed. “Sure, hon.”

“Wait, what?” Silco looked at me surprised.

[drindrak-art]

Arcane AU of episode 3 onwards.

A kind of role reversal of Vi and Jinx.

--

After Vi, in her anger and grief, hits Powder, Powder runs away and is found by Marcus.

Marcus was expecting to find the elder sister, to lock her away and throw away the key because no matter how much he tries he can't bring himself to kill an innocent. And instead, he gets an armful of sobbing nine-year-old.

He can't just leave the kid. He knows that this is one of Vander's precious children. And Marcus made a promise to his mentor, to Grayson, to not involve the kids. He'd even made a deal with Silco to not involve innocents.

Though Silco already messed that deal up. Marcus had seen the children alongside Vander at the end.

If Marcus leaves this kid, she'd die. Silco was ruthless. He'd get information about her sister out of her and then kill her.

Although, by this point, the sister was likely already dead at Silco's hands.

Well, that makes his decision a bit easier.

--

So Marcus brings Powder to Piltover, and is the one to break the news that Vi, to his knowledge, is dead. Powder, now completely orphaned, agrees to stay with Marcus and his wife.

After about a year (during which Powder properly grieves and actually has time to cope with the death of everyone she's ever loved) she expresses an interest in attending the Academy when she's old enough.

On Powder's 12th birthday, Marcus surprises her by getting her a spot. Viktor, seeing this little kid from the Undercity (just like him), begins mentoring her. Eventually, he lets her help him and Jayce with HexTech.

Powder flourishes under their tutelage, and helps them develop HexTech further than they could imagine.

But then everything changes, when Jayce's good friend Caitlyn brings her something to look over. A gauntlet with a familiar design.

Powder and Caitlyn head into the Undercity to investigate.

And Powder's whole world comes crashing down around her.

--

Vi, feeling horrible regret after hitting Powder, can only watch as her sister runs off, scared. Of Vi.

She's left standing in the rain and smoke, surrounded by her dead family. Mylo. Claggor. Vander. All dead because of Vi. Because Vi wasn't fast enough or strong enough or smart enough to save them. And now she can add another name to that list.

She's effectively killed her own sister. Powder wouldn't survive on the streets. Her sister would starve to death or be murdered or worse and it'd be all Vi's fault.

Because she's a bad omen.

First her parents and then Mylo and Claggor and Vander and now Powder, all dead because of her.

She collapses and screams and sobs because everyone she's ever loved is dead and it's all her fault.

--

And then Silco walks up.

Silco's poised and ready for a fight, because this is Vander's Little Prodigy, and he knows that she'll fight until her last breath.

But she doesn't fight.

She just kneels there, hands gripping her head tightly, crying.

And Silco seizes his chance.

This broken child is the prize of her second-hand family, the last remaining vestige of Vander.

He cannot let this opportunity go.

Silco manipulates her; whispers honeyed poison into her ears; twists her vaunted 'good heart' into an unrecognizable mass of hatred; turns Violet into Omen.

And it's oh so easy.

[gauntlets-shot]

"Yes, of course," Vi said when Jinx insisted she had to visit at some point and tried not to let her eyes show divert on account of her nerves. She really did have to work on hiding her emotions better. Once she and Jinx were in the basement, Vi leaned up against the wall, her arms crossed as she watched her sister roam about. She trusted her enough to not suddenly make a run for it since she was offering her parts but she was ready to break into a sprint if she really needed to. At the same time, part of her was torn over the fact that she had to be so weary of her sister. She wanted so desperately to trust her like she used to but she simply couldn't. She wasn't the same. They weren't the same. It'd take her the entirety of her life to fully accept that.

A small smile crossed Vi's lips as she took in the sight of Jinx delighting herself amongst the scraps. For once, she reminded her of Powder. The girl who was still mastering her craft in doll and bomb making. The girl relied on her to protect her. The girl she would still die for. She let out a small sigh to break her train of thought since she knew dwelling over the memories would only make actively lying to and eventually booting out Jinx harder for her. "Got everything your little heart desires?" The fighter teased lightly as she looked over the bundle of items her sister managed to scavenge. Nothing inherently deadly, but she knew her sister could whip something of the like up with anything.

Vi's brows knitted together as a pained expression washed over her face. "Your dirty little Zaun secret." She hated that Jinx would chalk herself up to that, especially because she knew her sister said to hurt her. "Yeah, gotcha," She mumbled before she started leading the way out of the basement. As she went up those old wooden steps, part of her mulled over the idea of running away with Jinx, just like what she had offered back then to save Caitlyn's life. It was stupid and even moreso it was idiotic because it wouldn't work. They simply couldn't work together anymore. Even with all the patience Vi practiced, it wouldn't be enough to make everyone happy, including herself.

Vi habitually reached back to grab her sister's wrist again, an attempt to keep her close one last time before she started heading for the nearest exist. Her eyes practically bulged out of her skull when Jinx asked for an address. Her feet had stopped for a moment but she quickly caught herself as she continued walking. At least she was facing away from Jinx so she couldn't see her face. "I can come and find you," She finally said after a long and tense silence. "Not that I don't trust you. Just...I barely remember the address," She lied and closed her eyes tightly for a moment before they stood in front of the door. Vi stared at it for a moment before she slowly let go of her sister and turned to look at her. "Be careful out there, okay?" She asked her and took an awkward step forward before her hand reached out, caressing her cheek for a few seconds before she pulled back.

When she cared enough Jinx could actually do a decent job of controlling herself. Not enough to keep her facial expressions from changing, but enough to make them seem different from whatever she was truly feeling more times than not. There was also enough control when she was digging for information to keep her from giving into the impulse to do something like toss a chomper at Vi’s chest, and see what would happen. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel the urge to fight, or create some chaos, or to hurt her former sister that she was increasingly convinced was lying to her. It was that right now wasn’t the right time. That long pause from Vi made her tilt her head a bit with those magenta eyes gazing into Vi’s as she waited.

“I’ll have to visit you sometime.” Voice playful there was the barest hint of something best described as malevolent in it. Not enough to seem like a threat exactly, but there was something dark there as Jinx’s lips curved into a smile and her eyes narrowed a touch. Her “sister”...was lying to her. Not only that, but Vi was avoiding the question. Jinx hadn’t asked where Vi lived she’d asked how Vi afforded living up here. Even some “rinky dink apartment” still took money. Vi was lying, and Jinx didn’t like it when people lied to her.

Lips pulling back for a moment as Vi turned away Jinx lowered her head giving it a little shake as her hands clenched. One was on her pistol with a finger sliding along the side of the trigger as Jinx took a deep breath. For a moment her ears were flooded with that increasingly familiar roar of the dead voices in her head.

Of course she lied to you. Why would Vi tell you the truth she doesn’t trust you! She shouldn’t trust you. You know what the truth was. The truth was her slapping you. Leaving you. Because you deserved it for murdering us you Jinx. JiNx JINX jInX. You don’t deserve her. You never will.

Maybe you’ll kill her. Like you did us. Maybe she’ll join us, and we can all be a family again.

Looking up at Vi for just a moment her eyes held a particular mix of rage, and loneliness resignation as though of course this was what would happen. Blinking she shook her head letting out a soft laugh before nodding as she slid off of the Caitlyn’s, Vi’s bitch, ugly girlfriend, desk. “Alright. Let’s go.” Jinx found herself quietly amazed she wasn’t screaming, or yelling. Maybe it was that soft murmuring note in the back of her head that reminded her of Silco. A soothing little whisper that was starting to get louder over time that made her think of his self control, and willingness to wait until the right moment. This wasn’t the right moment.

Besides why harm Vi when she could kill Caitlyn, and leave Vi alone? Just the same way she was alone.

Vi should have chosen her. Vi shouldn’t have lied.

She didn’t offer her hand, or wrist so much as just let Vi take it. Going down into the basement she was quickly distracted casually crawling over boxes and opening up one than another and than the next. Little muttering complaints about not the right color fabric, or too small, or some other issue could be heard as Jinx went into that hyperfocused state concerned only with finding the right scrap she sometimes got into. It took about fifteen minutes, but eventually there were bits and pieces tossed out behind her to collect. Some fabric, some pieces of metal or chunks of other materials. The biggest piece was a man sized torso from a training dummy that she’d let out a happy little exclamation upon seeing. Having that would make it easier to form everything else, and have things sized correctly. Hopping back off of the boxes Jinx hummed softly swaying back and forth almost dancing in place as she took the fabric she’d found, and tied all the other pieces to the torso before swinging it over her back.

“It’s been a blast, Vi, but I think it’s time for me to leave now. Thanks for the presents! Don’t worry, I won't tell anyone. Now I know your all concerned about people seeing your dirty little Zaun secret leaving so lead the way. Just get me outside, and I’ll get back down to Zaun myself.” Jinx would start to follow Vi before one more question came from her.

“Oh right, if I’m going to visit you I need to know where that rinky dink apartment is. Unless you want me to just guess and hope I crawl through the right window of course...or...do you not want me visiting you?” Jinx in no way shape or form expected an actual address, and at this point just wanted to make Vi sweat a bit more.

[nagarashi]

A little symbolism in two lines. Probably obvious, but still... It's about the smoke signal and the crystal.

I love how the developers show us Jinx's emotional tosses through these two items, completely without a single word.

What the signal smoke means, I think, is obvious - it's Vi.

About the crystal, it's not so clear anymore, but it's still clear - it's Silco, after all, she got it for him.

Let's look at the scene when Jinx lights the flare.

She recalls her sister's words from that ill-fated day. Why does she decide to do this? She knows that Vi is back and wanted to see her, and that desire grew stronger with the realization that Silco has kept the truth from her. For the first time.

Maybe it was even a kind of child's protest against her parent, too.

In part, I think Jinx unconsciously sought to recreate the family she had when Vander was alive. That's what the final scene of the tea party made me think of. So when she found out that Vi was alive, Jinx hoped so desperately that her sister would accept her and everything would be like... before?

She lights the rocket hoping for her sister's appearance. But when that one fades, she throws it away with hatred. Was Silco right? Does she not care?

In confirmation of these thoughts, we are shown her clutching the crystal in her fingers with angry determination, as if accepting her father's words...

It's funny, by the way, that she lights the flare in front of a large predatory fish, which are found in the depths of the sea. It's as if Silco's shadow hangs over her wherever she goes...

But then Vi does appear.

In the next shot, her sister embraces Jinx and at that moment, the girl's fingers so symbolically release the crystal from her grasp, it falls to the floor...  showing that Silco's words have lost their power. He was wrong, Vi came here for her.

What happens next we all know... so we move on to the bridge, where this symbolism reaches its peak. The moment Silco finds Jinx

Hugging his daughter, the man suddenly discovers in her hand the crystal that Jinx was able to get in and protect by putting his life on the line for it.

This is the denouement of whose side Jinx takes and whose words have power for her henceforth. She is willing to sacrifice herself for Silco and his goals.

So when she misunderstood Silco's words at Vander's statue, she took them particularly painfully... She was ready to die for him, and he betrays her? Even him?