#vander is in the audience
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the things we do for discord memes...
#silco#arcane#silco arcane#arcane fanart#arcane silco#sirren draws#arcane netflix#fanart#doodle#sorry for being gone for#[checks calendar]#a MONTH?#anyway yeah sorry i was busy being a nuisance on twitter#and i still hate it there. it's good to be back.#don't expect too much lol school is seriously kicking my ass#drew this imagining silco singing a breakup song#vander is in the audience#i call him freddie silcury
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Barbette grew up as Vander Clyde Broadway in Texas and was always fascinated by the aerialists he saw at the local circus. She started her career when she replied to a billboard looking to replace one of the sisters in the famed Alfaretta Sisters. One of the sisters had recently died. The fact that she would have to dress up and perform as a woman didn't faze young Vander at all.
Soon, Barbette was experienced enough to begin her own solo act, debuting in the Harlem Opera House in 1919. In 1923, she made her European debut.
In a 1926 essay, "Le Numéro Barbette," Jacques Cousteau wrote, "[Barbette] transforms effortlessly back and forth between man and woman. His female glamour and elegance Cocteau likens to a cloud of dust thrown into the eyes of the audience, blinding it to the masculinity of the movements he needs to perform his acrobatics. That blindness is so complete that at the end of his act, Barbette does not simply remove his wig but instead plays the part of a man. He rolls his shoulders, stretches his hands, swells his muscles...And after the fifteenth or so curtain call, he gives a mischievous wink, shifts from foot to foot, mimes a bit of an apology, and does a shuffling little street urchin dance – all of it to erase the fabulous, dying-swan impression left by the act."
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I have something worse up my sleeve on Vander that idk if im gonna post that includes the shimmered up version of him we see for 10 seconds before he dies and some bussy gobbling if yk what i mean 😈🥱🔥
Vander x Reader - General Relationship HC's
Warnings: Swearing cuz we fukin' balling
Beefy
b e e f y
He gives really great hugs, obviously. He's got so much meat on him that he feels like a really large pillow, and I'm here for it. And if you're reading this, I guess you're for it too 🤷♂️
Crazy protective, too. Man doesn't love easily after what happened with Silco, but when he does, mwah, you are not leaving his sight for longer than an hour before someone on his side is just "keeping an eye on you"
Vander loves jokes. Especially dad jokes. Because he's a dad. Please joke with him. Please, his kids always respond with "ughghh" and all he wants is an adoring audience. Please be that for him.
"What's the time?"
"It's... time to get a watch!" *big goofy grin*
"Hah- hahahahhahahahhaahhaahhaha please, Vander."
"Right, sorry. It's a quarter past seven, love."
👉👈
Anyway, Vander loves nicknames. Like, a lot a lot. He loves nicknames. What one's? Great question. Take a guess. He loves playing games with you and this is one of those games
Guess.
If you said anything along the lines of sweetheart, love, sweetie, or honey. You'd be right. He loves using generic nicknames with you because he wants to be as domestic as possible.
He likes to feel like his life is as normal as can be despite it being absolutely the opposite of that. He loves his children, and he loves you, so why not make the most of it? At least, that's what he figures.
The wackiest shit happens sometimes. There's a real mix of interactions in his little family and we living for all of them.
"Can you pass the sa-?"
*glitter bomb explosion from Powder's bunk*
"Oh, for the love of- POWDER, ARE YOU OKAY?!?"
His kids are all extraordinary. Mylo is very charismatic and is able to talk his way out of a lot of trouble, Claggor is great at lifting heavy shit, Vi can punch the daylights out of everyone, and Powder has the potential to be a great inventor someday. His goal is to inspire them all to be the best versions of themselves and to always be kind when they're able to despite living in the meanest area around.
You are also very intertwined with his children's lives to the point where they're basically your kids as well. If you didn't want that, break up with him. He's a package deal. All or nothing.
"Hey... what's that you're tinkering with, Pow Pow?"
"It's a bomb."
"It's a what."
"She means- uhm- it's full of confetti...? For... For Mylo's birthday! Y'know, that's totally coming up soon."
"Wait, my birthday isn't-"
"Yeah, yeah... for Mylo's birthday!" *innocent smile*
"For some reason... i d o n ' t b e l i e v e t h a t . . . Just... just stay out of trouble. As much as possible."
The kids treat you like a member of the family as well if you couldn't tell. They latch onto you, some take longer than others but they all eventually view you as their other parent.
First it was Powder, then it was Claggor, followed by Vi and then Mylo a little later on.
Vander actually wants to make it official with you someday and make you stay with him and his family forever by proposing to you, but with the current state of the Undercity, he may never get to. He's a busy, busy man, trying to hold the Lanes together. Sometimes, he gets too focused on that and forgets to share his attention around when crime is really bad.
But even just being around helps him out 🫡
Thanks gang 👍
#vander x reader#arcane#arcane vander#vander arcane#arcane vander x reader#arcane x reader#i love men#big beefy men#i need a big beefy man#where da bears at#jinx#powder#arcane jinx#arcane vi#arcane mylo#arcane claggor
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Thinking abt how Arcane writes the dynamics of little sibling insecurity/older sister prodigy. How they situate Violet and Powder near Mylo such that it's necessary for Vi to constantly and hastily defend Powder every time he comments on her limitations or else it'll destroy Powder, even if he's right. How Vi protects as though it were her job. How Powder struggles with feeling inferior to Vi, but we as an audience know she's inferior to Vi, because we agree with her when she tells Powder not to go with her to save Vander. How all of this leads to Powder becoming intertwined with Silco because of course she would; he sees her as genuinely better than Vi and fosters a competent, dangerous alter-ego for her: Jinx. How could it not play out like this? All inevitable based on who the characters are with and where they are situated in a given moment
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Sevika's "betrayal"
I never thought of Sevika's leaving Vander’s team as a betrayal. In Act One, when we're first introduced to Sevika, it’s the scene where she decides that she’s fed up with how Vander is leading Zaun and confronts him about it. At this point in the story, we have no idea who Sevika is; we only know who Vander is. When I first watched Arcane, I viewed Act One Sevika as “the masses"—some random person coming in with their posse expressing their mass disappointment in Vander's leadership. We weren't supposed to walk away from the scene and think, “Wow, look at this woman's disloyalty”. This scene highlights Vander’s weakness and sets up his inner struggle between his aggressiveness and his role as a father. It’s also an introduction to Sevika as a “cog in the machine,” which is the role she’ll take up throughout the show.
Also, we need to understand what Vander’s leadership looked like; he was more of a community leader who stepped up, in contrast to Silco, who had a bodyguard and a thriving Shimmer business and who led in a more authoritarian way.
Lastly, when Vi calls Sevika a “filthy traitor”, I don't think that was the writer's way of communicating to the audience that Sevika is actually a traitor; they were merely communicating Vi’s point of view. That's the reason why Sevika brushed the accusation off so dismissively with, “Vander had his chance,” because she’s not gonna sit down and tell Vi about where her loyalty really lies—in the nation of Zaun, not in Vander or Silco—in the middle of a fight.
#arcane#arcane netflix#arcane: league of legends#sevika#sevika arcane#vander arcane#vi arcane#silco#character analysis#arcane theory
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a lot of this is probably obvious but it's my first time noticing it so 😭 enjoy a deep dive
“Our Love”, the song that plays over the scene where Vi turns herself in, is, in a vacuum, a classic 50’s-styled love song - in an authentic enough sense that it’s easy to be mistaken for a real, licensed song. But it was made specifically for the show, for this very moment. And when taken with its intended context, the visual language of the scene positions it as something deeper: a narrative expression of Vi’s thought process as she prepares to give herself up to the authorities. And her reasons for doing so: her love for Powder.
The design of the record of Our Love itself even seems to symbolize this.
Two girls, potentially sisters, orbiting each other - either floating in mid-air, or about to fall into the hole at the middle of the disc.
The beginning of the scene first illustrates a morose Powder taking refuge at the bar, intermixed with Vi breaking into the tip-off spot, and the feet of marching enforcers.
(The captions say “man grunts” but, that’s definitely the pantleg of young Vi’s design, and that’s clearly Hailee Steinfeld’s voice grunting 😭.)
Powder’s mind is on her sister, in the form of the rabbit she gifted her before she left (which will go on to symbolize Vi, and Jinx’s relationship to her, in a more major way Acts 4 and beyond.) Vi’s words clearly worried her, and the effect of that reveals Powder’s own love for Vi.
As the song ramps up from its slower, moodier beginnings, the realization of the impact of this action falls over Vander, the audience, and Vi.
Cinematically, it turns into a long, slow zoom in on Vi - her demeanor growing from resigned and downtrodden, her head bowed and her hands clasped, to ready and determined - standing up by the scenes end.
The bridge between those two states being a cut back to Powder feels intentional. As do the lyrics;
And the apprehension in her eyes, even as she does rise to accept her fate, really captures the ultimate irony of them.
“With you.”
For all the lyrics both support and re-enforce Vi’s reasons for doing this, by describing Powder as someone who bolsters her strength,
(A subversion of the idea that Powder solely relies on Vi for strength.)
As well as proclaiming that through their love, they’ve been able to whether hardships like this in the past, and will continue to do so,
It also subverts them. She’s doing this out of love for her sister, but she won’t be there to love her sister, or vice versa, by the time this is over (at least, so she believes). And that’s a sacrifice for both of them. A lot of these lyrics can apply to both of them, in fact.
But I still believe the song is specifically from the perspective of Vi. Because she’s the one who has always forced herself to “move on”, to “stay strong” - and this song is an illustration of where that strength comes from. Love, and a desire to protect, specifically her sister.
Because, partially out of necessity, they’ve found in each other the one positive thing they could rely on in a society dedicated to their destruction and misery - and here, is threatened to be destroyed by that very society. By series end, it arguably has. But there’s still that love there. And we, like Vi, can only hope that’s enough.
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If Silco actually does become another voice in Jinx's mind, I want it to be different from the way Mylo and Claggor haunt her. If there's a chance his voice is going to manifest through Fishbones, then I want him depicted more sharklike in her mind whenever she's in a stressful position.
I want to see his eyes go dark and he's constantly in motion, taking in his environment. The way he moves could let Jinx and the audience know who can or cannot be trusted. Who's the prey? Where's the blood in the water? Instead of spectres of guilt and paranoia that Mylo and Claggor act as, I want the lines between the spectre of Silco and Jinx herself to blur. Where we're not sure if all Jinx's plans are entirely hers, Silco's, or what she'd think Silco would want.
Obviously, Silco's voice will express how Jinx interpreted his lessons while he was alive and how she saw him in general (luckily forgiveness leaves some room for softnesss). Maybe every time his voice comes back, it'll be paired with a memory of him with Jinx or even Vander, and help parallel his and Vander's relationship to Jinx and Ekko's. Who knows.
#silco and jinx#jinx arcane#i don't think jinx will be all blasting and explosions next season#i think she'll have a lot of words to say actually#to people that aren't vi too#like sevika#and ekko#and silco is there to help#arcane#arcane season 2 speculation
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Ok, bcos I'm still thinking about it. I was complaining about the idea that Silco got everything he wanted cos he wanted to die a martyr and he got Jinx to become the perfect weapon against Piltover or whatever. Like completely delulu stuff. It’s like ppl correctly notice themes and parallels but then fail to understand that it’s storytelling and not part of the in-universe facts.
Like Jinx is definitely framed as the ultimate weapon against Piltover by the narrative and that’s how the audience perceives her but if that was Silco’s explicit goal, and it’s not like it’s ever stated to be, then he did a terrible job at it. To me the point of the shimmer shipment fiasco was to essentially just show the favorism/nepotism, like no matter how much Jinx messes up her dad won’t fire her, even if it makes him an inept boss. Which is smth they highlight more and more later on as we meet the chembarons and Marcus dies etc. He can’t get rid of her and he can’t get her to be useful but he’s powerful enough where he can take chembarons being unhappy with him or losing some money (until he can’t anymore).
Similarly, Silco’s death is definitely purposefully written poetically like that, where he dies this martyr-esque and self-sacrificial death, but just cos that’s the story the writers gave this character and it’s a completely satisfying ending to the character doesn’t mean that Silco the fictional character thinks this was everything he could have ever wanted. It’s such a stretch to say he wanted to be a martyr, he’s never portrayed as suicidal or narcissistic, he’s very goal oriented, how does the circumstance and manner in which he died even make him into a martyr to anyone who isn’t the audience? This stuff is poetic to us cos multiple storylines and themes converge but the idea that Silco (or other characters) would be self-aware of this or of Jinx on a meta level being the perfect weapon when she can’t even be a regular weapon to him in a practical sense is ridiculous. And it conflates info the audience has with info the characters have.
At the core to me the problem with both of these takes is that they ignore the arc Silco was given. Where he goes from cartoon villain to character with depth but that depth (the monster ideology/the betrayal etc.) makes us suspicious of his relationship with Jinx to a character with depth who over the course of especially act III proves that his relationship with Jinx is genuine. With it paralleling Vander’s arc of choosing his kids over pursuing independence. Smth that for Vander happened pre-act I that Silco can only understand once he’s at the end of his own arc.
And we as the audience can anticipate that picking Jinx will eventually also lead to an independent Zaun but it’s crucial that the two options are mutually exclusive in Silco’s mind and Silco clearly thinks of it as such even as he’s dying. His personal arc was about fully committing to Jinx/parenthood and it ends with his death. The arc that’s larger than him that goes beyond his death (Jinx’s arc/the narrative of S1) absolutely involves elevating Silco into a saint and martyr posthumously however only in Jinx’s (and therefore also the audience's) view specifically cos the last thing he did was pick Jinx over everything else and then he died for it. That however is all about Jinx, how she views and mourns Silco and how Silco's dying decision would hold this great of a value only to her (and the audience by extention). That's why Silco is kinda glorified by the ending, not cos it's the facts or that's what he'd like if he was still alive but cos that's how Jinx views him now more than ever, cos he expressed unconditional love for his daughter and kinda died for her, and she's the daughter.
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You know, when I think about Arcane I can't help but think about the fact that I'm not a huge fan of how Vander handled things.
I mean his heart was definitely in the right place, he wanted to protect his children and his people, but to be honest there were moments where I felt like he was very confidently doing the wrong thing.
Specially in a child rearing sense. Now I just want to put it out there, that we the audience are shown a biased depiction of Vander.
Just about every scene he's in he's surrounded by his people who (mostly) look to him for protection, his children who adore him, or his enemies who are literal drug lord gang leader bad guys and corrupt policemen. Who are not humanized by the story until after his death.
For one there's Vi's pretty obvious eldest daughter syndrome, which Vander does nothing to try and curb. In fact I feel like in most of their scenes together Vander is treating this unhealthy dynamic as Vi being her sibling's leader and that she therefor needs to take more responsibility for them.
Even though I feel like Vander teaching Vi that way of thinking caused a lot of problems for all of the kids.
Sure it's great when your kids can work together, but there shouldn't be a pecking order among them, and if there is you shouldn't encourage it.
Vander fully expects Vi to take responsibility for Powder(which makes some level of sense considering she's 4-ish years younger than Vi), but also Mylo and Claggor, who are both the same age as her.
Meaning that if Vander trusts Vi to look after herself (and Powder) I feel like he should be able to trust Mylo and Claggor to look after themselves.
Vi should not be saddled with the responsibility of being in charge of her siblings, who are literally the same age as her.
If Vander is going to be reprimanding Vi for getting into trouble, he should be getting on to Mylo and Claggor just as much.
Sure Mylo and Claggor mention that Vander is going to be upset, but it's very obvious that the majority of the responsibility rests on Vi's shoulders.
Which, sure they look up to Vi and listen to what she has to say and what she thinks they should be doing.
But if it's to the point where Vander thinks it's gotten to the point that they will literally blindly follow Vi into dangerous situations because she said so. Then I feel like it's time for Vander to have a sit down with the rest of his kids and have the very important "Thinking for yourself" talk.
It's- You can't raise your children to just blindly follow their oldest sibling their entire life, and raise the oldest child to be the caretaker of the rest of their siblings their entire life.
Yeah, Vi needs to think things through a bit more, because the other kids look up to her a lot, and will go along with whatever her plans are, because they think she knows what she's doing and they trust her.
But also the other kids need to know how to assess things for themselves, rather than just blindly follow whatever it is Vi says, no matter how much they look up to her.
Like this man fully thinks that his 15 year old daughter, who clearly has problems with her temper and being impulsive herself, should also be responsible for her two adoptive brothers who are functionally the same age as her [one with a pretty obvious superiority/inferiority complex], alongside her younger sister who already has problems of some kind of anxiety.
Mylo and Claggor are just fully not held to the same standard as Vi in spite of being the same age, and literally getting into the exact same trouble. Their choice to go along with what Vi planned, is put onto Vi's shoulders when it shouldn't be, because if Vi is old enough to know better in Vander's mind, so are Mylo and Claggor.
If it was just Powder I could somewhat understand. She's younger, more impressionable, she idolizes Vi, she's not as strong or fast as the other three and if Vi forgot that at some point Powder could have gotten left behind or hurt.
You know the general "You need to be a good role model for your younger sibling because they look to you for guidance" stuff.
Like the fact that Vi feels the need to fight Piltover in order to secure a better life for Powder in Act 1 tells me so much just how parentified Vi is when it comes to Powder's care.
Which I do think originated from before Vander adopted the girls, to be fair to Vander. Vi gives off the vibe of looking after Powder having always been her responsibility.
To be unfair to Vander, I don't think he did anything to try and undo Vi's over responsible and over protective mindset when it came to Powder after adopting them.
#arcane#thoughts about Vander's parenting style#I know he probably did spend more time with Claggor Mylo and Powder that we're just not shown#but the show didn't show us that#so in the actual show it kind of feels like Vander is trying to parent his children via the trickle down economics way of things#like if he's just Super Good at parenting Vi and he leaves her in a role of responsibility over the others#that said good parenting will just trickle down the sibling totem pole to his other three children#and I just gotta be like mmmm doesn't work with economics and it sure as hell doesn't work with parenting#he wonders why they all go along with Vi's dumb ideas that go against the rules he's made#while he makes Vi responsible/in charge of them and the other 3 all know this#Like the man really put what seems to be his most rebellious (literally) kid in charge of the rest of his children#and then wonders why they're out breaking laws and getting into street fights#Sometimes I gotta grasp the thought that Vander very suddenly became a dad of 4 after never having had children very tightly when watching#because sometimes he'll say something that sounds really wise but it's actually genuinely unhelpful#like the talk he had with Vi is literally what gave her the idea to hand herself over to enforcers and act as the fall guy#the man gave paternal advice worded so poorly his kid almost gets sent to jail over it
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Romantic Homicide
Read on AO3
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Relationship: Ekko/Jinx (Timebomb)
Word Count: 4,401
Tags: Angst, Ekko Needs a Hug, Jinx Needs a Hug, Mutual Pining, Kidnapping, Hurt No Comfort
Summary:
Jinx is on the run and has to flee the city. But before she does, she has a few parting words to tell her dear old friend, Ekko.
Author's Note:
The title is from d4vd song. The song fits them so well!
This fic is for @redrum-alice! This whole fic is based on their idea!
Big thanks to @su-univeralai for editing it!
Fic's playlist🥀🖤
Steam filled the bathroom and billowed out the hallway through the cracked door.
Ekko stood under the shower and let the hot water wash over his body. It was nearly scalding but the little bit of pain felt good.
He cupped his hands under the water and then splashed his face. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing hers gazing back at him.
He couldn't do it.
He thought killing her would solve his problems and be the end of it.
Her smiles used to be full of joy, and her laughter was contagious. Now, only her smiles were wide and sadistic at the bloodshed she caused.
But for once, her smile was wistful. Her eyes gleamed with unspoken apologies.
It was Silco's fault for destroying their lives.
It was Jinx's fault for choosing Silco and willingly working for him.
It was Ekko's fault for not saving her.
He didn't kick the bomb fast enough. His ankle was sprained but he tried moving her. His broken hoverboard couldn't even carry two people anyway.
And now she's dead.
He sat under that bridge and cried for her after he heard Silco leaving with her.
I keep trying to do right by her, but it never works out. I'm just a fucking failure.
He sighed heavily as he turned off the water. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel.
He was drying his face off when he felt a hard whack to the side of his head.
----
He groaned when he came to. His head throbbed and his vision was blurry.
Wherever he was, the room was only dimly lit by candles. Shimmer-colored eyes stared back at him. "You're awake."
Holy fucking shit.
He knew whose voice that belonged to.
"What the fuck? Jinx?!"
"That's me," She sings-song in a monotone voice.
A cacophony of emotions brewed inside him. He was confused, relieved, and even happy that she was alive. But he was mostly shocked at seeing her.
"Oh my Gods. You're alive?"
"Am I alive?" She scoffed. "You would have liked it if I died, wouldn't you?"
"What? No!" He answered earnestly.
"Don't lie to me," she removed PowPow from its holster and loaded it with bullets. "I fucking hate liars. They make me sick."
"I wouldn't lie to you. I would never-"
"People will say anything to not get killed." She cocked her gun.
My bat.
I need my bat.
He couldn't move his hands. He couldn't move anything except his head.
He looked down at himself; he was clothed. He remembered getting out of the shower before everything went black.
His arms, legs, feet, and chest were tightly bound to a chair with rope. He surveyed his surroundings and realized he wasn't in his room.
He struggled to break free from his restraints to no avail. "Where am I?"
Jinx huffed. "Back to where it aaaallllll started," She droned.
She didn't need to elaborate. He could never forget. He was the one to follow Silco and informed Vi of where he was holding Vander.
The canary by the docks.
He should have never told her. Or at least try to help. It was all his fault.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"You're so rude," she twirled her gun around her finger. "Can't two old friends just catch up?"
He rolled his eyes. "Cut the bullshit. You just came to kill me."
She hummed in consideration. "That depends on how much you piss me off, sunny boy," She drolled.
"But I have good news. My name will go down in history as the woman that killed the council!"
He didn't care about what happened to Topsiders but that news still surprised him. "You did?"
Jinx beamed, "Yes, sir-y! I'm going to be famous even when I'm good and dead!" She bubbled.
"But being famous comes with a price. You see, if the Enforcers don't kill me first, then those losers at Stillwater will try.
Killing the daughter of an infamous drug lord would rack up the bragging points, ya know? So, I'm leaving. I wanted to talk to you before I left."
"Talk to me? But how did you know I was even alive?"
Gods, she hated being weak. It was the reason that the little girl's bloated, decomposed body was floating in the well.
But she was never going to see him again so it wouldn't matter.
"I thought you were dead. I was going to Benzo's shop for old-time sake," She admitted.
"And what did I see? You, waltzing inside like nothing happened." She shook her head at herself. "I should have known. Nothing ever stays dead," She grumbled.
What she omitted was that she made a metal bouquet of flowers.
She hid in an alley and watched him enter. She couldn't believe that she was crying over him yet there he was.
She threw the bouquet in a nearby dumpster and stormed towards the shop.The door was obviously locked.
The shop had been boarded up for years. Nothing but bittersweet memories of her ex-friend and his father figure.
But unfortunately for him, she remembered his secret entrance. They used it when they wanted to eavesdrop on Benzo and Vander or Benzo with his customers.
"I was in the shower when you kidnapped me," He noted.
Since I was distracted, she was able to use it to her advantage and took the opportunity to pistol whip me.
"Yep," She shrugged nonchalantly. "You aren't special. I did the same with that Enforcer chick too."
She didn't have time to leer or gawk at him. She had to get him dressed and out of his home before he became conscious again.
Caitlyn?
Ugh. No way. She would rather have her eyes bleached than see that mess again.
Ekko?
Well...
Under different circumstances, she wouldn't have minded seeing the Boy Saviour undressed.
His eyes widened.
Caitlyn? She was with Vi the last I saw them.
His heart wanted to plummet out of his body as panic arose.
No. No, no, no, no, no. Oh Gods, no.
"What did you do with them? Did you kill Vi?"
Jinx rolled her eyes and sighed.
Oh, right. He's still talking.
"You see, big sis and I haven't gotten along since she started dating that demon," She said. "So, maybe! I'm just chock-full of surprises!" She giggled.
"You're not funny, Jinx," He admonished.
"No. I'm hilarious," She smirked at her quip.
She stood in front of him with her arms crossed. She wanted to get a good look at him one last time.
His hair was down, and he wasn't wearing his usual face paint.
His brown eyes were glaring at her, his cute wide nose scrunched up, and his mouth was twisted in contempt. Yet, his full lips looked very soft.
Again, under different circumstances, she would have loved to kiss him. She always wanted him to be her first kiss.
She would have loved his mouth to touch other places on her body.
He had no right being this pretty and making her heart swoon the way he did.
She reached out and brushed a stray, damp dreadlock out of his face. His hair was as soft and white as the clouds she saw in Piltover.
Ekko cringed and turned his face away from her.
Sometimes, he had dreams of them being happy and he felt her tender touches, smiling warmly at him as she did.
But he didn't want it like this. Being held against his will in a dilapidated building where their lives were irreparably ruined.
Out of everything she's done, this sudden act of affection was bizarre.
Her heart squeezed painfully as she retracted her hand.
Even my touch disgusts him.
He thought he saw something flash in her eyes...was she hurt?
He yelped when she backhanded him. He suppressed a groan from the stinging pain in his cheek.
She cackled and pointed at him.
She was being nice to Ekko for the first time in years, and he didn't even appreciate it.
She felt immense joy when she slapped Sevika awake. She even sighed in content from hitting that ogre that always looked down on her.
She wanted to hurt him like he just did to her. She should have felt better...but she didn't.
He heard her laugh while they fought. It was shrill, filled with unbridled satisfaction as she shot at him and his gang.
His eyebrows furrowed, and he turned his head to her. Her pupils would dilate from the high of mowing them down with her bullets.
This time was different.
Her grin didn't reach her eyes. Her laugh almost sounded forceful; adding faux glee in enjoying his pain.
At least he hoped so.
"What happened to you? Why did you take shimmer?"
Yesh. He sure asked a lot of questions. It's not like we're friends. It wasn't any of his business anyway. It's not like he cares.
She grabbed the sides of his chair and leaned close to his face. He ignored how the proximity made his heart skip a beat, and his cheeks warm.
"Because I thought it was juice. It looked yummy," She innocently smiled.
"Instead of trying to destroy it, you and your wannabe street trash should try it. It tastes as good as it looks." She grinned widely while shaking his chair.
Jinx laughed when Ekko's lip curled in disgust. He was always so serious.
He couldn't reason with her. He tried so many times in the past, but she wouldn't listen. She liked how she turned out.
He sighed dejectedly, "You're so talented and smart. You wasted everything, Powder."
"My name is not Powder!" She threw a chair with enough force to smash the wood into pieces as it hit the wall.
"You and Vi keep calling me by a dead brat's name! It's Jinx! J-I-N-X! Jinx!" She shouted. The utensils clattered with every banging of her fist with each letter.
Her eyes glowed brighter in her fury. Her teeth gritted into a snarl and growled, her chest heaving with every ragged breath.
His whole body froze.
Holy shit.
He wishes there was a way to get out of here. He wanted to go home, but his location had been compromised.
The Firelight Base. Did she know where that was? Gods, he prayed she didn't find that out, too.
He released a breath he was holding. "Jinx," He quickly corrected. "It's Jinx. I slipped up. It was an accident."
She turned her gaze at him. For the first time that night, he sounded startled.
She had the gun loaded when she broke into the shop. When he was unconscious she took out the bullets and then reloaded when he gained consciousness to scare him.
Her display of strength from her outburst wasn't planned. She slowly grinned, and her giggling turned into peels of maniacal laughter.
Not so tough now, huh?
She sighed happily when her laughing subsided.
She walked around his chair with her finger tracing the wood.
"You know what else is funny?" She yanked his shirt and sneered. "How you got everything to lose while I got nothing.
Why does the universe favor you so much? I went through the same thing, but I have nothing to show for it." She said bitterly.
He stared at her for a moment.
So that's what she thought of his life? That it was somehow better? That everything in his life was carefree with zero problems?
"You think I have everything I wanted? That my life is so fuckng easy and perfect compared to yours?" He chuckled sardonically.
"Yeah, I have new friends. But every time I step out of my home, I have to worry about you or Enforcers killing them!" He seethed.
"I lost everyone! I saw Benzo get killed! I lost Mylo, Claggor, Vander, Vi, and you. All in one night!
It has nothing to do with the universe. It's your shitty decisions that got you here! It's why you're on the run now!
We went through the same shit together! But you wanted to be coddled and let Silco turn you into what you are now." He exploded.
"And what is that? Hm?" She challenged. "A monster? Yeah, real-"
"A corpse!" Ekko spat, his voice broken slightly. "He turned my best friend into a corpse of what she used to be!"
Her eyes widened. She released his shirt and backed away. Her chest suddenly became tight and it was hard to breathe. Mylo liked that and was laughing at her.
A corpse.
Something that was slowly rotting away, in front of his eyes for seven years.
Someone that should have been dead but was still staggering around acting alive and well.
He sounded hurt; the tears sliding down his face providing evidence of his feelings. As if seeing her grow up into what she was now has caused him excruciating pain.
She swallowed a big, painful lump down her throat but managed to chuckle, shaking her head.
He and Vi thought they knew everything. Silco didn't create her. She had dormant traits laying within her that she discovered with him.
She was going to tell him that, but Ekko had more to say.
"I had no one else to go to. You were all I had left. But after Silco adopted you, you left me. You turned your back on me for him and I was alone.
You said Vi abandoned you, Jinx. But you wanna know how I felt? That you abandoned me too."
Her heart stopped beating, all the air sucked out of her.
Her ending their friendship to embrace her new life with Silco felt like a betrayal to him. So much so that he felt abandoned by her.
Abandoned.
No.
How dare he?! She wasn't like Vi.
Was she?
Her stomach churned at the comparison.
I'm not like Vi.
I would never do something like that.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
Jinx pointed the gun to his forehead. "You're lying!" She stormed. "I could kill you!"
He was emotionally drained.
If she killed him, then at least he was able to tell her everything he wanted to say to her for the last several years.
He would miss everyone at his base. His best friend, Scar, was second in command. At least his community would be safe in his hands.
He pressed his forehead against the barrel. "If you think I'm lying then do it. Kill me. This will be the last time you'll keep hurting me."
Her gun stayed there for two minutes. She trailed it down his face, jaw, and chest.
In a better world, it would have been her hands caressing him. He would look at her in adoration as if she was something to behold and treasure.
But this was reality. Not a stupid, childish fantasy.
Her finger was dangerously close to pulling the trigger.
She used to have everything.
They scrapped for coins and struggled to get by, but she had a loving family and her best friend was her first crush.
Her inventions failed but she had Vi encouraging her. She believed in her when she didn't believe in herself.
Now she had no one.
Her birth parents were murdered.
She killed Vander and her brothers.
She killed Silco.
Vi went with the Enforcer.
Her ex-friend felt like she betrayed and abandoned him. He wanted her to kill him.
She truly was alone in this world.
'Do it,' Mylo encouraged. 'Then we'll finally have someone better to talk to. Besides, he was our friend too.'
No.
'No?' Mylo scoffed. 'You're never going to see him again. If you missed him so much then make him join us. It's the only way he'll ever talk to you again.' Mylo mocked.
'He hates you. If he hated you before he hates you even more. You're nothing but a mistake. A Jinx,' A smile crept along his face. 'A corpse.'
Her anguish and rage escaped her body into a roar.
Gunshots rang out into the night, crows cawed and flew away.
Smoke emitted from the barrel of her gun, she breathed heavily, tears brimming her eyes.
Silco's eyes were wide in shock when she shot her before they eventually closed.
Vander, Mylo, Claggor, and Silco.She killed everyone.
Ekko's eyes were still open too. They used to be filled with warmth and his presence comforted her.
All she felt was his cold, gaze bore into whatever was left of her damaged soul.
He was glaring at her. He didn't flinch from the shots she fired in the air.
She let her gun slip from her hands and dropped to her knees; gut-wrenching sobs tore through her chest and she covered her face with shaking hands.
Her sorrow strangled her until she heaved for breath and coughed.
She couldn't do it.
She desperately tried and wanted to forget about him over the years, but she couldn't. Her crush on him still lingered. She yearned for how things used to be.
She missed their friendship. She missed him.
A part of her cared for him even though there was no chance that he felt the same.
Ekko leaned his head back on the chair, closed his eyes, and listened to her cries.
He felt empty. Tonight had hollowed out his emotions but a single tear managed to escape his eye.
Why did their lives turn out like this? They always seemed miserable around each other.
You can't change the past and have to move towards the present. But time doesn't heal all wounds.
He missed what they used to be. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted both of them to be happy one day.
They didn't deserve this. They deserved better.
Ekko opened his eyes when she stopped sobbing and stared at her hunched figure. Her hand slid down her face and she stared back at him.
Her eyes were red with black tears staining her face. She snorted and wiped the snot from her nose.
She stood and took out a switchblade from her pocket.
He eyed the knife in her hand, looked at her face, and braced himself.
She didn't shoot him but probably wanted to stab him instead.She wanted his death to be more painful than a quick gunshot.
She wanted to feel the knife plunge into him, his blood running down her hands, choking on it while watching as he slowly succumbed to his stab wounds.
Instead, she slashed her knife across the restraints.
Without the rope around his chest, he was able to breathe deeply. He sighed his exhaustion then rubbed his wrist.
"When things got really bad, I used to remember how you were always there to comfort me." She shook her head with a sad smile. "Now all we do is hurt each other."
"We can still go back to that. We can still try."
"No. We can't. We changed too much." She grabbed her backpack from under the table.
"Where are you going?"
She had to leave this cursed city. She didn't know where she would hide but she knew for certain where she was heading after all this.
She put the straps over her shoulders and smiled weakly. "To hell." She sniffed and wiped her cheeks.
She was going to leave again. She was going to slip through his fingers again and lose her forever.
"We don't have to end it like this," he stood up. "We can figure something out."
She shook her head. "It's too late. Everything between us is tainted, Ekko. You're twenty. You're too old to be playing hero. You-"
Jinx's eyes widened when Ekko enveloped her in a tight embrace.
A reasonable person would have high-tailed it out of there. But she used to be his childhood friend and his first love.
As fucked up as the situation was, she still is.
Only her.
She was going to disappear, and he wanted something good to remember her by.
She hadn't had any physical affection since Silco and Vi. She should have pulled away but there wasn't any fight left in her.
The two of them slowly sank onto the floor. He was so warm, his strong arms around her lithe frame.
She kidnapped him, slapped him, and threatened to murder him, yet he was being so tender with her.
After everything she did, this sudden act of tenderness was odd.
But it was welcomed.
She clung to him and buried her face into his shirt. Can you feel euphoria from a hug? Because this felt amazing.
"Please stay," He pleaded.
Stay? After the torment she put him through tonight he wanted her to stay?
She shook her head. "I can't. I'll get you killed. Not you. Anyone but you," She rasped.
"It won't happen. Things can be different."
"You don't know that. It'll all come crashing down and you'll blame me. Killing people is what I'm good at," She sniffled.
"You don't know that either. We won't know if things can turn out better if we don't try," He beseeched.
"Why are you doing this? Why do you want me to stay?" She whimpered.
"Because I'm tired of fighting you. I never enjoyed it. I just want peace. I want my friend back. Please, P-Jinx. I'm sorry. Please, Jinx." He nuzzled the crook of her neck.
He was so naive. So desperate to ignore the fact that he couldn't save everyone. His hero syndrome wouldn't let him believe otherwise.
"You have to let me go."
She didn't even want to let him go. His hug was welcoming and brought her comfort.
His arms tightened around her. "You're not a jinx. I'll protect you. I'll be happy that you stayed. I want you here." His hand cradled the back of her head.
She thought she ran out of tears, but he was able to make more fill her eyes.
Oh my Gods.
Her insides felt warm and fuzzy, her surroundings became a soft blur of pink with hearts everywhere.
Only him. She wanted to cradle his head and keep him there.
She savored the slow caresses on his back while the other traveled to his head.
Only-
No.
Her eyes shot open and her hand stopped at his nape.
You can't stay. You'll only hurt him again. You'll only cause him more problems. You have to leave.
She rapidly blinked herself out of her daze, her hands tightly gripping his shoulders.
Gods, what the fuck was she doing?
"Let go!"
She roughly shoved him away, his back hit the table with a grunt: it nearly toppled over with the glass cups and plates shattering on the floor
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Her hands reached out for him but she held them to her chest.
Mylo rolled his eyes. His little sister was so predictable.
'You're hurting him again. That's all you're ever good for.'
She scrambled to get up and sprinted to the door.
"Jinx, please!"
His big, teary, brown eyes pleaded with her when his words couldn't.
She couldn't look at them anymore. The pain constricted into her body and clenched her heart with its razor-sharp talons.
She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped the straps of her backpack tighter. "I'm sorry, Little Man. For everything."
A flash of blue and a trail of magenta bolted down the hallway.
"Jinx!"
He ran after her, but she already vanished.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a piece of paper on the floor. It must have fallen out of his pocket.
He kneeled to unfold it, the letter was written in blue and pink markers:
Dear Ekko,
I'm sorry.
You always knew how to make me feel better when we were kids. Before the incident, you were always my favorite person.
You still are.
Goodbye,
-JINX
Her favorite person.
The confession made his heart soar yet shatter him at the same time.
He wanted to tell her that she was his favorite person, too.
What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I still love a woman that breaks my heart?
He sat on the floor and then held his head in his hands.
She was gone.
His sadness simmered and boiled into anger.
Nothing he said worked, and his pleading fell on deaf ears. Someone from his past that he wanted to have but couldn't.
He was useless when it came to her.
He failed her.
Again.
Always letting her down.
That was all he was ever good for, right?
----
Jinx was exiting the canary when she heard him scream. She whipped her head around and gasped softly, "Ekko?"
She wanted to go back. Take him up on his offer that things can be different.
She didn't want to be alone, and he was giving her a chance even after everything that transpired.
Ekko gave her hope. She wanted to be happy. With him. She longed for that so much. She wanted her dreams to become a reality.
She wanted a friend. He was all she had left.
She took two steps forward in the doorway when Silco appeared in front of her. His pristine suit was riddled with bullet holes and stained with blood.
'You shouldn't go back, dear. He's not worth your time.' He advised.
"But he's-he was my friend."
'He refused to accept you. Just like your sister. He'll be with you for ten minutes before he rejects you again.' Silco said.
Jinx frowned. "But he said-"
'He lied. Everyone does.' Silco reminded her. 'I'm your family. I would never steer you wrong. Have I?'
Jinx's eyes dropped to the floor as she shook her head.
'This is about your survival, child. I'm not there to protect you anymore. You have to do what you must to make it in this world. He'll only slow you down and hurt you again. Just like everyone else in your life.' Silco stated.
Jinx looked past him and into the dark hallway.
She didn't want to hurt Ekko anymore. She wanted to show him that she was capable of doing more.
Silco's features contorted into an irritated scowl. His daughter was smarter than this. Why was she hesitating for some boy?
'You need to leave him, Jinx,' He said sternly. 'Now.'
Her eyes glazed with fresh tears and her lips trembled.
A lone firelight flew past her as she ran away.
#timebomb#ekkojinx#ekko#jinx#arcane#arcane fanfic#fanfiction#my post#my writing#my fics#gift fic#angst
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Do you think Season 2 will pick up directly where season 1 ended or time skip a little?
What I kinda hope they do is start off time skipped, leaving us sorta scrambling to figure out what has happened, who’s alive, and how the characters have grown/changed in the aftermath. And then, when it’s relevant to a specific character’s story, or when the audience’s confusion/frustration reaches a peak, they jump back. And I hope they don’t shy away from the gory details. This guarantees to be a world-altering event for everyone in that council chamber. It’s going to shape the decisions they make for the rest of the story, and I think it’s important to see it, to understand what happened to them. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see our blorbos suffer, but I also don’t want it to be skipped over.
That said, what I want them to do and what is most likely they will do are two different things. And they only have 9 episodes to tell the story they want to tell, which I assume includes introducing new characters and explaining Vander Warwick. So I think what’s more likely is that they will start off time skipped and explain through context what happened. And perhaps every once in a while, a character who was there will have a flashback or something, which will give us a glimpse at their trauma without animating the entire scene.
It could also be a good arc-ender. Like for the first three episodes we see our favs acting incredibly out-of-character. They’re fundamentally different, and we’re left going what the fuck. And then at the end of arc 1, in the last few minutes of episode 3, we’re shown what happened. And all of that shit we saw in the first few episodes falls into place, and we go ooooohhhh I understand now, why they’re acting this way, why they’re doing these things.
I know those were three different answers, haha. Really it all comes down to what will progress the story, and I don’t think skipping over the aftermath is conducive to a good story. They have to show us what happened, in some capacity. I’m hoping for option 1 or 3, personally.
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The Living Sculptures
by Luna_Monroe
“Does the lady know Miss Kiramman?” Mrs. Reynolds' voice sounds so pleasantly surprised at the notion. Vi hums, her eyes never leaving the sculpture. She can imagine her now, her sharp cheekbones, full lips and the bluest eyes Vi had ever seen. In the privacy of her own mind, Vi wishes she could see her again. To apologize. To say thank you for sending Luxanna back to Zaun. Caitlyn hadn’t accompanied Luxanna, but Vi knew she was the culprit. Who else could it have been?
Looking at the statue now, Vi feels like she’s both gazing upon a stranger and a long lost friend. Someone she has admittedly found herself missing and thinking about constantly, wondering what her life would look like if she had answered differently all those months ago. The statue, while beautiful, doesn’t do Caitlyn justice. It doesn’t show the little furrow in her brow when she’s focused, the small, hard fought crinkles in her eyes when Vi had finally managed to get a laugh. It doesn’t show the lines of her face that scream nothing short of crestfallen heartbreak at Vi’s own hand.
“Only a little,” Vi finally replies.
“Do you not think she’s beautiful?” Mrs Reynolds asks.
Vi doesn’t look away from the statue. “She’s stunning.”
Words: 11196, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: F/F
Characters: Vi (League of Legends), Caitlyn (League of Legends), Jinx (League of Legends), Vander (League of Legends), Luxanna "Lux" Crownguard, Cassandra Kiramman, Miss Sarah Fortune, Viktor (League of Legends), Jayce (League of Legends), Claggor (Arcane: League of Legends), Mylo (Arcane: League of Legends), Silco (Arcane: League of Legends)
Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends), Luxanna "Lux" Crownguard/Jinx
Additional Tags: Inspired by Pride and Prejudice, Soft Caitlyn (League of Legends), POV Vi (League of Legends), Caitlyn and Vi are in Love (League of Legends), Angst with a Happy Ending, 2005 pride and prejudice inspired, I saw fan art and here is the result, Vi Needs a Hug (League of Legends), Good Sibling Vi (League of Legends), Soft Vi (League of Legends), I can't stop seeing Cait/Vi in everything I love, Cait/Vi, Vicait
Read on A03.
from AO3 works tagged ‘Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)’
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What makes Arcane great: S1E3
This is it--the big one, the heart-render, the episode that I had to talk through in therapy because Jesus, was I not okay after watching this one for the first time. Season 1, Episode 3: The Base Violence Necessary for Change.
That title, it's a bit of a mouthful, but the episode does what it says on the tin. It shows us where everything went wrong, shows us what it took for the world to fall to pieces. The show could've been made to work without any of the first three episodes--in fact, I'd argue that this would be the conventional preference. It's best to conserve the amount of time and space a story takes up. If you can fit all the events into one day rather than two, do it. The writers could've kept the same narrative and avoided a six- to seven- year time skip. We would've gotten a good picture of who Jinx and Vi are from their re-introductions in episode 4. Hell, you could probably drop someone into that fourth episode with no context and they'd still understand and enjoy the show.
But storytelling is more than a set of rules. The grounding issue at the heart of the show is a discussion of privilege--a mature, empathetic discussion, not a manifesto or a handwave. It is not the story of a battle between two cities, but of the way that societal structures tear people apart and pit us against each other. That can't be accomplished with an unsympathetic villain. More than that, though, to do it well--to make the story stick, to create something that resonates--the show needs an antagonist who isn't a villain. Someone who we genuinely want to succeed, to live up to her potential, but who opposes the heroes. So, recognizing this, the writers gave us Powder and made us watch her go insane.
Here's my highlights from the episode.
Sudden and inevitable escalation
In prose writing, there's a lot of talk about discovery writers and outliners--people who find the story as they go, and people who plan it out beforehand. Film, as a medium, lends itself heavily to the latter style, both because of the intense demand for concision and the higher level of collaboration. Stories that are outlined, pre-plotted, tend to have a very satisfying feel in their structure. There's a moment when pieces come together, when everything starts to add up. Predicting the plot can almost become a minigame, an added dimension of entertainment for the viewer. The difficulty is making the plot both comprehensible and organic. Often, outliners wind up writing stories that merely ratchet up in tension rather than changing and evolving.
In the first two episodes of Arcane, we are introduced to a few plot threads. We see Jayce and Viktor's work topside, Vi and company's struggle with the law, and Silco's plotting. All three are clearly important, clearly escalating, but we don't have a clear expectation for when they'll cross over. It's the perfect setup for a sharp but not immerson-breaking escalation: Grayson and Benzo's death and Vander's kidnapping at the hands of Silco. There's enough set up for this to make sense, and Silco's introductory monologue about betrayal flags his storyline as the one to watch out for in this episode. At the same time, the writers manage to make this scene sharp and surprising by undercutting the audience expectations. While we're aware that the conflict is ramping up, we're also expecting this escalation to continue down the clearest path: Vi or Vander will wind up in jail. The Lanes will riot. But instead of the cops against the Lanes, we get Silco against Vander. The result is that we, the viewers, feel shocked but not betrayed. We got what we were told to expect, but the form it took was not what we had assumed. Nobody expected this.
Surprise is one of the easiest reactions to create in storytelling, but it's one of the hardest to pull off satisfactorily. Smaug showing up in Star Wars would be surprising; it wouldn't make any damn sense, so of course we wouldn't see it coming. Vader redeeming himself by killing the Emperor is satisfactory surprise. There's a thin line between the nonsensical and the merely unexpected, and Arcane skates down that tightrope by perfectly managing audience expectations.
Order from chaos
In the undercity, Silco is creating chaos in the hopes of propelling change in the form of rebellion: the Free Nation of Zaun. Topside, Jayce and Viktor are doing the exact same thing: cranking the hextech crystal to max oscillations in the hopes that it will stabilize. Typically for Arcane, this mirror plot works out well for Piltover and poorly for Zaun. Both groups are playing with powers beyond their comprehension, but those with privilege are rewarded for it while the have-nots die because of that same curiosity.
This suspended flight, hovering in the blue glow, mirrors Powder's fall later. We see the power of the arcane for beauty, and also for evil.
We also see some hints of Viktor's flaws in this plotline. He asks Jayce, "Do you think it was my life's ambition to be an assistant?" He has drive, passion, creativity, and a willingness to do what must be done. There is also a dark side to his ambition, though. Viktor, the outsider in Piltover, will always have something to prove. His worst mistakes will come about as a result of his own lack of privilege--a deficit which he has sorely tried to overcome.
Always ready to brawl
Once the kids (sans Powder) are in Silco's lair, the trap springs. Vi has to fight off Silco's goons while the others break Vander out. Powder, unbeknownst to them, decides that she will help by making a bomb out of the hextech crystals.
This sequence is great in terms of tension and escalation, but the standout to me, the flourish, is how grounded the fighting remains. We get to see Vi in her first real test, and she proves that she's everything she's cracked up to be, knocking out enemies twice her size with a single blow. It's great to see a competent protagonist. It makes us feel like we, the viewers, are adequately represented within the narrative by our surrogate, the hero. We aren't falling prey to stupid tricks. The difficulty is balancing character competence with realism, relatability, and danger. If this fight is too easy for Vi, she starts to look like a Mary Sue. But, no--she takes hits as she deals them out, goes down and has to get back up. And then, when she crosses a shimmered-out Deckard, she realizes she is far out of her league.
Too, Deckard manages to toe the line between villain cliches and verisimilitude. He's happy to gloat over Vi when he knows that he can bring her down, but when she starts to slide the door shut, he panics. He knows he's fucked up.
The same philosophy continues when Vander wades into the fight. We get to see him living up to his reputation. We get to see why he's afraid of his own fists, of his capacity for violence. At the same time, it never gets out of hand. He never becomes unstoppable. Hulked-out Deckard is a worthy opponent for him--and he can still be stabbed in the back. Then, when push comes to shove, Vander's final decision is artfully communicated: kill Silco or save Vi. Silco's escape doesn't feel forced because it wasn't a matter of beams falling or a bridge breaking. It was a matter of choice.
Time to say goodbye
We come to the core of this episode. The hard part. Trauma.
I once had a psychiatrist describe trauma to me as anything you walked away from thinking, 'things will never be the same.' That feeling is what this story so perfectly captures--the feeling of stepping over the line and having it all go wrong, of mistakes you can never go back from. Powder sees her friends in trouble, tries to help by sending in a bomb. It finally works, and when it does, the shrapnel kills Mylo and Claggor outright. The ensuing fight leads to Vander's death.
For me, Powder's story taps into a deep-buried fear: the fear that, by trying to help, I might irrevocably hurt the people closest to me. That I am broken; that my presence is a cancer. I think this is to some extent a universal fear, but it is perhaps most present in some of the circles that both Powder and I fall into: people with mental illnesses, people who have experienced codependence, and (in my case, though perhaps not in Powder's) queer people. We come to believe that we are defective, that there is something about us that is fundamentally wrong, that causes pain. That we are a jinx. Her experience here is like the dire, nightmare version of every neurodivergent's childhood social gaffs: you say or do something you thought was right, and when you act proud of it, people call you a freak. Worse, you realize that they were right, that you did cross a line you hadn't realized was there.
Powder sees the destruction, thinks it's beautiful. Feels pride. But also . . . something else, maybe. There is a vacancy to her expression which, to me, implies a buried fear. A buried understanding.
She even knocked Vi's toy loose. She did good. Right?
Or, Vi's childhood, such as it was--her remaining innocence--is lost now, thrown from the place where she so fearfully stowed it.
Powder finds Vi. Realizes what she did. Vi hits her, leaves her, and now Powder has to deal with the worst trauma of her life in the one way she's never learned: alone. So, when Silco volunteers sympathy, she latches onto him.
Vi, too, has her worst fear realized. After the explosion, she sees that Mylo and Claggor are not getting up. She can barely hold it together. Then, she sees a worse sight.
She knows where that monkey head came from. Knows that somehow, Powder is here, too. That her sister might have died while she, Vi, was powerless to protect her.
She has lost everything. Everyone.
It's worth noting, too, Vi's eyes in this shot--one blue, one grey. The show tends to use eye color to indicate characters' dualities. Powder, for example, has grey eyes, while Jinx has blue eyes (and, in her worst moments, purple eyes). My interpretation is that in Vi's case, it's a matter of expression and repression. When her eyes are blue, she is emotive, passionate, fully present. When her eyes are grey, she is buried beneath pain. I read this frame as a conflict, a tipping point: she is torn between the hope that Powder survived, that it might all still be okay, and the knowledge that every other member of her family is dead or dying.
Vi has built her relationship with Powder under the pretense that she is selfless, but in reality, she has only saddled her sister with all her hopes and expectations. As long as Powder is alive, Vi thinks, there is something in the world worth living for. There's a chance for things to get better. She hangs these hopes around Powder's neck in the same way she leaves her stuffed rabbit caught in the power lines. She claims that other people did it, that they stole from her, and she's right; but she also claims that she can't get it back, and that is wrong. Truth is, it's easier to keep those hopes close but out of reach than it is to chase them and embrace the possibility of failure. Vi refuses to live for herself because it's easier to offload that weight onto her sister. If she hadn't, then Powder might not have felt the need to prove herself, to live up to those hopes. She might not have made the bomb.
It all comes to a head when Vi realizes that Powder was the one behind this. She is torn between rage and love, the fury of loss and her endless sympathy for her sister, the one person on whom she hung all her hopes.
Vi's heterochromia persists through Vander's death, even--to my eye--through the moment when she first hears Powder's voice. But then, she puts two and two together. Asks, "You did this?" Both eyes go grey.
And then she hits Powder. Says, "I told you to stay away!"
It's an impossible moment. Vi has just done the one thing that she would never do--she's hurt her sister. She has been pushed to the point of breaking her prime directive, of proving to herself that she, fundamentally, is not the person she thought. We are shocked by Vi; we're angry that she did this, that she hit an eleven-year-old girl. At the same time, we don't hate her for it. In shattering her self image, Vi is doing irredeemable harm. It is an evil act. The yang in that yin, though, is the proof that she is not, in fact, defined by her sister. We recognize here that Vi is, for the first time since we've seen her, living for herself. If she had forgiven Powder immediately, hugged her and told her everything would be okay, it would've meant the death of Vi's own identity and volition. Vi should not have hurt her sister, but seeing the hurt that was done to her, as well as her genuine regret, I am able to forgive her.
Her eyes are blue. She is feeling everything. She realizes what she's done, what she still wants to do, and does the one thing she can to keep Powder safe: she leaves. Only for a second, she thinks--and then, her nightmare plays out, too. Vi is the other side of the codependent coin, is afraid of leaving Powder alone because something terrible might happen, because Powder needs her. And when she leaves, Marcus captures her. She cannot be the person she swore she was: her sister's protector.
Why it sticks.
The core of this show, of this episode, is Vi and Powder's codependence. And yet, I hold firmly that Vi and Powder are both blameless for their unhealthy relationship. They should, in fact, be lauded for it. They did not have the time, space, resources, wisdom, or support to deal with the violent death of their parents or the circumstances of their birth. They had an option between an unhealthy relationship based in love and a bitter, estranged relationship based in fear, and they chose the former. That's the correct decision. Every time. The reason we love both these characters is that they made that choice in the hardest moment of their lives. They are flawed, but in their hearts, both Vi and Powder are willing to choose love over fear.
#arcane#jinx arcane#powder arcane#vi arcane#arcane jinx#arcane league of legends#arcane textposts#tv review#tvandfilm#sff
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elliot's request page.
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about the writer. male, any prns. but mainly he/they, music + cats + sleep lover, trans 'n omnisexual. might add more later but for now this is enough.
rules.
1. remain respectful. i don't tolerate disrespect. if you're rude to me in any way, i won't be nice anymore. remember, i'm a mirror. i copy others behavior.
2. don't ask for fem reader. i strictly write for male and gender-neutral audiences. any fem aligned people, please don't interact.
3. be patient. i have a life outside social media. i'm a busy man, and sometimes i'd rather not spend my free time writing fanfictions or i simply won't feel motivated to write.
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fandoms.
COD (Call Of Duty).
könig, capt. price, ghost, soap, alejandro, valeria, farah, alex, rudy, nikolai, gaz, graves.
AOT (Attack On Titan).
eren, zeke, mikasa, armin, jean, connie, sasha, erwin, levi, hange, reiner, bertholdt, annie, pieck, porco.
SPIDERMAN (ITSV + ATSV).
miles, peter b., miguel, gwen, hobie, pavitr, noir, penny, the prowler (miles).
BEASTARS.
legoshi, louis, haru, juno, jack, bill, pina, melon, riz, gohin.
HTTYD (How to train your dragon).
hiccup, astrid, fishlegs, ruffnut, tuffnut, snotlout.
TLOU (The Last Of Us/Show).
joel, tess, tommy, marlene, ellie.
MARVEL. (CLOSED)
tony starks, capt. america, peter parker, thor, dr. strange, bucky, scarlet, deadpool, gamora, black panther, ant-man, star-lord, mantis, nebula, bruce, natasha, loki, hawkeye, falcon.
ARCANE.
vi, viktor, jinx, vander, silko, ekko, caitlyn.
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what i write.
smut
angst
fluff
headcanons
gore
lemon
platonic
multiple characters x reader
various au's
pretty much anything
what i don't write.
incest
non-con/rape
crossovers
minor x adult (both have to be at least 18.)
any weird kinks (such as piss kink, foot fetish etc)
character x oc
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a/n: this will get updated whenever, so be sure to always check before requesting.
REQUESTS ARE CLOSED.
will finish the requests i currently have when it's school break (in a week).
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Silco and the villainy of subversive love...
Interesting observation that my partner made while we were rewatching Arcane for like the billionth time. One of the reasons a character like Silco - immoral, ruthless and ostensibly heartless - left such an impact on audiences was the way the series coded him as a stereotypical Bond-villain, down to the scarred eye and power-hungry spiels, and yet didn’t shy away from portraying his immense capacity for love - while also filtering it through an immoral and ruthless lens.
This is a character who will resort to everything from murdering children to drug trafficking to achieve his goal. Yet as a human being, he is capable of such brutal depths of love. As a young man, it’s clear he adored and trusted Vander with his whole heart. As a father, he is unafraid to defend his child to the death, and never tolerates any criticism toward her, much less someone looking at her cross-eyed.
Honestly, it’s refreshing to see a take on a villain with power - who in turn does everything within said power, good and very very bad - to defend what they love. It almost makes their love besides the point, because what we see in truth is their humanity, and the way it can be either sanctified or subverted to achieve their ends.
Anyway, 10/10 for villainy and 11/10 for excellent character writing. Off to go cry at the final scene again<3
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"Love Song"
-Vander x OC. Angst and romantic fluff.
-When Vander finally decides to visit Rosemary at the club she's performing at, he'll find out much more than he ever expected to.
Rosemary peeked through a slit in the worn velvet curtains at the back of the stage, absentmindedly spinning the glass sapphire ring on her index finger to calm her nerves. There was quite the crowd tonight; normally this particular club wasn't this packed even on a Saturday, but apparently her growing popularity had pulled in more patrons than usual, something the owner was, of course, pleased as punch about.
She scanned the room, seeing a bunch of the usual suspects and a slew of new faces, most looking like they were already a drink or so in. Classy and expensive as this establishment was with it's heavy wood tables, thick, patterned tablecloths, plush-backed chairs and beautiful decor, the crowd's more inebriated behavior tended to, ironically, vary little from the dilapidated places down in the Undercity.
Biting her inner lip, mindful of the crimson lipstick painting them, she searched in the sea of well-groomed faces for one in particular, one less so but leagues more handsome. She had hoped many a time to see that face during one of her performances, but sadly, so far he'd yet to appear...
-"Please Van! It'd be great to see ya in the audience sometime!"
"So I can stick out like a sore thumb? Sorry love those fancy places ya sing at aren't for me..."
It was about a week prior, and she'd invited Vander out for a beer after her family's shop had closed and he'd finished his shift in the mines. In time their conversation turned to her budding singing career, and eventually to the stalemate they'd found themselves at; her persistent invitation for him to come see her, and his reluctance to do so.
Rosemary blew out an annoyed breath and took a long gulp of her beer before swiveling on her barstool to rest an elbow on the counter and poke at his arm, "Know what I think? I think you're afraid you'll actually enjoy yourself, 'n then you'd hafta admit it's not all bad!"
"And I think you're already drunk." he quipped dryly.
"Coward."
"Lil' pest."
Switching tactics, she turned her brows downward and poked out her lip, doing her best pleading expression, "I'm singin' at the Owl Club just over the bridge on Friday. It'd really mean a lot to have my mate's support!"
He lit a cigarette and after silently offering her a puff, blew several thoughtful wisps into the air, "And I can support ya without havin' everyone starin' at me and makin' remarks about the trencher trash," his expression darkened and voice dropped to a low growl, "Topsiders will always think they're better than us, that they're above us both literally and otherwise...sometimes I dunno how you can stomach it."
She fell quiet, turning away to face the chipped and stained mirror behind the bar. In it she saw duel reflections of them; one more clear, one murky and cracked. She sipped some more of her drink and in her inebriated mind swirled a melancholy thought as she mused, as she sometimes did, which one reflected the future?
At length she sighed lowly and murmured, "A'right. I respect that. I won't bug ya anymore 'bout it."
He glanced sideways at her, seeing the sadness and loneliness behind her bright hazel eyes despite her efforts to hide it and felt a traitorous stab of guilt. Dammit all. He didn't want to give those pompous fucks the satisfaction of mocking him, but he also hated to see her of all people like this. Maybe...
Mirroring her, he sighed and rubbed his temples, only smearing the dust around more and shifted to face her, "Tell ya what. I'll...consider it. Maybe some time if I'm not too busy. Just don't hold your breath."
"W-wait really?" Rosemary blinked in disbelief, then broke into a radiant smile, the one that made his heart skip and warmth bubble up in his chest.
Hoping she couldn't see that warmth beginning to paint his cheeks he scoffed with a smirk, "If I didn't give in ya were just gonna keep buggin' me."
That damned smile of his, that crinkled the corners of his eyes and sent tiny lightning bolts zipping throughout her body rendered her momentarily stupefied-although the ale wasn't helping-before she felt her face warm and retorted, "I said I would drop it! But...thank you."
"Sure ya would." he teased.
"Asshole! You're lucky you're so damn handsome!"
Vander winked, "And you're lucky to have me."
She began to toss another sarcastic remark at him when she froze, cursing silently as she felt the heat flush her cheeks deeper and was unable to tear her eyes from his. Oh, she'd like to have him all right. In several ways. Before she could stop the words rolling off her tongue they were out.
"Do I...?"
His eyebrows knitted as he briefly pondered her words and how to reply; he still wasn't completely certain of how she saw him, saw them, the subject being so difficult to broach they avoided it with banter and booze, the irony being the longer they stuck their heads in the sand the more they felt suffocated by the tension.
Clearing his throat, Vander tapped his fingers on the counter and carefully asked, "When we uh, gonna talk 'bout last week...?"
Rosemary swallowed audibly, knowing exactly to what he was referring; the night at Iron Bear when their game of flirting and wits had taken a much more serious and unquestionable turn, when she'd purred downright raunchy suggestions in his ear unlike anything they'd said to each other prior, throwing their relationship into question. He'd taken off, not sure how to process it and they'd awkwardly avoided the topic since.
"Oh-oh. Right. Thaaaat..." she coughed, nervously kicking her feet and glancing everywhere but at him directly. She hadn't expected him to be the one to break the ice but here they were. "Well...I guess I-"
"Vander?! There you are I been lookin' for you!"
Abruptly, Benzo appeared and rushed over, looking gravely serious. He gave her a quick nod of greeting and apology and Rosemary, both irritated at the interruption of their important discussion, yet admittedly slightly relieved, leaned to peer around his large frame, only able to catch bits of their conversation despite her closeness. After a few moments Vander stood and snatched up his jacket, his expression of barely controlled rage and exasperation sending goosebumps of a different kind up her back.
He glanced at her, a shadow of guilt crossing his face, "Sorry Rosie, some bad business at the docks...I have to go. We'll catch up later."
She didn't have time to reply beyond an acknowledgement and a quick wish for his safety before the group was gone.
-Rosemary exhaled wearily, gripping the plush curtain; such was the price of starting a black market empire. She hadn't seen him since, though according to Benzo he was fine. Still she wondered when they'd cross paths again and what that conversation might entail.
"Miss? Miss Rosemary?" came an uncertain voice, snapping her focus back to the present.
She turned to see a young man with a clipboard and the tell-tale patchy acne of unfortunate teens, his suit a size too large and standing with as much confidence as could be mustered. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, "I'm sorry-I don't want to rush you b-but you're up in two minutes. Oh! And...um, you look really beautiful today!"
"Thank you Charlie," she smiled, reaching to adjust his slightly crooked tie and he chuckled out a nervous 'thanks', "You're always so kind. Hold onto that yeah? And don't worry I'll be ready."
"Cool, cool, good. Okay! I'll let Abe know," he whirled away but then turned back as he awkwardly walked sideways off the backstage, "Good luck!"
She gave him a little wave with another smile before turning back and after one last vainly hopeful and ultimately fruitless peek, smoothed her cream-colored, ankle length dress and drew several deep, restorative breaths, getting herself into the right mindset. It was time to let Rosemary, the mechanic's daughter and rebellious Undercity youth, take a break to allow her alter ego to shine through the rust and grease.
She heard the chatter drop off with Abe, the club owner's, heavy footfalls crossing the stage and calling for attention.
"Good ladies and gents!" he boomed, all smiles and arms outstretched, "I trust you've been having a splendid time. We at the Owl Club aim to please with the finest spirits, dishes and entertainment. Speaking of, I do believe it's time for our star act this evening, the reason, I suspect, at least some of you fine people came."
Rosemary prepped herself, drawing a few more calming breaths and quietly singing a few last-minute warmup scales as Abe continued to work the crowd and build excitement.
Neither he nor anyone noticed the figure that slipped into the room, taking an inconspicuous spot in the back and partially behind a fake vine-festooned column.
"-May I present, the lovely, the talented, the nightingale of the mines, the beautiful blossom that grows even in darkness, the one and only-!"
Flawlessly on cue, Rosemary dramatically flung the curtains aside and swaggered onto the stage, the lights making her gown shimmer and smiled broadly, waving to the crowd.
"Lady Rose!"
There was an outburst of applause and cheers mingled with occasional whistle or cheesy 'howl'. Laughing, Rosemary took up the microphone at center stage and struck a pose.
"Hello boys and gals," she all but purred, then continued with a coy grin, "So wonderful to see you all! I do hope you're having a real...hoot tonight."
The audience laughed approvingly at her little pun, while she herself cringed inside; she loathed that stupid joke, but Abe always insisted she work it in, for 'branding' he had explained. She thought he was a dumbass but kept that to herself.
"I've got a nice little lineup of tunes I think you'll enjoy. First off is the classic and ever classy, 'Dont Leave Me Lonely'."
A record player just out of sight sparked to life, the sound quickly moving to a set of speakers behind the large potted plants on the stage's sides and Rosemary folded one hand over her heart, raising the microphone and swaying to the opening lyrics.
"Darling don't leave me lonely, don't leave me here tonight...come sit with me on this bed of stars and all will be alright..."
Rosemary had gone through almost her entire set, pausing between songs to breathe and entertain the audience with a witty quip or friendly, appropriately flirty banter, part of her enjoying the attention and the other remembering Vander's words;
'Topsiders will always think they're better than us, that they're above us both literally and otherwise...sometimes I dunno how you can stomach it...'
If he bothered to show up, he'd see that from her elevated vantage point she was now, ironically, the one above them. It was a thought she relished with more than a dab of petty glee...and a touch of bitterness. Pushing these melancholy thoughts and thoughts of him at all aside-she needed to focus-she went back to center stage.
"Now then, this will have to be my last song for the evening-" she paused to let them good-naturedly protest, smiling sadly, "I know, I know, but I'll be back! So, for this final piece..."
She trailed off, noticing for the first time the large figure in the back and instantly recognized those broad shoulders and intense eyes even from the half shadow he stood in and her heart soared; Vander had shown up at last and it was all she could do to stop herself from running to embrace him. Instead an idea crossed her mind and giddy from the happiness of seeing him, she composed herself and broke into a warm smile, clearing her throat.
"Actually...I was going to sing 'Beyond the Waters' however..." she grabbed a stool that had also been behind one of plants. With a flourish, she dragged it to front and center and gracefully perched herself on it, making direct eye contact with Vander, "I believe I'll do 'Fancy Seeing You..'."
-"You need my assistance with what now?"
Silco swiveled in his chair to gaze incredulously at Vander sprawled on the couch in their 'office', a spare room in the small bar they owned. The place was as much a blatant front for their black market dealings as it was a legitimate business, but the Enforcers had yet to catch on.
Vander sighed and removed his feet from the coffee table to stand and pace, "I...decided I'm gonna go see Rosie sing, but I can't go like this. They won't even let me in prob'ly. So uh," he rubbed the back of his neck, "Think ya can help me spiff up a bit?"
Eyebrow crooked, a small smile tugged at one corner of Silco's mouth as he casually flipped to another page, "I'm glad to see you're finally attending. Benzo and I did some time ago. What's taken you so long, I wonder?"
"Didn't wanna start nothin'."
A flash of suspicion crossed Silco's expression, "I very much doubt the man who beats up Enforcers on a semi-regular basis is concerned about decorum or reputation."
Vander paused in his pacing, hands thrust into his pockets. He couldn't bring himself to admit, to Silco or anyone, that part of the reason was he was afraid; afraid of seeing her all dolled up, shining like a star and losing what part of his heart didn't already belong to her. He wasn't sure how she felt, and didn't want to ruin their friendship if she didn't feel the same. But if he saw her, he knew it'd be over.
Instead he said, "You're right. I don't give two shits 'bout what they think of me. But even if I'm not a fan of the places or Pilties she's 'round...I can't ruin what she's worked for by startin' a fight. So, think ya can help me blend in?"
Satisfied seemingly by this, Silco dropped the sheaf of papers with a flourish and stood, walking up to Vander and circling him, hands clasped behind his back. Vander watched him curiously before coughing pointedly.
"Well...?"
"Of course I'll help. I'll get in touch with one of my contacts to provide you with a suitable wardrobe; should be only a couple of days. But first I need to see what I'm working with...and some work does need to be done."
"Fuck you." Vander smirked, and Silco shot him a sideways glance while clicking his tongue disapprovingly, "Language. That's tip number one. Tip number two.."
Silco reached up and flicked his fingers through Vander's thick, messy hair, "Proper clothing is important yes, but so is grooming. We'll start here..."
-When he'd entered the club, Vander felt painfully awkward and uncomfortable among the crowd, full well knowing he didn't belong despite the fashionable clothes and neatly combed hair. But, gazing up at Rosemary on that stage, joyful smile as bright as her gown shining under the twinkling lights, voice sweeter than honey and beautiful eyes fixed on him as if this was a private concert just for them, all that melted away and suddenly they were the only ones in the room.
"Fancy seeing you here, it's been too long...Fancy seeing you here, won't you stay a while?...."
Vander felt a hot tightness in his chest he didn't know a name for and all he could do was watch in awe as the woman who drank cheap beer with him, teased and gave him hell, would show up covered in engine oil and dirt had transformed into an angel complete with halo from the spotlight.
High from the adrenaline and feeling daring, Rosemary decided to crank things up a notch...and make her way to someone without seeming too suspicious. Sliding off the stool, without missing a beat of the song she swaggered down the short stairs off the stage and into the audience itself, pausing at various tables for a moment or two. The audience was abuzz, people leaning around each other to get a better glimpse and murmuring excitedly among themselves.
Vander was abruptly startled from his musings by someone bumping an elbow into him. Glancing to his right he saw a group of several people, faces flushed pink and drinks in their hands.
One short, balding man smirked drunkenly at him, "Ain't she something special? Beautiful. Talented. Man when I tell you I'd love to know what else she's good at..."
The others echoed his sentiments, one even making a squeezing gesture and the group chortled with booze-soaked glee.
Vander's jaw clenched and he quickly bit the inside of his cheek, hard, to stop himself from saying something rash, fists clenched white-knuckled; he had to keep his cover for her sake, and thus quelled his reactive instinct to beat the shit out of them. With horror he realized several others around them were sharing similar remarks, making his stomach turn.
What he couldn't hide was the flash of rage in his steel-blue eyes, because the man paled, "Oh...um..."
Vander, still fighting to keep his composure, all but growled, "I'm sure you would mate, but she ain't a toy."
He cursed silently, sure he'd blown his cover...before the man suddenly guffawed and clapped a hand on his shoulder, "I like your fire sir. Maybe you should be a bouncer for this place!"
He then removed his hand and staggered off with the rest of his inebriated posse, which was fortunate, because Vander was about to remove it for him...and perhaps from his arm entirely.
By this time, Rosemary had circled almost the whole room, singing 'directly' to random patrons and enjoying their sometimes flustered reactions-and then she was suddenly right in front of him.
And for a brief, frozen moment as they stared at each other, they were the only two souls in the world.
Heart hammering so loudly she was sure he could hear, she reached out to grasp the end of his tie, playing with the silken fabric as her wavering eyes dared to meet his and she raised the microphone to finish the song.
"Fancy seeing you here...and here it is...I love you...won't you stay forever?"
And with those words the fear he'd held came to pass as she stole his breath and abruptly that tightness had a name. He swallowed thickly, stunned and uncertain; it was just the lyrics, wasn't it? She didn't actually just...?
Silently mouthing 'thank you', she spun on her heel before her face gave away her feelings and made her way back to the stage, waving politely to the cheering and whistling crowd. Unable to stand it and mind whirling, Vander also turned quickly and strode out, ignoring the scattered chuckles behind him with gritted teeth and shoved open a back door to a side alley.
Twirling back around, Rosemary's face fell; where did he go? She had to compose herself swiftly though, and blowing kisses to the audience, thanked them and bade them goodnight before exiting as soon and discreetly as possible. She barreled past Abe in the side hall, who was already in the middle of a rambling speech both praising and admonishing her little 'stunt'.
"I don't know what you were thinking young lady but maybe you can try that-"
"Thanks-Abe-sorry-be-back-!"
Meanwhile in the alley, a faint drizzle had begun, scattering drops on the cobblestone. Pacing, breath rapid, Vander hiccuped out a cross between a sob and a snarl and not sure how to process the hurricane of emotion inside, swung a fist into the brick wall, scraping his knuckles raw. He let it sit there, the throbbing pain giving him something else to focus on-
"Van?!"
He paused, glancing toward the exclamation of his nickname to see her standing there, concern painting her beautiful features. Letting his fist fall limpy to his side, it left a bloody streak on the orange brick, the pain doing it's job as he snorted out a breath and, as he always did, resorted to covering his emotions with a familiar veneer of anger.
"How can ya fuckin' stand them, Rosie? Ya know what they say about you, what they think of ya?!"
Rosemary started to reply but paused, seeing that she had to choose her words carefully; the furrow of his brow and wound tension of his shoulders gave away how the storm raged under the surface.
"...Of course I do, Van," she responded calmly, "I'm not that naive. But ya know how much coin I rake in per night?"
He barked out a bitter laugh, the words pouring out as his deep voice echoed loudly off the walls, "I know I know but-you're nothin' but a toy to them! They don't respect what ya do! Hell they don't respect ya at all! They don't really care about ya! They'll never know you, never love you like we do like I do-"
He trailed off, the silence that refilled the space deafening as her mouth hung open. Her heart raced anew, hope beginning to seep into it like the raindrops in her hair as she'd never dared to feel before.
"Did you...?" she managed, and he exhaled in frustration, then realizing he'd already blown it-in for a penny in for a pound right?-he blurted the thing that kept repeating in his head, the thing that would make or break what they had but he could no longer ignore.
"Was that just the song talkin' or was that you too?!"
There it was; the flash of hope and uncertainty mirroring her own touching his expression and despite the seriousness of the situation, her happiness bubbled up, resulting in a nervous, soft laugh.
"I'm glad one of us finds this funny." he sourly grumbled, running a hand through his hair and purposely messing it up.
"No! Vander-" she clutched her dress with a shaky breath and lowered her voice, as if she'd scare him away if she spoke a fraction too loud, "I'm just...why do you think I chose that song?"
The realization sinking in, his expression softened as he met her gaze again, her hazel eyes seeming to desperately try and convey what words adequately could not.
His own voice carefully measured yet a shade brighter he asked, "So you really...?"
"Yeah...I do!"
"Ya sure?"
"Pretty damn sure but figure it out big guy."
"...Lil' pest."
"...Coward."
They laughed then, some of the tension alleviated as Rosemary rubbed her arms, beginning to feel a tad chilled from the misty rain. Noting this, Vander approached and removed his vest, draping it over her shoulders.
"Thanks," she smiled almost shyly, then her attention turned abruptly to his bloodied, scraped hand. Instantly her demeanor switched back to her 'normal' self with a huff.
Grabbing his hand she rolled her eyes, "How many times I gotta tell ya?! Keep this up and you'll get a nasty infection-again! I swear-!"
Reaching down she tore a strip of her dress's underlayer off. Winding the soft fabric around his injuries she continued to mutter and scold him, as if he were a reckless child and not a fully grown man nearly a foot taller than herself. He protested and grumbled, insisting he was fine and she didn't need to make such a fuss.
"For fuck's sake yer bein' ridiculous I've gotten hurt worse 'n this."
Glaring at him she worked to cinch the makeshift bandage tight, "Deal with it."
"Look I'm not a kid ya don't gotta-"
"-then quit whining and let me-"
"Hey! Ow! Dammit Rosie-!"
"It's yer own fault ya-"
Abruptly, amidst their squabbling their eyes locked and silence fell again...and then the dam burst at last.
Without thinking about it too hard, or indeed at all, before any doubts or stray imagined barriers could resurface their arms were around each other, lips pressed together and for just a brief, blissful second, nothing else existed.
Rosemary tangled her fingers in his thick tresses, so intoxicated by the sensation and taste of him she barely registered when he literally swept her off her feet, lifting her so he didn't have to bend down as much.
Vander's head was spinning, his heart pounded anew, scarcely believing this was really happening and not one of the many daydreams he'd dared to spin about this moment; no, there it was, her soft mouth molded to his and her scent filling his lungs, a divine perfume so far a cry from the filthy air of the Undercity he imagined this was the smell of heaven.
Eventually they disentangled themselves enough to pause and attempt to take stock of the situation and their new-found status. Rosemary coughed and brushed some stray hairs that had come undone back into place.
"Well..." she began, "Where does this leave us?"
Vander smirked, and she crooked an eyebrow as he slid one arm around her, "I uh, think it's safe to say we're a lil' more than friends. Definitely probably a couple. Maybe besides that we can...figure it out as we go?"
"Yeah...I like that," she nodded with another rare, sweetly shy smile, the kind that sent sparks up his spine all over again, then her expression abruptly turned downright devious, "And I have a brilliant idea for a first date..."
-Abe was on his usual rounds, making sure everything in the club was closed, locked, or otherwise buttoned up for the night. Seeing that everything was seemingly in it's rightful place he made one final lap back past a couple offices and storerooms-when he spotted one door slightly ajar.
Muttering, he closed it fully and turned the key in the lock, walking away with a yawn...never noticing all the missing items or small bags of coins.
Meanwhile, Vander and Rosemary dashed through the streets and alleys, laughing gleefully and pausing occasionally for another victory smooch, the coins in their pockets shining as brightly as their spirits.
#arcane#arcane fanfiction#arcane vander#vander arcane#arcane vander x oc#vander x oc#fluff and angst#romance and angst#yoooo this took me FOR FUCKING EVER#I'm really really proud of it though
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