Selective, multi para/novella rp blog. Previously a multimuse, whittled down to just Ekko and Scar from Arcane (Scar side blog linked in pinned post.) 18+ themes and dark content can crop up on here; reader discretion is advised. Mun is 25+.
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“Kinda late for that now. The dam’s broken. You threw up everywhere and I broke Mr. Macho’s face. We’re both having a bad day.”
Ekko let out a breathless sort of sound that was half-laugh, half-groan - and promptly retched again. Oh. Oh no. Oh shit. Laughing was a terrible mistake while feeling this nauseous.
Fortunately, there was nothing really left for his stomach to expel. His throat burned, though, and the taste in his mouth was vile. Self-consciously, he wiped at his mouth with a rag, and took another moment to catch his breath.
"...It's still early," he managed to quip back, albeit with a very tangible tiredness weighing down the attempt at an optimistic outlook.
"The day's not - not done yet. We've both got time for things to improve."
Granted, Jinx had more control over the trajectory of that than he did, right now. Hell, he'd still be willing to counted this day a good one, in spite of how unwell he felt, if he could just see her make a single small step of progress on her own merit. Something - anything - to avoid ending her first morning without him on such a sour note.
The bile on his tongue wasn't nearly as bad as that.
“Wasn’t expecting you to give me a free pass outta here. Your buddies worked kinda hard to get me in here, y’know.”
Ekko slowly straightened, slanting her a weary look.
"Yeah, I know."
He'd seen pretty much the whole thing. It had been very difficult to not try and intervene, even in his weakened state. But he couldn't really fault how Scar and the others had handled it - especially given how Jinx had drawn first blood, and had clearly been past the point of talking things out. Their options for dealing with the situation had been limited. At least it seemed like the darkness and the quiet of the Timeout Tunnel had helped Jinx calm down, rather than agitating her even further.
If anything, she seemed almost reluctant to leave now. Odd. Ekko had assumed she would have been itching to get out on sheer principle - after all, while this wasn’t a prison cell, it still had a lock on the outside.
“How about I come check up on you? Make sure you’re not still green later. You’ve already chucked up in fronta me, so it’s totally less embarrassing now.”
Was that her way of saying she wanted to stay here and take a break from everything for a little longer? Or was she simply seeking something to look forward to - some reassurance of routine? Ekko supposed it hadn't been fair to leave her with the others this morning, without giving her a proper heads up about his sickness and the subsequent change to the schedule.
"...Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."
@f1shbonez
"Wanna tell me what happened back there?" (Ekko to Jinx)
The fight was over. Jinx knew it the moment she was dropped into a cold, dark tunnel. The memory of knees, arms and elbows throbbed long after the people she’d fought so hard against were gone. As the binds around Jinx’s wrists were cut, she began to flex and release her fingers, coaxing the blood back into them. She remained motionless as Scar cut the last of the binds and darted from the room. There was a heavy thrumming noise as the steel door was pulled shut and then she was alone.
Why was her heart still pounding like the fight wasn’t over? Aching from where she lay plastered to the floor, Jinx began to push herself back to her feet. At first it was hard to do anything but drift through the space. A hollow sense of resignation began to swallow up the bottled screams and sobs that were only just beneath the surface.
The tunnel was blocked up and full of heavy shadow from the dim light inside. Unfamiliar with the space and her predicament Jinx began to pace, slow and lost. Just out of reach, two white eyes followed her every move.
“--Don’t. Say. Anything.” Jinx growled under her breath towards the apparition, feeling herself turn rigid under Mylo’s stare.
“Yeah, like that’ll make any difference.” The retort was swift to do its damage, earning a wince from Jinx as she turned to pace under the brightest patch of light in the dark. Sure, she’d already screwed up. Was talking to people only she could see going to undo today’s screw up? Not exactly. It didn’t usually make her feel any better, either.
Jinx’s blood continued to boil at the memory of Scar, the rope and being manhandled into a pretty large, but obvious cage. Everything was ruined; the second chance, the progress she’d been making, Ekko starting to trust her. Gone. Even Scar himself didn’t hide the fact that there was no real benefit to holding onto her. There was no coming back from this…was there?
The thought stirred a mixture of fear and shame within Jinx. If she’d MEANT to do damage to Scar, a mug to the face would never have been the plan! Somehow it didn’t even feel worth raising that when defending her case. How long were they gonna leave her in here anyway? What was going to happen next? The look on Ekko’s face flashed through Jinx’s mind again, punctuating the raw, mournful sense of hurt taking root in her chest.
“Why can’t I do anything right?” She breathed, sinking to the ground again next to Claggor in a wordless plea for an answer. Claggor didn’t speak. He never did.
Bowing her head, Jinx felt silent tears begin to run down her face. It didn’t take long for the ugly feeling to bleed through the cracks in her composure, building to quiet sobs. She stayed like that for a long time before the ache of dead eyes became too much to bear. The faint noise of life on the other side of the tunnel door was a reminder of everything bad. No. Quiet. She needed quiet.
Retreating to the furthest point of the dead-end tunnel, Jinx hunkered down in the dark. A broad, empty shelving unit sat unused in the pitch black, offering a refuge from the wide open mouth of concrete. Ignoring the ache in her muscles, Jinx clambered onto the shelves, coiling in on herself once she reached the top. It was safer up here. Better. Not immediately reachable when Scar and his cronies came back.
It felt like hours until the outside world came knocking. From atop of the shelves, Jinx flinched, throwing a hand out in front of herself to ward off the light and whoever was coming with it. From behind her arm, she squinted, feeling her muscles bracing themselves at the sight of Scar before he stepped aside, allowing Ekko to enter.
Freezing for a moment, Jinx watched. No weapon. No crowd. Scar didn’t seem to be coming in either. Slowly, with no shortage of hesitation, Jinx lowered her hand.
"Wanna tell me what happened back there?"
Silence.
Blue eyes danced between Ekko and the door. It’d be pretty hard to overhear everything they said from way back here. A wounded silence stretched as Jinx dissected the question. Yeah right, like Ekko cared what she had to say.
“You saw for yourself.” Jinx muttered, knowing the futility of trying to defend something she couldn’t put words to. Why bother? The Firelights had every reason to think the worst of her. Trying to say anything to disprove that would just be a lie.
Sore, bloodstained arms coiled tighter around her body as Jinx shifted, avoiding Ekko’s gaze. She didn’t want to look at his face. She didn’t want to see him angry at her, or upset, or disappointed. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen!
“I couldn’t do it.” The simple words tumbled from her mouth, but there was pain in the admission. It was a fuck up so big, that it no longer mattered that she’d tried.
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As much as his de-facto second in command had tried to keep this latest incident from turning into a spectacle, there was little dissuading the crowd that was rapidly reforming to watch this latest development to The Jinx Situation now.
Ekko could feel the sea of eyes on his back, almost as keenly as the pointedly avoided eye contact from his target in the branches above.
This wasn’t the highest he'd ever climbed. It was higher than he'd climbed in a long time, though - and it was a hell of an extra trek to make after a long, shitty journey home. There were also more dense obfuscating layers of leafy branches too slender to hold his weight, making it more challenging to navigate a direct path.
No wonder Scar had decided it was better to wait to see if she grew bored enough to come back down by herself.
Fortunately, whatever turn of temper had possessed Jinx to break out and make it this far away from everything seemed to have peetered itself out; she was whistling idly and making a show of ignoring his slow approach, but she remained where she was, allowing him to close the distance. That was a positive sign. The last thing he wanted was a treacherous treetop chase.
"Can’t run away from you either, apparently.”
Ekko settled himself on a neighbouring branch across from her, taking in the glint of green firelight bugs blithely crawling over her like she was part of the tree itself.
"Well, this is kind of my roof you're sat on," he pointed out mildly, hoping that the note of humour would be enough to defuse the lingering tension in her shoulders and the defensive set to her jaw. It was pretty obvious she was expecting to get chewed out.
Maybe he should have felt more angry about the chaos she'd caused today. But mostly, Ekko just felt tired. He didn't know what was going on his old friend's head, or why she would pull a stunt like this and scare everyone just when things seemed to be going better. He didn't know if he could help her - if she even truly wanted his help, deep down.
He didn't know how he was going to fix the broken water purifier without the materials he'd failed to find today, either. He didn't know what to do about the looming capacity issues on the horizon, or the growing security risks of taking on so many new people fleeing the fighting in the streets, or the weight of all those hopeful eyes watching to see him come up with another genius idea that would make everything okay.
The sunlight on his face and the breeze on his skin though, that was nice. Simple.
“So, what’s the verdict, messenger boy. No more outside time for Jinx?”
Jinx was looking over at him, now, albeit in a more unsure and tentatively vulnerable sort of way. Ekko met her gaze steadily.
"You're not a prisoner here. You know that, right? If you need a break, you don't have to stage a breakout. You don't need permission to be out in the sun, any more than anyone else does. This tree is your home, too."
@f1shbonez
"Look, you can't run away from you." (Ekko)
The panicking crowd had dissipated after the initial sight of their captive scaling the tree’s highest branches. Jinx moved quickly, too quickly for anyone to put a stop to the excursion before she’d climbed taller than the highest shack, up up up into the canopy, nestled too deep into a network of branches to be snagged by anyone brave (or stupid enough) to try and retrieve her by hoverboard.
Oh, how she’d savoured the look on Scar’s face as she hauled herself up with cat-like ease to a dangerous and blissfully unreachable height. He was welcome to try and stop her, of course, right in front of a gaggle of slack-jawed new recruits. Hah. Even Ekko’s surly general seemed to think better of the task, electing to enter into a begrudging kind of stalemate. Jinx felt his eyes from her new hideout, intermittently checking whether or not she’d decided to leave her perch.
Jinx ignored him.
Scarface’s grizzled old mug didn’t bother her so much from here. Nobody did. It was satisfying to sit and watch as the Firelights soon forgot about their escaped captive, going back to their lives and scurrying about below.
You could see the whole camp from up here. Time fell into a steady lull, accompanied by the occasional warm breeze and the rustling of leaves. With a contented sigh, Jinx sat, both legs dangling from the branch she’d selected. It was easier to think out here- up here. Her ghosts were quieter outside of the stupid prison-room and the sounds of the Firelights below fell into an unintelligible hum that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
Within an hour of sun-soaked privacy, Jinx’s eyes grew heavy. She wasn’t sure how long the nap had lasted as she stirred to the faint tickling of firelight bugs crawling along her arm.
It wasn’t long before Ekko made his return. Where had he gone today, anyway? Why hadn’t he told her? Peevishly, Jinx swallowed the questions, watching with hawklike focus as Scar moved in to make his report. Within moments, two sets of eyes lifted to the top of the tree.
Here we go…
It was hard to see what the look on Ekko’s face was from up here. Was he angry? God forbid the prisoner entertain herself quietly for an afternoon.
Jinx waited for Ekko to make his approach, listening while keeping her attention fixed deliberately elsewhere, as though she wasn’t acutely aware of the incoming intrusion. Tuning out whatever Ekko’s ‘you need to get down right now’ speech was gonna start with was as easy as humming a tune. Only once he appeared on the same branch- her branch- did Jinx turn her gaze onto him.
She was having a nice time. He wasn’t going to throw his weight around and ruin it, was he?
"...Look, you can't run away from you."
With a groan, Jinx recoiled lazily away.
Noooo. He was NOT allowed to come up into her branch-fort and give her a lecture when she couldn’t escape. He couldn’t! That was a pretty cheap attempt to turn her newfound refuge into another prison. She wasn’t going to let him.
“‘Can’t run away from you either, apparently.” Jinx muttered back, moodily.
Okay, so she’d caused a bit of a ruckus busting out- but it wasn’t like she’d used her newfound freedom for anything crazy. Just a little…alone time. Was that really so bad? Blue eyes flicked back to Ekko’s face, tinged with the faintest hint of uncertainty as she tried to answer her own question.
What had Scar told him? Maybe he’d lied and made it seem like she’d done something even worse. The rest of the bugs would back him up too. That guy totally had it out for her. He was probably itching to see Ekko haul her down from the tree and put an end to her freedom.
If Ekko had come up here for some stupid pep talk, he could can it. She hated when he danced around the point. She wasn’t running from anything! Nope! The Scar incident was old news, she’d managed a couple of incident-free chore runs in tow with Ekko, things were moving forward… even if it was at a painstakingly slow pace.
She wasn’t running.
She wasn’t.
She was Jinx.
Jinx! Jinx! Jinx!
Silco’s Jinx.
Zaun’s maddest and baddest!
She wasn’t the girl in the middle of the mural.
She wasn’t!
It didn’t matter that this place, with its walls, rules, being left out and left behind violently ripped her back into that dead girl’s memories. She was something else. Someone. Else.
Life with the Firelights was confusing. Some wanted nothing to do with you, some wanted everything to do with you, some would decide whether you lived or died- no biggie! It was impossible to be the same person with every Firelight, or on any given day. Adapting was how you stayed strong. Adapting was how you survived.
Being Jinx was a simple case of survival.
Or at least, that was what made sense. She could be useful, dangerous and deadly- everything Silco had nurtured.
…So why did all of the parts of her that Silco praised feel like weakness in the face of the Firelights? Who was she supposed to be when both parts didn’t fit anymore?
–And what business did Ekko have making stupid comments like that anyway?!
She’d help him cut to the chase- no introspection needed here!
“So, what’s the verdict, messenger boy. No more outside time for Jinx?”
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“OUR HERO ROLLS HIS EYES IN A FINAL FLOURISH OF DEFIANCE AS HE SQUARES UP TO EVIL INCARNATE.”
This performative flair of hers felt... a bit on the nose, in a way that Ekko was steadfastly trying to not think too much about right now.
But it didn't escape his notice that even in the playful make-believe setting of their game, the roles she assigned them stayed the same - she was still playing the irredeemably evil villain, and he was still cast as the hero who had to try to stop her. Even though he was the one with the gun in his hands this time, and it would have made more narrative sense to switch up the roles.
...Was he really critiquing the narrative sense behind a point-an-shoot arcade game now? Yeah, okay, maybe Jinx had a point about him needing to switch off his work brain for a bit and remember how to have some simple fun.
That's all this was. Just a simple kids' game.
“HE’S LOADING UP THE GUN. HE’S SMILING AT THE GUN. HE’S–YUP HE’S STILL SMILING AT IT. JUSTICE CALLED, AND THIS GUY THINKS HE CAN DELIVER.”
This time, Ekko couldn't quite stifle a snort.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just see if your dodging is on par with your game commentary," he responded with cryptic flippancy, adjusting his grip and sliding one foot back in a subconscious mirror of the stance he'd faced down so many times before.
“You love talking.”
Ekko slanted her a knowing look.
"You never had any complaints about listening," he quipped back, equally coy. She was the one making the rules.
She didn't seem to listen to him the rest of the damn time, of course. But win or lose, he clearly had her full avid attention for the duration of this game, anyway.
“Fastest to three.”
Fastest. Ugh. Okay. Ekko pulled a little face, but didn't contest it. He was just going to have to go for it and learn on the fly, then. Nothing he hadn't had to do before. At least the stakes were significantly lower here. No one would die if he sucked at this game.
While Jinx shimmied and danced goadingly half-in, half-out of cover, Ekko focused on lining up his shot.
His first shot missed - his second ball struck the wooden cutout, still wide of his mark but nonetheless an improvement that improved his aiming calibrations.
A pair of blue braids waggled out on either side of the target; Ekko bit his tongue to hold back a curse as it threw off his next shot. Damn her.
Focus!
Jinx sprang out from cover, tongue out and middle finger raised - Ekko took that as his best opportunity to shoot again. It was difficult to aim for where she was going to be, given he was still getting the hang of aiming with this thing at all - and Jinx, of course was set on making him work for it.
Left or right?
Which way would she go?
Left.
He opted to go with his gut choice and squeezed the trigger, before he could second-guess himself and run out of time.
@f1shbonez
❛ no one's here. we can be as loud as we want.❜ (Ekko)
Things hadn’t been going too badly.
At least, that was the impression Jinx was starting to get from the way her world was changing around her. The Firelight leash had gotten a little more slack over the past few weeks. Hoverboard lessons, a fixed place on the rota, hell, they’d even invited her along to one of their stupid game nights. Not that she cared, or anything. So what, if the voices of cheering and competitive play were somehow less abrasive when she was a part of it. It didn’t matter. They didn’t matter.
The more interesting development came with Ekko. Hard-won moments of respite were seemingly easier to win these days. No more awkward dinners in her prison-room where nobody knew what to say. No more bashing someone in the face just to remind him that she existed. Sure, Ekko was just as busy as ever (being Bug-King made it that way), but more than ever it felt like he had carved out a little more time to do more than chastise his troublesome guest. Prisoner? Guest? Jinx still wasn’t entirely sure.
Was Ekko?
Ekko’s hoverboard lessons weren’t the only thing that had taken them outside the winding tunnels of the Firelight base. Playing nice, it seemed, brought new opportunities to light- ones that even Jinx found herself unwilling to risk losing. Every now and then, a trip on a hoverboard would lead them somewhere private- away from all the buzz and hum of the stupid Firelights. Sure, the Zaun grey was thicker out here than it was in Ekko’s little corner of sunshine, but for Jinx, it felt as though she could finally breathe.
It was easier to talk when your company didn’t have his mob waiting (and eavesdropping) outside. They were equals out here… in a way. That had to mean something. Ekko never would have started the little ritual if he didn’t at least trust her a little, right?
What was even weirder, was that he had agreed to let Jinx select today’s hangout spot. Sure, there had been a few perfunctory rules to adhere to: not too far from the base, not in enemy territory, something else she’d already forgotten…blah blah blah. She could handle that! Totally.
A wall of glass, shattered long-ago, opened its toothed maw onto the street. She’d been here before, countless times, Powder too. Even under Silco’s reign, the deserted building had been a favourite haunt. Nobody came here anymore. The memory of the brutality in the streets, the empty husks of surrounding buildings, the intermittent flooding…nobody had a reason to. Well, unless their name was Jinx.
Pale fingers trailed an absent, faintly reverent touch through the dust of the guardrail that surrounded a series of pads and targets. Above, the scoreboard loomed, awash with Vi’s name, save for Claggor, still at the very bottom and ‘POW’ sitting second from the top. It was bittersweet. She couldn’t beat Vi’s old score even now, but even if she did, what good would it do? It wasn’t like Vi was around anymore to see or feel the punches or kicks. Besides, one more high score would knock Claggor’s name clean off the board. Forever. Jinx wasn’t sure how that made her feel. Abruptly, Jinx forced her gaze to gloss over it, stuffing the way the names made her feel somewhere deep down.
Even now, years later, the crude images of Mylo’s face remained where Powder had etched them a lifetime ago. Jinx paused, taking a moment to drink in the sight. The slightest quirk tugged at the corners of her lips. Funny. Had Mylo always looked like a monster? If Powder’s drawings were anything to go by, maybe the answer was yes.
A dissatisfied growl babbled behind Jinx’s ear. Swatting at it, she spun on her heels, gesturing to the crumbling shell of the arcade for Ekko.
“Ta-da!”
Pretty cool, right?
Or, well, it would be. In a sec. Once she got the whole place working again.
Blue eyes searched Ekko’s face for some shred of reward. Was he impressed? He recognised the gravity of this, right? This was HER space! Jinx’s! She didn’t have to share it with anyone, but she was sharing it with him. Just like the days he was so darn sappy about. There was so much to do here, they could stay here all night! This totally trumped all of Ekko’s other dumb hangout spots.
“Betcha wish you’d let me choose sooner, huh?” Jinx teased, swinging her arms as she skipped over to a battered looking fuse box. Juuuuuust as she’d left it! It didn’t take long before the click of power came, followed by a flood of multi-coloured fluorescent lights from all corners. Arcade units beeped to life, followed by the loud bell of the boxing set-up, and more importantly, the music. A broad grin settled on Jinx’s lips at the noise.
“No one's here. We can be as loud as we want.”
Great.
Taking Ekko’s words as further permission, Jinx cranked up the volume.
Did Ekko know that he got 90% more fun whenever he left the base?
Well, at least he was onboard. Heh. Like she’d have listened anyway! Where to start first? Bouncing on the balls of her feet to the music, Jinx hopped over to the shooting range, waving a tattooed arm for Ekko to follow. Oooooh she was the BEST at this game! There was no way Ekko could beat her. Only, the targets weren’t moving. Pouting, Jinx jumped over the barrier, looking for the trusty cable she’d connected countless times. The floorboards were slick with the residue of floodwater, eating into the mechanical gears- the part that made the whole game interesting. Oh. It was hard to hide the disappointment brewing on her face. This wasn’t exactly a ‘plug it in and you’re good to go’ situation. No fair!
Talk about spoiling the grand reveal! Maybe she should have snuck out before this stupid trip to get everything ready. It was too late now. For a moment, Jinx’s brow furrowed before an idea that was just stupid enough made her smile again. From behind the shooting range, Jinx stood amongst the stationary sea of dummies, smirking.
“Wanna play target practice?”
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“What, you scared of fun, or are you just scared you’ll lose?”
Ekko simply gave her a look through his eyelashes by way of response, and caught the ball she tossed at him midair with one hand without hesitation. By the grin on Jinx's face before she disappeared behind the cutouts, it was clear she'd received the message.
“WELCOME WOOD-BUGS AND DUST-BUNNIES, SINNERS AND SUMP-SNIPES, GET READY TO BE BLOWN AWAY BY THE SHOWDOWN OF THE CENTURY!”
And of course, she had to open the game with style.
“IN THE BENCHES - OUR HANDSOME HERO! CAN HE FIRE A GUN? HE’S NOT SURE! LET’S GIVE IT UP FOR THE EXPLOSIVE… EKKO!”
Ekko rolled his eyes, shook his head and scoffed at the performative announcer act she was putting on for the occasion. Nonetheless, his lips curled upwards anyway, betraying his fond amusement, as he loaded his last ball into the bright orange chamber.
Handsome hero, huh?
It didn't hold the same acerbic bite as "Boy Saviour", but there was definitely still an edge of playful mockery to the title - it was designed to fluster him and get under his skin, that much was clear.
...Yeah, I'm gonna get you for that one.
Not that it was going to be an easy feat. As much as her jibe about him not knowing how to use the toy gun in his hands made him scoff, they both knew it wasn't his weapon of choice. When it came to marksmanship, she'd always ruled the leaderboards.
....Pattern recognition and learning agility, however, were skills Ekko was confidently proficient in. If he could watch and predict where she'd pop out next, he could take a few test shots to gauge a sense of accurate aim - and then get his sucker-shot in while Jinx was gloating at how shit he was.
Okay, he was warming up to the idea of this challenge now.
“AND IN THE RANGE IS OUR TARGET. SHE’S QUICK. SHE’S AGILE. A STREAK OF BLUE LIGHTNING. HER ULTIMATE WEAKNESS - WHATEVER’S IN THE GUN! THE WEIRD. THE WHIMSICAL. YOUR JITTERY JINX!”
Ekko huffed a small laugh, and made a point of checking the toy gun in his hands to hide the incriminating softness he could feel creeping into his expression.
It was actually... really nice, seeing her like this. She came alive here, under the neon lights - her mischievous confidence shone through the perfomance in a way he hadn't really seen in a long time. He'd missed seeing her smile like that.
It was a shame that he was about to commit to doing his level best to wipe her smile off her face.
But hey, she'd chosen the game, and she'd issued the challenge.
...And she was definitely anticipating getting to choose the next game after making him grudgingly hype up her superior skills and validate her longstanding champion status.
"Seriously? We're still doing the speeches?" Ekko pulled an exasperated face and groused, as if he wasn't privately pleased by the opportunity to turn the tables on her.
He'd rattled off more shame speeches than her, that was for sure. But that only made the hard-earned wins all the more satisfying.
And even if they were just a sarcastic spiel out of grudging compliance to her own game rules, he'd take the compliments where he could get them. It wouldn't erase the memories of the vitriol she'd slung at him in their worst fights, but it could be a step towards a future where compromise was more comfortable and resentment didn't fester.
“AND FINALLY, THE LOSER: EMBARRASSMENT DEEPER THAN THEY COULD EVER IMAGINE! THE LOSER HAS TO– uhhh…– THE LOSER HAS TO PRETEND TO BE THE WINNER FOR 5 MINUTES. AND WEAR A STUPID HAT OF THE WINNER’S CHOICE!”
Okay, those conditions were new.
"...So, what are the winning conditions for this game, again?" Ekko enquired, with a conversational mildness that belied the analytical way he was already watching her move down the sights of his toy pistol.
"Fastest time? Most hits?"
@f1shbonez
❛ no one's here. we can be as loud as we want.❜ (Ekko)
Things hadn’t been going too badly.
At least, that was the impression Jinx was starting to get from the way her world was changing around her. The Firelight leash had gotten a little more slack over the past few weeks. Hoverboard lessons, a fixed place on the rota, hell, they’d even invited her along to one of their stupid game nights. Not that she cared, or anything. So what, if the voices of cheering and competitive play were somehow less abrasive when she was a part of it. It didn’t matter. They didn’t matter.
The more interesting development came with Ekko. Hard-won moments of respite were seemingly easier to win these days. No more awkward dinners in her prison-room where nobody knew what to say. No more bashing someone in the face just to remind him that she existed. Sure, Ekko was just as busy as ever (being Bug-King made it that way), but more than ever it felt like he had carved out a little more time to do more than chastise his troublesome guest. Prisoner? Guest? Jinx still wasn’t entirely sure.
Was Ekko?
Ekko’s hoverboard lessons weren’t the only thing that had taken them outside the winding tunnels of the Firelight base. Playing nice, it seemed, brought new opportunities to light- ones that even Jinx found herself unwilling to risk losing. Every now and then, a trip on a hoverboard would lead them somewhere private- away from all the buzz and hum of the stupid Firelights. Sure, the Zaun grey was thicker out here than it was in Ekko’s little corner of sunshine, but for Jinx, it felt as though she could finally breathe.
It was easier to talk when your company didn’t have his mob waiting (and eavesdropping) outside. They were equals out here… in a way. That had to mean something. Ekko never would have started the little ritual if he didn’t at least trust her a little, right?
What was even weirder, was that he had agreed to let Jinx select today’s hangout spot. Sure, there had been a few perfunctory rules to adhere to: not too far from the base, not in enemy territory, something else she’d already forgotten…blah blah blah. She could handle that! Totally.
A wall of glass, shattered long-ago, opened its toothed maw onto the street. She’d been here before, countless times, Powder too. Even under Silco’s reign, the deserted building had been a favourite haunt. Nobody came here anymore. The memory of the brutality in the streets, the empty husks of surrounding buildings, the intermittent flooding…nobody had a reason to. Well, unless their name was Jinx.
Pale fingers trailed an absent, faintly reverent touch through the dust of the guardrail that surrounded a series of pads and targets. Above, the scoreboard loomed, awash with Vi’s name, save for Claggor, still at the very bottom and ‘POW’ sitting second from the top. It was bittersweet. She couldn’t beat Vi’s old score even now, but even if she did, what good would it do? It wasn’t like Vi was around anymore to see or feel the punches or kicks. Besides, one more high score would knock Claggor’s name clean off the board. Forever. Jinx wasn’t sure how that made her feel. Abruptly, Jinx forced her gaze to gloss over it, stuffing the way the names made her feel somewhere deep down.
Even now, years later, the crude images of Mylo’s face remained where Powder had etched them a lifetime ago. Jinx paused, taking a moment to drink in the sight. The slightest quirk tugged at the corners of her lips. Funny. Had Mylo always looked like a monster? If Powder’s drawings were anything to go by, maybe the answer was yes.
A dissatisfied growl babbled behind Jinx’s ear. Swatting at it, she spun on her heels, gesturing to the crumbling shell of the arcade for Ekko.
“Ta-da!”
Pretty cool, right?
Or, well, it would be. In a sec. Once she got the whole place working again.
Blue eyes searched Ekko’s face for some shred of reward. Was he impressed? He recognised the gravity of this, right? This was HER space! Jinx’s! She didn’t have to share it with anyone, but she was sharing it with him. Just like the days he was so darn sappy about. There was so much to do here, they could stay here all night! This totally trumped all of Ekko’s other dumb hangout spots.
“Betcha wish you’d let me choose sooner, huh?” Jinx teased, swinging her arms as she skipped over to a battered looking fuse box. Juuuuuust as she’d left it! It didn’t take long before the click of power came, followed by a flood of multi-coloured fluorescent lights from all corners. Arcade units beeped to life, followed by the loud bell of the boxing set-up, and more importantly, the music. A broad grin settled on Jinx’s lips at the noise.
“No one's here. We can be as loud as we want.”
Great.
Taking Ekko’s words as further permission, Jinx cranked up the volume.
Did Ekko know that he got 90% more fun whenever he left the base?
Well, at least he was onboard. Heh. Like she’d have listened anyway! Where to start first? Bouncing on the balls of her feet to the music, Jinx hopped over to the shooting range, waving a tattooed arm for Ekko to follow. Oooooh she was the BEST at this game! There was no way Ekko could beat her. Only, the targets weren’t moving. Pouting, Jinx jumped over the barrier, looking for the trusty cable she’d connected countless times. The floorboards were slick with the residue of floodwater, eating into the mechanical gears- the part that made the whole game interesting. Oh. It was hard to hide the disappointment brewing on her face. This wasn’t exactly a ‘plug it in and you’re good to go’ situation. No fair!
Talk about spoiling the grand reveal! Maybe she should have snuck out before this stupid trip to get everything ready. It was too late now. For a moment, Jinx’s brow furrowed before an idea that was just stupid enough made her smile again. From behind the shooting range, Jinx stood amongst the stationary sea of dummies, smirking.
“Wanna play target practice?”
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Send “ ✏“ plus a scenario you’ve always wanted to rp with our muses and I’ll tell you whether or not I’m interested!
(If you cannot see the emoji send “Pencil” plus a scenario.)
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Ekko was hyper-conscious of the pink gaze watching him as he took his biggest calculated risk yet; there was no flurry of movement from Jinx, but something had shifted behind the curtain of that bleakly apathetic expression.
He kept his left hand resting against his contingency - the Z Drive was a solid reassurance at his side.
Would she make him use it?
He really, really hoped not.
But it was difficult to predict her at the best of times, and that expression on her face...
For a moment, Ekko simply stood in the open doorway, watching his old friend-turned-enemy watching him. His feet didn't want to step over the threshold; even though the cell door was unlocked and he held the key, there was a deep-rooted reluctance to step into the dark enclosed space that had imprisoned Jinx and countless other Zaunites before her.
Come on. Come on, get up - we gotta go.
Jinx unfolded herself slowly and stiffly; he could see she was hurt by the scuffed up state of her, but it wasn't clear how badly. Was she even in the condition to make this trip? Or was he going to have to carry her out? His brow furrowed, apprehensive and worried by this new factor.
Bloodied fingers slowly raised upwards, extended in his direction - a clear request that made his stomach lurch.
“...Can you help me up?”
Ekko swallowed hard; there was a flicker of something vulnerable and uncertain in his eyes as he considered the question. A deep-bottled memory of a sting of pain, of shock and bewildered betrayal, from the last time he'd reached out to her.
...Do you really want my help, this time?
Is this actually it?
The emotion was promptly washed away by an almost defiantly calm resolve. If this was a trap or a test, so be it. He had to try.
He would always have to try.
"All you have to do is ask," Ekko informed her simply, with a wry edge.
He forced his foot to take a decisive step forward into the dark, reached out, and firmly clasped her hand with his own, bracing to pull her upwards.
@f1shbonez
"I just want to talk."
It was no Stillwater, but it would do.
There were no enforcers. No interrogations. No closed-door beatdowns. There was…nothing.
The roar of fighting flooded intermittently into Jinx’s mind, forming momentary fractures through the agonising silence.
Isha’s face.
A burst of blue light.
Vi.
Pink eyes stared ahead, unseeing and hollow as bloodied fingers methodically teased and ripped apart the rivers of blue hair cascading around her. Even her ghosts were quiet- all of them shaken by the events that had transpired. Or perhaps they knew even their barbed comments were pointless now.
Maybe the best thing to do was to stop fighting. Vander had touted that idea enough before he’d kicked the bucket. She’d never been much good at fighting anyway.
Even without fighting, there was no denying that the damage was already done.
…ℌ𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔡 𝔢𝔫𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥?
Silco.
The Council.
…Isha.
Changing tactics wasn’t going to bring them back. Taking accountability wouldn’t rewrite past wrongs. How many times could you place your reason for living into the hands of someone and survive having it ripped away?
You weren’t supposed to survive losses as large as those.
You weren’t.
And if you had a part to play in it, you deserved twice the hell they suffered.
…Hopefully Caitlyn was still angry, Jinx thought distantly to herself. She’d let her pull the trigger this time, so long as she promised not to miss again. The thought drew Jinx’s hands to a halt, soothing the restless fidgeting for a handful of seconds. Dirtied fingers draped listlessly onto the floor, still tacky with fresh blood and torn hair. …It wouldn’t bring Caitlyn’s mom back, but letting her get closure was probably the only good thing left to offer.
…Would Caitlyn keep her waiting long?
The distant sound of footsteps echoed in time with the clink of keys.
The world felt as though it had been plunged underwater, with every sound feeling miles away- a distant hum from the living world. She didn’t want to resurface. She wasn’t sure she could anymore.
“I just came to talk.”
The sound was scarcely a ripple amongst dark waters by the time they reached the dimmest corner of the cell where Jinx sat huddled, cradling her knees to her chest. Of course they belonged to someone familiar. All the voices did, these days.
…
The voices and shadows liked to lurk and watch.
…
Ekko’s was a new addition, admittedly. But it didn’t make sense for him to actually be here.
…
He always had liked getting the last word. Was that what this was? A chance to gloat?
…
Well, go on then. Gloat.
…
I don’t care anymore.
…
There were no more outside ripples. No more words. Just the burn of something that didn’t belong watching.
The shadows were supposed to get bored when you ignored them.
She was so tired…couldn’t he see that? She’d lost. She’d given up. She was getting what she deserved. There was no more Jinx. No more fighting. Nobody needed to get hurt anymore- just the people that deserved it. One more loose end to be tied up into a pretty bow. What else did Golden Boy Ekko need to see to get his stupid sense of closure?
I don’t want to look.
I’m not playing, Ekko.
Silence stretched before a brittle whisper sounded from inside the bars.
“...Go away.”
The blank pink stare didn’t waver from the empty space in the cell where it rested. Jinx didn’t need to see his face. She didn’t want to. Everybody was supposed to leave her alone now.
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I am unwell
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TIMEBOMB art collab !! Jinx and the background were done by me and Ekko was done by arty_polina on Instagram !!
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I gotta say, I don’t think I've ever seen such an abrupt deluge of 1st person POV, in-character liveblogger/i-am-the-character-ask-me-anything style rp blogs in a tumblr fandom rpc before 🤨
Has anyone else noticed this?
Why are these blogs cropping up like daisies in the arcane rp tag all of a sudden?
Is this some kind of new trend?
#ooc#I'm confused and bemused#i can't tell if this is just a bunch of people having fun with a specific rp style or if this is a new form of tumblr bot spam#i know IC ask blogs have always been a thing but the sheer volume of these ones + their uncannily similar writing style & blog setup?#it's just. odd. idk what is going on
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hey so this is insane

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TIMEBOMB art collab !! Jinx and the background were done by me and Ekko was done by arty_polina on Instagram !!
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Zaun Days
After taking the inventors to the junk heap and hosing them down, it's time to put the haul to good use.

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A teastained painting of Jayvik Nation's hero, Ekko. Everyone say thank you Ekko!!!!
Available as an A5 print in my shop: https://ko-fi.com/s/d0c39a2324
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Ekko and Powder Art
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Run past the rivers, run past all the light Feel it crashing and burning, 'til it all collides Strike a match, lit the fire, shining up the sky
Firelight Jayce AU: the interlude pt. 1
Ekko and Jayce, in the aftermath. Finding and building their home.
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(Scar) E : EMBRACE. does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like? ( @mxchineherald )
(FYI Scar has his own side blog over at @vastayan--vigilante but since I received the ask for him here, I'll answer it here)
There are only a select handful of people that Scar would accept a hug from/be inclined to hug. When it comes to those specific people, he likes the tactile connection that a hug provides, and finds it comforting/grounding.
As someone who's pretty much all lean corded muscle, he's pretty solid, and is capable of giving very firm bear hugs (but most of the time he's prone to just sort of awkwardly standing there and letting himself be hugged, or curling one tentative arm around the person.)
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Thematic Headcanons. A series of subject-specific headcanons you can ask your favorite blog and muse.
hc + 🤝 for a headcanon about a connection with one of the receiver's mutual
hc + 👪 for a family-themed headcanon
hc + 🧡 for a friendship-themed headcanon
hc + 💌 for a romance-themed headcanon
hc + 💕 for a loved-themed headcanon
hc + 💔 for a headcanon about a sad experience
hc + 🤥 for a lie-themed headcanon
hc + 😶 for a headcanon about a secret they know of / keep
hc + 😴 for a sleep-themed headcanon
hc + 🌇 for a headcanon about morning- or evening rituals
hc + 🧼 for a hygiene-themed headcanon
hc + 🏠 for a home-themed headcanon
hc + 😃 for a happiness-themed headcanon
hc + 😨 for a fear-themed headcanon
hc + 🤕 for a pain-themed headcanon
hc + 🚶♂️ for a habit-themed headcanon
hc + 👍 for a headcanon about things they like
hc + 👎 for a headcanon about things they dislike
hc + 💪 for a sport-themed headcanon
hc + 😡 for a headcanon about something that makes them angry
hc + 👻 for a headcanon about supernatural occurrences
hc + 🥣 for a food-themed headcanon
hc + ☕ for a drink-themed headcanon
hc + 🐈 for a pet/animal-themed headcanon
hc + 🌸 for a plant-themed headcanon
hc + 🌄 for an outdoor-themed headcanon
hc + 🌍 for a travel-themed headcanon
hc + 🗡 for a weapon-themed headcanon
hc + 🎡 for a hobby-themed headcanon
hc + 🚗 for a transportation-themed headcanon
hc + ⏳ for a time-themed headcanon
hc + 🌘 for a night-themed headcanon
hc + 🌞 for a day-themed headcanon
hc + 🪐 for a universe-themed headcanon
hc + 🌂 for a weather-themed headcanon
hc + ⛄ for a season-themed headcanon
hc + 🎉 for a celebration-themed headcanon
hc + 🏆 for a goal-themed headcanon
hc + 💯 for an achievement-themed headcanon
hc + 🚬 for a headcanon about a bad habit
hc + 🎭 for an arts-/crafts-themed headcanon
hc + ✂️ for a hair-themed headcanon
hc + 👗 for a clothes-themed headcanon
hc + 💍 for a jewelry-themed headcanon
hc + 💄 for a makeup-themed headcanon
hc + 🎓 for an education-themed headcanon
hc + 📿 for a faith-themed headcanon
hc + 🎵 for a music-themed headcanon
hc + 📱 for a media-themed headcanon
hc + 🎥 for a film/tv-themed headcanon
hc + 📔 for a reading-themed headcanon
hc + 💰 for a money-themed
hc + 💼 for a job-themed headcanon
hc + 💉 for a medical-themed headcanon
hc + 🛒 for a shopping-themed headcanon
hc + 🔞 for a nsfw-headcanon
hc + ❓ for a headcanon of the receiver's choice
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