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etrayalogs2024-12-21 05:15 pm
etrayamods) wrote in etrayalogs2024-12-21 05:15 pm
Entry tags:
- !mingle log,
- arcane: caitlyn kiramman,
- arcane: jayce talis,
- batman beyond: bruce wayne,
- batman wfa: jason todd,
- dimension 20: gorgug thistlespring,
- fe3h: yuri leclerc,
- have you seen my brother: chu wenshan,
- ice age: manny,
- jl gods and monsters: kirk langstrom,
- penny dreadful: vanessa ives,
- person of interest: sameen shaw,
- remnant 2: the custodian,
- the walking dead: brandon carver,
- ✘ blade of the immortal: asano rin
DECEMBER MINGLE
WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: December 21st - Early January
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: Newcomers, a surprise gift from Tatianna, and a visitor!
NOTES\WARNINGS:
WHEN: December 21st - Early January
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: Newcomers, a surprise gift from Tatianna, and a visitor!
NOTES\WARNINGS:
 ⏵ arrival ⏴ Welcome to Etraya! Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital. The lobby is filled to the brim with tables of freshly baked goods. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" banners are taped to the walls, and several other typical birthday decorations can be found in this area. A few of the baked goods tables are lined with massive cakes covered in unlit candles, just waiting for someone to grab a lighter and sing off-key. Is it anyone's birthday? Who knows! The companion bots seem to believe it's every new arrival's birthday and will greet them as such - with friendly waves and cheers as they make their way to the lobby. A coat rack is situated by the doors leading out of the hospital, covered in warm clothing that fits the new arrivals just right - whether it's to their preferred style or not is something else entirely. Some of them appear normal enough. Others? Well. They can't all be perfect, now can they? Outside the windows, the grass is covered in a couple of inches of loosely packed snow. We hope you enjoy your stay.  ⏵ an unexpected gift ⏴ Out by the hospital stands a tall, decorated tree covered in candles and golden pinecones with a handsome, red velveteen tree skirt. In front of it are a few oversized wrapped gifts for show- and atop one of those sits a familiar woman. Or unfamiliar, if this is your first time. It's Tatianna in a slutty Santa outfit with a big ol’ burlap sack. “Hey, I got something for you,” she says, digging into the bag and rummaging for a moment. She produces a painted egg and holds it aloft. “It’s your Winter Solstice Egg! This is the egg holiday, right? Wait, shit. I’m mixing them up, aren’t I? ...Well. It’s a little late to change it. Here you go!” How one treats their egg is fully up to themselves. They can choose to ignore it entirely, or destroy it and leave the yolk and innards to rot on the ground. They can hand it over to someone else or care for it as if it were something precious. No one will prevent them from doing whatever they please with it!  ⏵ naughty or nice ⏴ Those who keep the egg and tend to it will get the benefit of being able to watch it hatch seven days after they are handed the egg. Eggs that are treated with attention and love may yield a loyal companion, or a weapon of choice that always returns to its owner, while neglected eggs may yield a curious, cursed trinket or an animal who treats its new owner very much the same way its owner had treated it before it was born. Please submit an egg request below for what items you would like your character's eggs to hatch into! Please note that these cannot be things that would be applicable in the game. Those whose eggs are destroyed or forgotten will simply get the gift of... nothing!  ⏵ free your spirit ⏴ With the winter chill gripping the air, a mysterious figure makes their presence known in Etraya - a towering, horned creature dragging a massive sack behind them. Regardless of a character's strengths or weaknesses, they will find that when Krampus raises his massive sack over their head, they are powerless to stop him from catching them. Those capable of great magical feats or other supernatural abilities will sense something... otherworldly about Krampus, but will not be able to place the source of that sensation. Once within Krampus' sack, they are welcome to fight, but escape is impossible. It will feel as if Krampus is dragging them over every rock possible, dragging the sack in through the rivers to the point it soaks through and drenches them - potentially almost drowning them. When the sack opens, they will find themselves in an impossibly dark space. Around them are others who have also been captured and dragged here by Krampus, trapped in small cages hanging from a massive, wiry tree. Krampus will return often, banging clawed hands and birch rods on the walls of the cages and knocking them into one another. The whisper resonates through the darkened area, regardless of Krampus' presence. Confess your secrets, and be freed. Otherwise? You'd better hope someone figures out where Krampus has set up base; those who refuse to confess may find themselves stuck here forever. Krampus' base is under Etraya! Deep within the catacombs, he has set up multiple cages to capture those who inhabit Etraya to punish them for their naughty habits. Fighting him is possible! Defeating him by means of combat is not, however, possible. Think of it like fighting a god: Krampus creates the rules in the space around him, including who can use what ability. For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the mod queries comment. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. |
cue "well, that escalated quickly" cw: mention of child death
That was the problem between them when the passivity on his side ran shallow. They knew how to hurt each other, knew the exact words to say to cut deeply, to provoke a response. Their history was long, twisted, bitter and tainted with that day on the bridge, the grief and the fall-out of both of them going too far, too fast and living to regret it. Then their reunion and the cannery...
The dead bodies of Mylo and Claggor continually swam in his vision even now, the vivid nightmares of their final moments haunting him, how powerless he had been. A speck of hope at escape turning to horror with the explosion. Benzo's broken blooded body next to Grayson and Vi's horrified frightened face swam next, taunting him with their failures.
When did you get so comfortable living in someone else's shadow?
You can't protect them forever. They have to go out and write their own stories...
Beneath the bottomless gnawing emptiness left behind by Shimmer's recession from his body, there was only a sense of self loathing. The beast that was his temper overrode, trying to fill that void, trying to let him blame someone else for his own failures and hesitancies. They had once been such a power house team; now he wanted to smash that graying head into a wall. It wouldn't make him feel better, but it would allow him to feel something other than his losses drowning out his seemingly endless will to have hope.
Vander stood leaning on the wall, knowing the one object that could take as good as dish out would come on. He rolled his egg in his hand, eyes no longer seeing it but deciding to protect it all the same. Why? It would make this confrontation harder, and he deserved harder, deserved to fight at a further disadvantage. There was no other way this would be anywhere close to 'fair', as it were.
His head turned as Silco came out swinging from around the corner. He had enough distance to push off of the wall, tuck the hand with the egg behind his back and face the other man. He stepped backwards to avoid the swing of the knife, noting the type that it was. Kitchen. One sharp edge, good point on it. They were both older now, fighting was slower for them both he imagined. The bone-wary exhaustion slowed him further, made focus a bit more difficult. He needed the adrenaline kick.]
Come on then, dirty little street rat. Hit me. [He quirked a lip in a smirk specifically to provoke Silco.] How's the ribs?
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Well. He'd already committed the greatest crime, hadn't he? Tossing Silco away like he had? Discarding him like yesterdays refuse, to dump down into the sump where it could be forgotten. Ignored.
His lips twitched into a feral grimace, as he backs up too fast to catch the knife on his arm. He hated using such a poor item, but it's all he has for the moment, but he was a man who could be extremely resourceful when he wants to be. ]
Look at you, looking down on another Trencher, you think you're so much better?
[ He ducked slightly, using the distance between the two of them to get low, before he stabbed upward and toward his middle. ]
No worse than anything else I've dealt with. Not the worse injury you've given me, in fact.
[ A twitch of his lips, the grimace turned into a sharp smile. They both knew what he meant by that. If he's going to goad him, he's going to pay the price. He might have won their last encounter due to sheer size domination, but now that they were free, and now that he's riding out the beginnings of a withdrawal, Silco has no problems with killing him if he had to.
He's done it once before already. He would do it again. Happily. ]
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That's rich coming from you who put me in the river. Isn't this the monster you wanted, Silco? Don't like it now that you don't have my leash?
[He shifted his weight from forward foot to back one as Silco ducked down and came up with the knife. He saw it and twisted to avoid it cutting through his new and very tight shirt, using his free hand to try to capture Silco's wrist when the other man was at arm extension.]
No, I was going easy on you because you're still breakable. Don't like your own product, hmm?
[He growled like a beast at the end, thumb stroking over the paint job of the egg he had hidden behind his back.]
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[ His fingers shift the guard of the blade, switching to reverse with a quick, fleet motion, before he has it in just the way to change direction, and he stabbed it at his hand while it tried to grab his wrist. Fast, quick, he slipped back away before he could reach out again. The egg in his own other hand, he considered just dropping it, but it feels almost fitting that it could be a contest of multiple levels.
He has it behind his back, doesn't he?
He should squash that, too. Before he cracks his own egg over his head, for good measure. (Ass) ]
Continuing to refuse to see what you did, are you? Pretending you're the one in the right? Hah!
[ Back in, with the knife. This time he tries to go for his thigh. Another low sweep. ]
You're just showing your true colors, Vander. I'd be proud, if it took this much to draw it back out again. Too bad you can't redirect it to the proper target still.
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[His fingers miss grasping Silco's wrist, and he felt the sting of the blade piercing the meat of his palm as he aborted the grab and withdrew. He shivered, blood pouring down his wrist before it came to a stop far faster than it should have given the depth of the injury. He shook it off and eyed Silco.
He snorted, fully aware of how he went wrong, who paid the price for his errors, but once again, the blame rested with the both of them. It always seemed to. At least he thought he could recognize it.]
We both have blood on our hands. At least I didn't poison our own people with that purple garbage.
[He hopped backwards a step to avoid the sudden blade sweep before kicking up to try to boot the other man in the general area that he had previously stabbed with plastic... well, time was difficult for him to know as he had been in hiding. He assumed a few days, maybe a week.]
And which target is that, boss? [He mocked the last word, aware that's what Sevika called him. Like so many called Silco but never Vander seriously. Maybe in jest back then and now said in full mockery.]
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[ he hissed, as the boot came for the injury. He tried to move back, but didn't quite get all the way back. He hissed, and reached out with his free arm (and the egg) to protect the injury, wincing with his good eye, stumbling backward as he did so. ]
I had it in hand, Vander. The thing you could never do.
[ They had only asked for one thing in return.
He could have found a way. he could have made it work, if it hadn't been for his own daughter's mania. If she hadn't been listening, if she hadn't known where he'd gone, in his own malaise. Oh, he hated looking at this face right now. He hated it even more knowing that the only place he'd thought to go was — ]
Maybe if you had the mettle to do something more than cower, I wouldn't have had to.
[ Maybe if he hadn't tried to drown him. Maybe if that one fateful night, Silco hadn't been so angry that he'd spoken up, spoken his thoughts, gone on a diatribe about how they were going to have to strike back. Maybe if when their wounds were raw, they had nursed them separately, instead of together, laying them to rest, where he'd died once, and been reborn. Maybe, maybe, maybe — ]
You think it's a joke, Vander, but there's a reason why I command respect, rather than derision. We are a strong people, but you wanted to see us diminished. You never could see that.
[ he's so angry, he's so angry he can barely see straight — or is it because his vision is clouding, losing his medication, he can already feel it slowly deteriorating, a week is long enough that he can feel his vision fading, his anger and adrenaline burning through him.
He lunged again, this time more uncontrolled, lashing out. ]
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[He'd spoken to Jayce after all, and he'd discovered that Silco had managed to convince Piltover to release their grip on Zaun, to let it be a city standing on its own two feet. It was knowledge that he agonized over during his withdrawal stupor, contributing to how wrong he had been to pause.
Felicia had told him not to fail over and over, nudged him, encouraged him, and she had paid the ultimate price with her partner. He'd maintained a peace that was supposed to be a breather, but he then settled into the grief of his losses, the luxury of that peace and held it all together, squishing rebellion now and again. Until it had all come undone. For Silco to rise, he had to fall. He did not disappoint on that.
He let Silco back off so he could look down at his hand which had taken a cut. It had stopped bleeding and was now just an open wound. He didn't take his eyes off the other man for long, circling to one side as he tried to direct Silco to taking a step back or move closer to the wall. Cornering the other man would limit his options, but it took patience.]
We are a strong people, and you poisoned them with that shit. I bet you hijacked as much of the populous as you could, but Shimmer wasn't enough, was it? [He hissed that.] Piltover didn't care, didn't use, didn't take, just our people. No, no, no, it was stealing what Piltover had to actually get their attention, nothing we poisoned ourselves with! [He roared that last part. He knew. Jayce had been very open about deal.] You had all these monsters, and it did nothing! Stealing their technology is what did it! We could have done that without this purple garbage killing us!
[He felt it - finally. He felt something in the deep well of nothingness left behind by Shimmer. He felt anger. He felt a flicker of a good emotion yelling at his ex-partner. It felt good being right, that the monsters only suppressed themselves than actually made Piltover notice.
Silco lunged at him, and Vander was keyed up enough at this point to read the move. He met the other man bodily, snapping a big hand out to grab that hand holding the knife to direct it away from his body while still charging in with his shoulder to drive them both backwards to the wall.
His other hand moved to seize Silco's jaw, to control his head as much as possible. Size mattered in a fight like this.]
You fucking did it, you little shit. You had it in your hands, right there, and they didn't even set a timeline for the terms, for the few stupid things you had to give up for freedom. [He was emotional - too much now - and lay his forehead against Silco's scarred temple.] You realized our dream.
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Did he even know? Even understand that the Shimmer was more than just what he'd experienced? Probably not. How could he? He didn't know it's the reason Silco can see, he didn't know it powered Sevika's arm, and it was inhalable now, a far more elegant delivery method. On top of that... it had saved Jinx's life.
Of anything, he would always be grateful to shimmer for that and that alone.
Vander didn't understand that. Wouldn't. He grimaced but didn't say anything, because he didn't care what Vander felt about shimmer. It had made them rich, and dangerous. Would they have been able to defend themselves against Piltover's attempts to obtain the gem without it? They had stormed their factories, and taken one of them out. Was it really so nothing, if Jayce Talis himself had not stormed it personally?
But Vander still moves fast, and he has him against the wall. He slammed there with an audible crack as the egg slammed against the wall and turned into a gooey mess on the wall. Silco's back practically cracked with it, and as soon as his hand was on his jaw, he lashed out, trying to bite.
Not that it goes anywhere, but — his breath shudders out of him, speeding up. He's so close to his — neck — and he can very nearly feel the pressure, phantom though it may be. He imagines that this is it. Will Jinx avenge him? Will she understand that it was the man the undercity venerated who killed him? Vander's memory would always be a fond one to everyone but the man he had betrayed. Hurt. Nobody else knew or understood, other than Jinx, and even she only knew what he told her. She hadn't been there, to see the depth of it.
His hand fights against Vander's trying to wrest his hand free, not getting anywhere. The man is just frankly so much stronger than him — His breaths come out fast, still fighting, even while he pressed his forehead to his temple.
You realized our dream —
— I understand it all now, brother —
Had he realized anything? Had he made it anywhere? There was a deal, but the conditions... He would have gone to war, before he gave it all up. He would never have capitulated. Never. Not for that unpayable price. ]
They weren't stupid things — [ He hissed, after a long moment. ] — You don't know anything —
[ He tried to push him off again. ]
I've been fighting my whole life for what used to be our dream. [ This time, he tries to kick at him. ] You gave up on it, is it such a surprise that I kept pursuing it? You know I never give up.
[ Until... until...
Everything in his hands... until... ]
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Vander was a realist enough to understand that for all the good intentions of measured doses, so many of their people suffered and scraped out a living for any sense of control of their lives. A drug like that? Measured doses would never be enough for those people; they needed the high, needed to feel powerful, needed to feel. And that down swing was bad enough that addiction would create a cycle that would destroy them and everyone around them. He'd seen it before.
However, he didn't discount that such a potent material would make Silco and all his associates rich and powerful. They would have a strangle of power in the Lanes and beyond; the gangs would fall in line for a piece of the pie. Businesses would resist at first and then be forced to endure.
All of that made him so angry. He'd begged Silco to spare the Lanes, but that was never good enough. Yet, he couldn't deny that the dream of freedom had never slipped passed Silco's gaze, and the other man had set the full groundwork for that to happen.]
You're right, I don't. I'm dead, remember? [He snarled that, pushing Silco a little harder into the wall.] But why don't you explain why giving back their technology, shutting down shimmer was such a problem? [His mouth moved to Silco's mouth.] Or was it this terrorist they wanted?
[He ignored the kick, ignored the biting, ignored the shoving. It meant nothing to him, even as his finger remained closed on Silco's chin while his pinky and ring finger still held his egg.]
So we're free then, is that it? Piltover Council went to a vote. You did it, Bozo One... except you died.
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There was something there, in that deep, deceptive well. Silco was like a caged animal, pressed against the wall like this, Vander so close they could share a breath. He held his chin down, and he kicked again, thrashed, his hand trying to angle the knife in his hand to slide it back around so he could stab him in the wrist, and force him to let him go.
Vander was huge compared to him. A towering man, twice or thrice his bulk alone, and so tall Silco looked like a short man in comparison He could not compete with him physically. It was impossible. He'd never be able to without careful planning — and shimmer. ]
Oh they told you everything did they? Who was it? Talis?
[ It infuriated him. He'd tried to set this up just so, and the boy had still flapped his gums. ]
He left out plenty of details, of course.
[ Still, he thrashed, trying to move an arm, he reached up with his one free hand to tug at his wrist — the scarred one — smearing the remains of the egg on him. ]
We don't give up our own, or had you forgotten that with all of your dallying with the topsiders?
[ No, it was more than that. His face was more wild than if it was just your average Zaunite. It was personal. ]
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His hand tightened on Silco's wrist too, unwilling to allow the other man to bring that knife to bear on him. He instead moved to dig his thumb into the hallow of the wrist, pressing on tendons and ligaments for the hand in hopes that he could force Silco to drop the knife instead. He expected that too would be a fight, but he was also in a good position.]
Yeah, it was Talis. [He saw no point denying it as the only other Piltover citizen hadn't provided him much but his children's names.] He seemed reasonable enough, so there's something about him that made parlay worthwhile then? First Councilor to reach out, or something else?
[His eyes narrowed as the old rule was spoken back to him. Silco was too worked up over a random Zaunite, and that told him that this 'terrorist' was someone close, someone worth protecting. He was behind the times on who had the ability to wriggle in close to Silco since their falling out, but apparently that person was the one that wielded enough power to push Piltover and Zaun to negotiating.
Someone Silco wouldn't give up. That had to be it.]
You still follow the old rules, do you? That's not all, is it? The terrorist is someone you care about. [What had Jinx said? Silco had taken her in.] Who, Silco?
[He winced at the fingers digging into his wrist in return, less about the discomfort to his flesh and more feeling extremely exposed without his brace. He pulled his face back so he returned his resting his forehead against Silco's scarred temple.]
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His hand ached. His wrist ached. His fingers couldn't hold onto the blade, so it slipped from his fingers with a clatter to the alleyway. He still smeared egg on the man's scar, but what was that going to do? The scar was long-healed, and Silco couldn't dig into it like a hook into flesh, couldn't make a further mark like he had before. All he had was egg-coated fingers that smeared against it, trying to rip it open where he couldn't. ]
I've always followed the old rules.
[ He deflects. His eyes try to look away, but there's only Vander in his vision. Large, looming. Holding him down.
His breath punches out again. And again. He tries to kick, again. He can feel it at the edges of his vision, the way it narrows in, and the way he feels like he's already falling apart. He doesn't have hands on his neck, but he doesn't have to. Holding Silco down is enough. He can feel it, his heart picking up, his breaths picking up.
He tried to aim a steel-toed boot for his knee, aiming to hurt. ]
Why so interested, Vander? [ He hissed, fighting back. ] Do you want to try and take them from me like you did everything else?
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The old rules had once been what he and Silco had built so much upon. Back then they had no choice but to stand together, back against the world looking to crush them under their bootheels.]
Good. They better stand here as much as there.
[He relented now that Silco wasn't weaponless, releasing the weight of his body that was pressing the smaller man into the wall. Guilt warred with anger, frustration and a deep unspoken hurt as he saw the way that Silco had begun to panic. On one hand, Silco deserved it, but on the other, was he honestly going to return to that life again? Being the biggest and meanest dog on the street? No.
This time the kick earned a hissed from his teeth and pulled away enough that he only had to hold Silco by a shoulder against the wall. He returned to tucking his own egg behind his back, boot now stepping on the blade of the knife on the floor.]
Oh that's a rich accusation coming from you after my downfall. Sweeping right in and taking everything of mine. [He shook his head, feeling the weight of his exhaustion before glaring at Silco again.] It's Powder, isn't it? Or... you call her Jinx, don't you?
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In Silco's mind, everything he took had been taken from him first — forced out of everything they had built just to satisfy whatever violent streak Vander had tried to kill with him alongside it. He had played as if it was dead, but Silco could see it, the way it wasn't. The way he obviously backed away, the expression that looked half like guilt, and half like anger, something warring in his expression.
Silco wanted to see it all wiped off his face.
He was so angry, he almost keeps going, accusing him of this, but —
something more... sharp. Feral. Vicious takes him.
He already knew. He already knew. It spikes across his face, something that threatened to boil over, tanking any logic or panic that had started to swell. It was all washed away by the force of his anger, like sweeping it into the undertow. ]
That's her name — [ A more violent kick towards his knee, aiming this time to hurt with everything he had. ] — if she told it to you, you should respect it —
[ Another violent kick. ]
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[He scoffed at the absurdity of a statue, at the idea that Silco had even allowed it to be erected. Sevika had said it was huge and impressive, which meant that it was in a place and large enough to create the kind of eyesore he would dislike for himself. That Silco let it rise on that man's watch was a point he could dig at as he held Silco against the wall with one hand.
Instead, he found himself staring at that familiar furious face. It was just like their first encounter here. Yet, that suffusing of more told him everything he needed to know.
It was Powder. Silco had taken her in after he had died, raised her, but in turn, she had become a chic in that armour.]
It seems like it's the name you put on her. Did she tell you where that name came from, hmm? [He should have put a stop to it, but he had expected the children to work it out as all kids should.] It's an insult. Did you fill her head with nonsense to get her to accept such a name?
[He hissed at the kick, shifting his weight but otherwise refused to move. He shoved Silco harder on the wall instead. He'd accept bruises and battering; he was used to that.]
no subject
Not that Silco had been able to fight it, given how he had been tossed aside. He'd been lucky to escape with his life. He'd had to take to the rest of the undercity. The places the Lanes covered like a thick veneer over rust.
He's trying to distract him. Silco didn't let him. He leaned forward, and said with a soft controlled voice -- some of that confidence he'd seen back when he first arrived. When he'd talked about Legacy .]
Oh? Why, I hadn't known... [ his voice is mocking, a threat implied with it. The threat is that if silco sounds confident, instead of roiling with anger, then perhaps he is more dangerous than anticipated. Vander shoved him against the wall, and he grunted in pain at the way his back nearly cracked.]
Please. Do not treat me like a fool. Do you think I don't know everything about -- [ my daughter ] -- Jinx?
I didn't fill her head with anything that wasn't true. [ All of it. The anger, the rage, the spite. Had he told her much about the past? Not more than necessary, but the again... The hurt had been enough to stay his tongue even then.] All I did was free her.
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Oh, I see now. When you take everything from me - including my life - it's you taking back what's yours, hmm? But when it's me, the situation is all 'ours'? Do you even listen to yourself?
[This, this right here was always by Silco drove him a little insane. We changed to me whenever the other man was slighted, and previously he had found it amusing but now it was just some degrading dig at the past. No doubt the other man couldn't let it go still, had to their mutual fall-out as a pathetic woe-is-me. That's the way it always was.
He narrowed his eyes, and he felt a new weight of exhaustion lower his shoulders towards the floor. He had no idea where Powder had been that day, and not seeing her meant that he could consider that she was at the Last Drop waiting for them all to come home and instead in waltzed Silco and the remnants of his gang after the explosion.]
She's not a jinx, Silco. A string of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances, but she was never, ever a jinx. [Out of that yawning emptiness, his temper flickered again, struggling to life within him.] Free her from what, huh? Her surviving sister?
[He of course didn't have all the facts, didn't have all the context. He had bits and pieces of that day, cobbling together a narrative that made sense to a dead man.]
no subject
I wasn't the one who tossed me out first, Vander — [ Another attempt at a kick, trying to squirm and worm his way out from his grip. ] — You already made it clear it couldn't be the both of us. I acted accordingly.
[ After all, he couldn't come back to the Lanes. Not when the man who tried to kill him had already taken it over. Not when his fight wasn't welcome. Not when he had already made the choice for them both. Silco may have finished the fight years later, but he hadn't started it.
But it's a good segway. His lips curl into something that's almost manic. ]
Her sister? The one that abandoned her? [ This is something he believes just as much as she does. Or did. Silco knew that she had only recently come back — after all, it is Vi's interference that had led to everything crashing down around them. He loathed the sister, hated her, for what she had done to his daughter — to him. ]
She took what they gave her, and she let it make her strong. Maybe you should think about the fact that it resonated so much that she sought to turn it into a weapon.
[ A kick, for good measure, with the word. ] Sound like anyone you know?
[ His smile now was sharp, and mean. He'd only give him so much, and each nugget of information was practically wrested from him. ]
no subject
[He understood that what he had done had been unforgiveable, but there had been a part of him that had hoped. Hope was his downfall as much as it had been his strength. Years and years of friendship, of partnership, of being one another's greatest enthusiasts, and it was all gone in a matter of minutes. Their grief had been too much, the cost and weight of failure looming on their horizons as they released the last of their dead... and then he lost his head because of the verbal needling and needling and needling....
He reached up and rubbed the heel of his hand down his face, finally backing off of crowding Silco as the fight momentarily drained out of him. He should have been there, but now he was here having to muster himself for a fight that he didn't completely understand and was entirely suspicious of.]
As if you wouldn't do the same if you hadn't just lost everything. In fact, you did. You walked away just like Vi. [It wasn't the same except there were enough parallels that he could still make the justification.
Another step backwards to give Silco room to move, to run, to straighten himself. Vander finally turned his eyes away as well, reaching out to grab some bandage gauze from one of the carts and began the process of wrapping his right forearm to once more hide the scar. Well, at least something useful came out of this, even if he didn't feel any better. Some fights one lost even before engaging.]
I know. You've put all your hopes, your anger, your traumas on her, and she's become an extension of your rage at the world. You've weaponized her daughter.
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Once, he'd goaded him into letting that beast out again. Here, he can't do it. Silco doesn't want to die, but he also hates this. Seeing him cowed and cowering, backing off as quick as he starts the fight. He should put an end to him right now, but who knew if that would work. They've already brought the both of them back from the dead. Could they do it again? It stayed him from starting the fight anew, even though he was tempted. ]
I didn't walk away, Vander, I escaped with my life. I knew you were looking for me — trying to finish the job you couldn't the first time, so of course I kept out. It's nothing like her.
[ Silco had gone to ground after, squirreling himself away, secreting to those dark parts of the fissures where the people most forgotten by society had been. Where he could recuperate, and recover. Where he could build a base of operations, build a gang with those society didn't care to look for. Battery and assault, information brokering and drugs, none of it was off limits, and it's how he was able to build enough capital to move forward.
Then, of course, he'd met the doctor, who'd been curious about his condition, and what he could do with it. ]
All I did with Jinx, is make those her strengths. Something you, I will point out, were never able to do.
[ He doesn't dare say the words. Her daughter, he says, Silco thinks my daughter, but he doesn't dare speak that out loud. Not into the open air, where he could get caught. Where anyone can here, where Vander can learn his deepest secret.
He doesn't dare.
He Can't. He holds it close, like a guard. ]
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Vander kept the egg clutched in his fingers still as he rubbed the egg residue that Silco had smeared on his skin before he flipped the edge of the gauze wrap and began to curl it around his forearm to cover the scar again. He had never liked to exposed and now it was less about his shame and more about not providing anyone reason to ask about it in the first place.]
Believe whatever you want, Silco. My intention in trying to find you was never to finish the job back then. I wanted to make amends, to... do whatever I could to help. [He shrugged his shoulders, tucking the edge of the gauze into the last wrap of it.] It doesn't matter. We had our eye-for-an-eye moment at the cannery. You got what you wanted. You're king of the undercity. Congratulations, Silco.
[There was nothing in his tone that was congratulatory. He turned to look at the other man, eyes flicking down to note that the kitchen knife was gone, back on Silco's person somewhere.]
Is that all? You drowned Powder out with this Jinx persona, I bet. Whatever, she will always be Powder to me, but this time around, I'll get to know her as Jinx too. I can accept whoever she wants to be.
[He grabbed another two rolls of gauze and tucked them into the hand holding the egg. He looked at Silco.]
You wanna beat a retreat now?
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[ He laughs out loud, disbelieving. ] Nice way to sell it, Vander. Now that time has passed, and you've seen the cost of your inaction, you can rewrite history to yourself all you want.
[ He cares about the Undercity, he cares about the power. It is his to direct and control, yes. It is his, because he'd worked for it, he'd let his fingers and face bleed to the bone, invested and cajoled, and flayed himself every which way to make himself into the new man Vander now dealt with. He was not the same man, but neither was Vander. After all, the old Vander, if he thought he was worth goading into a fight, he'd finish it.
Now he just backed off, like a struck hound.
He leaned toward him, not getting too close, but enough that he can lower his voice, not because this was a secret, but because he believed it. Because Silco was as broken as Jinx was, and because the man believed everything he said when it came to his daughter. Of course he did. He always had. ]
She is Jinx. [ harsh, punctuated, angry, fervent. That kind of belief is hard to shake, even with an accusation like that. He hadn't done it. It was — ] You and Vi don't get to choose who we become when you toss us aside.
Jinx is perfect, and if you — [ try to ruin her ] — refuse who she is, I'll make sure you pay.
[ He says it like it's more than the Undercity, more than the Lanes, or even Zaun. ]
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[He shook his head, and a small part of him regretted that he didn't just finish this squabbling match physically. It would earn nothing, the victory would be short-lived, and it would provide Silco plenty of ammunition to whine and seethe and shriek about it all. He wouldn't provide the other man the luxury. He'd already picked the fight, but he was just as willing to walk away.
He regarded Silco from the side of the periphery of his gaze, keenly aware the other man had a knife again regardless of where it was tucked away. He dipped his chin towards his chest in a pre-emptive defensive gesture in case Silco decided to bring that knife to bear against his thick neck. He was not enjoying the smaller man leaning closer to him.
His brows drew together when his eldest daughter was referenced, aware there was an insurmountable wall of history that he would not be able to process. It opened the door for more questions rather than answers, and he experienced a wave of... exhaustion. He wasn't used to not having answers or knowing how to acquire them. He was... adrift.]
Is that how you see the situation? She's going to bear all of your traumas as well as her own, and you call it a personal rebirth. [He looked at Silco and his expression hinted at how he felt sorry for this man. All that anger, all that belief, all that drive was to hide how small, weak and discarded Silco likely felt. It was worst now, twisted and bitter with age and experience.] Whoever she is - Jinx, Powder, your daughter, my daughter, her daughter - she will always be nothing more, nothing less than that.
[He almost reached out, almost sought a physical connection that might soothe the old hurts. His fingers twitch at his side, and his hand lifted a few inches before falling back to his side.]
She's your lynch pin. [A statement of fact.] Daughters, hmm? They're our downfall it seems.
[His stomach sounded a loud growling sound, and he was reminded why he came down this way to begin with. Huh, he supposed it was about time to scrounge up something to eat, and he'd prefer to do that alone. Of course, that would depend on the man angrily mouth breathing on him.]
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He's already determined plenty of things. Made statements and decided, and Silco knew better than to protest. He looked up at him, and he sneered. ]
Talking to me is impossible? [ He laughed. ] You have not once listened to a word I said, Vander. You've decided things are the way that they are. I haven't lied to you once, and yet you choose to believe what you want. [ A shrug, affected calm.
He's barely calm. ]
I knew I could never change your mind. I've known that since the day I almost died.
[ After all... well. Vander had made up his mind, and made sure Silco knew it intimately, hadn't he?
But Vander keeps going. He looks at him with something that makes him...
A roiling, angry little beast. Furious, like a snake winding under skin and barely restrained. He wrangles his anger because he's already allowed it out far too many times now, and his stomach still aches from the wound, the jab into his stomach, near where the bullet holes had been. Vander has already tried (and failed) to finish the fight physically. He wants to goad him into fighting, so he can get the upper hand. He can see it, oh, it's so easy to see.
Like instinct, understanding the other man. He should think about that, and yet he doesn't.
He should do something about it, and yet he doesn't. He remains into his personal space, leaning in, a tip of his head, a smile that's far too sharp. That slithering beast under his skin doesn't lash out, but that eye, ever open, never lets Vander have the chance to forget that it always exists.
He reeks of cigars already. He's wasted no time. ]
She is my daughter, Vander. You can have no doubt about that, and you can play at whatever you want, but I know her better.
[ He'd taken her bullets, hadn't he? Wasn't it funny, how much he fights to protect her, play it off, he'll never hold her accountable for this. How could he? (nobody tell him about isha) ]
We're the same, after all. You could have never understood that, of course. How could you, when you had Vi to take care of it all for you?
[ It's a low blow, but Silco has listened to Jinx for years. Through the worst, through the best, through all of the tantrums and episodes. He has enough to put the pieces together, like a jagged mirror put back together, but with the shards misshapen. With everything glaring and sharp and wrong, but it still reflects the truth. ]
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He huffed softly, pushing fingers through his hair as he regarded the other man. It was the same arguments.]
I used to always listen to what you say, and we all know how well that turned out for us, as you're continually keen to remind me. [He waved off the other comment with a hand.] You've withheld information. [So had he, so it wasn't a cutting accusation.
Vander stood his ground when Silco seemed to slither and swell with fury, and he lifted his chin as if daring the other man to pull that knife and come at him. It was better that than their seemingly endless verbal arguments that went around and around, looking to one-up the other in a back and forth.
Maybe Silco wasn't ready to admit that somehow the girls simply slipped in deep. Maybe it was such a blind spot that Silco couldn't see it for what it was. Sometimes dreams weren't worth the cost that had to be paid to make them successful, but it made him wonder. When had Silco been killed in comparison to the Piltover vote? Where had he been to leave him vulnerable enough to take bullets to the chest? He expected Silco to be more careful.
He was tired and hungry. Yet, he cast his gray eyes over to Silco at the statements regarding Powder. He didn't deny that Silco did know her well, that he would have to spent time relearning and rebuilding a relationship with her. She seemed to want to have a relationship with him at least, which was probably more than he could ask for.]
She's my daughter too, Silco. And you do know her better; I've clearly missed a lot years for her, but thanks to this place, I have that opportunity.
[His expression closed, eyes turning flinty at the low blow. His jaw worked side to side as he stared at Silco. It wasn't a complete untruth either, which drove the point agonizingly deeper. He had had Vi, who had always been so capable. Janna, he missed her.]
She wants a relationship with me regardless. Think on that.
[He moved to walk away. He was done with this conversation; he was already regretting starting it in the first place.]
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