003. 💥 (VIDEO) ⇁TABLET

[opheliac]

( the live recording starts simple enough. it begins with jinx propping up the device against something so she can be a little more hands-free. by the looks of her surroundings, it seems she is settling herself in at the SandW̴͚͆H̷͝ͅ1̵̩͛(̷̠̍H̷̭̽ ̷̦́H̸̯́ut for those who finds the establishment recognizable. but what seems odd about this whole thing is how eerily quiet inside this hut is. there are people, definitely, they can be seen in the background while jinx is sitting at the table -- however, no one is speaking. or well if they are, it's in low murmurs to each other that's hard to make out through the recording.

another strange thing is the locals in the background are staring right at the camera (and her), pausing in their own meals with hesitation and concern. and jinx is definitely taking notice of it too, in fact, she is using the camera as a mirror to look back at the people instead of peering over her shoulder.

and speaking of jinx, for those who bumped into her during the maze or the weekend before, her appearance seem to glow more than it did back then. there's color back in her pale skin (if that's possible), her pink eyes glistening more vibrantly, and visibly her attitude seems more on the perkier side. that's strange too, isn't it? well, whatever happened to her then is no longer an issue, it seems like. but the way the locals are glue to her is becoming an irritating thing, and anyone watching this recording can see it in her displeased face. somewhat coming into view, the waiter of this food place clears his throat to get jinx's attention. her eyes flicker to the man as he stumbles over his words: )

"U-Um, excuse me. How... long are you going to be here today?"

( it's almost right after he questioned her stay, he knew instantly it was probably the wrong thing to ask. the teen cocks her head steadily to one side, her gaze dart down to his feet then to the top of his head; sizing him up. but then, jinx smiles to the man -- flashing its rigidness with no friendliness attached. )

Aww, gee. I dunno...♪ ( she answers with a nonchalant shrug, her words smooth like honey but coated with poison. ) — Kinda just got here. I was thinking about sitting here and grabbing a bite to eat. 'Cause, y'know, I'm hungry.

( the worker stiffens at her answer, looking around for maybe someone to help back him up or to chime in on how to handle this delicate situation. and seeing no one is offering a hand, he chuckles uneasily. )

"Uh, yes!! Well... let us know when you're ready to order."

( for those who are still tuned in on the other side of this recording, they can see the enjoyment in jinx's face of how nervous and fearful this man is being around her. the grin on her widens more mischievously as she lazily props an elbow onto the table, cheek to the palm with one, and using her other hand to drum her fingernails on the surface. the teen mouths a, "Will do." at the worker, but right as he turns to leave -- she suddenly speaks up: )

Oh wait! — Actually before ya go, I gotta teeny tiny request.

( extremely frighten what that might be, the waiter turns on his heel to face jinx again with a weary smile. )

How about telling everyone else here that it's a bit rude to stare? ( a beat, her grin twisting menacingly. ) — It's how you lose your eyesight. ... The left eyes are my favorite.

( jinx gives the man a sinister wink to send an extra chill down his spine before he scurries off -- probably to head back to the kitchen, who knows. and when the teen does a quick glance back over her shoulder, everyone else in the hut peeks away swiftly to return back to their meals. humming cheerfully and then throwing her arms up to let out a long needed stretch, jinx finally throws her attention to the video recording she's making. she tosses her thumb over her shoulder as she asks, directing to the people: )

So what's eating them, huh? Is it just me or they're acting EXTRA freaky around here?

Comments

voice

[rebellions]

[ So on one hand, Ragna isn't necessarily eager to talk with Jinx; it's nothing personal, though, as he's not in a mood to speak to anyone after the bullshit with the maze, but this goes especially for those who had the misfortune of witnessing the Black Beast's rampage. On the other hand, he's noticed the locals have been acting strangely (or... even more strangely than the usual), so knowing it's not just his usual distrust and paranoia is kind of reassuring. Still, he hesitates for a little while, pondering whether to tell her that or not.

... But maybe he's got it wrong, and this might be a perfect chance for him to pretend none of that happened and just move on. Yeah, that should work. And he's definitely not using the voice option to avoid a more direct confrontation, since that would be just pathetic. ]

They sure are. And it ain't just 'cause you pissed them off, since they're giving me the stink eye too.

[opheliac]

( just voice, huh? probably something she should had expected given that she witnessed what lies within him. jinx will let it slide for now, but if this becomes a routine of his -- she'll have to kick it out of the bucket. so looking at a, well, black screen and only hearing her voice, the teen leans back a little in seat and doing another quick glance around. her gaze darts back to the tablet with a playful smirk. )

Guess they're finally seein' our potential, huh? Know to not mess with us. Maybe this dinky town will get interesting for once.

[rebellions]

Seems that way. Took them long enough.

[ Although she won't see it, Ragna has to roll his eyes at that last comment. Once again, they seem to have completely different definitions of what is "interesting", since he's not exactly eager to become a wanted man again, least of all when he hasn't even done anything to deserve it this time. ]

Been hearing them talk about "the Council" or some shit. If I were to guess, I'd say those must be in charge of the whole sentencing and crap.

[opheliac]

A council?

( her expression instantly sours as she rolls her head back in a frustrating groan. jinx sinks deep into her chair with her arms folding across her chest. )

Oh, great. Not another one. I thought I got away from all the crummy richie rich politics crap.

( or maybe the council had always been around and jinx just hadn't been paying attention. it's quite possible when she often has her own agendas. )

Welp, looks like I got another missile to build.

[rebellions]

If you ever do find a way to get away from that sorta crap, by all means, feel free to enlighten me.

[ In his experience, there's no escaping dumb politics, and he's not even that involved in this world's crap (well, aside from rebelling against it all, but details). Still, it might be a clue to figure out what's really going on in this world, so it might be promising... if only the locals were willing to talk about it instead of avoiding him. ]

Just make sure to give me a heads-up before you fire it. I don't wanna be anywhere near that.

[ He's not exactly taking the implication very seriously... despite knowing all too well she's not just joking. ]

[opheliac]

It's easy to get away from it. All you gotta do is blow 'em up! It's what I did before I crash landed here.

( is that much a surprise now? the fact that her solution in getting rid of politics or any upperclassmen is to evaporate them out of existence? )

'Course! I won't let my partner go KA-BLAM unless he wants to be.

[rebellions]

It's exactly blowing them up that got them to go after me in the first place.

[ Yeah, that sounds exactly like her. But he doesn't have any room to judge, since he solves most of his problems by blowing up government's facilities, too. He didn't target any nobility or members of the Duodecim specifically, though, and as much as it'd pain him to admit, a couple of them ended up becoming reliable allies later down the line.

... And there she goes again, bringing up this whole "partner" thing. The fact that she's still sticking to it despite everything that's happened in the maze is... unsettling to him. ]

Pass.

[ He briefly considers telling her to remember not to blow herself up, too, but then he remembers he's trying to distance himself from all that partnership, so he leaves that unsaid. ]

... You'll need to find them first. And something's telling me those assholes might be even less willing to talk to you now than the last time you tried.

[opheliac]

Oh, I got plenty of ways to get people talking. You just gotta use the ol' noodle. ( a beat. ) — And a rope, a few oil crayons, and a ceiling.

( how extreme. and while her focus is on the black screen and this conversation, ragna is able to spot the locals behind her -- whispering at each other while glancing back at jinx if he chooses to take note of it. )

[rebellions]

[ He almost winces in response. Once again, it's not necessarily that he has much of a moral high ground, but at least he doesn't! Talk about potentially violent things openly like that!!

... Well, unless someone pisses him off and he starts throwing death threats around like they're going out of style. But details. ]

Time and place, Smurfette. Your friends over there clearly don't appreciate your plans for them.

[ That... probably doesn't help improve the locals' perception of her, huh! Thanks for nothing, Rags. ]

[opheliac]

So what? A way to earn respect it to strike fear in their hearts. That's what I was taught.

( if that didn't give him a clue that perhaps the way she is, is because of how she was brought up by someone, nothing will be much clearer. )

[rebellions]

[ If you ask Ragna, whoever's taught her that must be either very naive or just full of themselves. Or possibly both. ]

You get their fear and disdain, sure. Respect, though? First time I'm hearing about it.

[ He doesn't think it's necessarily a bad thing, however; he could care less about being respected, and being feared and hated worked out just fine for his goals. But if she's aiming for respect, she's in for a disappointment. ]

[opheliac]

Looks like you need a lesson by the one and only! It's a simple concept so you better listen up 'cause I'm saying this one!

( clearing her throat so she can sound professional, she straightens up her spine while she sits. )

If people are scared of you, they'll comply more. Go up to 'em and say, "HEY! I want that junk." and they'll give it to you without any problems. No backtalk, no sneaky tactic that'll be pointless 'cause I'll just see it, no one gets hurt! ... Usually. Sometimes you gotta put a lil' scare to keep 'em on their toes. Can't get them too comfortable.

[rebellions]

[ Ragna rolls his eyes again, this time joined by an annoyed groan to cue Jinx in on how he feels about her explanation. ]

I know that, dumbass. And yeah, it sure works.

[ Most of the time. When people actually recognize him. Which, thanks to his wanted posters looking nothing like him, is less common than you'd think. ]

In the scenario you described, they still obey you 'cause they're scared, not out of respect.

[opheliac]

It's a little the same, isn't it?

( she wiggles her eyes in a tease. it definitely is not, but the question is -- does she know that truly or is she being honest that she can't tell the difference? )

[rebellions]

[ Honestly? He assumes she's feigning ignorance here; she may be silly, but she's not stupid. But sure, he can elaborate. ]

Kinda. Just one has lower risk of people stabbing you in the back.

[ Lower risk, not flat-out "none". There's no way he'd put that much faith in people. ]

[opheliac]

Ha ha, being stabbed in the back. That's a good one, Raggie...!! — Like that'll ever happen to me.

( again. except it did. but jinx is blissfully unaware her big sister gave her name to the piltover council on whose been terrorizing them and their city. and for everyone's sake, let's hope she never finds out that devastating detail.

it hurt her core when she overheard silco rambling on to himself about jayce's deal and luckily, he was going to turn down the offer. but to imagine if she learned about her sister waltzing in the room and gave her name out to them so blatantly... that's a whole different hurt she might not be able to endure. )

[rebellions]

... You're awfully trusting, you know that?

[ Yeah, it's more bravado than trust, he knows; but even though he has full confidence in his skills, too, he prefers to err on the side of caution when it comes to letting his guard down. Call him paranoid, but once you get literally stabbed through the chest by your beloved little brother? You kind of learn not to trust absolutely anyone. ]

[opheliac]

It's not about trust. It's about knowing no one would dare mess with me. I don't really take kindly to it.

[rebellions]

There will always be someone ready to mess with you, no matter how great of a reputation you have.

[opheliac]

In that case, they better come outta hiding 'cause Mama's getting bored.

( and finally, jinx decides to wave down someone which... takes longer than it needs to said person to come over due to uncertainty. but the girl doesn't seem to notice as she orders the kind of sandwich she wants. the person takes the order and hurries off in flash. the less he interacts with her, the better. )

Hey, want me to get you something, buddy ol' pal?

[rebellions]

Pass.

[ That would require him to leave the place he's holed up at and that's not happening anytime soon. ]

[opheliac]

You snooze, you lose! I'll buy somethin' extra, say it's yours, and then eat your share.

( that doesn't make sense at all. but when has jinx ever make sense when it comes to her logic half of the time? )

[rebellions]

Whatever. As long as you don't make me pay for it...

[ He probably shouldn't be giving her any ideas... ]

[opheliac]

You really oughta work on that. How are we gonna land you a girl if you don't be a gentleman about it?

[rebellions]

Screw you, I could totally get a date if I wanted to.

[ laughtrack.mp3 ]