#gambl4r

❝ wassup, auntie. damn, heh, you look like you just finished giving hell like no tomorrow. ❞ ekko rose a small smile on his face, watching the elder street veteran—now councilwoman—sink into the barstool beside him. the half-empty glass water clicked softly under the absent-minded flick from his fingernail. a soothing record spun in the background, but he barely been listening to it. he'd been mellowing out for the past hour and a half, patiently waiting for sevika's arrival to the last drop, with a lot weighing on his mind.

❝ pilties being pilties again? ❞ he asked dryly, no great love gained for piltover even after all this time. on one hand, he respected sevika for always making moves on zaun's behalf. though, it hadn’t been long since one of her decisions left a bad taste in his mouth.

ekko had mixed feelings about the new arrangements up top. he'd heard that allyship efforts with piltover were gradually strengthening by the day, but old world biases still proved to be roadblocks, impeding progress.

it didn't seem to matter how many zaunites died as brothers and sisters in arms to them—piltover's monstrous appetite to punch down at the undercity was never satisfied. still, if sevika hadn't given up on her position yet and / or proved incapable as the instated voice of zaun topside, he'd hold himself back. there were things on his agenda, anyhow, which is why he called her out here.

ekko picked up his water, finishing the cup with one last gulp before setting back it down. his gaze fixed on her, intent and sharp as a owl. ❝ say, you ever go in the lower levels of zaun? ❞ he asked suddenly, his tone shifting from casual disinterest to gravely curious.

boot clad steps are confident and at ease walking among the streets of zaun. EASE that only came with a life spent between worlds, friends and family in both places. while piltover had ultimately become her home, there was an a f f e c t i o n she held for the undercity. the fact she could go between the cities easily, and the privilege in that, wasn't lost on her. particular as she'd been promoted, her attention brought further and further into the center of wealth. but the knowledge that she was only given that chance by LUCK that her mother had met her step father, and that his name had at least a little weight behind it. enough to be in piltover, to get them a better education.

while those were all given to those in piltover, she knew those were invaluable privileges. which is what brought her back endlessly, helping where she could. like the box held under her arm, the corner digging into her side as she makes her way down the familiar street.

emery catches little attention as she goes, aside from the l e w d looks she'd learned weren't avoidable in EITHER city. but thanks to the hood over her head, and the wear and tear that was clear on her clothes, she didn't look too out of place. she tilts up her chin as she pauses in front of a store front, glancing at the name before shifting the box into both arms and p u s h i n g through the door.

dark eyes search the l o u d room, looking for a familiar face before slipping into the crowd and making her way to the bar. immediately heads to girl, smiling to her as she sets the box on the stool, showing her the contents. a mix of things to make things easier, things to sell, things to scrap, necessities. then she reaches into the bag at her h i p to pull out a fair sized pouch. “ i managed skim a bit more off the top than usual, he didn't even notice, ” she adds as she slips the coin to the box and pats the side.

she smiles as the teen heads off, the expression only dropping as she's left alone. with a sigh she glances at the empty seat, and shrugs. she h o p s on, balancing on the foot rest slightly to be a bit t a l l e r in attempt to wave the bartender over to no avail. she drops onto the stool with a huff. “ fuck, ” she mumbles.

❝ you play god, you gon' get what you asked for, ❞ ekko said, his voice clipped, yet not too far from the border of irritation. he was talking at her, not to her, so the comment wasn't directed at sevika. the grave glint in his eyes goes past the taller woman's broad shoulders, eying the featureless uniformed swine standing just outside the last drop. their soulless gold eyes seemingly stared back at his, almost as if they expected trouble. even from where ekko stood, he could see their grips tightening around their weapons. everybody in the establishment around the two war-weary veterans was too busy to notice the odd tension in the early morning. they were too stuffing their faces in their breakfast bowls and or returning to the line to get seconds. ekko crossed his arms over his chest, readjusting his line of vision up at the face of the zaunite councilwoman. he scoffs at the thought of her presence requiring an escort, just to be home, and shook his head in disbelief.

lately, there has been a proliferation of robust interrogative procedures in the lanes. enforcers disrupting the livelihood of the zaunite communities, with their brutish inquiries about rumors and conspiracies concerning the firelights because of the "harassment" they've been enduring from them. he assumed this behavior was born out of paranoia from the bombing of the old council. ekko was close to his guess, but he didn't quite hit the mark.

after the noxian invasion was thwarted, and the world was literally saved, the grieving period for the affected sister cities was long, and some people may have thought that piltover-zaun was moving towards long-lasting unity.

in a perfect world, if that existed, certainly. no matter how you dissect the human heart, love serves no purpose in the plot of insecurities in man.

unbeknownst to ekko, resentment toward the undercity had grown exponentially, but this time around, it had particular targets worthy of being on its radar: the enigmatic uniters of zaun. two individuals that weren't that far off from a teenhood they barely survived, and who managed to convince zaunites to come out in large numbers to form a formidable defense against one of the most powerful armies in runeterra, when the majority refused to fight in the war. these were the people who turned their backs on piltover, after centuries of piltover having their backs happily turned on them. the cold response didn't come from out of nowhere—it was piltover reaping what they have sown.

but jinx, and ekko changed everything. together, they accomplished the impossible: saving their homeland and its sibling city from annihilation, securing free will for millions of souls, and ensuring that mankind had a future. yet, even those monumental acts weren't enough to earn them lasting goodwill for too long. with the kind of influential power they wielded and their rapid succession of exercising it, it was almost inevitable that piltover's dangerously curious gaze would turn toward them.

one was a wanted domestic terrorist—a volatile, blue-haired deviant who had worked under a notorious zaun separatist and inspired an anarchist movement fueled by her political assassinations. the other was suspected of leading an elusive zaun nationalist terrorist group, one that had been reported for destroying government property, and assaulting and even killing enforcers. jinx was presumed dead, but even that wasn't enough to quell assuage piltover's growing paranoia.

whatever the bullshit reason piltover had for increasing pig presence, even if it was possibly stemming from the loss of their 'illustrious finest', ekko couldn't be bothered enough to give up an arm and leg to express empathy for their losses. any 'harassment' the enforcers faced was rightfully earned treatment. all the shadowy firelights were doing was surveilling the hypervigilant fist of the system.

❝ i don't know why the council thinks you need to bring around a portable pig pen down here. you're good. what, the pilties get done dirty by one zaunite, and now we're all terrorists? ❞ there was no hiding the accusatory edge, but he kept the volume steady, keeping the conversation stayed between two pairs of ears.

❝ besides... the girl they're looking for is—❞ ekko pauses, and softly squeezes his face in pained frustration. while he was done being a pretender, acting as though his emotions didn't matter and he was an impenetrable shield, he still refused to show vulnerability in the face of his enemies. ❝—ah... sevika, this is stupid. i'm just a guy who has to make sure all these kids are fed, alright? that's my business. i'm somebody that shouldn't be of any piltie's concern, unless i have to be concerned. on that note, you want some eggs? ❞

JULIA ........ my walking spidermen pointing at each other meme ...... <333 you're so nice for this i'll throw up rn. genuinely want to gnaw my own hands off about your writing and i'll never even know how to put it into words? the way you found that perfect medium between truly poetic and direct + easy to absorb with your writing makes me so jealous let me study u. let me into ur mind. the fact that you then combine that writing skill with such a solid grasp of all the fascinating workings into the mind of one of my all time favorite characters just makes me WEAK and u know this. i love reading every last one of your effortless takes on sevika's personality, i love the understanding you bring to her that so few people can seem to manage (such as where she'd actually stand politically and all the ways in which she's more than Angry Brown Woman), i genuinely can't pick just one thing i love about your sevika or i'll die ... you ARE sevika ... to ME ... *develops parasocial bond*

GOLDEN SWORD WITHIN FIRM GRIP, : EVER SO NATURAL, THIS STANCE. though it was she, who was more the weapon than the sharp blade. chaos of one moment won, another awaits. ... everything uncertain, &. chaos seeks control ; control she can not allow. balance between light &. dark is required. ... ❝ you do not have to follow the orders given, ❞ voice steady, as she makes her argument. where it is firm, she does not shout, does not bite. she only hopes to reason. ... &. perhaps, her words echo on within the other, for there comes a pause, a look of struggle, of a dilemma. this briefest pause after foes around lay defeated, faced one back against another. NOW SHE WANTS TO PREVENT FURTHER FIGHTING, all of it seeming so pointless when there was one singular foe for each &. every one.

@gambl4r : " i can't make a deal with a snake and cut off its head. we both have our shitty parts to play. "

listen i'm ..... obsessed with your blog, i need to be stopped. i literally added my reply to you on em to the top of my list the second you replied because idk. my brain was like oh this is important, bust continue immediately. and i just love reading all the things on your blog. you also have such a strong identity established for sevika that is just super super vibrant in your portrayal and i appreciate it a lot.

features info about : arcane verse, responsibility, community

emery has a fairly nuanced relationship with both cities, simply based on the fact that both have been home. while she just a baby when she moved from zaun, she spent a lot of her childhood there. she has cousins there, she had friends. she'd often spend days playing with kids who she knew had far more cramped living conditions from her own. she'd go home to a soft bed purchased by her step father, and her full pantry, and feel guilty. even as a small child.

this perspective was really mirror of her mothers originally. part of the reasoning they spent so much time down there was because she felt guilty for leaving friends and family behind. it isn't until her kids get older, her career takes off, that she starts to lose touch. and emery notices this too. even when her mom slows down kept going until a brief reprieve in her teens.

oooooh here we go.

earlier resistance threads back when vander was involved, and actually the hound of the underground. a leader that was doing more than looking out for everyone and actively fighting for everyone.

something in my stillwater au where he finally gets out and reappears and ends up showing up at the last drop like ... excuse me .... this is mine. and we have some fun conflict.

also toying with the fact vander comes back and wants two things: reunite with his daughters. and clean up zaun. he'll want to get rid of shimmer, he'll want to make zaun a real thing, he'll want to get their freedom. and he'll want to take active steps to get there. no interest in the chem-barons games.

au where vander never steps back in the fight when he takes in the kids, but instead changes the game. espionage shit, infiltrating piltover in another way. maybe sevika being his right hand in keeping things moving and them often working together to handle any enforcer related conflicts.

idk why this came to my brain but tired, sick brain thinks we sould do motorcycle gang au.