First things first: This is solely about my Silco, and concerns details I saw in Arcane and personally latched onto. This is by no means the only interpretation nor is it the âcorrectâ interpretation, or any other such thing. People latch onto different things, and explore different concepts and themes and ways of forming their muses and I love that. Whatever I post below is purely for the purposes of explaining my personal thought process, and trying to show how I got to the point I did nothing more.
Second: This is solely about my Silco. Do not reblog. Do not copy, or steal from. Thank you.
TLDR: I take a lot of inspiration from the comments Silco makes about the mines, what Jayce says about making something to help with the mining colonies in the fissures, and Jayceâs comment about Viktor growing up in the fissures. My Silcoâs backstory has a heavy connection with mining, and in turn Iâve used a lot of inspiration from real world stuff about company towns and labor wars/coal wars. He also had a younger brother who passed away from a wasting sickness caused by living too close to a mine while dealing with the dust and everything else that came from it, and yes Silco very much places the blame for his brothers death at the feet of Piltoverâs greed. My Silco is a fanatic because heâs seen the worst of what Piltover has done to Zaun, and full believes that Zaun deserves better and that Piltover will fundamentally never listen.
Side note: This is not an attempt to excuse what Silco does. Heâs not a healthy person, not a good person, is a villain (although I would argue not the villain), and does some very bad things. This is simply my personal thoughts as to how mine ended up in the place he does.
~~~Cut for length.~~~
I feel like I need to start this off with an observation. Wealth does not come from nowhere. At the end of the day if thereâs a large gap such as between Piltover, and Zaun that came about (generally speaking) from one taking advantage of the other and more specifically the resources the other has. To be clear Iâm not talking about a house with an extra room, or a bigger TV. Iâm talking about Piltover being nicer in every way possible, and the Enforcerâs gear, and Piltover being the city of progress and their nice buildings and university and well fed people and everything else. If you disagree than fine, but thatâs the view point Iâm starting with. That Piltover fundamentally exploited Zaun in order to obtain the wealth it has, and than shoved Zaun into the darkness and blamed them for their condition ignoring the issues that were caused by Piltover. In essence Iâm working with the idea that Piltover dug deep, and ripped a lot of minerals and stone and the like out of Zaun taking as much of it as possible for their benefit without sharing any of the benefits. You donât see a whole lot mentioned about this, but you do see a bit. One of the first mentions of the mines is with Jayce who says he wants to help the mining colonies work faster and without fatigue.
Now another thing to note is Jayce also says that he thinks Viktorâs health concerns stem from growing up in the fissures.
So between Jayce talking about mining, and the fissures, and Viktor being from Zaun thereâs a picture developing. Piltover had to get resources from somewhere, and the nearest place is Zaun. The mining colonies in the fissures. All of that is something that caught my attention. Partially because of my interests about certain things in real life. Another thing that stood out to me is the attitude of the Enforcers. Every time you see the Enforcers except for the ones you need to see the face of so they stand out as a character they in full face masks with armor when dealing with Zaun, but not in Piltover. The Enforcers are not there to keep order, or to help.
They are there to enforce control. For all intents and purposes they are guards similar how Company Towns had guards in real life. Company towns being in essence enclosed living areas for workers and their families that was assembled cheaply by whatever company or corporation owned the nearby mine or other area they needed workers for. There were any number of tactics used to control these company towns, but for now letâs just say they arenât a good thing and at best are exploitative and controlling. So it could very easily be argued that Zaun is in essence at best a company town thatâs largely abandoned to itself so long as they donât attract attention, and at worst a mostly open air prison for the undesirables. My point being this is what Silco grew up in. An environment were he watched everything his family, and his people produce get taken away from them and moved topside for the benefit of people that looked down upon Zaunites for no good reason other than an accident of birth resulting in them being born on the ânice sideâ of things. Why do I say this is were he grew up? Simple.
âHave you forgotten where we came from? The mines they had us in?â
To me thatâs a very specific statement particularly when you combine it with the other mentions of mining, and also Silcoâs dream of a Free Nation of Zaun. My head canon is that Silco grew up in a mining community/colony/company town ran by Piltie overseers and guards. That he knows exactly how bad those mines were because his father worked in one, because he worked in one, and because his younger brother died far younger than he should have due to the pollution and toxins and dust caused by the nearby mine. Why is all of that important? Because miners have a history of fighting back. As some easy examples you have Paint CreekâCabin Creek strike of 1912, Ludlow Massacre in 1914 as part of the 1913-1914 Colorado Coal War, and the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. All events in real life that are a part of what is called the Coal Wars that happened on, and off from 1890 to 1930. Side note that yes I understand this is American-centric, and I apologize for that. Itâs what I know the most about however, and (although I should change this) I havenât yet taken the time to look extensively at stuff in other countries. Regardless the point stands. Armed labor conflicts, strikes, and in a sense revolutions against the status quo or at least the oppression and exploitation of the companies that did their best to rule and control the miners happened multiple times through out history. Often with miners organizing into Unions to fight side by side, and to aid each other. For that matter they had to in order to push back against the companies while ensuring their wives and children stayed fed. Because a lot of those miners had full families living with them. Why is this important about them fighting side by side?
âBrothers and sisters back-to-back against whatever the world threw at us.â
Silco never really talks about himself. He talks about the mines. He talks about where âwe came fromâ, brothers and sisters back-to-back, the sons and daughters of Zaun, loyalty, and with a consistency and fervor that I choose to believe indicates he is a true believer. His fault is not in that he wants to help his people his fault is in how far he goes. Of course I could write a whole post about current day media turning nearly every character that wants to change the status quo and challenge the system into a villain, but thatâs another thing entirely. My point is that for me because of my personal interests, and because of the mentions of mines and Silcoâs comments and my head going to the coal wars and everything else⌠my Silco is very heavily rooted in those concepts.
He grew up in a community of bleak poverty watching these guards, and âcompany peopleâ ruling over everyone despite doing no real work. People speaking up got punished, and if they went too far they got arrested or worse. Attempts to organize were broken apart (see real life union busting) more often than not. Food wasnât plentiful. There was no public schooling. He basically had to raise his younger brother himself because their parents despite doing their best were always working in one way or another. Not only that, but he got to go up to Piltover once or twice as a child and got a very good look at just how very different things are in each place as well as the fact that what Piltover has isnât as far as the Piltieâs are concerned âfor those dirty Zauniteâsâ in essence. Everything around him taught him a couple of very important lessons.
Pilties see his people as fundamentally, literally, and metaphorically beneath them.
His people deserve better because they are literally dying around him.
Without violence nothing will change because Piltover will not listen.
You can argue about how correct or wrong any of those view points are, but Silco fully believes all three of them. He also believes the end justifies the means which is what allows him to do the things he does. Maybe he hurts Zaun a bit, but itâll be for the best in the end. Now I could continue this for quite a bit longer talking about his feelings concerning what Zaun has become, the chem-barons, the full extent of how his younger brother dying effected him, and so on however thatâs not really what this is about. This is about something much simpler. Where does my Silco come from?
My Silco comes from a small family in a company town surrounded by poverty, and miners. He comes from a life in which heâs never had someone else take care of him for any length of time, and he had to grow up too fast. He comes from a place that forced upon him over, and over, and over again the idea that people from Piltover would never care about nor understand Zaun. He grew up among hard men, violence, oppression, and death. The never ending belief that Zaun deserves better as well as his need to be able to control his own life forcing him forward down a road of blood and revolution.
Silco is a man that in another world might have been a Punk, a protester, someone well known in one leftist movement or another. He could have been arrested for being involved in riots, and telling cops to go fuck themselves, and cursing out TERFs and bigots and would punch a Nazi without a second thought. Heâs a driven man with a hatred of those that think themselves better than others for no good reason. In another world he might have been a good man.
In Arcane? In Zaun? Heâs not a good man. Even if there are good reasons behind his ideology, or at least understandable ones. He has been driven too far, and gone too deep into his obsession and fanaticism with nothing and no one to take the edges off. He's never chosen to take the time to rest, and take a breath, and heal from anything. He could have been someone else of course. Someone better, but he chose not to be. After all...
âThe only way to defeat a superior enemy is to stop at nothing. To become what they fear.â
To put it another way, and to close this out for now if I might be excused the theft of a good line from another character.
"In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good."
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((I had a random idea so ah.... here's a Silco drabble.))
âTwenty years ago I would have burned this place down around you. Ten years ago I would have dragged your wife, and daughter in here so you could have company while the fire enveloped you. Five years ago⌠itâs not that hard to make a man kill his own family. The right dosage of shimmer, the right situation, the right amount of fear; panic, aggression and a nightmare is created no one ever wants to wake up from.â Stepping past the bartender, and owner of the tavern Silco was in he reached up taking down a bottle of whiskey to consider it. âIâve had worse than this. Do you mind?â Glancing back to the man who was ghostly white in that moment Silco nodded before pulling out two shot glasses. As Silco poured two shots worth of whiskey Sevika stood in the middle of the tavern arms crossed as her eyes flickered around ensuring no one was about to make a fuss not that it would have done them any good if they had.
Pushing a filled shot glass into the hand of the man who owned the tavern Silco raised his own. âCheers to every valiant miner; As he is surrounded by night and horrors.â A faintly sinister smile was on Silcoâs face as the tavern owner echoed the toast with a distinct shake in his voice. Both downed their respective shot before Silco put his shot glass down. âNow tell me, do I need to introduce you to the horrors that can so easily invade a manâs life?â Turning a bit he stepped in close leaning in so his eerie eye blazing fiery in a void of blackness could seem as though it was practically staring into the other manâs soul Silco studied him. âOr do you understand what it takes to keep those horrors at bay? Do you have the wisdom to offer the appropriate respect?â
Swallowing the tavern owner nodded quickly. âI, I understand. Silco. It was a mistake thatâs all, I promise! My son in law⌠heâs young, he didnât, doesnât understand. Please, Sir, Iâll make sure he offers the respect owed in the future.â
Quiet for a moment Silco stepped back than nodded to Sevika. The tavern went quiet as Sevika shouted for one of Silcoâs people, and suddenly the son in law the tavern owner had mentioned was shoved through the main door of the tavern sputtering through the gag keeping him mostly silent. Paying little attention to the young man Silco reached for the whiskey, and poured himself another shot downing it quickly. âYouth, and stupidity only excuses so much.â Voice grim Silco let out a faint tsk before shrugging. âStill. Mistakes do happen.â Reaching out he grabbed a clean napkin, and pulling out a pen wrote down a few quick lines before putting it into the tavern owners hand. âDonât let him make the same mistake again, and I expect a delivery of your best whiskey to The Last Drop. The best, not the swill you let me drink today. Something actually decent.â
Seconds later Silco was gone, and the tavern owner undid the gag keeping his son in law silent which quickly proved to be a mistake. âWho the fuck he thinks he is just walking in here, and shoving us around like that!? I should,â the young man found himself suddenly on the ground with his jaw aching. The tavern owner tossed the napkin down onto his chest, and shook his head. âOh shut up before I drown you, and apologize to my daughter for failing her by letting her marry an idiot. Youâre going to be delivering the whiskey. This weekend. Now get up, and go take inventory in the back.â
The young man looked vaguely confused, but nodded slowly as he stood. It wasnât until he headed into the back, and took a moment to look at the napkin he finally understood at which point the blood drained from his face.
It was a list of addresses. For the home the tavern owner shared with his wife and youngest son who hadnât left home yet, and also for the son in law who had married the tavern owners oldest daughter. There was also a third address, and that one belonged to the sister of the son in law. Silco clearly knew where all their loved ones lived, and until they got home they would have no idea if their loved ones were in fact still alive and if so how long they would stay that way. The one thing they did know was that they had attracted the chem-barons attention, and that was seldom a healthy thing to do.
Some quick notes about my Silco that I need to put onto his bio page as well.
in my main verse for Silco which is post arcane he...
No longer wears his makeup, and leaves his facial scars on full display.
Has come to realize that most people in Zaun no longer care about The Cause, and he's at least partially responsible for that.
Is having issues figuring out "what comes next", and lowkey is starting to feel trapped because he's had one cause for almost his entire life and now doesn't know what to do but there's no one he can go and talk to about it and he feels like he just has to keep going and can't show weakness. So he kind of wants to shift things in a different direction. Maybe put more effort into Zaun itself instead of pushing against Piltover, and the like. The problem is he's not sure how to, and if he's "allowed to" for lack of a better way to put it in terms of how the other Chem-Baron's would react and the potential of a war between them and all. Once again he can't afford to show weakness, and he's been fighting for The Cause so long he is worried that shifting things will be in and of itself a show of weakness.
Without Jinx/with Jinx believing he's dead still his head is starting to slide into a bad place. It's not that he wants to die, but rather that since Jinx already thinks he's dead what's the harm of taking a few risks that are more dangerous than normal if it means he could possibly shape things in a way that'll benefit Zaun or Jinx in the long run? Today's the day he's going to die? Well that's a risk he's known his entire life, and his daughter still believes he's dead so... fuck it.
Is all around unhappy, conflicted, vaguely confused, and refuses to admit it to anyone or talk to anyone about it.
So me being interested in small details went looking at ages, and noticed a few things.
Silco is roughly four years (give or take a year in either direction) younger then Vander. Sevika is about 5 years younger than Silco so nine years younger than Vander. Most of the chem barons besides from Renni are either noticeably younger than Silco (or in the case of Chross much older), and Marcus is about ten years younger. Why does this matter?âŚ
I donât think most people currently operating in Zaun or Piltover remember how things used to be anymore and those that do have enough money and power built up to have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. I donât think Silco has any true peers he works with in terms of experience, age, personal convictions, and the like. Whatever connection Renni may have used to have with things sheâs obviously lost after being more concerned with profits, and throwing in her lot with Finn. Sevika probably is one of the few people still operating that fought in the same conflicts that Vander did (besides from Silco of course), and Silco finds himself moving more and move into the status of letâs call it⌠the old guard, the OG, the âold manâ who built things but now others want him gone.
In my opinion it says a lot that Finn says âI thought now hereâs a man who knows how to run an enterprise, but timeâs lapped you old manâ while Silco has always talked about the Free Nation of Zaun. Finn is a good fifteen years younger than Silco. Finn is used to relative peace with Vander, and then business and profit with Silco. The idea of a Free Nation isnât there for the simple reason Finn has the power and money he wants. What does he care about the others? Meanwhile Silco, hates him and the other chem-barons. Thereâs a reason he deliberately says âNow Iâm forced to share the air with parasites like you who leech off their legacies.â
Silco respects the brothers and sisters of Zaun, and the people he fought alongside with back in the day. He knows Zaun wouldnât be anything without their struggle, and that Finn and the others wouldnât have the power or money or influence they have without that struggle. Silco doesnât know their history he lived it⌠and heâs one of the last people who truly knows, remembers, and lived what happened. Silco lives, and breathes Zaun while being forced to share the air and power⌠with parasites who have no true understanding of whatâs important and who leech off of the struggles of those who came before.
It makes me wonder if Silco had a blind spot. The blind spot being how much Zaun changed under Vander because of that relative peace, and how the younger generation didnât have the same drive and need for freedom so long as they had some form of prosperity for themselves. Maybe his blind spot led him to pick chem-barons who had a drive to succeed yes, but not to drive things forward the way Silco needed because they just donât. See. The. Need.
How alone and frustrated does Silco feel with so many others having left The Cause, or never having been in it and here he is trying to still direct things so that Zaun can ultimately be free and have the opportunity the daughters and sons of Zaun deserve?
Drabble, Silco, post arcane, set shortly after heâs recovered from The Table and is back at work. Bit of violence, but nothing big,
One of the issues with âtaking a vacationâ for a month was that the young of Zaun had a short memory, and Silco had always been a bit of a shadowy figure. Finally capable of moving around Zaun by himself once again Silco had started to very quickly reestablish himself not that heâd fully lost control in the first place. Sevika had made sure of that. However things had slid, and slipped and some needed a personal touch. So far the day had been going rather well however, and so he decided to stop off at a street stall for a coffee and a snack. Not in any rush Silco waited in line, and when it was his turn stepped forward hand dipping into his coat to grab a few coins to pay. The vendor was an older woman who recognized him, and tried to wave away his payment and before Silco could force the money on her three people shoved their way up.
All three were young, twenty at best, and two were men with the third a rather androgynous figure whose eyes were stone cold. The boys were the loudest, and demanded the most space but the third was likely the most dangerous. One of the men moved past Silco slapping at the counter. âAy! Three cups, and two of theâŚâ His voice was cut off by Silco as the six foot tall chem-baron spoke.
âStep back. Wait your turn. A bit of patience would do you well. Nowâs a good time to practice it.â Putting his money on the counter he pushed it forward to the owner of the stall before his eyes narrowed hearing a soft voice from the third person. âDonât need patience. This here is our turf old man. Step off, and be thankful we donât do something.â Raising his eyebrows for a second Silcoâs fingers tapped against the counter before he turned to face the three people. âYour turf? Eye of Zaun, his mark is right there on that wall. Now take a step back, and learn some patience.â
A scoff could be heard from one of the three. âEye of Zaun, pfhh. Smoke, and shadows. Even if he exists things been weird lately. He probably lost his touch.â The soft voiced androgynous figure studied Silco, and frowned. âFuck happened to your eye old man?â The last person lost his patience, and pulling a knife immediately went to stab Silco with a harsh grunt of effort.
A soft tsk, and Silco slapped the knife out of the manâs hand before casually backhanding him which was quickly followed up by a punch breaking his noise. Staggering back holding his now bleeding noise the man groaned. âFuck! Old man got some moves.â Shaking his head Silco studied them. âDisappointing. Really. In my day the best fought together. As a unit. Only way to win against the enforcers because they always had better weapons, and body armor. Canât go one on one unless you real good. None of you are that good, but if you stopped standing there like a bunch of whipped mutts whimpering about to piss yourself maybe youâd be able to accomplish something. Now stop wasting my time, and go learn how to actually fight.â Turning around Silco motioned for his coffee which was handed to him, but a second later the eyes of the woman who owned the stall widened and she started to let out a warning. The androgynous figure was indeed the most lethal, and a knife was speeding right for Silcoâs side with no warning at all. They still werenât good enough however, and Silco tossed the scalding hot coffee back over his shoulder into their face. A sudden groan, and a knife clattering to the ground as they pawed at their face could be heard. Silco nodded to the woman whoâd given him the coffee. âIâll need a refill.â
Turning around Silco knelt down picking up the knife on the ground, and stood up. Balancing it on a finger he nodded. âNot bad, by street standards. Could throw it passable well, and youâve kept it sharp. Have some respect at least for yourself, and your tools. Better than half the chum around here.â The one man who hadnât attacked swallowed, and shook his head. âWho the fuck are you?â
Silco glanced, and turning his head to show off his fiery eye tapped just under it with the point of the knife he had taken. âIâm the Eye of Zaun, and you all have a choice to make.â Tossing the knife back to itâs owner he nodded to them. âTake your boys, and go to the Last Drop. Find Sevika, and tell her Silco said to give you all a job. Tell her I said you all need training to learn how to work together, but you have some promise. Although you can also just crawl back into the gutter, and go trolling for people to mug. Like I said your choice.â Turning back he took his coffee, and a small bag of food giving a nod of thanks and left.
Two days later Sevika was in his office giving a report, and at the end looked vaguely amused. âYou know I had three kids show up yesterday. Said you wanted them to have a job, and that they needed to learn how to work together. You sure you want to recruit some street punks, Sir?â Silco considered her for a moment before nodding slowly. âI am yes. They arenât compromised by the other barons, and they had an immediately willingness to act that I appreciate. Most of our people are good at working separately, or working as a gang but few of them can work as a squad. Zaun has changed, and in some ways itâs stronger but in some ways itâs weaker as well. I think itâs time to bring back some of the old ways. Consider it a test run. Take care of it Sevika.â The look of amusement had faded on Sevikaâs face replaced by something more contemplative. âYou have a point. I remember back in the day seeing the fights against the enforcers...people donât really fight like that anymore. Alright. Iâll take care of it. If nothing else itâll be an interesting test.â Silco nodded, and turned his attention to his papers which had Sevika turning to leave.
She had a new project, and would have looked forward to it if it hadnât been for the fact she already had so many things to do. Although if those three could be put to use perhaps itâd make things easier on her. Only time would tell.
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Silco drabble with him punishing someone. I'm putting this under a cut because of blood, violence, torture, mind break, drug over dose, unwilling (mind break causes it) familial abuse (violence/death/murder), and suicide. Do what you will with that.
There were a number of ways to piss off Silco, but one of the best ways was betraying him. With how long heâd been in control of The Lanes one might think people would know better, but judging from the whimpering man currently on the floor in front of Silco some people were convinced they were different. âAll you had to do was not take the information you gained by working for me, and sell it to someone else. Disappointing. Truly. I expected better of you, but I suppose you need a reminder as to how important loyalty and self control is.â Letting out a soft sigh almost like a disappointed teacher Silco shook his head.
The man on the floor had in fact sold information, and had spent the past couple of hours being beaten by Silcoâs people. Silco himself hadnât even shown up until perhaps fifteen minutes ago having better things to do than be there the entire time, but he wasnât going to miss the grand event. Glancing over to one of his runners Silco waved a hand nodding towards a nearby door. âGo ahead.â On the floor there was a quiet little sobbing as the beaten man managed to get himself up to crawl towards Silco. âP, please. Sir. I fucked up. Please just let me go home to my family. I wont, I wont make this mistake again. It was just one mistake, plEASE!â
The sudden rising of his voice came from Silco moving to one side, and casually kicking the manâs knee to break it. âOne mistake? It wasnât just once, and we both know that. Besides getting drunk, and letting a piece of information slip is a mistake. Taking someones money, and giving them information in return isnât a mistake itâs a transaction Tommy.â Reaching towards his now broken knee Tommy swallowed as he looked up at Silco. âIt hurts. Hurts. Please. I understand, youâre...youâre right..Wait, wait what are they doing here!? What are you doing with them? No donât hurt my family!â A hand reached pleadingly towards his wife, and seventeen year old son. Not that it did any good as he was on one side of the large basement room, and his wife and son found themselves bound to chairs and gagged on the other side. Silco shook his head. âHurt your family? Oh Tommy Iâm not going to hurt your family. Rather Iâm giving you the opportunity to prove yourself, and to remember how important it is not to make the wrong choice.â
Holding out a hand he motioned with his fingers, and a moment later a knife was put into his hand along with a pistol. Tommy at this point tried to stand, but with his knee broken collapsed back down. âDonât hurt them! They didnât do anything Iâll take responsibility. Itâs all on me. They didnât know anything. Please Silco...Please!â Silco frowned as he looked down at the begging man. âI already said I wasnât going to hurt them. Did we damage your hearing, as well as the rest of you or are you just stupider than expected?â Moving over to the two people bound to the chairs he put the knife down in front of them, and the gun. âNo, instead you are going to have the opportunity to make a choice.â
Utterly confused Tommy just shook his head lips parting, and than closing as tears ran down his cheeks while watching Silco. The chem-baron walked back to Tommy which as the basement had been large enough to function as an apartment before most of the walls were taken down took longer than one might think. âDo you know what Zaun has in abundance? No? Scrap. Metal scrap as a matter of fact. A great deal of which is either sharp, or can be sharpened. Almost like hardened glass shards really. Normally not a problem since most people in Zaun either stay away from the scrap, or have the shoes or gloves to handle it properly.â Looking down at Tommy his lips pulled into a dark smile. âAh, but all you have now is a pair of pants. Well I suppose thatâs were the self control comes in at.â Taking a few steps back towards Tommyâs family members Silco nodded, and suddenly there was a sound of crashing metal pouring out over the floor as a couple of runners tipped over a large barrel filled with small sharpened metal pieces that stretched out across the floor between Silco and Tommy.
âI know. Whatâs a bit of pain, and blood in order to get to your family really? Any decent Zaunite could crawl across a mile or more of this in order to get to their family. So letâs make it a bit more interesting shall we?â Reaching into his coat Silco pulled out a few vials of shimmer, and shook them. âYou are already bleeding, and cut up a bit. Skin broken from being punched, or a knife dragged across your hands or whatever else as I understand. Now shimmer in case you were unaware doesnât have to be drank. If it gets into your blood stream it still takes effect.â Two vials opened, and the shimmer tossed out across the metal. Slowly Tommyâs eyes widened and his lips parted realizing what heâd have to do.
Silco took a few steps back. More metal, and more shimmer. Steps back, metal, shimmer. Steps, metal, shimmer. Over and over until he was by Tommyâs wife and son. âWhen you get here thereâs a knife to set them free with, or a loaded gun to do...well...whatever you might wish to in the end. Set them free, and you all live. Thereâs an easier route of course. Kill yourself, and your family lives. Otherwise if your family doesnât live you really will have failed to prove yourself, and no one will need you anymore. Certainly not I after being disappointed by you yet again.â
Turning around Silco opened a door, and simply left the room. Heading up a flight of stairs, and than a second one to be rather far above the basement he nonetheless had a perfect view of everything that would happen as at some point the floors above the basement had been ripped out. Reaching into his coat Silco pulled out a cigarette, and his lighter. âTommy. If you donât start fucking moving by the time my cigarette is done we will lock the door, and you can starve to death down there with your family.â Tilting his head a bit the lighter clicked, and his cigarette was lit.
Behind their gags both Tommyâs wife, and his son were trying to plead and yell. Both had tears streaming down their faces, and if it hadnât been for the fact that the chairs were bolted into the floor they likely would have tossed their chairs over to the side. Tommy on the other hand looked panicked, and at a loss of what to do. Looking up at Silcoâs utterly merciless face the man almost started to plead again before whimpering and looking back at the sharpened metal laid out across the floor in front of him. Finally he moved reaching out with a hand to try to brush it to one side, but that was met with a sharp hiss of pain as there wasnât really any safe side to touch. They were for all intents and purposes caltropâs with every side sharpened except with each side utterly randomly. A particularly brutal thing to have to get through, and with nothing on except for pants there was little Tommy could do except pray. Pray, and start to move.
Once again he tried to stand, and to his credit he got a few limping steps forward doing his best to ignore the metal underfoot inevitably however he fell. Too tired, and hurt as well as emotional to catch himself properly his wife and son watched as the man they were counting on to save them simply crashed into the metal. It wouldnât have been that bad perhaps as he turned his head, and ensured his eyes were saved and none of the metal was large enough to react anything vital. However the shimmer spread over the metal introduced a bit of a problem. Still smoking his cigarette Silco raised his eyebrows, and actually chuckled softly.
âThings do escalate quickly.â
The shimmer of course started to take effect, and it made Tommy forget for a moment the potential consequences of taking in too much of it. With the pain fading under the high of the drug, and his wounds starting to heal he started to move faster. With that broken knee however it kept him crawling. Each hand coming down made his skin split open, and shimmer enter his blood stream. Each knee crunching against metal, and calf getting sliced apart as he moved opened him to the shimmer even more. With the pain largely inconsequential all of a sudden, and his muscles starting to get larger as the shimmer going right into his bloodstream forced that over dose to sweep over his body Tommy started to loose himself. Hands crashing down into the metal almost embedding it into his hands while his eyes changed he almost seemed like some wild animal starting to go for the two utterly helpless people who by now were more afraid of their loved one than anything else.
Silco took a long slow drag off of his cigarette than called out. âIf they die so do you.â Glancing at one of his runners who by now was looking a bit disturbed he raised an eyebrow before looking back down to the show. If they couldnât take working for him better to find out now rather than later after all. Eyes utterly cold he shook his head. âI donât think heâs going to enjoy learning why self-control can be a vital thing.â
Tommy if he heard Silco didnât register what had been said at all. At this point despite being on all fours he was charging at his family with nothing in his mind except for a savage beating impulse, and there was nothing at all to distract him from them. A hand on his wifeâs knee to raise him up, and his other hand came up to start hitting what to him was just flesh to dominate. Just meat to prove his strength on. The whimpering, and crying enjoyable if it was acknowledged at all. Bulked up on shimmer shoved into his blood steam by injury after injury with his mind at that moment broken from everything that had happened that day all Tommy could think of was stopping things. The fact that the people in front of him had nothing at all to do with what had happened didnât matter.
His fists rained down on the woman like a butcher with a hammer tenderizing meat, and even with his strength at first it didnât seem like itâd do much. However than the wooden chair broken and he was able to straddle his wife. Something theyâd likely done in one form or another for enjoyment more than once in the past was now something horrifying. The last thing sheâd ever see was the utterly crazed look on her husbands face, and the last thing sheâd feel the pain from his fists slamming into her face before he grabbed her head to smash it against the floor breaking it like an egg. The entire time his son was screaming behind the gag, and shaking his head with tears so fast one might almost imagine heâd drown himself as they soaked into the gag. It would have been more merciful if he had.
With the woman dead Tommy turned, and with the shimmer continuing itâs work making him stronger still while healing him constantly he only needed one strike to break the chair his son was in. This time the blow made the gag get ripped free and his son screamed out. âDAD NO PLEASE!â It was the last understandable words the teenager would ever speak as those fists started to work at him. With the chair broken a large piece of wood was grabbed a moment later, and used as a club to beat the seventeen year old nearly to death with before it was used to crush his throat ensuring his passing. With both his victims dead Tommy turned, and started to hurl himself against the walls trapping him jumping as high as he could. With how high up Silco was however Tommy had no chance of jumping out even with his knee half healed. Each jump made his knee break again however as the pressure ensured whatever work had been done on it was nullified, and catching at the walls made his nails get ripped out leaving bloody streaks behind.
Finishing his cigarette Silco tossed it into the basement before glancing around to check the time. âIâll be back in an hour. Watch him.â His runners got the task of ensuring Tommy didnât escape, and it was an easy task if you ignored the sight of the bodies and the screams ripping apart Tommyâs vocal cords over and over again as the shimmer healed him each time. Some part of his broken mind recognized what heâd done, but with the overdose it rendered him incapable of anything except trying to escape and screaming. The task wasnât actually that easy, and the âfucking new guyâ would be having nightmares that night despite downing a bottle of cheap tequila.
An hour later Silco returned, and Tommy was calmed down enough that despite still being bulky he was now crouched over his family weeping. Hands behind his back Silco watched for a moment before calling out. âDisappointing. No one needs you anymore. No family, or anyone else. You failed Tommy. Everyone, them and yourself as well. So what will you do now?â Tommy predictably enough whirled around pistol in hand, and Silco stepped back out of view. Turning around Silco shook his head as he called out. âA waste. Complete waste. Good bye Tommy.â
With no one to vent his rage, and grief on except himself Tommy decided to try to join his family.
Moments later a shot would be heard, and the clink of a pistol hitting the ground as well as a heavy bodyâs thud as it too hit the ground.
Silco glanced to one of his people. âMake sure heâs dead, wash off the metal and collect it all up. Clean up the basement.â The sound of the new guy retching, and then letting his lunch come up over in one corner got no reaction at all from Silco as he simply left.
There was other business to take care of after all, and perhaps heâd take an hour before bed for a bit of knitting as well.
Hey Silco, you say your goal is to make Zaun a better place, but it seems like people just know you as the drug lord of Shimmer, what are some things you do to help better Zaun that people wouldnât really think of? Itâs no secret that place is very polluted, do you do anything to help with that, like try and keep pollutants from your factories to a minimum?
((I was working on drafts but I saw this, and had to respond. Content warnings for murder, police brutality, and anti piltover sentiment))
Looking down at the person who had just accosted him on the street Silco let out a long soft sigh. âYou must be from Piltover because itâs only you people that only know me as either the Industrialist Silco, or now after the new Sheriffâs interference the drug lord.â For a long moment he stared at the other person considering what to do before nodding. âWalk with me.â This one single time he would indulge someoneâs curiosity about the matter.
It was about a block before he spoke, and nodded towards a teenager running down the street with a prosthetic leg from the knee down that had a glow of shimmer running along it. âScratch, heâs called that because for the first four months with that leg he was constantly scratching at the healing spot. Leaving aside the simple fact that Piltover doesnât have any technology that can allow him to walk so easily once more do you know why he has it?â Glancing down for a moment Silco raised an eye than shook his head.
âI didnât think so. There was a protest a few years ago. Piltover refusing to allow us more trade opportunities, or the opportunity to enlarge our Airship dock. He was twelve perhaps. Wasnât actually in the protest at all, but he was curious and watching from an open window. An enforcer for one reason or another fired what they claimed to be a âless-lethal roundâ, I wonât dignify those things with the term nonlethal towards his building. It destroyed his knee, and his parents had to make a choice. A child that would never again be comfortable, and able to move around decently which is important here in Zaun or a prosthetic leg. They chose the leg that is powered by shimmer, and helps it connect with his nerves. Heâs not high, or even particularly affected by the shimmer other than it helps make his leg actually his.â
Turning down a side street Silco continued walking, and nodded towards a line of street vendors. âThere was a time when that would have been nearly unthinkable. Enforcers shoving stalls over, and demanding bribes and chasing away Zaunites that wanted to offer goods at a decent price so they could let some Uptowner come down and sell things at twice the cost. I keep the vendors, and merchants able to ply their trade with a minimum of fuss. I donât even make them pay âprotection moneyâ or any such thing. Instead thereâs an insurance fund for when a stall burns down, or a family member dies or other similar problems arise that for the record I donât touch. They took the idea from the old mining guilds, and unions. All I do is ensure that the area they work in is kept free of interference, and them having more money means more money comes into the Last Drop or other businesses I have an interest in.â
Spotting a particular person with a mask that was almost full face Silco motioned towards them. âThey have a lung disorder. Just the mask alone on a shipping trip from what I was told however would have left them incapacitated for three days, and they barely managed to make enough money to get by. Thereâs a warming tonic now that uses a bit of shimmer as an ingredient. Not a lot, but a bit. Helps with blood flow and something about that gets them more oxygen? Iâm no doctor, but it works. Now they go shopping with little issue, and can still do other things afterwards. Would you like to know what they do?â
Not waiting for an answer Silco turned off the side street heading towards the docks. âThey tell stories. To children, from books. Itâs something I can respect. Fighting against your own body as it tries to prevent you from getting enough air to speak, and doing what you want anyways. Entertaining the sons and daughters of Zaun.â Eyes flickering towards the person with them Silco offered a mirthless smile.
âAh, I forgot. Merely a drug lord. Yes? Regardless of how the product is used, or anything else I do? How fascinating to be demonized as just a drug lord. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that they consider Zaunites animals, and only ever use the Shimmer I sell them for entertainment refusing to acknowledge anything else about it. Perhaps one day you might consider how many medications in Piltover when taken in a different way, or a higher dose would be just for entertainment but no one regards the makers and sellers of those so poorly. Besides even if they were just for entertainment what would be the harm in that? Why does your society so poorly regard a persons ability to make themselves happy for a short while? Thatâs not even beginning to speak of the issues caused by how many people feel utterly hopeless due to circumstances beyond their control, and how Piltoverâs greed and tyranny stomping down on Zaunâs throat over and over again have only made that worse.â
Guiding them down to the docks Silco waved at the water, and the fishers plying their trade. Nets, harpoons, boats going out and coming back in with a steady bustle of activity. âThis is how Zaun feeds itself mostly. We use other things as additives of course, but a large portion of our diet comes from the water. I also ensure thereâs a steady import of rice, beans, sausage, and cheap spices so that there can be a bit more variety. Alas I canât arrange much in the way of steaks and the like because most people here couldnât afford it, but I do ensure a certain degree of food is present. Giving credit where credit is do Vander tried reaching out to people to arrange a similar deal, but he simply didnât have the money to buy in bulk sufficient to accomplish much. I do, and so Zaunâs population has grown a bit and although there are a few more addicts with various issues as a result most people are better fed.â
Waving for them to follow him Silco continued off the docks and down slowly towards the river itself. âSo you see Piltover knows me as the Industrialist Silco. One of the very few Zaunites with enough money that they acknowledge me in any way although they inevitably reduce me down to a simple concept. Industrialist. Drug dealer. Monster. It doesnât matter that shimmer, which you have no idea how itâs produced so Iâm not going to bother answering your question about pollution, is as much a life saving medication as anything else, or that with me Zaun is more stable than it has been in decades, or that food is coming in, or that trade has been slowly but steadily increasing. What mattersâŚâ Getting to the river itself Silco tilted his head, and reached out placing a hand on the personâs shoulder. âIs that they refuse to see anything good about Zaun, or coming from Zaun. Because if there was anything good from here thatâd mean they had done something bad, and they canât accept that. So instead they fear us, and since right now I am one of the most well known ones that fear is pushed onto me.â
Looking out onto the water Silco took a deep breath. âThey made me, and they made Zaun. They fear what theyâve created because they can only imagine one thing. That we want retribution as thatâs what they would desire, and that limitation of imagination ensures they will never understand us. You see we just want the opportunity to prosper without Piltoverâs constant interference. We have docks out to the water, we have an airship dock that if widened would provide us with a full size space to export goods to another city-state or country, and we have goods to sell be it medicine or prostheticâs or any other manner of things⌠and Iâm here to ensure that some day that will happen. Some day everything Iâve done will come together, and create something more magnificent than anything Piltover could ever imagine. Some day we will be what Piltover fears most of all. Independent, and prosperous proving them wrong that we are just animals to be crushed down into the darkness and left like mushrooms squatting on decay and refuge.â Patting at the persons shoulder Silco stepped around them.
âOf course since all they understand is fear, and punishment thatâs all I can offer them. Even Jayce for all his vaunted âkindness and understandingâ strolled into our city and killed one of our children and then afterwards told me weâd loose a war. Imagine that. Telling me that weâd loose after such a magnificent feat. He wasnât content with killing one, but wanted to imprison another. My daughter, Jinx. I offered myself in her place, and he said no. He didnât ask for chem-barons with power, and influence. He asked for a child who had defended her home. That is what Piltover is, and so despite the good I do in this city all they will ever see is darkness and monsters because that is what they are deep in their own souls. So Iâll reflect that, and teach them what fear is. Of courseâŚâ A deep breath came from Silco. âThat means none of them can ever know any of this, friend.â
Suddenly his hand moved and a knife was between the ribs of the person who he had explained so much to. A soft quiet gasp, and a shiver of a body feeling vital organs ruined with an expertly placed stab before a splash was heard of that same body falling face down into the water. Sniffing Silco wiped off his blade, and sheathed it. A cigarette lit, and he waved towards the body. âGood talk.â Turning Silco headed back up into Zaun humming softly to himself as he went.
âI believe that we'll conceive
To make in hell for us a heaven
A brave new world
A promised land
A fortitude of hearts and minds
Until I see this kingdom is mine
I'll turn the darkness into light
I'll guide the blind
My will be done until the day
I see this kingdom has been won
No more the servants of the weak.â
No one stopped me writing this drabble  and now you all get to deal with this. For context complete 110% AU, the drowning of Silco happened, him and Vander have been apart for years, Vander has recently adopted Vi and Powder but needs help. Got it? Okay. Letâs go.
Not going to lie would love to turn this idea into an RP BUT ANYWAYS
Looking up as one of his minions opened his office door Silco blinked in surprise. âWhat in the deepest dark are you doing?â The last thing he expected was to have someone just shoving their way into not just his office, but his home office in his house. The man whoâd opened the door stammered out. âHe, heâs not taking no for an answer Sir! He demands to see you!â
Silco frowned pulling off the reading glasses he had on as he started to stand with one hand reaching into a desk drawer for a knife just in case. âWho?â
The man at the door had no chance to respond as all of a sudden he was shoved aside by a tall broad man in a brown coat. âSilco, please, you have to hear me out. I justâŚâ
Immediately interrupting the man who had apparently just shoved his way past two guards, and all of Silcoâs house was a very exasperated and down right angry voice as Silco waved his hand. âHear you out? Last time I agreed to hear you out Vander you fucking drowned me! You think you can just come into my house, and make demands of me? I trusted you, and you betrayed me.â Vander suddenly slammed his hands down onto Silcoâs desk leaning in and looked pleadingly at Silco. For a moment Silco was reminded of some huge dog trying with all itâs might to look cute so it could get a treat.
âIâm sorry Silco. What I did to you, Iâve never forgiven myself. Please though, you had a younger sibling I know you did and I need help. Will you at least hear me out? We had something once, between us, Silco. Itâs about children, two children, two Zaun Children.â
Silcoâs hand tightened on the dagger he was holding as seconds passed and he stared at Vander trying to decide if this was a trick or not. âSome day Iâm going to kill you, and take everything you have Vander.â It was an angry threat that perhaps some day in the future might become a strangely playful inside joke. At that moment however it was a sincere threat from a hurt, angry man whose eye throbbed in pain. All the same the dagger was slowly placed on the desk as Silco took a breath. âAll the same you wouldnât be here if you didnât truly feel you had to be, and yes I did have a sibling once. Why does that...wait...Vander what did you do?â
Vander let out a breath of relief and dragged a chair over it dropping down into without any care for the sudden protesting creak it offered due to his size. âTwo girls, one named Vi and the other Powder. They⌠look you know that last fight Zaun had with Piltover? The one that got really bad? Vi, and Powder got orphaned so I took them in. Iâve had them both with me for about a month, and Iâm running the Last Drop. Wish I had you looking over the books, all those fucking numbers, but anyways. So things are going decent with Vi. She misses her parents as does Powder which is understandable, but Vi is kind of, well, like me. Iâm pretty sure sheâs gona be a fighter like me when she gets bigger all punching and what not.â
There was a distinct lack of interest on Silcoâs face be it faked or real, and Vander hurried the story up. âPowder though thereâs something in that girl that I donât know how to deal with. I canât connect with her the same way as Vi, and I donât think sheâs been eating enough. I donât⌠I donât think itâs on purpose or anything, but thereâs something Iâm just not getting and if something doesnât change I think Powder is going to end up hurt. I barely know what to do with Vi, and no idea what to do with Powder. I just, I need help. Sil. I need help with both of them. You always said the sons and daughters of Zaun deserved better, well Iâm trying to give these two daughters of Zaun better. So can you at least give me some advice or something?â
Silco didnât comment on the nickname he hadnât heard for years. One that only Vander had ever used for that matter. Fingers tapping on his desk for a moment his face was unreadable before finally he stood. âI want to meet these two girls. Letâs go⌠and Vander if this is some kind of a gameâŚâ
Vander shook his head, and the two men found themselves walking for the first time in years side by side. Silcoâs sleeves rolled up closer to his elbow, and his lanky frame looking all the smaller for being next to Vander. There was no friendly banter as they moved, but there was an odd cohesion between the two as they stayed perfectly in step. Maybe they were no longer friends, but once upon a time the two men had forged a bond that on some level still showed.
Stepping into the small home Vander now shared with his adopted daughters Silco raised an eyebrow glancing at Vander who shrugged and called for Vi and powder. Both came down with Vi leading the way and being loud and happy to see Vander. Powder was behind her however with her head down and small hands poking at some small little mechanical object. Vander introduced Silco to Vi and the two nodded to each other with a touch of wariness. Silco wondering in the back of his head if one day Vi might be a problem for him the way Vander was, and Vi wondering why this weird looking creepy man  was standing next to Vander so comfortably. Powder didnât look up however until Silco crouched down tilting his head a bit almost going to one knee and offered a gentle smile.
âHello, little girl.â
For the first time Powder looked up at him, and blinked seeming to see something in the odd man who had lowered himself down to her height. Not something adults really ever did.
âWhat are you working on there?â
Swallowing Powder slowly held out the center of what would one day be a small walking monkey. The only hint of what itâd be come one lone foot that from time to time twitched back and forth as some gear was hit.
âOh. Well I canât wait to see how it is when you finish it. Can you tell me your name? Iâm, friends, with Vander. Itâs okay. My name is SilâŚâ
Before he got his name fully out suddenly there was a small blue haired ball slamming into him, and for the first time in he couldnât remember how long there was someone hugging him. She was crying and small hands grasping at his vest and suddenly he was literally on his ass looking shocked. Silco glanced at Vander for a moment who looked just as shocked and started to murmur something about how Powder hadnât managed to cry since heâd brought the two girls home except in her sleep. With Vander not moving though Silco found his arms going around Powder and his voice slipping out.
âItâs okay⌠We will show them. We will show them all.â
Viâs eyes widened a bit and she swallowed before looking up at Vander who had a thoughtful look on his face, and simply nodded with a hand dropping down onto Viâs shoulder to offer a comforting squeeze. Vander had been right. There was something there that Silco could recognize in Powder, or perhaps Powder in Silco. Either way maybe⌠maybe now he had a chance to make things right between him and Silco. Maybe all four of them⌠Swallowing Vander broke the growing silence. âWhy donât you stay? For dinner I mean. The four of us. We donât have anything fancy, but you and I have had worse.â
Silcoâs arms squeezed gently at Powder before loosening enough to let her go should she want. Powder did not move however, and Silco quietly resigned himself to staying on that floor for at least another few minutes. Hearing Vander his immediate impulse was to tell the man to fuck off but with the blue haired little girl clutching at him he just couldnât bring himself to do so, and not quite believing himself or what was happening he looked up to Vander and nodded.
