1336/When Watching Sports Gets Real

When Watching Sports Gets Real
Date of Scene:	15 January 2015
Location:	Galianda
Synopsis:	Jinx uses watching some games of the League as an excuse to hang out with Souji. Feels ensue.
Cast of Characters:	39, 627

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Jinx (39) has posed:
    If you're looking for a raggedy Belts and Guns Jinx today, you're not going to find it. The young lady's in a garishly neon pink and blue dress. Not slim and hard to move around in, but a nice breezy affair. She's also got her Bangle/Leash on, and a paper shopping bag.

    A glance at the bodyguards, and she shifts uncomfortably. A knock at the door.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
The Murasame Zaibatsu is a dark building surrounded by eternal storms and lightning, one of the gleaming centerpieces of Ramuh. The Murasame Family insignia burns brightly neon, and many windows shine light out into the darkness.

Jinx entered a well-decorated lobby, with fountains and black marble flooring, as well as columns gleaming with flowing magical power from Ramuh's power grid. She rides an elevator upwards many floors to a short hallway, which leads through Helena's own office, and into Souji's. She is passed by security and the others present.

The dominating feature of the office is a massive window that looks out over the city, the skyline crackling with lightning and neon. There is a desk of dark, varnished wood with an inset Galiandan computer, as well as a stack of papers and other accoutrements. Souji appreciates order in his workspace. The chair behind it is large and of black leather. On one wall is a bookshelf, while the other has a doorway that appears to have a keycard lock of some kind. There are hanging wall scrolls of subdued landscapes, and a couple display cases holding masks of various types.

Souji himself is looking out of the window, his hands folded behind his back. As Jinx enters, Souji turns to her, and nods. "Miss Jinx. It is good to see you. Do come in." He does not sit, but instead gestures to the door. Souji moves towards it and produces a card from his jacket.

Jinx (39) has posed:
    "Hello! This is... REALLY FANCY." She waves mock-cheerily at the bodyguards and then... well, she'd be skipping, but she's arrying food so that would not be advised. A little happy humming though as she follows along behind the young man, and murmurs. "So, I got wine coolers and I got pizza bagels and dip and a whole crap ton of cut veggies."
    That certainly sounds like 'League Watching Food' to her, at least. "And I think we've got two matches coming up tonight. Noxus and Zaun having some sort of lover's quarrel over mining rights."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
There is a low beep as the door is released, and Souji shows Jinx into another room.

There is room with a large entertainment center. Jinx's crystal can be seen connected to a set of rings that pulse lightly to one side. There is a comfortable couch and a set of reclining chairs with small tables between them. There is a minibar on one side of the room, a set of expensive-looking drinks there. Behind the entertainment center is a divided area with a straw mat, looking like a small dojo or training area. Opposite the room is another locked door, this one apparently using some kind of biometric scanner.

"Please, be seated. Would you like something to drink?" Souji asks, as he heads to it and prepares to set out some glasses.

Jinx (39) has posed:
    "I told you I borught drinks!" She smiles and pulls out bottles of wine coolers and Flavored Malt Beverages and a suspicious looking legit bottle of pirate grog. Who knows where she got that. "Right, and snacks and... oh... oh man this is all fancy."
    Jinx... doesn't quite deflate at seeing it all, but she's sure glad she had him come out to the Palace last time or she'd have been REALLY INTIMIDATED which she isn't right now at all.
    She does though, remember her 'manners' and smiles. "Like, something mixed, I'm bette with that than like straight booze. That gets me in trouble."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji nods and gets a glass for Jinx, and expertly pours together a combination of liquors, then picks up a small sphere that seems to sizzle a little bit as he holds it, and drops it into the thick liquid.

He pours himself wine. He sits down and hands the drink over to Jinx, which tastes like warm cinnamon hearts. It appears that the sphere is some kind of warming ball.

Souji sits down and waves a hand at the entertainment center, which turns on and lights up with a chirping Chocobo noise. A few more gestures, and Souji has the center tuned to the feed from the crystal. "Please relax, Miss Jinx. Everything will be fine."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    The Cannon settles in with her nice warm cinnamony drink, and scoots over to sit next to Souji. She is not leaning on the kingpin just yet. The crystal boots up, and there's a short delay before the fist match is in progress. Looks to be a team of Noxans on the field against a more ragtag group of folks.
    There's talking heads in the background, but Jinx mashes a Volume Down button so she can start pointing. "Okay so, we gotta kill those towers, and then kill the crystals, and then the big crystal at the end, that's how the games work."
    The camera pans to show a burned man with a giant poison bottle and a shield tromping his way up lane, using said shield to block frosty arrows from a pretty blonde lady. "That asshole's Singed and he's a creepy asshole. The pretty lady is Ashe and she's all about peace and shit. Uh, th-"
    And then out of the tall scrub brush along the sides of the lane, a heavy, toxic looking dart slaps into the side of Singed's face and he staggers. A shrouded figure peers out of the bush, as Singed tosses a glue bomb in that direction, and continues charging for the ice lady. "He's also REALLY HARD TO KILL."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji gets the most summarized explanation of Summoner's Rift ever. But it works from a Jinx perspective. Souji nods. "So the competition's objective is to quickly gain a dominant position over your opponents through battle and slaying the monsters, so you can overcome their forces and destroy their home base."

He pauses, watching the play. "And each of these team members have their own unique set of capabilties to allow them to contribute. Singed is fairly impressive in his durability."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    The Cannon leans in a bit on Souji taking another sip of her fireball. "Okay, so..." A minion wave trundles past, starting to plink and plonk away at each other. More darts come out of the bushes, but Singed's body flares with light, and he turns slighty incorporeal as he charges through the Minion wave to toss Ashe over his shoulder into his team's minions. A thick cloud of toxic smoke billows from the man's cask.
    "RIGHT, okay so those little assholes are minions, they're full of cash and pain if you aren't careful. The come out of the nexus and tromp down each lane so that the game doesn't take forever. you either gotta kill em or else they'll start banging on your towers. you cna sort... build up waves. And when you kill them, you get cash in your account to buy fancier shit to kill each other with."

    During the explnation, the camera moves tastfully away long enough to not watch the moment when Singed chokes the life out of Ashe, the archer crumpling to the ground. "Booooooooooo." Jinx throws a carrot at the screen.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji doesn't seem to react to Jinx leaning in on him for the moment.

"So you have groud troops and you have the elites. This seems to be a microcosm of war itself. I can see why they attempt to use it to settle disputes. And you have to come without equipment?" He thinks for a moment. "There are some interesting limits. I assume so this is so better equipped heroees don't have an inherent advantage."

He pauses again as Ashe gets murdered. "The champions are killed during these matches?"

Jinx (39) has posed:
    "Psssh, 'balanced level' that's what they keep telling us. But yeah, that's so we're not coming in without getting ahead of everyone else." Jinx hops a bit on the couch, as the camera pans to a large polar bear tossing around lightning as a floating tentacle monster starts firing a massive laser at it.
    "And... yeah we get killed all the time, really. On the Fields, anyways. The Nexus keeps us from being Dead Dead though."

    The announcer is counting down a 'timer' and as it comes to a close, Ashe is shown reappearing on one of the starting plinths, shaking off the resurrection fog, and then launching a massive ice arrow down one of the lanes. The announcers and Jinx all cheer at this, as the arrow flies through the trees, parting the way before slamming into a robot clockwork lady trying to beat the shit out of Teemo. Ice and robot bits fly everywhere. BLUE TEAM HAS SLAIN AN CHAMPION!

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"... Resurrection... That's interesting." Souji says offhandedly. He watches the battle with his usual stoic decorum. "And you battle in these matches often? Does it not hurt when you get killed?" He quirks an eyebrow at the sight of a thunder bear wrestling with a tentacle laser monster. "Those who battle in this arena are quite unusual, aren't they?"

Jinx (39) has posed:
    An uncomfortable shift. "Well yeah it hurts. ou should have seen the... well there was this really nasty match with Ahri and Leona and a bunch of people and... uh." Jinx holds on to her glass a bit. "I mean it hurts a lot, but the Nexus brings us back so we're not... all that scared about it. I mean."
    She rakes blue hair out of her face and huffs. "Like the other day when I fought Ezreal. I mean, I coulda killed him but... that's like the first time I've seen him out of the Fields in ages and that's just..."

    A little voice. "It's rude." She takes a big pull from the glass, and then cheers a bit, as a ratman guns down one of the towers with the help of the minions and then stealths away under a cloak of shadows.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"I see. So the killing behavior is left within the confines of the battlefield, where it is not permanent. A bloodsport indeed. I can see why it is popular for people of your world."

He looks over at the mention of Ezreal, watching her for several moments, then looks back to the screen. "I feel like many of those who speak with you do you a disservice." He states simply.

Jinx (39) has posed:
    What? Jinx blinks a few times and puffs up. "Well yeah it's popular. Taric has a freaking following of ladies who want to know what he's wearing, Janna's a big Important Person when it comes to RESPONSIBLE USE OF MAGIC and that sorts of thing, and people love faunin' over Ez and LAZER GIRL bein' all lovey dovey." She takes a massive slug of her drink...
    And then her ears turn pink. "You sayin' I'm soft or something? I mean, it's not... killin' someone you... work with... is rude. When you can't bring them back I mean. Allan I like shootin' cause I can't kill him, and Ez... he's... he's not a bad guy, he's just a pipsqueak. The union jerks I'll kill all day. You got any bums outside, I can get rid of them for you too."
    Huff puff bluster. Her drink is uncomfortably empty.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"No, I'm saying that the people who believe you are just a gun-crazed psychopath are incorrect in their assessment. You have more to you than that. Much more."

Souji looks back over to the drink, and gestures. "Would you like another drink? It seems to be empty."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    Oh. OH! "Well yeah! I mean, my job is crime and shooting people but... that's not like ALL I do." Jinx holds up her glass, before huffing. "I got you art and I like making stuff and uh, clothes and shopping and all those sorta things! I mean."
    She settles in and pokes in the ridges of her ear self-conciously. "I mean, I wanna help Ahri learn how to be a Human and help Sona fight her mean fuckin' harp thingy."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji takes the glass and goes back to the minibar, putting the heating sphere into a sink and rinsing out the glass before getting another one. This one seems to be a pale golden color, almost champagnelike. He brings it back to Jinx and offers it to her. The drink smells of alcohol, a fresh breeze, and ozone. It looks like it swirls itself faintly, as well, with flecks of something gleaming within the liquid. It tastes like the air after a thunderstorm.

"Why are you so worried, Miss Jinx? You have nothing to worry about, here."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    Janna. It tastes like Janna's magic, is the first though that flashes through Jinx's head as she sips on it, red eyes glowing faintly. "Hnnn. I mean... I'm not worried, psssh, why do you think I'm worried? My job is rock solid and it's not like I've got competition in bein' Crazy Gun Lady around these parts. I just... I work with the both of them and it's nice to be able to see people get better than me, you know? I'm always gonna be like this but they don't have to be." A sage nod, and another heavy slug of the Janna-Juice.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji takes a sip of his wine as he watches Jinx. "That isn't what I meant and you know it. You seem to always be nervous around me for some reason." He says, and pauses. "It seems almost like you are worried that I might think less of you for something."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    Busted.

    Jinx deflates a bit, and she slumps her shoulders. "You're like... the first people I've tried to... you know. uh. Besides Helena, and she's the one who was all... I." Crush is a dirty word and Jinx isn't about to use it. She sips on her drink again and taps her fingers against her hip. "You're a big important business guy and I'm just some crook who got lucky and I was trying to get you impressed and I guess it worked a bit, I dunno."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
He was afraid of that. Souji closes his eyes, and quietly breathes for a moment. "Miss Jinx..." He says, turning to look to her. "I appreciate your company and I believe you are an interesting person. But there are reasons why I cannot give you what you desire, and they have nothing to do with your social status, criminal record, or personality. The first and second could be corrected with a minor investment of money and effort, and the latter was never an issue."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    The girl sips on her drink again and slumps. "Hel said as much when I... When we talked about the last one. I mean that not-a-date. And... I dunno. I know you're... uh."
    Jinx sits up a bit more, brushing at her dress with a soft, sad smile. "I know a bit about that, I think, but I... I get it. I may not like it deep down but I get it."
    She smiles, and mmmhs. "It's you, not me, huh?"

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji holds up his left hand. There is a simple gold band upon the ring finger with a crest worked upon it. "Did Celba tell you the story of this ring?" He asks.

Jinx (39) has posed:
    Jinx shakes her head and looks at the ring a bit, before settling in.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
He lowers his hand and looks at the ring, focused on it. His gaze seems to draw inward a bit, And he begins to speak. His voice starts quiet, deeply reminiscent. "Rings like this are forged for the members of the noble houses. When we are promised to another, we give each other the ring to wear to remind us of our promise and to inform others that we are not... available."

Souji continues staring at the ring as he leans back in the couch. His voice is level as he speaks, his stoic expression becoming brittle. "This ring belonged to a woman with hair like fire and eyes like the ocean. She was beautiful and gentle, and kind. She loved children and Moombas. I used to joke with her all the time about catching her one to keep as a pet. She gave me a lot of new perspectives and ideas, helped show me more of the world beyond this tower."

He pauses, going quiet and looking away. His hand closes over the wine glass once more as he speaks with a note of terrible finality, a drastic shift from before. "Two years ago, she was murdered."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    Jinx listens and... stifles as many interjections or rude responses as she can. "Nnnngm. I... That one I didn't... I." She wilts a bit. "I didn't know."

    Shit.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"It is not your fault." Souji's tone is almost dead at this point. "You could not have known, you are not from this world. I tell you this because I trust you. Trust is a valuable commodity here in Ramuh, a land with knives in the shadow, that strikes like lightning."

He looks away. "One day, I will see her again. Until then, I will wait."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    The cannon's shoulders slump and she sorta swishes her drink a bit more.

    Trust.

    "I have a sister who fights in the League. She's also the only family I have left."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
He turns and looks back to Jinx, considering her words when she speaks. "What kind of relationship do you have with them?" Souji asks.

Jinx (39) has posed:
    Jinx shuffles over to get the remote, and pulls up the League's 'fan appreciation' sections. A few more button pushes as she fiddles through the menus, and pulls up a picture of a girl named Vi.

    She's a striking young lady, fit, with a pair of large hex-tech punchamatic thingies.
    There's a sigh on Jinx's lips, as she starts paging through the photo sets attached.

    Vi and her team laughing over a Dragon kill.
    Vi knocking the shit out of Jinx with a punch.
    Vi and Caitlyn sharing donuts and coffee in a green room somewhere.

    Vi and Cait in their official Piltover sheriff's uniforms. Not the slutty getups they use on the Fields. Jinx's wanted poster can be seen in the background.

    Jinx lets that picture settle in place for a bit as she gets one of her beers, sullenly opening up the top.
    The more one looks at it, the more the similarities grow.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji watches the information go by, and he nods, quietly as he sees how things have broken down. He looks to Jinx, and then back to the picture of Vi. And then back to Jinx again. "I see. You have my condolences. Do you think there will be a chance you will be able to resolve your differences?"

Jinx (39) has posed:
    A shift in her spot. "Mom and dad clearly didn't want us cause I don't even remember much of anything other than Fathands and me beng... well, not as crime-y as I am now, but... we taught each other how to do hex-techy stuff and she got pinched one time on a job and... and Cait sweet talked her and that was that. I... I ran."

    She swallows, and looks over at Souji's ring and snort-laugh-sobs a little. "Heh, I know it's not like... you and waiting but... I dunno, I don't think so any more. That boat's fuckin' sailed."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
There is another pause, Souji considering something as Jinx goes through her own pain. "If you decide you need a place to stay... I can make a place for you with us."

Jinx (39) has posed:
    "...Hel said you... might say something like that." Jinx wipes at her nose with the sleeve of her dress and just slumps again. A look at her malted raspberry vodka like beverage and she takes a long pull.
    "...I'll think about it. I mean, you're not... supposed to be with us and I don't want to fuck that up."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"Soon that won't matter." Souji replies. "The appearance of the Shivan Confederacy is enough to erode the dominance of the al Cids in political matters. No one wants thousands of angry Shivans on their doorsteps." He leans back on the couch again. "When the time comes, you will know."