#battle of the bands au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

embodyingchaos · 10 months

Note

Haii

I was wondering is you could do a Rodrick Heffley x reader with female pronouns where she is a singer and maybe they meet at the battle of the bands or something and fall for each other

pleas and thank you , your amazing 🫶💗

❥ hi there, sweetie! of course i can!! hope you like this!

potential pairing: rodrick heffley x fem!reader genre: fluff, strangers to lovers warnings: rodrick is a goofball, y/n's band is named velvet ecstasy(dont ask), the band plays garbage truck from scott pilgrim vs the world mUAHAHH word count: 1.3k

tapping her foot on the pavement, her patience was running thin. y/n was waiting for the rest of her band to arrive, they were late and they had less than ten minutes to check in. “when i get my hands on those fuckers, they’re so dead.” she whispered under her breath, talking to nobody but herself.

“well, i wouldn’t wanna be one of those fuckers.” a voice from beside her says, “you look like you can punch.” she looked next to her and saw a boy that was about the same age as her. he was cute with his shaggy hair and m-1965 field jacket, especially with his black, emo eyeliner. “i’m rodrick.” he introduced himself, trying to lean on the wall before missing it and hitting his face on the surface. he recovered pretty quickly, leading y/n to assume that this wasn’t the first time he’d done that.

she eyed him up and down before smirking, “y/n.” she said her name, making rodrick’s heart beat faster. “you performing or watching?” rodrick flipped his hair away from his face, “performing. i’m a drummer.” he said, “i’m, uh, pretty good too. pretty bomb.” the boy boasted before turning away for a moment and questioning himself on why he just said ‘bomb’. y/n grinned at that.

“sure you are, bub.” she giggled and rodrick could feel himself ascending to heaven. “hey, y/n!” a voice called out and they turned to the road. a cherry red car had just pulled up with four other people in it; y/n’s band. “took you guys long enough! i aged like five years waiting for you bozos!” she yelled, half-jokingly. y/n turned back to rodrick, “i’ll see you inside, rodrick. can’t wait to see your ‘bomb’ drumming skills.” she gave him a charming smile before heading towards her band members, giving each of them a slap to the back of their head.

rodrick stared at her until she entered the building, admiring her face, her smile, her laugh. “rod!” ben was waving his hand in front of rodrick’s face, “we gotta go! they’re already starting to perform!” he urged him but rodrick only sighed dreamily as he thought of her, “right.” he simply said, not listening to his friend. ben let out an ‘ugh’ before dragging the boy into the building and backstage.

“marty, what are you doing?” y/n asked the boy as he tied up his dreads, “tying up my hair?” “no- i know that! where’s your guitar?!” she asked frantically, marty looked at her weirdly. “next to you?” he pointed beside her and there was his sleek, black electric guitar in its stand. a pink tint coloured y/n’s cheeks, “oh.” she said sheepishly, a nervous laugh coming out of her mouth. their drummer, jules, wrapped an arm around the girl. “you gotta chill, girlie. we’re all prepared and ready, and we weren’t even that late.” jules assured, rubbing y/n’s shoulder as she sighed. “plus, you weren’t alone when we got here. seemed like somebody had company.” jules said in a teasing-sing-songy way, y/n shoved her lightly.

“shut up, he was just one of the drummers from another band-” “gasp! fraternising with the enemy?! how could you, n/n?!” jules joked, an offended expression on her face. y/n giggled before pushing her away, “shut up!” she exclaimed, their bassist, pearl, placed her hand on jules. “stop it, babe. you’ll make her cry or something.” she told her girlfriend who began laughing even harder.

y/n puffed up her cheeks, “that was one time!” she yelled while they cackled away, “are we talking about that one time y/n started crying when we teased her so much about her crush on that substitute teacher?” their keyboardist, george, asked out of nowhere, y/n glared at him as marty only smiled.

“god, i can’t get one break with you people.” the girl huffed, crossing her arms and walking away towards the side so she could watch the next band perform. “now, everybody get ready!” the mc announced as rodrick’s band got up on stage. “get ready to be blown away by- löded diper?” the mc seemed confused on how to pronounce it, “it’s- it’s löded diper (loaded diaper)!” rodrick shouted at him, “whatever!” yeah, the mc did not care.

when they started playing, y/n couldn’t take her eyes of rodrick. he wasn’t the best drummer, but he had the right attitude and enthusiasm for it. he looked like he was having the time of his life.

“that your new boyfriend?” george joked from behind her, “can you not?” y/n hissed, snapping at him. george held his hands up and chuckled, “alright.” he said, smiling. “you should ask him out, you guys looked good together just now.” she tilted her head to the side, “maybe i will.” she muttered, staring at the boy who was going ham on the drum set.

after their performance, rodrick exited the stage using the side that y/n was at. “impressed?” he asked slyly, she smiled. “yeah. pretty ‘bomb’.” the girl joked and rodrick’s face turned red out of embarrassment. just as he was about to say something, pearl approached them. “i’m sorry to interrupt this adorable exchange but we’re going on now, n/n.” she told her band member, “right.” y/n nodded as the rest of the band got ready on stage, “wish me luck, pretty boy.” she poked his shoulder before making her way to her band.

“this is a band that’s entirely new! it’s their first time performing so be gentle, give it up for velvet ecstasy!” the crowd cheered as y/n walked up to the center of the stage, “are you ready?!” she asked only to receive loud and encouraging replies from the audience. y/n turned around to jules to give her the signal. “we are velvet ecstasy! one, two, three, four!” jules shouted before starting off their song with her drums as pearl and marty accompanied with their strings.

when y/n started to sing, rodrick could not believe his ears or eyes. she wasn’t the best singer, but her charisma and tiny little moves were something you could not take your eyes off of. “i’ll take you for a ride, on my garbage truck.” she held onto the mic and the stand as she sang, tapping her foot and swaying her hips, tossing her hair. rodrick was mesmerised to say the least. “they’re way too good.” ben commented, worried about whether they’re going to win or not. rodrick did not care.

as their performance came to an end, the crowd was more than hyped up. “god, that was exhilarating!” pearl exclaimed, “wow, i have never seen her this excited before. says a lot.” marty commented as he watched her punch the air, “let’s fucking go!” jules screamed, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and spinning her around. george and y/n laughed as they watched, feeling high off of performing.

“hey.” rodrick called out and the entire band turned around. “ooo! y-” “no.” pearl cut jules off, dragging her away. “we’ll see you later, n/n!” “don’t go making out somewhere.” the boys joked, receiving a glare from the girl.

“hi, there.” she greeted rodrick back, suddenly feeling shy. “you were amazing out there.” he gushed, “i could say the same thing about you and your band.” she softly chuckled, looking down at the ground. rodrick didn’t say anything, which cause her to look back up at him. it was very silent. “would you want to go out some time?” “would you want to go out some time?” they asked in unison and their eyes widened before they burst out laughing.

when they calmed down, y/n smirked. “alright, then. let me give you my number.” rodrick scrambled to get out his flip phone and hand it to her. when y/n finished typing out her number, she returned his phone to him. “call me.” she simply said before giving him a kiss on the cheek, walking away to find her friends.

rodrick could not believe what just happened. when he looked down at his phone and saw that her contact was named ‘potential girlfriend’, he squealed so hard. it was easy to say, he was definitely, already infatuated.

#rodrick heffley #rodrick heffley masterlist #rodrick heffley x reader #fem reader #rodrick heffley oneshots #rodrick heffley imagines #rodrick x y/n #rodrick heffley x fem reader #devon bostick #devon bostick character #strangers to lovers #battle of the bands au #diary of a wimpy kid #diary of a wimpy kid oneshots #drummer x vocalist

218 notes · View notes

noceurkoi · 7 months

Text

you made this song who i am

Fleurmione Week 2023

Day 7: Free Day

Battle of the Bands AU

(Inspired by LOONA's 2022 season's greetings photoshoot. Title taken from the lyrics of ‘Rock with you’ by SEVENTEEN.)

92 notes · View notes

mj-thrush-gxn · 8 months

Text

IMAGINE IF YOU WILL-

dndads…

imagine a world where everything is the same, but the dads were taking their sons to go play in a battle of the bands.

four dads driving in a honda odyssey loaded with instruments and kids on their way to the biggest performance of their sons lives, only to be thrown into a mystical world of horror and whimsy.

five sons, a drummer, a guitarist, a bassist, a dork on tambourine, and a little dude on cowbell and keys- and their dads, traveling across the forgotten realms wondering if maybe, just maybe- there was a chance they didn’t miss the performance of a life time.

there.

that’s what i wanted to say.

i remembered the ask i got a few months ago asking for the kiddads in a band, i answered it, and now i’m finally making it into a real au. wa bamb.

im calling it Battle of the Dads cause why not.

#dndads #dungeons and daddies #dndaddies #dndads au #dndaddies au #dndads odyssey #dndads season 1 #dndaddies s1 #dndaddies season 1 #dndaddies odyssey #dungeon and daddies #thrush talks #thrush rambles #battle of the bands au #battle of the dads #au haha

105 notes · View notes

blehcupidd · 9 months

Text

One in the Same

Chapter Two

Wilbur Soot x f!reader

Summary: You and your streamer friend react to thirst traps, but on of them sticks out

Warnings: angst, fluff, cursing, no use of y/n, correct british terminology (I am british), grammar and spelling mistakes (I'm dyslexic), Gnomeo and Juliet vibes, incorrect music terminology, other peoples music used for readers band, battle of the bands au

A/N: ty for the likes a reblogs last chapter <3 also this chapter is based off of this stream/video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwv4tWbzkSE&t=54s

just realised it’s 12:30 am and i realised i didn’t add this to the series master list sorry i posted it yesterday afternoon

Series Master list

Previous Chapter

Next chapter

A week or so later, ‘Cupid Records’ had replied to your submission for your band to perform in their battle of the bands. A simple text to the other band members got the creativity flowing. ‘we’re in!!!’.

For the remainder of the week, you didn't have practice. This left you to your own devices. Not having very many friends outside of your band, but this didn't apply online.

You didn't have your own following, you had an Instagram account with ten followers on private. Granted, not a good idea if you wanted your band to gain popularity. Your reasoning was the band's Instagram had more of a following. Sending a quick text to your internet famous friend, saying that you were bored, he replied with a ‘wanna come over and join my stream?’. Who were you, a bored individual on a Thursday afternoon, to refuse a fun offer?

Arriving on your friend's doorstep, you can already hear the shouting from inside. After knocking you can hear him utter a ‘one-second chat.’. Opening the door he is met with a bright smile on your face, accompanied by a cold pink glow of it. “James!” in return your brown-haired friend said your name in the same tone.

Walking into the camera, you could see all of James’ viewers wondering what was happening. “Chat, as you may see, we have a guest. Not only does she not know what we will be doing today, but she is also joining in!” Chat erupted into happiness whilst your face went into confusion. You cautiously sit down in the provided chair, “I need to do the intro, so we will all find out together what we are doing.”

“I asked my audience to send over the worst thirst traps they've seen recently,” you couldn't keep the surprised look off of your face, making chat and James laugh as he continued the intro. “And they didn’t disappoint, I am horrified. However, I am more horrified by the fact that you are not subscribed. I want a million subscribers. Do it now!” He then motioned towards you, “This is also our special guest today, and we will be tormenting her as a team. Now let's get right into the cringe.”

The first video was a duet of an older man with a younger boy, “That's you in like three years.” You pointed to the more unattractive guy in the video. This just caused James to look at you in shock, slowly morphing into realisation.

“You’re not wrong.”

You started reading out the title card of the next thirst trap, “Some of the finest animated men in my opinion. Im excited.”

“Okay, dude.” James sighed, leaning back in his chair as Flynn Rider came onto the screen. You then looked at James with a smug look, as if you were saying ‘See,’. “I get it.” He gave in.

As that video went on there were some agreements and disagreements, leading the two of you onto the next video. That being a built guy in a pool, in his underwear. This gained a shocked look from you and a disgusted one from James. “Not the tighty whities bro!”

“No one should wear tighty whities anywhere, especially a pool.” Your statement sounded as if it was a question. Which it was, debating on whether you would still be friends with James after this.

The next video was one of James and your other friend WillNE.

‘Where’s your head at at’ James said in the video, then showing a clip of Will about to laugh, then cutting back to James.

“This right here,” James showcased his hairline in the video. “Is a problem.”

“That's why I said that bald guy was you.”

‘I got bitches on my dick every day.’ Started playing to a video of someone dressed as Red Guy from Dont Hug Me, Im Scared on a pole, doing some impressive moves.

The next video caught your attention, ‘All I see is red, ah’ started playing ‘She said fuck me like I'm famous, I said ok.’ Whilst Slow Down was playing, you couldn't help but laugh and poke fun at James, talking about his song ‘Slow Down’. “I've seen these so much!”

“Your smile says you like them.”

Tuning into the video at hand, you saw an edit of a taller man, looking angsty. This was probably the first video that you liked, the song choice obviously. The handsome guy on the screen also played a key into that. Your internal gawking was also external, making James and Chat tease you.

“I know him, so…” Your face flushed, not able to blame it on the cold weather anymore, and your eyes widened.

“Is he gonna watch this?”

#battle of the bands au #lovejoy #will gold #ash kabosu #joe goldsmith #mark boardman #wilbur soot #wilbur soot x y/n #wilbur soot x reader #wilbur soot x you #fem!reader #james marriott #youtube #youtube video

78 notes · View notes

infectedpaul · 1 year

Photo

sorry i don’t treat you like a goddess is that what you want me to do?

sorry i don’t treat you like you’re perfect like all your little loyal subjects do

sorry i’m not made of sugar, am i not sweet enough for you?

is that why you always ignore me? that much be such an inconvenience to you

theyre so dramatic chilllll

#dex says things #a hat in time #battle of the bands au #snatcher #queen vanessa #doodles

20 notes · View notes

lobster-tales · 1 year

Text

Beat the Daylight

Sequel to Face the Noise, an Arcane Rock Band AU

Rating: M

Chapter 17: The Gym

Summary: Lux confronts Vi || Jinx's hostage gets a visitor

This work is available here on AO3. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16

Progress Day’s practices had become sluggish, weighed down by the elephant in the room. Well, not really an elephant, more like a dinosaur: a five ton T. Rex that followed Lux around, hovering in her shadow. She kept her head high, though, and her shoulders straight.

Vi still spoke to her: all of them did, making small talk. But there was distance now, a noticeable gap between Lux and the other three band members. It didn’t help when her phone would ring mid-practice, and she would sigh and step out to speak to her parents or brother for a while.

Vi, Ekko, and Jayce were never privy to those phone calls, but every time Lux returned, there would be an emptiness in her expression, her jaw set grimly.

After a particularly bad one, a call that lasted an hour, Lux came back with damp eyes. Ekko ended practice there.

Lux and Vi spent their car rides in silence again, as they had for so long at the beginning. The chauffeur, however, was now more than happy to share the personal details of his life with Lux, who smiled and prompted with more questions every now and then. Vi liked listening to him, too, about his son’s bad score in math or his wife’s book club drama. It was a welcome distraction for both of them.

At home, Tobias was out getting groceries, so Vi worked out alone. She used to exercise to clear her thoughts. Now, she used the time to push them down.

Her emotions felt thick in her chest, a mess of loose frustrations. And the last thing she wanted was to untangle them, bring each one out into the light and face her own fears. Because truthfully, some of them were selfish, and the shame was worse than anything. The longer the feeling stayed buried, the better. So she put in her headphones and drowned them out with the angry growl of a guitar.

A presence appeared at the door: even out of the corner of her eye, she knew it was Lux. Vi acknowledged her by taking out one earbud, but continued her workout. She didn’t want to admit it, but part of her avoidance was embarrassment. Embarrassment at herself for not knowing how to handle the situation, for letting it simmer.

“Hi.” Lux leaned against the doorframe. She wore the kind of confidence that can only come with exhaustion, the calm of nothing left to lose.

Vi jutted her chin in greeting. “What’s up?”

“We need to talk. About the other day.”

“What’s there to talk about?” Vi’s fist thudded against the sandbag. “You fucked my sister.”

“There’s more to it than that.”

“Is there?” The sandbag swung back towards her and Vi caught it against her hands, panting as she met Lux’s gaze. “Because the pictures looked pretty cut and dry to me.”

“You believe everything you see in the press?” There was a bite in her tone now. Only a few short weeks ago, Lux would never have spoken to her this way.

“Well, I don’t really have much else to go on, Lux.” One of her threads untangled, one of the feelings she pushed down, and she was helpless to stop it as she said sourly, “Wasn’t that the point? To put on a show.”

“What?” Lux asked with a confused frown.

“Look, next time you want to play teenage rebellion, leave my family out of it.”

She scoffed, hurt. “Is that what you think, Vi? That I planned this?”

“Didn’t you?” The mess in her chest loosened, each angry thought and feeling coiling up her throat. “Why else would you keep it a secret from us? From me? I told you to be careful, Lux, and then you turn around and put you both in even more danger? You knew the consequences, so why? Why did you do it?”

“Because I’m in love with her!”

An electric fan whirred in the corner of the room, air rustling the sweat towel hanging there.

Vi shook her head. “There. Was that so hard?”

“What, did I need your blessing?” Lux asked, annoyed.

“No, but fuck, Lux.” As Vi spoke, she began to tremble. “She’s still my sister. And she’s perfectly happy running around with you and showing you off to the press and being with you and she can’t even look at me!”

And there it was. The center of it all, what she was ashamed of. And she realized she wasn’t ashamed because it was selfish, but because it was unfair towards Lux. Powder made her own choices, and it was wrong to hold Lux accountable for them.

“I’m sorry,” Vi muttered. She pressed her fist and her forehead against the sandbag, resting there. “I shouldn’t take it out on you. It’s not your fault that I don’t understand her. I just… want my sister back.”

“That’s what she’s afraid of.” Her tone was kinder, but still cool.

“What?”

Lux said, “She thinks you want Powder back, and you don’t want Jinx tagging along.”

Vi opened her mouth to deny it, but as the words sank in, she realized they were true. When she imagined Powder’s homecoming, she assumed Jinx would get left behind, fade like a bad memory. It never occurred to her that Jinx was here to stay.

“And like it or not,” Lux said softly, “Powder and Jinx are the same. All the things you don’t like about Jinx still exist in Powder, and she’s afraid that if you find that out, you’ll reject her.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Vi. “I would never-”

“I know that, but she doesn’t.” Lux took a deep breath. “It’s not my business, but I thought you deserved to know.”

When Vi didn’t respond, Lux went for the door as if she had been dismissed.

“Did you… have fun, at least?” Vi asked. “That night, both of you?”

A wistful smile tugged at Lux’s lips. “It was the best night of my life.”

“Even with all the bullshit afterwards?” She nodded towards Lux’s pocket. “Like with your family?”

“I’d take that bullshit a hundred times over if it meant I got to see her again.”

Intense. Good. “You’re really in love with her, huh?” Vi asked.

“Yes.” There was no waver in her voice, no hesitation.

Vi looked at Lux, really looked at her. When they first met, she would never have considered her as a match for Powder: too preppy, too bright. But now, after knowing her for some time, she recognized that hunger for adventure, curiosity in place of judgment. And especially now, there was a hardness to her confidence. She was no longer that anxious, insecure girl. She became one of them, baptized by fire.

“I’m proud of you, Lux.”

Lux froze, her eyes widening. “Y-you are?”

“Yeah.” Vi spoke the feelings as she felt them, not burying any this time. “I’m proud of you for going for what you want and not caring what everyone else thinks. I’m proud of you for staying true to yourself and following your heart. Yeah, I wish you told me, but I understand why you didn’t. And… I’m really happy for you. When Powder loves someone, she loves them with every fiber of her being. It can get a little intense sometimes, but it’s because she cares.” She smiled sadly to herself. “And if you love her half as much as she loves you, then you two are going to be alright.”

Lux launched herself into Vi’s arms, sniffling into her shoulder. She had also been burying feelings, Vi understood, and now she let them all out. “Thank you, Vi,” Lux wept. “I am happy, I just… Everyone’s been so mad at me, you know? Even Ekko and Jayce-”

“Whoah, whoah,” Vi said, pulling away. Lux’s face was a mass of snot and tears, so Vi grabbed one of the clean gym towels off the rack for her. “They’re not mad at you. I think they’re just… confused. That’s all.” An idea bloomed in her mind. “You know… I actually don’t think they have any plans for tonight. Maybe we could just… talk? As a group. Over ice cream?”

Lux beamed at her. “I would like that.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Viktor was an incredible hostage, which was annoying. When Jinx told him about his new status, he was completely unfazed, offering nothing more than a simple “Okay.”

Even though Finn and Margot had both left, the rest of Fissurefolk chugged right along. Band practices were much quieter now without Finn’s constant critiques. Sure, Jinx would snap at Sevika every now and then, who had switched from bass to lead guitar in order to fill the gap left by Finn, and though she was trying her best, there was still a drastic difference in quality.

But Jinx was finding it harder and harder to care. She couldn’t silence her mind, ideas breaking through for every one of Viktor’s tracks, small improvements. But she chose not to voice them to him. And when practice ended, instead of going to her studio, she escorted Viktor back to the hotel and kept him locked in his room. Silco and Sevika had no idea about Viktor’s espionage, and Jinx made sure it stayed that way.

Practice had ended early today: Sevika and Silco had some business meeting a few cities away. Jinx kept calling it a family road trip, which pissed Sevika off. Business meeting, road trip, it didn’t matter what they called it because Jinx knew what it really was, especially since Sevika was wearing an extra pistol today.

Jinx spent the early release in her bedroom, playing video games. At some point, the sun had set and it was dark now, and she could hear the soft patter of rain outside the window. And shouting. In Zaun, people picked fights like they picked a place to eat dinner: a couple times a week. Shouting was part of the white noise in this city, along with the thud of fists and the occasional gunshot.

But this shouting was different. It was one voice, a man’s voice, and seemed weirdly familiar. Jinx paused her game to open the window, peering down the dizzying distance to the ground.

And there was Jayce motherfucking Talis. Standing across the street in the pouring rain, shouting up at the hotel.

She made a beeline for Viktor’s room, startling him from dissecting his alarm clock. “Why the fuck is he here?” she hissed.

Viktor lifted the alarm clock, confused. “Oh, I found him on my nightstand.” As she went to the window, he said, “I understand if you don’t want me meddling with hotel property. I know it’s a lot to ask as a hostage, but can I at least get some other gadgets? Maybe some-”

“Viktor,” she interrupted, pointing at the street below. “Why the fuck is Jayce outside?”

He joined her at the window, lips curving into a confused frown. “Strange… I told him not to come here.”

Jayce’s voice echoed off the cold walls. “Viktor!” So far, the hotel guards hadn’t gone for him: they seemed too entertained by his passionate display, and dissuaded by the rain. A few prostitutes had gathered under a storefront awning, also watching and chuckling to each other.

“You told him?” Jinx asked. “What do you mean you told him? You contacted him?”

He held up his hands defensively. “All I did was send a text telling him that even though I’m a hostage, I’m being treated very well, and that there was no need to worry.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

“Well, when I ratted out Caitlyn, I assumed you went to her and told her I’m a hostage. And she would tell Jayce, of course, so I was just being proactive.”

“Okay wait,” she said. “Let me get this straight. Why did you text Jayce?”

“To reassure him. Because I knew as soon as Caitlyn told him I was a hostage, he would freak out and do something stupid.”

“Exactly. So why would Kiramman ever tell him?”

He opened his mouth but no words came out as he processed what she said. “Ah. You know, that’s a very good point.”

“VIKTORRR!”

Jinx put her head in her hands. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay,” she breathed. “Silco and Sevika aren’t here. As long as he doesn’t do anything else, we can play this off.”

“He’s going for the guards,” Viktor said, watching from the window.

“Shit!” Jinx growled. “I’ll take care of it, you stay here.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Viktor had a look of satisfaction, maybe a dash of relief. “I could watch this all day.”

By the time she made it to the front door, the street’s residents had all opened their windows, warm light reflecting off the wet pavement as they gawked from above. A series of cars had parked illegally on the other side of the pavement: the press, probably. Jayce was oblivious to all of it, as guard after guard kept him off the property.

He was making too much of a scene. Jinx would really have to pull out all the stops for this performance.

She whistled sharply. The guards pushing against Jayce retreated at the sound, and he collapsed onto the pavement. Jinx stood in the center of the guard, silhouetted by the lobby’s glow.

Jayce glared up at her, panting. She had never seen pretty boy so disheveled before, hair plastered to his forehead, the white shirt clinging to his muscled torso. He rose, and it occurred to her just how large he was, how intimidating he might have been if he wasn’t just screaming his lover’s name in the rain.

“What have you done with him?” Jayce growled.

When Jinx spoke, she projected her voice enough for all the bystanders to hear. “Viktor doesn’t want to see you, Jayce. Go home.”

“Is he hurt? Did you hurt him?”

“Why would I ever hurt,” she hissed the words, emphasizing, “my bandmate?”

But he didn’t understand, yelling up at the building, “Viktor! I’m coming to save-”

Her fist flew faster than her thoughts, crashing against his temple. Stunned, Jayce staggered back. Jinx pursued, snarling, “He doesn’t want you anymore, Talis. And if you don’t scram right fucking now, then here’s what I’ll do to you.” She snatched the front of his wet shirt, whispering in his ear, “Viktor is sending you an address. Meet us there.”

Then she shoved him away, spun on her heel, and returned to the warm, dry hotel. She didn’t look back, but Viktor confirmed he was gone when she returned to the room.

“Good,” she said. “Text him the address to my studio. And grab your coat.”

His eyes widened in confusion but more importantly, hope. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah.” She hid the kindness behind a sour mutter. “You made this mess, you gotta clean it up.”

Jayce was already there when they pulled up to the studio, his car headlights trained on the front entrance. Jinx went inside first, placed a towel over Fishbones’s glassy eyes, and carried the plush shark out. Jayce gave her a wide berth and a bewildered stare, and she bared her teeth at him.

“One hour,” she told Viktor. He nodded and closed the door behind her.

Jinx waited in the car. She had hotwired one of the SUVs and driven it herself. Because of her busy schedule with tours and shows, Silco had forged most if not all of the legal documents she needed, including her high school GED, and of course, her driver’s license. She spent so long playing passenger that she never really took the time to practice driving. Luckily, the late night and bad weather kept other cars off the road, leaving few witnesses to her jerky stops and too sharp turns.

Viktor had been ever patient, though, offering encouragement and little snippets of advice when he could.

Fishbones sat in the passenger seat: she could feel him glaring even with the towel over his eyes. He was not happy with the circumstances. Some empress you’re going to be, he growled. Is this what you’re going to do with all your prisoners? Let them have conjugal visits anytime they want? You need to be cruel, Jinx. They should fear you.

Blah fucking blah. His voice used to motivate her, but now he just seemed like a pest in her ear. She turned up the music in the car, singing along to drown out his voice.

Open up my box and pull the string Am I just a musical machine for ransom? I will only listen if you scream Lose your voice for me and I will sing your anthem

Living in fear, living afraid Hysterical every day All because I let your poison paralyze me

Jinx lost herself in the song, belting the chorus alone, punching the air on the downbeats.

So tell me who's in control I'm confused, I don't know Tell me who's in control now

So tell me who's in control Is it you?

She pointed at Fishbones, then shrugged as she sang,

I don't know Tell me who's in control now My life is yours to hold

Jinx ran the gauntlet of songs, practicing some for the contest, though others were just for her. Those bought her a solid twenty minutes. When she got bored, she started dicking around on her phone. Jinx had been avoiding social media, specifically the sleazy pictures of her and Lux. But now she was curious about tonight’s events, eager to see her own performance.

She snickered at the videos of Jayce, screaming Viktor’s name like some romantic hero. It looked like the guards had landed a few solid blows on him before she arrived. And when she did, she definitely looked convincing. There she was, Jinx, scowling, ignoring the rain, facing a man who stood a head taller than her. Not just facing him, threatening him, intimidating him. When her video self punched Jayce, she locked her phone screen.

Maybe this empress thing could work. Maybe she could be cruel in public and kind in private. Especially when it came to Viktor.

She could bear the crown, she had no doubt: just another performance, just another stage. If she could handle a crowd, she could definitely handle a city. But then she thought of the mud on Silco’s shoes, the blood splatters on his maroon shirt, the easy way he lied about Finn’s death. Could she carry the weight of those things as well?

At some point, she nodded off, woken by the alarm on her phone. The hour was up. The rain had stopped, remembered only by the glistening pavement. She readied herself to retrieve the boys, but before she could open the car door, they both exited the studio. Jayce pulled Viktor into a hug, one last, crushing hug. And Viktor returned it, crushing him right back. They stayed locked for a long moment, exchanging no words, until they pulled away from each other and she saw Jayce’s eyes were wet.

As Viktor climbed into the passenger seat, Jayce met Jinx’s eyes. He gave her a tiny, grateful nod, and she returned the acknowledgment. He stood by his car, watching as they drove off.

“How’d it go?” she asked. “You guys talk it out?”

“Oh, we talked,” Viktor said. “Then we… stopped talking.”

“Right.”

“Kind of hard to talk with something in your mouth.”

“Ew, Viktor,” but she couldn’t hold back the ghost of her smile. “TMI.”

He chuckled. “You know, this is the best hostage situation I’ve ever been in.”

“... Have you been held hostage before?”

“A few times, growing up,” he said. “Singed had a lot of enemies.”

Silence stretched between them. At the end of the highway, Zaun slept, nestled in neon nightlights.

When they pulled back into the hotel garage, Viktor reached over and squeezed her upper arm. “Thank you,” he whispered, barely audible.

“Don’t mention it.”

#lightcannon #vicait #jinx #arcane #jayvik #rock band au #battle of the bands au #my fic #face the noise #beat the daylight #jayce loves his boy so much :')