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After business hours, when the lights go down and the machines turn off, the arcade feels a little like one of those psychological stories, the ones where you walk alone down a deserted city street. It’s uncanny; where are the people? Where is the noise? There’s an emptiness, even when the place is full.
There’s no clamour of children, no tinny squeak of a hundred games with decade-old speaker systems. There are no basketballs bouncing off chain nets, no whirr of ticket machines, no cries of jubilation or defeat. Neon lights are left lifeless, the bar lies empty, the doors remain closed.
Only one single, lonely machine plays its cheerful little tone. Prizes! it exclaims proudly. Light and luminosity! Take home Star Guardian Lux today!
Celebrity hadn’t been a part of the deal. Apparently, their order had managed to exist in somewhat of a state of secrecy for millenia, fighting the evils of the void without enough eyewitnesses to bring them into the public eye. Oh, it was no secret that the city had its enemies; creatures and horrors and invasions of monstrous hordes, but its mysterious protectors were seldom glimpsed in any true detail, merely as flashes of light streaking across the sky.
Then Jinx had come along, bringing with her bombast and showmanship and flair. Try as they might, the other guardians couldn’t contain her chaos, and the people of Valoran City noticed. They saw a superhero streak low across the city skyline like a comet, they saw grandiose displays of protective violence, they heard that maniacal laugh as another towering creature fell to a barrage of starlight. They posed for pictures with her, put a face to the deed, and eventually, they dubbed her with a pseudonym.
The Loose Cannon. Star Guardian, defender of the city, one of an ancient order, a superhero, a light in the night sky.
Eventually, Jinx’s newfound stardom caught on, and her fellows wanted in. Even Ahri, even Janna, previously so staunchly opposed to their newfound visibility; all eventually embraced and flourished within the spotlight. Being public figures came with its benefits, after all; while transformed and recognisable, they could evacuate battlefields efficiently, escape the consequences of extreme property damage, and even receive the occasional free meal.
But Jinx’s favourite new development was the merchandising.
Ezreal winked down at her from billboards, Sarah twirled her hair in shampoo advertisements, and a golden statue of Lux stood proud in the town square. She was still getting used to that one.
Speaking of her girlfriend, it turned out the public liked Lux just as much as everyone else did. She was the face of their team, a beaming light to idolise, and apparently, a very popular choice for plushie manufacturers.
Walking past the arcade on a morning milk run, Jinx had seen them lying in wait. Little Luxies of all sizes, both cute and badass, all of them adorable and squishy and pink. They stacked up amongst each other in a huge pile, trapped in a gilded glass cage. Luxies stared back at Jinx as she walked past, eyeing her with longing gazes and cheeky smiles and irresistible puppy dog eyes. They cried out for her, for freedom, for a better life in a loving home.
Jinx had to free them.
The only problem was, they weren’t for sale. Their light-up prison, permanently nestled within the arcade, was topped with a claw. The only way out was up, around and down through a small chute, courtesy of three slim metal prongs with a grip strength that, as a core accessory to a mass jailbreak, left a lot to be desired. Seriously, even Ezreal might be stronger than that stupid claw, and the twink once lost an arm wrestle to Lulu.
Still, short of breaking the glass and subsequently potentially harming any of the inmates, Jinx had no other way of getting them out of there. She had limited tools available, but she knew it could be done. She just had to maximise her window of opportunity.
So it was that she was here, in an empty arcade after dark, with close to six hours ahead of her to execute her plan.
Breaking in to the arcade was laughably easy. The alarm system was hooked up to an external power source, and once that was cut, picking open the back door was child’s play. Jinx donned her gloves to cover her fingerprints, cut the cameras, erased the few minutes of footage that had managed to capture her presence, and set out to begin the breakout proper.
Her next task was to turn on the skill tester without all the other machines; were she to turn on all the power, the frankly absurd amount of externally visible lights would give the game away to anyone passing by, and the plot would be foiled.
After some rooting around in the staff areas, Jinx found what she needed. A backup generator, separate from the main circuit, likely kept there in case of emergencies. It was already fueled, and she got it started with a couple of well-placed kicks to the chassis. One extended cable later, and the claw machine was online.
Unfortunately, even with a power source, Jinx couldn’t actually afford to play the game more than a few times. It was a couple of bucks for just three tries, and if she wanted to save all the trapped Luxies, a quick headcount indicated that she’d end up shorter by a few hundred dollars. A broke college student like Jinx just didn’t have that kind of change to toss around, not even for such a noble cause.
It took some tinkering, but eventually, she managed to pry open a shielded panel on the back, giving her access to all the internal circuitry and even a handy control board. Trial and error with the various keycards hidden within locked drawers under the cash registers eventually yielded success, and Jinx was able to reprogram the machine to allow for unlimited free play. Piece of cake.
Just over an hour of setup, and finally, the grand plot was ready to be executed. Jinx would break them all out of there if it was the last thing she did.
Don’t worry, little Luxies. You’re coming home with me tonight. I promise.
Hours crept by, night became early morning, and still, Jinx didn’t lose focus. It was just her, the claw, and the cage, and one by one, the rescued Luxies joined the pile of escapees. The pile stacked up around her, a sea of pink and white and gold, growing ever higher as the night wore on. The plushies grinned, and glowered, and posed, and a few even barfed rainbows in a suspiciously accurate representation of Lux’s sheer gayness. Each little Luxie cheered her on, embracing their fellows as more and more fell down the chute, until eventually there were only half a dozen or so left imprisoned.
This late in the game, and the stupid claw was beginning to fail her. It was a fickle thing, grasping pitifully at pink heads and letting go of them just as weakly, but it was working. The problem was, these machines weren’t meant to let their piles get so low; they were supposed to be restocked regularly by the staff, and this one had been emptied too far. The claw struggled to even reach that deep, bouncing off the little Luxies in a pathetic display of incompetence.
Still, Jinx didn’t give up. She was here on a mission, and they never left a Guardian behind, especially not when they were this cute. She was going to have to improvise.
After some tinkering, she found a way to remove the top of the cell, allowing her to access and subsequently upgrade the claw. Scrap metal, welding tools and other useful odds and ends were all carefully lowered inside, precisely placed around the Luxies so as to not crush anyone. Finally, Jinx herself climbed in, situated herself amongst a bizarre assortment of mechanics’ tools and pink plushies, and got to work.
It wasn’t long before the claw, once distressingly poor at doing its one intended job, was a new man altogether. The old prongs had been replaced with thick, ridged metal, extended to reach the very bottom of the cage; strong and sturdy, a worthy tool for grasping little Luxies. A remotely interruptible magnet had been attached to the central part of the mechanism to further assist those Luxies that had metal components, and the nefarious circuitry that was set up to rig the claw and make it subtly drop its contents was replaced and, later, stomped angrily into the ground.
Finally, it was ready. Getting herself and the tools back out of the machine was more difficult, but Jinx had always had incredible dexterity. She admired her handiwork from the outside, replaced the top of the machine, and got to work.
The new and improved claw worked absolute wonders. When lined up accurately, its steady descent would end in a firm grasp more often than not, and once a Luxie was in its grip, the claw didn’t let her fall back into her cage. It dropped them precisely down the prize chute, where Jinx was waiting with outstretched arms, ready to cushion her fall.
And within mere minutes, the last few stragglers were free at last. They joined their friends in newfound freedom, bonding over the impossibility of the mass jailbreak. Jinx cheered along with them, accepting thanks in the form of hugs and snuggles.
Sadly, the celebration couldn’t last. The jailbreak had taken most of the night, and arcade employees would be here in less than an hour for the opening shift. Jinx had to get the escapees out of there, and fast.
Lucky for her, she knew just the person to call.
”Let me guess this straight,” Vi ground out, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You called me at six in the morning, waking both me and Caitlyn up with that stupid ringtone you set for yourself—“
Jinx giggled. “Oh, I bet Big Hat was not happy about missing her beauty sleep—“
“—claiming you had an emergency that you needed my truck for. And instead of being, I don’t know, lost in the woods, or—or having broken a leg, or something, or even needing to hide a dead body—which i’d help with, by the way, because you’re my fucking sister—you need me to help you steal about a hundred plushies of your girlfriend?"
Jinx nodded happily. “Yeah, you got it! And the clock’s ticking! Manager will be here in like, ten minutes, and I really don’t wanna be arrested again. Lux was so disappointed last time…”
Vi just sighed defeatedly. “And you think she’ll be thrilled about… all this?”
”Why wouldn’t she? They’re gonna look so good around the house! It’s an army of Luxies! Not even I had thought of that!”
Her sister groaned, kneading her face in her hands. “Just start loading them up before I go back home for a much-needed coffee.”
Jinx grinned, pulling Vi in for a crushing hug. “You’re the best, sis! Knew I could count on you!”
She didn’t notice the fond smile that stole across Vi’s face. “Anything for you, Jay. Now come on, there are heaps of these things.”
As it turns out, Vi had a tarp folded up in the tray of her truck, and straps to secure it for the drive home. They piled the Luxies in, Jinx using significantly more care than Vi to make sure they were comfortable for the ride, and peeled out of the parking lot just as a depressed-looking middle-aged man pulled in in his old sedan.
Jinx couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of what he’d find inside; the warden’s prison had been emptied overnight, leaving behind not a shred of evidence. A perfect plan, a flawless execution, and a reward greater than all that was golden.
Pulling into the driveway, Jinx quietly got the door open, motioning silently for Vi to help unload the goods without speaking. Their bedroom was right by the door, and Lux wasn’t set to wake up for a couple of hours yet; and though Jinx loved and adored every side of her girlfriend, she’d really rather Lux got a good night’s sleep every night for the rest of her life. Grumpy, sleep-deprived Lux was an absolute gremlin.
Vi was far too clumsy to be expected to maintain any semblance of subtlety, so Jinx had her move the little Luxies to the edge of the porch, bringing them the rest of the way into the entrance hall herself. She didn’t appreciate the way Vi handled the Luxies, with a firm grip and general carelessness; she even threw them a couple of times, earning her a very stern, very silent reprimanding.
Suddenly, they were done; the truck was empty. Jinx waved goodbye and blew a grateful kiss to Vi, who just chuckled quietly and rolled away as Jinx gently eased the door shut. She was nearly done; phases one to four of the plan had gone perfectly, even with the impromptu improvisation, and now it was time for the best part. Everyone was inside, stacked up nice and comfortably in the warmth of their new home. The entrance hall was overflowing, but there was still plenty of time to get them properly settled before Lux woke up to her surprise.
But suddenly, the adrenaline of the breakout, the getaway and the dire need for silence wore off, and Jinx found herself yawning uncontrollably for a few long moments. Shit. Well, she had been up for like… twenty hours with no caffeine. Still, she had work to do before she could sleep.
The arrangement of Luxies within their new home wasn’t a predetermined affair; Jinx would plan things down to the most minute detail when she had to, but some impulsive spontaneity seemed to be in order here. She let her imagination take control, and Kuro and Shiro materialised to help out, giving off mischievous little chitters as they manoeuvred some of the smaller plushies around the house.
Luxies were placed lovingly in windowsills, hung above doorways, nestled into plant pots, and hidden in drawers and cupboards. They sat in the corners of each and every room, relaxed on the couch, and a lucky few were even let into the pantry with the snacks that Jinx wasn’t allowed to touch without asking first. She propped little Luxies up on every shelf, tucked them into gaps in the bookcase, and sat some of the really big ones down in the unused chairs at the dining table. Luxies smiled from atop the toilet lid, and barfed streams of sweet-smelling rainbows from the shower shelf, and watched the world from high above on the blades of ceiling fans. They were everywhere, in every nook and crevice, adorning the floors and the walls and every piece of furniture in the house. It was beautiful. It was perfect.
And then, finally, the last dozen or so Luxies were lined up on the kitchen bench for a pep talk. She assessed the readiness of her companions for the coming task, liking what she saw.
”Listen up, lovelies! You lot are the bravest of the bunch, the cream of the crop, and I need the very best for the final phase of our mission.” Jinx paced back and forth, her voice no less intense in its considerate quietness. “Lux is a light sleeper, so when we infiltrate the bedroom for the final phase of this operation, I need absolute silence. If any of you make noise, and you wake her, you’ll have Shiro to answer to. Do I make myself clear?”
The familiar in question didn’t betray any emotion in his eternally blank expression, but Jinx knew the Luxies would be able to see the murder in his eyes. Normally, she’d never let his violent side anywhere near such cuties, but in this case, a little fear could go a long way.
”Good. Ready yourself, soldiers; we move out with immediacy. Stay quiet, and follow my lead.”
For all her usual bravado and general loudness, Jinx could be creepily silent when she wanted to be. It was one of her favourite skills, perfect for sneaking up on unsuspecting blond twinks and scaring them shitless.
It was also useful for bedroom espionage.
The daring dozen played their roles perfectly. Every placement was precise, with maximised viewing angles, and they were all situated in perfect silence. Luxies sat atop clothes drawers, occupied the walk-in wardrobe, accompanied toothbrushes in the ensuite, and one particularly small soldier even found her way into one of Lux’s slippers. For all her discipline, Jinx herself had to suppress a giggle at that one. Such genius was hard to come by these days, especially in a plushie.
Lux slept peacefully through the entire ordeal. As always, she was jaw-droppingly beautiful; it was distracting, really, with how difficult it was to not look at her girlfriend’s face every few seconds. Still, Jinx forced herself to focus. She was so, so close now.
Only one remained; a supremely large Luxie, squishy and soft, the closest thing to hugging the real Lux that Jinx had ever experienced. This one would be joining her in bed with her beloved blahåj, Fishbones.
Stepping out of her clothes, and cleaning them into the laundry basket to avoid a lecture later in the day, Jinx slipped back into bed. With practised ease, she nuzzled up into Lux’s warmth, wrapping her arms around her with infinite gentleness. Sadly, she couldn’t spoon her girlfriend with an extra Luxie in bed with them, so Jinx settled by placing the plushie in the middle of their embrace.
And then finally, with Lux’s warmth beside her and her smell all around her, Jinx allowed her tiredness to seep in, dozing off into a deep and peaceful sleep.
As was the case every morning, waking up was a slow process for Lux.
Moving on instinct, she craned her head closer to her girlfriend, nosing into her hair and taking a nice, long sniff. Jinx smelled like an exploding candy store, as she always did, but there was something else there; something that reminded her of her girlfriend’s workshop. Not grease, but something similar. Had Jinx been… welding?
There was also something wedged in between their embrace, which was entirely unacceptable.
Groaning grumpily, Lux cracked her eyes open. Jinx was there, fast asleep, somehow managing to make drooling look hot. Lux looked down to try and find the source of their physical separation.
There was a plushie of her in their bed.
Lux blinked drearily, but no, she wasn’t imagining it. There she sat, happy and proud in her little Star Guardian uniform, gleefully grinning in her direction. That definitely hadn’t been there when her and Jinx had gone to bed last night.
What the fuck?
She flopped onto her back, trying to urge her sleepy brain to work out what that was all about—
Another plushie leered down at her from atop the headboard.
Lux started, squeaking in surprise as she swatted at the offending item, squirming away when it fell on her face. She glanced about the room, her shock turning to horror as she just kept seeing more of them. They stared at her from all directions, grinning with impunity. But how—?
With a gasp, the truth came to Lux, sending a sluice of ice down her spine.
Someone had been inside their house overnight!
“Jinx? Jinx!” Lux hissed, shaking her girlfriend frantically.
Jinx just groaned. “Five more minutes.”
“No, Jinx, wake up! Something’s happened!”
Amber eyes flew open. “What? What’s wrong—?”
“Someone’s been in our room! They put—they put plushies everywhere!”
But to her shock, Jinx just giggled, wrapping her arms around Lux’s waist and crawling closer, resting her head in Lux’s lap and looking up at her. “I know! Aren’t they great?”
Lux gaped down at her, utterly speechless.
Jinx shifted around, grabbing the giant plushie around the middle and holding it up. “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! There are, like, a hundred of you now! A whole army of Luxies, all for me!”
…A hundred?!
Breathing deep and emitting a sigh of the utmost forbearance, Lux tilted her girlfriend’s face up to look her in the eyes. “Baby, there are only about a dozen plushies in here. Where are the rest of them?”
Jinx just grinned wider, eyes sparkling with pure, childlike delight. “They’re everywhere.”
And despite the absolute absurdity of the situation, and Lux’s genuine fear at what the rest of their house looked like, and the fact that she didn’t even want to know where Jinx had managed to find a hundred plushies of her overnight, Lux couldn’t find it in herself to be mad. Not when her girlfriend looked this happy.
So it was that, with one last sigh of resignation, Lux smiled softly down at her. “You’re crazy, you know that?” She wound a hand into Jinx’s hair, carding through the silky curtain of red, drawing a purr of smug satisfaction out of her girlfriend.
But as amber eyes fluttered shut and the girl in her lap nuzzled closer, Lux noticed that Jinx looked tired, and that wouldn’t do at all.
“Alright, baby, you look like you need a sleep in.” Lux might never get over the fact that they were dating now, and she could finally fill her voice with all the love and affection she felt toward Jinx. “We’ll get up around lunchtime, and you can show me all the clever places you’ve put little versions of me into, how does that sound?”
Jinx nodded sleepily, already dozing off again, a dopey smile spreading across her beautiful lips. And as exasperated as she may be, Lux knew that she would do anything for that face.