Ill-Omen's Light
is an Arcane fanfic written by SuspiciousZucchini and set one year after the events of Act 3 of the series.
The plot follows a runaway Luxanna Crownguard as she escapes to Piltover, only for circumstances to lead her to run into Jinx, all the while Vi, Ezreal, and Caitlyn search for her.
The story has a sequel titled Ill-Omen's Game.
Ill-Omen's Light provides examples of:
- Abdicate the Throne: Non-royal example. After Jinx's Progress Day attack, Jayce tells Caitlyn that he's leaving the Council to more directly combat Piltover's corruption either in his labs or on the front lines. Caitlyn puts together that he was always planning to step down and that Progress Day was supposed to be his announcement.
- Alien Blood: Thanks to the Shimmer coursing through her veins, Jinx's blood is pinkish in color, as seen when she uses it to try and lure Warwick/Vander away.
- Big Damn Kiss: Lux and Jinx have one after reuniting at Seraphine's house.
- Blessed with Suck: Jinx's Shimmer augmentations might have made her an Empowered Badass Normal, but they also haven't done her already poor sanity any favors. Her body's also constantly being mutated by the substance, and she needs monthly injections from Singed to keep herself physically stable, lest the mutations grow out of control. Making matters worse, the fact that her body is a living Shimmer factory also runs the risk of making her a target for the Chem-Barons, on top of Piltover's law enforcement.
- Combat Pragmatist: The year since the end of Act 3 and her time as a Chem-Baron has led to Sevika developing a more pragmatic outlook. When Vi arrives at the Last Drop for answers on Jinx, she simply activates the bar's defense miniguns to keep Vi from trying anything. It's a stark contrast to last time, where she challenged Vi to one-on-one combat and ordered everyone to leave.
- Dragon Ascendant: Following Silco's death, Sevika took over his operations as well as the Last Drop, becoming the new leading Chem-Baron of Zaun.
- Dramatic Irony: When Ezreal learns that Lux was taken by Jinx, he gets worried that the Loose Cannon is torturing her, when the readership knows that the two are actually having fun and getting along.
- The Dreaded: Jinx terrifies the crap out of all of Zaun. In the year since her disappearance, she became a boogie man to the city's people, with just the mention of her name striking terror into everyone. Her showing up at the Last Drop causes all the bar patrons (many of whom are hardened crooks) to freeze up. In Piltover, she's also considered the most terrifying criminal alive, having amassed a body count of well over 100 people, innocent or otherwise, and according to the author, that's just a generous estimate.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Jinx is just as much a Mad Bomber as she was by the end of Arcane, and she genuinely falls in love with Lux over the course of the story. Additionally, despite how badly their relationships have deteriorated, a small part of her still cares about Vi and Ekko, even doing what she could to save the latter after he was fatally wounded by Warwick/Vander.
- Happily Failed Suicide: It's revealed that Jinx was planning to kill herself after having one Last Dance with Vi. Meeting Lux helped her regain the will to live.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Vi apparently has this reputation in Piltover, as despite being one of its protectors, her relation to one of the most notorious criminals out there, coupled with her recklessness and being a former citizen of Zaun, leads to a lot of higher ups disliking her. If Caitlyn is to be believed, members of the Council are just looking for an excuse to get rid of her. That said, at least a few Wardens of Piltover are on good terms with Vi.
- He's Back!: Chapter 4 has Jinx drop by the Last Drop, meeting with Sevika and showing the entire city that the Loose Canon has returned.
- Instant Sedation: Averted. Jinx's Shimmer-enhanced body allows her to stay awake long enough to escape the Wardens despite having been shot multiple times with tranquilizers.
- Jerkass Ball: Jinx's return causes Vi to become far more aggressive than normal. Ezreal gets scared of how violent she's being and calls her out on it, pointing out to her that she's acting no better than the Enforcers from the past. It's enough for her to snap out of it.
- MacGuffin Super-Person: Singed explains to Lux that Jinx is this. He reveals to her that Jinx's mutation from the Shimmer strain he gave her has allowed her body to produce a constant supply of the substance, consequentially making her the last source of Shimmer left on the planet after all others were destroyed or rendered inoperable. While no one but himself, Jinx, and now Lux knows about this, he does stress that the Chem-Barons would try to capture and harvest her if they found out.
- Morality Pet:
- Lux becomes this to Jinx, since she can convince her to not kill people for a while. Caitlyn and Vi even lampshade this, with the former calling her a miracle for being able to pull that off.
- While it's downplayed in that it doesn't make him a better person in the slightest, Singed does genuinely care for Jinx (in his own way, at least) and is one of the most civil people with her.
- Never Found the Body: It's revealed that Jinx threw Silco's body into the waters of Zaun where the large predatory fish he admired dwelled. This was done so that no one would ever desecrate his corpse or insult his death, letting him become a legend instead.
- Parental Substitute: Defied. Singed does care for Jinx and goes out of his way to help her akin to how a father-figure would, but he makes it a point to avoid becoming this trope and keeps his distance outside of that. As he explains to Lux, while he was a father once, he can't be Jinx's father.
- Recovered Addict: Huck, the man who sold out Vi and Caitlyn for some Shimmer, claims to have been clean for six months. Turns out that it's pretty easy when there's no Shimmer left.
- Spanner in the Works: Discussed by Renata Glasc when she confronts Caitlyn about Jinx's return, bringing up how she always shows up to cause chaos and shatter the status quo for everyone involved.Renata: Funny, isn’t it? Every time we all let ourselves get fat and complacent, here comes that girl to blow the status quo sky high. She’s entertaining. Maybe even necessary. And you’re the only one who wants to take her alive.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Discussed by Renata to Caitlyn. She points out that despite everything Jinx has done, Caityn's the only person in both Piltover and Zaun who wants Jinx to be brought in for her crimes rather than just kill her outright like almost everyone else would.
- Time Skip: The plot of the story is set one year after the events of Act 3 of Arcane, after the events of a bloody revolution caused by Jinx blowing up the Council Tower.
