#not all of it is very salvagable.

[seapotty]

dredging up more old batman art, there's always more of it back here somewhere

[higuchisora]

In a season without a Noxus plot line, The Hunt for Jinx becomes the story. Without having to rush everything for the dramatic invasion ending, I'd like to imagine they'd have more time to focus on the actual important stuff. Like the development of these characters (primarily the sisters and Caitlyn).

In this, I'd imagine the time skips are longer here. Act 1's major story beats will probably be relatively the same (save for some fiddling, such as making it take longer for Vi to become an enforcer, Caitlyn being less blatantly elitist, etc.). The only extremely significant plot difference is that the confrontation with Jinx doesn't end with Caitlyn hitting Vi and abandoning her. But from there onwards it's entirely different. Tensions between Piltover and Zaun become beyond hostile- they're in an outright civil war. No one can pass between the two cities safely. Blood stains both streets. The bridge hasn't just been closed- it's entirely destroyed, blown up in yet another one of Jinx's big acts.

This is where we get a somewhat similar reading of the sisters to the game. Like in League, Jinx has become the "Joker" to Caitlyn and Vi's "Batman/Robin" (in terms of going out of her way to specifically menace them, etc.), and she seems to be the only one capable of slipping between the two cities and making it out alive. Her acts range from "loud/annoying but harmless" to "loud, annoying, and devastatingly deadly" with seemingly no pattern to it.

As this continues, Caitlyn becomes more irate, more unhinged, more obsessed with catching Jinx to the point that she can hardly function anymore outside of fixating on her evidence boards or patrolling through the streets. This creates a rift between her and Vi pretty quickly, though they both try to brush it under the rug, until eventually they just can't. Vi has been struggling with her own actions for a while now (as well as Caitlyn's), trying to justify them and being less and less convincing to herself each time.

She tries to bottle it, first out of guilt towards Caitlyn and eventually out of guilt for everything and everyone else. People she's hurt, people she's lost, people she misses. She no longer remembers when she was last able to recognize her own image in the mirror. She finds herself to be beyond redemption. After all, Jinx- grave as her sins may be- Jinx was many things. But a traitor wasn't one of them.

As someone who values loyalty so much, to Vi, a traitor is the worst thing anyone could be. Unfortunately, she realizes she's become the thing she hated most. With this self-hatred fueling her thoughts, Vi slowly begins to pull back from Caitlyn. She initially clung to her, seeing her as the only constant left in her life, but after not being able to look at herself the same, she begins to look at Caitlyn- and realizes she doesn't recognize her anymore, either.

She makes a few attempts at trying to rectify this, a part of her not wanting to give up on Caitlyn (or herself) without trying. After all, it was never too late to change, right? To do better? Even if it didn't undo the past, it could keep the future from being worse. However, all of her attempts get soundly rebuffed by Caitlyn, each response being harsher than the last. The last one- whether it's gassing someone, or shooting at a kid, or what have you- ends with Caitlyn hitting Vi. It shocks both of them in that moment, so much so that neither of them seem to breathe for what feels like an entire minute.

Just as quickly, Caitlyn rushes to comfort Vi, apologizing profusely, begging for forgiveness, fussing over her- and Vi lets her do so, lets Caitlyn lead her back home to get her checked and rested. She doesn't address it again- but it's too late. This is Vi's last straw.

She doesn't say anything, but Caitlyn seems to realize she's lost her. She tries to coax Vi back onto her side, "Are you still in this fight, Violet?" And Vi tells her she's "the dirt beneath your nails, Cupcake." It's not romantic. Caitlyn doesn't know what to make of it. She puts Vi on leave to recuperate, opting to lead the strike teams alone, still hunting for Jinx.

Jinx, on the other hand, notices her sister's absence immediately. She tries to tell herself she doesn't care, but that lasts about five seconds before she all but loses it to her own paranoia. Where is she? Jinx's last stunt couldn't have gone that poorly. It wasn't even her worst- it wasn't like she was counting, but she hadn't even brought the nail bombs that time. She doubted more than a handful of people died. (Silco had even bitched about it, the way he usually does when he thinks she's "wasting time" playing around so much. He finds her smaller stunts to be juvenile, and though he never bats an eye at her conduct, he's always insistent on her doing things for "the cause." Like reaching out to Sevika. Or being more strategic with her assaults on Piltover).

Vi couldn't have been injured, couldn't have died. Did she abandon her again? Did she finally grow tired of Jinx?

It drives her up the wall, sends her into the kind of frenzy she hasn't experienced since that wretched dinner party. Who the fuck does Vi think she is, leaving Jinx behind? What gave her the right? What, was she trying to move on? To forget about her sister? Did she really think it'd be that easy? That Jinx would let her walk away? If anyone was supposed to leave, it was Jinx! It was her turn to leave her sister in the dust! To leave Vi begging and pleading on the ground, haunted and so alone. To have her chasing Jinx's shadow, the way Jinx chased hers for years! This wasn't fair, what the fuck, how dare she?

Jinx goes ballistic. Her next act is reckless, more than ever before. She walks right into the heart of Piltover, blowing up important buildings (government, law enforcement, memorials. All of it will go down in a blaze. She'll take them down with her if it's the last thing she does-) cutting enforcers down left and right. She lights everything up around her, blue smoke curling into the sky. She's not leaving until she gets what she came for. She's not leaving until Vi looks her in the goddamn eyes and says it- so Jinx can finally put a bullet in both of their skulls.

This can go several ways. Maybe Vi does go out there, unprepared and horrified, eyes locked on that rising smoke, without so much as her gauntlets as she flies through the streets, desperate to stop her sister- or maybe she doesn't. Maybe she was more injured than she'd previously realized, from not only her previous battle but from years- a lifetime, even- of abuse, of subpar and inhumane conditions, of sleepless nights and skipped meals and constantly running on empty. Of years of stress and grief and anxiety and rage and exhaustion and betrayal. Perhaps that blow to the stomach wasn't all that hard, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back. The last push that sent that massive tree crashing to the ground, if only someone were nearby to hear it.

So for the first time, Vi is told to rest, and she stays there. Not really resting, exactly, she's not very relaxed- but maybe "benched," at the moment. Vi confronting Jinx could go a range of ways that would be delightful to explore, but I'd like to consider what would happen if she doesn't go.

The smoke rises, the city burns, the people scream- and Vi isn't there. Enforcers- whatever remains of them- flood the streets, but Jinx only sees shadows and lights and bodies, bodies, bodies. That she-devil is there, saying something, screaming it, but it doesn't matter. None of it matters, because Vi isn't there.

The voices get louder. Jinx turns up the volume. They're not the only ones who can scream. She sprays brass at the flocking masses of demons. Lets loose another volley of explosives. She's almost out, could only carry so much with her- but Vi. Isn't. There.

Jinx won't be able to recollect what happens next, but eventually it all goes dark. She wakes to the cold concrete of a prison cell floor. In the prison uniform, she's ironically more covered than she's been in years, but bereft of her weaponry, she feels utterly naked. Her braids are gone- not just untied, but chopped off, as if they were afraid she could hide things in them (she could. She has). She tunes Silco out. She doesn't feel like hearing him nag. She doesn't have it in her to feel bad for making him all worried and upset. She doesn't feel like doing anything, at the moment.

People come in and out of the prison, including the she-devil. But none of them are Vi. She tunes them out, too. It's all a blur.

It isn't that the rage is gone. It probably never would be. But it's distant. She's lost the energy to wield it. All that's left is the exhaustion. It consumes her, not unlike a weighted blanket. Or the shackles on her wrists and ankles.

Vi, meanwhile, has regained consciousness. She wakes to fresh destruction around her, breathing in the tang of iron and dust. The taste of ash is impossible to swallow down. Not even moments later, she learns Jinx is in custody, awaiting execution. She feels hollow as she watches the Piltovans celebrate. She ignores the protesting of her limbs, climbing out of bed. She slinks through winding halls with nostalgic ease. It didn't matter how many years its been, her muscles still remember how to sneak through places where her kind are unwelcome. With the right timing, she makes it in unnoticed.

Vi sees her there.

Jinx looks smaller than she has in years. Curled up and despondent. She doesn't turn to the sound of the door opening- it's unclear if she's ignoring it, or if she hasn't even registered the noise. Her hair is all but shorn off. Her hair always grew fast- give it a few weeks, and she'd have a bob, not unlike the one she had as a toddler. Vi approaches after a moment of taking in the sight of her, unnaturally still.

As with many points within this story, this meeting could go several ways. Maybe Jinx doesn't even belive she's actually seeing Vi, and so she doesn't respond for a while. Maybe she tries to muster up some cruel barbs, a cutting remark. Maybe she actually does manage to summon her emotions, maybe she's simply burnt out. But it doesn't really matter what she says or how, or if she says anything at all- ultimately, I think it would end with Vi unlocking the cell door. Perhaps similarly to canon, Vi takes Jinx into her arms. There's no “changing the story” talks, or “using her explosives for good”- Vi buries her face into blue hair, and hugs her sister.

If you prefer tragedies, this could be the perfect “rejected last chance” moment. Maybe Jinx tells Vi to fuck off, or she accepts her fate, having lost all hope, and gets executed, Vi following shortly thereafter in some fashion (by her own hands). Maybe Vi disappears after Jinx's death, from both Piltover and Zaun. But I'm personally very picky when it comes to how tragedies play out, and usually don't prefer them. And so I'll indulge myself with musing a more hopeful alternative.

Many (such as Overton herself) claim the sex scene in the cell to be Vi's “chance to be selfish” and to “Finally get to choose what she wants.” I'm personally of the belief that she's clearly shown time and time again in season 1 (and even a good amount of season 2) that her main desire, above all else, has consistently been to reconcile with her sister. As such, her “selfish moment” in this storyline would be, most likely, to unlock Jinx's shackles. Eyes blurry with tears, she'd fumble to unlock them, and all but rips them off.

Jinx doesn't know what to make of it, if she even wants to- she's tired of hoping. But Vi is here, visibly battered, but here. And Jinx has never really stopped craving Vi's attention, not really. Even if it meant dying by her hands (“it had to be you.”). Even if she tries to verbally protest, she won't stop Vi from releasing her from the cuffs. She won't complain about the hug, though the accusations would start to fly. “Of course,” Jinx might say. Of course, Vi is here now, at the last minute, trying to play hero. Did the cop girl dump her or something?

Vi is past the point of wanting to argue, though. She's all but blubbering. Nothing she says really makes sense. The only thing that's clear is that she's sorry (for what, is unintelligible), that she just wants Jinx back, no matter what form that takes. Jinx might find that too good to be true. But Vi is unyielding. She's at a point where Jinx could probably kill her, maybe take them both out, and she probably wouldn't fight back. Might see it, even, as the better option. They've both stained themselves in blood, now. Zaun reviles them both, Vi the most, but Jinx not far off- she's killed more than Piltovans, and though they stand behind her attack on the Council, some will never forgive or forget.

Vi isn't sure if there's a way out. If any of it even matters anymore. If her and Jinx can ever be “better,” if they could do anything other than die miserably. But she doesn't care anymore, either. Let Ekko pull Zaun back together. Let Caitlyn dive headfirst into battles until she breathes her last- did Vi even have a right to care about anything anymore, with how thoroughly she'd abandoned everything that once mattered to her?

She grasps Jinx’s face. The gentlest hold, on the one last precious thing in the world to her. She's abandoned so many things. Zaun. Her people. Her values. Whatever wasn't already ripped viciously out of her hands, she'd let go of, in the foolish search for comfort, for familiarity, for stability, for everything to be “right” and “make sense” again, in a way it hadn't since it all went up in flames.

Couldn't she just have her sister? If nothing else, could this be the one thing she got to have? Even if Jinx ran off, wanted nothing to do with her ever again- to see her run free, even just in fleeting moments for the rest of her life- she just wanted her sister back.

By the time the guards return, Vi and Jinx would be missing.

[dynastine]

don’t remember if i ever posted this one on this blog

[ruvviks]

PLEASE DO NOT TAG AS YOUR OWN OC OR PAIRING.

Nathan and Ruben share a bond more powerful than most; mutual understanding through past experiences no one should ever have to go through, and through past actions so horrible they cannot be spoken of. Their grief and the blood on their hands binds them to the STEM technology they created, which has alienated them from the rest of the world— but they give each other the comfort they have both longed for so desperately for years, and that is all they need. They are each other's counterpart; you cannot imagine one without the other, like two sides of the same coin. Through their pain, their grief, their desire, and their regret, they have become one.

anna akhmatova, the guest // bones; equinox // 'i won't become' by kim jakobsson // agustín gómez-arcos, the carnivorous lamb // by oxy // achilles come down; gang of youths // czeslaw milosz, from 'new and collected poems: 1931-2001' // 'extended ambience portrait from a resonant biostructure' and 'migraine tenfold times ten' by daniel vega // a little death; the neighbourhood // marina tsvetaeva, from 'poem of the end' // by drummnist // katie maria, winter // 'nocturne in black and gold the falling rocket' by james abbott mcneill whistler // micah nemerever, these violent delights // body language; we are fury // 'the penitent' by emil melmoth // chelsea dingman, from 'of those who can't afford to be gentle'

taglist (opt in/out)

@shellibisshe, @florbelles, @ncytiri, @hibernationsuit, @stars-of-the-heart;

@lestatlioncunt, @katsigian, @radioactiveshitstorm, @estevnys, @adelaidedrubman;

@celticwoman, @rindemption, @carlosoliveiraa, @noirapocalypto, @dickytwister;

@killerspinal, @euryalex, @ri-a-rose, @velocitic, @thedeadthree

[forbiddentaako]

more monochrome practice I suppose

[reformedkingsmanagent]

Oh no, another mood board.

[tentacleteapot]

redesigned my old Sonic OC! everybody meet Gnash the Anglerfish (and be prepared to hand over all your cash k thanks~)

[goodplace-janet]

my difficult errand today is to go to the local community bike shop and get a new-to-me refurbished bike, because mine has finally kicked the bucket

or so i thought. the things making this challenging are a) change is hard, and a change to a tool i use every day will involve an intimidating adjustment period

and b) i am emotionally attached to this bicycle that has been with me through all the tough times and big changes in my life over the past decade, and the thought of donating it to the shop to be stripped for parts was making me sad

so i've decided to hang onto the old bike, see if the issues with it can be repaired, and if so, do the work of overhauling it over the next few months and eventually leave it at my parents' house so it'll be available when i visit.

[softquietsteadylove]

Gil gets hurt and Thena takes care of him. We need some soft content hehehe free choice and thanks <3

"You okay?"

Thena blinked. Her vision was fading on her. She looked back at Gil, who was staring at her with those big brown eyes of his. She smiled, moving away from the edge of the loft and leaning over him again. "I should be asking you that. You need to rest."

"I am," he pointed out weakly, moving his eyes around to indicate the thorough incapacitation of his body. They had gotten up the ladder on pure adrenaline. They just needed somewhere off the ground and safe for the night while the herd outside passed, or at least calmed.

The barn doors were holding, thanks to the plank of wood they had secured after all of them holding them with all their strength.

Thena had spread out some hay. They didn't bring much with them--this was supposed to be an easy day trip for supplies. She had laid Gil down, balling up her sweater under his head as the least she could do. "Let me see it."

It wasn't as if he was in a position to stop her. He grunted as she pulled on his good arm to help him sit up, although even that caused his bad shoulder some pain. "You checked it five minutes ago."

"It was not five minutes ago," she argued with him, their voices hushed. Despite the tense silence and the low shuffling of the herd outside, it was quieter in the barn than the sterile, smooth echoes of the hospital. Not that they didn't long to be back there at the moment.

Gil let her unbutton his shirt and look at his shoulder again. He had tried to save one of their own earlier, even letting his arm be pulled out of the socket. But the herd had won, and she had pulled him away before he could be swallowed up too.

The swelling was still prominent. She didn't have anything to help with that, and neither she nor Kingo nor Ikaris were knowledgeable enough to pop it back into place for now. She wondered if they would even be strong enough.

"I've dislocated my shoulder before, y'know."

"Is that so?" she whispered, pulling his shirt away from him as if it would cause the injury to worsen. Already his skin was starting to change colour.

"I was maybe 14?--my dad thought it would be a good idea to make me join wrestling. Thought I was too timid, especially for being kind of a husky kid," Gil continued as she traced the edge of his swelling with her eyes. She didn't dare touch it. "Obviously, I didn't wanna do it."

"Obviously," she added, because of course Gil didn't want to fight his peers as a growing teen, probably just as sweet and shy as he was now.

"So, my first practice I tried to just go limp and play dead, but the other guy was not having it," he chuckled. She watched the shadows of his breathing against the glow of the flashlight. "He ended up popping my shoulder out, he was trying so hard. I was just happy I got to quit the team."

"Gil," she scolded him with a smile. The idea of young teen Gil, shy in a wrestling leotard and just trying to make friends crossed her mind. "I imagine it hurt then, too."

He let out a breath. He was careful about it. He was putting up a good front, but she knew when he was in pain. She had seen it enough during their time on the road. "I guess it did."

She frowned. This wasn't the kind of injury they could disinfect and wrap up. They still had to get him back to the car and then back to the hospital without incident. And this was the open road; it wouldn't be easy to mow a path for them back to the cars from here.

But she could do it.

Gil wheezed as she helped him lie down again. He forgot to pretend he was fine when he was moving, his face twisted in pain. "Bill-"

"Hey," she cut him off. She didn't even remember his name. They had only gone on a run once or twice before. All she had known in the moment was that Gil was in danger. "Don't."

"He's got a girlfriend back at the hospital," Gil whispered to her. He opened his eyes, staring up at the room of the barn.

She moved to lean over his face, brushing his tears away. "I'm afraid it could happen to any of us, out here. We know the risks."

They all had to know the risks. What's-his-name had signed up for supplies duty just like the rest of them had. Ajak didn't assign people roles based on whim.

Thena leaned in, pressing her lips to his forehead. He still wasn't running a fever (good). "We'll tell her together--how hard you tried to save him."

Gil shut his eyes again. There was nothing they could do about it now. "You should get some sleep."

"Hypocrite."

"Really," he wheezed again. "You're not gonna stay up until dawn just because I'm like this. We need you at your best."

Thena looked out over the rest of the barn again. She could just barely make out where Ikaris was leaning up against a pillar, although she couldn't see if he was sleeping or not. Kingo was curled up on a stack of hay, already knocked out from all the effort they exerted.

"Thena, I'm fine."

He was far from fine. He was hurt, and suddenly their days on the road weren't so far away anymore. The sting of peril was hot on their heels again. She could remember holding onto him, willing to pull off his other arm if it meant not letting go. Kingo was the one to pull them both, yanking her backpack to get them both up the hill and towards the barn.

She opened up her bag. She should have packed for the possibility of being stuck out here, regardless. They were getting too comfortable at the hospital--too spoiled. There had to be something she could use to help Gil in some way.

"Thena," Gil sighed as she pulled out a blanket. It was barely a blanket, more some ripped old sheet for acting as a trampoline if they had to drop things from a height and stay quiet. It barely covered from his elbows down to his knees. "Really?"

"I said hush," she muttered, moving on to his bag as well. She dug out the spare shirt he brought.

Gil moved his eyes as he watched her. "It's a nice idea, but I don't know if a summer gingham shirt is gonna offer much warmth."

She made sure to huff at him, pulling it on over her white t-shirt. she didn't bother buttoning it, but she did pull it closed around her. It was big enough to feel like having a blanket around her. "No complaining."

She curled herself up next to his good arm, wrapping her arms around her knees. He was right, she would need to sleep, even if it was nodding off for a few minutes at a time. But she couldn't take her eyes off the opening to the loft. Even after she had worked her absolute hardest to pull the ladder up with her, the thought of seeing something poke a gnarled, nightmarish head up and look at her-

"Thena."

She inhaled sharply. She was falling asleep by the second. Her head tilted and she nearly flinched at the dry, borderline icy look Gil was giving her. "I'm fine."

"I'm not asking you to sleep," he pleaded with her. His good hand moved until he could tug at the shirt of his she was wearing. "Just lie down, please."

She buried her nose in the collar of it. In truth, she was exhausted, and being tired made her feel cold. But more than that, this shirt smelled like Gil, and their room at the hospital. And she needed to feel that, right now.

Thena shifted her weight, lying down next to him, still basically curled in the fetal position.

Gil was most certainly straining his eyes to look at her. But he smiled. "Feels like old times, right?"

Times when she would be unable to sleep because she had something far too precious to protect? Yes, it did feel remarkably like that. It felt like when she watched him sleep the entire night after he got grazed by a bullet, or when she watched him sleep as his fever get worse and worse.

Sometimes she still woke up from that nightmare, unable to stop herself from checking if his forehead was hot.

The thought spooked her again. The next time she fell asleep she probably wouldn't flinch awake after a few seconds again. Gil was lying flat on his back, his eyes closed. His breathing seemed even. She shimmied closer as best she could. Just once more couldn't hurt.

She touched the back of her hand to his forehead; no fever. She leaned up and touched her lips to his cheek; a little scruffy, but warm and living. With that, she could lie down beside him, not resting on him but pressing her forehead to his arm, just to have some contact with him. This was the only way she could rest.

Tomorrow, she could worry about getting Gil home again.

[asthecrowrambles]

spacesuit doodles for my space captain au..

[focusfixated]

pinned fic post

you can find me on AO3 at focusfixated

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[woosh-floosh]

"Which is worse? This mediocre pop song or that mediocre pop song?" BOTH WRONG its the versus theme from Sonic Eraser

[anglerflsh]

it really is true btw your parents will ask you to wage psychological warfare (cit. "making her feel guilty") on your siblings to get them to study better like this is some kind of succession battle

[threepoint14art]

comes out of my university induced come yet again: animation memes demon got me, this is very simple and repetitive but i love animation memes amen

I get chased off the internet for having too many fnafhs ocs more at 7

[soupmanspeaks]

silly salvaged and its greg interviewing everyone (all the animatronics) for a marketing class at school or something

[tentacleteapot]

I will admit that it's hard seeing Homestuck 2/Beyond Canon as anything beyond a metatextual "oh, you want more of the story? well, this is what you get for wishing there was more, everybody you liked is miserable or awful now" directed at its predecessor's audience, at least/especially before the new team took over, but every once in a while it still does something that REALLY hits. the new [S] update was SO good