You are not responsible for saving someone else. You are not responsible for bettering someone who’s hurt you. You are not responsible for a toxic ex-friend. You are not responsible for what they choose to do. You are not a bad person for cutting them off or refusing to have them in your life, even if they have bettered themselves. Prioritize yourself, not a harmful person.
This is clearly connected to Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus, but I'd like to extend the sentiment further.
You are not responsible for saving someone even if they are blood-related. You are not responsible for helping someone after they hurt you, even if you’re family. And they are NOT entitled to your time, attention, or love.
I can see these two images being the same Viktor and Jayce just a couple months apart, with the second showing Viktor getting to finally turn the tables on his boyfriend. And he is RELISHING in it.
CatMadVi where all three are influential/powerful individuals in their respective homelands, and instead of developing an "enemies to lovers" arc, they have an "enemies AS lovers" relationship throughout the Piltover/Zaun conflict and war against Noxus. They kidnap each other just to flirt, they exchange playful banter in between threats during intense interrogations, they occasionally sabotage their own plans so the others can escape capture or live another day.
-- 🔧
More people need to get on the CaitMadVi grind AT AN INSTANT!
"Vi would be better for Caitlyn"; "Maddie was nicer to Caitlyn". That greedy, rich Piltovan needs BOTH her criminally charged girlfriends.
And if they're looking for a fourth to make things even...I'd not say no.
Imagine now!! Especially with Vi involved, her just consitantly getting in trouble with the law but specifically defying all orders until caitlyn herself shows up and suddenly she's all like "ooh put me in the handcuffs, interrogate me officer!!" yeah, you're a freak get in the damn cell.
Maddie revealing she's a spy?? Throwing a casual "aye, but I can put in a good word with big lady." Caitlyn needs all the help she can get, okay! What's a few nights when she has Maddie delivering falsified information to Ambessa which ends in Maddies stay being prolounged over and over until she's basically at home in Piltover (and Caitlyns bed)
Caitlyn correctly deducing that Junior Officer Nolen is a spy for Noxus and keeping it to herself, meanwhile Maddie is secretly a higher rank in the Noxian military than Caitlyn is in Piltover and calls the shots when Ambessa is preoccupied. Vi acting as one of Zaun's strongest fighters keeps the enforcers at bay and catches Commander Kiramman's attention. Junior Officer Nolen has her own run-in with her and starts to deviate from the official invasion plans...
MadCaitVi, but they each take turns being a damsel in distress while the other two obliterate everything in their path to save her.
Absolutely yes.
They each have their own way of being the damsel in distress but wether it's a small papercut or a bullet nobody was meant to survive (maddie survives SHE SURVIVES NO they drag me away), it gets fussed about by the others all the same.
Times were especially rough after the battle in the finale. All of them had suffered far too much, each in their own individual way being left with many scars, mentally and physically. What kept them going at all was taking care of eachother because it made things so much less lonely.
Youre asking how Caitlyn even forgave Maddie at all? Well! The hospital was absolutely packed after the war and since Maddie was kept in Piltover due to several laws that required for her to get medical treatment there, she was also there. So was Caitlyn, obviously.
It would be extremely unrealistic for them to be put in the same room since Maddie was under criminal investigation and Caitlyn was both her victim and of higher status. But let's just assume, because the hospital was so immensely busy and packed, that it did happen.
Lets think about Caitlyn, resting after surgery for her eye, looking over at Maddie who was kept alive by about a dozen machines, wires and tubes. Let's think about Caitlyn seeing Maddie wake up with a jolt, almost choking on her breathing tube and looking around in utter panic. Caitlyn has a kind-hearted nature and you can't tell me otherwise. So she reaches one hand over, stretching between the gap of the two to gently rest it on Maddies arm.
It helped Maddie calm down even just a little when she saw Caitlyn. She gave the kiramman an apologetic look, eyeing up her bandaged form and injured eye. She knew who was to blame and she knew that, by connection, it was her fault too.
Despite all of the guilt that was eating away at her, she couldn't bing herself to pull away.
I believe that Caitlyn actually spoke out in maddies case, both as the victim and as a defendant. That was a highly debated point at that time because many people were in the assumption that some kind of manipulation jad taken place for Caitlyn to defend her almost-killer. To this day nobody had a clue what it was, but after extensive checks there was no indication of foul play.
Maddie was let off lightly because of that but was kept under a close eye and had to go to weekly assessments.
Vi wasn't exactly fond of Maddie at first, especially after she found out what she'd tried to do to Caitlyn but she hardly had a choice but to grow fond of her. It was never going to be easy for the three, but it was something they were willing to fight for. Something about being so stubborn to be themselves made them soft for eachother.
(If yiu think about it, each of them came from very different backgrounds with very different pursuits. There was obviously always going to be rough patches and disagreements. So I don't think any kind of argument matters here to claim that Maddie is 'too different'.
Caitlyn surrounded herself with Vi, the woman who's sister killed her mother. Vi surrounded herself with Caitlyn who abandoned her and gassed the undercity. So would it actually be that unlikely for them to surrounded themselves with maddie? Couldn't they see her flaws as something she could grow from too?)
ALSO!!!
They have to have a scheduled for who gets to sleep in the middle. It's an actual problem that caused several arguments before. Maddie once was claiming middle for over a month straight and the only thing ending her streak was being literally wrestled away by Vi. That's when they knew they had to come up with some kind of system. Only exception is when somebody else takes priority because they don't feel well 😋
Every night, Vi would extend the olive branch of a bedroom invitation to Maddie, and unsurprisingly, it would be refused.
"I'd take up to much space" turned into "I wouldn't want to make Caitlyn uncomfortable" turned into "After everything, I don't deserve to lie next to her again".
Caitlyn herself hardly argued, despite how passionately she defended the girl in front of a jury until her voice grew hoarse. Because although she had long since forgiven Maddie, she often feared that she would find herself mistaken, and all of her resolve would one day crumble under the weight of a reopened wound that she thought she'd healed.
Then, Maddie got sick, and Caitlyn returned with medicine to find Vi watching over her patient in the master bedroom. It was surreal to see the love of her life care for another woman in their bed, even moreso the same woman who nearly ended said life, but she decided it wasn't a bad sight to come home to. She only wished she could articulate--both to them and to herself--the feelings that stirred in her chest when Vi brushed back Maddie's hair with a tenderness she once believed was reserved for her.
A MadCaitVi headcanon that's burrowed in between the folds of my noggin
Both Caitlyn and Maddie are pretty naïve, Vi noticed, but not in the same way.
For instance, Caitlyn, as intelligent as she is, sometimes forgets the privileges she has aren't universal. Not everyone grew up with generational wealth, two loving parents, a home that always had food and electricity and running water, or a safe community far away from any violence. Over time, Vi's frustration has subsided whenever she reminds her of the advantages she received in her life, and in turn, Caitlyn has learned to no longer view these reminders as malicious.
Meanwhile, Maddie was raised with values that eventually developed into black and white thinking, and she struggles to wrap her head around complex moral issues that are filled with gray. With Vi's help, she's slowly grown out of her childish "good guys always beat the bad guys" mentality she started with when she became an enforcer.
Because a friend of mine somehow got me aboard this ship.
They have precautions for nightmares of varying degrees.
Usually, it’s Vi springing up from the middle of the bed, soaked in a cold sweat and hands shaking with a need to grab onto something that can ground her. Early on, Caitlyn learned that her reaction to physical contact is unpredictable, and taught Maddie to wait for Vi to seek comfort from them. When she does, she’ll pull one of her girls closer, her arms wrapped snugly around them, and let them lean against her like a weighted blanket until her breathing evens out. She likes to drape Caitlyn’s long limbs over her sides while her head rests on Vi’s shoulder, or bend Maddie at the hips so she can be nestled perfectly in Vi’s lap. If she needs distance, they trust her enough not to ask where she goes or what she does once she returns.
Whenever Caitlyn wakes up to the sound of her own screams, the first thing she wants is a light source, and her shoulders relax the moment she can finally see her girls’ faces in front of her. As soon as her heart stops racing, she's ready to get a head start on her day regardless of the time. While Maddie prepares tea, Vi retrieves Caitlyn’s dream journal from the bottom of her nightstand as a silent option to keep her fear private. It’s rare that any of them divulge the contents of their nightmares, but the other two often stay awake as they watch their girlfriend write about whatever devilish image her mind conjured up. Just in case she needs to say it out loud for once.
Maddie never shows any tell-tale signs of distress when she sleeps. No tossing and turning, no fearful whimpers passing her lips, no fits of restless legs kicking at some invisible monster. She wakes up just as she does every morning, but these days in particular are filled with spaciness. Questions are answered with little more than a blank stare. Tasks are either forgotten before they’re started or abandoned in favor of fidgeting with any random objects within her reach. Fortunately, her girls are patient, and although they never know what gruesome memories resurfaced the night before, they’re happy to stay by her side.
Maddie Nolen Headcanons (Clean-up Crew AU Edition):
She was born in Noxus shortly after the death of her father, who fell in battle on the front lines. Her mother, as she remembers her, was always either sad or stressed, leaving Maddie to wonder if she regretted motherhood. At eight years old, the Noxian government passed a law that would allow children as young as five to be drafted into the military, causing her mother to sneak her onto a freight train headed for Piltover so she could live with her grandparents. When she grew up, she became an enforcer to serve her community, just like her father was praised for.
Under the care of her maternal grandparents, she discovered an affinity for mechanics and medicine, two skills that were essential in Caitlyn’s decision to place her on the strike team and earned her the title “Piltover’s Fix-It Girl”.
Dogs are her favorite animal by a landslide. She adores them, and she’s always ready to gush over them when she sees them on the street.
To Vi’s delight, she’s extremely gullible and will believe just about anything if someone speaks with enough confidence in their voice. As a test, she once asked Maddie to retrieve “a box of salted mushroom seeds”, and it took her two hours, five different stores, and a quizzical look from Steb before Maddie realized it didn’t exist.
Having grown up practicing dance and gymnastics, she’s very flexible, and her agility serves her well both in combat and rescue missions. She likes to freak Loris out with her more intense stretches that pop her joints.
She's also my favorite, so expect to see way more for her in the future.
He was born and raised in Piltover, but lived a double life in Zaun at one point. As a teenager, he went through a rebellious phase that led him to joining a gang operating with the undercity, and he would regularly skip classes at his private school to cause chaos with this group of friends. Eventually, their antics escalated until it crossed a line that finally convinced Loris to abandon the life of petty crime and stay inside the borders of Piltover. Becoming an enforcer was less of a decision on his part and more of a demand from his family as retribution for his misdeeds. In fact, it’s the only thing keeping him in the will.
Despite what most would assume when they look at him, he spends a lot of time in the kitchen. He's found both a thrill in cooking complicated dishes and a quiet joy in the meticulous steps that come from baking. His hands are covered in old burn scars from the countless times he'd grabbed a scalding hot pan out of the oven without mitts, so as to avoid burning the food.
Because of his immense size, he always finds himself in fights when he goes out drinking. Not that he ever starts them, of course, he prefers sitting back and chatting with his friends to getting into brawls off the clock. That doesn’t mean he never hits back, however, especially if someone starts bothering one of his colleagues while he’s around.
He has a bit of a passion for the arts, particularly playing the cello. It’s one of the only topics that he discusses with Caitlyn, as they share an affinity for classical music. With Maddie’s encouragement, he also began writing poetry, though he rarely ever shows her what he’s finished.
Being the most patient member of the team, very little can make Loris genuinely angry, but something that will always make him see red is witnessing violence against a child. He firmly believes that grown men and women who physically attack defenseless children are the most pathetic creatures to walk the planet, and he isn’t afraid to turn the tables and make them experience what it’s like to fight a grown man twice their size.
Media literacy hot take and I’m not sure some of you are ready for it:
if a fictional character is russian and lives during Russia’s military aggression against another country, and the work never addresses their thoughts or position on that war in any way, it automatically reinforces an already existing space where russians are not expected to reflect on the criminal actions of their state or their fellow citizens.
At the same time, it reassures russians — through foreign media — that the world also doesn’t see this as their problem.
If you believe that giving a fictional character a stance on their country’s military invasion "isn’t important", or that “there’s no reason to bring it up” because the story is just about their everyday life, then it’s hard to expect anything more responsible from real people.
“This is just a story about the struggles of an ordinary german dude during World War II — without touching on war or nazism, because he’s just a civilian and his personal life is already difficult” — i hope the analogy speaks for itself.
So please, don’t forget: while fictional films are being made about russians, documentaries are being made about the victims of their country.
Additionally, if you believe the fictional character speaking out against the flaws of their government is inconsistent with the rest of the writing, you have other options to explore.
Human beings will avoid current events if they feel it does nothing but make them miserable.
Human beings will be awkward and uncomfortable when faced with the reality that their country hurts innocent people, regardless of why or how.
Human beings will feel guilty for inaction, and then apathy when the guilt is too much.
Human beings will ignore what's right in front of them, even if they don't agree with what's happening.
Clean-up Crew AU Maddie headcanon to start off the new year:
Zaunites learn pretty quickly that Junior Officer Nolen is the worst choice for a hostage. Yeah, she's short and generally friendly--naive enough to lure into a trap if necessary--but she's also ruthless when given the chance.
She will dislocate her own thumbs to snake her hands out of cuffs, she will slip through shadows without a sound so she can nab a weapon to defend herself, she will utilize her impeccable leg strength to choke out a man on the ground, she will bite off fingers and she will rip out hair if it means she can get away and go back to work.
You can take the girl out of Noxus, but her heart beats to the drum of brutality.
And if she's present when an innocent kid is being held hostage instead? Good luck.
-- 🔧
"You can take the girl out of Noxus, but her heart beats to the drum of brutality." ????
ANON PLEASE LET ME CRAWL INTO YOUR BRAIN AND LIVE THERE
Drop this AU anon, the maddielings need you. The front lines need you, anon. You are designated for so much more than headcanons in someone's inbox. Be free, anon. Create a blog for this and all the other AUs 😼😼
Although he was born into a rather large family, Steb grew up quite isolated. He showed little interest in socializing with his older siblings at home and even less with his peers at school. The one person whose company he enjoyed was a classmate, a fellow vastaya named Paxillus, whom he met when they were ten years old. Unfortunately, Paxillus disappeared a couple years later, rumored to have been taken by a group of violent criminals from Zaun, and Steb decided to pursue a career in justice so that he could protect the vulnerable citizens of Piltover just like the friend he lost.
Ironically, he’s fascinated by the mechanics of language and the many similarities and differences within dialects. He’s fluent in six languages and currently learning a seventh, not counting the few coding languages he is capable of deciphering for work. Loris likes to joke that he should become a hacker if he ever gets bored of being an enforcer.
He is the fastest member of the strike team. With enough of a running start, he can scale walls unencumbered by gravity or glide across a lake like it was nothing but a shallow puddle. He’s even faster underwater, but he has to hold his breath for long periods of time, as his gills aren’t functional like those of his kind.
The man is obsessed with history. If he finds a piece of art in a museum that he likes, he wants to know about the personal history of the artist, the history of the art medium, the history of the ingredients involved in said art medium. Maddie usually takes the lead in their conversations, but when she asks him anything related to history, he won’t stop until he’s run out of relevant information to dump onto her. Vi once made an offhanded comment about how history is always distorted with bias, and he ranted about the frustration that comes from unreliable sources until his face was a deep shade of purple. That incident is still the most she had ever heard him speak.
His favorite pastime is, obviously, reading a good book with a cup of tea. However, he’s recently grown fond of photography, and will take pictures of the extensive amount of graffiti art he finds all over Zaun.
She harbors a lot of guilt for her sister’s actions and consequent death. While she avoids talking about Jinx, she likes to share stories about Powder as she remembers her. And even though it’s hard for her to acknowledge they were the same person, Vi is continuously trying to empathize with fellow Zaunites who struggle with mental illness. She is always afraid of failing someone else like Powder, and creating another Jinx.
Unsurprisingly, Vi had the easiest time adjusting to life in the team’s new headquarters–which is just a converted space that Caitlyn chose because it had a kitchen and working pipes–on the edge of Zaun. She’s used to the lack of privacy and the forced proximity of strangers, but she’ll sometimes be reminded of the years she spent growing up with Vander and her siblings. It doesn’t help that Steb and Maddie act like brother and sister around her.
Her attention span is non-existent outside of fighting. Loris has picked up the habit of crooking his finger in front of her face any time her eyes begin to wander when he or someone else is talking to her. As annoying as it is for her, it’s quite effective at redirecting her focus.
She views the routes she receives for patrol duty as “strong suggestions” rather than direct orders, opting instead to search for trouble on her way to check on the familiar faces she's missed for all those years she was gone. And she's such a danger magnet that it always works.
Being capable of falling asleep anywhere is one of her many talents, so Vi rarely sleeps in her actual bed. Her favorite spot is the small balcony outside of Caitlyn’s master bedroom, where she likes to stargaze until she’s too tired to stand up.
