// HEY! Didnât mean to freak people out with a huge, unannounced disappearance. I am okay. If you follow my other blog, youâll know Iâve done a better job of keeping people updated on what Iâve been doing & why I havenât been around.
But yeah, Iâve been in internship, donât have much time for basically anything. So I keep blipping in & out of existence in terms of RP & I am really sorry about that.
Come May I should be way more active, but as it is right now I am still going to be on a semi-hiatus. Iâll do my best to reply to messages and rp as they crop up, but please be patient with me!
âWell, buyinâ, stealinâ, they all got the same stock anyway.â he pointed out. âA sofa experts gonna have better stock to be pilferinâ from than a grocery store.â
He finished his argument, half for his own satisfaction than to tell her, as he was half aware she probably wasnât listening anyway, as sheâd run ahead and was pointing at what he supposed was the grocery store.
âIâm lookinâ. I see fadinâ signs and folks that look like they could be usinâ assistance from more adept professionals.â he mumbled, eyeing the poverty around them. The compulsion to gather deals was strong- subconsciously, he checked his outfit was sharp and tidy before following her, resting his gaze on the excitable blue haired woman in front of him.
âSo, we goinâ in? Whereâs the entrance?â he asked, yellow eyes struggling to pick out the door among the bright lights. âIt ainât gonna be too bright inside, is it? I hate bright lights.â
His eyes wandered again, forced away from the glowing vision to rest on what could have been a trolley. Looking around somewhat surreptitiously, he threw his tongue out, gripping the trolley and pulling it towards them. It clattered in their direction, coming to a stop before him. There was someone sleeping in it, and he gave a grumbling sigh, looking back towards Jinx.
Jinx actually seemed to be listening to him now, though her eyes were fixed on the entrance as he spoke. When he finished his worried spiel, she leaned forward and slapped a hand upon his muzzle in admonishment.
âQuit yer whininâ! Half the lights in there have gone out and theyâre too lazy to replace the bulbs anyway.â She hopped forward towards the entrance as he dragged the trolly to him. It mightâve been a better idea to sneak in, Fishbones was telling her, but Jinx was never one to avoid a scene.
âWe should get you a pair of sunglasses if youâre so sensitive.â Her eyes rolled over to glance a him, a giggle sticking in her throat. âCould you imagine?â And then she realized a scene had presented itself to her. A dude sleeping in a shopping cart. Amazing.
Wandering over to the side of the thing, she peered down at the sleeping Zaunite. Probably fucked up on some kind of drug, the guy was completely zonked out. âHey, loser! Boogeymanâs here!â Jinx grabbed at the bottom of the cart with two gloved hands and, with a strength that seemed uncanny for a person of her stature, she tipped the thing over with a clatter and a shriek of horror from its occupant.
Tahm felt his mouth twitch up, far more amused by her surprisingly accurate imitation of his manner of speaking than he ought to have been. Her voice was too high, though- understandable, as his vocal chords were most definitely much larger, and low notes came as easy to him as the song of despair.
She seemed to be walking with what looked like it could be pride. He glanced around, suddenly becoming aware that in terms of stares, they were collecting rather a large amount. He looked back to her again, before comprehension dawned in his mind. Well, of course sheâd be proud to walk with the River King. Who wouldnât? He was, and always would be, the classiest, more impressive demon in the entire continent of Valoran.
He wished he had a cane. That would furnish his look perfectly- to glide down the street with nary a care to those enviously watching. He was so lost in such a glorious vision he almost completely missed her question.
âWell, some do, yeah.â he replied, unerring in the face of the tension that was practically hanging in the air between them. âBut if you want a damn nice sofa, then Iâm supposinâ you go to a store that exclusively sells sofas.â
He paused, before sighing.
âThink of it like this; youâd wanna buy a gun from a gun expert, yeah? So yâought buy a sofa from a sofa expert. And there ainât no sofa experts in grocery stores.â he finished, in a matter of fact tone.
Jinx didnât notice his indulgence into his own fantasies, especially because she was rather used to doing this herself. Getting caught up in her own delusions and designs was rather a hobby of hers and so she didnât mind that the king seemed to be fond of doing the same. Instead she busied herself with making faces at anyone she happened to make eye contact with, including a small mouse that she decided was looking at her the wrong way.
Finally she honed in on her companion again, grinning. âWho says Iâd want to buy anything?â she said, intentionally and almost artfully missing the point. âThereâs no fun in that. âOh, excuse me sir! I would like to gift you with this money and purchase this fromest thou!â Sounds like something Fishbutt would say.â She gave an ugly snort.Â
Then, rather unceremoniously and with no forewarning, gave a tiny hop and burst forward, gangly limbs carrying her in a half-run a few steps past Tahm and whirling her around to face him. Her arms were jabbing in the air, fingers pointing at a building a few yards away, rather dilapidated but glowing with lights and fluorescent just the same. âLook!â She said unhelpfully, belts jangling as she bounced around a little ways away from him, gesturing at the grocery store with a flourish. âLoooooook!â
Yet, oddly enough, Viktor felt like Jinx was still putting an unprecedented amount of thought into what she was saying. Something about her tone set it apart from the random tidbits she had been spewing before, and it seemed as if she was finally putting her grand scheme into words.
At this point, he was now convinced more than ever before that Jinx was mad. It was one thing to simply enjoy gruesome, pointless destruction, but it was another thing entirely to justify the madness with something this intricate and preposterous. Could she not tell how outlandish the whole thing was?
He was about to bring it up, but a bothersome little thought made him initially hold his tongue. People had talked about his very own ideas in the same way he was now describing Jinxâs. Of course, the two were entirely different: while she was destructively insane, he simply had brilliant foresight that had yet to be appreciated. Why, he was too logical to be insane, he told himself. Much too reasonable indeed. Â He was nothing like her and never would be!
âThen why do you think sheâs fighting you? It makes little sense,â Viktor laid out plainly as he began to lead the way again. Although he was quite convinced of his own rationality, he still couldnât help but hold himself back from lambasting her suggestion further.
Jinx responded with a long hum, almost as though trying to drown him out. It was partially true, her brain moving so quickly and fervently that any other noise- including the suddenly grating sound of his voice- was merely a distraction to the massive explosion of ideas and explanations that roared through her head. Rather rudely, she continued this sound for a long moment, almost as though she hadnât heard him.
Then she jumped, her grin widening and her mouth gaping open strangely as she turned to look at him. Her face indicated that she was prepared to supply him with an answer, but it was possible that so many words were trying to escape that itâd created a blockage.
Finally, a the words began to choke out. It was a tad halting at first, but she seemed to find her usual flow after a moment.Â
âItâs like a metaphor!â she said happily, not caring whether he viewed her ideas as valid or even important. âLike yâknow when you gotta fight yourself not to eat that last cupcake but you knoooow youâre gonna do it anyway âcos deep down thatâs what you really want. Or when youâre like hmm, maybe I wonât shoot this guy in the toes just to watch âim dance but like you do because thatâs what you wanna see!âÂ
She was looking at him expectantly. She thought sheâd laid it out for him rather clearly. âLike. She fights me but she knows deep down whatâs really gonna happen! Thatâs why her effort is so half-assed.âÂ
trigger warnings apply!
( mental illness, drugs and alcohol use, self-destructive behaviours, and vomiting )
âYou havenât slept for days, have you?â
âAre you eating properly? You donât look it.â
âWhy do you keep stumbling over your words? Just how tired are you?â
âYou need to think about yourself every once in a while.â
âI know your work is important, but youâre going to end up in hospital if you go on like this!â
âYou havenât even touched your food. Whatâs going on?â
âYou look so⊠empty. Iâm worried for you, please talk to me.â
âAre you alright in there? Youâre so quiet.â
âHow did you get these bruises? Please donât lie to me.â
âThereâs something bothering you that youâre not telling me and I can see it slowly destroying you. What happened?â
âYouâre sleep deprived and you havenât been eating. Why do you think youâre feeling dizzy?â
âI can give you some pills to help you sleep. They arenât healthy, but this is even less healthy.â
âIf you didnât just blink I wouldâve sworn you were dead, thatâs how sickly youâre looking. Go to bed, please!â
âHave you drank all of these bottles in one weekend?!â
âI know you donât want this, but itâs for your own good. Sign the papers so they can pick you up tomorrow and you can get clean.â
âWhat the hell are you doing?! Did you do that to yourself?!â
âWhen was the last time you left the house? Or opened the curtains for that matter.â
âHere, just keep breathing. Itâll be okay. Better out than inâŠâ
âThis canât go on like this! Youâre not eating, youâre not sleeping, you barely talk!â
âIâm sorry. I went through your room and found this. Explain what the hell this is doing in your room!â
âI thought youâd quit! How long have you been lying to me?â
âIâm only trying to help and right now I think I have a much better idea of what you need than you do.â
âDid you take anything? Why are you passing out? Hey! Stay with me!â
It was the hesitance before his reply that set her on edge. If heâd just kept talking about his devices or his science-y stuff she probably wouldâve remained pretty pleased that she seemed to have her old friend back. Her usually obsessive mind had quieted, failing to remind her every few seconds that he had abandoned her left her to die thought he had a noble fuckinâ cause- whether any of that was true or untrue. The whispers started up again as he started in on his very risky speech, but she did her best to hone in to listen, and to listen honestly.
She was trying not to look at him as he spoke, and parts of her brain were trying desperately to drown him out. This, she didnât want to hear. Sheâd spent many nights thinking about what might happen if the two had the luck of running into one another again, and each time her brain had dismissed the reality where he had begged for her forgiveness. While that wasnât what he was doing, it dipped dangerously close in her eyes, especially since he acknowledged so many of the faults she had pinned to him, whether fairly or unfairly.Â
Opening and closing her mouth a few times during his words, Jinx could only settle on a somewhat stunned silence as he presented his case for her. That she continued walking alongside him was promising- clearly he had chosen his words pretty carefully because she hadnât wandered off. Or zapped him.
âThat was a pretty good speech,â she said when he had finished, sounding uncharacteristically placid. She wasnât blowing him off. She wasnât responding, either. It seemed very clear from the look of consternation on her face that she was desperately trying to merely process the situation.
Finally, over the silence broken only by their footsteps, she released a breathy laugh, one that built into a genuine one, ringing throughout the city around them. Whether from relief or mania was unsure, but the grin on her face had lost the hints of malice itâd carried when sheâd first seen him. This carried on for a good long moment, which anyone who was a companion of Jinxâs had to be used to.
âReally?â Her voice almost cracked with relief and she hid it with a cough. They had reached his apartment by the time she had composed herself long enough to respond. âAlright, well, we got that straight at least. You canât control what I do, ok? I want you around âcos I think youâre a lotta good fun, that was until you started lookinâ at me funny. You know what Iâm talkinâ about too, I know you do. But, like, if youâre over that then you gotta stick around. I got so many more tricks up my sleeves that I wanna show ya! Well. I donât have sleeves. But you know.â
Seeming rather pleased with herself, she watched him disarm his front door with a sort of bouncy patience. She ducked dutifully out of the way of the shotgun, lifting a slender finger to tap its barrel gently, almost lovingly as she looked up at it. Grinning at him now, she practically bounced into his home, kicking off her oversized boots haphazardly and leaving them at the door. Pow-Pow she dropped off as well, though naturally Fishbones accompanied her to the couch. Jinx plopped down upon it rather unceremoniously.
She hadnât forgotten their purpose in coming there, but clearly she was reinvigorated by their apparently re-spawning friendship. âMan, Fishbones is totally jealous of this place! Heâs always tellinâ me to put, like, yâknow... Furniture in our apartment!â She said it like it was a curse word, looking at Fishbones as she lay him across her lap.Â
Shifting her body around rather comedically as though to try and find the most perfect and comfy spot for her butt, she glanced up at Ekko with that signature grin plastered across her face. âI know you arenât gonna wanna suddenly blow shit up with me or anything, but Iâm tellinâ ya we can still pull pranks and do lotsa fun stuff. Back in business!â There was a touch of panic in her chest that told her she was toxic, that heâd run again like he had before she could contaminate him again. She covered this with her excitement, pointing Fishbones at her friend, mimicking the launcherâs maw of a smile as though to indicate their united pleasure at having reunited with Ekko.
âMm?â Jinx looked amused as the yordle barreled towards her, a wide grin on her features at the familiar face. âWhere was I when? Same places I always was. And am. Iâm always where I am. And youâre where I am too! Uh. Wait. I think I confused myself.â
âFollow meâ he walked to the door, tried to open the door but it was locked âdo you lock the door for Vi?â He smiled and searched for a key âwhere is that key?â
âA key?â She stared at him blankly, a queer little smile on her face. She tilted her head, staring at the lock in question. âUh. What key?â
Jax mad an unhappy grunt when she called him a ninja.
âKid, Iâm not a ninja. Never been one, never will be.â The girl was starting to test his patience. There was something about her that irked Jax - her constant fidgeting eerily reminded him of a rabid fox.
He was saved from making up an excuse by the toll of the bell as the sound lazily drifted through the smog.
âI can miss my train for a start.â He smoothly stood up, picked up the lamppost playfully tossed the helmet in the air before catching it again. âWell, it was fancy talking to you. Go home, kid, before someone starts to miss you.â
It seemed to take Jinx a moment to process that he was getting up to leave, and in response she scrambled to her feet as well, a gangling mess of limbs and clanking guns. Whether she intended on following him or not was unsure, but she grinned at him through the tangled mess of blue hair that fell into her face, otherwise unmoving.
Her eyes followed as he tossed the helmet in the air, briefly considering snatching it from him and running. No real reason why she felt she should, just that the impulse was there. He caught it and it passed. Her fingers drummed against her thigh.Â
Suddenly she was snorting with laughter again, a low sound at first that climaxed in an irritatingly high giggle. âYouâre funny!â She told him, with a tilt of her head. She looked genuinely amused. âHome. Thatâs funny!â
Tahm turned to look at her as she spoke, muttering dejectedly as she continued, shaking his head and giving the next person who passed a dirty look for good measure. It always made him feel better to be mean- that was just who he was.
âExcuse me for wantinâ somethinâ a little more substantial than a pile of blankets to rest my weary self on.â he murmered under his breath, surreptitiously rolling his eyes before speaking up.
âWhat do folks usually buy? Well, weâre gonna be needinâ ingredients to be cookinâ a practical banquet of meals, so beinâ our resident hobbyist chef Iâm thinkinâ I ought to be in charge of findinâ that. I sâpose weâll be needinâ things for dessert too, so I guess you might get to do that.â he continued cautiously. âWould you be up for that task, child?â
He dreaded what the answer would be. Sweets and chocolate and nothing good for his teeth. At least they replaced themselves, he reasoned.
Giving Jinx a sideways look, he wondered how many teeth she had. She didnât strike him as the type to religiously clean her teeth, and what with the diet⊠Well, humans didnât regrow their teeth, and many seemed to like putting carved pieces of material that looked like their teeth there instead.  It was a silly system- they should have just evolved teeth like his.
âAnd anyway, this is all assuminâ this grocery store sells everythinâ we need. I ainât ever been to a grocery store that sells sofas too, so Iâm thinkinâ we may need some kind of a detour.â
Jinx issued a low hum as they went, apparently pleased that something as mundane as grocery shopping was turning out to be a pretty fun activity after all. Granted, Jinx couldnât remember a time where she had ever legitimately gone out to a grocery store with the intention of getting real food and therefore had nothing to compare it to, but she supposed this was about as fun as it could get. Who else could boast that a demon king accompanied them to get dinner?
She ignored the tone in his voice because the fact that he had agreed to come along with her and was still at her side told her that he couldnât be too grumpy about things.Â
âRight, you can be in charge of the boring food, and Iâll get the sweets!â She mocked his voice then, as though to indicate him as a true gastronome as she said, âYes, the delicate flavors of a sugar rush is what Iâll be providinâ!â
Bursting into a sharp little giggle she murmured, as though to herself, âThat sounded just like you.â
They were getting closer to the store, the streets widening and the populous of homeless Zaunites increasing. They gathered strange leers and stares, but Jinx seemed to be used to this and even puffed up in pride. This time she was walking around with Tahm fuckinâ Kench. And sure, she didnât quite understand or care about the implications or notions behind that, but she was sure it looked pretty frigginâ impressive.Â
Though his comment seemed to have left her confused. She tilted her head at him curiously, staring at him through slits as though not quite believing what he was saying. âThe heck do you mean?â She accused him, seemingly out of the blue. She tried to inject as much tension into the air before saying, âI thought grocery stores sold everything.â
League of Legends Fan art - Tahm Kench Retreat!! - I started playing some LoL recently. Itâs actually a lot of fun learning and playing the game with my friend. Also a great way to release the stress from day to day work! I play a lot of Tahm Kench support (also gangplank!). Moment like this are my absolute favorite, running in and saving teammate out of danger. That is why I wanted to do this piece, to capture that fun epic moment. haha
âMm?â Jinx looked amused as the yordle barreled towards her, a wide grin on her features at the familiar face. âWhere was I when? Same places I always was. And am. Iâm always where I am. And youâre where I am too! Uh. Wait. I think I confused myself.â
He looked confused at her âyou arenât the best only one confusedâ he shaked his head âbut I havenât heard any explosions last weekâ he smiled âmaybe we should blow something upâ
That was unusuallyâŠdeepâŠfor the blue-haired gunner. Before today, he hadnât thought her capable of more than useless babbling and absolute destruction. Now, she had surprised him not once, but twice with her unprecedented insight. Maybe below all of the craziness there actually was an acute young woman. The thought of this felt strange to Viktor, although not inconceivable.
Still, Viktor didnât see the sense or wisdom in Jinxâs penchant for uncontrolled chaos. The only way the world could proceed by was strict order. By that logic, he should not have been as apathetic as he was when she announced her plans. But truth be told, he had little interest in vouching for Piltover at the moment. Let its âDefenderâ do that.
âSo youâll antagonize them even more? To what end will that take you if they do catch you?â he still felt compelled to question. He was a bit curious to hear her thoughts on the prospect, if only to get another glimpse into her frame of mind.
It was true that Jinx generally reserved her more thought-provoking comments for her own ears or even Fishbonesâ, but something about the topic of conversation had set her into a rare sort of mood. It used to be that when she talked of theories like this or shared her delusions with others that sheâd get a meager nod or a wary grin in reply.Â
Something about Viktorâs reaction told her she might be onto something though, and so she desperately tried to cling to it. Even if he didnât agree with her means, perhaps heâd agree with her ends.
âTheyâre not gonna catch me,â she said this with an uncharacteristic lucidity in her voice. âI just told you. They donât want to. Fathands doesnât wanna catch me because if she does, sheâs afraid Iâll talk some sense into her. âCos she knows sheâs on the wrong side.â
Jinx was practically bouncing now, though there was still a strange clarity to her words, as though sheâd just solved Zaunite hunger. Her delusions were spoken fast and true, it was clear thereâd be no questioning her. âTo get her there though we gotta tear down Lametover. See? Doesnât it all make sense? She ainât gonna stop me âcos she doesnât wanna. She wants to see it torn down too.â
