#Viktor will not give up until Silco takes him with him to Piltover

[goddessofroyalty]

While I tagged the childhood friends Jayvik ask with Zaun Family it's probably not the version of the verse where Silco gets Zaun Representive.

Because tiny!Jayce is determined enough that he would get over his fear of the big scary Zaun Representative and give Silco letters he's written to Viktor (he figures they can at the very least stay penpals right?). And then Silco, who will ultimately buckle to his children if they are annoying enough, has Viktor begging him to take him to Piltover with him one day so he can see Jayce again.

[jayktoralldaylong]

One of my favourite things about Arcane is that all the couples can be read as toxic, which is GREAT.

I'm tired of people bringing morality debates into dark media. Let dark media be fucking dark. You guys wouldn't survive a day in the TMA fandom, needing everyone to be as good as gold. How are they going to make for enjoyable complex characters if they're not morally grey. In fact, I wish there'd been more expansion on just how morally black they can become!

"CaitVi is so toxic" According to lesbian statistics, that sounds just about accurate. 💀 Heck, I wish Caitlyn had done more (Not really, but it would have been nice to further explore the darkness in her heart). Isn't it adorable how she immediately folded as soon as Vi called her cupcake? Caitlyn's like one of those villains that will consistently do the most....until it comes to someone else hurting her girlfriend. The only one allowed to hurt her girlfriend is her. 💀

Then let's talk about Vi. Someone pointed out how Vi never cared about Zaun's independence in the first place and many people yelled that they were wrong. But actually, they were right. Vi never wanted Zaun. Zaun was Silco's dream, and Jinx inherited that dream cause Silco would never shut up about it. Vi wanted Piltover to take responsibility for all the shit they allowed to happen in the Undercity. That's a part of the reason she joined up with Caitlyn in the first place. Let's not forget she wasn't dissuaded when she dragged Jayce down to fight with her and he killed a child. Children been dying, it's been her whole life. Someone needed to do something about it, and Zaun would have just isolated the people from all the privileges that Piltover SHOULD have been providing for them. Some people just can't accept that Independence cannot in fact solve every problem, and sometimes independence is colonisers running away from the responsibility of fixing the mess that they started in the first place.

Besides, we all know Vi joined up with the Enforcers because "I feel like I am worthless if I can't be of service." She'd already run out of family members to serve, Caitlyn was the next best thing. She's just like Jayce.

And speaking of Jayce, let's talk about his violent levels of codependency with anyone who'll give him attention. People LOOOOVE to talk about Mel, but it's there with Viktor too. When bro wasn't basing his worth on his inventions, he was centering it around Viktor.

Viktor who decided at some point in his life that he would not LIVE without Jayce. He was fine dying without him, but living without him was unacceptable. Oh how healthy. 🙄😂 Viktor be the kind of toxic ex to threaten divorce 500 times over, then burn the world when you actually leave him. Jayce is no better cause he's the kind of guy to keep going back to his toxic Ex.

Yes, Mel is manipulative. That's what I love about her. How are you guys failing to give this woman the praise of being an outsider in Piltover, but running their entire council. 💀 Girl raises her hand once and the whole government starts spinning. She was the best sugar mummy Jayce and Viktor could ever ask for. She kept the whole city running. Literally the entire of Piltover dancing on her palm. And yes she manipulated Jayce but let's not forget she thought that was a love language. 💀 You wanna be mad at someone, be mad at Ambessa for raising her that way.

I also don't think it's fair to blame her for the Undercity situation, she's not native. Monkey see, monkey do, and not a single one of those Council members actually cared about the situation down there, it was deplorable. 💀 Jayce did way more in his two weeks as Councillor than any of those drug pushing, money laundering, Piltovian heads of government.

And that just covers MelJayVik, we don't even need to get fully into TimeBomb, cause we know what's wrong there. 💀 Surely we have not forgotten the many teammates Jinx has killed, but making sure to never kill Ekko cause that's her man. Ekko has a lot to unpack, like how his consistent and unwavering love for Jinx is an indication of a lot of doors he might not be ready to open. I know they dynamics go crazy and I love to see it.

Ambessa and Sevika are a crack ship but I'm sure we all know bedroom dynamics go crazy with Mrs. Warlord and Miss Liberation. I love it when characters clash in a toxic heap. It's insane and should be explored.

Quit saintifying my toxic ships with your woke morality debates. If you want everyone to be sunshine and rainbows then you should be watching literally anything else. 💀 "It's not healthy." GOOD, I like it that way. 💀 Angst, spice and trauma are the recipe for a plethora of explorative fanfiction. Any of their dynamics can be taken in any toxic direction and I want that EXPLORED.

[sapphiresaphics]

Having spent time now with the full series I still don’t feel the pacing issues other people seemed to have with it.

I get that as the episodes are releasing and we only have 3 a week and don’t have the full picture of what they’re planning it can be really easy to feel lost and confused.

But now knowing where they were going, a lot of those supposed “rushed plot lines” people were complaining about make sense. The importance of the Black Rose stuff now makes sense because it’s Ambessa’s entire motivation for why she’s doing the things she’s doing. It makes sense to take Ekko and Jayce out of the plot briefly when they visit the hexcore cuz that forces Ambessa to side with Singe. It makes sense why the Warwick stuff was being set up because that ended up being the catalyst to propel Viktor into being the Machine Herald.

Also, it makes sense now why Piltover and Zaun played such an important role in being the stage for where THIS story was set. I get people wanted the show to be more about the inequality, but the inequality was always just the set dressing for the main characters to be in and was never the central focus of the show. Not even back in season 1.

Like back in season 1 the inequality helped explain the characters motivations, but the central core message the story was telling was how people compromised their morals with good intentions only to achieve terrible results.

Jayce built Hextech to help the undercity and he ends up using it against them. Viktor obsesses so much over fixing his disease that he compromises and takes shimmer and in the process Sky dies. Silco dreams of a free Zaun, but it results in him essentially becoming a drug lord and harming the people of Zaun more than helping them. Caitlyn breaks Vi out of prison to help her hunt down Jinx, and in the process of having Vi return into her life inadvertently causes Jinx to double down and attack the Piltover council.

Inequality was a setting and a backdrop, but the show was never focused on resolving or exploring those issues much deeper than it was.

Also, about that pacing.. have you guys gone back and rewatched Season 1? The first 2 episodes are pretty chill with the pacing, but episode 3 goes crazy. And so does episode 4 and 5 and 6… like the pacing gets wilder and wilder as the season goes on until towards the end we are jumping from Silco reeling from nearly getting killed by Sevika to having a friendly discussion with Jayce on the bridge to being captured by Jinx. It’s FAST guys. Breakneck speed.

I will also say that rewatching season 1 gives me an appreciation for a lot of the parallels they had in season 2 that I missed. Things like “Remember Me” being the theme to when Vander attacks Silco back in season 1. Or like how when AU Powder appears on the dance floor with Ekko mirrors how Jinx approached him on the bridge in Season 1 Episode 7. Or how Jayce and Viktor invented Hextech floating up on the ceiling, and the series ends with the two floating in the ethereal plane together.

I maintain that a lot of these criticisms about season 2’s pacing are not as bad as some people think they are once you take the whole series together as a whole. Without that 3 year gap or the wait between episode drops, the whole series blends together much more seamlessly.

And then there’s like… season 2 episode 7? That episode stops all the forward momentum and resets our expectations. It provides us with context for some of the stuff we had seen and helps us understand the stakes going forward. When people are complaining the series is going by too fast I just can’t agree because that episode exists and it literally stops us in our tracks before ramping up again.

I understand that some side characters outside the central 7-8 mains weren’t fully developed much and that is definitely a valid criticism of the show… however I would also remind people that season 1 had a similar problem. Grayson was a fascinating character I wish I knew more about, but outside of a small cameo in episode 5 she’s just gone out of the series forever and nobody brings her up again ever. We never learn much about Huck. We never learn what happened to Clagger and Mylo’s parents. We never learn anything about Finn and what he did. We never learn more about the robot council member or the woman who has a clock on her neck. There are a LOT of characters who just never come back at all in season 1.

I dunno guys.. the more I digest this series the more many of the criticisms feel unfounded or a real reach for something to complain about.

[q8qwertyuiop8p]

My thoughts on season 2 Act one-

Overall: Not as good as season one for sure, but still pretty good. Needs more silco. Too fast paced, but good music, loved the Hellfire scene and Vi/Jinx fight, plus Viktor went biblical and lost his manhood. Magic stuff too confusing with not enough buildup in season 1 and parallels way too obvious.

Now more specifically.

Screw Heimerdinger. Screw Smeech. Screw Renni. And guess what? I'm going to say it.

Yes

Screw Vi.

We were in such denial with her being an Enforcer, we convinced ourselves she was lying to Cait about giving up on Jinx just to protect her. I was really surprised that she genuinely turned on Jinx. I think Vi would have killed Jinx if it weren't for Isha. I'm not going to pretend like Vi was totally wrong, totally evil- Jinx did kill everyone, so I can see why Vi would give up on her. But personally I cannot forgive Vi this, so it was pretty disappointing seeing her take a complete 180 and hate Jinx like that. Also not fond of Cait, and it actually seems like she's to be a major villian now.

Heimerdinger better die, I'm so done with him. He seemed to get better in s1 act 3 but no. He is still annoying and has too much screentime in season 2.

Smeech is somehow even worse, my new least favorite character. He has a cool design visually but I'm glad he died so soon. Same with Renni, seriously launching an attack on Piltover, escalating tensions like that, because the one guy killed your son?

I'll miss the flashbacks we had at the beginning of the episodes in s1. The new intro was alright, it felt less interesting than the season one intro to me.

Jayce has too much screentime, the way he doesn't realize viktor was naked until after he hugs him was a little questionable, but it's OK because we find out later that the hexcore stole Viktor's privates. The JayVik breakup was very rushed, disappointing, and unclimactic, jayce acts like it didn't even happen. The Viktor in Zaun scenes felt like I was watching an animated version of the Bible, I'm not sure how Viktor knew that touching huck, who I thought (and wished) died in episode 6 would do that, but manhood or not, I think viktor has become hotter.

The leblanc thing was cool, but incredibly random and confusing, and I even knew a little about leblanc beforehand. There was literally zero buildup for this not just in season 1, but even in season 2 before all this happened. The Arcane in general was practically absent in season one besides the mage and hexcore, and then is suddenly thrown in our face in season two, which I thing contributed to the feeling of things being too fast-paced.

I'm mad we have not yet seen a silco hallucination. We better get one. The scene with Jinx letting him go was heartbreaking, but the way they kept flashing back to his death and baptism scene was incredibly annoying. We get it, this is a parallel to that, no one is thinking otherwise. In season one the parallels were nice and subtle, you don't even realize until looking deeper and it's a nice treat, but that is no longer the case. And then as he sinks we hear him say "have you had enough?" Again, we get it. We know what that is a parallel of.

I'm confused as to how singed just got up, went to the snowy place, found and killed a murk wolf, dragged it all the way back to his lair, and hoisted it up singlehandedly. Also confused about how literally everyone knows silco is dead already. Did jinx tell everyone? Did she admit that she killed him to sevika? Why doesn't sevika see jinx as a traitor?

[amummy]

I have some Arc*ne thoughts but i’m always afraid to voice my option online so i’ll put it under a cut

I like Arcane which is why I feel so frustrated by the writing of season 2. This will be a LOT of rambling with no content structure as a warning.

For example. Amanda Overton out here saying that Sky was the only person who understood Viktor. I’m not saying this with shipping goggles on when I say that Sky was barely a character. She may of understood Viktor but Viktor didn’t know her. He only knew her through his guilt of her death. And even then she felt oddly inserted into scenes when Viktor was exploring the Arcane. This isn’t Sky hate… it’s just that her entire role in the story is to make Viktor feel bad.

In the same breath i feel similarly about Isha and literally any of the child characters that aren’t the main cast. None of them have lines and all of them are employed to be a short cut for emotional weight and attachment. Yes, Isha was mute I know that and It is nice to see the representation. But her entire purpose in the storyline is to give Jinx a chance to heal and take that away from her.

And that’s another frustration I had was Jinx was a great character but reading an interview with fucking Christian Linke (fuck that guy) and Amanda Overton it seems like they had made it so that no matter what happens Jinx’s ENTIRE storyline is that she is a Jinx. That she’s not allowed to be happy because she will just ‘Jinx it’. They boiled down her entire story to her being unlucky and making everyone around her miserable. Riveting. No healing to be had. Because characters aren’t allowed to move on or have redemption I guess.

Back to Viktor. Ignoring my frustration with how disability is handled in the show, his entire plot in Season 2 made me angry(affectionate?). He had so little agency in almost every scene he was in. He was brought back from death TWICE without his consent(once by Jayce, second by Singed). He left the lab and seemed to follow the Hexcores guidance. When he healed Huck his hand seemed to puppet itself to do it. This isn’t to say he didn’t make his own choices after that for a time. Him healing people because it felt right to him was very much his choice. Him trying to save Vander’s humanity was his choice.

Jayce killing him then made him spur into a sad monologue about human nature. And from there i feel like the through line to villain hood was fast tracked and given literally no time to breathe.

A big part of why the league fans of Viktor liked him was his self modification. His experimentation with his body. Yes that happened in the story but only until a point. Him being fused with the hexcore was NOT his choice which flavors the whole interaction. I’m not saying he’s morally better or worse than the League version, because the LOL one took away free will as well. But all the build up in season 1 lead to a very weird escalation in season 2.

Mel’s plot while good in a microcosm was incredible shoehorned in and wasn’t necessary at all in the overarching plot. Ambessa acted pretty nonsensical in act 3 imho. She was very smart through out the show but her invading Piltover seemed blatantly dumb even with Viktor’s power.

Caitlyn… oh Caitlyn. Her plot while natural, completely undid ALL the development she has in season 1. I don’t think it was BAD to say how she was written, what was bad was how all her war crimes were swept under the rug in the end. And that dumb sex scene in the jail cell. Sorry I know people liked it but for me it felt wildly out of place for where it was placed.

Don’t even get me started on the class war that got shoved under the rug. The antisemetic language Linke used for Zaunites. How in act 3 Sevika doesn’t get a speaking line and is on the council as if that was ever a thing she would have accepted.

My favorite characters have always been Silco, Viktor and Jinx. So i guess in the Silco department I won. But ugh.

I’m not saying I was expecting a happy ending. But it was incredibly french to have an ending where literally everyone died but the lesbians p much.

I don’t know where i was going with this. I guess it’s hard to tell i really love arcane from the complaints but I truly do. I complain BECAUSE I care.

[animentality]

I just realized what's been bothering me about arcane.

Arcane was more focused on making gorgeous visuals than developing its characters and the story.

Which is fine and all, but simply not to my taste.

The first quarter was fine. You do get a lot of decent world building and development of the kid characters in the first 3 episodes.

Tbh, I think the first quarter of arcane is the best, because it's very personal, it's subdued, it shows restraint. Its pacing is better.

It has a lot of raw emotions and builds up the under city and Piltover pretty well.

You really get that these kids are traumatized and living in a bad situation. You see how intergenerational class divisions have really made conditions horrible, and all that stuff is brilliant.

then the time skip happens, and while vi and jinx have decent build up, everyone else...

I mean.

Jayce is the worst offender. He really takes way too long to be... not an asshole, and he's still an asshole. Viktor has an interesting plot but the problem is that they never focus on him much. He basically is dying every episode and it only matters when he finally goes to Singed to get Shimmer.

But that could've happened way sooner. And they needed to actually develop Jayce and Viktor's friendship more. They also introduce the idea that Jayce is prejudiced against the Zaunites, but then do nothing about it until Jayce decides at the last second that Viktor is cool actually and takes him to talk to the council.

Caitlyn at least has a better development but it takes soooo long for her to meet Vi and become interesting.

They develop a lot of side characters who ultimately don't matter, like Sevika.

and of course, the most damning thing is the pacing.

We have so much of Silco doing basically nothing for long stretches except get criticized for letting jinx go wild.

Jayce is usually doing boring council stuff.

So much of what happens at the very end could've happened at literally any time during the story, which is never a good thing.

So a lot of arcane looked pretty but lacked emotional weight because it wasn't focusing on characters we actually like, or was determined to make us watch a music video instead of giving us quiet moments that develop the characters.

Way too many random side characters also get introduced because arcane just didn't want to develop its main cast.

[runes-menagerie]

Sky knew this was likely a bit of a wake up call for Jayce since he hadn't been there for her first steps in becoming what she was now. He hadn't seen her scared and alone as she came to terms with what had happened to her. He hadn't seen her first fumbling experiments in manipulating the power of the Hexcore, her power now. In the year since her death since had accepted who and what she was now. She had made that power truly hers.

She was a mage but she was also still herself. Her affinities lay in helping and supporting others just as they always had. Her skillset might have changed but her role, her core hadn't. She was still an assistant. Still caring for and looking after others. Right now, her boys needed that and she would be there for them, just as she had from the beginning.

"He'll be alright. He's just resting. I'm watching over his dreams to ensure there are no nightmares and he can truly rest." She said with a loving smile for the man in her arms. Her hold on Viktor was secure and comfortable, he wasn't going anywhere.

Once in Jayce's mind, Sky stayed by his side. She never changed anything herself. Every change was by his own hand. She simply kept the pain from overwhelming him and reminded him that he wasn't alone in this.

At first she paused between each attempt, giving him time to recover and gather his strength. She held him much the same way she held Viktor, letting Jayce feel the pulse of energy that served as her heartbeat within the Arcane and not moving on until he was ready.

When they came to the memories of running from the machines and falling, she showed him how to slow the memory down so that he could process it bit by bit and really examine what had been going on at the time in a way he wouldn't have been able to while living through the event.

Finally the memory of the first life he had taken.

"(We can't know for sure Jayce. The Undercity has been itching for a reason to go after Piltover for a long time. This boy isn't the first that's been lost. Many of the addicts we helped in the early days of the commune became that way to deal with the grief of losing a loved one.)" Sky replied calmly while kneeling beside him to rest one hand on his shoulder and the other on the boy's forehead. "(Even had he lived, she may have still been part of the attack. Or if not her then another would have stepped up. She was but one of a group that ruled the Undercity under Silco.")

"(That said, taking a life is never easy and you never forget it.)" She continued, her words holding the weight of experience. She moved her hand from Jayce's shoulder to his head before sharing a few of her memories with him.

The first was of her as a teen, running through the narrow streets of the Undercity from a much larger man, ending up at a dead end and being forced to use the deadly herb mixtures she carried in order to protect herself. Second came her a bit older, working in a barely functional clinic. Her patient was one of many who had been hurt in a cave in. His body was largely crushed and nothing more could be done for him. She helped him to drink a potent sleeping medicine, killing him as a mercy. Finally, her as an adult in Piltover. Walking home late from the lab, being approached by a drunk Enforcer and having to fight him off. Him falling and hitting his head in the struggle while she ran, afraid there were more such men around.

"(I understand Jayce. You didn't kill out of rage or malice. You wanted to protect your home, your loved ones. Let this boy's death be a lesson to help you move forward, not a shackle to hold you back.)" She said when the memories ended, looking at Jayce with an expression full of understanding and compassion.

 Jayce pulled back the reigns on his emotions with her explanation. A healer and protector. A guardian and guide. She felt so much different right now. This was more than he’d ever thought she was capable of, and he felt stupid for ever having overlooked her. She truly was a powerful mage, and her skills were being put to good use, now that he understood what the goal of the commune was. He spared Viktor a quick glance, just to make sure he was okay, and reached down to gently stroke the back of his neck and shoulder.

 Once he was sure his partner was safe and sound in her hold, he opened himself up to her as well. His forehead came to touch hers, and he let his eyes close. She began her work. It was like all the weight pressing on his shoulders was relieved by her support. He slipped into his own mind, where things felt like broken glass and jagged, rusty metal, but the pain was dulled by her protection. It was enough for him to actually be able to understand what had happened to him.

 Piece by piece, they tackled his memories and emotions together. She would guide him toward the heart of the problem, and he would unravel it. At first, it was like handling thorns and brambles, but the more he worked at it, the more it felt like untangling silk ribbons, or washing away dirt and grime to reveal pristine steel. Some memories were more difficult than others. The memory of running from the machines and falling into the crevasse was terrifying, but the memory of killing Rennie’s son was the most gut-wrenching of them all.

 He stood in the memory, over the wavering image of the boy’s cold, dead body. Kneeling down, his face contorted into a tight sob as he lifted the body up and held it close to his chest. “(I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…)” He knew Sky was with him, protecting him from the pain, but this was something he needed to feel through. Brass irises shifted to look up at her, then down at the blurry image of the boy in his arms. “(If I hadn’t taken him from her, she never would have attacked the memorial. He would still be alive, and loved.)” His lip quivered when he said the last word.

[goddessofroyalty]

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS JAYVIK!!CHILDHOOD FRIENDS JAYVIK!! CHILDHOOD FRIENDS JAYVIK!!

I saw some cool art and now its your problem!!

(Not really, i hope im not bothering you)

By some circunstances baby Jace post show storm ends up in the last drop. Maybe he was kidnapped, maybe he got lost, you choose.

Zaundads have to take care of him while the find out how to send him home.

He and Viktor become best friends and promise to meet again in the academy.

Years later they meet again, Viktor isnt sure he will remember him but this himbo just screams "VIKTOR!" and hugs him in front of everyone because he doesn't give a single fuck.

He tells him about his hextech odea much earlier and they go to Silco. Jayce is still a bit scared but this was the guy who saved his ass when he was a child. Much to Silco's dismay.

Vander juat laugh in the background until Jayvik start helping her with her inventions...

(Never bothering me when sending me fun ideas)

The idea of them meeting up as children is such a cute one. Just the two boys being nerdy and sweet and getting so excited because they think the other is just the coolest and want to share all their things.

It is a bit funny the idea of Vanco not knowing how to send Jayce home considering Piltover is probably like an hour away and Jayce is old enough he should generally know where he lives. But maybe the Snowstorm is blowing over the two cities as well and it's bad enough to be "stay inside unless you absolutely have to go out" conditions and bad enough that they're not risking a trip over the bridge when the kid is safe enough inside the Last Drop with them.

Poor Ximena is so stressed about her missing son and meanwhile Jayce is having a great time with his new best friend Viktor who is showing Jayce the cool boat he built all by himself and how the taps in the Last Drop work.

Viktor telling Jayce (very quietly where Viktor's parents can't overhear) that he plans on going to the Academy in Piltover one day. Confessing that he's kind of nervous, not that he doesn't think he isn't smart enough but because he doesn't know anyone in Piltover. Jayce very excitedly correcting him about how he does know at least one person in Piltover now - Jayce. They will meet up once they both make it to the Academy and then Jayce can show Viktor his family's forge and the things he's working on.

The weather clears and Jayce is returned home and Viktor forces himself to forget the promise as he gets older. It was made by an over-excited child afterall. Jayce will surely have made other friends by now and won't want to be associated with someone from the Undercity. Which is fine - Viktor isn't going to the Academy to make friends he's going to learn so he can build the things Zaun needs.

And then he gets nearly bowled over by a fit goldern-skinned himbo as soon as he gets with Jayce's sight. Because Jayce is so excited to see him again (he did ask his mother if he could visit the boy in the Undercity but Ximena wasn't keen on travelling down there so he instead he had to wait all the years for Viktor to get to the academy).

Jayce absolutely shows Viktor his Hextech idea (only fair seeing Viktor showed him his boat all those years ago). And things progress a bit faster than they do in canon partially because Viktor's brains are involved as well but also because Jayce doesn't have go to through all the possibilities in Piltover before turning to Zaun for the (probably illegal) pieces he needs. As soon as it passes through Benzo's hands it's in Viktor's possession.

I think Silco finds it rediculous that this boy is still afraid of him all those years later. But it's also not a bad thing because he's less likely to try and exploit Silco's son.

Vander is more concerned about Jayce's influence on his daughters. In the sense to Jayce and Vi when combined together seem to come up with the dumbest ideas possible; and Jayce is helping Powder with her inventions (which are often explosive in nature) without really thinking through the fact he's helping a 10 year old build a bomb.

[uraveragelonelyhuman]

Arcane pet headcannons

VI

She has a bulldog and a ratty ass Chihuahua

Dumbass named the Chihuahua something dumb like "Sniffles"

Bulldog is probably "JJ"

You would think the bulldog was the guard dog

Ha, you're wrong

The Chihuahua when you get even a MILLIMETER close to Vi, its biting your fucking ankles

Better run because bitch is CHASING you down

It's like it downed a entire red bull, monster and starbucks venti latte with 19 shots of espresso in 0.1 seconds

Pray bitch

Cause you are not making it out alive

See ya in hell

The bulldog is just as scared of it too

Cowering behind Vi

Chihuahua made its territory known and not backing down

Probably dislikes and likes Cait all at once

Tiny mother fucker is bipolar as shit

Makes a weird face like its sniffing Vi's horrendous farts every 3 seconds

The bulldog is a sweetheart

Would never hurt anyone

Loves cuddling

Is the definition of lap dog because it doesn't leave Vi alone

Will fall asleep anywhere and at any time

Has fallen asleep on the Chihuahua multiple times

Probably stole Caitlyn's pomeranian

Loved it too much not too

Cait isn't getting it back

Walking through the lanes with the dogs who have sunglasses on all at once

Cool dog mom 10/10

EKKO

He has a snake

Probably a ball python

Takes amazing care of it

Most of the time is holding it

And by holding it I mean bitch is wrapping itself around his neck

Not enough to choke amazing Ekko out, don't worry

He good, he good

Loves scaring people with it though

Chases Scar around the hideout with it

"Wanna touch it? C'mon! He likes you~"

"Ekko, I will murder you-"

Scar loves it, can you tell?

One time was interrogating someone at the hideout for info on Silco's operation and out of nowhere the goon started SCREAMING

Bro was confused until he saw his snake slithering down the goons stomach all calm

Goon immediately wanted the snake off of him and gave all the info needed

So now Ekko, when interrogating someone, usually has his snake doing his little thang for a good luck charm

It brings the good tension and intimidation needed

A little dance every now and then

The snake loves the tree

Climbs it everyday

Snake loves him 100/10

The best snake owner known to man

The kids like watching his snake

How he distracts the annoying little shits

VIKTOR

He has a mouse

Probably liked them so much because in the lanes he saw a lot of them

Probably started an army

Little Viktor walking around the lanes with thousands of em swarming behind him

Probably all on drugs

When he left the lanes he probably found one in Piltover

Gave him some nostalgia so he took it

Gave it some food and restored it's health so the little mouse trusted him

Now when he's working on a little device the mouse is most likely on his shoulder

Sometimes just chilling, eating some food but sometimes wants to be involved

Viktor made him his own lab goggles

You've never lived until you've seen this man all focused and shit, his mouse on his shoulder as they both stare intently down at his gadget

1000/10 talks back to the mouse

*Squeak*

"I should do that, Mousecateir."

"Viktor...what the fuck-"

Jayce has walked in on his conversations with the mouse

Stood there for a good 20 seconds before high tailing it out of there

Booked a therapy appointment and definitely snitched to Mel

Viktor has lost it

Made a dam army suit for his mouse

They shall rule the world

SEVIKA

Has a hamster

But this ain't no normal hamster, no, no

This hamster is CLINGING to its last cells of life

Bro regenerates with every breath he takes

Sevika just won't let the little shit go

Even if she tried

Little man refuses to give up

Well past its expiration date

She doesn't even remember when she got it

That's how old the shit ball is

Thinks it dies at least 10 times a day

Freaks out every time but the hamster wakes up every damn time

Y'know how moms wake up when you barely poke them?

Like that.

Like it just got back from WAR and has PTSD

Eyes wide and shaking

Sevika honestly doesn't know what to do

Probably hasn't even drunk any water in well over a year

Or food

Living off the mere urge to live past its comrades in the walls

Jinx loves it though

Loves terrorizing it

Not on purpose

Probably is the reason all its hairs are graying

Probably loses its hair and is now bald

Looks like a shaved ball sack ngl

Man can't even walk no more

Sevika once turned to fast and this little mf went flying at the wall

AND STILL SURVIVED

Sevika found it two days later

"Oh my god, just give up already."

*aggressive squeaking*

"Okay, geez." 

Probably will outlive Sevika and society

SILCO

Has a hairless cat

And a crusty white grandma dog

Dog is probably as old as him

Shaking with every step

Can't even walk properly now

The cat just sits there most of the time

Usually just staring at the ones in his office till they leave

Gets along with the dog surprisingly

Jinx probably got him the cat as a surprise

Told her to get rid of it

But as every prophecy foretold, he ended up loving the creature 

Feeds it better than anyone

Of course other than Jinx

Loves his animals

The dog is crusty af though

Has been sitting with Jinx the past few years

Help it, please

Probably has had its hair dyed a few times

Scared of Jinx 100/100

Dog will never die

Cat sits on it's back

Took its dog bed

Dog took its cat bed

Love them both

The cat always sits in the rafters with Jinx

Brings her things she forgot

Steals her stuff too

Also sits on Silco's head

Has fallen onto his head from the rafters

Looks unbothered but was screaming inside

JINX

Has a bird

And a black cat

She took the bird, which is a crow, because she got tired of it squawking

So she just plucked it from the arcade after she saw it staring, wide beaked at her after she shot its mother

Has a pretty cage set up for it

Makes little outfits for it and her cat everyday and all day

It sits on her head all the time, like Silco's cat

She talks to the bird all the time, the bird talks back

She's argues with it everyday

Silco has become worried

Talks to it more than the voices

Bird does it on purpose because it knows she doesn't like the voices

Has sometimes pecked at her forehead but it's alright

Threatens to cook and eat it on a daily basis

Bird calls her bullshit

Has pulled on her braids a lot when mad at her

Then flies away when she tried to swat at it

A love hate relationship really

The black cat is because she once heard black cats bring back luck

And she's a jinx so she thought it was a match made in heaven

She found it in the back alley of the last drop

Immediately took it

Didn't care if it had an owner, hers now

She called dibs

Definitely has it on her lab when making bombs and gadgets

She loves it when the cat purrs, it's like a little engine

Names it Whisker, no argument

I will not be hearing anyone out

Names the bird chicken leg

Or barbeque

The bird doesn't like it but she don't care

Barbeque and Whisker hate each other

Has to keep them separate at all times

Or she puts them in time out

Which is usually just her faking them at each other as she makes them apologize

Loves her animals though

Even if they are little shits

[theprettyarachnid]

arcane characters and valentines day

a/n: if anyone says that this was posted late, no it wasnt.

warnings: a lil suggestive but still sfw!

Jinx

🕷 Jinx definitely goes out early in the morning and graffiti practically all the buildings in Zaun and some in Piltover that says in all capital letters "I LOVE Y/N"

🕷 Steals some pretty flowers from some Pilti's garden as a present for you

🕷 She's home by the time you wake up with flowers in hand

🕷 It's actually a little startling because she was literally watching you but sweet nonetheless

🕷 Jinx has pretty much has the whole day planned and gets very upset if something doesn't go the way she imagined it

🕷 At the end of the day you two are snuggled up on the couch eating a bunch of chocolates

Vi

🕷 I feel Vi is the type of person to say they hate Valentines Day but she actually puts in a lot of effort for you

🕷 She lets you sleep late into the morning before waking you up and taking you out to lunch

🕷 She won't tell you exactly where you're going for lunch and just says you'll have to wait and see

🕷 She takes you to one of the more lively places of Zaun that plays music and has a lot of food stands

🕷 There's also a few mini games there and she wins you a toy of your choosing

🕷 You can't tell me Vi doesn't absolutely CRUSH those mini games, especially like the test your strength ones

Caitlyn

🕷 She gets you so many gifts

🕷 Throughout the entire day you'll find it a new present for you with a small card attached that says "yours, caitlyn"

🕷 I can see her ditching some of her patrols to spend time with you

🕷 After she gets off work, she takes you to the forest where you find a picnic blanket with a bunch of food and desserts

🕷 It's one of Caitlyn's favourite spots because it has a nice lake near by where you two can skinny dip in

Ekko

🕷 You wake up to him literally glued to your side half asleep

🕷 He makes you stay in bed longer with him because "it's valentines day"

🕷 Ekko's really cuddly in the morning in general but it's amped up by like 10

🕷 When you're both up and ready, he takes you to the market and buys you anything you'd like for a discounted price

🕷 You two end the day with him taking you on the roof of the shop and watching the sunset with some chocolates while gossiping

Viktor

🕷 my favourite boy <3

🕷 Viktor gently kisses various parts of your body until you wake up

🕷 He tries and stays in bed with you for as long as possible but eventually he does have to meet Jayce at the lab

🕷 Asks you to shower with you and is literally so gentle with washing your hair and body <3

🕷 He's hugging you and giving you neck kisses until he actually has to leave

🕷 Viktor tries to be back before dinner time

🕷 Instead of taking you out because it'd be extremely busy, he cooks for you instead while you two share a glass of wine

🕷 viktor puts alcohol into practically every meal he makes dont come for me

🕷 Depending on how tipsy he is, he dances with you

Jayce

🕷 He's still asleep when you wake up but you're kind of stuck there until he wakes up because he's on top of you

🕷 try moving someone who is 6'7 and 230 lbs

🕷 You know he's awake because the second he's up, Jayce is kissing your neck and inching his hands lower and lower

🕷 He lifts his head up to give you a good morning kiss with an affectionate yet playful smile

🕷 Unfortunately he can't totally blow off his meetings and work but he's definitely late for them

🕷 Jayce rents out an entire restaurant just for the two of you and if you try asking how much it costs, he won't answer

🕷 When you two go home, there's flowers everywhere of every kind

🕷 this man is literally broke by the end of the day

Silco

🕷 Buys you the most expensive jewelry you have probably ever laid your eyes on in real life

🕷 Also buys you a new outfit to take you out to dinner in

🕷 He doesn't need to rent out the restaurant, no one is going to walk in there if Silco is in there

🕷 He's more affectionate than usual but nothing too extreme if there are still people near by

🕷 It's just simple kisses on the wrists and compliments about how lovely you look

🕷 Once you're home and alone with him though... good luck

Vander

🕷 I feel like the kids definitely decorate The Last Drop for Valentines Day

🕷 Vander makes everything half on during holidays and closes early so he can spend time with you and the kids

🕷 Powder definitely forces you and Vander to sit down while she 'cooks' dinner

🕷 Eat it.

🕷 Once the kids are in bed and everything, Vander actually cooks you two dinner while laughing about the day

🕷 That's when he also gives you his gifts like flowers and a bracelet he bought for you

[mxchineherald]

 It felt odd, being compared to a dead man. He had very nearly ended up the same way. Up until the final moments of bonding with the Hexcore, he’d felt his body dying around him, organs withering and muscles giving in to gravity and weakness. Now, while his body was still small in frame and weak in strength, he had the sneaking suspicion that he had become something more than human. Then he was reminded of Zaun’s play for independence. It was one that he and Jayce had both almost succeeded in achieving, only to be thwarted by a sudden explosion, destroying any chance of peace between the two sides of the River Pilt. They had been so close, yet it was stolen from everyone in just a few seconds. From that moment, his fate was bound to his homeland, to the Lanes, to Zaun. He supposed, in a way, Jayce’s fate had been sealed, too.

 “I did not,” Viktor answered honestly, his eyes blinking up from looking down at his hands. “But I knew more about him than I let anyone know.” He wasn’t deaf. He’d heard some rumors and tales of Silco’s dealings within the Undercity, and people were more open to speak about such things in his presence, being a fellow Zaunite. “I knew he was The Eye. The protector. The father of the resistance.” He swallowed back any hesitation to speak further, knowing he was in safe company. “And I knew that he hated Piltover. For a time, I disagreed with him, but I would never share secrets from my home with Topside. The rules of the land never left me.” Zaunites looked out for one another, whether they agreed or not. It was practically unspoken law.

 Viktor felt the grip on his wrist, glancing down for a flash before fixing his gaze back on her face. The determination in her features was not lost on him. He let her hold on to him, his held hand clenching into a fist around his staff to match her energy. A name he recognized came up. Sevika. She was known to be a brute with cunning – a woman with unmatched skill in her fields. A new idea began to take shape. “You have a drive for science and machinery. I would not waste that on becoming a Chem Baron, yourself,” he reasoned, “It is a job of information and intimidation, not of progress and power. If she is to be trusted, perhaps this Sevika could take that place, with you as the guiding blade that changes Zaun’s fate from the shadows.”

 It wasn’t out of the question that Sevika could take Silco’s place within the resistance. Many of the people spoke of her as the second in command already. If anyone was ready for that kind of command, it was her. There was, of course, the added variable of her relationship with Jinx. That was something hat was entirely out of his control or prediction. There were always variables in theories, however. They did not become solid fact until tested.

At first glance Viktor seemed like a man of few words. It was another trait that reminded her of Silco. Unlike her, they thought things over and were able to do so with a clear head. They didn't just rush into decisions. She supposed that was what it was like having a mind that wasn't plagued with inner demons. Jinx had always been jealous of that, wishing that she wasn't so messed up and how she was even worse now that Silco was gone.

'He's all gone because of you, you're the one that let the enforcer get her hands on pow pow.' She could hear Vi whispering into her ear, however she ignored it for the most part as her hand that wasn't holding Viktor's clenched up into a fist. None of it was her fault. It was all Caitlyn's fault. If she had her way she would pay one way or another. Vi, played her part too, but Jinx was still clinging onto the hope that maybe her sister would see the light.

Just like Viktor had finally seen it. While she knew he would eventually get there, she hadn't predicted what would happen leading up to it. Nor did she know that the consequences of her actions played a factor. But she was glad to know that he had. Now, he could see the world through a much clearer lens.

"It's okay, Viktor. I don't blame you for anything. You were blinded by your feelings for that piltie." She squeezed his hand and her face softened a more understanding one. "Emotions blind you, keep you from seeing everything. I can't control that for me, but I know you can. You're like papa and thats why I wanted to help you. It's what he would have wanted, too."

She could hold back the look of relief as his gaze didn't flicker. The determination she was there and there wasn't a single hint of a lie. Viktor was truly, finally, home. The way her carried himself, the way he spoke with such confidence, reminded her even more of Silco. However, he was also a genius, perhaps even more of a genius than she was. He was the one responsible for the success of the hexcore and hextech in general. Zaun would only benefit from their partnership.

"You know, you really do sound like Silco. That's exactly the kind of approach he took and why Zaun has become what it is." Jinx gestured out to the landscape of the city around them. "It's not as shiny as Piltover, but with shimmer he made it strong again. Under his rule we had a chance to be something, to finally break free and become our own nation. Just like we have always wanted." her smile faded from her face, replaced by a sad smile as she remembered everything leading up to SIlco's death. "But you didn't know much about him, did you?"

Jinx was generally curious what little they knew of Silco up there before it all came out. Most, she assumed knew him just as an unimportant industrialist. And yet he was so much more, and now she was left to carry his legacy.

"Just because daddy is gone, that doesn't mean his legacy can't continue. I'm not a leader like he is but I will do everything to continue what he strived for." Jinx unconsciously tightened the grip on Viktor's wrist. "I'll continue his work the best I can, even if I hate the idea of being a Chem Baron. But if I can convince Sevika to work with me, we'll have everything. I can even make sure you have a lab, like daddy did with Singed."

[the-dumpster-fire-of-life]

PET HEADCANNONS

(Hey! These ideas came from @visukq on TikTok! Check them out! Anyways, here ya go, Enjoy!!)

VI

She has a bulldog and a ratty ass Chihuahua

Dumbass named the Chihuahua something dumb like "Sniffles"

Bulldog is probably "JJ"

You would think the bulldog was the like big one or the protective one

Ha, you're wrong

The Chihuahua when you get even a MILLIMETER close to Vi, its biting your fucking ankles

Better run because bitch is CHASING you down

It's like it downed a entire red bull, monster and starbucks venti latte with 19 shots of espresso in 0.1 seconds

Pray bitch

Cause you are not making it out alive

See ya in hell

The bulldog is just as scared of it too

Cowering behind Vi

Chihuahua made its territory known and not backing down

Probably dislikes and likes Cait all at once

Tiny mother fucker is bipolar as shit

Makes a weird face like its sniffing Vi's horrendous farts every 3 seconds

The bulldog is a sweetheart

Would never hurt anyone

Loves cuddling

Is the definition of lap dog because it doesn't leave Vi alone

Will fall asleep anywhere and at any time

Has fallen asleep on the Chihuahua multiple times

Probably stole Caitlyn's pomeranian

Loved it too much not too

Cait isn't getting it back

Walking through the lanes with the dogs who have sunglasses on all at once

Cool dog mom 10/10

EKKO

He has a snake

Probably a ball python

Takes amazing care of it

Most of the time is holding it

And by holding it I mean bitch is wrapping itself around his neck

Not enough to choke amazing Ekko out, don't worry

He good, he good

Loves scaring people with it though

Chases Scar around the hideout with it

"Wanna touch it? C'mon! He likes you~"

"Ekko, I will murder you-"

Scar loves it, can you tell?

One time was interrogating someone at the hideout for info on Silco's operation and out of nowhere the goon started SCREAMING

Bro was confused until he saw his snake slithering down the goons stomach all calm

Goon immediately wanted the snake off of him and gave all the info needed

So now Ekko, when interrogating someone, usually has his snake doing his little thang for a good luck charm

It brings the good tension and intimidation needed

A little dance every now and then

The snake loves the tree

Climbs it everyday

Snake loves him 100/10

The best snake owner known to man

The kids like watching his snake

How he distracts the annoying little shits

VIKTOR

He has a mouse

Probably liked them so much because in the lanes he saw a lot of them

Probably started an army

Little Viktor walking around the lanes with thousands of em swarming behind him

Probably all on drugs

When he left the lanes he probably found one in Piltover

Gave him some nostalgia so he took it

Gave it some food and restored it's health so the little mouse trusted him

Now when he's working on a little device the mouse is most likely on his shoulder

Sometimes just chilling, eating some food but sometimes wants to be involved

Viktor made him his own lab goggles

You've never lived until you've seen this man all focused and shit, his mouse on his shoulder as they both stare intently down at his gadget

1000/10 talks back to the mouse

*Squeak*

"I should do that, Mousecateir."

"Viktor...what the fuck-"

Jayce has walked in on his conversations with the mouse

Stood there for a good 20 seconds before high tailing it out of there

Booked a therapy appointment and definitely snitched to Mel

Viktor has lost it

Made a dam army suit for his mouse

They shall rule the world

SEVIKA

Has a hamster

But this ain't no normal hamster, no, no

This hamster is CLINGING to its last cells of life

Man regenerates with every breath he takes

Sevika just won't let the little shit go

Even if she tried

Little man refuses to give up

Well past its expiration date

She doesn't even remember when she got it

That's how old the shit ball is

Thinks it dies at least 10 times a day

Freaks out every time but the hamster wakes up every damn time

Y'know how moms wake up when you barely poke them?

Like that.

Like it just got back from WAR and has PTSD

Eyes wide and shaking

Sevika honestly doesn't know what to do

Probably hasn't even drunk any water in well over a year

Or food

Living off the mere urge to live past its comrades in the walls

Jinx loves it though

Loves terrorizing it

Not on purpose

Probably is the reason all its hairs are graying

Probably loses its hair and is now bald

Looks like a shaved ball sack ngl

Man can't even walk no more

Sevika once turned to fast and this little mf went flying at the wall

AND STILL SURVIVED

Sevika found it two days later

"Oh my god, just give up already."

*aggressive squeaking*

"Okay, geez." 

Probably will outlive Sevika and society

SILCO

Has a hairless cat

And a crusty white grandma dog

Dog is probably as old as him

Shaking with every step

Can't even walk properly now

The cat just sits there most of the time

Usually just staring at the ones in his office till they leave

Gets along with the dog surprisingly

Jinx probably got him the cat as a surprise

Told her to get rid of it

But as every prophecy foretold, he ended up loving the creature 

Feeds it better than anyone

Of course other than Jinx

Loves his animals

The dog is crusty af though

Has been sitting with Jinx the past few years

Help it, please

Probably has had its hair dyed a few times

Scared of Jinx 100/100

Dog will never die

Cat sits on it's back

Took its dog bed

Dog took its cat bed

Love them both

The cat always sits in the rafters with Jinx

Brings her things she forgot

Steals her stuff too

Also sits on Silco's head

Has fallen onto his head from the rafters

Looks unbothered but was screaming inside

JINX

Has a bird

And a black cat

She took the bird, which is a crow, because she got tired of it squawking

So she just plucked it from the arcade after she saw it staring, wide beaked at her after she shot its mother

Has a pretty cage set up for it

Makes little outfits for it and her cat everyday and all day

It sits on her head all the time, like Silco's cat

Has sometimes pecked at her forehead but it's alright

Threatens to cook and eat it on a daily basis

Bird calls her bullshit

Argues with the bird all the time, bird mainly argues back to distract her from the voices

Silco is concerned

Has pulled on her braids a lot when mad at her

Then flies away when she tried to swat at it

A love hate relationship really

The black cat is because she once heard black cats bring back luck

And she's a jinx so she thought it was a match made in heaven

She found it in the back alley of the last drop

Immediately took it

Didn't care if it had an owner, hers now

She called dibs

Definitely has it on her lap when making bombs and gadgets

She loves it when the cat purrs, it's like a little engine

Names it Whisker, no argument

I will not be hearing anyone out

Names the bird chickqen leg

Or barbeque

The bird doesn't like it but she don't care

Barbeque and Whisker hate each other

Has to keep them separate at all times

Or she puts them in time out

Which is usually just her faking them at each other as she makes them apologize

Loves her animals though

Even if they are little shits

[arcanetoymakerau]

Viktor, but having Jinx as a (foster) daughter in this AU.

You can also call Mr. Deep-Fried Fish as just "Fish" or "tm!Fishbones/Toymaker!Fishbones"

Full story here: [AO3 LINK] (still being written)

Context sumarized by topics:

Viktor found Jinx lost in Topcity 5 days after successfully stabilizing the Hextech crystal and he decided to gave her shelter after she told him what happened to her. It didn't take too long for he began to see her as his daughter.

After acknowledge Jinx's trauma of the monkey bomb event, he helped her taking her to therapy after her first ptsd breakdown with the blue light of a hextech experiment. One of the ways he found to help her cope, that also became their favorite bounding time later, was stargaze on the nights she couldn't sleep due to heavy nightmares.

After receive the news he had developed a terminal lung illness that had no cure and he had more 3 years to live, Jinx (that was 14 by then), not accepting her father's death sentence, convinced him to do a secret study with her about runes and the Arcane as a last resort to save him; a kind of research Viktor himself tried to start a few years before with an item he made called Hexcore, but he was stopped by Heimerdinger. They named the technology they created from the results of these studies as "ArcTech". Two years later they were able to come up with a ritual to "time rewind and seal" Viktor's terminal illiness to hold it back to day 1 while they try to come up with a stronger ritual to take out the illness from him for real.

Through the years, with a prize in Undercity over Jinx's head for being one of Vander's children, and then consequently over Viktor's, they were hunted by bandits and sometimes even rising chembarons in Topcity. So, they were forced to develop ways to defend themselves, by creating fight techniques, weapons and equipment, if they wanted to keep living. Such need was incorporated in their ArcTech development later.

A terrible disaster happened when Jinx was 15: Explosions, unintentionally triggered by her, during the construction of the Hexgates happened, killing many people and injuring a lot more, herself included. That day was called "The Hexgates' Incident". That accident took off part of her right arm and the mobility of her legs. Viktor then started an insane research to give his daughter her legs' mobility back, his motivation moved the entire academy and even the conselours Mel and Cassandra monetarily invested in such work. It took a year, but Viktor succeeded in reconnect Jinx's spine and consequently his family name got recognized by the Academy and the Council for such a doing: The Aquanima Clan, the first clan in Piltover to containt only people from Undercity.

Nowadays, Viktor and Jinx owns "The Toymaker brand", a business they created via the success of Jinx's toys (while Viktor works in Hextech to invest in that). They work in parallel in their magic technology, ArcTech.

All of the said above and many other details not mentioned will be show within the complete story and in more future posts.

Viktor about other characters (until start of act 3) under the cut!

Jinx: His precious daughter. His paternal love for her is so strong that he'll do anything to protect her even if that means he'll have to destroy Piltover and/or kill people to do so.

Jayce: For Viktor, Jayce is not just his Hextech partner, for him he is like a brother. Both him and Jinx does everything they can for don't involve Jayce in (either personal or not) problems/subjects related to Undercity, but mostly of Silco, to protect his wellfare.

Caitlyn: A very close friend of his daughter and consequently of him. She's also an ally inside the Enforcer's HQ to help gather important bussiness information and news from Undercity.

Sky: Viktor's best friend and right hand in the Academy. She got consequently involved in the corrupt side of the Toy Factory when helping Viktor with some paperwork.

The council: For Viktor, Mel and Cassandra are business partners, Heimerdinger is a friend and ex-mentor and he have a burning hate for Hoskel and Salo. He's neutral about the other conselours.

Ziggs: Viktor is thankful for his patience to handle Jinx, since he was the first academic to want to work with her in the Toymaker bussiness.

Mr. Deep-fried Fish: His own doppelganger. He constantly annoys Viktor by reminding him of his insecurities and depressive thoughts and to embarass him by saying his true thoughts out loud at the wrong moment. Viktor don't know why he keeps him around while in public, he perhaps likes his company.

Blitzcrank: Viktor created them to aid his daugther with heavy work when she had her legs mobility compromised. After turn them into an ArcTech machine and they developed their own mind, Viktor sees Blitzcrank as a living being and a friend rather than just a machine.

Vi: Viktor doesn't believe that she abandoned her sister for real, hence her behavior in the stories Jinx told about her doesn't match with what she did after the monkey bomb. He tries to encourage his daugther to go talk with Vi about what happened.

Ekko: Viktor believes that Ekko's friendship with Jinx can be recovered. He tries to encourage Jinx to go talk to her childhood friend to clarify what happened the day they got separated.

Zeri: Viktor never saw her in person, but the devices at the ArcTech lab keeps getting signals of her magic whenever she uses a strong skill. When Jinx and Caitlyn are off to Undercity missions, he asks for them to keep an eye in those signals to find the origins of it.

Silco: Viktor wants to convince Silco that he and his daughter are not his enemies because they both want the same thing for Zaun, but the differences in their ideas in how to execute that keeps putting them into a conflict.

Renata: A potential bussiness partner in Viktor's eyes, the problem is that she's allied to Silco.

Marcus: Viktor keeps an eye on Marcus with Caitlyn's help, as he knows about his involvement with Silco; which he uses to black mail him every time he threats do something with him and/or his daughter.

Zoe: Viktor is thankful for her help with the runic alphabet, which helped him and Jinx to take care of his terminal illiness. But he always looks at her with a bit of suspicious since the Aspect of Twilight made her name for being mischeavous.

Text proofreaded/edited by @beanswithbones <3

[glitterslights]

Arcane • Self-care headcanons

Characters : Caitlyn • Jayce • Jinx • Sevika • Silco • Vi • Viktor

Genre : list of headcanons

Warnings : none.

Silco thorougly has a manucure every two weeks. On more than one occasion, Sevika was due to do her full report of the night, Silco's focus entirely on her and on his notes, blank face, a sheepish esthetician half passed out at his side, trying to end his treatment as fast as they could.

He never demands for nail polish however, or at best a translucent one, to keep his nails shinny. He tried black once, but wasn't pleased with how fast it would crumble.

He has a nailfile and a little bottle of oil to hydrate the cuticles in one of the drawer of his desk, just in case. Silco has a way of quietly filing his nails in a perfect almond form that can give cold sweat to the scareless people of the Under City.

Whenever Sevika gets a day off (which doesn't happen often), she goes to the hammam. She's gonna pay for the whole treatment - massage, body scrub and rassoul wrap. She instantly flexes her muscles and gives her best glare whenever there is too much people in the sauna to her appreciation. She's gonna lay down all the way and for sure kick you out if the bench isn't long enough for the two of you.

Caitlyn is a self-care gourou. She knows all of the grandmas' beauty secrets, and can advise people about oils and aromatherapy faster than any professional in Piltover. She has a bit of a tendency to believe that plants can resolve absolutely everything, and tried to grow her own little collection (but she sucks at keeping them alive). In a world where social medias, or some sort of, exist, she definitely is a beauty influencer.

Vi is into daily meditation. Under the appareances given her rough attitude, her time to Stillwater led her to find her own way of keeping sanity.

After Silco took her in, Jinx slowly warmed up to the idea of little moments of luxury. She somehow stumbled over the very new yoga trend seducing the most opulent folks in Piltover, and moved mountains to get Silco to hire a private teacher for the both of them. Since then, they made it a Sunday habit to rental the most expensive semblance of a studio in the Lanes.

Silco is a master at going from downward dog to plank and cobra in the most elegant way, and is secretly very proud of his newfound flexibility, that he can show off whenever he's in need of punching someone.

Viktor started journaling when he entered the Academy. At first, he wanted it to be some kind of a logbook, full of mathematic annotations and scientific thoughts, until he slowly drifted from there to complaining about Heimerdinger, dreaming of ways to help people, asking himself why some random pals would blush looking at him, or how amazing Jayce's arguments were to him.

Jayce found out about his habit once, and being the (manipulable) positive bean he is, from this day forward, decided to do the same.

He soon learned from Caitlyn all about daily habits trackers, and became obsessed with it. He consciously reviews his day each night, and became a pro at doodling little flowers, hearts, clouds and smileys to enhance his emotions. He almost teared up on his twenty-six birthday, when Viktor gifted him cute little stickers to match his journal, he found in some publicity in his mailbox (though he never said they came from there, and for free).

Caitlyn found his newfound hobby so amazing that she decided to convince Jayce to make it a tradition on the first day of the year. Each year, hangover or not, they would religiously lock themselves in her room, and write all about their intentions for the year to come.

When Jinx desires a change of activity from her explosives creations, she takes a break by making her very own candles, full of pink, blue and green little strass. She has it constantly all around her place, acts completely carefree about them, and it's an actual miracle the Last Drop didn't burn yet. Sevika somehow always ends up having to blow them up on her way home, tiredly muttering about a "spoiled and crazy little brat".

Vi's little weakness is socks. Cute, fluffly, huge socks with animal heads and little ears, half of the anti-slip gone due to how much she wears them. She despises the first nights announcing the beginning of the summer, because it means she will either have to stop wearing them, or to stubbornly overheating.

Caitlyn, being the smartass of their couple, gifted her a pair of red fluffly interior tongs, with fake feathers on the top, to end her suffering. What she didn't see coming however, was the rule Vi imposed that they wear matching tongs. She will never admit it, but yes, it even lead to an argument one evening, when Caitlyn forgot to wear them first thing after work and Ci was feeling under the weather.

One of Viktor's first inventions was a little portable air conditioning, he still has to this day, though more than worn out. He religiously keeps it on his desk for the hotter days. Growing up, he extended the range, and now has one for each situation. And nothing, even the rest of the Academy's glare, will stop him from wandering around the building with his little machine in hand. They can stare all they want, he's the one not dumbly dying from heat at the end of the day.

He also made it an habit of using it to shamelessly blow air at full speed to Jayce's face whenever he starts rambling too much during their work meetings. Point made, and no words needed.

[sapphiresaphics]

On the contrary, I think it ENHANCES the first season upon rewatch.

Think about it, how does everything begin? It begins with Jayce buying trinkets from Benzos. Echo realizes he’s rich when he doesn’t even bother to haggle and as a result he gives the kids a tip that they enact upon. This spirals out of control into such a big ordeal that enforcers are flooding the lanes looking for the kids and stirring up old wounds. Stirring things up to such a degree that Silco sees an opportunity to get back at Piltover and attempt a SECOND revolution. And right at the moment when the kids and Vander are about to escape… Powder blows shit up. Act I ends with Vi enacting violence on Powder and the whole cycle of violence begins anew.

Every time there’s a chance for peace, something happens to start the violence all over again. The cycle keeps continuing through season 1 all the way up until the climax when Piltover is FINALLY ready to extend a hand to Zaun. And what happens? Jinx blows shit up. Act III ends with Jinx enacting violence on Piltover and the whole cycle of violence begins anew.

I really believe now that the cycle of violence is the ACTUAL theme of the show and that the classism issues are there to show how the cycle keeps happening. And the only way to truly end the cycle is to get rid of the things that are causing the cycles to continue.

Heck this is even highlighted in the first part of the first episode. The kids get jumped for having stolen goods and a fight ensues. Powder is terrified and doesn’t want to engage. She tries running away, but the violence follows her. She tries blowing it up. It doesn’t work. The ONLY way to solve her problem is to literally toss the goods out into the toxic water and get rid of the temptation.

And it’s that temptation, that need for power and control that keeps the city fighting. Jayce’s hextech is the cause of all of Piltover and Zaun’s current issues. If he hadn’t tried to create hextech, the kids never would’ve tried to rob him, powder never would’ve blown up her family, Silco wouldn’t have found his opportunity to attempt a second revolution, etc. Jayce is the cause of the current cycle of violence and what does he do in the end? He LITERALLY removes himself and Viktor from the world.

Same for Jinx. She removes herself AND takes with her the temptation. The hextech gemstone powering Vi’s gauntlets. And she dips. She removes herself from the city entirely.

I think the fact that the city stays the same and doesn’t really try to fix Zaun is a statement about the cycle of violence continuing. Sevika is on the council, and that’s good, but it’s not going to be the end of the violence. Not even Vi and Caitlyn escape it. They’re in love and together, but they both have such vastly different ways of dealing with the violence it’s going to create tension in their lives. That’s why Caitlyn asks “are you still in this fight?”

I get it, we’ve had a lot longer to digest the first season, so by comparison it feels like they just tossed out the classism stuff in favor of other stuff. But for me, upon rewatching the whole thing as a complete unite, I don’t feel that way. I think they were setting up those themes of the cycle of violence from the beginning and it only gets more and more extreme as the shown continues until it reaches its crazy ending.

Anyone else disappointed by Arcanes ending?

Like, yay, we defeated Viktor, we got vi and cait/ Viktor and Jayce, Ekko being an absolute badass and all the other stuff everyones going crazy about.

But I think ppl forgot that Arcane s1 was an incredibly politically charged season highlighting the difference between the elite, Piltover, and the poor, Zaun.

At the end of s2 none of the original issues were resolved, yes the ppl of Zaun came to save Piltover but we don't see how these issues were solved, we don't see a thriving Zaun nation, and act 3 hardly even touches on any of the original points. S1 opens with a failed attempt at revolution and is all about Silco trying to establish his nation of Zaun and then s2 is..... Defeat the machine-god

Idk I still enjoyed it but it kinda sucks that the political aspect was brushed to the side.

[kikiiswashere]

Children of Zaun - Chapter 6

Born in the Dirt

Pairing: Silco/Fem!OC

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Canon typical violence, drug use/dealing, dark themes, eventual smut

Chapter Summary: Heimerdinger speaks with Councilor Bone about Viktor, the Undercity prodigy. Silco gives Enyd the medicine, and she reflects on their changing roles. Katya attends her first Children of Zaun meeting, and meets a couple of its members.

Chapter CW: This chapter briefly touches on infant death and suicide; there is also a section that describes labor - not especially in-depth, but thought I would warn anyway. Take care!

Previous Chapter

Word count: 8.5K

Jarrot Bone woke up in his usual way on Wednesday morning.

In a fit of coughing, his throat clogged with mucus and pus.

He rolled out of bed, bones rattling and muscles tremoring with the force of the fit gripping his body. Unsteadily, he got to his feet and stumbled into his ensuite. A particularly forceful cough bent his spine and he tripped into the porcelain sink. His fingers found a white-knuckle grip around the edge and his balding head bowed into the bowl. He knew he should try to make his way over to the toilet, but he couldn’t guarantee that he would be able to lift himself off the floor once this fit had passed.

A shaking hand reached for the sink’s handle and turned it. Cold, clean water gushed out of the spout and splashed into the sink. Bone set his feet and braced himself as firmly as he could. With a mighty contraction of his abdominals, he heaved and retched and sputtered.

Discolored phlegm was thrown into the sink, quickly washed down the drain by the running water. Bone wheezed and lurched as he was involuntarily taken over by an onslaught of more choking coughs. More mucus, more pus, some blood and stomach bile spattered against the porcelain. Bone’s whole body trembled with the effort, his legs unsteady beneath him and cold sweat dampening his ashen skin.

Bone didn’t dare release the death grip he had on the sink until he was absolutely certain the fit had passed. He waited for the bowl of the sink to be stark white before turning the water off. As the sound of the water washed away, his pained wheezing filled the bathroom. His chest heaved and ached. Sharp, stabbing pains that cut against his lungs like razor wire. The bellow of his diaphragm spasmed and cramped in the aftermath.

Slowly, so very slowly, Bone made to stand fully, his hands still gripping the sink for support. His vision started to become clear again, after having pitched and wavered like heat against pavement during his retching. After a couple steady breaths, he lifted his gaze to the mirror before him and it cruelly reflected his visage.

Jarrot Bone was old by Undercity standards. Having been dumped at Hope House as an infant he never knew his birthday, but he was around sixty, he supposed. Give or take.

Take, really.

He looked eighty, by Piltover standards. Ashy skin, creped by time, toxins, and years of malnutrition hung off his thin bones. What little hair he had left was white and cropped close to his head. His eyes, once chocolate brown, were now muted and milky and currently watering and red-rimmed following his morning fit.

He made to clear his throat and set off another string of hacks and chokes. The most unpleasant ripping and sucking sound emanated from Bone’s chest and he hocked a congealed hunk of  . . . something (blood? Lung, maybe?) into the sink.

He flipped the faucet back on and coaxed the object down the drain with the stream of water. Taking the cup from the shelf above, he filled it and greedily drank. The cool water both eased and stung at his marred insides. He set the glass down with a shuddering breath.

Working as a Slipper for all those years was finally catching up with him.

A couple weaker coughs rattled behind his ribs and Bone finally pushed himself off the sink and opened the medicine cabinet above. Plucking out the small, brown glass bottle he gave it a swish. To mix up the medicine and to assess how much he had left. The liquid inside gently sloshed within and Bone let out a hitching sigh.

He was almost out again.

He unscrewed the dropper top and squeezed the medicine up to the line etched into the pipette. With shaky hands, Bone lifted the dropper to his mouth and released the medicine under his tongue. Just as the Academy doctor had instructed.

Bone was conflicted if he wanted to go back and see the doctor. The woman had been sympathetic but realistic, that there was no cure for what ailed the Councilman and this medicine would only make him more comfortable. Of course, Bone knew that. He had watched plenty other miners (primarily Slippers, like himself) succumb to this respiratory disease.

When Bone had finally secured a seat in Council Chambers seven years ago, it afforded him access to the care so many of his peers had needed. He felt guilt at that. He wanted to do so much for his community. Give them what was now available to him as a Councilor. His political progress was slow, burdened by generations of classism and prejudice. His health had been sacrificed and he felt himself hurtling toward his end, accelerated by the same institutions that impeded the work he wanted to do.

Whether it was fear or stubbornness, Bone didn’t know, but he felt the gripping need to hold on a little while longer. His work for the Undercity was not done.

 He didn’t want it to be done.

He decided he would see the Academy doctor again. Have his dosage upped and refilled.

Reverently, he homed the vial back in his medicine cabinet and went about the rest of his morning.

He had a standing early lunch with Professor Heimerdinger he didn’t want to be late for.

Bone crossed the Bridge mid-morning, cane in hand and the sun at his back as he walked toward Piltover. He had moved to a decent loft on the edge of the Promenade soon after becoming a Councilor. Something else he felt conflict over: living so much better than he ever had, while the majority of the Undercity lay in squalor. His Council peers and the doctor had encouraged it for his health and new position. Cleaner air, shorter commute. Bone understood, but it did little to assuage the shame in his belly.

Bone slid his approval papers to the gate attendant. It was a formality he insisted on maintaining out of solidarity for his people. The attendant humored him by glancing at the papers, but they too quickly gave them back and waved him on.

The café district and adjacent mercantile streets were already in full swing for the day. Bone walked past, not tempted at all by the smells or sights. While he paid no attention to it, he knew occasional eyes would stare and sneer at him. His addition to the Council had been wrought with tension and there had been a mild upset among Piltover’s citizens. The blatant hostility settled, but Bone knew that his presence on this side of the river was not welcome.

Which was fine by him. He wasn’t here for Piltover. He was here for the Undercity.

He crossed the square and made for the Academy campus. The dean preferred his academic tasks to his duties as a Councilor, and Bone couldn’t begrudge him that. The question was where would Bone find Heimerdinger? Oddly enough, his office was not a guarantee. The science lab? A better bet, although Bone hoped not since that building was a good walk away and his joints were already beginning to ache.

A warm breeze fluttered the leaves of the tall trees lining the broad walkway to the Academy’s campus and Bone shivered. Not from cold. He still had never gotten used to the sweet, clear scent of the Piltover air.

The school bell toned loudly as the Undercity Councilor made his first uneasy steps onto the quad. A deep, rich, brassy note that quaked through his old bones. Soon, adolescents and teens began to trickle out of the surrounding buildings, books in their arms and bags slung across their backs. Older students, young adults in their late-teens and early twenties, were the last to meander out of their respective buildings, striding across the paths in front of them with great purpose and furrowed brows. The upper classmen paid Bone little to no mind. It was Wednesday and they had been at the Academy long enough to expect his presence on this day. The younger students whispered conspiratorially in small, scurrying clumps, eying the Councilor with a mixture of awe, confusion, and learned suspicion.

Bone sighed and steeled himself for the rickety walk toward the science lab. However, Janna seemed to smile upon him in a small way when Heimerdinger toddled out of a nearby lecture hall. His joyful and bright sing-song voice cut through the muted passing-period chatter like a chime. At the Yordle’s side was a boy Bone recognized as the student from the Undercity. He was pretty certain his name was ‘Viktor’, but he had never officially met the lad. A gross oversight, Bone knew, considering he was the Councilor from the Underground and Viktor was the only student from there. They should’ve met long before this moment.

‘Better late than never,’ Bone thought as he ambled in their direction.

“Oh yes, yes, yes, m’boy,” Heimerdinger chortled, “I do believe you will have the utmost interest in the upcoming section on robotics and mechanization we will be beginning in my class come next week. If your understanding of physics is anything to go by, you’ll take to it swimmingly! Oh! Jarrot! I do hope I’m not late!”

Heimerdinger was pulled from his giddy tête-à-tête by the rhythmic sound of Bone’s cane tapping towards him. His ears twitched and shot up in alarm as he scrambled for his pocket watch.

Bone chuckled. “No, no. Not late. Not at all.”

His brown eyes shifted from the dean to the boy. He saw the student’s large gold eyes flick to his cane and then up to his face. Bone’s eyes crinkled when Viktor’s hand gripped his own cane with a little more conviction.

Heimerdinger’s ears drooped in relief as he pocketed his watch.

“Well, I’m glad for that,” he sighed, “it would be like me to lose track of time talking about nuts and cogs!” A chuckle whistled from under his impressive mustache.

“Viktor,” Heimerdinger said suddenly, “have you met Councilor Bone yet?”

The student shook his head, his creased eyebrows giving away his anxiety. “No, sir, I have not.”

“Well! Isn’t that a shame!” Heimerdinger gasped. “You know, Councilor Bone here is from the Undercity as well.”

“Yes, I know,” Viktor said quietly.

“Worked in the very same mines that your sister does,” Heimerdinger continued brightly. “We brought him on the Council – what was it? – seven years ago? It’s been very eye-opening and useful for Piltover to have an Undercity citizen in Chambers. We’ve been able to do a lot of good work.”

Bone’s smile strained, but he didn’t think Heimerdinger noticed. Viktor pulled his lips into his teeth and nodded politely. Both Trenchers knew the Yordle meant well, but remained largely ignorant of just what life in the Undercity was like.

“Yes, we have,” Bone agreed. He turned fully to the boy. “It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Viktor.”

Bone smiled and gently dipped his head.

“P-pleasure to meet you, too, sir. Councilor,” Viktor corrected quickly, nodding his head in return.

“Viktor is one of the brightest students in his year!” Heimerdinger gushed. “We are very lucky to have him and his capabilities on Piltover’s campus. Definitely one of the most deserving recipients of the Academy’s lottery.”

Bone watched Viktor’s fingers squeeze his cane a little tighter and a furious flush tinge his cheeks.

“Your sister works in Rynweaver’s mines?” Bone questioned, trying to divert the boy’s embarrassment. Viktor looked up at him through his mop of chocolate-colored hair and nodded. “What does she do there?”

“She works in the medical clinic.”

“Ah,” the Undercity Councilor breathed. The exclamation caught in the back of his throat and he wrestled down the cough that fought to rip through. “She must be very clever, too, then. To be entrusted to patch workers up with the little resources available to her.”

Bone’s eyes flicked to Heimerdinger, looking to see if he caught the under-handed comment. He didn’t appear to.

“Yes, she’s very smart,” Viktor affirmed. “When I go home for the weekends, she helps me with assignments and studying.”

Bone was unsurprised to hear that the student did not stay on campus permanently. There would be no way to afford it, even with the scholarship he was on.

Viktor’s feet awkwardly shuffled from side to side. Whether it was from anxiety or discomfort in his bum leg, Bone wasn’t sure. In any case, the boy spoke up.

“If you’ll excuse me, Professor, I n-need to go to the Hall of History. Professor Holgren’s exam is this afternoon and I would like to review more.”

“Of course, my boy!” Heimerdinger sang. “Please, don’t let two old men keep you from the pursuit of knowledge. Go on then! Off with you!”

“Thank you. Nice to meet you Councilor, sir.”

Viktor dipped his head toward Bone again before hobbling away. His steps were hitched and painful at first, but smoothed out to a steady limp as his gait warmed up. The two Councilors watched the boy go.

“How is he doing?” Bone asked once Viktor was out of ear shot.

“He is the brightest the Preparatory school currently has,” Heimerdinger admitted. “Perhaps even brighter than the upperclassmen in the Academy. Extremely promising.”

Bone nodded, his eyes following Viktor’s angled shoulders as he slowly made his way toward the Hall of History.

“How are the other students with him?”

Heimerdinger’s pause answered Bone clearly, but he eventually said, “He is struggling socially.”

Bone’s jaw tightened. He knew Viktor wasn’t struggling socially. He was struggling under Piltover’s prejudice.

“Shall we head to my office?” Heimerdinger asked.

Bone nodded and the two Councilmen headed toward the Academy’s Quarters for Administration. Heimerdinger’s short legs and Bone’s weary body kept pace with each other well. Bone’s eyes drifted down to his peer as they walked through the campus. The Yordle was usually peppy and chatty, filling dead air with keen observations and science-based puns. Now, he was quiet, pensive. His small gloved hands clasped behind his back as they traveled.

“What’s on your mind, Professor?” Bone carefully asked.

“Hmm? Oh, my. Apologies,” Heimerdinger murmured, his twinkly blue eyes widening as he snapped back to the present. “Just . . . pondering.”

Bone hummed and lifted his eyes to the path in front of him. He didn’t press. He waited.

“May I tell you something, Jarrot?”

“Of course.”

“This is between us, you understand,” Heimerdinger started in a lowered voice. Bone nodded. After a moment, the Yordle sighed and pressed on.

“Thank you. This has been on my mind for a long while, so I appreciate you lending an ear,” whether the little stroke along his own large ear was a joking gesture or a nervous tic, Bone wasn’t sure. “I am very hopeful about Viktor’s studies here, like I said. Myself and his other professors are extremely impressed by him and his skills. Truly remarkable given his breeding.”

Bone’s brows dipped at Heimerdinger’s well-intended but still ignorant comment.

“I worry for him though,” the professor continued. “He is not well, physically. Not just the limp. His immune system is compromised.”

Another thing Bone was not surprised to hear. He knew a lot of children born with physical defects typically dealt with deeper, more internal maladies. Weak lungs, a heart that pattered too fast, reduced cognitive function . . . if the babe was even given a chance to grow old enough to present such unfortunate symptoms.

Bone remembered a time in the mine where he had helped to deliver an infant whose mother had gone into labor while chipping away at the rocks with her pick axe. The child had come out feet first, her shoulders peculiarly sloped and her head too small. The girl wailed something fierce, and he had watched a kaleidoscope of emotions sweep across her mother’s face.

Relief and joy that the baby was not still born, even after a difficult labor.

Horror when she got her first good look at her daughter. Bone remembered that moment the most. It clenched his heart then. It clenched his heart now. The horror wasn’t rooted in disgust. The horror was born of the realization of what it meant to have a child like that.

Grief flickered briefly on the woman’s face before hollow resignation forcefully settled in.

“Please,” the woman had whispered to him. She held her daughter against her chest loosely, afraid that if she dared to hold any tighter that she might never let go, and doom them both. “Please. I-I can’t do it.”

Bone couldn’t bring himself to refuse her. He took the newborn off her chest and traveled many yards down the dark and sooty tunnel so the mother wouldn’t be able to watch or hear.

He smothered the babe, and then put her small body deep into a waste trolley that would be emptied into one of the mine’s incinerators later that day.

When he walked back down the tunnel, the mother was gone.

Later that week, he heard that a young woman had thrown herself from a turbine blade into the darkness below.

She had been doomed anyway.

Bone shook his head, trying to rid himself of the memory as Heimerdinger continued.

“He would benefit from staying on campus permanently,” he said. “It may also help with his socializing.”

“But he can’t stay on campus?” Bone asked even though he knew the answer.

The two men rounded a corner and the Administrations Building came into view.

Heimerdinger shook his head, his swirl of blond hair bobbing in the air. “No. His family can’t afford it. And I have yet to convince the board to expand the funding for the lottery program. And they are not willing to make an exception to allot more funding to only one student.”

Bone and Heimerdinger entered the ornate hall of the Academy’s Quarters for Administration and made for one of the golden and glass lifts. An attendant opened the partition door and the two men stepped inside. Once alone, Heimerdinger spoke again.

“I - ,” he began, seeming unsure if he should say what he wanted to say. He cleared his throat and started differently, “In Viktor’s last parent-teacher conference, I floated an idea to his guardian – “

“His sister,” Bone said.

“Yes, his older sister. I know she is concerned about his well-being, too. I – I made an offer to take Viktor on as a ward.”

Bone looked down at his companion, eyes widening. This was a development he didn’t expect. “You suggested she sign his care over to you?”

Heimerdinger nodded. “As his professor I cannot legally aid in funding his education and board. While there would be some red tape and gossip to muddle through, I could provide that assistance if the boy were under my care.”

“I’m going to guess that his sister refused.”

“Vehemently,” the professor admitted. “I can’t say that I don’t understand her hesitation – “

Bone decidedly could say that Heimerdinger did not understand Viktor’s sister’s ‘hesitation’. People of the Undercity were rightfully distrusting of Piltover politicians. And what was more, familial bonds (whether that family was blood or found) in the Lanes were sacred. When you had so little, you held tightly to what you did – your family, your friends, your community. It was something Piltover, what with their money, their things, their gluttonous abundance, could never truly understand.

“ – but I am hoping she changes her mind. For Viktor’s sake. He’s too bright to be kept in the dark.”

The lift chimed and the doors opened. As Heimerdinger and Bone stepped out, they were greeted by an agitated young aide.

“Oh! Professor Heimerdinger! Councilor Bone!” she gasped, struggling to collect the stacks of files in her arms.

“Good afternoon, Miss Banforth,” Heimerdinger greeted brightly, his previous somber tone melting away. “Do you require assistance?”

“No no no no,” Ivy breathed, catching a loose file. “I just – “she took a moment to steady herself and her load. She took a deep breath in and said, “I just hadn’t realized the time. I needed to get these papers to Ms. Clotter in mailing and then have your and the Councilman’s lunch delivered to your office.”

Heimerdinger chuckled. “No rush my dear!”

Ivy smiled weakly in thanks. “Er – Professor,” she said, “Mr. Rynweaver is waiting for you in your reception. I told him you were not available today – “

Bone’s hand involuntarily flexed around the handle of his cane. So, Rynweaver had gotten the aide flustered, throwing his station around and intimidating anyone beneath him into a quivering mess.

“Don’t fret, Miss Banforth,” Heimerdinger assured. “I’ll take care of it.”

Ivy thanked him and skirted into the elevator he and Bone had just vacated. The two Councilors walked down the hallway to Heimerdinger’s reception area and office, their footsteps muffled by the plush runner underfoot.

The suite that belonged to the dean was large and airy, with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the Academy campus and parts of Piltover. The space was sectioned off into two rooms: the reception area where Ivy would greet and intake guests, and Heimerdinger’s actual office which was sequestered behind ridiculously large ornate wooden doors.

A vacant, beautifully carved desk faced plump chairs. Thade Rynweaver sat in one of the them, his long legs crossed and hands primly folded in his lap. His dark blue eyes looked up at the sound of the hall door opening and a schooled smile cut across his lips.

“You have a jumpy assistant, Professor,” Thade said. His eyes darted to Bone and the gleam in them sharpened.

“Miss Banforth is just very meticulous in keeping to schedule,” Heimerdinger cheerfully explained. “She can get a little flustered when things don’t go to plan.”

Thade breathed a small, humorless chuckle as he made to stand up.

“I was hoping to speak with you, Councilor,” he addressed only Heimerdinger, “about the next lottery. The Kirammans heard some rumors that the Academy is trying to raise the amount of funds again?”

Bone felt the Yordle stiffen at his side before he melded back into something pleasing and palatable.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the time to speak with you about that right now, Mr. Rynweaver,” Heimerdinger said kindly. “Even if I did, you know that is officially a Council matter and would need to be brought up in Assembly.”

Thade eyed the Yordle with a passive look. Too passive to not be hiding strong feelings. Too passive to not be hiding something.

He shrugged, his structured coat shifting over his shoulders. “Very well. I had time, and thought I would go to the source. I shall gather my fellow benefactors and we will put in a request for Assembly.”

Thade whisked past Heimerdinger and Bone without a second glance. “Have a lovely lunch.”

Silco sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, hands fidgeting the small vial of medicine Katya had gifted him a day prior. He hadn’t given it to his mother yet. He wasn’t sure how he was going to.

She would ask how he got it. She would be afraid that such a gift would come with strings, that he had gotten himself wrapped up in some kind of trouble to acquire it. She would refuse the medicine under those conditions and insist that he give it back.

Would she think he stole it? Maybe. She would refuse it then, too. Scold him and tell him to get rid of it.

Would she think he bought it . . . somehow? That he had been putting cogs and hexes aside until he could go across the river and visit a pharmacy? Unlikely. She might, even then, still refuse.

He had tried to come up with a way to slip it to her without her knowing. Could he sneak a dose into her morning tea? Maybe . . . but then he wouldn’t be around to make sure she took the midday nip.

Silco’s tongue flipped inside his mouth in time with how he spun the vial between his fingers. His boot heel vibrated and his brain buzzed.

No good options.

Decidedly, he got up and left his bedroom. He strode to the kitchen to find Enyd sitting at the table sipping her morning tea. The false medicine. She eyed him questioningly as he took the seat across from her. Before she could say anything, Silco very purposefully set the small, brown vial in front of her.

Enyd’s brow furrowed and her tea cup lowered. “What’s this?”

“Medicine. Actual medicine.”

Enyd slowly lowered her tea cup to its saucer, her gaze switching between the vial and her son, the confused crease in her brow deepening. Her mouth twitched, unsure of what to say or ask. Silco’s knee began to bob nervously as he waited for her reaction.

“What do you mean actual medicine?” Enyd finally asked, staring at the bottle as if it might explode or jump at her.

“I mean exactly what I said – “

“Where did you get this?” came Enyd’s sudden question, hissed through a tight jaw. Her teal eyes widened with worry and her brows scrunched and flew up to her hairline.

“It . . . it was given to me,” Silco decided to say. A partial truth would do. “When I had my physical day before yesterday, I mentioned to the medic on staff performing the exam that you . . . were sick. Before I left, she gave me this.”

Enyd frowned and bit her lip. “She shouldn’t have done that, Silco. It wasn’t hers to give. She could get into a lot of trouble if someone finds out. You could get into a lot of trouble – “

“No one will find out, mum,” Silco promised, leaning forward. He licked his lips and fixed her with pleading eyes. “No one will find out.”

“You don’t know that!” Enyd snapped in a strained whisper, as if she were fearful Enforcers could hear from the streets below.

Silco’s hands shot across the table and gripped hers. “Mum, please. No one will find out. Ka – The medic told me that she does the ordering for the clinic. She can account for this. They can spare it.”

Enyd’s eyes fell to the hands holding onto hers. Her son’s hands were large and svelte, wrapping protectively around hers. She felt a tightness in the back of her throat that had nothing to do with her illness.

It seemed not so long ago that her hands dwarfed his. That when he reached for her, his small fingers curling needily around hers, his bright blue-green eyes would look up into her face silently asking for comfort, guidance, protection, affirmation, love. And she would always give it, whatever it was he needed. That was her job after all, as his mother.

Enyd had been surprised and grateful that her heart, body, mind, and soul fell so willingly and completely into loving her son.

Initially, she had been nervous and unsure that she could accept the babe growing inside her womb, given how he had been forced upon her. After the first couple of months, when it was clear that the pregnancy had stuck, Enyd’s heart found a new home in her throat. Angry and ashamed how such a fate had befallen her; scared for her own well-being (birthing children in the Undercity was hazardous business); nervous and uncertain about what she was going to do with the baby when she bore it.

A large part of her – the part that jumped at shadows and woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat and tears, the part of her that feared and hated the thought of facing a piece of him every day – was certain she couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t keep it. She steeled her nerves throughout the entirety of her pregnancy, preparing to dump the infant at Hope House the minute it passed through the birth canal.

And then . . .

Then labor began, deep in the rough fissures of a new tunnel. The fourth month of pregnancy had caused Enyd’s abdomen to pop away from her waifish frame and she was temporarily relieved of her Slipper duties, and was transferred to a unit sifting for sediment used for smelting. Getting her out of the mine’s crevasses was the one part of her condition she was grateful for.

Enyd’s water had broken in an impossibly large gush, simultaneously clumping the soot underfoot like wet sand and wafting fine dust particles up into the already thick air. Contractions were upon her fast and strong, feeling as if her body was trying to rip itself in half. The unit Enyd had been placed in gave her a wide berth, save for two other women who ushered the laboring mother-to-be to an alcove in the rocks.

One was a Vastaya who did not speak the same language, but was a strong arm to grip to when Enyd’s contractions crested into blindingly agonizing pain. The other was an old woman who began coaching the terrified young woman out of maidenhood. Her knobbily fingers pressed into Enyd’s hips and gave her firm but empathetic instructions on breathing and positioning.

Between contractions, the older woman told Enyd that she herself had given birth to twelve children in her life time. That each birth was painful, but each one was also worth it. Enyd couldn’t find the breath to tell her that she had doubts about the baby trying to make its way through her narrow hips.

Periodically, the crone would hike up Enyd’s tunic to inspect her progress (her undergarments had long been shucked to the side). In what seemed like too short of time, the old woman shoved a rock under each of Enyd’s feet.

“You’re going to feel like you need to push soon,” she had said, coming to grip the shaking arm not in the Vastaya’s hold.

Enyd’s heart moved from her throat to the back of her mouth and she choked on a sob. Her legs quivered with exhaustion and fear as she was held up. The bottoms of her dirty bare feet squeezed the stones beneath them.

She wasn’t ready for this.

She didn’t want this.

The feeling the old woman warned her about came, and a sound Enyd didn’t know she was capable of ripped from her throat as she bared down. The animalistic cry bled into an anguished wail as Enyd’s body forced an exhale. Her head lulled back on her shoulders as she cried openly.

The old woman ducked a hand between Enyd’s wet and bloody legs. She then guided Enyd’s own hand there.

“There. Feel that?” she had asked, pressing Enyd’s palm to a firm, foreign object. “That’s his head. Just a couple more big pushes and he’s out. This is over.”

“He?” Enyd sobbed. How could she be so sure of that?

The old woman didn’t answer her. “Come on, girl, push!”

Enyd cried out, her haggard voice reverberating off the rocks around them. She braced her legs and abdomen and bared down again, her cry turning into a teeth-grinding growl. She felt the babe’s head breach the birth canal and its soft mewling cries joined hers. The old woman once again guided Enyd’s hands between her thighs and had her grip the back of the infant’s neck.

“One more time. You can do it.”

The sound of the baby and the feel of its soft, slick skin under her hands ignited something deep and primal within Enyd and she unleashed what could only be described as a guttural battle cry. She pushed hard, her thin face scrunching and turning scarlet; her molars gritting together. Spittle gathered and fanned at the corners of her dry lips and veins throbbed at her temples. She felt the infant’s shoulders breach past her opening and she ripped her other hand away from the Vastaya to cradle the torso as it slid from her body.

A wail fell from Enyd’s mouth as her body suddenly felt strangely light and empty. Without a second thought, she lifted the fussing newborn to her chest. The Vastaya and old woman guided Enyd carefully to the cavern floor, allowing her wobbly, numbing legs a chance to rest. Enyd panted as she leaned her back and head against the rock wall. Sweat plastered her dark hair to her forehead and the sides of her face, tears rolled down her cheeks and neck.

“It’s a boy,” the old woman confirmed with a smile, her tone much more soothing.

Enyd kept her head pitched against the rock, staring up. She felt the baby shift and fuss against her chest and her throat constricted. She didn’t want to look down at it.

“Girl,” the crone called again, “Look at your boy. Look at what you made.”

Enyd squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed. The bumpy rocks shifted and scratched behind her head as she reluctantly ducked her chin toward her chest. She opened her eyes and her heart gently grounded back down, deep into her chest allowing her throat and lungs to fully breathe for the first time in almost a year.

The baby looked up at her. He had her eyes. She remembered his eyes, and the ones currently peering up at her looked nothing like those horrible, deep-set black pools.

Her baby had her eyes.

Her son.

He watched her. His eyes searching her face for comfort, guidance, protection, affirmation, love . . .

A soft cry hitched at the back of Enyd’s throat and she held her boy closer. Her finger tips gently grazed over his head, marveling at the soft, dark fuzz. As her hands caressed down his cheek, he flailed an arm up and firmly gripped Enyd’s index finger in his small hand.

“Strong,” the old woman murmured. “Like his mama.”

He was perfect.

He was hers.

She was his.

Hope House was forgotten.

Enyd curled her hands around Silco’s in return, her fingertips pressing and massaging against the meat of his warm palms. Her throat tightened further and a bitterness settled on the back of her tongue. The gradual reversing of their roles was difficult for her to swallow. To have him fret over her; to have him be the comforter, guider, protector . . .

She didn’t want to be done with him needing her in those ways. She carried such tremendous guilt that she had ever hoped that she would miscarry and then giving him up prior to his birth, that loving him as intensely as she could was her way of trying to right those cruel wishes and thoughts. And the shifting of their dynamic once illness took hold of her ate at her heart like the blight ate at her lungs.

“Mum,” Silco said quietly. Enyd’s gaze lifted from his hands to his eyes. Her eyes. “Please. This is the least they can do,” he nodded toward the vial. “Piltover can spare a vial or two of medicine after everything they’ve done. They won’t find out. I promise. Please.”

Enyd held his gaze for a moment longer before she sighed and lifted his hands up, resting her forehead on his knuckles.

“My perfect boy,” she whispered.

“C’mon Kat,” Sevika whined, as she paced the alley behind Babette’s.

“I’m almost through it all,” came a voice, echoing from within the confines of the open dumpster.

“Didn’t you make all your deliveries last night? Don’t you have enough coin for a new brassiere?”

Katya’s head popped out from over the top of the dumpster. “Will you shut up, please?”

Katya glared at Sevika, and her gold eyes scanned the alleyway.

“No one’s here,” Sevika drawled.

“You never know who might be listening,” Katya grumbled, as she dove back into the discarded clothes and trash.

She was aggravated with Sevika’s loose lips and with the lack of selection in Babette’s dumpster. She tugged on a promising looking piece of satin fabric, only finding it to be a stained robe. Her lips curled in disgust and she tossed it aside.

“We’re gonna be late!”

“I didn’t think revolutionaries cared about such things as timetables.”

The next article of clothing Katya pulled on ended up being a very abused and damp pair of underwear. She flung it across the dumpster in revulsion. However, underneath those damaged undergarments had been a simple, sheer brassiere that looked to be Katya’s size. Her breath caught in excitement as she lifted it up and inspected it. There was no sizing tag, but aside from a fraying strap and broken hook it looked to be in decent condition. Satisfied, Katya tucked it deep within her coat and hopped out of the dumpster. She dusted herself off and walked towards Sevika, who was leaning against the mouth of the alleyway, looking out onto the street.

Peering over the girl’s shoulder, Katya saw two brothel workers leaning against the front door to Babette’s, calling and reaching out to people as they passed by. The two women were beautiful. Long, shapely limbs draped in see-through fabric, slim waists cinched up in corsets that had the soft, pert flesh of their breasts and ass spilling out over the top and underneath. Sevika was staring at them, chewing her lower lip.

Katya rolled her eyes and snorted, causing the younger woman to jump. A rosy blush quickly bloomed across Sevika’s round cheeks.

“Come on,” Katya ribbed. “We’re going to be late.”

Too quickly, Sevika stalked away from the alley heading in the direction of The Last Drop, her shoulders hunching around her head in embarrassment. Katya jogged to catch up with her. Once they were in stride, she put a comforting arm on Sevika’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” Katya said as they wove through the night crowds milling about through the Lanes. “I did not mean to make you feel self-conscious.”

Sevika looked down at her friend as they walked, her tight shoulders softening under Katya’s warm gaze.

“It’s fine,” Sevika huffed, rolling her head to one side. “I suppose I deserve a little shaming after – “

“’Vika,” Katya warned.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything!”

Katya’s stern look relaxed and she sighed. “You already apologized for telling . . . them,” she gestured in the direction they were walking, “and I forgive you – “

“But you’re still mad.”

“I can be both. Mad and forgiving.”

Sevika sighed.

“As long as you don’t mention it to anyone else, I won’t bring it up. I’m certainly not going to lord it over your head, nor shame you because of it. Admittedly, I may be more discerning with the information I give you.”

A small smile tilted the corners of Sevika’s lips and in a hushed voice she said, “That’s fair, I guess. I am sorry, you know.”

“I know.”

The pair continued through the bustling streets in silence. When The Last Drop came into view, Sevika felt Katya tense beside her.

“You ready to meet some of the other Sons and Daughters?”

Katya pursed her lips and continued to cross the square.

“How did you end up convincing her?” Vander asked as he and Silco moved a crate of bottles against the wall.

They were in the basement of The Drop, preparing for a meeting for the Children of Zaun. They never knew how many Brothers and Sisters might show up, but it was a good idea to clear the floor just in case. They set the crate down and Silco wiped his hands on his pants.

“I just,” he started, shrugging, “told her about our vision. About Zaun and all it deserves to be.”

Vander’s thick brows knit together. “That’s it?”

“You didn’t threaten her?” Benzo asked in a chuckle, stacking crates together.

“No, Benzo, I didn’t threaten her,” Silco spat.

“Not even with a good time?”

Vander jumped in before Silco and Benzo could hiss and spit at each other like alley cats.

“Well, whatever you told her,” he said, clapping a hand to Silco’s shoulder, “good work.”

Silco’s lips twitched and he nodded in thanks. Benzo heaved the final crate on top of the rest and muttered something about getting a drink before the meeting started as he trudged up the basement steps.

“You know he’s just goading you,” Vander said with a sly smile. “You don’t always have to take the bait.”

Silco pinched his face in a sour expression. “He’s just so . . . insufferable. I don’t understand why you like him.”

Vander smirked and pulled a cigarette and book of matches out from his vest pocket. He stuck the filter between his lips and lit it. He took a drag before blowing a string of smoke out of his mouth and presented it to Silco between pinched fingers. “He’s said the same about you.”

Silco hummed and took Vander’s offering. “And what do you tell him?”

“That you’re my best mate. That despite this hard and bony outside,” Vander poked Silco playfully in the chest. Hard.

“Vander, fucking don’t,” Silco hissed, cigarette smoke streaming out from behind his teeth, swatting the abusive finger away.

“You have a good heart,” Vander continued with a fond smile. “You convinced me to leave those mines before the Pilties could kill me, didn’ya? You also ‘ave more piss n’ vinegar in ya than all of the Brothers and Sisters put together. You believe in Zaun in a way that can keep the rest of the lot motivated.”

Silco took a second drag on the cigarette before handing it back to Vander. He found it difficult to keep his expression cool and collected as his Brother’s words of affirmation washed over him.

“Zaun is our vision, Vander,” Silco reminded as the other took the cigarette back. “It wasn’t only me dreaming it up in the mines.”

“Aye, I know,” Vander agreed, placing the filter back between his lips. “But your passion about it convinces people. Rallies ‘em. Makes ‘em believe.”

“Perhaps,” Silco conceded. “It seems to scare as many people as it rallies, though.”

Vander shrugged. “Leave that lot to me n’ ‘Zo.”

“Ah, yes, the friendly-faces of the revolution,” Silco grumbled, a fingertip absently swiping down his long nose. “Much more palatable.”

Vander’s face softened and he reach out to place a hand on the juncture between Silco’s shoulder and neck. Without thinking about it, Vander’s thumb swiped along the smooth skin of his Brother’s collar bone. “Hey. Don’ worry about it. I, for one, like your . . . intensity, let’s call it.”

Silco smirked and gently brushed Vander’s hand off his shoulder. The taller man smiled back and took one last drag off the cigarette before tapping it out against the basement wall.

Instead of going through the front door of The Last Drop, Sevika led Katya behind the building to a basement walk-out. The teen rapped on the metal door in a string of intricately timed knocks, and the squeaky door was opened by Cairn the busboy.

“Are we late?” Sevika asked as she and Katya stepped down the darkened staircase.

“Haven’t started yet, if that’s what you mean,” Cairn answered, closing and locking the door. He gave Katya a searching look as he followed behind them. “You the nurse?”

Katya’s heart skipped a beat and her jaw momentarily locked before she said, “I suppose.”

Cairn smiled widely, presenting a large gap between his front teeth. “Good. Sev’s shit at stitching.”

“Watch it, you clod,” Sevika growled over her shoulder. Katya wasn’t sure if she flexed her sculpted back on purpose or if it was a defensive reflex.

Cairn snickered and slipped past the two women. “Gotta get back upstairs,” he said. “I’m manning the bar for Van.”

“You’re not staying?” Katya asked.

“Vander will catch me up later!” the busboy called as he leapt up a set of stairs. He opened the door at the top and the warm light and sounds of The Last Drop briefly streamed down to the basement hallway before shutting again.

“C’mon. This way,” Sevika said as she directed their journey down a narrow hall to the left.

Katya was led through a door that blended seamlessly into the wooden wall and into a large storeroom. Her eyes widened and she gripped her fists in her coat pockets. The space was warmly lit, like the rest of The Drop, and there seemed to be as many people here as there were above.

Katya hadn’t outrightly thought that Vander was lying when he told her that the Children of Zaun had decent numbers, but she was truly surprised at the size of the gathering. Sevika had been right: this wasn’t just a few drunkards at the end of a bar moping and cussing about the future.

Most of the people in the storeroom looked to be late-teens to young adults. A few older individuals lurked at the sides of the room, quietly chatting with each other; and, to Katya’s dismay, there were more than a few children weaving through the crowd, giggling and chasing one another.

At what appeared to the designated front of the room, Vander and Benzo were in conversation. Silco stood off to the side, his narrow hips leaning on a crate, cigarette dangling from his lips. As if sensing her, his eyes landed immediately on Katya. His lips tightened their hold on his cigarette and he lifted his head ever so slightly.

“Hey, Sevika!”

Katya jumped at the sudden and loud cry directed and her and her friend.

“Hi Annie,” Sevika responded, hands coming to rest on her hips. “How did the observations go at the docks the other night?”

The young woman – Annie – was seated up on a stack of crates to Sevika’s right. She was a pretty thing, with deep indigo hair swept back in loose braids. Her hazel eyes gleamed under the warm chem-lights. Butted up right against her side was a young man with freckled skin and blazingly red hair. His eyes were large and dewy blue.

“They went well!” Annie chirped.

“I’m pretty sure we’re gonna go over it tonight,” the young man added.

Annie’s eyes slid over Sevika’s shoulder to Katya.

“You’re new,” she said.

“This is Katya,” Sevika introduced, stepping aside. “She’s from the mines, too. Kat, this is Annie and Beckett.”

Katya smiled at the couple and murmured a greeting.

“You’re the nurse Sev’s talked about?”

Katya looked up to Sevika, questioning. The teen shook her head, a promising look in her silver eyes.

“I work in the mine’s clinic, yes,” Katya slowly answered.

“Thank Gods!” Annie cried, rolling her head onto her shoulders dramatically. Her dark braids slipped over her shoulders and behind her back. “No one here knows how to patch and stitch. I’m surprised no one’s lost any limbs yet!”

“Do – do people get hurt often?” Katya asked.

Beckett jumped in. “Right now, only from Enforcers who get their jollies from beating up Sump Rats. Nothing too bad yet.”

Katya did not like the word yet.

Annie’s eyes left Katya’s face to look beyond her shoulder. “Hey Silco. What’s the hold up? When can this meeting get started?”

Katya turned and saw the slender young man approaching their small circle. He gave Annie an unimpressed look and said, “Have somewhere else to be?”

Annie clicked her tongue against her teeth and rolled her eyes. “No. Just the sooner we get started, the sooner we get to bothering Enforcers.”

Silco frowned. “You know this isn’t just about bothering Enforcers.”

“She knows, Sil,” Beckett interjected. “Lighten up.”

Silco’s face tightened before turning his attention to Katya.

“May I speak with you?”

Katya nodded and followed Silco to a quieter corner of the storage room. Her eyes flitted nervously around the crowded space and her fingers worried a loose thread of her father’s coat. She couldn’t help but feel the mood was too light given what they were gathered there for. The interaction with Annie and Beckett, as nice as they seemed, put her more on edge.

“I just wanted to thank you again,” Silco whispered, bowing his head towards Katya’s ear. “For the medicine.”

“Did your mother take it?” Katya asked, forcing her eyes to look away from the center of the room and up at Silco.

His face softened and he nodded. “This morning. And I told her about the dose to take in the afternoon.”

“Good,” Katya said. “And she was agreeable?”

A small smile tilted the corners of Silco’s mouth, a lovely shadow curling around its corners. “It took a little convincing, but I think you can attest to my powers of persuasion.”

Katya rolled her eyes, but smiled as well. “Yes, yes you are very good with your words.”

“Oi! Silco!” Vander called from the front of the room.

Silco glanced over his shoulder to see his friend gesturing him over. He turned back to Katya and said, “Anyway, thank you – “

“Let me know when she needs more.”

Like when she gave him the vial in the mine, Silco was lost for words. The grin that had faded from his face briefly returned, and he nodded before heading back toward the front of the room.

“Alright, alright,” Vander called out over the crowd as Silco resumed his spot, lurking just behind the bartender’s shoulder. “Quiet down everyone!”

Sevika appeared at Katya’s side once more and lightly bumped her arm. The shorter woman looked up at her friend to find her smiling excitedly. Katya reciprocated the best she could before crossing her arms over her chest and directing her attention to the front.

“For once we have some news!” Vander continued, his voice and presence easily filling the large room. An excited murmur fluttered through the crowd before dying down again. “I know you lot have been waitin’ for something to happen, something that the Children of Zaun can really sink our teeth into.”

Affirming murmurs whispered through the room. Next to Vander, Benzo knowingly nodded his head.

“Well, now that our numbers are growin’ by the day n’ now that we have Brothers and Sisters with necessary skills and access,” Katya could’ve sworn his grey eyes landed on her, “we think it’s time to make ourselves known.”

The crowd cheered. Katya winced and gripped her arms tighter.

“We’ve received word,” Vander continued, “that there’s gonna be a large shipment of weapons and artillery delivered to Piltover’s – “ a small flurry of ‘boos’ echoed around the room “– Enforcer’s Headquarters this weekend. At the Southside docks.”

“You’re welcome for that intel!” Annie called from her crate. Beckett smiled and looped his muscular, freckled arm around her shoulder. Some of the crowd giggled at her outburst.

“Yeah, you n’ the ginger did alrigh’,” Benzo replied and took a swig from the mug in his hands.

The meeting quickly turned to planning. A small team was assembled to go with Vander, Benzo, and Silco the night the shipment was due to dock; others volunteered their homes and businesses for storing the boon; some children offered to run recon the night of to distract Enforcers and keep them off of the Children of Zaun’s tails.

Katya watched from her corner. Mouth growing dryer and dryer.

Notes: You made it! Congratulations! Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment and reblog <3 Us writers and our fics are a lot of responsibility: we gotta be commented and reblogged to stay healthy and strong ;)

Thoughts on Annie and Beckett? (and who they might be? tee hee)

Coming Up Next: Katya picks Viktor up from the Academy, and they enjoy an evening together in the Undercity while she tries not to think about the robbery the Children are trying to pull off.

Next Chapter

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