#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.

[honey-tongued-devil]

[Arcane preference] reacting to a jealous s/o

Disclaimer: I’ve had about ten different requests regarding jealousy, and while this doesn’t cover all of them, it does address some. Disclaimer #2: It would be out of character to write that everyone handles it perfectly, so read at your own discretion. Lastly, as always, I’ve got an Arcane longfic in progress! If you’d like to read it, click HERE, and it’ll take you straight to the AO3 page.

Jayce:

You need to get a grip.

He’s an understanding person, but there’s a limit to everything. If jealousy stems from insecurity and is brought up as a calm and peaceful discussion, he’ll sit beside you to talk it out.

However, if it’s a scene, if it escalates into yelling, restrictive demands on his freedom, or absurd and over-the-top behavior, he’ll enter a period of coldness where he’ll reflect on things.

But if it happens again, don’t expect understanding.

You can’t expect to publicly humiliate someone like that, try to control them because of your own insecurities, and not face a negative reaction.

Viktor:

Raises an eyebrow, his only initial reaction.

The first thing he’ll do is laugh—whether because he finds the situation ridiculous or it’s just an instinctive response, that’s what you’ll see first.

From his perspective, he’s working like a beast of burden not just to be independent but to be a person with dignity, breaking free from the dynamic imposed by Zaun and Piltover that has shackled him like some original sin. And now, not only do you not trust him, but you’re also trying to put him back in the role of a pet that needs taming and obedience.

He knows he hasn’t done anything wrong, knows he hasn’t been giving attention to anyone else but you and his work.

That’s why jealousy only damages the relationship.

Ekko:

Perplexed.

Assuming no one would take a public scene well, in the case of a civil confrontation, he’d mostly be confused.

It makes sense, sure, given how close-knit all the Firelights are, but it never occurred to him that it might bother you.

He doesn’t even know how he should react. He’d definitely try to talk with you, figure out what exactly made you feel that way, and explain the ambiguous situation that set you off.

A scene isn’t a dealbreaker with him, but it does lead to a few days of awkwardness before a fight inevitably happens.

That doesn’t mean he lacks self-respect, though. After the umpteenth time, he’ll simply give up.

Vander:

He’s too old for this kind of nonsense, to be honest.

If you throw a scene, he’ll just ignore it. He’ll let you yell and stomp your feet until you’re out of energy, let you cool off, and then come back to have a conversation.

His response will be laced with irony, like, ��Well, who wouldn’t be jealous of the most charming man in the Lanes, after all?” But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t take the issue seriously—he’s just trying to lighten the mood.

He’ll ask how you think he should handle it but ultimately decides for himself whether your request is reasonable or over the top.

When you lose your cool, he’ll treat you the same way he used to handle kids throwing tantrums.

Silco:

Let’s assume no one would dare make a scene in public with Silco out of pure survival instinct. That alone would be an immediate dealbreaker, and you wouldn’t have any chance to confront, talk, or even approach his space again.

A private scene would irritate him regardless. When you’re done, his response would be, “Is that all?”

He’s a diplomatic person. The idea of yelling—or even wasting unnecessary energy on these trivial little issues when his vision is grand, almost boundless—feels almost insulting to him.

If, however, you approach it as a calm and rational discussion, while he may still feel mildly annoyed, he’ll try to reassure you and help you understand that there’s no real reason for you to feel that way.

Jinx:

A fertile ground for conflict, given her fear of abandonment, obsessiveness, and jealousy.

Reverse card: if you start a scene, there’s a high chance she’ll throw it right back at you, leading to a full-blown argument.

Her fear of losing you means that even if your request makes her furious, she’ll still do what you want.

Not the healthiest relationship you could have, but hey, who am I to judge?

She’s not one to leave arguments unresolved. After the shouting match, there have to be cuddles, even if only to prove there’s no lingering resentment between you two.

Vi:

Completely caught off guard.

Now, no one likes a scene, BUT she grew up with a sister who felt emotions way too strongly, so there’s a good chance she’ll switch into “caregiver” mode and try to calm you down immediately instead of getting mad.

She wasn’t expecting an outburst like that. She’s likely more hurt by the fact that you feel this way than anything else.

After the fight, she’ll probably ask to hold you for a bit, trying to make up for unintentionally hurting you.

She’s open to changing the things you need her to change because she values you more than other people.

Caitlyn:

Caitlyn’s problem is that she has the dignity—and let’s be honest, that’s what it is—to tell you to fuck off after a jealous scene, especially if it’s in public. But unfortunately, she pours her soul into relationships, so she’ll try to talk it out.

She’ll meet you halfway within reason. Obviously, you can’t ask her to stop going out alone with colleagues after work, but if your concerns are more reasonable, she’ll try to accommodate them.

However, that doesn’t mean she’ll be calm immediately after the scene. Quite the opposite. She’ll need the rest of the day to cool off and a night’s sleep to forget how angry she was.

If you handle things diplomatically instead of with a scene, she won’t be angry but might feel a bit sad.

Mel:

If you throw a scene, expect to be left right where you are—literally.

If you want to yell, stomp your feet, and act immature, she’ll just turn and walk away, and you’ll find out the state of your relationship when you try to return to your shared apartment and find it empty.

It’s not about pettiness; it’s about the humiliation of being publicly exposed, about dragging your private matters into the open, showing so little respect that you can’t even grant her privacy.

If it’s a discussion, prepare to bottle it up.

Everything she does is for appearances, for trust, and as a political figure, she can’t neglect something as crucial as her public image.

It’s up to you to trust her enough.

Sevika:

A public scene disgusts her and puts her in a horrible position. She’ll be mocked—Silco will hit her once and tell her that “You walk her like a dog,” and his goons won’t let her live it down either.

Depending on her mood, the timing, and countless other factors, her reaction could range from ignoring you to screaming at you in the bar to telling you to get a grip or even walking away and ending it.

It’s about respect, pride, and understanding where your limits lie—and this might be one of those moments where you’ve crossed the line.

If you talk things out calmly, don’t expect her to console you. Whether you trust her or not isn’t her problem.

She holds no grudges, but she also has no intention of babying you.

[rarepairdumpster]

Silco Jailed AU Part 1

Pairing: Viktor/Silco (Arcane) Rating: M C/W: Canon Divergence, First Meeting, Distrust, Politics, Viktor watches trials to pick up men (A/N: This one plays fast and loose with canon but we trust yall to roll with it lol)

Silco turns himself in to protect Jinx and has a unfair trial, where all none of the context of his actions are taken into account, and he's sentenced to public execution as an assurance to the Piltovans and a lesson for the Zaunites.

Heimerdinger expresses a worry of creating a martyr, but he's overruled.

Jinx didn't blow up the council so Viktor, who watched the trial, just like he did Jayce's ends up sneaking down to where they're keeping Silco the night before his execution since Stillwater is too far away for sending a message like this.

When Viktor gets there, he sees what the guards have done to him.

How his hair has been shorn with such violence that he's bleeding from several places.

His fine clothes have been forcibly swapped for filth-stained rags.

Hints of bruises are visible through the tears in the fabric.

Yet somehow, despite the effort to rob him of his dignity, Silco manages to sit with his chin held high. There's a stubborn, angry pride in every line of his frame.

Because in the end, he is giving his life for his people, just like he always knew he would. It was just a matter of when and how. 

When he sees Viktor, Silco's mouth twists with a sneer.

Because he knows who this is.

The Zaunite that lined Piltover's pockets, who helped them leave Zaun further and further behind. The Zaunite that provided the tech to build the hammer that murdered Renni's son, and the gauntlets that almost oblitered the security guards.

The traitor.

"Silco," Viktor says, straightening himself up as much as he can with his crutch. "I am sorry that we never got the chance to meet until now."

"Me too." Silco tips his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. He can't stomach looking at this traitor. But his voice is cold as ice. "I would have gutted you a long time ago."

"Perhaps," Viktor hums. "I presume you think I'm some sort of...oh what do you call it..."

"Bootlicker?" Silco gladly provides.

"Ah, yes," Viktor chuckles a little. "I can assure you though, my true loyalties lie far from reigning authority."

"Your assurances mean nothing." Silco does look at him then. Sharp. Full of rage. His blue eye is almost more terrifying than his red one. Just for a moment. "Your actions speak louder than words ever could."

Viktor holds up the keys to the cell. "Allow me to free you, and we can discuss some actions I've been wanting to take for a long time."

"Do you think I'm here by accident, boy?" Silco let's out a scoffing laugh and goes back to rest his head against the wall. "Every choice I make is calculated. If its atonement you seek.....destroy the hexgates. Burn the lab to the ground. The weapons. The plans. The materials. Make them feel its loss."

"Do you really think I can do that on my own?" Viktor asked, stepping closer to the bars, making sure his crutch made a sharp sound on the stone. 

"Do you think I enjoy having to bend to the council's every selfish whim? My research and work has been twisted and molded to everything they want." He grabs one of the bars with his hand that held his crutch. 

"Martyrdom is for those who have nothing left to contribute to the cause. If you truly want to see it burn as much as I do, then help me."

"What would you know of martyrdom, of the cause," Silco says coldly. "You were never part of it. You were never my brother. You fled the undercity as soon as something better came along. Chose to work for them. Knowing what they did. What they always do."

"Ah, so we've made it abundantly clear that we know nothing about each other," Viktor sneered. "If you don't want to help me, fine."

He turns away and sighs. "Dr. Reveck will likely make better use of my blueprints anyway."

'Blueprints' makes Silco straighten.

"Don't be a fool. Reveck has no interest in helping the undercity; he would turn on us all for his own ends."

Viktor notices the change in Silco's tone. He has to tread carefully. He allows himself a little smirk before turning back to Silco. 

"I'm afraid I don't have any other options," Viktor reminds him.

Silco's lips thin.

He knows he's been played.

"You're more cunning than I thought." 

"I know," Viktor answers, confident now that Silco is willing to listen. "You're not the only person who calculates. Did you think it was an accident that lead to me solving the question of hextech? That I was involved? No! Talis was going to kill himself. His work was going to be destroyed. I intervened. I saved the work. I solved the equations that he fumbled. Because I knew what it could do for our people. For Zaun!"

Viktor's face twists then.

"My only failing was believing in the goodness of Jayce Talis. But he proved me a fool."

Silco looks away.

"You should have known better than to trust a topsider. One from a house at that," Silco huffs, but his eyes soften slightly. He certainly understood putting trust in the wrong person.

"He was charismatic, hopeful." Viktor bows his head, rests his forehead against the bars. He sighs, tired.  His whole body hurts, a constant stabbing pain through spine and pelvis and leg. "He was full of idealism that I harbored myself. I failed to consider the larger house that held his leash. Failed to consider his compulsive need for praise, to...to please."

Silco huffs out of amusement. He definitely understood failing to account for that. 

"Fine, then," Silco finally says. "I assume you have a plan to get me out of here?"

"I can get us into Zaun," Viktor explains. "But I assume you still have contacts there."

Part 2

Arch + Woods

[idontknowwhatimdoinglol]

Can I request yandere Jayce, Ambessa, Catilyn, and Mel (separate) headcanons x reader who is from the undersity

I live for the piltover x undercity ships <3 -- jayce

Jayce would be one of the softer yandere in this scenario, but that doesn't mean that he is any less obsessive.

After seeing what happened to Viktor, the sickness he had endured from growing up in the undercity Jayce would take no chances in losing you in the same way so as soon as he forms any sort of bond or attachment to you he will give you a not so optional choice to move to piltover.

if you agree and come willingly then there won't be any problems, you'll live a happy life in his apartment being pampered with all the gifts and love you could ever want.

But if you decline said offer, then the next time you visit him in piltover, that 'innocent' cup of tea he offers may just have a little something slipped in to knock you out for a few hours, just until he can make sure you can't escape him, for your own safety, of course. It's not forever, just simply until you can learn that he is doing this because he loves and wants to protect you.

he wont be overly protective, he will let you leave his apartment and even have friends of your own as long as theyre not other men.

And don't bother trying to sneak back into the undercity, he tipped off the enforcers guarding the bridge that you might do so and, using his title of council member, he gave them orders to bring you back to him if they see you trying to sneak past.

he wont punish you, he loves you to much to see you hurt. but he will yell at you a bit and accuse you of being ungrateful for everything hes done for you. afterwards he would immediately apologize and offer you your favorite snacks as an apology for yelling.

Overall, out of the characters in the show to have as a Yandere Jayce isn't too bad.

--

Ambessa (for the sake of the headcanons we're just gonna pretend that she didnt die)

Ahem.. well, you're doomed.

We've all seen how terrifying Ambessa can be when it comes to her family, and congrats, you're part of it now, whether you want to be or not, you don't really have a choice.

You were simply another person from the undercity that she used for her own amusement, much like the man she had when she first arrived in Piltover.

But after some time, she began to feel a strange sense of possessiveness towards you, a strange need to keep you at her side at all times.

First, it started off small with simple requests that you stay with her while she bathed or went around Piltover, but soon it went as far as forcing you to sleep in the same bed as her, her grip tight around you to prevent you from leaving her in the night.

Since trusting doesn't come easily to Ambessa, she is always on edge, assuming that you will try to flee from her. Let us just hope you don't really try to, because she isn't one to stray from harsh punishments.

When she eventually leaves Piltover after her defeat against Mel, she makes sure to take you with her back to Noxus. I mean, before the fight even began, she had you peacefully asleep on her ship with guards to assure that you didn't escape or get hurt in the chaos.

Overall, Ambessa can be a good yandere if you obey her, but like I said before, she isn't one to stray from a harsh punishment if you try to escape her. So just embrace her love and you'll be fine.

--

Caitlyn

She wouldn't really be a yandere at first.. hear me out.

She probably would have met you through vi when they were in the undercity searching for Silco and Jinx, and she would have been completely normal then, probably wouldn't have thought of you as more than a friend.

But after Jinx's attack, that's when things start going a bit.. obsessive

After losing her mother, chasing off Vi and failing to kill Jinx, she was desperate to find something she could hold on to, keep in control and from leaving her, and congrats, you're that lucky thing.

She will use her status as a decorated officer and member of House Kiraman to bring you past the border and into Piltover, claiming it was for questioning, so Ambessa wouldn't get suspicious.

she isn't one of the worst yandere's you could have, she will give you a luxurious room in the kiraman house, along with other luxuries that come with being her darling, but along with these luxuries you'll have to deal with her more personal problems, personal being emotions and problems being ambessa and jinx.

She will force you to sleep with her every night, cuddling her as she rants about Ambessa and the council. It isn't completely horrible since she never forces you into anything you're uncomfortable with (other than the kidnapping part)

overtime her obsession grows, and she sees you as more than just something she can control in her life. Soon she begins to gain feelings, even when Vi returns and Jinx 'dies', she always makes sure to keep you close. And who knows, maybe vi begins to share these obsessive feelings about you with Caitlyn over time.

--

Mel

Mel is a silent type of yandere. She will definitely obsess over you, but she doesn't feel the need to kidnap you or anything major like that until she thinks someone is trying to steal you away.

She befriends you first before anything, gaining your trust with gifts and invitations to the Piltover opera. slowly entering your life until the two of you become more.

Once you both become lovers, her more possessive side tends to come out, starting with small things like pulling you closer to her at parties when she sees someone looking at you, or showing more displays of affection to tell others you're hers.

When her mother comes to Piltover though... ya that's when she shows her true colours.

Instantly, she's more around, always keeping you at her side, especially when her mother decides to visit you both, refusing to even let you speak to her.

If she, however, finds out that Ambessa met you behind her back, whether it's you who went to see Ambessa or the other way around, she will not hesitate to kidnap you, locking you in her home and chaining you to the bed. With golden chains, of course.

she will comfort you for hours if you cry, promising its only until her mother leaves, even buying you gifts until then.

eventually she unchains you, but she still makes sure there are enforcers at every exit of her home to ensure that you can't escape.

she definitely is the best yandere to have, although she is a bit delusional considering shes convinced herself that shes done all of this to protect you from people after her, since you are the one thing she loves most of all.

[sonderblade]

Remembering how many parallels Jinx and Jayce have... God. I wish we saw Jayce get more crazy or at least show him dealing with the mental trauma he endured!!! Like he may be focused and has a goal, but trauma does not dissappear like. That.

I wanna know if there's any Jayce falling from grace Ao3 fics?? Like he gets unhinged like Jinx and becomes a sort of villain? There should be.

Imagine Caitlyn and Jayce fighting about how Piltover treated him with Cait, saying violence isn't the answer blah blah blah, and it creates this connection between Vi and Cait having to deal with murderous siblings. Jinx and Jayce team up?? They can both relate to each other or at least see they are opposites (Piltovian, Zaunite) but also the same (naive but reckless, good intentions but bad outcome).

Or maybe imagine a story where Jayce and Jinx grow up together under Silco, where instead of Viktor and Jayce figuring out the runes, it explodes, which ends up killing the Professor and ( or badly injuring) Viktor. Jayce runs away from enforcers, which leads him down to the very bottom of Zaun (where Jinx and Vi grew up), and he stays there to survive until Silco and Powder Jinx show up one day.

Can you imagine Silco with two bright-minded living weapons???? Oh, Piltover is losing.

With Jayce being there, I think Jinx's hallucinations/mental health wouldn't be so terrible since I imagine Jayce would definitely take her in as a little sister because she reminds him of Caitlyn.

I imagine that Jayce's mental health would be reminiscent of how he was in the Bad Alternate Universe. He would definitely be clingy to Silco, not as much as Jinx, but in a way where he wants to prove himself to him since Silco believes in him so much and was/is kinder about his ideas and inventions than the Council/Piltover. Jayce is known to be an affectionate person, so I believe he wouldn't be reluctant to give Silco a hug or too since I feel like they would develop a father/son dynamic.

Silco would probably be like, "A brillant young scientist forced to run from his own home who hates him now, can never return, and also accidentally killed two people? Manipulation time!!" To " fuck i care about him too?"

Like, GOD!!!

[goorehound]

Silco / Viktor Chapter 2

chapter 1

ao3

Still workshopping how I want this to look, so if anybody has any feedback please let me know! And for the people who showed interest in chapter 1, I’m voluntelling you to read this (and share your thoughts if you’d like!) @hextechdystopia @eyeofclaws @greaseofficial @dubiousbread488 and the last person it won’t let me tag lol.

Summary:

Silco, a newer (and far from proud) resident of Piltover, is struggling to raise his freshly teenage daughter Jinx in the uppercity after a messy divorce. Teenagers are difficult, and a new school is always an adjustment.

Viktor, a begrudging and very overqualified high school teacher (after a falling out with his old business partner) is desperately trying to keep his promising student afloat. If only her father were not such a stubborn bastard that refuses to work with him.

Lately, broaching certain conversations with Jinx had become more of an art form, learning when to apply pressure and when to offer her space to fill the silence of her own volition. And Silco had been waiting patiently, until all that remained in Jinx’s bowl was the dregs of her overly sweet cereal. Perhaps the time to apply some pressure, then. “I asked you a question.” He prompted quietly, eyes examining her expression.

Surprise graced it first, brows raising high - then confusion, as they lowered back down into a furrow. “Oh. I forgot.” She spoke as he brought a spoonful of porridge to his lips, exhaling an amused breath at her absentminded behaviour. Often, she had more important things going on to bother focusing on measly breakfast conversations.

“Vandalism. At school. Have you done any?” He asked, giving up on his breakfast. Eating in the morning only ever made him nauseous, but he’d learned the hard lesson that if he skipped a meal then Jinx would follow suit and it was really not worth the bickering. Modelling certain behaviours and healthy habits was sometimes the only way to encourage Jinx, which he’d grown accustomed to. She loved to mimic. He recalled her, chubby cheeked with wide eyes, following his every footstep. Trying to brush her teeth exactly like him, giggling whenever he smiled, copying how he built his blocks into a tower. His little shadow. Oh, simpler times. It was cute the small ways in which that fixation lingered.

“Sometimes.” Jinx shrugged noncommittally, pulling him from his reminiscing. “When I get bored, I guess, doodling on the wall or whatever.” Minor, then - but she did have a very specific art style, and colour scheme, unique enough to be noticed. Not worth the hassle it could turn into. Jinx partaking in graffiti was not alarming in and of itself but the fact that it was at school? He thought he had warned her thoroughly of the risks of being placed in a Piltover school. Jinx slurped loudly from her bowl as he pondered this.

“I see.” Silco brushed a hand through his hair before rising from his chair and collecting their dishes, once she had drained the remnants of her own. “Perhaps we should be more cautious at school, hm? Like we discussed.” He spoke calmly and with an air of finality. “It isn’t worth the risk, you know how uptight they get about their decor.”

Clearly this did not sit well with his daughter, and he heard her irritated groan above the droning sound of the sink as he rinsed the silverware. The sound alone told him exactly with what level of dramatization that she had rolled her eyes, and he braced himself for whatever complaints would follow. “Who cares? I don’t even want to be at this stupid school.”

This had become a recurring theme of conversation over the last two months, and there had been an uptick in frequency as of late. Silco could admit that he was tired of this back and forth, he did not feel he’d had enough hours of sleep to handle this once more. He only hoped his patience would win out.

“You were excited to start. It will take some adjusting, but the opportunities at this school will be a benefit.” Silco scrubbed the washcloth within the bowl in a soothing rhythm, focused intently on it. It was already pristine.

“I don’t need it.” Jinx barked back, and Silco could feel the daggers she was glaring into the back of his head. Scrubbing the lip of the bowl, there could be food caught in the chips.

“You don’t need school?” Silco asked incredulously, fingers hesitating in their compulsive cleaning. That was new. The complaints had only ever before indicated that she may want to be in a different school, perhaps back in Zaun - but no school at all was an interesting development.

“No. Vi hasn’t done school since she was 15,” Jinx pointed out, proud of her statement. As if she’d caught Silco out in some way with this fact. “And Pops is fine with it, he even helped her get a job.”

When the bowl clattered to the bottom of the sink, Silco knew he would not be proud of whatever words flowed out next. He was a man of great restraint, but there was something about a teenager that tried the patience in a way nothing else could - especially when the teenager was your own. It seemed as though she had a sixth sense for what the most aggravating, skin crawling thing she could say next to push him to his limit.

“That is because your sister lacks any potential to be anything besides a hired muscle, or a mindless drone in the mines, and she is as witless as your Pops.” Silco bit out ruthlessly as he dried his hands off, already feeling the regret curdling in his stomach. These were not helpful things to say, and he knew it. “I will not hear another word about you not needing school, child.”

The silence was suffocating. Exacerbated by the drip, drip, drip of the sink in front of him, and he really must fix that. Jinx could fix it, if he asked, but somehow now did not seem like the most opportune time. He should really turn around and face the music, much as he loathe to admit he’d made a glaringly obvious mistake. Akin to a bull in a china shop when it came to parenting he was recently developing the outstanding talent of shoving his foot in his mouth.

Jinx’s expression was as devastated as he had imagined, pinched somewhere between distraught and wrathful. Being the cause for such strong and conflicting emotions on her face felt like a swift blow to the kidney.

“Grab your bag, please, you will be late for class.” Silco spoke quietly, watching her lip tremble to hold something back. Either tears or a shouting match, he was sure. “We can pick up whatever snack you would like on the way over.” He added to hopefully balm over some of the anger.

“You suck.” Jinx said with finality as she threw herself out of the chair, hands balled into fists and body jittering with restless energy. He hoped he could talk her down before she unleashed this rage on some unsuspecting student. Or teacher. Silco had made quite a mess of this morning, hadn’t he?

“I’ll meet you in the car.” Silco replied without acknowledging the minor outburst, going about adjusting his vest and hair as he snatched his keys off of the ring. The walk down from the top floor of their apartment would give him time to calm, to simmer down until guilt won over frustration. He would take the morning off, he told himself soothingly, and he would get in some more sleep.

—————

After picking up an ice cream, without a single comment from Silco about how that was a terrible way to start the day, they drove with Jinx’s music blaring at an impressive level. It eased her nerves, he thought, noises reflecting back the chaos that was her beautiful mind. Also, it proved useful to drown out Silco’s voice entirely, which he assumed was a big part of the reasoning behind it.

When they pulled up to the lot is when he turned the music to a tolerable level, making an attempt to meet Jinx’s eyes. She was putting very good effort into pretending he was not present.

“I’m sorry for what I said about your sister, and Vander.” Silco watched some tension seep from her shoulders. Normally not a man to often make genuine apologies, but Jinx was ever the exception. “Your sister struggled with school, and it wasn’t fair of me to use that against her.”

“She is smart.” Jinx finally conceded and looked over, no longer existing in a realm where Silco was a buzzing mosquito with nothing important to say. “And I don’t want to be here.”

Silco heaved a breath and reached over to fix a flyaway hair in the sea of blue atop Jinx’s head. “We can talk about that more later. Play along for now, hm? Check out the library. Take advantage.”

Jinx did not seem necessarily happy in regards to the fact that he did not immediately bend to her will and withdraw her from classes that moment, but she no longer seemed to be trying to make him explode with her thoughts when she deigned to acknowledge his presence. So, that was progress.

Some form of assent was muttered as she left the car, and Silco gratefully unpaired her phone from the stereo system to play something a bit less abrasive on the ears.

Absolutely he was due for a nap, as much as that aged him to say, he could not wait to be wrapped in his duvet and dead to the world for the next few hours.

[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.

[pijulle]

i just finish arcane season 1, and I was all for shipping jayvik and caitvi, until I logged onto tumblr, stumbled and fall into the vilco pit T-T

So, here’s an au I crafted just after watching ep9! It’s inspired by the disabled tyrant’s beloved pet fish (which I haven’t read but is here in my to-read shelf). (Also, idk why but I’m kinda uncomfortable typing out 'sex' on main so — you’ll see).

Viktor is dying and plays around with shimmer and the hexcore, until an accident happens and he got teleported in Silco’s office. Unfortunately, his body partially destroyed in the process and the office blown up.

Silco has no idea what just happened, and after making sure Jinx is safe (she’s been knocked down but she’ll be fine), he recognized the person in his office as a zaunite, if only because he’s taking shimmer. So in solidarity (and because he wants to know wtf just happened), he brings him to Singed who cannot save Viktor as he is, so to preserve him he transfers his consciousness into a fish (bla bla bla shimmer and hexotech combined make it possible bla bla bla i’m not a scientist).

While Singed works on human!Viktor, Silco keep fishtor in a tank on his desk. Viktor is not quite himself because he has the brain capacity of a fish, but he retained emotions, and being fed and talked to reassure him (he’s stressed af for obvious reason). Singed had recognized Viktor and talked about him with Silco, who wonders if he could sway him to their cause. Having one of the inventor of hexotech on their side could only be beneficial.

Jinx is curious about fishtor but is not yet jealous of him. In Piltover, Jayce is becoming more and more worried for Viktor, and search for him with all his councillor might.

Singed experimentations are paying, because, though Viktor is kinda paralyzed from head to toe, he can regain his body for a couple of hours per day. Silco is usually there when it happens, and it’s difficult for him to differentiate between his fish state and human state, which leads to him having affection for Silco.

At some point Viktor is stabilized and all he has to do is getting used to his new body/reeducation. He is transferred into Silco’s office, where he regain consciousness in his human body from time to time and go through reeducation. Since he cannot do it himself at first, Sevika, Silco and sometimes Jinx helps him. When Silco does it, he feels strange but he told himself that’s because he’s touch starved (which is kinda the truth but still). Basically Viktor is unmoving in a wheelchair with pump of shimmer/hexocore linked to him and they move his arms/legs/back to reintroduce movements.

Silco has sympathy for him, and affection too, though he told himself it is only to serve his ulterior motive he gets attached.

Silco keeps Viktor 'hostage'. He propose to Jayce to rethink his proposition : instead of giving Jinx for Zaun’s independence, he’ll give Viktor back. Jayce has no choice but to accept, especially after Silco make him sees the state Viktor’s in.

Viktor is beginning to talk again, and he has confusing feeling for Silco, who saved him but also wants to destroy his home. Also the sound of his voice is pleasant and he feeds him, but’s that’s the fish talking. They kinda bond when Viktor fix Silco’s shimmer pencil, which has been damaged during the explosion ; or Viktor notice it’s painful for Silco so he come up with better solution. Also Silco give him space and as much autonomy as possible, which Viktor is very appreciative for. They talk about their respective cause. They argue too. Silco doesn’t want to trust him, because he left Zaun for Piltover and he will go back. Viktor doesn’t want to trust him because he’s Silco and he knows he’s using him.

But the fish is stronger, and Viktor thinks about him and Jayce. It hadn’t work so well between because though they love each other very much, Viktor is somewhere on the ace spectrum and when jayvik talked about that Viktor chicken out, they move on and now Jayce is with Mel.

Now Vik is more curious and want to know how it would feel, and the affection he was treated with during this ordeal makes him feel like he wants to try with Silco.

Silco is also somewhere on the ace but he did it with Vander because he was Vander. And I haven’t watched season 2 yet, but if your ex tries to kill you you’ll be a little wary with the next, which Silco is. Vilco talks about it with euphemisms and aborted attempt at vulnerability.

Eventually Viktor is 'freed' but when he’s stepping out of Silco’s office he kisses him goodbye and implies he wants to see him again.

Silco is all flustered and don’t know what to do. Jinx, who has seen and heard it all, is trying to convince him that this is a bad idea, that he’s from Piltover and a traitor and that Viktor won’t come back. She’s jealous ofc but it speaks to Silco and he doubts.

After making sure Viktor’s alright negotiations began with Zaun. Viktor become ms ambassador between the two nation and that an excuse to see Silco again. The old man is surprised, but also secretly pleased that Viktor came back. They talk, and decide to try pushing things further. Viktor tops and it reminds Silco of Vander because they have the same size. They decide it’s a nice activity but it’s not their main thing (though from time to time why not). They don’t live together but they see each other often thanks to their respective jobs and because they want to.

the end

[mangotangerine]

shifting variables ch5 snippet

i just have to share the little viktor & silco scene early sorryyyyy it's baby viktor & dad silco

voila:

Viktor’s cane clicks on marble flooring, the high ceilings amplifying the sound like a greeting. The echo travels down the hallway like the golden swirls etched into the stone underneath his feet, bouncing off walls only to drown in the fountain further down. The statue at its center stands tall, pouring water from its vase to the pond it stands in. Viktor thinks he can see fish.

It’s an obscene amount of water, and it’s this, more than anything else, that piques Viktor’s anger. It’s clear and beautiful, purely ornamental, probably drawing from the aquifers of clean water the undercity doesn’t have access to.

An image surfaces, vivid in his mind—he and Silco standing on the bank of the River Pilt, the murky water glistening with rainbow iridescence.

Silco holds his hand firmly, and Viktor gives him a curious look. “Did you know, the River Pilt used to run clear and free?” Silco asks.

Viktor is ten, and he is smart, but the history of Runeterra’s waterways is not in his dictionary of facts yet. He shakes his head. “It wasn’t brown?”

“It fed the people, before the fissures formed, so clean you could drink from it. It flows down from the mountains to the north and curves to the western sea. It was diverted when the canal was built, cutting Zaun off from its waters.”

Viktor frowns down at the water, then gives Silco a dubious look. “This is the River Pilt,” he says, gesturing. “This is Zaun.”

Silco smiles, running a hand through Viktor’s hair fondly. “I am not finished, mouseling,” he says.

“Myška,” Viktor says, leaning against Silco. “Try it, it’s easy.”

“My pronunciation is atrocious,” Silco says quietly. He won’t tell Viktor until much later that he didn’t want to overwrite the memory of Viktor’s mother saying it, that he stuck to the translation for fear of erasing her. At ten, Viktor takes Silco’s argument at face value.

“So, this is the River Pilt,” Viktor says, prompting Silco to continue.

“When the canal was built, the land grew unsteady—”

“It was not the land’s fault they built wrong,” Viktor mutters darkly, and Silco has to bite his lip not to laugh. It takes a moment to regain his composure.

“Yes, well. Regardless. The land was unsteady, it broke apart, and the fissures formed. The method they used to divert the river—”

“I think it was that,” Viktor interrupts again, tilting his head curiously. “They probably diverted it wrong. Made the ground too… eh, soggy?”

“Mouseling,” Silco says, a quiet reprimand. “Do not interrupt.”

Viktor sighs dramatically and nods. “Yes, okay.”

Silco should tell him to apologize—they’ve been working on that, and progress has been very slow, but he doesn’t want to derail the conversation any further. “The river flowed into Zaun then, carving a path deep and ending here, out on the edges of our city.”

“Okay,” Viktor says. “Now get to the part where you explain why it is brown, thank you.”

“Of course you’d use the lessons on manners against me,” Silco laments. Viktor gives him a triumphant little smirk and Silco can’t find it in him to correct the boy. “It flows through Piltover, downhill, into Zaun. Out of sight, out of mind, conveniently carrying all the nasty things they throw in it out to sea where it doesn’t have to bother them. It became wastewater.”

Viktor is quiet for a long moment. “Why?” he asks.

“It is easy and inexpensive, and they do not see us as humans,” Silco responds. “Simple disrespect and disregard. The same reason they let the Gray poison us until it started to affect worker efficiency, started to affect pockets. Then they have all the time and money in the world to build vents.”

The bitterness is obvious in Silco’s voice, and perhaps he should have tried to shield Viktor from that, but Viktor picks up on it anyway, and he makes that bitterness his own. “But we didn’t do anything to them,” Viktor says, voice small. “And we do all the work. Even before you said, I could see it.”

“They do not care, mouseling. They poison the water with their indifference and let it flow into Zaun, but they make sure to make use of it first. They drink it, they use it to grow plants—and I do not condemn them for that; they are human too—but they fill pools with it, build artificial ponds and lavish fountains, flaunting their power and their contempt for us. They know we struggle, and when faced with their sins, they kill the messenger.”

Viktor listens, and he takes the information in, and he sews it into his heart. “Is that what happened to your eye?” he asks.

“It is the result of that, yes,” Silco says, and Viktor commits that to memory, too. The pain Silco suffers, wrought from the apathy for their suffering, and the false ponds and fountains that stand as monuments to Piltover’s cruelty.

So Viktor stares at the fountain at the end of the hallway in this hollow shrine to the worst parts of humanity, and the rage boils in his veins. Mel’s anxious look is back, subtle, a slight tension held in her face and forcing her smile to stay in place.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[rarepairdumpster]

Zaunite Takeover AU

Pairing: Viktor/Silco (Arcane) Rating: T C/W: Canonverse, Everyone Lives!, Medical Procedure, Jinx & Viktor, A little whump

Zaun literally invading Piltover and taking it over installing Silco as emperor and Viktor is right there next to him

Viktor was the quiet invader, making preparations in advance.

Enforcer schedules.

Taking note of security codes.

(Mostly non-lethal) Weapons manufacturing 

The insidious voice whispering in the ears of those who would waver in their support of certain powerful houses, etc

Viktor isn't happy about Silco still using shimmer during the invasion, but he had promised it would be strictly regulated once they were seated in power

And Silco is a man of his word.

All the councilors get arrested and imprisoned in stillwater for criminal neglect

Everyone is given a trial and no one was executed unless they resisted arrest

Jayce, along with many enforcers, are put on trial for murder. 

Jayce cries pathetically during his trial, claiming it was an accident,  but hundreds of children from the factory testify that Jayce came storming in with a giant hammer, making threats, and attacking people, and how they all saw him burn a giant hole in Renni's son's chest.

How Jayce just ran away and left the body.

Silco claims Medarda's beautiful property overlooking the sea for himself and Viktor to live in.

On quiet days, he likes to sit there and look at the sun gates, marvelling at the fact that Zaun controls those gates and all the prosperity those entail now.

No longer do his people need to suffer

Zaunite surgeons actually being able to do something about Viktor's respiratory illness now because, even though they had the indepth knowledge about the illness before from countless post-mortem autopsies, they never had the funds or the extremely sanitary surgical spaces or the high quality medical supplies that Piltover had, rendering such invasive surgeries more unsafe until now.

It doesn't stop Viktor from tearing up from how afraid he is when he's waiting to be pumped full of anesthesia, though.

Doesn't stop him from clinging to Silco's surgical-gloved hand and hanging on to his promise that Silco will be right there, holding his hand, the entire time.

The promise that Viktor will be fine because he is one of the strongest and most resilient men Silco knows

Let's be real, Silco is also shitting bricks, but he has years of practice appearing strong and unmoved

Every Zaunite nurse and surgeon in the room working with the knowledge that the Emperor's husband is on their operating table right now and they better not fuck up. Fortunately, they've all had years of experience working "for" crime lord's before

Viktor in recovery, waking up to a large table full of home-made trinkets and plushies and get well soon cards from all the Zaunites he'd helped over the years

And Silco is right there, resting his eyes in the chair next to Viktor's bed.

Still holding his hand, like he promised.

Viktor gives his hand a weak little squeeze and tug, because he knows Silco would want to know he woke up.

Silco is startled a little bit but smiles when he sees Viktor's eyes open. 

"How do you feel, Vitya?" Silco asks softly, rubbing circles into his hand with his thumb

"Like I had my chest cracked open."

And he starts to laugh but ow.

Viktor subsides tiredly, but smiles.

"Happy," Viktor answers more seriously, "that I get to spend a long life with you. We deserve that."

Silco leans closer, rubbing his cheek against Viktor's hand. 

"The doctors say there shouldn't be any issues with healing," Silco smirks as he looks up at Viktor. "As long as you rest."

"You know me," Viktor mumbles, eyes drifting closed for a moment. He blinks sleepily. "Might have to cuff me to the bed after a while."

Silco reaches behind himself and pulls out their padded cuffs. 

"Oh, I came prepared, my darling."

Viktor starts to chuckle and winces. 

"Ah! Careful now," Viktor sighs and relaxes back into the bed as the pain goes down. "Only very serious matters until I recover."

"Of course." Silco kisses his hand and smiles. "Whatever my love needs."

"Mm. Sleep." Viktor tugs on his hand a little. "Come."

Silco carefully pulls back the covers as Viktor moves to make room for Silco as he eases onto the bed.

He slides one hand under Viktor's head, then uses the other to cover them both with the sheet. 

He sighs as Viktor positions himself and curls his fingers into Silco's chest.

"Thank you," Viktor says softly, his voice already heavy with fatigue again

Viktor is asleep before he can reply, so Silco just kisses his hair and pets him until he drifts off himself.

Viktor spends a lot of the next few days just going in and out of sleep while his body recovers from the invasive nature of the procedure.

The people who were close to him take turns sitting with him.

Sky.

Sevika.

Jinx -- who works on boring, pointless clockwork creatures to pass time because she knows Viktor is too rundown to be dealing with glitter and paint bombs exploding by his bed

Viktor still gives her opinions and helps her with her gear placement. He's even sitting up one time, a couple weeks post op, going over some schematics with her when Silco walks in.

"What are we working on today," Silco asks, curious, but pleased to see Viktor feeling well enough to be sitting up and "working"

"An arcane barricade," Viktor answers, frowning down at the sheet in his hand and making notes/adjustments with a pencil. "Theoretically, it should collect and store the energies from the impacts of a battering ram before expelling those energies back at the aggressor. I have no doubt that Ambessa Medarda will wage war to rescue her daughter." 

"And this is a stun gun," Jinx announces cheerfully, waving another sheet. "For the boring jobs. No mess. You should be happy, Silly!"

"I'm always happy to see my two favorite people working together," Silco smiles as he walks over to Jinx and hugs her from the side. 

Viktor takes a moment to look up from his papers and smile at his husband. "And how has running the city been?"

"Less gritty," Silco answers wryly, "but just as migraine-inducing. Do you realise how many Piltovans evaded taxes over the years? No wonder our tax rates kept climbing."

Silco moves to sit beside the bed.

"I've spent the last weeks just parsing through the creative accounting in the official records."

Silco huffs. "But at least I have help now. Mister Young is as capable as you claimed."

Viktor waggles his brows. "Why do you think the Youngs were kicked out of Piltover? He was one of the good ones."

"I couldn't have done any of this without you," Silco reminds Viktor picking up his hand and kissing the top. 

Jinx promptly pretends to gag. "Get a rooooom"

"We're in a room." 

"Away from meeeee"

Arch + Woods

[thewistlingbadger]

Not sure if any of these are *hot takes* per se but:

Vander being brought back was tacky, boring and made me less interested in the show (I don't care about Warwick lore or whatever, bringing him back when his death had so many consequences for Vi and Jinx's arcs actively cheapens their stories so much);

I struggled to care about Isha since the show put little to no effort into making me invested in her beyond "cute kid". It felt like she was more of a plot device to get Jinx to just be a quippy antihero rather than her far more nuanced and interesting S1 characterization. Also, I don't know why the writers thought her being a suicide bomber was a good idea.

Zaundads (Vander/Silco) isn't a good ship, I get the appeal but the Vander-Silco dynamic seems genuinely more interesting without the tired cliche of them being lovers who had a violent falling out.

Timebomb (Jinx/Ekko) was fun when it was potential subtext in S1 but just like everything else with Jinx and Ekko, the interesting parts died after the S1 finale.

On a similar note, it was a missed opportunity not to have Ekko confront Heimerdinger over his role in perpetuating Piltover's oppression of Zaun. Like the guy was in power for like 300 years let's examine that.

Ekko, Mel, Heimerdinger, and (to an extent) Jayce all being basically sidelined for huge parts of S2 made the world feel so small and static, especially after Mel and Ekko were set up to be much bigger players during the tail end of S1.

I liked JayceVik and CaitVi in S1 but I absolutely don't think either ship should've taken over the show like they both did. As a queer person, I'm seeing way too many people justify their poor writing as "oh well it's queer rep." Okay, we deserve WELL-WRITTEN queer ships as well.

A lot of the side characters in S1 felt like they had at least some kind of idea behind them. I didn't even know Loris had a NAME until I googled it. The writers in S2 basically just forgot to give these guys any sort of consistency or reason for the audience to be interested in them.

S2 misinterpreted "making things nuanced" as "making everything ludicrously overexplained and overconnected". The wizard being Viktor is dumb and unnecessary, Silco and Vander having known Vi and Jinx's mom makes their relationships and story arcs less interesting, I liked Singed in S1 but I didn't need anymore backstory or presence from him other than what was already there, and everything we got made me like him less, etc.

I know there's a lot here but I had a lot of opinions lol

WOW lots to unpack!! I'm gonna go one by one i think.

Agree. Vander was vital to act 1 s1 and he was needed to start the story. However by the time we get to season two, so much time has passed. In the show AND in real life. Vander had absolutely ZERO business in being brought back into the story as an actual character. I could understand including him had it been under some flashbacks that actually furthered the plot (not like the blisters and bedrock flashback) but otherwise he needed to stay dead. If we can bring back Vander who died at the start of the show, then who's to say anyone is really dead? If we can have Vander why not bring back Silco yk? Once you start bringing people back from the dead the threat of death is less heavy. While I understand that Vander makes a good fit for Warwick I truly believe that Warwick had no place in this story. He should have not been a character at play and I hate how much time he ended up taking. The only reason why Warwick exists in arcane is for the purpose of getting the sisters to reconcile without actually resolving their conflict. And that is incredibly frustrating. I also feel like if they were gonna go down this road it should have been harder. Warwick almost immediately reverts back to Vander and stays Vander for the rest of act 2.

Isha isn't a character in season two, she's just a plot device that's used to further Jinx's narrative. She has no real personality or desires outside of Jinx. I've heard people compare her to having a pet and unfortunately I have to agree. I never liked Isha because of this and also because to me it was so obvious she was going to die, even BEFORE act one aired. When they released the music video for Isha's song I was like "oh there's no way they both survive" and so I didn't get invested or attached to Isha at all. I think she's cute and her relationship with Jinx is cute, but I also hate it bc Isha's function in the story is to get Jinx to revert back to Powder, and I can't stand that shit. To this DAY I'm still trying to connect the dots on her death like I STILL don't understand why she "sacrificed herself" Jinx literally wasn't in danger??

All ships are valid so long as they're safe, but I think you were trying to say that you personally don't like Zaundads. Which is fair, I don't ship them either, though I do see the appeal. I think your reasoning is also very interesting I haven't thought about it like that.

This is an interesting perspective. I hope I'm interpreting your words correctly. I don't think I agree per say. I don't ship timebomb. I personally don't see the hype. However, I think the theoretical concept of two childhood friends finding themselves on opposing sides as they grow older is compelling and I think this is the base for timebomb. However they were literally never explored in the whole show. They never have a single conversation with each other. The only moments we get between them are the bridge fight and the attempt. The fact that we got a whole episode dedicated to a fake relationship between him and an AU version of jinx is maddening. So I think they could have been interesting but the show literally never commits to them.

Season two has a theme of just forgetting what happened in s1 and forgiving Zaun's oppressors. It would make sense for Ekko to criticize heimerdinger's inaction when he was a councilor. However when Ekko meets Heimerdinger for the first time he actually speaks with a sense of awe and admiration. It's important to remember that Ekko isn't an anarchist or a revolutionary. He's a teenager who is against any forces who harm the people of zaun. He's not necessarily anti-council (anti-piltover's government), he's not anti-statehood (we never get to see if he believes in Zaunite independence), he's anti-oppression. So do I think he should have criticized him? Yes. Did I want him to? Yes. Do I understand why he did not on a character level? Also yes.

Yes agreed writing off characters and then randomly bringing them back was a MAJOR flaw in S2. I wrote a post about how season two speed runs all the interesting concepts and then is forced to spend tons of time on shit that is boring and doesn't matter. Mel, Viktor, Ekko, Jayce, are all characters that we wanted to see more of but instead they got shoved aside to focus on...what exactly? Bc jinx reverts back to powder, we get no development from vi, and one day Caitlyn hates zaun and the next she's back with Vi. This is why I hate Warwick, because act 2 spends loads of time on Warwick when it could have been focusing on literally any of the missing characters. In Mel's case her story feels so isolated and disconnected from the main story of the season. For Jayce and Ekko they're reintroduced so late in the game there's no time to explore what happened. Episode seven tries to make up time but it ruins the whole pacing of act 3. Viktor is just a goddamn mess he is literally different EVERYTIME we see him. He's supposed to be a big bad but he doesn't start acting like an antagonist until EPISODE 8. It's all a fucking mess.

This one is interesting to me. I didn't really ship either caitvi or Jayvik in S1. Didn't see Jayvik at all and Caitvi just didn't do anything for me. I think it's important to remember that of the two only caitvi is canon. JayVik doesn't count as queer rep bc they weren't intended to be so (so in this context the "queer rep excuses bad writing" argument cannot apply to them). "Taking over the show" is interesting and I can see where you're coming from. ESPECIALLY JayVik they really did steal the show lol (but tbh I'm not upset at this bc they were what I enjoyed the most in S2). CaitVi definitely had some moments and it did feel like things were being ignored for the sake of the ship.

Yes. Every single thing in s1 had a reason. Why does Finn exist? To show that Silco has adversaries and that he's losing favor. To give Sevika some brief depth. Why does Ren exist? To provide Marcus with a motivation and to highlight how fucked up Silco is. Why does Therim exist? To show that even the most base level employees of Silco are afraid of Jinx. These aren't all the examples but they're probably the most obscure and they ALL served a purpose. Season two doesn't care about their side characters. They're just playthings to either further the story (Isha, Warwick) or to invoke an audience reaction (Maddie, gert, Loris).

Singed's backstory was interesting but not needed. Introducing it so late to the game felt wasteful. Even though the additional information we received on Vander and Silco and Vi's mom was unnecessary, I do like that we got it and I think it adds to the story of Silco and vander's falling out (I have a separate post explaining why on my blog). Viktor being the mage is not something that bothers me I liked the reveal in the moment, although I do recognize if you think too hard about it it falls apart lol. S2 relies on spectacle too much. S2 doesn't feel as complex or as nuanced as s1 because it is not. I can see where you would obtain the perspective of S2 feeling too connected and too explained (I think this is why you referenced blisters and bedrock and mage!Viktor). However to me there's so many things S2 didn't explain (why does Viktor act different. Why does mel suddenly have powers. What is the black rose. What was wrong with the tree. Was the anomaly a wild rune. Etc) and I feel like the story is too disconnected (bc of all the missing characters).

[smollkittykat]

Hello hi, I saw your Jayvik abo post on here but no ao3 link?? Do you have it posted 👀

Additionally, cause I love what you set up in that bit of world building: zaundads abo, where O!Silco has A!Viktor as a teenager with A!Vander.

17 year old Silco with toddler Viktor getting caught by enforcers and Silco is clocked as an Omega. Taken into custody, the enforcerd separate Viktor from Silco. They claim it’s for a medical check at first, but when Silco calls bullshit and resist, the remove the pup by force.

Piltover having a ‘benifits’ program for young (pretty) omegas from Zaun. Offering schooling and housing in Piltover to the omegas they choose. All a trap or course, so to treat them like possessions and property later.

They make this offer to Silco, who refuses and demands Viktor back. The bastards try to use reuniting with Viktor as a bargaining chip, but Silco does not trust it.

Silco does escape, with Vanders and their crews help, and in the search for their son they learn the terrible truth. Since Viktor is not an Omega like Silco, he’s no use to Piltover, just another sump rat. As soon as they separated him from Silco, they had Viktor sent back to the low levels of Zaun. Alone.

Silco and Vander never see their son again…

(Until 20-something years later…)

Hey, I am so sorry it took so long to reply, exam season had me cooked.

I don't have the whole thing posted because it's not done yet. I must admit it's my first time writing abo and I gotta be honest it's still a little weird for me so it takes FOR EVER to write and then you come into my inbox with cool ideas like that T-T

I must admit I am somewhat of a vague canon compliance person when it comes to like family ties? (like I personally don't read fics where Silco adopts anyone but powder or where Singed is Viktor's father etc. I have no idea why ) so for this fic personally I am going to give Viktor other parents but I love love love love LOVE The concept of the benefits programm that's so beautifully messed up that is so definitely going to be in there!

But yeah, given that and so many talks and plots and porn I think I might take a while to finish this T^T

Thank you so much!