#Zaun Fmaily

[goddessofroyalty]

Something i really enjoy in your Zaun Family Au is the concept of physical touch. Let me explain.

I dont know if you did it on propous or not but it sounds like in Zaun touching, hugging, holding or just any other of physical touch is far more common and acceptable. Meanwhile in Piltover you have to be more protocolar. It reminds me of the historical romance novels i have read where you cannot just hug or touch your friend because its "impolite"

The idea:

Since Jayce is from a lower house he is more used to hug and touch people to show them his care. But since he started his studies he just cannot do it anymore. He feels like shit but is ashamed of saying it outloud.

Enter Viktor.

They touch, they hug, they are physical affectionate in a platonic way.

As he goes more and more to Zaun and befriends his family he feels better. He missed this.

A punch in the arm from Vi, Jinx climbing over him to show him something or maybe sitying in his lap while they check some equations, Vander patting his back. He loves this small moments.

The only time Silco patted his arm to congratulate him he almost cry.

This feels like family.

Bonus: Caitlyn is taken aback because she never experimented this level of physical contact before. Yes, she has Jayce but he is like a sibling. She just sagging in Vi's embrace, trembling and feeling so warm.

Zaun having a more touch-friendly culture is an accepted headcanon for me so while I'm not consciously thinking about including details reflecting it when writing the fact it it is just a part of worldbuilding means that it will be reflected in how I write characters.

But yeah I very much believe Zaun has a culture where casual touch is much more accepted than Piltover which has a lot more strict social rules generally.

The fun thing with Jayce and Viktor is that Viktor lived in Piltover for long enough that he's learned their social rules and so is pretty touch-adverse at least when he is in Piltover. Especially because he's Heimerdinger's assistant so is interacting a lot with the very Upper Class of Piltover. And yeah Jayce also learned the rules after starting at the Academy (and gaining the Kirramans as his sponsor) but he clearly struggles more with it (possiblly because he didn't expect to have to change his behaviour compared to Viktor who knew that he would have to adapt to fit in with Piltover).

Basically though Jayce starts the physical affection with Viktor. Cautiously and probably more in the socially-justifiable 'patting a bro on the arm' kind of way that he can easily pass off as a nothing-thing if Viktor reacts like he's uncomfortable like so many other people Jayce has interacted with since joining the Academy did. Except Viktor doesn't react negatively and starts touching Jayce in return, also similarly in the small gestures that can be easily excused if it gets a bad reaction. And then slowly slowly they get more and more bold in their touch, testing out to see if there's a line where the other will push away that never comes. Until they are just very physically affectiate with each other casually.

Viktor's siblings haven't had that much exposure to Piltover when Jayce is introduced to them (only starting to be brought up there by their parents after the explosion and start of the Hextech partnership) so there isn't even that testing period with them. There's also a lot less 'secret rules' when it comes to ineracting with them (or at least different ones to in Piltover) - they are very straight about what they think of Jayce both the good and the bad as well as being very comfortable with physical touch. And it's a breathe of fresh air to Jayce who is more and more dealing with people in Piltover who stand a meter away from him and pretend they like him even when they don't. Honestly how happily he responds to them even when they are being kind of mean to him is part of what endears him to Viktor's younger siblings so quickly. He's not stiff and stuckup like the other Piltites, will let Powder literally hang herself off him, and is a good sport about their teasing. There's still definitively moments where Vander nearly knocks him over because he did not expect how hard that man can hit even when he's just patting Jayce on the back but that's fine, he'd much rather that then them treating him like they'll catch something if they touch him. There's a reason he kind of seeks them out when there's big social events where the Zaun Representative brings his family with him - it's a momentary break from the Piltover Social Rules.

Caitlyn does not know what to do with Vi's family far more so than Jayce. She grew up entirely in the culture where touch is reserved for very limited situations. Even though she's so very touch-starved she doesn't know what to do when they do just sling an arm around her or bump into her in a silent request for her to move over so probably just goes very still at it. With Vi's it's a bit different because she and Vi are dating (or at least romantically interested in each other) and so yeah physical affection with her is easier even if she is amazed at how warm Vi's hugs are. It takes a bit for her to get used to the others though.