#arcane really hits you with the 'it could have been different'

[junixscribble]

Hexbug TM

Once again blame the server. I have no excuses for this one.

(Arcane lore + LOL Machine Herald)

Title: Hexbug TM

WC: 2029w

Summary: Jayce's constant need for revenge manifests itself into ingenuity. Very unfortunately for Viktor, Jayce has his sights set dead square on him.

--------------

Ever since setting up shop with the Machine Herald, Jayce had been getting in a few more fights. Not to the extent of his previous position as the Defender of Tomorrow (who according to the Piltover Press was on sabbatical) but more petty spats with chempunks. He had to admit that a couple of these had been started on purpose, much to Viktor’s chagrin. Viktor, in his high and mighty Herald-ness, thought petty fights were beneath him. Which is why it was such a surprise for Jayce when he walked with his arm half torn off and a hole in his side. 

“Hey, V- holy fuck! What happened?” Jayce rushed over, taking some of the weight off Viktor’s dead arm from him. 

“Some idiot decided to try and scam a child. I stepped in.”

“What’s this I hear from Mr No Unnecessary Fighting?” Jayce couldn’t help but tease, even if the hexclaw singed his hair for it. 

“This fight was necessary. Are you going to help, or stand there?” 

Jayce rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, don’t get pissy. Wow, they really did a number on you huh?”

He poked into the mess of wiring that was the cavern in Viktor’s side and he squirmed away. 

“Stop that. Get me over to the table.”

The table was the one in the corner, kept clear and reserved for when one of them fucked up so badly they had to be put back together. Normally it was Jayce on the table. Viktor hauled himself up onto the table and unclasped his mask, tossing it to the side. His face was contorted in discomfort - while his modifications dulled pain, it could not remove it completely. 

“How does it look?” He asked Jayce, his tone betraying his anxiety. Jayce peered at the arm, and then into his side. 

“Hmm. The arm is only torn at the hinge, and none of the wiring broke so that will be an easy enough fix. You’ve demolished some plates on your ribs and the wiring is a mess so that will need a little more time. Jeez, what did they hit you with?”

“Death ray.” 

Jayce gave Viktor a deadpan look and Viktor raised his eyebrows. “It was purple.”

“Sure. Anyway, let's get this armour off and get you fixed.”

Once the armour was off and Viktor had laid down, Jayce pulled out a box lovingly labelled as ‘Vik’s Robo Parts’ and got to work. They kept up conversation the whole time, and Viktor admitted it took him longer to get back because he wanted to make sure the kid was looked after. Jayce should have expected as much - for the stubborn front he put up, Viktor sure had a soft spot for children. 

It took about an hour and a half of work to fix everything back up, not without complaints from Viktor.

“You’re soldering that wrong, I can feel it.”

“No, I’m not. I’m soldering it my way, which is the correct way and not your weird version.”

“Mine is superior and holds stronger. Redo it.”

Jayce sat back and put the soldering iron in its stand. “Do you want me to get the cattle prod while you're immobile here?”

Viktor glared, but couldn’t help the flush that rose to his cheeks. They had recently discovered that powerful electricity had a very different effect on Viktor than it did Jayce. It turns out that when you shock someone who has partially metal nerves, it tickles like hell. Jayce had used this incessantly when Viktor was being annoying and it pissed him off to no end, never mind the fact that Viktor himself had a bad habit of using the hexclaw to torment Jayce. When he was the victim, it was a hate crime in his eyes. 

“If you do, I will put that fun powder I made in a random set of your socks and wait for you to put them on.”

Now it was Jayce’s turn to blush. The powder referenced was an accidental concoction of Viktor’s that made the victim ridiculously sensitive to any form of touch. Getting the stuff off was bad enough, but the fastest way to dissolve the effects was to provide… certain stimulation. This war between the two had been going on for months, and at this point Viktor was winning.

Viktor huffed out a smug laugh. “That’s what I thought.”

Jayce gave him a weary look and went back to screwing the plates into Viktor’s side. He kept his face schooled as he carefully slipped a small disc under the panel without Viktor’s knowledge before screwing it closed. 

“Well, there you go. Good as new.” Jayce stood and wiped his greasy hands on a rag. 

Viktor powered half his body back on with an audible whirr, flexing his arm and feeling hte plating on his ribs. 

“Decent.”

“Just decent?”

Viktor groaned. “What do you want from me? ‘Oh Jayce, it’s the most wonderful repair ever! However may I thank you, big strong beefcake who has come to save me?’”

Jayce couldn’t help but laugh at Viktor’s ridiculous impression of himself. “Well I don’t know, that could be nice. Being called a beefcake is a plus.”

Jayce flexed his arms in jest and Viktor recoiled. 

“Forget it, I am never speaking to you again.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“This time, I do.”

In the week following life went on as usual, and while Viktor did have to stitch up Jayce’s leg after someone decided to run at him with a knife it was uneventful. Which is the perfect environment for them to start pissing each other off. This time Viktor had left blueprints all over Jayce’s workstation. 

“Viktor, is it seriously that difficult to pick up after yourself?”

Viktor shrugged, not even looking at him. “My lab, my space.”

“Which you are currently sharing.”

“What did I just say? My lab.”

Jayce huffed, stashing the blueprints into the box they came out of. “You are a problem.”

“Oh, I’m a problem now? I wasn’t a problem when you ran into a knife two days ago. I even gave you lidocaine.” 

“You’re like if a tin can could speak and it was bad.”

Viktor turned to throw a piece of chalk at his head. It missed, so he turned back to his board with a grumble and realised he had in fact just thrown his last piece of chalk. Jayce could almost see the steam rising off his shoulders. 

“Jayce. My chalk, if you please.”

“Hmm… no.”

“What?”

Jayce laughed at the slightly dumbfounded look on Viktor’s face. “You chuck chalk at my face and expect me to give it back?”

Viktor started striding across the room towards him. “Motherfucker I am going to strap you down to a table and make you feel torture like you’ve never known.”

“Not if I get there first.”

Jayce jammed a hand in his pocket and closed it around a small remote, flicking the switch on the side and turning the knob up three clicks of the seven that were on it. Viktor stopped in his tracks and shrieked, falling to his knees and clawing at his side as a loud zapping noise started. He tried to speak, but Jayce turned the dial up another level and Viktor keeled over on his side, laughing. 

“JAHAYCE!”

Jayce turned the dial down to one, watching Viktor giggle and catch his breath. 

“Whahat did you dohoho?” 

“Hexbug.” Jayce said, turning the dial up and down again and making Viktor cackle. 

“Ehehe… elaborahate!”

“I made it! I took a cattle prod apart and made a little bug out of it. It can emit the same shocks that the prod does. Cool, right?”

“NohohOT COOL! Why- ahaha! Why is it insihide me?” 

“I put it there.” Jayce played with the dial, turning it up and down for fun. “And it means I can do this.”

Jayce placed his thumb on a joystick and Viktor felt something inside him move. The awful ticklish feeling was centred over a spot on his ribs, but that was now rapidly crawling down his side. The current stopped and Viktor felt tiny legs latching onto the wiring in his chest and crawling around. Viktor barely held back a yell as he fell backward onto the floor, kicking uncontrollably. Jayce knew the wires he was messing with connected to his nerves. At least if it was maintenance he could smack away his hands but this? He couldn’t exactly rip apart his own chest, no matter how badly it tickled. 

“JAHAYCE YOHOU AHAHASSHOLE!”

“Aw, does that tickle?”

The bug burrowed into a section of wiring near his spine and zapped again, making Viktor jolt. Jayce noticed the reaction and sent the bug on a fast paced adventure of his internal wiring, zapping at random intervals. This very quickly dissolved Viktor into a squirmy, hysterical mess. 

Jayce watched the carnage with a grin, turning down the voltage and piloting the little bug up Viktor’s spine until it was sitting near his central nervous controls. Viktor’s eyes widened when he felt the bug step onto the motherboard. 

“Jayce- Jahayce I don’t think you realise what this will do to me-”

“Really? Cause I think it’s gonna tickle really badly.”

The bug walked fully onto the board and Viktor made a choked noise, half a laugh in his throat already. 

“I wanna see what each voltage does here.”

 “Jayce, no!”

“Why? Is it gonna tickle?” 

Viktor felt the bug electrify and the popping noise started, along with what felt like a gentle, unbearable tickle throughout all the metal parts of his body. 

“Shihit! Ihit’s everywhehere!”

Jayce lit up like the sun, and Viktor knew he shouldn’t have opened his mouth. “Wait, that translates to all the augmentations?” 

Viktor didn’t confirm, and he didn’t need to. 

“So what you’re saying is if I turn this up here it’s going to tickle all over?”

Jayce turned the dial up to level two, and he broke.

“YEHES!” 

Jayce leaned in with a grin. “Good.” 

The dial turned up to three, and then four. Viktor screamed. 

“Four… five…”

“PLEHEHEASE AHAHAHA!”

“Six…” 

“IHIT TIHIHICKLES!” 

“Aaaand seven!” Jayce counted through all the levels, paying close attention to how Viktor reacted with each one. At the highest level he could see the electricity arcing over Viktor’s body while the man thrashed on the floor, completely lost in his own frenzied laughter. Jayce let him sit through the torture for a few seconds before turning the dial back to zero and switching the remote off. 

Viktor curled into a ball on the ground, still giggling at the last zaps of the current. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“...how do you THINK?” Viktor spat, sitting up. His hair was a tousled mess and his face was flushed adorably. “You just tickled me from the inside! I didn’t even know that could be fucking done!” 

Jayce felt a little bad. Just a little. “If you hop on the table I’ll remove the bug.” 

Viktor heaved for breath and held out a hand to stop. “No, no, just leave it. I can’t be bothered going through the rigmarole. I do ask that you don’t leave it directly over my nervous system though.” 

“Oh!” Jayce started, turning on the remote again. The bug took a step and Viktor arched his back, squeaking. 

“Ah, sorry. Heh. This will tickle.” 

He carefully drove the bug down to Viktor’s side while his partner tittered, placing it somewhere he could easily access the next time Viktor took himself apart. Jayce turned off the remote and placed it on his desk. 

“You deserved that.” 

Jayce got a hexclaw middle finger in response. Viktor stood and brushed himself off.

“I hate to admit it, but I do have to hand it to you. I did not see that one coming.” 

Jayce beamed with pride, and Viktor caught his expression with narrowed eyes. 

“This is not something to celebrate, Jayce. See, now I must one up you. Prepare yourself.” 

Viktor picked up his thrown chalk and went back to his equation, leaving Jayce sweating by the desk. He had just hammered in the final nail of his own coffin. 

[nonbinary-arsonists]

So. if viktor could see people's memories by touching them. and he realized he was wrong when he saw jayce's memories of the corrupted world. then...

[animeshotsh]

Moms | Jinx x Fem!Reader | Arcane ¤

Summary: You are worried since your girlfriend has dissapear since Silco's death. Only for her to show up at your home, but not alone.

Warnings: SFW - SOFT - OFF CANON IN TERMS OF TIME - Worm joke - grammar mistakes - spoiler s2 - sad!reader - mentions of alcohol -

Even since the big explosion that took place in the uppercity the undercity had gone into a crisis of gang fights and just more violence.

No one really knew what had happened, there were rumors of Silco being dead, but who attacked the uppercity?

Well, since Jinx your girlfriend was a fan of gadgets, guns and bombs, and how she had stopped coming to your home to visit you, you connected the dots.

Then when her face was in a wanted poster it became real.

God you were scared for her, where was she? Was she safe? You did check her usual hideouts and the ones that were secretly for the both of you so no one would target you. But nothing. You were left with zero trace of her.

You had to push yourself out of your home to work and put a fake face of not caring when someone mentioned her, or when you saw the enforcments go around.

~~~~~~

Your day was long, so when you finally got home you left yourself fall on the old couch. Dust covered the place even if you have tried many times to clean it.

Just like any other night you started to feel sad, memories of you and Jinx coming back. How you met her, how she seemed curious of you at first and how you had felt like her experiment, then your first kiss with her, the cuddles, doing her hair and nails....

And so you started to cry again but your spiral of depression would have to wait since a knock at your door alerted you.

Now, you were born and raised in the undercity, you knew how dangerous it could be, thats why you have trained yourself on being able to use knifes and be quick on your feet.

You swiftly took out your blade going in silence towards the door, the knocking continued, being more frenetic.

Your heart went up fast your brain already thinking on vitals points to hit and a back door from the apparment complex till you hear it.

"No! Im not shooting her door"

That voice...

"Well because she is nice? You will love her, but no more than me"

You went quickly and opened it revealing a figure under a cape, but you could see the blue hair and pink eyes.

You were fast on pulling her in, no noticing the small kid that followed by her hand.

"Jinx! Fucking hell, are you alright? Wait, thats blood? Its not yours right? I need to get you cleaned, hold up"

Just as you were going to go and look for something she pulled you back and kissed you, it felt different, like this was a kiss that was more to ground herself than anything.

"Just...just shut up. And its not mine"

Jinx said getting away a bit. She could see your worried expression and by the look of your aparment and the alcohol bottles she could tell you had been dealing with a lot.

Fuck, why did she hurt anyone who got close?

Her mind stopped when she saw you go down on your knees and see behind her leg.

"Why do you have a kid with you?" You asked seeing the dirty kid who looked back at you then at Jinx then at you.

Jinx and the kid seemed to talk without saying a word, then with a nod from her the kid went to you and hugged you.

You were suprised and a bit taken back, but hugged her back.

"Suprise! You are a mom now, I know you have said how you wanted to adopt a kid if you could"

You gave a Jinx a pointed look then separated from the kid who had a different look now, a look of...fondness?

"Jinx...I- Im not even going to ask. Im just glad you are fine"

Her heart broke at your honest words and loving smile. She did swear no one would take you from her.

~~~~~~~~

Jinx insisted on you moving to her hideout, saying that someone could have seen her and your house was not safe anymore.

Honestly? You thought she was trying to make her own world there. A place where she, Isah and you could live under colors, see insects fights. Play hideout and just....be a family.

When Isah went to sleep you went to Jinx who was messing with her old gun, not getting it back together just...moving pieces.

"Jinx, you know this cant last forever" You had started to say slowly getting her to stop messing and look at you.

"Dont tell me you agree with lefty?"

You snorted at the nickname she had gave to Sevika.

"No, well maybe a bit. Look i dont want you to be a vigilant or anything, i want you to be whatever you wanna be. But, we are in difficult times now, and you Jinx" You said taking her hands in yours "You are what is keeping the others together, something i have never imagined"

"Because I jinx everything, right?"

You moved your head and made her look directly at you.

"You dont do that. Stop saying that. You met me, and we are together right? We have been together for so long, i dont plan on going anywhere".

"...Even if i turn into a worm?"

"Yes Jinx, even if you turn into a worm. I will still be at your side, loving you  and caring for you. But i wont let you be on our fights, sorry but you would be a loser"

And with both of your laughts the bitter reallity seemed to go away at least for now.

[moraxine]

Fragments of Us [Ekko]

pairing: ekko x reader

words: 2k

summary: ekko wakes up in an alternate universe where you’re alive and everything feels right—but it’s not his world. torn between love and duty, he must leave to save his reality.

ARCANE SPOILERS!

i.

“Powder. Ugh, she’s so annoying sometimes. I told her that the graffiti on Sevika’s stupid bar wasn’t even that good—like, come on, who even uses pink for a skull?—and she just flipped out ! Called me a ‘wannabe artist.’ Like, okay?”

Ekko’s chest burns as he violently jolts awake, aware , coughing as if he’s been drowning moments before. His head is pounding, all memories flooding his mind and spinning round and round. It takes a few moments for his vision to stabilise and start clearing up.

What the hell happened?

“Hey, are you okay?”

Hearing your voice, familiar yet a voice he never thought his ears would detect ever again, he freezes. His eyes snap open, adjusting to the dim glow of the neon streetlamp. After a while of simply blinking, right hand on his forehead, he dares to turn your way, only to face you in utter shock.

There you are, right beside him, nervously fiddling with a small gadget in your hand while waiting for his answer.

Ekko’s breath gets caught in his throat.

His gaze desperately darts around, taking in the distorted version of Zaun. The buildings look eerily familiar but cleaner, more polished. And then there is you —alive, bright-eyed, rambling as if nothing in the world could ever go wrong.

This isn’t real. This can’t be real.

“You’re staring at me like I’ve got two heads or something. All good in there?” You ask, leaning closer as you gently tap his head.

No, no, no.

This must be some kind of twisted joke, a dream soon to turn into a nightmare, like the ones he experienced after your passing.

A strong wave of dizziness takes over and he loses balance. You’re not fast enough to catch him and he collapses on the floor, tears gleaming in his eyes.

“Shit, Ekko, I told you I’m fine walking home by myself! You need to focus on fixing that sleep schedule of yours. You work too much….”

You kneel down to check on him but as soon as you reach for his arm, he manages to pull himself up, wincing as his muscles protest. “I’m fine,” he mutters, his voice hoarse. “Just… where am I?”

Your brow furrows. “Zaun, duh. Did you hit your head?”

Zaun. But not his Zaun. This is different. Cleaner. Sharper. Brighter. Wrong.

You wave a hand in front of his face when he’s up on his feet again, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Seriously, you’re acting super weird.”

He shakes his head, trying to gather himself. “I’m… just tired.”

“Yeah, no shit,” you say, leaning back on your heels. “Well, you can sleep at my place if you want. It’s a bit of a mess, but it’s better than the middle of the street.”

“Why…Why are you helping me?”

I didn’t protect you. I let you die-

You scoff, crossing your arms. “You have to be kidding me, really.”

He stares at you, his chest tightening. You are so casual, so warm, so alive. This isn’t his world—it is someone else’s. Someone’s whom was able to keep you safe and happy.

You wave a hand in front of his face. “Helloooo? You good, or do I need to drag you there myself?”

He blinks, shaking himself out of his trance. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Finally,” you say grabbing his arm. “You’re lucky I’m such a good friend, y’know.”

As you lead him down the street, continuing your pointless rambling about Powder and some argument over graffiti, Ekko follows silently, his mind racing. He doesn’t belong here, but for the first time in years, being near you feels like he is home.

ii.

Ekko is standing in the corner of your cluttered workshop, his fingers trembling slightly as he tightens the final screws on a device he barely understands anymore. Weeks have been spent scavenging parts, tearing apart old tech, and sketching blueprints on scraps of paper. The machine is almost ready—his way out of this world is almost ready.

You, of course, don’t know. In fact, you seem to know nothing about Ekko lately. Ever since that incident outside the bar, he’s been acting strange in a way you can’t pinpoint.

“Hey, genius,” you call from across the room, pulling him out of his thoughts. You’re perched on a high stool, playing with a broken clock. “You’ve been staring at that thing for hours. What is it, anyway?”

He stiffens at your question, keeping his face carefully neutral. “Just… something to help me get around. It’s nothing.”

You narrow your eyes, unconvinced. “Since when do you get all secretive about your projects? You used to brag about your tech every chance you got.”

“Since now,” he mutters, avoiding your gaze.

It’s been this way for quite some time now—Ekko growing quieter, more distant, all while you try to bridge the gap with your usual chatter. You’ve noticed the way he avoids your eyes, the way he flinches whenever you stand too close. It’s not like him.

And it hurts.

“You’re acting weird, Ekko,” you admit, setting the clock down and leaning back on your hands. “Like, even weirder than usual. Did I do something?”

“No,” he says quickly, but his voice sounds strained, and the single word only makes you more assured that there is indeed something going on.

“Then what?” you press, leaning forward slightly. “You’ve been avoiding me for days. Is this about Powder? Because if so, she’s the one being difficult, not me.”

Ekko clenches his jaw, his hands tightening around the tool in his grip. He can’t tell you. You wouldn’t understand—not fully. How could he possibly explain that you’re not even supposed to be here? That this version of you isn’t his you? That in his world, you’re just a memory he carries like a scar?

“It’s nothing,” he says finally, his voice low. “Just… drop it, okay?”

You flinch at the coldness in his tone, but you force a laugh, trying to mask the sting. “Fine. Be mysterious, then. See if I care.”

Turning away, you pretend to focus on the clock again, but your heart isn’t in it. You want to push him, demand answers, but something in his expression stops you. There’s a pain in his eyes that you can’t quite place, and for the first time, you wonder if this is bigger than any conflict he might have had with people in the past.

Ekko exhales slowly, his shoulders sagging. He hates doing this—pushing you away. But if he lets you in, it’ll only make leaving harder.

Because he is leaving. As much as he wants to stay, to pretend this is his life, he knows it isn’t real. He doesn’t belong here. And the longer he stays, the harder it’ll be to say goodbye. Especially to you.

“Hey,” you say suddenly, breaking the silence. “For what it’s worth, you’re still my favorite nerd. Even if you’re being a jerk.”

He looks up at you, startled by the softness in your voice. For a moment, he wants to tell you everything—to explain why he can’t let himself get too close. To tell you he loves you. But that would be partially true as you’re not his. Instead, he just nods. “Thank you.”

You offer him a small yet warm smile and his resolve falters for a moment. But then his gaze falls on the machine again—his way out—and he reminds himself why he has to do this.

It’s almost done. Just a little longer.

iii.

Ekko stands in the middle of the workshop, his hand resting on the activation lever of the machine. The room hums faintly with power, the cobbled-together contraption sparking faintly as it waits for his final command. It’s ready. After days of work, this is it—it’s time to go back to the people who need him.

But his chest feels tight, and it’s not just from the lingering ache of exhaustion. It’s because of you.

The door creaks open, and his heart sinks. You’re standing there, your expression caught somewhere between confusion and anger. “What the hell is this?” you ask, stepping inside. “Ekko, what’s going on?”

He doesn’t look at you. He can’t. “It’s… nothing.”

“Nothing?” you snap, gesturing at the machine. “You’ve been shutting me out for God knows how long, and now I find you messing with… whatever this is you’ve made? Don’t lie to me, Ekko.”

He finally meets your eyes, and the raw emotion there almost makes him crumble. But he takes a deep breath and steadies himself. “I can’t explain it.”

You take a step closer, your frustration giving way to hurt. “Why? Why can’t you just tell me? I’m not mad—I just… I don’t understand why you’ve been acting like this.”

Ekko clenches his fists, his mind racing. He could tell you the truth—about the alternate universe, about the fact that you don’t even exist anymore in his world. But what good would it do?

“It’s better this way,” he replies quietly.

Your hands drop to your sides, and the look in your eyes nearly breaks him. “Better for who? For me? Or for you?”

“Y/n…” His voice cracks, but he quickly swallows it down. “I don’t belong here. I need to leave. That’s all I can say.”

You shake your head, your voice trembling. “You’re lying. You’ve been here all this fucking time, and now you’re just… leaving? Without a word?”

“I don’t have a choice.”

“Yes, you do!” you shout, stepping closer until you’re right in front of him. “Whatever this is, whoever you think you are—you’re my… friend, Ekko. You don’t just get to disappear without telling me why.”

His hands tremble as he reaches up to touch your shoulder, his gaze locked on yours. “You are—” His voice breaks, and he has to force himself to keep going. “You’re amazing. You’re… everything good about this place. You’re the reason I’m still alive. But I can’t stay.”

You stare at him, your heart pounding. His words feel final, and the weight of them crushes you completely. You fail to understand. Nothing makes sense, absolutely nothing. “Why?” you whisper, tears burning at the corners of your eyes. “Why can’t you stay? Is it something I did?”

“No!” he says, more forcefully than he means to. He takes your hands, holding them tightly. “It’s not you. It’s… me. It’s my world. I need to go back to where I came from.”

You can’t comprehend what he’s saying, but the desperation in his voice silences your questions. You nod, swallowing back the lump in your throat. “Fine,” you say, even though it’s anything but fine. “If you have to go… go.”

His hands linger on yours for a moment longer before he lets go. “I wish I could tell you how much you mean to me,” he says softly. “But I can’t. Not here.”

Tears spill over as you watch him turn back to the machine. “Will I ever see you again?” you ask, your voice barely audible.

He hesitates, his hand hovering over the lever. “I don’t know.”

That’s all he can give you.

With one last look at you, his expression filled with regret and longing, he pulls the lever. The machine sparks to life, and the air around him ripples with energy. You take a step back, shielding your eyes as the light grows blinding.

When the light fades, he’s there, his tired body slumped down on the ground. You immediately run to his side, kneeling down and pulling him to your lap. The room falls silent, the only sound the faint hum of the now blown up machine. You gently caress his cheek, tears running down your hot cheeks.

After a while, he wakes up.

And it doesn’t take you very long to realise.

You glance at the remains one last time.

And you hope that wherever he is, he’s doing what he set out to do—saving his people, his world, even if it meant leaving this one behind.

[imhereforthelesbianstuff]

I know we already talked about this a lot (like, a lot) but I just have a little more to say about the jail scene. Mostly because of all the "Vi didn't care about Jinx" and all the "in the middle of a war, they're having sex"

Sort way to say it, using Vi's words: just shut the fuck up.

Using my own words, first of all, Vi didn't know what's Jinx gonna do. As far as she knew, Jinx could have been run away without her, being plotting a new attack against Piltover, or reunited with Sevika. All Vi knew was that she went to rescue her little sister, and that sister punched her (in the same spot Cait did, seriusly, people should stop hitting her there), and left her alone in a cell.

She went behind the back of the woman she loves just to save Jinx of being executed or imprisioned for life. And after that (in her own eyes) betrayal to Cait, Jinx left without her.

And then, Caitlyn is there, and Vi thought she's gonna hate her, for choosing Jinx again, even when Jinx didn't want to be chosen. Vi thought she'd lost, not only her sister, also Caitlyn after all. Just look at her.

But no. Cait is there to say, that she knew, she knew Vi would do this, and that's ok. It's just how Vi is. After all, the Vi who freed Jinx, is the same Vi who became an enforcer for Caitlyn. Vi just can't let the people she loves suffer, if she can do something about it. Cait needed that support and Jinx needed to be free. Both time ended with Vi being punched and let behind. But this time, Caitlyn is there to ease that guilt and pain. She knew Vi was gonna do this, and she helped, because she loves and accept Vi, even when she doesn't understand her.

And no, you can't tell that's was just a Cait's plan to fuck Vi. She did that because she loves her, and didn't expect nothing in return. Just look at her face when she's telling Vi she knew, and a few seconds later, when she stops to tell Vi about her rebound (not so predictable after all, right Cait?), totally different expresions.

And of course Vi kissed her, for the fisrt time in her life, somebody is there just for her, somebody came to support her, not in the other way. So it was pure instinct, visceral, raw feeling. Vi fucking loves her, and Cait just did something no one did for her before. Be there, understand her. How could she not kiss her? Not let herself go in the feeling?

And yes, there's a war, they may die, why wait? They been longing this for so long, and now, both need to feel eacht other, to touch eacht other, to love and hold eacht other. Again, raw emotion.

Maybe she chooses wrong everytime, but this time, she didn't lost everyone. Cait is there, for, and with her.

And I also read some people saying Cait is looking at Vi like a womanizer, Am I the only one seeing just tender in her eyes? Love? Like "this is the woman I love and I would never change her again for nothing" She's looking at Vi with such love.

Sorry for rambling, I don't really have anyone to talk to about Arcane 😬

[kruegerspillow]

the look of love ; jayce talis

creators note: never really wrote for arcane so for my first time i gave my best shot! this'll be a series and ill try my best to write jayce :) bear with me guys

word count: 1.5k

warnings: none, though the reader is said to have brown hair & glasses, eventual smut, not proofread.

part one — part two — part three

Years of study, years of forcing your brain to absorb all the knowledge that had been spreaded out on the table in front of you.

That's what it takes for you to enter Piltover Academy. Complete agony and exhaustion behind that smile of yours. Though, it's worth it, right? Being accepted into the university you've longed for in the past years, hell, maybe even decades.

Hundreds of pearly whites were shown to you as you entered the building, the smell of different kinds of... rich fragrance hitting your nostrils. You held back every muscle in your face to not scrunch up in disgust. Your gaze shifted away from the people and onto the edifice. The building itself had greatly structured walls and ceilings. That's one thing to admire, at least. Statues were placed here and there, being the center of attention in the crowd forming around you, but that's not enough to shake off the annoyance building up on your shoulders.

A familiar, grand voice spoke up as the whole building abruptly went quiet. Your movements halted, taken aback by the sudden loss of commotion. More and more people gathered around the center of the room and, out of fear of missing out, you squeezed into the suffocating crowd. There stood the golden boy of Piltover on the stage.

“Good evening people of the future,” Jayce greeted, voice filled with warmth and determination. “Hope everyone's doin' alright.”

He cleared his throat, placing the papers on the podium as the crowd cheered loudly. You, too, clapped for him.

“Right,” he paused for a moment as the crowd's cheers died down. “It's been... a while, ever since the invention of Hextech. Since then, the glorious city of Piltover has been working its way to a brighter, easier future.”

A small bead of sweat slid down his forehead, “I was a nobody— my family used to create hammers that are probably used to make the stage I'm on. You see that?”

He pointed to the Hextech building that could be seen through the skylight of the University. The audience paused, taking their time as they listened to his speech. Your gaze shifted from him to the building, your heart thumping against your chest— for what? You don't know exactly.

“Hextech couldn't have done it without you all,” Jayce spoke. “And, I, as the Hextech inventor, will keep fighting for a brighter future. For our brighter future!”

And the crowd roared as he spoke his finishing line, a cheeky smile tugging onto the corner of his lips as he stepped down from the stage. People gathered around him, asking him all sorts of questions and begging him for his signature or a handshake. You, though, didn't move a single inch from your previous position; having just arrived into the university.

Jayce accepted the attention the crowd was giving him, answering the questions with ease, shaking their hands and writing down his signature on a piece of paper. Your brain seemed to stop working before you snapped out of your trance. You didn't have the desire to talk to him (yes, you do.) After all, he's a busy man with a busy career, what's he got for someone like you? You're fresh out of the oven, still clueless and would ramble away about some kind of nonsense that he wouldn't be interested in. So, you decided to play it safe and made your way through the horde to get to your room.

Jayce smiled awkwardly as more and more people began appearing, causing him to pause or trip over his own words; but he's good. He's good at hiding it all behind his facade. His gaze shifted before abruptly meeting your eyes, noticing the conflict in them. He'd never seen anyone so... ahem, unbothered. Your chocolate-colored eyes, gazing into nothingness while people surrounded him, crushing him with questions and pleas. The whole world seemed to stop spinning as he paused for a moment, taking his time to gaze over you before he was interrupted with another request.

What? Were you not interested in him? Was his speech too straightforward? Or was it too bland?

His thoughts scattered over one another as the amount of people began to gradually decrease, having their feeling of satisfaction after he'd answered every single one of their questions. Eventually, all the chattering from the people died down; and, soon, they're all dismissed.

But it was too late.

You were no longer in his sight and he was left with his own thoughts. Jayce was never good at pushing these doubts away. Making everyone pleased with even the slightest scent of his cologne was his goal, yet, your absence left him with a heavy heart. Fuck, he doesn't even know you... yet.

His eyes were glued onto the spot where you'd stood in the middle of the crowd, his gaze hazy and mind full of thoughts— but he knows better than to cry over spilled milk. He turned on his heels, adjusting his suit before hastily making his way back to the Hextech lab. His hands clenched into fists as he planned his next speech, wishing that you'd be at least slightly impressed by him. Getting to know you was his next step to getting rid of his little-to-no information about you. And, maybe, he'd ask Viktor... if he's even aware of the new visitor in the Piltover Academy.

“Viktor,” Jayce called out to his partner, his voice nearly echoing through the Hextech lab.

Viktor, who took his time turning around, glanced at him over his shoulder before shooting him a look of curiosity. Jayce seemed… conflicted. That made Viktor’s curiosity ignite. One of his eyebrows curled up, waiting for Jayce to continue his sentence. Jayce shut the door behind him, a look of uncertainty washing over his expressions.

“Jayce.” Viktor quipped, his voice low and steady.

Jayce cleared his throat, taking a seat on one of the chairs as he placed his leg over the table. He tried to look casual, he really did, though Viktor was observant enough to notice the beads of sweat sliding down his temple. The silence took over the conversation, creating this unbearable silence before Jayce eventually broke it.

“Quick question, ahem, my partner.” Jayce paused, “did you notice any new… visitors around the University of Piltover? Or, perhaps, around the Hextech building?”

Viktor gave him a look of indifference, clearly taken aback by the sudden question. Though, his gaze eventually fell onto the floor as he pondered the new faces he’d seen today. Quite a lot, Viktor thought to himself. Jayce had his fingers crossed, hoping for any information regarding you, peculiarly.

“New visitors…” Viktor repeated. “There were a lot of new visitors today. But if you have someone in mind— specifying them would help.”

Jayce cleared his throat, murmuring incoherent words as he leaned back against the chair. His brows furrowed, the memories of you seemingly disappearing one by one as soon as someone asks about them.

“Uh, no, well— well yes, actually.” Jayce stumbled over his words, his mind clouded by thoughts.

Viktor tilted his head to the side, finding Jayce's reply amusing to him. Curiosity piqued, and Jayce finally gathered himself.

“They wore glasses, uh… They have brown hair, not too long but not too short, y'know? And..." Jayce trailed off, trying to squeeze the memories out. "Yeah, that's all I remember.”

“Hm…”

“You've got any idea?”

“... No.”

Viktors reply caused Jayce's shoulders to sag. Jayce slumped back against his chair, his gaze falling onto the floor beneath him. Viktor furrowed his brows, taking a few steps closer to him.

“Why?” Viktor asked, curiosity evident in his voice. “Are you interested?”

“What? Pfft, no, nonsense.” Jayce replied, getting his leg off of the desk. “It's just… I don't know, they seemed so uninterested in my speech earlier.”

“Bruised your ego?”

“Hah! You wish,” Jayce retorted, his voice shifting to his usual playful one.

Viktor scoffed softly before turning his back towards Jayce, walking back to his original position as he glanced around the blueprints distributed onto the table. That caught Jayce's attention. He stood up from his chair, making his way to Viktor.

“Still looking at the blueprints?” Jayce murmured, “shouldn't you be sleeping, partner?”

The silence lingered for a moment, Jayce's question falling on deaf ears. Jayce furrowed his brows, his hand reaching up to touch Viktor's shoulder, though, instead, it hovered over him.

“Hey.” Jayce called out once more, causing Viktor to snap himself out of his thoughts.

Jayce's hand soon found Viktor's shoulder, giving him a light squeeze before taking a step front to stand right beside him. Jayce's brows furrowed, eyes filled with concern and care while Viktor stood there silently. Viktor's hand grabbed on the edge of the table, leaning forward onto the table. Soon enough, Viktor turned on his heels once more before walking towards the door.

“I should be sleeping.” Viktor spoke, his voice unfaltering.

Jayce watched silently, brows furrowed and his expression nearly pleading. Viktor took his cane and silently walked out the door.

“Goodbye.” He greeted Jayce as he left the room.

The door closed with a small click, and Jayce was left alone, once again. A small frown tugged into the corner of his lips, causing him to nearly pout. One of his hands made their way to his forehead, rubbing against his temple as he leaned back on the table. He had no reason to be so… worked up today. Did he?

kruegerspillow © 2024 ➵ do not feed my work into ai, repost or translate my work to post it around. Reblogs are much appreciated ୨ৎ

[eliza-and-her-monsters]

Perfectly Misaligned

Vi x reader

Summary: Vi has always been protective over you ever since you moved in next door to a less than savory part of town. Nevertheless though she still tries to play things cool though and not cross any boundaries. Whenever she hears the way your friend really talks to you though from the other side of the door, all bets are off.

Contains: very very au! still kind of new to the arcane/LoL universe so this will not be following canon or anything at all (obvs because it’s fanfic but still), sweet and soft vi, protective vi, depictions and discussions of abuse (physical and emotional), injuries, hurt x comfort trope, fluff fluff and more fluff!! <3

basically a vi version of my first jb one-shot but I still included some differences! once again my first time writing for her so please be gentle! i hope you like it 🥹🩵

(PSA: i’m writing this from experience! if you are in an abusive situation like this please take care of yourself 💙)

“Jesus, have you ever managed to recall a single thing right?!” My best friend seethed, someone who should’ve been my best friend at least as she slung an already chipped dirty plate across the dingy kitchen.

I should’ve kicked her out at the first sign of violence. I shouldn’t have even invited her over to think of it. Somewhere in my stupid brain I thought that talking about it in person would help us work things out more. Maybe because in some way I thought she was more biting over text messages so it wouldn’t hurt as much in person either. Every moment of rationalization got stupider by the second.

“That never happened! I never said any of that! You’re doing just what you always do! Pointing the finger and making me out to be the villian! You really think you’re the innocent one in all of this?!” I yelped as soon as she slammed her hand down on the emotional support water bottle I was currently clutching onto until it hit the floor with a loud thunk.

The sound of a knock on the door made me flinch again, the tears burning my eyes until they started to ache. “Hey, y/n? It’s getting kind of loud over there, are you okay?” The voice followed from the other side of the door. Violet, probably the best neighbor I could’ve asked for in one of the trashiest apartments. It was definitely a rough part of town we lived in, the only thing we could afford really. She always checked in on me though.

I hated how pathetic I felt hugging myself, eyes wide as I peered up at my ‘friend’ as if I was fucking asking for permission. Permission she clearly wasn’t giving me. “Didn’t know you two were so close. Is this someone else you’re hiding me from? Someone else you’re probably painting the worst picture of me to?”

“Y/n, I’m coming in.” Vi echoed, fuck I had almost forgotten I’d given her a spare key for whenever she needed it or just wanted company.

The moment the door swung open though I could feel the weight of my ‘friend’s push shoving me towards the ground. The sting of broken glass biting in my skin as I yelped in pain, bits of blood now streaking across the ground. And Vi had seen every second of it.

“Did you just put your fucking hands on her?” She practically growled as she made her way into the apartment, thick combat boots kicking aside broken glass to make a path.

“Oh c’mon, do I really look like I would hurt somebody? She clearly fell-”

“Yeah, you do. Because that’s all I’ve been hearing you do since the moment I came home and thank god I got here whenever I did-”

“Vi, please don’t-” I squeaked out with yet another wince of pain as I tried to push myself up to a sitting position. I knew how she was. The way she stayed bandaged up and covered in bruises didn’t hide exactly how she made her money. But I had never wanted to see that side of her myself. I didn’t think I could.

The words were lost to me though, lifting my hand as if to latch onto her own only to see a piece of glass protruding from the muscle below my thumb. Vi only took one wide look down at me before shooting a sea of daggers towards the culprit’s way. “I’ll give you a headstart before I break every last finger that you laid on her? How about that?”

“Vi-” I tried to protest again, but I should’ve known better than to believe she’d actually try and stand up to someone like Vi. Towering over both of us with a plethora of tattoos in black ink and enough muscles to put a bodybuilder to shame, she’d be intimidating to anybody. If it wasn’t for the fact that she had stumbled out of her apartment the day I moved in with a hopeful grin on her face as she offered to help me carry things upstairs I probably would’ve been intimidated by her too. But she had charmed me from day one.

“Damn it, doll, what’d she do to you?” She whispered, kneeling amongst the glass without a single care of it scraping her up too. “Is it safe to pull that out?” She wondered, bandaged and bruised fingers gently taking my wrist into her hand to examine the damage on my palm.

“I think so… it isn’t too deep.” I spoke, sucking in another yelp of pain as I yanked the glass from my hand and shakily tossed the now red piece aside. “It’s not that bad- she- she just pushed me.”

“No, y/n-” It was the first time she directed that glare towards me and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me wince at first. Only seconds later though I watched her icy expression soften with a shake of her head. “You can’t excuse it this time, doll.”

I didn’t say anything, even knowing she was right, she stared down at my scraped and cut knees while the tears dripped down my cheeks until they landed on the open wounds and made them sting. Knowing I would probably find some way, some reason to excuse what had just happened. I always did.

“C’mon, baby, let’s go over to my place and get you patched up.” She sighed, almost with a hint of disappointment before sliding an arm around my shoulders and another underneath my knees. I sucked in a breath of pain as I was separated from the pool of glass, microcuts now hitting the air as the pieces that had embedded themselves into my skin clinked to the floor.

My eyes felt heavy, my head already lolling to the side the moment I felt her sweeping me up with ease. My head ached from the amount of arguing, almost worse than the stings of the open wounds. Vi shoved open the door to her apartment next door, still the same chaotic mess it usually was whenever she invited me over. She never showed it, but sometimes I think she felt lonely. She was just the kind of person you could tell even by first glance that she had been through a lot. I never asked though. It never seemed appropriate to get too personal. She was a private person, and I respected that. Or tried to.

“This might sting a little.” She whispered once we made it to her tiny bathroom, leaving me propped up on the sink as she rummaged around for her first aid supplies. I tried to mask my expression of pain the moment she touched the antiseptic to my bloodied knees but ultimately failed as a whimper tumbled from my lips.

“I’m sorry.” I spoke through a sharp breath, “That y-you have to do this. I shouldn’t have gotten you involved in our shit.” I lifted a shaky hand to try and wipe at my eyes, tears that seemed to have miraculously remained at bay until now.

“No, y/n, I got involved on my accord. Because it seemed like somebody needed to.” She shook her head, and I never knew that hands that looked so rough could be as gentle as hers were. Pulling them away from the wounds only to hold my chin in between her thumb and pointer finger. “Has she ever put her hands on you before, doll?”

I shook my head almost immediately, watching her expression harden, eyes icy enough to freeze. “Are you lying?” She asked again, a quiver setting into my bottom lip as she seemed to see through it all. Her anger was unmistakable, the way she pulled her hands away from me only to clench them into fists. Shoulders set like she was about to swing at something, anything. And still somehow I wasn’t afraid of her.

“Vi, Vi please… please don’t go after her right now. Please just- just stay with me. For a little bit, please.” I reached out to slide my hand around her bulging bicep just before she could put her fist through the wall.

I felt her swing around to face me, an arm sliding around my shoulder, fingers knotting through my hair as she held me to her broad shoulder. “You’re more important.” She finally spoke with another long breath that felt like she was loosening every muscle in her body. “She’ll get what’s coming to her though.”

“Promise you’ll be careful.” I begged into the fabric of her tank top.

“I can’t ever promise that, but I’ll always do my best.” The feeling of her fingers running through my hair was almost enough to pull the tears from my eyes again. Gentle touches I wasn’t familiar with. Gentle words I wasn’t used to hearing I almost couldn’t believe them. The feeling of safe muscular arms holding me to her warm chest as I clung onto her like I hadn’t ever done before. I didn’t even realize I was crying until I heard her softly shushing me from above, her chin propping up on top of my head. “Shhh, I’ve got you now. I’ve got you. Nobody’s gonna hurt you.”

She was careful whenever she inched away, gently drawing my body from hers. Calloused hands drawing down my bare arms as if checking for anymore tiny cuts the glass might have left. “Let me finish patching you up, and then I’ll hold you as long as you want me to.”

She wrapped my knees and hand in her bandages and placed little bandaids on every small wound. Whenever we made it back to my place though she didn’t hesitate to sweep up every last bit of the broken glass too before finally letting herself sit down.

“You didn’t have to clean everything, you know? I could’ve taken care of it.” I spoke into my lap, face drawn down as if in shame.

“I think you’ve cleaned up someone’s mess a few too many times.” Vi sighed before stretching an open arm out as if beckoning me in. “C’mere doll.” I was already moving into her arms, taking in her musky scent with just a tinge of iron that she always had whenever she returned from work. “I’m sorry I didn’t wash up first, I just heard the yelling and I came running and-”

“It’s okay.” I said with a shake of my head just before nuzzling into her chest. Her body could’ve swallowed me whole if she wanted it to, I felt like nothing more than a ragdoll curled up into her arms. And I normally would’ve hated it. But with Vi I felt like I could finally be small and sensitive and fragile and I’d be safe. It was just a matter of not having to be on guard 24/7.

Vi cleared her throat from above me, her fingers brushed underneath my chin as if nudging me to look at her. Blue eyes that I felt like were gonna send me into cardiac arrest, and with my hand bundled up into a ball against her chest I swore I could’ve felt her own heart kicking into gear. “Y/n, you know I really care about you, right?”

“After tonight, yeah, I- I think I do.” My cheeks felt like they were on fire, and all I wanted was to hide my face into her shirt again. But with the grip she had on my chin I knew she wouldn’t let me. “I- I care about you a lot too.”

“I know you do, I just feel like a lot of people don’t return the favor, you know? So I just… I want you to know that. I’ve got you. Regardless.” A long breath was shuddered from my lungs at her warm words. Feeling her cracked but soft lips drifting downwards to brush against my forehead just before she finally released my chin.

It felt like they held a lot of weight to them. Almost more than what they let on, than she wanted to let on. At least for now. They were enough though. Enough to get my eyes to tear up pathetically again as I burrowed my face back into her chest with a small sniffle.

“You’re my best friend, Vi.” I muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

She delicately slid her fingers around my wrist, softly stroking my pulse point until my teary eyes fluttered shut, “You’re mine too, darling.”

[jq37]

Your sister who you love so much (even though you’ve never shown it) asks you to be her sister again, her true sister, in deed not just in name. And yes, of course that’s what you want. That’s what you’ve always wanted and now that she’s shattered your defenses and destroyed the ones who would pit you against each other and died right before your eyes, how could you refuse? How could your answer be anything but yes?

So you go home with her, not the ruins of your perfectly posh prison, but a new home which provides love and care and bunk beds and it’s so so nice. Ridiculously nice. Sickeningly nice. And a small, sick part of you almost misses your old home (if you can even call it a home) because yes, it was cruel and awful and you hated every second of it but you knew where you fit. You knew what your role was. You don’t fit in here. Everyone accepts you because they’re all so nice, but they don’t know how to volley back your sharp words or find a hidden, “I love you” within an offhanded insult. 

And then your sister leaves to save the world again because that’s who she is. She’s the kind of person who goes out to save the world with her friends when she’s needed and you’re not. You’re not, not, not. Not on any count. You don’t save things, you destroy them. And friends? You have to allow yourself to be vulnerable for friends so of course that’s out. Your sister is 16 and she’s out saving the world for the third time and you, fully grown at 18, are a wanted criminal who hasn’t even properly graduated from high school. You can’t stop thinking about it and, without your sister and her friends occupying the house as a buffer, the ones who are left try to get you to talk about it so you make a rash decision, as you are wont to do. You leave, like a thief in the night. You can make your own way. You can. You’ll prove it.

You find a shitty apartment and pay for it with the ill-gotten spoils from one of your many exploits. You could probably pawn some treasure for more luxurious  accommodations–there is that chest of rubies just lying around–but you don’t. That’s not what you deserve. And what if your sister needs help later? You don’t have access to your parental funds anymore which means she doesn’t either. You know she won’t ask anyone for help–you wouldn’t. But someone has to look after her. You’re an abjuration wizard. You protect people. You protect her. No, that’s a lie. But you want to make it not a lie. You want to start now.

If you’re saving the rubies then you need a source of income. You narrow down your least villainous talents to try and find a suitable job and hit on teacher. You’re good at magic, right? So how hard can teaching it be? Hopefully not as hard as securing the job, which proves trickier than expected because, oh right, you’re a wanted criminal who hasn’t graduated high school. But you dip into your villainous talents once more and tell yourself it’s for a good cause. You secure the job. You’re doing it. You’re making your own way. 

You want to text your sister to see if she’s doing alright but you don’t want to intrude and you don’t want to answer any questions about what you’ve been doing because then either you’ll have to lie or explain that you’ve left again, right after you promised you’d be there. Both options make your heart ache, especially since it’s her birthday. So you wait until the house is empty (mostly empty–you’re never really alone in a haunted house) and enter the room you and your sister shared for too brief a time. You paint her walls with carefully rendered runes, filled with all your abjuration magic and stamped with your arcane mark. It’s a possessive bit of spellcraft. A selfish claiming of a climactic kill. You mean to make a different kind of claim. You are claiming your sister, as she asked you to months ago. You are telling the world that she will not be fucked with while you live. Your rooms were so close before. You could hear her. You knew every night she went to bed in the grips of a panic attack with no one to console her. She won’t have to feel unsafe in her own room again. You can make sure of that at least. 

The sun rises one morning and you know that means your sister is alive and well and coming home. You teleport to Falinel to make sure she returns to her favorite dessert. It’s worth the spell slot and the chance of being recognized. The tower where they kept you is long destroyed and you know that this time, if you were ever captured or even killed, rescue wouldn’t be measured in a matter of months. It would be days. Hours even if your clever sister and her powerful divination magic put things together faster. The thought fills you with more emotion than you know what to do with. You leave a note. “I love you,” you think. “Enjoy the nemesis ward,” you write. 

Practicing magic, as it turns out, is a very different skill than teaching magic. The children are loud and obnoxious and you don’t quite realize that maybe your expectations are too high between the hothouse you grew up in and your sister being the world’s greatest diviner, fullstop. You know you can always go back to the manor, but that somehow makes it easier to stick it out. You’ve always been taught that pressure provides the best results but there’s something about the security of a safety net that makes everything a bit more bearable. And so what if you have to take a second job involving a light criminal element. You’re only smuggling–that’s barely even a real crime.

Your sister who has saved the world thrice now, texts you and she wants help. She is looking to you for help. And you do your best to oblige. You offer your knowledge, you offer your rubies, you invite her over again and again. She sends you a text and deletes it. You’re not the diviner in the family but you drain your spell slots scrying for information you already know. Information that you'll hear from her own lips in just a few hours. “I love you.”

She finally visits and you’re not unaware of the state of your apartment. You know you’ve been too exhausted for an Unseen Servant or even a round of Prestidigitations but you know that your sister has seen your mind and there’s nothing messier about you than that. She teases you and you tease her back. She’s the only one who understands how to deliver a complement with a backhand so you can receive it without your skin crawling. The only one who knows how much tartness you need with your sweetness. 

Later, she visits again. She sits in your filthy apartment and you watch trash TV and it’s the highlight of your week. Your month even. That should feel pathetic but, somehow it doesn’t. You want to tell her. She deserves to hear it from time to time without having to filter out the layers of prickliness that you add as second nature, a layer of armor as ever present as your abjurer’s ward. You may not be able to handle naked sentiment but she can. You’ve seen her with her friends. How affectionate they are. You’ve always been taught that loose lips sink ships but you have experience with ship sinking and this prospect fills you with much less dread. You tell her and it’s awkward and fumbling but you manage. Maybe loving people isn’t so different from loving cats.

You have a new job which is perfect because the school year is almost over and, blackmail or no, you aren’t sure how many times you’ll be able to get away with casting Sleep on your class to give yourself a break. Honestly, you should have applied for jobs in Leviathan from the start. Why would pirates care about your sketchy history and lack of credentials? You could teleport yourself to Leviathan every day but that would be a waste of a spell slot when the door to the Compass Points is right there in the manor (and if your sister happens to be there too then hey, happy coincidence). While you’re there, you might as well do your laundry. And stay for dinner from time to time. And spend time with your sister in your her room where your runes stand sentinel and your old bunk lays untouched. You don’t think you’re staring but later, as you go to grab a snack from the kitchen your sister throws you a casual, over the shoulder glance. 

“You can just move back in, if you want.”

And would it really be that easy? Just like that? After a year of trying to make a point or a plan or a better version of yourself or whatever? Just like that? 

You remember a year ago. You and your sister and words that will be burned into your mind forever. 

“Despite the fact that you have not earned it, I do love you.”

Just like that. 

You say yes. You stay. 

[arcane-ish]

Embracing the Monster: Why CaitVi kind of felt left out compared to Zaundads/Timebomb/JayVik

Let me start with some disclaimers: I have have wrestled with the way CaitVi was written in season 2 and tried to make sense of it in this post. And I have wrestled with myself and my tastes and why I actually feel very ill equipped to really say whether CaitVi is shippishly having issues or just being written for a different taste/target audience.

I have my very subjective often very oddball tastes of what I consider a good ship that often goes aggressively what either the general public or the popular fandom public considers good. In the end I can only report on what I saw.

IMO: looking at Arcane season 2 act 3 specifically there is just a really natural thematic flow.

Have you seen the meme: "Arcane was about love? Always has been"?

To me the overall message of Act 3 in particular (but that you can go back to and see traces of it in plenty of other act) is about Embracing the Monster.

And to me, despite the choppiness of much of Act 3, there's just a certain grace to how this is done.

It starts with Silco and Vander formulating the concept. They tease the promise, whether you see Silco or Vander as "the bad one" in this constellation, if you embrace, if you forgive, something great can come out of it.

This flows directly to Ekko who actively listens to it and tries applies it to himself

And it ends with JayVik symbolizing the concept. and ending the cosmic threat with it. Viktor expecting bad treatment due to his actions, Jayce embracing him anyway.

A lot can be said about the pros and cons of that theme (and I will do that), but there's just to me pure power in repetition and thematic congruency that just gives power and makes it hit more even for couples I don't actually like or ship all that much.

The problem is that even though CaitVi is the primary romantic couple of the show, they don't feel like they are part of this thematic trifecta of s2Act3.

CaitVi is too different to fit in, but not different enough to act as a counterpoint

From a story point of view, CaitVi could have been part of this general theme of big hearted understanding and forgiveness. I've seen a lot of discussion about has Cait apologized, has she apologized enough. I think that's besides the point.

We don't see whether Vander apologized to Silco. Jinx probably didn't apologize to Ekko and Viktor didn't in so many words apologize to Jayce. The point of this theme isn't about apologizing.

Considering the bad or misguided things Caitlyn did, she could have been part of that theme. But it would have required Vi to be a lot more horrified by her. To gulf between them would have to have been much larger so it can feel like a big deal for Vi to jump that gulf and embrace Caitlyn despite everything that has happened.

The show plays a little bit with "could Caitlyn become a monster", but in the end it doesn't go there in the way people react to her and how she carries herself. Because the show is hesitant to portray her as monster, for Vi to see Caitlyn as monster, they do not fit into the "embracing the monster*" theme that the other stories have going on. Again I speculate that that might have been intentional and that it might be their way of portraying CaitVi ultimately as a more functional couple.

There's catharsis in CaitVi's big payoff scene. But it's a different catharsis than what the other stories have going on.

Again, the theme of the other pairs is embracing the monster.

The theme of CaitVi is choosing happiness/being liberated from responsibility.

Picture a world where the themes of the other couples had echoed CaitVi? If let's say Ekko had actually felt burdened by his responsibility as a Firelight when he really wants to be with Jinx and him choosing her is about throwing away the shackles of that responsibility? If JayVik had been about Jayce's responsibility on the council and to Mel. If Vander's letter to Silco had been about "I thought I needed to expel you because people told me to, because of my responsibility to the Lanes, but I was wrong and I hate myself for it".

Can you see how if all stories, all relationships had been about choosing love over responsibility (whether it's Vi's responsibility to take care of Jinx or Caitlyn's feeling like she's supposed to live like her mother would have wanted her too), how that would have strengthened CaitVi's story. If the other stories had established a baseline how different characters deal with love and responsibility and set the baseline that this is an important topic that many people struggle with?

Or imagine the reverse, if rather than everybody joining CaitVi's theme, what if let's say rather than the relatively breezy/jokey/flirty/soft mood of the CaitVi scene pre sex had been about Cait having a full on ugly crying scene to the tune of "I'm a monster, I treated you badly, I went the wrong path, I don't deserve you" and Vi had embraced her anyway. If CaitVi had actually spelled out the implied confrontation that maybe went down or should went down between Zaundads, Timebomb, JayVik?

I'm not saying that it would have made a better show or made CaitVi a better couple. What I'm trying to explain what would have been required for CaitVi to feel like "part of the gang". And why right now they feel like the odd ones out, because the theme of three other storylines roughly match each other and CaitVi has a different theme compared to everybody else.

(MelJay is a different case for a couple of reasons)

In the end, it's not a crime that CaitVi doesn't follow everybody else's theme. I have speculated that it might have been intentional, that their theme is in the end maybe healthier/less dysfunctional from a future relationship perspective. Or maybe it's supposed to make them more special that their have their own unique theme.

IMO there's potential logic to going against the grain. But imo for my personal tastes, CaitVi not sharing the same theme would have worked better if they had actively contrasted the other stories by being completely different.

That's the problem of CaitVi being different, but not different enough. Because Cait does physically hurt Vi just not as aggressively as Vander hurting Silco or Timebomb trying to kill each other. And Cait did go down a dark path and lost herself in darkness the way Jinx or Viktor likely did. But it is not treated the same way.

The potential is there, but because the involved people react so differently to the situation it doesn't feel like it's the same theme, not "part of the gang". But it shares too many elements to feel like counterprogramming.

Again imagine a show where CaitVi are the one couple who feel full on differently. Who manage to stay sane and loving and supportive all the way through. If rather than Cait going all "Zaunites are animals!!!" and hitting Vi with the butt of a gun they had a sane and supportive breakup where Cait just tells her "I'm sorry, I can feel like I'm losing myself and I know I cannot be in a relationship now. Just go away, you probably have your own issues to handle first", And the rough corners of the plot had stayed the same of CaitVi being apart in Act 2, Vi doing her Jinx and Vanderwick arc and Cait losing herself in police work and responsibilities, but they always stay respectful and communicative with each other while all the other people around them are way more dysfunctional and hurt by poor communication.

IMO, for my taste (again as somebody who if firmly not a wlw shippers, just an occasional shipper of wlw couples), CaitVi would have resonated more powerfully if the show had gone for either option: join the same theme as the other characters (at the risk of making them more dysfunctional as a couple) or be a more aggressive contrast/the haven of difference and sanity and health in a chaotic world (at the risk of making them more boring/less melodramatic/less meatily shippy).

ETA: I hope it's okay that I tag CaitVi rather than anti. Because this is written from a place of affection, of "what could the show have done differently to make them pop more" (with the stipulation of "for a general audience" with the understanding that that might never have been the goal in the first place)

*I should probably add the "monster" here is naturally metaphorical most of the time and it's not about portraying Jinx, Viktor, Vander&Silco as monsters and more about whether you are missing out by seeing them as monsters, whether monsters like Vanderwick are actually a lot less monstrous than they might seem, that you can come back from anything etc

[writerblue275]

Ranking Heartsteel members from least to most dom. (With some explanation) 😏

Inspiration: It just popped in my head and wouldn’t leave so here we are......blame Ezreal.

Genre: Ranking

Category: SMUTTTTT (18+ ONLY UNDER THE KEEP READING. MINORS DNI.)

Gender: I’ll do my best to be gender neutral. I am AFAB, so please understand that’s where my perspective comes from, especially from an anatomical standpoint. That being said, I’ll try to keep language as GN as possible.

TW: NSFW as FUCK. Mentions quite a few kinks: Dirty talk, dom/sub dynamics, BDSM, etc...you have been warned.

Now that we have the logistics out of the way, are we all ready then? Lovely! Let's begin...😈

Important context: There’s an assumption here that everything is consensual. I’d never write anything about non consensual acts. Consent and communication are always CRITICAL. Also, this headcanon primarily applies to an established romantic relationship between member and reader, but I do think there are some things that could carry over into a FWB arrangement or something so have fun imagining that.

Least

- Ezreal

Do you know what’s hilarious? I actually have differing headcanons for Heartsteel Ezreal and like base-skin Piltover Ezreal. (I know Riot said it’s all the same universe and everything is canon, but are you really going to put Heartsteel Ezreal next to base-skin Ez, Debonair Ez, or Ace of Spades Ez and tell me they have the completely same vibes? To use my favorite GIF of Viktor from Arcane:)

But back to the reason we’re here. Let’s bffr, we all know this is the right spot for Heartsteel Ezreal.

He exudes such sub energy lmao. Like that’s baby boy right there. (He LOVES when you call him that BTW.)

You are absolutely going to be the one in control in your intimate relationship and that also includes aftercare. You will be taking care of him.

This chaotic man is a certified B R A T. The BRATTIEST of brats. And you just know it’s all on purpose to get a reaction out of you. 😂

Not shy at all about letting you know he’s needy. I’m not sure Ezreal (in any fucking universe lmao) has a subtle bone in his body. He definitely isn’t afraid to get a little whiny/clingy/handsy (but not like inappropriately so if you’re in public) in order to get his message across.

Likes to try and take the lead when you let him, but eventually he gets tired and you have to take back over.

Could he escape when you tie his wrists to the headboard? Absolutely, but why would he do that when he absolutely loves it? Also loves when you blindfold him. Oh, and he has the BIGGEST praise kink (receiving). Like be sure to tell him how good he’s being for you.

Wants you to use toys on HIM. Be creative and tease the hell out of him. It’s what he gets for being a brat.

He’s absolutely walked into rehearsal covered in love bites before, much to Alune’s dismay, so now you have to be a little more discreet about where you mark him. But believe me, he definitely wants you to.

- Aphelios

I was having such a difficult time figuring out how to classify Aphelios. Like I truly couldn’t figure out if he’d be dom or sub. Then it hit me….

He’s BOTH. The man is a fucking SWITCH. (HELL YEAH FOR SWITCHES.) Still a little unsure if he leans more dom or sub, but my gut is saying a bit more sub, so that’s what we’re going with.

There are days when he gets home and he needs to get his frustration/stress out. Those are the days he’s more dominant. Then there are other days where Phel is just damn tired and needs to be taken care of by his favorite person (you). Those are definitely the days he’s more submissive.

On those days, please pamper this man. He works so hard…

Even if traditional dirty "talk" can't be a part of your relationship, Phel’s a very creative man, as you know, and he will let you know how he feels, whether you're with him or not.

The absolute MASTER of sexting. Like you’ve been in meetings and your phone buzzes, and it’s just your lovely boyfriend texting you the most incredibly filthy stuff. You even had a coworker once ask if you were alright, you were so flushed. But my friend, TEASE HIM BACK. One afternoon Yone had to whack him on the back after he took a sip of water, looked down at his messages from you, and started coughing.

I’ve discussed previously (HERE) that I don’t think he’s had a ton of relationships before you, so I think the broadening of horizons in your physical relationship will take time. Butttttttt…..

This man is a very fast learner. (I’ve said it before and I will say it again: The quiet ones are always the most perceptive.) He knows exactly where and how to touch you in order to hear you gasp and moan. (Your body is an instrument, and as we all know, Phel is GREAT at playing instruments.) As he learns more about you and your body, he is willing to try new things with you. He trusts you deeply.

Whether or not he’s on top, Aphelios likes positions that allow him to see your face, and more importantly to him, allow you to see his face. Because he can’t verbally tell you how incredible you are and how much he loves you in the moment, it’s really important to him for you to be able to get that message somehow, and his face is very expressive. (Especially his eyes.)

Doesn’t matter if you’re leading aftercare or he is, it’s one of his favorite parts. The intimacy between the two of you while in this “vulnerable” state, taking such gentle care of each other, makes him melt. (Despite all the sass and the smolder in photos, he’s become a bit of a romantic.)

(A/N: Ok Yone and K’Sante I could also see being flipped here. I feel like they’re similar in “level” of dom, if that makes sense.)

- Yone

So Yone is definitely where we cross over into members who are for sure more dominant. Like he’d let you lead if you asked, but he’d absolutely be in control most of the time.

Similar to Aphelios, he knows EXACTLY how to read your body. (Those quiet men and their awareness!!!!) An extremely fast learner when it comes to what flusters you, gets you in the mood, and your favorite things he does.

Do not be afraid to be vocal with him. He loves hearing your noises when he does something very right. And he loves hearing you talk (especially when you say his name). He’ll always verbally confirm with you that you’re still enjoying yourself. And don’t worry about being too loud. He’ll soundproof the bedroom if necessary (he knows where to get extra soundproofing foam since he redid his whole studio).

“That’s it, my love…say my name again for me…let me hear you…” (🫠 <- Oh look it’s me!)

I ranked him the most romantic member for a fucking REASON (though I still think him and Sett are basically neck and neck). I think what really takes Yone up in the romance arena are his pet names for you (HERE).

There’s no one better to create mood music. And you know he puts in EFFORT. Along with mood music, I can absolutely see him giving you roses and slow dancing around your apartment to just set the VIBES. (Fucking immaculate vibes right there.)

While I can’t see Yone having too many “wild” kinks or fantasies, one that I absolutely can see him enjoying is shibari. Of course he’s very gentle and makes sure you’re not too uncomfortable (this sweet sweet man).

As I said earlier, he definitely likes to hear you, so dirty talking (both giving and receiving, but especially receiving) is for sure a big kink of his. And you love when he murmurs/whispers the sweetest yet dirtiest things into your ear.

Primarily prefers positions where he can see your face, but I also think surprisingly he’d like to hit it from behind. Especially when shibari is involved.

Very very sweet with aftercare. He thoroughly checks you over, making sure you’re feeling alright, and wipes you down before whisking you away to a bath. That’s when cuddly Yone comes out and he’s not leaving your side for the rest of the evening.

- K’Sante

K’Sante? He knows how to treat a partner RIGHT. He’s setting the mood throughout the entire fucking DAY. But you know what makes it even better? It doesn’t even have to be a special occasion. It could be a random Thursday and he’s still going all out.

I suppose that makes him the king of foreplay since he knows how to play the long game. This man is a PATIENT dom. What a fucking tease omg. (Those are his biggest kinks btw. Foreplay and teasing (both giving)).

Buys you a full outfit he knows (not thinks, KNOWS) will look incredible on you. Includes lingerie if that’s something you like. Of course he’s right. It really did look great on you and you got so many compliments that you couldn’t help but feel amazing and sexy. He also takes care of any small things you usually do so you can focus on yourself.

Sending you texts that gradually get flirtier and spicier throughout the day. Might even leave you a voice message or voice mail (with a text warning first to use your headphones because he’s smart like that).

All of this makes it so you’re ready to pounce on K'Sante the second he gets home. You’re ready to climb this giant man like a fucking tree.

That’s EXACTLY what he was trying to do. He can’t help but chuckle as he carries you to the kitchen instead of the bedroom, ignoring your complaints. He just smirks widely down at you once he sets you on the counter and softly but confidently, brooking no argument, says, “Not on an empty stomach, baby. You and I both know that’s unwise.” (He’s absolutely right.)

But worry not. The fun starts after you finish the delicious dinner he made. He’ll put you right back on the counter and enjoy his “dessert” first. 😉

Eventually though, even the master of the long game finally loses his patience (he played himself just a little bit). I think because of that, he’d be just a bit rough with you (though of course nothing that you dislike). You’re up against the wall/door of the bedroom as soon as you enter. When K'Sante doesn’t play the long game, I definitely think he’s much gentler and more romantic with you. Even without the long game he’s still definitely a fan of foreplay like oral or toys. He’s making sure you’re prepared for him.

Loves positions where he can show off his strength. He works hard for it, and what better way to reap the benefits than to use it to make you feel good? Loves anything that involves carrying you around.

I can totally see K’Sante being great at aftercare. He’d heat up some leftover food for you and get you a Gatorade (hydration!!!) after helping you clean up. And I fully believe cuddling him is one of the best things ever.

- Sett

Settrigh (that’s right, FULL NAME TO START) is not only dominant as fuck, but he’s one of the most ROMANTIC doms of the group and you will not convince me otherwise.

Outside of the bedroom? You have Sett wrapped around your little finger. This man worships the ground you walk on. (Lucky!!)

But intimacies? That’s his domain. He’s here to give you what you and your body NEED. You just have to give him the keys and let him drive. (“Let him cook” as the kids today say [lmao I swear I’m not even that old]).

When he’s with you, his goal isn’t even to find his own pleasure. Remember when I said acts of service (giving) is one of his love languages? 😉 (Same headcanon linked in Phel's.)

His goal? To make sure you feel loved/give you as much pleasure as you want. THAT’S how he finds his pleasure, knowing you’re feeling out-of-this-world because of what HE’S doing.

The master at creating romantic ambience. An incredible homemade meal by candlelight, a rose petal trail/petals covering the bed, special surprises (toys, lingerie, candles, music), and many other things to help set the mood.

Sett is extremely tall and very strong (I mean duh, pit fighter) and he loves pulling you into his lap for a make out session.

Praise kink, both giving and receiving. Loves telling you how good you are for him, how incredible you feel. And when you breathlessly tell him he feels perfect and beg him not to stop? That’s the shit he LIVES FOR. Absolutely loves the sounds you make. To likely no one’s surprise, I do think he has at least a little bit of a breeding kink.

Because he is a romantic, he likes to see your face. Loves watching your expression as he brings you bliss over and over and over again. (“Eyes on me, kitten. That’s it…you follow my directions so well, love…”) Also loves oral (giving). It’s one of his absolute favorite things in this world. Please PLEASE sit on his face, he loves it.

A KING of aftercare. Like Sett spoils you absolutely rotten. You don’t even have to lift a finger as he gently wipes you down with a warm wash cloth, carries you to a bubble bath where he cuddles and cleans you himself, and grabs you all the water and snacks that you need as soon as you’re cozy in bed again. He sets the bar SKY HIGH.

- Kayn

If you don’t think Kayn is very much on the dominant side, I don’t know what to tell you because have you SEEN HIM? The confidence. The energy. His SMIRK. This man is in full control and he KNOWS IT.

Will let you be in control every now and then when you request, but he’s definitely the main one who is in charge. And honestly he’s so good at his job that you’re very happy with your arrangement.

Loves buying you lingerie (so he can rip it off you later). If you surprise him by waiting in bed wearing just lingerie that he bought you, Kayn will go FERAL.

HICKEYS. This man is shameless when it comes to marking you. And he loves feeling you mark him, but of course because of his profession, you’re a bit more limited on where you can mark him. He needs to be able to cover them.

He is kinky as hell. Hair pulling, BDSM, edging, toys, and more. Dirty talk KING. Like I don’t think he’d shut up. Murmurs the filthiest shit in your ear. With your consent he’d also take photos and videos, but of course they’re on a completely separate phone that only you two know about/have access to (he takes it with him when he travels).

He’s an ass man so any position he can see your ass, he loves. Big fan of oral (both giving and receiving but more so receiving). “You look so fucking pretty on your knees for me, Angel…”

Of course Kayn’s not a jackass. If you need to go slower or need more romance he’s happy to give you that. He can be surprisingly gentle and sweet.

And if you ever do need to use it, the SECOND you use your safe word, he stops, murmuring gentle and sincere apologies and affirmations as he takes you through your aftercare routine. He knows he can be rough, since you’ve told him he’s allowed to be, but the very last thing he wants to do is hurt you or go beyond your limits. You’re truly precious to him.

I think he is secretly phenomenal at aftercare. Like you might not think so from looking at him, but he really goes the full nine yards. Warm bath or shower with him, changing into comfy pjs (or not, he leaves it up to you), a massage if you’re sore anywhere, hand feeding you a snack and helping you hydrate, and some damn good cuddles and pillow talk.

Kayn is an excellent dom who cares about your satisfaction and well being in and out of the bedroom.

Most

Thank you for reading! This was so fun to write. I'll be honest, I even managed to fluster myself! 😳😂 Maybe I’ll have to do like NSFW A-Z for each member. Here’s a small glimpse into my internal and external reactions as I was writing for each member!

Ezreal: *Smirking, giggling, kicking my feet* (He’s who inspired this entire post tbh.)

Aphelios: *Eyes widening in realization and blushing*

Yone: *Sighing and swooning*

K’Sante: *Biiiiiiiiiig smirk*

Sett: *Melts into a god damn puddle*

Kayn: *Screams into the void because HOLY SHIT??*

[mossyquill02]

Just finished Arcane season 2, and if there was ONE thing I could change (apart from this season being expanded into two seasons because it really needed the time) it would be Jayce's speech to Viktor before they ascended together.

I understand the intent behind it. I do. Jayce is supposed to have made so much progress after his climb from the pits of hell to the top of piltover with his broken leg (mirroring Viktor's struggle). His speech is meant to be proof of that change, of his newfound understanding of Viktor, and a show of acceptance to Viktor's (and humanity's) imperfections.

But...all I could hear in it was the message of "your disability is a strength! you're so brave! You're not broken/disabled, you're just *different*, that can be a good thing!" -- All messages I've heard from people/groups that view themselves as progressive and supportive of disabled people irl but which, as a disabled person, really suck.

Viktor IS broken. Literally, physically, his body is broken and (through season 1) failing. He is DYING. But oh, it's ok now, your boyfriend has realized that dealing with a shitty situation (being disabled and dying at a young age) doesn't make you lesser as a person :)

What SHOULD have been said is that "it's ok that you're broken" (I accept you as you are, flaws and all) NOT "you aren't *really* broken" (denies reality, implies that if he *was* broken it would be a bad thing).

Telling a disabled person to just accept themself and not view themself as broken is also bs. I accept my disabilities because I have to. Because they're part of me. But if I could cure them I would without hesitation. To say that "your disability is a beautiful part of you, so just accept and love it" is to speak over the actual disabled people saying no, our disabilities aren't beautiful but that doesn't mean we are impossible to love.

Same thing for the "your disability makes you who you are" line--it does, but only in the sense that I've had to learn how to live with it and am negatively impacted by it every day. Yeah, it contributes to who I am, but so does everything in life. If you think it's the "overcoming adversity" aspect, would you tell someone "being in poverty makes you who you are, so you should accept it and celebrate it"? Because that's how the line comes across to me as a disabled person.

I can love myself and accept I'm disabled without having to love or enjoy my disability. Smae for other people--I don't want others to love my disability, I just want them to see me as me, as a person.

I loved Arcane. I really did. But Jayce supposedly grew soooo much and then was given such a crappy speech for his big "show Viktor how to not destroy the world" moment, with such cliché and common phrases that I get hit with as a disabled person almost constantly, that i can't help but be disappointed. Ultimately, it was the writers' failure to understand their own message that ruined the scene for me, and, unfortunately, pretty much the entirety of Jayce's character arc.

In short, what they failed to understand is that people are beautiful even when disabled or broken, not because "being disabled isn't really being broken".

[lesbianherald]

god i haven't been able to figure out what bugged me so much about jinx's ending and you really put it into words for me like GOD. i'm schizo-spec myself and had a Real Bleak Time dealing with it for a while and the messaging of "breaking the cycle" being achieved through death just feels so icky. i'm in a really stable place now but the idea of someone being where i was at and seeing that ending kinda makes my stomach hurt. anyway all that to say thank you for putting such apt words to it <3

i feel you so hard on this on a lot of levels. i don't know. I'm in the same place as you where I'm in a much better place than I once was (granted with a different set of struggles) but it really hit so oddly.

I almost felt weirdly protective ?? I was like. wow. i know 17 year old me would have eaten arcane up. and I know 17 year old me would be absolutely crushed and internalized that in a way tha't s just. so sad and horrible. and it just made me feel so angry for people who are in a bad place. because media with that type of messaging is genuinely so harmful.

and yes, obviously, people are responsible for the media they consume blah blah.

But also like, popular media shouldn't deliver what I find is a blatantly hateful and untrue message about people with mental health issues: which is that our families and our communities are better off without us. it makes me so mad.

narratively, jinx was already so worried that cait was a replacement and that there could only be one. In season 1, this is set up as an unhelpful line of thinking and something that should be pushed back against. Of course there shouldn't just be one. Of course vi would have room in her life for both her love interest and her family. In season 2, this line of thinking is quite literally re-affirmed, both in the narrative and very explicitly by the writers after the fact. which is. Wrong ! and bad !

also, before anyone is like oh well this wasn't supposed to be a good thing this was supposed to be a tragedy. tragedy needs to be narratively satisfying to work. there needs to be a certain structure. a certain careful narrative push and pull. this isn't satisfying. Jayce and Viktor as a tragedy was a bit more satisfying (yet still flawed). this was just. gross.

sorry this answer got really serious but yeah !

[manicpixieyandere]

The Genius Of Not Labeling Jinx

The Messiness Of Labels

Jinx from Arcane is known as the poster girl for borderline personality disorder, but today we wanted to talk about some of the other conditions she has symptoms of (but doesn't necessarily qualify for) and why it was smart to not label her.

Let's go over the different conditions Jinx could have:

Of course first we have BPD. Not gonna spend too much time on this one but she hits all nine of the diagnostic criteria!

Schizophrenia:

Jinx is seen to hallucinate many times in the show. She gets visual hallucinations of her family she has guilt over killing. She experiences overlays of child like drawings. She has auditory hallucinations and delusions as well.

BPD can come with hallucinations and delusions but it tends to more often be auditory hallucinations and delusions of grandeur than anything else. Schizophrenia and bipolar are the conditions more likely to cause the type of psychosis Jinx experiences.

DID/OSDD:

An argument could also be made for Jinx nearing a dissociative disorder. We haven't seen much of the show from the season two trailers, but they do seem to be hinting at Jinx embracing Powder a bit more.

It is common in BPD for the person to believe they are a completely different person than their past self. We think this is well represented in characters like Spinel from Steven Universe or Ashley Graves (Leyley) from The Coffin of Andy and Leyley. This is of course also shown in Jinx with Powder.

But Jinx and Powder's differences go a bit beyond the typical BPD self image issues. Their personalities while similar, are quite different. And instead of Powder staying purely in the past, Jinx switches between the two personalities. You can see her face change to be more soft like Powder in certain scenes. (They quite literally transform her face).

Some other differences are; Jinx is represented by pink, while Powder tends to be blue. Jinx is left handed while Powder is right handed (she uses her left to shoot, right for other stuff). Jinx is the daughter of Silco, Powder is the daughter of Vander. Both are the child of Zaun.

Jinx is of course also known to dissociate in many scenes. (As a side detail we just love how well animated the face acting is).

While Jinx fits BPD best it is also important to note that comorbidity is a real thing. While rare, all three of these conditions can be had at the same time. Personality disorders and dissociative disorders especially tend to be comorbid.

The most likely reason Jinx isn't diagnosed with anything is stigma. Giving a terrorist a mental illness may come off a demonizing. But Jinx is still loved by the neurodivergent community because her symptoms and trauma are treated with care. She's a fun relatable character. But we think another genius reason is because she's all encompassing. Saying she has BPD may make anyone who doesn't have BPD immediately think "oh, well then I won't find her relatable". But in an age where fandom likes relatability and kins the most, you cannot afford that. Instead really any neurodivergent can see themselves in her.

This is both a smart strategy but also just an accurate portrayal of how real life ends up looking. Medical conditions are technically social constructs. That's not to say they aren't real, but that they are labeled by humans. It's a list of behaviors the body or brain executes. But humans are messy! Who's to say one person is gonna nearly fit into that BPD box? Eventually you get to a point where you have someone diagnosed with 10 or so mental conditions! (Hi yes it's us, we have been diagnosed with 10). Humans were not made to fit into boxes. You see this pattern with queer identities all the time as well. The creation of microlabels has greatly helped people categorize and understand themselves, but at the end of the day the most accurate label is: you. You are you. Insert name here is Insert name here.

Thanks for listening to the ramblings of a mad Jinx kinnie. Here's to hoping season two is just as good as the first one! Still absolutely loving Jinx's new look!

[jazziejax]

𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐢’𝐬 𝐋𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐲

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 - The aftermath of the rebellion told from a different perspective. How a small family was ripped apart in the matter of seconds and their lives were never the same again.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - wounds, death, blood, stabbing, crying, panic attacks, anxiety, magic if that’s spooky to you, screaming, and all around distress. I never really know what to but in this section honestly.

𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 - Is this another fic that will probably become a series that I won’t finish? Jaybe, jaybe not. But if you’ve been looking for me, know that I have chapters written for my other fics, I just needed to take a break due to finals week and the distraught I went through with the show Arcane, hence why I’m writing this now. Also, I stayed up until 3am writing this, not don’t mind the mistakes, I tortured myself and cried. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors!!! ALSO, this is sort of an OC fic but it can be read as reader. I try to stray away from too much description because I don’t think I’m that good at it, but I only write in OC format because it’s easier for me to visualize and write what I want you to see. I should really get into 1st and 2nd person wiring more often.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 - 5,491

“Darling, I’d wait for you, even if you don’t ask me to.” Chimed shakily over the muffled sounds of screaming and explosions. “Tie a lasso around the moon, and bring it on down, for you.” The voice quivered, and her grip intensified when the sounds of explosions became closer to where the children hid.

“I’d bottle the feelin’ you give and shelve that stuff for years to come.” The smaller child, wrapped in her sister’s arms, could feel the wet drops of the other girls' tears hitting the exposed nape of her neck. She had her face stuffed within the crook of the older girl's neck, trying to focus solely on the sound of the soothing song and her racing heart. They softly swayed, trying their best to soothe themselves and the other as the chaos outside continued. They were tucked into the corner of a home that wasn’t theirs, only there to wait for their parents to get back from their part of the rebellion.

“Cause baby when your arms are around me, I’d swear I’m holding the sun.” She continued to sing, the smaller girl chiming in at the end as she righted her grip. The older girl only moved her grip from her sister’s back to wipe away the stray tears running down her face.

“I’d give you the sun if you asked me. You could have all of the time.” The older sang, getting slightly choked up when she saw glimpses of light and shadows through the window near the door, in perfect timing with gunshots and bombs. “You could have the stars and the trees when dividing up the universe...” She trailed off, taking the necessary pauses within the tempo of the lullaby, but also because she needed to breathe to calm her racing heart.

She rubbed the back of the slightly smaller girl's head, moving up in the motion of the get black bun at the top of her head. She tucked them more into the corner, her back itching from the old, moldy, wood and rusted nails that dug into her skin. The only indicator was that this was a real. That this nightmare was her reality.

“You could have mine. You could have mine.” The girls sing at the same time, both of their eyes closed as they envisioned the chorus being sung in the melodic and comforting voice of their mother. The eldest couldn’t hold it in anymore. As choked herself on a sob as she fluted her sister, leaning her ear back into the corner. She tried to stop the tears rolling down her face, eyes clenched and her teeth gritted.

The younger girl didn’t really know what do to for her aching sister, all while trying to heal her own pain that she was unsure of having in the first place. So she just held her righter, reassuring her that she was there, even though she couldn’t do much. Her face stayed in the crook of the girl's neck, the only sense of comfort was the smokey scent of poppy flowers her sister always held from her taking the pair to roll in the Piltover flower fields at night.

All the older girl could do to soothe the pair was to continue to hum the song, tried from the constant state of worrying she’d been in for what felt like hours. Her head was still headed back as she held her sister, the pair drifting off into an exhausted but unwanted slumber.

The small sense of comfort didn’t last long, for the youngest at least. She rose her head from the girl's neck, her ears no longer muffled from the contact. She couldn’t hear much, which was good considering the stark contrast of the sound of war that was previously raging beyond those doors.

But what wasn’t good was that her parents weren’t back yet.

She raised herself more, her sister’s arms dropping from her sides and onto the dust-ridden ground as she moved.

“Maggie.” The younger girl whispered, looking at her older sister, who didn’t react. “Maggie.” She said again, the some leaning closer and giving her the finest nudge, to not make too much noise.

Still nothing.

She sighed, decking that the girl had to be exhausted from all the anxiety that riddled them not long ago. She then just decided to rise from her sister’s legs, which were probably relieved to be relaxed from her weight.

Her knees popped as she stood, releasing tension from being in that fetal position for so long. She shook off her jacket, laying it on top of the girl's sleeping form to fill in for the warmth she was leaving.

She then turned around, slowly stepping towards the window near the front door. She hid behind the wall, trying to not put her whole body into the frame of the glass as she analyzed the state outside. She couldn’t see much, fire and smoke fogging the glass and sky. She sighed, glancing back at her sleeping sister. She could see the streets as even getting to her in her sleep, a permanent frown over her features as she dreamed.

She needed to find their parents.

“I’ll be right back, Maggie.” She sighed, her hands clenched as her heart began to race. “I have to find mom and dad.” She said.

She jumped before placing her hand on the door knock, the rusted metal was slightly warm due to the fire that lurked nearby. She then slowly opened the door, the wood and metal surprisingly quiet, not that any could hear her over the cracking of everything burning. But it was good to be safe.

She closed the door behind her, stepping onto the damp mud that seemed to grow from the fissures. Her boots made no sound as she lurked her way through the smoke. She brought her shirt up to cover her nose as she began to slightly cough, her eyes stinging. She shivered slightly, her bare arms and hole-filled pants not doing much to provide warmth.

She only let out small coughs as she made her way through the murky area, glancing at piles of…she didn’t know what, she couldn’t see that well. She decided not to dwell on it much, only trying to make her way to the bridge she knew her parents would be at.

That's where they said they’d be.

She waved smoke out of her face as she walked only minutes away, coming into a better clearing. She was only about ten feet away from the only thing separating Zaun and Piltover when she saw it.

Bodies.

She sucked in a breath at the sight of them. There were flames everywhere, the ones on this end not being put out by the equipped enforcers.

Her eyes were no longer watering just from the sting of the smoke.

Bodies lay around the ground surrounded by the entrance near the structure. Bodies of people she knew, people she saw within her town. The woman from the brothel who used to come to her mom for cosmetics. The man from the food stand that gave them free fruit and bread if their dad would make his famous fruit pastries. The elderly couple that used to sit around and tell fascinating tales to the children, takes that she only hoped were true. She saw kids her age and older, people she used to play with near the stream.

Bodies that looked too familiar. Dressed in their usual bright colors.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” She uttered as she ran into the bridge, only briefly dodging being brunt from the flames around her, feeling the heat on her skin. Closer to their side, lay the familiar figures of her parents. Her breaths began ragged and she sunk to her knees near them, tears streaming down her face. “No, no, no, no, no. Mama, Papa, no.” She cried as she shook them. “Come on, get up.” Shaking them vigorously.

Her mind was scattered, deciding to work on them one at a time. She moves over to her father, who later on his stomach, facing away from her. “Come on, Papa, you have to get up.” She said through the tears streaming down her face. “You have to up for us, please.” She begged.

She received not even an inkling of a response, causing the girl to sob. She placed her head onto his back, breathing in his pinewood scent that was now mixed with the smell of smoke. She sobbed into his blue shirt, leaving stains of snot, spit, and tears from her gut-wrenching sobs.

Her mind ran a mile a minute, the girl continued to cry as she moved over to her mom, the woman lay on her stomach, looking up at the stars. Her hand was covering a wound she had had in her abdomen, a fancy knife sticking out. A Piltover Enforcer knife. “Please Mama, you have to make it. Please!” The girl sobbed louder, moving to place her hand over her mom’s, her smaller hand getting slicked with the woman’s blood. She was in the state of grieving her father while she tried to care for all she had left.

She could feel the shallow breath the woman took with her hand on her abdomen. She had a little hope.

“Please Mama, please! You have to hang on for me.” She cried, placing her head on the woman’s chest. She got no answer in response to the sobs that racked through her body, but she could hear her faint heartbeat.

What she couldn’t hear was the sound of boots smacking against the pavement, making their way closer to her.

Maggie let out an uncomfortable groan as she raised her head. She brought her hand up as she twisted her neck, trying to alleviate the pain she now had from napping with her head back.

In doing so, the jacket that blocked her from the cold nature of Zaun hit her like a brick. But it wasn’t the freezing air that she was focused on.

It was the missing body of her sister.

She immediately jumped up from her sitting position, unstable from just waking up and her tired legs having not moved since the weight of her sister was on them. “Dessa?” She called out, looking around the small, abandoned house. She got no answer.

She moved to look around any part of the home the girl could be in, the old home creaking and dark. And her sister was nowhere to be found. She then looked at the front door, noticing the smallest crack left by the girl leaving. And her heart dropped.

She rushed to swing the door open, not caring to be discreet like they planned as she looked for her little sister. “Odessa?” She called out, looking through the smoke and flames that surrounded her. No response.

She drew in a hiss as tears started to prick her eyes, not knowing what to do. She couldn’t care less about all the smoke she was inhaling due to her fast breathing, or the smoke that stung her eyes.

All she wanted to do was find her family.

“Odessa!” She moved around in the smoke, calling out for the girl. Her feet were frantic as she dodged flames. Her sporadic movements and racing thoughts caused her to trip over something, falling head-first into the muddy ground. She glanced down at what caught her ankle, her breath getting caught in her throat as she gazed into the bead eyes of someone. She let out a small yelp as she backed away from the body, trying her best to get to her feet.

She stumbled on her way up, her eyes jumping to everything around her, taking in nothing but bodies and flames. Her heart raced as her eyes darted every which way. She was too in shock to even cry, but she could feel her heart contort within the confines of her chest as panic began to set in. The thought of her whole family being gone.

She trudged through the heat, trying to catch a glimpse of even the smallest of movements as she looked for her family. “Mama, Papa!” She screamed. “Odessa, please! Where are you!” She knew she was taking a risk by being so loud, especially when someone dangerous could be lurking anywhere. But she didn’t care. That only meant that maybe she’d be put out of her misery and join the ones she lost, or that her family would have to grieve her, but at least they’d be together.

Her breathing was more than labored, it was short and skipping. Her eyes were frantic when she caught something not far away from her. She could see a tall figure move through the smoke. She inched forward, trying to see through the glass that was blocking her vision. She was only feet away when she saw the back of an enforcer. She was moving his way in on something with his gun pointed.

She watched, trying to see what he was seeing until her eyes caught the familiar yellow, baggy pants on the ground not far away from him. And she stopped breathing altogether.

Odessa snapped her head up when she heard the gravel under his boots, making eye contact with the dark glasses of the enforcer had mask. She gritted her teeth, rage filling her at the sight of him. “You did this!” She yelled, not caring for the gun aimed at her. Whoever was behind the mask hesitated the moment her eyes met theirs, as if they were taking in the scene of it all.

“You did this and you’re gonna pay! Your whole bloodline will! All of you Pilte scum!” She screamed in rage, moving to the knife lodged in her mother’s side. She didn’t want to remove it, but she’d rather this officer die at her hands for the sake of her mother than die with no revenge.

Maggie heard it all and watched the scene in shock. She could see the dead bodies of her family from where she stood and her sister was about to die. But she couldn’t grieve now. Grieving was a luxury she didn’t have at this time.

So she looked around her, spotting a machete some dead Zaunite held as they marched into battle. She didn’t think before ripping the blade out of their hands. She was immediately running to her sister, trying to save the only family she had left.

“ODESSA!” She belted as she ran, catching both of their attention. The distraught girl looked over at her sister while the Enforcer eyed the girl running their way. She was moving at an insane speed, a sharp blade in her hands and fury written on her face. See the woman, the officer moved to aim their gun and the charging girl, but she was too close. Her sister’s eyes widened, watching the movements they both took. “Magnolia, no!” She screamed. But she was too late.

She plunged the blade into their chest, just as a gunshot sounded.

Things seemed to be more silent than ever, birds squawking and flying off due to the surprise of the loud sounds. The cracking of the flames seemed to drown out all around them, the sound was the gasping coming from the enforcer. Maggie’s breathing was still labored as she pulled the long blade out, causing the enforcer to choke on their blood, before she plunged it back into their heart, causing the body to fall.

They collapsed backward, practically sliding off the knife in her tight grip. She heaved as she watched them fall, a pool of blood beginning to surround them. Odessa removed her hands from her ears and opened her eyes, her eyes moving to the form of her sister before her. She glanced at the body but far away from them before looking back at her family.

Maggie snapped out of her head, moving to kneel on the other side of their parents. She looked her sister in the eye, with different expressions but both full of grief and despair. Magnolia looked over at the still body of their father before glancing back at Odessa, who silently shook her head, tears still streaming down her face. The older girl closed her eyes, trying to stop the pain that twisted within her heart as one tear slipped past her lids and slid down her cheek. “Okay, okay.” She breathed, her hands shaking as she tried to soothe herself in such a situation. She looked down at her mother, seeing the shallow breaths the woman her taking as the knife moved within her abdomen. Her eyes moved from the stars above to look between her two daughters.

“You’re gonna be okay, Mama,” Magnolia said shakily, placing her hands on the woman’s chest. “I’m gonna make sure you’re okay. You’re gonna make it, okay?” Her voice quivered. Her hands moved from the comforting grasp on her chest to the knife in her side. Her eyes were frantic, looking between her mother’s face and her shallow breaths. She didn’t really know what to do and the panic was becoming worse. “Okay. Okay. Okay, I’m gonna save you, okay? I’m gonna make sure everything is okay. Everything is gonna be alright.” She rambled, her eyes trained on the knife that stuck out of the woman. She placed her hands on the handle of the blade, her grip tight but also trying not to apply or alleviate any pressure.

“Okay. Okay. Okay.” She took deep breaths, her eyes jumping from the wound to her mother’s face to her father's dead body. She didn’t know what her next move was going to be but before she could make it, a bloody hand was placed over hers. “Maggie.” Her sister whispered, causing the girl to look up at her. She didn’t meet Odessa’s eyes, which were trained downward.

She followed her gaze, her eyes landing on the blood flowing from the bullet wound in her stomach. She sucked in a breath, watching it seep through her thin clothing. She looked back up, seeing the tears stroll down her sister’s face as she began to shake her head, realizing that she was losing all her family in one fell swoop. “Maggie, no.” She cried.

Magnolia shook her head, scooting forward on her knees to place her hand on the side of her sister’s face. “No, no.” She said, shaking her head as she continued to breathe funny, which they knew didn’t know if it was due to the nerves of everything or the bullet. “Look at me, Dessa. Look at me.” She said softly, her jumpy eyes looking between the glistening ones of her sister. “You will be fine, do you hear me? You and Mama will be fine. I’m going to make sure, okay?” She said, her breaths starting to become shorter than they originally were. Odessa couldn’t believe her, her head shaking as she watched the person she loved wither in front of her.

“Yes, it will, Dessa,” Magnolia said firmly. “Yes it will and you have to be strong for you and Mama, okay?”

“Don’t talk like that, Maggie. Don’t!” The younger girl cried.

“Okay, Dess, okay.” She sighed. She then placed her lips against her forehead, letting the kiss linger before she released her grip on the slightly younger girl. She then placed her hands back on the wound of their mother, who could only watch as tears clouded her eyes. Magnolia couldn’t look at her mother, her gaze focused solely on the wound, catching glimpses of her own as she breathed. “It’s gonna hurt for a bit, Mom, but you’re strong. I’m so sorry, okay?” She didn’t waste time for an answer she knew she wasn’t going to receive before pulling out the knife. She frantically put her hands over it to stop the blood while the woman groaned, causing the girl to clench her eyes shut as if to stop the sounds from entering her ears. Odessa grabbed the knife, hurriedly cutting off a piece of her own shirt and handing it to her sister.

Maggie took it, placing the fabric over to wounds to soak up the blood. She clenched her jaw as she stuffed it in only a smidge, causing the woman to groan again. Magnolia bit her lips, tears rolling down her eyes at the sound of pain coming from the woman. Odessa’s tears never stopped, the girl moving to cradle her mother’s head into her lap, doing her best to provide comfort.

“Darlin’ I wish that you could give me some more time.” Odessa began, her voice quivering as she gazed into her mother’s eyes, singing the song. “To herd the whole sky in my arms and release it when you’re mine.” She tried her best to sing. The woman gazed up at her, a sliver of a smile gracing her lips as she looked lovingly into her daughter’s eyes.

“I'd tell you, "I thought I loved you too" I just didn't have the words to say.” Magnolia chimed in, her eyes trained on the wound that wasn’t stopping its gushing. “I'd put the piece in your backyard, in hopes to be enough for you to stay.” She breathed out, suddenly becoming tired. She placed her head onto her mother’s lap, still applying pressure with the fabric that was becoming slacked in blood. Her other hand tried to find her mother's bloody one, the woman able to flex her fingers around hers, feeling the connection between them.

“I'd give you the sun if you asked me.” They both continued, the younger girl not taking her eyes off the woman who started to blink slower and slower.

“You could have all of the time. You could have the stars and the trees when dividin' up the universe.” She sobbed, seeing the light in the woman’s eyes go out. “No, no, no. Mom, please.” She sobbed.

“You could have mine. You could have mine.” Magnolia continued to sing, drowning out the sound of her sister pleading for the life to stop leaving their mother. Her breaths started to become shorter, and her blinking became slower as she covered the wound, her other hand playing with the fingers of her mother. She closed her eyes, too tired to open them back up. Blood seeped from her wing onto the group next to her mom, connecting to the woman’s hand. Magnolia clenched her jaw, focused solely on feeling the connection between her and her mother, their fingers intertwined as blood seeped between the creases of their being. “You could have mine. You could have mine.” She continued to sing as best as she could, her voice trailing off.

Sobs racked through the younger, her eyes looking between all the of her family laid before her. “No, please! Please don’t leave me!” She cried, looking at them. “Please don’t leave me here! I want to go with you, please!” She sobbed. She held her mother's head, softly rubbing the side of her face before looking up at the sky. “Take me with them, please! Don’t leave me here!” She yelled. All that came was a gust of wind, pushing the smell of her family’s blood and smoke into her nostrils. She sobbed at that, leaning down to place her forehead against her mother’s, tears streaming down her face. “Please.” She said softly.

It was silent for a moment, nothing being heard but the girl's pitiful sobs as she clutched all that she had in this world.

Her eyes were closed when she felt the heat of something near her. She glanced up, catching a light emitting from her sister. The girl lay on her mother, emoting a soft, golden glow that seemed to slowly intensify. She blinked, looking at the girl in confusion.

“Maggie?” She asked timidly. She could’ve sworn she heard a soft and angelic hum come from the glow at her voice, but she couldn’t dwell on it before she watched in astonishment as the glow seeped onto the person she had contact with. The older woman in her lap hummed with a soft glow of her own. The light dimmed within Magnolia as the power transferred, causing the mother to emit the same shine.

And then it went away. Odessa sat there in shock, not knowing what to do.

A gasp ripped through the woman in her lap, her eyes blinking rapidly as she gazed up at her daughter. Odessa immediately burst into tears again, looking down at the woman. “Mama!” She cried, hugging the woman in her position. The older woman placed her head next to her daughters, taking in deep breaths as she felt the breathing and okay girl next to her. “Oh, my sweet child.” She said softly, rubbing her daughter’s head. Odessa seemed to cry harder at her mother’s voice, clutching onto the woman.

The pair held each other for minutes, baking in what they both knew. She died, but now she was back again. She felt the life leave her, felt the pain take over her in her last moments. Odessa saw her eyes become dull as she stopped breathing. But now here she was, breathing perfectly fine, in no pain as she clutched onto her baby.

After only moments of relief, the woman sat up with her daughter's help. She stopped, however at the sight before her. Her eldest daughter and her husband lay, no sign of life.

She saw what happened to her husband. She was there when a piece of rubble fell on him. But that didn’t make the sight of half her life being gone any better. Tears streamed down her face as she looked between the two. Her daughter lay with her head in her lap, trying to gain comfort from her mother in both of their last moments. The woman sobbed, bending down to hold the girl closest to her. “My poor baby.” She cried, clutching onto the lifeless body of the girl.

Odessa stood behind her, her eyes clenched shut at the sound of her mother’s sobs. She couldn’t fathom the sight anymore. The sight of her mother clutching her sister who was now dead.

Dead because of me. She thought.

She doesn’t know what was worse, having to live with the guilt that her mother lost something she loved due to her, or losing her whole family before her. She placed her head into her hands, facing away from the disgust of her now-gone father, sister, and best friend. Her hands were placed over her ears to drown the sounds of everything out, the only thing she could hear was the sound of thoughts.

You did this.

You shouldn’t have left that room.

This is your fault.

Your own sister.

She’s dead because of you.

She’s dead because of you.

She’s dead because of you.

She’s dead because of you.

She’s dead because of you!

She jumped at the feeling of hands on her shoulder, causing the girl to look up. Her eyes connected with the soft and loving gaze of her mother. The girl immediately jumped into her embrace. “I’m sorry.”Sobs racked through her aggressively. “I’m so sorry, Mama!” She cried. She was so exhausted that she was not sure if she even had tears left to cry, just dry heaving into the woman’s embrace. “It’s all my fault.”

“It’s not honey.” The woman said softly, lifting the small preteen into her arms. “It’s not your fault. It’s not.” She said. But Odessa wasn’t hearing her, clothing onto the woman as she looked at her sister's figure over her mother's shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so, sorry.” She continued to cry, not sure who she was speaking to now.

“It’s okay, my love. It’s okay.” The woman said. “We’re going to make it better.” She reassured herself as well, gazing down at the dead enforcer not far from them. She clenched her jaw before moving to grab the machete from the ground. She shored her lasting family in her one arm, looking at the more chaos around them. “Everything will be okay from here on. For me and you. Our family. For us.” She said. Odessa could only nod into the woman’s neck, finding it hard to speak now.

The woman began to move, making her way back home. She stopped at the sound of footsteps behind her, the blade clenched within her hands tightly, ready to defend.

But all that emerged was the familiar figure of the buff man she knew well. He paused at the sight of them, taking in the sight of her stature. The single girl she held with a weapon in her hands.

Vader held the small bodies of two girls, looking back at her. No weeds were changed between the pair, Greg filling their gazes as they took in all they needed to. He nodded at her, and she did the same before the pair walked away together, back to the place they knew as home.

It was quiet. The dark sky still loomed with the aftermath of the rebellion, smoke and red flames filling the area. The bridge was in disarray, broken and disheveled. A tall figure walked down the bridge, into the flames and bodies that surrounded it.

His heavy staff clinked against the metal ground as he passed every other body that littered the hellscape. That was until he made it to the end, and he gazed down at the small figure that lay near her father, a pool of blood that wasn’t all hers surrounded her.

The figure seemed to hesitate, looking at the familiar face that had no life. It was haunting, even for someone such as themselves.

The being then began to wave its staff around, intensifying the wind around him and the girl. Smoke and flames were caught in the magic that surrounded them. The girl's hair was blowing in the wind, her soft glow coming back. Then, runes popped up all around him. It seemed as if he deciphered between different symbols as he kept swinging the staff. Suddenly, a gem appeared in his hand, unscripted with a symbol. When he was essentially making a flame tornado around the pair, he then slammed his staff down, the sound echoing throughout the area.

A magical aura surrounded the girl, her golden glow intensifying as it glitched between that and a soft blue. The aura around her hummed, wind billowing through the expanse of the land as glowed, ruffing the robe the magical being wore. She started to change before his eyes, her dark brown hair lightening a bit as other bits turned a stark white. Her wound healed before him, before she suddenly gasped, her eyes shooting open. The golden glow she once emitted seeped into her from her bullet wounds, tracing its way up her body. The glow shined through her, showing as it came up to her throat and out of her mouth, and floated above her. It rose higher and higher, drifting to meet with the stars before suddenly moving back down, plunging through her and into her heart.

The magic around her left, and the girl suddenly fell from the air, not before the being caught her within his arms. She was unconscious when he gazed down upon her, her mouth open as she let out small snores into the fabric that he was wearing. He held onto her, gazing down at her anew.

He then began moving to the bridge again, the girl cradled in his arms. He held her as he traveled through the city of Piltover until he came upon a familiar building. He softly placed her onto the hard pavement in front of the door, moving to take off one of his scarves and place it under the girl's head. He then placed the rune bead held within her hand, closing her fist around it. He gave a soft pat to her hands before ringing the doorbell to the home.

He offered the girl on last longe gaze before suddenly disappearing.

The grand door creaked open, the small creature immediately looking at the girl lying before his doorstep, while a smaller creature yipped next to him. He glanced around for others, his eyes not ears catching sight of anyone else lurking near.

“Hmm.” The Yordle said. “Now how do I bring you inside?” He questioned himself, one of his small fingers tapping his chin.

Let me know if you cry, I tried to make it sad. I was so sad last night writing this that I had to make the mother live, I couldn’t do it. She probably won’t make it though.

[taniahylian]

A human using a wand?

So, there's a lot of especulation about how Schneider could have possibly used arcanum while being a human, and after the latests chapters I think we got some more clues.

First of, Greta Hofmann, who was (mostly) human and couldn't use arcanum normally, could use arcanum-enhanced bullets developed by Laplace by simply shooting her gun. These bullets could also have different effects, like the "sleeping bullets" she tried to hit Heinrich with. Now, while this is not new in r1999 (see Horropedia, Pavia and Tennant, for example), it's the first time we saw a human use an arcanum-enhanced weapon.

Then, we see in chapter 7 and Semmelweis' story that Laplace often records incantations/rituals in disks or other such materials for their personnel to use. This is useful, not only for humans, but also arcanists whose capabilities aren't enough to cast certain rituals, allowing pretty much anyone to use the arcane skills that are made into these devices.

This led the fandom to especulate that Schneider being able to cast arcane skills wasn't that much of a mystery; it was staring at us in plain sight. Druvis simply modified her guns, allowing her to shoot bullets with different effects, like Greta did, right? Well... not entirely.

While it's true that Druvis modified her guns, this on itself doesn't explain how Schneider was able to cast other, more complex arcane rituals, like the teleportation ritual, or conjuring up a ball of light that led her men through the maze under the Walden.

Not to mention, Vertin could literally "feel" Schneider casting an arcane skill, like she often does when other arcanists cast spells as well (remember, this is Vertin's signature superpower, so to speak), which wouldn't be possible if she was using something similar to the Foundation's soft disks, since the human who uses them isn't actually casting the incantation, but merely using a pre-recorded incantation. You can think of it as the difference between playing the piano and using a radio to play the recording of a piano. Completly different, right?

So... was Schneider actually a human who could cast arcane skills like arcanist do? Well... yeah. The game actually shows it to us, plain as day.

That's right, in Schneider's second incantation card we can actually see her holding a wand. Not only that, but when she uses this attack in-battle, we see her replacing her guns for a wand, and using it instead. It's a blink-and-miss moment, especially if you're playing at increased speed, but it's there nonetheless.

So... there's our answer. Schneider is a human who can use arcanum. Somehow. And the reason hasn't yet been explained to us. Or... has it?

According to this post in reddit, in the beta version Schneider was actually an "infected" in the Atlas. Now, at that point in time we didn't know what an infected even was, but now we have Semmelweis as the first infected, along with the explanation as to what an infected even is; a person who was bitten by a Beyond (vampire) and is suffering a permanent transformation which very few arcanist survive (no humans on record).

It's also important to note that in one of the narrator trails in ch1, he mentions that Schneider just "recovered from a serious illness". This doesn't necessarily refer to the Beyond decease, but could be a subtle nod.

Also, we know Semmelweis goes from being unable to cast any arcane skills to actually being pretty good at it once she completes her transformation, so that could be the explanation for Schneider's arcanist-like abilities... but would also mean her true nature didn't really change, as she still faded away in the storm for being human.

So anyways, what do you think? Am I going crazy? hahaha.

(Please Bluepoch make Schneider playable and give us answers or I'll keep making up dumb theories).

[ateez-himari]

[241113] GANGSTER OFF-DUTY

[NEW MESSAGES FROMM HIMARI]

[AM 1:09] Ice on my teeth on my, white teeth ✨ Atiny, are you ready for the comeback ? It's one of my favorite concepts

[AM 1:09] I like the pink hair too! 🩰My hair was already bleached grey for the concept photos so I figures that I might as well try another color

[AM 1:10] Omg yeah! My outfit was so cool...I felt like an actual crime boss when I put it on for the first time. I mean a lace bustier and Versace suit jacket ? Come on

[AM 1:10] I actually made the lariat necklace myself because I thought it would go well with the deep v-neckline, the rings were mostly gifts from Donatella

[AM 1:11] Ahh you guys noticed ? It's true, for the first time since our debut I'm the main producer on all tracks and I'm so glad our team trusted me so much

[AM 1:12] I know, I cried too when Sannie oppa sang 'Enough' on Leemujin Service (I went with him to the recording)

[AM 1:12] It's a very personal track because the lyrics are speaking to the version of myself that was in pain, so it's practically raw, kind of like my lines in 'Mist'

[AM 1:12] When I was recording the demo for the members, the 'God Damn' wasn't written into the song, it just came out naturally because of how I felt and I kept it in

[AM 1:13] I watched Arcane too, Yunho oppa and I binged it last night! I can't believe they let me make the song 'Paint The Town Blue' for them...

[AM 1:13] Yeah, singing in English was challenging but I think it turned out well! You can't really hear my accent that much since I practiced for a long time

[AM 1:13] You're right there's a lot of side projects that Tiny didn't know about ㅎㅎ But they'll stop for a bit, since I work in the music industry it's not always good for my hearing to be around noise constantly, so most of what's going to come out has been recorded before my hiatus

[AM 1:14] My instagram caption...? 🤔It's just a random sentence I don't know why you guys are looking into it so much

[AM 1:14] Ohhh! I didn't know that was part of G-Dragon sunbaenim's hidden tracklist now I get why everyone's been so suspicious of me lately

[AM 1:14] It would be nice to work with him...Too Bad I'm on external work break 🐉

[AM 1:15] Right now ? I was just reading a book that RM oppa sent me before I decided to talk to Tiny, then I'm making dinner for our dorm

[AM 1:16] I was originally supposed to room with Jongho oppa and Wooyoung oppa, but then they realized no one in the third dorm could cook so they moved me there

[AM 1:17] ㅎㅎI just saw someone say that they made Viktor attractive in the new season, you're right...the emo phase hit him well

[AM 1:17] Of course my boyfriend is way more attractive, there's no comparison 🤧But a girl can have her fictional crushes you know...

[AM 1:18] I'm so happy someone noticed! They put small grills on my canines because they look like little fangs, so it made them even cooler

[AM 1:18] Nuh uh I didn't steal the lip chain accessory from the MV set, I just borrowed it to take some pictures afterwards

[AM 1:18] I wasn't trying to tease you guys with it 🥺Just make a spoiler that no one would think twice about until the video came out I'M SORRYYYY

[AM 1:19] I sooo wasn't naked in that instagram post...I just wasn't wearing pants, there's a difference. But the members never wear shirts anyway!

[AM 1:19] Did my brother tell you guys to reprimand me about this ? Well for the record tell him to stop showing his tits off on my feed 🤧

[AM 1:20] Well...no I'm not wearing any pants right now...but it's my sleeping outfit! My underwear is really cute though it has a little ribbon! I got them yesterday with Mingi...Seonghwa oppa wanted to come until I told him what I was shopping for

[AM 1:20] Of course I'm not drunk! The boys talk about their underwear all the time so I'm gonna talk about mine 😤

[AM 1:20] One second, I'll show you guys where he is...I just got out of the shower a few minutes ago and found him like this, I'll have to wake him up to eat soon

[AM 1:20] Oh, this is Kyo. He's a stray I brought home not too long ago and he usually sleeps in my bed, even when Mingi's here

[AM 1:21] I didn't do much today, I just went to see a few industry friends, got some painting and sketching done...even with dance practice it's one of the most peaceful days I've had in a while

[AM 1:21] You're right, not working feels great ㅎㅎ Anyway, I need to get started on dinner now Tiny, I'll talk to you guys very soon!

[AM 1:21] I'll do my best during our promotion schedules so be ready ♡ Love you so much, kisses!

Translated from Korean by Google