#but Viktor's still equally important

[mercutio-the-velaryon]

Okay, okay, but I'm kinda of obsessed with this messy au in my head. So post canon pregnant Mel becoming head of House Medarda and marrying for political gain not with the intent to cover up that the baby is born out of wedlock and to a disgraced scientist (Jayce Talis) but to ensure the child's future by having two lineages to protect them. Then Jayce (and Viktor probably) are spit out of the Arcane eight years later, in very rough shape, and they crawl their way to the Medarda colosseum (Viktor is attune to Mel's magic). They seek an audience with her, noxians laugh in their face. In order to get an audience with her, they have to fight or make themselves useful, Jayce chooses to enter as a champion, Viktor volunteers as a medic (those five years in purgatory the arcane was balancing the magic in his body so now he's a natural mage and a healer) (also medics were an addition made to the colosseum events by Mel along with the complete banning of fights to the death). But, of course there's a twist, see winning a match usually wouldn't get you an audience with Mel Medarda you'd have to win a whole season of fights no you only get a direct audience if you beat Mel Medarda herself. So, Mel comes out gallavants around the ring, and her foe is revealed. Jayce stumbles out, heaving a hammer over his shoulder. Their eyes meet, Jayce drops his hammer, and the crowd roars. Mel can't look weak, so she lands a blow, throwing him on his back.

She hypes up the crowd to give him time to recover. He catches on, and they fight hand to hand. Mel's pissed and growing more so by the second meanwhile Jayce is living in a daydream seeing his girl again but he soon starts to notice that she's looking at him like he's the devil incarnate flashes of grief but mostly anger she's also not mitigating any of her attacks and her magic is getting fiercer, her hair and her eyes glowing. He ends up on the ground defeated, but her magic is still volatile, tendrils of it, whipping around her until she short circuits and collapses to her knee , Jayce tries to gather himself and go to her. But somebody beats him to her. A child with eyes like his comes to Mel's side. It reminds Jayce of when Ximena fell into the snow all those years ago. Jayce stumbles over to them slowly, his heart in his throat. Mel tucks her child into her arms, her lips curled in contempt as she eyes Jayce like a threat. "Who are you?" Jayce asks the doe eyed child gawking at him from the safety of their mother's arms. But of course Jayce knew. Mel releases the child telling them to stand back, Jayce caught up in his own emotions tries to talk to Mel but she's not having it, she's sits him on the floor again, and raises her fist, declaring victory. The crowds erupt, bell ring. Jayce is left dumbfounded on the ground, Mel grabs her child and leaves the stadium waving around looking triumphant as she exits.

As a reward for lasting so long in the ring, Jayce is still granted a short audience with Mel. He's guided to a room, that seems to be something like a entertainment area for patrons, two long tables that lead to a throne, there are signs of life splashes of dried wine, tipped over goblets and half eaten carcasses sitting atop silver platters. It was obviously recently cleared out. Mel sits at the throne. He stands before her and notices those eyes again, peeking at him from behind the throne.

"You wanted an audience, here it is"

"I have to admit I didn't plan this far ahead," Jayce chuckles.

"So, you're wasting my time"

"I need your help"

"Yes, well some things never change"

"Aren't you at all curious about where I've been all these years?"

Mel hums at the irony.

"Not particularly no, you have one question left, Talis"

"Who's that behind you"

"Come forth," Mel holds out her hand the child reveals themself and grabs it.

"Tell my old friend your name,"

"Jaena Medarda, heir to House Medarda, daughter of Mel and Tizor" the young child manages. Mel smiles proud.

"Can you find cousin Salerri, my heart?"

The child nods and flees, giddy and light.

"Tizor?" Jayce asks as the door closes.

"My husband"

"Is it just you, or is Viktor here as well, sleuthing somewhere in the shadows"

"He's volunteered with the medics" he says gruffly.

"You should get him to check you out then, you're in very bad shape"

"Jaena... is she? She has to be..."

"She's my daughter that's all that matters"

"Mel"

"I can temporarily set both you and Viktor up with quarters in my estate, I'd offer you space elsewhere but the whole of Runeterra's in town for the Tournament of Houses"

"I- thank you for your hospitality, Mel"

"Of course, my guards will escort you,"

He is guided out. In her aloneness, her emotions flood and Mel breaks down. Tears flowing.

Afterwards, when Jayce and Viktor are settled, Mel and Viktor begin to bond over their magic, drawing them together. Jayce and Viktor get closer as well, but they're both hesitant to pursue things now that Jayce is technically a father. Jayce and Mel argue over Jaena and their relationship. Mel's husband is out of the picture for now because he's away at sea, with the Noxian fleets. Jayce and Mel eventually make up, and Mel reveals that Jaena knows that Tizor isn't her father because she didn't want to keep her daughter in the dark the way Ambessa did with her. She hasn't revealed that Jayce is her father but will allow him to do so if he so wishes. Jayce asks if they can tell her together. Mel agrees. They do and then do a bunch of family bonding activities so Jayce and Jaena can connect. Mel starts to pull back when she realises she's still in love with Jayce. Comedies and family dramas ensue. Ximena makes her way over from Piltover. Tearful reunions blah blah blah. Mel gets drunk with Viktor one night, and they kiss. Mel becomes avoidant with him, too. Leading to Jayvik cornering her in the middle of the night to talk about their relationship. And that's how meljayvik endgame. Thank you very much.

[proxythe]

as long as ur my partner in time >_>

[galactic-magick]

I Love You, I'm Sorry: Viktor x Reader

Based off of this reply on my last Viktor fic:

@lillycore : Duddee, imagine after the final scene between Viktor and Jayce they just disappear (I refuse to believe they both died, I’m just going believe, until it’s confirmed, that they simply teleported somewhere else), leaving reader alone without a chance to confront Viktor and believing they both died. So now, reader is left to pick up the pieces of her closest friend and love of her life gone, while believing Viktor no longer loves her (he does though, he was just a little confused with everything, but he still loves her)

Words: 1.2k

Author's Notes: Thank you all so much for the notes and kind words on my last Viktor fic, it truly means the world to me as a writer to see so many people touched by my writing. I hope you enjoy this equally devastating part 2.

They’re gone. They’re really gone.

No family, no friends, not a single loved one of yours survived this damn war. All this world has done is take, take, take.

You’re haunted by the last time you saw your beloved Viktor—completely unrecognizable. He had turned himself into a monster, disappearing with Jayce trying to save him. You didn’t even get to say goodbye, you didn’t even get to tell him you still love him.

Or ask if he still loved you.

You don’t know what would hurt less, believing he stopped loving you, or believing he did everything he did while loving you.

-

“Why can’t she hear me?” Viktor shouts into the void. He’s been calling your name for what feels like an eternity, his voice no longer carrying to your world.

Jayce puts a comforting hand on his shoulder, “You don’t have vessels to speak through anymore. She probably thinks we’re dead. Well, maybe we are…”

“No, no, this can’t be the end,” Viktor shakes his head vigorously. “I have to get back to her. She...she needs to know I love her. She needs to know I’m sorry.”

He falls to his knees amongst the stars, cursing himself for everything. How could he choose the hexcore over you? Why didn’t he seek you out when he survived the explosion? How did he let himself descend so far into madness that he forgot about your importance to him?

He’s now desperate for you to hear him, pleading the forces that bind his consciousness to this astral plane for another chance. He searches this dimension he’s come to know so well, looking for a loophole or tear in the fabric, but it’s no use. Everything has been closed—his supposed eternal consequence for his abuse of power.

Jayce saved him from himself, a feat he will forever be indebted to him for, but what is the point of redemption if he cannot live it out in his own flesh?

Would there have been a body left for him anyway? Would you still have loved him as the monstrosity he became?

Why must he still be cursed with the full vision of the universe? He sees you continue your life so clearly, but he can’t touch you, can’t speak to you. Your form shines the brightest light he’s ever seem in this dimension, an achievement that is not easily matched. He wonders if you can feel him reaching out to you, some sort of spiritual pull back to him. He will do anything to find a way to talk to you again.

-

You’ve been having dreams—dreams you can’t explain. Ever since Viktor’s disappearance, he’s tormented you day and night, constantly occupying your thoughts without mercy. You can hear his voice, but it sounds so far away you can never make out the words. You just wish it would all stop. You wish you could just erase him and all of the pain from your memory.

Sometimes you still feel a presence, the feeling you used to feel when he was in the same vicinity with you, admiring you from across a room. It’s a familiar warmth that used to wash you with peace, whereas now it makes your heart ache. You suppose it’s a normal symptom of grief, subconsciously denying that he’s really gone.

You start to go through his things he left at your house, beginning with his various textbooks and notebooks he would bring over for studying. Seeing his scribbles and handwriting again brings tears to your eyes, a single drop falling onto the paper as you read.

You blink a few times, seeing a couple of letters on the page start to glow. You must be seeing things, hallucinating from sleep deprivation. You close the journal and open it again, but the glowing letters are still there.

You grab a separate piece of paper and write down each glowing letter, finding fifteen total.

“I - L-O-V-E - Y-O-U - I-M - S-O-R-R-Y”

This isn’t happening. It can’t be.

-

“It’s working! She got my message!” Viktor exclaims.

“How...how are you doing that?” Jayce asks.

“Tiny rips in space—not big enough for either of us to escape through—but certainly big enough to briefly touch that reality,” Viktor pauses, still waiting for a response from you, but it doesn’t come.

-

You close the journal and sob, praying for an end to this misery. Your mind is playing tricks on you, deceiving you to a level you never thought possible. Must you be haunted by this forever? Must you endure the aftermath of this trauma?

You open it once again, the letters still glowing, but they start to fade right in front of your eyes. A new set of letters begin to glow, so you write those down as well.

“I-T-S - M-E - D-A-R-L-I-N-G”

And then another set of letters.

“P-L-E-A-S-E - T-A-L-K - T-O - M-E”

Maybe you’re not imagining.

You’ve heard of magicians who can converse with the dead, and the possibility of other dimensional planes and universes. Viktor himself had some theories about it, although he never pursued proving them. Could it really be possible that your beloved was speaking to you?

“Viktor?” you say out loud. “Are you...are you alive?”

“I - D-O-N-T - K-N-O-W”

The pencil drops from your hand again as your head falls to the table. His consciousness is somehow alive, clearly, but there’s no way he can explain to you where he is and how to get him out one letter at a time. You’re nowhere near his level of intellect—even if he explained how to rescue him like you’re five years old—you fear you still would mess something up.

“Viktor...I can’t do this. You can’t do this to me,” you sigh, daring to look at the words again. “You abandoned me, and now my life is a living hell because of the destruction you helped cause. I want nothing to do with your war and stupid glorious evolution. So if you’re not here to take me away from this life, please go away.”

The same original words start glowing again, brighter each time they sequence:

I love you, I’m sorry.

I love you, I’m sorry.

I love you, I’m sorry.

“Love doesn’t do what you did. Love doesn’t abandon its humanity for power.”

Please forgive me.

“I do forgive you for everything, Viktor. That’s exactly why I need to forget about you, because I will never stop loving you and hurting for it if I don’t.”

With blurry eyes, you close the journal and throw it into the fireplace, regretting it almost immediately. You grab a stick and pull it out, your tears falling onto the soot-stained cover.

“Please, just...find a way back to me.”

I will.

[sun-flower-children]

Academic Rivals! Viktor x Reader

Academy Student!Viktor x gn!Reader

Here's my take on this idea that has been rumbling around my brain especially with all the new viktor fics ( yall are doing the lords work)

not proof read + a lot longer than I thought it would be, sorry lmao

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You were the Academy's top student known to be the top of the class with the highest scores always exceeding expectations.

Your creative thinking and problem solving is what normally got you the spotlight of attention within academia.

Naturally after spending your first two years of the Academy eating up the attention and receiving offers from multiple elite members of society, industry and government certainly made your resume/reputation an intimidating one.

Your peers knew you to be competitive and ambitious wanting to be the one to set the curve; extensive research projects, etc.

This did however make you a poor teammate with your passionate ideas that one of them could dream of keeping up with you. Plus you would steal the leadership role from them to implement the changes you'd want.

You had gotten used to pattern created for you with a bright future ahead.

Even if you were getting kind of bored of knowing that your worst idea would still allow you to keep your rank.

Then all the sudden a new student joins the Academy

It didn't bother you much until you started seeing a drop in your scores and ranking thus creating a rivalry with this mysterious student.

It was not until you and Viktor shared a class that you realized who your academic opponent was

Thus starting a new chapter of your academic career with renewed passion upon knowing there was finally someone that could equal you in skill.

Fighting for everything within the academic realm that was available

Now neither of you had ever officially been introduced or carried a proper conversation instead replacing regular communication with pointed looks of smugness or confidence.

You would have angry fits in private realizing the margin that you had lost to Viktor

Long days and nights spent gaining a potential advantage over your rival.

Your friends would point out how you would almost pop a vein just describing the way that he would "usurp the first place on an exam all because of a technicality"

Honestly when you would get really into it you were sure that you hated this guy: coming out of nowhere with no prior history and just takes over everything you have worked hard to establish.

Who does he think he is????

Now all your professors, namely Himerdinger paid close attention to this rivalry. It's entertaining watching your top 2 students hash it out and creating things they would not have without this push.

Himerdinger seeing how honed in your other skills were decided to create a project for the class specifically targeting you both.

A partnered project

One that could not change neither the topic, the partner or the day that it was to be presented; everything set in stone.

" Learning the skills needed in a lab is one thing but the most important and impactful discoveries have always been those created through teamwork." Himerdinger would share one fateful day as he put up the paper listing the groups.

It did not even cross your mind that you would have been paired with Viktor and after looking at the poster turned around a looked at him.

Viktor was still sitting in his front row seat in the lecture room patiently waiting for the crowd to dissipate before getting up to look at the paper.

He continued to wrap up whatever notes he had taken as you step up to him.

"We are assigned partners for this project." you say very matter a factly.

Viktor looks up to you with a small smile," Well then, we should set up times to work on the project together. What times work best for you?"

You were taken aback by his nonchalance.

Did he really not care that he was partnered with you? Did he not see you as significant enough to mention the obvious tension? Did he not even see you as a rival but a regular student below him???

After a short pause you share what time you are normally at the library.

As you share the details he finished packing up his stuff.

Looking back up to with another slightly bigger smile (what is his game???) " I'll see you then. Tomorrow at table four."

With that he leans on his cane and leaves you in the quiet empty classroom to deliberate your next moves.

That night you started working on the project creating multiple schemes, ideas, and conceptual ideas that could be used for the project put forth.

You went to bed hoping to finally force him to recognize you as the rival that you were as he seemed so dismissive before.

You showed up to the library at the arranged time to see Viktor sitting peacefully at a study table thumbing through multiple volumes seemingly looking for a specific piece of information.

"Good Morning." you started as you walked up to him.

Without even looking up he returns the same early day greeting and places yet another volume aside and opening a new one.

Raising an eyebrow that the attitude you place your things on the other side of the table.

"I was thinking last night about this project and had written down some ideas that I believe that we should pick from as our approach." you open the discussion with no changed behavior from your supposed teammate.

You continue, " I have already taken the liberty to research them, for your convenience, and have supplied preliminary data for each one. Honestly any of these would resolve the problem raised by our projects prompt with their main difference being how creative you wanted to get with it."

Viktor has created yet another pile of abandoned books that didn't meet his mysterious criteria all the while not regarding you properly.

Your felt your self becoming more warmer as you felt the irritation pool into the oil pit of anger you have created surrounding him.

"It's considered polite to respond or at the very least acknowledge when someone is talking to you. Or are you so focused on your book hunt you aren't ever looking at the person you are supposed to be completing this project with."

Viktor sighs putting the book currently in his possession down and looks up to you.

"It was not my intention to be rude I am just looking for a specific volume that has a unique perspective on the concept we learned a week ago but the title is slipping my mind."

Sighing you sit down and observe the collection of books created on the table.

"I'm going to go on a limb here and assume that you only really remember that the color of the book was dark blue?"

Viktor chuckled," Observant and yes I am."

"Well you aren't going to find it in the library considering there is only one copy of it. That author's take was considered almost heretic."

"Ah, so you are familiar with the book I am referencing?"

"It would be strange if I didn't considering that I brought it with me to our meeting. I checked it out a week ago because it piqued my interest and also happened to align with this assignment."

You hold it out over the table as Viktor sighs again running a hand through his hair.

The meeting ended up going on for longer than expected.

You were surprised to find that he has a similar perspective to yours and understood your vision from the multiple proposals that you had created.

Further analysis showed some minor flaws that would otherwise be overlooked by other people; but neither of you too were not going to settle for anything less than perfection.

The more that the two of you poured over ideas, equations, concepts, and plans until you came up with a path that pleased you both with only one variable that needing some testing.

Viktor offered to go his smaller private study that he had already set up a similar experiment (he was also trying ideas out the night before)

Walking side by side down the hallways was a strange feeling.

Not because you were walking slower that your default rushed walking pace but because this person that you had, honestly, really hated and rationalized that was cheating somehow....wasn't.

You hated to admit it as you continued to listen to his rambling on of the missing component that they needed to figure out.

(Shit...he is actually just naturally brilliant)

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part 1 | part 2 >

[aspenmissing]

ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛʜᴏᴏᴅ ᴀᴛ ɪᴛꜱ ꜰɪɴᴇꜱᴛ

ᴠɪᴋᴛᴏʀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ (ꜰᴇᴀᴛ. ᴊᴀʏᴄᴇ) || ꜰʟᴜꜰꜰ || 3074 ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ʟᴀʙᴏᴜʀ (ɴᴏ ʙɪʀᴛʜ ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ), ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ʙᴀʙʏ, ᴄᴜᴛᴇɴᴇꜱꜱ ᴏᴠᴇʀʟᴏᴀᴅ

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ᴠɪᴋᴛᴏʀ ᴀɴᴅ ʜɪꜱ ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀ ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜱᴏɴ, ᴇʟɪᴀꜱ, ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ɴᴀᴠɪɢᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛʜᴏᴏᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴜᴍᴏʀ. ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴇʟɪᴀꜱ'ꜱ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ꜱᴛᴇᴘꜱ ᴛᴏ ʜɪꜱ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ᴅᴀʏ ᴀᴛ ɴᴜʀꜱᴇʀʏ, ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ɢʀᴏᴡꜱ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇʀ, ᴄʜᴇʀɪꜱʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ᴠɪᴋᴛᴏʀ’ꜱ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟ ꜰᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴꜱᴇᴄᴜʀɪᴛɪᴇꜱ.

ᴘᴀʀᴛ 1 || ᴘᴀʀᴛ 3

ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ | ᴠɪᴋᴛᴏʀ | ᴇʟɪᴀꜱ | ᴊᴀʏᴄᴇ

When the day finally came, you were in the lab with Viktor. He was focused on his work, the rhythmic sound of his tools providing a soothing background melody as you lounged nearby, flipping through a book. The quiet was suddenly interrupted by a sharp sensation, and then a warmth spreading beneath you. For a moment, you both froze, staring at each other in wide-eyed shock.

“He’s early,” you finally managed to whisper, your voice tinged with equal parts awe and panic.

Viktor’s gaze darted from you to the growing puddle on the floor, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the words. Before either of you could act, Jayce burst into the room, his usual exuberance filling the space.

“Did you two spill something again?” he teased, grinning, until his eyes caught the scene before him—your shocked expression, Viktor’s stunned silence, and the unmistakable evidence on the floor.

The color drained from his face as realization hit him. “Oh... oh no. Uh... I’ll get help! Hang on!” Jayce practically tripped over himself as he spun around and bolted out the door.

Moments later, amidst the chaos, Viktor helped you to your feet, his hands trembling slightly as he steadied you. The rush to the infirmary was a blur, and soon after, your son made his entrance into the world—weeks earlier than expected but healthy and strong.

When you finally held him in your arms, Viktor was right there by your side, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He sat beside you on the bed, his cane resting against it, his posture still and attentive, as though he feared disturbing the moment. His hands, steady despite the overwhelming emotion coursing through him, reached out, and with a reverence that made your heart swell, he cradled the tiny, squirming bundle.

"Hello, můj syn," he whispered, his voice cracking. (My son.) His thumb brushed gently over the baby’s soft cheek. "Welcome to the world."

The softness in his gaze wasn’t new—it was something you had come to recognize over the years, a quiet tenderness that had grown in him, evolving beyond his once-obsessive focus on his work, his innovations, and his ambitions. But seeing it now, as he cradled your son in his arms, it was different. It was deeper, more profound, as if the very essence of his being had shifted to make room for this fragile new life you had both brought into the world. His fingers traced the curve of your son’s tiny hand with such care, as though memorizing every detail, every precious moment, imprinting it into his heart.

The cane beside him, usually a symbol of his struggles and limitations, now seemed utterly irrelevant in the face of this new, beautiful reality. With every gentle shift, every tender movement of your son in his arms, Viktor seemed to shed the weight of everything else, becoming more at peace than you had ever seen him. This was the culmination of everything—the love, the pain, the trials—and it all led to this perfect moment. Together, you had built a family, and in this instant, nothing else mattered.

A day later, when the world had settled into a calm stillness, there came a soft knock at the door—a gentle tap, as if Jayce had been waiting for the perfect moment to intrude. He had given you both time, knowing how important it was for new parents to bond with their child before the rest of the world returned to reality.

The door creaked open just a little, and Jayce stepped inside, a quiet smile on his face. His eyes went immediately to your son, swaddled snugly in your arms, sleeping peacefully. He stepped closer, carrying a bundle of balloons in one hand, the bright colours a cheerful contrast to the soft tones of the room. In his other hand, he held a small teddy bear, its round face friendly and inviting.

“I thought it might be time to finally say hello,” Jayce said softly, his voice low and respectful of the serene moment you were all sharing. He puts the balloons in the corner of my room - the weight keeping them from flying around, before he walks quietly over to you, gently placing his hand on your arm, his gaze never leaving the tiny form in your arms. "Looks like he’s already got you both wrapped around his little finger.”

Viktor, who had been watching Jayce with a quiet appreciation, nodded slightly, but words weren’t necessary. The soft smile that crossed Viktor's face said everything.

Jayce reached over, lightly touching the teddy bear to your son's tiny hand, the gesture soft and filled with a kind of tenderness that matched the moment. “He’s perfect,” Jayce said, his voice barely a whisper, as if he didn’t want to disturb the fragile stillness of the room.

Viktor sat back slightly, his gaze never leaving the tiny bundle in your arms. There was a thoughtful pause before he broke the silence, his voice soft but warm.

“You know, Jayce…” Viktor began, his tone slightly teasing yet sincere. “If you’re interested, you’re welcome to hold him. He’s certainly not as intimidating as some of the machines you’ve built.”

Jayce hesitated, glancing from Viktor to the little one in your arms. His eyes flickered with uncertainty, and for a moment, you wondered if he might decline, still unsure of this delicate moment. But Viktor’s calm presence and your own gentle nod of encouragement seemed to reassure him.

You smiled, offering a soft, welcoming gesture. “It’s alright, Jayce. We’d love for you to hold him. He’d probably love meeting his uncle”

Jayce stood quietly for a moment, the uncertainty lingering in his gaze, before he slowly nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He moved toward the chair beside your bed and sat down, his posture a little stiff but intent. Viktor gently lifted the swaddled baby from your arms, his movements slow and careful as he passed your son over to Jayce.

Jayce cradled the baby in his arms, his expression softening as he gazed down at the tiny, peaceful face. The tension in his shoulders relaxed, and a genuine warmth spread across his features. His eyes flickered up to Viktor and then back down to the newborn.

“So,” Jayce asked after a moment, his voice a little hushed in reverence. “What’s the name of the next great inventor?”

You and Viktor shared a look, a silent understanding passing between you both. Neither of you had quite expected this moment to feel so emotional, but there it was, the question hanging in the air, waiting for an answer.

With a gentle smile, you spoke, your voice filled with warmth and pride. “His name is Elias Jayce.”

Jayce froze, his eyes widening in shock. He glanced between you and Viktor, as though trying to grasp the full weight of the name. He blinked a couple of times, his breath catching in his throat. “Wait, what?” he stammered, his voice cracking slightly. “Elias... Jayce? Did I hear that right?”

You repeated it, this time with a soft chuckle, “Yes, Elias Jayce.”

The room was quiet for a beat before Jayce’s eyes welled up with tears, his lips trembling as he cradled little Elias in the nook of his arm. His free hand rose to his face, wiping away the tears that had started to fall. The emotion overwhelmed him in a way he hadn't expected, and he allowed himself the rare moment of vulnerability.

“I'm... I’m honoured,” Jayce whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “I never thought... never thought I’d have anything like this.” He blinked away more tears, his chest rising and falling as he took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. But the tears kept coming, a silent acknowledgment of the overwhelming love he felt in that moment.

Viktor, who had been watching Jayce with a quiet smile, gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve earned it, Jayce,” he said softly. “You’ve been a part of this journey from the beginning.”

With his other hand, Jayce wiped away the remaining tears, trying to regain his composure, but his eyes remained moist, his focus still on the little life in his arms. He didn’t speak again for a while, lost in the moment, and you and Viktor let him. It was a moment that needed no words—just the shared connection of love, family, and the bond between friends.

In the months that followed, your small home was filled with the soft, rhythmic sound of Elias’s breathing, the steady hum of the world outside, and the warmth of the little family you had built together. The first few weeks were nothing short of a whirlwind. Sleep was a distant memory, replaced with the sweet scent of baby lotion, the soothing lull of a rocking chair, and the sound of your quietly humming a tune while Elias lay in your arms.

There were nights when Elias would refuse to sleep, his cries filling the quiet room until, finally, exhausted, you both managed to calm him. One such night, after another hour of pacing and rocking, Viktor sighed, looking down at his son with an amused smile.

“He’s definitely mine,” Viktor said softly, his voice almost a whisper. “It’s as if he only wants to be awake when the sun is down.”

You chuckled, brushing your hand through your hair. “I’m starting to think he’s your son in more ways than one.”

Viktor’s lips quirked, and he laughed, the tiredness in his eyes replaced with a glimmer of affection. “Perhaps he’s a bit of a night owl, then. Like father, like son.”

As a year and a bit passes, those long nights gradually gave way to moments of light. Elias, a curious and active 1 and a half year old, began to explore the world around him. He took his first steps one crisp afternoon, his chubby legs wobbling with each movement. You were in the kitchen when it happened, your heart skipping a beat as you turned to see him standing on his own, a wobbly smile on his face.

“Elias,” you whispered, watching him take a shaky step, then another. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Viktor was right behind you, his eyes wide in disbelief. “He’s walking. He’s really walking.”

Elias took a few tentative steps, his little feet wobbling as he reached out for the nearby couch, his face lit up with concentration. But when he caught sight of you, he smiled, a joyful giggle escaping him as he took a few more steps forward.

You couldn’t help but gasp, watching in awe as your son wobbled but held steady on his own two feet.

Viktor’s gaze was fixed on him, his breath catching in his chest. For a moment, the room seemed to fade around him. He blinked, his fingers trembling slightly at his sides, as though his mind was processing what he was seeing.

“He’s walking,” Viktor repeated, his voice quieter this time, a note of awe in it. “But… he’s walking perfectly.”

You glanced at him, seeing the realization dawn on his face. Viktor stepped closer, his eyes never leaving Elias as he continued his little journey toward you. He was careful, slow, but every step seemed more confident than the last.

“His legs... they’re—” Viktor’s voice faltered, and for a moment, it seemed like he might not finish his sentence. “He’s… he’s not like me.”

You looked at Viktor, the weight of his words settling between you. He had always feared that his son would inherit the same struggles, the same deformities that had plagued him for years, making it difficult for him to walk, to move as freely as he wished. Yet here was Elias, barely more than a toddler, taking steps without hesitation, without the same limitations Viktor had learned to cope with.

Viktor’s breath caught in his throat as Elias reached toward him, his tiny arms outstretched in excitement, his face lighting up with a joyful grin.

Viktor froze for a moment, his heart thumping in his chest as he looked at his son, so small, so full of life. Slowly, as if the weight of the moment demanded it, Viktor sank to his knees, never breaking eye contact with Elias. The world seemed to pause, the air thick with emotion, as he opened his arms wide.

Elias giggled, his little feet shuffling excitedly as he toddled straight into his father’s embrace. Viktor caught him gently, pulling him into a tight hug, his heart soaring at the feel of his son in his arms. The sound of Elias’s laughter filled the room, a melody that Viktor would never tire of.

“You’re perfect,” Viktor whispered, his voice thick with emotion, his hands gently holding Elias as if he could hardly believe how real this moment was. The little boy squirmed in his father’s arms, eager to explore, but Viktor held him a little tighter, unwilling to let go of the quiet, precious moment they shared.

You watched them, your heart swelling with an overwhelming love for both of them. “He always would have been,” you replied softly, the words wrapped in warmth and tenderness, as you gazed at your son.

Elias, still nestled against Viktor’s chest, looked up at you with a wide, innocent grin, his eyes sparkling with pure joy. He let out a playful gurgle and reached for you, his tiny hands outstretched.

Chuckling, you crouched down, your arms open to him, and Elias immediately wriggled free from Viktor’s hold, eager to be in your arms. As you lifted him up, the three of you shared a quiet, sacred moment. The kind of silence that was heavy with unspoken love, the kind that filled the space between heartbeats.

Months pass and Elias, now 2 years old, spoke his first word. It wasn’t “mama” or “papa,” but “Viktor,” clear as day, as he reached out to his father one sunny morning, arms lifted high.

Both you and Viktor froze, staring at the boy in stunned silence.

“Did he just—” you began, but Viktor cut you off, his brows furrowed in disbelief.

“He said… my name?” Viktor echoed, his tone half awed, half puzzled. “Why would he—?”

Before you could respond, the door opened, and Jayce walked in with a bright grin and a bag of fresh pastries. “Good morning, favorite little genius!” he greeted Elias cheerfully. “Where’s Viktor, huh? Your papa’s the best, right?”

Both you and Viktor turned to Jayce, the realization dawning on you like a sunrise. Viktor pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something in Czech, while you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Jayce,” you said, pointing at the now-giggling Elias. “I think we’ve figured out why his first word is Viktor.”

Jayce blinked, confused for a moment, before his face broke into a sheepish grin. “Oh. Well, can you blame me? I mean, the kid’s got good taste.”

Viktor sighed dramatically, though his eyes shone with pride as he lifted Elias into his arms. “First words, and it’s my name. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I am rather impressive.”

Elias giggled, clutching his father’s shirt as Viktor kissed the top of his head. You rolled your eyes playfully, shaking your head at the both of them.

“Well, at least we know who to blame when his next word is ‘gear��� or ‘schematics,’” you teased, grinning at Jayce, who just laughed and shrugged.

But the biggest milestone came on the day Elias turned three. It was the day he went to nursery for the first time. The night before, you and Viktor had meticulously prepared everything—his tiny backpack, the lunch packed with love, and the first-day outfit that made him look far too grown-up for your liking. Elias was brimming with excitement, his wide, innocent grin lighting up the room as he bounced on his toes.

“Are you ready, love?” you asked, crouching down to his level to adjust the straps of his backpack.

“Ready!” Elias chirped, his voice filled with uncontainable joy.

The three of you stepped out together, Viktor leaning on his cane with practiced ease as he walked beside you. Elias darted ahead, his backpack bouncing with every enthusiastic step, but he always paused to look back, ensuring you and Viktor were keeping up.

When you finally arrived at the nursery, the bright colors of the building and the sound of children playing filled the air. Elias grabbed Viktor’s free hand, tugging him forward with a giddy laugh. Viktor chuckled softly, his steps slowing just slightly as they neared the door.

But as they stood there, with Elias peering up at the new adventure ahead, a strange look crossed Viktor’s face. His grip on his cane tightened, and his other hand gently ruffled Elias’s hair, as if committing this moment to memory.

“He’s growing up,” Viktor murmured, his voice low and tinged with emotion.

You glanced at him, noting the way his eyes glistened, and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “It’s a good thing,” you reminded him gently. “He’s ready for this.”

“I know,” Viktor replied, blinking quickly as if to push the tears away. “But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

Elias turned to look up at Viktor, his small hand patting his father’s leg. “Papa, come on!” he urged, his innocent excitement drawing a soft laugh from you both.

With a deep breath, Viktor crouched slightly, his cane steadying him as he kissed Elias’s forehead. “You’ll do wonderfully, můj syn” he said quietly, his words thick with pride.

You smiled as Elias skipped through the nursery doors, his little wave goodbye filling your heart with both pride and a pang of longing. Viktor stood rooted to the spot for a moment, his eyes following Elias until he disappeared inside.

“He’ll be fine,” you said, leaning into Viktor slightly, your arm brushing his.

Viktor let out a quiet sigh, his lips curving into a faint smile. “I know. But I may need a moment.”

You chuckled softly, slipping your arm through his. “Come on. We’ll grab some tea and sit in the park. You can gush about how brilliant he’s going to be.”

As the two of you turned to leave, Viktor glanced back at the nursery doors one last time, his heart full of pride for the little family you had built together.

[reboundttv]

Another one of these posts? Yeah sure why not.

So I know that there's a sort of, tongue in cheek joke about how the AU that Ekko ends up in, is WAY better because Vi is dead. That's a big one that people love to harp on: "oh Vi is dead in this universe and everything is okay HMMMMMMM how INTERESTING perhaps VI was the jinx after all HMMMMMM"

and like. no. shut up.

Because there are (no less than) TWO specific canon divergences that we are aware of in S2E7 that contribute to the way the cities are in that universe. The first is, obviously, that Violet dies in the heist in S1E1.

As an aside, I 100% agree with/believe the wiki entry that says that Vi and Caitlyn are soulmates in every universe, which means that Caitlyn probably also died in the Hextech explosion.

So Vi (and Caitlyn) dies and Hextech doesn't get developed. Neither Jayce nor Viktor are shown in this universe, so one or both of them are dead (Jayce likely via suicide if he wasn't imprisoned or exiled, and Viktor because he doesn't ascend to be Super Jesus with the Hexcore).

But there is another, less obvious one that gets a fair bit of screentime but isn't really like, touched on. And that is:

ZAUNDADS.

Silco and Vander are cool with each other. That's really important. It means that either:

They didn't fight because Silco found the note from Vander (S2E6), OR

They DID fight, but stopped themselves before they did something they regretted.

See, because in the main universe, neither of those things happen. Silco nearly gets drowned and gets bunch of sump water all up in his face, so he becomes dependent on Shimmer to keep the bacteria in his eye from killing him. He would assumedly lean on Singed to iterate on the formula, which is why he becomes the kingpin and rules over the Chembarons. The production of Shimmer, and its propagation through the streets of Zaun, contributes to things being arguably EVEN WORSE for the Zaunites.

But in the AU universe, he doesn't need Shimmer. I would argue that Singed is probably still on some fuckshit, but isn't helping anyone make Shimmer or chemtanks. This means that a lot of the industrial waste and runoff that's a byproduct of Shimmer production is also not there. Zaun isn't just better off because there's no Hextech, but also because there's no Shimmer.

Now, I'm gonna point a third thing out and I'mma use big ass letters so you can't miss it:

PILTOVER STILL DOES NOT SEE ZAUN AS EQUALS.

The heist still happens in this universe, which means that Vi and the other kids are still adopted by Vander. Which means that bridge riots or something similar still happened. There is still inequity and injustice in this universe; it's just not as dire as it is in the main one. They're still talking about Piltover like "yo fuck those guys" but it's less "they're hunting us for sport and killing us in the streets" and more "we're gonna show 'em up in this STEM contest that we're doing."

They're basically farther along in the "things will get better" timeframe than the main one is after S2E9.

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

i need to hear those thoughts, pretty please,

Okay this is a very late reply, but I finally feel as though I can word the thoughts I have regarding them. I want to preface this by saying that all my talks of Jayvik being queer coded stem from my own personal aroacespec perspective. I don’t perceive all forms of close affection and devotion as romantic, but the visual coding regarding Jayvik, and Meljayvik leads me down the path of ‘this is something I personally interpret as romantic’.

MelJayVik is such a deeply fascinating relationship to me because I think a lot is gained from their relationships in the series by looking at them through a polyamorous lens. It may be my own bias, I’m willing to admit that, but the dynamic feels as though it was written to be Poly.

It begins with the obvious queercoding between Jayce and Viktor, and the visual and thematic parallels between them:

Both are written as representative of Jayce’s choices, which can be simplified down to politics and science, and as characters, they inform the choices Jayce makes, and the consequences of those choices, while simultaneously being their own well-developed characters and having their own agendas. I would argue the way it’s written and depicted in the animation, taking into account a lot of the animator’s personal romantic agenda regarding Jayvik, feels akin to the setup of a typical romantic love triangle.

Two people harbour feelings for Jayce, and Jayce is given the decision between the two of them, but that to me is where the similarities between them a love triangle ends… because Jayce never actually chooses. I know some may argue he does because of the final scene with Viktor, but I don’t perceive that as the case at all.

Jayce clearly has a deep love for the both of them, seen so clearly in his actions.

With Mel and Viktor, he truly feels like he can take on the world.

Jayce struggles to balance his life between politics and science because he wants both. He wants Mel and Viktor to be important in his life, but he isn’t capable of managing that, and his own biases and privilege do begin to damage his view of the system and his relationship with Viktor, and Mel does unintentionally worsen that divide. It’s why I love the polycule so much honestly — to me it isn’t just slapping three people together to stop any ship wars, no, it’s a genuinely complex and nuanced dynamic that has initial struggles and hardships.

And to claim that Mel doesn’t care for Viktor is said in complete ignorance of the source material. Mel does come to perceive Viktor as important. Initially, she does ignore him, and treat his presence as secondary to Jayce, but that changes once she recognises the flaw in her actions and how close she was to becoming like her mother. In the final scene of season one, she smiles at Jayce and Viktor. In the beginning of season two, she says that Viktor will come back to ‘us’. Not just to Jayce.

It feels tragic almost. They could have had such an interesting relationship with Mel now wanting to connect to Viktor, but she shattered the chance of that happening. The same way Viktor’s magic repels and rejects her, he does the same.

And god don’t get me started on their magic parallels. For as much as I criticise season two, this is a compilation of my thoughts on MelJayVik in canon, and so I am willing to analyse the way they’re portrayed in season two, and the fight scene in the council room In particular makes me violently ill.

It feels intimate on both ends.

I know people focus especially on Jayce and Viktor’s scenes, and I get it, the scenes between them are particularly intimate

However, both Mel and Viktor and Mel and Jayce also show intimacy in that scene. The way Jayce holds Mel after the fight, despite their previous ‘break up’ scene, and how even though there’s conflict between them, they still can’t help but handle each other with such care and affection. It’s just how they are.

And to me there’s something equally horrifying yet beautiful in the way Viktor bypasses Mel’s own magic, no longer rejecting her, but being intrigued and fascinated by her.

“The arcane stirs within you.”

They are connected by something more than just flesh, more than just physical, and that’s kind of insane to consider.

The tragedy of Mel regarding this is she loses both of these people: the man she knew, and understood, and allowed herself to be vulnerable with, and the man she wanted to know, and to understand.

So here’s how the Noxus spin-off can fix that and canonise MelJayVik! <- lying to myself.

[jules-ln]

Viktor is literally art nouveau

I was looking at Viktor's design in league of legends and it hit me, Viktor in Arcane IS Art Nouveau

Not literally but yes literally in a way lmao

Let me walk you through my thought process

I was looking at the league of legends design, and I thought that the fact that Viktor still had hair was weird if the whole point of Viktor is human bad machine good, then why does he has something as human as hair?

Then I thought about the Arcane Herald design, and it actually made more sense that this Viktor still had hair, why? Just look at his robots

The first thing that called my attention was their shoes, because those aren't normal heels, no, those are heelless heels! and let me tell you

1) Viktor isn't straight (no straight man would know and like those shoes, you can't fool me)

2) That's like the worst shoes you could ask for to fight/run in, do you know how easy is to fall with those shoes? No, they aren't practical, those shoes are merely for visual pleasure

And it doesn't seems like Viktor would be the kind of man that would put looks above functionality but then you think about how his designs in general have a very heavy preference for art nouveau; which, is also very much beauty over function

His robots have the asymmetry, A flowing organic shape, a preference for a feminine figure, the reference to flora on the patterns. They're are art nouveau bots and theres no way to deny that, and Viktor's Herald design is too, to some extent

Again, preference for a feminine figure, flowing organic shapes, his staff looks like a tree (kinda), asymmetry to some extent (not as much a his robots), hair (very important). You can reasonably say that it was at least inspired by art nouveau

Then we have the design of his room/house in the commune, it's pretty much art nouveau inspired too. I've seen some people say that Viktor made this to reference the Hexgates because he missed Jayce, but now I'm thinking, what if it wasn't that he missed Jayce, but more that the Hexgates were originally his design

And listen, I know I know, both worked on the hexgates, both should be credited equally, but realistically, I think it's fair to say that both of them probably had different levels of involvement on different things? So what if Viktor was the one with the original idea for the outside design and Jayce then added the art deco elements? Then Viktor repeated it on the commune with a more art nouveau style simply because he likes it?

And you might ask. Why does it matters? Why does the fact that Viktor likes art nouveau means that he's the personification of art nouveau?

Well; now to the point, I studied a little of art history on college, and I was a bit obsessed with art nouveau back then, and you know what was the goal of it?

Art nouveau was made to bring art to the common person, to have every day objects being a piece of art. It was supposed to get art away from the rich and to give it to everyone. But it failed

And you know why Art Nouveau failed and was quickly abandoned?

Two things, 1) it was too expensive, and 2) World War 1

So ironically Art Nouveau ended up being too expensive to reach the people they wanted to help so it stayed a rich people thing, and then it had to be abandoned almost completely because of WW1; there weren't enough materials to make it and a lot of people that became poor because of the war didn't have the money to spend on it

It was very short lived even when it made a big impact on history (That reminds me of someone)

Now compare art nouveau's history to what happened to Viktor (And Jayce)

They wanted to make magic accessible to the common people, to help; but it ended up being so that Hextech only helped people in Piltover to get richer while people in Zaun got worse and worse

Then something happened, a war, and both Viktor and Jayce had to abandon their dreams

Add to that the name art nouveau means new art, and in Spain it was called "Modernismo" Why? Because it wanted to be the future of art, young, refreshing, a bright future different from the past. Who else wanted to be the future of something? Men of progress who?

Viktor (and Jayce to some extent but I think he's more art deco lmao) IS Art Nouveau. It's his story

(And funnily enough, you can find art nouveau in Zaun, but I don't remember ever seeing art deco in Zaun, while it's the main thing on Piltover)

(Also also, I have some thoughts about Jayce being Art Deco, but that's for maaaybe later lmao)

Listen I'm a death of the author guy, I'm going to find meaning on my own. But either someone in the art department had to know the history of art nouveau and made a point of making it Viktor's main style (because it is Viktor's style, like I showed before), or it's just an extremely funny and fitting coincidence

[hyperfixationcritter]

Thinking again about Sky and Viktor's wasted potential cuz they could've done SOMETHING with associating the botanical with Sky and the mechanical with Viktor; how they can potentially clash but also work together as well as their similarities despite one being natural and the other artificial (circuitry/wires vs root systems and what not).

Like in s1, I was kinda skeptical about the direction they had Viktor and Jayce going with Hextech with their new inventions for Progress Day. Like others have pointed out before, there could've/should've been a lot more emphasis on environmental classism based on what was already set up and how different Zaunite characters combat that and Sky would've been a perfect candidate to do that with on Piltover's side. I'm also still mad about Ekko's tree mission going nowhere.

And like, it's one thing if they framed the Progress Day inventions as them being pushed to create tools for the mining industry (and how that industry is so integral to the class divide) to incentivize the initial funding for hextech in order to build the projects they actually wanted to but that wasn't the case. It was framed as something they did of their own volition and narratively done for the purpose of setting up for the league gear/weapons that Viktor and Vi use later on. And while I can see Jayce, as a person from a lower noble house whose money was built on making tools, thinking that's a good invention, I have mixed feelings about what would be in character for Viktor to think is actually helpful for the Undercity that balances how removed he is from it and the compromises that could arise from his place in Piltover vs his clearly established goals to help the Undercity.

Bringing environmental classism to the front and center of the story could've done wonders for Sky and Viktor and where their characters could've gone in s2 instead of making them "Fridged 2.0" and "OOC Eugenicist Cult Leader" who killed a chunk of the poor-disabled population through his hive mind.

While I personally would've liked to see Viktor, along with Sky, bring up projects related to civil engineering to improve the environmental conditions of the undercity and have more pushback on his part against certain things like the where the hex vault was built, it's fine to have him be blinded by his ambitions (and trying to not die, in part for the sake of his ambitions) from what's really important like they were trying to set up in s1. It would make him a flawed and nuanced character who has to learn from his mistakes. It would also tie into how Sky could've/should've become a prominent character through her own scientific contributions (and not post-humously from being fridged) which were canonically related to plants and the hexcore.

Like, to see the two of them go back to Zaun as equal partners, with Sky taking the lead, instead of being assistant to Viktor and Jayce (paralleling Viktor's own comment about not just wanting to be an assistant) and doing things to improve the environment with their combined skill set would've been awesome. Seeing them in sync together in s2 instead of unintentionally clashing in s1 would've been a cool parallel to have. Also have them team up with Ekko and Sevika :>

I'm having trouble wording my thoughts here but does anybody see the vision?????????

[mochimochimona]

Analyizing Viktor and Jayce from Arcane, S1 E5 Part Two - Am I ruining this ship for me or what

So Viktor being a genuis because he had "a vision" and just explains how runes and mages work and is that..foreshadowing again? Like how did he got these informations? It would have been nice to have a bit more context, because with that scene from the previous post I might get my tinfoil hat back. Anyway, Viktor is mansplaining Jayce and here is the first thing I noticed, the fond and admiring expression on Jayce's face:

Again, that can be completly platonic still. Am I ruining this ship for me now or what?

Viktors absolutly unfazed reaction makes me laugh so much, god I love this man.

But I think there was a first impulse of reaching out to Viktor, just a short tilt of his hand - to make sure Viktor is alright. And his Question "Are You Sure This is safe" was met by a rather cold "of course not" by Viktor and Jayce is reacting like that and I had to make a GIF out of this scene or else I can't explain what I mean.

So Jayce is staring at Viktor, and he feels guilt and I think he wants to say something but he is also unsure of what exactly to say, because he knows Viktor is right and also has the right to be cold towards Jayce, since he is leaving him alone. I think it dawns on him, unconsiously, that what he is doing is wrong and it's nagging at him. So far no interpretation from my side that Jayce is into Viktor the same way Viktor might be into him, though. I am on the way to ruin my delusion.

Mel is such a strong politican, I love her for her cunning way to get Jayce on her side and manipulating him. Again, Mel is one of my fav Chars in Arcane but I do think they don't have either an equal relationship, nor a deep one at that. It feels rather cold to me.

"You pushed this on me". I think it's nice to see he is struggling and not wanting this, but Mel is REALLY good. Girl you slay queen!

Here he looses his inner battle against playing the politican, the struggle was made so clear and was well portrayed, you could feel it!

Foreshadowing at it's best: "There's been quite the investements" - and Mel said "Indeed, better than expected" - Do you remember Jayce accusing Mel of treating him and Viktor as investements? ohhh what a nice foreshadowing! And here it is made clear that Mel is using Jayce for her own goals. Love myself a good, calculated politican!

Well he does look at Mel adoringly. This scene is also important. Because she makes a move on him, and he says "I couldn't have done it without you"

Wait, that actually makes me mad. He couldn't have done SHIT without Viktor. You asshole, Jayce!

And now comes the most heartwrenching scene I have ever seen in my live. Given the feeling of me that Viktor has feelings for Jayce (we can argue which, can't we?) making the deliberate choice to show us Jayce and Mel doing bed gymnastics (sorry I am german, it's a way of saying here lol) and parrallel Viktor collapsing? This is INTENTIONAL. They wanted us to show what Jayce chose and did not choose. What would have been important and what shouldn't have been important. It is quite the foreshadowing, too, because Jayce will regret his actions - which is a topic on it's own.

The fact, that they put Sky in this scene makes it even more obvious or sus, as you may say, because if you wanted to show us that Jayce did choose poorly it would have been enough to show Viktor alone in his study the whole time, and not with Sky approaching and making moves onto Viktor.

Foreshadowing again with Sky saying "There is always tomorrow, right". rip haha.

Viktor is comepletly uninterested in her, romantically speaking. I think it's not because he doesn't get her advances. I think saying her name "goodnight luisanne(?)" makes it clear they do have some kind of relationship. Her implying "again" makes me think she asked many times and this wording from Viktor is his attempt of being polite and respectful, but drawing boundaries for himself.

Him getting angry, throwing the papers around is a stark contrast to his usual composed nature, I think it's a nice way to show how deperate he is because he KNOWS he doesn't have much time anymore. He gets fainty again and hears voices and sounds, which is again really interesting because there is no shimmer corruption in this situation. So what is that sound? Who is it? IS IT HIMSELF?

Again he coughes blood and I think there are two different kinds of runes in this: the one without the corruption of the void/shimmer and the one with, which is making him go bonkers I guess. Because I have the feeling the old Viktor is actually a mage and using only the runes, not the void. Which doesn't make it any less dangerous but you get what I am saying. I hope.

Him going down and fast cut to Mel and Jayce, who are making out WITH A GALAXY BACKGROUND?????? Wait what AM I SEEING. This is deliberate, intentional again, I don't think the smashing is that good she sees stars lolkek.

Maybe I am interpreting way too much into it, but is that a parrallell to the scene in which Viktor and Jayce are connected in the astral plane (or whatever)? I am weezing.

Also what I do find interesting and I don't have an idea why they choose to frame it like this: The Hexcore absorbed Viktors blood and we can see it travel through it, kinda melting together with the hexcore-DNA while you see a sillouette of Mel (why not Jayce, am I asking?). I am not sure what to make out of that. It could be a metaphor for connection. Like Viktor connected to the hexcore and Mel with Jayce, but it was weird to not see more of Jayce, you know? like why were we so focused on Mel here? Is that a foreshadowing that Mel is a mage, but that won't make any sense to me. And I am asking, because I am here for discussion: Why using this cutting, this parallel scenes? Why do you show us this, anyway? You could have implied them having smash-time, but you intentionally put those two things next to each other. Did you wanted to make us angry because Jayce was hooking up but he should have been with Viktor the whole time! That's absolutly implying you think we think bros before hoes! But that's just a saying, I do think everyone goes for the hoe at some point (respectfully, of course). I am getting a headache, this scene made me mad honestly. I was so hurting for Viktor, he was so alone. And when Mel wakes up, she looks a bit pissed that Jayce is gone, honestly lmao. But not in a way like she is disappointing because she wanted to cuddle, but because I guess she thought she had Jayce by his balls or something (well she did).

The cut to Viktor laying on the hospital bed and Jayce shaking and whipping his leg IS A MASTERPIECE. And honestly, the feeling creeps in...like why do that cut? Why stay on Mel and transition to Viktor in the same camera angle. Do you want to tell us something? You could have done a camera angle from the side, showing us Jayce being panicky if you wanted to show us that, but we get this parallel. This is sus, not gonna lie.

So, @stardust-musings provided me a link with a deleted scene where Jayce was wiping away his crying, if you want to see that, here: https://www.tumblr.com/stardust-musings/767415218102059008?source=share

We discussed that Jayce definetly has a lot of affection for Viktor, which one can be argued with but I do think his reaction in general is really important here, though the crying wouldn't only have IMPLIED Viktor is really important to him but made it clear, because he had an open and really vulnerable reaction here. So with that in mind, his actions coming might him be struggling to find out what Viktor really is to him, because as stated above, this gives off mixed signals. I get you can cry about you "brother/hombie" being in a hospital and dying, given the deep relationship as friends. I think this shot is important to make it clear that the love is there, but what love can be interpreted still and Jayce is figuring it out himself.

And there it is, we have regret showing! Honestly, I do get why you chase to your best friend if he is in a hospital and you get the message. But guilt? Regret? Doubt? Panic? Devastation? Realtalk here because I think this is important: As someone who has had a lot of people in the hospital on the deathbed and so on, I don't think anyone will rush to their bro and leaving their spouse behind (and she didn't even know what was up), without like waking them up and telling them what's up, ya know. You may be panicing, but you are connected to your partner and I think you will share this information and trying to get comfort FIRST (not after you visited). So I would explain to my partner what's up and my partner would come visit with me, too, because I care for my friend but I also care for my spouse, ya know. Him leaving Mel who he slept with the night before because his friend was brought into hospital is really rushed and I think he has a deep connection with Viktor and cares about him a lot, so much so, that he doesn't care who he slept with, because he is more important. But I do think Jayce still is not in love with Viktor. Yet? But it makes no sense to leave Mel there, I mean she knows Viktor too and if you have a connection, you would at least wake her up. Even if it's in the middle of the night. So this is confusing, I have to think about it more. Your thoughts are appreciated. Also sorry for any misspellings, I am tired.

It makes sense he left Mel, because she would have seen him breaking down over his friend and maybe he didn't want to be vulnerable in fron of Mel and Viktor, because he tried to kept his panic together. But again, I find it interesting how they telled us this with these scenes. They wanted to imply, I am sure of it, the first time that Jayce always chooses Viktor. Which is, honestly, a love letter on it's own tbh.

That was Part Two, I will continue tomorrow! I am obsessed with this now lol

[ahli-stuff]

POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR ARCANE SEASON 2 ACT III:

League released a new Jayce skin called Arcane Survivor; I’m going to be categorizing his voice lines by how insane each batch of them makes me and doing some short thoughts and analysis

There is a LOT of reoccurring motifs over Jayce’s 8 minutes of voice lines. At least 60% of them thematically contrast, parallel, and/or directly reference Viktor, whether it’s referring to humanity, flaws, science work, and/or promises. Especially heavy on the promises.

Directly Referencing Viktor:

Pretty par of the course voice lines!! It’s nice to get a confirmation that Jayce doesn’t necessarily hate Viktor even after what he's seen, and if he does it’s tinged with a significant edge of bitter sweetness. This also confirms Viktor’s complete loss of humanity in the third act; people say that Viktor already lost his humanity the moment he stepped out of the hex core slime but. I’d argue that he simply lost the cruel side of humanity; he still had his conscience, all things considered. His development in the third act will be the loss of that too.

Jayce���s Dream Motif “Our Hextech Dream”:

I don’t actually need to go through and explain every one of these but. I want to, so, touché. Even after all the likely terrible things Jayce experienced, it’s horribly soft that he still remembers that special moment him and Viktor shared more than a decade ago. It’s still important to him.

Jayce and Viktor’s Scientific Zeal:

AGAIN. Ruminating over his work with Viktor.

Jayce’s Flaws/Humanity Motif:

These lines are in direct contrast to Viktor’s eventual ideology—to Viktor, hextech means perfecting existence, to Jayce, it will be making existence flawed. To Viktor, humanity leads to flaws but to Jayce, flaws lead to humanity.

Jayce’s Promises Motif:

Do I even need to explain this one? I think it’s so. Deeply notable that during the greatest thing you could do during a league match (kill the entire other enemy team) and arguably the worst thing you could do (dying), Jayce has the same thing on his mind. That promise. It remains to be seen if he made another important one while in the anomaly, but I heavily predict it’s his promise with viktor.

Conclusion:

There were like six voice lines each which contributes to the motifs I mentioned here that I couldn’t add, but they are all almost as equally meaningful and gut wrenching to Jayce’s character. I heavily recommend you check the skin showcase on YouTube out—I am so much softer on Jayce now because of some of his very sad lines. Not only because he’s being extremely gay for Viktor, but because this is a man standing alone burdened by knowledge, self-hatred, despair, desperation, and also… hope. He’s the protector of tomorrow, but in the most afraid sense of the title. Love this guy.

It’s shocking to me just how many lines they are refer to viktor in some sort of way. They are. They make me ill. Whether it’s romantic, platonic, something more, something in between, it’s heartening to know their relationship has the gut wrenching connection/estrangement that has the weight to stand next to silco-vander and vi-jinx.

[hexb0nes]

Please Do the disbality study on jayvik / jayce and viktor separately , this me motivating you 👍👍👍

THERE IS BEAUTY IN IMPERFECTIONS - AN ANALYSIS ON LOVE & DISABILITY WITH JAYCE, VIKTOR, & JAYVIK

ok tysm anon, here it is <3 arcane season 1-2 spoilers (reclaiming the c-slur aka cripple 'cuz i am a cripple lol)

disability is one of the most important aspects in jayvik's relationship, as well as the following: how jayce interacts with disability pre- and post-'touched by the arcane', how viktor interacts with disability and his internalized ableism, and how they interact with one another in regards to disability... let's begin!

jayce - golden boy to defender of tomorrow, the costs endured

honestly, i wanna talk about jayce and disability, first. crazy, i know i know, but let's get into it. jayce has been exposed to disability for his entire life with his mother losing some of her fingers from frostbite when they were caught in the snowstorm. i believe this, combined with the talis family being blacksmiths (workplace injuries like burns and limb loss -> disabilities), allowed jayce to be one of the few people in piltover who had some compassion/understanding around disability. if you look at piltover, ESPECIALLY the scene where salo is being rolled down the stairs towards the council table in his wheelchair, it is NOT accessible and when there's physical inaccessibility, there's likely attitudinal inaccessibility. you can see it during the scene when mel is manipulating jayce into making hextech weapons and how she disregards viktor, despite him being a CO-CREATOR of hextech (could be because of his zaunite status, but i wouldn't be surprised if that was coupled with ableism).

we don't see jayce actively engage with piltover's ableism and is rather accommodating. he makes a custom crutch for viktor to use when his disease progresses, he doesn't 'other' viktor and constantly refers to him as his partner aka his equal. however, we've been shown that jayce still harbors bias, even if it's not strictly ableism. he showcases prejudice when viktor informs him that he went to the undercity and calls the people of the undercity 'dangerous', but corrects course when called out by viktor. still, it does that jayce is NOT immune to propaganda and is able to harbor ableist beliefs. as an able-bodied person in piltover, he has privilege over viktor and other disabled people, regardless if they're from piltover or zaun. that inherently makes him unable to escape the clutches of ableism.

then we get to jayce's journey through ruined piltover. ohhhh boyyyy... baby boy went THROUGH IT. falling into that hole and getting his leg utterly shattered by his hammer falling on it, jayce likely spent over a month in ruined piltover. safe to say that his leg didn't set properly and that his back injuries from the council room explosion worsened from the fall. he becomes season 1 viktor through this, trekking through the depths of zaun to the top of piltover with the same conditions viktor was born with. jayce embodies the acquired disabled experience, where someone becomes disabled after the first year of life. he struggles through a world now inaccessible to him, struggles with the pain associated with his disabilities. HOWEVER!!! there's something else related to disability that i rarely see arcane fans discuss and more so make fun of: jayce's hallucinations and PTSD, including acute psychosis.

we see jayce hallucinate during his time in ruined piltover and his erratic drawing on the hole's wall; while that's not enough to diagnose someone with psychosis, but with the add-on of the hallucinations worsening and becoming heightened after his return to the original piltover, it's safe to infer that bro's in an arcane-afflicted psychosis (the hallucinations are worsened by the arcane) from his return to after he kills viktor. sure, you can say "but the arcane!" but im talking about real world equivalence, so stfu! anywho, acute psychosis was happening and that contributed to his PTSD. given that he likely remained in ruined piltover for a month or longer, as well as what he experienced, he likely meets the criteria for PTSD. you could say that he suffers from acute stress disorder, but jayce's symptoms last longer than a month. his PTSD, the hallucinations, and the acute psychotic episode are really brushed off by the show and by us viewers. but it still is a part of jayce's character.

td;lr jayce's arc goes from being an able-bodied golden boy with privilege and security to a disabled, traumatized man who experienced a literal hellscape. his experiences in ruined piltover mimics viktor's and parallels the average experience that a person with an acquired disability faces.

viktor - from zaun to piltover, a cripple is a still a cripple

viktor, viktor, viktor... my baby boy... he goes through hell. as seen in the show, viktor possesses a disability that impacts his left leg and spine, which is later worsened by the progression of his lung disease. while his disability is congenital (i.e. born with or obtained before the first year of life), his lung disease is not; it's a product of piltover's oppression over zaun via the grey, which is later weaponized by caitlyn and her squad to hunt down jinx through the undercity. this is a classic example of environmental racism (aka the unfair distribution of environmental hazards to communities of color and low-income communities) that impacts zaun. it showcases how society disables its most vulnerable members, whether through disregard for environmental safety (i.e. piltover dumping toxic waste/trash into zaun) or militarized action (i.e. the weaponization of the grey). viktor is a product of such a society, which later fuels his goals and intentions with hextech.

viktor fights and climbs his way out of zaun and into piltover to pursue his dream as a scientist. he has so many obstacles against him beyond his disability, such as the lack of a patron and his zaunite status. we see him treated as lesser for being a disabled zaunite by many characters, such as mel and marcus. he is seen as an accessory to hemingdinger and later jayce, he is never given the respect he deserves as a scientist and an inventor. regardless of where viktor is, he's still an outcast on the basis of being zaunite and disabled. we see other disabled characters, such as sevika, from zaun where their disabilities are usually the result of surviving violence and are augmented by prosthetics; viktor is the exception to that. his disability is nothing "noble" in the eyes of zaun and something that gets in the way of "progress" in piltover. viktor has nowhere to go, no one who understands his experiences.

then we have his interactions with the hexcore. as his disease worsens and becomes terminal, viktor is confronted with morality, something that many disabled people have been forced to examine at an early age. he wants to be remembered, but his research is going in a terrible direction towards weaponization against his community and everyone seems to have forgotten him so... in his eyes, he has nothing else to lose. why not experiment with his body, to see if he can do something instead of waiting to succumb to his disease? why not use shimmer and crave those runes into his skin? why not touch the hexcore and see what happens? the hexcore offers viktor a chance of "normalcy" through arcane augmentation, but it ultimately leads to his downfall. we see it foreshadowed during the scene where viktor runs for the first time and manages to outrun a ship when his younger self couldn't even catch up with his toy boat; however, from an animation standpoint, the scene with his younger self goes from left to right (signaling progression) while the scene with his older self goes from right to left (signaling a "backpedaling").

[as a side note, that scene where viktor runs? it hit so fucking hard for me. as a disabled person with a degenerative condition, i watched myself go from playing softball and dancing to struggling to get out of bed most days. to be able to run again, to regain some strength in my body?? i would totally use the hexcore. i understand viktor's intentions with it, but... yeahh...]

soon, viktor realizes that the hexcore is bad news and asks jayce to destory it... however, jayce breaks that promise and that is MAJOR. by using the hexcore to revive viktor after the explosion, jayce disregards viktor's autonomy and wishes. when viktor awakens and finds out what happened, jayce broke his trust and faith in him; viktor believes that jayce turned him into his rio, the creature being kept alive for shimmer production(?) purposes. viktor does NOT want to be an experiment, a project forced to live against its will. for viktor, dying in the explosion was the ideal, it was a fast death and arguably a noble one. by dying in the explosion, viktor avoided succumbing to his disease. later, we see viktor realize that he's jayce's orianna (singed's daughter who he put in a stasis machine in order to revive her and make her better) and that contributes to his exchange with jayce during their fight when he was controlling the automation, "let's instead do this again as partners" and shit.

but let's back track a bit. the hexcore fusion grants viktor the ability to "heal" people and ultimately, that's viktor's greatest aspiration, to help and better the common people. however, good intentions get corrupted by the hexcore, as viktor's internalized ableism manifests. when he "heals" people, he removes them of everything he deems as imperfect. we see so when he first heals huck, the merchant from the last drop turned shimmer addict. viktor essentially beautifies him with a better hairline and hair, making him taller, and what not. everyone "healed" by viktor have their "imperfections" removed. we see so again with sky in the astral plane; regardless if she was an illusion by the hexcore or not, her imperfections are removed, such as her glasses.

this enters into eugenics territory (i.e. a set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population) and viktor's 'glorious evolution' goal is based in eugenics. he wants to make people perfect and believes humanity must 'evolve' in order to achieve such perfection through means of the removal of free will and the transformation into automations; there no one feels pain, no one feels sufferings, they're perfect. it's not until jayce's speech and seeing his older self that he realizes the error of his way, that suffering is key to being human and that 'perfecting' humanity leads to a dull world, one devoid of emotion and life. when viktor realizes how much jayce loves him, IN TANGENT with his disabilities, he's overwhelmed because through his whole life, he never thought such a thing was possible: to be loved for his true self by another.

viktor's experiences as a disabled person, a disabled person from a marginalized community, influence his character but it's NOT the whole focus of his character. when it comes to disabled characters, the media tends to make them one-dimensional and focuses solely on their disability. viktor, on the other hand, is such a layered character! yes, his disability plays a big role in his story, but it's simply a component of viktor as a character, not his entirety.

td;lr viktor is one of the best pieces of disabled representation in media that i have ever seen. his experiences as a disabled person and his internalized ableism guide his intentions, motivations, and goals. fusing with the hexcore corrupts his good intentions and intensifies his internalized ableism, leading to the goal of the 'final glorious evolution' by utilizing eugenics. ultimately, viktor is the product of his society, disregarded and demeaned for being disabled and zaunite when the dominant class is responsible for his suffering.

jayvik - what saved the world was newfound shared experience

now, it's jayvik time. in season one, we see that jayce is one of the few people in piltover (or in the series tbh) that is actively accommodating and proactive with disability. i'm not sure if its canon or fanon, but viktor's crutch was made by jayce; this is a subtle act of romance and love jayce gives viktor. jayce also displays protectiveness towards viktor when hemingdinger urges them to destroy the hexcore because he knew it had the potential to save and likely improve viktor's quality of life. in addition, one could argue that jayce's tendency to grasp viktor by the shoulder comes from a desire to keep him steady and stable.

at the end of season 1/the start of season 2, jayce breaks his promise to destroy the hexcore and uses it to revive viktor. when viktor awakens and finds out, he leaves. from my perspective, it's because viktor believed jayce kept him alive in the same way singed kept rio, an experiment. however, when viktor sees orianna and how singed is keeping her alive, he reveals that he's jayce's orianna and that he revived him out of love. this is a dynamic that often occurs in real life and in other media, where the caregiver or loved one of the disabled person does everything in their power to keep the disabled person alive, despite the disabled person's wishes. a good example of this is in my sister's keeper, where the mother is trying to keep her dying daughter with cancer alive, despite her not wanting to keep fighting because of the pain and loss of a normal childhood, through the use of the younger sister as a donor kid (i.e. donating bone marrow, a kidney, etc. to keep her older sister alive). it's not a healthy dynamic because it undermines the autonomy of the disabled person.

then we have the jayce vs. automation!viktor fight (honestly, it was more of a sex scene in the level of intimacy and rawness, but ANYWHO), where jayce says to viktor that his partner "died in this room", which we can take as literally and as something deeper. using the power of media literacy, we can infer that jayce is referring to viktor's personality, how viktor's true self died during the explosion alongside his body; despite viktor's confidence and comfort in an abled body (the automation, his final evolution form), jayce doesn't consider that to be the true viktor, his viktor, because viktor's disability was intertwined with viktor's being as a whole alongside personality, hopes and dreams, etc.

onto jayce's montage in ruined piltover, when he's by the fire and hallucinating, he sees mel before it fades into viktor... HOLDING HIS CRUTCH. jayce considers viktor's mobility aid as essential to viktor, a key component of viktor. we then see jayce's reaction to mage!viktor being an older man (i estimate that he was in his 50s), his shock being not only from the fact that "hey the mage who saved you and your mama was your partner, which created a bootstrap paradox and is why y'all are IN THIS FUCKING MESS!" but that was his first and only time seeing viktor old. jayce knew that viktor would likely never get to that age, unless there was a cure to viktor's disease, so this is special, this is raw.

now onto the juiciest bit, jayce's speech in the astral plane. GOD, his speech made my whole ass body shudder. he says and i quote:

You've always wanted to cure what you thought were weaknesses. Your leg. Your disease. But you were never broken, Viktor. There is beauty in imperfections. They made you who you are. An inseparable piece of everything... I admired about you.

viktor's whole 'final glorious evolution' obsession was fueled by good intentions gone wrong and mixed with internalized ableism. viktor fought so hard to climb out of zaun and make it as a scientist, only to be discarded by piltover for his disabilities. then you get these lines from mage!viktor about there being no prize to perfection and how jayce is the only one who can show him the error of his ways... it alludes to viktor's disabled experiences, his life and death as a disabled man. imperfections make humanity the way it is, robbing free will for the sake of perfection doesn't work. viktor wanted to rid suffering, but suffering makes people human; some people, disabled people, unfortunately suffer more than others, but in my personal opinion, more suffering means more of the humanity experience imbedded in you... so jayce saying there is beauty in imperfections calls out to viktor that he is human and that his disabilities contribute to his humanity. his disabilities make life harder for him, yes! but they are part of him, they guide his life just like other aspects of his life (his intellect, his zaunite background, etc.).

however, i don't think jayce would have been able to come to that conclusion/realization if he didn't fall down the hole in ruined piltover. becoming disabled himself allowed jayce to unlock something deep, as he took on a literal version of viktor's journey; shared experience. as an able-bodied person in season 1 and pre-teleporting to ruined piltover, jayce would have never been able to truly comprehend or grasp viktor's motivations, his struggles, etc. as a disabled person. but going on viktor's LITERAL life journey from the pits of zaun to the skyscrapers of piltover with his leg broken, with no one's help... that gifted jayce shared experience with viktor.

without that experience, jayce would have failed. yes, ekko's z-drive was honestly the reason why, but its cuz it bought jayce the time needed to show viktor the truth. i can guarantee there's a timeline that everything was the same in the events of the war, but jayce didn't have that shared experience with viktor and failed.

ultimately, disability is foundational to jayvik and their love for one another. without disability, you lose viktor's whole personhood and arc, as well as part of what makes jayvik... jayvik.

end notes

wow, this took forever, but if you made it to this part... thank you for reading! remember to like/comment/reblog and stay awesome! and stay tuned for future disability yaps and arcane simping from yours truly!

love, bee (your local cripple and jayvik lover)

[menofprogress]

Here are some of my hot (or maybe tepid) takes about arcane:

(Under the cut bc i got wordy lol)

-the show could have used another season or like at least 5 more eps per season. Thats not a dig at the creators bc we know they were already forced to cut stuff out, but imho it shows a little, esp in s2. I fully believe Sevika was one of the biggest victims here, i genuinely believe she had an arc in s2 act 3 that was fully cut. And her being one of the biggest defenders of zaunite independence also means that by cutting her they basically gutted that storyline.

-the sheer lack of time with some characters also means that i simply did not connect with some of them, which made their deaths kind of underwhelming. Like i gasped when loris, isha, elora and sky died, but i cant say i was actually sad. That might be a me problem, but i need a little more time and info on a character to feel literally anything about them.

-on the other hand: we need to accept that sometimes background or minor characters are just that. No they werent robbed, no they werent underwritten, theyre simply not that important and thats OK bc theyre characters, not real people. You dont need to give equal attention to all characters for it to be "fair". And i sometimes feel like ppl think they HAVE to bemoan this. esp when its a female character a lot of fans talk about "sidelining" or "theyre using them as a plot device!!" Buddy, sometimes characters are literally just there to move the plot along, thats not inherently a social justice issue. (Ive seen this the most with sky and lest and like.... sorry, they were never gonna be more important than this. They can still be your fave, but just bc you wanted to see more of them doesnt mean they were sidelined for nefarious reasons)

-however sometimes the problem isnt that a character got too little screentime. S2 is a perfect example to show you can do a lot of character work in less time (viktor, ekko) and little character work with a lot of screentime (vi, sorry). Viktor and ekko were missing for entire episodes and managed to have full character arcs and vi was kind of there the whole time, but stuff just happened to her? Like she does do a lot, she looks incredibly cool, i liked watching her scenes, but her motivations, her goals and her values are ALL over the place. I love caitvi, but it did kinda ruin vis integrity when she threw away core beliefs (she becomes an enforcer, she temporarily agrees to kill jinx, she participates in chem warfare against the undercity) for cait. Hmmmmm.....

-i wasnt that deep in the fandom in s1 so i might have simply missed it or i might just not be following assholes, but the "jayvik shippers hate mel" thing never made sense to me. NOT because i dont believe it, bc i sure as hell have seen enough mlm shippers be fully misogynistic or racist, but the way ppl (mainly meljay shippers lbr) talked about jayvik shippers being horrible to mel like it was this HUGE thing confused me bc i personally have seen like 2 fanfics where they horribly mischaracterise mel to be a viktor-hating bitch, but thats it? Like, was that an actual problem or was it ppl deliberately misunderstanding stuff? (One specific example: ive seen someone accuse jayvik shippers of being misogynists bc they accused mel of manipulating jayce and sidelining Viktor. Which is a canonical thing happening in the show. Like ofc you can word it in a way to make mel a horrid evil bitch, im sure there are ppl who DO hate mel and think she is an evil succubus, but this person in particular just seemed upset about the fact that ppl were talking about things that mel canonically did.) This is a genuine question, bc from my pov after s1 mel was one of the fan faves and jayvik wasnt THAT big of a deal until s2. I literally saw a hundred times more jayce hate than i did mel hate, but maybe thats not the universal arcane fandom experience? Like, again, i HAVE seen (for lack of a better term) fujoshis get wildly hateful towards female characters in the vicinity of their ship, i was just pleasantly surprised that the arcane fandom seemingly DIDNT. So the unrestrained resentment and bitterness of some fans after jayvik "went canon" caught me off guard.

-the reason i ask this: i saw a video where someone talked about some rando homophobic timebomb fans who apparently resented caitvi for getting a happy ending instead of jinx and ekko. So i commented "i s2g het-shippers act like theyre an oppressed group sometimes" to which another person responded "well jayvik fans were really shitty about mel, soo...." and i was so fucking confused bc what? The video wasnt even about mel or jayvik?? They just heard me make a snarky comment about het ships and immediately felt called out. But yeah thats what prompted my question.

-i dont get the thirst for the fish man. I get the salo thirst even less. I cheered when jayce bonked him.

-i actually dont want jayce or viktor to appear in future projects. While i love the idea of them being ~not dead~, i think any further canonical storylines about them would devalue the extremely emotional ending they had. Like, imagine if they only bring one of them back?? What then?? No, i actually prefer post-canon fix it fanfics in this case. (Cough cough esp bc this way i can still plausibly delude myself into them being actually canon and yall KNOW it probably would not stay this way if their story continues)

[goddessofroyalty]

Verse: Zaun Family

The conversation the other day of Viktor’s relationship with Benzo in this verse inspired me to write a scene that almost immediately follows the very first fic that created this whole verse where Jayce and Viktor visit Benzo’s shop after making the deal with Silco.

The vibe I’m going for with Ekko is overexcited child that keeps jumping between topics without even giving others a chance to talk. Hopefully that comes across and he doesn’t just seem to have weird dialogue jumps.

Tags: omegaverse

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

“There is somewhere else I would like to visit before we leave,” Viktor says once they leave his family’s home. Silco having agreed that he would help fund their work so long as he got an investors cut of the profits and that Zaun would have use of their results equal to whatever Piltover was guaranteed.

“Sure, of course,” Jayce says. They are in no rush to return Topside and going by Viktor’s siblings reaction it clear Jayce’s new partner did not visit all that often.

Viktor gives a small nod before leading Jayce through the streets with a comfortable ease that helps Jayce believe that this is actually where Viktor grew up.

“Oh, I know this place!” Jayce says when they stop outside a shop.

“What?”

“Yeah, I came down and brought a piece from here when I was building the prototype,” Jayce explains as Viktor pushes the door open to the shop. “Nothing in Piltover seemed to be working and-“

“Viktor!”

Jayce lets his words break off at the excited call of a child. The boy who had seemed far too young to be watching a shop when he had previous visited leaping over the counter to run to them.

“I didn’t know you were coming down. Benzo’s out back checking the books. But more importantly what are you working on currently? I’m trying to fix an old clock I found and can’t figure it out,” the boy rambles excitedly before stopping and looking at Jayce. He looks back at Viktor with a finger pointed at Jayce. “What’s he doing with you?”

“He is my, uh, work partner,” Viktor explains, before looking over at Jayce. “You two know each other?”

“Yeah!” Jayce says trying to remember the name the kid told him when he visited. He had asked! But he hadn’t exactly thought it was something he needed to remember. Now though it feels very important so he doesn’t accidently offend someone who is clearly a friend of Viktor’s.

“Uh, Ekko?” Neither Viktor nor the boy react so that must be it. Good. “Ekko served me when I was here. He gave me a good deal!”

Viktor and Ekko share a glance. And shit- was he wrong about the name?

“I’ll go tell Benzo you’re here,” Ekko says, running out the back of the shop. And Viktor starts walking around the shelves, moving things around in his search. Completely comfortable despite no-one from the shop being there to make sure he isn’t stealing anything but Jayce figures Viktor knows better what he’s allowed to do then Jayce is.

“You know it’s nearing closing time Viktor,” the man who Ekko returns with says and Viktor’s head bops up from where he had bent over to look at something, both hands still resting on his cane.

“You would not close on me.”

“Right you are,” the man, another alpha Jayce realizes, says like is a familiar joke between the two of them. He leans against the main counter apparently content to just watch while Ekko grabs a small crate, taking it over to Viktor. It doesn’t take long for him to notice Jayce as well. His eyes clearly running up and down Jayce from behind his glasses. “I see you brought a Piltite down with you.”

Viktor doesn’t respond, probably because Ekko is already talking to him again.

“You still haven’t told me what you are working on Viktor,” Ekko says as he follows Viktor around. Viktor putting things in the crate he apparently wants. Jayce wonders how many kids in the Undercity look up to Viktor like Ekko clearly does. It makes sense seeing how smart and amazing Viktor is that they would.

“Something big,” Viktor tells him, before pausing. “Actually something small, but if it works then we will make it big.”

“Cool! Can I help?”

“Not right now. But, uh, if it goes how we think it will then in the future… maybe.”

Jayce leaves the two to their discussion. Ekko had been so serious when he had served Jayce the last time but now he has the excitement a child should. Jayce doesn’t want to accidently ruin it if the kid is shy around strangers.

Instead he goes over to where Benzo is watching them from the shop counter.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jayce Talis,” he says, offering a handshake.

“Benzo.” The man’s grip is similar to Vander’s in how firm it is. Maybe Jayce needs to work on a firmer handshake if they will be doing more business in the Undercity going forward. It seems to be the way down here. “Do you know what you’re getting into with that one?”

“What?” Jayce knew Viktor was brilliant and that he was willing to break into the Dean’s office to prove Jayce’s theories right.

It hits him that Viktor’s family had assumed they were together like a couple and that it’s probably what’s happening again.

“Oh we’re not. Uh- Viktor’s my work partner. Not- ah.”

“What are you working on together?”

“Well-“

“Jayce, can you come here?” Viktor calls before Jayce can start to explain what he hopes will become Hextech. He holds a hand up to Benzo to pause the conversation before going to where Viktor and Ekko are.

“Do you think you can carry that back with us?” Viktor asks with a nod to what looks like an old rusted motor.

“Are you sure you want it? It looks pretty broken.” They can probably get something newer in Piltover.

“Yes. I have an idea,” Viktor says which is good enough for Jayce. So he goes to see if he can pick it up.

“Yeah, should be able to.” The motor is heavy but not too bad. Jayce feels confident he can take it and the crate of other things Viktor has picked out.

“Good,” Viktor says, heading back to the counter, Jayce following behind Ekko.

“You just came here to take my stuff and leave then?” Benzo asks, suddenly pulling Viktor into a hug. Which seems a bit forward but maybe Viktor knows the man more than just a shop he frequents. Or maybe people are just more affectionate in the Undercity.

Not that Jayce could ever picture the Zaun Representative being that affectionate with anyone. But he also wouldn’t have thought he would live under a bar and had five kids or that one of them would be someone like Viktor.

“You said you were nearly closing,” Viktor says, but he leans into the alphas side, his eyes squeezing shut for a second before they pull away. “I will be back next week. Ekko has made me promise to help with the clock he is working on.”

“Has he now?” Benzo asks glancing at the boy who gives a wide smile that even Jayce knows is a claim to innocence. Benzo lets out a huff before going around to behind the counter and taking the seat by the register. “Always tinkering with something you two.”

“You get to sell things that work instead of being junk because of us!” Ekko protests, climbing up onto the counter itself to sit.

“Alright, I’ll give you that.”

There’s an awkward lull in conversation before Jayce realizes they probably should be getting back if they want to make it back home at a decent hour.

“How much do we owe you?” he asks, reaching into his coat to where his money is.

Benzo’s expression suddenly hardens.

“Don’t insult me boy,” he says firmly and Jayce freezes while the man points to Viktor. “I have known Viktor since he was first born. He does not pay here.”

“Really?” That explained why Viktor had seemed so familiar with the man. It kind of nice to be meeting Viktor’s family and friends in the Undercity after how little Viktor had talked about any of them.

“Yep. Still feels like only yesterday that he was a tiny thing that I could hold in one arm when Silco’d let me even look at him. Not that I blame him mind-“

Whatever he was going to say is cut off by Viktor making a kind of hissing noise and suddenly pushing in front of Jayce.

“Jayce is not interesting in stories from when I was a baby,” he says. Which, actually, Jayce would be very interesting in hearing how Viktor grew up to be the amazing person he is now. Viktor turns to face him before he has a chance to voice that exact fact. “It is time for us to go.”

“We can stay a bit longer if you like.” It’s not as if Jayce is a stranger to a late night and Jayce doesn’t think he can remember Viktor ever visiting the Undercity since they started working together. He’s happy to let his partner catch up with the people who care about him.

“No, no. There is work I want to do,” Viktor insists. He turns to Benzo a finger raised before dropping it again. “We will be going.”

“Of course. I know better than to try and argue with you,” Benzo says, with his hands held up in surrender. “See you next week still?”

“Yes, yes, next week,” Viktor agrees. Grabbing the crate and balancing it against the side his cane isn’t on. Quickly heading back towards the door.

“Nice to meet you,” Jayce says, picking up the engine and jogging the gap to catch back up to Viktor.

[anabetel35]

I love love loveeee the reading of jayvik as a queerplatonic relationship instead of a romantic one. There's just so much more to it and honestly it feels a lot more alligned with the show to me. Like it carries a message that gets lost if you read the two of them as romantic partners.

It's so easy to say that their relationship is purely romantic. So easy to point to the scene where Jayce hallucinates both Mel and Viktor and say that he loves both of them in the same way. And yet --

Jayce and Viktor call themselves partners -- not brothers, not lovers, not friends but partners. Jayce doesn't call Mel his partner, though she is his romantic one. It's a title reserved only for Viktor. The way that they choose to expresss their love for each other in their final moments is not via kiss, a typically romantic gesture, but just by being as close to each other as possible.

They're partners. In all the timelines, in all possibilities, they choose to love each other, choose to save themselves, choose to keep loving each other even if it brings about so much destructuion and pain. Every version of their relationship is so full of love.

they're definetly life partners. But are they really romatic ones? wouldn't it be a lot more interesting and powerful if they weren't? if their love was neither romantic, sexual, platonic nor familial? If their love was something in between all of those options and yet neither one of them? If it simply was? If the only way to describe it was with the most flexible of labels?

If they were queerplatonic partners?

Also, when you see them as such, Jayce's decision to be with Viktor over being with Mel, even if it was a choice he made in that one moment, has even more of a meaning than it would otherwise.

In S1 Jayce chooses Mel. He doesn't want to, clearly, he wants to live his life with both Viktor and Mel. But it's too hard to do both. The council doesn't want him to do both. Piltover doesn't want him to do both. Everyone around him just wants him to choose.

And so he does -- he chooses Mel, because he loves her. He chooses Mel and in doing so he chooses a seat in the Council and the politics of his city over a chair in the lab and the science that he's given his whole life to up until now. Over Viktor.

He chooses the conventional option. The woman whom he loves romantically. It's what everyone expects him to choose because people still believe that romantic relationships have more value than any other ones. He loves both Mel and Viktor, in different ways. And though he loves them equally, in the same measure, Piltover would decide that one of his lovers is more important to him. That his romantic partner has to be the one person with who he shares his whole life with.

So Jayce chooses Mel. And Viktor dies. And then he's not dead but he's so, so far away and the one thing holding them together is a promise that Jayce is yet to keep.

At the end of S2 Jayce has to choose again. Either he lets Viktor do what needs to be done alone and walks away, is free to spend his days with Mel or he joins his partner in whatever it is that comes next, never to return to the life that he lived before. This time there is no way to do both. He could try as hard as possible and yet there is no third option. He has to make a choice.

And he chooses Viktor.

He chooses his non-romantic love, the more unconventional one, over the world itself.

And that is, I think, an even better story than the one where Jayce loves Viktor just romantically.

[waitingandwishing]

(Cross posted on Wattpad)

Prev - Next Chapter

Maybe in another life I'd be different... Oh

Y/N hummed a soft tune, the melody blending with her gentle laughter. Her eyes sparkled with warmth as she watched a group of kids dash past her, their faces alight with joy. The sight brought a smile to her lips.

She had decided to step away from the academy for a bit, trusting Viktor to handle things in her absence. It wasn’t as though the place would fall apart without her, Viktor was more than capable anyways.

Balancing a large box on her hip, she pushed open the creaky door of The Last Drop, her entrance accompanied by the familiar smell of wood and aged liquor. “Guess who!” She called out, her voice bright and teasing.

Powder’s head snapped up at the sound, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Y/N!” she exclaimed, sprinting towards the white-haired woman. She threw her arms around Y/N, hugging her tightly. “I didn’t know you were visiting!”

Y/N chuckled, returning the hug with equal enthusiasm. “The dance studio’s on break, and Viktor’s taking care of the academy for me,” she explained, her gaze shifting to the familiar faces scattered around the room. “Hey, guys!”

“Well, if it isn’t Zaun’s Queen!” Mylo greeted her with a wide grin. “How’s life treating you, m’lady?”

“Very well, Mylo, very well indeed,” Y/N replied, her smile radiant as she gave Claggor a friendly pat on the back. “How are the hybrids coming along?”

Claggor shrugged, his expression a mix of frustration and determination. “We finally got them to feed off the fissure gases, but it’s still touch and go.”

“Well, let me know if you need any help. You know I’ve got your backs,” Y/N said, offering a reassuring thumbs-up. She set the box down on the table in front of Ekko. “Here you go, little man. Everything you asked for, courtesy of Viktor. Though I couldn’t get that one thing you really needed— sorry about that.”

Ekko’s eyes widened in surprise. “Y/N?” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, yes, I know it’s a shock to see me here,” Y/N teased, her grin widening. “Dancing days are busy, and the academy doesn’t exactly wait for greatness.” Her playful tone faltered as she noticed Ekko’s distant expression. Concern flickered across her face, and she waved a hand in front of his eyes. “Hey, Ekko, you alright?”

Ekko blinked, his gaze locking onto her. She looked so different. Everything about her seemed brighter, lighter. Her hair had a pink streak, her hands free of the usual rune scars, and her eyes… Her eyes were vivid and full of life.

“He’s fine,” Powder interjected with a shrug. “He’s been zoning out all day. I think he’s nervous about the party.”

Y/N’s expression softened, her smile returning. “Aww, don’t worry. It’s not like this is the sand incident,” She teased gently. “Anyway, I just dropped by to say hi, but I’ll be back later. Gotta get back to Viktor, he says it’s something really important.”

Powder’s eyes widened with excitement. “Do you think he’s finally going to propose?!”

Y/N laughed nervously, her eyes wide. “W-well, I wouldn’t exactly say that, but—”

“Who’s… Viktor?” Ekko’s question cut through the moment, his confusion evident.

Y/N frowned slightly, puzzled by his reaction. “... Viktor? My partner from the academy?” She shook her head slightly, dismissing the odd moment. “Well, anyways, I’m going to grab a drink from Vander, and then I’ll be heading out.”

“Aww, seriously?” Powder pouted. “I thought you were going to help us with the project?”

“Hey, if you’ve got a problem with the schedule, take it up with the academy. Don’t hate the player, hate the game!” Y/N quipped with a playful salute before making her way toward the bar where Vander was cleaning a glass.

“Y/N, good to see you! Been a while since you dropped by.” Vander’s voice rang out warmly as he greeted her, his hands deftly working a spotless glass with a practiced ease. “Did you want the usual?”

“Of course I would, thanks,” Y/N replied, a grin spreading across her face as she leaned casually against the bar. She seemed to exhale a small measure of tension as she settled into the familiarity of the room, her fingers drumming softly on the bar's polished surface.

Vander gave a knowing nod, setting the glass aside and turning to pour her usual drink. “Did the boy want anything?” he asked over his shoulder, his voice low with a touch of concern.

Y/N shook her head with a soft laugh. “I don’t think so, but thanks for the thought, Vander.” Her voice softened as she added, “He’s just in his own world right now.”

Vander placed the glass before her with a gentle clink, offering a small nod before turning back to his task. Y/N lifted the drink to her lips, savoring the first sip as her eyes wandered across the familiar contours of the bar. They snagged on something small but significant, an old carving etched into the wood just beneath her hand.

P+E.

Her fingers lightly traced the weathered initials, and for a moment, the noise of the bar seemed to fade. A wistful smile tugged at her lips, her thoughts slipping briefly to a time long past. “Hey, Vander?” She asked, her voice quiet yet steady.

The bartender looked up from the glass he was cleaning, his brows raising slightly. “Yeah?”

“Don’t be so hard on Bluejay, alright?” Y/N chuckled, her tone shifting to something lighter but no less earnest. “She’s still gotta learn how to fly.”

Vander’s expression softened, a faint smile ghosting across his face. “I think she already knows how to fly,” he said after a pause, his voice low and thoughtful. “She just doesn’t see it yet.”

Y/N hummed in agreement, her gaze distant but fond. She downed the rest of her drink in one smooth motion, the glass meeting the counter with a decisive thud. Straightening to her full height, she adjusted her coat and slung her bag over her shoulder.

“Then maybe just give her a push,” she said with a wink, her tone teasing but with an underlying note of sincerity. With that, she turned and strode toward the door, her steps confident but unhurried, leaving Vander to watch her go with a small shake of his head and the faintest of smiles.

*:·°✧——————————————◈——————————————✧°·:*

“Y’know, every time I end up in this place, it’s because Heimerdinger tells me you’ve been working a bit too hard,” Y/N drawled, her voice carrying a playful lilt as she leaned casually against the doorway. Her arms were crossed, a smirk curving her lips.

Viktor glanced over his shoulder, his tired eyes lighting up at the sight of her. “I just have to finish grading these papers,” He replied, his voice steady but edged with fatigue as he gestured to the small stack in front of him.

Y/N chuckled softly and strolled over, her shoes making muted thuds against the floor. Stopping behind him, she placed a comforting hand on his back and peered over his shoulder at the meticulous notes scribbled in the margins. “Have you even gone up to eat anything today?” She asked, her tone a blend of concern and gentle teasing.

“Eh…” Viktor hesitated before gesturing vaguely toward a cold teacup sitting a little ways off. “I may have had some tea earlier.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky?” Y/N grinned, holding up a neatly wrapped sandwich. “Because I’ve got something better, a ham sandwich, courtesy of the cafeteria. Not exactly gourmet, but one of the better options I could find for you, Viktor.”

A small, grateful smile spread across Viktor’s face as he accepted the offering. “Thank you, my love,” He murmured, unwrapping the foil slightly but letting his focus drift back to his papers.

“Ah, ah, ah…” Y/N intervened quickly, placing a firm hand over the pen he was about to pick up. “Take a break, Viktor.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she raised an eyebrow, cutting him off. “But you have to take a break because these papers aren’t supposed to be finished until next week,” she said pointedly, holding up a finger. “Now eat.”

Viktor hesitated before chuckling softly, his resolve crumbling under her unwavering gaze. “Alright, alright,” He relented, unwrapping the sandwich properly and taking a deliberate bite. The tired lines on his face softened slightly, his shoulders relaxing.

“What would I do without you, Y/N?” He asked, his voice warm with affection and slightly sarcastic.

“Probably die,” Y/N quipped with a dramatic sigh, crossing her arms as she leaned her weight onto one hip. She perched herself on the edge of his desk, careful not to disturb his organized chaos, and continued, “By the way, tonight I’ll be out for a bit. There’s an inventors party I’ve got to attend.”

“Ah yes, I remember,” Viktor said with a knowing smile. “The sand incident.”

“Don’t remind me,” Y/N groaned, laughing as she ran a hand through her hair. “I swear I found sand in my hair for weeks afterward. Never again.”

Viktor chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ll have to tell me all about it when you get back.”

“Well, here’s the thing,” Y/N said, leaning closer with a playful grin. “After the party, I’ve got something planned for us. You think you could take a break just for tonight?”

“That late?” Viktor asked. “The last time we had a ‘surprise,’ it ended up being a giant dog.”

“Okay, fair,” Y/N admitted with a laugh, patting his back before pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “But it’s not that kind of surprise this time. I promise. So, I’ll see you later, alright?”

Viktor smiled softly, his gaze following her as she straightened up and moved toward the door. “Of course. I’ll see you soon, mojí drahoušek.”

(This one is a little shorter then normal but I had a lot of fun with this one!)

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