#defender of tomorrow

[mistresscitrusslice]

Yasss! This is what I’ve been saying!

I know League Mel is not quite compliant with Arcane Mel despite Riot claiming she is, but you know where she fits right in perfectly? In the old League canon right alongside Defender Jayce and Machine Herald Viktor and Top Hat Caitlyn and Mohawk Ekko.

My personal headcanon is that this is a Mel who arrived in Piltover only recently, having spent most of her life in Noxus and perhaps subconsciously picking up their ideals even though she claims to be better than that (and she is, only marginally, not really). She is more trained in combat and as a result unlocked her powers earlier, getting more time to adapt to them and learn control over them. She is a much more willing heir to the Medarda throne than her Arcane counterpart is.

When she arrived in Piltover and meets Jayce, they find each other Insufferable with a capital I. There’s a kind of hate-love relationship between them, but the more they get to know each other, the more the scales tip toward love-hate. I don’t know how she meets Viktor yet, I didn’t get that far.

pretty girl and her hideous boyfriends

[technically-human]

Nooo don't fall to your death your so sexy aha

[devotedlyconfused]

Part 3/3

You guys get a bit of a different version of the ‘the end’ panel that I decided to add last minute 🫴✨

[raevenswritingdesk]

Me, knowing fine rightly that Jayce and Viktor are (and always have been) THEE toxic gay exes of League lore:

Also me, watching s2 ep 6 of Arcane:

[fishfingersandscarves]

the great

[lavellansembrace]

If we get Machine Herald in act 3 I need yall to resurface the enemies to not quite lovers Jayvik fanfics where Jayce holds on too strongly to the past version of Viktor, and Herald is having none of it, yet at the same time it’s Machine Herald who is obsessed with the Defender. He’s the one that actively seeks Jayce out, he’s the one that is like “human error, emotions. You’re the source of it! You’re the reason I can’t change” and they’re actively fighting each other and Defender is like “then kill me!” And Viktor is like nah bro.. and then they stop fighting and Jayce is like “V.. take off your mask” and so Herald does and it’s still Viktor. There is this knowing that no matter how much he augments his body, no matter if he’s more machine than human… it’s still Viktor. And then they sloppily makeout instead, Jayce full of love for the man he once knew, and Viktor clinging on to the last parts of himself that are human, desire. Jayce begging him to stay and Herald being like you know I can’t.

I used to eat those fanfics up back in like 2017 I’d be like YESSSSSSSSSS, 14 year old me had no business reading messy Jayvik dramatic fics.

As much as I love Arcane Jayvik, their dynamic in League has me in a chokehold.

+ points if in the fic Viktor never once calls Jayce by his real name, only calling him Defender, and Jayce only calling Viktor “V” and never using the name Machine Herald unless to rattle him.

FUCK IT I SHOULD WRITE IT MYSELF

[aanthonyvb]

I pronounce twink death.

(Jayce divorce era concept aka the Defender of Tomorrow )

[mistresscitrusslice]

Why is Riot rewriting Viktor and Jayce’s bios to be more in line with Arcane lore? The beauty of them is that there’s two very different versions of them that both make sense, like two sides of a coin. If Riot removes the old versions, I will actually lose interest in Jayvik. This is coming from someone who entered the fandom through Arcane and has never played League, and yet I still treasure this version of them.

[natoraptor]

Viktor’s Journals through the years

[emilija04acer]

Jayvik fics list (pt2)

Older fics that are longer and were written before season 2. Many are a mixture of Arcane and LoL lore.

Byproduct of a Gifted Mind by argonautoida is the first part of the series Viktor Quartet. Jayvik starts in the second and third parts.

Viktor works for Silco in this AU.

I re-read this series a lot...

I will stay so the lantern in your heart won't fade by OrangeChickenPillow

“Come on,” was all Jayce said. “I’m taking you home.” Viktor shook his head, eyes widening slightly. After a moment of trying to organize his racing thoughts, he looked down and said, “I am not sure being alone would be the most responsible thing for me at the moment.” “Alright, well… No problem, then.” The other man looked up, confused. It still sounded very much like a problem. The sentiment must have been clear on his face because Jayce quickly explained. “Viktor, I am officially inviting myself to sleep over.” If Viktor had ever imagined getting Jayce into his bed, it would not have been like this.

doctrine by aevallare

"They're going to destroy us," Jayce says. "They're people, Jayce. If one thing in my life had gone differently, I'd still be down there myself." Jayce won't meet his eyes. viktor finances ekko and the firelights. this is not a conflict of interest until it is.

All of their Jayvik fics are lovely and I recommend them.

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Adopting Jinx>

AU is basicly a rewrite of the whole season 1.

Whatever It Takes by cryptiddentalstudent

Viktor, Jayce, and Mel raise an extremely volatile Jinx AU When Vi sees Silco standing over Powder she manages to break free from Marcus and get back to her sister. The two are captured by Silco– Vi becoming his right hand and de facto leader of the lanes- and Powder being sent away to Stillwater Hold as a hostage. But Powder is done being a jinx to the people she loves. Instead, she’ll use her bad luck to foil every plan Silco has for her. The first step? Get out of the prison cell. The second? To figure out how to get the two well meaning scientist who have taken her in to let her close enough to their research to build a bomb.

This is my favorite story of this AU. I love their dynamic in the first part of this series. Jayce and Viktor aren't together (yet) but Jinx thought they were.

Bombs and Secrets Both Blow Up by TheBardITP

Showing that hextech worked, and the subsequent debate with the Council, was exhausting. More than that, it wore out Viktor's lungs, meaning that he needed to get himself some medicine from the undercity. Unfortunately, witnessing a hextech blue explosion means his plans for the future irrevocably change. Two hextech partners become three hextech partners, as Powder latches onto Viktor instead of Silco. But Silco didn't make Jinx -Vi did. It's already too late for Powder, and Jinx will take her pain out on Piltover, the undercity, and anyone else she wants to. She has friends, though, and family -people who care for her. In time, it may be enough to heal her . . . at least a little. There will be a happy ending to the sad story of sisters and sister cities. Note: The main story is chapters 1-75. Everything after is fluff for the characters, who very much deserve it!

We’ll Paint The Wolf In Gold by AbiCats16

,'And as those wide eyes pierced her soul, Mel considered if she should just let it alone. She was not so brimming with love, and this child clearly needed more than she could give. She really oughtn't to bring herself trouble. This was not her forte, not her place, not within the boundaries of the comfort zone she had built around herself since her exile. She had no maternal instincts, and for a dreaded moment she reconsidered whether she should just turn the girl in and be done with it. And then the child leapt forth and latched onto her waist, knocking her to the ground. Well.' In which Mel takes in Powder at the end of Act 1.

The Scientist's Daughter by onegraycat

“You sound nervous, Viktor. Is something –” Then he caught sight of the small hand clutching the side of Viktor’s vest. Jayce’s words stuck in his throat as a face peeped out from behind the scientist, a young girl with startlingly blue hair looking up at him with fear. “Um – who’s this?” . . . years later . . . “Just this once,” Jinx whispered, “Can’t I prove that I can help my family instead of watching them die?" On the night Jinx loses her family, Viktor finds her and takes her in as his apprentice on the Hextech team. But when he falls ill, the lengths she’ll go to save him might just drive her mad…

A Scientific Guide to Parenting Your Spontaneously Adopted, Traumatized Child by Noir_Kabuki

On the fateful night that her monkey bomb finally works, Powder is swept up by a team of enforcers investigating the explosion and taken to Piltover, where she lands directly in the clutches of... two loving dads. Now Jayce and Viktor, in addition to spearheading the Hextech revolution and building their own relationship, have to figure out how to best take care of this belligerent, prodigious, and (often literally) bombastic little girl. Does chaos ensue? Yes. Would any of them change a thing? No they would not.

Collaberation of Loners by EndlessRose

A scenario where enforcers found Powder before Silco got to her. Now Jayce and Viktor are forced to appeal for their hextech dream and keep the very thief that started everything from being sent to prison.

pt 2 An Undoing by EndlessRose

A series of short stories with Powder living under the guardianship of the creators of Hextech. Will there be chaos? Of course there will be. A continuation of Collaboration of Loners

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Divorce Era (LoL + Arcane)>>>

What Shall I Do With This Body They Gave Me? by Thinwhitedutchess

After the explosion, the majority of the council are left dead. Viktor nearly joins them, but Jayce doesn't let him die. Now, a month after Viktor leaves Piltover, Jayce is summoned to the bridge. But the man he meets there is different than the one who left him. The war is just beginning.

My Dear Adversary by Ts_Stuff

Jayce scanned The Herald’s mask as if he could read into its unchanging features. “You really think we can set all of it aside?” Viktor came close to him again and offered out his right hand, “I have sacrificed my humanity for the bigger picture, Defender. This is nothing compared to that.” - With Shimmer rampant, and his The Council in corrupt waters, Jayce travels to the Undercity to get to the bottom of Shimmer production to expose his colleagues. Coincidentally, his long-time adversary, Viktor, is also looking to end the Shimmer Crisis for the sake of Zaun’s health. Normally, Jayce wouldn’t trust an enemy, but he has no funds or allies in his research. He could only hope he wasn’t making a mistake.

Broken beyond repair by Beweme

Jayce finds himself stuck underground with Viktor, and after deciding to make a truce until they get out, he realizes just how much he misses his old friend.

grieving (all that i gave up) by MaryaDmitrievnaLikesSundays

Jayce makes a list in his mind of what he knows for certain: Fact one: the building fell. Fact two: despite being inside, he hasn’t been flattened into a meaty pulp. Fact three: the Machine Herald, who could have used his inhuman speed to escape into the night, instead moved at the speed of light to stand over Jayce, back bowed, hands up against the concrete threatening to crush him, one knee digging into the floor to hold the weight of the building. Conclusion: ”You saved me,” Jayce whispers. —— Or, when the Defender of Tomorrow sets out to face off once again with the Machine Herald, he never imagines that he’ll end up stuck beneath the rubble with nothing but the Herald and their history.

Amaranthine Wins by chowderpuff

Lost in the streets of Zaun with a skinned knee, Amaranthine meets a man by the name of Viktor. He takes her in, patches her up, and gives her a bit of kind advice. He seems sort of lonely, though. If only he would agree to meet her dad (of sorts).

Divorced dads pretend not to care about each other.

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Explicit (one poly)>>>

HAMMER TO FALL by Caspercryptid (FaiaHae), theneonpineapple

Viktor and Jayce are roommates, old friends, and lab partners. They both have just one little secret from the other, which would be fine, if it weren't the same secret. Only on different sides of an incredibly deep divide between two cities.

This is a Super Hero\Super Villain AU... A love square, technically. When you don't know the identity of your arch-enemy, it kinda happens.

Guys, is it gay to have an arch-enemy?

Here is your answer >

breathe with me by Sinister_Queer

When the Machine Herald, gravely wounded, requests Jayce's help in repairing his augmented body - who is Jayce to deny his old friend? (AKA: The Inherent Homo-Eroticism of Holding Your Ex-Husbands Lungs In Your Hands)

Anywhere Away From Here by Laugh_at_the_girl_who_loves_too_easily

Viktor is forced to go to a Gala by Jayce and a night to remember ensues. Being invited to a Gala ran by the Kiramman's, or a gala ever, was not an occurrence Viktor saw happening in his lifetime. And yet here Viktor was. He was surrounded by Piltovians who didn't even know of his existence–like he expected–let alone his name, which occasionally frustrated the Zaunite, but for now he just wanted the event to end quickly. He hoped to fade into the background. Come tomorrow, Viktor would throttle Jayce for causing him to have to endure this... torture. He was certain Jayce was enjoying his pain right now, if he knew where the big oaf was.

2X8 Viktor behavior (in 22)

Someone Worth Sharing by fenfyre (Jace)

Viktor had known this day would come. Had known it since he noticed the way Mel looked at Jayce. What he had not seen coming though was how this day would end.

Mel invites Viktor to join them in Jayce's bedroom. There is powerplay, and it's long.

He who makes a beast of himself by MGCraig, SirCumference

'Maybe this is normal. Maybe most people who are dying of slow decay start feeling mysterious pains in the last months of their lives. Maybe he should just take up smoking shimmer and call it a life. Or, perhaps this has something to do with his… “experiment.” Maybe Viktor somehow did this to himself.' Viktor turns into a horrible creature. Jayce is kind of into it.

I'm sure some will be into this. Vik is the top in this one.

The Pulse of the Machine by BringtheKaos

The Machine Herald is captured by Piltover after a failed attack on the bridge, and he is mortally wounded in the process. Jayce must risk everything to save him and repair the damage done, racing against the clock as Piltover hunts him down for treason, but the history between them complicates things. Despite his claims that his actions are no longer dictated by emotion, Viktor is still harboring anger and hatred for his exile in the wake of Jinx's attack, and blames Jayce for what happened. But despite it all, they still care about each other (in their own violent, traumatized ways) and as time runs out, necessity forces them to face the past—and each other—if they want to get out of this unscathed.

wound care by weatheredlaw for Sinister_Queer

"No, you don't get to know," Jayce snaps. "You forfeited that right when you had your lawyer serve me with our fucking divorce papers in the emergency room!" or: jayce and viktor are two brilliant surgeons at piltover general. when a tough patient brings them closer together, old troubles make themselves known.

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Part 3 is on the way

[starrycassi]

Jayvik & their respective bad habits.

Most of these are just actually trauma responses but I needed a name aight. also they live after that whole sky soulmates thing for the purposes of this idgaf. Also kinda toxic sooo

Viktor rations food. Which also means that he hoards it. Jayce and him have SEVERAL fights about Viktor either buying way too much and it rotting away on the fridge or Viktor simply not eating because he's "saving" something for tougher times. Jayce has to insist really hard on convincing him out of this mindset, and it never fully goes away. He keeps finding canned food that neither of them actually like, and eventually just donates it as soon as it's bought.

After the Dante's inferno thing Jayce is just as bad with food. They end up getting a maid because things are getting dire.

After the whole alternative timeline thing, Jayce sucks at putting up boundaries. Yes, he's great at communicating, but doesn't necessarily excel in *putting up* something to communicate about. A lot of times, Viktor finds himself pushing too much with little to no repercussion, because Jayce would rather have an uncomfortable day with Viktor than a day alone.

This bleeds into a period of frustration for Viktor. He doesn't want to leave his boyfriend alone, but doesn't know when to stop or what is allowed. He finds Jayce to be much more malleable and kind of misses his headstrong attitude.

Jayce is VERY starved of any kind of affection and ready to bend and break for whatever Viktor wants. This is a common trauma response, and Viktor is relieved when he learns this because it means that he can help his boyfriend. He pours himself into the study of the fractured psyche and how to help it.

On the other hand, Viktor is living in a constant state of guilt. Pur guilt. Remorse and shame and embarrassment and disappointment. This manifests in him completely isolating himself when he gets overwhelmed, sometimes lashing out at Jayce in a way to try and "protect him" by "making him see how bad of a person he is" which... just ends up in Jayce worriedly staring at the bedroom door and wondering if Viktor will ever open it, or if this is just another hallucination and he's still on that cave.

They both recognize that the other needs professional help. Refuse to get for themselves. End up going to couples therapy after a fight in which Viktor looked himself up and Jayce had a panic attack when he started trying to talk to him and Viktor wouldn't answer. Then Viktor came out and saw Jayce wailing on the floor, and he felt so guilty that he considered just taking out and leaving so Jayce would never have to suffer like this for him again.

Yeah this is the author's thinly veiled desire for angst. What about it.

Jayce got used to being alone for so long that he now will sometimes forget that cleaning up is A Thing and just... doesn't do it. This is like a very brief thing because Ximena's spirit screams in his ear every time he doesn't do smth.

Viktor is horribly negligent with his own health and gets deeply irritated when Jayce tries to help. This is worse after the whole "I'm god" thing because he KNOWS now how it felt, to live without that burden. He never takes it out on Jayce (consciously) but his facial expressions are sooo obvious.

Sometimes Jayce says stuff about Zaun that makes Viktor consider becoming a widow by his own hand. Then he calmly leaves the room to come back with a glass of cold water to explain things to him

They both get Very Caught Up in their work. They actually made a rule of no more than 48 hours without sleep in the lab for the very reason that they would genuinely consider punching each other square on the mouth. Before ANY of you come at me "Oh Jayce would never-" I need you all to know that any college kid would. Give me them on finals week and I ASSURE you they're choking the living lights out of each other.

Like Jayce is trying SO hard to be kind and Viktor goes "Not so very bright, Gold Boy" under his breath and Jayce wonders how funny it would be to jump right now to make him feel bad

Yeah I think they should get to be kinda mean. Have I ever mentioned that I grew up shipping Vikjayce because my older brother played lol and gave me a lot of access to his free time. This is very machine herald/defender of tomorrow inspired so if you're squirmy about that dynamic maybe stop here.

Viktor tends to joke about taking himself out of life way too much for it to be funny. Not only to Jayce, mind you. 'I guess I should've jumped when I could've hahaha" because his favorite cafe is closed. He makes a lot of people uncomfortable with his humor in general, but Jayce finds it kind of comforting, to have someone who is so blunt with him.

Jayce goes "...maybe I should just disappear" when he really wants to manipulate someone OR is really tired. Sorry he needs to have his moments too you're telling Me Puppy Eyes has NEVER tried this tactic, even if disguised as a joke? Yeah no college changed him I know

He tried this once (1) with Viktor. Got out freaked. "If you do this I'm killing myself" "Okay. I'm jumping after you do. Yeah I will. Oh? Yeah? Suddenly quiet? That's what I thought. Pussy."

Jayce bites his nails until they bleed. Viktor always outs band-aids over the wounds and kisses each of his fingers while scolding him lightly.

If on the edge of any high place, they tend to stare down, wondering. Entranced. One time, they were doing this on the roof of a random hospital and touched each other's hand. They never say it out loud, but they thought about jumping together as soon as they did.

They both avoid confrontation like HELL after the glowing gays situation. Again, Mr Needy and Mr Guilty walk into a tense room with nothing but a bleeding and broken heart in hand. Knock, knock. Wait. I forgot the punchline.

Viktor sleeps with LOUD earphones. Going deaf early probs.

Viktor is always itching for a smoke. Yes he knows his lungs are dying leave him ALONE, Jayce.

Jayce has a slight problem with alcohol. Slight. He swears.

They can never agree on what movie to watch and end up with documentaries about some obscure discovery they both enjoy.

Jayce can never truly fully trust Viktor again, not when it comes to taking care of himself/others. He's always so scared of Viktor going down the same path. He does trust Viktor more than literally anyone else! Just... Not fully. He never says it. Viktor still knows. He doesn't blame him for it.

Similarly, Viktor tends to doubt Jayce's social decisions. He remembers how easily Jayce was swayed away. It isn't fair, to hold him to something he did when he was 20-someting and hopeful. He still does. He keeps this to himself. Jayce thinks his husband is just jealous.

He's half right. Viktor is super jealous All The Time. His husband is hot, kind, smart and emotionally competent. He already almost lost him once, he's NOT taking that risk again.

Jayce is actually also really jealous. He spent weeks, if not months, if not years completely alone thinking that everyone he knew and loved was dead (and kinda right). He's extremely caring, to the point of being overbearing.

This is actually a problem aside from his relationship with Viktor. Cait has to constantly tell him to leave her alone because he's being pushy with her.

Can he help it? She was dead. One day he woke up and she was dead, and everyone else was, too, and he was alone and cold and scared, and, Sprout, can he help it? That he wants to know where she is, what she's doing, how she's doing? Can he help it?

Vi and Jayce tend to enable each other's drinking problems by accident. They actually start going to AA together. Eventually. In like a decade.

Viktor will simply Not Speak to people he doesn't like. Which is, like, a lot, since he now knows the mind and inner thoughts of literally anyone.

Jayce puts on so much fucking perfume that sometimes Viktor feels like he's still in the fissures.

They very rarely get into screaming matches - even when they fight, it's usually in a controlled tone of voice - but when they do, they are SCREAMING at each other. It usually ends up with one or both crying.

They consider breaking up for each other's benefit, like, thrice a week, for at least a year after the Yaoi Jesus Incident. In the end, they're too selfish to try and live without the other, so they never bring it up.

Viktor constantly eats raw things. Which prompts a PowerPoint presentation of salmonella and its dangers. Jayce can't stand anything raw (except for, well, bedroom activities) after his dark souls plot. He WILL hyperventilate if the chicken is mildly soggy.

When drunk, Viktor will start insulting everyone and then pretending he said nothing. Jayce starts looking for a fight.

Jayce has tried to stop fights by making it sexy. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it just makes Viktor feel irritated at being treated "like a sex-blinded dog"

Holds the other to standards they definitely don't apply for themselves. "You should take a bath. You smell" "You've been in the lab for a day straight. I smell, you stink" "That's different"

They love each other more than themselves, despite everything. Which is, arguably, the worst thing on this list.

Idk guys I'm sleepy but... Angst... Hurting... So human yet literal deities...

Also why are people acting like vikjayce post butterfly stars would be cute together and live happily ever after. Jayce is Mr PTSD now and idk what you would even begin to diagnose Viktor as after allat. I would be surprised if they manage to go a week together without snapping at each other. So many feelings and a clear target... Yeah

I think that at their core they WANT to be tender and for everything to work out smoothly. Life, unfortunately, almost never gives you that. Also if anyone needs a palate cleanser I do have fluff headcanons of them. Not everything is grim in here I swear

[orangechickenpillow]

Arcane really said Machine Herald Viktor and Defender of Tomorrow Jayce can be defeated with the power of love and the affection that held them together

[raevenswritingdesk]

Historians will call them best friends

[slothxio]

why is this the most jayvik coded thing ever

[a-star-is-here]

jayvik concept art, will post the finished one asap after I learn how to digital art

[mistresscitrusslice]

Jayvik Ship Charts for Our Glorious Evolution

I fucking love doing ship charts. If anyone has any more good ones, send them my way.

The fanfic in question: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54482530/chapters/138025228