#not that i want arcane to end because i love the series but the stories of the character will come to an end eventually | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dilemmars · 1 month ago

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“ DIE WITH A SMILE. ”⠀⠀───⠀⠀arcane.

⠀⠀𝖾𝗉𝗂𝗌𝗈𝖽𝖾 𝗍𝗐𝗈.⠀( some mysteries are better left unresolved , 9.6k words. )⠀by dilemmars.

1.⠀⠀ PAIRING⠀⠀:⠀⠀violet x f!reader.

2.⠀⠀GENRES⠀⠀:⠀⠀based on the storyline and universe of arcane ( league of legends tv show )⠀; first love trope, started dating recently, stablished relationship, exes to lovers. basically you and vi were dating before the start of the story, then got separated.

3.⠀⠀WARNINGS⠀⠀:⠀⠀i will add the warnings that the tv show has: slight presence of sex and nudity, foul language, alcohol, drugs and tobacco. moderate scenes of fear and terror. high content of violence and gore. in this second chapter, there's going to be an explicit scene of bullying and violence towards reader, and mentions of prostitution. please do not read if you're uncomfortable with it.

4.⠀⠀AUTHOR 'S NOTE⠀⠀:⠀⠀second chapter out! i don't know why, but i found it kind of difficult to finish it because it took me a while to decide how i was going to approach the first part. and i also feel like it's super repetitive, so i hope you don't find it boring (an di'm sorry if you do! i'll try to write better) :(( then we have more arcane episode 2 content, and a bittersweet end. next chapter will be the end of the first act (and we all know how it goes), i would advice to prepare yourself for some angst. meanwhile, just enjoy 🤍

5.⠀⠀IMPORTANT⠀⠀:⠀⠀this is a work of fiction. i do not own arcane or any content produced or owned bychristian linke, alex yee, riot games or netflix. all rights belong to netflix and the writers of arcane. all plot events and character developments that are not related to the main character's story belong to the writers and creators of the series.

The whisper of the name of Vander, the hound of the underworld, and his fearsome reputation, had drifted through the gaunt streets of Zaun like a famished viper aching for nourishment, but it had also reverberated within the glassed walls of the brothel in which you had grown up. You had first heard it from your mother's lips, like the caress of a feather brushing your skin, when you were too young to remember what had been of the city before him. In your blurred memories, only a chaos of violence and children's games, and then just peace. Like so many secrets huddled under the beds and behind the wardrobes of The Gilded Lily, it was a mystery how Vander had managed to keep that invisible line between the two worlds intact for so long. The only important thing, however, was that it worked.

At the age of twelve, you had come to think that he could be your father. Like many children of prostitutes, you had never met yours. Like many unwanted results of endless nights of work, you hadn't been much more than a mouth to feed that couldn't monetise your stay at the brothel. At least, until you got older. You had spent your days wandering the city in search of mechanisms to fix, wanting to spend as little time as possible under the brothel roof, knowing that your presence was not welcome. Profiting from the rare tastes of the men and women who frequented the many decorated rooms downstairs —and the even wilder fantasies they paid for in the rooms upstairs— your mother had decided to keep you when she learned of the unexpected pregnancy, against the madam's insistent advice and the usual procedure on such occasions.

During your childhood you had heard too many names whispered in the perpetual night of Zaun, always hidden in the poorly lit corridors of the place, but Vander's had never been one of the feigned moans that used to echo in your head even when you covered your ears. Only once, while your mother was getting ready for one of The Gilded Lily's most important clients, your nimble hands braiding and winding strands of her hair, had she muttered those six letters, in a hurried ‘If you ever find yourself in danger, call on Vander’. She had always become wary, anxiety creeping like a terrifying shiver up her spine, when you had to leave the building without a place to shelter. And on those occasions, after forcing herself to ask you not to return until after the early hours of the morning, you would lose yourself in the alleys of Zaun.

You still remembered that night, when her lips had left a quick kiss on your forehead, a carmine shadow that had remained on your skin until she had smudged it with her thumb, and then you had disappeared from her room, carrying that unknown name in your heart like a secret. It had been no accident that your mother had confided those words to you after seeing you come home with more than one bruise on your face, some nights even more, because she knew he could help you. And her instinct had not failed, because you had remembered his name precisely until you had needed to pronounce it.

Life in the brothel hadn't been so bad once you had familiarised to the overpowering scent of all the perfumes, the chaos of the attic rooms —with clothes of all kinds scattered on the beds, make-up products everywhere— and the unclassifiable noises behind closed doors that became a background melody once you got used to them. Still, and despite the fact that all the women and men who worked there had found it hard to consider you as one of their own, sometimes even treating you more like a pet than a child, you valued your independence too much to waste time getting annoyed looks for being in the way. You had often slipped into the alleyways adjoining the big building, after looking for the moment when the Madam locked herself in her office, and you had walked the dirty streets of the undercity with your head down under your hood.

That had been how you had discovered the tattered shop of the gentle Benzo, the owner of a cave full of treasures, who had grown fond of you. He had given you your first screwdriver, and taught you how to build any mechanism from scratch. He always kept useless pieces of machinery in a box with your name on it, ready for you to pick them up as soon as you could. At first it had been in exchange for you looking after the little boy who had been left outside his door years ago, who was only slightly younger than you, but it had ended up becoming a problem, even if he hadn't been aware of it at the time.

In Zaun people didn't need a reason to sin. It was as easy as breathing the foul oxygen that clung to your skin and poisoned you from the inside, urging you to steal, to fight for money, to kill if you had to. The need made you unpredictable, desperate. And that culture of poverty, applied to children, was lethal to those with fewer possibilities. Applied to you, well, let's just say it had meant a big target painted on your forehead that screamed you were too easy a prey for the most despicable ones.

It had not been the first time you had been attacked thinking you could have something of value in your pockets. You had heard the comments of adults passing by, whispering about the blood that ran through your veins, speculating about the amount of money you would have under your name just because you lived in The Gilded Lily. They had assumed you were the brothel's heiress, always messing around in the city streets with no sense of direction, ignoring the consequences, and you had dressed up in the mask they had woven for you, lifting your chin proudly as you listened to them, wanting to believe that fantasy. Until the first punch had come. Merciless, silent, followed by a low laugh and a threat. You had curled up as overly bold hands roamed your body in search of diamonds, when you could only offer nuts and bolts.

But they had grown even bolder, taking everything you had on you no matter how little it was worth, leaving you with less and less material and more than bruises.

That night they had simply gone overboard, for the fun of it.

You had tried to stifle a chuckle at almost bumping into a customer, too busy making a funny face at Ekko as a goodbye, while sneaking out of the shop door. No sooner had you set foot in the street, the cold air outside invading your lungs almost painfully, than you had received the habitual punch. Swift and heavy against your windpipe, knocking the breath out of you, bending your body forward. One of your attackers had laughed to your right when the bag you had been holding had fallen to the floor, spilling screws and metal pieces onto the cobbled floor, and hadn't even bothered to pick them up. They had finally decided to stop pretending that mugging you was not their goal.

You had held your hands to your chest, your eyes following a screw rolling a few centimetres, before a second punch landed, straight in your face. A twinge of pain had coursed through you as you felt their fist hit a wound on your cheekbone that hadn't quite healed, and you had frowned, stumbling back. The third, aimed at your jaw, had been the one that had knocked you to the ground.

You had collapsed, gasping for air, curling into yourself on the cold floor, dazed. Your body had pulsed, your heart pounding, and you could only think that if you stayed still long enough, they would leave you alone. With your back pressed against the wall of Benzo's building, your ragged breaths had hit your forearms with every inhale, your arms protecting your face. But far from hearing their laughter fade down the alley, the silence had granted you a moment's peace before you were kicked in the pit of your stomach, a breathy and quiet pant spilling from between your lips.

You had drawn your knees even tighter to your chest, sobbing, and tensed your muscles, fighting against the weakening pain. You hadn't been able to tell if you were crying, thick tears sliding down your face, or if it was blood, but after a few seconds you hadn't cared. You had wanted it to be over as soon as possible, even if it meant being knocked unconscious. You'd had no idea how many there were, their voices, distorted by your fear and their amusement, shimmering in a mocking tone. You had closed your eyes as you had felt another kick to your ribs, and had cowered against the wall, wishing you were dead.

But then you had remembered your mother's words. Soft and crystalline in your memory, just as fearful as your voice when they gushed from your chest like salt water desperate to leave your lungs after a shipwreck, ‘I know Vander!’

The hand of one of them had paused against your shoulder at the broken sound, and you had frowned, praying that his name was threat enough to make them go away.

‘Do you?’ they had asked you, the poorly disguised fear in their voice feeling like a breath of fresh air.

‘Yes!’ you had replied, glancing out from behind your arms, breathing heavily. ‘And he's going to go after you if you don't stop!’

You hadn't let doubt creep into your gaze, even though you knew you hadn't offered a very confident view of yourself, cornered by three boys older than you in the middle of the street. The one who had prepared to unleash another kick had taken a step back, clenching his hands into tight fists, as if afraid of the consequences. But before you could even begin to get up, ready to run away, the one who had positioned himself on the opposite wall had slowly approached you, a crooked smile painting his face.

‘Do you actually believe her?’ he had muttered, crouching down in front of you, his venomous breath slipping fear into your bones, grabbing your hair so he could pull you face to face with him.

‘Why would Vander waste his time with someone like you?’ he had uttered, his eyes flashing with rage. You had dropped your gaze, trying to look away from him, wondering if you were paying for a crime someone else had committed, if the hatred in his eyes was really directed at you, who hadn't done anything, or if you were just the wrong person at the worst time.

‘I,’ you had stuttered, and the curve in his lips had widened, ’I'm not...’

‘Do you genuinely think he would come to save you?’ he had insisted, tightening his grip on your hair, forcing you to look at him, and you had closed your eyes angrily, the emptiness in your chest cracking at his words, seeping doubt into your heart. ‘I don't think so.’

You had held your breath, expecting to receive a final strike, for the three of them to retaliate against you, but his crouching body had tensed over yours as the shop door had burst open, his blonde hair caressing his neck. Your chest had deflated, knowing that a stranger would not prevent the attack from getting worse, and you had simply waited for him to leave.

‘Well, I do,’ the man had murmured, and you had turned your head to look at him, surprised that he had intervened. The light from Benzo's had spilled onto the cobblestone floor above his large figure, his shadow lengthening over when he had stepped forward. ‘Leave the girl alone, Deck.’

The breath had caught in your throat, shooting a flash of pain into your ribs. No one had ever stood up for you. You had narrowed your eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the man's face, but had only been able to hear the disbelieving snort of the boy in front of you as he addressed the stranger.

‘Do you really know her, Vander?’

You had then opened your eyes wide, Deck's annoyance a reflection of the surprise in your gaze, but you had remained silent. Whatever happened would be your fault, simply for tempting fate in such a way.

‘Does it really matter?’ he had replied, all darkness and gravelly voice, and you had seen him pull a match from his pocket, lighting it with a quick flick against the wall, the fire illuminating his rugged features. He had rested the pipe between his lips as Deck decided what decision to make, and you had heard him let out a soft hum as the blond had raised his hand in a quick gesture, releasing you to the floor.

You had leaned your head against the wall, protecting yourself, as the boy had hovered over you to get up. You had expected one last punch, a warning for the next time he found you and Vander wasn't around. But he had done nothing, walking away with his friends in the shadows of the streets. Then you had clutched your hands to your chest, letting a faint whimper slide down your throat, sobbing, and you had rested a hand on the cold stones of the ground to try to get up.

But then the pain had shot up through your abdomen like an electrified circuit, your legs failing under your own weight, and you had collapsed to the ground. You had thought it was not worth staying, not when the consequences of daring to involve Vander could be worse than what you had already received, but he had stood beside you, his gaze lost in the distance, waiting for them to be gone for good.

‘Thank you,’ you had murmured, taking a breath of air. Perhaps sweet words would soften him in case he decided to punish you in some way for mentioning his name.

The whisper of your voice had seemed to bring him back to reality, his body turning towards you, and he had made the attempt to move closer, stopping short when he saw the way your body was pressed against the wall behind you, completely tense. He had withdrawn his pipe from his mouth, the smoke spiralling upwards, and frowned. If you hadn't been so busy running away, you would have been able to make out the glint of insecurity in his gaze.

‘Hey, little one,’ he had uttered, advancing towards you in short, painfully slow steps, as if confronting a wounded animal, ’I'm not going to hurt you.’

You had looked up, your cheeks broken in tears, your shoulders shaking, and you had seen the way his eyebrows had risen in a convex curve, his lips pulling into a coy smile that had been intended to soothe you. And then you'd felt his hand on your arm, his palm sliding its rough calluses against your skin, and you'd frozen, pausing for a moment before remembering that it was Vander. Vander. If your mother trusted him —and she trusted very few people— you could afford to put your faith in him until he proved to you that you could trust him too.

‘You don't have to worry,’ you had told him, huddling against the cool surface of the wall, trying to muster a smile that would keep him from asking too many questions.

‘You sound like it's not the first time this happens,’ he had observed, crouching down in front of you, pushing your long hair away from in front of your face so that he could assess your injuries.

The absence of a reply had been your response, and answer enough to his assumptions. Of course it had happened before, hence why they felt so comfortable attacking you in such a public place. It had happened before, to a lesser extent. Before, in dark alleys. Before, maybe starting with a slap. And with each time you had offered no resistance the harassment had continued, more times, more pressure, more pain.

‘Come here,’ he had sighed, leaving the pipe between his lips and sliding his hand down your back, under your knees, to take you in his arms. You had let him lift you up, your hair cascading, and sighed against his chest, resting your cheek with your eyes closed. At least you would have enjoyed a quiet moment before you had to find a place to spend the night, the brothel doors closed to you until your mother finished with all the customers who came in asking for her.

You had been forbidden to disturb her, because if the Madam lost money, no matter how young you were, it would be you who would have to take her place to compensate for the absence of income.

But then you'd realised that Vander had been walking back towards Benzo's shop, and you'd frowned at the dull light of the lamps left on over the counter. You'd felt his flexed arms straining to keep you from falling as you'd started to squirm, ignoring the phantom fists that had pounded all over your body, ‘Easy, easy, kid.’

‘Vander?’ you'd heard Benzo, appearing behind the front desk with a grease-filled cloth in his hands, ‘I thought you'd already left. Who...?’

‘Deck and a couple of boys were harassing this little girl,’ Vander had explained, leaving you sitting on the stained surface of the counter, his hands gentle but firm on your shoulders to keep you from running away, and you'd winced when you'd heard Benzo mutter your name in surprise.

And then Vander had repeated it, looking at you, and you'd felt too vulnerable.

‘’M not little,' you'd muttered, deflating, crossing your arms over your chest with a stubborn snort, “and I'm fine.”

‘You're certainly not okay,’ Vander had replied, and you'd known his heart had decided to protect you against all odds in the way he'd uttered it, as if rage was consuming him. ‘And it's not the first time this has happened.’

‘Does your mother know about this?’ Benzo had asked you, pulling out a clean rag from under the counter, grabbing one of his bottles of alcohol. You had slid your gaze around the shop instead of answering, knowing that Ekko had to be somewhere, eavesdropping. You hadn't wanted him to see you like this.

‘What do you know about her?’ Vander had asked, setting the pipe down next to the bottle before taking the cloth in his hands and wetting it, making an effort to remain calm as he ran the fabric over your bruised skin, the cool air of his gentle breaths soothing the stinging of the wound slightly.

‘She's Raven's daughter,’ the shop owner had replied, and you had shuddered under the weight of his words.

‘Raven,’ Vander had repeated, and you had raised your eyes at the tone of his voice, far from the lust that used to accompany your mother's name every time someone said it. It held a past, just as it had done with Benzo when you had revealed to him who you were.

‘She was the one who told me to call for you if I needed help,’ you had hastened to add, hoping it was the right thing to say.

Vander's gaze had softened as he listened to you, nodding absently, ‘Of course she told you.’

You'd watched him relax his shoulders, his gaze fogged with memories, as he'd bent down to continue cleaning the cuts on your face, his hand resting on your cheek, his rag a caress on your skin, and you caught every movement, wishing you could replicate the care with which he'd treated you if you ever needed to treat someone's wounds. Then he had instructed you to pull your shirt up a little so he could assess the bruises on your ribs, without touching you at any point, and he had remained respectful even as he moved to place a bandage over the injury to your knee, trying not to tear the starred fishnet stockings you had put on that morning.

‘Your mom's right, you know?’ he had announced, once he had finished, his thumb undoing the dry trails your tears had left on your cheeks. ‘If you're ever in danger, you can come to me.’

His eyes had met yours in the grim glow of the room, the shadows on his face heavy on his skin, and you had flashed a mischievous smile, lighting up your dry lips. The whisper of Vander's name, the hound of the underworld, had roamed the filthy streets of your city like a hungry predator, and even reverberated between the sinful mouths of the prostitutes you had grown up with, but it had never sounded better than when it had left your lips that night. Loud, broken, crying out for help. Reflecting a desperation you felt in every bone, knowing it could save you from a doomed fate.

And no one had pronounced yours better than he had, stopping at every letter, giving it the attention you had never received. He had fixed something deeply flawed in you, proving that you weren't alone in that cursed city. After that night, your mother had never feared for you again. Vander had sworn to protect you, inviting you to the back of his bar when his kids weren't home to teach you how to defend yourself. And the next time someone had threatened to try to assault you, you'd been the first to punch.

It had not been hard, because Vander was a great fighter. And his adopted children had helped him develop the patience necessary to be a good teacher. Throughout your time with him, the whispers of his name had become quieter, dimming his legendary reputation and turning him more cautious. Sevika had told you it had been the riots he had led, the suffering he had seen in the eyes of his children for the consequences he had provoked. Perhaps you did not remember what the city had been before him, but the enforcers' apprehension towards the inhabitants of Zaun was proof enough that the fine line that had once existed between Piltover and the underground had begun to dissipate.

Especially after the unsuccessful incursion that Vi and the rest had pulled off the day before.

You had felt guilty, at first, worry lurking in the shadows as soon as they had failed to show up at the appointed time. And the emptiness in your chest had grown by the minute, uncertainty eating you alive, as you tried to keep your hands busy to avoid conjuring up dire possibilities. Then you had been flooded with relief, seeing them appear, all four seemingly well. And after the tense conversation with Vander, before Vi distracted you with her kisses, you had felt confused, a swirl of uneasiness growing inside you.

Even that morning, when you woke up, you were still restless. You had awakened to the soothing weight of Vi's sleeping body draped over yours, Powder finishing one of her projects in absolute silence in the bed next beside you. It had to be late, though it was hard to tell with the permanent ashen sky over the city, but the day before they had returned so full of adrenaline that they hadn't realised how tired they were until they had collapsed onto their mattresses. It was only natural, after such an intense day, that you had woken up at lunchtime.

You had carefully slipped out from under the covers, leaning on the edge of the bed to do a little stretching for your ankle. You'd been doing it for almost three weeks, but that morning was the first time that rolling your foot backwards hadn't made it stutter in pain, and your heart leapt in your chest at the realisation. It probably had something to do with the fact that you'd spent most of the day sitting, not really moving much, though you hated having to agree with Vander on that one.

Nevertheless, when Vi had proposed spending the afternoon in the abandoned basement you had turned into your meeting place, a couple of streets away from The Last Drop, you couldn't help but ask to join them. And Vi couldn't help but agree, giving in to your pout. With the cane Vander had made for you under one arm, and Claggor providing support under the other, you had walked steadily over the cobblestone streets of the undercity, making your way into the large playroom.

Vi had gone straight to her boxing ground, her body restless with pent-up energy and the need to always be ready to defend you all, and the rest of you had scattered around the room, looking for something to entertain yourselves with. You had let Claggor help you practise fencing footwork, slowly and surely, so as not to lose practice while you were injured. At least until you realised that Powder had taken refuge among the cables and mechanisms of the firing field, and then you hopped up on the counter to make sure you didn't miss anything.

Watching Powder shoot was always a delight, especially after a cocky Mylo didn't hit a single one, and you loved to referee. You had considered shooting as a valid method of defence when your first few weeks of boxing training had left your knuckles raw and too slow to heal, so you weren't bad at it. And although you had never stopped boxing —your name was written next to Vi's on the leaderboard— you had eventually developed a taste for sword fighting. Wooden or bronze swords, of course, because no one really trusted a sixteen-year-old girl with a weapon.

Just as the gun you held in your hands, checking that no one had tampered with its mechanism, had blank ammunition, fun enough to practice with but completely harmless. Thanks to Powder's colourful dyes, the only problem was how long it took for the paint stain to come out if you were shot.

‘Remind me why we bother with this dump,’ uttered Mylo, checking the gun as soon as you handed it back to him while curving your lips into an enigmatic smile, knowing that he was wary of your nimble hands.

‘Vander said to lay low,’ Vi replied, and you looked her way at the sound of her voice, swinging your legs from the table that separated the shooting field from the rest of the room. She was at the other end, in front of the boxing machine you had helped her fix a few years ago, and she paused her punches for a moment to respond, wiping the sweat from her brow with the outside of her forearm. ‘Enforcers never come down here, so this is as good a place as any.’

You nodded, forming a gesture of concern, but glanced behind the table to check on Powder. Her blue hair was moving to the rhythm of a tune that played only in her head, giving the finishing touches to the machinery that made the dummies on the shooting field move on simple rails, all of them painted menacingly and fluorescently by her, and you didn't bother to stifle a smile as you realised how quickly she was learning all the tricks you were teaching her.

‘Oh, what's the matter, Mylo?’ you heard Claggor say behind you. ‘You worried Powder's gonna beat you again?’

You glanced quickly towards him, wanting to know his answer, a chuckle slipping quietly from your throat, and you widened your smile as you saw him frown, clearly feeling attacked, ‘Hey, if she didn't keep fixing these things, I wouldn't keep missing.’

‘Suure,’ you muttered, scrunching up your nose playfully, resting your hands on the table and leaning back slightly.

‘It's true!’ he tried to defend himself, pointing his threatening finger at you. But before you could answer him, ready to start one of your teasing wars, Powder leapt to his feet, the cables of the mechanism in her hands.

With a sharp gaze fixed on Mylo, a wolfish grin curving her lips, she connected the ends, the lights going out behind her back once the greenish substance that started the game ran along the connected wires. You raised your hand as soon as she slid past you to stand next to Mylo, and Powder high-fived you enthusiastically, letting out a small giggle as you said, ‘That's my girl!

You turned slightly, watching the different figures glow in the shadows, and narrowed your eyes, focusing on all the targets. You weren't sure if Mylo would be able to hit any of them, but it was going to be difficult. Powder had been fiddling with the setup system so she could increase the difficulty level because she was getting better and better at it. Sometimes she would come to you on the rooftop of The Last Drop, where you usually hung out with your girlfriend, to ask your advice when she reached a point where she didn't know how to proceed. And you would always hold her hand and tell her everything you knew.

You had no idea how fast the game was set that afternoon, but you knew you were going to have a good time. You pulled your legs up onto the counter, crossing them so you could massage your ankle absentmindedly, and you didn't see Mylo getting ready to shoot. The first sound caught you by surprise, startling you, and you saw the pink ball of ammunition pass by the target without even brushing it.

‘You guys know I wouldn't take you on a job you couldn't handle, right?’ mumbled Vi, and suddenly all your attention was focused on her, who had finished her boxing session and was taking off her gloves in an exasperated gesture.

‘Are you kidding?’ replied Mylo, his eyes riveted on the fluorescent dolls, and you didn't get to witness him continuing to shoot relentlessly, though you did hear him. ‘Maybe just don't take Powder next time.’

You couldn't even roll your eyes at his words, the satisfied hum of Claggor letting you know that, as you'd hoped, Mylo hadn't hit a single one. You stared at Vi, at the way her chest rose and fell after hitting the hard cushions of the boxing machine for so long, the perspiration covering the edges of her shirt, the unsure gleam in her eyes.

You heard Powder take Mylo's position in front of the firing area, you felt the warmth of her body next to yours as she prepared to shoot, and you heard every breathy sound she let escape between her lips before each bullet, but you didn't need to look at her. She wasn't going to miss. She never did. Mylo provided her with enough motivation not to.

What worried you was that the night before Vi hadn't wanted to tell you how she really felt. She never kept anything from you —you were both open books to each other. But you knew that the conversation she'd had with her father had awakened something in her. Something dormant, of course, because Vi had always felt that fire inside her when it came to protecting her people, but something you couldn't quite put your finger on. And that, added to the certain consequences the explosion had been caused in Piltover, kept you anxious about what the future would bring.

You rested a hand on Powder's shoulder as soon as she finished, a proud smile tugging at your lips as she looked up at you with satisfaction shining in her eyes, and you planted a kiss on her forehead under Mylo's bitter gaze, who had to put up with Claggor's teasing remarks. And as soon as Powder ran to the slot machine leaning against the wall, you jumped down, ignoring the two boys to walk slowly towards your girlfriend.

You rested your arms on the banister that separated the area where the boxing machine was located from the rest of the room, smiling softly at her, and reached out a hand to slide it down her forearm. Her eyes turned gentle under your attention, intertwining her fingers with yours, and you fixed your gaze on the bandages around her wrists and knuckles, trying to fix those spots where they had come loose with your other hand. Vi crouched down beside you to make your job easier, and sighed heavily.

‘We'll talk, right?’ you asked, your tone calm and collected. You weren't accusing her, you simply wanted to know that everything was okay.

But her reply was drowned out by the sound of shattering glass, your eyes widening, and you turned hurriedly as the glass that had held up for so many years shattered into pieces, a man's body slamming through it. He ended up unconscious a few steps away from you, while a group of Enforcers glared at you, analysing you with disdain, from the street. You all stood for a few seconds in complete silence, paralysed, until you heard the low, menacing voice of one of the topside cops announce, ‘Search them’.

It took you a heartbeat to cross the room, as fast as your ankle would allow, and position yourself in front of Powder with one hand resting on her arm. They advanced slowly, the glass cracking under their boots, while you raised your hands. They had nothing on your friends, it was impossible. They were simply making a routine round, asking easy questions, in case anyone knew anything about the explosion at Piltover. If you lied, calmly resisting their provocations, they would be gone in no time, and you could go home.

‘Go ahead, idiots,’ said Mylo, looking up and down at the Enforcer in front of him. ‘We got nothing.’

And then it all happened too fast. You didn't see Vi gesture to Claggor, but you knew it was she who had instructed him to pull the lever. The room was suddenly plunged into darkness, the fluorescent colours glowing from the shooting range dummies and the monkey doodle Powder had designed years ago and painted in the floor the only illumination, and Powder grabbed your hand to help you slide over the counter, both of you fleeing between the dummies.

You had no idea if the others were following you, to look back being too risky, just that you did your best to grind your teeth every time you stepped on your run and your ankle twitched to the side that hurt the most. Your breath caught in your throat when you felt a hand on your spine, and you stifled a scream, but Powder let go of your hand, sprinting towards the back door, and you let yourself be caught in his arms when you realised it was Claggor at your back.

Mylo was on the other side, running after Powder to get outside, and as you looked back you saw Vi close the door behind her and block it with your cane. You threw your arms around Claggor's shoulders to make yourself as small as possible, easying the task of running with you down the alley, and you all followed Vi, trusting that she would know which way to disappear. But then she stopped dead in her tracks, the suddenness of it causing you to fall to the ground, when she saw two Enforcers attacking a citizen. They stopped too, looking at you, and you felt Mylo's hands on your shoulders, helping you to your feet, as they ran to you. You saw the panic in Vi's eyes as you made eye contact with her.

You had screwed up. Big time.

The silence of the street was interrupted by your quickened breaths, but also by a loud whistling sound that drew your attention upwards. An old metal ladder creaked towards you as you heard Ekko mutter an ‘Over here!’ and you only had time to process his presence when Vi grabbed your hips and propelled you upwards. You clung on as best you could, scrambling upwards, grabbing Ekko's hand to pull yourself onto the wooden bridge that spanned between two houses, and stood beside him to help pull the rest up.

Mylo grabbed your arm, jumping to your side and pulling Ekko by the shoulders to run away, Claggor following soon after. Your heart stopped when you saw one of the Enforcers trying to climb after Powder, and you grabbed Vi at full speed so the kid could get to safety.

You paused for a moment once Vi had broken the ladder, preventing them from following you, taking a deep breath in the great pipes that connected Zaun's poorer neighbourhoods, and you held on to the wall, limping, as Powder walked alongside his sister. They had been discovered. The Piltover police now knew that it was four children from the undercity who had allegedly caused the explosion, and they were not going to stop until they had them punished. You had to tell Vander, and that was perhaps what scared you the most.

If an adult had to know about it, things's were getting way too serious.

The Last Drop was usually packed on any given weeknight, the music playing muffled under the constant murmur of conversation, and Vander always behind the bar, serving beer to all his customers. That night there were many more people, but the walls of the bar wailed in the silence that permeated the atmosphere, broken only by the cold voice of Sevika, who seemed to be holding back her temper.

‘We should hit them back,’ she said, leaving a loud thump on the wooden table. ‘We've got the numbers to beat them.’

Before her words, many of the attendees at the impromptu meeting Vander had organised murmured their approval, ‘Yeah! Let's teach them what it means to mess with us!’

You, leaning in the shadows, always relegated to the sidelines with the rest of the kids, listened with your heart in your mouth, knowing that the tension in the air went far beyond the occasional dispute that Vander had to resolve. Youall had confessed everything that had happened as soon as you arrived at the place, Vander's eyes shadowed by what you said, and he had no choice but to announce it to the rest of the Lanes' inhabitants.

Now he was leaning against the counter, on the wrong side of it, and Benzo was standing next to him, folding his arms, as serious as the bar owner. He pulled a match from his pocket, as you had seen him do countless times since you had met him, and lit his pipe calmly, creating anticipation among those around him.

‘You sure that's what you want?’ he asked, the smoke spiralling through the air, knowing what answer he was going to get. ‘We crossed that bridge once before, and we all know how that ended.’

It had been a long time ago, when the streets had whispered his name in awe. Your mother had ended up telling you the story.

‘You're just protecting your kids,’ protested a man you didn't know, frowning. And it hurt you to hear it, because you knew it was partly true.

‘I'm protecting our people,’ he replied, quickly, stoking his pipe as if he meant to attack someone. ‘I'd do the same for any of you,’ he continued, looking around at the rest of those present. ‘We look out for each other. It's the way it's always been. This will blow over, we just need to stand together’.

‘The Vander I knew, the one who built the underground,’ Sevika interjected, anger trembling in her voice, ’would not be afraid to fight.’

Vander took two steps towards her, standing face to face, ‘Do I look afraid?’

‘No,’ she replied, calm but menacing, ‘you look weak.’

Without waiting for an answer, she whistled, the sound attracting the attention of her people, and turned around, her coat floating behind her, some of those beside her following her outside. You sighed, knowing that Sevika was the only one who could dare stand up to Vander, and crossed your arms, leaning against the back wall. The conversation would die once she was no longer willing to fuel it.

‘Why isn't he doing anything?’ muttered Claggor, looking almost apologetic.

‘We kicked the Enforcers‘ butts with just the four of us,’ Powder replied, angrily, her scowl making her look even more adorable than usual. ‘Imagine what the whole of the Lanes could do.’

‘Jeez, even Powder wants to fight,’ exclaimed Mylo, opening the door leading down into the hall.

‘So why aren't we?’ protested Vi, exasperated.

You remained silent, as did Ekko, leaning against your arm, and sighed again. Claggor followed Mylo once he went downstairs to lie on the couch. You put your arm around Ekko's shoulders, caressing his hair, and noticed how unusually quiet he had been. Vi also noticed, raising an eyebrow in his direction, ‘Spill it Ekko’.

‘Huh, oh, okay,’ he stammered, and it made you frown. You knew Ekko was an expert at finding out secrets, but often conversations between adults made little sense to you. It was rare that he had any information about Piltover at all. ‘Well, um, Vander's got a deal with the Enforcers.’

‘What deal?’ you asked, exchanging a glance with Vi.

But Ekko shrugged.

You sighed a third time, drawing a smile from both of them, and ended up laughing too, covering your mouth with one hand. It was wrong to look so happy when something so serious had just happened just a few feet away, but it was also a way of dealing with it. Your heart was pounding as if you were on the edge of a cliff, on the verge of an event that could turn out to be catastrophic, but you just wanted a moment of peace.

You pulled your pocket watch out of your waistcoat as Ekko walked past you to meet Powder downstairs, and checked the time. You knew that if no client showed up unannounced, your mother would have a free moment in a few minutes. You hadn't been in the brothel for almost three days, so it could be a good time to stop by and stay for a bit.

You looked at Vi, deciding what to do next.

‘I might sleep over at my Mom's tonight,’ you commented, pouting.

She nodded, taking your hands in hers, ‘We'll be fine.’

‘I know,’ you replied, moving closer to her and leaving a fleeting kiss on her lips. ‘They're always safe with you.’

She kissed you back in the shadows, burying her bandaged hand in your hair, and stifled an annoyed huff when she had to pull away from you. She leaned her forehead against yours, biting her lip, and then let you go, disappearing up the stairs. They could do with a rest, you knew. Better a quiet night, and face the problems the next day.

You walked through the streets of Zaun, hair hastily pulled back in a bun, but at a slow pace, when you left the bar. You tried to rotate your ankle every few steps, grimacing when it hurt but determined to make the effort to walk without limping. When you reached the entrance to The Gilded Lily you dodged some drunken clients, sneaking up the stairs until you reached your mother's room. You kept your ear to the door, listening for any sound that might indicate you couldn't stay there.

When only your mother's sweet voice sounded, humming a made-up melody, and you knew she was alone, you tapped the surface of the door twice before stepping inside. Your mother's gaze lit up as she recognised you, rising from her vanity chair to hug you, ‘Hi, baby!’

‘Hi, Mom,’ you smiled back, taking refuge in her arms.

‘Did you come to get those pieces you left behind last week?’ she asked, after kissing your cheek and sitting back down, taking the lipstick stick between her slender fingers.

‘What pieces?’ you asked, and frowned as you followed the direction she pointed as she continued to prepare herself, wiggling her fingers absently.

Your mother's wardrobe. Raven was one of the prostitutes who got the most clients —the one who made Madam win more money among her girls— and that had earned her some privileges at the brothel. In addition to being able to raise you, to allow you to grow up in her room and not have anyone complain when they had to take care of you, she was also allowed to have the only room with a built-in wardrobe in the building, apart from the owner's. When you were little, you used to hide there quite often. Since you couldn't fit anymore, you only kept your clothes and a big box with projects you were working on.

But you didn't remember leaving any behind the last time you spent the night there.

You opened the heavy doors, and it felt like getting another hug from your mother. All the clothes she had stuffed in there, with exotic silk kimonos, long linen dresses and velvety nightgowns, smelled like the cheap fruity cologne you had once gotten her on the black market in town, and then kept getting because she had loved it. You smiled when you saw the chaos of fabrics jumbled among all the shelves, and bent down to open the drawer where you kept your things.

Inside was a jumble of metal, tools, multiple loose papers with drafts of diagrams and a complex mechanism wrapped in a rag. Your eyes widened in surprise when you remembered that you had indeed left the invention hidden there, and you pulled it out at full speed, sitting cross-legged on the floor and checking what you had left to do the last time. You didn't notice the way your mother was looking at you through the mirror, admiring the way you were working, so focused on the gears in your hands.

You didn't even notice the clock hand ticking, too focused on the artefact you had designed a few months ago, changing parts you thought you had misplaced, modifying data in the designs you had spread out on the floor. You became again the child you had once been, hiding in your mother's wardrobe with heavy headphones that isolated any noise from the outside, oblivious to reality. Since you had met Vander's children, you had kept most of your gadgets in the workshop they had let you keep in their house, but going back to work on the floor of your mother's room felt like coming home.

You remained in that state of abstraction until you felt your mother's lips pressed against your temple in a warm kiss.

‘Imma go downstairs, baby,’ she said, and you just nodded.

She was going to have a quiet night, then. Whenever Raven appeared downstairs it was always to relax and flirt with curious first or second-time visitors to The Gilded Lily, too shy to wander into one of the upstairs rooms. You were glad. As your mother got older she didn't lose beauty, let alone charm, but she got much more tired. She deserved more time to rest.

You remained working on the small portable radio until your back began to complain, and you had to get up to stretch a little.

And then you heard it. A soft, stifled sound coming from the window. You frowned, leaving the device on the cloth it had been wrapped in, and walked across the room. Of the two panes of glazed glass that served as shutters, one could not be opened because you had nailed it against the frame years ago, so that you could place a made up air-purifier box on that side of the sill and allow your mother to get cleaner air from outside.

As you opened the other, however, and looked down, you caught a glimpse of your girlfriend's pink hair camouflaged under her hood, ready to throw another pebble to get your attention. You smiled at the sight of her, motioned for her to wait there, and crossed the carpet as quickly as you could. You paused for a moment as you reached the door, and retraced your steps to pick up the almost finished radio and tuck it into one of the pockets of your cargo trousers, but you headed back out into the hallway, descending the stairs of the brothel by sliding down the banister, as you had done so often when you were younger.

As soon as you stepped onto the street you walked the few metres between the entrance and the alley around the corner, and walked towards Vi with a smile tugging at your lips. She had been leaning against the wall, her hands in the pockets of her slacks, but she pulled them out to wrap them around your hips as soon as she had you close enough.

‘You couldn't wait until tomorrow to see me, couldn't you, pretty girl?’ you asked, grinning against her lips.

‘I wanted to see you before I went to sleep,’ she whispered, her gaze downcast, her fingers playing with your belt buckles.

‘Hey, did something happen?’ you asked, worry swirling in your chest, sliding your hands up to cup her cheeks, your thumbs caressing her freckled skin.

‘The enforcers came,’ she replied, her muffled voice sending shivers down your spine.

‘My God,’ your hands tightened against her face, and you frowned. ‘Are you all okay?’

‘Yeah, yeah, nothing bad happened,’ she said, trying to reassure you. ‘Vander managed to warn us in time for us to hide.’

But her explanation failed to calm you in the slightest. Vi looked pale, almost sickly, as if whatever had happened had scared her to death. You felt the nervous twitch of her fingers at the waistband of your trousers, fiddling with the fabric almost anxiously, and a void opened ravenously in your throat. You didn't like seeing her like that. It was unnatural, not being able to enjoy her jokes and her teasing remarks, that the gleam in her eyes didn't greet you when you looked at her, and that her stiff shoulders seemed to slump under the weight of a responsibility that wasn't hers.

‘Listen,’ you began, trying to make eye contact with her, ’we'll be alright, okay?’

‘I know, I promised,’ she replied, leaning against the touch of your palm.

‘I already know we'll be alright,’ you added, stubbornly. ‘What I mean is, it'll all pass. We'll go on with our lives as before, because the enforcers will get tired of looking around, and we'll hide great, yeah? I can promise you that.’

‘Oh, yeah?’

‘Uh-huh,’ you nodded, memorising every detail of her face. ‘I'll find a place to hide Powder, and I'll help her practise to make her little bombs work. I'll show her what I do to make my inventions work. And I'll tie Mylo to a chair so he doesn't screw up anything. I wouldn't worry so much about Claggor. And you can come to the roof of the Lily, and do some boxing with me. We'll steal food from Madam.’

‘Wow, you've got it all figured out, huh?’ she finally smiled, sighing.

‘You know I'll always want you to have the option of stepping back when it all gets too much,’ you whispered to her.

‘I know,’ he replied, leaning her forehead against yours. ‘I'm glad I have you. I'm glad Powder has you.’

‘Don't be silly, I'll never leave you’ you replied, shaking your head slightly, your eyes closed. ‘Besides, Powder has you, she doesn't really need me.’

‘Pow-Pow's my little sister,’ she explained, her breath brushing against your skin, ‘she needs the other girl in the group so she can have some time away from me. She adores you, I'm glad she has that.’

‘Well, I know for a fact she looks up to you a lot, so...’ you replied, sliding your head down to rest on her shoulder, remaining hugged against the brothel wall. ‘She still needs you. She will always need you.’

Silence swirled around you, and you felt a soft hum exhaled between Vi's lips.

‘Besides, I'm working on a radio that will allow us to spy on the enforcers,’ you announced, leaning in.

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah,’ you confirmed, pulling it out of your pocket. It was a small metal box, which fit in your hand. ‘Wait until I press the button and say something nice.’

You connected the two loose wires, and the radio started up with a soft buzz. You frowned as you tried to remember which was the button that recorded and which was the one that played back, and finally pressed the one you had painted blue. Both were buttons you had taken from your mother's old clothes, and Vi smiled as she realised. You nudged her arm to get her to start talking.

‘I love you, cupcake,’ she whispered, and you covered your mouth with your hand so she wouldn't see you blush. ‘You'll always be my girl.’

You stopped recording, shaking your head, but didn't say a word, pressing the second button. Vi's voice echoed between you, somewhat canned, repeating word for word what she had just said. When you looked up, Vi already had her eyes on you, delighted.

‘This is awesome, cupcake,’ she murmured, her voice watery.

‘Oh, don't be like that,’ you reproached, checking the device. ‘It still needs improvement.’

‘You're a genius,’ she attacked again, sliding her hands up and down your back.

You put the radio back in your pocket, embarrassed.

‘You could add it to the mechanical crow you have at home,’ she proposed, clinging to you, ‘so you could spy even more closely, and no one would notice.’’

You opened your eyes wide in amazement, and patted her on the shoulder, ‘That is genius!’

Her giggles echoed through the alley, and you swooned against her body, ‘I need to write that down as soon as possible,’ you said, dead serious, ‘I'll stop by The Last Drop tomorrow to see if it would be possible to implement the radio into the design I have done.

‘I love you, cupcake,’ she repeated, and you grabbed her by the the collar of her sleeveless hoodie, bringing your lips together in a kiss.

‘I love you too, pretty girl,’ you replied, pulling away from her. And then you added, a little louder, just to tease, ‘I love youu, Violet!’

You kissed her goodbye with another peck, resting your hand on the wall behind her head, and let her lips move over yours, hungrily, for a few more minutes. But when Vi moved her leg between yours, her mouth sliding down your neck, and your heart began to pound in your throat, you decided to stop once more.

‘You should go get some rest, Vi, baby,’ you whispered, your breath hitching.

‘I love you,’ she whispered again, and you melted against her, ’I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.’

‘I love you too, my love,’ you sighed, as she parted her lips from your skin, ’but it's getting late.’

You felt her hand slide down your abdomen, up to your chest, and you held your breath. But she simply pulled your pocket watch out of its pocket, glancing at the time. Her shoulders tensed again, leaving the watch in your hand, and she murmured a soft, ‘Yeah, it's pretty late.’

‘See you tomorrow,’ you whispered, taking a step back.

She made an affirmative noise, peeling away from the wall, and you turned to head back to the brothel. With your girlfriend's voice stored in your radio, you climbed the stairs, adrenaline coursing through your system, barely aware of the pain in your ankle, and dropped to the floor as soon as you reached your mother's room, picking up a blank sheet of paper to begin designing a new model of your robot.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that your heart began to race again, when Raven came in quietly, and you were startled by her stealth.

‘What did you go out for?’ she asked you, taking off her black lace jacket.

‘Oh, Vi came to see me,’ you replied, pausing your pencil over the paper. Your mother knew who she was and what relationship you had, you weren't worried about what she could say.

‘That's weird,’ she uttered, your heartbeat quickening in your mouth, ‘she usually never comes. I thought something bad had happened.’

And then your heart stopped for a moment. Something bad had happened. The enforcers had discovered them. But Vi's gaze had remained opaque the whole time she'd been with you, and though it had seemed to you that she was still frightened by what had happened, perhaps you'd misinterpreted it. You knew those grey eyes better than you knew yourself. She had been scared about what was going to happen.

‘Do you think she would do something foolish to protect her family?’ you asked your mother.

‘Oh, baby,’ she murmured, a drop of sadness spilling over her face, ’she'd do anything to make sure you're okay, just like you would for her.’

You closed your eyes for a moment, frowning, angry that you hadn't noticed sooner.

When you opened them, you stood up and walked out of The Gilded Lily, determined to find Vi.

⠀⠀𝗍𝖺𝗀𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍.⠀( send an ask or comment under the series to be part of it , just if you're going to interact with it ━reblogging with feedback. )⠀@im-just-a-simp-le-whore , @celestialzdiviner , @corpsebridenightamare , @louissst28 , @astr1dblogs , @notsolarry , @starlostastronaut , @yoonkinii , @padsfirewhisky

ㅤㅤ© dilemmars ★ do not copy, translate, repost or share this work as yours on other platforms ! consider leaving a comment or reblogging.

#writings 🐚 ˚. ᵎᵎ #arcane #arcane fanfics #arcane x reader #arcane imagines #arcane scenarios #vi #league of legends #vi x reader #arcane vi #arcane vi x reader #vi scenarios #vi imagines #vi fanfic #vi fanfics #arcane vi scenarios #arcane vi imagines

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sharpace · 23 days ago

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hello! I just discovered your “CrankIt!” comic series. I’m absolutely in love, I wolfed them down. all of them. thank you so much for dedicating so much of your time and energy for these two :)

I also wanted to ask you, how do you feel about the ending of Arcane? any thoughts, opinions?

Thank you!! I'm so glad you enjoy the series!!

I'm going to put my thoughts under the cut in case there's someone out there who doesn't want straight up spoilers.

So I LOVED it. Obviously I'm a big Jayce and Viktor fan so the ending was extra special to me but I really loved how everyone's stories were woven.

I had doubts during Act II because the pacing was odd and I went in with a lot of unnoticed preconceived notions based on the LoL lore how things would go but I held off judgement until it all concluded and I'm so, so glad I did. I realized a lot of the issues I had (Viktor not having agency, Jayce being largely unexplained, Cait not being strong enough in her convictions) were absolutely resolved and touched on in Act III. Really, what happened was they took the story in such an efficient direction that it had to take a different path altogether which lead to different conflicts and different resolutions.

The Vi/Jinx/Vander and Ekko/timeline stories were so so perfect to me. I had to lay down for a while to process how clean those stories were.

And, of course, Jayce and Viktor ended exactly what I had hoped for in my wildest dreams. I still have just been screaming incoherently for days to friends and loved ones. It was such a beautiful ending for them that absolutely fit their narrative.

Overall, I'd gotten so used to watching a show tank after the first season, I'm so deliriously happy with this season and did not expect to win so much.

#sharp ask #jayvik #spoilers #this isn't a long post #im not coherent still #just crying and screaming

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vampyrevolution · 27 days ago

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Saying Mel falls into the "Disposable Black Girlfriend trope" just because of jayvik completely disregards the writing of her character and how her relationship with Jayce is an echo of her problems with her mother and city.

Now I'm not saying the dbg trope is not a GENUINE problem in media, because it is, but usually this trope consists of a black woman with lousy writing who's tossed away for two (usually white and gay but that is a totally different long story that deals with a long history of racism and erasure of black women in queer spaces for the sake of gay men) characters who get with each other.

This is not that and I need to explain why. Jayce and Mel UNDOUBTEDLY loved each other at SOME point, but their relationship did not have solid ground hence them breaking up. Mel wanted to be with Jayce because it symbolized rebellion, a unique way of looking at life and helping people. It symbolized something she was willing to risk everything for to see it prosper because this was the city she was building for her family in Noxus, to show her family she WAS the wolf and could handle be a leader, and a peaceful one at that. But to Jayce, she symbolized high society, a seat at the very table that tried to get rid of him, a part of the power he thought he deserved and a place where he knew he could MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE PEOPLE.

The two of them loved the idea of one another, but never independently, the other. To say Mel is the disposable black girlfriend is to also ignore everything she went through in the season finale and everything that she's becoming, especially with the information that Noxus (where Mel is and will most likely be a lead character again) will be another series location. Mel is a complex lead whose story revolves around her at home life and familial relationship. Yes she's used as a mirror to parallel Viktor but that literally doesn't mean she's disposable, breaking up just means two characters were not meant to be and they recognized that.

Also in what world would Jayce be able to consciously even want to get back with Mel knowing she had magic and he was on a mini solo-war against the arcane? Where he thinks she's been able to control her magic this whole time and would constantly wonder why she didn't save Viktor because if she had, none of this would be happening?

That man does not wanna be with her 😭 he has literally always thought about Viktor.

And Mel has always thought about her family

They've both always seen each other as a way out their problems and a gateway/mirror to the ones they love. You could even say they're two sides of the same coin.

Also, Mel, Ekko and JayVik literally saved everyone in the end so idk how you could think this when Mel literally helped save the whole world as an imperative character to the plot.

#arcane #jayvik #arcane season 2 #jayce talis #viktor arcane #mel medarda

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vi-arcanes-left-biceps · 11 days ago

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Coming to terms with the fact that the things I did not like from Arcane S3 are mostly related to what was wanted and needed to be told following time and lore constraints. Or at least I think many things were.

I'd like to start by saying that I do not hate the ending or dislike it particularly. I think the series did pretty well with the resources they had and made very good visual and dialogue storytelling, even if I'd prefer things to be different. However, There was something that bugged me about it and I was not able to put it into words until I rested from the finale-induced-high and got away from silly discourse. This is my interpretation and reading of the story so you don't necessarily have to agree idk.

I feel like Vi's and Jinx's arcs were sort of uncoordinated, which while realistic, it feels kind of unsatisfying, at least to me.

Vi's fatal flaw is self-sacrificing for her loved ones, over and over again. Of course, her arc is about learning to choose herself, open herself to be taken care of and not be always the caretaker, and coming to terms with the fact that she just can't save everyone. The thing is she doesn't choose herself -she is forced to choose herself, two times, by Jinx. The tragedy is that she's unable to learn that lesson by herself and in the end she kind of doesn't. Jinx's sacrifice is what gives her a clean slate to begin again and be able to start from scartch, to finally let go of the past (loosing Vander and Powder again, this time, having a support system and a space to grieve and heal). So, I get that makes sense as a narrative and alligns with how the series had been constructed. I don't think it's bad, though as a storyteller/story enjoyer, I don't personally like unconditional love as the fatal flaw for a greek tragedy-like story.

Then, Jinx's arc is about her feeling that she ruins everything, and that she feels unable to do anything but destroy what she loves. She also needs to let go of years of guilt and emotional abuse. She begins to find herself and start having healthy relationships in S2 and particularly after meeting Isha. She sees herself reflected in her, understands her sister better, and both are able to make amends until tragedy strikes again and she re-lapses into seeing herself as a jinx. Her tragedy seems to be being unable to escape that destiny. And I use "seems" because she sees another way after speaking to Ekko: she's able to learn that there are more possibilities to who she can be and that her identity is not tied to causing pain - that she can create her own destiny.

So now let's go to the final chapter. By ep.9, Jinx is ready to try again and find her identity. She's ready to make peace with all that happened. She's ready to walk away from Vi, not out of pain and a sense of doom, but out of the knowledge that she cannot stay in Zaun/Piltover, she needs to walk away to be able to start again.

So this is what is unbalanced. Jinx was able to mature throughout the series, to see other options for herself, and to see them for her sister, too. Vi was unable to let go and had to be forced.

Jinx dying, from Vi's perspective, finished her personal tragedy. It closes the cycle of pain that she's been re-living the whole series, albeit with a very sad ending, and leaves a space for her to finally grieve for real. And it would also be a tragedy for Jinx, who was so close to recovering, to have an ending like this. She closes the story that she accidentally started with that bomb. Vi's fatal flaw, being unable to let go of Vander, causes the end of the cycle -just like Jinx's tragic 'curse' started it for the sisters. I get this interpretation and that it is somewhat poetic. That doesn't mean I like it, not as it was developed. S2 seemed to be going for a Jinx redemption and for freeing her of the destiny of losing her loved ones. Killing her off, then, seems very unsatisfying because I feel that if we were going for the tragedy angle, some more development would have been needed, and the time constraints did dirty to that narrative.

HOWEVER, and this is my interpretation of events, I think Jinx survived the final explosion and walked away on the blimp. I belive there are enough intentional clues to believe so, even if they do not want to confirm. I don't like the narrative of the suicidal character comitting suicide just after finding a reason to keep going.... I get the tragedy but I'm sorry but that's overdone and also unsatisfying to me given what had been shown so far! So this might be a cope, but bear with me and even if you don't believe she is, pretend she's alive.

Jinx surviving the explosion, from my point of view, is not only a very Jinx-like thing to do, it would allow her to both close the chapter and close her arc in a satisfying way, with her going away to a place where she is not tied to her history in Zaun (Silco's right arm, unwilling resistance symbol, searched criminal, sister to Vi) and she can start again. I'd love that ending for Jinx and I think that's what's happened -as there are many hints to see it.

BUT then, Vi is the one who did not move on. She wasn't given a chance to exit the cycle. She was forced to. She needed to lose Vander and her sister again -that I agree- to be able to grieve properly. But I can see an unbalance in Jinx re-gaining her agency and finally making a choice for herself, and Vi not getting the chance to do so. Realistic, yes, but sort of unsatisfying.

I'll elaborate -I'm not against the tragic angle per se, even if I'd liked to see Vi have more agency, I don't think she as a character was written as ready to grow to walk away (more runtine would have worked to do that, though) and it's cool that Jinx can be the one to protect her sister this once. But then, if Jinx is alive, is Vi really going to be able to grow from this? If she finds out Jinx is alive, would she not be unable to give her up? The cycle is not closed from her end. If the end of her arc is her losing Jinx forcefully, because she was unable to let go, with Jinx alive, and without a proper goodbye, her arc remains opened. That's what bugs me.

I understand lore-wise they probably can't kill off the champions (not definitevely) and Jinx and Vi need to be separate. From the little I know Jinx has more relationships with other champions so it also makes sense for the door to be open to her being alive and explore this in future series (hence providing clues that Jinx may have survived and not confirming it). But this, together with the season having little time to delve into many things that we had to infer, makes the ending of both of their arcs kinda weird and unbalanced. If it's a full greek tragedy ending, with Jinx dying, then her character progress feels cut short. If Jinx is alive, but they could not confirm it because it's not clear what will be done next in the series universe, Vi's arc remains unsatisfyingly open. They could not give a scene of the sisters saying goodbye because Vi was not ready not move on -they needed more screentime to deal with their relationship for that to work- and probably because they did not want a clear "Jinx is alive" ending.

I still think this is an amazing series, the ending is not disappointing despite this and I can understand why certain decisions were taken, but I would have loved for it to be slightly different, with more runtime and less lore constraints to the narrative.

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420technoblazeit · 6 days ago

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Funny story my brother has such a withdrawl syndrome with arcane and jayvik, that he made his friends watch arcane and try to recruit them to the jayvik agenda by pointing out the homoerotism. That’s how their exchange went :

Brother: what do you think about the ending scene of Viktor and Jayce. How would you describe it? Like they are in love right?

Friend: Dunno, yeah it felt gay which was weird.

brother :No it was amazing!

Then he explained them why they where destined together , the hints where throughout the series actually they just didn’t notice and the ending wasn’t random. He also made them watch all the tic toc edits of them.

Unfortunately I understand Christian linkes POV, that he thinks most fans (the male ones) like arcane for the action. Because my brothers friends actually just cared for that. My brother was disappointed because he wanted to Analyse every single character with them and the politics of arcane , but they really didn’t care that much

GOD that is so fucking funny. the universal experience of being really fucking into smth and then showing it to your friends adn theyre just like eh. it's ok. tell ur brother that i understand. i get it. yaoi real

#arcane #jayvik #the pig squeals

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acesw · 11 days ago

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Knowing our Arcanists 13: Matilda

Welcome to entry thirteen of my series: "Knowing our Arcanists"! This is a series in which I introduce and tell the stories of our fellow characters in Reverse: 1999. Today we have: Matilda!

We love our girlfailure in this house. I think Matilda is heavily mischaracterized by the fandom, mainly defined by her silly tangents about Sonetto. But I think there's a lot more to her character than what we first see, so lets get started.

Matilda Bouanich is a French arcanist born in the 1990s. The arcane skill that she was born with is a variation of divination, well known as scrying or crystal ball divination. A young girl with a competitive spirit, Matilda is an incredibly active individual who takes pride in her abilities as a Foundation Investigator and Monitor Assistant.

She hails from the wealthy and famous Bouanich family, who are a long line of arcanists known for their divination skills. At a young age, she was an excellent performer in school and continuously worked to being the best of the best. After seeing one of their parades at the time, she decided to join the SPDM to prove her abilities despite being past the typical enrollment age.

She was able to move up levels and rise in ranks, becoming part of the top 3 students that performed well academically among her peers. Her prideful demeanor is fueled by her never-ending passion to compete against those above her, but most especially the school's top student at the time: Sonetto.

Sonetto was a student that Matilda especially admired, because she wanted to match (and even surpass) her in academic performance and skill. She worked endlessly to compete against her despite it being one-sided in nature, but always fell short due to her own arrogance. Over time, this competition became chase, with Matilda mostly wanting to find a reason to see and even befriend Sonetto.

At the same time, Matilda occasionally longed for the freedom she once had when she was younger, with having experienced the world outside before. Knowing that some of her classmates also yearned for it, she shared it with them under the familiar oak tree.

Despite it, Matilda chose to stay behind when the other kids planned their escape, since she had chosen to be confined within the white marble in the first place and didn't want to forsake the opportunity she was given. Perhaps she lived with the regret of not joining them, or with knowing she had an indirect hand to their downfall, but she could do nothing but move forward.

Once graduating she held onto her competitive and prideful demeanor, yet had to swallow some of it after being faced with not-so-ideal promotions. Her first mission in Mor Pankh greatly helped her move up and teach her about limits. Shamane, Kaalaa Baunaa, and Kanjira helped her learn the further extent of divination and what she could do with her scrying. And after her mission in San Francisco, we leave at a mysterious note where she's met with the disappearance of her own mother.

I think its been emphasized enough that Matilda has a lot of pride and ambition that its fundamental to her development as a character. Its her driving force in life and its the sort that never really goes away as she always wants to outdo whoever becomes her competitors. Its a great way for her to motivate herself when she's against all the odds.

However, this also tends to come to a fault where that pride becomes arrogance, and makes her often have shortcomings. One example would be her never being able to best Sonetto in school or always failing to confront her properly due to being easily flustered around her.

Neither Matilda's pride or her arrogance makes her a mean person. If anything, she's actually very kind and understanding, especially with her friends. Even if she struggles to swallow that pride when she has to, she wouldn't want to risk hurting her friends in turn. She's fully aware of the extent of hurt that the people around her experience, and wishes to help them in ways outside of her scrying abilities.

This ambition to compete may be rooted from her experiences growing up, where she rarely had much attention from her parents and other family besides when she performs academically well, and losing the only person (her grandfather) who really paid attention to her up until he passed away. Even then, she continues to have a lot of love for her own family and hopes to be able to protect them as an investigator.

Over time and meeting more guides and friends, Matilda will keep learning as she grows up. Perhaps with it she'll be able to achieve what she's always wanted to do, and easily surpass not only her friendly competitors, but also the enemies she'll face later on.

#reverse 1999 #knowing our arcanists #matilda reverse 1999 #matilda bouanich #the girlfailure that girlbossed too close to the sun #if she had no defenders im dead

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lucrezianoin · 6 days ago

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So one of my mutual on twitter was saying that it seems like in Western animated shows (a part from a general lack of queer romances) FF romances have higher numbers than MM. Because I wanted to check, I made a list so I thought it would be nice to share both FF and MM romances in Western animation, so people know where to find them!! (mm ships here)

These are all canon and I only added romances between main or very present secondary characters. I avoided stuff like background couples or "they gave her a girlfriend in the last episode" kind of stuff. Tho, I did not watch all these shows, so keep in my that for some of them I am using online info.

There will be SPOILERS (especially for: Did they kiss? Did they end up together?)

In order (top to bottom, left to right):

Miriam and Hira (Dragon Age Absolution): Ex-girlfriends who reconnect. Miriam is the protagonist and Hira one of the protagonists. Do they kiss? Yes. But at the end they break up but not because they are not in love with each other's, they still are very much in love (I still really enjoyed it, for the longing and the angst). Uncertain if there will be a season two that will continue their story.

Vi and Cait (Arcane): Complete show (two season). Vi and Cait are both protagonists and their relationship is the main romance of the show. They meet in season 1 and the romance progress pretty quickly. There is a break up in the middle, but it only makes the heart grow fonder! Do they kiss? Yes, they do much more. They do it all! They also have a happy ending!

Amaya and Janai (The Dragon Prince): Final season coming out soon. Amaya is one of the main characters since S1, Janai is introduced in S3 and then becomes one of the main cast. S3 is also when their romance start and when they meet. Enemies to lovers, enemies who flirt!! And then lovers! Do they kiss? Yes. They marry, in fact. Their story continues through the rest of the whole show, and all the adventures are never "Amaya vs Janai" but them working together as a couple and facing adversity. They are the second main romance of the show.

Korra and Asami (Legend of Korra): I mean, this is a classic. The romance was fought for by the creators, and the series ended with a "vague romance ending" as a form of censorship. Do they kiss? not in the show, but comics continue their story. Still, you can see their relationship progress in the show (from their first meeting to their romance ending), and I thank the comicbooks every single day or people would insist they are just friends.

Charlie and Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel): One season is out, another in the making. Charlie and Vaggie start as already in a relationship and are girlfriends since episode one. They are the main relationship in the show, and their romance is mainly about them facing adversities together (and romance troubles at one point). Do they kiss? Yes. And they sing love songs about and to each other's too.

Marceline and Bubblegum (Adventure Time): another wlw romance that was fought for and I think almost got censored! They are both part of the recurring secondary cast. I need a rewatch of this show (completed show btw) because there are so many hints when you get through the episodes knowing that Marceline and Bubblegum are having this rivals-animosity-girlfriend-flirting-breakup(they are supposedly exes!)-reconciliation romance in and off screen. Do they kiss? Yes, at the end! They do have an explicit happy ending and end up together! They are also shown happily together in the completed special sequel Adventure Time: Distant Lands.

Harley and Poison Ivy (Harley Quinn): Ongoing DC series, Harley is the protagonist and Ivy a main character. They start as friends and begin dating at the end of season 2. I have not watched the show, but I know that they are still together and they do kiss multiple times!

Adora and Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power): Complete series that ends up with an explicit canon romance (and kiss!) and a happy ending! I have yet to watch it (I NEED TO), but I know that the series introduce them as childhood friends turned enemies and then has an enemies to lovers arc! Also Adora is the protagonist and Catra a main character.

Amity and Luz (The Owl House): I have not watched this, sorry! There might be other queer main ships in this show that I am not aware of. I just know that Luz is the protagonist and Amity a main character. The show is complete and they do have a happy ending. Do they kiss? Yes!

Bean and Mora (Disenchantment): Bean is the protagonist and Mora a secondary character, their relationship develops in S3 and S4 (the show is complete). I did not finish this yet, so I have yet to encounter Mora. Do they kiss? Yes. And they are also endgame!

Ruby and Sapphire (Stephen Universe): I am sorry, I know nothing about this show! I just know that are among the main characters cast, they do have a happy ending, they marry and they kiss!

Zarya and Kitty (Mysticons): Sadly, I think this ship fell to censorship. I have not watched the show, but from what I gather they were supposed to kiss (there is a cut scene with a kiss), but the show only aired a more vague ending for them. They seem to be only hinted through S1 and S2, and even if they explicitly say "I love you", most of the wiki I found calls them "childhood friends" only.

Luna and Sam (The Loud House): another show I am not familiar with, all I know is that they are canon! And Luna is a main character. I am unsure how much the show focuses on their relationship, but I know they explicitly date and then become girlfriends!

Batwoman and Renee (Batman Bad Blood): This is an animated movie with Kate (Batwoman) as the protagonist. Her and Renee do not end up together but they are on a date (explicitly a date!) at the start. Sadly I am not familiar with DC, but from what I gathered they did/do have a relationship in some comics too.

Beckett and Jennifer (Star Trek: Lower Decks): Sadly they do not have an endgame status or happy ending, and they break up in the show (but remain friends). Still, they do date (and kiss!) in at least two season.

Kelsey and Stacks (Craig of the Creek): Kelsey is a main character and Stacks seems to be a secondary character. They are both very young (9 or 10 years old!) and confirmed girlfriend, but I do not know more.

Red Action and Enid (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes): Another show I am not familiar with! What I know is that Enid is a main character and Red Action part of the main cast too. They are confirmed as girlfriend in S3, they do kiss and they are still together at the end!

Catwoman and Batwoman (Catwoman Hunted): I am cheating a bit because this is technically an anime (Japanese animation) but based on DC, so I decided to add them anyway. This is a movie. Catwoman is the protagonist and Batwoman a main character. They do seem to have a flirting relationship, there is an almost kiss, but technically only for distracting Batwoman.

MM SHIPS HERE

#dragon age #caitvi #korrasami #janaya #bubbline #catradora #harley quinn #adventure time #arcane #hazbin hotel #Disenchantment #queer shows #etc etc #mine #resource

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emilija04acer · 22 days ago

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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

#jayvik #jayvikmel #arcane #arcane fanfic #fanfic list #machine herald #defender of tomorrow #league of legends #jayvik divorce era #i love their divorce era #jayvik fanfic

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rnadett · 1 month ago

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I have an extremely wild theory about the ending...

So...

PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO >>>POTENTIALLY<<< SPOIL SOMETHING FROM THE FINALE!!!!

I WARNED YOU!!!

I'm not going into too much details, since I don't have too much time because of my work. 😭

So let's start with Ekko:

We already know that the key character of Act 3 is him, whose unique ability is to turn back time. From the previous part, we also know that Jayce has tried to kill Viktor before, but every time so far, he has failed.

I think what Jayce and Ekko are trying to do in ACT 3: comes from the same root, but in very different ways – much like how their characters have always been, with parallels to each other throughout the series from the beginning. (the poster above is also telling)

We’ve also seen countless scenes from Act 3 that were quite significant hints... I haven’t pieced all the anchor points together yet, but my theory is that many characters will die in the final ARC — including Ekko, who will most likely make one last attempt to rewind time so the sisters can succeed.

We already have this screenshot from Reed. And It's from s2ep9. Behind Ekko it's some kind of machine, I believe it's a time machine, but not for rewind seconds, but for more... So much more. And they built it with Heimerdinger together.

This environment and this machine also appears in these scenes from the trailers:

Also in the recent teaser Vi says this.

I mean c'mon, It can't be more obvious than this at this point.

Also I noticed something while I rewatched this trailer:

https://youtu.be/Sl-xmZTH6GE?si=rW5vFHJUWm0ECD6p

Parallels and flashbacks were deliberately included. I think those will be the key points for the time travel.

The fate of the characters from a dramaturgical perspective... Well, I think many main character will die, What will make the stakes of the siblings' success even more important.

Yeah... Almost ALL characters except the sisters.

For example:

Caitlyn... I think Caitlyn may not die by Ambessa's hands but there is a possibility. But either way she will die. But one thing for sure: her final act will paves the way for the siblings to succeed. This makes her redemption arc finalized. Ambessa also planted this idea in Caitlyn's mind. Sacrifice . (Maybe the only thing truly worth learning from Ambessa about leadership, though not in the way Ambessa intended it to be understood.)

And for Vi... Yeah, she will watch yet another person she loves and cares about die. The Arcane writers seem to enjoy making her suffer....

Since the story revolves around the two sisters, they will finish the story, as they started.

THE LAST DROP

So the final scene probably will be about the sisters and the final sacrificing. Many say, Jinx don't need a redemption, but I think everyone deserves one in one way or another.

It has been hinted - or a fact from episode one that Jinx/powder ruins everything. She got her second name because of this. It's her character.

“Vi always used to say, I can fix anything... Before I broke everything.”

But why is it like this? What is it based on?

I think the 'last drop' will be foreshadowing of the first season, where she tried to save everyone, but nearly everyone ended up dying.

Why this would be any different?

I think what moslty form Jinx is how many people 'believe' in her.

Jinx and Powder, as appeared in a methaphore in Season 2, Episode 6, symbolize a coin with two sides. Both sides exist within her, but which side prevails depends on the events that unfold.

In Season 1, Episode 3, Vi allowed her heart to be influenced by the protective love she felt, which prevented her from trusting her sister.

That's why I believe that this will not just be Jinx's redemption, and not only will it rewrite her story, but also Vi’s. Vi, whose personality is so protective that she often doubts everyone else - (including Caitlyn), will have to learn to let go of this feeling and trust others, even if it means there's a chance her sister might die.

So what's my prediction?

So, if I wasn’t clear enough, (since English isn’t my native language and there are so many things in my head at all once that I want to express but I don't have time for more 😭)

My theory is that the siblings will eventually bring everyone back to life, but it will come at a cost, and I think Jinx will be the one to make that sacrifice.

But her death will not be a sad thing from her perspective, she will be finally free from the burden and suffering she felt, also she will be free from her demons as well.

As for the fate of the other characters I mentioned here, I can’t say for certain. Unfortunately, due to the 10-image limit, I couldn’t attach more visuals, but I believe Ambessa will die at the hands of the Black Rose. This is foreshadowed quite well in the intro: first, we see Ambessa crushing the rose, then a petal falls, but we don’t actually see her destroy it completely. Later, we see her daughter stepping in to take her place, reaching for the same rose while petals are scattered on the right-hand side, symbolizing Ambessa.

I think this story arc will continue in future *Arcane* series.

As for Sevika, it’s pretty clear that Viktor will transform her after her death and bring her back to life. That’s how she’ll end up with another cool new arm. (The new Sevika poster is literally titled “Armed and Ready,” by the way.) She’ll probably try to incite the Undercity against Piltover again, which is why we see in the trailer that Piltover is fighting Zaunite civilians.

My other theory for Sevika (Or a continuation of the above, perhaps a combination of the two. ) is that Singed will make her a new prosthetic to her... And it’s also possible that through Singed Savika will side with Ambessa.. Since Ambessa is very good at seeing what people need and how to manipulate them, she might offer Zaun's independence in exchange for her help.

From Corin Reveck’s side – He will succeed in bringing his daughter back to life (Orianna), and I think this is no longer in question... After nearly everyone in the series has suffered the consequences of his actions, directly or indirectly... One might hate this character, but he is the perfect example of someone who would do anything, sacrifice everything, and set the whole world on fire (and does) for the love of his daughter. He is fully aware that he has become a monster, but he doesn’t care.

From Viktor's perspective... I'm not sure what his story will be. Perhaps the fact that they’ve saved each other’s lives multiple times with Jayce will become a symbol that ultimately, they will end up taking each other’s lives together. At some point, there was a possible foreshadowing of this when the creators depicted a "Memento Mori" between the two characters in season 1, when they were at the place where they tried to jump separately. A "Memento Mori" is an optical illusion where the combination of various elements forms the image of a skull, symbolizing death and the transience of life.

Overall, please take all of the above writing as just a theory; many parts may not turn out this way, and in fact, nothing might happen as I’ve suggested. Have fun!

And yes, I know my post turned out quite long despite saying I don’t have time, but believe me, if I did have time, it would be about six times longer, with all the references and every thread detailed in full.

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multifunctionalnitroglycerin · 10 days ago

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The Radiant Dawn, Leona of the Solari – an analysis

Leona, Leona, what to do with you, oh Radiant Dawn, daughter of the Sun-forgers? You who scorn love so, in the face of duty?

What with the latest season of Arcane having fully come out, and many of us still grasping to comprehend the ending of that wonderful series (I will maintain that it’s probably one of the best pieces of media I have ever had the joy of consuming), I got to thinking about another military dictator that leads a scourge against her lover’s people. So, strap in and grab your drinks, cause this is going to be a long one.

I have seen some funny posts juxtapositioning Violyn/ Caitvi and Leodia, and while one cannot deny the first glance similarities in the stories, especially with the new route Piltover’s finest took, the premise of their stories is at its core different. BUT today we will not explore the similarities and differences in the premise of the broader systems that both stories take place in, but rather take a deeper look into our beloved obstacle of a Targonian “cult leader”, Leona.

Now Leona’s character in league is rather…unremarkable at first glance. More of an obstacle than a worthy adversary, a mindless cultist that perpetuates the oppression against her peoples’ sister tribe, too blind to see past that, even when her lover begs her to. Personally, I prefer to think of Leona as an unremarkable character with remarkable potential, should Riot decide to ever do anything with it. The roots of a good story have already been planted. Because yes, in Arcane we also talked about oppression, class stratification, abuse of power, and a twisted corrupt judicial system, but now, in Targon, we’ll talk about cults.

I am no expert, but cultism and totalitarian regimes do have a few common points in the way they function, thus the perceived similarities between the two storylines. However, I feel in the hands of capable writers the Targonian storyline can become a beautiful story about religious fanatism, and cultism, the struggle of individuality, and how challenging it is to escape from them, if at all… (I do like some tragic lesbians, sue me. A happy ending that does justice to the inherent tragedy of those two will have to be earned, and if a tragic ending is what does them justice, I will accept it.)

It’s high time we got this party started though, isn’t it?

Leona is born in the Solari tribe of Targon, a tribe that venerated the Sun more than any other upon the mountain. Which at first glance seems innocent enough, right?

Cults in principle, and to my limited understanding, are authoritarian systems that revolve around a particular belief, that have rules and dogma and encourage their members to isolate themselves from would-be questioners of their faith. By taking a look at what we know about the Solari, most of these terms seem to be fulfilled. An authoritarian system based around the worship of the Sun, with strict rules, rigid principles, and rituals, led not by one charismatic leader, as many cults are, but by a council of elders, that determine what is acceptable and what not in Her worship. While they also take care to mindfully curate the available information in the temple and discourage or silence those that oppose their teachings.

Leona is a child born to the Sun-forgers Melia and Iasur, and takes to her parents’ faith with a stride, comfortable in its rigidity and its unrelenting structures. She is reportedly as seen both through her bio and the letter to her parents in “Rise with me”, a near perfect acolyte, her devotion, and excellence in seemingly everything but that one oration class, inspiring envy in her peers, and admiration in her elders, all of them certain that she would one day become a Ra’Horak, a holy warrior of the Solari.

The thing is, that children growing up in cults are a tricky thing to write despite its supposed straightforwardness. Especially if you want to create a character as complicated as I hope Leona will turn out to be. The basics of it are things we already know; children are extremely vulnerable to adult influence; their minds are sponges and their parents’ world is their world. They listen, observe and absorb the behavior, the views and opinions of the people around them, and accept them as reality, because they are children and do not know any better. As one might imagine, the extent of fanatism that Leona grew up with is variable, depending on how her own parents acted and how deep in they were themselves. Now I am a bit rusty on Rakori and Targonian lore, but if we take the short story “Rise with me” into account, I think it is safe to say that Melia and Iasur were in pretty deep.

Another thing to note about children that grow up in cults is that the cult leader and the cult’s needs come first. Which means that the child rarely enjoys their parents’ attention, much less love and affection. Something that in my humble opinion would drive some of them to strive for perfection and trying to satisfy their parents’ every wish and every whim, in hope of getting even a hint of affection. That is something we can see rather clearly in the story if we want to examine a bit Leona’s relationship with her Dayblessed parents.

Before we dive into that, however, what we can summarize from all of the above is that Leona is, in principle, a person that likes rules. Someone that grew up heeding them. That thrives in hierarchical systems, and well-structured environments, with clear denominations for right and wrong, for what one should and should not do. According to the bio this rigidity brings her comfort, and solace. Because it is familiar and comfortable. It’s what in all probability she grew up with. Moreover, Leona is a perfectionist. Something we are told, through her bio, and her own letters and diary, but we can also see when looking at her through the lens of Diana’s eyes.

To continue with my previous point, though, when looking at her relationship with her parents…well, I’ll let you figure this out on your own. We only have her diary entries and letters sent and unsent to garner information from, but that is enough to paint a detailed enough picture of what her relationship with her parents entails. Even without looking at it from the “child that grew up in a cult” angle, we can see there is little affection between them. Even from her first letter, we can feel the clean-cut, prim and proper courteousness of their communication, accompanied by the hints of affection every child holds for their parents. It is, however, far from warm, or heartfelt. It seems more like kind interest, than any real investment, in her parents’ or siblings’ wellbeing and then proceeds to become a report on her achievements and perceived weaknesses. Even the title of the section, the opening of the letter, “Letter from a devoted daughter” holds no personality, as if Leona’s entire being can be compressed and described by those two words.

We do get a similar impression from the letter Polymnius sent to Melia and Iasur. The letter itself contains the priest’s thanks for the new lanternglass crafted by the sun-forger, and also devolves to a report of Leona’s progress after his communication with all of her instructors, and his observation of her skills in battle. Now on the one hand, Polymnius could be just a family friend or the priest responsible for communicating with the acolytes’ families. On the other hand however, one might start questioning just how much control Leona’s parents can exert over her life, even in their absence. Do they hold sway with the priesthood? Are their immense expectations passed on through priests and teachers, adding more and more to the pressure Leona faces every day? To be strong, devout, worthy and good? And again, the letter ends with “I know you would be proud.” I am sure they would Polymnius, I am sure they would.

At this point I’d like to point out that he is probably the only person that worries that Leona is taking her duties far too seriously and needs to take a few steps back to relax and delight in the Sun’s gifts. (And honestly, same.)

Moving forward we have the Letter from Sunsworn Priestess Nemyah to a shining pupil, that once more applauds Leona for her achievements, with little to no fanfare. And again we note that sense of depersonalization, of Leona being defined by those characterizations, by her achievements, her rights and wrongs.

And then of course we get into the fight between Leona and Diana and the disciplinary letter sent to her by her parents. Which honestly goes about as well as you would expect,

We know that you are capable of better and expect you to rise to the occasion. Leaders in Her Light do not run into impediments that they cannot overcome, nor do they get hindered by such earthly mischief as “a shouting match at school.”

And of course

…will speak with you about how better to secure your future then.

So much for parental love… If anything, it’s a declaration of disappointment, with clear expectations and measures to be met, We know you are better than this, we expect you to be better than this, leaders do not fumble. Sounds particularly loving, doesn’t it? Definitely not like they worry about their reputation, and their image in the community more than their daughter’s wellbeing and most certainly not like they have her future already decided for her. A future they can benefit from, of course.

I will try to keep this at a reasonable length and will not overly analyze Leona’s own unsent replies, for they are pretty straightforward. They are characterized by Leona’s anxiety, fear and guilt for disappointing her parents and failing to reach the tremendous expectations they have set for her.

So to sum this part up, Leona was raised by overly strict parents, in an environment in which she received little to no affection and positive reinforcement, even for her achievements that far exceeded those of her peers. She has also been burdened with a set of rather impossible expectations, that she strives to reach no matter what. We saw that Iasur and Melia are quick to discipline her and voice their disappointment, rather rancidly might I say, and yet made little to no mention of Leona’s multiple achievements that have been noted by multiple instructors as well as Polymnius. As for Leona herself, one might say she is afraid to be herself and express her own thoughts. Even when she writes a letter that truly encompasses her thoughts and feelings, in that same letter she resolutely states that she will not send it.

So insofar we have an affection-starved, rule-loving perfectionist, that probably hasn’t had any positive reinforcement since she was like 5 and has her parents and everyone around her connect and define her worth as a person though her personal achievements and services in Her light. It would be safe to assume that from a point on, Leona herself starts putting herself in those boxes, limiting her sense of self and worth to the glass ceiling of their expectations, adding more and more expectations on herself, back bending further and further back, until inevitably reaching her breaking point. And of course, this is all she has ever known. The rules, the hierarchy, the expectations, the dogma, is what she grew up with, is what feels familiar, and in a twisted sense, “right”. We could thus somewhat explain why Leona holds her duty in such high regard. She has come to define herself and her worth as a person, through it. It’s all she has ever really known.

Not to say that things are as bleak as they seem at first glance. For there is one shining light in Leona’s life, one guiding beacon that tries to break her out of the glass cage, at least at the point in time when Rise With Me takes place, and it is none other than Diana.

Now, according to Leona’s bio, she saw in Diana an ever-curious spirit devoted to the search for meaning, and the truth, and that’s sth that holds up in the short story as well. Diana’s ingenuity and unique perspective of things, her being the one dissonant voice in the harmonious chorus of the elders’ teachings, intrigue young Leona.

When looking into the respective missives that Leona sends to Diana in respects of their shared oration class, starting from the first one even, we can see that despite all the greatness she has achieved, all her triumphs, and graces, she remains shy, and humble. Even knowing that she is amongst the best of her peers, and the priests’ favorites, she does not brag, does not demand, does not exert any power or control. Instead, she approaches her faults humbly and asks for Diana’s – the outcast’s - help in a respectful manner. She does not let her shortcomings define her or hinder her. She recognizes them as something to improve, and humbly asks for help from someone she believes she can benefit from, someone that will help, and not just shower her with mindless praise. She recognizes Diana’s ingenuity and applauds her argument construction; while pledging to help her in return should Diana need assistance herself.

Leona is humble and kind. Though to a certain degree we might even consider her having a bit of a people pleasing attitude accompanied by a slight lack of confidence. Perfectionists as a rule hate making mistakes or seeming inadequate. It’s a big blow in their confidence and the sense of self they have constructed around the concept of said perfection. After living for so long in an environment of such heavy expectations, it’s no wonder one might start second-guessing themselves, no matter how good they are, even for the smallest of mistakes.

Back to Leona though, she is humble, kind and considerate, perhaps even to a fault. There is this sense of her not wanting to impose on Diana’s schedule, on which she rather insists. She doesn’t want to be trouble, she does not want to be a burden, and of course she then offers her own help in return should it be needed, which is the decent and honorable thing to do.

Leona’s diary entry where she considers asking Diana to the festival is what also gives us a glimpse of the person behind the armor, behind the rule abiding student, behind the mask of achievements and perfection. To no surprise, we get a more in depth perspective of Leona’s own thoughts and feelings, as long as her take on “how to ask the girl I like out without coming across like a total fool, or indoctrinating asshole?” She is anxious, thoughtful and tender, considerate and sweet in her approach, and a little bit hopeless, but I think we can forgive her. She is downright smitten and hasn’t realized how much just yet. She even goes through with one of her plans to ask Diana to practice with the shields, and well, forgive me if I say it is adorable.

Diana’s presence in Leona’s life and story, however, is not important because the will-be Aspect of the Sun is absolutely smitten with her, or even because she encompasses the total opposite of what Leona is (which let’s be honest, she doesn’t. They are complimentary to one another, not opposites), but because Diana makes Leona think.

That’s the reason Leona approached her in the first place, her ability to think and construct cohesive and compelling arguments. Something that Leona herself is lacking in, because alongside most of the other Solari acolytes, she lacks critical thinking. An essential component of trying to construct an argument of any sort - if you do not want to parrot something you learned in a book once.

Diana’s arguments, thoughts and criticisms on their given materials have Leona thinking, examining what she is taught, and what she says in oration class herself. Diana teaches Leona how to think, she teaches her how to construct arguments, how to reinforce them, to find fallacies in arguments and counteract them. In her quest to learn how to defend her point, Leona starts learning how to look deeper into things, to examine their essence, and construct counterpoints. And we can see that she starts thinking about it, if only superficially. She doesn’t go full out critical thinking, or questioning everything she has ever known, it doesn’t work like that, but the seed has been planted. “Why do you think I need to go deeper than that when it’s widely known already?” It’s not much but it is a start to the path of critical thinking.

And then after an undetermined amount of time, comes their shared ascension. And that’s where the discrepancies in the story start. Mind you the bio was written a few years before the short story came out, so the characterization obviously is not entirely in line with what we know.

This Leona is one that debates with Diana still, but wants to persuade her not to look further into their faith, and just accept it as it is. At Diana’s sharing the secret of the alcove, Leona is a stone wall of resistance urging her friend away from the climb, afraid for her wellbeing should she inspire further ire from the Solari. When Diana inevitably climbs the mountain, and while her first instinct is to alert the elders, Leona resolves to help and protect her friend instead and follows after her into the night. Against all odds they manage to reach the peak, and she is wreathed in golden light, fighting tooth and nail to keep her sense of self intact. And she wins.

At this point, I think we can all see the difference between bio-Leona and the Leona that the short story sets the foundations of. Obviously for the sake of storytelling and with some tweaking these two could co-exist as canon versions of Leona in different times of her life. We could potentially be talking about a tragic story about how religion and blind adherence to duty and tradition drive a wedge between two people that very much love each other. Or the bio could be a bit of a “historical account” of what happened, and Leona having had to care for Diana after her punishments one too many times puts up a wall of resistance, an ultimatum of the “I don’t want to lose you” kind.

No matter the case, and despite of what Riot might decide to do to expand on their story, and either give us a critical thinking Leona, or a very good reason for not having a critical thinking Leona, the point is that Leona is incredibly loyal to those she cares about.

And now comes the point of the ascension. The critical point in their story, where instead of going with Diana, and living their happily ever after away from the system that tortured them both, albeit in completely different manners, Leona chooses to stay.

And I think sometimes when thinking about Leona, we do not always recognize that this is the point where everything is going down. This is the point where everything we have so far discussed comes into play. Because their ascension is a traumatic experience. One that upends everything Leona has ever known. The process of their ascension is traumatic, the very essence of it, bloody terrifying. Because it is a jump into the unknown. It challenges the truths that she has constructed her whole sense of self around, demolishes the very principles that she grew up enforcing.

There is this interaction in Legends of Runeterra, where Diana urges Leona to understand that Day needs Night, referencing the visions they both saw upon Targon’s peak. And what does Leona reply? “Visions from memories not my own.”

Full-blown denial. Not that I particularly blame her initial reaction. Because what is it that we have here? We have that affection-starved perfectionist that grew up in a cult, that wounded inner child that has come to tie her worth as a person to the degree of her personal achievements. We have that honorable, rule abiding, and duty loving person, a person that finds solace in strict structures and hierarchies, that thrives in them, thrown into absolute CHAOS.

You have Leona, that rule abiding idiot, that transcends her own limits that takes that one calculated risk to follow Diana and save her from the mountain’s clutches and ends up with watching a blast of divine light slamming into Diana. She goes to help, and before she can help a blast of divine light slams into her, filling her head with a second divine conscience, with visions and memories of other Sun Aspects, of times when truly the people of the mountain were united. And then the onslaught ends, and she faces a Diana different from the one she knows, a Diana dressed in the colors of the enemy.

So Leona, bearing all of the characteristics we mentioned above, is bloody terrified out of her wits. She is faced with such terrifyingly foreign notions, with such stress, that what is she going to do? She regresses back to what she already knows. And what she knows are the elders and the Solari, and the priests, the rules, the scriptures, the dogma. In face of that terrifying truth she regresses back to the perceived safety of that toxic and unhealthy system -that on top of everything is a cult- that she grew up in.

Now this brings forth this thought about ignorance. Because Leona is ignorant of the truth. She is, however, intimately familiar with the narrative she has grown up with. People are familiar with their ignorance, and oftentimes they choose to bear the ills of what they know than to fly to others that they know not of. And thus, they are cowards. (Hamlet anyone?)

Leona is a prime example of that. Instead of sitting down and considering the new information, the truth revealed, the unknown future ahead, she clings to her ignorance, to her half-knowledge of the story, because it is familiar, and safe. And she is bloody terrified of the new unknown that Diana proposes they follow.

Now that is not to say that everything we have discussed boils down to Leona is a coward. Though that is partly true. But she is also a kid that grew up in a system that fostered that kind of cowardice. She is someone that grew up in an environment of cultism and religious fanatism, and she grew up ingrained to it. Contrary to Diana as one might point out. And these are all things we need to take into account when handling a character like Leona, and care that we do not flatten such immense complexity of conditions and circumstances, such depth of thought and emotion to “brainless genocidal cultist”.

(Now if you ask, why does Diana have critical thinking, why did she not get ingrained and lost in that system despite growing up in it for as long if not longer than Leona, what is it that makes her different from the other cult kids, I have absolutely no idea, but that’s not the point of this particular post.)

To finish this off, the point of this post is not to excuse Leona of all the horrible things she has done, or even to argue that she is not a genocidal cultist- she very much is, and the point is definitely not to say that it is not her fault and she was just a product of her circumstances. We all are products of the circumstances that surround us, but we are not passive participants in those conditions. No, the point is to try and understand where Leona might be coming from, and to demonstrate that even the simplest and most obtuse of character concepts can have an intricate and complicated story behind them.

If you did manage to reach the end of this, congratulations! Have a cookie and don’t forget to hydrate!

#Leona #Leona LoL #league of legends #leona league of legends #leona x diana #Leodia #LeoDia #Diana lol #Diana LoL #Diana league of legends #character analysis #League of legends #League of legends character analysis #We don't rly give her much thought or credit honestly #This is obviously my take feel free to add to it #Did I spend three hours writing this instead of studying?#Of course I did #And it will bite me in the ass

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