#pilltover

[enfoutreur-du-futur]

Using my moots funny tweet for my favorite ship

[lonelysa1lor]

Would anyone like to lie down on the floor and think about the parallels with me

[somethingformyself]

Jinx becoming some fucking revolutionary doesn't make any goddamn sense. Her, Silco & Sevika did nothing but terrorize the undercity and ya'll want us to believe these motherfuckers care about the people? The same people they got addicted to shimmer? The same kids who you orphaned and forced to work in your factories? GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE. The writing for act 2 better step up. Cause from where I'm at, none of this development is good storytelling. Especially because their gonna gloss over all the important shit to prop up Jinx as a leader.

[telleroftime]

Actually, now that I think about it, I remember I used to have an idea for a Viktor x Reader. It would have been an AU where Reader takes the place of Rio: that pink, mutated creature in Singed' hideout. Now, if any of you have watched Arcane you know exactly how that story would have ended. Picture angst and hurt/no comfort. The idea is still on the table though.

[duncanor]

Those tags are really funny don't get me wrong but this isnt what I meant ^^ and I think that people putting all the blame on Jayce are really missing the point actually!

What makes theirs narratives so heartbreaking to me is that it wasn't 'fumbling', it was no incident. No matter what they could have done, they were doomed. Since Jayce was saved by that mage, since Viktor was born in Zaun.

What if they'd given up on Hextech? What would've become of them? Well, for Jayce, he would've jumped. And for Viktor..pilltover disdain for Zaunites would've claimed another victim sooner than later.

So yeah, this dream of theirs saved their lives. But as Heimerdinger said, magic tend to turn dreams into nightmares. And it did turn into just that. And there's nothing that they could've done to stop it without sacrificing themselves...but in doing so.. They also sacrificed everyone else.

That's what I meant by 'the real tragedy was that nothing worked'. Because it couldn't have. They were never going to be saved.

It was fate but they couldn't accept it because they loved their dream, they loved the people and they loved each others. And yet, this is what their blind, dream-like, love brought. Death, destruction, hatred and

...betrayal.

I know people are focused on Jayce right now but I do believe Viktor own quote about love making us do the most evil things also applies to himself (even if he didn't get it at the time).

His miracles had a price and not just 'his' magic. Jayce seeing them as arcane husks, Viktor being able to see/speak through them, their lives bein' so intertwined that if Viktor dies they all do, like puppet whose strings were cut...

The real tragedy of Jayce killing Viktor is that Viktor genuinely thought he was realizing their dream, that he was finally helping his people but then he got betrayed by the one who made that dream possible in the first place. And Jayce.. He tried to stop this nightmare from developing further, corrupting whatever was left of his partner.

The real tragedy is that nothing worked.

[sweetflanfiction]

Asymmetrical Symphony - Part 2

Universe: Arcane (LOL)

Pairing: Viktor x reader

Summary: You had been on the rooftop with Jayce and the Herald and somehow you were sent to a place where things can be different with your help

Disclaimers and Warnings: If you want me to tag you on the chapters let me know! Also leave a comment with your thoughts :D Not finished, not proofread. English isn't my 1st language. All I know about LOL is from google and all I know about Arcane is taken from the show, so inacuracies will be plenty. I have a sort of idea on how to I'm gonna go with magic and runes, so bear with me. The reader will be written and GN (going by they/them) to get everyone involved, but if you see any discrepancies let me know.

A.N.: Thank you for the fav and comments!! This chapter isn't gonna have much Viktor in it, but I'm just starting to estabelish some things and get the ball rolling. I'll try and update more Vik x you as quick as possible. :D

Part 1

• ··········· • ············ •

The world was spiraling around you. Noises of the past, the present, of another version of the world, blurred and mixed into a weirdly misshapen music. You tried to stop it, pause the song to figure out what’s what. Pull a thread to focus on something, to ground yourself. You inhaled air into your lungs and then expelled it. Every time you breathed out, the sounds became less confusing, like an orchestra finding itself following the maestro. In the end, only the quick buzzing of the world around you was left, as it settled down in a place and time.

You dazedly opened your eyes to a bright ball of light right before you and someone’s hand on your forehead. The sudden memory of the Hex Angel standing on top of you, extracting your soul from your body, flooded your senses, and you had to get away.

Quickly sitting upright, you shoved the construct away, watching with dread as the angel fell and stood up with ease. Their hands up in mock surrender, the mask emotionless.

“Calm down.” It said, with the familiar accent of a friend. “You’re safe.”

“Vik-Viktor stop…” You mumbled at the thing while it tilted its head at you. “Please”

It kept coming closer, its movements slow and deliberate, palms up to you as if it were approaching a scared animal.

In the haziness of trying to get away from it as fast as possible, you felt the ground give away under you, and once more, you were snapped back to focus when you landed on something hard.

The sound that left your lips was less than elegant as your back hit the cold, hard floor. Your body is now fully awakened to every scratch, bruise, and wound.

The first thing you noticed, as you tried to will the pain away, was the hard, smooth surface under your fingertips. Ceramics, cold hard ceramics. You turned your head and opened your eyes to a wall of floor-to-ceiling tiles, arranged in soothing colors. 

You frowned at the familiar sense of the place.

Tilting your head backward, the minty-colored fold screen was unsurprisingly standing between gurneys, confirming where you were. Pilltover’s General Hospital.

And by the present company, maybe you had gone back to your time? Maybe forward? It didn’t make sense if they were here while you still looked human... something happened... Did you change anything that made the HexAngels different? 

The sound of footsteps clicking on the floor was enough to get your mind back to the situation at hand. You tried to move, but something was grabbing your extended arm.

Your gaze followed the extent of your arm until it reached a cuffed wrist. Your cuffed wrist. They had cuffed your arm to the bed. You pulled at the restraint, testing it. It rattled but didn’t open, as expected.

“It’s alright…” The Herald’s modified voice scrambled into a warm woman's tone, its footsteps coming closer and closer.

That’s new. You snapped your neck to the voice, inching as far as you could from it. 

The shape that appeared from behind the bed shifted from an abnormally beautiful construct to a tall and thin nurse. 

“What the…” You looked at her face. A smile plastered on her face, hands stretched toward you. “Where am I?”

She gave the expected answer, but she did not understand the depth of your question. 

“Why am I cuffed to the bed?” You asked, not moving from your seat on the floor, your backside becoming cold under the hospital gown.

“Officer Caitlyn wants to speak with you. You were found unconscious in the rubble of the attack.” The nurse went to grab you, and you swatted her hand as your vision layered her hand with a gold claw. She frowned.

“The rocket attack..." You mumbled, and she nodded.

“Quite the spectacle. If it had been in the Lanes, nobody would care.” She whispered, but you heard her.

“People died." You snapped, her eyes locking with yours.

“People die every day.” Her face contorted into a scowl, and you noticed a familiar accent in her speech, hidden behind the effort to sound Pilltovian. She’s from the Undercity.

You looked her in the eyes, and her indifference was palpable. She moved to grab you, but instead, she held her arm out. 

“Come on, let’s get you back in bed.”

You wrapped your free hand on the forearm and pulled yourself up, towering over her.

“There we go.” She patted the bed, and you complied, sitting on it. She stood in front of you, grabbing a tiny silver flashlight from her pocket and lifting it with one hand while the other went towards your face.

Reality shifted, and once again her hand transformed into a golden claw with white fingers. You swatted it away and moved your face out of reach.

“No touching?” She asked, and you nodded, her following your movement a second later. “Very well. But I need to check you.”

“I’m fine.” you said, and she rolled her eyes.

“You survived a rocket hit to the head. Trust me, you are fine because we gave you drugs.”

You felt the corners of your lips turn up at her sass. With the faint accent, it was like you were back at the Talis Lab.

"Just don’t touch the face.” 

“Very well, then you have to do it.”

She instructed you to pull your lower eyelids down, pull at your cheeks, and even gave you the tongue suppressor to look at the back of your throat.

“You seem very comfortable around someone in cuffs.” You told her as she gently peeled the gauze from a wound in your arm.

“People talk. From what’s been going around, you ran into the figurative building on fire. Sure, you knocked around a few enforcers, but sometimes they do need some sense knocked into them.” 

You enjoyed it as her accent became more and more pronounced the more she talked. Memories of good old times flooded your mind when another Undercity crossover would talk your ear off as you fine-tuned your instrument. You knew that accent by heart, even mocking him by mimicking it.

“How long ago did you cross the bridge?” You whispered, not wanting to divulge that information to the world. She raised an eyebrow.

“A few years back, before nursing school.” She kept choking your wounds. “How did you figure it out?”

“The way you speak. I knew…know…knew someone, a friend, a close friend who spoke like that. They were…are…from the other side as well.” You cleared your throat and gave her your best Viktor impression. “If you don’t succeed at first, you must try again, after hiding the evidence, of course."

“That’s pretty good, actually. People here judge on sound alone. I’ve been hiding it for years, and you caught it in minutes.” She grinned.

“It does take practice and a good ear.” 

You both fell into a comfortable silence, her checking your wounds and you reminiscing about the old days.

“When was the attack?” You asked suddenly, and she looked up from examining your ankle.

“Two nights.”

“What time is it now?” 

“7 AM.”

“Who survived?”

“You.” She grinned. “Councilor Medarda, Councillor Talis, Councillor Shoola, and Councillor Salo.”

Your ears drowned with the sound of your heartbeat. Did you go through all of this for this to end up the same way? Were you going to lose your friend again?

"Ah, yes, someone else was found in the rubble.” Your eyes snapped open as she got up from her crouched position. “The other Hextech founder... What’s his face? Lanky, tall, always standing behind Councilor Talis.

"Viktor?” You whispered, and she nodded.

“Yes, that one.”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. He is alive. For now. The calmness you had from the news was quickly replaced by another violent attack soon.

“Did they announce the remembrance speech day?” You asked quickly.

“I don’t think they even announced the public funeral dates, let alone announce the speech day.” She scribbled something on the board at the foot of your bed. “Well, my job here is done. I hope they go easy on you.”

She nodded, and you nodded back, turning to lay back down on the bed.

You had to figure out a way to stop that speech day. Or stop Mel, Jayce, and Viktor from attending, which would be impossible since Mel would be the one giving out the speech and Jayce was going to follow Mel and Viktor was going to follow Jayce. Or be made to, since these types of events were far from his favorite thing.

Time traveling is complicated, especially when nobody seems to know you.

You frowned. Why did nobody know you? I mean, the enforcers at the hexgate sure, but the ones in the Academy? You were practically a light fixture there, with the amount of time you spent inside.

And then it hit you like a rocket. They didn’t know you because you either didn’t exist or had a completely other life. So there was another possibility to your whole existence in this place. You could have time traveled, yes, but what was stopping whatever did this to you from making you jump through time and space?

What if this was another dimension, another universe, another timeline? What if the gods or whoever was trying to add variants to the timeline and see what got them the best results? 

Your head was about to explode with this new information. Being cuffed to this bed in this brightly lit room was not helping the situation either.

You needed to get out. Without knowing what was the catalyst in this universe for the rise of the Herald, you couldn't stop it. You could warn Viktor; what better way to stop him from himself if he knew the consequences? But what if warning him was exactly what made him go through with it? His magnum opus actually worked for better or worse.

Introducing a single keystroke of a sonata could change the whole tune. You had to warn him, discreetly. Which you couldn’t because you were cuffed to a bed.

Reality moved, and for the first time since it did, you focused on it. It felt like when you’d be in the lab and you could feel a spark of something in the wrong place, waiting for the right circumstance to zap. Another whisper. A soundless gasp reverberated around you. The sound of metal vibrating as it’s struck made waves around you, like a stone that hit the water. 

You managed to decipher, in between the waves, a new rune. 

Whatever powers were drip-feeding you, these runes hadn’t failed you yet. You looked around for a pen, a dusty surface. Nothing. You looked at the hand with the rune scarred into it. Nothing.

You looked at the side table. A glass of water. You tilted it on the table, but as you drew the rune, you watched as it became disfigured. The water wasn’t keeping its shape on the flat surface.

Quickly, you patted the side of your bedding down, making it as smooth as possible. When it was flat enough, you dipped your fingers in the water and drew the rune on the sheet.

Stop the attack. Flick. Nothing.

Did you need it to be broader or more detailed? You tried again.

Save Piltover. Flick. Nothing

Stop the Herald. Flick. Nothing

You flailed your hands around in frustration. The rattling of the cuff on the metal side of the bed echoing around is this wrapped reality. 

"Just unlock, you piece of—"

Growing frustrated, you punched the rune. Something clicked, and your hand was freed.

The world got back to normal, and you inspected your wrist, your gaze shifting from your wrist to the cuff. 

You shook your head to clear it and immediately made your way out of the bed, limping your way out of the six-bed infirmary. Some of the orderlies looked at you sharply, but with the attack they seemed to have their hands full, choosing to effectively ignore you. 

You grabbed someone’s jacket from the foot of a bed and put it on, thanking the gods they had kept your socks on.

The hospital was crowded, and you took that opportunity to make your way towards the exit. You kept your walk brisk and your head down, trying to walk around everything and everybody. Your heart was at your throat. Sneaking was never your forte; the last time you did, your father caught you halfway out the gates of the manor. You sighed, remembering the way he made fun of you more than argued. Footsteps light as a cannonball. You were usually the distraction for the sneaking, being the preferred go-to person for when the boys wanted to sneak a particular piece of equipment into the lab and didn’t need anyone to know. Especially Heimerdinger.

Forgetting your misadventures for a moment, you look up and see the glass doors, and beyond them the street. A couple of more steps. You quickened your pace, breaking into a small, limping run towards the doors.

The fresh air made you stop as it hit you in the face and you realized how damp and dense the air in the hospital was. You took a deep breath and started to make your way towards the sidewalk, looking up at the street, trying to map in your head the easiest way to get to the Academy, maybe even Viktor’s apartment, and if both failed, the Skyward Clinic, the topside private hospital. If any of them was hurt, that's where they would place them.

With your route mentally traced, you turned around to go down the correct route when something—or better, someone—made you stop dead in your tracks.

The Sheriff of Piltover to be, Caitlyn Kiraman, was standing right behind you. One eyebrow raised, arms crossed, eyes red and puffy. The scowl on her face contorting her pretty features.

You are about to run in the other direction, knowing that getting sent to jail would not help in your 'save-Piltover-from-the-Hextech-co-creator-genius-by-saving-said-Hextech-co-creator-genius’ plan when you feel the presence of two people behind you.

“I am not in the mood for games,” Caitlyn said, her voice matching her rigid stance. “If you are well enough to walk, you are well enough to talk. I can bring you in conscious or not. Your choice.”

“Why am I being arrested?” You asked, knowing full well that the trail of unconscious enforcers you left behind two days ago wasn’t exactly lawful.

She simply nodded to the enforcers behind you. They grabbed your arms unceremoniously and cuffed you, shoving you in the back of an Enforcer van.

············ • ············

Groaning, you rest your forehead on the table, the cool temperature of the metal helping the headache. You are sitting inside a concrete room, with your hands cuffed to the table. Caitlyn had left you there to stew.

"I'll be back... eventually." She had spat as she closed and locked the door.

With nothing but time to think, you went through your magic runes. With a limited range of motion, you started by drawing them on the dusty table without any intent for them, pushing them out with a tap of your finger.

Move. Tap. A miniscule part of the table seemed to become liquid, like you had thrown a pebble into a calm river, but nothing shifted or moved.

Unlock. Tap. Both of the cuffs and the door behind you clicked open, and you slowly looked between them.

Before you could get up and walk out, the door slammed open with a very puzzled Caitlyn standing just outside. She looked at the door and then you. Shrugging, you turned back to the table, quickly clicking your wrists together to reclose the cuffs.

“Who are you?” She asked, dismissing whatever thought she had previously.

You answer with your name. First and last.

“Adding ‘identity theft’ to your crimes isn’t going to help you. Who are you?”

Nodding your sighed content. If it’s identity theft, then there is someone with that name. Maybe you’d meet yourself and the dimension would implode. Or they could help you. 

“I would like to speak with my father, Counsellor Rainemour.”

Cailyn raised an eyebrow at your question, setting the folder down and watching you with hawk eyes.

“There is no Counsellor Rainemour.” She stated,coldly.

“But the Rainemours are in Piltover, yes?”

“Enough with this! Who are you? The truth! Now!”

You opened your mouth to answer but didn’t know how to. So, you repeated your name. She groaned and sat down in front of you.

“Do you know who Jinx is?”

"No.” you lied.

“Do you have anything to do with the attack on the Council of Piltover?”

“Ah… That’s why it’s you. No…”

And finally the penny dropped. The reason why it was Caitlyn who was questioning you. She had been such a normal face to talk to, to look at, to bounce ideas with, that it didn’t dawn on you why she was the one talking to you now. The daughter and soon-to-be head of the Kiraman family. She thought you had something to do with the rocket attack.

“Then what were you doing in the council room?”

“I was trying to warn the councilors about it.”

“So you knew about it,” she shot quickly.

“Knowing of a crime and being involved in it are two very different things.” You fired back. “Why am I being arrested?”

“Trespassing on government grounds, assaulting several officers of the law, entering a governmental space without authorization, and last but not least involvement in the rocket attack that left several of the councilors dead or injured.”

You looked at her and made sure she was looking at you, seeing the frown grow deeper as you raised an eyebrow.

Counselor Rainemour liked to argue. He was a lawyer; his whole life was about arguing. Whether it was about Piltover's government or about the ant's right to the sugar in the house. And you loved to argue back. You not only had the patience but also the stubbornness and willingness to argue with your father. You never won, but you also absorbed anything he gave you. Laws, regulations, how the system worked—you were a sponge. If for nothing else, to use it in a following discussion.

“First, I never intended to trespass. I didn't even know I was trespassing. If you don’t know who I am, then I am not in the Piltover's identification system, which means I am not from Piltover. I took a wrong turn.” You leaned back into the chair, the pride and arrogance of a Topsider dripping on every word. You hated to admit this, but sometimes you missed being this person.

“And ended up inside our most complex method of transportation?” She shot back.

“I’m a visitor; how do I know what the inside of the most complex method of transportation in Piltover looks like?”

“You are not a visitor.” She spat and sat down. “It took you 4 minutes and 45 seconds to go from the top floor of the Gate to the Council room. You took shortcuts and straight lines toward the Academy. You are not a visitor.”

You shrugged at her humorless grin. 

“Circumstantial, I may just have a very good sense of direction.” She was about to open her mouth, and you raised a finger. "Secondly, the only officer I assaulted was the one at the gate, and technically it could be considered self-defense. I was confused. He was shoving me. I got scared. He was a very intimidating figure.”

“What about the other ones?” She gritted her teeth and leaned forward.

“What other ones? I didn’t touch anybody else. Ask them. For all we know, they tripped and fell.”

Some part of you was proud to be deflecting all of this; the other knew Caitlyn wouldn’t just forgive and forget. If you got out with even so much as a fine, she would hunt you down.

“Third: "Forcibly" already indicates that it lacked authorization or consent to do whatever you are accusing me of. However...” Now the big finale. “Page 450 of the Piltover’s Government Guidelines, City Emergency chapter, 1st paragraph: any citizen of Piltover is allowed unauthorized entrance to the council chamber if the need to inform the council of a threat to the city is urgent and cannot be delayed. This entrance can be done even if the council is in session.”

You took a little pride in remembering this little snippet. Even if the reason you knew it was not because of your father. In fact, you knew it because Viktor had once made a miscalculation on a hextech concept that Jayce was about to present to the council. So he had burst into the room to try and warn their friend mid-session.

Turns out, saving your friend's face from total academic embarrassment is not a threat to the city.

“You must be really stupid.” At the insult, you narrowed your eyes. "Going on and on with your technicalities, knowing I can use it against you.”

There was one insult that had always made your blood boil. Stupid. You could be called dumb, ditzy, or unintelligent. Anything but stupid. Your Caitlyn knew that; your Caitlyn was the first to punch someone when they did it.

“My father is a lawyer, Miss Kiraman.” Your face turned cold, your tone hard. The shift was enough to make Caitlyn’s eyebrows go up for a millisecond. “He thrived on technicalities. And you can’t use shit from what I just said. You didn’t read me my rights. Nothing I said since you stepped foot in the room can or will be used against me. This…” You pointed between the two of you. “Is nothing more than two friends catching up. Your grief is clouding your judgment.”

For a second, the tension was as loud as a trumpet, and the silence was as thick as a fog. Caitlyn slammed her hands on the table and leaned into it, getting her face an inch away from yours, only to be stopped by someone shoving the door open.

“What are you doing, Miss Kiraman?” An unfamiliar female voice announced from behind you.

············ • ············

Viktor didn’t believe in luck. 

Because if he did, all his accomplishments could have been derived from it. So he just didn’t believe in it much. Sure, maybe finding some coins on the floor was luck, but not much more than that.

Everything he did and does is to make sure nothing is left to luck or chance. Every number on the blackboard, every calculation on his blueprints.

But now, standing in the middle of the destroyed council room, Viktor felt lucky. Extremely lucky.

• ··········· • ············ •

@marshy-moo @victormydarling @blueesmiski @th3stup1dcat @22carolina08 @httpstes @adithsaley @that-one-shitty-blog @disa-pointment @sseleniaa

[ann7av]

Okay, am I tripping or does Katarina (?) looks like the perfect love child of Caitiv??

The hair color (even tho hers is more red than pink), the sharp jaw, mouth shape, the blue eyes, smoky eyeshadow... I'm just saying, but it does look like they put those two in a blender and I'm so glad they did because she's beautiful, and apparently an assassin with raging daddy issues (yay)

Btw, wdym Pilltover was the SAFEST path to test out things??? Ambessa was the SAFEST choice???? AMBESSA??? Oh, we're so cooked, she was playing with the false messiah, fascism AND Mel simultaneously like it was disneyland just imagine what those two gothic divas will be doing to top that

[avelera]

Opinion about JeyvikMEL: I think they wouldn't work even in season 1. In addition to the fact that Mel and Viktor are from very different castes (Although I think Mel is not very prejudiced, both Jayce has certain opinions about Zaunites, let alone Mel. And let's not forget about her isolating them as an investment (which I don't think is wrong, as she is a politician, and also wanted to change Pilltover for the better, BUT, no one likes to be used.), and both Viktor and Mel have a strong sense of opinion, and many are at odds. And we often notice that he and Mel don't agree on many things, Mel seems to ignore Viktor often. I tell her she hates him. She worries about him like I would worry about any other injured person. “Poor thing. I hope he's okay.” If it weren't for Jayce, Mel wouldn't look Viktor twice and not Viktor her. Now Jayce, I think he loved Mel, yes. And he could have both, but honestly, if something happened, and he had to choose one of the two to continue, it would be Viktor. Soon, Viktor is above Mel for Jayce. This is seen in season 1 as well. I'm not saying Jayce doesn't love Mel, but he just loves Viktor more. And Mel wouldn't accept being put in second place. It's like that trio of friends. There is always the pair that prefers each other's company, while the third is on the edge.

I see your point but I'm gonna have to hard disagree with you on Mel being the barrier to the three of them being a polycule.

The barrier to MelJayVik isn't Mel, it's Viktor.

Mel is constantly supportive and respectful of Viktor. She does address him when they meet in the hallway, she knows he's the professor's assistant. She respects his opinion but she has her own goals as well, when they discuss Hextech weaponry she directs her points to Jayce because he's on the Council, he's the one she needs to convince, and she knows her ideological opponent here is Viktor.

But Mel never shows jealousy towards Jayce with regards to Viktor, not once. She never shows an unwillingness to be second in his heart. Quite the opposite.

She's annoyed that Jayce "dined and dashed" out of their one night stand. She thinks he's a fuckboi in that moment who doesn't respect her. She's annoyed with him when he comes "crawling back". Keep in mind, I'm certain she only slept with him because she thought he was a bit of a fuckboi and being one person he slept with would make him more malleable.

Mel was not prepared for Jayce being affectionate after a one-night stand. She was not prepared for him being a good person or for him being the type of person who sees a one-night stand as the entry point for further love and intimacy. She was caught completely off-guard there and realizes that her assessment of Jayce was completely wrong.

Furthermore, when she finds out he left because Viktor is dying, everything changes. She realizes what a good person Jayce is, she realizes she fucked up and she took advantage of this good person, she realizes her assessment of him as a fuckboi is completely wrong, and worse, I think she realizes that Jayce is in love with Viktor and she just got into the middle of somewhere where she doesn't belong and indeed, is doing active harm by being there.

Mel. Is. Not. Jealous. of. Viktor. She's not jealous of Jayce's time either. When she realizes what she's done, the first thing she says to Jayce is, "You should go to him." She has never been an active barrier to their relationship on purpose and when she realizes she's been one by accident, she backpedals and does her best to send Jayce back to Viktor because she never wanted this to be a long-term relationship and she realizes that she's gotten in the middle of Jayce's real relationship.

Then, in 2.01, she shows more affection for Viktor. She hands his crutch in a way I took as very suggestive, very much implying that MelJayVik was on the table and Mel saw Viktor as belonging to both of them, as someone they both loved. She says, "He'll come back to us." She was totally open to the MelJayVik polycule, IMO, based on that line, with perhaps a possibility of using that as a graceful exit for herself once Jayce and Viktor were together but then again, maybe not, she was hoping for comfort from Jayce when she came back and was hurt when she didn't get it.

But as I said waaaay back when Act 1 of S2 dropped, MelJayVik is very appealing but the missing piece has always been Viktor -> Mel. We knew Jayce loves Mel and Viktor. We knew Mel cared for Jayce AND for Viktor. We know Viktor loves Jayce. We didn't know what Viktor felt about Mel.

2.08 confirmed that for us. Viktor is NOT chill about Mel. He tolerated her because he was respected Jayce's choice and possibly because he figured that since he was dying, he didn't have the right to break them up. But once he was healthy, once he felt powerful, once he thought he could compete, he literally showed up cosplaying as a robot version of Mel in a direct attempt to force Jayce to compare them and choose him, and he is actively disdainful towards Mel if somewhat intrigued by her newfound magic power. But yeah, going back after that, you can see he felt disdain and jealousy towards her from the beginning, not because she's a bad person, but because of how Jayce reacts to her. And because of course she wanted to make Hextech weapons, which possibly made him loathe her.

But the barrier to the polycule is not Mel. If anything, she was a cheerleader of it. Viktor was the sticking point.

[thewistlingbadger]

I've never believed that Jinx's real name was powder. To me that does not make much sense. Every other character in the show no matter their importance, has had a name. A REAL name. Powder is not a name. Powder is not even a noun name. It's just a noun. It doesn't make sense to have this character who has this extremely weird name among characters that all have proper/"normal" names. As I thought about this I realized a secret that Arcane uses when it comes to names.

In arcane, names giveaway allegiances. Our main cast from Piltover have proper names. Jayce, Caitlyn. Ambessa, Mel, Marcus, Grayson, etc. Our Zaun cast all have interesting/weird/uncommon names. Silco, sevika, Vander, Ekko, singed, huck, claggor, Mylo, etc. if her name truly is powder then this fits the theme, it's just on the extreme side of weird zaun naming conventions. The name jinx however still fits with the Zaun theme AND makes much more sense.

It's very important to note that these names are not by origin, they are by allegiance. Our two main examples are vi and Viktor.

Viktor is considered to be a normal name hence why he is a part of the pilltover plot line. However his spelling is odd. His name is most commonly spelled as Victor, but his name has a k, adding in that Zaun weirdness factor. Viktor lives in Piltover and has assimilated into their society. Throughout season 1 we see Viktor, we hear him reiterate how he's a Zaunite and how he made hextech to help his city. With each episode we see him stray farther away from Piltover and those ideals. Furball says don't mess with the arcane, kill the hex core, do things safely, and Viktor says no to all of these. He works on the hex core in secret, it ends up killing his friend, and he makes Himself one with the magic. We see him go to singed for help, we see him use shimmer, and this is how he's making distance from Piltover. We don't know his involvement in S2 but we can theorize that he's going to keep making this push back to his roots, back to his true allegiance.

Vi is from the undercity and she has a noun name like jinx (or "powder"), but unlike her sister Vi's name is proper. This hints at Vi's allegiances being with piltover, which checks out with what we see in the show. Vi partners up with Caitlyn, a piltie enforcer. Vi urges Ekko to return the crystal back to Piltover. Vi tells the council about Jinx. Vi works with Jayce to stop shimmer production and silco. Vi ends up becoming an enforcer in season 2. So even though she's historically been pro Zaun and anti Piltover, her name tells us that at the end of the day (season 2) she's actually going to side with Piltover.

[saneandrocking]

heyyy confession time: i don't give a fuck about cait. like, not an once of a fuck actually. the gold coffin was the last drop for me. this is not to say she's not a good written character, but yeah fuck that fascist she can gag on that gun of hers all she wants. fuck all of pilltover btw never expect me to have something to say to defende them.

[electronicdelusionstarlight]

Calling it now Mel's dad is the mage who saved Jayce, Jayce was saved on the Northern Mountains to Pilltover and Zaun, which is Noxian Territory, which is near both Basilich and the Place Ambessa mentions to have fought in, and Mel has light magic much like Lux (She can do light shields it's pretty obvious by now), hence the Black Rose trying to bag her to use as a pawn in the eternal war against Mordekaiser, because they love bagging mages.

Side note the double headed wolf Singed used as a base for Warwick is also from those mountains.

[lonelysa1lor]

The writers or whoever is answering questions about The Good Timeline in Arcane should've really kept their mouth shut because they just keep giving more ways for this universe to make no sense

[mo0nfairy]

Lowkey waiting for Caitlin to turn out to be the worst yandere tbh, like her as a dictator, that’s no many resources for one crazy. Like at lest vi and jinx are just physically imposing, and victor is a declawed wet cat, but Caitlin, she can send out man hunts for you, specific task forces to find you and then erase your existence, no missing person case if no record shows you where ever there. Don’t worry though the whole of pilltover and zaun will know that there ruler has a lover (she would wear a ring) just that no one has ever seen them, they might become like an urban legend (this is more general yandere cait then bloomstrid cait) (dictator more like straptator)

declawed wet cat has me CRYINGGGGG

and u are 100% correct........... im not gonna spoil much, but caitlyn is gonna be vvvvv scary..... ;)

[gwenyundreiko]

I need to scream about Arcane S2 (spoilers for the whole season)

Alright, it's been 2 days since I've watched the end of Arcane, and I'm still in a bad mood over it, so I am going to scream into the void about it, and hopefully it will allow me to move on.

I do not like the second season of Arcane.

Season 1 ? Absolute banger, still love it. I love it even more after recently watching it a second time in preparation for season 2.

Season 2 though ? ... I will not go into the details (because I feel like I would need to rewatch it again to be more accurate, and I don't want to do that), so I am just going to write about how I feel about it now that it is over.

Season 2 has left me deeply unsatisfied, to say the least. I think this feeling comes from the fact that most characters' arcs look like they were either cut short, or didn't really go anywhere. This makes the entire story feel pointless; an undeniable marvel of aesthetics and animation put in service of nothing.

I could talk about a lot of the main cast, but I'll only talk about Vi, her relationship with Caitlyn, and the Zaun vs Pilltover theme.

First off : Vi, the character who fought tooth and nails for those she loved and always tried to do the right thing. Accepting responsibility for everyone who looked up to her... and got nothing for it in the end but pain. From the start of the serie, she is set up to be one of the protagonists, along with her sister and Caitlyn. Yet the story feels pervert in the way it insists to both :make Vi suffer without giving her any sort of confort or moment to express her feelings ; and make all of her actions be pointless.

In episode 8, when she says "I always make the wrong choice and lose everyone", we have to admit that from a narrative point of view, she is absolutely right. For the first time, Vi is self pitying. She's shown as vulnerable, doubtful, almost sounding like she's giving up by saying that all she ever does is useless or worse. This is incredibly out of character for her, and yet the story proves her right. Nothing she does matters in any meaningful way. She doesn't even contribute to the final battle : she gets stranded in the defence of the artillery tower (which turned out not to be a key asset in the battle), then go 1v2 Warwick with Jinx, and Jinx ends up sacrificing herself to kill it, but only AFTER the battle is over and all the narrative tension has calmed down. (Sidenote : yes yes I know it is hinted that Jinx is still alive, but still. Let's agree that it's in bad taste for a suicidal character's triumphant moment to be a reckless act of self sacrifice, independently of the outcome.)

Vi gets mistreated throughout the whole storry and gets nothing in the end despite her bravery and efforts. No matter how hard she fought, she still ends up separated from her sister and she still loses Vander. The only thing she gets in the end is a girlfriend with whom she basically had no tender moment since their breakup, making Vi feel like a rescue dog at Caitlyn's house, but let's talk about her relationship with Caitlyn in more depth.

I'll say this first : I love the sex scene. It's tender and passionate. It's a bit awkward, but in such a relatable way that it only makes the moment sweeter. It does an excellent job at showing us how the characters feel about each other. Taken on its own, it's perfect. Two people that love each other so much they just need to have each other right here, right now... I just wish their relationship around it was more fleshed out.

From what we get to see on screen, they get a really messy break up in episode 3, and then never interact again until crossing paths at the commune. In the meantime, Caitlyn has allied herself with Ambessa, declared martial law on Zaun and is oppressing it with the full extent of her legitimate violence... but upon seeing Vi again, she instantly switches side to go against Ambessa with a rushed plan.

We get absolutely no other insight into their emotions or thoughts at this moment. No scene to show that despite their conflicts and standing on opposite sides, there is still tenderness and affection between the two of them that could hint at them getting back together. Instead, Vi calls her a petname once, and it's done, no further convincing needed. (Sidenote again : this makes Caitlyn look impulsive and irrational, when everything that comes before shows us that she is smart, collected and patient. Here, she instantly abandons everything she was previously fighting for, even at the risk of putting her entire city in danger. This includes abandonning her vandetta against Jinx, which is the reason why they split up in the first place, but this isn't adressed between Vi and Cait ever again either.)

After that, Vi holds her accountable for her actions for the time of 1 dialogue.

Then they barely interact again until the jailcell scene. Hell, once the battle starts, I don't think the two of them interact AT ALL until the epilogue.

The lack of substance in the portrayal of their relationship makes this sweet and tender sex scene feel like a spur of the moment thing. An almost self-destructive action from Vi trying to scrape at any possible source of confort after being cut out by her sister. A good thing happening for the wrong reasons. (Mind you, a hate sex scene would have worked wonders in my opinion, but that's not what we got.)

So yeah, given all of that, I'm struggling to see how Vi ending up with Caitlyn is supposed to be a meaningful and happy resolution to her story, when this relationship is barely shown on screen during season 2.

Finally, let's talk about the Zaun vs Piltover situation : it goes nowhere.

An entire 5 acts showing us that Piltover treats Zaun like shit, turning it into a ghetto and leaving it to rot in its own misery . The promo campaign for season 2 teased us a revolution... and in the end, we barely see any change. The way the story resolves implies that now that Zaun and Pilltover have triumphed over a shared ennemy, they grieve together and make peace because they have learned that war comes at too high a cost, and Zaun gets to be represented by ONE councilor.

I'm sorry but either the show tried something and missed, or the show was just incredibly shallow from the beginning. This conflict was set up from the first second of the show by having the main characters be orphaned by cops in a popular uprising which only looks more and more justified as we learn more about Zaun. That is to say that Topside doesn't care about Zaunites. From what we can tell, Heimerdinger has been leading the city for 300 years, and he discovers just now that Zaun has problems ?? Piltover prides itself for being the city of progress and equality, while exploiting the misery of the people that are LITERRALY BENEATH THEM. It's the final shot of THE FIRST SCENE IN THE SHOW, the topside people are sitting ON TOP of Zaun, reaping the benefits while throwing their wastes at them.

I think there's no better illustration for how Piltover considers Zaun than the scene where Jayce announces to the Council that Silco has demanded independance. All the councilors lose their shit. They are OUTRAGED by the demand. Clearly, Piltover considers Zaun its property. People to exploit, whose need and misery they can ignore, and ultimately, a problem to be solved through the police by having them arrested/beaten up/killed.

So either the show was indeed trying to tell a story about class struggle and oppression, and failed to deliver a satisfying conclusion; or the show was only interested in the appearance and flavor of class struggle only as a vessel for the cliché of "the cycle of violence". Which hmm, yeah it's 2024. I don't think anyone needs me to write an entire section about the necessity of fighting for human rights and resisting oppression.

I could have talked about how pitfighter Vi was 60% of the promo for Season 2, and yet was done and gone in a minute, which was also what we got with the promo, or how a French animation studio decided to call an independant, pacifist and egalitarian community " The Commune" (if you know you know); I could have also talked about Jinx's character, and how the show portrays her self healing from her devouring guilt, but I'll stop rambling here. I hate that I have wrote this, because I don't want to spread negativity. I'd rather spend this kind of energy on things I love.

The thing is, I really really wish I enjoyed Arcane season 2, because season 1 means a lot to me. Vi's character awakened something in me. It is representation I never knew I needed and it changed me. I know this sounds silly. It's only a fictionnal story after all, but it helped me grow into a better and more hopeful person. In the end, I just feel like season 2 went too far too fast, and left me behind to try and pick up the pieces of my expectations. If you've made it this far, I sincerely thank you, and I hope you have a beautiful rest of the day.

[duncanor]

Like, it's only now that I notice this show started with a massacre on a bridge and ended with one also. Those god damn cycles 😭

The arcane soundtrack starting with the Bridge and ending on the Bridge (reprise)..

[sweetflanfiction]

Asymetrical Symphony - Part 19

Universe: Arcane (LOL)

Pairing: Viktor x reader

Summary: You had been on the rooftop with Jayce and the Herald and somehow you were sent to a place where things can be different with your help

Disclaimers and Warnings: If you want me to tag you on the chapters let me know! Also leave a comment with your thoughts :D Not finished, not proofread. English isn't my 1st language. All I know about LOL is from google and all I know about Arcane is taken from the show, so inacuracies will be plenty. I have a sort of idea on how to I'm gonna go with magic and runes, so bear with me. The reader will be written as GN (going by they/them) to get everyone involved, but if you see any discrepancies let me know.

A.N: I have recieved such wonderfull messages! You guys are the absolute best! I really appreciate it! I love reading your thoughts and comments about the story! Keep 'em coming!

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 • Part 9 • Part 10 • Part 11 • Part 12 • Part 13 • Part 14 • Part 15 • Part 16 • Part 17 • Part 18

• ··········· • ············ •

The first sense that came to you was smell. A mix of antiseptic, alcohol, and cleaning products. It was pungent enough to give your brain a jolt and bring you back from the land of darkness and silence.

Next came the noises. Distant conversations, the click-clack of shoes on the ceramic floor, whispers coming and going, beeping machines, and the constant sound of light snores.

With a sigh, you opened your eyes. The room was bathed in evening low light, giving you enough light to scan the room, but not being soft enough not to give you a massive headache.

You recognize the patterned tiles adorning the lower half of the wall in front of you. Pilltover’s General Hospital. The proximity to the Academy made it the go-to choice for any accident that needed immediate care. However this time, instead of the common wards, you'd been taken to a nice private room.

As you kept looking around the room you noticed flowers adorning the bedside table and a mop of brown hair lying on the side of your bed. 

Viktor was hunched uncomfortably on a dodgy hospital chair. Head facing away from you, on top of his arms, and snoring softly. Sometimes one of his fingers would stroke your arm softly. 

You lifted a heavy hand and stroked Viktor’s hair softly, entangling your fingers on his tresses and flexing your fingers gently on his scalp. He made a small throaty sound of satisfaction and after a few seconds of this makeshift scalp massage, he turned his sleepy eyes to you. Somewhere between being hazy from whatever drugs they'd given you and being drained from using the rune, you found it was a good idea to keep your hand on Viktor.

As he laid his head back down on his crossed arms, you let your hand fall on his cheek, stroking the top of it slowly. He blinked lazily and stifled what looked to be a painful yawn.

“What happened?” Your voice was croaky and slurred.

He blinked again, trying to keep the sleep away, but allowed your hand to warm his cold face.

“You got hurt. Instead of Sky.” He spoke softly, his golden eyes moving around your face. “There was something in the room. A rune I presume.”

You nodded and craned your neck to look at the ceiling as if the white concrete would help you remember. And when a flash of a rune appeared there, it did jump-start the memory reel of that event.  Bolts on the wall, Sky on the floor, the rune, the lack of control over your body, the transference of injuries.

Instinctively you moved your hand to touch the place where the wounds were, hidden under the blankets.

“Don’t.” Viktor's hand twitched but didn't move past that. The look in his eyes though was enough for you to stop. “Please, let it heal.”

"It doesn't hurt." You noted as if that meant anything other than the hospital supply of painkillers was doing its job.

"There is still blood on the tile cracks" He sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "A very ugly shade of brown I might add."

"I'm sorry." You stroke his cheek, grabbing his attention again. He opened his eyes again and shook his head.

"I have a suspicion you were unaware of the results of the rune. So, in all senses and purposes, it wasn't your fault."

“I imagine the council is having a field day with this.”

“I don’t want to talk about it." He moved his head again, so his forehead was touching his arms, his eyes hidden from you and his voice muffled. "Jayce is taking care of the needs of the council.”

“How bad is it?” You raised an eyebrow, as you placed a strand of hair behind his ear.

“I may have threatened Salo’s well-being if he threw the word incompetent around one more time.” YOu heard a groan coming from him and tried your best not to chuckle, but something next to a snort came out and he looked up at you. “No…no. Do not laugh. It is not funny. I threatened the life of a Council member. ”

“I would have paid good money to see that.”  The tiniest smile appeared on his face, but he forced it away. “How’s Jayce? Sky? Oh Gods...my mother..."

Viktor sighed again, moving his head so his chin was touching his arm instead of his cheek. You placed your hand on top of his cold one. His thumb intertwined with yours.

“Jayce has been driving himself mad with guilt over hurting Sky and you. It's a bit unnecessary now that the deed is done, but he's a stubborn one.” He turned his gaze to you, softening his golden eyes to almost liquid form. “Your mother has been trying to keep calm, but having another one of her children in the hospital must bring back bad memories. I believe once she knows you are awake and in good spirits, she’ll relax.”

“And Sky?” 

“Miss Young is certain she was the one impaled. We’ve been trying to convince her that it was probably the shock of seeing the accident, but she's adamant. Perhaps when you get a chance you might want to talk to her about it.”

“And you?” You poked his jaw with a finger and he frowned.

“Well, two people almost died in my lab because my fool of a partner forgot the basic safety precautions over his hurt ego.” It was like a dam broke and Viktor rambled, his eyebrows furrowing and his eyes shifting away. “I'm rediscovering my dislike for hospitals. You know, I have been sitting in this chair for 2 days. It’s uncomfortable and squeaky. I was tempted to ask Jayce to bring me my bench."

"You could've gone home." You suggested and let out a puff of air.

"You were hurt and there was nothing I could do but watch, so...I watched. I must say, I don’t like that very much…You being hurt and me not being able to help.”

Viktor took a deep breath and you knew he was about to continue with the exhaustion-motivated tirade. You reached for his ear and tugged it gently, making him look at you a stop his rant before it began.

“We’re fine. I just feel like I want to sleep for a week. There’s no pain and we are all alive and kicking.” You smiled gently and he rolled his eyes in both defeat and exhaustion, but mostly exhaustion.

“Please don’t do it again.” He leaned into your hand.

“I'll try.” You offered him a reassuring smile and he nodded.

"Good enough."

The door to the room opened and Viktor quickly straightened his back, a little too quickly judging by the pained look on his face. 

“You know…” A familiar-looking nurse walked inside, not looking up from the clipboard in her hands. “It would have been nice to know who you were the first time around.”

You chuckled slowly at her very faint accent. Viktor eyebrows raised at her and looked between you two confused and curious.

“I thought throwing family names around when I was cuffed to a bed would seem a little pedantic.” 

The nurse nodded and grinned, placing the clipboard at the foot of the bed, throwing a glance at Viktor, who was watching everything like a hawk. She squinted at him and then looked at you.

"So you did know each other...interesting." She gave him a cryptic smile and looked back at you. “I am Nurse Alena. I’ll be checking in on you while you are staying with us.”

“How formal.” You joked, she rolled her eyes.

“You are no longer cuffed to a bed.” She grinned and walked over to the side of the bed Viktor was. "I have to keep my views and personal preferences in check now."

You made a defiant sound in your throat as she rolled her eyes. Viktor had to move away a few feet. She showed you her gloved hands and you sighed.

“You’re going to hate this part, but I have to do it.” You nodded as she placed her hands on your face and grabbed a tiny flashlight. “So, which was it?”

“What?” As soon as her hands touched your face, your head started to become weary, and hyper-vigilant.

“The true reason for you to be here.” She placed a hand on the side of your face and you gasped, almost whined. “According to some people, it was just a simple accident at the Tallis Lab. But! according to the rumors...well...”

You heard Viktor huffing and shuffling around to get to the other side of the bed. When he reached you, you felt his fingers lightly trace the back of your hand in a soothing pattern. Alena’s hand shifted from the telltale golden hues.

“What rumors?” You asked, your voice showing obvious signs of distress. 

“Well…we have an assassination attempt by a Zaunite as a middle finger to Topsiders.” She pulled away, earning a relieved sigh for you, and counted with her fingers. “There’s the one where a machine turned against the people in the lab and you saved them…again. My favorite though? A lover's quarrel between you three and the other pretty councilor.”

“That one is your favorite?” Viktor’s voice was a mix of curiosity and judgment.

“Of course. The drama. The affair...It's a very topside reason to end up in the hospital.” She winked at you and you grinned at her, stealing a glance at Viktor's appalled face.

“There was no lover’s quarrel…or assassination attempt…Someone was hurt!” Viktor’s eyebrow knotted in his forehead as he argued indignantly.

“So it was the machine.” The nurse raised her eyebrows and squinted her eyes at him and you tried to chuckle, as she stepped away, clicking her light off.

“No…and I would appreciate it if you and everyone else would stop circulating such preposterous notions.” You saw a redness come in his pale cheeks as he argued.

“Lanky and cranky…deadly combination.” She looked at you impressed, a smug grin on her face.

Viktor opened his mouth to retort back, but sighed, probably realizing that he was in fact both cranky and lanky.

"I apologize. I am in fact...both lanky and cranky."

"Quite alright. I would be too if I'd refuse to leave this chair for the last couple of nights." Alena's expression softened.

He placed his hands on the mattress and leaned into them. His face was a mask of resignation and tiredness. It saddened you to see him like this. A shadow of the other Viktor dangling in front of your vision. A constantly tired and in pain Viktor.

In, what you thought was a bold, yet needed, move, you touched his waist, his head immediately snapping to your hand, arm slightly up to look at where it was. You finger prodded his ruffled clothes and found what you were looking for, the edges of his back brace. A deep breath escaped you as you tapped it.

“Go home, take a warm bath, get out of the leg braces, put some cream on your back brace, and lay down on a proper bed.” You told him softly.

Viktor’s eyes quickly shifted from your hand, still warming a spot on his waist, to your eyes. He took a deep breath and nodded.

“I apologize once more.” He straightened his back the best he could, looking at an amused Alena.

“No worries.” she shrugged, raising her hands like she had done to you weeks prior. "If you need to, go to the doctor at the end of the corridor and ask him for something to help you with the discomfort. Tell you I sent you."

"Thank you, there's no need for that. I'm already used to the discomfort."

The nurse nodded, grabbed his crutch, and handed it to him. He accepted silently, turning his face towards you still unsure. You nodded and smiled reassuringly.

“I’ll be back in a few hours.” He slowly walked towards the door, his face a mask of visible discomfort.

“You sure he’s gonna make it home?” Alena asked and swayed your head in doubt, your face now a mask of concern.

“Or the Academy. Whichever is closer.”

• ··········· • ············ •

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