#the viktor thing was one of the worst things so good job jayce

[tryingmybestiguess]

It's okay guys, Jayce was forced to read the script of those three episodes (and probably the ones we have left) over and over, I would have gone crazy too

[luna-writes-stuff]

The type my favourite Arcane characters would fall for:

With Viktor, Jayce, Mel, Vi, Caitlin, Ekko, Jinx, Silco, and Vander

———————————————————————

Viktor:

Viktor is very much a person who prefers solitude over social interactions. He focuses on his job more than anything, and can not quite find the time nor energy to do anything after that. Though he loves to find solace in lonesome rooms, he needs a little sunlight occasionally; metaphorically and literally. Someone who drops in once every two hours to get him a drink, a note or simply sit next to him to distract him from his project momentarily. You could sit on an empty chair at his side, observing his work from a safe distance, careful to not shove your nose in there. Tiny questions would escape you, such as “what is that?” Or “why are you using that?”, and he would be delighted to answer them. Sometimes, he’d pull off his goggles to look at you shortly, a tiny smile gracing his face, before he returns to his work. You’d get along with Jayce quite easily - maybe too easy, but it’s all in good manners. Viktor tries to make time for you and take short breaks, but more often than not, he gets so caught up, he cannot afford the distraction. Jayce is more than happy to entertain you for the time being; he rather enjoys your presence as well.

——

Jayce:

Jayce oozes charisma. Now usually, fire and fire don’t go well, but match his energy, and this is man is smitten. Absolutely at loss for words. Desperately in love, if you will. You tease him; the words disappear on his tongue. Now come the heart-eyes. You’d walk down the halls, and you could simply feel his eyes on you. He’d halt any conversation he held and stare at you in silence. Respectfully. Would you work in the same lab as him, this man cannot focus to save his life. Your jokes, your smile, your witty remarks….He’s gone. The worst is when you radiate serotonin. A job gone right, a good song, a funny joke? Anything that makes you smile, makes his heart skip a step. You know that hollow feeling in your stomach, but the good one? That’s him. He’s quick to pick up on little things you do once you get excited: Clap your hands, squeal, jump up and down, squeezing your hands in fists? He sees it. And there is that pit again.

——

Mel:

Listen, this woman is so busy and booked, she tends to miss out on the little things. She needs someone who will take little times a day where they will take a short walk, or do some painting together. Anything to get her mind off of work or business for a short second. A spontaneous decision often takes her aback, as she likes to plan things out, but once she trusts you, it’s all in, baby. During council meetings, you’ll sit on the side, silently calming her down when things get hectic or chaotic. You help her plan things out, but leave room for the fun things. She treasures this so much, she cannot even begin to explain it to you. Small touches on your arm or hand constantly to remind her you’re still there. Ironically enough, it keeps her from overworking. You’re simply so soothing to her.

——

Caitlin:

Bamf. Do I need to elaborate? Caitlin is the type of person to see the good in everyone, no matter how tiny it will be. ‘How bad can they be?’ is a regular question from her. She can be attracted to anyone, really. But if there was one type to capture her heart, it’s the bamf. The person who says things as they are, does as they please, witty remarks, teasing winks etc. The impression you leave on her is large, and she is in awe immediately. Even if she claims to not be amused. She is. Her heart is almost beating out of her chest. Someone get her some help, please. If you start flirting with her, this poor woman does not know what to do. Her cheeks turn red, her ears heat up, she freezes on the spot. But she loves it so much, though she would never admit it. And it’s great to get her flustered.

——

Vi:

Sure, Vi would love a badass and independent partner. But when that partner has a soft spot for children? Always sees the good in everything? Smiles when someone says hi? Don’t get me started. The way your voice changes when you speak to someone in a friendly manner: gone. Bye-bye, Vi. She is a bit rough around the edges, and can come of as cold at times. You contradict that in the best ways possible. Your kind waves to everyone you pass, the ‘how are you?’ when trying to pay for something, your loving hugs…All the things she’d 100% fall for. No question about it. She insists on holding your hand at all times. She says it is because you like it, but let’s be honest. She is not planning on letting you go and likes to let everyone know, you are indeed taken. 10/10 the type to make-out in public when someone takes your friendliness a bit too extreme. Her hand tugging on your waist, the glare shot towards the one flirting with you? Oof.

——

Jinx:

Jinx has a teasing tone, as everyone might know. Though she could use someone to work against that, she would not necessarily find herself attracted to it. If you decide to throw a confetti bomb her way though? You just got yourself a new girlfriend. She is the type to cause mayhem anywhere and everywhere. If she finds someone to do that with, her heart is taken. There are times her emotions tend to get the best of her. You’ll have to calm her down gradually before she does anything stupid. Offer a listening ear, a supportive arm, and she’ll eventually calm down. She loves to do stupid things with you, but she needs breaks. Sit with her and help her tinker with new ideas. Your voice can truly be enough to simply soothe her.

——

Ekko:

Ekko has a soft spot for nerds, no one can convince me otherwise. And I’m not talking technology nerd. I’m talking info-dumping nerd. Someone who knows a little bit about everything. With anything he encounters, you are able to tell a fun story behind that. “Is that a raven?” “Actually, it’s a crow. Did you know crows actually remember people and voices and can even hold a grudge against you? Even worse, crows gossip. What? They do.” Man has fallen head over heels. Your little ranting and rambling makes him feel all giddy inside. He actually used to hate it, but as he grew to realize it was love, he began to accept it. Now, the feeling is welcomed. He can listen to you talk for ages, as cheesy as it might sound. And he remembers everything you tell him. Sometimes he wishes he didn’t, so you could tell him again. You know you ramble, and you have often been told to shut up. So, when you notice you’re ranting again, you always stop suddenly, offering a meek ‘sorry’. He will not hesitate to shake his head wildly, grabbing your hands in reassurance, claiming he wants to hear more. And it’s not to make you feel better, he genuinely enjoys your little talks. It’s one of the things that makes you so special to him. He treasures every single word spoken to him.

——

Silco:

Now, Silco is not an easy one to fall. Not at all. Even with you, it might not have been love at first sight. You had to grow on him. But your mind, and your strategies? They were phenomenal since day one. And though he simply shrugged at it at first, he found himself being attracted to you for that exact reason. You had a solution to every problem, and you had a way of thinking that he simply adored. And from there, he started noticing other things about you. Had your eyes always held that sparkle in them? Were your hands always that delicate? Had your voice always sounded that soothing? It wasn’t until you once laid a hand on his shoulder to shake him out of dreamland, that he realized that he had indeed fallen. Because that touch seemed to linger on his shoulder even as you walked back to your seat at the table. And your eyes silently asking him if he was okay, suddenly looked so different. And then it all clicks. From that day on, his behavior towards you completely changes. Now he wants you in the room with him. Now he wants your opinion on everything. Now you have to follow him wherever he goes. He needs you closer to him now than ever before.

——

Vander:

Listen. Dad friend meets mom friend. It’s meant to be, what else can I say? Your warm-hearted personality, the way you kneel down when talking to children, your reasonable words always interrupting fights. That’s just a short list of things he adores about you. Being the voice of reason, but with that compassionate tone is something he greatly admires. Perhaps more than people usually would. But of course, carrying the day on your shoulder and trying to remain kind to others can take quite a toll on a person. At night, when you’re sure others will no longer come look for you, you tire yourself with thoughts of the day. He often comes to visit you around this time so you will not be alone. You share your worries with each other, but also try to encourage each other to keep it up. Those talks are something so precious and intimate to him. And he keeps on doing these even after being your partner through the years.

[mistresscitrusslice]

I will never get why some people think Jayce and Viktor’s arcs aren’t connected enough. Like, did y’all not see how so much of what they did impacted the other? They’ll literally say there weren’t genuine moments between the two and still have the gall to post this shit on the Jayvik tag and say they could do a better job writing the show than the actual writers.

The point IS that they’re growing apart and not resolving their problems jointly throughout the series. Jayce gets drawn in by the worst parts of Piltover and Viktor gets drawn in by the worst parts of Zaun. That’s- that’s literally spoonfed in the “We lost our way” scene.

Their plots seem disconnected BECAUSE THEY’RE INTENDED TO BE. Because Jayce’s priority list is a mess of incomprehensible scribbles and Viktor’s go-to move is to lock himself in the lab, fuck everything else. That’s. The point. They lost sight of their goal just as they lost sight of each other. If Caitvi is an example of how Piltover and Zaun can work together, Jayvik is an example of how Piltover and Zaun can fall apart.

There are still people out there saying that Jayce doesn’t express worry for Viktor’s impending death outside of the hospital scene. And apparently there wasn’t enough story emphasis on Jayce insulting the people of the Undercity. That Jayce and Viktor “really don’t act like good friends or anything” AND THEN POST THIS IN THE JAYVIK TAG AS DIRECT PROVOCATION. If you can’t see that they’re close, then you’re denser than the brick wall I feel like I’m talking to. This isn’t even about shipping. Some people LITERALLY cannot see the platonic love waving its arms in front of you.

Jayce can’t figure out priorities, but we DO see him working with Viktor on the Hexcore, trying to influence the way it reacts to organic matter. In fact, I think the only time he spends in lab after becoming councilor IS TRYING TO SAVE VIKTOR.

Viktor also pushed him away at the start, saying not to worry, and Jayce respected his wishes. He only starts accepting Jayce’s help after getting sent to the emergency room.

You know what else he does to try to save his partner? HE DEPOSES THE HEAD OF THE STATE. (Besties, if your bf won’t dethrone a ruler for you, he ain’t your bf <3) As soon as Heimerdinger said he would destroy the one chance they had at saving Viktor’s life, Jayce took immediate action and removed that obstacle for them.

Wdym they never focused again on the fact that Jayce insulted Viktor’s people? We see that that line had IMMEDIATE AND DIRECT AND LASTING CONSEQUENCES. It’s implied that Viktor would have told Jayce about the shimmer since he said, “Jayce will understand,” but decides not to tell him anything after Jayce says that bullshit. Without someone to bounce ideas off of while using the shimmer and the Hexcore on himself, he gets a lot more reckless and Sky goes poof.

One thing leads to another. Just because it wasn’t spoonfed to you doesn’t mean you can’t use your brain and make the connection. Besides, Jayce eventually writes up the proposal to free Zaun. Viktor presents this peace treaty to the Council alongside Jayce, so we can assume that it has been at least partially resolved between them, but likely that we will see more of it in season 2, or so you need that spelled out for you as well?

I said this a in a response already, but seeing as it was deleted to curate this user’s echo chamber, i still felt the need to post this where people could see it. Fuck you, but you can’t see this anyway, so nobody’s feelings will be hurt.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

still only 4 minutes into s2e4 but...

i refuse to say arcane s2 is "bad" because queer animation is being shot behind the shed right now, we're not going to see anything like this again in a very long time. but of the three and a bit eps ive seen so far, it's all been... Things Happen, instead of characters driving events.

the jinx scenes have been incredible, she's definitely the highlight, i love the warmer approach they've taken with her and the other lady working together, it feels natural, but everything involving the other characters feels so rushed and hollow.

specifically it seems every cait and vi scene has a budget of nothing. half of it is fairly cheap montages and everything seems to be exposited instead of naturally shown. like yeah they did a good job of showing why cait so desperately wants to shoot jinx. and i thought the reveal that the previously shown poison gas was the cops was great! but since then it just seems like we're not allowed to get into their heads.

like, why does vi NOT want to be an enforcer? why is it then enough for a couple of nice cops to talk to her? though i can infer she feels responsibility for the attack that ambessa the other underground gang performed on the event later. also who the fuck is the cop with the shield? what is his deal? but we don't get time in vi's head. we don't see her revolving all these thoughts around, she changes her mind about stuff in split second moments because there's no time.

and cait. she is the worst offender by far. her reactions seem very extreme because they need to be, not because being extreme is any sort of established part of her character. I am constantly comparing Cait to Glimmer from She-ra, but that's because everything Cait's doing here is exactly how Glimmer reacted after the Horde got her mum killed, except Glimmer had all that darkness as a pre-established part of her, and they spent a long time showing it being encouraged by Shadow Weaver. Meanwhile with Cait, a good hearted cop who has shown NO desire for corruption or power thirst... she's turning on her friends immediately, and we are TOLD that Ambessa is leading her astray, we are never SHOWN this. It's very clear this is because there needs to be a plot, not because any care is being given to Cait as a character. It's very disappointing.

i do love that scene in s2e1 with jayce carrying viktor to the room to save him. the way that was shot, with us watching present and immediate future jayce react to viktor's body, it was amazing. that is a great example of cinematography and storytelling without dialogue - he was so terrified!!!

i have no idea what's going on in viktor's head now though. we've spent very little time with him. to me it seems like he's being brainwashed with an image of the assistant who was killed, a lot like the one guy from Scavenger's Reign who was brainwashed by the fat alien with a hallucination of his dead wife. but we only get a 3 second glimpse of this whereas Scavenger's Reign spends many episodes on it.

Ekko may as well not exist at the moment.

[burningfunobject]

I hate heimerdinger

Idc abt jayce hate or caitlyn hate. We are losing focus of the true enemy

THIS RAT FACE BASTARD

I hate everything about him

The way he walks, the way he's so fuckuing incompetent, the way he's just casually classist, the way he's so oblivious to the world around him, the way he goes on and on about being a scientist and then does jackshit, the way he starts mourning viktor before he's even dead, the way he slurped that fucking tea made me violent, the way a like 17 year old had to teach him that poor people deserve to feel happy too, the way he allowed zaun to get like that in the first place, the way he's like 300 and acts like a literal child, his dumb ahh mustache, he looks like one of those old trolls dolls, his eyes creep me out, hus ears too, the way he's literally the worst character INCLUDING Marcus and fin and hoskel

GOD I HATE HIM

I hate the fact I'm supposed to feel bad for him when something goes wrong because of his FUCKING INCOMPETENCE. Like omg you didn't do your job properly for like 200 years and you get kicked out that is sooooooo sad

Ekko is the only good thing about seeing him

Pretty sure he just got rid of his poro like where tf did it go??

I want to kick him, hard

Watch him go flying

Hope he suffers with the weird orb hextech thingy

Not ekko tho

Ekko is great

[sylvie-fics]

Enemies AND Lovers 💕

its another Viktor x reader for all you bitches out there. love yall like frfr.

Word count: 2.6K

Rating: M, minors dni

Warnings: Nsfw, reader uses she/her pronouns .

Authors note: unfinished? nah, it's an ✨Open Ending✨

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

He hasn’t told anyone about it. 

Sure, his intense hatred for you was real at first. One collaborative project gone horribly wrong would cause anyone to hold some resentment. Damn, though, if you weren’t the most horribly stubborn person Viktor had ever met in his life. Insisting you knew what you were doing, and that things had to be done your way. It infuriates him. You infuriate him. So unwilling to listen, so unwilling to work with people. He’d been frustrated with Jayce before, sure– But you seemed to bother him on another level. He’d never been so heavily inclined to go buy a dart board, put your picture on it, and throw sharp objects at it. 

 He hated you. Or, at least, he did. For the past few months, he’s just been pretending. Maybe because he thought about the situation, and after some self-reflection, learned that he too was in the wrong. Maybe it’s out of desperation to keep his pride intact, because he just can’t let you win.

By all means, he’s ashamed of how he got himself into this situation. One day it was an innocent, “Should we hire an assistant?”. Then, it was asking Heimerdinger if he knew anyone that would be a good fit for the job. Oh, the way he spoke of you as though you were some sort of genius. Y/N would be perfect, Viktor. You know, she’s from the undercity too, Viktor. I’m sure the two of you would get along great, Viktor. Despicable. Surely, you must have bothered Heimerdinger just as much– and this was the perfect opportunity to pawn you off on someone else. Now Viktor’s stuck with you, and suffering every day because of it. 

Jayce, on the other hand, is almost certain Viktor’s been denying his feelings for you… well over a year now. And whatever happened a few months ago– and he *knows* something happened– has turned him into a desperate, lovesick puppy of a man. He finds himself frustrated trying to piece it all together. Everything was fine at first. The three of you worked together in relative harmony. Hell, he’d even say that the three of you were friends. There were times when the three of you could go out for lunch together, or sit in the same room without screaming at each other. 

And then somewhere along the way, you and Viktor realized you were both stubborn people who had trouble understanding “compromise”. Viktor would call you difficult. You’d call him a couple of choice words. The two of you would glare at each other, and then refuse to look at each other. 

Eventually, the hostility became constant. Unbearable, even. Jayce had to mentally prepare himself every day for the warzone he called work.

Something happened– but no one will tell him what. Frankly, it's starting to bother him more than the hostile work environment did. 

It’s painful to watch Viktor’s display of poor acting. On many occasions, Jayce has had to bury his head into his hands, truly astounded by how awful his friend is at hiding his feelings. He sees the way Viktor blankly stares at you– like– like it doesn’t even register that he’s staring! You’ll look up and stare back at him sometimes, waving your hands around trying to bring him back down to Earth. He’s just… trapped in his thoughts, or daydream, or whatever is going on in his head. The worst part of it, though? When he does snap back in reality, he glares at you, and says something along the lines of “What are you staring at me for? It’s rude, you know.”

He wants so badly to call him out on it. The way Viktor stares at you with adoration, and then unconvincingly says something about how much he despises you. 

*

On that fateful night Some months back, Viktor had gotten an unexpected knock on his door. In all fairness, most knocks on his door were unexpected. He wasn’t the type to have company often, but furthermore he wasn’t the type to be outside of the lab much. All in all, a rare occurrence– Viktor outside the lab, and with company. 

Though, he can’t say he was initially happy to see the person on the other side of the door. Harshly interrogating you on what you wanted, and why you were here.

“You argue with me a lot, and your existence generally makes me angry. Would you agree it’s fair to say we have a deep-running and intense hatred for each other?” 

“Obviously.” he responded.

“So, here’s the deal. I’m like, basically the modern day succubus. I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you fall in love with me – at the very least on a sexual level– and then you’ll suffer every day after. Every day. You see me in the lab? Hard. On the street? Hard. I’m about to destroy you. I’ve got so many years experience of destroying men. Do you wanna know what death feels like? Because I’m gonna suck and fuck the life out of you, bitch.”

Every word that came out of your mouth was simultaneously as horrifying as it was endearing. He felt such an intense mixture of both fear and arousal– and out of that came his stunned silent response of nodding his head and opening the door a bit wider, thus inviting you in. 

The rest of the night was a haze to him. He’d yet to convince himself any of it actually happened–It was more like a fever dream that encompassed all of his senses, and then some that had yet to be discovered. He spoke languages that did not exist. Found 7 whole new wonders of the world. He had his head thrown back, eyes rolling, whole body trembling, whimpering and moaning like he’d gotten hit by a truck. 

He couldn’t hear a word you were saying over how loud his heart was beating— and he could feel his heart beat in every part of his body. 

At some point, he’d lost track of how many rounds the two of you had gone. Your rage induced hate sex truly knew no limit, it having given you the stamina of a god. 

He was sure after you’d physically destroyed him, you’d walk out of his room and leave him for dead. He almost wishes you would have. Rather, you took care of him the rest of the night. 

Viktor could handle you re-dressing him a bit. However, what he couldn’t handle was the way you laid his head on your lap and ran your nails against his scalp. He melted into you, murmuring words of praise he would never otherwise dream of saying to you. Truth be told, he was so out of his mind that he couldn’t be spiteful in that moment. He couldn’t even remember why he disliked you so much. He still hasn’t remembered. 

You kept speaking so softly, talking about your past, what you wanted for the future. He’d fell asleep some time in between the topics of your favorite books and your favorite kinds of flowers. Periwinkles— he thinks. Though, considering he dreamed about taking you to a field of flowers, he might have just made that up. 

That next morning, you’d stealthily crawled out of his bed. He’d made a desperate effort to grab your wrist, a whine escaping his lips. 

“No…” he pleaded.

“I have to get ready for work, you’ll see me in a few hours, won’t you?”

He tried pulling you back in, clearly upset by the resistance.

“You’ll get cold. Come back to bed.” 

You placed your hands on his face, planting a quick kiss on his forehead, “I have a jacket, it's alright.”

And with that, you were gone. 

*

The change was immediate– and noticeable, too. A bit overly noticeable. Jayce never considered himself the best when it came to emotional talks, but usually he was– at the very least– able to shovel out a “I’m sorry to hear that, bud.” or “I’m here for you, man.” 

“... and furthermore, what does it mean to be a good person in this society?”  Viktor continued, not even having touched the food in front of him. He’d been talking for thirty minutes straight about morals and society. Jayce had already finished his lunch, and desperately watched the clock, only hoping this lunch break would end soon. He hasn’t got a clue how to have… whatever conversation they’re having.

“Am I a bad person for hating one of my own people? Hate… what even is hate… it’s just a societal concept made to divide us. I am a victim of society for perpetuating hate.”

Viktor looked like a hollow shell of a man with a voice box hastily thrown somewhere inside. 

“Now all I can do is suffer. I’m hurting in places I didn’t know could hurt. Do you think that's the true human experience? Pain? Suffering? What if I were to evolve past pain and suffering? What if I just felt nothing at all?”

Jayce has expressed his concern. Hundreds of times. For whatever reason, though, no one will tell him what’s going on. Frankly, it’s making him upset. He’d like to think you’re all fairly close friends with him. Aren’t friends supposed to talk about the things that are upsetting them? 

*

“Well… aren't they?” Jayce asked, looking over to Mel.

Jayce has found that venting about this situation to someone has relieved some of the stress. Mel seems to have a rather keen insight on things, especially when it comes to complicated emotions--Jayce was thankful for that– it had gotten him out of some bad situations a number of times.

“He’s probably got a thing for that girl… oh.. What's her na–(y/n).” 

“But he… I don't know, Mel. He really hated her before. They just sort of argued about everything. They could have the same idea and would argue over who had it first.”

“That's why he's so upset about it, then. Can’t convince himself he hates her anymore, doesn’t wanna look like he’s head over heels for her.” She moved to a desk, pulling out a pen and paper, writing something down “So, my thought is, say you were to give her this anonymous letter. It’s a pretty intimate letter. Viktor somehow sees this letter. His reaction would be rather telling, wouldn’t you think?”

“I– something about that feels wrong, morally.”

Mel looked over for a moment, seemingly confident in her plan, “No, no, look, it’ll work. Tell me about her!” 

“Well..” Jayce began, “I think she's got like… her eyes are sorta orange, maybe? I mean. She talks, but not too much. Kinda just gets focused and gets quiet. I guess she's kinda flowery? Just generally smells like flowers? I don’t– I don’t really pay that much attention, I just get invested when the two of them start getting into it. They're all– let's do it this way– no let's do it that way– you're gonna die if you stay up all night every night– don’t tell me what to do– dont tell me what not to do– you don't sleep either– well at least i eat properly, you always say you're too busy to join me– well you just always eat at the wrong time….”

It was in that moment that Jayce had a realization. Maybe, just maybe, the two of you didn’t hate each other. Maybe it was just that both of you had very aggressive ways of caring for people? Now that he thinks of it, almost every argument he’d seen the two of you have were over each others health and safety. Arguments over sleep. Arguments over what to eat. Hell, the worst argument he ever saw was when you insisted you’d be fine wearing sunglasses for welding. Or maybe it was when Viktor decided to use a blow torch without gloves. 

You two don’t hate each other. You deeply care about each other, and it’s been that way for a while.

“Yeah… give me that letter.”

*

“I can’t believe someone would be so shallow. So idiotic.”

Viktor grumbles, pacing back and forth. His brows furrowed as he angrily read off the paper.

“Your– that's not even the right eye color– shines like a thousand suns.” he continues, rage seeping into his words, “Here, it compares (Y/N) to a perfect bed of roses. Wrong.” 

You let out a slight ‘ouch’. You knew you weren’t perfect, but he could have left that part out. Talk about hurtful. Though, you had to admit, it was quite entertaining watching him get this upset. You unsure who you’ve managed to swoon enough to send a middle school-esque love letter– you can’t really recall meeting or flirting with anyone. (Outside of Viktor, that is.)

“Her favorite flowers are periwinkles. It would be more accurate to compare her to those. At the very least, they would know that she wears a perfume that smells like honeysuckles. Why not those? She doesn’t even like roses. What kind of love letter is this?”

Jayce’s gone into a state of stunned silence. Sure, he knew Viktor to be a bit of a perfectionist when it came to all things science… but this was new. He looked like he was about to explode, just fuming with anger. Meanwhile, you’re leaned over your desk, tears streaming down your face from how hard you're laughing. Mel was definitely right about this.

“ ‘I admire your’... there’s no way someone would write this in good conscience, ‘Quiet and submissive personality’?! Quiet and submissive?! (Y/N). Quiet and submissive? Have they met her?! Quiet and submissive…”

“Oooh, look at me, I’m such a rose-y woman who’s so quiet and submissive~” you joked, shortly before falling back into a laughing fit.

Viktor slammed the letter back on your desk, physically showing his disapproval of this fictional anonymous admirer. If looks could kill, the anon would be long deceased. 

“You’ll be making a mistake if you pursue this romantic interest. He obviously doesn’t know a thing about you.” 

Viktor watched your face closely for any sign of confirmation or rejection. He was already rather upset by the idea of someone else being with you, but he knew it could get worse. If for some ungodly reason, you decided *this* was the person… oh, that would be the end of it. He would lose his mind. Surely you wouldn’t stoop to that level, letting someone who doesn’t even know the color of your eyes be in your life like that. You wouldn’t do that, right?

“What– why would I do that? What, you think I like people who just… do everything I say and worship me like I'm some sort of goddess? I mean, like, maybe sexually, but outside of that...”

“Good. You know, some people just don’t even get to know–”

You interrupted Viktor shortly into his rant, 

“… besides, I like you.”

The room went solid for a solid minute– though it surely felt like hours. You, anxiously awaiting a response from… well… anyone at this point. Viktor, Unsure if he truly heard you correctly. Jayce in pure disbelief that he’s witnessing this. Heimerdinger, passing by to drop off some papers, but immediately looking into the room and deciding this wasn’t the best time.

Viktor was the first to break the silence.

“...eh?”

“Oh… i'm sorry I- I thought you knew.”

“Wha–”

“That time I came over and made up a whole thing about how I'm gonna make you fall in love with me. That was me confessing. I was already in love with you. I'm sorry, I really should have made that more clear.”

[arcgayne]

my reasoning:

(these rankings are based on multiple criteria, such as relatability, hotness, relevance, how interesting they are as a character, and so on and so forth).

1) Jinx: she’s literally me. so silly and mentally unstable. needs therapy so bad and it shows. i fucking love her. please get help queen

2) Ekko: literally has never done anything wrong ever. moral compass strong as fuck. bonus points for looking cool. he’s also literally me but jinx wins over him bc she’s more unhinged.

3) Viktor: my fucking beloved. Do I want to be him? Do I want to be with him? Realistically I want neither of these things but unrealistically I need this man in ways even the hexcore couldn’t comprehend.

4) Mel: God I fucking love a powerful smart beautiful woman. AND she has mommy issues? she’s literally perfect. i’m rotating her in my head as we speak

5) Vi: hot tragic lesbian. almost lost points for becoming a cop but then she quit so it’s all good. for now. I have knowledge about what she ends up doing bc of the video game and I am currently choosing to ignore it in favor of the show timeline. Let me dream.

6) Sevika: hot. muscles. vodka aunt. hot. emotionally unavailable. hot. did i mention hot

7) grayson: i think it’s hilarious that she ranks higher than everyone else below her on this list. she literally only gets points for being attractive. especially her voice like ugghhh. what else can i say.

8) sky: perfect angel. so fucking smart and cool. deserves better. i need to know more about her or i will actually explode. hearing her voice made me so happy y’all have no idea

9) powder: baby. deserves the world. only ranks lower bc she doesn’t exactly “exist” anymore or whatever. justice for powder AND jinx 2025

10) caitlyn: hot. but ew cop moment. the fact that her sympathy for zaunites was crushed so easily really annoys me. like girl do you even have principles. ur revenge era would be cool if it wasn’t police brutality like noooo caitlyn pls don’t let a dictator use you to further destabilize your country for her own gain you’re so sexyyy ahaha… idk man it’s complicated. she should quit her job and get a new one. and then get therapy.

11) Jayce: he’s interesting in that he is a good example of a privileged person attempting to make things better by utilizing the system, only to get sucked into said system, becoming part of it and therefore part of the problem. the road to hell is paved with good intentions. his intentions are so good and yet. he is idiot. I hope Ekko and heimydingy are able to lessen his idiocy.

12) ambessa: hooottttttttttt. so fucking hot. goddamn. have y’all SEEN the music video for blood sweat and tears. i’m fucking FERAL. unfortunately for her, looks aren’t everything and she’s the fucking worst so here we are.

13) elora: beautiful powerful wonderful woman. need more of her. what is her life like. have she and mel ever kissed. much to think about here.

14) heimerdinger: he’s annoying and he doesn’t take the much needed time to explain why he makes the decisions he’s making... but he’s also right. which i hate because he’s annoying. but i also like that he’s annoying because it shows the very true fact that ppl who are annoying can in fact be right about things. also his heist with ekko was funny and endearing so he has that going for him. ekko carried tho ngl

15) vander: he’s cool cuz he’s a swag dad. a kind man and a protective guy. all around a great dude tbh. ranks lower because he doesn’t have any particularly interesting character traits to me.

16) finn: he looks cool as fuck but isn’t relevant and is also kind of an annoying brat. which is funny but like also bro. stop.

17) ximena: literally lost some of her fingers to frostbite to protect her baby child kid son. based. i love her.

18) cassandra: milf. the scene with the her and the gun? cool as fuck. ranks lower bc, again, not very relevant. and also dead lol

19) tobias: imma be honest idrc abt tobias at all i just didn’t want to separate him from his wife. he has enough of that in the show LOL

20) claggor: sweet boy. deserved better. i wonder what he would be like now if he’d been able to grow up.

21) silco: morally i hate this guy but he’s also a fascinating character. he’s cool as fuck and a bitch. plus he does eyeball drugs. there are so many fucked up things about this dude i can’t list them all. overall he’s a very well done character and an absolutely fantastic villain. what a piece of work.

22) benzo: just an all around good dude. ranks low bc he’s extremely irrelevant. sorry dude. if this was a morals contest he’d obv be ranked higher, but it’s not, so here we are.

23) jericho: had to look him up LOLLLL thanks for making food for vi i guess. people who make food for other people are the best. that being said he ranks low because, again, irrelevant.

24) mylo: cringe fail asshole. not ranked last bc he was a kid, so i can give him the benefit of the doubt, cuz maybe he would’ve been a better person as an adult… but also he never got to be one so oops lol get ranked low loser

25) singed: brother euughhh. i like drugs too but not THAT much. maybe give this man some backstory and i’ll care about him. as it stands rn idgaf about this guy. i rebuke thee, get AWAY

26) marcus: fucking piece of shit rat. fuck this guy. selfish coward and i hate him forever. die

Here's a fun little sorter I put together for Arcane characters! Reblog with your list!

Let the sorting commence!

[caspercryptid]

AU where viktor adopts a werewolf baby after he and jayce break up or a scenario where jayce keeps randomly flinching in the middle of viktors lab and viktors like “…are you okay” and then jayce catches the hint of naphs eye from the bottom of the table and goes “y-yeah” (naph bit him seven times before viktor arrived). or both! you rock

Okay we lost the Viktor's lab part BUT! PT 2 OF THIS. Jayce gets bit by Viktor's were-kid. woop.

----

Naph thought that actually, he’d done pretty fucking well, all things considered. After that bloody and blurry month of tearing through everything he could get his teeth on, he’d had a whole month of complete calm. Viktor had picked him up, and he hadn’t had a single lapse or shift since. He was better fed than he’d ever been in his life, happy and comfortable.

Unfortunately, being happy and comfortable meant that when there’d been a form to go on a field trip, Naph had realized that for once in his life he’d...actually be able to go. So he’d asked viktor to sign off.

Without checking the calender.

And then he’d missed the bus.

He’d managed to break back into the Air and Space museum, that was the good news. It was closed and– mostly. Mostly empty.

Footsteps.

Shit.

Naph takes a deep breath, shoving his hands and his lockpicks into his pocket as a man rounds the corner. It’s the– guide from the earlier part of the tour. The retired TV star a couple of the school chaperones had been really excited to see. Naph had seen a couple of his videos in science class. He was lame.

He is looking at Naph without aggression, though, so that’s a good start.

“Uh.” he says. “HI... you. You were with the tour group. What are you doing here?”

“Nothing.” Naph says, nonsensically, and then he catches sight of the moon rising in one of the windows. Shit.

“Sorry.” Naph says.

“What?”

Naph lunges.

____

Viktor had set out as soon as the bus got back without Naph on it, but he knew he was running late. The moon was already well above by the time he got to the museum, biting down a frustrated noise himself. He’s proud to note that the door is already open- That’s my boy- but he’s surprised to see someone else as he walks into the museum.

There is a very familiar face at the information desk, leaning on it, posed as though he’s just....welcoming guests at a normal hour.

“....Jayce.” Viktor says.

Jayce starts, a little. “Viktor.” he says, voice strained. “What are you doing here? You really shouldn’t be here.”

“What are you doing here?” Viktor challenges. This is not good. This is the worst place to run into him-

“I work here.” Jayce says, through his teeth. “I give tours.”

“Cushy retirement job.” Viktor deadpans.

“It’s a sweet gig, yeah. Love the little...kidlets.”

“Oh, now you can stand children.”

“Oh, come on, that’s not–” Jayce winces. “–Fair. I was just too young. I’ve got a girl now, actually.”

“You adopted your child costar, I know.” Viktor says. “Are you so emotionally constipated that your poor little heart is causing you physical pain, or is something...happening back there.”

“– you paid attention to the news about me?”

“Jayce.”

“Right.” Jayce says. “There’s a wolf. Biting my leg. You may want to run.”

“Ah.” Viktor says. “No, that’s my son. Hold still, I need to feed him.”

Jayce stares at Viktor as Viktor gets meat out of his bag. It takes them both a second for it to process, but as Viktor pulls the meat out, they make eye contact, and Viktor grimaces.

“Don’t say it.” Jayce says.

“I may need to tranq you.” Viktor says.

“–Yeah, I can feel it. Make it quick.”

Viktor pulls out a dart gun and shoots him in the neck, and then tosses Naph the meat before he can get any ideas about an unconscious Jayce.

Well, he reflects, as he gets out zipties. The night certainly could have gone worse.

[squishy0823]

•Made in Glory | Viktor x Fem!Reader

Part 6

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Summary: Stepping back into your past was the last thing you ever wanted to do.

Warnings: Fighting, mention of blood

Pairing: Viktor x fem!reader

Word Count: 1611

A/N: Here we go!! We're getting to the good parts! I've also started a taglist! If you want to be added just let me know <3

-----

The golden gates of the city felt foreign to you. It felt bigger, or maybe you got smaller. The city was alive, more alive than the last time you were here. Tall buildings painted the sky as airships and people came from far-off places to see the city of progress. You dreamed one day of making a mark in Piltover, becoming something greater than yourself. But the mark you left was one you never intended to leave, so coming back to the city that turned on you, was filled with nothing but worry. As the sunset over the city, you passed people walking home their jobs, heading home to their families. Your eyes scanned the people as your hood covered your masked face. You didn’t know how well the enforcers were with keeping up with criminals who had escaped Piltover. When two enforcers walked past you, you lowered your head even more and tried to avoid them. You stopped once, a poster on one of the brick walls, it was of Jayce. It seemed as if time never got to the young man as he looked almost exactly the same.

At that moment you made it your mission to not get seen by anyone on the council, Jayce, or Viktor. You couldn’t risk anything.

Once safely away from the crowds, you found yourself drawn to the Academy. The power was coming from there, you could feel it crawling in your skin. Enforcers guarded the grounds like their lives depended on it, you took a wild guess because you knew the council was inside and so was Hextech. The wonderful creation of Jayce and Viktor, using Arcane magic.

“Hextech could kill, it’s magic. Why am I any different from that?”

“Those boys can control the technology for Hextech! You, however, cannot be controlled.”

You blinked as the memory of the last day came back to you. Swallowing your fears, you snuck into the back gate of the academy. You watched carefully at the movements of the guards and made a quick and smooth dash when you did. You always knew the guards at the academy were the worst, having your fair share of sneaking in and out in your younger years as a student. Once hidden in a bush, and the guards around the corner away from your line of sight, using magic, you started to scale the wall. You reached for the closest window, thankfully left open, and slipped right inside.

Upon your great stealthy entrance, you found yourself in a student's room, but the room was dark and empty. Slipping into the room, you quickly rushed to the door and slipped into the dark hallway. Light from a torch came brighter from around the corner, causing you to slip further down the hall, away from the footsteps coming your way. Although it had been many years since you stepped out on the grounds, you still knew it like the back of your hand. You quickly moved down the halls, watching and listening for the guards walking the halls. You drew yourself closer to the feeling of the darkness, or whatever it was. You were pulled to it like a magnet to metal.

You reached a part of the Academy that you didn’t recognize, a new lab, a new area. You stood in front of the door where you could feel the force the strongest. Glancing to the cracks below the door, the lights were off, the door locked. Lifting your hand, you let the soft hue of green spread across your hand as the locks on the door clicked open. Grabbing the handle, you softly opened the door and looked inside. With nothing but darkness, the soft light of purple caught your eye. The strange feeling pushed you inside as you stepped closer to the light. Hovering over the table, you looked to the pages of notes that littered the desk. But your eyes went straight back to the purple magic before you.

It was distorted, runes of darkness, nothing good would come from this form. You had to destroy it. It pulled you close as it sent chills down your spine, this went against everything you knew about safe arcane. This was pure evil to you, and how someone did this, was beyond your knowledge. You reached forward, but you were afraid to touch it.

A sudden snap and clink brought you back as you heard a soft gasp from someone behind you. You whirled around before someone could hit you with something. You jumped back and slid on the polished floor, your eyes landing on the tall dark figure. He pulled his arm down again and tried to hit you with what looked like a wrench. You quickly pulled back again as he took a few more swings, you taking a step back with each swing as he missed a few more times. You could see the dark eyes glare at you in the darkness as you sighed in frustration. When he brought his hand up again, you pumped both of your hands downward, your magic flowed down to your hands and formed a knife-like shield around your hands. Around you lit green as you took a quick swing at the figure, he too dodging your attacks like you did to him. His back hit the table as you brought your fist to his face, the sharp magic sword around your wrists, swirled as the green finally illuminated your attacker.

“Jayce?” You gasped under your mask. His eyes looked across your mask, unsure of who the voice belonged to. Before you could force the magic from your hands away, Jayce reached over the table and picked up another tool and smacked you across the face.

You stumbled back, the magic gone from your wrists. Your heavy mask fell to the ground with a soft clank as your hood fell from your head. You turned away from Jayce as you felt blood on your cheek. You spit the blood from your mouth as you bit into your cheek upon impact. You turned back to him before he could hit you again. Your eyes locked for a moment, his eyes wide in disbelief at who was standing in front of him.

“Y/n.” He gasped out as he dropped the tool. It echoed as it bounced to the ground.

Your eyes looked to him and quickly to the light seeping in from the hall behind Jayce. Standing in the doorway, leaning on his cane, was the man you thought you’d never see again. Viktor saw you, his eyes wide, mouth open just a little. You watched him, his eyes scanning you as you both took each other in.

“Y/n-“ he gasped out in a whisper. Your name felt foreign on his tongue, and you’d never thought you would hear him say your name ever again. “Wha-how…” Viktor stuttered after a moment. He limped closer, coming closer as the lab lit up as the two men stood next to each other, looking to you, as if you were a ghost.

“I hope my presence doesn’t make you uneasy.” You huffed as you tried to wipe the blood from your cheek with the back of your gloved hand.

“How did you get into the city?” Jayce asked quickly stepping forward. You stepped back, not wanting to get close to him.

“The same way anyone can.” You mumbled not looking at him.

“You’re here,” Viktor said, his eyes carefully watching you. You finally stopped and looked to him. Your hard eyes softened as you finally saw him in better lighting. He was so thin, eyes hollow like he was withering away before your eyes. He leaned much more on his cane, a heavier brace around his leg. You looked down, nodding to them.

“I’m here.” You said.

“Why?” Jayce asked. You looked up. His question didn’t make you feel welcome, and he saw that when you glared at him, your eyes narrowed. “Not that… we’re not happy to see you. It’s just that, you were-”

“Forced out? Sentenced to death? Ran away?” You spoke with a harsh tone. Jayce and Viktor glanced to each other for a moment and said nothing. “I’m not back to shake hands and forgive.” Anger bubbled within as your face grew red. You sighed trying to calm yourself, “I’m here for that.” You pointed to the purple hex-looking thing on the table.

“The Hexcore?” Viktor asked looking to it on the table.

“Is that what you called it?” You questioned. “That thing is nothing but trouble,” you told them, “you have no idea what it can do.”

“And what can it do?” Jayce asked crossing his arms across his chest.

You shook your head, looking to the Hexcore. “I’m not sure.” You admitted in a whisper, shoulders slumped. “But I can’t let you poke and pry it.” You turned back to the two with a hard gaze.

“You can’t just destroy it!” Viktor protested, stepping closer to it. “We have yet to fully study it.”

You frowned. “You never seem to heed my warnings, do you?” Viktor looked at you in shock for a moment. You had warned him once before about studying Arcane magic, and it pushed you away from Piltover. “If you still have any bit of a brain, you will listen to my warnings and let me destroy it.” You warned again, stepping closer to the Hexcore.

Jayce put his hand out, placing it on your chest. You looked at his hand in disgust as you pushed him off. “If you destroy it,” his voice grew, “we might not be able to cure Viktor.”

[infinite-xerath]

Thoughts on Sentinel and Ruined Skins

Alright, I plan to give my full thoughts on the entire event once it’s over, but for the time-being, I wanted to give my general thoughts on each skin so far. I’ll be putting this under a read-more for convenience.))

So I guess I’ll start by saying that I like the concept of the event as a whole, though I’ve got some gripes (as do many) with who was chosen to partake. I think, having played through the VN up to its current point, that they do a decent job justifying most of the characters who get Ruined/recruited. That said, it does annoy me that they didn’t even go all-in on the concept; one Sentinel and one Ruined champ per region could have been great, but then there are some regions that don’t even have one of each.

So yeah, in addition to giving my overall thoughts on each existing skin, I also wanna touch on who else I think could have been included.

Sentinel Vayne: In my opinion, the best Sentinel skin of the lot. Not only does it look good (arguably better than her original design) but Vayne is a natural fit for the Sentinels. She already devotes her life to hunting monsters and dark magic, so it absolutely makes sense that she would join up at least until the Ruination is dealt with.

Ruined Shyvana: I wasn’t so sure about this one at first, but I’ve warmed up to it now that we know how Viego’s possession works. Taking the worst aspects of someone’s personality and bringing them to the forefront? Yeah, go figure that Shyvana would give into her monstrous side and resentment for being persecuted almost every day of her life. You could argue that there were better picks, but hey, better Ruined Shyvana than yet another Lux skin, right?

Sentinel Olaf: While not my first choice, I can’t deny that it works in the long-run. The dude already has a history of fighting the undead in his endless quest to find a worthy foe capable of slaying him, and of course the Ruined King seems like a suitably worthy opponent for Olaf to go up against. That being said, I feel like we should have gotten a Ruined Champ from the Freljord as Olaf’s rival, rather than it just being Vex. I don’t mind Vex appearing when she did to have us encounter her for the first time, but she should have had a Ruined champ to help her, which leads me to...

Ruined Tryndamere: Come on, this one’s obvious. There are a few characters in the Freljord that might have fit the Ruined theme, but none more-so than Tryndamere, I think. The guy’s already got a whole thing about controlling his rage and trying to use it as a force for good in the Avarosa tribe. Imagine Viego corrupting Tryndamere and causing all of that primal fury to just explode forth. Plus, come ON Riot, Olaf vs Tryndamere. Battle of the Berserkers. Frankly, it’s absurd to me that Olaf hasn’t tried fighting Tryndamere already, given that they’re both too angry to die. He HAS to have at least heard about the Barbarian King, right?

Sentinel Riven: Honestly, this one is interesting to me. With the other Sentinels, we all kind of know/expect that they’ll return to normal once the event is over and go back to their status quo. Riven feels like an exception. As she stated herself in the event: she’s a wanted criminal in Noxus and it’s not exactly like she’d be super welcomed back in Ionia. She joins the Sentinels because she has nowhere else to go and no other cause to fight for once freed from Draven’s arena. Aside from Vayne, Riven feels like the one who’d most likely stay with the Sentinels once the event is over, even though I know that probably won’t happen. Still, I like her inclusion, all-in-all.

Ruined Draven: Honestly, not the one I would have picked. I mean, it’s just Draven. Absolutely nothing has changed from him being Ruined. Granted, I do think it’s absolutely hilarious that Draven’s worst version of himself is already just himself, an egotistical prick who craves attention, but there are way better picks in Noxus to see getting Ruined. I mean, the event teaser showed Darius getting possessed, and I think there’s a lot more to work with there. Also, am I the only one that thinks that Ruined Draven feels redundant when Soul Reaver Draven is already a thing?

Sentinel Diana: So this one I have some complicated feelings about. On one hand, it makes sense that Diana would join the fight against the undead for the sake of the Lunari. On the other, it feels like MOST of the Aspects should be getting involved with this. I mean, the VN has her say that the other Aspects ARE fighting the Undead all over Targon, but then you’d think we would wanna go and recruit them as well. Seriously, Taric? WTF are you, Protector? Also, Diana needing a Sentinel weapon is weird since we already confirmed that the Mist doesn’t like Celestial magic, but... Eh, the blade she gets is cool, I guess.

Ruined Pantheon: And here comes the controversial one... Right, so like many, I did not care for this skin. In fact, I still have reservations about it. I DO like that it is actually Ruined PANTHEON, because yeah, the Black Mist turns dead things undead. Go figure it could bring back the remnants of the war god lingering in Atreus. That’s a really cool idea, but there’s absolutely an argument to be made that it fucks with Atreus’s whole character arc and makes his seemingly indomitable will look like a joke... But hey, Viego himself said that he’d never be able to take a proper Aspect, which absolutely tracks, which kinda makes Atreus the only Targonian champion he COULD defeat and corrupt.

Sentinel Irelia: To be frank, not too much to say about this one. Irelia’s entire character motivation is defending her homeland against invaders, and... Yeah the undead definitely count as invaders. While someone like Shen probably would have been a better recruit for the Sentinels, Irelia works just fine.

Ruined Karma: And heeere’s another controversial one. Yeah, Karma is not the one I would have chosen. Honestly, just about anyone else from Ionia would have been a better fit for Ruination. Ruined Pantheon can be justified by the dead war god coming back and taking over Atreus’s body again, but Karma and her vessel Darha should have absolutely been able to resist it... And they kind of do. In the event, we actually do see Karma switching back and forth. She’s the only one we’ve seen fight back against Viego long enough to revert to her normal self, at least for a time. In fact, the implication that Darha is being corrupted while the entity of Karma itself fights back is neat. Still, I would have preferred Ruined Zed or something along those lines.

Sentinel Graves: OK, I love this skin. I don’t love the context around it. First of all, the fact that he’s the Sentinel for Piltover is dumb. Graves is from Bilgewater, and should have been the Sentinel we recruited there. I also don’t care for how Twisted Fate is completely missing and never even referenced from his story. Like, OK, Graves fled Bilgewater because it was already overcome with Harrowing. Fine. But... Did he just leave TF behind? If so, why does he have Fate’s blue card? There’s so much we’re missing here. I love that he’s joining just because he’s got a bone to pick with Viego, but Graves should have been the choice for Bilgewater. As for who should be the Piltover Sentinel? Well...

Sentinel Jayce: Think about it. Jayce is a character who’s had nothing to do in the Piltover/Zaun lore for ages. He already considers himself a hero and a defender of Piltover. Plus, imagine what a Sentinel version of his hammer would be like! Hell, Jayce’s whole conflict with Viktor revolves around their opposing beliefs around free will. Of course he’d have a word or two to say about the Ruined King, who’s running around and stripping people of their free will! On that note..

Ruined Viktor: Absolutely a perfect fit for Ruination. Under Viego’s influence, he could deem undeath as the next logical step of evolution, casting aside the limits of flesh and emotion for a spectral form where one’s thoughts were dictated by a single, “superior” consciousness. It would be a perfect contrast for Sentinel Jayce, and besides: we’ve already seen a ghostly version of this concept with Death Sworn Viktor. If Draven gets two undead skins, why not? Plus, we know that the Harrowing can effect machines thanks to Legends of Runeterra, so... Yeah. Ruined Viktor. Let’s go.

Sentinel Pyke: Another controversial one. While I like the general idea behind it, frankly, I would have just left Pyke as he is. We already have him fighting the undead in the Ruined King game, and we know Nagakabouros power can hurt the undead; there was no real need for him to pick up Sentinel gear. Much as I love the line “Wraiths, wraiths are on the list,” I would have just made Graves the Sentinel rep for Bilgewater and called it there.

Ruined Miss Fortune: This one just sucks. It absolutely sucks. The Sarah Fortune I know would have never gone to such lengths merely for power, especially when she already rules most of Bilgewater at this point. Her various short stories show her doing a pretty damn good job stamping out the warring factions challenging her rule, and even if she decided that she needed some kind of supernatural leg up on the competition, it’s not like Bilgewater is lacking in magic. Also, the design sucks, turning her back into the sex icon that they’ve spent the last 7 years moving her away from. Ruined Fortune sucks. As for who SHOULD have gotten the skin instead...

Ruined Gangplank: Now HERE’S a pirate lord desperate for power. He lost his ship, he lost his fleet, he lost his throne, he even lost an arm. Gangplank has been struggling to regain control of Bilgewater ever since Burning Tides, and while we haven’t heard much of him recently, it can be safely assumed that he’s not making much progress with how much control Sarah currently has. Gangplank is absolutely ruthless enough and immoral enough to bargain with the Ruined King for power. Plus, think about it: he’s already been “reborn” once, so to him, Ruination probably wouldn’t even be that big of a deal.

Sentinel Rengar: All things considered, I like this one. Rengar, I think, has one of the best justifications for joining the Sentinels. When Rengar’s jungle is invaded by wraiths, Rengar finds himself faced with monsters that even his skills cannot take down. Yeah, these undead are worthy prey challenging his reign as the apex predator in Kumungu, and if the Viego is their alpha, then he’s the target to go for. Now, obviously he’s still got a hunt for Kha’Zix that has yet to be resolved, but let’s be honest: we’re never going to see that rivalry conclude, and this is the most lore relevance Rengar has had in ages. I’m for this skin, though of course we do still have the issue of who in Kumungu would be a good Ruined rival for him. On that note...

Ruined Zyra: Alright, here me out. Ixtal as a region doesn’t have that many characters, let-alone good candidates for Ruination. Perhaps the best and most obvious candidate would be Qiyana, but I take issue with this for a few reasons. Firstly, accepting Ruination for the power to rule is already something we’ve done with MF/GP, and second, I don’t think the Shadow Isles aesthetic works super well with her elemental-swapping gameplay. I chose Ruined Zyra because, well, Zyra already wants to spread her plants far and wide across Runeterra, and the Mist would be a great method for carrying seeds, not to mention making her offspring harder to prune. Not the most deep, but yeah, I think Ruined Zyra would have been a cool concept to work with.

Lastly...

Unbound Thresh: A mistake. I’ve already made my opinions on Thresh’s lore abundantly clear in my rewrite for him, and this skin just destroys any hope for his character for me. This sexy E-Boy is unquestionably the worst thing to come out of the whole event, and whatever Riot is planning to do with Thresh in the future, it does NOT justify this design. Plus, the whole idea that an undead character can become “unbound” is just dumb. Like, when has it ever been implied that Thresh himself was actually bound in any way? He’s one of the few Shadow Isles entities that can freely leave the Mist, at least for a time! Yeah, this skin was a mistake, but Riot has to cash in on the simps, I suppose.

Anyways, I’ll give my thoughts on the story itself once this is all said and done, but for now, these are my takes on the individual skins. Hope you all enjoyed hearing me ramble.

[letters-to-rosie]

the fan is a good point---the mines likely have moved. there are probably still some, but obviously it's not as common as it was in Silco's day, because his whole pitch to the chembarons is also "let me remind you why we're not going back to the mining days," which also implies that the worst of that time is behind them, but it would have needed to exist at one point in order for Piltover to grow and get the label of city of progress and finance things like mines overseas (the question then is whether the mines are privately owned or owned by Piltover as an entity... the type of capitalism is vague but we clearly have something)

I've made a couple posts elsewhere talking about the idea that Zaunites commute to Piltover in large numbers, also based on the idea of the blockade (and because you can't convince me that Pilties do their own, say, sanitation work wholesale), and multiple posts calling what Jayce and Viktor do to the city's economy "hexgate neoliberalism," which doesn't map onto the setting perfectly but works a little too nicely lol. the short of it would is that the rise of neoliberalism in the western world typically also meant the decline of industry-centered economies. the factories get offshored, the economy moves more towards trade and service, and the city becomes a "financial center." they had those before but they had more factories and stuff

hexgates seems to have had a similar effect, making Piltover a "global shipping lane," as Shoola puts it, and clearly most of the city's wealthiest people require the hexgates to do business (the Mel and Jayce scene at the theater). they could still be involved in mining/industry, but that's happening less, probably

AND the other clue is the way that neoliberalism affects something that is really important to Marx's analysis of capitalism, the surplus army of labor. these are like unemployed people who want to be employed and are kept out of the labor market so capitalists can keep control over their workforce, so there's always a place to fall down to, and so the surplus army of labor can be called on for seasonal work, etc. but you don't want this group to be too big. Marx claims that the group being too big is a major driver of English and Irish immigrants to the US in the 1800s. and lowkey implies it's the reason, other than racism and stealing land, for the potato famine. anyway, under neoliberalism, the surplus army of labor starts getting kinda big and winds up more and more precarious. so we see now, like 50 years into neoliberalism, the rise of gig work, terrible job stability everywhere, etc, and the global advent of neoliberalism also coincides historically with changes in the global drug trade. I read an article about this during my masters lol. in the US, Michelle Alexander's famous book The New Jim Crow suggests that this shift led to the war on drugs, that as industrialism fell, drug use rose, and the surplus army of labor was shuffled off to prison more and more

it's easy to imagine how increased worker precarity and generally worsening conditions for the poor would be kinda convenient for a guy wanting to sell a certain purple substance and in need to a network to get it out there. and that relying less on industry and mining would make it easier for the wealthy to ignore it

There is a theory that the way children play serves as a means to simulate and prepare them for the tasks they'll take on as adults. So for all the narrative weight both Jinx and the story give the boxing machine at the arcade it would never have prepared her or the kids to take on Piltover.

What are the two things that Piltovans excel at over their Zaunite counterparts to keep the hierarchy? Weapons and technological development.

When you look at the way Piltovans invest in their children, they don't prioritize hand to hand/melee combat training. Piltovans focus on giving their children experiences in handling firearms, a pursuit that is both leisure sport for the wealthy and a key offense against dissenting Zaunites.

And from the show notes even Jayce, whose family occupies the upper middle class, was sent on educational excursions across Runeterra to explore the world and learn what it had to offer. Without Jayce's education abroad he would never have been inspired to pursue the concept hextech.

It's no wonder that the two figures that are set to be Piltover's biggest threats from Zaun are Jinx and Viktor, becasue they engaged in the same kinds of games and activities as their Piltovan counterparts.

Jinx didn't have an entire forest to preserved to help her practice her sharpshooting like the high houses of Piltover, but she did excel in the few games at The Rift (the arcade) that built on her talents. She's the only Zaunite thus far who's long distance offensive is a strong counter to Piltover's forces.

Viktor couldn't travel the world like Jayce did, but for better or worse he managed to stumble into an opportunity to get real opportunity in research not offered to his peers through Singed. It was through that experience that Viktor knew to turn to Singed when he was at the end of his rope, and the consequences of that will be fully realized in season 2.

Ironically, the kind of skill the boxing game champions is only good for keeping other Zaunites in line. Vander's days of fighting Piltover were way behind him when we first met him, and Vi spends season 1 primarily fighting other Zaunites. It's no surprise the Zaunites who embody the old ideal of strength in Zaun that the game portrays, Vi and Vander, are largely at the mercy of Piltover and end up collaborating with them to avoid further harm.

Zaun's future as an independent city-state couldn't happen if they stuck to their old ideals. The people who stand a chance against Piltover are the ones that not only succeed but excel at playing Piltover's games against them.