#their second best decision was having viktor in it

[silentsneezes]

I’m adoring all of your Ar/cane content! It’s really feeding my current arcane brain rot , thank you for sharing your work!

Manifesting a sick Jay/ce fic 🤞

thank you anon!! I'm so glad other people can enjoy my writing, especially as the a/rcane brain rot persists

flattery will get you everywhere, so here's a 1.8k word sick j/ayce fic in which he tries to attend a council meeting! (and suffers the consequences of his own actions)

I wrote half of this on a plane and half of it while procrastinating my schoolwork, so if it's not my best work forgive me lol, it's mostly self indulgent pathetically sick j/ayce (cw for mess, but not in great detail)

Jayce’s throat is aching and coated with a thick layer of bothersome, phlegmy congestion. He can feel it rise in his throat after every swallow, only worsening his discomfort. Admittedly, it’s partially his fault; he should’ve realized this morning that attending a council meeting with a cold was a poor choice.

His alternative had been to tell Mel he was sick, and request that she pass on the word and make apologies on his behalf. In hindsight, he'd obviously made the wrong decision in going; Mel’s soft spoken assurances would've been an improvement over Jayce’s evident illness and lack of composure. 

As if showing up sick wasn’t bad enough in and of itself, Jayce showed up sick and twenty minutes late, bursting into the room with an uncharacteristic display of clumsiness. Upon first glance, Mel could tell he had one hell of a fever, and yet she excused the muttered frustrations of her colleagues with a polite, “Counselor Talis, so glad you could join us today.”

Jayce offered everyone an apologetic nod as he took his seat, his head swimming dizzily with every step he took. His hair was plastered to his skin in a few places, sweaty and damp due to fever. And god was it hot in there. He looked around, scanning the other counselors for any signs of discomfort at the sweltering temperature of the room, but they all appeared to be just fine. In his observation of the room, he accidentally caught Mel’s eye, attempting to give her a look of reassurance at her obvious concern. 

Jayce forced himself to focus on the discussions taking place, having heard they’d be assessing the value of HexTec theories and their continued funding. He needed to defend his and Viktor’s work; he needed to have some hope, however irrational, that HexTec might help his partner. 

His hearing swam in and out of focus as the meeting dragged on, the bickering of the privileged numbing Jayce’s mind. He only snapped back to reality as he felt a burning itch settle in the back of his sinuses. He sniffed experimentally, temporarily dissuading the sensation and letting out a breath of relief. 

Of course it wasn’t that easy, the itch returning with a vengeance just a second later and forcing his breath to catch loudly, “hHH-“. Luckily, the “civil discussion” of the council members had turned into a full on argument— as it often does— and the sound was only noticed by Mel. Jayce squashed the upturned tip of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, holding his breath as best he could to avoid more vocal hitches. Soon enough, his head snapped forwards with a painfully stifled “hhHNGSXXT’ch!” 

The single stifle did nothing to alleviate the problem, but rather encouraged the itch to travel further up Jayce’s nose. His nostrils attempted to flare beneath his fingers, the absolute need to sneeze taking hold of his entire focus. 

Somehow, Jayce managed to contain his typically vocal build ups, once again squashing a sneeze into submission, “hhHGGSXCHh’huh!” He could feel the pressure of snot building up behind his pinched fingers, searching through his pockets for a handkerchief with his other hand. He felt Mel’s eyes trained on him, his stomach twisting at her attentiveness. 

His stomach dropped as he suddenly recalled setting the handkerchief down in his bedroom in his brainless haste to not be entirely late. Fuck fuck fuck. His sneezes are typically forceful, accompanied by some spray and occasionally requiring a nose blow in the aftermath. But when he’s sick, it’s an entirely different story, and without a handkerchief he's fucked. 

Jayce dropped his hand to his lap, quick to wipe his other wrist against the underside of his nose. He cringed at the thick liquid trail it left behind, barely giving him enough relief to keep the mess from dripping down his upper lip. 

At the sound of the word “HexTec” being spoken by Salo, Jayce forced his attention back to the discussion at hand. His body ached, exhausted and riddled with discomfort, but he listened to every word. After a few minutes, Mel gave him a pointed look: ‘now’s your time’. 

Jayce cleared his throat, both to gain the attention of his colleagues and out of necessity, “I know you fear HexTec. Believe me, I understand your hesitance at exploring such an unknown possibilit-hhy.” Fuck, not now, “But I’ve seen what it can do with my own eyes, the lives it could hh s-hhH-save.”

Jayce continued speaking with a steadfast determination. He needed to get his point across, for the sake of his research… for the sake of his partner. 

“I believe HexTec could be the next great innovation of Piltover. Why wait when we could be helping people now?” 

As Jayce spoke, he could feel the moisture pooling at the base of his nose begin to slip onto his upper lip. He was quick to wipe it away, wishing the councilmembers didn’t all have their eyes trained on him. As soon as his fabric-clad wrist brushed against the base of his nose, the itch returned with urgent demand. 

“Exc-hhH-cuse hhehme- hHHNNGGZXXCHh!” Even stifled to his best ability and muffled into his elbow, Jayce’s sneeze rang through the room. He could feel the mess clinging between his nose and elbow, grateful as he heard Mel’s voice intervene. 

“I believe what Counselor Talis is saying is that HexTec offers great promise for Piltover. It would put us on the map, increasing our trade repertoire and minimizing the risk of losing goods to thieves.” Mel spoke clearly, attempting to persuade with financial and economic tactics rather than the pathos of saving lives. As Mel recovered the point Jayce was about to lose, he managed to clean himself up using his sleeve— at least enough so that the snot clinging to his nose was no longer visible. 

“Counselor Talis,” Salo drawled, almost mocking in his use of the title, “how are we supposed to trust your research? It’s unsanctioned, and with a Zaunite nonetheless.” 

Jayce felt a flush of anger at the insult towards Viktor, tempted to tell Salo off in his fever ridden state. He took a moment, reminding himself that Viktor is fully capable of defending himself should the time ever come. Besides, Viktor would likely dismiss the criticism with ease, summing it up to the privileged ignorance of the undercity. 

“We’ve done extensive worgk. All of our experimendts habve been recorded and we plan on submidding themb to academy researchers for approval,” Jayce answered, his unwavering commitment clear despite the congestion clouding certain letters of his speech. 

To his utmost relief, there was no further rebuttal of his or Mel’s points. Jayce felt his posture relax ever so slightly, rubbing his left temple as the room continued to spin. How he had managed to compose not just one, but a few coherent sentences is beyond him. 

The rest of the meeting is short, only dawdling on for another 20 minutes before the counselors are excused. Mel made a beeline towards Jayce as they all started getting up, giving him an expression somewhere between admonishment and concern, “you shouldn’t have come today.” 

“They would’ve- sNRK- denied mby research if I didn’t show ub,” Jayce mumbled, putting both hands on the desk in front of him in order to shove himself upright. His vision blurred momentarily, his broad frame swaying with the head rush. 

“I had someone retrieve Viktor for you,” Mel offered as a hand came out to brace Jayce’s side, “he was quite upset to hear that you attended this meeting.”

Jayce sighed, his shoulders drooping further in exhaustion. He had told Viktor he’d rest, but he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing when he had the opportunity to advocate for their work. Even though he chastises Viktor for his poor self-preservation, Jayce acts similarly to him: pushing himself past his body’s limits out of sheer stubbornness.

Jayce allowed Mel to guide him towards the exit, too deep in his exhausted haze to entirely register what’s happening. He paused as they neared the door, his breath catching in a quick “hhH-“ and then faltering for a second. The itch tickled back through his sinuses, and a throat-burning build up began, “hhIHh- hHHH’uhH- hhhHRRSZZDCHHhew!”

Jayce practically bent in two with the expulsion, misting the air and leaving a string of mess hanging from his nose. He blinked away a few tears clinging to his lashes, swallowing against his painful, aching throat. 

“Gesundheit,” Viktor’s voice sounded from a few steps away from Jayce, his cane clicking against the floor as he drew nearer. Without hesitation, Viktor pressed his handkerchief into Jayce’s hand, his eyes lingering on his partner's sodden sleeve. 

“Thank you Mel, for alerting me of Jayce’s decision to attend this meeting,” Viktor said politely, expressing his gratitude with a thinly veiled criticism at Jayce’s stupidity. 

“Of course, Viktor. Make sure he gets some rest, hm?” Mel replied with a flicker of amusement before taking her leave, allowing Viktor to manage the mess that is Jayce. 

Once Mel took her leave, Jayce looked at Viktor with a guilty expression. 

“You snuck out of our place. Like an idiot with no self preservation,” Viktor admonished, his words frustrated, but his actions affectionate; he placed a hand on Jayce’s back, leading him out to the hall slowly. 

“I kdow-“ Jayce rasped, only to be interrupted. 

“Don’t speak. You sound terrible,” Viktor reprimanded in concern, “Foolish. You were foolish for leaving.” 

“hhHhuh… hhh…”

Viktor kept a hand on Jayce’s back, feeling every hitch and gasp that wracked Jayce’s body.

“hhHhHeh-“

The build up lasted for a painfully long time, intermixed with whimpers from the pain in Jayce’s throat. Finally, he pitched forwards with a spraying sneeze, nearly tripping over himself, “hhHHGGSZZCHhhew!” 

“Bless you,” Viktor tutted as he laced a hand around Jayce’s waist, helping him straighten up again and glancing at the spray cast upon the floor’s tiled surface. “Are you okay to continue?”

“I’mb’uh- ogkay- snnNRFF-“ Jayce snuffled, steepling the handkerchief over his nose as he remembered Viktor had given it to him. Viktor felt a flutter of sympathy at Jayce’s pathetic attempt to clear his nose; the blow sounded more like a blocked up honk than anything else, making the sick man flush in embarrassment.

“Let us get you home,” Viktor murmured, turning in the direction of Jayce’s apartment in the academy. It took a while for the two of them to arrive back at his place, having to stop with every sneeze and cough so Jayce didn’t stumble over himself. By the time they got to Jayce’s place, he was dizzyingly feverish, sweating through his shirt and evidently on the verge of collapsing. In short, he was much in need of some medicine and caretaking. 

i will likely be making a second part to this... and i might make edits to this part if i feel motivated. anyways, i hope it was worth the wait anon!! thank you for the kind words

[colinrobinsonscardigan]

Best decision Arcane ever made was making Silco a dad

[sweetflanfiction]

Asymetrical Symphony - Part 7

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.

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6

• ··········· • ············ •

The ride down the elevator was awkward bordering on comical. The enforcers had been none the wiser about your deeds, unlike the fidgeting scientist next to you.

Through the blurry reflection of the golden doors you could see him open his mouth to say something but then shake his head and turn back to the door. His foot was tapping on the floor, the rhythmic thump reverberating inside the ascensor. At some point, he had turned to you for more than a second and you had looked at him, urging him to say something but he puffed some air out and turned away from you.

When the elevator pinged and the doors opened he was quick to start his march out of the elevator but you grabbed his elbow, gently. He quickly snapped his neck to look at you, his eyes wide with surprise.

“Are you going to tell them? About…” You looked and pointed up.

“What?” He paused for a second, digesting the question, and then shook his head. “No, of course… I just… We could…if you let me…”

You recognized that expression, that tone of voice, that slight high-pitched shift in his tone. Viktor was trying to hide his excitement, and it didn’t surprise you. It was Viktor, the man who would get up from being zapped by putting his left hand in a machine to then putting the right one in there just to make sure.

Esther called your name from behind Viktor and you waved at her, smiling like nothing had happened.

“She doesn't know either… So…" "She won't know from me." His gaze pivoted from you to her. "Thank you. I’ll see you around, I guess.”

You squeezed his upper arm and walked around him, feeling his golden orbs following your figure. 

'That could have gone much worse' was the last thing you thought when you passed by the enforcers trying to roll up the banner that had fallen.

• ············ •

Another week had passed and you had successfully avoided the problem that was Viktor. Not that you thought he would tell on you, but you knew excited Viktor and that needed a compartment on your brain all on its own.  And right now you needed all your brain capacity to think of how to approach Remembrance Day since it had been formally scheduled. Which means Ambessa’s attack had a date.

You brainstormed with your mother the best way to approach it. Telling Cait about the attack would have led you to even more suspicion unless you told her about everything but the less people knew, the better. Waiting out on the sidelines was also impossible, it could be a repeat of the rocket attack and you’d be back to square one.

At some point, you mentioned just destroying the statue and they’d have to reschedule it to get a new one, but the way your mother had said your name after told you how bad that idea was.

It was a sort of joint decision that the best way to improve the outcome was to go to the actual event. Which then gave you another hill to climb: how do you convince your mother, who was now convinced she was the hero's sidekick and one of the better-known faces of Piltover, that she can't come to a major event because it could end in tragedy. For her, for you, and Piltover.

“I have to be there!” She said calmly, sipping her coffee while you fine-tuned the piano. “You can’t be there. If something happens and I have to choose, one second could be enough for someone to die.” You didn’t even look at her, your head stuck inside the musical instrument. “Why would you need to choose? If Viktor is the catalyst to the thing, you save him.” Esther shrugged like this was the easiest decision in the world. “If you had to choose, who would you choose?” You argued, looking back at her. “Viktor.” She looked you dead in the eyes, shrugging and you couldn’t for the life of you feel even a bit surprised or disappointed. “Would you even forgive me if I had chosen otherwise?”

You shook your head. The answer to the riddle was simple, but it didn’t mean it was easy. And you would hesitate.

“You can’t come.” You insisted and she grumbled. “I’ll go. It'll be good. People will see me as an official representative of the family. The new member of the Rainemours. Stop gossiping.” “Yes, because you appearing alone in an official event will not make people think you’ve killed me and buried the body.”  “Tell you what.” You leaned your elbows on the side of the piano. “I’ll go alone and then you…I don't know…a Remembrance Dinner. Or something. So people know you care…” “And why would I miss the main event when I can do both?” she questioned, raising her eyebrows at you.

A moment of silence crossed between you. You took a deep breath and nodded. Walking slowly around the piano and crouched next to where she sat. She frowned as you grinned mischievously, eyes squinting in question.

“Don't you have a book to finish?” You whispered at her. 

The gasp she gasped had you biting your cheek trying not to laugh. Instead, you tilted your head, a gleam in your eyes.

“How dare you!” She said flustered, more embarrassed than angry. “I have… I’ll have you know… the chapter is well underway… and…I…” “I’m not the editor…" You interrupted and got back up to your feet. "Tell her that. She saw me at the cafe yesterday and asked for you.” 

She turned her eyes from you, flustered, taking a sip of her coffee before turning to you.

"I'm your mother…" She humphed.

“You are, and I love you, and I can't lose you again. I won't." You told her, your words filled with certainty. "And in all your wisdom, I know could make any decision in a split second, but I can't. I'll freeze and I'll stutter and I'll scream and Piltover will crumple again. Please."

Esther looked at you and her gaze softened. Sighing she nodded.

"I've been feeling a little under the weather anyway."

• ············ •

Even without a plan, you came to the event, arriving early, a black ribbon pinned to your chest. With the invitation in hand, you effortlessly passed by the Enforcers at the entrance, even if some gave you the side eye.

You found a somewhat shadowy location in the courtyard, near a metal column and some boxes. And then you watched people, coming and going. Enforcers were slowly dropping in, remaining clustered at certain points, their vans closed and watched. The stage was closed off, the heavy curtains hid the statue you knew was there. 

The sun was setting, making the glass shimmer and reflect the vanishing light. Their obsession with glass had been their worst enemy in both attacks. Many of the injured people had been people who got hit with shards of the sharp decoration. Whether it had fallen from the dome or broken by the Chembarons.

“Hello.” A familiar salutation came from right next to you and you jumped. “Holy blue balls…” you mumbled, placing a hand on your hip and walking in circles, trying to calm your heart. “Of Hextech…” Viktor finished the joke. “It's funny because it's true. I apologize for startling you again, but I… we need to talk and you have been avoiding me.”

You shook your head vehemently at him, your finger mimicking the motion.

“For me to avoid, I would have to frequent the same places you do, which I do not. So it’s merely a coincidence we haven’t crossed paths.” You lied through your teeth.

"Your mother told me, you didn’t want to come with her to the Lab the other day. That is the definition of avoiding someone.” He smiled triumphantly at his quip and you rolled your eyes.

This is the universe making you pay for your book comment. You looked away from him, groaning low in your throat. And then a plan started to form.

“We’ll talk, right now at the Lab.” The easiest way to get him away from the Memorial, feed his curiosity. “I can’t leave.” He muttered, looking at the stage.

He slumped his shoulders and leaned his back into the column, placing his cane between his legs, keeping it steady with the feet. He was the picture of dejected. You couldn't help but smile softly at him.

Viktor had cleaned up. His usual three-piece uniform had been replaced with a form-fitting black suit and tie, adorned with red and golden details. The white cane contrasted with the suit. His hair was still a mess, but if this Viktor had any similarities to your Viktor, nobody touched the hair unless it was to cut it.

“Jayce wants us to be here together.” He blurted out, pushing his hair out of the way with one hand. “'The pockets that keep us afloat will be here', he said ‘We need to present a united front’. I do not feel united with anyone here, to be honest, so I don’t understand why I need to be here. But he threatened me with a healthcare provider.”

“A healthcare provider? You mean a doctor?” You started to hear the worry in your voice. You hadn’t seen him cough, you felt his back brace and he still limped around, but he seemed to be breathing somewhat fine.

“I have a bruise on my back.” He pointed behind him “With the brace it’s not healing so well, so I’ve been going around without it. And it’s uncomfortable so--” He stopped suddenly and looked at you. “Why am I telling you this?”

You shrugged, theorizing that somewhere in the back of his subconscious he knew you were a friend.

“Anyway. Yes… I cannot leave.” He made a disgruntled face, looking at his feet, the cane swaying from one hand to the other, but never leaving the ground.

You sat on a box next to the column and leaned your elbows into your knees, looking forward at the crowd that was starting to form.

“Someone once told me he would rather ask for forgiveness than permission ” You looked at him through the corner of your eyes. “He must have been very reckless.” He said, his voice still hinting at the frustration of his predicament. “Sometimes. But he also got things done.” 

It was excruciatingly easy for your interest to go from getting him out because of the Herald to getting him out because he was unhappy. It was like muscle memory. You'd see those golden orbs even hinting at unhappiness and you'd stop to help. 

“Yes, but they are threatening me with…medical assistance.” He spat the last two words.

You were about to reply but another familiar voice shouted, coming closer. Jayce was making his way towards both of you in quick steps, his arm extended upwards as if he could go unnoticed. He was wearing a similar look to his partner, his face determined and clean-shaven. A stark contrast to the last time you saw him.

“Viktor!” he shouted again. “Jayce!” Viktor mimicked his intonation but not his enthusiasm, straightening back up and leaning into his cane. “I thought you were gone, buddy!” Jayce declared, squeezing Viktor’s arm. “Nope…still here.” “Mel wants to get me on stage with her. Usually, I’m ok with it -- Oh…Hello…” he looked at you and paused, only now realizing there was a third person there and who that third person was. “I'm Councillor Jayce Tallis of the Tallis Family.”

He showed you his hand and you took it, shaking it confidently. It has been a while since you have seen him like this. Not excited, given the time and place, but carefree, normal…untraumatized.

“I know who you are.” You stated and he nodded. “I also know who you are.” He gave you an uncomfortable grin. “Caitlyn was not happy about your mother paying off a Judge to set you free.”

Viktor audibly groaned and you could almost see him run a hand from forehead to chin.

“Mr. Tallis,” you smiled at him, squaring your shoulders and tilting your head to the side. “My mother didn’t pay a judge to set me free. She paid an attorney to write a legally binding document that would allow me to keep being a person of interest in the investigation, but instead of rotting in a jail cell until someone decided to pluck me out because they figured out how to put me in the pit for good, I would be doing it so from the comforts of my own home.”

Silence between the scientists. You gave Jayce the sweetest of smiles and added.

“Fortunately I was born on the side of the bridge that allows me those types of…leniency.”

Jayce was about to retort back but Viktor beat him to the punch.

“I hardly think antagonizing the child of one of our benefactors is going to show a united front.”

“Ah…right… I forgot.” He blabbered, pushing a hand through his gelled hair. “How’s Esther? Madame Rainemour…you mother…” “Sick and working.”  “Yes, we received her letter.” Jayce smiled awkwardly, grasping at any straw that would make him look more approachable. “Editors' deadlines are just like Investors deadlines. Pesky little buggers.”

The deep exasperated sigh that Viktor lets out behind you was enough for Jayce to understand what he had said. You were so close to bursting out laughing. This was the elixir for all your troubles, Jayce Tallis and Viktor bickering. They could go for hours really.

“The deadlines! I meant the deadlines!” Jayce corrected himself

His shoulders deflated and you snickered, stealing a glance at Viktor, who was supporting a disapproving expression, holding his head on his fingertip, slightly shaking it.

“No worries Councilor. I understand these are…trying times.” You acknowledge, trying to get him out of his funk. “Yes.” He sighed deeply, stealing a glance at Mel’s form behind him. 

“You should go to her.” You encouraged softly, he looked at you surprised and you shrugged. “Help with the speech and all. United front. The councilors and the science.”

And if he was on stage, the criminal that was gonna jump her would be easier to fend off too. Jayce would jump at the opportunity to be a hero and unlike others, he would do it without wanting recognition, although it kept knocking on his door. That’s just who he was.

“Viktor?” He asked and you turned to look at his partner. “Go. If this is your conduit with all of our patrons, I fear we won’t have any funding left when this is over.” He rolled his eyes but smiled at his friend. “They’re right. Mel looks like she could use a muscled, broad shoulder to lean on right now.”

Jayce nodded and sighed, gaze moving to you again. He pushed his hand out again and you took it.

“I am sorry. I’m usually much more… likable.”  “You still are. Good luck.” 

You watch him walk back to Mel and place a gentle hand on her lower back, her shoulders immediately relaxing. Mel had been a good friend once upon a time and a fighter until the end.

“Please don’t judge him too harshly. He has good intentions…most of the time.” Viktor gave you a one-shoulder shrug accompanied by a side smile.

You saw a flash of pink behind him and noticed Vi approaching the center of the square, hunched down, hands in pockets. The ensemble cast was almost all here. Searching the crowd you felt a couple of eyes on you and turned your gaze to the only missing piece of the night.

If looks could kill, you'd be dead. Her eyes held the intensity of grief and loss, but also the need for vengeance and retribution and you were her closest target at the moment.

The lights began to dim and you sighed, turning your back to the Enforcer towards the stage. Let the show begin. 

People kept filling the empty spaces and getting closer to hear and see the speech. You felt Viktor’s presence behind you and took a deep breath. If something happened it would be easier to have him here where you could account for him, rather than him being with Jayce on stage.

The place was now packed with a multitude of people, from all places in Piltover. Well, all places on this side of the bridge. Some had settled in a position where they could see the unveiling while others kept moving around trying to find a better spot. 

A rushing couple was making their way to the front of the square and hit Viktor’s cane. The familiar thud and a surprised grunt were enough for you to step backward and put an arm up, without turning to him, knowing full well how he would usually stand, leaning his full weight on his walking aid.

“Thank you.” He mumbled, placing a hand on your clothed shoulder and another in your arm, to keep his balance. “No problem.” You whispered, trying to distract yourself from the touch by placing the tip of your foot under the cane and jerking your leg up, pulling the cane upwards to your hand. “Here you go.”

Viktor grabbed the cane with the hand that had been in your arm but kept the other on your shoulder. He didn’t know it, but this was a somewhat normal stance for both of you. Either a hand on the shoulder or in the crooked of your elbow. Especially on his worst days. Now it was starting to grow heavier and heavier. 

It's just Viktor. Good old reliable Viktor. You repeated and stole a glance at your present company, his always cold hand gently grasping your shoulder, his neck craned a bit to check the people around him, his golden eyes narrowed as he looked onto the crowd.

“You’re staring. “ he announced, his eyes turning to look down at you for a second and going back to scan the crowd. “Just wondering why you're standing here and not there.” You pointed to the backstage entrance, heavily guarded by two Enforcers. “Well, since I am here against my will, might as well stand wherever I feel like.” You snorted and saw him shrug. “Besides, I have seen and talked with these faces before. Many times. You are undoubtedly the most interesting person in the room.”

You blinked a couple of times, looking up at the man, who finally dropped his gaze to you. It takes him a moment to understand the words that came out. So much like Jayce sometimes. After a beat, he shrugged.

“Eh…it’s the truth. Do with it what you want.” His shoulders relaxed and he turned his face to the stage, and the curtains opened. You felt your cheeks redden involuntarily.

A podium stood in front of something covered with a sheet. You inhaled, held it, and exhaled. Mel began her speech and you mimicked Viktor’s action from before, your eyes darting from left to right, checking every face in the crowd, every enforcer. You spotted Vi, with her pink hair and bright red coat, although she wasn’t looking at the stage but at Caitlyn, who, much like you was scanning the crowd.

Mel’s melodic voice kept going and you kept scanning. Your focus shifted from the people to the glass house around you. It was a beautiful structure, glass and cast iron. A greenhouse of sorts, made for any type of celebration.  The glass ceiling gave everyone a beautiful view of the night sky, not yet fully dark, some purple reminiscing from the sunset. 

“I’ll never understand Piltover’s obsession with glass ceilings.” Viktor whispered as you were looking up, matching your own silent concern from before.

“People in glass houses, throwing rocks at people with glass ceilings.” You mumbled back, turning your head towards his, watching his golden orbs observing you with curiosity.

“Something like that, yes.”

You turned your head back to the stage where the statue of the three deceased councilors was displayed. Anytime now. 

The beat of your heart was quickly ramping up, loud and rhythmic, only countered by your slow breathing. You became hyper-focused. Every single movement, sound, or feeling was exacerbated. 

Clothes rustling, soft sniffles, feet shuffling on the ground. The thunderous ‘ba-dum’ of your heart in your ears, Viktor’s breathing behind you, his cane scraping the floor to find a more comfortable position, his hand on your shoulders.

Your breath quickened and you became aware of how many people were inside the glass house, how it had taken a single person on stage to make this crowd stomp their way out. 

The ripping of clothes as people ran, the sound of glass breaking, the shards burning where they slashed anything soft, the sound of children crying, the last gasp someone took before dying. 

Your eyes glazed over as your focus became panicked. You won’t be able to run out fast enough, Jayce would get Mel, Caitlyn would help Vi and you could easily grasp Viktor's arm and drag him out. But what about them, the others, the innocent people who were simply living? You couldn't save them all.

A cane scraped the ground again and something squeezed your shoulder. You looked at it. Purple sinewy fingertips, squeezing your shoulder, golden gears around his wrists.

“I need to go…” you managed to blurt out as the line between this reality and the other started to blur.

“Is everything ok?” Viktor’s soft voice sounded worried. But you heard the twisted metallic twang he had gotten after…ascending…adding a cruel ‘my friend’.

“I can’t breathe.” You choked, starting to walk backward into the protesting crowd. 

You bumped into someone and whipped your head around to look back at the angry figure. The figure of an angry woman glitched into an imposing, familiar construct. And your body just stopped moving. You willed your feet to run and get as far from the enemy as fast as possible, but nothing. You tried to get your arms to punch the thing. But all you could do was blink at the mechanical deadly beauty. 

“You’re not here. I’m not there.” You mumbled incoherently.

You felt a hand grab your elbow and pull you away from the creature and into the wall of shadows that were forming around you.

“Excuse me. Thank you.” You heard someone in front of you mumble as they dragged you along by the elbow. “Coming through. Thank you kindly, good sir.”

You let yourself be dragged, looking over your shoulder towards the angel you stood tall and bright, tilting its head. 

“Oh no…” you whimpered. “I have you. Come on.”

Your breathing started to hitch at your throat, your face flushed, and your heart both felt like it was stopping and going faster. 

The cool night air hit your face and you turned your face towards the night sky, your wide eyes losing sight of the robot. The hand on your elbow moved lower and was now holding your hand, gently pulling you along the sidewalk. A cold, pale, calloused hand with long fingers. Human. Viktor.

The sounds of your footsteps mixed with the gentle tap of Viktor’s cane had your mind finding perch in this reality again. 

“Vik?” You squeaked and the scientist stopped to look at you, his eyes filled with concern. “Come. It’s a close walk to the Lab. It will be quiet at this time.”

• ············ • ············ •

@marshy-moo @victormydarling @blueesmiski @th3stup1dcat @22carolina08 @httpstes @that-one-shitty-blog @disa-pointment @sseleniaa @moons-lighttrail @aysluxe @fae-doodle @kitewa @local-mr-frog @bakusquadobsessed @cherry-cola-100 @optimistic-but-very-realistic @seeksrsnn @thecordelialetters @notsaelty @lansy-4 @ayupfrogg

[unknown-cold]

Omg that's true!!

I'm so tired of these people saying Vi and Caitlyn's relationship is toxic, I mean literally the same thing she said Jinx and her relationship with Ekko wasn't good either and Jayce and Viktor too.

It is natural for problems and disagreements to occur in relationships, but it is not natural to think that a relationship will be peaceful and good all the time. These things only exist in Disney movies.

But apart from all that. Seriously guys hating on Vi or Caitlyn or both is way over the top. Like let's just imagine JUST IMAGINE, if Vi were male, the narrative surrounding her actions and character would change dramatically. She would likely be hailed as a "brother hero," a model of loyalty and kindness despite impossible circumstances. Her trauma, in prison, losing Vander, failing to save Jinx, and so on, would be sympathized with as a testament to her strength and determination.

Her status as the “bad sister” is undoubtedly tied to gender expectations. Women, especially older sisters, are often burdened with the role of caregiver, and are expected to be endlessly compassionate and self-sacrificing. Vi’s moments of anger, guilt, and mistakes, however, conflict with societal stereotypes of women as the natural “fixers” of emotional and familial conflicts. The fact that Vi is pigeonholed as the “bad sister” while Jinx is often seen as the tragic victim reflects deeper gender biases. Vi’s traumas and emotional wounds are ignored or minimized because she is expected to be the “strong one,” while Jinx is given sympathy and a more nuanced lens because her messiness and vulnerability fit into certain stereotypes of women who are broken or in need of saving.

It’s a frustrating double standard, and it underscores just how progressive Arcane is by refusing to fully give into those tropes. Vi’s character still shines as someone strong, flawed, and deeply human, but the criticisms she faces highlight how society treats female characters with such biases.

The misogyny is REAL and don’t think for a second that other women aren’t fully participating in that also. The amount of shit Vi gets for temporarily joining the Enforcers with Caitlyn to stop Jinx is insane. A male Vi would have been seen as a TORTURED HERO for joining up with the EVIL FORCES that took his parents away all so he could do HERO THINGS. But Vi does it? “Wah wah she joined the COPS she’s A TRAITOR THE REAL VI WOULD NEVER”. Like. Watch the show, my friends, and you will see she did what she thought was best and it was a very complex and very emotional decision for her; she hated every second of that uniform. But no, people shit on Vi and then complain like any of them could write a better show. Ugh.

And nobody would have hated a male Vi for having his love scene. Nobody. In fact, it would have been EXPECTED, but because Vi’s a woman, and a lesbian expressing her big gay love for her gorgeous gay lover, some people refuse to see her humanity and her growth as a person in that moment. I'm so tired

And the argument that we hate them because they did bad things is not true, I have seen people hate Caitlyn just because she is lesbian and one of them said if she was a straight woman I would have accepted her character on the show. Seriously this is someone who takes his criticism seriously, he forgot the story and everything in the show and focused on whether the characters are gay or straight or worse when I saw a comment from someone saying why are the main characters on the show female characters? Like is this an idiot or is he drug or what exactly? I think we should also ask, why do men always take the lead roles and when they are evil they are better, and if they are good they are also better, but if a woman comes along who is evil or wants to be evil or does just one mistake everyone hates her and she is the worst person in the world, but men are the only ones who deserve to play the role of evil and do bad things and we will sympathize with them and love them. THIS IS CRAZY!!

To understand what I'm saying more, compare Viktor's character and Caitlyn's character and you will see that Caitlyn was the character who was criticized the most even though she didn't kill anyone innocent and in the end she tried to fix things, while Viktor tried to kill all the people of Piltover and Zaun and didn't care about anyone, even his friend's pleas, he didn't care about them and Viktor thought that this was the solution but to end the conflicts between the two cities. But is there anyone who criticizes this, is there anyone who says that this is a bad act, of course not, yes you will see some people justifying it, as they did with Silco, the person who killed an entire family for control and drowned all of Zaun with shimmer and made the children work in dangerous factories, and there is not a single criticism, and people defend him even after Jinx's condition worsened, no they say that he is better than Caitlyn, my god like what the fuck!?

Then they tell you we don't hate women we don't hate gays or lesbians, just shut the fuck up, everything is clear, Arcane revealed to us that there are still people who are fanatic and traditional to the extreme who still want to see a man as the hero of the story and that all people and women should respect him even if he is evil and cruel he is always better than this bullshit, Arcane proved to us that it is possible for both sexes to appear in an excellent, strong and realistic way without insulting or belittling the other because these things are not useful and will not help in telling the story in any way.

Quick note I don't hate Jinx or Viktor and many of you who follow me know that I love Viktor very much but I will not deny the bad things he did and I am also really tired of the hypocrisy of some people and their constant criticism of other characters and characters. Just bc they say like these characters

Like I don't like Silco but have you ever seen me post every day criticizing Silco and Silco fans all the time or go to Silco fans and tell them if you like Silco then you support child labor and the drug trade and blah blah. Like they do with Caitlyn fans when one of them says he likes Caitlyn they accuse him of supporting collective punishment and corrupt governments and police brutality just because he likes a fictional character. I've never seen such stupidity and backwardness and bullshit in my life, just because I like a fictional character you think I will act like her in real life?? These people need to grow up seriously or find a job

[thehistoriangirl]

If You Hadn't Left (Me) [Chapter 2]

I live!!!

Viktor x Fem! Reader-----2.1K----SFW

// M A S T E R L I S T

<- Previous Next ->

Synopsis:Viktor was never supposed to see you again, just like you had promised that evening when you both ended up heartbroken and bitter toward destiny and all its twisted ways. So twisted as to put you back into his life not only as a temporal working partner to cover Jayce’s absences, but also as the maid of honor in the wedding where he’ll be the best man. Hypothetically, it doesn’t have to be that difficult to find a way around the river of memories flowing between you both. Though, of course, hypotheses are flawed. Just like that part of him that still craves another ending to this story. 

Chapter Summary: People say things look better under a new light. But once you step inside Viktor's lab, Viktor discovers that the view isn't just striking, but also very troublesome.

Tags: Second Chance | Angst | Exes to Lovers | Denial of Feelings | Viktor's pinning | Reader is pissed | | Eventual Smut | Eventual Happy Ending |

Taglist: @ihopeinevergetsoberr @syren201 @slycazzz @jourlinemaktan @seraceres @m1dnight-artisan

Viktor was no stranger to sleepless nights.

Most of them could be excused by incessant workload lined up on his desk in the form of blueprints and pages filled with scribbles of ink where equations hadn’t resolved in a positive way.

It wasn’t about rushing thoughts of the future looming over his shoulder either; the time when his conscience whispered that he couldn’t be good enough. That he’d never be, as progress is a fleeting, moody thing.

What an unbreakable riddle were you. Your words haunted him; your kiss… soared his heart. Guiltily so; flown at the past he promised couldn’t revisit. And not only because digging out the tender flesh already buried would mean expose the wound again, risking of bleeding out.

I want to be the Interior Design’ Teacher at the Architecture Faculty.

He laid in his bed, covers barely thrown open, his mind filled with the million possibilities about the future, once hopeful and bright with all the new inventions he could create with Hextech, to the one where he had to walk carefully across campus to not take a glimpse of you passing by.

Get over it, get over it.

He wished it’d be so easy. Guilt gnawed at him, now already broken free from the depths of the drawer where he kept your photo. The ring he never gave you, that he’d been fool enough not to return. A treacherous mind he had, repeating old routines as his personal condemn.

Sighing, he incorporated at the edge of the bed. Pitch darkness looked back from every corner of the quiet room. His fingers grabbed the handle of his crutch, the familiar leather creaked under his unrelenting grasp once he hauled himself up.

He should have left right away, as he did when the strain in his muscles didn’t allow him any rest. But something stopped him.

His reflection in the mirror showed what he most tried to hide. Deep eyebags, messy hair, wrinkly clothes.

Viktor didn’t wish to give you reasons as to think he was so unkept because of you. Because he wasn’t—it was only a bad night sleep. Not the first and either the last.

Groaning, he took the dubious decision to bathe in the middle of the night. Seeking the refuge of the cold water to calm the cascade of thoughts sieging him. It was like any other day back at the Academy, when he was Heimerdinger’s assistant. Time had gone backwards.

Replaced rolled up dress-shirt’s sleeves with proper cufflinks. His creamy vest now gray with ash and oil stains replaced by a clean one, just as his pants. Untamed hair controlled with luck.

The way back to the lab was calmer at night, with only the cold hitting his face during his journey up the hill. Empty boulevards whose metallic details shone silver against a crescent moon in a clear, starry sky.

He wondered, for a moment where his mind forgot to close the floodgate, if the sky looked the same in the place you had being for the last decade. That—if the tawdriness of those novelists wasn’t tricking him—the moon had watched you built who you were now.

He couldn’t stop the stab of jealousy that coursed through his bones.

The walk cut short after that, dipping his face to the ground until the had to look up toward the guards appointed at the entrance of the research building. A simple nod. At least he didn’t have to break in again, though he thanked those days where lies had flown out his tongue so easily.

Viktor presaged he would need the practice.

*~*~*~*~*~*

At first, he heard the echo of your heels against the desolate hallway.

The familiar whirring mechanism of the door that both Jayce and him had forgotten to oil up.

Then, he must fill the uncomfortable feeling that the lab was shrunk up.

“You’re late.” As an answer, you put a cup of steaming coffee at his left, right where there weren’t any papers that could be stained. “…thank you.”

Finally, he saw you.

A loose, airy blouse and a fancy skirt that hugged your legs up your knees. Perfect for a space this enclosed where the heat of the machine motors warmed it up by noon.

“You can’t wear that,” he stated, meeting your frown with his own. “Where’s your safety equipment?”

“Where’s yours?” you said back, crossing your arms in signal of victory when Viktor got out of excuses.

“I have deep understanding of safety measures in a space such as this, whereas you do not.”

“What? Do you think I’m going to lay on the desk while you tinker with a machine?” You huffed. “Have more faith in me, Viktor.”

You shouldn’t say his name so nonchalantly, especially when Viktor could never mask his reactions to your keen eyes.

“I’m going to attempt to fix this faulty prototype, so you’ll have to wear at least a lab coat if you want to enter the lab.”

“Really now?”

Grunting, Viktor stood up toward the closet at the far left of the room, grabbing two of his coats—because you wouldn’t let him alone if he didn’t abide by his own rules. “Take this one,” he said, throwing you one with his free hand, plopping in the stool back again.

“Don’t you have a smaller one?” He saw you, with the grey clothes almost serving as a robe. One of the sleeves was burned, with a hole the size of the Hexclaw’s laser.

“It’s the only one we have here,” Viktor lied. Well, only a half-truth. Jayce’s clothes wouldn’t fit you, and Sky kept them locked inside her workstation in the annex room.

“Something more I need to wear? Or can you signal me Jayce’s drawing table?” You said instead, leaving your bag at one corner of the hexagonal forge in the middle of the room. Right next to Viktor’s bag where he had shoved the jacket he wore to come here at the dead of night.

“It’s the only one next to the chalkboard.” They shared worktable for all the times Jayce was pondering about designs while Viktor looked at the sketches to make modifications. He had all night to clean it, stacking the papers in Jayce’s desk that wouldn’t be used in a while so you didn’t have another reason to criticize him. “You can use the chalkboard if you want.”

“It’s alright. I’m only drafting planes with the sizes they provided.” You voice sounded absent, muffled once you crouched to lift your map case, getting out your usual tools of mediation, escalimeter, and set squares. The gigantic T ruler, slid smoothly over the worn-out wood. Every movement seemed so easy to emulate, the way your fingers flew across the surface to set the plan in front of you, getting out all kind of pencils that for Viktor looked all the same.

“Do you need something?” Your voice tore him away whatever place his mind was wandering.

“What?”

“You’re staring.”

He blinked, using his left leg to turn the stool around. “Of course I wasn’t,” he snapped, followed by the sound of your unamused hum.

After all, you promised to maintain peace, and so you did during the excruciatingly long morning.

Viktor had his back sore from being hunched down toward a pile of scribbles that made no sense; unconclusive theories and half-done equations. Yet he didn’t dare to look away the paper in front of him, no matter how much his eyes blurred and his muscles ached. He could hear the friction of the pencil against paper, the eraser’s circular motions and the soft blow coming from your lips.

Years ago, all you had was the familiar table at the third story of the library. Next a window so you both tracked the time by the change of light. He still remembered the hues over your hair, like a kaleidoscope. By the time darkness had arrived, he was tugging at your hand over the table to wake you up.

Since when reminiscences sieged him? It was so usual for Piltover to always look toward the future that attempt to look back would endanger one into tripping and being left behind. This felt wrong, stuck in a past that no longer mattered.

You were only classmates, after all.

“This is the design.” Over his numb hands, the paper of your plan was sturdy and rough to stop the abrasion of the eraser from making a hole in it. He was thankful for the hiding spot once he felt his right hand twitch by instinct, just awoken by the familiar, now fancier, milk and lavender scent of your hair.

His eyes swept over the drawing; thin, delicate lines showed a slick tower mirroring that of the Hexgates, curved and unbalanced in an amorph geometrical pattern. Behind it was the complement, so at the distance it would look like one.

He observed you. Dangerously close. You had changed, blooming even prettier with age. Contemplative eyes used to take every detail in, new marks of wrinkles of your smiles and beams. Yet the same lips and cheeks he loved to caress.

You arched your eyebrows. “So?”

You’re precious. “I don’t favor any of these design in particular.” He shrugged, trying to get off the weight of your attention. “They’re not my taste.”

“Then you have terrible taste.”

Oh, truly? You wanted to pick a fight? He had some time to spare, then.

“Alright. Do you want an honest opinion?” Viktor sighed, as if he were exhausted by this conversation and not having his heart working overtime. “They’re ugly.”

You smiled at him; an ironic grin but a smile after all. “Thank you. I won first place in the contest with this one.”

Viktor extended a hand toward you, fingers pointing in an accusing manner. “Now you see? You can’t handle constructive criticism—”

“What constructive criticism?“  you hissed, but he ignored it. Taking a deep breath, you plastered a kind smile on your face that almost made him chuckle. “Why are they ugly?”

Viktor hummed. “Severe. Pretentious.”

“You don’t really recognize who the clients are, do you?”

“I know who are the clients, which is why I’m saying it.” He reclined in his seat. “This aren’t how your designs usually are.” It wasn’t a question, as shameful as it may feel, with his cheeks burning and eyes averting, he remembered the vision you once shared.

You retreated one step, a futile attempt at building a fort.

“You don’t know my designs,” you said, your tone cutting like a knife’s. “Not anymore.” You were already walking toward your bag, and Viktor cursed in a hushed breath. This wasn’t what peace supposed to be.

You loved curves and simpler facades, towers with gigantic windows so the residents inside could feel they touched the sky, small houses to hide a precious treasure in the form of a cozy living room to cuddle in a cold winter.

“Wait—” he called your name, and it sounded so wrong. Tasted bitterly when once had been the sweetest.

“What?!” you snapped. “Just give it to Jayce so he can show it to the Council. Roll it if you don’t want to see it.”

Viktor stood up. “You’re trying to pick a fight.” And he understood. You left without the chance to free all that built up inside of you the moment you got apart, and time had only harvested that sadness into pure wraith.

You huffed. “I don’t even know why I bother to ask your opinion.” You signaled the whole lab. “Do you want to know why you never won any Inventor’s Contest in your time as student? Because your designs were ugly.”

Viktor frowned. “Now who’s bringing the past? My prototypes worked perfectly—more of what I can say to the many winners whose inventions never saw the light of day outside the award.”

“Functionality and aesthetics must be interwoven, Viktor.” You felt as if teaching a stubborn child. “This is what I’m referring to when I say you have bad taste.”

“I would love to differ,” he said, his mind clouded by irritation, nervousness, and the ever-present reminders of another life. “How would you accuse me of having horrid taste when I dated you once?”

The silence hung heavy and charged between the two. You looked as if he had hit you with his cane, and he didn’t feel any better.

What have you just done?

“You’re impossible,” you just said with a tired sigh. Turning your back toward him and almost running out the door.

[iamgonnagetyouback]

Heyyy are you requests open?? I have 2 requests for 2 different characters! Recently I just discovered the Ron Weasley Lore and I’m just like why was I sleeping on Ron!!! But could you write something about Ron. Maybe like sorta like glimpse of their relationship throughout the HP years and an aftermath. Ik it’s super long but I love your writing!!!

I’ll send the send one separately cause this one is too long now 😂

glimpses ⋆˚࿔

synopsis ⭑.ᐟ ron weasley x reader with your relationship throughout the years

warnings: none

word count: 1,257 words

navigation┆ron weasley masterlist┆request here ��𝜚

First Year

You and Hermione hit it off immediately – you’re both brilliant, maybe a bit too good at charms and way too nosey. The two of you become an inseparable duo, and Ron? Well, he’s not impressed. He rolls his eyes every time you and Hermione get into a lively debate or excitedly huddle up to compare notes.

“Do you ever stop talking?” he huffs after one particularly long conversation about broomstick history. You give him your best glare, and he just smirks, calling you a “walking library.”

Yeah, he’s not on your favorite people list either.

Second Year

Somehow, Ron’s teasing just gets worse. He sits next to you in Potions and constantly pokes at your side, whispering, “Did you know you snore when you sleep?”

“I do not!” you protest, swatting his hand away.

“Sure, sure,” he grins, leaning back smugly. “Better ask Hermione if you’re not convinced. Or maybe everyone in Gryffindor – they probably heard you all the way up in the boys’ dormitory.”

He even pulls your pigtail one day during Herbology, making you squeal in indignation. He laughs, but you notice Hermione is side-eyeing the whole scene, trying (and failing) to hide a smirk.

Third Year

It's the start of term, and you notice something. Ron’s grown taller, his hair’s more auburn than red in the sunlight, and when he laughs – it’s oddly... nice?

You shake the thought out of your head and give him a harsh glare for no reason as you slam your bag down beside him at breakfast. He jumps and gives you a wide-eyed look.

“What did I do?” he mutters, genuinely looking confused as you stomp off in a huff.

Hermione raises her eyebrows at you later. “Are you sure you don’t have a thing for him?” she teases, barely able to keep her laughter down.

“Absolutely not!” you protest, feeling your cheeks heat up.

Fourth Year

The Yule Ball is coming, and Ron’s been annoying you even more than usual – something about him asking Padma sends you into an unexpected spiral of jealousy. And then, to top it all off, you overhear him fuming about someone dancing with Viktor Krum, and it all clicks in the worst way.

“Oh, of course he likes Hermione,” you mutter to yourself, feeling your chest ache as you walk away before he can say anything else.

The next day, Ron finds you red-eyed, sitting by the lake. He and Harry ask if you’re okay, and in a burst of frustration, you shout, “You two are absolutely clueless!” before storming off.

Ron scratches his head, looking at Harry in complete bafflement. “What did I do?”

Fifth Year

By now, you’ve decided the best way to deal with Ron is to just... not deal with him at all. You start spending more time with Luna, who offers you the peace and acceptance you need. Ron, however, notices the shift.

“Since when are you and Loony Lovegood so close?” he mutters one day, his tone more annoyed than curious.

“Since I found out she’s a better friend than you,” you snap back, not even sparing him a glance.

Harry raises his eyebrows at Ron, while Hermione sighs, clearly fed up with the tension between you two.

“Honestly, Ron, are you ever going to sort this out?” Hermione whispers later. But Ron just shrugs, as though he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to sort out.

Sixth Year

This year, you make a brave decision: move on from Ron. And Draco, of all people, catches your eye. The two of you start dating casually – it’s friendly, flirty, and you like his mischievous sense of humor. But when Ron catches wind of it, he’s absolutely fuming.

“You’re dating Malfoy?” he demands, storming up to you one day in the library.

“Oh, now you care who I’m with?” you retort, rolling your eyes.

Draco smirks, stepping beside you with a cool, “Problem, Weasley?”

You and Draco part ways amicably by the end of the year, but Hermione nearly loses her patience with Ron’s grumbling. “For Merlin’s sake, Ron! She’s single now,” she all but yells at him. “Stop sulking and do something about it.”

Seventh Year

Finally, it’s here – the year everything changes. Between the chaos of the war and the danger lurking around every corner, Ron finally realizes his feelings. He catches himself watching you more than usual, every smile and laugh searing into his mind.

One night, he pulls you aside, eyes downcast. “I... I’ve been a git,” he admits, voice barely above a whisper.

“What was that?” you tease, crossing your arms.

Ron’s cheeks turn red, but he continues, “I’m trying to say... I’m sorry. For everything.” His voice softens, vulnerability flickering in his gaze. “And... I’ve missed you. Really.”

You bite your lip, the old pain and confusion melting away. “Well, it took you long enough to realize that,” you whisper, offering him a small smile.

Ron lets out a shaky laugh, then reaches for your hand. “Can I... would you... go to Hogsmeade with me? Maybe?”

“Maybe,” you reply, and with a teasing grin, “If you buy me a Butterbeer.”

He grins back, squeezing your hand tightly. And as you walk back to the castle, Harry shoots you both a knowing, smug look, while Hermione just shakes her head, finally relieved.

Aftermath

“Dad, you were so clueless!” your daughter exclaims, eyes wide as she stares between you and Ron.

Ron lets out a bark of laughter, ruffling her hair affectionately. “Oi! I was not clueless!” He glances at you, chuckling. “Right, love? I mean, you were just as lost!”

You raise an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Because I distinctly remember somebody storming up to me in the library, fuming about Draco Malfoy.”

Ron’s cheeks turn a shade of red as he leans back, giving a sheepish grin. “I was just looking out for you. Malfoy had an… attitude.”

Your daughter’s giggles fill the room. “Dad, I think you just didn’t want Mum dating anyone else!”

“Okay, maybe there was a bit of that,” he admits, winking at you. “But your mum wasn’t exactly clear either. I mean, there were days she’d stomp off before I’d even said ‘hello!’”

“Oh, that’s true,” you say, giving a playful sigh. “All because of a certain Gryffindor boy with no clue how to express his feelings.”

“Hey!” he protests, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I was just busy fighting off trolls, acromantulas, and basilisks, you know? Didn’t exactly leave time for romance.”

Your daughter grins, eyes twinkling. “And then what, Mum? When did you finally realize Dad was totally in love with you?”

You exchange a knowing smile with Ron, your hands automatically finding each other. “Seventh year,” you reply softly. “After everything we'd been through, he finally told me how he felt.”

Ron squeezes your hand, his thumb brushing over your fingers. “And she finally stopped running off every time I came near her,” he teases, looking down at your daughter. “And then, we just… never let go.”

Your daughter beams, resting her chin on her hands. “You guys are so cute.”

Ron laughs, giving her a light nudge. “Oi, enough with the ‘cute!’ Now, do you want to hear about the time your mum hexed me because she thought I called her a know-it-all?”

“Oh, yes!” she cries, practically bouncing. “Tell me everything!”

And with that, you and Ron launch into another one of your Hogwarts stories, the laughter of your little family echoing warmly through the room.

© iamgonnagetyouback ⋆.˚ please do not copy, translate, or repost any of my work.

[xetlynn]

zaun high school- a viktor fic.

season one, episode one- pilot

[episodes][audio&subtitles][next episode]

“So. Who are you? Let’s start with that.” An unknown voice speaks behind the scenes. A prestigious and kind looking woman sits in front of the camera. “My name is Mel Medarda, Principal M. Ms. Mel. Whatever you’d like to call me is fine.” She smiles, her eyes crinkling softly. Her hands folded and sat in her crossed legs. 

“And why are we here, today?” The cameraman asks and Mel clears her throat. Lifting her torso. “Well, I got an email from a… friend who told me you guys were looking for a school to make a documentary on and I think my school is extraordinary and deserves this.” She exclaims proudly. 

The camera pans out to show parts of her office walls slightly falling apart. She redirects them to look back to her. “I know it may seem like not much but trust me when I say Zaun High School will become one of the best schools this district– no, this country has ever seen.” Mel sounded sincere, like she truly believed what she was saying. 

“And you guys already signed the contract for this to become something and you can’t take that back.” She beams, standing from her spot and heading to the closed door. “Follow me and I’ll introduce you to my excellent staff.” She motions and the cameraman lets out a small huff but follows the principal nonetheless. 

“I have recently been hired as a principal but over the summer I spent my time getting to know my staff. Getting to know the school and last year I was even able to get to know some of the students.” Mel clasps her hands, her heels clicking on the tile floor of the school’s hall. 

“Uh, who are you?” A blue-haired girl speaks as she carries in safety goggles in a clear box. “I’m Mel Medarda, your new school principal. You are?” Mel sticks her hand out politely and the girl glances down then back up. “Powder, Ms. J. You’re in for a hell of a ride here.” She snickers, taking the woman’s hand with a firm grip. “Thank you?” 

“Not a good thing, you’ll be clawing your own hair out the first week.” She laughs loudly, strutting down the hall to her class. Mel swallows sharply, muttering out an “okay” to herself. 

“Don’t listen to her, you’ll do great, love.” A man snakes his arm around her waist and she smiles weakly up to him. “You think so?” Her eyebrows knit together, her face filled with worry. “Of course, but you do need to know the students here are quite… something.” He pouts out his lips. She sighs, leaning into his touch. “I remember from when I came as a district worker, Jayce.”

She cringes at the memory as she knocks on her fiance’s door first. “Come in!” He shouts from the other end. Mel peers back to the cameraman with a smile, opening the door. Jayce is up on a desk putting up decorations. Mel rushes over to him, her hand grabbing onto his thigh. “What are you doing? That's not safe!” She exclaims. 

“I’m almost done, just give me three more seconds.” He waves it off, continuing his unsafe action, quickly taping a string onto the stone wool ceiling. She awkwardly laughs it off in front of the unnamed man beside her that is currently recording this entire thing. “And done!” He jumps off the desk, almost tripping but catching himself on the counter beside it. Mel flinches at the sound but carries on. 

“This is Jayce Talis. The social studies teacher, and my fiance!” She introduces him to the “audience,” he wraps an arm around her. “Isn’t that against some sort of… HR regulation?” The cameraman questions quietly, both Mel and Jayce’s faces drop but then quickly pick back up. “It was but I have a vice president who you’ll meet later on. He gives all the orders to Jayce instead of me so we’re safe to work together. I can’t make any decisions on Jayce’s work life.” Mel sweetly explains, patting her partner's side before letting go. 

“Let’s go meet the others.” She swiftly says, wanting to get out of this situation. She leads the way to the neighbor class. The door was open so she didn't knock this time. Only doing a small “hii.” This time the teacher was sitting at his desk writing something down on his desk. “Hello, Miss Medarda. What can I help you with?” He speaks with an accent, sounding incredibly formal. He looks up to the woman, also noticing the cameraman but decides to ignore it since he already knew about the whole documentary thing. 

“I’m introducing some of the staff!” She does jazz hands, then faces the camera. “This is Viktor. Or Mr. V. He is our lovely chemistry teacher.” The camera pans out to show the room. It was the opposite of the last one. Very bland, only having two posters that were “memes” about science. Everything was neat except for his desk that was pretty cluttered which is surprising because he still has a week before school even starts. 

“Hello, I guess.” He waves to the device boredly with a straight face. “Oh, also. There’s a new staff member coming and when she comes in can you please come grab me.” Mel whispers to him and he nods his head. “Sure.” 

“Thank you!” She then leads back to the hallway. Continuing on with the tour and introductions to the staff. 

Viktor goes back to writing in his notebook that held his planning information for the school year. He was behind on creating the binder due to… his procrastination. Filling his summer with projects he had been wanting to do during the school year but never had the time for them. 

A little stupid on his part but he enjoyed his break so that’s all he can truly think about. His writing is cut short… once again as he sees a girl wander in the hall, looking around with an extremely nervous expression. He lets out a small huff of annoyance before standing up, using his cane to do so. Pushing himself toward the door. 

“Ahem,” He coughs, startling her. Her eyes widen as she looks over to him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m Viktor.” He extends out a hand and she takes it automatically. She seemed extremely flimsy? Very all over the place. He observed the girl before him. Taking in her appearance. 

She wears a pink satin button up and a long skirt with a piano design with pink boots and silver jewelry, all representing something to do with instruments. School hadn’t started and she already was wearing teacher-like outfits. He mentally judged it. She seemed to be quite a character already. 

“I’m [Name], I- Are you- Sorry.” She takes her hand back, wiping it at her side since she started to feel sweat building up in her palm. “Sweaty, a bit nervous.” She lifts her hand to explain something he hadn’t even asked about. It was a sweet gesture though. “Are you giving me a tour or… is Mel?” She asked, averting eye contact with the man before her. His eyes slightly squinted which made him even more intimidating to her. 

“Mel, I'm pretty sure. She’s giving a tour to the… another cameraman.” He comments, glancing at the man that is recording their current interaction. “Right.” She presses her lips in a line tightly, puffing out her cheeks with air. Not knowing what else to respond with. “I’m sure we can find her, let’s go.” He motions with his head for her to come with. 

She fixes the bag on her shoulder, stepping after the accented man. 

“So, what do you teach?” [Name] tries to strike up a conversation with him. He wanted to sigh, give out a rude response only because he’s upset that he’s away from his work but instead answers in a monotone way. “Chemistry.” She hums, fidgeting with her hands. “That’s cool, I was so bad at science.” She chuckles. 

“Mm, it’s not for everyone.” He shrugs, turning the corner. It grows silent between the two of them. Her, figuring that it was better off to keep her mouth shut since he didn’t seem to be in the mood to talk. He, feeling that exact way that she’s thinking. Appreciating that she figured it out too. For some reason though it felt wrong, a tug in his chest that causes him to bow his head for a moment before he speaks up. “What do you teach?”

Her eyes brighten, gazing over at him as she answers. “I’m a music teacher. Band and Orchestra.” She then gesticulates to her clothes and now it makes sense. Viktor doesn’t pay attention to most of the staff in the school so he had no idea that they needed a replacement for the music area. “That’s interesting, your clothes make sense now.” He dryly jokes and she snickers. “Mhm. 

“There she is. Ms. Medarda!” He suddenly shouts down the hall, both the cameraman and the principal look in your direction. Mel’s face lights up and she excuses herself. Heading toward the both of them. “Ah, [Name] [Last Name]! You’re here.” She announces the obvious and [Name] grins. Feeling a much more comfortable aura from her than with Viktor’s greeting. “You’re even more beautiful in person!” She compliments and she lets out a shy laugh. 

“Oh, you’re one to talk!” She tells her earnestly. “I was doing a small tour for our documentary but we can restart!” She informs the girl. “Okay!” [Name] sticks a thumb up, Mel looks over to Viktor who is leaning against his cane with a patient look. “Thank you, Viktor. You’re excused.” Mel nods and he does the same. Saying a minuscule goodbye. 

“Sorry about him, he was in the middle of something.” Mel apologizes for the boy but [Name] just shakes her head. “He was extremely kind, no worries!” She says, partly lying but no one needed to know that. 

“Am I nervous for the new girl… Yes. Extremely. The last one left for a good reason.” Mel talks face to face with the camera, standing in front of one of the many brick walls in the school. 

The class was filled with students messing around with one another. Playing wrong notes and crumpling up the music sheets to throw them at one another. The teacher at the front of the class who just sat at the piano on their phone. Defeated, and ready for the end of the school year. Done with teaching these bad ass kids. 

Mel sighs. “But she comes from the top of her university and even taught elementary kids. I’m pretty confident in her abilities to handle the students this year.” She attempts to smile but it just comes out as if she was gritting her teeth together. 

“And this is your room, you have full power over everything in here. We got new instruments and equipment so check it out! If you have any worries I’ll be in my office. Any questions for now?” Mel inquires, standing in the doorway of [Name]’s new classroom that was ten times bigger than the one she used to teach in. “No, I don’t think so.” The new girl steps into the room, scanning it over. Shocked by what she’s seeing. “Awesome! Come see me before you leave, alright? I’d love to hear what you think about everything.” She places a hand on the girl’s shoulder before taking her leave. Whispering to the cameraman to stay with [Name] as she heads to her office. 

“Uh, how do I think about Zaun High School? It… is definitely a school.” [Name]’s eyes drop to the ground. “The people are nice. For the most part.” She scratches the back of her neck. 

“This is Sevika, she’s the lunch lady. The lady to go to for the food and sometimes even advice surprisingly.” Mel murmurs the last part and Sevika snaps her head towards the both of the girls. “I don’t need to hear your problems. Don’t tell people that.” She snaps. “I get enough of that with the sisters.” She grumbles in irritation. Mel chuckles. [Name] furrows her brows. “The sisters are Powder and Violet. Miss J and Mrs. Kiramman.” Mel tells her and her mouth goes into the shape of an ‘o’ but then she’s confused again. 

“I thought Kiramman goes by Dr?” [Name] questions. “I haven’t introduced you to her Mrs.” Mel says and Sevika begins to glare at the both of them. “Are you going to stay here and be useless or do I have to kick you out?” She grunts and Mel takes that as her cue. Leading [Name] out before she has to witness Sevika’s tantrum on her first day here. 

“I think it’ll grow on me though.” She smiles. “At least I hope so.” She deadpans. 

Sorry for this being so much later than I wanted it to be. I've been so busy and unmotivated :(

taglist: if you want to be added lmk!

@night-fall-moon @donnie-is-here @pxszels @ashuwhat @theuntoldlullaby @urfavlarry

[your-senpaaaai]

jokes about arcane jesus aside i really want to talk about viktor’s role in season two and how i think the direction the writers chose for him is the most logical thing everrr 🙏

so starting with s1 – viktor is introduced as a genius inventor who’s main goal is to help people in need. he’s really careful and thoughtful about what him and jayce are doing like ofc he is ready to take risk to test something if needed but it’s never about reckless decisions which could hurt anybody. and that’s until viktor realises he’s sick and time is really really limited for him – that is the moment he decides to go big or go home and starts experimenting with the hexcore capabilities on a deeper level. it is the moment of desperation and panic when he tries not only to explore possibilities of hexcore but to save himself too and then BAAM the whole thing first starts to hurt viktor himself second wipes his childhood friend into dust (im still absolutely DEVASTATED about sky’s death 😭) anyway that’s the moment he literally wakes up and realises he’s gone too far. his beliefs and plans of helping people were overshadowed with this blindness

and that’s where my actual point starts so bear with me ! viktor decides to leave his dream and idk just wait when his time comes because he doesn’t want to hurt anybody else including himself – jayce promises him not to experiment with hexcore and not let this thing act on it’s own anymore. and then he fucks it all up. not only jayce brings viktor to life in some frankenstein style but uses hexcore for this even though he doesn’t have the slightest idea of what that action could cause.

and of course viktor is absolutely broken by this like you’ve literally just come to terms with the fact nothing could save you from the death without hurting other people and you make a deal with your best friend to let it be that way and not do anything stupid BUT your friend does it anyway by bringing you from the death by force (while transforming your body into sth unrecognisable in the process) and messing with dangerous powerful magic like IMAGINE HOW BETRAYED AND DEVASTATED VIKTOR MUST HAVE FELT AFTER THAT

i believe that leaving jayce and going to the undercity was the most logical and right thing to do because with all that guilt and pain the only thing that could somehow help viktor is the act of help to other people. literally his original life goal before all this mess.

and i thing that’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL like yes viktor become a savior and hope for those who need it because you literally always wanted to do such thing

[arttsuka]

Ok here are my thoughts about arcane season 2, buckle up

I wana say, I liked the second season, less about what we saw, more about the story they wanted to tell.

It started fine but as soon as episode 4 came the problem was clear. The pacing was bad. Everything was happening too fast, there was no time for smaller moments. A lot of character development was off screen too.

I've heard they were supposed to have more seasons but decided last minute to cut the show short because 'there are more stories to be told'.

Caitlyn had most of her arc off screen which is such a shame, I really wanted to see how she realized she was being manipulated, I wanted to see her dictatorship era. But we got none of that, it's implied it happened but we didn't get to see it.

Sevika was relevant up until ep4 and then we see her again in ep8. I don't think she has any speaking lines after ep4. Such a waste of her character, she was really interesting.

Isha. She came to the series as suddenly as she left. I have a lot of problems with her character, one of them being that she wasn't introduced organically. She randomly fell on Jinx (by accident). Arcane relies way too much on 'right place right time', on coincidences so, when that can be avoided, it definitely should. Make her fall on top of the first person that passed through on purpose so she won't get hurt (that person being Jinx is the only coincidence here). Her sacrifice felt a bit unearned because we didn't get to see her a lot, and after ep6, they never speak of her again (it affected Jinx sure but they don't even mention her once).

Mel. They did her dirty this season. They speedruned her arc (and the whole thing felt so out of place). I've heard that maybe the next show was going to be focused on Noxus etc which, if it turns out to be true, would be a bad decision. If they are actually planning on making something about Noxus, I'd at least expect Ambessa to be there and also, it would be a great opportunity to learn about Mel and her powers in greater detail instead of whatever we got.

Viktor as the herald, ultimate life form or whatever was so short lived. Make you wonder why they decided to include it only in the last episode instead of implementing a bit earlier.

Vi was also so, useless this season. She did almost nothing. She was a punching bag for the most of it.

Jinx felt a bit ooc, less about what she was doing and more about how there wasn't any time to see her get over Silco's death. Silco had such a negative effect on her mental health (all these hallucinations from s01) but he dies and boom, mentally stable? I would have liked to see her become healthier (it would also tie nicely with getting to know Isha better).

Vander. They brought him back. It was actually foreshadowed in the first season. Him being back is not my problem, on the contrary I think it was a great way to naturally bring Vi and Jinx back together. My problem was how we see him for 2 episodes (and then he 'dies'). It felt like a waste of time honestly, time that could have been used to see something else.

Episode 6 has to be the worst episode of the whole show. The pacing is pretty bad. The events that take place in it feel like 3 episodes, not 1. We get not 1 but 2 different artstyle montages, making the episode look, weird...

The best episodes were probably ep03 and ep07. Both had nice pacing (especially ep07, it felt like it was straight out of s01) and the story explored in them was pretty captivating. But I do have a problem with ep07. It's where Ekko got his 'time powers' from and honestly, they were pretty underwhelming? Also not at all well implemented to the story. We literally see him use them 3 times. 1: when he finds out about them, 2: when he saves Jinx and 3: when he goes back to try not to get captured by Viktor's mannequins. The last 2 on the same episode. That 4-second-limit was never really relevant (at least I don't think it's was). They wasted an entire episode giving him powers only for him to never really use them and for the machine to act as a bomb.

Also I didn't like the dancing scene with Powder and Ekko. I understand the vision behind it but I felt like my TV was dropping frames. It felt choppy, cheap (such a shame for a beautiful scene).

Now, I liked the lesbian sex scene in ep8, I really did, but it felt so out of place. Jinx basically implied she was going to kill herself, Vi was on the verge of tears because she was insecure about how she seemed to only make the wrong choices and then, that scene happens. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I've seen people compare it to the s01 'Jayce/Mel vs Viktor dying' scene and while I understand where the comparison is coming from it's definitely not the same. In that scene, Jayce didn't know Viktor was dying (he knew about his deteriorating health, but he was clearly shocked and left Mel to go check out on him etc etc).

Also, Caitlyn should have gone down on Vi. I think they image would have been stronger. Vi was at the bottom of the barrel her entire life (literal plot point, being from the undercity etc) so seeing Caitlyn, someone of higher status and power, being the one to 'bow' would just be more powerful. Just a thought.

I just feel like I liked their relationship and dynamics more in s01. They had more casual moments, more natural dialogue. Yes we won but at what cost? Their relationship was so sweet in s01. In s02 it started sweet, turned out to be manipulative on Caitlyns side*, they break up and then they're fine again.

*in ep3 it's clearly shown that while Caitlyn loves Vi she's willing to manipulate her to reach her own goals. That first kiss we see was definitely more of a 'I'm gonna play with your emotions so you don't doubt me' rather than 'let's just kiss now'.

I liked how Jinx cut her hair. The whole 'hair holds memories' and how she was ready to move on. Too sad that scene didn't have the proper gravity it deserved because the lesbian sex was happening (probably) the same time.

Ep9 was, something. I'm conflicted about it. On one hand I really liked how they tied up Viktor's and Jayce's plot lines, on the other hand everything else was so rushed. Caitlyn and Mel were a team (they didn't feel like one honestly), they fought Ambessa and then she randomly died from the black rose. It felt like they just wanted an excuse to kill her. 'She needed to die so Mel could become the wolf' no, not really. She could still be alive, have Mel 'spare her life' or something. It would be more on track with Mel's ideals that way.

Jinx sacrificing herself to save Vi was also so forced**. It felt specifically written so she could 'die'. I do believe that 'Jinx is alive' theory because Caitlyn looking at the vents while holding that monkey head Jinx's bomb had + that air balloon Powder said she'd fly away with are all too specific to be coincidences.

**her sacrifice was forced but foreshadowed. Isha was acting as an 'archetype' of what Jinx had to become. Her whole existence in the show was so Jinx could become an icon for Zauns revolution and for her to sacrifice herself so Jinx could see and do the same, break the cycle.

What really bothered me was how Jayce and Viktor seemed to be the only characters who had a complete story, everyone else had a lot missing scenes (they did too but way less, there never was a point where I thought 'where does this come from?', everythingwas explained about them. I wish I could say the same about the 'arcane', magic). It's so unfair, on the female lead show about 2 sisters for the male characters to be the final focus. Also another thing that bothered me how they did a seemingly better job at writing Ekko/Powder, the straight ship we got to see for 1 episode on a different timeline, rather that Vi/Caitlyn, the lesbian ship AND main focus since they're both main characters from the timeline were following.

Something else, I feel like the score for s01 was better/more memorable than s02. Sure s02 has some pretty good songs but s01 felt more diverse on that? Maybe that's just me.

Kinda lazy how they used the same song for the opening credits while using visuals way too similar (if not the same) to the artstyle of the show. Although, truth to be told, the s01 opening was way too good for any standards, it would be very hard if not impossible to make something better. Still, I feel like they could have done a better job.

Also maybe that's just me but there were a lot of predicable moments. Sometimes a scene would start playing and I'd know exactly where it was going (something I can't say for season 1).

I really liked in s01 how in each episode, before the opening, we got to see some glimpses from the past of each character. It was a great way not to have too many random flashbacks and include these scenes organically in each episode. In season 2 we don't get that. I understand that we already know these characters but it's still something I adored from s01.

What made s01 so appealing was how they handled the story, didn't rush things. How they took their time to make us understand and like the characters. With s02 we didn't get that luxury.

Season 1 was a masterpiece and unfortunately, season 2 didn't meet the expectations.

I still enjoyed watching it but it was definitely not as good as the experience of watching s01.

[monsters00km]

I wanna talk about people fighting for Zaun. Bc i feel like they did interesting things as a show.

Vander.

Made a deal with the sheriff. That helped protect the people but wasn't good for the progres sof Zaun as a community/economy.

Silco.

Helped the economy of Zaun. But this really only benefitted the chem barons and himself. The people of Zaun were thrown into addiction and further into poverty.

Sevick.

Never really helps zaun on her own. She will have the opportunity now as a council member. But she mainly helped who she thought was Xauns best choice as a leader; Vander, Silco, then Jinx.

Chem barons.

We don't see them too much. But pretty sure they were kidnapping children in s2. Using child labor. And creating shimmer. So not helping Zaun.

Jayce.

He is interesting. Bc he fights for Zaun for a minute. Then, he kills a kid. And gives up. Then decides the best option is to hand zaun over to Silco. Who is not helping Zaun either. So he is just kinda throwing the problem away instead of working to fix it.

Viktor.

WANTS to help Zaun. But never does. Bc of piltover politics, hextech is to help piltover first. And jayce doesn't help in this matter.

The Council.

Not helping Zaun. Also SUPER ignorant to what is going on. Bc the last 2 sheriff's made deals with Zaunites to keep the council out of their business.

Cassandra Kiramman.

She cleaned the air. She is definitely ignorant of what is going on. But used her power and money to clean the air of Zaun bc she believed they deserved clean air.

Vi.

Doesn't help Zaun. Listen. This isn't a shot. It makes perfect sense. She gives herself up in s1 to stop a war between Zaun and piltover, bc of Powder. She always picks her family first. And then she spends 7 years in prison and is released into a world she doesn't know. She has no obligation to Zaun and I do not expect her to fight for Zaun.

Ekko.

Fights for Zaun. Like fully. Best boy. He is trying to stop the distribution of shimmer. But. Here is Ekkos but. He isn't powerful enough to stop it/ take on silco. He is focused on a brighter future. And it trying his hardest.

Caitlyn.

Ooo caitlyn. Actually, tries to help Zaun. Don't freak. It's true. She completes 2 of her 3 goals. Eliminates shimmer production. And the chembarons. Which is 2 things that are not good for the people of Zaun. Her methods are ehhh. But in reality. Ekko couldn't stop the source of his issues being shimmer, silco, and the chem barons. But Caitlyn does. But she also helps ambessa with martial law. Which is bad. But then she stops the use of solitary cells in stillwater. She also is the person who gives them a council seat.

Caitlyns journey with Zaun to me is so interesting. Bc in s1. We see her eyes open and her want to help is there. Then Jinx kills her mother. And she STRUGGLES. understandable. And she makes bad decisions. But then at the end she's making decisions to help zaun.

Jinx.

Helps Zaun on Accident. Yes. It needs to be said. Love her. But she had zero intentions of helping them. She becomes a symbol of hope bc she's the zaunite who attacked piltover TWICE and didn't get caught. But the first time was literally in anger about what they had done to her. And the second time was bc they were looking for her. When asked to help Zaun she said no. In fact she only helps AFTER Isha gets kidnapped. Then walks into those cells like a hero. When the only reason she is there is for Isha.

She is like Katniss Everdeen. Her goals are like survive and help little sister. And everyone around them are like... wow what a rebellious symbol. And I love this about them both. It's so real. Like i feel like alot of people who are symbols. Dont choose to be. And thats Jinx.

I just kinda wanted to talk about this. And see what other people thought. Mainly bc I feel like there is this standard of who helped zaun. And so much is overlooked or embellished.

[redjadethewriter]

Which Arcane Lady Is Girlfriend or Wife Material?

The women in Arcane League of Legends are some of the best developed animated characters I’ve seen in a long time, specifically designed for adults to watch. Unlike animated characters aimed at children, they cater to an older audience. As someone who enjoys animation and appreciates the quality of storytelling it offers, I want to explore something fun in this blog: using the female characters as an example. My focus will be on whether they would make compatible companions for me. To illustrate this, I’ll draw from my own preferences and experiences, particularly when discussing the qualities of each character. Ultimately, I’ll be determining who fits my standards of being girlfriend material and who doesn’t.

Before I dive in, I want to point out, in the series, Caitlyn and Violet stood out as the more explicit couple. However, Jayce’s relationship with Mel was not as clear-cut. While they hooked up, they were not explicitly a couple. On the other hand, Jayce and Viktor had a stronger, more established connection.

In my opinion, Viktor and Jayce are actually a compatible couple. It’s clear that they were into each other. Although the writers didn’t explicitly state it, Jayce seemed to be attracted to Viktor and displayed a bisexual inclination.

Viktor, on the other hand, is an enigma. He was never interested in Sky. Actually, for a second, I thought Viktor was asexual. However, I soon realized he had a soft spot for Jayce. Viktor probably is Asexual, but it’s important to note that Asexuals can love and be in a healthy relationship as well. But who really knows what Viktor’s sexuality truly is?

But come on, who spends their lifetime trying to get Jayce to save his version of Viktor by convincing him of his beauty, imperfections, and all? It’s worth mentioning that Jayce, in season one, wanted to un-alive himself, and guess who stopped him? Viktor. Throughout seasons one and two, Jayce constantly thinks about Viktor, even during the sex scene with Mel. That’s not just bro love, that’s love-love. It’s a love shared between companions.

However, when it comes to Cait and Vi, in reality, their relationship would never work. Their communication with each other is not the best. And let’s not forget that Cait looks down on the people from Zaun. As for Vi, she herself holds no allegiance to any nation or people. Her love is conditional, not unconditional. That’s why the two women in her life went through a growth phase and changed into people she didn’t like. Vi was judgmental and lacked acceptance. How can two judgmental people be together romantically? They can’t. That’s why Arcane is fiction. Furthermore, Cait completely ignores the fact that Vi is a lower-class citizen from Zaun.

Can you imagine your romantic partner ignoring your heritage, culture, and where you come from, only seeing you as an exception because of their desire for you? This imbalance of chemistry ruling the mind too much and reason too little is problematic. Both individuals are allowing chemistry to guide their decisions, despite underlying issues that would not work in reality. It’s similar to what Vi mentioned to Cait in season one - they are like oil and water. From my perspective, I can confidently state that the composition of oil cannot be changed. While oil and water can temporarily bind with certain tools, they will eventually separate. Cait and Vi, in reality, form a toxic mix. In the show, they serve as red flags to be mindful of. Although they are both attractive characters and share chemistry, these factors alone do not sustain a long-term relationship. Thus, I believe Jayce and Viktor serve as a better example of a compatible couple in the story compared to Vi and Cait.

Now that I have finished explaining my thoughts on the better couple, let’s shift our focus to the characters who I believe are capable of building a lasting romantic relationship. Additionally, I will discuss the reasons for considering these characters and also highlight the ones that should be avoided without any exceptions.

Ambessa

Regardless of how anyone chooses to frame it, Ambessa is a woman to be avoided. Once I discovered the inspiration behind her character, I realized she’s someone we can learn a great deal from. It’s important to be cautious of anyone who finds themselves attracted to her persona. In essence, Ambessa is the female equivalent of Niccolò Machiavelli. The writers were quite clever in their portrayal. They had Ambessa teach Mel about embodying both the Fox and the Wolf, while Machiavelli spoke of being both the Fox and the Lion. Though the terminology differs, the underlying mentality remains the same. The aim is to disable enemies enough so they won’t feel compelled to get revenge. That’s why Ambessa is merciless toward civilians of an empire she takes over. Manipulation is the focal point. Ambessa and Machiavelli share traits such as violence, deceit, treachery, and using others to their advantage. Ambessa passed on these characteristics to her daughter as well.

Now this moves on to Mel.

Mel is another red flag for the very reason I mention her mother as someone to stay away from. While she may have a caring side to some degree, in reality, she’s manipulative. Nonetheless, there are positive traits that can help redeem her negative qualities, allowing her to use them for good. However, I wouldn’t risk myself on that notion unless there was a clear sign it would end up okay.

On the one hand, she can change and not be like her mother. But on the other hand, in the series, it’s something I wouldn’t count on too much. I do give her praise for helping fight Ambessa, but I would still tread cautiously in a romantic relationship with this character. She can swing in either direction, depending on the influences.

Therefore, Mel is a gamble at this point. Getting involved with her could potentially lead her partners into terrible circumstances, both mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Next on this following, the no-compatible trend is Violet/Vi.

The only good thing about Vi as a character, based on my preferences and opinions, is her strength and protective nature. While some may find her attractive, her personality is lackluster. She uses humor as a coping mechanism, but it’s clear that she’s struggling with her own problems. As I mentioned earlier, she’s conditional, meaning she can’t accept her partner changing or evolving. This reminds me of people who resist change and hold onto toxic fantasies and memories, leading to disastrous situations. For instance, Powder, also known as Jinx, wouldn’t have had to save Vi if she had accepted that Vander was gone. Furthermore, Vi lacks loyalty. Her transformation into an enforcer for Piltover exemplifies her chameleon-like nature, lacking a solid individuality. You know those people who change their looks to fit their partner’s tastes? Vi acts like them. Many celebrities engage in this behavior, altering their appearances and personalities according to their partners, but it’s not healthy. Additionally, Vi is not a good listener. Although she is comfortable talking about herself and being vulnerable with certain people, she is oblivious to her partner’s issues. Unfortunately, Vi is too mundane to keep me interested. Her interests revolve around fighting and being tough, lacking the complexities that make a character intriguing. It’s no surprise that Cait told her she was becoming predictable. I can’t help but think, “Cait, she’s been predictable since season one. She is the most transparent character in Arcane.” I have to be honest about this. Vi is just not a mystery, and some people, like myself, enjoy unraveling the complexities of a romantic interest. So, what happens if there’s none of that? Well, there’s only sex. While some people may solely be interested in the physical aspect, that’s not me.

Next on this list is Sevika.

If there’s one goon worthy of falling in love with, it would undoubtedly be Sevika. Despite her involvement in illegal activities, particularly under Silco’s command, she embodies the true meaning of loyalty. Sevika’s allegiance has always been unwavering towards her nation and its people. She aligns herself with leaders who prioritize this quality, such as Vander, until she discovered his lack of loyalty to the community. Sevika, on the other hand, takes immense pride in her work. Even though Silco held the reins of power, she efficiently managed the lanes, ensuring that everything ran smoothly for him. She was the driving force behind the functioning of businesses and the well-being of the people. Despite tempting offers from the power-hungry chembarons, Sevika remained loyal to Silco. In season two, when the chembarons sought to hand Jinx over to Piltover, Sevika stood firm in her belief to never betray their own. Additionally, Sevika possesses a softer side. Her concern for Isha was clear when she and Jinx searched the prison block for her. Sevika’s help in helping Jinx infiltrate Stillwater prison to rescue Isha showcases her compassion. It’s worth noting that their primary aim was to find Isha, with freeing the others being an added bonus. Sevika is not only a protector, but also someone who speaks her mind. Her bluntness stems from a genuine desire to do what is right. Despite her interest in gambling and fighting, she remains a complex and captivating character because of her grounded nature and unwavering principles. For me, Sevika is a dependable partner, someone who can smoothly navigate everyday life. The best part is that I wouldn’t expect anything less from her. She is resolute and unswayed by others, and her loyalty is an incredibly attractive quality. With Sevika, there would be no insecurity or fear of infidelity. She would stand by her partner’s side, no matter what.

Now let us move on to Caitlyn, aka Cait.

You would think that I would place Cait after Vi or before Sevika, considering I talked some trash about her. I mean, Cait is a character who tends to look down on others when unfortunate events challenge her perspective. However, I attribute this primarily to her sheltered life and the naiveness that resulted from her mother not teaching her the harsh realities of the world. I have to admit, Cait’s mother never instilled in her the importance of holding a higher position in life to effect change. The elites hold power over the lower class. So, when Cait was disgusted by how the Undercity residents lived, she failed to realize that it was the upper-crust of Piltover who was responsible for their plight. Instead, when she witnessed the consequences of inequality and the oppression faced by these people, her mind automatically labeled them as animals. Consequently, she dehumanized them. In season 2, she even resorted to using biological warfare tactics in her pursuit of Jinx in the Undercity, disregarding the well-being of innocent citizens. I’m fairly certain there were casualties resulting from her use of the grey. So, when you really think about it, she may have caused more deaths than Jinx. Now, why would I mention Cait, after praising Sevika’s admirable qualities? Well, despite Cait’s transformation into a dictator, there are certain positive aspects about her that I cannot overlook. One of them being her empathy and capacity for compassion when she gains a deeper understanding of things. Her world was shattered in season one, having been betrayed by a citizen of the Undercity for shimmer and taken captive by Jinx in her most vulnerable state. That’s a lot of trauma to endure. Furthermore, she witnessed Jinx launching a rocket at the council. However, in season two, Jinx confessed to Cait that she had no idea her mother was there. This goes to show that Cait is not immune to narrow-minded thinking.

Cait is known for being super analytical and her ability to read people. She pays close attention to those around her, unless she’s consumed with thoughts of revenge. Unfortunately, this obsession blinds her to those who manipulate her, which ultimately led to her letting Maddie and Ambessa into her home. On the other hand, when Cait is not seeking revenge, she genuinely cares about the people close to her and is willing to help them, even if it means sacrificing material things.

One person Cait has a good understanding of is Vi. She can predict Vi’s actions, showing just how observant she is. Cait is not only attentive to her partner, but she also acts as a protector in her own unique way. While she may not possess Vi’s brute force, she adapts and learns new techniques to become a more efficient fighter and protector. She even goes as far as sacrificing her own eye to ensure Mel’s victory over Ambessa.

Like Cait, I can relate to making tough decisions and doing whatever it takes to accomplish goals. Cait maintains a stoic demeanor, but she let her guard down with the people she trusts. Additionally, Cait’s intellect might actually make her a captivating conversationalist, despite her privileged upbringing, which I like that. Her marksmanship skills and classy demeanor add to her appeal. It’s worth noting that in season one, Cait went through a rebellious phase as she sought to find her own path outside of her elite status. This quality is truly admirable. Actually, it’s cute.

Cait handles challenges exceptionally well, especially when faced with skepticism and lack of support. She takes initiative and is willing to take risks to achieve her objectives, refusing to let anyone stand in her way. While it’s unclear if Cait is capable of loving someone unconditionally, her love for Vi suggests that she is. However, Cait needs to acknowledge and embrace Vi’s background, understanding that Zaun and the Undercity have both good and bad individuals, just like Piltover. Cait’s ability to love someone less fortunate than herself is a testament to her character.

I must admit, I have a soft spot for characters like Cait.

Now let us move on to Powder, aka Jinx.

I love both Powder/Jinx. Although they are the same person, my love for them is unconditional. It’s not surprising that Ekko had a crush on Powder when they were kids. Powder is incredibly creative and practically a scientist and engineer, as she creates her own weapons. For instance, she designed her own grenades and crafted guns that perfectly suit her fighting style. Whether she goes by Powder or Jinx, she always likes to make a grand entrance. Even in the alternate universe, Powder showcased her true character - caring, thoughtful, loving, compassionate, and empathetic. There’s just so much to adore about her. Despite her possessiveness, it stems from her fear of abandonment. She simply wants to be useful to those around her. Unfortunately, Vi never really nurtured this side of Powder, and allowing others to bully her didn’t help either. It’s disheartening that we had to witness an alternate universe where Vi is no longer alive to see Powder rise and become the leader. In that reality, she became a solid foundation for her brothers, Mylo and Claggor, and they no longer belittle her, as shown. She even prevented Mylo from embarrassing himself in front of a girl. It’s a stark contrast to the world where Vi is still present. Powder is a vibrant individual with excellent taste in music. She embraces her quirkiness, loudness, and expressiveness. Her thoughtfulness and adorableness shine through when she customized an arm for Sevika based on her gambling habits. Powder pays attention to people and their interests. She even drew in Ekko’s journal, similar to how someone in love would leave love notes for their partner, except hers were cute doodles with hearts. Although she is young in this series, Powder, also known as Jinx, possesses many qualities that could lead to a fulfilling long-term relationship.

Despite the trauma and everything else going on with Piltover versus Zaun, the qualities are still there. Jinx, in particular, exhibits selflessness when the situation demands it. She has shown her willingness to protect those in need, which is commendable. In fact, she offers more positive support than Vi ever did, as evidenced by her actions towards Isha. When Isha had a memory flashback, similar to the one Jinx experienced in Season one, Jinx jumped alongside her, holding her hand. It is clear that Jinx can use her past experiences to forge stronger connections with others in the future. She strives to do things that were not done for her in the past, seeking to provide the support she longed for. This growth from past mistakes shows her commitment to personal development.

Furthermore, Jinx possesses a unique way of being a protector. While she may not have the physical strength of Vi, she compensates with her craftiness and agility. Using her skills as an intuitive gunslinger, she leverages speed and precision to her advantage. This is why I believed that Jinx and Caitlyn would have been a better match as a long-term couple. They complement each other perfectly. Caitlyn desires someone who will stand beside her, and Jinx has that persona to be that person. Not to mention the loyalty factor. Jinx yearns to be useful, always ready to lend a hand to those who appreciate her presence.

Moreover, let’s not forget that Powder can be quite the gangster. Her entrance with the balloon blasting her music was absolutely hilarious. The expressions on Ambessa’s and Caitlyn’s faces were priceless. We should be grateful for her stylish, yet badass persona.

Conclusion:

Who is the better romantic partner, based on my preferences? Well, considering that I relate more to Jinx’s persona, Caitlyn or Sevika might actually be a more grounding partner. However, Caitlyn is a lot less blunt, so I might be leaning towards her. I really admire the discipline she has in her life. On the other hand, Powder’s persona is also quite appealing. I’m not sure, to be honest. Oops.

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

While I think your theory about Hexcore rejecting Mel's magic sounds very plausible, I'm not sure if Mel actually knows what she can do with it or even about its existence. To me it felt like she what she did was more of a reflex, and subconsciously protected Jayce too. I also think she might've managed to shield more people if she knew what she was doing - but this is more of a speculation.

Hello anon!

I think your theories make a ton of sense! I love it whenever anybody investigates what Mel's thoughts and situation are like in the show. Arcane is endlessly fun because it rewards us for not taking what we see at face value.

We just don't get much of Mel's dialogue about the attack, so I can totally see it happening where Mel was told her gold parts are one thing, when they're actually another, and she doesn't know that they are Arcane objects that can create a shield. In that case, then yes, it makes perfect sense as well that she would run to Jayce out of sheer instinct.

I really love the idea that Mel could have shielded more people if she knew how to control her armor better, or at all. Mel is really burying her thoughts and emotions down deep this season, and I think she has some guilt that she's burying as well, while Jayce's feelings of guilt bubble to the surface immediately because he wears his heart on his sleeve. So she prefers to take care of Jayce rather than experience catharsis herself.

I've also played around with the idea that, if her magic really does clash with Viktor's, she could've protected everybody if Viktor had not been there for his magic to interrupt hers. I'm an angst fan, so I like the thought of Mel needing to contend with her desire to protect people and her failure to do so (whether it was ever in her control or not) - this is a desire and a failure that Jayce and Viktor share, by the way, so Mel struggling with that desire as well while not being a fighter or inventor herself would be fitting and an interesting twist on her character.

Personally, I am very interested in a situation where Mel does know that she has a shield, she knows it has limitations, and she has only a split second to make a critical decision: stay where she is and save a couple of her fellow Councilors (including Cassandra btw...) and probably Jayce, or run to Jayce and guarantee his safety while risking the others' lives? It says a lot about the depth of her feelings that she chose Jayce in this scenario. This makes Mel similar to Jayce - her emotions push her to make a choice that is best for her personally, but might hurt others around her, because her desire to protect what she loves is so strong in a crisis.

I do absolutely agree that Mel's shield works automatically. I don't think she controls whether it deploys or not. (The only point against that is that it seems like the armor warns her right before an attack - why do that unless it's Mel's job to activate the shield herself? We'll see) Given how tired she was at the start of ep1 though, it seems like it takes a lot out of her when it is used. Either the shield is single-use, or it takes a long time to "recharge," or it only works when Mel's life is actually in danger, which is why it didn't deploy when she was pistol-whipped at the memorial. This could also explain why Ambessa was comfortable with putting Mel in danger at the memorial - if something went wrong and someone did try to kill Mel, maybe the shield would have deployed after all. But we won't know that for sure until Mel is attacked again.

I personally think Mel is simply hiding the shield from everyone. So far from what we've seen, no one else in Piltover works with magic in any way unless they're a techmaturgist/engineer like Viktor or Jayce. Magic - non-Hextech magic - still appears to be taboo in Piltover society. I also think it's telling that in Mel's scene with Lest, there was a play going on about Demacia next to them, a place that hates and mistreats mages. This hints to me that Mel has reasons for hiding any Arcane objects or abilities she may have.

[wasted-women]

ROUND 1B, MATCH 3 OUT OF 8!

Cause of Death & Propaganda Under the Cut:

Sky Young

Cause of Death: Disintegrated while attempting to save her friend/crush

Propaganda:

She literally only exists to be fridged, which is a shame because her death by probably the void would have made her an excellent tie-in champion for League. But no, she just gets dusted for Viktor’s character arc.

Her death was pointless aside from making Viktor feel guilty. Her whole character was that a) the was a brilliant scientist and b) that she was in love with Viktor and he didn't know. He was pursing dangerous magic for himself, and it's shown that the magic wouldn't have even killed him because he's now connected to it (through choice!). Sky died trying to save him from something that wouldn't have even killed him. Her death was literally just to make Viktor realise that the magic was bad/dangerous. Even though it clearly already was, but now it really is.

Princess Allura

Cause of Death: Sacrificed herself to save the universe

Propaganda:

The show has so so so many issues, but taking the black female lead and reducing her to a love interest and then killing her???? I never even got to the finale (bailed on the show seasons before) but I am still so fucking mad about this

The first case of fridging that many young girls saw.

Pyrrha Nikos

Cause of Death: Turned into dust after being defeated in battle

Propaganda:

Badass, powerful, beautiful. A warrior of virtue who tried to do the right thing. Was willing to risk having her entire personality overwritten in order to protect the world even though it scared her and conflicted with her ideals and concept of destiny. Everyone looked up to her. She was kind. She was smart. She was strong. She was one of the best characters in the show. And ever since she died, her death has only ever been brought up when it pertains to how it affects the one blond haired blue eyed author insert. Pyrrha deserved so much better.

There was SOOOOOOO much good build-up for Pyrrha's death. Like she's literally ACHILLES. With her trying to decide whether she should sacrifice herself to become the maiden or not and then when she finally decides to but it's taken away from her at last second when Cinder comes and kills Amber. How that contributes to her decision to fight Cinder even though it's certain suicide; that's sort of what she wants. She thinks she should have died before so she's going to fight Cinder to the death. And her final battle and ultimate death!!!! But then after her death happens we only see it in the lens of JAUNE. Like to an extent I get it because Jaune was close to her and he was the last person to talk to her. Him melting down the gold in her armor for his armor is a good moment. BUT ONLY JAUNE??? Volume 4 onwards, the only time we see any main character grieve it's always Jaune. RUBY LITERALLY IS THE MAIN CHARACTER AND THE PERSON WHO WITNESSED PYRRHA'S DEATH but she is barely given any screentime grieving!!! It's all Jaune and his manpain and how he is sad that she is gone and how they loved each other and it's like God give me a break. Even Pyrrha and Jaune's other teammates, Ren n Nora, never are given any screentime to grieve besides a quick second after Jaune looks at Pyrrha's statue. They don't even have a real good conversation about how fucked it was that Ozpin's team put Pyrrha in the situation that made her so suicidal in the first place other than outright dismissing it. For a show that loves to dissect and criticize Ozpin and his decisions they really didn't come back to that. Can a death retroactively become fridging? Because that's what this is.

[thearoaceshark]

ARCANE ACT 3 SPOILERS‼️

So the AU where everything turns out well, how do we feel about that?

The truth is that it hurts that they show us how it could have been better than the disaster that we have seen, but at the same time it answers many questions. The truth is that I enjoyed knowing about the existence of that alternate universe.

With that said, this universe also confirms (once again) what Jinx said, right? It was Vi who created Jinx. Truth be told, yes, Silco did a lot of damage and was one of the reasons they got to that situation, but it was also Vi's actions that dragged her there, and years later she continues to make mistake after mistake. Many bad things happened to Vi, some of which she had no control over, but in the end many of the things she experienced were a result of her actions or how she reacted to certain situations. I'm not saying to blame her for all the shit that happened in her life, just that she could have made better decisions.

On the other hand Jayce, who I assume either also died in the explosion, or was imprisoned, or had his job taken away, in that universe.

I don't hate Jayce for his actions in the last few chapters at all, I knew that killing Viktor was something that SHOULD be done. On the contrary, I was angry since before because he saved Viktor's life instead of destroying the Hexcore as he had promised him, and his actions and bad decisions throughout the first season and at the beginning of the second made me so angry. From the beginning they had me shouting that they should listen to Heimerdinger and not mess with magic, and I didn't like him for not listening to him and on top of that they expelled him from the council, of which Mel is also guilty (with they I mean Jayce, Viktor, and Mel, but it's mostly Jayce the one that should have listen).

And I just find this very curious. There is already the joke that both characters (Vi and Jayce) are intelligent on their own, but a disaster when they are together, but even apart they make bad decisions. It's not that they aren't intelligent, they are, but they make VERY bad decisions.

And I know that Ambessa and others are the main culprits of the misfortune that occurs, but I am fascinated by how the plot is formed from the mistakes that other characters make, and they give the tools to Ambessa (and others) to then manipulate them and use them at their favor. Vi and Jayce being the ones who make the most essential mistakes.

And the alternate universe, where they apparently have no role, is where the story is going best.

I don't know if that makes sense but it's the conclusion I've come to. I could be wrong because the emotions of the moment have me overwhelmed and do not allow me to concentrate on giving a deep reading, but I still wanted to share it. Again Vi and Jayce are not to blame for everything that happened, but they made the wrong desicions that infuenced the most on the plot.

[cassandrarebornanew]

Wolf among sheep pt3

I used solinshko in last fic but I just realized that Viktor has a canonically Czech accent, not Russian, so correct me if anything’s wrong

2.3K words

Enjoy :D

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Viktor stirs gently, rolling over and burying his face into the soft fabric on top of him. Smells nice, he thinks, still half asleep. Like oak, and gunpowder, and a very nice cologne… smells like… you. Sakra [damn]! He sits up fast, apology on his tongue, before he realises that you aren’t here. He’s almost disappointed, before he sees your coat. He’s in his room, covered in your coat. When? How? Shaking his head slightly to get rid of the confusion, he swings his feet off the bed and onto the floor. You left your favourite coat with him. He remembers you telling him that this coat was the first thing you ever bought for yourself, remembers sitting so, so close to you in order to see the neat stitching where you had mended any tears by hand. As his fingers glide over one such spot, he feels himself relax, enveloped in your scent and familiar fabric. Viktor’s eyes snap open again when he realises he’s slept well into the morning. Grabbing a clock, he quickly realised that he’s been asleep for… eight hours?! It’s nine thirty, how was he still asleep? Usually Viktor has issues getting to sleep, not getting out of it. Quickly changing out of his now crumpled suit and into lab-suitable clothes, he debates for a moment, before throwing on your coat. It’s cold, he tells himself, as he walks through the streets of Piltover, and this coat is big and warm. Nothing to do with the fact that it’s yours. 

Viktor hurries into the lab. “Sorry, I overslept. What have I missed?” Jayce looks at him, first clocking the fact that Viktor overslept, something rumoured to be impossible, but second, that he’s wearing the coat. He hesitates for a second. “Oh, nothing much. New, er, new coat?” Viktor looks at him, one eyebrow raised. “I think you know more than I do in this particular situation, Jayce. What happened after I fell asleep last night?” Jayce succinctly and reluctantly summarises the previous night. Viktor finds that can’t help but be pleased at the thought that Nick was willing to do all that just for him to be comfortable. 

“I see. Well, I suppose it is time we get to work, no?” Viktor turns away, seating himself at his desk and getting to work, ending the conversation. He knows that given half a chance by any of Jayce’s questions, he would probably go off on a tangent, rambling on how the rumours about you are practically unfounded, how you have never been anything other than a gentleman to him. He also knows that this is not what Jayce would like to hear, and it would be a waste of time. Fingers curling around the long sleeves, he settles into his work, doing his best to push all thought of you out of his mind. 

You’ve been distracted all day. Doing any paperwork on autopilot, barely even registering the words written on the papers in front of you. That’s going to be a problem; you need to focus on what you’re signing, and yet, it just goes in and then straight out again. It’s early afternoon, and you wander over to Clarissa. 

“Anything else you need me to do?” Placing the pad of papers on her desk. She flicks through quickly. “No, you’re good. Got through these awfully fast.” The knowing look is back again. “I think you can take the rest of the day off. Go, oh I don’t know, visit a friend.” The knowing look has become rather suggestive. You chuckle. “Clarissa, he’s really just a friend. Nothing more has happened, or even been alluded to. But thank you for the suggestion.” 

You walk away, out of the doors and along the streets. It’s about half an hour of wandering about before you find yourself in front of the lab. You hadn’t consciously made that decision, but nonetheless, your feet seemed to have carried you here. Again, autopilot. Well, you think, I do need to get my coat back.

Striding into the lab, you dodge past all the projects and desks, ignoring all the wide eyes and stares following you. You stop and turn to one of the scientists. She’s got glasses and brown hair, pulled back out of her face. 

“Hello. What’s your name?” 

She squeaks slightly, before replying “um, Sky?”

Ignoring the fact that it sounded like a question, you continue. “Well, Sky, I appreciate you being so busy, but I’m looking for Viktor. Any chance you know where he is?” 

She swallows, a strange look on her face as she gives you directions. You brush it off, before thanking her and moving away. You pass through a few more rooms, before you reach an unnecessarily large set of double doors. Apparently Viktor and Jayce plus a few others work on the other side of these doors, as they are the main researchers. Reaching for the handles, you push the doors open dramatically, causing every head to turn towards you. You see Viktor hunched over his desk at the other side of the room, clearly in working mode, and far too engrossed to notice your entrance. Walking over you lean on the desk next to him. 

“Te ves tan adorable cuando estás enfocado como esto [you look so adorable when you’re focused like this].” 

His head snaps up to look at you, eyes wide for half a second, before a grin tugs at his mouth. “I am going to pretend that I understood what you just said. Show off.” You laugh, shaking your head slightly. “Can’t blame me for trying to impress a beautiful boy such as yourself, hm?” He smacks the side of your leg, turning away to hide the light blush that made an unexpected appearance.

“I assume you are going to want your coat back.” It isn’t a question, but you answer nonetheless. “Seems so. Although…” you trail off, thinking. “Have you eaten today?”

…

…

…

“Yes…?”

Sighing, you gesture for Viktor to get up. “Alright, let’s go. Late lunch for us.” He does try protesting, but once you threaten to throw him over your shoulder and manually remove him from his desk, he quietens down a bit. A hand on the small of his back, the two of you slowly amble out, heading to a place you know Viktor will like.

The two of you stop in a lovely little cafe, just five minutes from the lab. 

“I don’t know how I never noticed this place before.” Viktor murmurs, looking around. “It is really quite lovely.”

You steer him towards the counter so you can order. “Probably because the only place you ever regularly pay attention to is the lab.” 

Try as he might to argue against that statement, you both know it’s the truth. Viktor has an incredible work ethic, but sometimes it’s a little too much. You’re happy to share this place with him though. When you sit down with your food, you tell him how this was one of the few places that would serve you when you had recently come from the Undercity. Most establishments took one look at you, heard your heavy accent, and turned you away. Not here. That’s why you’ve been visiting for years, and recommending it to anyone else who seemed even remotely interested. Viktor tells you about his work, about how he and Jayce are slowly starting to understand which HexTech runes work to stabilise, or to amplify, or any of the hundred and one functions they’re gearing towards. Chatting away, the food gets slowly eaten, the drinks steadily depleted. It’s been about on hour of the two of you laughing and talking like nothing else matters, and you convince Viktor to take a small walk with you - still in the general direction of the lab, but just that little bit longer. 

As you walk, you notice a group of drunkards staggering towards you. Chuckling at Viktor’s comment on the time of day, and how it’s rather early to get drunk, you do your best to walk around them. One of them however, decides he wants to pick a fight. He lashes a foot out at Viktor’s cane, pushing it out from under him. Viktor tips slightly before you steady him long enough that he can put his cane back down on the floor. Moving in front of him, you glare at the offender, who seems to be too drunk to think about what he’s doing. The other two are slowly creeping up behind him, clearly waiting to see it they need to jump in. The first idiot throws a punch directly at your face, which you catch. For being so inebriated, he seems to be aiming pretty well. He blinks before trying to throw himself at you, wanting to shove you into the wall, or something. You turn slightly to the left, grab the back of his collar, and throw him back. Walking closer to them, you tell Viktor to stay where he is. This way you have more room to manoeuvre should you need it. They seem angry at the fact that you wouldn’t just let him hit you, so now it’s three against one. What horrible odds. They need at least another three.

It’s over before it began, really. You throw one against the wall, roundhouse kick another in the face, and jab one in the throat. That’s all it took for them all to be left lying on the floor, groaning. Turning to Viktor, he seems to have been frozen in place watching you fight.

“Are you all right chiquito [little one]?” You walk a little closer, but don’t touch him quite yet. He seems shaken, and you don’t want to startle him too much. 

“I… I am alright. You made sure of that, I suppose. Thank you.” Smiling gently, you tell him he has nothing to thank you for, surreptitiously checking that nothing’s wrong. You walk for another minute in silence, and you can’t help wonder what is going through his head right now.

Wow. Ok. So. That was hot. No! Do not think that. But it was. Yeah ok, it was very hot. Viktor, arguing with himself, doesn’t realise how quiet it has been. He’s never seen this side of you before; you’ve always met in fancy galas and stifling parties, so he’s never seen you fight. He realised, while watching you, how you earned the name Wolf. You moved with ease, targeting weak points like it was second nature. But, instead of being scared by that, he’s intrigued. Flattered almost, that you would risk harm (not much of a risk, but hey) in order to protect him. So engrossed in his thoughts, he doesn’t notice you asking him a question until you wave your hand in front of his face.

“Hm? Sorry, can you repeat that for me?”

“I was asking if you have a way of defending yourself. I unfortunately am not capable of being with you every second of the day, so if something were to happen and I’m not there, can you defend yourself?”

Viktor stops and gestures to himself. “Do I look like I can fight?”

“You don’t necessarily need to fight. Do you have a weapon on you? A knife perhaps?”

He shakes his head. “Should I?”

You sigh, thinking for a moment. “I don’t know really. If you aren’t comfortable with the idea of hurting someone, then no, don’t get a knife. In fact, if this is the first time anything like this has happened to you, maybe you can just call me paranoid and move on. Up to you, really.”

“If I got a knife, would you show me how to use it properly?” 

“If that’s what you want, then yes, of course.” 

“Then I’ll get a knife. And, no. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. People see the cane and think I’m an easy target. Which I am, but it is annoying anyway.”

You hum, hiding the anger at the confession. “Don’t worry about getting one, I’ll take care of that. People don’t realise how intricate the process is, and how many factors you need to take into account. Give me your hand?”

Viktor reaches his hand out, and you measure it against yours, explaining that hand size will obviously affect the handle. Viktor tries to listen to you, instead of focusing on how your hands are that much bigger than his. Once you’ve figured out some of the details with him, like colour, length of blade etc, you set off again. You walk him back to the lab, and kiss his hand in your customary goodbye, before embracing him. Viktor stiffens at the surprise hug, but relaxes into it quickly, and returns the embrace. 

“Stay safe, ok?” 

“I will. Thank you again, lásko [love].” 

You smile at the pet name, before turning sharply on your heel and striding off, knowing that if you don’t, you may never let him go. It’s only until Viktor gets back inside that he realises he’s forgotten to return your coat. Ah well, he thinks, there’s always next time.

Two days later, Viktor finds a small parcel on his desk. Opening it, he finds a small knife, with two metal bands that surround the handle to keep it in his grip. The blade isn’t too long, about a few inches, and both the handle and the sheath are a plain brown leather. Three blue gems are studded into the knife, a similar colour to HexTech. A small note below the knife, that simple reads:

I’ll see you tomorrow

Love, 

   N.C. 

      xx

Viktor smiles ruefully at the crypticness, typical for you, you lover of the dramatics. Nonetheless, he tucks the knife into one of his deeper pockets, before folding the note and carefully pushing it into the inside breast pocket of his vest. For once, he looks forward to tomorrow. Looking forwards to you.

[pbear]

I was thinking of finally making one of these without a D20 show, but I wanted to see it fight Critical Role. Opinions on each below the cut. There may be spoilers for any of them, especially since most of these are shows where I'm watching the newest season.

Sasaki and Miyano: Put this one on hold, not because it’s bad but if you are familiar with some of the other entries in this poll, I think you can understand. Very cute and they use the shoujo filter a lot.

The Legend of Vox Machina: I knew Percy wouldn’t stay dead (since he appears in a later campaign), but that didn’t make it hurt any less. Good stuff in the most recent season. I honestly thought they were bringing the show to a close with everyone heading separate ways, but there was foreshadowing so I guess there's more (I haven't seen the actually DnD campaign so I don't know where things end). Most of the characters got some development except Grog, and I think Pike could have gotten more. (Grog got quite a bit in the second season so I think it evens out at least)

Blue Lock: Hahaha this is a very underwhelming second season and that is due to the animation. I’m no expert in animation but once it was pointed out, I couldn’t ignore it. (Watching the Haikyuu movie also made me remember good animation). The CG was already pretty bad and now it's just yikes.

Heaven Official's Blessing: In comparison to the previous entry, this is so pretty. Watching the English dub because I wanted to see Howard Wang as Xie Lian. Nothing too eventful has happened yet, but I like it a lot.

Dimension 20: A Crown of Candy: I knew this was an intense campaign going in and it really is. The stakes are set up very early and only get higher and higher. I'm currently at the fight in the cathedral and I know it ends badly already but I'm still scared of what's going to happen.

Arcane: WOO NEW ARCANE SEASON. As of posting this, only the first three episodes are out, but it's wild. Animation is fire as always. So many interesting things have been set up. Jinx's activities in the Underworld. Vi being forced to choose whether to side with Piltover or Zaun. Viktor with the Hexcore seemingly inside him. Jayce, Ekko, and Heimerdinger learning more about the Arcane. Ambessa settling in Piltover's affairs. And Caitlyn!!! I honestly think she's the most interesting with how her mother's death has affected her. I'm so excited to see the rest of it.

Outer Banks: I watch this show because my sister's into it and yet I'm ahead of her in terms of watching it. I don't know how necessary a season 4 was, but it's not been too bad so far. I hate Rafe though. And JJ's been making some decisions that annoyed me even though he is my favorite.