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dustysalmon · 1 month ago

Note

I've been thinking, can we have a nsfw alphabet about Steb? (or Scar), I haven't seen anything about it yet, so we really need it. (it's really up to you, it can be sfw or nsfw)🙏🏻

Ohhhh anon, I'm so glad you asked. Here we go! (might do Scar and sfw later)

STEB NS//FW ALPHABET

More Steb headcanons

MDNI

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

If you think that fish-man is going to sleep after doing the do, you are WRONG! King of aftercare, gentle caresses on your skin, cuddles, massage (he uses special techniques he learnt during his paramedical training), and he will also be happy to cook something for you if you’re hungry. If he was a bit rougher than usual, he will kiss every sore spot on your body, for hours if you ask him

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Your mouth. He loves everything about your mouth. They way it moves when you talk or smile, the sounds that come out of it when he kisses you or makes love to you. He also loves the things you do to him with this mouth

On himself, he is quite proud of his hands. They’re quite soft, delicate and skilful (you definitely know something about that last one). He likes to use his hands to show you just how much he adores you

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

It can get a little messy due to the amount of cum he produces. It keeps dripping and dripping, it’s a lot to handle but the two of you have learnt how to deal with it. Also, Steb always cleans after himself, good fish-man that he is. The refractory period can take a while, though, but he has hands and a mouth for a reason

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He loves to see his fluids mix with yours, like he has to see it, visually. Something about getting down and dirty

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Not all that experienced, he hasn’t been with many people before. The first time you get intimate, he will map your entire body and commit every detail to memory to learn exactly what you like. His observing skills and ability to learn make up for his lack of experience, nothing to worry about here

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Watching you ride him is his favourite, and nothing comes close. He gets to see your body AND your eyes, and that’s the most important thing to him. He is utterly and unequivocally in love with your body, and he is mesmerised by the way you move on top of him. If you hold hands while you do it, it’s all over for him

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Steb doesn’t play when it comes to sex, he’s very serious (in a romantic way of course), and will be driven by the need to make you feel loved and leave you satisfied. He definitely gets a little goofier during after care

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Steb is completely hairless down there. The only hair you will find is on his head, and he takes great care of those because his species don’t usually have any. He’s quite proud of his undercut, thank you very much

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Romantic like you wouldn’t believe, lots of eye contact because he always wants to make sure that you’re feeling good. Prepare yourself for a lot of intense kissing sessions. His main love language is touch, and no part of your body will be left behind.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He will sometimes indulge in little solo sessions when he takes a bath. It’s a bit of a spiritual exercise for him. One time, you walked in on him jacking off, and asked him to keep going while you touched yourself too. And it has become something you really like doing

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Steb has a bit of a submissive nature, and praise really works for him. Call him a good boy and he will be done for. Sometimes you will say that in the middle of the day just to see him blush furiously. When you ride him, he really likes when you get dominant and pin his wrists above his head, that will turn him into a whimpering mess in no time

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

He’s a romantic, so the bed will be his go to. Because of his introverted nature he is not really into risky locations where there would be a chance of getting caught. He won’t say no if you wanna ride him on the couch, though. Also, shower/bath sex, he’s the most comfortable whenever there’s water around

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Kiss that fish-man’s neck once, and you know neither of you will be getting out of the house for the next hour at least. It’s not that his neck is particularly sensitive, but there’s something so sensual about the way you guide his head back to have full access. He will drop whatever he’s doing and pull you into the bedroom

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He doesn’t mind getting a bit rough, but he won’t slap/hit you, spit on you, or choke you. If he wraps his hand around your neck, he’s very careful not to press against your throat. If you're into that, it's something you will have to talk about

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Steb’s tongue game is unmatched. It’s much longer than humans, very strong, and it doesn’t tire easily. He will make you cum relentlessly with his mouth alone, only occasionally using his hand. He eats you out enthusiastically, moaning while he licks and sucks you all over. And most of all, he will feast on your juices and won’t leave a single drop. He just loves the taste of you

He likes receiving too. He will guide your movements ever so gently and will be extra careful not to thrust into your mouth without warning. His favourite thing is pulling all the way out, and then watch as his sizeable length disappears all the way back into your throat

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Steb doesn’t fuck, he makes love, unless you ask him to be rough. Sensual tender lovemaking all around, slow and deep while maintaining eye contact. He wants you to feel every single one of his ridges inside you

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He doesn’t mind it, but they’re not his go to. He’d rather take his time with you to show you the depth of his adoration. You usually indulge in quickies if the two of you have busy schedules

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He’s a very curious guy, always eager to learn, and so he wants to try every position in the book. He loves the idea of exploring his sexuality with you and experimenting. It’s the same when it comes to kinks. If you wish to try something new, he’s down. If it’s something a little extreme, he will have his reservations, but he will try, for you

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He can last very long, and you usually come multiple times before he does. However, once he has orgasmed, you will have to be patient

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He doesn’t own any, but if you have a collection of your own, he’s very curious about it and will ask you how everything works and what it is used for. He will gladly implement them in your sex life

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He doesn’t really understand the concept of teasing, maybe it’s a species-related thing, but to him, it feels like he’s denying you, hurting you, and he doesn’t like that. Recently, you’ve tried to teach him that denial can be very pleasurable by teasing him during foreplay, and he is starting to understand how that works. It’s a slow process

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Steb doesn’t speak, but he will moan. A lot. He will start grunting when he’s close and his face gills will move as well. If you tease him, it won’t take long for him to whine inside a pillow or into his hand, truly a delightful sound

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Sex in front of a mirror, yes please. Again, if he gets to watch you from a different angle, he’s down. Your bodies are very different, but seeing the way they mould so beautifully together, the way your body responds to his and vice-versa, that’s sacred to him

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

It’s hidden in a genital pouch, and frees itself naturally when there’s sex in the air. Not exceedingly thick, but quite long. Multiple ridges which are ideally placed, and fins that are here for your pleasure, and your pleasure only

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

About average, he can go a long time without having sex, it doesn’t bother him. But if you tempt him, tease him, or start nuzzling and kissing down his neck, he will become very needy

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He’s always the last one to go to sleep because he is on aftercare duty. He just has to make sure you’re okay before doing anything else. He will stroke your head and run his fingers along your skin until you fall asleep. Sometimes, he will even hum a little tune

#steb #steb arcane #steb imagine #arcane x reader #steb x reader #arcane imagine #arcane #dusty writes

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choas232 · 2 months ago

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G/N Chatty reader x Steb 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

Summary: In which you grapple with feelings you don’t yet understand by talking a certain enforcer’s ears off. Forced proximity makes everything worse, as it tends to.

CWs: Profanity. Canon typical violence. Reader has some bias about Zaunites they probably need to work on. I wrote most of this at 10pm at night, so be warned.

No use of Y/N, neutral terms and they/them are used to refer the reader. Set in episode three, season 2.

Word count: 2.9k

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝

“God. I’m starving. And tired. I barely slept at allllll last night. Do you think the Grey’s keeping us awake? Our glorious leader Kiramman sure wants it to, dragging us along at this cracking speed. It’s been a whole week, too. I’m gonna drop dead, at this rate.” You lament. Your fellow enforcer does not comment from his place behind you, his footsteps echoing around the pipe.

Graffiti crowds the metal surface, amateur artworks, declarations of love, violence, and scripts you don’t recognise cramming themselves over one another, space sparse and sought after. It’s not Jinx’s work. Still, there’s a chill on your back you choose to attribute to the profanities.

The people of the underground sure know how to decorate, that’s for sure.

You two have been chosen to scout out a fairly low-danger area in search of a Zuanite’s sighting of Jinx. He did say it after a hefty heaping of Grey was funnelled into his lungs and a gun was held to his head, but Caitlyn is paranoid enough to bark at shadows, and you will oblige, if only to keep her happy.

It’s not like any of you are much better. Loris is quieter than ever, Maddie jumps at the smallest sounds and of your companion… you have no idea. You never have. Steb’s inner workings remain a mystery to you.

You turn. “Are we there yet? We should be there soon, right?” Steb nods distantly, more focused on the setting around you.

This part of the pipes is yet to be flooded with grey, so you can see him clearly without the obscuring mask.

His light teal skin, thin lips, nose, sharp, angular features. His neat uniform. His polished posture. He is distinctly and utterly out of place amongst the chaos that surrounds you. His eyes are so blue. So opalescent, shining like pearls in his eye sockets. Is that weird to notice? How much detail is it normal to notice about someone? You should probably stop looking.

His ribbed ears flick back, ever so slightly, eyes flicking to meet yours for a brief moment.

You look away. “Uh.” His eyes. His blue eyes. Blue. “God. I’m sooo hungry. Hah. I haven’t eaten since this morning. The rations are running out, and all the Zaunite stuff Vi is bringing in is uhm, questionable.”

You don’t look behind you again, your mouth moving quicker. Your breath is tight, probably because of the steady stream of words flowing from your mouth. You think. “I would kill for a good sandwich. Or two. I might have to resort to cannibalism—”

Hands enclose around your collar and yank you back with force.

Below you, a human sized-hole lined with rusted, broken metal grating, a slowly, ever spinning fan—

Your heart staggers in your chest like a drunkard. Images of your empaled, scraped, body twisted and pressed beyond recognition cram into your skull, rattle and scream.

“Fuck.” You mumble, quietly. Steb’s hand releases your collar. “C-close one. Thanks. Fish-sticks. How didn’t I see that?” You laugh. He doesn’t. It isn’t funny.

He brushes the shoulder pads of your uniform off, carefully but hastily looking you up and down. He keeps a respectable distance between you, but you can still see his adam’s apple bob as he swallows. You mimic him. Your mouth feels dry.

He fixes you with a look as his hands drop to his sides, and although his face usually retains some semblance of ambiguity on it, you know exactly what he’s thinking. Watch where you’re going.

“Sorry doc. I…” You trail off. You should stop talking. You probably talk so much around him because he makes you nervous. Why does he make you nervous? Your usual slamming of thoughts trickles dry. You have no idea.

Carefully, you two traverse over the great gaping hole in the pipework. How did you miss it? You don’t sure don’t miss how Steb watches you hawk-like though, and the following guilt is low and prickling in your gut. He goes first, and every small unprompted movement of yours has him stiffening, arm moving to steady you.

“Jeez. Don’t mother hen me, I’m all grown-up, I assure you.” You bat him away, landing with a clang! of the metal against your boots as you leap across the last segment. His frown is resounding.

A corner stretches before you, now. You let him go first with a swing of your arm just in case the metal of the pipe opens up to attempt to swallow you yet again. “All yours,” He obliges.

It’s an open space. Milky green light filters through the roofing, painting the graffiti stained flooring monochromatic and hazy. Two other pipes adjoin to the room, and a mural of Janna clad in white laced with metallic armour bounds over the walls. It looks exactly like what was described, which is worrying, because hey, Jinx!

The sniffling child is even more worrying, though. Looking up, she brushes away dark locks from her face and bursts into prompt tears. “Please, m-my-my… my leg. it really hurts.” She wails.

Sure enough, one of her legs is crushed under a slab of tin, making itself known as the cause of the light filtering through the roof. “Please. Please.” Snot dribbles down onto her ragged shirt, her big brown eyes blown wide.

Steb is already gone before you can access the situation, bounding over.

Poor kid. You wince, tapping your fingers against your lips. Probably just playing with the ball you see perched nearby when shoddy craftmanship led to tragedy. Still… “Jeez. Think to consider a trap? No? Just me.” You mutter.

“Just you.” The voice from behind you amusedly whispers, and then you feel the cool rim of the gun pressed against your skull.

Fear makes a mockery out of you. Your thoughts accelerate, snapping at each others heels, but you cannot think. You aren’t really the brawlers of the team. He’s the field medic, for fuck’s sake, and while you can handle yourself in a fight this is more of a Vi job. You regret mocking her cuisine choices. This is probably some kind of sick karma. Sick? You feel sick. God, your stomach is writhing, your insides eating each other up.

Steb, still blinded by his tunnel vision, hauls the tin off of the girl. His ears flick down as he peers down at the clean space beneath, clean of blood and gore. Her leg, unblemished and by all means healthy looking, curls back into her body, and then she bursts outwards like a spring, down the nearest tunnel.

Too late, he looks back at you.

“I’m sure they require you topsiders to rattle a few braincells together to wear that fancy uniform. They don’t need allll of them, do they?” The man holding the gun to your head calls out to him. Flesh drips from his arms, lanky and lean, pressing against your neck as he holds you into him. You smell the shimmer on his breath before you see his blood lined eyes.

Steb jerks forwards. Bruisingly, the gun slams into your skull. “Move and their brains go BOOM! Hands in the air. Now.” He snarls, and Steb freezes in place, slowly raising his hands. You can see him breathing, hard, heaving breaths.

More people clamour their way out of vents, behind slabs of wood. You count at least four. Shit.

Shit.

This is bad.

“Woah! Talk about dramatics, huh?” You start, and almost in shock, the man holding you to himself grip loosens. From Steb’s place, you can see the wrinkle that lines his mouth when he gets stressed creep into existence. (That’s normal to remember. You should know when your coworkers get stressed. Part of the job, and all.) He slowly shakes his head. You mouth, trust me. He shakes his head harder. “Maybe we should talk this out? Civilly, tea and biscuits? …No?”

“It stopped being civil when you went for one of mine.”

Of course that guy you beat the shit out of gave you the location of an ambush. He was all too eager to speak, and when you go poking your hand down foxholes, it’s going to get bitten off. You feel both incredibly stupid and incredibly self-satisfied, you knew it, and you went here anyways.

“One of yours? I mean, we probably didn’t mean to? It was probably a mistake—” he shoves the gun down your throat. Spittle drips down the barrel. You taste dirt and gunpowder. You taste the blood leaking from your tongue.

You taste fear.

“Well? Your bag.” He gestures loosely to Steb.

Steb locks eyes with you as he gently tugs the straps off of his back, letting the hefty bag land to the floor with a thump. Carefully, he steps back, raising his hands in the air once again.

One of the hovering goons quickly snatches it, tugging it open. Medical supplies, bottles, all-the-like clatter the ground, but she continues shifting through hastily, eyes slowly narrowing. The last of our food supplies…, you mournfully think, quickly followed by Caitlyn is going to kill us, and she’s probably right to.

“You told us there would be hex tech, you fucking liar.” She drops the bag carelessly, starting towards the man holding you. “Well, do you think I’m some sort of prophet? You knew that it was an estimate.” He snaps back, grip on you loosening, the gun shifting out of your mouth to point towards the soft flesh of your cheek, spreading out your blood clouded spit as it does.

“I think you set us the hell up. You promised we’d split the money, but where’s the money now, huh? I gotta family to feed, hired work is dropping like flies with the chem barons at each other’s throats, which means I missed on any number of begging clients for this shit.”

You get an idea.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

It’s a terrible idea.

Steb tears his gaze from the arguing pair to meet your eyes, perhaps on some precognition of the mistake you are about to make.

You wink, grab the gun pressed to your cheek and then you yank.

It comes as cleanly as expected, the man’s adrenaline rattled, drug loosened reflexes nothing for the shock you give him when you take the gun from his hands, and than run. Surprise gives you the upper hand, yells clouding your soundscape. You still manage to pick out Steb’s footsteps, clean and even behind you as you barrel down the nearest pipe.

You run harder than you’ve ever run, past graffiti, with only your breath, the calls behind you, your heartbeat and the echoes of his and your boots slamming against metal to guide you.

You turn the corner so hard you slam your side against it, feeling your already bruised cheek cry out in pain in time with your yelp, and you stumble. Steb catches your shirt and yanks you right back up, and then you’re in another wide-open space.

Your head swings around, fear hammering around your ribcage like a desperate songbird.

Steb grabs your shoulder, gesturing with his head. You follow his gaze. There’s a smaller pipe in the wall, covered by a draping of torn fabric, and you rush towards it before you have any time to think, the fabric draping over your hair, the surface cool under your fingers.

He follows, your pursuer yells barrelling into your ears as the curtain draws shut.

The space is tight, circular, not even big enough for you to stretch out an arm and not brush the opposite end. Your back is pressed flush against the concrete and plaster. Your legs cage Steb, as do his, looping over one each other, his knee bent at an angle that’s for sure going to hurt later. His arms clutch the walls of the tube, yours resting bent in your lap.

He leans down, and his fingers gently grasp that stupid beret of his and tug it down onto his lap, before he pulls his head back up, his head scraping the roof. He’s a least a head taller than Maddie, and although you’d like to think of yourself as average, you are now grateful for the height you lack.

“OVER HERE!” Did they see you? Is this it? What can you do, two against at least five or so. You mean, counting has never really been your strong suit under pressure, and who’s to tell? Are you going to die? Are you going to die, your legs pressed into his midriff?

The gold smattering across Steb’s undereyes and nose adjoins with the darker turquoise scales lining the cavities his eyeballs are strung into, carving out little gold, blue, orange stripes, like the ones on the fish you and your parents used to gawk at the aquariums had.

Are they going to cart out your body to your parents, after your fellow enforcers find you, crammed into a hole in the underground? What would you had died for?

His eyes are so blue.

He blinks, smooth, deep lapis overtaking the gleaming surface of his eyes before his eyelids do. He has a second eyelid. How did you never notice?

His lips, perpetually downturned as they are, his steady line his eyebrows carve themselves into, his perfect posture, even as you are cramped within the pipe, the smooth, angular frame of his cheekbones all of it make him look like one of those forever uninconvenienced paintings the councillors hang from their mansion walls. He looks calm. His stupid snooty resting face cannot fool you. You know he isn’t.

His lips are parted, the gap between his front teeth visible as he stares down the opening of the tunnel like a loyal family dog. His little giveaway.

Maybe his inner workings aren’t such a mystery, after all.

He makes you nervous. He makes you so nervous. He makes you into a wreck.

You think you might be in love with him.

—and your pursuers are rushing past you, all until you can’t hear their voices and you’re alive. You’re alive and you’ve never been so happy to tomorrow eat shitty Zaunite food and have Caitlyn yell at you for loosing supplies and talk and talk and talk until your throat is raw.

You don’t. Talk. You don’t talk.

He’s looking at you.

You feel like a fool.

You sit there, just looking at him too. His eyelids slip halfway, letting you count the short lashes that frame them. His expression relaxes, loosens, ever so slightly, his arms moving from the wall of the tunnel to his lap.

You could sit here with him for hours, death inches from you both, and you could be happy. You could be suspended in disbelief and plausible deniability; you could allow yourself to lie. Your heart is pounding from the adrenaline, of course. Your face is pink because of overexertion, and you kind of want to kiss him because you’ve never kissed anybody and you may as well as get it over with before you die, right?

He points to his face. You blink, and then he points to yours. You brush your finger cheeks against the flesh and feel the sting of injury, spittle and blood on your fingers. Right.

Right. He’s looking at you because you’re injured right?

Of course he is. (Disappoint is still food, and you swallow it.)

Gently, he reaches into his breast pocket, pulling out a handkerchief. Instead of sparring you and handing it to you, he merely carefully holds your head, one hand on your jaw and the other gently patting down the mess on your cheek. His head is tilted. You feel your heart slam up your throat, a throbbing, horrible pain that lets you part your lips to let the breath escape you before it can choke you.

The hand cradling your jaw moves a careful finger up to brush your lower lip.

Accident, of course. He’s not even looking at them, rather, the mess, taking his sweet time as he does, so very gentle.

You think he might be the danger, not the hell that is the pipework, nor the Grey, nor not the man with the gun

He pulls back, tucking the handkerchief back into the pocket and shallowly inclining his head towards the opening.

With a long look back at you, he crawls out of the hole first. You follow, dizzily. Ever the gentlemen, he offers you a hand as you push your way out of the hell that made you. You take it and feel incredibly guilty for doing so, stumbling to your feet.

He fastens his beret, usually a sign from you to inwardly (or outwardly) mock his silly hat, still watching you. You do not, in fact, mock him. You might be shaking, in fact, and that thought makes you hate yourself more than you could ever despise that ugly navy piece of fabric.

He frowns, and then he gestures to your mouth. You flinch without meaning too. “Huh?”

He mimes speaking, shallowly opening and then hastily closing his mouth

He's right to be concerned.

You haven’t spoken since you two trapped yourselves in the tunnel, after all.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝

Notes: Thank you for reading!! :)))) STUPID. IDIOTS IN LOVE. Him under the guise of medical assistance letting himself touch you... bro isn't slick whatsoever. If you have any ideas, be sure to drop them in my ask box, there is lack of fic on him holy hell. As a side note, we all need the comfort after season two part two holy cow…

#creative writing #steb arcane #steb #arcane #arcane season 2 #arcane season two spoilers #steb x reader

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iinthehexcore · 25 days ago

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kindergarten teacher

summary: With the new rules set in line, it meant the children of the Undercity could finally attend Piltover's school. To avoid potential conflicts, a couple Enforcers are tasked to guard the building, including Steb.

content: headcanon that steb was born in the undercity, use of y/n, teacher!reader, does not quite follow the original s2 storyline, it has more in common with the au episode! just imagine the councilors office survived lol! also have the headcanon that steb is not always quiet, fem reader!

2,378 words

a/n: i hope this is like how you imagined! i have heard of abbott elementary but i haven't watched it myself... hihi, nonetheless, enjoy! if i don't see you guys anymore, then also a very happy new year!

⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

"Well, you're from the Undercity, aren't ya? Perfect job for you."

Steb nearly rolled his eyes at the comment, but didn't speak up. No matter how much his colleagues annoyed him, they did have a point. If anything, out of all Enforcers, he would be the best there. As one of the only Undercity-born Enforcers, he would know how it felt. The stares, the hushed comments, the nerves of being in a new place where you knew people hated you.

It was unbelievable. Jayce and Viktor had done it. Though Jayce's wording was... unusual for a Councilor, they got what they wanted. Piltover and the Undercity, both at peace, both independent. The vents finally rid the air of the thick smoke and harmful chemicals, the bridge opened, and the Undercity finally received the help they desperately needed.

Homes rebuilt, lights installed, streets cleaned. And now, access to school. The Undercity was filled with geniuses, waiting to unlock their talents and show their skills to whoever would listen. Improving the world, improving their home. Sure, there was something you could call a school in the Undercity, but it wasn't necessarily a priority. No use in sitting in class if you were starving.

But now, there you stood. A proud and excited teacher who had just hung up, albeit a very uneven, banner. 'Welcome!' it read in bright, bold letters, decorated with flowers and stars. It had taken you an entire evening to put it together, but you could finally say you were proud of your work. Not every teacher was as... excited as you were. When the news came out that the Undercity would become independent and that Councilor Talis and Viktor wanted to open a school for the new students, not everyone was enthusiastic.

"We don't want Undercity dirt on our polished streets," they seethed, "Keep 'em out of here!"

Even a teacher or two who had already been working at the school disagreed with the choice. They had nothing to say though - an Undercity class would be formed, whether they liked it or not. And you, being excited to meet the new students, were chosen to become their teacher. 'Chosen'. You practically volunteered, arm raised in the air as you waved it around. Getting along with your coworkers was hard enough, but you could not imagine having a teacher like that. Coming from the Undercity into Piltover for education was already a scary step, and if you could make it easier, then that was what you would do. Who knows, what if you ended up having a genius inventor in your class?

With only minutes until the bridge officially opened, the small group of Enforcers stood near the school with Steb leading them. The quiet but intimidating man was 'put in charge'. As you hopped out of the doors, you nearly stumbled, your heel stuck on the doorframe. The tumble made Steb immediately turn his head as he saw, what he assumed to be, a teacher flat on the ground. With one glance and a nod to his team, he walked through the entry gates, not stopping before he went up to you.

You groaned as you pushed yourself up, wiping your hands before looking down at your busted knee. Great - there goes the good impression that you wanted to make. A shadow appeared over you, and as you looked up, you saw the enforcer that previously stood much further away. He acted fast, pulling at the small first aid kit on his thigh and opening it, revealing an array of different bandages, creams, and wipes.

"Oh!" your eyes widened, "No, it's okay. I am meeting my class in only a few minutes and I don't want to trouble you!"

"It is of no trouble," his smooth voice sounded, his hands working meticulously to fish the scissors and bandages out of his pack, "If it doesn't get cleaned properly, it could form a problem in the future."

The scrape was barely bleeding, but the hero in Steb's heart needed to help the poor woman. From what he could see, all the other teachers stayed hidden inside, not even taking a minute to greet the new pupils. Yet you... There was something about you.

"Well, in that case..." your voice trailed off, watching the man clean your scrape and placing a bandaid on it, "Thank you so much, sir!"

"With pleasure," he packed up his kit again as his ears twitched, the school bell ringing.

He held out his hand to gently pull you up before nodding once, his pack back on his thigh and his hands clasped behind his back as he walked to where he previously stood. It seemed right on time, as the first few students walked over the bridge. Their parents, nearly more nervous than their children were, also seemed rather cautious. The sight of enforcers, albeit not heavily armed, was not too inviting. But you were.

"Oh hello everyone! It's so nice to meet you, I will be your new teacher!" Steb could hear you say, "For all questions or just a simple chat, you can always come to me."

Tensed shoulders relaxed as the kids let themselves go, admiring the playground before cheering, running to whatever it was that piqued their interest.

"Hah, good to see they like it!"

"Miss?" one of the parents spoke up, "A question, if that's okay?"

"Always!"

Steb averted his gaze back to the streets of Piltover. Though most people were not against the people from the Undercity, there was still a group who would want nothing more than the neighboring city to crumble. At first, Steb thought that having more than two enforcers patrolling the school grounds was a bit over the top. What was there to be scared of if the entire class were only young children? But then he came to the realization - it wasn't the Undercity that they had to keep in check, it was Piltover. Though branded as the 'higher ups', when something didn't go their way, some of the inhabitants had a tendency to be rather childish, yet cruel.

"Well, would anyone like to see their classroom?"

High-pitched voices cheered again as they waved at their parents one last time, following their new teacher inside. The rest of the day, or week rather, went rather smoothly. Kids coming over the bridge, more confident as time went on. Finding their talents, finding new hobbies, and making new friends. Only one annoying man tried to bother the school on numerous occasions, blabbering about how his daughter who was 'born and raised in Piltover' shouldn't have to go to school with Undercity children. Thankfully, they got rid of him.

Steb noticed a change in himself. As always, he was punctual, but it seemed like he now was ahead of the clock. At first, he was at school precisely at 8:00 - fifteen minutes before class. Then it became five minutes earlier, then another five, and before he knew it, he was at school at 7:30. He wasn't even aware as to why - it didn't call for it. The news about the new students had already flown over, yet he felt himself pulled to the grounds. The group of enforcers was even cut down to only Steb and another, yet there were talks about wanting to cut it to one enforcer before completely removing them.

"Ah, Steb!" He had told you his name last week, "You are early!"

"Punctual," he nodded, something which made you chuckle.

"Would you care for some tea? I can't have you waiting out in the cold."

It wasn't cold outside, you just wanted a reason to talk to him longer.

"That is very appreciated, thank you."

And so, after mustering up the courage to do so for a long time, you and Steb sat across one another, steaming cups of tea in your hands. The classroom, your classroom, was much more inviting than the other ones Steb saw. Countless drawings on the wall, personalized name tags on the tables, colorful pens in the penholder on your desk.

You had offered your chair to Steb, but he had quickly shook his head. After asking again, he just took matters into his own hands, grabbing the nearest chair before sitting down on it. Maybe he should have looked for another nearest one as his long, slender body now sitting on a chair for a six-year-old. It was a funny sight.

"So yeah, that's how I became their teacher!"

Steb hummed, sipping the tea that had now cooled down significantly. Your company felt so welcoming and warm. It fit you oh so perfectly. He looked at his tea for a moment - was this why he came in so early?

"Officer Steb! Officer Steb!"

You turned your head to the door, a bunch of excited kids cheering as they ran into the classroom, placing their items in their places. You raised an eyebrow with a smile, drinking the last bit of tea.

"That's so silly, my chair is way too small for you!"

"Ah, I suppose you're right," Steb smiled softly, standing up before placing the chair back from where he took it.

You also stood, moving the tea cups out of the way. You didn't know that Steb was such a beloved character in their lives.

"Are you two together?"

Both Steb and you stopped in your tracks as you awkwardly laughed.

"Yes!" one of the girls squealed, "You have to be!"

"Now, now," you huffed, patting Steb's chest, "Officer Steb has lots to do. Say goodbye to Officer Steb!"

Multiple voices rang out as you and Steb walked into the hallway.

"So sorry," you furrowed your eyebrows, "But I did appreciate the tea this morning."

"As did I," he nodded as he said your name, his posture straight as he turned to walk out of the school.

Something about it made your stomach flutter, yet you shook it off and returned to class.

"And, are we ready for reading?"

Three hours later, you stood outside, watching all the kids play on the playground. The difference between when they just arrived and now was nearly insane. They were so much more open and cheerful, finally being able to feel like they fit in.

"Ouch!"

You looked over at the yelp, seeing one of the girls on the ground.

"Oh no!" you jogged over to her, kneeling down as you helped her sit up, "What happened, dear?"

"I tripped," her lip trembled as she held her elbow.

"Need a bandaid?"

Both of you looked up, seeing Steb with bandaids in hand. You let out a relieved sigh, nodding as you rubbed the poor girls' back, watching as her scrape got wiped. Steb, as caring as always.

"Miiiiisssss!!!"

You looked over your shoulder, seeing another kid wave his hands excitedly, most likely wanting to show you something. You give Steb an apologetic look, but he just nods. You mouthed a quick 'thank you' before standing up and walking over to your other student.

"Officer Steb?"

He hummed in response.

"Do you like Miss Y/N?"

He raised an eyebrow, opening the colorful bandaid as he stuck it on her elbow.

"She is my friend, yes."

"But..." she leaned closer, whispering in a hushed voice, "Do you like like Miss Y/N?"

He snorted, huffing as he smiled before raising his pointer finger to his lips as if shushing himself.

"Not a word, Officer Steb!"

It seemed like the pain from her elbow disappeared as she jumped up, immediately racing back to her friend while giggling.

"Anything interesting, 'Officer Steb'?"

"No," he hummed, "Nothing yet, 'Miss Y/n'."

Weeks passed and it was finally winter break. Even though you loved your class dearly, you could use some time off.

"I will see you all soon, okay?"

"See you soon, miss!"

The doors closed as you let out a sigh. Your bag was filled with papers that needed to be graded, pencils to be sharpened, and assignments that needed to be made. A lot to do in only two weeks' time, but the more you did now, the longer you could relax.

So, with a bag filled to the brim and a scarf around your neck, you braved the cold outside. Snow, slippery tiles, and wind. You made it halfway through Piltover without slipping on anything, but it seemed like you wouldn't make it out without at least one bump or bruise.

You yelped as you accidentally stepped on a small patch of ice, yet the impact never came. Gloved, blue hands gripped your waist as they hoisted you back up.

"Steb!"

"We have to stop meeting like this, Miss Y/N," he softly joked, "Are you okay?"

"Well, I think you have successfully avoided me breaking any bones, so I would say so. Are you working?"

He shook his head, holding his helmet in his hands.

"Done for the day. I'm going to change out of uniform and I'm hoping to stop by a cafe for a drink."

You nodded, both quietly standing together. So many things to be said, yet you could not find the right words.

"Well, I-"

"I make great hot chocolates."

Steb raised his eyebrow in surprise, the frills on his cheeks fluttering as he looked at you.

"I, I mean," you stuttered, letting out a chuckle, "If you like hot chocolate, that is. Caramel syrup, and all."

"You are inviting me?"

"Perhaps. To my house, yes. But, if I am overstepping-"

"No," he quickly interjects, clearing his throat, "No, it is very appreciated. I just... I will change? Base is just over there."

"Yes! Yes, no, that's fine."

Steb had never switched out of his uniform that fast in his life.

Only seven minutes later he walked back out of the building, now dressed in something much more casual and even a set of glasses on his nose.

"Ready for the hot chocolate?"

He hummed in response.

"You know, I never knew you wore glasses."

This time, he chuckled before giving you a smile that made your cheeks feel warm.

"Well, there is a lot you have yet to discover."

#arcane #arcane imagine #arcane x reader #arcane imagines #steb arcane #steb imagine #steb x reader

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srslylini · 2 months ago

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the way Arcane wasted character in season 2 is actually insane. They gave us good character design but no good character. Especially the new ones. Is there honestly ONE, one you genuinely cried over?

I cried over Mylo and Claggor. I cried over Vander in season 1. I cried over Powder screaming and sobbing after Vi in act 1 of season 1. I felt deep emotional pain over all of this because they gave me character and an understanding of the world we are in. And they did all of that in 3, THREE, episodes.

What did they do with Isha? Well I sure didn't cry when she died. Her character, while interesting just wasn't fleshed out at all. What I felt when they killed her was how idiotic the writers were for that because okay? like huh. They had 5 episodes with Isha and somehow managed to not make me care enough to cry. Not because Isha's potential wasn't there but because killing her was stupid and pointless, just to further another characters pain which could happen way more naturally without introducing a character to die.

What did they do with Loris? They tried to make him Vander (which okay weird why do that? especially if you want to bring Vander back anyway like uhm? what was the sense of introducing Loris as a Vander stand in and then bringing Vander back??). But he WASN'T Vander because they never showed him to be. They just told me he was. Which doesn't work. okay, he died. Did not care. The only thing I felt was rage again because it was so unnecessary and dumb, they could have made a lot with this character.

Maddie. Well Maddie is a whole other thing, isn't she? She was introduced in a way that already raised a lot of eyebrows. But in a "she is a cop" way and not she is on Ambessas side way. There is so much questions coming up with that. Had she been on Ambessa's side from the very start? Even when we first saw her on screen? Did she come with Ambessa? But how was she an enforcer then? Did she always live in Piltover but how did she then turn towards Ambessa? When she made that fist sign, was the plot between Ambessa and her already going, or did it happen after that? Why were we not shown any of this? this is NECESSARY to understand her character and why the end happened. We should have been able to feel betrayed as well but like? I did not feel betrayed I was just like "okay well, that happened off screen I guess."

Steb had not one talking line, like why was he here, was I meant to feel bad when he ran into The Grey, I can't even tell, help.

And then the side characters of Zaun, especially the Jinxers. The one woman who then died with Vi's hand in hers while wearing the uniforms of Piltover. Did not feel sad. Felt absolute huge amount of unfiltered rage. Her character should have MEANT something. I feel they tried to make her mean something but they failed there too.

Lest?? LIKE LEST COULD HAVE ALSO BEEN USED IN SUCH AN INTERESTING WAY. She just never came back. Okay. Great, at least she didn't die but like? Was I meant to get invested? Was I meant to care? Usually I should be able to tell if I should care about a character in a show or not but in Arcane s2 they tried to make me care and failed or if I cared well then they failed, too

anyways just the side characters especially were a huge disappointment this time around.

#did I forget a side character newly introduced?#if so well I guess that furthers my point #arcane #arcane season 2 #arcane season 1 #arcane spoilers #isha #jinx #steb #maddie #lest #loris #vander #media critical #tv shows #side characters

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scruckels · 25 days ago

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HOW STEB COMMUNICATES!

And... that's kinda it. A deep dive into how Steb communicates but I fight to stay on topic the longer you read.

NOTE: I gave this whole post a hazy and blurry zonked glance while muttering to myself before pressing post. There may be some spelling mistakes / incorrect wording.

Question by this person, but I was too lazy to make a separate post since I already had a draft similar to this question saved. I LOVE YOU CORACOOKIECRUMBLE!!! 😁😁😁😁⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️🗣🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯

There aren't many scenes of Steb trying to communicate with someone, so it's difficult to say for sure how he communicates, but I think I have a pretty decent idea.

IN THE VIDEO BELOW

You see Steb with Maddie. This is the only scene really showing how they talk to one another, and the situtiain is tense, so it's hard to say how he communicates in more relaxed situations. In this scene, Steb communicates with her that he's ready by grunting, to which she understands.

IN THE GIF BELOW

Once again, in a tense situation, Steb makes some noise to communicate. This time, he speaks. Not only does he speak, but he also motions for everyone to follow him. With that being said, this proves that Steb CAN talk. He just doesn't want to.

This is not the only time Steb uses body language to communicate.

IN THE GIF BELOW

Steb cocks his head to the side, signaling to Maddie that they should go, as well as walking away with her once they're called.

IN THE TWO GIFS BELOW

Steb uses some hand and arm motions to signal to others. In the first one, he signals to Caitlyn to fall back, being that he had planted the bomb. In the second GIF, he signals for the enforces to turn off the beacons, since there didn't appear to be anyone coming to help fight.

IN THESE TWO GIFS BELOW

Steb grabs Mel to help her up, and in the second GIF, he grabs up the other guy to detain him. (I don't know if he has a name, and im too tired to look for one.)

Steb doesn't say anything prior to touching them, but the situations are also something to consider. Steb has his hands out to both of them, catching their attention just before actually putting his hands on them. Whether or not it's intentionally meant to be a signal, it's still something he does.

With these situations, it's hard to say EXACTLY how he is when using physical contact to communicate, but it'd say it isn't something he does often. He grabs Mel because it's an emergency, and he needs to make sure she's alright and out of there as soon as possible. He grabs the guy to detain him, following Caitlyn's orders and arresting him. Every time he touches someone (on screen), it's not really to communicate, and more so to assist / do his job.

CONCLUSION AND ANSWERS:

Is Steb mute?

No.

Is he selectively mute?

It seems most likely........? (Considering the information we have, at least.)

That being said, if he IS selectively mute, he may be open to speaking more frequently with someone close to him. Maybe even if it's just a little bit. (Short sentences, short answers, quiet speaking voice, murmuring, ect.) I can speak more on this at the end of this post for the people who wanna read about it.

Do I think he uses sign language? No. I really doubt it. He communicates both intentionally and unintentionally with small gestures, body language, and expression. He might use some type of hand signs occasionally? Not sign language itself, but just hand gestures that give you a vague idea of what he wants. For example, maybe you'll ask him why he's out somewhere, and he'll tug on the fabric of his enforcer uniform, signaling he's there for work. You'll ask why he's looking at you, and he'll point to his face as reference to your own, signaling that you have something on you and showing where it is.

Again, there's isn't enough Information to be 100% certain, but I feel like my conclusion is relatively sound.

Extra yap you were previously warned about:

I can talk more about selective mutism in another post for the people interested. Keep in mind, I'm NOT a professional. I'm autstic and I'm just nerdy about this. I don't wanna dump a whole bunch of information that is not at least 87% Steb related in this post, so I'm gonna say this next part like I'm one of those youtubers who has an audience of 5 year olds and makes those 3 am challenge videos cause it's funny.

GUYS, IF WE CAN GET AT LEAST FIVE PEOPLE TO COMMENT THAT THEY WANNA HEAR ABOUT SELECTIVE MUTISM IN ANOTHER POST, ILL MAKE A POST ABOUT SELECTIVE MUTISM AND HOW STEB WOULD MOST LIKELY BEHAVE OFF SCREEN IF HE HAS IT!! DONT FORGET TO SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON, SUBSCRIBE, AND TURN ON THE NOTIFICATIONS BELL!!

I LOVE YOU STEB NATION!!! 🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯❗️❗️❗️❗️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️🙏🙏🙏🙏

#arcane #steb #steb arcane #arcane fish man #arcane season 2 #arcane season two #arcane s2 #steb x reader #scratching at the walls #foaming at the mouth #I NEED HIMMMMM UGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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blissfulip · 30 days ago

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Surface Tension

on AO3

Steb x f!reader

Rating: E

Tags: doctor!reader, anthro (does he count as a furry? idk), post-canon, just shameless smut

Cw: Dacryphilia

Words: 3.9k

[A/N: Steb has Selective Mutism in this fic, meaning he has the physical ability to speak but chooses not or is unable to due to social, psychological or other circumstances. Since we don't have any information on this in canon I have decided that for the purpose of the story, what prevents him from speaking is biological, he can only speak if his gills are properly wet, otherwise it hurts him, so he chooses not to most of the time.

Also, for reference on what his body looks like anatomy-wise, refer to this (also, let me know if you want to be tagged or removed in future fic updates!)]

Tags: @ihopeinevergetsoberr @chemical-killjoy @jinxed-jk @bobobomao @queen-of-elves @thedustybunny @syren201 @thayfass @thehistoriangirl @hypocritic-trash-baby @moonstrider9904

Happy Holidays from me to you 🎄

The knock was soft, tentative, like the wind testing the strength of a door. Steb looked up from the book resting on his lap, his fingers frozen mid-turn of a page. He tilted his head toward the sound, waiting, and when a second knock came he convinced himself to stand up. When the door creaked open, it wasn’t a draft that slipped through, but you, coat half-unbuttoned and cheeks pink from the cold.

He narrowed his eyes at you, his fingers lifting up to sign.

“You’re early this month, should I be worried?” His hands hesitated halfway through the sentence.

You smiled faintly, the kind of smile that seemed almost apologetic. “Not unless you’ve developed an allergy to soup.”

“You check on me once a month, doctor”, he signed slowly, “Routine, clinical. This isn’t that.”

“It’s not,” you agreed, unbuttoning your coat the rest of the way and draping it over the back of a chair. “It’s not an official visit, Violet mentioned you haven’t left your room in a while, and I’m on vacation so I thought I’d stop by.”

He rolled his eyes at the mention of Vi, nosey, he thought to himself. The word vacation felt out of place in this room, he had been trying to get out of medical leave for the past month and go back to work, with no success. He scrunched up his nose, and then let out a sigh of resignation.

“You didn’t have to come.” he signed.

“I wanted to.”

His hands stilled. The room felt heavier now, the tension fragile but unyielding like a drawn thread. Steb looked away first, his gaze sliding to the window where frost rimmed the edges of the glass. When he signed again, his movements were slower, almost uncertain.

“You’re bad at taking vacations.”

That made you laugh—a soft, short sound that filled the room briefly before fading.

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

“Deep breath,” You instructed, your stethoscope cool against his chest. He complied, the effort visible in the furrow of his brow and the sharp rise and fall of his ribs. You listened, frowning slightly, before stepping back and meeting his eyes directly.

“You’ve had quite the ordeal.” You said. Steb nodded once, his jaw tight. He didn’t need the reminder. His chest still ached faintly, a ghost of the gas that had filled his lungs, its burn raw and relentless. “Does it hurt when you speak?”

Silence. You repeated your question when he didn’t answer, fearing he might not have heard you, and confused when you only received a stern look back. Vi, who had been sitting in a nearby chair keeping him company despite his protest, chimed in. “Do you know sign language? He has mutism”

“Oh, that makes sense”, You said nodding, “I do, you can sign your answers.”

“Selective” He signed for the first time.

“Hm?”

“Selective mutism, and yes, it hurts.”

“Good to know.” You nodded once more before continuing to examine him. “I’m keeping you here for observation for another few days. No arguments.”

Vi smirked. “Oh, he’ll argue.”

“I’m stubborn as well, let’s see if I can outlast you.”

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

He watched you move to the kitchenette, unpacking the bag of food with quiet precision. Bread, soup. Simple and practical. Your hands worked with a deliberate ease, as if you were trying to fill the silence with motion.

He stayed seated, his fingers curling and uncurling in his lap. You weren't here because you had to be. That much was clear. But the why of it lingered, unspoken, in the space between you both. He wanted to ask, but instead he watched you.

The room fell quiet again after you left, the faint echo of your footsteps lingering in Steb’s ears like the fading notes of a song. He sat motionless for a moment, staring at the empty bowl and crumbs on the table. Your visit left the space feeling fuller, even though it was now empty.

With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet, his body aching with the subtle pull of exhaustion. He crossed the room to the corner where the tub waited, an old clawfoot basin half-filled with clean water he’d drawn earlier. The air already felt drier than he liked, the faint itch under his skin a reminder that it had been too long since his last proper soak. He shrugged off his shirt and let it fall to the floor, his greenish skin catching the dim light of the room, rougher than it should have felt, another sign he’d been neglecting himself. He stepped into the tub, the cool water lapping at his ankles before he lowered himself in completely.

The relief was immediate, a soft exhale escaping his nose as the water embraced him, its touch soothing the ache in his muscles and the dryness on his skin. He tilted his head back, letting his gills on his jaw flutter open as they met the water. He could almost feel his body pulling life from the moisture, the subtle tension in his chest easing with every passing second.

But even as the water worked its way through him, his thoughts stayed tangled. Your face lingered in his mind—your calm, steady voice, the way your fingers brushed the table before you left. The way you looked at him, not with pity or detachment, but with something quieter, warmer. He shut his eyes, sinking further into the water until only his nose and eyes remained above the surface. Your words replayed in his mind, I wanted to. Not I had to, not I should, but wanted.

He cared for you. Deeply, irrevocably, in a way that terrified him.

You stepped into your apartment, the door clicking shut behind you, tossed your coat over the back of a chair, not bothering to hang it up, and let the paper bag you’d carried back with you drop onto the counter to then walk over to the living room table. You reached for the book you’d left there, its pages dog-eared and scribbled with notes. The Anatomy and Physiology of Vastayan Subspecies was stamped in gold along its spine—a dense, technical text you’d been studying since Steb became your patient.

You flipped through the pages, fingers deftly skimming over sketches of gills, webbed hands, and intricate scale patterns. When she reached the section on the fish folk, your focus sharpened. The accompanying illustration was striking—detailed renderings of fins that ran in continuous lines down the backs and arms of the species, elegantly integrated into their musculature. You read through the notes in neat, clinical prose:

“The dorsal and arm fins of fish folk are highly sensitive, containing a dense concentration of nerve endings. In social and intimate contexts, tactile stimulation of these fins is known to elicit strong physiological and emotional responses, often interpreted as arousal. The evolutionary function remains speculative, though it is suggested this sensitivity aids in both bonding and self-preservation.”

You sat back, breath catching in your throat briefly. The words lingered with their implications vivid in your mind. You thought about Steb, the way he moved, always careful to not make any abrupt movements, something you had attributed to his personality. Curiosity flared unexpectedly, sharp and unwelcome. What would it feel like, you wondered, to trace the edge of his back…You blinked, heat rising to your cheeks. The thought had come unbidden, intrusive, and entirely inappropriate. With a sharp inhale, you snapped the book shut and pressed your fingers to your temples.

“This is research,” you muttered to yourself aloud, the tone brusque as if saying it could push the thought away. “It’s important to understand. That’s all.”

But even as you placed the book back on the table and tried to focus on something else, the image of him and the way he always held himself with quiet restraint—refused to leave your mind.

Steb made up his mind sometime during the night, as the water soothed him and his thoughts swirled. He needed to see you—not as a patient, but as… something else. Someone else. He couldn’t name what that was yet, but he knew the need was undeniable. By the time he reached your apartment, the air was crisp with the early chill, his breath curling in soft plumes as he adjusted the scarf around his neck. He knocked lightly, a polite rhythm that belied the tension he felt inside.

When you opened the door, you looked startled at first, hair loose and face soft in the morning light. “Steb?” you said, blinking at him. Her eyes flicked to his damp scarf, then back to his face. “Is something wrong?”

He shook his head quickly and your brows furrowed in concern as you stepped aside to let him in. The room smelled faintly of coffee and lavender, the latter likely coming from the small candle burning on the counter. He left his scarf on a chair and took a seat at the small table, his movements careful as always, and waited until you settled across from him.

“So?” you said, your voice calm but with a thread of urgency.

He leaned forward, signing deliberately. “When my gills are wet it doesn’t hurt to talk”.

Your eyes widened slightly, “Are you sure?,” you blurted out, as you stood, not waiting for a response. “It explains the discomfort you described, I don't know how I never thought about it.”

Back when you first met him at the hospital, he attributed his elective mutism to the fact that it hurt him to talk. You ran numerous tests on his oesophagus, vocal cords and so many other things that yielded no conclusive results.

He hesitated, feigning a sheepish shrug, “Realized last night”.

“If it’s true this changes everything,” you murmured, more to yourself than to him, as you paced back and forth, “We’ll need to adapt your care plan…hydration protocols, speech therapy, we can get a humidifier and…” You stopped on your tracks and looked at him as an idea surged in your mind.

“What?” Steb signed.

“We have to test it.” You said grabbing the anatomy book off the table along with a pencil and quickly moving on to walk all the way to your bathroom, dragging him with you by the arm before he had any time to protest.

The walls of the bathroom were cloaked in the mottled green of old tiles, their edges chipped like broken teeth. Time had sunk into the grout, leaving darkened veins that spidered in uneven paths, whispering tales of hands long gone. The light overhead buzzed faintly, casting a dim yellow halo that couldn’t quite chase the shadows from the corners. The tiles, damp to the touch, exhaled a faint mineral tang that clung to the air, mingling with the metallic drip-drip of the showerhead.

Much like his own bathroom, this one carried the promise of comfort and relief, but with the circumstances at hand the shower itself made Steb feel weary. Its once-proud chrome dulled and speckled with rust, as if it had wept along with those who stood beneath it. Water marked its passage in faint trails, a tapestry of use etched upon the walls.

You leaned over to turn one of the valves and quickly leaned back to avoid the steady stream that cascaded as a result, turning to look at him with an invitation in your gaze. His eyebrows shoot up then furrowed deeply, a silent scoff playing across his face as his nose wrinkled ever so slightly, repelled by the mere thought.

“Do you have a better idea?” You said in response to his negative.

“These shoes are velvet.” He signed.

“Well not with your clothes on, duh” You said.

No more than 3 seconds went by, but the amount of thoughts that went through Steb’s mind made it seem like time did not exist, and he had been standing there in silence looking like an idiot for an eternity and then some. His first instinct was indignation—eyes darting to your face to gauge whether you were serious. You were, of course, your tone carried no malice, just a clinical, matter-of-fact assurance that this was perfectly reasonable.

His chest tightened. He felt heat creeping up his neck, a prickle of something. Embarrassment, maybe, but deeper, sharper. Why did his skin feel so tight, his breath so loud? Yet your eyes held him like an anchor, and against all logic, he found himself nodding, hands fumbling with maroon plastic buttons. Perhaps if you hadn’t looked, if you had kept your eyes somewhere between his face and the far wall, they wouldn’t have hovered over his hands and consequently landed on his collarbones. It was mere scientific curiosity at first—or so you tried to tell yourself—why you marveled at the sight of him.

He was so different from what Piltover knew about his species, and you could pinpoint so many details you wanted to take note of. You stood with the book clasped tightly, fingers curling just a touch too hard around the edges. Your posture was straight and composed, but there was a tautness in your shoulders, a stiffness in the way you shifted the weight between your feet, the collar around your neck unable to mask the faint flush creeping up.

The silence buzzed between you louder than the hum of the fluorescent light above, and was only broken by the sound of his belt buckle falling on the floor tiles, a metallic clang that echoed all over the cold walls and instinctively broke the eye contact you had been trying to maintain, bringing both of you out of the awkward trance you unknowingly shared. He walked into the shower and stood there as the water completely soaked his skin.

“You should walk back a few steps, you’re getting…”

You heard his voice very few times before, and cherished each one of them. Once a few months back you asked him what the nurse had added to his iv drip, the cold dusk lighting coming through the window shone over his sleepy face, and you could see as his eyes looked to the side and worked hard to remember if there was a sign for ‘saline solution’. A big sigh of resignation was followed by him saying it and you gasping in surprise. You tried to play it off but your reaction got a smile out of him, and you could’ve sworn you’d never seen that either. You only heard him twice after that, one time when he called you over to check something and the last one a short ‘eh’ that punctuated a lazy shrug.

An entire sentence was something else, you were able to make out the lilt in his tone and a vague accent dancing on his vowels. You almost asked him to speak again so you could hear the slight rasp in his voice, but your body was quicker than you; before you could even register what you were doing both of your hands were already on either sides of his face and the book on the floor, you let out a full belly laugh, not for one second concerned by your now completely drenched arms. However, it lasted only half a second and the sharp gasp came before the tumble as your foot slid on the slick floor of the shower’s tiled edge. The world seemed to lurch for a split second before Steb’s arms shot out to grip your shoulders instinctively, his chest rumbling with a low, warm laugh, breaking the tension. You stayed like that a moment too long—his hands still cold on your arms, breaths mingling in the close, humid air—before you straightened yourself with a nervous chuckle.

“Could I, eh, compare some of the information I have on the book?” You said delicately slithering out of his grasp to pick up the heavy volume you had hurled across the small room earlier. He nodded, and waited still for you to flip back to the correct page. You skimmed through the text until your eyes landed on the passage you had highlighted the night before; ‘…tactile stimulation of these fins is known to elicit strong physiological and emotional responses…’ you hummed to yourself, unsure.

“Turn around, will you? I want to check the dorsal fins.” And he did, unceremoniously. “Do you know what they do?”

“No, I can’t reach them, does your book say something about it?”

“You look very different, I’m not sure how accurate any of these ‘facts’ are.” You said, looking at him and back at the illustrations on the book a couple of times. “Mind if I test something out?”

“Go ahead,” he said, looking back over his shoulder.

They were translucent and filmy, wet and slightly slimy to the touch, not scaly like you were expecting when you reached over and ran your fingers along the fins on his back. You would have spent hours pondering and observing the taut and elastic webbing on them if you hadn’t been brought back to reality by the husky groan he let out. Panic came over you.

“Did it hurt? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gone at it so carelessly, I thought…” You blurted out.

“No, it’s fine, I’m fine,” He said, leaning on the wall in front of him with both hands, head down like he was trying to catch his breath. It dawned on you like a ton of bricks, out of all the things this stupid book got right it had to be this. Guilt immediately crept up your throat, but you weren’t allowed to mull it over any longer before Steb spoke again. “You…you can do it again, if you’d like, if you need to.”

Once again your hands acted off their own bat, your fingers started a path, slower, more intentional, from the nape of his neck all the way down to the small of his back. This time around you cared not about the impossibly slick and almost amphibian quality of his skin, you observed him. The way his ears twitched slightly and the fins that ran all the way down his arms fluttered, similar to how a human’s skin would get goosebumps. You paid close attention to how the muscles on his arms tensed up and his legs shivered, and a second time, a gravelly sound coming out of his mouth, more whiny than the last.

“I’m sorry, I knew this would happen and still…” He tried to say through heavy panting.

You couldn’t really pretend you were still doing this for the science of it, not after you saw one of his hands come down to his crotch. He turned, both hands covering up what was clearly an erection. You didn’t want him to apologize, not for something you had shared control over, so you showed him.

Both of your hands grazed down the fins on his arms in tandem. His reaction wasn’t different, but this time you could look at his face, a beautiful painting of arousal that culminated with him holding onto both of your arms for balance and his head buried on your shoulder. You allowed him to breathe, and when he sluggishly lifted his head up to look at you, the wicked grin on his face warned you about what was to come.

The kiss was ferocious, hungry, the water almost steaming as it came in contact with the scalding heat of skin. You weren’t used to this much humidity, and he could tell from the way you gasped for air when he turned his attention away from your lips to nibble at your neck, so he helped you out of your soaked shirt and pants before gently pushing out of the bathroom.

It wasn’t his first time at your apartment, so the walk to your room was seamless and the kissing never stopped until you felt the back of your knees graze the edge of your bed. He nudged you down gently but he didn’t come with, instead, he took off your underwear, and as he lowered himself you spread out your legs almost instinctively.

The feel of his tongue was indescribable, rough but not too much that it hurt when he gave a long intentional lick to your folds, but just enough to elicit an initial shock and an immediate whiny moan to come out of you. He licked your still dewy skin all the way to your neck, and after a small nibble to your ear he started to kiss you again, the sharp nails of one of his hands digging into your thigh as the other struggled to remove the damp fabric of his own underwear.

You were still dizzy from the heat of the water and the steam, so it took you a while to notice he was looking at you and waiting for confirmation.

“Huh?”

He looked down at where his hand firmly gripped his cock and then looked back up again, eyebrows raised in a guise that screamed uncertainty.

You nodded, “Please.” You said almost embarrassingly eagerly. But he gave you no time to overthink before he was inches deep.

You could only arch up into each fleeting touch and hope Steb would give you more, each small grunt coming out of him adding fuel to the fire in your core. When he lifted one of your legs to lay over his shoulders it was like electricity ran through your spine with every thrust, and he noticed how you felt, the knitted frown he usually carried turning into a smug look you had never seen before.

Occasionally he would pull back and look at you for a second, a torturous second that felt like a year. He seemed to revel in torturing you, seeing you get whiny and desperate before plunging into you mercilessly. Each time you were incoherent, begging for something and nothing in particular, and each time he would thrust into you harder. He waited longer that time, waited as you arched your hips in frustration and your eyes swelled up with tears, he waited until you vocalized your pleas before he continued and inched closer to your face with a triumphant smile when he saw the tears trickle down your cheeks.

You were too worked up to wipe them off, and that was, you noticed in hindsight, exactly his intention, since he reached out his hand behind your neck and pulled you closer to lick them clean as they streamed out of your eyes. After that it was mostly a blur, he railed into you with no stops or pauses, all you could feel was an overwhelming pressure building up in your core and finally a release as your orgasm crept up. After a few more minutes you heard him groaning loudly in your ears and opened your eyes to a sight of wonder, worked up, panting, his wet hair sticking to the greenish skin of his forehead, and a little smile in the corner of his mouth.

“Breath,” You didn’t realize you had been holding your breath until then, and let out a long sigh followed by a chuckle of relief. His skin was mostly dry now, so his voice was hoarse.

He pulled out slowly and started kneading the skin of your hip to dispel the tension when he let your leg down, hoping it wouldn't be sore the next day, but you had a different idea.

“Come, let’s get you wet again, I have so many questions to ask you.” You said as you got out of bed and extended one hand. He took it, but instead of going after you he used it to pull you back to bed next to him.

“Tomorrow,” he signed.

#steb #steb arcane #arcane steb #steb x reader

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adashulaz · 2 months ago

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You can see how hurt Steb is, but it's most likely not physical.

Steb and Maddie were introduced at the same time, they approached Vi and Loris together. Maddie being much more open and talkative compared to Steb. And now, we know that Maddie is a Junior Officer when we first meet her and it's safe to assume the same for Steb. It's also safe to assume that Steb and Maddie are close due to their shared rank, they probably started training to be an enforcer at the same time based on this assumption. This would make them close, probably friends. Maddie is very clearly friendly while Steb doesn't seem to be the same, typical friend stuff imo, but she probably approached him anyways because she wanted or needed a friend.

A friend that she could fall back on incase people learn that there's a spy or a friend that she could push the blame onto incase that happens. Steb, someone who seems to keep to himself, would be the perfect person for that. It helps that most enforcers seem to be human compared to not, the idea of a spy would immediately cause people to point fingers at non-human enforcers like Steb. Maddie would know that, Ambessa would probably tell her to do something like that so she could keep her spy, and so she turned Steb into someone could either fall back on or stick the blame on. Either way, Steb is a backup plan for her. But first, she would have to establish a bond with him. So she did, making it seem like they truly were friends, best friends even.

When Maddie revealed herself to be a spy during that fight, it would hurt Steb. Maddie, possibly his only friend, betrayed him and played him like a cheap kazoo. It would sting, probably more than inhaling the gray. All because Maddie made it seem like they're friends, close friends at that. But now he's on his knees, most likely about to die after watching Maddie kill their captain/commander. That hurts, that hurts more than anything because Maddie clearly doesn't care about him or anyone else hence why she's a spy.

Not only that, but Steb probably feels ashamed. He can barely look Caitlyn in the eye, he immediately looks away from her the second they make eye contact. He probably feels like he's at fault for this, how could he not notice that his friend was a liar? Maddie was his friend, someone he knew well so how could something like that slip under his radar? Steb knows that Caitlyn most likely feels just as guilty for trusting Maddie but for Steb it would be worse. He knew Maddie longer, he should've picked up on the signs. It didn't matter how small or invisible, he should've picked up on it. Now his captain/commander was going to die because of him not picking up the signs.

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viridian-fields · 2 months ago

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What was Maddie's role in the attack on the memorial?

We have confirmation from writer Amanda Overton that Maddie is in fact Noxian and has therefore always been working for Ambessa. So I want to examine her actions around that memorial attack a bit closer.

I've seen it suggested that Maddie was somehow "protected" during the attack, because the armoured shimmer goon (do these armoured suits have a name btw?) was making a show of attacking her without actually harming her. I'll examine that exact moment a bit later but I do not agree with this assessment even a little bit.

Maddie is a deep cover agent. Presumably her entire identity in Piltover is fictitious. Careful planning and work have gone into integrating her into the ranks of enforcers over a long period of time. You do not take unnecessary risks with the identity of agents like this.

Keeping an agent like this "protected" from Renni's goons, would mean revealing her identity to every single Zaunite that Renni has recruited ("hey no one kill that redheaded enforcer, she's on our side"). If even ONE attacker survives this assault they have the potential to reveal Maddie's true identity. And imagine how it would look for these guys to be attacking everyone except her? And why would they waste their time playing around with her? It makes no sense. It's absolutely not worth that risk. Renni is used as a tool here. She is not informed as to who her actual employer is, and she is lured here by the promise of revenge against the person who killed her son.

If they really wanted to protect Maddie, it would have been much easier to come up with some excuse for her to not attend the memorial in the first place. But Ambessa has no need to try to protect Maddie. Maddie is a Noxian soldier. If a Noxian can't hold their own in an attack they are expecting then what good are they? Ambessa was willing to take the risk and accept the sacrifice if Maddie was somehow killed during this attack.

And Ambessa wants Maddie there because Maddie has a job to do. Maddie knows the attack is coming. She looks alert and on edge before it happens. We see her taking note of Renni's arrival.

So what were Maddie's orders? To protect the council.

Ambessa orchestrated this event to strike fear into the hearts of the people of Piltover, the council included. One of the attackers even gets up on stage to say “You aren’t safe, topsiders. None of you are safe.”

Making the council fearful and angry will motivate them to pursue the course of action that Ambessa has been pushing for. Dead council members can't give her what she wants. She doesn't want harm to come to Mel, and her influence over Salo means she'd prefer to keep him alive. Protecting the council is also something Maddie is in a position to do that will not look suspicious and is likely to give her career a boost.

But Maddie is very nearly killed in this operation. She is dazed from the carriage crash and pulled from the wreckage. She is screaming and fumbles her weapon. She seems genuinely afraid here.

This attacker is not playing pretend. He is seconds away from stabbing her...

... when Steb intervenes. His one and only L

Do you think that fall hurt? I hope it hurt.

But Ambessa very nearly overplays her hand here. By allowing someone who had a vendetta against Jayce to have access to him, he is almost killed.

And Ambessa doesn't want Jayce to be killed as she needs him to build her hextech weapons. Jayce dying would have been disastrous for her plans in Piltover. And what was the deciding factor in the end?

Vi.

But here's the thing. Vi was not planning to attend this memorial at all. How do we know this?

She's not wearing a ribbon.

[See this post for more info on these ribbons]

Vi had fought with Caitlyn and was on a bender. She had no plans to go to an event where there would be a chance of running into her. So why did she go?

Because moments before the memorial began a certain junior officer showed up to tell Vi all about how Caitlyn had sang Vi's praises to the enforcers, and how she was so pleased to have Vi in their ranks.

Now, there's no possible way that Ambessa could have known that Vi would end up saving Caitlyn and Jayce, but this entire meeting feels way too calculated for it to not be meaningful.

Perhaps Ambessa believed Vi would fight to protect Caitlyn and Jayce or other councillors, and was there as an added contingency. Perhaps Vi was a wildcard she wanted to keep an eye on. Perhaps she thought it wouldn't hurt to put Vi in the line of fire and maybe get rid of a potential problem.

In any case, when the dust settles, all of Ambessa's meticulous scheming is rewarded.

Maddie fought alongside Caitlyn, proving her courage and earning her respect. It is not a coincidence that the people Caitlyn later picks for her strike team are the ones she fought shoulder to shoulder with during this event.

And Ambessa succeeds in striking fear into the heart of the council and forcing them to act against Zaun. She also gets to be the big fat hero.

#arcane #arcane s2 #arcane s2 spoilers #arcane season 2 spoilers #arcane speculation #maddie #arcane maddie #ambessa medarda #caitlyn kiramman #vi #rictus #jayce talis

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0-shutdown-0 · 2 months ago

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Hi! I wanted to create a collaboration of notes I had on Steb and his contribution to the plot of Arcane, also posted this on reddit, so here is everything from stuff I saw to things I hypothesized -

This is Steb:

You can look on his little fandom wiki tag for stuff that I don't touch BUT ESSENTIALLY

1 He appears in episode 1 as the silent officer who pokes Loris while Maddie talks to Vi. And from what I get from the conversation is that Steb had to have worked on the force long enough to be given Maddie as a junior officer that shadows him. An interesting combo considering he turned out to be reserved care and Maddie ended up being false cheer.

2 He's well trained in close combat and seems to prefer it on multiple occasions.

At the very beginning he holds a collapsible baton that seems to be geared more into disarming people or incapacitating them. During the attack on the memorial where he's not only the first to act but later when he reunites with Maddie and their surrounded by Shimmer mutants she seems to have given him a blade that Steb wasted no time in stabbing into the closest mutant. And it develops into him using dual single hand batons when he's enlisted on the strike team.

(We later see all mutants have spears in their head so I can't tell if he killed or not. But I do think he accidently killed the man that shot the flare because there was blood coming out, the mouth was parted open, and both Mel and Steb looked shocked.)

It isn't until episode 9 during the finale we see him shooting a gun that I think it resembles his decision that now he really doesn't have a choice other than to kill the enemy and save the platoon he was given to command (NOTE: I believe everyone he was given to command all ended up surviving) or die trying to knock people out and reduce casualties. I find it interesting especially since he's a medic in addition to being an enforcer.

3 HE IS SO AWARE OF EVERY LITTLE THING

Complete distrust to the Noxus when they arrive? Check. Wide eyed and stunned at Maddie and Caitlyn's decision to join the Noxus then literally checks out like Loris for a long while? Check. He's literally the person to see everything go down and just decides to assumably remove himself from the equation for the next few episodes before being called upon again AND I WISH I KNEW WHERE HE WENT (which has now led to me writing a fic but anyways)

4 Interesting things that I need to point out

-In the end of episode 1 where the strike team is introduced, Steb is the only one to not get a Hextech upgrade to his weaponry,

I assume this is from some type of moral code he continues to have where he refuses extreme force. Additionally, and its probably a stretch, the screen glitches over Maddie and Loris but focuses on him symbolizing he's the only one out of the three of them to live.

-His ears and his little cheek fin frills respond to EVERYTHING. Kind of reminding me of a fish's lateral line when it responds to vibrations in the water and stuff but anyways-

Considering he's some type of Vastya fishfolk, or half of cuz he has eyebrows and hair, it's interesting. I saw someone comment that the fishfolk had a connection to the Arcane and it's magic AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO COOL TO EXPAND ON BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE. That could have been the reason why he averted to using Hextech advancements. And the more in tune senses helping him stay alive.

As well as explain why he was the first to act like in E1 and E3 when the strike team meets Heenox.

- Speaking of E3, you can literally see him not even look up at the murder dolls which includes everyone's death or injury but his coming true. And when he does treat Heenox not only does he see the effects of the Grey but when Caitlyn loads her gun to shoot the man Steb is turning to Vi like a "Get your woman???"

He seemed to loose trust in Caitlyn there, as I noted he was the only one to look back when their group split as Vi and Caitlyn went off to face Jinx alone.

I can one hundred percent imagine Steb getting angry as a medic when he realizes he was kept in the dark about the use of the Grey as well, because he's not only the one who has to treat it but also has to live with the realization they did more harm to innocents and Jinx was in the right for rerouting all the vents they opened to release it.

- It appears that he is selectively mute, I assume that is has something to do with his biology since Jericho, the street vendor showed in S1 and later in S2, doesn't speak either but is seen being able to laugh and yell just like Steb. Personally think Steb doesn't speak much because its hard to do/hurts.

Which would have been so interesting to have been explored or at least acknowledged because it would have hit so much harder when in E9 we presumably hear him shout for his unit to get up and move when his leadership was needed most.

-Maddie's betrayal had to have hurt so bad for him. She was his shadow, the one he was suppose to teach and in the end her ambition for power took hold of her and was the reason for her end. And for him to be someone so observant and careful and let that go right past him must have killed a part of him because he probably excused some of her behaviors. Like how Maddie had called Vi "one of the good ones" when referencing her origin from the Undercity. OR even when they were leaving and when Steb motioned for her to follow him Maddie only went when she heard another officer in the distance call for her.

It definitely could have been expanded on if the Arcane team was given a bigger budget for him to sign and Maddie to mistranslate or even ignore his authority because of his disability. Like, she cares for him but not enough to respect him.

I feel like when Caitlyn woke up to see Steb sitting there that pain was shown heavily but not enough.

Anyways!

If you made it to the end of my rant, yay, this is all the deep diving I'm using for a fic and I hope it helps, if you have any thoughts to add please do!

#arcane #steb arcane #arcane season 2 #arcane s2

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bwat5-blog · 20 days ago

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Maddie Nolan: Never Trust A Ginger (me included)

**Spoilers For All Of Arcane**

Maddie Nolan. This charming young murderess made quite the impact in season two. Initially, she seems like a bright, friendly and brave young woman who in all honesty, I felt was quite likely to die on the mission into Zaun. Such cheerful innocence is not exactly rewarded in this world. But, as with all of these wonderful characters, there was a whole world lurking underneath that smile.

Maddie is a loyal Noxian. This has been confirmed by Amanda Overton. And having that knowledge allows us to look back on Maddie's story and take a look from the time we meet her to her death. It also allows us to connect the dots for some basic points:

1. Maddie has Ambessa's trust: Maddie is young. Official sources have not confirmed an exact age at least as far as I have found. But most seem to agree she is in her early twenties like Caitlyn and Vi. Aside from Ambessa herself. Maddie has to play the most direct role in the manipulation and control of Caitlyn. There is no way Ambessa would risk her plan on an agent she did not feel she could trust completely.

2. Maddie's strength is her mind: What have we learned about Noxus? They are warlike and brutal sure, but that is not all they value. Ambessa herself is master of manipulation and control as well as being a physical powerhouse. And while we see Maddie fight, her prowess is certainly never to shown to rival Vi or Caitlyn (Caitlyn even disarms her while on her knees and almost shoots Ambessa with Maddie's own gun). So why is she so dangerous? Her mind. Her ability to manipulate, to improvise in the moment and play the role she has been assigned.

So. Keeping that in mind before we move ahead. For a brief refresher (primarily because I have written it very recently in other documents), here is very basic run down of Ambessa's goals:

1. She wants Hex-Tech to fight the black rose. 2. She wants control of Piltover. 3. She needs a puppet leader through which rule.

So what role does Maddie play in those goals?

In Caitlyn Kiramman, Ambessa has everything she needs for the perfect scapegoat. Intelligent, well-respected, brave and tenacious. But also angry, and raw, and grieving. Caitlyn is already in a state of destabilization. I Have been thinking about it in terms of "support beams" being knocked over.

Establishment: Marcus almost killed her

Childhood: Death of her mother

Safety: Several near death experiences

You get the idea. I am not a mental health professional, but the dominoes are falling. Ambessa intends to fill the maternal hole in Caitlyn's heart. But she also needs Caitlyn to reach the point that she can seize control of Zaun. And Ambessa is more than shrewd enough to know that will never happen with Vi by Caitlyn's side. Enter Maddie.

Meeting Vi-

Maddie is introduced to us as an almost literal ball of sunshine. Happy and friendly, standing illuminated by the morning light Maddie comes with Steb and introduces herself to Vi, sharing her excitement over Vi joining them and in general flattering Vi in a variety of ways.

On the surface, she seems for all the world like a kind and positive young woman. But we know why she is here. At this point we know it is not to get Vi on the strike team, as Caitlyn has not had such an idea. But they want to push Vi to accept the badge.

Why?: - Because as I have said, Ambessa is a master at her craft. She needs Caitlyn totally alone when she swoops in. And if you follow this extremely rough train of thought it's easy to see.

1. Caitlyn wants Jinx and wants to follow the official route. Which means as Enforcers. 2. Vi is by Caitlyn's side and feels guilt over her sisters actions and will want to help. 3. Vi's history will make being an Enforcer a point of contention and start to drive them apart.

Maddie says quite a bit, talking about Vi's one woman mission to fight Silco. But she lays the groundwork for what she knows is important. Caitlyn.

1. "Caitlyn made quite the scene when they tried to deny you enlistment". 2. "She said if every Enforcer had a heart like yours we could take on Noxus itself" 3. "Then she threatened to withdraw her families funding"

Caitlyn believes in you...

Caitlyn fought for you....

Caitlyn staked her standing on you...

And this was all before the memorial attack even took place.

*I can't take credit for this but an insightful user on here pointed out that Maddie keeps one behind her back the entire time she is shaking Vi's. Classic portrayal of deceit and a hidden threat. And regarding the "glad to know there are still good ones left" quote. I understand what people are saying regarding how Maddie views the undercity. But Marcus wasn't a Zaunite and that's how that sentence starts. Idk, maybe I'm just missing it. Feel free to explain it to me!*

The Memorial Attack-

During the attack itself we don't see much in terms of character-on-character moments for obvious reasons. It is extremely chaotic and violent but Maddie plays her part. She assists in saving the councilors and is almost killed by the Undercity forces. How much of if any of the plan she was in on, we can't really know. But she does not give us, or the characters around her a single reason to question her loyalty, and stands by Caitlyn's side when all seems lost, just before Ambessa and Rictus arrive with their soldiers in the nick of time.

In the aftermath, she is standing guard over Caitlyn with Steb, and dismissed when Vi approaches. But the real moment here is as Vi is walking up. She happens to look to see Rictus and Ambessa talking as Rictus is ripping his spear free from a body. Ambessa directly locks eyes with Vi. Appraising.. calculating..

"Vi.. You've been quite a curiosity. One who captured Caitlyn's heart. I owe you thanks. Your absence provided a vacuum I was able to fill"

The Strike Team-

It is in the wake of the memorial attack that Ambessa's plans for Caitlyn really start to manifest. Full of wrath and hate and despair, Caitlyn leads the strike team into Zaun. She, Vi, Maddie, Steb and Lorris. And even though their mission on the surface is righteous, Caitlyn is sliding further and further into the dark. Progressing more and more towards the place of total exposed pain that Ambessa will be able to twist and control. So when the time comes. When they know where Jinx is and the final confrontation is upon them, what does Maddie do? She plays the part. The scared, inexperienced, rookie off her balance and overwhelmed by Jinx's theatrics and mind games.

And it works. For the life of me I cannot find a GIF of it or even an image of Vi watching them at the moment, but Vi sees how scared Maddie appears. She sees Loris limping because of Jinx's bomb. She looks genuinely concerned for them. Just as Maddie knew she would be. Because don't forget Vi is just as much Maddie's study at this moment as Caitlyn is.

Maddie has been there to watch as Vi is progressively buried by guilt:

Her sister killed Caitlyn's mother.

She is wearing the enforcer uniform and doing violence in the streets of Zaun no matter how good the reason.

She has been watching Caitlyn grow darker and more violent to the point that she tearfully begs Caitlyn to promise she wont change to.

Now they are at the tipping point, almost facing Jinx. And Maddie plays scared.. she plays vulnerable... and with Loris hurt as well it's even better because she knows Vi hates all of this death and pain. She doesn't want to see anyone else suffer.

What do they get out of this? They being Ambessa and Maddie of course. Well as I said, Maddie has been watching, she has been waiting. And just like Vi has, she has seen what is happening to Caitlyn as well. As Vi grows more and more wracked with guilt and remorse and sorrow, Caitlyn grows darker. More angry and more violent. So what does Maddie do just shy of the finish line? Takes away anything that could stop the inevitable collision. No one to stand in the way. No one to back them down.

And while of course I can't be sure, to anyone suggesting she was actually frightened and in over her head. I present you the following image:

We will come back to this. But there she preparing to shoot Caitlyn in the neck after sharing her bed for a few months. I sincerely doubt Jinx's little puppet show had her shaking in her boots.

The Commander-

Caitlyn Kiramman stands totally separated from all that she had held dear:

Her mother is dead.

Vi "betrayed" her.

Jinx is free.

The old leader of the enforcers was a corrupt, murdering thug.

Her people are afraid and angry

Initially, she seems completely shocked and more than a little afraid. But.. maybe she isn't totally alone.. the young officer who fought by her side.. who is still here even now stands beside her smiling brightly and thumping her chest in support of her commander. Of course.. no one seems to notice she is the first "Piltovan" to do so..

All of that rage and hate and loss have just built more and more with no healing, no time and no peace. The Noxians have expertly shattered Caitlyn's support and all that is left is her pain. And so standing in front of the ruling families of Piltover, the last two surviving councilors, and a host of enforcers. Ambessa Medarda seizes Piltover for herself, all while playing the part of the caring mentor. LOOK AT HER FACE IN THE GIF BELOW

The Bedroom-

We leap forward in time. It has been a few months, although we don't now exactly how long. And Caitlyn is much changed. She is the Commander. The leaders of the city willingly supported Martial Law, and on the absolute surface, she is the leader. We of course, know better.

At some point between S2 E3 and S2 E4 Caitlyn allowed Maddie Nolan into her bed. And it is here that we find them now. Caitlyn seems cold.. detached.. despite the fact that she has been building her physical strength her face looks thinner, and more drawn. While Ambessa had taken advantage of the hole left by Caitlyn's mother, Maddie had done so regarding Vi. Manipulating and testing Caitlyn even in the comfort of her own bed.

I view this scene as sort of the other side of the coin of Vi and Cait's scene that will come later. Despite being in a cold, hard jail cell. That scene is so full of life, and love, and tenderness. This scene (while of course nowhere near as sexual), takes place in Caitlyn's lavish bedroom. But it devoid of anything comforting or loving. First, I want to quickly run down the technical details I noticed before we jump into the character stuff:

Unless I missed something. This is the only time we ever see this room in the dark.

All throughout the scene, Maddie is clinging to Caitlyn, nuzzling her, laying little kisses on her and so on. And when Caitlyn is looking directly toward her, she plays along. But anytime Caitlyn is allowed to turn away she does so, even pulling away gently more than once and almost never looking at Maddie directly.

The shots are all very harsh. Half Caitlyn's face while the other is obscured. A direct shot in a dark mirror. There is no warmth in the way they are shown despite being on soft sheets surrounded by pillows.

In another recent document, I shared my recent educational experience regarding the topic of push-pull dynamics in relationships. There were many reasons this dynamic could arise, but per the source I used there, one was a desire to control. Per a quick google search and the main search result.

"A push pull relationship dynamic describes a pattern where one partner repeatedly pulls the other close, creating intimacy, only to then push them away creating distance. Resulting in a cycle of alternating closeness and withdrawal"

Ambessa utilizes this expertly in keeping Caitlyn off-balance. I can't say for certain that this is some sort of technique of course, but let's take a look at a snippet of Maddie and Cait's conversation through this lens:

C- "They doubled their fortification requests.. again.."

M- "To keep us safe.."//Push- gently chiding

C- "I never expected this to go on so long.. I thought.. I don't know what I thought.. just.. wasn't this"

M- "You could call it off. Withdraw from the underground, reestablish the council, all you have to do is give the order"//Pull- encouragement. Reminder she has a choice and has power.

C- "Not without Jinx. besides a withdrawal could lead to a worse situation than the one"

M- "Ahh.. Okay Ambessa"//Push- Gently chiding

And all of this while continuously trying to heap physical affection onto Caitlyn as well throwing her off even more. Every-time Caitlyn starts to question or wonder Maddie tries to pull her back in. Back out of the small sliver of light we see Caitlyn in and into the total darkness Maddie emerged from.

Return Of "Jinx"-

This is a relatively short interaction between them. But we see Maddie continuing to test Caitlyn. Telling her she still has a choice if she wants to call it all off. But Ambessa interrupts and Maddie is dismissed.

*Ambessa warns Caitlyn of "the hazards of professional entanglements"*

Dismissed-

The next time we see Maddie she is speaking with Caitlyn after the battle of the commune and once again things are changing quickly. Maddie is trying to convince Caitlyn to negotiate but Caitlyn knows Ambessa means death to them all after what happened. Vi arrives, and Maddie is dismissed amid some glares and shoulder bumping while the two talk things out. We see quite quickly that Maddie's techniques have lost their charm:

"you can't blame yourself" (reaches for Caitlyn's hand)

"I don't need consolation, I need a plan" (jerks hand away immediately)

We saw in the bed how Maddie clambered to pull Caitlyn back into the darkness. But Caitlyn's will is reemerging. She is shaking off Maddie's attempts to manipulate, so when she dismisses her. For maybe the first time we see Maddie look genuinely upset:

I can admit. When I first re-watched after learning about Maddie, I wondered if perhaps I had it wrong. She seems genuinely sad here and I wondered if she had really grown to care for Caitlyn and I misjudged her. And while I cannot say for certain that one way or another. Her actions in the end of her story, are quite definitive to me.

The End-

The final battle is raging. Caitlyn Kiramman and her squad charge the Noxians in a cloud of grey released to choke the enemy. Until the IED they created does not go off, and she is cracked over the head twice, and wakes on her knees, Maddie Nolan's rifle pressed up against her. Now as I said I don't think this comes down to that Maddie had truly come to care for Caitlyn. I think she was upset because she felt she had disappointed Ambessa.

When we began this I said I can only feel that Ambessa must really trust Maddie to have given her the role in all of this that she has. And as brutal, and scary, and cruel as Ambessa can be. To care for those loyal to her is not out of character. She seems genuinely hurt by Rictus's death. And even though he was trying to kill Cait when he said it, remember this?:

"Ambessa believed in you. Your death, will be a deep cut"

Scapegoat or not Ambessa can come to care for those who serve her. So I think it entirely plausible that Maddie is one such person. Ultimately, Maddie's story ends as she tries to carry out her real leader's last order to her-

I think Maddie was an excellent character. Like many of you I suspected she was more than she appeared, but a straight up Noxian plant was certainly not on my list. She was clever, she was tough, and she was ruthless. And although it is hard to see it this way because we are rooting for our people, she was not a traitor. She was simply loyal to the other side to the utmost degree. And although it brings me no joy to say this, I think Maddie's final moment will be one that Caitlyn has to work to heal from mentally long after her physical wounds have become battle scars. The woman she used to distract herself from how things ended with Vi almost cost her her life, and cost all of them the battle. But NOOOOOOO Caitlyn doesn't face any consequences at all.

I did this one at the request of the brilliant @sapphoscreature and I am so grateful anyone cares enough to read these at all let alone ask for more haha. Doing these I get to keep learning more and more and seeing new ways to look at this incredible story. I fully and completely admit there is so much of Maddie's story we don't see (not complaining about pacing, seeing all of her story would literally defeat the purpose of the reveal) so if you feel I am off base please say so! I would love to discuss and hear other thoughts and ideas.

Thank you for reading, have a great day!

#arcane #arcane season 2 spoilers #vi arcane #caitlyn kiramman #maddie nolan arcane #maddie nolen #ambessa medarda #arcane noxus #long... I mean duh. are you new here?

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ttrashlord · 2 months ago

Text

BEING CHILDHOOD FRIENDS WITH STEB ✨🌌 🎀🌌✨

You surely met because your parents were Friends,or simply because you two went to the same School

Does piltover has schools?

Anyways,if you two met in School (im sorry for this one) he was bullied.

Either was for just being himself of just by the way he looks,it's more common (like we all see) to see vastayas like Scar but,a fish-type vastayas is very difficult to see,even more in Piltover.

So,you were there,watching a scene where two kids were annoying the litle Steb.

(Poor little thing)

So you,as a little kid yourself,went directly to them and ask them what the hell whats their problem? (In a kid dialect,of course)

The two kids left Steb alone to focus on you,and you decides to confront them.

You started to attack with words of them being mean to Steb with no reason,the two annoying kids started to get...well...started to cry at your words and run away.

You saw a little Steb (maybe a year older than you) and you offered him your hand,with a smiling face and a your natural blush on your cheeks.

Steb (as he is) is a kid of little to no words,but when he is with you,this doesn't happen.

He can be hours and i mean HOURS chatting with you,about anything.

If you're in the same class,he will inmediatly change his seat next to you so you can study,eat and do everything together.

If you're in different class,he just keep looking at the clock,can't wait to see you in break time!

(Do you know the dynamic of she fell first,but he fell harder??)

Well,something like that happen to him.

You,of course,develop true feelings for him quickly,let's say in 3rd grade (8 years) and you couldn't help but look at him,be close to him,make pijama parties to sleep with him you're kids OK?? EVERYTHING next to him,and when you started to grow older,this didn't change.

And the way he looked at you (before) was something like...admiration,respect he didn't wanted to be with you,he wanted to be LIKE you.

But...as he grow older,the more he realized that he coudn't find someone more perfect than you.

When you two are teenagers you two are just the akward friends who likes each other but are too shy or too coward to show their feelings for each other.

Steb,Will always stay still,but close to you,meanwhile you,always start physical touch,either is touching his knee with yours,resting your head on his shoulder,you know...those things that Friends totally do.

Slowly,It the ball of graduation was coming,and as expected,you rented a beautiful Aqua blue dress/suit (you said you wanted to combine with him) while he was in a White suit (god he looks so handosme)

You two danced along all night,drank,and more dancing!

You were enjoying your time with him,you surely was!

One moment,you stopped him and said you wanted to get a glass,but he didn't let you,he grabbed you by your hand

You:Why wouldnt you let me? It's just a glass...

You asked not annoyed,but concerned.

Steb:Because...if you don't remember this night,this won't do the worth...

And then,he slowly pull you by the hand,you staying in front of him.

You now were surely concerned for real.

To remember what?

Then,the slow song started to play,It was not fast but either that slow,It was a rythm in which couple can slowly dance,take their partners and kiss at the middle of the song while resting the head on their chest.

You:Steb what....what are you doing? this is for couples...

Steb:I know...

Steb slowly put your hands on his shoulders and with his glowing,mesmerizing blue eyes looked at you,asking for permission to put his hand on your waist.

The beat slowly began to travell through your body,and you listen to the lyrics carefully...

I would never fall again until i found her

...

I was lost within the darkness until i found you

I found you

You:Steb...what is this...

Of course...you were not refereing to the song

What is this feeling? You thought

Steb:I...you...you are the most splendid,amaizing, and steongest person i have ever met.

A pause was made

But if it wasn't for that day,the day you saved me...literally and metaphorically...i'm not able to think a day in my Life without you on It.

And thinking of making our lifes apart after School,destroys me.

And i'm not asking you to say yes because i don't have that much to offer,but i promise you,i won't dissapoint you,i won't leave you,i won't betray you,ever.

So,please (y/n)....could you be my Life from now on?

Your eyes began to slowly glaze over,and your mouth was slighlty open,to let in a little bit of oxygen,to let you live this moment,to let you process this was happening.

Steb carefully looked,at your eyes,he didn't know what to expect,honestly.

The song is over,theres no respond yet,he slowly takes his hand off your waist,in dissapointment.

But you don't,you wanted to live this moment over,and over and over again.

You:Steb...I...I..

You take a pause,your hands still on his shoulders,you looked at his shoes.

A few tears began to fall on his shoes.

You looked up,looking at him with the biggest,most charming smile you have ever had

You: you have no idea how much i've been eating for you.

A/N-PLEASE english is not my first lenguage and my keyboard is in spanish soo,yup,that's It,if theres any error,please forgive me ;)

Hope you like It as much as i liked to write this!

#steb #steb x reader #steb x reader arcane #arcane #fanfic #my fic #fiction

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