Tfw The Princess Slays You Back

Our hextech dream….

Comfort.

I think what I love/hate most about the Arcane ending is that everyone got what they needed but not what they wanted.

Jinx needed to end the cycle, she’s been wishing someone could finish the job the whole series, she just didn’t want to go out a hero.

Echo needed to be a savior to help his people, he just thought it would be as a leader and not as a soldier.

Mel needed to prove herself as a Medarda, she just never wanted the acarne skills or the cost of her mother.

Jayce and Viktor in beautiful turn needed to be seen and understood. They found their own truths and destiny in each other, yet it destroyed them.

Vi needed family. She wanted the family she had back, instead she’s given closure for her loses and the chance to build a new one with a person she loves.

Caitlyn needed respect. She got it, but she now understands just how much it costs and just how heavy that crown is.

All of their endings satisfy exactly what they’ve wanted this whole show, just in a way none of them wanted.

Can't wait to replay peak today 🔥🔥🔥

house talis family portrait because can't a girl indulge herself with they're alive and married au?

"What was the whole deal with Viktor not being 'broken' and Jayce's confession in Episode 9?"

Some ramblings I had but decided to make it its own post

"But you were never broken, Viktor."

This line is about Viktor's self-esteem and worth as an individual.

While a confident character (especially in Act 1 of Season 1), Viktor lets himself be weighted down by people's negative perceptions of him.

When introducing himself to Jayce and talking him down from jumping, Viktor uses extremely negative words to describe himself (and literally "crippled").

And with the beginning of Viktor's health decline from then on so do his confidence and relationship with others.

Viktor refuses to be on stage with Jayce when they first present Hextech. (And Jayce respects his decision and doesn't force his hand!) He doesn't want to be publically acknowledged as Jayce's partner.

We don't actually see Viktor being close to anyone but Jayce. Especially during the more dire breakouts of his disease coinciding with his research on the Hexcore. He becomes so obsessed that he pushes everyone away. While I don't think he has ever loved Sky romantically, she was still a colleague of his with a good opinion of him. And yet we see him reject her companionship (which could have been kept perfectly friendly and platonic!) and lose himself in his work, quite literally.

It is shown to us explicitly that Jayce cares about Viktor's health (he leaves Mel to come to Viktor's bedside). And yet Viktor lies to him about potential treatments, in fear of what Jayce would think. What he wouldn't understand. Without even knowing what Jayce would think (and as season 2 has proven us, Jayce did in fact support the augmented hextech solution) he immediately comes to the conclusion that Jayce would reject him. This is a sign of low self-esteem.

What happened to Sky was extremely traumatic and he clearly feels an overwhelming amount of guilt. However we don't really see him confide in anyone, don't see him relying on anyone for moral support. He bottles it up and keeps his worries and guilt to himself, which doesn't work well.

When Viktor attempts and literally toes the line about suicide, this time Jayce is the one preventing him from jumping. And it is because of these circumstances I believe that Viktor finally admits a part of his wories and guilt about Hextech to someone. And still he doesn't tell the full story (Jayce only learns about Sky in season 2)

Viktor's confidence comes back in full bloom in season 2, once he becomes fused with the Hexcore and gains access to a perfect body. (Note that I use perfect here because this is what the Herald of the Arcane believes).

Fuck, he catwalked into the council room vhen he confronted Jayce in episode 8. We have literally never seen this character do that before. He is cocky, he is literaly the one on top of Jayce. He oozes confidence and charisma.

During the various scenes in the astral plane, Viktor is often depicted as this grand, majestic and huge figure. He towers over everyone, looks down on people. He is confident in himself and his abilities. But when Jayce rejects his vision ("my partner died in this room") and defeats him with Mel, we see Viktor become physically smaller. Cuddled and small on the floor, rejecting Astral Sky's touch.

Once again, his physical appearance reflects his own inner worth. He believes that Jayce doesn't want him = he shifts back to a ""weaker"" state and immediately rejects others' comfort.

This rejection is also what directly links to him shedding all his humanity to achieve this "perfection."

And when the mask comes down (literally) after Ekko threw him time in a bottle at the end of episode 9, and a part of his real, human face is revealed, Viktor once again becomes smaller.

Here the shift is radical. He goes from being meters tall to smaller than Jayce's height. Viktor tries to protect, to shield himself. He doesn't want to be perceived in this weak state.

This is why it is such a pivotal point that Viktor reverts back to his own body after Jayce showed him the truth, that he turns to face Jayce as equals in their human forms. This is Viktor finally accepting himself as who he is, accepting his worth as a human being.

When Jayce tells Viktor "you were never broken," he means that Viktor was always a whole person, not lesser than. That he was always worthy of compassion, love and respect just like everyone else. That there was nothing "broken" about him that could justify a negative perception of him.

No parts of him are broken because every part of him can be loved,

Viktor's disability and disease are a part of him but that does not mean Viktor himself is broken.

Jayce's confession is essentially a love letter to the person Viktor is ("a part of everything I admired about you"). It is not a comment about how Viktor shouldn't care about his health. It is a comment about Viktor's own worth and how he is deserving of love, truly and fully just as he is. That a perfect body doesn't make him worthier.

POV you’re watching Jayce and Viktor give their science presentation but one of them clearly pulled an all nighter

I'm glad they're on the same page

Cw: panic attack/breakdown

And I've been waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting...

...You.