#Council of Reconciliation

[sw5w]

Anakin Accepts His Assignment

STAR WARS EPISODE II: Attack of the Clones 00:25:12

[hauntingblue]

Episode 8 I am so scared....

[quasi-normalcy]

On the subject of hot Steven Universe takes, I'm just going to go on the record and say, I've finally reached the finale of the (original) series after years and years of hearing that it ends badly, and like...

It's fine. It ends fine. It ends with a depiction of restorative justice at a level that kids will understand and appreciate. And yeah, okay, there are some details that are uncovered, probably for lack of time, but like...it depicts the optimal end to a conflict. The villains learn the error of their ways, or at least start on the path to learning, and make restitution for some of their evil deeds. And no, it's not realistic, but again: it is a children's fantasy of truth and reconciliation. The idea that there should be some sort of retribution, that someone should have to die for crimes that are no longer being committed, just seems so unnecessary.

(Really, I feel like a lot of the opprobrium could have been avoided if they'd included a 5-second scene of the Diamond Authority being dissolved and replaced by a Gem parliament or workers' council or something in the final montage)

[brunchable]

Winter King Masterlist

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒏𝒆 - I Was Enchanted to Meet You

Trapped in the palace gardens, Y/N’s escape attempt is interrupted by a mysterious charming man who offers to help. Little does she know, the man she’s avoiding is the one lifting her over the wall.

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒘𝒐 - I Wish You Would

The Kingdom's court is treacherous, and enemies lurk in the shadows, waiting to exploit any sign of weakness. Althought Y/N is determined to be a worthy queen of the crown, she find out that The King is as elusive as he is captivating.

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 - Cruel Summer

Y/N finds herself struggling to prove that she’s more than just a pawn in this dangerous game of power. But when Winnifred demands answers, it’s not just Y/N’s loyalty to the king being tested—it’s her resolve to carve out a place for herself in a world determined to see her fail.

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓 - Afterglow [18+]

After a tumultuous separation, Queen Y/N receives a desperate letter from King James Bucky Barnes, pleading for her presence in Annecy. Reluctantly, she agrees to meet him, only to be confronted with unresolved emotions, simmering tension, and a fragile hope for reconciliation. Amidst grand dinners and intimate revelations, Bucky strips himself bare—not just of his regal façade but also the deepest scars of his past. In the midst of courtly games and political intrigue, will their love survive, or will it be another casualty of the crown?

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆 - I Knew You Were Trouble

The court pressures James to consider a consort, while Y/N takes control by offering to choose the consort herself, leading to a heated arguement with James, who refuses the idea.

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒊𝒙 - Tolerate it [18+]

Y/N wrestles with her decision to make Wanda Bucky's consort, while political tensions escalate in the Kingdom. The council questions Bucky's absences, and Isaac continues to test him especially regarding Y/N. Bucky struggles with guilt and growing distance between him and Y/N.

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 - Look What You Made Me Do.

Y/N defies tradition by joining the equinox fetivities. Fitten in equestrian attire, she draws onlookers, including Thor, Loki and Pietro, while Bucky watches with visible frustration as others practically undress her with their eyes. Despite the tension, Y?N remains focused on the race.

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑬𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 - Bad Blood

✨️image was photoshopped by me

[vi-gilante-1010]

The big thing about the ending of Arcane is that it tries so hard to be a hopeful ending and a tragic ending at the same time, and they end up canceling each other out to create the most stagnated and frustrating ending instead, because none of it feels genuinely earned.

On the one hand, the audience is expected to think Caitvi being together again at this point is a good thing, and we get that vague implication of Jinx being alive, and the briefest glimpse of Sevika at the table. All that is very much trying to convey some semblance of hope for the future, that change is slow but that things are moving forward. The thing is, every part of this presentation at the end falls flat because of the lack of satisfying build here.

The Caitvi reconciliation is rushed, Caitlyn's redemption even moreso, and the actual weight of her actions has gone ignored by the narrative in favor of servicing a happy ending for the writers' pet. Vi's so-called "happy ending" being her declaring herself dirt in her lover's nails is oddly self-deprecating for what's meant to be an ending in her putting herself and her happiness first.

Sevika not so much as getting a speaking role in act 3 severely diminishes any impact her character may have had here, and she's still very obviously outnumbered among the council. She doesn't get to speak to Jinx. She doesn't get to reconcile with Vi. She doesn't even get a diplomatic word in. For all intents and purposes, she's become the council's diversity hire, because the council operates on majority vote, and Sevika isn't a diplomat. Who's to say she won't be spoken over and voted against at every turn?

The hints to Jinx being alive being subtle but shown are, in and of themselves, not the problem. The problem is just how much time is spent with her character in s2 glorifying the idea of her killing herself. Suicidal ideation within a mentally ill character isn't shocking, but it is something that shouldn't be overtly glorified within the text, and Jinx's decision to fake her death immediately following an actual suicide attempt and every chance that she could actually die, without the audience actually seeing Jinx for herself post-escape, leads to the worst possible depiction of a martyr- one who wanted to kill herself, and is celebrated for doing so. Show-don't-tell isn't useful when you do it for every major arc, and it makes Jinx's escape cheapen because, for all intents and purposes, she did kill herself. She killed Powder and Jinx, and while, yes, it was to break the cycle and free herself from identities prescribed by others, it's done in a way that's seriously damaging for real people who struggle with the same ideation.

Then, on the backhand, we have the tragedy part of the ending. Mel having to return to Noxus, Jayvik dying in the Arcane, and Ekko being left alone in Zaun. All of this is adequately tragic, yes, but it's also deeply unsatisfying, and also kind of racist.

Mel's character as a clever politician and manipulator being tossed aside in favor of a setup for the Black Rose setup is already disappointing as-is, but she loses everyone. Literally everyone. That mattered to her. Ambessa succeeds in forcing her hand to violence, and then dies. Her brother is dangled in front of her face, and then taken away. Jayce goes missing, comes back jaded to her, and then dies with Viktor and leaves her alone. She's forced to become 'the wolf', shifting her story into one of brute-force power, and makes her become the strong one that survives everything and the one to take down Ambessa with power. Gone are the days of diplomatic power struggles and investigation. No, she must embrace her inner warrior goddess power to be effective here.

Similarly, Ekko loses everyone. He'd already lost most of his family, and led the Firelights out of necessity for the people of Zaun because of how quickly he was forced to grow up. But now, Vi, who returned to him after years, lives in Piltover with her cop girlfriend, and the two don't interact once in the entire season. It's like their entire friendship was forgotten. He loses Heimerdinger to the alternate timeline, who, like Jinx, appears to die, but as an immortal being, is actually just reforming in that timeline again. He's abandoned by his supposed mentor because he didn't feel like going back to the timeline he'd failed to help despite his age and supposed responsibility, leaving Ekko to be the responsible one. And of course, Ekko also loses Powder and Jinx again, being sent into an alternate timeline just to be teased about what could've been with Powder, wrench himself back to reality and save Jinx, only for her to supposedly die succeeding in blowing herself up anyways. He's the only important character from Zaun that stays in Zaun, and he has to bear the burden of taking care of Zaun alone because, as stated previously, Sevika is now on the council and has to operate through the council.

Both of the leading black characters are forced to bear the responsibility of constant perseverance and survival, looking over the rest of the cast and getting things done but losing everything and everyone they love. It's Mel and Ekko who must bear the cross of parentification, being denied their safe places or loved ones in service of being the Strong Ones. In season 1, this was a role that Vi once played back when the show still cared about her, being the older sister that couldn't be the role model she needed to be no matter how hard she tried, while Mel had her diplomatic strengths and wasn't expected to bear the brunt of war against Noxus, and that felt more natural, because Ekko's responsibilities in the face of Silco's Zaun felt like an actual critique of the parentification of young black people in marginalized communities. Season 2 takes that and makes it unironic. No, Ekko is just strong like that, but it's so tragic. Look, we're gonna build an entire timeline about it. No, Mel must be Strong Badass Woman With Powerful Magic Power. Uhh, the show's called Arcane, she has to have magic, right? Can't have a main character with no big fat weapon, so let's take that protective golden shield she can make and make her have Secret Wolf Powers.

Jayce and Viktor's entire story for the second season sucks. Jayce had so much setup as a political figure, and was completely primed to be taken advantage of by Ambessa after the first season. His almost losing Viktor to Jinx's attack should've made him angrier to ever before. Instead, he just quits his councilman position offscreen and becomes the one to discover that the arcane is actually just inherently evil. Oopsies! His and Viktor's life's work has been degraded into doomed to fail territory. No good intentions would've ever saved any part of their work, and the arcane itself is now the villain, rather than Piltover's greed and the desire to weaponize it and exert control over others. No, this is just an inherent part of the worldbuilding, like any good eeeeeeevil magic that's evil because the author needs it to be.

Viktor, meanwhile, is punished for becoming a eugenicist, despite the fact his so-called 'eugenics' from the first season was him wanting to not slowly die. He was hacking up blood on the hexcore! But searching for a way to cure the sick and eugenics got conflated in season 2, so his becoming a jesus figure that healed the sick and injured and addicted had to be villainized to match his LoL persona somehow. So everyone he turned became servants he could puppet at will, and became a eugenics metaphor, playing on a self-hatred that Viktor did have, but bastardized it with 'ooooo eeeevil arcaaaaane' and absolves Viktor himself of any responsibility for it. When Jayce does reach him, it's a speech about imperfections, even though the reason Viktor began in the first place was because he was DYING, and the reason he continued was because he got infected with the Arcane instead of his own complex urging him forward after a near-death experience.

There's no hope in the ending, because anything meant to illicit hope has a bad buildup, or no buildup at all. The tragedy of the ending feels unearned because it ignores who the characters were in the first season outright; it's not a matter of them having just changed after their arcs in season 1. They're just unrecognizable, and/or poorly utilized. It's a bad ending to a shitty sequel season that only makes you feel frustrated for having watched it in the first place.

[lullabyes22-blog]

Arcane S2 and its Critiques Therein..

There is a reason why I side-eye the 'arcane critical'-critical crowd who insist we cannot equate real world politics with fictional universes, or project our 'leftist' agenda on a world of pretend.

There seems this undercurrent of condescension in the attitude, as if it stems from people who have perhaps not considered why they enjoy the shows that they do, or how a certain character or plot makes them feel; either positively, by representation, or negatively, by erasure.

And yet... we are drawn to stories that resonate with our own experiences.

These stories, in turn, are written by writers who live in our world and who often pull their ideas directly from it. We gravitate toward characters who are reflections of ourselves, and avoid the stories which cause us discomfort for whatever reason. Even 'guilty pleasures' stem from an inner desire to explore themes or issues which we know exist (and may be problematic in social spaces) but which, through fantasy, become more bearable because we can safely distance ourselves from what is real.

Ultimately, most writers put something of themselves into their work. A little sliver of self always peeks through the cracks; a touch of idealism here, an emotion felt there, a comment on a political issue sprinkled somewhere in between.

It does not mean that fictional universes are a perfect mirror image of our reality; but it behooves us not to forget how influential 'RL' has been, and always will be, when writing fantasy or science fiction.

Tolkien was undoubtedly inspired by his experiences of war, all of which would later bleed into the pages of his Middle-Earth tales. Even in a tiny microcosm, I notice how life events and current political attitudes affect the way I write my stories, whether they are fan-based or original pieces.

We live in chaotic times. Fiction, at its crux, mirrors that chaos, because it comes about as a result of real life. As much as we wish to escape from harsh truths or present-day issues... they still seep through the veil between imagination and reality.

Escapism should not blind us to the truth that stories are products of our environment, and therefore, inevitably political.

With that in mind, there's something innately disingenuous about insisting that Arcane is somehow separate from real world issues - when, on so many levels, it borrows from real world problems and confronts its viewers with topics which are inherently political: poverty, inequality, state violence ... even the underbelly of the Piltover elite and their dealings with the undercity echoes how we see corruption occurring in governments worldwide.

That the show, by S2, reduces these issues to aesthetics - for instance, the writers admitting they wrote up Vi's backstory with her parents being killed by Enforcers to introduce an element of conflict into hers and Cait's future romance - or, worse, resolves these conflicts without any further nuance - like Sevika becoming a Zaunite representative on a Council that plainly disdains her, and the narrative coming away thinking this is acceptable in lieu of actual independence - is, in essence, disappointing for the themes that were promised.

It feels like the writers realized halfway through writing these plots, that they either did not have the time, budget, know-how or interest in delving too deep into these gritty, tough-to-solve sociopolitical pickles, and instead opted to pander to a (admittedly broad, myself included) subset of viewers who just wanted a sapphic couple with soft angst and sweet reconciliations to contrast all of the ugly machinations happening around them, while the rest of the cast was going through literal hell.

This is not enough to say we shouldn't enjoy Arcane for what it is. I've made plain, on several occasions, that I found the finale visually spectacular, thematically satisfying, and a masterpiece in terms of animation.

And yet, what elevated Arcane S1 to such high levels of acclaim was also its willingness to probe the uncomfortable issues surrounding power, control, exploitation, abuse, morality and free will; as well as, at least initially, its decision to offer a critical lens into how we approach each of these themes, as refracted to a cast of different characters.

We can acknowledge these strengths while simultaneously recognizing their flaws.

Arcane is far more than 'just a video game show.' It's a beautifully designed piece of fiction that deals with so many real-life issues, in spite of its fantasy setting. Yet the criticism that 'we cannot project real world politics onto it' feels inherently unfair - because no story ever exists in a vacuum, least of all one which confronts us with stark contrasts between poverty and wealth, oppression and liberation, authority and agency.

There is nothing wrong with simply wanting to sit back and enjoy the ride. But please spare me the holier-than-thou attitudes whenever people try and open up discourse on why certain shows should take responsibility when it comes to the messages they broadcast.

Because, believe it or not, there exists a slew of media that, in fact, sticks to the landing re: difficult questions about humanity, society and politics. Media that does not ignore, diminish or erase people who are struggling, precisely because those very same issues resonate in real life - and thus, have real consequences for real people.

It isn't asking much that audiences look past the veneer of aestheticism to find the beating heart within stories. Nor should we be belittled for wanting to hold writers to account if the world they create becomes nothing more than a pretty backdrop.

This can be done without hate-mongering, derision or critique; in fact, I'd go so far as saying that critique is a necessary aspect of engaging healthily with art, media and fiction.

At the end of the day, writers are responsible for the world-building of fictional universes and their plot choices; and both things do have an impact on those who watch those worlds come to life. That doesn't mean writers need to pander to every opinion out there; hell, playing to the gallery (and the shippers) rarely ends well, and more often than not detracts from the message of the tale.

But it does mean we can hold storytellers accountable for the impressions they leave behind, for better or worse - especially when said impressions further compound real world experiences of inequality, erasure or prejudice.

As consumers of media, let's be willing to dig beneath the surface to uncover the meanings of story. Let's not settle for anything less than writers who do everything possible to deliver compelling narratives that ask questions which reflect our humanity in meaningful, resonant ways. Let's enjoy our sweet sapphic ships and our goofy doomed sciencebros, while still looking closely at all of the other issues bubbling beneath the surface.

Let's keep up the healthy dialogues and stop dismissing criticism as merely spiteful.

Escapism is only truly fulfilling when, upon returning to the 'real world,' you feel that something has changed inside you; where you have been enriched, uplifted, inspired even... and sometimes, yes, educated.

Stories carry the weight of imagination; and we must allow ourselves to be transformed by wonder. But never forget to question the reality that is portrayed. Stories are born out of humanity, after all, and thus carry within them fragments of us. When we embrace fantasy, we also learn a lot about the way we see ourselves, and the kind of world we choose to live in.

And if all else fails, I guess we'll have fanfic to fall back on.

But that is another post, for another time.

<3

[evieelyzabethh]

What would be worse would be a yandere Jayce back in the apocalypse universe or a yandere Viktor who turned into the herald, why not both. What would it be like if the two were in love with the reader, but never declared themselves... well until these events, perhaps magic corrupted that love and turned it into something dark, perhaps a yanderes fight, perhaps a reconciliation between the two... Could you make a fanfiction of this, perhaps if possible with a female reader?

This came at such a perfect time because I've been having a lot of yandere Arcane thoughts, and it is too far from October to wait to do it for some sort of Halloween event. Needless to say, get ready for Yanuary (everyone say thank you mina for coming up with the name) because I am about to be insufferable. I'll certainly do more with these concepts a bit later, but for now I will leave some headcanons...

tw for obsessive behaviors and Herald!Viktors very flawed line of logic

While both loves start out pure, intentions take a turn for the worst after the world starts to go to shit. While I don't think it's canon, I am a firm believer that Viktor died during that explosion and what is left of him is a persona puppetted around by the Arcane. All of Viktor's raw ambitions; notoriety, an able body, and desire to help the Zaunites all become corrupted. Viktor deeply regrets taking a back seat to negotiations surrounding the fate of those from the Undercity, his pride was too great to beg for scraps from those seated at the table, and thus his genuine want to help those from his home gets sidelined because of his pride and want of glory.

Love is not a corruptible force. When Viktor died, so did his love for you, but those intense feeling certainly linger. That admiration turns to obsession, the need to be adored turns into desperate overcompensation. He feels it is his calling to save the world, he develops a very focused tunnel vision and a savior complex that motivates his every action to not only save the world, but more importantly, save his world. To save you, to preserve you. His dream is to keep you infinitely, that really is the root of his Glorious Evolution. He wants perfection in the human form, the human mind, the human capability. He wants to perfect the human condition, he wants forever.

You must see it his way, you must be his accomplice, he wants you to be by his side every step of the way. The Sky he hallucinates is nothing but an astral projection of a perfected version of her, at times a manifestation of his humanity and why he kept going. She was his regrets, his comfort, she was the bad he was making good. But you. You are what he is striving to build. You are his goal, his muse. Every bit of him that respected you then yearns so deeply for you now. And he hasn't found you yet, you disappeared before he woke up and even Jayce didn't know where you were, but he is sure that if he were to find you, you would understand.

Jayce going yandere would occur after his trip to whatever hell dimension he was left to. Time works differently everywhere, he was only gone for months in the main verse, but it could've been years for him. Years in not just solitude, but a wasteland of death. Jayce is someone who so thoroughly, and at times naively, believes in humanity's capability for good. It's his passion. Him signing his notes, his dedication to his craft, his willingness to learn the ways of politics, his kicking Heimerdinger off the council, his gullibility, his willingness to move wherever the wind from someone's lips takes him, it's all because of faith and a passion for good. Now, everywhere he looks isn't just death, but remnants of war.

Everything he's worked tirelessly to avoid has not only come true but disproves his entire way of thinking. It takes more than him to save the world, it takes more than the help of others to save the world, it may take more than even exists to save the world. Even worse, it may take him not existing to save the world. While Viktor's yandere nature is built from a need to preserve what is right, the only thing that is right, Jayce is a man who is completely and utterly lost.

He doesn't know what's right anymore, but he knows he needs to do something to make it right. He doesn't cling to the thought of you for guidance, he clings to you because it's all he knows. You could've been the worst person in the world, but he would've hoped for you in the end of the world because you were there. You were real. His dream may not have been, but he touched you, and you believed in him, and you were as magical as a wish but as tangible as a physical star. You were bright, and you were warm, and you were real.

And he sits there in that cold, damp cave, nothing but stones, insects, and death around him, and every time he scrawls your face it looks a bit different. Your smell gets mingled with mildew and dampness as that slowly becomes his home, the drops of rain and rock start to sound like the twinkling sound of your voice, everything becomes you. Not for the sake of his sanity, that left him when time began to wave through him until he was convinced he would begin to vomit tick marks, but for the sake of survival. You were his faith. He would've worshipped the ground you walked on, and though you were nothing but dust here, he could find you everywhere. He went through a transcendental awakening; belief needed faith, and faith was all he had. You had to be real, why else would the insects chirp, why else would water flow, why else would he bleed, if not for you, if not because of you. If he believed, then you were real, and he would get back to you one day and be rewarded by his conviction.

When he finds his way back, he is searching for you immediately. Even when his surroundings blend and his ears bleed and he's overwhelmed by life once again, he is convinced that he will find you. You have to be out there. You can't be dead. He's lived in a world without you for too long, he would finally break if he couldn't be with you again. He's possessive. You have only existed in his mind for years; this world has had you all to itself while he suffered endlessly and eternally only wanting you. He's feels entitled to you. He knows you don't need his protection, but you are ignorant to what's out in the world. It's not a matter of if he finds you, it's when. A believer as devout as him wouldn't just go to the ends of the earth, he's already done that. If he must, he'd go beyond. He's been through hell; he is more than deserving of heaven. He knows he was wrong for believing in humanity when he had his God in front of him the whole time.

As for who's worse, it really depends. Physically, Jayce. He doesn't realize his strength, he hasn't had to worry about the delicateness of flesh in a while. His hands have held nothing but harsh rock. He would never intentionally hurt you; he would spiral if he even accidentally caused you any harm. He's far more fragile that Viktor, he's more prone to outbursts, though his violence is always inflicted inward. He believes he's ruined; he only wants to be saved. Viktor is the complete opposite. He would be worse mentally. Like Jayce, he would never physically harm you, but he's not above manipulation. He won't give up on you, you're too precious, but you have to see it his way. Why won't you see it his way? He'll just have to make you.

These two are diametrically opposed. An immovable obstacle and unstoppable object. They would butt heads forever over you, they wouldn't be able to reach a compromise or any sort of agreement. Viktor is dangerous. His evolution is actively killing people, Viktor himself is already long gone. Jayce would sooner die than let him have you and Viktor wouldn't mind killing Jayce and leaving his dead body to rot. Jayce isn't worth saving to him, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't teach it to drink. If Jayce doesn't want his salvation, he isn't worth convincing, he can die painfully in that clumsy mortal vessel and decay on the hill he chose. He can't have you; he doesn't deserve you.

[umbrellajam]

I feel like whether Tim is on some level suicidal in RR #12 is very open to interpretation, which is part of what makes it fascinating!

because Tim's homecoming to Gotham is the culmination of an upward/self-actualization arc, after struggling through multiple low points/depression/an extended breakdown.

he finally got proof Bruce is alive. managed to claw Tam and himself out of the Cradle and away from the Council of Spiders/LoA by the skin of their teeth. thumbed his nose at Ra's and reaffirmed his own principles by blowing up all the LoA servers. finally kind of processed that Kon and Bart are both alive again - he just tackle-hugged Kon in RR #9 and told him, "when you found me in Paris, I was in a bad place. Now... Now I'm in a good place." he's full of renewed purpose and the realization that he doesn't, in fact, have to do things alone! (team-up Robin ftw!)

so probably not actively suicidal

but then in all of his frantic calculations to thwart Ra's and save each and every person Bruce loved - he doesn't factor himself in. he doesn't put himself on that list of loved ones and set up a contingency for preserving his own life (wtf Tim).

or does he??? that's where the ambiguity comes in for me, because we don't actually see him discussing the full details of his plan with anyone. and he doesn't mention it in his internal narration, either! because his internal narration is always super reliable..... hmmm.....

we know that Dick isn't aware of any other contingencies, or indeed the full details of the plot they were thwarting - after catching Tim, Dick has to ask him, "You want to tell me what that was all about?" and of course "How did you know I'd be there to save you?"

and as I've mentioned before, I don't think Tim had actually planned for Dick to save him, so his "You're my brother, Dick. You'll always be there for me," response is uh, both loving BS and a "genuinely felt expression of retrospective faith", as Silver put it (and which has been stuck in my mind in glowing cursive letters ever since, lol).

but. we do know that as part of his plan to thwart Ra's ninja-assassinate-Bruce's-loved-ones plot, Tim calls all three of his best friends into Gotham. (among all his other rallied allies.) his best friends who are various combinations of flight and/or superspeed capable. and who had each just smugly patched in via comm to confirm that their protection jobs were all successful, meaning Tim knew they were available if he potentially needed them.

the fact that the rest of the Core Four then twiddle their thumbs and let Tim keep fighting Ra's on his own after confirming Alfred/Selina/Barbara are safe, instead of zipping over to have his back (ie punch the jackass through a wall) almost has to be because of: (a) Tim's plan to deliberately stall so Lucius could file the WE paperwork (on the Watsonian level), (b) Yost allowing Tim to have his Final Showdown with the villain of the arc on his own, and also (c) Yost setting up the emotional climax/reconciliation of Dick catching Tim (both on the Doylist level).

like, Tim stalls Ra's for long enough that Dick is able to glide and grapple his way over from his own ninja-busting detail, we don't think the speedster or the Superboy could have gotten there in time?

Dick is the one who caught Tim because it was thematic, it's a motif in their relationship and the resolution of their 12-issue arc, and don't get me wrong I wouldn't change that moment for anything - but! he wasn't the only one around who could have done so.

and Iiiiii have to suspect Tim would know that? there's ambiguity and room for interpretation, of course, especially since Tim doesn't say anything at all or call out to anyone as he's actually falling.

but also. Kryptonian superhearing? Tim's comm which could very well still be connected? could he have been relying on allies listening/clue-ing in, whether or not he actually explicitly sketched out a back-up plan with anyone to come back him up, after Lucius was done transferring WE? all according to (dumbass improvised) keikaku??

idk! seems plausible to me, but it's all so open to interpretation, it makes my brain go BRRRRRR 😊 like you can make a compelling case/headcanon/fic any way you look at it!

anyway. Dick catching Tim is very much The Moment Ever Of All Time <3 but also the thought of Kon just hovering at the ready to grab Rob but spotting Dick!Bats swooping in and being like ":))) oh ok. they both need this." is v. hilarious to me

[1296-very-good-year]

There are a lot of great posts about Viktor's abysmal s2 "arc" already, but here goes anyway: Viktor is entirely absent from s2.

Everyone loves and quotes Viktor's, "In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good," BUT that declaration of failure isn't the end of their scene!

He continues with "We have to make it right" laid over Silco reviewing the letter requesting parley. Jayce AND VIKTOR worked on the peace deal between the cities together. To "make things right."

Jayce lets Viktor sit in his seat while they bring it to council:

I bring all this up because the last thing Viktor remembered before waking up in the goop cocoon would have been this vote passing.

He FINALLY managed to make a difference to help the Undercity! With Jayce, his partner! All he wanted in the end was to see this peace deal through. He was dying, and THIS would be his lasting legacy.

Then he wakes up in Season 2 with no idea what happened after the vote, and never even asks about it.

Then the break up. Jayce was going to push for peace, then resign from council to rejoin Viktor in the lab. All of the distance that grew between them in the second half of s1 was bridged in the finale. Jayce chose Viktor.

This is STILL Jayce's position after the attack. But Viktor walks away with:

Like their reconciliation at the end of S1 never happened.

What exactly do you mean, Viktor? Did your paths not converge again? Did you have a bad dream? Perhaps a dream of a longer season where Jayce's position DID change? Where he takes over the council and invades the Undercity with Hextech weapons while you were asleep? Perhaps?

Yes, Jayce broke his promise and revived Viktor with the Hexcore, and yes Viktor sees blueprints for Hextech weapons on the table, but there is never a moment we see Viktor feeling anything like betrayal. He's immediately over their partnership, and Jayce - who cares about nothing else - is blindsided. The last time Viktor was awake, he and Jayce were united in a common goal, and after a second of looking at a blueprint, Viktor's all ready for the divorce. "Diverged long ago" my entire ass.

Where were the arguments? The explanations? The hurt feelings? He reamed Jayce out harder for not announcing their new projects in a speech!

Viktor, are you not even going to ask Jayce WHY he designed more Hextech weapons? Or why he's covered in bloody bandages? What about asking how you got injured enough to need healing with the Hexcore in the first place? No? Maybe acknowledge that it was wrong for you to hide Sky's death (the reason why you wanted the Hexcore destroyed)? Where was the DRAMA?

We get only vague notions of Hexcore mind control for why Viktor's entire personality disappeared, which aren't even carried through to Act 2. The Viktor we knew and loved from S1 who got mad, who cared about Jayce and Zaun, never woke up (until the end. right before he kills himself).

[sw5w]

We Will Use All of Our Resources to Unravel This Mystery

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:24:43

[beware-of-pity]

You believe me like a god (I destroy you like I am) I

Masterlist

- Next

Jacaerys Velaryon x reader

Summary:

Your family was dead; everyone had been killed. The war had been fought, many had died, and the victor had ascended the throne in the name of Rhaenyra Targaryen, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. Everyone was dead…..except you, your mother and your little niece, Jaehaera.

TW: Self-hatred/Implied Self Harm. Complicated family relations. The reader is a Targtower.

A/N: This is a blend of both the show and the book, so if most characterisations (mostly the greens) don't add up to you, it's because of that. (since the show has been....something, as of late). Also, Silverwing is your dragon, for story's sake.

Cross-posted on Ao3

. 𓆰♕𓆪

Chapter I: I fell in love with a war (nobody told me it ended)

Your family was dead; everyone had been killed. 

The war had been fought, many had died, and the victor had ascended the throne in the name of Rhaenyra Targaryen, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. 

Everyone was dead…..except you, your mother and your little niece, Jaehaera.

After the Blacks captured the capital and killed your brother Aegon and the rest of your family, your sister ruled the Seven Kingdoms unchallenged. Prince Jacaerys, her son and your nephew, was named the prince of Dragonstone in front of the whole of the realm. Her other sons were given high places of honour at her court, her family was praised and became the subject of songs and tales through the realm, while you and your remaining family became royal afterthoughts. 

Rhaenyra had been unsure of what to do with you when she had taken hold of the capital. At the time, you had the comfort of your older sister Helaena, who you comforted and held most of the time, especially after she had fallen into the grief of madness at the death of her eldest son. She had allowed you relative freedom, more than your mother was allowed, as she had been confined and chained to the dungeons of the keep, gaining her the name ‘The Queen in Chains’. In her ways, you suppose, she had tried to get close to you in an effort to reconcile the break the war had caused to your family, and despite how you had never seen her in the same way your mother had all her life, you remained unresponsive to her approaches. The wounds were too deep, and you weren’t sure you could forgive what had taken place the night Blood and Cheese stormed the castle, even with the knowledge that she had not been the one to orchestrate the siege but rather your uncle Daemon, in the name of revenge for the death of your nephew Lucerys. 

But when Helaena had thrown herself off the highest window of the keep, losing her life after getting impaled by the spikes surrounding it, Rhaenyra had given up hope for reconciliation.  Helaena was the closest family member you had, after your mother, never properly gettin' along with your brothers, except for Daeron. Safe to say, her death had broken you and left you unresponsive to each news of peril coming to your faction. 

When the news of Aemond’s death at the end of your uncle Daemon reached you, you did not shed a tear, and when Daeron died you said you had no time for them. They would be futile, tears did not reach the dead, after all. 

Amidst bloodshed and warmongering, there was but one person you allowed in the solitude your life had taken hold of; Your nephew, Jacaerys. 

It was he who had dismissed the attempts of his mother’s council of sending you away to Old Town to become a Septa or making you a lady in waiting to his step-sisters Baela and Rhaena, who they too took no comfort in the notion. You were their prisoner, yes, but no one must forget that you and Jaehaera were their family, of royal blood, and with peace now upon the realm, proving discord lingering still was not how the House of the Dragon would rebuild itself.  

Jacaerys had convinced them to keep you hostage, using you to keep in line the great houses that had fought alongside the greens - but that was a notion he used only for his allies and councillors. You were more than just a hostage for him, always having been. You were his aunt, one he cherished so. 

Since you were the same age, you had grown up together. You shared a wet nurse in infancy and were often taught your lessons by the same measter. 

You never shared the same dislike your brothers had for him and his brothers, and even so, you thought the notion of Jacaerys stealing Aegon and Aemond’s birthrights, which they and your mother believed in, to be utterly ridiculous. He couldn’t steal something that was not theirs in the first place; he got what he had from his mother, your sister, who had rights over the iron throne long before they were even born. To say you were heartbroken when your sister had taken residence on Dragonstone, taking her children with her, would be an understatement. You were more pained when the next time you saw him was the same night Aemond lost his eye. 

Aemond played the helpless victim of a deliberate attack by your nephews and cousins in public as he spouted devious words about them in private while gloating at his great accomplishment, claiming Vaghar for the greens. Words you tried to reprimand him for, which, in turn, turned his anger to you. It’s not that you didn’t condone his lost eye, but for him to be rid of guilt and his part in the ordeal always ticked you in the wrong way. His anger had always been his least strong suit, narcissism only growing from there, thinking himself invincible, which only resulted in him making rush decisions that gained him but a brief advantage, such as marching to Harrenhall and leaving King’s Landing undefended, giving the perfect opening for your sister to fly and claim as her own. 

You had been among the few asking for Aegon to send for peace. The damage was done, the throne was usurped, though everyone refused to call it so, and you couldn’t do anything about that. When Helaena suggested peace terms, she did so with your support as well as that of your mother and grandmaster Orwyle.

 But Aemond had to go and ruin everything. 

You thought of escaping then, wanting to bring Helaena and her little ones along, flying on Silverwing and Dreamfyre to Dragonstone, bending the knee and seeking protection before Rhaenyra’s wrath befell your family. But how could you? Helaena and you had been separated from Rhaenyra since you two were young, occasionally seeing her when her family visited King’s Landing, you didn’t know the woman or how she would react to you showing up at her doorsteps. 

Besides, you two had been securely under Alicent's thumb for your whole lives, and the thought of your mother thinking you a traitor filled you with panic. You couldn’t betray her or make her believe you had. You and Helaena had been robbed of autonomy your entire lives, but you did try to help Rhaenyra when you two could. So, when Helaena was punished alongside Aegon for something Aemond had done, you felt all the more guilty for not having done more for your siblings. 

If before you had been worried about losing everything, now that you had nothing, you spent your days mute, not doing anything. When your mother was allowed to visit, you turned her away, not wanting to hear of her maddening and secretive plans to place you or Jaehaera on the throne. 

You were told she mostly cried, ripped her old gowns and threw the books given to her out of the windows of her room. You cared for her still, but not enough to deal with her when you too were not doing any better. 

You were not allowed outside, in case you tried an escape, unless Jacaerys or a group of guards accompanied you. You were not allowed to dine with everyone in the great hall and most of all you were deprived of Silverwing. The last you saw or rode her was before Rhaenyra had taken King’s Landing…..and how long ago was that? A year….two? You couldn’t tell….you had lost perception of time.

Jacaerys always proved courteous and kind, just as he had before the war. Even when you were stripped of your room and placed in a smaller one, your staff diminished to only a few trusted maids of his mother, and your gowns relegated to simple, black ones, he always made sure you had everything you needed, which you were grateful for. What he couldn’t give you though, was the thing that pained you the most. 

He brought you books, needles and points to pass your time, and kept you company when he was free of his duties. But it was all futile, nothing could quelch the sting of pain in your heart. 

You wandered the halls like a ghost, the black of your gowns making you blend in the darkness. Some say you were dead inside or having died the day your sister had. Nevertheless, Jacaerys’ attempts at bringing light to your life never ceased. He brought you flowers which you kept in vases in your room, but that with barely any light or air in the smallness of it all, died by the days. As so, he’d let you plant your flowers in the gardens of the Keep. Even though you barely spoke after the death of your entire family, taking care of the flowers made you happy.

You were allowed to bring Jaehaera with you, the little girl taking to you as if you were her mother, and if you were mute, she was another case altogether. Jaehaera was born tiny and slow to grow. She did not cry or smile or act as babies normally would. Her lack of emotion continued as she grew older. She is sweet but a simple girl in mind.  She loved the flowers you planted, which you encouraged for her to pick and take with her to her room.

You two were often asked to attend court, to remember others of your presence and what they meant. Jaehaera would clutch your hand as you held hers, standing as close to you as she could and more so she could hide behind the panels of your skirt. Those days were those she dreaded most; she hated being looked at, especially by so many people, but your presence beside her gave her enough strength and courage to withstand the ordeal. 

Those were also the days you had begun begging your sister to allow you for things. You would kneel, if necessary, in front of the iron throne which she sat upon, asking her in front of the eyes of the court to allow you for simple things, the simple pleasures you had long forgotten the taste of, such as one more gown for you or Jaehaera, the companionship of more maids, or for you to see your dragon.

She would accept every request of yours except for the last, she never accepted the last. But you held the same stubbornness every Targaryen was born with, one she had, and saw in her children too. Your requests became more frequent, sometimes, they were frantic, at times, you cried, while at others, you just asked with the monotony of a dead woman. How low of you, some thought, a royal princess, the daughter of a King long gone, having to beg her sister on her knees. 

While it pained Rhaenyra to turn you down, the pain you felt was one she would never understand. Jacaerys would watch from the sideline all the time, knowing he couldn’t interject with his mother’s word, but none of it made it easier for him to see you so torn down by the reality which you now lived in.

So, one night, he went to his mother, suggesting the one thing he could only come up with.

“Let me take her on Vermax” he had said “if you’re worried about her flying away, with me beside her and on a dragon not of her own, she surely will have nowhere else to go”

Rhaenyra couldn’t object to her son’s words, as so, she relented, though not without a few warnings and orders on her part, which Jacaerys was more than happy to relent to. 

At last, when he came to your room the morning after, he did so with an air so light, it startled you. 

“You wouldn’t mind dressing in your riding fit, would you?” He asked, taking you by slight surprise 

“What do you mean?” You didn’t know if he was making fun of you, and if he were you thought he was doing so in a really bad taste

“I want you to come ride with me” he walked closer, taking your hand in his “Fly on Vermax with me. I know you wish to take to the skies, and Mother has agreed to my request,” he said.

Vermax was small, having grown only to the size of a middle-sized dragon. When you sat upon his saddle, which was tight for two people, such as you and Jacaerys, you only reminisced about Silverwing’s leathery one. Only having to hang around the handle, not being able to pull at the reins or command the dragon, only deepened your yearning for the many rides you had taken in the past and the freedom to do so again. 

You had thanked him, but the gratitude felt hollow when your heart ached so much, and perhaps he had seen through you too. You felt guilty for complaining about such an opportunity and the rarity you had been given. You should be grateful, but what was here to be grateful for when you were a caged bird, in a golden cage, whose wings were ripped from its body? 

You had become hot-tempered, wishing harm on others and yourself, cursing in despair, and picking up one of your mother’s most destroying traits, her nail picking. Your cuticles were often raw and bloody from you either picking at or chewing at them. You did the same to your lips, pulling at the dead skin, drawing blood, the sting making you hiss and following you for days.

You ordered for the curtains of your room not to be drawn, preferring the glow of candles and the scent of incense, even during the day. You visited the sept, the royal one in the Red Keep, not the Grand one in the city, always followed closely by your Septa and guard, lighting candles for the lost souls of your family and for those that had fought for you.

You picked at your food, often leaving it untouched; you had no fondness for meat and mead, leaving you famished and pushing down food when your stomach was begging you for substance. 

Eating yourself alive was the last thing you thought you would be doing if you were to look into your future long ago, but now even the feel of your skin made your fingers crawl over it with the intent to rip and tear apart. How hypocritical of you to send your mother away because of her descent into madness when you were carrying yourself down your own. 

But you weren’t mad, you were unhappy, and unhappy people often were also depressed, which you were.

You only wanted to be happy, to be free, to do as you pleased after years of having been conditioned to the bids of others. First, it was your mother’s, and now they were Rhaenyra’s and her family's. You dream of a time when you could live for the simple pleasure of living, not someone else’s life but your own, not the one others envisioned for you but the one you dreamt for yourself. To breathe the open air, to walk where you wished, whenever you wished so. 

Was it so wrong of you?

The gods are cruel, that’s why they’re gods, and the curse of your family being usurpers now laid all on you. You suffered from the sins which your mother perpetuated, from those her own father sowed the seeds he planted with his ambitions in the dirt laid and worked by your ancestors. You held the rage of all those women before you, your mother’s, her mother’s too, that of your sister and the people at her heel and call. 

All because of who you were. 

[darkestspring]

Could you do a part two of the aegon’s wife being rhanerya and daemon’s daughter and her fighting off blood and cheese and the aftermath of it

part one | asks open!

A dragon had landed in the dragon pit, you had been told and you asked Aegon to hold off until you knew who it was.

If it had been your mother or father, you would have sent them back coldly but it was Jace. Your face twisted up with tears as you were told the news.

"Guide him to me, please." You told Ser Criston softly, Alicent hovering near you almost in panic as you cradled both of your twins close to you.

"Sister." Jace greeted you softly, seeing you with his niece and nephew curled in your lap, playing with your hands.

"Why have you come here?" Your lip trembled as you tried your best to remain level-headed.

You had a servant fetch Aegon from his important small council meeting as soon as the news reached you.

"Mother sent me with a letter but i came to check on you, to see you. What brother could not see his sister after she has been attacked?" Jace sat beside you, looking at you with concerned eyes.

"A sanctioned attack. Father sent them, they told me themselves. He sent them here to hurt my babies." You argued back towards him, tears in your eyes.

"They were instructed to leave if they could not find Aemond, not to find another target. Sister, we would never wish ill upon you or your children. No matter what is going on." Jace looks at you with grief on his face.

"You should go back, I don't wish to continue this conversation. Father sanctioned a murder to take place in the very place that my children live and play. My children were almost killed. My babies." You argued back to him.

Jace looked like he was about to argue back but got up from his seat, leaning down to kiss your forehead. "I love you, don't forget that. You will always be my sister."

"My love." Aegon called out as he rushed in. "What is he doing here?" Aegon asks, like you hadn't already made him aware.

"Jace was just leaving to get back to dragonstone, my love." You smiled up at him softly. "Come and sit with me. I've missed you all day."

Jace chose to respect your wishes and return to dragonstone.

Rhaenyra was waiting for him as his dragon landed on the beach softly. "Well?" She asked him, anxiously.

"She is devastated and upset." Jace told her softly. "And I don't blame her, she refuses to separate form her child. I'm not sure if she'll ever forgive us, I'm not even sure if they call for war will be called off but she wasn't cruel or mean, she's still her. There might be hope for reconciliation but not now."

[joicecubes]

my take on this scene (arcane s2 act 2 spoilers. obviously)

if you’re active within the arcane fandom space recently i’m sure you’ve at least stumbled across the discourse where someone interpreted this exchange to be vi “realizing jinx is a better older sister” or something. personally i think it’s a lot less about comparison and a lot more about guilt.

vi has felt responsible for jinx her entire life. she was her protector when they were kids. she abandoned her after vander, milo, and claggor’s deaths leading silco to take her in. jinx went on to work for him. she killed caitlyn’s mother in the council meeting explosion. everything jinx has done and every horrible thing she’s experienced has been a direct result (at least in vi’s mind) of her own failures as an older sibling. and despite her guilt, eventually she forced herself to accept that powder didn’t exist anymore. even more painful, that since she’s the one who caused jinx to be this way, she also has to take responsibility and stand by caitlyn’s side in ensuring jinx won’t hurt anyone else.

but she fails. jinx runs free, vi wallows in her breakup sorrows, and the next time they see each other, jinx… has changed. and she has that same kid with her from their fight. and she’s come to vi willingly for her help.

i think vi is thinking a lot of things when she sees jinx comforting isha. surprise, firstly, to see this side of jinx she hasn’t seen since they were kids. the jinx she knows is a shell of her former self, changed beyond belief, and yet vi watches as jinx softens and treats isha with so much care. helps her dust herself off, says something vi might’ve said to powder what feels like a lifetime ago. “still got all your insides?”

the truth of it is, it’s not jinx being a better older sister than vi was. it’s jinx emulating what vi once was to her, and i think vi catches onto that. she’s watching as an outsider now, jinx and isha paralleling what her and powder’s relationship used to be like and i think it would make sense if the strongest thing she’s feeling right now is longing. how devastating it is that their relationship feels so irreparable, how deeply she wishes she hadn’t hurt powder so long ago.

but there’s also hope in her asking “why’d you come get me? you don’t actually need my help.” sure, she’s still bitter. how could she not be, after everything that’s happened between them? but she recognizes that jinx doesn’t need her anymore, it becomes especially clear seeing jinx taking care of someone else like vi used to take care of her. so why seek her out? why drag her all the way out here? there’s a deep, wounded, guilty part of her that’s desperate for reconciliation, so she reaches for it. especially now that she has no one else.

they make me so sad :(

[klapollo-week]

The final prompts for Klapollo Week 2025 are here!

Many thanks to those who submitted ideas for our prompts and all who helped to vote for the final seven! Now, the moment you've been waiting for... it’s time to reveal this year’s prompts for Klapollo Week!

Sunday, June 15, 2025: Perceive

Apollo's unique "Perceive" ability aids him in the courtroom, allowing him to get the whole truth out of witnesses and uncooperative councils. He can focus on small habits and movements of people, which, to any regular person, are practically impossible to see. How does this ability affect his and Klavier's trust in their relationship? What secrets of Klavier's would Apollo be able to uncover with such a unique skill?

Monday, June 16, 2025: Hurt/Comfort

A popular and beloved trope for a very good reason. Klavier and Apollo have been through plenty of hardship, both physical and mental, on their own and together. How do these hardships affect their day-to-day lives? How would they console each other if they ever needed comfort? How do they express their love when they're at their most vulnerable?

Tuesday, June 17, 2025: Getting together

The beginnings of a new relationship can be a confusing and tricky territory to navigate. At the start of a blossoming romance, how do Klavier and Apollo learn from each other? How do they connect and grow closer? How do they even start dating, anyways?

Wednesday, June 18, 2025: Soulmates

Bound by strings, connected by clocks, meeting in dreams... there are many ways that destiny and fate can find its way to someone. When the universe has decided their paths for them, how do Klavier and Apollo react? How do they find each other? How do separate roads come together and intertwine?

Thursday, June 19, 2025: Gender

In many people's interpretations, Apollo and Klavier have unique relationships with gender. One's gender identity is oftentimes a big part of how they see themself, and one's gender presentation or expression can sometimes be entirely different from their gender identity. How do Klavier and Apollo express their gender identities? How do they support each other when trying out new labels or presentations? How do they see things differently based on their different (or shared) experiences?

Friday, June 20, 2025: Different first meeting au

We all know the iconic first meeting between Apollo and Klavier, in which the famous line "This is the first time I've felt this way with a man" was first uttered. But what if that never actually happened? What if, instead, Apollo and Klavier had met under completely different circumstances? Would their opinions on each other change or stay the same? Maybe in another universe, Apollo would be the one doing the flirting...

Saturday, June 21, 2025: Guilt

We all make mistakes sometimes, and we all have our screw-ups. But sometimes, no matter how hard we want to forget, the things we've done in the past continue to hang around and haunt us. What would Klavier and Apollo feel guilty about? How do both of them reach reconciliation? How do they make peace with what is long behind them?

Don’t forget to use the tag #KlapolloWeek2025 so your works can be archived to our account! For everyone's convenience, please make sure that you familiarize yourself with our Archive Criteria and FAQ before you submit any work, and send us an ask if you have any questions! We’re very excited to see what you all will make for this event, and we’ll be waiting to see you all soon!

Thanks for sharing, @aafancalendar! ❤💜

[alisha-on-arcane]

It's a cliche 'cos it's true: forgiveness and the cycle of violence in Arcane

I do think a lot of Zaun-aligned Arcane fans find the themes of forgiveness quite hard, particularly forgiveness when great wrong has been done. But.... it's not really forgiveness if no wrong has been done, is it? And by season 2, there's some major forgiveness needed. Piltover's Council has done Zaun wrong, and Zaunites have committed terrorist attacks against Piltover citizens who weren't responsible for the actions of their government. The whole situation there is so messed up that any attempt to allocate justice will most likely create new aggressors out of innocent people on both sides, as Jayce's attack led to Renni's attack, and Renni's (and Jinx's) attacks led to Caitlyn's attacks, and Caitlyn's use of the Gray led to Jinx rerouting it back to Piltover's citizens...

The Jinx - Vi storyline is not really relevant to that. It's nice that the sisters reached first a sort of peace (Jinx watching Vi at the pit fights, betting on her but not coming to talk) and then finally resumed a sort of relationship. But then Jinx just died / left, so all that really happened from the forgiveness was that they both got some closure. That's a great resolution for individual people who can simply get over one another, but it doesn't work for cities that are geographically next to each other. They share a water supply! They could have different governments, but those governments would still have to work together.

The storyline relevant to that is Zaundads. I still think it's weirdly out of character to give Silco (even blissed-out and somewhat inebriated AU Silco) the line "the greatest thing we can do in life is to forgive", but it works thematically. Because what Vander did to Silco was unforgiveable (seriously, rewatch the drowning scene), and no sane person would advise Silco to resume that relationship. But we also know that main timeline Silco was miserably hung up on Vander until his dying day, while AU Silco apparently gets Vander making him cocktails every evening and doing unspeakably pleasant things with him every night. Forgiveness might not be deserved by Vander, but it certainly was the best thing for Silco to do for himself.

... and that's the way with the two populations at war, isn't it? I'm sure the Silco-Vander reconciliation was nowhere near as simple as 'Silco reads the letter, forgives' (for one thing I don't think Silco would have, or should have, simply abandoned his Shimmer plans). And the new combined Piltover-Zaun Council has huge arguments ahead of it, and will probably never reach gazing-into-one-anothers'-eyes-lovingly levels of amity. I bloody well hope their first agenda items are a huge Zaun infrastructure bill, an agreement on more equitable policing, and a joint task force to legalise medical Shimmer. It's unlikely. But I still think that like Silco and Vander, they can build a happier future by working together than apart. They don't really have any good alternatives.

[tiredtiredtiredtried]

Reconciliation au where Viktor is also a chil of Vander and Silco. Viktor is in a relationship with Jayce who is part of the council, who else is part of the council: Silco. And he hates (or at least isn't pleased with) jayce bc he is both a pilti and dares to date his perfect boy.

I can just see Jayce come home to his wonderfull partner and whine to him about how his dad is a bully and Viktor just laughing at him (and giving him lots and lots of sweet kisses bc they love each other muha muha)