#I think in some ways Ambessa may think of this sort of ‘manipulation’ as a sort of Mothering

[tsscat]

I don’t think Ambessa really saw Caitlyn as a daughter nor loved her at all like she loved Mel. BUT I do think she thought of herself as being a “Mother” to Caitlyn in a weird “let me mold/manipulate this character who just lost their mother” kind of way. Like I definitely do think Ambessa was trying to play to the role a bit. In my head I imagine both Caitlyn and Ambessa thinking to themselves “She probably thinks of me as a mother/daughter. I can use this” whenever they were together and both kinda…falling into the roles.

[mistressmxggot]

Chapter 4- ✰ Funds Bigger Than Her Ego ✰

"𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲...𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗢𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗱. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱."

Tags: Brothels, coercion, manipulation

~Your body buzzed violently. Angry bees seemed to shake under your skin, in your head. Blinking hurt. What had happened last night? Panic fell heavy into your chest. You were laying in the biggest bed you had ever seen, covered in warm, red sheets. This place was obviously not your bedroom.

Ambessa.

Oh god she had you in Piltover. She just took you?! You had to find a way back to the undercity. Was escaping her even possible? If you could make a plan, you could get out. Stumbling out the bed, you threw the curtains open. It didn't register at first. How do I get back to the Undercity? Then it hit you.

Oh my gosh. Oh no.

A horrific realization that felt bitter on your tongue came to you. You weren't in Piltover. The grey, industrial buildings that surrounded you spiked your anxiety. You examined the walls of the room, the floor, the decor.

You were in Noxus. Her home.

How?! How did she get you here that fast? It winded you to think how long you may have been passed out for. Correction, drugged and knocked unconscious by a seven foot, perverted psycho.

"Miss."

You whipped around in horror. Shrieking, you stumbled backwards and grabbed a lamp from the nightstand. The man stood unmoving, eyes closely watching your antics. His eyebrows raised as you lifted the lamp in some sort of pathetic self defense. Fear was stricken all over your face. You examined the man. He was just as intimidating as everything else in this place. He was surprisingly much taller than Ambessa. Nothing seemed to be bigger than Ambessa. His broad body covered in armor. His large, brown beard and mustache hiding his face. He held a large, menacing sword that only added to your fear. Your throat held a lump in it.

"Food is ready for you. Follow me."

Your stomach growled in response, but you weren't sure. He could leading you to a gruesome, slow death. Maybe you were the food. Maybe Ambessa would chop you up and serve you to all her rich friends and acquaintances. Rictus looked at your terrified face, slightly amused. You finally got the courage to speak.

"Where is Ambessa?"

Rictus cleared his throat. "Ms Medarda is currently away. She will return tonight."

You glared at him. "So she kidnapped me and now she doesn't even have decency to speak to me?" You were furious. How dare she?

Rictus' eyes stayed on you. He swallowed. "Ms Medarda has buisness to attend to. You will have enough time to speak to her."

You snarled. "I don't want yo talk to her, I want to kill her!" You whipped around, holding your head in your hands. This was the worst. It couldn't get any worse than this. Your head shot up in horror as you turned back towards Rictus. "Don't tell her I said that."

Rictus gave you a stale nod. "You have permission to visit the dining area. Please come."

He still stood there, unmoving. Even he seemed over this bullshit. At least she wasn't here, so you could eat somewhat in peace. Your body was still very much on edge. Ambessa wasn't the type of person for your to let your guard down around, even if she wasn't present.

"Alright." You looked up at him, eyes worried.

He nodded, heading towards the door. You meakly followed behind him. This place was severely massive. You had never seen anything like it. Even Piltover didn't seem this grand. Noxus made topside look like the Undercity. The ceilings seemed to go for miles. Red flags hung on different walls.

This place seemed to have everything. Giant, golden chandeliers, grand staircases at every turn, double doors leading into more giant rooms. Candles and lamps lighting up different corners of the room, a large animal print rug, and heavy furniture. There were many statues watching over the place. Gold and red scattered across palace, reflecting the royalty of the Medardas. The place felt warm at least. Still, It was large and bold, reflecting Ambessa and her personality. Everything around screamed royalty. You couldn't even imagine this place in your dreams. She was like...rich rich.

You frowned. This is what being a selfish warlord got you. Oh you hated her so bad. She embodied everything you despised. You sighed, angry and defeated. The two of you entered the dining room, which was of course like the rest of her house. A giant table spread through a large portion of the room, chairs surrounding it.

Rictus lead you to a spot, some sort of salad waiting for you. Your eyes twinkled at the sight. All it was was a simple salad, yet it's the best you've seen a meal look. It came with a side of chicken and a piece of bread. You quickly sat down, turning back to Rictus. "Thank you. Who should I thank for this meal?"

He looked at you. "You can thank Ms Medarda."

Your smile dropped. What a joke. You rolled your eyes. "No I mean like who made this, not who used their tons upon tons of money to pay someone else to make it."

Rictus stayed silent.

"Ugh fine. Tell her servants or her cooks or her personal chefs, thank you."

Rictus turned around, leaving you alone in the dining room. You scoffed. Thank her for what? She didn't do shit around this place. Some servant probably wiped her ass for her. Picking up your fork, you decided on taking what she gave you.

God, how did the lettuce even taste better? The bowl infront of you was empty before you could even think about what was happening. Nothing had fulfilled you like that. The chicken and bread satisfied just as well as the salad. Another luxury that added to the wound. Topside life really was that good. You couldn't say that you were angry at Ambessa for giving you this. That would be a lie. You had expected to be thrown into a dingy cell with barely any water. Instead, you had access to all of her luxuries. Well, almost all of her luxuries. You were kidnapped for God's sake. Getting too comfortable would be a big mistake. You figured you could leave after eating, as no one was really there to watch or guide you. You couldn't locate anywhere to put your dishes. It felt wrong to just leave your mess there, but she did have hundreds of servants. You figured someone would have to deal with it. It still felt incredibly wrong. Gosh you had no clue of the ways of the wealthy. With one last worried look at your dishes, you wandered out of the dining room.

You flinched as your eyes came in contact with Rictus. You two just looked at eachother.

He soon lead you back to your chambers without a word exchanged. Slumping in the bed seemed like the only option. Every drawer and closet had already been examined.

Worry weighed heavy on you. Every question possible seemed to pass through your mind. Ambessa was such an enigma. No decision of hers seemed to make sense. What was all of this for? You were a stripper and from the undercity. Everything seemed so wrong. Your worried thoughts dissapeared as you fell into slumber.

Soft knocks awoke you. "Come in." You shot up from the bed, completely forgetting your situation. The sight of Rictus eased your anxiety.

"Food is ready miss. Follow me."

Having dinner here sounded amazing. The softness of the blankets left your body as you headed towards him. Walking down the hall once more, you entered the dining room. Your eyes widened in horror. There was Ambessa, seated at the head of the table. Coincidentally, your plate was now moved two seats away from her. You couldn't move. Your captor sat, calm as could be, eating in your prison. Rictus' absence went unnoticed. Your body stayed in place, eyes focusing on her. A groan followed the sound of her fork hitting the plate.

"Are you going to sit? Or are you going to just watch me?"

You slowly approached your seat, her following eyes making you increasingly more uneasy. She went back to her plate after a long staring contest. You could only stare awkwardly at your plate. Hunger had since left you. Your mind wandered, soon to be snapped back to the sound of her footsteps coming to you. You panted, feeling her from behind.

"You haven't eaten a thing little lamb."

"Why am I here?"

"We'll talk once you finish your supper."

You felt like a child being reprimanded. A scowl crossed your face. You could hear a chuckle, her footsteps moving out of the dining room. Everything always felt so on edge. You didn't want to eat, you wanted to go home. Still you gave in.

You found her in her bedroom, resting on her bed. The air in the room was sucked up once you realized what she was wearing. An extremely, like very, see-through nightgown. Everything was on display to you. You tried your best to keep your eyes off breasts or her curls between her legs on display to the world.

"So you've met Rictus. Oh and you wanted to speak?"

She was ridiculous. It's like asking why you were kidnapped was an odd and annoying question.

"Why am I here?"

Ambessa's head tilted down, her eyes staying on yours. You couldnt stay focused on her, the anxiety of her almost nakedness still there. You should look in her eyes, show some sort of dominance. You just couldn't. She never seemed to get nervous or anxious and that annoyed you. Her body layed easily, legs resting apart. Her thick thighs, her muscular biceps, her heavy breasts, her chocolate skin, her strong hands-

"I payed for my time with you." Amusement crossed her face as anger crossed yours.

"This is ridiculous. I want to go home." Her huffed out laugh only angered you more.

"Go on home. Find your way back to the brothel and Malik. Im sure he'll be pleased to see you, knowing you left with me."

Malik. Would he know you were kidnapped? He would have to know, right? She had spoken to him. That was the only way she could have known his name. God only knows what she told him, what deal they made. Defeat weighed heavy on you. Staying here seemed to be the only option as of right now. You had to find out information, information on what she wanted, why she was doing this. You weren't sure if you wanted to know.

Down the hall, away from her, worry and sadness overcame you. The blankets hid your body, head buried beneath them. You could feel your throat tighten, and you were crying. Why was she doing this? You didn't want to know how far this would go, how far she would go. Your sobs turned into sniffes, then silence as you fell into slumber.

Whistling and halfway skipping, Malik drifted down the brothel hallway.

✰

"Babette!"

Babette glanced at Malik in the doorway. She tried her best to keep a neutral face.

"They done yet?"

"Yeah they left a while ago. Um like Ambessa left first then she went home I think. They didn't leave together."

Malik grunted. "What's gotten up your ass?" He studied her face. Something was off. She was lying. "You sure she went home?"

Babette swallowed, keeping her gaze averted.

"Alright what's up?" Babette didn't respond, the ruffle of her papers filling the silence. "Where is she? What happened to them?"

"Malik I- I really can't say." Maliks head shook with frustration.

"Babette. Spit it out!" His hands came slamming down onto her desk, papers flying into every direction. She had to tell him. Malik wasn't the type to just let it go. He would want to know where his favorite went. She rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Ms Medarda...took her."

"The hell do you mean took her? Like they just left together?"

Babette didn't want to tell him more. She felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. Owning this brothel would actually be the death of her.

"She took her. She went into the room... awake and she didn't come out that way."

Babette waited on Malik's explosion, but it never came. "I'm gonna call Cain."

"What are you going to do?"

Worry clawed at Babette. "We're taking a trip to topside. This bitch crossed the wrong man."

She quietly drifted towards you, watching your sleeping body. Snuggled in the thick blanket, your tear streaked face pulled at her heart. She brushed your hair out of your face, drifting her knuckles down your cheeks. You were so beautiful. Soon. Soon you would be content. Soon you would be greedy for her warmth and attention. Soon you would be begging her to touch you, to taste you, to fuck you. A kiss planted softly on your temple.

"Soon little lamb."~

You. Always. Masterlist

Chapter 5 is when it turns up yall. We're getting to the goods soon.

Taglist: @maaaaaaaaaaari , @ivorydevil , @trizxyp

Lmk to be added.

[bwat5-blog]

Continued Discussion Regarding Caitlyn Kiramman: @lavenditsy

**Spoilers For Arcane**

Part One

Good morning! First of all I have noticed that you are actually taking your time to read and re-blog those posts I shared, that is very kind. I linked part one of our discussion at the top here that way you don't have to scroll for a million years on this one.

As promised its Friday and I'm back at my place where I can actually think and write, so I'll give a little bit better response to some of your points!

The Grey:

So while very graciously acknowledging that my response had given you some things to think about you did state that you still feel it was not constructive of Caitlyn to use The Grey.

My Response-

Since we are taking time to delve into it a little more, I wanted to say even with the points I've made "defending" it I actually do think her use of The Grey was a bad thing. I just see it in a different way than a lot of us do I think.

As I've stated and shared, I maintain my position that the real darkness in her use of The Grey doesn't come from the danger of short-term exposure, but from the mental/emotional context of the whole situation.

If we look at the lyrics for "Hellfire", they give us a great picture into Caitlyn's mental state-

"Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason? Is it bad that I'm making friends with my demons, and Living by a couple deadly sins Just to make sure I finish what you began And I ain't afraid to lose a life or ten If it means that I get to win in the end "

The way I view it, the strike team are technically doing the right things. The Chem-Barons are violent and dangerous, Shimmer is highly volatile and mutates addicts and can kill them, and Jinx poses a massive threat from their current perspective. But that isn't the reason they are there. They are there because Caitlyn is giving in more and more to her anger and pain, and even when she perverts her mother's ventilation system meant to help Zaun into a tool of violence, she can't see how far she is falling. Because she can justify it to herself in her mind that they are doing the right thing.

I said a lot of this in what I shared with you I think, but if not that's the quick version lol.

A user on here did an excellent analysis of The Grey and its symbolism you may enjoy- @sapphoscreature

You can click this link if you are interested!

Ambessa:

I sent the lions share of my thoughts regarding Ambessa and her manipulation of Caitlyn so I'll leave that alone lol. Just giving my thoughts on a few points you shared.

You feel that Jinx & Silco VS Caitlyn & Ambessa while similar don't land the same, primarily due to time spent. Both in-narrative and in the actual pacing of the show.

My Response-

First of all I totally agree they are similar and I have always felt that the parallel here is one of the most interesting factors of the overall parallel between Jinx and Caitlyn.

Regarding the differences, I agree (in-narrative wise) that the time spent between each pair is a clear and significant difference for sure. Silco essentially molded Jinx during her formative years. Seven years of contact day in and day out effecting her as a person in every possible sense.

Whereas Caitlyn and Ambessa spent a significant amount of time together, but it was only months. And, as you point out later, Caitlyn was an adult. Young, and in a terribly vulnerable state mentally and emotionally, but still an adult. Meaning she had a solid foundation for who she was as a person before Ambessa got her hooks in. So, while Ambessa was able to twist her, she wasn't able to mold her into a new person. Which as we know is Ambessa's eventual undoing.

Regarding the difference in just overall pacing sort of cutting the weight out of the link between Caitlyn & Ambessa, I totally get this complaint. As a fan there are a few moments/arcs/scenes whatever that I would KILL to have seen more of. Caitlyn as commander is for sure one of them. For me, it didn't make it less convincing, I just wish we could have had more.

Caitlyn's Accountability & Privilege:

You assert that both Caitlyn and Ambessa are accountable in some way for what occurred.

Totally agree! My whole thing has always been just wanting it to be honestly discussed in terms of Ambessa's role in events and her culpability. A lot of folks for whatever reason (Very much NOT you) seem to want to totally erase Ambessa's impact on Caitlyn's decisions.

Just regarding Caitlyn and privilege.

Okay I totally see what you are saying now. There have been a tremendous amount of people (again not you lol) who have tried to suggest that coming from a background of privilege should somehow mean Caitlyn is more resilient to the effects of trauma and loss. Or, perhaps more insidiously, that she is somehow less justified in being impacted by trauma because of said background. Sort of a "why are you crying that your mom died your rich" sort of thing. Which is of course nonsense.

Regarding Caitlyn's Trauma.

So I totally agree Caitlyn's mother was the critical incident. What I was saying was giving you props because a lot of people who write more critically of Caitlyn's actions tend to boil it down to her mother's death only. Like you mentioned her kidnapping and everything and a lot of people don't. It was my poorly communicated way of giving you props lol.

Conclusion:

This was less debate and more just giving thoughts in response lol. I hope that's okay! Again I really appreciate you continuing to discuss and REALLY appreciate you taking the time to read those other posts (if you disagree with any of it feel free to say so!). I look forward to hearing from you, take care.

[otherclawdeen]

I can feel the light shine on my face,

Obsessing over parallels between Mel and g3 Clawdeen. (Spoiler warning for S2 Arcane and ep6 of G3 monster high) The freckles, their multiethnicity, their magical birthright necklaces, nerdiness, their gold glowy wolf black magical girl transformations. I also noticed their stories align in some ways.

Did I disappoint you,

Both Mel and Clawdeen go against their mother's wishes and temporarily join forces with a stranger that has similar powers to them and potentially shares their bloodline. After posing as Mel's brother, LeBlanc poses as Mel's dead half sister to sway Mel to help kill Ambessa (Mel's mother). It's unclear in g3 MH, if Howleen is Clawdeen's sister, but Howleen poses almost like a trustworthy sister to get Clawdeen to give her the werewolf talisman/necklace (which was Clawdeen's mother Selena's talisman before). I believe both characters have a younger sister in some canon au or another because I've heard of Mel having a little sister in a comic and I know Clawdeen has a little sister in the original monster high. Mel and Clawdeen both have complicated and distant relationships with their moms. Both Mel and Clawdeen balance defiance and individuality with popularity. While hoping to be accepted by the other monsters, Clawdeen wants to access her werewolf powers, better understand her identity as a whole, reunite with her mother. While Mel works as a counselor and tries to keep the public in her favor, she's willing to manipulate and rebel against others.

Will they still let me over,

Because of their biological parents, Mel and Clawdeen have supernatural and nonsupernatural sides/halves. Mel has a similar arc to G3 Clawdeen with "crossing a line" lol to find more about her other side of her family finding out about supernatural things in her blood line. Mel has the opposite experience with her brother to G3 Clawdeen with hers. The black rose teleports Mel into another place where they trick her into thinking she's found her brother only to find out they actually killed him. G3 Clawdeen's brother Clawd accidentally enters the portal Clawdeen opens and that's how she discovers she has a brother in the first place.

If I cross the line?

There's a sort of moth-to-flame nature of Mel and Clawdeen's pursuits to discover the mysteries of their bloodlines. Both characters feel connected and pulled from human worlds towards supernatural forces much bigger than them and thus are pushed towards supernatural worlds. The birthright necklaces play significant roles in arcane and mh. Clawdeen and the Mel are both given necklaces linked to their bloodlines and grant them crossovers between places. Their necklaces actually remind me of the puzzle box from Hellraiser because it's activated by touch and blood and grants a crossover to hellscape Also, the box sometimes allows chains to pass through it like chains of Clawdeen's necklace and thorny vines that come from Mel's necklace.

Lastly, I have a similar issue with Mel as I do with g3 Clawdeen where I feel like they may be prominent characters but they still have misogynoir problems. For Clawdeen, it's mostly colorism. For Mel, imo it feels like the show tokenized her and left it very unclear what she wants to do in the first place. I understand these series are rushed and overworked as it is, I'm just saying the patterns of misogynoir bother me.

[altair214]

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I think we're looking at the hexcore the wrong way. The assumption is that it has consciousness like a person would and as such, it has tangible motives and the ability to manipulate. I don't think that's how it works. I think the hexcore behaves rather like a virus.

If we're assuming that Sky in the astral place is both a vessel for the hexcore to manipulate Viktor, while also being a manifestation of Viktor's guilt, then the fact that Viktor was able to go against her advice and to help Vander/Warwick, is decent evidence that even if his decisions might have been influenced by the hexcore, he was still the one making the final decision. The fact that Sky didn't want Viktor to help Vander is also a clue as to the hexcore's motives.

Arguably, things may have ended better if Viktor didn't try to help Vander. If he hadn't. then Ambessa wouldn't have found her way to Viktor and Viktor wouldn't have gone full machine herald. Which is interesting, if the goal was world domination, then why would the hexcore be advising against helping Vander? He made for an excellent weapon in act 3.

Unless the goal is something simpler. I think Singed said it best: "The mutation must survive"

I think the hexcore only cares about survival. I think that it, much like a virus, mutates/learns how it must change in order to survive and then spreads itself around via Viktor healing people. So I think it's only motivation is survival and whatever consciousness it has, is more akin to evolution than anything else, which is very fitting for the themes of the series. Glorious evolution and all that.

Much like a virus though, it has to walk to careful balance between getting killed by a host's immune system, and killing the host, as both result in the death of the virus. A virus's job is to continue to change and mutate to ensure it's survival.

Basically what I'm saying is that the hexcore is a virus that acts as a passive force of nature. It's entirely self-interested and it's constant evolution mimics consciousness, but it is not capable of conscious thought or manipulation so overt that Viktor wouldn't have been entirely in control. I think it influenced VIktor to ensure it's survival, but the fact that the way the influence manifested was through Sky, was entirely a product of Viktor's mind interacting with the hexcore. Sort of like a hallucination borne of a fever

I'm sure there's some flaws in this theory, but this is the most evidence backed theory I can come up with for how the hexcore works that I've thought of so far.

I’m curious, how much control do you think Viktor was in in season 2?

I have tried to analyze this but am honestly stumped. Because on one hand it is clearly his intentions and logic being used. Since the beginning he has been wanting to heal people afflicted in Zaun (while it was also to cure his illness I don’t doubt wanting to help those in need was a legitimate motivation). He does immediately go to heal people in Zaun and all the conclusions he jumps to through the season do seem perfectly reasonable for him. He was the type of person who didn’t even conceptualize in season one that something like the hexclaw could be used as a weapon. That and the hexcore showing that he was a pacifist to the point of it being a massive blind spot to danger. So it makes sense being shot by Jayce of all people while in his eyes he was healing people would cause him to go all glorious evolution mode as a natural progression of his arc.

On the other hand he definitely didn’t come back right. The show makes a point to show in season one that the hexcore has some level of physical control over him, and even when going to heal the shimmer addicts he is following Sky’s voice. The writers also confirmed that it indeed was not Sky and was the hexcore manifesting his guilt to push him towards to glorious evolution. And his emotions definitely seem to be muffled and unexpressive. I know this part is joked about a lot but honestly even the fact that he chokes Jayce is surprising because he is consistently characterized as a pacifist to the point of it being a fatal flaw. He doesn’t even commit an act of violence in a show filled with fight scenes until the second to last episode, let alone against Jayce of all people. I think the last thing season one Viktor would do is intentionally cause physical harm to someone, hence why it is only at the part where he is the farthest gone.

Basically if I had to guess I’d say it’s like 50/50 level of control, but you have written some great character analysis so I’m curious what your thoughts are as to how much of season two was Viktor and how much was the Hexcore

Honestly, Anon, I'm wrestling with this on almost a daily basis myself when I write fics. It's definitely not helped by the fact they avoided a lot of exposition in S2 in favor of pacing (the slower pace of S1 allowed for a lot more signposting and exposition of what was going on, I think somewhat to the detriment of S2) and the fact that we don't really get much of Viktor after he stops being the Machine Herald, because to my eyes that's the first time we see the real Viktor all season and it would be nice to get him to express some contrast with what came before (though of course it would ruin the pacing of a perfect moment).

I think you basically nailed all of the points of confusion. I've ever considered tracking all the points where his voice warps for clues, because I think there is something to be gleaned from how and when his voice distorts, but in what direction is also a curious question.

Was saying "affection" kept them together more or less than what Viktor would have said to Jayce? Would he on his own have said love? Or would he, in his infinite shyness, have not dared to mention emotion at all, because Viktor is an expert at pushing those closest to him away and hiding his own emotions? Was that the Hexcore trying to drag Jayce in closer by calling it affection, or push him away before it could gain strength by lowering Viktor saying "love" down to just saying "affection"?

On the other hand, during the Herald's villain monologue at the end in the Astral Plane, his voice is distorted for almost every line except, "This senseless waste," which does feel like a sincere Viktor line, perhaps the only one that is truly him that whole time, including when he said he was pleased to see Jayce, in that horrible mocking tone. Could that not be the Hexcore speaking there?

I'll offer what I think is happening:

In order to chart "What is Hexcore" vs. "What is Viktor" it's less useful to look at Viktor's motives than the Hexcore's.

The Hexore wanted to expand its influence. It wanted to become powerful enough to have its own army and to destroy the civilization around it as other versions of the Hexcore have done throughout history. I believe it reached those goals by posing them as things Viktor, on his own, would want to do like help the needy, thus hiding its ends inside of Viktor's motives.

Note too that people who have dosed up on Shimmer are more susceptible to its molding.

Hence we can assume that the Hexcore, in the guise of Sky, using Viktor's guilt about her and his own failures to help the undercity, guided Viktor down to the Shimmer victim encampment specifically.

Viktor is not a mystic. The most mystical thing he says in S1 is that the Arcane speaks through mages. But the Hexcore is a magical artifact. Something like the Hexcore also destroyed a civilization centuries ago, and the figure in Heimerdinger's memory looks like Viktor when he's cloaked.

So personally, I think we can ascribe any mysticism to the Hexcore's influence too. That means the Cult, for example. Also Viktor's, "You need not suffer anymore," and kind of making them all genuflect to him, feels very OOC and just plain wrong for Viktor.

Whereas Viktor in the Astral Plane feels like real Viktor. Even the fact that when we show his point of view out into the world he is himself in a field of stars, seeing the real world projected in front of him like Plato's Allegory of the Cave gives the impression of imprisonment, like he's looking out through the windows of his own eyes to a shrouded world he can no longer directly touch.

And note, for example, that Sky/the Hexcore doesn't want Viktor to heal Vander. That's all Viktor. I believe the reason is because it doesn't want to run out of energy too quickly.

Basically, I think the Hexcore is stringing Viktor along there as Sky, giving him a little terrarium of stars to play in, while using him as a vessel of assimilation under the guise of healing. These are on both sides, inner and outer, things that Viktor wants to do, so he's seduced. He doesn't fight it.

I also think at a certain point, the Hexcore Viktor gains enough power to be able to impact people who aren't dosed with Shimmer. I think this comes later though, which is why it's not interested in Jayce at first but it is interested in assimilating him later. At that point, again, those motives align with Viktor's own sincere desire to see Jayce again (maybe he's sick of all the hippies in the commune lol) and the Hexcore is happy to get rid of someone who could conceivably stop it.

But note, the Hexcore is still playing along with Viktor. It could forcibly assimilate Jayce, but Viktor wants Jayce to choose his side willingly, so it holds back. In part too because that disappointment is what fuels Viktor to give himself over the Hexcore's goals entirely and ask for Singed's treatment with Apex Shimmer. At that point, as the showrunner noted, it doesn't need the guise of Sky anymore, it doesn't need to string Viktor along anymore. He's bought into the idea of forcibly assimilating the world if he can't get Jayce to join willingly.

I also heard an interesting theory that I'd like to factor in: basically, until he gains access to the Anomaly, Viktor doesn't have the power to strip himself of the Hexcore's influence or overcome it. That's why there's no point in Jayce trying to get through to him sooner, it wouldn't do anything because Viktor would still be trapped in its web.

Once they have the Anomaly, Viktor as an ascended being can strip away the Hexcore's influence. And that's why I lamented that we don't get more of his thoughts in that scene. Because I think an interpretation can be made that the Machine Herald look is just the human form of the Hexcore, using Viktor as a vessel.

Once that outer shell explodes, it really is Viktor again, with all the power of the Anomaly and Jayce's rune at his disposal. Now he and Jayce can work together to reverse the damage, free all the trapped souls from the Hexcore's web, and save the day. But we see that only then Viktor is able to view his own actions as himself, and he's horrified. There I think we get Viktor's one true, sincere reaction to everything that has happened up to that point and confirm that, yes, while the Hexcore interwove its seduction through Viktor's motives, none of this is what Viktor wanted. The ultimate outcome was the Hexcore's goals.

Quick Doylist addition: I also think there's definitely a draft where it's all Viktor getting controlled, but the writers know that can be kind of boring. It's better when characters take action and make choices, rather than being controlled. So I think that's why they settled on a combination of "The Hexcore's end goals, but Viktor's underlying motivations being twisted to support them."