thedreamsofgalaxies

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

it's an AU where you get the first phrase your soulmate will tell you written somewhere on your body

with Viktor's first phrase to Jayce it was hilarious

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

alright here's my idea - an au where jayvik meet as kids, with viktor working for a street magician, rigging all the fake tricks behind the scenes, and jayce as a little magic fanboy 🪄✨

some thoughts on this au:

jayce has been obsessed with magic acts ever since his life was saved by a sorcerer. there's a new performer in town who can do tricks no one else can, and jayce in convinced he must be the real deal. one day he sneaks backstage in the hopes of finding evidence of real magic, but finds viktor instead, who he assumes must be the magician's apprentice!

viktor is torn because he doesn't want to ruin this kid's enthusiasm, or risk losing his job by revealing the truth. but he also... really doesn't want to be a wizard. so he comes clean. (lol)

jayce is a little bummed to find out it's not real, but when viktor shows him how the practical effects work, jayce becomes enchanted once more. they look so convincing!! technology that can replicate magic?? he thinks that's brilliant.

from then on viktor has a little tag-along at all of their shows, and jayce even starts calling himself viktor's apprentice. viktor's embarrassed, obviously, but also undeniably charmed. he and jayce become friends, him teaching jayce about engineering and jayce (trying to) teach him about the arcane.

they are earth shatteringly adorable the entire time 😔

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

My first Jayvik art hello

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

Engineers

(Full version)

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

Sunday mornings

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

i wish you guys could read the amazing fic i haven't written and probably will never write, it's fire

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

Twitter swirled this comparison and I didn't freak out~

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

I'm still not okay after reading the Playlist for When Your Boyfriend Stops Breathing by @sunsetplums, still listening to the playlist too ˙◠˙ p.s. Birb’s name is Mango, she used to live with the fic’s author but passed away just a couple days ago so now Jayce is looking after her. Faint music on the bg is My děti ze stanice Bullerbyn by Květy

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

I mean, you probably don't care for my random opinion, but this got my brain reeling and I have a lot to say about the topic now.

I think Viktor's relationship with his body is pretty fucked up. I don't think he thinks about his body the same way people usually do, and by this I mean, to him, his body is just a necessary nuisance to keep his brain going. His body is not perfect and as such, it's a hindrance to him. He's disconnected from it and doesn't see his body as an unchangable part of his being in the same way most people do. Maybe he sees his body as this alien thing that only brings him pain, limitations, and unwanted irrational things, like feelings.

His pursuit of perfection is the key here. I believe, given the chance, he would do anything to achive "perfect" (optimal, in his mind) body and augment it to improve its capabilities. Cutting himself would be just another step in the way of progress. (I also think part of his initial attraction to Jayce is his scientific appreciation of his "perfect" body, but I digress.)

I don't think he'd necessarily self-harm in a more traditional way, such as to cope with other mental health issues. By which I mean, I don't think hurting or harming himself would be the main reason for his sh, though I can see him stabbing his body in frustration or anger. E.g. if he doesn't get a biomechanical neural connection working or his legs are acting up. But then again, I think he views himself and his body as separate entities. Which is to say, he'd need a passable scientific excuse to justify his sh to himself.

Though, if we go deeper into the psychology of it, we could make a case that he does self-harm for purely emotional reasons, for example, to punish his stupid legs for not working. But he would never admit that: he'd lie to himself that he's testing a theory, trying to improve his brace, or doing it to augment himself in other ways.

I don't now if this makes sense to anyone else. I suppose this is somewhat colored by the original League Viktor lore, though in the League meta I guess he's pursuing functionality over perfection. Which is also an interesting take but the Arcane Viktor is more my vibe.

I know Viktor canonically self-harmed, but he was doing it with the intention to save himself - do you think there's any world where he would intentionally sh? (I'm thinking in a non-magical modern au?)

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

first night together...

Jayce doesn't waste a second when Viktor isn't looking to draw him ofc UWU

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

These 'short' breaks keep getting longer... Not that they're complaining.

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

Sleeping Beauty

I def lost the plot somewhere around 5 am with this one.

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

@lettingtimepass Yeah, it would definitely be more brutal, gruesome, and angsty vibe. I think I prefer the ending we got, but damn, can't help but to love the soul-wrenching rawness of this possibility.

His look of devastation, i can't do this....

Art by @lik-v (posted with artist's permission)

Direct Link 💔

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

Sorry, I just want to add my two cents which I wrote on Reddit earlier (a bit edited for clarity), since I feel like this art captures so well what I meant:

Now that I've had time to think about this a bit, imagine it had been the same ending. Imagine the pain an turmoil on Jayce's face when he has to beat humanity back into Viktor. Imagine him crying while taking Vik down. That would have been a trip.

And when Vik finally comes back from his godhood and gets his feelings back, imagine Viktor's horror over what he has done just crashing in like it did in the show. Only this time he can't fully run away. He has to watch Jayce on top of him like this, with ALL the emotions clear on his face, love, anger, sadness, anxiety. So, Viktor just turns his head away, ashamed, probably also crying silently, accepting his fate and Jayce's anger.

When Jayce notices the change in Vik, he stops and they just cry and look at each other. Jayce says all the pretty things to him and they kiss hug it out.

His look of devastation, i can't do this....

Art by @lik-v (posted with artist's permission)

Direct Link 💔

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

I was just wondering, and I apologise if I’ve missed it, but why do you think Viktor doesn’t like Mel? I don’t really understand the portrayal of Viktor as someone who hates Mel, is jealous of her, and believes she’s getting in between him and Jayce. They had one disagreement in season 1, which I don’t think means he perpetually dislikes her, especially when they ended up teaming up by the end of the season. He doesn’t seem to hate her, he seems just fine with her in general.

I don't think he has outright hatred of her as a person, as such, but most of his reactions to her when they meet directly are negative which if you're looking to sum up his opinion of her, it's all the evidence we have.

They have 3 face to face direct interactions and all 3 of them include Viktor glaring at Mel or glaring as a result of her interaction with Jayce. Their positive interactions while Viktor is conscious are 0.5/3, at best. Therefore, if pressed for evidence, the only kind I can find is that Viktor overall has negative reactions towards her.

For example:

Despite the fact, as the video is titled, Mel helps Jayce and Viktor escape exile and survive this little moment of near-capture, when Viktor sees Jayce's reaction to Mel, rather than being pleased they escaped the situation or good-natured about Jayce's little sigh of admiration, Viktor grimaces and looks exasperated, even upset.

Quite frankly, the normal reaction here would be to be as relieved and happy as Jayce is. Viktor's reaction is unusual which is the first point against me seeing him as happy about Mel's presence or involvement in their lives.

The second scene is the more notorious one for those who see there being a conflict between Mel and Viktor. Viktor fans often use this scene to claim Mel is biased against Viktor. I think that's untrue. I believe Mel is neutral towards him here and only sees him as an ideological opponent in a debate over swaying Jayce.

However, I don't believe that's how Viktor sees the encounter. He seems thoroughly disgusted by Mel's proposal and the very thought that Jayce might entertain it. Viktor's reaction is so extreme one could argue he's willing to blow himself and Jayce up right then and there to avoid it.

Personally, I don't see that read. I think Viktor is just taking a breath before defusing the bomb, but the point stands that Viktor has a visceral negative reaction to Mel's proposal here. He's pretty much never more angry in S1 than we see him in this scene, even during the fight on the bridge with Jayce, and his anger lingers after she has gone.

That's now 2/2 of Viktor and Mel's encounters that have both had a rare negative reaction from Viktor. To my eyes, that's not painting a positive picture of them forming a friendship.

But, 2/2 still isn't definitive. And we do have that moment of near-camaraderie, literally "what could have been" just before Jinx's rocket lands where Viktor (if you REALLY zoom in) seems to smile in Jayce and Mel's direction when the vote goes in favor of Zaun independence.

But I admit, going into S2, as I've said before, Viktor's view towards Mel was very much a question to me. We never really get his take on her relationship with Jayce, though Viktor does seem upset that Jayce is wasting his time with Councilor work, but that's not definitive.

We have a beat in Season 2 where Mel reaches towards Viktor in the Hexgoop and the spikes reach out to stab her, but maybe they do that with everyone. I still found that as curious beat, almost as if Viktor was lashing out.

For me, the definitive beat that made me confident Viktor, at least while in full villain mode, does not like Mel is this one:

When Mel frees Jayce from Viktor's grasp he levels her with the most vicious glare we've seen from him arguably in the whole show. Dude was PISSED.

Before that, I've argued Viktor entering this scene comes almost cosplaying as Mel, to my eyes, he's setting himself as an equal demand on Jayce's time to her, almost cosplaying her in the Council chamber and saying, "Pay attention to ME now, Jayce! I'm as good as her!" But even if you don't agree with my read here, he terrorizes and threatens her by trying to puncture her shield, then refocuses on Jayce, then becomes FURIOUS when she tries to separate him and Jayce.

At this point, I'd say we're 3/3 on ALL the scenes where Viktor and Mel actually exchange 2 words to each other and all three of them piss Viktor off.

It's true, that I think if Jayce wasn't in the mix, Viktor's interactions with Mel are more neutral, perhaps even professionally courteous. But 2/3 of his negative reactions to her are in direct reaction to Jayce, and the last 1/3 is direct anger at her for her words.

In my opinion, it's not a huge leap to see that even if Viktor, on his own, might be neutral or even positive towards Mel (idk though, his reaction towards her Hextech weapons proposal was pretty visceral) Jayce in the mix sours things. It's not crazy to detect jealousy there, especially given Viktor's singular focus in S2 Act 3 with getting Jayce to join his side.

TL;DR They've had 3 conversations and 3/3 ended with Viktor shooting some sort of glare or look of anger either at Mel or as a result of her. It's not a lot to go on, but they don't interact all that much, and they definitely don't even once have any sort of two-way POSITIVE interaction that's just the two of them.

It should be noted, Mel is cordial and even caring towards Viktor, especially in S2 when he's unconscious. I think this is a one-way street with Viktor having a negative view of Mel, perhaps not as a person, but he does not enjoy her interactions in his life where Jayce is concerned and he loathes her Hextech weapons proposal.

Does this mean he would have become friendly with her if he knew of her efforts to protect Hextech from weaponization? Possibly. Just as S1 closes with the song, "What could have been?" I believe that's the nature of any positive relationship between them: it could have happened, in a better world.

[thedreamsofgalaxies]

All of you are wrong.