#the vi to Jayce and Jayce to Cait one is really interesting to me today

[steelandscience]

Currently thinking about how when Vi and Gang breaks into Jayce’s apartment in Episode 1, they marvel at how expensive everything is and how someone could be born that lucky to have so much stuff. The apartment is set up to seem like it belongs to an incredibly wealthy and eccentric inventor.

And then in Episode 2, it turns out that Jayce is… literally just a college student, and a vaguely struggling one at that, according to his journal notes. Jayce half-jokes with Caitlyn to be careful with the equipment from the Undercity, because it’s “her parents’ money she’s dropping” and not his, and how he still needs a patron in order to study and work at the Academy, because House Talis is essentially a house in name only, and not in money— they’re not even notable enough for Mel and the other Councilors (and heads of Houses) to know without someone reminding them what they do.

And then how in Act 1, Viktor technically has a higher status than Jayce in the Academy (as he was the one who was sent to oversee the explosion). He is technically part of Heimerdinger’s staff, whereas Jayce is a student or researcher that certainly does not seem to have the same relationship with the Dean/Councilor that Viktor does. In that first scene he’s in, both he and Grayson have a significantly higher (power) status than Jayce does. And yet Viktor mentions how he doesn’t have a patron or name like Jayce does, and how he has much grander aspirations for his life, and it takes Mel a moment to recognize him as well in Episode 2.

And then how Mel has such an abundance of wealth compared to all of these other characters, but even still, is (in her mind) the least successful and “poorest” Medarda. She wields the most power by far for a lot of Act 1 and 2, but we see her become quite small as soon as her mother is around.

Just… I really like the parallels as to how every character seems to have something the other doesn’t, even as they are envied. Viktor doesn’t have the status and patronage that Jayce does, Jayce doesn’t have the money and support Cait does, Cait doesn’t have the freedom Vi does, Vi doesn’t have the money that anyone in Piltover does, Mel doesn’t have the success the rest of her family does. But each one of those things that a character DOES have comes with it’s own challenges and drawbacks along with the advantages. Everyone has a bit of a misconception about everyone else’s position, and I really like that.

#not really passing judgement on any of them tbh #i genuinely just think it’s really interesting #the vi to Jayce and Jayce to Cait one is really interesting to me today #this was also really REALLY interesting to me as someone who was watching without knowing anything about league and Piltover and Zaun #I remember in episode 1 I was like DAMN I CANT WAIT TO SEE THIS WEALTHY ECCENTRIC INVENTOR THEYRE STEALING FROM #and then… he was literally a middle class STUDENT who was IN TROUBLE #it’s just… really really cool storytelling #and I think in general— dynamics like these create delicious dramatic irony #sir e speaks #arcane thoughts #arcane meta #arcane analysis #Jayce arcane #Jayce Talis #caitlyn arcane #vi arcane #Mel Medarda #Viktor arcane

[j-art-2d2]

Correction

Chapter 1/?

Arcane University AU

jinx x caitlyn story (this chapter involves cait x vi)

tw : none really, jinx is a d!ckhead, insanely attractive love interest, caitlyn just wants to make a good impression w the pretty girl pls

Caitlyn's POV

Caitlyn was pissed.

Actually, she was feeling a lot of things at the moment but being pissed was the easiest to focus on. Due to her mother’s theatrics, she was late for her first class. More than late. So late, she was now early for her next one. For a moment she lets her stress get the better of her, as she begins to overanalyze her outfit. She takes note of how the wind lightly blows her skirt up as she jogs across campus. Before entering the building she bends over to tug her socks up so they are both evenly placed right below her knee.

She double-checks to make sure she has the right room. Her schedule tells her she needs to be at 314A: Criminal Justice in the Wilkinson Building. The door reads 314A, so she pushes it open with feigned confidence, her back straighter than usual and her chin held high. She’s overcompensating. Besides a few quick glances, nobody pays her much attention, so she heads straight for the back.

Turns out she took a seat next to a tall, somewhat built, dark-haired man named Jayce. She knows that because he wrote his name on his assignment, not because he told her. Caitlyn takes note of the way his eyebrow crease deepens when he crosses his t’s and dots his i’s. “Hi, I'm Caitlyn!” she says quite literally out of nowhere and in a higher pitch than intended. Her nervousness seeps through the barrier. He jumps a little but smiles nonetheless, “Hello Caitlyn, I’m Jayce”; he holds his fist out. His light grey long sleeve slightly slid, peeking out from his university jacket sleeve. The jacket tells Caitlyn he was probably excited today, while his gesture tells her he’s friendly and welcoming. It makes her think of a golden retriever, so she bumps his fist. As the class goes on, Caitlyn figures out she quite likes Jayce. She thinks maybe she’s found a friend. If not that, she definitely has found someone to sit next to regularly. As the minute dwindles down, Jayce and Caitlyn compare schedules. They see that they have the same class next, Physics. It’s Jayce’s idea to walk together.

The class is dismissed, and they set off. On the way out, Caitlyn is called back by her professor to get her name for attendance. As if she hadn’t beaten herself up enough, he then scolds her for being late and tells her not to make a habit of it. Caitlyn issues a quick apology and exists the room. Afterward, Caitlyn blindly follows Jayce to another building she’s never heard of, trying to remember his path. Caitlyn blindly follows Jayce trying to remember the path he’s taking. He seems to be over-familiar with this campus; confidence rings through the steps of his high tops. “You’ve been here before. A lot.”, Caitlyn states matter of factly. Jayce is thrown off a bit by her observation but explains, nonetheless. “Oh yeah, I’m always here. My mom was an alumna. So ever since I was a kid, I knew that this was the place for me.", he says with a smile and a chipper voice to match. Caitlyn only hums as a response. She doesn’t have much experience making her own decisions, so she doesn’t have much to contribute to the conversation anyways. They sharply turn another corner, the 10 minutes to get to their next class catching up to them. Caitlyn doesn’t make it as far as Jayce. She’s stopped short due to bumping into a person in front of her.

Naturally, to avoid a painful collision, Caitlyn grabs the shoulders of the other person. Halting them while keeping herself steady. Caitlyn has to look down a significant amount to see the details of the person in front of her. She notices that she’s a girl with ridiculously long blue hair. It was braided back only to the top of her shoulders, a metal band securing the braid and allowing the rest of her hair to fall across her body. Caitlyn takes notes of blue eyes, jealousy pinging her chest. The blue is much brighter than her own eyes. She scans the shorter girl’s face more intently now. Sharp eyebrows fixed in an annoyed expression. Freckles that remind Caitlyn of constellations. The black shadow under her eyes adds a nice contrast to the striking blue color. Plump lips, curled up, saying words that Caitlyn is not listening to. She’s too busy acknowledging the raw beauty of the girl in front of her. A hand pushes her back and to the side. “Well, excuse the fuck out of me!” the girl snaps and starts jogging in her original direction, opposite Caitlyn. Jayce has to tug Caitlyn's arm to get her to walk again. She doesn’t speak until they’re sitting down in their seats.

“Who was that?”, Caitlyn blurts out. Jayce looks at her, halfway confused, halfway amused. “You don’t know her? Everybody knows her.” She shakes her head and responds, “Everybody but me.” Jayce simply shrugs and states, “You will.” Caitlyn decides to leave the conversation at that. Clearly, she’s missing something here. She starts to wonder if her mother sheltering her for her whole life is beginning to embarrassingly catch up to her. There’s no time to think about that. The commotion in the front of the room takes her attention instead. First, she sees an average-sized, dark skin boy with grey twists contrasting his darker complexion. He’s wearing an oversized dark green jacket that seems to envelop his body. Black jeans and black and white sneakers, littered with what looks like neon graffiti, complete his look. “Well, if you wanted to borrow my skateboard, you could’ve just asked! I don’t know why you decided to track me down on the other side of campus, just to fail at snatching it from my hands as you run by!” he shouts while walking in. There’s a goofy smile on his face. Caitlyn figures he’s talking to a friend. She watched him hold his board out to whoever was walking in. Caitlyn hears her before she sees her, the voice unmistakable. “It would’ve worked out if I hadn’t bumped into a stupid Piltie on the way here. She threw me off my game!” then she elbows the dark-skinned boy with raised eyebrows and says in a sing-song voice, “Nice rack, though..” They both laugh. Caitlyn doesn’t. She crosses her arms over her chest, feeling oddly exposed now.

Caitlyn takes this opportunity to observe the blue-haired girl's outfit. Overalls made from deep brown corduroy fabric hang loosely on her body. The bottoms are rolled up three times but still get caught at the bottom of her boots. One shoulder strap is up while the other falls carelessly off her other shoulder. Her black shirt, if you can even call it that, does nothing but cover her nipples essentially. Caitlyn starts to burn up. She notices that the graffiti on the boy’s jacket matches the graffiti littered at the bottom of the girl’s overalls. “Yeah.. yeah..” the boy starts, “Anyway, where do you wanna sit?” Caitlyn catches the eye of the blue-haired girl and sits up, hope emitting from her. A scoff and “Anywhere but there..” is what Caitlyn hears next. Caitlyn audibly sighs as a response. This catches Jayce’s attention and causes him to look up. His eyes land on the dark skin boy, and his face immediately brightens. Caitlyn accepts her inevitable doom, and Jayce lifts his arm and exclaims, “Ekko!! My man!! You already know where to sit!” The boy, who Caitlyn now knows is Ekko, responds with the same enthusiasm as he drags the blue-haired girl towards the back of the room with him. Both girls audibly groan at the same time.

There are not enough seats on Jayce’s side so the girls are forced to not only sit in the same area but also right next to each other. While the boys seem to be having the time of their life, Caitlyn is at a standstill. She remembers her manners and turns to introduce herself. With a hand held out and a warm smile, she begins “Hi I’m C-” “Caitlyn. I know.”, blue-haired girl cuts her off, keeping her attention on the pencil she’s twirling. As if the wood encasing lead is more interesting than she could ever be. “Okay.”, Caitlyn says while slumping back in her seat. She raises her palm and motions toward the girl. “And who are you?”, she asks, tone flat. The girl looks at her like she’s a cross between stupid and insane. “You really don’t know who I am?” she asked with a chuckle. Caitlyn just shakes her head no. Obviously not if I'm asking. This excites the girl, and she leans back in her chair, swinging her arm trying to catch Ekko’s attention. Without caring if he’s listening or not she exclaims, laughter evident in her voice. “Hey, Ekko!! Piltie has no idea who I am!!” Caitlyn feels the back of her neck burn hot. Like everyone is in on a joke. Like she’s the joke. Because she is. Ekko chuckles and throws an eraser in the girl’s general direction. “Jinx, play nice. Nobody likes a bully.”, he says, tone playful.

Jinx. That’s all Caitlyn can focus on.

Now that she can put a name to a face she turns to face the blue-haired girl. “Well Jinx..”, she pauses. The name on her tongue makes her tastebuds feel different. Before she can decide if it's a good or bad type of different Caitlyn continues. “I hope that we can become fro-” Jinx cuts her off again. “Have you ever been told to shut the fuck up?”, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “..N-no?”, Caitlyn stutters, now cautious. Jinx just nods, head resting in her hand, and lets out a hum. “Hmm… yeah.. I can tell.” Caitlyn decided she does not like talking to Jinx. For the rest of the class, she keeps her attention on her left side, completely ignoring the girl on her right. She hears Jayce invite Ekko to lunch and immediately starts thinking of an excuse. Jinx makes her stomach swim and she doesn’t think she’d be able to enjoy her food if Jinx is there. In fact, she thinks, I can’t stand this class with her here either. Luckily, the professor dismisses the class. Before Jayce can even open his mouth, Caitlyn is already standing up and gathering her items. She quickly tells him to put his number in her phone. While typing in the digits, he looks up at her concerned. “Wait..so you’re not getting food..?” “Nope!”, Caitlyn says, emphasizing the p, “I’m gonna go find the library. Not hungry anyways..”, she shrugs, feeling blue eyes bore into her skull behind her.

She turns to spin on her heels and exit the room but hears Ekko speak. “You know… Jinx actually always goes to the Library during lunch.” Caitlyn already hates where this is going. “Maybe she can walk you. Big campus, twists, and turns, travel buddies are essential.” he jokes. Neither Jinx nor Caitlyn laugh. “I was actually going to get lunch today. Didn’t have breakfast. Maybe next time..”, Jinx trails off. Caitlyn looks like she knows Jinx is lying but doesn’t press the matter further. She didn’t want the girl to walk her anyway. With that said, Caitlyn sets off to the library. It took her a couple of wrong turns to find the building but she gets there nonetheless. The smell of the pages and wood in the air calms her. Grounds her. Reminds her that she’s more than the nickname Piltie. That she’s more than her mother and the money and glistening buildings. The thought of her being more than a punchline to Jinx crosses her mind. It makes her feel less secure than she already was so she lets the thought pass just as easily as it had come. She finds herself in the section holding books with details from high-profile cases. Her favorites are the books with interviews. Exact quotes straight from a killer’s mouth. Excerpts involving the gruesome details of the acts they’ve committed. The criminal mind intrigued her. After skimming through a couple of books she settles on three that she’s willing to check out and indulge herself in for the next day or two.

The rest of her day goes by smoothly. She’s able to find the remainder of her classes. Chats with a few friendly faces. The only inconvenience is the way her face involuntarily twists when she sees Jinx in passing. Apparently, they have a few classes together. As the day winds down, Caitlyn heads to check out the outdoor activities before heading home. As she passes the oversized field, something catches her attention. One quite short, red-headed girl, in between a large group of guys. Based on their attire, Caitlyn figures that they’re here for football tryouts. While watching the tryouts, Caitlyn notices the way that the boys doubt the red-haired girl. That is, up until it’s her turn to show off her skills. “Okay hot stuff..” she hears the coach say to the girl and internally cringes. “It’s a simple play-through. All you have to do is run this football to the end-zone. You make it, you’re in. You’re tackled, you’re out.” The red-haired girl doesn’t say anything. She simply cracks her knuckles, then her neck, and grabs the ball. It all happened so fast. The girl is lighter on her feet than Caitlyn could’ve expected. Not only is she avoiding the men, but she’s knocking half of them down with her shoulders as she runs by. The scene ignites a fire in Caitlyn. A fire that her mother so desperately tries to snuff out. At the end zone, the red-haired girl drops the football and spits out her mouthguard. “See you at practice coach!!”, she shouts as she makes her way off the field. Her assumption would be right. How could she not be welcomed onto the team after the show of sheer talent she just put on? Stopping short in her tracks, she eyes Caitlyn up and down and flashes her a smile that shoots through Caitlyn like a bullet.

Caitlyn’s palms sweat and her ears ring as she realizes that the red-haired girl is now making her way toward her. “Enjoy watching me play?”, the girl asks, the seductive energy she’s emitting throws Caitlyn off. “Y-yeah, I mean.. N-no I mean, yes you play good but no I wasn’t like… staring or anything. Just passing by.” “Passing by..?”, the girl parrots. “For twenty minutes?”, she questions, eyebrow raised. Caitlyn was caught. “Mhm.” is all she can manage to get out. Clearing her throat and wiping the sweat on her palms off on her skirt, she holds out her hand. “Hi! I’m C-” She’s cut off again. “Piltie. Her name is Piltie.”, says a familiar voice. Caitlyn turns and sees Jinx, sluggishly making her way down the bleachers behind Caitlyn. “Can we go now, sis.. you obviously made the team.” Had she been there the whole time? Waiting? Watching? Violet takes her hand and shakes it firmly, a smile evident on her face. “ Well, Piltie..” she jokes, “I’m Violet. I’m sure you know my baby sister Jinx.” Caitlyn rolls her eyes and huffs. “Yeah.. everyone knows her apparently.” Violet laughs, not catching the annoyance in Caitlyn’s voice. “Haha, yeah that's so true. But anyway, I’d love to stay and chat but Jinx gets a little cranky when she’s out of the house for too long. How about you give me your number and you can tell me more about how you managed to pass by..” Air quotes. “.. for twenty minutes?” Violet is already holding out her phone. Jinx just groans and reaches into Violet's duffel-bag, pulls out a pair of keys, and walks off. “Car! Waiting! Hurry your gay ass up!”

Caitlyn types her number into Violet's phone. She sees Violet save it as “Cupcake” but doesn’t question it. Then she quickly goes home, more than ready to forget today. Forget this place. Forget Jinx. She ignores her mother as she tries to greet her and ask how it all went. Walking into her room, she face-plants on her bed and lets out a scream. Caitlyn has no idea why she’s so frustrated. Today wasn’t even all that bad. Just when she thinks maybe she should write a pros and cons list of how the day went, her phone rings. Jayce’s name pops up on her screen. She takes notes of the dog emoji he had put next to his name. Total golden retriever. It was just him being kind. Sending a picture of his schedule for easy access and letting her know that he’s happy he met her. Caitlyn sends a pic back of her schedule and returns the kindness. During dinner, Caitlyn mostly just hums responses at her mother while she talks about the importance of making a good impression. Caitlyn thinks back to Jinx. No good impression there. With the blue-haired girl in mind, Caitlyn’s stomach flips. She comes to the decision that she’s done eating. The only thing that could remotely make her feel better now is a nice, warm shower and one of her books to lull her to sleep. That’s exactly what happens.

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