Happy WIP Wednesday!
In honor of this special occasion and to show my appreciation for the many talented authors in our fandom, I’ve created a list of my favorite ongoing Arcane Jayvik fics as of April 2, 2025.
(Edit by @arcanegifs)
Post-Canon Stories
The Line is Covered in Jellyfish by Staroverlord (@yunuen)
Rated M | 6/10 Chapters | 65k+ words
Summary:
Jayce and Viktor survive the Hexcore, a blizzard, their own bodies, sharing a bed and all the things they’re too afraid to say. Slowly, they put themselves back together— piece by stubborn piece.
When Viktor finally asks why Jayce stayed behind inside the Anomaly with him, Jayce stares at him as though he’s supremely disappointed by the question— as if Viktor has betrayed his own brilliance by asking something so irredeemably stupid. “How could I not? We’re partners.”
Partners, Jayce calls them. Not for the first time, Viktor wonders: Partners in what?
Notes:
As much as I love the “Jayvik lands in a field of flowers” trope, I experienced a delightful level of schadenfreude when the arcane spat them out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere during a blizzard instead. Fighting to survive puts what transpired between them in the astral plane on hold, and everything left unsaid makes space for old insecurities and regrets that loom like the world’s biggest elephant in their one room dilapidated cabin. The resulting slowburn, wrought by avoidance warring with codependency and forced proximity, is exquisite torture for everyone involved—the readers especially. It’s also one of the funniest fics I’ve ever read.
***
motion on a circle by runesick (@runesick)
Rated M | 2/3 Chapters | 22k+ Words
Summary:
jayce and viktor make a vow to finish their work, together. the arcane has other plans.
(some exploration of whatever 'forever holding each other in the infinite embrace of the arcane' actually means)
Ekko’s face twists, looking around. From his expression, Viktor feels more confident that he didn’t somehow drop off while in transit. “Did we end up on a round-trip?”
“I… No, we would have noticed it coming to a stop,” Viktor says, his tone betraying his frustration too much to justify. He’s meant to be responsible here, responsible for himself and his student, regardless of their distance from campus. “Come, we have to try once more.”
“What happens if it doesn’t work?”
Viktor grimaces. “It will work.” He looks up at the ticket booth, cast-iron Piltie script molten into incomprehensible mud. “I’ll pay, c’mon.”
He hands his coins over and they smear with blood. Viktor checks his hands but there’s no cuts, no bleeding there. The cashier’s face twists, gold and ivory with no mouth to say ‘safe descent’ .
Notes:
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a piece of writing that perfectly captures the uncanny experience of dreams and nightmares in the way this fic does. The subtle terror of not-quite-right that grows, and grows, and GROWS as the narrative progresses is immensely compelling. I’m utterly thrilled by this darker interpretation of the infinite embrace of the arcane.
***
Dinner at Jericho’s by Avelera (@avelera)
Rated T | 4/6 Chapters | 14k+ Words
Summary:
It's been six years since the events of "Arcane", and Jayce and Viktor have spent those years traveling between dimensions on the Arcane's behalf, preventing the rise of Hextech. Now, they've finally been granted a break from their work and a chance to return to their home dimension to catch up with family and old friends. In which Jayce, Viktor, Caitlyn, and Vi go on a long-overdue double-date, and Viktor sees for the first time what happens when disaster duo Jayce & Vi are in the same room together.
“Oh no, I was afraid of this,” Caitlyn muttered.
Viktor frowned and glanced at her. “What is it?”
“I don’t know what it is, but whenever these two are together, their brains leak out their ears,” Caitlyn whispered. “I’ve found the best solution is just to clear a blast radius.”
Viktor stared. “Jayce? But… he’s a scientist, a man of reason!”
Caitlyn gave him a look. “Believe me, I know. But for some reason, none of that matters when these two are in a room together.”
Notes:
Our beloved characters are treated to a much needed night of light-hearted revelry after the events of Arcane put them through the ringer. Humorous fluff featuring bookstreet and their exasperated partners. Everyone is so happy and in love. This fic always puts a smile on my face.
***
Pygmalion by thats_a_secret (@twenty-qs)
Rated E | 7/? Chapters | 38k+ Words
Summary:
Jayce, in the Crucible. Viktor, in the Garden. And the Herald, in the worlds between.
They land in a field of flowers.
There is a version of the Herald who knows this place. Who has walked a thousand iterations of this field, in a thousand worlds and a thousand lifetimes. The same Herald who had carved that pattern into the blue crystal, knowing what it meant, knowing it would lead the keeper of his heart back to this place.
This Herald, the Herald of the right-here-and-now, knows only that he has found an unexpectedly soft landing.
Notes:
Beautifully written, dark, and bittersweet. The prose might as well be poetry. Each chapter is rich with detail in a way that every line feels like striking gold. It makes me want to grab a shovel and delve deeper. The narrative takes a shape not dissimilar from the wild rune—a web woven of poignant vignettes that offer kaleidoscopic views of the past, present, future, and spaces in between. I find somethig new with each re-read.
***
Capgras by wifidelis (@wi-fidelis)
Rated M | 10/? Chapters | 54k+ Words
Summary:
Jayce and Viktor are hurled out of the anomaly and dropped into the field where it all began. While it seems like the opportunity for a fresh start, Jayce's health rapidly begins to decline. In a desperate bid to save his partner, Viktor makes a series of shocking discoveries about Jayce's body and mental state... leading Viktor to believe that *his* Jayce is not what emerged from the Arcane with him.
Jayce, struggling with the effects of the Arcane on his mental state, also begins to wonder if he is himself anymore.
Through the haze, he finds Viktor, the sky folding to darkness and rippling into a multitude of stars behind him. Jayce begins to tremble in earnest, tears bending Viktor’s portrait amongst the cosmos.
“I didn’t fail you?” Jayce rasps.
“No,” Viktor breathes. “You succeeded.”
Notes:
A fic with all the painful, angsty details of what it means for Jayce and Viktor to survive the finale and return to physical forms. The ultimate sickfic. There is so much whump! Neither of them are okay, but Viktor is nonetheless foisted into the role of caretaker for a feverish, arcane-infected Jayce when they go on the run. I enjoy a lot of fics that heavily feature Viktor whump, but it’s really refreshing for Jayce to get a turn!
***
Canon!Universe AUs & What-Ifs
Progress Day by Avelera (@avelera)
Rated E | 2/4 Chapters | 11k+ Words
Summary:
It’s Progress Day, two years after Jayce and Viktor became partners, and the inaugural launch of the Hexgates is this year’s main attraction. Jayce and Viktor are the toast of the town and celebrating the best night of their lives when Viktor decides he’s ready to take the next step forward in their partnership.
Or: how to have the boy, how to lose him, and what happened after.
Viktor raised his glass towards the only person in the room who mattered. “There is, in truth, only one man to whom this night is owed. A man who… whose dream changed the course of my life forever. Jayce, if I had the chance to choose the path my life would take a thousand times over, I would always make the same choices that would have led me here, standing in this room with you tonight to make your dream a reality.”
Notes:
A canon compliant possibility of what Jayce and Viktor’s partnership entailed in the missing years between Act One and Act Two of the first season. The dramatic irony of impending heartbreak makes the present promise of intimacy all the more impactful.
***
Lies We Tell Ourselves by tenderwatches (@tenderwatches)
Rated E | 28/50 Chapters | 128k+
Summary:
In a city divided by power and wealth, Viktor returns to Piltover after years of exile—lungs failing and pride wounded—only to discover Jayce has rebuilt the very invention that drove them apart. As they reluctantly collaborate on synthetic Hextech crystals that promise revolutionary change, they uncover a dangerous connection between magic, ambition, and the toxic Gray choking Zaun's streets.
While rekindling their fractured partnership amidst scientific breakthroughs and political machinations, they confront the truths they've hidden from themselves and each other: desires long buried, sacrifices made in desperation, and the possibility that progress might come at too high a cost.
Some lies protect us, others destroy us—but the hardest lies to overcome are the ones we've been telling ourselves.
Four to nine months.
“Don’t let me run,” Viktor murmurs into the minuscule distance separating them, words barely audible once more. Jayce has to lean in to hear him, and he reinforces his gentle plea. “I… know myself. This will be difficult, and I will… try to retreat.”
Jayce kisses him again, softly, slowly, like he’s memorising the feeling. “I won’t,” he promises before he savours another kiss, letting their bodies come together again. Viktor fits against him as if he’s made for this space, somewhere between shaping the future and dreaming of possibility. When they part, he rests his forehead against Viktor’s, eyes closed. “Let me take you home.”
Notes:
A League of Legends/Arcane fusion. The Jayvik Divorce happens during the timeskip before they stabilize the crystals into gemstones. From there, dominoes topple one after the other, creating a world that is familiar yet also full of compelling story opportunities that went unexplored in canon. This is the reconciliation/slowburn fic to me.
***
Dress me in midnight, feast upon my bones by hexhomos (@hexhomos)
Rated E | 3/? Chapters | 34k+
Summary:
The rocket strikes through the heart. Reality collapses in less than five seconds.
Jayce rebuilds Viktor, little by little, piece by piece.
And if his partner comes back from the dead a little different, well... what's not to love? Jayce is a quick study. He can adjust himself into a suitable form. He pledged himself to this task a dozen years ago; he's in it for the long haul.
To put it bluntly: this is the one where Dr. Frankenstein runs away with his bride.
(Jayce follows Viktor down to the depths of Zaun, and amid the riots and war-banners, everything changes.)
He really thought they’d have more time. Jayce had assumed, no, believed, that all the accumulated years of sweat and labor would deliver him a reward of some kind. That the gods from realms above would smile kindly upon their accomplishments; that a miracle would happen. Viktor deserved as much. They were owed as much. (And in his heart of hearts, Jayce thought – I’d be buried in snow if it wasn’t for a miracle. I’ve seen it happen once. I’ve been saved once. It could happen again. I could repay my standing debt and make it happen one more time, just for him.)
Notes:
The gothic romance of it all is immaculate. This fic encapsulates the monstrous devotion of their partnership after Jayce revived Viktor with the Hexcore. They are both so unwell about each other. I’m eager to find out what happens next and dreading the consequences.
***
into perihelion by jasspurr (@jasspurr)
Rated E | 8/? Chapters | 48k+ Words
In which Viktor discovers that there is one thing worse than impulsively sleeping with your lab partner: doing it again.
And again. And again. And again.
Viktor knows that he needs to stop this. That he has exactly one chance left to stomp out the kindling before it takes flame and swallows him whole.
It should be so, so easy. All he has to do is walk away from the ledge.
But he can't. He can’t.
Notes:
This the second installment of basophobia, also known as Jayvik and Their Messy Situationship: The Series. The amount of pining and denial is off the charts! One might assume that sleeping together would remedy that—it doesn’t. It makes them worse. Exquisite emotional slow burn.
***
your teeth in my neck by b_o_i
Rated E | 22/23 Chapters | 201k+ Words
Summary:
In which Viktor is a sex worker, Jayce is one of his best clients, and they still manage to create hextech together. The rest is a little more complicated.
Councilor Jayce Talis is something of a running joke around here—the fact that he’s been coming here for years, since before he was anyone at all. A lot of the workers and regulars alike remember the stuttering academy student who stumbled his way in six years ago; the idea of that little asshole being a full-fledged councilor now is kind of hilarious. It’s also kind of infuriating, if you think about it too long.
Notes:
Over 200k+ words of plotty porn. This author is exceptional at writing emotional and physical intimacy. I always love when fics explore how certain changes to Viktor’s background might impact his political consciousness and core beliefs, and this story does exactly that. The evolution of Jayce and Viktor’s relationship from something transactional to partners of equal standing is a complicated, messy journey rife with political machinations and the growing social class disparities in Piltover and Zaun.
***
Alternate Timelines & Time Travel Fix-Its
In This New Skin by stillwatersounds
Rated M | 1/3 Chapters | 14k+ Words
Summary:
After the end of the world, Viktor and Jayce wake up back in the lab. Like none of it ever happened.
“We’re back,” Jayce is still saying, dulled behind the ringing in Viktor’s ears. “Before it all went wrong. Vik, this is incredible. Do you get what this means?”
It hits him slowly, bile rising in his stomach, what exactly it is Jayce is referring to. What it means for Viktor to be breathing. Inside his palms, he can still feel the stars ache.
Notes:
I’m obsessed with how this fic depicts Viktor struggling with his return to humanity and the difficult reality of second chances. This puts him at odds with Jayce’s ceaseless determination to fix things, and the resulting angst is marvelous.
***
Good Luck, Babe by Kosmos_Relic
Rated E | 23/? Chapters | 156k+ Words
Summary:
Post-Canon Fix it Timeline- Where Jayce can't let go how badly he messed up, Viktor needs a few reasons to break his cycle of withdrawing from others, and they both pretend they aren't the dumbest men in all of Piltover and Zaun combined.
He stares longingly at Viktor, the soft curve of hair around his ear, the twitch of his brow as he works through his confusion of Jayce knowing his name. But of course Jayce does. Knows his name. Knows how long he can sit before he's too stiff to walk. Knows his entire list of dreams to stop suffering of others- all of it blindsided because Jayce’s obsession with the arcane came and ruined everything good in him.
“How do you-”
“I’m sorry.” Jayce isn’t ashamed that his voice breaks, his body shaking with all the hurt of a different timeline, “I never meant- I only wanted to save you.”
Notes:
I love how the fandom took the idea of multiple timelines and ran with it! We have a feast of cakes, and this one is delectable. Post-canon Jayce winds up in a different timeline just as this world’s Viktor is about to seize his research and have him detained. Much to Viktor’s dismay, Jayce immediately abandons Hextech despite its clear potential. Jayce insists that they can help people and change the world through other means. This changes their partnership significantly, and a pre-timeskip passionate romance ensues. The two things I really enjoy about this fic are 1) the deviations between this timeline and Jayce’s native timeline that exist both in the periphery and main story and 2) a creative exploration of the arcane’s impact on Jayce and how it manifests.
***
Shake the Shadow by enby_chaos (@enby-chaos), ResidentHesitant (@crimewizards)
Rated T | 5/? Chapters | 26k+ Words
Summary:
After promising the old mage that he wouldn’t fail, Jayce is sent back to Piltover - ten minutes before his lab explodes. Knowing what he knows now, he can use that chance to change things - to stop his lab from exploding, yes, but to stop the hexcore's corruption before it can even start, too. With relationships to rebuild, a career to restart, and constant nightmares of the hexcorized world he barely escaped, Jayce has his work cut out for him.
Meanwhile, Vi wonders just how it is this Piltie knew her name.
“Sorry,” the topsider said, taking a sip of his drink. “It’s, uh– it’s been a weird day.”
“Yeah? Tell me about it.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Powder finish her juice and hop off her barstool with a wave, going over to bother the lad with all the books. The topsider watched her go, his eyes following her to the fellow’s table and going wide when he saw the other student. He immediately busied himself with his drink. Vander laughed. “You know him?”
The topsider took a too-large gulp of his ale, gaze fixed on the counter.
“I, uh. I haven’t met him, yet.”
Notes:
My favorite part of this fic is its use of Outsider POV. As one might expect, fixing the world with time travel makes you act really fucking weird. Jayce is an anxiety-ridden mess. Viktor is intrigued.
***
No red roses on our graves by moondust88
Rated T | 13/35 Chapters | 54k+ Words
Summary:
The destruction of Hextech reverberates across every universe, but in this one, its collapse is absolute. Every fragment of its power detonates in a catastrophic chain reaction, and those caught too close to it pay the ultimate price. The Arcane stirs. Reality bends, fractures yawning open where once there was order. And through those cracks, two broken souls are torn from the wreckage of their own world and thrust into another.
Viktor and Jinx wake up in a city that already grieves them. Viktor learns that in the aftermath of the explosions Jayce was sentenced to lifetime in prison. Desperate to get his soulmate out against Piltover's verdict, he turns to the only person who could grant it: Silco.
Jinx survives against her will—again. She’s tired. Tired of fighting, tired of losing, tired of being dragged back from the edge. But she believes she owes it to Silco (on account of the murdering and all) to make his dream of Independent Zaun come true.
Her mind lurched, trying to put together an explanation, any explanation, but the pieces didn’t fit. They weren’t even part of the same puzzle.
She had died. He had transcended. She had woken up here. And surprise, surprise, so had he.
Maybe she had finally lost it. Her grip on reality—shaky at the best of times—had finally, irreversibly, snapped. Maybe she had never left the wreckage. Maybe her body was still burning, buried in the ruins of her own making. Maybe she had never woken up at all.
Then—a breath. A tremor. A voice, hoarse, struggling through the weight of its own disbelief.
“This—” Viktor rasped, fingers trembling against the ground. “This can’t be.”
Notes:
Jayvik but also features a lot of Jinx and Silco, which I’m 100% here for. There is a bittersweet comfort that’s intrinsic to this premise, and reading it is like listening to sad songs just to feel something. Post-canon Jinx reuniting with this universe’s Silco, who is grieving the unexpected loss of his Jinx, broke my heart in two before stitching it back together. Then there is post-canon Viktor’s desperation to save a version of Jayce whose dreams have gone up in flames for a second time, taking this world’s Viktor along with them. I’m so, so excited for these parallel plots to intersect as Viktor turns against Piltover and aligns himself with Silco for Jayce’s sake.
***
Genre Swap AUs
Oathbreaker by queercatfam (@lesbianherald)
Rated E | 2/10 Chapters | 28k+
Summary:
When loyal Piltovian knight Jayce Talis gets severely injured in a fall, he's rushed to the infirmary and stripped of his duties. While recovering, he develops an infatuation with the Royal Apothecary in charge of his care, Viktor. He soon learns that Viktor has a dangerous secret, one that may test Jayce's loyalties to his friends, his family, and the very kingdom he's sworn to.
Jayce takes a few deep breaths. He focuses on Viktor’s eyes. Searches for something warm. Tangible. Human. That beautiful hand. He hopes and hopes and hopes Viktor will let him take it. Uses so much effort to reach out for it. He lets out a little sigh when Viktor does. He stares at Viktor’s hand in his own. He thinks of one of the first things he said to him.
“Do you…” his heart starts stuttering in this strange, unnatural rhythm. “Do you hold hands with - with all your patients or just your favorites?”
Notes:
Please, please, please read this masterpiece right now. The fantasy world building is incredible, and I’m absolutely loving the various ways canon elements have been adapted to this setting. The story’s conflict being rooted in magic and mages is such a lovely ode to the origin of Hextech.
***
Glory, Golden Boy by cazimiz (@cazimiz)
Rated E | 20/29 Chapters | 80k+ Words
Summary:
Zombie Apocalypse AU - Mostly everything starts the same and then everything goes to shit on Progress Day
And all that Jayce could hear was the sound of his own breathing and the roaring of blood in his ears.
He stood there, both hands on his hammer where one face of it was still stuck in the gore.
In the blue glow of Hextech, Jayce could almost tell himself that it wasn’t human.
Notes:
A terrifying, action-packed translation of canon into a zombie apocalypse story. The narrative is propelled by Jayce’s growing desperation to reunite with Viktor after the outbreak on Progress Day. I really enjoy that this fic brings zombies to Piltover and Zaun rather than placing the characters in an established zombie-ridden setting. The exploration of shifting politics and power struggles in Zaun and Piltover under these dire circumstances is fascinating. There is also plenty of badassery to go around among the ensemble cast.
***
Me [28M] with my roommate of 1 year [31M], I’m worried I might be homophobic towards him? by ivypool (@lesbianivypool)
Rated E | 12/13 Chapters | 85k+ Words
Summary:
The one where jayce can't figure out why he cares so much about the guys his new roommate brings home... and doesn't realize he's fallen in love until he's completely and totally fucked.
"So this whole roommate thing. I just wanted to ask, like… what are you looking for? Should I totally leave you alone?” (God, please say no.) “Should we just be, like, cordial coworkers?” (Please, please, please say no.) “Or do you want to be more like… friends?”
Viktor snorted. It was a sound Jayce was starting to crave. His heart squeezed.
“Yes, Jayce.” Viktor stood, leaning on his cane. “I think we should be friends."
Notes:
A fic where Jayce has a bisexual awakening without eating raw lizards at the bottom of a ravine and being tormented by hallucinations in the fire. This delightful Modern AU is based on that one viral Reddit post about that guy realizing he has gay feelings for his roommate. I can totally see Jayce authoring that post because he doesn’t realize he’s in love with Viktor. Also, special shout-out to Rio being a pet axolotl!
***
That’s all Folks!
