rec: She Cried
by TurnedWorm on AO3
Summary: Instead of saying “You were never broken” to a man who was actively dying from a very preventable disease, Jayce instead reminds Viktor of Rio.
I so wish this fic was canon. As much as I love Jayce and Viktor's canon final scene together, it does have some ableist overtones, considering that Viktor was actively dying of a preventable disease that did need curing. Like, I've got a lung disease myself (thankfully only chronic instead of terminal), and if my crush tried to claim that my lungs aren't broken I would double down on trying to erase humanity. Viktor deserved a cure, even though the Hexcore was the wrong way, and so did all the people of the Undercity. This fic subverts that by calling back to Rio while acknowledging that none of what Viktor has gone through has been fair. In addition, the fic has a happy ending that doesn't just kill off the people that Viktor tried to save.