Jayce Talis (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hextechhead) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
abraxaslogs2023-01-06 06:04 pm
hextechhead) wrote in abraxaslogs2023-01-06 06:04 pm
promise me
WHO: Jayce Talis and close CR
WHAT: Jayce coping with the decline of Viktor's life and general feelings
WHERE: Cadens, Nocwich, Horizon
WHEN: January
WARNING: Will be TW for loved one with medical condition that could mean death and feelings surrounding that.
Starters Below
Fanart from here. If you want a specific starter message waftingcurtains on plurk or go wildcard!
WHAT: Jayce coping with the decline of Viktor's life and general feelings
WHERE: Cadens, Nocwich, Horizon
WHEN: January
WARNING: Will be TW for loved one with medical condition that could mean death and feelings surrounding that.
no subject
"She can be.. a little blunt." Which is , of course, putting it lightly at best. "But she's also wrong." Which wasn't new for Vi. Who had a tendency to be a little short sighted sometimes. The immediate future was all that existed and was all that would ever be. "Maybe it didn't seem like it then, but Piltover won't always be in such chaos. Things will be put to right and the people will have peace, safety."
After all, it's not like they live in Noxus or something. No one in Piltover, or even in Zaun, craves constant conflict. Not really. Not enough of them to matter anyway.
"She's good at that." There's a warmth to Caitlyn's voice, a genuine fondness. "It's easy to believe that she can do anything, isn't it?" Bigger than life really. Kind of like Jayce. So much more and when they said they'd do the impossible Caitlyn couldn't help but believe them.
For a moment Caitlyn just listens, processes. If a flush covers her cheeks at his next statement. That's her business. "Well, she's not wrong. Because I do." But hearing that her opinion was enough to sway Vi to a specific course of action? That's a little flustering. She's not even entirely sure why.
Okay, maybe she is, in fact, entirely sure why, but it's not something she wants to dwell on right now. Too embarrassing.
"Given a chance, I think you'd get along. If things weren't like they were." Or at least she sure hopes so. It'd be awful miserable for her if they don't.
"I didn't mean you. Well, not just you anyway. But it's appreciated." That's right. She can beat him up. Remember that! She might be youngest, but she's only slightly littler now. Something her mother might have bemoaned privately, her tall, lanky daughter who'd rather shoot things than politic.
"And you will. A nice long one at that. We'll make it happen." Nope. No dark thoughts allowed. He'd recover, they'd have a long time to be all sorts of sappy and in love and gross about it. Maybe even enough to chase Caitlyn out into an apartment of her own to get away from it.
no subject
It was extremely harsh to hear at the time, especially considering how low he'd fallen and how filled with self-hate he was. But Jayce also didn't give in and keep going on their path of violence and death. If she continued hers, that was her choice, but it was too much for him. Jayce doesn't have the stomach for actual violence, he learned that much, especially after Libertas. He also doesn't want to be a politician anymore, for the same reason.
"Maybe we could have gotten along, but I planned on making peace with Silco, which obviously is counter-productive to what we did." Although in many ways he thinks what they did is exactly why the man agreed to show up. Or he thought he would. Jayce knows it sounds insane set out like this, but he sighs. "I planned on offering the Undercity the independence they needed. Let them govern themselves, have their own trade routes, and not be under our thumb. I don't know if the Council will listen to me anymore, but I thought that was the only way."
Silco was evil and dangerous, but as far as Jayce knows, there was no one else in the Undercity that he could negotiate with. If there was, he would do it in a minute, to stay away from the man. He didn't know how they could destroy Silco and then offer the same thing to a broken leaderless Undercity. It was all shitty options at that point.
"Piltover has failed them, you said it yourself. I don't think we can fix it, and I don't think the Council would have actually bothered." So this was his way of trying to outflank their indifference. Maybe it sounded like a horrible deal with the devil, and it was, but Jayce thought of every possible angle. He just wanted to make things better, but the Council broke everything too much. It couldn't be pieced back together by them.
Jayce stands again and this time he pulls her into a hug. He could use the contact and his fears haven't gone away but she has managed to inspire some of his optimism and confidence again. "I plan to marry him, if we make it on the other end of this. Don't tell him, it'll be hard enough trying to get him to agree." Viktor agreeing is the problem, mostly because as much as he loves Jayce, it's just so formal of a thing. Much more Jayce's style, to want a commitment, ring, and wedding.
no subject
Despite Cassandra Kiramman's desire for Caitlyn to follow in her footsteps, the negatives of the job haven't been spared her. Caitlyn's heard far too many lectures about reading between the lines, finding out what they don't want to say behind what they're actually saying. Which... she'd actually used in her job as an Enforcer. Which wasn't what her mother had intended, but it worked well enough for Cait.
"Peace with Silco." It's said in a neutral tone. Caitlyn never being one to really jump to conclusions one way or the other without time to consider things. Could it work? Should it? What would peace with Silco really entail? And how would it change things that desperately needed to be changed? She's not sure anything tied to Silco could end well, but maybe that's her own prejudice speaking.
"Independence is a good first step." That, at least, she can agree with. She's just not sure what an independent Undercity would look like under the thumbs of its Chem Barons.
"You're right. There's only so much we can do." More and more it was looking like there would be no easy option, no way to really win at least not any time soon. Not without some radical changes. But honestly? Those changes wouldn't come from people like them. Maybe that was part of the problem. People from Piltover thinking they knew better. Maybe it was best left up to the people who knew. People like Ekko and his crew, like Vi.
Hugs are good. Jayce hugs are especially good. She leans into him, squeezing him close. He's been a rock for her time and again over the years, being one in return? Least she can do.
"You should." She smiles at the thought. "I think if you keep the spectacle low, it'll help." No grand ceremony. No large reception. No real fuss. None of those are things that are really Viktor. "Once he agrees that is."
And he probably would. Eventually. Just maybe not at first. Either way, she'd help out the best way she could when it came time. Plus, it's nice to think about their future instead of worrying about their present. Focus on the possibilities. The things that would happen.
Maybe we can wrap on this one since we have the newer one :)
"I know. It wasn't my first choice, but I didn't know how else to do it. In our negotiation, I planned on forcing him to destroy the rest of the Shimmer factories. I know it'll never be perfect, but it's been wrong for a long time, Piltover controlling them without caring about them." This war started long before either of them were born, and yet they were born into it, with privilege. But it still wasn't their mistake. It would only be their mistake if they let it continue on. That he was sure of.
He holds her in his hug, glad to have it. When he thought he'd never see her again, Jayce would put in his mind his memories of her, so he could find some comfort in there. Now he can have it for real. He's shared more of his real life with her here, because they both have the time.
"You're not wrong. I don't care about the spectacle. Just him." Jayce smiles faintly. He has to believe in the future. He has to believe that they can be everything they were supposed to be. He promised Viktor he'd live in the now with him, rather than off in the future, but he's going to allow himself this one fantasy. A ring on their finger, a promise on their lips.
"I have to go meet him at the workshop, want to keep me company?" On the walk at least.
Completely fine by me!
"I'm not blaming you. Unlike what I thought when we were younger, sometimes maybe you really do just have to choose the lesser of two evils." Which is a big concession coming from Caitlyn, but that even when you get to the extremes there are still shades involved. Gray doesn't just exist in the middle. "And if it doesn't work....well, then we just try something else."
Maybe life isn't technically like Jayce's experiments, but maybe there's something to be learned from all that time in a lab.
She doesn't have the prolonged absence, but even the small one she'd had back home had been strange. He'll always be a place of grounding for her, a touchstone if you will. And she's glad of it, hopes it'll never change.
"I know. It shows." After all, she's got a front row seat considering her living arrangements. Not that she's complaining. It's sweet, when it's not tinged with sadness and desperation. Something that, maybe, she envies a little bit. It looks nice. Not now of course, but... one day perhaps.
"Always." For all the teasing and grief they give each other "Perhaps I'll stop for tea on the way back." Maybe do some shopping, pick up a new book to read for fun. If she doesn't get distracted with something duty related in the process.