abraxaslogs | [open] january/february catchall

Entry tags:

[open] january/february catchall

Who: Viktor and special guests and YOU
When: January through early February
Where: Cadens, the Horizon
What: open stuff, closed stuff, dangerous and illicit magical surgery, the usual
Warnings: the usual references to terminal illness including a steep decline and medical procedures/surgery. will list additional warnings as needed.

[open and closed starters in comments! This is also a general catch-all for Viktor’s do-or-die attempt to cure himself, and the events leading up to it, and his recovery (to come later). If you want a custom starter or something specific, just hit me up. full horizon details are here for any and all wildcarding needs. For everything else, I’m on plurk at

whitticus and on discord at whitticus#8139.]

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"Something special for me to feed to our insatiable magic computer? I think he might be offended."

Sure, Viktor has no problem making foliage a casualty in the name of science, but it seems slightly rude to ask Jaskier to make plants for them, not really tell him why, and then inevitably destroy them all. But, of course, the hope is that they'll move on from this soon. They have to.

For now, however, Viktor is content to take a moment to bask in the sheer thrill of scientific discovery, even if these stakes are much higher. Jayce seems to be having similar thoughts, if the small displays of affection are any indication. He brings up the "old days", and Viktor can't help but smile, leaning into him at a little even as he scrawls notes from the most recent test run onto a chart.

"It makes me miss it, a little." Late nights, making progress, really feeling like they were going to change the world. It's tempting to linger on the thought, and he does, for a moment, enjoying Jayce's proximity, before snapping back to attention. "We can adjust the output. A little less, this time. See if it has an effect. Or maybe strength is the wrong symbol, here. It seems straightforward, but maybe there's something more fitting."

"Oh, right. Good point. They're not only plants to him."

Which Jayce respects, he's just not really thinking big picture currently. His only picture is the Hexcore and the cure. Jayce is being remarkably single-minded currently, but so would anyone. Jaskier has a good heart, he can see him getting attached to his plants, even the ones that Nadine might need to use for her own work.

"We're in the desert, we can go get a dozen cacti outside the gates. Not the one that Alucard hides in sometimes, obviously."

He is only teasing about that. Alucard is a damned hero in Jayce's eyes. How much he's done for them, how much he is still going to do for them. Jayce understands that friends will go above and beyond for each other, he would do the same, but this is still monumental. He only wishes he could find a way to thank him without it being uncomfortably sentimental and emotional. TBD.

"Endurance, maybe? Instead of strength." It is still a testing situation so they have all kinds of options. The problem is knowing something is almost right but not quite there yet. Jayce reaches out to brush fingers through his hair. He still likes to take the chance to touch him whenever possible, sharing affection. It feels better, having Viktor at hand, reminding himself he's there.

"We don't have to tell him what we're doing with them." Then, an afterthought. "As long as he doesn't want them back."

Besides, the hope is that as they tweak and adjust, they'll be killing fewer and fewer houseplants. He's not entirely sold on switching cacti, if only because there should be some consistency in their test subjects. Maybe that gives him more of a reason to ask Jaskier to make them some--that way, they can ensure all of the plants are compositionally identical.

Probably should have thought of that sooner, though instead of being frustrated by the oversight, Viktor gets a little thrill from Jayce giving him the idea. This is what he's always cherished--someone who matches him intellectually, who can create that feedback loop of hypotheses and breakthroughs.

"Yes, maybe. We can try. I never thought I'd say that our runes are more straightforward." So often it simply felt that they were just throwing things at the wall to see what stuck, with the records of the arcane lost to time or scrubbed away purposefully. This system is more defined, comparatively, but it has its own quirks and complications. "The Arcana system--every symbol has so many different interpretations. The one we're looking for might not be so obvious, or we're assigning symbols based on their primary meaning, when we should be looking at secondary, tertiary--"

He pauses, briefly, when Jayce reaches out to push a stubborn curl away from his forehead. Viktor should be upset, for having his train of thought interrupted, but instead finds the warmth of the gesture comforting. He gives Jayce a sad little smile.

"You never would have dared to do that, back home."

"Yeah I'm leaving you in charge of that one." Jayce is not a good liar and let's face it, he'll probably feel guilty about it for Jaskier. That's just the kind of person he is, even if he himself has no attachment to plants. They're nothing compared to Viktor's actual life.

The two of them work together extremely well, always have. And while they built a business and have been successful at it for a long time, this is the first big project they've worked on together. Of the life-changing variety. The next big one will hopefully be for the miners, but that had to be put off until after Viktor's cure. Soon.

"To be fair, ours were straightforward but it took me a long time to figure them out." Jayce only had his memory to pull from in the beginning. It took him some time to find the crystals, to find the explanations for the runes he saw the mage use, to put it all together into a way that made sense. "Start with primary, worry about secondary after." Prioritize what works best. They can easily get off task if they think too much.

"But I always wanted to." Jayce smiles back at him and drops his hand to Viktor's cheek. He leans in to kiss him gently and chastely.

"Yes. Years." A decade, if one counts all of the time Jayce spent dwelling over the incident that spurred him to create Hexctech in the first place. Viktor's eyebrows furrow a little. "Years that we don't have."

The Hexcore has dozens of facets, each with a symbol. The arrangements so numerous that it would take time they don't have to test them all. Luckily, they're far enough along that they know most of what needs to go where, but even the last few pieces falling into place will take an amount of time partially defined by the various permutations they need to go through. It's still too many.

Viktor tries to swallow down those thoughts and nods, instead, marking something off on a chart, only turning back to Jayce when he feels a hand on him. The kiss is easy to lean into, and though it doesn't chase away all of his anxieties, it certainly helps. For one moment, he can pull his whole world down to the space between them, where their lips meet. He lingers for a moment, eyes closed.

"I know you did." And despite the fact that they've gone over the hows and whys of their lack of romantic relationship back home more times than he can count, Viktor allows himself to wish that this could have been different. That they'd been romantic for years, instead of a fervent six months where so much of their energy was spent keeping him alive. He should be turning back to his work, but he takes Jayce's hand in his, instead, pressing his mouth to the palm. "It's too many combinations. We'll never get through them all--we're on the right track, but we need to be more strategic."

"Years that we don't need here. They've cultivated magic to a degree our world isn't capable of."

Jayce is a full-time mage now to the point where he doesn't doubt his skills anymore. It took months before he was able to see himself as one officially, but now he does. It's been incredibly important and rewarding. Abraxas simply makes it easier to get past all the things that were in his way before. It's why this was really the only option to keep him alive.

They still have some details to get down, and that's why they haven't done the surgery yet. But they're close. Viktor just has to hang on a little longer. He prays for that every night, to a god he doesn't believe in.

Jayce gets them to have these little moments. Their minds are working on the cure, but if he can put an arm around Viktor or press a kiss to his hair, he will every single time. He is treasuring all these moments. He refuses to acknowledge it as a 'just in case' situation, it simply makes him feel better. He lets Viktor have his hand and brushes his free one through his hair.

"What are you suggesting?" They can have a strategic meeting while also having some affection. They can do a lot of things, they've figured that out over the six months, now seven.

"Imagine what we could have done, if Piltover hadn't destroyed or hidden so much of that knowledge."

Viktor flashes Jayce a grin, but his voice is wistful. They both know he has complicated feelings about their home, but even someone like Viktor, who doesn't belong in Abraxas, can recognize the value of an intact magical history. Yes, the resources here are much less comprehensive than Thorne, but New Magic is more-or-less Hextech. He and Jayce were able to slot themselves right in, and the fact that the Hexcore is functional so quickly after acquiring a crystal is testament to that.

Jayce's affection is only slightly distracting, but Viktor doesn't want to deny himself comfort, so he allows it. Still, he turns them both back to the notes, settling under the embrace of Jayce's arm as he studies them for a few long, careful moments.

"We can eliminate some of the arcana symbols based on their general interpretations--perhaps they'd be useful to us if we wanted the Hexcore to iterate more freely, but we have the desired effect. The symbols are correct, we just need to find a way to make it last. Which do you think has the closest meaning, to achieve this?"

Viktor lets the touch linger for a moment longer, then ducks under Jayce's arm in order to cross the distance back to the Hexcore. He's clearly setting up for their next test.

Edited 2023-01-17 05:34 (UTC)

"Trust me, I've been thinking about that since I was a child."

Jayce right away wanted to find answers about magic, and for a time, his mother indulged it. She let him go looking and he swallowed up everything he could get. The older he got, the more he put himself out there, but it was through pure determination and grit that he ended up where he did. It was madness in many ways, following every path and many of them being fake. Jayce's obsessions can be good for them though. Such as now. His obsession with Viktor being the strongest of all.

He knows Viktor's indulging them both with these little touches and he doesn't mind losing them if he gets a second or two. It's never really been about sex for Jayce, although that was a good part of their relationship, it's just been about connection. Him and Viktor, tied together by love and science.

"Your arcana, love. Death." Kind of a backward reality, but as Jayce knows now, that's not what it actually means. "There is a good chance that it would react well to the fact it's your arcana and amplify it. It's about patience and persistence." And that is definitely what they need now.

"I know. You turned over every rock in Shurima, looking."

And Viktor is glad that he did--it was his discovery of the crystal that brought them together, and it's something he won't trade for anything, at this point. When he looks up from the table it's with infinite fondness. A smile pulls at the corners of his mouth, despite everything.

Jayce tells him what symbol they need and Viktor considers this for a moment, huffing out a sound that might be a laugh when he realizes that he's right. He shakes his head a few times, laughing a little more clearly, an indication that he doesn't necessarily mean to say no--just acknowledge that the solution is so obvious he feels almost foolish for missing it.

"You may be right." Of course he's right. Along with everything else Jayce is, he's brilliant. Viktor trusts his mind more than anything, and he motions for Jayce to join him at the Hexcore. "Another plant. I have a good feeling about this one."

"I'm pretty sure I turned every rock that exists looking."

Jayce laughs and he sees that look that Viktor shoots him, fond and warm. It never fails to make his heart ache in a good way and he smiles back at him. They always had moments of deep connection before they took this relationship romantic, but in many ways it was always brief moments of affection and stolen glances. Now neither of them hold back.

He knows why Viktor's laughing before he says anything since obviously Jayce is right. He is not surprised that Viktor avoided his own arcana though, everyone has their intentional bind spots. Jayce found the arcana very fitting for Viktor once he heard the general idea, just as his seems ridiculously on point.

He brings over said plant and offers it to Viktor, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek at the same time. Plant, kiss, and time to see if his sharp mind was right.

"Well, I'm glad for it."

Viktor lets his gaze linger for a moment, hoping that his expression makes clear all the things he isn't quite able to say. Jayce is right, that there's something special about the connection they have, not just as friends or romantic partners, but as scientists. He cherishes these moments of discovery more than almost anything else, and this is no exception.

While Jayce crosses the room with the latest test subject, Viktor makes adjustments to the runic array, scribbles a few notes, and then turns to face him.

"Goggles, Jayce."

Granted, he's done plenty of experimenting on the Hexcore without, but he's making a gesture towards lab safety when there are others in the room. Plant, kiss, and then Viktor is pulling his own goggles onto his face and setting the plant on the Hexcore rig. It's difficult not to disguise the thrill in his voice, even despite the circumstances. "Now, that lever."

Edited 2023-01-18 04:05 (UTC)

"Yes, dear." Jayce teases.

He loves Viktor in his goggles, it definitely reminds him of when they were young and stupid and somehow didn't get themselves killed doing illegal experiments. Sometimes it's impossible not to think of where they started when they're here together, and it's also because of the obvious. This isn't just them experimenting, it's them trying to save Viktor's life so memories aren't the only thing they have.

Jayce actually hesitates for a second but only because he's looking at Viktor lovingly so that is why Viktor's assertion their relationship would be a distraction in the lab is mostly correct. Although they really do manage most of the time. And it only lasts a brief moment before he pulls the lever. As soon as he does though his full attention turns to the Hexcore and to hope with all his air sucked into his lungs that it yields a better result.

Viktor rolls his eyes behind the goggles--Jayce can't see the motion, but it's probably evident in the arch of his eyebrows above the brass rims. The consternation doesn't last long, however, as Viktor is quick to settle himself next to Jayce, hands on the controls, waiting for his partner to crank it. It might as well be eight years ago, and Viktor tries to focus on the feeling of the warm body next to him, the soft glow of the Hexcore spinning on the tabletop, waiting for them.

Jayce activates the device and Viktor is quick to jump in, reaching for the piston built into the tabletop. He's all focus, now, pushing the handle inward, giving it a quarter turn, pulling it out--and the Hexcore starts to spin, picking up where Viktor has instructed, the facets of it shifting and rearranging as it receives instructions and recognizes its subject.

The results are familiar by now--blue electricity, wafting off the core in waves, the energy of it stirring up papers on the desk and blowing Viktor's hair away from his face. The plant, imbued with their serum and held in its rig, suddenly shudders and blossoms, growing all at once beyond anything that should be possible. Fronds unfurl, reaching for the ceiling of the dark lab, and Viktor holds his breath, knowing that the inevitable decay is about to come--

And then it doesn't. The Hexcore slows, pulsing, but otherwise returns to its resting state. The plant seems frozen in time, its growth suspended, but momentarily stable. Viktor gapes, clearly not expecting this, but after a moment he snaps back to reality, striking his palm against Jayce's forearm, almost in a panic.

"The stopwatch, Jayce--quickly--"

They need to be timing this. They need to know how long it lasts.

Jayce never got a close look at the Hexcore the first time, he was divided by the Council and Viktor was always wrapped around it, not sharing many details about it or his plans. Seeing it from the beginning this time has been fascinating and while it is very much Viktor's project still, it has plenty of Jayce touches in the design, since they did it this time together.

It's still incredible to watch work and even if they expect it to fail again, the glowing energy, the pulse of life, it fills him with both pride and dread. Jayce waits to see how long it will take the plant to die this time, usually it's only a few seconds, but this time it stays. They both are shocked at first but Jayce immediately reaches out for the stopwatch a second before Viktor tells him to. They almost share minds when it comes to the lab, working perfectly in time together.

"T-plus five seconds from this point." He hits the stopwatch since he did track how many seconds were in-between, having held his breath to wait. It starts ticking away and his eyes cannot tear away from the spinning and glowing machine.

"It's so beautiful," he murmurs, somewhat to himself. Because that is how he's always seen Hextech, his beloved invention, but this is something else. And if they're lucky, it is the cure. Once it works, ths Hexcore will have to be destroyed, so for this time only, he can appreciate it.

There's still so much about this that he doesn't understand, and might even be afraid of, not that he's going to say it out loud. Having Jayce here, however, gives him faith. Whatever went wrong with the Hexcore the first time, Viktor knows that it spurred on by the fact that he'd tried to do it alone. Just as he was the one to tell Jayce what he missed with the crystals that started all of this, Jayce has now told Viktor what he overlooked.

The plant stays green. Viktor can't even bring himself to look at the stopwatch, still feeling like his breath is catching in his throat. Instead, he watches, his hand instinctually slides from Jayce's forearm up to his shoulder, clinging to him like a lifeline. Like it's grounding him, as he waits for the plant to die just like the rest.

But it doesn't. Not after thirty seconds. Not after a minute. Viktor stands there, holding onto Jayce, watching.

"It's working." And, yes, it's beautiful. The thought of having to destroy it sends a pang through his stomach, but he tries to swallow it down and focus on the accomplishment before them. "Jayce, you've done it."

It does feel like full circle in that moment, both of them the key to each other's greatest invention, and it feels like they're the only people who exist in the entire world right then. Their minds have always slotted together perfectly and this is the second time they've done the impossible. Just like Viktor his eyes are fixed on it and not on the time as it ticks by.

"We've done it," he laughs. Trust Jayce to always be the one quick with the we, to establish the two of them as a team like the first time. Our Hextech dream. And now this. Viktor's cure. He grins because even if it stops working, the point is that they're on the right path. They may have finally figured it out. He feels almost drugged in how the rush of joy comes in.

He puts the stopwatch down, it's still going just in case, and he puts an arm around Viktor's waist, hugging him to his side. Jayce can't help it, this feels very deserved, because he tilts Viktor's head up toward him and swoops in for a kiss. Goggles and all! It's not comfortable but it feels perfectly within reason to celebrate the moment. It is a quick kiss anyway, a delighted smack of his lips, and then he's pulling back and grinning hard enough to hurt.

"V, it's going to work."

He didn't really need the confirmation that the two of them are better when they're on the same page, but standing there watching the Hexcore just affirms it. Perhaps the particular magic system of Abraxas allowed them to complete his research, but it's more likely than not just the fact that they were doing it together. Even if the plant's vitality only lasts a few minutes, it's a few minutes longer than they had when they started. They're on the right track. They can make this work.

Well, Jayce seems to think so, anyway. Viktor yelps in surprise, even though his partner's reaction is entirely predictable. First the embrace, then the kiss, their goggles clanking together almost comically. Once his shock wears off--just a second or two--Viktor melts into it, trying to enjoy the moment and pulling away only when he realizes he should probably still be paying attention to the plant.

"Let's get a sample." The whole point of the procedure is a transplantation of afflicted tissue, and Viktor needs to know just what has happened to the plant on a cellular level. He still keeps a hand on Jayce's forearm, making his way over to the table so that he can do what he needs, just in case the plant starts to wilt. "We'll keep timing how long it lasts. Even if it fails, we know what adjustments to make."

That's more than he could have possibly asked for, at this point. Viktor takes sterile shears and snips a leaf off the plant, turning back to Jayce with a new determination in his eyes. "It has to work. We're so close."

Jayce was paying attention to the plant working in the corner of his eye when they kissed, don't worry. If it had changed he would notice. Besides, it is worth celebrating, and part of them being a couple is having a celebration of kisses as well as anything else. They can't have sex until Viktor is cured so there is nothing behind his affection other than love. He does think it's funny for the goggles to clack. They're such dorks.

Jayce lets Viktor get the sample because he is the one who knows exactly what he needs to look at. While Jayce does logically understand everything that is happening, even more so now with medical knowledge in his mind, this is very much Viktor's area that he's been invited into. With the occasional good idea added from him.

Looking at how it glows and how alive it looks, how alive Viktor is going to look, Jayce feels more confident than ever that anything was worth this. Whatever comes of his compromise, he feels no regret now. He would have done worse for him, in truth, and it was something they could live with, exactly as he promised. He smiles at Viktor, that determination such a great thing to see. He loves that Viktor is filled with fire instead of giving up. He wants to fight.

"It will. I know it. As soon as we're on the other side of this, you'll have to decide what you want to do to celebrate." Maybe finally go to the beach.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," he says, carefully placing the sample into a glass dish. He can feel Jayce's enthusiasm--his optimism, and though it's very tempting to buy into it, they both still have to focus. Now that the Hexcore is inactive, he pushes his goggles up his forehead, preferring to offer his unimpeded gaze to Jayce without tinted glass in the way.

He wants to be on the other side of this. Wishes he didn't have to do all of this work just to survive, to the point where even imagining what he wants to do to celebrate overwhelms him. Viktor looks at Jayce, earnestly. The stopwatch still ticks upward on the table beside them.

"We have to make sure that there's no--lasting connection, to the Hexcore." That it will transplant and rejuvenate his dying lungs and that will be it. The whole point of this is so Viktor won't have to rely on anything--medicinal or magical--and he can just live.

But there's another reason, too. They both know what will have to be done with the Hexcore when this is over, so they need to be sure that Viktor won't need it to survive, past the initial procedure. "If it forges some kind of link, then we won't be able to destroy it."

Jayce reaches over to stop the stopwatch a few seconds too late, but at least it's done, since Viktor shut off the Hexcore. He does feel a little frustrated, like they couldn't possibly have a few seconds to be optimistic before it had to be smushed, but he does logically understand it. Logic and emotions don't always work in sync, as they both know. It's why he doesn't argue and simply listens.

"That's why you shouldn't connect to it more than you have to. I wouldn't do too many tests with it directly, the minimum amount." They have to test it in multiple ways, but as far as he can tell, the bleed over happens when Viktor allows it to feed off his energy too much. Hopefully with Alucard's blood being involved it'll cling to him a lot less than it did before.

"You did it alone, that's why it ended up that way. It's not going to happen here." There are too many people right in the middle of it. They'll be able to disconnect him. Jayce has faith. He puts his hand on Viktor's shoulder, warm and a little heavy. "I'll destroy it, like I promised."

They'll keep an eye on the plant over the course of the evening--Viktor still doesn't expect the effect to last, but they're in much better place than they were when they started. Still, there's so much that could go wrong.

"I wish we didn't have to." It's working--the Hexcore is working, and they're going to have to destroy it as soon as they know it won't have an adverse effect on him, simply because of the government. For as much as Viktor knows that the Hexcore could do immeasurable good, the risk of keeping it active when it will most certainly be co-opted by the military is too great. He understands that now, but it still stings. His life's work, existing for so brief a time, and helping only him. "Think of everything we could do with it."

Jayce's hand is heavy and familiar on his shoulder, but this time he doesn't stay where he is. He leans into it, shifting his weight until he's tucked himself under Jayce's arm, enjoying the small comfort in the fact that he doesn't have to stop himself, anymore. "I'm sorry. I should be glad for this. We're so close."

"I know, V." Jayce puts his full arm around Viktor when he willingly comes in closer, holding him close. It seems like forever ago that he was afraid to do more than put a hand on his back, that it seemed too close to personal, and he lived off those crumbs. But all of it led here. And the Hexcore will push them past the now into the future, a real one, for both of them.

He can see all the ways that it could do good, but for him, nothing matters more than Viktor's life. That is what it was made for, and he will dismantle it so that it ends there. He knows it's hard though, for Viktor. This is a beautiful and incredible machine he created, one that lives in a way no technology can. Jayce kisses the top of his head.

"We'll come up with something else afterward, love. With our minds, we have unlimited opportunities. This isn't the end of our ideas." It doesn't have to be Viktor's life work. If he has a lot more life left, that could come later. It will always be hard because of the army, but they'll work around that. Viktor's mind is what matters.

He lingers, in spite of himself. Viktor has come around to the fact that he's allowed to seek comfort, especially in his situation, but there's still a part of him that tries to pull away. He fights the urge for at least a few moments longer than he might ordinarily, tucking against Jayce's side, resting his forehead against his chest.

Perhaps later, he'll have more to say about the trips he wants to take when this is done, or how they should hide his notes, so they can build this again if they think it's safe. Now, however, there's still work to be done, as tempting as it is to stay exactly here. Jayce is right--what matters is that he lives, so he can continue to create, and improve lives, and it isn't selfish of him to want that.

"A good experiment is replicable." Not that he needs to say as much. "We have to do it again."

And again, and again, until they're absolutely certain.

Jayce thinks it's unlikely they can keep any of their notes, but luckily their brains are plenty useful on their own. They might not be able to exactly replicate every number, but they probably could find their way back to this, some day. The only use he cares about with the Hexcore is this one. He can remember looking at Viktor nearly wasted away, and it's made him a little more skeptical of the device. It is beautiful and it is going to be everything they need, but maybe it's too dangerous, in the long-term.

"Okay, time for the repetitive part." He taps Viktor's chin up and kisses him very briefly, a light touch, and then a kiss to his forehead as well. No distraction. He just does it because he can. "Let's get started."

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[open] january/february catchall

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Wrap on this!