[ jayce doesn't know if it's the retort that freezes him in place, or the way viktor lays before him. the pearly iridescence of his gaze, or the reminder of the promise he'd broken. both sink into his bones with devastating efficiency, until he was stripped bare, his lips barely holding together and his ears immediately pulling back. jayce was already expressive, but having ears and a tail just about dooms his chances of hiding what he feels. with his lungs witholding his breath, jayce's stare hangs between them— partially hurt from the truth that bore, and partially objective. ]
That's not fair, [ his voice wavers. rough. salt burns in his wounds. ] I did listen. When you explained things to me, when you gave me the chance— I did—
[ he listened when he was going to end himself the first time. he . . . didn't listen when the council started working in. when he was supposed to destroy the hexcore. when he wasn't supposed to weaponize hextech—
he listened when viktor, old and grey at the edge of the earth with only his jayce's statue still corpse to remind him of all his failures, rotting in an endless loop of time— he listened when the same viktor warned him of the arcane's seduction.
and now, jayce just finds himself in the same, messy ditch. in the same turbulence. his ears keep slanted back, folded as the background noise of their conversations fill the void in his chest. talk about naming their creations. hex here, hex there—
there's a pattern, in all of this. ]
I always made my worst decisions when we were apart.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2025-08-18 11:48 am (UTC)That's not fair, [ his voice wavers. rough. salt burns in his wounds. ] I did listen. When you explained things to me, when you gave me the chance— I did—
[ he listened when he was going to end himself the first time. he . . . didn't listen when the council started working in. when he was supposed to destroy the hexcore. when he wasn't supposed to weaponize hextech—
he listened when viktor, old and grey at the edge of the earth with only his jayce's statue still corpse to remind him of all his failures, rotting in an endless loop of time— he listened when the same viktor warned him of the arcane's seduction.
and now, jayce just finds himself in the same, messy ditch. in the same turbulence. his ears keep slanted back, folded as the background noise of their conversations fill the void in his chest. talk about naming their creations. hex here, hex there—
there's a pattern, in all of this. ]
I always made my worst decisions when we were apart.