hextechdreaming

[hextechdreaming]

coming back after 3yrs just as this site is shutting down to post jayviks and name drop my other socials - find me on twt @OmenBairn

[hextechdreaming]

To say the least, Viktor didn't expect Jinx's reaction.

However, he knows how dangerous she can be, and so he doesn't dare show it. Her first response causes him to narrow his eyes with a slight tilt to his head, quietly examining her body language. Closed off, defensive. She maintains eye contact firmly, showing she isn't afraid, supposedly, but Viktor can nearly smell the fear on her. It's obvious he'd caught her entirely by surprise.

He leans his head back as she suddenly lunges towards him, not so much as a twitch from him as he remains in places, still calculating in his head, still putting the pieces together.

Viktor had learned that people were brought here often from the same worlds, but sometimes from different versions of that world, different timelines...this appeared to be one of those cases. Viktor and Powder had met before, and though she had been crude, she wasn't this hostile. Vi served as a sort of cushion for her, as did Vander, with both sisters ready to put up with anything so long as it helped their father.

So yes, it's easy to come to the conclusion that this Jinx is from before they met. Hell, perhaps even from before Jinx reunited with Vi, before Jinx met Vander again in his new state...

"The answer to that is simple and yet, not so simple at all. It makes sense within the parameters of this world, but not within ours."

"I have met you, Pow--Jinx. We have met before. You and me, and Vi and Vander. I'm from your future. You are from my past...though we hadn't met then. This world does curious things like that, pulls people from different times in their lives. But I assure you - I have no interest in hurting you, using this information against you, or...whatever you may be afraid of."

Jinx liked to think she was pretty intuitive, able to read most people well enough. There were the liars that troubled her, of course, but when you take someone by surprise, catch them unawares- that's when they're most honest. That's when she could have them at a disadvantage, catch a glimpse of anything they might've tried to hide from her.

Which is why, rather than even say that one first word to her, he might as well have grabbed her dangling braids and yanked them to slam her head against the railing. The effect would've been roughly the same and not gotten so many questions skittering across her brain, shadows scratching at the corners of her vision. Wide, dumbstruck eyes stare down at him, shaking with acute intensity the further he goes along.

"No." The syllable is quiet and hoarse, with a terse edge to it. "Right now, it's just me. It usually is." She drags herself to her feet, watching this guy the whole time. "My turn for a question."

The vivid pink of her eyes streaks through the air from the speed with which she vaults over the railing. They come to a halt closer to him, though still from above- her arms behind her have caught herself, feet braced against the platform to keep herself from dangling. A Shimmer-infused glare attempts to bore through him.

"That name. My sister. My dead father. How is it that you know so much when I don't even know you...?"

[hextechdreaming]

The light of the fire draws Viktor's attention properly and he glances up at the man before him, the flame in his hands as it grows. His gaze briefly flickers to the trees around them, then back to the mage before him. Wouldn't it be dangerous to use this sort of magic here? Curious. He appears to have excellent control of it, as shown as he places the flame between them to act like a light.

"A light?" Viktor asks curiously, the hand with the cog waving towards the flame in the air. "Did you not just create one of those?"

"Don't worry. I have no requests of your nor any prayers. I am simply...wandering. Getting to know the area. Getting lost in the world and my own thoughts. How about you? It is a bit suspicious to be out so late, I will agree..."

「✦」 "Of course," Aurelius agrees, and spreads his fingers. The spark of fire in his hands rolls into his palm and grows into a fireball as large as his fist and three times as bright; it floats into the air after that, hanging between them as a convenient source of light while the angel continues the conversation.

"So I'm surprised you were still here by the time I left the woods."

"Inevitably, it makes me think you want something from me. A light?" He peers blankly at the cog in the stranger's hand, not recognizing its make or purpose. Humans sometimes carried lighters around, he knew—sometimes in strange shapes or containers—but there was nothing for the man to light on fire.

"Or do you carry a prayer? I assure you, I can hear the voices of the sincere quite easily."

[hextechdreaming]

Viktor's eyes narrow, frowning a bit at all the noise the boy before him is making. Quietly, he wondered if he could do this sort of thing with his new body. Still - he'd never been the time.

"No. I did not know that. I mean that...there is an energy about you that I just cannot place."

"Hup!!! Hoo!!! hyuuuuupppp!!!! hooooooo!!!" He's been going at this for a bit now. Lowering his body, lifting it, then jumping. He repeats these steps and in the midst of jumping, he'd tuck his legs. A work out or maybe it was a way to pass time. Either way it might be a ridiculous sight. A sight that halts when he hears someone speaking to him. "Mm?"

To be honest, he noticed this strange scent coming from this guy, but had chalked it up to some kind of SOMETHING from fibonacci's ward. Didn't think it belonged to an actual person.

"Something odd?" What is this guy getting at?

"Is it because of my workout routine? HEY, don't you know a daily workout routine keeps those weird freaks away?" He hates doctor visits. He'd rather stay sick free if he can.

[hextechdreaming]

Parasitic.

Viktor had never thought of the hexcore as such.

Opportunistic, maybe. Even when he'd started having strange visions due to it, he just found himself fascinated, curious. He needed to know more. Things had changed when it had killed Sky, and he wanted it gone. Even then, it felt like something out of their control, chaotic, dangerous - not parasitic. Now that it was a part of him, that it was the reason he was alive...he supposed it could be described as such. Still. He wanted it here now. It helped him help others.

"Opportunistic," He corrects. "But helpful."

"Perhaps. I believe it may be more... a loss of purpose. What I was doing before I can no longer do here. So then, what do I do?"

He chuckled but it held no humor.

"If that power made it feel impossible for peace without its help...quite a clever thing, yes? Parasitic."

"Perhaps your loneliness is a product of wanting to feel wanted. You harnessed the power to bring peace before and now...it is peaceful, whether you're involved or not."

[hextechdreaming]

Viktor turns as he hears a young girl's voice beckoning to his, his anxious expression relaxing the moment he sees that beloved cog in the center of her hand. A smile tugs at his lips as he reaches out to take it from her, picking it up into his hand ever so gently and raising it to his eyes.

A bright flash of light, a room glowing blue, the weightlessness of his body as he floated in the air alongside his best friend, his partner. That memory always rushed to his mind when he held it.

"Yes, I was...thank you," He turns his smile towards her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "It does not look like much, but it is very important to me."

Stringbean's eye had caught light glinting off something on the ground. Quickly gauging that it wasn't too far off from where Luz was standing, she flew away to pick it up, returning to her witch with the little mystery in her mouth, showing it off to Luz.

"Whatcha got there, baby?" Luz asked, holding her hand out. Stringbean dropped it into her hand obediently, also curious what she'd found.

Luz brought the item closer to her face, analyzing it. It looked like... a piece of a clock, almost. And it was very shiny, not like it was new, but like someone had run their fingers over it a lot, repeatedly. The edges were round rather than sharp, from an abundance of touch.

The man's muttering panic caught Luz's attention. Well, even if this wasn't what he was looking for, she could help him find whatever he'd actually lost.

"Excuse me, but uh, are you looking for this, by any chance?" She held her hand out, the cog resting in the center of her palm.

[hextechdreaming]

Viktor spent most of his days in Spirale wandering, talking to its citizens and trying to gain as much information as he could. Information about the city, information about the people that lived there and what they believed in, their hopes, their dreams...

It kept him going.

Being away from the commune made his days too silent, too lonely, so the conversations he had here and there with others helped to fill that hole. He had never been the most talkative person, but the commune, the hexcore, all of it had changed him. Now that he was in Spirale, the least he could do was help those here who needed it.

Crimson Lane reminded him of Zaun, striking some odd homesickness into his heart. Zaun had been difficult to grow up in, but the people had always been so colorful, so lively. He sighs out through his nose as he thinks about what hextech could have done for Zaun but well...that's passed.

He turns towards a bar, peeking in curiously when he hears a voice above him. As he spots its source, his eyes widen a bit in surprise.

"Powder," He states simply. The last time he'd seen her was in the commune before...anyway.

"You are here too. That's surprising...do you happen to know who else is here? Vi? Vander?"

@hextechdreaming

There were many names for what it was Jinx was doing. Skulking, snooping, clandestine people-watching...she'd become accustomed to it in the years under Silco. It was a fun hobby, great way to spook people, and- most importantly- great for hearing things people wouldn't say if you were around. Course, there wasn't a lot worth listening to around here, at least not comparatively to her old stomping grounds.

So spooking people it would be, and few places in the city had as high a concentration of dark corners and conveniently-placed fire escapes to lay dramatically upon as Crimson Lane. Sure enough, she found such a place to hang around until someone who caught her interest wandered by.

"Oh no, you don't wanna go in that place," she piped up at the man looking over the particular bar she'd perched outside of. "They don't even have any soda floats to add some kick to. Can you believe it?" A disbelieving scoff slipped out from under her breath, before she righted her posture to examine him from aloft, a bit more attentive now. Something about this guy...

[hextechdreaming]

The libraries were a welcome reprieve from the noise of the city, and Viktor found himself retreating to them more often than not. He had grown far too used to the peaceful quiet of the commune, the soft murmurings of his followers. This city was nothing like it.

His brows raise as he looks to the blonde nearby, tilting his head a bit as he regards her. Viktor had been looking at magic books mostly out of curiosity, but he hadn't expected to find another mage here.

Could he call himself a mage now? He supposed so.

"I practice magic, in a way," He murmurs in response, still a bit unsure of himself. "Though the magic described in these books is very different from what I am used to."

"You have...already read all these books?"

Impressive.

@hextechdreaming

✲ "Do you... need one of these? If you don't know how to practice magic they probably won't do you very much good." Once a week Marcille made a point to visit one of the city's libraries to read in peace. She was a practiced mage and couldn't use magic she hadn't been returned, so any spells jotted down wouldn't do her any good. But she was also studious and liked to expand her understanding.

The concept of how other world wielded magic was fascinating to her if anything.

Was he a mage? She couldn't really tell. "You can take from the pile on the left, I've read those. I'm still working through the right side though."

[hextechdreaming]

clingy partner

[hextechdreaming]

Viktor is frozen in place, still trying to make sense of the situation before him. When Jayce speaks, he lets out a breath he doesn't realize he's holding - one he doesn't even need, it was more habit at this point - and takes a couple of steps forward towards Jayce.

There were many similarities between this Viktor and the Viktor Jayce had left behind in Runeterra, or rather - the one that had left him. He looked...more put together, more sure of himself, and certainly more accepting of what he had become. The blanket Jayce had wrapped around him had become his new daily garment, his hair was longer, with gentle strands of blonde woven in between the brown.

The herald remains quiet for a moment, his gaze pouring over the vision of his partner as he was before...well, everything. Likely before the thought to end Viktor's life had ever entered his head. His head tilts to the side as he regards him, and after what feels like forever, he finally speaks up.

"I may have some of the answers you seek, Jayce," He says with a little sigh, one hand holding his staff and the other fiddling with that familiar gear again at his side. "But it may help to know where you are coming from. Or...perhaps better put, when."

"Just tell me what you remember last."

The thing of it was -- he hadn't even fallen asleep.

Still, he woke suddenly, violently, with a yell; curled on his side, his limbs spasmed as he rolled onto his back and stared wide-eyed, panting, into the sky. The abrupt sound of a world going on around him was a stark contrast to the quiet eerie of the failsafe chamber. That's where he had been, right? When he closed his eyes, he could still see it floating in front of him, burned into his retinas, mutating, breathing -- what was it?

Was that the dream, or was this?

He winced, the edges of the wound slashed across his back peeling as he rolled gingerly onto his front, fingers splayed against the ground as he rose to his knees. His pain felt real; the ground under his hands felt real. But the dazzling, shifting corruption in front of his eyes; Heimerdinger and Ekko at his sides -- all of that felt real as well. But they couldn't both be --

-- could they?

Jayce had made it to his knees by the time a voice called out to him. Viktor's voice, so familiar to him that he was sure he couldn't be hearing right; he immediately looked up, still kneeling, and saw him standing just a short distance away. The limbs he could see were dark and sinewy, hollowed cheeks highlighted gold and shadowed where the Arcane burned its healing magic into him. He looked wary, gaze the distant thing it was when they last spoke -- when he had left him. But he was here.

How was it that Viktor was the confused one, asking if it was really him?

"I don't understand," he murmured, thick brows drawn in obvious bewilderment, "What's happening?"

@hextechdreaming

[hextechdreaming]

two hearts, two souls, one mind

[hextechdreaming]

did someone say ARCANE

[hextechdreaming]

i'm not human enough to love you right now 💫

[hextechdreaming]

Viktor's days in Spirale grew lonelier the more time passed.

Not for the lack of people - no, Viktor was making many new connections, the likes of which he wasn't used to. In a place where you are entirely alone, you often had to be the one to reach out, to ask questions, to make conversation. His introverted tendencies had become a thing of the past during the creation of his commune, at the very least when it came to approaching others and beginning conversation.

He isn't sure if the previous version of himself would have been able to do this, to meet all these people and establish connections, weak as they are now. He's thankful for them. But when company took its leave, the loneliness, the silence, all settled in again. He couldn't hear Sky in his thoughts anymore, and he missed her, the way she always matched his ideas with those of her own, a excellent example of intelligent collaboration. She filled the hole in his heart that leaving Jayce had left behind.

Now he didn't have Sky, he didn't have his commune, and he didn't have Jayce.

As he approaches the site of his origins here, the large hole in Spirale, a deep sense of melancholy settles into where his heart used to be. Without the commune, without Sky and the hexcore, he began to miss Jayce, their conversations, the way he would rest his hand on the spot between his shoulders when he came over to see what he was doing. He missed their friendship, their partnership.

Even if he had been the one to end it.

He's distracted in his reverie, and only notices that someone new has arrived in Spirale by the sounds they make as they awaken. The herald raises his head, his eyes immediately widening as he can't believe who he sees there. It couldn't be.

Jayce.

Something in his chest seizes at the very sight of him. This wasn't the Jayce he'd left behind in Runeterra, the one who had clearly been through something terrible. Viktor hadn't gotten the chance to ask him before Jayce had raised his hammer before him and dealt the terminal blow that brought him here. This was Jayce as he'd left him - it was affection that held us together, he'd said before leaving him with a simple goodbye, as if leaving him were the easiest thing in the world. In fact, it was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. It didn't make sense, and yet it made all the sense in the world. Something about this place pulled people from different dimensions, different timelines, humans, creatures, animals, gods - why couldn't it pull a Jayce from his past here?

He takes a couple of careful steps forward, for a second afraid of what Jayce will think when he sees what he's become.

Jayce will understand.

His old words echo in his head, and before he knows it, he's calling out to him.

"Jayce," He speaks, an odd filter to his voice distorting the name for a moment, before it settles into one familiar to the other.

"Is that really you?"

@progress-and-science

[hextechdreaming]

It was rude to stare, Viktor knew that much, so he's already turning away when the triangle speaks - no, it yells at him, loud enough that it makes him whirl his head around, its words bringing a frown to Viktor's lips.

"It just happened that way. And it is none of your business."

This is starting to become a common occurrence - he can’t say it never was before, but still, it’s noticeable! You’d think people would have some manners… but, well, why would he want that? He likes the attention! He’s strange, and everyone else should know it, and the stares he brings in only compliment that fact. In turn, it seems only fair to point out the strangeness of the other in comparison to everyone else.

“DID YOU PICK OUT THE PURPLE OR DID IT JUST HAPPEN THAT WAY?”

[hextechdreaming]

"Ehh..." Viktor makes a point of it to look away from the other. One, he didn't think he was her type. Two, he didn't really swing that way. That was a bit more important than the other one.

"I fear I would only disappoint were such a thing to happen. For several reasons. But I am sure someone like you could find a way to celebrate the holiday."

"Well if you never tried how would you know?" Unless he was "the same" as her, unable to get a date in the slightest. it was always a possibility but she didn't want to assume and end up not getting it right with him.

"If you always wanna give it a try yours truly right here is single. And hey I think the two of us could enjoy ourselves."

[hextechdreaming]

I need to see Jayce's tears.