#arcanacontained

[byteing]

'I thought I was doing the right thing. I had no idea…I'm sorry.' Jayce apologised, they pair of them were sat on the sofa bed after another of Viktor's "worked beyond fatigued" nights, and Viktor had rolled into an awkward position during the night, being just as fatigued, Jayce had slept through Viktor's screams of pain that would usually wake him. Talis couldn't pinpoint what had gone awry this time, however the guilt was clear in his voice. Hesitant, Jayce reached out as cupped Viktor's hand in his own. He didn't feel any muscle cramps but that didn't negate the near delirium his partner had seemed to be when Jayce first awoke. He opened his arms, giving Viktor the open to lean on him, if Viktor wanted.

'I swear to you. As long as I'm by your side, you'll never be harmed.' He whispered, he wanted to protect Viktor even if the only danger left was Jayce's own idiocy. 'I'll keep you safe.'

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Viktor muttered, eyes closed. To his great relief, the painkiller he’d taken the moment he could sit up on his own without dry heaving was starting to kick in. If he kept his eyes closed and focused on the lingering pain and its slow withdrawal, he wouldn’t have to think about how humiliating it was to have woken Jayce. It had felt like his spine was being squeezed by a pair of pliers: like his leg was rotting from the inside out, strange shocks of new pain reverberating down it. Now that he was lucid, he suspected a few things: muscle cramps, trapped nerves. But at the time it had felt like he was dying.

He withdrew his hand, flexing the fingers, ashamed of himself. If he had been with anyone else, he would have white-knuckled his way through the pain by now to leave the laboratory and return home just to escape being around anyone.

But Jayce was Jayce and, suspecting his partner needed it more than he did, Viktor let himself lean into him. Not all the way—he pushed Jayce’s arm away gently when it tried to come around him—but enough that his weight was resting against his friend’s shoulder, the top of his head just under Jayce’s jaw. He didn’t open his eyes. Opening them would mean having to look at his surroundings, at Jayce, at the reality that his conditions were finding new and more appalling ways to make him feel out of control of his body.

The quiet murmurs just over his head made him smile, albeit wryly. “You can’t keep me safe from my own body, I fear,” he said, and regretted it. “…But, thank you. I know.” He lifted his head slightly just to thunk it gently against Jayce’s shoulder, like a cat administering a brief headbutt of affection.

[valiantthearts]

@arcanacontained - About six months after the Piltover-Zaun war, Jayce had recovered in his physical body again. Though no matter what he and Viktor attempted with the arcane, he had a permanent limp from his time in the future - noticeable when someone is in close proximity. The gates across which created a physical border and check points between Piltover and Zaun pulled down, removed and now seemed to be unguarded.

Almost twilight, Jayce walked along the Bridge of Synergy, his head kept down dressed in common Zaunite clothing – dark grey leathers and cloth, including his gloves. Only a small gold clasp around the waist, buckled at the right hip was the same as many others at Viktor’s commune wore was the only colour in his outfit. He had the urge to visit Caitlyn since he regained his physical consciousness, much to Viktor’s discomfort and guilt. A fall from grace, Jayce knew in his gut this he had lost his status as a Helical, and was perceived as a Hyploid if he hadn’t been declared deceased.

Eyes flickered as he walked up to the side of the Kiramman residence, pressed against the stone; the large floor to ceiling window of Caitlyn’s study had it’s green curtains drawn, the fire was out and gloom hung overcast. Talis frowned, tapping the bottom corner of the window – a stone wiggled loose and slipped out the lower pane of glass.

Breath held, he squeezed through the narrow gap, pushing the curtain aside and into the study. Swallow breaths through his nose, he carefully replaced the glass and put the curtain back into place. Feet shuffled, he sat on the bench across from the fire, eyes on the spiral staircase. Brow furrowed as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and his focus turned to the pinboard on the under the stairs – a list of names down the far side.

The first seven names at the top the list, including Sevika. With “Council” in red ink scrawled in Caitlyn’s handwriting down the side. Near the bottom “Viktor” in the same red ink and circled with a question mark next to it, along with his own, written over twice or thrice probably as the ink ran low. What did all of this mean?

Strode across the room, a finger traced the other papers tacked to the board. The word enforcers struck out on one page with “WARDENS” written in block capitals and notes on how to ease the dismantling of the caste system. His eyes narrowed at a newspaper article attached to the lower edge of the board – a declaration of the new Council members and new structures of order.

‘Hmm.’ He mused, absent-minded fingers fidgeted with the buckle at his hip.

It had taken Caitlyn a long time to heal. Her left eye was severely injured, causing her to lose her sight completely. She stood there in her room, staring at the mirror, but only one good eye. Her other eye was devoid of the black iris, now just blue and slightly milky all over, and a giant scar across the eye itself. It also extended from her eyebrow, along with her upper eyelid and down her lower eyelid. There was a hint of amusement in some ways that Caitlyn had a match eyebrow scar to offset Vi’s; despite that, she struggled with the fact she had blind spots now.

A breath left her lips as she dropped the eyepatch onto the table, not needing it at home. Her fingers brushed over the gold and white cane she had been using, though she hadn’t needed it for the last month now. Still, her leg would ache from it, taking so long to heal. An external stabilizing fixator fitted around her leg, which aided her ability to walk and no longer needing the cane, and it was the last path for her leg to fully heal. Ambessa had shattered her leg. That it took months to heal and ensure the bones would be in the right place.

Vi had left for dinner, picking up some of their favorite food at the restaurant down the street and picking up some chai teas as well. Caitlyn had offered for the chef to make something, but Vi wanted to treat them instead. Naturally, Caitlyn just laughed at the thought and had given her a kiss goodbye til she got back.

A click from the far room caused Caitlyn’s head to swivel sharply and her eyes narrowed. She parted her mouth slightly, taking in a deep scent. The smell came from the underground, dirt mixed with sweat. Zaunite perhaps? Immediately, Caitlyn grabbed her hextech rifle from the corner of her room and slotted a bullet into the chamber and traveled quietly down the hall. With her hearing affected by the explosions and tinnitus, she narrowed her blue eye in disdain for the blind spot, choosing to focus more on listening.

Her paw pad palm slowly pushed open the door to her study, the door silent as she slipped inside. Her eyes fell upon the long dark brown hair, a man leaning over her board and looking over everything she had been working on. Bare feet silently moved against the ground, thanks to the paw pads on her feet that made her a deadly silent predator. Her blue hair had been up in a ponytail as she lifted her rifle up against her shoulder and ready position. The material he wore looked ratty and old, again something similar she saw in the lower cities of Piltover or the sumps of Zaun. Yet the golden touches did not match the ratty leather and cloth.

Immediately, she presses the muzzle of the rifle up against the back of the man’s head. The snow leopard fur on her shoulders bristled as she hissed in warning. “One false move, and I will blow your head clean off. You should know better than to enter the Prince of Kiramman’s house,” Caitlyn threatened, using a title Piltover had given her (even though she didn’t want it). However, there was merit and power in the title and enough to draw fear in her enemies.

“Slowly turn around and face me. Who the bloody hell are you and why did you break into my house?” Caitlyn demanded as she held her finger against the trigger ready to reach in a second.

[ly-kos]

@arcanacontained said ; -

Viktor frowned, The Herald couldn't yet make sense of the wolf despite using the doctor as a puppet. There was something about Ambessa that intrigued Viktor, her will was one of the strongest he had ever come across in his lifetime and her alone - with or without Reveck's involvement could bring both Piltover and Zaun to their knees.

He was unsure of how the beast's blood what push forward to next stage of evolution, but Merdarda had a fire in her belly that was determined to see the Glorious Evolution through.

The Machine Herald couldn't see into all of Evolved's minds. If he wanted to win this war, he needed Ambessa as an ally. He hummed, he wanted to wolf to witness and experience glory even if Jayce and her daughter stood in their way.

'How far will you take this war, Ambessa, do you want the Glorious Evolution to take out Swain, or is there something more I don't know from your soldiers' minds?' His disembodied voice asked in almost a whisper as his physical body pushed through a metamorphosis.

// ambessa is a woman who's come across many battlefields in her lifetime. the strength that had grown in her chest over all of those fights is one that burns bright.

but what she is as well, in this very moment, is a desperate woman. one who is afraid to lose everything she's gained her entire life.

one who's seen everything crumble in front of her and she's desperately trying to grasp onto anything that is left. whatever there is for her to hold onto, it has proven fruitless. all of the power she'd amassed inside of noxus hadn't been enough, and piltzaun isn't going to rescue her from her own fate either.

she draws a nervous breath. the mention of swain absolutely baffles her and exposes her more than being directly nude would. there is nothing that feels more intrusive than what viktor is doing to the people, but she feels she has had no other choice.

" as far as I need to. " , is her answer, but she rolls her head, tries to put aside her initial confusion and hide just how cornered she'd felt.

" you've missed the mark. " swain is absolutely one of her targets, eventually, but right now, she's got much more pressing threats from the black rose. in some ways, they almost got similar goals. she is not one to throw away a possible ally. " but I commend your attempt at learning my actual motives. "

[recursiveimpulse]

 night terrors .   hold  my  muse  after  they  wake  up  from  a  nightmare . + REVERSE 

For Herald Viktor, from Isha

In his old life he had spent little time around children. He had always assumed he would be of no use around them; that at best they might see him as a mildly interesting anomaly of a person, nothing more. The commune had not changed this notion much. The children here were so changed once healed that they didn’t act very much like children at all, and they saw the Herald the way everyone did: as a healer and a leader, a mystical figure that walked among them only when duty called him to do so.

Isha, however, was still very much a child, and she proved all of the Herald’s assumptions about himself wrong when she woke crying from sleep and he found himself settled on the floor with her, holding her in his arms. There was no thought behind it. He had followed Sky’s footsteps here. He had let her lead him to the child and she had trusted he would know what to do, and he did.

“You’re safe,” he said quietly, a low, artificial resonance in his voice on the last word. She was not one of his flock; he couldn’t enter her mind to show her she was safe. It felt… incorrect, to hold a living thing so close with his augmented form. But it was necessary here. “It was a bad dream. It’s alright.”

[fishymedic]

Isha frowned, after the events at the commune Vi had taken her to Piltover for safety. Despite Isha's protests of wanting to stay in Zaun. After she had shot Vander and survived - after Cookie was shot by the strange man with the leg brace and weird hammer. With everything going on, she hadn't received treatment for the physical burns she had sustained and her ears still rang.

She huffed as Vi seemed to dump her in a small white room, it was cold and smelled funny. Isha hadn't been in a hospital room before and was scared and confused with whatever the adults were doing.

It didn't take long for Vi to locate him, explaining what she could about what happened. Or for him to collect what he might need and tuck it away into his bag. A little wave before he even ducked into the room so as to not startle the kid. "Isha, right?" Signed his hands once in the room; as he set his bag down. "I'm Steb, Vi's friend and from Zaun too."

[stonesunk]

🍓

@mutuals send me a 🍓 and ill compliment u!

I’m  so  here  for  all  your  variations  of  Jayce  !!  i  hope  we  can  do  some  more  things  soon  because  Caitlyn  needs  her  unofficial  big  bro  !

[shimmerbeasts]

Viktor raised an eyebrow as Jinx pointed her gun his in face. He could feel his followers hovering in his peripheral vision – their concern rippled at the back of his mind. He gave a slight chuckle. ‘If you were to shoot me dead, then what?’ His voice remained calm as he could see Warwick shake his head in the background eye contact held with Viktor, Isha ran circles around Vander and poked at each metal component. He looked at the ocelot directly, as he broke eye contact with Vander. ‘No one in the commune means you harm Jinx,’ he brushed a purple finger over the muzzle of the gun. Silver eyes narrowed as he studied the magenta irises. ‘You do realise it was your grenades from many years ago, when Hextech was in it’s infancy that allowed myself and Jayce to crack which frequency made the gemstones stable.’ The Herald dropped his hand and fidgeted with the cog between his thumb and index finger. ‘If you must keep your gun on your person, please holster it, and remove the gemstones from the magazine.’ Viktor had always been curious around Zaunites of Vastayan decent, he didn’t know much of his own heritage has his father had died when he was young and his mother, Natacha, knew little of her family history aside from the disabilities and inherited genetic illnesses. He knew at least part of his genetic makeup used to be human before he fused with the Hexcore, but doing any genetic testing now would be more difficult because of the arcane. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the blue-haired woman. ‘You are all welcome to stay, please make yourself at home.’ Viktor gave a warm smile. He walked past Jinx and checked on Warwick for a moment and sat on the bank of the estuary which ran through the commune off from the River Pilt. ‘You’re talents can be used to build and heal, you will be able to achieve that here – if you want it.’ His eyes followed Jinx as she moved.

From the moment, they had stepped foot into this so-called sanctuary, it had made Jinx's skin crawl. The air smelled of something unnatural, in spite of it being laced with the scents of herbs, fresh plants and cantaloupes - one of the only fruits Zaunites with a carnivore Vastaya ancestor enjoyed eating as it mimicked the consistency of meat. The unnaturalness was in the people. Their scent marks felt like someone had taken a brush and coated them with something, which replaced their individual scent marks with something new and alien. Something foreign, which changed smell way too fast and even had scents, Jinx could not place at all.

That feeling of discomfort had not gone away on their way to the so-called miracle healer. The moment, Jinx laid eyes on him, she wondered whether or not Vi had been wrong in proposing to bring Vander here. While the sisters agreed that Vander had to be somewhat cured of his affliction, Jinx was of the belief that Vander should not be shamed for being a monster now. After all, she was a beast too. She understood that type of predicament in ways, Vi could not process. In fact, her sister still seemed to be somewhat weary of how the majority of her family had become monsters. Isha meanwhile seemed to be either incapable of seeing the dangers of monsters or even seeing monsters altogether.

Seeing what the miracle healer actually was, every hair on Jinx's body stood on edge. Unnatural, unnatural, unnatural. Her instincts were screaming at her. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Everything about Viktor looked wrong. It did not matter that he still had a human face and long, brown hair, streaked from what seemed to be traces of edge. The rest of his body was covered in a strange purple glowing metal, which seemed to have replaced the tissues of his own flesh in parts. The smell, Jinx had been able to catch the moment they had gotten in here, emitted from him stronger than ever before. Just what was he?

His chuckle made Jinx narrow her eyes. Her finger flexed against the trigger of Zapper. Part of her idly wondered whether or not the magical blasts, her pistol could eject, would be enough to strike him down. Her teeth remained clenched, especially as those purple fingers brushed over Zapper's muzzle. Shoot them off his hand! However, as Viktor remarked how her grenade was the reason they had figured out the frequency at which they had to stabilise the Hextech gemstones, Jinx's eyes widened. For a fraction of a second, she was no longer an adult, but instead the child, which was thrown back by the explosion, which was supposed to save them all. Before she had doomed everyone.

"Because you are a jinx, do you hear me?! Mylo was right!"

Her chest heaved as Jinx tried to keep the past at bay. There was a fluttering of wings above their heads. A merl on its way to the nearest nest. Almost as if on autopilot, Jinx rose Zapper, lined up her shot and fired. The blast of magical energy shot past Viktor's shoulder, vibrating with power before it cleaved one of the merl's wings off. The poor animal gave a painful twirp as it trundled down towards the ground.

Satisfied in having refocussed herself back to the present, Jinx gave a low sigh and angled Zapper sideways to access the magazine. "If you insist", she muttered with cold detachment. Plopping the blue gemstone out of its casing, Jinx put it into her pocket before she holstered the empty and useless pistol.

Her weariness did not leave her, even as Viktor approached Vander briefly. Isha had hurried over to her. Hammering a hand against her thigh, Jinx met her eyes. Isha hurriedly signed her version of "Are you okay?". The Loose Canon cast another mistrustful look Viktor's way. She then whispered as she signed: "I don't know."

She leaned over Isha and softly nuzzled the top of her head, briefly licking her temple. Partly to self-soothe, but also to reassure the little girl that things were going to be alright. Pointing at Vander, Jinx whispered: "Keep an eye on him for me, will you?" Isha nodded and bounded off. Vi was quietly talking with Viktor, probably wanting to know whether or not he could cure Vander. Jinx did not bother to pay attention.

Wandering along the brook, Jinx froze and clenched her hands into loose fists when Viktor addressed her again. A low scoff escaped her mouth and she murmured: "I prefer sticking with what I know ... Thanks." First the Jinxers and Sevika, now the metal fortune cookie too? What was it with people assuming they could somehow make her the big, fat hero of this story? She was a jinx, had they forgotten? Doomed to ruin everything she touched!

But you saved Isha. You busted half of Zaun out of Stillwater. You did a good thing.

Still her a hero? Using her abilities to heal instead of destroy?

"Seriously, what are you smoking?"

@arcanacontained cont. from here.

[bitch-mittxns]

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE LOVED BY YOU?

it feels like burning

everything about you is captivating. you're very intense, and passionate, and some people can't handle that. but no one loves as powerfully as you do, and some people will love that about you. you're easily excited, and tend to feel things very deeply. your emotions are unpredictable. but you are so so beautiful. more so than you know

Tagged by : @gaevaer tysm angell

Tagging : @arcanacontained , @knowthings , @officrnolen , @saviourofzaun , @gettnup

[hexedevolution]

What Pokémon Type would you specialise in?

Electric Type

Known for their lightning speed, any Electric Type expert needs to be quick on their feet. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to be an Olympic sprinter, just someone who lives their life in the fast lane. You're energetic, and you're never afraid to dive head first into a situation. You're a quick thinker, an amazing problem solver, and you don't slow down for anybody!

Tagged by: @runes-menagerie Tagging: @jynxd (lets go for Silco), @arcanacontained (Jayce), @warwaited (Student), @abhorsenslives (Orianna) and YOU! Yes, YOU!

[nemaline]

what are you the patron saint of? patron saint of blood ⸻ patron saint of the life that flows through our bodies. patron saint of violence. patron saint of love. something that does not watch over but exists within: not for protection but for vitality. there is no passion without a beating heart at its core. when that heart breaks open, someone has to be responsible for what it bleeds.

tagged by: stole from @vandrs tagging: @tachyteliic @arcanacontained @bludcoin @vielets

[byteing]

'You have pretty eyes.' Jayce blurted out. He felt his face flush as he registered the words that barrelled out of his mouth unprompted. Talis could choose to blame exhaustion of late nights in the lab, or the fact watching paint dry would have been more stimulating than listening to Salo yap for a full ninety minutes about his next party gala and self-importance - an item not on the agenda for the day's meeting, which Cassandra had cut short as they were going over time; or the fact he was tispy from the whisky he had knocked back to drown out the memory of Salo's voice. All excuses. Perhaps the combination of alcohol and exhaustion had removed any mental filter Jayce would use day-to-day (not that he had much of one to begin with) and let his subconscious thoughts slip out unchallenged. Talis hummed softly. He could get lost in those pools of liquid gold for eternity, and he wouldn't complain.

The eyes in question sparked as Viktor laughed—a short heh! like it had been chased out of him rather than voluntary—and he leaned in slightly, peering at each of Jayce’s eyes in turn like he was checking for a concussion. He was smiling. It was an endearing compliment—Jayce had a way with those—but not one he would ever have expected, and a prime opportunity to gently tease his partner for having given it in the first place.

“Do I,” he asked dryly, mouth still curled at the corners. “How much did you drink? Did your brain leak out of your ears in that meeting?”

He leaned back in his chair and coughed, turning his face away to cover it as he did so. That had been happening more and more, lately; whenever something made him laugh, or even a little exerted, his lungs threw a fit about it. At this point it was routine.

“I have been told,” said Viktor after a moment, eyeing Jayce sideways, “that they are almost the same colour as yours.”

It was difficult to tell if it was a compliment or a simple observation—but the way Viktor swung his chair slightly and used his good leg to gently push Jayce’s, in the same way someone else might have knocked their shoulders together companionably, said it was likely more of the former.

[valiantthearts]

🧠 What if Jayce chose to abandon you and not to visit you in hospital after Jinx attacked you during her twisted tea party; seeing you as weak? You should have been able to fight back against Jinx. Jayce would walk away from a failure like you. The Kiramman house, so high and mighty - out done by a blue-hair Hyploid with anger and daddy issues.

Caitlyn’s chest tightened as she twisted in her bed. She never cared for the caste system. It was flawed in her eyes, making people stay trapped in their hardships. And yet, her mind unraveled with this thought. Why didn’t she fight back harder? Why didn’t she take the shot?

Her mother was gone. Everything in her grasp is gone. The empty hole in her chest burned and all she could think about was the anger and rage that Jinx still roamed free. How dare she? HOW FUCKING DARE SHE!? Caitlyn’s hands pressed up against her face, spiraling into her impending troubling thoughts and shook her head.

What would any of them think? She was an excellent shot, and she missed it. Now, the missed shot shattered the entire council. Viktor was barely alive, her mother dead. So much pain, so much heartache.

It was her fault. No wonder Jayce didn’t want to visit her. She had failed everyone.

[darkseraphscorner]

@arcanacontained

Seraph looks up from his work bench. "How many I help you today?"

[recursiveimpulse]

"Why are you trying to be invisible?" Jayce nudged Viktor and held out a mug of coffee for his partner. 'You know I can be a sounding board to vent at if you want.' He sat down on the sofa and patted the seat next to him. The councillor gave a warm smile.

Viktor shrugged dismissively, a gesture that usually meant eh, one of those days. But he took the coffee and eased himself down to sit, propping his crutch against the arm of the sofa. “I like being invisible. Better than being in the spotlight, I think.” He cast a sideways smile at Jayce, warmth in his eyes. “Don’t you have enough people coming to you with their problems, these days?”

[fishymedic]

@arcanacontained continued from x

Was nearly a breath of fresh air, to see hands sign instead of words being spoken. Even given the circumstances for it. It's fine, moved his hands easily in response to the explanation. Understanding as watched; the quiet usually unnoticed assessment he always did on his people concluded within seconds. Fluid, quick little unzip of bag and extending of a piece of cloth at the blood. Without any unsettling staring or anything other than relaxed body language. As if it were just an stretch, or somebody sneezing because of temperature changes. Acknowledging nod of his head at the gratitude. They don't handle the whole mortality, or different than thing very well. Signed his hands in response; a little disapproval was only fair after how long his day already had been. He would have noticed and kept an eye out regardless. In fact his brain certainly hadn't factored in possible connections or status into account. Considering for a moment, Who is he by the way? He'd only heard the name in passing and none of the gossip had any context. Just names he didn't know. To a face he probably had avoided like he did just about everybody he could. Figured this was probably the one time he could try ask for further information.

[stonesunk]

☁- I’m worried you only RP with a certain group of people.

☾ - I don’t know how to approach you

☄ - I’m super anxious about EVERYTHING

Too Shy To Reach Out?

firstly  -  thank  you  for  sending  this  in  !  -  it  does  help  get  a  gage  on  things! 

secondly  -  Caitlyn's  blog  is  only  less  than  2  weeks  old  !  So  I  am  very  open  to  new  mutuals  and  new  writing  opportunities  as  I  don't  feel  like  I've  fully  found  my  place  here  yet. 

a  general  consensus  from  me  is  -  If  i  have  followed  you  ,  I  am  interested  and  want  to  write. 

BUT  -  I  totally  understand  not  knowing  how  to  reach  out  and  being  anxious  to  do  so  because  ME  TOO  ssbhsdhbv.

 To  get  interactions  started  -  perhaps  send  memes  /  like  my  starter  call  hehe  -  or  we  could  dm  and  plot  something  out  if  that's  your  preference!  I  promise  I  don't  bite  <3