#post-divorce era

[mistresscitrusslice]

Our Glorious Evolution - Chapter 4: The Cage of Your Warmth

He slept an entire day again, didn’t he? Everything hurts. His joints hurt. His back hurts. His head hurts. His neck hurts. Most of his body isn’t even augmented but it feels like the rest of him underwent an operation too.

The bedroom isn’t dark despite the light being off. Jayce can clearly make out a picture frame on the dresser across the room. It’s a photograph of himself and Viktor at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the Hexgates. It took both of them to hold the enormous scissors, one of the few times Viktor was included in the celebration of their ventures and accepted the invitation.

Jayce shuts his eyes. When he opens them again, the room is pitch black and the silhouette of the dresser and its photo are barely visible. He sighs and slumps back against the headboard, willing the space around him to appear bright again. Naturally, his eyes would have night vision.

The door creaks open and Viktor peeks his head in. The orange light of his eyes reflects in the glass of the photo frame.

“How long-”

“It’s Tuesday,” Viktor says with a bit of pity.

Jayce does the math. He’s been out for a day and a half at least.

Viktor steps into the room, bringing the light of the hall outside with him, glowing golden against his neck and the Hexclaw.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Like I just got my spine ripped out.”

His partner sits down on the other side of the bed. There’s a guilty look in his eyes. Jayce expected him to be callous about the pain of recovery, but he supposes he isn’t giving him enough credit. Viktor would know how it feels, after all.

Viktor clears his throat. He probably doesn’t need to, but it breaks the silence. “This drink is beneficial to recovery.”

He hands Jayce a tin cup of something warm and he takes a sniff.

“Viktor. This is sweetmilk.”

He shrugs. “Like I said, beneficial to recovery.” He reaches for the lamp, but Jayce stops him, irritating his chest a little.

“I can see just fine.”

“Oh, you figured it out.” He’s still keeping his distance, not moving to sit next to him, staying just out of reach. “Have you discovered the magnifying function yet?” He smiles a little, the side of his lips quirking up.

“The…?” He wants to laugh, this is so ridiculous. Jayce sets the sweetmilk down on the bedside table without taking a sip. He’s puzzled, but Viktor’s smile is contagious.

More on AO3 bc this is too damn long for Tumblr

[iminmywritersdungeon]

Love how the four options after gay divorce are Jesus, dictator, emo, and existential horror

[mistresscitrusslice]

I need this injected into my veins

Jayce never liked going to the undercity, specially the lower levels. It's wet, cold, dark, the air stings and the streets are dirty

But since his "reconciliation" with Viktor, going there feels like a escapade from the poster boy duties, a place where he can truly be himself again. And Viktor's lab feels exactly as how their own lab felt, back in their golden days, organized chaos, coffe, and sense of familiarity.

He is home

Ughhhhh I love this one so much.

Jayce hasn’t felt at home in Piltover for a long time; if you were to ask him when it stopped feeling like home, he can’t really pinpoint a time… he just knows the last time he felt truly at home, felt content and safe and happy, he was in the lab, working with Viktor.

And he’s tried, in the many years since Viktor’s banishment, to get it back—to recreate a home for himself. He talks to a therapist that encourages creature comforts, surrounding himself with things that bring him joy. But this is more of a hindrance than a help, because Jayce doesn’t really find comfort in things. But he tries it anyway—collecting stones and gemstones like he used to when he was a boy. But walking on the beach alone to seek them out just reminds him of the people that used to take those walks with him—his mother, Viktor.

He tries his mother’s old recipes, the ones that used to make him run down the stairs as a kid when he smelled them cooking. He tries listening to his father’s vinyl records, the ones that are so burned into Jayce’s mind that the walls of his boyhood home practically echo with it… but all any of this does is make him ache with nostalgia—yearn for the days when he was a carefree boy with nothing but homework and schoolyard crushes to trouble him. No one idolized him, no one expected the impossible of him. He didn’t have to earn love. It was freely given.

And he was just about to give up—accept that he was never going to feel at home anywhere ever again. Accept that home is an idealized concept, and… not meant for people like him, who once took it for granted.

That is, until those first few nights spent at Emberflit after his reconciliation with Viktor. Viktor built air filtration vents into every room, so the house has a crisp, almost sanitized smell to it, but… Jayce finds that he likes it. Loves it, even—it smells like steam and hot metal… like Viktor himself. He loves the weak light and how it makes the space feel small and intimate. He likes that never-ending hum and tick of Viktor’s gadgetry, the gurgle of chemicals boiling in their beakers. It becomes like a symphony to Jayce’s ears, and he finds that without it, he feels uneasy—the silence of his lab in Piltover made all the more foreign.

He knows this is ass-backwards, that he should not feel so at-ease down in the depths of a city that despises him, breathing moderately-filtered toxic air and writing on a busted old blackboard with repurposed chalk. But he does feel at-ease, he feels safe and comfortable in a way he hasn’t felt in years. And he’s actually kind of embarrassed that it took him this long to figure it out. Home was never a building, it was never a collection of polished stones shining in a windowsill. It was never warm meals or music-filled halls.

It was this. Working into the wee hours of the morning, and sharing a mug of cold coffee. Dozing in uncomfortable chairs to the sound of another’s voice. Passing notes back and forth and leaving ridiculous and sometimes wildly inappropriate doodles on the page before handing it back.

He feels stupid, only just now understanding the meaning behind the saying “home is where your heart is.” It’s been said so many times, but it always rang hollow, it never really clicked. But he gets it now. He may return to Piltover, he may spend whole months up there at a time, splitting his obligations between his lab, his apartment, the Academy, the Council chamber. But his heart resides at Emberflit Alley.

[alaynestone]

you're an angel, i'm a dog or you're a dog and i'm your man you believe me like a god i destroy you like i am

[nenoname]

this is what fiddlestan is to me

[cryiling]

thinking about that bkdk edating in middle school trope, except they're amino boyfriends 💀

they meet on an all might amino community. katsuki is one of the community mods, and izuku is the leader of an analysis club on there. izuku's posts were often featured and very popular in the community (he was def a microcelebrity), and katsuki always gave him a ton of amino coins on his posts.

for a challenge he's hosting for his club, izuku makes a huge deep-dive post analyzing all might's rise to fame in his bronze age. this post gets close to 10k likes, and katsuki gifts him 5k amino coins on the post. when izuku sees that number, he freaks out and assumes it must be a mistake since that's a huge number, who in their right mind would give him that much money??

he messages katsuki (who's username is 𝓓𝔂𝓷𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 ⛓️💥) (LMAOOOOO) and asks if the amount of coins was a mistake + offers to give them back. katsuki tells him that there was no mistake, and that he just really liked izuku's post. izuku is really flattered that this guy liked his analysis so much, and they continue texting back and forth for a while.

they follow each other and put each other in their bios under "bffs," and a month or two after that, they officially become boyfriends. izuku buys amino+ using all the coins katsuki had given him (katsuki keeps spending his allowance to buy more amino coins so he's super rich). they start matching profile themes after that, switching to a new theme every month. they have matching profile frames and chat bubbles and everything, and izuku makes a sticker pack of all might faces to use when texting katsuki (sometimes katsuki uses the stickers too, but only when texting izuku)

everyone on all might amino knows they're dating, since they're both such high-profile people in the community. they become the community's it-couple, and people love commenting on their walls how cute their matching profiles are. katsuki comments under all of izuku's posts praising his analysis, and izuku always replies with a string of all might heart-eye stickers.

6 months into their relationship, izuku tells katsuki he can call him by his real name. up until now, izuku had gone by the nickname "golden" in honor of all might's golden age. when izuku tells katsuki his name, though, he doesn't get a response. the next day, izuku wakes up to find that katsuki's profile has been deleted entirely.

izuku feels like throwing up. he doesn't know what happened to dynamight, if he caused this, what could have caused this. he debates deleting his account too, ashamed and confused and hurt, but ultimately decides against it. he changes his profile theme back to an aesthetic picture set of all might in his iconic golden age pose, and continues posting on all might amino as if nothing happened. he doesn't reach out to new people on amino again.

when izuku gets into ua and his workload drastically increases, he stops finding time to post on amino, eventually deleting the app entirely (his profile stays up, though).

in second year, izuku is sitting in the common room with his friends, somehow having been roped into a conversation about dating. "you've never been in a relationship before, have you, deku-kun?" uraraka asks him.

his friends' eyes all focus on him, and he blushes. "well, i had an online boyfriend in middle school, but i'm not sure if that counts." his friends gape at him, clearly surprised. some other people lingering about in the common area also tune into the conversation. katsuki is one of them.

"really, midoriya-kun?" iida says, doing his best to hide his blatant shock. "i must say, that sounds rather out of character for you!"

"did you guys break up or something?" todoroki asks.

izuku grimaces, remembering what happened. "i told him my real name, and then he deleted his account. i think it was because of my name, but I guess i don't know for sure."

uraraka frowns. "that sucks! he didn't deserve you anyway. what an asshole move." the rest of izuku's friends nod in agreement at that. out of the corner of his eye, izuku sees katsuki get up from his armchair and storm out of the room.

months later, izuku and katsuki finally start dating for real. izuku is so overwhelmed with happiness, and katsuki's eyes light up every time he sees izuku. one night, though, katsuki pulls him aside. "there's something i need to tell you."

izuku frowns in confusion. "what's up?"

katsuki takes a deep breath. "...i'm dynamight."

this does not clear izuku's confusion. "um... yeah, i know what your hero name is."

"no, it's-" katsuki cuts himself off, then starts again. "i was dynamight on amino, too."

izuku feels his heart drop. he's not sure what katsuki is saying, why he's bringing it up. "you... we were... you mean we dated back in middle school?"

katsuki nods, eyes on the floor. he doesn't say anything else.

"why did you..." izuku licks his lips in apprehension. "why did you delete your account?"

katsuki is silent for a moment. "i freaked out when i found out who you were," he finally says. "i mean, you know how i was treating you in real life back then. and we had been texting all that time, and i had been comforting you from the bullying you were going through, only to realize it was me who was- i didn't... i didn't know what to say. and obviously i was really immature at the time and wasn't ready to process my feelings yet. but that whole thing helped me realize my feelings for you, even though i didn't want to accept that at the time.

"but," katsuki continues, clearly on a roll now, "that still doesn't excuse what i did. it was a shitty move. and i know i've apologized for how i bullied you before, but i'm sorry for this, too, izuku. i know i hurt your feelings. i swear i'll be a better boyfriend this time, i promise. uh- only if... if you still want to be together."

izuku can't even think of what to say for a moment, still silently reeling at katsuki's confession. eventually he says, "no, i- i get it. we were both pretty immature at the time, and to be honest i kind of got over it a while ago. but," he smiles, "that apology really means a lot to me. and of course i still want to be with you."

he leans in to kiss katsuki briefly. izuku doesn't think he'll ever get used to that.

katsuki rests his forehead against izuku's, eyes taking in izuku's face. "i swear i'll be an even better boyfriend than dynamight was, golden."

and then they lived happily ever after :>

[jayvikbrainrot]

Jayvik but the artist’s apartment keeps getting warmer

[blaithnne]

This is their dynamic during and post S3

[hyunpic]

[mistresscitrusslice]

NO. No bc Jayce and Viktor WOULD be the dumbass couple to get their names tattooed on each other.

This follows my Jayvik whirlwind romance headcanon. They're not exactly foresight kind of people and if they are, it's with rose-tinted glasses. Look me in the eye and tell me they would not ABSOLUTELY get tattoos for each other.

One of them would say it as a joke at first. Jayce would pause, mulling it over as a serious consideration in his head, but won't say anything out loud yet. Viktor hums and haws but he's already made up his mind. He's just easing Jayce into the idea.

And then they're divorced and the part of Viktor's body that has the tattoo has been removed and augmented, but Jayce still has his. He could get it removed or covered up, but he doesn't because that would mean giving up all hope that they can be one again.

[iminmywritersdungeon]

Watching certain corners of the fandom take sides after the Jayvik divorce scene is so funny to me. It’s like watching kids fight over their favorite parent

[bad-or-mad-or-wise]

what a sad, beautiful, tragic love affair

@wincestwednesdays week 2: isolation

[bisexualmcqueen]

finally sketched my fanparent OCs as cars!

Some of you may recognize Oliver McQueen and Donna from 2019 :3 they're awful and i've missed them <3

Oliver is a 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. A Boston native, McQueen moves to Texas in the early 80's in pursuit of his dream to become wealthy. Try as he might, his dreams are always just out of reach, and instead he's saddled with the task of raising his rambunctious, troublemaking son Montgomery by himself. Naturally, he does a piss-poor job.

Donna is a 1982 Chevrolet C3 Corvette. A small-town Texas girl meets a dashing businesscar while working at a diner. Before they know it they have a kid together, but this is a doomed narrative. Donna leaves Oliver one day when her son is small, and never sees either of them again.

Monty was born c.1981

a car's 'model year' usually lands between ages 20-25, at maturity.

[thoughtsboutem]

a little note on jinx and vi

I think jinx deserved to hear someone say to her what jayce said to Viktor about him being perfect and beautiful as he is, and that his life isn't about the losses he suffered. she really deserved it after all those years of menace- the abandonment, the hallucinations, the abuse, the unhealthy life she lived blaming herself every day.

this has been itching my brain since i saw the episode where silco dies since jinx finally sits in the 'jinx' chair and tells Vi that she expected atleast her to accept her as she is, but Vi kept chasing powder and expecting that jinx would suddenly vanish into thin air tho jinx was the new powder. of course she changed, caitlyn did too withing a short span, and so did vi- of course things wouldn't be the same. Not a vi hater, I sympathize with her on how all of a sudden everything had changed and that constantly put her in a state of disbelief, but I do think that she was chasing the kid sister she knew instead of being open to whatever that sister had become as a result of her circumstances the way immature parents chase what their kid used to be- just a kid with no personality. jinx could still be jinx and not be 'problematic' if vi just chose to accept her the right way instead of being confused and intimidated by what jinx was like now. not calling jinx problematic but that's how the series aimed at portraying her, and even vi started viewing her as such. vi had so much potential to help jinx face her issues and heal her, for her to give better shape to jinx's thoughts, emotions, and actions. and this goes both ways, jinx would understand violet as well.

[arcanegifs]

Jayvik Scenes: 2/? ↳ "Would you please stop hovering?" "I'm not sure how to do that, sir."

♡♡♡ happy birthday, @wizardofgoodfortune! ♡♡♡

[distort-opia]

I will forever be thinking about Red Hood's fall in the vat. Just the angst of it is just *chef's kiss*

The sentiment of betrayal from Joker at Batman, the shame and guilt of Batman for failing Joker. I bet they both think about that moment a lot, wondering what could've been (specially Bruce on that) Did they remember the exact date? Have nightmares about it?

I wish comics would dwell on that more

Not entirely sure if you're the same Anon, but it felt like these two asks are connected. And I gotta say, yes, 100% agree.

I love the original portrayal of the fall into the vat, the way it was done before Zero Year. I do love what Snyder did with Joker, but I really dislike what he did with his origin in that comic. Making Red Hood obsessed with Batman from the very start, making him let go and smile as he does it to spite Batman... it entirely redefines his motivations and makes him too much about Batman. The way I personally reconcile Zero Year and The Killing Joke plus all other depictions of the acid vat fall (like in It's Joker Time) is through what Bruce and Joker need to believe.

Snyder's already established that Bruce and Joker remember things differently. In Endgame, Joker accuses Batman of having pushed him off a cliff in Death of the Family, when in actuality it was Joker himself who let go. In a similar manner, I think that Bruce is remembering Red Hood's fall as done intentionally to spite him because he'd rather not see it as a suicide attempt, done by someone scared and at the end of his rope. It's easier to think of it that way, isn't it? Red Hood was crazy and refused to let Batman save him on purpose; it wasn't that Batman failed to do it, it wasn't that he scared the guy so much he chose to go over a railing.

But well, I do forgive Snyder for this, because he's the one to write most of these moments of conflict when it comes to Joker's feelings towards Batman... like in Endgame, and Batman (2011) #48.

I can't help but gush over some more depictions of it though, like in the following story:

Batman: Black and White (2020) #2 -- The Spill

I love this little comic for this, for showing Joker pissed off at his supposed dependence on Batman and being like "You know what, fuck you, this time I'm letting you die". And then Batman being incapable of not saving him, even after Joker was going to walk away.

Then there's Joker's nightmare in Knight Terrors, even more recently:

Knight Terrors: The Joker (2023)

Beautiful imagery of Bruce stuffing his mouth with lobster aside... Joker's nightmare is basically Batman dying, and then him being incapable of finding another purpose. Him managing to kill Batman isn't shown as something victorious for him, it's realizing that he put too many of his eggs in one basket and thinking that perhaps he doesn't like that. That being so obsessed with Batman is not something he wants. God, there's so much to say about Knight Terrors and Joker's portrayal in it, but perhaps the most potent imagery is at the end of his nightmare. Joker's always wanted to infect everyone else with his laughter, with his way of thinking... and it finally happens. But then, he doesn't want it, because what Gotham wants to do now is destroy Batman. To kill order, sense:

Knight Terrors: The Joker (2023)

This is a literal depiction of Joker's conflicted feelings over Batman, because his psyche split after Batman's death. Part of him became Batman in the absence of him, and part of him remained a Joker who refused to admit Batman was dead. And then these two parts each acted in different ways, gave different orders... the part of him that was pure Joker ordered his followers to not listen to the part of him that needed Batman. Rosenberg, I am kissing you on the mouth for this one.

Oof, I got this long and didn't even mention Joker War, but yeah! In case you haven't read these two stories, I recommend them for showcasing Joker's conflicted love/hate relationship with Batman, and what he means to him.