we WILL figure it out. you have to pick some things to believe in or you're just going to tie yourself into knots. and i'm choosing to believe you're still the person i've known since july. powers or not.
[It's a much bigger show of good faith than Dodger's used to, and he hopes Viktor can appreciate that. Maybe self-serving, because he mostly doesn't want to believe he's this bad a judge of character, but the logic doesn't matter if the end result is keeping his friendship going.
He is fully ignoring the second part of that, though, because he doesn't want to admit the argument was caused by Dodger screwing Esikko's crush after being told not to.]
jayce does smithing? i'll have to make sure he and henry meet then. and yeah, we're getting along better. he seemed... worried about me, after the last time i talked to you.
[Which Dodger still isn't entirely sure what to do with. At the time, he'd just assumed Jayce was being a guard dog again, but it seems like Jayce genuinely cares about Dodger's well-being. As much as he finds that deeply confusing.]
I do not doubt that with both of our tenacity towards facing and overcoming adversity, we will figure something out, beyond speaking like this. But I am still the same man you spoke with and will continue to be, that I am certain of.
[ But they'll get there when they get there. ]
It was intrinsic to his house name, Talis. His family crafted and created multipurpose tools for others to use, but the hammer is what they are most known for inventing. [ A smile forms on his lips. Nothing but affection in his stupid eyes as he reads that!! ]
That is good to hear. Jayce is very protective of— [ most notably him ] people he becomes close to. It is one of his more defining traits, I think. The fact that he wishes to help you and is worried about you is proof of this.
[It still sort of surprises him that Viktor thinks he faces things head-on. But he's flattered, that he gives that impression, and he's not about to correct him.]
then i've got an idea of something i might ask him for, but it can wait.
[More accurately, he sees an opportunity for Jayce to help Henry figure out the butterfly knife that Dodger's been wanting. Just in time for his birthday, too.]
he's got a hero's instincts. it used to piss me off, meeting people like that, but i'm coming around to it. and y'know, i can't fault him for being a loyal dog. i am one too.
for me. but if i tell you it's not gonna be exciting when i get my hands on it.
[It will certainly be exciting when Dodger starts doing butterfly knife tricks as a fidget again, though.]
hero instincts isn't just helping people. it's seeing shit that needs to get done and jumping in, without thinking about what'll happen to you. jumping in front of a car to save a dog, that sort of thing. or seeing a friend getting hurt, jumping in without a weapon and getting your ass beat.
[This is how Dodger differentiates himself from heroes. Because he does want to help, but only if it doesn't take anything from him.
[ Poor Dodger doesn't know Jayce's stance on weapons yet, so this might not go as planned!! ]
Inventing hextech was similar in the way you are explaining it. Inventing things to help others when magic was feared, attempting to show people that it could be used for good and could make a difference. Things that need to get done, and doing them no matter what happens to you. In that was it is something similar to heroics.
[ A pause as he ruminates. ]
Those who are willing to put others before themselves, to do great things, those are the heroes that many could benefit from.
it's not a split decision, though. that's all i meant.
[But maybe that's a moot point, because Viktor did lose his human form to advance science. That's probably more heroic than any example Dodger gave.]
putting others before themselves and doing great things aren't always the same thing. sometimes the path forward NEEDS a trail of blood. i don't think i was a good person back home, but i was doing something great. better than letting things stay the way they were, at least.
Does it? Need a trail of blood? I have gone down such a path, and it did not save anyone, nor was it the beginning of something great.
[ It also wasn't him directly but something parading around as him. But it had still used his dream and his all-consuming need to help others to do terrible things. ]
I tried to do something great back home, and it...brought nothing but suffering. And had I succeeded, there would have been nothing left.
[ Seas of endless solitude he had said. ]
I think there are better ways forward than with bloodshed. There is always a choice, of course, and I tend to try to choose the least violent one if possible.
if you're going to change the world, you can't ask for permission. people in power don't listen to petitions and sob stories. you need to rip out the infestation and cauterize the wound. you need to make an example out of people that push back.
[He knows this is a dicey thing to bring up to Viktor, even if he doesn't know the exact shape of Viktor's past. But more than anything, Dodger needs to believe this. He needs to believe that there is no other way, or he was just killing innocents and worsening the perception of mutants. Fuck that.]
violence isn't always avoidable. and sometimes it's a moral obligation. i'd rather have blood on my hands than stand by and politely ask the police to stop brutalizing my people.
Using my own words against me when you are choosing acts of violence is not as clever as you think. I spoke those words because violence between Piltover and Zaun killed many of my people and Piltover's as well. The divide between us is great, but offering something that could help Zaun build and gain the infrastructure to be its own entity and stand on its own outside of Piltover was the first step needed towards healing.
The cycle of violence is not one that will ever get decent results. You will never be rid of the infection if you continue to cause wounds.
It might not always be unavoidable, but there are better ways to use one's powers than to cause more harm. All those people you have killed...what do you think they see mutants as because of it?
well, humans in my world invented a shock collar that saps powers. that was *their* solution to the conflict. you know what i was doing before i showed up here? helping out a 17 year old forced to wear one of those collars 24/7. getting electrocuted every time his mutation acts up. forgive me if i dont give a shit about the lives of people who condone shit like that.
[Sylas also... is a danger to the public, if his powers aren't contained. He cannot control them and they cause paranoid hallucinations for everyone around him. Dodger knows this, but it doesn't serve his point, so he's keeping it to himself.]
i don't need humans to like me. i don't need humans to like mutants. i just need them to understand they're sticking their hand in a bear trap by pissing off super-powered beings. that is what the violence is for.
[He stops himself short from the last thought in his head - that humans belong under his heel, that is the proper world order. But he's thinking it, and only keeping it to himself because Viktor is technically human.]
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no subject
you have to pick some things to believe in or you're just going to tie yourself into knots.
and i'm choosing to believe you're still the person i've known since july.
powers or not.
[It's a much bigger show of good faith than Dodger's used to, and he hopes Viktor can appreciate that. Maybe self-serving, because he mostly doesn't want to believe he's this bad a judge of character, but the logic doesn't matter if the end result is keeping his friendship going.
He is fully ignoring the second part of that, though, because he doesn't want to admit the argument was caused by Dodger screwing Esikko's crush after being told not to.]
jayce does smithing?
i'll have to make sure he and henry meet then.
and yeah, we're getting along better.
he seemed... worried about me, after the last time i talked to you.
[Which Dodger still isn't entirely sure what to do with. At the time, he'd just assumed Jayce was being a guard dog again, but it seems like Jayce genuinely cares about Dodger's well-being. As much as he finds that deeply confusing.]
no subject
But I am still the same man you spoke with and will continue to be, that I am certain of.
[ But they'll get there when they get there. ]
It was intrinsic to his house name, Talis. His family crafted and created multipurpose tools for others to use, but the hammer is what they are most known for inventing. [ A smile forms on his lips. Nothing but affection in his stupid eyes as he reads that!! ]
That is good to hear. Jayce is very protective of— [ most notably him ] people he becomes close to. It is one of his more defining traits, I think. The fact that he wishes to help you and is worried about you is proof of this.
no subject
then i've got an idea of something i might ask him for, but it can wait.
[More accurately, he sees an opportunity for Jayce to help Henry figure out the butterfly knife that Dodger's been wanting. Just in time for his birthday, too.]
he's got a hero's instincts.
it used to piss me off, meeting people like that, but i'm coming around to it.
and y'know, i can't fault him for being a loyal dog.
i am one too.
no subject
So lucky for me to have two that I can call on.
[ Viktor stop. ]
A hero's instincts...yes I think that is appropriate for him. After all our dream was to help and save people with hextech.
[ But Jayce had also saved him in more ways than one. ]
no subject
but if i tell you it's not gonna be exciting when i get my hands on it.
[It will certainly be exciting when Dodger starts doing butterfly knife tricks as a fidget again, though.]
hero instincts isn't just helping people.
it's seeing shit that needs to get done and jumping in, without thinking about what'll happen to you.
jumping in front of a car to save a dog, that sort of thing.
or seeing a friend getting hurt, jumping in without a weapon and getting your ass beat.
[This is how Dodger differentiates himself from heroes. Because he does want to help, but only if it doesn't take anything from him.
Usually.]
no subject
[ Poor Dodger doesn't know Jayce's stance on weapons yet, so this might not go as planned!! ]
Inventing hextech was similar in the way you are explaining it.
Inventing things to help others when magic was feared, attempting to show people that it could be used for good and could make a difference.
Things that need to get done, and doing them no matter what happens to you.
In that was it is something similar to heroics.
[ A pause as he ruminates. ]
Those who are willing to put others before themselves, to do great things, those are the heroes that many could benefit from.
no subject
that's all i meant.
[But maybe that's a moot point, because Viktor did lose his human form to advance science. That's probably more heroic than any example Dodger gave.]
putting others before themselves and doing great things aren't always the same thing.
sometimes the path forward NEEDS a trail of blood.
i don't think i was a good person back home, but i was doing something great.
better than letting things stay the way they were, at least.
no subject
I have gone down such a path, and it did not save anyone, nor was it the beginning of something great.
[ It also wasn't him directly but something parading around as him. But it had still used his dream and his all-consuming need to help others to do terrible things. ]
I tried to do something great back home, and it...brought nothing but suffering. And had I succeeded, there would have been nothing left.
[ Seas of endless solitude he had said. ]
I think there are better ways forward than with bloodshed. There is always a choice, of course, and I tend to try to choose the least violent one if possible.
no subject
people in power don't listen to petitions and sob stories.
you need to rip out the infestation and cauterize the wound.
you need to make an example out of people that push back.
[He knows this is a dicey thing to bring up to Viktor, even if he doesn't know the exact shape of Viktor's past. But more than anything, Dodger needs to believe this. He needs to believe that there is no other way, or he was just killing innocents and worsening the perception of mutants. Fuck that.]
violence isn't always avoidable.
and sometimes it's a moral obligation.
i'd rather have blood on my hands than stand by and politely ask the police to stop brutalizing my people.
no subject
I spoke those words because violence between Piltover and Zaun killed many of my people and Piltover's as well. The divide between us is great, but offering something that could help Zaun build and gain the infrastructure to be its own entity and stand on its own outside of Piltover was the first step needed towards healing.
The cycle of violence is not one that will ever get decent results. You will never be rid of the infection if you continue to cause wounds.
It might not always be unavoidable, but there are better ways to use one's powers than to cause more harm. All those people you have killed...what do you think they see mutants as because of it?
no subject
that was *their* solution to the conflict.
you know what i was doing before i showed up here?
helping out a 17 year old forced to wear one of those collars 24/7.
getting electrocuted every time his mutation acts up.
forgive me if i dont give a shit about the lives of people who condone shit like that.
[Sylas also... is a danger to the public, if his powers aren't contained. He cannot control them and they cause paranoid hallucinations for everyone around him. Dodger knows this, but it doesn't serve his point, so he's keeping it to himself.]
i don't need humans to like me.
i don't need humans to like mutants.
i just need them to understand they're sticking their hand in a bear trap by pissing off super-powered beings.
that is what the violence is for.
[He stops himself short from the last thought in his head - that humans belong under his heel, that is the proper world order. But he's thinking it, and only keeping it to himself because Viktor is technically human.]