#poor jayce

[arcanegifs]

ARCANE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 2x07 - “Pretend Like It's the First Time”

[buckrogers2491]

Cred @gabeirg on Instagram

[orphicmusings]

jealous Viktor 🙏🙏 friends to lovers

“i don’t like the way he’s looking at you.” viktor’s voice floated just past your ear, making you aware of your surroundings as he shoved a glass of something in your hand.

“what’s this?” you asked, having never been to one of these fancy academy gatherings before. as you sniffed the golden flute, wincing at the strong booze quantity your nose measured, he scoffed.

“jayce.” he asnwered, and you looked at him, confused. “jayce made this?” you inspected it closer. “he should stick to his day job. it seems a little strong-“

“he’s plotting something.” he interrupts you with a skeptical murmur, and you follow the trail of his gaze. jayce caught your eye, and quickly looked away. you frowned, feeling your cheeks heating up as you put it together.

“jayce is?” you asked your friend, who had a stern, chiding expression on his usually delicate face. “he’s…interested in me? i had no idea…” you laughed awkwardly, and viktor finally turned his attention to you.

“are you interested?” you felt the heat in your cheeks spread as you shook your head. god, how oblivious can one man be? has he not caught your gaze lingering on his long fingers as he works? the way you follow him around like a puppy at this point, always with a coffee or a glass of water? the way you undeniably reacted so pathetically when he asked you to come to this thing—platonically, no less—sputtering and flushing your answer? you wanted to strangle him.

“no, i’m not.” you respond, trying to keep the frustration out of your voice. “why?”

his eyes darted between you and jayce, across the room. “no reason.” he mumbled into his drink. you decided to down yours before asking what you were about to ask.

“what would you do if i was?” his thick brows knit together every so subtly at the question, a struggle to keep his face neutral. “i…” he started, fighting to keep his voice nonchalant. “i’d be happy to set you two up.” you rubbed your face in irritation, a bit of your makeup trailing under your fingers.

“you’d be happy to?”

“well…” he tilted his head slightly in confusion. “that is what i just said, yes.”

there was a beat of silence as you took a breath, feeling all too close to him. “go ahead.” you challenged, looking up at him with a mischievous glint in your eye. his eyes searched your expression, and you can hear the wheels turning in his brilliant brain as he analyzed your entire face in seconds.

“i….” a pretty pink dusted his cheeks. “i am not sure if i want to.”

you pressed your lips together to hide a smirk. “no?”

“no, i don’t.” he stepped closer. “in fact, it would…” his eyes drifted down to your lips. “inconvenience me very much.”

you spared a glance toward jayce, who was still pretending like he wasn’t looking, and leaned forward to close the gap between you and viktor. he reciprocated almost immediately, catching your face gently in his hands, breathing a smile into your mouth. you pulled away and tugged on his hand, nodding your head toward the coat closet, but he simply pulled you even closer.

“no.” he stated firmly against your neck, quickly suckling a kiss when no one was looking. “want him to see.”

[kokiyoh]

You better run Jayce…

[arseenixx]

Just finished reading " Coming Home (But Not to You) "by queercatfan on AO3/ @lesbianherald on Tumblr and absolutely loved it.

One specific scene had caught my eye and I just had to draw it! I finally got around to doing so!

^^ With and W/Out Text

I adored this scene, just the domesticity of it. I was feeling for Jayce throughout this whole story but the ending was so worth it.

Just a sketch because the background is killing me, but this scene totally had to be drawn. I really like how it turned out!

[1admirefromafar]

thinking about Jayce from @newdawnescapism's restaurant AU

Because I can't get that version of Jayce out of my damn head! Vinny, how dare you!

And how, even before getting thrust into Piltover’s culinary limelight, Jayce was forced to perform versions of himself for other people.

CW: Eating disorders, disordered exercise, bullying, microaggressions

Picturing a fat little Jayce being his adorably weird, fat little self, trying to make friends. He does magic tricks, shows off his uncannily good drawings, gushes about the yummy lunches his parents make for him…only for his peers to relentlessly bully him.

They bully him about his "stupid" card tricks.

They bully him about his “weird” art.

They bully him over his "gross food."

They bully him for being fat.

Jayce tries ignoring his bullies, diving head first into his studies. He soon earns a reputation as “Teacher’s Pet," which doesn’t make his situation better. If anything, it makes it worse.

So, being the good little student he is (and tired of being tormented, let's be honest here), Jayce *studies* his peers, observes how they talk and what they talk about. Observes how they dress, sees what they eat. He starts implementing what he observes--words, phrases, clothing etc. He starts watching the shows his peers watch. He even joins his school's track team because those people seem like the most popular. Jayce’s parents still make his lunches, because Jayce's parents love him. Jayce doesn’t eat the lunches, though, opting instead for chips and sports drinks from the vending machine. It’s what the "cool" kids eat for lunch, after all.

The bullying lessens, sure, but it doesn't really stop until he shoots up to 6'2 the summer going into sophomore year of high school...and loses damn near all his baby fat in the process.

He returns to school not as a chubby, awkward, nerd, but a tall, fit "Popular Kid" and "Star Athlete," new roles for him, ones he never wanted to play. But if it means people stop bullying him what's the harm in playing along, right?

And then his dad dies. Jayce is 16.

Now, he isn't just playing the part of "Popular Kid." Jayce has to play the roles of "Dutiful Son,” "Man of the House," and “Home Cook” for his overworked and grieving mother. And he's still playing the parts of "Star Athlete" and "Teacher's Pet," because how else will he get into a good university to land a good job once he wraps high school?

Jayce tries out for the role of “Dishwasher” at renowned restaurant House Kiramman, helmed by celebrity chef, Cassandra Kiramman. Instead, he gets the part of "Babysitter" for Cassandra’s young daughter, Caitlyn.

If Jayce isn’t at school, home, or a track meet, he’s taking care of Caitlyn, helping her with her homework while doing his own, making her snacks, sometimes even makes her dinner if Cassandra and Tobias have to work late.

Jayce soon discovers (between making meals for Ximena and for Caitlyn) that he enjoys cooking. He finds it calming, predictable; it's one of the few things he has direct control over in his life. He's just not good at it...yet. It doesn’t help that Caitlyn has quite the discerning palate for an eight year-old, so unless the food's really good, she won't eat it.

Through trial and error, Jayce gets better! Except his getting better is starting to show back up on his body. Which means Jayce's “friends” and coaches alike are commenting on his body. Meaning Jayce may lose the part of “Popular Kid” if he doesn’t do something about his body.

One night, Jayce improvises a dish for Caitlyn  based on what’s around and she loves it, says Jayce should save some for her parents for when they get home. There's certainly enough for leftovers, too, at least six servings worth.

Once Caitlyn goes to sleep, Jayce devours four of those six servings through a fit of confused tears. He likes the feeling of fullness, the comfort of it. He doesn’t like how that fullness looks on him.

Cassandra and Tobias come home from work not long after, exhausted from a 12-hour work day in their restaurant downstairs. Jayce tells them about the food he made (“there’s leftovers in the fridge, Sprout likes it.”) before heading leaving for the night.

Jayce makes himself vomit in the alleyway before catching the bus home. He wants to cry but doesn’t; people will stare, think poorly of him.

His mom wakes him up early the next morning (it’s a weekend), saying Ms. Kiramman called the house, asked Jayce to call her back ASAP. So Jayce does exactly that. Cassandra gushes about Jayce’s dish. Jayce says he was making do with what was laying the house. Cassandra says she “sees something” in Jayce, something special and worth nurturing. While not offering Jayce a job in her kitchens per se, Cassandra does want to mentor him.

Jayce quickly goes from “Babysitter” to “Apprentice” to “Prodigy.” On top of all of that, Jayce is still playing the parts of “Popular Kid,” “Star Athlete,” and “Top Student” at school, and of “Dutiful Son,” “Man of the House” and “Cook” at home. 

Jayce finds solace in food. Making it, eating it, binging it, purging himself of it.

Because of his grades, Jayce graduates high school early. Instead of going to university, he lands a job at House Kiramman; he tells himself school can wait.

Jayce quickly finds his footing in the professional culinary arena, and finds that he can be his weird little self in the kitchen…to a point. Season the food "properly" but "not too much." Avoid those ingredients, cook with these instead. Use this technique not that technique, it "isn't proper."

Everything changes when Marcus, current head chef at House Kirmman, gets fired for "disorderly conduct." And who's better primed to take on that title than hot shot "Golden Boy" chef, Jayce Talis?

Jayce, age 20, is now Head Chef at House Kiramman. He becomes executive chef by age 24, changing the restaurant’s name to “House Talis” soon after.

It's here that Jayce learns a terrible but important lesson: people only like him when he’s performing the version of “Jayce” they want him to be.

Jayce doesn't find solace in food anymore, but he still makes it, eats it, binges it, purges it. Rinses and repeats. And if he's not handling food, Jayce is either 1) in front of a camera crafting a marketable public persona, or 2) at the gym crafting his body into beautiful, impenetrable armor.

Three people get through that beautiful armor, with varying degrees of success:

Caitlyn, of course. Jayce practically raised her from the time she was eight up until she turned twelve (when Jayce became head chef). Their mutual fondness was evident from the moment they met, but between their age gap, the sibling-like nature of their relationship, well…Jayce had a role to play, and that role was “Celebrity Chef” not “Kid Brother.”

Mel—my god, Mel! Smart, self assured, kind, a culinary force of nature and totally out of Jayce’s league (what was she thinking wanting to date a guy like Jayce?), not to mention the daughter of THE Ambessa Medarda, feared respected food critic. Meaning Mel had a unique perspective in helping Jayce navigate his newfound culinary fame, since she grew up in the shadow of her mother’s celebrity. Mel and Jayce were together for seven years (started dating when Jayce was 21 and Mel was 22/23). And while they deeply loved each other, the demands of their lives and roles they played in said lives caused them to slowly drift apart, then break up all at once.

Viktor, former fine dining chef turned owner of a diner...a diner that happens to be one of the best restaurants in the region. Viktor is a no-nonsense guy with a low threshold for bullshit, who refuses to coddle egos, let alone Jayce's. And yet, it's Viktor's very refusal to put up with "Chef Talis" that worms his way into Jayce's heart. Because Viktor doesn't care about "Chef Talis," "Golden Boy," "Man of Progress," or whatever other roles Jayce was forced to perform the years. Fuck no.

Viktor cares about Jayce. Which means Jayce doesn't have to perform for Viktor. He can just...be Jayce.

And being Jayce is pretty damn nice...

[sulkybender-retired04042026]

ah fuck.

[apfel-saft404]

when I said I wanted a jayvik hug THIS ISN'T WHAT I MEANT my god I loved it though