#meta | reverse engineering

unprompted headcanon questions  // @cnpluriaalways accepting.

oh no! there’s nothing to apologize for, i actually love these questions! a lot, in fact. as a warning, though: this is where i get poetic with the lack of information we have on jayce’s background and go into the ‘divergent’ territory, i believe---which can’t be proven wrong or right yet, given riot hasn’t released anything that disproves my particular views, but i’m fffairly certain this isn’t gonna be near what the possible actual canon could be, so---

i have written meta on it on the old blog, which can be found here (tw: child abuse / neglect; it’s nothing super graphic but it’s worth mentioning it!), but to sum it up—he’s never had any parental figures. having been born as an unwanted pregnancy to a very poor mother in the borders of piltover and zaun, he was put up to adoption as a baby. his life on the foundlings home he was left in was not easy, given he was a neurodivergent child in a place that wasn’t equipped to deal with his idionsyncrasies. difficult and prone to isolation since youth, he often got punished for more disruptive behaviors and learned to bottle stuff up quick. 

his genius started showing early too, as early as 8-9, and it was part of why he was hard to deal; his thirst for discovering and knowledge was big enough that not only did he devour whatever books his tiny hands could find but he also often picked apart important devices in the foundlings home for the sake of learning how they worked and the foundlings home’s staff hated it, which led him to being punished for it. the giopara caught word of a bright young child that seemed promising a year or two later and picked the boy up from there, but the great issue in regards of that is that they never made him into one of their own children, instead making him into their apprenta from the get-go to profit from him. 

all of that made him associate his worth to his intellect & academic / inventing prowess from very early on and as a consequence, his emotional side got completely neglected as he grew up. all he had to do was to keep up with the giopara’s expectations of his genius and his life would be set, and that he did. in fact, he exceeded them what with becoming the city’s hero despite never ever wanting it and bringing the giopara a great tool to keep their political power strong in piltover—after all, he’s the city’s poster boy and their own resource. a tool, perhaps, instead of a person in their eyes.

send in 📂 for a random headcanon i have for jay // @bikmuiaccepting.

shipping meme // @lightshieldedaccepting.

2. what sort of things does your muse look for in a partner?

while romance is far from his priorities, there’s a list of traits jayce deems desirable in a partner, even if mostly subconsciously: reliability, quick wits, strength (pay in mind this isn’t necessarily physical strength, though that is also at times appreciated; he likes people with strong personalities usually, and it shows, mostly because if that’s not something a person has, they likely won’t last much around him what with how snarky & generally standoffish he can be)---those are all traits he must see in a person to get interested. confidence ties in with that, but is also something he enjoys. bold people tend not to be boring people.

it’s also essential there is respect and a degree of equality between parties, otherwise, he’s turned off entirely from the prospect of an actual relationship. good looks and physique are a bonus, not a necessity to him. those matters most when his sexual interest is being talked of. romance has other requirements entirely.

3. what sort of thing does your muse avoid in a partner?

jayce tends to avoid people he perceives as dull or too frail for any sort of relationship. he’s a difficult person and people who are too soft and cannot stand their ground tend not to do well with his abrasive ways. groveling fans also aren’t the sort of people he enjoys having around for that exact reason. in his opinion, if he wanted a subservient companion, he could simply hire a servant instead (or call in any members of his fan club).

alternatively, he also cannot stand being lessened much too frequently. a clash of egos is something he can take, as well as competition and back-and-forths, but if someone perceives him as truly less than equal, he’ll never pursue a relationship with them because he finds that humiliating. that said, oftentimes he will not pursue relationships with entities or higher beings because of that particular peeve, especially if they are the sort that enjoys rubbing in their higher status on his face. 

shipping meme // @bikmuiaccepting.

7. would your muse ever get married?

not often does he feel like he needs to nor does he have that as a goal in a relationship, but given his position in piltover and some circumstances, he has done so in certain verses. to be more specific about the more obvious cases, he’s married @eciled’s riven to make sure the giopara wouldn’t try to contest their relationship (given her poor ‘societal standing’ in their eyes as a wanderess and, as later addressed, noxian exile).

he’s also married @magevolved and @the-virtuoso in very specific side-verses where that made sense, but usually? that’s not a priority for him.

8. does your muse usually take the lead in relationships?

well, it depends on which sense! 

emotionally, jayce is often too clueless to get that lead. he has a hard time catching a good grasp of what exactly his feelings are and how far they can lead him, so it means often enough the other party needs to nudge him towards the right direction. it’s a good point to make about how he views commitment too; unless someone makes it explicit it’s what they want, he’ll never assume it, even when it may seem callous not to, mostly because commitment is not something he imagines many desiring from him outside those that are solely interested in reaping the boons of a relationship with a famous man.

in a more sexual sense, if he senses his partner is more submissive he’ll take the lead without much issue while he may not submit as easily mostly because he tends to be one that favors a healthy back-and-forth. he generally tries to get a good read on that first, lest he ends up becoming pushy (which is a concept he abhors when the subject is sex) and ends up scaring the person away, and he gladly has better skills at reading people this way than he has when emotions are at play. 

shipping meme // @essence-flux-primedaccepting.

the few times jayce has had to go out in dates, those were usually planned for him given they were more... business-like and not at all spontaneous. in what regards personal preference, he often would rather neglect dates as he prefers good domestic time spent by a significant other’s side, but if he believes dates will be something his significant other enjoys? then he can make that small sacrifice and plan a date.

shipping meme // @umbaneaccepting.

jayce’s love language comes in the form of trust and concern (the honest sort, not the sort he often fakes for the sake of keeping to his ‘defender’ persona).

i have talked a little about it in here, but he’s not the sort of guy that tends to go for big displays of love. he sometimes does them to abide by social rules, but naturally speaking, his love language is on the small details, the little things that say that he trusts someone entirely and cares for them; some of those, for an example, are: remembering their favorites, sleeping soundly by their side, letting them have free access to his workshop, cooking them breakfast (which is the only meal he knows how to cook, often enough)—little things that speak lengths about his emotional investment. 

having been raised in a place as competitive and often cutthroat as piltover, trusting someone entirely doesn’t come easily and doesn’t seem wise. as defender, it’s worse: he never knows when someone is merely approaching him for his fame, or for his tech, or even because of his degree of influence due to his relationship with the giopara & to an extent, law enforcement. 

shipday / sinday-related asks // @wclfcrownalways accepting.

see, here’s the thing: jayce is not exactly the most romantic fellow in piltover. he knows the basics about what is expected of romance, given he’s been made to entertain a date or two with a few aristocrats before for the interests of the giopara, but it’s not an effort that comes naturally to him. he’s more domestic in his displays of affection, however, if he notices robb is inclined towards more romantic endeavors, then he can possibly try to plan one.

i’d imagine that with or without the romantic connotations, he’d take the avarosan to see the sights of his city. he’s proud about piltover, about the progress it so clearly displays, so he enjoys showing it off. but since he’s invested in robb’s opinion mostly due to interest in him, he’d put an effort into bringing him to his favored restaurants (which, not too surprisingly, aren’t the most famous---he prefers the quiet of more discreet places to counterbalance the usual way he’s regarded for his fame) and coffee shops.