[ this description makes him frown because it really sounds like piltover just does not give a fuck about Zaun at all. Like an "out of sight out of mind" situation. he's from a really big city and it's not nearly as bad as what viktor's saying, but he kind of gets it. you don't make something of yourself without either the money to back you up or the spite and means to do it yourself. and in cases like theirs, the latter is all you have. ]
And I'm guessing you managed to get in? [ it's mostly a gentle prompt for viktor to tell him more about this story. this is literally the most of anyone's backstory he's ask for so far i hate you. ]
[HELP ME. Not the speedrun. Except I'm being digiku'd again and learning nothing about Shoma because he is too busy talking.]
Yes. I believed in myself. It took a little more work than people who have money, or a sponsor. But I did it on my own. I became the Dean's assistant. He was head of the Council, too.
[ hehe. LOOK IT'S FINE viktor telling him this much at least means shoma will be slightly less resistant talking about himself if prompted. but this is the introvert curse...sometimes you just like to hear what people have to say when it's a topic that interests you. ]
That's almost more impressive than buying your way in. [ he just says this. ] ...did something happen to force the Dean to step down?
[ i'm half-expecting this to end with "he was murdered" actually. ]
The question draws a dark and pensive pinch to his brows. He glances away; his fingers drum quietly on the bar of the crutch in front of him.]
My research partner, Jayce, became a councilor at the behest of another one. They voted to make him oversee security since we were the ones who made the Hexgates. We had been... working... on something new. A Hex Core. Head Councilor Heimerdinger [don't laugh] was... apprehensive about studying it. He thought the Hextech we were creating should go through years worth of testing before being put to use, and he thought research of the Hex Core should be abolished.
[He pauses to try to think of what to say.]
But the Council thought differently and voted in favor of him retiring his position.
[ give me a new pc binch unless you want me to start it.
oh. it seems as though he's tripped into something that's not exactly a good topic. but he watches viktor, monitoring his reactions and listening to the story as it plays out. ]
...what made the Hex Core so dangerous that the Head Councilor wanted to push back? [ and more importantly: ] How would you have voted?
There is apprehension at the edge of Viktor's face. It's difficult. It's difficult being a loose end on big political matters. Being friends and partners with someone who instigated this.]
I don't know.
[He answers the last question first, but honestly.]
I was the Dean's assistant. Without Mister Heimerdinger's approval, I'm not sure how long I would have lasted at the Academy even after getting in. But... I knew Hextech could help others immediately. I... couldn't wait for years' worth of regulations.
[...]
The Hex Core... was different. It was different than anything we had created so far. It was... It had the potential of being the single most marvelous invention to humankind. But I understand now... He was right. The Hex Core... I should have never worked on it.
this is a lot to process, and he knows it's a lot for viktor to say. he almost feels bad he's asked this much, but. ]
...but you were focused on the goal of helping other people. So it was harder to see why it needed to wait, because waiting still meant people would suffer until it was ready. [ ... ] Sorry. You don't...have to keep explaining it if you don't want to. I was just wondering.
...It's alright. It's a little... much to be dumping on someone who should have a clear, optimistic mind for invention. Just be careful... how far you go with what you make. Don't be afraid to set boundaries for your work.
And, yes, even if... things are dire, you should put your work through rigorous testing to make sure it is a benefit, not a detriment to people's lives.
...right now, I think my work is all still a work in progress. There are things I want to do in the future maybe, and I've thought about trying to go to school to learn more the proper way but it might be hard to manage that. I want to push limits, but I do have reasons to be careful.
[ but he doesn't elaborate on that either. ]
Was that the last thing you remember before coming here?
[That's okay, lil buddy. We will save some lore for later. Your lore. Because Viktor talked too MUCH.]
I'll admit, the Academy was hard. But not impossible.
[He would also say "you have plenty of time," but how long do some people truly have...? The question makes him frown slightly again.]
I was in the council room. Jayce was trying to get them to broker a deal of peace between the Undercity, Zaun, and Piltover. There had been some violence between them recently which had grown worse.
But... something had come through the window. I don't know what it was. It shattered it... and exploded. And then I was here.
[ viktor is an extrovert now……..also listen if he asked shoma may tell him some lore…as a tweat. ]
Some people would say nothing's impossible. [ it's debatable if shoma is one of those people, but given the tone…it's edging on the side of no. time is such a weird thing though, and shoma knows he does have plenty. but viktor doesn't say that out loud. it's just stuff shoma himself thinks about anyway. ]
When you have two sides that oppose each other so badly, it's not a surprise fighting starts. [ …he does not ask if viktor is still alive, but he's wondering this now. ]
Will you go back to that exact point when this is over? If given the choice.
[His eyes lower, and he stares into the middle distance essentially around the level of his feet.
Going back at another time would solve so many problems. And create more? Could he live with the burden of knowledge of the future and still make it at another point in time? Would everything remain the same anyway, and he is just passing through, knowing?]
[ he thinks it's fair that viktor asks, but his own answer is pretty straightforward. ]
Yeah. I wouldn't even consider another option. [ ...well, maybe a point ahead of where he was, but he doesn't know how well that'd pan out either. but it certainly can't be after. ] So as long as they can guarantee that at the end of this, that helps.
We don't. Which is why it was so hard for me to answer you. If I could go back earlier than where I had been, it would be nice to try to change some things.But I don't know the consequences that would have on the future, or if I could even change anything at all. Imagine you change one thing and something else is worse.
I suppose my answer is then that I would go back to the council room and... await whatever happened to us there.
Sorry. I knew it was a question without a real answer, but... [ he was curious. it was also his own little test to see how viktor felt in all of what had happened in his world. ] There's a theory called the butterfly effect. It's when a small action happens, but it causes something much bigger to happen and completely change the future, even if they seem unrelated. Even if we went back and changed something small, just to make it better, we don't know if it'd then change something else to make it worse.
[ ... ]
But I don't think going back at least a little before the explosion is a bad idea. Just to give you some breathing room.
[Viktor shifts a bit to glance back at Shoma. He isn't a theoretical science sort of guy, but he understands what it means. He thinks it could very well be true.]
I'm not sure if I want... a few minutes worth of knowing my death is imminent.
[This may or may not be (a truck drives by).]
The council room is in a high Piltover tower. Even if I were to run away... I'm sure most of us inside aren't going to make it. That is just the way of the world sometimes, I guess.
[ for him, he thinks it's possible that maybe going back a few minutes early would at least give him time to devise a plan to escape. but it's also entirely possible the man's already dead, which...isn't great. ]
...then I guess another option is to not go back if it's the end anyway. But it's hard to think about that, too.
[Shoma is really going through it for him for no reason. He is... both surprised, confused, and touched some random kid would be worried about his fate.]
Stay here? I would say I don't think it's nice to leave my partner without half of the Hextech work force, but... if we're both in the room and are going to die anyway. What a sad day for Piltover.
[ sometimes, despite being the way you are, you do care about people who've been nice when it sounds like their fate sucks... ]
That's sort of my point. Not to say you should just give up, but I don't think anyone else would blame a person for wanting more time if that's something they thought they'd want.
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And I'm guessing you managed to get in? [ it's mostly a gentle prompt for viktor to tell him more about this story. this is literally the most of anyone's backstory he's ask for so far i hate you. ]
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Yes. I believed in myself. It took a little more work than people who have money, or a sponsor. But I did it on my own. I became the Dean's assistant. He was head of the Council, too.
Well... for a while.
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That's almost more impressive than buying your way in. [ he just says this. ] ...did something happen to force the Dean to step down?
[ i'm half-expecting this to end with "he was murdered" actually. ]
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Heh. It's very fulfilling, yes.
[The question about the Dean makes him look surprised, and then the expression softens into something more somber.]
...The Council voted in favor of his retirement.
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...oh. [ hum. ] Why were they trying to get him out of the way?
[ again, making assumptions. i really do not know anything about arcane please help. ]
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The question draws a dark and pensive pinch to his brows. He glances away; his fingers drum quietly on the bar of the crutch in front of him.]
My research partner, Jayce, became a councilor at the behest of another one. They voted to make him oversee security since we were the ones who made the Hexgates. We had been... working... on something new. A Hex Core. Head Councilor Heimerdinger [don't laugh] was... apprehensive about studying it. He thought the Hextech we were creating should go through years worth of testing before being put to use, and he thought research of the Hex Core should be abolished.
[He pauses to try to think of what to say.]
But the Council thought differently and voted in favor of him retiring his position.
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oh. it seems as though he's tripped into something that's not exactly a good topic. but he watches viktor, monitoring his reactions and listening to the story as it plays out. ]
...what made the Hex Core so dangerous that the Head Councilor wanted to push back? [ and more importantly: ] How would you have voted?
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There is apprehension at the edge of Viktor's face. It's difficult. It's difficult being a loose end on big political matters. Being friends and partners with someone who instigated this.]
I don't know.
[He answers the last question first, but honestly.]
I was the Dean's assistant. Without Mister Heimerdinger's approval, I'm not sure how long I would have lasted at the Academy even after getting in. But... I knew Hextech could help others immediately. I... couldn't wait for years' worth of regulations.
[...]
The Hex Core... was different. It was different than anything we had created so far. It was... It had the potential of being the single most marvelous invention to humankind. But I understand now... He was right. The Hex Core... I should have never worked on it.
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this is a lot to process, and he knows it's a lot for viktor to say. he almost feels bad he's asked this much, but. ]
...but you were focused on the goal of helping other people. So it was harder to see why it needed to wait, because waiting still meant people would suffer until it was ready. [ ... ] Sorry. You don't...have to keep explaining it if you don't want to. I was just wondering.
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...It's alright. It's a little... much to be dumping on someone who should have a clear, optimistic mind for invention. Just be careful... how far you go with what you make. Don't be afraid to set boundaries for your work.
And, yes, even if... things are dire, you should put your work through rigorous testing to make sure it is a benefit, not a detriment to people's lives.
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...right now, I think my work is all still a work in progress. There are things I want to do in the future maybe, and I've thought about trying to go to school to learn more the proper way but it might be hard to manage that. I want to push limits, but I do have reasons to be careful.
[ but he doesn't elaborate on that either. ]
Was that the last thing you remember before coming here?
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I'll admit, the Academy was hard. But not impossible.
[He would also say "you have plenty of time," but how long do some people truly have...? The question makes him frown slightly again.]
I was in the council room. Jayce was trying to get them to broker a deal of peace between the Undercity, Zaun, and Piltover. There had been some violence between them recently which had grown worse.
But... something had come through the window. I don't know what it was. It shattered it... and exploded. And then I was here.
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Some people would say nothing's impossible. [ it's debatable if shoma is one of those people, but given the tone…it's edging on the side of no. time is such a weird thing though, and shoma knows he does have plenty. but viktor doesn't say that out loud. it's just stuff shoma himself thinks about anyway. ]
When you have two sides that oppose each other so badly, it's not a surprise fighting starts. [ …he does not ask if viktor is still alive, but he's wondering this now. ]
Will you go back to that exact point when this is over? If given the choice.
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Going back at another time would solve so many problems. And create more? Could he live with the burden of knowledge of the future and still make it at another point in time? Would everything remain the same anyway, and he is just passing through, knowing?]
...I don't know. That's is a difficult choice.
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...there's time to think about it, at least. Eight whole weeks of it. So...maybe it doesn't matter if you have an answer yet or not.
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I know. I'll... give it some thought.
[Better than not thinking about it which is the opposite of what his brain always does anyway. In sight AND in mind.]
What about you? Going back to the same point?
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Yeah. I wouldn't even consider another option. [ ...well, maybe a point ahead of where he was, but he doesn't know how well that'd pan out either. but it certainly can't be after. ] So as long as they can guarantee that at the end of this, that helps.
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Not interested in changing the past?
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...do we even know if changing the past would give us a future we want?
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We don't. Which is why it was so hard for me to answer you. If I could go back earlier than where I had been, it would be nice to try to change some things.But I don't know the consequences that would have on the future, or if I could even change anything at all. Imagine you change one thing and something else is worse.
I suppose my answer is then that I would go back to the council room and... await whatever happened to us there.
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[ ... ]
But I don't think going back at least a little before the explosion is a bad idea. Just to give you some breathing room.
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I'm not sure if I want... a few minutes worth of knowing my death is imminent.
[This may or may not be (a truck drives by).]
The council room is in a high Piltover tower. Even if I were to run away... I'm sure most of us inside aren't going to make it. That is just the way of the world sometimes, I guess.
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...then I guess another option is to not go back if it's the end anyway. But it's hard to think about that, too.
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Stay here? I would say I don't think it's nice to leave my partner without half of the Hextech work force, but... if we're both in the room and are going to die anyway. What a sad day for Piltover.
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That's sort of my point. Not to say you should just give up, but I don't think anyone else would blame a person for wanting more time if that's something they thought they'd want.
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