#I more so like old jayce and machine herald vik

[meownotgood]

what do u think abt jayvik? (arcane)

I love them together but I'm totally not jealous of what they have. totally would not be asking if they need a third. totally not completely distracted whenever I watch their scenes together because I want to be sandwiched in between them like they're bread and I'm just the fucking lettuce bacon tomato!!!!!!

[evieelyzabethh]

Streamer Jayce definitely seems like a LOL player who’d heavily grinds the game, and would *know* the lore extensively, even better than the devs/writers themselves. And in a world where LOL is the exact same, even with game Viktor and Jayce remaining unchanged, streamer Jayce would also definitely make jokes about himself and modern Viktor related to those game characters

oooh I've sorta been imagining a slightly separate AU where the streamer AU is still modern, but reader and the gang blow up before League of Legends was released their characters and bases the visuals off of them. Jayce and the Machine Herald were both introduced in like 2011/2012, so the slightly less modern streamer AU would take place circa late 00s early 2010s which is silly because that's such a different landscape.

You start out on Youtube, playing the original Minecraft, Sims 1 and 2, Bioshock, the old Resident Evil games and Silent Hill, Jayce playing WoW and LoL, the old Zelda games, Halo, and Assassins Creed. Your aesthetic looks quite different, pink and black foam sound mufflers decorating the back of your space, pink glass beads covering the door behind you, a fluffy pink rug on your floor, PlayBoy throw pillows next to your cheetah print stuffed animals on your hot pink velveteen bed. Don't even get me started on your closet. Juicy tracksuits galore, so many roll over leggings and matching tube tops, sparkly halter tops, low rise jeans, gold and silver hoops, a collection of belly button rings, and so many Chanel heels. You also definitely had one of those bedazzled BlackBerry's.

Viktor is more present in this AU, you both having a separate series on the channel called Multiplayer Monday where you and him film videos playing together. I wouldn't say he fits into the emo-boy look. Think less Rodrick Heffley and more season 1 Spencer Reid with less greasy looking hair. Lots of sweaters, lots of button ups and academic prints like argyle or plaid, lots of beat-up converse, old messenger bags, and comfy oversized jackets. He's still just as sassy, but he really does get into the games. I see his day job being something like an early day's computer scientist who really gets into the craft that goes into coding a game.

You and Jayce only really blow up because shipping culture used to be even more insane than it is now and everyone couldn't wait to see you two together, never mind the very real boyfriend you had. You and Vik still get a lot of attention, but shipping wars definitely break out over who you're going to "end up with". There are so many, fanfics don't get me started. You know how 1D started the "I Got Kidnapped By..." trope, you three definitely started some freaky shit in fanfic spaces. In fact, you really originated Fuck or Die fics, specifically a smutty twist on the Hanahaki disease trope where you have to fuck to prove that you love one of them so they won't die and prove which side of the shipping war was right once and for all. Also, so many Youtube edits of you and Vik to Kesha's, Your Love is My Drug.

Despite not being the greatest at the games he played, Jayce's deep love for the lore eventually got him noticed by Riot, who invite him, you, and Viktor to one of their events and plan a partnership with you three, which is how Jayce and the Machine Herald get introduced into the game. You also get a character, but we all know how well adding female characters to male dominated gaming spaces goes. It would be a completely terrible mischaracterization of who you are and what your channel stands for, your tits would be huge and popping out of your outfit, your waist would be the size of your head, your weapon would be some sort of Cupid's arrow gimmick, and the character would eventually be retired and a piece of lost LoL history. You get a few references made to your character on Valentines Day, though!!

Viktor is more pissed about it than you are, and out of spite, he remodels your character and makes a little platform game for her as a present to you on Valentines Day. It's a really cute small release where you battle a bunch of magical creatures on your adventure to find the Ring of Happiness. While you usually take the wheel when it comes to more creative endeavors like character and world design and story board creation, it's still a very cute game. When you beat the game, you do also receive your own real-life Ring of Happiness.

Besides the little hiccups, Jayce and Viktor think it's very cool to be in a video game. Jayce is definitely the type to main his own character no matter what while Viktor likes a little more variety. The cosplays would also go insane!!! Does Jayce lose his fingerprints with the ungodly number of times he burned himself trying to hot glue his hammer together? Well, yes!!! Does Viktor nearly dye himself with the black body paint he uses? Yes!!! You cosplayed Viktor's version and are the only one who comes out unscathed. From that point on, you leave the cosplaying to the fans and stick to playing the games.

ps. sorry for the lack of my big headcanons. tumblr hates me and wont save my drafts so i literally have no way of writing and posting them :(

[balsamfir-fics]

I keep having this recurring thought about the arcane crew in the modern world (still with magic, except hextech is more or less a conduit between man and machine) and you, vik, and jayce are a bunch of distressed MIT grad postdocs (and bffs) with heimey being their advisor

like vik's research is funded by scary machine specialists boston dynamics and yes he gets a whole cybernetic leg and an arm (gave him more than the hand in this). and because he can run and shit now and his body isn't as weak and decaying he decides to try things he's never done like lift weights at the gym and he ??? purely stays lithe out of a desire to not buy new clothes but he gets like. cut. lean. unnecessarily so. and you wonder who possessed your bff and turns out he's spent a little too much time with potential VCs for a startup he wants to make and the investors are total bros 😂 jayce is just excited he has a gym buddy because you refuse to go with them anymore since viktor's robotic strength and jayve being beefy is just unfair (you can tell im leaning a little into possible s2 viktor and machine herald game vik, not just the angst half dead loverboy they wrote into arcane -- still love both but the idea of suddenly superhuman vik is so so so fun)

like. Mel has a real job and singlehandedly supports jayce because his postdoc salary doesn't cut it 😂 and she's on the board of a big incubator that sponsors different hextech startups. jayce and vik invented hextech early in their phds students but push themselves to the new limits in their phd programs??? and vik just really loves school lol. despite being fancy inventors everyone else is doing really dope stuff so only people outside of work are impressed 🤣🤣

some snippet scenes that have been running on loop in my head:

"Viktor, for the love of God, PLEASE don't try to add Bluetooth to your LEG," you protest, throwing a half-size pencil at his desk. He ducks it expertly, long used to your attacks, but when you throw one of your chewed-up Bic pens, his stupid cybernetic arm grabs it in mid-air. Jayce lets out a loud whistle that dies on his lips when you shoot daggers.

...

"All of the world's best minds, scrambling to piece together Hextech and the cutting edge of science, and yet you still can't figure out how to hold office hours over Zoom?"

You purse your lips at Viktor's question. You know how to use Zoom, it's just that they put all the breakout room buttons in all the wrong places and don't have a great system for holding a queue.

"Here," he drops the teasing tone and puts his hand over yours to move your mouse. "Let me help you."

Jayce watches intently, wondering when this will-they-won't-they thing you've got with Viktor will go in one direction or the other. Maybe he'll ask Prof. Heims of the old codger will take bets.

...

"A pitcher sounds like a really, really bad idea."

Viktor sniffs. "I can take my alcohol, you know."

You glance around the dive bar, observing the sheer volume of the absurdly cheap pitchers of beer. "Yeah, but how big is your stomach? Factoring in carbonation?"

He pales a little at that, and orders a single pint instead. You shoot him a grin in triumph, and his heart seizes a little at the sight. He'd spot your weekly Bar Trivia Night drinks until you both grew old, if you'd let him.