#augmented jayce

[mistresscitrusslice]

“Our Hextech dream” this, “our Hextech dream” that. What about “our Glorious Evolution”? Where are my “Jayce willingly joins Viktor’s Glorious Evolution under no duress except his own deteriorating sanity” fics?

[citrusmistressscribbles]

Our Glorious Evolution - Chapter 1: To Feel Your Love Again

It’s been three years since they parted ways and Jayce has never been more alone. With even his battles against the Machine Herald growing more infrequent, he begins to consider an option he swore he never would.

- - -

Jayce joins the Glorious Evolution.

[mistresscitrusslice]

With every passing day, Arcane’s marketing further convinces me that Augmented Jayce is going to happen

Good morning. the official arcane chengdu experience has something rly interesting going on 🫣

[mollysunder]

Where Does Viktor Fit in Zaun? What Kind of Message will the Herald Bring?

We all know Viktor's headed to Zaun next season, but I've genuinely been wondering what he'll actually do when he gets there. The obvious answer would be that based on previously canon lore Viktor will become the Machine Herald and preach the path toward Glorious Evolution through cybernetic augmentation. But when I look at the state of Arcane, I just can't see that happening. So much of Viktor's story so far has been entwined with his relationship with the arcane and his own mortality which only becomes more complicated as he feeds the hexcore his Shimmer enhanced blood.

While Viktor started out as an engineer, Viktor's work became more associated with a combination of Arcane study and biological experimentation. More often than not, Viktor’s future as the Machine Herald is teased with biological imagery.

When Viktor visits Singed, the equipment that frames him in the shot above is similar to his staff, but more importantly, Rio's silhouette resembles the shape of the Machine Herald's mask. The outline of Rio's body resembles the the 3-pronged shape of the Herald's mask as it appears on Sevika's tarot card. The mask on the card is actually different compared to all of Viktor's existing skins, the three spikes are designed in a way that resembles a crown.

The cave where young Viktor first meets Singed, is covered in holes that resembles thousands of pained howling faces, surrounding both Viktor and Singed. Is it to represent the suffering Singed and/or Viktor will create in the future? Could they represent creatures of the Void, calling out to break free? Maybe the faces represent the already existent suffering of Zaunites who choke and perish in caves similar to the one they stand in?

What's more interesting is that the entrance young Viktor reveals himself to Singed with has the image of ghastly hooded figure carved into it. At first I thought this was supposed to represent inhabitants of the Void. Later, I realized this figure more resembled Zaunites suffering from Shimmer addiction like Huck.

It all feels like the story has been steering Viktor toward Shimmer and the complications of the Void rather than using cybernetics avoid human vulnerability as he did in previous canon. And when you think about Zaun in the context of Arcane, Zaun doesn't need the Machine Herald to promote his augmentations. Cybernetics have already grown in use and popularity in Zaun. After the time skip there's a stark contrast between Vander and Silco's gangs, many members of the latter from Sevika to Ran use augments. It's so prevalent that even members on Piltover's Council know about it. Sure they don't follow the original philosophy of the Glorious Evolution, but Viktor himself doesn't have the foundations for what was originally introduced to League either.

If anything, the visual hints in Arcane lead me to believe that Viktor will become some kind of prophet to the Void. Think about it, so much of what Viktor has done has brought him closer to magic and he's only become further ensnared once Shimmer was involved. From the little that we see of the Shimmer corrupted hexcore, it's likely sentient and it's influence on Viktor will only progress further once he's been completely alienated from Piltovan society.

What does this mean for Zaun though? Well I think Viktor's presence will be a positive presence in the long term for Zaun. The brief moments we see real unobstructed reference to the Machine Herald, hhappens when the design of Viktor's various masks are integrated into the design of the water treatment facility he was implied to have made. The image of the Herald also appears as the the Magician tarot paired with the Death tarot (Jinx) to win Sevika's card game. I previously concluded that the card scene forshadowed that Viktor and Jinx would be the major factors that will win Zaun its independence. On top of that, no matter what universe you stick Viktor in, he fundamentally wants to help others. That drive hasn't stopped in Arcane, and won't stop next season.

Despite Shimmer's justifiably sketchy reputation, it earned it Silco's hope and Singed's interest on it's ability to both sustain life and change it. Outside of being a strength enhancer, Shimmer was shown to effect the rate and longetivity of plant growth in the background of season 1. I think Viktor will be the one to further explore this aspect of Shimmer's effects to make positive impacts in Zaun next season.

I have such confidence because one, Viktor’s research with hexcore and Sky's own note focus on the impact hextech has on biological matter. And two this one shot from Zaun's post-time skip music video.

In the shot above, we see two men with masks and staffs designed in a similar style to the original Machine Herald, stand guard for the building behind them. To the left of these masked men is a sign that reads, "The Herald's Palace". Lofty name aside, what could these men be protecting? If you look into the window behind the two patrons getting their shoes shined you'll notice the outline of broad leaf plants. The masked men are guarding a cultivair! In Zaun, cultivairs are essentially greenhouses only the wealthiest of Zaun can afford to maintain, they're the only sources of fresh air located within Zaun so they have to be well protected. Cultivairs also double as public parks for Zaunites when chembarons want good PR.

The sneakiest possible hint is the design on the wall where "The Herald's Palace" sign is framed, it foreshadows who could have backed Viktor for his rise in prominence in Zaun. It's Jinx. This will make sense, trust me.

First, the swirling patterns of the wall design resemble the smoke cloud tattoo patterns Jinx has around her body. The use of the neon lights in the shot make the swirls appear a similar blue to the real tattoos.

Second, this isn't the only time the artists of Arcane used Jinx's swirly tattoo pattern to refer to her influence. Another time that happened was in the Firelights' music video opening. In the montage, we see bullet casings engraved with cloudy swirls in front of Eve's mask, after Jinx killed her.

Jinx doesn't actually engrave her bullet shells, that's for rich people like the Kirammans. Those engravings are for the audience to know that Jinx was responsible for Eve's death, the early draft even shows the artists were thinking of invoking Jinx's impact by applying her more childish doodles on the shells.

Not only has Viktor and Jinx’s future partnership been foreshadowed more than once in the show, she's the only character outside of Singed I can see betting on Viktor. There's no real reason for Sevika to be interested in Viktor, because when Viktor's reputation is dragged through the mud, even other Zaunites will be wary of him. Sevika also already has a source for her augments in Chembaron Smeech's gang, the Scrap Hackers. What would Sevika want to do with a clearly unstable scientist that not only looks like he's been loyal to Piltover most of his life, but his own experiments killed a fellow Zaunite colleague? How would Viktor not come off any better than Jinx to her?

Jinx will likely be the more empathetic party to Viktor and the disaster he created for himself, she can relate to it. And in related media, like RiotxArcane, he's one of the few people that extends empathy towards her character. She'd be one of the few that probably wouldn't flinch at the line of logic he'll follow in the next season as he continues to double down on the hexcore and the Void. I can only guess, but based on how Viktor reacts in other alternate universes, he'll probably push to further integrate Shimmer into the physiology of its users. Viktor would see it as a means to embrace the necessary change needed to survive the harsh environment of Zaun and the world itself. Who better to pitch such an idea to than one of the more successful Shimmer mutants like Jinx, and probably the extremists who really like her.

Tldr: To understand how Viktor will find his niche in Zaun, we need to understand that Viktor isn't defined by robotics. Viktor's defined by his devotion to helping others no matter how unethical. It's a mixture of his genuine empathy and compassion to those in need, and in his characterization in Arcane, the fact that he sustains his self worth from his ability to create and innovate. So it doesn't matter what kind of world he's placed in, a gothic cowboy world, a psychic soldier battlefield, or a world that worships death he will embrace the most extreme elements of his world and turn it back against the obstacles that put the common people down. Even if his solution is off-putting.

Sidenote: I didn't know where to fit this, but the one concept art that had Viktor's Machine Herald silhouette only further convinced me that Viktor doesn't actually become the Machine Herald like in League.

Thanks to @MPiltovian on twitter for the sketch outline we can see in concept that Viktor's transformation is so stark he looks to be at least a full 2 ft taller. And I know that Arcane's a scifi-fantasy setting, but that's just not how prosthetics work. There's no way that even his full body could support the weight of all that metal, plus a giant laser claw on his back. Viktor probably completely fortified his body using Shimmer and the hexcore to strengthen it and is wearing an exoskeleton on the outside. Honestly, how does anyone single-handedly even turn themself into a full-conversion cyborg anyway?

[giohexora]

jayce giopara being about the same age as jayce talis, and yes, i absolutely love when giopara is slightly taller... but.... but.... can i suggest. giopara being slightly shorter than talis.

giopara being shorter than talis and herald, and them constantly grumbling about it

[mistresscitrusslice]

I WAS JUST SAYING THIS.

YOU GET IT!

And not like, “oh no he got injured and now Vicky needs to robotize him to save his life.” I need Jayce to do it willingly. No external uncontrollable forces. Just his own spiraling sanity.

You know what au i need more of? Jayce joining glorious evolution. Bro, imagine Jayvik as a cyborg power couple, being a figure heads to a whole ass cult. I just think it would have been fun af.

[zaunmade]

[mistresscitrusslice]

Ok follow my train of thought

We're already starting with an Augmented Jayce AU bc what else would occupy my mind ever

Do you think that MH Viktor starts signing his work after that stupid professor steals his?

And then if he does, and then Jayce joins the ✨Glorious Evolution✨, do you think that includes Jayce?

And then if so, where do you think he would sign him?

[citrusmistressscribbles]

Our Glorious Evolution - Chapter 3: My Heart in Your Hands

Viktor conducts the first of many augmentations. Jayce tries to ignore the doubts seeping into his mind.

[mistresscitrusslice]

like two halves of one heart; my life in your shape

I think this is the one you’re looking for. iirc Jayce almost died and Viktor saved him with augmentations.

The art is beautiful, but no longer shows up on AO3. Here it is instead on the artist’s Twitter:

Post 1

Post 2

Apparently it’s also an extended version of this oneshot by the same author.

Anyone knows or remembers the Jayvik fic that had post-divorce era Machine Herald Viktor treating Jayce's wounds for a while and having to reluctantly live together? It also had some amazing art.

I forgot to bookmark it and I've been looking for forever, tried everything so I'm shooting my shot here in case anyone remembers. Literally one of my favorites, I'd appreciate any help.

[space-blue]

You know what time it is: Arcane trailer dissection time!!

Just your old Arcane obsessed terminally online person reviewing the most interesting screens (biased) from the teaser that just dropped.

Mamma Medarda just looks DOPE as FUCK in this mask, nothing else to say. She seems to be speaking to Mel, which would indicate she survives, which I hope for. We're clearly dealing with a soft Noxus invasion given the prevalence of Ambessa's troops.

Very interesting to see these troops activating. You have to wonder if they're a failsafe to Silco dying, or if they are being activated by Silco loyalists.

Not doing our girl any favours with that one.

VERY interesting to see Singed getting arrested in a teaser, because that hints it'll happen early on. I figure then that Warwick's escape would probably happen early as well. We may be looking at Singed and Heimerdinger old pal reunions weee

Gotta wonder if he ACTUALLY gets captured though, because Warwick might be a great get out of arrest card.

SEVIKA!!! WITH!! jINX'S GUN!!! I first though for SURE she must have stolen it, or found it, but do you know what?? She has a custom made Jinx arm!!!!

It doesn't seem haphazard, even if it's ungainly. There's a non zero chance that these two are united by Silco's death, instead of split apart!

This strike is clearly showing Medarda's fist. Mommy will be VERY active in this early on.

The previous fist image with projectile launch happens right after those shots. I wonder if that contraption has anything to do with Medarda instead of Jinx or someone else, because poison (spilling from the mouth?) is also a very Noxian thing (thank you, Singed)

What's with Smeech getting SUCH a highlight? What a dope design. Also that shot is the same colours and location style as Sevika shooting with her Jinx augment, so I am wondering if Sevika won't be the one killing him.

Freedom fight Jinx style art? Wow. With blue haired minions behind her? Unexpected! I wonder what Ekko and his firelights think about this, and whether they'll take her in despite everything. This seems to be very Zaun vs. Piltover now.

Our only proof of Viktor in season 2. He's in the Zaun depth with caped figures, most likely shimmer addicts. I wonder if the explosion is him saving them and starting his machine cult, or him defending himself. Anyway, he survives, and I also wonder how many physical augments he needs to heal himself from the explosion, courtesy of the hex core?

Of course the only proof we need that Jayce is alive is that Cait has an Arcane sniper rifle. I don't see Viktor making her one after the explosion........

All in all, interesting stuff!!

[bathtubbbbbbbbb]

Some predictions/speculations of varying grounds about Arcane season 2 that have been rattling around in my head for a while — I thought I’d share them just for fun & as sorta a bingo card cus at least some of ‘em surely will end up true in some way, shape, or form.

Sky or the Hexcore that absorbed Sky becomes Blitzcrank.

The Last Drop becomes a base of operations for the enforcers — Caitlyn will parallel Silco & Vi will parallel Jinx.

Caitlyn starts smoking.

We get a scene that parallels Mel’s flashback in season 1 where in Jinx takes the place of the Princess Ambessa kills, except Jinx is spared & there’s consequences.

Sevika & Viktor team up post Sevika teaming up with Jinx.

A scene with Viktor that parallels the “you don’t wanna threaten the guy that pours the drinks” scene, except “pours the drinks” is replaced with “fixes everyone’s mechanical & cybernetic augments” or something along those lines anyway — Huck makes a reappearance, Mel & Jayce play the roles of the 2 traders that didn’t honor their word.

Jayce & Viktor strangling scene parallel.

Some Little red Riding Hood vibes with Vi & Warwick — Jinx is going to be the Huntsman.

Some big parallels between Viktor & Caitlyn, & Silco.

Jayce is a lonely sad sack & his & Vi’s arks are going to parallel each other — I feel they’re gonna be ops at the start of the season but by the end of it be reluctant besties.

Caitlyn’s going to find Vi’s archived incident reports from Stillwater & see a photo of the guys face Vi caved in & really rethinks her “despite it all good heart”, I feel Jayce may be involved with this, maybe he’s the one that initially finds the files or goes looking for them then shows Cait — anyway angst will ensue.

The animation for Ekko’s time travel stuff is is gonna be absolutely awesome.

Ekko is gonna get kicked outta the firelights for simping over Jinx.

Heimerdinger in a Scooby Doo-esc way is revealed to be the narrative villain all along. Yippe!

Jinx’s punts Heimerdinger.

I guess Singed will probably be there being creepy — maybe his daughter is that robo ballerina chick from fnaf who knows.

Aaannd, that’s where I’m gonna end it.

{Edit cus I forgot a couple}

Vi is going to get a spinal injury & will get a back/torso brace similar to that of Viktor’s, reminiscent of the corset she wears in her league design.

After Vi is done being an emo pit fighter she’s gonna bleach her hair to get all the black dye out of it — if you look at her original concept design for LoL it looks like she has partially bleached hair.

Jinx & Vi’s mom is going to be revealed to have been a brothel worker.

Mel & Jinx are going to have opposite parallel arks — Jinx gains influence & power while Mel loses it, it’s revealed to the audience how actually naive & out of her depth Mel actually is while it’s concreted that Jinx is a genius & only bounces back stronger under pressure.

In act 1 a temporary trio is formed between Vi, Viktor & the big shield enforcer guy we see in the trailer that’s likely from the under-city — I feel visually they’re such a strong parallel to Vi, Mylo, & Claggor, & like personality wise too — I can see Vik having a secret lock picking skill, & shield dude gives gentle giant vibes (from like that 1 clip we see of him looking sympathetic over Caitlyn’s shoulder while she’s obviously going through some emotional turmoil).

[arowyn-m]

“Jayce will understand.”

There is no way that Arcane would go so far as to parallel word for word and shot for shot the “Am I interrupting” scenes and not have a scene in S2 where Jayce sees the effects of Viktor’s augmentations and straight up says “I don’t understand.”

Cannot wait to see the pause as Viktor remembers what he said, and the hurt/anger that follows.

[bringthekaos]

While I have a love/hate relationship with how dirty they did Viktor in the Convergence comics, I really did appreciate the closer look at Viktor and his tech. It was nice to see how the neural adaptors worked, how he intended them to work, and how they were then co-opted for nefarious purposes. But I can see how, in this hypothetical, he would use it as a tool that only he and Jayce share—a way to stay safe in battle, to protect and help each other.

Also dying at the thought of Jayce getting used to his augments—he walks like a newborn giraffe, doesn’t know how to control the more weaponized pieces-parts, and ends up frying half of Viktor’s lab. And the hammer recall, my god. It would definitely take some practice to master it. And in the meantime, it’s literally this.

In one of your most recent tumblr ficlets and in your overall writing, you mentioned that Viktor would love to augment Jayce. Assuming in „what if“ scenario, which designa would Viktor implement? More subtle? Even more obvious than his own augments? Does Jayce get his own his Hexclaw?

Hmmmm, if it were ever to come to that, Jayce trusting him to do that… I think he would set aside what he personally wants to do and work to execute what Jayce wants. And I think Jayce would want it more subtle; mostly internal augments, with any visible external ones more disguised.

Now on the off chance Jayce did not have any input and was willing to let Viktor do his thang… I do think it would be a lot less subtle. But still well-integrated into his body. I don’t think he’d get a Hexclaw, but I do think Viktor would try to integrate Jayce’s use of the Mercury Hammer—either by building it into an augmented arm, or utilizing Hextech-powered magnetism so that Jayce could recall the hammer a la Thor. I lean toward the latter, that sounds fucking epic.

I also think he might play around with neural adaptors which allow the two of them to communicate and locate each other anywhere. And depending on the complexity, this could even allow them to hear/feel the other’s thoughts and emotions (I’m sure he would build in the ability to turn this function off, it’s not meant to be an invasion of privacy, more to keep each other safe). This could make erm… their private time a hell of a lot more intense, too. Feeling your own emotions and sensations as well as the other person’s?? Oof. Talk about overstimulation.

Overall, I think Viktor would take into account aesthetics when it comes to Jayce, whereas he went with a more functional design for himself. Cuz Jayce built a nose hair trimmer ffs, he obviously cares about how he looks, to some degree. Which I think is another beautiful contrast between the two of them that somehow just works—they’re sun and moon, form and function. Human and machine.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

ARCANE season 2 is just one year away!

We finally have a confirmed date for Arcane season 2: November of 2024, just one year away. Riot posted this striking stylized rendering of Jinx simply walking away from camera while some music plays. It is barely more than a teaser trailer, and it would be completely absurd to try and divine meaning or predictions about the show from it. So that's what I'm gonna do! The teaser is accompanied by the musical theme of The Bridge, which Powder sings in the first scene of the show as she and Vi are crossing this very same bridge in the aftermath of a pitched battle, finding their parents among the dead. It is Jinx's foundational trauma, and the crossing of the bridge is a repeated motif in the first season of Arcane, representing the divide between the cities, between characters, between ideologies. And so in this teaser Jinx is crossing the bridge again, in the aftermath of having lost her third father, blaming Piltover not inaccurately for all her suffering. If this is the tone-setter for the show, then, it seems Season 2 of Arcane will be grounded in Jinx's war on Piltover, her attempt to do what Vander couldn't with his riot and what Silco couldn't with his political manipulation. Dear friend across the river My hands are cold and bare Dear friend across the river I'll take what you can spare

To expand a little bit beyond what I can do in a 60 second short - it is of course an obvious conclusion that Season 2 of Arcane would feature Jinx's vengeance against Piltover (there is only so much you can try and predict from a 15 second teaser), but I wonder about the structure that this will take. Will Jinx's vengeance be a feature, a concurrent storyline running alongside all the other storylines, or will it be the central axis that everything else is orbiting?

In Season 1 the show was very much structured around a handful of storylines all converging into the same, single, tragic end-point - for most of the narrative, characters like Jayce and Vi were not even consciously aware of one another, even as their actions had impact on one another. By the end of Season 1, the characters are much more closely acquainted and connected with one another, and maybe that requires a change in structure. Perhaps, rather than a handful of narratives all converging together towards one central tragedy, we get a series of stories exploding out from one central starting point?

Because I could absolutely see Jinx and her war being the anchor-point that everyone else is reacting to. Vi's primary quest is to stop her, so is Caitlyn's. The Council will want bloody revenge, Noxus is going to sense weakness and take advantage of a civil war, the Chembarons will be fighting among themselves to take Silco's place...

It's only really Viktor and Singed whose storylines I could see maintaining some degree of separation from Jinx's vengeance... but then, I do operate on the assumption that Hextech will be used to build weapons of war and that that will be the final breaking point between Jayce and Viktor - I don't think Viktor's moral compass would allow his invention to be turned on the undercity in this way, the very people he most wanted to help and protect.

In this way, I have a feeling he'll enter the war essentially on Jinx's "side," building augmentations and applying Singed's nihilistic philosophy of science to build something to defend the undercity which Jayce, in turn, will find too horrible to contemplate or forgive.

Also who the fuck knows what Vander/Warwick is going to be doing? Is the connection between Singed and Orianna going to... like is Ori going to turn up? I would like Ori to turn up.

[mollysunder]

I know this won't happen, but there should be a subplot in s2 where at least a quarter of Piltover's pissed that Jayce and Caitlyn are destroying all the shimmer supplies. You just know a lot of Piltovans use Shimmer, not even in a hypocritical way. Historically, Victorians had a wildly different perspective on recreational drugs. Maybe old councilmen like Hoskel find new products like shimmer distasteful, but he also puts augmentations on the same level shimmer, so does his opinion really matter?

To Caitlyn and Jayce, shimmer's a dangerous drug that can turn people into monsters, but for the average academy student, it's the gas they need to get through their dissertation.