#i want jayce to question how far viktor will go to get his glorious evolution

[slitherred]

I'm sorry but I don't like the leaked mask design. 😔

He looks more like an Otherworldly Father than the Robot Daddy I was expecting.

[asgardian--angels]

Scene Breakdown: What Actually Happened Atop the Hexgates

Hi everyone, this has been bugging me literally since I watched the finale for the first time three months ago and I've been trying to put the pieces together ever since. I still have a lot of questions about the metaphysics of hextech and the alternate timelines (Mage Viktor you frustrate me!!), BUT, setting those aside for the time being, I wanted to break down that final climactic scene atop the hexgates so we can see what actually occurred. A lot happens very quickly, with multiple key elements interacting - Viktor (i.e., the hexcore), the anomaly, the z-drive, and the runestone. This is my best attempt to make sense of it, and I'd appreciate your own theories and feedback! It is rather long but has plenty of pictures.

So, the first very important element to examine is the anomaly - in particular, what Viktor's doing with it and why it acts the way it does in this scene. I still have a great deal of questions about that first point, that is, what role it's playing in the Glorious Evolution, because it's really not super clear. But, as it pertains to what we see in this scene, Viktor says the following -

"The sublime intersection of order and chaos."

Hextech is engineered order, wild runes/anomalies are organic chaos. Both are apparently needed to carry out the Evolution - while Viktor on his own with the hexcore can Evolve individuals, for some reason (help me out here) the anomaly allows him to extend his power and will. I won't say a whole lot on this as it's not super pertinent - but I still intensely question why in the ruined timeline, we see only some Evolved (likely only those who had mind-strings) while the rest of the population just got anomaly-blasted (I refrain from calling it hexcorized as many do, because it literally isn't - it's the corruption we see from the anomaly) and just, Pompeii'd in place. But I digress.

In the hexheart, Viktor frees the anomaly from its chamber, instead moving it to a containment field in his hexcorized staff.

The anomaly hypothetically can only exist in conjunction with the hexgates, or more broadly, concentrated runic activity that wears thin the wall between the material world and the arcane (thus the hexcore may fit this also). It would not persist outside of these conditions. Thus, Viktor keeps it stable in this hexcore force field, allowing him to safely transport it up the gravity chute of the hexgate.

I haven't seen it mentioned before but I don't think Viktor in his Evolved form can actually fly - he appears to rely on the gravity field generated by activating the hexgate gemstone mesh. This creates a concentrated beam that travels up the length of the chute, and we're going to assume here, atop the hexgates as well, in a very narrow field - where Viktor and the anomaly float but not where Jayce and the Evolved stand. This could be a result of him breaking through the dome or not.

He releases the anomaly, where it floats upwards into the sky along what we can presume is the same gravity field.

Key here is that it is still, somehow, tethered to Viktor. If it leaves the hexcore field, it would implode. It's not shown explicitly what this connection is, but it must be there. It is no longer connected to the hexgates - if it were, it would not implode at the end of this scene. It is solely tied to Viktor now.

One thing that remains unclear to me is whether Viktor intended to use the energy of the hexgates to power himself/the anomaly. The concentration of the energy into a vertical beam is stated by Jayce earlier in 2x03, but we never see this - either Viktor was stopped before it could get that far, or it's unrelated and has no bearing here.

The next element here is the z-drive (or inverse anomaly).

There's been plenty of theorizing and speculation about the z-drive, as it was created from inverting the acceleration rune, thus controlling time rather than space. (It is not abundantly clear to me how the anomaly made the jump from a 4-second time travel machine to a reality-hopper thanks to some mysterious tinkering from Heimerdinger... but let's ignore that here). But its role in this scene is actually less than it may seem.

The primary consequence of Ekko launching the unstable z-drive at Viktor is that blasts what I'm calling a time-hole in Viktor's armor (physical, emotional...). This allows Jayce to get through to him where he'd otherwise be impenetrable - yeah yeah, the cosmic yaoi, we've all seen it.

The z-drive does not destructively interact with any other element in this scene - not the anomaly, nor the rune. Just Viktor/the hexcore.

It actually breaks Viktor's staff into pieces, which is a neat detail though I'm not sure it has any impact on events.

It's easy to think that the two anomalies canceled each other out - but that is not what happens, as we'll see. While I don't have a perfect screencap for it, after watching this scene a few dozen times, I can tell you that the rotating cloud cover concealing the anomaly does not change during the z-drive explosion. Those bursts of corruption we see in the above shot are what the anomaly's been doing the whole time. The two anomalies do not affect each other.

The time stop we see during this explosion could either be a visual storytelling effect from the animators (i.e., everything we see actually happens in a split second but time works differently in the astral plane) or the explosion of the z-drive actually creates an isolated time bubble around the top of the hexgates. It is not clear which is true. I'm inclined to believe the former.

That brings us to the runestone, the most complicated element.

The runestone has been embedded in Jayce's body by Mage Viktor, complete with anomaly corruption webbing. Mage Viktor's ultimate plan here is still largely a mystery (and it keeps me up at night). But I maintain, purely speculative, that he did this for a dual purpose - the runestone is now linked in some way to that ruined timeline/with that timeline's anomaly; it glows whenever Jayce activated the alt-hammer, which was able to hurt Viktor (perhaps it was the only thing that could?).

But, relevant here, it appears to act as a pre-programmed set of runic instructions to be read, interpreted, and executed by the hexcore inside Viktor. It activates when placed into Viktor's spectral body, anomaly corruption traveling up his arm. This triggers hundreds of copies of the acceleration rune to burst outwards which frees the souls of the Evolved from their bodies.

These souls travel in the astral plane into a swirling mass that close in on the rune.

We never actually see the souls go into the rune, although we are shown beams of blue light being gathered into the rune on Jayce's wrist, which could potentially be the souls though it could also just be energy/a sign of the rune activation. It's highly unlikely the souls went anywhere else even though visually at times it looks like they're floating near the z-drive - it would make no sense for them to go into either anomaly as those are both about to explode, and it was the rune that beckoned them in the first place. They could just be 'freed' to disperse into the aether, but, ehh, that does not appear to be what's happening based on the visuals.

Most of the souls are sucked into the rune before the spell runs its course and interacts with Jayce and Viktor. The last remaining appear to go with them.

So here's where it all comes together, and everything happens very quickly.

We have the anomaly, in the sky, tethered to Viktor & the hexcore. The z-drive is mid-explosion. The rune is now running its course.

This is what happens in quick succession, in order:

The rune sucks in Jayce, Viktor, and the z-drive explosion.

It's hard to capture in a screencap, but yes, the rune takes the z-drive explosion with it.

2. The shockwave of the z-drive explosion, which had been in progress before it was sucked into the rune, throws everyone back. However, since the explosion is gone, Ekko and others are unharmed. The soulless drones are ragdolled around.

3. The anomaly, no longer connected to the hexcore, becomes immediately unstable and collapses, imploding, which sends a shockwave outwards from the top of the hexgates (both screencaps are of this moment).

Now, I am a wholehearted believer that Jayce and Viktor were teleported elsewhere, and there's plenty of speculation posts both here and on twitter that lay out evidence for why it's likely.

I'll just mention that besides the fact that the blue flicker at the end of the rune's disappearance perfectly matches that of the other example we see of it being used - by Mage Viktor saving young Jayce - it also glitches out:

What does this mean? Potential reality-hopping? Anomaly influence to say the least, perhaps caused by the z-drive explosion interacting with it. I personally don't see why Mage Viktor would embed a pre-set teleportation rune into Jayce's wrist to give to Viktor without the intention of, yknow, teleporting them, especially if freeing the souls was an intended part of his plan. But we may never know.

So there you have it. The play-by-play. The anomaly needs the hexcore and imploded when the connection broke. The z-drive did not cause the anomaly to implode, its only narrative purpose here was to give Jayce the precious moments to reach Viktor. The hexcore is hypothetically still part of Viktor, and we have no idea if getting his face blasted open would be fatal for Evolved Viktor's body were they to get spat out somewhere, nor whether the z-drive would also explode in their faces or just fizzle out in the arcane. Many questions remain, but I hope this clarifies at least the technical aspects of what actually went down atop the hexgates.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know your own theories!

[doggrowth]

Blorbo questions!

2 - who was your first ever Blorbo, who was your childhood Blorbo, and are they still your Blorbo? 4 - what’s the thing you love the most about your Blorbo? 29 - has a fanfic about your Blorbo ever made you cry? (always looking for recs haha, even if it means getting my heart torn out)

Hello!! Thanks for listing the questions in the ask... you're so iconic for that.

2: Like as a wee child? Idk probably like Kirby or Turtwig if that counts. And yea, I still love those guys (I have a Turtwig tattoo so). But proper "I'm hyperfixating on this individual what do I do"? Prolly Dan and Phil. And I wouldn't call them blorbos, but I still love em :)

4: Viktor - his face/ass. wait no. How human he is. How all the way until the end, I think he is so, deeply human. When AU Viktor completes the Glorious Evolution and he's left with nothing, what haunts him? Dreamless Solitude. He's lonely. How human is that?

He wants and dreams. He fucks up. He breaks the rules because he thinks it's the right thing to do. He speaks his mind. He feels deeply. Nothing about him is superficial. I love it so, so much.

29: Yes! And idk you have probably read some of these but here you go.

Coming Home (But Not to You) - wow who would've expected that! Why did I cry, you may ask? Well...

Viktor feels this horrible stinging behind his eyes. He feels cleaved open. Nothing about the man in these drawings seems weak. Or strange. Or unworthy. Nothing at all. In fact, he seems to draw in sunlight. Warmth. He's beautiful when drawn by Jayce's hand.

Viktor feels the odd sensation of his lower lip trembling before the feeling even hits him. Something huge and ugly and very, very old builds within him. He tries to choke it down. But it's not working. It's a deep, blinding happiness. It's a long-felt loneliness. It's a little boy in a terrifying place with huge dreams and even bigger obstacles. With the world crushing him and the sky so far away.  Once told by an older man with bad intentions that his loneliness was what made him brilliant. 

I'm deadass serious, I cried even just searching for those quotes. But yeah. I love that fic.

Okay other fics though that are less likely to have been heard of...

ANYTHING that talks about Viktor even POSSIBLY dying makes me cry. So for that I have:

isolation which I gotta fucking read the pt 2 soon

A lesson in rigor mortis is just painful

Contingency Planning also very sad

Then also I've Been Thinking of All the Little Things That You've Been Missing - I can't remember if I properly CRIED but I did feel TERRIBLE at some of the angsty bits. So fucking sad (and then it's good dw)

And for Viktor x Reader: foreign/familiar is just so sad and ofc Nothing's New by @hivemuthur. This one is a bit predictable but WHEN SHE'S IN THEIR ROOM HOLDING THE NOTE AND STAR ITS JUST SO SAD OKAY???

Anyways thanks for the ask!

Blorbo ask game

[pixieswashere]

EXACTLY like that was so so frustrating because even if we know that Arcane is it's own "iteration" or well used to be....(I think it's confirmed canon which um...yeah thats a choice after having a multiverse ep.) In the OG lore, Viktor BECAME the Machine Herald by his own hands....He literally chose that path and while you can argue some of his lore feels like it could be fleshed out. The point is that his rise to glory was....from his own accord and vision.

Viktor's decisions were tested by Piltover constantly taking advantage of him (Professors/ ppl constantly stealing his hard work....from a Zaunite who had nothing.) while Zaun suffered because they still have gas and chemical incidents that are brushed off by the elite. Viktor so far as we know was the ONLY person to come up with his mechanical suit because he knew Zaun was suffering and wanted to aid the labor force.....and a professor stole his idea....his invention. Even after he became the Machine Herald, Viktor wasn't revealed to be... a total psychopath as the rumors in his short story suggest....He just made decisions that were very morally questionable in terms of The Glorious Evolution and he never really forced ANYONE to join....He gave them the CHOICE (Ex: "There is always a choice." - Viktor)

The lost opportunity to have Viktor a tragic anti-hero who is STILL viewed as the enemy from BOTH sides even though he has spent his life helping people (after Piltover is labeling him as a monster) after he left Piltover to cement his legacy in saving Zaun from war and Jayce constantly breaking his trust is actually a really good way to end his arc and way to end off his story (not only does it open for continuations like for Jayvik moments and IN GENERAL, but it's stays true to a satisfying yet promising prequel to show that VILLAINS or rather Anti-Heroes too are MADE....They make decisions influenced by the current state of their world, views, morals, and ect.)

It's a very realistic lens to show how not ALL people are viewed as heroes....or will have their image be ruined in favor of "keeping the peace" (cough Piltover cough) even if they're intentions weren't all bad or they're wrongdoings small. It's a pretty realistic thing that happens in the real world with some political figures or groups (in Propoganda, War, and etc.)

This could've also opened up the explanation for champions like Renata and etc. Bc we could've had her be the person who would take in Viktor after he left Piltover with the proposition of having him as her "co-partner"(but not with the right intentions....mostly ofc because maybe she wants to fund weapons/Hextech to monopolize it and aid it for Zaun too) Which would set off his arc to go on his own path, it makes sense for him to do this and...it's a good way to subverting the original lore.

Compared to having him be a wizard and a magic user this WHOLE time...which in my opinion diminishes a lot of what we've seen him do and is capable of in S1....and feels like cheap way to write him as a Gary Stu. When first of all....if we are to be logical:

1) Ryze is still a wizard and would've known about the events of S2 bc mages/magic users get their power from the Arcane. He literally spen his entire life searching runes and his role as a mage, so he WOULD'VE KNOWN about the warping disarray that was happening and imo, was a robbed aspect to address this as a part of Heimerdinger's backstory/a meaningful redemption arc.

2) Jayce (not even Viktor) DIDN'T even invent Hextech....it was actually Camille and House Ferros (....Nice try Fortiche) Jayce just made it a public revolutionary discovery to Piltover, so in reality Dumbledore! Viktor didn't really "invent" shit bc in the timeline he was only present during Jayce's childhood (Unless Riot retcons that too and says that Viktor was also there when Camille invented it....which is yknow S level writing.)

3) Also the multiverse aspect is so contrived bc if every universe is a parallel universe of "what could have been" or "what if", then this would mean in a universe where he is the mage there would be another parallel were Viktor is a wizard but with differences to what happened. REALISTICALLY, if we are going with this theory....it makes no sense for their NOT to be a universe where Viktor ISNT the Villain. Like this entire Multiverse worldbuilding was so badly written, bc it feels like a poorly excuse to give a reason as to why Viktor is the villain??? (which is very ignorantly ableist argument in my opinion) and it goes AGAINST the Multiverse/Alternate Universe theory bc it's impossible for EVERY universe to have the exact same outcome (It's like they just rounded down the worst outcomes, even tho it's A MULTIVERSE...Dr. Strange level speech excuse.)

So yeah definitely still a Machine Herald fan and Herald of the Arcane fan. BUT mostly a Machine Herald fan because...He doesn't just look good in metal....He's like an actually pretty cool guy, who just wants to create inventions and do crimes in peace...(like a true based introvert), AND HE'S A DAD WHO LOVES HIS ROBOT SON??? (Herald of the Arcane could never...)

P.S. if the creators still wanted a multiverse with the s2 finale ending. They would have to have a 3 to 4 season to really flesh the story more (bc after all the writing pitfalls they shouldve done a 3 - 4 seasons to flesh the plotlines/character arcs out). Or simply have a Convergence spinoff for Ekko (I bet $100 they'll end up doing that shi.)

We didn't even see Viktor do anything with his smart mind in season 2, it's ridiculous.

This man is the co-creater of Hextech and has been building working machinery since he was a child. That man is a genius, and season 1 showed us.

Season 2 however, threw all of that out the fucking window...

[freewilllife]

Viktor’s commune always gave off creepy vibes, but for me, the path it was taking became crystal clear at the start of ep6. That first scene basically spells out the extent of Viktor’s corruption and how far his actions and mindset are from any kind of altruism.

@jaybejaybeyes Personally, I interpret this after having some conversations as "Victor´s dream come true".

Indeed, it is a sort of corruption, but it seems Victor is actually well-meaning here.

And look at Viktor's face when it happens. That’s not horror. That’s not astonishment. That’s not grief. It’s… mild annoyance, I'd say?

Why should he grieve Salo´s death? I am just curious. They are neither friends, nor related. Victor "healed" them, but that doesn´t make him Jesus.

He may consider himself responsible in a way, but I doubt, that he became suddenly all-loving.

And that’s the thing about Viktor’s commune — it was never about the people who joined it. It was never about understanding them, helping them, or connecting with them. It was all about Viktor’s desperate need to be in control, about his refusal to confront suffering, pain, and all the messy, complicated parts of being human. From the very beginning, it was about Viktor going, “well, the end justifies the means”, but there’s nothing kind or humanistic about that philosophy, because it always comes at the expense of people’s lives. The end never justifies the means.

Nope, you are definitely wrong. Victor indeed has wished to make the lives of the people better with "hextech" , was even more outspoken, that he did not wish to create weapons and I guess that this commune is literally, how he envishioned it. There is corruption...but it is the arcane at work here. And maybe even in Jayce case.

There can be a conversation to be had, if the people are already dead or are still alive...but what is undoubtly true...The whole commune is dependant on Victor.

People can be both...Yes, Victor wanted to stay alive, but he is not a control-freak...And surely not a guy, who thinks that the "the end justifies the means". I mean, isn´t it funny, that the solution Victor is conviced of, plays in the hands of the arcane, which obviously has a will of its own?

It is literally right there...that the arcane heavily influenced and manipulated Victor, and most likely also Jayce.

The end never justifies the means.

That is an oversimplification. There are cases, where the end literally justifies the means.

And honestly, I was surprised to see how many people were mad at Jayce for blasting Viktor at the end of that episode. In my opinion, by then, it was quite clear that Viktor didn’t care much about his Arcane-modified toys. He wasn’t even pretending he did. Salo wasn’t a person to him. None of them were. They were just tools, stepping stones for his glorious evolution. And all of that was right there in the first scene of ep6.

Oh, that is interesting. Did suddenly "the end justify the means" or becomes murder a great deed, if the right character is killed?

In contrast, Victor tried to be responsible for his commune and tried to protect them, literally dying. I am sorry, but I am not sure, why you suddenly jump to such conclusions?

I still feel like we were ROBBED of that whole arc, watching Viktor descend to this. Because he gives a shit about Vander, so it's not like he's totally unempathetic--like he's still Viktor. It's just that from the start of the commune up to this point, Viktor has been going through a slow descent into madness from not having a single actual person to talk to who isn't completely bound to him in some way. There is nobody to question him and everyone is relying on him constantly.

@straysparks Yes, the influence of the arcane gets stronger.

Viktor is deeply empathetic but also vulnerable to megalomania, and having a whole group of people worship you for months on end is gonna get to your head eventually even if you really really really hate the idea. Which I think we can be pretty certain he does at first, unless you subscribe to the idea that the Hexcore is really majorly influential to his personality change.

Both, but why should this not be the case? The arcane has a will of its own and can be vicious if challenged. Victor was literally drowned in it and hears a voice the moment he wakes up...Of course, he is being changed/manipulated to a certain degree. When Ekko literally broke the armour, Victor woke up and realized, what he had done...This moment of "waking up" does not make much sense, if the arcane has not played a major role in the corruption process.

Because people being wrong are rarely persuaded by violence alone.

I think his disconnection from his empathy is driven by a need to get away from the closeness of the commune members. He's an extremely private person and he gets virtually no space or time to himself for months on end. Seeing the commune members as cogs in a machine is a coping strategy and I must stress that there is NO ONE to check him on this.

Or he already knows deep down , that they are already dead? He does care for them, but I mean, he is literally not Jesus, has hardly any personal attachment to them. In fact, Victor had always difficulties in that area.

Hexcore influence is convenient to the narrative, but Viktor's character is set up in such a way that his behavior here isn't even out of character given a particular series of events which we KNOW happen, we just don't see them on screen. It's ooc if you assume Viktor doesn't change between the times we see him on screen, but that's the thing, he DOES.

The hexcore influence is not just convenient, it literally explains so much...Look here:1,2

I saw the light after reading those posts. Nope, Victor does not suddenly become mad or cold for no reason, he literally is partly mind-controlled.

Viktor’s commune always gave off creepy vibes, but for me, the path it was taking became crystal clear at the start of ep6. That first scene basically spells out the extent of Viktor’s corruption and how far his actions and mindset are from any kind of altruism.

Think about it: Viktor sees Jayce kill Salo through Salo’s eyes. He’s connected to Salo but doesn’t even try to comfort him, verbally or mentally, or ease his pain with magic in his final moments. He just stands there, watching. Waiting for Salo to die, staring at Jayce. The only time he flinches is when Jayce lunges forward, and Salo dies abruptly — his vision cuts to black.

And look at Viktor's face when it happens. That’s not horror. That’s not astonishment. That’s not grief. It’s… mild annoyance, I'd say?

Like, ugh. Jayce didn’t get it. He didn’t appreciate my work. And now he’s also destroyed one of my puppets. Sounds pretty frustrating, doesn't it, Viktor?

Then Sky says, “poor Salo”, and Viktor? Immediately pivots to, “That’s not Jayce. It’s another will at work within him”. And a moment later, he’s fascinated by the Anomaly. Salo’s gone, and no one spares him an extra thought.

And that’s the thing about Viktor’s commune — it was never about the people who joined it. It was never about understanding them, helping them, or connecting with them. It was all about Viktor’s desperate need to be in control, about his refusal to confront suffering, pain, and all the messy, complicated parts of being human. From the very beginning, it was about Viktor going, “well, the end justifies the means”, but there’s nothing kind or humanistic about that philosophy, because it always comes at the expense of people’s lives. The end never justifies the means.

And honestly, I was surprised to see how many people were mad at Jayce for blasting Viktor at the end of that episode. In my opinion, by then, it was quite clear that Viktor didn’t care much about his Arcane-modified toys. He wasn’t even pretending he did. Salo wasn’t a person to him. None of them were. They were just tools, stepping stones for his glorious evolution.

And all of that was right there in the first scene of ep6.