PROJECT: 2019 Lore Prediction
The theme for this year is "we can't control the monsters we make", which hints at a few things:
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The chosen champions were chosen because of their canon lore, where events beyond their control drastically changed their personalities.
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Pyke became a monster because his crew betrayed him.
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Jinx has some unknown trauma from her past that drove her insane.
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Warwick is literally a monster made by Singed.
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Irelia and Akali both go against their nation's traditional ideals due to the Noxian invasion, and the war seemingly changed them for the worst.
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The PROJECT Corporation is loosing its hold on its creations, the monsters that they made. Remember, some of the members of G/NETIC used to be with PROJECT, and they're now leading a rebellion. You also have Vayne, who used to be in their counter-espionage unit who is now unaffiliated with both PROJECT and G/NETIC.
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The lore for the skins, which may have them be Vayne's old team.
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The description for the trailer is "the PROJECT Corporation will pay", which hints at the possibility that PROJECT betrayed them.
The reason why I pitch that they are Vayne's old team is based off of the story for PROJECT: Hunters, Of Rats and Cats and Neon Mice. Specifically these parts:
“Special Lieutenant Vayne, what a delightful surprise. You’re looking so much better. Sad, what happened to your squad, but you do wear them so well. That crossbolt upgrade is especially nice.”
Jhin was a notorious augment hacker with a taste for high-clearance upgrades. Word was, he had been a black-market tech that had almost gotten completely wiped in a rough job. Severe personality fragmentation. Last bulletin I downloaded said he’d been taking the shiny bits of other people ever since. Even if he hadn’t started out fragged, there couldn’t be much sanity left after so many pieces of other people had been plugged into him.
And it sounded like he and Vayne knew each other from a previous engagement.
“She doesn’t like upgrades either. Did she tell you about her last partners? About her team?”
I did not reply. I continued to advance toward his last position.
“They all died.” I could hear Jhin’s dark smile. He was delighted, if a man that was mostly machine could still feel anything like that. “Especially Special Lieutenant Shauna Vayne. They rebuilt her of course. She was special.”
“Who?” I asked, hoping if I kept him talking, he would be more prone to mistakes. “Who rebuilt her?”
“PROJECT of course, you silly kitten. They rebuild all of us.”
“Did she tell you how they died?” I could hear Jhin’s excited breathing over the comm. I stood up slowly, to find a pinpoint of red light centered on my belly. Fifty meters away, I could read the tall, metal shadow taking aim.
Jhin cackled with laughter again. “It was—”
“A trap,” Vayne’s voice came over our internal link, her outline decloaking right next to him.
See, this story, especially those parts, tells us a lot. It tells us that the PROJECT Corporation rebuilds them, especially the special ones. It also tells us that PROJECTs can go insane if they use improperly cleaned parts, or if they are damaged in some way.
Now when you watch the trailer, you'll notice that Pyke looks a bit damage and not as clean as the other PROJECTs we've gotten so far. So, perhaps, he and the rest are Vayne's squad, either rebuilt by PROJECT... Or left where they died to rust, and they rebuilt themselves. That would also explain Jinx, who's insanity can be explained through the personality fragmentation caused by using unclean parts/damage, and Warwick, who a Rioter confirmed will be explained in the lore for these skins. Its possible that Warwick used parts from a Program to fix himself, or that he was a Program that PROJECT weaponized, like they did with Program Camille.
So, to summarize: I think these PROJECT skins are Vayne's old team, and that their lore will explain what the trap was, how they died, and how they came back.
Anyone else got any predictions?
