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Jayce's new lore now implies that Viktor is a full-blown Psychopath

The Anagram King·12/8/2016, 5:53:57 AM·131 votes·15,711 views

Riot has responded to the Viktor concerns at the top of the Story Board, implying that Viktor will be performing 'dark deeds' for the 'greater good'. You can read the post, here

I've posted there; and I encourage everyone who supported this thread, or has an opinion on this change, to take the opportunity to do the same. Riot IS listening, guys. It's just a question of how hard. Hop to it - let's try and start a conversation!

For those who have missed it until now, Riot has released a brand new take on Jayce's lore; and his relationship to Viktor. If you're feeling adventurous, you can read the full story Here. But for the sake of simplicity, I've outlined a few major character/plot notes:

  • Jayce is a rather egotistical jerk who considers other scientists dumb because they have to 'try' to do science.
  • Jayce specialises almost exclusively in gadgets and transforming tools.
  • Jayce and Viktor are now friends and work colleagues before their inevitable falling out (how cliche!)
  • Viktor beats Jayce up to steal his crystal (apparently before becoming a cyborg)
  • Viktor (at least through Jayce's eyes - though the writing suggests this isn't meant to be limited to perspective) has** no moral compass**.
  • Viktor dismembers bodies and - dialling things from 0 right up to 11 - orders his robot servants to kill Jayce the SECOND Jayce comes to meet him in person.

Viktor "Kill him."

Forgive me for being presumptuous, but this doesn't look like an opinion piece; orchestrated by Jayce to justify his retelling of events. This sounds like a history. A history that lazily paints Jayce as a jerk in order to appease what will no doubt be the heartbroken reaction made by The Machine Herald's fanbase.

I see threads praising the writing, the story, and character development; and I frankly wonder how. There's no genuine lead up to the Jayce murder attempt. Or the Crystal Pilfer. Or even a practical example of VIktor's immorality excepting these two instances of confusingly-framed antics. Nevertheless, Jayce now considers VIktor a FULL-BLOWN PSYCHOPATH. And - judging from Viktor's desire to stop dock workers from disobeying their superiors - the story is only too happy to agree with his theory.

#A blast from the past

https://s.aolcdn.com/dims5/amp:f9efb2c7f8ff25bb9a3ff340a0fd98a21131d461/q:100/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogcdn.com%2Fmassively.joystiq.com%2Fmedia%2F2011%2F12%2Fvicktor.jpg

"Meet Viktor. He's your basic nice-guy scientist who has one teeny, tiny bad experience and decides to turn his entire life into comic book villainy. Feel sorry for him or don't, he's going to rend you limb from limb either way."

http://i.imgur.com/pC2Hd.jpg

This is NOT how it was supposed to go, Riot. Viktor was a gem; a character with potential depth and complexity unrivalled by the rest of your roster. He didn't BEGIN his life obsessed. He didn't take revenge for the crimes and injustices wrought against him. He worked tirelessly; hungrily; for a future he saw. He had a cause, he had a drive.

For it was not rage that defined him; Nor was it a desire to see others tremble; There was no madness in his gaze (for what little of a human gaze could remain); Instead, there was tranquility; and a powerful Resolve.

For Viktor had seen the future that his bubbling mind promised; and he now sought a means to attain it. http://img3.leaguecraft.com/lol-splash-art/asset/wallpaper_760px_4682.jpg

Look at his stance; as he stares out upon the horizon, gazing down upon the rock and crags as he strives to reshape it. Where are the bodies? Where is the terror?

Viktor never was terrifying.

He was beloved by those untouched by paranoia; and trusted by those he aided. His inventions improved the lives of the very city, around him; traditionally a slum made up of poison and poverty. Not even Piltover considered him a threat.

... But there was always the fear, however - the paranoia. Viktor COULD go bad. And with power like his, what man could resist him?

Enter the Jayce.

Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce Jayce

In one fell hammer swing, VIktor's future didn't seem so suggestive. He'd been naughty already - so why not again. Jayce RETCONNED Viktor's past, to make him fit the narrative of something to be afraid of. No longer was Piltover indifferent to VIktor - it was worried about another attack. It was so stupid; It was lazy; and so DISTINCTIVELY out of character, that a significant number of fans actually ended up dismissing it as a product of Jayce's delusional mind.

And the lore was changed one more time. And Viktor was made less 'evil'. But the damage remained. You weren't done, though, were you? WERE YOU, RIOT?!

#Viktor, Who is He Now?

Yes, who indeed. When I look at Viktor, I don't see the depressed idealist. I see a frustrated scientist who could 'totally do better'. I don't see the waste worker. I don't see Blitzcrank team member. I see a man expelled from an academy, because he doesn't respect one's free will.

NOW, VIktor is implied as amoral; killing and harvesting and terrifying locals. NOW, Viktor has a precedent for opposing free will; where in the past he sought to refrain from imposing HIS, upon others. NOW, Viktor kills in cold blood without hesitation in the most UNREASONABLE of circumstances - Though I'm certain an attempt at justification will be made.

Viktor "B-but what if Jayce tells everybody I'm doing robots again and the government gets me? Jayce never understood, y'know? GOTTA KILL JAYCE NOW - GET HIM, ROBOT SLAVES!" [[Robot Slaves]]: "YES, CREATOR!!"

I'm crushed, guys. I truly am. Nothing has ever perplexed me more, than the way the lore team seemed so unable to comprehend the characteristics that made Viktor's character unique. I mean;

  • When he fell into depression, he defied convention - dipping into mad science; but risking the effects on himself.
  • He repressed a desire for revenge and, approached by the frail, found himself pressured into helping them thrive.
  • He was spurned by his peers - his plea for justice denied; but when he achieved the means to seek retribution, he turned the other cheek.
  • Even after Evolving, he sought to inspire others to see the merits of his designs. When the League still existed, this was the only place he ever became involved in conflict (until Jayce).

I mean, his history was damn Golems and Waste Disposal. And he was HEARTBROKEN when he was denied the chance to claim responsibility for his contributions. He was naive - bordering on a delusional level of honesty - in a city that was filled to the brim with the corrupt and scandalous.

Viktor wanted to change things for the better.

But now?

Viktor "Kill Him."

I don't think VIktor's lore will be able to fix this. And there is zero hope for Jayce being a sociopathic compulsive-liar, instead. I'm distraught.

201 Comments

Ask the Herald12/8/2016, 6:18:36 AM46 votes

I get the distinct impression that Riot no longer cares about Viktor being any kind of gray, any longer. They want him to be a villain, so they write him as one, damn the fans or anyone who could remotely sympathize for him. And it's sickening. Because they repeatedly claimed they didn't want their characters to be dominated by clearly "black or white" mentality. Riot once again proves to be hypocritical, and to throw any sense of objectivity out the window.

A Superb Villain12/8/2016, 7:03:06 AM21 votes

Viktor "It's okay to deprive people of free will, really! It's not like they were using it!"

https://media.giphy.com/media/l2Je9yeWdYjdZ5m3C/giphy.gif

Viktor ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Prophet of Urgod12/8/2016, 11:17:55 AM20 votes

All we can do is wait, but Riot sure does not instill confidence. They are fully aware of these concerns and they can write, but I am left to feel that the creative teams have some vendetta against Vik.

Continually made to be Jayce's villain, no skins, no art, nothing.

JackMcSnipeyz12/8/2016, 6:01:43 AM20 votes

Think of it this way. If i was to read azir's story, about xerath's betrayel, i'd say "wow, what a lazy twist, betraying his most loyal friend for power" But then you read the other side of the coin, and you learn what started the cracks of betrayel and boiling anger within.

I know you viktor fans always paint him as "good but can be bad" but come on, every mention of him is followed by a thread like they deleted him, wait for the zaun stories, his lore will be touched, just wait and see, so far all their bios were amazing and interesting to read.

FlooChan12/8/2016, 1:17:02 PM12 votes

When Zaun/Piltover changes came, I was already pissed that they are destroying the old lore... now this comes...

I honestly will no longer give the benefit of the doubt. I am disappointed beyond measure; Viktor is reduced to something he was not. I thought he was a man of science. What great man of science cares about revenge and just daily annoying Jayce?

Since when is Viktor in favor of taking free will away? Didn't Blitzcrank show how he loved having true free will? Wasn't the point of his Grand Evolution, to free people from emotion, to have that said free will?

Where is Blitzcrank anyway? Is he still Vik's creation?

and chemicals? is he now the Breaking Bad Herold, not Machine?

Honestly, sorry guys, but the way the lore is written, I can't see a way you can make Vik's lore acceptable, without breaking who and what he is. You are ruining the lore, little by little and to be fair, right now, I am just going to leave LoL as a game. I do not agree with shitting on the fans.

You have characters you could have played with the Lores and none would have cared as much, you know, the ones with little to no lore?

I honestly will not use these changes in any of my fan work. My muses (Malzahar and Aatrox ) will stay what they are, no matter how hard they change it. They won't rip a character, I came to love, just like Viktor himself from me, to make it this laughable character, one that a fanfiction can write better.

I won't discuss this further, but if anyone feels like venting, my inbox is always open at my tumblr (insufferablevoidprophet)

SkyMagpie12/8/2016, 12:47:29 PM10 votes

This is a good post, and I feel that if Jayce's lore is not a completely romanticized fictional story, then by all means we lost the little good lore Viktor had. I am just very disappointed if that's the case as someone who was writing about Viktor meta ever since he came out, and I really hope Riot won't ruin that one good character that had so much potential to become great.

Viktorious Sayph12/8/2016, 9:49:12 AM6 votes

I don't know how many times do i have to log-in and say https://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/55366403.jpg

They are bullshitting all over the place. I call that disrespecting the fanbase.

#And to be honest nobody asked for a fucking lore. We want skins not shitty lores.

Papa Andrei12/8/2016, 6:44:49 AM5 votes

Hey remember, we are seeing only from Jayce's eyes, we have yet to see the Zaun color storys. We have one last chance for this all to be good. [slayer-jinx-wink]

TyrekGoldenspear12/8/2016, 1:34:10 PM5 votes

This is a good post, but I can't help but feel like you are projecting what you want Viktor to be like and are dissappinted Jayce's lore doesn't reflect it.

The old lore was the classic example of telling, not showing, so I doubt you could get much character from it, at least to the depth you are seeing here.

JDB8eoX8x012/8/2016, 1:32:47 PM3 votes

"Jayce is a rather egotistical jerk" I need not read further, that describes him perfectly ingame and is absolutely suitable for his lore.

Flyinguillotine12/8/2016, 2:43:55 PM2 votes

QUICK, EVERYBODY PANIC!

ModKnightsKemplar12/8/2016, 4:45:50 PM2 votes

I disagree with most of the analysis here. The fact is that the biggest chunk of Viktor's story hasn't been told. You're really stretching to try to define his character by the lens that Jayce sees him. You did mention that, but you dismissed the idea pretty readily.

Viktor is really true to the way I have always seen him in this story. I think, from a perspective that cares about human life and free will, Viktor has always been evil. The only perspective that can be seen as "good" is a perspective that cares more about order and progress than life and free will. Which is what Viktor cares about. That makes him necessarily rather grey, and I think he remains that in this story.

The fact that you gloss over is that Viktor sighed when he said "Kill him." It doesn't show an evil mastermind. It shows someone who is bored, and uninterested in seeing the opposing viewpoint. Which, again, I would argue was always a part of Viktor's character.

Has his lore changed? Yes, certainly is has. But a large part of that is giving him something to grow into; the irony of your position is that when Viktor existed in a vacuum, he was able to seem more neutral, but also a lot less interesting. It is only natural for someone who wants this "Glorious Evolution" to have some kind of foil that believes in human ingenuity and free will. And the best advocate (or at least an interesting one) is someone who also sees others as "less than," but still sees the value in preserving their humanity.

I see both Jayce and Viktor as relatively neutral through the lens of this story. The unwashed masses see Jayce as the hero, and Viktor as the villain. By insisting that's the narrative, you're kind of buying into the narrative that Riot is subtly saying is actually false. Jayce and Viktor are both portrayed as neutral with regards to many moral codes, it's just that common society sees Jayce as a hero because his idealogical stance happens to support the status quo.

Edit: To summarize my point more succinctly, interesting characters don't really exist without conflict. Viktor was easier to see as grey before because he was boring. Giving him conflict is a trade-off. I get that some people don't like it, but I don't understand the emotional investment in it. If you're that into story-telling, write your own stories that you think are better! This game is about conflict, and characters without conflict don't really belong in it, especially after the ret-con. I don't understand why you would attack the narrative team over such an obvious choice.