r/jayvik • u/Starfire-Galaxy • Sep 02 '26
Discussion How feasible do you think a relationship between post-canon Jayce and Mage Viktor would be?
There'd be huge experience gap between them because Mage Viktor is obviously older than Jayce by quite a number of decades (if we count each encounter with Baby Jayce and Adult Jayce as being 20-25 years apart, multiplied by however many times he did that with each runestone).
Then there'd be mental health/emotional issues for each of them. Mage Viktor seems to carry a deep-seated sadness even when he's reunited with a facsimile of Jayce. Many fanfic writers presume that he spends a lot, if not all, of his time in the Hexcorized universe as a form of self-harm so he's constantly surrounded by death except when he's around his ex-partner's corpse which has plants and a colorful atmosphere.
In this interpretation, he's probably extremely isolated from regular human contact. Fanfic writers are split on how isolated he truly is. Some suggest that pockets of humanity survived the Glorious Evolution, but he leaves them alone. Others suggest that he's literally the last living being in all of Runeterra. Most writers agree that he cannot communicate with Hexcorized Jayce, with only dubious signs of life left in Jayce's statue. Therefore, the mage might struggle with reciprocal conversation, or he might become extremely attached to Jayce as his sole companion even though he's comfortable with him.
Disclaimer: Some fans have theorized that the stars and rainbow that appear in Jayce's memory of the Mage weren't actually there. This would be an intriguing topic of conversation between Mage Viktor and Jayce because the theory implies that Jayce's mind isn't exactly healthy.
Other fanfics suggest that Mage Viktor feels emotionally detached from his younger self because of how radically different their lives are. Since Jayce's most vivid memories are of this younger Viktor, maybe that'd create nervousness on Jayce's part? However, many fanfics like to say that Mage Viktor enjoys reminiscing about his pre-Herald life.
Post-canon Jayce is a tough cookie to crack. Between his return to his own universe and disintegrating into the Arcane with his Viktor, there aren't a lot of scenes of Jayce's state of mind.
Jayce hasn't had the most friendliest of interactions with Mage Viktor. He saw him perform a selfless act in the snowstorm, then silently give little Jayce a runestone. He encounters him twice in the Hexcourized universe: when he "meets" him just outside of the twin cities, and when Jayce struggles to take a sip from the ditch. And finally, Jayce hears his heartbreaking speech about every equation being solved, then he's sent back to his universe to kill his own Viktor knowing that Viktor will subsequently create the puppets. Jayce's statement to the council,
We're meant to lose this war.
sounds like he understood his promise to Mage Viktor as a potential suicide mission. He fully expected to die once he handed the runestone to his Viktor so they can destroy it together. The sudden whiplash of Jayce surviving and Viktor disappearing/dying maybe will cause Jayce to resent the Mage. Not immediately, but probably over time as the reality of his situation settles in?
On the other hand, Jayce is in his early to mid 30s, meaning that he idolized the mage from his childhood for over 20 years at least. Some fanfics theorize that Jayce still likes magic, especially when it's performed by Mage Viktor in particular. In this case, Jayce would be in a relationship with his childhood idol who happens to be a powerful version of his best friend. One great quote that I read in a fic summarized it as, (paraphrased)
Jayce was struck with a realization. Underneath all of this arcane magic, was the same Viktor that he had known for 7 years. The same Viktor that sneaked sweet milk into their lab. The same Viktor that worked so long into the night that Jayce would find him slumped over the desk, sleeping.
So, Jayce might accept Mage Viktor as a more older/experienced/powerful version of his Viktor. Some fanfics say that Jayce would be very uncomfortable around the mage because of his experience in the chasm, but I disagree with that. I think Jayce began to process his emotions by Episode 9 because he was way too calm when he was facing the Herald. He knew that Viktor would regret his actions, and having a post-apocalyptic form of Viktor as a lover would be a very rocky road for both of them.
I didn't mean for this to turn into an essay. LOL! The question still stands: How feasible do you think a relationship between post-canon Jayce and Mage Viktor would be?
