The Muse Design By @elianzis (for Stories From Styx)

Yall think that there might be an "original" timeline that happened "first" that the Herald Viktor that saved Jayce and his mom came from? Because the logic of Viktor going back to save Jayce and give him the crystal, therefore causing them to invent hextech therefore creating himself is circular and would require lots of woowoo time travel science bullshit to not be nonsense, so that means either Jayce was Always going to get obsessed with creating magic or that originally he was supposed to be saved by a different mage, and I find the idea of baby Jayce watching his mother die and barely surviving a near death experience, which eventually leads him to obsessively searching for ways to save other people and stumbling into forbidden magical arts, more likely.

And the reason I think any of this matters is because I am SO HEARTBROKEN over the idea of a Viktor who met a damaged and traumatised orphan Jayce at the academy, and believed in him with no evidence he could be right, only for them to create the hex core together, and all the following horror together, and the reason the dead Jayce is actually kneeling isn't the same as our Jayce surrendering to Viktor hoping he could get through to him, it was because he wasn't fighting him at all and was his partner in the evolution and that Viktor still looked human because a Jayce who was helping him with his cult wouldn't have killed him and been the catalyst for his final trnsformation. And that Jayce knelt before his partner, simply accepted being consumed at the end, along with the rest of the world. And then Viktor realised the mistake they made, and made the choice to go back and save his partner from ever being that broken child who would help him end the world, out of all the events he could have changed, because he was sure that Jayce's heart was the one that could save them.

new animation preview :)

Ok, I wanted to talk about Annabeth being the reincarnation of Odysseus.

First of all, yes, Annabeth and not Percy. Here's why: they have the same fatal flaw (hubris), fight in similar ways (relying heavily in words and tricks), as well as this comparison being made in the Sea of Monsters itself several times, in which Annabeth (Odysseus) calls herself Nobody (again) to the Cyclops, is the one that wanted to tied herself to listen to the sirens (I know that part was changed in Epic, but let's pretend not for the sake of the intention of the comparison in the book), etcetera. In addition, I know Percy going insane when someone hurts Annabeth is something the whole fandom agrees, which is something he and Odysseus share, but let's be honest, Annabeth does not play about him neither. I would say she went even more nuts about him missing in HOO than he did when she went missing in Titan Curse. Percy could also totally be Penelope, considering their loyalty.

That being said, what I wanted to focus on this post is Athena, and how she made the same mistake again with another version of her protégée, this time her daughter. If we consider that the events of Epic are what happened in PJO, not only Athena (or Minerva, so close enough) abandoned Odysseus again in The Mark of Athena, but she said to Annabeth that she wished Odysseus was there because he would understand the map (that's a line about that in the book). She compared Annabeth to Odysseus, not realising they are the same soul.

Also, if the events of Epic happened in PJO, then it means Athena gave up of creating a world where people held each other with a little more empathy, like she said she wished to do in "I can't help but wonder". She had probably tried for a few centuries, became kinder. I even think that might be why she started to have demigods children: to a child of Athena to be born she needs a real connection with a mortal, which she didn't allow herself before Odysseus. However, with the pass of time (my personal belief is that the Romans treatment towards her would be a main factor in that), she went back to be colder. She has a ruthless father who didn't support her mission to be kinder and told her to be away from her kids, as well as humans who didn't pay her the same respect as they used to.

Then it came Annabeth, this child, her child, who is her favourite, and part of that it's because she reminds her of her favourite champion, her first friend, even if she doesn't acknowledge that. Unaware to her, they are the same person, and this time she's his mother. This version of Odysseus looks up to her so much because her mortal family couldn't understand her and she still carries the admiration Odysseus felt towards her, but without any of the bad memories.

And yet.

Yet Athena breaks her (his) trust again. Yet Athena disapproves Percy (Penelope), who in any life, Odysseus (Annabeth) would do anything for. More than that, Athena is one of the main reasons that Annabeth took so long to accept Percy as the love of her life.

So Annabeth (Odysseus) resents her again, and when Athena realises who her daughter is (because I am sure she would eventually) it's already too late. She made the same mistake, and she can hear a voice in her head calling her "Selfish and prideful and vain", but this time, this voice sounds like Annabeth's.

FAITH x Mouthwashing

i have nothing to say except i’m coping !

MORE JAYVIK DETAILS - THE PLANTS

So you know the scene where Jayce and Viktor discover that Hextech can "heal" the plants?

That one!

First, we have Jayce proving that once again his ideals and dreams have changed.

Viktor rattles on about all the amazing benefits this could have on people and lifeforms, but Jayce with THE DREAMIEST EYES EVER,

(Seriously)

JUST REPLIES "curing you"

It's the only thing he truly cares about by this point. He just wants to heal Viktor*

(*note that it only comes up after he has witnessed Viktor's decline due to his lung disease. Curing here refers to Viktor's deadly disease)

And that fact is cemented by the conversation Jayce, Ekko and Heimerdinger later have in Season 2

Ekko: "Did any of the plants survive?"

Jayce (with an incredibly pained look): "They weren't what we were trying to save."

Two things about that line:

1. Viktor did in fact care about the plants, or at least insofar as proving the remedy worked to help multiple people. It was Jayce who was zeroing on solely Viktor

2. "Save" bring used here just shatters my heart.

This line is so, so painfully about Viktor :(

And a little bonus, as a treat:

When the plants shrivel up, Jayce immediately puts himself between Viktor and the Hexcore to protect him

He stands fully in front of Viktor, ready if anything goes further awry.

We don't talk as much about act 3 of season 1 in terms of Jayvik here in this fandom (which makes sense because it is so fucking painful) but it's so amazing to see season 2 being a natural continuation, as Jayce slowly realises what he has come to truly care about :( (It's not Hextech and bringing magic to the people)

I'm just... to be loved by Jayce Talis, man :(

I don't think that Viktor swears often but I really like that people sometimes write him swearing in Czech. Also I think that it was a little traumatic for Jayce when he heard Viktor swear for the first time.

I just had to draw it.

The thing is that czech swearing often contains more than one word. The bigger fuked up, the longer you swear. And it's…let's say…very rich xd

I was thinking about translating it but it's imposible

"What was the whole deal with Viktor not being 'broken' and Jayce's confession in Episode 9?"

Some ramblings I had but decided to make it its own post

"But you were never broken, Viktor."

This line is about Viktor's self-esteem and worth as an individual.

While a confident character (especially in Act 1 of Season 1), Viktor lets himself be weighted down by people's negative perceptions of him.

When introducing himself to Jayce and talking him down from jumping, Viktor uses extremely negative words to describe himself (and literally "crippled").

And with the beginning of Viktor's health decline from then on so do his confidence and relationship with others.

Viktor refuses to be on stage with Jayce when they first present Hextech. (And Jayce respects his decision and doesn't force his hand!) He doesn't want to be publically acknowledged as Jayce's partner.

We don't actually see Viktor being close to anyone but Jayce. Especially during the more dire breakouts of his disease coinciding with his research on the Hexcore. He becomes so obsessed that he pushes everyone away. While I don't think he has ever loved Sky romantically, she was still a colleague of his with a good opinion of him. And yet we see him reject her companionship (which could have been kept perfectly friendly and platonic!) and lose himself in his work, quite literally.

It is shown to us explicitly that Jayce cares about Viktor's health (he leaves Mel to come to Viktor's bedside). And yet Viktor lies to him about potential treatments, in fear of what Jayce would think. What he wouldn't understand. Without even knowing what Jayce would think (and as season 2 has proven us, Jayce did in fact support the augmented hextech solution) he immediately comes to the conclusion that Jayce would reject him. This is a sign of low self-esteem.

What happened to Sky was extremely traumatic and he clearly feels an overwhelming amount of guilt. However we don't really see him confide in anyone, don't see him relying on anyone for moral support. He bottles it up and keeps his worries and guilt to himself, which doesn't work well.

When Viktor attempts and literally toes the line about suicide, this time Jayce is the one preventing him from jumping. And it is because of these circumstances I believe that Viktor finally admits a part of his wories and guilt about Hextech to someone. And still he doesn't tell the full story (Jayce only learns about Sky in season 2)

Viktor's confidence comes back in full bloom in season 2, once he becomes fused with the Hexcore and gains access to a perfect body. (Note that I use perfect here because this is what the Herald of the Arcane believes).

Fuck, he catwalked into the council room vhen he confronted Jayce in episode 8. We have literally never seen this character do that before. He is cocky, he is literaly the one on top of Jayce. He oozes confidence and charisma.

During the various scenes in the astral plane, Viktor is often depicted as this grand, majestic and huge figure. He towers over everyone, looks down on people. He is confident in himself and his abilities. But when Jayce rejects his vision ("my partner died in this room") and defeats him with Mel, we see Viktor become physically smaller. Cuddled and small on the floor, rejecting Astral Sky's touch.

Once again, his physical appearance reflects his own inner worth. He believes that Jayce doesn't want him = he shifts back to a ""weaker"" state and immediately rejects others' comfort.

This rejection is also what directly links to him shedding all his humanity to achieve this "perfection."

And when the mask comes down (literally) after Ekko threw him time in a bottle at the end of episode 9, and a part of his real, human face is revealed, Viktor once again becomes smaller.

Here the shift is radical. He goes from being meters tall to smaller than Jayce's height. Viktor tries to protect, to shield himself. He doesn't want to be perceived in this weak state.

This is why it is such a pivotal point that Viktor reverts back to his own body after Jayce showed him the truth, that he turns to face Jayce as equals in their human forms. This is Viktor finally accepting himself as who he is, accepting his worth as a human being.

When Jayce tells Viktor "you were never broken," he means that Viktor was always a whole person, not lesser than. That he was always worthy of compassion, love and respect just like everyone else. That there was nothing "broken" about him that could justify a negative perception of him.

No parts of him are broken because every part of him can be loved,

Viktor's disability and disease are a part of him but that does not mean Viktor himself is broken.

Jayce's confession is essentially a love letter to the person Viktor is ("a part of everything I admired about you"). It is not a comment about how Viktor shouldn't care about his health. It is a comment about Viktor's own worth and how he is deserving of love, truly and fully just as he is. That a perfect body doesn't make him worthier.

Amistad

Oa

Jijiji