thank you for feeding victor fans! you have lovely artwork! <3

I absolutely love this pairing, so I wanted to share some of my personal thoughts about it. (Since young researcher Victor is pretty much a blank slate in canon, everything below is just my own headcanon and speculation⚠️)

First, let me talk about how I see these two characters:

I think the current Victor has built an entire internal system in his mind. Spencer's ideology is the foundation, Elpis is the key, and everyone else is just a tool playing different roles to help him realize his ideal world. That might also be why his actions always feel so theatrical.

Even when he chooses to implant the parasite into himself, fully aware of the physical mutation it will cause, it's essentially him turning his own body into a tool and offering himself as a sacrifice to that "ideal world". So, although he seems extremely narcissistic, I actually think he has almost no real "self." He can't truly love anyone else either — he can only use people.

I imagine that young Victor was a very intelligent but withdrawn person. He had a good education, loved literature and art, and was easily drawn to abstract ideas. At that time, he probably appeared quite innocent and pure. But if someone recognized his talent and gave him a grand "mission" — a pursuit of some higher meaning — he could easily be influenced. As long as that force was powerful and idealistic enough, he might even abandon his human conscience for it.

That's why I think it would be really fascinating if he were to meet his future self. It feels like a twisted master-disciple relationship, or more like the dynamic between a cult founder and his favorite, most promising disciple.

The current Victor would feel an intense, almost obsessive affection toward young Victor, because he sees him as his complete possession — someone who will walk the exact same path and eventually become the perfect sacrifice. Meanwhile, young Victor would lose himself in this "love" and the fabricated ideal, just like how Spencer once influenced him.