#I hate the way the fandom treats Jayce

[jayktoralldaylong]

"MelJayVik can't work because both Jayce and Viktor are too possessive to share."

And it just might be the stupidest argument I've ever heard to be honest.

But I think what pisses me off the most is that I only see this argument being used for MelJayVik, and that is so interesting considering I adore a lot of Poly ships and I have never seen such an argument before.

Interesting isn't it.

So what's the problem? Is it because Mel is a woman? (I doubt it. Alucard X Trevor X Sypha is a popular ship).

So it's because she's black isn't it? 🙂

"That's not true. We love our Queen Mel."

Ah but you've all unanimously decided that she's not Queen enough to work in even a platonic relationship with Jayce and Viktor. 😌 Don't give me that queen shit until you treat her like the queen she actually is.

I swear y'all jump through hoops to keep them apart. If it isn't pushing the agenda that Mel and Viktor hate each other (which they don't. Having a disagreement does not mean loathing. What's wrong with you? 💀 You guys did the same thing with Jayce and the bridge scene after season one), then it's pushing the agenda that Viktor and Jayce don't share.

MIND YOU, while they are both OBSESSED with each other, Jayce kept trying to pull Viktor into the world of popularity and fame. He wanted Viktor to expand and have fun. And the second Viktor realised he was being too clingy his first instinct is always to pull away and push Jayce towards others. Don't give me shit about them not sharing. Their problem isn't that they want to own each other, it's that they think the other wants nothing to do with them. Stop pushing your fantasies on Jayce and Viktor. It annoys me.

[robsdiary]

i REFUSE to believe this “jayce and mel didn’t love each other” or “mel was just using them” propaganda. I’ll ride for this ship until I die, and I hate how the fandom AND the writers are treating her like the disposable black girlfriend in the way of the otp.

[wlwmedarda]

I'm honestly just looking to rant and this might be long depending on how fast I get irritated the more I type so if this isn't coherent or well written I apologize in advance. Since it looks like Ambessa will take on a more antagonistic role in arcane season two, I would like to unpack the fandom's antiblackness that you guys are either blind to or aware and too pussy to call it out as my gut is telling me it's gonna increase and if no one is gonna start the difficult conversation then I sure as hell will.

Sevika:

Mel:

Starting off strong with the definition of "you guys want complex female characters but can't even handle her". Mel Medarda is in quite the predicament seeing how she's morally grey, a black woman, AND "gets in the way" of a mlm ship so she was kinda screwed from the start. A cunning politician disowned for her pacifism who acts as a sort of bridge to Noxus' slow introduction, and is THE ONLY CHARACTER IN THE SEASON 1 MAIN CAST SPECIFICALLY CREATED FOR THE SHOW. She's treated like satan incarnate or a Jezebel (highly suggest looking into that if you don't know what that is), GOOD character analysis is rare, and when she is talked about positively, it's so often chalked up to appearances that I'd rather yall not talk about her at all. Oh you love Mel? Then can we talk about her relationship with her mother? Unpack her dynamic with Jayce? Maybe more fanworks centered around her? I've seen yall's fake asses dropping the shittiest fucking takes about her only to turn around and gush over how pretty she is, and yall think you're slick about it and you're not. I would say I prefer the ones who are loud and proud about their hatred but that'd be a lie, they're two cheeks on the same ass; annoying and couldn't give a decent break down of her character if a gun was pointed at they head even she's perfect to dissect. I could talk about her more but we'd be here all day and so many black women even from outside the fanbase have already talked about yall so there's no need for me to add on 🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️.

Quick question, have you guys ever tried to talk about her in a non sexual way? Yes, Sevika is undeniably sexy and you could argue that true stans of hers talk about her outside of horny time, but a good half of the fandom is a different story. In a similar case to Mel's, deep dives into her character are rare to find which is crazy when she acts as Zaun's own "kingmaker". She's loyal to her city and the cause, never to a specific person and will not hesitate to betray you. She could be your right hand man one day, and the next she might find a better kingpin to follow and stab you in the back like it all meant nothing. "Were you tempted?" "Not for a worm like him". Simple and subtle and probably my favorite Sevika scene; she comes to realize Silco is no longer the best leader for Zaun, but he's as good as it gets for now and so she sticks by him. I remember a YouTube comment breaking down how she's essentially the quintessential Zaun: a brute warrior molded by her environment, who defied Vander's peaceful ways and embraced Silco's cruelty. Her mindset and goal is interesting and you'd think it'd result in some fascinating meta or exploration of her upbringing when we got a hint that she potentially has some daddy issues right? Obviously, but what do we get instead? White sapphics treating her like nothing more than a sexual object. How delightful!

Ekko:

This might partially be Riot's fault because — and I hate to sound like a league lore nerd — Ekko is quite underdeveloped compared to the richer origins of his former pre arcane self, but I'm gonna hold off on that till the season finale to see how they handle him. Anyways, at this point the fandom clearly sees him as Jinx's trophy husband. When you talk about him, she is brought into the convo 90% of the time. That's exactly why I prefer black timebomb shippers over the nonblack ones because I trust they actually love Ekko as a character on his own. Even though I have my complaints regarding how's been written so far, I still know he's too good to be reduced to Jinx's loverboy. He fights and cares for his city, the only character that you can confidently say is pure of heart, and is the revolutionary leader Zaun really needs. He's just as smart as Jinx too, he is literally going to create TIME TRAVEL. Why does no one wanna talk about that? Can we be excited for his character development and arc not just for the timebomb scenes you'll get out of it?

Ambessa:

Can't even deny this woman is awful but her presence on screen enthralled me after a couple of rewatches and I also love bad mothers in media so I've settled on a love/hate relationship. Yes, she's definitely gonna have some influence on Caitlyn, which makes sense since she has now lost her mother; she's vulnerable and as we have seen, naive. She's practically free real estate for Ambessa. My recent worry though has been how the fandom seems to be willing to put all of Caitlyn's actions on her as if Cait isn't a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions. Of course being grown doesn't mean you're immune to manipulation, but I've seen some Silco and Jinx comparisons and it is NOT the same. Mind you we haven't even seen the first three episodes; we don't know how far Ambessa's manipulation is going to go and we can't really tell what the dynamic is gonna be like based off of clips and trailers that are likely shown out of context on purpose to throw people off. I'll never defend her actions, hell I'll join in on the lashings, but my black ass is also not gonna sit here and let yall talk about her weirdly or pin all of this on her.

Some might say I'm overthinking this, but I've been here since November 2021 and have sat back and observed for 2 years. You don't have to write deep, philosophical conversations 24/7, I'm sure it's not all in bad faith and I won't act like I don't thirst over Sevika or marvel at Mel's beauty. I'm not saying you have to like these characters and that you're racist if you don't. My frustration comes from the lack of nuanced conversations and hypocritical opinions surrounding black characters in this show. When you try to say something about this, you're hit with excuses; it reminds me of how man obsessed fujoshis act when they're questioned for not giving two fucks about female characters. They're either reduced to one character trait, only admired for their looks, or only discussed when it's about the white character they're connected to. Do NOT under ANY circumstance be black and morally ambiguous, you WILL be held to higher moral standards than everyone's wittle blorbos who can do wrong and are defended from all sides when you dare to take the rose colored stan glasses off and criticize them. What's really ridiculous is you hear the "complex characters" bullshit every two to three business days and some of you have the nerve to boast about this series being diverse while simultaneously ignoring the complexities in the characters of color. This is the main reason I took a step back and with season two around the corner I thought "Hey, maybe it'll be better this time!" and it was a mistake. Good to know yall still have an underlying racism problem you don't wanna address but with some extra classism thrown in. "What will we do once Arcane ends?" hopefully get a job, touch some grass, and reflect. Lord knows yall need it. The faster yall sizzle out the better. I'm done that's all I have to say lol goodnight 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽.

[banquetwriter]

i love the way you write viktor sm sm 🫡 if you feel up to it, id love to see some more of your domestic headcanons! also, do you think either viktor's partner and jayce get jealous of each other? lmao i like imagining a silent passive aggression n rivalry between anyone dating viktor and jayce.

keep up the great work!!!!

AN: AHH ONG THANK YOU 🙏 i’m new to the arcane fandom + writing viktor so i feared my depiction of him was super ooc so im glad people like it haha

now i don’t think jayce would hate you or anything, but he would certainly be weary… since i am an avid jayvik shipper and he is def in love w/ his “partner” he would ofc be upset he is with someone else !

however however he isn’t down right mean to you. being blunt with you, dismissing what you say and asking viktor if he is sure about you is the most he would go

that is if you treated viktor good if you treated him bad (which idk why you would) oh boy you’d have a whole can of whoopass coming to be delivered

using his counselor powers he’d def make sure your life sucks lmfao 😭😭

however once you prove that you really do love viktor with your entire heart and your nothing but kind to jayce im sure after a while he will have to face the reality that your not going away and also he actually kinda likes you

you can keep up with all the hextech shit and no matter what always care about viktor and cmon what else can ask for?

as far as you being jealous i’m sure you would even if you aren’t to typically get jealous. it’s clear not only in his words but his whole life viktor loves jayce even if it isn’t romantic anymore (cuz ur there duh)

at first you were super confused why his lab “partner” was lowkey a bitch to you. you understood viktor has pretty much no romantic experience and he’s probably just looking out for his friend

it wouldn’t be until jayce has finally warmed up to you and shared some old story of him and viktor that you would understand that he loved him. like loved him loved him it wasn’t just platonic

“oh y/n! i am almost done with my work for today, just give me a second and i’ll be right out!” viktor said removing an (honestly) goofy looking pair of goggles he was using to make small adjustments to a project he was working on.

“take your time!” you chime as viktor hobbles away with his cane. you are left alone with jayce waiting for your love to be done. you turn to jayce and with a polite smile you nod to him.

jayce nods back not meeting your eye. after a moment jayce sighs. “you know he never used to leave this much until you showed up.” jayce said with a small sad smile. you smile down at your feet. “yes i’m well aware he loves to tell me how much he has a work i can only assume it consumed his whole life” you admit.

jayce looks down before speaking again, “usually it was me pulling him out of his work. forcing him to eat, sleep whatever it was.” jayce sighs almost defeated.

you smile again, brighter this time. “he also told me that.” you say. jayce chuckles before rubbing his hand against his jaw. “you know sometimes it felt like a loosing battle to get him to take care of himself. it still is. i never gave up because he was my- still is my everything.” jayce admits.

his confession lays heavy in the air. realization hits of what exactly he means. your face falls realizing how much it must hurt to be around you. before you can’t speak you hear viktor walking out of wherever he went.

“oh! you two are talking, how nice.” viktor teases as he walks up to you. you shake your head with a smile. “you go ahead i’ll be right behind you.” viktor smiles with a curious expression but leaves you alone with jayce.

you flung your arms around the man. jayce stumbles back confused but eventually hugs you back. “thank you.” was all you whispered to him before leaving returning side by side with viktor. “what were you two discussing?” he asks not meeting your eyes.

“we were plotting evil against you.” you say with a small smile, viktor only rolls his eyes.

anyways to conclude that i think like you said it’s a silent sort of one sided beef on jayce’s part but eventually it ends (for the most part lol)

as far as what viktor feelings on the matter he can obviously tell it’s strained between you too but reassures both of you that either one of you just want the best for him

he does not like conflict and def gets anxious when both of yall share the same space.

however a small (teeny tiny) part of him is grateful. he hasn’t ever had many people in his life let alone two people (almost) fighting over him, but again a small part he is mostly anxious

as far as domestic stuff goes he def lets you fidget with his fingers. in private ofc. you slowly massage his fingers when your concentrating on something and while he pretends he is reading the page hasn’t been turned in the last 5 minutes because he is solely focus on you

you become his whole world and god he cannot get over how you are his. or that he is yours! i’ve talked a lot about how you take care of him which is true

you help him with his brace, cooking, cleaning all the normal life stuff but something i haven’t touched too much on his how he takes care of you

just because he is disabled does not mean he is weak by any means. he always always always makes sure the house and you are at the perfect tempature.

he will braid small chunks in your hair if it’s long enough, he’ll get your toothbrush ready for you, make sure to have all of your favorite things at the house

takes advantage of piltover’s plentiful arts and brings home things of your interest.

i’m a firm believer that viktor looks like an old man when he sleeps with a long shirt and long pants, which is cute till he radiates heat like a damn furnace at night

you resort to sleeping in just a shirt and underwear. which drives viktor a tad wild. seeing you shuffle out of bed and your ass is already out? he is in heaven.

if you do not have a loving family let’s pretend for a second you do (bc same bestie same) and picture viktor getting personally invited to the holidays by your father.

he’s never been so nervous and excited. i’m not sure what holidays exactly but something that required the whole family which includes him.

he of course is overwhelmed at how many people there are. you eventually leave him to fend for himself when your family needs you to help prepare something

he is terrified but when you come back he is getting his ear talked off by one of your baby cousins. so all is well.

he is mostly scared of being judged by your family (and in this head cannon they never would) but to his shock he is accepted! just like how you accepted him.

your family just like you never ever once made him feel bad for his disability or his appearance or anything ever !

domestic life has not been common for viktor but now that he has you, you have fought for it to be his every day

[writerpey]

Little!Jayce with Caregiver!Mel & Viktor Headcanons

As a fandom, I know we’re big on little Vi, Caitlyn, Jinx and Viktor more than Jayce. I love every one of them, but hear me out on little cutiepie Jayce! No spoilers for season 2.

Jayce isn’t necessarily afraid to be vulnerable around Mel and Viktor — obviously he seeks comfort from Mel when he needs it and isn’t afraid to weep tears of sadness and joy at Viktor’s bedside. But when he’s little he feels a deep sense of guilt, especially after he takes on his role as a councillor. Like he’s not allowed to regress because there are responsibilities are piled onto his shoulders and he’s a grown man, and who would ever understand

In comes Mel. Jayce regresses around her first because she makes it so easy, with her tender touches and tendency to cradle his face and look at him with such warmth in her eyes that it feels like he’s staring into the sun.

At first he’s small without telling her. They lay on her bed together as the sun sets, Jayce’s head in Mel’s lap and her fingers carding through his hair. It’s a typical pattern for them, a safe space they love to come to and rest quietly in one another’s presence. However, Jayce finds it difficult to hold all of his emotions in and winds up sniffling in her lap one evening, hiding his face in the soft fabric of her dress and quickly dissolving into sobs of relief and embarrassment when Mel tells him that it’s alright, sweetheart. You can cry if you need to.

Mel takes very good care of her boy. She slowly chips away at this new, vulnerable side of him and learns a lot about little Jayce by treating him gently. For one, Jayce is much more sensitive when he’s little, both physically and emotionally. He doesn’t like wearing his stuffy senatorial clothing, and especially hates the high collars of many of his usual shirts and jackets. A way that Mel can tell Jayce is close to regressing or needs to be small is when he tugs at his shirt collar uncomfortably, clearing his throat and practically itching to flee whatever room he’s in.

Emotionally, Jayce is quick to look down on himself and is oftentimes teary. If Mel tells him not to touch her painting while it’s drying after he’s caught curiously poking the canvas, a deep pout will appear on his face and he’ll apologize and go sit himself down in the corner of the room. ‘M sorry, Mel. Didn’t mean to be bad.

He also gets embarrassed very easily, quite unlike his adult self. He has a hard time shaking off his internal adult monologue that tells him there’s something wrong with acting the way he does. He struggles with asking Mel for food or toys and oftentimes prefers to listen to her read out loud rather than participating in a child-like activity. Jayce will hold onto her hand while she reads to him and grows easily frustrated when she has to let go to turn the page.

Viktor knew Jayce was regressing months before he directly found out. Viktor’s incredibly smart and very sharp, so it wasn’t any less than completely obvious to him when he picked up on the way Jayce would skitter away to Mel after a long day or grow too quiet when they worked on the newest Hextech formula together. He was hesitant to bring it up to Jayce, though. Viktor figured that if Jayce wanted him to know he’d say so. Besides, Viktor respects Jayce far too much than to pry in his personal business.

They ended up being forced to confront Jayce’s regression during a late night at the lab. Jayce had fallen asleep at his desk, softly snoring as Viktor quietly tinkered with a new Hextech prototype. However, Jayce’s gentle breathing turned into the smallest sounds of distress — these were common for Viktor to hear, after all, Jayce started having stress dreams about the same time he became a councillor. Viktor glanced over at Jayce, brow furrowing, concerned about the other in a way he didn’t typically show from day to day. His brow furrowed even deeper when Jayce woke with a start and glanced around the room with wild eyes, like he didn’t know where he was.

Then, a soft and scared Mel, left his lips, and Viktor immediately identified what was going on. Jayce had been feeling small even before he fell asleep, and waking up without being in his normal environment with Mel made him regress further. Viktor had never seen him truly regressed before, and everything about Jayce’s body language made him seem so much smaller and unsure than he usually was.

Jayce, you’re here in the lab. It is alright. Viktor reassured him as best he could, despite being very unsure about how to speak to Jayce. The little’s ears went red immediately as he realized where he was and that Viktor was talking to him, and oh no, that Viktor knew he was small when he was supposed to be big. He couldn’t help but to burst into tears of embarrassment, his crying only making him even more upset. Viktor’s oh dear didn’t help matters much either.

Viktor managed to calm Jayce down by simply sitting quietly and allowing him to get all his tears out. Once Jayce’s sobs had slowed down to sniffles, Viktor got up and gently squeezed the little’s shoulders, meeting his eyes. He murmured that everything was quite alright and that they could go and find Mel together. Jayce nearly knocked Viktor down with the force that he threw himself at, wrapping the smaller man in a hug. Viktor wheezed and then chuckled, patting Jayce’s back affectionately as they parted. He knew it was time to see Mel when Jayce’s next action was to tug at the high collar of his shirt. Come on, little one, Viktor remarked, as the pair went off to wake Mel in the middle of the night.

<3

[multifandomloverthrowaway]

Viktor Was a Wasted Character

(But are we really surprised?)

This is my first post ever on Tumblr so please be nice! This is in no way hate towards any particular character or ship; personally I love Viktor as a character and all his ships, and that’s the main reason why I’m posting this. I also know like no LoL lore, so please bear with me. I’m just going to rant and dump my thoughts out here since I don’t really have fans in person to talk to about this, and it’s really bugging me lol!

That being said, I just watched season two, and after sitting with it’s ending, I do not think that the story told in the season is well thought out, and it can be very heavily seen in how characters are treated both in the show and in the fandom. It’s quite disheartening to see the fandom going through the peak-fandom era treatment of mlm and wlw relationships, and the overall treatment of the characters can be a little trashy. How people see Viktor can be very degrading and objectifying, and the whole ship wars and fallout with JayVik is absolutely disgusting. It makes me feel that many watchers did not fully understand Viktor’s character. And to a certain extent, the writers did not care for it either.

Viktor’s character represents what would happen if a Zaunite were able to become “successful” in the eyes of Piltover. Someone who had the intellect and ambition to supersede the conditions in Zaun and were able to compete with those raised in the “better city”. Thus, the questions of “How did they get to their place in Piltover?”, “What flaws do they have?”, “What is holding them back?”, “What is their experience in Piltover like?”, “Are they accepted?”, “Is there prejudice?”, and “What was their life in Zaun like?” are the core questions that make the character and their arc. This character is particularly important because this is the character that shows that those who are oppressed, no matter how “good” they are, will never be good enough in the eyes of the oppressor, especially if they have faults of their own. Viktor is fundamental to the message of season one Arcane. He helps to complete the story in its exploration of class, social, and political divide by personifying that “what if it could work” gap.

Viktor naturally then must be an internally strong character. Giving Viktor a disability is not just good inclusion, but also a good internal motivator. We as the audience then see that his key goal to help Zaun is not rooted in pity for a former home, but rather the cause of an injustice that he was a victim to. We see his steadfastness in going after opportunities that he thinks will benefit Zaun and humanity, and constant relentless means to get there. This is in stark contrast to his personal life. His deeply rooted sentiment that he must be alone because of his disability, along with perceptions of his disability and birthplace, are why he is a closed person only reaching for science, despite being quite empathetic. They also set up his two main conflicts:

1. He is dying with little time to finish his goal of helping Zaun and humanity

and

2. The people around him want to weaponize his creation into something that can be used against his hometown

These conflicts are where the plot fumbled the character. Firstly, we do not see any ties between him and Zaun other than his illness and that he grew up there. Where are his parents that supposedly love him so much? What is his relationship with Sky, which he supposedly cared enough for to bring out of Zaun to work with him and Jayce? His lack of well developed relationships with other characters other than Jayce hurt his character development from occurring naturally. It’s why Sky’s death doesn’t feel like anything. Despite Viktor seeing her in the realm as a metaphor to his shred of humanity left, his garden dedicated to her, her emblem on his robe, we don’t know their relationship or history in his eyes. (It should have been that they were in at least a friendship. Anything less than that would not fit Viktor’s character.) We don’t see him interact that much with Mel, despite her being his close friend’s love interest. We do not see him interact with doctors or his parents. What other real relationship does he have depicted in the show other than, well, Jayce? The only other is perhaps Singed. How do these relationships play into his self perception, and perception of humanity?

Combining his deteriorating friendship with Jayce over politics and with understanding that his work will be used against him without his credit or his voice should set Viktor up for him to make decisions that will naturally lead into his lore as we know it; to create something that allows him to fix himself and others while simultaneously corrupting him, especially in Zaun. Instead in season two we see that path taken away from him within the first Act after he is fused with magic because of Jayce. This is a pity because it makes Viktor reliant on Jayce’s decisions in a way that is outside of their parallel to the power struggle between Zaun and Piltover and thus takes away from his authority as a character - his decision to fuse himself with magic and machinery to go against Piltover needed to be a result of his decisions and actions, not of someone else and magic!

Giving that narrative decision to Jayce also leaves no organic way for Jayce to come to realize who Viktor is as a person outside of just a “partner”. This is especially apparent during the finale, in which Jayce’s love for Viktor is boiled down to “I love you for who you are”… though that undermines Viktor’s illness, why that illness exists and thus his reason to be a character, and by extension… Zaun’s struggle. And yet, Viktor dies accepting Jayce’s words, despite them undermining the reason he exists! Each time Viktor is yet again denied that choice to be what his character represents. Instead he is used as the crutch to Jayce until the end of the second season. This is also why the multidimensional time travel does not work with Viktor being the mage that gives Jayce magic; Viktor’s destiny is then settled firmly in Jayce’s hands and not his own. They are not soulmates; only one’s life depends on the other’s.

Viktor then, despite having some good foundation, never becomes the full representation that his character could be. We see no growth of his insecurities and setbacks that allow him to make the choice to become who is meant to be. Rather we see that narrative handed to another character who does not fulfill his character arc fully either.

It is no surprise to see the JayVik shippers in this case. Because Viktor is so dependent on Jayce in the narrative, there is no other natural relationship for him. This is despite the fact that Viktor’s sax orientation shouldn’t be of speculation, because in the case of the story, it doesn’t matter. Whether or not Viktor is able to have physical attraction to another person is not the core of his story nor his character. (Which is why his ace designation should not be controversial.) However, that his ability to make meaningful connections with the people in his lives, whether as friends or romantically, is. And we do not see that with any other person but Jayce, who cannot not see him as a full person due to the narrative. Viktor, at his essence, is a man whose agency has been taken from him by the narrative.

The better case in the narrative would have been to let the two part their separate ways after the death of Sky and the council attack, and let Viktor be the tragic hero he was made for. The love between each character that was to have a relationship with Viktor would have been that much more apparent, especially with Sky and Jayce. Then perhaps we would not see Viktor become the “disabled tw!nk whose real relationship could have only been with Jayce because only they truly knew and loved each other” because no. Only they didn’t. Viktor always had so much more, which included Jayce, Mel, Sky, and could have been far more! He just wasn’t given the means to explore it. And not by just the characters in Arcane. By the writers too.

[midnightcatharsis]

I've been kinda trying to ship meljayvik for a week and I'm officially giving up. I'm too weak for this shit. I've started shipping them for several reasons mostly: 1. I like all 3 characters 2. Meljayvik art is beautiful 3. the jokes about Jayce being in love with 2 magical beings are great 4. Jayce has a type 5. Many members of the arcane team have been open about shipping meljayvik 6. While I do believe there are not enough Mel-Viktor interactions, I believe the ship has big potential and I've stumbled upon several ideas for fics that I find charming as well as interesting. 7. Toks (Mel's VA) is a great, talented person, she makes me love Mel and crave more Mel content.

That being said, I'm giving up. Almost every single time I search through tags and Mel or M3ljay* (if you wonder why it's censored look at the end of the post) are mentioned alongside Viktor and Jayvik 95% of the content is just pure hate, insults, harassment, and vitriol. The hate comes from both ways of course and perhaps some m3ljay fans have encountered some from jayvik fans but, personally, I have seen much more hate directed at viktor and people shipping jayvik or even meljayvik. People say "don't erase and vilify Mel for jayvik" (which I agree with) only to in the same comment or post vilify Viktor and hate on him making sometimes ridiculous claims. Innocent jokes referencing what c.l. said, about how if Jayce sees Viktor as a brother then his relationship with Mel is also "sibling-coded" are treated as a war crime by some M3ljay fans even if you ship both. Joking about Mel's actress liking jayvik posts, shipping them or referencing her doing that in any way is a crime and any person who has ever dared to consider Jayce and Viktor as romantic, post any art or joke about jayvik (which also includes Mel's VA) is insulted, harassed, slandered and called "racist". Even shipping meljayvik is treated as an insult because "only m3ljay is ok"). And don't even let me start on Mel because she can only ever be perfect and anytime somebody dares to say that while she is not perfect she is still a complex, interesting character it's treated as hating on her... Saying that she is skilled in manipulation, politics, intrigues, schemes, and playing people is somehow an insult despite it being her job and despite her achieving so much while at such a young age on her own being a testimony to how good at it and skilled she is. Saying that she was on the council for many years and the council has done awful things to Zaun is not permitted. Mentioning that her relationship with Jayce, while real, started as her trying to use and manipulate him because he was an investment - which is even an important theme in the show and the reason why they have a falling out in s2 - is somehow a hate crime. A lot of these people don't even care about Mel and often say stuff suggesting that if she doesn't end with Jayce she is somehow useless and disposable while, in reality, she is a strong, independent, and complex character who has her own story and who would be interesting even if her break up with Jayce in s2 marked the definite end of their relationship (same for Viktor, except maybe having his own story because he and Jayce are intertwined in all universes in that regard). A lot of people are just using Mel (and Sky) to hide their ableism, homophobia, and sheer disgust for gay, bisexual and queer people... Perhaps there is also some hate and toxicity (that shouldn't be there) on the jayvik side of fandom towards M3ljay, but during my limited time as a new meljayvik shipper and looking through tags, I have not encountered people openly hating on Mel at all. Things that get labeled as "hate" are mostly people saying she was manipulative at the beginning (which yes, she was), is good at manipulation (again, she is, like every politician, and it doesn't even make her evil) or is not a saint; people comparing Viktor and Mel's scenes or using the m3ljay tag while also shipping meljayvik; occasionally people saying why they prefer jayvik while also being polite and not hating on Mel (which also happens in reverse)... But never open hate, insults, and harassment that the other side directs towards jayvik fans and viktor. (Screens below - most from tumblr cause I'm lazy, but there are much more of it on other platforms, and the comments are often even worse) I'm too weak to deal with all this toxicity and hate. I still kinda like the ship and the all the characters but I'm going back to jayvik only.

*(I'm censoring this so that m3ljay fans who probably don't want it in their tag won't have to interact with this post because I consider it basic human culture. Would be lovely if m3ljay fans who love to shit on jayvik in jayvik fans did the same for once)

[archivemyfic]

Positive aspects of Mel Medarda's character ending in Arcane (and things to look forward for her, in the next Arcane spin-off) ♡♡♡

Context : As we know, it's already basically confirmed that Arcane first spin-off is going to take place in Noxus. With Mel heading there to take over after Ambessa passing, I'm pretty sure she is going to play a HUGE role in that next show (if not the main character). Now, let's get into it!

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Firstly, Mel is FINALLY free from Jayvik! In season 1, the fandom treated her as a sole love interest (even though I personally think her character had already so much depth, back then). People always revolved her whole existence around being Jayce's partner (or she was dragged about Jayvik, only mentioning her because she was "getting in the way" of making their ship canon). To be honest, at first, I didn't really care about Jayce at all. It was nice to see a black woman depicted being loved tenderly in fiction, but I wasn't really interested in him as a character to ship them that intensely. However, eventually, their relationship grew on me, and I ended up loving them so much. However, Jayce and Viktor dying together was a good thing. It allows Mel to become more than the "girlfriend" and her character can finally be explored/expanded beyond and properly. Jayvik dying is probably going to drag their supporters into disappearing with them. Which is good since they (only the problematic shippers) will finally leave her alone.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Secondly, we might still get closure about Meljay. As I said in a previous post, act 3 was rushed. The writers didn't have time to offer us a proper goodbye. But if Mel is the next protagonist in the Noxus show, I'm CONVINCED they will pick up that story and show her entire grieving process of Jayce (and her mother) through flash-backs and unseen moments. Hell, we might even learn crazy revelations about their relationship! I'm looking forward to these tender moments of them together, to finally close the Mel x Jayce chapter properly (or keep shipping them as an eternal angst ship, separated by dead).

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Thirdly, she gets a chance to be properly loved. With a whole new show, so many new characters are yet to come. She could get a well fitted partner who will be devoted to loving her. While she is more important than her relationships, she deserves romance. Mel shouldn't be the disposable-black-girlfriend trope or the independent-strong-black-woman-who-we-can't-imagine-being-loved trope. Since she is my queen, I'm sure I will end up loving any new canon ship she end up in (yay, new couple to obsess about!).

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Finally, I'm just SOOO happy that Mel Medarda gets her time to shine after years of not always being treated right. I can't wait to see her new adventures and her character growth. Like, i don't think people understand how she is the key towards the expansion of the Arcane/LoL cinematic universe. Which I think is ironic because toxic JayVik shippers kept trying to downplay her importance/presence in the story but in the end, Mel gets to thrive and be a main protagonist in the future, while JayVik turned to dust and their story ended there...(don't get me wrong, I love these two, but I hate the way their TOXIC fans treated her). Mel enthusiasts, don't be sad she had a sad end in season 2, there is so much more coming...

Be on the look out! See you soon ~~

[monsters00km]

That post was so perfect and encapsulated everything I’ve been saying as well. People, who think they can’t be homophobic because they are queer, needs to familiarize themselves with the words “internalized homophobia/queerphobia” and heteronormative. I’ve seen a bunch of queer men being lesbiphobic and sexist as hell - not just in this fandom but overall. Like that’s a real issue. This also bleeds into the sexism issue we are seeing.

Also see the same people trying to prop up TimeShit because it’s interracial. As if Caitlyn/Vi isn’t, as if Jayce/Mel isnt. And honestly this is common, fans “caring” representation for men of color but dismissing representation for women of color

They cover their homophobia and racism with concerns over “socioeconomic statuses” but defend Jayce over Caitlyn like you said (both in terms of how they treated Zaun and their dynamic with Viktor and Vi).

I agree. It's so fascinating to me to see so many haters of characters of the show.

Mainly bc they did a wonderful job of showing that it was the society around them that shaped them. That's the point of the AU. To show that people are not inherently bad. But some people have no support if that's familiar or societal or both. That can shape you.

And im not saying you have to like/love each character. But in a show that SHOWS you that. It's baffling to love a character like Jayce/viktor/jinx and hate characters like caitlyn/Vi/Mel. Especially the characters that are neither good nor bad.

I understand people that don't like the characters like Silco or Ambessa. Bc Ambessa was not apart of the Au and we don't know why Ambessa was the way she was (in the show). And Silco bc of what he did to Jinx and Vi. As much as they are grey characters they showed up as villians and left the show as villians.

But to love Silco and hate Ambessa. Is ehhhh. Especially since most people just hate Ambessa. Like most people don't talk about how Ambessa parallels Silco and manipulated Caitlyn like Silco did to Jinx. Mainly bc they hate Caitlyn. Which makes their hatred seem to be either sexism or racism.

And yes. The erasure of race by the fans is so disgusting. Like I get liking Ekko and Jinx. But we should not prop that ship up for being biracial when SOOOO many ships in Arcane are biracial.

People who hate Jayce and Mel..... like just say it. If you hate Mel in general. Like??? She follows a character arc that alot of Male heros follow. Its like the fallen prince. A person in position of power who is ambitious but callous. Who throughout the story learns to be compassionate. Goes on a level up journey. Comes back and helps save the day against their parent bc it is the right thing to do.

Just say you hate her bc she black or a woman. Bc if that was a white man you'd love it.

I try not to engage with these people. It is just so frustrating to see.

[lesbianherald]

*vent* Flawed characters deserve love and understanding

- this message is about Jayce and Viktor (I’m tired of the SLANDER /WEEPS)

the slander is on twitter/in spaces you don't need to be in come join us in good vibes city. heeh <3

and of course they do that's so... weird. a lot of people I think are very bitter about jayce and viktor being given such a beautiful and nuanced story at the end (though viktor's arc was ass) when other characters were completely shafted. this is... totally fair.

but they're taking it out on the wrong people and making it a moral purity contest instead of engaging with what they enjoy.

--

side note. this is so tangentially related I'm so sorry but I'm thinking:

i rarely see jayce and viktor slander, but while i was still on twitter i'd see a lot of people being like - I'm this character's biggest defender - this character was justified in xyz because ABC - and I came to realize that moral purity culture that was very prevalent in the mid 2010s has really impacted the way people are able to process and engage with media in a really concerning way. and it causes people to do insane things like use phrases such as "good manipulation" and even defend blockading an oppressed population from accessing your city or even the GASSING OF CITIES LIKE DKSJFHSD

these people genuinely do not want these characters to be seen as flawed or nuanced. they want these characters to be perfect. any discussion of these flaws is "hate." any mention of any wrongdoing is hate. it gets to the point where if you discuss a female characters nuances and flaws you are a misogynist. its. so toxic like KDJSFLHDKLFj

i got that a lot when talking about jayce's corruption arc in season 1. (not the misogyny but the other stuff) all the sudden I hated this character that I literally loved so much and rotated around in my brain like a juicy rotisserie chicken at the grocery store 24/7 because I didn't think his actions were good or justified in season 1 like. Is that not the whole point? That he fucks up? And now must live with his mistakes? sorry I hope you don't view this as jayce hate when you were sad about it before its just interesting. Dsfkjld The marvelification of our fandoms is rotting our brains.

Also, people treat fictional characters like STANS, not FANS. Another huge reason I hate twitter. I'm sorry. This is such a tangent. You are so right. But I'm here on this tangent so I'm staying with it.

it makes me so sad and concerned as someone who wants to write my own stuff and put it out into the world. people can't engage with nuance anymore. People hate on fictional characters as a way to dig on the people in their shared community instead of exploring fictional characters for their nuances or critiquing flawed writing

This really doesn't help when the writing becomes fucky. Really hard for me to take Viktor criticism seriously when his storyline was so fucked. Really hard for me to take defenses of Caitlyn so seriously when they went so hard making her do so much evil of her own fruition without bothering to give her a meaningful redemption arc. And instead of blaming the shit writing, people just yell at each other lol.

[lesbicosmos-writes]

i have 7 wips yet i wrote an entirely new fic woah what a surprise

anyway, my first arcane fic!!

pairing: jayce & viktor (can be read as platonic or romantic but there are hints at viktor having feelings)

rating: G

summary: Viktor was so used to people either just ignoring him or treating him like he constantly needed help. They never asked if he needed it, and it always felt condescending, as if just because his leg didn’t work properly, he couldn’t navigate life on his own – despite the fact he had literally fought his way out of the undercity and into the academy alone. But then there was Jayce, who on top of being a brilliant mind and a sweet person, treated his disability with genuine care, and asked if he needed help, and knew he was more than capable of so many things but just needed a little extra hand sometimes. Viktor loved him.

notes: since it's my first thing for the fandom, pls lmk if anything seems ooc i always wanna try and get these as in character as possible 😭

on ao3!!

oh but you're good to me, baby

No one had ever loved Viktor like Jayce Talis did.

From the day they met, there had always been a strange sort of spark between them, a companionship and an understanding despite the differences in both of their lives. Obviously, it wasn’t always understanding – sometimes Jayce would make unintentionally ignorant comments about the Undercity and its people that Viktor would have to educate him on, and quite often Viktor would intentionally insult Pilties and Jayce would…mostly agree with him, actually. He wouldn’t outwardly deny most of them even if he didn’t share the same view, anyway; he knew Viktor absolutely had a right to hate them for the conditions he had to grow up in.

Over six years, they’d become such close partners that it was rare that one would be seen without the other – except on the occasion Jayce had to give a speech to the council, or attend one of their fancy galas. Jayce was Piltover’s golden boy, and while both he and Viktor were angry that Viktor rarely got any credit for his work on Hextech, Viktor didn’t exactly want the level of attention Jayce seemed to be constantly getting. He wanted to be remembered for his work, not praised like some sort of god. He could tell Jayce felt the same – he didn’t particularly enjoy being the centre of attention, but he could cope with it better than Viktor. He always was the more outwardly social of the two.

With the way Jayce was constantly celebrated and showered with attention, it was nice to have days like the one they were currently having – both in their lab, working on their current Hextech project, doing what both of them loved most and feeling like they were still just barely graduated students of the academy sneaking around doing experiments Professor Heimerdinger wouldn’t approve of.

Viktor looked up from his desk, and just sat watching Jayce for a few minutes. He was on the opposite side of the lab, standing in front of the chalkboard which was so full of notes that no one except for the two of them would ever be able to decipher what they were referring to. Jayce had one arm folded, the other with his chin in his hand in concentration, mumbling to himself as he tried to figure out an equation.

In his staring, he found himself thinking back to their early days as partners, only a few months after they managed to prove Hextech could actually work. They’d been given permission by the council to continue their studies and experiments, and were given a proper laboratory in the academy in which they could conduct them.

The day they moved into the lab had been stressful; moving books and papers and equipment that had previously been in Jayce’s old workshop – which the Kirammans had kindly been keeping safe for him. The constant moving had put a lot of physical strain on Viktor’s leg, and he all but collapsed into one of the lab benches when they finally made the last journey of boxes.

He’d worn a compression brace on his right leg for as long as he could remember. He rarely bothered to take it off unless he was showering, or it needed to be cleaned. Since it was under his trousers, he didn’t have to bother taking it off before bed every night. And it was usually comfortable enough.

It did tend to become irritating when he’d been on his feet for a while, though. It became sweaty and overwhelming and by that point, he’d rather take the pain.

He leaned down to lift up the leg of his trousers to take the brace off, but immediately winced as he leaned forwards, pain now spiking in his lower back. He had the cane, which definitely helped, but even with it, he often still got pretty severe back pain due to his uneven walking. He couldn’t escape. He hated that it was something he was used to.

“Do you want a hand with that?” Jayce asked, putting down the scissors he was using to cut open one of the boxes and walking over to him.

“No, no, I can manage,” Viktor replied, a little too harshly.

He was too used to people thinking he was broken and couldn’t do simple things.

“I know you can, V,” Jayce said, not offended or surprised by his tone in the slightest, “but it’s hurting your back.”

“It’s not,” Viktor insisted.

“I could hear you wincing from over there. I can help if you want.”

Viktor gave in, leaning back on the bench and giving his back a little relief.

“Thank you,” Viktor sighed.

Jayce knelt on the ground next to him, lifting his trouser leg up and gently pulling the brace down his leg. Viktor didn’t think they’d ever been so physically close before, but he couldn’t say he minded it.

“You didn’t have to do all of that heavy lifting, you know? I could’ve done it,” Jayce said.

“I would have felt useless if I was just sitting around here all day.”

“You aren’t useless,” Jayce reassured.

“I know. I was fine, though. I’m very used to feeling like this at the end of the day, Jayce. It’s kind of what comes with chronic pain.”

“If you’re sure. Obviously I know you know your limits better than I do.”

“I am. Believe me, moving helps sometimes.”

“Okay. I’m always here if you need a hand though, yeah? You just gotta ask.”

“Thank you.”

Viktor was so used to people just ignoring him; and if they did acknowledge him they usually seemed intent on helping, though they didn’t ask if he needed it. He’d been approached by strangers while out in public who put their arm around him to try and stabilise him when his limp was more pronounced, and he was leaning on his cane more than usual. He knew at heart they were just trying to help, but it always felt condescending, as if just because his leg didn’t work properly, he couldn’t navigate life on his own – despite the fact he had literally fought his way out of the undercity and into the academy alone. To have someone like Jayce who genuinely cared, who wanted to help, who asked if he needed it and only gave it if he did, made his heart warm. He was very glad the man wasn’t exiled from Piltover those few months ago.

“Do you have to do this every night?” Jayce asked, handing the elasticated fabric back to Viktor.

“I don’t take it off to sleep often. It’s not the most uncomfortable thing in the world, it’s just…getting itchy right now.”

“I didn’t even realise you were meant to keep it on for so long.”

“I only really need it on when I’m putting pressure on it, it’s not like it’s on there to help it heal or anything. I wish it could do that. But, it’s effort to take it off so I usually just don’t, unless it’s really necessary, like washing.”

“Well if you ever want me to do this again, just say, yeah? Your room’s right next to mine, it really won’t be a big deal. I’ll always help you. Only if you want it, of course.”

That was the other part of the deal they struck with the council – while Jayce’s place at the Academy had not been reinstated, he had been given a room there next door to Viktor’s in order to be closer to their lab rather than several blocks away.

After that day, it became almost a routine. Viktor still didn’t take the brace off all the time, but he did so more often, and Jayce would help him if it was getting uncomfortable. At first it started as something that only really happened if the pain in Viktor’s back was bad, but then it became a sort of ritual and Jayce was always the one who did it – even when the pain started getting somehow worse a year or so later and he had to switch from the compression brace to a structured metal one that he had to wear over his trousers and take off every night. It was more complex to operate than what was previously an extravagant sock, but Jayce did it anyway. And it was never out of obligation, or because he thought Viktor couldn’t, or because he got some strange selfish sense of charity from doing so, but because Jayce genuinely cared and wanted to.

It also never felt like a big thing; it was never the topic of conversation during their nightly routine, it just became what they did every night. They would talk about other things, whether recounting the findings of the day in terms of their experiments or gossiping about other students at the academy they had met on occasion, or recalling childhood memories. Viktor showed him the toy boat he’d built when he was a child and kept in a drawer ever since, and Jayce was enamoured by the mechanics of it. Viktor could also tell he was intrigued by the engineering of the brace itself, albeit fairly simple in comparison to the technology they were working on – ever the scientist, was Jayce Talis.

After Jayce had finished figuring out his equation on the chalkboard – and loudly cheered when he finally worked it out, since he’d been trying for a few days now – the two of them decided to turn in for the night. It was getting late, and Jayce had to go and update Councillor Medarda and Professor Heimerdinger about their current progress early the next day.

So, they headed out of the lab, saying goodnight to Sky – a girl Viktor had known when he was a child who had become their assistant a few years prior – before heading towards Viktor’s room.

As usual, Jayce sat on the chair at the foot of the bed while Viktor sat on the edge, and Jayce leaned down to undo the buckles on the back of Viktor’s leg and slide the brace off his foot. It was always so strangely intimate, but neither of them had ever really brought it up. They’d become such close friends over the last six years, it was almost as though they’d known each other all their lives, so nothing was weird or too much for either of them. By now, he wouldn’t have it any other way. There was no Hextech without both him and Jayce. There was no Viktor without Jayce, anymore.

He'd been so supportive over the last few years, since Viktor’s mobility started to decline even further. He’d been there when Viktor needed him physically, to hold on to while they walked through the street, but more than that, he’d been there to give Viktor a distraction. They’d achieved their best progress in their science when they were intently focused to stop Viktor from spiralling about everything his condition meant he couldn’t do. Jayce was always there to remind him what he could – that his mind, even when not paired with his partner’s, was utterly brilliant.

“I’ll probably head back to the lab pretty early tomorrow,” Viktor said as Jayce stood the brace up against the bedside table, next to his crutch. “So good luck with the Professor and Councillor Medarda.”

“Thanks. I’m sure it’ll all go great, though. We’re making good development with it.”

“Well that’s definitely good, Mr. Man of Progress,” Viktor teased.

“Shut up. ‘Night, V.”

“Goodnight, Jayce.”

With that, Jayce left the room and closed the door behind him.

Viktor stayed still for a while, just listening. He heard Jayce’s footsteps moving away from his bedroom door, but he was definitely heading back towards the lab, not towards his own room. His guess was confirmed when he heard mumbling. One voice was definitely Jayce, the other Sky. Then, he heard Sky’s lighter footsteps pass his door in the opposite direction.

Jayce had been heading back to the lab late at night often lately, and Viktor knew he was working on something in secret, but every time Viktor had brought it up, Jayce denied it, claiming he was only going back to tidy up before going to bed himself.

Viktor had a bad enough sleep schedule himself to know that most of the time when Jayce’s footsteps finally retreated back down the corridor, far too much time had passed for him to have just been tidying up.

He supposed he would find out eventually. He had enough trust in Jayce that the reason for him keeping it secret wasn’t malicious, or because he was doing anything against their goal with Hextech. So, he tried to clear his mind, changed into his pyjamas and attempted to sleep.

A month or so later, Viktor was sitting at his desk in the lab, his magnifying goggles on as he analysed a hex crystal that was suspended on a small platform. They had successfully stabilised some, but there were strange behaviours in some of them, as if they had more Arcane energy than others. Before they could put the crystals to use in inventions for the public, they had to ensure they had a way of stabilising all of them. Perhaps it was something in the runic patterns-

Viktor’s thoughts were interrupted when the lab door burst open and Jayce came in, beaming. Victor spun around in his chair to face him.

“Are you alright, Jayce? Did something happen down in the forge?”

“No, I just have a surprise for you,” Jayce replied.

“Really? What is it?”

“You’ll see later.”

He refused to say anything else about it, so Viktor got back to work immediately after relaying his current findings to his partner.

It turned out that later meant when they were heading to bed.

“I’ll meet you in your room!” Jayce shouted across the lab before disappearing out into the corridor, dashing towards the forge.

Viktor chuckled, filing away his report with the rest of them, and then headed over to Sky’s desk. She seemed to be poorly masking a giggle.

“Goodnight, Sky,” he said.

“’Night, Viktor. Hope you enjoy whatever it is Jayce has for you,” she smiled.

Viktor nodded and left the lab. It was clear that Sky suspected there was something more going on between him and Jayce, and if Viktor was honest, he didn’t blame her for her assumption. They certainly did act like an old married couple sometimes. And they constantly called each other partners in tones of voices that could easily be implying something more than lab partners. And then there was the whole Jayce going to Viktor’s room every night thing, and wow, did everyone around them think they were together? Funnily enough, Viktor didn’t really think he minded what they thought. Technically they were wrong, but it wasn’t like Viktor himself hadn’t entertained the possibility several times over the years. He simply assumed Jayce wasn’t into men. Which was fine.

Viktor sat himself down on the edge of his bed, awkwardly waiting for Jayce to return. In the meantime, he reached behind himself to unclasp his back brace and remove it, placing it beside his bed. He hated that he had to practically hold himself together with metal and plastic, all because his leg didn’t form correctly in the womb. What would he be doing if he didn’t have his condition? If he had full physical freedom?

He barely entertained the thought. It didn’t matter because it would never happen, unless Hextech managed to create a miracle. But what was the point in imagining anyway, when he had all he ever really wanted in life right in front of him. He was a scientist, using his mind and his inventions to make a difference in people’s lives, even if the effects weren’t totally evident yet in the people he wanted to help the most. And he had a partner he could never even have created in a dream – a man who shared his passions for science and invention and magic and supporting those who needed it.

He hated what he didn’t have, but was more than pleased with what he’d done with what he did.

At that moment, Jayce entered his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

“So, I may have been working on something,” he said, before turning to face Viktor and holding something out to him.

Viktor’s eyes widened as he realised what was in Jayce’s hands – a new leg brace.

“Jayce, what is this?”

“The project I’ve been working on! Sorry I didn’t tell you about it, I wanted it to be a surprise. The brace you’ve got now has got all those confusing buckles and shit, and you’ve told me enough times how uncomfortable it can get. I don’t know how you’re meant to deal with all that on your own when you’re already struggling, but I think I figured it out!”

Jayce reached out, flipping the brace over in Viktor’s hands, revealing something in the centre of it – a bright blue glowing vaguely spherical shape.

“A hexcrystal?”

“Yeah, I know we said we were gonna properly brainstorm ideas for them soon, but I hope you don’t mind I did this one. All you have to do to take it off is take the crystal out! It unclasps itself.”

Jayce demonstrated, plucking the crystal from its mini cage within the structure of the brace, and it instantly opened.

“Wanna try it out? It might need a few tweaks, obviously I’m not the best person to try it out.”

“Of course.”

Jayce smiles, kneeling down beside Viktor to unclasp and take off the old brace, replacing it with the new Hextech-imbued one.

“How’s that?” Jayce asked.

Viktor grabbed his crutch from beside his bed and stood up, pacing around the room a few times. He looked over at Jayce, who was staring expectantly in the same way he always did when they tested out something they both really hoped would work.

“So?”

“I think it’s better than the old one! It’s helping my leg but also, I can barely feel that it’s there,” Viktor noted, looking down at his leg to admire the craftsmanship.

“That’s another one of the features! The brace itself sooths the skin where it sits, so it shouldn’t get as uncomfortable for long-term wear,” Jayce explained.

Viktor looked up at him, a grin growing on his face.

“You, Jayce Talis, are a genius.”

He moved the few steps across the room it took to reach Jayce, and pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you,” he said, practically into Jayce’s shoulder due to their height difference.

“No problem,” Jayce replied, seeming relieved that Viktor liked it. Then he inhaled a little in a panic. “But I don’t want you to think I did this because I don’t wanna help you anymore, it’s not a burden or anything, I just know you don’t particularly like asking for help and it would just make life easier for you and-”

Viktor pulled away from the hug, regaining his balance with his crutch.

“Jayce. I know. Even just the fact you’ve done this for me told me that.”

Jayce smiled. The two of them headed back over to the bed, and Viktor reached down to test the release mechanism. It worked immediately, practically falling off his leg. He laughed a little at the ease of it all, lifting the brace up to really take a look at the details. There was a little cog engraved into the side of it – not unlike the one that had been the first thing touched by Hextech when they first got it working.

“Sentimental bastard,” Viktor chuckled.

“I thought it was fitting,” Jayce replied.

“Seriously though, Jayce, do you know how good this will be for people in the undercity? If we could adapt it, for different injuries and conditions, this could be huge!”

“Well, I have started some concepts for a spinal brace version, it shouldn’t be too difficult,” Jayce said.

“You are brilliant.”

“I guess now we just have to concentrate on fully stabilising every crystal that gets made, this is one of the only ones we’ve perfected so far.”

“We’ll get there. I think we’re getting close with that one.”

Their entire goal with Hextech had always been to improve lives, and if there was one thing Jayce Talis had proven he could do, it was just that. Not only was the entire city progressing because of Hextech’s work, Viktor was a living example of Jayce’s talent specifically – he certainly felt more fulfilled than he ever had before meeting Jayce, despite his declining health. He had someone who cared for him, he had a purpose, he was loved. And it made him feel so alive.

[low-budget-korra]

My comments on Arcane s01

-Vi is the sister I wish I had, fr. And as an lesbian older sister myself, it wasn't hard for me to connect with her from the very first episode.And now that I've watched the show, I don't understand how some people blame her for wherever she did to Jinx. Yeah, Jinx was just a kid but guess what, so was Vi. Jinx lost everything? So has Vi.

"but Violet abandoned Powder" No! She was protecting her lil sister. And she just saw her sister murder their entire family, how y'all think she feels? And she was about to save Powder before she was kidnapped.

And the fact that she manages to be so soft and good besides everything she went through... Vi is THE exception.

-Powder/Jinx was just a kid and all but damn. Vi forgives it all she has done, and in the one time Vi needs her forgiveness, she's so quick to hate her for good. Did she really realize what she had done?

Well, now I see why some people compared her to Azula. The difference is that Azula never had anything like Vander or Vi, Jinx had that and still went nuts. And also, Azula never goes for the murder, not really when it was expected (like when she was betrayed by Mai and Ty Lee). While Jinx would give 2 shits about kill people for funzies.

Yes, I feel sympathy for her, just as much as I feel anger towards her. She is a complex character that's for sure. And mentally ill

And my hate for her is mostly for the way she treats Vi honestly

Anyway, there's this joke on Brazilian fandom that Jinx is homophobic and that's why she can't stand Caitlyn and can't stand seeing her with Vi, and I think it's honestly hilarious

-CaitVi is a wonderful ship. Nothing against the explicit and big gestures such as kissing and all but damn, I missed the subtlety. The minor and meaningful touches, the gazes...it reminded me so much of Korrasami

-I loved Jayce and Caitlyn's relationship. When united, gays and lesbians are strong.

And I still don't get why people keep pretending Caitlyn actions on s2(as far as I saw in the trailers) aren't justified. Her mom was murdered by the people she tried to help, if it was me, I would also raise hell upon them. Anyway, let's talk about s1 Caitlyn and she is just so adorable.

She really wanted to make a difference, to help. She got out of her bubble and got a taste of the real world, and I bet it hurt. She just wanted to help and to do what's right but she paid the high price and has all the right to me mad at s2

And from the way she flinched at Jinx during the "dinner" scene, at bet the hours she spent under Jinx mercy weren't nice

-Im sorry, I didn't care much about the hextec plot. I know it's important and it's what makes the character on the road but their inner struggles and their subplots are far better to watch.

The only interesting part of them was Jayce cuz he is such an interesting character. For the way I've seen people talk about them, I thought he was gonna be the worst but no. You can see he struggles with some decisions. He ain't bad, he just does bad decisions

-Ekko is such a G man. If something happens to him in s2, I will riot. I like how he is the exact opposite of Jinx.

Ekko also lost everything and everyone, but instead of Jinx, he turned his pain into something good, into helping others the way Vander and Benzo helped him and the other kids.

I wasn't expecting him to be friends with Heimerdinger but I love that for him

-Lets talk about something serious, Jinx was right in her anger towards the upper class but blowing things up was not the answer. Vander knew and saw things how it was, making deals is better than having innocent blood in the streets.In fact, I saw a lot of simplified comments about the politics and social aspects of Arcane and now that I've watched the show I see how damn immature and naive a lot of them are.

Do not get me wrong, we should rebel every time we need and violence is a part of that. No revolution happened without it. But we should be wise about the battles we pick.

Let's look at Caitlyn for example, she is born rich and a good person. It's naive to expect someone born with everything and disconnected with the lower class problems and needs, to all of sudden be an ally to social causes. Born rich and privileged doesn't necessarily mean you are born a bad person, just as much as born poor doesn't automatically make you a good person.

Now, do you think Caitlyn deserved to lose her mother like that? Do you think she deserves what Jinx did to her just because she was from Piltover? That's when you lose potential allies and gain strong enemiesIt's not that simple. Social problems such as class differences, poverty, violence...it's not something that you can fix that easily. Oh man, I wish it was but it ain't.

With all that said, Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Ekko, Vander...none of them are evil and most of their actions (if not all of them) have a solid reason behind it, but this doesn't mean they were the best thing to do.

-Fuck you Silco. He is what happens when you put a "wherever it cost" mentality, cuz sometimes the cost is high. Too high. Also, he doesn't want justice or revenge, he wants power

-The animation and sound design is a masterpiece too. And the fight choreography? Damn shit was fire

[gachagon]

Also on the topic of Caitlyn Kiramman she's really not any worse than any of the men who do equally as abhorrent things in the show, but for some reason none of the men who are also responsible for the direct degradation of Zaun ever get the same amount of hate lambasted at them that she does.

And I know they don't because whenever I go into their tags on any website whether it be here, twt, reddit, or tiktok there's always some disclaimer like "I liked her but I DEFINITELY don't agree with her actions!!" or "I don't really like her, but-" even if the post is positive. It's gotten to the point where I can't even enjoy CaitVi fanart anymore because I check the comments and it'll be a warzone of people just angry at this fictional woman for whatever reason. Mind you, the show Arcane is filled with a lot of horrible men who do equally horrible things.

Whenever you point out the inequality of how people treat Caitlyn vs Any Man in the show who has done anything bad ever, they just deflect and go "B-but we don't hate her because she's a WOMAN it's because she's a dirty fascist pig!!!"

And I can't stress this enough, but hiding your misogyny behind your very real dislike of actual established threats in the REAL WORLD does not absolve you of criticism and honestly do you think people are stupid or something, and cannot see that you are just using that as a way to defend said misogyny?

No one is ever like "I dislike Silco because his actions are too reminiscent of Richard Nixon and how he flooded crack into black neighborhoods" or "I dislike Viktor because his stance on remaking the world is too reminiscent of real fascists who believed in eugenics and 'curing' people of things that were 'wrong' about them."

No, because they're men so the fandom treats any horrible thing they do with nuance. But when it comes to Caitlyn, none of her actions are ever treated with nuance. Even in the scene that everyone points to as her lowest moment, when she decides to gas Zaun, it wasn't just HER DECISION ALONE.

There were literally 4 other people in the same room as her who all decided gassing the Undercity was the right choice, and yet whenever people talk about why they dislike Caitlyn they go "Because SHE gassed the Undercity" as if it was some decision that only Caitlyn came up with. Mind you, Ambessa was right there and wanted to actually just go in and siege the place which was a way worse idea, which lead to Mel asking for an alternative way of catching Jinx because she didn't want to give Ambessa more control and also potentially kill a bunch of innocent people for no reason and honestly people should just go back and rewatch the scene because I really feel like a lot of people misremember what actually happened.

All that aside, was gassing the Undercity a terrible plan or an awful thing to do? Yes, obviously. But I really feel like the whole point is that the fandom can never just leave it at that, and they have to drag Caitlyn through the mud and hell because her losing everything in the narrative (her mother, her station in life, her job, he sanity-) is not punishment enough.

Whenever a woman does a bad thing in any media, the audience expects her to not only be punished but punished in a way that is rewarding or feels good because a lot of people have a general dislike towards women even if they themselves aren't aware of this.

Viktor turning everyone into statues, creating a cult, and falling headfirst into full on magical eugenics was also super bad, but I never actually see anyone point out how it was bad online in a critical way. In fact, even when people do point out how what Viktor was doing was "technically eugenics" it's always with nuance and a reminder of why he's like that and what lead him there, almost as if people can understand why a MAN would do a bad thing even though most of the time he does good things.

Jayce is apart of the council and also is the creator of Hextech which has a terrible impact on the environment, and he also was literally redirecting what was essentially toxic nuclear waste towards the Undercity which in turn lead to Ekko's tree dying, but does anyone at all ever bring that up or claims Jayce is a terrible person for it, or compares him to actual war criminals? No they don't, because he is a man and fandom is able to understand when men do bad things even though they sometimes do good things.

Silco flooded a horribly addictive drug throughout the Undercity knowing that it destroys people's lives, and profited from it for years and didn't care at all that it was harming the people he claimed to care about most. In Season 1 Ekko literally tells Vi that "Silco's goons have been hurting Firefly's" you know, the only legitimate HELPERS in the entire Undercity that's not being lead by a man who is morally grey? But all of Silco's actions are "understandable" as well to people in this fandom because again, he's a man and fandom is able to treat any terrible thing men do with nuance.

All this to say, people do not treat Caitlyn's misdeeds with the same level of nuance or care. It's always just "I don't like her bc she's a cop" and then they just leave it at that, and never unpack their blatant misogyny towards the only other openly gay woman in the show, all the while they hype up some other character who's equally as awful and morally grey (Ambessa, Mel, Sevika even...)

Man it almost makes you wonder what Caitlyn and Vi both have in common that separates them from the rest of the incredibly morally grey women? oh well, i guess we'll just never know.

[colorfulwastelandvoid]

It’s late at night and saw this and now I’m irritated all over again😭. This seems to be a common talking point about Mel and all 5 of her fans, so let’s get into it. While I absolutely do think that a FEW Mel fans throw around the words misogynist and racist too willy-nilly, most do not.I chalk this behavior of the “dismissal” of Mel’s wrongdoing to the fact that it is all a certain demographic has been talking about for 3 Years! Mel’s fans are just tired having the same convo over and over again for years! Quite frankly the manipulation was never the point of her character so it’s irritating to harp on such a small part of her that she quickly grew from.

Let’s get into the mysignoir of it all. Black fems who point out the violent way yall act toward Mel are not pulling this out of thin air. It’s from experience. The fandom has been hypercritical of Mel since jump a lot yall somehow came into the show deciding not to like or meaningfully engage with her character. Oh! By the way saying she’s hot or you want to bang her is not meaningful engagement of her character, you troglodytes. I can go on and on about how you see the dumb jokes about “oh I ship JayVik cause Mel is for me” or “ I treat her so much better than Jayce could” then you go on their page and except for a few pics (usually in a non-cannon ship) they don’t engage with Mel at all as a character. Heck most time there is nothing there at all about her! The fandom either fetishized or villainized her. The same people talking about progression and what not, shut down black fems whenever we pointed out the bigotry in the fandom. It’s always listen to black women until it’s time to actually listen. Crazy thing is Mel could have been perfect and the fandom would still tear her apart for being perfect, hell some of them are calling her a Mary Sue now. It’s like there is no where to go as a Mel fan.

Let’s for a second get into what the tweet said. She used Vik and Jayce for Hextech. That has been said since season 1 and the ending of season 2 certainly didn’t help… or did it?Whenever someone brings this up, I ask what in particular did she use them for? Here comes the mischaracterization, you point that out and either one of two things will happen. One they’ll double down and say that you are removing all the “complexities”of Mel and will no longer engage with you. You say that you aren’t but are putting her actions into context. They don’t care and will either run off or start swinging in your comments. Two they will concede that she really didn’t need them for anything but still used them and saw them as investments. You say that’s fair but point out what an investment means to Mel is different to what an investment means to them. That’s why I hate the fandom reaction to the “argument”. She didn’t double down she explained. An investment to Mel, is like a parent or mentor invest in a kid. A kid could show great talent in helping people so the parent starts putting them math and science tutors or sending them to bio camp. Not because they hope to get something in return (I hope some parents are bad) but because they love and believe in their child’s ability. Mel loves Jayce and respected Viktor and believes in their ability to do good. Hence why she said you were the wise investment. She literally listed the positive attributes about Jayce. It’s also why he apologized. This notion that whenever someone puts Mel’s actions into context we are disregarding her complexities is such a dishonest take and is why some of her fans are hostile to any critique. i’m not saying it’s right I am saying if we don’t acknowledge why we’ll never be able to get past it. I mean here are few things I noticed when discussing Mel online. These are the non racist one btw.

You want to talk about how all she wanted was to be accepted. SIKE! Someone is gonna bring up the fact that she was the richest person in Piltover and disregard your statement about her. Want to talk about how Jayce isn’t that naive and him and Mel was just genuinely agreeing to stuff for most of season 1. Ha! Here comes the jezebel stereotype to try to prove you wrong! Bring up the fact that Mel genuinely believed in Jayce from the start and wanted to help(yes she had her own reasons, none nefarious though). Lmao! She actually just wanted more money and power, apparently! Bring up the fact that because of Jayce, Mel started to become the dreamer she once was and because of Mel, Jayce got to have autonomy over his own invention and how huge that was for both characters! SIKE again! It is a parallel to Viktor, somehow.

This post is already long, thanks for reading it. The last thing I’m gonna say about the dismissal of Mel’s flaw critique. It’s not true. Most of the fandom won’t let it go. Go to a JayVik post and asks about Mel, that’s all you will see and hear is critiques and mischaracterization. Stop bothering Mel fans if you are not going to meaningfully engage.

To the Mel fans throwing racist& misogyny around a little too loosely, STOP! You are not helping.

That is all for…now.

[iminaworldofpureimagination]

man the arcane fandom really be saying will accept problematic straight couples.. Note Jinx killed Ekkos friends/ and nearly Ekko/herself in season 1 ah cute as ep 7 was its not canon to ekko/jinx in the final at all.. she still killed his friends still tried to kill him and he moves pass this. Then there's the ... Problmatic gay ship.. in season 1 we see jayce ends up ignoring viktor so thats great and they have a rift with how jace treats the undercity and viktor being from the undercity ends up not trusting him over the blockade. as for caitlyn killing people lets also bring up that Viktor def killed people with his grand evolution plan/ Jayce sorta kills Viktor? kinda.. Its a bit weird.. and agian Jinx killing Ekkos Friends.. so every ship is problematic with a character who has done terrible terrible things and only the lesbian one deserves to get shat on? jinx /vik have a body count and only caitlyn gets called hitler/a mass killer/ irredeenable. and she's also asian not white btw as her haters keep insisting.. intersting how that works how one ship gets treated like dirty . when jinx/viktor both ended up having blood on their hands who kidnapped caitlyn/killed her mom left with her so much trauma but none of the haters care about that because caitlyn isn't a perfect vicitm she's rich privllaged/formally naive.. she can't be a victim.. all her crimes are unforgiveable .. while jinx killing people/helping silco with his drugs is fine cause she has truauma.. but one character trauma matters less than the others for some reason. . and this is coming from someone who likes Ambessa who has a childs blood on her hands.. I dont hate any of the characters i acutally like all the ships.. but the whole double standards is maddening.. accepting jinx/vik having killed people is cool but caitlyn doing bad things =evil monster.. seems wild to me. i dont like what any of them have done.. but i dont hate em for it either.. cause i try to understand why they dod what they do.. but it seems that this fall flats when it comes to accepting the one lesbian ship over the problamtic striaght/gay ship.. caitlyn must be viewed as black/white all evil. at this point i think people are disappointed she didnt stay a innocent naive girl from s1. but her downfall was spiralled by Jinx. and ambessa making things worse by attacking the memorial caitlyn wasn't allowed time to grieve and honestly her /jinx are so similar its intersting to think about over the dumb ship wars. ah fandom ship haters always being so judgemental as someone who dabbles in the atla fandom.. the haters always disappoint me as it always boils down to morality politics.. I just can't get onboard its hating police brutality . Vi isn't an innocent about it she was there with caitlyn. denying her her agency is babying a grown woman who was a cop in the original game.. And Jinx herself is responsible for innocent deaths ekkos friends so their ship isn't sunshine/rainbows either ...and again viktor hexgate evolution man basically kills so many people as well and its only the wasian woman getting treated like hitler 2.0. and if you asked me i prob preferred viktor over caitlyn but thats besides the point of the post. im tired of people excusing characters of murder while calling another a murderor its just hypocrtical. jinx wasn't just killing pilities she killed zaunites too.. I dont hate jinx.. but i will call out double standards in this fandom. the song goes I'll never be a saint no way." and it flies right over peoples head,.

[pumpumdemsugah]

You're one of the best accounts I follow here so the fact that you watched Arcane and liked it is pretty cool, since I also love this series (hoping for you to do tons of spans of Arcane content lol)

About Mel, yeah, it's exactly what you said. People genuinely dislike complex characters despite the fact that they claim to love and want more of them. The things get worse when the characters are women, because the audience just seem to accept two types of female characters: the badass girl whose whole character is about how she can fight but she barely has plot importance, not even a personality. Or the waifu. Their only job is to like the main character and if the male character she's in love with is the one that male audience insert more, this waifu character is treated like the best women ever.

Regarding to Mel, I think she's also targeted by fujoshis since Jayce likes her and they have a relationship. Viktor/Jayce became a highly popular ship in the fandom. I think it isn't more popular than caitvi simply because a big part of Arcane fans are caitvi shippers and their relationship is a central part of the plot.

When people say they want complex characters they want a broody white man. That's it! God forbid you say...hmm idk because that was my reaction to her. She's clearly smart but like the other elite in the city, out of touch about anything beyond her world. Even before we learn more about her, she's presented in a way where it's obvious she's about the cerebral and connections, her backstory just clarifies she is the way she is because she hates violence and war so depends on everything else to her detriment.

What's crazy is it's very common for political characters to have other motivation but these fuckers were diagnosing her with a personality disorder. I've seen so many male characters that are evil and political from the get go of a story and people don't react like this. They don't need a tragic backstory to guess the person that keeps their cards to their chest has motivations that aren't obvious ?? Hello !

I saw a video going through the traits that make a character strong in Arcane is their weakness and hers was manipulation and not political savvy or even persuasiveness. Sorry but when women are called manipulative it makes my skin itch. I feel like male characters only get that treatment If they're slimy as well and are meant to be pathetic

Similar fictional men get praised for their intelligence and being able to read people when they're obviously devious and manipulative but those are woman descriptions

I've also noticed people don't seem to understand how a story works or what character development is. They want everything all at once. She's not the main character, why would we have her backstory before its plot necessary? It wasn't even that people didn't trust her straight away but the intensity of that distrust because did Jayce not jump all in with back room dealings when he realised he had to ? But is he manipulative for that or simply playing the game for the greater good of his technology?

I even saw someone saying they saw a black fan in bits about her. I really think something is wrong with certain types of black fandom people. The whites didn't like her so you're having a melt down? Get a grip.