#so here you go Jayce

[dragons-art-den]

@jayvik-week day three! Evolve

I think we should let Jayce experience the glorious evolution²

[artlefty]

doodled a comic page and realised if i removed the dialogue i'd accidentally drawn a fucking,,, meme format

[aurieeeeeenyx]

oh yeah also jayvik are extremely orpheus and eurydice coded i don't make the rules

[marstyler42]

Isn't that worth holding on?

[recent-rose]

yknowwww there is something... deeply uncomfortable about the way mel never speaks directly to viktor in the 'build hextech weapons' scene. she really only speaks to jayce. plenty of people have pointed this out already but like the one scene they actually share a meaningful interaction and she treats him like he's beneath her. all this after jayce has emphasized how important viktor is, that hextech is theirs, together. she unequivocally ices him out, there's no other way to interpret this scene. the way it's shot too - from viktor's perspective, looking up at her, as though to reinforce the same belief in him. like he doesn't even bother expecting respect from her - or anyone from the upper echelon of piltover. he's fully accustomed to being dehumanized by everyone around him at this point. sometimes even by jayce, despite the trust they clearly have in each other.

then of course after this scene is viktor experimenting on himself. it's pretty clear that he has internalized his own dehumanization. crazy.

[sukibenders]

I'm a JayVik fan, I'm a MelJay fan, and I'm a MelJayVik fan (as well as a fan of all these characters), full disclosure, but it's really annoying how people in this fandom still only use Mel and Jay as props for Viktor, whilst ignoring who they are as characters outside of him. This is especially prevalent in shipping spaces where people will frame MelJay as being boring (they aren't, many people just can't get over themselves enough to see the value between them), to the point where you can hardly find things in their tag without it resorting back to Vik, over JayVik, but then, in turn, hardly add anything of equal value to Jay in JayVik regards, it's all about Viktor or how Jayce needs to make amends and grovel, but nothing of value besides making him the punching bag---something a lot of people in this fandom do (not saying all JayVik shippers do this, just to clarify). Like it's also very telling with the fact that you have two nuanced poc/poc coded (in Jayce's regards) characters, but can't/won't give them equal time of day as their white counterpart unless it's to elevate said counterpart (this is also prevalent in MelJayVik where some still completely push out Mel and make Jay oc just to focus on Viktor, yall are not slick). And this isn't me saying that you can't enjoy either of these ships or characters, nor dislike them, but it doesn't take much to see the flaws (and thinly coded forms of racism and misogynoir) that also play a role in this fandom. It's so frustrating to see.

[brain-depositary]

Okay I've been seeing a lot of people talking about Viktor's characterization as a loner on this website and I don't think most people are getting it quite right. I see posts talking about assumptions of intelligent characters as being unemotional loners and about how he was so isolated because he was disabled and like. People are missing what to me is obvious.

The main reason why Viktor is such a loner is this asshole:

In season 1, before the opening theme, we get shorts of formative experiences in the main character's childhoods. If the main reason for Viktor being a loner was because he was bullied or at least excluded from playing with other kids, that would have been really easy to show. It's not like Arcane shies away from kids being mean to other kids -- look at what happened to Powder! But there's really none of that going on. He's playing away from the other kids but when he makes eye contact with Sky they seem more curious about each other than anything else. He might have been excluded but it's implied that this is not a permanent state.

But, instead of going to play with the other kids, he meets Doctor Corin Reveck and his seeming pet, Rio. Upon their first meeting, Reveck specifically flatters Viktor a lot, telling him that the reason he's alone is because he's smart, and lets him help caring for the cool exotic pet. For a little kid, this seems like a great deal... until it isn't. The pet is being cared for to be tortured, and Viktor realizes that he's only extending the creature's suffering, and he was taken advantage of to create this state of affairs.

Specifically, this creates the link in his mind that positive attention leads to being exploited. Not only does his disability lead to him being excluded, but things about that may lead him to inclusion only lead to bad things for him, too. Not only is he physically vulnerable, but his talents are also a vulnerability. This creates a lose/lose situation socially, so why participate at all?

And because this exploitation is such a normalized idea of what relationships are like for him, he keeps going back to Reveck, and allows himself to continue to be exploited, especially when he's in a vulnerable state -- he's just reverting to what he knows from childhood, that the good parts of him are a resource to be used. That's the obsession with legacy, yet at the same time he can't let himself be known to the public. Positive attention has been poisoned for him. He desperately wants it but doesn't know how to get it in a way that won't harm him. Jayce's love is what resolves this in the end.

[arcanegifs]

Upscaled + Edited Arcane Screenshots 1/?

[bean-spring]

I've seen a lot of people talking about the Jayce/Mel conversation in act 3 and how Jayce is right to have snapped at her because she was manipulating him. Or how he is the most awful man alive for doing so and not asking how she is because she certainly needs someone too. "Mel's manipulative", "Jayce is selfish", etc etc etc.

But people fail to realize that they're two damaged people who have been through life-changing experiences all of a sudden with nobody else to rely on and they handle things differently and, although some of them it is wrong, reacting incoherently is pretty much understandable.

Mel has just realized she's always had this power within her she doesn't know how to control yet. They're choosing her own blood and fate for her, instead, when all she's ever wanted to do is to do it for herself. She unconsciously protected Jayce in the explosion and now she's being blamed for it, too. Now that she finally has the chance to rely on someone she loves and trusts, Jayce is out of it too. And it's messed up and she probably must've felt like shit, to put it plainly. BUT!

I can also see why Jayce would have snapped. Sometimes (and wow, it might sound wild for some of you) people say... Things they don't mean... Or fully believe!!! Jayce has been for god knows how long on his own going through the most traumatic experience of his life and dealing with his lonely, angry, depressing intrusive thoughts. So of course he wants someone to blame. Of course he needs to take out the anger somehow. And it's not okay, don't get me wrong, but I can see why it's Mel. Because after all, it's the easiest thing to do. And after all, they both have used each other (unconsciously. Perhaps on a deeper level and in the very blurry line between work and romance) and I think what Jayce says is true for him at that moment and he is feeling that way, but not really. And they end up making up and coming to terms with their relationship in the end. BUT! (again)

Mel also would have had all the right to snap at him for not giving a single fuck about her. She clearly had gone through her own hell too and he did nothing but attack her. She saved him, even if unconsciously, and now he complains about not saving Viktor too, as if she could control it. He mentions how she used him and Viktor for hextech but... That's her job. And it's not like Jayce wasn't taking benefits from the relationship either. Things got carried away when romance came between them tbh and "they both sort of used each other unconsciously for benefits (aka metaphor for science vs politics)" and "they truly loved and cared for each other" are things that can coexist. And not to mention Jayvik here but yes, even if you ship Jayvik and even if there were parallelisms and Jayce saw Viktor in her, he still loved her. For someone to be so confused and project these feelings there has to be some sort of love there, too, that theory doesn't erase the love they had.

But then again, going full circle, I understand why Jayce would snap at her because emotionally he was feeling like shit and honestly from his POV it's pretty much possible that he could see their situation as Mel being the one to blame at the moment. Even if she isn't and- [going in circles, going in circles...]

So long story short, I highly doubt there are rights and wrongs in this scene. It's just a damaged Jayce snapping at Mel for something he believes is true after going through a traumatic experience and Mel righteously seeking comfort after the same thing.

So if I see another take on this that isn't "they're both so hurt and they hurt each other in some ways and people just tend to act irrationally" I will riot

[machneherald]

“ew are they trying make [insert female character here] and [insert male character that’s in a popular yaoi ship] happen” imagine being so stuck in fanon that women pixels makes you this angry

[mettywiththenotes]

I can't explain it in a way that doesn't make me sound delusional but. I believe in Viktor Jinx interaction part 2 Getting Worse boogaloo

[southern--downpour]

okay first thoughts. i dont HATE the ending i just feel like it needed more time in the season to reach the conclusion it did

[tossball-stick]

everyones freaking out over the brothers thing, but they state that they arent actually related, and the term brother for men youre unrelated to has a long homoerotic history. especially during the victorian period, of which piltover is inspired by. you guys dont need canon reasons to ship things, you can ignore canon thats fine to do. regardless, here is another reason you all can ship the yaoi brothers guilt free: they arent actually brothers, therefor you can ship them.

like seriously guys please for the love of god stop acting like you arent allowed to think differently than the show creators and game writers. there is so much LoL lore that im rewriting for myself because it doesnt matter. you can do whatever you want forever, and also riot doesnt care about the games lore whatsoever. even if there are people working on it with love, riot is just forcing another fucking rewrite of all of it. so who cares

this isnt even to mention the fact that the show itself loves to compare and contrast familial and romantic love; the show loves paralleling vi and jinx (familial) to vander and silco (romantic; also!! they call each other brothers!!!! the show itself uses brother as a homoerotic term of endearment!!! you can too), as well as making vi's two choices be between family and romance, with jinx jealous of caitlynn 'replacing' her. again, we are seeing the emphasis of how familial and romantic love are intertwined with each other. like, ultimately this should be its own post, but im trying to make my point here:

jayvik is purposefully vague about its status om whether its romantic or familial love. you can interpret it however you like, thats no sin. what IS the sin is that riot games (allegedly) has a history of doing this with their characters. there are many more instances of LoL characters that are clearly intended to have gay vibes with others of the same gender, but they cant just outright confirm that. fucking. udyr and lee sin come to mind as blatant examples of this, they have extremely gay vibes and lore and dialogue (they even love to be nebulously fused like jayvik), but have no actual word on their relationship. they could genuinely just be really good bros, or they could be gay! its up to you.

in conclusion, if youre letting this stop you from shipping fictional characters: stop it! get some help! have some creativity of your own and make things up that may seem out of character. thats the point of fandom- have fun with it. if youre scared about something not being canon, i have something i regret to tell you: none of your interpretations of either of these characters is anything close to canon!! nobodys is!! theyre our interpretations, so do whats most fun!!

[dontyoulistentome]

That fight scene between Viktor and Jayce where they've become colour inversions of eachother and stereotypes of their own bodies...better not have awoken anything in them

[quailsprout]

just when i thought jayce couldn't get any more peak he instantly and wholly surrenders to viktor on the rooftop when he realizes he is in the very spot where he is destined to fail. and then mind meld psychosex partners "in every timeline" happens. love wins YIPPEE

[cloudbends]

Anyways I'm a lot less invested in arcane by now that this season is out but I have a couple things to say: in the tags!