#survivor arcane jayce

[cathianemelian]

This is sketchy but I love it that way

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Mel's protection should have saved Viktor too, and she's trying to figure out why it didn't

(Editing to add: see this post for details on the Mel's armor/shield theory)

S2 ep1 shows a circle of protected stone where Mel and Jayce were during the explosion. My theory is that Mel's magic armor activated and saved them both. It seems like it casts a sphere of protection around wherever Mel is.

The center of this circle is not Mel's seat - it's Jayce's. She ran to Jayce to save him.

No other Councilors were in range of Mel's protection, so they all got hurt or killed.

But Viktor was, in Jayce's words, "right next to" him. He was easily within Mel's circle of protection.

1) Viktor tried to run and mistakenly left the circle of protection. But are we meant to believe that Viktor, close to dying already and using a crutch, would have outrun Mel?

2) Viktor's augmented body clashes with Mel's

Why does Mel try to touch Viktor in episode 1? It seems like a throwaway moment, but not even Jayce touches him in this scene. So why Mel?

She's curious. And possibly, feeling responsible. She's wondering why her protection didn't work.

Is this Hexcore brand of the Arcane trying to reach out to Mel? Or trying to defend itself from her?

Mel was trying to protect both Jayce and Viktor, which is reflected in how she holds Jayce as well as Viktor's cane when she promises to protect Hextech:

But if, for example, Mel's magic is Solari in origin, and Viktor's is from the Void - or the Arcane equivalent of similar opposing forces - then it's possible that their magic rejects or hurts one another. So Mel's circle of protection either rejected Viktor, or was what hurt Viktor, and not the explosion.

[aurelion-solar]

the 3 promo posters for Arcane Season 2 can be joined together, with Ekko's trail going across them all, fortiche really are the best!

[sex-tech]

Reunion

[le-fruit-de-la-passion]

Perhaps a Hot Take: I don't have anything against JayVik as a ship, but the amount of people in the fandom who use it as an opportunity to be openly racist and misogynistic towards Mel and Sky, and to feminize/infantilize Viktor as a disabled man make it REALLY hard to enjoy

[ddeeric]

Jayce, promised consort of the machine herald

[yvainart]

now it is my turn to save you, jayce

[last-smoke]

"only you can show me this" ⚙️

[shadowolf188]

They are going to destory your turret <3

Drew these two being cute to celebrate me and my partner's soon to be matching skins <333

[taylaedraws]

Savior x Survivor

[wuekka]

I don't really go here, but...

"love can distort priorities", says Viktor...

Just begging Jayce to join him and I can't believe they did that bedroom line... :'D

Aren't these two modifications of Viktor's lines to Jayce in Arcane?

You sure talk about Jayce and love a lot Viktor.

[cathianemelian]

Sorry but the way Jayce flattens Salo really made me think of...

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Mel has magic armor and chose to save Jayce, but she's keeping it a secret from him

First frame of episode 1: something is glowing gold

The camera is blurry because this is Jayce's POV and he's reeling from the explosion. The camera focuses enough to let us see Jayce's face. He's holding Mel. We see her gold pieces in the same location as the glowing gold parts in the previous frame.

Jayce focuses. He clearly doesn't know how he ended up in this position. He blinks in confusion, then sees Mel.

Mel's back is still to the window. Jinx's rocket literally was going to hit her directly in the back. Jayce is in the wrong place to have put his body between her and the rocket.

We're made to think that Jayce, being a big strong guy, somehow protected Mel from the explosion. But there's nothing a human body can do against a whole entire rocket. How did Mel survive, but also, how did Jayce survive? His survivor's guilt torments him.

Mel is sad for him and tells him simply that it's senseless that one person survives while another person dies or is injured. The quickest way out of needing to provide an explanation is to point out that no explanation is needed.

Jayce probably thinks that he, like the audience is supposed to believe, had a hand in protecting Mel, because he doesn't wonder how Mel survived.

Mel's gold parts were glowing. It's definitely armor. And for SOME REASON, she's not telling Jayce. And I really want to know what that reason is. And I would also really like to know how Mel feels about having had the power to choose one person to save, because I can think of one feeling that's worse than survivor's guilt.

One final piece of proof:

In the Council scene in episode 1, there's a fair amount of emphasis placed on the stone floor, which is mostly destroyed and riddled with cracks. This is to emphasize Salo's wheelchair as well as Piltover and its Council literally crumbling under their feet. However:

In the lower right corner, we see a PERFECT CIRCLE of untouched stone. Even that part of the Council table is intact. Everything else is cracked or destroyed or covered in ash. But not the spot where Mel and Jayce were. Also recall that Fortiche has said that a perfect circle represents the Arcane.

We get a glimpse of it again in episode 3:

The floor is cracked everywhere except in the lower right.

[aurelion-solar]

Arcane x Wild Rift Full Promo Art

[commonrosary]

Inexplicably Bound- 2024

[midnightcatharsis]

Ok, how are we supposed to reconcile This:

(source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5MiWKKkPho) With Jayce murdering him without even talking to him in episode 6?

The show is supposed to be a canon prequel to the game now. And game Jayce clearly still cares about Vik. Furthermore what Jayce says indicates that the game is not set before episode 6 because Viktor still was trying to maintain his humanity and will only try to get rid of it later as a result of Jayce murdering him… Yet despite seeing all those terrible things that made him want to kill Viktor in the show this Jayce still doesn't want to kill him. On the contrary, he wants to save him.

The "first encounter line" clearly shows that Jayce is not hostile or aggressive towards Viktor. He doesn't hate him. He's actually trying to do what he failed to do in episode 6 - he is trying to talk to Vik, reason with him and convince him.

"kill- Viktor" line - again Jayce is not angry or hostile, and again shows that he cares for Vik.

"Viktor? Do I have my partner back?" - Do I have to write anything? He desperately wants him back and believes it can still somehow happen.

Enemy Viktor - "Viktor may not be the man I knew but he's still worth saving" - again Jayce shows how much he cares and that despite having seen all the horrors he still does NOT want to kill Vik but save him. What he says here once again indicates that he still hopes saving Vik is still possible, and that it's worth trying. Edit: He cares so much he's like "Viktor an enemy? I WILL SAVE him even against his will and I will bring his humanity back"

How the **** am I supposed to reconcile this Jayce, Jayce who wants to save Vik, who thinks Vik is still not completely lost, and who thinks Vik is worth the effort and the risk with Jayce from episode 6 who just murders him without even talking to him???

Does that mean Jayce was really controlled by the Void? Or that he will be extremely sorry in act 3 for giving up on Vik? Anyone has any idea how can this even make sense??

Anyway seeing those interactions gave me hope. The yaoi, while still doomed, may not be as doomed as I thought. Like.... at least Jayce clearly is supposed to care, right?