Worried For Everyone Who Still Hasn't Learned How To Pirate Media With The Current State Of Things

"Maybe" 😠

jess drew and aya nakamura side by side

ik jessica's design is based on issa rae but come on. this is literally the same woman

i (foolishly) decided to step out of my little side pocket of the arcane fandom to see what people are saying about mel in regards to jayvik... and bruh. i wasted like... a couple minutes of my life reading a jayvik shipper's long ass take dismissing the misogynoir in the arcane fandom and i just need to rant.

there's nothing wrong with jayvik. there's nothing wrong with YOU if you like jayvik.

but having your head so deep up a ship's ass you don't notice the people around you being anti-black? then pretending like black fans are just making shit up to “spite your ship” or whatever bullshit you believe to make yourself feel better after pointing out the misogynoir that the fandom isn't even trying to hide? it's shit like this that prevents me, and a lot of other black fans from enjoying certain media in general.

and i just wanna say i don't think a lot of people are anti-jayvik because they're "butthurt" or whatever the fuck y'all say. IT'S BECAUSE Y'ALL ARE FUCKING WEIRDDDDDD WHEN IT COMES TO MEL.

ntm a couple days ago i saw a goofy ass Instagram reel saying "y'all couldn't even handle jayvik" nigga WHO? WHO IS Y'ALL? let's be so fr, jayvik is the most popular, well received ship in the whole show. go to the arcane ao3 tag right now and you'll see that shit in the top three up there with timebomb and caitvi (we also need to talk about how common it is for interracial relationships in media and fandoms to only be mainstreamed as long as one of the partners is white... but i digress, i digress.)

we can't handle a fandom doing what it does best; pairing the two men together and shitting on the woman? gtf 😭 this has been happening since the birth of the Internet. Hell, probably even before.

And the real kicker is, you don't HAVE to like Mel. I can understand why some people may not like her, and I'm not gonna sit here and say you have to like her just because she's black. But a lot of people are just regurgitating nasty anti-black talking points to justify their hatred for her instead of ACTUALLY having a valid reason to dislike her character.

mel is a colonizer. i won't deny that in the slightest. but the mass majority of the fandom don't care to dig deeper than the surface level representation she's given. it's always "she manipulated jayce!"/"she called them investments!" nigga go bathe.

i knew as soon as viktor appeared on screen the fandom was finna show they ass over that white man. i just KNEW fujo brain worms would takeover and all logic would go out the window. but trust me. you jayvik niggas aren't oppressed for wanting these men to kiss. y'all aren't even a minority. quit acting like you gotta protect yourself from big bad mel medarda and her stans.

and it's not even ALL jayvik shippers, but it's too damn many. they saw black woman near their fave and immediately decided to lynch her character. i'm saying lynch metaphorically and literally because of that disgusting jayvik serial killer au floating around in mel's tag. i have something to say about that to but i'll make another post. i'm disgusted, not shocked, and disappointed that this behavior is so normalized in fandom spaces.

since arcane season two decided to be more ship driven than narrative driven i feel like a lot of y'all feel... entitled, and people feel like they finally have the opportunity to express their anti-blackness in an environment where they can pull the homophobia and ableism card once you call out the weird shit they're doing.

tl;dr i don't wanna hear a jayvik shipper, nay, a NONBLACK person speak on fandom misogynoir ever again because y'all are just loud and wrong every damn time, and stop acting like black fans are fucking stupid for addressing it.

so two-face # 3 huh

Sevika and Mel inspo

twobatcat is real

the bruharvey/batcat of that hand placement…he’s their baby girl

my thing i haven’t made is so good 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

first gabriel fanart and it’s from a super bowl commercial

kino being "all the sweetness" in ambessa’s heart is so clearly on display in the pages of the book. there is such a distinct difference between the way she regards him internally versus mel. there are a few moments throughout the novel where she looks at him and is taken back to memories of him as a child, and she refers to him as her "sweet little boy" on page 327. when she looks at her daughter, mel doesn’t get any of that tender nostalgia. instead, her mind wanders to rudo at the sight of her tattoos, or she dwells on how mel is "unfit" to be her heir. there are moments that are softer than others (ex. the hugs they share) but, generally, ambessa’s thoughts don’t express the same sort of affection that kino receives. truly, this is the difference between the relationship mothers have with their sons versus their daughters laid plain.

Based on what I've seen from fandom, I think a lot of people misunderstand what it means to call Mel a political manipulator.

It does NOT mean that she's an evil schemer who lies to get people to do things they don't want to do.

What it means is that she knows how to be persuasive, how to get people on her side, and build points of support for her own ends. It means she knows How To Win Friends And Influence People. It means that she knows how to be "the fox" - how to exert influence without needing to resort to force. It means being able to "bend other people's magic".

And she very much is those things. That's how we're introduced to her, she flatters Hoskell so that he votes with her on the council. That's how we see her behave in her flashback in s1.

Mel being manipulative is not a flaw, it's a skill.

And the way that she uses her skills on Jayce is really interesting. Unlike with Hoskell or whoever, Mel is only ever honest with Jayce. I think that shows a certain respect for his intelligence, and also that she had an accurate read on his character: he is a sincere and honest guy - when he's on trial in front of the council he can't bring himself to lie about his work. It's by being utterly honest with him that she gains his trust, she puts herself on his team, and in doing so is able to make the case that their interests are aligned, that by following her advice Jayce will be able to advance his science.

The really fun thing with Mel and Jayce is that Mel is clearly someone who likes to hold all the cards and be in control of the situation. She gets Jayce on the council to better promote her interests. But then Jayce keeps surprising her. And every time he does - she takes a chance on him. Both on the council, and in their personal relationship.

He shakes things up for her, and he doesn't even realize he's doing it. And every time he does something that surprises Mel, whether it's confiding in her about Viktor or reaching a peace deal with Silco, he just automatically trusts her to be on the same page as him. And that surprises her too, but she opens herself to him. And they have this partnership that we don't see her have with anyone else.