calicoJayvik (Jayce/Viktor) has passionate on-screen chemistry and great fan art. but its fandom often sidelines or attacks Mel, Jayce’s canon Black love interest and my favorite Arcane character. Too many Jayvik fans erase or demean her, revealing racist patterns: whitewashing her features, flattening her personality, or treating her as an obstacle. Even in Meljayvik triad art, she’s often reduced to a passive accessory. Fan artists with reach should honor her Blackness (curly hair, full features) not dilute it. Meanwhile, critiques of this racism are ignoring how Black poly women are uniquely stigmatized. Arcane’s class commentary can be sharp, but its fandom mirrors broader fantasy’s racist roots: Tolkien’s legacy, D&D’s tropes, and all the way back to colonial mythmaking.
https://www.tumblr.com/calicochishiki/797675063795204096/racism-in-meljayvik
Griselda Gimpel