#i think there's a possibility they'll make ekko bi by giving him a background boyfriend which would also like

[guiltycorp]

~Arcane!Viktor’s vaguely-queer-moments~ with commentary about how it might just be straight after all to keep myself in check.  Alright, so I might miss something, feel free to add (although this is more for myself tbh, sort of a journal entry). Personally, I didn’t notice like half of this when I was watching for the first time and didn’t really think much about the possibility, however the second time I was quite surprised to notice that there was... eh, quite a bit.  Also, this isn’t meant to cover anything from LoL lore, but it’s nice to remember that as a character he was originally a soviet-coded robotic mad scientist. Idk it’s not a very gay archetype by itself but it IS rather sensual.  Anyway!  1) Saying 'it’s Viktor’ and then continuing to soulfully gaze into Jayce’s eyes for another couple of seconds as his theme swells (’It’s Viktor’, fittingly). 

might just be fanservice for league players who remember old champs, gasp, oh it IS viktor, the machine herald, plus letting the theme’s violin notes hit just right, plus this is the finishing scene before the story gets back to vi... kinda awkward tho??   2) ‘Wait a minute, this isn’t my bedroom’ as the excuse he came up with when Mel came across him and Jayce breaking into Heimerdinger’s lab, clear implication (although Jayce talks at the same time so it might be harder to hear for some viewers).  ...might be a generic excuse for trying to open the wrong door and also too subtle, flew right over most ppl’s heads, however this is probably the most overt viktor line in the show 3) Right after that he throws a sour look at Jayce who’s busy mooning over Mel. 

uhh concern that his new partner would be more interested in a gorgeous corrupt politician rather than in scientific progress? doubtful:) however also subtle, didn’t notice this on 1st watch 4) Doesn’t return Sky’s interest, in fact the first time we see them together he kept on looking at Jayce (who was about to give a speech yeah but also had his back turned to Viktor atm). 

well, this could be for a variety of non-queer reasons... more like an additional detail and in later scenes when he’s busy with hexcore he’s practically ignoring jayce almost the same way he does her, so im not putting it here  5) Viktor bleeding onto Hexcore and passing out while Mel&Jayce have sex (with Viktor’s theme worked into Romance track), in this case i actually prefer a metaphor for the rich and powerful of the world finding both cooperation and pleasure together while the less privileged inevitably suffer and have to turn to less ethical means to survive, but well... The fact that Jayce is having sex with his political partner while his scientific partner is dying is still a bit? Suggestive? These readings aren’t mutually exclusive.  6) “Singed: If you take this path, they will despise you. Love and legacy are the sacrifices we make for progress. It’s why I parted ways with Heimerdinger. Viktor: Jayce will understand.”  idk this seems like a logical answer after the mention of singed’s previous lab partner but still, love.. more a weird choice of words on singed’s part tbh, could be just a generic type of love in a ~friendly colleagues~ way lol 7) no visible nipples under a really high support brace 

might be just stylistic design choices ig, low pectoral muscles.. due to muscle atrophy maybe?   So, like, all of this can be viewed in a different light, I guess? And most overt hints are in Act I.  This is naturally a familiar path for anyone who has experience with fandom and reading into things, impossible to say for sure whether it’s all in our heads or not... Earlier I’d say that it doesn’t even matter! We do have one rly cool queer couple in the show and also perhaps this ambiguity suits that particular storyline, AND more importantly Viktor’s sexuality or gender wouldn’t really add that much to the themes of the show, in my opinion. It’s just really nice for fanart and fic ideas, various additional materials and rediscovering the homoeroticism of cold war metaphors in League lore.  But after that whole thing on Amanda Overton’s twitter (one of the writers for Arcane) with first an implication that any queer-seeming moments are just the results of ‘no stigma against affection between men, friends or family’ followed by a bewildering ‘I’ve faced what felt like identity erasure myself many times. I’ve not given a real-world label to any one of our characters because I sincerely believe it will be more satisfying to learn this as their story unfolds.’ Which um. Reads as ‘wait and see’, essentially, also backed up by a different artist (Evan, although he isn’t working on s2) on the show seemingly for this particular issue (’I super do need people to stop asking us about things that aren't explicitly shown in s1. I get that people want assurances, but it'd be such a massive disservice to spoil any of the moments being cooked up’).  And after that I’ve began to feel a familiar frustration...  Like, this isn’t that big of a question in the story? Like I said, Viktor’s sexuality or gender isn’t super relevant to his character since he already has lots of other narrative-defining traits (risk-taking scientist focused on improvement of life quality & leaving a legacy, comes from zaun, disabled, close to dying), plus if Amanda is to be believed there’s no stigma towards sexuality or gender expression in Runeterra so it wouldn’t be seen as an alienating trait, just a sort of sad one if he had an unexplored (and potentially unrequited) crush on Jayce. Which again, isn’t really needed to drive home the idea that their relationship is slowly falling apart because of a divide in ideologies and personal circumstances. Or rather, it just wouldn’t be a good twist for s2, but it would have been a potentially cool detail to add or imply in s1.  My point is that if the queercoding was intentional why not say so? And if it’s not what’s the big deal in saying ‘nope! it wasn’t intentional! however we can see how it could be viewed that way, best of wishes to the fandom, you’ll get your riot mlm and or trans rep someday, xxx’.  Or, yknow, ignoring the question. Instead homophobic and/or sexist fans took the first part of the answer as an opportunity to gloat that the idea of a queer Viktor is entirely delusional while us losers received familiar bait of ‘maybe it’ll happen in s2!! be on the lookout for bi Jayce trying to seduce robo-Viktor (Even-Bigger-Dick-Now) who fell out of love with Jayce because of hexcore or an undercity flood or whatever’. Argh idk, I’d easily expect such an answer from a riot marketing team! But it’s really kinda sad to see the same sort of vague placation of both sides from a queer writer who pushed forward Vi/Caitlyn whose relationship truly kept me on the edge of my seat the whole show. sigh

#arcane spoilers #viktor #jayvik #i guess? #does fandom tend to disproportionally focus on mlm couples even when wlw are there and canon? #sure #but i actually like the more toxic and dysfunctional fictional relationships #so sue me #oil and water scene didn't even make that much sense #i would LOVE if they have an actual argument in s2 which leads somewhere #preferably not into enforcer Vi land #did i write this only bc i saw ppl say slurs on twitter? #yeah #yeah i did #text #i think there's a possibility they'll make ekko bi by giving him a background boyfriend which would also like #yeah sure #but where's the drama #arcane