#AND MEL (ofc)

[laplaces-angel]

apparently theres a noxus spinoff in the works that involves mel and let me say that if she doesnt appear i will be killing myself,

[arcanegifs]

ARCANE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 2x01 - “Heavy is the Crown”

[magnusbae]

Invite him him over to your place ✔

Get your mum invite him to stay permanently ✔

Fulfill the fates will for you to meet ✔

Gift him the Nectar of Gods (and lie it's from 'everyone') ✔

Curtsy😌 ✔

We're getting him fam, the old fashioned Zagreus style 😏😏😏

[piritos03]

Mel is a bit late to the party

[jaijeijayjei]

I'm starting to realize people perceive Mel with the assumption that she has bad intentions, so that's all they see in her.

The writers have said Mel was written to seem as a one-dimensional manipulator, but in reality she is a multi-layered individual with complex motivations. Rewatching her earlier scenes with that in mind brings her into a completely new light.

(justification for these interpretations under the cut)

"Mel invested in Hextech for power and influence"

Or, she invested in them because she believed in Hextech's potential to change the world for the better?

"Mel pressured Jayce to reveal his new inventions so she can cash in on the profit"

Or, she understands Heimerdinger is stuck in the past and doesn't want him to hinder Jayce's progress?

"Mel sleeps with Jayce to make him more pliable"

Or, she genuinely admires Jayce and sees a way to be free of her family's bloody legacy by working alongside him.

"Mel turns Jayce into a corrupt politician for her own gain"

Or, Mel believes protecting Hextech's interest is more important than trade laws.

"Mel wanted Hextech weapons to make Piltover more powerful"

Or, she only wanted weapons as a last resort and for self-defense.

"Mel will do anything to prove herself to her family"

Or, Mel also wants to prove that ruling with diplomacy is superior to ruling with cold pragmatism and brute force.

Yes there are times Mel acts out of self-interest and a desire for power, but those aren't her only motivations. Mel subverts the "shady corrupt politician" trope, she is not defined by it.

I believe Mel is being genuine in her conversation with Jayce in S1 E5, about wanting to give back to the world. In her argument with Jayce in S2 E8, she explains why she invested in Hextech to begin with. She saw two brilliant scientists, capable of impossible things, rallying the hearts of a nation. Mel believed in Jayce and Viktor's potential to do good. Also, she has shown the wellbeing of Piltover (and in S2, the safety of Zaunites), are more important to her than personal gain.

Jayce specifically went to her for advice, and she gave it. Doesn't this imply Jayce views her as an ally or advisor as well as an investor? He clearly values her opinions.

During Mel's whole childhood, her family and homeland tried to shape her into someone she was not- a cold, pragmatic ruler willing to do anything to maintain power. Her way of ruling was scorned by her mother as "soft spined" and foolish, but with Jayce she found someone who believed in and appreciated her. Plus she was personally affronted when he left her in bed. It's more than likely she acted out of genuine attraction and admiration.

Side note: Jayce has already shown he's alright with breaking the rules for the greater good. He illegally experimented with magic, broke into Heimer's lab, and led an unsanctioned attack. Jayce and Mel are more aligned in this way than he realizes- Mel believes securing Hextech's future is more important than breaking a few trade laws. Jayce was in a vulnerable position, with a target on his back. She could have used that against him, but didn't.

Mel is a pragmatic pacifist, even from childhood. Mel is very much anti-war because she understands how destructive it is, having grown up in Noxus.

Mel's rift from her family is an ideological one- she values leading with diplomacy is disgusted by Noxus' brutality. If she can make Piltover successful, it proves that there are better ways to rule than what Noxus insists upon. Mel has also shown her morals are more important to her than power. She turns down opportunities to elevate her position tremendously by siding with her mother or advocating for an invasion because it goes against her moral compass.

[tankuare]

Jayce Talis your level of game needs to be studied

[melmedarda]

⸻ COUNCILOR SALO (serving unparalleled levels of cunt as per usual), Arcane

[survivalove]

finally muted all viktor’s tags and immediately i felt a tidal wave of peace wash over me

[siriusblackdevotee]

If meljayvik wants a baby, Viktor and Mel would invent mpreg, hexpreg? so they can get Jayce preggo. The end. No I will not be persuaded otherwise.

If hextech can make Viktor a god and Mel being you know, a mage, they can rewire the male biological body

[pup-pee]

he is the dirt under my fingernails

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

finally got back to showing my sister arcane (her fault not mine) and these are her thoughts for episode 4:

she made a face (don't know if it was disgust or concern) at jinx getting close to silco when he was in his chair (i haven't explained that it's just a no-boundaries father-daughter situation yet)

"our most famous protégé, jayce talis" "you fake bitch" (about cassandra)

she did not make any comments about anyone's post-timeskip designs nor did she seem to have any physical reaction

^okay i asked about it hours later: "jayce and viktor pretty much look the same to me" (she apparently did not notice how sunken his cheeks have become) "her hair is way too long, it's a hazard. it's a tripping hazard" (about jinx) "those are a lot of tattoos, some of them look like dirt" (about vi)

she compared the hextech gauntlets to the infinity gauntlet

"that feels targeted, heimerdinger. you know i can't chase after you so you're just gonna waddle your little bitchass away. doggy paddle pretty much" (about heimerdinger leaving after telling jayvik to wait a decade)

she's also not loving heimerdinger's pet thingy...or heimerdinger...

literally went "this ugly bitch" when he first popped up in the start of the episode

we compared cait figuring out what happened at the hexgate attack to william murdoch and her strings and evidence to omitb's murder boards (don't know if the fandoms overlap but-)

"i hope somebody kills him" (about marcus) (who's gonna tell her...)

"what progress? cause the last we saw of him, they exiled him and now i'm giving speeches. i'm that bitch" (after heimerdinger's talk with jayce)

"the only one worth my time, is him. the golden boy" "are you trying to ride the golden boy?" (her joking predictions are spot on)

she was probably one of the only people i've seen that did not think that the pink-haired firelight was vi

"respectfully professor, shut your bitchass up" (speaking for viktor to heimerdinger)

"viktor and i have just the thing" "you and viktor are dating"

"i don't like that powder's going by jinx, i don't like that at all"

ep 1 and 2 thoughts

ep 3 thoughts

ep 5 and 6 thoughts

ep 7 and 8 thoughts

finale thoughts

[mashmoshmoosh]

Trying not to think too hard about Mel missing Elora, Ambessa and Kino before I break everything around me

[arcanegifs]

if we got a caitvi kiss in act 1, with jinx telling vi that she hoped they wouldve made whopee before their “final” battle, then yeah i think theyre the gonna fuck in act 3

[engagemy-others]

"mel's a manipulator" yeah and can you blame her. those two hextech dweebs needed her help.

[sweetpondduckling]

The next arcane-related/LoL shows i would love to see, why, and ranked in the order of which I think are most likely to get made

Because why not

Mel as Noxus leader: She was raised in this culture but it is also radically different than the one she's lived in for about a decade. I would love to see her getting harsher to be able to rule and also find room for mercy and peace where ever she can. Also she needs to fight the Black Rose and it would be amazing to see how she deals with the complicated emotions and sorrows that comes with her mom's death and the role both she and the Black Rose played in that. This seems like the most likely show to happen (it was basically confirmed when we saw she went home and I'd be pretty disappointed if we never got to see what happened after)

CaitVi meeting Jinx again: they leave piltover to fight battles in other distant lands (I know nothing of LoL lore btw) and find jinx living a better life. If this was my show to write, years would have passed at this point, and both jinx and Vi are doing great. Piltover is Vi's home and her and cait are stronger together than ever. Jinx has settled in a new town and isn't causing trouble. This would force Vi to realise that she can't do anything but let jinx go for real (by choice) and trust that she will be okay, even if it is difficult. She can't bring jinx home because piltover isn't jinx's home anymore, and she can't leave piltover behind since that's where her whole life is. They could bond and promise to meet again, but in the end vi would have to choose her own happiness and leave jinx where she can't protect her. I'm not sure how likely this is to happen. I don't think we've seen the last of vi or Jinx, but not sure if they will have separate stories or if this is anywhere near how it would go (probably not)

JayVic starting a new life: don't have many ideas for anything specific, just that they might have survived and teleported to somewhere else. The arcane would have left them, and the story could be about grief and love as Victor might have his disease again, and both of them have lost so much. But if they have a community where they are, then it could also be about the importance of external support and help. For the sake of action ofc, the science bros would have to save people from some great threat and preserve their new lives. Unlikely to happen imo. It felt to me like the show considers them dead even if they could have survived. But one can hope.

Ambessa origin story: personally what I want the most, but probably the least likely to happen. How did Ambessa come to power? who did she fight? how did she become who she was in the show. I wanna see War and fighting and death. Sadly, it's not going to happen. "Blood sweat and tears" was basically an origin story speedrun. But ambessa is my favourite character (maybe, im pretty indecisive), and I will always want to see more of her.

Bonus idea: basically a slightly more possible version of the above one, but mixed with Mel's story. One where we focus mainly on Mel ruling noxus and fighting the Rose but where we also get flashback scenes (or even whole episodes!) that focus on Ambessa. The scenes (or episodes) could be triggered by Mel having to make a choice that her mom also had to make once or through her learning a secret about her mom, and then we learn the context through flashbacks. It's not impossible that a future show could do that... Please... I need more Ambessa

[demacianpuppet]

Consider both Jayce and Mel went missing in Act 1, I'm sure some boulevard paper probably speculated that both run away with each other.