#mel’s powers

[manixpixiefangirl]

Mel being an empath

(Okay i just got say arcane has sparked passion in me i haven’t felt for a show and fandom in yeeeears i haven’t written a meta in forever so bare with me.)

Anyway at first watching act 3 the reveal of Mel being empath felt crazy like that’s such a huge bomb that we didn’t get build up on or much follow through but i do think it explains so much about her character. Traditionally empaths are written to be overly emotional or sensitive sort of like telepaths and being smart but Mel wasn’t written like that she’s quite calm and collected her most emotional outbursts are with her mother and jayce and even with jayce it’s only because he’s hurling accusations at her and she still remains relatively calm in her responses. I think her knowing people’s emotions wether she was aware of this or not plays into this she knows Jayce is coming from a place of hurt and confusion where as her mother back in season one she knows she’s being disingenuous with the reasons of being in piltover.

First watch this just seems like a disgruntled daughter and her mother trying to get on her good side but knowing that Mel can read people’s emotions adds another layer she see right through her mother which not only from just being raised by her but through her her empath skills.

also wanted to bring this up someone pointed this out tiktok and someone else pointed out that this maybe because we’re seeing this scene through Mel’s POV and since she is empath she see that Maddie is secretly enjoying executing Caitlyn. This got me thinking about her career as council member/politician I’ve wondered how she got so high up while seemingly not only being the youngest member but being young period if she’s assumed to be Jayce’s and Victor’s age this makes her about 24-27 in s1 which is extremely young for council member which essentially this region’s governing body. Being able to sense people’s true intentions allowed her to know who to align herself who not to, knowing when people agreed and disagreed with her, or when people sympathize with your views, causes, or concerns on certain issues which all helped her advance quickly her career. I’m sure being from a high born house helped but we see other high born houses in council positions but they’re all older.

She also seems to be somewhat bored with politics and somewhat disillusioned when we meet her i mean giving a fellow council member a child’s toy almost like a practical joke doesn’t seem like someone who views politics and her colleagues with utmost seriousness it isn’t until she meets Jayce that we see the passion for change. I think being empath she saw that Jayce and Vicktor’s vision for hextech and Piltover and Zaun were pure and genuine which is why she supported them. I also hate the rhetoric that Mel never loved jayce and just manipulated for her own gain she does everything in her power to stay true to him and Vicktor’s vision she doesn’t push him to do anything that goes against their morals and goals. When Jayce is worried about Vicktor and his absence at the council may lead to she reassures she won’t let them corrupt their dream. Like i said early she isn’t written like a typical empath she also isn’t written like a typical manipulator(if you can call her that) she is genuine in what she’s says to Jayce she just also knows how people work and his feelings on the matter so she’s able to play on that.

Ambessa describes her to be too soft and she tells Jayce she didn’t Medarda standards i think the way she operates as empath is the cause of that I don’t think Mel is welling to corrupt herself or others when getting what she wants unlike her Mother and the rest of her family i think they operate much more cut through in their goals.

Whew anyway mind any typos i didn’t mean for this be as long as turned out just wanted to share revelation i had!:)

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

The stewards of the old world are always keen to give you a glimpse of their might... According to legend, the ancients built specialized chambers to seal away false prophets.

The Arcane is waking up.

[manixpixiefangirl]

i highly doubt it was the non black writers intention but that revealed made her character and her relationship with her mother very relatable especially tying into the idea of being the “wolf.” but i agree it feels cruel it feels like the strong black woman trope without them realizing i pray the noxus spinoff show has many black writers

Honestly, Mel being revealed as an empath feels so cruel to me. For all her ability to feel the emotions and understand the motives of others, the narrative never gives her the opportunity to feel her own emotions to the fullest. To cry, to laugh, to rage. She is always calm, and the one time she has an outburst, it is to her mother Ambessa, who tells her "Get ahold of yourself. I taught you better." Why must Mel always be strong? Be calm when other characters are allowed to feel and experience the full spectrum of their emotions?

[her-soliloquies]

Also let's hear it for these two hooded queens

[mentally-ill-for-bes]

So funny Viktor chooses to present himself to Jayce as a white-golden robot (considering it is shown he could possess one of his followers) despite his representative colors being purple and blue (during s2 arc 1 and arc 2 and as the Herald Machine). But for the very specific purpose of convincing Jayce to join him, he's represented in the colors associated with Mel. Literally CATWALKING into the room, which is an action associated with Mel too

[reality-detective]

Mel Gibson Last night at Mar-a-Lago:

“I have 9 kids. If one of them got stolen or trafficked or something, I’d have to k*ll someone.” 🤔

[golden-forge]

I was trying to recall if Maddie had the hex rifle but I do think it was a regular gun so that’s very interesting.

When Mel had the shield up for Cait and Ambessa’s knife was piercing the shield, I think it was the runes wrapped around her forearm that allowed Ambessa to pierce the shield.

According to LeBlanc, Mel is “an empath”, a “conduit and a mirror.” She can bend others’ magic to her own will. This explains why she’s so powerful, because she’s basically redirecting other people’s energy against them. So when she’s up against a powerful opponent she can turn that power against them. In other words, Mel isn’t just using her own innate power.

It also explains why she seems to only use her magic defensively — her target has to strike first in order for Mel to redirect that attack back onto them. And it’s not just magical attacks either. When Maddie fired a bullet at Cait, Mel redirected it to kill Maddie.

In my opinion, this power suits Mel perfectly. It’s technically non-aggressive, and reflects Mel’s natural talent for identifying others’ strengths and using them to her advantage.

[neomel]

Hi sorry I need to do some more Pokemon posting bc this is the funniest shit. the cute-looking Pokèmon TCG series is making "TM10" part of its branding. Like, TM10 from the games - its the TM for the move Hidden Power, thats cute! Its reflecting the main character discovering herself in the same way the move works in the game, what a cute little detail!

Except uh. Just one problem.

Game Freak in all their brilliance removed Hidden Power from the franchise four years ago in Generation 8* and its still not able to be used in Scarlet and Violet. Its not just that you cant teach it to Pokèmon anymore, you straight up cannot use the attack even if you trade in Pokèmon from older games who know it. Its like a banned technique.

So then that begs the question – if the TCG show is gonna be referencing TM10 this much, but TM10 *isn't* Hidden Power anymore, surely that means TM10 is another similarly inspiring attack - Stored Power, or Calm Mind, or Smart Strike?

Well, depending on if its Gen 8 or 9, I hope the kids will have fun Discovering Their Own Magical Leaf and/or Discovering Their Own Ice Fang. Truly inspiring words. love how well managed this franchise is

[hyoukanee]

Made a very quick edit with these incredible Jayce & Mel concepts! What a great power couple could have been…

[milkcioccolato]

Breaking news: local disaster bisexual SOMEHOW manages to bag two deities

A.K.A. Jayce Talis has two hands

[melatonindeficient]

Mel and Jayce did more for Piltover and the undercity in like a week than mayor humdinger and the rest of the kitten catastrophe crew did in centuries, of course they got nuked

[greenwichtraders]

Mel Gibson Joe Rogan.

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

massages forehead So Ambessa hid Mel away because she was a weapon in the literal sense, a mage. But Ambessa came to Piltover for Hextech? And Ambessa had nothing to say to Mel about her powers having visibly awakened? Even when Mel offered to go with Ambessa, giving her the ultimate opportunity to make Mel a weapon for real? And Ambessa made no attempt to find or retrieve Mel - not just her daughter and the remnants of the family Ambessa professes to love, but also her ultimate weapon - when she disappeared? And Ambessa trusted Singed and Viktor on their home turf - neither of them hiding how insane and self-serving they are with every reason to take over Ambessa's soldiers or just blatantly turn on her as soon as it benefits them - more than she trusted Mel? While Caitlyn (and by extension Piltover) was visibly and clearly falling away from Ambessa's teachings before Ambessa's eyes? (as if getting rid of certain people allows piltover to get rid of fascism but we won't get into All That)

Not only do I struggle to be hyped for Mel's powers beyond how amazing and beautiful she looks, but I can't help but feel like Mel is somehow less powerful in season 2 than she was in season 1, and not in an interesting way. As if Mel's ability to bend all of Piltover politics and economics to her will in season 1 now means nothing in season 2? You can argue that Jinx's attack led directly to Mel losing ground in Piltover - because I expected Mel to have to claw back that power without being able to rely on people who are too easily seduced by Ambessa and authoritarianism, and she would have to get creative to go toe to toe with her mother. I expected pushback to her mage identity that she would have to navigate. But instead this went either unwritten, or was ignored or discarded. Instead Mel is removed from the main plot, cutting her off from what made her the most interesting - only for all of Mel's very real talents, her very real powers and abilities, to be not only translated but REPLACED with magical powers she doesn't know how to control, and by the finale, those magic powers are the only powers that are considered real. Mel takes a backseat to Piltover's governing and decisions, a backseat to Jayce of all people who was not only new to politics mere months ago but made poor governing, strategic, and diplomatic decisions when he had that power. In season 1 Mel stayed off the "throne" but she did pull its strings one way or the other, and she makes no attempt at this in season 2

In my least generous suspicions, Mel was gentled and quieted to capitulate to an agenda for other characters who had to be correct and heroic - or wrong and villainous - no matter what the leadup narrative said, given her powers to help sell the game and set up future shows, and was effectively ejected from the Arcane story with faceless soldiers and a role she doesn't want because she was inconvenient there

[mizgnomer]

Levitating Tennant - Part Two

Just a few photos where his feet don’t touch the ground

See also: [ Levitating Tennant Part One ]

[mollysunder]

Not to sound shallow or anything, but Mel's hair, make up, and the customizations on her jump suit are different than her finale look. Look at one of the last shots of Mel.

Now look at Mel in "Welcome to Noxus".

Even the fabric that's wrapped around her is different. In Arcane, the fabric Mel uses looks luxurious and silky, the kind worn for a fashion statement. Imagine the fabric people wear in music videos explicitly so it can billow beautifully in the wind behind the singer as they pose dramatically, that's that kind of fabric.

In "Welcome to Noxus", Mel has on something shorter, more functional, and just coarser by comparison.

This isn't a serious post btw, just things I noticed. "Welcome to Noxus" is a trailer for LoL not Arcane, it's just interesting to see how Mel's design translates to LoL so she can be more action-oriented.

[anannua]

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