Babe I Hear The Ice Cream Truck

I think it's kinda interesting how Mel doesn't really fit into the disposable black girlfriend trope and yet a lot of fandom still treats her like she does.

The poor writing with Mel puts her in the independent black woman stereotype (even though she was very much not independent) more than the disposable black girlfriend trope. It doesn't take Jayce loving Mel to have some sort of epiphany about Viktor. It takes him literally having to eat raw lizards with a shattered leg in the depths of a cave, and the epiphany he has isn't even a positive one. He doesn't have to be "freed" from Mel or dispose of her to be with Viktor—they were torn apart by circumstance and he had a moral obligation to be with Viktor.

Basically what I'm saying is that if you need to discredit and disrespect a character in order to make your ship work you need to do some self reflecting.

But I've participated in ship wars and I'd rather just talk about the whole "independent black woman thing" because it has to do with her as an individual, rather than as a part of a pair or an obstacle.

"Mel is a queen" she's not. She's stunning and an amazing character but she very much is not. Mel is so dependent on other people. She needed the council to work in her favour in order to achieve her personal goals. She needed Jayce and Elora to be vulnerable with. It makes Ambessa's treatment towards her all the more hurtful; she needed her mother, and her mother's approval, and was punished for it. I don't think we actually take the time to comprehend how devastating it would be to be, what, 19-20 years old and be exiled because you were too soft for your mother, only to be told years later that it was actually because your she loved you and she didn't want to (if my mother told me she kicked me out because I weakened her I'd probably instantaneously die of a broken heart). Obviously it was more complex than that, but Mel is the child in this situation; she is not going to see it through Ambessa's eyes nor would she want to.

Mel likely got really good at feigning independence but I doubt that, with the way she grew up and the service she would've been able to afford in Piltover, she even knew how to cook. I'm sure she depended on other people not only for the major aspects of her life but also just to keep her basic needs in order. And she's not strong either; because she was raised in Noxus she can likely fight with knives and swords, but it's not like she was this phenomenal mage when she got her powers.

I hope the Noxus show doesn't pretend that she's some strong and independent person, because that's not what Mel has ever been. She's smart and savvy and shrewd but not independent. I love her so much but I'd rather see a real portrayal of her—probably struggling not only with her magic but with trying to stand up on her own—than the fake solo act it's easy to pretend that she is.

guys dont worry, i got this!! they did nothing wrong!!! (maybe except cate but im a good lawyer, dw)

Sometimes I want to join arcanetwt because the community is more active there, but then I actually see the conversations happening there and go “nope”.

I, the sun but, where’s my moon?

i will shoot myself

credit

some lestvika for me and the other 3 shippers

For the Mel wine aunt agenda

mom, i'm tired. can i sleep in your arms tonight?

she accidentally became important at work

like, i love stories where good people are flawed and at odds with each other, and can be unfair to each other or themselves. i don't need all the characters to be friends or never have conflict.

but it is very different from the fandom concept of 'portraying flaws' where an already routinely demonized character of color is constantly getting chewed out by other characters who are basically props, who are only there to voice the fandoms anger, and all for the sake of the fandom's chosen white woobie's catharsis.

and of course, when you want to focus more on the underappreciated characters and point out fandoms racism and misogyny, it's "why don't you create for your blorbos yourself instead of complaining!" but when it's a 100th post in the character tag demanding more 'flawed' portrayals for the character (while all popular artists and writers in fandom are already hyper-critical of the character at best or bash them at worst) it's considered fine.

(and when you see what fics are getting recommended under those posts... it becomes even more clear that it's not about nuanced portrayals)