Mel Medarda: A Field Guide
I occasionally see people nervous to write from Mel’s POV & while I’m absolutely not an authority on her character I thought I might make a list of things I like to keep in mind when writing from her perspective.
None of this is mandatory, it’s more a reference for my own fic than anyone else’s lol
Mel is a diplomat first. When writing from her perspective, moment-to-moment descriptions tend to focus on body language and tone rather than environment. She notices the implications behind dialogue and the emotions in a room before any kind of physical threat. When she does focus on her surroundings it’s because she’s alone or doing something with a specific intent - think insight vs perception in dnd.
She fidgets! A lot! When surprised or thinking she goes for her clan ring and later in s2 she clasps her hands in her lap. The hands in lap thing always feels very intentional, like she’s doing it specifically to avoid doing anything else.
Mel is a noncombatant character. Prior to her mage arc obviously, but even then it’s obvious fighting doesn’t come naturally to her. She’s not very strong and she’s never worn an outfit that’s practical for … anything really.
Politicking is one of her talents but being mysterious really isn’t. She’s like,, comically bad at not drawing attention to herself (see: s2 act 3, face covered but both thighs are OUT. I respect it but queen why are you doing this).
This is more of a note for any character from Piltover, but unless she’s been told otherwise Mel is going to refer to Zaun as the undercity. This isn’t even a classism thing, the nation of Zaun is a hypothetical dreamed up by revolutionaries - it’s niche even to the people who live there.
Mel has spent her life very ‘above it all’ in terms of consequences. She often forgets how tangibly invested people can be in the things they do. Additionally, she’s deeply moved when reminded of that investment or by displays of vulnerability. Look at her face when Jayce lays on her lap for the first time -> she goes from surprise, almost panic to a kind of bemused affection. It’s very quick but it’s obvious it’s not something she’s used to.
EVERYTHING GOES OUT THE WINDOW WHEN IT COMES TO AMBESSA. Mel IMMEDIATELY becomes both hypervigilant and deeply emotive in a way she isn’t around any other character. It doesn’t read as her losing control but around her mother everything very suddenly has Stakes. Piltover is a chess match where Mel has one eye on the door at all times wondering when Ambessa is going to come in and flip the table.
She has frequent nightmares. There isn’t enough evidence to 100% confirm it but I like to headcanon her as an insomniac, the purple makeup under eyes is a very … specific colour to not be hiding eyebags.
Her magic hurts, it’s also very physical. She has to haul it around like a heavy object & shudders & grips it when conjuring shields. Prior to the Noxus cinematic she blacks out/almost collapses every time she uses it for more than a couple seconds.
She tilts her head when frustrated.
When describing her from an outside perspective and word I tend to lean on is “soft”. She does a lot of stuff softly. Intentional; methodical, slow, watching and evaluating are all words that get thrown around a lot as well; she’s very specific in the way that she moves.
When caught off guard Mel tends to go very still. She makes a very slight movement back/inward and then just stops. Her eyes kind of dart around and after a few seconds of reevaluating she intentionally relaxes and speaks again.
Mel IS manipulative but it’s not malicious. She never gaslights anyone she’s just the type to see the optimal path through a conversation and has to make an active effort not to take it. That scene where she ignores Viktor? Really obvious debate tactic, she’s not giving the opposing argument time to breath. It’s a shitty move but it’s not because she looks down on Viktor as a person.
She’s an artist with a really strong eye for colour. When she notices things that’s probably the first descriptor I go for; then shape and some kind of comparison to a past experience. Her memory is insane, especially if it has a strong emotion tied to it.
When speaking, Mel’s very direct with what she wants. Everything is either conveying information or asking a question; it all has a purpose. She notices so much context I often find myself with entire paragraphs between short lines of dialogue:
Anyway yeah!! She’s my favourite character in arcane and probably one of my favourite characters to write ever. There’s so much left to say but this post is already really long lol
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