Jayce is very intense as a person, wearing his heart on his sleeve. One of the things I love most about him is his sincerity, and that intensity carries over into everything he does. So much so, he can come off as a bit unhinged about the things he cares about. He focuses all his attentions on something (eg. magic and eventually hextech), and is capable of making someone feel like the center of his universe. He needs someone/a cause to dedicate himself to, and when he has a purpose, he stops at nothing and devotes his all, often with no consideration for his own well-being. He's like a wildfire.

 

Jayce is a scientist, with a natural curiosity to unravel the secrets of his world for answers. In regards to Mel, I see Jayce’s obsession manifesting as seeing a person as a question/mystery and stopping at nothing to figure them out even if that deep knowledge might hurt you and change you. Even if by understanding you will come away scathed. Even if you might not like what you find, you remain devoted to their mystery until you understand them on such a level that understanding them comes as second nature to you, having learned them like you learn your face in a mirror. Jayce wants to understand her, likely, as well as she seems to understand him.

 

Jayce is someone of extremes who feels things extremely, and he needs stability from those around him. Mel serves as his safe harbor, she steadies him when he’s overwhelmed and helps him be objective where his earnestness blinds him. She grounds him, which is why he searches for her whenever he’s at his weakest. Whenever he finds himself overwhelmed by responsibility or his own emotions. She curbs his impulsive recklessness.

 

Jayce doesn’t perform the actions he does for Mel, or because she tells him to. She doesn’t control him; Jayce has made countless decisions on his own. But Jayce needs Mel, to help him make sense of things when he feels out of control. If anything, Mel is more motivated by Jayce than he is by her, but he trusts her implicitly, has told her she was always right. And in league lines, Jayce asks her what she has planned for him. Tells her that he’s with her. He’s devoted to their cause, whatever she’s planning. This is why his League lines make such sense for his character. The reality is that he still trusts Mel, and also, that he is a man who has never moved on from anything ever.

 

Now on Mel’s side, she’s a bit more subtle, like still waters with hidden depths. Mel is the possessive sort likely because she gets it from her mother, first and foremost. Ambessa’s possessiveness comes from entitlement. Everything she wants, she gets. Notice how in the show, Ambessa refers to Jayce when speaking to Mel as ‘your Jayce’? That’s because for the Medardas, possessiveness is innately understood, and is something of a love language between them.

 

I think Mel’s possessiveness stems from the fact that everyone Mel has ever cherished, was taken away from her in some way. From Azizi, to Tivadar, to Kino, and eventually to Elora and Ambessa. So it is understandable that Mel is jealous of those she holds dear. I will never forget Mel angrily telling Ambessa to 'Stay away from Jayce.’ Up until that point, we had never seen Mel so passionate and protective of anyone or anything in the show, until now. And in season two, it’s proven again and again, when Mel uses her powers, at times unknowingly, to protect Jayce.

 

I love the idea of Mel becoming more and more possessive and protective because everyone she loves has been taken from her, but trying to repress those possessive tendencies because she does not want to feel too much, too deeply. After all, her sentimentalities were part of the reason she was exiled.

 

And then comes Jayce and his obsessive devotion, which makes him impulsive, because he’s always worshiped magic and Mel is magic itself, even if she doesn’t always know it. They are a match made in heaven to me.

There is alot of talk in the Arcane fandom about soul mates etc etc, but I will say that yes, Mel and Jayce are not soulmates. They are something more powerful. Twin flames.

 

In twin flame theory, your twin flame might appear to be different from you, but in reality, their souls are cut from the same cloth, which is why a person only have one twin flame. They mirror what you feel for yourself, and in self-recognition through the other, encourage growth in you. A twin flame challenges you to realize your dreams.

 

I do believe Mel and Jayce are twin flames. I think it makes their parting all the more tragic, to know yourself, and come to love yourself through the other, and then to be torn apart by duty to family (Mel to righting her mother’s wrongs, and Jayce to stopping Viktor from bringing the apocalypse).

 

A twin flame does several things. A twin flame…

 

Has a mirroring souls:

Mel sees herself when Jayce is on trial to be exile & uses her influence to save him from exile & also from suicide. Touched by magic from a young age. Both meet mages (Mel meets Rudo) who give them lasting reminders (Mel’s tattoos and Jayce’s hex crystal). Mel is hung up on Lady Binan’s necklace (has a painting of it above her bed) & Jayce wears the bracelet with the hexgem constantly.

 

Life experiences mirroring:

Their fathers die & close friends die (Elora and Viktor, respectively). They travel with their mothers when they are young. Their lives are somewhat defined by the influence of their fathers. They are threatened with exile/banishment. They are taken by magical entities, and tortured. They are betrayed by their family for ambition (Mel by Ambessa, Jayce by Viktor).

 

Yearning and desire:

They meet and there is instant recognition there, intense attraction at first sight in the hall before Heimerdinger’s lab. They dance around each other for 7 years before Mel gets tired of chasing Jayce and kisses him.

 

Synchronicities (sharing of hobbies, preferences, and values):

Mel and Jayce are artists, prefer the same colors in clothing, have a mind for runes/ magic. The compassion in Mel’s heart is mirrored in Jayce and his sacrifice.

 

Shared belief:

Both Mel and Jayce believe that progress involves risk. They are pupils of idealism, and believe in a better world.

 

Catalyst for personal growth:

Mel is catalyst for Jayce’s growth in his research and his confidence. Jayce helps Mel to live less selfishly and coaxes her to open up more. I cannot get over or stop thinking about how Meljay were catalysts for each other. it was because Mel fought against Jayce's exile, and that she believed in him enough to seek him out, that he was able to realize hextech. and it was because of Mel's love and desire to protect Jayce, that her magic raised its head, even though she was unaware of her power.

 

Turns life upside down:

Mel changes Jayce’s life by believing him, investing in him and fighting for him to make Hextech a reality. Jayce changes Mel’s life by loving her. They become each other’s peace.

 

Allows/encourages growth and transformation:

Jayce grows into someone more confident with Mel’s support and under her tutelage. Jayce encourages Mel that she has power in her own life: “You will never be a passenger.”

 

Working together:

Idealists at heart, Mel and Jayce work together to bring magic to the people in an effort to improve lives, and also allow more change to be enacted within the council, fighting for peace for Zaun.

 

Us against the world mentality:

Looking at Jayce and Mel’s lines in the show, and in League: “Nothing feels impossible when I’m with you.”

“We can’t change what fate has in store for us, but we don’t have to face it alone.”

“Hey, we’ll get through this.”

“Mel, if you’re with me, I’m with you.”

 

Their magic touched bodies bear so much pain (Jayce’s hexcorization and Mel’s awakening) and trauma, and yet they use it to become their power in the final conflict. And how the first time Mel uses her power, its to protect Jayce, and Jayce despite his injuries, runs to ensure Mel does not fall.

 

Yes, Mel and Jayce are twin flames if I’ve ever seen a pair. They might have ended in tragedy, but even that is a mark of a twin flame, having left each other irreversibly changed and having realized their own power and the true version of themselves. Meljay’s twinflamism is real and their connection deeply forged. It is a connection that changed and reshaped the world as not only Piltover, but as the entirety Runeterra knew it. Mel and Jayce will always be one of the best things to come out of Arcane.