I promised the MelJay Discord I would write up my thoughts about this, so here is my (very correct) take on Mel and Jayce and their tendencies towards being possessive and obsessive, respectively. Now, the Arcane fandom likes to label Jayce as possessive, but I assure you, he is not. He is obsessive to his core.
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.
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. 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.
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