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JayMel
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| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Mel Medarda/Jayce Talis |
| Alternative name(s): | MelJay,Jaymel |
| Gender category: | |
| Fandom: | Arcane |
| Canonical?: | Yes, past[citation needed] |
| Prevalence: | Rising star (see Meta discussion and popularity) |
| Archives: | General MelJay Tag on AO3 & MelJay centric Tag on AO3 |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Mel Medarda/Jayce Talis, also known as Meljay, is a relationship.
to do - add infobox image and source link: [1]
Canon
Mel and Jayce first meet when he is brought in front of the council on trial. Mel is instrumental in ensuring that Jayce is not exiled from Piltover. They meet again later that evening, when Jayce and Viktor are trying to sneak into Heimerdinger's laboratory and Mel catches them. Jayce is visibly awestruck by her. Mel takes a chance on both scientists and distracts the night guard from finding them, giving Jayce the chance to realize Hextech.
Mel decides that Jayce and HexTech can be useful to her political ambitions for Piltover, and recommends that he become a councilor for Piltover. Despite there being no precedent for having eight councilors, the council agrees and Jayce is instated. Mel then begins to guide Jayce into the sort of councilor that will progress forwards with hextech.
Over the years, the two grow closer to one another, and one night Mel decides to kiss Jayce. He returns the kiss, and the two soon retire to the bedroom where they make love for the first time. Mel wakes in the middle of the night to discover that Jayce has left, being called away because he learns that his friend and hextech partner Viktor is dying. He returns the next day and apologizes for vanishing. Mel is clearly still upset, but softens when Jayce explains Viktor's severe illness.
Some time later, Jayce decides that his mentor, Heimerdinger, doesn't have what it takes to be on the council. He puts forward a motion to expel him, which Mel backs. Jayce ends up feeling guilty for this betrayal against his old friend, but Mel is there to comfort him and tell him that he made the right decision.
League of Legends
Mel and Jayce have unique voicelines for each other.
Meta discussion and popularity
MelJay is one of the most popular ships in the Arcane fandom, with 1,526 works on AO3 (14 May 2025), and its own main pairing tag, featuring 161 works. Since season 2 came out, the average number of fics per week has been 40[citation needed] Meljay fans have their own dedicated tag to avoid fanfic in which Meljay is a secondary or past pairing, and make it easy for new and recurring fans to have access to their OTP. It's the second most popular het ship after Timebomb. Fans of MelJay believe that they both care for each other deeply, and that they are good matches for each other. There are some fans who ship both MelJay, Melora and less frequently, Melvik or Meljayvik as well.[citation needed]
Some fans appreciate the couple as a bittersweet romance between star-crossed lovers, who find that their destinies permanently diverge. Other fans hope that Mel and Jayce could reunite and grow toward each other as a couple again.
Fanon and tropes
Violently Protective Girlfriend - Certainly aggressively protective, at least — When Mel finds out her mother has been pressuring Jayce to weaponize Hextech, she storms into her apartment, slaps her drink out of her hand and orders her to stay away from him. Ambessa notes with some surprise that Mel must actually care about him.
Fan works
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Meta
Fan art
- Jayce You lucky bastard! ❤️ by Kyomi
- Princess & the frog 🐸❤️ by Gaia
- “You’re luminous Mel, always ✨ ❤️ by khaos
- Seeking light ✨ by heyomayo
Fanfiction
- wise men say (you're not part of the plan) by manticoremoons first Meljay fic on Ao3
- Sketches by Synergetic_Prose multichapter fic in their AO3 tag.
- my anger comes at my expense, there's always something to be up against by Speedynavi - Longest fic in their tag, clocking at 50,688 words.
- our life through experiences by NDN98
- I Can Fix That by yellow_salt
Fic rec lists and collections
Events, challenges, and collaborative projects
- https://www.tumblr.com/meljayweek / https://nitter.net/meljayevents / https://archiveofourown.org/collections/MelJayValentines Valentine's Day 2023
External links
- Arcane [ stories] and [ crossovers] featuring [ , ] on FanFiction.Net (FFN)
- Jayce/Mel Medarda on Archive of Our Own (AO3)
- https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/meljay on Tumblr
- https://www.tiktok.com/tag/meljay on TikTok
- https://www.twitter.com/hashtag/meljay on twitter
- https://www.reddit.com/r/meljaywins/ on Reddit
Notes
References
| Related Concepts, Fandoms, Terms, Fanworks | |
| See also | |