I get asked all the time who I prefer, Will with Tessa or Jem with Tessa.

I don’t think this is a question I can ever answer because whoever I prefer is how the story ends. I suppose it doesn’t meant I’d necessarily pick that character myself (I’d probably pick Simon over Jace, myself, but I’m not Clary) since I am not Tessa, but if I think she should be with Will, she’ll be with Will, if I think she should be with Jem, she will be with Jem, if I think she should be alone, she’ll be alone. It’s not an answerable question for me.

I did say I’d be happy to host a series of essays by readers on who they think Tessa should end up with and why, so here they are below. Will/Jem included as well since it has a very strong constituency. :)

Nothing is edited by me but everything’s under the Read More tag because…spoilers!

1) Jem/Tessa

Hello Shaowhunters and Downworlders! I’m Molly LeGrant from mortalinstrumentsheadcannons and I am a Jessa shipper! I know Jessa is kind of a minority in the TID world, and I have no idea why. Hopefully, when I’m done here, you will agree with my perspective.

First off, Tessa is comfortable in Jem’s presence and quickly became used to letting him in close. When Gabriel came up behind her in training, she instinctively thought it was Jem, and then turned around and was disappointed that it was not. Similarly, Sophie has noted that Jem is always excited when a door opens… and is disappointed when the person who enters is not Tessa. This shows that Tessa and Jem really are secure in each other’s company, which is a rare thing for couples, and even friends. Letting people in is hard for Tessa after everything that has happened to her. When Will barged into her room at the Dark Sisters, she didn’t trust him. She didn’t even trust the Shadowhunters at the institute when they saved her. Her own brother sold her out. For me, if my brother sold me out, I would probably never trust anyone ever again. But she somehow let Jem in, and felt safe and secure. It is a true accomplishment after everything that happened. And, let’s not forget, she didn’t trust any of the Shadowhunters when she first met them, except Jem. Since the night she saw him playing the violin, she immediately opened herself up to him, and he was always there for her. He has not let her down.

They consider each other beautiful and brave. Jem believes Tessa has the soul of a warrior, and has the heart of an amazing human, even if she isn’t fully one. Tessa believes Jem is nothing but goodness. When they were fooling around in the DSBS, Jem feels insecure about his body, as he is not as big as some of the other Shadowhunters. Tessa tells him he’s beautiful anyways, and she’s not lying. She truly does believe and know it. She knows that you don’t have to be a big, muscular, typical hot guy to be beautiful. It’s the inside that truly shows. (And probably the outside too, because in my head, Jem is hot.)

During Clockwork Angel, Jem and Tessa did not know each other very well, yet that didn’t stop them from being fiercely loyal towards each other. When Tessa was mad at the Shadowhunters- and called them awful things, may I add- Jem still went to find her. He was not even mad. And even if he was, he forgave her instantly. He took her to his favorite spot, and made Tessa laugh. Not only that, he truly helped her and gave her really great advise. And then the clockwork creatures attacked. Cassandra Clare really knows how to ruin a moment. (And we love her for that.) Tessa had never faced the clockwork creatures before. She couldn’t even fight, but she was willing to defend Jem to the death. When he started to cough up blood, Tessa felt instantly responsible, even though in no way was it her fault. Then, Jem even told Tessa about his illness, which he never had to do. It was not her business, and she could have lived happily not knowing. But, he didn’t want Tessa to blame herself for what happened, and he really did want Tessa to know the truth, because he felt she deserved the truth. Their loyalty towards each other only grows stronger as the books continue.

Another reason Jessa deserves to be endgame is that Jem is dying. (Wow Molly, way to soften it up.) But yes, it’s true, the incredible James Carstairs is dying. Now, this can go one of two ways for my argument. People can easily rebut this with “This would make Tessa a widow as a teenager,” or “Tessa won’t be able to have him for long anyways.” Now, these are true, but don’t you think that Jem deserves to have love in his life? Jem admits to Tessa that he probably won’t outlast the decade. He knows that his life will be over soon. But he just wants to be with the girl of his dreams as long as he can. Is that a crime? (And lets not forget, unless Tessa another downworlder, she’ll be a widow anyways. Yes, even if she marries Will.)

Put yourself in Jem’s shoes. You are twelve years old. Your parents have just been murdered. You were tortured nearly to death. You have had weeks of experiments done on you. But in the end it’s all the same. You are dying. The only thing keeping you alive is the thing slowly killing you. Your looks will fade, and you wonder if your parents would even recognize you now. You have nothing, even as you are shipped off to London, a continent away. You are considered weak by others, spineless, and you know you will never amount to as much as anyone else. You are twelve. After five long, painful years you have tried to make the most of, and in some cases succeeded, you meet the person of your dreams. The second you see her- or him- you fall madly in love. And you feel you don’t have a shot. You’re dying. Why would she want you? And then, you realize that she actually does.

Now maybe Tessa does love Will. But she would never go for him. It would hurt the other man she loves, Jem. And she does love him. She needs both boys in different ways. Will is there for her to discuss knowledge and books with and to make her laugh. Jem makes her laugh too, and makes her feel good about herself. He would never, ever hurt them, even if it meant living longer.

Now the main reason for Jessa is simple: Jem deserves Tessa. He is nothing but goodness. (Tessa’s own words!) He’s been there for everyone since day one. Charlotte, Henry, Will, Tessa, Sophie, Thomas, (now I’m rambling) even bloody Jessamine! He would do anything for them. He probably wouldn’t even take a cure if it meant never seeing Tessa or Will again. He would even give up Tessa to Will if it would make them happy. He’d probably spend the rest of his days alone and miserable, but he would. And he would do it in a heartbeat.

Now if you are still against Jessa, just remember: Will has the rest of his life to find a girl he loves. Jem doesn’t. His time is running out.

Well thank you for reading! Hopefully you are now a Jessa shipper, and if you’re not, you can see why it could work. For mortalinstrumentheadcannons, I’m Molly LeGrant, and I’ll talk to you soon.  

2) Will/Tessa