YA Bachelors Month: Jace from the Mortal Instruments

Welcome to the YA Bachelors Month hosted by Amber at Down the Rabbit Hole. This fantastic event is filled with boy-crazed bloggers gushing and raving about their favorite YA heroes. Of course, (sighs) mine is the best. It is my job, as the representative of Jace Wayland, star of City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass and City of Fallen Angels, to convince you (if you are not convinced already) that he is the most eligible bachelor around. To fulfill this purpose, I will share a few of his most swoonworthy lines, pictures and mannerisms, not to mention a brief interview with the man himself! (I will be using pictures of Jamie Campbell Bower as well as one of Lily Collins for Jace and Clary as they have recently been cast to fill the roles in the upcoming film.) So, here it goes...

Jace Wayland is a 16 year old (at the beginning of the series) Shadowhunter with a muscular but slender build. He has tawny hair and gold eyes that remind Clary of a lion. His relationship with the lovely red-head Clary Fray gets off to a rocky start (and middle), but their love conquers death. And I mean that literally. Here is a quote from City of Bones showing how Clary sees him:

Jace was seated at the grand piano, his slender hands moving rapidly over the keys. He was barefoot, dressed in jeans and a gray t-shirt, his tawny hair ruffled up around his head as if he had just woken up. Watching the quick, sure movements of his hands across the keys, Clary remembered how it had felt to be lifted up by those hands, his arms holding her up and the stars hurtling down around her head like a rain of silver tinsel.
Sigh, I love a man who plays the piano.

Despite his father's dubious parenting abilities, Jace loved him dearly and is terribly scarred from witnessing his murder. Who doesn't love a guy with a tragic past? Though he comes across as being utterly full of himself, he never sees himself as being worthy of Clary, and the worst punishment he can come up with for himself is to stay away from her. Aww.

"And now I’m looking at you,” he said, “and you’re asking me if I still want you, as if I could stop loving you. As if I would want to give up the thing that makes me stronger than anything else ever has. I never dared give much of myself to anyone before – bits of myself to the Lightwoods, to Isabelle and Alec, but it took years to do it – but, Clary, since the first time I saw you, I have belonged to you completely. I still do. If you want me."  Swoon.

Best Bad Boy:

Very quickly, you can see that he is fearless, smug, arrogant, sarcastic, irritating and totally swoonworthy. I mean, really, all of those pointed words and barbed remarks are a shield he uses to hide his true feelings. Not that he doesn't have fun being insufferable, though, because he most certainly does. It is one of the few things he truly enjoys in life. Well, that and near-death experiences. He is perhaps a bit addicted to those.

"Tell me, is he always really rude, or does he save that for mundanes?"

"Oh, he's rude to everyone," said Isabelle airily. "It's what makes him so damn sexy. That, and he's killed more demons than anyone else his age."

I think Isabelle has a point. He is the perfect Bad Boy.

Favorite Supernatural Being:

As a Shadowhunter, Jace has angel blood and certain abilities. He can heal himself, he has a wicked way with knives and he is far tougher than the ordinary teenager. He also has his own unique and not entirely explored powers imparted to him by extra angel (or is it demon?) blood in his veins. He can jump so high he is nearly flying and land as light as a feather, and who knows what talents may develop in the future...

Sexiest:

OK, where do I begin? Just look at him shirtless on the cover of City of Bones! In my mind, what makes a guy sexy is a combination of several things. One of them is good looks, which Jace Wayland certainly has. He knows exactly how hot he is and treats it like a fact of nature. Which it is. But more important is his personality. He is a sarcastic devil-may-care on the outside, but he is capable of such tenderness and that is what makes him so attractive. And his kissing...

It was almost as if he hadn't wanted to kiss her: His mouth was hard on hers, unyielding; then he put both arms around her and pulled her against him. His lips softened. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart, taste the sweetness of apples still on his mouth. She wound her hands into his hair, as she'd wanted to do since the first time she'd seen him. His hair curled around her fingers, silky and fine. Her heart was hammering and there was a rushing sound in her ears, like beating wings --

Add to that the fact that he plays the piano, speaks who knows how many languages, including Latin, and writes a killer love letter, how can any girl resist?

Best Fighter:

He isn't a bulky jock, but rather slim, agile, fast and he laughs and cracks jokes in the face of death. Wielding numerous seraph blades as well as a stele, he causes destruction wherever he goes. His very presence makes any sensible homeowner cringe. Among his many defeated enemies are: Demons. Downworlders. Forsaken. Creatures of evil too numerous to count. Not to mention the occasional near-relation...

"Now he's a - what do you call people like him again?"

"He's a Shadowhunter," Clary said.

"A demon hunter," Jace clarified. "I kill demons. It's not that complicated, really."

"I wish he'd hurry," Jace said crossly.

"Why? Does it hurt?" Clary asked.

"No. I have a high pain threshold. In fact, it's less a threshold and more of a large and tastefully decorated foyer. But I do get easily bored."

Best One Liner:

"There is no pretending, I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then." With anyone else that would probably be corny, but Jace says it so sincerely, as if stating a simple fact, that you just can't help but sigh.

Change My Mind:

Well, I will have to leave this part to you, because my mind is already made up.

Overall Favorite:

He is most certainly my overall favorite. I have read a lot of YA novels, and I mean a LOT, and many of them have truly wonderful heroes, but in my mind not one comes close to Jace Wayland.

Now, for the grand finale, the wonderful Cassandra Clare agreed to have Jace and Clary answer five questions. Since this post is all about Jace, so are the questions.

Clary:

1) What is the best thing about Jace? The worst? Is he a good kisser?

The best thing about Jace is that he always does what he thinks is right. He has his own code of honor. The worst thing is that he doesn't care about placing himself at personal risk. It doesn't make it easy to be his girlfriend. As to whether he's a good kisser . . . that's like asking if Everest is a big hill.

Jace:

2) Can you please describe yourself in your own words?

 I keep trying, but Clary keeps erasing what I write and writing over it. I don't see what's wrong with describing myself as 'so staggeringly good-looking that people of both genders have been known to walk into telephone poles while staring at me.'

3) What do you think of Jamie Campbell Bower? Do you think he can manage to properly portray you or will your awesomeness get the better of him?

[The author says: now, there's a metatextual question.]  I can only assume that if the producers chose him to represent myself, he must have some astounding qualities. While no one can quite capture the lightning flash of amazingness that is myself, he seems well placed to do an excellent job of trying.

4) What are the worst/best situations you can possibly imagine?

Worst situation: Being stuck listening to Alec sing. I used to have the room next to his and I could hear him sing in the shower. It's bone-chilling, I tell you. Best situation — what's the rating on this?  Because I'm a sixteen year old boy and our minds are pretty much like the Welsh railway system: one-track and dirty.

5) Is there anything about yourself that you wish Cassandra Clare would put in her books but hasn’t?

More nude scenes. I should be naked more often. Some time spent every day admiring my nude form would do most people a world of good. Perhaps there should be illustrations.

Jace is so hilariously full of himself, I should have known he wouldn't take an interview seriously. Then again, would it be nearly so entertaining if he did?

I would like to thank Jace, Clary and Cassandra for answering my questions and Amber for coming up with YA Bachelors Month. This was way too much fun!

Head over to Down the Rabbit Hole to see Jace and other cute guys from YA novels!

                                  Lieder Madchen