JessThomas mirroring NicChris An essay by me:
The obvious:
- Thomas is a gold band schoolar, so is Chris, Jess is High Garda, so is Nic. -Thomas and Chris have both been imprisoned and tortured for the fucking same thing - Jess and Nic both searched for them while the above was happening. Nic always says, that his loyality for Chris runs deeper than that for the library. Jess showed in Paper and Fire, that his he values Thomas more than his future at the library too. Tbf coming from Jess that means much less than coming Nic, who had been serving the library for years back than. Still.
The personalities:
- Jess and Chris were often compared to each other (by multiple characters iirc), they are both stubborn with self destructive tendecies but also brave, clever and good people. They both come from families with big names. Chris being the son of two of the most influential people in the library and Jess basically being the counterpart to that, by being the son of a big time criminal.
- Thomas and Nics similarities are a bit less obvious but still there imo. They are both geniuses in their own area of expertise. Thomas being a brilliant engineer and Nic an expert marksman and (even though he thinks differently) a good tactician. They are both more quiete characters and speak less than most of the other members of the pack. They can both be very charming. Both of them come from normal families ( Nic might come from a military family but we don’t know) as far as we know. Most importantly, they are both VERY protective. And post Paper and Fire, they both have a tendecy to snap. Like Nic is often described at being very charming and calm, when he’s pissed and most dangerous. Thomas is behaving similiar in Sword and Pen. And they both go absolutely feral, at the end of Ash and Quill, when they believe to have been betrayed (well, they kinda were).
The relationship:
-NicChris and JessThomas immediatly got along from the first moment on ( Nic even mentioned, that he fell in love with Chris when he first saw him) - Both of the pairings have a way to understand each other. Post Paper and Fire Thomas was a little odd at first and Jess seems to be the one who’s really being there for him, just like Nic was there for Chris post Rome -Chris and Nic both care about each other more than about anything else. This is a bit of a hot take, but I believe that is the case for Jess and Thomas too. Hear me out: We have this weird hint at a one sided GlainThomas (was it from Jess or Khalilas perspective I’m not sure?) but whoever it was is not a reliable narrator. We have nothing in Thomas’ perspectives to confirm that. Yes, he was scared when she was wounded in Sword and Pen but he would have been worried the same if Chris had been hurt, come on. But during his POV he thinks most about Jess and his wellbeing than about anyone else. Just how Jess thinks more about Thomas in Paper and Fire than about anyone else, even when his girlfriend is imprisoned too. Okay, so we have these parallels and we have Jess thinking/saying twice, that he wants a love like Chris and Nic ( I love how all the characters agree, that they invented love, because they did)
Anyway, in conclusion. Jess is about to have that love post canon with Thomas, because the basics for it are like right there.