#(sorry shadowhunters people)

[you-know-i-get-itt]

guys hold on a second. we know that jean moreau goes from the cruelest, most brutal team to a team whose court is literally called the sunshine court, right? but also. jean, who has immeasurable guilt about his bisexuality, who has been tortured by his coach as “contrition” for liking men, is now on a team that appears to be like 90% queer

[witchlingcirce]

Biggest non issue in the entire world BUT I know the blackthorns eyes are Blue-green but I’ve always imagined them to be more on the green side

You guys feel me

[purplebass]

The way the publisher decided to blatantly change the names of the Shades of magic books in Italy is annoying. Adsom became "Magic", Agos became "Legend" and Acol became "Dark"... Huh?! And they also used the old UK covers which aren't my favorites (but they were released a couple of years ago so they didn't have many options).

Tftop hasn't been released yet here but I think they will keep the original name because V sold the rights to another publisher who is known to release books with their original titles/covers and sometimes by including unreleased fan arts that they commissioned to artists, so yeah... I'm curious to see what they do when they publish Tftop. No idea when that will happen because SoM is a relatively niche series in Italy and I wish more people knew about it. It would be amazing if the new publisher buys the rights and re-releases Adsom so more people will know about it because I don't think the original publisher advertised the series properly

Anyway here's Adsom and Agos when I was at the bookshop in front of the train station (because I like to go looking for my favorite books in stores to look at them again okay)

[brightwoods]

Does anyone else feel like almost all of the conflicts that had to do with the various character dynamics in Chain of Thorns didn’t actually get resolved, they just unexplainably ceased to exist after two books of building them up because CC didn’t feel like writing them anymore and she didn’t know how to resolve it naturally after how she’d built the issues up so much?

Like how none of the characters but Cordelia and Thomas had any clue about the Alastair and Charles situation and then suddenly in CoT it was like who doesn’t know? Of course Matthew knew and didn’t say anything before and then randomly brought it up to Cordelia in Paris while assuming she knew too

Or how Alastair and Thomas went from how things were at the end of CoI with Alastair thinking it could never work because Thomas’s friends hate him to oh look everyone suddenly is friends with Alastair with no grudge with no development of that in this book at all, just an abrupt shift

Especially the Alastair and Matthew dynamic where Matthew hated Alastair and wanted him to have nothing to do with any of their friends and he spent CoI ranting about him to Cordelia. And then suddenly in CoT it’s like of course Matthew is supportive of Thomas and Alastair and oh look Matthew and Alastair are suddenly not just tolerating each other for Thomas’s sake but friends despite barely interacting and no development actually showing and never getting any mention of the other in their own POVs, just having Cordelia be like Alastair stop being dumb, you’re literally friends with him now

Or like everyone other than Christopher and Grace where it was like oh we don’t like her for how she’s treated us and her friends straight to anyway she’s one of us. Like yes Grace was useful and yes Tatiana manipulated her whole life, but none of that was why anyone changed their minds or opinions? It was just suddenly the flip of a switch when it was convenient for CC

Or Anna and Ariadne where it didn’t so much develop as Anna just acted mean to Ariadne on and off throughout the series and at the end of CoI she wanted nothing to do with a relationship and then in CoT she was just suddenly like sure I guess I do. Also, slightly different note, but I did not like that Anna barely interacted with anyone else for the entire book and she was just off in the corner being an irrelevant romantic subplot for almost all of the book except when she showed up to barely even be shown in the background being sad about her brother being dead

(Although Anna still got more of a reaction than everyone else and his death was poorly executed all around in the sense of how did you write this so predictably and poorly that no one even knows when he died and it’s so background and 99% of the characters don’t care at all and we don’t see his parents finding out or much of Thomas’s reaction or anything and it’s just as if he wasn’t a character anymore 2 seconds later which is a different genre of issue with CoT but similar problem in the sense that both issues made the book feel a lot more emotionless to read)

And how the issues of Thomas and Alastair being together as two men and Anna and Ariadne being together as two women in this time and the issues of what would happen if the fact that Charles and Alastair were gay got out to the entire Clave just disappeared and never got addressed at all. We know how the ClVe reacted to Alec Lightwood YEARS later. We know society was homophobic at the time TLH is set and that it seems like shadowhunter society was a lot less open-minded than mundanes a century later

I understand that Charles being blackmailed and making shitty decisions was annoying but it was like suddenly everyone finding out wouldn’t have consequences and all the other queer men characters were like how could you possibly be worried about this :/ as if they haven’t spent the whole series knowing they have to be careful about who they tell. And then suddenly it was just of course it’s totally fine and safe to have everyone find out and why wouldn’t you be fine with that. And it was really written in a way that had other queer characters like oh Charles is such a coward for not being ready to publicly tell a bunch of homophobic people his sexuality and it just wasn’t it??? And super weird after Thomas was terrified of telling even Anna and Matthew for years. And also, I did not care for the fact that when Charles did go risk getting outed to finally do the right thing, we didn’t even get to see it through any character’s perspective or how that important meeting went, we just got one line of dialogue from somebody else saying that it happened with no details at all. And I can’t think of other examples right now but there were quite a few moments like that where we got one line saying that something had happened that was important to the plot and to characters’ development that seemed like it would have been more interesting than some of what we did get to see where it was just totally breezed over and way too easy and totally background to less important stuff

And then there was the whole no one reacting to Ariadne and Anna dancing together publicly thing was like yeah that’s nice I guess but not realistic and it doesn’t go with the way things have been presented up to that point, it also just feels like a situation where CC was like well this would be easier for me so there just won’t be consequences and then they can easily end up happily together

And then there was the whole Thomas and Alastair thinking they couldn’t realistically be together thing and knowing they couldn’t get married or be known to be together by anyone they’re not close to and then at the end it’s still not really addressed how they’re going to be together? Like there was the laziest write off of the family tree being wrong and then we still are just left to assume that eventually they move in together and suddenly it’s not a problem and everyone’s fine with it? And then I also feel like we don’t actually know if everyone found out about Alastair and Charles’ sexualities after the blackmail or if people are going to assume about Thomas and Alastair or if that’ll cause issues or if no one knows outside of who they’ve told and they have to be careful or what. Which like wouldn’t necessarily need to be addressed if it wasn’t for the logistics of being together as two men in that time being part of the obstacle that they were struggling with being in their way and then it felt like it was totally forgotten to even be one at the end by CC

Idk like I’d love to think they just lived in a world where homophobia didn’t exist but it felt like homophobia was a plot point when CC wanted it to be an inconvenience and then suddenly disappeared just to make her writing easier the moment she didn’t want it there anymore instead of actually addressing the plots she raised with it if that makes sense?

And sorry, I really did not mean to go on a rant this long. And maybe everyone else had a very different reading experience than I did and other people don’t agree with some or all of this. I personally am just very confused about how the book was almost 800 pages long and it felt like so much of the development in it was us abruptly being told that development had happened rather than actually getting to see it and how so many of the issues were abruptly solved in an I don’t want to write this issue anymore kind of way rather than anything actually needing to be worked at outside of the Belial situation

Edit: You know what, I mentioned it in my tags but I feel like it’s annoying enough to put in the body of the post and make it even longer. What the fuck was with everyone outing or potentially outing everyone else just so that characters could openly talk about the queer characters and tell them to do what they want them to? Why did Matthew out his brother multiple times? Like yes, the people he said it to coincidentally already knew, but he didn’t know that. And why was Thomas outing Alastair? The straights got to keep their secrets as long as they wanted and fix their problems more naturally. Why did I have to sit through queer characters constantly having their sexualities and romantic histories to everyone else when they clearly had not okayed it? Why were the queer characters doing so much of the outing? Why were people who cared about them and knew what it felt like to be afraid of the wrong person finding out just broadcasting their sexualities to make it easier for CC to breeze past development to have their things get resolved fast? Why did no character have an issue with it at all?

[lesbocrocker]

“White Alastair isn’t real, he can’t hurt you.”

White Alastair:

[buffyspeak]

the lightwood siblings are literally like. "what if three siblings who genuinely love and would die for each other lash out with the cruelest thing they can think to say when hurt because none of them ever learned proper emotional regulation or communication skills" and that's SO real of them. tbh.

(notably they're all pretty good at/about apologizing when it's called for)

[deadwinpayne]

If you love any of the following shows, please check out Dead Boy Detectives (at least watch the trailer)

The Sandman (obviously), Good Omens, Supernatural, Shadowhunters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Lockwood & Co, Teen Wolf, The Umbrella Academy, Sherlock

[decadentwerewolfstrawberry]

I'm finally watching the world figure skating championships 2024 and oh my god Adams short program was so painful to see

[cassandraclare]

Hi Cassie!! Sorry to bother you but I feel like Ty would be more likely to have panic attacks than Dru. I have evaluated the situation and Ty seems to have more trauma and anxiety than her. Adding onto that I’m hoping Kit and Ash don’t have too similar powers. I feel like Kit should be more powerful as Ash only as Ash didn’t get much powers especially since the king didn’t have the black volume the whole time he had Ash. I also think Kit she be more powerful than Magnus for reasons.

I've gotten a lot of emails about how Ty should be the one who has panic attacks, not Dru. Usually the idea is that he should have panic attacks because he has 'more trauma and anxiety' than Dru, specifically because of Livvy's death and Ty being "more close" to her.

The thing is, that isn't how characters work because it isn't how people work. “Amount of trauma” is not an objective measurable thing, and not everyone responds the same ways even to the same things happening to them.

Of course Ty and Dru have both experienced trauma. But it is not as if there is a certain "level of trauma", like "level 6" beyond which everyone has panic attacks, and Ty is a trauma 7 while Dru is only a trauma 5. None of that is how people work or panic disorders work or really how anything works. The question is a lot about, I think, an anxiety that somehow because Dru has panic attacks this means the narrative will consider Ty to have no trauma at all and be dandy about everything, and I can only say that that's not the case.

One thing I rarely see acknowledged in these letters is that Ty is not grieving Livvy currently. Everyone else in his family is, but he lives with her, she talks to him all the time, she's entirely present in his life. Yes, she is a ghost, but people can get by on a lot less than Ty has with Livvy. I think it's worth noting that what Ty is currently experiencing re: Livvy is not grief but denial.

At the end of the day, there are all sorts of ways of responding to trauma and grief. The acknowledgement that someone has been through trauma is not something they have to earn, nor are panic attacks a thing given to one character at the expense of another who has somehow deserved them more. What is important about how characters respond to loss and trauma is that it be consistent with the character and their growth, and that's something that can't be evaluated before a book is read. :)

As for Kit having the most powers of anyone, well, we will see. It's not really how power works in the Shadowhunter world. We don't spend a lot of time thinking about whether Clary or Magnus is more powerful because what they can do is so different, and what Kit and Ash can do is also very different. Also in evaluating who gets what power level I would say it's important to consider whether they will be friends or deadly enemies – which is something we don't yet know!

[pollsnatural]

I know these options are a mess, but I made this poll mainly to start a conversation and see what ideas people have.

[perpetualprocrastinationisme]

Art: @eliounora

"I don't," Ty said. "I changed my mind." He set the glass down. "Not because of you. Because the Scholomance appears to be full of assholes." Kit burst out laughing. Ty looked even more astonished than he had when Kit had said he'd miss him. But after a second, he started to laugh too. They were both laughing, Kit doubled up over the blankets, when Magnus came into the room. He looked at the two of them and shook his head. - Lord of Shadows

I don't know about you, but I desperately hope that Kit and Ty's relationship is one where they can eventually freely joke and be playful with each other. I want Ty to be one of the only people that can really get to Kit to fully laugh and vice versa. I want them to embody this art by the end of The Last Shadowhunter. (But also this is perfect for how they'd be dressed in Faerie!!)

(Back with my every MerlinxArthur fanart is perfect for KitTy agenda. Sorry, but it will never end.)

[ghoulie-67-baby]

Try and stop me Part 2 - Shadowhunters.

Summary: You seek some comfort for you newly festering wound.

Warnings: Changing clothes, pet names, angst, crying, heartbreak.

Pairing: Lightwood family x Adopted!reader.

Word count: 1,370.

Note: This may be a little angsty projection from me so I apologise profusely.

I hadn't thought through this as much as I should have considering it was pouncing down with rain and I was wearing Jeans, black boots and a thin jumper. Most people would have grabbed a coat but I was so angry and aching to leave that I hadn't thought about it. So as I stomped through the streets, drenched and freezing I cursed myself thoroughly.

I had told Jace, Alec and Izzy they would know where to find me but I didn't even know where I was going. I let my mind zone out and wander, my feet carrying me wherever they felt like. Puddles splattered up my calves soaking me to the bone as I just walked and walked. All I could think of was how Robert was lucky I didn't reveal what I knew but my Mom didn't deserve the heartache of that so I had kept his filthy secret though every fibre of my being screamed against it.

The already dark skies blackened as the evening turned to night and I was violently shivering as I walked down the streets, ignoring the looks I was getting off Mundanes. My aching feet carried me down street after street, alley after alley until they carried me to an apartment I didn't care to pay attention to. Icy hands clenched as they knocked painfully against the wooden door that stood before me. I felt like my eyes had sunk into their sockets, long dried up from tears, and my lips were chapped from the cold and me biting them. I waited patiently as my head throbbed and pounded before knocking on much louder this time. A voice behind the door sounded extremely annoyed at the disturbance and the locks on the door jiggled and clicked open after a few moments.

"So help me if this isn't important then I will turn you into a hamster and keep you in a cage!" The door swung open and I lifted my head wearily to meet the gaze of the person, who was dressed in silk pyjamas. "Y/N? What on earth happened to you?" Magnus' voice softened considerably at my state and I just glanced down at Chairman Meow who wound himself between the Warlock's legs. My eyes welled up, much to my surprise, at the softness of his voice.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, it's just, that I'm not welcome at the institute at the moment." I could barely speak above a scratchy whisper. "I just let my feet carry me and they brought me here. I was kind of hoping you would know what to do." My eyebrows furrowed as I spoke, confusing myself with what I wanted from him. Magnus' hand reached up and tucked a dripping straggle of hair behind my ear as I trailed off.

"Come in Cupcake, let's get you warmed up." Gentle hands guided me into the apartment and I stood silently as he wandered around getting towels and clothes for me. My mind was foggy until he stood in front of me and lifted my chin with his finger. My lip trembled as I stared into his eyes, willing myself not to cry anymore.

"He doesn't want me Mags, he never did." A look of confusion took over his features. "Robert doesn't want me. I'm not good enough. I tried to be, but I'm not." The warlock shook his head gently.

"Let's get you comfortable and then we'll talk. You'll get ill if you stay in these any longer. You're too fragile for magic at the moment so by hand will have to do." I was almost catatonic as he took me to the bathroom to change but I just stood in the middle of the room, not being able to move as my head was overloaded with thoughts. Eventually, he gave up and got me stripped out of the sodden wet clothes, incredibly respectfully, before slipping me into a pair of his grey bed joggers and a long-sleeved t-shirt. His warm hands then guided me back into the living room and onto the cloud-like cushions of the sofa. Within moments I had a hot cup of tea on the coffee table, a hot water bottle on my lap, a blanket around my shoulders and a very concerned-looking Magnus who had sat himself beside me giving me his full attention.

"We were having dinner as a family and he asked me why I hadn't been training so I explained how I'd fallen behind on the books and he started to tell me how I should have caught up because I'd had four years to get it done and that I'm lazy and don't work hard enough." My voice was hoarse and tired. "He never wanted me, Magnus, from the moment Maryse took me in he's looked through me like I'm a ghost. He told me I've never really been a Lightwood, that I take advantage of them." I clenched my fingers together as I spat out his words. "He wishes he hadn't let Mom take me in."

"Don't say that Pumpkin, of course, he wants you, you're his daughter too." I laughed bitterly as the first lot of tears slipped out.

"No, that's the thing. He said it, out loud, in from of Mom, Jace, Alec and Izzy. He said they didn't have to take me in and he was starting to wish they hadn't." I watched as his eyes widened in horror and his thumb brushed my knuckles softly. My lip trembled like a child's whilst my chest heaved.

"I just wanted him to see me. I wanted him to be proud of me and to love me like he loves them. I just wanted him to notice how hard I was trying, wanted him to see how everything I did was to make him happy." My voice broke and my vision blurred with tears. "I just wanted a dad. I've never asked them for anything. But I just wanted him to be my dad." Instantly I broke and my barriers released. My face streamed and I fell forward, letting Magnus catch me against his chest holding me as close as he could. My sobs and wails filled the room as my heart ached in my chest though it threatened to jump out.

The pain that I felt was nothing like I had felt before. Not even like what I felt after my parents abandoned me because this time I had lost someone that I actually loved. Lighting strikes of anguish struck me over and over, doubling me over to the point where I struggled to breathe from my crying. As my body shook, the force of it made Magnus' body shake too though he didn't mind. The Warlock held me, a hand on my back and the other cradling my head as his own tears dripped into my hair. I could hear myself saying the same words as I sobbed; He doesn't want me, it was like venom to my system, taking over and shutting it down, breaking me down by the second until I lay boneless in the arms of the Downworlder.

I didn't have the energy to cry anymore, didn't have the words to make myself feel better, didn't have the frame of mind to think clearly or the motivation to try and deal with this properly. My sobs had stopped and silent tears ran down my reddened cheeks and onto Magnus' already-soaked pyjama shirt as Chairman Meow nuzzled into my hands, providing his own comfort which I gladly accepted.

"Get some rest Pumpkin, we'll talk about this when you've got a little more energy." Magnus swung my legs up on the sofa and settled so I was lying with my head on his chest as he wrapped me up in a mountain of blankets. My skin was still cold to touch and I burrowed against his warm skin with a tired sigh as I closed my eyes and willed sleep to come. Eventually, I managed to drift off to the sound of the Warlock's heartbeat, his soft humming of an unfamiliar song and the gentle purrs of the cat that was curled up on his chest beside me.

[d4rkshad0w]

i read the shadowhunter chronicles and i also read percy jackson and someone please tell me that it’s not just me when i say that Kit and Ty and Will and Nico are not the same people just in a different universe, but then they are also very different haha keep reading

Ty and Nico - both are kinda gothy, well Nico is, and Ty just prefers to wear black and gives a dark academia vibe, they both practice the art of ✨necromancy✨, but they can also be super different because Ty is calm and careful where Nico is dangerous violent, Ty loves animals and nature where Nico’s not really into that i think they just give the same vibes they also both have black hair

Kit and Will - both give off major golden retriever boyfriend, they both have blonde hair and have a fun light personality (sorta) they both love their boyfriends (official and unofficial) very much and would do anything (including necromancy with them) for them they both sorta give off surfer boy vibes to me, but some differences are Will is a healer and Kit doesn’t really care what happens to himself, (Ty also gave him his first healing rune so i guess Ty’s sorta the healer in that relationship😅) Will grew up in texas and Kit grew up in LA

in some ways you can say Will and Ty are more alike and Kit and Nico are more alike

Will and Ty, they’re both the careful ones and more calm than Kit and Nico who are more alike since they are both sorta reckless

sorry if it was a little long but i hope you see what i mean if you read these book series, Will and Kit give off golden retriever boyfriend where Nico and Ty give off dark “✨vibes✨”

[daisymylove]

I sincerely don't know if Im alone on this one, so I want to know what yall think. Again, I may get some heat for this, but it’s my honest opinion.

Something I noticed in my reread is that I grew a slight dislike for lucie in chot, and as someone who had always previously rooted for her, I’m currently annoyed at myself.The thing is, Lucie IS a very privileged and sheltered girl.She was born into a wealthy, loving family and, because of her apparent “normalcy”, never suffered the brunt of the shadowhunter prejudice like Tessa and James.

None of this is a problem in itself, but my point here is that there were always other people protecting, thinking and worrying for her, so I think not only she never realized how precarious her family’s position actually was, but also has no true understanding of consequences and how the “real world” works.She knew in some level that what she was doing regarding jesse was dangerous, but was never truly afraid of repercussions, bc unconsciously she knows there will be someone to catch her . And while I do like to see a character become aware of its own privileges along the narrative, there’s no growing here.She finished the book without ever realizing it, because everything was just SO easy and convenient, and that bothers me greatly.

In all fairness, how could she? she does whatever she wants with no consequences.

I feel so conflicted bc while I actually cheered when she brought jesse back in choi, and always shipped them, I find the outcome of her actions to be low-key infuriating.Lucie wasn’t willing to give Jesse up, but also never seriously considered giving up her comfortable life to start over with him somewhere.That ludicrous and set to fail jeremy blackthorn plan wasn’t even her idea, it was the people around her finding a way to fix her “mistakes” to save all of their asses from jail.

Lucie could’ve had her marks stripped, her father could’ve lost the institute, it could’ve costed Tessa’s life.Those guys had been waiting 25 years for the slightest opportunity to pounce on her, does anyone seriously believe they wouldn’t all automatically think the warlock mother was involved? How come there was some major necromancy going on under her roof and she had no idea?  we know she didnt, but still   All of this was severely downplayed and there was little to no conflict regarding it, and anyone can correct me if im wrong, but none of that ever dawned on lucie.She never fully thought about how her family would be implicated, and nobody brought that up to her.Zero confict just chill, I guess this is our life now .Dont get me wrong, I dont want that shitstorm to actually happen,I just wanted her to become AWARE of it

 she literally brought home this complete stranger to them all (we know jesse, the characters dont) that was 8 years her senior (it doesnt matter his body was frozen for 7 years, mentally jesse is 24), Tatiana’s son, and had been dead up until last tuesday, but nobody save perhaps jessamine, and god it pains me to agree with jessamine had a problem with that.Instant acceptance, no resistance, no objections at all.All it would take for that lie to crumble would be ONE trial by the sword at any point of their lives and everybody was as chill as chicken joe from surfs up

Her fight with Cordelia pissed me off too. Lucie meddled on something she had no right and no knowledge of,and demanded things of Cordelia without even being willing to hear her out. ”oh the poor thing is suffering so much bc of you, why can’t you just take him back?” GIRL, FOR ALL SHE KNOWS, UNTIL A WEEK AGO, HOME BOY WAS SWEARING UNDYING LOVE AND BURNING DOWN MANORS FOR GRACE BLACKTHORN. 

WE know poor james was ensorcelled and fighting it, but what was cordelia supposed to think of it? How dare she assume that Cordelia “took advantage of James going to Cornwal to run away with matthew”? 

The demon of secrets in edom scene was plain ridiculous.”yo I had a childhood crush on your brother, sorry for never telling you, I was embarrassed” is not a big deal.The fact that they needed demonic intervention for THAT so late in the book baffles me

While I do think most characters were severely nerfed on this book and behaved ooc on several occasions (swear to god I have some mild ptsd from all the times cordelia ran and did unhinged things) , my conclusion about Lucie’s arc is that she took her good life for granted, endangered her entire family, didnt grow from the experience, but still got everything she wanted with no consequences or sacrifices.She lost a cousin along the way, but who cares about that guy? what was his name again? Its my understanding that Lucie never even faced a trial.Thats unrealistic and bad writing, if you ask me.When I think it over, the word that comes to me is...spoiled.

And dont get me started on the fact that she found out Malcom was planning on doing full blown necromancy and didnt do anything about it.How that had no repercussions AT ALL still blows my mind.

 The worst part for me is that I genuinely believe Lucie deserved better you know? 

If lucie and cordelia hadnt been allowed to become parabatai, and jesse had received some other minor yet life changing punishment, and we had seen a trial scene I would’ve been satisfied, because at least it wouldn’t have been nothing.

[lurafita]

Malec Soulmate (angsty)

How about soulmates and (kind of) reincarnations. If we think that soulmates are two people whose souls are meant for each other, and if we further think that after a life is over, the souls get cleansed of the old life and then are (re)born into a new life.

But souls that are connected to each other will find their other piece in that new life eventually. Hence, soulmates. Right?

So now imagine one of those souls being in the body of an immortal. Like Magnus. Who doesn't grow old and doesn't die and is therefore not reborn into a new life. But his partner is mortal. And the one time they weren’t, they were killed by a shadowhunter.

And Magnus has connected with his soulmate many a time in his centuries of life. And has had to go through the pain of losing them to death just as many times. And he can’t anymore. It's too much. He can’t go through that again. Enter Alec. His soulmate. Who is mortal. And a shadowhunter.

I keep imagining that it would come out in a private conversation? Like Alec, fed up of being rejected yet again (they are soulmates! Magnus should know that there is no running from this and anything that Magnus believes stands in their way, Alec will do whatever is in his power to change. They are meant to be!), corners Magnus somewhere and things get to a head.

With Alec thinking that it's because of him being a shadowhunter and Magnus being known to have little love for them (which Alec gets, knowing that Magnus fought in the uprising and has been victim to the shadowhunter brand of superiority for many years), and he wants to prove to Magnus that he is different, that they are different and they belong togehter and Magnus just has to give him a chance. And then it just kind of spills out of Magnus.

How he has done this already. Met him already. Many times. "The first time I found you, you were a prince, but still a child, and I didn't want to do anything to… to manipulate or groom you. So I decided to come back when you were older, so that the power imbalance between us wouldn't be so severe. Only to learn that you had died from an illness just two years after I left. The second time, you were a woman working as a seamstress. We spent two wonderful decades together before the townspeople burned you at a stake while I was away, believing me the devil and you a witch for loving me. The third time, you were a young man, just recently turned into a vampire. And I thought this time, this time it will last. But a prejudiced shadowhunter found you a little too close to their headquaters and thought this grounds to end you. I found you a fourth, and a fifth, and even a sixth time. But our time together was always cut too short. I have lived through losing you far too often. And I can't keep doing it. And now you are once again a mortal, and a shadowhunter to boot. How long would I have you this time? A few years? A decade with any luck? Mere months? I'm sorry, Alexander. I can't."

[foodsies4me]

End of the Year Fic Recs!!!

thank you @echo-bleu for tagging me! <3

I adore this as a game because I love reccing fics (and really should do it more often because So. Much. Good.Fic). This is going to be all shadowhunters I'm afraid though because I am still very much in the shadowhunters brainrot stage and haven't read much of anything else. (Also, sorry to those I haven't left a comment for yet, I WILL, spoons have just been low this year...) Also, I'll try to keep it to one rec per author because there are so many wonderful authors, but definitely go check the other fics of these people (if you haven't already) they're all excellent.

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Running from the Night by @to-the-stars-writing. My forever fic spouse and the fic I reread themost this year goes to the fantastic, angsty Alec goes to live in a small village to get away from the Clave because the poor dude is traumatized fic from to-the-stars. This fic is my fics spouse (yes I got @to-the-stars-writing's permission to marry this fic) and I love, love, love it so much.

Flames to Embers by @notcrypticbutcoy: teenage!Alec is poofed into the timeline of his older self and it is lovely, sad, and heartwarming all at the same time. Also, teenage Alec is delightfully grumpy and Adult Alec is even more delightfully Done with teenage!Alec's grumpiness.

starshine and moonlight by she_who_reads (all_fandoms_reader) A three +1 fic where Alec isn't enough until he finally is. This fic is angsty and delves into Alec's (not all that great) self-worth issues and it hurts. Might or might not have cried reading it.

The Warlock's Cat by @dreaming-marchling. I hesitated a while which one I should pick from Marchling, but I ended up choosing this one (that said PLEASE go read Bleed for Me as well it is so goooood). The Warlock's Cat is a delightful "Alec gets turned into a cat and ends up in Magnus's care" fic. I adore it, and while it has its angsty or whumpy spots, it's mostly a nice, feel-good read.

Magnus Bane: Menace by AceOnIce To give some reprieve from all of the angst in this list, here is a fic of pure, unabashed fluff. Starring: Warlock Alec and Shadowhunter Magnus, the latter of which writes some truly ridiculous mission reports to HOTI Ragnor's grief.

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

The river cannot go back by @lawsofchaos1. Alec being Alec and completely in love with Magnus which leads to him committing treason like it's nothing. It is a short, brilliant fic that had me screeching like any @lawsofchaos1 fic does.

I'm finding it hard to breath by Honey_Hued_Hermes This one is pretty heave, but it does have a Hopeful Ending. Alec never promised he would tell Magnus if things ever got that bad...and sadly they do. Diving into Alec's Suicidal Thoughts and his Self-Harm tendencies.

A Most Fundamental Truth by autisticalec A missing scene from 2X10 when Alec tells Magnus that he's never been as terrified as when he feared Magnus had died from the Soul Sword. This one-shot dives into the "Alec was really very not okay emotionally" in this scene, so go read it!

The Difficult Task by @dani-dabbles: Another Alec is going through it emotionally fic (there are quite a lot of these on this list I just realized, oops). Thankfully, Magnus is there to offer support when Alec needs it because Magnus is still the best boyfriend. (also the repeated "not good enough"is evil and I am suing for emotion damages, please and thank you very much)

come to me (in the night hours) by @moonlight-breeze-44 Izzy is a supportive sister and is there emotionally for Alec right before his wedding to Lydia. This fic left me feeling all sad and weepy. This fic is technically part of a series, but as no other parts have been posted yet I am posting this in the one-shot part.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

I've Always Dreamed of Meeting Someone Like You by ColorfulWarlock A non-magical Alternate Universe this time around. Single-dad, fashion designer, and CEO Magnus needs someone to draw his designs for him after a hit-and-run leaves him unable to draw for himself. Insert Alec, the wonderful babysitter, and game designer who seems to understand what Magnus envisions and draw them into reality!

Angelus ex Machina by BlueA The series starts with the sudden disappearance of demon activity and the way that lack of activity impacts the local Shadow World. I love the way the parabatai bond is portrayed in this fic (especially in the third installment).

through the fire and pain by alxndrlightwoods is another parabatai-bond deep-dive that goes deep into how a parabatai bond can change shadowhunters. It also explains why, if parabatai are so powerful, there aren't that many of them. Love this fic!

i cannot touch because they are too near by @faejilly nobody manages to write poetry without writing poetry quite like @faejilly for me, seriously the words are always so beautiful I am in awe. This fic has to be my absolute favorite though because deep-dives into the parabatai bond are interesting to begin with but the way Jilly decides to do so in this fic makes it go from interesting to absolutely brilliant.

Greater Love Hath No Man by @lawsofchaos1 Okay, I lied, here is a second Laws fic, but considering this fic led to the demise of my laptop, I felt that it deserved to be on the list. (No, that wasn't a joke). Dad!Alec is forced to send baby!Max away to a warlock orphanage when his magic grows too strong for him and leaves him injured. The pain is real and it is excruciating, tissues are advised.

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

As much as I adore reccing fics, doing self-recs is awkward, so I'm going to keep this to one rec before I combust into flames.

All Was Golden (everyone has probably read that one already because it's my most-read fic which makes this slightly less awkward than reccing any other of my fics.) Anyway, soulmate AU with a kind of ugly meet that has some angst.

Tagging, without any kind of pressure, the authors I tagged in the rec-list (if they haven't participated already) as well as @miss-mouse.