#I. WRITING ; MARK BLACKTHORN

[livingtheparadoxlife]

The relationship between Julian and Mark gets me. Every. Damn. Time.

They started out normal, Mark calling him pipsqueak but still taking care of him, Julian annoying him but still loving him. But then Sebastian turns up and everything gets blasted to hell.

Mark's essentially kidnapped, Eleanor and Andrew dead, and Helen exiled. So Julian steps up and does a wonderful job of it. He takes on the Institute's business at the ripe old age of 12, and proves to be extraordinarily great at it. He manages to hide his uncle's problem from the rest of the world. He takes care of his siblings in an almost fervent way. On top of that, he has to actually take lessons. And even better, he has major PTSD from committing patricide, which btw saved his brother's life. He's stressed, he bears way too much burden for a child but at the end of the day, he has his siblings and Emma and his art to turn to, though there's very less he can share with the children and one he can't with Emma.

Mark is not much better. The Wild Hunt doesn't see him as a comrade, they see him as a Shadowhunter spawn and then treat him as if he is the Clave. They take out their frustrations on him, whipping him raw and probably starving him to the point Julian notes how frail he looks. 'Whipcord thin', he calls him. He almost loses his mind, as the talks with Simon prove. The only thing holding him to sanity at that point, is his family. He goes on by naming the stars after them, so that he never forgets who he is- a Shadowhunter. But the Shadowhunters see him as a faerie. He has no community outside his family, both sides of his ancestry have disowned him. To me, personally, he seems to have been damaged to the point where something in him will never completely heal. But he has Kieran, he's responsible for nothing, only to ride with the Hunt.

And then he's back. The moment they've all dreamt of, but it's not what they dreamt of.

Essentially, they change into versions the other cannot recognize. Mark knew Julian as this gentle, kind, artistic brother who was annoying sure, but unbelievably precious. He doesn't know the outwardly cold, very visibly shrewd man he's become. And Julian knew the responsible older brother who had taken care of him, loved him and teased him. He cannot find him in the thin, frail, funny speaking man, one of whose eyes now doesn't mirror his own, who seems to have gone out of his mind. The scars on him are all wrong, and he seems more fey than angel.

Julian is hurt because his siblings want Mark, and he in turn lashes out at Mark. Mark remembers very little of the human world, he no longer belongs there. Julian tries to let Mark takeover, but Mark understandably can't. Julian wishes he could be the fun older brother and not the guardian. Mark wishes to take care of them like he used to but can't.

They no longer fit in together like they used to, there's a wall made of insanity and expectations and responsibility and years of distance between them.

Mark can no longer take care of his brother. Julian can no longer let his brother hold him like he used to.

This has to be extremely terrifying for both of them. I'd be terrified if my younger sister became as cold and calculating as Julian presented himself to be. At the same time, if my older brother became as mentally and physically broken as Mark, I'd lose all hope. But Mark doesn't let what he sees make him forget who he is brother is at his core. And neither does Julian let go of his love for Mark even in light of his resentment.

Them learning to brothers again is what seems to me so compelling to me. At the end, Julian lets Mark hold him and Mark can now support him, if only for a little while, without faltering.

All of the Blackthorns have undergone significant changes by the start of TDA, but none more so than the two of them, who've almost become different people. And so, it's one of my favourite parts of TDA too, amidst the extremely dark setting.

[julescarstairs]

Listening to TDA and hearing/‘watching’ Julian standing in the sanctuary, staring at his long-lost brother, home at last, and asking “What have you done? What have you done to him?” And thinking inadvertently of Luc in the Seelie Court throne room staring at his twin, a blank slate at the mercy of the Queen, and crying out the very same thing.

[bytheangell]

I’m begging for number 33 with kierarktina please literally anything

(Read on AO3)

Cristina knows the rules of the Unseelie Court are different than the ones she's used to living and abiding by. They're harsher and more unforgiving - for beings so reliant on tricks and subtle wordings, they lack the good-natured trait of sympathy when wronged.

She spends more and more time in the Unseelie realm, despite not truly belonging there, because she does belong with Mark and Kieran. It's a delicate line to walk for a Nephilim. Often times she will come and go from the cabin they share without any interaction with the other fey. Everyone knows who she is and that she isn't to be touched.

Other Nephilim aren't so lucky, especially when they trespass into the Unseelie realm uninvited.

When there's a knock on the door it's Kieran who goes to answer. There's a hushed conversation, the sound of a scuffle, and then the door closes again. When Kieran returns to her he's no longer wearing the soft, relaxed smile he had minutes before when they lay side by side in bed. Cristina knows this look, and she despises it.

The expression on Kieran's face now is one of reassigned regret, of a duty he carries out in part obligation, part genuine attempt to do good. Cristina isn't naive enough to think that means he won't have to make difficult decisions, ones she doesn't understand or agree with.

“Keep your hands over your ears, do you hear me? Even when the noises stop. Don’t listen.”

Kieran's instructions bring a chill through Cristina. She's about to question why when Mark enters the room with a quick, silent nod to Kieran before taking his place in the bed beside Cristina.

She feels his arms wrap around her, pulling her head down into his chest. "I'm so sorry you have to be here for this," he says.

"For what?" Cristina asks, but the anguished scream that reaches her from outside is all the answer she needs. She brings her hands up to her ears, pressing down into the pillow to help muffle the cries for mercy.

They must deserve this, whoever they are, whatever they've done. They must, because it takes a lot for Kieran to cave to the pressure of committing such acts of punishment.

Of torture.

Mark holds her tighter, one hand combing through her hair with his fingers. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he repeats.

She's a Nephilim. She's no stranger to pain or the danger of being caught on a mission. She understands, as much as she wishes she didn't. Maybe that's just another thing Mark's sorry about - the fact that she does understand. That she isn't innocent enough for this to be enough to send her fleeing the other direction.

Love is strange that way. You rationalize away now than you normally would. You accept things you wouldn't from any other person. It's enough to know that they have no real choice.

It's enough to know that they could never do it to you.

Every so often Cristina thinks the screaming is over, only to be proven wrong the moment she moves her hands away from her ears.

Eventually, the screams stop. The front door opens and closes, and then the quiet sobs begin. Cristina wonders if these are the sounds Kieran doesn't want her to hear the most.

When he finally comes back to bed she can feel the weight of the night on him. Turning, she wraps her arms around him, giving a tight squeeze filled with as much comfort and reassurance she can manage. She feels his muscles relax under her touch, his breathing slow and stabilize.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, echoing Mark's words from earlier. "I'm so sorry."

It isn't enough, but for now, it's all they have.

[aprill-99]

I have been reading ACOTAR this summer in an attempt to give myself a brain break before 3L and because the books were left in my Airbnb so, ya know, free, and while I will admit my reactions have been mixed, I have many thoughts, have been entertained, and accomplished my general goal…

HOWEVER

I desperately need to know if anyone else here on Tumblr shares one particular thought with me.

Okay I’ll set the scene:

*Gigantic Worm Appears for Feyre to Fight.*

Aramatha: *evil cackling*

The Crowd: *gasp.*

Rhyse: “I can figure out how to profit here probably. That’s a valid way of showing wifey support when she doesn’t know she’s wifey yet right?”

Feyre: *Panics and takes action. Everything is incredibly dramatic.*

……..

Me: *to myself* “massive worm, massive worm, what’s this make me think of….”

Me: “….. Oh yeah!”

Me: *William-Mother-Fucking-Herondale Voice* “A forty foot worm?!? Think of the size of the fish we could catch!”

Anyway I’m like 3/4 through book two and am still entertained with this as a generally fun read by not taking any of it too seriously and avoiding anything resembling a ship war and now I’m considering if it’s at all possible to think up a crossover where the massive worm is Papa Lightworm.

[poetpony6890]

Psssst

Hey kid

Wanna feel something but you don’t have the money for drugs due to inflation? Well do I have something for you

Go check out my ao3

[witchlingcirce]

Yk as much as I find humour in the incest plot lines in the mortal instruments and enjoy and make the jokes. I honestly think the meaning is a little lost on people.

Preface: I AM NOT DEFENDING INCEST!!!! Incest is disgusting and gross and I do NOT support it, I just think Cassie added these for a reason.

The point of the two incest plot lines isn’t because of some weird fetish (btw Cassie writing fanfic between Ron and Ginny is a false rumour) it actually does serve a purpose in the story: and that’s to just show how sick and twisted Valentine is.

When Valentine reveals that Jace is Clary’s sister, he’s not just doing it for the shits and the giggles. It’s a specific manipulation tactic. It’s been a while since I’ve read City of Bones, but the idea behind it was just to put a wedge between the two. The purpose of this part in particular is to show Valentine's manipulation, he probably thought that if he said they were siblings then they would be likely to join him to protect each other (or at least Jace). It was also definitely to poke at Jace, whom he taught that emotions/love was a weakness. I understand why a lot of people don’t like this bit in the story since I don’t think it was handled particularly well (I think the meaning behind the reveal kind of gets lost with all the Clace bickering). Lol, however, I do think it gets better for the other plotline:

The Sebastian plotline is so misconstrued online it makes me want to die. When Clary shows people the visions of their loved ones, Sebastian sees Clary. Sebastian is taught growing up that any emotions are some kind of weakness. We even see that he naturally does not feel things. So when he sees Clary he thinks it’s romantic love and not sibling love. I feel like people saying things about this plotline completely misses the mark on it. It is incest but it is not reciprocated. Not only does Sebastian torture Clary’s loved ones but also kills them, he tried to rape her. Clary is the victim of abuse at Sebastian's hands. The point of this plot line is to emphasise Sebastian’s disconnect with his emotions, to emphasise how sick he is. If Izzy saw Alec when Clary showed the vision then Izzy would have known it was sibling love. Same with any of the blackthorns, or any other character with siblings.

Anyways, obviously the “your my sister” joke is really funny, I just think that sometimes people miss the point of these storyline’s (there obviously weird but after you read game of thrones you get it used to it I fear)

[cinnamon-lotus]

Livvy and Ty Blackthorn

Ok. I had a revelation. Keep reading to the end so i can make my point. Sorry its long, but for real please read it i was goig crazier as I continued writing this.

I already told in one post that Magnus said magic has a price and necromacy even more. etc. Livvy was already ashes when she cameback as a ghost, BUT she only cameback as ghost because the catalyst was corrupted. If not, she would have comeback for real, at least in theory cause we didn't see it. And i talked about how twin relationships usually are more connected and complex. That maybe they new how to raise a sibling but not the consecuence of raising a twin. And having THule in mind and and how it reflects in the original story, that it could be possible that when Ty raised Livvy, he also raised Thule-Ty. You can see it in my other post.

NOW, with this information I can speculate that Evil Ty, its Thule Ty.

But why is he evil? Why is Livvy also turning dark? Magnus said Livvy would eventually lose her humanity.

Well, for Livvy had past 3 years. However, Thule is 7 years forward in comparisIon with the original timeline. When Ash got in Thule 2 year had already passed, and when Julian and Emma did, 5 years more. Everyone in Thule was older. Livvy, Ash, Cameron... etc. And, in my case, reading that dream of kit... Ty looked older. there was something in it that gave me the vibes that that Ty had been more time living than our original Ty.

The thing is there is something that I have never seen anyone saying before. So hear me out.

A newborn shadowhunter needs a protection ritual. Jocelyn made one to Clary, clandestine, but she did. Meanwhile Jace... when he was brought back from thw death, the magic from that ritual faded. Thats why Lilith could control him and bla bla bla.

So hear me out. Im always saying hear me out.

Anyways. Livvy was brought back. Yes, I know as a ghost. Not alive. But also not dead. Like not really dead dead. Like fully. And, again, she only a ghost because the catalyst was corrupted.

So what if she is losing with time her humanity because the magic that protected her faded? NOW heehehehe, in this thule mirror dimension, with the already explanation I told earlier, Evil Ty (who time passed more through him than the original ty) is older, more time to lose humanity and become this evil version of himself.

Evil ty also would have been brought back with that ritual faded, like ghost Livvy.

In the original version, Ty was who did the necromancy so thats why he is tied with ghost Livvy. In thule version, evil ty would raise too (because the mirror twin thing I explained before), but Thule Livvy has nothing to do anymore with him.

Also, what we had seen about Thule, in general, was before Ty raised Livvy. So if Ty raising ghost livvy and affecting Thule-evil ty, would also affected thule Livvy we couldn't have seen it. Because Julian and Emma got inside Thule before Ghost Livvy was an actual thing. I still dont think Thule Livvy would be affected, anyways, because she has no conection anymore with Ty, evil or not.

And as I said before, Thule is a mirror dimension from the original, with each crack that turn different. And each crack makes more cracks in that mirror, making it look more far away from what it was at first. Sebastian winning wazs the very first crack from the mirror, and every decision after, became a consequence. And every consecuence marked the mirror with a new crack.

NOW, with all this we know -as in this theory of course, im not telling this is going to happen. I just lost theorising-,

Ghost livvy turning evil.

Ty being affected because of ghostlivvy.

Evil Ty its from Thule, had lost more humanity than ghost Livvy.

maybe, in this scenario, the evil thing its cause because of not having the protection ritual. Magnus say there its a price, but there is always someone with a higher price.

But lets talk more about this evil Ty. I dont think this evil Ty will materialize in the 1st book of TWP. Even if Kit had dreams, I think this will happen In the 2nd book in the second half OR in the 3rd book.

So what had we learnt thanks to Jace? That u are weak to be controlled without that protection ritual. Lilith played him.

And who u guys do love to talk about? Lucifer. Its giving deja vu u know. Thule, a dimension where hell was not under but in front of u. Where all demons could wander around. Do u guys think Lucifer will be in the original dimension? Causw u know, just by lookings, Thule looks more like a place without protection to live his best life.

Does lucifer need a body to be in Thule? Couldn't he be there without a problem? I don't think so. I think he was there and if he wasnt it was because he didn't wanted to, but he could. U get me?

So having this in mind. Sebastian dies, they start turning back the shadowhunters by the mortal cup and doing the protection ritual, and treating the downworlders with the Lynk lake. Demons are being expelled from there. What if Lucifer doesn't want to leave? What if he still wants to be there and turn Thule in what it was before. But he can't. The doors of Thule are closing. (I'm trying to fit here ur speculations about evil ty being Lucifer)

BUT THE CRACKS GUYS. Every consequence leads to another one. When Ty raised Livvy, Im afraid he did another crack there, another consecuence. JUST aaaaaahhhhh. What if Lucifer, wanting to return back and make Thule as what it was before, took Thule Ty as an opportunity for coming back. Like, the new shadowhunters like would be Thule Livvy , as an example, would do the ritual protection, but not ThuleTy, who everyone think is dead.

So Lucifer only has Ty to use as recipient.

Also, there is so much a mirror cracks until it finnally breaks. An remember that the catalyst was corrupted. Corrupted by who or what? And what will be the full consequences of that? Just Livvy returning as a ghost? I don't think so.

I forgot the other reasons i have on this while writting it IM SORRY but I will edit this if something came to my mind again.

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

Why do you find Charles interesting?

I find Charles fascinating because I think that he's a very unique character. He's terrible in a multifaceted way that I think is often overlooked.

Fandom and Creator Attitudes

I feel like a lot of people write him off as "annoying" and ignore him, which is kind of irritating.

First, in writing Charles off as "annoying" without elaborating on that, we brush the actually-heinous things Charles does under the rug. Specifically in regards to Alastair. Like, no, he wasn't just a boorish boyfriend who neglected Alastair's needs! He was an abusive person who groomed him when he was a child, transparently used him for sex based on their behavior in ChoG, treated him consistently terribly, brainwashed him to the point that Cordelia compared Alastair-dating-Charles to Bracelet-James, and harassed him in public after they broke up. Let's talk about it beyond "lol what an annoying asshole!"

Unfortunately, the narrative and the fandom villainize him for being closeted. This is not a reason he sucks. Charles is a gay man in the early 1900s and should be allowed to chill in Narnia for as long as he wants. When we go "he needs to CoMe oUt," that's shitty. But it also brushes the perfectly legitimate reasons he should be villainized under the rug!

But second, in writing Charles off as "annoying," we ignore what a complex and layered character he is.

Why Is Charles Layered?

Charles Buford Fairchild is, mark my words, a pompous git. I don't want there to be any misunderstanding here. He is an arrogant, self-important douchebag who puts on an air of perceived authority and thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And yet.

In addition to thinking he is the Coolest Thing in All the World, Charles also hates himself on a deep and fundamental level.

This dichotomy is fascinating. Charles isn't just made up of ambition, shame, and fear in equal parts. He's made up entirely of ambition, entirely of shame, and entirely of fear. All three of these things work together to form the character. They exacerbate each other. If Charles did not have so much ambition, he would not be so scared of his homosexuality; if he were not so ashamed, he would not be scared. But at the same time, that fear drives his ambition. He has to be the best, he has to be Consul, he has to matter.

Charles also is incredibly awkward. Like, sometimes he says and does awful things that I don't even necessarily think he means to.

I personally, like @faithfromanewperspective and @caterpillarinacave once said, believe Charles to be autistic.

He has 0 concept of how to engage with people, and he seems to follow pre-set rules when it comes to social interactions that don't always make sense. Exhibit A: talking to James when he destroys the Blackthorn's greenhouse. He has walked into this encounter with a preconceived idea that James has done something wrong; he is unable and unwilling to entertain otherwise, because he has already made up his mind. Charles Buford Fairchild simply cannot be wrong, not only because he's pompous but also because it would go off-script to be wrong. It would be awkward for him, and the way that he purports himself here illustrates that.

Defining Charles's Character Through Relationships

There's also something interesting to be said about his relationships with other people. His mother, whose footsteps he wants to follow in despite the fact that he has deep-rooted misogyny, yes. His father, who he seems to show absolutely no interest in, sure.

But, family-wise, I think it's interesting to pick apart the fact that he and Matthew are so different in an almost cultivated way. They seem to have each defined themselves against the other. Matthew is open, flamboyant, a libertine; Charles is a closeted, stuffy, sexually repressed person. They're both MLM. They just handle it in the exact opposite ways. And everything with Charles totally backfires in part because of this. Everybody loves openly bisexual Matthew; Charles knows this, but the fear that stems from having too much ambition convinces him that his homosexuality will be a barrier in the way of becoming Consul. He convinces himself (incorrectly) that Matthew has no ambition or drive; that all he does, and, yes, I think this is a very interestingly slut-shamey thing to say, is go to "clubs and salons and orgies." He's the classic Republican gay guy that has convinced himself that Matthew is the other kind of gay person that he doesn't like. Baffling. And, still, everyone loves Matthew. Astounding.

His relationship with Alastair, though vile and rancid, is also interesting on a narrative level. He's doubtlessly predatory, and he's very abusive - but I don't think that he views Alastair as a person that he's abusing. I think he views Alastair as another gay man, one that he is attracted to - and, thus, a constant reminder that he is gay. This supersedes Alastair the person and is in part a reason that he is so foul.

It's also interesting to note that Charles is the natural culmination of what a Charlotte/Henry baby would look like in its worst possible form. Charlotte's ambition and drive, but totally blown out of proportion into something ugly; Henry's desire to matter to the Shadow world magnified and redirected toward political pursuits rather than scientific ones.

In conclusion, he's fascinating.

[tleeaves]

Tea time? 🍃

Hi and welcome to my humble li'l blog of disorder! Call me T. Lee, or T., or just Lee (T. Leeaves if you insist on being formal), and any nicknames really, I don't mind. Like it says in the description, I am 18+ so minors be mindful, please. I go by she/her pronouns.

A little bit about me: I am a writer, gardener, my family's and friends' resident tailor, a tea enthusiast, university student, occasional artist, gamer, and collector of a lot of other random hobbies and wells of knowledge. My favourite animals are bears and foxes but I also love animals in general. Drinks of choice are often any type of tea or a matcha latte. My favourite flower is a Christmas rose. If you ask me to choose between chocolate and espresso ice cream, I will not be able to choose, I want them both. Keep in mind at all times that I am a mischievous sprite at heart and my mood changes with the weather--don't tap on the glass of my jar if you value your sanity.

I have/had a side blog @streettealee where I used to post a lot of my fanfic updates and fandom discourse, but it is currently inactive until I work up the energy to get rid of it. You may recognise me (or that blog) from The Shadowhunter Chronicles fandom since I used to write primarily for it, though those days are dwindling away.

Below is a masterlist of my fanfics on AO3 (expect some one shots or shorter fics to be posted to Tumblr at some point and added to the list). What is not included on the masterlist but you might find on my AO3 are my "original works" that are actually just fanfics of my friends' characters (with their permission) and my own OCs from a group role play, hence why there is no proper fandom/media category to sort them into which is why AO3 labelled them as original.

Feel free to send any asks, ideas, general vibes, and confessions of your undying love for me for whoever in my postbox above!

- T. Lee 🍃

Masterlist

League of Legends

You're Too Sweet For Me - Sett x reader

Resident Evil

Taste of the Divine - Karl Heisenberg x OC, (past) Donna Beneviento x OC

Tokyo Debunker

Rule(heart)breaker - Ritsu Shinjo x reader

-> Rule(heart)breaker pt. II

TDB Playlists

(TSC) The Last Hours

Oldest to latest in publishing.

Fics marked by * are only accessible to registered users on AO3

A Diamond On Your Pillow - Christopher Lightwood x Lara Croft

Pride and Prejudice - Alastair Carstairs x Thomas Lightwood (Pride and Prejudice AU)

Love, We Did Our Best - Matthew Fairchild x OC

*The Rain (It Rains Every Day) - James Herondale x Cordelia Carstairs, Grace Blackthorn x Lucie Herondale, Alastair Carstairs x Thomas Lightwood (AU inspired by Cupid and Psyche and La Belle et la Bête)

Blood Upon The Snow - Alastair Carstairs x James Herondale (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim isekai AU)

*When Prometheus Gave Us Fire And The Gods Stole It Back - Cordelia Carstairs x Christopher Lightwood, Matthew Fairchild x Christopher Lightwood, Grace Blackthorn x Cordelia Carstairs, Cordelia Carstairs x James Herondale

[secretly-a-catamount]

A collection of all current Malcabel fics that have been written by me, because i’m insane about them (positive) and have been debating which one I should work on next

Currently Untitled | Finished Beach Fic

  It was all Catarina Loss’s fault really.

  “Honestly, Malcolm,” the sky blue warlock had told Annabel’s husband when he’d called her positively panicking about being in charge of her (many times removed) nieces and nephews for a day, “why don’t you and Annabel just take the kids to the beach?”

  Trusting his friend’s judgment more than his own had been a rather terrible idea, Annabel thought amusingly as she watched the blond warlock race down the shoreline, waving his arms like a mad man, shouting that under no circumstances were the children to poke at that beached jellyfish with a stick, yes, Tiberius, even if it was already dead.

  After some whining (the children) and some poorly concealed begging (Malcom), the Blackthorn kids dispersed into the water and across the sand.

  Malcolm trudged back up the beach, and stood at the edge of the shade thrown by the umbrella stabbed into the ground.

  Annabel looked up from her drawing pad, her black brows furrowing in irritation at the shadow abruptly cast over her sketchbook. “You’re blocking my light.”

  His pale skin flushed a delicious raspberry red as he stammered out an “Oh, right, sorry” and moved to sit beside her on the blanket, smiling sheepishly. After a moment of comfortable silence, Malcolm absentmindedly ran his hand down her arm, stopping only to trace the black lines, curves, and whorls of her Runes. His touch was soft and light as a feather. “What are you drawing?”

  “You obviously.”

  “Obviously.” A pastel sketch of Malcolm in his striped black-and-white bathing suit, looking tall and thin and almost frail, with a softness to his frame and features that matched his disposition. A faint salmon-pink sunburn covered his face and shoulders, and his lips were cracked (Annabel would solve that one way or another, either by gifting him the tube of chapstick she’d squirreled away in her purse or by kissing him until he couldn’t breathe).

  “The kids.” Ty and Livvy and some golden-haired Mundane boy that Annabel didn’t know chasing a seagull. Mark and Helen teaching Tavvy how to build a sandcastle. Dru, Julian, and a different golden-haired child that Annabel didn’t know, this one a Shadowhunter girl with a spill of bright curls and a practice training sword, diving into the ocean and swimming around in the shallows.

  “Church.” The fat, blue feline crouched down in the dunes, fluffy tail held erect, eyes focused on a mouse in front of him, mere seconds away from a pounce that Annabel knew would end in failure.

  “The L.A. Institute.” An imposing building that Annabel didn’t think could ever have the ability to look homely.

  “Home.” A snapshot of their living room, a Polaroid pinned with a paper-clip for reference, Malcolm’s latest draft of the Codex — her illustrations not yet accompanying his neat, meticulous writing — spilling off the end table onto the soft, red couch, one of Annabel’s favorite mugs (which would always be filled with tea, Annabel and Malcolm both hating the taste of coffee) filled with paint-streaked paint brushes and colored pencils.

  “And my first love, the sea.” Cerulean and cobalt-blue waves crashing to the shore.

  “Should I be jealous?” Malcolm had moved from her arm to her hand, gently interlacing their fingers together.

  “Oh, immensely. I’m definitely leaving you for the ocean.”

  Malcolm’s laughter was interrupted by a shriek of pain.

  With a quickness that could belong only to a Shadowhunter, Annabel leapt to her feet. Heart hammering, she scanned the beachfront with frenzied eyes, her fingers itching to pull the wickedly-sharp daggers from the sheath she wore on her ankle . . .

  There — there was no danger present other than one of the children perhaps twisting their ankle. It hadn’t been a scream of pain, but a shriek of childish delight as Dru and Julian teamed up to toss the golden-haired girl — Annabel wanted to say her name was Emily? — into the shallow waves with a mighty splash of saltwater.

  Collapsing to the ground as quickly as she’d risen, Annabel scrubbed at her face, her eyes starting to sting with tears. This was how it always was whenever she and Malcolm left home, whenever they left Cornwall. She would be fine, and then she wouldn’t be. She would be fine, and then she would have a breakdown. Blood splattered against her lips and — blood?

  She wasn’t bleeding, her ruined hands barring no scraps or marks (although plenty of Marks), but she had a sinking suspicion of who was.

  “Ouch,” Malcolm said, “I think you grabbed my hand just a little too hard.” He smiled — why the hell was he smiling, she’d gouged her nails into his skin until he bled, she’d hurt him, she’d hurt him — moving to sit beside her on the blanket once again. His purple eyes darkened from the pale petals of violets to polished chips of amethyst with worry.

  “Are you hurt?” He took her hands in his own, turning them over gently and examining them, his head bent. Shadows and sunlight caught on the strands of his white hair.

  “No. But you are.” She yanked her hands out of his grasp and ground her teeth together, telling herself that she was not going to cry in front of the children (who were not remotely paying attention).

  “It’s fine, darling, really.” A flash, a spark, and pale light wove between Malcolm’s fingers until it looked like he held a burning star in his cupped hands. The scent of his magic — burning cinnamon and crisp snow and freshly spilled ink — reached her nostrils just in time for his flesh to knit back together.

  Drawing her knees to her chest, Annabel buried her face in her hands, squeezing her eyes shut so hard her skull hurt. I hurt him, I hurt him, I hurt him, I hurt him, I—

  Annabel barely heard as Malcolm got to his feet and shouted to the children that they needed to leave. She could barely hear anything over the dim in her head, the memories threatening to drown her. The clashing of wolves’s teeth, her father carving off her fingers, her sister crumpling dead to the ground from the blow she dealt to her temple with a fire-poker. She could still taste her husband’s blood in her mouth, she could still smell her sister’s blood, she could still feel her blood flowing from wounds made by her father’s knife.

  A wave curling around her ankle, Annabel was being dragged out to sea by a hated, if familiar, riptide. She was treading water, but she was so tired of fighting to live, of fighting for the right to live. She stopped for a moment to rest her too-tight skin and weary bones, and then she was drowning.

  She was drowning.

Currently Untitled | Unfinished Canon Divergent AU

  Her hair black, her skin white, her eyes blue and green and gray and all the colors of the ocean that swallowed men whole with little regard to their flimsy, mortal lives: Annabel Blackthorn was dead.

  Wearing angelic brands, the barred teeth of a wolf, laughter, complacency, and lies, drawn tight around her like a cloak, like a shield, like a funeral shroud: Annabel Blackthorn was dead.

  White hair and purple eyes and a whisper of her name as the last words on his lips, she had died months ago when they had looped a noose around Malcolm’s neck.

  She had died, but her body still wasn’t where it was supposed to be. She had died, but her body did not rot in the grave, did not decompose under the crust of the earth. She had died, but she had not swung — they would not let her. Her family had been ruined from when she had tried to flee with her beloved, a suicide would be inconsolable to their reputation.

  So they had arranged for her to be married to her cousin and shut away in one of their houses far away from Cornwall, far away from even Idris, as if she were mad, as if she was dangerous, as if she was deadly.

  They were right, of course, one of the few things they were ever right about. And they didn’t even know that they were right, they underestimated her, they always had, that would get them all killed.

  She was the mad girl — and she was a girl, barely past eighteen — who shattered a looking glass with her coiled fists and used the jagged-edged shards to cut lines and whorls into her skin. They took away everything sharp after that — or, at least, away from her, a Shadowhunter family never being able to not have weapons on hand.

  She was the dangerous girl who mixed rat poison in her sister’s wine. This sister, youthful and kind as she was, had been the one to sell out Malcolm and Annabel to their parents, had been the one to release the wolves who tracked them down, had been the one to physically restrain her when they executed Malcolm. They fired the rat catcher after that — wrongly thinking he had committed the killing as a product of jealousy from being born a Mundane.

  She was the deadly girl who, when the party was over, when the sky was as black-and-blue as the the bruises her cousin left on her thighs and hips and arms, straddled her husband, fitted her hands to the curve of his throat, his pulse beating beneath her fingertips, and squeezed, a Strength Rune etched on the deceptively delicate-looking wrist hidden underneath one of her billowing sleeves. She did not know what they would do when they found out — she did not intend to live that long.

  Thrashing like a netted fish, he clawed at her fingers, her hands, and her arms. Crimson blood splattering into his mouth and eyes, drowning and blinding him as he died. His cries for help were silenced into choking, wheezing gasps.

  He fought. Annabel fought harder.

  She lingered for a moment before slipping to the floor.

Currently Untitled | Unfinished Soulmate AU

  The First Mark, as they were called, carried from birth on the skin, where a gift from the Angel. A way to lead his children along their path to their soulmate, a way to bred better Shadowhunters, birth better warriors.

  And as everyone knew, decrees from the Angel could not be challenged.

  They were Law.

As the World Burns | Unfinished AU

  “So, that’s it than? We’re all fucked?” Annabel Blackthorn stood at the counter, shoulders set, taking her anger out on the wilting tomatoes spread across a dented cutting board, her posture as perfect as a taunt piano wire. Outside the window the sky was black as pitch and completely starless, almost as it knew what was coming, almost as if it mourned for the thousands of lives that were going to be lost. Innocents, slaughtered by his hands, his magic, his inventions.

  “I don’t — I can’t . . . I’m so sorry, Annabel. So, so sorry.” Malcolm nearly collapsed to the floor but managed to catch himself on the edge of the counter at the last possible moment. His briefcase clattered to the stone tile, emptied of everything that had made it important just hours earlier.

 She softened, as she always did when he spoke, and abandoned their last dinner, pulling him into a soft embrace. Malcolm stilled under her touch, his breathing slowly evening out. He wasn’t safe here, he wasn’t safe anywhere, not anymore, not in so, so long, but he was safe with her.

  Together they collapsed to the floor.

Currently Untitled | Unfinished Vampire!Annabel AU

  “No, please!” the woman said fearfully, “Don’t hurt me!” Her dark eyes desperately tried to find something in the swallowing darkness.

  “Now, now, my svelte beauty,” purred the creature as it slipped out of the shadows, “no need to make a fuss.”

  It was a man, with sharp, inhuman teeth, pupil-less eyes, and unnaturally pale skin. He wore a black cloak with a high collar and a blood-red gemstone clasp. He spoke with a foreign accent.

  The woman screamed as the monster grabbed her by the shoulders and sunk his fangs into her throat. Blood splattered against her white dress as she struggled, shrieking for mercy, then suddenly, with a burst of strength, the woman—

  “Don’t worry, kid, there’s not enough blood in your veins for any one of us to want to do that to you.”

  Kit jumped. Heart skipping a beat at the abrupt appearance of a girl — who looked around nineteen, and quite obviously a vampire, which was weird because he thought vampires weren’t allowed in the Institute thanks to the Shadowhunters’ magical racism — he spat out a string of profanities, and then said, “God, you scared me.”

  “Nothing to do with God here. Creature of the Dammed and all that.”

  He blinked, not sure what to make of her joke, and then decided to focus on the more pressing matter. “Who the hell are you? How the hell are you here?” He tightened his grip on the dagger he’d liberated from the Blackthorn’s weapons-room.

  “Now that’s more in my wheelhouse.”

  The girl neatly sat herself down on the couch beside him. Her movements weren’t particularly inhuman, but the sword that hung from her hip certainly was. The blade was sleek, long, and almost delicate-looking. Seemingly made from the same material that the Shadowhunters’ special knifes were made from — some sort of crystal-metal alloy that belonged exclusively to the Shadowhunters, because they’re just so good at sharing, Kit thought bitterly — the sword shone subtlety, while the black runes inset into the blade.

  “I’m Annabel Fade, the Head of the L.A. vampire clan.  As for why I’m here, I need to talk to Emma and Julian. Do you know where they are?”

  “They went on a patrol.” Kit answered, turning the dagger in his hand over and over as he talked, a mindless, repetitive motion that brought him comfort. “But how are you here, like, in the Institute? I thought—“

  “Auntie Annabel!” A shrike, a blur, and Annabel was engulfed in the littlest Blackthorn’s embrace.

“You came! You told me she wouldn’t, but she came.” Tavvy clung to Annabel’s black leather biker jacket like a determined octopus as she moved to give Livvy — who’d just come into the room with a ridiculously giant tub of popcorn in her hands — a one-armed hug. Standing next to Livvy, who wasn’t by any means particularly tall, Kit realized that Annabel was actually kind of short.

  Livvy accepted the hug, stuck her tongue out at Tavvy, and said, “I didn’t say she wouldn’t come, I just said it would be hard for her to. ‘cuz of the warding.”

[julescarstairs]

Meet The Gang: That Which Is Precious and Lost Edition!

~~~

So, for those of you playing along at home, my best friend @tsc-reader and I have been writing a TSC Next-Generation Fanfic about our fanon kids of Kierarktina, Blackstairs, Kitty and Morgenthorn for two whole years now, over on Instagram. It’s called That Which Is Precious and Lost. We’ve written a complete instalment of 52 Chapters (which we call Book 1) and are currently working on a sequel, titled That Which is Gracious and Cruel (which we usually abbreviate to TWIPAL2, since TWIGAC makes us uncomfy ✨) as we speak!

Book 1 follows the kids as they embark on an epic journey to save their parents from a certain faerie matriarch, who is holding each of them captive for ransom — what ransom, you ask? Why, it’s none other than an ancient faerie spellbook called the Sage Scripts, which has long since been lost to the sands of time. Sands of time or not, the kids have a meagre fourteen days to find and retrieve the Scripts, and return them to the Seelie Queen’s hands — or run the risk of losing their family once and for all.

In book 2, the stakes grow higher, but there’s not much more I can tell you other than that, lest I spoil some big pointers from Book 1 for you 🤭 what I can tell you is that Book 2 introduces a staggering six more characters to the cast — five of which who are love interests for five of our main kids (and one who is honestly there solely to be an annoyance. You will hate how much we love pulling him into things. We’ll introduce you to those six on a different post, though.)

But I bet you’re wondering just who these kids are — and we would love to introduce them to you! See below the cut to meet our babies: The TWIPAL GANG!

1. Arrius ‘Ari’ Blackthorn-Kingson-Rosales

‘Ari passed a hand over his face and took the time to ask himself why he had to be born into such a ride or die family. He loved them all dearly, but this was getting ridiculous.’

— That Which Is Precious and Lost, Chapter Twenty Three: A Saccharine Melody (Written by @julescarstairs )

Ari is the eldest of our ragtag team of Shadowhunters at age 18, and is the son of Mark, Cristina and Kieran. A new adult, he takes it upon himself to guide his baby cousins, and younger sister Celeste, through the trying times that rise before them when their parents are kidnapped and held to ransom. His hair falls in short curls of medium brown, which lightens to a dirty blonde in the sun, and has the signature Blackthorn-Blue eyes, a trait shared by himself and only two other of his cousins. He stands at a staggering six foot four inches tall, though no one can really work out why or how he is that tall (not even us, the authors, but we love him for it anyway.) Ari simply grew, and everyone has come to accept that.

Much like Mark and Kieran, Ari chose a bow and arrows as his weapon of choice. Whilst he is capable with a balisong or a handful of knives, he prefers to work at a distance. In his childhood, he spent hours upon hours of his time mastering the art. Though often humble, Ari isn’t afraid to tell you he never misses.

Ari is a very mellow individual, often seen as the calm, grounding ‘rock’ in the lives of most of his younger family members. He is patient, thoughtful, but if you can scratch away that shell of responsibility that he so often hides himself away in, you will find that he does, indeed, have a sense of humour! (Ask Luc, he’ll tell you.) He loves very deeply, especially his younger sister Celeste, who he spent some periods of his childhood babysitting when his parents were busy with the Shadowhunter-Downworlder alliance, or, you know, ruling the Unseelie Court. Despite being Mark’s son, Ari bears a lot of resemblance to Julian personality-wise, and quite often looks to his Uncle for advice and guidance where his parents’ doesn’t quite suffice.

Ari’s fatal flaw is his stubbornness and his temperament. It takes a lot to send Ari into a fit of rage, given his cool and calm demeanour at the best of times, but if he is pushed over the edge, it’s hard to make him see reason. Like a bull with a red flag, Ari won’t stop something if he has his mind set on doing it, and will do anything he has to in order to get his way. His is a cold, quiet anger, which is frightening in its own regard and amplified by the fact that he stands over most people. The only person, aside from Celeste or his own parents, who has the ability to bring him back from such a dark anger, is Eleanor Blackthorn-Carstairs, who is only one year younger than him but not afraid to square up against him when he isn’t seeing the forest among the trees.

2. Celeste Blackthorn-Kingson-Rosales

‘Celeste let out a breath. Maybe it wasn't that she was part Shadowhunter. Maybe it was just that it had been a very, very long time since the Unseelie Courts had had a Queen. Now that she thought about it, Celeste wasn't sure there had ever been a Queen of Unseelie. The thought made her lift her chin defiantly. She would be a good ruler. Even if it was just for a short period of time, until her father got back. She would show her people that there was no reason to doubt her.’

— That Which Is Precious and Lost, Chapter Ten: Forgotten Memories (written by @tsc-reader )

Celeste is Ari’s younger sister, coming in at 16 years old to her brother’s two years senior. The daughter of Kieran, Cristina and Mark, she has her Father’s blue hair, which changes colour and value with her mood, and her mother’s warm, brown eyes. In a baffling contrast to her brother’s stature, Celeste is among one of the shortest of the TWIPAL twelve’s lineup, if not the shortest.

But don’t let that deter you. Celeste is a pocket rocket, and — much like her brother — won’t stop until she has what she wants, or achieves what she wants to achieve. Promises are like liquid gold to Celeste: when she promises you something, she will not break it, and will not forget about it. She’ll shake on it, pinky-swear, write it in blood if she has to, and will always follow through with what she claims. If ever she is rendered unable to do so, it breaks her heart. Minimum four business days should be allowed for her recovery. And if you break a promise with Celeste? I’d recommend digging your grave in advance, because she will come for you. She might even make it quick, since you did some of the dirty work for her.

Being Kieran’s biological daughter, Celeste takes her role as Heiress to the Unseelie Court throne very seriously. During the course of TWIPAL, Celeste actually splits off from the main gang to take her Father’s place on the throne, since Kieran is rendered unable to do so. She puts a lot of pressure on herself to do well, to do her Father justice and respect him and his wishes in every decision she makes. Every year, on her birthday, Kieran would take her on a walk through Unseelie Tower, showing her anything and everything he possibly could. The year she turned fifteen, Kieran gifted Celeste Windspear, his steed, just as Adaon had handed him down to him.

Celeste’s weapon of choice is a balisong, much like her mother. Unlike Ari, who likes to keep a distance from his enemies, Celeste likes to get up close and personal. She is very easily swept up in the fierce thrill of fighting. Though faeries may fight remarkably cleanly, Celeste does not. She’ll roll around in the dirt if it means she’ll win.

Celeste’s fatal flaw is her perfectionism. Because she so often strives to be perfect, to be everything everybody wants her to be, it makes her a bit of a control freak. Being raised by who she was raised by, Celeste recognises and admires her own autonomy and individuality, so any situation where that autonomy is taken away from her frightens her more than anything. She wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy, let alone herself…

3. Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Blackthorn-Carstairs

‘Eleanor Blackthorn-Carstairs seldom ever found her home empty— at least, not without a note on the kitchen bench, or a text from her Mom or Dad letting her know they were going out. But when she returned to Blackthorn Hall from patrol, she found the vast home dark and so silent you could hear a pin drop, and there was not a single text on her phone. Maybe some teenagers her age wouldn't mind their parents stepping out without saying anything. Maybe some would savour the quiet ambiance: the faint chirping of crickets out the window, or the hum of wind as it blew past the curtains... But this was not a comfortable sort of quiet. And Eleanor's parents NEVER stepped out without letting her know.’

— That Which Is Precious and Lost, Chapter One: Pure Distilled Horror (Written by @julescarstairs )

Fun fact! Eleanor was the first of the TWIPAL gang to be born from our collective mess of brainstorming. Coming in at the second eldest of the cousins, Eleanor is an only child of age seventeen. She’s Emma and Julian’s daughter, and you would be able to see it from a mile away. She’s got Emma’s blonde hair and Julian’s blackthorn-blue eyes, as well as a face full of freckles, a trait often attributed to the Blackthorn bloodline.

Eleanor is just as chaotic and energetic as her mother is, often bouncing off her younger cousin Luc’s obnoxious, sardonic energy with witty remarks of her own (can you tell that Luc is going to be an important character to the narrative? I’ve mentioned him in two other characters’ descriptions already.) She is a strong swordswoman and she knows it, and as a result she has a competitive edge. She isn’t arrogant, but she knows her strength and her worth. She isn’t backwards in coming forwards about the things she wants.

But, despite everything, Eleanor is a balanced individual. Whilst she can be loud, bubbly and barbaric, she also has her Father’s maternal/paternal instinct, and is very quick to swoop in and lift people up when they’re falling apart inside. Where Ari is the dad of the TWIPAL gang, Ellie is very much the mom (but she’s not a regular mom, she’s a cool mom!) and it’s BECAUSE of their shared maternal instinct that Eleanor can call Ari out when he’s out of balance. She knows him better than he wants to admit, and will back him to the ends of the earth — as she will all of her cousins, especially LJ, whom she wants to be Parabatai with desperately, if her deep fear of the Parabatai bond wouldn’t keep holding her back.

Eleanor’s weapon of choice is Cortana, since she inherited it from her Mother. She values the heirloom dearly, and loathes being parted from it more than anything. Whilst she will always be found with Cortana strapped to her back, she is also quite competent with a crossbow, thanks to her dear old Dad.

Eleanor’s greatest weakness is her trust — or rather, her inability to trust. This excludes her family, of course, since she’s grown up among them and knows them better than she knows herself. But whenever new people come into her family, she isn’t quick to trust them. This is all primarily due to one person, who blindsided both her and her family into believing he was in love with her, only to drop her and walk away in a heartbeat. Whilst trusting too easily can be a flaw, being afraid to trust can put strain on new relationships she develops over time.

4. Livia ‘LJ’ Blackthorn-Herondale

‘LJ’s feet had barely touched the floor when she began to run. She sprinted through the hallways of the upstairs of her house, overcome with fear. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. She could hear the commotion coming from the floor below, something crashing to the ground, metal clanging against metal. When she got to the banister, LJ didn't hesitate. She jumped. There was the brief feeling of weightlessness as she fell, before she landed hard in a crouch on the floor. LJ burst through the doorway ofher living room, just in time to see a flash of blonde hair, a glint of gray eyes, and the spark of a Portal disappearing into nothingness.’

— That Which Is Precious and Lost, Chapter Two: Stuff of Nightmares (written by @tsc-reader )

LJ is the third youngest of the TWIPAL gang, at fifteen years old. (She’s only the ‘third youngest’ because the last couple of characters in the lineup are twins, and were born two months after her.) The adoptive daughter of Kit Herondale and Ty Blackthorn, LJ has long, black, curly hair and dark eyes to suit. In average lighting, her eyes seem black — but in the sun, or if a lamp or campfire hits her eyes just right, you’ll find that they’re actually a dark violet. LJ, despite being the youngest girly in the gang, happens to be the tallest, standing above both Ellie and Celeste but below Ari and the twins (who you will meet below.)

LJ was found on Kit and Ty’s doorstep, a classic image of a baby in a basket, swaddled in blankets. Neither Kit nor Ty know who left her there, only that the mysterious individual trusted them to look after her, and that they were going to look after her with their whole hearts. Sure, there must be a reason why they were chosen to look after baby LJ, but that was a fact they were yet to learn. With Livvy’s endorsement (because, yes, she is still here as a ghost), they named her Livia as well, but her whole family calls her LJ — with the exceptions being Kit, Ty and later Eleanor, who call her Liv.

LJ is a very, very bright young woman, nothing short of a brainiac. She is the first to seek logic and reason in everything she and her cousins come across — even in matters of magic, when logic and reason don’t really come into the picture. She’s also, possibly, the most levelheaded character in the entire gang. I’m convinced she carries their collective braincell 99% of the time (and the other 1% of the time is taken up by Ari and Oberon, who can lead when their siblings aren’t driving them insane.) In a way, LJ idolises her Father, Ty, for his intelligence and innovation. She spent hours upon hours of her childhood sitting with him in his study, watching him work on projects and inventions, and as a result she has developed an inventive streak within herself as well.

Liv’s weapon of choice is the Herondale dagger, handed down to her by Kit. When the dagger isn’t feasible, however, she also has a keen hand for throwing knives. Any small, sharp object — a dagger, a knife, a dart — is LJ’s specialty, but thats not to say she hasn’t at least made herself competent at every other weapon she can get her hands on. On top of that, LJ trained herself to be ambidextrous, not only to be able to handle weaponry better, but to be able to work on projects and experiments for longer periods at a time whilst minimising fatigue.

LJ’s biggest weakness is how she feels restricted by how little she knows. LJ can often spiral into a state of self-deprecation if she can’t solve a problem or puzzle herself. Even if her intelligence runs rings around that of her cousins’ — Ari himself actually comments on this — she beats herself up endlessly if she cannot work something out that flew over their heads. Liv puts a lot of pressure on herself to be great, to know the answers to anything and everything when it’s physically impossible for her to do so. She gets herself down a lot, but Ellie is the first to lift her back up and remind her that if she doesn’t know now, she will find out soon.

Second to Eleanor, LJ’s closest companion among her cousins is none other than Oberon Morgenstern, one of the twins. Oberon often finds himself recruited by LJ as her lab assistant, whether it be voluntary or not. He doesn’t mind, though, because if helping LJ means seeing her smiling and happy, then he’d do it any day of the week. The two are close, a dynamic explored regularly through TWIPAL’s fifty-two chapters, in a number of ways.

Speaking of Oberon, that brings us to our next character in the lineup…

5. Oberon Morgenstern

Oberon rarely ever lost his cool in bad situations, but his twin brother lying unconscious on the ground was clearly the exception. He sped downwards, the world turning to a blur around him. He landed in a crouch, bracing himself on the ground with his hand. Ari looked over at him, surprise touching his face at Oberon's sudden appearance, but he sat back on his heels, letting him take over. Whipping out his stele, Oberon sketched a neat iratze on Luc's arm. "Come on, brother," Oberon said softly. "Come back to me. Stay with me." He touched Luc's cheek lightly with his fingertips. His twin's face was icy, his pale curls plastered to his forehead with sweat. A few seconds passed.

Then Luc's eyes fluttered open, ocean blue behind his eyelashes. "Oberon," Luc said, his voice hoarse. "Im okay."

"Lucas Andrew Morgenstern, you are not okay." Oberon said, his fear coming out as anger. "Stop being an idiot, and tell me what's wrong.”

— That Which Is Precious and Lost, Chapter Twenty-Four: An Exquisite Dance (written by @tsc-reader )

Listen, we don’t pick favourites in this household, but the Morgenthorn twins are definitely a step above the rest. Oberon, and his brother Luc, who you’ll hear about next, are fraternal twin brothers, both the sons of Drusilla Blackthorn and Ash Morgenstern. Oberon is the older twin, and even though there were only a few minutes between their births, he isn’t afraid to tell you, your friend, or even Luc himself that he’s older. He takes his role as ‘the older twin’ very seriously, much to Luc’s irritation at times. Oberon is a gentle soul, with his mother’s dark brown hair — which falls in picture-perfect curls around his face no matter how many times he runs his hands through it — and his Father’s green eyes, reminiscent of his Fairchild heritage. Much like Celeste, Ari and his brother, Oberon has the tapered ears unique only to the fair folk, though they aren’t quite as pointed as a full blooded faerie gentry. He stands at five foot ten inches at age fifteen, which renders him the second tallest of the TWIPAL gang, second only to Ari (he is about one inch taller than his brother, which he also may or may not rub in his face from time to time. Oberon isn’t arrogant, but will take any opportunity to humble Luc when it arises.)

One thing that sets Oberon apart from his faerie family members is his wings, which he also inherited from his father, Ash. At age ten, a pair of black-feathered wings sprouted from his spine, taking permanent purchase between his shoulder blades. It was only a matter of time before Oberon — and Luc, for that matter — found that these wings were integral to his way of life. As a result, he is very skilled in the ways of flight, and utilises his higher vantage point regularly during battles and patrol.

Oberon is a deeply, deeply loving young man, a gift who keeps on giving even when his heart has been scraped dry, trodden on, broken and put back together again. His open, forthcoming kindness and friendliness may seem quite startling to most people when they first meet him, but it can also be very deceptive — because underneath that warm, loving teddy-bear that Oberon so often is, lies a dark, determined warrior who isn’t afraid to stand between anyone and anything if it means protecting those he loves. He is a very intelligent young man with a gift for strategy and deception. If it weren’t for his heart, for the fact that he loves and is loved by his family (and his boyfriend, Aaron Longford, who you will meet on another post), Oberon would make for quite the terrifying enemy.

Oberon is protective of no one more than he is protective of Luc. He and his brother have a very special bond, unlike no other. They are seldom seen apart, and when they are separated, it’s cause for concern. Their connection transcends the waking world, so much so that if they’re found sleeping side by side, they’ll often sleep-talk to each other. Oberon loves Luc so much that is causes him a lot of pain and heartache, especially as the narrative grows thicker, deeper and darker. Oberon hasn’t known a time in his life without Luc, and will do everything in his power to keep it that way. Wherever Luc is, Oberon will never be far behind. No matter how far Luc falls from grace (because, believe me, he can be ungraceful sometimes) Oberon will be there to catch him. Oberon and Luc were born into a social climate where people are still wary of the Morgenstern name, and as a result, the boys have always believed that, in part, it’s been them against the world. Oberon made it his mission to change the Council’s perception of the Morgenstern name. This means keeping both himself and his brother in line.

Oberon’s weapon of choice is Phaesphoros, the first of two Morgenstern family swords. Though the ‘normal’ world’s Phaesphoros was destroyed along with Sebastian Morgenstern during the Dark War, it is said that Ash brought both Heosphoros and Phaesphoros back from Thule with him (at least, in the TWIPALverse he did.) When the boys turned 10, and were old enough to bear marks and start their formal Shadowhunter training, Ash laid the two swords before his sons at let the blades choose their bearers. The connection was almost instant: Phaesphoros chose Oberon, Heosphoros chose Luc. It only made sense, after all, for the twin brothers to have twin blades.

Oberon’s biggest weakness, his fatal flaw, is his tendency to self-sacrifice. Whilst he might be a gift that keeps on giving, this doesn’t always work in his favour. He is quick to throw himself under the bus or in front of a train if it means preserving the wellbeing of those he loves most in the world. Whilst he performs these grand, sweeping gestures of self sacrifice under the pretence of nobility, he’s rarely met with the reactions he was expecting to get from them. It’s actually Eleanor, during a late night conversation in TWIPAL’s epilogue, that expresses how Oberon’s selflessness concerns her. There is a fine line between selflessness and not valuing your own life, after all. But, for all the conflict it causes, Oberon is steadfast in his decisions, as he is in everything he does, and firmly believes that every sacrifice he makes, no matter how big or small, is for the better of those he loves: of Luc, of Aaron, of everyone.

Even if Luc disagrees.

6. Lucas ‘Luc’ Morgenstern

‘… a whirlwind of memories rose before his very eyes: Luc falling out of bed the first time he and Oberon had slept in their new bunk bed, and Oberon being the one to help him up off of the ground. Oberon being unable to sleep the night before they got their first marks, and Luc being the one who sat awake with him until he lulled himself to sleep. Luc crafting matching bracelets for himself and his brother with teardrop-shaped agates as the centrepieces - agates, because they symbolised safety and security, and there was nowhere Luc felt safer than by his brother's side. Oberon throwing himself into Luc's arms, sobbing, when they finally reunited in the labyrinth.

The deluge of memories struck Luc like many punches to the gut, leaving him doubling over and gasping. He had always thought that he needed Oberon more than Oberon needed him, but watching his life laid out before him now, Luc realised that he was wrong, so very wrong. Because Luc was half of Oberon just as much as Oberon was half of him. Together they made a formidable warrior, in which Luc was the sword and Oberon the shield. But what good was a shield without a sword? A sword without a shield? Without one or the other, they were incomplete.’

— That Which Is Precious and Lost, Chapter Forty-One: My Sword, Your Shield (written by @julescarstairs )

Luc Morgenstern is the firecracker to Oberon’s lit candle. Despite being twins on paper, Luc couldn’t look any more different to his brother in terms of colour palette. He has Ash’s platinum blonde hair, which manages to stay stylishly spiky as Oberon’s stays stylishly wavy, and the signature Blackthorn Blue eyes, which give him the appearance of a high-brow Snow Prince. But despite his difference in hair and eye colour, both he and his brother share near-identical bone structure. There’s no mistaking that they’re twins, no matter how different they may seem at first glance. Both Luc and Oberon (which I forgot to mention above) have faces full of freckles, a trait brought out by many of their days spent outside in the Los Angeles sun. Like Oberon, Luc has a pair of silken black wings, which sprouted from his back at the ripe age of ten. He has mastered the art of flight alongside his swordsmanship, rendering him a highly skilled and agile opponent (something Luc himself will tell you, even if you didn’t ask.)

Luc has a loud personality.He’s proud, cocky, obnoxious and dramatic in the best possible way, to the point where it’s charming — because as confident as Luc is in himself and his abilities as a Shadowhunter, he never actively puts anybody else down in order to make himself look good (unless you put him down first, in which he will engage in verbal combat, but don’t take any of it to heart.) Luc can be quite hotheaded, a stark contrast to his brother’s colder, quieter anger, and struggles to curb his temper, especially when people challenge his pride. He’s got all the witty, sarcastic comebacks, something he shares in common with his older cousin, Eleanor. Luc is also the self-proclaimed President of The Disaster Blondes, a group consisting of three people — Himself, Eleanor, and Skylar, Celeste’s girlfriend — who have banded together for two reasons, and two reasons alone: one, they’re all blonde, and two, they’re all down to try any batshit crazy scheme under the sun, even if it’s to their detriment.

But despite Luc’s loud, self-assured exterior, he is actually very self conscious, deep down. He cares deeply what people think of him, and how they perceive him as a person. He worries, often, that he is seen as a bad person, and doesn’t believe that he is able to be loved. He experiences a sort of imposter syndrome, where he believes that he shouldn’t be among these people who love him so much, that he doesn’t deserve the good things that come his way. This is a trait that develops more in the latter half of TWIPAL, but a trait that presents itself all the same. It interferes with his relationships regularly, both past ones, present ones and future ones.

It’s Oberon that keeps Luc in balance, even when he isn’t actively trying to. Luc depends on Oberon more than he realises, sometimes, and often feels like he needs his older brother more than Oberon needs him, even when this isn’t the case at all. Luc would die for Oberon, just as Oberon would die for him, but he would also kill for his brother, get his hands dirty, if it means that Oberon is safe, well and happy. It terrifies him, how much he is willing to do for Oberon. He wants nothing more in his life than to be Parabatai with his brother, to reinforce the strength and power of their bond with an oath signed in blood and fire.

(Luc can also be found third-wheeling on a lot of Oberon and Aaron’s dates, but Oberon doesn’t really mind. Nor does Aaron, who has just accepted that his brother in law will be down to hang at any given opportunity.)

Luc’s weapon of choice is the shortsword Heosphoros. Like Eleanor, he has a very personal connection to his sword, often talking to it and reminding it (yes, the sword) how much he loves it. Luc trains ruthlessly, with the desire to be one of the best Shadowhunters of his generation, if not the best. Combat is also a release to Luc, who can be found decompressing and letting off steam in the training room of the L.A. Institute, just as often as he is found formally training.

Where Oberon’s greatest weakness is his tendency to self sacrifice, Luc’s is his tendency to self sabotage. Luc is fast to deny himself good things and positive outcomes purely because he himself doesn’t believe he deserves them. Aside from his tendency to self-sabotage, his only other weak point would be Oberon himself. If not for Oberon’s bottomless love and faith in him, Luc would tumble into an irreversible darkness. As much as Luc desperately wants to rewrite his own legacy, independent of his family’s sinister history, if Oberon were to give up on him, Luc fears that he, too, would be the one to light a match and watch the world burn.

~~~~

There you have it! After nearly 3,000 words of ceaseless rambling, you’ve met the core six characters of @tsc-reader and I’s TSC fic, That Which Is Precious and Lost. Whilst the story in full is accessible on our Instagram accounts, we are more than happy to reformat and repost the chapters here on tumblr if there’s enough interest in them 🤭💗 (so, if you would like to see TWIPAL make an appearance here on Tumblr, let us know! )

We would also LOVE to hear your thoughts on the main six! We’re always open to feedback, and will take any opportunity we can to talk about these silly little guys 🤭🥹💗)

Also going to tag a few peeps down here who I think might find this interesting:

@princeash

@bookishjules

(Also, there was one person here who posted a whole post about their fanon kids of the TSC gangs but I CANNOT find you. I am so sorry. If you’re seeing this please, give me a sign.)

And, of course, my best partner in crime @tsc-reader who I have already tagged copious times in this post 🤭🥹💗 love you, girl!

[micahsmalevolence-pccw]

Sweet Shillelagh Jinx

Perfect for April Fools, coming up in four days! In the land of the Celts such playful tricks hold a special place. It is said that the fae always enjoy causing a bit of chaos and trickery among mortals. The Irish have long embraced this tradition, weaving humor and laughter into their daily lives. So, when April Fools' Day arrives, the people of Ireland embrace the opportunity to engage in lighthearted pranks and jests, honoring the playful nature of the spirits. It is a time to let loose, share a joke or two, and revel in the joy of laughter. So, this jinx can do many things — make your intended friend a bit clumsier today, give them a bit of bad luck, etc.

GIF credit to @roguishknight.

Ingredients:

Golden Honey. A spoonful of pure, liquid amber from the bees.

Blackthorn Stick. Represents the shillelagh.

Morning Dew. If you still haven’t collected morning dew, then simply use cool water.

Black Salt. This is the main ingredient for a jinx.

Pen. For inscribing the incantation on a small piece of parchment.

Candles. Gold and green.

Sacred Grove. This is where druids perform their rituals — a sacred grove to them was any forest with oak trees.

Instructions:

Don Your Clown Attire. Put on your clown makeup and costume. This is not just for show, it’s for embodying the prankster energy.

Prepare Your Space. Find a sunny spot in a sacred grove where you feel comfortable. Have the ingredients ready and nearby.

Ground Yourself. This can be done through meditation, visualization (imagine roots extending from your feet into the earth), or simply spending time around you in the sacred grove.

Light the Candles. "Dis flame be representin' de trickery o’ April Fools, de mischief o' Sean, an' de laughter at others’ misery."

Call Upon Sean. Stand before the altar, close your eyes, and visualize Sean MacGuire with a mischievous grin. "Sean MacGuire, spirit o' jest an' playful guide, on this April Fools, let laughter be me pride! I call upon yer whim, yer hand, t' weave tricks an’ cheer, bringin' joy an' mischief, as we celebrate here. Lend me yer courage, yer grace, t' embrace de fun, in every prank an' jest, let de good times run. Grant me de gift o' mirth, de power t' delight, with Sean's playful spirit, let me heart take flight!"

Make an Offering. Offer a small libation of honey.

Make the Mixture. In a small bowl, mix the golden honey with a few drops of morning dew. As you do, visualize the honey’s sweetness entangling with the solar energy. Then, gently press the blackthorn stick into the mixture. Let it rest there for about one minute, as if absorbing the ancient magic of the wood. Add a dash of black salt to the mixture, stirring widdershins. You can easily stir it with a branch.

Inscribing the Incantation. Using your pen, write out on parchment the following: “When bees hum sweet in de light o' de day an' blackthorn's spirit leads de way, by golden honey an' nature's might, me pranks twist mischievously tight. Wid a sip an' a smile, let magic unfurl, ensnarin' ye in a playful whirl. April Fools, let dis charm be true — mischief an' laughter now rest on ye!"

Seal the Jinx. Once the incantation is complete, dip a fingertip into the prepared mixture and lightly make a mark on the parchment. This seal binds the magic of your jinx to your words and ingredients.

Close the Spell. Thank Sean and the shillelagh, extinguish the candles, repeat jokes and affirmations, and place the sealed parchment in a hidden spot where your intended friend might stumble upon it.

[ladyhindsight]

I think the problem with a lot of CC's characters is that she always tries to make them too nice imo.

She had something going on with Julian but then she backtracked and fumbled it, just like with the og versions of Grace and James we saw in TMH, where Grace straight up threatened someone with a sword and announce her loyalty to her mother, and James was out there shooting people and tricking mundanes -granted we are told that is not his usually behavior but anyone acting like that under any circumstances is not doing all right in the head. Idc what he had going on, I'm sure it was more interesting than TLH James.

Everyone in TLH should have been meaner, actually. There were hints dropped about Thomas and Lucie in gotsm and CoHF iiirc that made me think they were going to be Something. Magnus's comment about how he couldn't save James or Lucie (amounted to nothing in the end btw) and Cassie's insistence of the fact that the modern day Blackthorns were not descended from Lucie made me sure that her plotline was going to be that she resurrected Jesse and they both got immediately executed for it. And there's a point in gotsm where Magnus says that Thomas could be a green eyed monster (also amounted to nothing) and I remember there was a whole theory that he got his marks stripped and that the Rosales were descended from him. The inscription on the Scholomance, the snippet of someone dying in their love's hands, the promise of the Verlacd in TLH... Literally amounted to nothing. How is TLH so half-baked and nonsensical when she had ten years to plan it?

And Tessa, in the first book there are some fascinating gender shaped holes in her narration. About how she and her aunt spent years protecting Nate from seeing the way his gambling made their lives harder and about how they shouldn't have done that, how she saw his recklessness as innocence, how she acknowledged that deep down she always knew he was up to no good... And then Mortmain shows up and she falls back on the established pattern of trying to protect her brother's "innocence" as it was expected from her. And that was good writing; that was something she had done countless times, that was her role as a woman in her society, that was what was expected of her, that was what she knew was wrong and couldn't stop doing.

Sadly, this disappears after the first book. CC probably realized she couldn't have a protagonist that was not a feminist and instead had to take all of the Gender out of Tessa's narration. Like, no, let her confront her Gender and the horror of being trapped in a patriarchal society and being trapped at the whims of those more powerful than her, let us linger on the way the patriarchy also has a hold of Sophie and Charlotte and Jessamine. Let her feel the horror that even if she does leave to live a normal life, she could never have children and thus failed at her expected role in society. Actually have Tessa react when Mortmain tells her she CAN have children and that he intends to force her to give birth to his children. Don't jusg drop that and leave, CC! Linger on the horror of it all!

Jem also annoys me because he is simply too bland, when he shouldn't be! On paper, he should be one of the most interesting characters in TID! A foreigner, addicted to a drug against his will, chronically ill, member of a family with a legendary sword, the only person trusted by the Institute's equivalent of a stray cat that hisses at you every time it sees you. (And don't get me started on Will's curse being a hoax, I hated that.) We could have seen more about his feelings for his homeland, about what he was like under the effects of the drug, his pain... But we don't get that. What we get is him being the Herondales cheerleader, even when he gets his own book (and his pov was the most boring one in it, pass it on). Something that annoyed me irrationally was that he did not raise Emma after the events of TMI, but he does take Kit in after TDA.

This very much feels like CC wanted Emma to be in Los Angeles so she could kickstart the plot. But she could have had Emma go with Jem, then hear about the murders in LA, then go and investigate, and through her hard work being considered the best of her generation as the readers can see the journey; this way having a concrete arc and also being active in her pursuit for revenge.

And having her actively chase what she wants would also make her more distinct from the other heroines. They don't usually pursue stuff, with the exception of Clary taking reckless actions that somehow work out; stuff happens to them.

Emma really does read like a female Jace but I firmly believe that if CC had bothered to develop some other aspects of her personality that were established, like her liking to wear dresses (which is the most CC can write for a female character without the need to vilify or ridicule their femininity) or by actually telling me what her hobbies are, because I cannot remember what Emma likes to do in her spare time. Maybe because I haven't read TDA in so long, most likely because CC never even tells us - I know Julian likes to paint, Dru likes horror movies, Ty likes Sherlock, and so on, but I could not tell you anything about the main character.

And having Emma and Julian separated would also be a good commentary on how the Clave would have not cared about separating the children and make Julian's fears feel more valid. Julian and her could not be parabatai in the "Jem takes Emma timeline" but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make since that plotline DRAGGED.

They could still have a whirlwind romance, that doesn't change. Currently rereading CoHF and the way these two are so obsessed about each other at 12 yo... It's giving Cathy and Heathcliff. Their relationship is going to be that one meme of:

"When their entire relationship is toxic, but they're both so fucked up that it's actually the best case scenario, because subjecting anybody else to either of them would be a human rights violation."

I firmly believe that CC tries to make her characters likeable and as such doesn't venture into making them have opinions and thoughts that could shock the reader. That's why so many of her characters fall into the same boxes. Because she doesn't dare to make them more complex.

The whole of the Shadowhunter Chronicles is just a pile of wasted opportunities, many of which you’ve included here. Character development or delving into many of the rather obvious themes and issues surrounding her characters has never been the precedence. Why focus on thematic organically surrounding Tessa when there is Will to care about? Why make Jem more fleshed out and independent as a character when there is Will to cheer on? Why even deluge yourself with the societal issues, actual taboos, norms—breaking them and forming new ones and changing the world with tough conversations and verbal battles when there is this huuuge MMC/MFC romance that hogs most of the pages and drowns everything else under it?

Clare has created a world with history and concepts and fantastic elements, and she absolutely sucks at implementing any of it into her writing. She doesn’t include tropes, she writes around them.

TLH bunch had way more to them, more contrast and flashier inter-character dynamics. Then the result was what it was because, in the end, everyone has to get along. For instance, Jace isn’t nice either, but that is the reason why the narrative has to go to such lengths for readers to sympathize with him. It actively pushes leniency and sympathy towards Jace whereas other characters are held to a tougher and, in a sense, more realistic standard as to their behavior. Clare wants Jace to be a tormented tough boy but also wants the readers pitying him. Which then molds all the characters around Jace to what Clare wants for him, not what realistic characters being treated like garbage and taken for granted would ever put up with.

Emma can only think she doesn’t really understand what Cristina, Kieran, and Mark got going on together and can only be happy for them, because Emma thinking it’s fucking weird would be too controversial and make people dislike Emma because she doesn’t like or stand polyamory. Every character from TMI gang to TID to TDA to TLH has to stand on the exact same opinion on every issue because that’s the right thing to do, not that a group that size could ever have differing opinions or, horror, dislike each other for some reason. Coming close is James and Grace, and that is mostly ignored either way.

(SIDENOTE: Apparently Clare fucked up the Lightwood family tree by having Alex continue the family line because he was born 1900 and the next known descendant Isidore that is Isabelle and Alec’s great grandfather was born 1908. I kind of hoped that the Secrets of the Blackthorn Hall would’ve sorted this mess out but clearly not. Also: “Alexander inherited the Herondale coloring from his mother of deep blue eyes and black hair. He has a burn scar across his chest from a rune given to him as a baby.” What Herondale coloring is it really when it comes from Linette Owens??)

Anyway.

Your final paragraph was spot on. I also never thought about how Jem didn’t take care of Emma but then goes on to play family with Kit. After CoHF Jem goes to explore the world with Tessa and marry her. He wants to look after Emma but only after the parabatai ceremony with Julian does Jem come clean about his name to Emma. Convenient to say the least.

[kaeru483]

updated writing share

hi, everyone! i finally restarted my draft of my wip-- The Dawnfire Uprising! below the break, for your reading pleasure.

Let me know if you want in the taglist, which is also below!

tw// death, violence, intolerance, big jerks

The torches burn high in the capital city of Windfell, their flickering light casting long, twisted shadows across the stone walls of the palace. Smoke rises into the night sky, carrying the acrid scent of burning parchment and charred wood—remnants of the old regime. King Eamon is dead. His lifeblood stained the marble floors of the throne room, and now his kingdom belongs to the Iron King Alaric Blackthorne.

I have never feared my father before. Not truly. I have feared his disappointment, his anger, his cold, unrelenting judgment—but never him. Until now. I watch as my father’s army takes control of the city of Windfell. They’ve gathered Mystics and sympathizers alike and thrown them into prisons beneath the castle. They killed hundreds in the streets as they ran, afraid for their lives. Others just hid in their homes, watching as the streets burned. His vicious hatred of all Mystics has begun to seep into the very fabric of our land. Friends and neighbors who used to share a daily chat have turned on eachother out of fear that they may be mistaken for a sympathizer. Mothers turn on children, wives turn on their husbands; no one is safe in the Iron Kingdom. 

Today marks the beginning of the second week of executions. Light drops of spring rain fall from the gray sky, as a squad of Iron Sentinels drag a line of prisoners to the town square, each of their hands bound in front of them. A crowd begins to gather around the spectacle, whispering amongst themselves about who they expect to see brought to the gallows today. They quietly share the names of their friends, families, and neighbors, a register of Mystics and sympathizers who met their end by my father’s decree. The name we share is a blight that everyone can see, but on execution days the town pariahs are afforded a short amount of grace. The prisoners are led to the line of nooses on display, the tattered flag bearing the emblem of the Iron Kingdom waving gently. There are four today, each dirty and still wearing the clothes they were arrested in. One by one, a Sentinel removes the cloth bags covering each of their heads and reveals their identity to the crowd. 

The first prisoner is a man, still dressed in his pajamas from when the Inquisitors ripped him from his bed in the middle of the night. Evard, as I remember him, was a cheery old man who always sang as he strolled through town, until he couldn’t walk anymore. He’d gotten a salve from my mother’s apothecary to aid with his arthritis, and he would sing her praises in his beautiful baritone vibrato. He is visibly shaken, but he doesn’t speak. He stares directly down, as if praying for forgiveness.

The second is a young woman I recognized as Astara Fenlon, a girl my brother Ash used to have a crush on when he was a boy. She had golden brown hair that draped over her slender shoulders, and blue eyes that he’d once described as “so blue, even the sea would take notice”. She never reciprocated his crush, instead choosing to cloister herself in the castle library, working with the Archivists to maintain Gaeloria’s historical documents. Her eyes are red and puffy, tears streaking through the dirt that covers her face. She’s still wearing her 

Archival robes, though they’ve been ripped at her knees to reveal her thin trembling legs. She hasn't worked in the Archive long, maybe a few weeks now, but in the last few days rumors of her hidden Mystic identity had been making their way through the city. My heart sank slightly to know that this girl, once known for being a sweet but shy young woman, is now considered an enemy of the land and sentenced to death. She’s only a few years older than I am, how could she have deserved this?

The third prisoner knocked the air directly out of my lungs. Standing tall and proud stood Imema Sunlow, my best friend’s mother. Needa and I were as close as sisters, and Imema worked with my mother in the Apothecary. She was a soft-spoken woman with dark round eyes, and thick raven black curls that fell to her shoulders in a bob. Even now, she was standing with her feet firmly planted beneath her, an air of power emanating from her. Whispers begin to murmur through the crowd, as rumors become truth: Imema had been helping to hide Astara in the Archive, attempting to protect her from the incoming inquisition, and both will now face the consequences. Tears began to burn my eyes, as I searched the crowd for my best friend. I am desperate to see her, hold her hand, protect her from this cruelty. I pray to any gods that will listen that she is safe somewhere nearby and not in another cell awaiting the same fate. My search was cut short when the entire crowd around gasps in unison.

The fourth prisoner is revealed to stunned silence. My heart is in my stomach, my mind is somehow racing yet simultaneously trapped in place. The fourth prisoner stands above the rest, her red hair tied loosely behind her neck, her jaw firm and square. Rosalind Blackthorne, my mother, stands before the gallows amongst the Mystics and the traitors. I can feel every eye in the crowd boring into me, and I want so desperately to move but I am frozen. I watch as the Sentinel steps back from the group of prisoners to make way for the main attraction.

My father slowly makes his way up the small steps leading up to the platform, his heavy boots echoing through the crowd as he makes slow deliberate paces around the prisoners. Astara sobs silently, and Evard attempts to comfort her quietly. King Alaric pauses in front of Astara, eyeing her up and down with disgust. He grabs her chin roughly and forces her face up to look at him, but her eyes don’t meet his. He throws her face away from him with such force she cries out in terror but doesn’t stumble. With a gruffness I thought he only reserved for lecturing my brothers, he begins to speak to the crowd.

“You see your friends,” he begins, “I see our enemies.” He makes his way down the line of prisoners, speaking through them to the crowd. “They call themselves ‘human’; they say they mean us no harm.” He pauses behind Astara and slowly unsheathes his sword. His words are dripping with disgust as he continues. “They are not human. They are violent creations of evil. "For too long, they have hidden among us, whispering curses, weaving spells, conspiring against the rightful order of Gaeloria.” He continues to speak as he gently grazes Astara’s bare forearm with his blade, a game of torture that he is clearly enjoying. Her tears are no longer silent, but Alaric raises his voice to speak to the crowd.

"You have seen what their kind is capable of—fire raining from the skies, shadows that consume the innocent, the ground splitting beneath our very feet! Their so-called ‘gifts’ are nothing but weapons of destruction. And for their crimes, they will all meet the same fate!"

My legs shake violently beneath me as I feel myself floating towards the front of the crowd, my eyes never leaving my mother. She stands tall and powerful, with the same determined look in her eyes she always held when she fought against my father’s intolerance. I had always known she didn’t share his intense beliefs, but I never thought she would defy him in this way. To risk her own life for others wasn’t beyond her character, but beyond my own childish comprehension. I just assumed she would always be around, that she would die an old woman in her bed surrounded by my brothers and I. I reach the front of the crowd, quickly scanning between my mother, my father, and my brother desperate for anything to stop this madness and end this waking nightmare. 

“Even my own family is impure,” Alaric continues as he moves from Astara down the line to my mother, who remains stoic. “My own wife–” he spits– “a Mystic?” My heart stops beating. I hadn’t known, she’d never told us. He speaks directly to her now, and I strain myself to hear his words. “How long do you think you would have lasted? How long before I’d find out about your vile nature?” 

“Don’t you see, darling?” She speaks with such calm, such determination, as if the noose hasn’t already been placed around her neck. “You won the battle, but not the war.” I feel my father’s rage building as his body tenses in front of my mother. She whispers something to him that I can’t quite hear, but I know it cuts him deep. He turns away from her, and for a moment I believe he may change his mind. I believe that he will let my mother go, and the others, and take back all of these horrible acts and we could live as we did before. 

Instead, he straightens his back and steps away from the gallows. His boot hits the last step of the platform, and he nods to the executioner. As he walks away, the executioner pulls the lever, dropping the platform beneath the prisoners. Astara’s scream is cut short by the horrible sound of bones snapping and the final desperate gasps of four innocent people, hanged by my own father. My mother’s red hair is still visible as her body dangles below the platform, shining like copper in the rain. I turn to see my father, still making his way towards the castle.

taglist: @wyked-ao3 @the-golden-comet @gioiaalbanoart @thecomfywriter @sunshineshadowcast

[witchlingcirce]

What do you think is TSC’s darkest book/series or Plot-line?

I personally think Cassandra’s darkest book is Queen of Air and Darkness, as some of her darkest scenes/plot-points/dialogue where in there (excluding not also including some of Sebastian’s scenes in TMI).

It got to the point where her writing these things had gone from inconspicuous to outright offensive. I don’t mind the mature change, but it was just noticeable, you know? The comment Dane Larkspear made about a 13 year old Dru and him asking Dearborn personally to ‘keep her’? The suggestion that Sebastian and Jace were ‘playing’ with with rebels that look like a dead Clary? Manuel-and his whole weird sadist obsession with Zara- hiding under a corpse? Poor Ash being abused and manipulated constantly?

That book was heavyyyyy I swear

TW: mentions of Rape

Darkest books?? Definitely the dark artifices series!! Those books felt so much more serious and more new adult than young adult, I loved them so much!! I personally think there Cassandra’s best work.

However, anything to do with Sebastian Morgenstern has to be her darkest stuff yet!! I feel as tho it’s not mentioned as much due to the fact the mortal instruments is definitely written in a more YA way.

1. Has actual attraction towards sister

2. Tried to rape that sister

3. Torturer

4. Murderer

5. Racist! (The way he refused to turn Mark because he was half fae 😰)

His cruelty and atrocities are even more present in the Thule plot.

This is one the most despicable things I have ever read😭. Pretty red head, like his sister? Also implying that he made Jace play with them to? (This has to be rape of some kind, also mental manipulation) I can’t imagine how scared those poor girls must have been 💔.

Not to mention that he literally killed Max.

I know this isn’t a specific plot line, but I really do think Sebastian is the most wicked villain she will ever write. Thule is just an example of that as well!

Also, him literally turning shadowhunters into like dark versions of themselves is so wicked. Turning Amatis to get back at Luke?? Turning the Blackthorns father and than having him go after the rest of the family?? WICKED.

The only thing he ate?? The red shadowhunter gear.

Small jokes aside and also a quick rant: I absolutely hate how the fandom treats him like he was just “misunderstood” or “wronged”. I agree we should be sympathetic to the fact he was abused as a child and manipulated, however he STILL MADE THESE DECISIONS GROWING UP! He chose to abuse clary, he chose to abuse Jace. He chose to ruin so many families lives (The blackthorns, the lightwoods, Clary’s life, his army killed Cristina’s dad SO MUCH MORE.) he’s a bad person, it literally says in the book that his good self never got to exist, which is sad but I hate how people think that moment defines his whole character.. it doesn’t 😭. Like yeah it’s sad we never got to see him be a good person, but that’s it.

Sebastian Morgenstern I HATE you and they can never ever ever make me like you!

This is such an amazing ask Pookie!! TYSM for letting me rant 😎.

[lilghostiequinni]

What & Who I Write For

Request Here & Guidelines

WHO & FANDOMS:

these are the fandoms and characters I will write for, please read the note at the end if you do not see the fandom you want.

AVATAR/ATWOW

Neteyam Lo'ak Jake Sully Neytiri Tsu'tey Tonowari Ao'nung OC Characters

Hunger Games Trilogy/TBOSAS

Peeta Mellark Cato Hadley Finnick Odair Haymitch Abernathy Coriolanus Snow Sejanus Plinth

The Vampire Diaries Universe

Stefan Salvatore Damon Salvatore Silas Jeremy Gilbert Kol Mikaelson Niklaus Mikaelson Elijah Mikaelson Finn Mikaelson OC Mikaelsons Kai Parker

Outer Banks

JJ Maybank Rafe Cameron John B Routledge Pope Heyward

Shadowhunters

Alec Lightwood Jace Wayland/Herondale Johnathan Morgenstern Julian Blackthorn Mark Blackthorn Will Herondale Magnus Bane Simon Lewis

Marvel

Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier Steve Rodgers/Captain America Tony Stark/Iron Man Thor Odinson Loki Laufeyson Bruce Banner/Hulk Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver T'Challa/Black Panther Namor Peter Parker/Spiderman(MCU-TH) Peter Parker/Spiderman(TASM-AG) Peter Parker/Spiderman(SP-TM) Miles Morales Miguel O'Hara Johnny Storm/Human Torch

Harry Potter

Harry Potter Draco Malfoy Theodore Nott Matteo Riddle Eos Lestrange Fred Weasley George Weasley Charlie Weasley Bill Weasley James Potter Sirius Black Remus Lupin Severus Snape Lucius Malfoy Regulus Black Evan Rosier Rabastan Lestrange Roldophus Lestrange Thomas Riddle Abraxas Malfoy Orion Black

Real Life

Tom Blyth Austin Butler Tom Holland Roman Reigns Cody Rhodes

Formula One

General Lando Norris Carlos Sainz Oscar Piastri Charles Leclerc Max Verstappen George Russell Logan Sargent Alex Albon Lewis Hamilton

Dune

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen Paul Atreides

Mako Mermaids

Zak Blakely

Criminal Minds

Spencer Reid

Percy Jackson

Percy Jackson Luke Castellan Will Solace Nico di Angelo Jason Grace Leo Valdez

Twilight

Jasper Cullen Edward Cullen Emmett Cullen Carlisle Cullen Jacob Black Sam Uley Paul Lahote Charlie Swan

DC Comics

Clark Kent/Superman Bruce Wayne/Batman Arthur Curry/Aquaman Barry Allen/Flash

Bones

Lance Sweets Jared Booth

Merlin

Arthur Pendragon Merlin Emrys

NCIS

Anthony Dinozzo

Grey's Anatomy

Derek Shepherd Mark Sloan

Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid

Miraculous

Adrien Agreste

Divergent

Four/Tobias Eaton Eric

Trollhunters

Jim Lake Jr.

If you don't see someone, or a fandom, that isn't up here, you can still request that, just know it'll take longer so I can watch or read it.

I am pretty lineant on who or on a fandom, I will most likely add it, if it's requested.

I am willing to write for female characters just know that I am not the greatest at it.

I am willing to write for Eurphoria, Saltburn, GOT/House of the Dragon characters, I just have yet to watch those that I haven't figured any sort of people yet.

WHAT:

this is what I am willing and not willing to write, this is very basic because I only just started it will get more detailed as I write more

Genre

I will write for these

Fluff Smut Angst Dark Combinations of those

I currently don't have really anything I won't write for because of plans I have for a story that involves SA, but I won't write detailed SA scenes, just mentions.

But please be mindful of your requests.