#alastair loves his anons

[gh0stsp1d3r]

ooh! since you’re doing alistair requests…

maybe dead!alistairxreader where he comforts you after a nightmare?? just need some fluff rn <3

i love this anon 😇🫶🏽 hope you meant something like this

𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬

Warnings- Alastair’s dead readers alive, mentions of beheading, he says sum about you dying to join him but it’s small

It wasn’t short after your husband had died when you started having reoccurring nightmares. The one to help you through them? His ghost.

It was odd when he first showed up, and you didn’t even notice it was him. You screamed and panicked until he said it was him and he explained everything.

It was scary at first, and you didn’t quite know what to do. But slowly you got used to it.

You were left the mansion, all by yourself. It was lonely at times, Alastair was away doing god knows what most of the evening, and he usually didn’t show up until midnight or late at night.

You didn’t question him, despite desperately wanting to.

And tonight was one of the many nights you were left alone, Alastair no where to be seen or heard in the mansion.

You got into the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a while and your eyes slowly started to close.

His smile was wide as he danced with you, almost as if the others around you both didn’t exist. As if he wouldn’t be killing them later.

You both danced and danced, a spotlight on you both. At least that’s how you remembered it in your head.

And that happiness was all ripped away when the workers stared you in the eyes as they held the axe. Alastair’s head on the ground, his eyes that once looked at you with such love and adoration now looking at you dark and empty.

You knew it was a bad idea, the murdering. You told him that it was, he just ignored your words and did it anyways.

The nightmare seemed to never end as it went on and on, the exact events of you screaming and crying as they dragged you away from his body, you trying to go back. It was no use.

Alastair walked through the door, he didn’t expect you to be up but he didn’t expect to see you moving and whimpering in your sleep, words coming out of your mouth as whimpers.

His frown deepened as he stared, sighing and sitting on the bed.

He grabbed your shoulder, and you gasped as you woke up, looking around the room and your eyes landing on him. You sat up and stared at him for a little.

“Same nightmare?” He asked in the softest tone he could possibly have, which was still pretty deep.

You nodded, tears in your eyes as you looked at the man in front of you, wishing you could just cry into his shoulder, or kiss him just one more time.

He sighed again, looking at you again. He reached out a hand and he touched your face softly. The feeling was cold, and it felt odd but it was the most you could get.

He caressed your cheek, thumb going over your lips and he glanced down at them for a moment.

“I just wanna-“ you croaked out, now fully crying. You leaned into his touch.

“I just wanna touch you again. I miss you. So much.” You sobbed out, and you hid your face in your knees. He took his hand back.

“It’s okay. I’m here, aren’t I?” He sat next to you now, you turned your head and looked at him.

“Yeah but… it’s not the same.” You sniffled.

“I’m still me. I love you, okay? It’s been hard for me too.” He said, and for a moment you saw a flash of the old him, before he was dead.

You laughed quietly and wiped the tears from your eyes.

“I love you too.”

“You can always join me.” He said. You couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.

[lestatslestits]

i would love to hear about your 24 copies of the wind in the willows if you feel like talking about it

Anon, I don't think you understand how much I want to talk about this.

I'll start by saying, this order may or may not be a bit confusing, mostly because I'm attempting to group editions together in a way that makes some sort of sense.

Roughly, I'll group them as follows:

Annotated Editions

Vintage Editions

Mass Market Paperbacks

Other Paperbacks*

Small Hardcover Editions*

Other Hardcover Editions*

*Not including editions shown previously

Finally, this will not include abridged editions, retellings, or books that adapt small segments of the text

This is going to be a long post. There will be photos. I'm putting the rest under a cut!

Annotated Editions

I own three separate annotated editions

The Annotated Wind in the Willows, annotated by Annie Gauger

The Wind in the Willows: An Annotated Edition, annotated by Seth Lerer

The Annotated Wind in the Willows: For Adults and Sensible Children (Or Possibly, for Children and Sensible Adults), annotated by GMW Wemyss and Markham Shaw Pyle

These account for a total of six copies, because I have doubles of each of these editions so that I have a "clean" copy and one where I can write my own notes. Currently, I've only managed to add my notes to the Gauger edition. Here's an example of my personal notes (forgive my handwriting, I was having issues with my pen)

The Gauger edition uses illustrations from multiple illustrators, as well as historic photographs. Additionally, this edition has segments on Grahame's life, including copies of the Dearest Mouse letters (the letters that Grahame wrote to his son, Alastair, which eventually formed the basis for Wind in the Willows). The Lerer edition used Ernest Shepard's illustrations, and the GMW Wemyss/Markham Shaw Pyle edition is un-illustrated.

As an aside, I purchased the other two online, but the Gauger edition (well, one of them) was a gift from a dear friend.

Vintage Editions

These copies were all printed prior to the mid 1960s.

This is my most fragile copy. It was printed in 1926, by Metheun (the original British publishers of The Wind in the Willows). I got this edition online from someone who didn't quite seem to know what it was (the listing mentioned J.M. Barrie as the author). I know very little about this edition, but there is an inscription inside that reads "To Jacky, from Elspeth - 1926." This gets a little interesting because Elspeth was the name of Kenneth Grahame's wife, and she was very much alive in 1926. Will I ever know if this edition was given to someone by the Elspeth? Probably not. Examples of her handwriting that I've been able to track down have been very minimal. But it's certainly an interesting thing to daydream about!

I own two (non-annotated) copies with Ernest Shepard's illustrations. Both of these were published in the early 1960s. The first one you see is an ex-library copy that I bought at a Friends of the Library book sale. It was described as being from the first edition with color illustrations, which is hilarious because 1) the illustrations are not colored in this edition and 2) there were at least two other illustrators prior to Ernest Shepard whose illustrations were in color. I nearly ended up in an argument with an elderly lady over this, but I bought it anyways.

The other does have several colored illustrations, which are lovely (originally, Shepard's illustrations were black and white, but later some full color illustrations were added. In my experience, you see the full color illustrations much less regularly). I got this edition online because, at the time, I did not have a Shepard edition.

Ernest Shepard is better known as the illustrator for the Winnie the Pooh stories by A.A. Milne.

The copyright date on this Thrushwood edition is listed as the being from the 1910s, but the inscription is from 1948. I love to purchase copies with inscriptions (or even just the scribbles of kids) inside. This is another edition that I purchased online.

As a note, this edition is illustrated, but I did forget to take a picture of the illustrations. My apologies!

This is another edition from the 1960s. This is my newest (to me) edition, which I purchased online. It was illustrated by Arthur Rackham. This edition has by far the loveliest inscription I've seen (and is the primary reason I bought the book).

My dear Susie, If you like this story one half as much as I do, it will still be your favorite book. Merry Christmas kid. Love, Karen

Mass Market Paperbacks

These are some mass market editions I've acquired over the years. Most of these were purchased from used bookstores, although the Dell Yearling Classic edition was a gift from a friend. The Tor edition has by far one of my favorite blurbs ever.

They're just strange little guys!

Other Paperbacks

This is an edition that I bought online. This particular edition is illustrated by Patrick Benson, who also illustrated the series The Willows and Beyond by William Horwood. This edition has an introduction by Horwood as well, so they definitely feel like a set.

This is a fun one! It's an Illustrate Your Own edition. I bought this one new for obvious reasons. I have doodled in it a bit, but I'll spare you my own drawings.

I got this edition last year from the Strand Bookstore in New York City. This was my first trip to NYC and I looked for The Wind in the Willows in every book store I visited! This cover is one of my favorites: it appears embroidered on the front, and on the inside of the cover you get the messy "back side" of the embroidery. This is such a fun edition and one I had wanted for a while before I found it in a store!

Small Hardcover Editions

I got the top two editions from used bookstores, and they don't have any major illustrations in them. The edition on the bottom came from Barnes and Noble, and it features Nancy Bernhardt's illustrations. Bernhardt was an early illustrator (pre-Shepard!), and her illustrations were very unique (and often a little strange). I prefer her smaller black and white drawings throughout the book, but the full color illustrations are fascinating!

Other Hardcover Editions

And finally, here are some of my very favorites. These are all hardcover editions that I find particularly beautiful.

This edition was illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith. I love the classic feeling of the cover. There are smaller sepia-toned illustrations, as well as some absolutely unique full color illustrations like the one pictured above. It's one of my favorite illustrations in the book, and one of my favorite illustrations of the chapter "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn." I would kill for a print of this particular illustration. I got this edition at a local bookstore that is no longer in business.

This edition was illustrated by Robert Ingpen, and it's the first edition I really fell in love with. I'm actually not always a fan of illustrators who draw Rat as very mouse-like (more on that below), but Ingpen's illustrations are so beautiful and feel so rich and warm. In particular, Ingpen probably has my favorite illustrations of Badger. I believe this was the first edition that I purchased! (I don't have an exciting story for how I purchased this one, it honestly came from Amazon because I had been given a gift card).

And finally, this edition is illustrated by Chris Dunn. I got this one through a Kickstarter that I funded. I had been dreaming of an English language edition with Dunn's illustrations for years, you have no idea how excited I was when this Kickstarter was launched. Dunn's illustrations are so unique because he is one of the only illustrators who very clearly and distinctly illustrates Rat as a water vole. Although Ratty is called The Water Rat throughout the text, he's actually a water vole, and that often gets lost in modern contexts. Dunn's illustrations are absolute favorites of mine, and this edition is so extremely special to me. It's massive and absolutely gorgeous.

And that's it! I own a LOT of books related to The Wind in the Willows (including a first edition of First Whisper of The Wind in the Willows, a book created by Elspeth Grahame after her husband's death). But going over ALL of my Wind in the Willows collection would make this post even more impossibly long than it already is.

Thanks so much for the ask! I hope you enjoyed this tour and that it's not completely overwhelming or boring.

[a-hazbin-reader]

I love whenever you respond to an anon abt the babies or something and then there’s a picture of Alastair during his meltdown😭

“They’re dad loves them sm���”

*picture of said dad losing his shit*

He's having a breakdown over how much he loves his family

[vwritesaus]

TSC WIP snippets pt. 1

this is a RATHER LONG POST sorry so i will put everything under the cut :>

to @faithfromanewperspective:

      ‘Is this Adelaide?’ Thomas asks in a high voice, his tone coloured with surprise. ‘I see no churches at all…’       ‘It’s just… sand,’ Alastair mutters by way of agreement. …       ‘Apologies for the intrusion,’ Thomas begins, grinning shyly, ‘but I think we’re lost.’       ‘Lost!’ The man bursts out into crowing laughter and slaps Thomas on the shoulder. Alastair winces from the force of the action and the sound echoing in the chamber. ‘Let me guess—you were bound for Adelaide?’       Thomas blinks. ‘How did you—?’       ‘You’ll be amazed how many Shadowhunters end up here instead of Adelaide,’ the man tells him. ‘I swear, ever since those Portals became popular, our travelling system has gone to the dogs! You can’t go wrong with a horse and carriage, or just a horse, but no—you simply must travel by Portal now. Extremely unreliable, I say.’

to my four lovely anons:

1—       When Thomas peers into the box, whatever remaining confusion was on his face vanishes. He stares blankly at the inside, his fingers frozen in place against the corners, and Alastair feels part of his stomach drop.              ‘Alastair… what is this?’ Thomas asks softly.        Alastair is grateful to find no disappointment or annoyance imbued in his voice—and then immediately chastises himself for thinking something so ridiculous in the first place. This is Thomas, the man who took his heart and holds it like it's precious and worthy and wanted. The man who saw past all the nastiness, the cold front Alastair had put up for so many years, and continued to love him regardless.       The man who Alastair wants to spend the rest of his life with, no matter the odds. So he clears his throat slightly, shaking away the anxiety, and says, ‘It’s my ring, Tom,’ as though he is merely commenting on the weather.       ‘I can see that,’ Thomas replies. He lifts his gaze and sets it on Alastair, his eyes glimmering with an emotion Alastair can’t quite put his finger on. ‘Why is it in a box?’

2—       ‘Your father won’t bite him,’ Sophie tells him, a shadow of an amused smile on her face. ‘I imagine he merely wants to get to know him better.’       Thomas shifts in his seat and glances once more at the open doorway Gideon and Alastair have just walked through.       ‘I know,’ he murmurs, ‘and for that, I’m so glad. Only, Alastair… I know he’s feeling nervous.’       ‘Whatever for, love?’       Smiling furtively, Thomas looks at his mother and says, ‘He wants to make a good impression. He’s very conscious of his—how did he put it? “Prickly personality”.’

3—       Charlotte came into this marriage with the sole belief that he’ll fall in love with her in time. That no matter how long it took, she would see it through for the rest of their lives. Because she loves him, and love withstands the test of time no matter how hard a situation becomes.       Now… now, she’s not so sure.       Perhaps it’s time to realise that Henry will never love her.But she loves him. She can’t deny that, and she never could. She loves him, and she’ll live with that knowledge until she draws her last breath. But she doesn’t know how much longer she can keep her true feelings behind an alabaster mask of indifference, or hide her face in the pillow when Henry looks at her for too long, or press down the flutters her heart does whenever he does something silly, or makes a breakthrough with an experiment, or merely smiles at her.       And yet, perhaps all she can do is break her heart fully and accept that, like her position at the London Institute, her marriage to Henry isn’t something that can last forever. That perhaps love can’t withstand the test of time, after all.       That not even five years of being together could have Henry fall in love with her.

4—       ‘There’s no need to panic,’ Thomas says softly. ‘I’m right here, aren’t I? You’re safe.’       There’s a beat of silence after Alastair sucks in a shuddering breath, during which he stares at Thomas with wild, terrified eyes. Then an odd flutter crosses his face, his expressive eyebrows dipping dangerously close to the middle of his forehead.       ‘I’m—I’m safe?’ he splutters. ‘You think… you think—? Oh you… you stupid man.’       He grabs Thomas by the shoulders, not giving the man a chance to feel anything except confusion, and shakes him violently.       ‘It’s not myself I’m worried about,’ Alastair croaks out. ‘It’s you.’

to @ibrushmyteeth-donttellanyone:

      ‘The point I wish to make,’ Alastair interrupts, ‘is that during that picnic, Fairchild and I had a rather… frank conversation.’       ‘About?’       ‘As far as I recall, it had something to do with an autumnal masquerade ball up in Cambridge which promises to have formal attire, a range of posh sorts, and an abundance of alcohol.’       Thomas blinks in astonishment. ‘Cambridge?’ he echoes.       ‘Quite,’ Alastair says in a sombre tone, and Thomas laughs. ‘Yet… I suppose it would be a different venture than our usual nightly strolls and patrols.’       ‘It would,’ Thomas replies with a nod.       ‘And it would be rather dire to attend such an occasion without Fairchild’s opulent outfits and charming personality, but it does bring forth the opportunity to be alone with each other without the need to entertain a third party.’       ‘I wholeheartedly concur with that statement.’       Alastair is about to say something else, but stops himself. He instead purses his lips and narrows his eyes at Thomas. Thomas merely stares back expectantly, trying his hardest to keep his expression neutral. He knows what’s about to happen, and grins inwardly when, like clockwork, Alastair visibly withers.        ‘Are you really waiting for me to ask?’ he states in exasperation.       A large smile overtakes Thomas’s face at the question, and he leans in until their noses are mere inches apart. He relishes how Alastair’s eyes widen at the sudden proximity—always so full of surprise whenever Thomas does this—and quickly kisses him before he can protest or say anything.       ‘You refer to waiting for my beloved to ask me to attend a masquerade ball with him in Cambridge, correct?’ Thomas lowers his voice until it’s the softest whisper and says with utmost severity, ‘If so, then yes, I am.’

and last, but certainly not least, to @drunkonimagination:

      ‘Welcome home.’ Pulling back slightly, Thomas kisses Alastair’s curved mouth and presses their foreheads together. ‘Goodness—Raziel, have I missed you.’       There’s a soft snort, and long fingers brush over Thomas’s shoulders. Alastair’s voice is light as he says, ‘Last I checked, Thomas, I am not Raziel. Have I been gone so long that you mistake me for an archangel?’       ‘Yes, mi amor,’ Thomas replies playfully, ‘you’ve been gone far too long. You must remind me exactly who you are, and it must be done now. Before it is too late and I forget who you are completely.’       Alastair laughs loudly, and is still laughing when Thomas presses fast kisses all over his face.

also yes you read that correctly, it does say "pt. 1". pt. 2 will be posted sometime this weekend, and it'll be snippets from the remaining chapters of dear christopher and ch2 of timeless, so stay tuned if you're interested!!! :D

[purplebass]

Tweety's Intro

Hi! I'm Tweety (she/her)! (prev. luciehercndale)

I write and I make book edits :)

the replies to my asks are here: #posta (I love getting asks!💜)

@purplebass-writes is my writing sideblog

my main fandoms are tsc and shades of magic, but I also like fantasy, classic lit, romance, humanities and more

add me on goodreads <3

icon by @/lasq.draws; dividers by @/saradika

My A03 profile is purplebass and below you can find the links to fan fic ships collections, in case you are looking for a specific couple :) Shades of Magic: kellila ▸ drabble collection ▸m/e one shot collection TSC: blackdale ▸ gabrily ▸ gracetopher ▸ jordelia ▸ thomastair ▸ wessa

✨ If you want to interact with me and ask me about anything, feel free to send me asks! <3 (anon is always on). You can ask for writing/edits. Feel free to DM me <3 ✨

Tumblr Links to fan fics (More links to fics are in the reblogs). (masterpost #1 is here)

THE SHADOWHUNTER CHRONICLES

Gabrily 🗡️

1. Tonight is Gonna Be the Loneliest (CoT Missing Scene)

2 . Someday, Somehow (feat Wessa)

3. Lights Out (R-rated version on A03 + Follow Up fic Lights On only on A03 for rating reasons)

Ghostwriter 👻✍🏻

1. The Most Beautiful Flower (Wedding Night E/M Rating)

2. Three Years and Counting (Ghostwriter Fest 2023)

3. Hold it Together (CoT Rewrite - Post Ch.26)

4. For the Ghost that I Used to be

5. Farewell, Farewell! One Kiss and I'll Descend

6. True Love Stories Never Have Endings (feat Blackstairs)

7. When Life Gives You Onions

8. Late Night, Early Morning

9. Center of Attention

Gracetopher 🔬⚗️

1. The Sound of Silence (CoT Post Ch. 26 Rewrite)

2. Happiness Was Itself A Chemical Reaction

Jordelia ♟️

1. The Tickle

Lucelia ✒️⚔️

1. For the Sake of Research (feat Jordelia/Ghostwriter)

Thomastair 🗼🧭

1. Deal With It

2. You Know Me Well, My Love

3. The New Guy With A Gentle Smile (Pre Canon)

4. Beginner's Luck and All of That (R-rated)

5. To Grow as Strong as that Cherry Three

6. Brave the Storm

Wessa 📖

1. A Different Kind of Music (R-rated)

2. To Beard or Not to Beard

3. Make you Feel my Love

Platonic pairings (friendships, siblings, parents, etc.) 🌷

1. The Element of Surprise (Matthew + Alastair and Thomas)

2. (Pre- TID Will, Jem, etc.) We Hunt Demons, Not Monkeys

3. (Matthew and Alastair friendship) Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

4. (Pre-TLH Jesse and Grace) But If you Sing

5. (Jesse and Grace CoT Missing Scene) What Went Down

6. (Will and Jesse) Hope Never Fades

7. (Tessa and Lucie) A Gift or a Curse

8. (CoT Rewrite - Grace kills Tatiana) Five

SHADES OF MAGIC - THREADS OF POWER

Kelila 🗡️🩸 Spotify Playlist (Songs that make me think about them)

1. Fit Like a Glove (Kellila bday date)

2. A Fantasy (E-rating)

3. A Promise of a Brighter Future (Missing Scene, Threads Spoilers)

4. The Scent of the Night

5. Kiss it Better (E-rating)

[3-dsimp]

Would you consider any of these names for the hacker? Alastair, Rowan, Kiernan, Rex, Castor, Valen

Sniper?

James, Lyris, Evan, Solomon, Michael, Iolan

💜anon (#1 Boss simp, #2 Strategist simp)

Hi 💜 anon thank goodness tumblr decided to not swallow up this ask ٩(˃̶͈̀௰˂̶͈́)و

I would love to consider all those names but I’m looking for names that start with these either of these letters specifically!

- GHIJOPQTUVWXZ

Since I like to keep track of the ocs I’ve made so far by naming them each a different letter from the alphabet. (^◇^;)

[edwinspaynes]

Building off the last anon, what about 💛💔 for TID? And 💕 💚💖 for both TID and TLH.

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why? -> Gabriel/Cecily, but I don't hate them or even really dislike them. I just don't care.

💔: If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose? -> I wouldn't actually want to remove anyone, but if I had to, Gabriel.

FINALLY POSITIVE ONES HAHAHAHA (These are the ones I actually want to do more because when it comes to TID and TLH I am not a hater I'm a lover)

TLH:

💕: What is an unpopular ship that you like? -> Is Ari/Anna unpopular? I don't think so. I'm going to go with Barbara/Oliver. I actually think about them quite a bit because I love to mull over the entire Sophie/Gideon/Barbara/Oliver/Eugenia/Thomas/Alastair set. They'll 1000% be featured in my Sophideon Family Drabbles set when I finally get around to it!

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character? -> Any time someone says Matthew should have had an endgame love story in TLH, especially with either Cordelia or Lucie, I physically shudder. His story is about self-respect, self-determination, self-betterment, and friendship. Not everyone needs to be neatly paired off at the end of the series, and a romance in TLH would have stunted Matthew's growth so much. Also, the love triangle is amazing because it's literally about Matthew's mental health.

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series? -> I'm a veritable MINE of positive unpopular opinions. I think TLH is the best TSC series and is genuinely a modern masterpiece for fantasy novels. I think it's a very comforting and uplifting series. I think ChoT is one of Cassie's best books, and it certainly is my personal favourite book ever. I love the James/Cordelia/Matthew love triangle. The miscommunication trope is what makes the series so amazing since we can see all the characters tick.

TID:

💕: What is an unpopular ship that you like? -> Hmmm. That's a toughie. I don't actually think any of the TID ships are that unpopular in the fandom. But I will say that Charlotte and Henry are criminally underrated. So are Sophie and Gideon, but I think I see more of them than Chenry.

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character? -> "Tessa doesn't really love Will" "Tessa didn't really love Jem" "Tessa betrayed Will getting with Jem 80 years after Will died" "Tessa betrayed Jem when she had sex with Will in CP2" Shut up. Shut UP. Tessa loves both Will and Jem, Tessa was well within her rights to sleep with Will before what would presumably be a lifetime of rape, and Tessa has every right to carve out another happy life for herself after Will has been dead for almost a century.

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series? -> I need more married Wessa that doesn't involve Jem. I'm not even really slighting Jem, I just miss Wessa and think they got the real short end of the stick.

[drunkonimagination]

re-reading the sanctuary scene is so funny bc that bit where tom sits next to alastair on the mattress? I keep seeing it as '6 foot 5, muscular' tom just dropping his entire weight onto this mattress, which means that '5 foot 10, doesn't eat regular meals' alastair either bounced and cc just didn't write it in, or he was fully gripping onto the mattress like it was a lifeline and cursing mr lightwood under his breath. this was very incoherent but i thought you might enjoy :)

ANON I LOVE THIS

you're 100% right, that's so them and it definitely happened jsksj

no but imagine thomas coming home from patrol late at night and he's so tired that he basically throws himself into bed and accidentally makes alastair bounce in the process. the man, who was sleeping peacefully, immediately jumps like "what the hell was that"

and poor thomas is mortified. he starts touching alastair's face like he needs to test alastair's well-being and whispers "are you okay alastair? by the angel im so sorry, im not really used to sleep regularly with another person yet, i didn't mean to wake you, geez, im so so sorry-"

and half-asleep alastair would be like "yeah yeah, you're forgiven, now hug me clown"

[hellsurvivr]

Rhys Ifans

*      ―    ﴾  𝙽𝙿𝙲 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙴  ﴿ // still accepting ( @ anon ) *tagging @carnagebled erm .... just because I can*

AGE : unknown SPECIES : demon JOB : hells grand torturer

    INTRODUCING :    aloysius. who also goes by the name of Alastair in more modern circles. the head demon, and torturer of hell.

                aloysius / alastair, is one of the handful of first demons ever created, after the creation of the knights of hell. the knights and lucifer, are the only things older than he is. he was known for his sadism and love of violence and torture     ━  making him perfect for his job.   that job being the grand torturer of hell. the one who is called in for specific souls that hell wishes to either break early, or the ones who must truly suffer whilst upon his rack. there is no forgiveness with Alastair, nor is there any potential of escaping the true limit of his sadism. not when his blade is cutting into your flesh, nor in the laughter he lets ring out in the room, as he sets about his work.

                over the years. alastair has trained many demons under his tutelage. some he calls his greatest masterpieces. and others he has simply killed or tortured himself, due to them not living up to his potential or his teaching. and in very rare circumstances     ━  he's turned souls into torturers.   that is a rarity in itself. but it happens. and when it does, Alistair knows, he has a new apprentice. someone he can shape and mould. to be his monster.

                payne and alastair first met     ━   in the bowels of hell.   upon her second trip to hell. payne took it upon herself, to taunt and insult elijah, alastairs student. and if rumours are to be believed, his grandson. it was due to payne's taunts, that alastair got involved. admiring payne for her strength of character, and also her previous escape from hell. for no one escaped his rack. but here she was again, and this time he wanted to see if he could break her. thus Alastair took over from elijah, and attempted to break the princess of hell. but much like elijah, payne reisisted. she never once screamed, she never once cried. she gave him nothing. and begrudgingly, he found himself admiring her. for he had met a multitude of souls, but none had resisted in the way payne had. and when she escaped again, he found humous in the situation. of course elijah had to go hunt her. but Alistair was amused. and couldn't wait for the day, the two would meet again.

[helenofblackthorns]

I have honestly never managed to read through chot, which is kind of annoying because I know there are scenes i havent read yet that il probably love. But the problems are really annoying too, like why is everything set up at the end of choi solved immediatly and easily.

honestly I've very glad I managed to read chot in 12 straight hours on release day otherwise I would probably be stuck in the same place you are 😅 because you're right, the ending of choi is resolved really easily with maybe the exception of the whole James/Cordelia/Matthew situation

like both Anna/Ari and Alastair/Thomas work out their issues really early on and are fine the rest of the book despite the fact in was a massive deal at the end of choi that none of them were speaking. like why even have all the couples break up 😭 especially thomastair tbh because they already went through all that in choi they simply didn't need to do it again

I will say of all the dropped plots, the fact Jesse being the murderer and Elias' death barely come up in chot is probably the worse offender. I think Jesse has one scene at the beginning where he mentions all his runes are from dead people and Cordelia mentions her dad occasionally and thats IT. like one of the main things Cordelia & Matthew discuss before leaving for Paris is they have to be back in time for the funeral in about a week yet never once does the funeral come up in chot 😭😭 NOT ONCE. also if my besties new boyfriend was walking around with my dead fathers voyance rune on his hand personally I would have something to say about that idk

less of a dropped plot but the way the James and Grace situation was handled in chot also really bothered me. like at the very least I feel like James should have been the one to tell Cordelia about everything instead of Grace. imo Grace told her because the plot needed to move forward and that could have been avoided if James didn't have the bracelet for as long as he did. he should have lost it earlier in choi so he had time to both come to terms with it & deal with it on his own terms without The Plot interfering as far as I'm concerned

and you're right, there's also good parts of it they just get really overshadowed. I can't remember everything rn (its been over a year since I read it lol) but there were some funny/impactful/cool etc moments that I did really like. unfortunately I feel like most of them were in the first half because once the plot picks up its harder to ignore how awful it is (which... probably isn't going to motivate you to finish anytime soon anon 😅)

[agnes-draws]

I'd like to add to the speculations: Thomas and his bff Oscar <33

if it's not him may this be inspiration for the future.. maybe..👀

ps I love your art sooooo much. sososo much. ty for sharing<3

jaksjsksjksjs OMG THIS. they're besties for sure <3 also i'll tell you a secret anon: a while back i had actually started a drawing of oscar and alastair, but the sketch didn't turn out that well so i gave up lol (but, who knows, in the future i might even draw that scene of oscar and thomastair...if you know you know 👀)

btw thank you so so much, it means everything to me <3

[zoyalannister]

I have a conflict with Sonia's death, although I wanted it to happen. I think I wanted it more to give Cordelia more plot. I mean, I feel like if CC had killed Sona it would have given Cordelia more depth to just being "which dick do I like better", "Grace this, Grace that" and the inability of the basic human skill of communication. I feel like all her emotional struggles with accepting that she is an orphan after learning that her entire childhood was a lie because of her father's alcolism, that she practically has no family anymore, and especially the guilt she should feel for abandoning her to go to Paris with Matthew, would have made her grow up and mature; so all her conflicts with James, Lucie and Matthew would have been addressed with a rational, non-hormonal person; and would have taken up less than 800 pages of drama. Not to mention Lilith could have manipulated her with this issue, and the whole paladin thing would have been less boring.

. My conflict comes in that if Sona dies and Zhacary will have no parents to raise him, this falls on Alastair, the same one who spent his entire adolescence protecting Cordelia. Alastair would have to step back as a person for a sibling and it would bother me so much because it's not his obligation, plus he would also be in mourning and would have to put his feelings on hold for Zhacary. Plus his relationship with Thomas was recent, I wouldn't in a thousand lifetimes raise one of my siblings with a boyfriend of a month, where there is no stability or established dynamic to justify that and it's 1903 I don't think I have to justify that.

Although I would have liked much more that Soná died (and how logical it would be too), I would hurt so much for Alastair because he does not deserve that. He needs time for himself

You’re absolutely right anon, but personally I would have preferred Alastair forced to step up and became a parent than canon Alastair personality being disintegrated and him reduced just to Thomas’s love interest.

[gayforcarstairsgirls]

ok just tell me this.

WHY THE FUCK DO THE CARSTAIRS OWE THE HERONDALES?!

Hi anon 😂😂

Ok listen you're not gonna like my answer but... as far as I'm aware we actually don't know?? Basically here is my take on it:

The whole "Carstairs owe the Herondales" thing COULD be because of The Infernal Devices and Jem and Will's bond and Jem missing Will now that he's dead and wanting to take care of his family and repay Will for always being there for him, and I think that's certainly part of it.

But I don't think that's the WHOLE thing, because Will is just as 'indebted' to Jem, and this also couldn't have been passed down through the Carstairs family (to eventually reach Emma) by Jem because he was a silent brother, so it must have been passed down by Alastair and Cordelia's bit of the family. Personally I think that something is gonna happen in Chain of Thorns that will fully explain why the Carstairses, a hundred years later, still know they owe the Herondales.

As for what this debt could be, I'm a little bit (ok a lot) afraid that either Lucie or James is going to sacrifice their life in some way to save a Carstairs in Chain of Thorns, and since James really needs to stay alive to pass down the Herondale name (cause sexism) and the gold eyes, I am severelyyyy afraid for Lucie rn, like I can see her sacrificing herself to save Cordelia (cause duh, parabatai) and yup I'm scared.

I hope this answer made sense, if not please feel free to send me another ask! I love receiving asks and getting to talk about this stuff xx

[vwritesaus]

I'm glad you are writing again! Can you pls share a snippet of that chapter?

thank you anon!! ♡ i am too... it's like i've come home after being away for so long

and share a snippet?? you needn't ask twice, i'd love to. here you go, something small:

      [Alastair's] main excuse is to escape the unfortunate reality of his sister and James being glued to each other’s sides, and engaging in what he refers to as an “unhealthy amount of canoodling”.       ‘This is what happens when the Herondales are the hosts, I suppose,’ Alastair stated in dire tones late one night, completed with a fabulous scowl. ‘They allow for inappropriate acts to be performed under their noses.’       ‘And what of the noses of my parents?’ Thomas rebutted. ‘Imagine their faces upon discovering the polite and charming Alastair Carstairs sneaking about in the night and taking residence in their son’s bedroom. I daresay Cordelia is not the only Carstairs performing inappropriate acts.’       He had gotten a swat on his arm for the comment, and they needed to stifle their laughs in fear of waking everyone up. They have yet to be caught, though Thomas imagines there is a very low chance of it happening, least of all by Sophie and Gideon Lightwood. Not when their attention is elsewhere, for obvious reasons.

the full chapter will be posted this weekend because guess what? i actually finished it!?

~

Snippet #1

[all-this-panic-still-no-disco]

PLS LIZA A SNIPPET FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER I'm begging

~ anon and fandom <3

Thomas smiles and leans down to give him a short but fierce kiss. “We’re going to do something fun today,” he commands. “Something less stressful than all the worrying.”

Alastair raises an eyebrow. “I thought we just did something fun.” He inclines his head towards the bed, sheets mussed terribly from a good night’s sleep and an even better send-off.

Thomas’s cheeks go pink. Alastair loves how easily he can blush after all these years. “Something other then sex,” he sighs. “Let me—”

Thomas stops, then starts. Twice.

When he finally gets the words out, his ears are burning red. “Let me take you on a date,” he says.

:)

[amchara]

Heyy, could you please spoil Matthew's arc and ending for me? Like with a read more so others don't stumble upon it?

Hello anon!

I know this has been here for a few days so you may have already found this out- but if not, the answers lie below the 'read more'

Matthew's Entire Arc and Ending in Chain of Thorns:

So... in bullet points, here is Matthew's arc. I have resisted editorialising but there may be some bias still, heh.

The main takeway-- Matthew suffers throughout the book but he is still alive at the end of it.

He and Cordelia kiss and almost hook-up in Paris but are interrupted by James waiting for them in their hotel room

He, Cordelia and James all head back to London. James confesses his love for Cordelia but doesn't explain about the bespelled bracelet, so Matthew isn't willing to give up the potential relationship with Cordelia.

Cordelia is also fed up with both boys- and chooses neither of them at that point because of James' unconvincing explanation AND because Matthew didn't actually stop drinking in Paris. But... Cordelia is also not dismissing her feelings for Matthew so there is about 100 pages of a lot of awkwardness between all three of them.

Oh, all the while- Matthew is getting worse in terms of his drinking problem. He tried to give it up in Paris but got very sick so restarted again- but that's why he lied.

In London, he tries to make the non-drinking stick, and Cordelia sees him at his worst while at the Hell Ruelle. She realises that he needs help and send James and Thomas and Christopher to help him at Whitby Mansions. There are some heartwarming scenes between all the Merry Thieves and they come up with a plan (that Christopher creates) where Matthew will taper off his drinking slowly over a fortnight to avoid the worst effects of his alcohol dependence (which could include seizures and heart failure). However, this plan will only help his physical dependence - his cravings for it will always be there. There are the first steps of reconciliation between Matthew and James.

There is a Christmas party at The Institute and Cordelia has the talk with Matthew, where she tells him she doesn't love him the way he needs/wants to be loved and ends the will they/won't they portion of the book. It's heartbreaking for Matthew, and he backslides into drinking.

However, James overheard the conversation between Matthew and Cordelia and while on the way to rescue Anna and Kit's brother from Tatiana - and he helps Matthew sober up, and promises to be there for him.

A LOT of action stuff happens and basically, Tatiana exposes Tessa and Lucie and James' heritage to the Enclave and well, it doesn't go well. Charles backs the Inquisitor's witch hunt into the Herondales - but rather than just being the political backstabber opportunist he normally is, it's a bit more nuanced this time- he's actually being blackmailed by the Inquisitor (Ariadne earlier in the book realises her father is blackmailing someone) with the fact that he likes guys- and Matthew figured out it's his brother.

Oh, and Alastair and Thomas all help Matthew with this plot point- and plan to confront Charles. There's some reconciling between Alastair and Matthew throughout the book, and particularly around this time where Alastair, through his history with Elias' drinking, has some good tips to help Matthew and continue on his path of sobriety. Also, sometime beforehand- Thomas told Matthew that he loved Alastair, and that's also part of the whole- Matthew and Alastair's relationship starts to improve.

Grace tells Cordelia about her and James. Cordelia and James finally consumate their wedding night, and the day after - they tell the whole gang about the gracelet. Matthew is horrified that James didn't tell him about- and of course, feels guilty that he didn't guess that was what was going between Grace and James.

Bad Shit Goes Down - where Tatiana escapes, Belial casts a spell over London and during the main battle, Christopher is killed.

During this battle, James is dragged to Edom, and Matthew manages to hitch a ride with them.

In Edom, the situation goes from bad to worse, with Belial giving James 24 hours before he starts to torture Matthew to get James to agree to Belial's demands to posess him. But Matthew doesn't really have 24 hours- he had minimal amounts of the medication that Christopher designed and his withdrawal symptoms from alcohol start to re-occur, and worsen. He finally tells James about what happened at the Shadow Market and why he started drinking. James of course, forgives him and tells him that he'll go with Matthew to tell his parents the truth.

Matthew starts to have seizures from his alcohol withdrawal. James tries to help by drawing iratzes, which shouldn't work in a hell dimension, but somehow do. Matthew survives the night.

Unfortunately, Cordelia and Lucie's rescue mission comes too late to save James, who allows Belial to possess him as long as he leaves Matthew and all his other loved ones alone. Before he does though, he tells Matthew of his risky plan and tells him that Cordelia will know what to do with Cortana.

Lucie, Cordelia and Matthew all head back to Belial's London via Portal to stop possessed!James

An epic battle occurs but no one else dies, despite James stabbing himself in the heart because Cortana, in the hands of Cordelia as Lilith's paladin, can heal wounds.

Anyway, all's well that ends well, except for Christopher's death. We see the whole TLH gang six months later, and we learn that Matthew is about to embark on some travel and is continuing to stay sober. There is a short explanation that he told his parents about what he did to CHarlotte and they forgive him- also, Charlotte is pregnant again, with twins.

There's still a distance between him and Cordelia and he tells her he will always love her in some way and she worries he is leaving because of her- he assures her it is because he wants to explore the world, and they reconcile, at healing a bit of the awkwardness between them.

The book ends there- but in the Waterstones special edition, there is a letter from Matthew to James while he is in Venice, where again he is still sober, and manages to have a conversation beyond the grave with Oscar Wilde, who tells him that he can be forgiven and he will live a life full of grand suffering and grand love.

Phew, okay- that's about it. It's an oddly open ending for a main TSC character but apparently Cassie has teased a novella collection about a TLH character, and a guess could be Matthew, and his adventures.

Overall, I was broadly happy with his arc in Chain of Thorns. My personal full first impressions of the whole book, including Matthew's arc can be found here.

Other people's mileage may vary. ;)