#and ending with *plz stay safe jon we love u*

[somethingsupwithdrac]

Ahh, 16 May, wherein our good friend Jonathan meets the Sisters and encounters terrifying heterosexual urges ....Okay, I joke but really, this is where the real horror shit starts to kick in and things get harder to laugh about. Nebulously weird vibes, a bit of casual wall-crawling, yeeting a mirror out a window because foul bauble of man’s vanity? That’s all kid stuff. Now we’re getting into some real unsettling horror shit.

It’s morning and Our Good Friend Jonathan is still Going Through Some Shit. ‘I’m going mad here, everything is terrible, this place is full of nightmares, oh god I’m going to die. Somehow the Count is the least terrible thing here and I hate that, and I know I’m only safe as long as I’m useful to him and I AM NOT OKAY OH GOD HELP ME’ My poor guy is having a breakdown in real time here, just trying desperately to calm down and taking a moment to say ‘Okay, yes, I am losing it, I need to take some time here and write this down so I can focus on something besides how terrified I am and retain a shred of sanity.’

Jon still frightened of the Count’s warning (as he should be) and ending up worrying and writing himself into exhaustion. :( YES GOOD JON YOU HOLE THE FUCK UP IN THE NICE SAFE DUSTY ROOMS AWAY FROM THE TERRIFYING OLD MAN. Just stare out the window at the pretty landscape and don’t think about anything right now except the much less creepy vibes and the long-ago ladies pining for their men who went off to war, Just get some sleep because my friend, you are going to need it if you intend to live through all of this.

“I was not alone.” CHILLS. God, that line is horrifying no matter how many times I read it. Going to sleep thinking you’re safe and hidden because obviously there isn’t anybody else around, and then suddenly discovering that actually someone was there the whole time and now they’re here for you is such a great horror trope when it’s used well, and I love it here. Jon, baby, remember that warning that frightened you so? THIS IS WHAT IT WAS ABOUT.

GOD THIS IS SO CREEPY. Three ladies appearing out of nowhere, casting no shadows, being all otherworldly and predatory, beautiful and terrifying to our poor Jon. (They’re going to eat him, and not in a fun sexy way.)

‘I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips. It is not good to note this down, lest some day it should meet Mina’s eyes and cause her pain; but it is the truth.’ Oh, Jon. :( Still thinking of Mina and how you love her and don’t want to hurt her even when in imminent danger of being eaten. My sweet, sweet cinnamon roll. I could make more jokes here but tbh I love this whole section so much that I don’t want to. There’s such a surreal, languid, dream-fading-into-nightmare-sleep-paralysis quality to all of it-the beautiful ladies, both strange and familiar to Jon; the simultaneous fear and desire for them, the latter of which might well be something imposed as much by their obviously inhuman influence as his own mind and which he can do nothing about and feels incredible guilty for; the whole sequence where he can only lie there frozen with fear and anticipation while they discuss how there are enough “kisses” to go around, and then as one of them actually moves to bite him and-

the surreal bubble he’s trapped in is quite abruptly burst by the Count. This whole scene is incredibly effective, because there the Sisters are, about to kill Jonathan and there’s absolutely nothing he can do, utterly trapped in the moment and experiencing all of these conflicting feelings, and then in comes the Count, who he’s also terrified of, just to make everything that much more nightmarish.

I'm going to leave other reactions to “This man is mine" to the rest of tumblr and just say that holy shit that is terrifying from the lens of ‘mine' as in “my prey to kill/do with as I please", and that this entire paragraph where we really see the Count lose control and display his inhuman nature in front of Jonathan rather than make any attempt to pretend to be a human is great.  

That whole argument between Dracula and the Sisters, about love and whether he is capable of it, all while nearly hissing at each other over Jon like he’s a prime cut of steak is very. Eugh. Repulsive in the best way because it makes it super clear that they are not human and they do not care about Jonathan for any reason other than when he can do for them: for Dracula he’s a useful tool to get to England and settle amongst a whole new population of unsuspecting, unprepared prey, and for the Sisters he’s fresh meat to feed on, and the only quibble here, really, is who gets him first.

“Well, now I promise you that when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will. Now go! go! I must awaken him, for there is work to be done.” I like that this line makes it well and truly clear that Jonathan is disposable and he’s only safe as long as the Count finds him useful, and once he’s outlived that usefulness, he’s gone. He actually twigged pretty quickly in the beginning of all of this to the fact that something was off about his client, that feeling only grew, and now he’s just pretty much heard outright that he’s going to die. 

And then the Count feeds the Sisters a goddamn baby because this is Dracula and they’re all literal monsters.

And poor, sweet Jonathan has finally hit his limit and passes out, waking up back in his room and realizing that, if the entire experience wasn’t some horrible nightmare, the Count must have carried him back to it. Annnd there he goes again, straight back into the land of coping mechanisms, because okay, I don’t have proof this happened, I need to approach this calmly and rationally and look for evidence, and dealing with the new knowledge that as bad as it is to be here in his room where’d he previously been so terrified of being trapped with the Count, it’s comparatively safe and secure, and really not so bad because what’s out there in the rest of the castle is worse.

Also, the thing I couldn’t mention until now because spoilers: I like the contrast between Jonathan’s thoughts yesterday about this room as having once been a soft, comfortable place where sweet, presumably chaste noblewomen lived and dreamed about their beloved beaus, and the current day reality where it’s occupied by this dangerous corrupting force in the form of the Sisters, who are noblewomen in physical appearance only and in reality are decidedly not chaste, delicate, or innocent in any way. 

Jon, please write again soon, hopefully saying that you’ve found a way out of that terrible place. We are all very worried about you.

[rambunctiousreader]

Topics I just need to touch on from Lord of Shadows (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT)

Emma and Julian

- I’m really glad their friendship went back to normal after some time. The distance between them was unlike them at all and I hated it. I know it was necessary because they both had to process how things had changed between them, but that doesn’t mean I liked reading it.

- Okay so I think the curse is seriously coming into play here. Cassie never outwardly says that the curse is already occurring, but she drops multiple hints throughout the book. For one, all of a sudden, Emma and Julian can communicate telepathically. I don’t know but I’m pretty sure that’s not supposed to happen. Also, um, they caught a STONE building on fire?! Stone? All-powerful runes? Ring a bell?????

- During the church scene and many, many other scenes, there’s so much sexual tension between Emma and Julian. Literally. I think there’s more in LOS than LM because at this point they’ve had sex and seen that intimate side of each other. At this point, they both have privately acknowledged that they are in love with the other. I think that plays a huge role in their relationship and how it has evolved since Lady Midnight.

- That huge fight that they had when they were staying at Malcolm’s cottage literally broke me. I was on the verge of crying while reading that. I’m just glad that it didn’t take long for them to make up.

- Their conversation about the Shadowhunter family mottos BAHAHAHAHA

- This is their second sex scene and honestly I loved it so much. It was so perfect. I almost burst into tears crying when Emma admitted to Julian that she’d been lying about her relationship with Mark.

- Emma still hasn’t told Julian that she loves him and I keep wondering if this is an important detail that will be used in QoAaD. Am I the only one who noticed this?

Diana Wrayburn

- It’s not like I hated Diana in Lady Midnight, I just didn’t know her very well and didn’t see the depth of her character. Once I read her backstory, I grew to love her. She is such a strong person and honestly I just want to be her best friend.

- Diana and Gwyn? Um, can you say hella cute couple?

- Once Cassie told us that there would be a transgender character reveal in Lord of Shadows, I knew from the start that it would be Diana. In Lady Midnight, it talks about how she has lots of secrets and a dark past. We knew that she’d been through a lot, so it wasn’t a huge surprise for me, but still a monumental moment in the book nonetheless. 

- Summed up into four words, I can say “I love Diana Wrayburn!”

Kit Herondale

- From the moment we found out in Lady Midnight that Kit is the Lost Herondale, I knew that he would be an interesting character to read about. I was not disappointed.

- It’s truly heartwarming to watch Kit grow from a person who is denying himself as a Shadowhunter and the culture of the Shadowhunters to fully embracing it and finding a home with the Blackthorns. That scene where they’re fighting the Seven Riders and Ethna (or whatever her name is) is about to kill him and he’s all like “I’m Christopher Herondale.” I just loved that and I almost cried. 

- At this point, I still don’t really know where his relationship with Ty will lead. I know for sure it will be either a romantic relationship or a parabatai relationship, and I’m perfectly fine with whichever. For me, it’s hard to tell right now. Cassie has a habit of pulling large plot twists on us, and I don’t know what to think. All I do know is that I like Kit and Ty as friend or lovers. I think they compliment each other very well and are so cute. (The Sherlock and Watson comparisons?! Cute af!)

Julian Blackthorn

- I’m honestly so scared for Julian and I have two main theories for him. Neither of them are happy. He’s either going to literally go off the deep end and go full evil and be really bad or he’s not going to survive to the end of the series. Like I said, I don’t really like either option.

- Julian’s hidden ruthlessness is touched upon several times in LOS like in LM. This is NOT coincidental and Cassie is foreshadowing. His ruthless nature and his undying will to protect those he loves will play a major role in the plot of QoAaD, I’m sure.

- I don’t even want to think about how Livvy’s death will affect his family, but especially Julian. He’d devoted his life, time, and heart to protecting his family and doing whatever it takes to keep them alive and safe. He’s failed to do that. Because of Livvy’s death, he will blame himself and I feel like it will really push him over the edge. 

- There is this undeniable dark Julian that we all know exists. Few of us actually acknowledge that this is a part of Julian because we don’t want to imagine our baby Julian like that. Our baby Julian, who has been in love with Emma for god knows how long. Our baby Julian who ran an Institute when he was twelve, killed his own father, who became parabatai with Emma even when he knew he was in love with her because he didn’t want to lose her. Jules, Julian, who paints her in secret, who hides his feelings for her. He is an incredibly selfless person and I feel like that it could seriously be his downfall and weakness ironically.

- Basically, I think that tough times are in the forecast for Julian Blackthorn. :(

Five Main Character Deaths

- Jon Cartwright: I was really surprised about his death and didn’t see it coming. I was just a lil sad but overall it wasn’t that bad. I will miss him though. I hope Marisol will be okay.

- Arthur Blackthorn: I was also very surprised about this death. In Lady Midnight, Arthur is written as this insane, depressed, and sad individual. We don’t like him because he was supposed to run the Institute, not Julian. In the last few pages of his life, he was completely lucid and actively gave up his life to save the younger Blackthorns. I was very taken aback and thought it was very honorable. It instantly redeemed his character for me. I was sad to see him go.

- Malcolm Fade: I never really believed he was dead tbh. I actually laughed when he truly died. Literally, this dude spends 200+ years dedicating his life to bringing a girl back from the dead, and when he does she just kills him?!?! I died it was actually really funny. I realize how sick that sounds and I’m sorry but it was so funny.

- Robert Lightwood: Never did I think a character from another series would be killed off. I set myself up for sadness when I assumed that. I was very sad when Robert died; not only was he Emma and Julian’s only hope to fix things between them, but he was also just mending his relationship with his children and it broke my heart when Alec was calling for his dad. I can’t remember exactly, the last few pages of LOS were a blur of tears and emotions and words and I’m pretty sure I started crying when Alec was calling “Dad, please, dad.”

- Livvy Blackthorn: Oh my god. Oh my god. Livvy’s death caught me by complete surprise and it crushed me. Livvy had so much ahead of her. She’d found out that Julian had been the one that had taken care of all of the younger Blackthorns since the Dark War, and she’d wanted to be like him. She’d kissed Julian on the forehead. It was so cute and it warmed my heart. SHE NEVER GOT TO RUN AN INSTITUTE. All Livvy wanted was for her family to be together and when Helen and Mark finally came back and everyone was together, she died. She never got to see her family reunite, and I think that’s the saddest part. I truly will miss Livvy. And when the clock rang? Oh my god, I was a hot mess. There are dried tears on the last two pages of LOS. I cried myself to sleep that night when I finished it.

Side note on Livvy’s death: maybe this is a grieving me just searching for a way to bring Livvy back but there was a quote in either Lady Midnight or Lord of Shadows (I think its LOS) and one of the characters (I think a faerie or something) is like “Oh, how foolish of u to regard death as something so final.” Will this tie into Livvy’s death? WILL LIVVY COME BACK?

Characters I Literally Cannot Deal With

- Jaime Rosales (taking advantage of Dru like wtf)

- Annabel Blackthorn (she fucking killed Livvy and Robert ugh)

- Zara Dearborn (I don’t really need to explain this, do I?)

- The Cohort (see above)

Characters I Didn’t Pay Much Attention to Before but Now I Like Them

- Mark Blackthorn (sweet bby oml)

- Kieran (ur not as bad as I thought, pal)

- Diana Wrayburn (I explained above. Never hated her or anything, just didn’t know her)

- Gwyn ap Nudd (PROTECT THIS ACTUAL TEDDY BEAR OML)

- Dru Blackthorn (don’t make her babysit plz)

- Ty and Livvy (I have a twin and I wish he was like Ty lol)

Emma Carstairs 

- hot mess of angst and emotions throughout the book (as expected) 

- Julian Blackthorn Julian Blackthorn Julian Blackthorn Julian Blackthorn

- She slayed one of the Seven Riders like holy crap girl ur a legend

- She and Julian had sex again. Have I talked about this? Yes. It was amazing. I loved it. I enjoyed every second of it.

- I love how whenever someone does anything mean or says something bad about the Blackthorns, Emma freaking goes apeshit on them

- When Emma made Diego stand in the antpile.... OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS GIRL

- She’s so sassy and I love her sass. Did I mention I love her sass. 

Further comments

- WHAT THE FUCK IS THE DEAL WITH CORTANA BREAKING THE MORTAL SWORD. WHAT THE FUCK. I NEED ANSWERS.

- will Emma and Julian seriously ever get rid of the parabatai bond

- how will Livvy’s death affect her family

- when will Mark, Cristina, and Kieran have their eventual threesome I need to know

- how the fuck is Bridget still alive

- ALL OF THE TID REFERENCES WHILE THEY WERE IN LONDON AHHHH MY HEART

- what is happening to the warlocks oh my god don’t touch my Tessa and don’t touch my Magnus

- is Ragnor alive or nah

- what is the history of the Black Volume

- Clary better not die or I fucking s2g