#and the cobalts are amazing of course but they are for sure more siblings vibes than friend group vibes

[titsthedamnseason]

bro you have no idea how happy i’m going to be when ben and winona become besties again, ben and xander mend their rift and become an iconic duo, the girl squad all turns 18 and starts moving out and living their lives, and all the younger kids + easton and jesse become a friend group. lowkey this might end up being my favorite era of all the next gen books im so excited

[indecent-lemon]

Back with the Blackthorns S01E01 “Pilot”

This is my gift for my lovely friend Becca aka @thepurplewarlock || One day while we were talking I said that she could have an entire sitcom based off of her quirkiness and it lead to this || I’m not sure if I’ll write more about this so don’t get your hopes up too high(if you have hopes lol)

Rebecca heaved her luggage to the front door of the Los Angeles Institute. It was two PM; sweltering hot and she had gotten off her eight-hour flight. Usually, shadowhunters used portals to get around but it only took one look at that swirling mass of warped space and time to say NOPE. But right then she was wondering if she had made the right choice.

She wandered aimlessly on the beach, searching for a huge church. Five people had asked her if she was lost. She was tempted to say yes but how would she explain it? Yeah, I’m looking for some super attractive, demon-fighting people with cool tattoos and they live in an invisible church. Well, invisible to you. Have you seen them? And even her eyes hadn’t fully adjusted to the Sight yet. But when they finally did it slapped her in the face.

The Institute loomed over her. The cement was cracked, there were dents in the walls, and the backyard was abuzz with life; impressions made in the dirt and trees. People live in that old house, alright. Her people.

She reached the front door and rang the doorbell, which seemed newly installed like the large windows. It did little good to the weathered place. She heard shuffling and harsh whispering from the inside and then the door opened to reveal a tall, teenage boy with sea-green eyes that held distrust.

She felt a tad dazed but composed herself quickly. She beamed.

The boy shook his head, “You must be confused. Wherever you need to be, it’s not here. There’s a phone booth near the beach.”

Becca pushed up her sleeve to uncover the rune of angelic power on her wrist. The whispering stopped and suddenly people were crowding the door. She saw a beautiful blonde girl mutter, “I bet you five bucks she’s a lost Herondale, Kit”, to a smaller blond boy who looked as if he had too many tricks up his sleeve. Kit answered, “No way, Emma. She doesn’t look sarcastic enough.”

Becca thought of the name Herondale, she’d heard it being thrown around in Alicante with both negative and positive connotations.

“I’m not a lost Herondale”, she said, “I’m a recently ascended mundane from England as you can tell by my accent. I have chosen the name Rebecca Blackthorn.” She smiled shyly and quickly added, “But you guys can call me Becca.” Emma grumbled as she slipped green bills into Kit’s fingers—which held money with a certain familiarity of a con man but his eyes said no such thing.

The boy who opened the door was taken aback, “You don’t want that name. I’m ninety percent sure it’s cursed. Don’t use Herondale either.”

“Or Dearborn”, Emma growled. Somehow, his frown was etched even deeper into his tanned face.

“You guys can’t be so bad. You seem like a nice family.”

“That’s how we’re supposed to seem. Now please, go back to Alicante and change your name.”

Becca stammered, “B-but why don’t you want me here? You don’t even know me. I’d like to help.”

A cute, chubby girl who embodied her siblings’ traits asked, “Yeah, why Julian? I’ve only met like three people who don’t live in this house. She’s new.”

Julian replied, “It’s not that we don’t want you it’s just that we have a lot of emotional baggage and we need to be able to trust you completely.”

A brooding faerie glared under periwinkle locks, “I suggest we give her a test to assess her loyalty.”

Julian crossed him arms, “Kieran, loyalty takes time to build. You can’t just—”

“Okay. Here’s the test; Do you like lamps?”, queried a man with two-colored irises. One solid, the other metallic like the faerie’s. He practically bounced off the walls with his bubbly energy.

Becca decided to ignore the oddity of the question, “Lamps are nice. I like them.”

“That settles it. She’s a Blackthorn.”

Julian sighed, “Come on in, Becca.”

A girl volunteered, “Let me help you with that. I’m Livvy”, and grabbed the luggage.

Becca exclaimed, “Careful! I have precious cargo…” Mugs spilled from a hole in the pack. Twenty mugs along with a hundred tea bags. Eyes bored into her head.

A gray-eyed, obsidian-haired boy pondered, “Why are you smuggling tea of all things? There’s much more profit in the illegal drug industry. Unless… they’re vintage?”

Julian chided, “Ty! Don’t give her ideas.”

***

Becca was a bit embarrassed about her excessive mug collection but pride still filled her heart. And tea was currently filling her stomach. The warm cinnamon taste relieved her headache and near heat stroke. She thought, Why must California be so hot?

She missed her mundane family and friends in England. She had told them she was going to the U.S. to study. It was abrupt and questionable because she was so happy with her job and life but they wished her luck. She hoped she could go visit soon. Until then she was stuck in a room that lacked personality but it wasn’t all bad.

Earlier that day, Diana, the tutor had shown her around the place. Although, it didn’t keep the new shadowhunter from getting confused. She felt like leaving a trail of bread crumbs or more so—tea bags. Diana had also went through some training sessions—mental and physical— which left her bones and brain feeling like mush. She could hardly hold up her mug and sleep threatened to come but she wanted to stay up. To observe what vibes her new home gave off at night.

Here are the things she figured out during that day:

Everyone’s names

Everyone loves each other very much(almost frighteningly)

Mark is affiliated with multiple lamps?

Julian is the mom

Emma’s the fun uncle

Julian and Emma are in love with each other

Livvy, Kit, and Ty have a friend group together

Dru is slightly allergic to babysitting

Kieran has no idea what’s going on

Tavvy is a pure soul

Cristina needs a hug

THE KITCHEN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS HOUSEHOLD(as mentioned by Julian. He didn’t yell it but the undertone was clear)

Diana seems to be the only one with complete sanity(although with these kids it might disappear soon)

You may think that’s a lot to find out but Becca knew it was just the tip of the iceberg. She dozed off during dusk and awoke to yelling two hours later. She almost put on her gear until she realized the yelling sounded as if it came from arguing children. From the kitchen! The same kitchen where she kept her mugs. She scurried downstairs and took in the scene.

There was a cake, except it was now frosting-down on the floor. Livvy and Dru were going at it. They both claimed the other dropped the cake and Julian was trying to reason with the two. Kit and Ty were off in a corner, immersed in a card game that Ty was definitely winning. Cristina attempted to read a book but couldn’t stop herself from sneaking peeks at the drama. Diana simply gave everyone the “I taught you better than this” scowl. Then she saw it. Her mugs lay despairingly on the floor. She could see the cracks from a mile away. Kieran’s hair was cobalt as he was extremely annoyed. He stalked off outside.

In fact, everybody was annoyed. “What happened?”, Becca asked. She ran to her broken mugs.

Mark explained, “We made a cake to welcome you and apologize for our rudeness earlier. But one of the girls slipped over frosting and accidentally opened the cabinet leaving for a mug genocide. That action triggered another one of the girls to accidentally drop the cake. It was amazing but it’s gone now. Sorry, Rebecca.”

She glanced around the room as a chorus of “sorrys” was said. They were all sincere. Livvy and Dru calmed down; agreeing to share the blame. Becca left the kitchen with a million thoughts running through her mind. They destroyed my mug collection… but out of an act of friendship, she thought.

She went outside to take a breather. She met Kieran on the porch and queried, “How were you supposed to get back in if you can’t open the door?”

He stared at the stars and laughed without humor, “I guess I wasn’t going back in.”

“What’s got you so down?”

“I made up the idea and it backfired. You Nephilim can be so much sometimes.”

She didn’t answer.

“I’m sorry. I really am. I wanted this place to feel more warmer.”

She smiled, “This place is warmer. Partly because it’s California and partly because you are a really loving family.”

Kieran scanned her face, “How can you say that when we murdered your mugs?”

She grimaced at that thought but simply shook her head. “I can get new mugs. But I can’t replace memories. One day I’ll look back at this and laugh.”

Kieran nodded and gazed wistfully at the stars.

She sat next to him in one of those old-timey rocking chairs and decided to break the silence. “I feel as if I’m in a western film. All I need is a cowgirl hat and a southern accent. I’ve actually been working on one.”

Kieran raised a brow.

In an atrocious Southern accent she said, “There’s a snake in my boot.”

Both she and Kieran burst out laughing. Mark approached them, guffawing also. Between breaths he said, “That’s not a Western. That’s Toy Story.”

Becca mocked offense, “Are you telling me that you deny the existence of the most toy-based, action-packed, Western, Space-thriller animation ever created?”

Smugly he retorted, “Well maybe I am.”

Kit called from inside, “You’re both a disgrace to Disney!”

It only made the three go into another fit of laughter. When it finally died down, Mark handed Rebecca an unbroken mug, salvaged from the wreckage, full of hot, cinnamon tea. In the cool air her heart swelled and Kieran had a small smile play on his face.

Before she could thank him, Mark added, “Emma went to buy some donuts to make up for the cake. Again, we apologize.”

She exclaimed, “Well quit apologizing! What’s done is done. I’ll get over it.”

His eyes widened, “So you’re not mad? You don’t want to leave?”

“Of course not. Tonight was entertaining. I’d like to see more.”

Mark beamed and sat with the two. They talked that entire night, nothing too personal, just fun stuff. And when the donuts arrived you can bet that they let Becca have the first pick.

“What a marvelous excuse to eat junk food”, Julian teased.

Becca nudged him, “Marvelous indeed.”

But Diana constantly reminded that it wasn’t an everyday thing but she too wouldn’t miss out on the sugary deliciousness that was donuts.