#and we know dru ends up with ash already

[drusilla-carstairs]

I have one fear. And it’s having only 2 canon wlw ships in The Shadowhunter Chronicles

[lightingtearzz]

Rant about TWP bc I'm bored and I don't have anyone to talk about it

I think that at the start of TWP, bc Jaime disappeared in SOBH, Dru will leave the academia and go to Faerie. I believe Dru will tell Kit sm like "I will go to find Jaime" and he would he like "NO" but she will still go, and Kit, because he obviously cannot go alone to Faerie (I also don't think he KNOWS how to get there), will go to Ty and ask him for help and they would both go to find Dru.

I also hope Dru ends up either alone or with Ash cause I really DO NOT LIKE Jaime, like, AT ALL. And we already know that Kitty ends up together (if they don't I will commit war crimes🥰)

However I wonder if Cassie will keep the rule of "Herondales getting laid on the last book", because Jace, Will and James get the thing done on the last book of each, but Julian, who is a Blackthorn, got intimate with Emma on the FIRST book. So, will we get the Herondale rule and Kitty will be intimate on the last book? Or will we get a Blackthorn rule and they get their thing done on the first one? Perhaps a combination and it happens on the second book? Who knows?

I cannot believe I just wrote an entire paragraph about how Blackthorns get sex faster than the Herondales.

I live for the Kitty tension in all senses.

ALSO! If we do not get our plus-size representation with Dru I will be very mad. It was enough with the fan art. I need Dru to love herself AS SHE IS and not change her appearance to meet some stupid standards.

Ok, that's all I have in my mind (for now) about TWP

[tetsunabouquet]

Heir To The Lands Chapter 21

When Things Sink In Masterpost

They had ended up only a few meters away from the border of the strict magic repelling spells Tessa had put up. Gwenneth only seemed to stare at him in a manner that made Kit feel icky but it was in no way near of anything of importance. Because Ty was falling apart right in front of him. His mouth was forming the shapes of a thousand words but no sound came out of his throat, he was staring at the spot where Dru should had stood, and his hands were fluttering wildly. Unable to process that she had been taken, and by whom? Kit's heart broke in his chest. Never had he wanted Dru to be taken on the mission, never had he wanted Ty to trade in another one of his sister for the safety of the world. Honestly he was at a loss at what to do for him, how to console him. It came thus as a very big surprise, that it was frail and gaunt Jaime who turnt to the group. "I am so sorry. It's my faut they have Dru, if only they hadn't caught me, she'd be safe." Jaime's voice sounded as hopeless as Kit felt, and he could feel tears pricking the back of his eyes, in Ty's case they had already started to flow freely. "From the dreadful clouds, I'd take it we arrived in North Europe." Gwenneth said, trying to orient herself. "We're close to Dimmet Tarn. It's where I live." Kit said, his voice sounding weirdly hollow in his ears. "Then can we go to your place my King? It's best to regroup somewhere safe as you figure out how you will save the pale one's sister." The way she seemed to respect him so suddenly irked Kit a bit, but it was indeed the best course of action. Only the knowledge of the shennanigans Tessa's eldest two had went through, that Kit had the courage to face them now and come clean, but he still felt that fear in his gut that he was the most worthless son ever to people who had been so great to him. He wrapped one of his arms around Ty, the other around Jaime and with all the power in his arms he hoisted them up. He pushed the boys forward and it went well until Gwenneth seemed to be held back by an invisible force. "Oh right, the border magic makes sure to keep fairies out. Gwenneth, I invite you in." The pink goblin stared at him. "Only because you're the King, I will accept this vampire treatment." It was the first time her usual snarky personality shone through, and it almost made Kit smile. Almost. When they approached the Herongraystairs home, Kit yelled out, "Tessa I need your help!" It still felt too strange to call her mom, but it was also growing strange to call her Tessa. He really needed a nickname for her and Jem. Jem hurriedly opened the door, Tessa already appearing from behind them as they took in the scene in front of them. "Jem, please get my special tea ready, I think the boys have a lot of explaining to do."

Dru had to admit she was guilty of falling asleep during the flight to wherever she was. The boy's arms were warm and the breeze in Faerie was just right, it had played with her hair and the scent of the fruits hanging high in a way that made her feel calm. Though she did knew the identity of her captor, she recognized that slightly curling white blonde hair anywhere. The boy she had spoken to years ago, Sebastian's son. "Your name is Ash, right?" Was the first thing that came out of her mouth as his green eyes took her in, took in the fact she was awake. He cocked his head, studying her further as he crouched down next to her. "Yes, and your name is Drusilla, correct?" Dru blinked. "You know my name?" Ash nodded, "Your brother left a drawing of you behind in Thule. I happen to have come across it and I recognized you." He stood up and reached beneath the matras of feathers that had been made for him, and withdrew the drawing just when he heard the door downstairs open. He pressed the paper quickly in Dru's hands and told her to be quiet. Then, Ash went downstairs to find a distressed Janus.

[obsessedwithbooksandmusic]

Well hello 

Hi guys, so if you acc pay attention to this account (which if you do, thank you considering that this is absolutely random), you would know that I try to make my almost ‘thought/reaction’ post to SOBH, which is ending today. I’m very depressed because i loved Monday’s and now I have nothing to fill up my shadowhunter obsession until Chain of Thorns (and then after that I’ll potentially die inside, I say that as if that hasn’t already happened). Soooo, here’s my final thoughts on the last post and series in general:

So, Jaime is in trouble, wtf Cassie, why would you leave us on such a cliffhanger??? And now Kit is depressed, and we are defo not getting his full POV. And dru is probably dying inside, AND JAIME IS STUCK IN FAERIE WTF.

physical copies might be out, which helps.

This defo sets up TWP but if TWP is around a year after this, what WILL happen between then? Will Kit be using his faerie heritage to help? Will the Rosales be making a huge appearance? Does Kieran help with this? Is Ty gonna be on a Cohort mission trying to save Jaime?? Is that how he’s interlinked??? So many questions and yet we will have no close answers. Cassie wants to kill us, we can tell already.

How will Jaime get out? How did he get stuck? What was even the mission? What about Dru? How will she fit into this (other than being someone Jaime cares about and vice versa)? Will Jaime come back but he’ll be the same age?? Is this gonna set up a Jaime-Dru-Ash love triangle like a few people have said? Oh god, help.

these posts were a huge ride, but it was also very fun and entertaining to read, even though there were many times where my heart stopped due to cliffhangers. I’ll miss them, and I just know TWP will be my fav series.

well until next time then, see you guys 🫶

[livvyofthelake]

well see the thing about the wicked powers is that we literally have to give thanks and praise and all that to dru because frankly she's taking the craziest hits for me on multiple fronts. as we all know every cassie series has to have some semblance of a love triangle and i always hate it and she never stops doing it and it makes me want to kill her more than anything in the world. dru's taking the love triangle bullet and the thing about it is that she might actually slay. this could be cassie's first love triangle that doesn't make me want to shoot myself in the head. sorry. no i didn't like tessa's either i was not a tid girlie i respect those who were but that was not my life peace and love. i hate a love triangle i really do. it's always so clear which guy she has to end up with it's fucking annoying. and that's also true for dru and ash like we all know she's not ending up with jamie he's a red herring but still it could possibly even be interesting. you know? like i actually want to see how this pans out. as opposed to say. cordelia and matthew, which made me want to kill myself. the other thing is that cassie loves it when her girl protagonists do this annoying ass oh i'm so insecure how could he ever love little old me thing, which with characters like emma and cordelia, again, made me want to fucking kill myself. but dru could slay that, we already know she would feel that way about jamie, we don't know anything about ash actually and i don't want to cast judgment on him so early so i won't speculate about whether the insecurity shit will be annoying for them. small tangent, i LOVE how cassie has given us basically nothing about ash. good. i don't want to know lest i develop an incorrect perception just to watch cassie jace/will-ify him twp book one. i had to watch that happen to my buddy james herondale and it made me so mad it's unreal. like i would prefer to not get to know that boy until we're like maybe six months out from release. to be honest. i've just been sitting here thinking well he's probably going to either be like a holly black love interest or he's going to be another will herondale-ified stock love interest. either way i don't care the point is i'm flexible. finally the last thing i need to say rn, and this is what i was thinking about earlier if you recall. the other thing all cassie main couples have to do is secret relationships. these idiots love getting into secret relationahips it's so crazy. one thing about me: i hate secret relationships. the way cassie does it can be slay (emma and jules) but i would kill myself if that had to happen to kit and ty. so i'm so absolutely grateful that they aren't the main relationship and dru is the one that has to take all these hits. she's literally doing so much for me AND she might even slay all of it. i hate to say this but i might love her as a protagonist more than cordelia. that's an early thought though don't hold me to that. but think about all the cassie protagonist staples, and then think about dru. she could really slay that in a way not seen before since clary herself..... emma of course is exempt from a lot of the cassie staples because emma and jules are special in the sense that they're like essentially gender flipped. it's complicated to explain but just trust me when i say cassie has a formula and emma and jules are something different, and that's why they're my favorites of course <3

anyway. thanks dru. i'm thrilled to see her as a protagonist and my special guys as secondary protagonists, truly nothing better than being the secondary romance in a cassie book, remember lucie and jesse...... goddamn. would you all say simon and izzy of magnus and alec are the "secondary romace" of tmi? discussion question. i would say simon and izzy because simon is the tertiary protagonist, but i feel like maybe they're actually just equally secondary. obviously the secondary romanc eof tda is cristina et al but they're a flop as we all know. however it only makes sense that they'd be the flop secondary romance because tda is the exception to the main couple rules. well in any case i'm glad this series won't come out for a while i sincerely need to become normal before i have to read all that.

[livia-dovehallow]

As if Matthew can’t continue the line with any other woman and as if the enemies to lovers won’t be Dru and Ash in TWP 🥲

Matthew is complicated character and I've seen drastically varying opinions of him from so many people, so i understand why there are lots of opposing opinions. a similar situation goes for grace as well

I, in my personal opinion that others are free to disagree with, is that Matthew isn't a very good friend either. i can list a good number of minor examples, but the big one--the elephant in the room yall!!--is he ran away with james's wife. his best friend. his parabatai.

we see a lot of discourse about how matthew wouldn't betray james like that by ending up with grace, but he's actively pursuing his wife? there's complications there, ofc, because matthew doesn't yet know the true extend of james's feelings for cordelia, but he knew there was something up with grace and that james's feelings for grace weren't genuine and that cordelia was in a vulnerable place when he whisked her away to paris

this probably won't be a popular opinion either, but like you said, Ash is probably going to do some fucked up things in TWP and people are already shipping him and Dru anyway

[amchara]

Not the distance that scares me (1/2)

Kit Herondale, Ty Blackthorn (Kit/Ty)

Wordcount: 1,542

Post-TWP, Kit finds he has a choice in what he does next.

It makes me sad to think of it. Kit is a good kid who deserves a good, ordinary life. I know that’s what Jem and Tessa want for him, more than anything, after the chaos that was his growing up. But I am not sure he will have a choice in the matter. Fae may not let him choose. - Magnus to Alec (Secrets of Blackthorn Hall) 

(This is me, defying Magnus and Cassie's whole arc for Kit, or at least twisting it, so he gets his happy ending. Er- so there's still angst but look, part two will be happier- happiness through angst, mmkay? 😅

This story fits into my London Files 'verse but no need to have knowledge of them to read this story. But if you're wondering where Ellie comes from)

---

When he woke up, Ty was beside him. Time must’ve passed from the battle because his face was no longer a blood-stained, desperate ricus; the last image Kit had seen before he passed out. 

There was a softness in Ty’s sharp angles, despite purple shadows highlighting his left cheek; there was a release in his jaw, which had been constantly tense since Livvy had passed on in Thule. A lightness in his storm-grey eyes that told Kit it was all going to be okay.  

“We won.” It wasn’t a question. 

Ty nodded. “But…”

Kit had already known what was missing. The power that had thrummed in his chest, the heaviness of pure energy that he had worn like a mantle for the past few years, the electricity in his veins. It was all gone. 

He closed his eyes. “I know.” 

--

Ash let out a sigh- and Dru tightened her hold on his hand, providing moral support. 

“I am forever indebte-”

“Shut up,” Kit said amiably. “You would’ve done the same thing for me.”

There was silence between the three of them. Maybe it was true. Maybe it wasn’t. Didn’t matter.

“Plus- I never wanted any of this-” Kit waved his hand around the Seelie Court, decorated to the brim with riotously-coloured flowers and filled with partying Fae. “Have fun playing King of the Castle. You’re much better suited to it.”

Ash rolled his eyes. “The prophecy never mentioned which one of us had to take the actual responsibility for ruling. It’s not too late- you sure you don’t want to rock-paper-scissor for it?” 

Dru snorted lightly as Kit grinned and held up his hands, declining. “King Kit would’ve been too on the nose,” she said. 

“Exactly - plus kinda think you need magic to be a faerie king,” He sketched a full bow he had learned from Kieran, appropriate for a Queen Consort, wondering if she would pick up on it. 

She narrowed her eyes and Kit was delighted at her suspicious look. 

Then he turned serious for a moment. “But- I do have a few loose ends that I might need to tie up.” The folk in the forest, and Juno and the others who had helped him during his brief reign. To be exiled forever from Faerie– Ash was within his right to do so. Or at least, heavily restrict Kit’s access, given his Nephilim blood. But he was banking on some good will being carried over from his First Heir heritage. 

Ash held out his hand. “You are always welcome here, my brother.” A pendant flashed in his hand- a similar trinket to Cristina and Jaime’s eternidads.

Kit accepted it with quiet thanks, beating down a brief pang of jealousy at Ash’s ease and fluidity of summoning it.   

--

Alec raised an eyebrow. “It doesn’t normally work like this, Kit.” But his face wasn’t unsympathetic, and Kit was fairly sure he was going to get his way.

“You would’ve lost me to the Faerie Courts, if things hadn’t turned out differently,” Kit said, trying to keep from crossing his arms, remain relaxed. “Also consider - it works for the Amish. They have like- an 80% return rate for their rumspringa. Consider it something like that for me.” He didn’t want to be adversarial with Alec. He wasn’t sure what the future held but he didn’t want this door closed forever. 

“Are you coming back?” Alec asked, his blue eyes grave below dark eyebrows. 

Kit shrugged. “I might not. That’s the risk you have to take. But if you say no, it’s not exactly endearing me to Shadowhunter life, is it?” he countered.

Alec sighed. “No, not at all. But you have to understand- usually when people leave, it’s permanent. They can’t return. It’s the law.”

“So change it,” Kit countered. “It’s a bad law. You’re the Consul- that’s within your power.”

A hint of a smile crossed Alec’s face. “You’ve been spending too much time with the Blackthorns.” 

Despite Kit’s attempt to keep a steady countenance, something must’ve slipped through, as Alec sighed. “All right- I’ll see what I can do.”

“And don’t make it an exception just because it’s me,” Kit pressed. “Really- you should let all Shadowhunter kids have that choice.”

“I know.” Alec’s voice was firm. “Now, get out of my office and stop telling me how to do my job.” But he smiled too. “Enjoy your mundane year.”

Kit left the Gard feeling like a second invisible burden had lifted like wings off his shoulders.   

--

“Not fair! You’re abandoning me just when I’m about to get my training wheels taken off,” Ellie complained, her voice sharp on the phone. “I haven’t shown you my wicked demon-slaying prowess yet.”

“Not sure that you’re gonna get to do that much demon-slaying in upstate New York,” Kit said. “Apparently the second last stop before Boringtown. Or that’s what Magnus keeps insisting is  the case.”  

“Hey! We’ve definitely seen a couple of raveners around. But more importantly, second years get more privileges to visit the local town, which is very Hogsmeade of them,” Ellie admitted. “Okay… but you’ll be back for my Ascension ceremony, right?”

Kit smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” But he suddenly shivered, as if a cold wind had blown through the room. 

--

“Am I the last one?” 

“To say good-bye to?” Kit felt rooted to the spot. He hated this. He wanted to go to Ty, who was standing behind his chair, as if to shield himself from Kit. His eyes kept sliding past Kit’s to the gold and green paneling behind. 

“Yes.”

“Yeah,” Kit said. “I said good-bye to Tessa and Jem and Mina, and then asked Tessa to make me Portal to Blackthorn Hall.” 

“Hmmm.” Ty put down his tools, letting one of his long, elegant hands smooth over what looked like one of his Sensors. It was calm and deliberate, and if Kit hadn’t spent months with Ty, relearning every little tic, studying every small movement as if he could etch it on his heart, he would’ve thought Ty didn’t care. 

“Ty- you understand why I have to go, right?” Some of the misery must have bled through in his voice, given how sharply Ty had looked up, his hands fluttering briefly before calming. 

Their eyes met across the room, and Kit clenched his fists, willing himself not to move. He wished. Slowly, Ty walked towards him. Kit could feel his heart beating wildly and he didn’t stop his traitorous hands from reaching out, wrapping Ty in a tight embrace. 

“Kit. I need you,” Ty’s voice was barely above a whisper, said into Kit’s ear. He took a deep breath. And then another. And another. Kit breathed in sync with him. “I know,” Kit said. “I do too,” he admitted. 

They held one another, as close as they had in the caves of faerie. As they had in the safehouses of Thule. As they had in the ruins of Edom. 

Kit wondered why this was the hardest embrace to break. Perhaps it was because this time, they had a choice what they did next, rather than a destiny to fulfil. Perhaps it was because he was still choosing to walk away from it all. 

But it’s different this time, he tried to remind himself.   

Ty pulled back. “But you need to go,” he said. “I also need you to go.”

“Hey,” Kit tried to keep it light, despite the fierce ache in his chest. “I thought we stopped saying that kind of stuff to one another after Thule.”

Ty smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re the one going away again. I thought this time I could at least have a say.”

Kit winced and Ty’s face crumpled. “Sorry. That’s not what I meant to say,” Ty said. He muttered something under his breath that Kit couldn’t quite hear. 

He looked directly at Kit. “You’re going because you want to figure out who you are, outside of your lineage,” he said softly. He reached up to trace Kit's jawline, sending a shiver down Kit’s spine. “And you can’t do that here in the Shadow World.” 

Kit nodded.

Ty dropped his hand. “The glamour is very subtle but you do look different. I expect that’s part of it.”

Kit sighed. “Yeah, I asked Tessa and Catarina to put on their strongest spells, so that I’m disguised completely as a mundane.”

“That’s smart,” Ty’s gaze was looking at his neck, wrists, forearms- all now completely devoid of Marks, including his very first rune, the voyance one given to him by Ty.  

“Will you be okay here?” Kit hated how wistful his voice sounded. 

“I will be,” Ty said, and he was already looking back at his sensor. 

Kit wasn’t offended. He knew that Ty had his work as a Centurion, Anush, Irene… he had his family- who were all helping him heal from Livvy’s passing. Kit wasn’t his whole world. And that was a good thing. 

But just as quickly, Ty was back watching him. He looked steadily at Kit. Unlike others, he didn’t ask if Kit would come back. 

Instead he said: “I’ll be here.” 

And Kit, with his eyes starting to blur with tears, leaned forward. He kissed Ty and then left. 

(part two will hopefully be up tomorrow/Friday)

Taglist: @dontmindmyshadowhunting @of-same-steel-and-temper @thomastaircompassrose @sandersgrey @thechangeling @mferraz @kestrafagnor @gabtapia @alldagayships @blindbandit1515 @silvermagnolias @chaotic-halfblood-kit @fighting-god-69 @lifeofbrybooks @all-this-panic-still-no-disco @heloisacosta23 @kitheronthorn @idk-i-just-really-like-tsc @t0wergirl @immortal-enemies

let me know if you want to be added/removed from the tag-list.

[daydreamxr17]

TWP Death predictions

(Because idk what to do with life till 2024/2025 or even later)

TMI CHARACTERS

Clary Fairchild - I hope that she'll survive, but idk... Killing off the person that everything started is some nostalgic or whatever thing, Cassie would do...

Jace Herondale - I think it's between him and Clary... Or maybe if one of them decide to sacrifice himself, the other would want to die with him

Magnus Bane - well, with Magnus I'm torn between: Cassie doesn't kill of LGBTQ and she wanted Malec to have happy ending and Magnus is in every book so it would make sense to TSC end with his death, also if he'll die, it would be I think something like "Tony Stark" kind of death

Alec Lightwood - I'm literally worried about all of TMI group, but for Alec not as much as for rest of them (watch my breakdown, when something happens to him)

Isabelle Lightwood - I'm so damn worried about Isabelle. Idk why, but I feel she's either gonna end up pregnant with beautifuk kid or something will happen to her

Simon Lovelace - this boy been trought so much bad stuffs, that I don't think he'll die... Or I hope at least. Idk what to expect from Cassie, but something bad is about to happen, I can feel it and this is her last series, so she can do whatever the hell she want without some fear of losing readers

But I think that characters like Bat, Maya, Lily Chen... Maryse maybe (but after Robert, I don't think so) are in danger too... And characters like Tien or Leon Verlac or Simon's classmates from academy are characters that are - I must say it like this - made for: "killed of for plot"... I have strong feeling that this series will be bloody.

TID CHARACTERS

Jem Carstairs and Tessa Gray - I don't think they'll die, they have little girl together, and Kit already lost his biological parents, I hope Cassie is not that cruel... Also Jem just started to live for real... But if they die, I'm kind of sure, they'll die together and they'll reunite with Will...

Bridget - I don't even understand why she lives that long (ChoT come faster🙏)

TDA CHARACTERS

Julian Blackthorn - he literally can't, my dead soul wouldn't survive it, but he would definitely sacrifice himself for his family, (he couldn't save Livvy, so he'll want to save rest of them)

Emma Carstairs - might die by Jules's side, but I won't accept it because they need to have cute kids

Helen Blackthorn and Aline Penhallow - they're adopting so hopefully they're safe and Cassie doesn't like to kill of LGBTQ characters

Mark Blackthorn - he's been already trought a lot, but here I go again with whole - sacrificing themselves for siblings trope

Cristina Rosales - I don't really know why, but I'm scared for Cristina, her death is something that would really affect fans

Kieran - I'm scared for my boy, because I feel like the courts are gonna unite and Ash or Kit might rule...

Tavvy Blackthorn - no, no and just no. Yeah, and did I mention no?

Diana Wrayburn - I don't think Cassie would kill of such a representation of LGBTQ

Gwyn Ap Nudd - might die (I hope not, but he wasn't that important for main plot)

Cohort - hopefully all of them die, but I see some kind of redemption and fighting together in some huge battle, Zara and Manuel might rot in he with Lucifer

Cameron Ashdown - he died in Thule already, so it would be kind of cruel, but not impossible

Diego Rosales - we know the bad fates of Inquisitors, but he might be exception

TWP CHARACTERS

I think Ty, Kit and Dru are safe. Ty has to let Livvy go and I think that will happen. I don't think Cassie would kill of Ash, he's really interesting character and he deserved chance. Jaime might die. I think one of close people of main group will die - so either (for now) Anush, Thais or Kit's gf. Yeah, and well Janus is more likely to die, or even some faerie royalty. From main group I'm most scared for Kit.

TLH CHARACTERS

already gone...

I wouldn' t be surprised if all of them would die and that is end of TSC.

These are just might current thoughts... Things my change with some snippets or whatever we will get in next years🤍

Okay, In short: Everyone can die!

[dontmindmyshadowhunting]

When Clary meets Ash (Fan Fic)

Hey :) this is how I imagine Clary and Ash's reunion (after the events of TDA) in the fic I am currently writing.

It's Chapter 5 of "The new Shadowhunter Academy" (Ao3 link to the full fic is here but don't click or skip Chapter 4 if you are not in for Kitty sexy times).

Thanks to @amchara for providing beta work and to @blaidr for letting me bounce my ideas off him.

To give you context, Ash met Dru in Faerie and they exchanged their numbers. Clary seized the opportunity to obtain Ash's number from Dru and write him the following text message:

“Hey, Ash. Dru gave me your number and please don’t be angry with her, I am very strong headed and there was absolutely no way she could have refused. I am Clary. You may have heard of me. I am your late father’s sister. That’s right, your aunt. You can call me whatever you like. Emma told me what you did in Thule, how you saved her. How you saved everyone. That was very brave of you. In a way, both of us were faced with a very difficult choice and made the same. Doing what we thought was right. I would love to meet you and tell you about my mother – your grandmother – or just talk about anything. It can be things totally unrelated to the Shadow world. Hobbies, movies, books and games we like. You can pick the time and place. Neutral territory. Hope to see you soon. Clary.”

This is what happens following the text:

*****

Clary wrapped her oversized woolen coat tighter around herself, as she made her way through the crowded streets of Manhattan. The route was familiar. She took it almost every week to meet up with her parabatai and have what they called their “mundane hour”. They talked about everything, from Clary’s art to the latest TV shows they had binge watched. No topic was off the table, save for anything related to Shadowhunter duties, and the Shadow world in general. As co-head of the New York Institute and since recently, artist owning her own gallery, her weeks were very busy so she looked forward to those rare and precious moments when she could escape with Simon. Her heart rate seemed to accelerate with each of her steps, and it didn’t help that she also had the strange feeling she was being observed. When she reached her destination, she took a deep breath and opened the double glass doors leading her inside the coffee shop. She and Simon had their regular routine there, and her gaze went automatically to their usual spot, near the large windows.

A broad-shouldered jock with a baseball jacket was already sitting there, speaking loudly to his cheerleader girlfriend. Two of his friends were standing next to him, mock punching his muscular arms. It made her realize that Ash probably never had this. High school friends and romance. Ash. She was still struggling to figure out why he had asked her to meet up at this place, at the exact time she usually got there with Simon. Was it him being considerate, a clumsy way to make her feel comfortable in familiar surroundings? Or was it a warning? I know your habits, and precisely where you take your coffee, when and with whom.

Her gaze swept over the crowded room - her heart seemed to have moved up her throat, the frantic pulse almost choking her - and zeroed on a tall, white blond haired boy ordering coffee at the counter, standing with his back to Clary. She sucked in a breath. Ash. He was fully clothed in black - Dru had told her that was his usual style - and huge headphones were covering his ears. She slowly and cautiously approached him and when she was close enough, put a tentative hand on his elbow. “Ash,” she whispered. The boy glanced over his shoulder, his blue eyes quizzical and… it was not Ash.

She mumbled an apology.

“Clary,” said a voice coming from behind, and she froze. It was not a boy’s but a man’s voice, the sound beautiful and ethereal. She just stood there for a few seconds before she slowly turned.

What had she expected? Merely a taller version of the young boy with pointy ears and a sour expression that she had met three years before, dressed in the same refined velvet clothing threaded with gold that identified him as fey royalty?

If so, she had clearly been mistaken.

She blinked a few times to make sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks. He was tall, as she had anticipated (Sebastian had been after all). At least two heads taller than her and probably taller than Jace. But he was also very different from the Ash of her memories, from the sketches she had drawn of him after they had crossed paths. He had amazingly grown into his features, his face now the best combination of the Seelie Queen and Sebastian’s. As if he had picked the most alluring colours of the palette. And the result was… Stunning. Clary’s hand twitched, aching for a pencil.

He was not dressed in black, but in plain blue jeans and he had stuffed his hands in a very elegant, long pale gray cashmere coat. His white blond hair and pointy ears were concealed under a deep green beanie, the same colour as the scarf around his neck.

He arched a silvery eyebrow at Clary, his expression bemused, and she realized she was staring.

“Clary, seriously?” he said, his gently scolding tone at odds with his enchanting voice. “This guy isn't even half as good looking as me." He glanced pointedly at the patron in question, who was gaping at him, and shrugged. "No offense, dude,” Ash added as an afterthought.

He turned his attention to the barista. She was beautiful, dark skinned with long braided hair and pouty lips. “Hello, gorgeous. We’ll have a double espresso with oat milk and a dash of cinnamon for the lady and a plain black coffee for me.”

Clary stifled a gasp and tried to hide her discomfort. He knew exactly how she took her coffee, and she didn’t know how she felt about this.

The pretty barista nodded eagerly, her cheeks red and her big dark eyes dreamy as she stared at Ash. “Why don’t you… Go sit at your table and I’ll bring you your beverages when they are ready?” the girl offered enthusiastically. The long line of patrons that had formed behind Clary and Ash would probably disagree but she didn’t seem to care.

“That would be lovely,” Ash said in his euphonious voice. “And so are you.” He winked at her, and Clary wondered if she would need to catch her while she swooned. He paid before Clary even had a chance to reach for her purse.

“Come,” he said in a commanding tone, as he made his way to Clary and Simon's usual table. This was unnerving.

The jock seated there paused in the middle of his conversation with his girlfriend when he saw Ash stand casually next to him. Clary braced herself for a heated exchange, but she should have known better.

“You want to sit somewhere else,” Ash said evenly, one hand inside the pocket of his designer coat and the other stretched out in front of him as he studied his fingernails.

“I want to sit somewhere else,” the jock repeated in a monotonous voice, his gaze blank. He stood, as if in a trance, and his girlfriend and friends followed him, puzzled, to an empty table at the far end of the room.

Ash drew a chair for Clary and she sat. He did the same, opposite her. He pulled off his beanie, and shook his silvery hair, like a crown of liquid white gold. He wasn’t dressed for the part but he had never looked more like a prince.

“Ash… please don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Your mind tricks.”

He cocked his head and observed her, his face unreadable, for what seemed like an endless minute.

“You’ve been my aunt for what? Five minutes? And you’re already trying to boss me around?”

“I am not trying to boss you around, Ash. Simply asking you not to abuse your powers.”

A shadow flickered across his green eyes.

“I’ll let you in on a secret, Clary. I spend much more time and energy holding back than using my powers. If I did let go, trust me, you would know.”

Clary opened her mouth to reply but was cut short as the barista popped in front of them and placed the mugs on the table. She slid a paper napkin to Ash, her phone number scribbled on it. Clary tried not to roll her eyes, as Ash flashed his dazzling smile at the girl, who almost tripped on her own feet as she returned to the counter.

Clary lifted her cup to her lips and paused, as she caught sight of the cinnamon powder floating on the surface. She put it down.

“What about this?" She pointed at her coffee mug and waved around them. “ What is it, if not a show of power? What are you trying to tell me? That you know everything about me? That you’ve been spying on me?”

Ash pulled on a fake shocked expression, mouth open and green eyes wide in mock innocence. “Spying on you? What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Ash. The evidence is right here.” She lifted her cup abruptly, and hot liquid splashed out of it. “You know exactly how I like it. When I take it, where I take it.”

Ash’s mouth twitched. “Where did you pick up these lines? From the script of some lame X-rated movie?”

“Adult movies have storylines?” Clary asked, arching her eyebrows.

“Of course they do. Where do you think the Grimm Brothers took their inspiration from?”

He grabbed the paper napkin and started mopping the coffee she had spilled on the table. The blue ink faded and the barista’s phone number vanished.

“You lost that girl’s number,” Clary noted.

Ash shrugged. “I have a girlfriend now.”

Right. Drusilla Blackthorn. From the moment she had met her, Clary had known that the smart and quiet turquoise-eyed girl would someday turn heads.

Clary knew that Dru hadn’t really confirmed their relationship status yet, but it was neither the time nor place to broach the subject with Ash. She was, after all, on a mission to win over her nephew and had not been doing a very good job so far.

A young lanky boy with pink hair and piercings covering his skin walked by and dropped a glossy flyer of the upcoming Mortal Instruments concert on the table between them. Clary hid a smile. It reminded her...

“I have something for you.” She said as she fumbled inside her bag and took out the drawing she had made of Jocelyn, Luke and herself, in front of Luke’s upstate farm (before it was turned into the new Shadowhunter Academy) and laid it on the table.

Ash looked at it hesitantly, like a kid who really wanted to grab the candy but was afraid there was a mouse trap under it. He hunched his shoulders forward and clasped his hands under the table, as if to keep himself from temptation.

“I recognize your art. I like it. I also appreciate Julian Blackthorn’s but I may not be as objective where… one of the subjects of his drawings is concerned.”

“You’ve seen my art?”

He leaned back on his chair, crossing his long arms behind his head. Somehow, he managed to make it look graceful.

“Which Shadowhunter hasn’t? I noticed that you often drew Jace with angel wings.”

“Yes. That’s how he used to appear to me. In recurring dreams.”

“Was it?”

“Was it what?”

“Jace. In your dreams.”

“Who else would it be?”

“Someone who looks like him, but who actually has wings.”

“You mean Kit.”

Ash shrugged. “It would make more sense.” His gaze flickered back to the drawing, which still lay on the table, untouched. “You look a lot like your mom.”

“So do you”, Clary blurted before she could take it back.

Ash shot her an unfathomable look.

“How is she?” She asked.

“You mean, the Seelie Queen? You tell me. You must see her more often than I do.”

“Well, not really. I am not that involved in politics, even though Alec is Consul. Julian Blackthorn is the one who deals with her most of the time. She appears to have... a fondness for him.”

“Who doesn’t?”

Clary’s mouth quirked up.

“I am glad you are getting along with the Blackthorns. They are such an incredibly strong and talented family.”

“They are.” He turned his face away, but not before she could see the expression of longing plain on his delicate features.

She swallowed. She was painfully reminded that Ash never had a shot at a happy family. Born of a political union, and dragged here and there, though interdimensional portals, by people more interested in his powers than anything else he had to offer as a person. And judging by how Dru talked about Ash, he had a lot to offer.

“I imagine it must have been awful living in Thule… But what you did for Emma and Julian back there... if it hadn’t been for you…”

“I don’t want to talk about Thule,” he interrupted her. “Can I borrow this?” He asked, his long fingers brushing the Mortal Instruments concert flyer.

“Sure.”

She watched as he started folding the paper, realizing with a jolt of surprise that he was making an origami and wondering what shape would come out of it. It was odd seeing him doing such an innocuous thing, as if he was not a faerie prince with a heavy heritage and a giant target on his back, but an ordinary boy. She remembered what Emma had told her of her encounter with Ash in a nightclub in Thule. The way he had shown no interest, playing a video game in a corner of the room, while Sebastian was committing atrocities. Had he really been as indifferent as he looked?

“Ash, we don’t need to talk about Thule if you don’t want to, but if I can help you… If there is anything I can do-”

“Why?” He looked up sharply. “Are you able to create a rune that could undo the things I saw?” His tone was even, but his delicate fingers had started slightly shaking and he suddenly dropped the paper - his work unfinished - to fold his hands under the table to hide it. From that moment, she knew.

“No…” Clary said, drawing the word out. “But trust me, coming from someone whose memory has been tampered with... it’s not a solution.”

“I said undo. Not forget.” He snapped. “I am not such a coward that I would choose blissful ignorance over knowledge.”

He caught himself, blinking, then clenched his jaw and looked away. As if he was ashamed he had allowed himself to show any emotion at all. But Clary had managed to catch a glimpse of what lay underneath the mask and wanted nothing more than to see the rest of it.

“I don’t think you are a coward,” she said.

He looked over at her, a silver eyebrow raised. “I let it all happen, didn’t I? I didn’t lift a finger.”

“Because you couldn’t. Sebastian would have killed you. And you, Ash, are just like me. A survivor.”

He snorted and crossed his arms in front of him, leaning back on his chair. He had stretched out his long legs and Clary realized that he was tapping a foot nervously next to hers.

“Wrong. I could have. I chose not to. Because I am selfish. I don’t care about other people’s fate.”

His face split into a lazy, wicked grin. Clary could see Sebastian’s influence in his leer, but she wouldn't let it deceive her. Just as she wasn't fooled by his laid-back demeanor.

“I think it’s the opposite, actually. I think it’s because you care too much. It’s not death you are afraid of. The thing is, you have such a tender heart, you need to protect it from an affliction far greater than any physical pain you could endure. So you’d rather lie to yourself and pretend you feel nothing.”

From the long conversations she had with Tessa about her ancestors, Clary knew of a Fairchild boy who had been too compassionate for his own good. And he had been surrounded by loyal friends and loving parents, even though he had shut himself, putting on a facade while burying his grief in alcohol. Ash never had that kind of support. Throughout his life, he was left to figure things out on his own. If he was as empathetic as Clary thought he was, Ash probably had no other choice but to deal with his sensitivity alone. It was a miracle he had turned out the way he did.

“You have a lot of imagination,” he said after a moment. The ghost of a smile was still playing on his lips but something had passed across his eyes. “Then again, you are an artist. You seek beauty in the ugly. You find colors on a blank page. I admire your faith, but in this case, there is nothing to see.”

Clary jutted her chin stubbornly and they held each other’s gaze - his green eyes glittering in amusement and hers dead serious - in a staring contest.

“Still,” he said when he finally broke, first. “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. I am sorry.”

Clary softened. “Don’t be. I am glad you are finally showing your true self. You don’t need to wear your mask around me, Ash.”

He chuckled. “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”

“It’s funny that you would quote Oscar Wilde.”

“And why is that?”

She shrugged. “Just another thing you share in common with a Fairchild I heard stories about.”

“Clary,” he said in a gently reproving tone. Her name sounded like a caress in his melodious voice. “Are you being purposefully cryptic to arouse my curiosity?”

She moved closer, so she was sitting at the edge of her chair, and leaned forward, hands folded over the table.

“If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine,” she whispered. “Let me in. Shed all pretense.”

“I can’t promise you that,” he whispered back in confidence, leaning closer still so that their faces were inches from each other. “It’s like fabric that burns and melts into skin. If you peel it off, the skin goes with it.” He grimaced, reclining on his chair. “It won’t be a pretty sight. I don’t think even my level of hotness could sustain it.”

“Ash…” Clary said, sensing that she finally had an opening to say what she had been brooding over ever since she had learnt of Ash’s return from that forsaken land. “I wanted to tell you… I am sorry.”

Ash’s green eyes widened.

“Sorry for what?”

“I should have looked for you. I should not have given up on you.”

Ash’s jaw clenched and he looked away. “Don’t,” he said through gritted teeth. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“I do. Seb-...Ash, we...”

“What did you just call me?” He snarled. His eyes snapped back to her, suddenly cold as ice.

“Sorry, Ash. What I meant to say is… we are family."

“I already have a family.”

“I know that you care about Janus…”

“I don’t want to talk about him,” he cut her off.

“And we don’t need to. I just wanted you to know… I understand that he’s been like a father to you, and I don’t plan on moving against him, unless he strikes first or makes it impossible for me to overlook his actions.”

“Because of me?”

“Of course, because of you.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Ash… You are my nephew, my blood. You may not feel the same way about me, but that’s how I feel about you. I want you to know that, if things go wrong, for any reason, you can always turn to me. My home is your home.”

“What you are actually telling me is, Ash, if I kill the one person who has ever really cared about you - and it might definitely come to that - you can always grab my hand, still sticky and warm from his blood. Well, how nice of you. To quote Oscar Wilde again, true friends stab you in the front.”

“That’s not what I am-”

“Clary,” Ash interrupted as he stood. “Do not make me choose between you and him. Because…” Looking down at her, he swallowed hard, as if the words pained him. “Because you will lose.”

She knew exactly what he was telling her. Because they were the same in that way. Ruthless, even with their own blood, when it came to protecting their loved ones. If I had to choose between killing him and you, I would not hesitate. I would end you. Yet, despite his cold statement, despite his sharp and resolved tone, his eyes seemed to carry a deep regret.

“Ash, I understand what you're saying and I swear I am not trying to make you pick a side”, Clary said, suddenly desperate, as she mirrored him and stood. “Please don’t go. I am sorry I brought it up. We will stop talking about him. Starting now.”

“This was a bad idea. Never try to contact me again.” He drew his green beanie from the pocket of his coat and put it back on. He turned and strode toward the exit. She grabbed the family drawing that still lay on the table, stuffed it in her bag and followed him, half-running, as he was quickly losing here with his long legs.

“Ash! Please. Give me another chance. I am so sorry.”

He paused right outside the coffee shop, closed his eyes and sighed. “Don’t be. It didn’t change what I had planned to tell you anyway. I don’t want to know anything about you or your mother. I don’t want to have anything to do with either of you.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” she said, and he whipped his head around to look at her in surprise. “I know you were under house arrest. You probably had to break out of whichever place they were holding you in to come here. You wouldn’t have done that unless you wanted something. Something from me. Tell me, Ash. Tell me what it is.”

He turned his face away so she could not see his expression. A full minute passed and she had almost given up on receiving an answer, when he finally spoke.

“My fa… Sebastian. How different do you think he would have been if not for the demon blood?”

“Oh. Ash.” she whispered. She brought her knuckle against her sternum instinctively, as if to cover the gaping whole in her chest. “I saw him, you know. The brother I should have had. The father that should have raised you. If only for a few minutes.” She paused to bite back tears. “In those few minutes, he told us how to get rid of the Endarkened and said he was sorry. It’s not much to go for, but… that’s not all. I have recurring dreams of the green eyed boy that was robbed from us. And I know in my heart he would have been the best brother a sister could ever dream of.”

He was still looking away and she could see the sharp line, the stubborn set of his jaw. She wanted to hug him, to tell him she would not fail him again. That they could mourn her brother, his father, together. That he didn’t need to bear the anger at everything that was wasted alone.

He finally turned to look at her. A tear had escaped to run freely down his cheek. He had completely shed off his mask, and what Clary saw was like a stab in her gut. She shivered. Wordlessly, he reached for his deep green scarf and tied it gingerly around her neck. The way Sebastian had when they had walked down the streets of Paris. Ash looked nothing like her brother had then. His green eyes held an infinite sadness that spoke of a grief deeper, older than the short years of his life.

“It doesn’t change anything.” He said - she hadn’t imagined his beautiful voice could sound so hollow - and turned to leave.

“Ash, wait.” She grabbed him by the elbow and he froze. His eyes widened as his gaze zeroed on the fingers covering his coat, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. She realized she had never touched him before.

“Clary, what do you want from me?” He asked in a tired voice.

“I just want to get to know you.”

“Trust me, you don’t. I am not the brother who was stolen from you. I cannot replace him. If anything, I am just like Sebastian was before me... my father’s broken toy. There is no way to fix me.”

“I don’t believe it for a second,” she said, almost frantic. “And I don’t want to find my brother's replacement, I want to get to know you! Ash. The real Ash.”

“I already told you. That’s not happening. Don’t ever try to contact me again. I am serious.”

“So that’s it?” She tried not to sound too whiny but panic was eating away at her stomach and she thought she would throw up. “You went through all this trouble spying on me, learning how I take my coffee to simply disappear from my life from one moment to the next?”

He gazed at her for a moment, his expression unfathomable. It seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke.

“I was not spying on you, Clary. I was merely following your stalker.”

“What? You were… protecting me?”

“Take care of yourself, Clary.”

He said as he stepped away from her and vanished into the crowd.

****

Clary threw herself in Jace’s arms as soon as he opened the door to their bedroom at the New York Institute. He froze, then started stroking her hair in a soothing gesture.

“Clary, what happened? Is everything okay?”

“No,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

“Tell me, Clary. What is it?”

She pulled away and wiped tears with the back of her hand. Jace’s face was a mask of shock. Clary couldn’t blame him. She almost never cried.

“I messed up.”

“What did you mess up?”

She walked to the bed and sat on the mattress. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for his reaction. “Ash. I met up with him earlier today.”

Jace tensed and his hands clenched into fists. “WHAT- Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you would have insisted on coming.”

“Damn right, I would have. And I would have been right, too. Look at you, you look miserable.”

“It’s my fault,” she said in a small voice. “I pushed him too far.”

Jace sighed and came to sit next to her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder. “I am sure you did nothing wrong, Clary.”

“I thought- When I showed him the drawing… the way he looked at it, Jace. He is not indifferent. He cares.”

“What drawing?”

“The one I made of the family,” she said absently, as she grabbed her bag and started fumbling inside.

She sucked in a sharp breath. The drawing wasn’t there. Peeking out in its stead, and folded out of the flyer of the Mortal Instruments concert, were origami faerie wings. The Fairchild family symbol.

[spooky-drusilla]

Ok, but if Ty and anush would be dating before TWP, them they would have to break-up at some point, right ?? For obvious reasons !!

But mostly in love triangles, the author just kills one of the two love interests 👀

We wont be able to survive if something happenes to Anush. Also being the Last trilogy,I can assure you that there will be lots of death and trauma for us. Seems like a possible theory 😖

Omg Ire😩😩

Hmmm I do have to say I kinda doubt it tho?? Unless the end of TWP is a war in which everyone dies (yes including Kit and Ty and Dru), I think Anush is safe. If he does date Ty, that would confirm he's queer, and I don't think that CC would kill a queer poc at this point in the series. She has received too much praise for her rep, she wouldn't risk it now.

And that is the literal only reason why I doubt that Magnus will die, too. I think that Magnus dying would be a good ending for TSC, but I don't think she would actually kill him off akjsksjsjs But well that's already a tangent lmao

I do have to agree with you in the aspect that I don't know how she would solve the love triangle tho?? Like. TWP already has so many conflicts set up. So, so many conflicts. It feels like a bit of waste of time to add in a love triangle that is solved mostly by drama and talking🤔

Under that perspective, I start even questioning whether Tynush will exist at all akjssjjsjajs

But noooo I know it will. I feel it. That whole cute Irene-rhymes-with-mean scene wouldn't have happened in gotsm if Tynush weren't to exist. Making a cute friendship scene in a short story just for the sake of the friendship is not CC's style. Tynush has to happen.

If we're talking about protagonists dying, I think that Ash has the higher chance of being killed off. I wouldn't be too sure about Jace living through TWP either!

[thechangeling]

Lost and Found:

Happy birthday Alex! @catadorass I hope this is everything you wanted, or at least sort of what you wanted lol. I wrote this from Ty's pov because it's really importance to showcase his side of the story. 

Nothing about us without us Cassie. 

"Hey can we talk" Ty heard Kit ask from behind him. 

It was late. Very late, most likely past 12 by this point and they had all just finished doing another late night round of frustrating and pointless research. They being, Ty, Kit, Dru, Jaime, Janessa a wayward Vampire who traveled all over with her band, but was originally from LA, Thais a Brazilian Shadowhunter who was dating Janessa, and Ash, the son of Sebastian Morgenstern and The Seelie Queen who had betrayed Janus, who had tasked Ash with infiltrating the Los Angeles institute and killing Kit. However, Ash and Kit had ended up bonding immensely. This had caused Ash to essentially switch sides and work towards protecting Kit from Janus trying to kill him. There was also The Seelie Queen trying to abduct him in order to obtain control of his powers, and generally anyone else who wanted to get their hands on the first heir.

At first Ty was a little worried that Ash was in love with Kit, but the pair seemed to be very platonic, just heavily invested in one another like Kit and Janessa. And of course Ty had no business being jealous either way. He and Kit had both been engaged in various- well relationships wasn't the right word, but various flings of sorts over the past few months, but he still couldn't help but think of Kit as his.

Which didn't make any sense because Kit had left.

What made even less sense was that Ty still loved him.

Ty braced himself and then turned to face Kit. It was clear how exhausted he was from the events of the past few weeks. They were up against The Seelie Queen, Janus, The Cohort, also several supernatural disturbances that didn't make a lot of sense. Anush, his friend at the scholomance was researching the problem there. It was quite possible that it had to do with Livvy's presence.

Ty really didn't want to think about that.

He also really missed Alyssa, a new friend of his that he had met while she was studying at the scholomance. But she had left to rejoin her werewolf pack in New York. They had bonded over both being autistic, and in moments where Ty was anxious or overwhelmed he wished he could summon her to his side.

Moments like this one.

Livvy was hovering nearby, giving him a look over Kit's shoulder. Ty ignored it.

Ty nodded at Kit without fully meeting his eyes. "Fine. We can talk. Liv can you leave us alone for a moment?" He asked. Livvy scowled slightly, but did as she was told. Looking back at Kit he couldn't help but still be slightly comforted by his presence. And even though Kit was visibly worn out and stressed, he was still the most beautiful thing Ty had ever seen.

Ty did his best to remain as cold as possible. "What do you want Kit?" He asked harshly. Kit flinched slightly in response, and Ty was caught in between feeling victorious and feeling like he had just been stabbed. Kit shook his head slightly.

"Come on Ty aren't you sick of this? Don't you miss me? The way things used to be?" Kit inquired angrily. "I'm sorry I left. But I forgave you. Isn't it time you forgave me?"

Ty honestly had no words. He just continued to glare at Kit. Did Kit honestly not have a single idea what Ty was feeling?

But wasn't it obvious? How hurt he was? How utterly broken he was?

Ty took a long deep breath to keep himself calm. His fingers were aggressively flicking at his sides. Kit took his silence as a sign to keep talking.

"Look. I talked to Dru."

Seriously. Now we're involving my sister in this? As if Livvy wasn't already bad enough?

"She sort of helped me realize some things, you know" Kit continued. "She pointed out to me that I should ask you how you feel, instead of just assuming that I already know." Kit was nervously shifting back and forth on the spot.

"Wow" Ty muttered sarcastically under his breath. He looked Kit dead in the eye and spoke. "What a revolutionary concept. That I should be allowed to speak for myself for once, and not have you, Drusilla or anyone else do it for me."

Kit sighed, his eyes softening. It was in that moment that Ty was close to forgiving him.

He desperately wanted to be able to run to Kit and throw his arms around him. To hold him, and kiss him and tell him how much Ty had missed him and that he was so brave and beautiful and sweet, and that Ty belonged to him.

But Ty couldn't cave now. Not until he made Kit understand.

"I'm sorry ok?" Kit pleaded. "I get why you're pissed but-"

Ty couldn't help it. He laughed. Even though nothing about this situation was in any way humorous. "No Kit." He shook his head. "You really don't."

Kit looked a little angry at that.  Fine. Ty thought.  If you hurt me then I'll just hurt you back.

"Fine." Kit breathed, his voice sounding surprisingly gentle.  "Then tell me."

Ty was instantly brought back to the roof of the London institute. Tell me. Tell me what you need. He willed himself not to cry.

Ty took a deep breath, glaring at Kit. "Alright. Here's the thing. I am angry. I'm so angry that I can hardly breathe and no one notices." Ty snapped.

Kit opened his mouth to interject but Ty shook his head, eyes blazing with fury and tears. "No!" He shouted. "You said your piece already. Now let me say mine."

Kit stayed silent.

"I am quite literally always dealing with everything coming at me all at once, and Kit I know this is a very horrible situation for you, but I am just as stressed as you are, because despite what you might believe, I don't want you to fucking die!" Ty screamed.

Kit looked absolutely horrified. Ty was pretty sure he had never heard him swear before.

"I'm dealing with new people, new dangers, and I might lose Livvy again. I have all of this stress, all of this sensory information bombarding me 24/7. We barely sleep! We're all constantly together when we're awake! There's no time for me to stim, no time to breathe because we are all working to rescue you from your own fate!" He shouted. "And I'll do it too! Because of course I will! "It doesn't matter if I'm angry, or stressed, or tired, or scared! It doesn't matter that you broke my heart when you left me because for some unknown reason, you thought I could handle it!" Ty cried.

Kit was shaking his head. But he didn't look angry, just devastated. "Ty" he whispered, but Ty cut him off.

"Everybody always seems to think I'm either unbreakable or far too fragile and I need to be coddled and I'm sick of it. "I'm furious with you for promising that you wouldn't leave, and then telling me that you wished you had never met me when I thought I was never going to get Livvy back" Ty sobbed.

Kit gasped. Ty noticed that his eyes were filled with tears. Kit shook his head aggressively. "Sweetheart no" he breathed. "I didn't mean that. I swear."

Ty heard himself make an unrecognizable sound. His fingers were now aggressively fluttering at his sides. He clenched them into fists to stop them from moving. Kit began to step forward then stopped himself.

"Sweetheart" Ty whispered under his breath in awe. Alyssa had once told him that what he was doing now was called sub-vocalizing.  He could hear her voice in his head. When our brains get stuck on a word or a phrase because it was so shocking or we can't stop thinking about it, or it brought out a huge emotional reaction in us, then we mouth it or we say it out loud over and over again.

"Sweetheart" he mouthed, warmth overflowing his body.

"I'm- I'm sorry" Kit stammered. "I didn't mean to upset you." Ty recovered himself quickly, shaking his head.

"No it's fine" he said firmly. "You just surprised me." Kit looked down at the ground. He looked embarrassed, defeated. He looked exactly the way he looked on the beach three years ago.

No. No don't go there. He doesn't really love you.

Ty continued on. "And at least I got Livvy back in a sense, but you still left me and I didn't survive that." There were fresh tears running down his face. Exhaustion was definitely catching up with him.  Ty partly just wanted to let it go and go to sleep, but he needed Kit to understand.

"You cannot under any circumstances ever tell an autistic person that you're never leaving and then go back on your word Kit!" Ty exclaimed. "This is why we all have trust issues! Because we're naive, so we let our guards down because we just want someone to choose us. Not out of pity but out of genuine love. And it wasn't like this had never happened to me before but you were supposed to be different." Ty said defeated. He looked over at Kit and waited for Kit's eyes to meet his.

Ty had always hated eye contact. Mostly because it physically hurt and made him feel really awkward, but also because it felt too open. Too vunrable. As though someone could see into his soul and know all of his secrets just by looking.

Well he had never felt that way with Kit. Or maybe he just had never cared about letting Kit really see him. All of him. And they didn't have any secrets from each other. At least not anymore. Kit looked back at him and Ty could see it all. Hurt, exhaustion, longing, and love.

Love?  Ty shook his head, physically willing himself not to be sucked in.

But there was no point.

"And that's why I fell in love with you" Ty admitted.

Kit's eyes widened almost comically. He inhaled sharply staring at Ty with an expression Ty was having trouble placing. Up until tonight, Ty hadn't actually looked at Kit. He had been avoiding it for some time now. Most likely because he was afraid of what he might see. Would he recognize the person that Kit had become?

But all Ty could see now was what he had actually been avoiding from Kit all those years ago. It was that look of complete awe and adoration. Like Ty had all of the answers to the secrets of the universe.

And Ty really really really didn't.

It was painful, because as much as he was angry with Kit, he also didn't want to hurt him or let him down again.

Ty fought to keep his voice steady as he spoke. "The worst part is, in the end I know i'll probably forgive you eventually. I will do what I always do. Take the high road. Be the bigger person and let it go because I have to. Because I'm never allowed to be angry Kit, and I'm not allowed to hold grudges because everyone is always convinced that I'm overreacting." Ty said bitterly.

 "So it doesn't matter that you hurt me. It doesn't matter how many nights I spent crying myself to sleep at the scholomance or how many bad decisions I made during some futile attempt to feel something other then pain, and it doesn't matter that you might hurt me again" Ty lamented. He was fully aware that he was crying, but that didn't matter anymore.

Kit was staring at him dumbfounded like Ty was speaking another language, but the pain in his eyes was clear.

Ty shrugged slightly. "I'll still love you Kit, no matter what, because that's just how I am."

Kit took a deep breath, wiping away at his tears. "Ty- I'm so sorry. I-             I didn't know" he stammered. Kit slowly began to approach Ty, carefully as if he were a wounded animal. "I'm sorry I didn't think about it like that. When I told you I loved you and you didn't say anything back, I just assumed you didn't want me, that you didn't care." He was standing directly in front of Ty now, and Ty couldn't help but stare into his eyes.

Suddenly, Ty was overwhelmed with the powerful urge to touch him. To reach out and comfort him. For Ty it was almost as instinctive as breathing. Instead he just shook his head.

"That's not true, it never was" Ty said adamently. "I was torn apart. Everything with Livvy was just too overwhelming and I just couldn't lose her Kit!" He protested forcefully. "But I always cared about you. I honestly just thought you knew."

Kit paused for a moment, then slowly reached for Ty's hand. Ty didn't fight him, only watched as Kit traced the lines on his hand. After a pause, Kit looked back up at him. " You're right. I shouldn't have assumed. I should have just asked you how you felt" Kit admitted. "I'm so sorry Ty." His voice broke. "I'm so sorry for leaving, for making you feel like I didn't care." Kit lifted his other hand, the one that wasn't holding onto Ty, and placed his palm softly on the side of Ty's cheek. He shook his head, almost in disbelief.

Ty fought the urge to close his eyes and lean into it.

Kit continued. "Honestly the truth is Ty, I fucking adore you. I love you so much." Ty heard himself inhale sharply. Kit was so close now, only centameters apart. It wouldn't take much just to lean over and kiss him.

Wait.

No. Not yet.

We're not done.

Ty scoffed slightly. "Yeah you say that Kit, but at the end of the day those are just words. Pretty, empty words." Ty almost regreted it as soon as he saw the look on Kit's face. Up close he could see the heartbreak in his eyes. Ty could also see the dark circles under his eyes which were a little red. He could see the dried tears smeared across Kit's cheeks.

Ty couldn't help but look at the broken boy in front of him and hate himself a little for the damage he had clearly caused.

Look at what you did to him, a cruel voice inside him whispered.

This is what you do. You hurt people, break their hearts and make them regret ever knowing you. This is all that you are. Selfish, cold and cruel.

Ty shook it off. It wasn't true. He loved Kit, just as he loved his family and his friends. It didn't matter that there were some people who refused to see that, refused to see that just because he felt differently, didn't mean that he was unable to feel. Some days, the sheer strength of what he felt for Kit threatened to break him in half it was so powerful. It was almost too much to bare. So Ty squashed it down and pushed it to the side, molded it so that it was more manageable and less scary.

Kit let out a soft breath of air and closed his eyes, he let go off Ty and dropped his head forward so that it was resting against Ty's shoulder. Kit was slightly shorter then Ty which Ty had always found amusing. Kit, less so, but secretly one of the things Ty had always loved about their height difference was that he could tuck Kit into the nape of his neck. Ty loved the feeling of Kit's curls against his skin.

"This isn't empty Ty" he murmured, nuzzling the side of Ty's neck. "This is everything."

 Kit's voice was so quiet that Ty almost didn't hear him.

Kit pulled back slightly and tilted his head up to look at Ty. They were so close that their noses were slightly touching. Kit was staring up at him through half-lidded eyes. His hands were trailing up Ty's arms, pulling slightly at the fabric of his sleeves. His lips were parted slightly, staring up at Ty with so much love in his eyes.

"Beautiful" Ty whispered under his breath.

 Kit looked utterly beautiful, and before Kit had the chance to answer him Ty was pressing his mouth to Kit's in a deep passionate kiss. The moment their lips touched, Ty almost let out a sigh of relief, sliding his hands up to Kit's face to cup his cheeks. Kit made a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a moan, opening his mouth to deepen the kiss. Ty could feel Kit's hands all over him, rubbing across his back and then finally settling on Ty's waist. Ty pulled back slightly, noticing that Kit was straining himself to reach Ty's height, pulling himself up on his tip toes.

Ty couldn't help but laugh. "You really are quite short aren't you?" He teased. Kit looked like he was about to cry so Ty kissed him again, attempting to pour all of the love he had for Kit into the kiss. He slowly moved his hands down Kit's body, then bent down slightly to lift him up. Kit wrapped his legs around Ty's waist and threw his arms around Ty's shoulders kissing him sensually. Ty clung to Kit even tighter, afraid of what would happen if they let each other go.

 He remembered way back when he and Kit had first been getting to know each other and Kit had told him that he was pretty sure Ty was autistic. He had given him a bunch of articles and official clinical descriptions and terms that made Ty feel distant and afraid. But then he had recommended Ty check out posts on social media sites made by autistic people and Ty had been completely swept into it. There was an entire tag on tumblr dedicated to autism, and Ty had spent hours scrolling through the posts feeling overwhelmed in the best way possible by a sense of community and belonging.

 He had come across this one blog dedicated purely to autistic love and lust and how it manifests differently. Ty remembered reading one quote in particular that had made him feel hot and shivery all over, and painfully aware of Kit's presence next to him. It had stayed with him all this time.

I want to ink myself underneath your skin.

Ty  gently put him down for a moment and leaned his forehead against Kit's. They were both breathing heavily.

"I missed you" Ty whispered. Kit smiled at him beautifully.

"I missed you too sweetheart."

Edit: This is old but I'm tagging @ti-bae-rius in this because I honestly just want your opinion lol.

[tinyfirecollectorthings]

Chapter 26

They were all gathered in the living room of the Carstairs' house. Dru was sitting on the edge talking with Jaime, Anush was playing with Iglesia in the center of the room and he was writing in his notebook the symbols that he thought he remembered seeing in the basement of the jail, Kit had gone to get some food for them since Jem, Tessa and Mina had to go to London to see an important matter. They were actually waiting for Alicia and Benjamin to arrive from their interrogation with the Inquisitor. As Magnus promised as soon as he got up he had called the silent brothers to investigate the seals (Ty had seen this with his own eyes in an attempt to uncover more clues) and unsurprisingly the Shadowhunters and Downworlders were being interrogated one for one in Los Angeles by Inquisitor Diego Rosales. Anush had been the first to speak to the Inquisitor while Benjamin and Alicia had apparently decided to wait to be among the last, although of course Ty knew that his statement and that of the others gathered in the room would be the last, but the Inquisitor He had insisted that they stay there in Devon, his exact words and spoken by Jaime's cell phone call were "Don't move from there no matter what" because apparently he wanted to keep the matter as private as possible.

Ty didn't mind having to wait, he actually felt safer that way, he was giving her time to accommodate his ideas.

"The food's here," Kit said as she entered the living room with six boxes of pizzas and two soft drinks.

It was a strange sight, everyone except for Kit was wearing the hunter's uniform, while the latter was dressed in blue jeans and a blue shirt with the letters "TMI". The sight of it reminded Ty of when they were at the Los Angeles Institute three years ago.

-This cat is very pretty -said Anush approaching the table -but it's very bad. He has scratched me three times already.

"It's his way of greeting," Kit said calmly. "Look," he approached Iglesia and he scratched her hand slightly, Kit didn't even flinch at the scratch. "Do you see?" It is not personal.

Anush smiled in fascination at Kit, and even though a little of Ty's stomach clenched, he thought it wasn't weird for people to look at Kit like that, after all he was brilliant.

"What are we supposed to tell my brother when he comes?" Jaime mentioned with his mouth full

-I told the Inquisitor what had happened-Anush spoke-I told him how the revolt was and in the end he just asked me why we were there, I told him that Christopher Herondale had invited us. Sorry about that-he added, apologizing to Kit.

"Don't worry," Kit replied with a shrug. "You know the saying" If something goes wrong, blame a Herondale "

Anush seemed to blush with embarrassment.

-It's just that I thought you were the only one who wouldn't be questioned too much.

"First Magnus and now this. Does that mean that everyone sees me as a sign of trouble?" Kit asked and he looked genuinely confused.

"People tend to make a judgment of our behavior based on the family we belong to," he added calmly right away. "In this case, the Herondales have always been known to do what they want."

Jaime almost spit the drink out of him due to laughter and Kit scold him for something to soil the carpet

"You didn't have to answer," Livvy told him in a low voice. "Kit wasn't asking seriously, and if he had done it a" No "would have been enough.

Ty nodded, sometimes forgetting that he had to consider the situation before speaking.

-By the way Dru- Anush mentioned interrupting the discussion -How did you get that bottle of blood? The one Jaime applied to us so that we would wake up from the spell

"Kit gave it to me," his sister answered right away.

Kit blinked in surprise for a moment before acting naturally and shrugging.

-I thought you could be of help if something bad happened.

"And where did you get it?" Jaime asked, his eyes looked directly at Kit.

Ty thought Jaime was looking for the right moment to blame Kit for anything.

"In the shadow market," Kit answered without hesitation but Ty could see that there was some tension in his shoulders. "And before you ask, no, I won't tell you who gave it to me." My source is confidential and unlike my father he did not give away.

The mention of Johnny Rook somehow managed to silence the room, everyone ate without saying a word until Alicia's heels echoed through the hallways.

"By the angel, I'm starving," she said taking a slice of pizza and sitting on the couch as if it were her house.

Benjamin who always seemed to have more manners than her greeted them and sat next to Anush to eat.

"Are the interrogations over?" Jaime asked, looking at Alicia. "Is my brother on the way?"

"They are not finished yet," Alicia answered, "the Inquisitor wants to question each one personally, so there were about twenty people missing."

-But Alicia threatened one of the centurions that if they didn't let her come here she would burn the whole place

"I wouldn't be able to do it really" Alicia added "By the way Kit, a vampire approached me and gave me this," she said, taking out a sealed letter, "it has your name written on it, but I don't mention anything."

Kit took the letter and stared at it for a long moment.

-What are you waiting to open it-Jaime said -Don't you have open letters?

-Why do I need to open letters if I have my dagger? Kit answered immediately as he opened the envelope and read the letter

Ty noticed that with each line that Kit's eyes advanced, his hands tightened on the paper. After a moment he got up to the fireplace and took out his stele with which he must have applied the fire rune because after a moment the letter burned to ashes.

-I'm sorry, it was a letter from the shadow market, I have to go there immediately.

"Nothing can be more important if the Inquisitor comes," Jaime said. "You will have to cancel the affairs of the market."

"I'll be here before your brother comes," Kit mentioned as he took a backpack off the ground. "And if not, Ali and Ben will cover me, right guys?"

They both attended.

Jaime seemed ready to claim, but Dru held his arm and they exchanged glances. Ty supposed they were hiding something. In the end Jaime seemed to give in.

-If my brother comes and you are not here, I will tell him to invade the shadow market.

Kit nodded and walked to the exit; Ty took the notebook from him where he was jotting down and handed it to Dru without explanation as he caught up with Kit in the doorway.

"Is the market true?" Ty asked, standing next to him.

-It is, Hypatia Vex wants to see me at the London market, apparently she has information about the green maiden.

Ty was almost certain that Kit was lying because his expression when reading the letter had been too careful, so he asked directly.

-You lie because you fear that Jaime will listen to us, or you just don't want to tell the truth.

Kit looked at him in surprise and seemed to hesitate for a few moments before finally speaking.

- I lie because in situations like this, it is the only thing that I find comforting.

He wanted to ask her more about that, but then a portal opened almost right in front of them and Kit looked him straight in the eye.

-Just promise me that whatever happens in the market, you will let me speak.

It was Ty's moment to hesitate.

"But what if I have something very important to say?"

- Don't say it unless it's life or death.

-Well-accept dissatisfied

And then they both walked through the portal

***

Kit couldn't help but look nervously at Ty, he was worried that the noises from the market would bother him too much, but he was more worried about what Hypatia might say to him, the letter he had received said:

"If you want us to continue being friends, come to the market as soon as possible and let's meet at the old store, I want to talk to you about your family"

And Kit worried that for Hypatia "Family" was more than just her father, he worried that the family was the Carstairs or Jace. So for the first time in three years he wished that family would be about his father.

"Here it is," he said to Ty, pointing to an old building that was actually off-limits to the market but was occupied by the owners as an office.

"Hypatia wants to see you here?" Ty asked, looking closely at the building. "It seems something strange.

Kit immediately shrugged without thinking about Ty's words.

"Not really, there is an old building exactly like this in Los Angeles" he said before looking at it "Look, maybe it would be better if you go back to Devon."

Ty frowned and his gray eyes stared at him in confusion as his hands began to move quickly to his side.

-Do you want me to go?

Kit could not know what his response would have been because at that precise moment a vampire approached them.

"Hypatia is waiting for you inside," the vampire said laconically as he entered the building and without saying anything about him being accompanied.

Ty was the first to follow the vampire and Kit was forced to enter as well.

The building looked completely abandoned, as if no one had used it in several decades, there were traces of strange fluids in various parts of the place and when they went up the stairs they seemed to let out wailing instead of creaking. Dru would have loved this place.

In the end they ended up being led to a completely empty room, with no windows or any other exit other than the door, and the vampire who was their guide gave them a signal to enter, but neither he nor Ty advanced when noticing that he did not enter.

"And Hypatia?" Kit asked suspiciously.

"I'm afraid she won't be present," said a voice behind them.

The next thing they felt was that something was hitting their back with too much force and they were thrown into the room.

-But luckily, I, Barnabas Hale, am here.

"I don't see the luck in this," Kit said sarcastically as she looked at Barnabas and stood up as she drew her dagger. She out of the corner of her eye she saw that Ty was okay.

Somehow Barnabas looked much worse than the last one they had seen when he had been set up in Los Angeles.

"It's lucky for me," said Barnabas. "At last I'll be able to settle accounts with the two of you."

"Does Hypatia know about this?" She told him angrily, "That you used her name to set me up."

"Oh, she knows and much more than I would like," Barnabas said from the door, "she agrees to all of this." Although of course I did not expect you to come with company, but I suppose that is only a double prize.

-Ha Hypatia doesn't like Shadowhunters but I doubt she wants to get into such big trouble if something happens to us.

-Because you keep talking as if you weren't one of them- Barnabas growled with contempt- You have their marks all over your body, as if you expect the black of them to consume you, but still you speak as if you don't belong with them. But you do it. All neflim are the same, they wear black hoping that no one will see them, but we see them and we know that they are the true demons. And now that finally there are more people who see what is reality they have to pay, we will make them pay. Do you know why Hypatia agrees with what happens to you? Because weeks ago they found the dead body of a fairy in the market.

"That's not completely strange and I don't understand how it is related to me," Kit exclaimed.

-You do not know? You killed him. At first it was thought that it could be someone from the market, but when the wolves, vampires and warlocks were discarded and only the fairies remained. When asking, it turned out that someone had been seen with the fairy moments before, a boy with blond and tanned hair who hid his face from him.

-There are many people like that-Ty spoke in defense of him -They can't accuse someone just because he's blond and tan

-And how many of them have runes on their bodies? Or a blade with herons? -Med Barnabas looking at the dagger he was brandishing

"It's a dagger," Kit told him, "and now you'll see how it works," and he threw it towards Barnabas but the weapon seemed to hit a wall and fell at her feet.

-I thought they were smart enough to know that the reason I hadn't killed them yet was because there was a barrier between us. It is from Hypatia, everything that enters her no longer leaves her unless she removes it.

"I didn't kill anyone," Kit exclaimed, clenching her jaw.

-Well, someone did and your cousin has an excellent alibi because he he he was talking to Hypatia, but you have nothing.

-And how are we going to pay? -Asked Ty-They must have something planned if Hypatia decided to put up a barrier because she knew you were too reckless not to kill us before our time.

-We are going to kill them and we will vote their bodies in some place where everyone can see them, you will serve to declare war -said Barnabas looking directly at Ty-They killed underground children, it is only fair that we kill you where other children can see them.

"We're not kids," Ty said, there was a tone of determination in his voice that made Kit remember Julian. "And they can't declare a war with only the market for support, they wouldn't win."

Barnabas let out a shrill curl

-Have you not heard? All the shadow world hates them.

"The fairies would be on our side, Kieran Kingson would support us," Ty mentioned, his gray eyes seemed to be made of metal, "The Seelie Queen must support us."

-The fairies on your side, huh? -Said Barnabas looking at him, and there was something in Barnabas's gaze that made Kit feel chills-I guess they don't know yet, they think they are so smart and they don't know the most said rumor and best kept

-And what is it? -He asked him

Barnabas denied

-I've already lost too much time with you and my schedule requests me elsewhere, but don't worry, we'll see each other faster than you think and it will be for the last time.

And without looking at them he left, leaving them trapped in that room.

***

-Are you going to tell me why you let them go or are you also going to lie about that? -Said Jaime with a hard voice

Dru had left the living room where the others were with the excuse of putting Ty's notebook in her place but Jaime had followed her and now she was claiming him.

-I don't know what you're talking about-she told him as she tried to keep walking

Jaime held her hand.

-You know what Dru was talking about, you lied about the bottle-she wanted to complain but Jaime denied-No, don't lie because I know you did it and a few moments ago you looked at me so that I will let your brother and Kit go to the shadow market. Why ?

"How do you really know that the bottle is a lie?" She said in return.

Dru didn't know why exactly but she didn't want to tell them that Ash was involved, she didn't want anyone to know. Kit's eyes had looked at her questioningly briefly when she had awarded him the bottle of hers but she hadn't given it away. Not yet. So ... how was it possible for Jaime to find out?

-Because -said Jaime looking directly into her eyes -when you lie as much as I can you can smell the lies for miles, and yours sucked too much.

-I asked you to let my brother and Kit go because he trusted them -Dru spoke calmly and sincerely- and if they need to do something she trusts that it is important, even if I don't know why they really left.

Jaime nodded without asking more, it was clear that he understood the family's loyalty.

-And how did you actually get that bottle?

-I stole it from him in feera-she mentioned knowing that Jaime would know who she was referring to and from the way her eyes shone she was right-but nothing more. She actually wasn't sure if it would really work.

-Dru, you are my friend, please don't lie to me.

"I'm not doing it," she replied. "And anyway, why are you so obsessed with what Kit does?"

-Excuse me -Alice spoke appearing down the hall -I don't want to ruin her moment of tension or anything but the Inquisitor has just arrived and wants to talk to a Blackthorn. I guess he actually wants to talk to your brother but since he's with Kit you'll have to distract him now.

-Tell him that we are going right away-Jaime said to Alicia who left immediately-It would be better if you keep the Tiberius notebook, if my brother sees it he will want to read it and from the way you hold it I assume it would be inconvenient.

And then Jaime also left, maybe what he had just told him was advice, but there was something in Jaime's eyes that told him that he knew he was lying, but that he was tired of trying to get the truth out of him.

Dru leaned against the wall and sighed. Why was she trying so hard for Ash to lie to his friends?

She didn't know, but if she closed her eyes the only thing she could see was the grass green color.

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/215552440/write/994020123

[zpetlovesglitter]

The Wicked Powers Theories

The Wicked Powers has recently been getting me excited WAY too much - which says a lot about how weird I am since Cassie hasn’t even started on it yet (LOL).

aND, so, I kind of thought it’d be nice to jot down some predictions and theories on how the series might go and maybe some thoughts on THE SHIPS (that really do be the real TEA).

So.Here we go.And do let me know about any thoughts you have on this topic as well - I read anything about TWP like a crazed creature these days istg.

1)The POV has already been envisioned to be from Ty, Dru and Kit. I absolutely love this settlement since they are all very intriguing characters. Ty is an interesting person and his actions are always unpredictable, so we might enjoy this one. And,I believe he is at The Scholomance while the story progresses, followed by Livvy (Ghost Livvy, I mean).It’s still unclear what Livvy’s situation is, so I can’t wait to know more about that - it’s bound to be something unexpected. And, as for Dru, it’s kinda obvious. We all know that WE HAVE A LOVE TRIANGLE COMING UP. But, other than that, we also know she attends The Academy and finally starts to makes some friends and even has that really close Italian (..or was it Spanish???) Shadowhunter friend who’s her age and Cassie also revealed that the two are really tight indeed. And I will be honing in on the Love Triangle soon - I told you I’ll be trying to spill whatever tea I’m guessing at.  And, as for the last character WE HAVE KIT! OMFG YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE OLDER BROTHER KIT.LIKE GOSH DARN IT HE IS SO ADORABLE AND MINA IS SO EFFING CUTE I CAN’T EVEN-                          AND KIT’S TRAINING WITH JEM AND HE IS GOING TO BE A WELL-TRAINED SHADOWHUNTER IN TWP, SO YAYYYY!! And, I absolutely CANNOT wait for MinaXKit interactions, they are the cutest siblings ever and I absolutely know that Mina grows up to be sarcastic. I can’t wait for the possible sarcastic arguments between Kit and 4-year old Mina. YOU THINK I FORGOT ABOUT KITxTY? NOPE.THE REAL SHET’S COMING UP.

2)Now,we know that the storyline is going to have something to do with that Faerie Heirloom that was from the Rosales Family. And, Cassie also said it was going to be kind of an Arthurian Legend-ish story. If you don’t know the Arthurian Legend, I suggest you read on it. I’m not sure if Cassie meant the characters and LOVE Aspect of it or the LEGEND aspect of it as in the stuff about Excalibur and all. But, for now we’ll view it in both and examine it, shall we?

King Arthur's reign ends after his wife and best knight have an affair.

This is the drama in the legend.But, there are no relationships with the MCs yet. So idk. I’m clueless. Like, maybe Dru has a relationship?? Okay I’m clutching at practically nothingness so don’t judge me. :/

So,it’s obviously something to do with the LEGEND.

I am afraid I cannot say too much about it, since I have never read too deeply about it. But, here’s some of the basics:

-He managed to pull out Excalibur from the rock it was stuck in.

-He wielded Excalibur for the people and not for his own self-interest.

-He gets help from a wizard named Merlin.

-The peeps go on a quest.

And I have this reference from a website..I’ll hit u with the link as well, if you’d like to read more on it like I did

Arthurian legend, the body of stories and medieval romances, known as the matter of Britain, centring on the legendary king Arthur. Medieval writers, especially the French, variously treated stories of Arthur’s birth, the adventures of his knights, and the adulterous love between his knight Sir Lancelot and his queen, Guinevere. This last situation and the quest for the Holy Grail (the vessel used by Christ at the Last Supper and given to Joseph of Arimathea) brought about the dissolution of the knightly fellowship, the death of Arthur, and the destruction of his kingdom.

(I’ve linked it with the text above.)

So,now I thought this was interesting- the destruction part. After all, it’s something I’m expecting about the Shadowhunters. Will the Clave maybe be destroyed? Or maybe Faerie will be destroyed? So,there were three things that brought on this uh Destruction.FIRST, his wife and his best buddy were going behind his back and doing them lovey-dovey stuff. And they all go on some quest to retrieve something important to them. So, this sounds like something plausible to be the plot of TWP. Maybe the Heirloom’s missing? And who goes on the quest though? Maybe they venture through Faerie? BLAH MY HEAD HURTS SOME THINGS ARE BETTER TO BE SURPRISED WITH ;)

-----I kinda scrolled back up while writing about Janus down there and remembered CLARY MIGHT BE TAKEN HOSTAGE LIKE YESS AND THEY GO FIND HER MAYBE?

3)We will defo see Christina, Mark and Kieran at some point- no worries, Emma and Julian too. Happy Couples! XD

4)So,then we can look forward to Dru and Jaime’s interactions. I am absolutely excited for this the most, as a shipper of the two. If you remember, we saw Jaime ignoring her for a while back there at the end of QOAAD and then he says “See ya at the Academy soon ig”. I really do hope they meet and hang out as friends, at least. I am excited to see what kind of trope it’s gonna be tho. Like, do they ignore each other and remain awkward until they start the adventure stuff in the book where they eventually have to talk to each other after years or smth. Or, maybe they’re really good friends rn. But, what I’ll warn y’all shippers is that they might not end up together, and could wind up as brother-sister-ish kind of best buddies. Which is equally cute a relationship imo. It’s a really sweet thing to be, really. I lowkey hope Cassie spins something beautiful for their relationship like a sibling-like best friends kind of thing. But, I feel like they might have feelings for each other in secret. Or maybe they date. Or maybe they suppress their secret-feelings for the sake of friendship later on in the book and end up having that really sweet friendship I was talking about.There are SO many options and that is precisely why I am so freaking excited.

5)JAIME ROCIO ROSALES.       Like, I have this gut feeling that he might end up being my fave male protagonist character in TSC. He’s got it ALL. Like, the sense of humour, the looks, the bubbly yet brooding personality, the quirks and OFC THE FRICKING NAME ITSELF IS CUTE AF LIKE BRUH I CANNOT WAIT TO READ ABOUT HIM.I have so much to say about Jaime but I’d rather we let ourselves simply wait for the crumbs Cassie might give us or maybe reread all his parts in TDA like I do everyday or just wait for the book to come out rather than simp for someone we know nothing about yet....

6)Ash Morgenstern.         He’s a cute lil bean.        That was random and untrue lmao. He’s not a ‘lil bean’. He’s totally badass with dem wings and all, but we know he’s soft inside for Janus and ofc Dru, I believe. I find him the most intriguing character, honestly. I would love to know what goes through his head. He’s actually, like, the one character in TSC that I don’t have all figured out. He gon surprise us all for sure tho. He is awesome. That’s all I have to say for now. And he looks up to Janus which is SO GODDAMN SWEET AHHHH. And THE WINGS I CANNOT WAIT TO READ MORE ABOUT THE WINGS IT SOUNDED SO BADASS ISTG I LITERALLY CANNOT WAIT GOSH DARN IT. But he really do be a cute lil bean lowkey tho.

7)Kit and Ty LOL. I have no words really. But lemme tell you how it might go. There is definitely going to be some kind of reunion. AND THEN THAT’S WHERE IT GETS CUTE. They could either be awkward and we know what tension that gets us-perhaps some whisperings of My Watson...(?  ;) and maybe they go all sad and brooding with dem looks later OR, they could be the sweetie-pies they were before and be happy and all HIII BUDDDYYYY MISSED YAAA LESS GO BE DETECTIVES YAY BURN IT UP MAH BUDDY!! Either way it’s going to be cute af and we know it . TRUST IN CASSIE Y’ALL.I trust Cassie to let this ship sail the seven seas and seven more like it deserves.

8)Ash and Dru So, Ash has a strange lil fixation on Dru and I believe he even thought she was ‘pretty’ or something. It was definitely a good adjective, but I think he said ‘pretty’. idk but we know he likes her. and I can imagine a nice relationship. I can picture them with her hair flying in the wind and they meet for the first time or smth. IHNI WHAT IM SAYING. But, there will be DRAMA. They are going to be real cute with each other YOU CAN BET ON THAT.And, by cute I do not necessarily mean ‘Oh, you have the loveliest eyes’ or some shet like that. I have a feeling it’s going to be a case of ‘Well,that’s not weird or anything YOU WEIRDO - NO U - NO U - NO U’ However this relationship is going to go, I know that it’ll be a sweet one.And, for all you shippers of these two, I have no assurances that HE IS THE ONE or anything but he is definitely a candidate. Jaime is going to be some competition I can tell. So, idk. It depends on the Jaime x Dru ship to decide things for Ash x Dru ship imo, since it might be a no-brainer if the two have feelings for each other- I mean,Jaime is an actually perfect love interest in TSC, while Ash is strong potential Best-Friend material, so it’s ONLY if Jaime and Dru don’t like each other that way that Ash could make it as a love interest. So, if y’all wanna find out what’s in it for you guys, ask Cassie maybe about how the Jaime x Dru ship might go, the next time u wanna ask her ;)

9)Tavvy and maybe the kid Helen and Aline might have had We were getting hints of another baby, so HERE WE GO.Tavvy might have a playmate. :D. YAYYYYYYYYYY

10)Janus  I’m honestly worried about him. He is a worrisome character. I hate empathising with the antagonist, personally. AAAAHHHH . I hope we see some character development in him. I really don’t want to see him as an antagonist in the story. He’s sweet and feels cheated, but he should realise that it ain’t Jace’s fault but SEBASTIAN’S fault. I would like for him to make amends with Jace :( And, also, he might get the story started in TWP tho idk. But, seriously tho, when he went home in that short story and Ash asked, “I thought you were gone forever?” or something of that sort and he shook his head sadly and Ash went soft for him. Like, that fricking broke my heart. I love this relationship tho. And, i hope Clary and him can be good friends. But, I feel like he might end up dying to save her or smth and make us all cry . T_T

11)WHAT TF IS GOING ON WITH THE SHADOWHUNTER POLITICS RN THO?HOW AND WHERE ARE THEY ALL SURVIVING TOGETHER WHAT IS THEIR SYSTEM AND STUFF THIS IS NOT A POINT WITH POTENTIAL THEORIES COZ HONESTLY I WANT TO BE SURPRISED BUT I THINK THEY MIGHT ALL JUST BE IN HIDING AND THEN IN TWP THEY MIGHT HAVE TO COME OUT FOR A QUEST OR SMTH AND WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE SHADOWHUNTERS AT THE CLIMAX OF THIS WHOLE SERIES??? IT IS THE END OF TSC SO IM SCARED AND KINDA SAD TOO :(((((((

12)Thule We might learn more about the Thule world and maybe they restore it or maybe the Quest is in Thule. idk. we don’t know much, but Thule will most probably be explored a lot. Cassie wouldn’t have opened up Thule for no reason.

13)Zara and Emma  Showdown? Befriend e/o ? What’s in store for these two? If it’s a showdown we get to see CORTANA YAY I AM OBSESSED WITH CORTANA NOW BECAUSE OF CORDELIA AND HER OBSESSION GOSH DARN IT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME

14)BIG WAR I see a huge war coming I just know it. It’s a climax so there MUST be a big war and so I cannot wait! Feel like there’s gonna be some deaths as well. Lowkey feel like Jia might die. I can feel it. :(

15)The best-friend shadowhunter of Dru is a nice thing to look forward to! I can’t wait to read about the two! And I love the fact that Dru is finally exposed to new people. And, for anyone who’s confused as to how she goes to the Academy, in QOAAD she only said she’ll have some maturity done AFTER some years .  Those years are over and she at the Academy now hecc yeah I BELIEVE THE BFF IS CALLED THAI AND SHE’S FROM THE SPANISH INSTITUTE CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG???

16)Magnus Bane He is literally everywhere. He gon be here too. No worries for all the Magnus Bane stans. He’ll make it here without a doubt!  Good for you :).  and the entire community of shadowhunters they literally always need him  17)THE MAIN MAIN PLOT THE SHADOWHUNTERS SHOWDOWN IS OBVIOUSLY GOING TO ALSO BE RELATED TO THE PRINCES OF HELL COMING TOGETHER AND I AM TOO SCARED TO LOOK TOO INTO IT BUT WE KNOW SHIZ COMING GNJODIFPEDWEFHUGBJ VM

18)THIS IS KINDA RANDOM BUT I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE SELF-ESTEEM GROWTH IN DRU LIKE PLEASE SHE QUEEN MWAH

[dolly-decadatia]

Notes 12/1/20 s.c book

Incorporate altered consciousness into practice as soon as I move to Nevada.

Reach state of ecstasy during rites- incorporate Invocation of Lust rite from LaVey?

Eww so much gender binary bullshit... kind of toying with the idea of pop culture paganism using Spike and Drusilla but grossed out by the gender binary and heteronormativity of the god and goddess and I don’t want that ickiness all over my comfort characters. Something to ponder further.

Reincarnation is brought up. Not sure how I feel about that either. This all made so much more sense to me when I was like 12.

Magic is the practice of moving natural energies to effect needed change.

I’m like 2 pages in and he’s annoying me already. I was definitely remembering Scott Cunningham with a nostalgia lens.

Next chapter is The Deities. Skipping this completely.

Chap 3 Magic:

2 main sources of energy: personal power, earth power.

Personal power- is the life force that sustains our earthly existences. We absorb energy from the moon and sun, from water and food. We release it during movement, exercise, and sex. Even exhaling releases some power, though we recoup the loss through inhaling. In Magic, personal power is aroused, infused with a specific purpose, and directed toward its goal.

Earth power- is that which resides within your planets and in it’s natural products. Stones, trees, wind, flames, water, crystals, and scents all possess unique, specific powers that can be used during magical ritual.

No matter the magical system, personal power must be infused with the need and then released.

I am more than comfortable incorporating negative Magic in my practice. Scott is super judgmental and priggish and I am not feeling his sanctimonious ranting on the topic.

You don’t need elaborate rites every-time. If nothing else, light a candle, settle down before it and concentrate on your magical need. Trust yourself.

Chap 4 tools

The broom- oh lawd he really thinks there were Wiccans during the burning times before Gardner was born. I can’t with him....

Anyway the broom is used for spiritual cleansing (don’t let the bristles touch the ground). Visualize the broom sweeping out the astral buildup that occurs where humans live. This purifies the area to allow smoother ritual workings. Since it is a purifier, the broom is linked with the element of water. Thus it is also used in all types of water spells including those of love and psychic workings. To make your own broom the classic formula is a ash staff, birch twigs, and a willow binding. The ash is protective and the birch is purifying. The willow is religious and therefore non applicable. A tiny broom of pine needles can also be used. There are many old spells involving brooms 🧹. In general the 🧹 is a purificatory and protective instrument used to ritually cleanse the area for Magic or to guard a home by laying in across the threshold, and under the bed, in windowsills, or on doors 🚪.

I personally like cinnamon brooms 🧹. I used to customize them for the sabbaths when I was Wiccan with colored ribbon and sprigs of the appropriate herbs or flowers. I miss doing that.

The wand:

Instrument of invocation. Also used to direct energy, draw magical 🧙‍♂️ symbols or a circle ⭕️ on the ground, to point towards danger ⚠️ while perfectly balanced on a witch’s hand ✋ or even stir a brew in a cauldron. The wand represents the element of air.

Traditional woods used for wand: willow, elder, oak, apple, peach, hazel, cherry 🍒 and more.

Can even use a wooden dowel and carve and/or paint it.

Crystal can also be used.

Any stick you find will be infused with energy and power.

Censer:

Incense burner. I liked the gold swingy ones because they remind me of Spike but I’m uncomfortable with the concept of a breeding pair of deities and don’t want to taint spike and Dru by pigeon holing them into those gross roles. Really really like that censer though... will have to ponder.

When no specific incense is called for in rituals and spells, use your own intuition and creativity in determining which blend to use.

Spirits can be called to appear in visible form in the smoke rising from the censer. He said “command” which seems rude and I don’t vibe with bullying spirits. I want to be their friends. He also said this is not a part of Wicca. I’m not Wiccan sooooo. C’mon incense ghosties. It’s party time at my place .

Sitting while breathing slowly and watching the smoke can be an entrancing act, and you might slip into an alternate state of consciousness.

Cauldron- ancient vessel of cooking and brew making, steeped in magical tradition and mystery. (Grain of salt- he’s talking about Wicca which is not ancient at all.) the cauldron is the container in which magical transformations occur; the sea of primeval creation. The cauldron is often a focal point of ritual. During spring rites it is often filled with fresh water 💧 and flowers 💐; during winter ❄️ a fire 🔥 may be kindled within the cauldron but the reasoning behind this is very religious so.....

The cauldron should be should be iron, resting on 3 legs, with its opening smaller than its widest part. It can be used for scrying by filling it with water and gazing into it.

Athame:

Used for directing energy not cutting. Often dull, usually double-edged with a black handle because black absorbs power. When the athame is used in ritual a bit of energy gets stored in the handle for later use. A sword can be used (like in Church of Satan rituals) if space permits. My trailer is so small it’s tempting to temporarily use a pocket knife until I move 😂. Scott says knives are phallic but pre op trans men aren’t shaped like knives. Coming out has really opened my eyes to how bullshitty concepts of yonic or phallic are. Not feeling it.

Bolline -

White handled practical working knife you actual use as a knife unlike the athame.

Crystal sphere- used for divination. They remind me of Dru because anything psychic does but like I said- I don’t want to disrespect Drusilla by show horning her into the Wiccan idea of goddess. Can be used to store energy or receive messages. Periodic exposure to moonlight, or rubbing the crystal with fresh mugwort will increase its ability to spark our psychic powers. It may be the center of full moon 🌕 rituals.

Cup- simply a cauldron on a stem. Scott calls it a fertility symbol. Gross. Not in my practice. Contains ritual beverage imbibed during ritual. I need to decide what my liquid will be. It was cranberry juice when I was a teen witch, wine as an adult, and Jack Daniels when I was a pop culture pagan (for spike). Cup can be any substance. I have an awesome baphomet goblet in the storage unit I can use. I still love satanic imagery.

Pentacle- Wiccan specific. Non applicable.

Book of shadows- can be handwritten or digital. Ideally rites should be memorized which is daunting with my learning disability and memory issues brought on by depression but I’ll try.

Bell-

Ritual instrument of incredible antiquity. (Source needed on that, Scott). Ringing a bell unleashes vibrations that have powerful effects according to its volume, tone, and material of construction. Also rung to to ward off evil spirits (what does he mean by that? Let’s not be frigging fluffbunnies) to halt storms or evoke good energies. Placed in cupboards or hung on the door, it guards the home. Bells are sometimes rung in ritual to mark various sections and signal a spell’s beginning or end.

As you collect each tool, you can prepare it for ritual. If old, it should be stripped of all associations and energies; you don’t know who owned the tool or what purposes it may have been used for. To begin this process, clean the tool physically using the appropriate method. When the object is clean and dry, bury it in the earth or a bowlful of sand or salt for a few days, allowing the energies to disperse. An alternate method involves plunging the tool into the sea, river, lake, or even your own bathtub 🛁 after purifying the 💦 by adding a few pinches of salt 🧂.

Use common sense and don’t wreck your tool with water or salt if the material would get wrecked.

After a few days dig up the tool, wipe it clean, and it is ready for magic 🪄. If you use the 💦 method, leave the object submerged for a few hours, then dry it.

There are consecration ceremonies later In the book. Use common sense and edit them as needed to make them non secular or hunt on tumblr for alternate methods.

[thatnerdnextdoor24]

The roof

Thanks for waiting an extra day. I wanted this last part good, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. But I do like a happy ending. I'm not that great at fight scenes, but this was fun practice. I hope you enjoy. Prompt; Fighting, side by side. Final part of 'May I Have This Dance?'

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Ao3

More Kit/Ty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A fairie revel.

In the middle of LA.

Shit.

Kit had never heard of a revel outside of faerieland. Especially not in the middle of a city, full of iron. “How is that possible?” He hissed. He, Ash, and Ty had huddled by the wall, trying to pretend that they were a part of the table that Dru was currently stuck sitting on a metal chair. She was really stuck, too. Kit had tried to pull her off already, being as subtle as he could. It was as if she was glued tight to it. Well, actually, ‘magicked’ was a better word for it. It reminded Kit of the time Magnus had used his magic to tie him and Ty to a tree. She couldn’t even lift her arms off the table, and she was starting to doze off.

She was also murmuring and giggling things that made no sense. Like she was drunk. The werewolf they had come to see, was passed out by when they got there. If Kit looked around, he would see that almost everyone else stuck at tables, were fast asleep. Ash and Kit kept pinching Dru, or tugging her hair, to keep her awake. Kit wondered how much longer it would work.

“It shouldn’t be,” Ash said, he still had a deadly grip on both Kit and Ty. Every now and then Ty would give a funny look at the band. “The city is too full of iron for there to be enough faerie magic to hold a revel. Especially one strong enough to hold this many Downworlders.” Ash shook his head, “It doesn’t make sense.” Kit tried to rack his brain around it.

“Maybe it’s not a revel,” Ty said, suddenly, he was looking at the band again. Kit was doing his best to ignore them, the music was still making his head pound, and his vision swim. “What?” He managed. Ty pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I said, maybe it’s not a revel,” Ty repeated. He was taking a picture of the band, Kit realized.

“What else would it be?” Ash hissed, his voice sharp. Kit gave him a pointed look. He knew that Ash was only worried about Dru, but Ty didn’t know that. His parabatai looked away, but gave Kit’s arm a squeeze. “A demon. Look at this,” Ty said, apparently he hadn’t noticed Ash’s tone. Ty held up his phone, Kit leaned in to look at the picture he had taken. It was the band. “What am I looking at?” Kit asked. 

Ty zoomed in on the pianist. “Look at him,” For a second, Kit had no idea what he was talking about. Then he noticed, the pianist was slumped over on the bench, his eyes closed. Kit risked a glance up to the band on the stage. The pianist hadn’t moved. Only his fingers pushed the keys, but his chest did not rise and fall. Kit turned back to Ty, “Is he dead?”

“I think so. But look what's on the cello players feet,” Ty moved the picture, so Kit could see the black lines that wrapped up the players ankles and disappeared under his pant legs. Kit could barely make it out on the pixelated screen, but he could have sworn they were vines. Black vines, as thin as a blade of grass. “Do you know what this is?” He asked Ty.

Ty shrugged, “I have an idea. I’ve read about demons like this, they feed off magic. Which explains all the Downworlders. The demon controls his already dead prey, like a puppet, to lure in more.” Kit shivered. “So, the demon controls the band, makes them play music that keeps more Downworlders stuck here, dancing,” He looked at Ty for confirmation, he nodded.

Ash grunted, “So they are stuck dancing. That is not the problem, I can stop some faerie music. But why is Drusilla stuck in this chair?” He snapped his fingers by Dru’s ear. She jerked her head back up, but her eyes were drooping closed already. She murmured something unintelligible. Ty shook his head, “I’m not sure. The demon could have gotten a hold of a warlock.” He licked his lips. “I’ve never seen this breed of demon before, though. They’re indigiounous to the jungles of Asia,” 

“Well, it’s a long way from home,” Kit muttered. His head was swimming, the music was pulling at him again. He was glad for Ash’s iron grip, and even more iron faerie resistance to the music. He turned to his parabatai, “You said you can get rid of the music?” Ash nodded. “Good,” Kit said, “Do that. But not yet, we need to find this demon, first.” Kit squinted at the band on the other side of the ballroom. He could just make out the black vines snaking through the performers, trailing along the back of the stage, then up along the walls. He lost it when it went through the plants hanging from the walls and the rafters. The roof, he thought.

“It’s on the roof,” Ty beat him to it. He looked at Kit, “You and I should go up there, and keep it busy while Ash takes care of the music. I can see some warlocks stuck dancing. If we can wake them up from the trance, maybe they can undo the spell on the chairs.” Ty was holding himself taller. He was being a leader and a strategist, like a centurion. 

Ash nodded, “Will you two be alright? If I let you go?” He was looking at Kit. He nodded. “As long as we hurry out the door, and I hold on to Ty,” He lowered his voice so only Ash could hear. “I think I have enough faerie in me, to be okay,” He assured him. He tried to send how he felt through his gaze, through their impenetrable bond. Ash pressed his lips together, his face pale and grim, but his brilliant green eyes were steady. 

“How are you going to stop the music?” Kit whispered, Ash let a wicked grin come over his face, sliding a seraph blade out of his pocket. “Simple. You can’t play music, without any instruments,” Kit almost laughed. But instead, he reached up and squeezed his brother’s arm. “I’ll see you on the other side, yeah?” Ash nodded, once, “Yeah,” His voice sounded tight. 

Kit turned back to Ty, who was giving him an odd look. “Ready?” He asked. Ty only grabbed his hand. Despite the circumstances, Kit felt a flutter fly through his chest. With one final look at Ash, they broke apart. Kit and Ty going one way, Ash the other. It was a good thing they were already near the door. Because as Kit and Ty rounded the dance floor, Ty tugged at Kit. “Kit…” He whispered. “We should dance.” Kit didn’t look at him. “Cover your ears,” Was all he said, doing his best to block out the music, he stared straight at the exit. Even as his head felt like it would split in two. His steps felt lighter with every step away from the music he took, until they were bursting through the door, into the midnight air. 

They were panting, Kit felt like he had just run a marathon through jello. “I feel like I can breathe again,” Ty muttered, Kit grunted in agreement. He hadn’t even noticed how hot and unbearable it had been in there, not until the cold night breeze had graced his neck. He looked back at Ty, he was pushing his hair back. Wiping the sweat of his brow, loosening his tie. He caught Kit’s gaze. “The roof?” He asked, his silver eyes catching the light of the moon.

Kit cleared his throat, “Yeah. Yeah, to the roof.” He pushed his shoulders back and began the climb up the wall. Sometimes it was weird, how much stronger he was now. Just a couple of years ago, he wouldn’t have been able to climb three feet. Now, he was scaling a twenty foot warehouse with remarkable ease. 

He smelt the demon before he saw it. Like rotten eggs. Sulfur. It made him gag. He and Ty pulled themselves, silently, over the concrete ledge of the roof. He could hear it, too. Hunkered in the corner. A hulking black, slimy shape. Like an over sized bear, with tendrils slivering out of its nose and down through a gaping hole in the roof. Kit could just hear music filtering in from below. At least, Kit hoped it was it’s nose. But he had a sinking suspicion that it was not. 

The demon was bent over something, or rather, someone, slobbering and smacking its great maw. It was so focused on its meal, that it didn’t notice as Ty and Kit pulled their seraph blades out from the inside of their jackets. Kit looked at Ty, waiting. Ty looked grimly at the beast, then pointed to himself, and the ledge on the side. 

He was going to go around.

He pointed at Kit, then at the demon. 

He wanted Kit to get it’s attention. 

Kit nodded, once. Raziel knew, if there was one thing Kit was good at, it was a distraction. 

He waited until Ty had soundlessly made it to the other side of the roof, Kit lost sight of him in the shadows. He took a deep breath, and named his blade, “Nakir,” Kit held his fingers to his lips, and whistled. The demon snapped its giant head towards him. The tendrils definitely were not coming from his nose. “HEY!” He yelled. “SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOUR MEAL, BUT I GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!” 

The demon dropped his snack, the body hit the roof with a sicking crack. It huffed, it’s hot breath turning to steam in the cold air. It let out a roar, and charged at Kit. For a split second, all Kit could think was, Well, distracting it was much easier than I thought. Then he remembered the giant, Downworlder eating, demon in front of him. 

Kit threw himself to the side, rolling across the roof. The demon narrowly missed him with its snapping jaw. Kit swiped a wide arc at the demon, and missed by a mile. He swiped again, rising to his feet. He missed again. The demon lunged toward him, and Kit leaped back. It snapped its tendrils at him, Kit ducked and jumped, barely avoiding the razor sharp ends. Distantly, Kit noticed the music had stopped. 

Kit cut through the air, the blade burned through a few black tendrils. The demon shrieked, and lunged forward, swiping a claw through the air. Kit stumbled back, the claw slicing through his red tie. “Rude,” Kit hissed, ducking another claw. He was getting backed against a corner, yet Ty was nowhere to be found. Kit stabbed again at the demon, but it evaded easily. For something so large, it was surprisingly agile. 

Suddenly, Kit’s heel hit a rock, his foot sliding forward and then he was falling back. He landed with a thud, the breath knocking out of him. The demon screamed it’s victory, it’s gaping maw swinging toward him. Kit saw his life flash before his eyes, and he thought, this is it. He squeezed his eyes shut.

This close, he could smell the blood on the demon’s mouth, mixed with it’s reek of sulfur. Kit prepared for the end. A shout burst from ahead of him, and then the smell was gone. Kit opened an eye, finding the demon gone. In its place, a heap of dust. Standing over it, panting, his suit jacket gone and his white sleeves rolled up to reveal pale arms and dark runes, was Ty Blackthorn. Seraph blade still blazing in his hand. He looked frantically at Kit, and ran to his side.

 “Are you okay?” He looked Kit up and down, as he pushed himself to his elbows, “Are you hurt?” Ty asked, already pulling out his stele. Kit looked at Ty, finding him in one piece. “Just my pride,” He said, leaning on his elbow. He hissed as pain laced through him. “I take it back,” He muttered, “I hit my arm pretty good.” 

Ty furrowed his brow, and took Kit’s arm in his gentle hands and long fingers. He touched it gently, Kit hissed through his teeth at the tenderness. “You’ve sprained it.” Ty explained, rolling up Kit’s sleeve. 

He was silent while Ty slowly, carefully, drew and Iratze on his forearm. “I’m sorry,” Ty said, quietly. Kit waited for him to continue. “I should have been faster. But I-you were fighting and you were doing really good and I got distracted and then you were suddenly on the ground and-” He squeezed his eyes shut. 

Kit’s mouth quirked up in the corner. “You got distracted by me?” He asked. Ty ducked his head. Kit could have sworn his cheeks were turning red. “We should check on the others.” Ty ignored Kit’s question, and stood, holding out his hand. Kit took it and let Ty pull him up on his feet. Together, they crept to the edge of the hole in the roof. Kit peered inside. No one was dancing. They were sitting on the floor, massaging their feet. Kit could make out Ash’s silver hair as he walked around the room with a warlock, slowly undoing the spell on the chairs. He could see Dru, bandaging a Vampires bleeding feet. 

“So, do we report this to the Institute, or to Alec?” Kit asked. Ty shrugged, “Well, it’s pretty big, and that demon shouldn’t have been here. So probably Alec. Do you have his number?” He looked at Kit, who sighed. “I mean, yeah. But, it’s Saturday night. I don’t want to be the one to call and ruin his family dinner with all of this.” He gestured to the mess below. 

To his surprise, Ty huffed a laugh. “We could always give it an hour.” He suggested. Kit smirked, “We sure could.” 

[buffyversefanfiction]

Tristan Tormented

Volume 1 - Before He Rises

Warnings: I do not own the rights to the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its spin-off series Angel, its dark horse comics continuation series, or any of the characters created by Joss Whedon and others in the Buffyverse.

Moderate violence, scenes of a sexual nature, inappropriate/threatening language, lgbt, f/m, f/f, m/m, gen, other +

Follow up series to “Twisted Tristan”

Mandi found herself frantically running through the woods as the sun began to rise in the sky somewhere on the outskirts of New York City desperately searching for any sign of a corpse, the corpse in question being Buffy Summers’ son who had recently been killed by Drusilla. She knew that the rising sun would eventually set once again and if she did not get to Tristan Summers’ body in time then he would rise again as a vampire, a vampire they would have to kill and she wanted to spare Buffy of that heartbreak but as she continued to charge through the endless woods she began fearing she would never get to Tristan in time. Of course she was not alone in her search or in her despair as Spike was held up in an abandoned hospital nearby, having no choice but to stay in the shadows as the growing sun would turn him to ashes if he did not. Spike hoped with all of his undead heart that witch Mandi Jenkins would deal with Tristan before either Buffy or Angel had to deal with their undead child, knowing Buffy would never come back from killing her own son and fearing Angel would do anything to protect any form of the child that until recently he had no idea he had.

Drusilla had found herself a small cave within the woods to find shelter in and hide from the burning power of the sun after burying the child she had claimed as her own, not wanting to leave him alone but knowing her vampirism would only lead to her burning if she attempted to stand in the direct sunlight. She stood within the caves in a rare moment of not knowing for the psychedelic Drusilla as the sun was only beginning to set giving the slayers and their friends plenty of time to find where she had buried Tristan not knowing if she would get to the slayer’s son before they would, wondering if Tristan would be killed once more before he even had a chance to rise.

Willow sat next to Buffy as the two sat within the first class seating on an airplane heading straight for New York City fearing the worst possible outcome as she continued to stare at an emotionless Buffy who was at the window seat staring blankly into the sky, the two not sharing a single word since the redheaded witch was forced to tell her blonde haired best friend that she may have to slay her own son. “I am sick of the sacrifices,” Buffy announced, breaking the silence between herself and Willow as she turned to face her bewitching friend. “I am done with the heart wrenching surprises how the chaos always bleeds throughout my life how people I care about become body after body…all I ever wanted was to protect him from all this and now I have no idea what he is becoming.” “I know Buffy,” Willow replied as she reached out her hand and held her friend’s hand. “I really wish things did no turn out like this that we could have saved him but in a way we still can…” “I do not want to kill him Willow!” Buffy said as her voice began to break and tears began falling from her eyes. “Maybe we can try giving him a soul somehow? I mean it would not be the exact same spell as Angel’s but hey if Spike can get himself a soul then I can surely whip one up somehow for Tristan.” Willow suggested, hoping to find some last-minute fix to get themselves out of the dreadful situation they were heading straight for. “And then what everybody he kills until then is on us for not being able to stop it?” Buffy asked as tears continued to fall down the cheeks of her face. “I hate that I always have to choose between the world and who I love!” “Last time Angelus payed a visit Wesley, Fred, Gunn and a heavily possessed and pregnant Cordelia had him locked up in a cage maybe we can take a page out of their book and keep him locked up until we re-soul him.” Willow told Buffy before coming to a worrying realisation. “Although when Tristan had a soul and was human, he was killing people and attempting to kill you and Angel so even if we do get his soul back…” “He will just go straight back to trying to kill us all, there is already far too much blood on his hands, the vampirism with or without a soul will only help him to cause more pain and take more lives.” Buffy cried, knowing that there was no way out of what she had to do. “He is my son; I took him into this world and because I failed to protect him, I am going to have to be the one who takes him out of this world.” Willow wanted so badly to say something that would comfort Buffy or think of something that could stop her best friend from feeling the pain of losing her child but she knew as much as the slayer herself knew in that moment that there was no magical solution to their problem and that Tristan Summers had to die again, so instead of rambling more or trying to come up with solutions she already debunked in her mind she just continued to tighten her grip on Buffy’s hand, tighter and tighter, letting her know that whatever Buffy had to face she would never have to face any of it alone.

Faith and Angel had also found themselves on a different airplane heading to New York as Angel began his quest to find his son reminding him all too well of the troubles he faced with his firstborn son Connor but despite all the chaos that ensued with Angel and Connor, Connor had never lost his soul which gave Angel the undying hope for their relationship to be redeemed. Angel had only came face to face with his second son Tristan a hand full of times and each time it had resulted in his son trying to kill him, which was before he lost his soul and began his process into joining the undead population. The vampire with a soul wanted to mourn his son’s death, grieve the man he could have been or even learn to love the monster his son would become but all he could feel in that moment was rage, rage towards Buffy for never telling him about Tristan until it was too late, rage towards Willow for accidentally losing him within time and rage towards Faith for keeping their secrets from him. “This would never have happened if I was there to protect him!” Angel announced to Faith, ending the awkward silence between the strained friends. “You were not there, Angel…B, Willow and I tried everything to protect your kid, but the monsters just kept coming.” Faith replied, trying to justify her betrayal while knowing she could not. “I owed it to B to be there for her after everything!” “You owed it to Buffy?” Angel snapped at the redeemed slayer. “What about me? I always had your back and yes you had mine until you helped keep my son away from me.” “It was not supposed to happen like that Angel, Willow opened that portal to the past, but we were all meant to go through it. Nobody meant to take him from you or abandon him to be raised under Drusilla’s delusions but that is what went down and all I can say is I am sorry.” Faith explained, knowing it would not help their fractured friendship. “If I was there or if I had known where he had been sent…” Angel began to say. “It is just like Connor all over again only this time the craziest vampire in all of existence, the woman I tortured before turning has stepped in to play pseudo parent to my child. Holtz has nothing on her!” “I am not giving up on Tristan I saw something in him the moment I met him and vampire or not…” Faith declared, making it clear she had not giving up on Angel’s son just yet. “He is a god damn vampire!” Angel shouted at her, raising his voice so loud that the other passengers on the plane began to take notice. “There is no other way out of this that does not end with a stake in my son’s chest and that is because of you, Willow and Buffy!” Faith wanted to argue Angel’s fear away but she knew she could not, she wanted to apologize until Angel accepted it but she knew he would not and so she just shut her mouth and embraced the silence once more as they travelled to New York hoping to save Tristan just like she had hoped time and time again since that first day they met outside Tristan and his vampire ex Dante’s demonic dive bar but she knew the odds were few and far between and that if she did try to save Buffy and Angel’s son she may even have to go up against his parents to do so.

Daylight was at it always is limited, and just like that the sun rose and the sun set as Mandi found herself lost within the woods located somewhere near New York City but as darkness once again returned she was far from alone as somewhere in those very woods was Tristan’s slayer mother Buffy, his vampire father Angel, Faith, Spike and unfortunately for her Drusilla too. Mandi had spent all day searching for Tristan’s makeshift grave but had found nothing, she had tried spell after spell until she had exhausted herself and still nothing it was like Drusilla had seen all this coming which for once she did not but Drusilla had not lived as long as she did without knowing how to survive and those survival instincts had clearly extended to her soon to be rising son Tristan. Suddenly Mandi began to feel the hairs on her neck rise as she heard a loud crackling noise which sounded like somebody had just broken a tree branch forcing her to turn around and face the noise coming from behind her only to be left shocked to see Drusilla now standing in front of her in full vampire face. “Did you mother never tell you not to go into the woods at night?” Drusilla asked, sounding as sinister as she always did before letting out a haunting giggle. “Talking of mother’s, you sure turned out to be the worst one in history Dru.” Mandi snapped at the female vampire, trying to hide her fear behind her fury. “We came with you that day and it was the worst decision we ever did, following you has turned out to be a mistake for everyone involved.” “Now let us not exchange such harsh words not on the eve of my son coming back to me.” Drusilla replied. “Do not worry I have not forgot about you; you will be my baby boy’s first feed as a vampire!” “Figures you would want me dead; I mean you killed Tristan and then there’s Dante who let’s face it might not have been you, but it was certainly because of you.” Mandi told Drusilla, as she began to think of a spell to use against her. “No!” Drusilla repeated frantically as she tugged on her own hair manically. “Dante was supposed to be here…” As Drusilla continued to cry “No” frantically a quick thinking Mandi began chanting in a long forgotten language summoning a fireball between in the air between the witch and vampire just and just as Drusilla began to notice what she was doing the fireball launched its way towards Drusilla launching itself into her chest and sending Drusilla backwards into the dirt as Mandi quickly began running away from the vampire and further into the woods now only hoping to make it out of the woods alive.

Unlike Mandi who had searched before them to no result, Buffy and Willow did not search long within the woods before they had found the markings of a clearly makeshift grave that they knew had to be the place in which Tristan was buried, in fact they had found it too easily, so easily that they both felt as if someone or something wanted them to find Buffy’s son’s grave. Buffy wondered if it was a higher being helping to take out a potentially great evil or if Drusilla had cruelly planned for her to find Tristan to have to watch her son rise from the ground just to have to kill him as Willow wondered if her powers had grown so strong everything had become too easy for her or if somehow it was fate to find him before he rose but one thing both the slayer and the witch knew was that they had no choice but to kill Buffy’s boy. “I guess we all got here in time then.” Faith said with a clear look of dread on her face as her and Angel appeared from out of the woods in front of Buffy and Willow, walking towards them both until they stood on the other side of Tristan’s temporary grave. “Question is what do we do now we are all here?” “The thing we always do,” Buffy replied to Faith as she pulled out a wooden stake from her jacket pocket at the same time as Angel before the two parents shared a look of acceptance over what had to happen next. “Normally I am all up for staking a vamp, but this is not just any other vamp…we can find another way other than killing him.” Faith argued, hoping for them to come across to her way of thinking. “Sure, he was kind of crazy with a soul but we can make it work, I mean Angel’s the OG of making vampirism work so surely his son could pick up a trait or two from him.” “Things do not just work out like that Faith!” Buffy snapped at her, clearly exhausted with arguing over what had to be done. “Even if I did restore his soul it would not make him any less…” Willow began to say. “Evil?” Faith interrupted furiously. “At some point in time we have all done some pretty messed up shit that would declare us evil but that does not mean he cannot be saved! I say we shove a soul back in the guy and then get him straight to therapy.” “Faith, just stop!” Angel demanded, having heard enough. “We came here to end him not to save him…that time has passed.” “Angelus was always much better at condemning rather than saving, weren’t you?” Drusilla said as she creepily appeared as if out of nowhere. “I had hope to get my boy a snack first, but I suppose any of you will do if not all of you.” “Try me!” Buffy threatened as she marched towards the vampire that had claimed her son. “You could not take me on my worst day and after what you’ve done I am going to show you a whole new kind of torture that makes what Angel did to you look like child’s play.” “I’m not alone though,” Drusilla giggled before turning to look directly at Faith. “I’m not his only protector here! In fact, I hear another coming as we speak.” “What the hell are you talking about Dru?” Angel snapped before turning to look at Faith, only for her to punch him in the face. Faith then pursued to kick and punch Angel multiple times before getting his head into an armlock, snapping his neck, and throwing the vampire to the ground. “Faith this is not the time to go back to team evil!” Buffy shouted as she turned to face the brunette slayer. “I am sorry B, but I cannot let you or Angel kill your child,” Faith replied as Willow began chanting in a long dead language. Drusilla quickly punched Buffy who turned around with speed to catch the vampire’s fist in her hand, twisting Dru’s hand and snapping her arm in the process before she kicked the vampire to the ground as Willow’s chanting caused Faith to go flying into a nearby tree, magically pinning her there, making Faith unable to move. “I am going to enjoy finally getting to kill you!” Buffy revealed to Drusilla as she hovered above the menacing vampire, too fixed on Drusilla to notice a hand rising from out of Tristan’s grave. “Buffy!” Faith screamed while still pinned to the tree. “You cannot kill your child you cannot come back from something like that!” “She has no choice Faith!” Willow snapped at her before seeing before her own eyes Tristan pulling himself out of his narrow temporary grave. “I have no choice…” Willow suddenly felt a piercing pain coming from the back of her head, forcing her to fall to the ground as Buffy and Faith noticed Mandi standing where Willow once stood holding a brick that she quickly threw to the ground. “Mandi!” Faith said in shock, forgetting for a moment she had left Spike and Mandi out here in the woods, as Faith felt the magic holding her back disappear as Willow lost consciousness on the ground. Buffy quickly charged at Mandi, jumping at the witch and forcing her to the ground before delivering a killer punch while on top of her, knocking the witch out instantly as Faith began cautiously walking towards Tristan and Drusilla quickly rose to her feet. “I guess this results in a classic Buffy and Faith fight.” Faith said to Buffy as Buffy rose to her feet, looking at both Faith and Drusilla. “Now, do not be forgetting about me.” Spike said as he appeared from out of the woods to see Tristan stood above his grave, covered in dirt, and directly staring at him with confusion. “Guess we have a vampire to kill Buffy.” “Kill Drusilla like we came here to do!” Faith shouted at Spike. “We can still save him Spike.” Spike looked over to Buffy as he noticed the look on her face which told him that they were to kill Tristan does not save him as Faith realized the only ally she had in this fight was the deranged Drusilla. “Mum.” Tristan said in an almost childlike voice, breaking his own silence since his ressurection, the word mum tugging on Buffy’s heartstrings as she felt her heart begin to break. “I am right here my darling boy!” Drusilla replied to him as Tristan glanced over Spike and Buffy and turned to face Drusilla.