#basic shadowhunters stuff

[lurafita]

Magic can be great. Hilarious. But great.

Possibly more "ramblings" than "prompt".

But I have been thinking: Magic spells, incantations, rituals, etc, those are kinda like "recipes", right? Like, the first person to make pasta cabonara, wrote down what they did, and ever since, people have been following those instructions to create this dish. And the first warlock to do a certain spell that hadn't been in existence before, wrote down what they did and ever since, that is the thing you need to do to do that special kind of magic.

And then, going by that logic, I can't help but have my cracky brain going down the road of cracky goodness, because surely there must have been a few magical geniuses, who came up with new spells and rituals and all that, but they were also little shits who liked messing with people.

So maybe some spells have some completely random seeming requirements to them. Like this ritual must be done in the nude, and this incantation can't just be recited, but must be sung, and this potion will be much more potent if you get horrendusly drunk beforehand and are petting a gecko while adding the last ingredient.

And now I want to have all kinds of whacky stuff happening whenever Magnus needs to do some obscure magic for the group.

Some spell books might be more prone to such shenanigans than others. Magnus, some trepidation in his voice: "And which book did your source say this spell was in?" Alec: "I think he said it's called 'The Great Manifesto of Albertus Lickig'." Magnus, curses: Damn Lickig! And just when I thought this was going to be easy for once. Alexander, Darling, prepare yourself for stupidity."

[murfeelee]

inZOI - Madzie & Max Lightwood-Bane (Shadowhunters)

After making Magnus Bane, I decided to make his kids to try out the kids for the demo.

IIRC, the TS4 CAS demo didn't let us make kids (did they even effing HAVE kids as a lifestate back then, or was it just zero toddlers & bassinet babies?). So we're already off to a better start than effing EA.

I'm sad that Krafton didn't let us have access to any sliders to really customize kids in the demo. The presets are ok enough, though some of them look like mini adults or something--the eye bags are too much (at least 3 poor kids looked like they'd been huffing a pack of cigarettes a day since the effing womb).

Kids have no nails & accessories, which is bogus. They get all the adult hats--fedora included--which is...interesting. We need some clips & barrettes & scrunchies etc--real 90s Throwback At Claire's.

Even TS3 gave kids earrings & bracelets & watches etc, so Krafton needs to step their game up, this is unacceptable that kids barely have EFF ALL.

The kids' clothes are also woefully low--no SKIRTS or DRESSES?! Just one set of PJs for outfits, why? They're all basically the same choices for adults & kids, which is kinda cool but kinda lazy? Give kids their own unique sense of style & identity--Asia has the cutest stuff, come on, don't be generic like this. U_U More kawaii, less Baby Gap. 4/10.

But it made me realize that I like the shoes options on the kids waaaaay more than I do on the adults. The adults need better shoes; that was my least favorite part; TS4's demo had much better shoes.

General

Two things I realized I'd overlooked on the adult zois:

EYES & TEETH: we need to be able to recolor the eye sclera, and the teeth. Both are just way too yellow for my liking, which I noticed as soon as I made Blueberry, and the blue made his eyes & teeth look like he had jaundice.

CUSTOM PATTERNS/TEXTURES: This is so frikkin cool! It's basically a lightweight version of TSRW's Pattern Tool (without the recolorability, sadly); allowing you to directly import DIY textures onto clothes. You can change the tiling & X/Y axis position, it's great!

I added the constellations & skeleton on Blueberry's tops. We need more GOTH fashion representation, Krafton! \m / (^0^) \m/

One of my favorite features is the hair that you can cut. Max's hair is gorgeous--you can make it really long, or really short. I went with medium-ish. And I LOVE the highlights options, iirc it had like 4 or 5 parts. Again: ALL hairs need AT LEAST the highlight function, if the length feature can't be universally implemented for whatever reason.

(I'm posting links to this & my first "review" on inZOI's Discord, so hopefully someone over there gets this feedback. I bloody doubt it, but yolo.)

[best-nun-tournament]

Round 3, Match 4

Clary Fairchild and Sebastian Morgenstern (The Shadowhunter Chronicles) vs Zeus and Hera (Greek Mythology)

Propaganda under break

Clary Fairchild and Sebastian Morgenstern

TW for incest

Children of divorce (except technically their parents never legally divorced dad faked his death and raised Sebastian while mom ran away while she was pregnant with Clary). Sebastian was fed demon blood in the womb and that plus his dad’s A+ parenting plus his mom wishing she’d killed him as a baby gave him a twisted perception of love. Clary on the other hand received angel blood and was raised without knowledge of her brother or any magic stuff. Sebastian has an unhealthy view of Clary where he sees her as someone who is supposed to love him, and not just as a sister. His plan to raise a demon army and rule the world also involved her ruling alongside him despite her absolutely not wanting that. Clary in the end kills Sebastian with a magic sword that burns away all the evil in him, leaving behind not enough ‘good’ to survive any longer than is necessary for some last words that fuck Clary and their mom up by showing an alternate version of him that isn’t an evil demon prince.

--------

When Sebastian/Jonathan first found out about Clary he hoped she would be like him & was disappointed she wasn't. He changed his mind when she killed their father & didn't lose a wink of sleep over it. They're on opposite side of a war that they basically inherited from their father. Who btw experimented on them in the womb by giving Jonathan demon blood & Clary angel blood (accidentally). Clary is the only person Jonathan cares about & when he was at the height of his power he wanted her to his queen (yes in a weird way) & she pretended to join him. Instead she betrayed him & killed him, and she quoted Judas betraying Jesus when she did.

---------

It's been a while but from what I remember: Sebastian first introduces himself under another identity posing as a good guy and seduces Clary (yes, his sister) only to betray them all when he reveals who he is. When he returns two books later, he has kidnapped Clary's boyfriend, forcing him to carry out his evil plans, He threatens the lives of people Clary cares about several times, makes continuous attempts to seduce her (I'm pretty sure he tries to rape her at one point) , and in the last book he kidnaps Clary's stepfather. You know, the basic things you'd expect from an evil older brother that you didn't know you had 🤷🏻

Zeus and Hera

Do I need to explain

Poll Runner's Note: I'm surprised the rest of Cronos' children aren't here, or the next generation of Olympians. That whole family's a mess.

[tetsunabouquet]

Sizzy Headcanons: Married with Children

A/N: I saw someone be disappointed about the lack of Sizzy content and as its the best TMI ship (as I explained in my Unpopular opinion ship post), I cannot help but agree so I am hereby writing some headcanons for them!

-Are the go-to couple to babysit Max and Rafe when Maryse is not available as Magnus trusts Simon more then Jace with the kids. -Their wedding was more grande then Alec and Magnus' because they had a far longer time to plan. -Catlovers for life. They grew up with their cats (I'm counting Church okay?) and so will their own children. -I think they will have about 3 children like the average Lightwood. -Simon bought his own fancy place not too far away from the Institute and handles most of the paper stuff regarding their home. Having grown up as a mundane, he doesn't needs to be as secretive as the average Shadowhunter and basically continued using his mundane ID and driver's license. -They keep things as much of a secret around Simon's mother, but Becky knows most of the stuff that's going on around the place. She's a dotting aunt towards their children and visits them often. -Because of that, Isabelle decided Becky might as well become a permanent member of the Shadow World and actually hooked Becky up with a werewolf. -Jace loves telling embarrassing stories about Simon to the children, like the time he got drunk on spiked blood. Simon as revenge, started telling his own children cringe stuff about Jace and rubs it in Jace's face every time he beats him at video games when the kids are present. -Isabelle is a wonderful mother to her children and definitely a protective momma bear. -Simon, as a recruiter for the Shadowhunter Academy In Exile, often pops by on Luke's farm once his children decide to attend. A lot of the students look up to him and some can be a little jealous of the Lightwood Lovelace children. -Isabelle and Simon are very supportive parents who are there for their kids throughout every stupid mistake they make. Simon knows exactly when to crack a dumb joke that will cheer up the children and Isabelle falls in love with him even more every time he does it. -Their kids know as much about geek culture as a mundane nerd would. These kids grew up watching Star Wars and hearing Simon roast whatever Disney puts out relating to the IP. -Speaking of that, any joint event with the Herondale-Fairchild kids likely involves watching some adventure shonen anime like Attack On Titan together. -At least one of Simon and Izzy's kids have embarrassed themselves when they were young by doing the Naruto run. -They celebrate their wedding anniversaries by going on a cute picnic. It reminds them of their first succesful date when Simon went to the Shadowhunter Academy. Simon never lets Izzy prepare the food though, he does it himself. -Being married to Isabelle, Simon actually learnt how to cook because her cooking skills are a biohazard. -Whilst he'd never let Isabelle alone in the kitchen, he actually doesn't minds her helping him out with cooking. At least once, they ended up having a food fight.

[nephilimcursed]

Bella & The Boys Headcannons~ Laito Edition

TW: This has some triggering content.

"You've been locked in here forever and you just can't say goodbye~ Your lips, my lips, Apocalypse"

OKAY, Y'all know I love Kanato the best- BUT BELLA/LAITO IS JUST WOW-

They're so cute, I swear.

Bella wasn't clueless to all of his remarks, contrary to what y'all might think. She actually gets annoyed though.

She was hit on a lot during Shadowhunter training, by her own instructors. So being around Laito at first makes her cringe bad.

Yeah, she lowkey is done with him at first. Still drawn to him due to having a personality that was intended for him, but hella fed up.

But when she starts to fall- holy fucking shit.

When I write Bella/Laito scenes they don't feel like a stereotypical romance, like Bella/Kanato.

We all know the diaboys never really will change- so Bella was crafted as a mirror, to fit their interest.

So she starts falling for him and tries to get him to engage in deeper talks with her, like about all kinds of things, his interests and stuff.

He taught her piano and they play together.

Laito starts falling for Bella and he's wondering 'Um, what the actual fuck is this??'

He tries to kill her, because he's so scared of what's happening, but he can't bring himself to put the knife deeper in her chest. So she's just wounded.

And by this time, she has a stele again so she can just draw a rune on herself to heal.

So once she does draw that rune on, she's kinda pissed but at the same time quickly gets how scary this must be for him.

Then he tries to kill himself.

To which Bella has to try to calm him down and get him out of his panic attack, so we get a cute cuddle session.

I think seeing Laito in a more sweet tone is just, chef's kiss.

So once she tries to explain to him, he's also kinda '??????'

Doesn't accept it right away.

But then she asks if she has a different effect on him than most other girls.

You can see where I'm going with this.

So onto real headcannons- THEY ALSO ARE SUPER PHYSICAL WITH LOVE.

They're always touching each other in some way- I swear-

The other boys sometimes get jealous.

Laito will randomly sneak into her bed alot, like Ayato did in the anime with Yui.

This one is also super sweet. In Shadowhunter training, they only really teach you stuff to survive and stuff to fit in with higher class society if needed to blend in.

So Bella is clueless about her own body-

Her anatomy, I mean.

Laito is the one to teach her, because he got to talk with her before Reiji did.

He kinda did a good job explaining it?? He tried to do it in a more scientific manner but failed at times and made some jokes.

He also explained male anatomy. Was also a little bad at that-

She ended up getting the gist of it though.

Fucking god- this man is actually so sweet when he wants to be.

Okay, so as y'all know, Bella has an eating disorder because of what The Clave always forces her to do: Work without eating.

So she will go days without food.

Once Reiji and the others all get her to eat at least three meals a day, she starts getting to a healthy weight for her body type (curvy).

But she gets so insecure then.

She was so used to being stick thin, so she never thought her body would change in a way that made her thicker.

It gets to the point where she even tries to starve herself yet again.

Cue Laito to the rescue.

He would basically rave about her every attribute until her ears were sore. Touching, caring, just showing her why she shouldn't be insecure.

Feeds her personally, and expects to be fed back.

He definitely makes her feel pretty again.

Bella isn't vain, but she's just not used to such a thing changing.

Takes her out to candlelit dinners a lot.

Bella doesn't like his fedora by the way, she takes it off all the time.

Laito always laughs though and puts it on her head instead-

"Lai, stop trying to put it on me! I'm not a fucking idiot like you-"

"You love it~"

"Ew, gross-"

They're so silly like that whole exchange would have been teasing on both sides.

Their dates are all in intimate places, not a big crowd. Laito uses his dad's credit card to pay-

He spoilssssss her too. Expensive gifts like designer clothes and lingerie. (EVEN THOUGH SHE CRINGED AT THE LINGERIE-)

In return, she's always trying to do anything for him. In an SFW manner of course.

She slept with him first the day before her birthday, [Not going into detail, don't worry]

Bella was avoiding it though, because she didn't want Laito (or any of the triplets) to start thinking she was just like their mother.

But she gave up and into her craving for him when he convinced her, she still prays he won't see her as another version of that woman because she cares way too much to fuck him over in any way.

She dies the very next day, due to Karlheinz poisoning her tea.

Laito is fucking sobbing as hard as Kanato is and panicking as much as Reiji is when she's foaming at the mouth.

When she dies, he goes ballistic.

Once they kill Karlheinz he's even more upset somehow. Because the pain she felt from the poison was nothing like how they killed Karl.

Visits her grave a lot. A lot, lot.

He keeps what he bought for her as memories.

Laito was devastated.

[tired-smartass]

Okay but where is all my wierd shadowhunter stuff?? Hmmmm?

I don't want these basic ass magic cops that just have runes.

Gimme like flashing eyes

Too much static around them

They run a little too hot

Weirdly inhumanly perfect features that run in the family

An affinity to music and dance

Maybe sunlight doesn't bother them nearly enough

Maybe they see in the dark a little too well

Maybe they are a little too in sync sometimes

Maybe they are too close to being perfect soldiers

Give me Angelic shadowhunters

[witchlingcirce]

A SEA OF CHANGE - My theory’s !!!

Okay SO recently we’ve been getting a lot of stuff for Matthew’s short story (I think cuz the book is coming out September-November) so I wanted to discuss some of my thoughts and feelings about it!! <33 also, a lot of this information comes from here !! <3

What the story is about:

Now I’m sure everyone knows the premise of this book! Basically just about Matthew’s journey on an ocean liner, where he encounters an infestation of vampires. Tbh from that art that she posted earlier today, I have a feeling that MAYBE this book will giving demon esque death on the Nile vibes !! Idk like, kinda giving mystery 👓👓

This art:

Now I’m sure everyone has seen this art 20 times today. But again, it’s just so pretty and vibey that I wanted to share it again and share my thoughts on it.

FIRST OFF- MATTHEW FAIRCHILD WHY ARE YOU BRINGING YOUR DOG ON A BOAT!!?? FREE OSCAR!!! Jokes aside. They look SO. SO. SO CUTE 😭😭 if anyone is Matthew’s ride or die it is 100% Oscar.

To me this picture is kind of giving that Matthew is maybe investigating something. I think Oscar is kind of the one who warns him about the shadow/demon the left side of him (Oscar is looking worried at it and Matthew looks down at Oscar ect ect ect … guys I took art class for like 2 years trust) now maybe in this scene Matthew is being set up for a trap by maybe one of the vampires???? It could be that the vampires are working for some kind of demon.

Now this demon kind of reminds me of the Cherufe demon that Aline, Alec and Helen fought in TRSOM

—>

Now there’s also the big possibility it could be an entirely NEW demon buttt just making possible connections! Could be a cute call back.

Matthew’s love interest:

Now if you didn’t know- Matthew is confirmed to be having a love interest in this novel. (Cassie confirming it!) So I’m actually really curious on who/how it will be set up in this short story!!

Obviously we won’t be getting everything of Matthew and this strange characters romance, but I honestly do think this book will Matthew opening himself up for that kind of relationship. I think it’ll be really sweet and cute, and again another part of Matthew’s journey of letting himself love and love others.

I think it’s cool to think if the character will be a downworlder or a shadowhunter. Obviously whoever it is they will probably meet on this ocean linear or wherever else Matthew travels to. Now this is a theory I’ve seen someone else say- but it could be Matthew who starts the trend of shadowhunter families moving to New York/America, so I’m thinking whoever his love interest is- will be living in America!! And Matthew will be prompted to live/visit them.

I also don’t think we will get the entirety of them in this story!! Obviously this book really isn’t that long (if I said the whole book should have been abt Matthew well… that’s another day). But I do think this is like an introduction for them to have other short stories written about them!! I’ve also always thought that TLH would get a short story book (this the bane chronicles, TFTSA, GOTSM ect ect) <3!!! I just want to see Matthew happy 😞

Anyways whoever it is- I hope Matthew gets the love he deserves 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

The snippets:

Again, if you didn’t know- we’ve gotten three snippets for this short story so far.

I think alot of these snippets indicate kind of how Matthew is holding up/dealing with the events of chain of thorns.

Especially dealing with the loss of kit, and also dealing with his sobriety. I really do think that this story will really just be showing Matthew’s healing journey, dealing with all these things and really just coming to terms with himself.

With the snippet we got today —>

It was definitely the longest one we’ve gotten yet, and probably the one where we’ve seen the more plot relevant stuff. I’m super interested to see how all this vampire stuff plays out!! And I’m very interested in Slyvian!! Is he the love interest?? Who knows.

ANYWAYS SORRY THIS IS LONG I HAVE SO MANY THIUGHTS

[ladyhindsight]

So, God definitely exists and Lilith is having her own fashion show whenever she appears. That’s cool. Anyway. It has taken ages to even summon any will power to finish the book, the whole year so far has been personal chaos, but now as the storm has ceased and I had couple days off to just lay down on my sofa to power through this monstrosity, all I am left with is a major what the fuck. Expectations were close to zero and Chain of Thorns still went right under it.

Just minutes before I finally finished Chain of Thorns and I don’t even know what it all was for. The major things holding this story together is everyone’s damn pride and fear of being pitied—obstacles which all of them have to overcome. James and Cordelia are both too proud to be pitied, but narrative-wise there is this perpetual pity party going on. All this ruminating over Things That Never Were and Stuff That Is Forever out of Reach is just whole lot of words for whole lot of nothing, especially when the ending to their relationship is nothing if not predictable. The purple prose doesn’t make me feel anything, doesn’t resonate with me on any level, and I can’t connect to it because in the grand scheme of the story, it is based on false perception created by the unwillingness to be truthful. In the end, all that angst and wondering about the feelings at every turn, it is a waste of time.

Every character is so driven by their self-loathing, seriously bordering on self-pity, and pride that all their motivations blur into the same mess. The unwillingness to be truthful, powered by the pride of each character, is the force for which the plot can even reach the points it wants. Clare truly is a master of creating this endless but absolutely done-to-death emotional circle she just keeps recycling in every trilogy she manages to publish. Writing is the same as ever, dialogue is a pathway to always just tell things, it’s also hand-holding and over-bearing: “It seems the Inquisitor has hurt his right arm.” “He was branded on his arm by Belial.” “So that’s why he was holding it like it hurt!” No shit?! Stop it. On a positive note, I think the series is more emotionally aware and intelligent compared to The Mortal Instruments and even The Infernal Devices, where the emotional awareness only encompassed Clary, Jace, Will, Jem, and Tessa. Not completely without its grievances, but when are these books ever?

The plot served its purpose, I guess. Cordelia becoming a paladin of Lilith served its role in saving James and defeating Belial. Others had their own stories and relationships but were helpful and sometimes integral for the story to progress. It’d be otherwise fine if the book didn’t forget the actual plot for a major part of its duration and exchanged it for useless inter-character dramatics and constant cliffhangers. Additionally, it’s just that the whole Watcher thing (like the Grigori?) was clear from miles away. Whenever Clare introduces a new but a very basic element to the Shadowhunter world THAT SHOULD HAVE EXISTED ALREADY and explains it through a character (this time Cordelia), it’s a dead giveaway. So the tease They wake + the Iron Tombs = waiting two thirds of the book for the characters to catch up with you. The story is so infected with repetitive narrative, drama and self-loathing, pseudo-profound ponderings on love and pride, and I am sick of even thinking about any of it.

Maybe one day I have something else to say about the book in general, but not today. My brain has once again been obliterated. So, as usual, some thoughts and notes and more in-depth grievances:

CORDELIA CARSTAIRS AND JAMES HERONDALE. They come together, because I have no coherent thoughts about James or Cordelia. They were there and did their protagonist duties. Of course there was a love triangle. Blah, blah. I just didn’t like Cordelia in this installment as much as the previous ones. Maybe her pride took so much center stage that her previous kindness and compassion were overshadowed by it and self-righteousness. Her bravery is no longer bravery but same thoughtlessness of every other Clare heroine. James was there, hoorah. No, but seriously. James’ trauma was so in-depth analyzed and told, his feeling of pain and anguish and anger relished in so much that the writing was incapable of coming up with anything new to say instead of regurgitating same things over and over again. Also, Cordelia was constantly aware of James’ bracelet when he wore it, but never mentioned it once he stopped wearing it for good?

THOMAS LIGHTWOOD AND ALASTAIR CARSTAIRS. They worked out, yay. Don’t know why they love each other, but okay. Their romance was a nice and carrying force through some bleak scenes in the book. Alastair becoming more open and comfortable in showing affection was lovely. Turned out great.

ANNA LIGHTWOOD AND ARI BRIDGESTOCK. See the above. Same sentiments. But much like with Thomas and Alastair, most of the development happened in this final instalment and pretty hastily too. And like the above pair, I feel like a lot of the progress came with transforming the characters into unrecognizable version of themselves too quickly. I was happy that Ari was able to connect with her mother again and Flora could flourish (lol) without the stifling presence of her husband, but I also feel like I’ve seen this setting where a bad and homophobic husband and father gets a metaphorical kick to his ass and goes away in order for the life to be better for his family without him.

LUCIE HERONDALE. Lucie was generally great. No hard feelings. It’s a bit contrived that it is precisely the canoodling of Jesse that brings her closer to the dead, but whatever. Love that her weapon of choice is an ax.

MATTHEW FAIRCHILD. Matthew’s story ends on a somber note. While Matthew definitely was not one of my favorite characters, I hoped he could’ve had something more to him than James and Cordelia. His journey to sobriety continues, which was great that it wasn’t over just like that, but the reason for his drinking was such a huge thing that was carried throughout the books, so it was disappointing to see it quickly addressed in the epilogue. Matthew deserved more than a hasty redemption in the end.

CHARLES FAIRCHILD. There are other people that are dying, Charles!! is what I am left with. I am absolutely aghast how Charles’ character was treated. I can’t believe that Clare still managed to write one more let’s push this character out of the closet because it is The Right Thing to Do scenario in her books. Charles has to brave the world and lose what he has to lose because his dreams and aspirations, according to the narrative, are worth nothing because he is more privileged than other people. Charles coming out with his sexuality is set against the choice of standing with or against his family as if there was no other way to solve this but guilt Charles into doing the right thing so he can’t be blackmailed anymore. Nobody cares, your family loves you—then what are the stakes here then, in their homophobic society that time and time again fails to deliver any consequence while existing as this ostracizing boogeyman?

I hoped there was some sort of ploy that Charles intended to execute in order to remove the thorn from his mother’s side and replace the Inquisitor with someone who was more fair and just and capable. At once, when Tessa said that Charles is just misguided, I knew it wouldn’t be because Tessa is never wrong. So all there is this dumb blackmailing plot whose only merit is to have Maurice Bridgestock removed from his position as Inquisitor. It did not serve Charles’ character in any way nor were his story with his family or Matthew in any way concluded.

GRACE BLACKTHORN. While discussing Grace, Christopher says that Grace was just a child when she was forced to act on James. Thomas says it doesn’t matter with anger and fury. Matthew equates Grace’s actions to a murder, as you do. While Will’s actions against Tatiana are in no way comparable to Grace’s, it is strange how Will being twelve is mentioned as if in order to act as an extenuating circumstance, while this doesn’t apply to Grace. It is also weird how everyone else’s torment is mulled over, used as an excuse for some type of behavior, but Grace's abuse and manipulation at the hands of Tatiana and Belial isn’t taken into consideration by anyone else than Jem? Also why did Cordelia get to vanquish Tatiana and not Grace? Grace’s treatment in this book, along with Charles, was just painful.

JESSE BLACKTHORN. Much like James, he is a stale piece of wheat bread. Only thing I have in mind about Jesse is that I found it a bit over the top, out of the little character he had, that he was so angry at Grace so that he left her. Jesse reacted exactly the way I feared Cordelia would react to Alastair. I was hoping for angry but sad and disappointed approach since Jesse knew better than anyone what Grace has lived through. Also, why Jesse (or Grace) wasn’t given time with his uncles who had wanted to get to know him for ages?

CHRISTOPHER LIGHTWOOD. My sweet cheese, my goodtime boy. Characters Clare writes most often only know the strongest of emotions. They always react with anger, defensiveness, and passion; by shouting, by self-righteous fury, by everything that is so exhausting to always read. Most of the characters are that, and am I so happy how Clare stayed true to Christopher’s temperate and serene nature, even when his cousin/best friend has been greatly wronged. And when everyone was so angry at Grace, Christopher was the only one to see reason. So, WHY THE FUCK HE DIED? No one, but most of all Cordelia herself never acknowledge that Kit died protecting her.

The “false” family tree lead the story on how Kit and Grace would probably become a couple, and would’ve made sense since they bonded over science and their minds were alike while they were so unalike in other ways, but boom. Kit dies, and Grace is left to figure out the fire messages on her own, because otherwise there wouldn’t be that obstacle of not being able to reach the Shadowhunters in Idris. Kit died for a shock value and so that a measly little plot point could work. Also great how the Lightwoods always have their children killed?? We never even see Gabriel and Cecily mourning?? Eugenia was weirdly chipper after just losing another one of her family members?? All these pages dedicated to romance bullshit that will solve itself but not for this.

TATIANA BLACKTHORN. Tatiana is a fiend, a terrible demon-worshipping, toddler-kidnapping fiend, but also a cartoonish one at that. It’s just overdone. She was made uglier and uglier, the machinator of evil things, and then she died. Voilà. There is one narrative aspect that was weird though. The Herondales and the Lightwoods insist on having tried their all to help Tatiana who always refused, but when Jesse confronts his mother, he says:

“I have come to know them by now. There is truth much harsher. One I think you know. They have not tried to ruin you over all these years. They have not plotted your downfall. They have barely even thought of you at all.”

Sick burn, but which is it? Adamantly trying to help her or not thinking about her at all?

MAURICE BRIDGESTOCK. A cartoon character with a cartoon ending. A homophobe bigot who got what he deserved, but a cartoonish character still. He was jealous of the Herondales and thus was an antagonist. Why is everyone obsessed with the Herondales in every damn book?

ESME HARDCASTLE. Esme was shoved in there in order to explain the “found family tree”, which at some point, I have no doubt, was how things were supposed to be, until Clare had more ideas for the Edwardian kids. No other characters in whole of TSC have gone through so many changes as these characters have. And as such, to keep the predictability at minimum—which isn’t a lot—the old family tree is made up by Esme, so Clare can spin this tale why it wasn’t accurate. Grace didn’t marry Christopher, Alastair didn’t have children (probably?). Then Clare had all these surprise babies coming because the way she chose to end the story for the Edwardian kids would mean no Emma, no Clary as we know them. So new Carstairs baby, new Fairchild twins.

i. The beginning of the prologue is over-saturated with flowery prose and similes that the narrative gets buried underneath.

ii. James is worried about Lucie, but more importantly needs to find her so he can go back to worrying about Cordelia and Matthew.

iii. The whole series has been a barrage of period typical social etiquette and decorum fed to you with a spoon. Even The Infernal Devices wasn’t this intent on it. Men did not usually accompany even wives or sisters into a dressmakers shop. What do you care about mundane decorum, you are Shadowhunters! Have some etiquette of your own.

iv. “…one of the modistes attacked the closures at the back of Cordelia’s dress without requiring any instruction—clearly she had done this before—and pushed and pulled at Cordelia as if she was a stuffed mannequin.” CcLeEaRrLy. You just told she didn’t need instruction, the rest is rather obvious. And I hope she knew what she was doing, she works there!!

v. Then there is this ridiculously complicated sentence: “Madame Beausoleil, who kept her salon on the Rue de la Paix, where the most famous dressmakers in the world—the House of Worth, Jeanne Paquin—were situated, was, according to Matthew, well acquainted with the Shadow World.” Like, what. Honey. Darling. “Madame Beausoleil kept her salon on the Rue de la Paix, where the most famous dressmakers in the world—the House of Worth, Jeanne Paquin—were situated. She was, according to Matthew, well acquainted with the Shadow World.” Or does that info about the location have to be there at all? Surely there were plenty other paragraphs where you could’ve stuffed that.

vi. Apparently this, apparently that, apparently everything! Whenever Clare uses such a word, it is a sign that she is unnecessarily feeling the need to justify why she is giving some particular piece of information or why a character is making an observation they could realistically make.

vii. Cordelia’s savings to pay Matthew for the dresses? What savings? From what and where?

viii. There are so many parentheses explaining things

ix. There is not a one scene in Paris where Cordelia doesn’t think how other people might see her and Matthew as a couple. Every time, which is in basically every scene they have in public, someone watches them and admires them and their “young love.”

x. “I have never heard anyone sound as if they were in such pain. Jamie, you must talk to us.” Yes, no one has ever been in greater pain than James Herondale, and that has the stamp of approval of Will Herondale so it really means something.

xi. a lot of the gray is gunmetal gray

xii. Having Tatiana comment on Jem’s appearance as Silent Brother and call it privilege for knowing the Lightwoods and Herondales doesn’t take away the fact that it is awfully convenient that Jem isn’t bald or his face isn’t sown shut. Though I get the intent behind this was to elicit such reaction as how awful of Tatiana! She doesn’t know anything Jem has suffered! It was not his choice! and the like. Blah.

xiii. What is it with these YA books in which waiters always give the characters their unsolicited opinions on people’s orders?

xiv. I assume Madame Dorothea of Brooklyn named herself after this famed Madame Dorothea of Paris. Why didn’t Malcolm go to her about Annabelle? I don’t remember if there ever was a mention of it.

xv. When Lucie tells the truth about Jesse and her powers to Magnus and Will, the PoV changes from James to Lucie with no indication of PoV change:

xvi. “James thought of the box of matches in his pocket, each one a sort of signal light that, when struck, summoned Jem to his side. He did not know how the magic worked, nor did he think Jem would tell him even if asked.” Just leave this part out, readers will think it’s just magic and that’s it. Now this just sounds that you couldn’t bother to think about it and just tried to explain possible scrutiny away. This instead just points more to the fact that you have no clue how the magic in your world works.

xvii. “James returned to the house, crawling into bed with his coat still on.” James can’t return to the house and crawl into his bed at the same time.

xviii. Take a shot every time the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal is said in TSC

xix. It’s annoying how Matthew speaks so lowly of Charles wanting to keep Alastair a secret when their own society supposedly sucks ass and enables shame and discrimination

xx. Cordelia only accepts Matthew’s affections once she thinks she has truly lost James. Why did she want to kiss Matthew if she didn’t even fancy him? She just selfishly used him and his love to forget her own mistakes, which I didn’t like about her at all. But that of course just fed into the love triangle that Clare is so insistent on writing in each one of her series, and the end couple is always obvious.

xxi. “…and James could remember, painfully, what kissing Cordelia was like, hotter and better than any fire.” I don’t think being burned by fire is good?

xxii. It’s torturous—and not in the good giddy way—how Clare finds even the tiniest excuse to prolong James and Cordelia finally getting together. “I should tell her the truth but Cordelia looked so happy with Matthew, so I didn’t.” Good grief.

xxiii. “Pity and kindness were not love. Only free choice was love; if he had learned nothing else from the horror of the bracelet, he had learned that.” Only a free choice to those who are free to love and go for that love and their dreams without having to make a choice between either. So fuck that.

xxiv. Ari didn’t bring any clothes with her when she left her parents. “She’d have to buy new things.” WITH WHAT MONEY? FROM WHERE? HER “STIPENDS” WENT TO LIVING EXPENSES! EXPLAAAIN

xxv. “At the breakfast table sat Anna’s brother Christopher, and, of all people, Eugenia Lightwood.” Yes, out of all the people in this world that is sitting at the table is Anna’s cousin. Truly odd.

xxvi. “The Institute is the safest place in London when it comes to demons; if he did somehow attack, the whole Enclave would retreat here as a matter of policy.” Not when it comes to the Jack the Ripper one in The Whitechapel Fiend.

xxvi. Will discusses Tatiana’s vengeance for being wronged: “Will sighed. “That was me. I read her diary out loud at a Christmas party, long ago. I was twelve. And I was quite severely punished, so in fact, the Enclave was on her side.”’ No, he wasn’t. And the whole Enclave punished Will? Please. There was no culpability, no apology, and no admission of guilt. And he also broke Gabriel’s arm. This is an attempt afterwards to alleviate the guilt on Will’s end when it comes to Tatiana’s madness. More realistic approach, less let’s-make-Will-more-shiny-and-not-at-all-a-participant-in-Tatiana’s-insanity would be something like: “That was me. I read her diary out loud at a Christmas party, long ago. I was twelve, but that’s on me.” And they would’ve gone on that it didn’t matter because in grand scheme of things it was such a miniscule thing.

xxvii. Take a shot every time the writing tries to stealthily prop up Will and Tessa as good and kind. Clare is really adamant at making the Herondales victims at every turn.

xxviii. “Benedict Lightwood brought down vileness upon his family, and Tatiana could not accept either his culpability or her own.” True, yet funny how the same does not apply to the ones who are on the right side of things. Accepting culpability on all that…

xxix. “He thrust the hand at James, who slashed an iratze across Matthew’s palm, followed by two Energy runes. He would not normally give Matthew, or anyone, more than one, but they would act as knives, cutting through any fog in Matthew’s brain.” One very profound problem (which I will bring up with TMI in time) is that this excerpt reveals that Clare thinks we know how runes work, when she has in actuality laid no groundwork for it. Is there a limit how many runes one can bear at once? What are the adverse effects of too many energy runes? What if you use iratze when you don’t need one? Are there runes that, when used at the same time, might hinder the effect of one another?

xxx. Take a shot every time a character narrates other characters on how much they have changed.

xxxi. “Now, Thomas has lost a sister and a friend as close as his brother, all in one year.” Weird way to say a cousin. You surely mean his cousin as close as his brother??

xxxii. “Grace said, not unkindly, “I’ve come to know Lucie quite well, you know, the last months. She was probably as close to a friend as I ever had.”’ Christopher was her friend, hellooo???

xxxiii. There seems to be a theme that whenever things are getting hot and heavy, something abrupt happens and interrupts the scene. Not that I am complaining, interrupt that awkward shit.

xxxiv. The bodies of the Iron Sisters and Silent Brothers don’t decay, but so what? Everyone else gets burned after dying, why not them also? Are they not inflammable? Also, what a great opportunity to mention Abigail Shadowhunter and David the Silent, but did we just once again wave at that opportunity as it passed by? Yes, we did.

xxxv. “Alastair waved his hand. “Yes, yes. It has been Roman and Saxon and now it will be demon. It has survived plague and pestilence and fire—”’ Best quote.

xxxvi. “It is easy to confuse monstrousness and power,” said Cordelia. “Especially when one is a woman, as one is not supposed to possess either quality.” Again, a weird fucking take for people whose numbers are dwindling and need all the fighting power they can get and half of that power are women

xxxvii. “he had been sure, somehow, that Cordelia would come after him, would find a way. And it did not surprise him at all that Lucie had not left her side.” James sure has faith in his sister to rescue him in dire need. No, Lucie came because Cordelia came. Whatever, what do I care.

What, in the end, was the true purpose of this trilogy? What merit is to it that it exists? How has The Wicked Powers become richer for having The Last Hours precede it? It’s actually devastating how inconsequential all of this is. The true Belial has been vanquished, but another demon has taken his place as Belial. Is this new Belial even a fallen angel or just some demon? Because otherwise he is not like the rest of the Princes at all. I would’ve hoped that at least one thing, like Emma getting to finish Belial with Cortana, would’ve given this trilogy even a little bit more purpose. 700+ pages and all is still left rather unfinished. Nothing at least feels concluded other than James and Cordelia’s love for each other being stronger than a Prince of Hell is capable of breaking. Blergh.

[Additional notes]

[michellemisfit]

Shameless Fandom Questionnaire

Thanks for the tag my love @darlingian 💚

What’s a fic you’ve read more than once?

What haven’t I read more than once? I have 350+ open tabs and yet, here I am, re-reading @loftec’s None The Wiser. AGAIN. Because it makes me happy, and what is fandom about, if not making you happy? Other things that make me happy: Two of Your Earth Minutes by @the-rat-wins, The Menagerie & Twenty Strangers & On Top by @crossmydna, Cooperative Gameplay & Like Real People Do by Gray, An Exception to the Rule by @gallawitchxx, Weaver of Fate by Ravenheart, Life or Something by @palepinkgoat, The Garden Song duology by @gardenerian, Ristretto by @howlinchickhowl, let the bodies do the talking by @captainjowl, basically anything that @sam-loves-seb has ever written!!! Also anything by @crestfallercanyon who has been completely blowing me away. And like, a million more!!!

I also still merrily re-read stuff from the Merlin fandom and the Shadowhunters fandom, so if that’s of interest to you, hit me up and I will link you to several excessively long rec lists on the @f-f-podcast website, complete with accompanying podcasts!

All I’m saying is: RE-READING IS LOVE!!!

(Also I formatted this on my phone so hopes and prayers that all of these links are correct!!)

What’s a gifset you always have to reblog?

‘Kiss me and I’ll cut your fucking tongue out’ into Club Kiss. It is genuinely one of the cleverest things I’ve ever seen!!

What’s a headcanon you can’t stop thinking about?

Mickey going along to Ian’s therapy session, on Ian’s request, and eventually deciding that he’s going to give this therapy thing a go himself.

What’s a fanart you love looking at?

I am utterly in love with @deedala’s style and Smokey Mickey and Gardening Joy always make me smile. I also absolutely adore @gallawitchxx’s style and wish I could be that bold and succinct in my own art.

What’s an idea you’d love to create if you had the time/inspiration?

I’ve been thinking about Ian & Mickey shot gunning for like… a year now 🤦

What’s something you’ve discovered since entering this fandom? A new trope you love? A different analysis of the show? Something else?

Currently discussing every episode of Shameless over on @f-f-podcast so basically discovering new things every week! Check it out if podcasts are your jam <3

What’s an underrated trope or concept you’d like to see more of?

There can never be too many coffee shop AUs, right? Not an underrated trope, but surprisingly underrepresented in this fandom 😭

What’s your favourite season?

Autumn! haha

Honestly, I’ll tell you when we’re done with South Side Rules, as we’re rating every episode, but we’re also rating each season overall so… watch this space in 2025!

What’s a plot hole you wish had been answered or resolved?

Urgh. Don’t. Yikes… Yevgeny. Mandy. Fiona. Everyone else on Shameless who disappeared and then was never spoken of again. Like… what the heck? You don’t need to get the actors back. Just get the other characters to mention them, so I don’t feel like the writers forgot they existed! Also don’t give me Dichen Lichman and then just take her away!!! 😭

What scene or moment do you feel isn’t discussed enough?

Every time Mickey has to say the end of his sentence directly into Ian’s mouth because Ian can’t wait the extra 3 seconds to let him finish, he needs his lips on that boy’s mouth NOW! They’re so precious and horny and I love that for them!

What line/dialogue/description from something else do you feel describes Ian and Mickey’s relationship?

90% of Richard Siken’s poems

What do you think is next for Ian and Mickey post-finale?

They’ll be deliriously happy forever and ever and nothing bad is ever going to happen to them. It’s terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and we always defeat them and save the day.

[im-out-of-it]

PSA: I STILL FUCKING HATE WILL HERONDALE AND HE IS A BASTARD 👏🏼

Will said, “some shadowhunters have always been bastards. My family has good cause to know it.”

well that’s ironic because you’re a bastard but we must be ignoring that? are we ignoring how you’ve treated Tessa in the beginning, all Jem has been through, Sophie’s treatment, literally almost everyone in TID, how you treated Gabriel-

and I don’t care if anyone wants to argue Gabriel but Will threw the first punch. he came after Tatiana, Gabriel’s sister. say what you want about Tatiana (I hate what she did to her brothers) but she was just a child with a silly infatuation. she at the time didn’t know any better and how he treated her was gross and then assaulting Gabriel because of it, and acting as though Gabriel is some ghastly villain, the fuck?

and yes, Gabriel hasn’t always been kind (he’s a sweetheart and I love him ok?????) but he’s not the one who started this feud if you want to call it that. Gabriel owns up to what he did, staying by his fathers side and choosing to be better.

at least Gabriel grows and becomes a better person. I’m not defending what he’s done wrong but I feel like gabriel actually grows and adapts as a character. I don’t see Will changing and to say this statement is humorous and ironic in all

Will has made jokes about the most traumatic experience Gabriel probably had. having to kill his own father. I’m sorry but that’s not a laughing moment??? that’s something I would guess stays heavy in Gabriel’s head. if I were Cecily, I would not be allowing that shit. everyone just accepts this????? if Gabriel made a joke about Will’s father, on the devil, all hands on deck!!!! then Gabriel would be seen as the bad guy. and it’s mainly CC and her writing that do this because she purposely does this thing consistently.

this is part of the terrible and lazy writing of CC. she has men go through things (herondales) and then doesn’t have them own up to what they did wrong. there’s no trying to change, adapt, grow. it’s just stale

Alastair grows a lot in my opinion, Alec slightly grows (it’s still super bad though. he deserves better too.), I even think Matthew kinda grows. literally so many characters grow but who never takes accountability??? majority of the herondales. they’re basically out here “I went through trauma but I will treat anyone how I deem desirable and y’all will accept it”. this is just my personal take on the family and the characters. plus it’s super repetitive because CC keeps doing the same thing over and over again.

it’s tiring honestly. I don’t think Will has ever apologized for how he has treated Gabriel or Gideon (which I don’t think was as bad but I also can’t remember) and his apologies always come off as half ass. also I feel like Tessa kinda settled for Jem because he was sick and they thought he would die anyways??? and that doesn’t sit right with me. but these are just my opinions and takes on these matters

I still fucking hate Will and what he did to Gabriel is unforgivable.

personally I would’ve cut out all the Will stuff in TLH (especially the weird fucking grieving sex he and Tessa love and the abandonment of their children basically) and added more Gabriel and Gideon content. yes im Lightwood biased but it’s not my fault they’re better lmao

let’s see gideon and Alastair bonding, add Gabriel as a parent. maybe have him talk some sense into Anna!!!! see gideon reassuring Thomas that he knows he’s innocent and didn’t kill anyone. see more of Eugenia. once again: IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER

[alexanderlightweight]

Okay so I don't know if I'm doing this at the wrong day/time and I totally don't mind if you don't want this, but!! I've read a ton of like, oops we're married type stuff, or married cause we have to. But what about a slightly dark Magnus who deliberately sets out to marry the Lightwood heir to like, take advantage of spousal laws that would give him power in nephilim culture or something like that. Maybe he even plans to get him drunk and marry him, have Alec wake up married to a stranger only, he doesn't expect to fall head over fucking heels for this sweetly gorgeous boy.

I love your words, any words you write, and I look forward to everything you put out! Thank you so much. Your updates brighten my days :)

okay so i loved this prompt especially because i don't know if anyone knows about basically the trope of spouse-napping especially the ones where basically there are marriage ropes that you can bind an opponent with and by tradition, you're married/engaged whatever and it can be used by enemies.

so i hope you enjoy!

lumine

-

“Isn’t this a little crass, even for you?” Ragnor asks with a weary sigh even as he helps Magnus wrap up the last potion and secure it away.

Magnus merely hums and raises an amused brow, because Ragnor was the first to offer to help him and it’s the only time he’s spoken up against Magnus’ plan in any way. Which means that he’s not so much opposed, as he is exhausted and worried about the outcome.

“No.” Magnus says, honestly, because there is very little he wouldn’t do if he found the prize worth it. “And at the very least, we’ll make the clave look like a mockery. And well, I suppose Robert and Maryse’s disgust will be more than enough of a bonus.”

Magnus could go for the girl, she’s well known enough in downworlder circles, but it’s the heir that Magnus wants and it’s the heir he intends to have.

There is little known about Alexander Lightwood, but Magnus knows how important heirs are to nephilim and this one in particular is already rising high in the ranks, quickly and efficiently which is exactly what Magnus needs.

That’s the plan at least, until Magnus gathers up his potions and the gold ribbons Ragnor brought him specifically for this purpose.

Magnus gets to the best vantage point of the battle, a place he warded and scoped out before damaging the small rift enough that larger demons could come through. Now, Magnus watches his quarry enter with two teams of shadowhunters.

Magnus isn’t sure which one is the one he wants, so he waits, and he thinks that perhaps Alexander Lightwood didn’t come, until he realizes how many demons are dropping without contact and he follows the course to a tall roof. There are two shadowhunters there, one is keeping a perimeter and giving orders through her comms though Magnus can only see her lips move and not make it out. Alexander Lightwood is brutal even from a distance and his arrows never once miss. It’s a tantalizing display of skill and then Magnus sucks in a breath of delight as his shadowhunter dives off the roof, tackling a demon that was coming for him, and stabbing it as they fall.

It disintegrates into ichor and ash and Magnus’ shadowhunter lands in a crouch to distribute the shock and then he’s up and moving.  He’s in the middle of the melee now and while Magnus can’t hear him, it’s clear the rest of the hunters do. They ebb and flow around and to him, working like an extension of his commands rather than individuals. It’s as if they suddenly have a hive mind, focused on their leader and only their leader.

Magnus watches, charmed as Alexander gets his hunters into a strange array and then they all break apart into groups of two.

Alexander remains alone, his partner still giving them information from the roof, and he settles into the back, protecting his people and ensuring that he can get the demons no one else’s notices.

He’s in the perfect place to take and yet, Magnus finds his fingers petting the golden ribbons and he finds them suddenly coarse and garish.

If Magnus is going to wrap Alexander in ceremonial gold and claim him as a companion stolen in battle, the traditional battle marriages of shadowhunters, then Magnus is going to do it his way.

Alexander is clearly worth that much and while Magnus knows a bit of what he looks like, he’s suddenly aching to see him closer and touch his face and finally know what color his eyes are.

Magnus waits until the battle ends, relieved that while a few shadowhunters are injured, none are his boy.

It means that Magnus portals away easily and without any worry as he takes a deep breath and unlocks a room he hasn’t used in ages.

Thread craft is rare and while Magnus is talented at it, it’s a unique magic that is better left unmentioned. A secret because even if his magic is ever locked away, Magnus’ very clothes and the threads he wears will rise up to protect him.

It also gives him a very unique advantage and while clothing made by others won’t work as well, he has the time to create what he needs.

The silk ropes he weaves are made from the cocoons of abyssal moths that he and Ragnor spent a century slowly collecting.

Instead of using dyes, Magnus lets his magic create the color and he’s delighted by the rich golds and the vibrant shade of warlock blue that’s twined about the gold.

Magnus is going to catch his boy in nephilim tradition and colors, with warlock significance to let everyone know just who Alexander is going to belong to now.

For the first time, Magnus is suddenly amused and delighted by the fact that nephilim have such a militaristic society that they think nothing of blood and violence when it comes to intimacy.  Most of the greatest nephilim pairings come from one being caught by the other, Magnus sees no reason to change a tradition that works.

Especially when no nephilim has ever considered a downworlder might want to capture one of them or that they'd succeed.

So, despite the clave’s prejudice and bigotry, there is nothing preventing Magnus from slipping through this gaping loophole and claiming himself a nephilim mate. Especially when Magnus is aware that the only way to refuse the bonding once Magnus starts the ritual, is to kill each other or oneself.

Which is fine, Magnus isn’t going to let Alexander harm himself, or Magnus.

[wikitpowers]

Different anon but I think what makes the whole Kickstarter thing feel kinda scammy at this point is the lack of concession that they’ve done anything less than perfect/what was promised. Like delays happen, it would have been nice if they had taken that in to account when giving the original estimations of when we’d be getting the books, but like if we give them the benefit of the doubt that these delays have been totally out of their control it feels like the least they could have said at some point is like we’re sorry this has taken longer than we anticipated or thank you all for your patience as we work these bugs out with the first printing or like anything to acknowledge this hasn’t been what they said it would be so it feels like they recognize that a lot of people paid a lot of money for this and it’s frustrating. Just like some basic customer service goes a long way to making people feel like you understand so we don’t feel like we’re getting scammed

yeah literally! i agree completely! that’s why the whole situation just feels so off. like just be decent and explain the situation to people who paid a SHIT ton of money instead of occassionally sending updates which never fall through like just feels like they’re saying stuff to give us hope only to then shatter it. I WOULD RATHER HEAR THE TRUTH THAN SOME BS TO KEEP ME “HAPPY” ;(

and yes! an apology would be so nice! like we’ve been waiting for these books for ages (like literally months) and they made it a whole thing about getting shadowhunters books every season and that was supposed to be the exciting part of this year. but it’s turning out to mainly be super frustrating and just a bit upsetting if i’m being honest…

BUT at least it looks like things are finally (!!!) happening bc emails about sobh being on its way have been sent out so there is hope. there is HOPE!

[best-nun-tournament]

Round 1, Match 12

The Bridgerton siblings (Bridgerton) vs Clary Fairchild and Sebastian Morgenstern (The Shadowhunter Chronicles)

Propaganda under break.

The Bridgerton Siblings - Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth Bridgerton

They are very messy despite being rich aristocrats who don’t actually need to be messy

Poll Runner's Note: Based on all the historical siblings here, I'm not sure being rich aristocrats ever stopped anyone from being messy.

Clary Fairchild and Sebastian Morgenstern

TW for incest

Children of divorce (except technically their parents never legally divorced dad faked his death and raised Sebastian while mom ran away while she was pregnant with Clary). Sebastian was fed demon blood in the womb and that plus his dad’s A+ parenting plus his mom wishing she’d killed him as a baby gave him a twisted perception of love. Clary on the other hand received angel blood and was raised without knowledge of her brother or any magic stuff. Sebastian has an unhealthy view of Clary where he sees her as someone who is supposed to love him, and not just as a sister. His plan to raise a demon army and rule the world also involved her ruling alongside him despite her absolutely not wanting that. Clary in the end kills Sebastian with a magic sword that burns away all the evil in him, leaving behind not enough ‘good’ to survive any longer than is necessary for some last words that fuck Clary and their mom up by showing an alternate version of him that isn’t an evil demon prince.

--------

When Sebastian/Jonathan first found out about Clary he hoped she would be like him & was disappointed she wasn't. He changed his mind when she killed their father & didn't lose a wink of sleep over it. They're on opposite side of a war that they basically inherited from their father. Who btw experimented on them in the womb by giving Jonathan demon blood & Clary angel blood (accidentally). Clary is the only person Jonathan cares about & when he was at the height of his power he wanted her to his queen (yes in a weird way) & she pretended to join him. Instead she betrayed him & killed him, and she quoted Judas betraying Jesus when she did.

---------

It's been a while but from what I remember: Sebastian first introduces himself under another identity posing as a good guy and seduces Clary (yes, his sister) only to betray them all when he reveals who he is. When he returns two books later, he has kidnapped Clary's boyfriend, forcing him to carry out his evil plans, He threatens the lives of people Clary cares about several times, makes continuous attempts to seduce her (I'm pretty sure he tries to rape her at one point) , and in the last book he kidnaps Clary's stepfather. You know, the basic things you'd expect from an evil older brother that you didn't know you had 🤷🏻

[dhampiravidi]

when you dislike the MC of a good series AKA Who Will Die in The Wicked Powers

damn, being petty enough to flip off the MC x canon ship in my (favorite) fandom is really kicking me in the ass--

yeah, basically I can't touch half the TSC stuff on Tumblr bc I'm so anti-Clace...(meanwhile I love literally every other character that's been in every Shadowhunter series)...& they're probably gonna have a wedding + kids in the next books (assuming Jace isn't killed)...

The Wicked Powers is most definitely gonna have the Princes of Hell as the main villains. I feel like Luke, Gwyn, or Izzy will die, since the younger Shadowhunters are supposed to be central & well...look at the couples who will be alive/extant by TWP:

SPOILERS FOR ALL SHADOWHUNTER BOOKS!!

Jace & Clary

Magnus & Alec

Simon & Izzy

Julian & Emma

Kit & Ty

Kieran/Cristina/Mark

Dru & Ash (& maybe Jaime)

Diana & Gwyn

Luke & Jocelyn

Tessa & Jem

(forgive me if I'm missing anyone!)

Jace already died once. Clary had dreams about dying, but those were shown to be visions of Thule. Based on canon events, I think they're Clare's favorite ship. SAFE.

Magnus almost gave himself to Asmodeus in CoHF. Alec almost-ish died saving Magnus in The Eldest Curses. Also, Alec almost died thanks to that poison demon in TMI (the one Magnus saved him from). Malec might end up forced to rule some region of Hell (reason unknown but I think it'll have to do with them beating/destroying Asmodeus). I feel like past events foreshadow Magnus dealing with the unfortunate sides of being a warlock. But he won't die--the "killing your gays" trope might actually save he & Alec.

Simon nearly died when the vampires attacked him (when he was a mundane), then when Valentine bled him pre-Daylighter (then Jace's blood saved him). He "sacrificed" himself to Asmodeus CoHF, in the form of his vampire immortality + memories (which he basically got back later on). Izzy...she's been through a lot psychologically & about as much as I think most Shadowhunters would physically. She lost Max & her dad. But she's a badass (I'm not faulting her for it, either). So I don't think she's safe.

Julian & Emma both lost their parents in horrible ways. Their whole series was about the parabatai curse (which, to me, was conveniently not mentioned in chronologically earlier series...probably because it wasn't invented til TDA was written, lol). They're kinda written to be the leaders of Livvy's Watch. SAFE.

Kit has his whole faerie power reveal shit to explore & he + Ty are some of the major characters in TWP. I'm pretty sure they'll spend the series healing their relationship. SAFE.

Kieran/Cristina/Mark will survive because 1) Kieran as the Unseelie King is an important Shadowhunter ally, 2) they're poly rep in YA, which is rare, and 3) killing one of them off would leave the others to mourn in such a weird way. SAFE.

I love Dru Blackthorn. She's one of the main of TWP, so I think she'll survive, plus tbh I don't think any more Blackthorns will be killed. Ash will probably end up as the Seelie King or as Clace's adopted son, to "redeem" Sebastian in a narrative sense. Jaime's sort of a main for TWP as one of Dru's love interests. SAFE.

Diana & Gwyn aren't main characters (though I like their romance). Diana also is the ONLY transgender person in all the books (unless I missed something). I don't think she'll be killed off. Gwyn might be just because I see the Wild Hunt as an important group in TWP & he might die protecting Diana (narratively, this shows strengthened faerie-Shadowhunter relations, despite the Wild Hunt being unaffiliated with either Court).

Luke & Jocelyn deserve to be endgame, but I could see Luke being killed off as one of those "MC's loved one is killed so the MC goes & avenges them" type of things. I love Luke & Jocelyn as characters, though.

Tessa & Jem deserve to be endgame, arguably, more than any couple. They were the mains in their series, then Jem survived but was sort-of-"lost" when he became a Silent Brother. Then he miraculously became a (mortal) Shadowhunter again when he was burned by heavenly fire, he just left the Clave behind to hang with Tessa (good choice!). Tessa has a baby & she's gonna suffer enough when she outlives Jem. SAFE?

[tmicouture]

Sword Catcher thoughts/theories

I really enjoyed this book, wasn’t sure I was going to read it until it came out and decided to give it a try. Being a big fan of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter books I wasn’t sure how I would like reading a different world from her but it was so well written and the characters really draw you in and I’m invested now lol and already needing the second book!

Now I’ve got some thoughts or theories on some stuff that left me with ??? 🤔 (spoilers below)

There is some mystery with the King. And before I get to my possible theory, maybe someone can refresh my memory but I can’t remember if they specifically said if Jolivet (being the captain of the arrow squadron) was the kings sword catcher or not? The tradition with the sword Catcher wasn’t new with Kel and Connor, it was a Malgasi tradition that the king grew up in. It was mentioned that once Connor married and had his own kid, Kel would then lead the squadron and eventually have to find a new sword catcher for the new prince and basically the tradition continues. But if that’s the case wouldn’t that mean jolivet was the kings sword catcher? Again maybe I missed it and they had mentioned it but I can’t remember top of my head, but if they didnt, that leaves the mystery of who the kings sword Cather was which then leads to my theory…..

The king is apparently mad/ill but later on in the book he has this great strength that isn’t normal which makes me wonder how? What if he isn’t the original king? What if the entire time he was the kings sword catcher having never taken off the talisman and it could have had an affect on him driving him a little mad and giving him some side effects (weird strength).

It crossed my mind when towards the end of the book Connor left that note and Kel had to be him at the party to save face. With all the mystery around what happened with the king especially with Fausten…

Anyways random but a guess

Also does anyone else think Jerrod is Kel’s friend from the orphanage? Idk something about him seeing kel’s face and not killing him gave me the thought even though later on when asked about it he just gives another excuse. Plus he has a part of his face hidden so maybe Kel wouldn’t be able to see if it possibly could have been him, idk I feel like characters being someone different then who they were is a feeling a lot of people have with this book having seen some theories others have had on who the ragpicker king is or beck

[cuubism]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @arialerendeair :) wow this is an ambitious game XD

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

162

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

906,535. I'm trying to hit 1 mil by the end of the year so wish me luck 😂

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Basically just Shadowhunters and Sandman with occasionally forays into others.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

a lucky break(out) (2,457), mind & heart, body & soul (2,112), don't mess with the high warlock of brooklyn (1,723), In Waking Dreams (1,141), and Complex Mathematics (1,068). Kind of a surprising spread tbh.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always, though it can take a while. It just feels nice to do.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Certainly After Life. Magnus died in that one.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmm, most of my fics have reasonably happy endings. The Silly Rabbit series is very happy. The chaotic whumptober fic Kidnapping Your Heart is basically just crack so I'd consider that one pretty happy too 😂

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Only rarely, and usually it's on fics that I'd considered relatively unobjectionable, like MHBS, which is funny. The more fucked up stuff doesn't get hate but the stuff I thought was casual and mainstream does 😂 dunno why

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, though it's something I've had to get gradually more comfortable with over several years. With each fic I become further corrupted and venture into kinkier material. This can only be a good thing. I don't know exactly what we mean by what kind... I like when it's heavy on the feelings. Especially if the feelings are unspoken.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Usually no, but I threw Aziraphale and Crowley into Nightingales for one chapter. If I did ever write more crossovers it would probably only be between canons that seem to naturally meld together (like Good Omens and Sandman).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Well not that I know of [knock on wood]

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yup, Points of View was translated into Russian. Very cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Never in the direct sense of both contributing writing to the same document. I don't think that method would work well for me. But @magnusbae is my perennial brainstorming buddy who's crafted the backend story and vibes of so many of my fics, especially dreamling. I've done the same with @silver-lily-louise for some malec stories before too.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't know if I have one. Malec maybe for sheer longevity. I'm usually obsessed with one thing at a time and then just not obsessed with it at all at other times XD

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oof. I'd still like to finish my malec wips XD I begin to fear that I won't, though, since some would be so long and I've made so little progress on them this year. Maybe, though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue (also my favorite part to write). Creating weird concepts, magics, functions of the world and so on. Language & style.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes I have to remind myself to do character introspection. I'll get through an entire scene and realize I haven't remarked at all on what the POV character is feeling, shown it externally maybe but not had them actually reflect internally. It comes from a combination of two things: spending a while in school writing film scripts and internalizing that writing style (all visuals no internal narration), plus just being kinda dissociated from my own feelings most of the time 😂 my characters aren't feeling shit because neither am I. I also tend to overcomplicate my plots and get myself mired in them, it's the number one reason I get stuck on fics or don't manage to finish them.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've only done it very very sparingly and I'm careful to get it right. Only used if it makes specific contextual sense.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Funnily enough it was probably also malec back when I was a teenager, before Shadowhunters show even existed, though I never posted anything then.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh gosh. For malec probably still dissolution. For dreamling I'm extremely fond of Deja vu, Deja connu, it really pushed me outside the bounds of the types of stories I usually gravitate towards, in a good way. At the moment more of my 'favs' are probably in sandman simply because changing fandoms forced me to up my game and expand my comfort zone, which was a good thing. I also really like how Patron Saint came out, I hadn't been that happy with a one shot in a while, and writing from Death's POV really helped me grasp her character better. One of my only fics that had a platonic relationship at its core, too.

tagging @pellaaearien, @tharkuun, @im-not-corrupted if you feel compelled to do 20 whole questions XD