#heronstairs 2.0

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

I keep thinking we’ll have a scene in Chain of Thorns inspired by this

James, in Cornwall, not able to find Lucie and thinking about Cordelia in Paris, believing she hates him... 

Get ready for some major Herondale pining!

[screeching-painter-witch]

jordelia is something that can be so personal

[the-noblehouseofblack]

We ship jordelia in this HOUSE

[waterlilyvioletfog]

It is impossible to be the parabatai of a Carstairs without falling in love with them.

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

Do you think Lucie and Cordelia will have a falling out?

I think they're due for one. Not a dramatic fight, but a conversation where they finally speak to each other plainly and realize they've both been keeping huge secrets from each other. It will not be pretty. It will be raw. There will be feelings of betrayal and hurt.

They might even decide not to become parabatai anymore. I'm certain they won't ever be parabatai actually, but I would love it if it was because they decided not to instead of being prevented by a Great Evil Occurrence.

Lucie and Daisy have been friends for ages, but mostly they've been penpals who saw each other once or twice a year. They don't even know each other that well, beside what they've chosen to show the other via their letters. Now that they live in the same place, they won't confide in each other or tell the truth, let alone train together. What is the point of becoming parabatai if they're just going to lie and omit instead of sharing things?

The mature thing to do would be to recognize that becoming parabatai was a childish dream they both clung to. It's not like they have other friends to hang out with; for the past two books, they have chosen not to spend time together unless it was on missions. There is a stark contrast here with the Merry Thieves, who spend all of their free time together. Sure, they also keep huge secrets from each other (including James and Matthew), but they know each other much better and still do most things together. They literally have an institutionalized place that they go to so they can be together.

Cordelia and Lucie should have an adult conversation where they admit they've been bad at this. Where they vow to be better. I don't think it will be a fight, but finding out everything the other has been through will surely hurt both. They will not be pleased with each other. And they shouldn't be. I don't think it would be fair for them to just confess, kiss and make up. There need to be consequences and re-evaluation. Not being parabatai doesn't mean not being friends.

If time runs out and Cordelia turns 18 (which is soon), there simply won't be time to train, and they might not be able to perform the ceremony anyway.

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

On Cordelia’s Persian heritage and how it relates to future Herondales

“If Cordelia’s skin is so dark, how come Jace is blond?” is a question I get at least a few times per day, so I decided to intervene. Many Jordelia shippers have come to the Help Desk wondering about this. Many Fairstairs shippers feel that Jace’s blond hair is the validation they need to prove their ship is canon - although I’m not sure how Jace Herondale’s hair in 2007 relates to who Matthew Fairchild married in 1904, but I digress. 

Anyhow, I get so many lovely questions like this one every day, both on here, on Twitter, on Instagram, and even among my friends (yes, I operate Jordelia Help Desk sessions in real life too). 

Sit tight, kids, cause mama is about to give you a very sound explanation and put your minds at ease.

I understand the concern for Jordelia, I truly do. But I promise genetics and Jace’s looks are the only things we don’t need to worry about. I am going to give you two very separate answers to this question, both proving my point that Jordelia is endgame. 

1) The Scientific Answer: 

It’s been a few years since I aced AP Science, so forgive me for probably using improper genetic terms here, I might be oversimplifying things for the sake of this post. To put it bluntly, Cordelia and Alastair are mixed-race. They’re not white, they certainly wouldn’t be Black (I’ve seen some confusion about this too), they are Brown. However, they are the children of a Persian (Brown) woman and of a very white (English) man. 

What this means is that their genetic code is already 50% white. It may not show in their physical exterior, but it’s in their DNA. Their children - regardless of who Cordelia or Alastair may or may not marry - would be inheriting that genetic code that is already half Persian and half English. If Cordelia and Alastair and their Unborn Carstairs Baby Sibling stay in England and their hypothetical children and then their children keep marrying white people (for 3 more generations until The Mortal Instruments), there is actually very little part of Sona’s initial genetic code that is being transmitted by that point, and the more you go forward in time, the less likely it is that those genes would manifest outwardly in significantly dark skin. 

James and Cordelia’s babies (the found family tree tells us they have one son, you can do with this information what you will) have the potential for skin as dark as Cordelia’s, as pale as James’s, or something in between. But as we go on with the generations of marrying white people, the skin tone will become lighter and lighter. 

If you think that’s a load of scientific crap that you don’t trust coming from me, I will give you one other thing to hold on to when it comes to Herondale descendants: while Jace is in no way a person of color (he’s the whitest boy to ever walk this earth, and I mean that in the worst way possible), in later books Cassie has taken care to never describe him as pale, which could be a subtle nod to one of his ancestors being a Persian woman. In earlier TMI books - keep in mind that City of Bones was published in 2007 and written years before - Cassie had no idea who he would descend from, the thought simply had never occurred to her. Additionally, in super early concept drafts of The Last Hours now dating almost ten years ago, before the series even had a confirmed name, Cordelia was most certainly white. You can see this from the way she was described and also depicted in official artworks commissioned by Cassandra herself. 

Jace’s blond hair can come from literally any of the women who married a Herondale in the following three generations. We know from City of Ashes that Imogen’s greying hair was once blond. She passed it on to her son Stephen Herondale. Stephen married Celine Montclaire, who is also blonde: Jace’s blond hair therefore comes from his parents passing on predominantly blond genes to his DNA. That’s it. 

Now, on to my second answer.  

2) The Logic Answer 

I will prove that you’re all stressing over Jace Herondale for no reason with one very short sentence: Emma Carstairs is also white. 

In her case, we have absolutely no doubt who she’s descended from. She is a direct descendant of Sona. Whether Alastair decided to marry and have a child to carry on the Carstairs bloodline, or Unborn Baby Carstairs is a boy (which I think is the most likely option), Emma’s ancestors are undoubtedly Persian. We fully know there are no other relatives to carry on the Carstairs name at the time of The Last Hours (this issue arose in Clockwork Princess when Elias wanted to give Cortana to Will because Jem was dead and he had not married Sona yet).

So if Emma descends from one of Cordelia’s brothers, and you guys aren’t worried about HER being white and blond, I don’t see why you should worry about Jace being the same. 

3) BONUS - the @destinedtobemine​ Crack Theory answer

(Please know that we’re just being Fairondale clowns here.) Matthew is the biggest Herondale fanboy and upon marrying Lucie, he would take on the Herondale name. That’s how you get to Jace. (We’re truly joking. Jace has James’s eyes so we know he’s descended from him.)

Just kidding with that one, obviously. But you get my point: genetics = not at all against Jordelia being endgame. I hope this helped!

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

I'm really interested in your analysis of the plot twist being that matthew is in love with james instead of cordelia. Many people (including me) have joked about how it would make more sense but I never really consider it... In a canon way? But it could make sense. I like what you say about his (lack of) pov. Maybe there is something to analyse too in his reaction to james and grace vs jordelia. Like from the start he didn't really like grace but because he struggled to believe her. Ok I don't know where I'm going with this I need to reread chog. But just so you know that at least 1 person is interested in what you have to say about this theory.

Thank you! 

I shall try my best to explain why I’m choosing to believe Matthew is in love with James and not Cordelia until I am proven wrong by canon. 

1) The lack of POV that I mentioned in my other post is very telling. Cassandra’s choice indicates Matthew has a secret. We already know about his dark sin, so it’s not that. It’s something us readers aren’t supposed to know, so that it can come as a revelation later. 

2) Matthew hates Grace. He always has and he still does. Now, remember, Matthew was the only person James confided in about Grace. If James told him he was in love, shouldn't Matthew have been happy for him? If he had reservations about Grace specifically, why not make them known? No, in those initial years he didn’t loathe Grace specifically, he’d never even met her, but he was jealous of her for holding James’s heart. And then obviously he grows angry and bitter when Grace breaks James’s heart and leaves him for Charles of all people, proving, in Matthew’s eyes, that she’s just a social climber.

3) Cordelia. Matthew and Cordelia get along marvelously. He adores her as a person, and she him. They immediately build this camaraderie built upon how much they love the Herondales. As the book progresses and they get to know each other more, they start caring about each other and understanding each other as friends do. Now, I know everyone assumes those are signs of Matthew falling in love with her, but if the storyline was that linear, then why not have his POV? Why not show us how he was falling for her? Because it’s a red herring, that’s why. 

Hear me out: you can whip out ANY passage in Chain of Gold or snippet from Chain of Iron where you think the hidden subtext is that Matthew is developing feelings for Cordelia. I dare you, any passage, read it through the lens of “Matthew actually loves James.” You’ll see. I can provide examples in another post, if you want, let me know. 

Every time you think Matthew is jealous of James, it’s actually James he’s looking at, not Cordelia. Every time he’s angry, it’s on James’s behalf, for his sake. Now, you could of course just read this as parabatai protectiveness and I wouldn’t fault you for it. It’s how I read it as for nearly a year, after all. And then I re-read some old theories of mine from like 2015 and things clicked. I re-read the book and it all made sense through those lenses. 

I always said there was something suspicious about Matthew’s alleged feelings for Cordelia. They came too fast. I even theorized Grace compelled him to feel things for her, so as to mess things up a bit. Now I realize those feelings were never there in the first place. 

Now, let me address some of your potential reservations: 

A) “But this would mean Matthew is in love with both Herondale siblings! Isn’t that a bit odd?” No odder than James and Lucie Herondale being in love with Grace and Jesse Blackthorn, another set of siblings. I mean what are the odds of THAT happening, right? (Unless you believe Jesse is also making Lucie fall for him like Grace did with James.) It’s actually way less strange if a bisexual boy falls for his best friend and his little sister. Or falls for the sister as a result of his love for his best friend being literally impossible. As in, James can’t reciprocate because he’s straight, and even if that weren’t the case, any romantic or sexual relationship between them is forbidden by the Law. 

B) “Would this be another parabatai love story?” No, this wouldn’t be another TDA situation, because James doesn’t and can’t love Matthew back romantically. If anything, this is unrequited love in its purest form (which, by the way, isn’t even forbidden by the Clave. What is forbidden is if you actually have a relationship, consummate, but it takes two to tango, so there is no chance of Matthew facing legal consequences like exile or mark-stripping for this, thankfully). We’ve seen some unrequited love situation in other TSC books, but it was never a main thing. Alec got over his imaginary crush on Jace the second he met Magnus. Same for Simon with Clary and Izzy. For Matthew, this could be yet another reason for his torment. 

C) “Must everyone be gay???? stop making every character gay” I’m sorry, Matthew is canonically bisexual and therefore what I am suggesting is canonically possible. 

If you don’t agree with this theory, I am curious to hear what you think the “big plot twist in the love triangle” is going to be! 

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

Recapping everything TLH we got today from Cassie

It was an eventful day in Shadowhunter world! 

First we were gifted an artwork and a snippet from a scene in Chain of Iron, the already announced road trip that Matthew and Cordelia will take. You can see both here. I will only say it features Matthew driving a mundane car!

I cannot wait for that scene. I think it might be where they finally have a heart to heart and start trading secrets. Anyhow, you know how obsessed I am by that friendship (I got a lot of hate on Twitter today for putting ‘friendship’ in the same sentence as their names, lol). To stay on the topic of Cordelia and Matthew, something else happened that made me less happy:

I hope that when Matthew inevitably reveals his feelings (real or fake they might be), things aren’t too awkward between them. I would miss their bantering and jokes too much. 

Cassie also announced the artwork for January will be Jordelia, here is a sneak peek (my analysis is below):

From what we can see in the sneak peek, this depicts James in bed, possibly ill, with Cordelia nursing him back to health (maybe reading to him?), in a nod to the scene in Days Past of Chain of Gold. Note how Daisy and James are often shown in bed in official (as in, sponsored/commissioned by Cassandra) artwork, just like they were in the Fairytale Series. Here, however, it’s clear that James is tied to someone/something off screen via a red thread. This is a representation of Grace’s spell/the Gracelet, which might also be what is making him ill. Can’t wait to see the full image in a couple of weeks! 

I sent Cassie a couple of questions today but she only answered my “bait” question (privately) which was definitely the least interesting. I only asked to see if she could give us something, anything, to analyze, but she really didn’t. I’m still showing it to you guys. 

See, I was hoping she’d mention something more specific, but this is clearly about James and the Gracelet. (Bonus points to me if it turns out someone else was also under a spell, but her meaning is clear.)

One more important thing we need to discuss is this answer:

I would say Cordelia definitely feels a mix of complex emotions. Tess and Will care for her, and she also cares about them. She knows they’re fully on board with this marriage and believe it’s a love match. So she does feel a lot of guilt. Not as much as James, though. ;)

Cordelia’s feelings are pretty clear: she feels guilty to be lying to the Herondales, a family she adores and looks up to, a family she always wished she was a part of. She even told Will in ChOG she considered him and Tessa an “uncle and aunt of sorts”. Things get even more complicated when you think that from Daisy’s perspective, in a year, they’ll think she and James will divorce (or maybe the two of them will confess it was just a sham) but Daisy will still have to face them as her parabatai’s parents. 

Now to James: why does he feel even more guilty? Is it because his parents taught him about true love all his life and he is “throwing it away” in a sense? Because he’s making marriage a jape? Or is there something more? Because he knows he loves Cordelia deep down, and yet he is just pretending? 

Would love your thoughts! These are the major news from me. Let me know if I missed anything else!

PS: Cassie also confirmed iratze runes help ease period pains, hurray!!! 

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

What do you think about the theory that Cordelia and Lucie won't become parabatai?

SADLY I SUPPORT IT 

I don’t want it to be true, of course. There is nothing more I would like than for our darling Daisy and Lucie to finally become parabatai. But I feel like they never will. They’ve been waiting too long, and now that they can finally train together to prepare for the ceremony, they aren’t doing much training at all. 

They don’t have much time left before Daisy turns 18, but I’m afraid something else will happen to prevent the ceremony. A death, a scandal, exile (most likely Lucie’s if she doesn’t stop this necromancy business at once)... 

It’s obvious. We’ve been looking forward to this for so many years, have taken it for granted all this time... of course it won’t happen. 

I hope I am wrong. But if I know Cassandra’s style at all, Lucie and Daisy will never officially become parabatai. 

Okay but imagine how tearful it would be if one of them were dying and the other started reciting the oath NOPE FEDE STOP IT!

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

Cordelia & fire: a remedy against the Gracelet’s spell

We all know what power the Gracelet holds over James. We know it’s making him incapable of processing his feelings for Cordelia. He still has them, but they’re hidden beneath a glass surface, unable to come out, and James is unable to properly experience them. On some instances, though, the intensity of those feelings seems to shine through, and we realize even if James can’t. I am doing a dutiful and thorough re-read of Chain of Gold and I’m noticing how these instances are often connected with fire. 

Sometimes, often when he is alone, James seems to be freer of the spell, and his mind is allowed to wander. It usually wanders towards Cordelia, even if he has no immediate reason to think about her. Like in the example above, taken from chapter 3, “The Living Hand.” It’s interesting to note that James has just seen Grace that night after an entire year apart, so the spell should be reinvigorated by her recent presence. And yet. Fire brings out thoughts of Daisy - and it’s not a doylist choice on Cassandra’s part because Cordelia is thematically associated to fire, no, I think there’s a watsonian reason within the story. 

I think fire (weather heavenly or regular) is playing a big part in The Last Hours. Both allegorically and metaphorically to offer lyricism, and also physically. James set fire to Blackthorn Manor (and symbolically to his relationship with Grace) in Chain of Gold. Don’t ever forget the iconic line where a mesmerized James thinks of Cordelia “Together, she and Cortana were a poem written in fire and blood.” There are many other instances where similar metaphors are drawn, you get it. And we know from a COI snippet that Cortana will start to burn Cordelia’s hands when she holds it. 

In the scene I included in the post, James strikes a simple match in the dark of night (a ritual of sorts that Jem taught him to perform), and that triggers thoughts of Cordelia that night, and with those an old memory that was buried under the spell: the days of his scalding fever at Cirenworth in 1900. He says “it was difficult to recall” and attributes it to how ill he was, but we have read the story of those days from James’s POV and we know he was conscious when she read him the story of Layla and Majnun. My theory is that “it was difficult to recall” is the Gracelet’s doing, its way of pushing down feelings for Cordelia since he was totally developing a crush on her that summer. But the spell can’t have that, so it makes his memories dizzy and indistinct. 

Grace is pushing him down an abyss of gloom and loneliness (and yes, the shadow realm). In contrast, Cordelia is the fire, the “steady light” he needs “when the world went dark.” 

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. 

I’ll be sharing more of these specific analyses for little moments in the next few weeks, but feel free to still send me more asks for the Jordelia and Mucie Help Desk!

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

(x)

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

Look, I don't think Matthew is in love with James. Matthew's hates Grace because he saw his parabatai in horrible pain because of her (like in Mindnight heir). He saw how unhealthy this attachment is for James. Cassie already told us that isn't the case. She left pretty clear in the end of CHOG and in her asks that isCordelia he's interested in. And It would be a very weak plot twist add one more unrequited love to Matthew's caracter. I understand people don't like fairstairs and think It was sudden (even I don't agree at all) but I think Matthew's and James relanshionship os Just a tender friendship between men and that se need more of that.

Look, dude, I can’t stress this enough. You might be right. Cassandra surely seems to be pushing the love triangle agenda. I am just choosing to support a different route right now, because I have to believe my favorite author wouldn’t write something as cheap as Fairstairs. 

(Housekeeping note for anyone reading this, please don’t ask me why I think they’re cheap. I have answered that question a bazillion times and you can find all my thoughts on the matter on my blog if you write their names in my search bar.)

If Cassie does go with Matthew being in love with Cordelia, it will be sad. Not sad for Matthew as a character, but for the author’s choice. I will be very let down by that. Therefore, for the next month until Chain of Iron comes out, I am choosing to spread a narrative that doesn’t make me angry and disappointed at my favorite author. 

We all know that even if Matthew has feelings for Cordelia, they won’t be endgame. It will just be an ulterior obstacle in Jordelia’s path that they will overcome, but it will be so bad from a narrative point of view, to repeat this dynamic over and over again. 

I am choosing to believe there is an actual plot twist here (because otherwise, what’s the “big plot twist” she has teased?), and I am believing that Matthew loves James instead. I assure you that all the hints are there if you re-read everything. 

That’s it. It’s literally about trying to be positive for the next month. I don’t think I am harming anyone by believing in this, but it surely is doing wonders for my sanity!

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

If you’re going to hate on Lucie...tell me what you would do differently in her situation. I’m curious.

If I were Lucie? Okay, anon, here we go. 

1) I would have made friends outside of the social circle of my family from a young age 

2) I would’ve gone to Shadowhunter Academy to have some kind of life experience that does not revolve around my family, see point 1) 

3) In COI specifically, I would have spent more time with my ONLY FRIEND 

4) I would have trained more with my only friend, considering we would need to become parabatai soon before she turns 18 

5) I would’ve been there for her more (especially after her father’s death) instead of hanging out with her husband’s ex 

6) I wouldn’t be keeping huge secrets from my family and friends 

7) I wouldn’t have entered a relationship with a ghost 

8) I wouldn’t be attempting necromancy because, you know, it’s illegal 

9) I wouldn’t have run away 

10) I would never, ever, ever, ever, choose dicks before chicks. 

There is more but these are the main points. Wouldn’t want too many people accusing me of hating poor little Lucie who did nothing wrong! 

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

I think that just because these characters SAY they won’t do something doesn’t always mean they won’t. Considering all the emotions involved I don’t think a lot of the actions in this book will be so logical and, there’s a ton of spontaneity in TLH. Whispering room was out of the blue and very scandalous for Cordelia for example, she talks to Matthew about disgrace “Do you truly care so much about Disgrace” she said “No but I fear my family couldn’t handle it” not what she says but The question and her No before speaking of her family. I think she’ll kiss Matthew back and feel bad about it, especially because she won’t return the same amount of love he’ll have for her, not like she does with James. How would Jordelias feel if that happened? What if she does kiss him out of hurt or anger or wanting to 100% feel love or wanted by someone for a split second? Not just a piece of someone like she said. A selfish moment. I see it happening I don’t know how but I do haha. She mentions feeling wild, they go on a road trip ...if Tessa was out there Kissing two boys and Cassie says this book will be worse then I don’t put that past her with these characters despite the preachings of “I wouldn’t do this” just me though :,( If Cordelia does act out this way even for a moment And it was after James messing with Grace I wouldn’t hold it against her she went through too much pain and chain of gold and now Chain of iron? with no backlash? Maybe the bracelet being the reason will be said almost too late and she’s already endured her Max amount of pain..? Maybe

I just hope Cassie wouldn’t be that predictable and repetitive, you know? Why does TLH have to turn into TID 2.0? Two parabatai in love with the same girl? Could we please have a different story here?

I would never hold it against Daisy (as a character) if she kissed anyone else, she deserves all the love she can get, but it’s at this point just so... cheap (of the author) to make Cordelia and Matthew happen, even for a second, you know? 

And, in general, if anyone kisses anyone else out of hurt and anger instead of spontaneous desire to kiss that person, isn’t it always a bit sad? Especially if the other person seems to actually have genuine feelings, would it feel nice to be “used” in the moment?

That’s why I have a problem with the conception of this dynamic. It’s built the wrong way, and I still hope Cassie surprises us by NOT making it a real triangle. 

I love Matthew too much to be okay with this. Why does he have to come in second? Why should he just be there to “comfort” Cordelia if James hurts her? 

He deserves his own great love story. He deserves to heal first, and then have a great love story that belongs fully to him.

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

If you go to Chain of Iron on goodreads and look at recent 3 stars reviews, it's very hard to miss

-Hello, folks! We’re talking about this “spoilery” review on Goodreads:

a while after publishing the review, the author went and edited it, adding this bit:

So, here are my thoughts:

I’m obviously over the moon about Anna and Ariadne and Thomas and Alastair (gay ships thriving!!!!) even though apparently they don’t get as much page time as they should (I’m sad because that’s too often the case)

the author of the review says the James/Cordelia/Matthew triangle is WEAK and has VERY LITTLE FOUNDING, and DOESN’T MAKE SENSE 

as I’ve been telling you for nearly a year now, it’s an unnecessary plot point 

Cordelia will not reciprocate Matthew’s feelings (she writes that Matthew is in “unrequited love” and even that it would make more sense for him to love James than Cordelia) and we’ll have to suffer through all that pining when his storyline should focus on something else entirely, aka his real problems and his road to healing, rather than creating another reason for suffering 

but apparently we needed half of this book to be a filler (as too often happens in the middle book) because authors believe we’re not happy if we don’t receive at least 600 pages (spoiler alert: I’d be happier with a shorter book that’s written better)

as for the ending of the book being very bad and “stupid”, here are my theories on the matter. Notice how she hasn’t mentioned Lucie at all. This must have to do with Lucie (and Jesse) and possibly with Belial. Lucie will do something reckless (we all know what that is) and ruin everything 

but with “stupid” she could also be referring to how Cassandra has been writing Greater Demons like semi-comedic characters (looking at you, TLBOTW) instead of super villains. Why would Belial, an actual Prince of Hell, need to ally with freaking Tatiana Blackthorn to get what he needs/achieve his goals? Why would he even concern himself with the petty affairs of mortal teenagers to this point, honestly? 

in conclusion: Jordelia is super extra safe and still very much endgame (did I ever say we needed to worry about that? no) but the love triangle and Lucie’s story make the book a bit weak. a bit disappointed but not surprised? 

[ohnotoomanyfandoms]

Okay but here’s the thing about fairstairs kissing. Nothing has happened between between Matthew and Cordelia in the 4 months between cog and coi, because of the reasons you explained. But we all know Cassie loves to switch things up on us, especially in the middle book. I don’t think jordelia will get married in coi, and I wouldn’t be surprised if whatever situation arises puts a lot of strain on their fake engagement. Do you think if that happens fairstairs still won’t kiss? No one is saying they’re endgame or even that they’ll be in love with each other, but not even one kiss? Idk seems unlikely to me

I think you have a point and I wouldn’t put it completely past Cassandra to delay/stop the wedding. We’ve heard for two chapters now that the wedding will happen “tomorrow” and have the expectations of four months (in-world) and a year (for us readers) placed on this one event. I can definitely see Daisy and James not getting married now: something major (like somebody’s death) could happen and the wedding would need to be postponed, or maybe something could happen during the ceremony (like a demon attack) before they’re effectively married. I can even see Cassie pull a Maleficent on us and have Belial or another baddie show up, even though that would be super extra dramatic. 

Even with this, I honestly can’t envision Cordelia wanting to kiss Matthew. I’m sorry, I just don’t see it. I don’t think she’ll be in love with him over James. And we know for sure Matthew will not try to kiss Cordelia (unless compelled to by a spell *COUGH*) unless he fully believes it’s what she wants and it won’t damage James.