#i still cannot believe twp is happening

[d4rkshad0w]

i will die at every interaction i read between Ty and Kit.

[minamotokoulov]

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

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

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

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

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

I live for the Kitty tension in all senses.

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

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

[savannaswrites]

you are so right alastair IS the best character in tlh i only really finished the last book for him. the release of the last book is partly why i also started thinking about tsc again and started vibrating excitedly about twp again even though it is ages away and who knows what it’ll even be like, but that’s why i went back into the tab and i couldn’t believe i never found ur fic before because it was exactly what i was itching to read! like whenever i have looked for post qoaad fic which i don’t think i have since 2020 it’s usually either short, only focused on what happens during the three years before twp, or is only focused on kit and ty’s reunion. and i love reading about kit and ty’s reunion but what i wanted most was a super long fic dealing with all the problems and politics of twp and interweaving character and romantic drama with well-done plot, and lo and behold i found your fic which is exactly that and is well-written to boot. i really do believe it’s one of the most well-written tsc fics i’ve ever found and was Shocked and Outraged it didn’t have more kudos. i literally wished i had made a tsc sideblog in 2018 just to promote it to hell. i know a lot of things have been jossed now but i still found it all so fascinating. also 40k outline um i would read that many words…would definitely do that <3 but the things i’ve been wanting to know most about since reading it are partly plot-related — thule livvy and her ghost counterpart, whether our current thule questers will run into ash, clave and downworlder and faerie politics, if all the blackthorns reunite, the riders finding kit again, more about kit and the first heir and his role to play, omg side note that story kit tells in the far about naoine was amazing — and partly character-related — ty and anush and june!!! dru friendship with kit and jaime!!! kit and jaime v interesting dynamic i never considered!!! kit and tessa and jem and mina! kit and jace! how ty has changed and how kit has changed and his future character development and how dru wants to change. but also, the Drama of all of those character dynamics is probably what im curious about the most. like, kit and ty making things awkward with everybody…that painful tension between them and what it would be like if they actually talked about it. how thule livvy feels about her brother and sister and kit. jaime………like i cannot decide if he and kit had a fling, if kit has a crush, if jaime does, etc, but every scenario i picture is So Great in terms of awkwardness and hilarity and poignancy. you wouldn’t think i could feel all those feelings about it but i do. dru’s reaction? TY’s reaction? jesus christ. also jamie’s character in general you’ve set up very nicely, particularly with the mentions of diego, i think their relationship is very interesting. dru’s reaction? TY’s reaction? jesus christ. however ash fits into all of this too is also v intriguing. i just almost deleted all of this which was a very scary experience but made me realize how completely incoherent and crazy long this is, i am so sorry about that. also want to stress that you don’t have to answer any of this or tell me anything at all, i just loved writing all of that out because this fic had me super excited yesterday. but that is all hope u have a good day :)

AHH i am so intrigued to hear that alistair is what pulled you through chain of thorns!! i swear i'm not a hater, but like -

- i am working my way SLOWLY through that book right now and i just. !! i wish i liked more of the characters more, you know?? there's just SO. MANY. of them, and i don't feel like any of them have really had enough time to develop, or at least to make me feel invested in them, which is such a weird thing to say after already having had two long books with them!

did you happen to read the ghosts of the shadow market book? the versions of james and matthew in that book to me are SO wildly different than the versions that ended up on the page of tlh, and i hate to say it, but i liked the gotsm versions more!! i don't necessarily think that all characters have to be super developed and layered or what have you in order to make them compelling, but when the mythology of the story has also sort of started to lose touch with what makes it matter, and the characters aren't super compelling...what's left, you know??

it's like, to me, we have these villains in belial and lilith who are so otherworldly that they're practically abstract, which makes them just not very good villains to me. i'd much rather read about someone who is their champion (or paladin, i suppose) by choice, because then we could have that conflict between power and powerlessness and agency and lack thereof play out on a much more human level, presumably with stakes it's easy to be invested in.

sorry for the tlh detour - i'm just like, i WILL finish this book, but goodness gracious, i will admit to it being harder to power through even than qoaad. (sorry)

going back to what you were saying, thank you so much again!! the politics of twd and the way that different characters could end up on different sides of that conflict and the romantic drama therein are SO compelling to me they literally kept me up at night as i was reading tdi! there is nothing juicier to me than a story of political intrigue because they function SO well as stories about personal values, and there can be so much richness and depth and nuance to that!

i mean, we have kit as a microcosm for some of this conflict, too; he's someone from a "mundane" background with not only downworld heritage but royal downworld heritage and yet also this shadowhunter blood and, most affecting to me, maybe, his father's blood as a bit of a liar and a cheat and a rapscallion, all of which could theoretically push and pull him in different directions. i loved the idea of really exploring how these aspects of who he is could complicate some of the underlying assumptions of shadowhunter society and maybe even the books themselves.

which, i mean, okay! i get it! they're the shadowhunter chronicles, they're about shadowhunters, i get it. but i don't think that doesn't mean that you can't interrogate a different pov, you know? like, sure, james and co. have saved the world in tlh, but they've also directly been the cause of it being threatened in the first place. and maybe he could've found more acceptance of his demonic heritage from warlocks like his mother, or maybe downworld would regard him as just as odd as the clave does - who knows? my point is just that the books never really even seem to acknowledge that those are questions to be asked at all. :(

(sorry that that makes me sound like a hater, i promise i really enjoy reading these books!! i just have a lot of thoughts! hence the long ass fic as;dlkfj)

but so yeah, getting back to the gang there in thule, i just loved setting up their relationships with a bit of conflict and intrigue! they're united under this common banner of saving the world (again), but i don't think that any two of them are in 100% agreement with anybody else, even ghost-livvy with ty or her own living counterpart!

they all want something, different things, but i don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, either, you know? like, dru wants so badly to prove herself, and meanwhile kit's over here watching her say "we gotta go investigate that green light" because she's burning up inside and he maybe doesn't totally get it but maybe he sort of does, and so he's like, "oh, dang, is that what a shadowhunter does? i guess i should be more like that, then," and so they're there like. nodding to each other. meanwhile jaime's like, "well, if it makes them happy," so they're the three musketeers...up to the point that what they want brings them into conflict, perhaps?? [eyeball emoji]

i swear i'm just about done talking your ear off, but thank u so much again for saying u liked kit's story about naione! the fair folk are just too old not to have myths of their own and like!! that's such a rich vein of world-building, who could resist it!!

okay, now i'm really done!!

[lunarqueen]

Chain of Thorns theories: Matthew Fairchild

What will happen to Matthew? This includes several theories that will all contradict each other - some already popular within the fandom and some my own crackpot theories - which makes Matthew’s story one of the things I am most scared about Chain of Thorns

Matthew dying

I guess all of us are worried what may actually happen to our boy Matthew Fairchild in Chain of Thorns. While the theory that he may die was initially very popular I do not believe this will be the case. Reasons?

Elias already died and there were many parallels between Matthew’s and Elias’ alcohol problems. In no other Shadowhunter books there were characters struggling with alcohol abuse yet. There are many readers who actually know somebody who struggles with drinking problems. Although both their deaths may not be related to their drinking it sends out a bleak message to the readers

Cassandra Clare hinted that if she was to write a spin-off novella about one of the TLH characters it would most likely about Matthew. Of course our boy already led an interesting life before Chain of Gold but in order to actually produce material that can also be connected to other Shadowhunter books Matthew most likely has to survive TLH - and perhaps still be alive by TWP. 

Werewolf or vampire

It appears almost certain that Matthew’s marks will be stripped. When the tarot cards were released, Mathhew initially had no runes. The tarot cards also included another spoiler: Cortana burning Cordelia’s hand which did not happen until Chain of Iron. Of course it could be argued that the lack of Matthew’s lack of runes was an oversight - if not another tarot card with runes had been released shortly after. 

Werewolf: Matthew has to be on an emotional low point so he returns to Kellington and maybe asks him to turn him. Many people assume that if Matthew becomes a werewolf he will also become a high-ranking member of Praetor Lupus - the main indicator is the Praetor’s famous Prohibitionist stance in the 1930s. His struggles with alcohol led Matthew to become a werewolf and although he cannot safe other newly turnt werewolves from their fates he can make their start into their Downworlder life less miserable.

Vampire: The references to The Picture of Dorian Gray - including Matthew holding the volume in one of the arcana cards - may well point out Matthew turning into a vampire (For those of you not familiar with Dorian Gray: The titular character has a picture painted of him and while his picture shows his aging process and other bodily flaws caused by Dorian’s mischiefs and sins Dorian himself physically always remains young and beautiful). This enables Matthew to still be alive by TWP. I also had the crackpot theory that Matthew could be Anselm Nightshade. Apparently others had this theory too. I do not really want this to be true because Nightshade appears to have thoughtlessly murdered werewolf children and the Blackthorns-and-friends and Magnus have no regrets to expose his sins to the Clave in TDA. But when you think of this there are many things that make sense (and Cassandra Clare also once said we will learn more of Anselm Nightshade in coming books): We do not know much about Nightshade except that he loves dogs and classic literature and pizza with werewolf-bones. Nightshade was also originally chosen to be the representative of the vampires on the Council but he refused. What could move the Clave to choose Nightshade as their first option for the Council other than him being a former Shadowhunter and Consul’s son? Also there has to be a reason why he changed his name. Reason #1: Spoilers. Reason #2: Maybe Matthew wanted to distance himself from the Fairchild name after Jocelyn became involved in the Circle but to stay connected with his family and instead chose the maiden name of Jocelyn’s mother. And why Anselm? This may be a bit of a stretch but I found out that in 1974 the artist Anselm Kiefer created a painting “From Oscar Wilde” based on Wilde’s short story “The Nightingale and the Rose”. I genuinely hope Matthew is not Anselm - although there is the most evidence for this theory now.

Living with the fairies

TDA and TWP are and will be very concerned with the fairie world. This is a theory that already seems to be quite popular at the moment so I will not explain much more about this anymore. The gist is that Matthew will end up living in fairie. Most likely because Elias Carstairs owes something to the fairies and they will most likely to get back to Cordelia or even James about it. Matthew will then decide to give the fairies a promise: In the first chapter of Chain of Iron Cordelia mentions how a fairie wants her to promise to go with her but she knows that she should not trust a fairie to take her anywhere especially when she promised she would accompany them. If Matthew actually promises to go to fairie for only a short amount of time this may actually lead to tragedy. The tragedy most likely will be that he promises to go to fairie for let’s say one year but when he reemerges into the real world over 100 years have passed (maybe he reemerged during TMI or TDA or even after TDA or in TWP). All of his friends are long gone when Matthew returns and he has to take this in all at once. This would be super tragic but could tie in well with the focus on the fae folk that has already started in TDA and it is definitely a better option to have him appear in TWP than him being Anselm Nightshade

[vietnameseshadowhunters]

CoG questions

Now CoG have joined with the rest of my shadowhunter books on the selves, I have many questions for CoI. I list all of them here in case when CoI arrives at my house, and I totally forget what was in CoG:

Spoiler alert for those haven’t finished CoG

.

.

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1. The bracelet stuff.

It must have been Belial’s idea, not Grace’s, so he can control James.

At first, I thought Belial wish for James to wear it because it would made him fall in love with Grace, and when James doesn’t oblige him, he could use Grace as a hostage to push him. However, I think Belial doesn’t need to do that, because there’re many other people who James loves and could always be his weaknesses: Lucie, Daisy, Matthew..... So it is because, I suppose, for James to listen to everything Grace asks for, and Grace listens to everything Belial asks her, right?

When James puts on and takes off the bracelet, I noticed that his memory with Daisy is messed up, like sth he still remember sth (kissing Daisy in TWR), but he forgot sth (like he told her directly that he kissed her for he wanted it and it wasn’t false, but later he said they were just pretending 😠😩).

One more thing that annoyed me is that he told it to Daisy, she heard it, later when he claimed it completely in the opposite way, why she didn’t notice? And she chose to believe he was pretending? Maybe because she had convinced herself too much that he would never love her in the past.

2. Daisy, my angel…

In CoI Cortana burns Daisy’s hand. Again, I think Belial is behind this because he considered her as a barrier for him to reach James, and he was also afraid of Cortana, so he may perform some kind of dark magic to prevent Daisy using it, and decrease her fighting ability.

I think in CoI Daisy would be a target for Belial to strike down for not only above reasons, but also for their true love, Daisy and James, can break through the spell of the bracelet (moments when The Mask were off). And Belial cannot control James completely with Daisy’s presence.

Not a mystery but it’s a little strange to me that Daisy can hold her emotions for James that long. Comparing in real life I don’t think there’s a person that loves someone for years and hides it all for him. She didn’t even tell Lucie or Alastair directly; Alastair & Anna just guessed that she loved James.

3. James

James will have difficulties in fighting against the bracelet’s wish (for he promise being loyal to Daisy in 1 year, and when he resisted the feeling to be with Grace, he was hurt painfully). Haizzz, a long way to go with my James…

I haven’t seen James use the gun, or use the ability to transform into a shadow to fight like in the Academy. Hope I would see it in CoI

4. Belial’s real purpose is not clear

Belial wanted to raise and walk on earth again, but is it just for he wants to rule this world, ruin it, destroy Shadowhunters…. sth like that or he has a more particular and evil purpose behind? And I believe it’s not just to revenge the particular shadowhunters like Tatiana’s.

He said he would prefer a male adult body to possess, so why didn’t he wait until James over 18 and start his plan? Why now when James is still 17? A year to a Prince of Hell is not that long. There must be a reason he chose this time.

How can Belial plan that Tatianna would be sent to the Adamant Citadel? I don’t think he could control that. He only use her as a chess-man in his game after all. I even think he sent the demons to hurt her and let her die for the poison, so she cannot reveal his secrets to anyone.

5. Jesse Jesse Jesse. Many mysterious things around him.

He is an important chess-man in Belial’s plan I suppose. Belial said he has an anchor in this world. Again is that Jesse? For the whole ‘resurrecting-Jesse-thing’ is related to him somehow (although I don’t know how Tatiana ended up knowing him, maybe her dark magic and determination has drawn an interest in him and he appeared, or she summoned him to help her, for one of his power was resurrecting the dead?)

I am somehow very sure that Belial had left some kind of power or magic inside Jesse and he became his anchor.

It’s weird and I don’t have proof but the epilogue gave me the feeling that Belial would possess Jesss one day, if he was resurrected successfully.

Jesse’s feelings for Lucie begin to grow and I can’t wait to see they fall in love with each other. Also, without his last breath, he is weaker and not have a solid form anymore, I wonder if he would vanish completely, but maybe Belial won’t let that happen, and in the end I suppose Lucie manage to resurrect him.

6. Matthew

I see that everyone is ‘paired’, except him. He won’t end up with Lucie or Daisy of course, but I believe Cassie won’t let him be alone at the end. And the person ends up with Matthew was still a mystery, for he deserves happiness.

7. Lucie

Lucie’s power is indeed more horrifying than James. She can command and summon the dead, it’s really scary 😨. I don’t know the limitation of her ability. If she success in resurrecting Jesse, I wonder if she will bear a curse like Ty in Qoaad, for it’s the dark magic and we all know it has consequences.

8. Grace. I don’t see the relation in her actions altogether.

First, why she had the seductive power to anyone she wanted (example made Matthew kiss her and he did)?

Second, when she asked James to destroy the automaton in the house, I don’t think she told him the true reason why she asked for it, because how a single automaton can destroy the whole Idris? It may contain dangerous dark magic, but I didn’t feel it was THAT dangerous. I think she even new when the automaton is destroyed, the house will burn and destroy every other things in that house as well. And she wanted the house to be destroyed (for when Tatiana cry for the house, Grace showed no mercy on her face; and if the house contented some dark magic that could help resurrect Jesse, she must keep it and she must feel sorry when all of it was burnt, right?). So I guess she wanted STH HIDDEN in that house to be destroyed, and maybe she hated that house, too.

Third, I cannot link Grace actions with each other. Again, I don’t see her real purpose clearly except the resurrecting-Jesse-stuff.

I don’t have proof but I think Grace might be in love with Jesse, and only him. They are adoptive brother and sister after all, right?

Now that’s my comments and questions. Do you have any thoughts on these stuff?

You may join my group chat to discuss what you think!!!

https://www.tumblr.com/chat/AjBExSb2LBKJigd7uZRoYA/the-church-chronicles

Cassandra Clare_Chain of Gold

[prongsisabadger]

TWP Chapter 20

It hadn't been a separatis attack, we all knew that. There were no blaster wounds on any of the fallen troopers, and droids -as far as we could tell- did not make a habit out of parading their victories by putting clone helmets on spikes. All deceased clones had either been stabbed to death, had their necks or spines shattered or died of internal damage. There was no way this had been a droid attack.

Chairman Cho insisted otherwise. While both Jedi masters followed Rex and his squad to an abandoned separatist base, I was left to keep the dignitaries safe. While they argued over which party was responsible for the attack, I helped Nax and his men bury their brothers. We scanned the wrists of every fallen man and buried them in the most dignified way we could. We took their helmets and used them to mark each grave. A total of thirty men had been killed.

"I know clones, for the most part, don't believe in the Force," I started, once all the bodies had been buried and all that was left was to honour them. "I know that becoming one with the universe seems far-fetched at best to some of you. But believe this: they died as soldiers. They died fighting for a cause they believed in: not for the republic, but for their brothers. They died so that we didn't have to. Let us honor their sacrifice and make it count."

Four troopers stepped forward and aimed their rifles to the sky where the wind made snowflakes fly like bullets. Four rounds were shot, and for the next minute, only the storm could be heard. It was getting worse, and Masters Kenobi and Skywalker were still out.

"Commander, I just got back word from Rex. He and the squad are on their way, but both the Generals decided to keep investigating." Nax said when he approached me.

"Good, do me a favor and check if the team inside managed to get systems operational. We are going to need them if we are to survive this weather." I answered.

"At once, Commander." But the man hesitated, he stood in place as if wanting to say something else.

"Anything else, Nax?" I asked.

"Just- thank you, Commander."

Rex brought troubling news: as we had expected, it had not been a separatist attack. The CIS base had also been overrun and decorated in a similar fashion to our own. Thing is, they had found surveillance footage, and the planet was, in fact, populated. The news brought no joy to the Chairman, the man all but called the Captain a liar and denied the fact that Orto Plutonia could be inhabited. Pantora had had the planet under its protectorate for generations, after all. But we all kept our mouths shut. Rex did because he was a professional, I did because if I said something I would probably start yet another intergalactic conflict. That and Obi-Wan would be pissed at me. Call me what you like but if there was something I hated it was disappointing people.

I decided to leave the command center to the politicians, maybe then they'd have a sense of control and stop harassing troopers. So I went to the hangar to "oversee" inventory and reparations.

"You know, Rex? I really admire your self control, it took all the training I had not to kick Cho's ass back there." I said as I jumped on the hull of a speeder and sat down.

The captain chuckled underneath his helmet as he crouched to check that the speeder's systems were working properly.

"Oh, kid, you wish it was self control," he said, taking the tool I offered. "Trooper helmets have different communications settings and they can cancel audio input and output. You'd be surprised at how much chatter's been going around today."

"The amount of gossip must put a Hutt's spy network to shame…" I chuckled.

"It's not all bad," he said, turning the speeder on and running diagnostics. "Most of it was troopers wanting to see how Cho would fend against a Jedi Padawan. For all his talk, most of us think seeing him bested by a seventeen year old would be quite entertaining."

I shot him a playful glare. I knew it was wrong, but Force did I want to kick his ass. He was arrogant, rude and a total womp rat to senator Chuchi. Patriotism died in the face of toxic masculinity apparently.

"You know I can't do that, however tempting it might be…" I said.

"We know, but watching you try to hide the impulse is very entertaining."

He dodged the snow ball I threw at his head, chuckling as he made his way to the next speeder bike.

…

As soon as Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker returned, I realized for the first time that my lightsaber was the wrong color. I did not have the patience to be diplomatic with people like Chairman Cho, the man deserved a roundhouse kick in the ass and absolutely no authority over other living beings. And everyone around me agreed. Master Kenobi was so done with the man, he couldn't even bring himself to be sassy anymore, and even worse was the fact that Master Skywalker wasn't speaking at all.

The only person who was genuinely interested in changing the Chairman's mind was Senator Chuchi and to be completely honest, the woman deserved an award. I would have beaten some sense into him but Obi-Wan's seriousness frightened me more than the frustration the Chairman provoked.

The Chairman insisted that the Talz had no jurisdiction in Orto Plutonia, that they were savages trespassing on Pantora's territory and that they were a threat to them. It didn't matter that they didn't have the technology to leave the planet, or to get light that didn't come from a fireplace for that matter. Nothing mattered, only that we were all on his land.

To be fair, those kinds of situations were the reason I'd decided to become a Jedi, but every time the Chairman opened his mouth I wondered whether it had been the right choice. I decided to just keep silent and follow Master Kenobi's lead, I couldn't trust myself on this one. If I had, Pantora would have had to hold elections for a new Chairman. there was nothing I hated more than entitled beings.

To be honest, I didn't really think the Masters' efforts to resolve things peacefully would work -not if the Chairman was the one carrying out negotiations. And we all should have seen the result coming clicks away. The first indicator was when we were setting off for the meeting with the Talz and Cho told Rex to gear up for war. Granted, General skywalker told him there would be no war, but someone had yet to tell that to Cho.

The Chairman had had every chance to change his mind. The Talz had proved to be intelligent enough to monitor us, to have scouts follow us, to have evaded our scanners. Their status had been put in question when it was proved that they were intelligent enough to have developed not only a language but also a writing system -however rustic. The Talz had every right to be respected, they just didn't have the luxury of a sensible person on the other side of the negotiations table.

And the Jedi? We could do nothing about it. Chairman Cho had declared it all an internal affair, and not even Senator Chuchi had the authority to denounce his authority. So war was declared. Ironically enough, however eager to declare it an internal affair, Chairman Cho was ordering our troops around as if he had any right to them. It was sickening to watch, and I could stay silent, but never idle.

"Master Kenobi, I'd like to escort Rex's squad." I said as soon as Cho started ordering troopers to gear up.

"Kriari, the Chairman has declared this an internal affair. the Jedi cannot intervene." He sighed.

"Then he has no right to our troops, Master." I insisted. "I know you are not going to let him go undefended, but at least let me go as backup. The men don't deserve to die for his arrogance."

Obi-Wan seemed to consider it as he looked me in the eyes. Maybe he was searching for something. Maybe he found what he was looking for.

"Very well, but you are not to intervene for anything other than protection. Understood?"

"Yes, Master," I said, and in my relief I hugged him. "thank you."

…

The only good thing I had to say about chairman Cho was that at least he rode at the very front of the suicide squad he had assembled. The clones followed him only because thos had been their orders, they were not stupid. The enemy was only the enemy because the man at the front of the charge had made them so -even if they had reason to resent them. The Talz were in their homeland, they knew the territory, the best spots for ambushes, they were not hindered by the weather conditions. We were at a disadvantage, a big disadvantage. And still they followed orders, because above all, clones were good soldiers, and good soldiers followed orders.

Good soldiers died that day, for a man who was not worth the life of a single one of them.

It happened so fast yet so slow, as battles often do. We were ambushed and as we had expected, the Talz weren't messing around: colonizers were not welcome in Orto Plutonia. I jumped off my speeder and took point, cutting spears left and right and deviating others with the force. We were surrounded, Rex got the men to take defensive possitions. We were all doing our jobs tight, everyone was in possition, but we were being overrun by an enemy who had the numbers and the terrain on their side. Six troopers went down.

"Retreat!" I yelled over the noise of blaster fire and the growl of the beasts Talz rode. "Rex, get the men out of here!"

The Chairman tried to protest, to call me a coward, to say they could never retreat when faced with beings so inferior. I cannot say if I could have prevented him from getting stabbed when he did. I was too busy making sure the troopers lived to fight another day. It might have been wrong for a Jedi to admit, but I didn't care if he died.

Rex took the wounded man and mounted up. I covered as much of the retreat as I could before jumping on the back of Nax's speeder. We were not in the clear, not yet. The canyon stretched around us and the enemy knew the terrain well. Even in our retreat we were losing men. Some got shot down, some got caught in a trap. I tried desperately to Force push spears away from the troopers, to cut down those that got past me. It was difficult work when trying to hold onto the back of a speeder bike.

To our dismay, the enemy had booby trapped the ice bridge that led to the tundra as well. two more troopers went down when they were trying to get across. The bridge collapsed, and with it our only way out. We were surrounded, the storm had jammed communications, and as far as we knew, no support was coming.

"Just like in Christophsis, ey, Commander?" Said Rex beside me.

I smiled sadly at him.

"Tighten up formation, Captain. I'll do my best to redirect enemy fire away from the men." It had become a habit of mine to default to 'business mode' when in a tight spot. Compartmentalizing was a lot easier when the lives of others depended on you thinking clearly. "Ger Coric to tend to the wounded right in the middle of the formation. Hopefully we'll make it out without any more losses."

But hope was often worth jack shit in war. We lost three more men before the gunships showed up. The sound of the LAAT/i engines over the roaring storm almost made me cry, and the ceasefire on the enemy's side even more so. I turned my lightsaber off and grabbed Rex's forearm. He grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. We had made it through another one, if barely.

"You okay, Rex?" asked Skywalker as soon as they got off the ship.

"Just a scratch, sir." he said.

"Tell me." He said, voice low and grave face.

"Eleven dead and several injured including the Chairman. Would have been a lot worse if the Commander hadn't been here." He said patting my shoulder.

Master Kenobi had been looking at me the whole time, waiting for me to say something maybe. Or maybe just checking for injuries. I shook my head, I didn't want to talk about it, not right now. The price for one man's arrogance had been too high. Too many men had died needlessly because one man decided colonization was worth more than peace.

I am not ashamed to say I was glad when Chairman Cho died. In my eyes, he deserved it. Maybe his death would at least be a little consolation for the eleven troopers who lost their lives that day. I didn't hate people easily, but I hated that man, and I was glad that he had died. An even better consolation was Senator Chuchi denying the man his dying wish. There was cruel satisfaction in knowing that he failed to achieve his aim even when he had died for it. The fact that the Talz had been recognized as sovereign over Orto Plutonia gave me ever lasting satisfaction if only because that meant all those troopers hadn't died in vain. And then, there was one less war to fight in the galaxy.

[evasjacks]

Hi there! I just saw your theory about Jesse being forced to do Belial’s bidding because of the locket. This may be a stretch, but I have a similar theory that it’s not just the locket, but also Jesse’s last breath that binds them (which could also partially be why Tatiana was so upset when she found out it was gone) (Part 1/2 because this exceeds the character limit)

(Part 2/2) So now that James has it, it makes sense that he’d be pulled closer to Belial (like the synopsis says) Jesse on the other hand would be more free, and he’d naturally try to distance himself from Belial. However, he still has the connection to via the locket and (like we see with Livvy in GotSM) straying too far from a ghost’s tether could corrupt them. Idk if Jesse’s the killer, but it’d be interesting to see dark Jesse + Cassie said TLH and TWP will be connected

Oh this is interesting! But this also means he’s now tethered to Lucie, since she has the locket. I wonder if maybe we’ll start seeing small signs of this freedom throughout coi, like Jesse showing up at Lucie’s window just before the sun goes down, or staying a few minutes after dusk, little by little. 

Okay so I’m connecting this to my long Where-Does-Jesse-Go-During-The-Day? theory which is basically that Belial forces him to help out during the days, and he can only return to his family during the nights. (Sidenote, I do believe that Belial probably enchanted the locket so that Jesse cannot be seen by other people, this was secluding him and making him more lonely and in need of an escape, therefore more willing to do Belial’s work). But also I’ve said before that it’s possible Belial actually wipes his memory, so during the night time he honestly has no clue what happen during the day. So, assuming this is true, with your theory, this could mean that Jesse starts to remember some things. Maybe he remembers Belial, maybe he even defies him, little by little he starts breaking his hold of Belial. 

A lot to think about, huh?

Send me your coi theories!

[yuzuka-rei]

The Dark Affices: Lord of Shadows Analysis

(Unpopular opinions sorry+mostly criticism but the book is good, its just Imm irked by these points GAH ) I loved this book while reading it, the plot flowed well, the characters were quite lovable, but once I finished it- it felt like I had read nothing at all. The only feelings I had came from the whole situation with Kieran and Mark and Cristina, and that was just because I'm a total sucker for sad romances where one loves the other way more than they are loved back but ANYWAYS. (THE KIERARKTINA ANALYSIS IS NEAR THE END) Plot Villians Unseelie King Isn't even half as threatening or formidable of an archenemy as Sebastian Morgenstern, and that makes the whole story quite weak already Seelie Queen She's going to do something that will bite the shadowhunters in their arse the moment Julian gives him the Black Book. Predictable. She could've done way more manipulation on the others as well. Zara and the Cohort Everyone who fought in the way againt the Circle/Valentine is still alive. There is no way that within 10 years people who go back to wanting to brand downworlders and such. They remember the last time someone wanted to do that a massive war broke out and their relatives died. Also Zara is a two-dimensional character: her goal is weak, and she doesn't seem to have any human/likeable qualities. So she's a Regina-George-type character, made to be hated, but the Unseelie King has already taken that role. Repeat: Sebastian Morgenstern was a way better villian, since he had a single human quality: he wanted to be with his family, his sister and his brother. This brings us onto my next point Characters Both the villians and the heros both had very single-trait, non in-depth personalities, probably due to the amount of characters and arcs. Emma: too unflawed. Her emotions are quite simple throughout the book (there could've been great inner turmoil about whether she could give up being shadowhunter to love/protect Julian). She killed a rider too easily- making her seem to powerful. Julian: He was a pretty horrible person in this bk but in terms of character depth he's not too bad. He loves his family and would do anything for them and it's shown in a variety of ways. I've been comparing him to Cersei, since he's on the whole "family is most important" and "manipulation" thing. However, considering that he's practically been running the family, he should definitely sound less whiny and more mature. Cristina: I don't even know what to say. I can't even remember what you did apart from sing lullabies and be attached to Mark. Her lack of more personality sucks because Kieran keeps saying she's really nice and kind and stuff, but it's not that supported really. She could've contributed way more to the fantastic love triangle, by trying to actively push Mark away because she's seen how much Kieran loves him. Her selfishness here doesn't lone up with her wanting to end the Cold Peace for both faeries and shadowhunter's gain. Mark: I hate him and love him. Cassie made a good decision in making him quite the douchebag, not quite loving Kieran as much as he loves him and not caring enough about Kieran's feelings. But that makes him the most realistic of all characters: he feels regret since he's practically ditched Kieran the minute he didnt need him (I mean there's the whole "you made my brother and sister get tortured but you saved my other brother" thing which should've been Mark's excuse to himself about why he's not choosing Kieran, but he's doesn't and runs around with Cristina anyways. Interesting. Kieran: I love him to much to make any judgement. Also he's a faerie- they aren't exactly "humans" and their emotions are more 2D so... Ty: Better character compared to some others, and we now understand mildly how the twins and Kit work together as a team (since Kit needs to become one of the only people that understand Ty due to Liv's death) . Also his loyalty to family as seen by the letter to Annabel. Cassie has laid great groundwork for him. Can't wait for him to be a main character. Kit: He and Ty need potential to evolve in the next series so I'm giving them some slack. I'll do more analysis on their relationship later. Liv: She loves her brother and is curious about Kit and she's a generally more "realistic" character. Really thats it. I wish I felt tears for her death. I dont. Cassie could've developed her even more as a character, but then that would make her death more painful so. But her importance to Ty and the rest of the family is written enough that it would justify the changes that will happen due to her death. Dru: TBH Cassie could've not spread the characters out so much that we're kinda at a lost. Time spent writing about Dru could've been used on main-er characters, but Jaime needed an introduction. So did she. Looking forward to reading more about her in TWP. Diego: A character with multiple loyalties! Yay! Diana: It would've been way more influential if she had been forced by Julian to explain why she couldn't apply for the institute instead of dropping it like a "bonus" story which makes her seem like then token LGBT character. It's a great plot twist that couldn't have seemed even more forced. It's kinda sad that a brilliant character reveal was ruined Gywp: He's leader of the Wild Hunt and I know he's in love with Diana but he's not Magnus, who's always had nothing better to do than help hot shadowhunters. (Jkjk) Magnus/Alec/Jace/Clary: domestically cute and cameos that contribute to the main arcs. Now, onto the more controversial topics: THE ROMANCE Julian/Emma: This entire book is supposed to be about them balancing dealing for their love of each other with saving the world. It's written in a whiny way and not nearly enough character (If you've read the Throne of Glass series, then you'll understand- they needed the long-ass training scene between Aelin and Rowan). We never read about how they fall in love and that makes the emotions quite plastic...? It would've been fantastic to read more about how they fell in love instead of how they are insanely tortured now. It doesn't emotionally appeal to me at all. Cristina/Mark/Kieran: Words cannot express how much I fucking love this romance arc. It gives me so many feels, and half of them make me cry. I'll analyse Kierark first. When it first debuted it felt like the "token hot gay ship thats thrown in for the fangirls to get off to", but then as time passes we slowly learn how toxic this relationship really is. Kieran doesn't love anything else in this world apart from Mark, having no family, no friends to love him. Whereas with Mark, he's always been surrounded with love, with his half-brothers and sisters, Emma, Helen... etc. He doesn't understand how much he means to Kieran, and Kieran definitely loves Mark more. In the Wild Hunt, it's shown just how much Mark depended on Kieran to stay sane, which suggests, as Cristina says, that Mark owes a debt to Kieran. But it is not nearly that simple. Kieran's love for Mark is what kept him sane, and love is unconditional in most cases, including this. It is undeniable that Mark, despite him having the possibility of not being in love with Kieran when they first become lovers, due to it merely being what he needed, it is certain that Mark does feel for Kieran. Even when Kieran betrays Mark, Kieran believes it to only bring Mark back to him. I see someone so broken that they'd do anything to have their lover back, not a selfish bastard who doesn't cate about Mark at all. Kieran doesn't understand "Family", and in his defence the Blackthorns are a large enough family to survive without Mark. I'm not saying Kieran is entirely blameless, but its a totally understandable thing to want things to go back to how they used to be, and that is extremely human and ("I betcha you would have done the same"). Their love is insanely primitive and raw, and it is more of a "need" to both of them. Kieran needs someone to give him love, Mark needed someone to keep him sane. Then we move onto Mark. For some reason, the faerie-blooded characters seem to act the most human in this series. Mark is a bloody douche for stringing Kieran on, while pursuing Cristina, but then that's exactly what he craves. He needs someone to love him, in a simple way. He craves normality, and that comes in the form of Cristina, whom he finds himself attracted to, originally physical (he says he wants Cristina and that Kieran wouldn't mind: he was not emotionally attracted to Cristina. But now that he's spent time and realised how easy she is to love, he loves her). Kieran and Mark's relationship is not just sexual, or romantic, or friendship, or brotherhood- it's insanely complex and dependent and its toxic but they will never be able to remove the bond between them. They've experienced life and death together. But Mark doesn't want to be burdened by such a heavy emotional relationship anymore, and that's understandable, so he turns to Cristina. Kieran cannot bring himself to hate Cristina, since she wants the Cold Peace to end and that shows how much she cares for everyone and how she uncharacteristically wants to protect faerie rights despite being a shadowhunter. Cristina also oddly finds their relationship arousing instead of being jealous of Kieran, which leads to some of the fandom wishing for a polyamorous relationship. (Including me to an extent). On one hand Cristina could neutralise the toxicity of Kierark and also slowly teach Kieran to love other people, which would result in him not requiring the entirety of Mark's love. (Cuz currently, Kieran love mark with 100% of his heart and wants Mark to do the same. If Kieran loved other people it would be less toxic, since Mark does HAVE to share his love with his family even if Cristina is out of the picture ) On the other hand, it would be great for Kieran to find someone who will love him as much or even more than he loves them. The smol deserves more love in his life, don't you think? Also, I forgot to mention that Kieran does need to go back to the Wild Hunt, or he might become Unseelie King, and then Kierkark could actually be impossible, but I firmly believe they'll always love each other, maybe not as much as before, but they've left quite the imprint on each other's lives (The stars will go out before I forget you, Mark Blackthorn) Ty/Kit: LIKE THEY COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER SO WELL TY DOESN'T OPEN UP EASILY WHEREAS KIT DOES (he's already attached to the Blackthorns) And Kit is so much more outgoing and cool and GAH its a great ship looking SO forward to TWP. (Srsly I have so much hopes for TWP cuz in my opinion TDA is a bit of a weak arc and the only redeeming characters seem to be Mark's drama (I don't think we're going to see this in TWP I'm sad) Gwyp/Diana: super cute and deserves more love In conclusion: I love Cassandra Clare's style and how she can make character relationships insanely lovable. The fact that she always protects the characters all of us love from dying is great too. But @cassandraclare if you see this, please do consider these points made by a fangirl who is nitpicking a bit (I hope this series ends up as good as TID) for the greater good😂 (Also Diego/Kieran ain't too bad of a ship either😏😂) If you disagree with any of these, I am open to dicussions:) Just please don't blindly hate on this: all of us are entitled to opinions, you have yours and I have mine. Let's respect each other, okay?

[feuillesmortes]

A small H7 x EoY fic

So yeah, this is just a short drabble inspired by the second episode of TWP. I didn’t expect to be excited at all by this series since I don’t like PG’s characterization, but... Oops, look who’s here.

Each day as soon as Elizabeth opened her eyes, she regretted doing so. Her confinement room was poorly lit, and the smell of all those crunched dried leaves and wildflowers covering the floor had become overbearing as of late. Cecily and Maggie kept her company, but one does get tired of seeing the same faces all the time. For all of Maggie’s sweetness, she could not hold a conversation like her lady mother did. And Cecily, well, Elizabeth found herself holding her temper around her sister lately.

She pulled herself up on the bed sheets. “Why is the room so dark today? Is it night already? Did I oversleep?”

The answer came from across the room, amidst two dark silhoettes. “Actually, that’s not the case sister. Lady Margaret said your bedchamber was too light, that it might disturb the baby. She ordered that the curtains should be drawn henceforth.”

Elizabeth blinked, incredulous. “Too light? She cannot mean it!”

Cecily simply shrugged. “I reckon she knows this sort of thing, don’t you?”

Before she could reply Maggie extended a hand to her. “Come Lizzie, it’s almost time for your visit. You did sleep a tad more this morn. Don’t you want to change?”

She accepted her hand, nodding. “It must be the baby growing. I feel I’m exerting myself more often than not.”

Since her confinement Elizabeth didn’t need to wear her elaborate court gowns, but in the name of decency she would still wear a kirtle over her chemise when receiving visitors. Elizabeth offered her back so that Maggie could begin back.

“You should pay heed to your weight, you know.” Cecily said, as she approached, ready to brush her hair.

Elizabeth’s glaring must have gone completely unnoticed by her. “What? I just think she should not be slack with her appearance if she wishes to please the king. Especially if she wants to keep him.”

Elizabeth turned around to face her. “Meaning what, my dear sister?”

Cecily went around and began brushing her hair. “You should not test him, Lizzie. He’s a good husband. He comes here every day to see you and he has not taken any mistress since your confinement.”

She was mortified. “Mistress?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know such thing exists. Papa had plenty of them. Do you remember Jane Shore? Do you remember what happened to her?”

The voice that answered was barely above a whisper. “I wish I could forget it, but no.”

My poor mother. Were you ever truly happy with father?

A knock on the door shook her out of her reveries. It must be him.

“Maggie, Cecily, could you two attend the door, please?”

As the doors were opened she found herself checking her garments and hair to see if anything was amiss. Henry looked as usual. He was not too vain, but also not simple at all. He had good taste in dressing. She curtsied low as Henry entered her rooms, though his reaction was negative.

“Please, there’s no need for that. I mean, there’s no need for that. In your state.” He turned to check if Maggie and Cecily had left the room, before gesturing the bed to her. She graciously accepted the opportunity to sit. Her feet felt so sore those days. He cleared his throat while taking a short walk around her bedchamber.

“Why is it so dark here today?”

“The curtains, your grace. Your lady mother ordered them to be drawn.”

He nodded, without a further thought to the subject as she expected him to. He eventually came around and stopped in front of her. She watched him fidgeting with his fingers.

“I can barely see you, but... I mean, if that’s for your health...”

She got up and brought a candle to her bed rest, signalling for him to sit in a nearby chair before lowering herself again. With the added clarity she could watch his grey eyes, his auburn curls, the way his Adam’s apple went up and down before he could open his lips to say:

“How are you feeling today?”

She took a couple of seconds to answer. “Fine, I believe. Bored, perhaps.”

Henry half-smiled. “I’m sorry we can’t bring you musicians here. I’m sure a minstrel would be just the right thing to cheer you up. I’m afraid this room is not very merry, is it?”

It was her turn to half-smile. “I have my sister and my cousin Maggie to keep me company, your grace.”

“You and your ladies don’t enjoy embroidery? Or playing backgammon or dice?”

“I fancy playing cards.”

“Well-”

“But I don’t have a deck.” she interrupted. “At least, I don’t have a deck with me since I went into sanctuary.”

“Then it shall be done. I shall bring you one.”

She blinked, surprised by how spontaneous he had been. “You would, Henry?”

He grinned, a bit smugly. He seemed to like the sound of his name when she spoke it, she had recently noticed.

“I’ll bring you a fresh new deck of cards for you and your ladies to play, if it pleases you.”

“It does please me, thank you.” She nodded, thanking God the room was dark, else he might see she was actually a bit... red. As both their smiles began to fade, they shared a comfortable silence. She saw him stealing some glances at her before averting his gaze and searching for another thing to look at, but coming across short. The silence soon turned uncomfortable.

Henry started. “I should... I should be going.”

“Wait, Henry. Do you... Do you want to feel if the baby is kicking?”

He hesitated. “Is it?”

She touched her belly, while trying to feel something. “No... Not at the moment, I’m afraid he’s not.”

He nodded, before coming to the sudden realisation of what she had just said. “He? You said ‘he’?”

“It’s going to be a boy.” She insisted.

“How do you know that?”

I saw it in a dream. “I just do.”

From the way he looked at her, Henry didn’t believe it.

“Well, I should be going now. Before my mother finds me here, anyway.” He said, getting up from his chair.

“Your mother doesn’t know you come here?” 

He frowned. “Why do you ask?”

Elizabeth was taken aback. “I mean, your mother... All these days you came here, she didn’t know you were visiting me?”

“I don’t tell my mother every step I take, if that’s what you mean. No, thank you very much. Do you?”

Do you tell your mother everything we talk? That was the unspoken question she heard him say. It seemed she would always be a conspirator to him, after all. The thought made her feel strangely dismal.

She looked away “No...” 

Sadly, that was true.

“Good day, Elizabeth.”

She watched Henry’s dark silhouette disappear behind closed doors. He had not called her Lizzie.

[bookishreviewsblog]

Cassandra Clare: Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3) | Lara

Dark secrets and forbidden love threaten the very survival of the Shadowhunters in Cassandra Clare’s Queen of Air and Darkness, the final novel in the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling The Dark Artifices trilogy. What if damnation is the price of true love? Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks. Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

It came. Finally. After all that waiting and panicking I endured for this book, I can't believe I have finally read it. For me, this was the most anticipated book of this year and I am so glad my 2018 is going to end with reading this book. I've been following Cassandra Clare's work for years and I am huuge fan of her work. I was in love with Shadow World since I read the copy of City of Bones, I got for my twelfth birthday. Words can't describe how much I love her stories and characters she created. Reading this book made me extremely happy for so many reasons and I cannot be grateful enough that she keeps writing new stuff for me to fangirl over.

This book was enormously long, I think over 900 pages. I read the Kingdom of Ash in November and I am going to take a break with long-ass books and read some fluffy teen fiction for the rest of the year. But, despite its length, this book was really amazing, intriguing and entertaining from first to the last page. This book was never boring. No, for one moment I didn't think "God, I wish this scene would finally be over"; whether it was some action scene, battle, revelation, Clave meeting, romantic moment or even simple interaction between characters Cassie kept me chained to my kindle. It was nearly impossible to stop reading (seriously I read this in Tokyo metro, which is practically impossible).

There was a lot of action, parallel plots, problematics, storylines, and characters that filled this story. From the beginning of the Dark Artifices series, there was more than one villain: it is a long way back when we all thought Blackthorn's only problem was Malcolm raising his lost love. Now there is Unseelie King wanting to destroy all Shadowhunters sided with Annabel, who killed Livvy and Robert and cause a great havoc in Allicante. Then there is the inside, political threat of Cohort who want to bring back old ideals and hate for all who are not Shadowhunters. After (and during) Lord of Shadows so many new problematics made a way that I was seriously concerned how will it all turn out. But all I can say Cassie did a most wonderful job developing all those plots and problematics individually and in parallel and finally bringing it all together in one big finale.

I always loved how she represented political life of Shadowhunters and work of the Clave. Like, nothing is ideal and there are always new problems, new people with questionable agendas, but the point is to change for better, no matter how small the change is.

Cassandra Clare's writing style always was and will be one of my favorite things of all time. I adore her rich descriptions with a touch of purple prose, her love stories, and characters. Most of all dialogues and interactions make me burst out laughing whether I want it or not.

She has created an impressive spectrum of characters through all these books and all of them are equally special, unique and wonderful. One of the biggest perks of reading this book is POVs. There is just so many of them, but it doesn't seem too much at all. I wanted to read, with all my heart, I wanted to see this story from the perspective of each character, whether old or new. She combined all (surviving) characters in this one story that changes everything. Of course, TDA squad has the main word and it can be easily read without knowledge of other series, but for us hardcore fans it was soo inspiring.

*this part is going to be mostly about characters and spoilers will be clearly marked for those who haven't read to skip, but if you don't want my review to change your perspective of characters and their development through the book, I suggest you skip it*

I am going to do some analysis of characters because I really feel like it, so let's start with my otp Jemma: one of my favorite couples of all times. I love Jemma from the bottom of my heart and they are really so adorable. Cassie always does a great job with love stories, but this one is especially dear to me. Just how they are there for each other since they were children and how they complete each other uwu

“I still love Emma more than I ever thought was possible. I love her more every day, and more every time I try to stop. I love her like I’m being ripped in half. And I want to cut the throats of everyone in the Cohort.”

Emma is my favorite character from the Dark Artifices and one of my all-time favorites. I always, always come to adore badass fearless girls who fight for those they love. My favorite scenes were usually those that included Emma fighting (*plot spoiler* when she confronted Zara, god that was the best thing ever).

Another amazing and my favorite male character – Julian. I just want to give a huge shoutout to this perfect boy who raised five children, took care of his sick uncle and led the whole Institute by himself. He always tended to be anti-hero(ish), but that's what I loved so much about him, that he was willing to do anything to protect his family. He is considered ruthless and cold, while he is just protective of his siblings, who have suffered a lot. Many people were confident he was going to go all anti-hero, even villain, (and he almost did, khm we know why), but I kind of knew he wouldn't. *spoiler* It was believed he will try to break all parabatai bonds, that he was that selfish, but in the end, he knew that was wrong, and he stopped Emma because he knew she was going to regret doing that. (*end of the spoiler*)

After those two comes my new otp for TWP, Kit and Ty of course. I couldn't really see all the hype about Kitty before, but after QoAaD, I am probably the most hardcore Kitty shipper ever. I mean they are perfect, ADORABLE. ! Just the way they interact, work together and solve problems makes it clear they are made for each other. It was clear Ty was having an awful time coping with Livvy's death and Kit was always there for him. Not to mention Kit is one of the most hilarious characters ever (sometimes he beat Jace, Will even).

“Funerals are always so sad,” said a woman who had introduced herself as Irina Cartwright, staring at Julian with a deep pitying stare. When he didn’t respond, she shifted her gaze to Kit. “Don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t know,” said Kit. “My father was eaten by demons.”

The boy gave Kit a considering look that seemed to say you look familiar. Several people had done the same. Kit guessed it was because he looked like Jace, if Jace had suffered a sudden and unexpected height, muscle, and overall hotness reduction.

I mean just reading his perspective made me laugh sometimes. *spoiler* Anyway, that moment at the lake when Ty did the spell and Kit said he loved him!!! I was so so so happy. So, of course, their separation at the end of the book almost killed me, because that means 3 years without any of them and they will barely be in contact since Ty will be at Scholomance and Kit is at Jem and Tessa's… TDA just ended and I am already desperate for TWP, it's going to be a long way.

I liked Cristina's and Mark's characters a lot, too. Cristina-Emma friendship is one of the most amazing things in these books, and if it weren't for the curse, they should have been parabatai. I rooted for Cristina and Mark to get together, but Cassie decided to go for polygamous relationship between Kieran, Mark and Cristina. As much as I love her representation and diversity (she is kind of a queen when it comes to that), I hated Kierarktina. For starters I never liked Kieran, sure he had his redemption and became quite more likable, but I always found him kind of bland and annoying. Then, I can literally see no chemistry between Cristina and Kieran. Kieran and Mark, sure, they had a lot going on in the past. Cristina and Mark had fireworks going between them, but Kieran and Cristina? Nope, I felt nothing. I really didn't like three of them together and, to be honest, I felt really uncomfortable reading Kierarktina scenes.

Those were characters I wanted to point out or say something about. I love rest of them as much, especially those who were important in other series. Their appearances, interactions and contribution to the plot warmed my heart (*spoiler* especially Livia's Army when all of them worked together).

*From this point there will be spoilers and they won't be marked because I am going to comment on ending and some parts of the plot*

I am going to refer to some parts of the book and problematics that were solved one way or another.

First: Thule. I didn't see this coming, so there was no particular theory of mine about this, but a trip to Thule took a good third of this book. I wasn't entirely satisfied with it and couldn't say I actually liked it. It brought an interesting perspective on what would have happened if Clary hadn't won The Battle of the Burren, but aside from that, it wasn't of much significance. Sure, they brought back the mortal sword, but they didn't figure out anything with the curse or how to defeat the Unseelie King. I don't like concepts of parallel universes and such, so that is the reason I feel kind of bitter about that part (if it is like that, there are infinite universes and versions of characters and all could go in any direction, so what is the point anyway…). So maybe I am wrong and it was really important (it will be important for TWP for sure), but I did not like that part.

Then comes the big problem that stretches through all three books –the parabatai curse. I was eager to know how are things going play out with the curse for Julian and Emma, Cassie created an amazing plotline and mystery about the origin of parabatai. My theory was that Cortana was going to break the curse somehow, but that wasn't the case. Not even close, actually. I liked how were the effects of the curse shown and how Emma and Julian suffered not only mental but also physical changes. Yet I didn't find myself entirely happy about how things turned out. I didn't expect Julian and Emma to turn into half-giant angels in the middle of the battle and then just ? stop being parabatai?. That part is still a little bit foggy, like all that with the True Nephilim and what that has to do with parabatai. It was cool and I can't say I hate how things turned out, but I expected something a bit darker or something.

Second thing, how things got resolved with Faerie. Honestly, I expected Faeries to be of more importance in the end. The Unseelie King died in the middle of the book and his half-drunk son inherited him, so the only actual threat that was left was the Cohort. I was surprised that Ash was the weapon that caused the blight they were talking about and that was one big and quite an important point to the plot. In the end, Kieran inherited the throne of the Unseelie Court, which wasn't a big surprise and I think there ends the rivalry between Shadowhunters and the Unseelie Court. About Seelie… well, Queen fell suspiciously quiet in the second half of the book and I have this feeling she isn't done yet (which leaves another thing for The Wicked Powers).

Now I'm skipping to final battle because I have been dying to say something about that. I always enjoyed reading Clare's battle scenes, because all of them felt so inspiring and epic. One of the best scenes I have ever read is fighting between Julian, Emma and Riders of Mannan when Emma killed Fal. It was one, the last thing this book needed – an amazing battle, with all characters working together. Let's just not forget Dru, who has become one of my favorites through this book and Kit (Heir with powers!!! I already see TWP is going to be awesome). The outcome was pleasant, but not unexpectable. I knew Blackthorns and squad are going to win, but I was (pleasantly) surprised with the lack of death. After Lord of Shadows, I expected this to be a massacre, but it was less brutal. I'm not sure if I could take any of them dying.

And finally, the political outcome aka Cohort plot. As I said before I love how Cassie develops political life of Shadowhunters, as a forever changing constant that needs to be updated and fought for constantly. It had all led to the point where Horace became the Inquisitor and turned whole Council against Downworlders. After ending of Lord of Shadows, where I thought nothing could go wrong with that final plan, I was kind of anxious about Livvy's Army, but it all turned out well. Except for the Exile. When Cassie said Shadow World is going to change forever I didn't expect anything near this. I am eager to see how Clave works without Idris and I feel like this is going to be a major plotline in The Wicked Powers.

The ending of the Dark Artifices was pretty important to me and I had really high expectations for this book. Probably too high. I was hyped all year about it, so when it finally came, I expected it to be this epic book where I wouldn't be able to breathe and everything would surprise me. Which is totally unrealistic, I know, but that sense of disappointment disappeared after thinking through it and seeing how amazing this book actually was. So, all these negative comments are just small critiques or something that bugged me a bit, but all in all, I loved this book. This is probably the longest review I have ever written, so I think it is time to finish.

Cassandra Clare will remain one of my all-time favorite authors and I will never stop being so excited about her books. Can't wait for The Red Scrolls of Magic and then Chain of Gold!

Some other notes that I can’t fit in my review but have to share:

· I hate Zara more than anything I have ever hated

Zara always chose the same chair in the Inquisitor’s office. Manuel suspected it was because she liked to sit beneath the portrait of herself, so that people would be forced to gaze at two Zaras, and not just one.

· Some Kitty fluff

He made a face that was probably supposed to be scornful but was actually just cute.

“Yes, you can,” Kit whispered. “You can. You think this will make your family stronger, but it will destroy them if you bring her back. You think you can’t survive without Livvy, but you can. We will go through it together.” Kit’s face was cold; he realized he was crying. “I love you, Ty. I love you.”

Ty’s face went blank with surprise. Kit plowed on, regardless, hardly knowing what he was saying.

“She’s gone, Ty. She’s gone forever. You have to get through this. Your family will help you. I will help you. But not if you do this. Not if you do this, Ty.”

· Jemma fluff of course

So who am I to you, then?” he asked, dropping his hand.

“You are the person I have to protect until my Julian comes back to live inside you again,” she said. “I don’t want this. I want the Julian I love. You might be in the cage, Jules, but as long as you are like this, I am in the cage with you.”

· Ragnor Fell is one of the most amazing characters that ever existed

· Jem calling Emma little sister uwu