#infernal devices extra

[jaimrennnn]

some people have requested I post the ‘offering of moonlight’ of Jem’s perspective on his first kiss with Tessa and here is it

@light-black-stairs @lxdyblackthorn

[wikitpowers]

“Herondales were always flames... They loved and suffered as if they would burn away with the sheer force of their own fire."

[shining-just-4-u]

jem carstairs I miss you. come back

[born-this-way-16]

The Shadowhunters Chronicle: Extras and Deleted Scenes

Hello tumblr!

So I've been working on this on and off for quite some time now, and I figure that even if it wasn't finish yet I could still start putting it out there in case anyone was interested, or had been working on a similar document.

The document is exactly what the title says, a compilation of all the extras and deleted scenes available to us (so far) (and as far as I've gone as of today, may 2024).

Indeed some extras can be find on the internet but aren't technically allowed to be shared yet through official channels, publishing houses having the rights to exclusivity for a certain amount of time (as mentioned in one of Cassie's newsletter https://mailchi.mp/cassandraclare/20221206-7908076?e=eaba486123)

Like I've said it ain't finish yet, but it also won't ever really be finish for quite a few years with more books coming... So I figured fuck it! let's share the wip ;)

Lots of love people <3

[shellii-c]

So I saw today someone posting Tessa and Jems First kiss from Jems POV and I realised maybe not everyone has the compendium of The Infernal Devices Extras that I have so I have painstakingly screen shot all 90odd pages, as I can't figure out how to share it as a file from my phone.

So I will be adding 10 pages at a time if people are interested.

PART 1 OF ???

[thepictureofsdr]

some people seem to like this so i’ll elaborate

basically we know that alastair doesn’t want to go into politics right? but that doesn’t mean he can’t use his genius to help out gideon and charlotte, the extra parental figures whom he adores. he subs in for legislative debates when they need help or a strong speaker, especially since he doesn’t want a political career so he doesn’t exactly have to be courteous, he can say whatever he wants as he doesnt have a political reputation to coddle. hes charlottes mouthpiece, when she has to be the calm, collected, and perfectly neutral consul, he can get in front of a crowd and shoot down every bullshit proposition with no looking back as eloquent as ever.

as the years go on, he stays just as involved, working directly with charlotte and gideon, and gaining more and more infamy. people respect that he isn’t some wishy washy asshole, if he thinks a plan is bigoted and idiotic he’s going to say it, but the thing is, he gets people to move. he’s incredibly intelligent and well spoken, hes prepared for any argument with a logical and moral comeback as to why his point makes sense. he changes opinions, he gets things moving. so much so that people try to offer him jobs to campaign and speak for their proposals, with his minds monetary value increasing by the day.

and then the time comes for charlotte to step down. its a planned in advance resignation, so candidates have a chance to put themselves forward and speak on their beliefs. all the options are absolute SHITE. no one has known what charles supports since he began hinting at being a candidate. the others are weak and torn to bits. people have been BEGGING for alastair to put himself forward but he continues to refuse. the choice is much to the chagrin of half the shadow world, but no one wants to get on his bad side and nominate him last second [god bless jace for consul lightwood bane]. as we know, the hunters vote through speaking into the cup so like,,, technically they’re not exactly restricted to those offered up formally.

everyone votes. the smoke whirls out of the cup.

alastair carstairs.

you could hear a pin drop. and then the loudest roaring cheer as charles fairchild looks like hes about to commit a felony.

i think from there its up to anyone who likes the hc, maybe you think he becomes a successful politician who goes on for years but i like to think he takes the position, spends the first few years making changes he sees fit or pushing for things charlotte could never get through, and once he does that he just… he just starts pushing forward increasingly liberal campaigns like mental health services or improving the academy or providing help for things like addiction [remember the year they’re in] and he just keeps going and going until the majority is against him and he retires early and gets to live the peaceful non political life he wants. a girl boss, if you will.

my best crack pot theory about alastair’s life is that he gets elected consul against his will it makes me giggle every time

[yugiohcardsdaily]

Xtra HERO Infernal Devicer

"2 'HERO' monsters If this card is Link Summoned: You can reveal 1 'HERO' Fusion Monster in your Extra Deck, and if you do, add up to 2 of the Fusion Materials mentioned on that card, with different names, from your Deck to your hand. You cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate the effect, except 'HERO' monsters. You can only use this effect of 'Xtra HERO Infernal Devicer' once per turn. Fiend monsters this card points to gain ATK/DEF equal to its Level x 100."

[rinadragomir]

Im happy but Im sad cassie feels tid couples dont have room for telling stories, I feel gabrily is very incomplete and needed more plot, we just saw them kissing and then when they had three kids but not what happened, we didnt even get Wills reaction to them dating :(

The infernal devices couples got devoured by herongratstairs, I'll always be mad at how Cassie acts like no one but them exists in TID. Though she did give some material for minor ships in other TSC series.

Sophideon wedding mention where? Did Sophie change after transformation ceremony? What was it like for her? How did her and Gideon's relationship develop after she stopped being a servant? Her pregnancy issues. Where why what how. I only know that they had a cat in Chain of Thorns

Gabrily probably did something bad to Cassie, cause we barely saw them together even in TLH. What their relationship was like? Did they have any dates? How did he propose her? What do they love doing together? Hello? Hi? How r u, r u guys alive out there? Because I bet they had a wild life, Gabriel threw some man out of the window because he mostly wanted to impress Cecily. Where's that now?

AH Charlotte x Henry.... Do they even have a ship name? Who knows. They're chaotic ones, he got her pregnant BEFORE they confessed their feelings for each other. And y'all keep wondering why Matthew is the way he is. Because his parents are sluts. Working sluts. How are they doing? How did their relationship change after they found out about each other's feelings? What was her first pregnancy like? How was basically everything?

My only hope is the fact that we have 1) Matthew's extra story 2) Anna & Ari story 3) Thomastair story and MAYBE IF GOD EXISTS AND HE WISHES KINDNESS UPON US we'll get some of their parents crumbs.

[the-whatcherof-89]

Pearlescentmoon aka Pearl Moo the Un-beelivable Postmaster.

CR 18 NG/NE Medium Humanoid Shapechanger.

XP 153,600 (if used as npc for encounter)Human Entothrope Werewasp(Bee variant)Vigilante (Splintersoul)17

Neutral Good/Evil Medium humanoid Shapechanger(Human, vermin)

Init +6; Senses Perception +27 Darkvision 60ft Low light vision

AC 29, touch 19, flat-footed 23 (+6 Dex, +4 Deflection, +9 Armor) (+2Natural armor in Hybrid/vermin form) Hp 165 (17d8+85) (17 temporary Hp while in Hybrid/Vermin form)

Fort +17, Ref +22, Will +16 (+1 in Fortitude and Reflexes while in Hybrid/vermin form)

Speed 30 ft, 20ft climb, 60ft flying(good) Melee Axes+20/15/10 1D6+2(+9d8 precision damage) 

Only in hybrid/vermin form: 2 Natural attack+18 1d4+2 Sting+18 1d8+2 plus poison(DC24 1/round for 6 rounds 1d2 Dex cure 1 save) and curse of entothropy DC15 Ranged Crossbow +19 1D8+3(+9d8 precision damage)

Racial Bonus feat (Master crafter), +1 Skill point per level, Speed 30 ft, Change shape Hybrid/vermin form(+2 Natural armor+2Dex +2Con, DR 5/silver, 20ft climb, 60ft flying, Darkvision 60ft, Low light vision, Natural attacks, Curse of entothropy), Entothropic emphaty, Insect mind.

Traits Excellent penmanship, Empty mask.

Class features Splintered identity, Seamless guise, Vigilante specialization: Stalker(+9d8 precision damage), Social talents: Renown, Celebrity discount, Great renown, Social grace[Bluff, Intuition, Stealth], Safe house, Quick change, Sudden change, Surprising change, Vigilante talents: Lethal grace(natural attacks, axe), Evasive, Cunning feint, Blind spot, Hide in plain sight.

Str 10, Dex 22, Con 20, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 24

Base Atk +12/7/2; CMB +18; CMD +28

Feats Strong personality, Extra vigilant feats: Strike the unseen, Vital punishment, Up close and personal, Combat skill(Improved vital strike, Greater vital strike), Shield of blades, Signature weapon(axe), Returning weapon.

Skills Acrobatics +16, Appraise +6, Bluff +17, Climb +8, Craft(Stone & Metal) +20, Diplomacy +11, Disguise +20, Disable device+20, Escape artist +12, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (Dungeon +6, Engineering +6, Local +6, Nobility +6), Linguistics +3, Perception +17, Perform(oratory) +11, Profession(Postwoman) +10, Ride +10, Sense motive +4, Sleight of hand +15, Spellcraft +19, Stealth +26, Survival +5, Swim +10, Use magic device +11.

Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Orchis, Aquan, Infernal, Vermin empathy.

Combat gear Distance Cunning Light crossbow+1, 50+2 Bolts, Merciful huntsman axe+2, Silencing axe+2, Ring of protection+4, Shadow mithral chain shirt+5, Belt of physical might+4 (Dex, Con), Headband of mental prowess+4 (Int, Cha, Spellcraft), Cloak of resistance+4, Amulet of mighty fists+2, Burglar boots(minor), Gloves of reconnaissance, Coat of pockets, Courier’s secret pouch, Hat of disguises, Black marketeer’s bag, Bookmark of deception, Codex of conversation, Corset of the Vishkanya, 4 Potions of Cure critical wounds , Manual of quickness of action+2(Used), Tome of leadership and influence+2(Used), 6 Doses of Blue Whinnis, Vigilante’s kit, Postmaster’s outfit, Mwk thieves tools, 2 Cats(Nugget & Olive), 10GP, The crimson shroud(Artifact).

The crimson shroud: This artifact is a ring with many ruby shards poking from the golden surface and glows and eerily crimson during the nights of full moon creating a full red cloak to shield the user. During said nights, the holder of the ring becomes even more unhinged and powerful granting a +6 bonus on Natural armor Strength and Constitution (an effect similar to the barbarian rage but without any other effects). The user feels compelled to perform acts of violence for no reason or under some animalistic instinct but NEVER against other creatures of the same kin(like humans or other bee creatures). While the user cannot notice or remember the acts it has an instinct to prevent to remove the ring as it makes the user immune to fear and charms that would even “suggest” to remove it. Furthermore, the ring rewards those that performs act of violence (even under guise) by granting the holder a regenerative ability healing the individual by 2Hp each round and increasing by 1 for every victim or defeated target (to a maximum of 10) during the night. The ring is said to be made with the crystallized blood of a war god and the only way to destroy it is to find his corpse and deliver it. To remove it from the finger without harming the user, one must use a couple of Rings Gates to deliver the ring on the other side at 100 miles, then have it being pulled out using a DC25 Strength check.

Background PearlescentMoon simply known as Pearl or Mrs Moo is one of the many inhabitants of the land of Hermits where many buildings defy the laws of possibility and brings wonder to those who lay their eyes upon them. Pearl is known as one of the many that helped to build many of these wonders, especially for Grian. She is in her own right a great builder herself that loves to mix various styles and she is known to have recently created a postal service along with Ethoslab and Tangotek where she is the Postmaster. She is a friendly outgoing person, especially with the “Soup Group” composed of Geminitay and ImpulseSV. However, deep beneath some people remember another Pearl, a red one, one that predated, hunted, killed: the Scarlet Pearl. Very few remember the events that transpired during the events known as Double Life but one that stood was when Pearl fell into a different more “Scarlet”persona, one that spilled the blood of both friends and foes. For some unknown reasons(maybe for the best) Pearl thinks that the event was but a dream. Who knows, maybe the other hermits subdued her to make her forget the event and let her return to her “better self” or maybe something more macabre occurred, no one knows. However, while her work distract her form these dreams she keeps seeing them especially during the full moon. One night she was restless and could not sleep so she went for a walk, the night was clear and tranquil but her fear of seeing again those dreams was more real than ever. “Do you want to be free of those dreams? I can make it happen.” Said a voice. Pearl jolted but found no one she was alone. “If you want to discover your crimson self and surpass it come find me, if you can. A guiding light is however, mandatory.” And she noticed a crimson light coming from a small hole in the ground. Pearl heard whispers in her head and could not resist, her hand reached in and as it came out it was wearing a golden ring with rubies on it. As soon as that happened the world changed around her and she found herself in a new land close to a town in front of an abandoned postal office. Her memories wandered but could not remember much, however she remained under her instinct as postmaster and carried on her duty not knowing that the night would have called for her other self to spread and grow her hive using her sting and punishing the criminals around the land. The Crimson Pearl was reborn, albeit a little different.

Image made using Heroforge.

[ladyhindsight]

After their eventful escapade in the previous chapter, Clary and Sebastian return to the moving house and enter the weapons room which is occupied by Jace.

Or, you know, katana, wakizashi, tanto—their actual names since you managed kindjals and chakhrams?

They get to talking about their, again, favorite subject: Valentine and Valentine’s plans and how Valentine’s ideas sucked and how their ideas are better than Valentine’s. Sebastian also reveals that Magdalena will forge them a new Mortal Cup.

→ I want to know what these tasks are because it seems they are doing boatload of nothing.

→ Even for a lie, this is the dumbest plan I’ve heard come from the series. And Clary does very little to even question it.

Then they talk shit for a while and Clare makes a fond recall to Clary and Sebastian kissing in City of Glass. Then we cut to Simon who is meeting up with Rebecca in order to sever his last tie to the mundane world.

→ Rebecca and their mother

→ Rebecca liked to refer their mother

Because she is not only Simon’s.

This was honestly so great. It's more palpable and touching than anything Clare has managed to write about Simon and Clary, for instance. Or any other siblings for that matter. These are glimpses of an actual life, specific things that have happened, and in a small space tell so much about Simon and Rebecca’s life. Not the formlessness of the fantastical childhood with Clary, but actual tangible and relatable things that they’ve experienced. Hooray!

Cut to Jordan. Not hooray.

Let’s promote codependency! It’s not cute.

Maia then arrives at Jordan’s and they immediately get to the business of, you guessed it, flirting and making out.

Jordan can’t even imagine a thing to talk about with Maia. Maia does’t even want to talk about anything with Jordan. Wow.

Valiant effort. Not.

Cut back to Clary and Jace.

Yay, the chipped tooth makes a return! Also no. It saves nothing about Jace being annoying, not when Clare writes the way she does.

→ The sentences between the em dashes are more often than not, especially in this book, so long that I have to keep going back to the actual main clause to get a sense of what the writing was even trying to say in the first place.

→ Love that Clary reminds Jace that he does like his family, because what Jace says here is more truer to the narrative than whatever Clary tries to bring forth here. Even if it's Not-Jace saying it.

→ Okay, then the fuck is the faith of Raziel even about? Also, yeah, Raziel doesn’t give a flying fuck about them. Stick it to him!

→ Good motivation to turn against the Nephilim, I like the resentment here, though actual Jace doesn’t even think like this.

Again, the em dashes function like a comma, a colon, or parenthesis. Like commas and parentheses, em dashes set off extra information, and here they are again like in too many occasions used like parenthesis (or commas), but wrong. Without the em dashes the sentence here in the excerpt would go like this:

His touch was comforting, and if the key was slightly different, with her eyes closed, she couldn’t tell.

Which doesn’t make sense at all.

→ His touch was comforting. The feel of his heartbeat against hers waslike familiar music, and if the key was slightly different…

→ Their blood is not the same, except the Ithuriel part which I think is a sneaky tactic to have them be related even in that way... Also blood is supposed to be under the skin, what other kind and where else it would be?

Clary then asks Jace to read her something.

I had blissfully forgotten these references to The Infernal Devices. Also a hasty excuse why Valentine had the exact book that needs to exist in this time and space for the sake of the reference that they raved about basically the whole of TID.

[mostlynotwork]

In a dystopian future Earth, a global war ranges between giant mobile cities and the ‘anti-tractionists’ under the command of the Green Storm and their leader, the cyborg stalker ‘Fang’.

‘Infernal Devices’ is the third book in the ‘Mortal Engines’ series. The series is set in a dystopian future where giant ‘traction cities’ roam the wastelands and seas attacking and consuming smaller cities and towns.

The improbable but fun concept of mobile cities is what drew me to this series in the first place. Despite some peculiar flaws and inconsistencies in the technology of the world and its characters, I’ve grown to enjoy it.

If you’ve enjoyed the previous books, ‘Infernal Devices’ follows a similar formula, so will give you similar results.  As a more ..mature.. reader, I enjoyed the extra world building detail in this book and that the fighting between cities and the anti-tractionists is now done in a  more logical manner.

If you’re new to this series,  these books  would be best suited to readers interested in a steampunk style dystopia with younger protagonists. It has its flaws, but it’s generally a well paced adventure. As a story intended for a younger audience, it’s an easier read so could be good if you’re looking for something for a quick read.

You can read my thoughts on the first two books here:

Mortal Engines - Phillip Reeve

Mortal Engines: Predators Gold - Phillip Reeve

Want to know more? Then read on, but be warned the rest of this post contains minor spoilers for the earlier books.

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

The great war continues.

‘Infernal Devices’ takes place sixteen years after the events of ‘Predators Gold’. The great war between the traction cities and the ‘Green Storm’ continues, but in the static city of Anchorage, Tom and Hesta live a peaceful life raising their daughter Wren.

Desperate to escape her dull life in Anchorage, Wren agrees to help a young pirate steal the mysterious ‘Tin Book of Anchorage’. Wren’s theft sets in motion world changing events, and Tom and Hesta are forced to once more venture into the dangerous world of traction cities and the war with the ‘Green Storm’. 

The story follows several familiar characters, as well as introducing new ones. The new characters, like Wren, are of an age similar to that of the protagonists in the previous books. (10-16yo), helping to provide a connection to the book’s intended audience now that the previous protagonists are older. 

An enjoyable multi level plot, and city combat that finally makes more sense.

‘Infernal Devices’ is book three of a quartet. However it felt more like the first half of a new adventure due to the time that has passed and the shift to Wren as the primary character. The story leverages the world building that has been done in the earlier books, but enriches the world by introducing new cities and exploring how things have changed in the gap between the novels.

I’m enjoying the bigger story that has been built up, leveraging the events that have gone before.  We not only have the adventures and interpersonal drama of Tom, Hesta and Wren, but a richer global story. We learn more about the war, the relationships between traction cities, the society of Brighton, and the internal politics of the Green Storm. 

We also get intercity (and city vs Green Storm) combat that makes more sense, with the traction cities fighting more like navies supported by aircraft carriers. Of course there’s still aspects of the warfare that make no sense, like the ability to build cyborg supersoldiers (the ‘Stalkers’) and yet still only have basic airpower and artillery. As with the previous books, one has to just suspend disbelief about those aspects and enjoy the steampunk style mashup of old tech and new.

The pitfalls of young characters

One of the things that feels incongruous with these books at times is the younger characters. I’m willing to suspend disbelief as far as the young (10yo) characters being able to do some of the things they are doing - like piloting a submarine. But I still find it jarring that we can have characters go from these same characters talking  about “mummy and daddy” in child-like language to having these same characters have much more mature conversations.

Likewise, it seems misplaced to have  these young characters being very innocent in one scene and then brutally killing someone in the next. The presence of child soldiers in our current world is evidence children can be conditioned to kill. But the way the characters seem to flip-flop between scenes feels incongruous. 

Still, the young characters is likely intended to connect with the books primary audience, so their inclusion makes sense. But as a reader I wish some of the scenes and events were handled a little better.

Overall though a good series, and I’m looking forward to reading/listening to the final book.

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

~~ Chapter 6: Pickles and Ice cream ~~

Read the prequel on Ao3, links at the bottom. Updates Tuesdays.

When Dryden had gotten a holocall ping at three in the morning, he knows there was only one person it could be. His organization, as a whole, knew not to interrupt his beauty sleep unless the consequences of waiting until morning were in the 'millions of credits' range, and that just didn't happen on a tight ship like his. With rare exception, of course.

So he dutifully gets up, puts on his nubian cashmere robe -the long one with the embossed gray lilies, not the short black number with cranes- and sends a servant to go fetch him caf. Then, he answers. 

"My lord," he smiles at the hooded holo form sleepily, "how may I be of service?" 

"Vos. Listen carefully: My Enemies have decided to try a new track. They have unleashed some kind of spell or device which-"

As soon as he hears 'my enemies', capital M, capital E, Dryden knows to get comfortable.

The sith lord starts in on one of his legendary rants, with all the effortless panache of a born thespian. Maul paces in the tight space allotted by the holocomm, throwing his entire body into the little performance. Facial expressions that tell entire stories. Sweeping gestures with fists and- ah, he’s grown out his claws. Lovely.

"-these… instances vary in length and frequency. The lack of discernible pattern tells me that-"

One of the staff drops off his caffuccino with extra whip and cinnamon, and the head of the Crimson Dawn sips on it while learning a fair amount about a variety of things. Who Darth Maul suspects is doing this, what they might be using to do it, when it started, where the technique might have come from, why they might be doing this, and how poorly holoprojections capture the infernal yellow glow of his eyes when Maul is pissed .

The complete story just isn't possible via holocall. A shame… his sith is ever so entrancing when furious.

"-so now you understand what we must be looking for. I suspect the line of Darth Morpic might have texts which-"

He's still going. Dryden snuggles with his caf and waits for his moment. 

"-then you will have to bring whatever resources you find here to me, on Dathomir. I will ensure the temple's defenses do not… impede you, also-"

Still going.

"-renovations to that area are a work in progress. Do not land on the east side of the cliffs. Leaving is not an option or I would-"

His caf is gone, but the moment is here. Opportunity sings to him. He stands to meet the zabrak’s energy, gesturing grandly with his empty caf mug.

"My lord, please! It would be an honor to visit your home, bringing you aid." Stage secured, Dryden sets a hand to his breast, leaning in toward the holoprojector's camera. "My collection of esoteric references is nowhere near as extensive as yours must be, but I will begin combing it immediately."

Maul looks pleased. Or, no, he looks faintly murderous, but he’s just blinked the way he does when something has pleased him. Dryden smiles, indulgent, and sweetly promises, "I will also have a team begin checking the usual auctions and private collections for additional resources. Whoever has dared to inconvenience us like this is very quickly going to discover the error of their ways, yes?"

By 'discover' he means 'die for', and by 'error' he means 'interrupting his business and keeping Maul away'. How dare they? His sith is a necessary feature to Dryden's routine. To the Dawn itself. 

Working under sithless conditions would be, well, possible , of course. Allowing their criminal empire to fall over such a loss would be inexcusably negligent on his part. No, the Dawn would come regardless of Maul’s involvement, but operating without his cold-blooded, yellow-eyed warlock would be so much more… unsatisfying. Dull. Dreary. 

Untenable!

"Very good," Maul says, haughty. "I will expect you."

"Of course," he simpers, bowing slightly.

Maul scowls and hangs up.

Dryden grins at the inactive holocomm. Dathomir! Finally, his patience is beginning to pay off. What knowledge, what power, a planet of such repute might hold. With the demise of the witches the only thing left to guard Dathomir’s secrets is the planet itself, and… well. If any one being is capable of protecting the wisdom of an entire culture, perhaps it is Lord Maul. 

But, oh, he has come to understand the sith like no other, earning more of him with each conversation. Maul could be a truly formidable obstacle, if he chose to be, between Dathomir's lost arts and the rest of the galaxy. But, with time, he will not be to Dryden Vos. 

Flushed with victory, the crime lord wanders to the small archive he has onboard, still in his night clothes. Most of his collection is on an unnamed ice moon in a vault -not on a ship that could get scuttled if his luck soured- but there were a few things here that might provide either answers, or something to whet the appetite. At least until more robust materials could be found. 

He makes a call to the caretakers on his private moon base, and sends them digging. Then, the near-human starts in on trawling the materials onboard.

"Fear not, my dear ," he tells the quiet stacks, "I shall find us answers."

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

tag list: @ghostpeppercalamari

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[sprolden]

ok thinking about the infernal devices again. i think the reason why tid is almost a cult classic or at least very much adored by ppl who read it once 10 years ago is definitely because of the way it twists common ya tropes. it takes those tropes and adds extra elements to them or changes them in a way to make them more three-dimensional, which makes it interesting to read for anyone who grew up reading ya and is overly familiar with the genre and its clichés. obviously the conflict-free love triangle is the best example of this but there's also the way jessamine fits the pretty mean girl/dumb blonde trope when she is introduced, but only becomes a genuine villain when she sheds both of these roles (and eventually becomes something of an anti-hero when she falls back into them); how will fits the tortured bad boy trope but one of the main antagonists (nate) does too from jessamine's pov (and, additionally, how jessamine effectively acts as tessa's foil for their respective romances); how will/jem are introduced and function as polar opposites/counterparts but throughout the series have more and more moments where they're revealed to be very much alike to the point where will explicitly refers to them as being the same person (in the most literal sense, something that's stated at the very start of the series too but takes on a different meaning as it goes on); the way the first book seems to set up for sophie/jem but ultimately does not deliver on it; etc. etc. it's genuinely very clever but ONLY to girls who have read like 60 ya novels in the past 5 years bc it requires a knowledge of how these tropes often function in ya lit and how tid subverts them. if it did this for literally any other genre it would be a classic

[tothelasthoursofmylife]

Extended endnotes for "The Countess, Destruction"

As I said in the Ao3 endnotes, I ran out of characters and had to cut them a bit short. So, here's the very extended version, all with links, citations, and pictures! (Please read the chapter first before reading the endnotes, of course.)

This chapter was also very much created with the help of Google Maps, Ciel's stink eye, and a bag of devil fruit fruit gum <3

Bridges and Walks

In 1846, Cloudia and Milton take a very long, very weird walk through the city. Mapping it was rather fun, though also a bit finicky because I had to check every bridge’s creation date. Blackfriars Bridge existed in 1846, as did Waterloo Bridge. But Hungerford Bridge and the Golden Jubilee Bridges, the bridges that come “next in line”? No! The former opened in 1864, the latter in 2002. Unfortunately (?), all the bridges between Westminster and Putney Bridge just did not exist in 1846, and that’s why their track looks like this:

(This leaves out their starting point somewhere in the Square Mile where the Salisbury Trading HQ is.)

It’s safe to say that they got one hell of a workout XD They stopped right by Hyde Park, and then, Milton surprised Cloudia by going in the direction of Kensington Palace (up; that empty square is where the palace is) and not back to where Holland House is. (Holland Park was constructed between 1860 and 1880, so I couldn’t use it as a pointer. Holland House is there where the park is though.) Cloudia, herself, went right towards Mayfair. Where Milton went? Well… that’s for another day (and year omg).

I picked Blackfriars Bridge as Cloudia’s favourite bridge because of its significance in The Infernal Devices (in which the protagonists fight against automatons, and all instalments are called Clockwork [Something] heh; that series is also set in the Victorian era, but in 1878). I also think the bridge is very pretty! Love that it is red and white; bridges should be more colourful in general.

I was in London in 2016 for a school trip and really wanted to go to that bridge. Sadly, we couldn’t move around on our own, and I didn’t have anyone willing to go with me. So, I only saw it from afar when we took a boat across the Thames.

(Very zoomed.)

The white-and-red metal bridge did not exist in 1846 anyway. Instead, Blackfriars Bridge was made of brownstone and looked like this:

(Painting from around 1800)

The first Blackfriars Bridge was dismantled in 1860 because it became just too wonky. Queen Victoria opened the second one in 1869. I would say that Vincent and Francis went to the opening in their mother’s stead.

(Extra: When I was in London, we walked beneath London Bridge, and I swear that the damn nursery rhyme’s melody started playing from somewhere! It was very weird.)

Additionally, while the first arc is named the “Inner London Murders Arc,” looking back, I’ve never specified where exactly the Salisbury Villa is located! As there were already attacks in Westminster, Camden, and Islington, I picked Kensington as the villa’s location. It was nice to very briefly revisit a location that was so important in the beginning and that doesn’t exist anymore.

Train Station

The Gare du Nord is the busiest train station in Europe and will soon be the largest train station in Europe too! In 1848, the train station was very busy too, but, by far, not large at all. It looked like this back then:

(Copperplate print from 1847)

It’s so tiny, isn’t it? In 1843, construction began, and two different designs for the train station were proposed. Of course, “management opted to construct the less spacious of the two options, despite the occurrence of stations serving capital city becoming overwhelmed already being a known phenomenon in both London and Brussels.” And that’s why the original Gare du Nord only existed from 1846 to 1860 (seriously, what were they thinking?). They partially demolished it to redo and expand it, and its front façade was transferred to the Lille-Flandres Station. Above is the back of the first Gare du Nord, and this was its front:

(Not that I even got to describe the front.)

1848 Paris

We had originally planned to do a trip to Paris next week, but it has been postponed until next year now. My father is still going next week for a business trip though. Unfortunately, I can’t possibly ask him to find some time to take the worst walk ever through the city with the Gare du Nord as the starting point and take some pictures for me. Thankfully, the chapter is told from the POVs of two characters who have never been in Paris before. They don’t know where they are, so I don’t need to either. Their journey through Paris is purposefully confusing and distorted anyway with all the detours they need to take because of the ongoing uprising. Even if the chapter had been from Barrington’s POV, he would have stopped caring about street names and landmarks at some point anyway; there are just too many other things to concentrate on – like side tables. (Milton, on the other hand, would have rattled down every single street name in his narration. And that’s one of the reasons why we don’t spend any time in his head. (Though this chapter from his POV would have certainly been very interesting...))

Nevertheless, I did consult Google Maps yet again for Cloudia, Cedric, and Milton’s chase through Paris and the others’ way to Cecelia’s house, though in much vaguer capacity than for the 1846 walk.

Cecelia lives in the current-day 7th arrondissement. It was the high nobility district from the 17th century until the French Revolution, and then again during the Bourbon Restauration before losing this status yet again in 1830. Unlike last time, it did remain “the centre of the French upper class’ social life” at least despite losing its political influence. That’s how Paris is divided into arrondissements nowadays:

In 1848, however, the division looked like this:

They changed the arrangement in 1859/60 upon expanding the city borders. As such, Cecelia’s house is somewhere in the 10th arrondissement in 1848, not in the 7th.

Google Maps’ recommended way from the Gare du Nord to the 7th arrondissement:

Newman, Aurèle, and Co. went more west first though and then south. (To keep them relatively safe and me sane.)

On Cloudia and Co.’s side, I looked up where the Hôtel de Ville, the Place du Panthéon, and the Place de la Bastille roughly lie in relation to the Gare du Nord (all are south/south-east to the station), as they are important locations in the uprising. While Cloudia and Co. aren’t exactly going anywhere specific, they are heading south in the worst way ever. (So that it’s easier for me to get them to Cecelia’s house later.) That’s about the path they took:

(I’m joking.)

As I said above, the path they’re taking is very, very messy, and neither Cloudia nor Cedric knows Paris anyway. They could make out the Notre-Dame or the Arc de Triomphe and such; that’s it. (That doesn’t help them though as they’re not going anywhere near any famous, well-known sights.) And because Paris most definitely changed a lot since 1848 anyway, I didn’t need to be super specific with anything anyway. Still, I didn’t want to make everything up, so I went searching on Google Maps for some interesting things they could have passed by.

And hello, church close to the station! I loved that it’s named Saint-Vincent-de-Paul and that it existed in 1848 too! (Was completed in 1844) The nearby square didn’t though (1862), and that’s why they pass by the church and nothingness with weeds (I have no idea what was actually in that place in 1848). I wanted to have them pass by the Montholon Square too as I saw that speck of green on the map, but it didn’t exist until 1862 too, so I dropped it. (That made me wonder if there are more squares/parks that were created in 1862? Anyway.) The church is the only actual thing on their way. Beyond it, all is made up.

June Days Uprising

The most difficult part to write. As I said in the Ao3 notes, I wanted to include an actual historical event into WotQ and I ultimately decided on the June Days Uprising. I live in Germany and only went to school here, and all we learn about French history in History class is Louis XIV and Louis XVI and the French Revolution. Because of this, I wasn’t really aware before I began planning this arc in 2018 that there was a lot of back and forth with France being a republic and a monarchy. E.g., the July Monarchy (start 1830) only just ended in February 1848 and France became a republic again. (And that merely lasted until 1852.)

Back in 2018, I went to a public library to look a few things up but couldn’t find much. I’ve been holding onto that note though, and it did give me a nice little timeline at least! The times were super helpful (start: 12 a.m. on the 23rd, end: 11 a.m. on the 26th); with that, I set out to make the first outline of Arc 4. (Unfortunately, I forgot to write down the book’s title then!)

When it became time to write Destruction, I couldn’t find a lot again, but two sites proved helpful.

With them and the Wikipedia article, I wrote Destruction’s first draft and finished the first revision round. Before I started the second, however, I remembered that I could just (mis)use my university library access to get more sources – and so I did! I found two books. A History of Modern France by Jeremy D. Popkin had a good little section on the Uprising, and Revolutionary Republicanism: Participation and Representation in 1848 France by Samuel Hayat is mostly about all that led to the revolution in February and what happened afterwards. I didn’t have time to read the entire book and only read the section that was just about the June Days Uprising (“Defending the Republic”). (And as Cloudia and Co. are thrown very suddenly into that situation and are also outsiders who are focused on many other things/their own problems, they couldn’t have known/didn’t keep up with everything that led to the June Days anyway.)

With that new knowledge, I rewrote a few things during the second revision. That ranged from adding details like women’s participation in the revolt and the distribution of posters to toning down everything a bit.

I read that “Blood ran in the streets, more even than in the 1830 Revolution” and "June 1848 had unleashed the most sanguinary fighting that had yet been seen on the streets of Paris" and assumed the fighting was at 100% basically from the start. But I also wondered how the insurgents could seize the entire eastern half of Paris within about half a day, considering who they were up against:

Even with the fact that Cavaignac “spent a day bringing in 30,000 regular troops from outside the city, while the rebels constructed their barricades,” that seemed odd to me. And then I read the insurgents were allowed to take the city, and it all made sense.

(From A History of Modern France)

(From Revolutionary Republicanism)

I reduced the number of soldiers and bodies the characters encounter as well as the overall destruction and fights a bit, cutting out sentences here and there, without making it too tame. It was still a messy, bloody fight, just not as much as it would become a few days later. I added Cloudia and Oscar’s conversation about the lone guard during the second revision too; I was sure they would notice that something was just off about the situation.

I also treated the June Days as a “rebellion of despair” first and then set out to correct it. I’ll just put pieces of Revolutionary Republicanism here instead of trying to explain it myself.

(Not that any of this is (much) evident in the chapter anyway.)

All in all, I hope I didn't mess up too much writing this aspect of the chapter.

Others

Rowan calls Oscar’s wife “Trudy Livingstone,” but she was only known as such socially. Trudy never legally took Oscar’s last name and kept her own.

The "star in the corner of the envelope" thing Milton tells Cloudia is something my old pen pal and I used to do! We were each other's only pen pals, but we still did this as a little secret "code." (She's the daughter of the person who inspired Milton's "phantom heart pain when it rains" btw!)

The picture I used for the cover is a map of Paris in 1800. (The site’s next-dated map is 1864. I didn’t look at any while writing the chapter as neither of them is close enough to 1848. They also aren’t easy to read…)

This is the final “running/fighting” chapter. The logistics of Nebulous/Mimes, Locomotive Run, Destruction gnawed at my energy a lot. I’m so happy to be done with them, omg. Now, the “Stuck in Paris” chapters begin! (The June Days last until the 26th, and it’s currently the 23rd. Leaving the city and returning to Nanteuil-la-Forêt isn't the easiest right now, especially with injured people!) No more moving around hectically for a while! Hurrah! (Cedric needs to get Cloudia through the city first, of course…)

[misc-obeyme]

hiya its the rings anon

Thank you and i have beem thinking about what you said about the former rulers of hell, well it seems to me that Diavolo or his father anwered to another collective people, who rulled hell, while the king rulled the Devildom, now I know there are so many kings and higher ranking demons like King Paimon or Baal, or Samael, Astaroth

I would have assumed they were looking after the realms before they were named, and they never got along with Devildom which realm was above them with their darken stary sky.

So when the brothers fell, the King named them and also made them rulers of assigned realms which they can do anything they like, but would need to stay in the Devildom for a few millineia. Now the former demons werent happy, and theu built a governemnt that regulated the royal family of the Devildom,

Now in helluva boss its a different set with Greed ring from what ive seen is dark, and muderous and poor.

Now there must be other realms, like for example the realm Edom would be governed by Asmodeus, which was taken by Belial (distroyed) and Asmodeus took it back and left it with another queen.

Belial took Belphegor realm and injured his "brother" which made Belphegor go to the highest plane the Devildom, and after the first 100 years he got it back, but the city was empty, so he left it as well.

I always love the idea of the 7 rings of hell, like the 7 layers of heaven, like for example the Celestial realm is where Michael is in Obey me so therefore that would be the highest realm with a river going down to others and making a river to the Devildom, which turns to steam and thus heating up the rest of hell.

I probably assume MC would not know about this until learn that a lot of stuff (cuz I would be intrested in the history of the Devildom and also hell)

The references from helluva boss was obly used to doscribe the setting like the sky colour which I went to the sin, the Belphegor realm story based on The Infernal Devices, and others from Dante, Dead End, or Disenchentment, obey me has said some stuff that they dont go into, like when they mention the dwmon Astaroth in the poll. He is the duke of hell, and part of the goetia

I would assumed some of the goetia were demon born and looked after the realm when the former angels fell.

Some stayed to look after the other realms

Sorry if that was long, and i went on an tangent my fav demon is probably Belial so i simp

It's all good, anon! I have limited knowledge of these other medias, so I'm mostly coming at it from an Obey Me perspective.

I do think they talk about the Devildom having levels in the OG game, something about how a person could potentially walk through them all to get back to the human world. But I only think it was mentioned once and then never brought up again. Of course, I could also be misremembering lol.

I think there's a lot of potential for extra world building exactly because the game doesn't go into it too much. At least not when it comes to the idea that there's several levels or rings of hell and that the Devildom is but one of them.

And there definitely have to be other demons in the Devildom, right? Aside from the ones we know in the game, I mean. There's also the House of Lords that have been causing trouble in Nightbringer. So there are a lot of other characters that could also be explored.

[shellii-c]

Posting the compendium of The Infernal Devices Extras.

This part includes Will and Tessas first kiss from Wills POV.

The next upload will be slightly smaller as I'm trying to keep the pages together and not split stories into different posts.

PART 2 OF ???

@light-black-stairs