#like Gideon leaving & Gabriel staying

[helenofblackthorns]

25,24,19

I've already answered question 24 here :)

25. you can spend one day with a character of your choosing. who are they and what are you doing together? (does not necessarily need to be your #1 fave)

hmm maybe someone like Magnus? I feel like a day hanging out with him is guaranteed to be fun & memorable, doesn't really matter what we do. plus he's friends with so many people it probably wouldn't be just us so 👀 the more the merrier yeah?

19. tell me about your favourite sibling set and what you love about them.

Gideon and Gabriel Lightwood :) I love them both separately and their dynamic together. I think it's a lot more complicated than many siblings relationships just due to their upbringing & very different relationships they have with their father (& and mother in a way). They do love each other and care but that gets lost in the mess that is their family. Its just so interesting & there's a lot of storytelling potential there, especially with Tatiana in the mix (I'll always be a little bitter how none of it was really touched on in tlh tbh)

feel free to send me more

[im-out-of-it]

PSA: RANT ABOUT CORDELIA AND HOW SHES A TERRIBLE SISTER TO ALASTAIR

it astounds me all of the occasions that Alastair has told Cordelia how much he cares and loves her but I never see the same effort back. AND YES IM MAKING ANOTHER POST ABOUT IT

I see Alastair telling her of how he ensured she had the childhood he didn’t get, how he doesn’t trust James and Matthew and doesn’t want to see Cordelia get hurt, how he will support her endeavors whether her future is with James or Matthew, how he hides her sword because she really believed wayland the smith thought she was special (I’m sorry but that’s funny), how he defended cordelia after she ran off to Paris with Matthew, how Alastair didn’t want Cortana to choose her because then danger would follow her, and just how he’s there for her every single day-

and she’s got the audacity to say or think “wow we wouldn’t be here a year ago, he’s changed so much” CAN WE STOP WITH THIS

there’s a part that Thomas says (and I seriously hate that he’s the one to say it) how the past Alastair wouldn’t research paladins to save his sister like Alastair has never been the problem here. I fully believe he is the best brother to her. (I’d kill for this kind of brother) maybe he was stealthy about it in the past and didn’t want to be like “oh hey sis, by the way our father is a drunk and bastard and I’m always cleaning up his messes” like I don’t think she actually fully acknowledges all he has done for her

I’m not saying she needs to constantly thank Alastair but I don’t ever see her being grateful about what he does for her. when Charles is wounded (I don’t see why the bastard couldn’t die), Matthew basically tells Alastair to go to him. and Cordelia is like that’s so big of you Matthew!!!!!! I’m sorry but are we just going to ignore the way charles treated your brother? she seems to have zero concern about this. when Charles tries talking to Alastair, Cordelia tries to leave but Alastair keeps a grip on her. I think there’s only once when she tells Charles to leave Alastair alone but barely.

when Cordelia returns from Paris, it’s all about how she feels. mind you, Alastair feels he can’t have Thomas and yet that isn’t ever processed because how awful for Alastair to have a pov!!!!!!! he shows his support and wow Cordelia is shocked her brother supports her!!!!!!!!

she tells the merry thieves basically that they can continue to be rude to Alastair the day after her wedding. there’s no support there. when Thomas makes a remark about Alastair being awful (which to be fair, he is still trying to process what Alastair did but we don’t actually gain access to his thoughts so the writing doesn’t pay off in the end.), Cordelia says “I know you don’t like Alastair but he is my brother” and that’s it.

Alastair is gaining no support from Cordelia whatsoever. her every thought is about James. at least in chain of gold, she was wanting family honor and helping her family but right after that, it was all about James. and this is why I don’t like her character arc and I don’t like her after chain of gold. she’s extremely selfish and I don’t ever see her support Alastair. just mentioning Thomas and how they all know he was following Thomas isn’t being supportive. I think her worst crime was spying on Alastair and then staying there. no wonder he doesn’t trust you then.

I’m just saying that Alastair has always been there for Cordelia even if it was in quiet and she never seems grateful for him, or the fact Kit died for her. I love that Alastair has Thomas now and I believe he has Gideon, gabriel, Sophie, Eugenia, Cecily and they would make him feel accepted. Gabriel and Gideon had their childhood taken away by a toxic father as well- Cecily as well, and we know Sophie went through it. I feel that they would support and give Alastair the love and support he needs because he certainly doesn’t get any from his sister

and concluding, this is why the book should’ve focused on Alastair. he’s more interesting and I hate that we don’t get his thoughts and he never actually grieves his childhood and gets to process anything

[zoyalannister]

agree also gideon in the end is protrayed just surprised thomas likes alastair and doesn't hate him, i expected him accepting thomas but being wary of alastair as he was one of the people who spread the rumours of him cheating on sophie, but maybe he doesn't care

also in the end grace is pictured close to anna and ari, and then thomas and alastair are also pictured as close to them, is weird since during the series they barely talk

also the grave scene where they bury things, anna does not bury anything, because she says she likes all her choices, wouldn't grief made her blame herself for kit and made her want to bury something?

the point of leaving gabrily alone to grief does not make sense when gideon and sophie are surrounded by people and are also supposedly grieving, is said sona becomes friends with them as well as flora, so is one more thing that does not make sense in the book

there are other inconsistencies like every adult showing when the battle was finished and ari running to flora and anna staying behind, and then scenes later is mentioned gabriel was there, why did she not go to ther father? or had any reaction? maybe cassandra slipped the name later on as she was mentioning many adults but did not care much of it

the india travel is repeated many times and makes me think she will write a small piece of that, probably centered on ari and making he rhave the angst plot as she is meeting her bio family, i doubt she would center on anna's grief as canonically she stated many times during the epilogue she had not been as happy since she was a child. weird considering anna had accepting and good parents and is never mentioned she grew up sad or anything like that.

Gideon canonically doesn’t care about his family and this is another proof, any normal person wouldn’t be super happy immediately that their son is dating the guy who spread rumors about them cheating on their wife. But hey, Gideon is super loved by the fandom because he generated one half of the most popular ship, so why using logic?

To be honest I like the idea of Grace being close to Anna and Ari, probably they bonded over the fact that they’re the only characters grieving Kit for more than 15 minutes, but I find the idea of Thomastair and AriAnna being friends hilarious. It feels like the book is trying to tell you that gay people are automatically friends, it's not like they have a personality besides their sexual orientation, right?

Anna burying nothing is embarrassing, just CC wanting to show her as the edonistic character, but it looks like it comes from an old draft where Kit didn’t die since it doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t make any sense also that she was unhappy after childhood, are you fucking kidding me? Her family was well off, she had friends and a supportive family, everyone accepted she was lesbian and proud, she had a lot of sex, why was she unhappy?? It’s never mentioned, but I guess that in CC's vision having a relationship automatically multiplies your happiness.

Don't get me starte about the stupidest and cringiest """"battle""""" ever, Gabriel is probably mentioned just because CC realized at the last second that she needed someone from the TID gang and probably Gabriel was the random picked name. It doesn’t make any sense that Anna doesn’t run to him since it's the first time she sees him since Kit’s death, but this scene would make sense of Kit wasn’t supposed to die.

(Yes, I'll never believe that Kit’s death was planned since it's treated like shit and has no consequence, and obviously Matt and Sona were set up for dying).

As for the TID gang leaving Gabrily alone, I will be more explicit even if I will attract haters: it makes sense to me that they support each other and not Gabrily because they are shit people. They were shits as teenagers, they are shit as adults and the epilogue confirms so.

Anna and Ari will have their novella so CC can cross out the "WW couple" on the checklist for her short stories collection, and as you said it will probably be either about Ari or AriAnna being tourists and nothing of the grief will be mentioned.

[branw3lls]

cp2 thoughts!

-i’m stressed!!!!! theres no chain of gold audiobook available at any of the 3 libraries i’m a member of and it’s gonna take me too long to read during the week. i want to read CoT when it comes out, i am so bad about staying offline when i know there are spoilers but i want to give myself time to process my re-read. tlh books are so fucking long! thankful but i’m stressed!

- again listened to the audiobook and forgot it’s daniel sharman of teen wolf fame lol but he’s very good! was he another will fancast of the time? does not sing the irish ballads but he has a very nice voice and does all the accents well. does will with a welsh accent, you gotta love it

-this book this book this book. it’s gut punch after gut punch

“though i am the consul and lead the clave, it seems very much to me that this will go down as the time as charlotte branwell, and my legacy will be lost.” WELL! 

-consul wayland’s turn is still very abrupt to me, at least how it escalates from clockwork prince. he really turns to comically evil and i feel like we’re getting that with bridgestock. bridgestock has been much more straightforwardly a dick and but still. god will she ever catch a break 

-curse-less will is so heartbreaking and wonderful to see. makes me love dad!will even more. he’s just a goofy guy 

-‘that is what it means to be consul, charlotte’ i really think chain of thorns is going to put charlotte into more duty over family/loved ones whether that’s lucie being charged w something for necromancy or the inquisitor learning about matthew’s secret and forcing her hand in front of everyone to have him punished and to hurt her. i don’t think she’d punish either of them but i do think it’s going to be put in front of her. she will always bend the law for the ones she loves but how long/to what degree is she able to do that and still be consul. i’m scared!!!!!!!

-‘even his tufts of ginger hair radiating anxiety and love’ charlotte and henry showing small little affection towards each other makes any onlooker have to look away from them almost every time. their power

-can’t believe cecily is only in one book and is still such a big presence. gabrily forever! they fucking rock. charlotte gave gabriel one comforting hug and he said ok actually, i would die for you queen 

-i love these siblings and i love that tlh is even more about siblings and families

-charlotte interrupting literally every couple’s tender moments by abruptly swinging the library door open. i can’t imagine the institute after clockwork princess, too many couples, everyone had to be secretly making out in corridors constantly

-gewgaws!! gideon writing these letters to the consul about charlottes fake spending habits is soooo funny. lucie needs to ask her uncle gideon to be her editor

-mortmain is a fun villain. it’s almost scarier that he’s just a mortal human man who has twisted technology and dark magic and created something more sinister than a supernatural villain would and his motivations are all very tragic. i like exploring more of the downworlder tension/ shadowhunter relations and how that’s always an undercurrent of all these series

-bridget daly what the hell are you, sister

-the cadair idris battle scene kills me every time every time! “i am not mad! he is alive! he is alive and i will not leave him!” henry and charles both have been brought back from the brink of death by warlock magic and if charlotte has to also hold matthew while he’s injured and dying, i’ll lose it. no more gravely injured fairchilds! 

-it does feel like this book has about 6 different endings but i kind of always love that about tsc books. the big climax/battle is almost in the middle of the book and there’s plenty of fallout. like as much as there will always be angst and people we love dying, cc will always give us so many small sweet scenes as a balm. not that CoT will end happy per say but that’s a long fucking book. christmas at the institute is so so beautiful and i am dreading this christmas party at the institute where ‘terrible things happens”

-do you think callida fairchild died at the clockwork attack at the council meeting

-the god damn epilogue....nothing has messed me up quite the same way since. traumatizing truly. herongreystairs really is something else.  tessa leaving really makes me cry cry cry.  i know will’s death scene is not to be referenced for any tlh outcome anymore but “fairchild sons and daughters with curling red hair like henry’s had once been” i choose to believe this not referencing henry being dead but actually henry’s hair is just grey at that point

[gnattyplayssims]

1922 Pt1 - Recovering from War

Things had been quiet on the Hoffman Farm since Elena and the kids had moved out. Imram was enjoying having time to get to know his daughter better.

"Hey you two." Lizette greeted cheerfully "Dinner's almost ready and Kailee needs to feed Clover."

Clover, was a Polish Lowland Shepherd who Imram had adopted as a hunting dog but the pup had quickly become a close companion of Aunt Maira who insisted the new dog was her special friend.

"Who's my good girl? You are! Are you ready for dinner? I'm sure you're starving!"

"H-hi Clover," Kailee held out her hand cautiously, to the large dog. "It's just me, will you let me pet you?" Clover sniffed her hand warily before giving it a gentle lick and nuzzling against her. "Look Aunt Maira, Clover wants to be my friend too!"

Later that night as the family finished up eating Lizette noticed that Mai didn't look too good. "Are you doing alright?"

"I have a bit of a headache, I may go lay down for a bit"

"Please take care of yourself! You're not as young as you used to be and sickness could be fatal"

Upstairs Imram was doing his best to hide his heaviness. He didn't like his family seeing his gloomy side that had developed since the war "Honey, what are you doing in here all alone in the dark." Lizette slipped into the bedroom quietly and crossed to the fireplace.

Lizette waited quietly as her husband struggled through his thoughts. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry you."

"No, Honey, it's okay, please tell me what's going on."

"It's just, sometimes when I close my eyes, I'm still there and...I just don't want to bring you there with me"

Lizette pulled her husband down into her lap and gently stroked his cheek. "Then don't, let me keep you here with me." Lizette stroked him comfortingly until his breathing steadied and eventually deepened as he drifted off to sleep. For a long time they just sat there by the fire.

Imram's family wasn't the only family in Henford trying to adjust after the war. Gideon and Cecilia were also trying to adjust since his return. Both the kids were teens now. Kinley was getting rather proficient at knitting and liked spending her time alone outside with her projects.

Meanwhile Gabriel enjoyed messing with his sister. "You ruined my dollhouse!" "Oh give me a break, you're 12 years old. Way too old to be playing with dolls. I did you a favor!" "You're so mean!" Gabriel just laughed. "Awe are you going to cry about it. Just grow up!"

Things didn't get better as the two got older. Teasing was Gabriel's favorite past-time which only made Kinley withdraw more. "Just leave me alone Gabe. Go pick on someone else."

"Why should I? You're the most fun to tease." The more Gabriel teased the more timid Kinley became

Despite still living in Britechester, Vivienne came often to visit the only family she had left. "What's happening in the city?"

"Oh so much, now that women have the right to vote things are changing fast. And the Hemman Memorial Library will be opening next week."

Visits with Vivienne were always a stark reminder to Cecilia that Henford was still stuck in the past. Things were changing for women out there but in her own home she was losing control and Gideon had changed too much. Having lost his ability to paint he had become insufferable

"Don't you dare get affectionate with me, I know what you've been doing all those late nights."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sick Gideon and the doctor said there's only one way I could have got it."

"I can explain...it was only one time."

"I don't believe you!"

"I'll change, I promise." She hoped he meant it. Cecilia wanted to be a strong woman like Viv who could stand up for herself and live independently. But when she thought of figuring things out alone it always seemed better to stay. Maybe tomorrow things would be better.

1922 Pt2 - A Kidnapping

[haaam-guuuurl]

In honor of the amazing sibling dynamics in TLH, I thought I'd try and bring this back:

James (and Matthew) basically interrogate everyone who simply asks Lucie to dance and she's sick of it

Barbara and Eugenia fuss over Tom SO MUCH and it was annoying when he was a kid but it's bordering on patronizing now

Christopher once burned one of Anna's outfits with an experiment. He wasn't allowed back into her flat for a month

Anna borrowed so many of Christopher's outfits, (back when she was still living with her family) and it was usually fine, he doesn't even notice, but the problem becomes clear when he really doesn't notice he has no more clothes and nearly leaves the house in his pajamas

Lucie will force James to hear excerpts of her novel all about "Evil Prince James" when he's annoyed her

Back when they first got it, the Merry Thieves wouldn't let Lucie in their rooms at the Devil Tavern, and she was SO MAD she was about to tell on James to their parents but Thomas stepped in and convinced the others to let her in before anything else happened

When Alastair first died his hair, Cordelia inadvertently burst out laughing and he didn't speak to her for almost a week

Lucie once got ink in one of James' favorite books and he nearly lost his shit

Eugenia's constant snark at parties has made Tom not bear to sit with her, and Barbara, though she stays out of politeness, have a very hard time keeping her laughter in

Eugenia teased Barbara so much when she and Oliver first got together she blushed whenever her sister and him were in the same room - an opportunity Eugenia never missed to waggle her eyebrows suggestivelly behind his back

Gabriel teases Gideon mercilessly over the scones story - orders them for him everywhere they go, requests them from Sophie every time they come over for dinner...

When Cecily didn't like something Will said or did to her, she'd tell his kids scandalous (sometimes true) stories of his youth

Lucie (who was immune to the Herondale's fear of ducks) would set them off in James' direction whenever they went to the park, to scare him. It usually ended up scaring Will, too

Matthew has figured out little ways to constantly annoy Charles when he's being the worst - move around stuff in his office, switch out important papers, ...

And probably more lol

Along with saving Inquisitor Diego Rosales can we also petition @cassandraclare for some sibling rivalry? I want to see Helen absolutely lose her mind because Dru won’t stop smacking when she eats. I want to see Mark and Julian argue because someone *ahem Mark* ate all the strawberries. I want to see everyone getting annoyed by Tavvy because he’s a curious child and won’t stop asking questions they don’t know the answer to.

[thepictureofsdr]

i think one of the saddest things about the merry thieves continuing to harass and antagonize alastair is that they’ve become the complete antithesis of their parents and their stories. 

the entire point of will, gideon, and gabriels stories are that being an asshole or a bad person in your past doesn't mean you're irredeemable, it doesnt mean youre damned and doomed. you can move on, grow up, you can change and become someone worthy of forgiveness and someone who can apologize. 

even more painful is that alastair is a direct parallel to gideon and will. like will, alastair was forced to become someone cruel to protect his loved ones, and like gideon, alastair was child of an abusive father and protecting his younger sibling, and only grew and bloomed once escaping a restrictive and cruel situation. their parents are examples of what people can become when people are allowed to grow and they refuse to acknowledge alastairs growth.

and the story of the mothers, of tessa and sophie and cecily are that of forgiveness. tessa was directly hurt by will and sophie and cecily were around when the brothers were still disliked. these women chose to acknowledge the growth of the boys they grew to love, and chose to love them for that progress, rather than stay in the past. 

and lets not forget about charlotte and henry, the couple that took in these boys. they could've so easily turned will away the second he opened his mouth, so easily judged gideon and gabriel by reputation and ended it there. but they chose care for these literal children knowing they had time to grow

hurt people don’t owe forgiveness, but these children are the products of loving forgiveness. the thieves don’t owe alastair anything, but continuing to insult him after his changes and apologies are a whole other matter. 

the child of the boy who made gabriel look like a sugar cookie and the girl who chose to acknowledge his growth threatened to throw alastair into a river (also lets not forget the musicale letter when thomas wasn’t around alastair and in a stable state of mind). the child of the boy who was cruel to everyone around him and the girl who forgave him told alastair he would only be tolerated for the sake of a sister. the child of the couple who took in all these kids,,, i don't think i have to say anything about that.

and while christopher hasn't exactly done anything against alastair, he doesn't do anything to stop his friends, and he's the son of the woman who told gabriel to “not regret too much the choices you have made in the past” and to “only make the right ones in the future. we are ever capable of change and ever capable of being our better selves.”

the literal intention of the stories of these people didn't get passed on to these children, to the point where they’re doing the exact opposite. we’re watching what would’ve happened if tessa told will to leave, if sophie had turned away from gideon, if henry and charlotte had turned the children out. 

they'd be so disappointed in their children. 

[bi-disaster-kit-herondale]

Shadowhunter ships told by Fearless (tv) and Lover

this one’s for the swifties :)

yes there are a lot but i promise it’s worth it

come in with the rain ~ Tessa & Will

“Just know I’m right here hoping that you’ll come in with the rain. I’ve watched you so long, screamed your name. I don’t know what else I can say. I’ll leave my window open.”

bye bye baby ~ Kit & Ty

“I still love you but I can’t. Bye-bye to everything I thought was on my side. Bye-bye baby. I want you bad, but it’s come down to nothing. And all I have is your sympathy ‘cause you took me home, but you just couldn’t keep me”

hey stephen ~ Clary & Jace

“I can’t help it if you look like an angel. Can’t help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so come feel this magic I’ve been feeling since I met you. Can’t help it if there’s no one else”

LOTS more under cut

i think he knows ~ Cecily & Gabriel

“He got my heartbeat skipping down 16th Avenue. Got that, ah, I mean wanna see what’s under that attitude, like I want you, bless my soul. And I ain’t gotta tell him, I think he knows”

cruel summer ~ Lucie & Jesse

“And I snuck in through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate. And I screamed for whatever it’s worth ‘I love you,’ ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?”

paper rings ~ Magnus & Alec

“Kiss me twice ‘cause it’s gonna be alright. Three times ‘cause I’ve waited my whole life. I like shiny things but I’d marry you with paper rings uh-huh, that’s right. Darling, you’re the one I want”

fearless ~ Julian & Emma

“In this moment now, capture it, remember it. ‘Cause I don’t know how it gets better than this. You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless. And I don’t know why but with you I’d dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless.”

jump then fall ~ Gideon & Sophie

“You got the keys to me. I love each freckle on your face, oh. I’ve never been so wrapped up, honey. I like the way you’re everything I ever wanted. I had time to think it over, and all I can say is come closer.”

forever and always (piano version) ~ Maia & Jordan

“I was there when you said, “forever and always”. Was I out of line? Did I say something way too honest, made you run and hide, like a scared little boy. I looked into you eyes, thought I knew you for a minute, now I’m not so sure.”

false god ~ Jem & Tessa

“But we might just get away with it. Religion’s in your lips. Even if it’s a false god, we’d still worship. We might just get away with it. The altar is my hips. Even if it’s a false god, we’d still worship this love.”

miss americana & the heartbreak prince ~ Simon & Izzy

“Oh, I just thought you should know, you should know, it’s you and me. There’s nothing like this Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince. We’re so sad, we paint the town blue. Voted most likely to run away with you. And I don’t want you to go.”

we were happy ~ Cordelia & James

“When it was good baby, it was good, baby. We showed ‘em all up. No one could touch the way we laughed in the dark. Talking ‘bout your daddy’s farm we were gonna buy someday. And we were happy.”

the archer ~ Alastair & Thomas

“Help me hold onto you. I’ve been the archer. I’ve been the prey. Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay? ‘Cause they see right through me. They see right through me.”

the other side of the door ~ Mark & Kieran

“I said, “Leave”, but all I really want is you to stand outside my window, throwin’ pebbles screamin’ “I’m in love with you”. Wait there in the pourin’ rain, comin’ back for more. And don’t you leave.”

fifteen ~ Cristina & Diego

“When you’re 15 and somebody tells you they love you, you’re gonna believe them. And when you’re 15 and your first kiss makes your head spin ‘round, well in your life you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team.”

it’s nice to have a friend ~ Bat & Maia

“Sun sinks down, no curfew, 20 questions, we tell the truth. You been stressed out lately, yeah, me too. Something gave you the nerve to touch my hand. It’s nice to have a friend.”

afterglow ~ Anna & Ariadne

“It’s all me, just don’t go, meet me in the afterglow. Tell me that you’re still mine, tell me that we’ll be just fine. Even when I lose my mind. I need to say, tell me that it’s not my fault. Tell me that I’m all you want, even when I break your heart.”

lover ~ Diana & Gwyn

“And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear. Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years? Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close, forever and ever? And ah, take me out, and take me home.”

don’t you ~ Matthew & Cordelia

“My heart knows what the truth is. I swore I wouldn’t do this. But don’t you, don’t you smile at me and ask me how I’ve been. Don’t you say you’ve missed me if you don’t want me again. You don’t know how much I feel, I love you still.”

white horse ~ Jessamine & Nate

“Stupid girl, I should’ve known, I should’ve known. That I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale. I’m not the one you’ll sweep of her feet, lead her up the stairwell. This ain’t Hollywood, this is a small town. I was a dreamer before you went and let me down.”

forever and always ~ Magnus & Camille

“You looked me in the eye and told me you loved me. Were you just kidding? ‘Cause it seems to me this thing is breaking down, we almost never speak. I don’t feel welcome anymore.”

tell me why ~ Alastair & Charles

“You tell me that you want me, and cut me down. Well, I’m sick and tired of your reasons. I’ve got no one to believe in. You ask me for my love, then you push me around.”

the way i loved you ~ Emma & Julian

“And you were wild and crazy. Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated. Got away by some mistake and now… I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain. It’s 2am and I’m cursing your name. So in love that I acted insane. And that’s the way I loved you.”

mr. perfectly fine ~ Cordelia & James

“It’s such a shame. ‘Cause I was Ms. “Here to stay”, Now I’m Ms. “Gonna be alright, someday”. And someday, maybe you’ll miss me, but by then, you’ll be Mr. “Too late”. Goodbye, Mr. “Perfectly fine” How’s your heart after breaking mine?”

cornelia street ~ Tessa & Will

“I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends. I’d never walk Cornelia Street again. That’s the kind of heartbreak time could never mend. I’d never walk Cornelia Street again. And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name.”

daylight ~ Jem & Tessa

“I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you. (I can never look away) I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you. (Things will never be the same) I’ve been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night. (Now I’m wide awake).”

death by a thousand cuts ~ Ty & Kit

“And what once was ours is no one’s now. I see you everywhere the only thing we share is this small town. You said it was a great love, one for the ages. But if the story’s over, why am I still writing pages? ‘Cause saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts. Flashbacks waking me up.”

change ~ Charlotte & Henry

“Because these things will change. Can you feel it now? These walls they put up to hold us back will fall down. It’s a revolution, the time will come for us to finally win. And we’ll sing hallelujah.”

today was a fairytale ~ Gabriel & Cecily

“Nothing made sense ‘til the time I saw your face. Today was a fairytale. Time slows down, whenever you’re around, yeah. But can you feel this magic in the air? It must have been the way you kissed me. Fell in love when I saw you standing there.”

love story ~ Helen & Aline

“I close my eyes and the flashbacks start, I’m standing there. On a balcony in summer air. See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns. See you make your way through the crowd, and say “Hello”. Little did I know.”

breathe ~ Magnus & Alec (tw: page. 511)

“And we know it’s never simple, never easy. Never a clean break, no one here to save me. You’re the only thing I know like the back of my hand. And I can’t breathe without you.”

soon you’ll get better ~ Jace & Clary

“I’ll paint the kitchen neon, I’ll brighten up the sky. I know I’ll never get it, there’s not a day that I won’t try. And I say to you… Ooh-ah soon, you’ll get better. Ooh-ah, soon you’ll get better. Ooh-ah, soon you’ll get better. ‘Cause you have to.”

you belong with me ~ Cordelia & James

“And you’ve got a smile that can light up this whole town, I haven’t seen it in a while since she brought you down. You say, “You’re fine”, I know you better than that. Hey, what you doing with a girl like that?”

sorry about all the angst but i’m sure y’all can tell which parts of the story the songs apply to. if you’ve made it this far i love you.

[imherongraystairstrash]

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, do you think Charles,Barbara, Eugenia and Anna were close? Anna maybe less because she’s closer in age to the merry thieves set and she probably ghosted Charles after the Ariadne engagement. Would you consider a fic of them all growing up, starting with them 4 as little kids and then slowly becoming teens and adults and then dealing with Barbara’s death. I think it would be a fun idea since nobody ever considers them to be a older merry thieves.

You can thank my social anxiety for this one bc I stress wrote it in school 🙃

TW: panic attacks, death

Title: When we were young

Characters: Barbara Lightwood, Anna Lightwood, Eugenia Lightwood, Cecily Lightwood, Gabriel Lightwood, Alexander Lightwood, Sophie Lightwood, Gideon Lightwood

Anna was sitting by the fire when Charles came into the room. She hated him. She truly did. But, somehow, at that moment, she felt strange. He looked at her and it took her many years back, to when they weren’t exactly friends, but  they were far from what they are now to each other.

…

“And that was how Consul Wentworth fixed the crisis of 1687.” Charles said with a satisfied smile to himself.

The Lightwood girls were his audience. Well, sort of. Eugenia’s cheek was resting on her fist, squishing the right side of her face as her lidded eyes approached shutting completely. Anna was slumped against Eugenia, her lips pressed together tightly and her eyes opened wide, staring at a fixed spot on the floor. Their luminous dark blue glittered in the witchlight, looking exquisitely uncanny. Barbara was mid-yawn, leaning on the leg of a sofa.

“Wow, Charles. Thanks for the history lesson.” Eugenia said, monotonously. It was evident that she’d inherited her mother’s sass from the day she was born, when Barbara had woken her up by exclaiming at the sight of her newborn sister, and Genie responded by pulling her sister’s hair.

“Oh, and in 1690-“

“NO!” All three Lightwood daughters shrieked.

“I’m still not done, though.” Said Charles.

“Yes, you are.” Eugenia said, standing up and settling the matter. “We are positively bored. There is absolutely nothing to do except listen to Charles talk about politics, and if those are the only two options, frankly, I’d rather be bored.” 

Charles crossed his arms. “Being an intellect is not boring.”

Little two year old Anna looked at him with one eyebrow raised. 

“I swear, Thomas is having a better time than we are,” Eugenia said glaring at to where their parents were, with the tiny, almost invisible baby nestled in Gideon’s arms, his fingers wrapped around Sophie's thumb. The parents were all laughing about something, which made Eugenia scowl even more. 

“To be an adult.” Barbara said, with a martyred sigh. 

“We needn’t be adults to have fun.” Charles said.

“I suppose you’re going to torture us with more political trivia.” 

“No,” Charles said. “I was going to suggest we go through the attic.” 

The girls looked up at this and Charles smirked, clearly proud of himself at having come up with a good idea. For once. 

“What is in the attic?” 

Charles shrugged. “I don’t know, but there’s probably strange and obscure things. There’s a lot of that kind of stuff in our house.” 

Barbara and Eugenia exchanged a look before the eldest Lightwood sister turned to him. 

“We shall go and discover this mysterious attic you speak of.”

…

“What could this even be?” Barbara said, holding up a loose gear-like contraption. 

“Papa sometimes builds things out of clockwork.” Charles said, sitting cross legged. “Or, he used to at least.” 

 “That’s…” 

Genie and Charles looked at Barbara as she trailed off.

“Nevermind, I have no comment.”

Charles nodded as though that was a common reaction people had in terms of his father’s experiments. 

They rummaged through boxes upon boxes, finding momentos they didn’t understand such as papers upon papers of things that said many difficult words. They could distinguish a couple of words such as “infernal” and “devices”, however there were many that made no sense to them.

“What is a Mortmain?” Asked Genie.

“I think it’s an undead horse or something along those lines,” said Charles.

“Oh,” said Eugenia. “That’s disgusting.”

“Quite,” agreed Barbara.

Anna was toddling around the room, giggling. She almost tripped over a loose floorboard, and would have, had Charles not reached out and grabbed a hold of the back of her dress. 

“This is too dangerous for a small child like Anna,” Barbara said, ever the mother-goose. “I shall take her downstairs before she hurts herself.” 

Anna protested at first, but acquiesced once Barbara bribed her with the promise of dessert.

…

“What are you doing here?” Anna asked.

He looked up, his green eyes meeting her blue ones. 

…

Charles remembered that day like it was just yesterday. 

He and Eugenia had stayed behind rifling through boxes, which wasn’t unwelcome, as Eugenia and Charles had an easy, lighthearted and, at times, profound, friendship. Despite their age gap, they enjoyed each other’s company, though neither could say why. Perhaps, it was simply because they mocked each other. Or perhaps, it was sometimes they would occasionally talk about things such as philosophy, and whether what they were seeing was true, or the world was just a figment of their imaginations. Or a mixture of the two; they’d never really discussed it. 

Eugenia surprised him when she said, “do you ever feel… different from your parents?” 

Charles furrowed his brows, “in what aspect?”

“Love.” 

“Have you a suitor?” Charles inquired, intrigued.

“No. Actually, that was my question. I find that, sometimes, I don’t only enjoy the idea of a male suitor, but perhaps, I also enjoy the company of a woman. Perhaps.” She pressed her lips together tightly, as if forcing herself to stop speaking.

Charles looked at her, his bright green eyes wide. “I-um-…”

“But I’m not sure, of course.” Eugenia blurted out. “It’s not as if shadowhunters are precisely fond of that particular preference or-“

“Do you really think they wouldn’t like it?” Charles asked, softly. “Do you believe they will reject those who are like that?” 

Eugenia looked down. “I’m afraid I’m most sure of it.”

Charles had then realized that he couldn’t have both. There was no way around it. 

He knew his parents were happy and that love made them complete. However, they didn’t have to choose. They could be married and the idea wouldn’t affect their respective occupations. Charles, on the other hand, couldn’t be Consul and have the kind of love he wanted. He almost resented them because of it. They were able to do what they loved and nobody forced them to pick between one or the other. 

It was unfair. So incredibly unfair.

“I guess you better get rid of your feelings towards women than.” He said simply, “unless you’re willing to let something as simple as love get in the way of your dreams.”

“Dreams?” Eugenia asked, looking confused and a tiny bit hurt. 

 But Charles got up to go back downstairs to his parents, aunts and uncles.

… 

Charles slumped down in a chair and dug his fingers into his hair.

“She was just here.” He said quietly. “Babs, was just here.”

Anna felt sudden rage. “You are not allowed to mourn her.” 

Charles looked up. “Just because you don’t like me doesn’t mean I can’t be sad. She was my cousin too. Perhaps not by blood, but she was still a cousin.” He pressed his lips together angrily and stared fixedly at the witchlight stone that was illuminating the room. 

Anna, however, couldn’t find it in her to be diplomatic; she got up and left the room. 

…

Anna had never seen Eugenia look this way. She was always put together, posh. But now, she looked hollow. Like a shell of who she used to be. Anna wanted to go up to her, to say something, but she felt lost for words. What did you tell someone who lost a dear sister? If Anna felt sorrow, she couldn’t imagine what Eugenia was feeling. 

Her head was tilted upwards, looking up at the pyre where the corpse of her sister lay. Tears were streaming down her face, rolling down her cheeks, throat and chest, leaving streaks on her face that looked like the roots of a tree.

Sophie had her arm around her daughter. The sight of the four of them was very strange. There was a gap missing where Barbara should have been. She suddenly felt a hand take hold of her own. She looked to her right and saw her mother looking straight ahead, squeezing her daughter’s hand. Her father was looking down, holding Alex. Her baby brother was one of the few who looked up at the cousin who’d taught him to play simple songs on the piano, and had always let him sleep in her arms on New Year's eve.  

She didn’t know what he must have been thinking now, staring up at the pyre. 

Though, to be fair, she didn’t quite know what to think herself, as she looked up at the cousin who’s life was cut far too short.

…

Eugenia’s body didn’t feel like her own. She hadn’t felt this body was her own for a while. Even since Augustus and the secret she’d kept to herself.

This was somehow worse. To be torn away from your best friend, whom you’d shared a room with almost your entire life. Eugenia didn’t know how to live in a world without Barbara. Sometimes, in the rare moments when she forgot about her sadness, she’d call her sister’s name, ready to tell her about what had happened in her novel. Or find herself walking to Barbara’s room without thinking and then staring blankly at the door that has remained shut ever since the day she passed away.

A couple of weeks ago, she’d found a letter Barbara had sent her when she’d been in Idris. It was in between her copy of Jane Eyre. She couldn’t bring herself to read it in its entirety, but she stared at the signature blankly. 

Suddenly, she got the urge to run. So she ran. That’s how, an hour later, she’d gotten a small tattoo under her ankle that said “Sincerely, your favorite sister Babs.” 

It felt right to have Bab’s signature there, we’re only she could see. It made her feel accompanied everywhere she went, even though nobody else could see. 

Now, looking up at the pyre, her face tight from tears she’d left to dry, her mother weeping silently, she could almost imagine that her sister was there, simply caught in a slumber and that she’d wake up at any moment and come tumbling down, throwing herself in Eugenia’s arms.

Any moment now, she thought when the pyre burst into flames. 

“Ave atque vale, Barbara Lightwood.” The crowd said at once.

Eugenia shook her head and swayed on her feet. Her breathing became heavy and her fingers began prickling. Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. No nononono. 

She felt a hand on her shoulder, vaguely that it was her father’s. 

Not Barbara.

Not Babs.

“Calm down, Genie.”

Not her sister. Her sister couldn’t possibly be up there.

“Breathe Eugenia.”

She wanted to scream that she couldn’t, that she’d never breathe again, as long as her sister wasn’t breathing with her. Why did she have to live? She would have much preferred that Barbara live in her stead. 

The world was numb and fractured, never to be fixed again. 

…

(Don’t worry, Gideon was able to help Genie after the fic ends bc he’s the best dad)

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[bytheangell]

Hi!!! If you still accept requests could you do a fic with Gabriel and Christopher Lightwood? Matbe when he was little? I think that when he found out his second child was going to be a boy woukd have been impctful as what he had to bear with his own father

I Think I’ve Seen This Film Before (And I Didn’t Like the Ending) (Read on AO3)

Gabriel isn’t sure where the sudden feeling of anxiousness comes from after Cecily has their second child, a boy they name Christopher. He hadn’t been this nervous when they had Anna, and he hadn’t been particularly worried leading up to the birth… but now that Christopher is here Gabriel can tell that something is different this time.

He just can’t quite place what that something is.

It isn’t until he’s holding Christopher one night, allowing his son’s tiny hands to explore and pull at pieces of his clothing with wide-eyed curiosity, that Cecily says something that makes it all click.

“He’s going to idolize you, I can tell,” Cecily says the words with a smile, obviously meaning them as a compliment.

Instead of smiling back, Gabriel blanches. The realization comes immediately

“I don’t want him to.”

Cecily frowns. “What?”

Gabriel shakes his head back and forth emphatically. It’s suddenly very obvious why he’s felt different with Christopher, and honestly, he isn’t sure why it took him this long to piece together.

“I don’t want him to,” he repeats.

“Whyever not?” To her credit, Cecily looks confused, but not upset.

“I idolized my father,” Gabriel says, the words a mere whisper.

And there it is. The reason Christopher is different is that he’s a son: a boy, who will turn into a young man meant to take after his father. To learn from him. To grow up and follow in his footsteps.

Except everything Gabriel’s experienced of how a father raises a son is selfishness, deceit, and self-indulgence. It’s raising a child to serve and reflect your own interests - a name to carry a legacy. What if he’s just like his father? That’s nothing to idolize. That isn’t--

“You’re not Benedict, Gabriel,” Cecily says gently, her words cutting through his quickly spiraling thoughts. She walks over to place a hand on his arm, her expression kind as she glances between him and their son, her smile soft and reassuring. “You’re a good person and a wonderful father. Just look at Anna.”

“She has you to look up to,” Gabriel points out.

“And so will Christopher. But that doesn’t matter, because she still looks at you like you hung the stars in the sky just for her, and rightly so.”

“I don’t want to make the same mistakes he did. He raised us to be heirs, not individuals. I clung to that for so long…”

Cecily knows about the sort of man Benedict Lightwood was, before he wasn’t a man at all. Gabriel told her most of what she didn’t hear on her own because he wanted her to know exactly what she was getting into when they started seeing one another romantically - but Cecily always took it in stride. She always supported him and every difficult step he took away from his father’s legacy.

“And then you let it go when it mattered most,” she reminds him. “If you won’t believe in yourself, then believe in me. Christopher is going to turn out just fine - because of you, not in spite of you.”

Gabriel looks down at Christopher, such a tiny bundle in his arms, and nods slowly. “I won’t let you down, Christopher. I promise.”

---

It takes a while for Gabriel to find a sense of balance with raising Christopher, often trying so intensely to not be like Benedict that he isn’t quite himself, either. But he gets there eventually, stepping into his own in ways he never imagined possible before.

He’s doing well, until the moment he isn’t.

It’s a bad day. One of those days were little things seem to go wrong one after another, mostly minor inconveniences until inevitably one of them becomes the tipping point for a proper explosion of the frustration that’s been building all day.

Unfortunately, that final straw comes in the form of Christopher coming home with violently green skin less than an hour before they’re due to set off for a formal dinner in Idris. Gabriel is upset enough when he thinks it’s another one of Christopher’s experiments gone wrong, but something in him snaps when he finds out it was actually a spell gone wrong from a warlock girl Christopher had been playing with, one he met in the Shadow Market the other day.

“It’s bad enough Tatiana’s stirring up trouble again, and now you’re going to show up looking like this and positively reeking of magic! Must you spend your free time consorting with Downworlders?!”

“The spell was harmless! She wouldn’t hurt me, father,” Christopher says.

“I don’t care how harmless the spell was, it’s how it looks, don’t you see?”

But of course, Christopher doesn’t see, because he’s Christopher. He’s trusting to a fault, and too eager to see the good in people that he never stops to question whether or not they may have ulterior motivations.

“I’ll tell the people at the dinner what happened, once I explain I’m sure-”

“No!” Gabriel feels an instinctive panic at the idea of anyone finding out what happened, putting him even more on edge. “You will not tell anyone what happened. In fact, I don’t want you spending time with that warlock girl anymore.”

“But James-”

“I don’t care what James does. He isn’t my son - he isn’t a Lightwood! People expect certain things of us, Christopher, and we need to do better!” Gabriel is only vaguely aware that his voice is rising and his words are turning sharper.

“What does being a Lightwood have to do with anything?!” Christopher asks.

“It has to do with everything!” Gabriel snaps, and then realizes what he’s doing.

Christopher looks upset and a little shaken, and it’s obvious that he hadn’t expected this sort of reaction from his father. Gabriel catches a reflection of his face in the glass of a curio cabinet and sees more of his father in himself than he ever has before.

Christopher turns and stalks to his room without another word, just as Cecily comes in after hearing the commotion.

“What was all that?” She asks, brows furrowed.

“I-” Gabriel begins, but words fail him at the moment. He realizes he’s a bit shaken up as well - he’s never fought with Christopher before, not like that.

“I messed up, Cece.” Gabriel looks down the hall after his son with a weight in his chest. “I said things I shouldn’t have. I’ve just been under so much pressure lately, and he came home green for Raziel’s sake, and I…” Gabriel sighs, long and heavy.

“You took it out on him.”

It isn’t a question, so at least he doesn’t have to answer it out loud.

“I’ll talk to him later. I should go to this dinner, would you mind staying home with them?” Gabriel knows better than to think Anna will come with him after he’s upset Christopher - she’s fiercely protective of him in all the best ways.

“Of course. Go put in your appearance, I’ll handle things here.”

“Tell him I said I’m sorry,” Gabriel adds, turning to leave.

Cecily shakes her head. “You tell him yourself when you get back.”

He will. He absolutely will.

---

Once he’s in Idris, Gabriel can’t shake his foul mood. It doesn’t take long for Gideon to call him out on it.

“I shouted at Christopher. I told him,” Gabriel huffs. “That we have to hold ourselves to a different standard because we’re Lightwoods.”

“You’re not wrong. You and I both know we’re going to be undoing Father’s damage for the rest of our lives.”

“Are you ever afraid you’re too much like him?” “ Gabriel asks, unable to help himself.

Gideon shrugs. “He wasn’t all bad, you know. He did love us, for what that’s worth in the end. He never wanted us to want for anything, and he always pushed us to be the best versions of ourselves. Those wouldn’t be the worst traits to emulate.”

It’s a fair point. Gabriel is so focused on not turning into the monster his father became that he overlooked the parts of their childhood that were good.

“It’s just, sometimes I see him in myself when I lose my temper and… honestly, it frightens me. It’s like I blink and suddenly all the progress I’ve made all these years is just gone.”

“If all that progress were gone, you wouldn’t be having this conversation with me now,” Gideon points out. “One mistake doesn’t undo years of good. Not if you fix it instead of letting it consume you.”

Some of the tension Gabriel’s felt since he yelled at Christopher eases ever-so-slightly, and he manages a small smile.

“Thanks. I think I needed to hear that.”

“I can’t take all the credit - it’s something Sophie told me once. Guess it stuck,” Gideon admits. “Now get out of here and go home. I’ll cover with the others.”

---

Gabriel leaves Idris early to make sure he’s home before Christopher falls asleep. He goes straight for his son’s room, surprised by the slight nervousness he feels. But that’s good, he reminds himself. It means he cares, and not just about himself, but about what really matters.

“Christopher, are you awake? May I come in?”

There’s a short pause, and Gabriel wonders if he’s too late and will have to wait until morning. Then he hears soft shuffling noises before the door swings open.

“I’m sorry-” Christopher starts immediately, obviously expecting a lecture, but Gabriel holds up a hand to stop him.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m not always right, Christopher. And I need you to understand that. I don’t want you to grow up blindly following in my footsteps, okay? You’re allowed to question me. And you’re allowed to tell me if you think I’m wrong - because I might be. I just might not always see it.”

“You were wrong to be mad that I’m spending time with Downworlders,” Christopher says slowly, as if testing whether or not he’s supposed to actually question his father or if that bit was just a trap to see if he would.

“I was,” Gabriel agrees. “The unsupervised magic could be dangerous and that’s something we’ll have to talk about, but not tonight. Tonight I just need you to know that I don’t want you to be different, or better, or anything other than your perfectly curious, kind self. I love you, Christopher.”

“I love you too.”

This isn’t the first mistake Gabriel’s made as a parent, and he’s certain it won’t be the last. He’s trying to be better than his father before him. Sometimes he fails, sometimes he succeeds, but every time he learns from his mistakes and picks himself up to try again… and he’s finally starting to realize with the love, forgiveness, and encouragement of his family, that he doesn’t have to be perfect so long as he’s trying to be better.

[vickchan2]

JESSE BLACKTHORN WAS MURDERED BY HIS OWN MOTHER [PART 2]

ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE, PLEASE FORGIVE MY GRAMMAR MISTAKES

lol I wonder if Cassie has daddy issues? She really knows how to portray parental psychological abuse.. 

Part 1: https://vickchan2.tumblr.com/post/643878993806884864/jesse-blackthorn-was-murdered-by-his-own-mother

WHY I DON’T THINK JESSE WAS TRULY SICK

Because Cassie made sure to let us know how Thomas had a frail health when he was kid (just like Jesse). Gideon worried about that so much he even tried to discuss that with Tatiana (who refused to help him) in A Lightwood Christmas Carol. Nonetheless Thomas got better over the years and grew up a healthy (and very tall!) young man... Still, many characters remember often how Thomas used to be a sickly, small child...

Why Cassie keeps reminding us about his past health problems?  Because he has grown up so tall? No, because it shows Jesse might have recovered too. 

(ON A SIDE NOTE: REMEMBER CECILY TELLING ANNA HOW SHE USED TO BE QUITE SICK DURING HER PREGNANCY?? HELLO, THAT REMINDS ME OF JESSE AND THOMAS SITUATION)

However, Jesse never realized his health had improved because his mother made him believe he still was a sick kid... (Yeah, Jesse did start training, but he still felt weak because of the poison and thus didnt realize he had recovered. That explains the talking about his weak state, fevers and stuff we heard about him)

(For better understanding of the issue, I recommend this buzzfeed article about Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy Rose: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom)  

Dee Blanchard suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy,  a mental disorder which causes a parent or other caretaker to exaggerate, fabricate, or induce illness in a person under their care. Dee Dee Blanchard family even confronted her once because they suspected she had poisoned her stepmother. 

And for years Dee Dee made her daughter believe she was a very sick girl. )

In the CHAIN OF IRON case, I think it has to do with power struggles, but I feel Jesse situation resembles Gypsy Rose greatly, except he was the one who ended up dead instead of his mother.) 

WHERE WAS I? OH, YES...  WHY TATIANA WOULD DO THAT TO HER OWN CHILD?

Because she is Benedict daughter 

Just kidding! I know Gideon and Gabriel are amazing fathers. 

Well, we all know Tatiana slowly descended into madness over the years. She never got over her loss and started to hate and blame her brothers (and everyone else that helped to kill her Worm father). Anyway, it is quite obvious she developted a desire for vengeance ever since (Belial even says he killed Barbara because she requested it). But how did Tatiana met Belial in the first place?

Because Tatiana discovered her father notes and started to study dark magic to summon demons herself. (Benedict had known sexual desire for demonic women, so of course he would know how to summon one for himself). Seizing the oportunity, Belial showed himself to her and probably promised a very tempting reward: vengeance against everyone whom she despised and wished to destroy in exchange for help to make James Herondale his ''physical vessel''. 

Belial clearly was the puppet master and probably instructed Tatiana to adopt a young girl who could be used to seduce James in the future and make him vulnerable to his attempt to take over his body (not because the poor Jesse needed company in that creepy house).

That probably explains why Grace received her type of power to make men do her biding but that bit was easy to guess in the previous book. ( it is important to know Grace most likely her powers at age of ten, right after Jesse death). 

For his next step, Belial decided to involve Jesse. He needed a Anchor and Jesse was the perfect choice for the role, if only he were dead... 

But first he had to convince Tatiana to kill him and he knew exactly how... 

Like I said before, I believe Tatiana poisoned her son slowly over the years to make him think he still was unhealthy (maybe she even poisoned him under the guise it was a medicinal remedy for his illness). I think Tatiana did that to keep him under her thumb and prevent him from leaving the house to become a true Shadowhunter (at time of his death, I believe Jesse had a strong desire to leave his home but he stayed anyway to look after his little sister and Tatiana knew it was a matter of time before he left). 

That being said, it wouln’t be too hard for Belial to make Tatiana murder her child if he told her about his plans of bringing Jesse back to life as soon he achieved his goals. 

And that’s all, folks. I’m so sleep deprived these I can’t even think about anything else to say. You are welcome to tell me if this theory sucks. 

[im-out-of-it]

PSA: RANT ON HOW IM DUMB AND KEEP REIGNITING MY HERONDALE AND CC HATE

I really got to stay off shadowhunter page off Reddit cause someone really got Gideon and Gabriel confused, and tried saying that Gideon is a dick. EXCUSE ME??? Gideon????

I know CC and her obsessive mind with herondales and her hatred of lightwoods but leave my fav family alone. Gideon was told to make Gabriel look like an angel but what did terrible Gideon do? I just think it’s funny how fans and CC will be like “herondales deal with so much and the lightwoods are the real villains.” is that why they’re always helping the shitty, toxic, abusive, golden eyed boys? is that why they’re so kind and having to deal with so much because of how evil they are? like to me- the only Lightwood I for real don’t care for is Benedict and a little of Robert but that’s all. yet I have hated pretty much of the herondales.

and just to add: I don’t care how abused or how shitty your childhood was, there is no reason to be a dick to anyone. I just think it’s funny when people say Gideon and Gabriel are dicks when we literally have Will, and Jace. Jace the person who wasn’t there for Alec at all and basically was almost forcing Alec to come out- something already traumatic for Alec to deal with, AND Alec needing to save his life every second. but I guess he’s the best shadowhunter of his age. I’m still not over how all of Alec’s thoughts are still focused on jace- but hey, that’s on CC. she hardly lets Alec be his own character.

I’m done complaining lmao I just find it funny how people will choose to hate these characters (who actually had huge character developments and are so sweet.) but will look at their fav abusive, toxic, racist probably and probably homophobic characters and will be like- but they had a shit childhood so it’s excused! I’m only adding the homophobia and racism because I haven’t done much outlook on it and when I’m meaning herondales, I’m more speaking on Will and Jace. James and Kit right now aren’t too terrible for me. that’s all, I’m fed up lmao

[zoyalannister]

I loved the last part of the gracetopher one shots, I think that the Gabriel portrait is further proof tlh was supposed to be very different and he was going to have a role and not just three lines, I think his importance as a character was given to Gideon instead of him

Maybe he was the one being close to Charlotte and going to be Consul and that’s why there was a portrait of only him and it was displayed at tmi, because if he wasn’t important why did he have a portrait just of him that survived so many years?

I totally agree about the fact that in the original idea Gabriel had a bigger role, but I don’t think his role was given to Gideon because at the end of the day, Gideon is useless.

He works closesly with Charlotte, but that’s only for the Clave to say that he is obsessed by politcs, that he and Charlotte have an affair and that Matt is the result of this affair. The only thing Gideon actually does in TLH is the cringe speech with Thomas at the end of ChoT about Alastair, which is completely useless for the Clave or Shadowhunters in general.

I actually think, like some friends and other anons here suggested, that the in original idea Christopher and Grace were supposed to mirror Gabrily's story at the end of CP2: Christopher would have reached Grace as she was about to leave and they would have kissed like Gabrily, but as opposite to them where Cecily stayed, in TLH Christopher left with Grace and brought the Gabriel’s portrait with him for some reason.

[dancing-under-the-moon]

ahhh i finally am posting my first fic!! sorry if it’s horrible i’m like super scared about it.

She was back standing in the fields of her childhood home in Wales. She let in the scent of the fresh, green grass, savoring the memories as they flooded to her. She ran down to the small brook across the field, where wildflowers grew near the bank. She laid down amongst the rows of flowers, and closed her eyes taking in the warm sunlight on her eyelids.

Suddenly she felt a hand grab her own, and she smiled. The second she felt his hand she knew it belonged to Gabriel Lightwood. She opened her eyes to see him smiling down at her. His head blocking out the sun in a way that could only be described as angelic. It was as if the sun were a halo cast over him, and bouncing off his curls of brown hair. She sat up and leaned into his chest. He wrapped his arm around her immediately to meet her embrace.

Cecily never thought she would get to live like this. Live a life where she could love so unconditionally and be loved in return, but that all changed in the past few years since she had embraced being a shadowhunter. But this was real.

She shifted herself around, wrapping her arms around his neck as she went to kiss him. It was like no feeling she could ever describe. It was like soft and pure bliss. It was perfect.

“I should go” He whispered, “I have to go on patrol.”

“Stay.” She pulled him into another kiss willing him to stay with her. “They can keep the portal open a few minutes longer.”

“Okay,” he smiled. They returned to their embraces and time with each other. Their lips meeting each other in smiles and soft kisses. Cecily began to feel cold,as if something cold was clinging to her skin. She pulled away from Gabriel. The sky had turned gray, the sun a shade of blood red. The flowers surrounding them were wilted and dead. The water from the brooke was no longer clear and shimmering, but rather shades of green and brown and black, as if something were rotting in the water. She felt Gabriel’s breath start to labor, his chest shuttering brutally, and her attention snapped onto him immediately. His normally pristine white shirt now drenched red with blood. His blood. He fell into her arm, holding himself tight to her body.

“No!” She cried. “No, please no.”

“I love you.” He said weakly.

She cradled his body as she felt him begin to fade. “Please don’t leave me!” She sobbed. She didn’t know what to do. Was she cursed? It seemed everyone she loved left her eventually. First Ella, then Will. Her parents neglected her into emotional isolation, and now, just as she finally believed she could be happy, there she sat in a pool of her fiance’s blood, as he died in her arms.

***

A scream wrenched itself from Cecily’s throat as she awoke. She sobbed violently. She didn’t know where she was. She couldn’t see through her blurry tearstained vision. She could barely breathe. She forgot how. She barely registered the strong arms that wrapped around her. She could barely hear the comforting whispers against her sobs. She shook and cried, feeling every emotion and thought she had tried to bottle up since she was a child.

She tried to focus on the small circles being traced on her back. The quiet whispers of comfort pouring into her ears. The fingers combing through her hair.

She couldn’t tell how much time had passed before she had finally been able to get a hold of herself. She took a breath, willing herself to look up and take in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was that she was not in her room. She had fallen asleep in the drawing room. Her gaze then shifted to the arms still wrapped tightly around her. Gabriel.

She tried to shake the image of him in her dream out of her mind, but as she stared at his concern-filled face, all she could remember was the thought of him dying in her arms.

“Cecy, it was just a dream. You’re okay. I’m here.” He breathed.

She tried to respond but it felt impossible. It was as if all the words refused to be spoken.

He grabbed her cheeks, using his thumbs to wipe away her remaining tears as he continued. “I love you. Please, just, tell me what happened?”

“It was a nightmare.” She murmured, forcing the words out of herself.

“Well I could tell that much. Would you-would you tell me what happened?” She stayed silent. “I have nightmares a lot still, you know? I dream about that day when I killed my father. Except in the dream, I don’t kill him. I try to, but he doesn’t die and then...” He shuttered.

“What happens?”

“He tells me that I’m a failure. That I don’t deserve to be a shadowhunter. And then he...he makes me kill someone.”

“Someone?”

“He-he makes me kill my mother or Gideon or-or he makes me-he…” His breathing increased, his thoughts running through his mind. Cecily could see the pain in his face.

“You don’t have to-”

“He makes me kill you. He makes me kill you as revenge for killing him and I have to watch as you die in front of me, helpless to stop it.”

“I watched you die too. I-I dreamed that we were in Wales and we were happy. But then everything went cold and dark and you were dying in my arms, because I couldn’t stand the thought of you leaving me. Everyone always leaves me.”

“Cecily Herondale, I am not going anywhere. I’m sorry to say it, but you’re stuck with me.”

“But you can’t guarantee that.” Her voice cracked. She hated feeling this weak, but she could bring herself to put up her walls again.

“We’re shadowhunters, nothing is guaranteed as far as that’s concerned. I can’t promise you forever, no one can, but I promise to give you as long as I have. I love you and I don’t want to live any life without you. I would be miserable.”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Make everything better.” She smiled, pulling herself deeper into his embrace. “I love you too.”

Gabriel grabbed her chin pulling her face closer to his. Their lips meeting each other with a soft and warm embrace. All the pain and fear that had been brought to light that night was suddenly overshadowed by their endearing love for each other.

[melanielocke]

Lost in the Shadows - Chapter 28

AO3

Taglist: @alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised@alastair-appreciation-month

Previous Chapter: Chapter 27

Next Chapter: Chapter 29

Ultimately, Thomas had to admit there was no way he was getting back to his bedroom without help, and his father drove him even though it was usually close enough to walk. Alastair and Lucie were still there, in conversation with Barbara, but Thomas barely had the strenght to stand up, much less join the conversation, so he only kissed Alastair quickly and went to bed. He would have a conversation with his parents about their protectiveness tomorrow, he told himself.

He slept restlessly that night. He dreamt of the land in between, of the dark ruins and the castle they would become. At some point the dream became increasingly weirder as he ended up running from an army of evil socks. It took a few moments when he woke up to realize that it was a dream, there were no socks attacking him. How did an army of socks even make sense?

He was drenched in sweat and felt disgusting. Part of him wanted to get out of bed to shower and clean up, but that also sounded like a lot of effort and Thomas didn’t feel like he had the strenght to do much more than move from his bed to the couch. Part of him considered just staying in bed, but bed was too wet and gross. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to sweat this much, he never sweat much when he worked out.

He managed to find a towel to dry off with and a clean pajama to change into, and went to the living room carrying two plush owls. After boiling some water and making tea, Thomas collapsed onto the couch. That appeared to be enough exercise for today.

It wasn’t much later when his parents came into the living room, and Thomas braced him for the inevitable worry.

‘How are you feeling, Tommy?’ his mother asked.

He could lie and say he was feeling better, but he also didn’t think he’d be able to get off the couch. They’d see through him anyway.

‘Like a wet towel,’ Thomas said.

Sophie picked up the thermometer and said down next to him.

‘I can take my own temperature,’ Thomas said, a bit more harsh than he’d intended.

His mother looked hurt, although she tried to conceal it. Thomas was adept at looking behind the masks people put on, or perhaps he just was more sensitive to the parts of someone’s body language other people didn’t think about. This would have been a lot easier if he didn’t notice how he made his mother feel.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘It’s just that… I don’t like being taken care of. I don’t like being treated as if I’m helpless.’

‘But you are sick,’ his mother said, a bit unsure. ‘You don’t have to do everything by yourself.’

‘I know,’ Thomas said. ‘But I’ve been sick so often and it just hurts so much. I feel like I’m that sick child again.’

‘I never realized you felt that way,’ his mother said, thermometer in her hand, not sure what to do with it. ‘Of course you can take your own temperature. But you can’t do anything on your own, Tom, especially not now.’

‘I know,’ Thomas said. ‘I hate that, I always have. I know you all had to make changes for me, but I never wanted that. And I know that’s not your fault or mine or anyone’s, but I hated being a burden.’

His mother cupped his cheek with her hand. ‘You could never be a burden, Tommy. But why didn’t you tell us you felt that way? I know we can be protective, and there were certainly times where we had to call back your sisters, but we never realized it bothered you.’

‘I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, or anyone else’s,’ Thomas said.

Perhaps the main reason he and Matthew weren’t as close as they used to be was that Matthew was naturally inclined to take care of other people. And sure, that was sweet, and not a bad characteristic at all, but it did clash with Thomas’ need for independence.

His mother took his hand. ‘You know you can tell us everything, right? I never meant to hurt you, I just want to protect you.’

‘I don’t need to be protected,’ Thomas said. ‘I know I’m sick right now, but it’s always like this. And I understand, I know you’re worried, and I know how exhausting and terrifying it was to take me to all those different doctors when none of them could tell you what was wrong with me. But that passed, and I grew up. I’m not a sick child anymore.’

Thomas put the thermometer in his ear, and took it out when it beeped to read it. ‘39,5,’ he said. ‘That’s worse than yesterday.’

‘Maybe we should take you to see a doctor,’ Sophie suggested.

‘They’ll just tell you I have the flu and need rest,’ Thomas said. ‘Or if this is something supernatural, there won’t be much a doctor can do. If anything, Jem can take a look and see if I need to go to the hospital, right?’

‘Of course,’ his mother said. ‘I’m just scared. I hope you understand that.’

‘I do,’ Thomas said. ‘I know, I’m scared too. But I think I’d prefer if you just left me. I know I can’t do everything myself, I could barely get from my bed to the couch. But if I need anything, I’ll ask.’

‘Alright. You ask what you need for. But don’t be afraid to ask, I know you prefer to solve everything by yourself and sometimes you can’t. Do you want anything for breakfast?’

‘I have no appetite whatsoever,’ Thomas said.

‘I can make you some soup if you want,’ his mother suggested. ‘It is important that you eat and drink as much as you can.’

‘Maybe later,’ Thomas said as he attempted to drink his tea.

He was a bit dehydrated, he guessed, which was no surprise. He was so cold and shivering, maybe tea would help him get a little warm again.

‘Do you have another blanket?’ Thomas asked when he’d found a comfortable position on the couch.

He was still cold, his teeth clattering, and he wasn’t exactly comfortable. He found the box of paracetamol on the table where he’d left it and swallowed two, hoping that would lower the fever a bit, but so far no success.

His mother returned with another blanket and a wet towel. Thomas gratefully put the blanket over his feet. It was one of the disadvantages to being so tall, he always needed longer blankets, a longer bed, everything. It was all very inconvenient. He put the wet towel in his neck, and wiped off his forehead a little.

‘You’re not feeling any better, are you Tom?’ his father asked.

‘Not really,’ Thomas said.

‘Lucie just called. She and Cordelia want to go after Tatiana. Will and Tessa are going with them, at least they need someone to drive them. Would you be alright if I went with them? It is probably silly of me, but Tatiana is still my sister and I think there’s a part of me that hopes she is not lost.’

‘I understand,’ Thomas said. ‘If Babs or Genie did something like this I would try everything to get them back. Although I really can’t picture either of them doing this.’

‘Me neither. But I guess I felt the same about Tatiana. She was always very well behaved as a child, she could be sweet even. Eager to please father. I know Gabriel has completely given up on her, but I can’t. I will only go if that’s alright with you though. If you need me here, I’ll stay.’

‘Mom will still be here, won’t she?’

‘Yes, and Alastair and Jem are staying too. They think it’s best at least one person who knows how to wield a weapon stays here with you, and I don’t think Alastair wanted to leave your side either.’

‘I hope he doesn’t worry too much,’ Thomas said quietly.

‘We all worry,’ Gideon responded. ‘He’s a sweet guy, it’s obvious you two like each other very much. And he and Jem are on their way here. We’ll keep in touch.’

His father hugged him, and Thomas noticed there were tears in his eyes. If they failed, then this might be the last time he saw his father, Thomas realized. If they failed, he would die, probably within days. It still confused him, how Jesse had been sick but had died of getting lost, but Thomas was about to die of this sickness. Or did the thief have any more surprises?

‘I love you, Tom. Please don’t die.’

***

Lucie woke up early in the morning to start working with the locket. Barbara remembered everything now. It had taken some work from both her and Alastair and even now Lucie was still tired from using so much power. She could command someone to live, but only for a couple of hours at most. It wasn’t the same as resurrecting someone, she couldn’t bring someone back from the dead, but she could make them experience what it was to live again. It was not the same as simply making someone visible, it was much more than visibility. It was also exhausting and she could only do it so often.

Lucie herself hadn’t seen the memories, she couldn’t keep Barbara in a state of living and follow Alastair into the memory at the same time. Alastair was the only one who had seen the but he’d shared everything that was important. They had a better grasp of who the thief was now. Her mother was still working on her memory, and Lucie wasn’t sure why Barbara’s entire memory had come back when her mother still only remembered bits and pieces.

Barbara had been a servant of sorts in the palace. He mainly chose women he considered attractive for those positions, it seemed, and she’d overheard some conversations he’d had with more powerful souls while sweeping the floor. Everything combined, they’d concluded some souls could work their way up in his realm, and they’d concluded the thief had been mortal once and therefore could be killed. They’d gotten an idea of his power, and Lucie began to suspect it was much like her own magic, even if he was still far more powerful. It made sense that she was his granddaughter. He had the power of shapeshifting too, something Lucie didn’t think she could do, but something her mother used to do. Before she lost her magic. Lucie wondered if there was any way she could get it back.

If anyone could stop him, it was them. Cordelia’s sword, Lucie’s magic, those were weapons he couldn’t have that much experience with, right? Tessa might have only been able to seal him, but Lucie suspected her power was different from her mother’s even if it was similar. And Tessa had been on her own.

Alastair hadn’t found any information of other people trying to fight or stop him. He had figured out the thief was immortal, but not invulnerable, and although they weren’t absolutely sure, they suspected cortana would hurt him.

‘The trickiest part would be to find him,’ Alastair had said. ‘But I’ve seen quite a bit of the realm now, maybe I could.’

But Thomas had gotten even sicker, and therefore Tatiana would need to be found first. That was the plan. Find Tatiana, stop or at least slow down her plan so Thomas wouldn’t die, and then enter the realm of the thief to kill him. The only missing piece of information was where to find him, but Lucie’s best guess would be the ruins, except as a full castle in his own realm.

Lucie turned the locket around in her hand. It was pretty, she guessed. She knew it was supposed to open, but she couldn’t figure out her way around the lock. Somehow it seemed sealed shut.

She would need to get it to work before they could find Tatiana. Jesse had written something about how only she could make it work. Had he made this thing himself, or had Tatiana? But then why would she be able to use it? Lucie concluded it had to have something to do with her power.

‘Any progress?’ Cordelia asked as she came downstairs, dressed for battle?

Her hair was a bit messy still, braided, but not well and strands were falling out of her braid. She was wearing a loose brown tunic that was tucked at the waist over black leggings, clothes she could move in even if they did not offer much protection. Not that other clothes would, they didn’t exactly have armor lying around.

‘Not yet,’ Lucie said. ‘What did you do to your hair?’

‘I prefer to have it out of my face, but this looks like nothing. I hate to admit it but I cannot braid my own hair,’ Cordelia said.

‘Doing your own hair is harder than someone else’s,’ Lucie said. ‘Come here, I’ll fix it.’

Lucie undid Cordelia’s braid, and then went to find several hairbrushes, hairpins and elastic bands. Instead, she braided Cordelia’s hair into a crown shape, using pins to keep everything in place, finishing with some hair spray.

‘You won’t worry about your hair getting in your face now,’ Lucie said.

‘Good. It looks nice, I like it. Have you figured out how to summon Jesse?’

‘I think I’m supposed to open the locket,’ Lucie said. ‘But I can’t. You’re stronger than me, can you try?’

Cordelia carefully pulled at the locket, but it wouldn’t budge. ‘Didn’t Jesse’s note say you had to open it?’

‘Yes, but I’m not sure how. I’ve tried asking it to open, but that didn’t work. I’m considering traveling to the land in between and trying it there but that would mean I’d bring Jesse back there.’

Cordelia gazed at the ceiling, something she and her brother often did when they were thinking. ‘Maybe you shouldn’t ask the locket. Maybe you should ask a ghost.’

‘A ghost?’

‘If only a ghost can use it, then you’re the only living person who can use it. At least around here.’

‘Perhaps. It’s worth a try. But if that’s how it works, Jesse really should have been less vague.’

‘He could have been scared Tatiana would find it. Assuming she doesn’t know how it works or how to use it. Or that Jesse changed something so that only a ghost could open it.’

Lucie wasn’t sure what to think of any of these explanations, all she knew was she was getting tired of all these vague explanations where she had to figure everything out on her own.

She found Jessamine in the bathroom upstairs, looking at herself in the mirror and doing something with her hair. What it was, Lucie couldn’t tell, it looked the same as always.

‘Jess, can you help me with something?’ Lucie asked.

‘What do you need?’ Jessamine asked.

‘Please open this locket for me,’ Lucie said, handing Jessamine the locket.

Jessamine pulled at the edges and without too much effort the locket opened. Jesse appeared by her side.

‘So you did find the locket,’ Jesse said. ‘I’m not sure how much time we have. My mother moved. A part of the ritual needed to be done in Thomas’ proximity, but she’s past that now. She’s currently in a hotel in Inverness, and I can give you an address and room number. That’s where she has set up everything to complete the ritual. If you do nothing, the exchange will be complete at midnight.’

Jesse wrote down the address on a piece of paper and Lucie wondered if he could only do that because he was near her, or if that was how much stronger he’d become.

Lucie frowned. ‘Why do you not wish to save yourself?’

‘I never wanted anyone to die for me,’ Jesse said. ‘So many died. That boy in the lake. The thief asked my mother for a gifted child and she decided to try if she could drown a boy who was a competitive swimmer. I don’t know how many before that. I don’t want to bear that guilt. I just want to move on and forget about this life. I’ve always liked the idea of reincarnation. So many lives cut short, it’s nice to think I might have another chance. I would choose that over continuing the life I lost.’

Lucie understood. She would never wish for someone else to die so she could live. She just wished there was a way to save both Jesse and Thomas, but even with her power she couldn’t bring people back from the dead.

‘How do we stop her?’ Lucie asked.

‘Tatiana has to be the one to cast the spell. That’s why she hid from you, so she could speak the incantations to bring me back and kill Thomas from a safe place. She said he’s fallen ill due to her progression, is that true?’

Lucie nodded. ‘He has a fever and seems to be getting worse.’

‘When my mother finishes the incantation at midnight, Thomas will die. The spell requires that it is done just before midnight in this world, so if you stop her but she escapes, you’ll buy yourself at least a day. But in the end, you’ll want to stop her for good.’

‘Can we do that without killing her?’ Lucie asked.

‘Only if you destroy the thief,’ Jesse said. ‘But if you keep her a prisoner until you do that you’ll have the time you need. If you can, please don’t hurt her. I know what she did is awful, but she’s still my mother.’

Lucie nodded, she suspected Gideon wouldn’t want them to hurt his sister either if there was a way to stop it. Abducting her seemed like a decent solution, if they could make sure she was unable to finish the incantation then at the very least Thomas would not die.

‘So if we stop her, then things will remain as they are?’ Lucie asked.

‘I think so, yes,’ Jesse said. ‘I’ve grown so much stronger the past day, but I am not yet alive. I think Thomas will not die, but he won’t get better either until you find a more permanent solution. And Lucie, I am yours to command if you need me.’

Jesse began to flicker. ‘I need to return. My mother will find me missing. You’ll have to hurry, it is a long drive to Inverness.’

Jesse disappeared. A drive, which meant they’d need at least one person with a license to come with them. Lucie and Cordelia were both too young to drive. Lucie returned to the living room, where her parents, uncle Jem, and Alastair and Cordelia were discussing strategies.

‘I found out where Tatiana is,’ Lucie said. ‘Jesse gave me an address. It’s a drive of several hours and we’ll need to be there by midnight as that’s when Thomas will die if we don’t stop Tatiana. However, if we stop her from speaking the incantation, then the whole thing will be postponed until she does say them before midnight.’

‘So if we abduct her, that will buy us time,’ Alastair concluded. ‘But it will not end the whole thing?’

‘No, Jesse didn’t think so,’ Lucie said. ‘Either way, we have no time to lose and need at least one person to drive. Who is coming?’

‘We’ll need at least one person who can fight to stay behind,’ Alastair said. ‘In case it is a trick, in case something will come for Thomas and it’s not the sickness that will kill him.’

Lucie suspected Alastair did not want to leave Thomas. They hadn’t been together long, but they’d fallen into couple mode quite easily, with Alastair staying by Thomas’ side as much as he could.

‘You’re not coming with us, then?’ Cordelia asked.

Alastair refused to look her in the eye. Lucie had noticed it was something he struggled with, especially when things got too stressful.

‘I think it is best if I stay with Thomas,’ Alastair said.

Cordelia frowned, tried to find her brother’s gaze. ‘Alright,’ she said. ‘I trust you know what’s best.’

‘I’ll stay too,’ Jem said. ‘It’s been too long since I’ve fought anything, but I hope I can help take care of Thomas.’

‘I’ll drive,’ Will offered. ‘I’m sure Gideon will want to come, although I don’t think he’ll be able to reason with his sister anymore.’

‘I’m not letting you go alone,’ Tessa said.

‘You’re not letting me?’ Will asked.

‘I know how reckless you get. You haven’t changed that much since we met,’ Tessa said. ‘And Lucie is not much different. I’ll need to come to keep you all in check. Besides, I stopped the thief once. I’m starting to remember how I did it, even if it wasn’t enough in the end.’

Lucie worried about her parents coming, they did not have any special powers and were out of practice with their weapons, but she had to agree her mother was a bit more level headed.

‘You can borrow a dagger if you want,’ Alastair told Will. ‘Lucie has one already, and Cordelia has cortana, but I think it is wise to bring something so you can defend yourself. Just be quick about it, Inverness is a long drive and you only have until midnight.’

[cassandraclare]

Did either Gabriel or Gideon consider letting Grace stay at their houses after Tatiana was arrested? How do they feel about Grace in general? 

They did actually, and offered, but Grace refused. She likes (well, not likes, but prefers) being at the Bridgestocks, where they basically leave her alone.