#notcrypticbutcoy

[ladymatt]

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Alec Lightwood & Jace Herondale Additional Tags: Time Travel, Gay Panic, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, implied suicidal thoughts, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm  

Summary:

Jace froze. His parabatai rune burned white-hot, but he hardly felt it. It was easy to forget what people looked like, long ago, but the image of the boy in front of him was unmistakable, even with the emo fringe and the scowl. In fact, when combined with the defensive stance, hazel eyes, and still-healing cut through his left eyebrow, it made the whole thing more convincing.

“What the fuck.”   ***

Teenage Alec is magically poofed into the time of his forty-year-old self, and what he finds is really quite overwhelming. Especially the really hot guy he’s apparently married to.

Or: in which Teen Alec is very grumpy, Magnus thinks he’s very cute, and Adult Alec is Tired™.

Bravo @notcrypticbutcoy  🧡 👏

[notcrypticbutcoy]

“He looked like he’d swallowed his tongue and was trying very hard to recall how breathing worked. Alec could sympathise. Magnus was very pretty” ended me on the reread.

I love when you write Alec’s POV

Ahaha, that was in fact the moment that inspired the whole fic. It came from a throwaway line in the epilogue of fall without wings (yes, it does exist; no, it is not finished and is unlikely to see the light of day for a while; yes, of course it’s ridiculously long):

Magnus hums. “How would eighteen year old Alec have felt about me, do you think?”

Laughing, Alec drags his eyes slowly up Magnus’ figure and says, “I think he’d have swallowed his tongue trying to get a sentence out. I was very repressed, but not very practiced at it, back then.”

My brain immediately went !!! the second I’d written Alec’s line and decided to word-vomit 12k of fic in one go.

(For a bit of shameless self-promo, the fic being referred to is Flames to Embers)

[shadowhuntersficrecs]

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Additional Tags: Christmas, Alternate Universe - Medical, Getting Together, Fluff Series: Part 8 of All I Want For Christmas Is You Summary:

“How can you not like Christmas?” Magnus demanded, outraged. “That’s like not liking pizza!”

Alec shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”

Magnus gaped at him. “What?”

“I don’t like Christmas,” Alec repeated, finally looking up from scrolling through notes on the computer. “Is that a problem?”

***

Alec - the hot, emotionally unavailable paediatrics attending with a jawline Magnus is frequently driven to distraction by - hates Christmas. Magnus thinks this is preposterous, and makes it his mission to prove to Alec that Christmas can be fun.

--

Fluffy Christmas goodness with Malec being absolutely adorable and hopelessly into each other while flirting via bickering. Perfect read for the holiday season!

( @notcrypticbutcoy )

[foodsies4me]

End of the Year Fic Recs!!!

thank you @echo-bleu for tagging me! <3

I adore this as a game because I love reccing fics (and really should do it more often because So. Much. Good.Fic). This is going to be all shadowhunters I'm afraid though because I am still very much in the shadowhunters brainrot stage and haven't read much of anything else. (Also, sorry to those I haven't left a comment for yet, I WILL, spoons have just been low this year...) Also, I'll try to keep it to one rec per author because there are so many wonderful authors, but definitely go check the other fics of these people (if you haven't already) they're all excellent.

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Running from the Night by @to-the-stars-writing. My forever fic spouse and the fic I reread themost this year goes to the fantastic, angsty Alec goes to live in a small village to get away from the Clave because the poor dude is traumatized fic from to-the-stars. This fic is my fics spouse (yes I got @to-the-stars-writing's permission to marry this fic) and I love, love, love it so much.

Flames to Embers by @notcrypticbutcoy: teenage!Alec is poofed into the timeline of his older self and it is lovely, sad, and heartwarming all at the same time. Also, teenage Alec is delightfully grumpy and Adult Alec is even more delightfully Done with teenage!Alec's grumpiness.

starshine and moonlight by she_who_reads (all_fandoms_reader) A three +1 fic where Alec isn't enough until he finally is. This fic is angsty and delves into Alec's (not all that great) self-worth issues and it hurts. Might or might not have cried reading it.

The Warlock's Cat by @dreaming-marchling. I hesitated a while which one I should pick from Marchling, but I ended up choosing this one (that said PLEASE go read Bleed for Me as well it is so goooood). The Warlock's Cat is a delightful "Alec gets turned into a cat and ends up in Magnus's care" fic. I adore it, and while it has its angsty or whumpy spots, it's mostly a nice, feel-good read.

Magnus Bane: Menace by AceOnIce To give some reprieve from all of the angst in this list, here is a fic of pure, unabashed fluff. Starring: Warlock Alec and Shadowhunter Magnus, the latter of which writes some truly ridiculous mission reports to HOTI Ragnor's grief.

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

The river cannot go back by @lawsofchaos1. Alec being Alec and completely in love with Magnus which leads to him committing treason like it's nothing. It is a short, brilliant fic that had me screeching like any @lawsofchaos1 fic does.

I'm finding it hard to breath by Honey_Hued_Hermes This one is pretty heave, but it does have a Hopeful Ending. Alec never promised he would tell Magnus if things ever got that bad...and sadly they do. Diving into Alec's Suicidal Thoughts and his Self-Harm tendencies.

A Most Fundamental Truth by autisticalec A missing scene from 2X10 when Alec tells Magnus that he's never been as terrified as when he feared Magnus had died from the Soul Sword. This one-shot dives into the "Alec was really very not okay emotionally" in this scene, so go read it!

The Difficult Task by @dani-dabbles: Another Alec is going through it emotionally fic (there are quite a lot of these on this list I just realized, oops). Thankfully, Magnus is there to offer support when Alec needs it because Magnus is still the best boyfriend. (also the repeated "not good enough"is evil and I am suing for emotion damages, please and thank you very much)

come to me (in the night hours) by @moonlight-breeze-44 Izzy is a supportive sister and is there emotionally for Alec right before his wedding to Lydia. This fic left me feeling all sad and weepy. This fic is technically part of a series, but as no other parts have been posted yet I am posting this in the one-shot part.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

I've Always Dreamed of Meeting Someone Like You by ColorfulWarlock A non-magical Alternate Universe this time around. Single-dad, fashion designer, and CEO Magnus needs someone to draw his designs for him after a hit-and-run leaves him unable to draw for himself. Insert Alec, the wonderful babysitter, and game designer who seems to understand what Magnus envisions and draw them into reality!

Angelus ex Machina by BlueA The series starts with the sudden disappearance of demon activity and the way that lack of activity impacts the local Shadow World. I love the way the parabatai bond is portrayed in this fic (especially in the third installment).

through the fire and pain by alxndrlightwoods is another parabatai-bond deep-dive that goes deep into how a parabatai bond can change shadowhunters. It also explains why, if parabatai are so powerful, there aren't that many of them. Love this fic!

i cannot touch because they are too near by @faejilly nobody manages to write poetry without writing poetry quite like @faejilly for me, seriously the words are always so beautiful I am in awe. This fic has to be my absolute favorite though because deep-dives into the parabatai bond are interesting to begin with but the way Jilly decides to do so in this fic makes it go from interesting to absolutely brilliant.

Greater Love Hath No Man by @lawsofchaos1 Okay, I lied, here is a second Laws fic, but considering this fic led to the demise of my laptop, I felt that it deserved to be on the list. (No, that wasn't a joke). Dad!Alec is forced to send baby!Max away to a warlock orphanage when his magic grows too strong for him and leaves him injured. The pain is real and it is excruciating, tissues are advised.

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

As much as I adore reccing fics, doing self-recs is awkward, so I'm going to keep this to one rec before I combust into flames.

All Was Golden (everyone has probably read that one already because it's my most-read fic which makes this slightly less awkward than reccing any other of my fics.) Anyway, soulmate AU with a kind of ugly meet that has some angst.

Tagging, without any kind of pressure, the authors I tagged in the rec-list (if they haven't participated already) as well as @miss-mouse.

[anotherlongstoryshort]

Thanks for the tag @jamiesfootball

Last song: https://open.spotify.com/track/2UCL6SpAhrvlEFvS0TbgNw?si=8bcf77544fc64c25

Currently watching: The Mentalist, most recently.

Three ships/dynamics: Roy/Jamie as per, my fave Malec writer (@notcrypticbutcoy) recently posted a new fic so very happily down that rabbit hole again, and the (platonic, familial) dynamic between Don and Charlie Eppes has been keeping me up at night.

Favourite colour: Blue, specifically Pantone 655.

Currently consuming: Chicken tikka and rice.

First ship: Also done that before so also changing it to Past Beloved Character: My Stiles Stilinski brainrot is due a resurgence. It comes around every 6-8 months.

Relationship status: Single.

Last movie: The Sound of Music

Currently working on: A gift fic for @altschmerzes centred on a hyper-specific The Mentalist/MacGyver Crossover AU.

Tagging if so inclined: @sighonaraa @catalogercas and those I've already mentioned.

[ayearofmalec]

Malec as Universe/Time Travelers 12

Today, we have a special story for you: It is "Flames to Embers" by @notcrypticbutcoy and the last chapter was uploaded today! So, it just got completed in time for us to post this!

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Summary:

Jace froze. His parabatai rune burned white-hot, but he hardly felt it. It was easy to forget what people looked like, long ago, but the image of the boy in front of him was unmistakable, even with the emo fringe and the scowl. In fact, when combined with the defensive stance, hazel eyes, and still-healing cut through his left eyebrow, it made the whole thing more convincing.

“What the fuck.”   ***

Teenage Alec is magically poofed into the time of his forty-year-old self, and what he finds is really quite overwhelming. Especially the really hot guy he’s apparently married to.

Or: in which Teen Alec is very grumpy, Magnus thinks he’s very cute, and Adult Alec is Tired™.

Link to the fic

Happy reading!

[michellemisfit]

Tag Game Tuesday: The MySpace Survey ⭐️

Thank you @suzy-queued, @gardenerian, @liamgallaghers, @energievie, @heymrspatel, and @creepkinginc for the tag. Reading all of your entries kept me occupied at work, which was much appreciated!

What’s your name? Michelle

Your sun sign: Pisces ♓️

The last song you listened to:

What are you wearing right now? I got home 3 hours ago, but I’m still in my work uniform, because I’m too tired to get changed. Woe. However I did put on fuzzy socks. And I took my bra off! Yay!!

How tall are you? 172cm (google says that’s 5 feet 7.717 inches)

Piercing? 6 (Ears & Lip. Used to have a tongue piercing but I just kinda got over it one morning, so I took it out.)

Tattoos? Yes. Many. Erm… 16 or so?

Glasses? Contacts? Had LASIK in 2012. Best money ever spent.

Last drink? Fizzy water.

Last thing you ate? Microwave lasagne. Again. I’m so tired!!

Favourite colour? Rainbow 🌈

Any pets? Two cats at home 🐈 🐈‍⬛, A whole farm full of animals at work, including 13 brand new piglets as of this morning when the last squiggle was born.

Do you have a crush on anyone? Pretty much every fictional character I’ve ever met.

Favourite fictional character? Today? Arthur Pendragon.

A movie you think everyone should watch: The Last Unicorn.

A book you think everyone should read: Watership Down, Richard Adams

The last place you traveled: Cumbria

Something you’re looking forward to: SLEEEEEEEP. Also summer. Long days. Not being cold any more. Getting covered in freckles. Hell, right now even working at the farm, sweaty and covered in suncream, with straw sticking to all of me sounds appealing! I’m so done with the cold.

—

Tagging @whatthebodygraspsnot @deedala @notcrypticbutcoy @vintagelacerosette @katspace and @gallavichgeek

[malectober]

To malec, the soulmatiest soulmates to ever soulmate

Who find their to way to each other, no matter what

In every universe

In every lifetime

In every one of the approximately 30k malec fics on Ao3 (we don’t talk about the ones with an unhappy ending shhhhh)

A few soulmate AUs for you, under the cut 😘

I’ll Love You in a Thousand Lifetimes - by notcrypticbutcoy - A soulmate + reincarnation AU

If You Love Me, Don’t Let Go - by pinstripedJackalope - Takes place in the same universe as the first fic

The What Ifs - by Lexa_Foxly - in which Magnus and Alec are soulmates who’ve been separated and are being chased

You’re My Soulmate Sweetheart - by AlexSW97 - AU where your soulmate’s eye colour is the same as the shirt you’re wearing

Pickpocket - by purple_roots - In which Alec tries to pickpocket his soulmate

Fletchings and Flames - by KucatsHouse - In which Alec bumps into his soulmate and doesn’t realise until much later, and has to scramble to look for him again

visions of you - by madtilde - AU where you dream about what your soulmate has been doing during the day

Spoiler Alert - booknerdqueen - A one shot based on That One Tumblr Post about soulmate marks and spoilers

lock my soul (and keep the key with you) - by @thelightofthebane - AU where everyone has a locket containing their soulmate’s name, which only opens after a certain condition is fulfilled

Soulshine - by MuscleMemory - honestly this is just 1.3k words of pure soulmatey fluffy sexy goodness

Of Fate, Fiascos and Flawless Eyeliner - by pinstripedJackalope - AU where whatever your draw on yourself appears on your soulmate’s skin

Lights Up The Skyline (To Show Where You Are) - by A_Taupe_Fox - In which your soulmark only appears when you’re on the path to meeting your soulmate, but no matter what Alec does, his won’t appear

Strawberry Expectations - by NvrLndBoi - Magnus and Alec are soulmates, and finally meet each other, but what comes next?

[malec-ao3feed]

Making Memories With Mistletoe

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/N0EBAcL by notcrypticbutcoy How was that even possible? How could Magnus’ soulmate be someone who didn’t believe in the concept? The universe had to be playing some kind of cosmic joke on him. *** When a mysterious and very attractive stranger walks into Magnus’ magic shop three weeks before Christmas, he doesn’t expect it to be his soulmate. Nor does he expect his soulmate to deny the entire concept of such a thing. Or: in which Magnus owns a magic shop, Alec doesn’t believe in soulmates, and the universe has a funny way of making things work out. Words: 5514, Chapters: 1/5, Language: English Series: Part 9 of All I Want For Christmas Is You Fandoms: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Multi Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Additional Tags: Background Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood, Christmas, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Magical Realism, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone is mortal, Enemies to Lovers, Sort Of read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/N0EBAcL

[myulalie]

This artwork was created for the Shadowhunters Mini Bang 2021: Presented by the @malecdiscordserver.

The Road Not Taken (Looks Real Good Now) by notcrypticbutcoy.

I wouldn't know a Taylor Swift's lyric if it smacked me in the face, but maybe some of you will recognize the title @notcrypticbutcoy chose! Way too many characters for a tweet, that I know for sure :p

I was lucky to read the fic as @notcrypticbutcoy wrote it and got really inspired for the right side of this banner, so I'm glad I found the right pictures to make this visual come to life! Hopefully Lu likes it as much as I do!

Congratulations on completing this bang fic notcrypticbutcoy, and thank you. Collaborating with you was a delight! ♥

Credits

Harry Shum Jr Shirtless: Popsugar Matthew Daddario Photoshoot: Matthew Daddario Online Brown Rock Formation: Ashley Ibarra on Unsplash Swimming in the sea: @wreck on Tumblr

[ladymatt]

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Additional Tags: Christmas, Alternate Universe - Medical, Getting Together, Fluff Series: Part 8 of All I Want For Christmas Is You

Summary:

“How can you not like Christmas?” Magnus demanded, outraged. “That’s like not liking pizza!”

Alec shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”

Magnus gaped at him. “What?”

“I don’t like Christmas,” Alec repeated, finally looking up from scrolling through notes on the computer. “Is that a problem?”

***

Alec - the hot, emotionally unavailable paediatrics attending with a jawline Magnus is frequently driven to distraction by - hates Christmas. Magnus thinks this is preposterous, and makes it his mission to prove to Alec that Christmas can be fun.

@notcrypticbutcoy  This was ADORABLE - thanks for sharing! 💚

[cuubism]

Hey! I’ve said this already in a rambling ao3 comment but I just wanted to drop by and say again that I absolutely fricking love your writing! Every time I read anything from you it is just /so good/. There’s so much emotion and intensity in the way you write and it’s beautiful.

I hope life is treating you well atm 💖

ahh thank you so much!!! this is such a lovely comment 🥰 thank you for sending it :) 

life’s treating me alright, hope it’s treating you well too!! <3

[bytheangell]

Hey! I hope you’re doing okay with everything! TDA question: I read book 1&2, but I found book 2 a bit long and slow going so I never got onto book 3. (Also I was most invested in Kit & Ty and I saw people saying things don’t go so well for them...) Is it worth a read, or should I just read the plot on SH wiki?! 💖

I’m doing alright, and I hope things are going well for you! <3 

Alright, so I feel that so hard. It took me longer than I want to admit to get through the first book because it took me longer to connect with the characters and get invested. But then I hit a point in book two... somewhere around/past halfway, toward the end, where I fell into a rhythm with the plot and characters and relationships and felt that drive to keep going and see how it all plays out. 

I guess it boils down to: there’s definitely more happening in the third book than the second, so it didn’t feel like it was dragging as much. But it is still very long, and there is a lot happening across all the varying characters and POVs, and I think being more invested in the whole cast than just waiting for a favorite or two to pop up definitely sways my opinion that it’s definitely worth reading! 

I was also very, very determined to get to the stuff about Thule because I knew about it vaguely and like the angst monster I am, needed to know more, and since that happens later in the book that was a nice motivator for a time as well. 

I really enjoy all the seelie and unseelie lore, and found myself heavily invested in Mark and Kieran and Cristina, so getting more of them was definitely a plus for me! I do also love Kit and Ty, and you get more of them and it’s interesting to see how their friendship develops. (Also Kit and Ty are going to have a series based around them at some point (2022?)! So while they may not have the ending you might want for them in TDA, if you’re invested in them you’ll probably want to finish it anyway so you’re ready for that when it comes out! Also I think knowing I was going to get more of them helped me be more okay with where they ended up in this series.) 

But by the third book I was properly invested in pretty much everyone to the point that even if the plot moved a bit slower at times, I cared enough about all the little branches of what was happening that it didn’t feel like I was just waiting to ‘get through’ one character’s POV just to get to one I liked more, I wanted to see them all. 

...that was more rambly than I meant for it to be. I guess the TL;DR is: I, personally, enjoyed the way it all wrapped up and think it’s worth the read, especially if it’s the only one you have left! it couldn’t hurt to give it a try and, if you can’t get into it in the end, fall back on the wiki strategy if you just want to know the main plot points! 

[chibi-tsukiko]

So I decided last night to start re-reading Fall Without Wings by @notcrypticbutcoy for like the 50th time cuz its just SO FREAKING GOOD!!!

& then I got to chapter 64 and got to the bottom of the page and realized that it was done....and now I’m sad. And I gotta start from the beginning all over again!

[mirrorofliterature]

Alec turns to look at him, and their eyes meet for the first time, and Magnus changes his mind. Alec Lightwood’s scars are still bleeding. Whatever wounds have been inflicted on him, they’re new, slashed open and raw and painful.

Or: here, suffer with me, in @notcrypticbutcoy‘s beautiful, tragic fic Our Forsaken Sins where Magnus succeeds in removing his memories of Alec.

[ayearofmalec]

Malec as friends to lovers #15

Today we have the Amazing Hopelessly Devoted to You by notcrypticbutcoy.

Rating: explicit

Summary: When Magnus Bane walks into Alec’s third grade classroom, a scowl printed on his face and a permanent chip on his shoulder, Alec has no idea that, one day, this scrawny smart-ass will mean the world to him.

He has even less idea that he’ll mean just as much to Magnus.

In which Magnus and Alec are destined for each other, everyone around them can see it, and sometimes, love is found in the most unexpected places.

(Childhood best friends to lovers AU, set over fifteen years.)

Link to fic

We hope you all enjoy the story, and feel free to let us know what you think!

Happy reading!