#shadowhunters commentary

[toomanybirdsss]

One of my favourite dumb but funny moments in fantasy/sci-fi books or shows is when everything from the characters, the locations, the houses, to the animals have crazy weird names, like fantasy names that are basically just a bunch of syllables smooshed together, but then one of the main characters or even the main character has the stupidest real life name ever.

My favourite example: the Dune series. All the weirdest names under the sun for everything in that series and then one of the main characters name is Paul. Like why is his name Paul?? (i know there is actual story reasons for it but still) One of the worst white boy names ever imo. His last name is Atreides, and his first name is Paul?? Like we were apparently smart enough up to that point to comprehend all the other weird names but the main character had to be the most recognizable basic name ever. Like come on.

Hilarious and infuriating at the same time.

[think-pieces]

Sunjoy signing on

Something about vampires, I don't know if it's the age I grew up in. Or genuine interest and love for vampires. But by golly I fucking love vampires.

In almost any media context I love vampires. I am currently reading, Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda simply because it's vampire themed. Twilight, the Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, Vampire Knight, some episodes of Supernatural. I love vampires. Lore, history, stories.

I should preface, so long as it's either tasteful, OR (as seen in my choices), it's so tacky, it's good. I will argue, Vampire diaries has the best ~lore~ about vampirism. Do I think it should be as long of a series as it is? Oh god no. But the lore is peak in terms of the Vampire content I consume. I will say though, Vampire Knight has a strong aesthetic foothold. It could be the style of anime, the "costuming" but it simply is better in the aesthetic department.

Twilight. oh good god. Twilight is a mix (for me), of Vampire Diaries, Tortured Artist TM, Vampire knight. In the funniest way. it has a better styling of "we're techincally dead. frozen in time." there's a lack of warmth, and a strong design of hollowness that resonates in them. I do like how they unintenitionally write them as being the age they are "frozen" at. Solely because it makes sense. The lore is, ugh. But it has moments of clarity. just moments. Let's not give Stephanie Myer too much credit.

I do enjoy when Vampires are made to be "monsters". Why you ask. Because they are. If not for them being argubly the most humanoid monster out there. THEY'RE STILL MONSTERS. When Supernatural had them grow rows upon rows of teeth when they smelt or tasted blood. Shit was horrifying. As it should be. Edward Cullen shouldn't ~Sparkle~. They're nighttime creatures. they should burn in the sun like in the Vampire Diaries or in (I think Shadowhunters does this too).

I fear we as a society stopped growing for the better when we made Vampires hot and have them prey after actual 18 year olds. it is the obvious choice at times. Vampire hold a certain unnattainable sensualism about them. Untouchable, graceful, elegant. They are in my opinion, one of the best things to come out of the monster world.

signing off

sunjoy

[allthestories]

I’m actually incredibly disappointed that Cassie made it so that Matthew was lying about not drinking in Paris. 

Like to have him confess his deepest secret to her and then have him lie to her about this? 

[minimonimind]

While I absolutely love the romance and the character relationships that Cassie develops in The Dark Artifices and now going into TWP, I think my favorite thing about the series is more about the political themes and commentary that she weaves throughout the books, because she does so in a way that gives me full-body shivers. I love coming onto the internet and seeing all the KitxTy DruxAsh etc etc content, but what I'm most excited to see are the themes that Cassie will impose in TWP, and what kind of real-world commentary we are about to see.

We know that TWP is supposed to be set around 2015/2016 era, and if we remember those times (how can we not, it's permanently imprinted in our brains lol) the world was changing drastically, especially in the political sphere, which Cassie defamiliarized into the conflict at the end of TDA that led to the split between the Shadowhunters and perfectly set up for the plot of TWP.

What's scary to me is how obvious the problem seems from a reader's standpoint, because the story is about demon hunters and mythical creatures and their made-up political system, but then you remember that every political system is made-up, even those in real life, and how what seems obvious isn't actually that obvious to so many other people. Characters like Zara and her allies are so frustrating and annoying and give me intense rage-fueled shivers because they are reflective of the stuff we see happening today.

Anyways. So excited and a little scared for the plot of TWP.

[cassandraclare]

will we ever get a scene or reference to the "i did not choose this life. 1904" engraving in the scholomance that ghost livvy found in gotsm? i had thought it would be a plot point in chot given the year, but it wasn't. was it meant to be, and you changed the location to the silent city instead?

No, it was never meant to be a plot point in TLH. Only Chain of Thorns takes place at all in 1904, and then probably only in the first week or so of 1904. The majority of the book takes place in 1903. The Scholomance is never mentioned in TLH because it just doesn’t have anything to do with the story. Nobody we know is there or ever has a reason to go. I know the dates are close to each other, but there is nothing else connecting that detail from GOTSM to TLH, and everything has to happen in some year or other! I recall when Kelly and I wrote that story, and we never discussed that piece of writing as connecting to Last Hours or anything else - it’s meant to be a commentary on being a Shadowhunter, more than anything; it’s possible Livvy may come across the ghost of whoever wrote in in TWP, though!

[foodsies4me]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

(I didn’t see the original ask prompt for this but I love foodsies rambles so here we go 😬🙃)

Alright, a Golden Words and Sapphire Rings commentary this time around. Or New Acquaintances and Mounts of Snark or even All Was Golden depending on how you look at it.

As you know GWSR is an AU of AWG, with Magnus and ALEC having spoken when Alec was still a baby shadowhunter. Well the two major events that have happened in GWSR aka Magnus finding a hurt and bleeding baby!Max being attacked by demons and Ragnor finding a hurt and bleeding teenager!Alec after he and his team got attacked by more Shax demons than they anticipated also happened in AWG.

In GWSR Alec gave Max his ring as a necklace when his parents took him along to the Los Angeles institute to make sure he would be safe because Alec didn’t trust his parents to be able to keep baby!Max from wandering off. Which is a good thing because wandering off is exactly what he did. With Max wearing the ring Magnus thankfully felt his distress and fear and was capable of portaging over to him and heal him even if he was confused by the fact that Max was wearing the ring and not Alec.

In AWG Alec drew a familias rune on Max’s ankle with a promise that if he got lost he would find him because Max was unhappy about leaving without Alec. That rune was as much for Max as it was for Alec, though, given Alec wasn’t happy with leaving Max alone with their parents either. That rune ended up saving Max’s life as it not only alerted Alec the moment Max got scared (making him sprint over to the Los Angeles institute like the Flash), but also used Alec’s magic to ward off the Kuri demons as much as possible. Max still ended up far more hurt than in GWSR and probably would have succumbed to his injuries if Alec didn’t keep hovering around him and unconsciously healing him.

(While the Silent Brothers didn’t realize Alec was using magic they did notice being close to him helped with Max’s healing so they let Alec hover as much as he wished to.)

Ironically enough, it’s not the attack that caused Max to be shorter in this universe, but the healing process. Alec’s magic being impacted by his soul bond rejection, wasn’t strong enough to heal Max by itself so it used Max’s energy to heal him. (Think Alec sharing his energy with Magnus in the series.) This led to Max’s body not having the energy left to grow or do much of anything given how severe his injuries were, which meant his growth stagnated for most of the year after the attack.

As for the Ragnor finds a hurt teen!Alec scene in New Acquaintances - in AWG Alec mentions that he and Jace already knew that Jace could activate his runes without a stele after a mission had gone very, very wrong. Well, that was the mission that went so terribly wrong. Thankfully for him, everyone else was unconscious and bleeding and didn’t notice him activating runes he shouldn’t have been able to without his stele.

I ended up rambling too much again because oops

[barbasbackside]

— masterlist 𓇢𓆸

masterlist on all things fandom and fanbase related that im into. masterlist links will bring you to all the original content i have made—or reblogs i have made significant commentary on—for said fandom

if you want to see my reblogs, then just search said fandom tag in my blog's search bar. my original fandom posts are tagged with "og" at the end so that there is a distinction between the two. i hope that makes sense. happy scrolling <3

☆ tv shows ☆

law & order: svu || supernatural || sherlock || shadowhunters || stranger things || heartstopper || murdoch mysteries || criminal minds || lucifer || anne with an e || good omens || once upon a time || the end of the fucking world || timeless || interview with the vampire

☆ films ☆

dead poets society || lord of the rings || lisa frankenstein || the holdovers || bones and all || call me by your name || fantastic mr. fox || hunger games (tbosbas) || kill your darlings || the diary of a teenage girl || little women (2019) || the virgin suicides

☆ books + universe ☆

marauders || the secret history || looking for alaska (or any john green book) || daisy jones and the six || dorian gray || dracula || catcher in the rye || red white and royale blue || the summer i turned pretty

☆ animated ☆

over the garden wall || hazbin hotel || studio ghibli || the girl from the other side || wolfwalkers || moomins || ratatouille || nimona

☆ music + celebrities ☆

emo bandom (mcr, tøp, p!atd, etc.) || hozier || ethel cain || florence welch || noah kahan || chappell roan || lizzy mcalpine || raúl esparza

[livingfictionsystem]

Shadowhunters commentary: Herondales' favourite past time is falling in love with someone suitable and getting hung up on a contrived reason on why they can't possibly show it.

-Xanthe 🪶

[im-out-of-it]

part 14(or 13) continued of season 1, episode 12 of MALEC

176. IM SORRY BUT I LOVE THE WAY MAGNUS AND ALEC JUDGE SIMON LMAO

177. Alec: babe why are we allowing this?

178. Magnus: I truly don’t know but I’m so entertained

179. this is also important because this is going to be an issue later on that gets developed (but not as bad as the books)

180. yes hurry up and have a drink already!!!

190. we all love Magnus, but is he just hotter when he uses magic?????? ITS SO FUCKING PRETTY

191. Magnus aka you don’t need to touch my boyfriend bane

192. is that jealousy in jace?????

193. Magnus: ah shit. the second I get happy, I have to deal with my psycho ex. why do good things happen to such hot and fantastic people?

194. when jace tells Lydia how she did a good thing “letting Alec choose” basically like what was she supposed to do????? tell Alec no, marry me this instant? I’m glad she stood aside but that’s the most respectful thing I can think of anyone doing. it’s almost using common sense. you stand aside and let the other person happy

195. “I have darkness in me.”- jace. why yes you do so get your ass in therapy!!!!

196. “you’re a good person jace.”- clary. why don’t you join him in therapy????????

197. bitch you thought Lydia lmao

198. I don’t blame hodge for what he did because as much as I like (ADORE) the lightwoods, he did get sentenced inside for the rest of his life while other people who probably did worse are much more freer. now this wouldn’t be a punishment for me because I love the indoors but I can understand how he feels about it

199. and of course they have to put some CLACE in this episode when it’s STRICTLY FOR MALEC

200. but easily one of the best episodes and this can’t be argued. like it’s got Alec and Magnus having a small fight, then they see one another and it’s super uncomfortable but you can’t look away, alec wresting with his inner demons (aka Maryse), Alec finally choosing himself (and let’s be clear, he’s not only choosing magnus but finally himself for once), MALEC KISS, the aftermath of Maryse being all mad and Malec stating they’ll go on their date, how everything quickly happened, THE FASHION MAGNUS!!!! EVEN ALEC WITH HIS SUIT AND TIE, to all the other Valentine stuff that we forgot about because MALEC ✨

also it’s funny to me when book fans complain about how Alec is dressed at his wedding. nobody gives a shit if he’s not wearing shadowhunter colors. JUST LIKE HOW HE LOOKS HANDSOME WITH HIS HAZEL NOT BLUE EYES AND WE PREFER HIM THAT WAY. he looks hot doing anything so back off 👏🏼 also Lydia is very gorgeous in her dress so leave your shitty book opinions away 😌

wow 200 is the number!!!!!! I purposely made it this way when I was on 194 but this was a jam packed episode!!!!! I’m learning that I don’t need to post (I try not to people please but it’s fucking hard not to) everyday since it’s easier to prepare my gifs first and then commentary. but I do hope y’all enjoyed this!!!!!! I’m pretty sure it’s in 13 parts not 14 but a lot of shit to remember. so thank you for joining WE LOVE SHOW MALEC AND THEY MATTER THE MOST and ew CLACE shit discussion post/list/bitchfest/commentary. I appreciate anyone who takes the time and tolerates me, y’all are the greatest. next one should be out in a couple of days maybe a week at the latest 🥹

[faejilly]

10 characters/10 fandoms/10 tags (in no particular order)

Alexander Gideon Lightwood--Shadowhunters (TV)

Joan Watson--Elementary (Honorary mentions to Granada Watson & ACD Watson & the robot & tomato & etc. But Lucy Liu y'all.)

Oz--BTVS (Daniel "Oz" Osbourne. I still know his actual full name! From when it aired! I was the same age as Oz when it came out oh gods I'm old. And yet Seth Green is not. How unfair. 🤣)

Joker--Mass Effect (Jeffrey "Joker" Moreau. Now I'm just making some weird nickname & Seth Green commentary, idek anymore)

Amanda King--Scarecrow and Mrs King (#formative influence)

Murderbot--The Murderbot Diaries (Or as I usually call it when it comes up in conversation: Murderbot!Murderbot!Murderbot!)

Molly Grue--The Last Unicorn (Book & Movie & Graphic Novel)

Alec Hardison/Eliot Spencer/Parker--Leverage (The OG OT3 deserve their own line, I don't make the rules that's just how it is)

Anne Elliot--Persuasion (Favorite Austen. Favorite Everything.)

Sebastian Vael--Dragon Age 2 (He's why I'm on tumblr even!)

tagged by @tamsinwilloughby & no pressure tagging @twistedsinews @wellreadpigfarmer @leahazel @rubyvroom @poemsfromthealley @ohfreckle @msviolacea @genginger @numbuh12 @defira85 & anyone else who'd like to try it

[sandylee007]

'In a Valley of Deep Darkness' part 18 sneak peek 1

Alec didn’t know what came over him. Before he realized what was happening his lips brushed Magnus’. “Sorry”, he sputtered, after. “I don’t know... I guess I wanted to...”

Magnus’ pupils were blown wide as the man shook his head. Instead of offering verbal commentary the warlock pulled him close for a second, slightly longer kiss. “I know. Me too.”

[dreaming-marchling]

I hope you feel better soon!

Love this bit of cultural worldbuilding in Exile if you have any additional director's commentary!

“I don’t know if Magnus or Jace made it clear or not but parabatai bonds are sacred to us. They’re a serious, serious commitment and there are all sorts of accommodations given to bonded pairs. That someone purposefully broke the bond between you and Jace is literally its own crime. There will be people, especially in the older generations, who will be more angry about what happened to your bond than what happened to you yourself. Mostly those people are anti-Downworlder bigots who don’t like your progressive stance but still, the point stands.”

The show SAID the bond was sacred and then they just never actually showed it. Like super frustrating, it infuriated me all the time. Like bad enough they let Jace be tricked by Jonathan with that text that Max died - HE SHOULD HAVE FELT THAT ALEC WASN'T DEVASTATED AND KNOWN IT WAS FAKE!!! - but like where was the DEFERENCE??

I really wanted there to be scenes where say Maryse tried to pull something on Alec and Jace cut her off like "he's my parabatai and my word goes" instead we got shit like her telling Alec to just like forget Jace because he made them look bad. Or for there to be some sort of "omg those are parabatai warriors, look at them fight, they're blessed by the Angels" awed reaction from new to the Institute Shadowhunters. We got a whole lot of nothing other than an occasional mention that the bond is sacred or losing a parabatai is the worst pain without really showing it.

So I really wanted to show it in Exile. Jace wasn't just in pain, he was shattered and wanted to join Alec in death as their souls were torn apart and wanted - needed - to be back together. I wanted other people to be horrified that Imogen had done that to parabatai. I wanted the breaking of the bond to be its own crime to stack on her mountain. Even Alec who had no idea who he was was dealing with a "rip" inside of him that hurt and destabilized him without understanding why.

I imagine the Clave to be really cutthroat like old royal courts were, lots of scheming and "playing the game" and assassination attempts. I can absolutely imagine some people being like "damn girl" to Imogen for so ruthlessly and effectively taking out Alec to further her grandson's interests and the Herondale name. Not like approval approval but "what a master manipulator, well played" kind of vibe... until she broken an Angel blessed bond to do it.

I have feelings.

Thank you for asking!!

[griftermp3]

though at first glance the difference between the amount of canonically queer shadowhunters in tmi and in tlh may just appear to be a reflection of shifting irl norms in including lgbtq+ characters in fiction, i believe that not only is it a subversion of beliefs about the early 1900s saying that queer people had to live in secret, but also a commentary on the way that the progress of time does not always equal the progress of belief, especially after the rise of conservatives into power. one must bear in mind that in 1903, the shadowhunter with the most power over the Clave was Consul Charlotte Fairchild; in 2007, it was rogue shadowhunter and known blood supremacist and bigot Valentine Morgenstern. In text, we can see the reflection of these two time periods (1903 and 2007) as Anna and Ari able to dance together on the dancefloor in view of everyone with little issue, and Alec Lightwood kissing Magnus Bane in the view of everyone to lots of shock and surprise. In this essay I will

[foodsies4me]

oh oh ooooh!

director’s commentary on Apollo pretty please??

Alright, a director's commentary on Apollo! So, the scene where Magnus planned to tell Alec about the Cup at Pandemonium was originally supposed to be longer and not be interrupted by Clace+Izzy shenanigans. Malec were initially supposed to end up together in that chapter as I wanted them to be a unit before the Clary-specific brand of chaos started up. The plan was to have Magnus mention the "your parents were Circle members" bomb + the "there's something wrong with your daemon" bomb back then, but that ended up going differently...While that change hasn't changed much for the whole of the story it will have a slight impact on how Clary acts, as in some more canon Clary quotes might make an appearance one of them being the saying Alec is jealous of her because of Jace.

Another fun tidbit for Apollo. Most people might have already caught on to the fact that there's something up with the different daemons, as in warlock daemons, having their thing the same going for vampire daemons, werewolf daemons, fae daemons, and shadowhunter daemons. Well, all the race-specific ones, excluding the fae-specific characteristics, have already appeared in the fic! They haven't been addressed directly yet, but they've been hinted at, so those who have been paying attention might already be able to guess how being a warlock/vampire impacts a person's daemon! But that's all I'm revealing at present.💜

[smilebackwards]

For the director's cut ask game, I would love to hear any tidbits about Enthrallment that you're willing to share. I simply adore that fic.

Oh, thank you! 😊 Okay, so Enthrallment is set in @lawsofchaos1 beautiful Consular High Warlock verse and based on a prompt they posted to the Malec discord a year ago where a lot of people added great commentary. It kills me to see amazing prompts, especially with extra commentary, get lost in the depths of discord or tumblr or old journals on LJ which is part of why I love to write them out into full fics that are at least mildly less ephemeral on AO3. I think the extra commentary that really, really got me was Lucia_3 came up with the idea that Magnus' magic was automatically abrasive to other warlocks and I had a lot of fun with that.

Other stuff... I have attended some conferences so I enjoyed bringing some of that world into the Shadowhunters world. I particularly enjoyed coming up with conference presentation names:

How to Spell Reforestation: Using Magic to Combat Climate Change

The Cabinet: A Nephilim-Downworld Collaboration Initiative

Identification and Applications of Four-Dimensional Warding

A, B, AB, & O: The Impact of Blood Type on Non Subject Specific Blood Magic

unnamed non-reactive flavoring for potions presentation

I really think that Alec would love slide decks, okay? I don't think he loves paperwork per se but I think he loves organization and so he would love to make a PowerPoint and in other fics I have him set up a newsletter and he has a payment ledger and other stuff. I do this across fandoms too because I think it's funny. Like characters are in Excel and reviewing board notes and studying flowcharts on how the space postal system works and it's personally hilarious to me.