#shadowhunters show is superior

[im-out-of-it]

part 5 I think of season 2, episode 8 continued “love is a devil” LEAVE MAGNUS AND ALEC ALONE

66. I think I left off here. I’m pretty sure I did. but here are some of the extra stuff from that scene:

HURT ALEC? THE ONLY ONE CAUSING ALEC PAIN AND ALMOST DEATH IS YOU JACE (Magnus is so pretty here) MAGNUS IS NOT THE ONE SO WATCH THYSELF JACE

67. this was from earlier with Alec:

68. this stuff irritates me but this doesn’t:

69. THIS IS WHAT MAGNUS SHOULD HAVE SAID (not my edit obviously but this is literally how I view this whole scene)

70. HES JUST SO PRETTY

71. I can’t believe Magnus didn’t go off once but mags is too kind and we all know that

72. yes Alec is happier and it has nothing to do with you jace. you’ve never made Alec happy, only caused issues for him

73. well I guess clary and Simon are here

74. I like how Maia is almost the only person not putting up with jace’s shit

75. MAIA IS MOOD

76. I mean, he did kidnap gretel and there was never any amends for that

will start the next part shortly

[im-out-of-it]

honestly the books do Izzy dirty. she barely has a purpose except saving jace, she doesn’t seem to be that serious about Simon (at least it didn’t seem that way in the beginning), and she’s super toxic with Simon. I can’t stand the way Izzy is written. I prefer show Izzy.

don’t forget all the toxic shit Izzy has done, clary is god awful to females and Izzy in particular, and oh Simon dreams of being with clary. at least the show has Izzy and clary being friends instantly with none of the cheating or incest shit that wasn’t necessary

Izzy supports Alec and Alec supports her as well. I like Izzy’s friendship with Rafael and Simon. so what, she’s the “hot one” all because she embraces her sexuality? literally Em is so fucking beautiful (and they did excessively use her looks but the show didn’t know if it would get more seasons and I believe they had a different target audience.) but I don’t see how she’s only the “hot one” on the show. Izzy got far better treatment than she ever did in the books in my opinion. and before CC got in a fit about Izzy wearing short skirts and dresses, SHE DID THAT IN TMI before she went and changed it in the later books. I would 100% rather watch new ideas from the show than get a exact replica of the books

not sure i will ever forgive shadowhunters tv for what they did to isabelle lightwood and i’m so serious btw. isabelle loves alec so much that magnus’s birthday gift to him is a protection spell on her. she dates boys she knows her parents will disapprove of because she thinks it’ll distract them from figuring out alec’s sexuality + giving him shit for it. she finds out that simon has been cheating on her with maia and still her first reaction to finding out that jordan was maia’s abusive ex is to threaten to beat the shit out of him for going near her. in edom clary dreams of having a normal family and simon dreams of fortune and fame and alec dreams of being an accomplished warrior and isabelle only dreams of the people she loves being happy and healthy and themselves. she’s stubborn and loyal and haughty and funny and vain and curious and tempestuous and so, so quick to put the people she loves first for all that she likes to pretend otherwise, and the show threw so much of it away because they chose to focus on her being the 'hot one' who likes to flirt with everyone and make fun of alec. i am killing and fucking biting Why would you fucking do this to her

[starrieshq]

My Opinions On Zara Dearborn

In The Dark Artifices, Zara serves as one of the main antagonist, along with her father Horace Dearborn. While there are multiple scenes in TDA (especially in QOAAD) that show scenes between Zara, Horace, Manuel, etc, I wish that Zara was a more developed antagonist. All that we as the reader really know about her is that her mom died when she was young and she was raised by her father, she (along with her father and the Cohort) is a conservative Shadowhunter, wanting to maintain already present ideas (the ID papers for downworlders for example), she ultimately wants shadowhunters to be able to be superior over downworlders.

Also to clarify, I DON'T LIKE ZARA.

[a-random-insomniac]

Unpopular opinions about TSC

This isn’t particularly unpopular but I don’t like Jace. Sorry to Jace fans. I was mainly neutral about him my first time reading TMI but I recently came across anti Jace posts and then reread TMI and started not liking him. I guess it makes sense that he started out as Draco Malfoy (in a fan fiction). TDA Jace was superior tho, but that's probably just because he's not the main character.

Lucie Herondale deserved better. Like, she is such an interesting character and her powers (to me) were more interesting than James. Also, she was Cordelia’s parabatai sos he deserved more time in the book.

The main couples were pretty boring (this might just be me because I get that with basically everything). Sorry but I already know that they are going to end up together and I’ve already seen so much of them, I just want to see the other characters.

The sibling relationships are so unrelatable. The ones that remind me of my siblings the most are Ty and Mark at the start of TDA (I too would throw a wooden dagger at my brother) and Thomas, Barbara (RIP Queen 👑) and Eugenia (Saying this as a middle child with an older sister and a younger brother).

This isn’t actually an opinion but after reading TMI I was pronouncing parabatai as ‘Paba-ra-ti’ and I could not understand parabatai jokes for ages 😭

I don't like the Shadowhunter show. I don't actually feel as strongly about this as I do in other opinions because it feels so different from the books. It has it's good moments but it all feels weird because Raphael is aroace in the books and he's such special character to me.

I did not care about Christopher's death. I feel so bad about it but I just think he is a poorly written character with a poorly written death. The protagonists did not care about him (by protagonists I mean James and Matthew) and everyone's reactions were so underwhelming. It just felt more like CC wanted a heart-breaking death than an interesting character and there was no point in him dying.

[im-out-of-it]

I miss this sassy gay icon

ALEC LIGHTWOOD SHADOWHUNTERS (1.05)

[tetsunabouquet]

Heir To The Lands Chapter 13

Fading Away Masterpost

Jaime Rosales sighed as he waited for the pink goblin to show up. She usually did about this hour, and as delusional as she was, Jaime found her harmless and kind. Besides, it was the best thing around here in his cell, as neither the silence or the Queen were things he enjoyed. She often snuck in some extra food for him too, which was appreciated. He didn't even needed to look into a mirror to know he lost some weight during his captivity. The first time when he was imprisoned, it had only been a month and didn't had as much time to turn him into a shell of what he was. But this time, he felt like he was sure on his way to becoming that exact thing. Looking down at his skin, it was growing paler, a sickly yellowish pale that was starved of the sun. He felt a small wave of relief as he heard the familiar sound of small feet. There, the pink goblin snuck through his bars, bearing a big basket, well, big for her small size, that could barely fit through the bars. "I collected as many as Yaya apples as I could find." She chirped, and Jaime's stomach growled at the mention. He was developping quite a liking to the fey apples. She took an apple out of the basket, the fruit being almost the size of her head, and she handed the mint green fruit to Jaime, who took a bite eagerly. It was juicy, and Jaime tried to spill as little as possible. The queen made sure to give him as little water as she gave him food, and he was fairly certain he would have died from hydration had it not been for the juices of the fruit he was so frequently fed behind her back. "You truly are a lifesaver Gwenneth." He told her, and she smiled at the compliment. "Truly, I am! If I were too unkind of a being, mundanes would never come to worship me!" She declared and Jaime bit back every comment that came to his mind. He did not know, how Gwenneth came to be as fame hungry or how she knew so much about mundane media in the first place. Those were the tiny little myserteries he occupied himself with, as he had nothing else to do. "Now that you mention it, what would you rather want? To break out on TV or hit the big screen?" Gwenneth was genuinely surprised with the question, and took a moment to think it over. "Both have their pros and cons, you know? Big screen obviously has a superior reach and salary, but small screen for one offers me the durability of promo, considering big roles are featured most of the season's episodes. With someone of my caliber, I can skip the extra stage and have a role. I'm above a poorly created CGI monstrosity." Jaime was impressed with the goblin, not knowing what the heck CGI even was himself. If she ever were to release an autobiography, Jaime for sure would pick it up just to find out where she got all her information about the mundane world from, because she seemed as well-versed about various mundane topics as an actual mundane. Sometimes, Jaime thought that once her impossible dreams leave her heartbroken, she should start teaching at the Shadowhunters Academy. Her knowledge and understanding of mundanes would certainly make her a good teacher for Nephilim kids to blend in with the regulars of the world. But he always refrained from saying it out loud, too nervous to offend the creature because there was one thing Jaime was also noticing about his deteroriating state. He was fairly certain he was growing mad in isolation.

Livvy, knowing the route, had found the castle and its prison within a jiffy this time. Which made her miserable first time drifting as a ghost in Faerie a whole lot better. This time, having to study Jaime, it hit her just how gaunt and pale he looked, as well as the poorly kept small beard he had developped. He hadn't aged too much since the age he had gone missing, but still, the poor look was aging him quite a bit, and she wondered if the queen even bothered to take enough care of him to keep him alive. But then again, that would be the smarter thing to do, right? Kill Jaime and get rid of his body and thus all the evidence that the queen was up to no good. Perhaps she had already gotten what she wanted from him, and was simply leaving him to rot in the dungeons. That thought was so cruel, it left an awful taste in Livvy's mouth. At least she knew what the goblin wanted. She had never been more grateful for being an L.A girl more in that very moment.

[ladyhindsight]

"How are they so indulged in the mundane world and culture but apparently are so secluded from it?" -In the beginning, I thought Shadowhunters that live in Institutes and the newly Ascended Shadowhuters are influenced by mundane cultures or prejudices. It would make sense for Shadowhuters in Idris to villainize Downwolders and Mundanes, but it doesn't make sense for them to have prejudices against Persian, Indian or other non-European cultures. But then I was once again disappointed by CC's lack of skill in world-building and her inability to think before she answers questions about her writing. Speaking of Prejudices, I'm I the only one who's not convinced with CC's answer to "Why prejudices against only SOME mundane cultures exists among Shadowhunters"?

2 things bother me most from her answer:

1

"Moreover, Shadowhunter Academy, as we saw in 1899, was populated overwhelmingly by white boys–who were also presumed to be straight–being brought up in what was thought of as Shadowhunter Tradition, capital letters. The Victorian Era was a time of travel and an expanded world, but also a time when the British Empire —which stretched over vast portions of the globe — uplifted white men as the default, the natural ones to have power, and the Clave is influenced by that as they are always influenced by the bleed of mundane culture into theirs."

European empires of that time brought massive bloodshed to various parts of the world. No one welcomed the British to occupy their territories- there were many wars fought that would eventually make the Brits empire the most powerful.

"The war had caused increased demonic activity—as all wars did, demons taking advantage of chaos caused by battle—which was almost overwhelming the Shadowhunters." The Ghosts Of Shadow Market, Cassandra Clare

Idk about Europe but the Victorian era was a period of Rebellions/Battles/Wars for many countries (particularly against colonial powers - World Wars 1&2 are not the only War that was fought throughout history CC), so there must be an increased demonic activity that must have caused a lot of problems for Shadowhunters. It was already established that demonic activities increase when wars happen. Don't you think it would make more sense if the Clave is more annoyed with the Mundanes being white supremacists and waging wars against other Mundanes than to get influenced by it? Like silly little Mundies causing so much trouble to the Shadowhunters with all their wars.

Even if they did get influenced by Mundane ideologies, don't you think that it makes more sense for a Shadowhunter to apply that 'superior race' theory to their species and show more prejudice against the Downwolders and being more violent/rude/ inappropriate towards Downworlders (without breaking the First Accords) becoming a norm at the time? That could explain where Valentine's ideology comes from.

"Clave is influenced by that"

Is CC saying that Clave, the Shadowhunter's governing body consisting of Shadowhunters from across the world (Asians, Africans, Australians, Americans, Europeans) are totally down for the White Skinned Shadowhunters to hold all the power and let them think they are the superior because Mundanes ideologies are influencing them?

The more I think about it the less sense it made!

2

Well, she brings up the topic of sexism among Shadowhunters to compare both issues, which was hilarious because sexism among Shadowhunters doesn't make sense either.

Overall, I hated the answer she gave. It was stupid at best.

I was the that sent this ask. I accidentally sent it anonymously.

You're right. The plot holes in TSC worldbuilding could've been avoided had CC put more effort into it. In my personal opinion, the inconsistency of CC writing shined throughout the TLH series more than in any other series of TSC.

The part of that answer, “Shadowhunter society is folded into ours, never entirely independent of ours,” seems to only apply to things Clare wants to include in her writing and her characters to have knowledge of. Illnesses both mental and physical having actual names, treatments for them, technology to an extent (as it is disallowed for some reason?)—these are not part of the Nephilim world. Neither is the very basic infrastructure that keeps our societies afloat but anyway.

In her answer, Clare also leaves it pretty vague (or does not go into it at all rather) how the colonialism of the mundane world influences the Clave when the Nephilim generally regard themselves separate from the mundanes and do not understand the mundane ways. How exactly does the “mundane culture”—which there are thousands, mind you—bleed into theirs? “Silly little mundies” is my thought exactly. It’s more a matter of convenience than anything sound to do with the world-building. As it is convenient that the Nephilim reject mundane medicine and technology, for example.

I don’t think a lot that she said there were reflected in her writing, except the most obvious treatment of Charlotte as a woman and Alastair as Persian. It just is fundamentally impossible for me to believe that the Shadowhunters would be in any way sexist among themselves, or have developed such mindsets, because women make half of their force, the very first of them being the first of Iron Sisters who forge all their weapons and are masters of a craft that is, in mundane world, associated with more men than women. I see no consistency as to any of this.

I agree, TLH burns brightly with inconsistency because Clare wanted to implement those period typical mindsets and behavior to her own fictional world always having existed pretty separate from that of the mundane, but never doing the groundwork to justify any of it. Just suspend your disbelief and you’ll be fine, I guess. Also: “Alastair, the son of a suspected murderess and a disgraced and despised Shadowhunter (we’ll see what’s up with Elias in TLH!), does not.” Murderess? What? Was this another retcon?

[im-out-of-it]

part 3 of season 2, episode 10 MALEC FIRST I LOVE YOU “by the light of dawn”

30. Alec just being fine answering the phone and fighting valentines men. like this man doesn’t need to be so fine doing the bare minimum

31. Alec complimenting aldertree which is a big feat

32. I love how aldertree is like oh he forgives me but Alec will never forgive you for giving his sister yin fein which she ended up being addicted to. Izzy will have to live with that her whole life. Aldertree knew better.

33. I can’t believe you have me saying another nice thing about jace but this is rare when he actually thinks of Alec (I know I posed gif on the right but I hate when the gifs don’t cover the whole screen)

34. LOOK HOW HOT HE IS HOLDING A WEAPON

35. Simon: you’re a terrible father, don’t you care?

36. it’s funny when you compare the book valentine to show valentine because book valentine doesn’t give a flying fuck about clary. he really couldn’t be bothered. he actually hates her if I can remember clearly. Valentine left his son to burn so do you think he’s going to care how his daughter feels about him? but we aren’t at that stage yet but Valentine has a clear purpose in his mind. destroy downworld, and make shadowhunters better- that’s his dream, not being a father. he’s responsible for his wife dying so Valentine is cool if clary despises him

37. THIS MAGNUS MOMENT (I’ll honestly probably will repost my three parts I already did but whatever)

38. I think it’s important to remember that Magnus always usually feels in control. he has his magic and he’s used to helping people anyway he can so the fact that he is stuck protecting clary and not doing anything, it makes him feel stuck

39. valentine isn’t playing clary

40. got to give it to Alan who plays valentine because he turned awful villain book valentine that didn’t make any sense to show valentine. I can’t stand book valentine because his motives never made sense to me and I thought he was badly written. his motives don’t make any sense in the show but I think he’s written a whole lot better

41. so Alec is looking like a dream for what reason exactly? I’m sorry but I think this is the hottest Alec has been YET and he’s been it since the first episode of the show. like he just keeps getting better and better. I don’t know how anyone who could look at Alec would still prefer jace. LOOK AT HIM

stopping at 42 and will do a fourth part in a moment

[the-oddest-inkling]

City of Bones (2013) dir. by Harald Zwart > Shadowhunters

[livvyofthelake]

yk how like a week ago i found out that thomas gets accused of being the murderer. well i just read the scene. man looks guilty as fuck it must be said :( like he’s not, WE know he’s not. but well. the inquisitor doesn’t.

[maulthots]

Just like in canon, Sam will be irrelevant, so what is the point I ask you

[jenrecs]

HOLY SHIT YOOOOOOOOOOOO I AM OBSESSED I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM ALREADY !!!

Taehyung’s knuckles had gone white.

PINING BEST FRIEND KIM TAEHYUNG LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO !!!

“And chemistry. And while we’re rattling off school subjects the two of you share, I’m sure he’d be willing to help you with your physical education.”

lmao i love her 🤣 i love her and i wanna be her

“Look, I’m not telling you to sleep with him or leave Jace or anything like that. Just…” Maya purses her lips together, blowing air out of her nose. “Step back and look at what you’re doing to him before you lecture the rest of us. The guy is crazy about you, and you’re the only one who doesn’t see it.”

we love oblivious idiots to lovers !!! superior !!! i am eating this shit up ARI

“What are mom and dad making tonight?” Jimin trills, reaching over the counter to take a swipe at a baby carrot. You shoo his hand away.

mom and dad... family dinners... i am adopting all of them they are all my children now i love them so much 😭 the dynamics are elite. chaotic gremlin children jikook 🤣

“You have a knife.”

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

“I’d only bring a long-term girlfriend to a wedding. Less of a chance we’d have to edit her out of pictures later.”

that's very solid logic. i should apply this philosophy in my daily life

Taehyung, to his credit, is unfazed by your sudden mention of the taboo. “I still have two hands, and they haven’t failed me so far.”

KIM TAEHUNG 🗣 i love him akslhfskhksjkfdshjd if he needs assistance i'm available-

Jace leans in the doorway grinning, not a single sandy brown hair out of place and his impeccably-ironed dress shirt pulled tight across his toned chest. In a fraction of a second, you see his eyes flick from his desk drawer to where you stand stiffly in front of it.

i feel like i should tell you this. idk if you watched Shadowhunters but i can only imagine Dominic Sherwood as Jace because ... lol

His navy blue suit hugs the lines of his body perfectly—highlighting his tall, lithe form—while his hair is combed up and off his forehead in a style that projects both professionalism and approachability.

ari your love for forehead is showing 🤣

It's Taehyung's face in close-up, his head turned to the side as he looks at something out of frame. His jaw strikes a downward line, mouth ever so slightly dipped open in something akin to wonder and tan cheeks curving with subtle delight. It's his eyes you can't look away from, though, opened wide enough to soak in whatever he's looking at that they reflect the golden lights around him, tiny galaxies swimming in his irises.

gorl how do you write like that. i had to stop for a minute at this paragraph bc IT'S SO PERFECTLY WRITTEN GROWLLLLLLL. "mouth ever so slightly dipped open in something akin to wonder", "tan cheeks curving with subtle delight" consider me fookin' ded

"What were you looking at?"

yeah bear?? what were you looking at?? care to share with the rest of the class??

Your eyes tell.

this was insane. i need to tell you that this was insane. 100000/10. somebody give ari a michelin star bc this bih is COOKING 😭

“What my wonderful fiancé meant to say,” Sunny says, playfully elbowing Hoseok in the side and making him sputter on his drink, “is that it’s going fantastically, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you all.”

hobi having a fiancee named sunny is so adorable to me. otp. my sunshine parents

If Maya's photo captured stars in his eyes, you watch each go out one-by-one, his lips pressing together like he's trying not to be sick. A heaviness hits his shoulders that has his chest curling inwards and you almost reaching out to him...

"you watch each go out one-by-one" I WILL JUMP OFF THIS ROOF ARI I WILL FUCKING DO THIS. DO NOT DO THIS TO BEAR. HE NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM 🤬

chapter 1 and i'm already deceased hmmmm i cannot wait to go through the next chapters aakksfksldk if you hurt bear i will go to your house and strangle you. remember that you doxxed yourself. you've been warned

things we don’t say: part 1 (kth)

banner credit goes to the absolutely incredible @itaeewon

summary: Three years after graduating college, everything seems to be falling into place for you: stable job, cozy apartment, and a long-term boyfriend with a ring box hidden in his desk drawer. But when a mutual friend makes a remark that your best friend of nearly two decades is clearly in love with you, you realize that life may not be as simple as it seems.

pairing: Taehyung x Reader (with some VERY brief Seokjin x Reader and Yoongi x Reader)

rating: 18+ (minors dni)

genres: best friends to lovers, idiots to lovers (they’re so, SO stupid), slooooow burn, angst, fluff

word count: 8.4k

series warnings: swearing, sexual themes, one instance of mild violence, alcohol use, infidelity, brief mentions of neglectful parents and alcoholism

chapter warnings: potty mouths, oc teasingly threatens her friends, art world inaccuracies (probably, idk how art shows work), fns music festival dynamite performance taehyung (BLESSED), friends who can’t mind their own business, quick backstory on the aforementioned shitty parenting, oc needs (and has) a drink

a/n: so here is my first foray back into writing after being out of the game for several years! big shout outs to @itaeewon​ / @jeonqkooks​ for the banner and encouragement as well as @taegularities​ for giving me writing advice and letting me cry in her inbox every time i got frustrated with this. they’re also both INCREDIBLE writers so go show them some love once you’re done here!

 SERIES MASTERLIST // MASTERLIST

Read on ao3

“She was checking you out.”

“She was not checking me out.”

“Kim Taehyung, she was so checking you out!”

Keep reading

[thoughtsbeingthought]

I just rewatched Shadowhunters for the third time I guess, and I am still in shock about the way they cancelled the series and how the writers still managed to make the finale - obviously a bit rushed tho - as good as it is. Because it's like really really perfect. We got the Malec wedding, Simon and Izzy finally being the powercouple that they are, and a really sweet ending to Clary and Jace. I mean I could watch this forever. I don't want this warm and fuzzy feeling to leave.

[iloveyoualeclightwood]

what fandom opinion would you be cancelled for

[all-hail-the-witcher]

me: sleepily vibing at 1am

my brain: on page 511 of city of lost souls magnus found out that alec tried to find a way to take away his immortality without saying anything to him first and they broke up only for magnus to be captured by sebastian and trapped on an demon planet for most of the next book and have alec be mega concerned for him even though they weren’t together anymore and the thought of alec was the only thing keeping magnus alive and then when alec finally comes and finds him the first thing Magnus says to him is “oh my alec, you’ve been so worried, I did not know.”

me:

me: I haven’t read that book in like 4 years what the fuck

[daisymylove]

While I agree with some of what is being said here, the way op victimizes AND slut shames Matthew is off-putting.

In Kit's pov in lady midnight we see he hates shadowhunters bc they stomp around the market, being rude, making demands and acting superior. It also pleases him and the vendors how Ty is respectful and polite to everyone, like kit lightwood

The downworlders are way less concerned with propriety than shadowhunters, they don't like kit bc of his "clean ways", they don't even know him that much to be able to tell everything he does on his free time.

I credit his good reputation entirely on being a good customer that haggles and negotiates instead of taking advantage of his position as Nephilim to threaten people into giving him what he wants

And while Matthew does see the Ruelle in a sort of fetishised way, and the Ruelle fetishes him in turn, the notion that "he doesn't think he can say no" is appalling.

Matthew is no victim, he enjoys charming people, putting on a show, flirting and taking lovers. He has always been like that, it's a personality trait that has nothing to do with the alcoholism and precedes the whole truth potion debacle.

Edwardian London is a very difficult ambient to be bi and sexually liberated in, and to Matt the downworld is an outlet to live as he sees fit, since their ways are more similar to his own principles.

Matthew knows most people don't take him seriously, especially amongst his kind, and for the most part doesn't really care, but he certainly only does what he wants to do, for better or worse.In Choi, we see he has no qualms to shake that werewolf whose name I don't remember now Kellington? off him when he wasn't feeling it. That's a person that knows how to set boundaries

What rubs me off greatly is how op pits them against each other like it's some kind of competition.

They interact with and experience downworld differently, but all four boys see downworlders as equals, otherwise they wouldn't have been well liked and accepted at the devil's. Kit's way is not inherently better than Matthew's.Sluts deserve respect too, let him be a slut and spare us the holier-than-thou attitude

let's take a closer look at christopher, matthew, and their shared love of downworld, shall we?

On the surface, when you read them, Matthew Fairchild and Christopher Lightwood are wildly disparate characters. They have almost nothing in common. But then we get to the Shadow Market in Chain of Iron, and suddenly—suddenly Christopher Lightwood is a whole different man from the owlish, absentminded, socially inept little being we see around his friends and among the Enclave in general.

He's street-smart, avoiding the dangers of the Shadow Market with the practiced ease of many, many visits, he haggles like an expert (to quote Cordelia), and what's more, he's openly Nephilim in a place that seems to generally despise Shadowhunters and yet he and the vendors are familiar, even friendly with each other, Christopher chats as comfortably as he haggles, and in general he seems far more comfortable there than he does among the Nephilim of the Enclave, even those he considers his closest friends.

Up until then, Matthew and Anna were the characters we associated with Downworld. They frequent the Hell Ruelle, and are welcome and beloved there, and it's made clear that Matthew adores the Downworlders and their way of life, watching with starstruck eyes and longing to join in.

Matthew is the Downworlder lover extraordinaire—or is he? Hypatia states quite plainly in Chain of Gold that Matthew is welcomed into the Ruelle because he's pretty and amusing: he's there as a lovely plaything, a pawn of the other guests, a runed curiosity who can't seem to keep it in his pants and doesn't seem to realize that he can say no. The way he's treated by the Hell Ruelle is exploitative at best. And in the Shadow Market? He's swindled and snubbed like everyone else. Matthew adores the Downworld, but he looks at it through glittering rose-colored glasses, viewing it with the fetishized fascination for the exotic of a British colonist writing a travelogue of the Near East. He's Lawrence of Arabia, Marco Polo, Gertrude Bell.

Christopher in the Shadow Market, by contrast, is one of them already. "Christopher Lightwood!" one vendor calls. "Just the man I was hoping to see!" Granted, I don't know how they'd treat him if he wasn't such an extravagant spender but I imagine he would still be welcomed, if perhaps not hailed so loudly. But why? Christopher isn't scandalous, or extravagant. From everything we've seen he holds himself to high standards and lives a fairly clean lifestyle: he doesn't sleep around, he doesn't smoke, he doesn't do drugs or drink to excess.

But at the same time, while Matthew does do those things, he also gets treated like a toy by the Ruelle, and I am willing to bet you the moment he puts his foot down and says no to somebody, they'll stop letting him in.

Christopher, on the other hand, is humble. We're shown frequently through his interactions with his friends and family and other members of the Enclave that he doesn't place himself higher and believe himself better than anyone else. Neither does he seem to buy the prejudices those around him seem to hold: why should women, or Downworlders, or people of color, be considered lesser than someone else? He considers everyone on equal footing in that respect and judges them based on who they are as individual persons. And even then he shows a great capacity for leniency and forgiveness: he's the first of them to accept Grace, and while he goes along with his friends' hatred of Alastair in spirit, his actions don't suggest he really dislikes Alastair that much at all (except when he's insulting Anna, that is).

We see all of those behaviors from a distance in the Shadow Market scene, in the way he haggles and chats with the vendors and the fact that he doesn't seem either afraid of or bedazzled by the Market at all.

Ultimately, Christopher surpasses Matthew when it comes to knowledge of and position within the Downworld. Where Matthew treats the Downworld like a curio cabinet, and is exploited for his hedonist nature in turn, Christopher treats the denizens of the Shadow Market as equals, and receives equal treatment back from them, welcomed as a customer, a regular, yea even a friend.

TL; DR, Christopher has always been the true Downworlder spirit, and Matthew needs to wake up and put his foot down before he gets himself seriously hurt—again.