#thomastair deserved better

[im-out-of-it]

I’ll forever love that whole “IM IN LOVE WITH ALASTAIR CARSTAIRS AND IM GOING TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH HIM” moment

because Gideon is seriously like “I didn’t even think you liked Alastair, not much at least” because he’s actually genuinely confused 😭 he’s not being homophobic and he’s not angry but he’s like when did my son start liking this boy he previously hated? what am I missing here?????

and Eugenia is so protective of her brother that “if anyone condemns Thomas for who he is or who he loves, he and I will renounce the rest of you as my family”. she’s so proud of her brother and misguided as the attempt is, (I’m giving her all the points) she’s prepared to leave the family for him. like what a wonderful sister Eugenia is. she’s so underrated and we don’t get many moments with her 🥹

then Sophie is all “no one here is going to condemn Thomas” PROTECTING AND LOVING HER SON

and Gideon says no like the fuck Thomas, you think your father would be ashamed of you???? 💀

“Thomas, my darling, we love you and we want you to be happy. If Alastair makes you happy, then we are delighted. Although it would be nice if you introduced us. Perhaps you could bring him to dinner?” Sophie 😭

I do wish this scene was longer and we could’ve seen a whole chapter of the dinner and the lightwoods bonding but I will admit- I like this page. Eugenia and Thomas think their parents won’t accept Thomas being gay and they’re both just confused why Thomas never introduced Alastair lmao WE NEED AN AUTHENTIC PERSIAN DINNER PLEASE (I’d love to see Thomas cook for him)

in a way, I feel that Gideon secretly knew because what kind of man stalks someone to make sure they aren’t getting murdered and then when that person is accused of murder, they go and defend that person and say HEY HE KILLED NO ONE AND I KNOW BECAUSE I HAVE SECRETLY BEEN FOLLOWING HIM BUT JUST AS A FRIEND FOR MY SISTER NOOOOOO OTHER REASON

so I feel that Gideon just KNEW. but Gideon and Sophie are both confused because why haven’t you introduced us yet???????? WHY HAVENT WE HAD DINNER WITH HIM THOMAS? it’s just so cute and wholesome. Gideon is one of my favorite characters and he doesn’t get the treatment that he deserves so I feel robbed that we don’t get to see him parent all that much 🥹

[im-out-of-it]

SOMEONE PLEASE LET ALASTAIR JUST VENT OR SOME SHIT LIKE MY BOY WAS GOING THROUGH IT AND MATTHEW NEEDS A SHRINK SO BAD IM SORRY MATTHEW BUT YOU DO AND MY POOR GABRIEL AND GIDEON LIKE IMAGINE KILLING YOUR FATHER AND ALSO WILL NEEDS TO BE HOSPITALIZED ALREADY LIKE ALL OF THEM ARE SO FUCKING TRAUMATIZED

SOME OF THEM AND IM NOT GOING TO NAME NAMES (jace, will, I’m sorry math) BUT NEED TO STOP USING TOXIC COPING SKILLS AND NEED AN HOUR LONG THERAPY SESSION

(just a side note, I hate how none of them can work through their trauma at all like ???????)

(but it’s also the writing because they can work through their trauma and still have a very compelling story and be fun)

[rinadragomir]

My thoughts on the couples included in Better in Black for those who care

I expect you to write down yours so work work

📍Wessa

You know, as a dedicated Jessa stan I wanna say that it's okay~ Because these two were together for 50 years or sth, there's still some things to add. We might watch them in their 30s, 50s, 60s. I guess at this point both camps have around the same amount of content. Plus I'll have Jessa in twp so I'm in peace 🌱

📍Clace

All my first thoughts are over here. I'm a Clace defender, I'm their oldest stan, I'm a veteran👩‍🦳 So I feel like I have a right to say that...it was kinda unnecessary. We've witnessed every step in their relationship so far, beginning of it in TMI, gentle transition to adulthood in TDA and Tales of Shadowhunter Academy, adulthood in SOBH and proposal. So if the story isn't about their wedding then WHAT THE HELL IS IT ABOUT REALLY? And we know that they won't get married until twp.

📍Anna & Ari (Arianna!)

Hey🥺that is nice, we've seen so little of them in chain of thorns and I've loved them since their debut in 2018 in that short story. I'm very biased when it comes to TLH, cause I'm their mother. So YAY🌱they have a long way to go, Anna still needs to change a tiny little bit for them to be healthy, so I'd love to witness it

📍Jordelia

We all have known about it, because Cassie kinda promised us their story a while ago. Wedding runes scene, honeymoon, kids, mortgage etc. Go kids, slay, serve, eat and so on, I'm excited for u!

📍Sebastian & Seelie Queen

🤨🧐🤔👁👁

Yeah... That famous Sebastian &Fanbase. Like... I'm conflicted, because it's useless and doesn't make any sense even tho it might slay. Listen up, I'll show you.

Lots of people defend it by saying that it might be important for Ash's background in TWP. But... No it's not. Because this is exclusive book made for few people who were lucky and financially stable enough to get it. It won't be posted online. So most people won't read it unless someone leaks it. So there's no point for that story to be important for the plot, therefore it has nothing to do with it.

And it's definitely not "one of the most beloved" couples. BUT LIKE... WHAT IF IT SLAYS? Toxic, unhinged romance, what if I'll love it? 🤡

📍Jemma

So you see the problem? Because it's the same as Clace. What else might she add, because there's nothing. SoBH ended like yesterday. We know exactly where they live rn, their daily routine, their plans. So there's nothing to add between SOBH and twp. What will it be about? Hard to say, but I hope Cassie will come up with sth interesting for them.

📍Thomastair (why did Cassie say Alistair instead of Alastair, I'm lost help me)

Yay🥺slay, serve, eat and leave no crumbs, go, kill it idk you're doing great boys, there's so much to add and explore because they've just started dating. I'm so excited ^-^

📍Kierartkina

That is fine. No matter what I think about their relationship, because in my point of view Cristina and Kieran fell in love because Cassie said so apparently, I still don't mind them being there. Because there's also lots of things to discuss and explore. I hope the story will be soft and warm☀they've just started their advantage so it definitely makes sense

📍Sizzy

Even though we've had lots of them in TMI and Shadowhunters Academy I still think they deserve to be here. They are famous (I guess? 👁👁) and I'd like to know more about their plans for future. Simon was still a teenager in the stories collection and now I'd love to see him as a grown man being in relationship with the woman he loves.

📍Luke & Jocelyn

👁👁🤨🧐🤔👀

Well... That was... Unexpected. I guess... I've just never met their fandom but I hope it's huge af, because I don't know why else would they be here. Sophideon, Gabrily and Charlotte with Henry were supposed to be here, let's be honest. But since they're here, I do think Cassie is able to make a decent story. I expect it to be bittersweet, angsty and somehow heartwarming. I think there's nothing to say except let's wait and find out.

OVERALL I think it's pretty fine. Maximum 7/10 from me. I was ready to face the worst, but it turned out to be... Fine. So it's fine☺🌱

[the-merry-thieves]

TLH Couples as Taylor Swift Songs

Because I wanted to connect two things I love :)

Cordelia & James: "You’re Losing Me" (throughout CoG and CoI) and "Lover" (end of CoT)

You're Losing Me: Cordelia had to pretend that she was fine and didn't love James for so long, and thought she needed to endure it alone. She gave James her "best mes", "endless empathy", until she couldn't anymore. Seeing James embrace Grace at the end of CoI was the final straw after years of slowly "losing" her because of Grace's spell

Then I threw in Lover because after all the emotional turmoil they've been through, they deserve a cute little love song now that they're finally happily married for real

Cordelia & Matthew: "Wonderland"

This song just captures the mood of their lil spontaneous Paris getaway - trying to escape reality by throwing themselves into the wonderland of Paris (also, Cheshire cat smile and green eyes; come on, this song was made for our favorite charming, tortured-soul green-eyed boy)

Thomas & Alastair: "Begin Again"

This song is Thomas giving Alastair everything that Charles could never, and helping Alastair see that he is worthy of love and deserves the world (someone please give me more Thomastair x Taylor Swift suggestions, I could definitely do better but I can't think of more rn)

Lucie & Jesse: "Enchanted"

Every time I hear this song I think of the scene where Jesse tells Lucie to command him to dance, and then they dance together, and "the night was hushed, enchanted". One of my favorite Ghostwriter (do people use this ship name) scenes. Truly only the very first page; Lucie was determined to see him (*alive*) again...

Grace & Christopher: "Mine"

Because Grace & Christopher deserved to live in happiness together and we can just pretend the last 200 pages of CoT never happened! I think of this song as their story that *could* have been. It represents how Kit brought out the best in Grace and forgave her past wrongs, and how Grace didn't think she could have true romantic feelings for anyone ("wondering why we bothered with love") until she met Kit

Anna & Ari: "Untouchable" and "I Can See You"

I imagine Untouchable as Ari talking about Anna and how she's this emotionally guarded, beautiful but unattainable figure; in CoI she describes Anna as "hard and bright as a diamond. Untouchable" & "like starlight... it seemed warm and radiant and near, but was in truth uncountable miles away". I think this song depicts how Ari sees Anna so perfectly

As for I Can See You, the sensual, clandestine romance in this song is so Anna & Ari. There's just something inherently sapphic about a secret love

(Bonus?) Tatiana & Rupert: "right where you left me"

No explanation needed for this one...

---------------------------------------------------

Give me all of your favorite Shadowhunters-inspired music suggestions!

The blue text is quotes from the songs and the purple text is quotes from the books, if anyone cares

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

okay, i lied. in addition to a thomastair novella in better in black, i'm also manifesting one about matthew and his new love interest in basically equal measure. i really want to see them together more because i know matthew's going to bring it in a relationship and idk i think i deserve to read more about him being happy and healthy. i'm hereby declaring that i'm distributing my manifesting efforts 50/50 between thomastair and matthew/LI. but like, the 50/50 is actually 100/100 because i've charged a lot and get to cast the spell as powerfully as possible

[boredfangirl16]

Thomastair: -making out in a carriage-

Christopher: -literally dying-

[thepictureofsdr]

if i wasn’t so attached to thomastair i genuinely wouldn’t mind if the series ended with alastair fucking off to some random country and never speaking to anyone in london ever again none of them deserve him

[im-out-of-it]

this is why you can’t trust CC to do any standalone, trilogy NOTHING. Jem deserved so much better. of course it had to be in a story where a herondale isn’t the main character because all the attention must be on them 24/7

because she will make it about a herondale. I think almost half of the bane chronicles has something to do with a herondale. if she ever did a short story for thomastair, she would make it all about James. literally even the eldest curses get torpedoed with Jace. she cannot write one damn book without either incest, miscommunication, or featuring some herondale. TDA was supposed to be about the new generation and she still makes everyone suffer to have jace and clary there just so Emma can defend them and be obsessed with clary and she doesn’t stop there because of course we have to suffer another jace

it’s really weird and creepy how clary is her self insert and how obsessed she is with the herondales and making everyone else lesser in her eyes. killing off at least one Lightwood in every generation and making almost at least one member of the blackthorns in each generation partake in necromancy

if it doesn’t involve incest, miscommunication, a herondale, treating the lightwoods like shit, treating the lgbtq+ community like shit, POC shitty, literally any trauma/representation, or any decent writing- don’t ask CC because she doesn’t know how to write a story that doesn’t involve all that

Still salty that we learned more about Jem's other side of the family from a MALEC book and even though GOTSM was Jem's book CC still had to make it about H*rondales

[a-dream-dirty-and-bruised]

Probably a very unpopular opinion but Alastair deserves way better than canon Thomas

[im-out-of-it]

there’s a small thing that bothers me about chain of iron and it has to do with Grace

so everyone knows who has read the book that there are little sections into grace’s childhood to I don’t know, maybe feel sympathy for her? I don’t know what the fuck CC was trying to achieve

but it’s very poorly done. if you want us to feel bad for Grace (which most of us don’t) then you need follow through. she tries to show us grace’s past but I didn’t see any changed behavior from Grace. I get abusive parents more than I wish I could but the problem with CC’s writing is that she has people go through trauma with zero growth or processing. (they really needed a shadowhunter and downworlder trauma therapist on standby) I can’t feel bad for a character who doesn’t process anything or change (how jace and Will are terrible people and everyone seems to excuse their actions because poor fake curse or poor childhood trauma)

another problem with Grace and her development is that chain of thorns for at least half the book is spent on Matthew Cordelia James triangle. when it could’ve been focused on the upcoming war (kinda a war) and developing the other characters and actually showing some process. the characters who go through actual shit don’t seem to process it

Thomas loses his sister and best friend all in one year and we never get to see him process anything

Jesse spent most of his childhood as a ghost and having a psycho mother who had a hand in him dying but we don’t get to see that

Alastair had a deadbeat daddy who ruined his childhood but we don’t see him process any of that, of the racist remakes made towards him, how Cordelia treats him even though he’s always been there for her

I understand you can’t feature every single character and I went off a tad bit but if you’re going to make us suffer grace’s childhood, at least make it pay off

I would have preferred to have it be thomastair content at least. if you’re going to show the past, CC should’ve resembled it to chain of gold so we could have had more character growth and pov. I personally would have loved to see more of Matthew and Alastair’s relationship (literally anything other than grace) so we could have had that pay off and then actually have them mend their shit and grow from it. y’all can disagree but both Alastair and Matthew were the problem and I just wanted to see that develop

I could have gotten behind Grace as a character if it paid off well. I sympathize with the toxic adopted guardian angle but if you don’t show us anything or show us any growth, it’s literally useless

and yes it does irritate me more than it should how chain of thorns was written because we could have gotten spotlight on other characters. it angers me that Thomas and Alastair’s trauma gets overlooked just to have it be James and Cordelia show. also James trauma seems to get overlooked and his main concern is being Cordelia’s boyfriend. he was controlled by that bracelet and violated but CC doesn’t focus on any of that

it’s irritating how these books were formed when I know it could’ve been better

[drowning-in-deadlines]

You know that feeling? Where you really really wish some fictional characters were real? 

Just so you could push them into the mud and pour a can of worms into their hair and clothes.

Yes, this is about Charles Fairchild. 

[littlx-songbxrd]

Booktok: Alastair should just get over himself and accept Thomas jaja hes being so dumb

Me:

[anarmorofwords]

Look I HOPE I'M WRONG, but I'm hella worried about Matthew's arc in ChoT and Alastair's Issues™ not being properly addressed on-page (Elias, bullying, Charles) and basically, yeah

[jemsbitch]

Alastair dying in Thomas’ arms will be my villain origin story

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

1, 10, 11, 12, 21 for the fandom asks!

 list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

I did this already but I'll pick more things!

DBDA, I love the fic writers. We have some of the most creative people out there in the DBDA fandom, and about half the fics I've read in this fandom are better than most published novels.

For TLH, honestly it makes me so happy how everyone is happy to become friends with each other and connect on a deeper level with others in the TLH fandom. We're a small people, but I think I know the real names and something personal about everyone who's currently actively posting about TLH.

The love that Cordelia currently gets. She used to be overlooked or even hated, and I was not pleased with that climate. But now I feel like pretty much everyone is open to adoring her as she deserves.

a blog (mutual or one you follow) that has made your fandom experience brighter

Besides you? And besides people I'm actually friends with outside of the fandom context? Okay. First person that comes to mind for TSC is @helenofblackthorns, I love their ideas and opinions so much. Also, the love for Clary! Yes! For DBDA, the first person to immediately ping in my brain is @sasakisniko. Such a sweetheart honestly and lots of love for Niko and Edwin.

if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

Hands down A Ribbon of Dream is my favourite of my own fics. Thomastair + movies + travel + a ton of love + growing old together. Everything I like. I reread this - my own fic - pretty frequently, actually.

compliment someone else in your fandom

@vwritesaus, you are the best writer I know. Your work is far better than anything I would find in a bookstore, and I will gladly read anything you write in the future. I'm glad we latched onto the same two idiots in love.

a fandom you're not active in anymore but that you still really like

This is HARD because I don't get into fandoms easily but when I do they tend to stick. The only fandoms I think I've ever really been active in are TSC, DBDA, Supernatural, and NHIE. I suppose Supernatural best fits the bill because I do have some positive memories of it! But the fandom is way different than it was in 2015 when I was active. Still, great fanart in there!

[kensannahmontana]

me making a playlist about thomastair? more likely than you’d think