#But Alec’s magic doesn’t exactly work like that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cinberella · 1 year

Text

DEVIL IN DISGUISE

Artist: @skylar102

Rating: M

Pairing: Malec

Word Count: 48.500

This fic was created for the Mini Bang 2023 presented by the @malecdiscordserver

CHAPTER 3/7 Unruly

Alec certainly didn't plan on returning to Magnus' loft so soon. Not that he even thinks about complaining, right now; on the contrary, the sudden decision of returning to Pandemonium and seeking after Magnus turned out to be such a good move, that he feels more like bragging. And he needs to strike the iron until it’s hot, and Magnus is so damned hot.

God, he wasn’t expecting to be so effectively successful in charming such a pompous and prideful man like the High Warlock of Brooklyn. After the initial hesitation when Alec confronted him on the dance floor, Magnus seemed completely on board with the idea of getting to know each other a little better, even without using actual words, but through a more physical way to communicate, let’s say to get in touch.

And it’s working; they seem to be communicating very effectively. Also, there is a lot of touching involved. And a not negligible amount of unabashed moaning on both parts. So, no, Alec is not complaining. To add to the frenzy of the heated moment they are sharing, Magnus seems to be exactly on the same page as Alec, so thirsty and eager to unleash the chemistry between them. Magnus is so sexy; everything about him screams sex, the way he moves and smells, so intense and enveloping, not to talk about his perfect body, unfortunately still wrapped up in his slinky clothes. Alec wonders if the Warlock uses his magic to enhance the way he looks because otherwise, he must work out at least as hard as Alec does.

No… Those muscles on Magnus’ back twitching under Alec’s fingers, those strong thighs tight around his waist, those arms… It’s all 100% Magnus. After all, this kind of attitude surely suits a man of such stature better than cheating. He doesn't know why he got this idea, on the other hand, he hardly knows him, but Magnus seems pretty assertive but also an honest and authentic man. It is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of mindset. Neither more nor less than that. And despite the flashy clothes and makeup, Magnus is genuine and defiant in his way of being himself, absolutely not minding others' judgment.

The Shadowhunter is slouched down on the sofa in the middle of the large and dimly lit living room, and the Warlock is straddling his lap, deliberately taking his time to unbutton his shirt, while driving him crazy with his tongue. Apparently, the man can easily multitask and he must be perfectly aware of the state Alec is already reduced to if the smirk against the soft skin of his neck is of any indication. But Alec can’t hold back his reactions. He is beyond the point of caring about leaving an impression. Magnus is driving him crazy, with every single little thing he does. He keeps smooching the skin under his jaw, the lobe of his ear, and the warm and soft pulse point on his throat, with his skillful mouth giving Alec no respite. By now the shirt is halfway open, and Magnus lingers on a specific spot on his throat just behind his ear, licking and nibbling at it thoroughly and insistently, while slipping his hands under the offending fabric. Another shrill whine slips out of Alec’s mouth, and another grin appears on the Warlock’s mouth. He is surely having a great time. In fact, Magnus seems truly dedicated to finding each and every one of those spots that make Alec shiver and moan so shamelessly. And definitely, it looks like he has a penchant for the big rune on the side of his neck.

Again, no complaints on Alec’s part there.

This kind of fixation is not unusual; many Downwolders have shown an odd attraction to Alec's runes, but the Shadowhunter gets it. They are the evident signs of his angelic power, and there is probably something that feels forbidden in an alluring way in biting or leaving bruises all over them. Alec doesn’t mind, as long as everything stays consensual and respectful. And downright pleasurable.

He assumes it's the same dynamic where Izzie finds kissing a vampire especially enchanting, the thrill behind coming so close to their fangs; or the way Jace finds the lithe, ethereal bodies of Seelie girls so alluring, due to the contrast between the familiar angelic grace and the mischievousness of their demonic blood. Shadowhunters show their runes as the only visible sign of their lineage, the proof of their angelic legacy. Off the battlefield, it’s again all a matter of strength and control, it’s not about fighting but touching and tasting that holy power firsthand. Alec is aware that some of his demon-blooded ex-lovers could get off just by bending him over and looking at his bare back, defined with toned muscles under white skin and scattered with black runes.

But it's not just this; sometimes it's even simpler. Alec has long since learned that his runes can also simply draw an aesthetic appeal on people, as mundanes’ tattoos do, and he often finds himself displaying them as a weapon of seduction. He often chooses to wear something that makes his neck stand out, or he can roll his sleeves to expose his marked sinewy forearms. Alec never remonstrates upon that special treatment given to his marks, also because apparently, runed skin is highly erogenous, having the scarred skin a particular sensitivity, as if there were a million pleasure receptors concentrated under every stark black mark. Even his siblings praised that specific peculiarity of the black scars burnt into their skin. Although Alec would rather not listen to those details, Izzie and Jace seem to find a perverse enjoyment in filling him in on every little thing that comes to their mind, even when it comes to sex. They can be so tedious sometimes.

In any case, that’s why Alec always lets werewolves wildly bite at his neck, hard, sometimes to the point of bleeding. In the end, he can always heal his skin with another rune. He can use an iratze and he is good to go back to his Shadowhunter life.

By the Angel, his deflect rune is such a gratifying spot to be nibbled at, and, weirdly enough, Magnus seems to know that it is directly wired with his groin. Eventually, the Warlock decides to quit mauling the rune, already covered in several love bites, to move upward and start to outline Alec’s jawline with his mouth, slowly but steadily all the way up to the seam of Alec's lips.

Alec's hands have already slipped under the almost nonexistent fabric of Magnus' shirt and are roaming up and down along his broad and muscular back and when Magnus graces him with another kiss again, he feels like burning. Alec is already incredibly turned on; this is a fucking wet dream come true. There is something different, better, in kissing Magnus. He tastes delicious and Alec wants to lose himself in that sweetness. And he is coming perilously close to that...

All those nights spent dreaming about having this, getting his hands on the Warlock… God… It’s even better than he had expected and they are just kissing for Heaven’s sake. Having Magnus Bane like this, in his lap, eager and willing to explore his body and presumably letting him do the same in return, is something he's wanted for a long time. For once, his mother's bullshit had an interesting collateral effect.

Magnus pushes his tongue to the side of Alec's mouth to encourage him to open it and simultaneously undoes the last few buttons of his shirt, letting out a satisfied grunt. Alec parts his lips, just slightly, and Magnus gets the chance to suck at the lower one. When he bites at it and then licks it to soothe the pain as if he were tasting him, Alec groans, opening up for the Warlock and letting him stick his tongue deep in his mouth, almost forcefully. Unnervingly, Magnus is still in no hurry. His hands slide down Alec’s chest, briefly teasing his nipples and then up again, along his shoulders, on his face, cradling the back of his neck and then in his hair, making a mess of it, and when the Warlock starts grinding against him, Alec isn't capable of any rational thoughts anymore.

Magnus doesn't show any urgency, no, he moves languidly and slowly. He is like dancing against his body. A silent lap dance, maddening and arousing in an unprecedented way. Alec never knew his shoulders, his face, or his hair could be so pleasurable at being touched. Despite being close to his limit, Alec hopes Magnus never stops. He doesn’t care, really, even if his cock is throbbing and twitching trapped inside his jeans, Alec doesn’t want Magnus to speed up. Surprisingly, he is enjoying this new kind of torture. He is feeling so much, every nerve in his body literally on fire.

Admittedly, he is used to getting quickies in dark alleys and even when he does spend the night with his hookup at their place, the sex is always rushed, a fast release, often rough enough to make his brain shut down for a while. And he likes that way of having sex; it’s always very satisfying and he has never felt the need for anything different, something like this prolonged, drawling pleasure that is making him steam off all the same, just differently.

God, Magnus is so skilled.

Unexpectedly, when the Warlock slides the unbuttoned shirt off his shoulders, Alec feels a little self-conscious, despite his experience in the sex department. But Magnus is a Warlock with centuries of theoretical and practical expertise and Alec is no match for it.

When he thinks about how many people must have been in this same position—literally—over the centuries, it makes him feel giddy. Living through centuries... Who knows how many people have been in the Warlock's bed? Alec has his fair share of notches in his belt.

Not that he wanted to keep count of them, but due to a silly bet with his brother, Alec knows exactly how many guys he's slept with.

Seventeen.

Not a few; many Shadowhunters marry young and presumably have only one sexual partner for life.

So, Alec is surely above average. But what about Magnus? Ten times that? One hundred? One… thousand? It’s possible… But he's not in the right predicaments to do the math, and he doesn't even know exactly how old Magnus is. But, Alec thinks, we are talking about centuries, right?

Oh God… How can he hold his own?

And most importantly, why didn't he think of it sooner? Before finding himself almost shirtless squirming underneath the Warlock, helplessly pinned down to the couch, completely at his mercy?

Wait…

Am I at his mercy?

Alec’s brain won’t shut down again despite Magnus keeping exploring his mouth and touching his chest. Alec doesn’t want to resurface from the bliss but a slight hint of discomfort creeps into his stomach.

No… He is not at his mercy. Alec is the one in control here. He wanted to come here, his purpose was to seduce the Warlock since the beginning, to get closer to him.

He has a mission to accomplish. He needs to prove his parents wrong, he wants to make a fool of them in front of the Clave, with their absurd speculation about a second Uprising.

Ridiculous, right? Magnus is many things, enigmatic, distrustful, dodgy, even shady on a few occasions, but Alec is sure that he is aware of the mutual benefit that the Downworld and the Shadow World have in coexisting and would do nothing to hinder the relationship between the two worlds.

Being this mission essential to Alec, possibly the most important one he has pursued in his life, he will keep going on. He has to put all of himself into playing his cards well, now that he has the opportunity. So, who cares if possibly he is less experienced than the Warlock? He could even exploit the unbalanced dynamic between them, maybe playing coy will pay off.

Well, it's not like Alec to doubt his ability to satisfy a lover. No one ever complained, right? Quite the opposite... he knows his popularity is also due to his good reputation. He is generous and wild, giving beyond expectations.

In any case, Magnus seems to appreciate what they are doing so far, so, Alec tries and shuts his brain off again, and when finally - finally - he is shirtless, Magnus moans a little harder and descends with his mouth following the line of his collarbone, before moving back to reach the roundness of his shoulder and plant a bite there, harder than the previous ones.

"Ah... Fuck..." He curses, but it’s more a moan than a protest.

"Sorry... Sorry, I got a little carried away. It's not simple to hold back, Alexander. Not when you look like this. You’re stunning…"

Magnus’ voice is husky and Alec smirks, his self-confidence kicking in again.

"Well, I am not asking you to hold back."

“Oh, are you saying I can leave marks?”

“Yeah, sure. Go for it… ”

“My, my, Alexander. You are making me question my previous beliefs.”

“And what would they be?”

"That I would never give myself to one of your arrogant and self-righteous kind. But maybe I can waive my rules just for once. You're so hot, I didn't think these runes of yours would have this effect on me. I want to mark them all, one by one."

Alec's cock, squeezed into his jeans, twitches at those words against Magnus’ and the smug grin on Magnus' face becomes wider and more wicked.

All Alec wants is for Magnus to fuck him to death. But something does not sit well with Alec; something the Warlock has just said.

For once?

Well, nothing suggested that this could be more than a one-night thing, but this is just the starting point for Alec. A very pleasant one, at that. But he needs to keep the Warlock… engaged, somehow. He needs to play well, since he may not have another chance to reach this level of proximity. The Warlock said he wasn’t interested in anything serious, but he needs to make sure they are going to see each other again.

He stiffens, suddenly tense, but tries to relax again right away. The change in his posture is minimal and brief, but enough for the Warlock to notice, because he pulls back and looks at him with lustful eyes.

"Alexander? Is something wrong? Are you not comfortable, maybe?"

“No, I am fine… But… Is this just a one-time thing for you?”

“Well, I think so. It’s what you want, isn’t it? Don’t worry… I won’t bother you and make things awkward. You can also keep coming to my club and hitting on the little wolves, your favs, right?”

“Well, it doesn't have to be that way."

Magnus barks out a laugh and Alec feels uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"And what would you like to do? Take me out to dinner? Or a date?"

“Well, not exactly, no. I know I told you I wasn’t interested in anything serious, and I am not. I am just saying that maybe we could keep our chances open. I mean, this is pretty great… For me at least. You are so gorgeous and hot…”

To emphasize his idea, Alec looks down appreciatively at the still covered body of the other man.

Tragically and regrettably covered body. Alec needs to rectify this inconvenience now, so he starts rumpling up the hem of Magnus’ shirt, making the Warlock chuckle amusedly.

“Look, I really don’t think that’s a good idea… Why don’t we just stay in the moment?”

"Ok… I just don't want to rule out anything, that's all. Like you said, I've been watching you for a while and I wouldn’t be opposed to doing this again. I am not talking about commitment, or being exclusive… Any of that. I am too young to even think about having a relationship..."

Magnus catches him off guard because he scoffs and he can hear all his bitterness and disillusionment.

“As if I were relationship material for you.”

Of course… Magnus has been so distant from Shadowhunters and the Institute that he must have the wrong idea about Alec.

“Look, I am the one who is not relationship material. But if I were, I would date you, I mean, why not? You are amazing, Magnus. But, as I said, I just want to have fun for a bit longer.”

"Oh… Cut the crap. I know what this is about. You just want to indulge yourself in going with a Warlock and I might be your only chance. No need to butter me up."

Alec stills his hands on the bare skin of Magnus’ waist under his shirt, and looks at him trying to convey the honesty in his words. He really hopes Magnus can see it in his eyes.

"Magnus, you're seeing things in this that aren't there. I am attracted to you, okay? And the fact that you are a Warlock is… unimportant. I've spent several nights gawking at you. I'm sexually attracted to you. There's no other reason. Believe me when I say I really don’t mind our differences. Just tell me if you are interested in diving into this without prejudices and with an open mind. Don’t make the same mistakes Shadowhunters have been making for centuries."

Magnus narrows his eyes at him and Alec holds his gaze until a lopsided smirk curls the corner of the Warlock’s mouth. Alec has won.

“Maybe, if you live up to expectations, I might consider seeing you again.”

Alec grins and dives in to kiss him again. It was even easier than expected, Alec considers. He didn’t even need to lie. He is undoubtedly attracted to the Warlock, he does think he is beautiful, he has been wanting to get closer to him for months and he doesn’t see any differences between Nephilim and any kind of Downworlders. No, he didn’t lie, even though his motivation may go further simply by having sex with one of the most sensual creatures on Earth.

In any case, Alec doesn’t feel guilty, not in the slightest.

When they break the kiss again, panting in each other's mouths, Magnus seems to have reached his own limit. He nuzzles his nose against Alec’s cheek until his lips are close to his ear.

Alec can't hold back another thrill.

“I think we should move this to the bedroom, what do you say?”

"I'd say that's a very good idea."

Magnus' warm breath in his ear makes him writhe helplessly. Alec has to admit that this mission has been anything but a hardship so far, though the Shax demon's injury was particularly nasty and perhaps he did underestimate the danger. Isabelle didn't let him hear the end of that, however, so Alec assumes he's been already punished for his recklessness. They move to the bedroom and Alec has barely the time to take in his surroundings, the large room, and the sumptuous decor, because Magnus pushes him making him stumble on the bed. He doesn’t waste time and straddles him again, pressing his body unabashedly against him.

"Tell me, Shadowhunter… Do you want me to fuck you, or do you want to fuck me?"

Alec instinctively puts his hands on Magnus’ hips while pondering the question carefully. He normally wouldn't care about that, appreciating both types of experience. He prides himself on having no prejudices or mental biases, and he knows exactly what he likes or what he doesn't find appealing and has no problem voicing his preferences. But this time it is different; because he must think about his next move, carefully. As much as he may feel dizzy with want, and excited to move forward and just get his release, this time he needs to evaluate the best strategy to earn Magnus’ trust. Which may be proving to be generous and attentive to his partner's preferences.

"I don't have a real predilection for one way or the other, so I'm open to both possibilities. Whatever you prefer is fine with me."

"Oh, what a gentleman... I didn't expect that from a Shadowhunter."

"What... Don't tell me you're the victim of platitudes or that you think a Shadowhunter shouldn't take something up his angelic ass, because I guarantee you that's not the case. Maybe it used to be that way…”

Magnus looks at him weirdly; he seems taken aback by his bold statement.

“You know what? I think I'd like to see what you can do with those runes; I want to feel the power of your half-angel fuck the Hell out of me, do you think you can do that?"

"That can be arranged, if you're sure about it, though."

"I'm not prejudiced, Alexander. And I'm sorry if I thought you were. It’s really up to you, I don’t have a favorite way either."

Magnus wants to feel his angelic power, huh? Alec grabs his stele and activates just the strength rune and the stamina rune. He doesn't want to overdo it and knows the Warlock is mostly teasing him. But if he wants a hard, hard fuck, well, that's what he's going to get. When he’s done, Alec rubs his nose down Magnus' throat, pulling his body closer. Then with a quick move rolls them over, landing on top of the Warlock, who does not waste any time but brazenly grabs his butt and squeezes it. Alec bucks his hips instinctively, with a soft moan.

"I love responsive men, you know? Guess I could make you scream my name all night."

“If you need to make a statement, that's fine… You can fuck me first, Magnus.”

“And that’s exactly what I am going to do.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

When he sets foot in the Institute it is three in the morning and God, Alec feels sore everywhere in defiance of his runes. Jace is already asleep, while Isabelle has texted him that she was on her way back too from Hotel DuMort, so Alec decides to take a shower and wait for her, so they can catch up about the mission.

After a quick shower and with some clean clothes on, Alec hears a knock on the door and goes to open it. His sister waltzes inside, then, uncharacteristically unsure on her high-heels and looking a little tipsy; Alec guesses she had had a very good time too.

"Uhmm, you did have fun, didn’t you?"

"I did, you have no idea.” Alec couldn’t argue with that, because he did have a lot of fun.

“I went to talk to Raphael but then Stephen was there and another couple of guys too. We played... poker..."

Alec squints his eyes.

"I see...and?"

"And well, I won, and then we drank a little more and I got distracted... I told you, Stephen is very nice, but then Meliorn arrived."

"Meliorn? And what was he doing at Raphael’s?"

"He looked quite worried and surprised to find me there. Well, I was surprised too. Anyway, he claimed he needed to talk to Raphael. So, they went to another room and I managed to follow them with the excuse of needing the bathroom. I was careful… But I couldn’t get very close. I only overheard a couple of sentences, I didn't want to get caught... But it was so weird… Meliorn said that something was very dangerous and that this time they would all lose, vampires, Seelies, and werewolves too, and that it was time they put a stop to this thing."

"What thing?”

“I don’t know… I am sorry.”

“And Raphael? What did he say back?"

Isabelle scrunches her face, in disappointment.

"Raphael didn't say anything... Except that he didn’t want to get involved and that he would talk to Magnus, among all people, and as soon as possible. He sounded so damn serious… I mean way more than his usual level of serious."

Alec wasn’t expecting this kind of turn of events. What the fuck was Meliorn talking about? And apparently, all Downworlders may be involved.

“What the fuck is happening?”

“It seems our mother may have a point. Something is definitely stirring up in the Downworld."

"No… I don’t want to believe that… But… By the Angel, I have to admit that if Mum hadn't warned us, I certainly wouldn't have paid attention to what was happening under my nose... I feel silly, but also... I don't know, I don't think Raphael would do anything to harm us. I refuse to believe it. Maybe there's another explanation..."

"I hope that, Iz… If even the High Warlock of Brooklyn is involved, it may end in a real mess…"

“By the way, how did it go with him? Did you get into his pants?”

"It went well and there weren't a lot of pants involved, to be honest."

Isabelle shakes her head, with a little smile.

“That was terrible, Alec.”

Alec shrugs and tells her about his previous encounter with the Warlock, without going into detail about the epic fuck they had.

"Ok, so you’re gonna see him again. That’s good. Ah… One last thing… I heard from Jace, a couple of hours ago. He went to dinner at the Jade Wolf as planned, but sort of get caught in a little fight with Lily, you know how she likes to tease him…”

“And I know how Jace foolishly falls for it, every time.” He interrupts her with a sigh.

“Yep! That’s right too, but eventually, Maia intervened, and she kicked him out, but then… well, it seems that they hooked up in an alley near the pier before Maia kicked the fuck out of him again.”

Alec laughs… Maia is one of the strongest women he knows, aside from his sister. And Jace doesn't stand a chance with her. But those two sort of like each other... that's undeniable.

“Maia has always been kind to me. Sure, she is tough and not inclined to bare her neck, metaphorically speaking.” Alec concludes, thinking that Jace has not achieved great results so far... But what Isabelle overheard opens up new perspectives on the whole story.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The next morning, when Alec comes down to breakfast, feeling all considered, sufficiently rested and revitalized even though he slept for no more than four hours, he finds a very annoyed Jace there with an evident scowl on his face, drinking his coffee at one of the tables and an overly amused Isabelle sitting across from him. Their sister is sporting a truly mocking expression on her face and it’s even too clear that she is nagging and teasing their brother about getting his ass kicked out of the Jade Wolf the night before. Jace doesn't seem to appreciate it much and continues to grunt monosyllabic answers to his sister's insistent inquiries.

“You really should leave werewolves to Alec, Jace. You clearly can’t handle them. They are wild, aren’t they? And unpredictable. Alec? Can you teach him, maybe? How to tame a werewolf or something like that?”

Alec is about to respond with a salacious comeback, but Jace glares at him and he clicks his mouth shut. Ok, maybe Jace deserves a little breather.

“Shut up you two. Maia is just unfairly mean to me and doesn’t miss a chance to humiliate me. You shouldn’t be friends with her.”

“Oh… I actually think that Maia is nothing but lovely... And, you know, she likes me.”

Isabelle coos, smugly, making Jace scoff resentfully and roll his eyes.

"Everyone likes you, Iz. In any case, I'm going back tonight. That woman drives me crazy. First, she pins me to the wall and jumps my bones, and then hits me like that. She is brutal. Maybe I should teach her some manners."

Alec grins, sitting down at the table, and places the tray full of pancakes and his steaming cup of coffee in front of him.

Isabelle winks at him and Alec decides to join in on the fun.

"And since when do you shine for manners, Jace?"

"Not funny."

"Oh, you are so wrong. You should see yourself, sitting here, all mopey and whiny… It’s actually a lot of fun." Isabelle says airily, taking a bite of her muffin.

“Pfff… You are just as mean as Maia. Anyway, I won’t give up, ok? I’ll win her over, eventually. What about you? Did you talk to Magnus?"

"Of course I did. And not only that I didn't get kicked out of his club by Magnus, but he took me to his loft."

"I see.” Jace says quietly, avoiding taking the bait. “Have you gathered useful information?"

"No, not yet... I just established a connection, I guess. I texted him this morning and he replied immediately. I think he will crumble very soon."

“I bet…”

Isabelle and Alec can't help but giggle at Jace's offended attitude until the moment is totally ruined. In fact, Maryse strides into the room followed by a girl, and stops on a sort of small platform, so that everyone can see and listen to her. Not that anyone at the Institute would dream of ignoring Maryse Lightwood.

"Attention everyone. Today, we are welcoming a new Shadowhunter at the New York Institute. I am glad to introduce our new recruit, Clarissa Fairchild to you. She is from Idris and is going to live here, on a permanent basis so I hope you all make her feel at home here. Clarissa, those at that table over there are my sons and my daughter; they will take care to show you around the Institute and answer your questions. Now please go and have your breakfast with them."

"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."

The woman looks intently at her puzzled children from where she stands, as they stay frozen at the table and stare curiously at the new fellow Shadowhunter as she approaches them. Alec meets his mother’s eyes for a moment and gets the silent message she is sending him.

Don’t screw this up, Alec.

Ok, then. Another assignment for them. Taking care of the new boot. The girl must be someone important, otherwise, their mother wouldn’t be so bothered with her set-up at the Institute.

Well, perfect. Now in addition to the crazy mission they have already been assigned, now they also have to babysit this young girl, who is walking toward them with her chin up and a warm smile on her pretty face.

Isabelle stands up as soon as she gets to their table.

“Hi, Clarissa, I’m Isabelle, Izzie. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope you will be fine here. I mean, of course, you will. I’ll help you settle down, you know? And I’ll be happy to show you around… Have you already been to the Op Room or the training room, the library, the laboratory, my laboratory, or even the weapon room?”

The girl seems a little taken aback by the other girl’s loquacity, but then she smiles gratefully.

“Thanks, Isab… Izzie. You can call me Clary and no, I arrived about half an hour ago and I have only been to my room to drop off my bags and then I was escorted to the Head’s office, I mean your father’s office… until your mother dragged me here.”

“I know. She is a lot. But you’ll get used to it. Anyway, shall we go then? Oh, I was almost forgetting about them. These are my brothers. Alec and Jace. Boys? Say hello to Clary.”

“Hello, Clary.” They say obediently and perfectly in unison, looking even more puzzled than Clary.

“Hey, guys. Nice to meet you. I must say you both made quite the name for yourself back in Alicante. I guess I’ll see you later?”

Alec limits to nod his head, wondering what exactly is Clary referring to, while Jace must have run into some kind of malfunction since he seemingly can’t speak properly anymore.

“Of course. I mean, yes. We’ll be here. Not here, here. But you know. Around. I guess. So, ok, see you later, Clary. And… Welcome to New York? I suppose?”

Alec turns his head to look at his suddenly overly self-conscious brother with wide and surprised eyes. It's rare to see Jace reduced to a stuttering mess, especially when talking to a girl, but that's what is happening before him and Alec can't muffle a soft giggle.

When the two girls walk away at a brisk pace, Alec throws a meaningful look at Jace, with one of his eyebrows perfectly arched. He doesn’t even need to comment on Jace’s ridiculous demeanor to make him snap.

“What??” God, Jace is so fed up and Alec almost feels pity for him. Almost.

“I haven’t said anything, Jace.” Alec replies with a low, condescending voice. “But you’d really better get a grip on yourself and cool down, you know that? Anyway, I bet Clarissa Fairchild can kick your ass too.”

Jace flips him off and takes another sip of his coffee while Alec just can’t stop giggling.

He just can’t.

#malec fic #shadowhunters fic #shadowhunters #shmb2023

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amchara · 2 years

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Not the distance that scares me (1/2)

Kit Herondale, Ty Blackthorn (Kit/Ty)

Wordcount: 1,542

Post-TWP, Kit finds he has a choice in what he does next.

It makes me sad to think of it. Kit is a good kid who deserves a good, ordinary life. I know that’s what Jem and Tessa want for him, more than anything, after the chaos that was his growing up. But I am not sure he will have a choice in the matter. Fae may not let him choose. - Magnus to Alec (Secrets of Blackthorn Hall)

(This is me, defying Magnus and Cassie's whole arc for Kit, or at least twisting it, so he gets his happy ending. Er- so there's still angst but look, part two will be happier- happiness through angst, mmkay? 😅

This story fits into my London Files 'verse but no need to have knowledge of them to read this story. But if you're wondering where Ellie comes from)

---

When he woke up, Ty was beside him. Time must’ve passed from the battle because his face was no longer a blood-stained, desperate ricus; the last image Kit had seen before he passed out.

There was a softness in Ty’s sharp angles, despite purple shadows highlighting his left cheek; there was a release in his jaw, which had been constantly tense since Livvy had passed on in Thule. A lightness in his storm-grey eyes that told Kit it was all going to be okay.

“We won.” It wasn’t a question.

Ty nodded. “But…”

Kit had already known what was missing. The power that had thrummed in his chest, the heaviness of pure energy that he had worn like a mantle for the past few years, the electricity in his veins. It was all gone.

He closed his eyes. “I know.”

Ash let out a sigh- and Dru tightened her hold on his hand, providing moral support.

“I am forever indebte-”

“Shut up,” Kit said amiably. “You would’ve done the same thing for me.”

There was silence between the three of them. Maybe it was true. Maybe it wasn’t. Didn’t matter.

“Plus- I never wanted any of this-” Kit waved his hand around the Seelie Court, decorated to the brim with riotously-coloured flowers and filled with partying Fae. “Have fun playing King of the Castle. You’re much better suited to it.”

Ash rolled his eyes. “The prophecy never mentioned which one of us had to take the actual responsibility for ruling. It’s not too late- you sure you don’t want to rock-paper-scissor for it?”

Dru snorted lightly as Kit grinned and held up his hands, declining. “King Kit would’ve been too on the nose,” she said.

“Exactly - plus kinda think you need magic to be a faerie king,” He sketched a full bow he had learned from Kieran, appropriate for a Queen Consort, wondering if she would pick up on it.

She narrowed her eyes and Kit was delighted at her suspicious look.

Then he turned serious for a moment. “But- I do have a few loose ends that I might need to tie up.” The folk in the forest, and Juno and the others who had helped him during his brief reign. To be exiled forever from Faerie– Ash was within his right to do so. Or at least, heavily restrict Kit’s access, given his Nephilim blood. But he was banking on some good will being carried over from his First Heir heritage.

Ash held out his hand. “You are always welcome here, my brother.” A pendant flashed in his hand- a similar trinket to Cristina and Jaime’s eternidads.

Kit accepted it with quiet thanks, beating down a brief pang of jealousy at Ash’s ease and fluidity of summoning it.

Alec raised an eyebrow. “It doesn’t normally work like this, Kit.” But his face wasn’t unsympathetic, and Kit was fairly sure he was going to get his way.

“You would’ve lost me to the Faerie Courts, if things hadn’t turned out differently,” Kit said, trying to keep from crossing his arms, remain relaxed. “Also consider - it works for the Amish. They have like- an 80% return rate for their rumspringa. Consider it something like that for me.” He didn’t want to be adversarial with Alec. He wasn’t sure what the future held but he didn’t want this door closed forever.

“Are you coming back?” Alec asked, his blue eyes grave below dark eyebrows.

Kit shrugged. “I might not. That’s the risk you have to take. But if you say no, it’s not exactly endearing me to Shadowhunter life, is it?” he countered.

Alec sighed. “No, not at all. But you have to understand- usually when people leave, it’s permanent. They can’t return. It’s the law.”

“So change it,” Kit countered. “It’s a bad law. You’re the Consul- that’s within your power.”

A hint of a smile crossed Alec’s face. “You’ve been spending too much time with the Blackthorns.”

Despite Kit’s attempt to keep a steady countenance, something must’ve slipped through, as Alec sighed. “All right- I’ll see what I can do.”

“And don’t make it an exception just because it’s me,” Kit pressed. “Really- you should let all Shadowhunter kids have that choice.”

“I know.” Alec’s voice was firm. “Now, get out of my office and stop telling me how to do my job.” But he smiled too. “Enjoy your mundane year.”

Kit left the Gard feeling like a second invisible burden had lifted like wings off his shoulders.

“Not fair! You’re abandoning me just when I’m about to get my training wheels taken off,” Ellie complained, her voice sharp on the phone. “I haven’t shown you my wicked demon-slaying prowess yet.”

“Not sure that you’re gonna get to do that much demon-slaying in upstate New York,” Kit said. “Apparently the second last stop before Boringtown. Or that’s what Magnus keeps insisting is the case.”

“Hey! We’ve definitely seen a couple of raveners around. But more importantly, second years get more privileges to visit the local town, which is very Hogsmeade of them,” Ellie admitted. “Okay… but you’ll be back for my Ascension ceremony, right?”

Kit smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” But he suddenly shivered, as if a cold wind had blown through the room.

“Am I the last one?”

“To say good-bye to?” Kit felt rooted to the spot. He hated this. He wanted to go to Ty, who was standing behind his chair, as if to shield himself from Kit. His eyes kept sliding past Kit’s to the gold and green paneling behind.

“Yes.”

“Yeah,” Kit said. “I said good-bye to Tessa and Jem and Mina, and then asked Tessa to make me Portal to Blackthorn Hall.”

“Hmmm.” Ty put down his tools, letting one of his long, elegant hands smooth over what looked like one of his Sensors. It was calm and deliberate, and if Kit hadn’t spent months with Ty, relearning every little tic, studying every small movement as if he could etch it on his heart, he would’ve thought Ty didn’t care.

“Ty- you understand why I have to go, right?” Some of the misery must have bled through in his voice, given how sharply Ty had looked up, his hands fluttering briefly before calming.

Their eyes met across the room, and Kit clenched his fists, willing himself not to move. He wished. Slowly, Ty walked towards him. Kit could feel his heart beating wildly and he didn’t stop his traitorous hands from reaching out, wrapping Ty in a tight embrace.

“Kit. I need you,” Ty’s voice was barely above a whisper, said into Kit’s ear. He took a deep breath. And then another. And another. Kit breathed in sync with him. “I know,” Kit said. “I do too,” he admitted.

They held one another, as close as they had in the caves of faerie. As they had in the safehouses of Thule. As they had in the ruins of Edom.

Kit wondered why this was the hardest embrace to break. Perhaps it was because this time, they had a choice what they did next, rather than a destiny to fulfil. Perhaps it was because he was still choosing to walk away from it all.

But it’s different this time, he tried to remind himself.

Ty pulled back. “But you need to go,” he said. “I also need you to go.”

“Hey,” Kit tried to keep it light, despite the fierce ache in his chest. “I thought we stopped saying that kind of stuff to one another after Thule.”

Ty smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re the one going away again. I thought this time I could at least have a say.”

Kit winced and Ty’s face crumpled. “Sorry. That’s not what I meant to say,” Ty said. He muttered something under his breath that Kit couldn’t quite hear.

He looked directly at Kit. “You’re going because you want to figure out who you are, outside of your lineage,” he said softly. He reached up to trace Kit's jawline, sending a shiver down Kit’s spine. “And you can’t do that here in the Shadow World.”

Kit nodded.

Ty dropped his hand. “The glamour is very subtle but you do look different. I expect that’s part of it.”

Kit sighed. “Yeah, I asked Tessa and Catarina to put on their strongest spells, so that I’m disguised completely as a mundane.”

“That’s smart,” Ty’s gaze was looking at his neck, wrists, forearms- all now completely devoid of Marks, including his very first rune, the voyance one given to him by Ty.

“Will you be okay here?” Kit hated how wistful his voice sounded.

“I will be,” Ty said, and he was already looking back at his sensor.

Kit wasn’t offended. He knew that Ty had his work as a Centurion, Anush, Irene… he had his family- who were all helping him heal from Livvy’s passing. Kit wasn’t his whole world. And that was a good thing.

But just as quickly, Ty was back watching him. He looked steadily at Kit. Unlike others, he didn’t ask if Kit would come back.

Instead he said: “I’ll be here.”

And Kit, with his eyes starting to blur with tears, leaned forward. He kissed Ty and then left.

(part two will hopefully be up tomorrow/Friday)

Taglist: @dontmindmyshadowhunting @of-same-steel-and-temper @thomastaircompassrose @sandersgrey @thechangeling @mferraz @kestrafagnor @gabtapia @alldagayships @blindbandit1515 @silvermagnolias @chaotic-halfblood-kit @fighting-god-69 @lifeofbrybooks @all-this-panic-still-no-disco @heloisacosta23 @kitheronthorn @idk-i-just-really-like-tsc @t0wergirl @immortal-enemies

let me know if you want to be added/removed from the tag-list.

#tsc fanfiction #kit herondale #secrets of blackthorn hall #ty blackthorn #kit x ty #sobh #the wicked powers #post canon #angst with a happy ending #kit herondale x ty blackthorn #alicantenet #my fanfic #tsc: london files

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cuubism · 3 years

Text

sometimes i think about how it hits magnus later on, how much of his life he lost to abuse and trauma and recovery from that. like don’t get me wrong there are still good memories from those times, especially when it comes to his friends and his (found) family, but that stuff has been weighing on him for so long and really impacting every area of his life. and he’s so used to carrying it that he almost doesn’t notice anymore.

so one day much later, maybe ten or twenty years into being married to alec, it just hits him all of a sudden, how much was lost. and alec comes home and magnus is just sitting on the floor, sobbing, having a full-on breakdown because he was thinking about how happy he is with his life now, how he’s happier than he’s ever been, and that lead him to thinking about how unhappy he was for so long, how much he struggled, often without even realizing it. and his mind just breaks under the weight of that contradiction and he finally lets out all the emotion he was carrying for so long, not letting himself feel. the anger, the pain, the mourning for what could have been, it all comes pouring out.

and alec’s panicking because he’s never seen him break down like this, not even when he lost his magic, and he’s not even sure what caused it, things have been good, haven’t they? and he tries to reach out to touch him, but magnus stops him, because while he’s gotten better at accepting alec’s support over the years, this is something he needs to feel on his own, work through on his own. and it hurts alec to do it, but he gives him space. and eventually, magnus goes to get up, and alec offers his hand. and again, magnus declines, this is something he needs to do by himself.

magnus pulls himself back up.

his legs are shaking, but he gets up, finally working to accept what happened, learning that trauma is something he needs to live with, live around, heal through acknowledging it instead of using it as a weapon to bludgeon himself with. he takes a deep breath, and only then does he let alec pull him into a hug, a hug with all his warmth and strength and love in it. and alec still doesn’t know exactly what’s going on, but he tells magnus that he’s proud of him, feeling like that’s what magnus needs to hear in this moment. and it is.

#this been in my drafts for 15 years why #malec #magnus bane #the Feels About Magnus Healing from His Trauma and Having a Good Life Full of Love hours is 24x7

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delightfullyterrible · 3 years

Text

Hey guys!

So a while back an idea entered my head and I wrote a fic on it and decided to post it here...... mind you this is my first ever fic and I'm super nervous about it 😶

Also, shoutout to @khaleesiofalicante for helping me with this ❤

Anyway, hope y'all like it 😄

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MAX’S FIRST BDAY

The doorbell rang, he was finally here. Alec opened the door and saw his parabatai standing on the other side. “What took you so long?” he asked Jace.

“What? I came here as soon as I could. What’s the emergency anyway? The party doesn’t start until later” Jace replied coolly.

“Yes the party doesn’t start until later," Alec said with a little exasperation “but there’s a problem with the cake”. He took Jace to the kitchen and opened the cake box.

“Um, Alec this is- “

“I know.”

“It’s explicit. Inappropriate!”

“I know” Alec sighed “I ordered a Smurfs cake and instead they sent this”. Ever since Max had watched Smurfs with his aunt Clary and uncle Simon, he had become obsessed with all things Smurfs related. So, getting him a Smurfs cake was a no-brainer.

Jace looked thoughtfully at the cake for a moment and then said “You know Magnus could just change this magically, you don’t need my help”.

Alec had considered this option but unfortunately for him, Magnus had gone to Queens to buy some potion ingredients for an important client. "By the time Magnus comes back, the party would have started and everyone will have seen this inappropriate, butt-shaped blue cake," Alec said.

Jace took out his phone and called up Clary. “She says she’ll be here in a few minutes, she’s an artist so she’ll know how to turn this cake around” Jace told Alec who now seemed a little relieved.

A few minutes later, Clary arrived with Simon in tow. “Simon was with me when you called so he tagged along. So there's a cake emergency I hear" she asked no one in particular and walked towards the kitchen so she could examine the cake. Simon followed her. She opened the box lid and peered inside. She looked up at the two men utterly scandalized.

"Wow, that is um… that is some cake I tell you," Simon said with a nervous chuckle.

“I ordered a different cake and the bakery sent this instead. Please just rectify it before everyone arrives” Alec pleaded.

Exactly at that moment, the doorbell rang again and Magnus entered. He was looking particularly majestic today, wearing a blue-green shirt with a peacock feather print on it.

He looked around and greeted them. “Hello angel-blooded ones, the party hasn’t started yet why are you here so early?”. He looked from one to another until his eyes fell on the cake. His eyes widened in horror/amusement.

Alec immediately jumped in. "There was a mix-up at the bakery and they've sent us this. I wanted to call you up but you were busy and I didn't want to disturb you and now we have this inappropriate-looking cake which will probably scar our son for life” he lamented.

Magnus looked pityingly at his adorable boyfriend. “Alexander dear, if something indeed scars our child for life, I assure you it won’t be this cake”.

Alec had an inkling that Magnus was referring to the treatment Max would eventually face in the future for being a warlock. He made a mental note to address it later.

Magnus took the cake out of the box. “Don't worry my darling, I will fix this cake in a jiffy". He rolled up his sleeves, took a knife from the knife stand, and got to work.

A few minutes later, Clary peered over Magnus’s shoulder. “Wow Magnus, you’re surprisingly good at this. Have you done this before?”.

Magnus snorted. “Yes I have biscuit, but it’s an old story involving me, a faerie, and a bunch of horny vampires”.

For some reason, Jace looked sideways at Simon when the horny vampires were mentioned.

Magnus stepped back and pointed at the cake with a flourish. The cake didn't exactly look like a Smurf but it was much, much better than the original. Alec could have wept tears of joy.

******************************

It had been almost an hour since the cake debacle. The living room was full of people. The whole gang was here along with Catarina, Maia, Bat, Lily, and his mother. Robert too had portaled in from Alicante. Jem and Tessa had appeared in projection form 10 minutes ago to wish Max and give him his present, which was a baby superhero cape.

They were currently cutting the cake. Izzy was clapping and hooting loudly, nearly scaring her mother and everyone was singing 'happy birthday’ in a slightly off-key tune. Magnus had picked up Max and was taking him around the room, helping him feed cake pieces to everyone.

Alec took a step back and looked at the room full of people with a warm feeling in his heart. Every person in the room meant a great deal to both Magnus and Alec. If 12-year-old Alec had known that he would grow up and fall in love with a warlock, much less have a family with him, he would have found it unbelievable. But then again, 12-year-old Alec had never dared to dream of having a future for himself. The Clave and its backward mentality had made sure of that.

They were all busy opening the presents and Max was joyfully squealing at the sight of so many gifts. Alec himself had spent days finding a gift for max and finally settled for a blue sailor onesie. Magnus, who always had a thing for giving the best gifts, had gotten Max a set of Smurfs plushies.

He was not as awesome as Magnus in the gift-giving department, but deep down he knew that the best gift he could give his son was acceptance and respect within the shadowhunter community. A kind of future where Max would not be unfairly judged for his demon heritage. That would require changing the Clave from the inside out. And he would do it. One day, Alec Lightwood would change the world for his boys. But that day was not today. Today was a day filled with laughter, joy, cake, presents and most importantly - love.

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tagging a few peeps-

@khaleesiofalicante @readingwonders @josiecarstairs @lxdyblackthorn @youngreckless @lqdyofroses @beclynn-herondale @jesse-is-spiralling

#pix's stuff #malec #lightwood bane family #tmi gang #max lightwood bane #magnus bane #alec lightwood #fluff

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therealvinelle · 3 years

Text

Submasterpost: Twilight vampires (and hybrids)

Last updated: 24th of December

What Are Vampires?

Biology:

Vampire Hair Grows or So Help Me God

Vampires In the Deep Ocean

Can Chimps Be Turned Into Vampires?

Could a vampire survive a volcano?

Bacterial cells in vampires

Do they need deodorant?

Culture:

Why are they consistently young? (cont.)

Are vampire rapists a thing?

On covens being named for their geographical placement

Does everyone have a J. Jenks? An army of J. Jenkses employed by vampires, all running around with fake passports and driver’s licenses?

Why the dehumanization of humans

Why no vampires older than 4500 years?

Where do vampires without a home stay?

The diet:

Why Do Vampires Eat People? (Featuring Vegans)

Vegetarianism, and Why Aro’s Not Going Off the Virgin Blood Juice Anytime Soon + does it really weaken them though?

Is Human Flesh Appetizing to Vampires? + body disposal

Vampire Thirst, ft. Bella’s Self Control

Can Immortal Children Drain an Entire Human? (cont.)

Shouldn’t Vampires Be Able to Digest Water? (cont.)

Vampires Digesting Water part 2, or: Anon Wants the Anthology of Aro and Carlisle’s Fun Science Times in Volterra. Me Too, Anon. Me Too.

Could a shapeshifter be a vampire’s singer?

Do animal-drinking vampiresneed to feed more often than regular vampires?

What effect does the animal diet have on vampires? (cont, with detail)

Control! Who’s got it, and who doesn’t

Why do singers exist?

The existence of singers implies really disgusting-smelling humans

Can they sustain themselves off of any living thing with blood?

Could a vampire sustain itself off of mosquitoes?

How can the Volturi appreciate human culture, while seeing individual humans as food?

How can vampires consume blood?

Do animal eating vampires need to consume more blood than human eating vampires?

Can they regurgitate blood?

Are vampires less drawn to the scent of humans who were family?

The exterior:

If Vampires Are Intimidating, How Come Humans Don’t Run Away Screaming? (It’s Because They’re Hot) (Cont.)

How revealing are the eyes?

Can they paint their nails?

Do they have belly buttons?

Vampires and temperature (cont.)

What do they sound like?

Do they brush their hair?

How are they beautiful?

Why are humans scared of their teeth when there are no fangs?

The uncanny valley

Can they have wrinkles? + a correction

Would a person with very asymmetric features be rendered unrecognizable by the transformation?

Why no facial hair?

Can they change their appearance?

Gifts in general:

Why are there so many gifted vampires in Twilight, when gifts are supposedly rare?

Are there gifts that work on animals?

Do gifted creators have a higher chance of gifted progeny?

Which is the most powerful gift?

Is Bella too powerful? (Yes, but they’re all too powerful.)

How many gifts are there?

Specific gifts:

Afton’s gift: is there a scenario where it could possibly be useful?

Alec’s gift: does it make it so Aro can’t detect thoughts in an Alec’d person?

Alice’s gift: would it have led her to Jasper and Carlisle if Carlisle never formed a coven?

Alice’s gift: Alice meets probability, or: how does she fare with the lottery?

Aro’s gift: thoughts

Aro’s gift: more thoughts

Aro’s gift: even thoughts

Aro’s gift: you guessed it, even more thoughts. (cont.)

Benjamin’s gift: does it make him functionally immortal?

Bella’s gift: what is it exactly?

Bella’s Gift: As the World Turns, How Will It Adapt?

Bella’s Gift: Thoughts On How Quickly She Learned to Control It

Bella’s gift: would it help her make decisions?

Bella’s gift: is she really that powerful? (Yes.)

Bella’s gift: did it block Jacob from imprinting on her?

Bella’s gift: Bella vs. Harry Potter magic

Bella’s gift: what if someone else had the same gift, and they had a shield-off? (+ bonus “What if Esme was abducted by aliens?)

Bella’s gift: might it have manifested differently?

Bella’s gift: on her dream telling her she would have a boy

Chelsea’s gift: I don’t think her power does what Amun says it does

Edward’s gift: does he hear thoughts like conversations?

Edward’s gift: is he blockable?

Edward’s gift (and Aro’s by extension): What even is mind-reading?

Edward’s gift: how would it respond to aphtanasia?

Edward’s gift: how would it respond to people with no inner monologue?

Fred’s gift vs. Renata’s gift: it’s a gift-off!

Jane’s gift: could she torture Alice’s memories back into existence?

Jasper’s gift: couldn’t he just turn off people’s fear and then feed?

Jasper’s gift: does he feel the pain of others?

Jasper’s gift: could he defeat Alec and Jane?

Jasper’s gift: does he work on animals?

Maggie’s gift: what is a lie?

Marcus’ gift: what does it do?

Neurology:

Vampire Brain Development

Vampire memories + Vampire Memories 2: Electric Boogaloo!

Do neurodivergent humans get turned neurotypical by the transformation?

Why are immortal children so bad at control?

Is there a point for them in rereading books and rewatching films?

Does the transformation enhance intelligence?

Petrification:

How do petrified vampires eat?

Petrification: Vampire Have Extreme Beauty Trends Too

Petrification: What does it look like?

Physiology:

Can vampires withstand being struck by lightning?

Can they purr?

Do they enjoy showers?

What happens to objects ingested by vampires?

How strong are they? (cont.) (cont.)

Are newborns equally strong?

Do they derive pleasure from massages?

On bite scars they sustained as humans disappearing with the transformation

Would punching one accomplish anything?

Can vampires operate touch screens?

Is there any point in them working out?

Can you jigsaw puzzle them?

Vampires and accents

How badly can their components be damaged before they can’t piece themselves back together?

Vampires and cigarettes: do they go up in flames?

What happens when they stay still for too long?

Can they dislocate their limbs cat-style to squeeze through small openings?

Should they twerk?

What does their skin feel like to fellow vampires?

Can they be knocked unconscious?

As predators:

How to Escape a Vampire: You Don’t (Or You Exploit a Bug to Generate Infinite Redshirts)

Who Are the Most Dangerous Vampires (Answer: They’re All Dangerous!)

Environmentalism Can Be Found in the Strangest of Places

What animal do they resemble?

Yes there are vampire hunters in the Twilight universe. It’s the shapeshifters + Yes, yes, Carlisle’s father tried. Remember how that turned out for him?

Would a vampire kill a baby?

Pregnant vampires get their own section

Can a pregnant vampire have the dead baby c-sectioned out? + I was mean to anon

Another pregnant vampire ask (marshmallows continuation)

Senses:

What can vampires smell? + How do they track?

What can vampires hear? + Is their hearing distracting?

How does their vision work?

Headphones or stereo?

Sex:

Mates Aren’t a Real Thing

Does sex a mate make?

Does sex a a mate make 2.0, with mates aren’t a real thing 2.0

Vampire Sex Injuries

Anon Has No Shame

Another Anon With No Shame

Don’t Fuck the Hamburger, or: Why Singers Aren’t Mate Material

On Sexual Human-Vampire Relations

Would sex with a vampire be pleasurable for humans? (cont.)

Sodomy among vampires, or: would they need lube?

Vaginal lubrication: y/n?

Re: Edward macking on Bella

Can non-vampire men have penetrative sex with vampires or is it trash compactor galore?

You have a problem with premature ejaculation. Is vampirism a solution?

I think their spermatozoa each other

Other:

Vampires and the Afterlife

Three in one: can vampires get STDs, what would they look like if turned human again, and would their vampire scars follow them back into humanity?

Vampire vs. alligator: who wins?

Has the vampire population increased? (Answer: yeah.)

Anon isn’t Twilight savvy, or: on how people become vampires

Could vampires enslave mankind?

Could a Death Note (from the anime) be used to kill vampires?

Can gifts be attained, such as an Occlumens wizard from Harry Potter blocking psychic gifts the way Bella does it?

The dhampir Bella theory

Can a human watch vampires play baseball?

Jump scare! What does the vampire do?

Are Heidi and Rosalie equally beautiful?

Why did the immortal children have to go?

Would a gifted humans boarding school be feasible?

Vampires and social media

Venom:

Can humans digest it?

How would it affect shapeshifters?

Can humans ingest it?

The transformation:

Would a Child’s Transformation Take Less Time than Three Days?

Could old people survive the transformation?

What happens to stomach contents during the transformation?

What does the transformation do for trans people?

Is blindness cured?

If you’re missing teeth, do they grow back?

Does the transformation change body size?

How far could the duration of the transformation be cut down?

What would happen if someone with bound feet was bit? + Anon thinks the feet should stay bound

Does venom alter body shape?

Hybrids:

Hybrids Are Highly Adept at Survival

Bella’s Pregnancy Turned Her Into a Hybrid Incubator

Anon Wants an Elaboration on the Body Horror of Hybrid Pregnancies

Hybrids and shapeshifters are incompatible

Can Renesmée digest a human body?

Are hybrids able to reproduce?

Why do they age so fast?

Did Bella produce milk during the pregnancy?

Are they weaned of blood as they get older?

How much force would it take to break their bones?

What might the offspring of a hybrid and a vampire look like?

Can venom turn hybrids into vampires?

Men, women, venom, and confusion + I’m one stubborn watsonian

Do hybrids blush?

Does their diet affect the pace of their aging?

Does the diet affect their growth?

#long post #masterpost #twilight masterlist

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erricdraven · 3 years

Note

For the malec prompts, 7, t, 22 ? Feel free to change stuff if you prefer!

*so i used this to my advantage a bit so this can be read as a prequel-sequel to my previous fic the number of heartbeats between here and there. also it's a bit canon divergent because of the parameters of the request!* 7. deleted scene | t. secret relationship | 22. "i'm going to need you to put on some underwear before you say anything else."

To: Alexander – 1:23am

Did you still want me to come over tonight? I know it’s later than we had planned but…been thinking about you 🥰

To: Magnus – 1:26am

Sorry I was in the shower but yeah please come if you still can!

To: Alexander – 1:27am

Pretty boy.

To: Alexander – 1:27am

Handsome.

To: Alexander – 1:27am

Angel.

To: Magnus – 1:28am

…yeah?

To: Alexander – 1:28am

I always want to see you. Do you want to see me?

To: Magnus – 1:28am

Yes definitely

To Alexander – 1:29am

Then I’ll be over quicker than you can say my name

Magnus made his way around the sprawling architecture of the New York Institute, looking for the wing of living quarters. The buttresses that framed the familiar third-story window would have made fair footholds for scaling the building, but there were better methods available to him. Twisting his index and middle fingers, he summoned a dense amalgamation of magic beneath his feet that expanded upwards. Fortunately, Alec had left the window unlatched and slightly ajar, allowing Magnus to slip through and land soundlessly in a crouch.

Just as he straightened up, the bathroom door opened and damp steam from the shower billowed out. Alec emerged, naked save for a towel wrapped around his waist, but when he caught sight of Magnus, an almost smug smile pulled at his lips. “Hey,” he greeted, striding over to kiss him softly, one hand gently cradling Magnus’ cheek while the other held the towel in place at his hipbone.

“Is this for me?” Magnus teased, running the soft outer part of his forefinger along the damp skin of Alec’s bare chest. “How thoughtful.”

Alec laughed boisterously, his ears faintly pink with a warm blush. “Sorry to disappoint you but that was just a happy accident. Patrol ran late and I had to deal with— Well, that doesn’t really matter.”

Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Magnus shook his head. “How can I be disappointed with this outcome, unintentional as it may be.” He skated his palms up to Alec’s upper back and reverently drew them down across the planes of muscle until he got down to the small of his back. His fingertips dug into the soft skin above his buttocks needfully, pressing just hard enough that his blunt nails would leave behind little crescents if one were to look hard enough. “I still come out victorious in this scenario, I think.”

>> READ ON AO3

The way that Alec smiled at him, tired and weary but endlessly soft, made Magnus feel like his heart were being squeezed just this side of painful. It was the most vulnerable he had ever seen him, and it was simply theirs to share.

“Hey, Magnus… Why did you agree to this, us, like this?” Alec gestured vaguely. His eyebrows drew tightly together in consternation, and Magnus fought the urge to kiss the skin between into relaxing. “Why are you willing to hide with me?”

It had been a few weeks since their conversation about an arranged marriage for the sake of preserving the Lightwood legacy and foothold in the New York Institute. Maybe it was some kind of desperation that had driven Magnus to be so cavalier about his willingness to accept the “don’t ask, don’t tell” mentality of shadowhunters. The thought of losing the first spark of hope in love that he had had in over a century was excruciating, and concealing it so meticulously was a high price, but he was paying it. In a way, though, keeping this fragile thing between them a secret, left to grow in discretion, felt a little like a relief. Whatever it may be with time, it was theirs alone.

At the silence, Alec licked his lips nervously and started to say something.

Instead, Magnus held up a finger to his mouth to quiet him anticipatorily. Through a roguish grin, he said, “I’m going to need you to put on some underwear before you say anything else. I want to give that question the answer it deserves, but that’s a tremendous ask when you’re up against me like this.”

Alec rolled his eyes as if it were nothing more than a line, but there was something in his eyes that betrayed his self-satisfaction. And that was exactly what Magnus had intended. “All right, well then, look away.”

Magnus turned his back with exaggerated movements and crossed his arms over his chest with a smile. It was nice to have someone to be this way with again; it felt like liberation to have someone with whom he was free to be himself without the burden of titles and expectations. He was exposed when he stripped away the personas and facades that were like secondary skins. They were facets of himself that people expected him to have, but Alec never seemed to want him to be anything but Magnus. Not Magnus Bane, not High Warlock Bane, not Prince Regent of Edom.

“Are you decent?” Magnus teased after the sounds of fabric on skin had subsided.

In response, Alec came up behind him and leaned in just enough that his chest brushed Magnus’ back. “All done.”

Magnus shifted his weight to lean back into Alec lightly and reached back to thread his fingers into Alec’s still-damp hair. Softly scratching his nails through the soft strands made Alec hum contentedly. “We should sit so we can discuss your question.”

“Can we lay down?”

“Of course.”

They climbed on the bed over the sheets and comforter, and Alec immediately rolled over so Magnus could curl up behind him. He even lifted his arm away from his chest so Magnus could slide an arm over his hip bone and anchor his hand on his abdomen. This was something they had done once before—bearing their heart to anyone was hard for both of them, but this way made it a little easier.

Magnus took a slow breath, gathering his thoughts appropriately. “You’re a possibility, Alexander. A beautiful, liberating possibility that I’ve never had the fortune to come across in all my life.”

Ever melancholy, Alec replied, “How can you feel that way when I’m basically shoving you back in the closet with me, and asking you to sneak around and be ashamed of something that should be so simple. It makes me feel like a child to ask you to…stoop this low.”

“It was my choice, Alec. I chose to put myself in the position I’m in. And for the record,” Magnus added, pressing his lips to the back of Alec’s ear, “I’m glad that I did.”

Alec pressed back perceptibly closer to him, ducking his head to press into the crook of Magnus’ neck in a self-soothing gesture. “You’re not just saying that so that I feel less guilty, right? Because it doesn’t work if you don’t mean it.”

Many times throughout Magnus’ life he had been in the position of feeling at the disadvantage with the people he loved. He worried himself sick over whether he was being too clingy, too transparent, too vulnerable, and then he overcorrected and worried about being too aloof, too distant, and too unavailable. The cyclical questioning and self-doubt had ruined a lot of encounters before they even had the chance to become something concrete. Even now, there was a seed of doubt about what he was doing with Alec—maybe he was giving him too much credit, and maybe putting his own heart on the line was naïve.

“I don’t have the luxury of knowing what will come of this, Alexander,” he said carefully, “but I am certain that never giving it the chance would be something I would always regret. Will I always be content to be the soul of discretion in regards to you and what we may feel? Likely not. But you didn’t ask me for forever, and I’m not asking you either. I think both of us just needed the chance to be worth the risk of seeing it through to whatever end it might reach.”

Warm calloused fingers made their way down Magnus’ arm to lace between his own and squeeze gently. “I can live with that.”

Magnus chuckled and pressed a kiss to Alec’s hair. “I hope you can do more than that.”

“Mmm.” Alec yawned and rolled slightly, taking Magnus with him. “For now, though, I’m just going to sleep with it.”

“‘It’ being me?”

“By the angel,” Alec groaned, exasperated yet fighting a smile. “You talk too much sometimes.” Before Magnus could reply, he had captured his lips in a languorous kiss. Each one they shared felt like a discovery that Alec relished, unrehearsed and uncertain but wholehearted in the best way. The anticipation and enthusiasm of each new moment they shared was somehow so much better than any shared with Magnus’ most experienced ex-lovers.

Magnus pulled away just enough that their lips parted but their noses still touched. “I thought you wanted to sleep.”

“This is even better than my white noise machine. Having you here is…peaceful.”

“Aren’t you a romantic,” Magnus said dryly. But when Alec pulled him close again, he was helpless to resist.

>> PROMPT LIST

#malec #malec fic #sharona1x2 #cuubism #thatnerdemryn #shfanficnexus #sugarandspace #bytheangell #ask #anon #mywriting #shadowhunters #magnus bane #alec lightwood #otp: we always seem to find our way back to each other

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normal-thoughts-official · 3 years

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I think ot would be hilarious if everyone is in like an important event so theres sh and warlocks and maybe simeon or even clary just casually mention how magnus created x potion or did x thing and the other warlocks present are like 0.o... so he truly is *that* powerful... and clary is like Can't anyone with magic do that??? and they are like wtf, why is Magnus spoiling this nephilims (derogatory) dating one of them can be worth all this lol (but in reality Magnus just does stuff for almost anyone who asks because he just too kind ahhsshhs)

oh, i like that idea but i think it makes more sense if it's the other way around. magnus is a legend, all warlock knows hes powerful and smart. he created the portal and he's creating and discovering new stuff all the time, and im sure that once he does the first thing he does is to share it with other warlocks because he's 1- passionate about magic; and 2- not a capitalist asshole so no reason to keep his secrets

every so often magnus will show up at their idk yearly warlock meetings and he'll be like "updates on time travel, everyone: not there yet, but we've made some real progress! meanwhile, who wants to hear about this new spell that projects greater demons from hell but doesnt give them a chance to escape?". and he's always happy to teach warlock kids new tricks, you know, the whole shebang. so warlocks know exactly how smart and powerful he is, because they know him and magnus is always happy to share

shadowhunters, on the other hand? they mostly come to Magnus for something and then leave without giving him a spare glance, save for alec. and alec has an idea of how powerful and amazing magnus is because well, he sees magnus staying up for hours in his apothecary with 67 different books open at the same time until he figures out the solution to a problem, he's had magnus try to explain what he's working on creating currently and while he loves to listen to magnus talk about his passion, god bless his soul, he doesn't have the slightest goddamn clue what in the fuck magnus is talking about

i think izzy has an idea too because she's the only shadowhunter who comes close to being able to keep up with magnus' talks and she's pretty interested in magical developments even if her thing is more technology. but the others? they just assume all warlocks can do what magnus does. they never asked

so we have that meeting and somehow some of the spells magnus created specifically to solve a Jace And Clary Problem come up and the warlocks are like "oh yeah, that was an amazing solution to that problem, magnus, great work" and jace and clary are like... "whatever could you mean?" and theyre like "oh you didn't know? magnus created the spell that got rid of the demon wasps you summoned into earth. no one has ever managed to get rid of them before they killed their summoners before" and jace and clary are like.. really?

and it turns out that a lot of their problems were solved by a Magnus Bane Created Solution™, be them wasps from hell or the spell that convinced everyone clary was a natural redhead. and they have that moment of like... holy shit magnus is so much smarter than we ever gave him credit for huh. and everyone else is like. hmmm. yea

oh and for extra fun we can also throw lorenzo into the mix like. warlock party and hes trying to make the whole "magnus has no real talent, it's just nepotism" thing happen but he can't even finish the sentence because every time he says "magnus" everyone else is like "ugh isn't he great? had a huge problem with a client last year, he created a potion that did what they wanted to and didn't even charge me anything for it. also, love his parties. great guy" and it goes on like that the whole night and he's almost tearing his hair out

#sh #shadowhunters #magnus bane #anti jace herondale #anti clary fray #anti lorenzo rey #ask #anonymous

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alexanderlightweight · 1 year

Note

Happy wednesday! hope you, Saeth and nightshade had and will have a great week. (btw, what dog-race is nightshade? I don't think I've read that before 🤔)

Honestly I would love to read more about the nameless timetravel fic! So curious to see how they will change things this time around. For instance, how easy do they get rid of valentine?

nightshade is a lab retriever and he's super lovable and spoiled and he likes being wet so he smells like a pond most of the time! i hope you are doing well and they'll have a pretty easy time, they have alec and alec's never met an enemy he didnt study. i hope you're doing well! we finally all napped and feel much better.

saeth named it the same sky and now it has a name lol i hope you enjoy!

lumine

—

Alec is aware he’s blunt.

He’s also aware that Magnus is working through a trauma that Alec can’t fix through anything but time and Magnus doesn't have the time he needs.

It’s with desperation that he looks at Cat and Ragnor and he gives a wry smile.

“It’s nice to meet you again, Catarina. And Ragnor, I look forward to getting to know you in this new lifetime.” He blinks guilelessly, hoping he got his point across and he thinks he does. Cat hisses lightly, reaching out to grab Ragnor’s arm and Ragnor himself pales to a lighter green and nods, eyes hardening.

It also lets them know that Magnus has been wounded in a way they’ve always desperately tried to protect him from, one of their deaths.

“Darling, tattling on me to that old cabbage already?” Magnus asks, voice dark and low and Alec chuckles, wrapping an arm around Magnus’ neck.

“I need to make sure someone keeps an eye on you when I’m back at the Institute.”

Magnus is thoroughly distracted now, face outraged as he uses magic to drop Alec and pin him to the ground.

“You are not going back to the Institute!” Magnus barely manages to get out, “you are moving in here. Immediately.”

And because Alec hasn’t been married to him for centuries now and not learned how to be a little shit, he hesitates. He knows now exactly what it does to Magnus for him to look up through his lashes, or to bite his lip while sulking.

And Alec will now admit that he sulks, because it makes Magnus give in immediately and Alec isn’t a strategist for nothing.

“But we only just met, Magnus. I thought during the first time round, you said these things had to happen slowly? That I was moving too fast?” Alec purposefully tries his best to sound earnest and also hesitant, a little sad even.

Magnus almost falls for it and it’s with outrage that he realizes he’s almost been played.

“The audacity of some brats.” Magnus mutters, but he’s smirking down at Alec and he nudges him playfully with his boot. “Come up here darling, stop making me want to lock you in the bedroom.”

“Oh?” Alec asks, suddenly interested, “is that an option?”

“Why do you want to know if that’s an option?”

“Well obviously I’m not doing the whole interim head and commander I did last time. I don’t see why I can’t just stay wherever you’d like me.”

Magnus is staring at him adoringly and Alec sighs, letting himself pout up at the man he loves.

“So are we faking my death, am I being kidnapped?” Alec flutters his lashes and then frowns, wincing as he looks contemplatively at his side.

“You still have your parabatai bond, don’t you?” Magnus asks, something off in his voice and Alec winces, because he did try to block that off. Not wanting Jace to feel Magnus or Magnus to feel Jace.

“I haven’t had to share you for decades now.” Magnus whispers and Alec sighs and kisses Magnus’ cheek and the corner of his eye. “I thought it was just the bond resettling, that I couldn’t access all of you but would with time.”

Alec curses the pain he’s about to cause his parabatai, but he also doesn’t care as much as he might have a century ago. Alec’s siblings lived good, full lives and they died happy and content. Rare, beautiful gifts for shadowhunters and Alec finds that he looks at these new, young versions of them more like their distant descendants.

Which is good because in the last few decades, Alec has learned that there is truly nothing and no one that Alec wouldn’t sacrifice to keep Magnus safe, happy and alive.

“Okay, we’ll fake my death. Maybe we can take care of Valentine and I’ll just show up in the aftermath. Explain who Jace is, what Valentine did to him. We can blame the bond breaking on him. Say he kidnapped me or something.” Alec is resolute in his decision. Other things, better plans, can be figured out but Magnus needs this.

Alec can tell in the way his hands are trembling, just a little. The way he reaches for across the bond and then pauses, as if hesitant to press closer.

It’s grating on Magnus already and Alec doesn’t think he needs this new stress on top of holding back his temper and sorrow over what’s happened to them.

True they have each other and a chance at a new life, but it’s also different. They were done with this life and this world, moving on to another and now they’re back. So far back before so many things went wrong.

Alec hates that he knows Magnus is going to feel responsible for solving so many of those problems for the downworld. Magnus doesn’t need a young interim head fighting his parents at his side. Magnus needs a strategist who knows all sides and can be brutal, even towards his own people.

Alec has been Magnus’ secret weapon in many small and large wars across the years and it’s a position he’ll happily take up again.

It’s with ease that he rucks up his shirt and hands over his stele to Magnus, who takes it with the same awe that he had the first time Alec went to Edom for him.

Someday, Magnus will stop looking at him like that. Like it’s a surprise that Alec loves him so much. It’s been well over a century and it still hasn’t happened, but Alec has hope and enough love to make it a habit.

“Third times the charm?” Alec says even though it doesn’t feel funny, that this is the third time this part of his soul has been cut away. He’s lived longer now without Jace and bonded to Magnus than he did the other way around.

It feels strange to not let Magnus encompass him entirely and Alec misses it with a fervor that he leans into. It keeps him steady through the breaking of the bond and Alec can feel Catarina’s startled, concerned magic pressing against him.

“He’ll be fine now.” Magnus murmurs next to him and Alec settles, safe in that knowledge.

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #the same sky #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters #malec

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khaleesiofalicante · 3 years

Text

Alec barged into the room hoping to clean it. But it seemed Jace had already done that. He groaned in frustration.

He needed something to do. Anything.

Even though the Lightwoods knew the Penhallows, it was still uncomfortable to live in their home.

It was even more uncomfortable to live in Idris – not that he would ever say that out loud.

Alec had always thought that when he finally came back to the shadowhunter homeland, he would feel relieved and excited.

But he just felt miserable.

He was in a city of full of shadowhunters – and he had never more alone.

He missed Brooklyn he realized to his own horror.

He needed a distraction. He needed to focus on something that was here, instead of spending his time thinking about something that was not here.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

“Alec?”

He couldn’t help but look surprised. “Max! What’s up?”

“I have a doubt,” the boy held up his copy of the Codex. “Can you help me?”

“Me?” Alec hated the sound of surprise in his voice. “You want my help?”

“I can ask Jace or Izzy if you’re busy,” Max said quietly.

“No. No. Come here,” Alec pulled up a chair. “What do you need my help with?”

Max peered out of the door and quickly closed it after him. Alec raised an eyebrow but he wasn’t all that surprised. Even though he was the youngest, Max was always up to something.

The little boy took out another book – this one much less thicker - from inside the codex and discarded the Codex onto the bed.

“What’s that?” Alec asked.

“Manga,” Max opened up the book and flipped through the pages.

Alec wasn’t sure how he could help with Manga. But he didn’t want to disappoint Max. So, he waited.

“You are friends with downworlders, right?”

Alec coughed. “I…I wouldn’t say friends. But yes, I know some of them. We work together…for missions and stuff.”

Max nodded. “Do downworlders wear nail polish?

Alec’s heart sped up. “Who..What are you…Did someone tell you something?”

Max looked confused. “No. I was just curious.”

“What brought this on, Max?” Alec asked.

Max pointed at the book. “This is Naruto. It’s my favorite story.”

Alec smiled. “Okay. But what does it have to with downworlders and nail polish?”

“Well, there is this group in Naruto called Akatsuki,” Max explained, pushing his glasses back. “There are like the bad guys I guess.”

Alec listened quietly. Max never really talked to him about these things. Well, Max never really talked to him about much. So, whenever he spoke, Alec always listened.

Maybe that’s why Max had wanted to talk with him.

“Anyway, some of the members of the Akatsuki wear nail polish. Even the guys,” Max carried on. “Mostly in dark colors. But the good guys don’t wear them. So, I wondered if that’s like a bad guy thing? Do any of the downworlders you know wear nail polish?”

Yes, Alec wanted to say, It’s beautiful.

He could do it. He could tell Max. He was a child, but he could keep a secret.

Besides, Alec wasn’t sure if he wanted it to be a secret anymore.

But even from this unfamiliar room, he could see Alicante from the window. He could see the statue of Raziel. He could see everyone.

Alec swallowed his words.

No.

Not here. Never here.

He wasn’t sure what even possessed him to consider that possibility. Only a fool would admit such a thing in the city of angels.

“Alec?” Max prompted.

“Yes?”

“Do the downworlders you know wear nail polish?” Max asked again.

Alec saw colours then.

Purple. Red. Black. Green. Pink.

Once it had been blue, the exact shade of his eyes. Alec had wondered whether Magnus had magically made that one himself – just for Alec.

The thought had seemed a little childish, but Alec had still blushed when Magnus had admitted it to be true.

“Some of them do,” Alec nodded.

“Oh,” Max said. “Are they bad guys?”

Alec didn’t how to answer that. His little brother always asked the tough questions.

Max never made it easy on any of them. He was by far the most inquisitive and curious one out of them all.

Alec knew this little boy was going to cause so much trouble when he grew up. But Alec was excited for it nevertheless.

He would protect Max, just as he protected Jace and Izzy now.

“Well, it’s a little complicated,” Alec pointed out.

“Oh,” Max said again. “How so?”

Alec thought of Magnus then.

He hadn’t known the warlock for a long time. But he knew enough. He knew that Magnus wasn’t a bad guy – and that he could never be.

“Wearing nail polish doesn’t make someone bad,” Alec explained. “Look at Izzy. Is she a bad guy?”

“Only when she cooks,” Max giggled.

“Shhh!” Alec laughed. “She might hear you.”

Max closed his giggling mouth with his small hands and nodded.

“Listen. It’s kind of hard to explain,” Alec said honestly. He didn’t want to lie to Max – not any more than he already did. “I guess it’s mostly because I’m trying to figure it out myself.”

“That’s why I came to you,” Max said simply. “You always figure stuff out.”

Alec knew Max didn’t know how much those words meant to him. But he squeezed his brother’s shoulder.

“This is what I know. There are downworlders out there who are bad. But there are good ones too. It’s the same with shadowhunters. There are good ones and then there are bad ones.”

“Like Valentine?” Max asked, his voice small.

“Like Valentine,” Alec nodded. “He is a bad guy. The baddest guy. But he doesn’t wear nail polish now, does he?”

“I don’t think he can pull it off,” Max pointed out seriously.

Alec laughed. “My point is, we can’t tell whether someone is good or bad by what they wear. It’s not fair.”

“Like judging a book by its cover?” Max asked.

Alec smiled. His brother was smart. Smart enough to run his own institute one day.

“Exactly like that,” Alec agreed. “The only we can tell whether someone is good or bad is by their actions.”

Max considered that for a moment and then nodded. “Alright.”

“That’s it?” Alec asked.

“That’s it,” Max said. “I need to finish the rest of it.”

“You can read here if you want,” Alec offered.

“Really?” Max’s eyes were wide. “You are not going to kick me out when the adults come in?”

“Let me tell you a little secret,” Alec hunched down to his brother’s level. “Jace and Izzy are technically not adults.”

“I knew it!” Max said triumphantly and then jumped onto the bed. “Do you want to read with me?”

“I don’t really know how to read them,” Alec said lamely.

“I’ll teach you,” Max grinned. “It’s very easy.”

It didn’t matter whether it was easy or not. Alec would have done it anyway.

“Alright,” he sat down next to Max. “Tell me more about these guys with the nail polish.”

#I might be a little emo ;)#alec lightwood #max lightwood #dani writes stuff #tmi

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miraculouscontent · 3 years

Note

what happened with optigami??

Ugh happened.

- Episode begins with Nathalie in bed with a screen in front of her, and Gabriel sitting next to her and watching. It's explained to the audience through Nathalie what she and Gabriel have been up to since "Miracle Queen," since they learned the heroes' identities. The screen shows each hero and their civilian self, and Nathalie created a sentimonster called Optigami (a mechanical butterfly - think Tippi from Super Paper Mario but edgy) with eyes that can appear on the wings that can possess any object and record what it sees, transmitting it back to Nathalie's screen) to reveal Ladybug's secrets. Optigami stalked the civilians, but they were just teenagers who "spent their time at school or activities outside of it" (thanks, Captain Obvious).

- It's said that Ladybug still entrusts the civilians with miraculouses, but has rules to prevent them from discovering her identity (Wayzz is also shown on camera despite kwami not being visible via technology; magic, I guess???). Optigami has tried to follow Ladybug, but hasn't managed to catch her. Nathalie considers the sentimonster useless, but Gabriel has an idea, pointing out the vulnerability of civilians returning the miraculouses and suggesting Optigami hide there. Gabriel makes a plan for all the holders to appear and to have a supervillain that Ladybug will need another hero to beat.

- Cut to Audrey shouting at someone about glitter when she gets a call from Gabriel, who talks about a fashion icon award from her magazine that she should give to his son. Audrey agrees to send invitations right away.

- Marinette is shown in her room, staring at her invitation with a big smile because Adrien is on it. Alya explains to the kwami that everyone is invited to the event where Adrien will get an award and that's why Marinette has been frozen staring at the invite for the past ten minutes. The kwami talk about being invited too since "everyone" is invited, and Marinette snaps out of her trance to deny them; no owner, no trips. Trixx argues that he can go because he has Alya, but Marinette reminds him that she (Marinette) has the miraculous. Trixx tells her to give Alya the fox permanently. Alya agrees with this decision, especially now that she knows she's Ladybug, but Marinette insists that it's too risky and that one of the rules she's sticking to is to not give out any miraculouses. Trixx turns away in a huff, arms crossed, while Alya assures that it's fine because it's Marinette's decision and they have to leave now anyway. Marinette snaps back into her fawning state, staring at the invitation again.

- The students show up at the event, specifically Marinette (the only one who makes no sense), Adrien (who's there for the award), Alya (Rena Rouge), Nino (Carapace), Kagami (Ryuko), Luka (Viperion), Kim (Roi Singe), and Max (Pegase). No other students showed up. While they're heading for the elevator, Nino and Alya are doing something on a tablet and do a special high-five in celebration. Kim also uses the stairs instead of the elevator, insisting he'll be faster and telling Max to time him. After he charges up, Alya slides up to Marinette and talks about the elevator being perfect to get close to her "secret crush." Marinette, who was literally fine a second ago, starts freaking out at the idea of her and Adrien accidentally touching, bracing herself against the elevator's frame when Alya tries to forcefully shove her inside. The elevator closes without her and Marinette sighs, telling Alya that she doesn't want to rush it.

- People are starting to sit down for the event and Alya and Nino are doing their high-five again (which Marinette smiles sadly at). Audrey is impatient and demands to start filming, but Alec isn't back yet. Meanwhile, Optigami flies in and goes into an Adrien picture to hide, which makes Nathalie's screen light up on top of her bed. Nathalie informs Shadow Moth via earpiece that Optigami is in place.

- Alec is in the restroom playing on his phone. Shadow Moth places an amok in his staff and makes a sentimonster that looks exactly like Alec. The real Alec comes out and is confused, then cowers at Shadow Moth and the sentimonster Alec. SentiAlec leaves the restroom, showing over-dramatic flair as he jumps on stage. A few people are thrown off, but Audrey doesn't care and just wants to get started.

- The filming officially begins and everyone is shown watching the event. SentiAlec is barely into his introduction before he starts openly trashing Audrey (such as calling her outdated), which shocks Audrey and briefly makes Chloe laugh until Chloe catches Audrey glaring at her. SentiAlec adds a comment about the award ceremony being rigged, then isn't phased when Audrey starts to say he's fired. He finishes the line for her in a question tone, saying it's too late anyway as Audrey has already made a fool of herself. Audrey, ashamed and humiliated, then gets akumatized by an akuma Shadow Moth sends.

- At the appearance of Style Queen, Marinette and Alya give each other a look. Alya whispers to Nino that they should prepare in case Ladybug needs them, so the two slip off while Marinette goes in the other direction. SentiAlec still insults Style Queen, then flees when Style Queen tries to shoot him, managing to escape. Style Queen goes to shoot Adrien, but her arm is cut by a chair that Kagami throws. Kagami yells at Adrien to run and Adrien stands there and cries out, "Kagami, no!" Style Queen then fires at Kagami, turning her into glitter, and only then do Adrien and Chloe bail. Nathalie then informs Shadow Moth that Kagami (Ryuko) has been eliminated, and Shadow Moth says that they need to find the others before Ladybug arrives. Optigami flies out of the Adrien picture to go searching.

- Adrien manages to slip into an elevator to transform, but before he can, Marinette slips into the same one to transform, both stopping and Marinette having to make an excuse for saying "Tik--". Adrien presses a button and claims he was about to get help and Marinette says he's wonderful, though corrects it to "brave." The elevator doors close and Marinette says that Ladybug will come while Adrien says that Chat Noir will come too, though they both look away nervously afterwards.

- Chloe, meanwhile, pops out from behind a table to tell Style Queen where Alec went. Style Queen reminds Chloe that she'd laughed at her, then goes to shoot her. Chloe uses Zoe as a shield, but the shot causes Chloe to turn into glitter anyway, just alongside Zoe instead of Chloe alone. Nathalie informs Shadow Moth that Chloe is eliminated, then tells Optigami to find the others.

- Max is leading people downstairs to the nearest exit. Nathalie sees it through Optigami and informs Shadow Moth, who informs Style Queen, who makes a tornado of glitter to surround the building, turning the building itself glitter-encrusted with Style Queen's mug on top. This movement apparently knocks out the elevator's power, which sends Adrien and Marinette stumbling to the floor. The people that Max had been trying to lead out are approached by Style Queen, who shoots all of them. Max is eliminated.

- Both Adrien and Marinette try to reach for the elevator's buttons at the same time, their hands touching. Marinette apologizes sheepishly, then tries one of the buttons, but to no avail. They try to pull open the door, but it doesn't work. Marinette is sure that Chat Noir will save them, and Chat Noir agrees nervously, but also brings up Ladybug as an option. Marinette then texts Alya to tell her that she's stuck in an elevator. Alya texts back to ask if she's with Adrien, adding a wink emoji. Marinette responds that--yes, she is, and Alya becomes nervous.

- At the same time, Nino gets a text from Adrien that he's stuck in an elevator with Marinette. Nino thinks it's cool and Alya laughs nervously, pretending to agree. Alya asks Marinette over text how she's going to make this work, and Marinette says that she has a plan but needs to be alone. Alya tries to split from Nino, insisting that she'll give Ladybug a signal that they're there, but Nino wants to go with her. Alya insists, saying that it'll be better that they not get shot as a group, but Nino gives her the lovey dovey eyes and says that he won't let her do it by herself. Alya relents, but says that she has to go somewhere first ("if you know what I mean"), kissing Nino's cheek and then running off.

- SentiAlec returns and Shadow Moth gets rid of him. The real Alec escapes and smacktalks Shadow Moth when he's out of earshot, but Style Queen promptly shoots him. Shadow Moth then tells Style Queen that people are trying to escape into the events, so Style Queen turns into glitter and goes through, finding Luka (who's leading Mayhem carefully through the vents) and turning both of them to glitter, eliminating Luka Couffaine. This leaves three left: Kim, Alya, and Nino.

- Marinette calls the kwami using her phone, as there's a mini cell phone inside the Miracle Box. They all answer at once, which shocks Marinette as she throws the phone in shock, embarrassing her in front of Adrien asks who it is and Marinette makes a hurried excuse about talking to the fire department. She proceeds to act like she's really talking to said department, explaining the situation. Longg says that they're on their way and Marinette hurries to reject the idea, arguing that "helicopters (flying) are bad for the environment." She suggests "riding a horse" instead, and her voice is heard through the elevator and Style Queen picks it up, following after the voice. Optigami also possesses the elevator and spots Adrien and Marinette, with Marinette still repeating the horse comment, which finally makes the kwami realize that she means Kaalki. She's huffy about it, claiming that she's a noble steed - not a horse - and Marinette must mean Fluff. Sass agrees, as apparently horses and rabbits had a common ancestor. Fluff cheerfully talks about going to prehistory and Marinette shouts to deny it, grinning weakly at Adrien for how ridiculous she must sound. Adrien then notices the pair of eyes watching them and ushers Marinette away, shushing her. Marinette notices what Adrien does and ends the call.

- Style Queen opens the elevator doors and looks down at the elevator shaft to where Marinette and Adrien are. Marinette touches her miraculous anxiously and Adrien stares at his ring, internally debating with himself. They both turn at the same time, saying they have something to tell the other, but Nathalie notes that Optigami is only seeing Adrien together with Marinette, who isn't on their list. Shadow Moth discourages Style Queen from going after the elevator and Optigami leaves.

- Adrien sighs in relief, then asks Marinette what she wanted to tell him. Marinette insists it's nothing, asking what he wanted to say, and Adrien claims that he was just wondering what the eyes were. Marinette says she doesn't know, but that they should stay hiding and she'll text Alya to get help. Kim, meanwhile, has just gotten up the stairway, asking if he's won, and Style Queen happens to be right there, shooting him on the spot and eliminating him.

- Marinette sends Alya the kwamis' number and Alya calls it, hearing Trixx complaining on the other line about how Marinette should've let him come. At the same time, Alya gets a call from Nino that she has to reject, which worries Nino enough for him to try and slip up. Optigami happens to be in the extremely specific room and spot to see Nino, which Nathalie informs Shadow Moth of. Style Queen swoops by, turning Nino to glitter, and Shadow Moth gets an idea, making a SentiNino to lure out Alya.

- Alya is running down the stairs when she hears Nino calling her. At the same time, Kaalki pops in through a portal and encourages Alya to jump through. Alya runs in and the portal closes behind her, then she asks Kaalki about kwami using their powers without a holder and that leading to chaos. Kaalki insists that she never causes chaos - only contributes to the extraordinary - and the scene jumpcuts to the Eiffel Tower in the desert.

- Alya gets a text from Marinette, telling her to bring the bee miraculous. Alya taps in the code for the Miracle Box, then takes out the fox and bee. She transforms into Rena Rouge and makes an illusion of Ladybug to keep Style Queen busy, but hesitates as she looks back at the Miracle Box. She pulls out the turtle and Longg questions if Marinette asked her to do that, to which Alya insists that it's a precaution. Kaalki makes another portal and Rena runs through with both Kaalki and Ladybug, the scene jumpcutting to a gate-esque monument on the moon.

- Rena and Ladybug split up, but Rena stops when she hears Nino calling her. Optigami possesses the wall as Rena runs up to "Nino" (SentiNino) and shushes him. Nathalie informs Shadow Moth that Alya is already transformed and has a kwami with her, which shocks Shadow Moth (idk why Shadow Moth can't see that since it's his sentimonster but I've also given up on making sense of this episode at this point).

- Rena gives SentiNino the turtle miraculous. Shadow Moth, through SentiNino, asks why he's receiving it from Rena, and Rena explains that she's doing it for Ladybug while Ladybug defeats Shadow Moth. She tells SentiNino to transform and help her, then runs off. Nathalie mutters about how the only people who've given out miraculouses before were Ladybug and Chat Noir until now, and Shadow Moth deduces that Alya isn't an ordinary holder. Either way, he's not concerned about their plan, having SentiNino transform using the turtle. Optigami merges with the miraculous as well and SentiCarapace runs off.

- SentiCarapace enters the room where MirageLadybug is fighting Style Queen. Shadow Moth monologues (through SentiCarapace for some reason but no one can hear him anyway I guess) a bit about his victory and Ladybug having no idea what's about to happen, and then the scene cuts to Rena Rouge entering the elevator Adrien and Marinette are in via Kaalki.

- Rena Rouge explains that Ladybug sent her, then has Kaalki make another portal. Rena takes Adrien first, which allows Marinette to be alone. Tikki congratulates her on the idea and Marinette thanks her before transforming. Rena Rouge, meanwhile, drops Adrien off on a rooftop and tells him that she'll come back for him later. After she's gone, Adrien talks to Plagg about it being hard to get back into the building. Plagg suggests they go home and Adrien insists they can't yet. He transforms.

- Rena re-enters the elevator through another portal, promptly high-fiving Ladybug. Rena and Kaalki boast about the great job they've done, and Ladybug nervously asks how many times Kaalki's used her power. Kaalki admits she's used it a couple of times and Ladybug laments all the catastrophes that must've happened. The scene jumpcuts to a trail sinking into the ocean and a skyscraper sinking into a volcano, plus many more objects on the moon.

- Ladybug says that they can't waste more time. She puts on the bee and unifies, then the scene jumpcuts to the two suddenly in the room where Style Queen is fighting MirageLadybug. LadyBee congratulates Rena on her good job, then notices SentiCarapace on the other side of the room. She looks confused and Rena sheepishly suggests that they can never have enough help. LadyBee squints at her, but admits that she was right and Carapace will be very helpful. Rena slumps in relief.

- LadyBee spawns Lucky Charm and gets a compact mirror (same lucky charm as in "Pixelator," for reference). However, she doesn't notice anything inherently useful, and notes that she can defeat Style Queen without her lucky charm. She shrugs it off, since it doesn't matter how they defeat Style Queen, and just tells Rena to end her illusion. Rena has MirageLadybug hide behind a table, which Style Queen shoots and groans as she realize that Ladybug isn’t there.

- LadyBee goes up behind SentiCarapace, surprising him as she tells him that she needs him to protect her. Shadow Moth has SentiCarapace agree, then monologues to himself and "talks to LadyBee" (not really, he's just being a weirdo) about how he won't tell Style Queen anything and how nothing will stop him from winning.

- LadyBee goes in to attack Style Queen with Venom, ducking under tables and doing various maneuvers before jumping up in the air. Style Queen fires, but SentiCarapace protects her with Shellter long enough for LadyBee to fall within range. SentiCarapace drops Shellter just in time for LadyBee to stab Style Queen. She divides Pollen away, then breaks the objects and purifies the akuma. Style Queen de-akumatizes and Audrey looks at Ladybug, confused. Chat Noir is outside, about to Cataclysm the building, when the glitter effect vanished. Puzzled, Chat Noir awkwardly opens the door and runs inside.

- Audrey echoes Chloe's "ridiculous, utterly ridiculous" line as she walks off, and Ladybug sneaks the magical charm onto Audrey's hat. Chat Noir arrives at the scene and sees Ladybug, Rena, and Carapace, asking how they got in. Kaalki greets him and Ladybug apologizes, saying that she would've gotten him had she known his identity. He's not bothered and takes the opportunity to flirt. She banters back, then has to leave to get Rena's and Carapace's miraculouses. She tells Chat Noir to wait there, which he does.

- The three go to the roof and Rena comments on how easy it was to defeat Style Queen. Shadow Moth, through SentiCarapace, says that it's because she has good partners. They fist-bump, at which point Carapace and Rena de-transform. The two return their miraculouses and Ladybug notes that she didn't have to use her Lucky Charm, still finding it weird as she usually manages to defeat the villain with it. Shadow Moth, meanwhile, is ready for his place to go down.

- Ladybug presumes that she just needs the lucky charm to fix everything, then turns around while staring at the open compact mirror. Through the mirror, she sees Alya offer SentiNino a high-five, which he looks put off by before giving her a regular high-five in return (no, Alya doesn't react to this). Ladybug remembers their secret high-five from earlier, then turns and suddenly says that they have to be even more careful from now on. She reminds them that Shadow Moth knows the identity of some of the holders and is obviously using that information. She asks if that's right, getting in SentiNino's face and calling him Shadow Moth. She apologizes to Alya and explains that the Nino in front of them is a sentimonster. Nathalie insists that it's impossible for Ladybug to know and Shadow Moth wonders how she found out.

- Alya staggers back and collapses to her knees in shock, and Ladybug hurries off the room to yoyo herself into the room where Chat Noir is, where he's found eating a cookie. Ladybug tells him to detroy the object in her hand, but Chat notes that it's a miraculous. She tells him to trust her and Chat destroys it (since he never used his still-ready Cataclysm from earlier), which Optigami is forced out of. Nathalie gets a strong headache from this and Shadow Moth punches a restroom door in anger, monologuing about how he'll win one day and that SentiNino isn't needed anymore. He snaps his fingers and both SentiNino and Optigami disappear.

- Ladybug uses Miraculous Ladybug then, which fixes everything including the miraculous (weirdly, they only show Max and Kagami being restored; screw Luka and Kim I guess??). Nino also shows up on the roof to see Alya (no, I don't know how he knew she was there) to hug her, and Alya smiles before hugging back.

- Chat Noir and Ladybug hop a large distance away and Chat asks her how she knew there was a sentimonster in the miraculous. Ladybug thanks her lucky charm for it and says that it always shows her the right way (*shudders at "Chat Blanc" flashbacks*) even though she was briefly led astray. Chat Noir just hums in serious thought.

- Later, in Marinette's room, Alya laments that Shadow Moth almost demasked Ladybug because of her. She also admits that she shouldn't have taken Nino's miraculous. Marinette says that she's right - she did make a mistake - which is why she has to make a difficult decision. She tells Alya that the most important thing is to learn from one's mistakes, and thus she herself learned that she needs an ally to replace her if something ever happens. She takes Alya's hand, then puts the fox miraculous inside, closing Alya's fingers over it as she tells Alya to keep the miraculous with her at all times. Marinette adds that she'll also tell Alya everything she knows, and the two hug as Trixx brags to the other kwami that he's always right even when he's not.

- The episode seems to end at first, but then there’s a post-endcard scene where Gabriel sits on Nathalie’s bed and admits that they don’t know their enemies as well as they think. He notes that Alya seems to have a special position now that Ladybug is guardian, and talks about getting to know her better. The episode ends there.

#category: episode summaries #episode: Optigami #other: ml spoilers #other: ask and answer #((There's more commentary in here this time around. Couldn't help myself on this one.))#((This episode is just a big ''what.''))

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bytheangell · 3 years

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Hanging By a Moment

Whumptober 2020 prompt: held at gunpoint (Read on AO3)

Magnus is standing alone outside the restaurant when, through the thin fabric of his shirt, he feels the distinct press of cold metal against his back. Every muscle in his body tenses at once - he doesn’t need to be able to see what it is to instinctively know what’s happening.

“Don’t move, don’t yell,” a deep voice orders, then waits a few seconds to make sure Magnus is going to comply. He does, remaining silent and still. “Now turn around, hands where I can see them. Don’t try anything stupid.”

Magnus does as he’s told, but very slowly, trying to buy himself time to think. A million thoughts rush through his mind, but two stand out more than the others. The first is that Alec is going to walk outside and see this, and that is not going to go well. The second is that he’s in real danger here. Actual, life-threatening danger, from something so goddamn mundane as a street robbery.

On any other day - hell, even on this day about four hours prior - Magnus could’ve used his magic to easily disarm a mundane man with a gun. But now, after using every last drop of his magic between a demanding spell for a client and a surprise demon attack he hadn’t expected to help the Shadowhunters with, Magnus is tapped out. That’s why he’s walking home with Alec instead of portaling, and why they’re buying food on the way instead of snapping it into the apartment, ready to go.

Magnus isn’t sure he'd be able to flick the weapon away if he tried, and he certainly couldn’t raise a solid enough barrier in front of him if the man shoots.

Apparently, Magnus isn’t turning fast enough: rough hands grab him by the shoulder and force Magnus around to face his assailant. It’s already difficult to see in the dark, with the neon of the restaurant sign the only light between distant streetlamps. Whoever it is only has their eyes visible, the rest of their face obscured by a hat and bandana tied over their nose and mouth - not that Magnus is paying much attention to aesthetics. His eyes are drawn to the barrel of the gun pointed at him instead, and he wonders if this is how his centuries of life will come to an end. Decades of war and battles and standing up against more injustices than he can list, facing down other warlocks, werewolves and vampires and Nephilim and literal demons… he survived all of that, and a mundane being hard-up for cash may be what finally ends the life of Magnus Bane.

“I don’t have much on me,” Magnus admits, which is true. “There’s some cash in my wallet. I can grab it for you-” Magnus lowers his hands to reach for his wallet, only to pull them back up by his head when the man takes a step closer.

“No! Hands up,” the robber says, just as the door behind Magnus opens and he tenses all over again, knowing exactly who walked out.

“Alexander, darling, I’m going to advise you to stay there, please.” It takes every last ounce of self-control for him to not turn back around and look at Alec.

Magnus hears Alec take a step forward anyway, and the gun shifts from Magnus to a spot over his shoulder, which is exactly what Magnus was afraid of. The gunman is jumpy now, outnumbered even though Magnus’ hands are empty and Alec’s are full of takeout bags.

“How about we all take a second and calm down,” Magnus advises, partially for his own benefit considering the fact that his heartbeat has doubled, if not tripled, in pace since Alec stepped outside. At least now the gun is trained back on him instead of Alec.

Magnus isn’t sure if Alec’s strength and speed runes are active from the fight still, or if he’d have time to activate them or be able to beat a bullet if he tries to make a move. What Magnus is sure of is that he’d rather not find out the answer.

He’s very aware that having a gun aimed at him being the best option is not saying much for the current situation.

“Magnus-” Alec’s voice is strained and frightened, and Magnus is actually glad he can’t see his face right now because he isn’t sure he could handle whatever expression he’d find there. He can probably count on one hand the number of times he’s seen Alec visibly ruffled, and every time was over an injured sibling. It’s a look he doesn’t think he could stomach seeing on Alec here and now, because of him, and especially not if Magnus being the cause of Alec’s worry makes him try something foolishly heroic.

“I’m fine,” Magnus cuts in, not wanting the attention back on Alec. “We’re all fine. Just take the goddamn wallet and go,” Magnus snaps, now also on edge in a way he wasn’t before Alec was in danger, too. Magnus nods toward his right side and the man, gun still in hand, steps forward to reach into Magnus’ pants pocket and pull out the wallet.

Magnus is conscious of the sound of bags crackling behind him, Alec’s grip on them likely tightening anxiously. He doesn’t turn around to confirm and instead keeps a neutral, placating expression that never leaves the masked man.

The robber eyes them both, maybe wondering what else he can get off the two of them, when the sound of voices at the other end of the street spook him, and he takes off instead.

Magnus watches him go until he’s certain the guy isn’t going to change his mind and turn back around, and then in a very undignified moment his knees go weak and Alec drops the takeout bags to the ground to catch Magnus before he falls.

“Magnus!” Alec says, supporting Magnus before moving them both to a bench a few feet away. “Are you alright?”

“Physically, yes. My pride, on the other hand-” Magnus tries to joke, but the tremor in his voice gives away how shaken up by the event he truly is.

“Let me call Cat, she can portal us home and-”

“No,” Magnus says, shaking his head. “No, I’m fine. I think that was just a moment of shock. I just… need a minute.”

“You’re shaking,” Alec points out as if Magnus isn’t aware. His hands are trembling as much as his legs even though he’s sitting down. “I should-”

“One fucking minute, Alexander, please,” Magnus snaps, and Alec falls silent and still beside him. Magnus takes a few deep breaths, willing his body to stop betraying him like this.

“I’m sorry,” are the first words he says once his voice is level again, his pulse no longer racing. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

“I shouldn’t have pushed,” Alec dismisses. “What do you need?”

They’ve had this talk before, when Magnus needs a moment to think something through before making an important decision, even if it’s an emergency, or when he’s upset and needs a moment to distance himself from whatever’s upsetting him before reacting. Having people toss out offers and suggestions is too overwhelming - asking him what he needs seems to work best, which is exactly what Alec does now.

They’re both going through an ordeal, and Magnus obviously doesn’t blame Alec for being a little too insistent in trying to help him.

“Nothing. I really just needed a moment,” Magnus promises. He’s fine. Alec’s fine. He won’t miss the wallet or the money inside (though he will miss several of the personal photos kept within). He’s safe, and Alec is safe, and that’s all that matters.

“I wouldn’t have let him hurt you, Magnus,” Alec says, bringing a hand up to cup Magnus’ cheek so he’s forced to look at him, to see the serious expression on his face and the weight of that promise. “I hung back because you said to, but if he made a move…” Alec takes a deep breath to keep himself from getting too worked up over what-ifs. “You know I’ll always protect you, Magnus.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Magnus mutters under his breath, not really meaning for Alec to hear him but the words come out a bit louder than he intends in his bitterness.

“Of course I should-” “I should be able to protect myself! Hell, I should be able to protect both of us, and instead, I was useless back there!” Magnus says, and though his tone is sharp it’s obviously not anger aimed at Alec, but at himself.

“You weren’t useless,” Alec insists. “You de-escalated a situation that could’ve ended with someone hurt, or dead. And the only reason your magic is tapped out is because you came to protect me earlier. I don’t know about you, but none of that seems particularly ‘useless’ to me.”

Magnus knows there’s truth to Alec’s words, even if he can’t bring himself to feel properly comforted by them - not while his fight-or-flight instincts are still on high alert on the city street, half-expecting the man to come back and prove Magnus right by finishing what he started.

Magnus’ eyes drift to the bags of takeout on the pavement, the contents of the broken containers soaking through the bag and spilling out onto the ground. “Looks like we need new food,” he frowns. “But…”

“What is it?” Alec asks.

It feels ridiculous to admit that he’s still shaken up enough that the idea of staying out longer without his magic is seriously distressing. He knows Alec won’t judge, but at this point, Magnus is judging himself. He’s better than this - he should be better than this. He’s been in situations like this before, situations much more dangerous than the one he was just in... but never without his magic, and that’s what makes all the difference. Sure, Alec probably could’ve taken the guy, but it’s the fact that Magnus couldn’t - that he froze in the moment - that bothers him.

“I don't particularly want to be out any longer than we have to right now,” Magnus confesses. “I don’t want a portal,” he adds quickly because as uncomfortable as he is, they're only a few blocks away at this point. Realistically, he knows that standing next to Alec makes the chance of anyone trying to get the jump on the both of them much more unlikely. “But I’d rather not make any detours.”

Alec hesitates slightly, and Magnus knows him well enough to know he’s debating suggesting they call Cat again despite Magnus’ insistence not to. It’d be endearing if Magnus’ nerves weren’t frayed to the point of snapping.

“If that’s what you want,” Alec agrees at length, resigning himself to following Magnus’ lead whether he agrees with it or not. “We aren’t far from the Loft, let’s get back and order delivery?” Alec offers. He doesn’t stand to leave yet, waiting for Magnus to answer first before doing anything.

“Yeah, okay,” Magnus agrees, standing up from the bench. His legs still feel a little shaky, but he doesn’t wobble. “That sounds good.”

Alec wraps his arm around Magnus’ waist and pulls him in close, an action that’s equal parts protective and comforting. For a moment Magnus nearly pulls away, instinctively wanting to prove that he’s fine enough to handle himself again. And he is… except he doesn’t want to pull away.

Instead, Magnus allows himself to lean into the touch, embracing those feelings of support and safety and doing his best not to feel weak for needing them.

#malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters #tsc #tw: gun #cw: gun #IT'S A HAPPY ENDING I SWEAR #continuing to yeet these whumptober prompts from months ago out into the void so I don't look at them every day in my WIPs folder jkfljdskl #long post #elle writes a few deadbeat lines

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chiclet-go-boom · 2 years

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So for the first time since the... middle of February? Beginning of March? It’s fucking quiet at work and I have caught up to everything I want to catch up on. So for the first time on forever I’m in hold pattern until somebody gets back to me. I haven’t had more than three minutes of downtime in MONTHS and suddenly this afternoon is just streeeetching before me like a pristine slope of downhill snow.

I could fire up my many, many WIP fanfic documents and try working on something but nah. Instead, I shall regale you with the many things I could be work on in bullet format, so that we can all admire my options.

FFVIII - Sins of the Living - Squall / Seifer This is the oldest thing I have that technically I’m still working on. I have ten chapters done out of what was envisioned as twelve so this is like, nearly over. The gap between chapters nine and ten was seventeen years though and I have people who have, in fact, had it on their subscribe list for that long. Every so often, somebody posts a comment lamenting that its not finished. I should finish it.

Shadowhunters : “parabatai thing” - Jace + Alec A little one-shot thing from Clary’s point of view on the deal between Jace and Alec. I can’t figure out the exact point I want to make at the end, so its languishing on a three-quarter build since I’m not sure what romance-crushing epiphany to end on exactly.

Shadowhunters - “morningstar” - Jace / Alec Wherein Sebastian doesn’t exist and Jace is Valentine’s one big experimental shot at fucking over the Clave and the war. Featuring graphic torture, mindbreak, feral Jace and desperately valiant Alec and enough dubious consent issues to make your pearls clutch in a fever. The sin of Eros, oh my. I wanted to channel at least a little bit of the feel of N I G H T M A R E but went wildly off track pretty quickly. I am not cut out for creeping horror, who knew? But I can write a pretty savage fight scene, giggity.

Star Wars Sequels - “twincest” - Kylo / Ben This random thing I worked out with Ben and Kylo as teenage twins, terrible parenting and a bunch of sexybad decisions made at lightspeed. Supposed to be fairly short but fell into a plot and never worked its way back to the top of the pit.

Star Wars Sequels - “future imperfect” - Kylo / Rey A modern day/magic AU idea, where Ben and Kylo are twins again but Ben sees the future and Kylo sees the past and Rey (Never A Palpatine) can find anything that’s lost and we do mean everything. Leia runs (owns) the largest single coven on the northwest coast, Snoke opposes her in the east and Luke is missing, the bastard. I had some pretty good visual scenes worked out for this, had some kickass bits with Phasma and Hux and its one of the few fics where I wrote down the world building points I didn’t want to forget about.

FFXIV - The Lighted Paths - Emet-Selch + WoL Started writing this for NaNoWriMo last year because the Meatball told me to and I was amused enough to cough up a 10k of a start before playing the game got more important than writing about it. A reworking of Shadowbringers that would bork the fuck out of Endwalker, I started wandering into romantic territory with the WoL and realized I didn’t care for it really and never floundered my way back to a throughline I preferred. Emet-Selch as vague eldritch horror, sin eaters are terrifying, and you don’t get through thirteen thousand years of mass slaughter by being overcareful with consequences.

FFXIV - “eldest sister" - Ser Aymeric / WoL I love this one in my head. POV of a pleasure house madam in Ul’dah, the WoL contracts our narrator to set up a “first night” with Aymeric before they have to leave for Gyr Albania, possibly never to return to Ishgard because the tides of fate wait for no miqo’te. Featuring a potion of Lethe, miqo’te sex and marriage rituals, a yearning WoL and Aymeric keeping his secrets close to the chest.

FFXIV - “pandora’s box” - Ser Aymeric / WoL This one is a bunch of disconnected scenes so far with a narrative thread I haven’t pulled together really, I just like thinking about it. Like Pandora, once you open the box, you can’t close it again and some things? Some things will eat you alive. The WoL punches through the acceptable limits of power and realizes to their terror that the pit waiting inside them seems bottomless: aether to fill it, aether needed to cascade into it in a waterfall of inevitability. With Haurchefant gone, the voice of love and reason, how do you ground yourself back to flesh and blood when all that you touch, you want to consume?

FFXIV - “viator” - Zenos yae Galvus / WoL Fix-it fic so that Zenos doesn’t end up gasping out his last beyond the end of stars. G’raha is not best pleased by this. Featuring cuddle-clutching for warmth, turning to your killer for comfort and making sure the dead guy understands he doesn’t get to leave you like this. Small sidebit/denouement where Zenos and the WoL reenact some of that last fight in front of witnesses back in the real world, who finally get to see what happens when the gloves comes off and mortality is more a concept than a reality for either of our best frenemies.

Merlin (BBC) - “prince of summer” - Merlin / Arthur What if the show was more medieval fantasy and less played for laughs? Featuring fairy rings, fae with teeth, Beltane, the Wild Hunt, seven lost years and childofmagic!merlin who knows more than he’s supposed to and less than he ought. Uther Pendragon’s A+ Parenting.

Harry Potter - “the open circle” - Harry / Draco The second ficthingie on this list that actually has world notes scribble down so I don’t forget. Wherein Draco doubles down on who he is and means it this time, Harry discovers what being the Master of Death really entails if you intend to stay on this side of the line and Eighth Year Hogwarts where the question comes down to: what did Lucius have in his other hand? Old Magic Is More Frightening Than You Think.

#fanfiction

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antisocial-af · 3 years

Photo

Title: A Chance at Forever

Gift for: @brightasstars

Chapter: 3/3 COMPLETED

Square Filled: Free Space (For @shadowhunterbingo)

Raiting: T

Wordcount: 1839

No Major Archive Warnings

SFW, Angst with Happy Ending, Time Travel, Malec Fluff.

Author’s Note: I am still under the weather and have been for a bit. But I wanted to finish this Bingo Square before the event closed.

Summary:

Alec and Magnus travel to the past and make a big decision about their future.

Read on Ao3

Story:

The portal threw the couple out on an expensive-looking rug, causing them both to groan in discomfort.

"Where are we?" Alec questioned as he started to straighten himself out.

"Not really where darling," Magnus corrected him as he held his hand out to help his husband up. "More like when."

"When?"

Magnus looked around and confirmed that Ragnor's portal actually worked. "we are in the past, Alexander."

Alec just looked at his husband, confused. He didn't understand what Magnus was going on about. Finally, Alec took his husband's outstretched hand and replied, "Magnus did you hit your head hard on the landing?"

"No, but darling, we must get moving," Magnus stated as he started to pull Alec through the old house. "We can't stay more than an hour, or else we might be stuck."

Alec stumbled after his husband at the insistent tugging. Magnus had never led him wrong, so he trusted the other but still didn't stop the confusion growing within the Shadowhunter.

Alec watched as his husband's eyes darted around the room till a smirk played onto Magnus' lips.

"There you are!" Magnus declared in an excited tone. He moved forward, pulled on the bookshelf in front of them, and sent a pulse of his magic through the vault’s lock. He had to make sure that even if someone found his vault, they wouldn't be able to open it without his magic signature.

"Magnus?" Alec called out, even more confused than before. He looked around the room and saw old reports laying on a desk. Alec's breath caught when he noticed the dates on them. 1989.

"Just a sec, darling," Magnus called back as he shifted through the small vault. He was sure he put the vial in here. He was positive about it. Magnus pushed back some old photos till a small purple vial attempted to roll out and onto the floor. He quickly wrapped his magic around it and saved it from a shattering fall. "Got you.'

Magnus couldn't help the small thrill and anxiety that shot through his body as he looked at the flask. This small ingredient held the key to his happiness.

"We should get going, Alexander," Magnus stated as he turned back to face his husband, who was now reading through reports Magnus must've left out in the past. He could see the horror and strain on his archer's face. "Alexander?"

"In Idris, all these are locked away and censored," Alec managed out as he kept reading the orders the Clave had signed off on in the past. "Magnus, I had no idea…."

Magnus pushed the vial into his vest pocket and made his way to Alexander. He moved the files away from the Shadowhunter and cradled his husband's face gently. "My love, you aren't them. What they did in the past, you have worked relentlessly to reverse and amend. It is a part of our past, but it doesn't define us."

"They took so much from you all," Alec whispered as he leaned into Magnus' touch. "I'm sorry."

"Darling, what they did is not for you to apologize for," Magnus continued. "Now we can talk about more when we go back, but we really have to go, darling.”

“Cause Rangor and the portal?” Alec asked as he nodded.

“Yes, I’m not sure how long our dear little cabbage will be able to stabilize this magic,” Magnus replied, tugging on Alec’s hand towards the unstable-looking portal. He assumed the way back was the same way he got here. He just needed to think back to the present day for the portal to push them back into the loft. “Make sure you don’t let go, darling.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Alec smiled and pulled Magnus closer. He didn’t exactly understand how he ended up here, but he knew those documents. He had so many questions, but they could all wait until they got home and far away from this time period.

“Always the charmer,” Magnus winked and closed his eyes, thinking of the potion he left on stasis in his apothecary, of Chairman probably looking around for him for lunch duty and of all of Alec’s gear and things around their home.

Alec watched his husband concentrate and, like always, swooned at the tiny creases around Magnus’ eyes as he focused harder. He cherished the small details of his husband. The Shadowhunter tightly wrapped his arms around his warlock and closed his eyes, putting his complete trust in him.

“Let’s go back home,” Magnus smiled as he pulled both of them through the portal. Magnus felt the volatile pull again as the magic ripped through time to push them back out to his present-day loft.

“Took your time, didn’t you?” Ragnor groaned, exhausted as he tried to bat away the small feline making circles around his feet. “Your beast seems to be hungry as well.”

Magnus patted himself down, checking everything was in order and the vial still secured in his vest pocket. He quickly turned around to see Alexander doing the same.

"We got the ingredient," Magnus confirmed as he snapped his fingers, summoning Chairman Meow's food dish filled for the small cat.

"I'm glad," Ragnor groaned as he fell onto Magnus' desk chair, exhausted. "I've already contacted Cat; she will be here to collect me shortly. But, be warned, she is furious."

"At you or me?" Magnus asked as he quickly started to pull out the rest of the ingredients Catarina had written down in the recipe.

"Both." Catarina's voice rang through as a portal appeared in the room. "I can't believe you both would be so reckless."

"Really? I thought this would be expected. I have different cure vials prepared at my home for whenever Magnus calls," Ragnor joked as he started to cough and groan. "Speaking of, do you have magic exhaust remedies on you?"

As Ragnor and Catarina kept going, Magnus gathered all the ingredients and started to measure them out.

"So it was for a potion?" Alec asked, walking around Magnus' workstation, careful not to get in the concentrated warlock's way.

"Not just any potion, darling," Magnus confirmed as he dumped the last of his Seelie tears into the pot before vanishing the jar with a mental note to contact Meliorn for more. "This is one of the most important potions I have made."

"For a client?"

"No, it is for you, my dear husband."

"For me?" Alec questioned as he kept watching Magnus add ingredients before letting the potion simmer.

Magnus walked forward and took Alec’s hands, and tugged him close. “Remember how we had talked about immortality in the past?”

“We agreed that if it came to it, I would get Raphael to turn me,” Alec nodded as he remembered the conversation that came after he had convinced Magnus to tell him what was bugging him. His husband had been reluctant at first to confide his newest fear with him. It had taken some coaxing till Magnus finally informed Alec that a life without him was not something he was looking forward to and often kept him up at night, especially on those that Alec was off on a mission.

“What if there was another way?” Magnus asked, bringing his hand up to caress his Shadowhunter’s cheek.

“Is there?” Alec asked while attempting to temper his excitement. He wasn’t too fond of the idea of changing to a liquid-only diet but would if it meant he would be with Magnus forever.

“We will see in a few minutes; the potion needs to set for ten minutes before it is safe for you to take it,” Magnus confirmed.

“Will I still be a Shadowhunter?” Alec asked as he looked between Magnus and the resting potion.

“As far as Catarina found, you will remain the same,” Magnus answered. “You will stop aging within a year of taking it, but there is a slight side effect of it.”

“What is it?”

“The potion was created by a Seelie so that they could keep their partner without binding them to the Seelie Realm,” Magnus explained. “In doing so, the partner, later on, developed some extra abilities. Abilities that are usually only Seelie. Random plants growing at will and the sort.”

“So I will be part Seelie and part Shadowhunter?” Alec questioned as he kept counting the seconds for the potion to set.

“Not enough Seelie to cause a ruckus but enough that I won’t have to worry about you around my greenhouse,” Magnus teased, trying to lighten the mood. “We can wait, you know. I could put the potion into stasis and look for more ways before we settle on this one.”

Alec looked between his husband and the potion. With the potion, he could maintain a close to normal Shadowhunter lifestyle. Sure, Alec might have to quit later on once people start figuring out he isn’t aging, but he could have a few more years protecting his Parabatai and sister. Alec wouldn’t have to put Jace through the pain of a broken Parabatai bond. The potion was a blessing compared to other methods they have explored.

“I want to do it,” Alec confirmed and kissed Magnus’ cheek. “This way, you can also still show me all the great food around the world like you enjoy doing.”

“I won’t hold it against you if you want to wait, Alexander,” Magnus conveyed, not wanting to push his husband into a choice. He didn’t want Alexander to come to regret it and their relationship to suffer for it. Magnus was aware he was already selfish by making his lover immortal but, he refused to let it cause a rift between them. If Alexander wanted to wait years before making the decision, then Magnus was ready to accept that.

“Magnus,” Alec called softly. “I don’t want to wait. I want to spend the rest of your forever together. I want to take the first step into our forever.”

Magnus leaned forward and sealed their lips together, relishing the stubble that brushed against him and the soft reply from Alec as he returned the kiss. “You will never cease to amaze me, my love.”

Magnus lifted the pot and poured it out to a small glass, observing the potion for discrepancies. Finally, he turned to Alec and handed him the violet drink. “It might taste a bit like metal, but that is normal.”

Alec smiled and looked at the half-filled cup. He thought that it would be filled with fanfare and dramatics when the moment came to be immortal. Alec believed that he would be nervous, and he still was but not the type of nervous he expected. He was nervous because he would be ensuring his fairy tale with Magnus would never have an end date after this drink. Instead, he would get a happily ever after. Forever after. With one more look at his husband and even the two still bickering warlocks in the background, Alec tossed the potion back like a shot of alcohol and swallowed it all.

#antisocialaf #shadowhunterbingo #shbingo #malec fanfiction #Alec Lightwood #Magnus Bane

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