#Clary being a badass

[witchlingcirce]

One thing I think will be a cool edition in TWP is the swords, lol.

We have Ash and Janus who obviously have Phaesphoros and Heosphoros. (phaesphoros on top and Heosphoros on the bottom. Both of these depictions our from the TMI graphic novels, Vol 1 and Vol 6 )

I’d presume that Janus has Phaesphoros and that Ash has Heosphoros (or maybe just ash has both). I can definitely seeing them using these swords throughout the entire series. I think there’s a chance that Ash will get ahold of both swords at some point and maybe even give one away. Maybe too Dru or maybe even giving Clary one!

Also on a side note, I really like how the graphic novels depict them as Katana’s, I like how unique it makes it compared to the other swords we see throughout the series.

There is also the sword of Durrendal. Now if this sword were to go to anyone, I definitely think it would go to Kit.

Now, of course we know that the sword faded after it had served its purpose butttt I don’t think it’s served all its purpose. I mean it IS a sister sword to Cortana.

Cassie has said that the plot of TWP will loosely follow Arthurian legend. While I am not familiar with this legend, I do know that Arthur does pull a sword called Excalibur from a rock. I know this is a common theory, but I could genuinely imagine kit pulling this sword out of a rock.

Anyways, can’t wait to see them all being badasses and kicking demons!

[wikitpowers]

things i want to happen in twp:

lots (and i mean lots) of carstairs-gray-herondale family time moments - give me family walks, picnics, parent-teacher nights, family cookie baking, jessa training their kiddos

ty to be the first kiss initiator (+ angry, passionate kiss!!!!!!)

DRU TO BE THE BIGGEST MF BADASS (i wanna see this woman fucking up some demons, talking back to teachers at the academy, making ash's life h e l l before they admit their feelings)

lucifer to be fucking terrifying and the best villain

dru finding out about ash keeping the drawing of her all these years (we love a simp)

tessa and jem helping kit w/ his powers!!!

ash and kit as besties (like they have bff friendship bracelets)

kit asking julian for his blessing of kitty (because i think that would be fucking adoroble and jules would be so happy for his brother im)

TO SEE THULE!KIT (if he sacrifices himself, i will literally bawl)

ty to give kit a blackthorn heirloom to show his commitment

MANY scenes in faerie (it’s such a cool location!)

to have sebastian come back from the dead as green-eyed jonathan and for him to protect ash, clary and jace like a maniac

CLACE WEDDING AND TMI (AND TDA) COUPLES CRUMBS

THAIS AND ANUSH AND JAIME POVS (i'm begging, cassie) + rio, mumbai & mexico city institutes showed!

jace and kit relationship development with jace being the cool big bro (i also need to see jace ruffling kit's hair don't ask why)

ty's classical music playlist to be revealed...

insane enemies-to-lovers vibes from morgenthorn (and i mean insane)

herongraystairs reunion to not be too painful please *tears in my eyes* (but ik it will be)

[1indigoisles]

So we all know this Shadowhunter children's rhyme, right? We wouldn't be true TSC fans if we weren't.

Black for hunting through the night

For death and mourning the color’s white

Gold for a bride in her wedding gown

And red to call enchantment down.

White silk when our bodies burn,

Blue banners when the lost return.

Flame for the birth of a Nephilim,

And to wash away our sins.

Gray for knowledge best untold,

Bone for those who don’t grow old.

Saffron lights the victory march,

Green will mend our broken hearts.

Silver for the demon towers,

And bronze to summon wicked powers.

And remember that short story, where Jace proposes to Clary the first time, and quotes, "Green will mend our broken hearts," and how it makes sense because Clary's eyes are green and she mended the person Jace used to be and made him a happy man? In this scene here:

Well, what if that's applicable to other TSC characters as well? Specifically the ones coming up in TWP?

Because, for starters, Ty has gray eyes: as in Gray for knowledge best untold. And we all know how smart Ty is, and how much he wants to learn. He's a freaking Centurion for the Scholomance by the time TWP rolls around!

Secondly, Kit has blue eyes, as in, Blue banners when the lost return. Because Kit is a loss to the Blackthorns, especially to Ty. And because in TWP, Kit comes back, the lost returns. And he has blue eyes? Coincidence, I think not.

Now Dru is a bit complicated, because her eyes are blue-green, so she can mend broken hearts, and she is someone who is lost herself. But it makes sense if we think about her and Ash together. Ash has green eyes; Green will mend our broken hearts, and as we all know, Dru suffers from trauma that she talks about with no one. She's going to basically be the one hot badass goth girl with closeted PTSD trope girl, and Ash is going to put her back together. It can also be seen as a nod to Dru ending up with Ash, and her eyes, being a mix of blue and green, could represent an initial confusion over her affections, what with the JaimexDruxAsh love triangle we all know is coming.

Is this anything?

[alexanderlightweight]

I legit can't decide which amazing verse of yours I want to read more of currently so I'm gonna just do a little shortlist of themes for any that tickle your fancy, verse obviously is dealer's choice:

Legit anything that has Mirai being a badass in it.

The troublesome trio (Izzy, Jace, Clary) facing consequences

Alec realising more of the world loves him than he thought (could be Downworlders, could be Institute, anything)

The Fab Three (Magnor, Cat, Ragnor) up to shenanigans

I hope the new place is all set up and y'all are finally all settled in! Smushes to Nighshade.

we are settled in but i'm still unpacking for everyone so thats a bit slow.

Nightshade sends wiggles and cuddles!

okay so Magnus is mentioned heavily but this is the Fab Three (magnus is there in spirit) and it's in cider verse during the sequel it's a bit of insight because the first fic focused heavily on the problems alec was dealing with in the institute.

the sequel broadens out because alec's institute is stabilizing (except for the treason he's about to deal with) but he's got Mirai and is taking no shit so he's on a good path.

and so we start seeing more how the war and Magnus' actions are affecting those he cares about and how Magnus is dealing with valentine and how alec is working with him because honestly, they get more done together in a day than alec does with an entire clave retinue in a week.

this is kinda insight and also because imo it's why cat and ragnor were nearly completely absent season 1 (aka they were protecting magnus by not being targets and ragnor can't afford any interest in himself when he holds the secret keeping jocelyn unconscious)

<3 lumine

btw they are definitely having shenanigans and you learn about past antics

sequels name by saeth is: the choice of hope

-

Cat smiles at the fire message she’s still holding, fingers wreathed in magic delicately stamping out the gleaming cinders and preserving the piece of parchment so that it will withstand centuries to come.

Next to her, Ragnor is doing the same.

“Jem included the vows and the runes he was able to use,” Ragnor hums thoughtfully as he shuffles through the small file of notes that had discreetly been slipped to Tessa who then sent them to Cat who brought them to him. “It will add a magical boost to whichever of the rituals Magnus choses. I’ve narrowed it down to five that he can pick from.”

“If you were anyone else—” Cat teases, because it is true. If Ragnor and Cat were anyone else, then the liberties they’ve been taking with planning Magnus’ own consort ceremony without him would be considered scandalous. As it is, Magnus has left the planning to them because it is both safe and because he trusts them.

If they were anyone else, Ragnor and Cat wouldn’t be within a thought of this ceremony until it was ready to be witnessed.

“If he wants me to participate then he’s going to pick one of these five.” Ragnor crosses his arms over his chest with a huff, “I’m not getting bloody naked and romping on the meadow floor when Magnus is perfectly capable of gathering enough sex magic on his own without an entire orgy boosting him.”

Cat snorts, because he’s not wrong and from the small bits Magnus has had the time to share, she doubts he’s going to be willing to share quite that much of his nephilim husband with the Elders even without Ragnor putting his foot down.

“He won’t care what choices you give him,” she murmurs as she lets her fingers trace the penmanship of an old friend they now rarely see. It is a relief for all of them that despite eloping with a nephilim, Magnus had a friend and confidant there to take care of him and his boy. “At least this way, we won’t be trying to figure out a dual ceremony.”

“I would sooner kidnap them both and force an elopement than allow the clave and their minions to see how vulnerable Magnus is for his shadowhunter.” Ragnor gives anther sigh and then a softer smile crosses his face, “he looks happy. Content and healthy and this boy of his truly blesses us.”

Cat nods, because Magnus has become proactive in regards to his own safety in such a way that it’s stripped away the reckless anger he’s held since the Uprising. Magnus no longer wants to win at any cost, especially not if the cost involves himself. Magnus has a young, devoted husband who would be heartbroken and well, no one has ever denied or doubted the depth of Magnus’ protection regarding those he loves.

Magnus will not risk leaving his new husband vulnerable and alone, especially not one who is a shadowhunter. If something happened to Magnus, there is little doubt that the clave would do everything in their power to make an example of his husband for daring to marry a warlock, especially when the first ceremony was a nephilim one.

The knowledge and weight of that truth settles in Cat and Ragnor’s hearts with a deep relief. They cannot stay at Magnus’ side to protect him or ensure that he protects himself when their presence will only offer up more ways to target and hurt him.

Alec Lightwood is already in the spotlight of the coming war and he’s made it clear that his priority is Magnus’ safety, even to the detriment of his own position in nephilim society. He is a warrior. One who can and expects to stand by and fight at Magnus’ side. Guarding his back and his reputation and more importantly, his heart.

It’s a boon that Cat never thought she would be able to press as a balm to the worry she constantly feels for Magnus.

Aloe vera on a seething burn that soothes and cools and heals.

Meanwhile, Ragnor is frowning over seven different shades of warlock blue and Cat bites back a smile. Magnus will have no time to plan the ritual that will bond him to Alec as not only a spouse, but as a true consort of a High Warlock and an Elder, so Ragnor will take on that honor and Cat will help him when she has the time.

Well, she’ll come to Ragnor’s and watch him dither and fret while finally putting her feet up and taking a breathe and Ragnor will relax at the evidence that one of his dearest companions is safe and resting in his heavily protected home.

“He really is quite tall,” Cat frowns as she looks at the picture, “I think we should avoid anything too intricate. Magnus isn’t going to make it past the ritual and to the celebration if we don’t plan this carefully. He’ll complete the ritual and snatch his consort away to their bed if we don’t plan this right, and we need to plan this right. The Spiral isn’t aware yet that Magnus is bonding a nephilim, but you know they’re going to take this as an opportunity to see how sympathetic he is to warlocks in general, or if it’s only Magnus that’s an exception to his care.”

“You’d think they’d know by now that Magnus wouldn’t ever tie himself to someone who couldn’t respect and protect his people just as much as Magnus does.” Ragnor grumbles as he finally brings his choices down to a mere three pieces of fabric. “This one will bring out the gold in Magnus’ eyes, but this one will make his boy’s runes pop more.”

The third color he considers for a longer moment before he sneers and eradicates it from existence.

“Everyone is going to know he’s a nephilim. We don’t need to bring more attention to it. They’re already married by nephilim standards but we can add a few gold accents?”

“I suppose Magnus doesn’t have to wear platinum jewelry.” Ragnor wrinkles his nose, “oh dear, he’s going to want to go with abyssal metals, isn’t he? So he doesn’t clash with the gold.”

Cat can’t help her snort even as she takes the chilled glass of beer Ragnor has absently summoned and handed her. After the last few weeks, her favorite brew is a relief and refreshing in a way that Ragnor finds his tea.

“No one would ever believe that Magnus learned his fastidiousness and dedication to his fashion sense from you.” She teases and Ragnor takes the gentle mocking with a sniff.

“There is an art to being perceived.” Ragnor says — as he does every time this is brought up — “while we may not share the same flare or tastes, Magnus has ever been the most devoted and dedicated pupil. I’d say he’s far surpassed me in some ways,” here he chuckles fondly. “I am seen how I want to be and Magnus as he wishes to be. I’ll admit I was skeptical when he first created a persona for himself through how he dressed, but he’s long since grown into it and expanded it until it became the armor I hoped to protect him.”

Cat lets him have his memories as she summons several pictures that Magnus has sent her and enlarges them so she can better see the large hazel eyes and the soft expression full of adoration that she knows was directed at Magnus.

It’s a picture born from a memory after all.

“How much time do we need to allow between Valentine’s demise and announcing a date for the ceremony?”

Ragnor’s question makes her snort and then she laughs, unable to help it.

“We announce it at the same time? Depending on how involved they are with his death.”

“Oh, I do hope they manage to harvest Valentine’s heart—” Ragnor takes a sip of tea with a calm, happy smile, “one of my favorite rituals involves the heart of a mutual enemy. I’d love for Magnus and his hunter to be able to use it, all the blood makes it rather romantic.”

-

*my head canon is that ragnor is aro and therefore (like me) has a skewed sense on what romance is and because warlocks already have a skewed sense of romance... yeah. and he's who magnus went to for advice for a century or two before they realized that ragnor's understanding of romance was a little off even for warlocks. magnus doesn't care, his romantic inclinations may be different but ragnor was a good mentor and luckily alec is a shadowhunter, who have even worse understanding of romance

[whineandcheese24]

underrated things i’m excited for in Wicked powers

everybody’s talking about kitty and morgenthorn and ghost!livvy and the cohort and lucifer so here are some things i’m excited for in twp that not many people have mentioned

- clary and ash relationship

- clary and janus meet and greet

- more of julian being a big brother to kit

- on top of that julian figuring out about ash

- reveal of Thule!simon’s fate (everyone’s talking about Thule!kit but simon is the only one of the thule!tmi gang to not be mentioned in qoaad)

- hopefully more scenes of tavvy, max, rafe, and mina

- jocelyn and luke’s reactions to ash

- clace and sizzy double wedding (at this point both tmi and tda have ended with weddings so i feel like twp has to end with a wedding)

- thais’s adventures and romances (honestly, she might be the character i’m most excited for just cause we don’t know anything about her yet other than that she doesn’t take anyone’s shit)

- also hopefully kierarktina helping kit out with his first heir stuff

- cassie said it was going to be based on arthurian legend so there better be a sword in the stone moment (my money’s on it being kit because ash will probably already have heosphoros and kit also talked to jace about having a signature weapon in qoaad) (or it could be dru. that would be badass)

- also speaking of heosphoros, clary’s reaction to seeing heosphoros again

- seeing adaon again (he’s honestly such an interesting character i hope we see more of him)

- unpopular opinion but i hope we see more of jaime (i don’t think he should fall in love with dru but he’s a really interesting character and i hope the two of them become better friends)

that’s all i could think of for now but i might add more later

[ladyhindsight]

Did you know Amatis is Luke’s sister? If you didn’t, after this chapter you will.

The last chapter ended with Amatis being brought to be the first to drink from the Infernal Cup.

Thank you for reminding me. Didn’t I tell you to let go of my hand somewhere around chapter 19? (during the whole series more like)

→ Amatis looked up, her blue eyes so much like Luke’s, fastening on Clary.

I would allow this one if we weren’t told twice on the same page that Amatis is Luke’s sister.

The whole series has been Clary’s brother, Clary’s mother, Jocelyn’s daughter, Luke’s sister etc. Just use their names.

“The older woman” is in comparison to Clary because there are no others mentioned as of yet in the scene. As if Clary is a woman at all yet instead of a teenage girl.

→ Clary stared at her, willing the woman to look at her.

OH, SHE’S LUKE’S SISTER? I DIDN’T KNOW THAT EVEN THOUGH THIS IS THE THIRD TIME YOU HAPPENED TO MENTION IT.

→ …willing the woman to look at her. If things had gone as planned, she would have been Clary’s step-aunt now.

Because we know who Luke is to Clary, we know who Amatis is—that is just nonsense reminder and my HAND HURTS.

Also thanks for the recap. We read the scene. Also how couldn’t Clary realize it when Jace explicitly says it? (Chapter 18)

“Or, should I say, he did. That thing that looks like me but isn’t? He’ll burn down the world if Sebastian wants him to, and laugh while he’s doing it. That’s what you’re saving, Clary. That. Don’t you understand? I’d rather be dead—“

Don’t spoil the following action with these.

→ “Clary—,” Jace began. There was a cry...

Why are the werewolves attacking straight on but the Nephilim act like they are on an evening stroll? What kind of surprise attack is that?

I will strangle something.

This is Maia’s PoV, stop filtering.

→ A slender man had used a short-bladed dagger to whip the head off…

Simon is realizing great many things. These are observations he can make, you don’t need to justify them with these feeble justifications.

→ They were also faster than any Nephilim he has seen before.

Because we don’t need that information in between an action scene and especially not interrupting this sentence. Again, very reminiscent of Clary’s fight with the Ravener in CoB.

Additionally, I don’t think this is the place to prop Jace or Sebastian up.

Jocelyn never stood with Valentine but attended supremacist Circle ceremonies and dressed in a ceremonial dress.

Also on the fence about this.

→ Before Jocelyn could reply, blood burst from his mouth. (maybe)

→ also unintentionally comical.

OH MY GOD, STOP REMEMBERING THINGS.

→ Also no recognition that this is precisely what started this.

Before this there is this part:

“But that voice blurred into another, more recent one: Jace facing down Sebastian in the living room of Valentine’s apartment, telling her that he would rather die than live like this.”

And still there was the part before where it says Clary didn’t realize it? What even is consistency? At least in this chapter we are consistently reminded that Amatis is Luke’s sister.

→ What is looove, when truthfulness isn’t something any of these character are capable of most of the time?

→ The repetition for emphasis and dramatic effect doesn’t work.

→ His eyes blazed up the way they had…

That’s badass, stab him!!! So Jace apparently dies but doesn’t really, Alec helps Magnus to heal, the dark Nephilim scatter, and the battle ends. And it’s great solely for the fact that there is only the epilogue left.

[dhampiravidi]

when you dislike the MC of a good series AKA Who Will Die in The Wicked Powers

damn, being petty enough to flip off the MC x canon ship in my (favorite) fandom is really kicking me in the ass--

yeah, basically I can't touch half the TSC stuff on Tumblr bc I'm so anti-Clace...(meanwhile I love literally every other character that's been in every Shadowhunter series)...& they're probably gonna have a wedding + kids in the next books (assuming Jace isn't killed)...

The Wicked Powers is most definitely gonna have the Princes of Hell as the main villains. I feel like Luke, Gwyn, or Izzy will die, since the younger Shadowhunters are supposed to be central & well...look at the couples who will be alive/extant by TWP:

SPOILERS FOR ALL SHADOWHUNTER BOOKS!!

Jace & Clary

Magnus & Alec

Simon & Izzy

Julian & Emma

Kit & Ty

Kieran/Cristina/Mark

Dru & Ash (& maybe Jaime)

Diana & Gwyn

Luke & Jocelyn

Tessa & Jem

(forgive me if I'm missing anyone!)

Jace already died once. Clary had dreams about dying, but those were shown to be visions of Thule. Based on canon events, I think they're Clare's favorite ship. SAFE.

Magnus almost gave himself to Asmodeus in CoHF. Alec almost-ish died saving Magnus in The Eldest Curses. Also, Alec almost died thanks to that poison demon in TMI (the one Magnus saved him from). Malec might end up forced to rule some region of Hell (reason unknown but I think it'll have to do with them beating/destroying Asmodeus). I feel like past events foreshadow Magnus dealing with the unfortunate sides of being a warlock. But he won't die--the "killing your gays" trope might actually save he & Alec.

Simon nearly died when the vampires attacked him (when he was a mundane), then when Valentine bled him pre-Daylighter (then Jace's blood saved him). He "sacrificed" himself to Asmodeus CoHF, in the form of his vampire immortality + memories (which he basically got back later on). Izzy...she's been through a lot psychologically & about as much as I think most Shadowhunters would physically. She lost Max & her dad. But she's a badass (I'm not faulting her for it, either). So I don't think she's safe.

Julian & Emma both lost their parents in horrible ways. Their whole series was about the parabatai curse (which, to me, was conveniently not mentioned in chronologically earlier series...probably because it wasn't invented til TDA was written, lol). They're kinda written to be the leaders of Livvy's Watch. SAFE.

Kit has his whole faerie power reveal shit to explore & he + Ty are some of the major characters in TWP. I'm pretty sure they'll spend the series healing their relationship. SAFE.

Kieran/Cristina/Mark will survive because 1) Kieran as the Unseelie King is an important Shadowhunter ally, 2) they're poly rep in YA, which is rare, and 3) killing one of them off would leave the others to mourn in such a weird way. SAFE.

I love Dru Blackthorn. She's one of the main of TWP, so I think she'll survive, plus tbh I don't think any more Blackthorns will be killed. Ash will probably end up as the Seelie King or as Clace's adopted son, to "redeem" Sebastian in a narrative sense. Jaime's sort of a main for TWP as one of Dru's love interests. SAFE.

Diana & Gwyn aren't main characters (though I like their romance). Diana also is the ONLY transgender person in all the books (unless I missed something). I don't think she'll be killed off. Gwyn might be just because I see the Wild Hunt as an important group in TWP & he might die protecting Diana (narratively, this shows strengthened faerie-Shadowhunter relations, despite the Wild Hunt being unaffiliated with either Court).

Luke & Jocelyn deserve to be endgame, but I could see Luke being killed off as one of those "MC's loved one is killed so the MC goes & avenges them" type of things. I love Luke & Jocelyn as characters, though.

Tessa & Jem deserve to be endgame, arguably, more than any couple. They were the mains in their series, then Jem survived but was sort-of-"lost" when he became a Silent Brother. Then he miraculously became a (mortal) Shadowhunter again when he was burned by heavenly fire, he just left the Clave behind to hang with Tessa (good choice!). Tessa has a baby & she's gonna suffer enough when she outlives Jem. SAFE?

[lurafita]

What-if-style canon divergent where Magnus raises Johnathan

I have been thinking about Johnathan Morgenstern lately, and as horrible as he was, I can't help feeling sorry for him.

For the way his life played out, hardly giving him a chance to be anything but a monster.

And I love Magnus (and Magnus with kids), and I thought,

What if Magnus was in Edom the day that Valentine sent Johnathan to Lilith.

(Reason for Magnus being in Edom could be because he needed to re-bind his father to the realm, because Asmodeus almost got out?).

And Magnus, on his way back, saw Lilith hurting the boy and saved Johnathan.

Portaling the both of them back to his apartment in Brooklyn.

How would the story go if Magnus had raised Johnathan, giving the boy a real chance at life?

Magnus getting the story of Johnathan's origins out of the boy (as far as Johnathan knew at that point).

Fearing the Clave would condemn Johnathan for his demon blood and relation to Valentine, maybe Magnus would use his connection to Brother Zachariah (who was a Shadowhunter once), to get Johnathan both the tools and training of a Shadowhunter, as well as teaching him magic and control over his demonic heritage.

There could even be some kind of meeting with Sebastian Verlac, and maybe the two (Johnathan and Sebastian) become friends and later even more?

(Johnathan did describe him to Clary as "the most beautiful guy sitting across", if I remember correctly. Too bad his twisted mind was too far gone by that point)

Maybe Magnus would convince Jocelyn to let her daughter and his son form a friendship, in exchange for removing any supernatural memories from Clary. Thus giving Johnathan a relationship with his sister (that isn't tainted by his obsession with her).

(In this setting, I would make Jocelyn's mind kinda crack a little where her son is concerned. Maybe the injections Valentine gave her had a negative affect on her psyche, and as a result, any memory of her son is completely blocked off for her.)

And when it comes time to meet the rest, a grown up Johnathan could be protective over Magnus and be a little shit to that stupid Shadowhunter (Alec) that flirts with his father figure.

A lot of drama would be circumvented by the simple fact that

1: Magnus would know that Valentine is still alive and can form different protections to keep the downworld safer.

2: Magnus would know that Jace and Clary are not siblings because he has raised Valentine's son for years, thank you very much

3: Raising a child could make Magnus himself more stable, and maybe he would do something about Camille sooner, not being as burdened by his complicated feelings towards her.

4: If Clary and Johnathan have a chance to become friends beforehand, she might seek out him and Magnus when the whole chaos at the beginning goes down, letting her have a less traumatic entrance into the shadow world.

5: Lilith would be super pissed though and probably be Magnus' number 1 enemy which could lead to lots of badass fight scenes when the need arises for a little action.

[edwinspaynes]

tell us more about cordelia! something you love, something you wish we knew more about, something you relate to, something you've discerned that we might not have seen yet, why she doesn't seem to know any neurotypicals yet might be neurotypical herself, etc. just cordelia. i think we should talk about her more

Cordelia, Cordelia, Cordelia!

She is my daughter. She delights me. She confounds me.

Despite being one of my favourite characters in TSC, I find everything she does baffling. Every time she is faced with a choice, any choice at all, she does the exact opposite thing than I would have done. For her, she makes the right choices. If I made her choices, though, I'd rip my own hair out. We are SUCH different people.

I actually really like this. A lot of my favourite characters are important to me because of the ways that I find myself mirrored in them. Matthew, Alastair, and Thomas are all great examples. Cordelia serves a different function to me as a window character. Watching her is like a huge character study in someone Very Unlike Me who's extremely complex, likeable, and ultimately lovely.

Matthew and Cordelia

The sole exception to this "Cordelia-and-I-make-different-choices" rule is when she runs off to Paris with Matthew, which I would have done. It would have been a good decision for me but was actually an awful one for her.

I'm going to be a little rambley here, but I want to talk a little bit about her relationship with my Best Blorbo Matthew. I think that she fundamentally misunderstands him, which is interesting for me to watch as someone who's so similar to Matthew. I might dissect the whole scene one day when I have time, but there's this bit where she's rejecting him where he's going on and on about all the places they can travel to. She says, "we can't always be running away." This was so interesting to me!!! Because it was so obvious to me that Matthew wasn't running away. He's planning his dream future full of unknown adventures, and he's trying to fit her in. She's too settled, she wants to be settled, and that's okay! They're just not compatible. But she so greatly misunderstands what he's trying to do, and I kind of turn my head to that scene to go "huh. That's why I don't understand her."

Daisy, My Daughter

There are so many things I love about Cordelia. I absolutely adore her bravery and her compassion, and I think she feels a lot. I think she's strong and independent.

I think that she's capable of being crafty and sneaky when she wants to be (see: the wording of the oath she has Lilith repeat to her in ChoT.) She's my daughter, my ridiculously frustrating daughter, who I know has a brain somewhere in there that she never uses.

I also will say that I really like the drive that she has to be a hero. It's refreshing to see a girl character who actively attempts to realize a goal like that rather than someone who's thrust into a world Chosen-One-Style. Both Clary and Tessa were "Chosen One" type characters, which served their genre well for the time. Cordelia, like Emma, was just an ambitious Shadowhunter, and I find her story very interesting as a result. And I like how Cordelia is in part driven by a desire for merciful, compassionate heroism (unlike Emma, who was driven by a desire for revenge). It sets her apart from all the other Emma-type Badass Warrior Girls who want to go out and kick as much ass as possible.

She's such a delightful person and one I would be proud to call a friend IRL. And she's a great character in a lot of ways, though I think there are some narrative issues holding her back.

Cordelia and Cassandra Clare's Narrative

I feel like Cordelia is the one character that I wish I could steal from Cassie and repurpose. I generally really like what Cassie does with most of her characters, and I like a lot of the things she did with Cordelia. If I didn't, I wouldn't love her so much. But I think that with some VERY MINOR tweaking, Cordelia could have been even better.

The issue with Cordelia is that the author gives her very little agency. The narrative serves to protect her and James as the Herongraystairs kids, and I get that, but it feels like Cordelia is often just dragged along for the ride. Like, she is the main character! Why is she given almost no agency or real choices? Why is she just swept along with the narrative as a pawn in this large chess game that is TLH? I was talking with a close mutual @alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer a while back who said it would have been great if Cordelia became Lilith's paladin willingly to try to take power from all the awful men who abuse it. I would have loved this! If Cordelia had been allowed to get just a little bit messy, bend the rules of morality, and make some mistakes, she would have been even more incredible than she is.

The Impact of Lacking Agency

This narrative issue manifests as my least favorite Cordelia character trait: her hyper-naivete. She is so naïve in a way that is almost unbelievable to me as a reader. Like, her response to "dad's an alcoholic who's been abusing me since I was 10" is "huh!!!! That's why I found gin bottles everywhere and he was super clunky and they stopped serving wine! Who'd have guessed?" And, she literally swore fealty to this dude who said he was Wayland the Smith because... he said so? Like ??? Girl!!! Other people, especially your brother, have paid a great price for that naïveté. That bothers me.

The thing that's annoying about this is that I've come to the conclusion that Cassie didn't intend for Cordelia to be so naïve. It was a side effect of giving her no agency. If someone is an adult, that means they necessarily have agency; if someone has agency, they lose moral purity. Ergo, Cordelia was necessarily naïve.

Alastair and Cordelia

I also feel like re: the writing, I find Alastair and Cordelia's dynamic to be simultaneously excellent and irritating. Because he sacrificed his whole life for her! It should not have taken her several months and a murder accusation to marginally stand up for him! I'm sorry!

But I also really love their relationship, especially in ChoT. It makes me so happy to see them joking around together like normal siblings, and I feel like Alastair by Beloved Blorbo gets to kind of... be a normal guy with his little sister, if only a little bit. He doesn't need to act in loco parentis anymore, and they're immediately messing around. I love it.

Again, I wish the relationship were written in a more cohesive way. Maybe it's because I don't have a sibling. But it feels like Cordelia DOES acknowledge that Alastair is the constant lifelong protector that she wants to call out to when she's scared. But she also simultaneously says that he's like quicksand unprompted and tells Matthew that he must think she's terrible to love him.

Cassie, why!?

Cordelia and her Neurodivergent BFFs

This is a funny observation you make, that she "doesn't seem to know any neurotypicals yet might be neurotypical herself." And I agree, actually! I don't really have a lot of thoughts on this besides "that's just who she naturally wound up around because of her familial and life circumstances." What do you think of it? I'm curious to know. <3

[nightboundfanfiction]

Imagine the Shadowhunters group would meet the Nightbound group. Who would get along with you very well? Main Character included.

I know that Nik Ryder has been compared to Jace and there are some similarities (one of Nik's sprites even looks quite a lot like Jace) but I wonder if perhaps they might get jealous of each other or be a bit competitive.

Also Cal has been compared in looks to Jordan Kyle but aside from looks and both being werewolves I think their personalities are quite distinct... still I think they might get along and admire each others' hair.

Also imagine if Katherine and Vera were too meet Izzy and Clary I think they might form a supernatural dream team of four badass women (five if you're counting the f!MC).

Also Luc meeting Magnus Bane would be interesting as well I think.

[captainkirkk]

thoughts on shadowhunters so far? also what do you prefer, show or books?

Never read the books. All my friends in high school read it so I got second-hand accounts of the incest plots. Yes, I made fun of them for reading it.

But I'm really enjoying the TV series!! I'm half-way through season 3 and hoo boy, these characters are traumatised. The more shit they go through, the more I like them. Even the characters I disliked in the first season (re: Simon, Clary, Jace). I used to dislike Jace a lot, but after all the shit he's gone through in season 2 and 3..... He's my poor little meow meow now

Alec and Magnus continue to be The Couple of the show. Clary might be the main character, but these two are the main characters in my heart. I just finished the episode where Magnus gave up his magic and I am HURTING for him

Really like the emphasis on platonic bonds too!! They acknowledge that platonic relationships can be ride-or-die, to the point that Magnus is willing to do anything for Jace because he knows they're basically platonic soulmates. Fuck yeah.

Honestly, everyone in the show is ride or die for one another. I've talked about this before, but you can tell that the characters live isolated from the mundane world in tight-nit communities. Of course they believe in strength in numbers, in never letting people walk alone, in always helping out your fellow man. Fuck yeah!

You can really feel how the characters' backgrounds shape them. Simon and Maia feel different from Shadowhunters, who are INTENSE in a way that the mundane-raised characters just aren't. They're all still badass and dedicated and traumatised, but the shadowhunters just have this obsessive, child soldier edge about them. I think it's why Luke feels so different from the other wolves, and why I dislike him being Pack Alpha. He doesn't treat them like Family to protect, he often treats them like soldiers there to just take orders

I love Maia, but Maia/Simon feels... weird. I just can't see them as anything more than friends. She feels relegated to Girlfriend Character sometimes, which sucks since she's such an awesome character on her own. When will she become the Pack Alpha of New York!!!

Honestly I don't care that much for the demon plot lines (re: Lilth, Jonathan). Give me more downworlder politics and world-building!!

[livvyofthelake]

cassie protagonists ranked TO ME

emma..... my most beloved emma.... she's like if a boy was a girl but totally normal about being a girl she just acts weird. that didn't make sense. she's like girl jace basically. which makes her a billion times cooler and deeper than jace could ever try to be. she's like if there was a girl who kind of sucked and was an idiot but she loved her friends so so so much and she was a genius and super cool and awesome and badass but also she's like kind of stupid with emotions and bad at handling personal relationships... and she has a sick ass sword!!! she's like if katniss was a shadowhunter. she's like if a knight from any fairy tale was kind of a loser. she's like if liv moore was monogamous. hard to explain any of that just trust me that emma is cool as hell. and she loves clary sooooo much...

clary. we would be nowhere without the og.... she's literally like if an angel was just some dude. and she had Protagonist Disorder. and she was blessed with divine visions. you know i love clary you know i'm a clary girl do i even need to get into it further...

it hurts me to do this, i didn't want to have to make cordelia number 4 but. ok and rememeber that this is conceptual still because twp doesn't even exist yet it's just well i can't make my special girl number 4 out of 5 i'm not a monster. anyway yeah. dru <3 she is so dear to me even though collectively only like 30 pages have ever been written about her. i just know she's going to slay the house down in the wicked powers is the thing i know it i KNOW it... people are afraid of her slayage and believe it or not she already has haters but they are NOT me and they are NOT welcome here... i don't give a shit if you wanted kit to be the protagonist of twp he's not a girl. being a cassie shadowhunter protagonist is for girls only. he can be second like jace and james and will and jules. kinda crazy how historically all the secondary mains have been the love interest. rip ash lmao. anyway. literally do not care if you wanted kit to be the main main character you will fucking survive and you don't know it yet but it's better this way. dru is taking so many hits for him it's crazy. cassie's gonna make her do love triangle drama and annoying miscommunication and we're all gonna be so pissed off about it like we always are when cassie does this with every single on of her primary couples. and meanwhile kit and ty are gonna be fucking normal in comparasin. say thank you to dru and get over it.... also i literally love her to pieces she's soooo funny and kind and she loves her family more than anything and she hates being the second youngest and she just wants to be included in ty's ridiculous schemes and she loves her silly little horror movies and she has a blue streak in her hair and she wears ironic t shirts and she hates school and she's soooo mad that jules and emma restored their haunted house before she could visit it.... and she's my friend.....

cordelia <3 it's not her fault the final book in her trilogy was kind of a flop. she slayed it though... except for the love triange stuff that pissed me off an unreal amount you guys know you were there. but i love cordelia she's soooo protagonist... she's so remember that you can't save everyone remember that you have to try..... also her gay ally swag is unbeatable. she loves her gay friends more than she loves herself....

tessa sorry girl it's just well i haven't read tid since 2014. you're cool to hang with in sobh tho even though you're cryptic as hell for no fucking reason.... i love it tho she's like hm well things happened in the past that might actually be relevant to your situation emma but i can't tell you about those things because they make me sad. good luck tho! like go girl give us nothing....

[wikitpowers]

Clary being short (5’2) is the representation us short girlies need!!! It’s so hard being 5’3 😫

i’m 5’5 so i don’t get that much shit from my friends, BUT my best friend is 5’3 and i call her shortie therefore,,, ur also a shortie,,, 😙🫶🏻

ITS NOT BAD BEINF SHORT THOUGH!!! LIKE HONESTLY CLARY BEING TINY IS SO COMFORTING LIKE SHE CAN BE 5’2 AND STILL SAVE THE WORLD MULTIPLE TIMES AND BE THE BIGGEST BADASS!!! SHORT GIRLIES ARE FIRE!!!

[diana-bookfairchild]

I can't freaking wait for Better in Black and the first chapter of The Wicked Powers!! The ship list has finally been released for it.

Will and Tessa : Feeling kind of ambivalent about this. I love them, but I prefer Jessa anyway and we just got some content of them in The Last Hours so. . . . *shrugs* Can't say it's unexpected, though.

Clary and Jace: Yes!! YES YES YES!!! I mean, I was pretty sure they were going to be in this, since they're one of the main couples of TSC and the title of the book is from one of Jace's quotes, but still. I am so happy!! I hope this is from when they're being amazing badass heads of institute. Or maybe Lightwood family time?? Whatever, I don't care, I'm just glad one of my all-time OTPs is in.

Anna and Ariadne: My whole The Last Hours experience was weird, so I don't really remember much about them, but I loved them in Every Exquisite Thing and can't wait to see more!

James and Cordelia: Neutral about this one too. The whole James/Matthew/Cordelia love triangle and the way the three of them behaved in the second and third books ruined both Herondaisy and Fairstairs for me. Heronchild for the win!

Sebastian and the Seelie Queen: Weird choice, definitely not expected, but I can't wait to see what this story is about! From some Twitter screenshots I gather this is going to set at least something up for The Wicked Powers. And there is something intriguing about this couple and how they tie in to the whole theme of love in these short stories. The rest of the couples all have - mostly - healthy relationships, so this one should be different.

Emma and Julian: I adore these two and I'm always happy for more Blackstairs, but we literally just had Secrets of Blackthorn Hall?? Maybe it's a flashback from when they were kids, because I would love that. Then again, they are a main couple and all of those are here.

Thomas and Alastair : Yes!!! Hopefully Zachary is there too. Thomastair rom-com?? Sign me the hell up!

Mark, Kieran and Cristina: Faerie politics + an amazing ship. Expected since the couple or throuple thing, but still thrilled!

Simon and Isabelle: Finally some Sizzy content!! Awesome! We haven't had an Izzy POV since what, City of Heavenly Fire?? I really hope it's that. And I want to see Simon recruiting or helping with the new Academy at Luke's farm!

Luke and Jocelyn: Okay, not a fan, even if I liked the scene in City of Glass where they got together. But I do love some Circle content, and the two people who love and are loved by Valentine most during the time they realize how far off the rails he's going? Interesting. I'm hoping there'll be a flash present with an announcement that Clary's getting a sibling. (And how angsty will it be if it's a girl with red hair and blue eyes like in Clary's This World Inverted vision??) (Though I do get if Jocelyn is too traumatized to have more kids).

I was hoping so much for Gabrily and Haline, but these choices definitely do not disappoint. Three and a half of my five favourite TSC couples is definitely not a bad result. The anticipation will (hopefully maybe) get me through entrance exams hell.

[alexanderlightweight]

Here’s a prompt for you.

So I’m thinking calculating badass Alec. He could have fought off the possession. But it was such a convenient way to get rid of Jocelyn and Alec was always one to seize an opportunity. Clary had caused him and the shadow world so much trouble in her single minded search for her mother, not caring who payed for it. It was a fitting revenge. Clary finally finds her mother only to lose her. And Alec is just another victim. Completely blameless.

Besides. As if Alec would suffer a circle member to live. Much less a Morgenstern. And Jocelyn was both.

And unfortunately for her, Clary had proved herself to be her parent’s daughter.

Maybe make it murder husbands Magnus and Alec. Magnus is 100% in agreement with Alec.

One thought I had in that vein for Clary is that the whole message from the angels was bullshit. The angels didn’t interfere when one of their own was captured and being tortured and his blood taken and used. Why in the world would they care about some runes? It was all just a simple illusion. Maybe if Clary had actually studied the material Alec prepared for her she would have realized it. Clary had been so quick to blame and condemn Magnus for taking her memories, as if it was his fault and not her mother who had actually done it to her. It seemed a fitting punishment to wipe the slate clean and leave her a mundane. She was warned this time. It was h choice really.

It’s not a coincidence that it happens on the day of the wedding. Magnus had promised his Alexander a wedding gift.

I chose to just answer the first part as I've always really enjoyed the idea that Alec did purposefully somewhat pick/influence jocelyn for revenge and i love playing with that headcanon.

i hope you enjoy! thank you for the lovely prompts

<3 lumine

-

Alec has a limited amount of time between being possessed and when Magnus will be alerted to fact that he’s possessed.

He knows that. Magnus has left numerous different magical failsafe’s on him.

It’s why he lets it happen.

Alec lets the demon take over, hanging in the back and guiding it with its stupidity in the wake of finding what it thinks is weak prey. Alec knows exactly who he wants to deal with and how he wants to deal with her.

Jocelyn Fairchild is easy to find and even easier to dispatch and Alec’s only regret is that it’s taken so long.

It will alert Magnus if Alec stays possessed any longer and so Alec kicks the demon out and lets himself be found, trembling and shocking with what he pretends is muted shock and not the side-effects of pushing out such a powerful demon.

— “I thought you were going to leave Jocelyn to me, darling?” Magnus says and he doesn’t sound upset, but he does sound irritated and Alec winces when Magnus adds, “I’d have certainly had an easier time. Letting a demon possess you? What were you thinking?”

Alec winces and then shrugs because he doesn’t think Magnus will accept the fact that Alec still considers it a calculated and worthwhile risk.

“It was a good opportunity and she’s been making waves again. I can’t trust her not to stab me in the back if it meant helping her daughter, you know that.”

“I still wish you’d left it to me.” Magnus says and he’s walking over and taking Alec’s hand.

— Magnus tisks at the cuts that must have come from Alexander’s fist breaking through the bones of Jocelyn’s ribcage.

“Good, no fractures.” He finally says after he’s thoroughly checked his boy over and then he kisses Alexander’s knuckles, each of the ones until his tongue licks away each tiny cut. “There we are sweetheart, all cleaned up.”

Alexander is smiling at him with adoration on his face and Magnus wonders how he ever lived without this. Truthfully, if it hadn’t come at the price of Alexander being injured, Magnus would have been overjoyed at hearing Jocelyn was so easily dispatched.

She’s become a thorn that Magnus has been itching to clip and now, she’s completely out of the way.

Meanwhile, with the amount of death and injury at the Institute, no one will dare doubt Alexander and that, is perhaps, the most enticing thing about the whole experience.

[x-ceirios-x]

City of Glass, Chapter 3: Amatis

please see the masterlist for notes about this series/collection of works

-

By the time Simon and Jace came back into the living room,  Aline had food laid out on the low table between the couches. There was bread and cheese, apples, and even a bottle of wine, which Max and Jensen were not allowed to touch. The two sat in the corner, Max with his head on Jensen’s shoulder, both reading books of some kind. He couldn’t get a good look, but he swore Jensen was reading a pirate manga he loved. They chatted quietly amongst themselves, occasionally exchanging books to show the other something funny. Simon sympathized with them. He felt just as alone in the laughing, chatting group as they probably did. At least they had each other.

He watched Aline touch Jace’s wrist with her fingers as she reached for a piece of apple, and felt himself tense. But this is what you want him to do, he told himself. He’d asked Jace to convince himself, and everyone else, that this thing with Clary was never going to exist, and yet somehow he couldn’t get rid of the sense that she was being disregarded. 

Jace met his eyes over Aline’s head and smiled. Somehow, even though he wasn’t a vampire, he was able to manage a smile that seemed to be all pointed teeth. Simon looked away, glancing aoun the room. He noticed that the music he’d heard earlier wasn’t coming from a stereo at all but from a complicated-looking mechanical contraption. 

He thought about striking up a conversation with Isabelle, but she was chatting with Sebastian, whose elegant face was bent attentively down to hers. He thought the guy looked like a massive prick, but maybe that was because he was so damn pretty. It pissed him off. 

He looked around the room for someone else he knew, else he’d go sit at the kids table in the corner (that wasn’t even a table, they were just sitting on the floor) and hope they liked Star Wars or something. Younger kids still liked Star Wars, right? His eyes landed on Rowan who was engaged in a conversation with two boys he didn’t recognize from earlier. One was tall, taller than the both of them; he had just above chin-length, bleach-blond hair and soft blue eyes, with an even softer smile. He wore light wash ripped jeans and a black Foo Fighters shirt, a hunter green bomber jacket hanging loosely on his shoulders. He seemed to speak so effortlessly, a hint of an accent that sounded American, but not quite—he couldn’t place it. He was conventionally gorgeous, actually, and he wondered if all shadowhunters looked like they were carved from marble by God himself. 

The boy next to him sat on the couch, a plate with a bit of cheese on it. The blond boy kept sneaking food off of his plate whenever he looked away to speak to Rowan. He had very dark brown hair and wore a simple outfit, like the blond boy—a t-shirt and chinos, but he noticed knee braces on his one leg, and a pair of forearm crutches leaning against the wall next to him. He’d never seen a shadowhunter with crutches before; they all used their runes to heal quickly. He knew it was rude to ask but he wondered how he got hurt that he needed that much. Probably doing something badass, he thought, eyes falling on Rowan who looked more engaged in their conversation with them than he’d ever seen them before. Their eyes lit up as the blond boy explained something—from what he could tell, it was about some book they no doubt had both read. He looked like a guy that liked to read and Rowan jumped at the opportunity to talk about books with someone equally as enthusiastic as they were. He assumed they were old friends.

“We’re out of wine,” Isabelle declared, setting the bottle down on the table with a thump. “I’m going to get some more.” With a wink at Sebastian, she disappeared. Rowan made a fake gagging noise at her as she walked off, and Isabelle yelled something about how they need to mind their own. Both boys speaking with Rowan laughed, which irritated him a little. Sure, it was funny, but it wasn’t that funny. She was just flirting with their cousin.

“If you don’t mind my saying, you seem a little quiet.” It was Sebastian, leaning over the back of Simon’s chair with a disarming smile. For someone with such dark hair, Simon thought, Sebastian’s skin was very fair, as if he didn’t go in the sun much. He saw the family resemblance. “Everything all right?”

Simon shrugged. “There aren’t a lot of openings for me in the conversation. It seems to be either about Shadowhunter politics or people I’ve never heard of, or both.”

The smile disappeared. “We can be something of a closed circle, we Nephilim. It’s the way of those who are shut out from the rest of the world.”

After the friendships he started making, he didn’t expect to be on the receiving end of that. It seemed to him like Sebastian was right, though, and it was the tendency of the Nephilim to stay among themselves. “Don’t you think you shut yourselves out? You despise ordinary people—”

“‘Despise’ is a little strong,” said Sebastian. “And do you really think the world of humans would want anything to do with us? All we are is a living reminder that whenever they comfort themselves that there are no real vampires, no real demons or monsters under the bed—they’re lying.” He turned his head to look at Jace, who, simon realized, had been staring at them both in silence for several minutes. “Don’t you agree?”

Jace smiled and said something in a language he didn’t recognize, but it sounded almost like Spanish or Italian. Sebastian responded in that same language with a look of pleasant interest. He got to his feet. “I appreciate the Romanian practice, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to see what’s taking Isabelle so long in the kitchen.” He disappeared through the doorway, leaving Jace staring after him with a puzzled expression. 

“What’s wrong? Does he not speak Romanian after all?” Simon asked. 

“No,” said Jace. A small frown line had appeared between his eyes. “No, he speaks it all right.”

Before Simon had a chance to respond, another person came into his peripheral vision—he turned his head to see Rowan standing there, a glass of water in one hand and their novel from earlier in the other. “Having fun?” they asked, taking a seat next to him. The next time he looked, Jace had gone back to his conversation with Aline. Rowan shot him a warning look, which he completely ignored.

He tried to change the conversation, not wanting the two of them to start at it like they had earlier that evening. “A bit,” he said, looking over his shoulder to the two boys they’d been talking to. “Who’re they? Family?”

They shrugged, very obviously turning so Jace was no longer in their line of sight. Something was going on between them and he assumed it was because they were in a fight. “No, one’s Aline’s friend. Parabatai, actually, which was strange to find out five years after it happened.” There was a certain clipped tenseness in their words, but they moved on too fast for him to even try to ask. “Lian grew up in Beijing with Aline while Aunt Jia’s running the Insitute. The blond guy is Timothee—he told me he goes by Tony, though. Friends with Lian, but I hear he’s in town from Brussels and staying with his uncle. He’s the new Inquisitor, I guess. Aldertree, I think, but I don’t know anything about the guy.”

All these words spun around in Simon’s head—this is why he hadn’t been involved in the conversations lately. It was all politics he didn’t understand. He barely passed his American government class in sophomore year, let alone trying to understand the shadow world. He barely knew what an inquisitor was. “That’s nice,” he said, tone flat as he tried to process their words. All he heard was there was yet another pretty, European guy that was unfairly attractive talking to the only other person he knew here. 

Rowan cracked a smile at him. He’d never seen them smile like that—really, he’d never seen them so relaxed. They seemed to fit very well into this atmosphere like everyone else did and it made him feel even more out of place. This was their family—this was their home—and he knew he wasn’t even a grain of sand in all that mix, despite how much he wanted to be their friend. They were clever, funny, and incredibly thoughtful (but if you accused them of it, they’d argue it every chance they got). He remembered, a few months ago, they came to check on him after he’d turned into a vampire. They showed up to his house, hair brushed more than he’d ever seen it before and wearing straight-cut jeans and a button-down shirt under a black, knit sweater. They looked more like a normal teenager than he’d ever seen a shadowhunter look so far. His mom loved them; so did Rebecca. They charmed them both and spent twenty minutes in their living room, coming up with lies on the spot about how they met in their English Literature class this year and how Simon had some of the most interesting ideas in his last essay about The Great Gatsby. He hadn’t even read Gatsby, but they were silver-tongued and charismatic. But they topped up his blood supply and borrowed some of their brother’s comic books, hoping to keep him entertained. Even then, they hadn’t smiled at him like that, and he wished they would’ve. 

He heard the front door slam somewhere, and soon after, Alec entered the room. He was frowning, just as he had been when he’d left. His gaze lingered momentarily on Simon, a look almost of confusion in his blue eyes. He looked away from them and exchanged a look with Rowan, who appeared concerned at his poor mood. 

Jace glanced up. “Back so soon?”

“Not for long.” Alec reached down to pluck an apple off the table with a gloved hand. “I just came back to get—him,” he said, gesturing to Simon with the apple. “He’s wanted at the Gard.”

His eyes never left Alec, but he felt Rowan grab his arm tightly. They were nervous; it started a pit in his stomach. 

Aline, however, looked surprised. “Really?” she asked, but Jace was already rising from the couch, disentangling his hand from hers. 

“Wanted for what?” he said, with a dangerous calm. “I hope you found that out before you promised to deliver him, at least.”

“Of course I asked,” Alec snapped. “I’m not stupid.”

“Oh, come on,” said isabelle. She had reappeared in the doorway with Sebastian, who was holding a bottle. “Sometimes you are a bit stupid, you know, just a bit,” she repeated as Alec shot her a murderous glare. 

“They’re sending Simon back to New York,” he said. “Through the Portal.”

“But he just got here!” Isabelle protested with a pout. “That’s no fun.”

“It’s not supposed to be fun, Izzy. Simon coming here was an accident, so the Clave thinks the best thing is for him to go home.”

“Great,” Simon said. “Maybe I’ll even make it back before my mother notices I’m gone. What’s the time difference between here and Manhattan?”

“You have a mother?” Aline looked amused. 

Simon chose to ignore this. “Seriously,” he said, as Alec and Jace exchanged glances. Rowan’s grip on his arm tightened. He turned to look at them—while he spoke for everyone, he directed his words to them. “It’s fine. All I want is to get out of this place.”

Rowan turned to Alec. “You’re going with him, right?” they asked, though it really wasn’t a question. He could tell by the tightness in their voice that they were basically demanding Alec did so. “Make sure everything goes smoothly?”

Alec and Jace looked at each other in a way that was familiar to Simon. It was the way he and Clary sometimes looked at each other, exchanging coded glances when they didn’t want their parents to know what they were planning. Rowan’s eyebrows furrowed, frustrated that they didn’t know what they were silently talking about.

“What?” he said, gaze bouncing between the three of them. “What’s wrong?”

Rowan leaned into him, whispering in his ear. “You get home, you find Magnus, and you tell him to tell me you got home safe, okay?” they asked in their non-asking voice again. 

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. He remembered his conversation that night Rowan came to check on him, after he’d turned; he asked about the shadow world, about what being a shadowhunter was like, and they admitted their distrust of the Clave. It was hard to oppose anything they did since Valentine’s first rebellion and not sound like him, but after seeing the Inquisitor and what she tried to do to Jace, he understood. There were people in power that shouldn’t be, like any government. If he was going to the Gard, he had to stay vigilant. 

He nodded at them and they let go of his arm, giving him a gentle push to stand. Alec and Jace broke their stare; Alec glanced away and Jace turned a bland and smiling look on Simon. “Nothing,” he said. “Everything’s fine. Congratulations, vampire—you get to go home.”