#at least they had idris

[ragnor-lives]

Still wanna know who was able to leave Max at the Shadowhunter Academy of all places

[blujayonthewing]

I've drawn felix 3x as many times as I've played him

[witchlingcirce]

Interesting enough: anytime I’ve ever mentioned the circle the topic of how Maryse & Robert’s punishment for there crimes wasn’t a good punishment always comes up because I think it’s quite interesting.

Objectively: no it’s not a good punishment. You’re still giving these bad people, who have committed bad acts- a position of power within your council and within shadowhunters as well.

However I think if you think deeper about it (aka think to much about), there are aspects of it that actually make it seem less bad!

I think something people don’t point out a lot when talking about is that they were never allowed to return home, to Idris. Idk- if someone told me I was never allowed to return home I’d be having a mental breakdown. Idris had been both Maryse and Robert’s home, it had been where they where raising there baby (shout out Alec). To be exiled from your home is quite a big punishment in itself.

Now onto the punishment of them being heads on the institute. In truth, I wouldn’t say being given a position of power is really any sort of punishment- especially one as highly regarded as an institute. However I do think there’s some deeper levels to it: Maryse & Robert are both decently young when given this position- not uncommon among shadowhunters but it’s still enough to stress two 22 year olds out - not to mention they have a 1-2 year old son.

NOT TO MENTION: having to run an institute means having to work with downworlders all the time. Which sure seems stupid because why are you putting these two downworlder haters in charge?? But the clave was definitely watching them to make sure they where on there best behaviour. I mean, Imogen was literally breathing down Maryse’s neck in city of ashes- I can imagine that happened a considerable amount of other times as well. Now they have to learn how to get along with these people who 100% hate them (rightfully so) and now they also need to learn how to actually work with them.

Now I think the punishment actually has one specific thing that makes it a “punishment” is what it did to Maryse and Robert’s relationship. This is a more indirect one, but the exile is literally what ruined there relationship. Robert blamed Maryse for everything that happened - they were both upset they weren’t able to return. There relationship before this was already rocky, and now they’ve also been separated from there friends and family.

So yeah, I agree with the overall sentiment: there should’ve been a harsher punishment taken. Idk maybe at least take some of the lightwoods family heirlooms- or repossess some of the family stuff (like they where lowkey doing to Benedict in clockwork princess).

I also think there punishment is meant to directly reflect how shadowhunter take very highly into familial status and how that also reflects in Hodges character but sigh that’s for another blog post.

[cellarspider]

Spider's Big Prometheus Thing: Index Post

Being a list of all the posts produced in the course of this inexplicable project of mine. This project is now complete, at an unexpectedly extensive thirty entries long.

I swear, I didn't intend for it to go like that, but it was fun to write.

All entries have at least a minimum level of citations for where to start looking for more facts on any subject external to the movie itself, which includes everything from how DNA is sequenced to how Nickolodeon slime is made, and from the comedy in mislabeled portraits of early church fathers to the correct attribution of a cat's contributions to historical linguistics.

Be aware that there's also hidden rambling and bonus facts in the image alt text. A lot of them.

0. Introduction

Setting the scene, including my background, my intent, and where this movie is going.

1. Opening

Expectations, landscapes, and aliens.

Rambles: DNA, whether aliens would have it, and why it doesn't look like a pale bacon ladder.

Alt-text rambles: nano-bubbles.

2. Discovery

The Isle of Skye is gorgeous, the movie attempts to establish its themes, and why it had already got my hackles up. Rambles: how cool ancient and pre-modern peoples were, the implications of humanoid figures in European cave paintings, and misplaced lions. Alt-text rambles: seriously, Skye is just so cool. Erich von Däniken and modern publishing royalties are not.

3. David

We meet the loneliest android, and his fandom of choice. Rambles: I go nuts for a paragraph over Proto-Indo-European. Alt-text rambles: Help me remember a dude's name, that time Ron Perlman saw Sigourney Weaver do something so cool he forgot to act, and a Coronation Street conspiracy theory.

4. Humans (Derogatory)

We meet the human crew, and analyze why they're a mismatch to the movie's established expectations, and what subgenre they fit in most. It isn't the one the movie seems to be aiming for. Rambles: 50s B-movies and their Men Of Science, modern movies and their quietly suffering scientists. Alt-text rambles: inconsistently moist characters, Idris Elba's christmas tree decorations.

5. Pseudoarchaeology (Extremely Derogatory)

We meet Old Man Capitalism, poor logistics, and how the movie began to really lose me through dropping in some racist pseudoscience tropes. Rambles: more logistics (of alien bioengineering), historical art styles, what the world was getting up to in the 600s CE Alt-text rambles: Linguistics, more ranting, the life and extraordinarily ornate death of Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal. Rants: the existence of writing, people who don't look like you can still think, stargazing and how conspiracy theorists don't understand it.

6. Roads

Poor firearm safety with Chekhov's Gun, when movies move too fast, atmospheric chemistry, and the moment I began to yearn for blood. Rambles: First contact protocols, why 3% CO₂ won't kill you but it will make you weird, my personal experience digging up a Roman road. Alt-text rambles: the logistics of securing items in moving craft, linguistics, atmospheric science, colorblind-friendly diagram design, swearing about orology, and cursing the crew for their fictional crimes against archaeology. Rants: Why they should've stayed in orbit, and my impassioned defense of historically significant transportation infrastructure.

7. Masking

The bit that made most people realize these characters were idiots. Featuring an attempt at themes. Rambles: NASA's policies on biological contaminants Alt-text rambles: Benedict Wong having nothing to do, helmet design, driving on dusty track, the tiny overlap between archaeological horrors and Minecraft, the CDC's excellent captions on men sneezing. Rants: Nominating a man for the Heinrich Schliemann Archaeology Award, all these people are catching space covid

8. Ghosts

Comparing the Engineers to their series antecedents, and I develop a slight soft spot for the geologist. Rambles: Set design in Alien, how carbon dating works. Alt-text rambles: Adventure games, GET DOWN MISTER PRESIDENT, I get very excited for Dune: Part Two, the archival devotion of people with rare blorbos.

9. Dignity

Personal, professional, social, and media context for the treatment of people's remains. Rambles: Personal experiences around the archaeological discovery of human skeletons, professional codes of ethics, movies that handle dead bodies better by being more crass about it. Alt-text rambles: None, the main text gets full focus this time.

10. Atmosphere

How intertextual imagery is overused, how the one major character arc is developing, and a whole grab bag of miscellaneous shambolic events. Rambles: How tourist-breath can destroy artifacts, and a deleted scene Alt-text rambles: Whether explaining mysteries is always the wrong decision in fantasy, the usefulness of helmets, Mass Effect's loading screens, please someone give me more recommendations for things where Giger creatures aren't all bad, and how cultural variation in gestures can make you look like an asshole. Rants: they aren't done desecrating the dead oh boy it's just gonna get worse

11. Decontamination

How to present an audience with events that make no sense, how to do it eerily, and how Prometheus does this by accident. Rambles: NASA's Apollo 11 quarantine policies Alt-text rambles: How 2001: A Space Odyssey put on a cosmic lightshow, how traditions are faked for political and social power in Midsommar, confusing lab equipment, robot arm safety, the use of camper vans in space exploration, umarell behavior, and robot horror movies. Bonus text rambles: pressurized gas cylinder safety, and how the cargo of one truck apparently tried to join Roscosmos. Rants: Laboratory safety

12. Shocking

Mary Shelly would not be proud of them. Rambles: Which home electrical appliances their tomfoolery is equivalent to. Alt-text rambles: Semiotics and Alien, reuse of props and art department equipment, the cast's inability to look at things, how the first chestburster scene intelligently incorporated spontaneity, and I completely lose my mind over a single computer readout, finding out in the process that the Engineers are close cousins to the common house mouse. Rants: I didn't think that "don't stick electrical plugs in people's ears" would be something that needed to be said, but here we are.

13. Family Tree

A soothing ramble about some of the cool bits of my job. Rambles: How evolution has made some vertebrate blood white or green, how genomes are sequenced, and how to determine the relatedness of species. And more. A lot more. I love my job. It's so cool. Alt-text rambles: How Nickelodeon slime was made, how hecking tiny molecules are, why blue-tongued skinks have blue tongues, my review of Dune: Part Two, how hard I worked to not turn Gene Wilder into a jumpscare, lots of enthusiastic explanations of DNA sequencing techniques, the aesthetics of the machines wot do that for you, how "snip" no longer sounds like a verb to me, and how I started out as a computational scientist.

14. Cheers

David poisons a man, and how his character arc ties into christian-influenced existential dread. Rambles: series continuity, gnostic theology, Ridley Scott's beliefs. Alt-text rambles: How to ruin petri dishes, Vickers' questionably carbon-based existence, the game of Operation, hand doubles in filming, how the funniest possible misidentification of an early church figure is wandering around the internet, the cool genders of suit actors, gnostic Archons, and the Engineers as Sophia. Rants: Holloway seems unaware that archaeologists study dead people, Ridley Scott is his own biggest problem.

15. Unworthy

The movie does something I'm not going to joke about. Don't read this if you're having a bad day. Big content warning for Holocaust imagery.

16. Intimacy

Your asexual commentator grapples with Hollywood's terrible track record on romantic and sexual chemistry. Rambles: Why we don't say an archaic-looking species is "older" than another, how religious scientists do what they do Alt-text rambles: the human family tree, Abbott and Costello, pitcher plant cultivars, the creative possibilities of a Buddhist version of this movie, and Stephen Still's lack of accordions. Rants: I've never been a boyfriend but I'm pretty sure that's not how you do it

17. Threat

Prometheus takes a hard turn into old slasher movie tropes. Rambles: A movie trailer that gave Wee Spider the screaming heebies Alt-text rambles: The age rating of Prometheus, a spontaneous X-Files crossover AU, Pitch Black, how likely it may or may not be that the images in the post will get flagged, critter behavior, insufficient EVA suit design, and the content balancing I take into account when selecting screenshots. Rants: This movie does not seem to know what it is. Alt-text rants: Ditto, focusing on characterization.

18. Flames

"Mac wants the flamethrower!" Rambles: I wandered off in the middle to watch a 40k comedy video, does that count? Alt-text rambles: More content-balancing, what kind of very English critter David appears to be, dune buggy design, Star Wars: The Old Republic is worth your time, Dune: Part Two is worth your time, an extremely long ramble about integration of CG background elements, and Oblivion memes. Alt-text rants: Movie color grading and lighting, undercutting scares.

19. Stars

The movie shows how good it can be when no dialog is involved. Rambles: The movie Contact and how Prometheus could've learned from it. Alt-text rambles: How I estimate large numbers from a still image, a brief Baldur's Gate 3 appearance, the set design and staging of a room made for giants with squishy computers, the use of color to make a cohesive scene, facts about Uranus, visual intimation of threat, VFX wizardry, practical FX wizardry, Michael Fassbender's wordless acting.

20. Expectant

The movie shows how good it can be when character choice is removed from the horror. Rambles: the inspiration and place of chestbursting in Alien movies, the continuing religious symbolism in the movie, the clunky dialog, how to build or undermine tension, and the good blending of practical and CG effects, and how tiny creatures of the ocean manage to be more uncanny than horror critters. Alt-text rambles: reading details the prop department never meant for you to see. Alt-text Rants: the return of the head-exploder and the first sight of actual PPE, slowly mangling a plot point's name until it has been thoroughly folded, spindled, and mutilated.

21. Underdelivered

The movie shows how terrible it can be when horror doesn't build tension. Rambles: Contortionists in horror, hillbilly horror/hixploitation movies. Alt-text rambles: Resident Evil 7, Dead Space and "strategic dismemberment"

22. Hubris

The movie tries to do some themes again Rambles: my ineffable desire to genetically sequence ditch weeds, Left Behind Alt-text rambles: Brad Dourif's commitment to the bit in The Two Towers, nigh-invisible wheelchair product placement, the Fallout series in general and the upcoming show in particular, praise for an epic-length critique of Left Behind, Robert Zemeckis' bizarre quest to mocap everything Rants: This movie does a terrible job representing both religiosity and atheism

23. Informed

Exposition is delivered, and plot points try to knit together. Rambles: The Silent Hill movie, Pacific Rim Alt-text rambles: Pyramid Head's secret unclothed backside, demanding environmental enrichment for scientists, greebling, Tumblr's favorite shitty copper merchant Rants: What could've been done instead of an exposition dump and daddy issues Alt-text rants: these people and their interior design are tempting fate and testing my patience

24. Inscribed

I go rogue and ramble about constructed languages and cuneiform for an entire post. Guest appearances from Klingon pop music and a delightfully eccentric Assyriologist. Rambles: All of it. Alt-text rambles: the self-awareness of conlangers, fingernail length, Schleischer's Fable as a warm-up for the next section, my primary conlang derangement, speculation about whether cuneiform was legible for the blind, my beef with the cowards at Lucasfilm for refusing to use Star Wars' coolest letters, my love for Warframe's Grineer, going into far too much detail about redesigning Prometheus' Engineer script, and finally, the many crocodiles of ancient egyptian hieroglyphs. Rants: None/all of it

25. Judgement

We discuss some of what the movie doesn't. Rambles: Fiction and morality, Blade Runner, biblical allusions the story could've made and doesn't Alt-text rambles: Lance Henriksen's insane career, the paintings of John Martin and a surprise George Washington, Rutger Hauer's effect on Blade Runner, my tentative plans for the next essay series. Rants: Germs, old man makeup. Alt-text Rants: The characters are reading ahead in the script again, the half-assed Engineer writing system continues to hurt me

26. Awoken

I go bananas over PIE. Rambles: fix-it fic for this damned movie, PIE, how to avoid PIE, how to analyze PIE, and my personal alternative to PIE. Alt-text rambles: calculating how long the Engineer's overslept, their potential spiritual kinship to Moominpapa, behind the scenes photos of the suit actors, Prometheus rants in the days of LiveJournal, the game Hades, how hard it personally is to get PIE right, the linguistics nerdery of the Hittite empire, and watermarks. Rants: how the movie fails its premise and hurts my soul with linguistics

27. Shortcomings

The characters, and movie, fail to get their message across to someone bent on their destruction. Rambles: David's confused religious symbolism, Star Trek Alt-text rambles: My desire for fanfic, behind the scenes photos, what other critters the Engineer's suit actor has played, the naming of Australopithecines, crash-proofing a movie set, alien gender, Gandahar and how French animated SF in the 80s was awesome, Scorn and its expert consultation from a cenobite, and Doctor Strangelove. Rants: the assumptions of the human characters, I go from trying to be measured to actively spiting the writer for his take on thoughtful SF Alt-text Rants: Del Toro is the only one who gets me, the movie has forgotten its main character just had a major surgery, one last rant about how terribly unsafe the Prometheus was as a ship, before it becomes definitively not a ship.

28. Momentum

It's the bit where she doesn't turn. Rambles: How to fix the dumbest thing we've seen in a hot minute, Edge of Tomorrow and feeling Tom Cruise's fear, how the dead thing is never really dead in horror. Alt-text rambles: How hard it is to find the most catchy song in We Love Katamari, more behind the scenes pictures of my blorbos, Friday the 13th Part IV, bad braille, and trilobites. Rants: I mean how can you not when the movie forgets how space works? Like, the idea of 3D space as a concept? Also, a particular rock earns my ire, and my ranting about interior designs on ships finally pays off.

29. Dissonance

The ending of the movie, and its tonal incoherency. Rambles: Protagonist-centric morality and lack thereof Alt-text rambles: Star Trek TNG, green blood, caecilian teeth. Rants: shallow christian themes, sequels that could have been, Shaw's confusingly deployed robo-racism Alt-text rants: sequel disappointments, inadvisable post-caesarian activities, how the hell do you fit that much 'burster into one chest, biological plausibility in alien extend-o-mouths

30. Justification

A breakdown of a post-release interview with Ridley Scott, explaining some missing details. Rambles: Gnosticism again, Mesoamerican and European human sacrifice and the exoticization of shared cultural practices, and a hearty book recommendation. Alt-text rambles: Icelandic volcanoes, The Collector (2009), Stephen Speilberg's War of the Worlds and how scaring the shit out of someone isn't necessarily the job of a horror film, the Tollund Man, unique cultural practices, Hello Future Me, and my opinions on what we've seen of Alien: Romulus. Rants: Ancient peoples weren't stupid, an unexamined christian-centric worldview, an unexamined christian-centric worldview, I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGh

[alexanderlightweight]

Maybe more of the cider verse.

this is a scene from before they're married or the sequel. it happens back when jace and izzy first return and how magnus influences alec even on the seemingly small things that end up really changing alec's mindset overall

hope you enjoy! happy to be back to writing

<3 lumine

-

It’s half past three in the morning and while Alec normally doesn’t sleep till at least eight or nine, he feels dead on his feet.

His muscles are sore and heavy, every unnecessary movement an ache that he can’t afford and he closes his eyes just a minute to get his thoughts under way.

It was stupid to spar with both Izzy and Jace before going on a double patrol, but Alec hadn’t really had a choice.

Sacrifices have to be made for progress to happen and while Alec’s gotten better at delegating things, welcoming Jace and Izzy back from Idris — especially with a mountain of changes they both hate — well, something has to give.

As usual when it comes to his siblings, any price to be paid comes from Alec.

Of course it won’t remain that way for long, but Alec understands that some changes have to be slower than others and thankfully, Magnus understands that as well.

Except even in this, not all things remain the exact same.

Alec isn’t heading back to the Institute to slump wearily behind his desk and trudge through hours of paperwork. Instead he’s on his way to Magnus’, knowing that before he gets anywhere near the tablet he’s left there, he’ll be led to a bath first.

Magnus will insist on taking care of him.

Spoiling him really.

No matter how much Alec insists that just the bath is enough — that Magnus doesn’t need to waste potions on him — Magnus won’t be swayed.

So, despite the fact that Alec knows Magnus can just summon it for them, Alec stops at a little fae run cafe. One that never closes and that Alec doesn’t need to worry about glamours to visit.

They’re used to him by now and Alec is once again grateful to have been introduced to these hidden places of the shadowworld. It takes some time for them to grow accustomed to his continued presence, but for Alec — whose never been curious or called to by mundane spaces — its a relief.

While there is nothing wrong with mundane places, the logistics of going to one require preparation. Here, Alec can even just text an order and know that even if it takes him longer than it should, the drinks will never go cold.

He grabs them both and nods, knowing that his account is prepaid to a certain degree — as they accept ingredients rather than money — before leaving.

There is no talking, no anything but getting the drinks and leaving and while shadowhunter instincts warn him to drink something made by a fae, Alec knows better than to let it take over now.

This is an exchange.

A proper one and no fae would risk the ramifications of being so widely known and going back on their word.

The cider tastes hot like Magnus’ magic when he summons flames to contain demons and fresh. Like he’s sipping the drink from the vein of a sun-warmed apple.

The spices linger on his tongue and the back of his throat with a flare of heat and then he’s at Magnus’ door. Only a few sips and it was enough of a distraction that he can let himself relax.

Even his aching muscles can’t stop how his lips curl into an adoring smile and, as the door opens and his eyes meets a warm, golden gaze… Alec is home.

Even if he doesn’t quite know how to admit it yet.

Magnus greets him with a kiss, tasting the cider on his lips and tongue and giving him a soft smile before pulling him through the doorway and into the room.

The wards click into place behind and around him. Alec can feel them, pressing against him and he lets himself lean against the sturdy wood of the door as Magnus looks him over.

“Bath first, then some food.” Magnus murmurs, snapping his fingers even as he takes a sip from his cup. “No arguments this time, darling?”

Alec shakes his head, frankly too tired and too in love to do anything else.

[stabbydragon]

*clears throat* Can we just talk about how unfair it was that Cordelia was the one who got to kill Tatiana? Like there were a million other people who were way more qualified.

I’m pretty sure most people, like me, were rooting for Grace. After all, she was the one that Tatiana hurt most by physically abusing her, making her into a weapon, forcing her to brainwash James which made everyone she cares about mad at her, etc. Not to mention that Christopher, one of her only friends, the only person who defended her, and the one who encouraged her to pursue her passion for science, had just been MURDERED by Tatiana! And like, Grace was RIGHT THERE with a knife to Tatiana’s throat! Then CORDELIA had to come and ruin everything by summoning Lillith! WTF!?

Jesse was another person who had been hurt by Tatiana. This bitch, who he thought cared about him despite her flaws, as a mother should, SOLD HIM TO BELIAL so he could be possessed and forced to murder people which he would never do under any circumstances of his own free will! The guilt the poor boy must have gone through because of this bitch! Although personally, I don’t think he would be capable of murder, but it would have been better than fucking CORDELIA.

Also, the idea of either Jesse or Grace doing it to avenge their sibling? 😭

My second choice after Grace would be Lucie, who would be furious both because of Jesse being possessed, and because she had just found out that Tatiana had been the one to ruin James and Cordelia’s marriage, causing both her brother and parabatai a lot of pain. It would have set the scene for a fascinating conversation between her and Jesse regarding how they both felt about Tatiana’s death (the same is true for Grace) because I need more Ghostwriter scenes. Also, if she killed her partially on Grace’s behalf, it would better showcase what could have been a beautiful dynamic that desperately needs to be explored further. I need these too to become besties immediately! Lucie, unlike her boyfriend, totally deserved to be a morally ambiguous character. She had so much potential for stabbiness, so where’s all the stabbiness? It’s so unfair that she never gets to stab someone ONCE because she’s a main character and therefore needs to be morally perfect even though people who grew as rich as she did are the ones most likely to be evil. Besides, she could have ordered a ghost to do it while Lucie herself was far away, giving her an alibi, and any witnesses would not have seen the ghost. Honestly my preference would be if Lucie and Grace teamed up to do it together in Jesse’s name.

EVEN FUCKING JAMES a would have been a better option, not that I would like it much. He was the one who was brainwashed since he was fourteen after all. He was the one who kept on accidentally breaking his wife’s heart because of the gracelet.

While Cordelia was still hurt by Tatiana’s actions, she was farther removed from the situation. But because sHe’S tHe PrOtAgOnIsT, she had to be the one to do it. Not even of her own volition, but because she was being manipulated by a greater demon. Imagine all of your protagonists being so heroic and morally sound that they can’t even neutralize someone as twisted and dangerous and inhumane and this bitch without being physically magically controlled by Lillith herself. Is there anything more boring?

And what really makes me angry is that she finally gave in due to the death of one Christopher Lightwood, a character with whom she had no established dynamic. If this was CC’s plan all along, she could have made it so they had at least one single fucking conversation alone??? If the main catalyst for Tatiana’s death was Kit’s murder, then practically ANY OTHER CHARACTER a would have been better. Cecily and Gabriel and the others were in Idris but, once again, there’s Grace, Lucie, James, Thomas, Anna, Matthew, etc. Hell, even Rosamund Wentworth, who arrives pretty soon after Kit’s death, knew him longer than Cordelia!

*Ahem* Thank you for listening to my PSA

[katlyntheartist]

Knuckle series is out!! Any thoughts? Does it affect your Jojo and Gang au?

Spoilers for the Knuckles series people! Avert your eyes children!

First, let's talk about the things I liked:

- Sonic and Tails were great for as little screen time as they had. And Maddie trying to be patient with Knuckles while also not strangling him was great, haha. As someone who worked at a Daycare, I related to her dealing with kids like Knuckles and Maddie's facial expressions when she was grounding Knuckles were on point. Also THEY HAVE A PLAIN BED FOR TAILS AND A TRUCK BED FOR KNUCKLES AHHHHH!!!!!

-Pachacamac is a Jedi Force ghost? Alright then. I don't know much about this character outside of Sonic X but I thought that he was fine. And Christopher Lloyd does a great job as usual.

-Wade was not terrible. I like how he has some character growth through the series and at the end he isn't a master warrior/fighter. He's still a goofball but now he's thinking things through and using what he has and his current surroundings to his advantage in a fight, and isn't just hiding and waiting for Knuckles to save him. But him breaking out of the cage in episode 4 was a bit ridiculous. What was that cage made of, cardboard? He really should have broken his hand or something.

-I liked the villains but I wish that we got to see them more involved in the story, especially the buyer. Who was menacing for about five minutes and then was crushed to death like, dang 0-0

-NANA WHIPPLE AND KNUCKLES SPINOFF SHOW PLEASE!!

-Knuckles was the best part of the show. He's the strong tough warrior but with a big heart and good intentions, though a bit misguided at times. Idris did a great job, nothing new there.

And now let's get into the things I didn't like:

-The show is %70 Wade bowling story and %30 Knuckles adjusting to earth and his backstory with Pachacamac and his tribe and his connection to the master emerald and everything else that the show should have been about. The Wade sub plot takes up so much time that we don't get to explore Knuckles. I wished that we had gotten to see him learn to appreciate and call Earth his new home instead of him just accepting it at the end. It just felt so rushed.

-Episode four wasn't awful but I didn't care for it. Also you can NOT show us the Flames of Disaster from '06 and not have Silver or Blaze show up. You can't do that >:(

-Knuckles and Maddie didn't get to have a heart to heart conversation which is what I and many others thought that was what the show was building up to. Also he never gets in trouble for running way and we never cut back to seeing Maddie or Sonic and Tails realizing Knuckles is gone, or even Sonic and Tails trying to cover for Knuckles. I get that the CGI was expensive and voice actor and actor schedules might not have worked out for it to happen, but my point still stands.

-Wanda was useless and you could have cut her out and lost nothing. Don't get me wrong, the actress is good but she feels wasted here. Her character is so annoying and serves no purpose other than to be mean to Wade. And why do we have to have the "siblings who hate each other but make up at the end" cliche? I would have liked Wanda more if she was nicer to Wade from the start and if they had a fun sibling bond with each other. Also if she was able to actually use her skills as an FBI agent to at least hold her own against the gang when they attack Nanna Whipple's house. Also the dad needed to be more comedically villainous, he was too generic.

-Like I said the villains here are fine but the Buyer's whole character is to just show up, have a cool robot fight, and die. We don't get to see him be a threat to Knuckles at all, he just appears for the climax and then is offed in a snap. And the two agents were fun but a lot of their dialogue was graining.

-And that leads me to the main problem with the series. The writing. I'm aware that the writers for the main movies didn't work much on this series, except Jeff did do the first episode. Which is why it's the best one. There is no balance between the jokes and the emotional moments. The show is so focused on trying to make you laugh every five minutes that it sacrifices genuine emotional growth for the characters especially for Knuckles. You know, the whole reason for the show existing in the first place. It suffers the same problems that the live action Ton and Jerry movie had, where the main stars weren't allowed to be the main stars of their film. All of the screen time there went to the human characters who weren't interesting or just plain annoying and mean.

And the dialogue for the show teeters back and forth between actually funny/well written and being dangerously close to obnoxious. And kids shows having jokes all the time isn't a problem. Rottmnt and the Lego Movies are both kid properties that fire off a joke every minute but they knew when to cut back and let the emotional moments shine. The jokes in the Knuckles show felt more like they were pandering to four year old's then actually trying to be funny and the emotional moments felt kind of forced.

I don't want to give any of the writers or anyone who worked on this show a hard time. I can see that everyone worked hard and had fun with this. And I had fun too. There were some good moments between Knuckles and Wade and even a few jokes that got me. But the problems I listed above are just to hard for me to ignore. If you liked the Knuckles series then great for you! I'm happy you were able to have a great time! But for me it was just ok.

Not great. But not bad either. 5/10.

Now, about this affecting Jojo and Gang. I think what I'll do is have comic take place a month after the Knuckles series. And use my AU to focus on Knuckles getting accustomed to Earth and learning to call it home. Basically my AU will do what the Knuckles series didn't.

[bradshawsvinyl]

Game Changer: Chapter Three

warnings: mentions of cheating, brad brad is adorable

Bradley Bradshaw woke up on Sunday morning with an aching headache. Thanks to the bottle of Scotch he had last night, he had also woken up with the urge to puke all over his San Diego condo. This has been Bradley’s morning routine ever since his very public divorce with Hollywood movie star Alyssa Moore.

Alyssa had cheated on Bradley with world famous actor Idris Elba. Their divorce was all over the tabloids and frankly, Bradley felt embarrassed and upset over the news being everywhere.

His conversation with Jake in the locker room last night made him realize something. The best way to get over one person was to get under another one. And who better to get under than the Padres new clubhouse reporter.

Bradley asked Alexandra out because he wanted to get over his ex wife. He decided to take a quick shower before hopping in his Bronco and driving to the address you had texted him last night.

Alexandra anxiously paced around her apartment while her roommate Giliana watched from afar. “What if this is just platonic and I'm making this out to be something it isn’t?” She pondered out loud.

Giliana placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. “You never know until you try.” She said encouragingly. “You look great and if it’s just platonic, so be it. At least you have an ally in the clubhouse now.”

Giliana was right, Alexandra realized. If things went bad it wouldn’t be the end of the world. And if they went good…well you’d think about that later.

As Bradley arrived at the address Alexandra texted him, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. It had been so long since he’d dated someone new and although he was trying to get over Alyssa he didn’t want to hurt you in the process. After all, Alexandra was going to have to interview him throughout the season. He climbed out of his Bronco and knocked on your door.

Inside the apartment, Alexandra’s heart skipped a beat as she heard Bradley knock. “It’s just drinks with a coworker.” Giliana reminded her “Just breathe.”

As she opened the door, her eyes met Bradley’s. It might have sounded silly but she felt like time had stood still. She could sense Bradley’s anticipation in the air. He offered her a soft smile.

“Hi Bradley,” She greeted him with a warm smile. Her voice tinged with excitement and nervousness.

“Hey Alexandra,” Bradley replied with the same amount of anticipation. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah let’s go.” With that, Bradley led Alexandra to his car. He opened her door and delicately adjusted her seat. As Bradley and Alexandra settled in the car, a comfortable silence enveloped them. Alexandra couldn’t help but to steal quick glances at Bradley, noticing the way the streetlights cast a warm glow on his sharp features.

Once they reached the bar, Bradley quickly went to open her door and lead her inside. Once they sat down and ordered their drinks, Bradley decided to break the silence. “So Alexandra,” he began, “how long have you been covering sports?”

“Professionally I've been covering sports for about five years now.” She answered, voice tinged with excitement. “How’s the season shaping up for the Padres?” She asked in return.

Bradley smiled grateful for her interest in his job. When he was with Alyssa, the last thing she wanted to hear about was baseball. Alyssa would not even bother to go to Bradley’s games or listen to his remarks about a particularly stressful game.

Even though Bradley had just met Alexandra he felt a strange connection to her. She was genuinely kind and caring and he had only known her for two days. Her interactions with his manager and his teammates showed that she actually cared not only about the sport, but about the players.

“Spring training was a rollercoaster.” Bradley laughed. “But I'm hanging in there. I’ve got a great team and great people around me to motivate and encourage me, you know?” He said while taking a bite out of your shared fries.

As Bradley and Alexandra continue their conversation, the dim lights around the bar cast a warm glow on them. The hums of chatter and the clinking of glasses seem to fade into the background. Their eyes meet, locking in. Filled with unspoken words and attraction. Bradley’s heart races with anticipation as he leans in, his breath mingling with Alexandra’s in the small space between them.

Gently, Bradley cupped her upper cheek and his thumb tracing her jawline. He closed the space between them. The moment their lips meet it feels as though time stands still.

reply to be added to tag list 🩷🩷

[destinyc1020]

Unpopular opinion, but I think interracial love parings onscreen killed the black male lead. I think studios think that if a love interest is black or poc with a yt pairing, that's diversity. I remember watching Force Awakens trailer thinking John Boeyga's Finn was the lead, and Daisy was the love interest. I was shocked when it wasn't like that. I think the yt boy of the month kinda erased the ability for black male actors to attach a following to achieve the opportunities as their yt counterparts.

Damson Idris is one of them, and the reason why is because his projects appeal predominantly to black audiences. His next break is a film with Brad Pitt, which sucks cause the opportunities for black male actors are leftovers, supporting yt leads, if it's not playing a slave or drug dealer.

Daniel Kaluuya won an oscar, and he's not being asked around directors. MBJ has Ryan Coogler, but he's limited to the same team.

There's another discussion to have of the opportunities that oblack american actors have vs black african or british and I dont have the range😭

Oh girl, I could write dissertations on this topic alone chiiiiilllle lol 😆

In answer to your ask, I personally don't know if I'd say that IR pairings in films and TV have "killed" the black male lead. IR pairings have been depicted onscreen for decades.... Do you know of the film "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?" 😏

And that's just one of the more famous older ones.

I actually don't feel that it's the black male lead in Hollywood that's been dying as much as I feel like the dark-skinned black female lead has been dying. In Hollywood, when they're looking for an actor to play a black man, they usually still find a monoracial black actor to play the role. But when it comes to looking for a "black woman", colorism comes into play, and many times in mainstream roles, they'll choose a biracial actress to play a "black woman".... even though, most of us are not biracial. 🥴

I'm curious who was further down the list though. Like, who was #11? #12? #20?? 👀

I love John Boyega, but no way were they gonna make a black male a lead in a Star Wars film. The SW fandom had fits just because Daisy was cast in a lead role and wasn't a male. 🙄 I remember that time vividly.

You mention The "White Boy of the Month", but girl that's been existing since goodness knows when. Brad Pitt was one, so was Tom Cruise at one time... so was Leo DiCaprio! So was Tom Holland! Like, c'mon....

The point is, even though they existed, we STILL had Denzel, Will Smith, Morris Chestnut, Eddie Murphy, Cuba Gooding Jr, Laurence Fishbourne, Wesley Snipes, etc making mainstream films and being leads and sought after.

Now days? It's almost like Hollywood likes to pretend that black people don't even exist in mainstream films anymore or smthg.

Anyway, Damson, Kelvin, John B., Michael B Jordan, Jharrel Jerome, etc.... they're all very talented actors. It's just a shame that Hollywood chooses not to recognize or even cast our talent.

I just can't believe we're going BACKWARDS. Like, I know HW was no picnic back then, but at least Sidney Poitier was well-known and doing many films in his day. He was winning Oscars. Like c'mon.... 🥴

[rinadragomir]

Saga of finding out Matthew's endgame love interest🔎 join the investigation!

Volume Ⅰ

➤Esme Hardcastle

I'm starting with chronological order. We know that she used to have a crush on Matthew during the "Academy era".

Nothing but shadows:

Matthew's friendship made other friends creep forward, too. Esme cornered James and told him how sorry she was that Mike was being an idiot. She also told him that she hoped James did not take this expression of friendly concern in a romantic way.

"I have rather a tendresse for Matthew Fairchild, actually," Esme added. "Please put in a good word for me there."

Unfortunately, we haven't seen any of her interactions with Matthew during TLH🤷🏼‍♀️ But who knows, maybe after he returns to London we'll get something?👀 Personally, I found this idea pretty interesting, Esme seems like an adorable and confident girl✨

Volume Ⅱ

➤Eugenia Lightwood

Listen, listen. First of all I should mention what @roseofthomas validly pointed out: Matthew is officially 17 in the beginning of Chain of Gold and Eugenia is 21. And I also would be against anything romantic between them if it stayed this way. But TLH plot covers an entire year. So in Chot epilogue Matthew is already 18. And he leaves London for at least one year. So when he comes back he's 19. So what we got is ~ 19/23. Which is not a huge gap and Matthew will be an adult. Everyone remembers Malec's age gap? Diana & Gwyn? Yeah...So everything I'm talking about below I say in the context of Matthew being 19. Deal?🌱🌿Deal🌸🪷

I reread every part where she's mentioned. And I can confirm that we didn't get any info on how Matthew sees Eugenia except "she's a good girl". We know that she's not exactly a part of "the gang", at least before Chain of Thorns. She had her own group with Catherine, Ari and Rosamund and Barbara. So it's unlikely that Matthew sees her as some older cousin like James does.

Interactions:

1. Thomas’s sister Eugenia had danced with Matthew, tossing her long dark hair.

2. It was Eugenia, who had come up to them, her yellow cap askew on her dark hair. “Never mind. I am not interested in your dull friends. Matthew, will you dance with me?” “Eugenia.” Matthew looked at her with a weary affection. “I am not in a dancing mood.” “Matthew.” Eugenia looked woebegone. “Piers keeps stepping on my feet, and Augustus is lurking about as if he wants a waltz, which I just can’t manage. One dance,” she wheedled. “You’re an excellent dancer, and I’d like to have a bit of fun.” Matthew looked long-suffering but allowed Eugenia to lead him out onto the floor.

✨Parallels✨

1) Eugenia was kinda "dating" Augustus Pounceby, who actually loved Catherine but still gave Eugenia an idea that they can work. Apparently he saw her as an "if I can't get Catherine, I can at least have Eugenia"

VS

Matthew was kinda "dating" Cordelia, who actually loved James but still gave Matthew hope for her affection. Apparently for Daisy it was "if I can't have James, I can at least be with him"

2) Eugenia leaves London after Augustus proposes to Catherine. She feels humiliated and wants to be away from Enclave to get some peace.

VS

Matthew leaves London after Cordelia breaks up with him and comes back to James. He wants to heal and doesn't really want to be around Jordelia for some time, cause he's still getting over Daisy.

3) Eugenia returns to London after a few months and acts pretty confidently. It's implying that she healed mentally in Idris and is ready to be back in action. She's slowly becoming a part of the gang but it still looks like she spends more time by herself.

VS

I believe that Matthew eventually returns after a year or so and I expect him to act pretty much the same. Like he feels healed, has more confidence in himself and is fine with being around kissing Jordelia. But he still feels a bit lonely (my theory)

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

My bestie @afloralrib mentioned that their relationship has "Penelope & Colin" vibes and has some valid parallels WHICH IS TRUE

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

Volume Ⅲ

➤Claude Kellington

Exes, exes...like yeah BUT CASSIE said "no obvious love interest". And I believe that ex is someone who immediately comes to mind, so idk....and he broke his heart🥺. Still possible tho~

Volume Ⅳ

I remember someone mentioned Matthew/Grace but...I really don't think that it can work between them, even though he forgave her. So we'll just have to wait and see🌿🌱

𓇬Epilogue𓇬

That's it, my researchers. Thank you for joining me in this pointless adventure 🫶 cause Cassie will probably say that his true love is Claribella and leave it be💅🏻

[margareturtle]

I was listening to city of bones audiobook as one does and I always find it funny bc in that first audiobook the Lightwoods and Jace are given posh british accents

But then it got me thinking about what their accents would actually be

So I think Alec and Izzy would be more likely to have standard American accents bc they grew up in New York. But I could also see them have a slight British accents when they’re younger since they’re mostly around their parents and at least Robert was British and they weren’t around many people outside family growing up.

But Then Jace I’m not sure. Bc he was raised in Idris but presumably the only contact with people he had till he was like 10 was Valentine. It could be in “Idris-ian” accent,, but I feel like Idris is a home base for shadowhunters but they are working and fighting demons all around the world so it’s hard to imagine an “Idris accent.”

So Jace could have some kind of british accent I suppose if that is how Valentine learned to speak around Fairchilds, Lightwoods, Herondales

But what I think would be really funny is if Valentine inherited a swiss german accent from his family.

So then Jace would have a kinda german accent (as would Sebastian)

Also it would be especially funny bc if Jace was raised by Stephen and/or Celine he would’ve had a British or french accent, and for him to end up with a german accent would be great

By the time City of Bones begins Jace probably has assimilated with the Lightwoods and developed more of an American accent but it funny imagining him coming to them

[cosmereplay]

Day 21: Fantasy

Rated Teen for a mildly suggestive scene, Eshonai/Azure, mild Warbreaker spoilers, Oathbringer spoilers. Cross posted on ao3 Check out this art by @lamaery that inspired me!

“Curiosity, Resolve, Surprise,” Azure mused as she lay atop her wife. “I think that’s my new favourite combination.”

Eshonai ran her fingers through Azure’s hair, which had turned orange-red. “I can tell. I got the Rhythm of Victory out of you,” she murmured to Amusement, which Azure felt as both a pulse of vibration and a friendly yellow. After they'd worldhopped to Nalthis, something wonderful had happened between them. When Eshonai spoke to Rhythms, Azure experienced them as sound and colour at the same time. Eshonai said the same about the colour of Azure’s royal locks, that she experienced them as Rhythms.

So far, it had been a spectacular honeymoon.

Azure hummed in pleasure, nuzzling her wife's chest and hugging her close. I could almost fall asleep here, warmed by the sunlight...Then she caught the angle of sunlight as it hit the inside of the carriage. It was a deeper angle now, no longer touching their makeshift bed, made of the two carriage benches pressed together. 

“Oh colours! We’re nearly there!” 

She sat up and scrambled off Eshonai. She cleaned them up the best she could, then started throwing on clothes as she peeked out the window. “Don’t look yet,” she warned her wife.

Eshonai pointedly looked down, busying herself with getting dressed. Azure caught a drift of pale orange sound as she buckled her belt, and she couldn’t tell whether the anxiety was hers or Eshonai’s. It had been at least a hundred years since she’d been on Nalthis, let alone anywhere near Idris itself. She was half-surprised the kingdom was still standing; she had been fully befuddled by the fact that the main road was now solidly built and well maintained. 

“Is this what you wanted?” Eshonai asked her to Amusement. She'd covered her eyes with one of her sashes.

“Yes, that’s perfect,” Azure grinned, then turned and knocked sharply on the wall of the carriage. “Stop here!” she called out.

Slowly, they came to a stop, and by the time the coachman opened the door for them, they were ready. Azure went first, then took Eshonai by both hands and carefully led her down the steps to the ground, where Eshonai wrapped an arm around Azure’s back.

They took a few steps forward into the lush summer grass, dotted with purple and white flowers. The smell of the wind made Azure feel young and hopelessly naive. She breathed slowly, taking in the view of Bevalis, the capital city of Idris. 

It was as she remembered, a small city of thatched, single story buildings nestled in the centre of the valley. She could pick out the palace even at this great distance; it was still easily the largest building. She was surprised to see that the buildings were not all painted white; spots of colour dotted the city here and there. The sight made her smile.

“Well, oncemate? Can I look yet, or does Idris need to put its clothes on, too?” Eshonai joked.

Azure snapped out of her reverie. “Yes! Yes I think Idris is ready for you to see it. Here it is, the place where I spent my childhood.” 

She lifted the cloth from Eshonai’s eyes, and Eshonai gasped, looking up, down, slowly spinning, trying to see everything at once.

“Everything is so green!” she exclaimed to Joy. “And the fields are massive! Storms, the mountains are huge! Is that snow? How can they be green and snowy at the same time? Are there two different seasons happening at once?”

“Kind of,” Azure said thoughtfully, but Eshonai kept rambling, stepping forward and pointing.

“How does your city survive at the bottom of the mountains like that? Don’t the rains wash it out with every storm? Or do you not have storms here?”

“Not like Roshar.”

Eshonai looked up and breathed deeply, smelling the wind, and then she looked down, brushing the grass with her foot. “The plants here are so tame. I want to kick them,” she said to Joy.

Azure laughed. Eshonai’s curiosity, and her joy, were infectious. She could tell her hair was turning a scandalous yellow, and she didn't care one bit.

“I’ve got something even better,” she said, grinning at her wife. “We’ll pick them. Let me show you how to make a bouquet. It'll be almost as beautiful as you.”

Eshonai hummed to Joy, and Azure wondered how she could be so lucky, to find a woman who made everything yellow.

[zoetic-tome]

Prompt 18: Petty Remarks

Prompt: Hackneyed - FFXIV Write 2024 

Characters: Talia, Strix, mentions of Sinnan, Idristan, Jadias 

Content Warning:

It was no uncommon thing for rumors to fly around the faerie courts. 

It was no uncommon thing for those others among the lords of Sinnan of the Night’s court to criticize the Night’s Consorts out of the audible range of anyone but their own individual supporters.

Twilight had taken to disguising themselves and traveling among them to listen in. Sometimes the critiques were valid and they had no dispute against them; Twilight and the Moon did tend to spend most of their time on a different mortal world. Their pursuits were not the same.

They were both mortal-born and raised, even if Twilight was half-fae before they were gifted their star. Other fae would never dream of such a dereliction of their duty as the lords who sat beside their ruler’s throne. 

Even the youngest three did more work than them. And had they seen Twilight’s hobbies? Metal strewn all across the floor of their audience chamber when the Prince went to call. How very mortal. How dreadful and disgraceful.

When Twilight shifted into view behind them, the minor lords whirled at the shadow that loomed over them, red hair bright as Twilight leaned forward into their field of vision. Both fae paled at the encroachment. 

“Shall I tell Sinnan that you disapprove of the metal I leave everywhere?” Her voice was quiet, soft and lilting in a way that reminded them of the calm before a sudden storm. “I’ve heard less trite insults and arguments on my lack of enthusiasm from lesser lords than you.” 

Her mouth curled up at the corner, and elongated canines gleamed, the duo shifting backwards until wings flattened against the wall. 

“I foster more belief than you know. Just because the number of deals I make is minimal, you’d do better not to doubt me.” She smiled, her mouth curving upwards as she leaned back away again. “Or next time I’ll introduce you both to my gun, and you can explain the absence of bullets in my chamber to Sinnan yourselves.”

Dual figures paled in unison; they had heard that he grew agitated when Twilight threatened to shoot anyone. And neither wanted to deal with that particular explanation. Apologies that were not sincere but were definitely meant to keep distance between them fell from their lips as they fled, just about the time Tisiphon stepped out of the shadows he’d been residing in.

“Do they really think your metal habits are that bad? Haven’t they paid any attention to Uncle Jade?” Talia snorted as she turned to flash a smile to their eldest son who was staring at her perplexed.

“Let them talk. Their insults are as hackneyed as the ones about me being half-elezen tend to be.” A hand pat his shoulder and he smiled briefly under his mother’s praise, and then began to slink away when she caught sight of what was in his hands. His dad’s tomephone with a texting window open.

“I’ll give you a headstart, Si, before I tell Idris.” Dark eyes widened and Si turned to flee off towards where he’d left his siblings, as Talia headed in the other direction. 

For as unimaginative as the insults coming from the others were, at least she had the shenanigans of their children to keep her amused.

[ladyhindsight]

sorry to bring up character ages in tid again, but i wanted to run a theory by you about something i discovered.

in chapter 1 of clockwork princess, tessa is being fitted for her wedding dress and she says this: “he would look so young. they were both so young. tessa new it was unusual to marry at seventeen and eighteen, but they were racing a clock.”

clockwork princess takes place in september/october (i think??) of 1878, and their wedding was supposed to be in december. what i’m thinking that tessa must be older than what cc has told us (in both the family tree and the “new” canon she established with the 10th anni of ca). based on the quote, we can probably assume that tessa is either already seventeen when clockwork princess starts, or will be turning seventeen sometime between then and december. which assumes jem’s birthday is somewhere in there as well. so will and jem being born in 1860 is probably correct, but tessa was probably born in 1861.

Bottom line: cc can’t even keep her own canon straight XD. im gonna try to write my own time line to try to make sense of it sigjdnd.

Waait a minute. Wow.

So, yes. Tessa's birthday is said to be January 28, 1862. Clockwork Princess takes place from October to December, which means Tessa is sixteen and turns seventeen in January 1879, which is still a couple months away from the supposed wedding.

I guess they didn't have any confirmed dates of birth before the 10th anniversary edition of Clockwork Angel, just the birth years, but I found this part with Charlotte and Jem in Clockwork Princess, chapter 13 "The Mind Has Mountains":

You are still a child, Charlotte wanted to say, but she did not. He was only a few weeks short of his eighteenth birthday, after all, when Shadowhunters became adults, and if when she looked at him she still saw the dark-haired little boy who had arrived from Shanghai clutching his violin, his eyes huge in his pale face, that did not mean he had not grown up.

Which, of course, goes along with the whole

“Yes, though Charlotte’s rather fallen off in tutoring us lately, as you might imagine,” said Will. “One either has a tutor or one is schooled in Idris—that is, until you attain your majority at eighteen. Which will be soon, thankfully, for the both of us.” “Which one of you is older?” “Jem,” said Will, and “I am,” said Jem, at the same time. They laughed in unison as well, and Will added, “Only by three months, though.”

part in Clockwork Prince which takes place from July to August, but the rest of what was previously discussed gives the idea that they both have already turned seventeen in 1878, especially when juxtaposed with Gabriel's and Nate's ages and the rest.

Otherwise it does work that Will is born in late December and Jem's birthday is in November, other than that whole mess with being "three months" apart in age. But the language is weird, Tessa won't be marrying at seventeen no matter what, though Jem' would've recently turned eighteen.

Will telling Cecily that:

“You can’t be married, Cecily! You’re only fifteen! When I get married, I’ll be eighteen! An adult!”

Will turning eighteen a week or so after that Christmas when he proposed to Tessa works in that context as well. Though they apparently married two years later in March 3, 1880, according to the bonus content.

Though not exactly on topic, I want to point out that in said bonus content, Will thinks that "It wasn’t strictly a Shadowhunter wedding, because Tessa wasn’t strictly a Shadowhunter. But Will had decided to wear wedding gear anyway, because he was going to be the head of the London Institute, and his children would be Shadowhunters" though, at least according to the comic, James' conception was such a surprise because they didn't know if Tessa as a warlock could have children. And James was born in 1886, six years after the wedding.

Anyway, it's still a bit of a mess because, though some parts do fit, other parts of the text were written in another frame of reference in any case.

The timeline idea sounds fantastic!

[solitaryearthperson]

For a while

Summary: Reader and Shuri share their first kiss.

(The reader is 18+ and uses they/them pronouns. The ethnicity/race is preferably black.)

"Too tight," I told her, wincing again as I felt Shuri make a slight pull on my edges as she started another braid. Sometimes we would go and get our hair braided at the royal salon, but times like this, we would do each other's hair as a way of bonding.

"Sorry," She said. "Now where were we?"

"Idris?" I asked, adjusting my seating on the floor, careful not to disturb Shuri's work.

"Mmm, no."

"No," I repeated in disbelief.

"No. Not for me."

When I felt that she had gotten to the end of the braid, I turned around and looked up at her in obvious disbelief. For the past few minutes, we've been going back and forth, asking each other about any celebrity crushes, and it seemed that each one I suggested, she turned down immediately.

"How can Idris not be for you? He's for everyone."

"Not. For. Me. Turn back around."

I turned back around and tried to think of another celebrity, while she began to braid another section of my hair.

"Rihanna?" I asked.

A burst of laughter erupted from her and I looked slightly over my shoulder to see her looking down at me with a big smile on her face.

"What? You can't not want Rihanna?"

"I'm sorry I don't. Keep your head forward."

Groaning, I turned my head forward, trying to think of another one. " Michael B. Jordan?"

"No," she laughed. "Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Why do you care so much about who I like?"

Her question made me quiet for a second as I didn’t know what to say. For a while, I’ve felt something for Shuri, but I can’t really tell if she felt something for me or not. Sometimes the way she looks at me makes me think she might do, but she’s never said anything to indicate it. She would sometimes look at me with an expression almost reminding me of adoration, but just as quickly it would come, it would quickly go. I thought maybe this game would tell me what she’s into, physically, but she’s literally rejected every single person I’ve picked.

“I just think it’s weird. Everyone has at least one celebrity crush.”

“What about you?” 

“What about me?”

“Who’s yours,” she asked me, finishing the braid. 

“Um,...Letitia Wright,” I told her. “She’s cute.”

I felt her fingers stop moving and she was quiet for a second and I wondered if she caught on to what I was doing. When she finally did speak, I could hear the suspicion in her voice. “Didn’t you say that you think she looks like me?”

I gulped nervously before replying, “Yeah.”

She was quiet again. I still didn’t feel her fingers moving anymore, and I could feel her gaze on the back of my head. I took the chance to turn around and look up at her and I found that she was looking down at me with that same look. It was always intense and whenever she did it, I would, like now, feel a small fluttering in my stomach. 

“Shuri, are you-” I was cut off by the soft feel of her lips landing on mine. She quickly pulled away, me and her both looking at each other in shock, but I quickly got over mine and pulled her back down to kiss me again. 

Kissing her felt like a thousand butterflies fluttering inside me and I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest, but it was the best feeling ever. When I felt her tongue move against my bottom lip, I let out a gasp and allowed hers to meet mine, moaning into her mouth. When we felt that we both needed some air, we pulled away from each other, but not before she gave another soft kiss on my lips, leaving them tingling.

She had the same intense look in her eyes, but this time it was different. 

“How long?” I asked her.

“How long, what?”

“How long have you liked me?”

A wide smile spread across her face and she ducked her head down shyly. “For a while.”

“How long is a while?” I asked her, sitting up on my knees and placing my hands on hers, making her smile harder.

“Since,” she picked up my hand and looked at me, then placed a kiss on the back of it. “Since we first met.”

“Really?” I asked, not believing her. She nodded her head and I couldn’t control the scoff that came out of my mouth. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wasn’t sure if you felt the same, (Y/N). I didn’t want to ruin a friendship.” She placed her hand on my cheek, and leaned toward me to give me another kiss. My lips met hers halfway and even though the kiss was quick, it still brought the fluttering again.

“Now turn back around, so I can finish your hair,” She told me, laying a kiss on my cheek, before grabbing my shoulder, nudging me to sit back down on the floor.

Turning back around and turning my head forward, it didn’t take long to feel her fingers moving again in my hair, beginning to part another section of it. I lifted my hand up to my lips, remembering the feel of Shuri’s lips on mine and couldn’t control the smile that began to grow on my face.

[alexanderlightweight]

Hi ! I really really love the way you write, especially dark scenes.

Do you think you can write something about a very matrixed by the Clave Alec sent on a hunt to kill the High Warlock of Brooklyn but falling in love instead ? 💕

hahahahahaha oh gosh let me tell you how excited i am about this prompt because i have a backburner thought about this and hahaha yeah i jumped on this prompt like Nightshade on a moth. thank you and i hope you enjoy

lumine

-

Alec dresses with a solemnity that befits his mission, but not his rank.  He is a warrior and a diplomat by trade, a leader forged of his own making, but a darkened blade by the Clave’s demand.  

There was no real choice —there has never been a choice— in whether or not he takes the missions given him.  

What the Clave asks of him, he gives and while he knows all the laws and loopholes of the Accords and can twist them as eloquently as a seelie could twist the truth.  

This had no loopholes.

It is a command from his leaders, and he will follow through. 

As he always does.

Whether he wants to or not. 

Because Alec is a weapon and weapons cannot argue with those who wield them. 

His target's address is not a physical thing, nor even actual knowledge, but the remains of a confiscated and fading tracking spell that Idris sent to him.  

Alec leaves the institute quietly and unquestioned —long before the nightly patrols have begun to put on their gear— sinking into the growing shadows that he has been born and pledged to hunt within.

The first whisper of wards from his target’s domain brush against him with an almost intelligent spark. Once again, he wonders just what his parents did for the deeds to restore their honor to require this. He wants to know so badly, how upholding the Lightwood name turned to his blade being soaked blood and his soul battered with deaths on orders he’s not allowed to question.

The entire building is warded so thoroughly that it feels almost alive. Alec shouldn’t be able to see the magic without his spiritum rune activated, but somehow, he can.  It’s beautiful and Alec feels the tiniest pang of regret before he pushes it aside and leaps up.  Somehow the magic doesn’t hinder him, even when it sparks against him, and it is the work of an infant nephilim to make it to the top.

Alec uses the roof to take a rare minute of rest.

He breathes in the cold night air as he checks the tracker.

And then he throws himself off the roof, rolling to soften the sound and settles into the shadow of the balcony he lands on, letting the darkness swallow him back up.

His quiver shimmers into existence against his back and Alec strings his bow as he centers himself. 

Alec learned archery to protect from afar, but he was also trained to kill.

There is no room for Alec Lightwood on this mission, for now, he is but an instrument of the Clave.

He is a weapon of his people and nothing less… but also nothing more.

—

Magnus lets his uninvited guest get as far as his roof before he begins to dress himself.  It’s an auspicious occasion after all, and he does pride himself on being a good host. 

His wards spark about him as his guest moves and Magnus has to admit that there is something truly unique about his unexpected visitor.  If not for the strength of Magnus’ wards, he might not have noticed them at all.

As it is, Magnus’ magic has found and clung to his intruder since they first touched Magnus’ wards. Magnus finishes buttoning his cuffs and straightens his vest, and he waits. 

He finds that he’s almost charmed by the interruption.  

It’s been at least six months — or possibly six years — since the last blatant assassination attempt and this one is already much more promising.  The fact that he can literally feel and taste nephilim blood ensures it. 

It’s been a long time since the Clave was willing to risk another attempt on him.

He tilts his glass to the ceiling, admiring the blood red hue of it and turns with a smirk on his face, ready to greet his would-be-assassin.

His drink falls as his grip loosens in shock. Glass shatters and liquor and crystal shards cover his shoes as his mouth clenches in a snarl of surprise.  

The arrow that pierces his chest leaves no burning pain behind, just a tingling ache.  None of his once holy but now twice damned royal blood spills, the only evidence of the wound ever existing is a sizzling hole in his shirt.  

His shadowhunter assassin growls, a low rumble in his throat, but before he can notch another arrow, he’s pulled through the glass of the window he shatters and thrown into Magnus’ wall. 

Magic presses against him. 

Covering every inch of him as Magnus stalks forward.  He gives the tiniest twitch of his fingers and his magic, as if apologetic for its misstep, quickly deposits the arrow into his hand.  

He rolls it between his fingers, studying it.  

Not even during the uprising had a nephilim blade ever truly pierced his skin.  He wonders what reward he should give the wielder for this particular wound. 

What punishment would be most fitting?

His wards, which have been gently chiming since the beginning, ring with a final, ominous toll as Magnus presses glowing, blue fingers to the intruder's chin and lifts up.

Oh.

Well now. This changes everything.

— 

“Well, aren’t you a pretty thing,” Bane murmurs, his fingers a strong pressure on Alec’s jaw as he speaks.  

Even with the limited information on Bane that he has access to, there was nothing that could have prepared Alec for Bane’s response to the attempted assassination. 

Nor was he expecting Bane to be quite so... magical.

“No?” He asks, because of all the things in his life that he’s been called, pretty hasn’t been one of them. 

“You intrude on my domain, ruin one of my favorite outfits and now you lie to me? Truly appalling behavior from one of the Clave’s beloved.”  Bane tells him and his thumb presses higher on Alec’s face in what is probably meant to be a threat but feels much more like a caress.  

The words themselves make him roll his eyes and a scoff escapes him.  He’s not one of the Clave’s beloved and even if he was, his hidden but very real desires mean he never will be.  

Alec opens his mouth to object, to ask what is going on, anything to figure out exactly why Bane hasn’t already killed him, and Bane’s other hand comes up.  Two neatly painted fingers press to Alec’s lips and tap against them in warning.  His words are stifled — not by magic — but by the mere touch of Bane’s smooth calluses against his mouth.  It’s a mindless act, to lick his lips and they both stiffen when his tongue flicks against hot skin and magic.

Energy crackles around and over him and Alec bites into his bottom lip, surprised by how it doesn’t hurt — and by how good it feels.

When it’s done, Bane steps back.  He looks faintly surprised, but mostly pleased, and Alec wonders at just what he’s learned. 

What Alec did that’s betrayed him enough to put that look on his target’s face.

That much glee on Bane’s face can’t mean anything good for Alec, even if Bane looks gorgeous when he smiles.  As it is, he can barely resist the urge to lean forward and chase the fleeting warmth of Bane’s touch.  It is surprisingly soft, for an enemy.  In fact, it’s lot gentler than Alec’s experienced from most of the allies in his life.

“I think we can be a bit more civilized about all of this.” Bane offers and his fingers curl in a flourish and when Alec blinks his eyes open — startled to realize he’d closed them at all — it’s to see two new chairs in the room.  Bane sits in one with an odd smirk and points to the empty one. 

“To start with, what exactly have I done in the last two decades that warrants a kill order from the Clave?  It’s been at least a century since I last earned one of those pesky things.” 

Alec swallows, wrong footed by the question.  He’s never heard of anyone surviving a kill order by the Clave before, much less thriving and flaunting their existence after one was placed.  However, it makes sense, in a strange way, that of all the beings in the world Magnus Bane would be the one to accomplish it. 

He hesitates to move, but Bane’s magic doesn't give him a choice and a moment later he’s comfortably seated.  Well, as comfortably as one can be when magically bound to a leather chair.  

“The Clave—” he starts, because as with most things, this is the fault of the Clave. But he pauses, “the Accords—” because he’s hoping that will somehow be better and finally, he grits his teeth.  His eyes close and to his relief his hand is allowed to come up, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.  “I don’t know why they want you dead. Probably because you’re a threat.”  Alec finally admits.  Perhaps it’s magic, or his situation, but the truth flows easily past his lips.

“The Clave doesn’t like threats.  It’s been years since the Uprising, and they still haven’t fully regained their strength.  New York is one of their strongest Institutes and yet it’s you who holds the power in our local region.”

Bane blinks at him, as if astounded and then laughter rings through the air.  

“A political threat.  They are doing this because of politics? And they sent you, sweet innocent cherub for the reaping. Darling, I’m not simply the High Warlock of Brooklyn.”  And here Bane rises back to his feet, “I’m a king.  In some ways, all the important ways even.  I’m your king.”

— 

Magnus stares at his would-be-murderer and magic coils around him, ready to strike and drag him so close that they can never be parted.  The magic of his soul dislikes his restraint and the dominion magic that lends itself to his service wants to claim and take now. 

All of Magnus’ magic demands that he takes what is rightly owed to him, to bind the counterpart of his soul to himself.

Magnus wants that as well but knows that he needs to err on the side of caution, as much as he doesn’t wish to. 

His own personal magic, however, has other ideas.  Which is clear from the protective blue sparks still coming off of his soulmate’s skin, the hole in Magnus’ shirt and the phantom ache of a wound that doesn’t truly exist. 

Magnus never expected to meet his soulmate like this — never expected them to truly exist.  But his lips curl into a smirk as his magic dances along his boy’s body and he remembers the elegant stance and fearless way he’d tried to kill him.

It’s delightful and new and Magnus knows that when he’s done with this, his shadowhunter will be not a sword at his throat but one at his side. 

The Clave has done what Magnus’s own father hasn’t been able to accomplish for centuries, given him his soulmate.

It’s only fair that Magnus pays them back, tenfold for the gift given.