#herongraystairs week

[caterpillarinacave]

~~~~~ Jem Carstairs ~~~~~

1860 - Present 

Soft pillows, quiet rain, birdsong, a purring cat, following someone to the ends of the earth, moonlight, peace within yourself, music echoing around your room, loving people so deeply, laughter, the smell of sandalwood and a very gentle sort of kindness.

—

TID Character Moodboards 3/16

[cortanasdaisies]

a herongraystairs reunion in twp would actually ruin me yall don't understand. i was a complete wreck for a week after reading clockwork princess and had a fever from crying so hard. their reunion would kill me.

[imabitchforjemcarstairs]

I'm assuming (again pls correct me if i'm wrong! :D<3) that ur fav shadowhunter character is Jem!

Would you mind indulging me as to why u love him and his character arc throughout the series? 😊

I am finally attacking this question. I took some time answering it because I wanted to give it justice. Now, bear in mind, that it’s been a while since my last read of TID/GotSM, and I forgot a lot about the series. I will try to give my best answer (and probably come back to this when I will do my huge reread of the whole series before TWP). 

First, I want to clarify that Jem is one of my favourite characters in the series, but not the only one. I could write the same about Will and Tessa. Like, I’m a real herongraystairs trash and the main reason why I continue with the series. I don’t know why, but they stuck with me. I think it’s assumed that Jem is my only fav because of my username, but no, the username was a joke that stuck, and I don’t mind, because I am his bitch, and it made CC giggle when I told her, and according to her, aren’t we all😭

Now, before going to the essay, I would like to say contrary to a lot of the fandom (who like Jem or dislike him), I do not think we have a lot of him. I think he is the most present character, yet, we still know so little of him.

Hear me out, he is the only protagonist with zero POV, in his series, (we got Cecy’s POV in CP2, and she arrived in the epilogue of book 2). Even in GotSM, which is supposed to be a book about Zachariah, and his mission to find the lost Herondale, he still gets sidelined to follow the stories of other characters (Matthew, Anna, Tessa, Celine, Jace, Alec, Livvy and Janus). Zachariah is used as a vehicle to tell us about the other characters' stories, and sometimes we get a glimpse of what he thinks and feels. I would argue that the only real story where we dive into his head, and get to know him is Learn About Loss. Add to the fact that in TID we only see him through the eyes of Will and Tessa, yeah, he’s the character with the most cameos with Magnus, yet what do we know about Jem, other than he is the 3rd person in a love triangle, Will’s parabatai, and Tessa’s second love interest, AND that he is the kindest, selfless character in the series? Practically nothing. 

Like I said above, in TID, we only see him through the eyes of Will and Tessa, who literally see him as this perfect, angelic person. Tessa because she arrives at the institute after 6 weeks of torture, and is in need of kindness and friendship, and eventually falls in love with him. And then we have Will, who sees Jem as his opposite, everything that is pure and kind, and everything that he is not. And because of the inevitable death of Jem and his curse, this bond is what keeps him alive, and he will cherish it like hell (one day I will write an essay on the terms and conditions Will put on his “curse” when he was a kid). So yeah, we have a series written through two protagonists, who see the third as this precious thing, that needs the utmost protection against the world, but also against themselves; see Tessa once she arrived, she started talking about finding cures and defending him against Will, in CP1: 

-      “You should,” Tessa said softly, “think about the way the things you do affect Jem.”

Will rolled his head back against the leather of the chair and regarded her. He looked drowsy and tired and beautiful. He could have been some Pre-Raphaelite Apollo. “Is this a serious conversation now, Tess?” His voice still held humor but was edged, like a gold blade edged in razored steel.

Tessa came and sat down in the armchair across from his. “Aren’t you worried that he’s cross with you? He’s your parabatai. And he’s Jem. He’s never cross. 

“Perhaps it’s better that he’s cross with me,” said Will. “So much saintlike patience cannot be good for anyone.”

“Do not mock him.” Tessa’s tone was sharp.

“Nothing is beyond mockery, Tess.”

“Jem is. He has always been good to you. He is nothing but goodness. That he hit you last night, that only shows how capable you are of driving even saints to madness.”

“Jem hit me?” Will, fingering his cheek, looked amazed. “I must confess, I remember very little of last night. Only that the two of you woke me, though I very much wanted to stay asleep. I remember Jem shouting at me, and you holding me. I knew it was you. You always smell of lavender.”

Tessa ignored this. “Well, Jem hit you. And you deserved it.” […]

“No, you don’t,” Tessa cried in frustration. “Do you think he cares about the danger? Do you? His whole life has been destroyed by this drug, this yin fen, and there you go off to a warlock den and drug yourself up as if it doesn’t even matter, as if it’s just a game to you. He has to take this foul stuff every day just so he can live, but in the meantime, it’s killing him. He hates to be dependent on it. He can’t even bring himself to buy it; he has you do that.” Will made a sound of protest, but Tessa held up a hand. “And then you swan down to Whitechapel and throw your money at the people who make these drugs and addict other people to them, as if it were some sort of holiday on the Continent for you. What were you thinking?”

“But it had nothing to do with Jem at all—”

“You didn’t think about him,” said Tessa. “But perhaps you should have. Don’t you understand he thinks you made a mockery out of what’s killing him? And you’re supposed to be his brother.”

Will had whitened. “He can’t think that”

“ He does,” she said. “He understands you don’t care what other people think about you. But I believe he always expected you’d care what he thought. What he felt.”

That is just an example, but the whole series is like that when it comes to Jem. Them defending him to each other when they fuck up, or defending him against the world, because for them he is that almost angelic person. And that’s cool and all, but what about him as a person? As a whole entity, and not an addition to the other two. (but then I read TLH, and TDA, and I think CC does not know/or doesn’t want to write the three separated from each other, but that is for another discussion, because these three always come in a package deal, and can’t be separated, I guess)

Now, that this is out in the clear, let’s get to the question, why is he one of fav characters? Well, for everything we don’t see, and know about him. And from the little we can get of him in the books. The minimum info on him is so freaking interesting, it just pushes us to read between the lines and do a lot of character study, (academic style) to get to his head.  

Even though the surface-level reading of the character is that he is very kind, empathic, helpful and selfless. Now, that’s normal because Jem is a very discreet character, and in contrast, we have Will, who is very loud, very look at me (because of his curse). At some point, Tessa observes that Jem is like the owner of a very annoying dog. So, in a way, on a first read, he is kind of overshadowed by funny/clown Will. However, the man is funny as hell: 

-      “Jem gave her a wistful look. “Must you go? I was rather hoping you’d stay and be a ministering angel, but if you must go, you must.”

“I’ll stay,” Will said a bit crossly, and threw himself down in the armchair Tessa had just vacated. “I can minister angelically.”

“None too convincingly. And you’re not as pretty to look at as Tessa is,” Jem said, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the pillow.

“How rude. Many who have gazed upon me have compared the experience to gazing at the radiance of the sun.”

Jem still had his eyes closed. “If they mean it gives you a headache, they aren’t wrong.”

-      “A demonic worm,” said Jem, pausing to peer cautiously around a hedgerow. “A great serpent. Would that help your inappropriate humor?”

He is also very eloquent when he wants to be (see Lily in GotSM), in his proposal, his apology to Tessa in CP2, him comforting Charlotte in CP2, etc…

And we also see his flaws, in the series, but there is no emphasis on them. His selfishness. Now, I know, he is a teenage boy, who knows that he is dying, but in that scene in CP2 when he threw Yin Fen in the fire, with no regard for the other members of his family, and how they do not want to lose him. We can also read that he is a very scared person. One because of the trauma he went through, but also because he will not live for a long time. Ex: his rushed engagement to Tessa.

This leads to one flaw we rarely talk about when it comes to Jem, which is his insecurities. His insecurity over his body, hell, even in After the Bridge, which is 100 years later, he was still insecure about his scared body. His insecurity about not being enough to Tessa, and that she deserves the best like his crazy consumption of Yin Fen to be perfect for her in CP2. 

And all of this could have been explored if we had his POV. It would have added depth to his character. In TID, he is a teenage boy who is trying to survive in a country so far from his own. I would have loved to see his feelings over his trauma. I mean he saw his parents die, was tortured, and is still being tortured by what is keeping him alive. I would have loved to see his feelings about being in a way abandoned by his family (Elias) in a foreign country. Being alone at twelve, with no support system. Navigating his new life as a child, the mental and physical toll of having to take the Yin Fen in order to survive, but also how it will eventually kill him. The mental toll of believing and defending his only best friend who was fucking it big during that time, (same for Will, and how mentally draining it must have been to know your only best friend is dying as a child, especially after witnessing the death of his sister but that is for another post). I wanted to see his insecurities regarding his body, in contrast with the body of Will, especially because they are living in a very able-body culture, and how being a Shadowhunter is all they have, and their noble cause. I wanted to see his feelings of how limited he is physically compared to the other Shadowhunters of his age, and how he felt about the critics and remarks the other said about him. And when he was engaged, his feelings about not living for a long time with Tessa, and only giving her little. 

 And later in GotSM, I wanted to see how he felt about his life as a silent brother, and how he was cheated of his death. How he was present in the life of his loved ones, yet not very. I wanted to know how he felt when Elias said that he did not want him to be part of his family. 

Anyway, this is getting too long. But, yeah, my love for Jem is for all that is not written, and what we can deduct from the multiple rereads of the series. I will probably come back to this post when I reread everything, and add stuff to it. 

[themimsyborogove]

🎶✨️when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. Send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨️

My brain has been completely Bump of Chicken mode for a couple of weeks, so no one is getting any variety, I’m just going to vomit Bump all over you. They’ve been my favorite band for twenty years now, so this happens periodically

Sleep Walking Orchestra (the song that set this round of brain worms off, opening theme for the new Dungeon Meshi anime, which is a fantastic series)

Mado no Naka Kara (the one currently eating my brain because I listened to the live version while I was taking a walk earlier and it sounds so good live. Have a feeling I’m going to be spending all day tomorrow with my headphones and a dictionary trying to translate it)

Namida no Furusato (“Birthplace of Tears”, Herongraystairs vibes)

Harujion (Magnus vibes, title even translates to “Fleabane”)

Ribbon (favorite lyric juxtaposition with “I have a marble’s worth of courage in my pocket” and “I have universe’s worth of anxieties in my pocket”)

[tys-kitty]

Hi!

I've been chronically offline for a couple weeks and have only just seen the herongraystairs moodboard! It's so beautiful, thank you so much!

How has your day been?

-☀️

Ahh thank you so much, sweetheart! (I‘m so glad you liked it!)

And I just saw that you also wished me good luck for my exams?! Thank you! 🥹

My day has been great so far, I‘ve written my last exams this week and now I finally have time for my TDA reread *squeak*!

How are you doing? <33

[belle-keys]

As for Infernal Devices, I'd have enjoyed it more if not for love triangle. At some point I thought it'd serve everyone fine if Will was with Jem and Tessa was left alone. Do you plan on reading Clare's new book Sword Catcher?

Ahhh, I’m gonna have to take the other side here: I loved the love triangle and the herongraystairs dynamic. To this very day I still think it’s the perfect book love triangle!

Also, I’m 82% into Sword Catcher. I’ll be finishing it tonight. I’m pretty addicted, won’t lie. Full length thoughts on it coming this week (mainly on my Goodreads but I’ll try to copy them on here). I foresee it’s gonna be 4 if not 4.5 stars.

[terrainofheartfelt]

You're really good at writing imo. Are their any fanfic authors or any books you recommend that helped you improve your writing?

Thank you so much! That’s very kind!

And oh boy DO I

For years before I actually wrote anything I was a fanfic lurker and I read a lot. My last church choir job in the Before Times was during the final seasons of GoT and I read a lot of fic during the sermon. Which is just to say, that I think there are a lot of fic writers — both within and without the GG fandom that have influenced me and inspired me. I wouldn’t say anything has directly improved in an instructional sense, like “this is how you should write, yadidiyadda…” but reading a lot has let me learn by osmosis: what I like to see, what I don’t like to see, and a lot of it has inspired me, particular tropes and story premises and things like that, so! Let’s have some lists…

First, in the non-Gossip Girl category, there are writers in different fandoms whose works I think about a lot and really enjoy and kind of…look up to, if that makes sense. In the Shadowhunter Chronicles, the media that has had as much as an obsessive hold on my heart as GG, one might argue, I really admire @themimsyborogove and revisit her work often. And—we’re not mutuals so I’ll refrain from tagging bc I’m shy— ashesandhoney writes some awesome fic (and, if I may be so crass, they write very good smut—is it weird to cite a smut influence? Oh well, too late). TSC is a fandom that’s been racked with both a poor movie and poor TV adaptation, so finding fic that satisfies a books-truther just as myself is a tall order, but these two both are lovely (and Mimsy writes showfic too that I just know is wonderful bc she wrote it). And tsc & these writers opened me up to the magic of trying to write the ot3. I’ve used ashesandhoney’s herongraystairs fic as a frame of reference for writing d/b/n (not that the characters are the same, or the relationship dynamics between the three are the same, it’s more a…vibe thing? Like, how do you illustrate this love and how these three connect to each other?) 

And in GoT I will never forget ashleyfanfic and justwanderingneverlost they made this amazing au where the Starks are prohibition bootleggers and it reads like an hbo miniseries hatfields and mccoys kind of epic and I think about it alllllll the time. And it is one fo the first aus that left an impact for being so out there when held up against the source material, but so inventive and grounded in the characters and I just think about it at least once a week. Also ashley’s pop star au fic is god tier and lived rent free in my mind for a loooooong time. Also a smutspiration. 

In the same vein of aus I never could have imagined but took over my heart, welpthisishappening’s hockey au of OUAT. before these works I was pretty much a canon-compliant/canon-divergence only kind of fic reader, and these works and these writers got me to see outside of that view and gave me permission to imagine characters in worlds outside of their own, and how exciting that can be, and without that I definitely wouldn’t have written all that I have. And lastly, I have to give a shoutout to a writer of the other GG, MrsMess and their Gilmore Girls fic. Harvest Moon healed the wounds of the revival to me and is canon in my heart, and it’s so beautifully and thoughtfully written and how could I not be inspired by it?

And as for the dair fandom itself….god I mean pretty much everyone I’ve read has made me a better writer and made me want to write and keep writing. In the beginning of the dairaissance in mid 2020 the tag on ao3 was much smaller (I think we’ve grown it by like 50%??? Just looking at it roughly??? Good work team!!!) and of course I was inspired by the great revered fic standards written by audrina (she’s retired from gg but secondaudrina is the pseud where most of her fic lives on), and bookglue aka @windowsandfeelings (I only got into her gilmore girls works through gossip girl but damn she’s a hero), and nevertothethird aka @scabopolis — like seriously I wouldn’t have written anything at all probably if not for the existence of Wrapped in Ribbons, and @pseudowoodo as well, who wrote thee seminal role-swap au. 

And then of course there’s my heavyhitters, my ride-or-dies. I’ve told them multiple times, but I’ll tell em again, Nads @mysteriesofloves and Ivy @mrs-nate-humphrey were writing and posting and creating pretty regularly when I started poking my head in to the fandom, and their stories were so brilliant and well thought out and compassionate to the characters that it turned on something in my brain and made me want to write too, so I did. Then not long after I found S @strideofpride, my most beloved enabler and peer pressurer and reading what they make and talking to them about it has unquestionably made me a better writer. I have grown a lot in the year and however many months it’s been since I started doing this and I owe it to all of the above <333

As for not-fic writing I read….just everything. Everything I read informs me as a writer, directly and indirectly. Though I don’t write it, I find poetry very inspirational. Devotions, No Matter the Wreckage, Open Me Carefully, Leaves of Grass, have all informed me. Some prose writers I—not necessarily aspire to, bc how could I ever be as brilliant? But maybe…revere and internalize are: Jane Austen, Emily Dickinson, Isabel Allende, Vladimir Nabokov, Kevin Kwan, Emily Henry...

[sofi182]

fuuuck…i’m getting the sudden urge to read tid and tda once more, bc it’s been years and i need to remember the herongraystairs angst and just everything of jemma, cause someone just reminded me of that scene in the beach in the first book and after that they deal with their emotions so badly and the desperation that’ll cause me would be thrilling idk

but if i read those i’ll want to read tmi too and that’s just too much too many too little time

and first i need to finish my aeita reread and that’s going to take at least 3 more weeks. at least. i miss having time to read at super speed and without anxiety of everything that i’m supposed to be doing :(

[tscevents]

I did some draws to see in which months each week could happen and this was the result, what do you think?

herongraystairs: july

heronstairs: april

heronwood: march

charlottehenry: july

herondaisy: november

luciejesse: march

thomastair: october

kitty: april

kiermarktina: december

fairwood: november

Does anyone who has read chain of iron know when the herondaisy wedding probably took place? I will only read this book when chain of thorns comes out and I have confirmation that they are endgame

[nessietwihard02]

✨✨✨ “𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒘𝒐.”✨✨✨⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ Hello, bookish friends!⁣ ⁣ 𝐐𝐎𝐓𝐃: Which type of bookish merch do you wish to own more of?⁣ ⁣ 𝐀𝐎𝐓𝐃: You’re staring at mine right here😂 I didn’t know these acrylic thingies were a thing before bookstagram. And boy, did I freak out when I found out that @illumicrate’s TID Archives set had this😭 Well worth every peso I spent to justify that this is the best graduation gift I could buy myself🥹⁣ ⁣ 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬, 𝐏𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐦! 🇵🇭🥳🥳🥳 It might not be how we thought we would celebrate this day, but we’re still fighting and clamoring for our voices to be heard and to stop misinformation and disinformation🥺 Kapit lang, mga bes!⁣ ⁣ Cutting this #ShadowhunterSunday post short because I’m still working😂 I’m not even sure I could manage 4 hours of sleep tonight because of the tight deadlines, but hopefully, I would get the chance to give your posts some love once the preboard meeting passes by tomorrow 🤞🏻⁣ ⁣ Have a great week ahead! ✨💕⁣ ⁣ #TheBookwormPrincess👸🏻⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ #bibliophile #bookstagram #books #readersofig #igreads #booklover #bookaholic #mybookfeatures #bookstagramcommunity #booklovers #PageTurnersPH #bookstagramfeaturesonly #Shadowhunters #TheShadowhunterChronicles #Herongraystairs #WillHerondale #TessaGray #JemCarstairs #CassandraClare #Illumicrate #TheInfernalDevices (at London Institute) https://www.instagram.com/p/CetUn1_Poj4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[glassandhoney]

currently feeling like a wreck, I've spent the last week studying almost non-stop and I still feel like I've learned nothing. I've got an exam tomorrow and the day after and honestly they're gonna be shit, I just know it, but I'll try to be positive.

in the short breaks that I have I try to write the next chapter of tsos, but it's honestly going very... meh. but at least I have the memory part done :') it's cool, it's fun. and it makes me wonder how tf have I never leaned into heronstairs and herongraystairs in canon but now it's all I think about. lmk if anyone wants a preview maybe I'll post a bit

[youngreckless]

HERONGRAYSTAIRS LOCKSCREENS ♡

likes/reblogs appreciated 🤗

please don't be a shitty person and repost :)

tag list: @runecarstairs @my-archerboy @tamaraheartz @ghafascortana @magnus-the-maqnificent @beclynn-herondale @rinadragomir @ninacarstairss @khaleesiofalicante @darklingswhxore @imherongraystairstrash @cupcakesandkittens @lucian-evander @shadowhuntertrash @textrovert-01 @tobeornottobetequila @greenbriarxrose @lovelaces @reyna-herondale @fantasylitnet @writeforjordelia @tsccreatorsnet @wannabe-warlock @amy-herondale-chase @coffee-fandoms-and-chaos @magnifique1807 @shadowhuntingdemigod @icycoolslushie @kiwichaeng @queen-born-out-of-fire @dark-artifices-only @adoravel-fenomeno @temperedlikecortana @clarys-heosphoros @shadowhunting-hooligans @thewolfnephilim @ncstas @pink-party-dino @hardlymatters @livvyheronstairs @fandomcreatorssnet

[tojixzenins]

Herongraystairs Week.

Lock screens? I have no idea. just did the editing hope y'all like it.

[willothewhisper]

Herongraystairs Week: Day 4 Wessa

This is Part 1 of a very poem, I will post the consecutive parts tomorrow and the day after. I hope you guys like it. And I'm so very thankful to all the love you guys have bestowed so far 🥺💕💕

Tagging some of my mutuals (lemme know if you wanna be removed) @anotherteenageroninternet @untowardflower @theenchanteddreamer @clockworknights @ghafa-dale @jurdan-my-beloved @clarys-heosphoros @reyna-herondale @this-beautiful-mess-tonight @booksarealwaysbettersworlds-blo @herondalesunsetcurve @22herondale @book-dragon-not-worm @writeforjordelia @wannabe-warlock @sankt-nazyalensky @no-cheese-is-fucking-dumb @kazoo-the-demjin @artxbooks @hardlymatters @crazy-beautiful @shadowrunner2000 @queen-asteria04 @nenyx @burn-like-starss @cressjacquine @pjo-tsc-trc-otherthingstoo @the-blackdale

Tell me if anyone else would like to be tagged, I'll be glad to add :)

[the-blackdale]

𝕎𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕒 𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟𝕤

𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚢 -4

(🙈 𝚒 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚖 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚢 4, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 )

Like or reblog if you save 😘

[heronwilde]

My late contribution for Herongraystairs Week, Day 3 : Jem Carstairs