#jace and clary may not have actually been siblings but jace and alec definitely are 😬😬😬😬

[lotussokka]

thinking about jace talking to alec about his conflicting feelings for clary at alec’s “bachelor party”..... he really went to the expert on that topic didnt he?

[beclynn-herondale]

Falling like the Stars

Jace was organizing papers: putting them into specific categories. He accidentally cut his finger on the edge of a piece of paper.

Involuntarily, he said, "Ouch." 

His daughter, who had been coloring a picture for Clary, jerked her head up. "Who hurt you?" her sweet little voice asked in a fierce and protective tone.

It took him a moment to answer, he loved his baby so much and when she did things like this it made him want to fall to the floor. "No one, Celery. I just got a paper cut," he said, tears forming in his eyes. "But, you're so protective and I love you."

She smiled like the sun. "Love you, too, dada," she said. "Can I beat up the paper?"

He laughed. "You can't beat up paper."

"I can."

Yes, she has the stubbornness of both him and Clary, both their babies did.

"How about instead we go start dinner," he said, "I'm kinda done with this paperwork."

"Yay!" she was beaming.

Jace always included his children when he did things like cooking or baking or when he took care of the plants in the greenhouse. It allowed them to spend time together but also he wanted to teach them these things, to pass things onto them so they'll remember forever, and to share memories that they'll hold with them forever.

He also taught these things to his nieces and nephews.

"Alright," Jace said, pulling a stool up to the counter and picking his daughter up and placing her on it. "What do we want to have?"

"Mommy said she's been craving the chicken stir fry you make."

"Has she?" Clary had craved that a lot when she was pregnant with the twins, and even after having them still wanted it often. "Well, mommy has been out most of the day. Let's surprise her with dinner."

"I think she will love that."

Cecie had always been pronouncing words very well for her age, there were moments when Jace wondered if Clary and him had made a genius. Though, maybe every parent thought that. And then Archie had the artistic talent of his mother, Clary had included him in painting since it was safe to allow him to do so, and he was already drawing things very well.

They made dinner and by the time they were finished Clary was back and Archie was back from playing soccer with Max and Rafe. Clary tackled their daughter with kisses while Archie ran up and tackled Jace's leg. "Hey, buddy," he said, while ruffling his son's red curls. Archie took after his mom in looks while Cecie took after him, except their eyes, Cecie had her mom's eyes and Archie had Jace's eyes.

"Mom, you gotta hear what happened to dada today."

"What?" asked Clary.

"A paper cut him," Cecie said, "I threatened to beat it up." She sounded so serious it made Jace want to laugh.

Clary stared at their daughter with a look Jace knew well, it was a look of holding yourself back from squeezing one their children into a hug too tightly. "You're so precious," she said. And hugged her with tears of joy in her eyes.

Jace watched them for a moment with adoration. Archie appeared to be trying to decide if he should tackle them both. Jace picked his son up and then went over to take both his daughter and wife into his arms, three of the most important people in his life. They both laughed and kissed him on his cheeks. His little family.

After dinner they put Cecie and Archie to bed.

"Read this one to me, da," said Cecie.

Archie nodded.

Jace was never able to say no to them. "Alright." He'd lost count of how many times he had read this book to them. It also happened to be the same book Max was obsessed with when he was younger, Jace looked at the book, The Very Small Mouse Who Went a Very Long Way.

Alec couldn't look at the book without remembering the many times he himself had read it to Max. Funnily enough, Alec had regifted it to Jace and Clary when Celery and Artichoke came along, Jace believes this gesture had hidden intentions. Aunt Lily also read it to them, though she also threatened to eat them because they were so cute and sweet, Alec told Jace that Lily didn't actually mean that, and he knew that as well.

After reading it to them twice, they both finally fell asleep. Jace gave them both a gentle goodnight kiss on the head and shut out the lights.

He headed to his and Clary's bedroom. Once you became an adult and a parent sleep was very much welcomed.

Clary was in their bathroom combing out her wild red curls. "Are our little Shadowhunters asleep?"

"Yup," he said, "after reading that book two times through."

"I do believe Alec gifted it to us as a way to secretly torture us."

"I think you're on to something, my love," said Jace.

She gave him that smile that was for only him. "How was your day?" she asked.

"Good. Celery really did threaten to beat up a piece of paper."

Clary laughed. "How did we get so lucky?"

"I don't know. But I know I can't imagine our lives without those two."

"Me either," said Clary.

They both got ready for bed and went to sleep.

——

Clary was walking toward her desk to get a pen: she was signing official Clave documents for the Clave in exile.

Sadly she still had clumsy moments and even more sadly she was barefoot, she stubbed her toe on the foot of the desk.

"Ow. Damnit!" she said, then covered her mouth as she remembered her two year old was in the room with her.

"You okay mommy?" Her daughter asked.

She looked down at her daughter, her big green eyes were full of concern. "Mommy is fine," she said, "just hurt my toe on the desk."

"Damnit! Stupid desk," said Cecie.

Fuck! She thought. "Sweety, please don't say that."

"Why not?"

"Well, uh, because it's not a good word."

"But you said it," said Cecie, looking confused.

"Yes. And mommy shouldn't have."

"Okay." Cecie shrugged.

"Hey, mom?"

"What?"

"Do you want a candy to help you feel better?"

Clary teared up. "Yes, I'd like that."

"K, I'll get you one."

She dashed out the door, while Clary clucthed her heart and sat on the floor from how much she loved that little baby.

At that moment Jace peered his head through the doorway and instantly his face changed from amusement to concern.

"Clary, are you okay?" he asked, voice anxious.

She waved a hand at him. "I'm fine. Just lost the ability to stand from the love I have for our daughter."

"Ah," he said, "did she threaten to beat something up for you?"

Clary nodded. "I stubbed my toe and she looked like she was going to fight the desk. Where's Archie?"

"He's getting paper and crayons, he immediately ran to get them when we got back. Saying something about how mama needed a drawing," Jace said. "Our Celery is becoming quite the protecter."

"Yes. And caring, she went to get me a piece of candy to make me feel better. And Archie is becoming quite the artist and kind boy."

At that, Jace looked like he too may start crying from the love for their daughter. "She's such a good Celery," he said. "Archie is a good Artichoke as well."

It was funny how Cecie was like the protecter and Archie was healer, the twins were opposites but loved each other to the moon and back.

Jace had nicknamed their daughter Celery and their son Artichoke after they were born. Clary being exhausted and knowing her husband and that there was no use in arguing with him on these nicknames, gave in and grew to love them for Cecie and Archie as well.

Jace had a thing with giving the kids he felt affection for or loved a nickname, and he of course gave much thought to the nicknames for their children, listing the benefits of them. Clary found it sweet, but also realized Jace was definitely secretly a plant and health nerd. He'd grown a lot from when she had first met him, he was more open with his love now, more open with his gentleness. He still had moments where he fought back reacting the way he used to but he had learned to fight them back, she was extremely proud of how far he's come. Then again, she was always proud of him.

Cecie came running back into the room, dodging Jace's reaching hands. "Hang on, dad," she said, "I gotta give momma this first."

She handed Clary the candy, then kissed her on the cheek. She then ran to Jace's still outstretched arms, and hugged him tight.

A moment later Archie came running into the room with paper and crayons.

"My celery," he said. "How was your day?"

"Good," she said. "Mommy got hurt though." She looked back over to Clary, who was on her feet now, and picked Archie up. walking toward two of the loves of her life.

"Mama's fine," Clary said, ruffling her daughters hair with her empty hand. then kissing Jace's cheek. "Now, we do need to get ready for Magnus' dinner party."

"Ah, yes," said Jace. "That's tonight. He'll be very dramatic if we are late."

"Uncle Magnus is awesome," said Cecie.

"Uncle Alec is awesome too," said Archie. Archie was always following his uncle Alec around, watching him closely. Clary wondered if he wanted to be like Alec. Jace of course thought it was the most amazing thing.

"Yes," Jace agreed. "But, uncle Magnus is also dramatic."

"You're one to talk," Clary teased.

They all laughed.

"Let's go! I want to see Max and Rafe," said Cecie. Who loved her cousins so much, and would tackle them with hugs when she saw them. Max and Rafe were extremely protective of her and Archie, as well. They would always be there when they were first learning to walk to pick them up and kiss their heads. They had always been gentle with them. And when they had first been born, Alec and Magnus brought them to see their new cousins and Max looked at them and said "I'm gonna protect them like little siblings." Clary started crying and Jace lost it too, it had been an emotional couple of days then. Magnus watched this with a kind of loving amusement and Alec patted his parabatai's shoulder.

It was odd and the most amazing thing, Clary thought. How they'd gone from a bunch of misfits who were fighting a lot in the beginning to a family who would do anything for each other and loved each fiercely. To all being married and having kids. She wouldn't trade this for anything.

"Is pop pop and gammy going to be there?" asked Cecie.

"No, but they are coming to take you tomorrow for a sleep over, though," said Clary. Cecie and Archie had started calling Luke pop-pop and Jocelyn gammy. Luke held the title with adoration and now has a mug  that says "best pop-pop in Brooklyn" ( gifted to him by Simon. his and Izzy's son also calls Luke pop-pop)

They went to Magnus' dinner party. They laughed and had fun and ate a lot. Magnus as usual threw a magnificent dinner party. This was their big family and it was home.

Inspired by an ask I sent @khaleesiofalicante last night

Tag list: @chibi-tsukiko @spotsandclawsthings @megs-readstoomuch @magnus-the-maqnificent @replayfootsteps @simply-ellas-stuff @bookfast-at-tiffanys @jazzkaurtheglorious @my-archerboy

[monysmediareview]

Mortal Instruments Series Review

My first review! Yay! 

We’re going to start with a series I recently got very into and then very out of: The Mortal Instruments series. I only read the first 3 books. I started the 4th and simply wasn’t interested, but we’ll get into that. 

This is honestly going to be a mixed review. There was a lot that I really loved about this series and was super happy to see so many well written or well thought out elements, but there’s also a lot that I wasn’t pleased with and could have done without. For the purpose of this review I will only be talking about the books and not the show or the movie, but again, we’ll get to that later. 

First thing’s first: the lovers to siblings back to lovers plot

What the actual fuck was that? I mean, I get it, the drama of it all was intense and emotional. I loved it for that but let’s take a moment to really consider what was wrong with this. I could have gotten on this band wagon, because it is dramatic as hell, which I love. But there are several moments throughout the first three books where, to Jace and Clary’s knowledge, they are full blood, 100% siblings, but they still make out. 

Outside the Wayland house in City of Glass they literally lay in a field, making out, taking clothes off. Not only is the world around them quite literally ending but at this moment they are under the impression that they are siblings. But they do it anyway. Which is disturbing to say the least. Sure, it makes it that much more of a relief when we find out they aren’t siblings and that Jonathan is a whole other person, but there were other ways to do that. This is a story read by a ton of young, impressionable, mostly female readers and that is just such a strange message to send. They’re already confused and worried about the world going on around them, why on earth would you throw that in, too? Thinking back to middle school, I can remember at least 2 cases of brothers and sisters being accused of hooking up and I now wonder if this series had anything to do with that. I shudder to think about it. 

Izzy deserved better

Right off the bat, we see Izzy through Clary’s pick me girl eyes and she does not like Izzy. She’s threatened by her and her connection with Jace. Again, why are we alluding to siblings hooking up with each other? It’s weird and uncomfy and Izzy deserved better than that. 

She’s a strong, independent, smart, well trained, self sufficient woman and I would have read so much more about her if it was there. Izzy is emotionally mature, resilient, and in my opinion would have been a much better main character for a series like this. There was no reason for Cassandra Clare to make Izzy so unlikable or have Clary put her down like that. This was actually an amazing opportunity to pass the Bechdel test but to have a strong female/female relationship and set a really good example for the younger readers. 

The Jace/Clary/Simon love triangle was weak 

I’m a sucker for a good love triangle. It’s an old, played out trope but I can’t help it. The drama of it all is intriguing and I like them. However, the love triangle with Clary and Simon and Jace just wasn’t juicy enough. Having Clary date Simon simply because she couldn’t be with Jace anymore was really weird, especially considering Simon had almost given up/gotten over Clary because he was interested in Izzy. Then, he drops Izzy, runs to Clary and then they just stop dating and decide to be friends. And then he goes back to Izzy from what I can tell from the beginning of City of Fallen Angels, which I think discredits her even more to go back to someone who left in her in dust like that. But I digress. 

If there was going to be a genuine love triangle, there needed to be a struggle of choice. Having her only choose Simon because he was what was left over was not a strong plot point and I felt that it took away from the story. It could have even been improved if Jace had shown outward jealousy or tried to convince her not to be with him but instead he ignored it. But that takes me to my next point. 

Jace was kind of an asshole 

I understand the idea of a “bad boy” love interest. It’s hot, it’s interesting, it’s everything every girl wants. But I’m also kind of over it. And in this case, it didn’t even stick. Jace very quickly goes from complete asshole to emotional loverboy and while I’d normally love that, it actually felt unintentional. I don’t have too much to say about this other than begging for writers and readers to have higher standards for male love interests in these types of stories. 

Jace’s unconditional love for Clary even though she’s boring

Category is: more tropes I’m kind of done with. 

The thing is, Clary isn’t anything special. It’s why I really don’t like her as a character. It enforces this trope of these “regular” but also “not like other girls” girls who get a bad boy to fall in love with them and suddenly be soft and gentle and kind just for them. It’s not realistic and it is so so damaging to the young girls who read things like this. Not that I think we should censor art or writing in any way to make it more morally upstanding or appealing to certain groups, but I do think that in wide spread media it is important to be conscious of the impact your work might make on certain groups of people. If a story like this needed to exist, then maybe it shouldn’t have been marketed to the audience it was. And let’s be real - there was no reason these characters couldn’t have been college aged instead of 16. 

Back to the topic at hand - Jace has completely unconditional love for Clary. I think that’s super cute but it is almost unhealthy the way he’s obsessed with her. Maybe it was just how I read it but I think there could have definitely been a better way to express that he’s in love with her without making it seem like he would die without her. 

Moral of the story, kids - let’s stop romanticizing unhealthy relationships. 

Simon being a Jewish vampire was a fantastic idea 

If you follow my main blog you probably know how much I love vampires. It’s kind of my thing. It’s why I picked up this series in the first place; because I was told that it had a really cool vampire subplot and it absolutely does. 

Vampires have always had a strong connection to catholicism, what with the crosses and the holy water and the churches and all that. It had never even occurred to me that a Jewish vampire might have to abide by different rules and it begs the question of how religion plays into vampirism in the first place. 

I don’t want to spend too much time on this because I could write pages and pages and pages on my take on vampires but I just wanted to praise this aspect of the series because it is badass. I hope we see more vampires of other religions popping up in media in the future. I think that would be dope as hell. 

Alec and Magnus are my OTP of this series

As far as love stories go I really don’t think it gets better than this couple. There wasn’t too much of them in the books I read but I became absolutely obsessed anyway. Magnus, who seems to be portrayed as some kind of bad boy in his own rite; you know, like an immortal whore, falling in love with Alec. Alec who is strong and kind and loves with his whole heart but hides who he really is. They help each other change for the better and seem to really complete each other. Even if this wasn’t entirely intentional, I’m here for it. I would die for them. If/when I review the TV show there will definitely be a ton about this. 

There are far too many parallels to Twilight for my liking

Okay, there aren’t that many. SMeyer does have a quote about how much she loves the series on the front of all the books that I have, though, and that’s too much already. Beside that there are a few things I noticed. 

Bella is obviously SMeyer’s self insert character and that makes me think that Clary is too. First of all the names are incredibly similar and let’s just take a look at Cassandra Clare.

Look familiar? 

Not to mention the story was stolen in the first place, but that’s for another review. I plan on reading that series as well to make my own observations. 

This series did not need to exceed 3 books

By the end of City of Glass, the story felt over to me. There were a few loose ends but nothing that ultimately made me want to keep reading and that’s why I think the 4th book fell flat. The entire thing could have been wrapped up nicely in three books or the end of the third book should have been more enticing and inviting to another installment. 

So, overall, I did enjoy the series. I think a lot of the characters were really well written, the dialogue was good, and the plot, while it has its flaws, was interesting at the very least. I’ll definitely be giving the rest of the books a shot at some point since the show opened my eyes to what plot lines may have been followed and I like that idea a lot. I know it seems like I really hate this series, but I don’t. It certainly has it’s issues but if you’re looking for something fun to read that you don’t plan on taking too seriously then I highly recommend. 

Until next time, friends!

[faejilly]

ultimate top 10 sh moments/scenes 👀

ultimate? I am terrible at favorites/top 10′s nonny, this will not be ultimate, it will just be whatever 10 random things I thought up that I could manage words about 😅 In no order whatsoever, with numbers just so I don’t lose my place even more than usual:

10. May I start of by saying The Wedding? I generally skip fictional weddings, they make me uncomfortable. I mute them on TV (or pull out my phone to distract me if there are other people watching) and skim them in print, I find the entire concept of personalized vows mortifying, and I’m honestly delighted that most romances end at the engagment, because those are lovely and emotional. (I wasn’t even interested in my own wedding, and only actually arranged one because I knew the now husband didn’t just want to be engaged for fifty years *laughs*.) But I liked the flowers and the outfits (tho Magnus is not imo wearing a tuxedo, poor Alec) and the music and vows that were familiar rather than personal because ritual is important to them, being part of this setting that neither of them thought they’d ever have? I enjoyed it tremendously. Not an ultimate of anything, I suppose, but I liked it, which is all that matters. (It’s not where I wanted their relationship to be at that point, but it’s short-hand for where they’re going, which is the best possible scenario for a finale movie, tbqh.)

Engagements are about the couple, but weddings are about the community, and I felt like this did that visually, even if the actual ritual of the wedding makes no sense.

9. Parbatai sparring in uh… 2x11 I think it was. Sometimes the choreography in the show is a bit… weird, but they always did a good job with Jace & Alec and having the way they fought be character-full, having it show the strengths and weaknesses of their bond in a way very few of their other interactions could. In this one it’s so clearly comforting, this one sliver of normalcy after everything else that’s happened. (And gods I love Alec’s shirt, sorry never sorry, wtf is up with that man and grey shirts? *laughs*)

8. Shout out to Izzy & Luke in 3a. It’s basically one scene, but it gives us a sense of a solid world in a way Shadowhunters generally didn’t, of Luke and Izzy existing in the world as their jobs, Shadowhunter & Cop, as people, as friends, as part of a larger whole in terms of their professional and personal connections. Of course all these people know each other, in all these different ways, whether we see it all the time or not, and that was DELIGHTFUL.

7. SIMON LEWIS

That’s it.

No, obviously, especially, his speech about his grandmother and the Holocaust, because not only is it in important speech on about five levels, the way he tells it illustrates how much he loves Clary, that he’s giving her this story that she, tbqh, hadn’t earned, as a gift for her more than an explanation. It’s just. Gorgeous. It’s a gestalt, one of those moments that is greater than the sum of its parts, and in this particular case, the parts that make up the whole were pretty damn good already.

6. The 2x18 flashback to Magnus & Alec’s first time together. One, because it addressed the way the show had screwed up the original episode, but mostly two, that it was important in how it showed their relationship (fears and issues and strengths and desires, all at once) and the way they interact. Most sex scenes in TV & movies are trying to be titillating and don’t really accomplish anything in terms of plot or character, but this one did. And also it was lovely and giggly and very very pretty. 😅

5. Jocelyn’s funeral: This entire episode, actually, is a really good Clary episode. It showcases her strengths, (she never has any trouble forgiving Alec, never even considers blaming him), her determination, and also her weaknesses, the way her grief makes her reckless, again, and it’s sheer chance that her visit to Iris didn’t go dramatically horrifyingly wrong in ways that would have damaged her and Alec (and everyone who cares about them) in ways that would have lingered for years. But even though they didn’t ever explicitly address most of that, the moment at the funeral, when her voice breaks and Jace speaks for her, gives us enough catharsis that it works anyways. (It’s also a really beautiful moment for Jace, and there are so few moments when he lets himself be who he is to help someone, rather than doing what he thinks he’s supposed to do, that this one really stands out.)

4. Clary killing Valentine. #PRINCESS STABBITY

It’s good, is what I’m saying. Desperate and brutal and I love her.

3. Simon & Jace and the boop-boop both because it’s legit adorable, but also because it was one of the few ‘short-hand’ notes in the epilogue that worked for me exactly as intended. It shows you how well Simon’s integrating into the Nephilim side of the Shadow World (without ever being an ounce less Simon than he ever was) but it also shows that Jace really did learn from everything that happened to him, that he’s no longer hiding what he’s thinking and feeling, that he’s no longer afraid to just, idk, like people. He’s mourning Clary, obviously, but he’s going to be ok, and I believe that he would have been even if she’d never seen him at her show. (Though I think her seeing him is better, that it gives them a second chance to be them without the world ending around them, to be soft rather than desperate.)

2. Nice Gills

Not only is it just a stunningly perfect smile on Alec’s face, but that one moment kind of crystallizes and pulls together all the potentially disparate parts of his personality, how angry he was in s1, the hopelessness here after Jocelyn’s death, the giddy impossibility of that first smile he gave Magnus, the way he let his siblings run him even when he was running the Institute, the way he never quite cracked down on Clary’s assorted crazies because she was doing it for her mother. 

The fact that Alec is both good at his job (killing demons) and a total marshmallow to his family who will burn himself to a crisp to save them is not news, not even back in 2x5 when he met Madzie. It’s apparent in almost everything he does (especially after 1x12, when he’s no longer trying to hide himself to protect his family and has to choose actions to protect them instead). But what’s impressive here is that that smile and those words are completely 100% genuine, despite how worried he is for Clary, how guilty he feels about Jocelyn, how lost he is to have agreed to come here, to a questionable warlock who practices dark magic on the off-chance this will somehow make things better, he is honestly and truthfully there for Madzie when he smiles at her.

And that one moment, when they connect, is well enough done that her saving him from Valentine five episodes later feels completely earned. 

1. MAGNUS BANE’S SHEER EXISTENCE. He is perfection. Even when he makes no sense at all it doesn’t matter because he’s Magnus and he has done nothing wrong ever.

Except probably a bunch of murder and definitely centuries of petty revenge, but that’s just part of his charm. That he chooses not to do the former and has wallowed delightfully in the latter. 

With a special shout-out for Every Time Alec & Magnus Kiss, shut up, they’re beautiful.

[bytheangell]

Coda fic prompt: Meliorn asking Jace questions he can’t lie about while they are alliance rune bonded

Nothing but the Truth(Read on AO3)

Jace never would’ve imagined that the worst part of his time in the literal hellscape of Edom would be the incessant questioning of the Seelie Knight he’s bonded to. 

“What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?” Meliorn asks. “-Besides answering my questions here.” Jace curses Meliorn’s ability to see every potential loophole before Jace can exploit it. It’s hardly fair, given Meliorn is already intricately familiar with how to best manipulate the truth and exactly how to phrase the perfect query. 

“My first day at the Academy one of the cadets said I couldn’t catch a throwing knife blindfolded and of course I said I could.” Jace begins to answer. Each time he tries to open his mouth the truth comes tumbling out before he can even consider whatever lie he’d normally spout off to make himself look good. “He called my bluff and dared me to try, so I did. I nearly lost two fingers - half the new students could barely hold a stele, let alone activate a decent iratze. If it wasn’t for a visiting warlock who used healing magic in addition to my iratze it would’ve been a lot worse than a small scar.” 

Meliorn is laughing at the mental image before Jace gets to finish the full story which ends with Jace  holding up his hand to show off the faintest of white marks across his middle and index fingers as proof. 

“I was trying to impress a girl in our class!” Jace defends, as if that makes it somehow better and not worse, before shutting his mouth. 

“I’m sorry for your fragile ego,” Meliorn says, clearly not sorry at all. 

“Hmmm…” Meliorn’s eyes flicker up and down Jace’s body. “Do you dye your hair?” The Seelie asks finally, gaze settling on Jace’s head and his portal-travel-mussed hair. 

Jace doesn’t speak right away this time. He can do this. He’s lied his way out of a number of scenarios with the Lightwoods, and Hodge, and even occasionally his father when he was younger. He can’t lie… but not all lies have to be outright lies, do they? Just not entire truths. 

“I’m a natural blonde,” he says slowly, proud of the answer. There’s too much of a pause, enough that Meliorn knows he’s leaving something out, but instead of being annoyed by it Meliorn smirks. 

“You learn fast,” Meliorn says, nodding his approval. “I’m impressed.” Jace thinks he might let it go but instead looks back over to see Meliorn shoot him a wink. “But just between us, the highlights…?”

Jace sighs. “Dyed,” he admits in defeat. “I can’t believe Clary’s with Simon, and Alec gets magic, and I’m stuck with you and this built-in truth serum interrogation.” Jace mutters under his breath, but loud enough that Meliorn hears anyway. He immediately wishes he hadn’t said anything at all. 

“Are you jealous?” 

“Yes,” Jace says immediately. It’s a vague enough answer, but of course Meliorn reads the emotion behind it. 

“Of Simon?” 

“Yes. He’s been friends with Clary forever - they have all these dumb inside jokes that don’t make any sense, and he doesn’t even have to try to make her laugh. I can’t relate to any of the mundane things she grew up with… Sometimes I wonder if she wouldn’t be better off with someone who wasn’t raised in such a fucked-up life.” 

This time, instead of feeling embarrassed, Jace is surprised by how relieved he feels after the admission. It’s one he’s held in for quite some time, not just from Clary but from his siblings, and even a little bit himself. He may act like Ithuriel’s gift to mankind but in reality he knows his shortcomings, and he’s overly aware of the burdens his existence comes with. 

Meliorn doesn’t laugh at him, or ask another question. The Seelie looks closely at him, so intently that Jace actually looks away from the soft expression he doesn’t expect to see there. 

“You have more to offer than you think, Jace Herondale. And I wouldn’t doubt the Fairchild girl’s love for you - it runs deep. I have no logical idea why, but...” 

Jace turns to the side and lightly punches Meliorn in the arm for the last comment, but the smile he flashes him at the same time is a silent thank you for the kind words even though he just mutters, “Yeah, okay,” out loud in response. 

He expected this to be nothing but humiliation from the start, and isn’t prepared for the serious turn the conversation takes so abruptly. 

It’s one thing to be honest about ridiculous things that don’t really matter, things that are just meant to humiliate and taunt him. But something like this, something deep and emotional and truly personal… it’s a line he knows he can’t stop the Seelie from crossing, but that doesn’t stop him from hoping, either. 

Jace gets his wish. Meliorn goes right back to his previous line of questioning, divulging everything from Jace’s secret love of cotton candy to the fact that he’s seen The Notebook twice of his own accord. “Okay,” Meliorn starts. 

“Stop,” Jace cuts him off, the word more of a pleading whine than an actual demand at this point. 

“One more question.” 

“No,” Jace says.  

“A serious question-” Meliorn insists. “Please stop,” Jace practically begs.  

But Meliorn continues on as if Jace hadn’t said a word. “On a scale of one to ten,” the Seelie begins, stopping and turning to face Jace as he speaks to see his full reaction. “How handsome do you think I am?” 

Jace stops walking as well and sighs. “Like a nine.” 

“Nine? Jace, thank you that’s… that’s very kind of you.” Meliorn smirks. “Tell me, do you often find yourself attracted to men? Or is it just me?” 

Jace doesn’t answer at first, glad his face is already flushed from his choice to wear a leather jacket in the heat of Edom so that the blush creeping across his cheekbones at that moment is less noticeable. 

“And here I thought you were the outlier of the Lightwood siblings,” Meliorn says, no judgement, only surprise, and Jace should be caught off guard to hear the implication about Isabelle in that statement but he isn’t, not really. The signs are all there, more brazen than they were with Alec even though Isabelle hasn’t directly said anything to him about liking girls as well as guys. She never offered and he never asked, it isn’t his business. 

Just like this isn’t Meliorn’s business. 

“I- it isn’t-” Jace starts, stumbling through a way to phrase his answer that won’t be incriminating, but much to his surprise Meliorn isn’t laughing over it, or making light of the revelation, and so when the truth comes out he’s hesitant but not worried, not really. “It isn’t often.” 

“And here I thought I might be special,” Meliorn sighs. 

There are definitely follow-up clarifications Jace wants to give, and maybe a question or two about Isabelle that he wants to ask, but instead his attention is diverted to the low growl of a demon -- correction, demons, plural -- coming their way. Fast. 

“I hate to burst your bubble but you’ve got bigger things to worry about right now than your vanity,” Jace tells Meliorn, nodding behind the Seelie. 

It’s probably for the best, he thinks, shifting his focus back to what he does best; back in his comfort zone, Jace is more than a little relieved to be facing a demon rather than more personal questions from the Seelie… which probably says more about him than any answer he might give out loud. 

Thankfully the time for words is passed as the pair stand poised and ready, bracing for the incoming attack.

[demonic-activity]

Love the player, hate the game

Malec fanfic // read here on AO3 // based on this brilliant ask // brilliant beta @brooklynxmagic

Because Alexander Lightwood would never cheat ♥ 

“You’re cheating.”

Magnus’ voice cuts icily through the loud and excited chatter in the loft. His eyes are narrowed, flashing with anger and betrayal.

Alec feels his heart stop for one second before it starts beating furiously in his chest.

“Wha… Magnus, no I would never.”

“Oh you can drop the act Alexander,” Magnus hisses, and he leans forward over the table, something dangerous and predatory to his expression and the way his body moves.

Around them, the room has gone quiet and his siblings and friends shift uncomfortably in their seats. Jace clears his throat and almost imperceptibly shakes his head.

Fuck. Alec desperately wants to wipe his hands on his trousers, since they’re sweating out a seemingly infinite supply of perspiration, but he’s afraid it would immediately give him away, what with Magnus’ unrelenting gaze focused on him so closely. For a fleeting, almost hysterical moment he wonders if it’s possible to get dehydrated just from sweaty palms.

He tries his best placating voice, “Magnus don’t be crazy,” shaking his head as if he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “I’ve never even done this” he gestures between them “before and by the Angel, I barely know what I’m doing!”

“Typical shadowhunter,” Magnus says, mockingly, “Such hypocrites. Oh I think you know perfectly well what you are doing. I’ve been counting your every step and there’s definitely foul play. Don’t give me that incredulous face, you’ve been having a little something on the side, haven’t you?”

“Babe, c’mon, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Liar,” Magnus huffs, jabbing his finger accusingly. “I saw you stuff it in when you thought nobody was looking.”

Alec’s mind is going a hundred miles per hour; he doesn’t know if he can keep this up any longer. He inhales once, deeply, trying to keep a steady voice. “Why? Why would I do that, betray you like that? It’s all just for fun, right?” Alec meant for that last part to be a rhetorical question, but Magnus latches on to it.

“Funny. That’s not the impression you gave when I landed on Marvin Gardens with two of your hotels.”

Alec scoffs, “You earned that back thrice over by now!”

Magnus’ eyes gleam as he says, sweetly, “Exactly, my dear Alexander, which begs the question…How are you still afloat, especially considering those taxes that hit you pretty hard last round?”

The rest of the group watch their exchange with increasing nervousness, eyes shifting back and forth between the two of them.

Alec swallows, hands pretty much dissolved into puddles at this point, “Beginners luck?”

“Right. So if I were to search your trousers right now I would find nothing?”

“Well, not nothing.” The reply comes automatically and he blames in on gin and gin alone.

Simon coughs loudly, barely keeping from suffocating mid-margarita.

Alec can’t help the left corner of his mouth turning up as he continues to hold Magnus’ gaze, but he can see a similar twitch on Magnus’ face and Alec thinks he might be saved.

That turns out to be a serious miscalculation. (Not like the “miscalculation” of paying Jace with a couple of tens instead of hundreds; it’s not his fault if they’re similar shades of yellow and Jace is generally too eager to count).

Suddenly, Magnus leans back in his chair, leisurely folding his hands over his chest. “Alright,” he simply says.

Alec quirks an eyebrow at this sudden change of demeanor.

Magnus smiles at him and it’s somehow so much more terrifying, “So what you’re saying is that you aren’t able to repay my $750 loan yet?”

“See for yourself.” Alec gestures at the meager amount of bills before him. “What you see is what you get.” And Alec flashes him a grin, “I’m a simple man.”

“Hmm,” Magnus hums noncommittally.

“No worries, it’s a, how do you say this? An IOU?” He quirks his head, “You trust me – to pay you back – right?”

Jace is shaking his head even more vehemently now and Izzy and Clary are whispering amongst each other, Simon has gone completely - unnaturally - still.

Magnus gives him another one of his smiles, alarming in its sugar-coated sweetness. “Of course.” And as he drums his fingers lightly on the oak table, he continues, tone casual, “Since we’re in such a trusting and transparent relationship, I feel obligated to point out that you just rolled a five right before this conversation. Now I’m sure you can do the simple math, but let me help you out. I believe that five puts you on Boardwalk. My Boardwalk.” He quirks his head, as though in deep thought, “Hmmm rent, plus a hotel, oh dear, oh dear, I do believe that would mean you’ll be paying me $2,000.”

This is met by a chorus of gasps from the room.

Alec can only just bite back a loud groan and Magnus himself is still sporting a neutral expression, but his eyes belie him - they always do - and now they shine wickedly as he looks down at Alec’s sad little stack of cash. Magnus tuts, “Except, oh no, it looks like you won’t be able to afford that after all.” His eyes snap back up to Alec’s, “That is… if that truly is all you have?”

Magnus lifts a single elegant eyebrow and Alec grits his teeth. Well damnit. Catch, meet 22.

“Fine.” Alec bites out, hating his own stubborn ass, as he pushes his last few bills over to Magnus and flips over all his cards, mortgage side up. He plucks a few more bills for that from the bank – with a little more aggression than necessary – and gives Magnus a look as to say You happy? But Magnus’ gleeful look as he counts his obscene pile of fake money is just…all telling and quite disturbing if Alec is completely honest.

Next to him, Simon groans excessively loud. “Alec, noooo! Now he’s going to be absolutely invincible.” And insufferable Alec adds in the privacy of his own mind. He gets up and mumbles, “I’m gonna get another drink.”

It is all downhill from that moment on.

Alec sits next to Jace slumped low on the couch, watching it all unfold. It’s just Simon, Clary, and Magnus left in the game and it’s not lost to Alec that they all had a mundane childhood (never mind that Monopoly had not been invented yet when Magnus was born). How Simon hasn’t declared bankruptcy yet is anyone’s guess, but Clary is tenacious and almost as fanatic as Magnus. Izzy, it turns out, is a pretty disastrous choice for bank. His sister may be crazy talented in many, many things, but finance isn’t one of them. The rate at which she’s downing margaritas is not exactly helping either. Chaos is soon ensuing, Jace has started shouting unhelpful comments at Clary, second-guessing her every decision. Izzy is pretty much asleep at the wheel – almost literally, just dozing off before snapping to attention and just doling out money left and right, completely arbitrary. Simon is making a lot of money from Clary, profusely apologizing while doing so, which just seems to be increasingly irritating her. And there is Magnus, with still that crazy almost maniacal gleam to his eye, desperately trying to determine Simon’s strategy, which seems to be altogether absent.

Alec is just observing it all from a far. “You know,” he comments nonchalantly to no one in particular, sipping his gin, “Monopoly was created to show that unchecked capitalism was a bad thing. Not to mention,” he adds, “the game is actually named after a mundane financial crime. Quite bizarre if you ask me.”

From the table he can hear Magnus mutter under his breath “Barely know what I’m doing, my ass.”

Not much later, when the shouts are getting louder and the chances of serious bodily harm higher, and someone somehow managed to flip the board, Alec sighs and finally gets up.

Everyone is long gone when Magnus and Alec have found their way to the couch together, halfway lying down, curled up and making out enthusiastically. Apparently, capitalistic board games get Magnus excited in more ways than one, but Alec isn’t exactly complaining this time. Magnus presses him further into the couch and Alec grunts when something painfully pierces his side. He plucks a pewter battleship token out from under him, tossing it away without bothering to open his eyes. His head is swimming, his senses full of MagnusMagnusMagnus and he vaguely registers Magnus’ touch darting lower and lower down his front, till it reach his belt buckle and Alec makes a needy little noise, lifting his hips off the sofa. Alec is so grateful for Magnus’ nimble fingers as he works his belt open with one hand, moaning when he feels Magnus’ hand finally skimming the waistband of his boxers, only to dazedly open his eyes in confusion as Magnus’ weight is suddenly lifted off of him.

“AHA! I KNEW IT!” Magnus exclaims, frantically waving three $1,000 bills through the air and Alec drops his head back in defeat.

“Alexander Lightwood, you are a liar and a cheat. And I don’t know whether to feel proud of abhorred that you took to the rotten heart of this game so quickly.”

Alec licks his lips, “You’re not… mad?”

“What makes you say that darling? Oh but we’re definitely done here,” Magnus says as he gestures between their two half undressed bodies.

Alec squints his eyes close and groans as he mourns the lost prospect of tipsy couch sex. “Fuck, Magnus.”

“Oh come on Alexander.” Magnus grins. “You and your siblings weren’t exactly going soft on me either.”

“We’re shadowhunters, we give no quarter.”

Magnus scoffs in reply.  “Next weekend then?”

“Magnus! You’re crazy if you think I’m ever letting you play that game with us again. You’re lucky I’m not burning that board to a crisp this very second.”

His boyfriend raises a hand to his chest in mock affront, though Alec fears it is only half in jest.

They just lie quietly for a moment, too tired to do anything else but still too high on adrenaline to fall asleep.

“Sooo,” Alec tries one more time, “You sure there wasn’t still an IOU I can cash right now?”

“Oh, I think we’re way past IOUs.” But Magnus’ expression has turned fond and he’s caressing Alec’s cheekbone, settling closer to him on the couch.

Alec yawns. “You’re right. I already owe you so much, it would seem silly to keep count.”

To that, Magnus gives a little whine of disagreement. Alec drops an uncoordinated kiss to his head. “Way too much to ever repay. But it’s a debt I gladly accept, and will carry with me wherever I go.”

[takaraphoenix]

Jagnus + "Here take my blanket/jacket." - "I told you, I'm not cold." *shivering*

It took Magnus less than a day to realize that Jace Lightwood might never have lived the way an omega should. Omegas were very physical in nature, seeking comfort, cuddles, gentle touches. They also enjoyed soft materials, for their nests and for comfort. Gentle in nature, nurturing.

Oh, that didn’t mean omegas couldn’t be fierce fighters. By no means. And Jace Lightwood was living, breathing proof of that. The young Shadowhunter was more than just impressive.

Within one day of Jace living at the loft, Magnus noticed that Jace was actively suppressing his omega nature though. As could be seen by the tight clothes he preferred to wear – for fighting and missions, Magnus understood, but it turned out Jace didn’t exactly cozy up at home either. He seemed downright confused by all the extra-fluffy towels in the guest bathroom, the soft sheets and covers, as well as about a dozen fluffy, plush pillows that Magnus had magically provided after acquiring an omega roommate. But Jace didn’t really seem to understand.

Magnus didn’t quite know about asking Jace and for the first week or so, Magnus just watched quietly. Thankfully enough, Magnus had befriended Alexander over the past months. Even after he had realized that he was flirting with someone who still had the closet door barricaded from the inside, Magnus still intended to get to know Alec and by now, they were close friends.

Valentine. Everything seemed to always come down to Valentine.

It truly shouldn’t come as a surprise to Magnus and he was quite disappointed in himself for not coming to that conclusion on his own. Of course would Valentine try to train the omega out of his omega son. The alpha inside of Magnus was snarling, eager to rip Valentine apart. That was no way to treat an omega! Not even for Shadowhunters, really. Though Magnus was acutely aware of the cultural differences between Shadowhunters and warlocks. To warlocks, omegas were precious and highly respected – omegas were more finely attuned to nature and very often tended to hold stronger magic than alphas (exceptions present, if Magnus may say so himself). To Shadowhunters however, omegas had for the longest time only been means for producing strong alpha heirs. Omegas were allowed on active duty and missions by now, but they were held to a far higher standard than alphas. Jace had to work ten times harder than any alpha for the same recognition an alpha would get – and Jace easily worked twenty times harder than most alphas.

Valentine should not have a hold over Jace anymore. Jace should be allowed to live free and to embrace his own nature. Denying himself to be an omega was the same as denying himself to be a Shadowhunter. It was a part of him and Jace deserved to be comfortable with both sides of himself and Magnus was doing everything in his powers to help.

“You look exhausted, angel”, stated Magnus concerned as he looked up from his work.

Jace came stumbling into the loft, not too sure on his own two feet. His wings were lowered, like it was too much effort to properly carry them. They also looked incredibly ruffled. Most evenings, Jace would returned, though tired, at least groomed, thanks to his very fussy and always concerned parabatai. Magnus put his things down and scooted to the far end of the couch.

“Hng. Alec was in a meeting when we returned to the Institute”, grumbled Jace frustrated when he noticed Magnus’ focus on his wings. “It’ll be fine. I’ll go to bed.”

“Oh, nonsense. Come here”, ordered Magnus firmly, patting the couch. “Come.”

Tentatively did Jace sit down opposite Magnus, facing away from the warlock. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to”, disagreed Magnus, voice still firm but very gentle. “You work too hard, angel. You need to relax some and take better care of yourself.”

“Because I’m an omega?”, drawled Jace with disdain in his voice.

“…Because you’re only human too, even with the additional angel-blood”, disagreed Magnus sternly. “You’re running on fumes and that’s not healthy. You need to take care of yourself too.”

Jace hunched in on himself some, frowning. “I’m not… good at this whole… taking care of myself thing. I prioritize. Others over myself. It’s… how I was…”

“Raised”, sighed Magnus, running gentle fingers through Jace’s feathers. “Relax. Let me take care of you. Your wings look dreadful and I can not possibly let you go to bed like that.”

At first, Jace grumbled about it, but the longer Magnus took care of his wings, gently straightening the feathers and plucking the loose ones, the more Jace relaxed. By the time Magnus was done, Jace had actually fallen asleep. His wings folded and Jace curled against Magnus’ chest. Magnus’ heart was fluttering at the trust the omega displayed. His inner alpha was purring pleased at that. He started gently carding his fingers through Jace’s hair, cradling him closer.

/break\

Jace frowned when he woke up. He didn’t remember going to bed… He had returned from his mission and… Ah. Magnus. Grooming his wings. Then, nothing. But he was most definitely in his bed. He knew so because of all the soft. He was sinking into the pillows, there was over a dozen of fluffy, cuddly, comfy pillows. When Jace had first moved in, he had thrown them all off the bed and glared at them. But the longer he lived here, one by one the pillows had found their way back into his bed. They were soft and Jace loved being surrounded by them, like a nest. Jace had never really built a nest before, he had never learned from Micha-Valentine how and after, well, he never really wanted to learn. Valentine’s teachings sat too deeply for him to shake it off. There was also all the fighting for his position, for his place among the flock. Aldertree was proof of that, really. The first chance he got to can Jace and suddenly Jace had a DoA out on his head and he found himself thrown on the streets with no place to stay. He still couldn’t believe Magnus had opened his den for him.

He could believe even less that Magnus was being so… kind. Showering him with all the comfortable, soft things he had denied himself for all of his life. The large room with the large bed. The food and comfort and home. Even caring for Jace, like grooming him last night. Magnus did it rarely, whenever Alec was too busy with his work as the head of the Institute.

Turning over onto his back, Jace stared up at the ceiling. He wasn’t wearing his clothes from last night anymore either. Sweat-pants and a very large, comfortable hoodie that was perfect for snuggling into. Everything in this stupid loft was comfortable and soft – even the gazillion of kittens that kept cuddling up to him. Stupid warlock who wanted Jace to feel whole. At first, he hadn’t been okay with any of this and thought it was stupid, just another alpha talking down on him because he was an omega. But… But ever since he had started to embrace that side of himself, he actually did feel better. Stronger, more confident, less tightly winded. Groaning, Jace pulled his wings up to cover himself fully and hide in the safe, warm cocoon of his wings.

He was growing far too attached to all of this. The comfort. The feeling of being home. The… Magnus. He really liked Magnus and he was afraid of how much he had grown attached to the warlock. He could count the people he trusted blindly on one hand – Alec, Izzy, Max, Clary, Magnus. Four out of those five were his siblings. Magnus was… Magnus was the unmated alpha Jace was living with. And the implications behind it all were just too much.

Shaking his head, Jace got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. First, he turned on the coffee maker, then he prepared the cat-food. Routine of the loft had easily integrated into Jace’s daily routine. He smiled as Church purred and brushed against Jace’s leg. Carefully, Jace made his way out to the balcony where the cats usually ate. Once the cat-food was put down onto the ground and the kittens were busy devouring it, Jace went to sit on the couch, facing the city. His wings were drawn up close against his back, his arms around his pulled-up legs.

“Good morning, angel”, greeted Magnus as he came outside.

“Mornin’, Mag”, hummed Jace, not looking away from the sunrise. “You’re home late today.”

“Yes, it took longer than anticipated”, replied Magnus, approaching the blonde. “You look cold.”

“I’m not cold”, grunted Jace while Magnus sat down next to him.

“Here, take my jacket”, continued Magnus, not minding Jace at all.

“I told you, I’m not cold” grunted Jace stubbornly, betrayed by his body as he shivered.

Magnus smirked knowingly and shed his jacket, gently placing it on Jace’s shoulders. The blonde wanted to protest and to scowl, but the jacket was still warm from Magnus having worn it and it smelt intensely like the alpha. Everything in the loft smelt like Magnus, but his clothes? They were soaked in Magnus’ rich, comforting scent. Jace relaxed and snuggled more into the warm jacket.

“…Don’t say a word, Bane”, growled Jace, cheeks red.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Lightwood”, chuckled Magnus fondly.

/break\

Magnus startled when his roommate suddenly barged into his room with a scowl on his face. Blinking, Magnus watched how the fuming Shadowhunter stalked right up to Magnus’ closet, not minding him at all, muttering beneath his breath as he went through Magnus’ clothes.

“…Do you have anything special planned and need an out fit that’s not black on black…?”

“No”, growled Jace frustrated. “It’s all your fault, Bane. You, giving me all of those… stupid, soft things and now I’m building a nest for my heat, but nothing is good enough! I never had anything so soft before in my life, but even that’s not enough! Ever since you gave me your jacket last week, I… I just need… It needs to smell more like you. Like your jacket did. Warm and comfortable and smelling like you. And that’s all your fault. You’re… You’re messing with my head.”

“I… I’m sorry, angel?”, offered Magnus, unsure what was going on. “You’re clearly agitated. So, if there is anything I can do to help you… I just want you to be comfortable. Whatever you need.”

The next moment, Magnus suddenly had a blonde Shadowhunter in his lap. All Magnus could do was blink slowly as Jace curled together on his lap, burying his face in the crook of Magnus’ neck and inhaling deeply. Slowly, Magnus grabbed his blanket and pulled it tightly around Jace, causing the omega to practically melt as he was surrounded by the warmth and Magnus’ scent.

“…I like you”, whispered Jace reluctantly. “A lot more than I probably should. But you’re… the kind of alpha I never dreamed of… of meeting. I…”

“I like you too, angel. More than I expected to”, admitted Magnus, gently kissing Jace’s cheek.

“Okay…”, nodded Jace, carefully leaning up to kiss Magnus properly. “So I can raid your closet for my nest?”

“Yes, you can”, laughed Magnus amused, pulling Jace closer. “But first some cuddles, mh?”

Read this here on FFNet & here on AO3

[vaguelyrotten]

Like a Lily in a Flood

Title: Like a Lily in a Flood Artist: @myulalie Beta: @another-random-stranger​​ Pairings: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, mentions of Jimon and Reyhill Word Count: 70k Warnings: Mild Gore, Beheading, Nearly being eaten alive and burned at the stake, Discrimination, Sickness Summary:  Alec returns home to find his town plagued by a mysterious illness. Unable to find a cure, he ventures into the woods to seek help from an unlikely source. We must not look at goblin men... This fic was created for the Shadowhunters Mini Bang 2021: Presented by the @malecdiscordserver

Chapter Four

Isabelle’s ingredients turned out to be a handful of seeds, spices, and spirits that they hadn’t had in the storeroom at the manor. Alec knew that he could pick up a majority of the ingredients at the general store. The others he would have to ask around for...and hope he got lucky. He tied Flame to the hitching post out front and went inside.

A bell jingled gently as he pushed open the door. The store was owned by Lucian Greymark — the step-father of the girl that Jace was absolutely smitten with. Lucian had been in his father’s army until an injury had forced him to retire early. Luke had always been kind to Alec and his siblings and had always paid them more attention than Robert had when the kids had visited or accompanied their father on routine patrols where they didn’t expect to see any action. He still helped out around town where he could — even if most days he was found working at Greymark's General Mart.

Luke was nowhere to be seen today, apparently, as it was Clary’s mother Jocelyn behind the counter. “Alec? Is that you? By the angel, look how much you’ve grown. You were barely eighteen when you left us!” She stepped around the counter to pull him into a tight hug. “How long has it been? Two years? Three?”

“Five, actually,” Alec replied. “Next year will be my last year of school.”

“My gosh, how time flies. What can I help you with today. I hear your mother is out of town — are you here for your household’s weekly order?”

Alec shrugged; he hadn’t known that there was a weekly order but if he was here, he might as well pick it up. His mother had left him in charge of running the manor in her absence, after all. “Well, I wasn’t, but I can certainly pick it up while I’m here. Izzy wanted me to grab a few things for her while she was preoccupied.” He pulled the list out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Do you have all this or know where I could get it?”

She scanned the small piece of parchment before nodding. “I think I’ve got most of it. It will take me a few minutes to put it together. Do you want to wait or would you like to come back? Shouldn’t take me long...maybe twenty, thirty minutes tops. If you’ve got other errands to run, now would be a good time.”

“I’ll come back, thank you,” Alec replied with a smile. “I want to stop by the Dough-Re-Me Bakery and pick Max up a treat. It’s been a while since he’s gotten to be spoiled by his big brother.”

“I’m sure he will most certainly appreciate it. This will be ready for you by the time you return.”

----------

The bakery was owned by the older sister of one of Alec’s old classmates. He and Andrew had been good friends growing up and they had often been the guinea pigs for Ava’s recipes before she’d finally been able to buy the bakery of her dreams. It may be the only actual bakery in town but Alec knew that she would be willing to whip him up a sweet treat for his younger brother if she didn’t already have any available.

The store was empty when he first entered, but a set of sleigh bells hanging on the door handle announced his arrival. Alec waited patiently, knowing that Ava was likely up to her elbows in dough in the back room. When the door behind the counter finally swung open, it was Andrew who stepped through.

“Alec? My gosh, when did you get back? I thought you’d gotten too good for us out there in the big city!”

“I haven’t been back long,” he laughed, extending his hand to Andrew. “Two weeks or so — my mother called me back to keep an eye on things while she went to Alicante to petition the king for help to find a cure. I had some errands to run so I thought I’d stop by and pick up something for Max while I was in town. Is your sister around? I was hoping to get some of her famous caramel cookies.”

Andrew’s smile faltered and Alec knew that he’d said something wrong. “Unfortunately, Ava has fallen to the stone sickness.”

“I’m so sorry,” Alec replied, grasping Andrew’s hand tighter and pulling the other man into a hug. “I didn’t know.”

“This illness isn’t your fault...and your father was one of the first to succumb. It seems no one is safe,” The other man sighed and stepped away from the hug. “In the meantime, I’m doing what I can to keep this place going. I can bake but I can’t work the wonders in the kitchen that my sister can. I hope your mother and the council are successful in Alicante. A cure for this cannot come soon enough.”

Alec wanted desperately to reassure Andrew that one way or another — whether his mother gained the King’s support or not — that he was determined to find a cure. How do you tell someone who was raised to be terrified of the magic that the woods hold that you’d gone to that very place looking for the monsters who live there in hopes that they could offer help that could save the town? He was fairly certain that the other man wouldn’t judge him for attempting to go to the goblins for help, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up regardless.

“Something will come, I’m sure of it. Everything happens for a reason,does it not? ‘After the storm, the sun will shine again’ as the saying goes…Now, I’ve got some time before Jocelyn has my order ready. Is there something I can help you with while I wait? We can catch up.”

----------

Helping Andrew around the store took longer than Alec had expected, but it had been nice to catch up with him despite the rather unfortunate circumstances surrounding it. By the time he made it back to Greymark’s General Mart, the sun was high in the afternoon sky. The bell over the door caught Jocelyn’s attention and she looked up from the counter. “Ah, there you are. You get tied up at the bakery?”

“Just catching up with Andrew,” he replied, stepping up to the counter and removing his coin purse from his pocket. “I haven’t spoken with anyone outside of my siblings since I moved to Alicante. We used to go to school together.”

“That’s right, I forgot that you’re a few years older than Clary. Such a shame about Ava — we’ve lost too many good people to this blasted illness.”

“Speaking of...Luke — is he…?

“Oh no!” She replied quickly. “Lucian is absolutely fine. We’ve had a lot of the guard fall victim however, so he was asked to go to the border to assist with strategy. Apparently there have been some skirmishes with the locals and being down so many men right now has the Captain worried. Lucian might not be able to fight any longer but he still has his tactical mind.” She handed him his change and patted his hand reassuringly. “I’ll tell him you said hello though. Hopefully, he’ll be here before you head back to the city. I know that he’d like to see you.”

----------

By the time Alec returned home, the sun had long since dipped below the treeline and Jace had apparently returned from the job that he had taken.

“Did you forget how to get to town since you’ve been gone?” His sister asked, barely looking up from a piece of parchment in her hand.

“No, I spent the afternoon helping Andrew out and catching up with him,” Alec replied, placing the bags that he had been carrying on the table next to her and fishing around in one for a small, white box. “I was hoping to pick up some of Ava’s caramel cookies but I didn’t realize that she’d fallen ill. You’ll have to settle for chocolate chip instead.”

Jace jumped off the corner of the table that he’d been perching on and made a desperate grab for the white cardboard box.

“I thought you were full,” Isabelle stated, leveling a glare in her brother’s direction. “That’s specifically what you said when I offered to make dinner.”

Jace winced all too aware of the lie that he’d just been caught in. “That was then and this is now. Besides, am I just supposed to say no to free cookies?” He replied, stuffing one in his mouth and holding the box out in her general direction as a peace offering. She hesitated for only a moment before she sighed and accepted a cookie.

“If I remember correctly, Ava was one of the first people outside of the soldiers who got sick.” She flipped the paper that she was holding over and pointed. “See: Ava Underhill - May 1st. She’s at the top of the list right underneath father’s men.”

“This is a list of everyone that’s gotten sick?” Alec asked, taking the parchment from her and paling as he realized just how many names were there.

“Since the beginning,” Isabelle replied sadly. “We just added three more names today. Trust me, a cure cannot come soon enough.”

“Speaking of — any luck with the paste? Or did we hit another dead end?”

“I haven’t been back upstairs yet...let’s go take a look.”

----------

Their father lay unconscious and unmoving and exactly how they had left him earlier that morning. The disgusting green goo that they’d rubbed on his arms had dried, leaving a slightly less disgusting flakey mess in its place. “Well, the clean up will certainly be easier than the application,” Alec muttered, scrapping at some of the residue that had been left behind. “I don’t think I’ll ever get the green out of my skin.”

“Oh, quit complaining,” His sister replied, following suit with their father’s over arm. She poked at the skin that had been revealed and then frowned. “Alec...I think it did something. He doesn’t feel as cold...and his skin isn’t exactly as hard? I mean, it’s definitely not entirely a cure but it’s definitely something.”

Alec finished flaking the rest of the paste off and tapped his father’s arm, repeating the process on an area of skin that they hadn’t applied the poultice to earlier. “It’s… I don’t know. You’re right...somehow. Magnus did say treat the symptoms and maybe they would lead to a cure. It’s a start...but I wouldn’t be getting my hopes up that we’ve managed to do what the various physicians couldn’t.”

“Those physicians didn’t have my stubborn older brother and his determination to take care of his family. We should make some more of that paste… and it can’t hurt to try some of the tea I whipped up earlier too…” Alec could already see his sister’s mind going a thousand miles a minute with all the possibilities that had now opened up with the first start of...hope.

“Izzy,” He grabbed her shoulders gently and forced her to stand still for just a moment. “Iz, just remember...this is a start, alright? It’s not the cure but it could lead there.” She nodded her understanding and Alec couldn’t help but pull her into a hug. “Alright, now… you want to make some more, you said? What can I do to help?”

----------

Long after his sister had finally finished ordering him around, by some miracle, he’d been able to herd her off to bed. He closed his bedroom door behind himself and sighed, glancing briefly at the clock as he did. If he managed to fall asleep within the next half an hour, he could get a few hours of rest before he had to be up to rein his sister in before she worked herself half to death trying something that may or may not work.

He began the arduous process of getting himself ready for sleep, realizing for the first time since he’d gotten home from his trip to town earlier that day just how exhausted he was. He laid down and closed his eyes when a sudden frantic buzzing had him jolt away. He sat up in time to see a small piece of paper fall to his bed and ignite the end of his quilt as it landed. He jumped out of bed, throwing the quilt onto the floor and beating at the small fire with his pillow until it was fully extinguished before slowly picking it up to get a closer look.

He couldn’t keep the small smile from his face as he read.

My darling Alexander —

I hope this letter finds you well. I apologize if I gave you a fright… it only occurred to me once I’d already made up my mind to send it that most non-magically inclined people may never have seen a fire message before. Ragnor assures me that I’m being a blind and besotted idiot but alas, there are some parts of our souls that we just cannot change.

I hope you are having much better luck than I am in finding a cure for the people of Idris. My poor friend Raphael remains very much allergic to sunlight. We’ve spent the day pouring over all of Ragnor’s books but between my innate magical ability, Ragnor’s tendency to be a packrat, and Catarina’s healing, we’ve yet to find something that actually works.

Though we only had three short nights together, I cherished the time that we were able to spend together. I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Alexander, and I do hope that one day our paths will cross once again. (Preferably sooner rather than later.)

Until then,

Magnus Bane

PS - I just now realize that this might be a little awkward with leaving you no way to return the letter. I forget that not everyone has access to magic. Until I find a solution, I’ll just have to imagine your responses.

Magnus had included a sketch below his signature of a sprig of what looked like rosemary (though Alec had to admit that he was certainly no expert.) He knew that Magnus had gone over the plant’s meaning and medical use during the few days that they had spent together but without going back downstairs to cross reference the pages of handwritten notes that he’d left in the workshop, he knew that the meaning of the plant was would remain a mystery until the morning.

He set the letter aside, hiding it under some letters from family in the drawer of his end table, and let himself drift to sleep with a content smile on his face.

----------

Two weeks later, he and his siblings were no closer to finding a cure outside of their mild success with the disgusting green paste. His father’s skin had remained hard but the paste had helped by returning some of the natural color, replacing the greyness that they had come to associate with the illness.

Unfortunately, his father remained unconscious.

“I hate to say it, Alec, but we might need you to go see if Magnus could offer any more assistance,” his sister stated with a sigh, wiping the remnants of their latest attempt at some sort of tea off on a towel that he had passed her. “I’ve tried everything I can think of here...I just don’t have the knowledge that someone who grew up in the woods would have. Our ancestors weren’t exactly close with the goblins...there’s probably a ton that the books haven’t included.”

Alec had known that eventually he’d be asked to venture into Edom Forest once again and he’d been anxiously counting down the number of recipes that were left in the little journal that his sister had been keeping. They’d crossed the last one off the list early the previous day and he’d been waiting for his sister to broach the topic of needing more knowledge or ingredients ever since.

Truth be told, there was another reason that Alec wanted to go try to find Magnus but that he’d never admit to Isabelle and Jace. Ever since Magnus’ first letter — fire message, he reminded himself — had come the day after he had returned home, he’d received at least a short message every night. Three nights ago, however, the letters had stopped and Alec had grown increasingly worried each night that passed without one.

His instincts told him that something had happened and that Magnus was in trouble and Alec had learned early on to listen to those instincts when they were trying to tell him something.

“Well, the plus side is that at least this time I have a way to find him,” Alec replied, trying not to seem too eager as he patted the chest pocket where he’d kept the magical coin since his return. “Do you have a list for me? Or do you want me to see what Magnus comes up with?”

His sister looked him over with a judgemental eye and Alec was certain for a moment that she could see right through him. “I’ve got a list, but I also wouldn’t be opposed to you picking your goblin’s brain for any other information that he can offer us.”

“I can leave shortly — just let me pack enough for a couple of days just in case and I can head right out.”

----------

By the time Alec finally set out to head to Edom Forest, he was an ever growing bundle of nerves. He couldn’t get to the woods fast enough. He spurred his horse down the dirt path without even hesitating at the entrance as he had each of the prior times he’d come before. Once he was past the entrance and where he was certain the wards that Magnus had mentioned before began, only then did he finally bring Flame to a stop so he could fish the coin out from his pocket without risking losing it.

Magnus had only given him the barest instructions on how to use the coin so he would just have to trust in the magic that apparently made it work.

He held the coin cat side down in his hand and waited a few tense moments where nothing appeared to happen. Finally, the coin spun slowly before pointing down a trail that Alec was fairly certain he hadn’t taken before. He closed his hand over the coin and continued to ride, pausing every so often to check the direction that the arrow was pointing.

He rode hard for the remainder of the day, wishing that Magnus had included some sort of spell to tell him just how close he was getting to his target. As night fell and Alec’s horse began to breathe heavily from the day’s exertion, he was starting to worry that he wouldn’t stumble across Magnus before the darkness completely took over the woods.

There was an unnatural scream from straight ahead and Alec was instantly on guard. Flame reared and Alec lost his balance and fell from his horse’s back in a way that he hadn’t since he’d first learned to ride. The gelding took off back the direction that they’d come from, leaving Alec sitting in the mud alone. “Hey! Flame! Get back here!”

There was another roar — this time louder and closer — and all the natural sounds from the woods came to a complete halt. The birds had stopped singing, the frogs had stopped croaking, and the crickets had stopped chirping.

A silent woods was a dangerous woods and Alec realized very quickly that he had made a grave mistake.

He dared not move hoping that whatever predator was in the woods somewhere in the darkness ahead chose not to come this way and investigate further.

He held his breath knowing that he’d have no such luck. That’s not the way things worked for Alec Lightwood.

There was no further shriek that came, but the crashing through the undergrowth grew louder and closer. He glanced up at the trees around him wondering if he could scale them as quickly and as quietly as his little brother could. Finally the movement stopped and Alec...couldn’t breathe. “Sire! Over here — we found somethin’!” A voice half-screamed, half-mewled from somewhere off to Alec’s left. He could only sit there frozen as the voices grew closer, and Alec found himself about to face the Goblin King himself.

A man stepped out of the undergrowth wearing a tattered suit of red and black that appeared to have mushrooms growing out of each shoulder. His feet were bare and he was wearing a hat that sported a gold and white feather that belonged to no bird that Alec had ever seen. “Well, well, well…” The man started, holding up the lantern and allowing Alec to finally notice his eyes.

Familiar cat eyes stared down at him with a mocking expression on the unfamiliar face.

“What do we have here?” The man asked, bending down to get a closer look at Alec. “A human, how strange. You’ve somehow managed to make it past my son’s protective wards and found yourself this far into the forest, without running into any of the beasts that lurk in the shadows waiting for their unsuspecting prey. What shall I do with you?”

He inched closer and Alec tried to scoot backwards, running smack into a set of legs that ended in clawed bird feet. The man grinned, his smile a little too large and his teeth a little too pointed for Alec’s comfort as he took a tentative sniff of the air in front of Alec. “Well isn’t that interesting. You smell of that stupid brat that wandered into the woods not too long that didn’t realize the danger that he walked right into...and there’s something else.” He took another sniff and the wolfish smile was replaced with a scowl. “And my son’s magic. You reek of him.”

There was only one person with magic that Alec had any sort of regular, well irregular, contact with in the last few weeks...at least to his knowledge.

That meant...Magnus.

Magnus was the son of the Goblin King himself.

Magnus was a prince.

“We’ve found hoofprints,” the goblin with the bird feet spoke up, his voice a whistling trill that was painful to Alec’s ears. “Not ones that belong to that damn vicious beast that he rides around on. These are shod — the horse was wearing shoes.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me sooner?!” Asmodeus screamed, his anger materializing in a flare of angry red magical flames behind him. The goblins took a few hasty steps back, terrified of their king’s power. The bird-footed one waited until the flames had subsided before he took half a step forward, his hands raised in peace.

“We were hoping to catch ‘im, they were often traveling together. We thought you would enjoy being gifted your son and his new toy.”

Asmodeus took a deep breath, apparently calming his nerves in a way that Alec was sure wasn’t actually working. “A little bit of warning when my son is involved is always preferred, especially after the brat stole something that was rightfully mine.” He glanced down at Alec, the disgust clearly written on his face. “Perhaps…”

He snapped his fingers and a mole-like goblin with large teeth and long toes scurried forward. “Yes, sire?”

“My son stole from me, so I shall take something that belongs to him. Take him back to camp; it looks like our dinner came to us today.”

Alec found himself roughly shoved backwards. Two goblins held him down, with a third coming up behind them and quickly began wrapping thick rope-like vines around his hands and feet. He thrashed about, trying to free himself from the goblin’s grasp, but one of the creatures holding him sent a quick jolt of magic through his body, effectively freezing his limbs. Alec opened his mouth to scream, hoping at least to be able to shout for Magnus and hope that the half-goblin was close enough to hear, but found that no words would leave his mouth.

Asmodeus grinned slyly at Alec’s bound state before turning and disappearing back into the forest, expecting his crew to follow after him. The bird-like goblin waved a hand in Alec’s direction and Alec found himself slowly lifting into the air and floating after the troop of creatures.

As the group moved back to whence they came, Alec could hear the screams and squeals turn to song. It was the same tune from the first night he’d spent in the woods — the one that Magnus had used magic to prevent him from hearing so he wouldn’t be called to the goblin’s camp. Just like before, he could feel the song call to him, promising him things that he knew it could not deliver. It was electric and inviting; but this time, Alec found himself not drawn to the mystery, magic, and danger that the goblin song contained.

Maybe it was something that Magnus had done or maybe the forest was having some sort of effect on him, but all Alec knew was that the song that had once lured maidens into the woods and lone travelers into their camp wasn’t working.

Their trek to camp lasted an hour. He begged and pleaded to whatever god would listen that Magnus would suddenly pop out from behind the trees and save him, but in his heart he realized that was wishful thinking. The woods were vast and full of dangers. Magnus accidentally coming across the goblins when he normally went so far out of his way to avoid them and protect himself from being found and hunted was little more than a dream.

When they finally reached the camp with the caravans that Alec had seen the night that Magnus had taken the medallion, the bird-footed goblin snapped his fingers and Alec fell quickly to the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of him and causing him to grunt in pain. “Where would you like the horrible creature?” The goblin asked Asmodeus as the king removed his hat and tossed it inside the red caravan with the black roof (the very one, Alec noted, that Magnus had gone into that night.)

“Well, I said dinner, so dinner he shall be,” The goblin king replied with a shrug, glancing over the crowd of assembled beasts. “Would you like stew or roast tonight?”

The creatures screamed and squawked in a language that was unintelligible to Alec but must have meant something to Asmodeus. The goblin grinned with that same unsettling smile he’d worn earlier. “Roast it is then. Get the fire going and get him ready. We’ll eat well tonight — a reward for all your hard work.”

The creatures left Alec lying in the dirt as they dispersed to take care of their assigned tasks. He rolled to his side and tried to push himself to his feet as he struggled against the thick vines wrapped around his limbs. “Now, now, little human. Where do you think you’re going? We can’t have a feast without the main course now, can we?”

An electric and biting wave of angry red settled over him like a small bubble, and Alec found himself even further trapped. “Good boy. Stay there until we’re ready for you.”

Alec’s bubble was too small for him to truly push himself up into a sitting position so he could only watch from his prone position on the ground as the goblins prepped for their meal. Meal. Asmodeus’ words were finally registering in his mind and Alec felt his blood run cold. They were going to eat him. He watched as two goblins finished piling up some firewood and called magic to their fingers, starting the large cooking fire with none of the ease that Magnus did.

They were going to roast him.

He needed to get out of here because this was not how he dreamed of meeting his end. He’d hoped that one day he’d grow old and die peacefully in his sleep as so many of his ancestors had. He refused to be eaten.

He tried to scream, but the words got stuck on the tip of his tongue. He wasn’t sure if that was from the bubble or the magic that had been used on him earlier but even if he had been able to speak, it would likely have been a lost cause. What’s the point of screaming when there was no one around to hear him except the very creatures that were currently preparing to cook him?

He tentatively probed at the bubble with his foot and hissed in pain as a sharp jolt of electricity shot up his leg. Okay, so touching that thing was definitely not an option. He had to find another way out of here…

What would Jace do right now? He knew for a fact that his brother had his fair share of squabbles that have ended with him tied up, in chains, or in jail (and sometimes all of the above.) He was sure that Jace had needed to get himself out of seemingly impossible situations before.

So what would Jace do now?

He could almost hear his brother mocking him in his head. ‘How did you manage to make such a stupid mistake, Alec? Dad taught us to be more aware when danger could be afoot...but right now, you’re in a damn fucking mess and you need to get out of it. So...what do you have?’

What did he have? And what could he access with his arms bound the way that they were?

He had the clothes on his back - not useful. At some point, they’d divested him of his hunting knife so that was no longer in his pocket. He had the list from his sister, a crushed flower from the last time he’d been in the woods, and…

The coin.

He still had Magnus’ coin.

He knew that the coin’s main purpose was to lead him to Magnus’ location, but to do that, it used magic.

Alec didn’t know a lot about magic. Hell, he pretty much knew nothing about magic outside of what he had learned from Magnus, but there was one book that he’d come across in the manor’s library (which he’d been spending more time in than his own bedroom these days) that had focused on spells and enchantments that could be used by non-magical people. He hadn’t had a chance to do more than flip through it since they’d been so busy with trying to find a cure that he hadn’t wanted to waste time.

There was one thing he did remember from the few pages that he’d perused however. The book seemed to mention on each page that there was a special kind of magic in blood…

And that Alec did have.

Maybe there was a way to use his blood to reverse engineer the magic in Magnus’ spell. Instead of the coin showing Alec to Magnus, it would lead Magnus to him instead. It sounded like an absolutely impossible and improbable idea but it was the only idea that he had right now and he was very quickly running out of time.

Based on the cheering that was coming from the center of camp, Alec had a feeling that the goblin’s dinner preparations were close to complete. He wiggled as best as he could to get his arms in a position where they could secret the coin from his pocket. Once that was safely in his hand, he glanced around his cramped prison. He could bite himself, if necessary, but that was both tedious and way too obvious. He was hoping that there would be something he could use…

There.

Half-hidden under leaf litter and moss was a rock with what appeared to be an edge that was sharp enough to slice through his skin. Unfortunately, that rock was up by his head, and with no way to twist his body to get his arms closer within the confines of his bubble, that left Alec with no choice but to draw blood from the only part of his body that could reach.

His face.

He scooted a few inches closer, all the movement that the bubble afforded him, and placed his cheek on the edge of the rock. He paused only a fraction of a second to take a deep breath and steel his nerves before he pressed his cheek into the stone and drug it across quickly. He felt the blood start to dribble from the fresh cut and he sighed in relief. Now, to find a way to get some to the coin and pray that he could work some magic of his own.

He couldn’t lift his hands and move it closer to his head, but he could tilt his head and move it a little closer to his hands. With more flexibility than he realized that he had, he was able to smear a few drops of blood across the surface of the coin. Now, to pray for a miracle.

Alec closed his eyes tightly, remembering that Magnus had said that magic often worked through intent, and poured every ounce of his willpower and belief into accomplishing what he hoped he could — leading Magnus to him the same way Magnus had told him that the coin would lead Alec to him.

Please, Magnus, I need you. Be my knight in shining armor. I can’t get out of this one alone.

He felt the air pressure change and opened his eyes to find that the bubble was gone. He hoped to be staring into Magnus’ eyes but was sorely disappointed. Cat eyes indeed stared down at him, but they were unfortunately set in Asmodeus’ face and not his son’s. The goblin king had a hungry expression on his face. “Praying won’t help you, human. Your gods have no power in these woods. This is my domain. My rules. My decisions. And I’ve decided that you’re going to be dinner for my court.” He snapped his fingers and two of the more animalistic creatures rushed forward. “Get him up and ready.”

The rat-like creatures dragged Alec up into a sitting position and began tearing at his shirt with their sharp claws, the tips brushing his skin and leaving angry red welts. He closed his eyes, knowing that fighting would get him nowhere, and continued his silent mantra with the coin still pressed tightly into his palm.

Please Magnus, find me, please.

Suddenly the goblins froze, listening as there was a shout from somewhere behind Alec that followed by the sound of crashing and screams as creatures scrambled out of the way of whatever beast was heading towards them. Alec twisted his head, hoping to catch a glimpse of the monster before he met his untimely (but still better option than being cooked alive) end.

The noise came to a slow stop just a few feet from him, and he could hear the heavy breathing of an exhausted horse.

[arrowsandwhiskeykissesmoved]

Always The Whirlwind Romance 3/?

ao3 

 malec. jace/magnus(not going into much detail with this ship). explicit (later chapters). trope galore. chapter 3/?

summary

“So a tattooist, huh?”

“Yep, it’s always a pleasure to see my work on someone else’s skin.” Dragging out the word with a playful smirk before taking a gulp of his drink, eyes filled with a mischief as he kept eye contact over the rim of the glass, causing Magnus’ stomach clench into knots.

Magnus was not prepared for this man.

so how long?

The night went on quite smoothly, drinks were flowing and laughter ensued. The travelling pair sharing stories of their journey. How they had met up and decided to stick together. Bonding over art from the historical to modern, both being involved in the arts, Clary with her pencils and paints, Alec with his needles and ink.

“It is as stereotypically wet as everyone says it is,” Clary pulled a face, “but nevertheless, still enjoyable. Very unpredictable weather, cloudy, sunny and then rainy all in one day.”

“But besides that you had fun?”

“It was amazing! I would love to go back. Imagine a group trip, that would be wonderful.”

“That would be dangerous.” Alec chimed in with a slight smirk, “You’re enough to handle on your own whilst drunk, I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like with Izzy also there, I don’t think the Brits would stand a chance.” Laughing as he tried to evade the hands that were currently trying to pummel him from his sister.

“Don’t be a dick.” Huffing, trying not to smile. Isabelle was thrilled to have her brother back, they’d always had a close relationship, they were always there for each other.

Sipping at his drink, Magnus smirked in amusement, observing the interactions of everybody. It warmed his heart to see a group of people so dedicated to each other. At some point in the night, he found himself sat between Alec and Clary with Jace sat opposite who was currently deep in conversation with Isabelle and Simon, laughing at something that seemed to make Simon blush.

“So how long?”

“Hm? How long what?”

“How long have you been together?”

Blinking momentarily, Magnus dragged his attention to the redhead beside him, mulling over the months in his head.

“I think I would say about six months? Maybe a bit over, I’m not sure. We don’t really keep track on it. It’s been wonderful though.” Smiling softly, head turned away from Alec causing him to miss the slight frown the pulled at Alec’s face. The taller trying to focus his gaze somewhere else than the back of Magnus’ head.

“Oh, that’s something.” Nudging him in the ribs with her elbow, a small smile on her face. “Yet I still had to hear it from Simon.”

“Well, you are attached at the hip for the most part and I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“I’m sorry about that, things just got so hectic that I wasn’t able to keep up with everyone.” Clary sent Magnus an apologetic smile, leaning into his shoulder a little.

“No worries, Biscuit. It’s understandable but you’re back now and it probably means we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

Letting a few beats of silence wash over them, Magnus drank his drink before moving his gaze over to his other side to the man sat there.

“So a tattooist, huh?”

“Yep, it’s always a pleasure to see my work on someone else’s skin.” Dragging out the word with a playful smirk before taking a gulp of his drink, eyes filled with a mischief as he kept eye contact over the rim of the glass, causing Magnus’ stomach clench into knots.

Magnus was not prepared for this man.

When he heard about the Alec Lightwood, he was expecting a reserved, not fuzzy yet warm hearted character. Not this hot as sin man, with a smile that can melt hearts and makes dirty innuendos that makes Magnus almost choke on his drink.

“Alec, that was terrible, you nearly made Magnus choke.” Clary chastised with a laugh.

“Oh believe me, Darling, I can handle a lot more before that happens.”

A collective groan happened yet Alec beamed.

And that smile did things to Magnus. What was he doing? Flirting with Jace’s brother. Well, Jace and everyone knew that Magnus was a big flirt in general with his personality, it was harmless but something didn’t sit right here. As the night went on, the flirting with Alec didn’t seem so light hearted and it worried Magnus. Worried Jace would pick up on it and get angry but he seemed completely oblivious that Magnus started to think he might have been overthinking things or at the very least, Jace trusted him.

He hoped it was the latter.

“So what are you planning to do now that you’re back in New York? Are you staying or is this just a visit?”

Letting out a thoughtful hum, Alec turned his gaze to look at Magnus, blue eyes capturing him in a way that he couldn’t look away.

“I believe I’m going to stay a while, I’ve missed the City and I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now.”

This made Magnus’ cheeks feel vaguely warm. He hadn’t ever had this reaction to someone before, not even when he and Jace started. He just hoped it would pass him by and he could forget about it, it wasn’t anything to worry about.

“And anyway, I’ve got a residency to start and it looks promising in the long term. A respectable place in Manhattan but a few tattoo shops in Brooklyn have expressed a desire for me to do guest spots, which I wouldn’t mind doing once I’ve got my feet on the ground.”

Alec had gained the attention of the table, everyone had quietened down to listen to him. He just seemed to have that presence that people wanted to pay attention to.

“That sounds exciting to say the least. I would love to see your work sometime.”

“I have photos I can show you but you’re welcome by to see my portfolios, you may see something you may even like yourself.”

A wink was sent Magnus’ way.

“Hell yeah, Bro! This means you can finally get started on what we had planned.”

Jace’s excited tone brought Magnus’ attention back to the group, head slightly hazy.

“Yeah, I spoke to the guys at the parlour and I can schedule you in as one of my main clients. You’re still wanting a back piece right?”

“Of course.” Confirming with a nod before moving to stand. “I’m getting more drinks, another round?” A slight cheer went up with a laugh here and there causing Jace to roll his eyes before making his way to the bar. Magnus followed him with his eyes before finishing the rest of his drink.

Alec had been fiddling with his phone for a few moments before nudging Magnus to gain back his attention, holding his phone so they could both see the screen. Magnus was captivated by the images he was seeing. It was no doubt that Alec had talent, he could see why he was in demand and he definitely wouldn’t mind seeing something like this on Jace’s body, he wasn’t opposed to something like this even on his own body. Not something he had ever really thought about before. That was an idea he would stick a pin in for another day.

The subject of conversation then made its way to Magnus’ job, Clary’s disbelief that he managed to get Simon, clumsy flailing Simon, into a pretty decent dancer.

“How did that even happen?”

“Well, you know that I love a challenge and that was one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced,” another indignant noise, “but he is quite good. You should come watch some time.”

“Okay guys, I know I’m not the most graceful of people but there is something about dancing that can just clicks.”

That caused Simon to receive some semi-serious replies because for all the ribbing that he gets, they’re still all friends. Still can be proud of what they all can accomplish.

It was then Jace arrived back with more drinks for everyone, tray being placed down in the middle of the table.

“Are we talking about how Simon doesn’t actually have two left feet?”

Smirking as he moved around Izzy to grip the other man’s shoulder with a friendly shake, avoiding the slap sent his way.

“Boys, boys, calm down. I swear you two are like children.” Izzy laughed as she tried to separate them, caught in the middle.

This was something Magnus enjoyed, watching how carefree Jace was, it made his heart clench before he turned his attention back to Alec, everyone falling into different conversations.

“So, a dancer, huh?”

“Indeed, and a pretty great one at that.”

“Well, I see you’re very modest.”

“Why should I play down my best talent that supports my living?”

The look the other man was giving him made Magnus squirm on the inside, it was deep and imploring. Something he was not used to, it was like Alec was taking him apart, trying to solve a puzzle that Magnus didn’t think he was.

“You are right and it’s refreshing. You should be proud of yourself from what I’ve heard from the other’s. Running a successful dance school along with your other projects. Don’t you have some music videos that you’re to take part in?”

“How do you know about those?”                                                                    

“I’m not the only person these guys seem to talk about so admiringly.”

This made Magnus glance up at his friends, the people he considered his family, feeling extremely lucky to have them by his side.

“And I had to do my own research about the wonder that is Magnus Bane and I must say, you are pretty impressive.”

Paying too much attention to the people around the table, falling onto Jace that the dancer missed the appreciative gaze that ran up and down his form.

It became a common occurrence now that the group would meet up at the bar. Often as a whole group but also frequently by whoever could show up. Magnus liked going to keep their friend Maia company as she worked. They were close, sibling like, he was as close to an older brother she never had.

He cared for them all deeply. It had been less than a year that the others had become so important to him, apart from Simon who he had known for some years with his dear Clary. He was the oldest of them all and he would protect them at all costs. They all had their pasts and Magnus would always provide them with the support they needed, the one they all would go to.

Now he had Clary back but he was now welcoming Alec into the fold and it was too easy. Letting this man in. It was easy and it scared him but he was Jace’s brother. And that was why it was easy.

At least that is what he told himself.  

“Hnnn…”

It was hot, it was burning, it was pleasure, it was rushed.

A quick fumble under the covers before collapsing down onto their backs. Magnus felt limp and sated, Jace breathing heavily beside him as they let the feeling gradually return to the bodies.

“Fuck, you know there should be a religion just dedicated to your mouth, it deserves worship.”

“I believe that goes against what religion is for.” Letting out a breathless chuckle, head tilting to look at his lover who replied with lazy flick of the hand.

“Technicalities. The point still stands. Your mouth is positively sinful.”

Magnus rolled his eyes before moving to sit up, picking up the silken robe that had been dropped to the floor, slipping it over his body as he stood, knotting it loosely in the front.

“Coffee?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I need to make my way out actually. I have to be at the gym in an hour for a client, so I only have time for a quick shower before heading out.”

Making his way around to Magnus, not caring about his nakedness, moving to place a lingering kiss to the other’s lips before making his way through the loft to the bathroom. Magnus couldn’t help but watch that ass as the blonde walked away, letting out a quiet sigh, grinning slightly.

“Damn.”

Sweat was building up on his skin as he moved. Arms moving fluidly to roll down the rest of his body. The music reverberated through his bones as he danced. Feet gliding over the floor as he took advantage of the space he had. Body turning with precision, a jerk here, a twist there, eyes concentrating on the mirror to ensure the movements were correct, stopping here and there to repeat a movement, clearly unhappy with what he had just done.

It was all about practice.

Move and repeat.

Repeat.

He could hear the class next door practising. He wasn’t the only instructor there, he wouldn’t be able to handle his own dancers, run the place and focus on his own career that branched out further than this. The school would always be his baby but he would always push himself further.

Pausing for a moment to gather his breath before restarting the routine as the music picked up again, the playlist he created pouring into the room from the sound system.

He pushed himself through a complicated manoeuvre eyes focused on the mirror in front of him before he stopped suddenly, eyes catching sight of someone leaning against the wall. Someone who happened to be Alec.

“Alexander?”

Moving over to pause the music, dropping them into silence.

“Alexander? Nobody has called me that in years.” A broad smile pulled at the taller’s lips as he pushed himself off the wall to stand straight.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I called you that, Alec.”

“No, no. I like it.”

Rolling his eyes, Magnus moved to wipe himself down with his nearby towel, he was desperately in need of a shower.

“What can I do for you? Did Jace send you?”

“… No, Jace didn’t send me.” There was something a little off about Alec’s voice, eyes drawn to Magnus’ arms before clearing his throat. “I just thought I would come and see you in action and Isabelle told me where to find you.”

“Oh … Okay. You know you shouldn’t really sneak up on someone like that.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I announced my presence but you were too focused so I decided to let you continue and you are right, you’re great at what you do.”

Smirking at Magnus before stepping a bit closer.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go get something to eat, I asked the others if they wanted to join but they were busy.”

“Well I was going to see if your brother wanted to do something…”

“He didn’t tell you?” Alec frowned a little, Magnus decided that as attractive Alec was in his seriousness, he liked the smile better.

“Tell me what?”

“Him and Clary met up a bit ago and had gone for food with Izzy.”

…

“He did?”

Magnus felt uncomfortable as Alec nodded, he wondered why Jace hadn’t said anything.

“Okay then… Sure, why not. Let me go home and clean myself up and we can meet up wherever we’re going.”

“There’s a Thai place not too far away that is recommended, I’ll text you the address and I’ll see you there at seven.” Alec spoke as he walked backwards to the exit, eyes on Magnus.

“Yeah sure…”

Alec was about to disappear from sight.

“Wait, you don’t have my number!”

But Alec was gone and Magnus was confused before…

“Isabelle…”

[booksareawayoflife]

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

‘Haunted by her past, Clary is dragged deeper into New York City’s terrifying underworld of demons and Shadowhunters - but can she control her feelings for a boy who can never be hers?’

 Book Review: no spoilers

This part of the review will have no spoilers. Since reading this book years ago, I had forgotten what happened, so it was like reading it for the first time for me. I do think that this book was a good set up for what is going to happen in the next book, but in no way does it suffer from second book syndrome. It was a solid book on it’s own, which I am so happy to say. I want this series to be on my favourites of all time, and so far it has the capability if being on it.

You really see the development of the characters in this book. You see that their relationships have grown, and there’s banter between characters. It’s really nice to read their growing relationships, as our love for them grows too. In terms of plot, it was both surprising, and predictable. The set up was predictable, but the events leading up to the set up was unexpected. Basically, until you saw the set up, you have no idea what was going to happen next. Humour is still a fundamental part of the book, which I absolutely loved. It wasn’t as funny as City of Bones, but I still love the fact that these books have the capability to make me chuckle. City of Ashes is more serious than City of Bones, so I hope that the next book still has funny moments too, and plenty of innuendos.

Overall, I give this book 9/10 or 4.5/5. It was a good book. Definitely better than average, because I enjoyed every minute I was reading this book. I just enjoyed City of Bones more, so that is currently the standard of which a TMI book has to beat. I’m looking forward to reading City of Glass, because I remember liking that book the best.

 SPOILERS:

From here on out, I’ll be talking more in depth on the specifics of the book. If you haven’t read this series, or this book, I would recommend not reading any further.

Plot/writing - I do think the plot of this book was better than City of Bones, in general, but I enjoyed City of Bones more because it was more light-hearted, and less serious. I was surprised to find out that it had only been a week since Magnus’s party in City of Bones. It feels a lot longer than that. I wasn’t expecting Simon to turn into a vampire when he did, so it was a surprise, but I do think that the execution of it did fall flat. I wish that we saw more of a conflicted Clary when it came to deciding if Simon should be resurrected, and a more heartbroken Clary over the fact that Simon was dead. For a person who just found out that her best friend in the world has died, she was pretty rational. I wanted her to be devastated, and go a bit crazy, but she was collected enough to decide to allow Simon to turn. I don’t think that I would have been able to react as well as she did, under that situation. But, I did almost try in that section. So it was good writing. I really liked the beginning of this book. I liked how it started in mid-conversation, it makes the reader feel a part of it. And, the first thing you see is the banter between the Shadowhunters, and I love it. Their friendships/relationships is what I live for. I think that Cassandra Clare captures what it means to be a teenager perfectly. Talking about teenagers, I found it hilarious when the 3 Shadowhunters (Alec, Clary, Isabelle) left the City of Bones, and encountered the adult Shadowhunters because they did what the adults were about to do. In regards to the ending, I wish that we saw Alec/Magnus/Isabelle after the battle because I feel like Cassandra Clare just forgot about them, and focused too much on Clary.

Clary - I still like book Clary. I did think that she was an idiot when she drank the Faerie drink. You saw that setup from a mile off. The kiss with Jace also grossed me out, because they still think that they are related. One of my favourite facts that I learnt about Clary from this book, is that when she is ill, she watches CSI reruns. We’re the same. I think Clary should start to get training to be a Shadowhunter. I am getting tired of the others not wanting her to be on missions just because she is not trained. So train her then! She is a Shadowhunter!

Jace - I liked Jace more in this book because he is vulnerable. You see a different side to him, than the one that he tries to portray. I love the fact that you see how much he cares about Clary, and how much he worries about her. I was a bit grossed out when he suggested being more than just siblings (even though that I know that they aren’t related. It’s just creepy knowing that they think that they are related). I do think that if Jace wasn’t so prickly, people would have believed him when he said that he wasn’t working for Valentine. But, I can understand why Jace would be so prickly, because he felt like his support network was just crumbling, so he is going to lash out.

Simon - I still liked Simon by the end of this book, which is a plus. I disliked him a bit in the beginning (when he was still a mundane), because he basically kissed Clary without warning. But I can’t be mad at him, because Clary would have stopped him if she wanted him to stop... and it lead to them making out in her bedroom. I just think you should give a girl a bit of a heads up if you want to kiss them, like make sure they’re expecting it. I also didn’t like it when Simon called Clary his girlfriend in front of everyone, before properly discussing it in private with her. But I guessed it worked out for him in the short-term. I ship Climon more in the TV show, because Simon seems more like a genuine sweetheart, and the perfect boyfriend. Book Simon is a little more rough around the edges. I did like Simon’s flirts though. They were good. Any man can use that on me anytime. I do love their friendship. I want a friendship as close as Clary, and Simon’s. I also liked how he retained his humour after his rebirth. Vampire Simon, and mundane Simon are pretty much the same person. But I think Simon is better as a Vampire, because he is capable of helping the others. I love the reveal of him being a daylighter. It was just so dramatic. I did feel for him a lot, when he decided to break up with Clary. They weren’t really going out in the first place, but he put her overall happiness over his own. He wanted her completely, or not at all, and I can respect that.

Alec - I’m liking Alec more in this book. I don’t like him nowhere near as much as TV show Alec, but that’s because he is more developed in the TV show, then he is in the book right now. I loved the hints that Alec was seeing Magnus, like Jace noticing Alec had a love bite. I also love the bromance between Alec, and Jace. You see that they really care for each other. But I didn’t like it when Alec was hesitant to reveal that he was in a relationship with Magnus, because he’s still in love with Jace. I don’t think Alec is still in love with Jace, but the fact that Clary said it... he probably is. I just feel that single line undermines Malec’s relationship from OTP to a rebound. I did love the suggestion that he messaged Magnus to come to the entrance of the City of Bones, and Magnus came! Really quickly too. He must have used a portal just to save the day for Alec. I also found it cute, that Magnus may have given Alec the key to his apartment. I wonder what they have been doing ;) I love the few Malec scenes we got in this book... BUT I NEED MORE. I want more Malec scenes in the next books. I also want Alec’s possible feelings for Jace to be resolved in a conversation with him. Alec, and the fearless rune is my favourite scene in this book. I wish that was in the TV show so badly.

Isabelle - Isabelle probably has the least character development in the series so far. Apart from being a female rival to Clary, and knowing that she has had relations with Meliorn -  she basically did nothing in this book. She did accompany the others on some outings, but I felt like her character either blended into the background, or wasn’t present during the important scenes. I am hoping for more development in the later books, because right now I don’t really like Isabelle.

Magnus - I love Magnus. I love the people behind the TV show too, because they actually used lines that Magnus said in the TV show! I respect the writers a lot more now, and I have a lot of faith regarding future Malec scenes. I did like Magnus getting a bit jealous of Jace, but I do want more emotions from Alec regarding Magnus. I also love the Madonna reference Magnus made, and it was so cute when Alec didn’t know who she was. I found it adorable that Magnus enchanted the contract with the clave to allow Alec to take Jace’s place, just so he can spend more time with Alec. When Magnus was like, “Why do you keep calling me? They’re cheaper warlocks to call.” I just raised my eyebrows like... stop tryna act cool. You know why you’re helping out. You’re doing it for Alec. When Jace went to Taki’s with Clary, I love how the werewolves were debating who would win in a fight Magnus or Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter. I would vote Magnus, because he is three centuries older than Dumbledore, and he can use magic without a wand. He’s still my favourite character.

Luke - I love how Luke basically became everybody’s father. I want to know a Luke now. I just love how supportive he is of everyone, because he knows their struggles. I liked how we saw more of him in this book, and I hope that trend continues.

Maia - I liked the background we got to Maia, before we were properly introduced to her. So far, I like her more in the books, than I do in the TV show. But, I just think it’s because book Maia hasn’t tried to kill Jace, like TV show Maia has. Jace isn’t my favourite character, but I don’t want him to die. I do think that the first scene that she has with Simon was unremarkable, but you can see that it is a setup for at least a friendship. I didn’t like her when she tried to kill Simon, but I saw that coming from a mile off, so I can’t really blame her. I liked the fact that she did try to make amends after she tried to kill him.

Valentine - Valentine does seem to be getting more unstable as the books go on. I do prefer the TV show making him an evil mastermind. In the books, Valentine just seems to be going crazy, with nothing keeping him in check. I hope he becomes a more ruthless bad guy in the next book.

Raphael - Raphael is one of my favourite characters in the TV show. I love the actor that plays him. Raphael is basically an anti-hero. He doesn’t want to be a hero, but he is. I loved seeing Raphael again, and I hope that we get to see more of him.

Maryse - I’m hardly surprised that I disliked Maryse from her introduction. We haven’t seen Maryse before the events in this book, so we haven’t seen her treat Jace like her son. So when she started to treat him with suspicion, and distrust, I disliked her instantly. Maryse has slightly grown on me in the TV show, but that’s more because we’ve seen her as a loving mother, and not just a bad one to Jace. She should have given him the benefit of the doubt, because she raised him. She would know if he was evil. I did like her more when she went to Jace to apologise, and convince him to stay at the Institute. That scene almost made me cry. I want some more Maryse, and Jace family scenes in the future.

Max - Max’s introduction was so cute. I hope to see more of him. I know what happens to him, because there was a bit of an uproar on how the TV Show decided to go with his character, so I am preventing myself from fully connecting with him.

Imogen Herondale - I didn’t like the Inquisitor, but I didn’t want her to die the way that she did. But I did think that it was foolish of her to try and have a conversation with Jace on a battlefield. I did feel for her though, when we found out what happened to her family. I do take solace in the fact that she knew that she had family in the world, before she died. I do wish that she got to know Jace better. I hope we get to see more of her in the TV show, because I want Jace to get to know his family better.

I literally can’t wait to start reading City of Glass. So I am going to do that now!

 Love Lou xx

[beclynn-herondale]

What annoys me is that the people hating on Jace aren’t thinking about the society he grew up in. The shadowhunter society is so corrupt it’s crazy and they definitely don’t make an effort to make sure their youth knows what they’re doing is right and what they’re doing is wrong. Young shadowhunters have to depend on the people they meet and their life experiences to stay “woke” but Jace literally grew up alone in the institute with three other siblings and no friends. (1/2)

Hi anon, so first

(The Tea is piping Hot, and thank you for bringing this up )

I honestly agree with you, and this is actually something I have thought on a lot and yes it was written so many years ago that yeah of course some things we aren't going to agree with cause it's 2020 and things are different now. And the traits Cassie wrote in Jace were popular back then and Cliches were too and we need to keep this in mind.

And yes the Shadowhunters are terrible with educating their own, most shadowhunters have not been educated in mundane history and terms and other Mundane things, Diana herself said she didn't know the term Transgender until she met Catarina I think right?

And Jace was not educated in what was right to support Alec and that is not his Fault cause the Clave don't allow Mundane education so how exactly would Jace know 100% what was homophobic and not or what fetishization is??? Cause he wasn't educated in mundane terms and something you need to look at is that that truly is on Cassie she should have known that that would be offensive and never had him say some of these things, but also that was years ago.

Also erasing his character development to hate him is wrong and unfair, how about instead we appreciate how he has grown, like how much he loves kids and his family, how he was nervous to meet Kit cause he wanted to make a good impression, how he wants to be a dad, how he wants a big family cause of how close the Blackthorns are and cause he wants his kids to be like them. Or how he loves with his whole heart, also lets not forget that if not for Simon, Clary and Jace, Jem wouldn't have been cured and would still be a silent brother and our precious baby Min Min wouldn't exist and how after the whole Heavenly Fire incident Jace was worried he hurt Jem and went to check on him before anyone, someone he didn't know really.

And how he said to Clary until she came along he didn't feel like he belonged anywhere, and boy do I relate to that, and yes he had the Lightwoods but he didn't truly know how much they loved him until Clary came along, cause Jace was afraid to open up until she came along. And he was told at Six years old that if he loved he would destroy and would be destroyed, he was manipulated, he was abused, he was tortured, he was neglected, he was used and he was used by others not just Valentine, Luke Garroway said himself that he wasn't surprised Jace didn't trust the Adults around him cause they have used him, and so he put walls up cause being used is one of the worst feelings and he had been before he was even born.

And he was lied to about himself pretty much his whole life and during TMI he had been lied to his entire life. He literally went through an identity crisis several times, also he never thought he would have a best friend/Parabatai aka Alec, he never thought he would have a family aka Isabelle and Maryse and Max, and he never thought he deserved or would find love aka Clary Fucking Fairchild, and then later on he got more family aka Blueberry and Rafe and Magnus and Simon as a good friend. He never thought he would be happy, he thought he would be an angry and broken boy all his life. And why do you think Clary and Alec are so protective of Jace cause they know who he really is and know he is fragile and can get hurt easily, that's why Clart is described as his Shield and why it is mentioned several times that she saved him, also he was suicidal when we first met him, even Alec said he was always rushing towards death and reckless decisions and that he is thankful that Clary came along cause she made Jace want to live and now he doesn't have to worry about Jace wanting to get himself killed, and he has mental issues ( yes I am mentioning this again). Also you say he didn't apologize but we truly cannot be 100% sure of that cause for all we know he did and it wasn't in the book and again that's on Cassie cause she didn't give us a proper scene. And you say he doesn't give a shit about Alec, well how about that scene in TDA when Magnus is dying and Alec is saying he wishes he told Magnus how much he loved him and Jace tells Alec he knows and then Alec says he should go on a watch so he doesn't let anyone down and Jace thinks to himself how could Alec let anyone down and tells Alec his watch is taking care of Magnus and I quote "this is your watch brother". Or the scene in Heavenly fire when Jace tells Alec that Alec is a better person then he could ever be, that he has the most faith in people and that he is kind and that there is no one else with more of that then Alec, or again in TDA when he was the one who sat up as soon as the words were off the consuls mouth and Said Alec for the new Consul cause he knew how much Alec wanted it. How about in Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy when Simon is feeling like his Falling is Bad and he tells Simon he did good. Also how about how he went to talk to Tessa and yes Simon encouraged him but Jace had the willpower to do it, past Jace wouldn't have. And how about in City of Ashes when Maia who hated Jace, saw through his mask and saw herself in his eyes.

And he had to fight two wars at the age of 16/17 he wasn't even an adult, and had to help save the Shadow world and had to help clean up mistakes of parents and then finds out that also Valentine killed both his parents, and so not only did Valentine steal his childhood but also stole his chance at having a Mother who would have loved him more than anything cause she never had that but also a father who was going to change for him and most likely would have loved him deeply. Like I can't imagine the grief even though yes he did/does have a family but imagine still. He lost so much before he was born and afterwards, and how about the people who are always telling him he is Valentine's son so he may be like him and his Mother was said to have killed herself ( she didn't Valentine killed her as well btw ) and people probably have said he is Crazy like her and will do the same, guess what the Clave is Toxic and that's why Alec is going to change it cause it needs to be. And I know what it's like to be said to be a crazy bitch cause of your mental illnesses and cause of other things, to have things consistently whispered behind your back.

And this is getting long but bottom line is Jace is so much more then an ass and sarcastic, he has giving me the strength to get through my current life situation and gave me the strength to save myself recently, and has encouraged me to be a better version of myself, he has taught me that love is strength and will heal and change me if I let the right love in, he is there for me at 2 am when I am contemplating giving up and throwing it all away, he is there telling me look how far you have come, don't give up. He is there telling me your scars show how strong you are and all that you have survived and you should be proud of them, he has taught me that my abuse doesn't define me and that the manipulative adults in my life won't always have control over me. He kept me from trying to kill myself again, he gave me the strength to say that something that has happened recently is not my fault, he gave me the strength to own my confidence and my gentleness and fragilety cause that's me.

And I mostly ignore the hate or at least try to but it keeps getting thrown at me and other Jace Stans and it's time to stop.

SO IF YOU ARE GOING TO POST HATE DON'T TAG IT.

Cause tumblrs tagging system sucks and guess what us Jace Stans and Clary Stans and Clace Stans have just as much a right to enjoy ourselves and be here, as much as you haters do, and you not liking him or hating him isn't going to change my mind or make me stop loving him and also WHY ARE YOU USING THE SHORT TIME YOU HAVE FOR HATE, WHY NOT USE IT TO SPREAD LOVE FOR YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS INSTEAD????

How is it fair for us Jace/Clary/Clace stans to deal with your hate be told it's just an opinion, well guess what it's not just an opinion, when it's messing with my mental health. So please just stop and yes he's fictional so 1. Why does it matter so much. 2. Why do you care so much? 3. Why do you care so much about us liking him then? 4. Is hurting people in real life really worth it? 5. Is spreading so much hate in this world really what you want to be known for? 6. JACE is not the only problematic character for Angel's sake, there are many many others so that Is no reason to hate him.

Conclusion please stop, we just want to enjoy ourselves, hell we don't even have to interact ever and just stay in our own lanes, also TSC fandom has become the most toxic fandom I am in and that's saying something cause I have been in toxic fandoms, is this what we want to be known as? A toxic fandom who you should avoid? Cause let me tell you I don't, so why don't we just respect each other and stop being hateful. I have kept quiet about this for months and I am tired of holding it in, you say you respect opinions but if you say that If we stan Jace/Clary/Clace then we don't have rights even if it's joke, guess what it isn't a joke to me and I don't laugh at it, and if we really want to criticize and have equality then we need to judge all of them and Jace isn't the only one who as you say has made homophobic and fetishization comments and he isn't the only one who has done problematic things.

Bottom line I want to enjoy myself and lately the only thing I have had is hate and hurt and getting upset cause I like a character who is actually a good example on growing as a person because of a few scenes how is that fair, basically you are saying you made some mistakes and don't deserve to have your growth acknowledged and you don't deserve second chance cause well you're evil, guess who has been told that many times in her life, me, so it's very triggering for me, the words I hate Jace are triggering for me and I don't say this lightly at all. And don't tell me I haven't thought this through or haven't looked at the bad parts and the cons cause I have but I also look at the good parts and the pros so that is why I love Jace, cause I love his good and bad parts and I acknowledge his growth and change. So to put it simply he is not who he was in TMI, just like Alec is not who he was in TMI.

I am working on a post to clear more of this up but all I am asking is for you to not hate especially in a time that is already stressful and hard for me and everyone else, you aren't doing good and it doesn't make you cool. SORRY but it's the truth, you are hurting people, Imagine if it was your favorite character(s) and how would you feel??? So just stop.

( this is my view on things and my opinion and if you have no intention of being civil then don't interact, I am not interested in a fight with you. Or throwing hateful comments at each but know that I will also not take your hate and will defend myself)

So yeah Anon I agree with you and let's spread positivity cause I would rather this end here and spread love and positivity.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[bytheanchorarchived]

Genuine question not to be seen as hate - how do you respond to people that see Jace and Alec as brothers even though you ship them romantically? Like in a way they ARE, right? But they also aren't!

                                      how do i respond? i think that as long as you’re not sending hate to other people or considering other people bad for disagreeing with you, you are completely entitled to feel the way you feel about anything. you just gotta keep in mind other people might have different opinions and that’s okay!

if you want to know what my arguments are for the way i feel? i just, personally, don’t think that jace sees alec as a brother first, because to me, first of all, he sees alec as his best friend, and as his parabatai, and anything else comes later. which is different from how he feels about isabelle, or max, for example, talking about canon storyline (specially max). and it’s logical that it’s different since alec is canon-wise his soulmate, they literally are considered halves of the same person, so whatever he feels about alec is always going to be different from anyone else.

i guess someone is also allowed to feel like they belong with a group of people without having familial feelings for every member of that family? i know a lot of people for example, that never felt like they belonged with their own family, but that feel part of their partner’s family. if they identify their husbands/wives’ parents as their own, does it mean they see their husband/wife as a brother or sister? if you feel so close to your brother/sister-in-law that you consider them more your sibling than your own blood ones, because of kindred spirits and love, does that mean you see your partner as your brother or sister? i don’t personally see one thing as irrevocably tied to the other.

if you want to know about legal matters this is how i see it from what i interpret from strict book!canon as in every legal reason for why, legally jace is not, never has been, or will be alec’s brother/foster brother, transferring it to a mundane lingo.

not to say in the book, jace, from his own pov, didn’t even FEEL like a son to maryse or robert, until he was 16 years old, despite how much he loved them, he didn’t think they felt that way about him in return, so he did consider himself like a brother to izzy or max, and alec’s best friend, but never considered maryse his mom until she stood up for him and made her feelings for him clear for the first time, when she defended him from imogen, but still, legally, couldn’t actually keep him from her. so as you can see, it’s unlikely he was treated just like one of the other kids, and not like robert’s parabatai’s son (it’s possible he just didn’t see it because of his hard time accepting love, of course, but i don’t personally think that’s the case, i think maryse only let herself show how much she loved him after she almost lost him). 

for my characterization, and the way i’ve built jace’s sexuality, and taking into account his abusive childhood, i do believe that jace felt SOMETHING for alec, in return, from the moment they’d met, but, at first he didn’t even have how to recognize that, and later feeling attraction to girls meant to him that his feelings for alec were obviously platonic and nothing else. which honestly was a RELIEF to him, because alec was the best thing that he had ever had in his life, and the purest (as in good) thing he had ever dared to touch, and he couldn’t bear the thought of destroying him — the love he did feel for alec already being enough to be scary, without him considering it non-platonic. jace is a boy that met the love of his life at 16 and never again fell in love for someone else, so if he HAD had feelings for the same sex before, or could have had after, how could he possibly know? in the archaic, close-minded, way he was raised, first by valentine (who controlled every single bit of information he ever got access to), and then by the lightwoods and hodge who taught him further in the views of the clave, do the words or the notion of anything that isn’t straight or gay (a.k.a. right or wrong), like bisexuality or any other kind, even exist? i know they didn’t for me, growing up, i can only imagine how foreign a concept that’d be for jace. so he had no means how, and no reason for why, to question his feelings for alec. so we’ll never know how he really felt, if it was something more or not, and likely neither will him, since once he meets clary, he falls head over heels for her and never looks back.

as for alec, to him jace was never his brother, he was from the very moment they met, his very first boyish crush, and as they grew up, the first person he ever fell in love with. alec was smitten and blown away by jace from the moment they laid eyes on each other. he didn’t have time to build other feelings first. after he falls in love with magnus, he also slowly starts to see jace as his best friend, parabatai and soulmate, first. that’s always how it’s gonna be for them, in my interpretation, because them being soulmates is way more important than even any familial connections they can have.

so does jace feel like he belongs with the lightwoods? definitely. does ALEC thinks he belongs with them? for damn sure. does jace grow (as a young adult) to consider maryse his mother? yes. does he consider robert his father? no. that will, for better or worse, always be valentine’s spot. does he feels like a brother to izzy and max? definitely. does he thinks alec is his big brother? nope. alec’s his soulmate, his brother-in-arms. can they grow to feel that way in the future after they both have met the second loves of their lives? sure! but the parabatai status will always be more important, always.

another thing i want to point out that really makes this very simple: jace will never stop feeling about valentine as his father, in fact, he feels him to be more his father than clary ever will, does that mean jace considers clary his sister? hell no (and may raziel save us from these dark days). it’s the same thing, anon. because like it or not, despite everything, jace does love valentine like a father, he always did, but it doesn’t make his love for clary a familial one, never did, even when they did think they were siblings. so if it works that way for jace about clary, why would it be different with alec?

in addition: jace didn’t even grow up feeling like izzy’s brother, he and izzy both FIGURED OUT they were better that way (as brother and sister to each other) when they were like 13-14 and shared a few kisses out of mutual curiosity (which i headcanon as their first kisses). so this only adds to how his feelings for the lightwood family weren’t set in stone the moment he arrived at the institute. because he weren’t a sibling to them the moment he moved in (legally never was), he GREW to love them as a family, which to me is even more important than being brought up in it. 

[nylonsandlipstick]

Hi there, would you mind explain why you consider cc and tmi books problematic? I mean they are a somehow flat especially compare to tid/tda but I don’t think i would called them problematic. As for Claire I have hear people to complain about her in the past but always judging by her books I can’t see why. Now this not to say you are wrong or anything like that. I’m just curious on the matter.

Hi! First I’d like to thank you for being so polite in your ask! I know a lot of CC and TMI fans, even casual fans, can be very rude about anyone who views CC or TMI negatively.

So, I’ll start with the analytical book stuff and then go on to the author gossip so that you can have some legit criticism and then read the gossip-y stuff if you’d like and I’ll even direct you to some posts that explain certain things in better details and offer sources so that it doesn’t seem like I’m just offering a bunch of baseless rumors. Also, be warned, I write long analytical posts as I have no chill lol so this post is going to be rather long even though I'll try to cut to the chase.

The Mortal Instruments books aren’t the best books I’ve ever read, not even by a long shot, but the plot itself isn’t problematic. While I don’t like how the books come off more as a series of events strung together by a halfhearted central plot with rather bland and one-dimensional characters, it’s not those things that make the books problematic but rather the characters and the way Clare handles them.

Let’s start with Clary since she’s the main character. She’s rather bland and just really whiny (not a character I disliked or liked, she kind of feels…there) but what makes her problematic is just how she seems to hate all female characters that are prettier than her and could be possible love-interests for Jace. The books give her a weird relationship with Izzy but it’s nowhere near a friendship. She’ll spend so much time kind of side-eyeing Izzy and judging Izzy for how she dresses and basically slut-shaming Izzy and it’s not even because Clary doesn’t like girls that dress like that and sleep around but rather just because she believes that Izzy is a main contender in the competition of winning over Jace. One thing I don’t like that Clare did was play on that stupid trope of girls only seeing each other as competition for a guy (we even see a bit of that in TID with Tessa immediately viewing Jessie as competition for Will but, thankfully, moving past that quickly as she understands that Jessie has no interest in either Will or Jem for that matter). I also really disliked that Clary uses Simon during that godforsaken faux incest plot just to make Jace jealous (which is so wrong on so many levels, but I’ll get to the incest later). Clary also used Alec’s sexuality as leverage against him which is so wrong (Alec’s reaction to Clary realizing his sexuality wasn’t great either).

I think Clare just doesn’t know how to make good female characters in the first place as she makes Izzy super bad too. She’s written as a character that’s supposed to be a slut in no uncertain terms, and that’s just so bad. It’s not like Clare even tries to make it so that Izzy is super comfortable in her body and everyone accepts her because the way she dresses doesn’t make for her intelligence and her ability to fight (which we all know she’s good at). Clare just makes Izzy a pretty face with nothing but boys and how to dress provocatively on her mind, which I don’t think is necessarily bad, if it weren’t for the fact that Clare makes those things out to be bad. I absolutely adore female characters that love dressing up and love constantly dating and don’t care much for fighting if they’re properly developed because I’m so tired of the “I hate dresses and makeup and I’m not like other girls, I’m one of the guys” female characters that are just so annoying at this point. Clare just acts like being feminine and being comfortable in your body are such bad things when that’s not supposed to be true at all. And Izzy really isn’t even there as an actual main character but rather to make Clary seem like the better of the two girls because she’s not what Izzy supposedly represents (femininity and sexuality) and eventually only there as Simon’s love interest (so to further a male character’s love story).

So, as of now, Clare really isn’t seeming like the feminist she claims she is as she not only poorly represents her female characters, she uses them to further male story-lines and there is a huge difference in the female to male ratio in the series (the story is honestly so male-dominated and there’s no balance in female and male characters whatsoever, e are about three main female characters with a dozen of main male characters).

Jace really isn’t problematic in his characterization like Clary or in what he does aside from the faux incest subplot. He’s definitely unlikable and a total Bad Boy trope with untapped potential for being an amazing multi-dimensional character and has an unnecessarily complicated backstory but that’s not really bad outside of writing-wise. So, because I really don’t want to push it off anymore, I’m going to talk about the incest subplot. First of all, incest should very much not be used as some sort of obstacle a couple has to go through to prove their love for each other or whatever. Anything else would have been better, even having Izzy as a legitimate love interest for Jace would have been better. I found it just so uncomfortable having to read through that Seelie Court scene. And the fact that Jace and Clary continued to have feelings for each other and didn’t even try to squash their feelings down and try to see each other as full-blooded siblings just made it all worse. I was so relieved when Valentine admitted that he pretended to be Jace’s father (again, the unnecessarily complicated backstory)…then almost threw up when Sebastian came in and showed romantic interest in his own sister. I understand that Sebastian is supposed to be creepy and unlikable, but, damn, Clare could have done without the incest subplot. It makes it all more irksome that Sebastian is very aware that Clary is his full-blooded sister and yet he still somehow can’t control his feelings for her? The only time I want to see any incest in any form is in an episode of Law & Order: SVU where the main detectives spend the entire episode denouncing incest and calling it wrong in every aspect.

One of the bigger problems I had in the series was Alec. So that you know, I do not like Alec at all, and don’t care for him. Just because Matthew Daddario plays him in the show doesn’t mean I suddenly like show!Alec over book!Alec (although show!Alec has some redeemable traits). I don’t like him at all, period. That way you know that my criticism about Alec isn’t because “Well show!Alec is better and book!Alec this and that, and Matthew plays him which makes him so much better” as I’ve seen a lot of people do. Matthew seems like a kind and likable dude, but I cannot just get behind Alec at all. Aside from being such a stoic and bland character (I don’t really do serious characters, they’re not very fun and they remain rather static throughout stories which is boring), Alec is such a gross character and such a poor excuse for homosexual representation. I think it’s so sad that Clare made her only gay (male homosexual, I only specify since gay is used as a blanket term a lot of the times) character so unlikable and very biphobic. Not only does Alec threaten bodily harm to Clary so that she doesn’t reveal his sexuality (which is a huge no-no, that’s a terrible way to handle a closeted character’s anxiety over coming out), when Alec’s sexuality is finally revealed, it’s in Simon’s point of view which is just so…ugh. Alec is such a huge slut-shamer too; he’s right on par with Clary. He spends so much time egging Magnus about his past relationships and acting like Magnus, a hundred-something years old man, would never have had any relationship before Alec at all. What makes Alec’s slut-shaming so much worse is that it always points back to Magnus’s bisexuality. As a bisexual myself, I hate seeing people slut-shaming us bisexuals (when we’re not being out right ignored, that is) because we go both ways. It’s as if a heterosexual or homosexual isn’t as likely to cheat or be sexually promiscuous at all. It’s just so gross and uncomfortable and what made me absolutely despise Alec. And anyone, even a bisexual, who supports Alec’s biphobia because it’s “realistic” should remember that the Shadowhunter world is full of angels, demons, werewolves, vampires, and magical objects with few poc and lgbt+ characters; CC is far from realism at this point, she could have done without the biphobia.

Magnus isn’t perfect either as he’s so unnecessarily rude to Alec for not coming out quickly and basically attacking Alec for not admitting his sexuality to everyone. You’d think that Magnus, a bisexual man born in the nineteenth century, would understand that it would be difficult for Alec to come out as gay and that he should be so supportive of Alec and help him through it.

Racial/ethnic and sexual representation is at such a minimum and Clare just doesn’t seem to know how to handle her poc and lgbt+ characters properly at all. We have only four lgbt+ characters, one of which is biphobic (Alec), two whom are super minor and there to further other characters’ stories (Magnus and Aline), and one who doesn’t even appear much in general (Helen) and the only two lgbt+ relationships in the entire TMI series seem to have to go through so many obstacles that either the heterosexual relationships don’t have to go through or if they’re in a similar circumstance is easily resolved (like the immortality question for Malec is somehow unable to be resolved and actually made more difficult while Sizzy resolve the immortality question so quickly and easily). And as far as I can remember, most of the TMI characters are very white. The only non-white/ethnic representation we get are Simon (Jewish), Maia (biracial, black and white I believe), Aline (Chinese, if I remember correctly), Magnus (biracial, Indonesian and Dutch), and Jordan (ethnically and racially ambiguous). That’s five characters that I can remember from a very, very long list of characters. So, Clare isn’t much of a good white ally either.

Those are just some of my main problems with The Mortal Instruments books that I feel make them problematic. I know some people can pull out a lot more things I forgot as it’s been a while since I even touched those books. I understand that those books were her first ones to be published and writing changes (as seen in her other series), but Cassandra Clare as a person really does not seem to change.

I’m not as well versed in the problems with Cassandra Clare so I’ll link you to a couple of posts as I give my brief points that explain everything better and give sources (because in situations like these, sources are necessary so that you don’t come off as some Gossip Girl).

So, for Cassandra Clare, you’ll have to bare with me as she’s done a good amount of things that even I can’t keep straight and I’ll definitely miss out on some stuff.

She has a history of cyberbullying fans and continues to do so (x)

She tried to scam the fandom in something that’s called LaptopGate (x)

She plagiarized the hell out of other authors’ works and she won’t apologize for it and won’t even admit it (x)(x)

She seems to have a need for taking down anyone who tries point out her plagiarism/any problematic content her books have and then cries anti-bullying because she got hurt (x)

She’s was and still is hateful of the show (x)(x)(x)

She basically told a fan asking for positive Muslim representation that it won’t happen (x)

She claims that people dislike her because she’s a woman (x)

She claims that the reason why she couldn’t include much Malec (or LGBT+ rep in general) was because her publishing company was conservative which is a bald-faced lie (x)(x)

She tweeted about Magnus currently identifying as bisexual even though she headcanons him pansexual because he would date someone nonbinary which just goes to show her ignorance about sexuality (x)

I really recommend you go through the anti CC tag. There will definitely be a lot of negative things said as many people are angry at CC but you'll get a better understanding as to why people are mad and believe CC and TMI are problematic.

Just for the record, I will say that I am a fan of the books Clare writes. I really enjoyed The Infernal Devices (although I had a few problems with the series but most of them being plot-wise and not liking a few characters) and I’ve heard better things about The Dark Artifices (I’ve also heard it’s got a few problems with its representation but that it’s a step up from The Mortal Instruments). While I don’t agree with and dislike a lot of the things she’s done and written, I think the books are wonderful. I believe that it’s absolutely possible to enjoy a book or television series or movie or whatever and acknowledge that it’s problematic. And I will also say that while I like Shadowhunters better than The Mortal Instruments books, I don’t think that the show is flawless and free of problems. It’s still rather problematic with it’s use of stereotypes, whitewashing/scooting around the ethnicity of certain characters played by pocs (the Lightwood and Lewis families), sidelining of pocs, inherent homophobia (basically queerbaited with Malec and didn’t even show tons of scenes that would have been shown for a straight couple), and a few other problems. But the show is definitely a step up from the books. They really change a lot of things that just didn’t sit well with not only myself but a lot of the book readers and they also fix a ton of plot holes that were in the books.

Anyway, I digress. I really hope that you see this as actual criticism and not me just hating for the sake of hating. You can totally disagree with some of the things that I mentioned and view things differently than I do as that’s your right. But, anyway, I hope this explained things well!

[singingwordwright]

The Sebastian Manifesto v 2.0

I conceived most of this meta during the hiatus between seasons 2a and 2b, and wrote and published it after episode 2x11 once we finally meta Sebastian. However, now that we’ve come to the midway point in 2b and seen a major reveal with Sebastian, I feel like it needs updating. It hasn’t been entirely Jossed yet, not by a long shot, but there’s definitely a few parts where it needs some adjustment. I’m editing some of the existing, but I may miss a few bits here and there. Most of the changes are going to be in the new sections.

Sections 1-3 are what I’ve posted before, sections 4 and 5 are new.

I’m going to start off by saying that I DO NOT SHIP SEBASTIAN AND IZZY. Don’t let the title fool you. I think Izzy is going to play an important role in the Sebastian storyline, but not on a romantic level. Don’t even go there, please.

Most of this meta, you can find in various other posts I’ve made along the way, and particularly scattered through my episode-by-episode recaps from Season 2a onward. What I’m saying here is nothing particularly new, it’s just condensed into this one particular post. Which is a long-ass post. Be sure to buckle up.

I will also point out that I could be entirely long. Part of my goal in posting this is to get it out there so I can play a game of “let’s see what I got right” with myself as the season progresses.

I’m going to put this behind a cut because it’s quite long and contains spoilers from the books that may or may not come to pass in the show. What follows is discussion about what I think they’re going to do with Sebastian in the show, and how vital a role Izzy is going to play in it.

1. The ALDERTREE-IS-SEBASTIAN theory: not quite as defunct (or debunked) as you may assume

I follow a lot of Shadowhunters fans, and thus most spoilers and meta about Shadowhunters crosses my dash sooner or later. If there has been any official confirmation debunking this theory, I haven’t seen it. If it exists, please link it to me, and I will officially rescind this part of my meta and admit I’m wrong.

Nonetheless, a lot of people appear to have moved on from the idea that Aldertree was Sebastian in disguise, since we didn’t get confirmation of it at the end of Season 2a. That’s definitely understandable; the end of 2a would have been the perfect time to reveal that there had been a snake in the Institute’s bosom the entire time.

On the surface, it would appear the connection between Aldertree and Sebastian was weak to begin with. They both have English accents, they both (supposedly) hail from the London Institute, and Aldertree isn’t a nice guy so those of us who knew about Sebastian wanted to make sense of that by assuming he’s the Really Not Nice Guy we all knew was coming down the pike. And on the surface, that’s it. That’s all that links the two of them together. 

Underneath the surface, though, it’s a lot more.

First of all, Aldertree isn’t just a not-nice guy. He’s either terminally stupid, or he’s in league with Valentine actively working on an agenda that doesn’t benefit the Institute.

Note the edit I made there. One aspect of this meta that HAS been somewhat Jossed is the idea that Sebastian is working with Valentine on Valentine’s agenda. Given the end of 2x15 and the sneak peek we’ve seen of 2x16, I think it’s safe to say that he’s not actually allied with Valentine. However, it’s still possible that, as Aldertree, he positioned himself as an ally and colluded with Valentine. His agenda, however, appears to be far different.

Regardless of where you stand on the Sebastian theory, what we see from Aldertree in Season 2a isn’t just a bunch of random bad-guy mustache twirling. In the end, he does actually help Valentine achieve what Valentine is trying to achieve.

And a large part of that takes the shape of an organized campaign to drive wedges between the Lightwood siblings (including Jace,) thereby weakening the power structure in the Institute.

He isolates Jace, first by making him a fugitive (2x01)…

…then by making the other Shadowhunters in the Institute doubt him and finally by driving him out (2x06.)

He isolates Izzy, first by making her choose between Alec’s life and turning Jace over the the Clave (2x03)…

…then by trying to get her addicted to yin fen (2x05.)

When Aldertree attempts to use her yin fen dependence to get her to spy on Clary, Izzy begins isolating herself (2x07) because by that point she’s been forced to betray the trust of someone she cares about twice and she knows no one she cares about is safe.

When Aldertree realizes she’s slipped the hook with regard to the yin fen, he tries simply charming her instead, but it’s too late. 

Jace and Izzy being isolated means Alec is isolated. Still, Aldertree produces a convenient tale of tragic lost Downworlder/Shadowhunter love in order to distract Alec and cut him off from his most powerful ally, a warlock who has successfully opposed and thwarted the Circle more than once. (More on this later.)

But none of this necessarily means Aldertree is furthering Valentine’s agenda for his own purposes, right? He could just be a random bad guy.

Except…no. There’s more to it than that. Because weakening someone by isolating them from their loved ones is a play right out of Valentine’s book. One of his favorite plays, in fact. Our loved ones serve as our conscience, the better angels of our nature. They provide rational thought when we can’t see things clearly. This is why it was so important to cut Jace off from his found family, so that they couldn’t provide the antidote to the poison he kept pouring in Jace’s ear about demon blood and “to love is to destroy” and so forth.

With the Lightwood siblings splintered apart and distracted by their own worries, no one—including the Best Forensic Pathologist in New York--thought to run a DNA test on Jace and Clary to confirm their mutual parentage, or to try to figure out just what sort of demon blood Jace had in him and whether or not Clary had the same. They had no time or opportunity to compare notes and see the way they were being individually manipulated.

There are other ways in which Aldertree served Valentine’s purposes, so much so that it seems obvious to me that Aldertree abetting Valentine in whatever capacity you choose to believe 

How did Aldertree know about Jace’s falcon? (2x04) Look at the confusion on Jace’s face there. I don’t think that’s a story Jace would have willingly confided in just anyone, so how did the Clave’s representative find out?

How did Valentine know about Clary and Alec’s visit to Iris Rouse (2x05 and 2x08?) Unless he has spies on Clary 24/7, the only way he could have learned about that is because Alec and Clary went back to the Institute and made a report about Iris’s warlock-baby mill, and that report found its way to Valentine.

But here’s the kicker:

In 2x09, when Alec asks about Izzy’s whereabouts and expresses his suspicion of Aldertree, says he knows Aldertree is hiding something. Aldertree responds by threatening to make Alec submit to a psych evaluation “after what happened at your brother’s party.”

Aldertree knows what happened at Max’s party (2x08.) This means he also knows Magnus’s counter-spell book was stolen.

Aldertree is Head of the Institute. He has to know which warlock created the Institute’s wards. That would certainly be on record and considering Magnus’s close relationship with one high ranking member of the Institute, Aldertree would have checked Magnus’s records.

Even if we assume Aldertree is too stupid to realize what implications there are for the Institute’s wards in Valentine stealing a book that can undo every spell Magnus has ever cast, Magnus would never be negligent enough not to notify Aldertree that the wards were vulnerable (nor could he possibly be stupid enough not to put it together that they were at risk.)

Aldertree knew about the missing spellbook and HAS TO HAVE KNOWN about the vulnerability to the wards. And yet, what’s his first line in the beginning of 2x10 when Madzie brings down the wards? He blames lax security. He never got another warlock in to plug the security leak.

He left the door standing wide-open for Valentine.

His scene with Alec up on the roof in 2x10 is very obviously a delaying tactic. He brags about being able to hack into the system from there, and then can’t do it. Really?

Then there’s the story he tells Alec about his lost love. Shadowhunters and Downworlders can never be together because Downworlders will always give in to their demonic nature. Golly…that’s just identical to what Valentine keeps telling Jace and Clary, isn’t it? And maybe it’s not an exclusively Valentinian philosophy, but the way he uses it to try to get inside Alec’s head and do a mindfuck to turn him against a powerful ally is, again, straight out of Valentine’s playbook.

(Why doesn’t he just kill Alec? I’ll get to that later.)

Conclusion: Aldertree was abetting Valentine. But does that really mean he’s Sebastian, you may ask?

Well, again, there’s the whole thing about weakening Izzy, Jace, and Alec by driving wedges between them and isolating them from one another. Yes, it’s a trick straight out of Valentine’s playbook, but more importantly, it’s a very intimate trick. It’s the sort of trick you learn by being mentored by someone, or by growing up with an abusive parent who did it to you. Aldertree wasn’t just abetting Valentine, at some point he was close enough to Valentine to truly learn and adopt his philosophies.

2x14 offers us another clue, as well. Sebastian tells Raphael he “always knew” Izzy was getting her vampire venom straight from the source. The wording is odd because at this point, Sebastian has been around for a couple weeks maybe. The wording, however, seems to indicate a knowledge going back much father than that. But if, as Aldertree, he sussed out what Izzy was doing, it would make more sense.

What ties Aldertree and Sebastian together most convincingly, is Izzy.

2. ALDERTREE AND IZZY (an obsession is born)

Aldertree zeroes in on Izzy right from the beginning.

In 2x01 when threatening Izzy and Alec, he goes immediately for the deruning threat, and he looks at Izzy while he’s doing it, knowing that particular threat would carry weight with her. He also keeps a seemingly casual/amused eye on Izzy and Clary’s training session, clearly knowing they’re up to something (more on that later.)

In 2x03, Aldertree makes his first move. He forces Izzy to betray one brother to save the other. And he acts benevolent about it, claims he’s trying to save Jace’s life. He’s driving a wedge between Izzy and Jace while simultaneously attempting to position himself as someone who just wants to help her.

2x05 is where things get really interesting, and I admit this particular point is mostly supposition. I keep wondering: if the Soul Sword’s purpose was so super-secret that Aldertree needed to send an expedition to the Adamant Citadel to get input from the Iron Sisters, how did Valentine know? The obvious answer is that the Soul Sword’s purpose isn’t as secret as we’re led to believe.

If Aldertree is abetting Valentine, especially if he’s convinced Valentine he’s an ally, Valentine quite possibly would have told him what the sword does. Even if Valentine didn’t, whoever it was within the Clave that DOES (and someone has to, or, again, how did Valentine find out) likely would have in order to warn Aldertree about what Valentine might intend.

There are at least two ways Aldertree might have known about the sword. So…why send Izzy to the Iron Sisters?

Well, let’s assume Izzy’s lifelong fascination with and admiration of the Iron Sisters is fairly common knowledge. She grew up in the Institute, and it’s not something she would have had reason to hide. It would be known to the people she grew up around and quite possibly in her personnel records.

If Aldertree wanted a hook in Izzy, he’d have to offer her something she yearned for badly enough that she would accept the yin fen despite the risks. The mission to the Iron Sisters was never about the Soul Sword. It was about Izzy.

He dangles the Iron Sisters mission (by way of letting it drop to Jace that he’s organizing it) to get into her good graces, and possibly to get her to accept the yin fen. Then he uses the yin fen dependency to try to get her to spy for him. What he doesn’t count on is the purity trial at the Adamant Citadel, which makes it clear to Izzy just how much danger she’s in. She gives the yin fen back and he loses his hook in her. We don’t see him in 2x07 and 2x08, but then we get to 2x09, and this is where it really all comes together.

In 2x01 when Izzy is advising Clary, she cites Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Remember how Aldertree was keeping an eye on that whole thing?

In 2x09, when Izzy comes to see Aldertree and he unsuccessfully asks her out, there’s a very pronounced close-up of a copy of The Art of War on his desk. And later in the episode, when Alec accuses Aldertree of hiding something regarding Izzy, Aldertree is reading the book, and again, there’s a close-up of the cover.

In TV and film, you don’t do a close-up of a prop like that unless it has significance. The producers wanted us to know he was reading the same book Izzy had been advising Clary from. This is a book that advises things like isolating your enemies in order to weaken them. Don’t let them join forces. Try to conquer the city without warfare or siege, subdue enemy forces without fighting.

And, of course, as Izzy points out: to know your enemy you must become your enemy.

Now that philosophy makes Aldertree’s timely anecdote to Alec on the roof in 2x10 about Shadowhunter/Downworlder romance a lot more convenient and suspicious, doesn’t it?

And that’s what leads us to Sebastian.

3. SEBASTIAN AND IZZY (Becoming your “enemy”)

There’s absolutely no reason to believe the Inquisitor, Imogen Herondale, when she says that Aldertree is in Idris facing reprimand. She also said the Soul Sword is in Clave custody, and we know that’s a lie. Those of us who have read the books also know Sebastian must have been the one to take it (one assumes the reason he didn’t destroy it as per the vision Ithuriel gave Clary and Jace is because it wasn’t charged.)

Why would the Inquisitor lie about Aldertree’s whereabouts?

First, because it would be a massive loss of face for the Clave if it were known that their golden boy, the one sent to whip the New York Institute into shape, was a traitor working with Valentine. So if he disappeared with the sword, they would want to cover that up before the Institutes started losing faith in the Clave’s leadership.

Second, the Clave is probably claiming the Soul Sword is secure and in custody because if the Downworld found out it’s in the wind—in the hands of a traitor who probably aided Valentine—the Downworld is going to lose its collective shit even more than it already has following the massacre in the Institute.

So Aldertree/Sebastian is at large with the sword, except he can’t bring himself to stay that way because of what he’s left behind.

Namely, Izzy.

In the books, Sebastian has an incestuous obsession with Clary. But the show has been trying to downplay the incest angle. Maybe that’s because of network censorhip, or maybe it’s because the producers in their wisdom decided it was a disgusting sideplot that needed to be shelved. At any rate, aside from a few hints of lingering feeling, they basically dropped Clace until they could reveal that Jace wasn’t Clary’s brother.

It’s Sebastian, not Jace, who is Clary’s brother. If they bring in that obsession, they’re going to be right smack back in the middle of stuff they’ve been making a concerted effort to omit from the show. I admit, 2x12 has called my theory here into question, since obviously Sebastian DID go there with Clary, at least a little, but mostly they’ve been focused on his interactions with Izzy.

So what I truly believe they’ve done here is transfer Sebastian’s fixation to Izzy. Especially in light of the recent interview where Emeraude remarks something to the effect of things aren’t going to be the way they were in the book, they’ll end up in the same place, but they’ll take a different route to get there.

There’s a REASON our first scenes with Sebastian are between him and Izzy. That’s significant. And look at what those scenes contain.

Look at the parallel here, between this and 2x05 when Aldertree applies Izzy’s first dose of yin fen. While this scene isn’t as blatantly sexualized, there is often something sexual overtone to a grown adult ingesting something from another adult’s hand. Even if there weren’t, the fact that Izzy is once again willingly accepting an unknown substance from someone she has no reason to trust is parallel enough.

But beyond that, look at who Sebastian is portraying himself as being.

He’s a yin fen addict who has bravely kicked the habit, and he has just what she needs to get better. He’s is a great cook who effortlessly takes care of people with delicious food. He’s a child with a troubled relationship with his mother who still manages to be okay.

Sebastian hasn’t just “become” Izzy, he’s become the person Izzy wants to be. Someone Izzy will admire and want to emulate. Someone she’ll be grateful to for rescuing her.

And in the process he’s undoing the damage he did by getting her hooked on yin fen, because look at the glance Izzy and Aldertree share on the roof in 2x10. He feels remorse for that, or at least he understands that he’s harmed and endangered someone he wishes to possess.

Does this mean they’ve transferred most, if not all, of the Clary/Sebastian plot to Izzy? Maybe? I don’t know. But I believe Sebastian’s driving motivation is going to be his obsession with Izzy, rather than with Clary.

Why Izzy? I don’t know.

It could be because she outthinks him in 2x01 in order to advise Clary on how to get around him.

It could be because she somehow managed to slip his yin fen blackmail hook, even at desperate cost to herself, and he admires that strength.

It could be because he homed in on her as the weak link of the Lightwood sibling chain in 2x03 and something about how much she loves her brothers touches him and sparks an obsession.

That last one is probably what’s going to be closest to the way things play out. And it could have very interesting implications for Alec. Because in 2x11, Sebastian reacts evasively (looking away, changing the subject) or violently (burning himself) when Izzy’s love for Alec comes up. I’ll come back to the burning thing in a bit.

Keep in mind, if Aldertree was Sebastian, Alec has thwarted him and stood between him and Izzy. He’s thrown down with Sebastian and challenged Sebastian’s “claim” to Izzy. And there’s no way he will ever win Izzy the way he wants her unless he finds a way to undermine Alec. But he can’t kill Alec, because he’d definitely lose any chance with Izzy (hence the reason Aldertree takes Alec to the roof to get him away from the fighting and keep him busy/distracted, instead of killing him.)

Also, Alec is the leader Sebastian tried and failed to be. Alec effectively ousted Aldertree as Head of the Institute. It very well could be that, just as the show is transferring some or all of Sebastian’s obsession to Izzy instead of Clary, they may be transferring some or all of his obsessive jealousy to Alec instead of Jace.

What this means in terms of the “dark parabatai”/twinning thing, I have no clue. I suspect, given what Dominic Sherwood said in an interview recently about how Jace isn’t going to be catching a break anytime soon, even as far as he’s been told about Season 3, that that storyline is still going to play out pretty much the same.

In the books, iirc, Sebastian is jealous of the fact that Valentine loved Jace more than him even though Sebastian is Valentine’s true son and Jace isn’t. And he’s jealous of the fact that Clary loves Jace and can’t give Sebastian the time of day.

It may be that the show will focus more on the family bonds instead of the romantic bonds. The parallels between Maryse and Jocelyn’s imperfect mothering are an obvious starting point. If that’s the case, if the focus of his jealousy and obsession is familial love rather than whatever it was book-Sebastian was after with Clary, then certain events coming up later this season are going to be particularly tragic.

What will Clary and Jace be doing if they take those storylines away? I really haven’t the vaguest idea. I think what’s most likely is that we may see a hybrid of my theory (where it’s primarily focused on Izzy and Alec) and the book canon that’s focused on Clary/Jace. I honestly have no idea what that would look like; the same story but just more spread out and inclusive of these characters as a whole group, I guess? Mostly I’m just thrilled at the idea of them taking a major storyline like “being the object of the bad guy’s obsession” away from Clary and giving it to Izzy. Because that’s freaking awesome.

4. SO WHAT IS SEBASTIAN’S AGENDA

Given the fact that in s2ep15, Valentine was sincerely unaware of who Sebastian was, and also the preview we’ve seen for s2ep16, I think it’s safe to say that either he hasn’t been working with Valentine, or if he was (especially as Aldertree) he was doing so to further his own agenda.

What is that agenda? Good question.

I think Valentine believed Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern to be either dead or banished to another realm. Remember this moment in 2x11?

In s2ep15, Magnus reveals to us that what the agony rune showed him was not the worst thing that ever happened to him, but the worst thing he ever did. The torment of the agony rune isn’t about sorrow or loss or helplessness, it’s about guilt.

That’s an important distinction.

We know Valentine experimented on his and Jocelyn’s son with demon blood. And we know from Jocelyn in 2x02 that Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern had not just one flower-killing mishap, but a whole series of incidents in which it was made patently obvious that he was partly demonic.

I believe what we saw in 2x11 while Valentine is being tortured is the memory of what he did to Jonathan. Either he was trying to somehow “purify” Jonathan of any excessive demon-nature and thought he had killed him instead, or he decided Jonathan was beyond salvaging and performed a ritual to banish him to a demon realm (likely Edom, which is the joint province of Lilith, whose blood he used in his experiment on Jonathan) and considered him gone forever.

This would explain why Valentine is so invested in Jace. In the books, he deemed Jace too soft-hearted and wrote him off, sending him to be raised by the Lightwoods while he focused all his attention on Jonathan/Sebastian. What we’ve seen on the show, however, is a bit of role-reversal there. I think it’s Sebastian he wrote off, so he could focus his plans on Jace.

Clearly, Sebastian has taken a dim view of all this and is angling for revenge.

I think Sebastian plans to destroy the Shadowhunters (or at least most of the Shadowhunters.) And he’s trying to foment conflict with the Downworld to accomplish it, which is why it was in his interest to abet Valentine’s goals during Season 2a.

In the books, it’s eventually revealed that Sebastian is the (in an older form) Seelie Queen’s lover. We’re already seeing hints of the two of them working toward the same agenda, in the way that the Seelie Queen tries to create a rift between Simon and Clary/Jace, the way she emphasizes “they always choose their own kind” (which could very well be words right out of Sebastian’s own mouth, if he believes Valentine tried to kill or banished him in favor of Jace.)

But let’s look at what Sebastian is doing on that front as well.

2x09: (as Aldertree) Asking Izzy out on a date once he realizes she’s going to a vampire to get her yin fen fix.

2x10: (as Aldertree) He tries to create a divide between Alec and Magnus by telling Alec a tragic tale of tragic Shadowhunter/Downworlder romance-gone-wrong.

2x12: Disregarding Clary’s relationship with Luke to convince her she’s without family, and asking her out on a date, thereby attempting to get between her and Simon.

2x13: Probably being somehow complicit/the mastermind in the whole Kaelie scheme, which was obviously an attempt to start a war between the Shadowhunters and the Downworld

2x14: Taking a discussion of Jace and Maia’s hookup and turning it around to bring Jace’s attention back to Clary (probably knowing that the Seelie Queen would later also try to nudge Jace and Clary toward each other.)

2x14: Interfering in Raphael and Izzy’s relationship to convince Raphael to walk away from Izzy.

2x14: Trying to derail the Downworld Cabinet by setting Luke up for attempting to murder Valentine.

Sebastian has a very clear pattern of trying to divide Shadowhunters from their Downworld loved ones and allies. At first I thought this was because he was working on Valentine’s Nephilim supremacist agenda, but now I think it’s the opposite. I think, like Valentine, he wants a war, but he intends for Downworlders and probably demons to come out on top and to exterminate the Shadowhunters.

And he’s not having an easy time of it. Mostly because of Izzy.

Now, I said earlier that I thought his burning himself was a violent reaction of jealousy toward Izzy’s love for Alec. I wrote that after 2x11, well before 2x15, so I really have to revamp that theory.

Again, look at those pictures of the little boy burning from 2x11. That is what happened the last time Jonathan/Sebastian loved and trusted a Shadowhunter. I think the reason we see him burning himself is because of his attachment to the Shadowhunters he’s infiltrated (particularly Izzy,) because he needs to remind himself of the pain of being betrayed by his father and why he thinks it’s necessary to do what he’s doing.

Do I like this particular plot? I’m not sure, but I see some really big potential pitfalls. Mostly because it potentially positions the Downworlders as aggressors whom the Shadowhunters need to heroically defend themselves against with deadly force, when in fact that exact opposite has been the case. It runs the risk of echoing various white supremacist propaganda that portrays people of color as aggressors against whom white people must defend themselves, and I’m really hoping they won’t go there.

However, after 2x13 we saw that the writers and producers do have some awareness of the metaphor they’re dealing with, and the show has brought two women of color into the writer’s room for Season 3, so it could be that they find a way to sidestep that trap. At least I really hope they will.

5. SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US WITH REGARD TO THE BOOKS? (SERIOUSLY MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD)

The short answer is: I think Season 3 will be the last season of the show. Or at least it will definitely be the last season of the show that follows the books in any significant regard.

In the books, we don’t really see Sebastian depart from Valentine’s agenda until after City of Glass, where he’s killed by Jace, and then resurrected by Lilith at the end of City of Fallen Angels.

But here’s the thing: other than resurrecting Sebastian, City of Fallen Angels doesn’t do much that we really need to see on the show. Jocelyn is dead, so the whole plot with her investigating the demon babies is out of the question. We saw Simon go to a dark place, feeding off a mundane, in 2x15 so that’s done. Other than that, all that happens is the introduction of Maia’s abusive ex, Jordan Kyle (who doesn’t need to be introduced at all, thanks) and a whole lot of Clace angst (which I’d also rather be spared.)

So, again, hearkening back to Emeraude Toubia’s remarks about how the show is going to end up in the same place as the books, but take a different route to get there (and the fact that Dominic Sherwood has stated that Jace isn’t going to catch a break even well into Season 3) I think at the end of Season 2, we’re going to see the show skip past most of City of Fallen Angels and jump right into events lifted largely from City of Lost Souls for 3a and City of Heavenly Fire for 3b.

A while back, there was a bunch of excitement from the production team over some last minute casting for a character in 2x19 and 2x20.

I think that character is going to be Lilith (I also think it’s the role Sarah Hyland is going to play, but I could be wrong there, she could just as easily play the aged-up Seelie Queen or Helen Blackthorn, as other people have suggested.)

I think in 2x19 we’re going to see the history of how Valentine made Sebastian, how Sebastian’s demon blood came from Lilith. And I think in 2x20, we’re going to see Lilith do what we’re told in City of Fallen Angels that she did at the end of City of Glass: save Sebastian after Jace kills him.

But Jace also dies at the end of City of Glass. City of Fallen Angels is all about the fallout from that, but most of it could easily be bypassed and the story wouldn’t suffer one bit. In an interview this week, Dominic Sherwood talked about how at the end of this season, there’s going to be a “heartbreaking rift” between Jace and Alec. Most of us in the know about the books believed that to be Jace’s death breaking their parabatai bond, and that may very well be the case. However, instead of having Lilith go through all the CoFA hoops to create the dark parabatai/twinning, it could easily be that being resurrected at the same time somehow bonds Jace and Sebastian instead, and thus we move right into CoLS. That would make as much sense, storytelling wise, as anything else.

So, that’s where I think this is going. If the show continues beyond Season 3, it will be a show completely removed from book canon, which let’s be real has been a millstone around the show’s neck for a while now. The showrunners will have fulfilled their obligation to book fans to portray the events that are considered iconic from the books, and thereafter they will be free, especially since it’s well-known that they don’t have the film rights to either Tales From Shadowhunter Academy or the Dark Artifices trilogy.

Could be interesting. Could be a disaster. I guess we’ll see.

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 11 -- Mea Maxima Culpa Review

Here we go again. shadowhunters 2B has finally premiered with Season 2 Episode 11, Mea Maxima Culpa. And this episode was...eh? I didn't hate the episode. I kind of sort of liked it, I guess. Ultimately, I was pretty bored with it. The plot points weren't really all that interesting. There were a couple of character scenes here and there I enjoyed but ultimately, the episode wasn't all that memorable. I'm going to be honest with you guys. This review is going to be a little tongue and cheek. There were a lot of weird, dumb, and illogical things going on in this episode that I just cannot ignore.

This is going to be an honest review of my thoughts and feelings regarding this episode. If you're the kind of Shadowhunters fan where you only want to hear positive things about the show, this is not the place for you. There are positive things I have to say but there are also negative things. If you decide to stick around and get offended by what is said, then that's on you. I warned you. Just know that if you send me any rude comments or messages, I will 100% ignore you. I find that's the best way to deal with bullies. I work 14 hour days. Do you really think I want to waste my incredibly valuable free time dealing with derogatory comments? Hell no. This review will consist of my honest opinions. Opinions are never right or wrong. I'm not telling you how to think and feel. I'm telling you what I think and feel. So please, let's discuss with dignity and respect. If I'm critical about the show, it's only because I want it to get better. There is, in fact, a difference between hating a show and being critical of it. I do not hate Shadowhunters; I am being critical and analyzing the flaws as I would with any other show. Again, there are positives but there are also negatives. It's great if you want to promote positivity with this show (and I encourage you to do so) but that doesn't mean you shouldn't acknowledge the things that are legitimately wrong with it. Also, keep in mind that despite the fact that I do love the books, me being critical of this show has nothing to do with my love of the books. I don't really care if the show deviates from the source material as long as it's good and it makes sense. My problems with this show are problems that I would have with any show or book for that matter. I think it's perfectly reasonable to take issue with a show that has plot holes, shoddy world-building, and inconsistent characters. There will be spoilers for the show and spoilers for the books and movie.

I have to say I find it odd that this type of episode was a season premiere. The episode didn't really serve a whole lot of purpose. It was more of a filler type episode that was setting up future episodes. Now, whereas it isn't uncommon tof a tv series to use a season premiere (in this case a mid-season premiere) to set up future episodes, a good show will do it in a way that is very action packed or there's something with the mythology being introduced. This episode had that and then none of that at the same time. This felt like an episode that would've aired a little further on in the season. Yes, I know that Season 2 hasn't actually ended. This is 2B and not the start of a new season. However, when you split up your season separately, when you come back from the break, you want your show to reinvigorate your audience. Make your audience remember why they were watching this show in the first place as well as draw new viewers in and I don't think this episode did a good job with that. There was stuff going on in this episode that was executed in a way I didn't find all that interesting. I didn't really care about the Azazel plot. I didn’t really care about the Inquisitor torturing Valentine, I didn’t really care about Izzy’s withdrawals. I was kind of interested in Luke’s plot point but then the show dropped it mid-way through which was disappointing. The plot points didn’t really mesh into each other all that well in this episode. Whereas I could definitely see how the episode’s plot points connected to each other, they didn’t really arc well into the episode as a whole. It just felt like we were cutting from scene to scene. An episode that has plot points that arc well will keep you engaged for the entire 42 minutes but this episode, I was constantly checking the clock to see how much time there was left. So let’s dive into this. The format’s a little different because, like I said, I just wasn’t interested in this episode’s plot so I’m not really going to recap it. This is a spoiler review, so I’m going to assume most of you have seen the episode or you don’t really care about the show in general. Either way, you probably don’t need a recap. Again, as a reminder, I’m going to be a little tongue and cheek in this review. You can’t have a script that’s this illogical and expect me to not comment on it.

The Good

Yup, I’m going to start with the things I liked first so my haters can have a chance to take a chill pill and be reminded that I don’t actually hate this show. Whereas I don’t completely love the show, there’s always moments within each episode that I do like. They’re usually character moments, though. Unfortunately, this show has always been really bad with actual plots. And I don’t think I’ve ever commended the show on a plot. Well, I did commend the Izzy drug addiction plot when it first started but I revoked it after the show screwed it up. Perhaps one day this show will surprise me and write a plot point that I actually like from start to finish.

At the beginning of this episode, we have Jace and Alec training while Alec is kind of recapping some of the things that happened in the 2A finale. Like Jace having angel blood and Clary and Jace not actually being siblings. This is something that Shadowhunters started doing in the second season and I really like it. They’ll use a training fight sequence to deliver exposition and I think it works really well. It’s far more interesting to watch than if the characters were just sitting around a table talking about what’s happened. I also love this scene because it’s a nice little parabatai moment. We rarely ever get to see Jace and Alec fighting together. And the one time they fought against each other is something I don’t even like to think about much less talk about. That episode does not exist in my mind. I really enjoyed Alec trying to get Jace to talk about how he’s really feeling and Jace is all, “Maybe you should spend less time worrying about my love life and spend a little more time on your fighting skills.” It’s a nice little call back to the books where characters will be in a tense situation but can’t help but remark on each other’s love lives. It’s a typical YA trope that I love. Even though the world may be ending, the characters are still concerned about each other’s relationships.

Simon and Jace also have a great interaction. Jace interrupts Simon and Clary’s date and while Clary is distracted, Simon tells Jace that he won’t tell that the reason he can walk in the sun is because of Jace’s blood. I like that the show is openly stating that the reason Simon can walk in the sun is because of Jace. It always bothered me in the book why everyone was puzzled as to why Simon became a daylighter when it first happened. I always thought it was fairly obvious. But Simon tries to go in for a hug and Jace is all, “No. Never.” I love Jace and Simon’s relationship. It’s so fun.

Izzy and Alec also had some really great interactions. I liked how Alec was there for his sister wanting to help her through her withdrawals. Alec is covering for Izzy by saying she has the flu which Izzy is thankful for. I also have to praise the make-up crew for the withdrawal scene. They did a really good job with making Izzy look incredibly sick and Emeraude did a fantastic job with the acting portion of it. This is the first time I’ve seen Emeraude give a performance like this and it was great. I’ve been a little on the rocks about Emeraude. She always feels like she plays Izzy in a very “safe” manner. Now don’t get me wrong, her portrayal of Izzy is just fine. That’s not what I’m disputing. It’s passable. She’s just never had a moment where I was like, “That was a damn good performance.” It’s always a decent performance but never anything that I want to rave about. So great job, Emeraude. You really surprised me.

I’m glad that Maia has chilled out, as well. Even though it doesn’t really make sense as to why she’s all of the sudden chilled out. The showrunners probably saw how a majority of the fans didn’t like how Maia was all “GRRR” with no character development to support the change at the end of 2A and realized they needed to make a change and I’m very grateful for that. But still, as an improvement, they should’ve given some sort of reasoning for why all of the sudden she’s back on Team Luke. Almost all of their pack was decimated in the 2A finale and she doesn’t seem to feel any antagonism at all about it. Despite the fact that it was Jace’s dumbass plan that Luke signed off on that got the pack killed. I suppose I can just chalk it up to loyalty. That she’s just very loyal to Luke so she can forgive him for what happened. It would’ve been better if it had been developed, though.

Will Tudor’s interpretation of Sebastian is pretty great, too. I’m really enjoying him. He has that perfect blend of being interesting but yet shady at the same time. You want to trust him but there’s still just something off about him which is exactly what the Sebastian character should be. When you’re first introduced to him, he feels like someone you want to trust but you can’t help but feel there’s something off about him. It’s also really interesting that Izzy is the person who is first introduced to Sebastian here. I’m wondering if she’s going to introduce him to the New York Institute and then that’s going to culminate in the really bad thing that happens to the Lightwoods. In the books, Izzy felt a strong sense of guilt for what happened but I can only imagine how much worse the guilt is going to be for TV Show Izzy knowing that she’s the one that first introduced him to their family. But this is all conjecture. I have no idea if the show is actually going to go the same route that the books go in regards to what happens to the Lightwoods. I hope they do because it’s a plot point that leads to so many different things that the showrunners would be complete idiots to not take advantage of it.

And Maureen was finally mentioned, guys. Yay! I was beginning to think the show had just forgotten about her. Granted, she didn’t show up on screen at all which is a shame because I really like the actress that plays her but it’s great that the show has finally found a way to write her off and reintroduce her when she can actually be relevant to the story. I always thought it was dumb that Season One introduced her and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing with her. Really, there was no point for her to be in the show at all during that time to begin with. As much as I enjoyed her scenes with Simon, she just had no purpose within the season and contributed absolutely nothing. I will anxiously await her return when she’s relevant and the writers can actually devote time to developing her.

I think one of my favorite scenes in this episode was when Clary and Jace went to talk to Valentine about Azazel. More specifically, the moment when Valentine realizes that Jace has not told Clary that they’re not actually siblings. Alan Van Sprang just kills it with his acting choices. Once he realizes that Clary doesn’t know, he gets this glint in his eyes that just screams, “Oh, this is awesome. I get to fuck with Jace and Clary one last time.” It was so great. Wonderfully acted. It’s not always a big movement that will sell an acting scene on TV. You don’t always have to have these big huge expressions. Sometimes just a small movement can capture more of a character than words. Whereas, I’ve never been a big fan of how Valentine has been written in the show, Alan Van Sprang is amazing and brings his A-game every time and really sells Valentine as a character. I have to say, he is probably the best actor in this show and his scenes are always a joy to watch. Even when he was first cast as Valentine, I knew he was going to be amazing. As bad as most of his dialogue is, I can’t help but be enthralled by Alan Van Sprang’s performance.

But I think probably my favorite scene in this episode was the scene with Alec and Jace on the roof of the Institute. What can I say? I’ve always been a fan of the parabatai bond. I think it’s super interesting. Now, I’m not one of those fans that’s interested in Jalec as a romantic pairing (I’m Malec and Clace all the way) but I do love seeing the show explore their parabatai bond and their bond as brothers. I just really liked that in an earlier scene, Clary had expressed to Jace her concern of him not feeling anything but on the rooftop he never has any qualms about showing Alec how he’s really feeling. Alec is the only person he’ll allow to see him vulnerable and I really like that. It’s been a continuing trend in Season 2 and I hope that the show keeps with that. What’s even better is that Alec knows exactly what Jace needs in that moment. He goes and hugs Jace. It’s an interesting parallel that Jace wouldn’t allow Simon to hug him earlier in the episode but yet he allows Alec to in this moment. There wasn’t any necessity for Simon to hug Jace but when he really needs that hug, Alec is who he allows. It’s also nice for a male to show vulnerability in general. Too often in pop culture, we’re only allowed to see men being strong and masculine. We’re never allowed to see them in their vulnerable moments. And if men are touching each other or they show vulnerability, it’s somehow interpreted that they’re less of a man. And I’m glad the show is starting to ignore that stereotype and do their own thing.

Thank God Clary did not kill Azazel in this episode. I don’t think I’d be able to handle Clary killing one more high profile demon by stabbing it one time. She acts like such a know-it-all brat for someone who’s been a shadowhunter for at most, a month. The show doesn’t like to do anything that puts Clary in a negative light and I wish they would do it more. She’s so aggravating with her perfect little Mary Sue character. It makes her so irritating and honestly, a very uninteresting character. She just walks around as if she’s God’s gift to shadowhunters and I’m just like, “Someone, please punch that arrogant smirk off of her face. I cannot stand her.” Please, let’s hope that the show does more to take Clary down a few notches. Making mistakes is part of being human and I hate that the show never lets Clary make mistakes. Or if she does make mistakes, no one ever blames her for it or holds her accountable because she’s this precious little unicorn…ugh, I think I might’ve just vomited a little.

That’s about all I have for good things in this episode. Yes, I know the last one turned into more of a negative thing but the positive thing is that the show didn’t let her kill Azazel. That’s a positive by itself and I’ll take it. As you can see, most of these things are character points. The show does really well with the characters. Now, I’m just waiting for the plot to catch up. So haters, I hope you’ve been tided over. I don’t hate the show. I do like certain aspects of it.

The Bad

Now, we’re going to head into the bad territory. If you don’t want to hear bad things about the show and particularly this episode, leave now. This is your final warning. As a reminder, I’m going to be a little tongue and cheek here. So let’s get into it.

Let’s start with the beginning. The opening segment. I thought it was very badly done. It was incredibly disjointed. Now, I did like that little intro of “I’m Clary Fray”. I did like that but right after that we delved into the “Previously on Shadowhunters” and then we went into the opening theme. The three things just did not flow with each other. I don’t have a problem with any of the segments on their own but showing one after the other consecutively just did not work. It was just like, “OMG, just start the episode already.” Here’s how I would’ve done it. I would’ve had that “I’m Clary Fray” intro, then followed by “Previously on Shadowhunters.” After that, I would’ve had an opening scene. A scene that would’ve ended with some sort of dramatic reveal. Maybe that scene where Azazel kills everyone in that bar. Then do the opening title sequence. But that’s just me. Maybe there are others that felt differently. Let me know if you liked it or if you agree with my thoughts on it.

This is something that’s been occurring since Season 2 and it happened again in this episode and I don’t like it. Earlier in this review, I said that I liked how training sequences were being used to exposit information. However, I don’t like the weird techno music that plays in random intervals in the background during these scenes. When they start up on the techno music, it makes me feel like the scene is about to end and then I’m like, “Oh wait. The scene’s still going on.” I’m sure the techno music sounds great on its own but when used in these scenes, it’s distracting. It’s also way too loud for background music in a fight scene. If you’re going to have techno music, that’s fine. I don’t have an issue with that but turn the volume down a little. And I would also recommend not using techno music that has words in it because that’s also distracting. Background music that has words in it works for emotional scenes but it doesn’t necessarily work with fight scenes. Turn on the the City of Bones movie and go to the scene where they’re fighting the vampires in the Hotel DuMort. That’s fight scene background techno music done right. And yes, I realize that the City of Bones was really bad and it was perfectly justified in flopping but I will always love the Hotel DuMort fight sequence. It was the best scene in that entire movie and I own the DVD specifically so I can watch that one scene at my leisure.

Inquisitor Herondale was torturing Valentine in this episode and I don’t really understand what was causing the torture. What exactly was that rune doing? But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the writers made up a rune that causes pain. That’s what they do. It’s like the cell phone apps. Need something to move the plot along…there’s a rune for that. Then you also have to think about shadowhunter mythology. Shadowhunters have runes because the angel Raziel gave it to them to aid them in their fight against the demons. What possible use could they have for a rune in their fight against the demons that causes pain to other shadowhunters? And also, what was up with that flashback? It was really obscure and I couldn’t make heads or tails of what it was about. Was it one of Valentine’s memories or did the Inquisitor make him see it? I’m very confused by it. If someone caught on to what that flashback is actually supposed to be, please let me know. Because I don’t understand it.

We also get some background on what happened to Aldertree. Apparently, he’s receiving reprimand by the Clave in Idris. Granted, I didn’t really like Aldertree as a character but I also don’t understand why he’s in trouble, either. What happened at the Institute wasn’t really his fault. And I don’t think Alec actually told anyone what Aldertree did to Izzy so he can’t be in trouble for that. But I guess it’s just the Clave doing what they do best – be douchey. Oh god, I can’t believe I’m actually defending this dumbass character. But I also have to make this comment. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALDERTREE? He served absolutely no purpose in 2A other than to turn Izzy into a drug addict. He had absolutely no effect on the Institute whatsoever, which, if you recall, was the whole reason he was sent there to begin with. He didn’t change anything at the Institute. He still sends the same three 18-year-olds on missions and doesn’t use any of the other 50 shadowhunters currently residing in the Institute. He was sent there because the Clave didn’t like how the Lightwoods were running the Institute but technically, the Lightwoods are still running the Institute. There are no other shadowhunters calling any of the shots. I just wish we could see what makes the Lightwoods more special than any of these other shadowhunters at the NYC Institute. Really, nothing about the Institute management has changed from Season One to Season Two.

We have this scene that I referenced earlier when Azazel enters some sort of hotel bar and asks these two shadowhunters for the Mortal Cup. Apparently, these nameless shadowhunters are part of the security detail for the Inquisitor. Okay. Why would they, the security detail, have any information on something as high profile as the Mortal Cup? They’re in charge of guarding the Inqusitor, that’s it. The whole reason Valentine got the Mortal Cup was because one of their own betrayed them and gave it to Valentine. It stands to reason that even if the Inquisitor had managed to get the Mortal Cup from Valentine, she probably wouldn’t be broadcasting that information to every Tom, Dick, and Sally shadowhunter. This guy is supposed to be a Prince of Hell. Shouldn’t he be in possession of even a modicum of common sense? Then, Azazel finds Izzy and for some reason, thinks she knows where the Mortal Cup is. This, especially, doesn’t make sense. At least, Azazel went to the hotel to meet with shadowhunters who were actually connected to the hierarchy of the Clave. Azazel has no idea who Izzy is. She’s just some random shadowhunter he ran into. Why would he think she would possibly know anything about the Mortal Cup? Why would he think the Clave would trust someone who obviously has a drug problem with that information to begin with? Why does the Mortal Cup have the ability to spring him from whatever hell dimension he was locked in to begin with? I thought the Cup could control demons. Why do I try to apply logic to this show? I really need to stop but I can’t help myself. I just hate illogical plots and I hate it when characters don’t think logically. Again, this guy is so dumb and the writing of him is so dumb.

We also have this werewolf plot point where since almost all of Luke’s pack had been decimated by the Mortal Sword, members of the pack are talking about turning normal humans with the justification of, “You think they would hesitate to attack us if the tables were turned?” I don’t really know how I feel about the wording of this line. It’s just such a weak justification and it was worded really oddly. If this hypothetical situation had happened to the humans instead, why would they attack the werewolves? It’s not like they could turn the werewolves into humans. They would gain nothing from it. Now originally, I thought this plot point was headed in an interesting direction because one of the wolves challenges Luke as the alpha which I think is pretty justified because Luke has been a pretty crappy alpha. I think I might write another post detailing why Luke is probably the worst alpha werewolf in the history of bad werewolf alphas. Luke was able to talk the wolf down but I was like, “Oh snap. Shit’s about to get real here and maybe we’ll get some actual development of how the pack works and god forbid, actual development of Luke as a character.” Right now, it feels like the pack exists just to be Luke’s henchmen. The people he sends off to get information appear to have no loyalty to him and Luke appears to have no loyalty to them, either. Valentine’s Circle members had more loyalty to each other than this pack. Let’s face it, the show has done a really bad job with developing the pack and how it works as a whole. So I was excited to see where this plot was going to go with an alpha fight but the episode decided to drop it mid-way through. How? By saying the wolves have left to make or join a new pack somewhere in Philly, I guess. Thanks, Shadowhunters, for finally making a plot in this episode that I found remotely interesting and then decided it would be too much work and dropping it. So now we get to enjoy a pack of two. Maia and Luke. Which, let’s be real, is all the pack’s really been to begin with. They’ve developed no other characters. But I also kind of have an issue with the other wolves leaving because werewolves are really territorial creatures. They wouldn’t leave their territory unless they were forced out and they certainly wouldn’t leave to go to a new, unknown territory. It could cause conflict with whichever pack was controlling the new territory. I don’t know. I need to stop applying logic where there is none.

So Luke heads off to this crime scene that Azazel created in the hotel bar. I still can’t believe Luke even still has a job on the NYPD. He works so inconsistently that I’m really surprised his ass hasn’t been fired yet. But I also have to ask, why does the Institute always send Jace, Alec, Izzy, and Clary to these crime scenes? Why don’t they ever send anyone else? We’re also introduced to Luke’s new partner which, okay, I guess? Honestly, at this point, I’m just asking, “Why?” Will this show ever learn from its past experiences? This story is already too convoluted and it already has more characters than it knows what to do with. I find it really hard to believe this show is going to be able to do anything substantial with this new character. She’s probably going to waste precious screen time that could be better served developing a character the fandom actually cares about. BTW, did the show ever explain what happened to Lydia? Of all the unnecessary characters this show has chosen to incorporate, she’s the one l liked the most.

There was also this scene with Izzy and Raphael. Now I did like the scene a little. I am so glad that Raphael is not enabling Izzy anymore. However, what was with the weird close-up shots of Izzy in that scene? Were they trying to show Izzy’s perception or Raphael’s? If it was Raphael’s, ok I guess. It was a little unnecessary, though. Really it felt like Izzy was the one who had the skewed perception. But if it was Izzy’s perception, why would she be perceiving herself?

Now, onto some weird Clace moments. Quick question. Why does Clary not know what a Greater Demon is? She’s killed one before. They even explicitly said this is a Greater Demon. I thought that was weird. They’re just so inconsistent with her knowledge. She knows that the Mortal Sword being used inside the Institute would mean the adamas had contained the blast but she doesn’t know the difference between a Greater Demon and a normal demon? I get that the line was there to exposit information to the audience but the show could’ve done it better. Here’s how I would’ve done it:

CLARY: What would leave that sort of residue?

JACE: My guess? A Greater Demon. You know, the higher than average demons? They’re a real bitch to kill.

CLARY: Yes, Jace. I know. I do read from time to time and I have killed one before.

JACE: I know. It was very shadowhunter of you.

Or something along those lines. See what I did there? I exposited information to the audience while at the same time giving Clace some much needed banter. It’s a little cheesy but hey, I’m not a professional screen writer.

We also have this line. “I’m your sister, Jace. I know what you’re going through.” Clary is trying to get Jace to emote and talk about his problems and I’m just all, “How do you know what Jace is going through?” I have three brothers and I have never been able to read any of their minds. And I grew up with them. Clary has known Jace for a month, at the most. It makes no sense that she would understand how he feels just because she’s his sister…it’s particularly bad because they’re not actually siblings anyway. Where is she getting this information?

Also, Clary was finally told the truth about Jace not being her brother and I feel a little underwhelmed by it, I guess. I know why the show decided to do the storyline the way they did it. The incest plot is controversial within the fandom but still, what I liked about it was that it really built up how these two feel about each other. They want to just be siblings but they also can’t deny that there’s a spark between them. Something they can’t control is pulling them together. I suppose, ultimately, I wish they had done more during the sibling stage in the show because I never really felt their chemistry in Season One. I could not understand why either one of them was falling for the other and I was hoping that 2A would further develop those feelings so I could feel like I should ship them. I ship them in the books. Not as much as Malec or Sizzy but I still care about them as a couple. I really can’t understand why the Clace TV Series counterparts has such a strong fanbase following other than the fact that it’s two attractive people who look even more attractive together. TV Show Clace is really boring to me. I feel absolutely nothing when I look at them as a couple. They look pretty together but that’s not enough for me. There’s just not a whole lot going for them in the personality of their relationship if that makes any sense. It’s like their relationship is the stereotypical cheerleader – pretty to look at but not a whole lot going on upstairs. People like to complain about how gross Climon is and they can’t wait for Clace to get back together but at least I understand why Climon is together. And before you say anything, I do not want Climon to be endgame. If they’re endgame, then we’ll never get Sizzy. And for me, that’s the real jewel everyone should be waiting on. I don’t understand why TV Show Jace has feelings for TV Show Clary nor do I understand why TV Show Clary has feelings for TV Show Jace -- other than the plot dictating that they need to have feelings for each other. If there’s anyone reading this who is a hardcore TV Series Clace shipper, I would love it if you could explain why you care about them. And I don’t mean that in any sort of derogatory way. I really want to know why you ship them so maybe I can look at them in a different light. I really want to ship them but I just can’t. I find them super uninteresting as a couple.

Izzy has disappeared and Alec manages to find her broken necklace. Thank god for that. I hated her necklace. I thought it was the cheapest thing ever. Hopefully, this is the show’s attempt to rebuild the necklace into something that doesn’t look like it was purchased at the Dollar Store. Seriously, I have the same necklace. I bought it when the City of Bones movie first came out and it cost me about two bucks on Amazon. It’s really hard to believe that piece of junk necklace is worth more than Magnus Bane’s London townhouse as they stated in Season One. But now, everyone’s worried that Azazel has Izzy because none of them realize Sebastian was also there and saved her. Alec has this really weird line, “She’s not dead. I’d know if she was dead.” How does Alec know that Izzy isn’t dead? They’re not parabatai. Their souls aren’t linked together. I can understand him not wanting to believe she’s dead but he’s absolutely certain she isn’t and there’s nothing to suggest that she’s still alive. It doesn’t really make sense. And in the show, I don’t think they’re twins. So there can’t be some sort of twin bond like Ty and Livvy seemed to have in The Dark Artifices. God damn it, stop trying to apply logic. It’s just a dumb tv show. And I just cried a little when I brought up Livvy. Why did I do that?

So let’s talk about Clary and her hubris. They’re talking about trapping Azazel, a Prince of Hell, and using her sunlight rune to destroy him once he gives back Izzy. Clary has used that rune all of one time on a demon, and a low-class demon at that. Why isn’t anyone questioning it’s usability against a Prince of Hell? It’s just so dumb that no one is even thinking about the possibility that it might not work. I certainly was the first time I saw that scene. It takes me back to Season One when Clary realizes she can push things into paper but doesn’t deem it important enough to actually learn if she can take things out of paper. She just assumes she can along with everyone else. Remember how that came back to bite her in the ass? She sees things work out for her one time and just assumes she can do anything at any time. She never questions her abilities or their limitations at any point and what’s really bad is that no one else ever does either. They don’t question if a sunlight rune they know absolutely nothing about would actually work on a Prince of Hell just like not a single one of them ever questioned how she was going to get the Mortal Cup out of a tarot card. She didn’t feel the need to practice or anything. It’s just such lazy writing and I can’t tolerate it. But her hubris doesn’t just exist with her shadowhunter skills. It also lies with emoting, as well. I didn’t really like that Clary is getting on Jace’s back about him not showing his emotions. Just because he’s not showing his emotions doesn’t mean he isn’t feeling them. It takes someone with real hubris to tell someone that they’re not emoting in an acceptable way to them. In her mind, if Jace isn’t breaking down and crying like she does, than he’s not feeling anything. He’s just a cold, empty shell of a human. If you don’t show emotions like Clarissa Fray, then you must believe emotions are a weakness. Newsflash: Different people feel things differently. I don’t cry in front of other people. Does that make me a cold, emotionless robot? Should I be checking to see if I bleed oil instead of blood? This girl has absolutely no respect for others’ rights to emote how they want to emote. Why do people love this Mary Sue again? It’s beyond me. At least, she didn’t kill Azazel. That would’ve been too Mary Sue for me to handle. I might’ve had to give up this show right then and there on principle alone. In the Dragon Ball Z Abridged series, they have this thing called the “Krillin Owned Count”. It’s pretty much a count keeping track of how many times the character, Krillin, gets his ass handed to him in the series. It’s pretty funny and not at all inaccurate for what happens in the original series. Perhaps I should re-review Shadowhunters and make a “Clary is an Insufferable Mary Sue Count.” I have a feeling the count would be even higher than the “Krillin Owned Count.” What do you think, guys? In future reviews, should I make a “Mary Sue Count?”

Now, we’ve got to talk about the summoning of Azazel. OMG, this summoning was so incredibly dumb. It kind of reminded me of the Dragon Ball Z Abridged series. And if you have not seen DBZA, you absolutely need to watch it. Particularly if you were a fan of the anime. It’s a great time. The group’s aim is to awaken the dragon balls so they can use the eternal dragon and the character, Dende, literally says as part of the ceremony, “Hey Dragon! Wake the fuck up! It’s already past noon! Get your life together!” That’s kind of how this scene was. Magnus essentially said, “Yo, Azazel! Get your ass over here so we can make a trade.” It was so incredibly weak. No wonder Azazel broke free so easily. I find it very hard to believe that this weak ass summoning was going to be anywhere near capable of trapping a Prince of Hell. I also thought that it was weird that Magnus would even agree to summoning Azazel if Azazel could break through so easily. Magnus wouldn’t risk summoning something he wasn’t 100% certain he’d be able to control. Why is Magnus, a 500 year-old warlock, as weak or dumb as he is? He shouldn’t be particularly since I know who his father is - assuming that the show keeps with the book on that front. This is where the differences from book to show kind of get me. Magnus is this fun, snarky, party-til-you-drop kind of guy in the books but when it comes to his job -- using magic and summoning demons --he is always on point. He won’t let anything get the best of him. And that’s why he’s such a loved character in the books. Sometimes it feels like the show completely misses the mark on Magnus just for plot convenience. It just wouldn’t do for Magnus to be a competent, bad-ass warlock in this scene because we need to move the plot along. But oh well. Let’s stop pretending that Azazel is anything more than a plot device. All he serves is to do the weird Valentine and Magnus switch-a-roo, if the rumors on Tumblr are anything to go by. I heard about it on Tumblr. It may be on the 2x12 promo. I stopped watching the promos about midway through 2A because they kept on spoiling everything and it was actually hindering my enjoyment of the episode if I knew beforehand what was going to happen in certain scenes. The Valentine/Magnus switch is an interesting plot point but I’m waiting for the show to mess up that plot as well. I don’t know when it will happen but I have faith the show is going to mess it up at some point. ‘Tis the way of Freeform’s Shadowhunters. Just like in Dragon Ball Super, the show is building up to a Gohan comeback and whereas they haven’t screwed up that plot point yet, I’m just waiting for them to. It’s the way of Toei Animation. If you didn’t know, Gohan is my #1 All-Time Favorite Character so what Dragon Ball Super does with his character has been a source of great interest and agitation for me since I started watching the series. But I digress. So Azazel breaks free and is causing everyone pain and all of the sudden Jace is able to activate a rune on him without a stele. Not nearly as great as Clary being able to make runes but it’ll do, I guess. And I also don’t know which rune he activated that enabled him to break free of whatever Azazel was doing. We saw earlier with Clary, that her runes were no match against a Prince of Hell so I don’t really understand why all of the sudden a rune was activated to fight a Prince of Hell for Jace. Jace also does a really pointless jump/flip after he activates the rune and I have no idea the purpose behind it. Again, I’ve learned martial arts so I am critical of fighting choreography and that flip was absolutely pointless and accomplished nothing. Just because you can do a flip doesn’t mean you should. Yes, flips can be cool when it actually accomplishes something but if it clearly shows it didn’t need to be there, it just looks dumb and I’m going to laugh at you for it. And yes, in the books, shadowhunters flip around all the time. But there’s always a reason for it. They never do it pointlessly. I guess you could say its part of Jace’s egotistic personality to do a completely pointless flip just so he can boast that he’s awesome but everyone he cares about is getting a brain aneurism in this scene. Somehow, I don’t think ego is playing much of a factor in his decision making.  He then takes an incredibly long time to stab Azazel and Azazel gets away. Seriously, we’re staring at him holding the seraph blade staring at Azazel for a good 5 seconds. And 5 seconds is an eternity on-screen if nothing is happening. For the best shadowhunter of his generation, Jace certainly took his sweet ass time. Really, the entire scene was pretty anticlimactic and I really didn’t like it.

There was also this weird moment where Izzy says she needs to get the vampire venom out of her system and I’m a little confused. She was going through withdrawal. Typically, withdrawal happens when you don’t have the substance you’re addicted to in your system. That’s why you go through withdrawal. Do the writers not know how addiction works? Or if this is a yin fen thing where you can go through withdrawal while still having it in your system, maybe the show should quit being so damn vague about yin fen. I swear, the story surrounding yin fen in this show is so convoluted that no one really knows which way is up when it comes to it.

Ultimately, this is a decent episode. It’s not a bad episode. It does its job. It’s structured decently. It’s setting up plots for later in the season. I just think its execution fell a little flat. It’s also a little unsuitable for a season premiere episode. It doesn’t really make me anxious for the next episode. If someone were to watch this show for the first time with this episode being the first episode they watched, I find it highly unlikely they would’ve been enticed by it. I’d probably give this episode a B-. It’s still way better than the first season episodes but I ended up having a lot of issues and I just found it to be really uninteresting.

I know I’m kind of in the minority with this episode. A lot of people seemed to like it. I guess I’m just a tough critic or maybe I’m just a heartless bitch. Or maybe both. Well, those are my thoughts for this episode. I would love to hear your thoughts on the episode. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Just remember to be respectful. There is so much negativity in this fandom and the first step to turning that negativity into positivity is respecting everyone’s opinions even if you don’t agree with them.

[llamacorn-productions]

Glitter and the Songs - Chapter 4

I promised I would finish this fanfic and I meant it!

Alec’s song is a somber ballad with a simple stage show. Magnus’ song includes confetti canons and ridiculous light shows. Obviously, they’re destined to meet. Eurovision AU Meanwhile, both Izzy and Jace attempts to woo Clary, but only one succeeds.

Chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3

Read on AO3

The Danish teams gets up early the next morning to get ready for their own sound test. Alec doesn’t try to make eye contact with Magnus during his song, rather the opposite. It would be inappropriate to sing the song with a stupid grin on his face. Magnus still seems to have enjoyed the show.

The next week continues much the same way. They have sound tests and practice all the various parts of their songs and the Lightwoods show Magnus, Clary and Simon around in Stockholm. The Lightwoods have been there many times, but it’s quite a long trip from Australia. Alec prefers their movie nights in their room because… Because just because he’s ready to admit to himself that he has a boyfriend, doesn’t mean he’s ready to admit it to the rest of the world and especially not to his parents. In public, Alec walks between Jace and Simon while Magnus walks on the opposite side of Jace so they won’t accidentally hold hands at inappropriate times. They resign themselves to sharing a lot of looks as the two other boys hate flirt throughout the day.

Alec isn’t entire sure what happened to the time, but suddenly it’s the tenth and the first semifinal is about to start and Clary and Simon are up. Both Denmark and Australia are in the second semifinal. Alec wishes he was in the first one so he could get it over with in case it’s all he gets – the suspense is killing him – but he has to wait two more days.

The only good thing is that it finally gives Alec a chance to see Clary and Simon’s song. It’s not like he couldn’t possibly have found time for it earlier, but his siblings hadn’t managed to drag him along to their practices and why should he watch on Youtube, when he can watch it live? It turns out to be a good song. Simon plays guitar while Clary sings about not taking anything for granted. It’s a happy, feel-good song with a catchy chorus. It’s very good at being a Eurovision song.

Alec isn’t surprised when they move on to the finale. He’s significantly better at believing in his friends than in himself.

Alec looks around when the Estonians return backstage for hugs and not to imply anything, but people were implying some stuff with the looks that were sent around. He decides to join Magnus when they go to their rooms late in the evening, but he also decides to eat breakfast at his own place, because he has a bet to win.

Which is why he’s sitting in the kitchen of their hotel room with his usual yoghurt when Jace tries to sneak back in. Their “room” is actually more of a small apartment: A combined entry hall and small kitchen (that Izzy thankfully hasn’t decided to use) and a bedroom for each of them. The walls aren’t soundproof enough to have evening visitors while other people are home, but it’s more than enough to live in for a couple of weeks.

“So how did it go?” Alec asks as casually as possible to announce his presence.

Jace drops his keys in surprise. “Fuck! Why are you already awake? Why are you already here? Didn’t you sleep at Magnus’ place?”

“Where did you sleep if you’re not sure?” Alec asks. He takes another spoonful of yoghurt, because it’s rude to smile that smugly at his own brother. The least he can do is try to hide it.

“Of course I knew it!” Jace halfway hisses as he picks his keys up. “It was just… You weren’t there last night or when- When I went out after… Uhm, but now you’re back, so I was just…”

“When you went out after what?” Alec asks innocently. He enjoys torturing his brother way too much, but to his defense, Jace and Izzy has spent much more time torturing him.

“The newspaper?” Jace tries without having a newspaper on him or normally reading one.

“Of course,” Alec says.

"Alright, listen, one night stand, unimportant, move on, it’s never going to happen again," Jace quickly dismisses.

“Mmm, of course,” Alec repeats and takes another spoonful of yoghurt. He takes his time, long enough for Jace to relax and enter the room with his guard down. “Does he agree?”

“If he doesn’t, he’s a complete idiot,” Jace complains.

“But isn’t that what you like about him?” Alec teases.

”Alec! No!” Jace almost yells, just in time for Izzy to hear as she shuffles out of her room in her pajamas in her hunt for coffee.

”Did something happen?” she yawns, obviously still half asleep.

“I won the bet,” Alec tells her.

“Oh my god, you were betting?” Jace whines.

“Congratulations,” Izzy says without any emotion.

“What, aren’t you the least bit disappointed?” Alec asks.

“Not after a night like yesterday,” Izzy says and underlines her point by winking at him.

Alec rolls his eyes, but gets it.

Clary shows up in the door to Izzy’s room in a fuzzy, borrowed bathrobe. "What's going on, Izzy?" she asks and exclaims "Oh!" when she realizes they aren’t alone anymore. “Hey.” She smiles awkwardly, like she isn’t sure if she should think it’s embarrassing that she got caught, but as soon as she starts smiling, she can’t stop.

"Isn't she a cutie?" Izzy smiles with pride. "She's been smiling that much since she made it to the finale."

"Was yours as cute, Jace?" Alec teases. He gets Clary. It must be a giant load that’s been lifted from her shoulders. Alec looks so much forwards to just knowing if he makes it to the finale or not.

"Oh my god, you're just jealous because you didn't get to do anything new last night," Jace exclaims.

Alec stares. "You think I'm jealous because I've consistently been spending the night with the hottest guy at the show?"

"Well, uh," Jace eloquently explains.

"Besides, why have you been thinking enough about my sex life to conclude that we've run out of new things to try?" Alec asks. "Because first of all, none of your business and second of all, no."

"Why have I- You're the one betting on my sex life!" Jace yells.

"To be fair, that was my idea," Izzy admits.

"You two are the worst siblings ever!" Jace decides. "I'm gonna go sulk in my room."

"Remember we have our final dress rehearsal at five," Alec says.

"Also, the coffee will be done soon," Izzy adds.

"I'll get some when you two finish being annoying," Jace tells them before closing the door to his room after him with a loud bang.

The two remaining siblings smile proudly at each other.

"Pay up," Alec says.

***

It’s later that day and the final dress rehearsals for the second semi-finale are only moments from starting and Magnus is relaxing himself by straightening Alexander’s clothes, ironic as that may seem. Magnus doesn't get nerves, he doesn't, but it's... He's almost there. And Alexander has been worrying all week, which makes it hard to pretend the semi-finale isn't a big thing. Sure, this is only the dress rehearsal, but fuzzing about Alexander also makes him less worried and Alexander definitely gets nerves. He doesn't seem to get how good his song is, how obvious it is he'll make it and he needs constant reassurance that he'll be fine, which Magnus is happy to give.

Clary drags Simon over to wish them good luck. She goes immediately for Izzy and greets her with a kiss, which means they must be significantly more official girlfriends than the day before. Magnus doesn't miss the way they pull away from Jace and Simon, while obviously, to him at least, trying to listen in or the way Alexander’s attention drifts from being worried to the two other boys. Magnus raises and eyebrow and Alexander nods. It seems Clary and Izzy weren't the only two people to get a relationship upgrade last night.

"So are we going to acknowledge it?" Simon asks. They were standing close enough that he was obviously talking to Jace, but far enough away that the tension between them was even more obvious, especially compared to their presumed distance the night before.

"What's there to acknowledge?" Jace shrugs, not actually looking at him. "It happened. Let's move on."

"What, you're afraid liking boys is going to ruin your cool guy image?" Simon challenges.

"Liking boys doesn't make me any less cool," Jace tells him, looking him straight in the eyes. "Slipping up and doing stuff with losers, on the other hand..."

Simon gasps offendedly. "Losers?" he repeats.

"Technically only one," Jace muses. "Getting it on with several losers at a time might make up for it."

"Urgh, you're the worst," Simon tells him.

"Bite me."

"I would, but I think you'd like that," Simon smirks.

Jace' mouth falls open in shock, then it turns into a smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I don't know, I've got a nerd cred to keep up. Can't keep going around with people who don't know the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek," Simon shrugs.

Jace looks like he can't decide if he wants to prove he knows or that he doesn't.

"They seem to be doing well," Magnus mutters to Alexander, who smiles.

"Yeah and as long as they aren't doing well enough that it'll mess up his performance tomorrow, they can do whatever they want," Alexander replies.

Magnus puts his arms on Alexander’s waist and inches him closer. "Do you have the same rules for your own performance?" he asks with a suggestive smile.

"And yours," Alexander tells him. "I am not going to be the reason you don't make it to the finale."

Magnus almost rolls his eyes, but yeah, no, he doesn't want to ruin this. Besides, celebrational sex is much more fun than preparational. "Fine, but I will let you know that a couple of well-placed hickeys would just improve my outfit."

Alexander swallows, his self-restraint obviously wavering. "We'll see," he finally says.

The rehearsal goes fine, of course, Magnus being his normal flamboyant self and owning his song. The Lightwoods do wonderfully as well and Magnus knows they'll make it. If only Alexander could share his certainty. The poor boy spends the rest of the day moments away from a panic attack, though very well hidden behind a mask of silence and glares. Magnus is thankful he is able to see through it as that lets him take care of Alexander the rest of the day and the next day as well. He finds that kissing him stops his brain from panicking and that's a fun way to spend the time anyway, so...

"Relax," Magnus whispers in his ear as they get ready for their semi-finale. "You'll be fine."

"I hope you're right," Alexander says, but he manages a smile that's only half fake, so Magnus counts that as a victory.

Magnus dominates his performance, has the crowd following his every move and loving him. The Lightwoods do amazing as well, Alexander finally relaxes once he starts singing. He knows his words, knows exactly what to do and both of his siblings trust him enough to let him shoot at them. He hits perfectly of course. The audience gasps as they're supposed to and no one gets hurt.

When the finalists are announced, the only thing that really surprises Magnus is how relieved he is that both he and the Lightwoods made it.