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#jonathan morgenstern redemption
vierss-herondale · 2 years
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Clace Fanfic Recommendation of the Week
Remember the last fic I recommended on this list? That I said it was REALLY good? WELL I FOUND A LINK and here you have it!
Title: Redemption (Renewed) Author: xxmadworldredemptionxx Summary: 6th Century AU: Jace Herondale. A gladiator with a broken past and a burning desire for justice. Clarissa Morgenstern. A princess who yearns to be free from the oppressing shackles of royalty. Entangled in a web of secrets, lies, and a vile plot conceived by two power-hungry tyrants, will love be their salvation or lead them to their destruction?[2014 REBOOT] Re-editing in progress Others: Rated: Fiction M - English - Romance/Drama - Clary F., Jace W., Valentine M., Jonathon M./Sebastian V. - Chapters: 29 - Words: 285,139 - Status: Complete Link: https://www.fanfiction.ws/s/12762363/1/Redemption-Renewed Site: Fanfiction.net
Now bear with me because I have a lot to say
This fic it's so good!! It's very well written, it's hella long, like super super long which it's amazing because it allows for a lot of development in the story and the characters.
It has angst lots and lots of it... like really I'm not kidding...okay maybe it has too much angst but if a story doesn't make you want to scream, cry and throw things across the room why even bother right? And besides, going through all that angst makes the ending and the happy moments feel so much better 🥺
Moving on… it has a lot of fluff too, so many beautiful and romantic moments between Jace and Clary 😭❤️ I think their relationship in this fic it's really close to their canon, Jace feeling broken inside because of his past but finding a love and happiness that he never thought possible with Clary
Such beautiful sibling moments with Jonathan (in this fic he is the brother canon Clary always deserved) and I LOVED it because I had enough psyco Jonathan in TMI, thank you
There's also sibling moments with Jace, Alec, Izzy and Max ❤️🥺
And don't even let me get started with Valentine... if you think he was a monster in TMI... I can't even with this fic, there were parts where I literally wanted to throw up. And Sebastard it's not far behind... they are really good villians in this story. I hate them so much!!
But not everything it's evil and angst, there's funny moments too!
It has really good battle scenes!
Okay finally I want to say that this is one of my favorite Clace fanfics, I really recommend it. It's not a secret that I have a soft spot for Clace fics where they are royalty and this it's one of my favorites in that category
If you do read it feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and feelings with me! I'd like to hear them and fangirl over the story
Or over any Clace fanfic really
Or over Clace in general hahaha
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You can find more of my fanfic recommendations under the tag: Clace Fanfic Recommendation of the Week.
I want to clarify that I'm not going to rate the fics, I just want to share my thoughts and the stories with you, in case you are interested in reading them. And also I want to keep a record of my reaction to some of the fanfics that I read and to promote some of the stories that I came across that I think deserve more recognition. 
I also want you to feel free to ask me for recommendations if you have a favorite trope/ theme/ idea regarding Clace fanfiction and/or One shots. I have a lot of Clace fics in my Fanfiction.net list that I have yet to post, so it's very likely that I have read one that would suit your taste 🌻☺️
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wasp-coffee · 11 months
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Probably Incoherent Shadow and Bone rant
right off the bat, I haven't read the books - this is going entirely off the TV show
I think something that's really bothered me about Shadow and Bone through the first season and into the second and that has become clear as I've finished it is the idea that darkness is final.
Maybe I've been brainwashed by pop culture into hoping for redemption for villains, but I thought the way Aleksander was treated in the series was generally horrific. I mean from the get-go I knew he was going to be the "bad guy" (hello black colour scheme) but the thing is that I still don't think his motivations were bad. I understand why he did what he did, why he'd become what he had, and what he did was (imo) very similar to what Sarah Alder did in Motherland: Fort Salem (this is me telling you to go watch it btw).
I think something quite harmful which is mentioned in the series is the idea that darkness is corrupting and there is no coming back from it. Also the idea that you cannot change who you are - that everything you are comes from your birth. Any child no matter how good born with power over shadows would have been demonised and because of it no one ever gave him the chance to prove anyone otherwise. (See: Jonathan Morgenstern) Because really Aleksander never stood a chance, no matter how good he could have been. He was always going to become something awful because of the power he had no choice over and the way people treated him because of it. There was no chance for a dark magic user to be a good guy.
But the series focuses heavily on his choices. His decisions. Because he, as a hunted minority with a gift that people feared, wanted to protect himself. The idea that evil is intrinsic, that it can't be prevented and is inevitable in some people but not in others... The black and white view of "good" and "evil" really started to annoy me in the second season. Despite everything he'd done I still saw a posibility for Aleksander to do good because the change he wanted was for the good of his people and their safety. He was always treated as evil, as irredeemable, by his mother and everyone else around him so that's what he became but... it's all his fault, right? Nature not nurture?
When Alina 'goes dark' its okay because she's good actually and she can be pulled away from it no no don't touch that its bad. She has to fix it because she's good. That's all she can be - good. No wiggle room. She's born good, and even after everything remains recognised as such. But Aleksander was right good cannot exist without evil and I think the reverse is true. The idea that he has nothing left - that he's only fighting for himself, for power, I never thought held any water because... the whole reason he built the little palace and everything else was to keep his people safe. His motivations cannot be selfish because the whole reason he did everything he did was because he wanted to save his people.
When Alina wants to save her people it it's good and right but when he does it it's wrong and evil?
I think the reason why the ending felt very unsatisfying for me was because none of the reasons why Aleksander did what he did are ever really addressed - everything just trots along normally. Like Grisha aren't going to be killed for who they are... like they aren't hunted and in danger and reliant on leniency and goodwill to keep them alive.
I think Aleksander could have been a really compelling character if he was allowed develop further - he was starting to feel very one dimensional evil during the end there. I think his end was... unreasonably cruel (even though I knew he was going to die from day one) and his final moments only confirmed the capacity for goodness that I saw throught the series.
I don't know... I just can't help but thinking that he never stood a chance.
(Please be kind in the notes, I've only just finished the series and am in no way claiming to be an expert or writing the definitive bible this is just some thoughts.)
(I wouldn't mind hearing what you have to say though please tell me if i've forgotten something or got something wrong)
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aceass1n · 3 years
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I finally broke and wrote a Good!Jonathan fanfic, because we don’t have enough of those. It’s called Down the Rabbit Hole on AO3, with dual perspectives from Clary and Jonathan.
Summary:
Clary stands there, hands still in front of her as if she were still holding that damn plate, like an absolute idiot. She doesn’t know where to start. Doesn’t know how to get the words out. She’s thought them, hundreds of times by now, and it still doesn’t feel real.
Somehow, she manages to say, “My brother is alive.”
The world doesn’t tilt on its axis. The ground doesn’t fall out from beneath her feet, doesn’t dissolve into quicksand, doesn’t vanish.
Or: the one where Clary finally gets the brother she wanted and Jonathan learned to live for himself
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lewislovesroscoe · 7 years
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the amount of sebastian love disturbs me.
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ralfstrashcan · 4 years
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It’s finally finished! And with “it” I mean my spiteful canon rewrite :D
Summary: After the Seelie Queen betrays Jonathan and leaves him to die, Clary is more determined than ever to find a way to save him. Alec's single aim is getting to Magnus before Lilith does, no matter the cost or how slim his chances. Meanwhile Izzy fights the heavenly fire burning hotter and hotter in her veins. Only one thing is certain: Time is running out for all of them.
[Diverges from Canon halfway through 3x21. Jonathan gets a real shot at redemption, the Edom rift drama gets resolved in a less ridiculous way, Magnus gets to show off the real extent of his power, etc.]
Wordcount: ~25k words (in 9 chapters) Rating: Teen Relationships: Malec, Clary&Jonathan, Clace Characters: Alec, Magnus, Clary, Jonathan, Jace, Isabelle, Catarina, Simon, Lilith, The Seelie Queen, Lorenzo Rey Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s03e21 Alliance, Action, Morgenstern Family Feels, BAMF Magnus Bane, Alliance Rune, Edom, Ensemble Cast, POV Multiple
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ao3feed-malec · 4 years
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The Sapphire Star
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/38WgIZ2
by Jpatel
What if Magnus had a younger warlock sister? A sister who had the potential for becoming as powerful as him one day, and who was fiercely protective of him. A sister who was going to make sure that her idiot brothers and their respective shadowhunter and vampire beaus don't end up dying because of the stupid redhead girl.
Words: 2097, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English
Fandoms: Shadowhunters (TV)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Characters: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood, Simon Lewis, Raphael Santiago, Lydia Branwell, Original Female Character(s), Jace Wayland, Clary Fray, Luke Garroway, Jocelyn Fairchild, Maryse Lightwood, Robert Lightwood, Ragnor Fell, Catarina Loss, Camille Belcourt, Meliorn (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Valentine Morgenstern, Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern | Sebastian Verlac, Asmodeus
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago
Additional Tags: Protective Magnus Bane, Protective Siblings, Protective Raphael Santiago, Clary Fray Bashing, Maryse Lightwood Redemption
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/38WgIZ2
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themusechronicles · 4 years
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Complete Muse List
* notes Original Characters
Abraham “Bram” Greenfeld - Keiynan Lonsdale       Bluegreen118 || Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (aka: Love, Simon)
Alexander “Alec” Lightwood - Matthew Daddario       Silver is a rarer metal than gold || Shadowhunter Chronicles
*Alizair “Zair” Hollis - Dominic Sherwood       The human side of wild || Original Muse
Allison Argent - Crystal Reed       Silver arrow of redemption || Teen Wolf
*Anabel “Ana” Lightwood-Bane - Arden Cho       Warlock Angel || Shadowhunter Chronicles OC
*Andrei Cruz - Jeremy Renner       One part saint and two part sinner || Original Muse
Anthony “Tony” Stark - Robert Downey Jr.       I love you 3000 || Marvel
Artemis Crescent - Kwon Jiyong       Advisor to the moon || Sailor Moon
Asmodeus - ???       A father’s love knows no bounds || Shadowhunter Chronicles
Aziraphale - Michael Sheen       Why are we talking about this good and evil? || Good Omens
Ben Solo - Adam Driver       I will finish what you started || Star Wars
Bruce Banner - Mark Ruffalo       That’s my secret. I’m always angry || Marvel
Caleb Danvers - Steven Strait       Golden boy of Ipswitch || Covenant
*Cassandra “Cassie” Rogers - Chloe Moretz       Daughter of the Captain || Marvel OC
Christopher “Chris” Argent - JR Bourne       We follow the code || Teen Wolf
Clarissa “Clary” Fairchild - Katherine Mcnamara       Creator of runes || Shadowhunter Chronicles
*Claudia Hale - Lyndsy Fonseca       Blue eyed bookworm || Teen Wolf OC
Clinton “Clint” Barton - Jeremy Renner       I see better from a distance || Marvel
Derek Hale - Tyler Hoechlin       I’m a predator not a killer || Teen Wolf
*Dokuno “Doku” Kokoro - Uruha [GazettE       My bite is worse than my bark || Original Muse
Elijah Mikaelson - Daniel Gillies       I made a vow. Always and forever || The Originals/Vampire Diaries
*Elijah “Eli” Roanoke - Stephen Amell       Complicated kind of lover || Original Muse
*Elliot “Elli” Erso - Joseph Morgan       Survivor of the dark || Original Muse
Evelyn “Evie” Queen - Sofia Carson       Magic mirror in my hand || Descendants
Finn Storm - John Boyega       The trooper who saw the light || Star Wars
Harry Hook - Thomas Doherty       Never learned how to count cuz I’m number one || Descendants
*Heather DeRoya - Emily Vancamp       I’m a special kind of demon || Original Muse
Isabelle “Izzy” Lightwood - Emeraude Toubia       I’m pure at heart. It repels the dirt || Shadowhunter Chronicles
James “Bucky” Barnes - Sebastian Stan       I remember all of them || Marvel
Jasper Hale - Jackson Rathbone       I didn’t have quite the same upbringing as my siblings || Twilight Saga
*Jessica “Jessi” Hawkblue - Claudia Kim       A fairytale life can be oh so overrated || Original Muse
Jonathan “Jace” Herondale - Dominic Sherwood       All the legends are true || Shadowhunter Chronicles
*Jordan Greer       My life is in the eyes of a little girl || Original Muse
Jordan Kyle - Katherine Mcnamara       Beati Bellicosi || Shadowhunter Chronicles
*Kataigida “Kat” Parthenopaeus - Tom Ellis [Dylan O’Brien]       Crown Prince of the afterlife || Original Muse
*Kevin Hawkblue - Ruki [GazettE]       Am I too broken to be who I was? || Original Muse
Kyo Sohma - ???       I’m gonna be a true member of this family || Fruits Basket
*Kyosuke “Kyo” Ryuu - TBD       A dragon’s ink is more than its blood || Original Muse
Loki Laufeyson - Tom Hiddleston       The sun will shine again || Marvel
Lucille “Lucy” Quinnzel - Ashely Benson       Princess of diamonds and laughter || DC
Luke Garroway - Isaiah Mustafa       I’ve walked both sides of the shadow world || Shadowhunter Chronicles
Lydia Branwell - Stephanie Bennett       Love the job itself || Shadowhunter Chronicles
Magnus Bane - Harry Shum Jr.       High Warlock of Brooklyn || Shadowhunter Chronicles
Maia Roberts - Alisha Wainwright       This is what love got me || Shadowhunter Chronicles
Malia Hale - Shelley Hennig       I used to have a fur coat || Teen Wolf
*Malika Udinov - Claire Holt       Power in a pretty face || Original Muse
Margaret “Maggie” Leigh - Jakhara Smith       My tiles are never wrong || NOS4A2
*Matthew “Matt” Bennett - Jake Abel       I chose drugs over my family & I’m paying the price || Original Muse
Mieczyslaw “Stiles” Stilinski - Dylan O’Brien       Some of us are human || Teen Wolf
Momiji Sohma - ???       Who’s in the forest strolling? || Fruits Basket
Natasha “Nat” Romanov - Scarlett Johannsen       I’ve got red in my ledger || Marvel
*Nevinovat “Nevi” Fata - Crystal Reed       Handmaiden to a demigoddess || Original Muse
Nikalus “Klaus” Mikaelson - Joseph Morgan       The original hybrid || The Originals/Vampire Diaries
Padme Amidala - Kiera Knightly       Senator and Queen || Star Wars
Peter Hale - Ian Bohen       We live in shades of grey || Teen Wolf
Peter Parker - Andrew Garfield [Tom Holland]       Friendly neighborhood Spiderman || Marvel
Rebecca “Becky” Daniels - Holland Roden       Not a victim any longer || Criminal Minds
Reno Akujin - ???       Turk Second in Command || Final Fantasy VII
Sebastian “Jonathan” Morgenstern - Will Tudor       Dark side of the bloodline || Shadowhunter Chronicles
Steven “Steve” Rogers - Chris Evans       Just a kid from Brooklyn || Marvel
Sun Wukong - ???       I’m a great stowaway || RWBY
*Tarael “Tara” Lightwood-Bane - Brant Daugherty       Angelic Warlock || Shadohunter Chronicles OC
*Terra Riley - Nina Dobrev       Heavenly hybrid alpha || Teen Wolf OC
Thor Odinson - Chris Hemsworth       I am alive because fate wills it so || Marvel
*Tristan “Tris” Royans - Nick Bateman       Soul forged of fire || Original Muse
*Valerie “Val” Wilson - Shay Mitchell       I follow a path all my own || Original Muse
Wanda Maximoff - Elizabeth Olsen       I can’t control my fear. Only my own || Marvel
Weiss Schnee - ????       Burdened by a royal test || RWBY
*Xavier Rybolt - David Castro       Demon made from a witch’s vow || Original Muse
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Spoilers for the whole shadowhunters series and the book series "the mortal instruments"
I just finished the "ending" of the series.
First of all I liked it.
Yes, it felt rushed ( which it was) but overall I liked it.
1. I loved Maya's diner idea alot. It seems long overdue.
2. Simon as a writer? A bit weird i would rather have him pursue his music. But i guess it made for a cool joke.
3. Lucian getting his Happy end with mama lightwood good for them.
4. "The highwarlock of alucante" please tell me that was a joke because i am sorry but the clave is more conservative then the Catholic church. No Way in hell would they even think of letting him have that title.
5. I liked the whole wedding part also the "we-have-to-do-it-know.-who-knows-how-long-we-have" is a nice metaphor for what is happening in reality.
6. "Inquisitor Lightwood" hell.yes.
7. Simon comforting Jayce. True bromance right there.
8. Jayce Training with Simon? Hell Yeah.
9. Also can we just appreciate that Simon was friendzoned and just went on to be a Good friend? Not an asshole?
10. The whole redemption arc of lorenzo.
11. Sizzy is canon uwu.
12. The fact that clary asked izzy to be her parabatei and couldnt go through with it because of angels makes me angry.
13. Also angels are evil. Quote me on this.
14. The new york Institute under izzys control. I like the idea but izzy is in no way ready to be a leader. Sure a whole lot could have changed in that One Year but of all lightwoods she is led by Emotion the most.
15. I thought the Jonathan ending was a Good One. Fight me.
16. Raphael.is.still.alive.
17. I wanna know what clarys last rune was someone tell me.
18. Maya and Simon being friends.
19.jayce and Simon being friends.
20. Okay but did we all just forgot that that One Silent brother talked ? ( I forget what bis Name was zachariah? Or smth i dont know) like hello? Thats like the One thing they can't do!
21. We just glanced over the fact that Jonathan just killed the seelie queen? And just Destroyed the Morgenstern sword? Okay.
In conclusion: I Think that the series was better than the movie by far. But it was unlucky that the funds got cut or whatever.
I liked the actors alot all of them.
I liked the design of the swords and steles. If anyone with to much money wants to continue that show just pick up at the end of 3a and go from there.
Also the music was gorgeous. Like damn. War of hearts is iconic at this point.
I will miss this show.
And if this fandom dies: it was a good run.
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readersramblings · 5 years
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Sebastian/Jonathan Morgenstern
So fans of The Mortal Instruments books know this character and know all of the awful things he did throughout his time. I’ve seen a lot of people hate his character because of his actions, and while I agree he wasn’t great, there’s something I absolutely love about his character.
My favorite thing about his character is that he really gets no redemption and how evil he truly is. That sounds really weird and crazy, I know, but bare with me. As he’s dying you get a glimpse of someone behind the evil. This reveals that he had the potential of being someone amazing. And I love that because while he will always be viewed as evil and that’s the accepted canon, you also have to acknowledge that it was basically a forced evil and that, given the option, he could have potentially been incredibly different and that there was a part of his subconscious that didn’t want to be doing what he was doing.
While Jonathan/Sebastian is evil and did terrible, terrible things throughout the series, that evil is not pure. Because if he were purely evil, as he was dying we would not have seen that thing behind his eyes change.
I also want to go back to the idea of the forced evil. Everyone is born with the potential to be good. It’s our surrounding influences and experiences that shape our path in life and direct us toward being good or being “evil.” However, Jonathan never had that option. Valentine’s experimenting from before he was born took that possibility away from him and forced him to have evil intentions from the moment he was born.
You may disagree with me but I genuinely believe that there was a part of Jonathan/Sebastian’s subconscious that was good and didn’t want to be doing what he was doing. We kind of see that part of him when it comes to Clary. He never really wanted to hurt her. He did, don’t get me wrong, but he never truly wanted to. He wanted to be with her, mind you in a creepy ass way, but he didn’t want actual harm done to her. And I think that reveals that small part of him that wanted to be good and wanted to, dare I say, love and care for others that he never had the opportunity to express.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this for no real reason and maybe this seems like ridiculous rambling which is probably is. I can understand why people hate him. I did too at first. This entire post could just be me refusing to believe that there isn’t good in everyone. If you think this is dumb, I respect your opinion but this is just my thinking in regards to Jonathan/Sebastian’s character.
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bellamyblcke · 5 years
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listen jonathan morgenstern has literally been abused his entire life and is defined by his need for love and affection and if they don’t give him a redemption arc bc he’s Inherently Evil i will riot 
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aelingalathyinius · 6 years
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7, 11, and 27?? :))
hii zaiba! how’s your summer?? hope you have a great time!
7. (Currently) top3 of male main charactersJem Carstairs, Jace Herondale, Daemon Black
11. Favourite villains?
Jonathan Morgenstern!! Aleksander Morozova, Maven Calore
27. Top3 YA books tropes (like lost princess/found-family-in-friends…)?
i’m still not entirely used to the meaning of ‘trope’ but i’ll try
Villain redemption, i kinda like hate to love romance,  dark and troubled past
book asks
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jcmorgenstern · 6 years
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So far, do you prefer show Sebastian or book Sebastian and why? As compelling as I found book Sebastian, I am LOVING what the show is doing. He seems more humanistic and fleshed out as a character.
Hi anon!! Okay listen first I apologize because this ask is going to be very long and enthusiastic, because this is my favorite topic and I have so. many. thoughts on it.
So obviously, despite his uh, salient and penetrating flaws (both in his character and portrayal), I really am way too fond of book Sebastian. Especially when he is written as a more ambiguous figure (the beginning half of COLS) than an absolute maniac. He’s manipulative and dangerous, and alongside Jace seems to raise the question of “nature vs nurture.” Unfortunately the answer to the “nature vs nurture” debate that his story gives is the biggest problem I have with his portrayal and role in the story–everything is always tied back to his “demon blood,” which he cannot seem to overcome or escape. He is by nature evil, inhuman, subhuman even, at least in Clary’s eyes. If you read the cut scenes from City of Glass from his POV, even he doesn’t think of himself as human or understanding human things, and while it is implied somewhat thinly that this is at least partially due to his upbringing by Valentine, the narrative explicitly ties his failings as a character and a being to his blood. He is by nature evil, and cannot be anything but until the demon blood is burned away by heavenly fire.
The problem with this is that she spends the entire series showing us that “blood doesn’t matter,” both in terms of family ties and sins (the Morgenstern blood) or actual demon blood (the downworld). It borders on a plothole when you have Tessa born of a shadowhunter and a demon, being completely human and having none of Sebastian’s apparent natural evil. More troubling is the implication that nature is more important than nurture–Jace is not different from Sebastian because he was raised by the Lightwoods with compassion and love, but because he has angel blood. I could babble on even more about how Sebastian presents as psychopathic (ie devoid of empathy) and how attributing that to demon blood sort of throws all low-empathy people under the bus and ignores the fact that even someone completely devoid of empathy can be kind and sympathetic, but that would make this post waaaaay too fucking long so yeah.Anyway, my point is here that while I really love book Sebastian, I have a lot of problems with both how he’s written and the implications of how he’s portrayed, and the show changes pretty much everything I dislike. First, while the crispy-shapeshifter reveal initially threw me for the loop of the fucking century (if I hadn’t been in a library at the time I would have fucking screamed, lmao), it actually does fix the Tessa-Sebastian plothole problem and honestly fits even more closely with the facts established in TID. (I’m not here to rag on CC for not being able to somehow divine stuff she’d make up for later books, like that’s sort of stupid, but really just praising the show for creative use/manipulation of canon). We don’t really know….what exactly Sebastian’s “demon powers” include, but the shapeshifting stuff definitely falls in line with canon, and it also makes more sense in a technological world that he’d be able to fool the Clave into thinking he’s the real Sebastian Verlac.But more importantly they completely change the dynamic of his motivations, past, and the shape of his character arc. The show has consistently emphasized Jace’s trauma due to his abuse by Valentine (especially in 2a), and they also allow Sebastian the same thing. In fact, they really take it to ridiculous levels (instead of “beat one boy but not the other” they straight up send him to literal fucking hell), as if to slam your skull into the fact that Valentine Is An Abusive Dad (not that the fandom really…noticed lmao). At the core, show!Sebastian wants Valentine’s love more desperately than Jace ever does, and even his plot to “avenge” himself by sending Valentine to Edom quickly degenerates into demanding/begging for approval and any indication Valentine cares for him at all or regrets his actions. (More on the complexities of Valentine and how the Agony rune made him relive sending Jonathan to Edom as his worst memory at nine). Show Sebastian desperately wants some kind of love or affection, and that’s the most relatable/human motivation I personally can think of. He’s more complex–does he shove a kid off a bridge at age eight because he’s a psychopathic monster, or because he’s been raised to be a soldier with no empathy? (His justification that he wanted to test the theory of gravity is uh….laughably stupid, though. Google it next time, buddy). Even the really bad stuff like killing the real Sebastian, trying to kill Max, kissing his sister is reoriented. He kills the real Sebastian because he escapes captivity and he’ll do anything to get to Valentine (still not great but better than “lol i did it bc i could”), he actually could possibly have not meant to deal Max a killing blow (not sold on this one personally but Max doesn’t even fucking die so that really undercuts whatever emotional impact Max’s death even had to begin with), and the kiss was almost “I have no social skills because I spent like, ten years of my life in hell with demons and I don’t know I should opt for a tasteful hug instead.” Even his deeply disturbing obsession with Clary is reframed as a hope for any sort of love or redemption, which he’s sort of…creepily/naively shoved on her because she defends him to Jace.Also they make him extremely charming and manipulative and honestly Will just. Knocked that shit outta the ball park, also knocked me out of the ball park, I really love show Sebastian, he’s horrible and would probably open a portal to hell in a grocery store. Watching him stay loyal to Valentine while knowing deep down that Valentine is using him is really hard for my dumb ass, okay, and I am so so SO ready for season three and exploring how Lilith gives him what he’s always wanted (a parent who loves him), and what kinds of choices the showrunners have him make from here, he’s so much more complex and human than book Sebastian is and entirely driven by his past rather than some bullshit “demon blood” magically making him evil and anyway I’m ending this now because I don’t even want to know how many words this answer was. Anyhoo thank you so so much for the ask I really really enjoyed answering it, and hope you get something out of the….massive wall of text too??
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kattahj · 7 years
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Responsibility and redeemability (as examplified by Jonathan Morgenstern)
A gifset of Jonathan Morgenstern from Shadowhunters got me thinking on redeemability versus responsibility.
See, Jonathan - show and book version - is hardcore evil. He’s got no remorse, no care for anyone that doesn’t come twisted with cruel desires, there’s nothing good coming from this guy ever.
He was also injected with demon blood as a baby, raised by a homicidal psychopath, and then tortured in Hell for a decade.
In other words, Jonathan is not entirely responsible for how he’s turned out. If none of those things had happened to him, he might have been fine. While his evil is currently down to his own choices, it wasn’t always that way. Jonathan is a fricking tragedy.
Some might think that this would mean he is also more redeemable. To which I would say, nuh-uh, no way. There’s not enough of him left for that to happen. (Which the books pretty much outright state.)
And then I realized, not only is “less responsible” not the same as “more redeemable”. If anything, it’s the other way around.
A person who is fully responsible for their own actions has the greatest chance of changing them. If you choose to do evil, you can also choose to stop. Whether you’re motivated by money, or desire, or revenge, or ideology, or whatever, you can reconsider your priorities and go in a different direction.
A prime example is Sawyer from Lost. (Who was never an evil homicidal psychopath, so sorry for the comparison! But. Still.) He deliberately went out of his way to antagonize people, to make them hate him. You can psychologize why he did that, but it was a choice he was making nevertheless. His instincts were good; he was just overriding them to be an asshole of his own volition. And when he chose to stop, he stopped.
It’s not always an easy thing to do, of course. Evil can be a hard habit to break. Most people - in real life and in fiction - are a mix of outside influence and choices, and it has never been easier to be good. And if it’s any kind of redemption arc worth its mettle, the people on the receiving end of that evil are going to be pissed off for a really long time. But it’s doable.
Accepting responsibility in a way also means accepting freedom - freedom to be good, as well as evil. (I’m now reminded of the “timshel” bit in East of Eden, but I’m not going to digress that far. Just click the link if you’re curious.)
It can of course be argued that a person who is entirely devoid of responsibility and dependent on circumstance - take Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier - can change their behaviour instantly once their circumstances change. Which is true. But it also means that if circumstances change back… well, you get the supersoldier back, like in Civil War. Which isn’t Bucky’s fault, but that’s no comfort to anybody he kills.
And Jonathan’s circumstances are set by now. He may have more influence over his current choices, but unlike Bucky, he doesn’t have any way back. The hatred and cruelty is what he is now, and he’s never going to choose to repent, because the part of him that would have made those choices isn’t there anymore.
Like I said in the tags of that gifset, he’s like an ice cream that has been dropped on the ground and run over by a truck. The ice cream didn’t choose to be dropped. It could have been a good ice cream. But you’re sure as hell not going to pick it up and eat it. Not even if you wipe it off first.
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allbestnet · 7 years
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The 21st Century's 100 popular books
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The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6) by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5) by J.K. Rowling
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Stieg Larsson
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2) by Dan Brown
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Harry Potter Boxset (Harry Potter, #1-7) by J.K. Rowling
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) by Suzanne Collins
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Twilight (Twilight, #1) by Stephenie Meyer
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) by Rick Riordan
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) by Cassandra Clare
The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
American Gods (American Gods, #1) by Neil Gaiman
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1) by Dan Brown
The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, #2) by Stieg Larsson
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4) by Stephenie Meyer
The Host (The Host, #1) by Stephenie Meyer
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Eclipse (Twilight, #3) by Stephenie Meyer
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium, #3) by Stieg Larsson
New Moon (Twilight, #2) by Stephenie Meyer
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3) by Cassandra Clare
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2) by Cassandra Clare
Room by Emma Donoghue
Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart by Tim Butcher
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Freakonomics, #1) by Steven D. Levitt
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1) by Patrick Rothfuss
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #9) by Philippa Gregory
Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1) by Richelle Mead
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
What Is the What by Dave Eggers
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
John Adams by David McCullough
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Gilead (Gilead, #1) by Marilynne Robinson
A Million Little Pieces by James J. Frey
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens
Anansi Boys (American Gods, #2) by Neil Gaiman
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
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Insurgent (Divergent, #2) by Veronica Roth
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ao3feed-malec · 7 years
Text
Passage in Twilight
read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2sgK964
by Hobbit69
When Doctor Magnus Bane finds himself without a job, the last thing he expects is to find adventure, danger, and love. But he finds all of these things in the beautiful and intriguing First Mate on board the smuggling ship, Brocelind. No, perhaps they can find their happily ever after. . . if they can survive cannibal creatures, overzealous exes, and the end of a government. . .
Words: 2550, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English
Series: Part 1 of Happily Ever After: The Malec Edition
Fandoms: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy - Cassandra Clare, The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Bane Chronicles - Sarah Rees Brennan & Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson, Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Characters: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Jace Wayland, Clary Fray, Jem Carstairs, Isabelle Lightwood, Simon Lewis, Will Herondale, Tessa Gray, Helen Blackthorn, Julian Blackthorn, Tiberius Blackthorn, Aline Penhallow, Emma Carstairs, Kit Rook, Livia Blackthorn, Robert Lightwood, Kieran (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Mark Blackthorn, Diana Wrayburn, Gwyn ap Nudd (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Maryse Lightwood, Max Lightwood, Valentine Morgenstern, Raphael Santiago, Camille Belcourt, Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern | Sebastian Verlac, Asmodeus (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Original Characters
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Simon Lewis/Isabelle Lightwood, Jem Carstairs/Tessa Gray/Will Herondale, Helen Blackthorn/Aline Penhallow, Julian Blackthorn/Emma Carstairs, Tiberius Blackthorn/Kit Rook, Mark Blackthorn/Kieran, Gwyn ap Nudd/Diana Wrayburn, Maryse Lightwood/Robert Lightwood
Additional Tags: Space Pirates, Alternate Universe - Space, Inspired by Firefly, inspired by fairy tales, Inspired by episode: "Parabatai Lost", Space Battles, Polyamorous Relationship (Tessa/Jem/Will), Falling In Love, Explicit Sexual Content, Anal Fingering, Rimming, Anal Sex, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood-centric, Set in a verse like Firefly, Not exactly like Firefly, Cannibal characters, terrible fathers, Redemption, Minor Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, LOS Spoilers, Firefly Spoilers, Serenity spoilers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2sgK964
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ao3feedmalec · 5 years
Text
blood and dirt
by ralf
“You're not fighting back.” It's more assessment than question, but he answers anyway. “I'll never be free. And you'll never love me. What would I be fighting for?” Clary's clothes rustle as she shifts. Jonathan imagines her lifting her kinjal, placing it right over his heart, ready to strike. Ready to wipe him off the face of the earth and finally forget about him for good. He lets out a breath. “Do it. Release us both.” He waits, but the stab to end his life never comes.
[Canon Rewrite, starting halfway through 3x21. Jonathan gets a real shot at redemption, the Edom rift drama gets resolved in a less ridiculous way, Magnus gets to be the badass we all know he is, etc.]
Words: 1575, Chapters: 1/7, Language: English
Fandoms: Shadowhunters (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: F/M, Gen, M/M
Characters: Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane, Clary Fray, Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern | Sebastian Verlac, Jace Wayland, Isabelle Lightwood, Catarina Loss, Simon Lewis, Lilith (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Seelie Queen (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Lorenzo Rey
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Clary Fray & Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern | Sebastian Verlac, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s03e21 Alliance, Canon Rewrite, Action, Morgenstern Family Feels, BAMF Magnus Bane, Alliance Rune (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Edom (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Ensemble Cast, POV Multiple
from AO3 works tagged 'Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood' http://bit.ly/2IJiBN7 via IFTTT
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