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the-great-lightwood-bane · 1 year

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I posted 524 times in 2022

72 posts created (14%)

452 posts reblogged (86%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@cuubism

@alexander-gideon-lightwood-babe

@shadowhunterstvsource

@the-great-lightwood-bane

@thelightofthebane

I tagged 514 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#tsc - 499 posts

#tmi - 478 posts

#magnus bane - 418 posts

#alec lightwood - 387 posts

#magnus x alec - 346 posts

#malec - 345 posts

#alec x magnus - 345 posts

#magnus lightwood bane - 343 posts

#alec lightwood bane - 339 posts

#fanart - 192 posts

Longest Tag: 84 characters

#like. is magnus' closest thing to a relative really the woman who tried to kill him?

My Top Posts in 2022:

congrats on 100 followers! for the ask game: malec?

thank you!

my favourite thing

The way they support each other and balance each other out. Magnus fears he's too much, Alec doesn't think he's enough; Magnus is flamboyant and dramatic, Alec is more reserved; they're both willing to sacrifice themselves for others, but because they're also willing to sacrifice themselves for each other, it balances out. Malec are just... very well-matched, imo.

my least favourite thing

(I will have you know this is very mean and a very hard question to answer.) uhhhh probably their communication problems? Like, I realise that a significant portion of the canonical breakups was mostly just... for Drama™, but in both book and show, there are some pretty significant communication failures. In the books, for example: the whole p511 breakup? BAD COMMUNICATION. Alec is (understandably) upset that Magnus isn't telling him about his past; Magnus is (also understandably, although mistakenly) worried that Alec would leave if he knew about Magnus' past. But because neither of them are willing to actually, yk, discuss this, Alec goes to Camille to learn about Magnus, and then Magnus feels betrayed and breaks up with Alec. In the show, the worst communication failure is imo the whole Magnus-losing-his-magic fiasco. Magnus gives up his magic because he thinks he comes second to Jace in Alec's life, which probably isn't true but Alec hasn't told Magnus that; Magnus refuses to tell Alec how much he's struggling with not having his magic; when Alec realises, rather than talking to Magnus about it, he goes off and makes a deal with Asmodeus which hurts them both.

my overall rating out of ten

11/10 Most of the communication failures I prefer to blame on the author not the characters, since a lot of it is actually kinda ooc imo. And Malec are just AMAZING, okay???

do I ship it + why

I SHIP IT SO MUCH that is probably obvious from my blog but. it bears repeating. (I already talked about the way they balance each other out, so I won't go over that again.) On the surface, they're very different in an opposites-attract kind of way: extroverted vs. introverted, warlock vs. Shadowhunter, cats vs. dogs (u can't change my mind, Alec is a dog person), etc. But underneath, they're actually very similar: they're both touch-starved imo (Shadowhunters aren't big on physical affection, Magnus was basically alone for the century prior to meeting Alec), they're both quite a bit more emotionally mature than Clary, Jace, Izzy, or Simon (Magnus is obviously way older, Alec had to grow up really fast & take care of his siblings from a young age), they both recognise all of the problems with the world and want to fix them, they're both subject to discrimination, they're both BAMFs who are extremely protective of those they love, they both had pretty sucky childhoods with bad father figures, they're both leaders for their respective groups... In my opinion, that type of dynamic — different on the surface, similar deep down — is the best type of relationship, because they're not carbon copies of each other, but they're also not diametrically opposed in terms of beliefs, experiences, etc.

headcanon/other thoughts

Immortality. To be completely honest, I feel like all of the resolutions to the immortality debate — Alec becomes immortal, Magnus becomes mortal, they stay the same — have upsides and downsides, perhaps in equal measure. Alec becoming immortal is a really common headcanon and definitely an attractive one — Magnus won't have to lose Alec! Alec loves him enough to stay with him! It's adorable & romantic & I LOVE fics that explore this idea. There are also a few hints at it in the show. It's probably unhealthy for Alec to become immortal purely for Magnus' sake, but it's not just about that for him: he can live longer to watch over his siblings & their descendants (and his descendants), he can keep the Shadow World changing and see all of his dreams through to the end, he can stay with any immortal children he has. But I'm torn over whether it's really feasible or not: okay, there are couples who stay together all their lives, and there's the whole "Shadowhunters love once" thing, but... can you really promise to stay with somebody forever? It's just a lot, and sometimes it feels like Alec is changing too much of himself for Magnus' sake. Magnus is living proof that immortality is as much a curse as it is a blessing, and is it right for Alec to be subjected to it, too? Even if they do stay together, they'll watch humanity make the same stupid mistakes over and over and over and over. Is that really a good future? I'm unsure. Magnus becoming mortal is a lot less common than Alec becoming immortal, but it many ways I personally find it more attractive. Immortality is a curse — Magnus has lived for centuries already, and it's somehow very fitting that with Alec (the first one to accept his eyes, the first one he's been with in over a century, arguably the one he's loved the most), he chooses to age and die with Alec. More importantly, he chooses to live with him: to go through life together, experiencing it all side-by-side without the spectre of immortality between them. In both the books and the show, there's plenty of angst to go around about Alec wanting Magnus to be mortal (show: when Magnus has lost his magic; books: the Camille debacle), but I think that in either case, that's not really a barrier to it since there were extenuating factors in the show and Malec's relationship really evolved from there in the books. For us — humans — spending our lives with somebody is considered the best outcome. I'm personally a fan of this idea. Option three is that everything stays as it is. This might actually be the least common headcanon, since it brings with it a necessary heartbreak: Alec is going to die, and Magnus is going to live on. But there's a quote in the books (maybe GOTSM?) which I can't remember exactly but it's something about how even after Alec dies, Magnus will go on, and all of the changes in the world that Alec makes will also go on. The world will be a better place for Magnus in the future because of Alec, and even if Alec isn't there anymore, I think there's something very poetic in it. Also, in both the books and the show, Malec struggle with dealing with Magnus' immortality and they eventually figure it out — isn't it kinda undermining that character arc to make one of them mortal/immortal? Honestly, there's a story to be told in all three — there's heartbreak and love in all three — and I find the concept really fascinating.

I have gone on for possibly too long about this, but thanks again to anon for the ask!

38 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

Never Alone

Chapters on AO3: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21

Malec | Rated general | tw violence, reference to rape/non-con, and vampirism, all at canon levels | Dæmon AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-it, Canon Era, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Developing Relationship, Other Additional Tags To Be Added, Slow Burn

Summary: In a world where Shadowhunters’ dæmons never lose the ability to change shape, Clary spends her eighteenth birthday learning why Hunter can still shift.

Or, a shameless fix-it featuring BAMF Magnus and Alec, logical problem-solving rather than the disaster that was Jace, Izzy, and Clary — and, of course, Malec falling in love (in a slightly less difficult situation).

A/N: Written for the TSC What if…? Bang (@tsc-what-if-bang). Prompt: What if Clary and Simon didn’t go to Pandemonium that night?

My mind immediately went to why Clary and Simon wouldn’t go, and combined with the sad lack of dæmon AUs in this fandom, this fic was born!

The amazing art (above) is by @magnus-the-maqnificent! I'll link to their tumblr post here once they've posted it.

As I know it might get hard to keep track of everybody's dæmons' names and preferred forms, I've made a tumblr post with a list here.

Many many thanks to MugiwaraLexi for being an amazing beta — your support and advice has been invaluable!

This fic is fully written and edited, and I’ll be posting twice a week on Monday and Thursday for most of it, except for from August 23rd to August 30th (no posting as I will be away). Sorry for the delay, but after that, I should get into a regular posting schedule!

Read chapter 1 on AO3 or below the cut. (Future chapters will be posted on AO3 and linked above.)

Prologue — Clary

Summary: Her mom was finally — finally — going to explain.

Clary doesn’t go to Pandemonium on her eighteenth birthday.

A/N: First chapter! This one’s Clary’s POV, but all of the following chapters will alternate between Alec and Magnus. (I’ll be posting the first Alec chapter in a few hours.)

Clary felt excitement bubbling in her chest. Hunter hopped eagerly around the room in his rabbit form, before leaping into the air, changing into a bird, a butterfly, and back to a rabbit again.

Her mom was finally — finally — going to explain.

Clary had first realised that she wasn’t normal when she’d been fourteen, and her dæmon still hadn’t settled. Hunter was often in rabbit form, but he could still change to any animal he wanted, while all of her friends’ and classmates’ dæmons had chosen a preferred animal and could no longer change.

She’d thought for a while that she was a late bloomer or something, but puberty had come and gone, and Hunter could still change shapes as effortlessly as ever. She’d grown increasingly worried about it, wondering what was wrong with her, until her mother had finally explained that there was, in fact, something different about Clary. And then her dæmon, Aaron, had shifted from his swan form to a different one.

Unfortunately, Jocelyn Fray had refused to explain anything more than that to her daughter. Instead, she’d declared that Clary was “too young” and promised to tell her everything — including why neither of their dæmons had settled into one form — when Clary turned eighteen.

Today was her eighteenth birthday, and also the day that she’d gotten accepted into the Brooklyn Academy of Arts. While she considered Simon’s offer of going to Pandemonium to celebrate, she wanted to know why she was like this. She’d waited four years; maybe she could’ve waited another day, but she didn’t want to.

So she said as much to Simon — he was the only person she’d ever told about Hunter — so they decided to save the celebrating for the next day.

Hunter leapt up on Clary’s lap, and she curled her fingers around him to keep him in place. “I know you’re excited and nervous, but I am too, and you’re only making it worse by jumping around,” she told him.

“I know, I know, but we’re going to find out why!” Hunter replied.

Clary’s response was cut short when her mother came in and sat down in the chair opposite Clary. It was almost formal for a moment before Jocelyn huffed out a laugh and wrapped Clary in a hug. “You’ve grown up so much.” Clary refused to have the oh-look-at-my-daughter-she’s-all-grown-up conversation right now; she wanted answers. “Are you going to tell me why Hunter can still shift?” she asked, cutting her mother off before she could start.

“Yes, I am.” Jocelyn smiled, looking slightly sad. “It’ll take quite a bit of history and context. I can only hope that you don’t hate me at the end of it.

“I probably wouldn’t have told you about all this if it hadn’t been for Hunter, but I need to explain everything else first. Take this.” She held out a long, thin, silvery-grey stick, shaped vaguely like a pen. “It’s called a stele, and it’s a bit of a family heirloom, I suppose.”

“We Frays have heirlooms?” Clary asked, surprised and somewhat sceptical.

See the full post

60 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

the implications of language

Malec | Rated general | minor tw for mention of Magnus’ mother’s suicide | Canon Compliant, although it's a mix of book and show, you don't need to have read either, Canon Era, Non-Linear Narrative, Languages, Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane,Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Is a Nice Thing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, i love them ur honour

Summary: The first time it happens, it’s only because Magnus is exhausted.

Or, Indonesian is Magnus' mother tongue — the language he slips into when he doesn't have the presence of mind for anything else. Alec wants to learn.

A/N: I came up with this idea thanks to Li, so I'm gifting it to them!

Translations are from Google Translate and/or indolang.com; if there are any errors or insensitivities, please tell me so I can fix them!

Read it on AO3 or below the cut. (AO3 has translations, tumblr doesn't.)

The first time it happens, it’s only because Magnus is exhausted.

Between a series of demanding clients who he ranted about to Alec over text, not one but two rifts opening up and requiring a warlock to close, and then a horde of demons that had escaped through the second rift before Magnus had managed to close it, it makes perfect sense for Magnus to be tired out. Alec lent him strength to close the last rift, so he isn’t too magically exhausted, but the day was a long one, and Magnus doesn’t have the energy to keep up his usual walls.

“—kemarilah, sayang,” he murmurs half into his pillow, half to Alec. Sayang is something Alec recognises — Magnus started calling him that after they’d been dating a little while; he doesn’t know what it means, other than a probably-endearment in another language. He doesn’t recognise the other word, either, but he can wait to figure it out; for now, Magnus obviously wants Alec to come closer, and Alec obeys.

“Selamat malam,” Magnus mumbles, almost incomprehensible, curling an arm around Alec to pull him closer.

“Good night, Magnus,” Alec says, and he falls asleep with Magnus in his arms.

He looks it up the next day. Alec isn’t entirely sure how trustworthy Google Translate is, since it’s saying sayang is Malay for “dear” while kemarilah is Indonesian for “come here”, but he remembers that Magnus was born in Indonesia; when exhausted, he slipped back into his mother tongue.

It’s… actually kind of adorable, when Alec thinks about it; he’s sure that Magnus speaks more languages than he could ever count, and he speaks English impeccably, but it’s somehow heartwarming to know that when he isn’t watching his words, he still falls back on Indonesian.

Alec speaks fifteen different languages as part of his training in politics — enough to communicate easily with the Head of any major Institute worldwide; all of them speak English, yes, as that is the language of Alicante, but people are more comfortable in their native language and that can be essential. (Alec speaks six demonic languages, too, but that’s a different matter.) Indonesian, however, he doesn’t know — the Jakarta Institute is Indonesian, but a ley line fluke means that there aren’t many demons there and therefore not enough Shadowhunters to merit the status of major Institute. And even if Alec had learnt modern Indonesian, it probably wouldn’t match up with Magnus’ Indonesian, since a bit of research suggests the language had changed over the years.

He wonders if Magnus would like it if he learned, or if it’d be invasive — if Alec would be insinuating himself into an aspect of Magnus’ past where Magnus didn’t want him.

He plans to talk to Magnus about it, but between Valentine and the Soul Sword and Jonathan and all the chaos Clary brings, it never seems like the right time. I love you, he says, and Magnus says it back, but it’s only a few weeks later that Magnus walks away from him, from them, because of the stupidity of the secret Alec kept. Even after Valentine’s gone and they get together again, their relationship feels new, unsteady, uncertain; it feels like it might crumble if Alec steps the wrong way, so he watches himself and doesn’t bring up the question, though it hovers in the back of his mind. Especially when he sees all the pain that Magnus’ past has brought him; would Magnus want to be reminded of that?

Then, of course, there’s the Owl and Jonathan (again) and Lilith and Asmodeus, and Alec is too caught up in worrying over Magnus’ magic to ask. They go from exes to fiancés in under twenty-four hours, and then they’re married and Alec doesn’t think he’s ever been so happy.

Their wedding night, Magnus holds him close with a poorly-concealed desperation that speaks of days in Edom, not believing Alec would come. Alec hugs him back, because he, too, spent far too long believing that they were over. Magnus is here, in his arms, and yet Alec’s mind can’t quite trust in it, as though a breath of wind could shatter this perfect dream.

“Aku cinta kamu, Alexander,” Magnus says softly.

Those words, Alec knows. “I love you too.”

Magnus smiles against his chest, a hidden thing full of a love that, incomprehensibly, has been given to Alec; Alec’s own smile is pressed into Magnus’ — into his husband’s — hair, soft and silky against his face.

Alec wants to talk about Magnus’ past, wants to ask if he can learn Indonesian, too, but he’s exhausted and he’s barely slept since — he casts his mind back, trying to remember — since before Magnus broke down in his arms, the night of the failed proposal. After that, he’d been occupied with the pain in Magnus’ voice and the deal that he was considering; then he’d been unable to sleep for the ache where Magnus should be, combined with guilt for the pain he’d caused him; then Magnus had been in Edom, and Alec had been searching for a way to get him back, and— well. Alec hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in a long time.

Magnus isn’t much better, he knows, but the sleepy mumble Magnus gives against his chest quiets the aching fears and thoughts. Gently, they fall asleep.

“—tolong berhenti, tolong jangan sakiti aku,” Magnus is murmuring, soft and heartbreaking, voice cracked with pain. “Saya akan baik-baik saja, saya berjanji, saya tidak melakukan apa-apa, tolong.”

“Shh,” Alec says, pointlessly. Magnus can’t hear him; he’s deep in some delirium that Alec can’t penetrate, thanks to a particularly lucky demon that’d managed a hit before Alec had killed it. “Shh, love, I’m right here…”

“Aku tidak membunuhnya, pergilah,” Magnus continues. Alec doesn’t know the words — he wishes, more than ever, that he could’ve managed to learn more Indonesian than he has, and makes a vow to fix that as soon as possible — but he recognizes the tone. Desperation. Fear. “Maaf, ayah, aku tidak mau…”

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91 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

“what’s Magnus’ love language” “what’s Alec’s love language”

why does there have to be just one. malec can have ALL the love languages. as a treat.

in this essay i will—

97 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Magnus with long hair.

(ik this idea has been brought up before, but i'm just. thinking about it a lot.)

Magnus with long hair — not super long, but long enough that he'll tie it back in a bun to keep it out of his face.

Long enough that Alec can braid it, little cute braids or longer ones, while Magnus is taking a nap with his head in Alec's lap.

Long enough for Alec to run his fingers through it properly, admiring how soft it feels.

Long enough that Magnus can brush it out, let it hang down if he doesn't want to style it.

Long enough that Magnus is almost insecure about what Alec thinks — is it too feminine, too different, too untraditional? — although Alec rather likes it than otherwise.

Long enough that he can do the thing™ where the character ties their hair back and then is very very competent™.

Long enough that he can put flowers in it — maybe Alec braids them in, maybe he does it himself.

just... Magnus with long hair <3

188 notes - Posted March 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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