#like the only good thing was malec

[tys-kitty]

Grishaverse fans after their show was canceled

TSC fans after their show was canceled

#like that show had absolutely nothing in common with the books #like the only good thing was malec #and that‘s it #cassandra clare #shadow and bone #tsc #grishaverse #kaz brekker #alina starkov #the shadowhunter chronicles #tmi #the mortal instruments #jace herondale #clary fairchild #magnus bane #alec lightwood bane #isabelle lightwood #simon lovelace #tda #the dark artifices #tid #the infernal devices #shadowhunters #tlh #the last hours #twp #the wicked powers

[foodsies4me]

April Malec fic rec!

Thanking @just-add-butter and @ariella9melody for this month's theme which is a double combo of "Outsider's POV" and "Let Alec have friends!" The same rules apply as always, one fic per author, even though all of these authors have other brilliant fics you should be reading and if you want to add your own recs in the comments, tags, or reblogs please feel free to do so! 😊

Also, I have tagged the authors whose Tumblr account I know, but if you'd prefer I not tag you, please tell me! I don't want these to be annoying for the authors.

One-shots:

Enthrallment by @smilebackwards: Magnus' magic being possessive and warlocks reacting to Magnus' magic being possessive, what more could you want? OC POV!

Summary:

It does look a little bad, Parmela thinks, looking at it from outside. As more specialists had been called in for consultation, they’d decamped to one of the larger conference rooms—eschewing attendance at A, B, AB, & O: The Impact of Blood Type on Non Subject Specific Blood Magic, because this was vastly more interesting and potentially important—and there are a round dozen high-level warlocks clustered around Alec, poking at him with magic. Or: Alec attends the Magical Inventions and Advances convention in hopes of recruiting warlocks for another Downworld Cabinet. The warlocks, however, are more interested—and concerned—by the blue magical aura following Alec around.

And I am breaking my own rules by rec-ing a second fic by smilebackwards: Portable Magic

Summary:

Magnus may go slightly overboard helping Alec set up for the book club gathering. Technically, perhaps, he didn’t need to create a signature cocktail or barter a favor to Raphael for O neg blood for the vampires or source the biscotti directly from Italy. But hospitality is important and these are Alec’s friends. He wants to make a good impression. Or: Alec is in a Downworld book club and Magnus finds this unaccountably fascinating.

I'll die on this (Under)hill by @clottedcreamfudge: like all of the fics written by clottedcreamfudge, this fic is downright hilarious. That said, poor Underhill. Underhill POV!

Summary:

The point is, Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood clearly have an intimate knowledge of each other, and it has never once impacted on their work. What it is beginning to impact on, however, is Andrew’s sanity. Because apparently he really is the only one to have noticed it.

Be careful with my best friends heart by TheLostLightwood: A fic in Cat's perspective, who I maintain is one of the best characters in the series and we needed more of her! Cat POV!

Summary:

Catarina Loss had known Magnus for a long time, she had seen him cry, laugh, mourn, get injured and fall in love many times before. But she had never seen him more in love or more broken than she had in this moment. Cat's POV, as Alec is seriously injured in a fight against demons. And Magnus well he...

Alec's Little Ducklings by @to-the-stars-writing (this will be one of two recs for to the stars because I am being very bad at keeping to my rules this time around). Alec gets hurt and all of his friends appear to take care of him!

Summary:

After Alec's hurt coming home from the Hunter's Moon, he's left laid up in bed when the drug they gave him prevents his injuries from being healed by angelic or magical powers. Magnus is fully prepared to do take care of his stubborn boyfriend, only to find out that there are a few other people who are more than willing to offer their help.

the right thing by @cuubism: As the summary says, Alec's first speech as the Inquisitor doesn't go exactly as planned. Izzy POV!

Summary:

Alec's first speech as Inquisitor doesn't go exactly as planned.

nock. draw. release by chaidrivenwhore: A non human POV, but a weapon POV! Alec's bow to be specific!

the bow and arrows had tempted many, but this specific one, with its curved limbs engraved with angelic runes and sharp arrows, straight and unbending, had called out to a nine year old alexander lightwood like no other had.

Multi-chapter fics or series:

Families of Choice by MonPetitTresor, a recommendation made by @ariella9melody that I can only agree with because this fic is wonderful (as are all fics my MonPetitTresor).

Summary:

Life at the Institute takes a turn for the worse for Alec. When he's alone with nowhere else to turn, his siblings step up and help him find his feet once more with help from a few new friends along the way. Between them, Alec finally gets a chance to realize that the world doesn't begin and end with being a Shadowhunter, and there's more out there for him, so long as he's got the courage to reach out and grab it.

ask the always impossible of me by @faejilly: Some very nice Aline and Alec friendship!

Summary:

Just for one night, a magical ball where anyone can meet, when anything is possible... And that's just the beginning.

Running from the Night by @to-the-stars-writing: I love how Stars depicts Alec's struggles with his mental health and there are a lot of friends for Alec in this one!

Summary:

For a long time, Alec had felt like his life was held together by strings tied on him by the Clave, his parents, his siblings. Strings that pulled and tugged him in every which direction, heedless of the bruises and blood left behind. As much as they hurt, some days they’d been the only thing to hold him together. That is, up until the moment Alec stood on the shores of Lake Lyn and faced the death of the one person who held a piece of his soul, and the lies that followed his mysterious resurrection. There, on the shores of Lake Lyn, those strings finally pulled too hard, and Alec broke. With the permission of the Inquisitor, and the help of the warlock who Alec had wanted so desperately to allow himself to fall for (and had been terrified to do more than smile at his flirting) Alec walked away from everything and everyone. He left New York behind and made himself a home in the small town of Prayer – a joke Magnus found particularly funny. But, two years after that fateful night, Alec’s old life comes knocking, and those strings he thought he’d finally cut are tugging him home. Back to the place he never wanted to have to see again. At least this time, he’s not facing it alone.

#fic rec #these ended up mainly being one shots #and outsider POV's #because most of the Alec friendship fics involve Alec being best friends with Clary #and I just don't like her as a character #so I generally skip those #and by generally I mean by nearly always #the Alec's ducklings being an exception #just for the other characters involved #my life would be so much easier if my brain didn't go NOPE each time a Clary & Alec friendship got mentioned tbh

[alexanderlightweight]

Happy Wednesday! May I ask more of the time travel malec verse, please?

here is some more of the same sky with time travel malec ^_^

hope you enjoy

<3 lumine

-

It’s easy to set traps when Magnus and Alec both studied how Valentine had stayed just out of notice.

Magnus spent decades creating spells and increasing his abilities until he can track over water and Alexander knows every single strategy at Valentine’s disposal.

Rouse had been quickly and discreetly taken care of, the women portaled out of the city and the babies sent directly to the spiral labyrinth. Madzie latched on to Alexander much as she did in the future and Magnus can only consider that she’s reacting to his sincerity and care.

Alexander has always had a soft spot for children. They rouse the greatest of his protective instincts and bring out the best in his nature.

Catarina takes time off to both hide and also protect Madzie and there will be no Valentine induced trauma for the young warlock, not now that she is defended so completely.

The moment Valentine starts to move, Magnus will be able to pinpoint where he is and portal himself and Alexander there.

Magnus abilities aren’t known yet and the majority of them will stay hidden for a good long while.

Alexander is currently retraining his body — dissatisfied with the level of flexibility and stamina he currently has.

Magnus has no qualms, enjoying his morning tea as he watches Alexander train and then summoning a great spread of breakfast.

Time travel or not, Magnus isn’t going to let his husband slide and get back into terrible eating habits.

Alexander needs his energy, both to secure the future and to sate Magnus.

Catarina is busy with Madzie and Ragnor is off researching. Magnus doesn’t expect either of them to return anytime soon and he’s made it clear they should announce their arrival, if they don’t want an eyeful at least.

Alexander stretches — arms up and arching over his head — and Magnus leans forward to kiss his cheek.

“I don’t have time to take you shopping, do I?”

“No, but I’ll let you summon whatever you’d like for me to wear until we can.” Alexander offers and he leans forward to rest his brow against Magnus’ own with a soft sigh of contentment.

“You’d let me anyways.” Magnus teases but he takes comfort in the fact that Alexander will be draped in Magnus’ choices. They’ll both enjoy it more when life calms down and is safe enough to take the weekend shopping in Italy and tasting food from every cafe that catches their eyes.

“Maybe.” Alexander teases and Magnus scoffs because they both know he’s right and Alexander is just being a little shit.

Magnus’ hands ache and they find their place on Alexander’s hips as Magnus pulls him closer and presses kisses to a beloved deflect rune.

“You can’t come fighting with me.” Magnus finally says and he feels Alexander’s sigh more than hears it.

“I know. You’d come under suspicion if there were any hints of a nephilim working with you. I’ll stay here, give you information and break down Valentine’s strategies and codes. Give you strength when you need it.”

Alexander is a warrior but he is also Magnus’ very heart and there are some things that Magnus cannot risk, not without losing himself.

“My darling, precious Alexander.” Magnus kisses him then, because how can he not when Alexander understands him to the very core and will do everything he needs to protect Magnus’ heart physically and emotionally.

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #the same sky #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters

[victoriaspriing]

2023 writing gif-making round up

Rules (adapted for fic, gifs, art, etc.): Share what you made this year! It can be works you posted to Ao3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere else! You can share everything you made or just the projects you're most excited about.

I was tagged by @swearphil! thank you sm renee <33

Hii!! so 2024 is right around the corner, happy new year yayay. Actually, if I think too much about it I think I'll start crying cause like what do you mean we're less than 42 hours from staring a new year?!! 2023 doesn't feel real tbh time in general doesn't feel real but yeah anyways I'll save that convo for another time. I'm here today to reflect on all the gifsets I've made throughout this year, which let me add, has been A LOT. I'm going to start by sharing some fun stats (yes renee I'm copying you <33), and then I'll do a fun top 5 of my fave gifsets, and to finish it off I'd also like to use this to shout out some of my fave people and creators on this hellsite cause you all made my 2023 so much better and I love you all for that <333

fun statistics:

In total I made 61 gifsets in 2023

57 are heartstopper (not surprised)

3 are 911 lone star (mostly tarlos)

1 are dan and phil

In august I made 20 gifsets, which are the most gifsets I've made in a month this year

In may I made 1 gifset, which is the month I made less gifsets this year

6 of the gifsets are song lyrics edits

3 of the gifsets are heartstopper comic edits

31 of the gifsets are scenes from heartstopper

6 of the gifsets are heartstopper compilations from s1 and s2

top 5 gifsets from 2023 (in no particular order)

that one dnp gifset: I think most people know that I was and still am a big dan and phil fan, and that I spent most of my teenage years obsessing over them and giffing them and only them. Well, they went on hiatus and they stopped having a big impact on my life util they decided to come back and ruin my life again (in a good way). This gifset was the first time I giffed them since like idk 2019/2020, and it does mean a lot to me :') it's not really about the concept and the coloring, I chose this one to be apart of my top 5 for sentimental reasons, and I think that's valid.

give your friendships the magic you would give a romance: once again, sentimental reasons. when I read this quote on loveless it just spoke to me in so many levels. One of the things I love the most about heartstopper is the importance they give to friendship and I just had to make something that highlighted that and I think it turned out super good.

I think nellie loves him: well, now I think I snapped with this one akdhjahak I just love it so much. the coloring.. the heartstopper tv scenes with the heartstopper comic scenes, like chef's kiss, just perfect. of course this is not an original idea so I'd love to thank @rose-nobles for inspiring this gifset <33

mr. ajayi loves museum dates with his grumpy bf: and just like that we are back to sentimental reasons ahdhkas. well, this was one of the first gifsets I made when season two came out and it blew up. I've never had that many notes on a gifset, and honestly I think it's well deserved cause the coloring is good and I had finally just figured out how to sharpen gifs, so yeah love that for me.

I'm bi actually: I had so much fun making this one. the amount of bi coded elements and colors I included on this, I WAS ON A MISSION. the fact I made the font wobbly hsjgdjaka, I love love this gifset.

a little shout out to my faves (I hope you all have an amazing 2024)

@swearphil ☆ @barrowsteeth ☆ @narliee ☆ @cafecdramin ☆ @heroeddiemunson ☆ @nelsonnicholas ☆ @curlyhairedprince ☆ @wylanvannecks ☆ @aimeegbbs ☆ @indimlights ☆ @jelloandsugar ☆ @perrieedwards ☆ @imogen-heaney ☆ @thatwasthenightthingschanged ☆ @klinejack ☆ @birthdaysentiment ☆ @seeleybooth ☆ @sonseulsoleil ☆ @taraolssons ☆ @immortals-malec ☆ @parissquads ☆ @rose-nobles ☆ @itwasmagic ☆ @perccyjackson ☆ @naomismcpherson ☆ @neverfindmegone ☆ @charlieisverybored

Okay I think that's it, I'm so sorry if I missed someone. I'm also tagging everyone that wants to do this, just say I tagged you in it <33

#tag games #this was fun

[khaleesiofalicante]

“You know when you do something wrong but you don’t know what you did wrong but you just know you did something wrong?”

“Uh,” Jace said. 

“What did you do?” Izzy asked. 

“That’s the thing! I don’t know,” Alec sighed. “But I know I must have done something wrong.”

“Yeah, but how do you know you did something wrong?” Izzy demanded. 

“I dunno,” Alec sighed again. “Magnus has been acting weird.”

“Weirder than usual?” Jace raised an eyebrow. 

“I think I hurt his feelings,” Alec frowned. 

“What did you do?” Izzy hissed, hitting his side with her purse.

“Ow! Nothing!”

“Well, you must have said something mean.”

“I didn’t say anything mean. I just-I just told him to cheer up.”

“You told him to...cheer up.”

“Well, not exactly,” Alec scratched his beard. “I asked him if he can at least pretend to be happy while y’all are all here.”

“Alec,” Izzy groaned loudly. 

“What?” Alec groaned back. 

“That’s not a sensitive thing to tell someone with depression, bro,” Jace tutted and shook his head. 

Alec winced at that. 

In retrospect, Magnus did shut down after Alec’s odd - and apparently insensitive - request. 

“I would kill a man if he talked to me like that,” Izzy muttered darkly. 

“I was trying to help!” Alec said helplessly. “It’s all your fault! You guys are the ones who made a big deal out of this!”

“Whoah, bro, don’t blame the downfall of your marriage on us,” Jace put up his hands. 

“It’s barely a marriage at all,” Alec mumbled. “Excuse me.”

He went downstairs to find Magnus in the kitchen, doing the dishes and listening to music.

“Magnus,” Alec cleared his throat, and then was suddenly wasn’t sure what to say. “I can do the dishes.”

“It’s alright,” Magnus said over his shoulder. 

“I like doing it,” Alec explained. “It’s part of my routine.”

Magnus put down the dishes carefully and nodded as he wiped his hands. “Alright.”

“I…I understand that not speaking to other people is part of your routine,” Alec said a little awkwardly. “I’m sorry I pushed you. It was insensitive of me.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “Isabelle?”

“Jace, actually.”

“Huh,” Magnus said and nodded. “I accept your apology. Goodnight.”

“I only did it because I wanted to help,” Alec said quickly. “My family can be prying assholes sometimes. If they saw you…If they didn’t see you…I told you to pretend to be happy because I didn’t want them to bother you about it.”

“I see,” Magnus said. “Thank you for the explanation.”

“I was forced to invite them, because they were all in the city at the same time,” Alec went on. “I won’t invite them again.”

“This is your home too,” Magnus pointed out. “You are allowed to invite your family over any time.”

“Right” Alec cleared throat. 

“Your family is lovely,” Magnus told him. “Besides, I think The Chairman enjoyed all the attention.”

“He really did,” Alec chuckled and rubbed his face awkwardly.  “Are we good though? No hard feelings?”

“Alec, you put up with my father for a decade. The least I can do is get through dinner with your family.”

“Yeah but my family can be intense.”

“And my father is not?”

“Not really.”

Magnus chuckled and shook his head. “Goodnight.”

- From the Arranged Marriage AU

@tu-vieja-steve - thanks for all the love and malec feels. This is for you.

#there is a lot of work to do on the characterisation of these two so this is all experimental okay bye #my fics #malec

[faithfromanewperspective]

gotta say it now bc i've been spending so much time in the 5sos fandom where we're all super protective of our creators: I know supporting an author isn't the same. I know cassie doesn't put herself out there in the same way as zillennial musicians. and I know there are things people in the fandom disagree with her on and I'm not here to minimise that.

but everywhere I interact with the fandom and it's been like this for years now, jokes and things about how old we'll be when the series is finished and yeah it's funny to some extent but as someone who knows what pressure to create does to me, who knows how much it dries my creativity, she's on tumblr. she's seeing some of this. and we gotta tow this line and be careful: careful as to how we're treating her and also careful for the sake of fans ourselves--we don't want to be acting in ways that incidentally result in content being delayed and lower quality because she's been burnt out for ages and we're just giving so much pressure to read twp, read tbvotd and read whatever else she'll doubtless come up with after because she loves the shadowhunters world, she always ends up writing more for it even when she says she won't. and aren't we lucky for that? we love the tsc universe. and if we're old by the time it's all finished, that's the result of her loving this universe she created so much that she just kept writing for it. it's a blessing.

and maybe i sound like an aussie who grew up under a rock in the middle of the bush (which I am) saying this but. when my only queer representation was a singular jacqueline wilson book until i was 14 and read malec's story in tmi, when i've never seen another author portray such a diverse range of realistic neurodivergent characters, when i'm a half white poc with grandparents from borneo which is partially in indonesia and magnus is indonesian, I do find in myself some appreciation for her: the author who created a world of characters I see myself in and I do hope she's okay and I want her to recover from burnout, I know how much it sucks, and it still kinda baffles me how she'll share bits and pieces of her mental health experiences (and she's my parents' age!! and a lot more emotionally aware than most gen x's I know which I so appreciate) and we don't, largely, as a fandom, seem to care. like i get we're in a fandom for the characters and stories she created not her, herself, but like ???

I love seeing the artist behind the art they create. I love it when they're human and imperfect and yet we can still see the good in them that they put out to impact the world with, a legacy, and when we see their imperfections and we can acknowledge this all together, acknowledge and come together for the fans who have been hurt by these mistakes, oversights, harmful views, that are mixed in with the good. and I love it when we can still come together after this and be like, I support this creator, I want them to be okay, I want them to keep discovering love and I want to see it in their writing. and this I don't think should only apply to conventionally attractive twentysomething men who sing! maybe i'm biased in the observation that it is usually where I see the most artist support. or maybe it's actually a trend and as feminists, as people who see our dignity in more than being fuckable and more than being Perfect Leaders, we can do better.

and so i don't care when the wicked powers come out. i'll have finished my masters' degree before I finish that book series and hear the rest of kit and ty's story i started reading in high school. but that's okay. if that's what it takes to get a good story. i don't care when we get the final tec book, even though i've got two copies of the other two on my bookcase and don't know if the cover art will even be the same when the third one comes out. because we love pretty timely things but we're not owed them. and I have to say, this isn't completely true. I do care. I do want to know. I do want to experience that joy. but much more than that I want cassie to write at her own pace and I want her to enjoy it and I want her to keep discovering her own creativity and the proof is honestly in the pudding that every artist I've seen decide to do things at their own rate has ended up way more productive than before they decided that. and artists are people after all. it's what makes their art so good and forms the basis for the fandoms we're in. so I hope she knows it's okay to take her time.

#cassandra clare #tsc #tmi #tid #tda #twp #tec #the wicked powers #tlh #kit herondale #ty blackthorn #again. i really don't want to say 'she's perfect and can never hurt people' #but the point of this is that she still deserves to have freedom over her schedule and we can do our part by not being demanding to the #extent that we forget that she's human. that she's poured so much of herself into the characters and worlds she's made and she deserves to #keep looking after herself even when that means we don't get what we want as soon as we want it. we can be a loyal fandom

[delightfullyterrible]

Starting off my birthday month by giving y'all some ✨ pain ✨

This whole fic is based on one angsty movie dialogue and Thule Malec......so you know double pain 😊

*********

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if we were ordinary?" Magnus asked, staring at the ceiling.

They were still lazing in bed even though it was already mid-morning. The previous few mornings had been spent like this, wrapped in sheets and talking about the most random things, until one of them got hungry enough to get up and make breakfast (or in Magnus’s case, summon it). No one knew they were back from vacation already and neither Alec nor Magnus was in any hurry to tell them.

"Ordinary? Like if we were mundanes?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, because I do".

This piqued Alec’s curiosity. "And what do we do in our ordinary lives?" he asked. 

"You do a regular, boring 9-5 job, I wait for you to come home and give me attention”. 

Alec chuckled. “What else?”

Magnus turned towards him and raised himself slightly. “On the weekends we do laundry and taxes. Maybe host a barbecue once in a while".

“And who does the grilling?”

“You of course,” Magnus replied sunnily. “Or maybe Jace or any of our other friends. But not Isabelle”.

“Not Isabelle,” Alec agreed. "Do we still live in New York?"

"We could live wherever,” Magnus said. “New York, London, Florence, Mumbai, Tokyo, anywhere. Any special preferences?"

Alec shook his head. "Any place is fine as long as it’s you I wake up next to. Whichever city, whichever country, whichever universe".

Magnus smiled. “Alexander Gideon Lightwood, you will be the death of me,” he said and kissed him for a long time.

~~~~~

The memory felt like a lifetime ago. Alec wished he could go back to that time when life was so simple and the only thing he had to worry about was how to keep Izzy and Jace away from trouble or how to get the glitter out of literally every surface in the house.

But the world as he had known had changed completely. Sebastian Morgenstern turned it into his playground. Demons roamed freely, mundane numbers were dwindling and Shadowhunters were either Turned or killed or barely managed to escape. There was personal loss too - his mother was missing, his sister was dead and his parabatai was worse than dead.

His sister had died killing Sebastian and his parabatai’s very soul had been corrupted by him.

And then there was Magnus, on his knees in front of him, begging to be killed. 

“You have to do this Alexander,” Magnus pleaded. “There is no other way”.

“There has to be another way. Tessa and Ragnor are still searching, they could find something that….they could find something”.

“Even if they do, it will be too late,” Magnus said. “I don’t have any more time left”.

It was true. The blight had started affecting warlocks all over the world. One by one they were all falling ill and no cure had worked. Magnus, being an Eldest curse, was affected the most.

Alec kneeled so he could be at eye level with him. Magnus was beyond exhausted. His bones were jutting out and his usually beautiful face was pale and sunken.

Magnus clasped Alec’s hand. “Alec, my brave archer boy, I know I am asking a lot from you but I can’t see myself turning into a monster,” he said, tears welling up in his eyes. “For centuries I have kept my humanity intact, trying my best to not let my father’s blood taint the good in me, trying to not give in to evil”. He shut his eyes as if in pain and whispered “I can’t fail now”.

A teardrop rolled and fell on Alec’s hand. “Look at me Magnus,” he said and lifted Magnus’s chin. “Look at me and listen to me, you are kindness, strength, humanity, and patience all wrapped up in one person. All your life you have helped people and saved lives. Even if they didn't deserve any of it. You are not evil. You never will be”

“I wish it was true Alexander. I wish that was my reality right now. But when this illness takes over my body, everything you said about me will vanish. I won’t be part human anymore and I would rather die than lose my humanity”.

Alec knew that. Magnus’s humanity had made Magnus what he was today. It was what Alec had fallen in love with first. So how could he see it leave his body? How could he deny him his last wish?

“Is this what you really want?” Alec asked in a small voice.

“Yes I do,” Magnus said. “You know why it has to be you right?”

“I know,” Alec replied. “I just wish we had more time”

“I wish that too. Maybe it's possible in another universe”.

“Maybe in another universe, we have a different life, a happier one”.

“Like the one we talked about a few months ago?”

“Yeah, like that one,” Alec replied softly.

Magnus closed his eyes and touched his forehead to Alec’s. He pulled away after a few minutes and whispered “You have to do it now before anyone else comes”.

Alec nodded and slowly retrieved a knife from inside his jacket. With his other hand, he gently touched Magnus’s face. “Just so you know, in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you”.

Magnus smiled and kissed him with all the passion and love he could muster. Tears flowed down his face, mingling with their kisses. He gasped as the knife went in but didn’t move away. 

They stayed like that in each other's arms until Magnus’s breaths became shallow. Alec pulled away and gently lowered him to the ground. Blood seeped from the wound and darkened the soil around him. Magnus opened his mouth to say something but he started sputtering and reddish-black blood spilled out. Alec made a move to shush him but Magnus stopped him. “Alexander Lightwood…. it has been an honor being loved by you,” he said finally and went still.

Alec closed his eyes in pain and let the tears fall. He wanted to do more than that. He wanted to scream, shout, break something, bring Magnus back but nothing would work. He had lost everything and everyone he once held dear. The only thing he was left with now was grief and pain.

Once upon a time, Alec had dreamed of changing the world so the people he cared about could live and love freely. But what was the point now if they were all gone? What kind of world would he fight for? And for whom?

It was one of the quickest decisions Alec had made in his life. He curled his fingers around the hilt of the knife embedded in Magnus’s body and pulled it free. He thought of his family one last time, of Clary who died trying to save the world, of Tessa, Ragnor, and Catarina who were desperately searching for a cure. He thought of Magnus, the man who made him come alive with one look, who made him feel deserving of love.

A world without Magnus in it was not a world worth living in. With that thought in mind, Alec plunged the knife into his chest. It stung at first but it was okay. This pain was better compared to the pain of living. He laid down next to Magnus, clasped his hand, and closed his eyes. At least in death, they could be together.

The last thing he saw was a vision of two boys standing in front of a door. One was a toddler, barely 2 or 3 years old, with blue skin and tiny white horns jutting out of his head. The other one was slightly older with unruly curly hair and a solemn expression on his face. The boys looked like they were waiting for someone. He heard them call out, then the image faded and darkness took over as if signaling the end.

taglist : @dandeliononthemoon @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @ninacarstairss @vierss-herondale @elettralightwood @gayforcarstairsgirls @rinadragomir @magnus-the-maqnificent @carelessflower @dustandducks @wildesummerchild @potato-jem @the-ethereal-aura @literallytypogod

#malec #malec fic #magnus bane #alec lightwood #thule #qoaad #tda #tsc

[faejilly]

hello!! absolutely adore your writing <3 no worries at all it not, but may i request an alternate pre-series meeting in canon / canon-adjacent where valentine is actually dead? always very curious about how malec’s relationship might change if they met and started dating Not in the middle of a really intense war lmao, so i thought maybe their first meeting would be a good starting point? but don’t sweat it if this doesn’t strike the fic muse <33

asdfjklgh thank you! so this MORE THAN struck the fic muse, but I got distracted by a tangent as to how it all Got Very Different™️and have not actually introduced Malec to each other as of yet but if you'd like some Magnus going what the fuck? at the Clave actually being competent this will hopefully be entertaining. AND ISTG I will get to Malec meeting! Eventually?

A familiar flare lit up his apothecary, and Magnus reached out to catch the fire message. The flames sparked brighter, and he blinked away the after-images as something heavier than he'd expected solidified between his fingers.

A single sheet of paper, cleverly folded up to resemble an envelope and keep the message inside; there was the unfortunately familiar black curl of a rune along the edges.

Magnus grimaced.

It was probably some horrifying form letter designed to intimidate him into something that was not remotely his problem, but he was going to have to clean up regardless. Shadowhunters didn't request things, they ordered, and brow-beat, and the only reason they got away with it was because they treated everyone equally terribly, including themselves, and to be quite fair to their militaristic grand-standing, the world was continuing to not be overrun by demons, so it seemed to be working for them.

Even Valentine hadn’t made much of a dent in their self-righteous arrogance. The Lightwoods hadn’t lost possession of the Institute they’d killed to get, buying clemency with their children, from what he’d heard, which was even worse than typical nephilim parenting. Despicable, ev–

He blinked. That wasn't the New York Institute's watermark, it was the Inquisitor's.

He tilted it to let the light from the windows spill across it, but that was very clearly the silhouette of a Demon Tower behind two crossed blades, not the broken stone the Clave had required the New York Institute to use after the Uprising to signify its failure to uphold their so-called sacred duties.

He huffed out a breath in not quite a sigh, and felt a frown starting to form between his brows. It was easier to deal with Inquisitor Herondale and her people than the Lightwoods. (She at least hated Valentine as much as the downworld.) But that didn't mean a formal letter was likely to be a good thing. Whatever had happened in the aftermath of Valentine's attempted coup had been kept very quiet behind Alicante's borders, and everything the downworld got to see had returned to business-as-usual.

He rolled his eyes, because nephilim, but ignoring one of their summons made them even more petty and obnoxious, so he turned it over to unfold.

And stopped again upon seeing how it was addressed.

High Warlock of Brooklyn Senior Scholar of the Spiral Labyrinth Ambassador of the Accords The Right Hon. Magnus Bane

They'd used a fountain pen and written in proper uncial calligraphy and if he hadn't known that the magic for fire messages didn't work on animal skin, he might have thought they'd used actual parchment rather than what must instead be a very high quality paper stock.

"Huh." He peered down at the letters, trying to think if he'd ever seen a nephilim address a notice to a downworlder in the same formal terms they used amongst themselves. And then almost dropped the whole damn thing when he realized that the initials scribbled across the fold in lieu of the wax seal that would have prevented the fire message from activating properly were IWH. And in the exact same calligraphy as the address.

"What the fuck." He spoke aloud, louder than he'd expected or intended, almost loud enough to startle himself even as he flung the whole thing out and away.

He watched as it fell to the floor, and he stared at it.

It still just looked like paper.

It had to just be paper, the rune to send it wouldn't have worked otherwise, but High Inquisitor Imogen Whitelaw Herondale had written on that with her own hand and sent it to Magnus as if he was an equal and what in all seven hells was that about?

He stepped sideways, unable to convince himself to look away from those initials even as his fingers scrabbled across his desk in search of normal paper and pen to send a message of his own.

Ragnor, could you please indulge me with your thoughts for a moment?

He'd half expected he wouldn't get an answer, not even another fire message or a call on the phone in the other room; Ragnor had been even more of a hermit than usual since the Uprising. (Not that Magnus could fault him for that. If he wasn't a High Warlock he probably would have disappeared into the countryside somewhere as well.) But instead he felt the familiar press of Ragnor's magic against his wards as a portal opened almost immediately in the foyer.

"Apothecary!" Magnus called out, still staring at the paper on his floor.

He heard footsteps, felt Ragnor's magic approach, could even see the shadow stretching towards him when Ragnor paused in the doorway. "Ah, you got it too?"

That finally made Magnus blink, the hold of the strange message broken. He turned his head and lifted his eyebrows.

Ragnor shook his head. "I think you need to experience it for yourself."

Magnus snorted, but stepped forward, picked up the paper, and this time he unfolded it and began to read.

And then read it again.

And again, even as Ragnor came to stand beside him.

"What the fuck," he repeated.

Ragnor grunted, apparently not having any more idea than he did.

"Do you think it's real?" Magnus asked, and he could hear the almost plaintive whisper of something he couldn't pretend wasn't hope in his own voice.

"Only one way to find out." Ragnor's voice was dry, but gentle. There was hope hiding in his voice, too. "Shall we?"

*

It seemed real the next evening.

They arrived in front of the New York Institute to find Theo and Gretel from the closest Werewolf pack already there. A pair of fae nobles Magnus didn't recognize, both in full Court regalia, one Seelie and the other Unseelie, arrived a few minutes later, just after the last lingering blush of daylight faded, escorting Raphael and Lily who were here for their Clan.

Magnus almost asked if any of them knew what the fuck was really going on, but did in fact retain his composure and instead just lifted his chin to wait. (He had to admit, even if just to himself, that he was glad Camille was off somewhere being Camille rather than here in New York to represent the vampires and make this whole situation even more uncomfortable.)

They didn't wait long.

The double doors to the Cathedral swung wide open, rather than the main entrance that led to the central hub of the Institute and the Heads' Office. The High Inquisitor herself stepped out, and fucking bowed to them, and Magnus made a small noise of disbelief that he would deny to his dying day if anyone ever asked. (He didn't think anyone would, however, as he had not been the only one. In fact he was pretty sure the only one who hadn't betrayed their surprise was Ragnor, though the fae had managed no more than a slight shift in posture or positioning.)

"We have set up precautions so all may enter." Herondale paused, and tilted her chin towards Ragnor and Magnus. "I understand if you wish to verify before anyone tests my word?"

Magnus stared at her. She'd just admitted that they had no reason to believe her. She'd admitted it out loud and didn't even sound upset about it.

Ragnor bumped his elbow, and Magnus tucked it all back behind his High Warlock mask. He nodded back as formally as he could manage before lifting his arms and letting his magical senses expand.

There was something inside that was still warded enough to prevent him from being able to tell what it was, but its power was passive rather than active, so it wouldn't be able to be turned against them without warning.

There was also an echo of banked power that felt suspiciously like Silent Brother -and- Iron Sister -and- Soul Sword which was a thing the letter had mentioned but he hadn't been sure he'd believed; (especially that it was only there for Herondale to swear on rather than to be used against the rest of them, somehow). Beyond either of those, it was also very clear the resonance from the Angelic Core had been banked, somehow, the blessing to make the ground hallowed had been covered and muted, and it was entirely safe for any downworlder to enter, regardless of age or power level or wards.

He couldn't quite resist a glance at Ragnor, whose expression indicated he was right there with Magnus and his inexplicable conclusion. Ragnor managed to imply a shrug with the shift of his eyes, and Magnus turned to their fellow downworlders. "She's correct, the building is completely safe for us to enter."

He refrained from suggesting that the nephilim in the building were trustworthy, as they'd all already decided to take that risk when they'd shown up in response to Herondale's summons.

He supposed the fae might not have decided so much as been ordered, but regardless. They were already here. And it was time to see if the rest of it was true.

The rows of pews were nearly full of nephilim in mourning white, more than Magnus suspected usually served in New York, all of them eerily silent, heads politely bowed just enough to lessen the weight of their attention on the entering downworlders.

Behind the chancel, in the raised choir stands, there were additionally about a half-a-dozen black-clad guards, an Iron Sister in gleaming white, a Silent Brother in his bone-dull robe, and the Soul Sword itself, the ruby glinting in its hilt.

To the left of the altar were half-a-dozen nephilim children roughly equivalent to elementary school aged Mundanes, only one of whom had the steady glow to Magnus' senses of a runed Shadowhunter rather than the flickering eldritch taste of angelic potential that the young ones carried before they received their first Mark.

Except for one small red-head just under ten who was familiarly blank, and he realized that the Inquisitor must have found the Fairchilds because that was young Clarissa, still under the power of the wards her mother had paid him to build for her.

He hoped Dorothea was safe, wherever she was. He hadn't felt her magic break, so at least he was reasonably sure she was still alive.

He swallowed, let his gaze skip over the draped stand centered on the aisle in front of him, and focused instead on the dozen adults opposite the children, each with a visibly red Circle on their neck, their shoulders all stiff in the distinctive posture of prisoners whose hands were chained behind their backs. Some of them he didn't know at all, a few were only vaguely familiar, but then there was Jocelyn herself, and Starkweather, and both Lightwoods, and someone who looked eerily similar to the Consul himself.

There was one man beside the rest with his hands cuffed in front of him instead of behind, his Circle rune dark and quiescent rather than inflamed, a Chinese Shadowhunter standing next to him, close enough the white of her sleeves brushed against his arm, with neither a Circle rune nor any restraints on her at all.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Herondale spoke up after giving them all a moment to look around, and without another word she turned her back to eight potentially hostile downworlders and knelt before the Sword.

The Silent Brother lifted his hands, the pressure of his attention clear even when he didn't say anything. The Iron Sister lifted the sword, balancing it gracefully in such a way that it tilted gently down from her grip until the tip almost rested on Herondale's forehead. The ruby glowed, and the flare of angelic power was strong enough to sizzle against Magnus' skin. Carried along with the magic was the Silent Brother's intent, and the Inquisitor's voice filled the Cathedral, both inside and outside his head, resonating in his bones and his blood.

"The traitor Valentine Morgenstern has been killed, and the only surviving nephilim members of his Circle are here to face their final sentencing, as witnessed by the Downworld Leaders of New York City, in this the soul of the New York Institute, a place most wounded by his actions. This truth I swear, upon the Angel Raziel and His Mortal and Immortal Instruments, as High Inquisitor of Alicante and Idris, Commander of the Gard, Elder of the Clave and Council, Head of the Herondale Family, Blooded Shadowhunter and Mother of Soldiers, Lady Imogen Whitelaw Herondale."

Magnus swallowed, ignoring the burn in his eyes and the faint taste of copper down his throat.

The Soul Sword compelled the truth from the nephilim, but all it required when they swore upon it was that they believed in whatever truth they spoke.

This ritual was something else entirely. The balance of the magic he'd just witnessed, a trio of complementary powers braided together, Brother and Sister and relic, knowledge and skill and power, secrets and vows and faith, with each separate piece enhancing the other two, meant that Herondale couldn't have sworn on something that was untrue at any level, even if she'd personally believed it all the way down to her bones.

"Well, fuck me."

Magnus snorted, barely stopping himself from giggling (possibly slightly hysterically) at Ragnor's sotto voce reaction. Not that he'd been thinking anything any more eloquent.

It was real.

*

The rest of the meeting was less dramatic. Even whipping the cover off the stand in the middle to reveal Valentine’s head encased in silver-edged glass had been less shocking. (Well, to the warlocks and fae, at least. Vampires and werewolves weren’t quite as able to feel the way the ritual had invoked truth magic against the nephilim, so being able to examine (and presumably scent) proof that Valentine was dead was a bigger deal for them.)

The former Circle members were all going to be deruned, exiled, and imprisoned, each alone at a different Institute so they couldn’t work together and their status could be verified by downworlders whenever they wished, unlike traditional prisoners kept in Alicante at the Gard.

There were two exceptions. One: Lucian Graymark, now Luke Garroway, was a werewolf, and the nephilim abdicated their authority and explicitly left his punishment up to the downworld itself. Second: the man who’d been standing slightly separate from the other prisoners, Patrick Penhallow, who had avoided participating in any of the Circle’s true atrocities and was the one who had discovered Valentine was alive and hiding with the presumed dead Herondale heir and promptly informed Imogen personally. He was still to be exiled from the Clave and Council for punishment, but would be allowed to continue as a Shadowhunter and would, in fact, be staying in New York City where he would be an official liaison to the downworld.

But only if the downworld representatives summoned agreed.

Magnus wasn’t complete sure which part of that was supposed to be mercy and which part was punishment, but he was surprised enough at the validation offered to himself and the other representatives that he did, in fact, agree to it along with everyone else.

That wasn’t even the last surprise though.

No, it got better.

Worse?

Magnus wasn’t sure anymore. He was going to tell Catarina about this and she wasn’t going to believe a single damn word he said.

Instead of re-opening their Academy in Alicante, the nephilim were going to train their children at the Institutes, and would include exposure to and lessons from former mundanes and current downworlders. The children there in the chapel for this meeting were the orphans of the Circle, whose parents were all formally being removed from their bloodlines, and this new generation would be raised in New York City.

Imogen Herondale herself was going to be acting as Head of the New York Institute with Jia Penhallow (Patrick’s wife, who had not ever been part of the Circle) as her Co-Head until such time as as the downworld agreed that the next generation of nephilim seemed sufficiently un-Circle-like and one of them could be appointed.

(That wasn’t, of course, how she’d said it, but it was clear enough.)

Magnus was mostly in shock and just nodding along at that point.

When she’d confirmed that the downworld was reasonably accepting of all of that, and had even told them how to contact Patrick directly with any questions or concerns, she slipped into something that looked like parade rest, and without a bit of warning that Magnus could recognize, the entire chapel-full of nephilim all stood at the same time, chanted “ante faciem Angelus” all together, and then they bowed, too. All of them, each with a hand over their heart, respect and responsibility and something that felt like an apology ringing through the air. From nephilim. To downworlders.

“Fiat justicia!” Herondale called out in response, and the nephilim filed back into their institute, and the black-clad guards very politely escorted the downworlders the other direction and shut the big fancy doors behind them, and Magnus was blinking at Ragnor in the street outside the Institute again.

“What the actual fuck.” Gretel broke the silence first.

Magnus started laughing, and nodded in agreement. That absolutely covered it.

The Clave had said they’d dealt with the Circle, and requested the downworld’s input, and claimed that things were going to be different this time, and it was all really, truly, completely, real.

#tangential tuesday #hopeswept #jilly writes #shadowhunters #magnus bane #fantasy politics and lore oh my! #I need a series tag but idk #wtf the clave is competent #lol #no beta we die like valentine #I should probably proofread this before I post it on ao3 but #not on ao3 #as of yet #so this is a problem for tomorrow!jilly #jilly answers

[solarisrasa]

Heart's Balm, Soul's Harbor

At twelve years old, Alexander Lightwood received a gift he neither wanted nor asked for: The Warlock Magnus Bane and his daemon.

With his own daemon unsettled and Magus Bane's status as High Warlock and enemy of the Clave, Alec makes a choice to free the man, only to realize too late that his daemon cannot be freed with him.

Rating: M

Word Count: 19k

Warnings: metaphysical assault, kidnapping, minor descriptions of violence/blood

Ship: Malec

Huge thank you to my beta @forensicsisabelle who even jumped on this morning to edit the last bit, since I am perpetually running late <3 You've been a gem and kept my comma's straightened out!

Art by the absolutely amazing @cam-ryt who has been very lovely even though we're both very busy!

This fic was created for the Shadowhunters Mini Bang 2023: Presented by the @malecdiscordserver

Find it in the collection here

When Alexander Lightwood was twelve years old, he gained a terrible secret, he stole something sacred from another.

Well, not quite stole it, exactly. He kept it, without consent or permission, yes, but it was all to keep the other safe.

But that's the wrong place to start. To start, it was Alec's birthday, and he was turning twelve, and there were gifts...

The morning came crisp and clear and Alec was already dreading it. Birthdays were meant to be exciting, as Izzy always reminded him, time to celebrate and have cake. She was always thrilled for her birthday, but she was the younger of them, and their parent's didn't do the same things. 

Also, Izzy liked parties and people. Alec would prefer just his friends, Jace and Izzy and maybe a few of the boys he sometimes had lessons with, but that never worked out. His parents were determined to prove their eldest was growing into a strong Shadowhunter and someone who could one day lead the institute. Alec's birthday was as much about showing off their own abilities as leaders as Izzy's birthdays were about celebrating her. Jace's birthday was a quiet thing the last two years, though there was still a display of weapons, and his twelfth birthday would be just as big as Alec's, but he was allowed time to adjust to people. Not that he needed it, Jace would be the darling of the evening, and Alec much preferred that. Mostly.

This year he was old enough to take missions. His party, accordingly, was a political affair. Families with children in his age group or slightly older were invited, as he would patrol with their kids and someday, if his mother was right, lead them.

The dread only intensified when his daemon, Ranimirus, curled closer to him. A male daemon was rare for a male Shadowhunter, and Rani stayed quiet most of the time to keep their secret. Even his parent's didn't know. Izzy, with her curiosity, had guessed, though Alec had never confirmed it and was careful to keep Rani away from her daemon. Jace just knew, but that was okay. Jace had kept every one of Alec's secrets, and his own daemon, Kaie, was Rani's favored friend. Rani, a cozy puffball that was curled in against Alec's throat, made a face like he expected to be reprimanded and promptly changed into a sparrow.

Alec closed his eyes. "You didn't settle."

"No," came the little bird voice, sad and frustrated.

"It's alright. It's probably my fault," Alec said, holding his hands out for his daemon to land in, nuzzling against the little bird who chirped reproachfully at his self-deprecation.

"Lots us people's daemons don't settle until they’re a little older," Rani told him, even though they both knew that his parents were going to be disappointed. They said that a settled daemon by hunting age was a sign of a good, strong leader.

"We could pretend," Alec nearly whispered.

Rani fluttered into the air, changing to a magpie and croaking out a sound of distress. He was right, Alec was never good at holding his emotions fully in check on his birthday, though he did well enough that only Rani's unsettled form gave him away. It would hurt Rani to try and hold back the natural shifts that reflected Alec's changing moods, deep as they ran. 

"I suppose starting the day by disappointing them isn't that unusual," he said, watching Rani's form shrink until he was a tiny hummingbird, colors all muted brown.

"Do you remember, before?" Rani asked him, his tone gone strange. It was the same voice he used when he was asking Alec questions only a daemon could know to ask, one's that dug at Alec's heart and made him think.

He closed his eyes, recalling the feeling of his mother's hugs and laughter, his father's large hand steadying him instead of pushing him. It was warm and safe to be with them and there was a hazy recollection of a cake with candles, his mother singing. There were four candles on the cake.

"No," he lied. Rani dropped onto his shoulder, a moth now, barely bigger than his thumbnail.

-

Late into the evening, with Alec and Jace sitting on the back steps, both sweaty and tired after their weapons display for the party, a man drew near with his mother.

"Jace, go find some water for the two of you," Maryse commanded, with a slight smile for her adopted son. Jace's gaze darted between the three of them, Kaie shuffling uneasily on his shoulder. She was a gorgeous falcon who rarely changed anymore, and Alec felt the pang of knowing Jace would outstrip him in this too. 

"Jace," Maryse repeated, smile drying up.

"Going, going." Jace held up his hands and shot Alec an eye roll at their mother's antics before dashing inside.

Alec knew, as well as Jace did, that his mother wanted him alone. Her wolf daemon, Soledad, paced a neat perimeter behind him as soon as Jace left. 

She sat primly on the step beside him, tugging her skirt into place, and the man with her, half-familiar to Alec, came to stand looming over them. His daemon was a magpie with greedy black eyes that hopped along behind him as he walked. It looked much crueler than Rani's own magpie form that morning, and its beak was held open strangely.

"This is John, Alec. He's come from Idris to celebrate your birthday and he has a gift for you." 

The man, John (undoubtedly another Johnathan, for there were many among Shadowhunters), gave him a distasteful look but dipped his head in greeting just the same.

"Thank you for making the journey, your presence is gift enough," Alec recited, aware of what his mother expected of him. "Any further gift you bring is appreciated and welcomed."

John's distaste lightened some, an appraising light entering his eyes instead, and Alec hated that more. With a practiced motion, he drew his stele through the air just behind his daemon and a large cage shimmered into place, unglamoured now. The magpie daemon was holding a rope connected to the cage, clearly pulling it along. Now that it was visible the bird’s mouth hanging open didn’t seem so odd. Alec forced himself to look at the cage, pushing down the shocked flush of heat, anger and shame, that rose in his chest. 

Curled together in the bottom of the cage, limbs pressed uncomfortably against the bars, were a man and his daemon. They were both unconscious and the man was covered in an ill-fitting, thin plain brown shirt and pants. His daemon was some kind of large cat, its thick fur was marbled black and brown, and Alec thought it was almost as beautiful as the man. He immediately stopped looking at them, schooling his expression into something neutral as best he could. Rani was beside him, a small brown cat himself with fur tufted in a display of discomfort that Alec quickly stepped in front of to hide.

"Is that-?" Maryse started, and Alec watched his mother closely. She sounded shocked, and though her expression was one of mild interest, he thought there was some frightened thing in her eyes.

John grinned, a wide display of his teeth that drew a soft hiss from Rani. "It is. Magnus Bane, the High Warlock. My men caught him and his daemon two days ago, and I thought he was a fitting gift for your heir. After all, the Lightwoods have a long history with Bane."

Maryse leaned down, like she wanted a better look, but Alec didn't miss the strange, regretful look in her eyes. He didn't want to know. He wished John had never been invited, he wished he could have a quiet birthday again, with cake and candles and his family smiling. He wished-

Rani's claws caught his pant leg before the thought could fully form, his little cat body trembling and his eyes wide.

Alec would think it again, many times.

He wished he never had another birthday.

-

When everyone was asleep, the guests mostly gone except those close enough to his parents to have stayed late talking and eventually sleeping, Alec and Jace snuck to the room where his mother had bid John to put the caged warlock. The cage only held his daemon now, the cat was curled tightly, but when the door opened a pair of golden eyes flashed in the sliver of witchlight from Jace's cupped palms. The cat came to its feet all at once, mouth open and teeth showing with a hiss.

"Raziel," Jace swore as Alec stumbled back into him, Rani and Kaie as falcons quietly flapping in alarm overhead. The cat's teeth were huge.

"Hush Cahya," a rough voice said in the dark to the right of the cage, a hand coming into the witchlight with ruined nail polish glittering as it reached for the daemon, tugging to a stop just out of range. A manacle, silvery and hard to look at, gleamed in the light, and the daemon, Cahya, twisted so its long tail slid through the bars and touched the hand.

"Come to see the captured monster?" the voice continued as Jace let the witchlight fill the room.

It was the warlock, Magnus, who sat on a bare cot with his feet chained to the wall, allowing him enough motion to kneel or lay on the bed but not enough to properly stand. He had dark hair, and Alec was struck again by his pretty features, though he looked exhausted and bitter.

"Alec can come see you if he wants to, you're-" Jace started, with his usual heat. He was offended at something, though Alec had no idea what this captured man could've done.

"Jace," Alec said, voice soft. Behind them on the floor, Rani bumped Kaie gently. Both Jace and his daemon understood immediately. Alec needed a moment.

Jace handed him the witchlight and turned to guard the door, Kaie fluttering up to his shoulder as he went.

Magnus watched this with a small frown, and Alec noted his eyes were like his daemon's, yellow-gold with slit pupils that thinned in the light. He waited until he was sure Jace was outside before he spoke again. "This is Rani."

Rani changed into a small black and white monkey and waved one little hand. "Hello."

If Magnus thought the daemon's distinctly male voice was strange, he didn't show it, only looked suspiciously between them.

"Is it okay with the two of you, if Rani checks to see if, if your daemon is hurt?" Alec asked, hands held out from his body, the witchlight sitting in his open palm.

"I am not injured," a smoky female voice said. "I am only weak because the bars are filled with your angel metals, and I do not have the flesh of nephilim in my teeth."

Alec didn't flinch at that, though Rani backed away from the cage a little. He wouldn't blame them for being angry. He didn't understand how his parents could've accepted this in the first place, why they had allowed John to give him a person. Even if the downworld was nearly at war with the Clave, even if his mother and father had been a touch too close to Valentine before he died, this was...this was wrong.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, "Okay. Rani won't go near you. Are you alright, Magnus?"

Magnus gave him a long look, the bitter, wary twist to his mouth softening some. "Oh, grand, thanks, very nice cell here. Tell whoever set it up I hope they choke." He sounded very sweet at the end there and Alec's lip twitched a little, though his heart was still hammering. Cat eyes focused on him, "You know my name. Who are you?"

Alec sighed, "Alec. I'm-" He remembered John's words, the Lightwood's had a history with Magnus Bane. He remembered his mother's uncharacteristic regret, her fear. The feeling of something deeply wrong settled in deeper.

"I'm Alec Lightwood. A man gifted you to me for my twelfth birthday. I don't know why, but I-" There was a rapid knock, Jace signaling him they needed to go. Rani darted to him, running up his leg and settling on his shoulder as Magnus stared at him, mouth slightly open and something dark and angry in his eyes.

Alec hurried toward the door, looking back long enough to make a promise to Cahya and Magnus, "I will get you out."

-

"We can't," Jace hissed, back in his room. Alec was sitting on the end of Jace's bed, Rani curled around his shoulders as a mink.

"It's dangerous," Kaie added, her voice soft, pained. She hopped closer to Alec on the bed, never touching, but close. "We've seen those cuffs before. They're keeping his magic contained. It's almost impossible to remove them without the right key."

Alec bit his lip, he knew his eyes were already rimmed red. He was trying very hard not to snap at either of them, he knew they were just as frightened as he was, even if Jace was trying to hide it. They knew, more than anyone, what Shadowhunters might do to a captive warlock. Valentine had kept Jace, had taught him and raised him and tortured him. They knew.

"What if we find the key?" Rani's voice came, muffled against his throat, but clear enough.

"They won't stop hunting him," Jace pointed out.

Alec curled tighter in on himself where he sat, and Jace sighed, falling to sit beside him. They were kids, though only barely by Nephilim standards, and they didn't know what to do.

"What about..." Kaie started and then fluttered her wings, to whisper quietly between them, "What about Ragnor?"

The warlock who had been a teacher, who lived at the edge of Idris and who was known for killing Shadowhunters on the spot if they approached without warning. The Clave left him alone, partially because too many of their number remembered him as a teacher, a friendly face, and partially because it was said his friends could set Idris aflame.

Jace looked thoughtful, and Alec rubbed his hands together slowly, thinking over the suggestion. If they could see Ragnor, he could help and more than that, if the rumors were true he might even come get Magnus himself, and they wouldn't be in any trouble. Except, Alec didn't like the idea of putting someone else in danger. 

"Tomorrow," Jace started. "Tomorrow we can ask Maryse, tell her we want to go into Brocelin together, to work on our connection. Ragnor's is reachable if we follow the edge of the forest, and no one will bother sticking around to watch us out there."

Kaie clicked her beak. "The wolf packs have been forced deep into the forest, so there's barely any danger."

Alec let out a breath slowly, pressing his hands together harder even as Jace nudged him with his shoulder. Rani pressed his soft nose tight to Alec's throat in response to the dizzy feeling that was making Alec's extremities tingle. 

"If we ask tomorrow, hopefully she lets us go soon. I don't think it's a good idea to let Magnus stay here too long." Alec looked at Jace as he spoke and found his best friend looked as grim as he felt at the prospect.

-

Izzy woke them, her cloud of dark hair a messy tangle as she jumped on them both where they'd fallen asleep on Alec's bed. Chilo nearly blended in with the dark strands where he was laying over her shoulders. He made a displeased flicking motion with his forked tongue as her rambunctious bouncing dislodged him and he changed into a sparrow just in time to avoid smacking into Jace's face.

"Iz!" Jace said, rolling away from her as she laughed, ignoring Alec grumbling in annoyance.

"C'mon, c'mon! Mom wants everyone down for breakfast!" she said, poking repeatedly at Alec's arm until he was moving fast enough for her. Jace was spared the prodding because he rolled to his feet and quickly fled, Kaie soaring after him.

"I'm going, Iz," Alec said, swatting half-heartedly at his little sister's sharp fingered hands. 

"Dad wants to talk to you about your presents, he said. I don't know why, they were all boring. You got soooo many books, and not even ones about swords or anything!" She flopped back on his bed with a huff and Chilo landed on her chest as a ferret, wiggling everywhere.

"We need to comb our hair!" he told her, and Izzy giggled as Alec tried to keep the worry off his face. His father wanting to talk about gifts wasn't good. His stomach felt tight, and he had to swallow before he could speak to Izzy.

"See? You're in here annoying me, and you're not even ready for breakfast," he said, hoping she wouldn't notice how tight his voice sounded.

"You take longer," she said, sticking her tongue out at him for good measure and then running away.

Rani hummed in worry, still a furry scarf at Alec's throat.

"I know. We need to though, we can't be weird about it or it could be bad for helping Magnus." He raised a hand and brushed against Rani's copper fur, the same shade it was the night before. He felt a flare of hope, but then Rani was shifting under his hands. He turned into a lizard the length of Alec's palm and climbed into his hair, settling comfortably.

The hope Rani had settled crumbled again, and Alec tried to forget it as he dressed. There was more to worry about.

-

His father was waiting for him in the hallway where Magnus was being kept. He was staring off into the distance while his coyote daemon paced around his legs. Both of them seemed unsettled and Alec braced himself.

"Dad?" 

Robert blinked, and both he and Tristana turned toward Alec like he was unexpected, even though they'd asked for him.

"Alec. Good. There's something we need to do with your gift from John," his father said, like they weren't talking about a person. 

Alec gritted his teeth and felt Rani's little body twist in his hair, no doubt trying to hold himself in check. He managed to nod and his father reached for the door, only to hesitate with his fingers inches from the door.

"It won't hurt them," Robert assured him, and the sick feeling in Alec's stomach lessened a little.

"It's just a way to make sure they won't run away." Robert nodded once, not looking at Alec, and opened the door.

Magnus was sitting on the cot, his back against the wall. The circles under his eyes looked deeper and more like bruises in the overhead spill of diffused witchlight than they had the night before. In the cage, Cahya was only a pair of hateful eyes watching them over her paws, her long tail tucked close to her body.

"I don't know if John told you who-" his father started, not bothering to greet Magnus or his daemon in any way. Tristana stayed in the doorway behind Alec, blocking him in.

Alec swallowed his fear, forcing himself to meet Magnus' eyes.

"Magnus Bane. The High Warlock. He said he thought he was a fitting gift for the Lightwood heir." Alec's voice was flat, and he knew his expression was as empty as he could manage. The tiny light in Magnus' eyes dimmed, and Alec very, very carefully didn't look at his father as Rani turned into a miniscule snake and sunk little fangs into Alec's scalp, both of them working to stay grounded.

Robert stepped in front of Cahya's cage, and Magnus broke eye contact with Alec, staring at his father instead, his face cool.

"Robert. Good to know you're as pathetic as ever, other men giving your son gifts well above his worth." Magnus made a show of stretching. "Maryse was always the one of you with any real talents, sad that your heir-" He raked Alec with a look of disdain that Alec pointedly didn't react to, "-seems to have taken after you."

Alec loved his father. Once, when he was much smaller, he had dreamed of being like his father with his kind smile and his gentle hands. Then he had begun to grow and understand. His father was weak, the smile was empty, and what Alec had thought was gentle was Robert's inability to commit himself, a fluttering and uncertain way of touching everything. The only times his father showed strength was with Maryse beside him, and even that was more a muted support of her. Magnus couldn't know the way his words twisted in Alec's chest, and if he did, well...Alec supposed he might have earned them.

He could have tried harder to get Magnus out the night before. If he was really good the way he wanted to be, he would have taken Jace's original advice, before they'd snuck in to see Magnus, he would have gone in with a sword and damn anyone in the way. He swallowed against what had felt like smart caution in the dark but seemed more like cowardice in the light.

Robert didn't respond to Magnus, he was opening a small cupboard built into the wall just out of reach of Cahya's cage. 

"John was testing us. He's done quite well, politically, but your mother and I are in a better position with the new consul. The unrest in the Downworld and the tightening of Idris' borders means that those of us who can do what must be done are gaining value. I don't know how John caught Bane, though I plan to find out-" Alec had to swallow fear and he saw the way Cahya's lips pulled back at the threat, "-but I know that he didn't seriously believe we could hold him. Magnus Bane is the High Warlock for a reason. He's terribly dangerous, and giving him as a gift to you is ridiculous." 

Robert brought down a bowl and a bottle with thick grey something in it, holding it so Magnus couldn't see it.

"Giving him to Jace might've made some sense, but it's well known that you aren't as strong as your brother." He unstopped the bottle and poured it into the bowl. "Magnus would have you in his palm within a week. But, John has never understood that Lightwoods stick together. You might be too weak alone, but I can help." 

Alec's muscles were locked so tight he was surprised he hadn't fallen over. His father had always made it apparent he preferred Jace, but never had he so plainly called Alec weak and lesser. Doing it here, in front of a captured man, was probably his father's idea of making a point, of motivating Alec to work harder. Worse, whatever they were in there for was going to make it harder to free Magnus.

"Give me your hand." 

Alec did, unable to think around the hurt and confusion and fear.

Robert slashed his palm, adding his blood to the bowl. Alec watched it drip in and distantly remembered his lessons, the way that Nephilim saw blood magic. His father taking his blood like this was a terrible taboo and a worse violation. 

Rani fluttered in his hair, a swallow suddenly. 

"Perfect." Robert's hand closed around his daemon and Alec's vision went strange, he swore he heard Magnus crying out, but couldn't focus. It felt like someone had shoved something cold and awful down his throat and squeezed his heart. Then there was a tugging and some part of him twisted over itself and he was falling.

Alec landed on his side on the floor, and Rani fell next to him, both of them shuddering and gasping as Rani changed into the smallest moth he could and pressed against Alec's pulse. There was the sound of something growling and hissing and chains and yelling, but he couldn't make out words. He sucked in another breath and his stomach lurched and then he was rolling on instinct, vomiting on the floor. He stared at it, trying to get his breath back and understand what his father had just done to him.

He looked up, feeling the way that spit and vomit were on his face and tears were running messily down his cheeks.

His father wasn't looking at him. Instead he was working on whatever was in the bowl together. He looked toward Magnus and found the warlock already looking at him, his face twisted in disgust. It didn't seem like disgust at Alec, rather for him. 

"I'm sorry," his father said, and Alec's head snapped back to him. He was filling a large syringe, one of the types without a needle, from the bowl. The liquid was thick and pink, probably from the blood in it, and it was hard to reconcile it, the shuddery terror still coursing through Alec, the captive in the room, all of it, with one of his mother's plain white bowls, the same kind Alec ate cereal out of most mornings. 

Robert turned to the cage, and Magnus and Alec both moved. Alec tried to crawl forward, his head swimming, and Magnus lurched to the end of his chains. 

"Wait-" Alec moaned, dragging himself upright. He tried to get to his feet, but it was too much too fast and blackness rushed in over the sight of his father reaching for the caged daemon.

-

Ragnor had let them in only after a wall of flame that rolled over both him and Jace. It hadn't hurt them, only left a terrible taste in their mouths and left Alec feeling especially off balance, though that was easier to do since his father's hand had closed around Rani two days ago. Jace slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him toward the door a scowling green warlock was holding open impatiently.

"Well, neither of you are here to kill me, capture me, torture me, or bore me, so out with it," Ragnor, because that was the only person the green man with horns could possibly be, barked at them. He dropped into a chair, a cup of tea and saucer finding their way into his hands as part of the movement in a way that Alec honestly couldn't say was magic. His daemon was nowhere to be seen.

"We're here about Magnus Bane," Jace said.

The teacup clicked harshly against the saucer, and Ragnor set both aside, magic misting visibly over his hands. "What's the Clave want with the High Warlock?"

Jace opened his mouth to reply, hand still resting on the hilt of his blade, and Alec decided now was the time to step in.

"We're not here because the Clave sent us. No one else knows we've come to see you." Ragnor's eyebrows raised, and there was a spark of meanness in his eyes that Alec didn't acknowledge. "A man captured Magnus Bane and his daemon-"

"Ridiculous." Ragnor cut him off, relaxing back in his chair. "Magnus? Maybe. Magnus and Cahya? No. Cahya's got every bit of sense between them, and she would never allow it." 

Alec and Jace shared a look, uncomfortable with correcting Ragnor, but aware they needed to make him believe them.

"I don't know much about them, but a few days ago was my birthday, and another Shadowhunter I'd never met brought me a gift. He said it was because of my family's history with Magnus Bane. He gave Magnus and Cahya to me. I've seen them. We spoke to Magnus, we snuck into the room my mother put them in to check on them that night." Alec swallowed. He didn't want to explain what had happened with his father, he hadn't even told Jace about it yet.

Ragnor's green skin went very pale as he sat forward again, his eyes sharp. "You're absolutely certain Magnus wasn't casting an illusion? Warlocks and their daemons can travel very far from each other. He could be pretending that Cahya is with him."

Alec shook his head slowly, and Kaie spoke up from where she was perched on Jace's shoulder. "There was definitely a daemon in that room."

"She spoke to Rani," Alec said, gesturing to his sleeve where Rani clung as a sugar-glider. "Magnus was also wearing magic-sealing shackles, so he wouldn't be able to cast any spell, he can't even hide his mark. Please." Alec licked his lips and took a step closer to Ragnor.

"Please. We have to get him out."

Ragnor looked at him for a long moment, then to Jace. His expression was grave when he nodded. "Of course we do. He's a major leader of the downworld...and my best friend, fool that I am."

Jace cleared his throat, his hand no longer on the hilt of his weapon. "If we free him, Maryse and Robert aren't going to just write it off. They're going to want to get him back, preferably before anyone realizes he's gone, and if they can't do that..."

Alec swallowed hard. "It would be a huge embarrassment to them. They wouldn't stop hunting him, to prove themselves again. My father is convinced Magnus was given to me as a test. He did something with my blood and...more, to keep them bound."

He didn't know what the potion, because that's what it had to be, his father had made actually did, but he figured it was worth mentioning, if they were going to succeed in freeing Magnus. Ragnor didn't seem so concerned about it though, as he gestured for them to sit, finally.

"We'll have to plan to get Magnus out of his chains. You'll need his help. The best way to ensure that he isn't forced to spend the next decade running from the Clave, and the most helpful thing for the Downworld as well, is to fake his death. You understand, of course, that if we do this neither of you can breathe a word, not under duress, not ever?" He stared at each of them in turn.

Kaie made a soft sound, shuffling, and Jace nodded. Alec pressed a fist to his heart, a Shadowhunter gesture of promise. "Not even with a hand on the sword." 

Ragnor sat back again, watching them without a word for long enough that Jace started to fidget.

"I'm trusting you with much. If your intentions were anything less than pure, the flames you crossed would've killed you. You will have to pass through them again when you leave."

Alec didn't have any doubt as he nodded, and beside him he felt Jace do the same. They had agreed, ages ago, that they wanted to help. They were supposed to hold the line against the darkness, not kill anyone who didn't fit their worldview, not police the Downworld. Jace, especially, wanted to earn redemption that Alec didn't think he needed, after being raised by Valentine. The man was dead, but his ideology was rampant in the Clave, re-skinned and made palatable as "for the greater good" and "for their own good."

Maybe, Alec thought, as the three of them began to plan, this was the first step for Jace and him toward something bigger.

Cahya was limp at the foot of his bed. Her breathing was labored, her body curled tight and trembling, and Alec was pressed against his headboard, watching her as he tried to get himself under control before someone came looking for them.

His hands were shaking. Pressed close to his heart, Rani was a tiny moth, wings fluttering lightly against him and their bond thrumming with worry. 

Magnus was free. Enough blood, a man literally burst into pieces and strewn around the room, another glamoured to look like the warlock and locked into one of the shackles, and it was a believable failed escape attempt. They—Magnus, Alec, and Jace—had agreed that Jace was the more believable option. Even now he was reporting to Robert and Maryse what had happened, how he'd been passing by with Alec and heard a commotion, how they had watched Magnus obliterate his guards, and how Jace had managed to slip in fast enough to stab Cahya, how the daemon had burst into golden sparks and the warlock had died instantly.

The real complication was explaining why Alec's daemon was a clouded leopard. 

It was the part that had failed.

Magnus had agreed to go only after Cahya had whispered with him frantically when they discovered she couldn't leave the boundary of the Lightwood estate. His dark eyes had been murderous, and Alec had easily promised to keep her safe. 

The door burst open, pulling him out of his reverie, and Cahya came to her feet, long teeth exposed in threat.

His mother stared, Soledad growling from her side, but Cahya was not Rani, who had learned to yield to the older daemon, and she didn't back down. Maryse's eyes darted from the daemon to Alec, and he couldn't read her at all. She was a stranger to him, more than ever before.

"What. is. that?" she asked, each word a blade.

Alec forced himself to set a hand on Cahya's back and hush her the same way he would've calmed Rani. His tongue felt too big in his mouth, and his fingers clenched in her fur against the wrongness of doing it. He forced down the feeling. He had to keep her safe.

"It's-"

Jace's angry voice came from behind her. "Alec!" Then his brother was pushing past her and Soledad, Kaie pointedly landing next to Cahya and pushing her beak through the fur of Cahya's face, a gesture she'd done to Rani a hundred times when Alec was stressed. It was bizarre to see it and not feel the comfort of it. Against his chest, Rani struggled to hold the smaller form.

"I told her you were in shock, that Rani had taken on the form because you've never seen a daemon die," Jace whispered to him quickly, hugging him tightly, and Alec was glad. He knew that his parents would never respect him, with the way they were painting this: Jace a hero and Alec a disappointment who couldn't control his emotions. Again.

"Sorry mother." Alec didn't dare make eye contact, speaking to Maryse's chin so she might not see the lie. "Rani won't change."

Maryse made a sound, not the disappointed or disgusted one he expected, but not pleased either. Soledad calmed and spoke softly, "Are you alright, Ranimirus?"

Alec felt dizzy with gratitude for his past self. Rani had hardly spoken, even to other daemons except Kaie, had barely tolerated touches from others, and that meant the Cahya's single nod wasn't strange, that Soledad did not try to touch her the way Kaie was. He knew that many parents and children, even among Shadowhunters, allowed their daemons to show some affection. Chilo was often carried by the scruff by Soledad or Tristana when Izzy was called to dinner or her bath, but Rani and Kaie had never allowed that approach. 

Jace and Kaie had been too scarred by their time with Valentine, who would hurt Kaie to punish Jace, and Alec...well. He and Rani were naturally withdrawn and they had secrets. 

"Alec?" his mother asked, her voice even.

"We'll be fine, Mother. I'm sorry about my present," he said. He carefully stroked his hand over Cahya's spine to hide the way her fur was raised.

"It is...regretful. Magnus Bane was-" She cut herself off, and Alec looked at her face, finally. She did not look at all as he expected. There was genuine regret in the twist of her mouth, and he'd swear it looked like there was moisture in her eyes, but still she smoothed a hand over her skirt.

"It was not your fault," she said. "No one could've held Magnus Bane for long, if he didn't want them too. I have informed the Clave, and they are calling a session. John never told them he captured Bane, and I'm sure that they'll be looking to your father and I for explanations now."

"What do you think will happen?" Alec asked, trying to keep to some sort of normalcy. He always asked after these things, his parent's talking to him after Clave meetings, preparing him for leadership. Jace groaned and slumped against him carefully, uncertain where Rani was hiding.

"I can't say, but I believe this may be the match that will ignite the Downworld. Magnus was much loved, and the Clave needs to come down hard on them. I expect that Idris will be fully sealed off and the Institutes called to war. If that's the case, your father and I will be needed to command, but you children will stay here to finish training." She smoothed her skirt again. "I will make what case I can if that's what it comes to, since Max is so young."

Alec's ears were ringing as he nodded. Maryse spared another look at Cahya and left them, Soledad following closely.

When they were gone, Alec snatched his hand away from Cahya, who turned to him as Kaie squalled and hopped away from her.

"I'm sorry. I-" Alec curled his hand against his chest, where Rani was.

"Peace, little Nephilim," Cahya said in her warm voice. "I am not angry with you. I know that you have both done what you can. If Idris is sealed, Magnus will not be able to come for me."

Alec slowly shook his head. "We may have started the war."

Jace sighed heavily, "Guess that means we'll have to end it too."

There was silence between them as the words hung in the air.

-

Part II: Eleven years later

Izzy spun a blade casually, her careful eye watching the way it moved through the air. Chilo was a glitter of danger curled close to her throat, his eyes half lidded despite the slow flickers of his tongue that told Alec he was paying perfect attention.

Beside her Jace was methodically sharpening his arming sword, his main blade already gleaming and deadly on the table in front of him. Kaie, a tiny glittering coat of adamas links catching the light as she moved, was sitting on the rafter over his head. 

Around them the New York Institute turned. 

Alec's Institute. 

The Clave had declared full scale war with the Downworld on the eve of his thirteenth birthday, though Idris' borders had been sealed since the day Magnus Bane was reported dead. His parent's had been sent to New York and Los Angeles, a Lightwood on either coast to coordinate as was fitting their status. Their children were confined to Idris until they were eighteen, even though most Shadowhunters took missions much sooner than that. It was all presented as some great reward for killing Magnus, but Alec knew it for what it was. 

They were being punished for pushing the Clave into all out war before they were ready, for inciting the Downworld. His family separated. He and Jace had to prove themselves time and again to earn the right to take the parabatai oath, and Izzy outclassed all the others in their age group in science and weapon smithing and still didn't have an official rank. 

And Max.

Aldertree had sworn that Max was an accident, that no one could have known the Brocelin wolves were so close to the boundary line. That Max was only separated from his class for a moment. Aldertree had come to them with bloody clothes and Max's pendant with the flames of the Lightwood crest and spun the story.

A message had reached Alec through hidden means, meant for the rebel leader known only as "The Raven" which Alec had chosen in quiet conference with Rani and Cahya in the early days. Naturally it had created a small issue for any Nephilim with a Raven daemon when the name had come to light, but that had been resolved easily. The message had told Alec, who had told Jace and Izzy, that Max was fine. He had been purposely dragged into Brocelin and the wolves there had stopped the adult Shadowhunter from hurting him, but in the fighting Max had been scratched. He was settled with a pack in New York and was safe. The letter asked that his family be informed, if the Raven believed they were trustworthy. It was signed with a cat eye symbol.

That was six years ago.

Now Alec was officially in control of the New York Institute. His parent's marriage hadn't survived Max's alleged death. 

At his side, Cahya matched his pace as he left his siblings to make another circuit of the ops room, checking in with his people and ensuring Underhill had nothing new to report. He was in charge of both normal security and the person through which Alec's spymaster reported, though Marna had little cause to check in recently. His daemon was a great Pyrenees named Fergal with a glowing white coat that Alec had watched snap a man's spine the first time Underhill had been in the field with him. 

Underhill nodded at him and Cahya as they passed but didn't signal that they needed to speak, and Alec decided to take a detour into his office. They were as ready as they could be, just waiting for more reports to come in before they made their stance official. Alec had been working toward this moment for years, his siblings, his daemon, and Cahya with him every step of the way. 

By the end of the week, the New York Institute was going to defect, and they wouldn't be alone. His staff was at least two-thirds members of the rebellion or sympathizers, and he was ready.

He was just nervous. 

As soon as they were clear of the Clave's eyes, as soon as they officially declared for the downworld and cut their core off from Idris' reach, they were going to invite the leaders of the downworld in. Most didn't know who, exactly, had filled the High Warlock position, but Alec was certain that if he personally sent the invite, Magnus would be the one to come, not his figurehead. 

After all, one of the reasons Magnus had played dead for so long was making herself comfortable on Alec's office rug. 

Alec scrawled a locking and silencing rune on the door to his office and turned on the device Izzy had gifted him to sweep for electronic surveillance outside of the Institute camera's. His office was personally warded against magical ones, and Cahya was able to sense those anyway. 

Once he was certain no one would be able to disturb them or see them, he sank to the floor beside Cahya, and Rani came out of her fur, a tiny moth that shifted into a cat as soon as he touched Alec, purring and rubbing against him. They could rarely do this, unable to risk being caught or Rani accidentally settling. They had managed thus far to hold off the settling, which Izzy teased was why Alec was single, he'd just never really grown up. Still, they could both feel the pressure of it when they touched, the way that Rani's body wanted to become what he was meant to be, and Alec's soul ached with it.

"Soon," Rani said, kneading Alec's arm with his paws, and Alec cuddled him close to his chest.

Cahya set her big head on Alec's knee, a comfort now instead of the twisting wrongness it would've been for anyone else. They had to touch often to sell the lie, and in battle it was important to communicate with quick touches since they didn't actually have any bond to tell them where the other was. In the first years, they had nearly been caught because one of them would start running and the other wouldn't notice right away. Now they moved together as naturally as Alec ever had with Rani. 

Alec loved Cahya. Rani did too. They would miss her like a limb, but she wasn't theirs.

Rani pressed his tiny nose into Alec's body, hiding his face against him and speaking, "What are we going to do after? I don't think I'm a leopard, and we can't never settle. How do we figure it out? How do we make plans without you, Cahya?"

Cahya laughed, her honey warm laugh rumbling against Alec's knee.

"No, I don't believe you are a leopard, little Rani. You and Alec will have to see what you become. I'm looking forward to knowing, though I have my guesses." 

Alec rolled his eyes at her, burying his fingers in Rani's fur to pet him with a shaking hand.

"We'll miss you," he told her softly.

She shuffled closer to him, her eyes warm. "I won't go forever. You and Jace would be hopeless without me."

Rani laughed. "Izzy can handle them awhile."

"Yes," she acquiesced, "A while. Then Magnus and I will come help."

Once she'd hardly spoken to them, hardly said Magnus' name. She used to sit at Alec's window and watch the gate, her long tail swaying in a slow sweep. Then Alec had nearly been killed, a training incident covering a clear attempt on his life. He'd been bleeding badly, clinging to consciousness with Jace frantically healing him. He'd tried to stop them, certain in his delirious bloodloss that if he died Cahya would be free. After all, she could go anywhere with him and nowhere alone, it made sense. 

She'd laid pressed close to him to hide Rani for days afterward, not letting anyone but Jace, Izzy, and Max close to him. She'd told him stories about Magnus then, about getting banned from Peru, about starting cults as a joke, about makeup and traveling and magic. 

When he'd healed, she spoke more, and once, after the world was quiet in the very early morning, told him she would rather live captive as she was than let him die.

"Do you think he'll like Alec?" Rani asked her, while Alec was thinking about the past.

Cahya made a pleased sound. "Oh yes. He'll have to learn, granted. He doesn't yet know how Alec has kept me safe, how much you've sacrificed, but yes. He'll learn fast how mushy you are."

Alec said, "Hey!" even as Rani nearly rolled out of his lap laughing. 

"Face it, you're a sap. Ask Jace if you don't believe me!" Cahya told him, and Alec groaned, accepting the blow to his dignity.

-

Eleven years ago

Magnus portalled to Catarina’s, not trusting the safety of his own home after his capture. Cat was on her feet in a second, a scatter of papers falling around her as she moved toward him, no magic in her hands; she recognized his magic anywhere.

Her hands were on him, grasping his shoulders and pulling him into a tight, quick hug. As soon as she released him, she was slapping at his arm with a frown that did nothing to hide her relief.

“Where the hell have you been, you little troublemaking idiot?”

Magnus tried for his usual devil-may-care flare; it hadn’t failed him, even when manacled in the Lightwood’s home. He could feel the way the grin pulled wrong though, undoubtedly an obvious tell for Catarina.

“Oh you know, out causing trouble for Shadowhunters.”

Catarina gave him a long look, “And, how, tell me, did you cause problems for them?”

Magnus shrugged, heading for her tan couch, “I made a daring escape from Idris with a trail of bodies in my wake, naturally.”

Catarina settled on the couch beside him, giving him a pointed look, “Magnus.”

He sighed heavily and decided to let her in. He always needed her, especially when he’d gotten himself into situations like this one. Especially when there was an ache where Cahya was supposed to be, his very soul still bound in Idris.

“I was put into a cage and made into a rather distasteful birthday gift for the Lightwood heir.”

Catarina gave a single slow nod, her eyes glittering with anger despite the measured way she moved and spoke, a nurse too used to dire proclamations for outburst. It settled Magnus, prone to dramatics as he so often was, to see her patiently waiting for him to continue.

“The party seemed dreadful too, poor thing. He was the one, well him and his brother, who orchestrated my escape. Sad to think they might grow into the sort of men who would’ve captured me in the first place.” Magnus tipped his head back, the weight of her gaze still on him. “Maybe I can see if they want to come away when I go back.”

The couch sunk under him slightly as Catarina leaned fully into his space, her blue face coming into his line of sight. 

“Why would you go back?” 

He could see in the tightness around her eyes and the downturn of her mouth that she had guessed why, but didn’t want to believe it.

“Cahya is still their unfortunate guest. Some magic Robert Lightwood used, some terrible binding spell that used the feathers of his son’s daemon, taken by force, kept her there. I couldn’t bring her further than the edge of the Lightwood’s’ manor grounds.” Magnus could remember perfectly the desperation in Cahya’s voice when he’d sprinted past her at the boundary line. The anger he was keeping banked at the thought of her still trapped with the nephilim flared at the memory and he forced himself to breathe through it. It wasn’t time yet for fire and ruin.

“You can’t go back,” Catarina told him, drawing him back to the moment with her as she sat back. 

“Without you, you mean?” It was a familiar tease, her and Ragnor refusing to let him run into trouble alone. 

“No. At all.” Catarina summoned a piece of heavy paper, Ragnor’s stationary, and held it out to him.

“Ragnor sent it just before you arrived. Idris has sealed their borders, it’s impossible to get in without a full scale assault.” She watched him reading carefully. “If you say go, I’ll be there with you, of course, and more the fool for it. The Downworld isn’t ready though. Idris is too well protected, the stolen magic they made the wards from is strong.”

Magnus read the damning message and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to center himself. Ragnor was on the very edge of the ward when it was activated and had since relocated to his home in England, but he’d seen enough. If Magnus wanted to march in and get Cahya back, it would be suicide.

They had to have sealed the place just after he cleared Idris’ portal tracking range, so barely a day after he left.

“Cahya’s on her own, for now,” Catarina said, squeezing his arm gently.

“No.” Magnus thought of the nephilim, of the Lightwood boy laying on the floor after his father’s assault, of his brother murdering Magnus’ captors without hesitation, of being in a cage with Maryse Lightwood’s troubled face looking in. “She’s not.”

-

The first time it happened was nearly a year later. 

Magnus was listening to three pack alpha’s try to civilly divvy up a safe house after being forced to relocate due to an uptick in Shadowhunter activity in New Jersey when he felt it. Like someone had poured ice water straight into his chest, at first. A hand closing around his throat even as an ache started deep within him, some barely known place inside suddenly exposed to harsh light.

He’d gasped, slumping in his chair, his hips twisting as he went limp despite the sprawled position not supporting his body well. The wolves had all frozen, eyes flashing in worry and the sharp sense of a predator in danger.

Someone was touching his daemon. 

Were they hurting her? Was she being used for something awful? Were they trying to-

It ended and he could breathe properly again. He wanted to sit and gather himself, but edgy, uncertain werewolves made poor company, so he straightened up and offered them a serene smile, ready to redirect their attention.

-

Eventually Magnus got used to it. Enjoyed it, sometimes, even. 

After the first few times it stopped feeling so terrible and strange, the initial rush of cold still came but less like ice water and more like a cool balm, the ache had calmed and was now only a sad reminder of how much he missed Cahya. Strangest of all, the feeling of a hand around his throat had morphed into a sensation like someone was gently touching him, a light and welcome feeling.

 It happened with more frequency as time went on, sometimes he’d pass entire days with the feeling, like someone was keeping a hand on Cahya constantly. 

-

Present day

Magnus could feel a nervous energy thrumming through New York. If The Raven was to be believed, it was because of the coming change. 

He sat, glamored as always, watching over his club as the day faded, hyper aware of the waning hour. Ten minutes to midnight. Ten minutes to rebellion. The Shadowhunters were declaring themselves at the turning of the day, what would be shortly after sunrise in Idris, when any active fighters would be ending their night. 

Magnus reached for the leylines around the city. He could feel the burning thrum of them as his warlocks tangled their magic with the power of the Earth. The Raven had sent him the notice of the New York Institute’s planned rebellion as a warning and courtesy. They had asked nothing of the Downworld, but Magnus believed in action and he had sent out both the warning of coming turmoil and a request. The warlocks knew only that Clave action was expected, and Magnus had asked them to be ready to raise a ward over the entire city if necessary. 

He wondered, as he often did, where in the mess Alec Lightwood would be. He knew that the man who had once been a boy helping Magnus run was head of the Institute, that he would know Cahya’s whereabouts. Magnus could only hope Alec was not going to be one of the Shadowhunters killed in tonight's upheaval. In his heart he dared to hope that maybe he would even be one of the rebels, but he had no way of knowing. Shadowhunter’s stayed well clear of Downworlders, except to kill them and the Institute Head was practically a ghost, even among Magnus’ clever watchers.  

The pulse of Pandemonium's music around him and the ebb and flow of the wards settled him. He waited.

At precisely midnight he felt the telling rush of coolness and comfort that meant hands were on his daemon. In the same breath a bright wash of angelic power flared in his awareness, the leylines rippling despite having no direct connection to it.

The core was severed from Idris. It was beginning.

He settled further back in his seat, magical awareness flaring out from him as he prepared to keep the watch for the night. Max Lightwood nodded at him across the dancefloor, his wolves would be prowling the night, keeping the mundanes safe from demons while the Shadowhunter’s worked. The vampires at their backs to help and to carry news with their speed.

Tonight, Magnus thought, New York was taking back its power. 

-

Sunrise came with a messenger.

Pandemonium had closed to mundanes in the wee hours, but Magnus had the doors open for his people and the news they carried.

The wards had been raised when Clave special forces were engaged. According to The Raven, the Institute was able to close their standing portals but couldn’t stop them from trying to come in from outside. Magnus had sent back the assertion that none of Idris’ forces would set foot in New York. 

Raphael had arrived with word that vampires could smell Nephilim blood for half a mile around the institute, and when he went to see, the front steps were wet with the stuff.

Now, a blonde man with a great white dog at his side and runes scrawled over his visible skin was standing just inside the entrance. He brought his hands up in front of his chest, wrists crossed, thumbs touching, the sign of The Raven.

Magnus waved him nearer, watching those who remained in Pandemonium as they tracked him across the floor. Max Lightwood melted out of the shadows nearest Magnus, his Jack Russell daemon, Amada, sitting calmly at his feet. Magnus did not send him away, even as he waved others back. Max had a right to know.

The blonde man stopped a respectable distance from the raised part of the floor where Magnus sat, patient. He stood calm, settled and ready to report, and Magnus got the impression he was a man used to following orders and waiting for instruction.

“Closer,” Magnus told him, watching as his eyes flicked over Magnus and to Max. There was no recognition there, so not someone who’d known Max as a child. 

He climbed the stairs, his daemon keeping stride.

“I greet you, High Warlock.” He dipped his head, and when Magnus said nothing, continued. “Commander Lightwood requests the presence of the leaders of New York to coordinate our next actions and swears to uphold truce within the city.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow, aware of Max practically vibrating beside him at the mention of his family.

“Commander Lightwood is not the person who I would speak to.” 

The blonde’s lips curled a bit before he schooled his expression, but the flash of a smile made Magnus curious.

“The Raven, then, asks you to come. In one hour. He also asks that a message be carried to-” Here he glanced again at Max, and Magnus made an impatient gesture. Still uncertain, the man leaned closer, his words a whisper, “Magnus Bane, he’s asked to come as soon as he can.”

Magnus felt the breath rush out of him. To know that he lived, The Raven could only be one of two people, and with the way his messenger spoke, it was clear who it must be. The invite to him specifically… He swallowed the hope that burned bright.

“Very well. Tell your commander I will come. As for the other, no promises.”

With a relieved nod, the man went to leave, only for Max to come forward.

“Please. Can I come back with you? Only me.” 

Magnus watched as the two looked at each other, the blonde deeply suspicious and Max desperate. He spoke up.

“This is Max Lightwood. He only wants to see his brother.”

A spark of recognition, and the blonde smiled, relaxing some, though Magnus noted his daemon didn’t loosen at all. “They’ll be happy to see you. I’m Andrew and you can come with me.”

Max gave Magnus a quick smile and then the two were leaving.

Magnus closed his eyes, he had a meeting to get ready for. 

-

The Morning After

Alec watched the infirmary staff moving smoothly between beds, looking over those who were hurt badly enough in the fighting to still be bedridden. Most were well on the mend, runic healing and rest working double time. The dead numbered too many, though fewer than Alec had expected and mostly from the Claves forces. 

The front steps would need to be replaced from the amount of blood that had coated them as his people had fought to keep their home safe. 

It was worth it. The Downworld had come together outside, the warlocks’ wards kept Idris from sending more reinforcements, and Alec had checked this morning to see the night demon activity had all been more or less handled while they’d been out of commission. 

He pushed off the wall where he was leaning, ignoring the glare one of the medics gave him as they moved past him. Helen and her little fox daemon could give him looks all they liked, he wasn’t going to spend anymore time in a bed of his own. There was too much for him to do. 

He’d no sooner had the thought than a familiar shadow swooped over him. Kaie landed on Cahya’s head, ignoring her growl. Jace’s hand landed on Alec’s shoulder a moment later.

��If you’re going to stand around in here, you might as well let them treat you. I can tell you’re still hurting.” 

Alec grunted and shrugged his hand off. “I was only stopping by to check how we’re doing. I’m fine, nothing my iratze isn’t already taking care of. Obviously.”

Jace gave him a long look, assessing. They both knew if he was truly hurt badly enough to need care that Rani would be in danger of revealing them. The few times it had happened, including when Alec had tried to die to free Cahya, Rani had lost control of their form, shifting too fast to stay hidden. A side effect, they all assumed, of Alec’s iron will resisting the settling. Still, Jace was twice as bad about accepting care, and Alec wasn’t about to listen to him.

Before he could say anything else, Underhill stuck his head in and upon seeing them both nodded sharply.

“Commander Lightwood. My message was delivered and a commitment from the High Warlock returned. She’ll be here for a meeting.” 

Alec kept his expression carefully controlled at the pronoun, uncertain who he’d be dealing with if Magnus didn’t show.

“There’s someone else that accompanied me who wants to meet with you. Both of you, and Isabelle, in a non-official capacity. I have him waiting in your office.” Underhill looked like he was biting back a smile this time and Alec raised an eyebrow. 

“Who?” Jace cut in, his wariness clear as Kaie fluttered to his shoulder. 

Underhill did smile this time. “A young Alpha, Max Lightwood.”

Alec felt his heart leap into his throat at the thought of his little brother and he could see his own eagerness mirrored in Jace, feel it in the way their heartbeats fell into sync again. 

“I’ll go find Isabelle and send her along,” Underhill reassured them, clearly reading their impatience to see Max. 

-

Jace followed so close he was practically stepping on Alec’s heels when he let them into his office. Cahya hung back and gave a small nod to the door, letting Alec know she would stand guard for them. It relaxed him enough to focus on the room, knowing only Izzy and Chilo would be allowed to pass.

Standing with his hands clasped behind his back in a familiar pose, sandy brown hair long enough to curl at the nape of his neck, and taller than Alec expected, was Max. He turned to face them at Jace’s wordless exclamation and looked shocked as Jace closed the distance between them to pull him into a tight hug, Kaie excitedly hopping around Amada who let out a happy bark. 

As soon as Jace let him go, Alec stepped in, less abrupt but no less intense in how he hugged Max. They’d all missed him and the years in between did little to stop the wetness that gathered in Alec’s eyes as he embraced his little brother.

“I thought you weren’t going to be a tree like this asshole.” Jace said, grinning at Max.

He shrugged but his eyes weren’t dry either and his own smile looked almost painfully wide. “Werewolf thing, maybe?” He looked at them both, like he couldn’t believe it. At his feet Amada and were whispering quickly to each other, catching up faster than their people.

“Where’s Rani?” Max asked, when the silence had dragged on, and Alec realized he hadn’t said a word yet.

“In the hallway.” It was the truth, Rani was buried in Cahya’s fur, as always. “Angel, but we’ve missed you, Max. You’re safe?”

Max rolled his eyes in tandem with Jace’s slight huff. “Yes, Alec, I’m old enough to take care of myself, and besides, Downworlders look out for each other, doubly so the wolves. I have my own pack now! It’s small but we’re happy. We live together in Brooklyn.”

Alec sighed and smiled again. “I’m glad. You’ll have to tell us about-”

Izzy burst through the door, cutting him off as she flew across the room to wrap Max in her arms, Chilo rising from her shoulders to taste the air around their little brother.

“Max! You’re all grown up!” Izzy stepped back with a teary laugh. “How’s life on the other side?”

“He’s an Alpha now, Iz,” Jace said, watching Max glare at him for stealing his thunder.

“And a bartender,” he hurried to say. “I work for the High Warlock, and normally I’d be too young still, but Mag is cool about it since I don’t try to drink and I let myself be glamored to look a little older.”

“A bartender?” Alec asked, remembering the limited times he’d even seen the outside of a club, mundane or otherwise. It didn’t seem like the safest profession, but then again, Max was a werewolf.

“Oh! If you’re friends with the High Warlock, you can say hi. She’s waiting for Alec right now,” Izzy said, not looking away from Max. It was something Alec could relate to. He felt like leaving  Max now, he might never see him again, but duty was calling him.

“She…is?” Max sounded a little uncertain but then he nodded. “You’ll like her, even if she is a little…dramatic.” 

Alec resisted the urge to sigh, the ache of his shoulders and his ribs was a enough reminder how done with anything dramatic he was. 

“I’m sorry, I should meet her. You can stay though, please.” Alec gestured to the space, giving up his office for his siblings was easy. He wanted the Downworld leaders to see a little of his Institute anyway, and he had a table set in the multi-purpose room that had once been the worship hall. 

Max grinned, “Try not to drool. She’s probably still dressed for holding court.”

Jace whistled and Alec made a face, answering without thought as he was comfortable with just his siblings. “She won’t distract me that way.”

Max opened his mouth in surprise, and Alec could feel the way Izzy tensed, even if Chilo hadn’t hissed in alarm. Jace was still grinning, but Kaie had gone very still. Max just laughed and Amada’s bright laughter joined his.

“She’ll be disappointed.”

The tension between them evaporated, and Jace reached to pull Max closer, laughing as Izzy teased Max about his clear appreciation for the High Warlock’s looks. Alec wanted to stay with them a little longer, but this was important for so many reasons.

He called a quick, “I’ll be back when I can,” and stepped back into the hallway. Cahya was waiting for him, though she seemed agitated.

They started down a hall to the ops floor where Underhill most likely had the High Warlock waiting in an atrium.

“The High Warlock is here. Max seems to know her.” 

Cahya just nodded and Alec took a deep breath. “I promise, I will do what I can to have her arrange a meeting with Magnus.”

Cahya paused and Alec looked at her. “If she knows Magnus, she’ll know immediately that I’m his. His magic is part of me too.”

“I can’t leave you behind,” Alec said, throat tightening at the idea that their secret might be out. He was only barely ready to accept that Cahya would be leaving with Magnus, let alone a stranger who might think it necessary to try and take her. If they could even bypass the binding spell.

“Of course not. Have her meet us in your room instead, it’s private and might give us a chance to explain.” Cahya nudged him lightly with her soft nose.

“You want me to invite her to my bedroom?” 

“You were the one who gave up your office.”

Alec could almost hear Rani laughing from his hiding spot and gave in with a groan. “Fine. I’ll send a message to Aline. She’ll make fun of me, but she’s not going to make as many assumptions as some of the others.”

Cahya looked pleased as she led him toward his room, her tail flicking in the air behind her.

-

The High Warlock looked amused when Aline let her in. She had tanned skin and hair that curled softly around her face in a red a few shades deeper than the long dress she wore. It was silky, high slitted, and caught the light when she moved, and Alec could agree with Max, though the effort was wasted on him.

“Thank you for accepting my invite. I apologize for the odd choice of space, but my office is occupied and there were some… concerns about the content of our conversation. In regards to that, I must express my gratitude for your early arrival, since it will give us time to discuss a somewhat delicate issue.” Alec put every ounce of diplomacy into his words, leaving a respectful distance between them and pointedly gesturing toward the pair of chairs that would keep the bed out of their sight lines.

She smiled at him and inclined her head gracefully, sitting with a flare of her dress that revealed more of her leg. Alec wondered if he should tell her it was lost on him. 

“Thank you for having me in what I’m assuming is your bedroom? I am happy with the direction you have taken this Institute and appreciate that there is something you need to speak with me, personally, about. So, what is it?” She leaned back, with a casual twist of her wrist a drink appeared, shimmering and gold in the glass.

Cahya chose that moment to make herself known, padding around the chairs and purposely brushing along Alec’s legs, only to freeze completely at the sight of the woman.

“Wha-” Alec started, unnerved by the stillness that held Cahya in place.

“Cahya,” the woman breathed, and then her glamour melted away.

Magnus Bane, still in the dress which was suddenly much more interesting to Alec, slid out of the chair, his drink falling to the floor as he nearly crawled toward his daemon. 

Alec swallowed hard, nudging Cahya lightly with his knee when she didn’t move to close the small distance between them. She started to tremble, her whole self vibrating, her fur bristling, and Alec made a sound of worry that was mirrored by Magnus.

“Rani,” he called, hoping it would help if his daemon wasn’t in danger of being crushed when the two did come together.

Rani fluttered out of Cahya’s fur, pressing himself against Alec’s cheek and watching just as tense as Alec.

Finally, Cahya lunged forward with a soft mewling sound, knocking Magnus back and pressing her full weight against him. They both were making sounds, quietly speaking in a language that Alec didn’t understand, and Cahya was rubbing her face against Magnus’ chest and chin, heedless of how she was pulling the dress off his shoulders. 

Alec decided to give them a moment and retreated to sit on his bed instead, where he could only see parts of them. 

Rani changed into a large rabbit that Alec gratefully cuddled against his chest, stroking through Rani’s fur in a calming pattern. They stayed, enjoying the feeling of being close to one another, until Cahya’s low voice called to them.

Alec reluctantly set Rani down, watching him flicker between forms too fast to identify all of them. It made his stomach clench, and the ache that lived in him pulsed. He’d long thought of that tender spot as the consequence for not allowing his daemon to settle and every time his emotions overwhelmed Rani’s form like this, he only became more certain of that.

Magnus’ golden cat eyes tracked him as he stepped back around the chairs, keeping his movements deliberate and slow. It was probably a rush of disorienting feelings to be reunited with Cahya after so many years apart, and Alec might have been the leader of a rebellious Institute, but he was still a Shadowhunter. Magnus’ long history with his family was something Alec was intimately familiar with and something he was terribly ashamed of. It wasn’t just the birthday gift incident. His parents had personally hunted Magnus, killed his friends, helped torture the Whitlaws and those they tried to protect. He was hyperaware, as he slowly sat back down in the chair he had first occupied, of the gulf of blood and stolen souls between them.

Rani, panting with the effort of holding one form, slowly crawled closer as a long-eared mouse. Cahya made a low chuffing sound and Rani flinched like he never had from her before, his form flickering again until it stopped, leaving a small skunk pressed shakily against Alec’s ankle.

“Rani-” Cahya started, her voice low and pained. Alec hated to see her hurt for them, but he couldn’t stop the wave of guilt nor could he fully look away from Magnus.

Tears streaked golden makeup down Magnus’ cheeks. His expression was torn open, and his fingers were curled tight enough in Cahya’s fur it looked painful. In return Cahya’s claws had clearly drawn blood from his bare shoulder in her need to be closer, his dress sluggishly darkened where it was soaking in. He was still staring at Alec, an unhappy twist to his lips.

“You kept her,” Magnus said, his voice raw and scraped thin. Alec wanted to close his eyes against the words, the accusation in them. He didn’t. Magnus deserved more than that.

“I had too.” He swallowed hard, holding himself still as Rani shoved his little body into the leg of Alec’s pants with violent trembles. “I didn’t know how to free her, and it wasn’t safe to ask.”

Magnus’ expression twisted into one of anger. “You had my daemon, you touched her and kept her against her will for more than a decade because you were afraid to ask for help? Because only a warlock could help you, and you knew any of my people would have killed you for the slight so you just… did nothing? I thought you would grow into someone better from the child I met. I thought you were The Raven, but you’re only another disappointment with a pretty face, I see.”

Alec’s ears were ringing and he had to press his hands tightly together, his bones nearly creaking. Magnus was clearly overwhelmed. He was angry and twisted up from getting Cahya back, and he didn’t know Alec, not really. The hope that Alec had carefully tried to smother, that he would get to know Magnus, the man whose soul companion had been nearly as dear to Alec as his own daemon, that he might get to still see Cahya, guttered in his chest and went cold.

Another weight pressed against his legs, and he watched in shock as Cahya pressed her face against his shins, her body stretched between the two of them. Magnus’ breath audibly stuttered, and Alec looked to him to see a mirror of shock.

“You are angry, my abang. You’ve earned that anger, but Alec has not. He wasn’t afraid for his own safety, he was worried for ours.” Cahya’s long tail twitched as she spoke, nosing at Rani’s hidden form as she did. “If the Clave knew you lived, if breaking the binding between Alec and I failed, if the warlock who we tried to hire wasn’t capable, what then? We were confined to Alicante for so long. When we finally made it out of the city, when we took over New York, we agreed that we would wait for this moment.”

Rani, calmed by Cahya’s proximity and firm tone, slid out of his hiding place and changed into a snow leopard, larger than her, to rub their faces together. 

“You agreed?” Magnus asked, wiping at his tears and obviously trying to rein himself in. He sounded more confused now, less angry.

“Of course,” Cahya said, her words muffled in Rani’s fur. 

“If she thought it was safe sooner, I would have done anything to get her back to you. It took us ages to figure out how far away from me she could go, how to work together like she was mine, so no one would know. I-” Alec took a deep breath, knowing there was no real way to make up for any of it, but especially this. “I’m sorry I touched her. I had to. In battle we couldn’t feel each other, and we had to make it real in front of the Clave.”

“And I enjoyed it,” Cahya said, matter-of-fact.

Magnus tipped his head forward, frowning. “I came to enjoy it as well. It should have always felt like a violation, but it stopped being that a long time ago. I am…sorry I lashed out at you. This is…”

“A lot,” Alec said, nodding.

“So much,” Magnus agreed, beginning to smile.

“If I’m not banned for my outburst, could we possibly pick this up after the meetings we are both expected at in the next ten minutes?” Magnus nodded at the clock hanging over Alec’s dresser.

“Shit,” Alec said, pushing to his feet and looking between their daemons.

“You’re not going to be seated next to me. The others might already be here. How do you want to do this?” Alec asked, thinking how he would hate to be separated from his daemon in Magnus’ shoes, even by a few feet. 

“Over the years, I’ve convinced people, with a little glamor and the help of unsuspecting birds in the park, that ‘Maggie’s’ daemon is a magpie. I don’t want to announce who I really am yet. Things are already unstable enough and, although I am fabulous, I would like more time to understand what’s happened to Cahya since we parted.” Magnus ran a hand down Cahya’s spine, his expression broken open and wondering.

Alec felt Rani’s large, furry head nudge against him, and a moment later his daemon was a magpie instead. His feathers were blinding snow white against an oil-slick sheen of prismatic black. He preened a little under Alec’s attention and hopped a step closer to Magnus.  

“Fair’s fair,” Rani said in his soft voice, and Alec swallowed hard at the implication.

Cahya touched Rani constantly, but she was another daemon. It didn’t register to Alec’s senses, except that Rani felt comfortable with her. Magnus was altogether different. 

Rani took another hop and Magnus stared at him, eyes wide in surprise. Alec swallowed his worry. Rani would be perfectly safe, no one would know that he was Alec's during the meeting and Magnus wasn't going to hurt him. They might not know each other, but Alec had spent years with the literal representation of Magnus' innermost soul. He knew what he needed to; he could trust Magnus with this. 

Magnus' gaze darted between Rani and Alec, his fingers kneading into Cahya's fur loosening as Rani plucked at the hem of his dress delicately. 

"Are you certain?" Magnus asked, one hand slowly leaving Cahya to hover just in front of Rani.

Alec took a deep breath, steeling himself for the feeling of another's hand on his daemon as Rani stretched toward Magnus' hand, his wings trembling. He'd been a bird then too, when Robert had grabbed him and torn from him the final ingredient in the spell that bound Cahya.

"I am," Alec said.

Magnus' hand dropped to meet Rani, burgundy nails like tiny clawed points running between the fine feathers on the top of Rani's dark head. Alec couldn't make himself blink, staring at where golden brown skin met black feathers even as he swayed, breath leaving him in a rush. It felt warm. Nothing like the cold, unwelcome violation of his father's grasp, just a warm trickle through him, stealing his words and calming his thoughts. It was half-familiar, undoubtedly from his experience with Cahya. 

Rani hummed, pressing into the light touch, and Magnus relaxed, quietly petting him as Alec watched, breathing slow and trancelike, until Cahya's rolling laugh broke the spell.

"You're late," she informed them both, and Alec jerked, swearing as he realized she was right.

-

Alec was exhausted by the time the meeting was over. Meeting was a light way of phrasing the only barely non-hostile beginnings, as leaders of various groups from New York's Downworld had arrived at the Institute, upset by the lack of neutral ground in some cases and understanding of Alec's position in others. They'd just weathered a major offensive, he couldn't leave the reach of his people just yet, but with "Maggie" on his side and Max chiming in that this was the "big brother" he talked about, things had smoothed over well enough. Agreements had been made to formalize a peace treaty, with a new location decided on by the majority. That it was an event hall that had most recently hosted a senior prom seemed to delight and amuse Magnus a great deal. 

Still, it had taken him longer than he wanted to explain how he had come to be the Raven and what the plan for his people in New York was now that they had broken from the Clave. He had to table questions that had come flying from every group about what the next steps were, unable to fully commit a plan of action without coordinating his people and getting word from the spies still in Idris. 

When he'd revealed he was waiting on inside information, most had been content to let his lack of concrete plan go, happy enough with the long-term goal of dismantling the current Clave. 

Raphael Santiago had pressed him a little harder, but backed off quickly enough when he pointed out that they were not the only Institute that had gone rogue last night and he needed to have a full check-in with the other four.  That had served to remind the group that given the ability to wait until more pieces were in place, Alec wouldn't have called them together. It was a sign of his desire to build connection and ensure that everyone had a say in the next move, as well as the need of his people to have allies should the Clave retaliate further that he had requested a meeting so quickly.

After, he stood by the door, thanking those that had come and seeing them out, hoping his sincerity was showing through his weariness. When only Max, "Maggie", and Raphael remained, he let himself sag a little. At his feet Cahya was laying with her paws folded under her chin, feigning the same tiredness. 

Rani was quietly settled on "Maggie's" shoulder, looking for all the world like he belonged there perfectly. He'd spent most of the meeting perched on the arm of a chair, but as Alec grew more tired, had moved closer to Magnus. 

Jace and Izzy joined them as it became clear that no one else was leaving anytime soon. Izzy gave him a soft smile and headed for Max, while Jace leaned against the wall beside him. Kaie was on his shoulder, staring at Rani with slitted eyes.

"So. How did the pre-meeting meeting go?" Jace asked, voice low.

Alec wanted to laugh, especially as Kaie's feathers puffed up when Rani caw-ed in her direction. He had no idea how to explain, Jace would be the best to understand, his and Alec's linked souls the closest comparison there was to the relationship between Alec and Cahya's person. 

"Well. Very well. Maggie and I need to talk a bit more though." Alec couldn't stop the tired smirk from curling his lips and Jace caught on immediately.

"No." He swiveled to stare at the pretty woman who was currently scowling playfully at Raphael. "No way. That's him?"

Alec nodded. "Yeah. He dropped the glamour when we spoke and he saw Cahya."

Jace started to grin, Kaie shuffling uneasily. Alec was tempted to nudge him hard enough to unseat her, if only to stop whatever Jace had to say. 

"Was he still in the dress?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "Yes. Was a little too preoccupied with reuniting with his daemon after a decade to bother changing his clothes."

Jace sobered a bit, but he still waggled his eyebrows at Alec. Kaie's sharp eyes turned to Alec, "If Cahya is his, who-?"

She trailed off, her eyes widening at the same time Jace's mouth popped open. Alec sighed and nodded, holding up his hand to stop any more questions as he watched Raphael step away from Magnus.

"Later," Alec said firmly, and Jace nodded.

Raphael shook his hand with his usual formal grace. "Until next time, Lightwood."  

Alec offered him a smile that was a little warmer than the other leaders had gotten. Raphael had been one of the few who knew he was the Raven, since Alec had helped him remove Camille. Raphael left without another word.

"Maggie" approached him next, rocking on her heels as she stopped in front of him and Jace.

"Is there any way we could continue our earlier conversation?" she asked, smiling a little. 

Jace clapped Alec's shoulder. "Take him to the roof. Iz, Max and I can catch up and run interference. Anyone needs anything, we'll take care of it for a bit and get Max up to speed on all our drama."

Alec sighed in relief, nodding at them both. "The roof will work great. Just remember"—he caught Jace as he started to walk away—"Max is a leader too, there are areas he's not allowed to go anymore. He's got more responsibility than just our little brother."

Jace's face pinched, unhappy with the reminder, but he nodded once and Alec let him go.

-

Magnus let the glamour drop as soon as they were alone on the roof. Alec had led him through a series of quiet hallways in the residential wing of the Institute and up a secluded stairway until they were in the open air.

A couple of deck chairs and a large waterproof crate were set up in the flat open space. Alec easily opened the crate and pulled out a large cushion and pile of blankets. Cahya, clearly familiar with the space, started dragging the cushion into place. Rani, obviously exhausted as he had not left Magnus’ shoulder yet, swayed to press his head against Magnus’ cheek.

The flush of familiar comfort that rushed through Magnus brought his attention back to Alec, who was settling onto the cushion, his hand rubbing over Cahya’s head unconsciously as he did.

Magnus swallowed and came to join him, pausing to snap himself into a more comfortable outfit. He still chose a red dress of softer fabric that ruched comfortably at his thighs with a pair of creamy chocolate leggings so he could fold himself down next to Alec without issue.

When they were both comfortable, the silence stretched. Neither of them knew what to say, it seemed. 

When Cahya yawned, curling between them lazily and easily pressing against them both, Magnus realized he should give Rani back. It was strange, how comfortable he felt with another person's daemon settled close, touching him with every shift of the little bird body.

He reached toward Alec, making a bridge with his arm as he set his hand lightly on Alec's shoulder. Rani was tired and this would give him the excuse to go to his person. Alec looked at his hand, then at Rani, his face softening in understanding.

"Before you fall asleep on me, pretty bird," Magnus said, smiling as Rani bobbed his head and took a step. He almost started when he felt Rani change shape, his light magpie shifting to a ferret and quickly bounding over his arm to curl around Alec's shoulders. He blinked at Magnus slowly.

"I could use a nap," Rani said, his voice soft and slow. Magnus resisted the urge to coo at the  daemon, even as Cahya huffed, "You could both use a nap.” She looked at Magnus, fondly exasperated “They hardly slept before the battle, and they certainly haven't slept since."

Magnus gave Alec a playful chiding look. "That's not the most effective leadership decision."

Alec, however, tensed and Magnus wanted to take it back. "I'm only teasing, Alexander. You've done admirably."

He dipped his head and as they sat in silence again, slowly relaxing. His breathing slowed and Rani went loose around his shoulders until Magnus was certain that Alec was starting to drift off.

"Alec?"

"Sorry. I was just...thinking. It's been so crazy, I've hardly had time to look into the curse recently and there wasn't anything in Idris. I don't know how to let Cahya go with you. I swear I wouldn't stop her if I knew how it worked, I'm sorry. You can stay as long as you want, we'll figure something out. I would let you take Rani, to be sure that I was trying, but I'm not a warlock. He can't go far from me or I- We'll-" Alec swallowed, looking distraught as his thick brows pulled together, and he trailed off.

"I wouldn't be so dramatic, Alexander," Magnus said, lightly. "You've already let me borrow sweet Rani more than enough, more than I would have asked for. I'm very used to being away from Cahya. We spent plenty of time apart before any Lightwood shenanigans and we'll be just fine visiting each other until we solve this curse."

Alec frowned. "You're sure? I wouldn't keep her from you."

Magnus offered him a smile, running his fingers through the fur between Cahya's ears and listening to her purring in contentment. 

"I'm certain for that precise reason." Magnus laughed a little, leaning forward conspiratorially and delighting in the way Alec leaned toward him. "She's a perfect excuse to visit you."

Alec blinked in surprise, a pleased little smile starting to curl his lips. "Yeah?"

Magnus grinned outright then. "Yes. You're fascinating to me, you know. And I feel you've unlocked something in me, more than simply returning my daemon to me."

There was color growing in Alec's cheeks and he looked down, tipping his head to press a cheek into sleeping Rani's soft fur. Magnus took the moment to properly look at them. Alec was obviously tired, worn a bit thin from his endeavors as The Raven, but still so strong and so sweet. He was lovely, his hair a bit messy from the breeze on the roof, his lips soft looking and he looked more relaxed than Magnus had seen him today. Rani was a sleek grey and his ferret form was-

Magnus blinked. Right, he'd noticed before but been in too much of a haze finally being back in touch with Cahya.  Alec was twelve when Magnus had been his birthday present, nearly of the age when daemons settled. Now he was well into adulthood, twenty-three and a leader and yet, Rani still changed shape.

"Alexander." Magnus hesitated and Alec looked at him again, clearly reading the change in his tone.

"I know, you're only playing at flirting, Magnus, it's alright, I didn't expect-" Alec started, his chin tipping up and Magnus couldn't let that misconception go. He held a finger over Alec's lips, watching him quiet with a confused little expression.

"You see?" Cahya purred and, yes, Magnus did see. 

"I am absolutely offended you think I would do that. I am genuinely interested in you, you beautiful creature. Now let me be serious about something else for a moment, then I can go back to correcting your ridiculous assumption that you shouldn't expect me to be very invested in taking you out for a drink." Magnus gave him a pointed look, enjoying the way that Alec's cheeks flared with color at the direct words.

"I-I would...yes," Alec managed, starting to grin. "Yes to the drink. And letting you be serious."

Cahya chuffed at them both and resumed her low purr, undoubtedly helping them to stay relaxed as Magnus broached the topic that worried him most. 

"Rani still changes."

Alec made a soft sound of discontent. "He has to. What if he settled as something too big and I couldn't hide him? No one has two daemons, and saying he was a pet would mean letting people touch him, besides their daemons would know immediately. He never settled, we wouldn't let it happen."

"Alec, no one can stop their daemon from settling by sheer force of will. It's impossible." Magnus let his magic curl visible from his right palm and lifted it slightly, so Alec would see it. "I believe it might have to do with the curse that your father put on Cahya, may I?"

The wisps of blue magic were easily reaching toward Alec, recognizing him from his long acquaintance with Magnus' soul, and Magnus was gratified to see a kind of wonderment in Alec's gaze as he nodded, watching the magic as it washed over Rani. The daemon woke, blinking muzzily at the light of Magnus' powers and easily uncurling, nearly falling from Alec's shoulders as he obviously enjoyed the touch of it. 

Daemons were magic, in a way, the sort that was powerful and ancient and beyond understanding, no matter how hard the Spiral Labyrinth attempted to uncover their secrets. Still, Magnus had never seen one bask in magic the way Rani was, his little head tipped back and happy trills leaving him as Alec ended up having to cradle him. A tender look had taken over Alec's face as he watched, and it really set in for Magnus.

Here was a Shadowhunter who had spent years barely getting to see his own daemon, afraid of being caught or interacting with them too much, because he was keeping the daemon of a warlock safe. Here was a man who had done what so many said was impossible and ousted the Clave from Magnus' city, who had opened his doors and worked to bring  his people and the downworld together. 

Even if Magnus wasn't so drawn to him, even if Magnus hadn't found him immediately beautiful, he would want to help Alec and Rani.

He forced himself to re-focus on what his magic was telling him, the threads he could feel that wove between Cahya and Rani and on to Alec. The bond between daemon and person had been frayed and rewoven with a new thread among them.

With a push of his power, Magnus brought the visual to bear for Alec to see as well.

"Here." He lightly touched the glimmer of brilliant blue among the silver of Alec's bond to Rani. There were thin strands of gold from Alec's end as well, but Magnus knew a parabatai link when he saw one.

"What is this?" Alec asked, staring in awe, the light from the bond dancing in his eyes. Rani, too, was watching the threads with wide eyes, inherently aware of what he was seeing.

"It's us. That's the tie between us, the parts of you that reach out and become...me," Rani said, his voice small and filled with wonder.

"It is," Magnus confirmed. "The silver is all you,. The blue however, is the answer to why your daemon never settled." Magnus let the very tip of his finger touch the thread of his own soul, watching Alec shudder and feeling the echo in his bones. "This is me. This is a piece of my bond with Cahya, cut from me and wound into yours. It's more than enough to keep her tethered to you. You said yourself, you aren't a warlock, you cannot go far from your daemon."

"She's not mine," Alec choked, horrified.

"A piece of her is. This is what your father did, he tied her to you just enough that she cannot be far from you, though further than your true daemon. The magic that makes daemons what they are is so tangled here. This sort of spell should never have been made, nor used. It especially was not meant to be used on a child with an unsettled daemon. Cahya is hundreds of years old, Alexander, she has been settled for longer than mortals live." Magnus sighed heavily. "I can only assume that your father didn't know the risk of what he was doing. There was every chance this would have killed you, or broken the bond between you and your own daemon completely."

Cahya made a hissing sound, and Rani huddled close to Alec, looking alarmed. Alec tucked Rani closer still and nodded once, sharp. 

"He probably thought it was worth the risk," Alec said, simply and unaffected, moving on before Magnus could say anything to that. "Can it be fixed? Or do I need to make arrangements so you can be with her?"

"Arrangements? Alec, what are you-?"

"I can't live with you, full time, I have too much to do here, but Cahya and I know how far from me she can go, so maybe I could get an apartment closer to you so she can be with you, or-" Alec was staring off at the sky now, clearly ready to make plans and leave behind the strange vulnerability. 

Magnus let the visible bond fade as he tried to stop himself making faces at Alec. 

"I'm sure that we can find a way to undo the curse before it ever comes to that. I'm more concerned about helping your Rani settle. That's the first and most important thing. Once he's settled it will be much safer to try separating my bond from yours." 

"How do I do that?" Rani asked.

Magnus had no answer for that, nor, it seemed, did Cahya or Alec.

-

Leaving his daemon was harder than Magnus wanted to show. He re-glamoured himself, after pressing his face into Cahya's fur the way he hadn't since Camille left him in shreds, decades ago. Alec offered to walk him out, but he declined with a flippant excuse about not wanting to start rumors about Alec and Maggie, though in truth he was hoping Alec would take the opportunity to go to sleep. He also didn't want to have to try and casually tell them good-bye at the door again. 

Watching Rani turn back into a moth and disappear into Cahya's fur had bothered him more than he thought it would, but he'd still taken his leave.

The next day found Magnus restless. 

Nothing was distracting him, not Chairman Meow who he kept wondering how Cahya would react to, not his apothecary when he remembered her easily helping him with potions. He wanted to go back to her. He wanted to see Alexander again.

A treacherous thought cropped up.

Alec had already offered to live with him or near him. He could say they needed to be together until Rani settled and they could separate Cahya. He could be weak about this, beg Alec to make it a priority and delegate what he could of the budding rebellion. 

He could be selfish.

Magnus cleared his throat, snapping away the potion that was already a hopeless endeavor. He needed to think of something else. Anything else.

His phone rang and he snatched it, not looking at who was calling.

"You've reached the High Warlock. This will be very expensive if you're rude." Maggie’s voice, just a register above his own, came easily.

“I’ll try not to run up my bill,” Alec greeted him, his tone warm and teasing. “Hello, Magnus.”

Magnus grinned. “Alexander. Think of an Angel, after all. What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing. I know this isn’t easy for you and I’m sorry.” 

The same feeling that he’d always associated with Alec touching Cahya bloomed in his chest, warmer than ever, and he fell into his favorite chair with a dramatic little twirl, just because. “I’m just fine. I miss her, and I would love to spend more time in your darling company, but I can handle waiting.”

There was a long silence, and Magnus found himself tugging his earlobe, worried that he might have given Alec the wrong impression, somehow.

“What if you didn’t have to?”

“Have to what, Alec?” Magnus asked, hopeful.

“Honestly, without having to deal with Clave paperwork, the Institute can spare me for a couple hours this evening. We were well prepared and our losses were far from what I accounted for when we cut the core from Idris, so we’re in great shape, all things considered. The Clave isn’t going to move on us again so quickly, especially not with the Downworld supporting us.” He took an audible breath and Magnus pressed the phone tighter to his ear. “Were you serious about that drink?”

A giddy, bubbly feeling that was all too familiar welled up, and Magnus sighed happily. The first flush of interest returned was wonderful. “I was. Tonight, then? I know a few places we might go.”

“Actually…I was thinking I could come to yours? That way you can be with Cahya properly, too. Also-” Alec sounded a little embarrassed, and Magnus thought he could hear another voice that sounded suspiciously like Jace in the background, “- also, I want to see you not Maggie, or even the High Warlock.”

“That would be lovely, Alec. I will send you my address so we can both pretend it isn’t in a file somewhere. Does five work for you? We can have an early dinner and a drink, and I can even return you to your Shadowhunters before prime demon hours.” Magnus hoped that Alec could hear how much this meant to him.

“Can we say six?” Alec asked as Jace shouted, “He doesn’t have to be returned!” 

“Six. It’s a date,” Magnus promised and he could hear Alec smile. He could also hear Kaie squalling and the familiar sound of Cahya hissing. “Go, save your parabatai from our girl.”

“I’ll see you tonight. Bye, Magnus.”

The call ended and Magnus took a moment to lean back in his chair, head tipped back. They had a date tonight. He’d see Cahya again, and maybe get to see Alec and Rani relax again.

“Oh!” He popped back up, going to find Chairman Meow. “Come, Chairman, we need to look our best for our guests.”

-

After a dinner of food from his favorite Ethiopian place, that Alec had grinned over and fed bites of to Rani, they were relaxing in the living room. 

Magnus’ table was covered in cocktails that Alec was systematically sipping his way through and making faces that ranged from “disgusted” to “confused, but not bad” in an attempt to find one he liked best.

Rani and Cahya were curled at their feet, a pair of leopards, though Rani was a larger snow leopard still. It was such a picture of a good, calm evening that Magnus’ face hurt from smiling.

Alec picked up a tiny glass, barely the size of a thimble, and tipped it into his mouth before Magnus could warn him. The face he made was one of shock and then immediately after a tightly twisted mouth as the sour, astringent liquor hit. 

Magnus couldn’t help the way he started laughing, especially as Rani jumped to his feet, fur bristling in alarm as Alec coughed.

“That’s…wow,” Alec managed, setting the thimble glass down like it was a bomb.

“It’s really meant to be drunk with this.“ Magnus held up a shot glass of sweet liqueur. “I think we can certainly rule it out though.” 

He took a sip of the sticky sweet shot, turning to Alec to ask what he wanted to try next only to be surprised by how close Alec was suddenly, leaning into his space. 

“I want to try it.” 

Magnus swallowed and set the shot glass down, watching Alec’s eyes dart to his mouth, still wet from the drink. “Alright.”

A warm palm cupped his neck and Alec’s intent gaze searched his face. Magnus knew that he couldn’t have done this before, and decided to help him. He pushed into Alec’s touch, brushing their lips together lightly and then sighing softly against Alec as he deepened the kiss. 

Alec’s hands were burning as they cupped his chin, like he was precious, and Magnus let one of his own hands lift to tangle in Alec’s hair. With a light swipe of Alec’s tongue, Magnus opened to him, tasting a strange blend of their drinks, the lingering sour in Alec’s mouth. 

With a low sound, one of Alec’s hands dropped to Magnus' waist, pulling them closer together. He was twisted on the couch to face Magnus, but it didn’t matter as he tipped further toward Magnus. 

A pleased rumbling sound finally broke them apart, and Magnus turned to look at their daemons as Alec pressed his forehead to Magnus’ temple, gathering himself.

The sound was coming from Rani, who had his eyes closed, his fur was black with a pattern only visible where the light hit him and he had shifted from another leopard to a jaguar. With her head laying on his shoulder, Cahya slowly blinked up at Magnus, equally content though her own purr was much softer.

Magnus felt Alec pull back to look at their daemons as well and tore his own gaze from them to watch Alec. There was a tenderness in his expression, his lips parted and upturned as he gently reached down and very deliberately ran his fingers through Cahya’s fur before continuing to scratch Rani’s own large head. 

In hundreds of years, Magnus had only rarely let his long-term partners touch Cahya, and even then it was never with the casual ease that Alec did. None of them had ever felt right, but this did. It always had. 

Rani was pressing into Alec’s touch happily and Magnus swallowed before leaning forward as well, his shoulder pressed closed to Alec’s. He buried his fingers in Rani’s fur along his side, feeling the thick soft pelt and the way that Alec’s breathing hitched beside him. 

“See?” Cahya asked, though Magnus wasn’t sure who she was directing the questions to. 

“I said he’d learn how mushy you are,” she said, giving Alec an amused look as Magnus shifted to lay his hand in her fur instead.

“You also said he wouldn’t like me at first.” Alec told her, fondness heavy in his voice.

Magnus scoffed, “What’s not to like?”

-

The morning light woke Magnus, his face scrunching against the brightness as it slanted across his face. From the general direction of his hip came a grumble that did not sound at all like-

“ ‘at time ‘st?” a groggy Alexander Lightwood asked, blinking and struggling to sit up from where he was slumped against Magnus, his face having been obviously pillowed against Magnus’ hip.

Magnus smiled, a sleepy and delighted thing that he couldn’t stop if he’d wanted to. 

“It’s just about eight,” Cahya answered, and yawned immediately; her fangs on full display. Rani mimicked the action, still a jaguar with his own impressive set of incisors. It was much cuter than it should have been.

“Crap,” Alec said, drawing Magnus’ attention back.

“We stayed up later than I expected.” Magnus shifted around until he could stretch back, wincing at the feeling of his slept-in clothes and undoubtedly messy makeup. “You’re a fascinating person with very interesting opinions on important martial writings and I am a scintillating conversationalist, anyone you’re late getting back to will surely understand.”

Alec rolled his eyes, but there was fondness in the action, and Magnus considered it a win. He snapped himself into a fresh outfit, fitted jewel blue pants and a black shirt with a loose drape, nothing too dramatic this morning. His face felt better with a wave of his hand to clean up and adjust the coloring of his makeup, softening it to a more suitable day look.

When he was done, Alec was just looking at him, lips parted.

“What?” 

Alec blinked and Cahya made a chuffing noise in the back of her throat, nudging Rani’s shoulder as he grumbled back. 

“You’re amazing,” Alec said, no trace of flattery to it, and Magnus felt his cheeks flush with pleased color. With a crooked little grin, Alec continued, “Even if you’ve heard too many conspiracies about Sun Tzu.”

Magnus gasped in mock offense. “Just because I think that the intention of his writings was angling more toward sounding like a good advisor, à la Macheivelli, does not mean I believe in conspiracy.”

“Magnus,” Cahya said, patiently.

“Okay. Maybe a few ‘conspiracies,’ but I was right about the most recent one! Though, it’s only a conspiracy in the very original sense.” He finally pushed up from the couch, watching as Alec did the same, twisting this way and that to stretch.

“What was it?” 

“That you were the Raven.” 

Alec stilled, blinking at Magnus. “You mean when I sent Underhill with the message?”

Magnus turned away from him a moment, trying not to feel embarrassed about his assumption. He’d only met Alec once, a child who had said little to him, been horribly violated by his father, and then helped him plan an escape. 

“Not…exactly,” Magnus hedged.

“When?” Alec asked, curious.

“How long after you learned he was Commander in New York?” Cahya’s warm voice asked, making Magnus turn back around, tugging at his earlobe a bit.

“Oh, about a month, maybe? I’d been in touch with the Raven off and on and knew they must have been in Idris, but then they started to address problems more locally relevant, and I thought it was someone who’d been moved here. I found out you were here not much later and well…I don’t think anyone else would’ve realized, but I drew some lines.” 

Magnus could remember the immediate hope, when he learned Alec was so close. The hope that Cahya would be returned to him and that Alec had grown into as good a man as he had the potential to be.

“Magnus…” Alec shook his head, cheeks a little flushed. “Well. I’m glad you didn’t think I was an awful person, if you thought I might be the Raven that whole time.”

Magnus stepped closer to him, running a hand down his arm reassuringly. “I hoped. I wanted it to be you. Lucky me, that I usually get what I want.”

Alec’s smile went soft and wide, his heart so obviously on his sleeve that Magnus had to swallow against an answering surge of warmth. They barely knew each other, and yet-

Cahya leaned into Alec’s touches as naturally as his own. Rani felt just as comfortable when he was on Magnus’ shoulder as his own daemon might’ve. Alec’s siblings seemed supportive of them already, and Magnus couldn’t deny the feeling like something was unfurling in his chest. Some bloom he’d neglected for so long he was surprised to find the bulb of it even still existed, let alone had the potential to flourish under Alec’s sweet gaze.

“We should, uh-” Alec started, gesturing vaguely toward Magnus’ front door and tugging on his shirt with the other hand, clearly meaning to leave before he was any later to the Institute.

“Yes. Of course.” Magnus sighed. “I don’t suppose my company would be welcome?”

Alec frowned, his eyebrows drawing together until a determined glint entered his eye. He stepped fully into Magnus’ space, cupping his cheek and leaning close, before pausing just a moment, like he wanted to be sure. Magnus melted into the touch and was happy to find Alec’s lips pressed against his, soft and closed and just as lovely as their kisses traded during the night before.

When Alec pulled back he offered an apologetic smile. “I’m going to have a lot on my plate. Your company, and your counsel, would be very welcome, but not until this afternoon.”

“Ooh, we could have a lunch meeting. I’m just so charming I have to stick around after, of course.” Magnus could summon something for them, it would give him a perfect excuse to sit and chat with Alexander uninterrupted again and learn a little about what foods he liked.

“Of course.” Alec said, his tone lilting into nearly a tease, and Magnus was delighted. 

“You’d better be on your way. If we’re going to meet later, I need to look Maggie’s best.” He made a shooing motion and Alec laughed.

“Alright. Rani?”

Rani shook himself off, standing up and stretching his long body lazily before taking a breath and going perfectly still.

“You’ll need to hide again,” Alec said.

Rani took another breath, his face scrunching. “I can’t.” 

The words fell between them, and Magnus watched as realization dawned on Alec, Cahya’s tail wiggling the way it did when she was terribly pleased with herself.

“You’ve settled.” Alec breathed at the same moment Magnus pointed at Cahya and said, “You knew!”

Rani pressed his long body against Alec’s knees, twisting around them to glare at Cahya.

“I didn’t know,” she said, sounding smug. “I thought it was likely. Something in you, Rani, just seemed to slot into place. Good. This is much simpler.”

“How?” Alec sounded like he was used to her proclamations like this. 

“Magnus does not need an excuse to have breakfast and lunch with us. Also, Maggie has no reason to make an appearance.” She sniffed.

Magnus stared at her, and then at Alec as he started laughing, Rani’s soft laughter joining in.

“You don’t like Maggie?” 

“Chop, chop,” Rani choked out, still laughing.

Cahya only stood with a swish of her tail and headed toward the door. “You’ve a resurrection to plan. Chop, chop.”

Alec grinned at him and Magnus resigned himself to this being his life now. They still needed to release Cahya from the binding spell after all. Something he realized, he was very much fine with taking a while.

“So,” Alec said, taking Magnus’ hand in his after fondly flicking one of Cahya’s ears on his way. “Where should we get breakfast and draft your Magnus Bane returns from the dead speech?”

Magnus laughed, stumbling closer as Rani nudged behind his knees. “Anywhere you want, Alexander.”

#shmb2023 #Malec #Shadowhunters #fanfiction #Malec Fanfiction #Malec Daemon fic #Magnus Bane #alec lightwood #my writing

[onetimetwotimesthreetimess]

malec and orange peel theory let go

“Yes,” Izzy smiles.

excuse u people peel orange for the isabelled lightwood not the other way around

of course magnus would peel orange magically that thing is a hassle aldksgjlfdhjdl

Then, Magnus speaks, “Oh, wait. I forgot,” before a magically peeled orange appears in front of it.

this lil shit

“Peel,” it’s an order this time because Raziel, Magnus will know shit is up now.

dom alec tease omg

“Here, Daddy. I peeled it,” Max yells excitedly.

i cant blame him i would do the same for alec too

“Not all of us have partners who can take us to any part of the world and have us taste world cuisine,” Jace grins.

sometimes i lie at night and think about alec can literally eat fresh off oven french desserts from France and I'm like...bitch gimme your sugar baby status

Magnus prefers the spicier one.

hotpot only good if it's spicy there i said it!

Magnus sits next to him, a hand dragging a random pattern on his thigh as Alec murmurs something against his ear, pulling a small grin out of the man.

everyone is that brazilian dog eyebrow rainbow meme

“His white ass couldn’t deal with the spicier broth the first time we tried it.”

and when i said first time alec all blushed cheeks breathing heavily tongue out and it make magnus develop a new kink, then what

Magnus nudges him and without even looking, Alec turns and opens his mouth as Magnus feeds him a bite of fish ball.

oh magnus know how to feed alec ball all right-

There are a few pieces of mushrooms in his broth which he doesn’t like at all. He picks them up and puts them on Magnus’s plate who rolls his eyes at him.

me with the most evil invention of nature (scallion)

He puts down his chopsticks and starts peeling the shrimp one by one. When he is done, he transfers the plate to Alec who smiles at him.

magnus pass the test he now officially qualified to be a k-drama male lead love interest

“Umm, I like doing it for him,” Magnus adds nonchalantly.

when devotion is peeling shrimp for your SO >>>>>>>

He thinks about Izzy’s question and scoffs—of course, he knows how to peel a shrimp.

guess our single asses have to eat the shrimps whole like a REAL bad bitch

His husband frowns. “I don’t know. Maybe the first time we went out for a hotpot. You seemed confused by everything so I helped.”

The first time was almost five years ago.

“Okay,” he mumbles before he adds. He doesn’t know why but he can’t help but ask. “But why are you doing it still?”

Magnus gives him a small smile. “Because you like shrimps.”

AWEEEEEEEEE magnus is so male lead love interest with dedicated track written and referenced specifically him

Alec kisses Magnus’s nose before he speaks. “Some stupid peel theory has got nothing on you.”

now i wonder how does alec eat crabs and overall shellfish lol

ofc people would be peeling oranges for one and only Isabelle lightwood but I like the idea of Clary and Simon fuxking with those two constantly with mundane culture.

lmao Magnus really do be perfect to play the certified male rom com lead. He had the vibe>>>>>>

Magnus know how to feed Alec ball- when I tell you i spit water readinf this jsjsjsjsjsj. and yes devotion is peeling shrimp for your SO.

And, I, too would give my life to peel oranges for Alec Lightwood. It’s what he deserves jssnsjsjsjk

Thank you for this love. I’m glad you liked it. 🌻🌈🌻

#thank u I love u #malec #anh chaos

[dhampiravidi]

when you dislike the MC of a good series AKA Who Will Die in The Wicked Powers

damn, being petty enough to flip off the MC x canon ship in my (favorite) fandom is really kicking me in the ass--

yeah, basically I can't touch half the TSC stuff on Tumblr bc I'm so anti-Clace...(meanwhile I love literally every other character that's been in every Shadowhunter series)...& they're probably gonna have a wedding + kids in the next books (assuming Jace isn't killed)...

The Wicked Powers is most definitely gonna have the Princes of Hell as the main villains. I feel like Luke, Gwyn, or Izzy will die, since the younger Shadowhunters are supposed to be central & well...look at the couples who will be alive/extant by TWP:

SPOILERS FOR ALL SHADOWHUNTER BOOKS!!

Jace & Clary

Magnus & Alec

Simon & Izzy

Julian & Emma

Kit & Ty

Kieran/Cristina/Mark

Dru & Ash (& maybe Jaime)

Diana & Gwyn

Luke & Jocelyn

Tessa & Jem

(forgive me if I'm missing anyone!)

Jace already died once. Clary had dreams about dying, but those were shown to be visions of Thule. Based on canon events, I think they're Clare's favorite ship. SAFE.

Magnus almost gave himself to Asmodeus in CoHF. Alec almost-ish died saving Magnus in The Eldest Curses. Also, Alec almost died thanks to that poison demon in TMI (the one Magnus saved him from). Malec might end up forced to rule some region of Hell (reason unknown but I think it'll have to do with them beating/destroying Asmodeus). I feel like past events foreshadow Magnus dealing with the unfortunate sides of being a warlock. But he won't die--the "killing your gays" trope might actually save he & Alec.

Simon nearly died when the vampires attacked him (when he was a mundane), then when Valentine bled him pre-Daylighter (then Jace's blood saved him). He "sacrificed" himself to Asmodeus CoHF, in the form of his vampire immortality + memories (which he basically got back later on). Izzy...she's been through a lot psychologically & about as much as I think most Shadowhunters would physically. She lost Max & her dad. But she's a badass (I'm not faulting her for it, either). So I don't think she's safe.

Julian & Emma both lost their parents in horrible ways. Their whole series was about the parabatai curse (which, to me, was conveniently not mentioned in chronologically earlier series...probably because it wasn't invented til TDA was written, lol). They're kinda written to be the leaders of Livvy's Watch. SAFE.

Kit has his whole faerie power reveal shit to explore & he + Ty are some of the major characters in TWP. I'm pretty sure they'll spend the series healing their relationship. SAFE.

Kieran/Cristina/Mark will survive because 1) Kieran as the Unseelie King is an important Shadowhunter ally, 2) they're poly rep in YA, which is rare, and 3) killing one of them off would leave the others to mourn in such a weird way. SAFE.

I love Dru Blackthorn. She's one of the main of TWP, so I think she'll survive, plus tbh I don't think any more Blackthorns will be killed. Ash will probably end up as the Seelie King or as Clace's adopted son, to "redeem" Sebastian in a narrative sense. Jaime's sort of a main for TWP as one of Dru's love interests. SAFE.

Diana & Gwyn aren't main characters (though I like their romance). Diana also is the ONLY transgender person in all the books (unless I missed something). I don't think she'll be killed off. Gwyn might be just because I see the Wild Hunt as an important group in TWP & he might die protecting Diana (narratively, this shows strengthened faerie-Shadowhunter relations, despite the Wild Hunt being unaffiliated with either Court).

Luke & Jocelyn deserve to be endgame, but I could see Luke being killed off as one of those "MC's loved one is killed so the MC goes & avenges them" type of things. I love Luke & Jocelyn as characters, though.

Tessa & Jem deserve to be endgame, arguably, more than any couple. They were the mains in their series, then Jem survived but was sort-of-"lost" when he became a Silent Brother. Then he miraculously became a (mortal) Shadowhunter again when he was burned by heavenly fire, he just left the Clave behind to hang with Tessa (good choice!). Tessa has a baby & she's gonna suffer enough when she outlives Jem. SAFE?

#anti clace #tsc #the shadowhunter chronicles #book predictions #admin #shadowhunters #malec #clace #kierarktina #sizzy #books #nephilim #book death #fictional characters #unpopular opinion #hot take #I promise you I don't like Clary but I love everyone else

[lurafita]

Malec WWE AU

Okay, so there was a time when I was a little obsessed with WWE. And for whatever reason, I just remembered that. So, can you picture the guys in a setting like this? Doesn't even have to necessarily be wrestling, maybe more mixed martial arts. But there are cameras backstage and fights and lots of "entertainment". That training fight scene with Alec and Magnus is living rent free in my head and I would just like more of that, you know?

As it always does, my brain went right to "backstory" Mode. -

So, Alec was classicly trained, in a studio, with professional trainers and wrestling and other fighting styles have been practiced in his family for generations and are highly regarded. There is a philosophy to it, a feeling of honor. Alec's parents actually weren’t happy when their son went to the WWE (or MMAE) with his talents, but Alec argued that this might be able to help get the younger generation to look at the sport as something more than bashing each other for the entertainment value of the audience. (And, well, also money. Because while there is a familial wealth to the Lightwood name, Alec would like to be a bit more independent from them. And if he gets famous enough, gets his name out there, maybe he could open up an mma studio where he can then teach kids and adults alike the real sport.)

Magnus comes from a poor background and an even poorer neighborhood. If you didn’t know how to defend yourself, you were prey. When he was old enough to not be turned away by the guards immediately, he started fighting in underground rings for money. Fighting was never anything more for him than a means to make enough money to eat and survive. One night, a fighter manager looking for new talent happens to be at one of those underground rings and sees Magnus. He gets signed almost right away. And just months later, Magnus has money and a measure of security and is rising in fame. Without the worries of his past nibbling at his heels, he lives it up. Make it grand, make it a show, have some fun! Fighting was never fun before. It was survival. But now, Magnus lives.

Alec and Magnus would probably start out as kinda enemies, at least in Alec's mind. Because Alec thinks that Magnus is only in it for the show and the fame and the glory. That he has no respect for the Art as it is. And in a way, he is right. Magnus doesn't respect the art of fighting the way others in their line of work do. He didn’t learn it because he wanted to, but because he needed to. He will never feel the things that Alec does where fighting is concerned. But that doesn’t mean he doesn't have his own version of respect for it.

Once Alec understands that, he is even more in awe of Magnus than he was.

They both grow to learn and understand each other, without having to conform to the other's view. Magnus will never be able to see fighting as something inherently good, but he respects that Alec does. Alec will never see fighting as a mere tool, be he respects that Magnus does.

#magnus bane #alec lightwood #malec #shadowhunters tv #malec prompt #mma figthers malec #mundane malec au #think wwe but not limited to wrestling #I mean technically the wwe is also not limited to wrestling #but like you know what I mean #Alec is very traditional and technical in his fighting #while Magnus is more adaptive and creative in his fighting #for alec fighting formed him and helped him and he loves it #for magnus it was a way of survival that he hated to have to need but was glad that he had it

[foodsies4me]

March Malec fic rec!

A very big thank you to @just-add-butter for this month's suggestion: Animal transformations! As usual, I'm keeping it to one fic per author, bust several of these authors have multiple fics that apply and even more fics that are wonderful. And, if you want to add you own recs in the replies, tags or reblogs please feel free to do so! (Also if someone has a theme for April please tell me so I can get that list out a bit sooner than at the very end of the month, lol)

I have tagged the authors whose Tumblr account I know, but if you'd prefer I not tag you, please tell me so! I don't want these to be annoying for the authors.

One-shots:

Hop into my arms by @malecfan09: Magnus gets turned into a bunny and it's adorable, what more do you want me to say? This is just fluff, fluff and more fluff.

Summary

Magnus has been magically turned into a bunny by a rogue warlock and Alec looks after him until the spell wears off. *** Flufftober 2023: Day 18 - protecting and Day 20- reading together

Shake Your Fetters Loose by Dreadwyrms: Alec gets turned into a dog and Magnus is NOT a dog person. Post canon with married Malec and again lots of fluff.

Summary:

An investigation into a rogue warlock goes very, very wrong, and Magnus learns he’ll never ever really be a dog person. AKA the one in which Alec accidentally gets turned into a dog.

Everybody (does not) want to be a cat by Falazure: One of the many, many Magnus or Alec get turned into a cat fics on this list.

Summary:

Magnus has suffered worse things in his long life, but being turned into a cat was still up-there on the list of rather annoying inconveniences.

Deepest desires (give in) by @myulalie: Another kitty Magnus fic based on a drawing by @misawkward.

Summary:

Were-cats are good luck by shadowhunters' standards, so when a black, jewelry covered cat appears at the Institute, Alec pays him his respects. He needs it, considering the messes Clary and Jace keep dragging him in. Alec certainly doesn't expect the were-cat to take a liking to him, and even less to start flirting with him...

the catastrophe of success by @alexanderlightweight: A personal favourite Magnus cat fic of mine!

Summary:

Magnus Bane was the most eligible bachelor in the Downworld, sought after by everyone from mundanes to Seelie Princes but a man tired after centuries of heartbreak. In an attempt to gain a respite from his admirers, Magnus proposed a deal. A key to his loft and a path through his wards guarded by his cat, if anyone managed to take the key, Magnus would grant them a date.

Multi-chapter fics or series:

The dragon!Alec series by @to-the-stars-writing, who is perhaps the queen of the dragon Alec fics. I have read and reread every single one of them.

Summary of Building a Clan (aka part one in this series)

Keeping secrets was never easy. Alec should know – he was keeping quite a few. Sometimes it was hard to remember who knew what secrets. The chance of slipping up, the damage that could cause, was unthinkable. There were too many things about himself that he couldn’t let just anyone know. Too many things that marked him as wrong or different, even if he didn’t understand why sometimes. His family were the only ones to know his biggest secret, one that could get him killed if he wasn’t careful. Bad enough that his parents had once been a part of the Circle and extremely close to Valentine himself. If any Shadowhunters – or, Angel forbid, the Clave – ever found out that Maryse had allowed Valentine to inject her with something, mixing what she’d been told was more Angel blood with her unborn child, the ramifications could be catastrophic for their family. More so if they ever found out it wasn’t Angel blood that he’d injected the fetus with. It was dragon blood.

The Warlock's Cat by @dreaming-marchling, which I already put on my end-of-the-year rec list, but it deserves to be here again because So Good. Kitty Alec fic!

Summary

Pain raced up his arm. It was a sharp throb that radiated out. More than a broken bone. When Alec went to flex his hand to see how bad it was he couldn’t. His eyes snapped to his own hand and there was no hand. There was no him. By the Angel… Alec scrambled up on uncoordinated legs – too many legs! – that trembled underneath him. He panted and looked down at himself as best he could. Dark fur. Two paws, one still scorching with pain. The ground not even a foot below him even though he was standing as tall as he could. Reality was screaming at him and Alec couldn’t accept it. His brain couldn’t wrap itself around what was in front of him. That bastard had turned him into a cat.

Shoelaces and Precious Metals by @violet-renegade: Another dragon!Alec fic that is angsty and sweet and just a very nice read.

Summary

Magnus loves Alexander, his proud dragon Shadowhunter, and he knows that Shadowhunters don't display their relationships with collars the way Downworlders do. Magnus always thought he understood what that meant for him and Alec. As it turns out, Magnus didn't understand at all In the early months of their relationship, Alec had let himself wonder about what kind of collar Magnus might offer him. Sometimes, he'd even indulge in the thought that Magnus would coordinate Alec’s collars with his own outfit, marking it clear who Alec belonged to every time they went out. And then Magnus doesn't ask. And doesn't ask. And doesn't ask.

Hearth and Home by @molly_jae: And another Dragon!Alec fic. Yes there are a lot of dragon fics!

Summary of Ichor and Cuddles which is the first part in this two-part series:

“Alexander, I love you,” Magnus sighs, throwing his head back with a thud against the hardwood floor. “But unlike your lovely scales, ichor does not just slide off my limited edition Marc Jacobs jacket, or these pants you love to see my ass in.”

The Warlock's Familiar by @harkasun: Another cat!Alec fic!

Summary:

For over five years, Alec Lightwood has been denied his birth right: that of a familiar to be claimed by a warlock. When he finally finds that warlock, having talked him down from the ledge of Brooklyn Bridge, he despairs to find that the man wants nothing to do with him. With rising pressures from his family, and his warlock’s steadfast determination to shut him out, Alec must talk his way into Magnus’s home and heart. The only question is: how far will he go to claim his fate?

#Fic rec #Malec fic rec #Spent the past few days rereading some of these #and I now want to write a dragon!Aec fic #and a Cat!Magnus fic #help #too manny plotbunnies

[alexanderlightweight]

Any writing with short!Alec? I can imagine Magnus introducing Alec to his friends and they’re like ‘is this a joke? Is he invisible? Have you finally lost it?’ And Alec just steps out from behind him and completely fucks them up while Magnus watches with adoration.

i really love show malec and so i headcanon them as that and don't have any plans to write alec smaller though i would considering and have writen magnus bigger due to his warlock mark?

i wrote alec super tall for a prompt for @saeths and i also wrote a giant megladon!magnus mer for them but i like keeping malec at least as tall as how they come across.

i know that in the books alec is shorter than magnus but personally, i just adore that alec is a bit taller and scowly and softens and submits so beautifully to magnus. all of that power and strength and training and he just melts for magnus and my brain goes a;ksjbaksdbjf;abf.

this is an absolutely fine ask btw! i appreciate asks like this because it helps me explain stuff and i'm also willing to work around stuff to try and incorporate things.

this is smol!dragon!alec because i just got some good news (a meeting cancelled which means i dont have to leave the house or see none-house people today! - i am an anxious introvert and @saeths is a non-anxious extrovert so i love cancelations! and they like that i am around for cuddles) dragon style. part of the 'taste of his magic' verse as a treat?

<3 lumine

-

"I thought you said you had something impressive to show us?" Ragnor mocks as he steps in and plops in his chair, he stares over at where Alexander is pretending to nap and rolls his eyes.

Magnus stares at Ragnor and wonders just what is going on.

Alexander is curled up the size of a housecat on the windowseat and Magnus knows that he looks small, but he's still a dragon.

"Are you experimenting with reptiles again?" Ragnor asks, absently summoning himself a cuppa, "I thought you gave that up when you lost Baby to Camille?"

Magnus can feel the glow of jealous, accusatory eyes on his back and he blinks rapidly at Ragnor and wonders if he can get away with just summoning a scone into the other warlocks mouth. Anything to get him to stop talking.

"Ba-" he starts and there is a subtle hiss that only he seems to hear and he clears his throat. "The snake was merely an accessory, Ragnor. A security feature, hardly anything more than a sometimes useful pet." Magnus leaves out how cute the snake was, he doesn't think it would go well for him.

That seems to placate Alexander but Ragnor is sending him a confused, dubious look.

"Well then, what's with the lizard on your windowseat, hmm?"

"He's not a lizard." Magnus bites through gritted teeth because he can feel the force of Alexander's stare growing colder. "Ragnor, when was the last time you slept?"

"Oh a few days ago or so. Research and all that, you know how that is." Ragnor does look a bit peckish and the hollows under his eyes are a dark green rather than the normal shade.

"Ragnor-" Magnus starts and then he sees movement and he shifts, lunging forward to grab Alexander's nape with his maw. He instinctively growls and shakes and to his delighted surprise, Alexander goes limp.

-

Alec glares at the tired old warlock who interrupted his nap and then sighs, content as Magnus holds him close.

It's exactly as he planned and he smirks, smug from his position of being held and rocked by Magnus' mouth.

Alec smirks and, with a flick of his tongue, freezes the old warlock's tea.

The man splutters and gives them both an accusatory stare before his skin pales to a soft, sage green with fear as their eyes meet.

"Ducky, please tell me you don't have a dragon in your mouth."

Alec smirks and gives the lightest of trills and the warlock shivers, hands up in surrender.

Magnus chuffs around where he's holding him and Alec rolls his eyes, finally taking the force of his gaze away.

It's hardly his fault if even as the size of say, a lizard, Alec is too powerful for warlocks to gaze upon without fear.

... well, all warlocks except for Magnus of course.

#lumine answers asks #lumine talks to ppl #the taste of his magic #lumine writes

[cuubism]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @arialerendeair :) wow this is an ambitious game XD

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

162

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

906,535. I'm trying to hit 1 mil by the end of the year so wish me luck 😂

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Basically just Shadowhunters and Sandman with occasionally forays into others.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

a lucky break(out) (2,457), mind & heart, body & soul (2,112), don't mess with the high warlock of brooklyn (1,723), In Waking Dreams (1,141), and Complex Mathematics (1,068). Kind of a surprising spread tbh.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always, though it can take a while. It just feels nice to do.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Certainly After Life. Magnus died in that one.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmm, most of my fics have reasonably happy endings. The Silly Rabbit series is very happy. The chaotic whumptober fic Kidnapping Your Heart is basically just crack so I'd consider that one pretty happy too 😂

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Only rarely, and usually it's on fics that I'd considered relatively unobjectionable, like MHBS, which is funny. The more fucked up stuff doesn't get hate but the stuff I thought was casual and mainstream does 😂 dunno why

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, though it's something I've had to get gradually more comfortable with over several years. With each fic I become further corrupted and venture into kinkier material. This can only be a good thing. I don't know exactly what we mean by what kind... I like when it's heavy on the feelings. Especially if the feelings are unspoken.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Usually no, but I threw Aziraphale and Crowley into Nightingales for one chapter. If I did ever write more crossovers it would probably only be between canons that seem to naturally meld together (like Good Omens and Sandman).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Well not that I know of [knock on wood]

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yup, Points of View was translated into Russian. Very cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Never in the direct sense of both contributing writing to the same document. I don't think that method would work well for me. But @magnusbae is my perennial brainstorming buddy who's crafted the backend story and vibes of so many of my fics, especially dreamling. I've done the same with @silver-lily-louise for some malec stories before too.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't know if I have one. Malec maybe for sheer longevity. I'm usually obsessed with one thing at a time and then just not obsessed with it at all at other times XD

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oof. I'd still like to finish my malec wips XD I begin to fear that I won't, though, since some would be so long and I've made so little progress on them this year. Maybe, though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue (also my favorite part to write). Creating weird concepts, magics, functions of the world and so on. Language & style.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes I have to remind myself to do character introspection. I'll get through an entire scene and realize I haven't remarked at all on what the POV character is feeling, shown it externally maybe but not had them actually reflect internally. It comes from a combination of two things: spending a while in school writing film scripts and internalizing that writing style (all visuals no internal narration), plus just being kinda dissociated from my own feelings most of the time 😂 my characters aren't feeling shit because neither am I. I also tend to overcomplicate my plots and get myself mired in them, it's the number one reason I get stuck on fics or don't manage to finish them.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've only done it very very sparingly and I'm careful to get it right. Only used if it makes specific contextual sense.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Funnily enough it was probably also malec back when I was a teenager, before Shadowhunters show even existed, though I never posted anything then.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh gosh. For malec probably still dissolution. For dreamling I'm extremely fond of Deja vu, Deja connu, it really pushed me outside the bounds of the types of stories I usually gravitate towards, in a good way. At the moment more of my 'favs' are probably in sandman simply because changing fandoms forced me to up my game and expand my comfort zone, which was a good thing. I also really like how Patron Saint came out, I hadn't been that happy with a one shot in a while, and writing from Death's POV really helped me grasp her character better. One of my only fics that had a platonic relationship at its core, too.

tagging @pellaaearien, @tharkuun, @im-not-corrupted if you feel compelled to do 20 whole questions XD

#every time i have to tag people for one of these things i forget the existence of every single person i've ever spoken to in my life #tag games

[khaleesiofalicante]

I know you love a good moodboard so when you’re bored:

Malec & non-sexual intimacy

(or tell me to do it myself 😄)

I do love making moodboards when I'm bored!! I spent the whole day making moodboards for my 2024 vision board so I'm on a roll!

It turned into a mini characterisation activity so thanks for that. Let's explore!

Cuddling - Seeking comfort in warmth, their breath against your skin, the familiarity of someone's soft snores, the rustling of the blankets.

Head scratches - When you have your head on their lap, and are in a different world as you reading a good book or watch an interesting movie, and the only thing tethering you to this world is their fingers against your scalp.

Sharing each other's clothes - Being surrounded by their smell and feeling like you're wearing a hug. The softness of 'it fits me' and 'you fit me'.

Good vacations - Gravitating between 'sometimes I want to feel like we're the only two people in the world' and 'I want to see the whole world with you so take me everywhere and show me everything'.

Hosting friends - You give me so much love. I want to share it with other people before it all spills over. I give you so much love. I want other people to see and know how loved you are.

Leaving love notes - It's not enough. Love letters. Wedding vows. None of it is enough. There is so much I want to say and so much love to give. So, let me leave it all over for you. Put them together like you put me together.

Silly arguments - I love arguing with you. I love learning from you. I just love fighting with you for no reason because you are breathtaking when you are passionate and I'm a sucker who likes to watch you win.

Building things together - Is it a puzzle? Is it a baby's crib? Is it an Alliance? Is it a future together? I love caring together. I love when we care about something enough to work on it together. I love being your partner.

#idk what this is sorry adjncsk #malec #my writing