#alec lightwood meta

[carelessflower]

how much power is in the ring magnus give alec?

first, a little revisit to trsom

it's shown from scenes like this in the books that despite having the power to bring forward incapable feats or destruction, magnus doesn't want to use it, like at all. we get brief instances in the past where he used it and how much it affected him (killing his stepfather, creating earthquakes when he was upset). the status quo is set, magnus lightwood-bane and his immensely frightening, possibly corruptive magic will never accept each other's friend request again.

but then, there's this scene

the kind of power comes from the very heart of hell. we know warlocks are offsprings of demons, so it's safe to assume their heritage will somewhat show its influence in their magic. but this isn't your garden variety charm. from what the seelie girl trying to convey here, the ring literally reeks of magic from the deepest, most unpredictable and intimidating part of existence.

does alec know he's carrying a piece of magnus too-dangerous-to-not-be-unsealed-magic around him every day? and that there's no end magnus wouldn't go to, even if it's the part of himself he's terrified of, to keep alec safe?

@magnus-the-maqnificent @dustandducks @pocketoffeels

#malec #alec lightwood #magnus bane #shadowhunters #the mortal instruments #the shadowhunter chronicles #tsc #tmi #the red scrolls of magic #trsom #the land i lost #the eldest curses #tec #thoughts #meta #alec do it a favor and #never joke about world domination

[faejilly]

i think the fandom doesn’t capitalize on the fact that Alec is a older brother, that man probably has so much more black mail on Izzy and Jace then they do on him

#mood

Izzy and Jace have nothing they can use on Alec.

One: They didn't think they'd ever need to because they thought they knew what he'd do in most situations (say no and then begrudgingly help them anyway, and tbf to them, they're mostly not wrong pre-Magnus)

Two: He is so aggressively self-contained for survival reasons that the only 'secrets' either of them has on him are the facts that he's gay and he and his mother have a fucked up relationship and THOSE ARE NOT THINGS YOU CAN USE FOR 'friendly family blackmail'.

Three: Alec is a tactician, he is observant, he is ruthless. He knows everything Izzy and Jace have ever done and the fact that he (as far as we know) never uses any of it is amazing and a little heart-breaking because he could have manipulated and threatened the fuck out of them and made his own life so much easier and he never ever did.

#jilly answers #forever-nox #lightwood family feels #alec lightwood #my sh rambling #sh meta #JOIN ME IN MY ETERNAL #*dying whale noises* #re: Alec Lightwood's improbable and compelling combination of talents a cptsd #deep self-assessment #well-trained comprehensive observational skills #including the VERY RARE ability to constantly re-assess with every new thing he observes/learns #paired with completely inflexible ethics #absolute faith in his own skills #vs complete and utter lack of a sense of VALUE IN ANY OF THEM #endless compassion #for everyone except himself #and anyone being an idiot #ability to comprehensively assess a complex situation in .1 seconds #and then fling himself into the most batshit 'solution' with 110% conviction #while everyone is still going #'what?' #I love him he is so fucked up y'all #shadowhunters

[thelostgirl21]

I think one of the reasons why I absolutely adore Magnus and Alec's first time together is because, as Magnus once said, Alec is just so... innocent.

I know that fans are often equating him sort of pouncing on Magnus to passionately kiss him (as soon as he learned they had the apartment to themselves), and later eagerly pushing him towards the bedroom while starting to unbutton his shirt, as him being anything but "innocent".

But, to me, having the confidence to express his desires, going after what he wants, and taking charge of a situation - even one filled with some unknowns - is not something indicating a lack of innocence on Alec's part.

Part of it likely comes from his own temperament. Like Izzy said, he has a tendency to overthink things.

He can make brash and impulsive decisions, at times, in an effort to quickly fix issues causing him a great deal of emotional distress, true. But otherwise, he usually tries to look at a situation through as many angles as he can, collect data from a number of different sources, ask for other people's input, etc., before reaching a conclusion.

Once he does commit to a given course of action, however, he fully commits!

Not blindly (i.e. the feedback he receives from his environment will make him change course if he notices something's wrong and he's no longer sure that he's doing the right thing), but with an impressive amount of drive, willpower, and determination.

What makes him such a formidable leader, IMHO, is that he's got the strength of his convictions, while said convictions remain flexible and adaptable in light of any newly acquired information.

Whenever he realizes he's made a mistake, he's able to own it, figure out / explain why he made that mistake, learn from it, and work on solutions to prevent making those same mistakes again.

And it is a really, really good thing. Because, driven as he is, if he was remotely dogmatic in his beliefs or unable to cope with the idea of being wrong, he'd truly be dangerous - crushing anything and anyone in his path to reach his objectives.

But the point is that Alec is someone that typically tries to measure the potential impact of his actions before he reaches a decision.

And, since all of his concerns have been dealt with before - during the "overthinking phase" - there's often no longer any need for him to hesitate or hold back while acting on it.

In this very instance, it was rather clear that becoming sexually intimate with Magnus was something that he'd had the chance to think long and hard (no pun intended) about.

Since - given he'd already been with approximately 17 000 lovers before - the likeliness of Magnus being comfortable having sex with him was rather high.

From Alec's P.O.V., I'm guessing that the only one "reasonably holding them back" from being sexually intimate with each other, technically, was Alec himself.

I have a feeling that he already knew that, deep down, he felt ready to have sex with Magnus when he went to ask Izzy for advice.

He just needed to be sure that his lack of experience wasn't making him overlook any important variables before fully "going for it".

For example: Is there anything that Izzy wished she'd have known before she had sex for the first time that she didn't? Anything specific he should be made aware of? Anything he (or Magnus) could regret?

And she basically lets him know that - since Magnus and him genuinely care about each other - it's going to be fine.

If the thought of having sex with Magnus is something that Alec wants, if it makes him happy, then the best thing for him to do is to stop worrying!

She's making it rather clear that her own experience with sexual intimacy is - thankfully - not something she regrets, and there's no reason why Alec might regret it, either.

If it is something that he does yearn for, and since he's with someone that genuinely cares about his well-being and safety, then the only thing that might ruin this for Alec is Alec himself worrying about what could go wrong.

So, Alec pouncing on Magnus - going right after what he wants and what makes him happy with pure abandon once he's sure of his decision - to me, is extremely typical of the way Alec behaves in general.

But, most importantly, I see it as a sign of complete trust in his partner.

He's comfortable enough initiating the physical intimacy and openly expressing what he wants, regardless of his own inexperience, because he trusts Magnus to guide him through the process.

As it turns out, however, Alec had overlooked some variables - namely Magnus' own fears and insecurities. And this is where Alec displays traits that really show how innocent he is, too.

He sees Magnus as someone that loves him unconditionally, and that couldn't possibly seek to hurt or take advantage of him.

Alec is in love with him, he feels loved by him, and he's got no tangible awareness, apparently, that there is a significant power imbalance between them that Magnus (thankfully) remains very aware and respectfully mindful of.

I say "thankfully", because the fact that Magnus worries about taking advantage of any situation with Alec is a good sign that Alec's trust in him isn't being misplaced.

I believe that Magnus is fully aware that, his whole life, Alec has been conditioned to meet the expectations of those he loves and depends on to feel safe.

And, while they eventually did see the errors of their ways, his parents did use how they expressed or withheld love and approval towards their children as motivational tools to get them to act certain ways, and make certain choices.

Alec was even willing to go as far as marry Lydia because he felt responsible for fixing his parent's mistakes and restoring his family's honor.

He has a tendency to readily sacrifice his own wants and needs for those he loves - to put himself second.

And Magnus knows that he's always been very honest with him regarding his past sex life history.

From appreciative "name dropping" (Michelangelo was "excellent in bed", Casanova was "brazen"...) to him having been with "men, women, seelies, warlocks, vampires... a djin or two" (about 17 000 of them!), he's made it rather clear that sex is something he enjoys indulging in every now and then.

So, it wouldn't be far fetched for Magnus to worry that Alec would have interpreted his openness about sex in general as being something that he would absolutely need to have in a relationship in order to continue being interested in his partner.

It makes sense that Magnus would be concerned that he may have unwittingly offered Alec the impression that, if he took too long before being able to "give him what he needs" to be happy or feel fulfilled in their relationship, then he might decide that being with a 20-something inexperienced virgin Shadowhunter wasn't worth it, and/or go seek "his pleasure" elsewhere.

I mean, from what I understand, Magnus himself has often been made to feel like what he had to offer was either too much, or not enough, too. He even apologetically told Alec in the beginning of their relationship "I know I'm a lot to get used to".

So, his own ability to clearly express where he stands and what he wants or needs - and have his partner understand it - has been something that he's been made to feel very insecure about.

And the last thing he wishes to do, I believe, is hurt Alec or take advantage of him; to have Alec feel like he should be sexually active with him based on any wrongly interpreted signal that Magnus might have been unwittingly sending him simply by being open and honest about his past.

And if you do force yourself to have sex with someone without truly wanting it - for fear that you might be losing them if you don't - there's a very high likeliness of your own body responding to the sexual act as some form of aggression.

Sadly, once your brain starts making associations between the feeling that some of your personal boundaries having been violated and the person you were with when that feeling occurred, you may instinctively start withdrawing from them and be uncomfortable being generally intimate with them.

So, Magnus being instinctively cautious, and refusing to immediately take Alec's eagerness to be sexually intimate with him at face value makes sense and is extremely reassuring in its own way.

Alec also display some measure of innocence in the way he responds to Magnus attempt at slowing him down, too.

It goes from this sort of still somewhat eager open confusion where he's just verbally clarifying what he wants (Okay... I thought pouncing on your significant other once you've made sure the way is clear might convey "I want us to sleep together! Let's do this! I'm ready!"... Did I miss something? Damnit, Izzy, I swear if I learn there's some sort of mating ritual you're supposed to go through first, and you never thought to tell me, I'll be so pissed!)...

...to extremely focused on Magnus when he starts expressing his own concerns with Alec's wish for them to become sexually intimate together so soon into the relationship.

Alec's not just listening to his words, but appears to be actively looking for clues in Magnus' gaze and in his behavior to help him figure out what's happening, and what he might have been missing in all of his prior "overthinking".

While Alec doesn't seem to fully "get it" (apparently totally unaware that having sex with someone before you are fully ready might put a strain on a relationship, and/or just how easy it would be for someone to take advantage of the way Alec is so openly offering himself to them), he does appear to get that Magnus is scared that he is making the decision to please him, rather than because he truly wants to.

So, to me, having Alec clearly tell him "You have nothing to worry about, I want this", right before confidently pushing Magnus towards the bedroom while starting to unbutton his shirt, doesn't translate as a lack of innocence on his part, either.

I see it more as Alec's way of reassuring Magnus that he is genuinely ready for them to be sexually intimate together. It's him trying to make Magnus feel that he's doing this for himself, first and foremost.

It's Alec wordlessly saying "I may be inexperienced, but I don't see why being inexperienced should make me apprehensive about being sexually intimate with you. I trust you, I believe I'm making the right choice for myself, and I need you to trust me, too."

Alec's innocence also shines through in the way he initiates making love with Magnus like someone that's never been hurt in love before.

In the way he doesn't seem to have any specific expectations besides sharing something that's supposedly wonderful and fun with Magnus.

His guards are completely down, and he's just this happy, giggling, fumbling mess feeling his way around and trying to figure out the steps as he goes...

When Magnus teasingly remarks "that was graceful" (referring to how they both lost their balance several times while making their way to the bed - trying to remove pieces of clothing at the same time - to finally clumsily topple together on top of said bed), Alec gets in on the humor by happily replying "Shadowhunter" while gesturing to himself, then passionately dives right back in all the kissing and groping.

It doesn't seem to occur to him - not even for a second - that some sexual partners have a tendency to take sex very "seriously", and are unable to keep their concentration when the other person is constantly giggling and laughing or even *gasp* joking.

He's not acting like he's scared of messing anything up by not knowing what he's doing, either.

He's not worried about the possibility of Magnus gossiping about having slept with a Shadowhunter, while mocking his lack of experience or "technique" with fellow Warlocks.

There isn't the slightest notion in his mind that any of this could be about Magnus' wishing to add a Shadowhunter on his already impressive list of "sexual conquests".

Until Magnus interrupts them again, there's not a single tiny bit of concern being expressed by Alec about his ability to "offer a good sexual performance", and/or "living up to his partner's expectations", either.

He's just this happy, carefree, loving partner having the time of his life, exploring something new and wonderful in his relationship with the man he loves - something that he never believed he could ever have for himself - and staying in the moment.

He's (rightly) assuming that, because Magnus saw him when it seemed no one else did, told him that being "different" was a good thing, has since been able to set up clear boundaries with him and hold him accountable in the relationship without targeting his ego, and has never tried to make him feel like he's not "good enough" for him, there's no reason why Magnus should expect him to offer anything other than himself.

There's no use for Alec to attempt to pretend he's this amazing lover when he's never been in the position of being a lover before, and Magnus has clearly told him that "he doesn't care how many people he hasn't been with" already.

Magnus makes Alec feel safe, unconditionally loved, supported, and gives him confidence.

Generally speaking, in virtually any context, he uses his own power and experience to empower Alec and help him reach his own potential, rather than seek to dominate him and make him feel small.

He's someone that Alec feels comfortable being emotionally and physically "naked" with.

I remember that the first time I heard and watched the way Alec proudly answered "Shadowhunter" - then immediately grabbed Magnus to kiss him some more (barely giving him any time to process the comment) - I was just totally overwhelmed with "feels"!

Alec is just so blissfully happy and adorably confident and way too pure for this world in this moment! And it's such a delight to watch Magnus positively respond to him and savor those moments with him.

Being innocent, in a sexual context, is not something that I personally see as turning 3 shades of red and starting to giggle nervously because someone said the word "penis" out loud, or freezing at the thought of seeing or touching a bit of skin.

I mean, seeing how comfortable Jace was with Alec walking in on him while he was in the middle of foreplay with a member of his "book club", I'm guessing that it's not the first time something like that has happened between them.

Alec himself appeared to be more irritated with Jace's blatant lack of shame or sense of interpersonal boundaries, rather than traumatized over what he saw was about to happen.

And then, there's Isabelle that, if I remembered correctly, complained about how she was constantly talking to Alec about her love/sex life, while he kept everything to himself.

So, there's no question that Alec knows what sex is, and likely sees sexual activity as something natural that is nothing to be ashamed of.

Being in his early twenties, you would sort of expect him to be surrounded by openly sexually active people and understand what's usually "going on" in a bedroom, not to mention having been given plenty of time to explore his own body.

Thus, what makes him innocent, in the context of a romantic and sexual relationship, to me, really is how he approaches lovemaking with such an open and trusting heart, while laughing, stumbling, trying to connect with his partner and focusing on them being happy together without any hint of concern or fear of being hurt in the process.

And Magnus offers Alec a safe space to be himself and fully enjoy the moment they are sharing by letting Alec set the pace and following his lead. He's stumbling, giggling, and allowing himself to be blissfully happy right alongside him, approaching the whole experience as something new and exciting.

And it is. Each partner you share a bed with is unique, and you will need to find your own shared rhythm with them.

Magnus, however, could easily have ignored all of this and spontaneously taken the role of "the experienced mentor" that will teach the "newbie" everything he knows about sex, including the "best, most pleasurable way to do it"! But he didn't.

And if you're laughing at the statement I just gave, you'd be surprised with how many partners I've had, in my teenage and adult years, that approached sex as some sort of competitive sport, boasting at their own skills and experience, and immediately tried to "take you under their wing" to "teach you all of their trade secrets" as soon as they learned that they were the most experienced out of the two.

Thankfully, my very first experience was with a guy one year younger than myself, that had only had one sexual partner before me, and who was just the sweetest, most attentive partner any virgin could have asked for.

He made the whole experience be about me being comfortable with what was happening and about us being and figuring things out together; and that was exactly what I needed at the time. He never made me feel like there was any rush for us to get anywhere specific together.

Sadly, not everyone is as fortunate. Some experienced partners appear to care way more about showcasing their skills and being praised for "giving you a good time", rather than achieving any sense of partnership.

I really believe, however, that the most experienced partner's role should always be to put themselves at the least experienced partner's level at first, so that they can then build something together from there.

Perhaps the least experienced one will be delighted to have the most experienced partner "show off" what they can do and teach them new things!

But the point simply is that it should be a choice they make, and not something that's being imposed on them from the get go on the assumption that "my job is to show you a good time and teach you stuff".

Immediately taking charge without first confirming that this is something the other wants or needs is the best way to damage the least experienced partner's confidence, make them feel like what they have to offer you with their current level of skills and knowledge isn't enough, and make them become overly fearful of taking initiative and just experimenting with different things in the bedroom.

And this is true whether the person you are with is someone you care about, love, and wish to develop a relationship with, or someone you just met at a bar and may never see again in your life.

Even if the goal of the sexual encounter isn't to build a more in depth relationship, the moment you are spending together is an intimate act where you are supposed to be partners. It's a moment where you need to make sure that you both (or all, should you be more than two) get something out of it, and feel like you are contributing to what's happening.

I have friends involved in BDSM - some of them enjoying the occasional company of a complete stranger as they feel it adds something exciting to the experience.

Anyone with a healthy approach to BDSM would tell you how important it is for any dominant/submissive dynamic to be consensual and include limits that all partners have discussed and agreed upon.

There's nothing wrong with the more experienced partner taking the lead in any sexual context, but they always need to make sure that this is what the other(s) want. Trust and communication are key - including paying attention to the non-verbal.

Thankfully, in this context Magnus handles Alec's innocence and inexperience absolutely beautifully, and is more than willing to make the moment about Alec and about the two of them.

Actually, Magnus is so skilled at matching Alec's own rhythm and sharing the experience with him, that he instinctively finds himself letting his own barriers down.

Apparently, Alec makes love with such an open heart and soul - hiding no part of himself in the process - that Magnus can't maintain his own glamour to hide any part of himself from Alec, either.

And, just like that, the power dynamic is changed!

In the Shadow World, Shadowhunters consider themselves the superior race since they share blood with the angels.

They are warriors of light imbued with Heavenly powers that proudly display their runes for anyone (except Mundanes, obviously) to see!

But the Downworlders - that share blood with demons - are taught to hide their "shameful demonic heritage" and are expected to constantly fight against their "demonic nature" that makes them "naturally more prone" to violence, decadence, evil actions, and so forth.

Warlocks may be the most powerful species of the Shadow World, they also are the literal children of demons - hybrids that can't even have their own children and who are carrying a physical mark that reflects their demonic parentage.

Some Shadowhunters apparently used to take those marks as trophies (it's pretty clear that Circle members still do), and it seems to be one of the ways that Shadowhunters sometimes use to confirm the identity of a warlock.

Later, we also learn that Magnus has been vulnerable to Asmodeus' influence as a child because he was the only other person he'd ever met with "eyes like his".

Magnus' eyes are tied to a lot of shame, early rejection (including his mother killing herself and abandoning him, when he was nine, when she finally realized what her son's cat eyes meant), and overall bad memories.

I think that the only times, until then, that we'd seen Magnus with his glamour down on the show was when he was trying to drive people away / intimidate them / remind them of how powerful and potentially dangerous he (or a spell he is performing) is.

It's when he wants people to remember that he's also "part monster", that they would do well not to get on his bad side, or make sure that someone requiring his services understands the type of forces they are dealing with.

Jocelyn Fairchild knocking at his door to get Clary's memories removed, those Circle members in the club, the one Magnus was fighting in his apartment...

They are all people that Magnus wanted to send some form of warning to, whether the warning was hostile, or not.

And suddenly, those "monster eyes" are on full display for Alec to see in a context where he wishes to make Alec feel safe and avoid anything that could ever drive him away.

Thanks to him having lost control over his glamour, Alec is now concerned that he's done something wrong...

And, although Magnus is quick to reassure Alec that his current reaction has nothing to do with something he did - or with him not wanting to share this intimate moment with him - he's still avoiding Alec's gaze, seemingly withdrawing from him, and offering no coherent or clear explanation as to why.

But, try as he might, Magnus can't bring the glamour back on, so he's essentially got two choices...

He can either trust that Alec won't leave once he sees his warlock mark, and that he'll be able to accept that it is a part of him that he can't always control (apparently).

That, should Alec find his eyes' appearance unsettling, they'll find ways to manage the situation until Magnus becomes better at maintaining his glamour around Alec while the two of them are being intimate with each other. Maybe get creative with the use of blindfolds?

Or he can continue to let Alec worry over what's happening while stubbornly keeping his eyes closed and refusing to look at him until he gets the glamour back on, thus maintaining a certain form of "barrier" between them.

Magnus thus chooses to take the risk of allowing himself to be vulnerable with Alec once again - allowing him to see him without any glamour - so he'll understand that his reaction wasn't caused by anything Alec did.

Or actually, maybe it was caused by something Alec did; just not by something Alec did wrong.

And I also love the way that Alec's expression doesn't change right away once Magnus finds the courage to turn around.

I love that Alec briefly continues to just look at him like he's still trying to figure out what's wrong with Magnus now that he's FINALLY able to look in his eyes - steadily searching for the answer there like he did earlier.

I like to think that Alec sort of initially just mentally went: "Okay, that's good, I've managed to get him to look at me. Now, I just need to convince him that it's okay for him to tell me what he meant by "los - OH!"

That the moment he realizes the eyes he's been looking into have changed color and appearance, he breaks into that slightly amused smile (mostly amused at himself for having been too focused on trying to read the emotions written there to immediately notice the change); relieved to know that Magnus and him will be okay.

Because, just like Madzie's gills looked incredibly cool, Magnus' cat eyes are absolutely gorgeous, and Alec knows he's just falling in love with his boyfriend's eyes all over again, gladly getting lost in their depth.

Alec can only hope that Magnus will believe him when he tells him that they are beautiful, that he's beautiful... That it will help relieve some of the pain, fears, and concerns he sees reflected in them...

Meanwhile, Magnus watches Alec go from being a concerned, confused, and inquisitive puppy; to a relieved, mesmerized, and adoring one in a matter of seconds!

Next thing he knows, there's a warm, gentle hand against his cheek; and a pair of open, steady, loving hazel eyes staring right back into his own, tenderly anchoring him there while Alec is calling his cat eyes beautiful, telling him that he's beautiful - all of him - with all the love and sincerity he can muster.

Magnus can allow himself to relax, lovingly reach up to caress the hand resting on his cheek while lazily blinking back at him in wonder.

His cat eyes - that Magnus had usually used to inspire respect and fear, to remind people of his powers and appear more intimidating - aren't driving him away.

For some reason, they appear to be drawing Alec in instead, inspiring him to move even closer to him rather than farther apart. And perhaps - just perhaps - if Alec can love them and see beauty in them, he might be able to learn to love and fully own that part of himself, too.

One of the things that fascinate me about Alec is that, once he found out that his parents and the Clave had lied to him his whole life about their involvement in the Circle, it's like he made the conscious decision to bring all of his perceptions of the Downworld back to factory reset.

He was able to recognize that all of the prejudices he'd ever had about warlocks, vampires, and other Downworlders weren't based on facts, and that there was no actual evidence that Downworlders were better or worse people just for having demon blood.

Instinctively, we fear what we don't know or don't understand - what we haven't been familiarized with when we were young. We perceive what isn't "like us" or "a part of our usual environment" as potential threats.

ROBERT: [Magnus]'s reputation precedes him. And even for a warlock, he’s a bit of a lothario. Alec, there’s so much that you don’t know about him.

ALEC: Well, then I plan to get to know him.

Alec's not denying that there are tons of things he doesn't know nor understand about Magnus, simply stating that he's not going to let that lack of knowledge make him treat Magnus as inherently "bad" or dangerous because of it.

He's going to take the time to get to know him - seek to better understand him - and he'll adapt his opinion of him based on what he sees, learns, finds, and experiences, rather than the opinion of people that have never bothered spending time with him, nor made any efforts to get to know him for who he is rather than what he could potentially do "as a warlock".

Better yet, he's going to start exploring the rest of the Downworld and getting to know their people as if he was experiencing their world and taking a look at them for the very first time, too.

When it comes to Magnus and the Downworld, Alec is choosing to leave himself open and trusting in the face of the unknown, rather than risking to unfairly treat them as threats to keep himself and fellow Shadowhunters "safe" from things they don't understand, yet are too fearful to go explore.

And, unlike Aldertree, he's wise enough to avoid treating anecdotal bad experiences, no matter how tragic or terrible they may be, as facts that can be generalized to all of the Downworld.

Just because the breaks of your car have malfunctioned and caused a crash doesn't mean that every car you'll climb in is ill-fated to have malfunctioning breaks and crash.

Alec is obviously not "innocent" all the way through. He grew up in a world of politics and is perfectly aware of the mind games and power plays that can and often occur there.

He was also emotionally and psychologically abused by parents that used his feelings to get what they wanted out of him (they may have thought they were doing it to protect their children from their past and the Clave, their behavior with their children was still controlling and abusive, even putting Jace, Isabelle, and Alec in the roles of the golden, invisible, and scapegoat child, respectively).

And that's sort of the point. Now that Alec has snapped out of it, he's very perceptive and typically good at noticing and identifying patterns of emotional manipulation, and/or when someone's motivations and goals go against the welfare of those they are supposed to be protecting.

And treating Downworlders as people also means avoiding to fall into the trap of idealizing them by believing that none of them ever would abuse their powers, among others.

Alec may have decided to start trusting and valuing Downworlders with an open heart, and utterly be refusing to see them as a threats based on their reputation and everything he doesn't know about them, but he still allows himself to have an opinion of each individual he meets.

Be they Shadowhunters, Downworlders, or Mundanes, if the individual's actions and motives appear to be self-serving, and/or threatens to bring harm to others, he won't trust nor support them.

But Magnus himself is the one that helped him realize that the way he'd been raised was wrong, and "snap out" of the manipulation and abuse he'd been the victim of. He's the one that inspired him to start questioning the "truths" he'd been blindly taught by the Clave, and to follow what he knew in his heart was right.

Magnus is the one that, while holding Alec accountable for his actions and letting him know when he didn't approve of his behavior, never tried to minimize what Alec was going through nor pretend that he was wrong for feeling the way he did.

In some ways, Alec is far from being innocent, but in others, he truly is.

He's never been in romantic relationship nor had sex with anyone before, he gets upset over the poor tunas being described as "fatty" on the menu of a sushi restaurant, he grew up being pretty sheltered from everything that exists outside of the Shadow World...

And, with Magnus, he doesn't need to pretend that he knows more than he does, nor hide any of that innocence from him, because he knows that he won't be judged for it, mocked about it or, especially, taken advantage of because of it.

He can afford to let his guards down and embrace that side of him that is filled with innocence and wonder because Magnus respects, values, and nurtures it.

What Magnus receives, in return, is the love and acceptation of someone that refuses to let other people's opinions or even blood connections dictate how he should see the world and others, takes the time to truly look at him, and openly tell him what he sees.

Alec doesn't care what warlocks marks are "supposed to mean" according to the Clave. Madzie's gills are cool-looking, so why shouldn't he compliment her on them?

Magnus' eyes are beautiful and he loves them, so why pretend otherwise?

"There is nothing ugly about you."

"I don't care who your parents are. I care who you are."

"You are the furthest thing from a greater demon."

After all, Alec's parents used to be Circle members, and he's the furthest thing from being Circle member, too.

All I can hope is that telling Magnus out loud that he shouldn't carry the burden nor shame of his parents' actions, or the fact that someone took advantage of him at his most vulnerable to try to turn him into someone he's not, is helping Alec truly internalize the fact that his family's crimes and mistakes aren't his to fix, and the way he'd treated or behaved with Downworlders before he realized how wrong his parents and the Clave were isn't something he should feel guilty about, either.

Take steps to make up for his mistakes and show proper responsibility for Downworlders who are under his people's protection, yes. Acknowledge what he did wrong and why it was wrong, absolutely.

But it doesn't make him a terrible person nor puts him at fault. He still deserves to be loved, cherished, put first, and be reminded of how beautiful he is, too.

I think what makes Malec such a beloved pairing is the amount of love and acceptance they have for each other, and their willingness to emotionally empathize despite their very different backgrounds and experiences.

Relationships do take efforts, but it is important not to overlook the type of efforts they require.

Relationships aren't about making the effort to change the other person to better suit yourself, nor to change yourself to become what the other person wants.

Because, while healthy relationships do, indeed, inspire people to change and (hopefully) become better; they do so by "unlocking" parts of ourselves that we didn't dare acknowledge, explore, develop, and/or express until then.

They do so by offering a supportive, loving, and safe environment for certain aspects of our personalities to hatch, take root, and/or grow.

But those are changes that come from within.

You can offer a romantic partner opportunities for change as much as you want, if they do not feel like they have anything to gain by embracing them (or worse, if their goal is to dominate and control the relationship), nothing good will come of it.

Those efforts, instead, are about learning to know and understand each other, finding the right balance between your partner's needs and your own, leaving your ego at the door while trying to resolve conflicts, admitting to being wrong when you are, showing appreciation and respect towards your partner for taking responsibility for their mistakes when it turns out that you are right, and seeking to come out of any conflict or difficult situation with the two of you having gained or learned something out of it, and with your partnership having ideally grown stronger from the experience.

Those efforts are about being willing to pool resources together to support and make each other stronger. They are about finding how to make your respective differences work in such a way that they complement each other, and accept that there are aspects of your lives where you'll need to agree to disagree.

Relationships take efforts, but they require healthy efforts.

And some of those efforts, thankfully, turn out to be more rewarding than anything else.

Because, while Magnus does have to make the effort of being mindful that he's Alec first romantic and sexual relationship, and he does have to make the effort of giving him space to explore, take risks, and set the pace for the both of them, he seems to be enjoying every single second of it.

Since Alec grew up in such a very sheltered environment, there are tons of things in the Mundane world - and even just life in general - that he's yet to have tasted, touched, seen, heard and experienced.

By loving him - by emotionally connecting with Alec - he gets the chance to re-experience many of the things he loves with him for the first time, too.

I have absolutely no trouble imagining Magnus bringing Alec to his favorite restaurants not so much for the food itself, but to drink in the sight of Alec tasting it and listening to him commenting on it - regardless of whether he ends up enjoying the same foods he does or not.

When they walk hand-in-hand in the streets of a foreign city, Alec is likely to pay attention to things that Magnus himself may never have noticed before, and appreciate details that he may have grown to take for granted over time, or stopped noticing after a while.

And, after having grown up with parents that - in Alec's own words - have drilled into him that he was never good enough, Alec has met someone that finds delight and joy in almost everything he does, and who treats him like he's the best thing that has ever happened to him in hundred of years!

Somehow, their respective needs and wants work together in a very beautiful and organic way.

They are different and they do come from different worlds, but their core values, personalities, ability to derive genuine happiness from their partner's own experience of it, and their desire to treat their relationship as a true partnership makes it work and allows them to overcome challenges together.

Magnus offered Alec a world he never thought he'd ever be allowed to have and experience.

Alec offered Magnus the key to opening his heart and fully emotionally connecting with all the wonders and joys of their world.

Magnus' powers is the magic he was born with, but Alec's love and innocence is the magic he chose to bring home with him and keep safe.

#Malec #Magnus Bane #Alec Lightwood #Alexander Lightwood #Shadowhunters #My thoughts #My stuff #Except for the video at the bottom from YouTube #Videos #My Post #Apparently Alec isn't the only one that tends to overthink things... #I just have way too many feels about these two lately #The art of coming in late to a fandom... #And word-vomitting meta upon it... #I might recover from that pairing... #One day... #Or maybe never... #Yeah never's good...

[buffyspeak]

i mean i know people were upset that alec didn’t say anything like “hey don’t do that” when magnus said he would die if it meant getting jace back and that magnus didn’t contradict alec when he said he was nothing without jace and like. i get it but i think it also speaks to them understanding each other more deeply, which also maybe speaks to them finding some common ground after their fights. alec knows what it’s like to feel the weight of responsibility and guilt so much that you’ll do anything to make it right, even risking yourself. and he knows there’s probably not much he can do to dissuade magnus. magnus in turn knows what jace means to alec and that even though alec is a complete whole person on his own, the fact remains that a) alec himself doesn’t necessarily feel that way and b) on some level alec will be a fundamentally changed person if they can’t save jace and/or if he dies. because he knows the depth of grief intimately and he knows how wrapped up in each other’s identities parabatai get.

#shadowhunters rewatch 2023 #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters meta

[peupeugunn]

i have so many questions about how shadowhunters travel across the city because yeah on the one hand they have speed and endurance runes but on the other hand. cities are Big.

like, what happens if someone's injured and needs more medical treatment than a rune, how do they get transported? piggy back style??? what about apprehended criminals? are they just walked halfway across the city to the institute?? they could so easily escape in that time?

and what about just. travelling here and there? izzy, jace, clary, alec, and simon took simon's van to the city of bones in the show but. was that cause it's too far away? because they finally had access to a vehicle? because they didn't want simon to lag behind if they were running???

surely shadowhunters have vehicles in the institute? maybe they aren't used much because traffic would be a hindrance but for non-emergency stuff.

do shadowhunters have personal vehicles? maybe, like i bet that if they can afford it with their own money, they can buy one. but that would mean that the institute has a parking lot. which is funny to me for reasons I don't understand.

izzy has a bike. i know it. i can feel it in my bones. jace isn't allowed to drive anything because. no (he knows how to ride a bike but he isn't allowed to). alec doesn't have a car or bike because what he does have, is road rage. in spades. but he does know how to ride a bike and drive a car.

#shadowhunters #the shadowhunter chronicles #the mortal instruments #shadowhunters meta #izzy lightwood #jace herondale #jace wayland #alec lightwood #now i want to write a road trip fic where portals stop working and the gang needs to go on a road trip and Fix Things #and/or i need to read it #i just need this concept in my life

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 2 Polls:

(Projected length: 32 days)

(Bonus Rounds: Here)

Day 1:

1. Ogai Mori vs. Pascal

2. The Doctor vs. Franky

Day 2:

3. Madoc vs. Daenerys Targaryen

4. Inspector Barnes vs. Bright Noa

Day 3:

5. August vs. Claude Frollo

6. Cale Henituse vs. Leif

Day 4:

7. Simon Petrikov vs. Chiron

8. Yami Sukehiro vs. Sei Handa

Day 5:

9. Gintoki Sakata vs. Eithan Arelius

10. Dr. Gregory House vs. Maglor

Day 6:

11. Wolverine vs. Izumi Curtis

12. Roy Mustang vs. Abraham van Helsing

Day 7:

13. Askeladd vs. Rune Saint John

14. Guts vs. Jake Sully

Day 8:

15. Sir Reginald Hargreeves vs. Jean Valjean

16. Kohachi Inugami vs. The Fix

Day 9:

17. Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla vs. Gumpa

18. Aphmau vs. Agent Washington

Day 10:

19. Grace vs. Vector the Crocodile

20. Alec Lightwood-Bane vs. Dadan

Day 11:

21. Bobby Nash vs. William Adama

22. Korosensei vs. The Warrior of Light

Day 12:

23. Kaname Date vs. Jack Starbright

24. Satoru Gojo vs. Dutch Van Der Linde

Day 13:

25. Xie Lian vs. Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane

26. Tom and Maddie Wachowski vs. Sakyo Furuichi

Day 14:

27. Welt Yang vs. Herlock Sholmes

28. Carlisle and Esme Cullen vs. Dracule Mihawk

Day 15:

29. Artemy Burakh vs. Barry and Iris West-Allen

30. Kazuma Kiryu vs. Yuugo and Lucas

Day 16:

31. Master Wu vs. Dave Seville

32. Axel vs. Izumi Tachibana

Day 17:

33. Arlecchino/The Knave vs. Sarah Jane Smith

34. Qifrey vs. Bell-Mere

Day 18:

35. Bobby Singer vs. Cap’n Craig Cuttlefish

36. Professor Hershel Layton vs. Donna Hanscum

Day 19:

37. Giovanni Potage vs. Ingo

38. Miles Edgeworth vs. Vil Shoenheit

Day 20:

39. Nick Fury vs. Dalinar Kholin

40. King Dedede and Meta Knight vs. Kavax au Telemanaus

Day 21:

41. Arataka Reigen vs. Jawbone O’Shaughnessey

42. Gol D. Roger vs. Abigail Pent and Magnus Quinn

Day 22:

43. Toriel Dreemurr vs. Master Kongo

44. Pongo and Perdita vs. Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik

Day 23:

45. Lance Strongbow vs. Derek Hale

46. Tony Stark vs. Roronoa Zoro

Day 24:

47. Jody Mills vs. Eric Gale

48. “Red-Haired” Shanks vs. Kurogane and Fai D’Flourite

Day 25:

49. Han Muchun vs. Iroh

50. Splinter vs. Lilia Vanrouge

Day 26:

51. Bruce Wayne vs. Thomas O’Malley

52. Jupiter North vs. Keishin Ukai

Day 27:

53. Kim Dokja vs. Roberto de Niro

54. Shōta Aizawa vs. Doctor Carmilla

Day 28:

55. Mendoza vs. Soundwave

56. David Wymack vs. Ash Ketchum

Day 29:

57. Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu vs. Yondu Udonta

58. Eda Clawthorne vs. Gavroche

Day 30:

59. Fukuzawa Yukichi vs. Optimus Prime

60. Camila Noceda vs. QSMP!Philza

Day 31:

61. Phoenix Wright vs. The Dragonborn

62. Bruno Bucciarati vs. Oliver Queen

Day 32:

63. Whitebeard vs. Otose

64. Sojiro Sakura vs. Yukari Yakumo

#mod is deeply looking forward to day 22 and day 30 #mod speaks #serial adopters bracket #round 2 #tumblr tournament #tumblr tourney #tumblr polls #poll bracket #character bracket #fandom bracket

[alexanderlightweight]

hello~ wensday prompt: what happens if alec was 6-7 years older. he wouldn't be parabatai with jace because he will be 18 and jace like 12 ? or he start date magnus much earlier before clary show up?

I hope you doing great! also have you seen "bodies bodies bodies"? great comedy horror. recommend to see it~

thank you for writing all of these prompts 💕

Hello! you are not the only person to be interested in that idea and i love it! in my opinion, an alec who was 6-7 years older than izzy wouldn't be raised by maryse and robert. alec and jonathon were born during the circle, after they left. so this is part of a universe called walls of adoration, claws of desperations

there is another porition of this written and jsyk it's alec and magnus secret relationship.

also valentine wants soldiers and experiments, he'd encourage his soldiers to keeps the kids, maybe even convince them. but maryse wouldn't take a toddler or a baby with her, it would be a tactical error and distraction.

in my opinion and headcanon, alec is left with the trueblood or lightwood grandparents and if i'm going to go with either, i'm gonna go with the trueblood tbh. i'm biased cause i like maryse better than robert. alec has been living in idris with the disgrace of circle member parents because this is before its hidden. he's about to get his first rune and he's been raised loyal and to disdain his parents because they're traitors.

he's going to refuse to go with them and he's about to get his first rune and maryse is pregnant and will have another heir and the truebloods need one.

so yeah, thats kinda my meta for the background and hows and whys of this.

i am doing great! thank you so much for asking and today has been lovely and i have so many prompts i'm excited about.

I really am enjoying them so you're welcome and thank you for sending in a prompt

also i have not but it is now on the list!

<3 lumine

-

Alec prefers the parts of his life that are him living in the outskirts of Alicante. His grandparents have passed and while he is sent to train hunters at Institute’s across the world, he’s had no real interest or reason to officially be called to serve as a Commander.

At least until now.

With Maryse and Robert Lightwood being recalled to Idris, Alec is the only one related who has the qualifications and the right background for it. Robert and Maryse won’t be able to claim the clave is trying to strip the Institute from their family, not when Alec is heir to one of them.

Which is fine, it’s not the worst thing Alec has done and while he dreads the tedium of bringing an entire Institute full of hunters up to his personal standards, it’s not the worst thing he’s done.

It’s a bit annoying to have to stop his current study and projects and while Aline promised to keep him updated, Alec hopes that Sebastian will help remind her. Otherwise, he’ll be hearing about things once every six months.

Alec isn’t interested in politics the way his parents are.

He’s seen what they did to Maryse and Robert and now that he’s older, he understands things better and dislikes them more.

So, it’s with indifference that he goes to New York and it’s with prejudice that he kicks shadowhunters back to New York.

Izzy thinking she’s a shadowhunter informant at fifteen and that she can seduce information from seelies is the ridiculous thing Alec’s ever heard and while she wails and begs, he ignores her petulant whining. She’s her parent’s princess and he knows she’s rarely been told a ‘no’ that she didn’t ignore.

Jace is just as stubborn and the third time he gets himself and other shadowhunters injured, Alec has him with Izzy, Starkweather, and about a fifth of his Institute ready to be shipped back to Alicante.

“It’s a conflict of interest.” He tells Jia with a smirk over the video call that night. “They’re my precious little siblings, Jia. How could I put them through the same kind of training as the others?”

“You just don’t want to deal with them.” Jia accuses, having apparently already found out how much of a headache the two are.

Alec merely raises a brow because it is a conflict of interest and Jia knows it. Everyone knows it, which is why it’s hilarious that she’s still trying.

“Fine. But did you have to send us Starkweather? This is a mess, Trueblood.”

Alec simply hums and signs off, because at least now it’s not his mess.

#lumine writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays #malec #shadowhunters #walls of adoration claws of desperation #magnus bane #alec lightwood #shadowhunters au #my fics #my fanfics #my ficlets

[yea-baiyi]

what kind of archetype would you put hua cheng in? i've read some of your tags about xie lian being a rogue, i was wondering if you had more thoughts on that. not versed in hs stuff myself but boy do i love archetypes to analyze my blorbos with

shit omg i forgot to answer this, it came in a while ago sorry about that!!!

omg i wrote an answer to this post which became a whole hua cheng meta and barely answered the question so i’ll be posting that separately (link)!! but hua cheng is a maid archetype, and his character journey revolves thematically around the subject of his devotion, and the part that plays in his life.

the basic outline of his journey is from 1) relying on xie lian as an external source of strength, to 2) finding intrinsic motivation in becoming xie lian’s source of strength, to 3) becoming his own independent person outside of that sole focus.

some key features:

- incredible tank abilities (which they DO NOT let on about, until they suddenly drop that info causally that they’ve been running the whole show in the background this entire time, what do you mean he’s been keeping tabs on every single person with his thousands of butterflies, and he speaks dead languages? and he runs ghost city? and he carved ten thousand statues?)

- bitchy as fuck (Will Bitch You Out To Your Face, not to be confused with xie lian’s brand of bitchy, which is Thinks Bitchy Thoughts But Will Only Occasionally Let It Slip Out Because They Dont Actually Realise How Bitchy They’re Being)

- will never confess their feelings, will just swallow down their feelings indefinitely forever unless the other party does something (like look, hua cheng is straightforward about his devotion but he would have taken his romantic feelings for xie lian to the end of time if xie lian hadn’t initiated the relationship)

some other characters who fall under the maid archetype that i can think of off the top of my head: pran (bad buddy), alec lightwood (shadowhunters), mako (legend of korra), charlie spring (heartstopper, show version only), castiel (supernatural)

#hua cheng #tgcf #tgcf meta #hua cheng meta #meta stuff #yeah i wrote a whole ass hua chenf character meta post #anyway i wanna write a post about like. hualian class interaction but eh. it already works here mostly #i’m obsessed w hua cheng btw!! hope u can tell #i need to do a hua cheng centric reread of tgcf though #like i need to really absorb his arc especially during the wuming but #anyway enjoy!!! i’m so sorry i forgot to reply to this #my hyperfixation demon #anon

[arialerendeair]

I posted 2,570 times in 2022

That's 1,012 more posts than 2021!

106 posts created (4%)

2,464 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@cenedrariva

@cuubism

@theawkwardterrier

@murderturtles

@thuriweaver

I tagged 1,173 of my posts in 2022

#dreamling - 618 posts

#dream of the endless - 245 posts

#the sandman - 183 posts

#aria posts - 146 posts

#hob gadling - 127 posts

#sandman - 83 posts

#yes - 58 posts

#malec - 50 posts

#i love this - 45 posts

#my heart - 30 posts

Longest Tag: 136 characters

#but i really do believe people need to understand it’s not loving the source media as much as it is loving the relatability of the media

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Challenge Mode

50,000 words.

48 Hours.

Starting now.

Wish me luck!

65 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

#4

I’ve seen so much meta and so many posts about Nightmare as Dream’s other form, but I am obsessed with the other side of Nightmare’s coin.

What about Daydream? What about Dream when he’s in the fresh blush if love that’s like the first days the flowers bloom in spring? What about Dream when he had a wife and son and his son’s music echoed across the Dreaming?

What about two parents who were so tied to creation, teaching their son to sing, and to play music, and the Dreams that must have been created before it turned to sorrow. What about the happy side of the coin?

I’m just having a lot of emotions about Dream’s other aspects. I just. I love Nightmare. I love writing Nightmare (and Torment, who is a step beyond Nightmare in my mind), and their opposites. Who are Dream, and… well. Daydream.

66 notes - Posted November 14, 2022

#3

Alec Lightwood Birthday Bash - Prompt Fill

From @to-the-stars-writing

I've seen a thousand amnesia fics, one or the other forgetting who they are, but what about a dual-amnesia fic where something happens on a mission or because of a spell and the others come in to find Magnus and Alec both temporarily forgot who they are, but they're still flirting like crazy with one another

~!~!~!~!~

When Alec woke up, there were three problems immediately apparent.

Number one, he was chained to the wall.  

Number two, he no longer had his stele, his bow, or seraph blades.

Number three, there was someone else across the cell and he looked like he was in even worse shape, if that was somehow even possible.  Which meant that he was going to be rescuing not just himself, but someone else too.  

"Hey," Alec hissed, glancing toward the ominous looking door.  "Hey, open your eyes.  I can't do this alone, and need your help."  

No movement, which meant that the other man was truly unconscious.  Alec frowned as he took the other man in properly - pants that, angels below, were they painted on?  A shirt that was... less fabric than it was supposed to be based on the slashes he could see, and a faint sheen of glitter on his eyes and hair could only mean one thing.  He was trapped in this cell with a warlock, for angels knew whatever reason.  

Alec looked around the cell again and tugged at his chains.  He had a little bit of give, which was more of a blessing than he would have expected, and his feet weren't chained to the ground.  Another quick check confirmed that he still had his boots, and even though the small knife he kept in the holster was gone (dammit, Jace was going to pout about that for hours, that had been a present), what he actually needed was not.  

Taking a second, Alec took a deep breath and focused - most of his runes had expired, but he could still hear the sound of guards much further down from their cell.  The only breathing he could hear belonged to him and the warlock nearby.  Which meant if he made a little bit of noise it wasn't going to bring anyone running.  He looked down at his boots and took a deep breath, testing all of his weight on the chains for a long moment.  

"Why do I get the feeling that you're about to do something devastatingly ridiculous that only shadowhunters know how to do?"

Alec looked up at the quiet voice and saw that the warlock was awake, relaxing.  At least he wouldn't have to be running around with an unconscious body.  That would have made things frustrating and unreasonably difficult.  "You have a better idea?  Magic, maybe?" he hissed back.  

The warlock hummed and shook his head.  "Unfortunately, however we ended up here and based on the..." he wrinkled his nose and licked his lips.  "Memory loss drought I can still taste the after effects of, my magic has either been drained, or I spent all of it.  I'm not without some skills, but nowhere near your own, I imagine."  

"I'll stand for you being able to walk," Alec muttered, ignoring the way that sparkling gold nail polish on his fingers shone on the faint light of the cell.  "You injured anywhere?"  

"Thankfully no."  A faint rustle.  "I am, however, not standing on the ground, so all of my weight has been on my shoulders and arms."  

Alec winced in sympathy.  That was going to mean he'd be able to walk but not do much in the way of fighting while his arms got their feeling back.  "I should be able to get us out of here," he reassured and looked up at his hands again.  "This might take me a couple of tries."  

He took a deep breath and lifted his legs carefully out in front of him.  Breathe in deep, and then move.  Shifting slowly with his grip against the chains, Alec brought his legs up further, bending himself almost in half to fumble with the secret latch on the side of his boots.  

"Darling, yoga instructors would envy that flexibility," the warlock praised.  "Not to mention that it does give one a wide variety of IDEAS, the nature of which is entirely inappropriate for our current predicament."  

Alec fought down the urge to snort, his arms starting to burn before he'd worked the lock pick half out of his boot.  He dropped his legs back down and breathed through the burning of his arms.  "Fuck, I need at least one more round."  

The warlock chuckled.  "Please feel free to do that as many times as you like.  I am quite enjoying the view.  I might enjoy a more practical demonstration later."  

Alec snorted.  "Pretty sure this is not the place to be flirting."  

"On the contrary, it's the perfect place to be flirting," the warlock correct.  "My name is Magnus, and I will be happy to take you out to dinner after this is over."  

"Your wife wouldn't like that," Alec said, his eyes drifting to the ring on Magnus' finger.  He took another deep breath and forced himself to relax, waiting for the burning to subside.  

Magnus looked at the ring on his finger, blinking in surprise.  "I've never had a wife, or a husband, mind you I am as equal opportunity as it comes.  Where did..." he flinched, his head aching.  "Ah, memory loss potion, right."  

Alec gave him a rueful grin.  "If it's any consolation at all, I would have said yes if you weren't attached."  He'd never met someone as beautiful as Magnus in all of his life.  If he'd had the chance, he probably never would have let someone like the warlock go.  "All right, let's try this again."  

Alec swung his legs up in an easy, determined motion and waited, breathing hard, for his fingers to bump against the lock pick.  It took three more tugs, but at last it was free in his fingertips and he could drop his feet again with a groan.  His whole body was sore and he was going to pay for doing that without runes tomorrow, that was for sure.  "All right, now to see if I remember how to do this..."

Magnus hummed.  "Where did a shadowhunter learn the art of lockpicking, I might wonder," he said, watching as the shadowhunter bit his lip in concentration, his eyes drawn back to the delicious sight of those lips reddening.  

"My siblings," Alec said, and that was enough explanation, apparently, for Magnus, who said nothing further as he finished getting himself completely unlocked, carefully resting the chains against the wall. 

See the full post

67 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

#2

What it says on the tin - and I love it. 

95 notes - Posted October 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

A Knight’s Favor

Okay hear me out.

Renaissance Fair - Hob drags Dream along for the fun of it all, mostly for an excuse to wear some of his oldest clothing, and his replica claymore (with dulled edges), attracting attention from everyone as he and Dream move together. 

They watch performances by the dozen, and take in the tournament matches, when, after it’s all over, the master of ceremonies steps forward and says that he’s going to need everyone’s help to coax someone to do an exhibition match.

Hob’s eyes are widening and he’s cursing as Evan looks up at him, smirking wide and he’s nearly scrambling out of his seat when Evan gets the crowd shouting his name in a chant, demanding he come down and put on an exhibition. 

Dream, of course, is watching all of this in amusement, and Hob’s just, embarrassed (in a proud way) and sighing.  He explains that it’d disappoint people if he didn’t, so he steals a quick kiss (which gets all of the AWWWs from the audience) and heads down to the arena.  He and Evan are kitted up, and have their weapons of choice (longsword vs. claymore was always an interesting one, since neither of them bother with shields).  

Hob is just settling into position, when a ROAR goes up from the crowd and he sees Evan laughing and gesturing behind him.  His breath catches at the sight of Dream standing there, holding out a ruby, a clear replica of HIS ruby, on a shimmering golden chain, a faint smile on his lips.  He’s approaching before he realizes it. 

“I believe it is custom to bestow a favor on the knight one wishes to win,” Dream says, his voice soft as he bends down and drapes the chain over Hob’s head, settling it against his chest before tucking it into his leather jerkin.  “Do attempt to win for me, valiant sir knight.” 

Hob’s flushed (and it has nothing to do with the light armor he’s wearing), and staring at Dream, who has the smuggest smirk on his face that he’s going to kiss off as soon as he’s done winning the battle.  But he nods, because of course he will win this fight for Dream and he turns back to Evan. 

Evan is smirking and Hob resolves to wipe that smirk off his face, and settles into a stance he hasn’t used in far too long.  He doesn’t hold back, not for a second.  He’s not going for a killing blow, only disarmament, but he can see the surprise on Evan’s face as he twists and wields the claymore in a way that only masters of it can. 

The fight is quick, brutal, and the crowd is roaring their approval. 

Hob can feel the heat of the ruby against his chest as Evan tries to push him back, forcing him into tighter combat.  A quick twist of his hips, faking dropping to one knee and Hob was able to toss Evan over his shoulder, sword and all, before spinning to point the claymore at his throat, grinning. 

Evan will laugh of course, and as the crowd cheers, he hugs Hob and thanks him for the match, and Hob turns to Dream who is...

His eyes are almost as hot as the ruby burning against his chest, the ruby that stands out against the white linen shirt he’s wearing under his armor, and Hob is grinning, triumphant and victorious as he strides towards Dream and reaches out for his hand, bowing low over it in a courtly bow before yanking his Dream into a kiss.  There’s another roar around them, but Hob forgets all of them as Dream kisses him hard enough to have him forgetting his name, let alone any silly old tournament. 

202 notes - Posted October 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #My year in review should literally be #“Aria did nothing relevant for the rest of the year” #“But then spent 2.5 months reblogging Dreamling NONSTOP” #“And that is all the info we have on her - thanks”

[embodies]

meta list.

just some notes for my own safekeeping of metas i need to transfer over from characters' original blogs! i'll compile these all in a page somewhere for people to access should they wish to see notes of my specific portrayal of any of my characters ( or even for me just to refer to when relevant ) so nothing to see here for now except a sneak peek!

jesse pinkman.

jesse + confrontation ( in the face of it, responding to criticism, and in particular his relationship with physical violence )

jesse + the dog / moral compass motifs ( the symbolism of his being a counterpart to walt, his values and how they make him the perfect manipulator's target )

jesse + learning ( how he learns, the overlooked intellect, his borderline regression to childhood oftentimes and how that manifests as an eagerness for knowledge )

jesse + empathy ( his intuitive gravitation to protect children, look for the good in people, valuing the emotional over the monetary )

jesse + dependence ( the dual meaning of dependence on a person / society vs. the very literal addiction to drugs he faces often throughout the show, the idea that jesse is a leader that believes he's a follower )

bellamy blake.

the necessity of co - leading ( bellamy as the heart and clarke as the brain, their inability to rationalise unless as a unit and the damage falloff that comes with such )

bellamy + existentialism ( works such as albert camus and samuel beckett, the influences of the theatre of the absurd in the world of the 100

bellamy + body politics ( his body as a tool, telling of his self perception and the overview racism and classism has had on him )

bellamy + touch ( as a love language, a manipulation tool, a restraint, a communication piece : its impact vs. the verbal equivalent )

the conditioning of the big brother ( eradicating the role of the knight but more of the brainwashed older sibling with sole purpose, how that affects his behaviours and reactions )

bellamy + solitude ( the duality of finding peace in it, and fearing it / abandonment issues of the older brother vs. the selfishness of having something for himself )

greek mythos influences ( in particular atlas, the odyssey and the sword of damocles )

mike munroe.

the subversion of the jock & class clown archetypes and the plot points that reveal such ( jess chase scene and wolfie encounter as pivotal moments )

mike as the sole survivor and his post - game journey

mike's interpersonal relationships with each of the others ( including hannah & beth )

mike's relationship with conflict ( how that manifests into what others can only interpret with annoyance )

rework of the creatures!

elizabeth march.

the countess and love ( what she believes it to be, whether she's capable of romantic love, her obsession with the heartbreaks and where that originates )

the countess' fashion ( the duality of old hollywood with a modern twist, vintage and contemporary, what this reflects of her as a person )

the countess' abilities ( in particular her tasting of emotions not as a metaphor but a very literal quality, being so emotionally encapsulated she has a sensory relationship with feelings )

the countess + media ( how art, music, film, etc. all encompass her and tie in with her grand delusions )

the countess + antithesis ( we have two selves quote, how this manifests in my writing in particular )

vanasha.

vanasha + deception ( as a second skin, feminine wiles, forever destined to be a double agent )

richie tozier.

richie & observance ( the literal representation of the glasses, his abstract perception of the world, memory as photographic, echoic, and iconic

richie as the man of the thousand voices ( eradication of the novel's racist impressions, the development of them as a quirk to a tic to an ingrained trait )

richie + adhd ( the trashmouth, the yo-yo as a fidget toy, his crudeness manifesting as an unwarranted idolisation of his father to neutralise the demeaning )

alec lightwood.

alec + touch ( his aversion and yet complete reliance on it, touch starved but also rejecting of such )

alec + autism ( how this manifests in social situations especially, his view on others, the link to his queerness )

alec's bow ( the significance of it beyond a weapon, both to us as the media consumers and to him as its owner )

#hhh these are just... the (for the most part) pre-written metas #if i add all the new ones i wanna write for muses #i'd be here all day #( * misc / out of character. )

[cuubism]

i'm rewatching shadowhunters (at glacial pace) and i'm tearing my hair out i swear to god season 1 episode 4 makes no sense whatsoever and has zero internal consistency (actually you know what that's on me, i should never have expected internal consistency from shadowhunters smh)

but anyway the only storyline that makes sense in this ep is simon's everything else is NONSENSE

an incomplete list of insanity:

-- hodge knowing all these random intimate details of magnus's backstory (#infodumping) -- magnus leaving the lair to get the necklace (IS IT JUST ME OR WOULD HE NOT DO THIS??? okay i understand magnus is very sentimental esp about camille but i STILL don't think he would have left all his warlocks alone. like. sure he might be willing to risk his own life but THEIRS TOO? and he could have always demanded the necklace as payment for something later now that he knows they have it.) -- actually the squad would have had an easier time getting him to meet by just telling him clary needed his help. magnus is always helping people and would have probably felt he owed clary a bit for taking the memories in the first place. not that they would have known that. -- magnus saying he knew dot was dead bc he couldn't feel her magic but she was literally in chernobyl when she died???? can he just feel everyone's magic on THE ENTIRE EARTH??? IS THERE NO RADIUS WHERE IT STOPS WORKING??? -- why am i even asking this. we all know the magical rules in sh are... loose at best -- but also. imagine this but in 3x10 when magnus loses his magic and like 100 people come banging on his door in a panic thinking he's dead -- magnus describing the memory demon as "a" memory demon in one scene and then jace says it's a GREATER DEMON in another scene? THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE aren't most of the greater demons fallen angels? IS 'MEMORY DEMON' A TYPE OF DEMON OR A SPECIFIC ONE WHICH ONE IS IT??? -- despite being willing to risk life and limb to get the necklace back magnus immediately gives it to isabelle. i mean, i COULD figure out a meta here about the contrast between magnus's abstracted longing and sentimentality about camille versus the reality of actually being confronted with her, but that feels a bit... elaborate considering the rest of this episode's consistency -- magnus says "the lightwoods have been wearing this necklace for centuries" okay and... is that not incredibly offensive to him???? -- the utter lack of emotional impact of like.... dozens of warlocks getting slaughtered? especially with magnus -- the fact that magnus can transport his entire loft across the city and yet it seemingly takes him significant effort to hold off one circle member??? (i mean we do then get the infamous 'more like medium rare' scene as a result but STILL) -- does it actually make sense that killing the demon will lose clary's memories? like you can't actually kill demons, you just banish them. does that mean ALL the memories it was storing get destroyed?? and if it is a greater demon this makes even less sense.

i will say one positive thing about the episode after all this criticism. i used to hate the scene where alec breaks the pentagram but i think i get it now. i will write about this later in my stupid little rewatch coda fic

but anyway this episode broke me

#shadowhunters #mare shadowhunters rewatch #suffering

[carelessflower]

early fleeting moments of alec already show his potential as leader and protector that moment when he fakes agreeing to imogen and maryse to lure them into lowering their guard with him to bust jace out in coa or how he does behind the scene maneuvering so the gang can go on mission smoothly. he grows up in shadowhunter society he knows its rules and which corners to bend and which to press, the problem with it is his naivety and too much trust in the system sometimes. he need to improve on combines with his alliance-making skills less talk more actions method and bam we have a powerhouse on our side

#alec lightwood #shadowhunters #tmi #tsc #the mortal instruments #the shadowhunter chronicles #meta #kinda #im just in politician alec feel like

[faejilly]

i absolutely love your sh meta so i was wondering what are your thoughts on Alec’d relationship with his sexuality bc i always sort of read it as him knowing that he was gay but absolutely not saying it out loud

absofuckinglutely nonny

There's an excellent post by amorverus that I cannot find the original of so have my reblog HERE that articulates it really well

I even wrote a fic about it! #shameless self promotion [tumblr / ao3] (That is, in fact, one of my favorite things I've ever written.)

I do strongly believe that Alec knew that he was gay, and felt no shame about that in and of itself. He is not offended by Magnus flirting with him, would not, I think, be offended by anyone else flirting with him, regardless of gender. (Tho prior to Magnus I also think he just... wasn't interested, but that's a separate conversation.) He knew, however, that it was not allowed in his culture and it would hurt his family and not just him if it came out.

(This is why Izzy makes me so uncomfortable in s1 regarding Alec, tbqh, because she lives there too, but refuses to see the danger to herself and, more egregiously in Alec's mind, because obviously she can chose to risk herself for him if she wants, for all he doesn't like it, but she's causing risk for their little brother if Alec is outed, and that's unacceptable. Even if I'm quite sure Max would agree with her priorities.)

I do, however, think Alec felt a lot of shame regarding his attraction to Jace. Jace was hurting and was supposed to be his brother and yet... Alec felt an attraction that he knew Jace wouldn't return. So he's got all the societal pressure on him not to be gay, and all this personal pressure not to manipulate or abuse someone in a vulnerable situation (because Jace was, even if he wouldn't admit it), PLUS all the normal human issues with feeling attraction for someone who is important enough to you that you can't lose them, and you can legitimately be terrified that if you can't get it under control you MIGHT... (Even more so for him than a mundane romantic vs platonic situation, obviously, because there's questions of command and exile and punishment, not just ruining an interpersonal dynamic in a way it never quite recovers from.)

Plus Alec's kind of also Jace's commanding officer which is yet ANOTHER unequal power dynamic, and he's supposed to be protecting an entire Institute, not just this one person, but he can't stop thinking about it because it's fucked up and he knows he should stop and he can't.

(Because, he realizes with the benefit of hindsight after he meets Magnus, by fixating on Jace he was safe, he was never going to fall in love for real with someone he might have a chance with, would never have to actually choose between his culture and his personal desires, while still telling himself that he already had, that he'd chosen his family and it was fine, he was FINE.

(He was so not fine.))

And so, even though he truly believes there's nothing wrong with being gay in general, he does believes there is something Very Wrong with him specifically being gay.

But he still never has any doubt about it. He never tries to project heterosexual interest in anyone, is very up front with Lydia about the terms of their engagement. (It seems clear, even if we never see that conversation, that they're both aware that their marriage would never be romantic or sexual unless they mutually decided to go the so-called traditional route for children.) And she agreed to it! She, unlike Jace & Izzy, had zero illusions about her relationship with Alec, and I ADORE HER FOR THAT.

And I've totally lost the thread of this rambling, I'm not sure I have a conclusion for you? 😅😅😅

Alec is, imo, refreshingly self-aware about most things, and many of his issues are legitimately external stupidity punishing him into a life of self-recrimination rather than him having internal bigotry or biases against his own sexuality in and of itself.

#jilly answers #Anonymous #the saga of #alec lightwood #honor vs duty vs shame #is really his life pre-canon #he throws away the shame tho #and I'm very proud of him for that #shadowhunters #my sh rambling #sh meta #queer as in #fuck you

[serpentwhip]

ISABELLE SOPHIA LIGHTWOOD.

from the TMI series, heavily meta based. i don't care for cassand.ra clare, i'm just here for the vibes. written by nosta (25+)

exploring the dark feminine, the femme fatale stereotype, neglected child, the woman warrior, fashionista and the underestimated beauty, the brawn to alec's brain, overprotective sister, living in a society judging you by the sins of your parents & becoming what you hate.

#pinned. #READ BELOW!

[buffyspeak]

the thing is, alec’s response to magnus in 3.16 isn’t BAD, it’s just not what magnus wants or needs to hear answered. at least, not the full extent of it. alec’s unconditional love for him being laid out could never be a bad thing i don’t think, but he’s only really hearing one thing magnus is saying (which is essentially that alec fell in love with the high warlock of brooklyn and couldn’t possibly like him like this now) and his response to that is filled with genuine (and necessary! bc it is one part of the conversation they’re having) care as he tries to dissuade magnus from thinking it matters to him.

... but that’s uncomfortable for magnus, because it matters to HIM, and it matters a little bit that it doesn’t matter to alec. and this part is harder for magnus to put into words, harder for alec to understand in a way i’m sure magnus knows. bc it harkens back to the communication issues they were having in 3.05-3.06! and it’s that like. magic is a fundamental part of who magnus is, he doesn’t like or even know who he is without it, being without it feels BAD and unnatural, plain and simple. so for alec to stand there and list off the reasons he loves magnus (rather desperately, bc he’s getting panicked, as ya do) is NICE, but it kinda misses the point, or at least a very huge part of the point, of what magnus is trying to say. which is that he doesn’t feel like himself without magic, and i think it makes magnus more uncomfortable than he’d care to admit that alec doesn’t get or see that, that he implies (sort of unknowingly? it’s complex) that he doesn’t care about that. but of course, what alec means isn’t that he doesn’t care about how magnus feels - it’s that how magnus feels doesn’t change how alec feels about him!

#shadowhunters rewatch 2023 #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #but like again. #this is so off the rails and ineloquent #alas #shadowhunters meta #i actually think magnus IS the more self-aware one in this convo though #bc as frustrating as it is i think he has empathy for the fact that. alec Can't really understand his perspective #it's not that he won't or isn't trying #it's that it's not something you can understand unless you've been through it

[meeedeee]

Nephilim Love Once...

Fandoms: Shadowhunters (TV), Shadowhunters (TV) RPF, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types

Major Character Death

Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood

Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland

Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood

Simon Lewis & Alec Lightwood

Clary Fray/Jace Wayland

Lydia Branwell & Alec Lightwood

Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood

Alec Lightwood

Magnus Bane

Jace Wayland

Isabelle Lightwood

Clary Fray

Simon Lewis

Lydia Branwell

Fanvids

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

Nephilim hearts being more vulnerable to certain human conditions...

Like

Broken Heart Syndrome

(also called stress cardiomyopathy)

bit of

Meta

and

Character Analysis

Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane

also

Alec Lightwood loves fiercely

Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood

and can't apparently rest until he finds him...

(Feed generated with FetchRSS) source https://archiveofourown.org/works/41058465

#ao3feed #fanvid