#head of the ny institute

[kasirose]

Wishing the one and only HBIC salt king Alec Lightwood-Bane himself a happy birthday!

#alec lightwood #alec lightwood fanart #malec #and now to present all his titles #husband of magnus bane #father to max and rafe #brother to izzy and jace #parabatai of jace #consul of the clave #head of the ny institute #pup/panda #archer boy #alexander gideon lightwood #grumpy cat lightwood #1/2 of the perfection that is malec #he has a lot of titles XD #alec lightwood bane #alexander lightwood #shadowhunters #shadowhunters fanart #the mortal instruments #my art

[secretsofblackthornhall]

Emma to Cristina

Dear Cristina!

Sorry to startle you, I just wrote “Dear Cristina” with the comma first and it seemed a little down. Thought I would try to spice it up a little. And I want to hear from you because I miss you and it’s highly annoying that you couldn’t be in New York. 

Why did Nene have to pick this exact time to visit you guys? Is it because she has faerie intuition and carefully decided to keep us apart? I mean, no, probably not, she seems like a pretty good person. But still! Show up a week later, Nene! Also disappointed to hear that she didn’t spill anything about what the heck is up in the Seelie Court. I guess if she had given up the court’s secrets to Kieran — who is, technically, the King of the Unseelie Court — the Seelie Queen would consider that “bad” and Nene to be a “traitor,” but that’s nothing compared to how much we want to know what’s up.

Anyway. We’re back from New York, where the weather was much worse than in London, but whatever. We’d sent that picture of the candlesticks from the church to Alec, and he showed them to his mom, who recognized them. She said Robert had brought them along with a bunch of other inherited Lightwood stuff when they left Idris for NYC, and she had no idea what had happened to them since, but they were probably in the NY Institute somewhere. Well, we’ve got the Ghost Sensor, so we said goodbye to Rupert and headed over. (Julian wondered whether Rupert misses us when we’re gone, but it’s hard to tell if ghosts can tell the passage of time. In any case we didn’t find sad faces drawn in the dust when we came back, or anything like that.)

So we saw Jace and Clary, of course, and Alec came to help. I think he was really curious since it’s his family’s stuff. (We were hoping to see Simon and Isabelle but they were off recruiting for Shadowhunter Academy. And Magnus stayed home with the kids. He texted us a video from their apartment where he asked Max and Rafe, “Are we going to help our friends?” and they both shouted, “No!” It was cute. I mean, Max and Rafe were cute. Magnus was maybe milking it a little.)

Finding the candlesticks was…pretty easy, actually, kind of anticlimactic. They were hiding in plain sight in the church’s nave among all the other candlesticks and candelabras and other candle-related things. And the Sensor led us right to them. So maybe they weren’t removed in the Blitz but instead the Lightwoods took them back? Or maybe they were removed and then brought back and sometime after that Robert’s parents took them out of the church? We’ll probably never know, but it also probably doesn’t matter since, whatever, we have them, mystery solved.

In celebration we ordered a pizza and ate it by the light of the candlesticks. New York pizza! It is the best. It hurts to say that a little, as an LA girl, but the truth is the truth. I’d missed it so. Pizza in London is…well, best not to speak of it.

So while we were eating Jace asked Alec if there was any news from Idris, and Julian and I kind of looked at each other because there’s never news from Idris, the Cohort have all shut themselves in there and refuse to come out or let anyone in, you know the deal.

Alec revealed that they had been working on some new variation on fire-messages that would be able to get through the wards around Idris. Mostly using Clary’s power to invent new runes. They’ve been sending them for a while, trying different things, but hadn’t gotten any responses until very recently when they heard from one of my least favorite people, Manuel.

So Alec and Manuel have apparently been sending messages back and forth. Zara refuses to respond and Manuel implied that she didn’t like that he and Alec were talking. Alec thinks he might be lying and Zara might not even know. But Alec also thinks Manuel is tired of being stuck there and might be their way in, since (as we all know) Manuel cares about Manuel above everything else, certainly way more than he cares about the Cohort’s supposed mission. Like Jace said, Zara is a true believer, but Manuel is just an opportunist.

This was all super-interesting, of course, but Julian and I started to feel bad remembering that Alec is, you know, the Consul. Julian said he knew Alec had important Consul stuff to do and it was great that he had come to help find the candlesticks anyway. And then Alec said a really nice thing! He said that their New York crew had always had to work in secret, that they’d always thought of the Clave as the enemy. Well, maybe not the enemy, but not their ally. The Clave they grew up with, you know, locked Jace in the Silent City and refused to believe that Valentine was returning. They would never have thought of going to them for help. So Alec said it was really important to him as Consul to actually be there for the Shadowhunters, to be someone they could know and talk to and bring problems to, rather than hiding. And I guess we did know Alec personally before, and they are his family’s candlesticks, but still, it was nice that he thought of it as part of his Consul duties to help us out, rather than thinking of it as something taking time away from his Real Work. He said this was his Real Work, and we’d better not stop coming to him and Magnus for help.

So then after a while Clary announced that she and I needed to have some girl talk and whisked me off to Taki’s for coffee. Julian she left with Jace and Alec. When last I saw him Jace was guiding him towards the weapons room to take a look at the collection of 17th-century Spanish military swords he’d recently found in one of the church weapons caches somewhere in New York. Julian watched me leave like a puppy being taken to the vet for shots, but I think he had a good time. So he says, anyway.

Clary and I settled into a booth at Taki’s. She wanted to ask me how I was doing, and I started telling her, but she seemed distracted, and I realized that maybe she needed to talk to me about how she was doing. Which turned out to be true. She’s worried because Alec likes to believe the best of people, and he’s really optimistic about the progress they’ve made getting in touch with Manuel, but Clary thinks Zara is a manipulative psycho. On which topic we agree.

“You think it’s a trick?” I said. “Or a trap?”

She said she didn’t know. But then she kind of argued with herself and said she understood how important it was to open up Idris, that she knew the Clave couldn’t survive forever split in two like this.

I said it seemed like it was really weighing heavily on them, and she kind of sighed and gave me the big news, or rather the lack of big news, which is that she and Jace have decided they don’t want to get married until the Clave is reunited. And Simon and Isabelle feel the same way.

“It’s not like there’s any reason to rush,” she said. She was looking out the window as she said it, though, and she sounded kind of sad. “But we don’t want a wedding where all anyone is thinking about is how Idris is off-limits and the Clave is broken.”

She kept looking out the window, so I asked if she saw someone out there, and she kind of looked guilty and turned back to me. “Oh, no, I thought I saw Jace for a minute, but it wasn’t him.”

Finally we got around to how I’m doing and I got to tell her the thing I’m worried about, which you and I have talked about a little. Which is that Julian and I are fixing up this house and I guess…we’re going to move here? Like, move to London. And out of Los Angeles for good. And I haven’t really gotten to think about what that would be like. I was thinking of it as a kind of temporary thing where we would fix up the house and then go home. And it’s easy to feel that way because of all the stuff going on with the Clave.

But for Julian, this will be our new home. And I can’t blame him for wanting that. I mean, for one thing, he’s a Blackthorn and it’s Blackthorn Hall. But we grew up in Los Angeles. I’m an LA girl, all my memories of my parents are of them in Los Angeles. But then we both do have many hard memories from the LA Institute, and it would be nice to put them behind us and get a fresh start. I don’t know. Do you ever find it strange, that you live in New York now? And Faerie? Do you miss the D.F.?

Maybe it’s Idris being out of reach that makes it feel so strange. I grew up always knowing that however spread out the Shadowhunters might be we all had a home together in Idris. It held the Clave together all over the world. But what if Idris is really gone for us, Cristina?

What if it’s gone forever?

Xoxox

Emma

#sobh #secrets of blackthorn hall #emma carstairs #julian blackthorn #clary fairchild #taki's diner #the clave #cristina rosales #blackstairs

[garbinge]

Jane Austen and a New York bench

Jess Mariano x F!Reader Warnings: Fluff, light bickering/back and forth. Typical Jess angsty-ness. Summary: After school shenanigans with Jess in NY. Word Count: 1k All Writing Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics A/N: Never wrote for Gilmore Girls before but fun fact is actually one of my favorite shows!! I've watched it at least 10 times through. I am team Jess always and forever. Enjoy this light and fluffy (as fluffy as Jess can be while still being Jess) fic!

“I didn’t take you as a Jane Austen type.” You plopped down on the bench next to Jess. 

“I never said I don’t like Jane Austen.” His voice was littered with frustration as he set the book down on his lap. 

“True, but I’ve never seen you read anything by her.” You tucked your legs up on the bench so you were now facing Jess, your side now resting against the back of the bench. 

“Until now.” He lifted the book up and dipped his head as he shook the book. 

“Until now.” You agreed, nodding your head. 

“Where you coming from?” Jess asked, adjusting himself so he could look at you, resting his arm along the back of the bench behind your shoulder. 

“You know, there’s this establishment, institution some may call, that provide these spaces for learning and education and they’re usually in session from the morning to the afternoon.” You sarcastically explained. 

“I must look into this fine establishment you speak of.” Jess responded. 

“You know the more you miss the more you’ll have to make up for.” You leveled with your best friend. 

“I’m caught up.” Jess’s voice raised in defense even though he still had a slacker attitude that was always impossible for him to lose. 

“Yea, thanks to me.” You pulled away to grab books and notes from your bag to hand over to him. 

He grabbed them and started filtering through them. “You know, your capital letters are always hard to read, it’s like a drop cap every start of a sentence.” 

“Beggars can’t be choosers, Mariano. If you don’t like my notes, now hear me out," you paused for a few seconds as your eyebrows raised, "maybe you could go to school and take your own.” You faked a shock face like what you said was ground-breaking.

“But then we wouldn’t get to share these moments, that I cherish so deeply, with each other.” 

You rolled your eyes and rested your head on Jess’ arm and closed your eyes. 

For a moment you both sat there, you were soaking in the relaxation from a long day. Jess was taking the time to stare at you, taking in your features, his hand was beginning to get tangled in the fur of your coat as he lightly rubbed your shoulder. 

“You hungry?” Jess asked at more of a whisper than he was speaking before in case you had began to fade to sleep. 

“You buying?” You mumbled back to him, eyes still closed. 

You felt his breath hit your face as he chuckled from your response. “Sure, hot dog?” 

“With everything on it.” You pouted and thought if you wanted anything else. “And a soda, ginger ale–no, coke.” 

He let out another laugh. “I’ll get a ginger ale and you get a coke, we’ll share.” 

“You’re wasting that brilliant mind not coming to school, Mariano.” You were already off the bench and starting to walk down the busy New York street as you yelled back to him. 

Jess was still smiling as he gathered his things quickly before catching up with you. 

“Maybe I’m too brilliant for school.” 

“I change my mind that statement proves you have no brain cells.” You teased him as you approached the hot dog cart and began ordering. 

As Jess handed the man a $20 bill, you were beginning to balance the drinks and hot dogs and finding another bench in the same park you were just in. 

Jess was close behind you and wafted a paper tray of french fries in your face before plopping down next to you. 

“Okay, that earns you TWO braincells.” You spoke with a mouth full of hot dog, covering your mouth with your hand to hide the half chewed food.

“French fries have to earn me at least 4 and the salt pepper combo another 2. So I should be at like 10.” He argued as he unwrapped his hot dog. 

“You should be at zero again, you can’t do simple addition.” You teased. 

His smile grew and he was grabbing something from behind his back and before you could question anything the plastic cup filled with liquid gold was shining in front of your eyes like the angels from above had presented it to you. 

“Melted cheese?” You took a deep breath in shock and happiness all at once. 

“Melted cheese.” Jess repeated your question as a statement and held it out further for you to take.

“But you haaaate getting the side order of cheese, you say its a rip off.” You were quick to remove the cap off the plastic container and dip a french fry in it pretty immediately. As you ate the cheese dipped fry you dropped your shoulders in an act to show how great it tasted. 

“I’m not oblivious to the greatness of a hot dog cart melted cheese cup, I just think $2.00 for a tiny cup of cheese is ridiculous.” He argued as he was making his way to dip his own fry in the sauce. 

“But yet you did it this time.” You were pointing at him with a french fry while your other hand was bringing up your soda to drink, eyes slightly frowning trying to figure him out. 

“Because you like it, and I like when you’re happy.” It was a short sentence but for someone like Jess who grunted or rarely spoke about anything emotional in more than two syllables it might has well have been a novelized love letter. 

You paused and looked up at him, he had spoken the sentence so nonchalant as he was switching sodas with you, again another action to prove his thoughtfulness. 

“Jess, the romantic.” It was a playful comment but there was truth behind it when you spoke it. 

He smiled at the comment snd continued to pick through the food that was spread along the bench. 

“What can I say it’s all that Jane Austen.” 

#Gilmore Girls #Gilmore Girls Fanfic #Jess Mariano #Jess Mariano x Reader #Jess Mariano Fanfic

[magnus-the-maqnificent]

I know the show is like, way more serious on this matter, but when it comes to the books, I love how casual the whole politics area is

Shadowhunters? The Consul is like *the* most important person in the wholeass world and they’re elected on a random afternoon with candidates who were nominated like two minutes ago. Before that, Jia kept trying to make Alec Head of any institute like she was assigning chores in a house or something. (“Alec, you should wash the dishes you’re GOOD AT WASHING DISHES” “I DON’T WANT TO JUST WASH THE DISHES LET ME DEEP CLEAN THE WHOLE FUCKING HOUSE!!”).

And yeah sure the Consul has a fancy house in Idris and all but they can just choose to live anywhere they fancy to. Imagine the US President living in an apartment in New York and just showing up at the White House whenever he needs to do work. Alec and Charlotte on the other hand can like, do exactly that. (Tho tbh Alec doesn’t have much of a choice, and even when he does he’ll choose to live in NY anyways)

Warlocks? Literally any random Warlock can call himself the High Warlock of anything and everyone else will just be like “*shrugs* Yeah sure”. Magnus literally switches places with Catarina for the Warlock member of the council as if it’s a random corporate brunch event all like “Cat I can’t be there my ex is gonna show up” and then again all like “Actually nvm I kind of want to see my ex Cat, Imma go”

And yeahhhh sure they have the Spiral Labyrinth Council but since literally every warlock is the personification of “fuck you I do what I want” it doesn’t help much anyways.

Werewolves and Vampires are a wee bit better when it comes to leadership but their literal only rule for someone becoming a leader is “you have to kill the previous leader”. And that is how a 16 year old girl became the head of a werewolf pack and a literal 12 year old became the leader of the NY Vampire clan.

Faeries are like, the only group in this world with a proper political structure, kinda ironic since they’re known to be the most chaotic creatures.

#tsc is so unserious sometimes I love it #tsc #tmi #tlh #tid #tda #twp

[carelessflower]

rating shtv jace questionable moment

let be honest, it will mostly be season one plus two offending screenshots from season two. critical analysis only when i want to, the rest depends. the descent into hell is easy after all

5/10 - see? sh writers can write, first scene with jace they already show how he treat alec the rest of the season.

6/10 - that his job

3/10 - friendly reminder, alec was the acting head at this point aka jace's boss, it's his duty to report any strange occurrence at the institute and now you brought a STRANGE girl into HIS institute, i dont know, just a thought

3/10 - yes it kinda is, and it's alec choice at that seeing how he your superiors

3/10 - jace would be a shit head for the ny institute if a random pretty girl make him act like this. and again, it normal alec get suspicious at clary, because he, you know, can actually think through situations and not dive in first like a headless chicken

4/10 - yes, he has working brain cells

2/10 - dont you love it when the dude you supposedly share half your soul dismiss your valid concerns regarding your life

5/10 - if he's as you said you would be six feet under or in some ceils not here talking shit

1/10 - yes alec stop, don't you know jace is allergic to reasoning

2/10 - he knows you should be supportive of your parabatai

1/10 - all i can say is if a stranger comes into my life, not caring for anything but herself and jeopardizing my job, i would let out far worse things than angry rant

3/10 - no wonder jace fancies clary, they are never ready to hold themselves or each other accountable for anything. true love

🚩🚩🚩/10 - right before this izzy LITERALLY said clary go out WILLINGLY i have no words, alec's way too nice i would have 'oh this you' and drag jace daddy issue to filth back i would go lower than hell. by the way jace never apologize for this so. flop

0/10 - proceed to lose her next episodes

4/10 - flop. flop parabatai of the year

2/10 - funny how jace only bring up the parabatai bond when he needs alec to do something for himm hmmmm. it giving suspicious it giving affection with conditions it giving manipulation

-♾️/10 - that a totally normal thing to say about your brother, the one who you share a lifetime bond with. i normally wish jace choke on a porcupine

0/10 - jace only contribution to the parabatai bond is 2x03 and when he use his nepotism to transfer the head of ny institute position to alec. and even with alec already on his way to that title before imogen swooped in

5/10 - ooh be making that face now suddenly you care? dont make me laugh

0/10 - jace lies so well, all that practice telling himself he looks handsome every morning paid off

0/10 - my three year old cousin has more critical thinking than these two

0/10 - jace the one to talk he's incapable of seeing anything outside clary

-/10 - for whither thou storest, I will steal, and where thou trust, I will trust to betray.

 💀/10 - took them ten episodes to have alec FINALLY punch somebody for joking, using his sexuality against him when he's clearly NOT ready to talk about it. yeah fuck shit up baby

2/10 - oh okay, let talk about how you and clary fuck off to somewhere with the cup when the clave and a race supremacist massacre advocate cult leader are both hunting for it. then you and she proceed to play house with your newly discovered fake dad and left alec to deal with the mess. oh, did i mention izzy's complicit in your scheme and you left her there at the mercy of the clave?

1/10 - your saving cause more problems than elon musk to twt get over yourself

4/10 - selfish intentions + selfish actions = season one clace. a match made in heaven

6/10 - passable apology but why he cant just resist making it all about him lmaoooo

4/10 - the only joke here is your life

tag list: @dustandducks @cityofdownwardspirals @magnus-the-maqnificent @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @wildesummerchild @cam-ryt @khaleesiofalicante

#shadowhunters #anti show jace #anti shtv jace #alec lightwood #im a hater with proof

[margareturtle]

Pitching another one of my TWP Crackpot Theories

Soooo

We know Cassie doesn’t give Clace a break

So I’m calling it now that Janus does kidnap Clary

(And to raise the stakes she’s pregnant too)

Janus takes Clary back to Thule

For some reason Jace isn’t around when this happens (he might be away with Malec that has smth to do with The Black Book of the Dead)

But Clary stayed back to run the NY institute and with her parabatai Simon and Izzy

So Janus kidnaps Clary and brings her back to Thule (maybe before Clary has been able to tell Jace that she is pregnant)

But he doesn’t bring Ash with him (Ash wouldn’t want to go back to Thule anyway)

Dru hears what has happened through Luke at the Academy (prob bc she was spying not bc she was told) and she immediately thinks of Ash knowing he one of the only ones who can open a portal to Thule. So she takes it upon herself to hunt down Ash…

Meanwhile Ty is currently hunting down Kit (he doesn’t know he’s looking for Kit but he’s looking to protect the First Heir from intel the scholomance received that the Seelie Queen and/or the Cohort is after him)

When Ty finally reunites with Kit is when they hear that Dru is missing (most likely it would be when they’re about to have a first kiss but then interrupted)

So obviously they have to go after Dru

And this inevitably ends up with the whole gang headed to Thule (after several adventures in faerie I’m sure: included but not limited to multiple close calls with Kit, seeing Kieran in Unseelie, getting weird warnings from the phouka, and prophetic dreams about the rising of the prince’s of hell)

They do eventually get to Clary and Janus in Thule (Thule Livvy and Ty meeting — devastating) — luckily not much time has past in Thule (Clary is still pregnant)

Kit and Ash together are able unblock Faerie in Thule (we find Thule Mark, Kit, Dru, Simon as well djsbrdjrjj) — imagine Kit has to fight his Thuleself lmao

They return to their world with the Thule Gang in tow (they can’t fight the final battle without Livvy, Raphael, etc— Cam and Thule Livvy maybe 🥹🥹)

Ash + Clary fight together — aunt & nephew bonding 🥹

While they have been gone a lot of shit has gone down!

#that’s the gist of it #it’d be hilarious if i was acc right about any of this #i doubt it #lmao #there’s gonna be so much angst #clace never catches a break 😔 #kit herondale #dru blackthorn #ash morgenstern #ty blackthorn #thais pedroso #clary fairchild #jace herondale #thule janus #baby clace #the wicked powers #the wicked powers theories #the dark artifices #tsc #the mortal instruments #the shadowhunter chronicles #kit x ty #morgenthorn

[foodsies4me]

Max showing up at Magnus' door saying Alec say it's okay but the whole of NY's shadowhunters are scouring the city looking for him

So, this took a turn I didn't expect as usual because I have never written a fic the way I planned to. Also background context, Madzie is out shopping with Izzy, Clara and Steph, which is why Max arrived sans Madzie.

The thing is, Magnus should have known better than to take Max’s word at face value. As much as he adores the child, Magnus isn’t blind to Max’s tendency to get into trouble at the drop of a head because his curiosity gets the better of him. Still, Max has never disobeyed on purpose, especially where Alec is concerned. So, when Max rings his doorbell, hazel eyes barely visible over the camera, and claims Alec told him he could drop by, Magnus doesn’t think twice about letting him in.

He’s quick to put a stasis spell on the three potions he’s making for one of his clients and turn down the fire before Max makes it all the way up. While his favorite baby Lightwood has been helping him from time to time, claiming he needed to be able to understand how potions worked to help Madzie with her lessons, Magnus has only let him touch the harmless potions that don't explode or poison you with a wrong step. Or even the right one. Max enters right as Magnus shuts his apothecary again, his smile bright and easy as he chirps out a joyous, “Hi Mags!” Magnus immediately notices how, despite the easy smile and the relaxed shoulders, something is off about Max’s greeting. He can’t pinpoint what, but something - a key component Magnus never noticed was there - is somehow absent.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite Lightwood trainee,” Magnus greets as he takes Max's jacket and backpack and places them high on the coat hanger. “What brings you here today?” Max laughs, but again the noise sounds off. Wrong. Like a note that has been transposed into a different key. “Alec said I could come,” he says, repeating what he said earlier over the speaker. “So you said,” Magnus agrees. “But that doesn’t answer my question.” Max shrugs - a gesture that is adorably reminiscent of his older brother. Even if Max is clearly using it to avoid answering Magnus’ question. Deciding not to push the issue, not yet, Magnus offers to get them both a drink, playing up his antics slightly more than usual to draw out a smile and even a giggle out of Max before he conjures them both a cup of hot chocolate - one with a small shot of rhum in it for him, and one with an extra swirl of whipped cream for Max.

They talk about general things for a couple of minutes, Max's lessons as well as some of Magnus' more outlandish clients, before Max falls silent with a troubled look on his face. He draws his knees up to his chin, the cup clutched tightly between his fingers, and carefully avoids looking at him when he says, "Mother and Father are at the institute." Magnus makes a humming sound, no longer blinking at the particular way of address that only Max seems to adopt, "And did something happen with your parents?" Max shrugs again, expression growing more somber, "To keep friendly relations, it is customary for younger children to study in a different institute than their parents," he says, reciting the words in the same manner Alexander does when he's repeating something his mother used to say.

Magnus takes a sip of his drink, "And do you want to do that?" He asks carefully, already knowing the answer. Max shakes his head, shoulders slumping as he tries to make himself even smaller. "Then you won't," Magnus says. He abandons his drink to sit down next to Max, bumping their shoulders together before he pulls the young child in for a side hug, "If you don't want to leave then I doubt your brother would let anyone take you away from him." Max mumbles something into the side of his arm. "I'm sorry darling, I didn't catch that." "I don't want to be a burden," Max mumbles slightly louder, his voice wobbling ever so softly, and, not for the first time, Magnus is cursing Maryse and Robert Lightwood in a completely different manner than he's used to.

"Do you really think your brother could ever consider you a burden?" Magnus asks, carding his hands through messy black hair. "Your big brother? Your Alec that wrote you bedtime stories and goes trick-or-treating with you?" A wet giggle. "Now that's more like it," Magnus smiles. Max sniffles, wiping his tears on his sleeve before settling himself more comfortably against Magnus' side. "You really don't think I'll have to leave?" He asks carefully. "Not even if me being here makes Alec fight with mother and father?" "If there's one thing I can promise you then it's that your brother would burn the world down before he let anyone take you away." Max lets out a deep relieved sigh, reaching for his hot chocolate again and Magnus gives him another squeeze. "I don't like it when they're at the institute," he says after a long pause, "They always make Alec sad."

"Then we'll just have to make sure we cheer him up once they're gone," Magnus reassures. "Speaking off, I was planning on eating out with your brother today, but perhaps we could make him something instead?" The suggestion works exactly the way he expected it to. "Can we? Can we?" Max asks, springing up from the couch, eyes shining the way they should as he already starts shooting off the names of the different dishes he wants to make. Magnus expects that to be the last of it. Max and he end up making burgers, a homemade salad, and some potato wedges. Nothing too complicated for Max to make, and yet something all three of them like to eat. They're close to finishing up so Magnus calls Alexander, expecting to surprise his boyfriend with a (hopefully) welcome change in plans, only for things to go slightly different.

Alexander picks up on the first ring, his voice strangled like he's on the verge of a panic attack. "Magnus -I...fuck, I'm sorry I can't make it. Max is missing - I...," his voice grows more distant, likely speaking to someone else before he comes back on the phone, "I have to leave, I'm sorry. I'll let you-" "Max is here," Magnus cuts in before he looks over at Max, who is staring curiously at him. "Which he told me you knew?" "He...what?" "Max is here, he's been in my loft for most of the afternoon," he says, not missing the way Alexander's voice has grown very still. "He told me he told you." "I did," Max says, sounding as confused as Magnus does. "I asked if I could see you." Alexander curses over the other end of the line. "I- I'm going to have to call everyone back," Alec apologizes. "I- Max did ask... I was just, with mom and dad being here, I just. Sorry about this." Magnus can just imagine the expression on his face, a mixture of relief, annoyance, and the leftover stress from having had to endure another meeting with his parents. "There's no need to apologize, darling. That said, is your sister somewhere close?"

"Izzy?" Alexander asks, sounding calmer already, "Yeah she just came back from shopping with Madzie, Clara, and Steph, why?" "Could you put me on the phone with her?" Alexander still sounds confused, but he does as Magnus asks him to and, just a few seconds later, Izzy's voice floats over the phone. Magnus is quick to tell her to take over for Alexander for the night, something she's more than happy to do, before he asks her to give the phone back to Alexander so he can convince his boyfriend to come over. Something that isn't too difficult considering Max is still standing in his loft. After he's hung up, Alexander promising he's on his way, a pair of small arms wrap themselves around Magnus' waist again, a thin voice speaking up again. "Magnus?" "Yes, my little magpie?" "Thank you." Magnus smiles, returning the hug with a soft squeeze to Max's shoulders. "Anytime, little one."

#foodsies writes #this ended up having more feels than expected #I don't even know where Maryse and Robert came from #but clearly they needed to annoy Alec with one thing or the other #thank you for the prompt! #these have been all so fun to do #though I still have a number to go through

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Last Chance Lost Fic - FOUND

a story with multiple parts where stiles ends up at the NY Institute but somehow Derek ends up there too and they eventually get together and help malec rekindle their relationship at the end

@schlossa and @cw0ffeefandomaddict found this one!

Cathedrals by KarasuYurei, KouriArashi

(17/17 I 78,639 I Teen I Sterek)

After the events with Deucalion and Jennifer Blake, Derek goes on a search for his biological family. He, Stiles, and Cora head to New York City to try to find the family he doesn’t remember. It turns out that there was a lot to his adoption that he never knew.

#teen wolf #sterek #malec #lost fic #stiles stilinski #derek hale #shadowhunters

[alexanderlightweight]

Prompt for Wednesday, if it pleases 💜

I know you literally just posted marriage of inconvenience, so totally get it if you don’t wanna think about it anymore, but I am obsessed, fascinated, been thinking about it all day. I especially love that we got Magnus’s take on things, and also Jem taking one look at Alec and being like “lmao Magnus of course when you steal a Nephilim you pick top shelf”

The actual prompt—what is everyone else’s reaction!? Jace, bereft of a sucker to tie Clary to? Maryse, mother-in-law to Magnus Bane. The Clave, suddenly missing their scapegoat/fix it guy? How does the warlock community take Magnus suddenly being married/bonded after like four hours of conversation. Do the NY shadowhunters loyal to Alec (because we love a competent, well-loved and respected HOTI Alec) think Alec’s been enchanted or are they just happy he’s with anyone but Clary?

And, of course, any Malec post-fic vibes you have are always loved, valued, and appreciated.

i actually wrote half of it three years ago and the rest just recently when my health got better, so i'm not exhausted with it or anything, but thank you for checking that's incredibly sweet. i actually really love that verse and have filled a few other prompts for more of it so this was fun and I finally tackled a non malec pov for this fic. i hope you enjoy!

also please remember Jace is an unreliable narrator dealing with a lot of trauma and also self-denial. he thinks he's in love with his sister and he's really struggling with that. A LOT. he canonically doesn't think of alec's feeling and wellbeing until last or when alec's injuries pain jace (which he doesn't have in this verse). he's so caught up in clary and wanting clary that he can't even try to understand why alec would be upset with marrying her when it's all jace wants/ed.

--

Jace is pacing frantically through the Institute halls.  

Alec hasn’t been seen since he went out for a lone patrol and reported everything was fine and that he was marking some new streets that had been renamed.

That was fine.

Everyone knows that Alec is trying very desperately to spend as little time as possible in the Institute because of the impending wedding.

Which is just selfish to Jace.  

Alec gets to marry Jace’s sister. The girl Jace thought he could love, Clary. Who is absolutely amazing and perfect and Jace still wishes, sometimes though he never lingers on it. 

But Alec is acting like he’s being stabbed through the heart and tortured or even deruned.  Jace has never seen him so miserable in their entire life and he doesn’t get it.

He wishes, once again, that Alec hadn’t backed out of their parabatai bond. That Alec hadn’t made the excuse of, ‘we want different things and positions in life, Jace’.  Like it was that big of a deal that Jace had no intention of someday being a Head of Institute or Consul or Inquisitor or some higher position like Alec wanted. Jace would be happy to be a commander, but he also wasn’t fussed about when it happened. 

Sure things got a little boring, but commanders had more paperwork and weren’t sent out on as many missions. Jace wanted to wait before he stuck himself half-behind a desk like Alec was trying so hard to do.

So in that way, he had understood a little, that it would have been hard when Alec achieved his goals and went to Idris and Jace stayed at whatever Institute he was a part of. It had hurt though, the rejection and this hurts even more. They could finally be brothers, since they aren’t parabatai.  They could call each other brother and it would be recognized and if Jace can’t have Clary then the only person he would want to, is Alec. 

“Izzy!” He calls when he sees her.  She’s been hot and cold since the marriage was announced.  Acting like she’s both thrilled Clary is going to become family and also guilty, avoiding Alec who isn’t even talking to her. 

Which may be why she’s avoiding him. Izzy hates it more than any of them when Alec shuts them out.

“Jace.” And she’s not smiling, she hasn’t been smiling much unless Clary or that mundie pest of Clary’s is around. “Have you seen Alec?”

“No, I was just about to ask you. Any ideas? He should have been back by now, even if he did spend all night out alone to avoid everyone, it’s noon. He never stays out this late.”

Izzy looks as worried and miserable as Jace feels and he’s about to suggest they go talk to Hodge when a fire message appears out of the air and Izzy snatches it with whip-like reflexes. 

“It’s from Alec.” She sounds relieved but instead of a smile her face twists further into a frown.

“What is it, Iz?” Jace asks leaning close over her shoulder to peer at the note. It’s weird, Izzy still feels more like his sister than Clary and he wishes he could figure out how to have that kind of easy, sibling relationship with Clary.

He’s hoping it will be better after Alec marries her, he would never covet Alec’s wife. Couldn’t, it would be too big a betrayal of the bond they share and have nurtured since childhood. That Alec was and is the only one Jace would tie his soul to, because he wants Alec to be tied to him in return.

To always be Alec’s little brother, to be protected and cared for the way Alec has always done for Izzy and Max and Jace once he became as close a Lightwood as he could come.

“He’s not coming back until the day of the wedding, apparently he’s decided that he just needs a few days to himself.”

Jace wants to hit something, preferably Alec at the moment.

“So what, he’s just going to leave before the wedding? What is Clary supposed to think about this? Did he even think about how she’s going to feel?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re more upset than Clary will be,” Izzy says slowly, watching him carefully. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay! Alec is ruining this for everyone, why can’t he just stop for a minute?”

“Hey!” And Izzy sounds upset now and Jace hates it when she’s upset. It reminds him of her when she was eleven and crying because Jace wasn’t handling the transition of living with the Lightwood’s very well. Alec had told him that if he ever made Izzy cry again, Jace could forget Alec being his brother, because he wasn’t going to be a brother to someone who purposefully made their siblings cry. 

“Alec didn’t choose this. Remember! This was picked by everyone but him.” And Jace recognizes now what the guilt he’s seen on her is from. “If he needs a few days to wrap his head around not getting a choice, then he gets them. No tracking him, Jace. I’m serious.” And Izzy clips off, only her hands clenching and unclenching again and again betray her guilt and what Jace thinks might be shame.

He does feel a little bad, but not enough to be guilty. 

Anyone should be honored to marry Clary, Jace’s sister. Alec is just being stubborn because he and Clary butted heads when she showed up. Once Alec’s back and the wedding has happened, things will be fine. Better than fine, they’ll all be family.

#writing wednesdays #writing wednesday #lumine writes #shadowhunters #shadowhunters au #inconvenient marriage au #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #my fics #my fanfics #my ficlets

[khaleesiofalicante]

PREVIOUSLY ON LBAF…

Rafael - Got married to Anjali. Consul of the Clave. Pissed off the Warlock Council after everything that happened with the Devlins. 

Selena - Moved out of the NY Institute. Traveling the world to find shadowhunters who were exiled to invite them back to the shadow world. Still dating Gabriel - who is a Centurion. 

Lexi - Moved to Idris with Liv (who is part of the Idris Guard now) and lives in Herondale Manor. Studies and protects the Veil of Idris (which keeps the shadow demons at bay)

Gigi - Currently lives in Idris (while Roman is in LA studying technology) and works closely with Camila Alvarez on using demon ichor to support mundanes. 

Max - Currently lives in New York Institute with David. Signed the walk-away clause and is no longer part of the Clave and therefore is not allowed in Idris. 

David - Currently lives at New York Institute and is the head of the institute. Rumored to be the prince of darkness and exiled from Idris after releasing shadow demons into Idris and causing the death of several shadowhunters including Kingsley Knightstorm. 

Alec and Magnus - Catching their breath after tackling all the Devlins and looking for a motherfucking break for once. They are both worried about the deteriorating relationships between warlocks and shadowhunters.

#in case yall wanted to catch up before you start tomorrow :) #lbaf

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 140 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: taking a bubble bath^^

BASIRA: "You look awful. You try drinking with Daisy again?" The S4 Archives crew dynamic is so incredibly funny! I headcanon Jon getting super emotional when drunk, pouring his heart out!

BASIRA: "You don’t remember any of it?" JON: "You drink the whole contents of a bar, you don’t remember what the Merlot tastes like. (sigh-adjacent sound) It just hurt." Already said last episode, with a character capable of sort of an omniscience it would have been kind of a plot hole not to try to just Know what the plan was. And this is an excellent way to handle it. The reason, why Jon didn't get any information out of it, works so well.

That encounter with Maxwell Rayner was probably the reason Basira got so much into books when she joined the institute. She was already researching Ny-Ålesund back then and dove deeper into the history of John Flamsteed and Edmond Halley (MAG 108).

BASIRA: "The first Astronomer Royale. Had the post until his death in 1720." JON: "1719. He died on New Year’s Eve." People often say 'No one likes a smartass," but I actually love them!^^

BASIRA: "Names shift over the years. ‘Specially if you’re not keen on keeping the same body." Oh the foreshadowing!

Oh god, this statement... I'm a few sentences in and I already forgot everything. This old English writing makes my brain bluescreen...

"With a fierce strength never before awakened within me, I gripped the head of my foul adversary, and forced it down, into the dark pool before us.There I held it, the water so cold upon my skin the marks have yet to fade. And Reimer thrashed, and kicked, and made such sounds as I have never before heard of the dying. And he was still." I'm guessing, that "dying" by the black water of the Dark only achieved Rayner being one with it now. His essence somehow preserved in the liquid. (Also death to become a full-fledged Avatar, yes yes...) Cause that liquid is how he hops bodies right? It was coming out of his mouth and flowing towards Callum Brodie.

BASIRA: "But I mean – didn’t you say he got blown up in World War I as well?" And that's the only reference we get to that dead soldier in MAG 7. Though his tags said "Joseph Rayner".  In MAG 7 Jon said the recognizes the name from somewhere, but now he's not sure himself there.

BASIRA: "Ah, Jon. What’s this?" [SHE PICKS SOMETHING UP.] JON: "Hm? Oh. That’s… I, th, uh – that’s my rib." BASIRA: (Pythagorean theorem, volume of a cone) "Right." [SHE PUTS IT BACK.] JON: "Yep." BASIRA: "And… the jar of ashes." JON: (stress.exe) "Not – not, m,mine – I mean, it belongs to me, I, I, I guess, but it’s not – stationery is in the, uh, other drawer." 'No, Basira, this is my human remains drawer...' xD Also the fan transcript, lol! Stress.exe xD (got my headcanon to the survival of the jar of ashes in my post to MAG 123 btw - Martin salvaged it after the Flesh attack.)

JON: "I hope you’re not suggesting that Santa works for the People’s Church." BASIRA: (exasperated) “Jon.” Yeah, Jon. Santa is an Avatar of the Eye, did you not pay attention to "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town".

BASIRA: "I bring all the guns from Daisy’s old stash, you bring the spooks you used to mess up that delivery guy." [LONG PAUSE.] JON: "What – That’s it? Christ, I thought my plans were half-assed." Afsdjfld, I forgot this was an actual conversation, lmao!

@a-mag-a-day

#a-mag-a-day #mag 140 #tma #tma spoilers

[garadinervi]

James Baldwin, Sweet Lorraine (1969), «Playbill», April 2014 [Bibl.: To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words, Adapted by Robert Nemiroff, With original drawings and art by Miss Hansberry, Introduction by James Baldwin, New American Library, New York, NY, 1970, pp. xi-xv] [originally appeared in the November 1969 issue of «Esquire» (text here)] [Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.]

«We spent a lot of time arguing about history and tremendously related subjects in her Bleecker Street and, later, Waverly Place flats. And often, just when I was certain that she was about to throw me out, as being altogether too rowdy a type, she would stand up, her hands on her hips (for these down-home sessions she always wore slacks), and pick up my empty glass as though she intended to throw it at me. Then she would walk into the kitchen, saying, with a haughty toss of her head, "Really, Jimmy. You ain’t right, child!". With which stern put-down, she would hand me another drink and launch into a brilliant analysis of just why I wasn’t “right.” I would often stagger down her stairs as the sun came up, usually in the middle of a paragraph and always in the middle of a laugh. That marvelous laugh. That marvelous face. I loved her, she was my sister and my comrade. Her going did not so much make me lonely as make me realize how lonely we were. We had that respect for each other which perhaps is only felt by people on the same side of the barricades, listening to the accumulating thunder of the hooves of horses and the treads of tanks.»

#graphic design #theatre #theater #play #magazine #book #james baldwin #lorraine hansberry #robert nemiroff #new american library #esquire #playbill #1960s #national museum of african american history and culture #smithsonian institution #1970s #2010s

[hockeymusicmore]

#nhl #ny islanders #colorado avalanche #toronto maple leafs #zach parise #willy nylander #auston matthews #morgan rielly #Instagram

[adamsvanrhijn]

The Gilded Age Season 2 Episode Titles and Summaries as of October 23 November 22

2.01 — You Don't Even Like Opera Adult Content On Easter Sunday, Agnes informs Ada, Marian, and Oscar of her nephew Dashiell Montgomery’s imminent arrival in New York. In need of a change after an emotional visit to Philadelphia, Peggy asks Marian about returning to 61st Street. Meanwhile, Bertha sidesteps Mrs. Astor to support the Metropolitan Opera House, and Oscar begins courting Gladys once again. (1h5m)

2.02 — Some Sort of Trick Adult Content After giving Oscar his final verdict, George sends Clay to meet Mr. Henderson, the union leader at his Pittsburgh steel plant. Meanwhile, Agnes chides Ada for being too chatty during a visit with Luke Forte, Mrs. Fane arranges a match for Marian in Newport, Larry gets a new commission, and Peggy is welcomed back to 61st Street by all but one. (1h)

2.03 — Head to Head Adult Content As the opera war heats up, an unlikely guest attends Bertha’s Met fundraiser, while Agnes backs Mrs. Astor’s effort to preserve the Academy’s dominance. Meanwhile, Peggy offers to travel with Mr. Fortune to Alabama to cover a story about the Tuskegee Institute, Ada organizes a special luncheon for Mr. Forte, George attempts to sway Henderson, and Watson considers an offer. (1h)

2.04 — His Grace the Duke Adult Content After receiving discouraging news about the Met, Bertha deals with rumors that are swirling about Larry. Fearing her sister’s disapproval, Ada asks Marian to cover for her as she continues to see Mr. Forte. Later, Bertha vies for position with the visiting Duke of Buckingham, and, in Tuskegee, Peggy navigates a tense dinner with Mr. Fortune and Booker T. Washington. (1h)

2.05 — Close Enough to Touch Mild Violence While Ada questions whether to move forward without her sister’s support, Agnes faces the prospect of living alone. In Newport, Bertha puts the finishing touches on the event of the season as Mrs. Winterton plots her revenge. After experiencing the best of the Tuskegee Institute, Peggy and Mr. Fortune witness the dangers of the South firsthand. (1hr)

2.06 — Warning Shots Mild Violence As George heads to Pittsburgh to deal with the potential strike, Bertha learns that the Duke will return for the Metropolitan Opera’s opening night. While the staff chip in to help Jack, Bannister tries to retrieve an incriminating letter from the Russell house. Ada and Luke return from their honeymoon and Marian receives an invitation from Dashiell. (1hr)

2.07 — Wonders Never Cease Adult Content Against the backdrop of the biggest event in New York City’s history, Bertha reconsiders her loyalty to the Met. Meanwhile, an engagement celebration leaves Marian with doubts, Peggy strives to make a difference in Brooklyn, George strikes a deal with Mr. Henderson, Oscar makes an alarming discovery, and the van Rhijn household reels as Luke’s health deteriorates. (1hr)

2.08 — In Terms of Winning and Losing Adult Content While the staff question their future in the van Rhijn household, Jack receives welcome news about his patent. After scoring a victory for the local schools, Peggy considers her future at the NY Globe. Later, Marian confesses her true feelings to Dashiell – and Bertha and Mrs. Astor make their final moves in the opera war. (1h)

#the gilded age spoilers

[cwahsohnt]

I went to the Connecticut Sun v NY Liberty WNBA game tonight! I took some poorly composed pictures! The Sun lost, but I was sitting five rows behind their bench! I saw so many uncalled fouls from so close! No, for real, I've never seen worse officiating. Not even Hooch in the "Pernille! PERNILLE!" game.

The entire first quarter was a series of bad calls that consistently favored NY, increasingly frustrating the Sun to the point Dijonai Carrington nearly threw hands with a teammate and got benched for the rest of the game. They are professionals and should have maintained their composure, and I'm not saying the Sun would have won in a game where the calls were more consistent, because NY was passing and shooting well. I was extremely impressed by Sabrina Ionescu, in particular.

The absolute worst bit occurred in the third quarter, though. Tiffany Hayes was (unintentionally) hit in the face during a scramble for a rebound, immediately dropped to the floor with her hands pressed to her face and curled in a near fetal position on the baseline. Loud gasp from the crowd. No whistle. Sun ran the floor with the possession, lost it somehow (I missed it because I was 15 feet away, staring at Hayes and hoping she wasn't unconscious at that point) and NY ran back. Hayes was still lying on court, same position when a whistle was finally blown - for a foul against the Sun. There was an injured player lying on the floor - her body still partially in-bounds, not that it really matters because out of bounds wouldn't be any protection - and the the officials still allowed the game to continue. I haven't watched any replays yet - this is just what I saw at the game.

In basketball, the officials have the discretion to stop the game at their discretion for injuries. This isn't good enough. They need to institute something like the footy rule where play is (supposed to be) immediately stopped for injuries appearing to involve the head. Doesn't always happen in practice (Exhibit A: Melanie Leupolz in Lyon v. Chelsea last March), but they have to DO BETTER to protect players. (They did immediately whistle when DeWanna Bonner was hit in the face not long after, so I guess the yelling from the Sun bench and booing from the crowd was possibly effective?)

Hayes was able to stand and walk off the court with the med team after a few minutes and returned to the game after leaving the floor for concussion evaluation. She wasn't bleeding, but I was close enough to see the tears in her eyes as she went down the tunnel. No pics of that bit, but here's some from the game, which you get as a questionable reward if you read my rant.

Starting line-up about to be announced.

Blurry tip-off because a super-excited kid was waving a foam finger in the row in front of me and I'm not about to complain about that.

Time-out meeting near the bench.

Alyssa Thomas, aka the Triple Double Queen, hits a free throw.

Sorry I'm not a better photographer. Sorrier I have to work Sunday and can't go to game 4 to cheer for my girlies! Go Sun!

#connecticut sun #sun v liberty #wnba playoffs #basketball

[kammartinez]

By Sam Tabachnik

The Mexican delegation stood on the tarmac Friday afternoon near Denver International Airport, waiting under hazy skies for a forklift to deliver a wooden box, the contents of which archaeologists have been searching for nearly two decades.

Inside that box — 95 inches tall, 46 inches wide, emblazoned with the Mexican flag — sat a 2,000-pound, elaborately carved stone from the ancient Olmec civilization, a precursor to the Mayans who thrived more than 2,500 years ago near the Gulf of Mexico.

The prized relic, known as Monument 9 or the Earth Monster, was carefully crafted between 800 and 400 B.C. out of volcanic rock, archaeologists believe. Its wide mouth represents the door to the underworld.

“This is one of the pieces we have been looking for for the longest time,” said Jorge Islas, Mexico’s consul general in New York.

Authorities believe the stone artifact was stolen in the late 1950s or early 1960s from the central Mexican state of Morelos. It was exhibited in New York’s famed Metropolitan Museum of Art in the 1970s, and sometime after made its way into the hands of an unnamed private collector or collectors in Colorado.

Now the stone artifact — with an estimated $12 million value — is headed back to its ancestral homeland after authorities seized it Friday, part of a long-term investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into stolen Olmec antiquities.

“This is testimony our nation is recovering our great patrimony,” Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, Mexico’s foreign secretary, said during a news conference.

“A decisive civilization”

Monument 9 isn’t just any old Mexican antiquity.

The Olmecs were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization, dominating the tropical lowland of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco south of Mexico City.

Architecture from the Olmecs is quite advanced, said Mario Córdova, an archaeologist who accompanied the Mexican delegation to Denver. That’s why it’s so valued and desired.

“It was a decisive civilization,” Casaubon said.

The Earth Monster sports iconography of jaguars, revered as the most dangerous animal in Central and South America, as well as sacred mountains and indigenous plants.

Archaeologists don’t know how much was taken from the Chalcatzingo Archaeological Zone, but the looting was significant, Córdova said. Mexican authorities believe sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s, looters broke Monument 9 into pieces and smuggled it into the United States.

Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, left, is shown a photograph of “Monument 9,” an Olmec civilization statue that is believed to represent an “Earth Monster,” before the creation was repatriated Friday, May 19, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Met exhibited the work from July 1970 through February 1971 as part of its Before Cortes exhibition, a museum spokesperson said. The relic was on loan to the museum from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, NY.

Córdova and other archaeologists spent the past 18 years looking for this significant piece of Mexican history. It’s not clear when, or how, the multimillion-dollar antiquity made its way into the hands of the Colorado collectors.

Authorities didn’t divulge these individuals’ identities on Friday.

“They got a settlement,” Islas told The Denver Post. “They’re super famous, super wealthy people.”

The Mexican government approached the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office with evidence that the artifact had been stolen and authorities located it this year, said Alejandro Celorio, principal legal advisor for Mexico’s foreign ministry.

Douglas Cohen, a spokesperson for the Manhattan DA’s office, said Friday’s seizure came as part of a long-term investigation into stolen Olmec antiquities. The office sports an antiquities trafficking unit that spearheads some of the country’s largest art-crime investigations. In recent months, the team returned stolen artifacts to Iraq, China and Yemen, among other countries.

Recovering lost heritage

The Mexican government in recent years has prioritized cultural property repatriation efforts, scouring the globe for artifacts it believes to have been looted.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador even launched a campaign under the hashtag #MiPatrimonioNoSeVende (“My heritage is not for sale”).

In March, authorities in France, Italy and Germany returned 86 cultural objects to Mexico. The Netherlands in December, meanwhile, returned 223 objects to the Latin American nation.

The country’s efforts come as the global south has increasingly pressed for the return of its heritage after decades of plundering and colonial rule. Museums and private collectors have faced increasing pressure — and attention from law enforcement — over the provenance of antiquities.

Córdova could hardly contain his glee as he stood on the tarmac at the private aviation terminal next to Denver’s airport.

In minutes, the archeologist would accompany the enormous wooden box on a military plane, headed for Mexico. Monument 9 by next week will be displayed at the Palace of Cortés, the famous conquistador’s former residence in Cuernavaca.

“I didn’t believe this was possible,” Córdova said in Spanish through an interpreter. “I’m just so happy.”

#history #archaeology #art