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margareturtle · 26 days

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Thinking about the Blackthorn Siblings as one does

No but really

Just thinking about the Blackthorn sisters and how Helen is to Dru as Julian is to Tavvy.

Let me explain:

1) Same age difference (about 10 yrs between Julian+Tavvy, about 10 yrs between Helen+Dru)

2) Tavvy is Julian’s baby, just like I think Dru was Helens’. We know Helen was parentified at a young age as well. Dru was the baby of the family for almost 6 yrs till Tavvy was born. Of course for a while Eleanor was still alive, but being the oldest Helen still would’ve stepped up especially as Eleanor was getting sicker in the years before Tavvy was born and she died. (Although now that I’m thinking about it Mama Blackthorn couldn’t have been that sick if she was still able to have a full pregnancy with Tavvy right (?!)) (And who knows what Andrew was doing but not being a super present father and running the institute ig— tho his teen son was able to do both smh)

3) but anyways yes Helen and Dru. Helen was Dru’s go to for stories and comfort when she was little. Oftentimes little Dru wouldn’t be able to keep up when the twins + Jules+Emma went exploring, but she would stay back with Helen.

4) in addition Julian and Helen are both the main (or one of the main for helen’s case) parents in Tavvy + Dru’s lives during the same time in both their lives. Dru and Tavvy were both about 2-7/8 and Helen and Julian were both 12-17/18.

5) Which is what makes Helen’s exile and return and Dru’s reaction to it (though understandable) more tragic. Bc Dru was Helen’s baby, and at one point Helen was Dru’s main person. But now Helen is back, and while being Dru’s older sister/parent was such a big part of Helen’s identity for so long and she remembers it well, Dru’s memories of Helen are now more distant childhood memories :((

This parallels Julian + Tavvy’s relationship a bit as well (though they are not as extreme bc ofc Julian will check in often and come back to stay in LA a lot) but Julian will no longer be Tavvy’s main parent. And in time although being Tavvy’s parent was such a big part of Julian’s identity it will be more distant childhood memories for tavvy :((

6) the parallels!! Like how Dru is said to be the one who looks most like their mother but Dru barely knew her while Helen was the closest to their mom. (We learn most that we do about Eleanor from Helen’s pov) So Helen (+Emma) are the closest to maternal figures that Dru has ever gotten.

Similarly Julian is always compared to looking like Andrew, and he had to kill his own father (most of what we learn about Andrew as a parent is from Julian). But Tavvy doesn’t remember Andrew, and Julian is the best father figure he could have.

7. Finally, the way Julian + Helen switch off in their little siblings lives. Helen was one of Dru’s main parents till she was about 7/8, then Helen is exiled and Julian is Dru’s main parent from 8-13 (close to when Dru is ready to go to the academy). Where as Tavvy is the exact opposite since Julian was his main parent till he was about 7/8 and then Helen is taking over as Tavvy’s main parent from when Tavvy is 8 till presumably when he follows in Dru’s footsteps and goes to the Academy (15ish—till he’s sent back to LA bc of the pandemic lmao)

So Dru + Tavvy had the same parents just 6 yrs apart

The Blackthorn siblings as divided by who their parents were:

Helen + Mark: Eleanor + Andrew (+nerissa when they were babies but don’t rly remember)

Julian: 10 yrs Eleanor + Andrew, 2 yrs Helen + Mark + then himself :(

Livvy + Ty: 1/2 Eleanor + Andrew, 1/2 Helen + Julian

Dru + Tavvy: Helen + Julian

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aleclightofmylifewoodbane · 6 months

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you guys know what i need

i want to see moments from when the blackthorns were younger (pre endarkened) and their family dynamic and nice moments. mark being an angsty teenager annoyed with his younger siblings and ty driving them crazy bringing animals home. julian and emma joint at the hip as little kids and an ever exasperated helen trying to keep all her little siblings in a line, their loving father

i also want to see some of the years between tmi and tda where julian learns to take care of the kids. i need it so bad. i want it. i want to watch their dynamic grow and change. i want to watch them find a way to be a family again and just see all the small moments

#im dying #i love filler #family dynamics #im a sucker #idc if its boring #i want all the slice of life before and between #tsc #tmi #tda #blackthorns #julian blackthorn #helen blackthorn #mark blackthorn #ty blackthorn #livvy blackthorn #dru blackthorn #tavvy blackthorn #emma carstairs

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jacobseed · 3 months

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i have questions about the blackthorne siblings. what's their dynamic? do they have the disney channel original dynamic of cool older sister annoyed at her rowdy younger brother? are they both cut from the same cool, intimidating, goth cloth?

yo ariana this went insane actually off the rails here you go

—

So actually, they have a pretty tough relationship and it doesn’t help that their personalities are the way that they are and it causes them to clash constantly.

Neri is the stubborn one with an attitude and-at the time- thought the world was hers. She’s beautiful and rich and has a very commanding presence. She didn’t really care if she hurt anyone and she definitely didn’t let herself be hurt by anyone.

Being the older sister, Neri has a lot of responsibilities she never wanted. She rebels by throwing herself into alcohol and sex and violence. gods, she loves violence and blood and not like in the murdery way but like fights with fists and knives and once someone wrestled a druid in wild shape and it almost ended badly. She was notorious for being involved in a lot of terrible shit, which never looked good on the Blackthorne family - and that’s exactly what she wanted.

She had a terrible relationship with her father all the way up to the day he died and an even more sour relationship with her mother, but in her own way always tried to take care of Niko- she loved and cared for him as her parents never had. even as her father praised and respected her younger brother while he had only shown hatred and resentment towards his daughter.

Niko looked up to his father and almost became a carbon copy of him in his mannerisms and way of thinking. He’s cold and collected, very straightforward and weary of others intentions. In a way though, he’s mean as fuck.

He learned how to fight from the man and that became all he knew and something he excelled at. He spent day and night fighting with different weapons. Niko felt he had to impress their father- always told to be better than his sister. He grew his own resentment towards his sister as he only saw this negative side to her be brushed off by his family as if they were letting her get away with it. They grew further apart when their father died and their mother’s already dwindling mental health grew worse and Neri left, unable to handle the pain their mother caused.

So yes, they are the same, in a way.

#ask #pitchmoss #oc rambling #oc: neri #oc: niko #you can see why neri and astarion are besties but also despise each other ahahfjaja #niko kinda hates neri at first but they get along eventually #giving my characters tragic backstories bc i too relate but like not to the extremes #is this what you asked for??? probably not but i love talking about them

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khaleesiofalicante · 5 months

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Isgt I'm gonna try to keep it short but I make no promises lol... I do have LBAF V and VI to catch up to I have no regrets...

Selena having Arthur will always make me soft, and ngl I was kinda pissed at Lexi and Gabriel at first. I get them, but Lance is just baby🥺. Also, Lance helping Selena with the pain while giving birth and basically protecting Arthur before Arthur was born PLEASE I CAN'T 😭

Fucking hate Victoria for training Kincaid so young and also Madeline making life miserable for David. Those two are on my list of people I am willing to become a criminal for 😤

I don't know what drugs Other Max is on, but I can't deny he is funny as fuck LMAO. That scene with him and the shadowhunters trying to take the institute omfg

Max and Other Max convos always have me conflicted because they're so intense but at the same time it's him fighting with himself! Pls this man took self-hatred to a whole different level😂

Kincaid🥺🥺🥺. The first meet with Arthur was>>>>. I will kidnap that boy if I have to, he's the sweetest boy ever and he likes the other sweetest boy ever MY HEART CAN'T HANDLE THAT!!

“Why would you be scared of shadowhunters?” “Why would you be scared of shadow demons?” Arthur asked, equally confused. THE WAY THIS REFLECTS THEIR REALITIES ARE ON OPPOSITE ENDS. Arthur, growing up with Lance, is used to demons being friendly because his brother controls them and would probably tell them to never harm his family vs Kincaid. Growing up in Idris, being scared of what they have seen the shadow demons do... Fucking wow

Antoine really be giving books and changing lives. I want to be like him growing up🥰. Also he and Abigail???? HOT!!!

Someone said the experiment Atlas was trying with the lemon juice on paper was foreshadowing of Lance having angel blood but only being able to see it if you add another thing and I can't stop thinking about it. Still not sure it would matter to the clave if he did, but at least that way Lance and AJ could be parabatai!!! Tell me they will be. That's all I'm asking at this point 😭

I get Rafael having to put up wards against Lance, or someone might do something worse, but also... Dick move😒

“He does,” Rafael chuckled. “But that’s okay. He is my little brother. He has always hated me a little bit. The same way Abigail hates you. I’m fine with it. I can handle the hate. What I can’t handle is if he ever stops trusting me.” My therapist will hear about this, Dani😭

Gigi is the MVP. Only smart person here with common sense and fucking empathy. I'm glad to see the apple didn't fall far from the tree with Atlas 🥰. I just love how much Atlas loves his mom and is constantly thinking about her sjhskdbdj

Alec's chapter is to chaotic to sum up but I loved movie night 🥺🥺 and these kids are so unhinged jshsjdikwkk. Also see him being a grandparent makes me so emotional. He was just 18 yesterday wtf??? 😭

The confusion was comforting. He knew life wasn’t easy for the residents of this institute. But there was a small comfort in the fact that Arthur would never have to hide that part of himself. BOY DO I GOT YOU SOME NEWS-

Every part of Lance's chapter killed something in me🙂. This one was a whole other level of weakness. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for this boy. I'll have you know I am obsessed with them. Sibling dynamics just hits different 🥲 and I will make a whole other ask about them just because I can!!

It’s Theia Blackthorn. The Inquisitor’s daughter.” “Jesus Christ,” Lance said. “Raziel wasn’t available?” Say what you will about this asshole, but his humor is top tier!!! Also love how Blackbane form the start are so fucking horny and funny. Like they say the most out of pocket stuff and then cough and stutter JSHSJDJKDKDKD

Joan really be having the worst time here. Being 14 years old, wanting a friend and having a big crush on a straight girl??? Now that is a though life😔. I think her and Kincaid's friendship would fix me tbh... And I just fucking love her, she's so chaotic and gay🥰. All miscommunication aside, they did a fantastic trio

Her group chat with her grandparents 😍😍😍. They are the best!!! Damn, I wish my grandparents would have loved me lmao

“Yeah, because, going to a castle full of women is the right solution for lesbianism,” Mommy giggled. Me, age 13 when I thought going to an all girls school would be a good idea to stop liking girls. PS. I didn't go, but I feel it would have only made me gayer...

the way I read this and already miss LBAF V (like I finished writing it only a month ago lmao) these kids have already grown so much WTF.

Also something I really like about LBAF is that it gives me a lot of space (literally - like room!) to explore so many different types of relationships and dynamics instead of just romantic ones - which has anyone been one of my main interests when writing a story. I love that I can explore sibling relationships - like the dynamic between Lance/Arthur is SOOO different, let's say, what exists between Antoine and his sister or Cami and Arjun and all of them exist in the same story and it's just sooooo fun to play around with that.

PS - I went to an all girls school too (a convent no less) and YEAH IT'S TOUGH IF YOU ARE GAY AHHH.

#lbaf

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livvyofthelake · 1 year

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to conclude the mark blackthorn hate tonight. i like him when he talks to his siblings and then like never at any other time. i used to like him back when lady midnight was the only tda book but then lord of shadows ruined everything in regards to him, kieran, and cristina tbh. i can’t stand any of them. ok i love cristina i cannot stay mad at her when all she did was girlboss her way into a throuple with two twinks who are obsessed with her i cannot be mad about that genuinely. i do think she deserves better than them tho just because they do suck but hey if she’s happy i’m happy. if they stay obsessed with her it’s fine. but i cannot stand those men fr it actually reflects so badly on cassie that they’re such flop gay people and flop characters and a flop throuple. anyway this was about mark. i like mark when he talks to ty because that’s literally his baby brother, and i like him when he’s with jules because their whole dynamic makes me feel crazyyyy, but when he’s in a scene with emma i want him to be killed. and it goes without saying that in scenes with kieran i hope they both die. and then his scenes with cristina used to slay but i inevitably soured on them due to the whole flop throuple thing. we never should have called her out for not making tessa will and jem poly so she felt like she had to do poly representation in another book. because it was BAD when she tried. and i hope she never does it again she’s not good at it!!! thank god i don’t have to worry about that in twp because i know there’s no way even love for dru would bring ash and jamie together. and she’s probably not ending up with jamie anyway so who even cares. anyway i’ll shut up now peace and love. i wish tda had a better secondary romance

#emma jules slayed as the primary romance so i forgive tda. and of course whatever the hell kit was doing slayed in the. c plot.#and diana and gwyn were fun. and tda is the series where jace and clary got engaged and magnus and alec got married so there’s that!!!#there’s so much good stuff going on and that’s why it’s my favorite tsc series!! (actually. that’s pending) but i wish the damn. SECONDARY #romance hadn’t been so flop and fail!!! they’re just. so annoying no other way to say it!!!#they’re like when clary and simon tried to date and it was bad…. except that we’re not supposed to think it’s bad…#beth.txt #ok that’s all.#tsc

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adanseydivorce · 8 months

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ask game:

tsc (i’m sorry i always ask about them, my brainrot is strong and i love hearing your thoughts)

and community

don’t apologize pls lol I also am brain rotting hard and have few people to talk about it with so it’s appreciated :)

The Shadowhunter Chronicles

M/F OTP: there are others I really like or love in a more normal way, but Emma/Julian Will/Tessa and Jem/Tessa are the ones that hit on another level for me emotionally, I’m clinically insane about them. Also it’s a bit hilarious to think about, since this was formative media for me (I first read TID in late elementary/middle school and TDA as they were coming out in high school) how my taste in ships generally speaking was shaped… like if you look at pairings I gravitate towards in other fandoms since there are def patterns xd. The impact!

Other M/F ships I have love for (including this category because ik i don’t talk about them as much and in another fandom where I had less dynamics I’m super fond of to choose from I could have placed them in that first category think of them as like second tier Otp’s for me ): Mark/Cristina, James/Cordelia, Simon/Isabelle (last one also was formative they were thee hot girl/soft boy nerd ship to me in middle school. But it has been a while so unsure if they’d hit the same on reread, they are the tmi couple I would most like to see in the better in black collection though!)

M/M OTP: Jem/Will! And then follow up Kit/Ty Surefire ways to get me invested in a ship: they do necromancy together, meet cute with a knife to the throat, they break up without ever dating. Triple check.

F/F OTP: along those lines it’s Lucie x Grace literally the main reason I want to reread TLH (well I do also just want to see how it reads back to back and not broken up and I have other reasons but like. Those are less important) is to be able to properly write fic about them, like it genuinely pisses me off this fandom is so boring and tasteless I can’t believe I actually miss the legacies fandom they were annoying as hell but at least they understood that when women do dark magic together it’s polite to write detailed analysis of how gay they are 😭. The way I know cc has seen Buffy too like flop. Also it just fits archetypes of antagonistic femslash I tend to love in general see: Julia/Marina Aria/Alison Elena/Rebekah and more

OT3: Herongraystairs and then Kierarktina

Friendship OTP: Tessa & Magnus + Will & Magnus! And for familial relationships I adore all The Blackthorn siblings in TDA and their dynamics but especially Julian and Mark’s relationship is v compelling to me and I also love Cordelia and Alastair’s relationship v much it was my favorite overall development in TLH. And then for psuedo familial dynamics I Love Charlotte’s relationships with Tessa Jem Will and Jessamine. her relationship with Jem might be my softest spot overall especially because they have moments in CP2 that make me go 🥺 but as a documented Tessa lover I adore how having Charlotte as a mentor figure effects her arc. So those are my favorites Ik I failed at picking just one. Oh I also adore Emma and Cristina’s friendship although I also sometimes ship them romantically

Canon OTP: Blackstairs Wessa Jessa like I said

Crackship OTP: what even counts as crackship? I will admit that during my CP reread I did look up how many Will/Magnus fics there are on ao3 although I did not read them (there are 12 for inquiring minds).

Anti-OTP: The worst ship to me is Jordan/Maia but it’s been a long time so the vitriol has worn off and I don’t have another solid notp besides them but the other canon pairings I’m #unimpressed with are Clace Ghostwriter and Gracetopher … Lucie/Jesse probably irks me the most these days because I actually want to like them because the concept is so good but the execution falls flat for me and I really like Lucie and want someone more interesting for her (like Grace lol.)

Community

M/F OTP: ultimately when I’m actually watching the show it’s Jeff/Britta love their emmaxknightleycore vibes. But I did get really into Abed x Annie at one point and even wrote some fic about it over quarantine (when I first got into Comm) so I have a soft spot for that concept too

M/M OTP: Troy/Abed. They of course are The otp of the show.

F/F OTP: not really otp status but well I did write this Annie x Britta Carmilla Au: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27728689?view_adult=true

(I orphaned that account post quarantine)

OT3: Troy/Abed/Annie

Friendship OTP: I mean all the study group dynamics but I especially have soft spots for Annie and Troy + Abed and Britta moments

Canon OTP: Jeff/Britta

Crackship OTP: what even counts as crack …

Anti-OTP: I just don’t like Jeff/Annie I used to viscerally hate it these days I’m just like. It’s not for me lol.

#s speaks #asks #tsc #tid #tda #tlh #tmi #community #myhouseofivyandstone

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thousand-winters · 1 year

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For the character game, Grace Blackthorn.

1. Sexuality headcanon

I'm very fond of grayaroace Grace. In general, I like her being somewhere in the aroace spectrum, she simply doesn't seem interested at all in romance or anything.

Incredibly cool of her, tbh

2. OTP

I think Gracetopher is cute, but I wouldn't call it my OTP, tbh? I'll admit I'm not much of a fan of interpretations I've seen of how their relationship dynamic would be, so mostly I think they would be cute in theory, a theory that is very far away.

... So I just don't have one

3. BROTP

This one has to be her and Christopher, they're very sweet and I like them being nerds together. They don't have expectatives about how the other should be, so they truly see each other and I love that

Either that or her and Alastair, which has no canon basis, but hear me out... shitty parental figures, hated for shitty things they had to do due to their circumstances, Charles™, seen as cold, instantly lose their shit when something/someone implies harm against their siblings. Do you see it? Do you see the vision?

4. NOTP

Like I said, I don't mind Gracetopher, but I guess Grace has such strong aroace vibes in my heart that pretty much anyone shipped with her is a NOTP.

I suppose James can count, that whole thing was yikes.

5. First headcanon that pops into my head

Fighting might be simply what Shadowhunters must resign themselves to since it's their life, but Grace would have fun with it.

For a girl whose every aspect of her life has been controlled? I feel like something such as fighting would feel like freedom every time. Plus she was kept as defenseless as possible by Tatiana, so it would be a reminder of the metaphorical chains that have been broken.

6. Favorite line from this character

I have two, actually, and I will put both because one is more internal thoughts than dialogue.

First: "The truth is better than lies! However cruel it may be, it is crueler still for him not to know"

She's right, she's so right. A painful truth is always preferable to sweet lies.

And as for internal monologue: "Just as it was a torment to love, it might be a torment to be loved. To be loved and to know it was not real."

7. One way in which I relate to this character

Oh, boy.

Being fairly certain you do not deserve it, but still yearning for the kind of understanding that comes without expectatives. We shall not elaborate.

8. Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Not second hand embarrassment as much as "covering my face because I don't want to see this shitshow play out", but when she uses her powers, yikes.

9. Cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Problematic fave all the way. With how vitriolic people are about her? Yeah, absolutely

#thank you for the ask!!! 💕✨#ask

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diana-bookfairchild · 2 years

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Oh, my heart

Okay, so Alec and Clary had a genuinely terrible relationship at the beginning of the Mortal Instruments. Which was fair enough, because to Alec, Clary was an intruder and to Clary, Alec hated Downworlders and was just, like, plain rude to her.

But Alec hugged Clary - I literally ran around the room jumping up and down in excitement - after she and Jace put his Heavenly Fire in the sword, and The Land I Lost had excellent Alec and Clary friendship content.

But their relationship was genuinely hostile enough that it was one of the first things Simon remembered.

And then. . . Clary's worried because Alec likes to believe the best in people?? Can you imagine City of Bones Clary ever thinking like that??

Their friendship and dynamic is so awesome. People think Mortal Instruments was a lot worse than Clare's other works but the relationships - including the obvious romantic relationships - are so well done. Clary and Simon, of course, are BFF goals, the Lightwood siblings are sweethearts the few times we see all four together, Jace and Alec's parabatai relationship, Alec and Izzy's big brother little sister dynamic, Clary and Maia's slow moving acquaintance to friendship, Clary and Luke's father-daughter relationship, Simon and Luke and Jace and Luke for that matter, Simon and Maia's friends to lovers to friends, Clary and Isabelle's burgeoning friendship, Simon and Jordan's mentor-mentee to friends relationship with the thrown in Jace, Alec and Clary's annoyance to affection journey and Simon and George and Simon and Jace's friendship and brotherhood in Tales from Shadowhunter Academy.

Alec's character arc is genuinely so freaking amazing, and I'm crying about it. From the mostly hostile introvert in the closet to a loyal and quiet but friendly parabatai, brother, husband, father, friend and Consul.

"Alec is actually at the start the most conservative of the Lightwoods. As Alec progresses through the books, he does become less and less like that — he insults vampires in CoFA and then brings himself up short — and in the Bane Chronicles we do see him confronting his feelings about Downworlders seriously, but also for the first time (both with Magnus and the werewolf he meets later in the club). Obviously his relationship with Magnus has a lot to do with him realizing that you can’t force the prejudiced to accept you (though you can hopefully enforce change through changing laws) and you need to accept yourself, be proud of yourself and love yourself. Which I think has been Alec’s arc all along."

And I think we love Secrets of Blackthorn Hall so much that we forget its actual format. Emma actually trusts Cristina so much that she writes about a private conversation with one of her dearest friends and confidants. And Clary and Isabelle and Isabelle and Maia and Lucie and Cordelia and Clary and Maia and Tessa and Sophie and Tessa and Cecily are amazing but this is probably the truest and easiest female friendship dynamics in The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

From City of Bones, from Clockwork Angel, from Bane Chronicles, from Tales from Shadowhunter Academy, from Lady Midnight, when we were introduced - or re-introduced - to these incredibly real-life, multi dimensional and beautiful characters, they're all mostly adults and figuring their way out through life after all the terrors they've been through with these wonderful relationships.

My heart<3

#alec lightwood #clary fairchild #simon lewis #jace herondale #shadowhunter chronicles #mortal instruments #emma carstairs #cristina rosales #secrets of the blackthorn hall #platonic relationships #friendship #underrated friendship #beautiful #my poor heart #so overwhelmed

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nextonmy-tbr · 3 years

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Book Review: The Dark Artifices

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA Fantasy

A story set 5 years after the events of The Mortal Instruments. Emma and the Blackthorns are no longer orphans of the war. They are stronger, wiser and all Emma wants now is to find the truth behind her parents death and get her revenge. But as things unfold there may be reasons and dangers beyond her imagination. So will she find the truth? Read the book to find out …

My thoughts: -

Honestly I think this one of the best shadowhunter book series I have read. It is definitely one of my favourites and it deserves more love and appreciation. I found the story in this series much more interesting than the other shadowhunter novels. I guess I find ‘I put my family first’ dramas much more appealing. Lets talk about this book in detail.

Plot: -

“When a decision like that is made by a government, it emboldens those who are already prejudiced to speak their deepest thoughts of hate.”

The plot is damn good. There is just so much going on, I really loved that. You will go into this book expecting to find a storyline revolving around Emma and her parents (which it does) and end up with reading about a shadowhunter style Civil War. It was interesting to see how the story ends up like that. Also, Cassie has written this book a bit differently, in her previous book series’ you will see her chapters being divided among 2-3 characters POV and some additional POVs to give us an insight into other storylines. But here in this series there were multiple storylines with multiple POV, so you keep on getting content on each plot. I guess this is one of the reasons why many don’t prefer TDA. I prefer this way as you can know what’s going on with each character in the story and they don’t feel like just a plot device.

This book series has much more involvements of the faeries which makes the story more complicated and dramatic, coz obviously fae are the same. In this book you will also see how a corrupt government and prejudice can nearly destroy a community.

Characters: -

“I came of age in Dark War. I was baptized in blood and fire.”

So if it is possible to fall in love with a character that Julian Blackthorn is that character for me. He is one good character. You can also term him as a bit morally grey and complex character. Julian has been a father to all of his siblings for all these five years and hence he is very much protective of them. He can betray and manipulate any person if that meant keeping his family together. Even the dialogues given to him are so dramatic, it just makes me love him even more. I also like his love angle with Emma, it was pretty good to me. The only point where I was disappointed is the arc that was given to him at the start of the third book (if you have read these books you know what I mean and if you haven’t you will soon) and that quickly becomes boring. Other than that he was perfect.

“Nobody calls me ‘blondie’ and keeps their kneecaps.”

Emma Carstairs is our badass and sarcastic blonde (kinda like female Jace Herondale, the only exception is that I like Emma though) bent on revenge for her parents. She is a kind yet sad soul. She is a very likable character.

“I am saying the choices that we make in captivity are not always the choices we make in freedom. And thus we question them. We cannot help it.”

I am giving Kieran Kingson a special mention coz I think my guy deserves more appreciation. Seriously, he is so underrated. Both the characters in the book and people in the fandom don’t love him as much as they should. I really like the arc that was given to him. He came off as an arrogant faerie prince in the first book and quickly became an adorable faerie by the end of the third book. At least Cassie gave him the ending that he deserves.

This book really has awesome characters. Cristina definitely is overhated and for no reason whatsoever. Mark is adorable. Kit and Ty are the best duo out there, I really loved their dynamic (cannot wait for The Wicked Powers!!). Diana and Gwyn were so cool, I liked how their story proceeded, I think they should have been given more page time. It was of course lovely to read the TMI characters make their cameo in this series (they have grown soo much).

So, if you like revenge drama, family drama, corrupt government, civil war, forbidden romance, a love triangle that for once doesn’t end up in choosing between two guys, detective duo, transgender badass female ruining the bitches and group of people having tendency to put themselves in situation worse than Jace and Clary (Magnus’ words not mine), then you have to read this series. Let me know your thoughts on this book.

#book review #booklr #tda #the dark artifices #tsc #julian blackthorn #emma carstairs #cristina rosales #kieran kingson #mark blackthorn #kit herondale #ty blackthorn #livvy blackthorn #dru blackthorn #helen blackthorn #aline penhallow #diana wrayburn #gwyn ap nudd #tmi gang

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gabs2023 · 2 years

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Honestly, I’ve spent hours scrolling through tumblr and I’m just curious to hear everybody’s favorite things from the Shadowhunter Chronicles. Like favorite character, dynamic, and quote things like that, but also favorite sibling dynamic. Everybody has a dynamic in books that they search for and enjoy seeing the most and mine is sibling dynamics. I love seeing these Shadowhunters who fight demons and are groomed to be warriors, have little soft teasing moments with their siblings. Or even moments where the sibling is evil but they still always come back for that last glance at there sibling(which happens a lot in CC’s books let’s be real). So what’s your favorite? I’ll start!

My favorite character from the Shadowhunter Chronicles had to be Ty Blackthorn because he is just amazing and I love his development throughout the books so far. Also because have you seen his new flower card! Talk about hot!!🔥Him and Kit are one of the best couples of the series and I’m excited to see more in the Wicked Power’s.

My favorite dynamic of all the books has to be the dynamic between Jace and Kit Hernondale. While reading The Dark Artifices I was so excited for the two sarcastic Herondale’s to meet and was so excited when they finally did. Their dynamic was so fun to read and I loved when they always played off each other in terms of sarcasm and wit. But I also enjoyed the fascination in which they studied each other. Like “ whoa I’m actually meeting someone related to me” I feel like it was really on brand for their two characters.

My favorite quote is when Isabelle says “There are things our souls want, and mine wants you” because it shows me how much growth Isabelle went through in the series from when she was saying “ Not everybody gets the luxury of following their heart” she grew so much and I’m very proud of her character for that. Obviously this is only one of my favorite quotes because in the Shadowhunter Chronicles there are way too many to choose from.

Finally let’s talk my favorite sibling dynamic in the books. Honestly it’s super hard to pick one because there are som many good ones that just put me to happy tears but my favorite is probably the blackthorns. Just because there are so many great moments with the Blackthorn siblings and Julian is the best brother. I love the Dark Artifices because of the relationship all the siblings have with one another. Like even in Queen of Air and Darkness when Ty was so protective over Dru because he didn’t want to lose her like he did Livvy. And not even just the Blackthorn siblings in present day but Jesse and Grace in The Last Hours who were so close even after death. What is it with Blackthorn siblings recruiting Herondales to resurrect their dead siblings? Like this is becoming a pattern!

#the shadowhuter chronicles #ty blackthorn #the blackthorns #the dark artifices #the last hours #the mortal instruments #isabelle lightwood #jace herondale #kit herondale

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crimeronan · 4 years

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Can you explain the appeal of Julian Blackthorn? This is a genuine question because I read the books and came away utterly bored by him and unconvinced of his moral greyness as opposed to like, Adam Parrish’s. He seemed so one dimensional to me but I want to know if I’m Wrong TM considering I tend to be very very biased toward my favourite characters and bored by the rest, and my favourites were Mark and Kieran. So maybe I just didn’t pay him enough attention??

it’s been a while since i wrote any earnest tsc meta but cringe culture is dead and the chance to infodump about my julian thoughts has me vibrating where i’m sitting so. yes okay.

technical stuff

(aka: things pertaining to How The Story Is Constructed)

cassandra clare’s characterization has become much stronger just in general since she first began writing the series like twenty years ago

perhaps most importantly: the more recent stuff i’ve read from her has involved characters who actually grow, change, and learn from their past mistakes

rather than repeating the same stupid decisions over and over again

and over and over and over some more

seriously take a shot every time someone in tmi miscommunicates or self-destructs in ways They Have Learned Not To Do for no real reason. u will die of alcohol poisoning

in tda this shines ESPECIALLY with the evolution of mark, kieran, and cristina’s relationship, but that’s a separate post

clare’s trademark is also the angsty traumatized jerkass love interest with a secret heart of gold

the woman is almost singlehandedly responsible for draco in leather pants and the proliferation of this kind of character type in fandom and teen lit. this isn’t a criticism it’s me marveling at how if you commit hard enough to a single trope you truly can change the world. follow your dreams

sad jackass with a heart of gold isn’t an Inherently Problematic Character Type

but poorly done it can lead to relationship dynamics in which one partner is constantly being hurt by and then forgiving the other despite them making no real effort to change, because they are narratively absolved due to being sad

(there’s a lot of this with earlier jace content. in some ways i think will was later created specifically to be a same-archetype protagonist who actually does get called on his shit and grow. that’s also another post)

also if all of your sexy male love interests are tortured jackasses with a heart of gold then people start calling you a one-trick pony

enter julian blackthorn!

from the very start everything about him is designed to be the INVERSE of the heart of gold jackass. which immediately makes him interesting just from a meta perspective

(mark and kieran are also both alternate angles on this time-honored archetype. mark gets the heart of gold and kieran gets the jackass and then they’re both much more deeply messy than that. yet another post)

julian is kind, self-sacrificing, empathetic, artistic, emotionally supportive, responsible, and favored by old grannies everywhere

so a completely nonthreatening milquetoast guy, right

immediately forgettable if you’re only here for the dramatic conflicts and shithead antics of clare’s other protags

except that he is A Mess

and that he has structured his priorities very carefully, and they are as selfless as you expect from The Hero (TM) but they are also Not Heroic (TM) and they do not align with the moral framework The Hero (TM) is supposed to use

moral ambiguity in characters always exists in relation to their narratives imo. you mention adam parrish - trc’s narrative already mucks around in different ethical shades of gray, and adam falls on the canon scale about where julian does on his canon scale. both more willing than the average pov character to do the ruthless thing or make the fucked-up choice if the ends justify the means; both with an intensely strong sense of internal priorities that they adhere to at all costs, both so unbelievably fucking down for murder; etc

i do think there are ways julian’s choices could have been pushed even further, but considering the number of readers who hate his guts already, i can see why clare opted not to go for the most controversial possible conflicts

so we’re flipping the narrative

instead of seeing this angsty bad boy and peeling back the layers of his trauma to find his heart of gold, we’re seeing the put-together selfless family man and peeling back the layers of his Responsibility Mask to expose the rotting husk underneath

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

THAT IS FUN AS FUCK

then when julian DOES lash out in hurtful, uncontrolled ways, he has significantly more narrative justification for it than most of clare’s protagonists (will elaborate in characterization thoughts)

julian is also interesting as fuck because of how his struggles allow for a more in-depth look at the failings of shadowhunter society, something that’s also sorely lacking in clare’s earlier work

his apparent amorality is simply the result of him making pragmatic and impossible choices because he has been faced with fucked-up ethical dilemmas since age 12 Because Society Has Failed Him

which opens the door for narrative exploration of how and why he’s been failed so badly & what needs to change

i also love that he has such a coldly calculated way of analyzing situations and allowing harm to occur when need be, bc a lot of clare’s early protagonists have such a bad case of Rush In And Get Myself Killed Because I’ve Got Feelings About Impulsive Heroism syndrome that i wanna push them in front of a truck

probably there’s other meta narrative stuff i could say but i’m stopping myself and moving on to character analysis

characterization stuff

(aka: reasons why i’m also attached to him in a vacuum)

i don’t read him as one-dimensional at all tbh

u may feel the narrative pushes “ruthless julian blackthorn” too much without delivering enough actual ruthless julian But i don’t think that’s the same as having only one dimension

from the get-go, the big question centered on julian is always “how far are you willing to go?” and the narrative pushes the stakes slowly higher and higher to continuously test julian’s “the price is always justified” mindset

he has a far more layered and realistic response to trauma than clare’s early protagonists - trauma affects every single aspect of his personality and how he conducts himself, and the effects vary depending on the circumstances

his conviction that he has to be the perfect parent to his siblings because they will fall apart if they see him show weakness?? rooted in how he feels like he’s fallen apart since losing the stable adult support he once relied upon

his willingness to hurt semi-innocent people, commit coldblooded murder, manipulate people using political leverage, allow harm to befall any stranger if it protects his family?? rooted in how he has already had to ask himself how much he’s willing to sacrifice, and how his family is his only source of stability when the world has never done Shit for him

his conviction that he has a darker heart than anyone else because he killed his possessed father, even though intellectually he knows he was saving his brother’s life?? rooted in having no means of processing this trauma and being unable to voice his feelings for fear of backlash from a deeply non-understanding society

the way he represses every single negative emotion he ever has, to the point where emma - his actual literal magic soulmate who can feel his emotions - is startled to find him hurting or angry?? once again all about how he has to be the perfect father or he’s failed completely

the way his anger is so totally disproportionate to different situations and the way his negative emotions can only come out in completely uncontrolled breaks?? all that repression baybey. this kid has not processed a single bad feeling in five years. every single real grievance and petty annoyance has been festering indefinitely inside him like a slowly spreading infection

julian’s arc involves him needing to get thru being his worst self to actually start to heal

as in, he has to actually learn to acknowledge his feelings, take care of himself, lean on his family, and let other people take some responsibility

he also has to learn that in his quest to be the perfect emotionally controlled authority figure, he has not actually learned how to control or deal with his emotions. like. At Fucking All. good god

the narrative setup is also about asking “how far are you willing to go?” until the answer is finally “not this far. not this far”

and once he reaches that point, he has to reevaluate everything about how he weighs his priorities and morals and plans, etc

(i also like that emma has a perpendicular arc in which she’s always the one tempering julian and telling him “no we can’t go that far” until she’s willing to do something horrific that he absolutely won’t and HE has to stop HER. very sexy)

it’s also just really nice to have a character who’s learned to relate so well to literally every single member of his family while still having a very detached ruthless interior consciousness. i have similar feelings about how adam teaches himself to love people, but with julian it’s spelled out more explicitly in canon & it’s a more central character theme

i’m sure i’m also forgetting stuff here but this post is long enough so i’m gonna say good enough

and like i said in the tags on my other post, there are things i’d personally write differently if it were my story - plot points i’d shift, character contrasts i’d up, themes i’d explore differently, pacing i’d adjust, etc. i have plenty of ways i could be nitpicky and editorial about the effectiveness of julian’s arc. but i also don’t feel like writing them out at the moment & none of my critiques on effectiveness have an impact on the core appeal of his character 2 me. he’s so fucking good

#replies #tsc #tda #julian blackthorn #meta #long post #ungodly long post.#shadowhunters #Anonymous

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rinadragomir · 3 years

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HELLO YES IVE BEEN SHIPPING LUCIE AND GRACE IN SILENCE FOR MONTHS NOW AND YOUR EDIT MADE ME VERY HAPPY 😭😭😭😭❤❤❤❤ Welcome to this rarepair hell ansnajsjam

Can I present to you my headcanons about how Lucie likes to braid Grace's hair and how everyone thinks they're dating because they're all secretive with their necromancy business and how Lucie’s cheerfulness counters Grace's seriousness and I'm pretty sure I'll have more once I get around to reading choi aksjksakka 😅

I'm glad I could make you happy🤗!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's such a weird situation because I don't really like Grace, but I love their dynamic with Lucie ╮(￣ω￣;)╭

Can I present to you my headcanons about how Lucie likes to braid Grace's hair and how everyone thinks they're dating....

I mean....they literally ran away from home at night....together.....many times!!.....and many people knew about it.....and they were like: nah i don’t feel any gay vibes here ┐('～`;)┌

CMON!!!!

It seems to me that Lucie will be one of the few who will protect Grace in the COT. God, she'd even asked Grace to leave London together!!!!!!

“The Bridgestocks think I’m at their house. But I don’t see what that has—”

“You can come with us,” said Lucie.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. Even Grace looked stunned. “What?”

“I said you can come with us,” said Lucie.

So, we all know that Jesse simps for Herondale siblings. BUT LUCIE SIMPING FOR BLACKTHORN SIBLINGS?! I’m here for it ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

#Rina drinks chamomile tea and thinks her strange thoughts #lucie herondale #grace blackthorn #jesse blackthorn #tsc #tlh

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quillify-tries-to-talk · 3 years

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Some of my favorite tropes in media

1. Found family

Welp. Why am I surprised?

In addition to a ton of platonic relationships, there's also a bang-on hilarity in each one of these groups.

Six of Crows (the progression in Kaz and Wylan's dynamic??? Nina and Inej being besties??? Jesper and Inej having a running joke of scheming face lol??? Matthias forgoing his prejudices to team up with Jesper and Kuwei???)

The Hargreeves siblings??? (We're not gonna talk about what's going on between Luther and Allison 💀 but the rest of them 🥺🥺🥺)

2. Ballroom dance scenes

Oh, to be twirling across the dancefloor in the arms of your partner (bonus points if it's your enemy💖) and you can't decide if your heightened breathing is due to the music's tempo or the 🌟tension🌟

Whyyyyyyy did we have to stop balls!?!?!? Whyyyyyyyy???? Are you telling me that we lost the opportunity to wear our most artful dresses and have a night of elegant dancing and food and it was replaced by nightclubs??? T_T

3. The sunshine character actually has problems.

Love, love, love it when the sunshine, always joking, always kind character opens up about their own issues and insecurities yet they don't stop being kind and don't lose their heart just because the world is going to hell

Prime examples: Ron Weasley (au contraire, HP fandom, this guy has one of the best characterizations in the books and y'all just sleep on him because you want your special ones so much), Leo Valdez (my boy repaired a whole dragon alone, dealt with losing his mom, was homeless and yet keeps the atmosphere light and happy and makes hilarious jokes T_T), Inej Ghafa (horribly traumatized, has done things to survive in a brutal world, deserves the world, and yet is so, so, so fiercely kind and compassionate and always there for her friends💖)

4. When the tough, scary one is soft for kids or animals

Nothing is more wholesome than watching a stone-cold badass softening towards a kid or adopting a baby animal or just showing love for their family (Five Hargreeves 🥺). Shows that they still have a bit of their heart unguarded wnd hopeful.

5. Wholesome friendships that just stay friendships + siblings being siblings.

My ace ass hates love triangles with a fiery passion and it's really tiring to see every friendship being shipped left and right or being pushed into love triangle *side-eyes CC*

Lucie Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs are my favorite parabatai duo and I need more content of their friendship and antics pleaseee. I need more of them being a chaotic duo.

Alastair and Cordelia are my favorite brother sister duo, just with the way they address each other and how Cordelia thought about killing him during the demon attacks in ChoG.

Percy Jackson and Grover Underwood. The guy sailed across the Bermuda Triangle to rescue his best friend.

Also the potential we lost with Hermione and Ginny because R*wling couldn't write more than one PoV -_-

But on a happy note, Ron and Harry are my favorite and I love these dorks so much. They really become brothers by the end *gross sobbing*

Aru and her Pandava sisters and the two braincells they share🤦‍♀️😂

Once more, the Hargreeves family going from strangers to dumbass chaotic family in TUA s2😂🤦‍♀️

6. Enemies-to-lovers

Bonus points if they're also academic rivals. Why is this trope not used more? We could explore some great themes on the shit education system.

No one? Fine I'll write a fic myself.

Also, enemies to lovers =/= abusive relationships. Keep that trash away from me where the love interests are manipulative, abusive towards their love interests and then later fall in love with them. My favorite progression goes like this:

Ugh pretentious ass, look at them==>ugh why are we working together?==>why do we work so well as a team!?==>goddammit why are they so nice!?==>I guess we're friends now==>what is this tension!?!==>*notices something pretty about them* uh oh. 😳😳😳

Prime examples: Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Kallias and Alessandra from The Shadows Between Us. Jude and Cardan from TFOTA (I know they're toxic. Would not stan that relationship irl but I loved their development in the trilogy)

7. When the best friends go to an event as each other's date and are mutually pining over each other but are oblivious dumbasses.🤦‍♀️

Bonus points if other people mistake them for a couple and they can't even get out a proper explanation ;)

*whispers* Harry and Ron should've asked each other to the Yule Ball

8. More thoughtfully-written boys in YA

Please move on beyond the bad boy and broody, immortal, muscular warrior trope. Give representation to my PoC, neurodivergent, trans and fat boys. Give boys dark features (I promise they are as entrancing as blue eyes or blonde hair). Make them emotional, make them something other than stoic, make them like teenagers (and not adults playing teens). They deserve the world and well-written role models as much as girls do.

Prime example: Ron Weasley, Jesper, Wylan, Enrique and Hypnos from TGW, and Julian Blackthorn.

I could write essays for Ron but all I'll say is that r*wling did a good job by giving the role of emotional support (that's usually considered a feminine job) to a boy and made him funny and kind-hearted🥺

As for Julian, like I said before ruthless characters being soft for their family make me go T_T

9. Showing feminism with an equal society (as Tricia Levenseller does it), wholesome f/f and m/f friendships, normalizing the presence of LGBTQ people, without trashing men or femininity.

If you have to deliberately create a highly patriarchal society to show off your progressive views and badass female MC, then you're doing feminism wrong :)

Oops my saltiness leaked out in the end 😳

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betterbooksandthings · 3 years

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Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

Get out your grimoires and grab your familiars because Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper is ready to bespell you with sapphic witchy romance. Emmy Harlow left Thistle Grove and her magic behind nine years ago after a difficult breakup with a bit of a magical jock, Gareth Blackmoore, and the crushing realization that she wanted a bigger life. One she couldn't have if she stayed in town and kept her magic. But with a spellcasting tournament on the horizon, she is back in town for one month to be the arbiter of the whole show per Harlow family tradition. It was supposed to be an easy break from her real-life in Chicago before Talia Avramov walked into a bar Emmy's first night back. Turns out Gareth has broken one too many witches' hearts while Emmy has been away, and now the lot of them will conspire so the Blackthorns will finally lose the tournament. They will have to bend the rules if they want to take down the most powerful family in town, but hell hath no fury like a witch scorned.

Listen, this is an all-around good time. You have a big city girl coming back to a small town, a magic tournament, a group of women teaming up against an ex, a sapphic love story, a made up history book with witty historians and so much more.

The characters are to die for with a good combination of family traits influencing magic abilities and baseline personality types alongside individual characteristics. Linden and Rowen are amazing twins, whose sibling dynamic immediately fell into place. As an aside, I was a big fan of the range of the natural magic they used from healing to plants to aquatic life. I would also love to spend a day in the Avramov household that sounds equal parts chaotic, spooky, and fun. It is a haunted house but it has character and I hear they throw good parties.

The Blackmoore's are appropriately gaudy and annoying, making for a wonderful family of antagonists. If you are anything like me, you will want him to lose spectacularly. When you have an appropriate foe, winning feels so much sweeter.

On the whole, the book also delivers a few narrative beats about learning the difference between carving your own path versus running away. Sure, there is magic and romance involved, but at the end of the day, her relationship with her best friend and parents also factor into her reevaluation of her flight from town. As she begins to understand the effects of her choices on the people she left behind she begins to grow and heal. It is really quite touching.

Then, you add a fun witchy romance to the mix and you have yourself a winner. Talia is a chaotic neutral witch whose traditionally Russian family leans into the spookier side of the grimoire. Think seances, communing with the dead, curses, etc. Emmy had a crush on her in high school but now they are both old enough to pursue something that may last. While the romance doesn't dive too deeply into the ramifications of a longer courtship, watching the two initially dates speaks to a successful future.

If you are in the mood for a bit of ceremony, competition, and revenge in your witchy reading materials Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper is for you. It also helps that the cover is absolutely enchanting. For a few years now witchy books have been placed on the backburner. Books like Don't Hex and Drive by Juliette Cross, Help Wanted by J. Emery, and A Potion to Die For by Heather Blake come to mind. Either there have been titles independently released or they have gotten smaller runs. With the sheer number of witch romance novels about to hit the shelves, I do imagine we have another wave on our hands.

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper is set to release on October 5th, 2021. Thank you, Berkley via NetGalley for providing the eARC of Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper in exchange for my honest review.

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thanatosangels · 4 years

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ranking TSC siblings

1) first up.... Alastair and Cordelia! the protectiveness? yes. the closeness? yes. the love that you can literally feel through the pages of the book? yes!!

2) very close second goes to James and Lucie. they’re basically just BFFs. headcannon that Lucie made James a lil friendship bracelet when they were young and he’s never taken it off.

3) literally all the Blackthorns. tragically heartwarming. Julian + Tavvy = bittersweet adorableness.

4) Alec and Izzy - fuck it, why not! - and Jace! loving, supportive family by day, badass warrior team by night.

5) Anna, Christopher and Alexander. the clothes sharing?? made me cry. extra points for baby.

6) Gabriel and Gideon, purely because we love to see character development

7) Will and Cecily. the iconic, beautiful, sarcastic duo. feel like they should be higher but there don’t appear to be enough numbers.

8) could be controversial... Grace and Jesse. weirdly sweet dynamic! weirdly crazy mother. lots of lying going on.

9) Simon and Rebecca. THE SUPPORTIVENESS!!! what we like to SEE. negative points for the fact that there was a third sibling mentioned in City of Bones that’s never heard from again.

10) definitely controversial Barbara, Eugenia and Thomas. BEFORE YOU KILL ME - I LOVE THEM, but there was simply not enough content!! i need more bonding!! i need to know about Eugenia!!! im just impatient. sorry Thomas.

11) Matthew and Charles. intellectually, i KNOW that Cassie couldn’t make all the sibling in the Last Hours be friends because that’s just not how life works, but emotionally i still don’t understand how Charlotte and Henry ended up with Charles. i just think everybody Charlotte and Henry produce would be, like, the best human beings ever?

12) Clary and Sebastian/Jonathon. honestly very heartbreaking and upsetting. cried a lot when he got stabbed with the Heavenly Fire.

13) Tessa and Nate. he’s a slimy wee dick and i hate him. also, negative points for another evil brother. did one of Cassandra Clare’s brother hurt her or something?? she just really hates brothers.

14) last, and most certainly least...... Jace and Clary! INCEST BAD. that is all i have to say.

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