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winterdollsblog · 2 years

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The Herongraystairs are one big happy family and they came to celebrate Tessa's birthday

Check it out on ao3 or you can read it below the cut

Tessa had returned home from her day of meetings, she realised the house was strangely quiet. A smile came to her face as she heard her beautiful children laughing together.

Tessa always thanked her guardian angels that the situation of her children's parentage was never an issue. Lucie saw Mina as her sister, and James saw Kit as his brother.

Tessa dropped her keys into the bowl, hung up her coat and walked into the living room to see her children sitting on the floor, making something. "What are you all doing, angels?" She asked, causing Lucie to immediately throw a blanket over the mess of paper and boxes.

"Mam! Your home!" Lucie squealed as she and Mina immediately jumped up to hug her. Tessa hugged her girls back and walked over and ruffled her boys hair. "What are you all doing?" She asked with a laugh as Kit pushed the blanket down as Tessa tried to lift it.

"It's a surprise for your--" Mina started before Kit put his hand on her mouth. "What Mina means is: it's a toy duck for Church. You know how Will is with ducks." Kit smoothly answered.

Tessa repressed a chuckle. She knew what day it was, she knew her children too well, but she decided to play along. "Oh, of course. Speaking of which, where are your father's?"

"Dad is in the kitchen with Uncle Will," Mina replied after jamming her elbow into Kit's side. Tessa kissed her daughter's head as she went to the kitchen. Her heart never failed to warm at the sight of Jem's smile. "Hello, my angel, welcome home." Jem said with a smile of pure joy as he gave Tessa a quick kiss before grabbing a spoon and heading back to his bowl.

"Thank you, my love. What are you making?" She asked with a bright, cheerful smile as she tried to scoop some of Jem's cooking but was returned with gentle taps on her hand. "Lunch for all of us." He answered. "Mmmhmmm, it looks like cake, angel." He gave her a playful smile.

"I never said that, my love." She rolled her eyes playfully. "I know it's my birthday. And that you all have a surprise for me." "Do we?" Jem asked in pure innocence.

Tessa shook her head and gave him another kiss as Will stuck his head in the kitchen from the garden door. "My darling wife is home!" Tessa let out a string of giggles as William swept her into a hug and planted a deep kiss on her lips.

Her eyes caught on a small bag Will had dropped at the door.

"What's in the bag, my love?" She asked. "Never you mind, Beautiful." He answered.

"I know it's my birthday, William." Tessa said as she crossed her arms over her chest. William ignored her and put his hands on her shoulders and steered her to the stairs. "Now, I set up a gorgeous bath for you, because I'm sure you're tired tense from your meetings. So, go rest."

She sighed in relief at the thought of soaking in the bathtub. "A bath does sound lovely." She admitted. William nodded (clearly proud of himself) and kissed the top of her head. "Precisely, angel. Take all the time you need to relax and unwind, and we'll be all downstairs when you're done."

And Tessa took him for his word and slipped into the tub.

***

After an hour of blissful soaked Tessa decided it was time to get up. She put on her dressing down and walked into her bedroom to see her best friend Sophie Lightwood sitting on her bed.

"Sophie? What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise. "I'm here for your birthday, of course, dear." She answered then held up a neatly wrapped box. "For you, dearest."

Tessa came and sat by the best friend and opened the box to see a beautiful white dress. It reminded Tessa of dresses from 1878, she couldn't explain why she loved that style; Tessa just did. But it meant the world to Tessa knowing that her best friend knew her so well. "I love it, dear. It's absolutely beautiful." Tessa said as she wrapped Sophie in a hug.

"I found the dress while I was out with Eugenia and Barbara and I knew it was perfect for you." Sophie replied as she took her best friend's hand. "Come on, everyone's waiting for you, dearest." Tessa smiled as she quickly put on the dress and let Sophie lead her downstairs.

Everything downstairs was dark and quiet, Tessa could hear the quiet giggles of her daughters from behind the living room door. The second Sophie opened the door: blissful chaos erupted from the room.

Lucie and Mina set of two party poppers, James and Kit sang the tune of "Happy Birthday" into their horns; and Jem and William each held up the ends of a sign saying "happy birthday, our angel!!" Even Church joined the festivities by wearing a birthday hat and has decided to take a nap.

Tessa couldn't stop her happy tears at how her family never failed to gather together for their birthday.

"Happy birthday, Mam." James said as he hugged her. "Mum, come open your presents!" Mina said as she held up a box. Tessa smiled as she came and sat down on the floor with her family. She took her box from Mina and unwrapped it.

"Oh, Mina! It's beautiful!" Inside the box was a simple picture frame saying "the best family in the world" and it showed a collage of the father's and the kids.

Mina looked proud of herself as she hugged her mother.

"Open mine next, Mum." Kit jumped in bringing up his box. Tessa opened the box and immediately hugged Kit tight. Kit's gift was a picture of her and Kit hugging on the couch as they each read their books; Jem had taken while he tried to learn photography, but it was the caption that melted Tessa's heart. "The best mother ever"

She smiled at Kit and kissed his forehead. "I love you, my angel, thank you."

"Okay, me next! Me next!" Lucie said excitedly as she brought over her gift. "Okay, okay, sweetheart." Tessa said with a laugh as she took the box and opened it.

Inside laid a simple necklace with a golden angel pendant. "I know you believe in your guardian angel, so I figured you'd love it." Lucie said, promoting Tessa to kiss her cheek.

"It's perfect, LuLu." Tessa said as James came over with his gift. She opened it and laughed as she pulled out a small statue of four angel figures with her children's faces on them. "Now you all really are my angels. Thank you, sweetheart. I love it."

The kids made room on the floor for Jem and William as they each took a spot either side of Tessa. "Happy birthday, my angel." Jem said as he handed her his gift. She opened it and immediately cried happy tears: inside was a little sculpture of Blackfriars Bridge, the same bridge Jem had asked Tessa to marry him, but with one addition: on top of the bridge was a little figure of a woman with a man on his knees, showing the woman a ring.

"Oh, my love. It's absolutely beautiful." Tessa said as she leaned in to share a kiss with Jem. "Where am I, though??" William asked, making everyone laugh as he grinned.

"And last, but not least: my final husband's gift." Tessa said as William handed his gift. She opened it and cried yet again: inside was a little statue of two figures (bearing a very similar look to her and William) Tessa read the quote on the base of the statue: The sound of her voice, the light of her face, the touch of her hand, had a strong beneficial influence with him almost always

She immediately understood the reference to A Tale of Two Cities.

"It's perfect, my angel. Absolutely perfect. All your presents are." Tessa said as she smiled and her family. "Now, for the cake!" Lucie said as she got up and dimmed the lights.

Sophie walked out of the kitchen carrying a beautifully decorated cake with candles lit and looking stunning, everyone started singing as Sophie placed the cake on the table.

"Make a wish, Mum!" Mina said, and Tessa immediately knew what that wish was.

And so Tessa blew out the candles as the wish filled her mind. Let my angels stay with me forever

#faye's writing #tsc fanfiction #tessa gray #william herondale #jem carstairs #lucie herondale #james herondale #mina carstairs #kit herondale #sophie lightwood #happy birthday tessa gray #alicantenet

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amchara · 3 years

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Baby Group - Jessa / Herongraystairs Family ficlet

Tessa, Jem and Kit all take turns taking Mina to the local baby group in Devon. Pure fluff (okay, tiny bit of angst in Tessa's section but it's mostly fluff!)

Tessa paused as she finished buckling Mina into her sling. The building in front of her was unassuming, a low white wood-sided structure, covered by a green roof. There were children’s handprints and rainbow decorations taped to the windows. She could feel Mina’s tiny, reassuring weight in front of her, as her daughter wiggled and let out a couple of happy baaa baa da’s as Tessa jiggled her, trying to weigh up whether she really wanted to go in.

‘Newton Abbey Surestart Centre’ read the colourful sign beside the wide path, leading up to sliding doors.

A couple of other women walked past her, chatting and pushing buggies that looked more like mini-cars, given all the bells and whistles attached. They didn’t pay any attention to her and Mina.

“First time?” A voice came from behind her. Tessa turned and saw a young, red-haired woman, who was smiling at her as she wrestled a chubby baby with similar hair into a smaller buggy.

“Yes,” Tessa said, and remembering her manners, gestured to herself and to a now-quiet Mina, who was taking it all in with wide, dark eyes. “I’m Tessa Carstairs and this is Mina.”

“Gemma Sampson and this is Charlee,” said the other woman cheerfully. “You have the right way of doing it,” she continued, pointing to Tessa’s sling. “I don’t know why I bother with all this baby shit,” she said, rolling her brown eyes and crinkling up her nose, as she pointed to her overflowing baby bag and packed buggy.

“I- uh, I tend to travel light,” Tessa said, but internally she cursed. Should she have brought more? Maybe she should go grab the extra nappy and wipes out of the backseat, just to show she was prepared? Mina was usually happy just observing the world, rather than being occupied by toys and Tessa was still breastfeeding her so they usually travelled with minimal supplies.

But Tessa had not done the baby thing in over a hundred years and she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She wondered again, if this had been the best idea- but Jem had suggested if they were settling in at Cirenworth long-term they should probably try to integrate themselves into the community. Especially as they no longer had the monumental task of finding the lost Herondale, and they wanted to encourage Kit to find his own friends. It would be best to take their own advice, Jem had suggested, a small laugh erupting from him as Tessa had asked if he was about to join the local cricket team or the small village choir. “The choir, probably-” Jem had said, winking at her. “But maybe the local woodworking shop too.”

Gemma slid around Tessa with her buggy and gave a friendly nod. “Come on, love- they only let us in for the hour and then they kick us out. You want to get your money’s worth.”

“Isn’t it free?” Tessa muttered under her breath but she followed Gemma in, giving her name and Mina’s to the bored teenager at the door.

“She’s gorgeous,” the health visitor - who Tessa had been told was also a nurse - looked admiringly at Mina. Tessa relaxed fractionally. “Thank you. She takes after her dad,” she said, the smile growing on her face. Mina gurgled curiously and reached out for the rattle that the woman was holding out. She shook it happily.

“Is she your first?” the nurse asked, casually.

Tessa froze. She took a deep breath.

“No. I had two other children. James and Lucie. They… they’re not around,” she said and hated how her voice shook faintly. Normally it didn’t sting this much, the thought of her precious James and bubbly Lucie. But in this homely, warm place with the babble of babies’ voices and happy, smiling parents watching them, it hit her unexpectedly.

Tessa could see the nurse’s eyes sharply assess Tessa, taking in her youthful face but also, Tessa hoped, her smart denim skirt, yellow flowered collared shirt and the image that Tessa wanted her to see. “I see,” she said but noting the look on Tessa’s face she didn’t ask any further questions. She wrote some scribbles down on her pad, smiling politely and told Tessa to enjoy the centre.

As she walked away, Tessa cast a small spell to dislodge the note, which dropped to the floor beside her and Mina. She read: ‘children? x2 possible dec. or child servs?’ and her stomach dropped as she crumpled it in her hand. She followed up and cast a quick memory spell on the woman to also make her forget the last two minutes of their conversation. Maybe this had been a mistake… she thought, and when she looked up again, she could see Gemma had settled beside her and Mina, Charlee shaking a plastic tambourine in Gemma’s arms..

“They’re old busybodies,” Gemma announced, jerking her head at the health visitor. Tessa smiled wryly. The woman was maybe thirty at most.

“But also- you don’t have to engage with them to use the centre,” she said frankly. “It’s not a requirement.” She looked directly at Tessa and her look softened. “I’m sorry about your children though- it must be tough to be a warlock and have to watch them grow old.”

Tessa thought she was good at schooling her face to remain neutral, after so many years but Gemma just let out a small laugh and she let her eyes flash amber briefly. And Tessa relaxed, realising Gemma was a werewolf.

“We have a small group of Downworlders here at baby group,” Gemma said and she pointed to a small group off to the side. “Mostly werewolves, a couple Sighted women and one half-nixie. But we’ve never had a warlock before,” she said, her voice hopeful.

“Sounds delightful,” Tessa said, watching as Gemma’s smile widened. She picked up Mina, following her to the group.

“That’s it, clever Mina-mine,” Jem cooed, as Mina peeked her head out from the small, fabric enclosed tube that he had procured from the far corner. She smiled up at him, her cheeks squishing up into tiny peaks as she crawled further out. She rolled onto her back and then began chewing on her hands, tired from all the effort. Jem was so proud of her.

He looked around and was surprised at the large group of women and children that had gathered around him and Mina. It had been nearly empty in the baby area when he and Mina had arrived at the children’s centre, with only a couple other mums and babies around, likely due to the heavy rain they had had that morning, Jem mused.

But more must have showed up as he was playing with Mina and he hadn’t realised. Then Jem blushed and suddenly understood, as they all kept glancing over to him. “C’mon, Mina- we’re hogging the equipment! We need to let the other babies have a turn. Let’s go play with some other toys,” he said, lifting her up into his arms and made to move to another section of the room.

“Oh no- that’s fine,” said one woman, bouncing her baby on her knee, smiling at Jem. “We don’t mind waiting our turn.”

“She can play with these.” Another woman waved a couple of colourful scarves at him.

“Or this.” Jem found a couple of jingly bell-trees thrust into his lap, and the dark-haired woman held out a couple more, smiling at him. “My baby is finished with them.”

“Oh- that’s very kind of you,” Jem said, awkwardly trying to balance them and Mina in his arms.

He caught sight of a familiar figure coming towards them, and he grinned, dropping the toys to the side. He held Mina up so she could see. “It’s Mama!”

Tessa smiled her lovely, radiant smile as she approached them. As if by magic, the other woman and babies melted away as she bent down to give Mina a kiss on her forehead and Jem a quick peck on the lips. “Hello, my two darlings!” she said, settling herself on the floor beside them. “Did you miss me?”

“Always,” Jem said.

“We’re full for the session,” the older woman in a rumpled sweater gave Kit a bored look and turned away, to continue to talk to her taller, younger colleague.

Kit blinked. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” the woman said dryly, bending her head down to write in a log.

“Fine,” Kit muttered. Mina babbled and Kit could swear that he could hear the disappointment in her tone. “It’s okay, Min-Min, we’ll do something better than stupid baby group,” he said, hefting her further up on his shoulder and prepared to leave.

But then suddenly she was overbalancing on him and Kit struggled to hold onto her as she surged forward.

“BA BA NA!” she shouted excitedly at the dark-skinned woman with long braids walking past. She paused and turned towards the noise and her smile was infectious as she took in Mina. “Mina Carstairs!”

Ten seconds later, they were through the doors, the older woman scowling as the director of the centre told her to let them in. “Don’t tell anyone but she’s one of my favourite babies,” the director told Kit conspiratorially.

“She’s one of my favourite babies too,” Kit said, stifling a smile. Mina was smiling contentedly, or almost smugly, Kit thought, in the woman’s arms.

“And of course, your parents are also brilliant,” the woman said, handing Mina back to him. “Say hello to them from Sonya.”

“I will,” Kit said, as they headed further into the centre.

He plopped her down on a couple of cushions and stretched out beside her, taking in the scene. Kit idly wondered if his dad had ever taken him to a centre like this when he was young, before immediately scoffing and dismissing the possibility.

It did look like baby heaven, he thought, as Mina started crawling over to a rainbow-coloured arch. He watched the other babies and parents around, noting that he was likely the youngest one there or… actually, maybe not, he thought, as he saw a nervous, thin girl in the corner, playing with one of the chubbiest babies he had ever seen.

“Stay away from that baby, Mins,” he said. “He looks like he eats other babies for breakfast.” He looked down.

“I swear we’ve gone over this - we don’t eat socks,” Kit told her, an exasperated but fond manner. He grabbed a tiny bag out of his pocket and shook it at her. “I have much tastier snacks here.” He watched as Mina took her purple socked-toes out of her mouth and gestured in a familiar way. Kit handed her a couple of tiny baby puffs.

“No snacks on the play floor,” said the same, grumpy monitor as she walked past.

Kit rolled his eyes but put the bag away.

Kit didn’t rise to the bait when five minutes later she told him that he was being too loud with the xylophone.

He gritted his teeth when she snatched away the blocks that he had been planning to get Mina, informing him that it was almost the end of session and she was starting to tidy up.

And during the group singing time at the end of the session, when she told him to stop mumbling the words to the stupid nursery rhymes, Kit decided it had gotten personal.

“Oh, sorry,” Kit gave an angelic smile as he stepped away from the woman. She scowled at him, and turned away to button her coat up, her purse swinging in the air, unzipped.

Kit waited until they were out of the centre before looking down at his spoils. Sweet, he thought. A Cadbury’s Crunchie bar and two Twirls.

He shifted Mina in his arms, to one shoulder and holding the chocolate bar in the other hand, ripped off the wrapper of the Crunchie with his teeth.

“Don’t tell Mom and Dad,” he told Mina, after swallowing several bites.

She smiled placidly and reached for the Crunchie. “Not yet- in a couple of years,” Kit said. But then he reconsidered, and let her have a short gum at the stub. She giggled and burrowed her chocolate-smeared face into his shirt.

And then they got on the bus back to the village, heading back to Cirenworth.

(I don't know who to tag in my Herongraystairs family fics? @dontmindmyshadowhunting @sandersgrey @foxglove-airmid maybe? This is definitely the start of Kit bringing Mina into the pickpocketing life

Let me know if anyone else wants to be added in!

Previous Herongraystairs family fics:

Days Like These (day at the beach)

#tsc fanfiction #tessa gray #jem carstairs #kit herondale #jessa #jem carstairs faces the twenty first century with style #tessa gray is a legend #kit keeps his pickpocketing skills up to date #my fanfic #my fanfiction #i am stuck on writing smut or plot so you all get fluff right now #jem carstairs x tessa gray

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cassandraclare · 4 years

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Love triangles and spoilers!

s p o i l e r s

darklingscult: said: I loved chain of gold. can you give us any hints about how the love triangle in the last hour (james, cordelia, and matthew) is different from herongraystairs? hope you’re doing good in these trying times. thank you!

It has one thing in common with Herongraystairs: Matthew and James are parabatai. Otherwise it has nothing in common with it. Tessa was a stranger to Will and Jem: Cordelia has been friends with James forever. Tessa didn’t have any emotions about Will and Jem when she met them. Cordelia’s been in love with James all her life. Tessa had never met Will or Jem; Cordelia knows both Matthew and James. Tessa was a warlock, Cordelia’s a Shadowhunter. Tessa wasn’t unrequitedly in love with Will; Cordelia’s unrequitedly in love with James, as far as she knows. Jem and Will were a dyad, attached to each other with basically no other friends — Matthew and James are part of a thriving friends group. Jem and Will are oblivious to each other’s feelings for Tessa. Matthew and James are not. Nothing like what happens with James and Cordelia — the fake “engagement” that forces them into a very weird situation with each other — occurs in TID. Jem feels fine about telling Tessa he loves her because he doesn’t think Will has feelings for her. He also doesn’t think Tessa loves Will. Matthew knows the situation he’s in is far more complicated and he knows a lot more than one might imagine, including knowing any declarations he makes will have the impact of a small bomb. In TID everyone tried to behave in the best possible way all the time. I can’t say the same for TLH.

I could go on, but the thing is: these are different people and therefore their story will be different. Not all love triangles are the same; in fact, because they are conflict-centered, they tend to all be very different, rather like Tolstoy’s unhappy families. When I first wrote TID, I was asked endlessly how it would be “different” from TMI, because it was about a girl who didn’t know about Shadowhunters and then met some so it had to be the same. People claimed Will and Jace were the same. By about book two that ended. With TDA, I got the same thing: obviously it was the same story as TMI because Julian, like Clary, was an artist, and Emma was blond and sarcastic like Jace. (I believe the top critical review on Amazon of Lady Midnight says exactly that.) Again this ended with book two. People both fear and look for similarities: at this point, having gone through this so many times, my feeling is that there will always be worry that a story will be the “same” as one that went before, partly because people are hardwired to look for patterns and impose them onto narrative until the narrative spills past the point that can be done. What I can say about it will only make a small dent: I do however predict we will be having a very different conversation about this next April.

We can check back then. ;)

#love triangles #tlh #the last hours #spoilers #chain of gold

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ladyhindsight · 2 years

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First of all, I'm soo glad I found your account 💖 I love reading your opinions and reviews💖

Second,I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sure you may find many gramatical mistakes, I did my best to avoid them.

Third, It's completely fine to correct me if I got anything wrong or disagree with my opinions.

If you haven't read Bane Chronicles then don't continue reading

I just finished 'The Bane Chronicles' and had a lot of thoughts about it.

I think Magnus as a character has so much potential: his mother committed suicide when she figured out he was warlock, he burnt his step father and probably killed a lot of others (accidentally or willingly),he had to learn how to survive and he worked his way up to the social position he's in rn.

So when I heard about 'The Bane Chronicles' I was excited. I thought it's going to have stories about how Magnus started lying about his age to get more clients, or how on earth did Magnus ended up in the Silent brother sanctuary, or about his first love, or at least know what sort of feud does he have with Selie Queen (mentioned in City of Fallen Angels).

I thought we would see younger version of Magnus (maybe when he's like below 100 or something).

I was disappointed. Aside from a few chapters, the rest of them are about other characters.

What Really Happened in Peru - is a waste of time. Horrible way to start a book if you ask me.

The Runaway Queen - a fun little adventure but wasn't that interesting? The only thing I learned from this : Magnus had a thing for blue eyes long before he met Alec. Oh wait. We already knew that! Also, I love the monkey!

The Midnight Heir - okay- sort -of - chapter but it's not about Magnus. CC simply wrote that for nostalgia (herongraystairs) and to introduce a few TLH characters.

The Rise of the Hotel Dumort - okay, I will admit I didn't concentrate on this chapter.......while reading all I thought was "how/when did Magnus figure out that Asmodeus is his father?" (That question was never answered).

Saving Raphael Santiago - ngl it's enjoyable. I like Raphael's character and all but, the whole scene when Ragnor walks in and tells Magnus that they agreed not to date anyone below 18 was weird? How did Ragnor just took one look at Raphael in Magnus's appartment and assumed they are dating?

The Fall of the Hotel Dumort - Did Magnus really love Camille soo much that even years after their breakup he couldn't come in terms with it? And he had to get rid of the memories he shared with her? Ykw....that kinda sound interesting but, of course we wouldn't get to see the entire backstory where Magnus and Camille were genuinely in love or shared nice moments (I mean Magnus really loved her soo much, there must be some reason why he believed Camille loved him back).

Vampires, Scones, and Edmund - finally we could see how Magnus and rest of the downworlders agreed to sign the Accords. Right? No. We get to see beginning of another Herondale's love story. A Herondale who was far less important than Stephen Herondale. Tell me again how knowing about Edmund Herondale's love story is more important than knowing why exactly downworlders and shadowhunters decided to sign Accords? What happened between shadowhunters and downworlders that (clearly) forced Shadowhunters/clave to arrange a formal meeting with downworlders?

NOPE. WE MUST KNOW WHERE WILL GOT HIS BEAUTIFUL BLUE EYES AND DARK HAIR.

The Last Stand of the New York - 😒 Circle. Well....we get to see Luke, Stephen, Valentine and his atrocities.

What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything

The Course of True Love (and First Dates)

It's good to know about Malec's first date and early days of their relationship. But I feel like CC should have put more effort and actually show us the growth in their relationship. Maybe include more scenes where Alec talks about his family or clave or weapons and in turn Magnus talk about downworlders, magic Or both talk about their daily routines, their interests etc etc...like how people would talk in any healthy relationship.

The Voicemail of Magnus Bane - it's funny at some parts...that's all I can say about it.

Overall......Bane Chronicles is underwhelming. It's BANE CHRONICLES don't you think it should be more ABOUT Magnus Bane not some random chapters from Magnus's Perspective.

Personally, I think CC only wrote it because of the popularity the character is getting (especially with a lot of people liking show!Magnus too at that time)

Thank youu, you’re amazing. 💖😊

Firstly, no need to ever apologize for that. Speaking more than one language is already awesome, and I don’t pay attention to any mistakes or errors in messages that I receive. Those don’t honestly matter at all. And secondly, I sometimes write in such a hurry because I can’t keep my thoughts together that I spell words wrong or miss them altogether because I have a bad habit of never proof reading properly anything until way later, so I get the feeling.

I’ve read The Bane Chronicles some years ago, and I agree. Magnus as a character had way more potential than whatever that book consisted of. It was a light read but mostly because it felt like a skin-deep look at Magnus and some events in his life. The stories feel more or less half-assed also.

What Really Happened in Peru. The whole story basically piggybacks on what Magnus said to Alec in CoLS:

“Or we could go somewhere else,” said Magnus. “Anywhere you want. Thailand, South Carolina, Brazil, Peru —Oh, wait, no, I’m banned from Peru. I’d forgotten about that. It’s a long story, but amusing if you want to hear it.”

And I remember it being not amusing at all. One quip did not warrant such a long story. There were some parts that I enjoyed and found humorous, but mostly it was just dozens of pages of meaningless drivel that wasn’t anywhere near gripping, although I was interested in reading about Magnus. So yeah, it was a weak start. And the end of this story was a total copout and made it completely pointless.

Runaway Queen. This was just plain boring. I don’t get why it needs to be said so many occasions how Magnus really likes dark hair and blue eyes. It’s really strange to be that fixated on something like that, but then again, any eyes but dark ones are Clare’s point of fixation. There’s no point for this story to exist on the first place. Nothing would be amiss if this were to be forgotten.

The Midnight Heir. Whenever there is a Herondale in sight—Tessa included—it’s always about them and any character in their presence is just narrating them for the readers. When Herondale gives their heart so someone, it’s a big deal. Herondale loving you is a great gift, yadda yadda. It would actually be interesting to properly read this again and see how it fits to TLH.

The Rise of Hotel Dumort. Like Runaway Queen, this was more like Magnus doing stuff not about Magnus per se. I did enjoy Aldous Nix as a character. I wonder if The Black Volume of the Dead will answer to more questions about Magnus and Asmodeus.

Saving Raphael Santiago. I liked reading about Raphael too, but that Ragnor thing was just bizarre or rather, to quote Raphael, revolting. It went on for a whole page too. To me it felt more like it was forced in there to address how they do not date anyone under 18.

Then again, this is pretty classic Clare. Clary wonders if Isabella and Jace are dating despite having just met them not knowing them at all, going as far as to speculate their relationship with Simon. Maia makes inappropriate comments about Clary and Jace to Clary. Clary constantly assumes things about Simon and Isabella. Alec assumes everything about Magnus. There is so much speculation on people’s relationships in the series and it always centers on assumption of them being romantic ones.

The Fall of the Hotel Dumort. I never liked Camille’s character, and I could never see why Magnus loved her when she clearly was a manipulative and a nasty person. And yep, it’s difficult to find it plausible that Magnus believed their love was mutual when there are no scenes of them having any kind of genuine romantic relationship. Camille’s character always appeared devious, so I can’t imagine why Magnus would fall for someone like that. I guess in this book she shows more human emotion than anywhere in TMI.

Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale. Why does anyone even care about Edmund Herondale? Stripping Edmund off his Marks was interesting, but this was once again more about Herondales and the Nephilim cruelty against one another that Magnus just happened to be around for.

The Last Stand of the New York Institute. This is just a big no thank you as to continuity and sense and my nerves. I don’t see much worth in this and why this story even exists. There’s bad foreshadowing about Maryse’s brat that is Alec and Luke and werewolves.

What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything/The Course of True Love (and First Dates). These were definitely the most enjoyable reads because it centered on characters that were familiar and aspects of a relationship we never get to see as such in the main series. But you’re right, Magnus and Alec don’t really connect or talk about things. There’s always a scene or a thing that need taking care of that takes over the story. Magnus even regrets going out with Alec more than once.

The Voicemail of Magnus Bane. It was a bit pathetic but a bit funny at the same time. That’s about it.

The Bane Chronicles could’ve gone way deeper into Magnus’ character and explore more intricate events in his life instead of these superficial takes on his life and, mostly, other characters. The first story of The Bane Chronicles collection was released in 2013 and the TV show began in 2016, so it was earlier than the show, but Magnus definitely was one of the most popular characters at the time (and probably still is).

This book was just a lot of misses for me. Most of the stories weren’t entertaining or enjoyable, and I don’t think the stories necessarily portrayed Magnus favorably—which could actually be said about many of Clare’s characters.

#Magnus Bane #The Bane Chronicles #Reply

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khaleesiofalicante · 3 years

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Tsc & Hogwarts Houses

If you really think about it, each tsc series is its own Hogwarts house.

TMI is without doubt Gryffindor. The gang is brave, bold and reckless. From the little girl stopping the big war, to the shadowhunter kissing the warlock in the accords hall, to the teenage vampire summoning Raziel - they are a bunch of fearless idiots. They literally have visited hell more than once and have been involved in every major war. You also cannot deny that they were a little arrogant and hotheaded too. The story itself focuses on fighting and facing danger valiantly. It talks about fighting your own demons and fight for what is good. Finally, TMI revolves around defeating Valentine, Sebastian and the Endarkened - who are all shadowhunters too. As Dumbledore said, courage is not just about standing up to enemies, but to our friends as well.

TID is Hufflepuff. While the gang definitely is quite intelligent, I feel like their defining traits are kindness, loyalty and hardwork. I have always felt that the TID gang has been more empathetic and understanding towards each other than the rest of them. From Charlotte who took care of the abandoned children to Sophie who is fiercely loyal to her friends and of course we have the Lightwood brothers who gave up their family to support what is just snd good. Every TID member is about fairness and goodness. Despite the early era, they all treated downworlders with respect and empathy. They treated women like equals and not inferiors. And don’t forget that TID has the most hufflepuffest-babe in tsc history - James Carstairs himself. It also has Herongraystairs who are epitome of sacrifice, understanding and kindness. The story also focuses on core Hufflepuff traits. It teaches us about being humble and accepting our flaws. Most importantly, it teaches about acceptance - that we are all people looking for love and comfort.

TDA gives massive Slytherin vibes. And it ain’t just because of my son Julian Blackthorn. From the continuously mind blowing plot twists to the necromancy to the parabatai curse to the secrets in the seelie courts to the rise of the cohort, everything about TDA screams ambition. The story itself revolves around heavily motivated individuals who are all on their personal journeys to achieve certain goals - while straying between the line which separates which is right and wrong. We cannot also deny that the characters aren’t afraid to blindly destroy what is in their path to save what they love. It talks about doing whatever it takes to protect what is yours - whether we are talking about the cohort or the blackthorns. There is so much cunning, trickery and strategy involved - teaching us that these are not bad traits, especially if we use it for the right purpose. The story of TDA ultimately teaches us about being smart and resourceful, about using the right strategy and making the right decisions.

TLH so far is Ravenclaw. Every character is extremely intelligent in their own way. Whether we are talking about Lucie and her writing or Christopher and his chemistry or Charles and his politics or Cordelia and Cortana or Anna and her style or James and his books or Thomas and his languages or Alastair and his mundane knowledge, they are all individually talented and they very much know it. This gang is creative, original and very much cultured. They enjoy mixing with the mundane culture and learning from them. They are not afraid to step out of the status quo and be different, be bold, be unique.

#I liked this fjkdshfkjsfhgkdf #tsc #tid #tmi #tda #tlh #tsc x hp

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akaashishotthighs · 3 years

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Herongraystairs Reunion - Part 6

Part 5

Disclaimer: Nothing is explicit, but things do get... ya know... so if that’s not your thing, look away. Alrighty.

It was late, and everyone was tired and still adjusting to being alive again. Tessa had declared they’d all talk and make preparations the next day, after a good restful sleep. She was now showing everyone to their rooms, with some help from Cordelia, who still knew every nook and cranny of the house.

She hadn’t beckoned Will to trudge along with the group. He didn’t know where his children were. Jem had told him they were with his siblings, and that Mina had asked for him specifically, but when he came to the place Jem had said he last saw them in, they weren’t there.

It felt strange to him, to go search for them, to snoop around the house.

And yet, he found himself compelled to the room he’d first encounter them in.

He stood outside. He should knock. There is no one inside. But he should still knock. It was clearly their bedroom. It would be indecent not to knock. Even if it was empty.

He knocked.

“Come in,” came softly from the inside.

Will swore mentally.

Maybe he could make a run for it.

“Come in.” It was louder now, almost demanding.

There was no running now.

He took a deep breath and made himself strut into the bedroom.

Jem was standing between the bed and the closet. He was putting away clothes. He gave Will only a glance and a smile and turned back to what he was doing. “You’re hiding out too?”

“You’re hiding?”

“It’s far too much emotion that’s running around these halls. I’m far too tired for all of it. If I stand for another minute, I’m going to pass out into someone’s arms.”

Will chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“You?”

Will scratched the back of his neck. He was hesitating, and Jem could tell. Jem turned those brown eyes, brown, Jem’s eyes were brown, to him, and Will couldn’t help but look away from that all-too-knowing gaze. He sighed. “I have wanted this for as long as I’ve been… gone.” Jem’s gaze softened. “To see you and Tess again, to have our families together under one roof, to be reunited.” He looked down at his feet. “But now that it happened, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to act. I feel like I’m picking every single one of my words carefully, as to not step beyond some invisible line that’s been established between us. I don’t even know how that line got there in the first place. It’s us! And Tessa. There shouldn’t be a line.”

Jem nodded almost imperceptibly. “I know. I feel it too.”

“Tessa is currently out there showing people to their rooms.” He pointed a finger to the door. “And I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. It feels weird to go sleep in a separate room, knowing you’re in here sharing a bed with my wife and mother of my children. But it also feels weird to make you go sleep somewhere else as I share a bed with your wife and mother of your children.” He scoffed. “It’s a damn conundrum.” He shook his head. “Maybe we should just cut the problem at its root and all sleep in separate beds.”

“Or all share the same bed.”

A flare of desire went through him, which he tried to clamp down quickly. That’s not what Jem meant, of course, it wasn’t what Jem meant.

Their entire lives they’d been parabatai, best friends, confidants, but never more. Will never dared to assume that maybe, just maybe, Jem might feel the same feelings that sometimes overtook Will.

He looked up at him and saw Jem studying him, trying to decipher the expression on his face. With a start, Will realised it was time to come clean. It had been 142 years. He wasn’t even alive anymore. This reunion was brief, and he had to take as much advantage of it as possible.

He breathed in and out deeply, readying himself.

He sat at the foot of their bed and pat the spot next to him. Jem came over wordlessly. Their arms were a breath away from each other. It felt both too close and too far. Will felt the need to reach out, hold his hand, lean his head on his shoulder, to look into those deep brown eyes, to have no space between them at all. He felt the need to slide away, to get up and put miles between them, to turn his back on him and not have those brown eyes study him, to not see the face that caused him unworldly misery and immeasurable happiness.

“Do you know why my parabatai rune is over my heart?” His hand unconsciously snaked its way to that uncoloured swirl of lines on his chest.

“Because of the curse. You thought you would never get married because you thought you would never be allowed to have someone love you like that. Because you chose me as the only person who’d you let love you, and you wanted the rune and its placement to be a show of that.”

Will’s breath came out shakily. “That is all true. But there is another reason, one I never told you or Tessa or anyone.” His hands balled into fists, and he could feel his nails digging into the skin of his palms. “Before Tessa, I assumed I would never be able to love anyone the way I loved you. I didn’t want to love anyone the way I loved you.”

Jem shrugged. “It’s different, though. The love you feel for Tessa is different in essence from the love you feel for me.” Will looked up at him then, let his eyes show every word that he left unsaid. But Jem’s face was confused, as if he couldn’t, or was trying not to, read the truth. So Will shook his head, slowly, once, twice, three times. Jem’s face was blank. Then his eyes widened, his eyebrows shooting up, his mouth falling open to give way to his only response. “Oh.”

Will gave him a small smile. “Surprise!” He singsonged in a low voice.

Jem was frozen for a few minutes. Then he, once more, said - “Oh.” He looked away from Will, staring straight ahead. “Oh.” Escaped again.

He went silent.

Will’s nerves were a mess. His heart was a rumble of thunder that never stopped, his stomach was flipping endlessly, and every part of him was both sweating profusely and disturbingly dry.

Then, after what felt like forever, Jem’s soft voice sounded through the room. “I always thought you didn’t feel the same way as me.”

It was Will’s turn to be confused. “What do you mean?”

That’s when he saw that Jem was smiling. Grinning. Like a child that just got told they were going to have pudding for dinner. In a very un-Jem like fashion, he snorted. “I’ve spent the past 142 years hiding my feelings for you, and it was completely unnecessary because you apparently felt the same way.”

“Wait,” Will shut his eyes and tried to make sense of what he was hearing. “You’re in love with me too?”

“I’m in love with you too.” Jem chuckled.

Will didn’t know what to say. Only one thing came to mind. “Oh.”

“Admitting that is something I’ve been desperate to do for the past 142 years. Well, that and...” Jem licked his lips, and Will’s gaze dropped to them, that flare of desire running through him again.

This time he didn’t clamp it down, for Jem scooted closer, his eyes rapidly shifting between Will’s eyes and lips. He leaned in halfway. It was an offering. If Will wanted it, he’d have to chase it himself. He didn’t let himself overthink it.

He leaned in, pressing their lips together slowly and softly. It only lasted a quick couple of seconds, but Will felt awakened. He was on fire, entirely scorching. Will wanted more. But he needed time to compose himself.

Jem was much more impatient. His hands took Will’s face as he crushed their lips together again. Hungry this time. Hungry, needy, desperate. Will let go of all his defences and threw himself into it, clutching Jem’s shirt and pulling their bodies closer. He sucked on Jem’s lower lip. He gave a groan that made Will see fire behind his eyelids. His hands slid into Will’s hair, pulling at the curls. Will whined, in what he hoped was a sensual tone, and then Jem’s tongue was in his mouth, and he completely lost any sense of reality and time and space. All he could feel was Jem and love, and Jem, and fire, and Jem, and want, so much want.

He was losing air and nearly choking. He pulled away, reluctantly. Breathe, he thought. You actually forgot to breathe, you absolute idiot.

He looked at Jem, he couldn’t help himself. His lips were pink and slightly swollen, and his cheeks were dusted with a blush, and his eyes were wide and unseeing. But that, in his gaze, that was want as well.

Will would’ve gone back into it, would’ve sunk and drowned in the feeling it gave him, would’ve let himself burn alive with the fire inside his veins. But there was a sound of a throat being cleared, and then he was looking up, and that was Tessa standing there, looking at them, arms crossed.

They sat there, speechless, staring at her. What could they possibly say?

But then she smirked. “Well, that saves me the awkward conversation about it.”

Will furrowed his brows, but Jem spoke up before he could. “Wait, you knew?”

She scoffed. “The two of you weren’t exactly subtle.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Will asked, finally finding his voice, which came out a bit hoarsely, to his entire and full dismal and embarrassment.

She shrugged. “If you wanted to talk about it, you would’ve. It wasn’t my place to force it out of you.”

Will nodded. Silence set between them. He looked down at his hands. “Now what?”

“Now,” Tessa’s voice had a familiar, intimate tilt to it. “We finally get to do what we wanted for, quite literally, over a hundred years.”

He looked up, and next to him, he saw Jem mimicking his action. “What do you mean?”

Tessa smirked. Her hands disappeared behind her back, and after a few flicks of her wrists, her dress came undone in front of them. Will’s heart quickened. Oh…

She took their hands and pulled them up. Will’s legs felt like jelly. “I have no idea what to do.”

He looked to Jem for help, who threw his hands up. “Don’t look at me! I know even less than you!”

“We’ll go with the flow.” Tessa offered. “Do what feels right.” She turned to him. “And we can start right here.” She put her hands on his neck and pulled him down, pressing her lips to his.

He melted into her. It was just as he remembered. His hands came up to her hair, burying them into the long brown waves. She sighed into him, or maybe that was him, and he lost all sense of everything around him. As fast as it started, it was over, with her pulling away only far enough for their noses to still be touching. She licked her lips as if she couldn’t get enough of the taste of him. Her lips broke into a smile. “Some things truly never change.” Her hand cupped his cheek, and he couldn’t stop himself from kissing the inside of her wrist. He wanted more, and the look in her eyes promised the more would come.

She turned to Jem, and Will felt fear creep on him. Would he feel jealous? Anger? Would his heart break at the sight?

His fears were unnecessary.

Before Tessa could pull him down, Jem pulled her towards him by the waist. They were kissing, and Will’s heart didn’t break. He didn’t feel anger. He didn’t feel jealous.

He felt desire.

For her. For him. For what was about to happen between them.

#tessa gray #will herondale #Jem carstairs #cordelia carstairs #wessa #jessa #heronstairs #herongraystairs #the infernal devices #the last hours #the Shadowhunters chronicles #tid #tlh #tsc

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julieandthefandoms · 4 years

Text

More Fanfiction Links

So, apparently I hit a link limit on my previous post about fanfic links, and in order to remedy that, I’ll be creating this separate list in order to link more fanfics. I’ll also be continuing to add to this current list until I hit the 100 link limit again (because clearly I don’t learn), so it’ll change relatively often.

If you haven’t seen it already, the first post is here, and has a little under 100 fanfics, and I apologize if there are any repeats. I will be relinking my own fics and the ongoing ones for any of you are interested, so yeah.

I will also be marking AUs by putting the AU they’re set in parenthesis, and marking one-shots or chaptered fics by placing an asterisk (*) by the chaptered ones. In unspecified sections, the ships/characters involved in the tory will be listed in italic. Side note, all of the following fics besides the ones in the Pine With Me section are completed, so there’s no need to worry about the completion status of the fics. Now, I have read all of these, so if anyone wants to scream about any of these with me, I got you ;)

(Fair warning, the majority of these are TDA/TLH fics... mostly because I’m rereading TDA and drowning in feelings.)

Matthew Angst

Entreat me not to leave thee by thelandunderthehilll

https://thelandunderthehilll.tumblr.com/post/625697713695195136/entreat-me-not-to-leave-thee

Runaway by themostawesomehuman/chris-top-her-lightwood

https://chris-top-her-lightwood.tumblr.com/post/626088077139509248/runaway-first-draft

Untitled Matthew Fanfic by lily-chen-deserves-better

https://lily-chen-deserves-better.tumblr.com/post/626711184724426752/matthew-x-happiness-im-glad-to-see-you-again

The Boy and the Door by themostawesomehuman Math and Owen

https://themostawesomehuman.tumblr.com/post/627139370040885248/the-boy-and-the-door-owen-herondale-and-matthew

Blackdale/Thorndale/Jesse x Lucie/Whatever You Call Them

Untitled Blackdale by zzoyalantsov

https://zzoyalantsov.tumblr.com/post/625576347383857152/hey-prompt-6-for-blackdale

“Don’t Ask Me How I’ve Been” by lily-chen-deserves-better

https://lily-chen-deserves-better.tumblr.com/post/625442487221338112/for-ghostjessesgirl-this-is-a-train-wreck-and

Explorations in cooking and kissing by UpsideDownCats

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2427817

Untitled Blackdale by sparow

https://sparow.tumblr.com/post/619823878129221632/3-9-10-angst-lucie-and-jesse-gooo-if-you-can

Platonic Family Shenanigans/Fluff

“Let me guess, there’s a dead body in the closet” by lily-chen-deserves-better Thomas and Lucie

https://lily-chen-deserves-better.tumblr.com/post/624804827849949185/a-shipfriendshipcharacter-a-quote-for-a

Parental Differences by affectionatelyyy Jessa family

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25431358 or here

Max and Rafe QSA Fic by ti-bae-rius Max and Rafe

https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/187093686941/rafael-and-max-qsa-fic

Paralleled by immortal-enemies Ash and Kit

https://immortal-enemies.tumblr.com/post/626282235354562560/paralleled

Untitled Heronchild by lucieblckthorn Matthew and James

https://lucieblckthorn.tumblr.com/post/626560434501287936/can-i-plz-hv-prompt-2-heronchild-again

Be Wise Enough to Wonder. Be brave and let it go. By Ineedadrinkorsleep Mark and Helen

https://ineedadrinkorsleep.tumblr.com/post/626662185866756096/be-wise-enough-to-wonder-be-brave-and-let-it-go

Jordelia

“You Smell Nice” by lucieblckthorn

https://lucieblckthorn.tumblr.com/post/625604991095324672/congrats-on-ur-milestone-jordelia-prompt-22

The Worst Things in Life Come Free to Us by zzoyalantsov

https://zzoyalantsov.tumblr.com/post/627532126978506752/the-worst-things-in-life-come-free-to-us

Matthew/Cordelia

Untitled Math/Cordelia by thelandunderthehilll

https://thelandunderthehilll.tumblr.com/post/624882185411919873/cringe-cliche-angst-fan-fic-for-a-change-lmao-idk

Untitled Math/Cordelia by emablckthorn

https://emablckthrn.tumblr.com/post/624950180429561856/i-wrote-another-fanfic-this-one-is-about-matthew

Wait before you go by immyownghostwriter

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25199353

Thomastair

Untitled Thomastair by ti-bae-rius

https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/624000112834854912/thomastair-prompt

Untitled Thomastair by cordeliacarstairs1989writesstuff (Linking chapter 2; chapter 1 is linked in the post)

https://cordeliacarstairs1989writesstuff.tumblr.com/post/626392908711542785/thomstair-part-2

Braver by mysilverwords/thomaslightwood

https://mysilverwords.tumblr.com/post/627905053589651456/braver-thomas-lightwood-with-a-special-guest

Arianna

Untitled Arianna by shadowhuntersshadow-world

https://shadowhuntersshadow-world.tumblr.com/post/626412484132208640/my-first-fanfic

Herongraystairs

Poets by ashesandhoney

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5070181

Gabrily

Untitled Gabrily Fic by Inej-in-the-shadows

https://inej-in-the-shadows.tumblr.com/post/627789466399080448/gabrily-fanfic

Sizzy

”Imagine Muse B of your OTP buying Grand Theft Auto 5 and playing it every single day. Muse A doesn’t like all the violence and swearing, but after playing online with a couple of other friends, gets hooked too” by ti-bae-rius

https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/163260667541/imagine-muse-b-of-your-otp-buying-grand-theft

Many-A-Ships

As Long As I’m With You by fieryfantasybooklover Haline, Kitty, and Jemma

https://fieryfantasybooklover.tumblr.com/post/625457184103350272/as-long-as-im-with-you-a-haline-jemma-and

To Love by lily-chen-deserves-better Assorted TDA Ships (Fun Story: This Was Made To Piss Off a Homophobe)

https://lily-chen-deserves-better.tumblr.com/post/621412716168577024/to-love

Not Unlike a Fairy Tale by fieryfantasybooklover Thomastair, Cordelia, Arianna

https://fieryfantasybooklover.tumblr.com/post/626484597104033793/not-unlike-a-fairy-take-a-thomastair-arianna

Kierartina

*Untitled Kierartina by thelandunderthehilll (chapters 1-4 listed at the bottom of the post)

https://thelandunderthehilll.tumblr.com/post/625518921255141376/fan-fic-characters-from-the-dark-artifices-by

Untitled Kierartina by thelandunderthehilll

https://thelandunderthehilll.tumblr.com/post/625062005221490688/tadaaa-fanfic-in-faerie-as-i-promised-lovee

The Lucky Ones by Ineedadrinkorsleep

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20432540

Sweet Dreams by thelandunderthehilll

https://thelandunderthehilll.tumblr.com/post/625868019312295936/sweet-dreams

Untitled Kierartina (Mark’s POV of why he left to save Kieran) by thelandunderthehilll

https://thelandunderthehilll.tumblr.com/post/626548752988143616/fan-fic-characters-from-the-dark-artifices-by

Kitty

Hold Me Tight While You Wait by heronthxrns

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24763507

*all my broken heartbeats by laylacarstairs

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24493021/chapters/59121295

Kitty and Vine References by tsc-living

https://tsc-living.tumblr.com/post/184716251806/kitty-and-vine-references

I loved you before you even came into this world by lihtwood

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24303286

Thinkin’ about you by lihtwood

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24504664

I don’t miss you at all by lihtwood

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24022441

Begin Again by bobmcjoe

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17151506

Kit Herondale: Medium Extraordinarie by rosesareredvioletsareblue

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24294493

Wherever I go, you bring me home by booksandbeanbags

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25431358

There’s nothing to be afraid of by Ineedadrinkorsleep

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17808431

Ty’s letter to Kit during TWP by Ineedadrinkorsleep

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20697002

The one thing you can never do by Ineedadrinkorsleep

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21319315

When No one’s watching by Ineedadrinkorsleep

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23427664

Blanket Forts and Bad Days by ti-bae-rius

https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/165685000001/blanket-forts-and-bad-days-kitty

*Chance Encounter by ti-bae-rius

https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/185651968861/chance-encounters-part-12

*I’m In Love Without You by bluesxrgent

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17008965

you make it easy by thankyouforexisting

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6460615

The Bet (or: Team Rosales-Blackthorn are losers) (or: Disregard the previous statement; Team Carstairs-Blackthorn is the worst) by KallistoGray

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14940314

Follow my Lead by HPfanonezillion

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13329480

aut inveniam viam aut faciam by helenblqckthorn

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17144537

Challenge the Default by elliptical

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6265393

Helpless by RoseHerondale

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25923886

Fire and Flood by fairchild-squad

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20914937

(A Kitty AU Subsection because this is getting too long)

I wonder if you look both ways before you cross my mind by lihtwood (Kit Never Left AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18234149

Listen To Your Heart by tyherondaletrash (Quarantine AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23986390 or here

Wayward Presence by Adoravel_Fenomeno (High School AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24530167

“I told my sister I have a boyfriend so she’d stop trying to set me up with people but now she’s coming to visit and I’m in too deep and I need a fake boyf ASAP” by ti-bae-rius (Modern AU)

https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/175509991201/kitty-au-i-told-my-sister-i-have-a-boyfriend-so

*Soulmate AU by ti-bae-rius (Soulmate AU)

Part 1: https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/179216171251/soulmate-au-kitty-part-1-of-2-based-on-the

Part 2: https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/179216179081/soulmate-au-kitty-part-2-of-2

Highschool Kitty AU by ti-bae-rius (High School AU)

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13268350/1/High-School-AU-Kitty

Living out a life of royalty by Adoravel_Fenomeno (Kitty Faerie AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25862785

Eyes are the Windows to the Soul by orphan_account (Soulmate AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9375944

Summertime by Adoravel_Fenomeno (Childhood Friends AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25936528

On the wheel that winds on forever by Adoravel_Fenomeno (Fallen Angel AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25994482

The art of letting go by Adoravel_Fenomeno (Artist/Muse Fake Dating AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26070262

Haline

Like I’m Gonna Lose You by lily-chen-deserves-better

https://lily-chen-deserves-better.tumblr.com/post/623086630335627264/like-im-going-to-lose-you

“It’s 3 in the morning” by Thomastair

https://thomastair.tumblr.com/post/617963730194628608/could-you-please-do-3-for-haline

Don’t let those basterds get you down by Ineedadrinkorsleep

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747804

“I tried to rescue you from being mugged but instead I got knocked out and you had to take me to the hospital after having your wallet stolen” by ti-bae-rius (Modern AU)

https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/178764126786/haline-au-i-tried-to-rescue-you-from-being

Diana/Gwyn

Dance with me? by ti-bae-rius

https://ti-bae-rius.tumblr.com/post/165303275646/gwynburn-dance-with-me

Pine With Me (Ongoing Fics)

*You’re my rock, my colorado by lihtwood (Brooklyn 99 Kitty AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24505048

*Popsicle Stick Homes and Construction Paper Hearts by GinnyRose (Thomastair Modern AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24132592/chapters/58103440

*A Last Chance by CrimzieLightwood (Thomastair)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24149710/chapters/58151143

*time to dance on sorrows by fairchild-squad (Time Travel AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24842437/chapters/60093769

*new blooms by fairchild-squad (Blackdale Flower Shop AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24830689

*The Sibling Matchmakers Club by affectionatelyyy (A Herongraystairs Parent Trap AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25601440 or here

Extremely Well Written Pieces That Make My Heart Hurt

For better or for worse, I am alive by Ineedadrinkorsleep Kit Herondale

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18740581

I used to say there’s no such thing as we by Ineedadrinkorsleep Ty Blackthorn

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22935322

Some Of My Own Work

If Crazy=Genius, The Herondales, Fairchilds, Blackthorns, and Carstairs Would Have 162 IQ by TimeToTravel Jordelia, Thomastair, Jessa, and Blackdale

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23194744

What Is And What Should Never Be by TimeToTravel Jordelia and Thomastair

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23272336

Maybe There’s Something There That Wasn’t There Before by TimeToTravel Jordelia and Thomastair

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23439985

Days Past: Paris 1902 by TimeToTravel Thomastair

Either: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24015850 or here

Bring Back What Once Was Mine by TimeToTravel Blackdale

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24042889

Heaven and Hell by TimeToTravel Grace and Christopher

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24192601 or here

Free To Be You And Me by TimeToTravel Arianna

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24466879 or here

We’ll Meet Again by TimeToTravel (Herongraystairs Supernatural and TSC epic crossover)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24621490

Breeding Cannibal Ducks by TimeToTravel Platonic Heronstairs

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24761302 or here

Idris Weekly: The Millionaire Murder by TimeToTravel and LivingInTheNever (Blackdale Detective AU)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24898957

A Perfect Day by TimeToTravel Blackdale

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24919912 or here

Best Day of Our Lives by TimeToTravel Kitty, Heline, Kierartine, and Jemma

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25737559 or here

This was quite long, so I’m just going to leave the key here again:

* = multi-chaptered fics

(Parenthesis) = AU

If in a non ship subsection:

Italics = ships/characters in story

94 notes · View notes

older-brother-kit · 4 years

Text

TSMC ch. 4

Hey everyone, sorry that it’s been a while! All the fighting amongst the TSC fandom (and stuff going on irl) kind of brought my motivation down, but Ash motivated me yesterday so here’s the newest chapter!

You can find chapter 1 here on tumblr and here on ao3, and you can find chapter 3 here on tumblr and here on ao3! For those that need a refresher, this is a Parent Trap AU with Herongraystairs, the children being James, Lucie, Mina, and Kit.

Here's the chapter on ao3! Please let me know if you enjoyed <3

Chapter 4: Is This Legal?

James had never been more confused in his life. The idea of his mom marrying two people at the same time was crazy enough, but the idea of Lucie and Mina being his sisters? He had no idea how to feel about it.

“I have a mom!” Lucie shrieked, and James winced at the high volume.

“I have a mom,” Mina whispered. “I have --another dad?” She turned to look at Lucie, and Lucie turned to look at her.

“I have another dad,” Lucie said, and stood up. Mina stood up with her.

They grasped each other’s hands and started jumping up and down in excitement. “Yes!” they shouted, grinning from ear to ear. “We’re sisters!”

“Um,” James said. “I’m lost. How is this possible?”

However, he knew that they were right. The two girls had seemed familiar when he’d first met them, especially Lucie, and if he compared them to his mom he could see the similarities. Lucie and Mina have the same eyebrows, he thought, and was tempted to find a mirror and look at his own eyebrows to see if his matched.

“They met and fell in love, duh.” Lucie said, once she and Mina had finally sat back down. They were sitting close together, still holding hands with wide smiles.

“No, I mean, marry two people. I didn’t even know you could date two people at once.” James shared. He could feel his head spinning, and was glad that he was sitting down. James read a lot of books, but nothing could have prepared him for his life to turn into what could be the plot of one.

“Oh, I know!” Mina said enthusiastically, gesturing to the picture of her dad. Our dad? “My dad says that he’s poly, which means that he can fall in love with more than one person at once. Your mom and Lucie’s papa must be poly too. Then they all fell in love with each other and married.” she explained. “Dad told us about it when Kit said that he liked both girls and boys.”

James thought about it. “I guess that makes sense.” he said. He didn’t know that being poly was a thing, but he knew now, and the idea of having two dads was really cool.

Lucie nodded with vigor. “That totally makes sense. I can’t believe I have two other parents out there!”

An overwhelming urge to cry hit James all of a sudden, and he put his head into his hands.

“James? Are you alright?”

He’d never had a dad before. James remembered being in school, and hearing people talk about their dads so casually. My dad is taking me fishing this weekend, my dad drove me to an amusement park, my dad picks me up from school. James had tried not to think about his dad growing up, because whenever he asked his mom got a sad look on her face. He never wanted to make his mom sad, so when he was little he learned to stop asking.

And yet… there was always a part of James that longed for his father. He wanted a dad, desperately, so much that sometimes it physically hurt. He knew nothing about his father, but he loved him. He used to wonder if his dad was out there somewhere, and if he loved James too. If he thought of James as much as James thought of him.

Now, James didn’t have one father, but two. He was happy, so happy that he could burst, but that also meant that there were two people to worry about. What if they met him, and they didn’t like him? What if he disappointed them? For all he knew, they didn’t want a son who’d rather read a book than dance at a party. Maybe they didn’t want a son who was shy around strangers, a son who usually had trouble making friends.

Maybe they didn’t want a son at all.

“James!” Lucie yelled directly into his ear, and James jumped a solid three inches.

“What?” he asked, his heart pounding. If he got scared that easily, he wondered how bad it would be when he watched his first horror movie.

“You were kind of zoning out there,” Mina said, frowning. “Are you okay?”

James took a deep breath and let it out. “Yeah, it’s just that I have two dads now and I never thought I’d even have one. It’s kind of a big deal for me.”

Lucie laughed good-naturedly. “It’s ok James, we didn’t expect this either.” She hesitated. “Honestly, it’s scary to think about meeting my other parents.”

Mina nodded in agreement. “Me too. I want to meet the both of them so badly, but it makes me nervous when I think about it.”

It was calming, sitting on the bed together and listening to how he wasn’t the only one who was worried about what the future held.

James laid down with his back to the bed, his legs dangling off the edge. Lucie and Mina -his sisters- did the same. “What are they like?” he asked quietly.

“My papa is amazing,” Lucie said proudly. “He’s super smart, but he can be really goofy and he makes a lot of funny jokes.”

James smiled. “My mom can be like that, too.” he said. “She’s really smart and loves books like me, and she always stands up for me no matter what.” He turned his head to Mina on his left. “What about you?”

“My dad is the best,” Mina said immediately. “He’s the nicest person in the world, though he can be cheesy sometimes. He’s smart and has a job that keeps him busy, but he always seems to have time to spend with me and Kit.”

Lucie jerked her head up. “Wait a minute,” she breathed. “If you’re my sister, does that mean Kit’s my brother?” James hadn’t considered that, but liked the thought of having an older brother.

Mina paused, then sat up. Lucie sat up as well, and James groaned but did the same. “That’s right!” Mina exclaimed. “Oh you’ll love him, I just know it! And I’m sure he’d love both of you.”

They all looked at each other excitedly, and James smiled. It was still nerve-wracking to think about, but he couldn’t wait to meet the rest of his family.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucie was pretty sure that Thomas didn’t believe them until they pulled out the torn pictures as proof. Not that she could blame him, because honestly? The fact that Mina and James were her siblings was insane, and it was still sinking in.

Lucie wasn’t really a fan of autobiographies, but this was a crazy enough discovery that she was tempted to write one.

Not that she was unhappy about it, because Lucie couldn’t be happier. She had siblings! Her new friends turned out to be her sister and her brother, and she had an older brother back in California that she had yet to meet. Lucie also had two other parents, and she couldn’t wait to meet them.

“So,” she began in the middle of dinner, and everyone at their table glanced in her direction. “How do we get our parents back together?”

James looked shocked at the question. “Back together?” he asked. “I didn’t even think of that.”

“I don’t know if that will work,” Thomas said, stabbing a piece of macaroni and cheese with a fork. Christopher was stacking his noodles on top of each other to build a noodle tower, and Lucie was silently wondering when Thomas would notice and put a stop to it. “Aren’t they already with someone new?”

“No!” Lucie spluttered, nearly choking on her food. “No way is my dad dating someone! He’s never dated anybody.”

“Maybe he’s going on secret dates,” Christopher suggested, and Thomas turned to look at him. He noticed the macaroni tower and sighed, using Christopher’s fork to topple it before telling him not to play with his food.

“He’s not.” Lucie said vehemently. “I would know if he was.”

“My mom doesn’t date either,” James announced. “Just so you know.”

Everyone turned to look at Mina, who looked surprised at the thought. “My dad doesn’t date.” she said. “He wouldn’t be dating someone.”

Lucie clapped her hands together, feeling the excitement run through her veins. “Perfect,” she grinned, with almost too much joy. Thomas, who was sitting across from her, slowly scooted his chair back. “Then they have to still have feelings together. Trust me, I know these things.”

“It’s true,” James chimed in, and when everyone looked at him he blushed. “It’s just, that’s how it works in books.” he mumbled.

Lucie considered mentioning that she liked to write, but the moment passed. Her head quickly filled with strategies on getting her parents back together. “We have to make them see each other again,” she said. “Telling them we know we’re related might not be enough.”

“What if we swapped places?” Mina suggested. “We go to a different parent after camp is over, and then they’d have to meet up to put us back with who we’re supposed to be.”

“That would never work,” James pointed out. “We can’t switch flights, our names are on the tickets.”

Lucie frowned. “Aww. That could’ve been really fun.”

“I could change that,” Christopher said casually. “I could change the names on the flights.”

The whole table stopped talking and looked at him.

“You can… change the tickets? How is that possible?” James asked, baffled.

“Oh, you know,” Christopher shrugged, and then chewed through a mouthful of macaroni. The ten seconds Lucie had to wait before he swallowed and continued was agony. “Get a computer, hack a website or two to change the names for the flights, find a printer to print out the new tickets. Simple stuff.”

Thomas was staring at his cousin in horror. James and Mina had their mouths open in shock, and Lucie was speechless.

“Is he serious?” James whispered to Thomas.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Thomas whispered back.

“Christopher,” Mina cleared her throat. “How smart are you, exactly?”

Christopher looked up from his food, a confused expression on his face. Lucie got the impression that his entire part of that conversation had been on autopilot. “What do you mean?”

“This is perfect!” Lucie beamed. “With your help, we can swap places and get our parents back together!”

“Oh no,” Thomas muttered. “Please no, I can only handle so much-”

Christopher blinked. “Thomas, is something wrong?”

Lucie laughed, rubbing her hands together gleefully. “This is too good!”

Her parents had no idea what would hit them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mina had never stolen something before, but just this once she didn’t mind doing it. They needed a computer for Christopher to use, and deep in the counselors’ cabin there was a locked box filled with everyone’s electronics. Christopher had mentioned that he’d originally brought a laptop that had been taken when he first arrived at camp, and Mina was now on a mission to find it and take it back.

Originally Lucie had volunteered to go, but Mina knew something that the rest of them didn’t --Mina knew how to pick a lock. Kit was an expert and had taught her years ago, and Mina was happy that she could finally put those lockpicking lessons to good use.

Since Mina was going to be the one to get the laptop, the others were going to make a distraction. She didn’t know what the distraction would be, but she figured she’d recognize it when it happened. Currently she was hanging around outside of the boys’ counselor cabin, waiting for the opportunity to sneak inside.

“Christopher, no!” a voice yelled.

Mina turned to look and saw Christopher holding a burning torch in front of the cabin, James by his side and holding a megaphone. Mina knew she should be concerned about Christopher and where he got a torch from, but she was more interested in how James managed to get a megaphone.

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen,” James deadpanned. “Welcome to Christopher’s new experiment, where he tests what can and can’t catch on fire.”

All of the counselors in the cabin ran outside immediately, and James tugged on Christopher’s arm to lead him away from the cabin. Mina took that as her cue and ran inside the cabin, trying to erase the worrying image of Christopher with a torch from her memory. She looked around and couldn’t see anything that looked like the box everyone had to put their electronics into, but then crouched down and looked underneath the beds.

Underneath the bed on the far right was a clear box filled with electronics. “Yes!” Mina whispered, smiling. There was a lock on the box, but Mina took out a hair pin and got to work. It wasn’t long before the box was open, and she went through the contents trying to find Christopher’s laptop. Mina paused when she saw an orange laptop with a few weird stains and what looked like a burn mark on one side. That’s the one, she thought. She quickly grabbed it before closing the box, putting the lock back on, and pushing it under the bed. Christopher and Thomas had described the laptop for her, but Mina probably would’ve guessed that it was Christopher’s laptop anyway due to all the damage it had.

“Fire!” she heard Lucie yell from outside. “The fire’s gone, there’s no more fire!”

That was Lucie’s way of signaling Mina to leave before she got caught, and Mina quickly shoved the laptop under the back of her shirt before running out the back door and walking around the cabin to stand next to Lucie. One of the counselors was scolding Christopher, the torch extinguished and by his feet. Christopher turned and waved at Mina and Lucie happily.

“Did you get it?” Lucie asked quietly.

Mina nodded. “Yeah,” she replied. “Let’s go before they notice the weird shape of my shirt.”

Lucie raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything, and they both speed-walked to the gazebo that they’d agreed they would all meet at. Thomas was already there, and soon enough James and Christopher ran in.

Thomas stood up at once. “Christopher,” he said nervously, “Please tell me you didn’t get kicked out of camp.”

Christopher shook his head. “No,” he said. “But they said they were going to call my parents.”

Thomas paled. “Aunt Cecily is going to kill me.”

“I do have some good news,” Mina said excitedly. “I’ve got the laptop.” She quickly transferred it from her lap to Christopher’s, and Thomas did a double take.

“I thought they locked all the electronics up?” he asked.

Mina smiled proudly. “I picked the lock.”

She and Lucie high-fived, and James looked impressed. As Christopher opened up the laptop and got to work, Mina couldn’t help but keep smiling. She had originally gone to camp just to have the camp experience at least once, but everything had gone so much better than she could have ever imagined. She had two more siblings, two more parents, and two more friends --four more friends if she counted her new brother and sister.

James leaned over Lucie to look at what Christopher was doing, resting an elbow on her shoulder. Lucie made a face, and Mina laughed. Lucie quickly brought her elbow up and rested it on James’s shoulder instead.

“I’m older,” Lucie declared. “So I have to be the one to lean on you.”

James looked offended. “What? No, I’m older.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t the two of you twins? You’re the same age.”

“Twins,” Lucie said. “That’s right, I forgot about that. We have the same birthday and we’re the same age, so we have to be twins.”

Mina waited for the but that she was sure Lucie would use.

“But I bet I’m the older twin,” Lucie finished smugly.

“I bet I’m the older twin!” James said, his eyes narrowed, and Christopher breaking the law was forgotten. Now this was a show.

“How about this,” Mina interjected, clapping her hands to get their attention. “If you’re so sure, whoever is wrong owes the other person a favor. We can just ask one of our parents.”

That seemed to satisfy both Lucie and James, and Mina spent a while talking with them and Thomas before Christopher told them he was done.

“Christopher that’s amazing!” James praised. “I can’t believe you actually did it.”

“Now we just have to print out the new tickets,” Mina said. “So, we have to find a printer.”

“There’s one in the office building,” Thomas added helpfully. “I’ve seen it before when I went in there with Christopher, once.”

Mina took a second to think before speaking up. “I can probably sneak in there, too. That one might not even need a distraction.”

Lucie fist-pumped the air. “Yes!” she cheered. “It’s all working out!”

Mina smiled at the enthusiasm. We’re doing it, we’re actually doing it! Camp was almost over and soon enough Mina would be on a flight to London to meet her other dad. Her papa, as Lucie called him.

They had already decided who would go where. Mina would go to Will in London, Lucie would go to Tessa in New York, and James would go to Jem in California. Thomas and Christopher had also promised to keep in contact with them all when camp was over, which Lucie appreciated. She knew James was especially happy about it, since he had told Mina and Lucie that his mom had sent him to Camp Clover for the sole reason of getting James more friends. Their plan was coming together, and Mina couldn’t be happier. With how far they’d gone to do this, nothing could stand in their way.

After all, what could go wrong?

-----------------

Alright that’s it for now, but fun fact: Next time we get 3 new POVs, and we also finally see Herongraystairs again! Those things may or may not be related ;)

Tag List: @idontgetit-whydoihavetosaymyname @ineedadrinkorsleep @zzoyalantsov @girlwhohatesstuff @anxiousbookenthusiast @sankalina @themostawesomehuman @hands-dripping-ink @panicatwallmaria @immortal-enemies @booklovingelephants @bookishgeekygirl @livia-dovehallow @cortqnq @christophers-lemon-tarts @thenameskarr-parkerkarr

A lot of people have changed their usernames so some are probably wrong, but correct me if they are.

Let me know in a reblog/comment/tag if you’d like to be added to the tag list!

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talesfromunderland · 4 years

Text

And It Comes to An End.

Pain was a funny thing, the way it only could be on a cruel world. Tessa had believed she’d known it, living for centuries, watching those she loved slowly turn to dust. She thought it could no longer surprise her.

How terribly wrong she was.

The day was perfect, with it’s clear skies and cool morning breeze. Perhaps too perfect, for the grimness and grief was heavier than any storm cloud could hope to make.

Tessa watched so many people come and go, whispering words of comfort as they passed by with their bloodshot eyes.

Funerals were all the same, Tessa had long ago decided. The same bleak cloud over one’s senses, not allowing the sun to warm their skin or the wind from cooling it. It made everything easier to feel far away, to detach themselves so easily from their bodies and minds. She saw it on faces of Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn, the grief. On Magnus Bane’s, the hollowness.

All of this she watched, standing away from all of them, on a little hill under the tree’s shadow, as she always did this days.

Even from here, Tessa could see two specific figures watching them all. One asleep, though.

Mina had started to fuss at the long hours they had stayed standing and only short minutes after Kit had picked her up did she fall asleep. Tessa longed to run her hands through her daughter’s beautiful silky hair, so much like her father’s.

She wondered if she would be able to restrain herself this time. Though fate seem wanting to test her one final time as she beheld Kit.

Tremors ran along his shoulders, whether from carrying Mina or something else, invisible to all eyes but Tessa’s, even at the distance. Her very spirit strain to reach over, to take her baby girl and embrace her boy, to soothe the wound on his ever aching soul. to help, to always help. Instead, she kept her arms firmly on her sides and her feet pinned where they were.

The past days had told her not to try.

Not again.

Not ever.

That was the heavy burden of being dead among the living.

She still didn’t really remember how it happened. Tessa knew the events but in the way one knew a second-handed story, not her own. There had been a distress call, an Institute under attack with gravelly injured residents. She and Jem had arrived, fought them off and bought the members enough time to escape when a heavy, foul-smelling body crash on her and darkness became her view. From then on, she didn’t remember.

Maybe it was a small mercy, being unable to remember such cruel deaths. To not have to carry such a burden to the afterlife.

“Such a horrid event for such a beautiful day,” drawled a voice behind her, one she hadn’t heard in over a century but never forgotten. “Had this sun been shining on London, I would had laid buck-naked on the Institute's roof, getting such a gorgeous tan.”

A huff of a laugh, this one from another voice, said, “I’m afraid that funerals can’t be scheduled only on rainy days, William, no matter if stories or movies say otherwise.” Another huff and Jem said, “And not all of us would enjoy the idea of watching you running around naked.”

Will faked shock and quickly got to adjust his collar, as if trying to recompose his dignity.

“I hear that many people would find it an honor to be witness to the pure glory of the Herondale body, so I really see no downside.”

“Your descendent had the privilege to bestow such honor, thought the witnesses have other words for the moment.”

They went on like that for a while longer, thought Tessa only half listened. The wind around them had taken a chiller feel, even in her ghostly form.

Would she remember the wind, when she was gone? Would she forget, even for a moment, the people she left behind. Her heart refused to consider the possibility, though her mind did little else.

She ignored their approach, only acknowledging them when a hand she knew better than her own was placed on her shoulder.

“Tessa?” said Jem.

“I don’t want to miss anything.” It was the truth. She did not want to forget anything, not the faces of her friends and family, not the views this world offered, not anything. She would forget nothing.

As if reading her thought, Will said, “Time is non-existent on the other side. There will be days you will remember everything here as if it happened a minute ago. Others where you will remember nothing expect what’s in front of you. But,” he added, “I never forgot either of you, on the other side. I would sometimes my life before: Magnus, the shadowhunter life, the Institutes...but never you. I forgot many but never you. Either you. You were the only things I never forgot once during all those years.”

Those words... Will always knew what to tell her, what she need to hear, whenever words felt too much for her. It gave her the strength to do what needed to done next.

To walk toward she saw their crowns, one gold, one dark, to one of them who would see just as if she were alive...

I forgot many... but never you...either of you.

Love wasn’t weak. It never was and never would be. This pain... it would serve as a memory, as I reminder of all the things she had lost but also gained, in places neither she or Jem would be forgotten. It would be all they had left until it was time, because it was proof of all the good things they had done. They were missed because they did good. Who could ask for a better legacy?

The first thing when she reached them was see Kit’s eyes. They were hollowed, dark and bloodshot, the signs of the many sleepless nights, whether from crying and comforting Mina.

The weight in her chest became heavier, having left him so much on his shoulders, but she steeled herself enough to speak.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Kit didn't even flinch. She’d heard the sadness in her voice but was please to know it didn’t tremble. Not like her heart. “I’m so sorry, Kit. I wish it hadn’t end like this. I wish we might have had more time, to tell you everything. But remember you are loved. You’ve always had and always will be. Mina will be alright. You will be alright. You are not alone. You will never be alone. We love you.”

Invisible tears fell down her tears as she took a step back. She could will them away if she desired but right now they feeling of the warm water on her skin calmed something inside her.

This was their final good bye, until it was time.

Kit wouldn’t turn to her, Tessa knew. Not to any of them, maintaining his sights ahead the only thing from keeping from falling to his knees, avoiding questions he wasn’t prepared to answer.

So Tessa left him, her chest caving in for every step she took her away from them.

She didn’t see the new tears that fell on from the golden haired boy. Didn’t see his arms tightening around the sleeping child in his arms, not as he whispered on her tiny ear, “They are alright. They are happily. They are finally together.”

When Tessa finally reached them, Will was smiling faintly at her. “They will be alright,” he told her. “Carstairs and Herondales always stick together. And I have a feeling,” he added, “that the Blackthorn boy will do everything to help them.”

Tessa smiled. “Which Blackthorn boy?” Indeed, Tiberius had returned, sticking to Kit’s side with silent solidarity. Julian, other hand, had gone straight to Christopher and had volunteer to care for Mina to give them a bit of privacy, thought Kit was unmoved. The eldest Blackthorn boy could never pass the chance to, the Angel always protect him.

At her side, Jem was looking at them both with such love, something he never hided but now shone so deeply that Tessa knew she was truly seeing the full extend of it.

“What?” she laughed softly.

Jem shook his head, still smiling as he took both her and Will’s hands as he said, “Nothing, just,” he beheld at the hands at his hands then at the ones Tessa and Will also clapped together, “that the circle has finally come to an end.”

Tessa smiled, and realized she was not afraid. To what may await beyond this world, this dimension, she was not afraid. How could she be, when her very parts of her soul were together once again, like never before and how it always should had being.

Together always. Until the end and whatever may be beyond.

“And it comes to an end,” she said.

And then they vanished.

Here you @daisyherxndale just like a promised! I'm so sorry it took me so long to write, i tried and tried and nothing but now i have this! This is the first time I write Herongraystairs so I hope I did it right. Lost of love.

Also tagging: @oopstheregoesthatlifeofmine @imabitchforjemcarstairs @vanillalipstick66 @khaleesiofalicante @christopher-lightwood-my-heart @fair-but-wilde-child @idontgetit-whydoihavetosaymyname @cordelia-carstairs-owns-me @cristinablackthornkingson @alastaircarstairsx @nerdygurlly @biablackthorn

Originally posted it as this headcanon, before I was able to write it into this.

#herongraystairs #will herondale #tessa gray #jem carstairs #tsc #the shadowhunter chronicles #tid #the infernal devices #fanfic #mine #herongraystairs fanfic

110 notes · View notes

jedilicious · 4 years

Text

TLH THEORY TIME: or alternate title “watch us make a theory and refute ever proof we present”

ok im taking a break from writing a lit piece i wont ever get to finish to present my friend and i’s theory which is, wait for it, matthew and cordelia are endgame

here are our pieces of evidence:

1. maybe our weakest one, but certainly something to really think about. matthew is a fairchild with golden hair, cordelia has a stunning red hair. guess who is also a fairchild and has red hair? that’s right clary fairchild. this may just be because of the other people in the fairchild family tree but we are working with the details we have now so yes moving on

2. matthew himself has said that he and james are practically interchangeable (see chog chap 2 page 59). this may mean that both math and james are similar. of course we realize that cordelia has acknowledged that math is lovable too but that she will never love anyone the way she loves james (is this sentence making sense im sorry we are really are just hyperventilating now). but then what if something happens along the way that changes cordelia’s feelings and mind. cassie has also answered a question in her tumblr addressing the math cordelia friendship, saying that both of them have bonded during the 4 month gap between chog and coi.

3. we know that cassie has clearly differentiated herongraystairs and our new love triangle, we understand and truly respect that. however, seeing as matthew has declared that he won’t be like jem made us think that the jem in this story is james herondale himself. and that math is will. look at their similarities:

golden boy - literally with the hair and how they socialize with others

tortured by a thing they did to someone they love - they both think that they are not worthy of love or forgiveness (though we recognize the slight difference)

wanting someone they think they can’t have

4. seeing the proof above, now we move on to saying that james actually might die. this theory is supported by the numerous times jem has expressed he doesnt want to pressure tessa about building a family because he doesnt want to remind tessa of her experience with her children. what if the reason was because james died? this can give way to cordelia and matthew creating a deeper bond since both of them loved james very deeply.

again though this is just a theory, a lousy one indeed. we both love jordelia very much but the wait for coi is making our minds turn. anyway, feel free to drop your ideas too! BONUS: a user has helped theorized in this post the reason why the new generation herondales are blond. the user has pointed out that it does not make sense for cordelia to be their great-great-grandmother, instead grace herself is the most striking candidate. she has blond hair and as the user pointed out, adopted and may well have fairie blood (one of the reasons to have golden eyes)

#chain of gold #the last hours #james herondale #cordelia carstairs #matthew fairchild #endgame #theory #chog #coi

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cristinablackthornkingson · 4 years

Text

Shadowhunters Short Story #61. Herongraystairs mundane AU.

It is a cold and blustery day in November of 1997 when Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs receive what they then think of, as the biggest shock of their lives.

18 year old Jem and Will have grown up with each other and have been the best of friends since the age of twelve. They met in 1991 when Jem had been sent to live with family friends Charlotte and Henry Fairchild, after his parents were killed. Will also lived with Charlotte and Henry, who were friends with his family as well, after he ran away from home at the young age of 12, after his older sister Ella died, and he could not cope with his grief. When Jem arrived from Shanghai, he and Will became fast friends and were soon totally inseparable.

Last year they had met a young woman from America named Teresa Gray, or Tessa as she preferred to be called. She had come to London in search of her brother, after her aunt who was her only other living relative, died. When she no longer could afford hotels and still found no trace of her brother, Henry and Charlotte invited her to stay with them for as long as she needed. When Tessa moved in, she, Will and Jem became extremely close and soon ended up falling in love. At first it was a total dilemma for Tessa, and for the boys. Tessa loved them both equally and could never imagine choosing between them, and Will and Jem both loved her, but they also loved each other.

Eventually one day the three of them sat down together and talked about it all. It was Jem who pointed out that actually nobody had to choose anybody, it was entirely possible for the three of them to be together, sure they couldn’t be married in a church but that was the least important thing to them.

They have now been together for a little over a year and have just moved into a small two bedroom apartment, not from Charlotte and Henry’s home.

Just a few minutes ago, Tessa had asked Jem and Will if she could speak with them, so the three of them gathered in the living room, Will and Jem side by side on the sofa and Tessa sitting opposite them on the armchair, looking pale and nervous.

“You’re not breaking up with us Tess are you? Please don’t leave me to deal with a broken-hearted Jem, he has too many emotions, I can’t handle him on my own!” Will exclaims in an exasperated tone, trying to lighten the mood. Tessa laughs as Jem lightly shoves Will.

“No it’s nothing like that. So... you know how I haven’t been feeling well the last while? How I’ve been feeling really sick and tired and sore?” Tessa begins. Will and Jem nod. “Well... I found out why I’ve been feeling that way, today.”

“What is it? Is it bad?” Jem anxiously asks, always worrying about his loved ones,terrified of loosing them like he lost his parents.

“Well not necessarily.” Tessa says, loosing her nerve and trying to skate around the issue.

“Come on Tess out with it already!” Will says, sensing that Tessa is about to try and get off track and avoid telling them the truth.

“I... I’m pregnant.” Tessa quietly says. The thought that she could be pregnant hadn’t occurred to Tessa, until she was visiting Charlotte and Henry the other day, and Charlotte had told her she was pregnant with her second child. It was then that Tessa realized she hadn’t her period in a while and that all her symptoms were similar to the ones Charlotte had just 2 years ago when she was pregnant with her first child, Charles.

“A-are you sure?” Will stammers, for once in life not knowing what to say. Tessa nods.

“Yeah, I took a test and it was positive and I haven’t had my period for about 2 months now so....” She trails off, unsure how to finish her sentence. She is both terrified and thrilled, she has always wanted children, but not until she was much older, and had finished university and gotten a stable job.

“I-is it mine, or Will’s?” Jem asks.

“I don’t know, the last time I had sex with only one of you was 4 months ago and I’m only 2 months along, so we’ll have to wait until the baby is born to find out, even then we might not know straight away, but if it’s important to you we can do a paternity test.” Tessa quietly says, now fearful that if the baby is Will’s, Jem will leave and if it’s Jem’s, William will leave.

“No, no of course it doesn’t matter, I didn’t ask because I won’t love the baby if it isn’t mine, I was just curious. Oh Tessa, I don’t care who the biological father is, no matter what that baby is mine and yours and Will’s, no matter their DNA, they’re going to have two dads, I’ve only known about them for two seconds and I already love them with all my heart.” Jem says, leaning forward to grasp Tessa’s hand in his.

“Exactly, of course this is scary and difficult, but we’re not the first teen parents out there and we won’t be the last. By the time the baby is born you’ll have finished school, Jem and I will be in our last year of university, all three of us have stable jobs and are doing all we can to get even better ones, and we’ll have so much support from Charlotte and Henry, Gideon and Sophie and my sister and her no good boyfriend.” Will says in a soft tone, trying to make Tessa smile. Gideon Lightwood and Sophie Collins are friends of theirs, Will’s sister Cecily is in a relationship with Gideon’s brother Gabriel. Will and the Lightwood brothers did not get along in the past, but recently they did manage to put their differences aside and become friends, though Will still likes to tease Gabriel.

Tessa laughs and wipes at her tears, feeling a bit more reassured now. As Will said, their friends will be more than willing to help, Cecily will be delighted to have a niece or nephew and what makes her happy makes Gabriel happy, Henry and Charlotte are always happy to help out no matter what, and Sophie and Gideon love children and will be more than willing to help out too. They have two daughters themselves and a little boy who is 4 months old and has just been discharged from hospital after being born two months premature.

“I love you both so much.” She says in a joyful tone.

“All three of us now.” Will gently says, placing a hand on Tessa’s stomach. Jem places his hand over Will’s and Tessa places hers over Jem’s.

“Yes, all three of you, I love all three of you.”

They decide to wait until the first trimester is over and the risk of miscarriage decreases greatly, to tell everyone else about the baby. Thankfully the first 3 months pass without a hitch and when they finally tell everyone, they are very supportive and loving. Of course it’s not ideal being parents at only 17 and 18 but everyone knows that if anyone can make it work, it’s Jem, Tessa and Will.

The rest of Tessa’s pregnancy passes by in a breeze, Tessa is able to finish school and decides to defer her place at a literary course in university (the same one Will is currently taking) for a year. Will finishes his second year in university while Jem finishes his third year in his music and history course. Tessa continues to work her part-time job at the library, where she is thankfully entitled to 18 paid months of maternity leave, though she is hopeful that she won’t need the full year and a half.

Tessa has regular check ups at the local hospital, where she is also booked in to give birth in August. Jem and Will attend every check up, no matter what. They are so excited to become fathers and can hardly wait to meet the baby. They have already started on the nursery, even though the baby will be staying in their room for at least the first year.

Right now, Tessa is only a few weeks from her due date which means Jem and Will are on high alert at all times, rushing to get Tessa and the baby’s bags for the hospital, every time she so much as flinches.

At the moment Tessa is sitting on the sofa, trying to read a book, but it seems that Will and Jem may actually have reason to panic now, as for the last hour or so Tessa has been having pains on and off, every 15 minutes, and now they’re starting to get stronger and closer together.

“You started that book an hour ago and you haven’t finished it yet? That’s not like you at all.” Tessa hears Will say in a teasing tone.

“I can’t concentrate, I think we need to go to the hospital, I’ve been having pains on and off the same amount of time apart since I sat down, I think it might be time.” Tessa says, wincing and grasping her stomach as another pain washes over her.

Will’s eyes widen and he springs up from his seat.

“A-Alright, okay I-I’ll get Jem to help you out to the car and I’ll grab the bags.” He stammers, trying not to panic.

On the way to the hospital, Tessa’s water broke and by the time they reached the hospital, the pains were only 5 minutes apart.

Only half an hour after arriving at the hospital, she began to push, clutching both Will and Jem’s hands tightly, as Jem rubbed her back and gave her soothing encouragements, while Will watched what was going on at the bottom of the bed, wide eyed and unable to look away.

Now, after only pushing for about 20 minutes, Tessa feels a weight lift from her and a low cry rings through the room. She sighs in relief, relaxing back into the pillows as Will and Jem well up with tears of joy.

“Oh my god, it’s a boy, it’s a boy, we have a son.” Jem says in a shocked but joyful tone, laughing in delight and wiping his tears away. “He’s so perfect Tess, you did it, he’s here and he’s so beautiful and perfect.” Jem says in a breathy tone, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

Seconds later the baby is placed on Tessa’s chest, and immediately her heart swells with love for him, a love greater than she had ever felt in all her life. She immediately pulls him close to her chest, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks as the baby snuggles into her and his cries die down.

“Hi baby, Hi James, sweet baby Jamie, I love you.” Tessa whispers, kissing his little head. When they had been choosing names, Tessa was instant that the baby have his fathers’ names, but she left it up to Will and Jem to decide which would be his first name and which would be his middle name. Will insisted that his first name be James, and when he wouldn’t budge on that, Jem wanted the baby to have a Chinese middle name, so his middle name is Wēilián, which is William in Mandarin, making his full name James Wēilián Ke Carstairs-Herondale. A big name for a very little boy.

“He looks just like me.” Will softly says in a tone of awe, stroking the baby’s blood soaked cheek. It’s clear that little James is Will’s biological child, with a thick mop of black hair just like his, Will’s pallor, bone structure and eye shape, and Tessa’s nose shape. Later it would turn out he has big grey eyes, just like Tessa.

“He’s perfect.” Jem quietly repeats, as little James wraps his hand around Jem’s finger.

*******************************************************************************************

When Tessa had told Will and Jem she was pregnant with James, they had thought that was the biggest shock and surprise of their lives, but they were mistaken. It has been just under a year since James’ birth, one of the best years of their lives, and while the little boy takes his usual afternoon nap, Tessa has called Jem and Will into the bedroom, where they will receive what they are certain is the biggest shock of their lives.

“Is everything alright Tess? Do you want to go to bed for an hour and we’ll keep an ear out for Jamie?” Will asks, closing the door behind he and Jem.

“No, thank you though. Everything is fine but I do need to tell you something.”

“Is it that Cecily is a massive pain in the arse coming around here with Lightworm every day? Believe me Tess, I know, but she’s my sister so I have to love her and put up with her.” Will says with a shrug.

“No that’s not it, I like having Cecily and Gabriel around all the time, they’re great at helping out with Jamie. Anyway, what I need to tell you is... I’m pregnant.” Tessa admits. She could hardly believe it when she saw the positive pregnancy test, she, Will and Jem were very careful about preventing another pregnancy, but clearly they weren’t careful enough.

“What? B-but Jamie’s not even one, I-thought it was pretty much impossible to get pregnant again so soon.” Will stammers, sinking onto the bed beside Tessa.

“No not impossible at all, usually after about six weeks post birth, you can get pregnant again. I know we were careful and everything but clearly it didn’t work.” Tessa says. Like when she was pregnant with Jamie, she is terrified, perhaps even more so now that they’ll have two under two, but she is also extremely excited and eager to meet this little one. In the last year, Jem was able to secure a job in the orchestra for the current production of a long-running musical in the West End, and the theater isn’t far from their apartment. Will got a job as a book editor and mostly works from home, while Tessa still works part-time at the library and attends college part time. Things are more secure now, even if they do have a 9 month old baby, who will only be one and a half when the new baby is born.

“If we have a girl we have to name her after you, since Jamie is named after us.” Jem says, breaking the tension and smiling at Tessa.

“No way, absolutely not, I get final say in baby names since I’m the pregnant one, and I am banning any variation of my name here and now.” Tessa says with a laugh. Though she doesn’t mind her name, she doesn’t want her daughter to have it, she’s always thought Teresa and Tessa are a little plain and bland, she wants something nicer for her daughter, if the baby is a girl.

“Okay but you can’t call her Jemma Wilhelmina or Wilhelmina Jemma either.” Will says in a mock stern tone.

“I say since you picked Jamie’s name, Will gets to pick this baby’s name, and if we have a third, I get to pick their name.” Jem suggests. Will and Tessa nod in agreement, and Tessa relaxes, knowing that in the end, things will work out.

Over the next few months, they tell their family and friends about the baby. Charlotte helps them explain everything to Jamie, but he doesn’t seem to acknowledge it, sometimes he’ll babble to Tessa’s belly and cuddle up to the small bump, but other than that, he’s been behaving as normal.

Just a few weeks after they told Cecily and Gabriel, Cecily had broken the news to them that she too was pregnant. At first Will was furious, ready to hunt Gabriel down and kill him, but once Cecily explained how caring and loving Gabriel has been toward her and the baby, and how excited he is to be a father, Will calmed down, though he is still extremely worried about Cecily.

Once again, Tessa’s pregnancy passes by in a breeze and before she knows it she is just days from her due date.

Currently, she is sitting in the living room of her, Jem and Will’s apartment, with Jamie, Charlotte and Charlotte’s son Matthew, who is two months older than Jamie. Jamie, Matthew and Thomas get along famously, and no doubt Cecily and Gabriel’s daughter will get along with the boys too, when she arrives in just 2 months time.

“Are you’re alright Tessa? You look very pale.” Charlotte asks in a concerned tone, turning her attention from the babies to Tessa, looking at her with eyes full of worry and concern.

“Oh yeah I’m fine just... I don’t know I feel weird, my stomach feels weird but it doesn’t feel like contractions, at least not like the ones I had when Jamie was born.” Tessa says, grimacing at the pain in her stomach and back.

“It could be early labor, when I went into labor with Charles I started feeling pains 2 days before he was born, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go to the hospital to get checked over, I know Will and Jem are at work, so I can drive you.” Charlotte offers.

“Will Matthew get fussy if you put him in the car?” Tessa asks, glancing at the little blonde haired boy, patting Jem’s cat, Church.

“No not at all, Matthew is the easiest baby on earth, the word fussy does not apply to him, he loves being in the car, he won’t mind at all.” Charlotte assures her.

“Okay, yeah lets go then.”

Half an hour later, Tessa is breathing through her pains (which have been confirmed as contractions) in her hospital bed, while Charlotte expertly manages Jamie and Matthew, while calling Will and Jem to let them know Tessa is in labor.

Jem arrives first, 20 minutes after Charlotte called him, and Will turns up just 10 minutes after Jem. Charlotte then offers to look after Jamie for as long as they need, she and Henry will be happy to have him and Matthew will be delighted to have him for a sleepover. Jem, Tessa and Will readily agree, glad they won’t have to worry about organizing childcare now.

2 hours after being admitted to hospital, an hour after beginning to push, Tessa feels a weight lift from her which is almost immediately followed by a loud, high pitched wail.

Jem is the first to catch a glimpse of the baby, and when he does, his breath hitches in his throat.

“Oh, oh it’s a girl, we have a daughter.” He says in a soft tone.

“She certainly made an entrance, didn’t you sweet girl?” Will coos, wiping at his tears as the baby is placed on Tessa’s chest.

“Hello, hello Lucie, Lucie Āi lā Ke Carstairs. You look just like your mama.” Jem quietly says, stroking the baby’s cheek. Will had finally settled on the name Lucie for a girl ,after Lucie Manette in a Tale Of Two Cities (his and Tessa’s favorite book) and Āi lā, which is Mandarin for Ella, after his older sister who died when he was a child.

“She’s perfect.” Tessa says in a tight tone, holding Lucie close and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

The next day Charlotte brings Jamie in to meet his sister, while Henry stays at home with Matthew and Charles.

“What do you think Jamie?” Tessa softly asks, as James curiously peers into the bundle of blankets in her arms, where Lucie is sleeping peacefully.

“Baby.” Jamie quietly says, pointing to Lucie.

“Yeah this is your baby sister Lucie, do you love her?” Tessa gently asks, running a hand through Jamie’s thick black hair, identical to Will’s. Jamie nods and leans in to kiss Lucie’s forehead, as she reaches a hand out of her blankets and grips tightly to her brother’s finger.

“They’re so sweet.” Jem softly says, watching as Lucie blinks her eyes open and peers up at James with curiosity

“For now, soon they’ll be at eachother’s throats, if they’re anything like Cecily and I.” Will says with a smile, thinking back to when he and Cecily were younger, and how he would always hide her toys and she would always pull his hair.

“You’re so dramatic William, you are such a softie around Cecily, if you hated her as much as you pretend you do, you wouldn’t be so worried about her and the baby.” Jem points out. Will has often confided in him about how worried he is about Cecily and how she will cope as a young mother, and how afraid he is that Gabriel will walk out on her and their daughter and leave her heartbroken.

“She’s okay I suppose, she does have terrible taste in men though, her and Sophie, though Gideon isn’t too bad I suppose.” Will says with a shrug. Realistically he does actually like Gabriel and Gideon, especially Gideon, and he does approve of Cecily choosing to be with Gabriel, but he it’s more fun to tease his sister and annoy the Lightwood brothers than to confess that he actually likes them.

*******************************************************************************************

*16 years later*

At 33 and 34 years old, Jem and Will were convinced that life had no more big surprises in store for them, they thought Tessa’s announcement of her pregnancy with Jamie followed a year later by her announcement of her pregnancy with Lucie, were the biggest shocks they every had, but once again they were wrong.

It is a sweltering hot day in August of 2013, James is out with Matthew, Thomas, and Cecily and Gabriel’s son Christopher, while Lucie is upstairs, working on her writing. At 16 and 15, both James and Lucie are total bookworms like Will and Tessa, Lucie loves to write fictional stories and has hopes of becoming a published author one day, while James more so likes to write poetry and read any book he can get his hands on. Neither of them have any musical talent or love for music like Jem does, but they never object when he takes his violin out to play.

Jem and Will are sitting in the living room, enjoying the peace and quiet and the absence of arguing children, while Tessa is visiting her friend Catarina Loss, who works at the local hospital where Jamie and Lucie were born.

Just as Jem is thinking of getting up and making a start on dinner so it will be ready when Jamie and Tessa come home, the door creaks open and Tessa steps in, and beams at he and Will.

“Hey, is Jamie still out with the boys?” She asks, making her way over to the sofa to join Jem and Will.

“Yes but he’s text a few times to let us know he’s alright and he’ll be home in a few hours. Did you have a good time with Catarina?” Will asks.

“Yes I did. I have something I want to show you.” Tessa says with a bright smile, slipping her hand into her pocket and drawing out a blurry black and white picture, of something unclear.

“What’s that?” Will asks, furrowing his brow and trying to figure out why Tessa is showing them this odd photo of seemingly nothing.

“Well, it’s our baby.” Tessa quietly says. Now that they are older and much better prepared for a child, she wanted to surprise Will and Jem with the news of her pregnancy and not just call them in and tell them she took a test and it was positive. She had suspected she was pregnant for a few weeks now, and when she booked in for an appointment with Catarina today, she told Jem and Will she was simply going to visit her friend at the hospital, when in actual fact she was going in for a pregnancy test and ultrasound.

“B-baby? You’re pregnant?” Will asks in an incredulous tone. The three of them weren’t exactly trying, but they weren’t doing anything to prevent a pregnancy either, though they had done that for the last five years and he thought perhaps it just wasn’t meant to happen.

“Yes, I’m two months, due in March, everything is perfect with me and the baby.” Tessa softly says, placing a hand on her stomach.

“Oh Lucie is going to be so thrilled.” Jem says in a joyful tone, knowing how much his daughter has wanted a little sibling for some time now. James doesn’t mind the idea of another sibling, but he’s not as eager as Lucie.

“Yes she is, we’ll have to think of a good way to tell her and Jamie, I’ll do some research tonight.” Tessa says, thinking of all the fun and exciting ways she can tell Lucie and James they’re going to have a little sibling soon.

“I finally get to pick a baby name!” Jem says with a wide grin, already knowing what he wants to call this baby, boy or girl.

“Oh God, you’re going to call them something awful like Wolfgang aren’t you?” Will groans.

“Oh no, you’re not naming them something ridiculous like that or Chopin.” Tessa warns Jem, earning a laugh from him with her serious look.

“Calm down you two, I love our child I’m not going to saddle them with an awful name, if I were going to name our son after a musician it would be someone with a decent name, have some faith in me.”

The three of them decide to keep the news to themselves for another month or so, so that the chances of anything happening will have gone down by the time they tell the kids.

By the time they decide to tell them, it’s the middle of September, just a few weeks before Lucie’s 16th birthday, which Tessa sees as the perfect opportunity to tell her she’s going to be a big sister.

Right now Lucie and James are sitting on the sofa in the living room, reading.

“Hey Luc.” Tessa says, walking over to the sofa with a brown paper bag in her hand. Lucie looks up and gives her a quizzical look. “I want to give you an early birthday present, Jamie you might be interested in this too.” Tessa says, handing the bag over to Lucie and sharing a knowing smile with Jem and Will.

James sets his book down as Lucie reaches into the bag, and pulls out a white baby grow and a note.

“What’s the note say?” James curiously asks, trying to read the note over his sister’s shoulder.

“Lucie, you’re finally getting the one thing you’ve always wanted, you’ll just have to wait a few months.” Lucie reads in a confused tone. “What does this mean mum?” She asks, looking up at Tessa.

“What do you think it means?.” Tessa gently asks, brushing Lucie’s hair back from her face. The kids are quiet for a minute, before Jamie’s face lights up in realization.

“You’re pregnant!” He exclaims, adding up the note, the baby grow and the fact that his mum has been sick the last few weeks.

“You are?! Really?” Lucie gasps, looking between Tessa, Will and Jem with wide blue eyes full of hope.

“Yes I am, the baby will be here in March, you’re going to be a big sister.” Tessa softly says, as Lucie jumps up and hugs her tightly.

“You alright there Jamie?” Will asks in an amused tone, clapping his son on the shoulder, noticing the look of shock on his face.

“Y-yeah just wasn’t expecting this.” He says in a shocked voice.

“Pun unintended?” Jem asks in a teasing voice, grinning at his son, who takes minute to understand the joke before smiling back and laughing.

“Can we tell people? Can I tell Cordelia, papa?” Lucie asks in an excited tone, looking at Jem, thinking perhaps he has already told his cousin Cordelia, who recently moved to London and has been best friends with Lucie since they were 10.

“Of course, you can tell your friends too if you like Jamie, you’re the first ones to find out, apart from Catarina since she’s been helping your mum through the first few months of the pregnancy.” Jem says.

Soon, everyone knows about the newest little Carstairs-Herondale on the way, and are very excited and happy.

Thankfully, like both of her other pregnancies, this pregnancy is a breeze for Tessa, she’s had some sickness and aches and pains but thankfully nothing more than usual. Lucie and James always accompany her and their dads on trips to buy clothes and furniture for the baby and help them decorate the nursery and both have been sworn to secrecy on the baby’s name, which they will tell everyone when she is safely here.

Currently Tessa is once again just weeks from her due date, though she is sure the baby will come any day now, since Jamie and Lucie were both a few weeks early too.

Right now Tessa is sitting at her desk in her office, reading over a book she is currently editing and critiquing for a client.

As she writes notes in red pen in the margin, she feels a familiar tightening pain in her lower stomach, one she is not able to work or talk through. Once the pain passes, she sets her pen down and goes in search of Jem and Will, needing someone to drive her to the hospital to make sure the pains are in fact contractions, and knowing that of course, they won’t want to miss a second of this.

When she walks into the music room, Jem looks up from his manuscript and beams brightly at her, his eyes filled with love and adoration.

“Tess.” He softly says, beckoning her over. “I was just writing something for the baby, do you want to hear?”

“Normally I would love, you now how much I adore your music, but I think you’ll be able to play your piece to the baby herself soon, I think I’m having contractions.” Tessa says, leaning against the door frame as her body is wracked with another pain.

Unlike when Jamie was born, Jem manages to stay totally calm. He guides Tessa to a seat, then quickly finds her and the baby’s bags, and then Will and while Will helps Tessa out to the car, he lets Jamie and Lucie know what’s going on, before texting Charlotte, who has promised to check in on Lucie and James while Tessa is in labor.

Unlike her labors with Jamie and Lucie, this time Tessa’s labor is long, drawn out and painful. Her labor lasts a total of 14 hours, which feels like forever compared to 4 and 2 hours.

Tessa was able to start pushing about 3 hours ago, but the baby is taking her time in coming out.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” Tessa weakly says, as she rests between contractions, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tries desperately to catch her breath.

“Of course you can.” Will softly says, dabbing her sweaty forehead with a cold, damp compress.

“But it feels like she’s not budging.” Tessa tries to hold back her tears of pain and frustration.

“Tess, I know it feels like you aren’t getting anywhere but I promise you are, we’re so close to meeting our baby and she is going to be just as perfect as her brother and sister, you are the strongest woman I’ve ever met Tessa, just a few more minutes and you’ll have her in your arms, and Cecily can stop pestering us about her name.” Jem softly and quietly says, squeezing Tessa’s hand encouragingly and leaning his forehead against hers. Tessa gives a weak laugh, then as another contraction begins, she squeezes her eyes shut, grips Will and Jem’s hands and pushes with all her might. Seconds later she feels a weight lift from her, and a soft cry rings around the room.

“You did it Tess! You see, we told you could, you amazing woman you!” Will proudly says, leaning in to kiss her temple, before the baby is placed on her chest.

Right away, it is obvious Jem is her biological father, she looks just like him, even at moments old. With light brown skin just like his, thick black hair but without Will’s curls, Jem’s eye shape and bone structure and Tessa’s mouth and nose shape.

“Oh Jem she looks just like you, she’s so beautiful.” Tessa sobs in delight, holding her baby close and tight.

“Yes she is, but I think she looks like you, you’re so beautiful my sweet Wilhelmina, how could you possibly look like me and not your mummy if you’re so beautiful?” Jem coos, leaning down to kiss his daughter’s forehead, before turning to place a kiss on his wife’s lips.

“Wilhelmina Yiqiang Ke Carstairs-Herondale, you could give your brother a run for his money with such a big name.” Will coos. Despite joking with Tessa when she was pregnant with Lucie, that they shouldn’t name her Wilhelmina after Will, Jem has grown extremely fond of the name over the years, and both Will and Tessa like it too, so they settled on that for her first name, and Yiqiang means ‘Remember’ in Mandarin, which Jem chose to honor their loved ones who have passed away, his parents, Tessa’s parents and brother and Will’s sister.

“Little Mina mine, I love you.” Jem softly says, stroking Mina’s thick, dark hair.

The next day, just after Mina has finished her morning feed, and Will is winding her while Jem is in the clothes shop next to the hospital, buying a fresh shirt after Mina threw up on him and Tessa is in the en suite bathroom getting changed, there is a light knock on the open door, and when Will looks up, he sees James and Lucie standing there, smiling brightly, next to Charlotte who is holding a gift bag, also smiling brightly.

“Hello you two!” Will says in a joyful tone. “Come meet your sister.”

Part two coming soon, where Mina will meet her siblings and all her aunts, uncles and cousins!

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