#tlh critical

[tamlinfairchild]

The main argument I see about not shipping Matthew/Cordelia is that they are "better as friends" which is so funny to me because that's exactly the point? The book claims James and Cordelia are friends to lovers but they just aren't? They barely communicate, they even get together because someone else (Grace) did the communicating for them. Matthew and Cordelia would've done the friends to lovers trope so much better because they were actually friends who talked that were also attracted to each other, as opposed to childhood crushes refusing to talk the whole time.

#mila rambles #anti tlh #fairstairs #anti jordelia #tlh critical

[bemtevis]

all of the heavy truths that alastair drops about his childhood are so glossed over that it's jarring. like thomas says in chain of iron that for years he's wanted alastair to tell him what broke his heart and in chot he says he wants help ease the guilt, but there's kind of no response to anytime that alastair does say anything about his past? even in chot, he says all these things about his father, and thomas never says anything back

also i have so many thoughts about cordelia but i literally can't even articulate them because so much went wrong 😭

“who broke your heart and let such bitterness spill out?” was SUCH a good line and the fact it was wasted like should be a cardinal sin I think. thomas' apathy towards alastair's confession is just so frustrating!! alastair deserves kindness, not this bs! my thomas would give that to him, but cc didn't get the memo did she

I don't quite know how to phrase this but thomas' actions seem more driven by his stubborness than a genuine desire to love alastair. I hate it here

#I am kidnapping thomas and getting a bunk bed for us until cc learns how to behave #chot spoilers #chain of thorns #tlh critical #cc critical #ask to tag

[daisymylove]

I sincerely don't know if Im alone on this one, so I want to know what yall think. Again, I may get some heat for this, but it’s my honest opinion.

Something I noticed in my reread is that I grew a slight dislike for lucie in chot, and as someone who had always previously rooted for her, I’m currently annoyed at myself.The thing is, Lucie IS a very privileged and sheltered girl.She was born into a wealthy, loving family and, because of her apparent “normalcy”, never suffered the brunt of the shadowhunter prejudice like Tessa and James.

None of this is a problem in itself, but my point here is that there were always other people protecting, thinking and worrying for her, so I think not only she never realized how precarious her family’s position actually was, but also has no true understanding of consequences and how the “real world” works.She knew in some level that what she was doing regarding jesse was dangerous, but was never truly afraid of repercussions, bc unconsciously she knows there will be someone to catch her . And while I do like to see a character become aware of its own privileges along the narrative, there’s no growing here.She finished the book without ever realizing it, because everything was just SO easy and convenient, and that bothers me greatly.

In all fairness, how could she? she does whatever she wants with no consequences.

I feel so conflicted bc while I actually cheered when she brought jesse back in choi, and always shipped them, I find the outcome of her actions to be low-key infuriating.Lucie wasn’t willing to give Jesse up, but also never seriously considered giving up her comfortable life to start over with him somewhere.That ludicrous and set to fail jeremy blackthorn plan wasn’t even her idea, it was the people around her finding a way to fix her “mistakes” to save all of their asses from jail.

Lucie could’ve had her marks stripped, her father could’ve lost the institute, it could’ve costed Tessa’s life.Those guys had been waiting 25 years for the slightest opportunity to pounce on her, does anyone seriously believe they wouldn’t all automatically think the warlock mother was involved? How come there was some major necromancy going on under her roof and she had no idea?  we know she didnt, but still   All of this was severely downplayed and there was little to no conflict regarding it, and anyone can correct me if im wrong, but none of that ever dawned on lucie.She never fully thought about how her family would be implicated, and nobody brought that up to her.Zero confict just chill, I guess this is our life now .Dont get me wrong, I dont want that shitstorm to actually happen,I just wanted her to become AWARE of it

 she literally brought home this complete stranger to them all (we know jesse, the characters dont) that was 8 years her senior (it doesnt matter his body was frozen for 7 years, mentally jesse is 24), Tatiana’s son, and had been dead up until last tuesday, but nobody save perhaps jessamine, and god it pains me to agree with jessamine had a problem with that.Instant acceptance, no resistance, no objections at all.All it would take for that lie to crumble would be ONE trial by the sword at any point of their lives and everybody was as chill as chicken joe from surfs up

Her fight with Cordelia pissed me off too. Lucie meddled on something she had no right and no knowledge of,and demanded things of Cordelia without even being willing to hear her out. ”oh the poor thing is suffering so much bc of you, why can’t you just take him back?” GIRL, FOR ALL SHE KNOWS, UNTIL A WEEK AGO, HOME BOY WAS SWEARING UNDYING LOVE AND BURNING DOWN MANORS FOR GRACE BLACKTHORN. 

WE know poor james was ensorcelled and fighting it, but what was cordelia supposed to think of it? How dare she assume that Cordelia “took advantage of James going to Cornwal to run away with matthew”? 

The demon of secrets in edom scene was plain ridiculous.”yo I had a childhood crush on your brother, sorry for never telling you, I was embarrassed” is not a big deal.The fact that they needed demonic intervention for THAT so late in the book baffles me

While I do think most characters were severely nerfed on this book and behaved ooc on several occasions (swear to god I have some mild ptsd from all the times cordelia ran and did unhinged things) , my conclusion about Lucie’s arc is that she took her good life for granted, endangered her entire family, didnt grow from the experience, but still got everything she wanted with no consequences or sacrifices.She lost a cousin along the way, but who cares about that guy? what was his name again? Its my understanding that Lucie never even faced a trial.Thats unrealistic and bad writing, if you ask me.When I think it over, the word that comes to me is...spoiled.

And dont get me started on the fact that she found out Malcom was planning on doing full blown necromancy and didnt do anything about it.How that had no repercussions AT ALL still blows my mind.

 The worst part for me is that I genuinely believe Lucie deserved better you know? 

If lucie and cordelia hadnt been allowed to become parabatai, and jesse had received some other minor yet life changing punishment, and we had seen a trial scene I would’ve been satisfied, because at least it wouldn’t have been nothing.

#lucie herondale #chain of thorns #chain of thorns spoilers #chain of gold #Chain of Iron #the last hours #tlh #jesse blackthorn #grace blackthorn #cordelia carstairs #james herondale #will herondale #tessa gray #kit lightwood #tessa herondale #Matthew Fairchild #malcom fade #tsc characters #tsc critical #tsc chronicles #tsc

[alastairstom]

Sometimes I am baffled by how TLH as a trilogy is essentially perfectly tailored to my interests. Same applies for TLH related content like NBS and CLS and EET. I feel like TLH is my Media Soulmate, if that makes sense. It's got my Ultimate Fave light academia vibe, amazingly developed blorbos, quality queer characters, an airy London setting, and a lot of romance. It's It's character and relationship driven, it never loses its humor, it has a hopeful ending It's literally everything I look for in a piece of media and I don't think anything else checks every box. Media Soulmates are a thing. TLH is mine.

#this is why all of my criticisms of it are either very muted or shrugged off as nbd #im in love with it for its flaws #tlh #the last hours

[tleeaves]

The art is lovely and now I'm gonna ramble because that's what I do when I care about something.

For the love of women, please PLEASE can fan artists remember to add muscle to their Shadowhunter ladies? I'll commend Bowater for cleverly giving James that sculpted and lean look without making him a beefcake (nothing against beefcakes, I'd love to hug them), but Cordelia is once again suffering from Arms And Shoulders Too Slender It's Hard To Even Imagine Her Picking Up A Sword. There is some there, yes, but artists shouldn't be afraid of giving particularly Female Main Characters weight and toned muscle. Cordelia is supposed to be nearly the same height as James as far as I can remember, and she's curvy, and full, and she wields a sword like it's second nature to her. Please explain why she looks so tiny in James' lap.

Also I'm pretty sure marriage runes are supposed to go over the heart whenever possible (thinking about Will's parabatai rune being over his heart instead -- he didn't get Tessa to draw over the scar, did he??) and... either I'm looking at the picture wrong or James' rune is not over where his heart should be.

For the matter, where are their other runes and scars?? James' Voyance rune isn't even on his hand. And I'm pretty sure he's right handed. I could have that wrong though.

Another thing: no one can ever decide what Cordelia's hair looks like and it's the funniest thing to me. This is what happens when all you do is vaguely say the colour is like fire but also like rose petals but also a flowing river of those things but also is Red (probably for redhead, but then from there I never understand where the rose petal analogy comes from considering the typical rose is a deep bloody colour -- I do acknowledge the existence of those light orange varieties though which might more closely resemble red hair). In the end, I'm glad readers can infer what they want and imagine the characters how they like.

Anyone else think James looks like he's built like a tennis player? Oddly specific, maybe, but it was a thought I had. Mostly the arms and somewhat narrow body.

James' hair is nice, his eyes are an interesting take on gold in the shadows. Bowater managed to also make him look closely related to his father, so bravo for that.

In the end, the focus is obviously on the marriage runes and not other physical aspects outside of it being clear that this is James and Cordelia. Bowater's style is very beautiful and elegant. Love the way fabric and lighting is done too. I'll add also that it is possible to be a smaller person who is slender but still strong so I mean Cordelia's not necessarily done wrong, I just interpret her appearance differently. Obviously, they're both hot and they're both attractive and I have my qualms with the series, chronicles, and author -- the fandom I am so-so on, though I'm still here, aren't I? And I'm taking the time to ramble about my thoughts on a piece of fanart -- but this is good. Gorgeous, even. Both James and Cordelia are beautiful.

#side note: am I the only one who thought cc made a mistake trying to describe james as handsome in cordelia's eyes #as opposed to matthew being the beautiful one #when there has always been a deep and aching strange beauty to james?? #james herondale #cordelia carstairs #vaguely crediting charlie bowater though it isn't like you can't find a dozen more copies of this with the credit #also yes I mercilessly picked this apart because I am still trying to find avenues to express my dissatisfaction with tlh #I search for flaws what else can I say #I am aware of it but it's hard to turn those thoughts processes off #maybe I'll write a post at some point all about the authors I once Loved that I am now deeply critical of #a lot of people would hate me for it but eh #also we all know about the marvelisation of cinema #but is it time to talk about the marvelisation of book series/worlds? #or perhaps it has a better and more book-focused name? the jkr approach? rick riordan's marvel-esque flaw? the sjm plague? the clare affair? #we'll workshop it #maybe it's the curse of middleschool-YA series and the issue of aginh readers in fandoms #and I don't mean this as discriminatory against anyone older in fandom because there is not really a limit nor should there be #for most media #but the issue of when the readers grow up amd authors try to accomodate for that -- not necessarily by making their work more adult -- #but by making MORE because there is also an influx of new fans and they want to stay relevant while retaining the old #it's a whole thing though I'd need to sit down to properly organise my thoughts to talk about it

[quillify-tries-to-talk]

People who say we don't like James because he's "boring" or "not like the other Herondales" do not seem to grasp the fact that when I say i don't like him, i mean that i absolutely abhor how clare placed more emphasis on his physique, his sexual prowess and expertise, and a general fixation on sex and eyeing Cordelia from a purely sexual lens that came at a cost to his characterization, any and all personality traits, and previously established quirks and habits and hobbies such as constant reading, introversion, loyalty to his friends. In fixating on sexual attraction and sexualizing the hell out of him, she sacrificed everything that could've made him a real character that i had adored in the short story. He became a husk with abs and the occassional flash of intelligence and brightness by the end of the trilogy. You could argue that the gracelet kept him in a haze, but i would argue that there are far better ways to add conflict than a magical love triangle device that reduces one of the characters to cardboard. The narrative decision lies with the author. There could've been much better ways to plot tlh and we'll never get to the end of this debate. This could be an opening conversation on grown authors sexualizing teen bodies for the sake of their own imagination and not for sex ed or anything purposeful.

#but ofc we aren't ready to talk about this #tsc #tlh #the last hours #ik there are writers in the fandom #pls think critically

[layla-carstairs]

sometimes people tag something on my posts like "yeah!! I hate tmi!!" and it's like. NO! that's not me bestie. this is a tmi fan account, I support their rights and much more importantly their wrongs <3

#like my biggest overall criticism of tlh is that there wasn't enough drama and everyone was too nice & friendly #obviously I'm vibing with the tmi gang they're all haters come on now 🤨 #I should change my blog title perhaps... #bella talks

[bytheangell]

a plea for prompts!

Hello, friends! It seems my brain has fallen into a bit of a writer’s rut for the past, uh, far too long if I’m being honest. 

I would love it if you took a second, if you felt so inclined, to send me a prompt! I found a tried-and-true quote prompt list HERE, if you want a list to pick from! But I’m also open to literally anything - a character or pairing, an AU theme, a setting, a quote, a lyric, a scenario - anything! Show, book, hell, even fandoms other than Shadowhunters! (I’m pretty comfy writing Critical Role (mighty nein), Teen Wolf, New Girl, 9-1-1, Stranger Things, I just watched through Angel... if you know I’m familiar with it, ask and I’ll see what I can do!) 

I’m aiming to keep these on the short-and-sweet side just to get some of those creative ideas flowing, but i’m also aware of how often my ‘short’ ideas run away from me. But the goal is just little snippets/ficlets. 

So yes! If you have something you want to toss my way, I would absolutely adore you forever and a half! 

#shadowhunters #tsc #tda #tid #tlh #tmi #teen wolf #stranger things #new girl #9-1-1 on fox #critical role #angel

[afloralrib]

Look, I love Alastair, I really do, and I hope he gets everything from life, because that’s what he deserves. However, I’m not fond of the way some people in this fandom use Alastair’s past and traumas as an excuse to bash on Thomas. Because, guess what? Not only does Thomas deserve everything from life too, but he’s also a fucking human being.

I’m sorry if this is going to upset people, because I know it all comes from a genuine place of love and care for Alastair, but it really needs to be said.

People like Alastair and Grace have objectively had the most difficult lives, which makes it easier to sympathize with them. That’s great. But it shouldn’t stop us from considering how their actions affected other people.

In Grace’s case, it’s easy to sympathize while still holding her accountable because her actions were far more severe. In Alastair’s, it’s difficult to hold him accountable for anything - I really don’t - because his actions weren’t meant to have any consequences, and he only intended to protect himself.

He made up and spread some very nasty rumours, sure. But he did what he did to survive the abusive environment he was in, and he didn’t mean for anyone to be hurt.

Plus, it’s not like Matthew and James didn’t do much worse with all the insults and jibes they threw at him, literally for no good reason.

That’s what the whole ordeal at the Academy was about. It’s not what Alastair and Thomas’s relationship is about, though.

What happened in CoI broke me too, especially because we’re used to Thomas being the only person to get Alastair. To have that taken away was honestly heartbreaking. But while Thomas generally gets Alastair, he doesn’t know everything about him. Understanding that Alastair was hurt because his father didn’t show up at the Academy only gives Thomas one part of the picture.

If that isn’t enough, we’re literally talking about an eighteen-years-old who’s just lost his sister. Context shouldn’t act as a justification, but it is important. 

And I mean, how would you react if, on top of everything else, you just found out that the person you love was responsible for something that hurt your family? What if you already thought that you should’ve prevented your sister’s death, and suddenly realized this was yet another thing you couldn’t shield her from?

Cut Thomas some slack.

He still needs to make amends, and I get being worried about that because CC’s track record with this kind of thing is bad. But just like Alastair’s personality, intentions, and feelings aren’t into question, Thomas’s shouldn’t be either.

So, stop holding my son to impossible standards that apply just to him, please and thank you.

#butting in because the lack of positive thomas posts is concerning #i saw someone say this opinion is actually popular #i must be doing smth wrong then because i almost only see complaints #you know you can sympathize with someone while still being critical of them? #right? #alastair carstairs #thomas lightwood #thomastair #personal faves #the last hours #tlh

[luciehercndale]

Wow, the TID/TLH response and engagement regarding fanfic and fan posts in general lately is... deafening. But yeah I understand it let people down, I'm just not ready and don't want to let it go

#tsc #tlh #the posts that get more recognition are the critical posts so people definitely read the tag - they just don't care about fan content idek

[tamlinfairchild]

Every day I’m a little more convinced that Fairstairs had so much more potential than Jordelia ever did.

#mila rambles #tlh critical #fairstairs

[bemtevis]

Yessss to everything you said!! Like it was the best book in the series, but I feel like maybe the focus on a certain kind of romance and the abundance of characters really led everything else to be sort of brushed aside or easily sorted out??

Struggling to put it into words but I think it boils down to cc having these cool concepts but just not delivering. One of the reasons the way Elias' death happened in choi was so pointless was because we didn't get to see Cordelia interact much with her father beforehand, it was just an oh no! he's dead! moment for her to feel sad about and cause conflict with James, when it could have really made Cordelia grapple with realisation that her father was not who she thought he was, and had her deal with that face to face. While handled a little better, the lack of mourning for Christopher really just exposes how his death was just there for the sake of it, and there was so much more that could have been explored, and emotions that could have been drawn out if she'd focused on the grief for him??

Other than mentioning that he has experience looking after drunk people because of his dad, and the little bit about not wanting to run away like his father, Alastair as far as I remember didn't really speak about his trauma and seems great by the end and,,, happy for him!! but would have liked to see his traumas talked about a little more and taken a little more seriously by the narrative tbh. Idk, as I write this I'm like maybe I'm being super picky with this one but I guess I will always want more Alastair content lol

Thomas' character is also just a giant example of cc underutilising what she's created, like you've presented this character and set up for him to be a little resentful of the one-dimensional way he's viewed as the kind one. That's so interesting!! Lean further into that and show that that's why he appreciates how Alastair used to speak his mind and stand up for himself at the academy, and use it to inform their relationship and Thomas' own personal growth! She tells us he's grown into himself more at the end but she doesn't fully explore it or show it. Would have liked to have seen more recognition of his talents with language as well but she literally seemed to gift his farsi skills to James lol

Also making everything about Charles' sexuality and having to come out felt really weird, as him wanting to stay in the closet is honestly the only thing I have sympathy for. And Ari and Charles being mentioned to be friends, we were robbed

And also can't believe no mentions of Thomas' tattoo throughout like it just seems a little weird considering there is some build up there of its emotional significance and link to Alastair?? Anyways chot was a good experience but there are just so many things cc seems to have forgot about, sorry for the rambles lol I really should just make my own post

I come across as so negative here lmao I genuinely really enjoyed the book

Managing that many characters, plus their individual relationships, is extremely difficult to pull of, and it's clear that CHOT fell short on many aspects. An easy way to fix the aftermath of Kit's death was just not to kill him! It was so unnecessary! Or at least spare us a few more paragraphs to grieve him properly, ffs.

On paper, I can see why his death (and Elias', as you said) would be impactful. But you can't just have something that big happen without building up to it and giving it a proper conclusion, which neither of them had! With the CHOI deaths specifically, it seemed obvious to be that CC wanted to kill some beloved characters but not any of the main ones. That's why she hit us in the head with the 'Italian Shadowhunter' thing; so we'd create a connection to her, but it didn't work! We barely knew Filomena, and Elias, and that lady who was nice to Thomas! It just doesn't work, and it was such a waste.

No, I totally agree! I don't remember any specific quotes, but it felt like every time Alastair mentioned his past, no one even acknowledged it. I don't expect a whole section where he goes to therapy or anything, but it'd would've been nice to hear Thomas say "you didn't deserve any of that, you're so strong but you shouldn't have had to be, you can rest now" instead of a thousandth Thomastair make out scene.

Thomas was so underutilized! Once again, I understand the whole book couldn't have been focused on him, but Matthew's reaction to him being in love with Alastair felt like such a cop out tbh. And an easy way to solve it would've been not to have Matthew be so bad to Alastair in the first place! He can still deflect his own guilt and hatred onto him, I know that's a part of his character (that was also brushed off), but maybe not treat him like the Devil himself. Thomas' annoyance with being 'the kind one' was completely forgotten, when it could've been one of the best arcs in the series.

Absolutely, yes! It's like CC forgot what her own character was like. Harassing and cornering Alastair? Disrespecting his boundaries? The fucking age gap? Charles' choice to stay closeted was the only thing I respected about him, and yet Clare's vendetta against closeted people continues. It's a pattern and it's not a great one.

And Thomas' tattoo, yeah! CC gave Thomastair way too many things (the tattoo, songwriting, Paris, farsi speaking, Alastair's hair, the list goes on) then realized she couldn't possibly fit it all in one book so she just abandoned most of it. Also, I really wish Thomas would've given Alastair one compliment throughout the book. His inner voice tells him to shut up when he's being cheesy, but I wish he would've let something slip and Alastair would've been glad because cheesy is exactly what he needs, okay! Someone read poetry to that boy!

KJfjskdfjsd I get you, I bitch a lot but it was legitimately the best book in the trilogy. Thank you for the ask!

#chot spoilers #chain of thorns spoilers #chain of thorns #chot #the last hours #tlh #thomastair #tlh critical #tw death

[blqckthorne]

speaking my truth i loved chain of thorns but only as a fan fic. like as a novel that was. bad. but as a fan fic?? sensational.

#like a fanfic in the way that it had pacing issues and was lots of self indulgence #but i love self indulgent fics so it worked for me. just not as a novel #also like. you can tell which characters the author likes and which the don’t care about #*cough grace cough* #such missed opportunity with her character for it makes me upset #tsc #tlh #the shadowhunter chronicles #the last hours #tlh criticism #<- idk if that’s a tag people use but it should be

[caterpillarinacave]

RIP Charlotte Fairchild you would have loved Taylor Swift

#I’m not sorry I’m right #I have come to this conclusion by making her playlist #And I will not take criticism #Charlotte Fairchild #taylor swift #tid #tlh #tsc

[moonchildreg]

Lucie Herondale - circa 1905

#lucie herondale #tsc news #the dark artifices #the wicked powers #the last hours #jace herondale #fancast #natalia dyer #natalia dyer is my fancast for lucie herondale and i do not accept criticism #tsc #tlhedit #tlh headcanons #tlh theories #chain of gold #chain of iron #chain of thorns #lucie #actually i couldnt decide if she was lucie or cecily but she screams lucie to me

[cant-think-of-anything]

if the context of that snippet is not alastair related i will flip a table and spear myself with it

#crawling out of my hole to post this but listen i can't stop thinking about it #like it's a situation where james is in danger and matthew is trying to get thomas to help by saying something like 'well you love him right #and thomas is like 'more than anything i just don't want to die' #i don't want to get my hopes up #but im PRAYING it's thomas to alastair #id take back every sanctuary scene criticism if he keeps channeling this energy #tlh #alastair carstairs #thomastair #thomas lightwood #the last hours #chain of thorns #ask to tag