#chaosandtwo

[bluesadansey]

I had been trying to figure out where some of my issues with Emma's characterization post LM came from you are absolutely right, it definitely feels like CC stopped focusing in Emma's gray morality to focus on Julian's

In theory I think the idea of their arc being Emma starting off the more ruthless and revenge driven character then easing up on that mindset as things unfold with Malcolm (I really like that little moment where she tells Julian about how her conceptions have changed since killing Malcolm didn’t give her closure, but we should have seen more of her introspection on this after it happened before bringing it back up in QoAAD) vs Julian being more of a wolf in sheep’s clothing whose manipulation and ruthlessness becomes more apparent over time, until eventually Emma is willing to do something morally gray (break the parabatai bonds) that in this set of circumstances Julian will not do, is compelling to me but the execution on Emma’s side falls short after LM because there’s not consistent enough exploration of her changing attitudes towards glorified vengeance and violence, more of an occasional check in. Part of this has to do with pacing/structure and although I love TDA and find the ensemble probably the most compelling overall of tsc series it is overstuffed with how many povs their are as much as tlh is. But also Julian clearly took priority to her at some point and his arc is more the focal point of books 2 & 3 despite all the povs, maybe if that was only the case for LoS it could work because then LM is more Emma focused LoS is more Jules focused but even though QoAAD is pretty all over the place Julian’s emotionless + grieving arc feels like it’s at the heart of the book, and I like that arc I mentioned I related to quite a few of the grief manifests as repressed/controlled emotion aspects so subjectively that clicks for me, but it does put Emma in the role of having to be more of a tether morally for most of the book and then there’s not enough of a transition between that and the moment where she goes to break the bonds. So yeah it’s partially cc prioritizing exploration of the male mc’s gray morality as the series goes on and being less interested in the female leads corresponding gray morality (and I know I would be far meaner about this if I didn’t like Julian as much as I clearly do) partly just other pacing and point of view distribution issues towards the back half of TDA that lead to this. Is how I see it. I do also think there’s something to critique about how while I adore blackstairs and enjoy that they flip some gender roles typical of cc’s earlier books couples, if when gender inverting the bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold x good-girl-going-bad trope the male version of the good girl with a dark heart thing gets to have a more centralized arc that is allowed to go further gray morality wise than female chars you’ve written in that vein (I would say that both Clary and Lucie count as this, Lucie in particular has a lot of parallels to Jules imo which is fun family tree wise ) and have the more centralized arc whereas while I do think Emma is a much better written character than Jace who she was clearly originally conceived as the female version of, she doesn’t have the centralized status Jace does narratively.

I do think both modern TSC arcs end up prioritizing Jace / Julian over Clary / Emma in terms of who’s character and dynamics the series eventually revolves around most (although again TDA being so ensemble changes this a little). I’m meaner about it with tmi because I don’t like Jace and Clace doesn’t work for me as a ship, and more just passively critical about it with tda because I do love Julian and Blackstairs really works for me as a ship, so I’m definitely a bit of a hypocrite there but I’ll still critique what’s relevant. I think both historical arcs do better with this I’ve spoken before about how Tessa is my Favorite tsc char as well as protag, and I think her arc and narrative is really really good and that she is central, maybe tied with Will towards the end but definitely her narrative isn’t given less importance than the guys and I’ve disagreed with takes on that to the contrary. Cordelia is an interesting case because again, the overstuffed nature of the cast means she often does not feel like the protagonist in her own story and I found that aspect worse in tlh than for Emma in tda. However I actually really don’t agree with takes that Cordelia’s story went badly because she was turned into ‘just a love interest/got lost in her romance plot’ because imo James is way less of a character in his own right than she is even in the last book where he has more agency than he did with the gracelet. Her emotions and struggles drive the plot of their romance much more than his do, and outside of it she does get to be a more proactive character in the Lilith paladin plot, dealing with her familial relationships etc. So while I did often feel like I would rather tlh focus on Cordelia herself more that really had nothing to do with James who I think was just not a priority for cc a lot of the time. Perhaps there is something to the cursed plots Will / James start out with and that device creating a need for cc to lean on the female protagonist’s characterization more (but also I’ve only read TLH once so maybe my opinion would change if I revisited I do want to say I don’t think I am a TLH or TMI expert).

#this got long and kind of off topic #asks #chaosandtwo #tda #tsc #tid #tlh #tmi #s speaks #my meta #kind of #emma carstairs #mutuals

[4uru]

"The Soldier, the Scholar, the King & the Witch"

Dimensions: 7cm length, 5cm width. (Teeny tiny paintings)

Characters: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Lily Evans

Taglist: @thevagabondexpress @chaosandtwo @faithfromanewperspective @quantummeep @lesbocrocker @caterpillarinacave @tleeaves @fangirlghost-19

#the marauders #marauders fanart #hp marauders #wolfstar #jily #sirius black #remus lupin #desi james potter #james potter #lily evans #art #drawing #auru draws

[thevagabondexpress]

Someone give me permission to re-set my genderbent Mortal Instruments in some place that's not New York. Fairbanks, Edinburgh, Dubai, literally anywhere else.

tagging @tleeaves, @faithfromanewperspective, @4uru, @litanyofthemartyrs, and @chaosandtwo because you're the most likely to read it and therefore to care, and @ibrushmyteeth-donttellanyone because you're the most likely to have a strong opinion on locations.

[faithfromanewperspective]

I sometimes think about writing a oneshot about Arthur but remember I'd have to reread TDA and I'd rather kms. I wonder if there is a good fic about him out there already? How did I never think of that? This will require investigation.

@chaosandtwo @fairondaisy I feel like one of you might have some recs/wips here!!

#hope it’s okay for me to tag you guys here!! #arthur blackthorn

[dutifullythoughtfulrebel]

https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosandteo/users/chaosandteo

check out her genderbend TSC stories. she is also @chaosandtwo

on tumblr

#he

[bluesadansey]

🔥 anything tsc related

the biggest problem with Queen of Air and Darkness to me is that it really should have been two books. I really enjoy the grief exploration in that book in the wake of Livvy’s death felt cathartic to me on reread and I find Julian’s switch-off arc in relation to that fascinating. I enjoy Thule in terms of how it ties into the main arc with the blackthorns although I’m not crazy about the twp set ups from it. Basically there’s quite a bit in that book I do like but as a finale it’s rushed and disappointing. I also do think either Julian or Emma or both dying would have made the ending slay and I say this as someone who clearly looooves them both and Blackstairs (considering how much I love blackstairs as it is think I would be even more insane about it if we got full tragic potential realized).

Grace x Lucie is thee toxic yuri dynamic in tsc and I think ya’ll are cowards for not paying attention to it. Literally the only reason I would reread tlh is to write fic about them ChoI era because someone should.

on a related note Lucie Herondale reads as a lesbian to me, she says at one point she’s never been attracted to a boy other than Jesse who is kind of a phantom she can make into whatever she wants / project storybook romance tropes onto in a sense for most of the books and she reads as more attracted to Cordelia with the whole ‘Beautiful Cordelia’ fanfiction and like I said her most interesting dynamic with the most chemistry is her and Grace, so yeah I get comp het vibes personally I know that’s my subjective read.

I’m pretty neutral on Clary sometimes I really liked her sometimes I was frustrated by her but I do think this counts as unpopular since most either hate or love her. I do think she falls into the 2010s heroine who is written to have an overly romantically focused arc but all her interesting bits of characterization are about tangential platonic dynamics that the author doesn’t care to elaborate on much… but also this could be an ungenerous or overly generous assessment since it’s been years since I touched og tmi. I do side eye some people for giving Jace a lot of grace to be ‘complex’ and process his trauma and be dismissive of how much she goes through in the books ( I kind of hate Jace. without nuance)

I think I deserve one on one Tessa and Julian interactions in twp, not for any logical reason I just think I deserve it since they’re my two favorite tsc characters. And there’s a lot of fan service in recent tsc anyway… let me have this.

Kieran is overrated I don’t dislike him and enjoy him in the context of Kierarktina and as a foil to Julian, but I don’t fervently love him the way a lot of people do. (I also really disliked his fandom when the tda books were coming out so that might influence this).

I want Thule! Emma to come into play in twp … I’m very interested in the idea of her in the aftermath of Thule Julian and Sebastian’s deaths. I had an idea for a fic about her but didn’t write it partly because of laziness partly because I felt I’d have to go back to tmi to remember endarkened lore for that.

Grace Blackthorn discourse was kind of unserious… not because I don’t think people can have valid reasons to dislike her obviously those exist. What she did to James was sexual assault and of course fans who hate her for it are valid. But I COULD NOT with some of statements about her especially on twitter that were like ‘well if she was a Male Character ya’ll would never forgive her and she would never get a redemption arc she only does cause she’s a pretty white girl’ like GORL. GORL what universe are you living in what paranormal/fantasy media do you consume and engage in fandoms for if you think that a male character who does a nebulous magical consent violation is going to get Less grace (no pun intended) from the narrative and fandom than a female character and would NEVER get a redemption arc. I can’t even ya’ll are dumb. If I’m being really generous maybe they just don’t read/watch a lot of paranormal media other than tsc because otherwise I…

Thanks for the ask <3

(send me a 🔥+topic/fandom and I’ll give some unpopular opinions)

#asks #tsc #tda #tlh #tmi #chaosandtwo #mutuals #sa mention #sorry but me as someone who blogs about TVDu reading that: you have to be Kidding me 😭 #more like if she were a man she would have ended up with the love interest she violated and gotten everything she wanted #s speaks

[bluesadansey]

For the ask game; Will or James; Julian or Jace?

Will over James, even though I’m a bit more critical of Will with each reread I still love him and he’s a good character with great dynamics (herongraystairs supremacy ofc, also his platonic arcs with Charlotte Magnus and Cecily are v good as are him and Jessamine as foils). James is just boring and wasted potential… I do like Jordelia but very much in the sense of I really like Cordelia and root for her happiness and James is just a prize to be won. So definitely Will.

I am sure you are not going to be shocked that I’d choose Julian over Jace so easily. Also Julian’s canon antipathy for him is so funny to me, I appreciate the representation. Julian is just so fun and a ruthless strategist and a freak with control issues and loyal to his siblings and codependently deranged about Emma and dramatic as hell in narration and I love him. Meanwhile Jace is Jace. 

(ask me to choose this or that)

#asks #s speaks #tsc #tid #tlh #tda #tmi #chaosandtwo #mutuals #very easy choices here

[bluesadansey]

Bluesadansey for the fucked up ship bingo?

The x is for “yes” and the thin line is for “sort of”. I have read trans hc’s / interpretations of all three characters and enjoy them but it’s not a reading I’m married too, and while I think had the three of them gotten together in TDT it would have been a DISASTER like I would still have liked to see it cause the toxic throuple vibes compel me so much but a threesome would Not have fixed them (but they still should have had one xd). In fact I think it’s possible the group could have dissolved because of it. However I think post series it would be a different story, they’d still have Problems tm but I do think they could be healthier then. At least relatively compared to their TDT dynamics lmao. The others feel self explanatory but on the not enough content front for a series with so many poly readings there is depressingly little Bluedansey :((

(btw King By The Roadside which is in this tag might be my favorite trc fic I’ve read, it rules)

You can shoot me another ask if you want to see me answer for the individual ships involved!

#s speaks #trc #blue sargent #adam parrish #richard gansey #Blue x Gansey x Adam #bluedansey #asks #chaosandtwo #mutuals

[bluesadansey]

BEAUTIFUL PERSON AWARD! once you are given this award, you're supposed to paste it in the asks of eight 8 people you adore! 🫵🫵🫵 !!!

Tysm <3

#asks #mutuals #chaosandtwo #back at you!

[bluesadansey]

If you receive this, you make somebody happy! Go on anon and send this to 10 of your followers who make you happy or somebody you think needs cheering up. If you get one back, even better 💙🫂 !

Thank youu <33

#chaosandtwo #mutuals #asks

[bluesadansey]

✨️when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. Send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨️

just responding with some songs from my recent listening

•Cassandra by Florence and The Machine

•vampire by Olivia Rodrigo

•A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More “Touch Me” by Fall Out Boy

•Single by The Neighborhood

•Potential Break Up Song by Aly & AJ

And thank you <3

#ik you sent this a while ago I just haven’t been responding to asks that much #chaosandtwo #asks #s speaks #music

[4uru]

I am officially a TDA swap AU convert. And these are my appearance hcs

"The Unchosen Mirrors"

Helen Penhallow Blackthorn & Mark Anthony Blackthorn

"The Prodigal Son"

Julian Atticus Blackthorn

"The Fair Maiden" and "The Reaper"

Olivia Blackthorn & Tiberius Nero Balackthorn

"The Witch" and "The Bird"

Drusilla Balackthorn & Octavian Blackthorn

@chaosandtwo @thevagabondexpress

#tda swap au #helen blackthorn #mark blackthorn #julian blackthorn #livvy blackthorn #ty blackthorn #dru blackthorn #tavvy blackthorn

[4uru]

Hey can we make Thomas Lightwood the resident thicc guy of TSC? Like ik my art for him isn't the best example but pls 😭 can we? Bear Thomas Lightwood for 2024 ? ARE YOU PICKING UP WHAT IM PUTTING DOWN???

I promised bear Thomastair. I made good with half of it. Alastair will be finished later hopefully.

Taglist: @thevagabondexpress @what-ho-christopher-put-in @quantummeep @chaosandtwo @faithfromanewperspective @fangirlghost-19 @alastairstom @tleeaves @caterpillarinacave

#art #drawing #auru draws #the last hours #tsc fanart #thomas lightwood #thomastair #bear thomas lightwood 2024

[4uru]

My customised subtle pride shoes.

Taglist: @thevagabondexpress @tleeaves @chaosandtwo @quantummeep @faithfromanewperspective @lesbocrocker @cult-of-the-eye @jochn78 @totheidiot @fangirlghost-19

#art #drawing #auru draws

[4uru]

When Alastair comes back home at the end of choi is PIPPING HOT TEA AND CORDELIA FUCKS OFF TO PARIS:

Taglist : @thevagabondexpress @alastairstom @what-ho-christopher-put-in @quantummeep @chaosandtwo @faithfromanewperspective @fangirlghost-19 @caterpillarinacave @inquisitor-of-the-circle @tleeaves

#alastair carstairs #the last hours #thomastair #cordelia carstairs #tlh #Instagram

[4uru]

I have an asexual couple Jordelia idea where they have a purely romantic and platonic relationship and don't fuck. But everybody thinks they are fucking. BC in the weekend when nobody can contact them, everyone thinks they are having nasty freaky sexcapades but instead they are either doing really stupid shit like covering careless whispers but in cat. Or just being lazy as fuck. And when people ask what they were doing all weekend they are too embarrassed to say anything. And ppl read it as they were being freaky.

@chaosandtwo @quantummeep @thevagabondexpress @faithfromanewperspective @tleeaves

Thoughts?