#happy? tsc week

[ohmycuckoo]

My TSC bingo card includes lots of angst, emo Jean, PTSD, "I have no idea who I am", Jean crying on the beach at night and me crying and losing my shit while I read everything.

#I guess I'll be drawing my angsty boy multiple times until TSC comes out #happy? tsc week #jean moreau #tsc #Jean Moreau you’re such and emo kid #I don't expect even a second of happiness for him in the first book #jean moreau fanart #the sunshine court #aftg #aftg fandom #aftg fanart #aftg art #jerejean #jerejean fanart

[youaremysunshine-court]

anyone going to write a fix it fic where Jean and elodie move to la to flee the mafia and cat and laila are their neighbours and the cute blond boy who stays over some nights runs into them at the grocery store and makes fast friends with elodie and then Jean and he start hanging out more and more until one day Jeremy sort of, just, moves in with them and they live happily ever after, or do I have to sit down and write it myself

#granted i have no knowledge of la and like 3 assignments and 3 midterms this week #so it might take a bit #but by god im going to give them a happy ending #tsc spoilers #the sunshine court #the cuncshine court spoilers #jean moreau #elodie moreau

[heronchildlove]

1<33

Send me a number from 1 to 100 and I’ll write a drabble based on my Spotify Wrapped playlist - Accepting!

~~**~~

Number 1: アイドル (Idol) - YOASOBI (Oshi no Ko opening)

There was a tug on James' heart he only felt when Matthew climbed upon the stage.

It wasn't jealousy, not really, nor possessiveness. It was something more akin to grief. Matthew had craved love his whole life, and it hurt that he had decided to seek it from the faceless masses of the adoring public instead of from someone that had always been right beside him; but maybe it was for the best. Matthew soaked the crowd's attention and flourished under it in a way James would never be able to compete by himself.

Even if he loved him more than anything in the world.

It was also a little bit of hatred. This life had brought Matthew to his highest highs, but it had also brought him to his lowest lows: the scrutiny, the malicious hatred and envy Matthew was so sensitive to, the flask he had started hiding under his clothes at all times to deal with it all. It was killing Matthew to lead this life, it would kill him much faster if he had to live without it, there was nowhere to run.

It was also - how could it not be - a little bit of love, and pride, and wonder. Matthew had always been a point of light in James' life, and that light was magnified by a thousand prisms when he was on stage. Matthew had been born for spectacle - everything from his appearance, to his voice, to his demeanour were made to shine and be adored. James was no more immune to it now than he had been the first time: when his father had gotten a karaoke machine for his and his mother's anniversary when James was 8 and Matthew had absolutely stolen the show.

Matthew had smiled so much that night, and every time back then when he got to sing or go on a stage.

Perhaps that's what he grieved most of all.

All those people that claimed to love him, to adore him, they couldn't even tell that his smiles were fake, that they had been for years now, on and off of stages.

Perhaps that's why he kept doing this. Kept writing his songs, kept accompanying him on tours, kept coming to all the shows.

Because he was hoping that maybe the next song, maybe the next show, maybe the next time, would be the one to bring Matthew's true smile back.

Because when James brought him a new song, or he was performing and caught sight of James backstage, or when it was only the two of them talking alone in Matthew's dressing room or bedroom, for one brilliant moment it seemed like it had.

But they never lasted more than a moment.

Perhaps most of it was - how could it not be? - hope. That next time Matthew's smile would not be a lie.

Maybe next time.

#thanks nonnie now I can't stop thinking about an idol!matthew au and I'm SCREAMING #Heronchild #james herondale #matthew fairchild #the last hours #tlh #the shadowhunter chronicles #tsc #fanfiction #nanda writes #idol!au #I had my first day off in weeks today and I'm so happy cause I got to work on these <3 #thank you! #prompt #ask #anonymous

[dreamofmysoul-tsc]

Tags I’ll be using while reading Chain of Thorns:

Feel free to block them so you don’t get spoiled because I WILL be posting spoilers as I read!!

-Chain of Thorns spoilers

-CoT spoilers

-ChoT spoilers

-Chain of Thorns

-tlh

#tsc #tlh #chain of thorns #chain of thorns tags post #feel free to block these tags to avoid spoilers !! #happy reading everyone #1 week 🤩🤩

[safyresky]

Crystal Springs Chapter 12: now on ao3!

Go ahead and give it a read right over HERE!

Chapter 12: Here I Come

Jack reunites with the rest of his family.

I know what you're thinking.

You'll just have to read the chapter to find out! ;)

Jk jk jk, I'm not THAT awful. Here, have an excerpt:

"Are you coming, or not?" she shouted over her shoulder. Now or never, Jack, he thought to himself. He took yet another deep breath in, exhaled, and followed her up the path. The pair of them hadn't even made it to the base of the veranda when someone rounded the corner of the house, carrying a large pile of firewood and whistling to himself. If a non-magibean were to look at the man, they'd guess him to be somewhere near sixty, perhaps, though it was hard to place. He wore a pale light orange shirt, the sleeves rolled up despite the chilly weather. His skin was somewhere between medium and olive, slight wrinkles on his forehead. His hair was a literal fiery orange, flames shooting straight up, his eyes a warm almost golden orange—not too light and not too bright. "Dad!" Jacqueline yelled, waving. The man looked startled, the flames on his head growing taller for the briefest of seconds before his eyes landed on Jacqueline, widening in recognition. His face broke into a smile, the wrinkles disappearing and every possible smile line you could imagine appearing instead. "Jacqueline! You're home!" he shouted from the base of the porch stairs. Jacqueline bolted, ramming right into him and giving him a hug. The firewood toppled, and Blaise nearly did, too! He must've been used to these kinds of tackle hugs, Jack thought as he neared the stairs, since he steadied himself fairly fast and squeezed back in record time, going so far as to lift Jacqueline with a little half spin. She laughed, face buried in his chest. "We've missed you around here, kiddo," he said, putting her down and squeezing her tightly. "I missed you guys too," she said, quietly. Letting go, she grinned up at her dad. Their dad. "I brought someone with me," she said, pointing over her shoulder. Blaise looked past her, meeting Jack's unsure gaze. His eyes widened, hair going out with a little puff. The two men locked eyes; Jack swallowed, taking off his shades and immediately averting his gaze. Jacqueline glanced between the two of them, choosing her next move carefully. She stepped back, and Jack felt waves of comfort come across their connection. He glanced at her. She smiled, and gave a tiny, tiny nod. It took Jack a moment still to work up the courage, before he finally looked up into Blaise's eyes. "Hi Dad," Jack finally said, a little too quietly for his liking. He cleared his throat. "I'm…back." Blaise was silent, eyes roving over his son fast, face unreadable. Jack braced himself, fearing the worst. Waiting for the angry retort. The proper banishment from the grounds that would surely come his way and—warm. He was warm, suddenly. Very warm. Jack opened his eyes (unsure when he had even closed them) and found himself looking over Blaise's shoulder. He was hugging him. Blaise was hugging him, tightly. Jack stood still, confused. His arms were sticking out, unsure if he should return the hug or not. There was a small fwoosh, a sudden warmth blooming near his head. Blaise let go, his hair reignited and a smile on his face as he gazed at Jack. "Welcome home, son."

That's one of my FAVOURITE scenes. Just as confused as Jack? Guess you'll have to read on to find out what happens next with both Mr. Frosts HERE.

Wanna start Crystal Springs from the top? FRET NOT! You can read it HERE on ao3, and HERE on ff dot net :). Summary below the cut!

It's been almost a year since Jack Frost thawed and things are looking...well, not so great. Jack's powers are seemingly gone. Without them, the Dome that keeps the North Pole safe from the cold and its magic controlled is melting, putting everything and everyone magical at risk. Unable to hide his power shortage any longer, Jack is forced to admit the truth. Thankfully, there is a solution: enacting the Legate Law, bringing Jack and the sister that he hurt so many centuries ago back together again. But when Jacqueline starts experiencing destructive blackouts, the pair are forced to head back home to Crystal Springs, bringing Jack face to face with the rest of the family. Needless to say, between getting his powers back, helping his sister figure out what in the FROST those blackouts even were, reconciling with his parents, meeting the two even younger siblings he didn't even KNOW he had, NOT TO MENTION the ancient threat that's had it out for the ENTIRE Frost family finally making a move? Saving Christmas (regrettably) is looking to be a little bit...complicated.

#the santa clause #tsc #the santa clause 3 #tsc 3 #fanfiction #cs updates #cs on ao3 #crystal springs #something legate-y ALSO happens but i decided not to include it in the summary #bc it was more fun to keep it so incredibly vague then throw blaise hug at u all #spent most of the day between work nonsense shinning this one up! #enjoy! #may move to a weekly schedule? I've got more chapters to share than there are weeks left in the year #WILDIN #anyway do enjoy! #plz do leave nice comments if u feel like it #the parents are coming up this weekend and thos emother fuckers do be stressin me out #also i have to scrap fitzy tomorrow #SO HAPPY THINGS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED #like comments. or funny posts. or animoo photos #two week later edit bc ya girl forgot to hyperlink one of the HEREs lmao

[katnissgirlsmakedo]

13 days until chain of thorns. it’s going to fix me i’m telling you. seeing cordelia is going to be so healing you don’t even understand

#thank god for the shadowhunter chronicles or i wouldn’t have anything to be obsessed with and weird about all the time constantly #well. i’m not THAT weird about it. i do think about other things it’s not like the horrors when all i ever talked about was merlin #i wonder what day of the horrors it is. when’s day 200? #my anniversary of starting the show is coming up in two months i know that much #anyway it’s nice to have a fallback obsession for when you don’t have something completely stupid to spend all your time thinking about. #well actually i am technically mid obsession with now you see me but it’s normal i’m being normal about that #i just need to rewatch danny at least once a week or i’ll die. but i’m normal #anyway. i think tsc was a good investment to make at 12. it’s served me well <3 near impossible to get into nowadays for new people tho #obviously doable with effort and time and real love for the game #most people don’t have that though so it’s hard not to gatekeep #anyway. cordelia is going to fix me. unless the book is bad and then i’ll be upset for years #i don’t think it will be bad though i think the plot will be ridiculous but getting to see all my guys happy in the end will be lovely #however i WILL have to suffer though bad plot and stupid miscommunication and love triangle BULLSHIT to get there #god this is easily cassie’s WORST love triangle. i mean seriously. james cordelia and matthew. seriously. cassandra you can do better #it’s really just so horrible like WHO wants cordelia to be with matthew. #matthew might be dead by the end of that book and personally i won’t care if he is. cassie hasn’t done shit to make ME like him since 2014 #beth.txt

[mostlymaudlin]

we're all a lil fucked up here, so let's make a collaborative TSC trigger list! you can help out by marking potentially triggering content.

view the spreadsheet here, and contribute to it using the form linked in the sheet. i'll be moderating it to remove duplicates/verify entries.

it kinda goes without saying, but just in case: there is triggering content & spoilers when you follow that link.

happy tsc week! 🌞

#the sunshine court #tsc #aftg #jean moreau #if any of my mutuals want to help mod this then lmk!

[classicketchup]

🟢: Have you seen Red? It's been days since I saw him outside his room... What is he doing in there? Doesn't he get bored?

🟡: Oh yeah, I was wondering as well... I thought you'd know, Green.

🔵: Oh it's Baaad...! I tried to knock on his door, but I heard him giggling over something. It's as if he's talking to someone non existent!

🟢: Are you sure it isn't just him talking to his pet?

🔵: Nope. Wait... Thinking about it, I think I heard someone else's voice laughing with him.

Tsc: What's happening?

🟢: This is bad! We need to rush in his room and see what's going on! He may be getting crazy!

🔵: it's no use, his door is lock...

🟡: Wait huh? Didn't the lock of his door from the outside?

🔵: Oh.

【They rushed to unlock 🔴's door】

🟡: Red?!

🔴: Oh! Finally it's opened... I mean, not that it's a problem.

🟣: Hi guys...

🟢: Purple's with you?!

🔵: Ohhh... Is he the one I heard laughing with you, Red?

🔴: Yeah, we've been hanging out a couple of days. What brought you guys here?

🟢: We thought you're going crazy!

🟣: To be fair, he was sad when he told me how he failed to protect the turtle egg he was watching some week ago, so he decided to stay in his room as a punishment.

🟢: Okay, but how did you get in?

🔴: I let him in through my balcony.

🟡🟢🔵&TSC: Oh right... You have a balcony...

🟣: His room is the closest to the storage file, and I saw him crying like crazy—

🔴: Hey! SHH

🟣: *giggle* anyway, I couldn't bear to leave him alone like that, so I brought him some turtle egg and we both watched it until it hatch.

🔴: and they're cute too...! ✨*picks up the baby turtle gently to show* See?! ✨

🟣: See how happy he is?

🟢: ...right...so that's why you're in your room like forever...

🟣: Anyway! Since you're fine now, I need to go back to home world, see ya guys later!

🔴: You're always welcome to stay here whenever, Purple!✨

#alan becker #stick figures #animation vs minecraft #avm #avm red #avm green #avm purple #avm yellow #avm blue #avm tsc #fanfic #avm au

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Dang it’s hard to pick what to ask for each week bc I love all of your wips so much but I think I asked for angel neil last week so could I get some arsonist neil this time? (also, happy tsc release week! Hope you have a great weekend<3)

WIP Wednesday (4/10) | Arsonist Neil / Firefighter Andrew AU (Part 141)

Andrew The movie was terrible, just so you know. I hated every second of it. My brother enjoyed it, but he’s stupid. Did you know a large soda costs like $50 now? I’m joking, obviously. But the prices are ridiculous, so I suppose I won’t be doing that again for a while.

Once he’s done updating his ghost, Andrew shoves his phone into the couch cushion so he won’t be tempted to stare at it all night. Then he puts on that show Nicky had told him about, to give it a second chance to capture his attention. And it works. He’s able to watch several episodes without even thinking about checking his phone.

Until he feels his ass vibrate.

Andrew looks down at the cushion for a moment, then back to the TV. He’s not going to answer in milliseconds. Not when 10 has taken his sweet fucking time. After finishing the episode he’s on, Andrew slides his phone out like he doesn’t care what’s on it. And that bites him in the ass because it isn’t even 10. 

Fucking hell. The anticipation almost killed him and it’s just Nicky?Andrew might just eat his phone.

Nicky Aaron told me you guys had a movie date last night! :) Are you actually friends now or was it a hostage situation?

Andrew rolls his eyes.

Andrew We aren’t friends. We’re brothers. Nicky It’s about time you acted like it. :P I sort of always thought that you two wouldn’t ever get close, until after my funeral. Can you imagine? The two of you being like 80 and my death makes you realize how important family is. And then you live together until you die minutes apart.

Andrew is a bit worried about Nicky’s mental state. But that's always been true.

Andrew That sounds like a shitty rom-com Nicky. And what makes you think I would come to your funeral? You know I hate planes. Nicky Sorry. I watched The Notebook with Erik and his sister last night. Also, rude. You better come to my funeral. 

Andrew rolls his eyes. 

Andrew I might. Nicky I’ll haunt your tiny ass if you don’t. Andrew Noted. I started watching that German drama you told me about. Nicky Oh yay! Do you love it?! Wait a sec.

Nicky is calling you.

“Oh fuck,” Andrew sighs out. But he answers.

#andreil #aftg #WIP Wednesday #Arsonist Neil / Firefighter Andrew #🕊️ #answered #anon

[gracetopher-week]

Gracetopher Week: 2023 Event

Hello fellow gracetopher lovers! Welcome to Gracetopher Week where we celebrate gracetopher and ignore canon following Chain of Iron. We hosted Gracetopher Week last year and we're super excited to do it again this year! No pressure to participate but we'd love it if you would spread the word and support our wonderful TSC creators and fans this week 🤍. This is also a fun way to keep the fandom alive after TLH has been finished.

Day 1, August 1:

We're going to start simple. Reblog day!

Recommend or just reblog a few fics, art pieces, headcanons, or anything else Gracetopher that you've enjoyed and tag it: #gracetopher week.

Support each other and help people find more content for our underrated ship.

Day 2, August 2:

Because everyone usually has varying ideas about a ship/characters in a story: Headcanon day!

Tell us your thoughts/ideas and headcanons about gracetopher. Post a list or just one headcanon or submit a post/send an ask to a gracetopher creator/blog you know of. Don't forget to tag!

Headcanons are an excellent way to lead up to days 3 and 4 and 6!

Day 3, August 3:

Fic day! Today is for the writers!

Today is a short fic day and we recommend only one shots and drabbles because we'll be posting an AU/Canon Divergence day later, but long one shots are always welcome. Tag with #gracetopher week.

Support your fellow writers/fandom writers!

Day 4, August 4:

AU Day!! And it's a free for all!

Write/Draw/Headcanon/Explain any AU you can possibly thank up for Gracetopher. Don't forget to tag!

There's a lot of ways to create for this, and any AU is welcome!

Day 5, August 5:

A little break from writing anything, whether it be fics or headcanons. Edit Day!

Make an edit or post a picture or make something visual for gracetopher! Simple or complex.

We love to see the variations in edits and there's a lot of different ways to create them. Have fun with this one especially! Be sure to tag with #gracetopher week.

Day 6, August 6:

Fanart Day! Everyone has hopefully had enough time to prepare something special for later in the week.

Post fanart for our lovely couple. It can be one or both of them and any artists/art style amount of drawings are welcome.

Support your artists and fellow creators today!

Day 7, August 7:

We're going off with a bang since we're all still recovering from CoT. We have special instructions for today!

Tell us your headcanons and ideas or create something, anything, for Grace and Christopher in canon. They're happy healthy and living happily ever after today. Make sure to tag it as follows: #gracetopher week AND #christopher lightwood lives!

Canon isn't here today.

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

Thank you all so much for celebrating and we're so happy to host another gracetopher week. Feel free to @ us but we'll be browsing the tags for content to reblog here. You can find most posts and creations on this blog if you don't know where to look. Happy Gracetopher Week! 🤍

#gracetopher week #christopher lightwood #grace blackthorn #gracetopher #the last hours #tlh #the shadowhunter chronicles #shadowhunters #chain of gold #chain of iron #chain of thorns #grace x christopher #grace blackthorn x christopher lightwood #christopher x grace #tsc fandom #tlh fandom #grace cartwright #writing #fanart #cassandra clare #cog #coi #cot #cot spoilers #gracetopher week 2023 #masterlist

[ohmycuckoo]

Are you ready for tomorrow? (I’m not)

#TSC #the sunshine court #Jean Moreau #jean moreau fanart #aftg #aftg fandom #aftg fanart #jerejean #happy? tsc week #bright cover means happy joyful story right #but i'm already fucking crying nora #fanart #cuckoobo's drawings #cuckooboo

[tys-kitty]

Me casually enjoying my day

Until I suddenly see this

I‘m truly speechless, guys. I just can‘t put into words how thankful and happy I‘m for every single one of you…

It feels like yesterday I told my sister I want to start my own Tumblr blog. It feels like yesterday I decided to make my very first KitTy post and join this wholesome Tumblr community. It feels like yesterday I freaked out over having 20 followers that seemed to enjoy my posts. Well, 11 months and a whole bunch of KitTy and TSC posts later I‘m freaking out over 1.011 followers!This community and Tumblr truly changed my life. It feels like I can always reach out to you guys to obsess over new TSC content or even to share personal milestones in my life with you!

So there really isn‘t much to say except… thank you <33. Thank you for your support, comments and love! I‘m so happy that I‘m able to post and share all my ideas, theories and memes! I‘m so happy and thankful for every single like, comment or reblog!

In the next few weeks I may not post as much as usual (with my final exams being in three weeks) but I‘m still very much online and active!

This is also a great opportunity to give a big shoutout to some people that made my day with their amazing posts over the last month. So if you‘re looking for more KitTy and TSC content make sure to check out @mayaheronthorn, @neeksxoxo and @isobelblxckthrn! Thank you for your incredible posts you guys are truly amazing!

I love you, guys! Don’t ever feel afraid to post your ideas! I‘m so excited for all the posts and content to come! <33

Michi <33

#cassandra clare #kit herondale #ty blackthorn #twp #the wicked powers #chain of thorns #tlh #the last hours #alastair carstairs #thomas lightwood #tsc #the shadowhunter chronicles

[alastairstom]

Do you have other TSC fanfictions aside from yours that you have enjoyed reading ? :)

Anything by @vwritesaus or @luciehercndale is amazing. They're definitely two of my all-time favourite fic authors, so you should check them out.

My favourites of their fics:

a (too few) hundred hearts (v, this is actually the fic that got me into reading fanfiction again instead of just writing it)

what's in a kiss? (by any other touch would feel just as sweet) (v, this fic literally owns my ass i reread it like once a week)

dear christopher (v)

breathe (v)

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures (tweety, yet another fic that owns my ass)

Thomas and Alastair: Forever and Always (tweety)

Happiness Was Itself a Chemical Reaction (tweety, deadass my fave Gracetopher fic ever)

A Different Kind of Music (tweety 18+)

To Grow as Strong as That Cherry Tree (tweety)

Some other fics I love in no particular order (the order is me clicking through my bookmarks):

Chain of Lies, a Thomastair-focused canon rewrite. Unfortunately it was never finished, but I was really into what's there.

paris, 1902: waiter's pov (Thomastair one-shot)

The Beginning of Forever (Wessa multichap, 18+) by @ashesandhoney

seventeen (paris, 1901) (alastair character study w/charles) by @alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer

build yourself a citadel among the foothills of regret (alastair & matthew oneshot)

romeo must die (alastair telling charles off)

freckles (thomastair one-shot)

Under the Rain (Sophideon oneshot)

Pride and Prejudice (thomastair AU) by @tleeaves

In Which Bets Are Made (gideon and will oneshot) by @oursoulstheyplay

Thomas Lightwood and the Six Vaguely Familiar Cats (I definitely think about this every fucking day lol I'm so sad it was never completed)

Fine, I'll Go, But Only If there's Cake (matthew and alastair oneshot)

Tired of nothing left (alastair character study w charles)

I'm also really excited to read you are my unfinished business by @faithfromanewperspective, Qui Totum Vult Totum Perdit by @caterpillarinacave, and the electric devil by @thevagabondexpress. those are the next 3 on my TBR and those three are all dear, dear mutuals of mine. i haven't read them yet because the fics are longer and i want to actually take the time to process them and make nice comments and stuff, since they're my bros.

I'm sure I've missed some and for that I am sorry. These are just ones that stand out to me and yeah.

[jeanmoreaux]

happy one week anniversary until tsc comes out ✨️😌🫶🏻

AHHHHHHHHH STOP REMINDING ME I’LL THROW UPPP. happy feeling very appropriately unhinged about the realisation that it is tsc countdown week i guess ✨😵‍💫🫥🫠✨in less than a week i will absolutely lose my mind and make it everyone’s problem 🫶 cannot believe it’s so so close it feels unreal

#stevie tag #answer

[thousand-winters]

What are your favourite tlh characters and why?

Hi there! ✨

If you have seen my blog the past few weeks, you probably can guess some of them, but here we go:

Grace

I feel like Grace is one of the most complex characters we've ever gotten in TSC and it feels like such a breath of fresh air. Don't get me wrong, I am perfectly aware that these are YA novels, so I generally don't expect the books to be super amazing, I know what I'm signing up for, but that's precisely why I like her so much. Her personality is very unlike other female characters we've gotten in the series and I don't mean that in a "not like other girls" sense but in the sense that it caught my attention immediately, because CC doesn't have the best track of giving her girls gray morality without treating them like they suck for that.

I guess I was always curious about her? Even in CoG she gave the impression she was more than she seemed, and reading her backstory in CoI just made me hurt for her and root for her to have a happy ending after so much misery. There's something really satisfying about characters that have faced so much hardships finally getting a chance to simply be.

Alastair

Oh, boy. When I first read CoG and I read about Alastair, he felt to me so much like my older brother that I loved him immediately. It helped that I found his snark incredibly funny. However... as I kept reading TLH, he actually started reminding me of, well, myself. For many reasons, but let's not get too personal here, haha, let's just say I found his flaws, his struggles, and his stubbornness to go on in spite of that very relatable. How could I not love him deeply and dearly?

Aside from my biased reasons, I also find that his character is written very consistently and I loved his character arc (I stand by how simplistic some things felt in COT, but even so), how he had his highs and his lows, that was very nicely done. He also feels like a complex character because he's allowed to fuck up badly and it doesn't get swept under the rug, though I would say they go the other way with him and Grace by being too harsh, but I'll take my wins where I can.

Christopher

Oh, Kit, sweet Kit, you were the best of them all. Christopher is such a great character because, while mostly ignored the first two books, he's endearing practically without trying. CC's books have this thing where sometimes they try to convince you a character is likable for X reasons and it simply doesn't work for me that they tell me that I should love a character.

Christopher doesn't have that problem, they kinda present him to you as this klutzy nerd, but he's so much more than that. His logic helps him be the most compassionate and kind from the group, no matter what the narrative tries to tell you. He's perceptive, he's fair, he's fun. Who doesn't like Christopher even if he isn't their favorite? He knows what he is and what he wants and he follows through with it, he's such a pillar of the group that passes unnoticed because he's always in the background, but by the gods, he's so good.

Honorary mentions

Thomas and Ari.

I adored Thomas in CoT, though I must admit he doesn't spark my curiosity and excitement quite like the other three did, in the way that I would get immediately engaged the second I saw their names on the page. Nothing wrong with him, just my personal preferences, but he was truly funny and sweet and I quite liked that!

Ari... I do like her, in a way, I wanted to like her so bad, but she's trapped as the love interest in Anna's narrative, and given that I have no love for Anna's character or their pairing, it was hard for me to enjoy her appearances. She didn't have a chance to shine on her own, but when I think of all the ramifications of her story, I swoon a little. She could be so interesting.

#thank you for the ask! #this doesn't feel super coherent but since it's subjective bc it's about my faves that's probably fine #grace blackthorn #alastair carstairs #christopher lightwood #thomas lightwood #arati bridgestock #ari bridgestock #the last hours #tlh #the shadowhunter chronicles #tsc

[dude1818]

I finished The Secret Commonwealth during the week. Overall, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the main His Dark Materials trilogy or even La Belle Sauvage, but it was still fine. In large part that’s because it’s trying to tell a fairly different story than the others: HDM is written like a fairly standard kids’ fantasy adventure, even if it gets pretty dark in places, and LBS is a mix of that with more emphasis on the spy-versus-spy stuff the adults are involved in. But in TSC, Lyra is an adult, and while the stakes are just as high as before, the conflict all seems more grounded and realistic without the filter of a child’s POV

The main beats of the novel are pretty familiar if you’ve read the previous four books. Research into Dust is booming again thanks to the discovery of a plant that can be used to see it, amber spyglass-style, so the Magesterium is trying to suppress that by disappearing people again. Meanwhile Mrs Coulter’s brother is trying to hunt down Lyra to get revenge for her disappearance at the end of HDM, and he’s teamed up with the son of the guy Malcolm killed in LBS who also wants revenge. Lyra’s motivation is that she and Pan had a falling out, he’s gone to fight the philosopher that he blames for ruining Lyra’s imagination, and she’s heartbroken and trying to find him again

Lyra’s world is even more fantastical this time around. There were witches and talking bears in the first trilogy, of course, but this book focuses a lot more on things that even the average person in-universe thinks is fantasy. LBS introduced fairies and the Neverland-like fairy realm near the end, which at the time felt out of left field. TSC starts to do something with that finally, pulling back from the “church bad” messaging that was the focus of HDM to explore that maybe pure logic and reason swings the pendulum too much the other way, and maybe folk spiritualism good?

I mentioned in a previous post that I also got big queer allegory vibes from Lyra’s adventure while separated from Pan. Not everyone treats her badly, but people on the street generally avoid her, shopkeepers often won’t engage, and some people outright harass or assault her. As she moves further east, it keeps getting worse, until she arrives in a city where it’s straight up illegal to be outside during the day without a daemon. However, she does find a community of other daemon-less people, and they support each other and have a network across Europe of people and places that it’s safe to go to. I feel like there’s something there, but I don’t know nearly enough to say anything else about it

What made this book a little hard to read was how grounded all the violence felt. This is not a happy book: Lyra is on a downward spiral the entire time and it never gets any better. Pullman really had it out for her this time. The new Master of Jordan College kicked her out and her room got trashed. Pan broke up with her. She keeps getting harassed for not having a daemon. She meets up with one of Malcolm’s contacts, and their apartment is firebombed. It culminates with her being on a train with a group of soldiers who beat the shit out of her and nearly rape her. She never gets a chance to recuperate from any of this, and it just sucks

#hdm #his dark materials #the book of dust #the secret commonwealth #book review