#it's all reasonably deniable in both comics and the movie so i guess that's the answer

[aquickstart]

thanks for the response! (i had the propaganda question) still haven't seen movie so will wait before digging for those spoilers but definitely curious about the writers/artists comments regarding the comic and arcs you mentioned! it's fascinating that the creators are able to pull off what seems like a very queer-coded relationship despite even in spite of extreme censorship which i think is very different from queerbaiting (again, not having seen/read the source material) but there's been a lot of recent discussion in fandom spaces about this with respect to chinese media as well so am very interested to learn about how creator intent faces off against state censorship and what people end up still picking up on after the fact :) thanks for your thoughts!!

of course!! i'm very eager to discuss anything Major Grom-related to the best of my abilities (and i leave room for doubt and correction because i am fairly new to the fandom, fyi). here's a brief summary of some relevant info; i won't be including creator names and links here so it's not searchable, and also because it's all in russian (again i can do it in dm's). AND i'm sure you can find it out on the Bubble Comics website!

re: canon text itself. according to official extras, one of the characters was initially supposed to be a generic bodyguard type, but the story required him to become a more important companion for the antagonist; to be very brief here, he ends up essentially what the antagonist values most in his life and is narratively mirrored to the protagonist's girlfriend in one of the story arcs. it all comes down to a very pointedly dramatic, tragic, and emotionally charged moment for Igor Grom with his gf, and Sergey Razumovsky with his bodyguard. you know. a very casual bro moment for the latter pair, obviously.

re: creator feedback. the main artist & co-writer of the series has a multitude of what you'd call fanart pieces of these two characters in, like, a romantic relationship. i can't quite say they're canon since they're not included in the actual printed versions, but nothing in the comics contradicts or discredits the possibility of these scenes existing in the canon universe throughout.

the main writer/producer/Bubble Comics owner used to be very much against any kind of non-canon shipping, but he's radically changed his opinion over the years, which he expressed just recently in one of the official Bubble Comics podcasts. him and chief editor/producer are both very open to fan content and encourage any type of fan interpretation, which, to me, doesn't come off as pandering to the audience as much as it does as genuine gratitude and understanding of how storytelling and fandom spaces work. kudos to them from me for that.

as a side note, i do have some uhh uncertain feelings about the chief editor recently being a bit too eager to support the queer ship in question. some people see it as sort of queerbaiting wherein he's playing into the hype, but to be honest he seems like a geeky guy himself who's just generally very comfortable with his own sexuality. do whatever you will with that. i think he's allowed, maybe would be cool to tone it down a bit, but also, maybe not. it's all within reason, i guess.

re: queerbaiting & censorship. here's the part i dread discussing the most because the very concept of queerbaiting is a bit blurred in fandom discussions. i personally believe it becomes even more complicated in places like russia; like you mentioned, i do think this specific case is something other than queerbaiting. like, how are you supposed to do queer rep in mainstream media if you can get prison time for doing it? i think it's very much the case of context and reception, and if you look at the core fanbase, it's got a lot of queer people and/or folks who support the opposition.

of course, it's important to examine the authors of the content and their possible motives: the aforementioned main writer/company owner is linked to pro-state publications through his relatives, so yes, his money does come from the state, technically, at least in part, or at least that is what some people believe and i have no way of proving either point. still, i personally differentiate that from Bubble Comics being state-sponsored (like, FondKino did not sponsor the Major Grom movie, and FondKino sponsors so much of mainstream russian cinema). some people don't, and i guess i get their point. i firmly believe i'd go insane if i filtered every creator i've ever been interested in through the lens of absolute moral purity especially in russia.

but i circle back to the fanbase aspect of it: at some point i think it's equally important to look at interpretation and reception of content as well as its creators. if queer people find themselves relating to the story and the characters, i think it's doing something right.

maybe not though. maybe we are all just being tricked into consuming pro-state propaganda because we are obviously all idiots and my donations to medusa and doxa and ovd-info are nonexistent and dissolve into the air <3

#sorry for that last part. i just. have seen a lot these past few days jcnjsdc #very interesting what you mentioned abt chinese content creation too! i know nothing about this so its super interesting #just the whole discussion around what it is to depict queerness and to do it 'right' is i think one of the banes of my existence #yeah i also! should say that this is all my opinion and my interpretation. and i am notoriously a bad queer #because i believe that queer is inherently subversive and therefore the major grom queer rep is kinda almost perfect in my eyes #again im very opinionated and very bad. love complexity in my fiction can afford consuming bad queers and cops in stories i read for fun #also! i guess i didn't really answer the escaping censorship part of this but #it is complicated for me. i don't know how that works. i don't know what's considered gay enough to warrant state attenition #it's all reasonably deniable in both comics and the movie so i guess that's the answer #as far as creator endorsement goes idk! genuinely! jsyk for example the actors are also very chill about queer ships in interviews so! idk! #maybe it's okay as long as it's not on federal tv. maybe. am not a lawyer am not even a social activist. so. yeah. sorry abt that jdcjsdbv #major grom fans what do we think about this. do we agree. votes #major grom #майор гром #mine

[tmifemslash]

a lifetime love, a guarantee

pairing: clary/izzy rating: g word count: 1562

summary: Izzy tells her loved ones the big news.

read on ao3

Izzy taps her long, red nails against the table, fidgets with her straw wrapper, rolling and unrolling it over and over again. Jace and Alec were supposed to be here ten minutes ago, and in their line of work, there’s no shortage of reasons to worry. She’s also nervous about something else: the reason she made this date, actually, but she doesn’t let herself think about that.

Her phone buzzes. Jace and Alec are five minutes away, and can she order them some waffles?

They slide into the booth across from her, still clearly high on adrenaline from a fight. She can see they want to tell her, so she asks, “What happened?”

The story of Behemoth demons lasts until their food comes. Jace winks at the waitress, accepts a plate of Belgian waffles, and asks, “So, Izzy. What did you want to tell us?”

“Oh, um,” she starts, looking around nervously. Taki’s is almost deserted, and it’s not like the two nixies in the corner would care at all about her personal life... and this is all going to be front page news soon enough, anyway.

Izzy smiles. Fake it until you make it, right?

“I think I’m going to propose to Clary.”

She doesn’t expect disapproval, but Alec and Jace’s smiles make her heart swell anyway. Jace claps her on the back, and Alec says, “Congrats, Izzy, that’s great!”

“I never thought we’d get married before you and Magnus, but...” She trails off, and the smiles fade from all of their faces.

“Have you told our dear parents?”

Izzy answers him with an incredulous raise of her eyebrows.

“Sorry to be a downer,” Alec says, moodily taking a sip of water.

There’s a moment of silence between the three of them, and it never used to be so awkward. Isabelle knows it’s everyone else, not them, that’s the problem, but it’s cold comfort.

Jace clears his throat. “So, do you know how you’re going to ask her?”

He’s been so amazingly supportive through all of this; if he was offended by Clary realizing she was a lesbian after their fling, he certainly hasn’t shown it.

“Got any ideas?” she says, grinning again.

Jace rubs his hands together eagerly. “So, there’s this species of monkey...”

***

Izzy rolls over onto her stomach and starts to cry. Her mascara is probably going to stain the pillowcase, but it doesn’t matter.

God, Clary’s going to say no. Izzy is a mess, as exemplified by the late night crying and falling asleep with her makeup on. Her family is a mess, Shadowhunter politics are a mess. After they deal with Valentine, Clary’s never going to want to see a rune again, much less a real, live Shadowhunter....

Izzy heaves a sob, then fumbles for her phone. She scrolls through her contacts slowly, the tears blurring her vision. Her finger hovers over the call button when she reaches Simon’s name.

“Simon.”

He takes a moment to reply. “You do know it’s three in the morning, right?”

“I’m gonna propose to Clary.” It doesn’t sound like the happy news it should be.

“Really? That’s so great, Izzy, I’m so happy for you guys! You—”

“I was, anyway.” She heaves a sigh, and it comes out a shaky crying breath.

“What?” Simon sounds awake now. “Did you guys break up?”

“No, I just—” Izzy wipes her eyes, smearing mascara on the back of her hand. “She’s going to say no. She doesn’t... She’s going to say no.”

“Izzy. Isabelle.” If Simon were here in person, he would have his hands on her shoulders, be staring straight into her eyes. “Clary loves you. She is in love with you. The fact that you two are gonna get married is like, I don’t know, the fact that Batman is gonna beat the Joker. Batman always beats the Joker,” he adds. “Always.”

Comic book analogies don’t make her feel much better. “Really?”

“Have you seen her sketchbook? She’s doodled somebody’s wedding a lot lately. Unless she has some other girlfriend...”

Izzy smiles into the phone. “Thank you, Simon.”

He yawns. “For what?”

She turns over her pillow before going to sleep, and no more makeup runs onto it.

***

Bells jingle as Izzy opens the door to Jade Wolf, and a gust of wind comes in with her. She wipes her feet on the mat and walks over to the corner booth, where Luke is sitting. He puts down his newspaper as she slides into the booth across from him.

“What can I do for you, Isabelle?”

“Is Jocelyn here?” Izzy asks.

“Is something wrong? Is Clary alright?”

Izzy arranges her features into a smile. “No, of course not, everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to you guys.”

Luke looks annoyingly smug when he gets back with Jocelyn. He and Jocelyn almost definitely know why she’s here, and it’s not like they’re not okay with it, but still. Izzy hasn’t felt this nervous since she fought three Shax demons on her own in the alley behind Pandemonium.

“I just wanted to get your blessing, I guess,” she starts. “Not your permission, Clary can make her own decisions—”

“Of course you have our blessing, honey,” Jocelyn says, taking Izzy’s hand in both of her own. “All we want is for Clary to be happy.”

Luke puts an arm around Jocelyn’s shoulder. “And we couldn’t be happier with her choice.”

“You’ll make a beautiful bride. Both of you,” Jocelyn adds.

Izzy thanks them, but words don’t feel like enough. She can’t wait to be part of this family, already feels more at home across the table from her soon-to-be parents in law than with Maryse and Robert.

***

Isabelle is squeezed in between meetings, Robert and Maryse’s own daughter penciled in on the calendar like a visiting Clave member. She shows up on time, dressed modestly, with her hair up in a practical ponytail. She won’t budge on the heels, though; she feels small enough talking to her parents.

“What is it, Isabelle?” Maryse is impatient, practically tapping her foot on the carpeted floor.

Izzy has the feeling that her parents expect what she has to say, but their anticipation is far from Luke and Jocelyn’s tentative smiles. She sets her jaw, forces herself to look her father in the eye.

“I’m going to ask Clary to marry me.”

Robert coughs into his fist, refuses to meet her stare. He’s going to let Maryse be the bad guy, so he can have plausible deniability later. So he can sleep at night. Her father is nothing if not predictable.

“She’s Valentine’s daughter,” Maryse says, finally.

“We both know that’s not the reason you don’t approve.”

Maryse sighs. “Isabelle, you can make your own decisions,” she says, “but I wish you would consider this family’s reputation.”

Isabelle blinks. “And marrying a decorated war hero hurts it how?”

She knows on some level that no argument will sway her parents, but it feels good to fight with them a little, rub salt in the wound of not having the daughter they wanted.

Her heels sink into the carpet, only clicking against the floor once she’s out of the office.

***

There’s no one left to tell. Everybody knows Isabelle is getting married, except the girl she’s going to spend the rest of her life with. Even the man at the jewelry store where she bought the ring knows; Izzy couldn’t help but correct him when he asked about Mr. Right.

Friday night is date night, and Izzy has a ring and a restaurant reservation and a stomach full of butterflies. She waits for Clary in front of the hostess stand, watching people get seated and the minutes tick by.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit down, Ma’am?” the hostess asks after twenty minutes.

“I’m sorry—” Izzy starts to say, but then her phone buzzes, and it’s Clary. She steps outside to take the call.

“Hey, Clary, is everything alright?”

“I’m so sorry, Iz, it was just supposed to be a recon mission tonight, but we ran into some demons—everyone’s okay, don’t worry, but I’m not exactly dressed for dinner.”

“So, covered in demon blood,” Izzy fills in.

Clary laughs. “Right, covered in demon blood. I was thinking we could just do date night at the Institute? I’d pick up some Chinese food, but again, the blood...”

Half an hour later, Clary and Izzy and several cartons of lo mein are sprawled on the couch of their apartment. They sit under a blanket and watch a movie, and Izzy wonders if she should wait until next week’s date to pop the question.

When Isabelle thought about this moment as a kid, it wasn’t anything like this. Mostly, she was the one being proposed to, and the person doing the proposing was a man, but it also looked a lot like the restaurant Izzy had planned for tonight. It was never supposed to be Chinese food and Chicken Run, but that’s what tonight is, and she thinks that none of that matters.

What matters it that Izzy is in love with Clary, wants to spend the rest of her life with her, and that makes this night beautiful and special in its own right. Clary laughs at something one of the chickens says, loud and open, and Izzy smiles. She reaches for the little black box.

#clizzy #clary fray #isabelle lightwood #shadowhunters #fic #claryisabelle #clary #isabelle #member creation