soo i started working on this piece after handing in a 14 page final paper for an english seminar in which i GOT TO WRITE ABOUT TID and posthumanism, gender, and subjectivity. i had so so much fun researching for it + writing it and it put me in an infernal devices mindset that resulted in… whatever this is.
AND YES i realize today is apparently will herondale’s birthday so consider this a post for that too :)) characters belong to @cassandraclare ). hope you all enjoy this piece as much as i enjoyed making it <3
Thank you for writing to keep me apprised of the situation at Blackthorn Hall, and this haunting in particular. It means a great deal to me that you’re willing to share what’s going on. I’m glad we’ve moved beyond the days when you felt you had to conceal your more wild schemes from the older generation, myself included. I hope you know that you need keep no secrets from me, no matter how outlandish those schemes are. Secrets have caused you and Julian so much heartbreak in the past, I want you to know that you can tell me anything and I will not judge you.
So you say you are helping a ghost? That could be a noble pursuit, and a compassionate one, but I must urge you to be careful. Blackthorn Hall has a history that at times involved unsavory characters and sinister magic, and if a spirit truly is haunting the manor, it may not be benevolent. The fact that Magnus sensed no ill will eases my mind a great deal, but I would still urge you to think carefully about what this ghost asks of you in seeking its freedom. It may not mean you any overt harm, but that does not mean that no harm will come to you.
As for the Devil Tavern—I do indeed know it. It has been a Downworlder haunt for many centuries, and for some time, at the early part of the last century, it was something of a refuge for people Tessa and I cared about very much. I do not want to tell you too much about them — it is painful to cast our thoughts back to that time, for it is a reminder of so much that has been lost, and of those we could not save. But I also think it may not help you — it seems to me best that you go into this search without preconceptions or expectations of what you may find.
Why do I feel this? I can only say that during my many years of being a Silent Brother, I felt a great kinship for shades: for the dead and those who haunted, and for the memories that tethered them to earth. I too was tethered by memories in those times. They were what kept me human and able to return to this life I have now, that I love so much.
So I will not tell you of names, or personalities — they may not be relevant to your search at all, but you must go forward, to find that out. And that is why I will tell you this: you saw only a little of the Devil Tavern. There are a set of rather blackened stairs behind the bar, and up those stairs there is a secret room, one that was closed off decades ago. It is possible that whatever your ghost is looking for may be in there. If you wish to gain entry to the hidden room — and a warmer reception at the Devil in general — show the bartender your family rings. Say the names: Blackthorn. Carstairs. They will matter.
I hope you will keep me apprised of what you discover, and the next steps in your adventure. I wish to know, though there is some part of me that fears what you might find in that room, and what it may say about the fates of those I loved in the past. I hope that I am wrong. I hope that this tale will have a happy ending. I know this much—this ghost is lucky to have determined souls such as yourself and Julian helping it to find rest.
Church has informed me that it is, in fact, time for dinner, and naturally I must attend to his every whim. I hope that you and Julian are having a good time settling in at Blackthorn Hall, in spite of the restive ghost and the many years of neglect the place has suffered. You are correct that it does not surprise me that a ghost is there. The past haunts that place, a story of things done and things left undone. It is possible that by bringing love and warmth into that place, you will close that chapter of neglect, and open a new one, of infinite possibility.
I believe in you, Emma. When I see you, I see Carstairs past; I see bravery, and the flame of Cortana. Remember that you are of the steel and temper of those who have gone before you. I hope that I will see you again soon, and that when I do I will have the strength to tell you of some of them, of a girl with fire-bright hair, and her brother, and those who came before and after them.
I love how Jem speaks. Like in the new letter it just reminds you that he’s lived for a long time and knows many languages and is very wise with grammar that he doesn’t need to speak or write like everyone else does now-a-days.
Hi!! Just wanted to give you a heads up in case you didn’t know: your pfp (white Cordelia Carstairs) is from an outdated artwork associated with the TSC canon and fellow TSC fans of color would appreciate it if maybe you didn’t use it because it’s racist, damaging, and ignorant; it’s bad enough that the author won’t stop using it and reposting it without updates as Cordelia is canonically darker skinned. Thank you dear and take care!!! :)
still absolutely hilarious to me that matthew is supposed to be so plugged in to queer culture and the london community and all that and yet he has yet to notice that his brother, his best friend, and his worst enemy are all gay and in an increasingly agonizing love triangle
i love theories so imma talk about The Family Tree™ again and give some reminders about it
My theory on why the Carstairs owe the Herondales
My Cordelia -> Clary theory
Let's start with what we know about the Tree (sources taken from Cassie directly on Tumblr as well as canon info from SOBH):
The family tree is meant to be a ‘found object.’ Meaning that it is supposed to be created by a person, so it isn’t a piece of objective truth. There are reasons for pretty much everything in the family tree. But some of the marriages are arranged/faked, some of the people marked as dead became mundanes/Downworlders, there’s a reason the Carstairs records have been destroyed, etc. You can’t, honestly, predict the plot of The Last Hours by looking at the family tree. So even though it is a fun thing, don’t let it give you grief. By the end of the books, you will understand why even the things in it that are not true were written down as they are.
The family trees are administered by the Silent Brothers. So you can figure out who was involved!
Lucie’s age is incorrect in the family tree for Reasons.
"Also, Professor Loss warned me that a lot of the Shadowhunter family trees are inaccurate, and there was a period where Shadowhunter families would create fanciful family trees, like a… marriage wish list."
For instance, say Charlotte cheated madly on Henry with Nate. Say the baby she is having is Nate’s*. It would be listed on the family tree as hers and Henry’s, because no one knows that it actually isn’t except for Charlotte and the reader if you actually read to the end of the book.
Misinformation that has been teased by Cassie and yet-to-be-seen include: adoption/s, people being secretly dead, people being secretly other people, faked deaths, or people written in as dead when they, in fact, only turned or became Downworlders or mundanes.
Okay, so this tells us:
1. The ships on the Tree, at least some notable ones listed, are not actually endgame; they only seem that way to society, because they make sense and can be used to save face.
2. Children born out of infidelity are still listed as the children of their mother's husband to protect the family name.
3. In Chain of Thorns, at least one person is gonna become a Downworlder or mundane or perhaps fake their death. This plays into my theory that Matthew may actually be in Faerie in the 21st-century, still alive, possibly to evade punishment from the Clave for the potion incident. Also the whole thing about "people becoming other people" comment makes me think the Alastair Verlac theories may be true.
4. Do not forget that adoption tweet in my "Why the Carstairs owe the Herondales" theory, because the whole "mystery baby" theme is recurring. We also have no idea how we get from Alastair -> Emma at all, but I'm like 100% sure Emma is a tried and true Carstairs despite this. I'm also sure Jace is 100% a Herondale descended from James and Owen, but it's not gonna be stated in the Tree if James or Cordelia have any other children besides him (especially if it's a girl). Just saying.
5. As of the end of Chain of Iron, Jordelia are not actually wedded. They haven't completed the second runes. Therefore, in Cordelia's head right now, she's not exactly in any relationship with James and probably considers herself estranged from him.
6. It's obvious from Cassie's teasers that Jem made the tree or Brother Enoch, probably sometime around 2007 or 2008. Emma is listed. I'm gonna assume the Tree was made to protect the reputations of the TLH gang upon Jessa's romantic reunion or to protect Emma and/or Clary.
7. Who wants to guess why Jem listed Lucie's age wrong intentionally because I don't have a single idea why...
hold on a fucking second. delaware is a state?? i thought it was a river? or is the river more important than the state? why don't i know this? (i should mention i don't like in america, i'm just confused)
there is delaware (state) and delaware (river)
both are equally strange
the state is a tiny little cryptid thing
the rive is a monster that spans new york, pennsylvania, new jersey and delaware. also washington crossed it once and that was like kinda a big deal i guess. like crossing the rubicon in rome.
the state tries to me more important with its “im the first state!!!” bs (seriously its even on the fucking license plates) but we all know. its the river.
I know home depot, but dude I don't know anything about America mad have never been there. Are you sure there is not a some sort of store called something close to Delaware!?!
Pausing here to point out that op is “dear-AO3″ and now I’m wondering if Delaware fanfic would be categorized as RSF (real state fic) or AU (alternate unitedstates)
(odd numbers end in the digits 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 (one, three, five, seven, nine) and the only ones for which the word version doesn’t end in those words are/end in eleven, thirteen, fifteen, seventeen, nineteen. I will NOT elaborate or defend this lest this post become another. ur free to do this yourselves if you want tho)
What about infinity, if it's infinite the technically at one point as it goes on forever it does end in in either 1,3,5,7, or 9 but because it's infinite it's neither even nor odd. Yes? No? Idk I'm drunk
andulkaphoto
ellievsbear
titsay
baratheonpilled
romaincrisis
