Young, Pretty, & Willing

"I'm young. I'm pretty. And I'm willing to burn the whole world to the ground to get what I want." (Sebastian, COHF)

[jonathancmorgenstern]

I'm super glad I asked Cassie that question (of was Ash planned by his parents and why) and she was able to respond!!! So now we know that he knew AND planned on having a child with the queen, it wasn't just

"Hey, I'm pregnant."

"K."

When we find out why in TLKOF, I will in fact, start tweaking. 🙂

[angelicpowerblog]

What moments did you find Sebastian ooc in Better in Black? I'm kinda curious to know your opinion because I really like your TSC takes in general.

Thanks. I think Sebastian is ooc because what we’re shown in bib clashes with tmi. It feels like a retcon made solely to serve the story, with no regard for what had already been established. And while the core concept of the story is interesting, the execution is flat.

What’s the point of telling me, in bib, that Sebastian knows about the Seelie Queen’s pregnancy? A major plot element like that can’t be properly explored in a short story, and the fact he just abandons his child to pursue his plans makes no sense. The core of Sebastian is that he’s obsessed with not being alone, with finding someone like him, and with the belief that the only ones truly worthy are his family. So if not his own child, who else could possibly fulfill that. And the pregnancy was it planned? Did Sebastian want it? Because honestly, he’s the kind of person who might have considered something like that. Or was it the Seelie Queen who wanted to have a child with him, maybe to bind him to her? After all, in bib we’re clearly told she was in love with him. Maybe she thought giving him a child was the best way to keep him close, by offering him exactly what he wanted most.

The problem is that all of these questions are left unanswered. They’re not explored. We don’t even know Sebastian’s immediate reaction when he finds out about the pregnancy, and that feels like a crucial detail. If you’re selling this story as an exploration of Sebastian and the Seelie Queen’s relationship, then I expect the most important aspects of their dynamic to be developed. Their relationship should be the center of the story.

The Seelie Queen’s behavior also leaves me confused. From what I remember in tda, she was very attached to Ash. In bib however she rejects him at birth and doesn’t want him. I could accept that if it were a consequence of postpartum depression, because that would be a plausible interpretation. But the issue is that is not explored.

The only thing I really enjoyed about the story is the relationship between Nene and Ash. Even that comes a bit out of nowhere, but I don’t see it as a major issue.

The story had so much potential. cc could have done so much more.

[jonathancmorgenstern]

I absolutely LOOOOOVE these deep thoughts, lemme but in! 🤪 Side note: MT=My thought. Also, this is long, so I sincerely apologize in advance!

1: *What’s the point of telling me, in bib, that Sebastian knows about the Seelie Queen’s pregnancy?*

MT: Id say it could be simply interest, fan service (🙏🏾), or to show just how much Sebastian could've had and gave up, simply for the wiles of a teenage boy. I'd think it also makes things more disgusting, because it shows just how much he gave up in order to be with his "true love", his sister. He knew he was having a kid and didn't give a fuck, just wanted his girl. Or maybe she wrote it to show how much the Queen did for him, and in doing so, just how much his passing hurt for her. It wasn't just "Damn, I lost my power piece in this war, we're cooked" it was "The BOY (not man 🙄) that I loved, that I gave my body in giving him a child to, deserted me? He could've had a prince and he didn't choose that."

2: *A major plot element like that can’t be properly explored in a short story, and the fact he just abandons his child to pursue his plans makes no sense. The core of Sebastian is that he’s obsessed with not being alone, with finding someone like him, and with the belief that the only ones truly worthy are his family. So if not his own child, who else could possibly fulfill that.*

MT: The fact that he knew he was having a kid yet abandoned it, I feel shows just how much he wanted Clary (and his little world) as well as to remind us that even though he is this all-evil being, he's still a child, and children, especially teen boys, aren't expected/known to commit to such heavy things, like a kid. Teenagers are also prone to making big decisions that they later regret/hate/dismiss, so maybe the thought of having a kid with the queen could've been that. I also have this sick thought in my head, that a big reason he decided to have a kid with the queen was that maybe it filled some sort of sick fantasy. Him having a child with a powerful redhead woman? Like his sister? 🤢 Girl, idk. 🤣 I also think it makes sense that having a child wouldn't fill Sebastian's loneliness hole, seeing as there's only so much you can do with an infant, as opposed to an adult. Like, what, they finna hit up the club? Turn up? Get tipsy? 🤣 He even said in COHF that he's impatient. Shit, even in Thule, we see how quick he got tired of the novelty of Ash. Even then, he asked Nene if Ash was going to be like him, meaning he didn't know. Now imagine you have the choice of being with someone (2 someone's, counting Jace) that you, for a fact, know is like you (super-powered), you already have a history with, and has a unique relationship with someone extremely key in your life (Valentine), vs ... Well, the opposite of all that? Tbh, I'd say fuck Ash, too 😂

3: *And the pregnancy was it planned? Did Sebastian want it? Because honestly, he’s the kind of person who might have considered something like that. Or was it the Seelie Queen who wanted to have a child with him, maybe to bind him to her? After all, in bib we’re clearly told she was in love with him. Maybe she thought giving him a child was the best way to keep him close, by offering him exactly what he wanted most.*

MT: I'm of the mindset of that too, that she wanted to bind them, kind of cement their love. As for Ash being planned and Seb knowing, I've always wondered!

4: *The problem is that all of these questions are left unanswered. They’re not explored. We don’t even know Sebastian’s immediate reaction when he finds out about the pregnancy, and that feels like a crucial detail. If you’re selling this story as an exploration of Sebastian and the Seelie Queen’s relationship, then I expect the most important aspects of their dynamic to be developed. Their relationship should be the center of the story.*

MT: Exactly! I was genuinely surprised that that wasn't shown! Like, it's a short story so I'm not expecting anything crazy, but damn. We got 24 trillion pages of him saying his last words in COHF, it would've been nice to give us at least a page, we're starving over here! 😭

5: *The Seelie Queen’s behavior also leaves me confused. From what I remember in tda, she was very attached to Ash. In bib however she rejects him at birth and doesn’t want him. I could accept that if it were a consequence of postpartum depression, because that would be a plausible interpretation. But the issue is that is not explored.*

MT: Right! I have a few thoughts on why this is. 1, it could be that her having Ash was a very traumatic thing for her, not just the birth, but the fact that he's this new (and permanent) reminder of how dirty she was done by the BOY she loved (girl, I am not saying man, I refuse 🤢🙄✋🏾). I could see myself in her shoes and absolutely hating this lil mf 😂. Especially the fact that he looks just like his dad, minus the eyes, but then again, his green eyes are more reminiscent of Clary's, not hers, so I could see that pissing her off as well, cuz wdym my son has the eyes of the woman that my lover actually loved instead of me? Tragic, lol. 2), we know that he was still with the Queen from at least 4 years old, but we don't know how many years he'd been stuck with the Unseelie King, so either 1), when he was stolen, it could've made her realize "damn, my son. I actually love u, wtf?", 2), maybe she just wanted the last remnant she had to Seb or 3), going from age 4 to 13 is a long time, so maybe her feelings just changed for him naturally. Or maybe something else made it change. There really are soooooo many reasons as to why she hated him and then loved him, but the post-partum depression thing is sick, I never considered that! So simple, yet here I am coming up with these over the top ahh ideas for no reason. 😒

6: *The only thing I really enjoyed about the story is the relationship between Nene and Ash. Even that comes a bit out of nowhere, but I don’t see it as a major issue.*

MT: It really did come from nowhere, especially when in QOOAD, she says she's never seen him, but we know why now. Still strange, but interesting!

To wrap up my thoughts, I just think there are a plethora of reasons as to why things went down the way they did in TWTL, but I def think things could've gone down better. I don't think everything needed an explanation but that's coming from someone who loves games like Skyrim, where speculation is apart of the charm and love, it fuels the curious cat within, gives us a community for us to discuss these things in, like right now (what a corny ass sentence I just wrote). I never leave posts these long, if at all, but I'm havin sm fun, wtf. I wouldn't have this if everything had an answer in the story! But yeah. Holy shit, was this long, I apologize again! And please, if you have more to say, girl I'm all ears. Seb is my favorite villain, so I'm all in. 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽

[malachaikn1ght]

Jonathan Morgenstern was a horrible character in the books, but I can’t help feeling concerned when I remember that he had a child as a teenager with a Seelie Queen who was much older than him.

[jonathancmorgenstern]

Mind u, didn't she try to seduce Julian is QOAAD? She just loves her some kids, I guess, she's just so caring and maternal 😊😁

[thiaperezart]

Jace Herondale

Espero les guste ✨

[tiredandoptimistic]

Perhaps I'm repeating myself, but I really love how TMI emphasizes the humanity of its villains. There's no class of "evildoers" who are completely bereft of humanity. Sebastian can lend Clary a scarf and she can relate to his loneliness, and neither of those acts erase his horrific actions. No matter what he's done, he's still a person and Clary is allowed to see him as a person. However, that doesn't make him redeemable. His villainy is emphasized by his humanity, because Clary (and the reader) are forced to see that a relatably lonely and occasionally pleasant person is still capable of it incredible harm.

[theonegeekgirl]

Timeline of the Mortal Instruments part I

I'm trying to write fanfiction based on Mortal Instruments, and as usual, I'm doing research and need a timeline of events. I couldn't find one that was detailed enough, so I made my own. And I'm sharing it right here.

It covers the books City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass.

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

August 15

Clary is in Pandemonium with Simon and sees Jace, Isabel, and Alec kill a demon

August 16

She argues with her mother and leaves with Simon

She runs into Jace at Erik's poetry reading

After a phone call from her mother, she runs home, where she encounters the Ravener, whom she kills, but is then almost poisoned by him. Jace takes her to the Institute.

August 20 ("You haven't eaten anything in three days.")

Clary wakes up at the Institute.

Clary and Jace go to check on her apartment, where they find the outcast. At Dorothy's, they find a portal, which Clary jumps through.

They show up at Luke's house, where they run into Simon, and eavesdrop on a conversation between members of the Circle and Luke before leaving

Isabella tries to make dinner, but ends up ordering Chinese, and they discuss the Circle over dinner

Isabella walks Simon out, and Clary falls asleep in the hallway

August 21

In the morning, Brother Jeremiah arrives and tries to get into Clary's head, and they end up going to the Silent City

Early in the morning, they are in the Silent City, then they go to Taki's for breakfast

During the day, they rest and prepare for the evening party

Magnus throws a party for Chairman Meow, where Simon is turned into a rat after drinking a potion and then taken away by vampires

Clary and Jace go to the Dumort hotel, meet Rafael, are helped by the werewolves, and escape on a vampire motorcycle with Simon the rat

August 22

In the morning, they return from the Dumort hotel, spend the day resting and treating their injuries

Before midnight, Jace comes for Clary and takes her to the winter garden

August 23 (Clary's 16th birthday)

It's Clary's 16th birthday, which she celebrates at midnight with Jace in the greenhouse, then she argues with Jace and Simon

In the morning, she finds out where the cup is, and they discuss it in the library at dawn

In the morning/afternoon, they set off to get the cup from Dorothea

Dorothea transforms into the Great demon Abaddon, injures Alec, Simon saves everyone by breaking the skylight

At noon/in the afternoon, they return to the Institute, Hodge betrays them, Valentine takes Jace away, and Clary is pursued by Hodge

At dusk, Clary is pursued by Hodge out onto the street, where she is saved by Luke

In the evening/at night, Luke and Clary treat each other's wounds and talk. Clary learns about Jonathan and that Valentine is her father

Magnus Bane appears at the institute and heals Alec

Night of August 23-24

Attack on Renwick Hospital, clash with Valentine, Luke's pack wipes out his renegades

Jocelyn is found in a coma

Clary and Jace discover that Valentine is their father

Jace refuses to go with Valentine

August 24

Early in the morning, Valentine escapes with the Cup of Death

Jocelyn is taken to the hospital

Jace returns to the Institute and calls Clary to tell her that Isabella and Alec are okay

August 27 ("Otherwise, for someone who had nearly lost her life four days ago, he looked remarkably healthy.")

Clary goes back to the hospital to see Luke and her mom

Brother Jeremiah stops by the hospital to see Jocelyn

Clary goes to the Institute and runs into Isabella, Alec on crutches, and Jace in the greenhouse

At night, Jace takes Clary to the hospital on a vampire motorcycle, they stand by Jocelyn's bed for a while, and eventually Jace argues with Clary and runs away

August 28 ("Last Tuesday… Then Alec Lightwood appeared at his doorstep, … thanked him for saving his life and asked him out on a date, …)

Alec asks Magnus out on a date.

August 31 ("In response, Magnus immediately lost his head, kissed him, and arranged a date with him for Friday.")

Jace convinces Alec to stay by training him with weapons

Alec and Magnus's first date at a restaurant

Their date is interrupted by Katrina, who asks Magnus to deal with a werewolf who has transformed at a club

Alec and Magnus's first kiss (1)

August 28-31

A warlock child summons the demon Agramon on Valentine's orders.

The warlock's child is later found dead.

September 1 ("The Great Demon you fought last week")

Jace convinces Alec and Isabelle to go hunting with him.

Marysa Lightwood is back at the Institute, argues with Jace, and he runs away from the Institute.

Marysa tells Alec why she is angry and explains what happened to Hodge

Simon kisses Clary

Jace fights a pack of werewolves, and the body of a werewolf child is found

Luke and Clary accompany Jace to Marysa at the institute, meet Rafael

Meanwhile, Alek is with Magnus and gets a hickey, he might sleep at her apartment at sofa

September 2

Alec wakes Jace up.

The Inquisitor interrogates Jace and eventually imprisons him in the Silent City.

Simon almost spends the night in Clary's bed before she received a message from Isabella about Jace and rushed to the institute.

A dead fairy child is found in Central Park

Valentine attacks the Bone City, murders the Silent Brothers, and steals the sword

Isabella, Alek, and Clary pick up a signal from the Silent City and head there to find Jace

The wounded Jace is entrusted to Magnus' care and protection

September 5 (It is mentioned that Jace has been with Magnus for several days, but the Shadowhunters are still searching for evidence in Bone City, still without a coffee maker)

Clary meets Simon at 5 PM

Clary, Simon, and Alec go to see Jace and Magnus and discover Valentine's plan with the sword

Clary, Simon, Jace, and Isabella set off for the Enchanted Court

Clary and Jace kiss, Isabella dumps Melichorn, Simon leaves offended

Simon goes to the Durmor Hotel and they suck his blood

The Shadowhunters search for evidence in the Bone City

Isabella, Jace, and Clary head to the Institute to shower and change, Clary falls asleep in Jace's room

September 6

At 3 AM, Clary wakes up in Jace's room

Rafael brings Simon's dead body

Simon is buried and rises as a vampire

September 9 ("I haven't been outside for two days")

Clary is in the hospital with her mother

She meets Simon at Luke's place

Luke saves Maia from a Drevak attack, then demons Raums attack Luke while he is parking the van

Magnus takes care of Luke and Maia, Alec leaves angrily, and Jace runs away to the ship to find Valentine

September 10

In the morning, Clary creates a rune of fearlessness

The Inquisitor comes with the Lightwoods for Jace and locks him in the Malachai Configuration

Maia escapes from the kitchen and is captured by Valentine's demons

Valentine captures Simon (around mid-morning/noon)

Jace escapes from the configuration and meets up with Clary and Luke

In the afternoon, Valentine kills Simon (lets him bleed to death)

Luke, Clary, Magnus, and Jace set off for the ship in a van shortly before sunset

Valentine refuses to exchange the Mortal Instruments for Jace at sunset, the Shadowhunters prepare for battle and head there

The Inquisitor dies saving Jace, Isabella is injured, Alec gets her off the ship and falls into the water, Magnus saves him

Robert Lightwood is wounded in battle

Jace finds Simon and revives him

During the night, there is a fight on the ship, Clary finally destroys the ship with a rune and everyone falls into the water, the Shadowhunters are saved by water nymphs

September 11

Early in the morning, Clary wakes up in the back of Luke's van with Simon, Jace, and Luke

The sun begins to rise, and they start to run away with Simon, eventually discovering that he can be in the sun

In the evening, Jace prepares to move out of the Institute, but Marysa talks him out of it

September 12: Alec's 18th birthday

Clary falls ill

Alec celebrates his birthday with his family

Isabella stops by Magnus's place and Magnus enchants her whip

Alec stops by Magnus's place in the evening, they end up kissing

(I wasn't sure where else to put Alec's birthday, and this seems to work best. Since Magnus already has a coffee maker in his house because of Alec, it has to be after City of Ashes, where he didn't have a coffee maker yet, and also Jace isn't finally at his home.)

September 11-19

Clary is sick.

Robert Lightwood is recovering from his injuries and needs constant care (which exhausts Marysa).

September 19

Clary goes to see Simon, and they break up.

Luke admits that he has been in love with Clary's mother all along and that he never told her

Jace goes with Clary to Taki's Bistro and tells her that he will only ever be her brother

Clary meets Madelaine at the hospital and tells her that she knows how to revive her mother

She then goes straight to the Institute to see Jace, who refuses to let her go to Idris and they argue

Clary tells Maryse that she will meet with the Clave's leadership

September 25

Luke brings Clary a new green velvet coat, Clary packs her things, unaware that she is not going anywhere that evening

Simon follows instructions and meets Jace at the Institute, who tries to convince him to lie that Clary doesn't want to go

The Fallen attack the Institute, forcing Jace to drag the injured Simon through the portal to Idris, Madelaine is killed -> it is then around 5:00 p.m. in Idris

September 26

Clary arrives (1:00 a.m.) at the institute and finds it empty and learns what happened.

Clary, offended, creates a new portal and gets to Idris and Lake Lyn with Luke -> 7:00 a.m. (2)

Simon wakes up at the Penhall's, meets Aline and Sebastian, Alec leaves for Gard

Clary and Luke spend the whole day traveling through Idris to Alicante, arriving at Amatis at dusk

In the afternoon, Alec returns for Simon and takes him to the consul, who is then locked in a cell

Alec sends a message to Magnus

September 27

Clary wakes up in the afternoon at Amatis', takes a shower, puts on her battle armor, and escapes through the window

The Inquisitor interrogates Simon and tries to force him to confirm that the Lightwoods are responsible for everything

Jace kisses Aline

Magnus replies to Alec that Simon has not arrived, Alec goes to investigate in the Guard and overhears the guards talking about Simon

Clary goes to the Penhalls, argues with Jace and runs away, Sebastian accompanies her to Amatis

Alec tells Jace that Simon is locked in a cell

Amatis catches Clary on her way back, is disappointed, and tells her she can go wherever she wants

Jace visits Simon in his cell at night

Ragnor sends a message to Magnus at night, telling him to come to him

Valentine's henchmen attack Ragnor and demand the White Book

September 28

Magnus arrives in Idris and finds Ragnor dead

Sebastian wakes Clary in the morning and takes her to Ragnor Fell on horseback

Magnus pretends to be Ragnor and tells her what happened to him, they make a deal about the White Book

Sebastian takes Clary to the Fairchild residence, kisses her, she pulls away, Sebastian tells her that Simon is imprisoned in the Gard

Isabella brings Simon blood

Rafael visits Simon as a projection

In the evening, Jace visits Clary, she throws a few plates at him, and then they use the portal to move to the Wayland mansion, find the White Book, then the imprisoned angel, free him, and the house begins to collapse. Jace and Clary kiss outside in the grass. At night, they return on foot to Alicante, which is under attack by demons, and the Gard is on fire.

Night of September 28-29

Max complains in the evening that he saw something climbing on the demon towers, but no one believes him. Alec wants to put him to bed.

A demon attacks Aline, Isabella chases it and saves her, then returns with Alec to the Penhall house, Alec goes out again, leaving Isabella, Sebastian, and Max in the house

Sebastian attacks Isabella and kills Max

Alec saves Magnus, Magnus says he loves him

Werewolves (hundreds, thousands) rush in to defend the city

Jace and Clary go into the city, fight the Behemoth, are helped by Maia, and go with her to the Hall of the Accords

Luke argues with the Inquisitor in the Hall of the Accords, while Clary gives Magnus the White Book

Sebastian tries to lure Clary out of the hall, but she refuses and goes with Jace and Alec to Gard to find Simon

They rescue Simon and Hodge, who tells them that the lake is the Mirror. Before he can reveal Valentine's plan, Sebastian kills him, and Hodge realizes who Jonathan really is

They reveal that Sebastian is Valentine's spy, fight him, and he escapes. Clary has a concussion.

They return to the Hall of Accords and discover at dawn that Max is dead.

September 26-28

Maia brings Simon a cat for blood, which he doesn't want because they have a cat at home.

Luke tells Maia not to bring cats, so from then on she brings blood in bottles

Simon refuses to leave Idris, even though Clary tries to convince him

The Penhalls contact Sebastian's aunt about what he has done, she doesn't believe them and sends them photos

The Hall of Accords is converted into a council meeting place, Luke is invited to participate

The dead are burned in the square

September 28

Alice brings Clary photos of the real Sebastian Verlac

Max has a funeral in the morning, for family only

Isabella refuses to leave her room

Valentine appears as a projection in the Hall of Accords, giving them until midnight tomorrow to surrender before he attacks again

Isabella pulls Simon into her bed to take his mind off things

Jace sneaks into Clary's room and confesses his love for her, they fall asleep together in bed, Jace sneaks out later and let her a letter

Luke summons some Shadowhunters at night to negotiate for three/four seats in the Council for Downworlders.

September 29

Clary reads a letter from Jace in the morning and finds a family ring.

Jace finds Sebastian thanks to blood on Clary's coat and pursues him.

Isabella and Clary argue about Jace and his suicidal mission

Jocelyn comes to Amatis' house, Clary argues with her

The Clave is preparing to surrender to Valentine, Clary discovers the Alliance rune and tells them about it, she demonstrates her powers in front of Clave

Jocelyn tells Clary that Jace is not her brother, that Sebastian is her demonic brother

Simon has the Mark of Cain drawn on himself and surrenders to the vampires so they can join the battle

Jace finds out who Sebastian is, fights him with Isabella's help, and kills him

Battle on the Brocelid Plains

Valentine summons Raziel, Jace interrupts him and Valentine kills him, Clary takes over the summoning and Raziel kills Valentine, Clary asks Raziel to bring Jace back to life

When Valentine dies, all demons on the Brocelid Plains escapes and the battle is over (after only 10 minutes)

September 31 ("Almost two days had passed since he had last seen her at the lake")

Jace is released from the hospital

Valentine's funeral takes place

Luke tells Jocelyn that he has been offered a place on the council and is planning to move to Idris. Jocelyn finally makes up her mind, tells him she loves him, and Luke turns down the offer

In the evening, a victory celebration with fireworks takes place

The Queen of the Fairy Court offers Clary a service if she convinces the council to offer Meliorno a seat on the Council, but Clary refuses

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

My notes and what weird things I noticed

(1) - It is pretty confusing which kiss between Alec and Magnus is actually the first, because they have three first kisses in The Bane Chronicles. The chapter "What to buy a shadowhunter who has everything (and who you're not officially dating anyway)" mentions that they are together at Taki's and later kiss outside, leaning against a wall. Magnus describes that he is aware that this is Alec's first date and kiss. In the chapter "The Course of First Love (and First Dates)," Alec invites Magnus on a date on Tuesday, to which Magnus responds by accepting the invitation and kissing him. However, the first kiss doesn't happen until later in the chapter, when they return from their date to Magnus's house. However, this may be a translation error since I am reading Bane's chronicles in Czech. In the first chapter, it may be meant that this is Alec's dating and first kisses in general, not this specific one. When accepting the date, the kiss could have been on the cheek. And then the real first kiss happens Friday after the date.

(2) I tried to figure out how they could travel through the portal so that it would make sense with the time zones, since there should be a six-hour time difference between New York and Idris (CED). Jace told Clary that they would travel in the evening. But the sun's rays reflected off the surface when Clary went through the portal in the evening and exited the lake in Idris. The only solution I couldn't come up with was for Jace to tell her they would travel through the portal between midnight and 1 a.m. But then it doesn't make sense that Luke says the lake is several hours' walk from Alicante, but they don't arrive in the city until dusk. Cassandra Clare may have mixed the time zones when writing this and thought Idris was six hours behind New York. That would explain a lot. Unfortunately, time zones work differently, and this is the best I could come up with.

[anyakaste]

Clary and Ash pt 2 ….More like Jocelyn and the Seelie Queen

Aside from the physical appearance of both Jocelyn and the Queen… I couldn’t help but notice some similarities about their story.

- Both of them had two children

- Their firstborn, Jonathan-Sebastian and Auraline were intended to begin a new era. Valentine experimented with Jocelyn’s son so he could be something better than shadowhunters and downworlders. The Unseelie King also experimented to a certain extent with Auraline (but this time with the Queen knowledge) to have a fairy heir that would unite the courts and end the shadowhunters

- Both Jonathan and Auraline where not what their fathers expected, and where taken away from their mothers.

- Both children end up growing up without a connection to their mothers, and with the prophecy or predilection to doom the world

- Later on life they both have another child. Jocelyn thinks that Valentine never had the opportunity to experiment on Clary, but she is wrong. Yet this child grows up without her mother at least. The Seelie Queen while not a very present mother, she does show concern for Ash, and is raised at her court, watched over. But even with Ash being Sebastian’s son, the Unseelie King still wants him. Ash becomes the second child of the Queen that has been experimented on by the King

- Despite their efforts, both Valentine and the Unseelie King tamper with Jocelyn’s and the Queen’s second child. They both can’t stop the reach those men have over their children

- And later their firstborn comes back somehow to haunt them too. Sebastian comes back as the dark shadow of Jocelyn’s firstborn, the boy she thought dead. Kit comes back as the shadow left by Auraline, something the Queen never expected.

- While the Queen is not a loving mother, she will obviously choose to protect Ash ( as she believes) against the shadow of her first born, justa as Jocelyn, a woman who loved and hated her son would always protect Clary against the shadow of Jonathan.

[sofi182]

tlkof sampler

hey! so i got the tlkof sampler, but the person asked me to share it privately for a couple of days first just to be safe.

so you can dm me your email and i’ll send you the better quality pics. but let’s share it like this for now, unless someone who got it doesn’t mind sharing it online ☺️

[wikitpowers]

TLKOF SAMPLER P1.2 <3

[wikitpowers]

TLKOF SAMPLER PT. 1 <3

I AM FREAKING THE FUCK OUT OMFG!!!!

[pizzamicrowave]

Petition for Kitty and Morgenthorn to dress up as the Ghostbusters for Halloween

art by frostbitestudios and charlie bowater

[wikitpowers]

ARE YOU BEING FUCKINF SERIOUS?!!! KIT MOTHERFUCKING HERONDALE!!!

(and all the other characters look amazing too ofc but you know i will scream for kit)

[bookishjules]

thinking about how ty would have died in the accords hall if julian hadn't saved him from their father and how livvy would have lived in the council room if julian hadn't failed to save her from their cousin

[princeash]

[ladyhindsight]

Hi! Little late, but happy new year. I wanted to talk about Fae in this world for a second, because I kind of hate how it's done. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that they're tricksters who cannot technically lie. More in line with mythology and not, you know, Sarah J Mass. But. I feel the Faerie parts of any book are usually the worst parts of the book.

I get wanting a change of scene and tone, but the world itself is so undeveloped. The differences between Seelie and Unseelie are unclear. Are they just different kingdoms, do they have different cultures, like, what's going on? The Queen is our main connection to Seelie, and she spends most of her page time flirting with underage boys. Whatever abstract evil plan she may have been trying to achieve by allying with Sebastian is completely ruined by her sexual relationship with him. One book she's in perfect control, playing mind games with the teens and being incredibly cruel to Alec because he indirectly insulted her. Then in Dark articfices, when Emma insults her, she throws a tantrum, demands they kneel (doesn't punish them when they refuse), and is easily redirected by Julian. It cheapens her already weak characterization.

There's a whole book named after the Unseelie King. And he's the most forgettable character in the series. Like, other than general menace and evil, you get no sense of his character. Then there's Kieran. He's the first real fae main character we've had. He actually becomes king, and still his whole story is centred on his love life. Does no one in the country have a problem with a teen king who didn't even want the job? The wild hunt is just a convenient plot device.

As the supposedly main oppressed group, you also barely see how the Cold Peace affected them. The people most affecred by it are the Blackthorns. Faeries just talk old fashioned and don't get pop culture references. Their language, government, culture are barely given any thought.

I'm not gonna lie, the potential plot of Wicked Powers holds almost no interest for me, because so much of it is related to Faerie, and I care so little about it. Ash so far is not particularly compelling, nor is his contrived relationship with Dru. Also hate retreading the same nature vs nurture theme we already failed at with Sebastian. And Kit's Fae heritage is the least interesting part of his character, since he has no real connection to faeries. Could just be a personal problem through, so I wanted to know your thoughts on that whole aspect.

I share your sentiment. I haven’t given much thought previously to why The Wicked Powers or even The Dark Artifices focusing more on the faerie was never fulfilling or worth of excitement, but well, you said it. Despite that the series depict the faeries in general as unpredictable, misleading, mystical, and even strange—does a good job at describing their wide variety of unique and colorful appearances that sets them apart from other magical people—it’s all style, no substance. As far as we know the faeries are divided into two courts, the Seelie and the Unseelie, as well as the Wild Hunt with no allegiance to either. If we look at these concept of Faerie and faeries chronologically, especially now very much in hindsight, there are a few oddities and things that reveal how disjointed and undefined the introduction and presentation of the fairies—especially the faerie courts—in the series were initially.

1 OVERVIEW IN THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS

In City of Bones, Clary is told about the Shadow World and the different peoples inhabiting it. She is obviously introduced to the existence of faeries among other Downworlders, and as we go with her on her journey we learn different nuggets and tidbits of information about them along the way. CITY OF BONES reveals the readers that

Faeries are one of the denizens of the Shadow World among the other Downworlders and the Nephilim

A legend has it that the faeries are fallen angels, and it is also said that they are offspring of demons and angels (“as beautiful as angels are supposed to be, but they have a lot of mischief and cruelty in them.”) → going somewhat along according to the Christian tradition where faeries are demoted angels or demons

The faerie food has a tendency to “make humans a little crazy”

There are faerie circles in Central Park that Isabelle wanted to show Simon. Jace also says the Central Park is full of faeries

Faeries aren’t particular whether they date or partner with women or men

The faeries hate iron, though this is not elaborated on in the first three books at all. It’s discernable that the faeries are somehow vulnerable to iron, especially in City of Glass where Jocelyn tells Clary her finding out what Valentine did in their wine cellar (“Faeries whose skin had been pierced with cold iron”), and the later books, especially City of Heavenly Fire, goes to showcase this more in depth.

Faerie bands only play mopey ballads (according to Magnus and the reason why he hates faerie bands)

Faerie knights aided Luke and Jocelyn against Valentine during the Uprising, the knights carrying weapons of glass and twisted thorns → implies higher allegiance with the faerie gentry but this is never went into much detail later on nor does it have much impact on future events

Faerie courts meet on midsummer evenings on the emerald square of Central Park

Aside from the different descriptions of the appearances of different types of faeries, this is the central information we get from the first book of the series. The last mention of the faeries references “courts”, but this is left unexplained, and what is meant by it is for now unknown. We don’t get much out of the world of faeries or how their own society is organized. Vampires and werewolves get that honor naturally as their roles are more in touch with the main story.

I have previously made a comparison between two different editions of City of Bones, but there is one change I only now noticed. In the original 2007 edition, in the chapter “The Werewolf’s Tale” where Luke tells Clary about his past life and the Uprising:

After that I began to meet Jocelyn in secret. It was the year of the Accords, and all of Downworld was abuzz about them and Valentine’s probable plans for disrupting them. I heard that he had argued passionately in the Clave against the Accords, but with no success. So the Circle made a new plan, steeped in secrecy. They allied themselves with demons—the greatest enemies of Shadowhunters—in order to procure weapons that could be smuggled undetected into the Great Hall of the Angel, where the Accords would be signed. And with the aid of a demon, Valentine stole the Mortal Cup. He left in its place a facsimile. It was months before the Clave realized the Cup was missing, and by then it was too late.

However in the 2015 reissue this was changed to:

After that I began to meet Jocelyn in secret. It was an unusual time; the Accords were being signed more than a year early, so that the ceremony wouldn’t conflict with a lengthy faerie ritual. The Clave wasn’t happy about the change, but as this particular ritual was only held once every five hundred years, the Nephilim had to acquiesce to the demands of the Fey. All of Downworld was abuzz about the Accords and Valentine’s probable plans for disrupting them. He saw the schedule change as another sign that the Clave was weak, and that Downworlders were running roughshod over the Nephilim. I heard that he had argued passionately against the shift, but with no success. So the Circle made a new plan, steeped in secrecy. They allied themselves with demons—the greatest enemies of Shadowhunters—in order to procure weapons that could be smuggled undetected into the Great Hall of the Angel, where the Accords would be signed. And with the aid of a demon, Valentine stole the Mortal Cup. He left in its place a facsimile. It was months before the Clave realized the Cup was missing, and by then it was too late.

Whether to better tie Valentine’s motivations to a more concrete example or add a world-building element or both, I don’t know, though it is better and more detailed than the original for sure. It does also add a little cultural detail to the faeries but doesn’t really tell much of anything about the importance and specifics of the ritual itself—or whether it is a ritual participated by both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts.

CITY OF ASHES contains obviously more of the faeries and Faerie as the journey takes the characters to meet with the Seelie Queen. City of Ashes reveals to us that

Faeries cannot lie (here is one of the many instances this is told and reiterated in the overall series)

Faeries are simple enough to spot in the park if you know where to look (Clary found them as a child, told also in City of Bones)

Nixies are water faeries

A faerie child was killed in Central Park (it seems that’s the only place they hang around, and later in City of Fallen Angels it is explicitly determined to be the territory belonging to the faeries)

It’s unwise to antagonize the Fair Folk, it’s not a good idea to ignore them, and that they do not help humans

The Seelie Court is not safe

Faeries “are the offspring of demons and angels with the beauty of angels and the viciousness of demons” (The same point Jace reiterates from City of Bones but now more as a fact than a legend or a belief. He also adds to their cruelty by telling that “a faerie could make you dance until you died with your legs ground down into stumps, trick you into a midnight swim and drag you screaming underwater until your lungs burst, fill your eyes with faerie dust until you gouged them out at the roots—")

Faeries live for hundreds of years and are cunning as snakes

Once again, they can't lie, but they love to engage in creative truth-telling

Faeries will find out whatever it is you want most in the world and give it to you with a sting in the tail of the gift that will make you regret you ever wanted it in the first place

Faeries are not really about helping people rather than about harm disguised as help

Faeries are very susceptible to charm

The faerie courts are dangerous (told by Isabelle, but once again it is not elaborated at all what is meant by courts, so it is still unclear which other court (or courts) is referred to in the plural.)

The Seelie Court knows all that happens in their lands

The Seelie Court can be accessed through a secret entrance by the Turtle Pond (the door is underground and can be accessed by during a very specific moment, but the book poorly defines that it is only one of the possible entrances, and that the Court is not actually under the pond. Isabelle speaks of them going “underground” as well, which enforces the idea of the Court being physically located there.)

Mundane humans are not permitted in the Seelie Court

The faeries are known to dally with the occasional mortal, but they always end in abandoning them, usually the worse for wear

Faeries have no sense of humor (according to Isabelle, also pointed out by Emma later in Lady Midnight)

The Seelie Queen is the Queen of Faerie or the local one anyway (the first time the Seelie Court is mentioned by name, no elaboration on what is meant with a local Faerie as the faerie lands don’t really exist “locally”)

Their dancing is so enticing that you feel compelled to join them and then dance until you die (mortals are easily swayed by faerie glamours)

It’s possible for humans to join the faerie revels if they are accompanied by a faerie or if the faeries give the human a token (a leaf or a flower etc.) to hold on to. If they keep it through the night, they’ll be fine in the morning

The Seelie Queen has a Court in the north (told by Meliorn, whatever this also means)

Faeries are prone to tricks and trickery to get leverage

To summarize, there is quite a lot of information on how the faeries behave and what they are like. We get a good image of their trickery and untrustworthiness. Even the fact that they can't lie doesn't create the impression that they're easy to fool or verbally trap. The series makes it clear that this is precisely why they're so adept at twisting and presenting the truth (as they see it). The meeting with the Seelie Queen also exemplifies the cruelty specifically in her nature and indifference towards others, especially mortals. The Faerie presents a threat to Clary because she is not as well protected as the others at first, and her knowledge on the Faerie is still lacking. She is not adept at faerie speak and gets frustrated easily because she is not familiar with their tricky ways.

Nevertheless, the constantly referenced danger still seems superficial because of this air of vagueness around the faeries despite all the information given about them. In some ways, this vagueness serves the mystique surrounding them, but at the same time it doesn't really give the reader anything concrete to grasp. We don't understand the world of fairies and their culture any better. Supposedly leaving a lot of their world unexplained aids the narrative by shrouding the ancient fay in mystery, yet that mysticism very quickly turns to bewilderment when the concept is later expanded and things are presented as if they had always existed without ever being mentioned or defined before (as we will see with the Unseelie Court). Furthermore, the danger that really befalls the characters is entirely related to the fact that the Seelie Queen's character is being used to indulge in the incest plot and manufacture a kiss scene between Jace and Clary—propelling more conflict with Simon and making them have a forbidden intimate scene witnessed and observed by others as a side.

City of Ashes is exceptional in that fairies feature more prominently in it than the following instalments. Even though City of Heavenly Fire contains more faerie characters, as they are the other side of the war and the whole conflict, I get the impression that I still can't get any deeper than the surface. CITY OF GLASS offers little new knowledge on faeries as it barely features them. In this book we are told that

The Seelie Court itself is not under the park. Just like the Silent City, there are various entrances but the places themselves are something, as Isabelle does not explain it fully before breaking off (it can be concluded that somewhere else, but not told where) → I think this should have been said in CoA already

Faerie knights are swift

Faeries (like other Downworlders) are souled, unlike demons who are not

Some of them eat flowers

The Fair Folk, unlike humans, do not concern themselves overmuch with liking. Maybe love and hate as they are both useful emotions

CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS offers even less:

Faeries smell like dead flowers (as all the Downworlders have a specific smell to them)

Faerie territory defined, Central Park being the domain of the fey

It isn’t smart to tell the Seelie Queen more than you have to

CITY OF LOST SOULS reiterates some of the same points as the previous books. Here we are also introduced to the Blackthorn family as well as The Wild Hunt since Clare clearly begins priming for The Dark Artifices. And because she is already preparing the next book series at this point, these concepts are only now starting to come to life. We are told that

You have to ask faeries the exact right things to get useful information out of them

Faeries are very hard to question, even if they do have to tell the truth

Asking faeries a favor is different to that

A child of a faerie and a Shadowhunter would be a Shadowhunter, but sometimes the faerie blood can express itself in odd ways, even generations down the line

Faeries know how to make powerful objects and are clearly distinguishable by their craftsmanship (distinct faerie-work like the telepathy rings, a bell Clary receives to call on the Seelie Queen)

The Fair Folk are an old people who do not wish to make hasty decisions but “wait to see in what direction the wind blows first”

Faeries are misleaders and adept gaslighters and manipulators (we know this by now)

The Wild Hunt (also called Gabriel’s Hounds and The Wild Host as they have many names) are faeries who disdain the earthly Courts. They ride across the sky, pursuing an eternal hunt. On one night a year a mortal can join them but once you’ve joined the Hunt, you can never leave it (Jace just shows Clary randomly the Hunt riding across the night sky, once again a new concept appearing right before it becomes relevant for Mark’s character in the next book)

Faeries take great stock in names, and would never call someone by anything but the name chosen for them (by a parent?)

Faeries seem to have a higher tolerance for wine and liquor

Faeries have drugs

The Seelie Queen is dangerous, she was merely playing around in CoA. Usually she likes to drive at least a few humans to screaming madness every day before breakfast (according to Isabelle)

Here the word “courts” is for the first time capitalized, but at this point in TMI it remains still unclear which other court (or courts) is referred to in the plural. And then because CITY OF HEAVENLY FIRE especially gears towards The Dark Artifices, it is revealed that

Mark’s mother is rumored to have been a princess of the Seelie Court

Faeries sleep little and rarely dream

No faerie would allow another to address them by their true name

The safe kind of faerie food consists of raw vegetables and beetles (seemingly among other things, possibly)

Faeries take invitations very seriously and would be insulted if refused

Faerie décor has always tended toward the naturalistic (tree-trunk tables, cutlery made of elaborately shaped branches, plates of nuts and berries)

It is never a good sign when faeries answer questions with questions

The demon realms can be accesses through faerie lands though a path that leads through them

Faeries don’t like their secrets to get out, though some human musicians have been able to encode faerie secrets into ancient ballads (Thomas the Rhymer mentioned, about a man who was kidnapped by the Queen (according to whom he came willingly))

Time runs differently in Faerie. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower

Faeries often choose objects from the natural world to send their messages in (acorns, leaves, flowers etc.)

The Wild Hunt are faeries that are huntsmen and ride across the sky (already told in CoLS but for some reason repeated here). There is a belief among people that if you follow the Hunt, they can lead you to the land of the dead or to Faerie

Gwyn ap Nudd is the leader of the Wild Hunt, holds no allegiance to anyone and is part of a wilder magic, is called the Gathered of the Dead

Gwyn ap Nudd nor his huntsmen, though faeries, are not involved with the Accords as they have no agreement with the Shadowhunters and do not recognize their jurisdiction. The Hunt does not abide by any laws either

Faeries are centralized (“One Seelie Court, one Unseelie Court.”) → first time in TMI that the Unseelie Court is even named

The faerie lands stretch far, and the Courts are all that can be reached by the other Downworlders and the Nephilim (through means of communication)

Faeries cannot survive in Edom

Faeries love to tease and torment humans, and only Shadowhunters prevent them (But like how?)

Lily speaks of the possibility of the faeries beginning to take human babies again (changelings, bringing in this aspect now in CoHF as it was relevant in Clockwork Princess that was published chronologically right before CoHF)

Faeries are weakened by becoming in contact with iron, steel, rowan wood, and salt (used in protection against them)

The might of faerie soldiers is legendary

Faeries are also susceptible to grave dirt (though grave dirt has only been ever mentioned as to vampires in the series, this being the first as to faeries)

Salt, grave dirt, or cold iron won’t work on the Wild Hunt because they are not ordinary faeries

The Wild Hunt will come gather the dead when the battle is all over, and the dead will serve them (not generally as this was a specific agreement made in this instance)

The Unseelie Court declines a representative during the Council meeting after the Dark War (second and last time the word “Unseelie” is used in TMI)

The faeries have always had their own sovereignty and their own kings and queens. They have always had warriors as well

Faeries are ancient people

Faeries cannot lie, reiterated like ten times already

City of Heavenly Fire opens up more of the faerie world to readers, partly because it has to as the characters adventure through it to Edom. However, unlike other books in the series, it sheds light on small nuggets of information regarding the organization and administration of the faeries—although very little. We still for the longest time don't get any idea of ​​how many courts there are, how fairies are organized and what kind of hierarchy prevails in their society. Even when the Unseelie Court is finally mentioned by name in the main series, we know absolutely nothing about it. How is it different from the Seelie Court? Who rules it? How are the fairies organized between the two courts? How does the Unseelie Court operate? Although Infernal Devices was published between the last three TMI books, it does not explore the subject in a more meaningful or detailed way either.

2 OVERVIEW IN THE INFERNAL DEVICES

I wanted to additionally take a look at the concept of faeries in TID as well, mainly because it’s in this series the word “Unseelie” is used for the very first time in the entire Chronicles to refer to the other faerie court. CLOCKWORK ANGEL tells us that

Faeries were half-demon and half-angel, and therefore possessed both great beauty and an evil nature (This is from the Codex as Tessa reads it, and seems to be presented again as a fact than a belief unlike in City of Bones)

Vampires are not all that fond of the fey

That’s most of the info we get from Clockwork Angel. CLOCKWORK PRINCE has a couple tidbits as well:

There are faerie drug dens (the one visited has a “cloying incense stench”)

When faerie blood grows weak and thin, the faeries will find their way into a human home and take “the best, the prettiest, and the plumpest child” and replace that child with a sick faerie child (it’s unfair to just kidnap a child and leave nothing in its place, and it would also create suspicion)

This strengthens the bloodline as the human child grows tall and strong in Faerie, and the humans are burdened with a dying faerie child (info given because it relates to Tessa’s storyline, but the changelings, though present in real-life folklore, has never been previously brought up in TMI)

CLOCKWORK PRINCESS:

Introduces a satyr named Sallows who is an Unseelie Court faerie (this is the first instance the word “Unseelie” is used)

Introduces us to the concept of the Unseelie Court faeries who are told to be the nasty ones and who do not like too much light (this is the only knowledge gained about it)

A half-human, half-faerie boy making an apperance has something mischievous and a bit spritelike about him (“faerie blood, sometimes, handed down over generations, could express itself in humans and even Shadowhunters with the curve of an eye or the bright shine of a pupil.”) → basically reiterating this point as well, just a bit differently

Faeries cannot lie but rather twist the truth or repeat the truth as they believe it (once again reiterated)

According to a story, the Cŵn Annwn, the Hounds of the Underworld, sleep inside Cadair Idris

Now we are nine books in and what is entirely adequately presented is the appearances and behaviors of the faeries. Adequately, because that's pretty much what the books focus on when it comes to faeries. There are lines after lines of text describing every color, hairstyle, specialty, and natural element in their appearances as well as lines after lines repeating the same information on how the faeries are untrustworthy and twist the truth for they cannot lie. City of Ashes tells six times the faeries cannot lie, City of Glass alludes to it once, City of Fallen Angels also reiterates this point once, City of Lost Souls comes as a good second for telling it and alluding to it four times, and City of Heavenly Fire ties in with City of Ashes with six separate reminders (CoHF also tells you four times that Meliorn can lie).

The Infernal Devices has barely anything to do with faeries, so understandably they are removed from the storytelling or organically introducing more information about them or exploring their world more. However, the casual way the Unseelie Court is just mentioned in the middle of everything gives the impression that more should be known about it, as if it was always part of the whole concept of Faerie. Instead, there's a question mark above my head. The what? Where? Since when?

3 THE FAERIE COURTS

Faeries being divided into the two courts of Seelie and Unseelie has background in Scottish folklore as well as in other Celtic traditions, which have become popular in modern fantasy. Naturally, The Dark Artifices introduces readers "deeper" into the lore of the faeries as the events of the plot are strongly connected with them. As to the two series preceding TDA, I’ve already pointed out the lack of information about the faeries and their society a few times here. The Shadowhunter’s Codex says that the faeries “are the least understood of all magical peoples, the great ancient mystery of our world.” This seems to explain and justify the little (and rather superficial) knowledge that the Nephilim have about faeries or their lands, especially as it is ever-changing and no map has been able to be produced.

The Shadowhunter’s Codex was released later the same year after Clockwork Princess (2013), for which is reasonable that all the information on the faeries told in the series is included in the Codex. It’s supposed to act as a guide for the readers, but to me it seems that all the information on faeries is for the most part nothing new? The most interesting aspect revealed in the Codex is the following:

Although the fey are active members of Downworld, and signers of the Accords, faeries are more removed from the affairs of our world than any other known creatures except angels. They usually keep to themselves, and have their own complex politics and social structures, which only tangentially affect our world. Commonly they are organized into courts, with sovereigns presiding over specific territories in our world and in theirs. However, there are just as many, if not more, free-ranging faeries in the world unaffiliated with any specific monarch.

Despite that TMI and TID have both (poorly) made the difference between the Seelie and the Unseelie, the Codex makes no mention of this. Here the text merely vaguely discusses “courts” once more. Note also the ridiculous mention of “complex politics and social structures” that the Shadowhunter apparently know that exists but don’t explain here (nor anywhere else), apparently because the faeries are “the great ancient mystery of our world.” The text suggests that there could be several courts, each with its own rulers. Yet City of Heavenly Fire makes a point of faeries being centralized into two. Although TDA ultimately answers the question of who rules the Unseelie court, it's pretty strange that this isn't mentioned earlier, even on the side. The Codex also contains the following:

Entrances to Faerie tend to be hidden, rather than guarded, and tend to be permanently located in a single place. (The fey may close an entrance and open a new one when the original entrance has become dangerous or unworkable, or in the rare case when wars break out between fey courts and entrances must be closed or guarded.)

The Nephilim seem to have enough knowledge to presume in what frequency wars in Faerie break out, enough to note their “complex” political structures, but never explain what the hell they even are because mystery. In City of Ashes, City of Glass, and City of Lost Souls the “faerie court” is said, the spelling being in lowercase. In CoLS, when Sebastian negotiates with Meliorn, he says: “Like myself, the Queen is content to play a long game. But what I desire to know is this: When the twilight of the Nephilim comes, will the Courts stand with or against me?” To which Meliorn answers that the Seelie Queen says she’ll stand with Sebastian.

I’m probably incredibly dense but none of these “courts” make sense to me. What “courts” and “Courts”?  Why is it presented here as if the Seelie Queen has a say for the “Courts”? We also never get back to Magnus’ notion about the Seelie Queen being the Queen of Faerie or the local one anyway. What local Faerie? Opposed to a nonlocal? What is that? Who supposedly reigns over that then? Also the comment Meliorn makes in CoA that the Seelie Queen has arrived back from her Court in the north: what Court and where in the north? What even is her northernCourt? Is the Seelie Court a collection of different courts? Why does the text keep talking about “the Court” and “the courts” and “the Courts” without making any distinction what do any of them mean? All of this seems just scattered, nonsensical, and vague. Trying to justify that with unknown mystery that are the faeries is lazy.

The Unseelie Court is such a nonentity in both The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, earning only five mentions by name in two scenes in both total. Only in the prologue of Lady Midnight is the distinction on the courts and their rulers made clear:

They were split into two Courts: the Seelie Court, a dangerous place ruled by a Queen no one had seen in years, and the Unseelie Court, a dark place of treachery and black magic whose King was like a monster out of legend.

And mind you, there were twelve books published before this, including the Codex that was as useful as a screen door on a submarine. All the works where King Arawn appears have been published after Lady Midnight, meaning he was given no mention at all before this because, I don’t know, did the idea of him even exist? (The Codex contains an illustration of an Unseelie Queen.) Even in City of Heavenly Fire when the fate of the Cold Peace is sealed and peace treaty signed, Jia merely asks whether there is a representative from the Unseelie Court present, as if we should’ve been in the know all this time that such thing even exists, let alone who rules it.

In Lady Midnight it is said that “The hand of the Consul was forced by the betrayal of the Seelie Queen. Unseelie warriors fought beside hers.” And I don’t think CoHF made that distinction? CoHF only mentions faeries and faerie knights in general. If I’m not mistaken, this seems like another one of the many things added in retrospect because the planning and execution before sucked.

Apparently the kelpies also have a throne? Where does that fit in all of this?

4 QUESTIONS ABOUT TITLES

This is already starting to be a pretty long commentary track on the whole topic, but I have a few more things on my mind. Since Mark and Helen’s mother Nerissa was said to be a princess of the gentry in the Seelie Court, one of the highest rank of the fey

How does one become a princess of the Seelie Court? She doesn’t seem to be related to the Queen (and if she was, I think this would’ve been said?)

How are such titles of prince or princess defined and given? Are all these types of titles hereditary to the children of the holders? Kieran and subsequently all his siblings are princes and princesses as their father is a king, but could Mark of Helen possibly claim a Faerie Court title because of their mother? Mark constantly yaps in Lady Midnight how his mother was one of the highest rank of the fey, but not what that even meeeeans. And then everyone just reiterates how Mark is the son of Lady Nerissa.

Kieran calls himself “a prince of Faerie. Son of the King, Prince of the Frost Court, Keeper of the Cold Way, Wild Hunter, and Sword of the Host” in Lord of Shadows, which is cool, I guess, but what.

Is it different to be a princess of the Seelie Court than a princess/a prince of the Unseelie? Seemingly.

How does the succession to the throne work? They do have a Queen in the Seelie, but the Seelie Court doesn’t seem to operate like a monarchy as it seems they don’t have any order of succession based on lineages (any hereditary titles, right of succession) unlike the Unseelie seems to.

Are the princesses and princes more in the concept of sovereign rulers of a state or a territory (a generic term for a ruler encompassing any and all rulers regardless of actual status, prīnceps, or Fürst/Fürstin etc.) All this talk about Lady Nerissa this, Lady Nerissa that, but what was her function as a princess really?

How did the Seelie Queen become the Queen of the Seelie Court in the first place?

5 THE COLD PEACE

In Lady Midnight, Kit describes the Cold Peace as following:

The Shadowhunters had punished them viciously in a sweeping gesture that had come to be known as the Cold Peace: forcing them to pay huge sums to rebuild the Shadowhunter buildings that had been destroyed, stripping them of their armies, and instructing other Downworlders never to give them aid. The punishment for helping a faerie was severe.

Then it is reiterated once more from Emma’s point of view:

According to the Law of the Cold Peace, an underage Shadowhunter shouldn’t have anything to do with faeries at all. Faeries were off-limits, the cursed and forbidden branch of Downworlders, ever since the Cold Peace, which had ripped away their rights, their armies, and their possessions. Their ancient lands were no longer considered theirs, and other Downworlders fought over who could claim them. Trying to calm such battles was a great part of the business of the Los Angeles Institute, but it was adult business. Shadowhunters Emma’s age weren’t meant to engage directly with faeries.

Also:

It’s forbidden to help them, and they’re forbidden from contacting Shadowhunters. Only the Scholomance and the Centurions are meant to deal with faeries—and the Consul and Inquisitor.

So there were immediate caveats to the peace treaty. Here I would like to circle back to those excerpts from the Codex, in which it is stated that the political affairs of Faerie barely have an effect on the human world as the faeries also keep mostly to themselves. They also have the power and right to close or guard any entrance to the Faerie as they see fit. How did the treaty affect them in practice? How the sanctions were even enforced? What were the concrete effects that were felt in Faerie?

The faeries were sanctioned to pay reparations for the loss of life to the Nephilim and other Downworlders → With what currency and how much? How was the payment of the sanctions even ensured? Made by whom and from whose treasury? How is this divided when both courts were somehow involved in the war?

The faeries were demanded to give up their arms and denied their own armies. Faeries bearing arms without Clave approval would be executed on sight → Do they generally see faerie knights or other warriors mingling elsewhere outside Faerie or brandishing weapons? How would this ban be enforced if the faeries can effectively keep outsiders out of their lands? Even possibly evade them as the Courts know what happens on faerie lands

The Accords no longer protect the faeries → No Accords also mean no Shadowhunter interference or help (which they arguably have very little need of). It is even said that the faeries signing the Accords “represents their covenant for behavior among the Nephilim's realm, but not in their own.”

I surprised the Nephilim didn’t try to occupy Faerie after the war to see the any of the control measures being fulfilled, because these demands in and of themselves seem hard to implement and monitor compliance with them. I guess that would’ve taken it too far in this narrative, but really, how are these demands enforced on such elusive people? How did the Unseelie Court experience the effects of the treaty—enough to take revenge on the Shadow World—when it was such a non-entity in the first place? I think TDA leaves this question as open as the Codex refuses to answer what "complex politics and societal structures" in Faerie even are in practice.

→ Also what about the inner turmoil among the faeries themselves? That their people have been put into such a situation by the gentry?

The Cold Peace effectively isolated the fay from the Nephilim and other Downworlders as they also forbade the fey from doing business on the Shadow Markets. What a core theme would it be that the common people always seem to pay the price for the actions of the nobility (the fey gentry here), but The Dark Artifices discusses the peace treaty being generally unfair, and the story focuses on the experiences of the Blackthorns more than having social commentary on war and the almost necessary effects afterwards. The Cold Peace is treated as an unfair punishment on the fey—and for the common folk having no say in the matter it was—for betraying the Accords and waging war against the Nephilim, but overall the end result still seems really ineffective.

Then there is the issue with Mark and Helen and their faerie blood, which is such a good conflict arisen organically from the story itself: the faerie and the Shadowhunters are two opposing forces currently engaged in conflict that has stemmed from betrayal and distrust following that. Now these two people with heritage from both are left in the middle of the conflict and abandoned because of what they could never even control. They are embraced by neither and are effectively abandoned by both. The absolute injustice of their circumstances are extremely compelling, and you want to see them vindicated in the end. But what do we end up doing with their characters instead? Romance, drama, romance drama, family drama, unjust behavior coming from their family and leaving most of that subtext unexplored—especially when it comes to Helen because she is a female character, unlike Mark who is utilized in the romance dramas around him.

It’s weird in a sense that the series barely fixate on Helen and Mark. In retrospect their position would’ve been better and more fitting for the protagonists for the series considering the current state of the geopolitics. Their struggles would’ve been more relevant and should’ve been more in front and center. They should’ve had the absolute attention and visibility over else, because now I feel like the narrative in TDA ignores this aspect and its effects in favor of Julian and Emma and relationship angst in general.

6 ALL IN ALL

I've been writing this answer for days now, and I'm starting to get to the point where I don't know how to recapitulate any of this. I skimmed through TDA as well while writing, and more so than ever am I convinced that I remember very little from those books. Help. Maybe most importantly, I will return to one of your points: the language, government, culture of the faeries are barely given any thought. This is what I was trying to illustrate by going through all of the first nine books, during which a proper and solid foundation for the entire concept of faeries should have already been built.

Instead of using the time and space on the pages efficiently and to maximum benefit, Clare ends up repeating the same things over and over again, just saying them in slightly different words. It is well illustrated how fairies behave and what they look like, but the world they live in remains a superficial scratch and can be summarized in a flat sentence in the Codex. What do you mean “complex political and societal structures” without having no intention to ever expand on that? Do you think this is adequate world-building, Clare? The information on Faerie is sometimes even contradictory. Some things are known with such certainty that they can be told, but expanding and opening them up further causes Clare to run away from the subject and hide behind the mystique surrounding fairies. It's ridiculous.

As an addition to my previous post about the Seelie Queen, it's good to note that Clare doesn't really present her credibly as any kind of threat in TMI. The situation is tried to be saved by Isabelle saying how the Queen was just fooling around and playing in CoA, and that in CoLS shit is about to get real, when Clare probably realized that whatever took place in CoA wasn't instilling a very threatening image of the character. Alec can be sacrificed as the punching bag for speaking back, to help to instill that image, but obviously not Clary, or Jace—or Emma or Julian for that matter. The protagonists know how to lead her and direct her and speak to her, but characters like Alec may remain as cannon fodder for those other purposes and get humbled in their place.

I am really lacking interest for Kit’s fay heritage as well. I remember the revelation of Auraline not having any sort of reaction from me while reading the book. I think my mind was already flatlining by the time of Lord of Shadows. But we’ll see what will become of TWP.

P.S. Happy new year to you too! Took long because I had to hit the books, though I finally yielded with TDA. EEG will not be detecting any brain activity from hereon.

[lotsofkn1ves]

the boy who gathered stars

[bookishjules]

the thing about the scarves in cols is that when sebastian offers his ("heathery black and white tweed") to clary, he almost forces it on her. it's part of his presentation of psuedo-care. she's shivering, he has a scarf--ergo, take the scarf. but after getting back to the apartment, clary is about to walk off with jace and sebastian demands it back. when clary can't get it off fast enough he walks over and deftly removes the scarf from her neck.

immediately after this last part, simon goes to see rebecca, who herself is wearing a scarf ("green...with big yellow cotton flowers"). she doesn't give it to him like we saw before an older sibling might do, but then simon doesn't seem outwardly cold. it's when she learns about the coldness he's hiding (i.e. his unbeating heart and their mom's cold reaction that clings to him) that she wraps her scarf around them both.

where sebastian's scarf is grayscale and scratchy, becky's is bright and soft. they're both warm and ostensibly meant to protect. but to sebastian, the warmth of affection is something to be given and taken away with an ease that exhibits a lack of sincerity in the exchange, let alone warmth that goes beyond the surface. this is entirely opposite from rebecca, whose affection is more like selfless sacrifice than a heartless exchange. she was willing to let simon's ever-cold body into the circle of her warmth, joined with him in the cold spot he's found himself in. it may not have been practical for her to expand her scarf to such a degree. but that's the whole point.

the love between siblings is instinctive. it's not practical. it's not a simple give and take. it's about reading, understanding, giving, even when there's nothing to gain back except the other's comfort. and maybe on the surface, it seems this is what sebastian is doing as well, but it's far too calculated for that. they're out of the cold for a good amount of time before he takes his scarf back from clary, and it isn't until she's leaving him to spend time with jace that he does. to sebastian, that warmth was something earned. and to sebastian, that's love. he doesn't know that instinctive kind of connection and protection that comes with being an older sibling, that comes like breathing to becky.