Pairing: Malec
Trope(s): Time Travel AU, Parabatai Bonding, Lightwood-Bane Babies
Prompt:
Alec had sworn to take things easy work-wise for the next few days; they were absolutely not postponing the wedding because he'd gotten himself injured on a hunt. But work always has a way of finding him. On an outing with their boys and Jace (for whatever reason), they come across some sort of magical anomaly.
Alec and Jace are struck by a spell, and they wake up in London; only nearly two centuries ago (Slightly post-TID). (Spell Theory: it threw them through time, and they were pulled out somewhere near their bloodline - it just so happens Magnus is also nearby).
Alec is freaked out about leaving the boys behind - as they're nowhere to be found - and Jace is freaked out about getting murdered by his soon to be brother-in-law. Alec's first instinct, of course, is to find Magnus. Surely past-Magnus will be willing to help; at least now Alec knows how to woo him a little more confidently than he had the first time around.
Canon-ish - Alec was injured by a demon as a young child during an outing with his parents, leaving him with weak lungs. He's falling behind in all his training and he's terrified that he'll be permanently barred from field work. He's increasingly terrified his siblings will go off on missions without him.
In the stupidest move of his life, he makes a deal with a demon. A soul for his health. (Additionally: Alec never goes half-assed and it's a very powerful demon).
It sits on the back burner as he grows up and works around the clock to catch up and be the perfect Shadowhunter. It's at some point in his relationship with Magnus, maybe after he's injured and needs healing, that Magnus realizes that he has a weird magical trace on him.
Alec comes clean about the deal. Magnus is #notamused.
Post-Valentine times - the Shadowhunter numbers are down and the Academy is reopened. As a high performing Parabatai pair, Alec and Jace are brought in to teach.
Alec wants to build up the resume some more and maybe finally remove the anti-Downworlder drivel out of their teaching material.
Jace is there because he doesn't want to be in New York for months without his Parabatai. Plus Max is attending and they even convinced Izzy to come down to cover a few topics - he wasn't going to be the only Lightwood left behind.
An invitation is extended to Ragnor to resume his old post, which is promptly forwarded to Magnus because he has done his due and his friend owes him favours. Incredibly reluctantly, complaining every moment to anyone willing to answer his phone call, he accepts. He's not ready to be surrounded by out-of-their-depth mundies and bratty Shadowhunter brats that somehow manage to spit out slurs around the silver spoons in their mouths.
A cute instructor with an adorable smile might make it mildly less unbearable (if the annoying Parabatai would just stop wreaking havoc for 2 seconds).
Pairing: Malec
Trope: Good-with-Kids Alec, Madzie!, Different First Meeting, Canon AU
Prompt:
Alec comes across Iris and Madzie at a park during an afternoon coffee run. After a bit of chatting, Iris sees that he's charmed her usually shy young ward and realizes he's actually quite good with kids. She persuades/convinces him to help her with her wards by coming by to babysit when she needs to go somewhere.
("The High Warlock isn't fond of kids, did you know that? Has me taking care of all these abandoned warlock children because he can't be bothered. But I do everything I can to give them a good home until I can find someone to adopt them.") - Iris knows keeping her enemy closer is imperative, now that her underground operation is really taking off.
Alec, a little blinded by the fact she's willing to trust him and definitely pre-occupied by caring for a host of babies and toddlers (that he is completely enamoured with), doesn't realize the truth of what she's doing. There is a locked door to a basement, but that's just for storage, isn't it?
More:
Alec taught Madzie that if there's ever an emergency she should go to the High Warlock. As much as he's trying to enact change at his Institute, they're not quite ready for a young warlock to come knocking for help. (Nor does he want to advertise the fact he uses almost all of his free time to babysit). (For free). (Jace and Izzy would never stop laughing).
She shows up there one day, bawling her eyes out that her nana was attacked.
Magnus is, simply put, confused. He's supposed to know all the warlocks in his city and has no idea who she is. She insists she wants Alec, another unknown person, and after practically dragging information out of the child does he put together that it's a Shadowhunter. Which is somehow even more confusing than the child at his doorstep.
He goes to the Institute to grab this mysterious Alec, since he's a bit out of options here, and together they go to Iris' place to fend off whatever demon she'd let loose. (It escaped from her basement - a wandering magical toddler fiddling with locks). She, along with the other children, are long gone.
Alec is devastated by the betrayal (and possible injury to one of the children). Magnus decides he isn't a collaborator in Iris' horrible warlock breeding factory, and is just another victim of her cruelty.
They #PowerCouple to save the other kids and bring her to justice.
Magnus is injured on a mission somewhere up north where it's snowy and gross and he isn't happy about being there in the first place. He's separated from his friends and is found / saved by Alec, who's a dragon shapeshifter living in the mountains by himself.
Magnus wakes up in a cave warded too strongly for him to use any magic with a blizzard outside with a very enthusiastic young man for company. He's wary about this turning into a 'Misery' situation (though his search hasn't yielded a sledgehammer - thankfully).
Alec is just incredibly excited at having a visitor that's also a super gorgeous warlock and is trying to woo him with increasingly worse romance tactics. (There's a tiny town nearby-ish he's always flown to for supplies and has grown up watching TV through windows - he's very confident that he'll succeed in getting a kiss).
"If I'm going to be marrying one of yours, I have a few requirements. Hm, let's see... Male, over 6' feet, dark hair, blue eyes, and he must be good with his hands." He says it with a grin because Magnus wants them to view his demands as ridiculous as he finds their idea of an arranged marriage between a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder to 'better their alliance'. How archaic.
Only, Alec Lightwood knocks on his door with a literal marriage proposal stammering that maybe he fits the description, ("I'm an archer, does that work for the hand thing?"), and would Magnus please consider him as a candidate?
Jace is a jerkface. The kind of stupid jerkface that puts his brother's name in the dumb Goblet of Fire. It's his luck, of course, that his name is drawn out in the overcrowded dining hall where there's really no way to explain himself before being ushered into the 'Room of Champions'. Jace has almost laughed himself out of his seat, Isabelle is amused, first-year Max is ecstatic, and Alec... really hates his brother.
Yet, it's a lot less annoying when the beautiful Beauxbatons seventh-year, Magnus Bane, apparently can't stand their own chosen champion, one Lorenzo Rey, and insists on helping him win.
They devise a lot of unconventional methods to survive the rather deadly trials, and somehow Alec isn't becoming the laughing stock of the year and is making it through.
If he can face off against that dragon, maybe he can get the courage to ask the sparkling wizard to the Yule Ball? If Magnus doesn't do it first, of course.
All beings descended from angels and demons have magical gifts. Most are elemental-type gifts (fire, water, earth, lightning, etc...), but there are the occasional telepaths, empaths, psychics, and other more 'mystical' abilities. Most beings are born with one gift that they spend a lifetime perfecting - all but the warlocks, who can dedicate their lives to learning multiple types of magic.
More below cut...
Extraz:
Alec is a Shielder; able to form a protective magical wall. He's the most powerful Shielder Magnus has ever seen - able to imbue someone with a one-time-use shield that will protect them from any strike. (Jace has built his entire combat style around using that one free hit to surprise and disarm his enemies). Its range and strength is an extension of Alec's sheer need to protect. Only, Alec can't see that in the face of having a coward's gift; there's a reason there are no physical shields in the armoury.
Warlocks can perfect multiple magical branches, thanks to their affinity for magic and their long lifespans. Some will settle at four or five, mastering and expanding those skills to the best of their abilities. Magnus is a man that isn't easily satisfied, nor is he one to be bested. The Shadowhunters haven't pinned his number, but it's certainly over ten.
People can do a 'Matching' to see if their magics are compatible; used as a way to test the efficiency of a couple (mostly for Shadowhunters - the Downworlders think it's fun. It's practically a game and it's definitely incredible to watch.) For example, the gifts of fire and air would be deemed a better Match than fire and water, which would be likely to fail. A 'Perfect Matching' occurs when both the magics and the souls are a Match; it's a gorgeous display of magic and is honoured among all people.
Magnus has never had a Perfect Match. In general, it's more difficult for warlocks to Match at all, as all of their magics have to work with their partners' - or if coupled with another warlock, somehow they have to make multiple magics Match from both sides. It's exhausting and not often attempted. If he can Match three or four of his magics to the other person, he'll consider that a win and worth pursuing.
Other warlocks blame his ambition for his lack of a Perfect Match. How is someone expected to Match twelve (fourteen? ten? - only Magnus knows) types of magic? He, however, knows it's not so much how many, but the types themselves. Over the centuries he's come to discover that he leans towards the destructive magics, over the gentle. Fire, lightning, poisons, shadows... His attempt to learn healing taught him he can quicken the process of illnesses and that's a magic kept secret between him and Catarina. His powers are a roaring tornado at the worst of times, a bubbling volcano at the best; anyone a Match to all that would probably turn the world to ash.
Alec is insanely self-conscious that he's not good enough for Magnus (the most amazing and talented warlock to ever exist, in his opinion) and nearly breaks it off with him (and when he tries, Magnus worries it's because of his reputation - queue both trying to tell each other how amazing they find the other while trying to be self-deprecating because they're stupid boys).
They're randomly chatting in the Institute one day, probably going over a mission or something in the main hall, and a Shadowhunter asks how their Matching went, and they realize they never actually did that part. So they do it then and there in the middle of the Institute. And it's gorgeous. Magnus starts with a flame, his very first magic, and Alec bubbles it in one of his shields but feeds it oxygen to keep it alive, rather than snuffing it out. Magnus adds more and more of his magic, more than he's ever permitted himself, and Alec's shield expands around it but never breaks. It's almost a challenge to see how far he can push Alec, and he does, and he keeps pouring in magic but Alec effortlessly keeps it all contained.
It clicks, then, that Alec is his Perfect Match. He's never been looking for someone to match his chaos; he needed a counterbalance, someone who could reign it in and bring him back down to earth. Someone unafraid of the magnitude of his power, but instead stares at it with wide awestruck eyes full of love and wonder.
Uh, this got away from me a bit. I picture Jace having a magic skill that amplifies his senses, making him an even better fighter, and that he and Alec sort of 'share' their magic via the Parabatai bond. Alec gets a bit enhanced when Jace is using his magic, and Alec can give Jace a shield through the bond even if they're far from each other.
I see Izzy with either a metal/stone manipulation magic, or something biology-related. Not necessarily healing, but maybe she can sort of 'read' a person's body after they've died, helping with her pathology. Or even alive - she pokes Jace and smacks him for hiding a cut on his leg. No one is able to hide injuries from her and her brothers are #exasperated.
A scene I picture: because Alec's shields stay linked to the person no matter the distance until it gets used (even when he's asleep), Izzy and Jace know they have to 'de-activate' them or else it'll slowly continue to drain Alec. They do so by throwing things at each other; Magnus is very confused when Isabelle throws a pebble at him. People know Alec likes them once he gives them a shield. It's basically a right of passage in the Institute.
Another scene: the one where the wards are down at Alicante. Alec shields the entirety of the city while Magnus uses his magic to seal the rift; queue best battle couple.
The end. (This was minimally inspired by the video game Magical Diary: Horse Hall which has colours of magic, and then my brain went from there.)
Magnus is maybe a little offended that his magic seems to love Alec more than him. Every cup of coffee (conjured or homemade) is somehow better than the last, his pillow is always the perfect temperature, anything lost will always turn up within minutes... If he has to adjust the thermostat one more time because his magic decided to cool off the loft for Mr. Always-Boiling-Hot Lightwood, he is going to scream.
But can his magic be blamed for trying to make the man that loves it, and Magnus, so deeply stay after over a century of heartache?
People are born with the (chosen) name of their soulmate somewhere on their body. Alec is born with a name written in a foreign language on his ankle that his parents, and Valentine, quickly translate.
The Circle leader is thrilled to see the name of one of his biggest enemies, and threats. The parents... are not so thrilled for what it means about their son.
Valentine tucks Alec away to use against Magnus at the most opportune time.
*Someday I will actually write a soulmate AU. Someday.
Maryse and Robert, with toddler Alec, stowed away on a ship when they ran from the Circle, intending to go into hiding while the Clave took down their former group and resurfacing once the dust had cleared. Valentine sent demons after them after catching wind of their plans.
The Lightwoods can handle their own and fight them off, and it ends up being Alec who pays the price of their betrayal. He's overboard before Maryse or Robert can process it. The late night, the dim lights... there is no chance of rescuing him. They make it to the United States without their child and drowning in shame and guilt.
The boy sinks and sinks, lungs filling with water. Until he's found by a merperson. They use their magic to transform him into one of their kind, an act that kills most, but he survives. All he knows of his past life is his own name; from here on out, he's a creature of the deep sea.
A couple of decades later, they receive a missive to take part in discussions to update the Accords. From Magnus Bane, one of only a handful of people who even have means of contacting them. He tells them Valentine is dead, for real this time, and there are those fighting for change. The people of the sea have refused to be involved with all things land since their last attempt resulted in one of theirs being attacked by demons on the steps of an Institute; they've chosen the sea, let the land creatures figure themselves out.
Alec knows he wasn't born of the sea, they're open about him being rescued. His Shadowhunter blood makes him a born warrior, even without runes, and he fights to protect the people that gave him a second chance at life. He's also, intrinsically, a leader. He offers to go to land in their stead to hear them out and to fight for them.
Most sea creatures are happy where they are, but there are those who want to explore and adventure above the water. (He is, perhaps, one of them). He'll try. And they let him.
Magnus is his host and his mentor in all things land. Doesn't take long for either of them to realize Alec has no idea what it means to be a human. Queue blunt Alec either creating awkward or hilarious interactions and finding Magnus to be incredibly magical (as always).
Bonus - Izzy is leading the charge to re-write the Accords. In the meeting with various Clave and Downworld leaders, she and Alec briefly meet and of course have no idea who the other is.
More bonus - Izzy's initial proposal was modified by the Clave and Alec takes one look at it and calls them on their bs (the other Downworlders don't have all that much hope of big change - they're prepared to patiently push the Clave agenda in the right direction). Izzy is justifiably furious, gets her real proposal out, and brings about the change that's needed.
Shadowhunters used to have a dragon shifter bloodline among a few families. Before they were quietly made extinct by their own kind - even a gift from the angels can be seen as 'too different'. It's now a dormant gene that almost all have forgotten about.
Except for Valentine, of course, who sees it as an opportunity to gain a new weapon and power; the loyalty of a Shifter is incomparable. An experiment on a pregnant Maryse activates the gene in her unborn child. Luckily for Alec, he didn't start showing signs of being a Shifter until after his parents had abandoned the Circle and Valentine is left to believe his experiment was a failure.
Less luckily for him, ashamed of their actions and of standing out after barely making it through the Circle trials unscathed, they force him to suppress his Shifter side. No easy feat when Shifter instincts are intense.
Jace and Isabelle help him as best as they can, but pretending to be something he isn't in more ways than one takes its toll on him... and then Magnus enters the picture and for the first time he wonders if hiding doesn't have to be his future.
More...
Alec doesn't know how to be with Magnus without revealing himself, something he can't convince himself to do just yet. His Shifter instincts tell him Magnus is it; if he had it his way he'd have a husband by now and that's not normal. People don't move that fast. And Magnus, more guarded than most after so much heartbreak, wants to move molasses-slow with their relationship.
Inevitably, he has to make himself walk away. There's no way for them to get on the same page; he needs more than Magnus can give and waiting is slowly destroying him. As a Shifter, emotional bonds are vital and, well, intense. The depths of their devotion and love are unmatched by other beings, and on the flip side, they're possessive and territorial. Hell, just walking into the loft after Magnus has seen a client makes his skin crawl; how can he possibly have a normal relationship with anyone?
Magnus has never been broken up with because he's 'too slow'. He's the one that's overzealous - he throws his heart out into crowds hoping someone will pick it up off the ground. He's the one that's always twelve steps ahead of his partner; he's the one with thoughts of a future, of a house and white picket fence, and even in rare instances, forever. Innocent yet brazen Alexander thinks he's 'too slow'? Yeah, that's not sitting well with him at all.
Confrontation ensues.
Random bits -
Only the oldest living beings remember Shifters, Magnus is one of them, although he'd never been close to any.
Being 'chosen' by a Shifter, basically being one of their chosen loved one's, is considered an honour. They will be entirely devoted to their chosen (family members, close friends, and partners) and that can't be broken short of an absolute betrayal.
To Magnus, the idea of being chosen like that is... basically a fantasy. The complete commitment is a beautiful thought, but it's also a little terrifying to be on the receiving end.
Shifters can't 'choose' someone without them choosing them in return; it's a consensual two-way bond. Those who aren't keen on all it implies can refuse them and it'll hurt but they'll move on.
Alec's inner circle extends to only his siblings at this point; his parents have withdrawn from him and he doesn't seek to keep that bond. It's normal for Shifters to have a very small group of loved ones because it can be emotionally overwhelming to bond with too many people.
Once Max was born, Alec took an almost parental role in his upbringing. Maryse and Robert were constantly arguing and fighting and were forgetful of Max's needs. It culminated in Alec snapping at Robert when he was rough in training with Max and that's when the youngest Lightwood was sent away. Alec's bond with him was deemed 'inappropriate' and they were trying to sever it. He's been wracked with guilt, and kind of a wreck, ever since and it reinforced that the way he feels is wrong.
Shifters are generally a one-mate-for-life kind of people, similarly to Shadowhunters. The bonds are not just emotional; they're a little bit magic, too. If one half of a bonded pair dies, most of the time the other half will follow along shortly after, even if only one is a Shifter. Magnus suspects a bonded pair shares life energy, though doesn't have quite enough data about all of this. (He calls up Ragnor for more information once Alec finally tells him the truth). But he's known a Shifter bonded to a vampire that definitely lived longer than any Shadowhunter he's ever known - they may have lived eternally together, had they not been hunted down.
Set in 3B - inspired by Merlin, Magnus is magic and it can't be taken away entirely; Asmodeus merely drained it. A few days/weeks later it starts coming back, or there is a journey of discovery (maybe he and Alec read about some sort of source of magic and they go to find it?)
During a mission, Alec and co. come across an abandoned baby warlock. The Shadowhunter protocol is that there is no protocol. Some might leave the child behind, some would hand them over to the Praetor Lupus, others directly to their High Warlock.
Maryse and Robert are still HOTI - Alec brings the baby boy home to determine what to do with him. They tell him to leave it, he refuses.
One look at the baby's face and he was instantly in love; there's a very heated argument and he lays claim to the child, saying he'll raise him.
There isn't exactly a law against it, leaving his parents in a predicament. The final decision is for him to live outside of the institute if he continues on this 'shameful' path. He packs up that same night and stays in a hotel until he can find a proper apartment. His siblings support him, a little hesitant since it was a very sudden choice. They adore the baby of course.
He realizes he should have contacted the High Warlock, but at this point, he's made his choice and he plans on sticking to it. (He is, admittedly, a little scared the High Warlock will take the baby from him.)
A few months later... the baby's getting spotty and Alec is completely freaked out. He's taken the baby to a mundane doctor before for his shots (my HC is that if he puts glamour runes on every piece of clothing, it'll make a 'wall' of glamour over any warlock marks), but the glamours hide the spots and he doesn't know what to do.
He eventually remembers the High Warlock exists amidst his panic. He gathers his courage and heads over. And wow. He is not ready for Magnus Bane.
Magnus Bane is also not at all ready for Alec Lightwood to appear in his doorway with a tiny warlock baby he is apparently raising.
Turns out even warlocks get chickenpox.
Queue; flirting. Magnus complaining to Cat about falling for a Shadowhunter single father to an infant warlock. Cat is not amused. Alec is just hoping he gets to keep his son (and maybe get a boyfriend.)
Pairing : Malec
Trope(s) : A/B/O verse, Parabatai Bonding
Trigger(s) : Infertility, forced body modification
Mildly NSFW - in line with A/B/O stories
Long-ish - full info under the cut!
Following general canon timelines - Alec is an omega who uses scent blockers to appear as a beta. Magnus is an alpha and they start dating as per canon.
Alec tells him early on that he's an omega - Shadowhunters are the ones with an issue with it, not Downworlders. When things start getting steamy, Alec keeps pulling away. Magnus is his usual sweet and awesome self and waits until Alec is ready or wants to talk.
Soon enough Alec goes into heat. Jace always sticks them out with him and this time he calls Magnus asking him to come over because Alec wants him there. Magnus knows the uncontrollable alpha ideal is just an excuse for them to act like monsters and knows he can be near an omega in heat just fine and agrees to go.
Turns out Alec is in horrific pain and there is definitely nothing sexy about it. His smell is tainted with fear and pain. Magnus takes care of him and cuddles him, while Jace stays close by to watch over his Parabatai.
Once it's all over and Alec has rested up, they talk about it. When he was a baby, they tested him for his second gender and when Valentine found out he was an omega, he had all of his reproductive organs removed either as punishment or as a way to 'remove' his omega status - who knows what evil thinks. (How much Robert and Maryse knew / approved is up to you.) It left him with pain in his abdomen; it gets borderline unbearable during his heat and starts up when he's 'in the mood', which is why he can't go further with Magnus.
Our smarty-pants Magnus knows this doesn't seem like the full story - some leftover pain is justified, especially if it was some black market doctor and a shoddy surgery, but what he saw during his heat is next level awful.
He asks Catarina to take a look. She confirms that yes, the organs were removed (rendering him infertile, but with a warlock boyfriend it was never much of a thought anyway) - but that's not all. Valentine had a warlock place a curse on Alec so that any time he was aroused he would be in pain. A curse she and/or Magnus are able to remove.
It's life-changing; Alec can't imagine not dreading an upcoming heat. Also, fun sexy times because he'd never really been able to explore his own body, and now he has his own and Magnus' to play with.
The group is stuck somewhere for the night (in my brain it's a cave). Isabelle is injured / sick and asks Alec to sing her to sleep and to everyone's surprise, he does. (Only Spanish lullaby song I know is "A La Nanita Nana" so picture that if you like).
She lays down with her head in his lap and he braids her hair and sings to her. He doesn't have the best voice ever, but it's soft and comforting. Jace lays down on the other side and uses his shin as a pillow. He tugs Clary down to cuddle with him. Magnus curls into Alec's side and stretches out his legs until they're on Jace's stomach (there is only so much space in Alec's bubble - Jace doesn't protest). Simon is standing away from them a little awkwardly and Alec rolls his eyes and gestures to his other shin, next to Izzy. He joins the cuddle pile too.
Alec doesn't know any other songs and sings the same bits over and over until they're all asleep.
HC: Their grandmother (Maryse's mom) stayed at the Institute when she and Robert were first appointed for a couple of years to help with the kids and would sing that to Alec to help him sleep. He asked her to teach him the 'magic sleep song' after Izzy was born so he could continue the tradition. He only does it when she's not feeling well, and nowadays only when she asks. He's not entirely convinced it isn't magic - they're all sound asleep after only a couple repetitions of the chorus.
*Bonus - he sings the song to his own kids later on. It is still definitely magic.
This blog will contain some of my random plotbunnies - some will be vague ideas, some will be more in-depth (might be fully fleshed out ideas I just won't ever fully write out).
Any references to adult content or potential triggers will be tagged accordingly.
Generally Alec Lightwood and Malec centric, but there may be other Alec related pairings.
Shadowhunters / Mortal Instruments inspired - probably more the show to be honest, but might have some book references at some points.
