in sanguis veritas

definitely going to be writing jace again, as soon as i finish my rewatch of s2 so i can get back into his headspace (currently up to 2.11)

there’s gonna be a lot of canon adjustments, especially in verses intended to be open to shipping

i think i’m gonna be moving him to a new blog. i’m lazy and hate setting up new blogs but this one is a mess and there’s like... five people still around since i haven’t been active properly in like two years 

i’ll about halfway through 2a but it is? v v v slow going because i do have Issues with a lot of what goes on this season in regards to jace and cl.imon ruins a lot of the rest of it for me so i? tend to pace myself with it a lot so i don’t get too annoyed lol 

If he doesn’t want to face it, it isn’t on her. And so Astoria lets it lie; still, she thinks she should keep an eye on him. Still, she can’t help but be concerned. She understands complicated relationships with parents – she and her father are only recently getting along – but ‘complicated’ doesn’t begin to cover any of this. ( And she can’t help but think that there’s something wrong, something missing; Jocelyn Fairchild didn’t seem like the sort of woman to leave a child so unconcerned about her death. Granted, Astoria didn’t know her well, but she’s a good judge of character, always has been. )

     “It’s only a matter of time until the Institute is back in Lightwood hands,” she confides. “The Clave is reacting now – trying to guarantee smooth sailing – and Aldertree gets results.” Not always in the right ways, not always with more allies than enemies. “He’ll make the decisions your family won’t. And when this is over, he’ll be transferred again. From what I can tell, there are no plans for this to be permanent – it’s not a guarantee, but I’ve seen plenty of transfers, and I’m sure I’ll see plenty more.”

     His concern is sweet; she smiles, shrugging one shoulder. “New York is beautiful,” she tells him, “and I’ve traveled plenty of times before this. My family is only a portal away if I want to see them, but we’re not often together, anyway. We all enjoy the movement – me included. And there are worse places to be assigned. Why?” She raises an eyebrow, amused, teasing. “Do you mind me being here?”

“Well, you’re not wrong. I’ll certainly give Aldertree this--he’ll definitely make decisions my family wouldn’t,” Jace says, and if there’s some bitterness in his voice--well, who can blame him? He doubts anyone expects him to have any sort of warm and fuzzy feelings towards Aldertree. He doubts they will ever even stand each other, let alone be anything resembling friends. 

“Still, I suppose we can all stand the current situation if, as you say, it is only temporary.” He’s not completely sure he believes. And even if he does--there will be a difference between what she believes to be true and what actually is true. Still, he can hope, can’t he? He doesn’t have much left besides hope. “If he doesn’t decide to stay.”

@createdivine​ HAPPY BIRTHDAY

She’d considered a lot of options. There had been a leather jacket that she had come back to about a dozen times, and that’s in there, too – but it hadn’t been enough. Nothing she’d looked at had been enough, considering what they’ve been through in the past year alone. ( There’s no go-to gift, she’s learned, that says Happy birthday, I love you and I’m sorry we thought we were siblings for a little while and I’m glad we’re not. Nor is there a card that says that, and she couldn’t quite bring herself to say it to him out loud. )

     When she knocks on his door, Clary is practically buzzing with excitement, and the moment it opens she sweeps into the room. She reaches out with her free hand to grab the front of his shirt, fingers curling in the fabric, and tug him closer to her – and then she’s simply smiling as widely as she can, almost too much to kiss him properly. Reluctantly, she pulls away from him, only far enough to speak.

     “Happy birthday.”

     And then she’s stepping back for real, shoving his gift into his hands – the jacket, a flattering style more for form than function ( even Shadowhunters deserve to look good on a day off ), and, in the bag beneath the jacket, a leather-bound journal of staff paper. ( She loves to listen to him play, loves watching him furrow his brow and scratch something idly on whatever paper he has nearby before returning his attention to the piano. ) 

     “How busy are you today?”

“Morning,” Jace says, laughing as against her lips. “Have you been standing outside the door waiting to hear movement so you’d be here first thing in the morning right after I woke up?” Well, if she did at least she’s given him enough time to use the bathroom, which is nice of her considering how much he wants to kiss her.

Which he does, laughing against her lips, the moment she pulls back from him and he has no choice but to pull her close again. “Thank you,” he says, as he steps aside to let her into his room before kicking the door closed behind them. “Birthday present?” he asks, giving it a shake, though it makes no noise. He doesn’t waste any time unwrapping it, finding a lovely jacket and a staff paper journal. “Oh, this is so thoughtful,” he says. “And the jacket is lovely—should I put it on? Do a little catwalk for you?

“How can you be prepared with fewer than four bags for a Christmas vacation? As my loving boyfriend you will of course be perfectly willing to carry them without a single complaint, but as my serious boyfriend whom I obviously love, you are allowed to make two comments teasing me while carrying my bags in, and another two while carrying my bags out. You will also,” Astoria adds, eyes twinkling and laughter audible in her voice, “continue telling me how great I am, for pretty much the rest of forever.”

     Astoria takes a long drink of her coffee and considers. “Three months, then – we saw each other casually a few times over the summer, nothing you thought necessary to tell your grandmother, and we’d seen each other a few times last year, so falling in love fast is believable. And no, you can’t save me from a truee, I’m not a damsel in distress. Hmm – how about this? You came by my apartment when I’d twisted my ankle at the beginning of the semester and helped take care of me. After the third time you rescued my cat when she’d climbed on top of my bookcase, I was smitten. You get to be a gentleman and a hero, and I get to be a functional adult who happened to injure herself. Sounds good?”

"So this is how it starts," Jace whines dramatically. "You're taking advantage of my manly physique and giving spirit to make me carry everything for you. Not on, Astoria. Not on. Do you do this to all your manly and impossibly handsome boyfriends or am I a lucky exception? Because of said manly physique and all that." Could be worse, though, he supposes. Clothes aren't that heavy overall. She could be making him carry her books. Well. Come to think of it she probably is making him carry her books.