âž» MEET THE BLACKTHORNS. pt 1
( from eldest to youngest, the nephilim blackthorn family )
âž» HELEN.
also born out of the union of lady narissa and andrew blackthorn, the first blackthorn child was born half-fae. raised in the shadowhunter culture / the bright glass towers of alicante seen from her childhood bedroom's window / she is a young kind woman that has been exiled away from her family after the cold peace. unlike mark, helen was allowed to keep contact with the rest of the siblings, for her exile had been masked as a business trip to investigate certain anomalities on the magic wards that protect idris, the shadowhunter headquarters and HOME. helen lives with her wife aline in a remote location known by no members of the family, fulfilling her duty with pride and resentment, before finally returning as the head of the los angeles institute, where most of the blackthorns reside, after the canon events of the books. mark misses his older sister constantly, for she is the only one of the blackthorns to truly understand the stigma that comes with being part fae, specially after the cold peace was installed.
âž» MARK.
second son, half-fae, adopted the eldest sibling role until he was ripped from his family and exiled to faerieland. there, he lost notion of time and identity under countless tortures and starving days. finally, he is reunited with his family under strange circumstances, used by the faerie courts to sabotage nephilim and wage another war. nonetheless, mark's strong love for his siblings and guilt over having abandoned his responsabilities would override every mind-trick and manipulation tactic used by his captors to ensure his loyalty. he feels deep hatred towards the clave for what has been done to his family and thousands other families just like his, yet he feels an even stronger hate towards himself for believing the lies, for thinking that his siblings were dead and there was nothing he could do, for disappearing when they needed their older brother the most.
âž» JULIAN.
eldest human son, an artistic soul crushed and broken by the weight on his shoulders. since the blackthorn parents were turned and murdered on the dark war, julian has been responsible for each blackthorn sibling. for their training, their hygiene, how much do they eat, what allergies they have. there is nothing that the eldest brother in the los angeles institute cannot do, taking care of the bills, the reports, and every important thing that you could ever imagine. of course, a sixteen year old can't be the official head of the institute, yet their uncle arthur, the actual director, was a shell of a man, obsessed with dark magic and possibly overriden by the shadowy claws of dementia / it left them no choice, if the blackthorns wanted to continue living in their home, it falls on julian to keep the façade. to continue the illusion. it will break him, it already is. just as his multiple obsessions, that thirst that cannot be quenched, will kill him. julian is obsessed with art, painting, drawing, and studying it. there's a secret hidden room in the institute where he disappears for hours at a time, mostly when the tide is down and the sea is calm, when the clave hasn't sent any messages and the fridge is full. specially, he is obsessed with drawing emma, his parabatai. a parabatai is a partner, a friend to cover your back until your last breath. her beautiful golden locks, in a perfectly crafted disarrey of aurean light, and those lioness' eyes. mark is sure their connection, and the tons in julian's shoulders, will be the start of the demise of the blackthorn family. ➻ TIBERIUS AND LIVIA
the twins, around fourteen years old when mark returns to the institute, he almost cannot recognise them. ty, a smart and shy young boy constantly engrossed in a detective novel ; livvy, a strong and extroverted girl, always ready to nag and scold her twin brother for this and that. they are joint by the hip, almost never found without the other close by, and of course, always getting into some mischief. investigating leads way too dangerous for them, spying on kind of suspicious allies, and turning every mundane activity into an exciting game of wits.
it is them who bring the most pain to mark, when he thinks about the years lost. he was never there to comfort ty when it got too loud, too crowded. he was never there to ask livvy gently to help him, to hear about her adventures and infamous deeds. it is them, ty with his kind caution around him, as if he's a feral animal. livvy with her scared looks, only there for a second but enough for him to retreat once again. it is livvy's death what ends up breaking them, what ends up pushing julian to his limit, mark to the deep pit of guilt, emma to recklessness.
