#lbad

Just finished LBAF IV had to hurry and finish it before V comes out.

I really enjoyed Kincaids POV and I was glad you did it that way bc it had been anyone else’s of course we would all hate him and be team Lance over him but this way I am a little sympathetic (obviously still team lightwood-bane)

I love Arthur so much and he deserves his destiny and wishes to be fulfilled too! 🥺

I loved older Max and that he has lived without David for 720 years! 😭😭 can’t wait to see what happens there!

It was a wonderful story and yes so full of angst but soft part too. Although I do feel like David has been punished and hurt enough, I cried to much when they banned him from Idris. It’s someone else’s turn, ok?!!

When I read IALS I didn’t know Kincaid as much so I wasn’t as big as a fan with him and Arthur but after the epilogue he has definitely grown on me. They are beautiful together. Is it like a canon event that they are destined to be together but it never works out like IALS bc that would make me so sad!! 🥺

Can’t wait Dani!

I am so unnecessarily emotional about this. (partly because JUST finished working after a hectic day and this is the first arcaid i think)

Congratulations on finishing LBAF IV. You are a strong one :P

Writing the epilogue from Kincaid's pov was definitely strategic. I loved it so much that I decided to include it in LBAF V - and I kinda have to go because of the plot hehe.

Other Max angst will hit out from all sides. Beware.

But keep this arcaid snippet for now ily bye ✨

"I don't know what I ever did to deserve your love," Kincaid said softly.

"You don't have to do anything," Arthur told him. "Everyone deserves love."

"Even Knightstorms?" Kincaid couldn't help but ask.

"Everyone," Arthur smiled. "But we have to earn the love we deserve."

"How do I do that?" Kincaid asked in a whisper. "How do I deserve the love of Arthur Lightwood-Bane?"

I would lose my shit if ANY character in tsc will be called David (other than David the Silent - my beloved).

So, Alec held on. He was going to hold on to Rafael as long as he could. 

The boy was walking quietly, his eyes curiously observing the surroundings. Rafael had a fascination with mundane culture. Hence why they were taking the subway instead of simply portalling to the institute. 

Max, on the the hand, preferred to use portals to get from the bedroom to the kitchen. Alec feared the day Max was old enough to make his own portals. He would have to keep a close eye on that one. 

“How are you feeling?” Alec asked. 

It was an important day. Alec had been looking forward to it for a while now. Rafe had received his first rune a couple of months ago - which meant that it was time for him to choose a signature weapon. 

Most shadowhunters had a signature weapon. Not all of them of course. But shadowhunters, despite their herd mentality, liked to be unique when they had the opportunity. 

This was an important moment in a shadowhunter’s life. Your weapon of choice said so much about  who you are and what kind of shadowhunter you wanted to be. 

Of course it wasn’t like there was any magic involved. It wasn't like the weapon chose the shadowhunter or anything, 

But that was the beauty of it. This wasn't magic. This was a conscious choice. A choice to pick a weapon to have your back. It was a decision based on trust and faith and instinct. 

Alec felt goosebumps underneath his sweater. 

“I’m okay,” Rafael said, as he kept looking around. 

He seemed more interested in the walk than the prospect of finding his signature weapon. 

“Are you alright, Rafe?” Alec asked. “Are you feeling nervous?”

Alec remembered the day his parents had taken him to the weapon’s room. It was had been nervous and exhilarating all at once. He had never felt like a real shadowhunter until he had held his bow and arrow in his hands. It had made him feel stronger - more confident. More like the best person he wanted to be when he grew up. 

It had been one of those missing pieces in his life Alec had found and held closely. His bow and arrow. His Jace. His Magnus. His Max and Rafe. 

He couldn’t wait for Rafe to find the perfect weapon that fit his hands and his heart. The one that spoke to the shadowhunter inside him. The one that would protect him every day after today. 

“Not nervous,” Rafe replied, holding out his other hand. 

Alec smiled and reached into his pocket and passed his phone to his son. Rafael took a quick picture of an old woman who was sitting on one of the benches with a cat wearing a rainbow hat. 

Rafe smiled as he gave the phone back to him. Alec assumed he had sent the picture to Magnus.

His son liked to send pictures of random things he found to Magnus. Pictures of     animals on the street. Pictures of the sky. Pictures of people wearing pretty clothes. Pictures of his friends at the institute. 

Rafael had asked for his own phone after he had gotten his first rune. Alec had said no. A phone was not appropriate for a child. He promised to get Rafe one when he was older. 

They reached the subway station and Rafe still looked resigned even though Alec was practically bouncing on his feet.

“Are you sure you are not nervous?” Alec asked again. “You were so brave during your rune ceremony. This is not a test or anything. Aunt Izzy will be there to help you.”

Rafe’s face lit up at that. He had always liked Isabelle a little more than the others. 

“Do you wish Bapa was here?” Alec asked as they waited in the platform. “If you are nervous, I could text him to meet us at the institute.”

“I’m not nervous,” Rafe said again. 

“Then what is it?” Alec asked, feeling worried now. 

“It’s just weird,” Rafe replied.

“What’s weird?” Alec asked, completely confused. 

“This,” Rafe said. “We are going to choose my signature weapon.”

Alec didn’t understand. Any shadowhunter would have been excited by the prospect. 

“Why is that weird?” Alec asked. 

“Cause I’m 11, dad,” Rafe pointed out. 

Alec felt stricken. It wasn’t just what his son had said. It was the way he had said. It was so matter of fact. Like he was stating the date or explaining the weather. 

Suddenly Magnus’ face in the morning had made a whole lot of sense. His husband hadn’t said anything, just quietly kissed them both and waved them goodbye. 

Alec now understood Magnus’ quiet resignation. How he had stood there and watched Alec take their son to the institute so he could equip him with a weapon. Magnus had known there was nothing he could do about it. This was the way of shadowhunters. This was their life. Weapons and demons and hunting. 

Alec looked at Rafael’s hand in his. It was a small hand. A beautiful hand. A hand that was soon going to hold a weapon. 

For a moment, he wanted to laugh out loud. How in the world had that become a normal thing for his people? Why in angels’ name was he excited for his son to find a weapon?

He looked down at Rafe, the boy was still observing the surroundings and was now waving at a dog. 

The train appeared but Alec stood firm. 

“We are not going?” Rafe asked. 

“We are taking another one,” Alec replied. 

They did take another one. They got off at the station and walked towards their destination. 

“This is not the Institute,” Rafael frowned. 

“No,” Alec said, starring at the sign of the ice cream shop. “Clary told me this place has 31 flavours of ice cream.”

“31???” Rafael looked shocked. 

“Let’s forget about weapons for today,” Alec said. “I have a mission for you, Rafe. We are going to find your signature ice cream flavour.”

Rafael squealed so loudly that Alec had to pick him up and twirl him around.

They got through one by one - slowly and steadily. 

“So?” Alec asked. “Who is the winner?”

“Mint chocolate chip,” Rafe said. 

“But that’s the first one you ate!”

“I know,” Rafe grinned. “I just wanted to try all of them. Just to be sure.”

Alec laughed and finished off his butterscotch ice cream. As Rafe went back to the counter and ordered some more for Magnus and Max, Alec watched his son. 

Rafael has just got his first rune. Rafael wasn’t even in the academy yet. They had time.

The excitement could wait. The choice could wait. 

If Alec thought Rafael was not old enough to have a phone, then his son was not old enough to have a weapon of his own either. 

Alec didn’t care how his parents had done it or how other parents did it. He didn't care what Raziel thought or what the Clave would say. 

Rafael was grinning at him from the counter, pointing and giggling at the blueberry ice cream. 

Alec had promised himself to do things differently. So, that’s what he was going to do. 

On their walk back home, Alec held Rafael’s hand again. 

Rafael didn’t need a weapon in his hand to protect him. Rafael needed his parents. 

His son would eventually find his signature weapon as most shadowhunters did. 

But until that day, Alec would hold him. Alec would protect him.