MONSTER MONSTER HIGH MONSTER HIGH MONSTER MONSTER HIGH

Hale and Dunbar | Liam Dunbar

Summary: You, a Hale, were born a werewolf, whereas Liam was bitten. You help the new pack member through his transition, becoming more than just his guide.

Warnings: Death

“Scott bit someone?” The information that your brother had just told you was a surprise. He didn’t seem like the type of alpha that would want to create more werewolves, after all, he himself knew how hard it was for the bitten to adapt to their new and changed lives.

“A kid.” Derek said bluntly, closing his car door as he walked towards Scott’s front door, with you hot on heels. “He’s strong, I’ll give him that.”

“And what does any of this have to do with me?” You crossed your arms, glaring at your sibling for an answer, pausing your footsteps momentarily.

“He’s your age (Y/N), and he could use a friend.” You groaned at that, throwing your head back.

“He has Scott, isn't that enough?” Now it was Derek’s turn to glare at you, and he lightly shoved you closer to the door and then knocked.

It was only a minute or two until Scott opened the door, and from his expression, he obviously hadn’t been expecting either one of you.

“Derek, (Y/N), what are you two doing here?” He invited you in, and you squeezed past him as you remembered that the last time that you were in here you were fighting the Oni. Just the thought made you shiver.

“This one needed time out of the apartment.” Your brother earnt himself a growl and a flash of golden eyes on your part as you wandered into the living room, where you saw Stiles talking to a boy you didn’t recognise.

Must be the new beta, you thought.

“Stiles.” You greeted him with a nod, and that was more than enough to make him jump.

“Jesus.” He clutched his chest, not having expected your presence in the moment. “You’re worse than your brother I swear.”

“I mean, I can’t help that your concept of your surroundings is slower than a werewolf’s. But Scott could, but as I’ve been told, he’s already nipped someone.” Your eyes diverted to Liam, he had to be the victim. You could smell the wolf in him, it was distinct. New.

At your gaze, the boy squirmed. You were a stranger, yet you knew all about his forced invitation into the pack, and more for all that he was aware. But he knew that you weren’t a danger, he could hear your friendly - ish greeting with Scott.

“And now, there’s another target on the deadpool. Fun.” You bit your lip, sitting right next to Liam, who watched you attentively. He tensed his shoulders before speaking to you, trying to come across as confident and cocky as he had initially done with the boys.

“You know about the deadpool?” He knew that Scott wanted to keep it on the down low, especially since the benefactor had yet to be found. At his query, you smirked. So new and naive to the workings of the pack and its members.

“I know a little bit about everything.” You spoke, noticing your brother watching you from the doorframe. You sent him a glare, and complied with the reason as to why you had been dragged here in the first place. “Except you. You’re fresh meat that has just hit the agenda.”

There was no way that Liam could keep up his outgoing persona now. Since he was the centre as to why such an attractive girl would come to a house in the middle of the night. You wanted information.

“I - I play lacrosse.” He fumbled over his words making Stiles hide his sniggers behind his hand.

“Let’s skip the basics Dunbar. Who are you really?”

-

They were on your tail, quite literally in your evolved form. The hunters had returned, and were trying to take down all of the packs in Beacon Hills. Satomi’s was near on extinguished, there were a few in hiding, seeing as they weren’t trained to defend their selves.   

But you were, and yet you were still running in the shape of a black dog, avoiding the arrows and bullets that came your way, or at least the ones that hadn’t hit you yet.

The whole town had turned their backs on you, partially because of the Anuke Ite’s influence, but the rest was down the Gerard and Monroe.

There had to be some way that you could lose these stragglers. For sure, you were faster than the lot of them, but you were so incredibly tired from the running and fighting. It was still light out, and the school was in your sights.

Liam would be there, as well as Mason and Corey. You could get help, cry out for it or just damn straight find it on your own accord. If you howled however, it would signal your location to not only the men that were trailing you, but every hunter in training inside of the school. And to say the least, that would not be good.

But you rampaged through the doors anyway, the men would not be permitted to enter with firearms. And if they did, then the sheriff would be called and that would double up the protection upon you.

Liam could sense your presence and quickly ran out of Mrs Finch’s class. He didn’t need to care about what people thought, they had quite clearly already formed their opinions.

He could smell your blood, and so he ran into the girls locker room, realising that was where you had decided to habitat.

The boys locker room would have been a rookie mistake, considering Gabe and Nolan performing as though they were Monroe’s bus boys.

“(Y/N).” He belted as he saw you in your evolved form, trying to lick at your wounds. “Shit.” He breathed, removing his jacket and holding it around you so that you could shift back without being exposed to the cold air. “It’s okay.”

It wasn’t okay, not in the slightest. Even as you transformed back, there was still so much blood, it coming out in black clots. You weren’t healing.

“Li.” You smiled, reaching up and stroking his face that had grown more defined over the time that you had known him. “I knew you’d find me.”

“Always.” He promised, water pooling in his blue eyes as he grabbed his phone and dialled Scott, but the tone just kept ringing, ending in no reply.

There was no time, he reached towards the wounds over your body, unsure of where to start. There were so many holes imbedded and bleeding through your skin, too many.

“I don’t know what to do.” He spoke, he couldn’t ask the school for help, they wouldn’t let you die in peace, they’d ensure you left the world in pain.

“Just stay with me.” With that he pulled you closer. “At least I get to see the rest of my family, it’s been years.”

“You shouldn’t have to die like this, I should do something.” If you left like this, he’d never rinse off the guilt, he’d lose control as he would have lost his anchor.

“If this I had a choice in how my death played out, I wouldn’t change it.” Rubbing your numbing lips together, you grabbed Liam’s hand, frowning as he attempted to remove your pain.

“I can’t take your pain.”

“It’s because it doesn’t hurt.” You sighed, now understanding how Allison had felt when her time was passing. “I’m just happy that I got to know you, that I got to love you. I’ve seen you realise that you aren’t a monster, you’re a werewolf, and a damned good one.”

“Don’t go.” Tears were falling upon your face from his own. “I need you, stay, please.”

“It’s not up to me, just don’t join me anytime soon Dunbar otherwise I’ll have to kick your ass.” A few spluttered coughs left your mouth, along with portions of blood.

“But-“ he has began to speak, but noticed how your eyes were fluttering and your heart was slowing.

If these were his last words, he was sure as hell he wouldn’t make a one sided argument out of them.

[Hakudōshi Verses]

With my new blog theme I can’t provide a link to the verses page as before, therefor I will also post about them here. 

This is a rather long post, so you can find the verses under the cut! They will be divided in three categories: Main, AU and Canon Divergent.

More verses will be added to this post and to the blog itself as they are created.

MAIN

AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: Canon Universe POSITION: Naraku's servant / Plotting to overthrow Naraku The canon verse everyone is familiar with, in here Hakudōshi was originally Naraku’s human heart, the Infant, before being split in half by a dying priest, from which the right half of it grew into Hakudōshi. He is a deceiving, manipulating little devil that doesn’t hesitate to kill his preys but also enjoys to play games and torture them, he often gets his hands dirty and doesn’t mind it and appears to be an incarnation who is almost as loyal to Naraku as Kanna is. He is also very clever and usually is several steps ahead from his enemies. He has, however, his own agenda and eventually plots with his other half to overthrow his creator and take his place. Interactions with this verse will vary between the Hakudōshi that is a loyal servant to Naraku and the Hakudōshi that is already plotting the betrayal with his other half, it will all depend on the plot of the thread. I am fine with the interactions between our Muses being hostile and harsh, Hakudōshi is a villain after all! Since the canon material with him isn’t much, a lot of things will be headcanon based, especially when it comes to his betrayal towards Naraku as personally I think the reasons for his betrayal were a bit bland and empty.

AU

AGE: 11-12 TIMELINE: Early 2000's POSITION: Heir of the Makai Company, one of the most wealthy families in Japan. An AU where the series characters are all humans and no demons exist. Hakudōshi Makai is the 11 year old son of Naraku Makai and Kikyō; the couple went through a complicated and harsh divorce but through the corrupt system, Naraku gained the full custody of his son and made it so his now ex-wife could never see their son ever again. Prior to these events, Hakudōshi was extremely close to his mother and thus her leaving left an empty feeling on the boy. This and Naraku's manipulation over him lead to Hakudōshi believing that every relationship is meant to be doomed sooner or later and that the concept of a happy family does not exist. The Hakudōshi of this verse does not possess the same manipulative and cruel nature of his canon counterpart, however, he can be cold and even distant sometimes. He eventually opens up to others but it takes time. During free time, between Junior High School lessons and education regarding the family's business, Hakudōshi practices kendo and also horse riding lessons, he has a horse of his own a white mustang named Entei, he has owned it ever since it was a foal, and it was a gift from his mother. It is a gift he treasures dearly.

Variations of this verse may be created.

AGE: 19 (Biologically) | 12-13 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: x784 POSITION: Half-Demon | Former slave of the Tower of Heaven | Independent Mage An AU created for interactions within the Fairy Tail universe. Hakudōshi is a half-demon who during his early childhood was captured and taken by a Zeref following cult, for the same purpose as the other kidnapped children by them: build the Tower of Heaven to resurrect Zeref. During the rebellion led by Erza Scarlet, Hakudōshi escaped by using one of his abilities: Teleportation, once he was freed from the Magic Stealing Stones, instead of joining the rebels. After escaping, Hakudōshi set on to his main goal: find his twin brother, Akago, whom he had protected and prevented from also being captured by the cult. Due to his half-demon genes, Hakudōshi's body grows “slower” than the average human or demon, although his age keeps up with that of a human, his current appearance is of a child. This often leads to other people, wrongly, looking down on him when he takes up job offers. Although he possesses other abilities, his main magic is named Reversal Magic which is essentially a magic that allows Hakudōshi to absorb Caster type Magic into a barrier and then redirect it back to his opponent. It doesn’t work with Holder type Magic. With training, Hakudōshi develops other minor abilities which are connected to his demon side.

AGE: 19 TIMELINE: 2010 onward POSITION: Vampire turned by Naraku | College student An AU verse in which the main focus is supernatural stuff, this means, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, etc. It is loosely based on The Vampire Diaries/The Originals series. Hakudōshi is an adult in this verse and his features remain the same as his canon counterpart: white hair, pale skin, violet eyes. Hakudōshi prior to his transformation was a normal boy, 19 years old, who had just entered college. Distant, not very social, generally quiet but quite intelligent those were the words that described him. His life turned completely upside down when one day he stayed till late at the school’s library, studying, and at some point heard noises, moans and what appeared to be screams coming from one of the classes. Upon investigating, he caught one of his teachers feeding on a student, literally feeding. The teacher, Naraku, realized the extra company at the room and decided to silence the boy. But Naraku realized who it was, one of his favorite students and instead of simply killing him, he decided to toy with him. Feeding him his blood and then snapping his neck, the vampire left Hakudōshi alone at the school along with his now dead victim, blood dripping to the floor. When he woke up from his temporary death, it was night and Hakudōshi felt an inexplicable thirst, not for water but for blood. He saw the dead student and without being able to control himself drank the remaining blood but it was not enough, it only made him more thirsty. This lead to him going to his house and murdering his family, only coming to his senses when it was already too late. Naraku watched him the whole time in delight and attempted to approach his most recent creation, to gain control over him, but Hakudōshi rejected his control and escaped, using and discovering his new inhuman abilities. With his emotions extremely amplified and still not understanding what had happened to him, he soon discovered he could no longer walk in the sun, it burned him and so he had to hide during the day and hunt at night, to quench his thirst. His path eventually crosses with that of Kohaku, a supernatural hunter trained from a young age to kill especially vampires like him. Despite having been taught to hate and kill these bloodthirsty monsters, Kohaku noticed the despair of the vampire and choose to help him control himself, teaching him a new diet not human based and eventually provided him a ring which allowed Hakudōshi to walk in the sun. Hakudōshi, after turning into a vampire, becomes extremely sardonic and doesn’t easily trust anyone. Being ironic is what he does best, he berates others, mocks them. This was his way to protect himself and the only one who succeeded so far in breaking that shell was Kohaku, although that only happened because he spared his life.

CANON DIVERGENT

AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: Post Ep.1 of Inuyasha: The Final Act / Chap.370 POSITION: Escaping from Naraku and The Infant This verse starts with a twist on the first episode of Inuyasha: The Final / on chapter 370, in this verse Hakudōshi doesn't die at the hand of Miroku's Wind Tunnel. Instead of losing his mind and trying to kill Kagura at any cost, Hakudōshi uses his miasma in order to escape from his enemies while his body keeps regenerating to its normal state; later he reunites with the Infant and Mōryōmaru in order to set up a new plan to get their hands on Kohaku's shard, the wicked Infant however has other plans for his "brother". With Naraku now being aware of their betrayal, the Infant states that he no longer needs Hakudōshi's help and that it is time for them to become one once again by having Mōryōmaru absorb him into his body, just like he had intended to do with Kagura. Hakudōshi refuses and they engage in a battle which ends with him barely escaping but successfully retrieves the jewel shard in Mōryōmaru's belly. The demon child is now completely alone, no allies and a lot of enemies with two of them constantly trying to capture him and kill him (Naraku and the Infant); this leads to Hakudōshi not trusting anyone he crosses paths with and being even slightly paranoid especially after he realizes the Infant is trying to enter inside his mind, to take over his body as well, and that he also has some sort of control over his regenerating abilities, slowing it down and making it far more painful. Hakudōshi eventually sets on a goal to find a way to create his own heart so that he can sever his connection to the Infant and eventually kill both his other half and Naraku.

EXCLUSIVE WITH: konosesshomaru AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: Between the events of the Devil’s Crag and Kagura’s death. POSITION: Traveling with Sesshōmaru's group A variant verse of "Abandoned". Naraku discovers earlier Hakudōshi’s and the Infant's plans to overthrow him; he absorbs the Infant back inside him and to make his former right hand man physically suffer, gives him a heart of his own so that real wounds -that actually take a long time to heal- can be inflicted on the child. Hakudōshi has no choice but to flee for his life as Naraku's demons chase him and he ends up being rescued by Sesshōmaru, who then makes the decision to take him under his wing at least until the boy's wounds are healed. Afterwards, he leaves it up to Hakudōshi to decide if he wants to stay with them or not. With Naraku now constantly chasing after him, Hakudōshi chooses to stay and travel together with Sesshōmaru and his group.

EXCLUSIVE WITH: thecursedpriestess AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: After Hakudōshi was pierced by Kikyō's arrow POSITION: Loyal to Kikyō | Travels with her After being pierced by Kikyō's arrow, shot by Kagome back in the Underworld, Hakudōshi is sired to the priestess due to her spiritual power having made some sort of connection with 'the Onigumo in him' instead of killing him -since his heart was somewhere else-. Afterwards Hakudōshi begins to feel strange whenever Kikyō is mentioned and no matter how hard he tries, he can't hurt her neither physically or emotionally. He eventually realizes what happened and though initially he hates the idea of being sired to the woman he was supposed to hate, the more times his path crosses with that of Kikyō's, the more loyal he seems to become to her. Hakudōshi, at some point, stops resisting and chooses to stay by the priestess's side. The bond becomes so strong to the point the child is willing to die for her; however what he doesn't understand is that the bond stopped being a 'sired bond' and has become one of a mother and her child.

AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: After Kagome's permanent return to the Feudal Era POSITION: Brought back to life by a demon named Kirimi Not long after Kagome’s permanent return to the Feudal Era, a demon going by the name Kirimi (切り身, ‘Cutting Flesh’) begins an attempt to revive once powerful demons. They pretend to follow the steps of the deceased Urasue and even surpass them by improving the technique. Kirimi starts by reviving minor demons, at first to merely appreciate their work from afar and even see the need of improvements. Then they move on the next step: start reviving the deceased incarnations of Naraku. Unlike Urasue’s creations, Kirimi doesn’t use ashes and clay instead they use: an object that once belonged to the demon intended to be revived and that retains said demon’s “essence”, Kirimi’s own blood to create the connection between them and the revived demon and the heart of a sacrificed human. To revive Hakudōshi, Kirimi used the blanket that once belonged to the Infant’s right half, the one who later regrew into the child incarnation, and the heart of a human child. Thus instead of being a body made of clay like Urasue’s creations, Kirimi’s revived demons have a body made of flesh but only possess one organ inside them: the heart of the sacrificed human. Hakudōshi is then revived but he doesn’t appear to possess any memories of his life before his first death. He only reacts to his name and the reason seems to be that because Kirimi used the Infant’s blanket, an object worn by Hakudōshi only prior to be being cut in half and shortly after his body regrowing, therefore the “essence” within the blanket doesn’t “possess” Hakudōshi’s memories in the child-like body. Kirimi allows him to go so that he can retrieve his memories, once that is done they would be able to control Hakudōshi as their personal weapon along with the remaining incarnations they intended to revive. Hakudōshi then wanders through the lands, vaguely remembering the face of a woman carrying an Infant (Kagura) and the killing of monks. Believing that is how he will recover his memories, the newly reborn incarnation begins killing monks in the same way him and Kagura did in the past.

AGE: 20+ | 8-11 (Permanent Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: Hanyou no Yashahime & onwards POSITION: Lives isolated in a mountain | Independent Demon Slayer After Kirimi’s death, Hakudōshi eventually recovers all of his memories, not just of the person he used to be but all the people he has hurt. Regret is a strong word for him, does he regret anything? He doesn’t, he did what he was born to do. Regret won’t bring back those who died at his hands or those who were hurt. He is capable, however, of apologizing despite knowing the most obvious answer is that he isn’t forgiven. That is fine by him. To his surprise, Kohaku asks him to come train for a while at the new Demon Slayer village. The boy hasn’t forgiven him but his kind nature doesn’t let the former incarnation simply go. He goes and after becoming a skilled Demon Slayer, Hakudōshi retires to a mountain and only leaves it when there is a dire need. He gains the title of The Demon That Slays Demons. This is where he will stay and watch as the new generations are born, grow and eventually surpass the old. The entire experience changes his personality to somewhat more calm, less brutal and cruel, the sadistic incarnation of Naraku is no more, but he is still Hakudōshi, the White Child.

EXCLUSIVE WITH: @adversitybloomed​

AGE: 8-11 (Physical Appearance) TIMELINE: After the Infant was split in half POSITION: Adopted by the Hua family | Doesn't know his connection to Naraku

After the Infant was split in two, the right half of it was supposed to remain dead while the left half regenerated back into its original form. In short, the right half was supposed to be nothing but dead meat. Given this, Naraku ordered Kanna to look after the left half and get rid of the right one. The incarnation did as she was told and abandoned the half on a river, allowing the strong stream to take it away. Something unexpected happened and the right half regenerated just like its left but it was completely alone. Although still a demon, the baby appeared to have lost its memories and even its previous speaking ability, therefore the only way to grab the attention of anyone passing by was of a normal baby: cry. And so he did and soon enough he was found by Hua Mulan. She knew he was a demon the moment she set her eyes on him and even so still took him. She took had demonic blood in her. Having lost its speaking abilities, at least for now, Hakudōshi spoke to Mulan through his mind ability but could only tell her his name as he didn’t remember anything else. Mulan decided there and then to officially adopt and raise the little baby as if he were her own son. Because of his demon origins, Hakudōshi grows and develops much faster than the average child; each month he grows more and more although at some point it should stabilize. He is happy, he loves his mother and has a big respect for the Hua family, never does he want to tarnish their name. But danger lurks around every corner and unknown to him, his life is still connected to that of Naraku’s and thus it is threatened to be taken should his infant counterpart meet his demise...

....

These are the current verses. I also have a verse for Crossovers but I am a bit selective regarding the fandoms I accept RPing with in this verse.

Moonlit Strolls

Chapter Eight: Sunday

     "And where were you yesterday?"

    The daring look in sharp blue eyes kept me silent, though I glanced over at the tall, black haired man standing next to me, a playful grin on his face. Apparently Integra had come back from her meeting not long after we went down into the basement, where my best friend was now some strange creature who might never recognize me again.

    "With him," he answered casually, looking over the top of his sunglasses at the blond.

    She squinted behind round glasses at him, calculating something with a flicker of annoyance bouncing around her head. She didn't seem to like that answer and honestly I couldn't figured out why. Wasn't it she who ordered him to stay with me while I was at my home? I glanced over at him yet again, hoping I hadn't gotten him in trouble over something small. But there he was, still grinning at her like he had some little secret he wasn't about to share with her. Finally, Integra turned her attention to me and I straight somewhat.

    "Mr. Slater. There are some things we need to discuss about your friend, Mr. Clayton, who I am told you've already met with today," she started, fingers bridged on the desk she was sitting behind. "Walter and I have come up with a plan. It is a simple plan with one point: If Mr. Clayton doesn't recognize you by the end of this week he will die."

       I swallowed hard, my stomach twisting in a way that almost made me puke. I felt all eyes on my and I all I could do was drop mine to the ground. Kill him? Just like that? My hands were shaking again, both tightly clenching the other. I closed my eyes, tightly, trying to think about anything other than that.

    "You can't will this away, Mr. Slater. I have no use for a deranged werewolf," Integra said coarsely. "Also, we will need to run some tests on you. There is a reason you're being targeted," she sighed. "Blood and DNA tests are all we will need for now."

    "For now? What else are you planning on taking?" I asked incredulously, eyes brimming with tears; not for me, but for Jake. "What else could you possibly take from me?"

    "I am not taking anything," she barked. "I am giving you a chance to save your friend and a chance to figure out why everything is trying to kill you. Do not tell me I am taking anything. Get out of my sight."

    I briskly turned and left, Alucard on my tail. I didn't stop until we arrived to my temporary room and I slumped against the wall, leaning forward to put my hands on my knees. Integra was a tough person to deal with, clearly, but this wasn't a subject she could brutishly shove through. I barely noticed Alucard sitting on my bead, elbows resting on his knees and his arms limp between his legs. He watched me silently for a few moments.

    "Red."

    "W-What?" I mumbled, head hanging low.

    "Come here."

    I slowly looked up at him, too tired to move. I couldn't read him and I couldn't see his eyes so there was no way of telling what he was thinking. Finally, I pushed my self off the wall and sat on the bed beside him.

    "I told you my master was not a woman to be trifled with."

    "Yeah, I know..." I grumbled. "Thanks for that 'I-told-you-so', by the way," I sighed, flopping backwards onto the bed. "What do I do?"

    He grinned down at me from over red and orange sunglasses. "Fix your friend."

    I glanced up at him tiredly. What was he up to? What was his real agenda? Maybe for once someone trying to help me didn't have one and maybe that was alright, but not likely. I closed my eyes, willing the room to disappear for a while.

    "But, first, you promised to eat."

    I opened my eyes again and my heart skipped a beat. Dark red eyes were hovering right above my own, nose teasingly close and lips, oh his lips were right there.

    "W-What are you doing," I mumbled, afraid that if I moved my lips too much they'd meet with his own.

    "Trying to figure out why you're sleeping in such a weird position. Anyways." A long arm snaked under me, at the small of my back and he forced me to sit up again. "Food. Now."

    "Fine, fine, fine, I just--s-stop," I sputtered, scrambling off the bed and moving far away from him. "Just... don't," I mumbled, hunching my shoulders. A knock on the door graced the awkward silence that followed and I quickly moved to open it. "Seras. Thank god. Let's go eat," I suggested, grabbing her hand and hurrying away from the tall man now removing himself from the bed.

    "Do you have to do this right now?" Seras asked the small group of doctors standing ready with blood-withdrawing tools.

    I looked down at my mostly finished meal and quietly wiped my mouth. "No, it's all right, Seras. I'm done anyways. Thank you for the company."

    "Oh, uh, okay...." she responded, standing now. "Well, I should get some sleep. If you need anything, don't hesitate to find me," Seras told me, patting my back for slipping away.

    The blood drawing didn't take too long and all I could think about was Jake. Was anyone feeding him? After the doctors left, I went into the kitchen, hoping for something to bring him. There were quite a few cooks in the room and they all stopped to acknowledge my presence. I wondered if Integra had anything to do with it, but when I asked for something for Jake, they made something fairly quickly. I thanked the group and went back downstairs, only knowing where I was going based on paintings we'd passed before. A few times I'd lost my way, realizing I had stared at the vampire's back a lot of the way, but eventually I found the iron and silver door.

    "Jake?"

    At the bottom, in front of the cage, I stood, listening to the harsh clinking of chains, plate of food in hand.

    "Jake, I brought food," I said quietly. I noted a small door towards the bottom of the massive cage and carefully slid the food in.

    A few moments of silence and the clinking of chains returned with Jake himself being produced from the shadows. He silently slunk over, unsure of what to do when he saw me. Confusion was clear on his face as he carefully moved to the food. Jake started to pick up the chicken with his hands and eat, but then he saw the fork. I could see the the gears turning and he set the meat back down on the plate and tore it apart that way. I smiled a little, happy he wasn't completely gone.

    I watched him quiet while he ate, sitting in front of the cage, about a foot away. I wasn't sure what to say to him. When he was done, he sat and watched me in turn, legs criss-crossed. He moved closer, scooting across the floor. Suddenly, I noticed the lines under his eyes and I frowned deeply.

    "You'll get better, Jake. You have to," I sighed.

    "You look like you're working hard."

    I jumped, toppling a small pile of books. I quickly piled them back up and stood, meeting blue eyes with glasses. It took a lot not to sit back down, waiting silently for her to do or say something. When I saw she wasn't budging, I let out a quiet sigh.

    "You'll excuse me if I'm none too please to see you right now," I finally said.

    "Oh I'm used to it," she chuckled, moving closer and looking at the books I was reading. "Here."

    The tall woman set an old book whose cover was practically falling apart. She watched me carefully, gauging my reaction.

    "It was my grandfathers. The only book this mansion has about werewolves," she admitted. "You'll not find anything else in this room, but you can try," she said, seeing me glance over at the book tiredly. "That's not the only reason I came, however. I'm inviting you to lunch."

    I looked at her fully now and paused, unsure of her reasoning.

    "I'm... not really hungry," I told her quietly.

    "Okay, well, it's been several hours since you've last eaten and I do believe you had blood drawn. You're run yourself ragged at this rate," she pointed out. "But, suit yourself."     I watched her start to leave, surprised at how caring she actually seemed. It was quite back and forth with her sometimes, but maybe she really did have a more human side. I returned my gaze to the old book on the table and picked myself up from the chair.

    "Ah, wait a moment and I'll join you."

    I quietly picked at my food, mind racing with everything that had been happening over the passed week. Sleep seemed to escape my grasp for about three nights now and perhaps Integra was right: I was running ragged.

    "Walter's food isn't /that/ bad."

    I refocused my gaze on her, a little startled. "I... what?"

    "You're not eating still."

    "Oh, uhm... sorry, I just... it's a lot, I suppose," I sighed, pushing my hair back over my shoulders. "A lot and all of a sudden," I laughed.

    "I understand..." she admitted softly. "It's a big world hidden in the darkness and not everyone is equipped to cope with it. You... seem very close to Mr. Clayton," Integra mentioned, calmly cutting through her chicken.

    "You can call him Jake, if you want," I told her, mindlessly stirring my soup. "And yeah, we've been friends for a while, since highschool," I recalled, smilingly fondly. "He's been my knight in shining armor since the first time he saved me from a couple of bullies who'd shoved me in a locker."

    "A locker? You're thin, but... a locker?"

    "I was actually pretty short my freshman year," I chuckled. "I guess short and thin and trans makes for an easy target," I shrugged, looking back down at the soup.

    Integra was silently watching me for a moment or so before having Walter light a cigar. "That does sound like it could have been terrible for you, but at least you have Jake now," she commented. Her attention was drawn to some movement out of the corner of her eye and she saw one of the doctors waiting patiently at the door. She beckoned him over and they talked for a quick moment as she looked over some papers. The blond woman waved for the doctor to leave before setting the papers down on the table, leaning back in her chair. "As far as I or the doctors can tell, you've nothing medically special about your blood. You're O- and slightly anemic which may explain why you keep passing out, but other than that you're normal," she sighed, taking a puff of her cigar.

    I wasn't sure whether to be happy or upset and I had the feeling she wasn't sure how to feel either. A definite answer would have made this easier, but we would just have to deal with it as is.

    "These creatures want something from you that they can all withstand to ingest, which is quite rare considering how many different half breeds there were." She foxed her gaze on me, though was clearly lost in thought.

    When too many moments passed, I quietly stood.

    "If it's all right, I would like to see Jake and grab him some food," I told her quietly.

    "Of course. Walter, bring him something for Jake. Has there been any progress?" she inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

    "Yeah, actually. He ate his last meal with a fork," I informed her. How sad is it that I was excited about such a simple thing.

    "I see. Well, I wish you luck. I don't wish to be the bad guy in this scenario, but you understand why it has to be done," she commented, standing and casually walking in the other direction, Walter following suit.

    There was a moment I forgot the position Jake was in and I was sitting against the cage, back pressing against it. I didn't notice the munching sounds had stopped and I didn't notice the subtle clanking of chains right behind me. What I /did/ notice was slender, clawed hands out of the corner of my eye, coming out of the cell. I didn't have enough time to move out of the way as his hand was coming towards me at a rapid pace, but then it suddenly slowed. I paused, heart racing. Finally, the hand cupped my face and turned me towards the owner so I was facing the cage. His thumb softly rubbing my cheek and I met soft purple eyes.

    A sudden clanging of the door opening startled both he and I and he quickly pulled his hand away, accidentally scratching me in the process. I pulled back, covering the wound with my hand, feeling blood pouring through my fingers. Long arms found themselves around my body and Alucard pulled me away from the cage.

    "Looking for some excitement in the middle of the day?" he growled, arms wrapped protectively around me.

you know what also pissed me off about supernatural, though? the inability to commit to their own worldbuilding. even while clinging to a static paradigm, where The Masquerade is in full effect, they couldn't be consistent about what sort of underground magic communities do and don't exist. I know this can be blamed on multiple writers and all, but it drives me up the wall. f.ex. witches are All Evil and tend to work alone, until that episode with the familiars when you find a bunch of nice(r)

witches who go to witchbars and hardly ever poison each other’s drinks, oh and also familiars are athing. a while later spike and cordelia are witches who’ve had a tempestuousrelationship for… centuries I think, aka witches can live for a really longtime, so there’s no way the bigger/older ones don't all know each other. thereought to be SOME sort of witch ‘society’, even if it’s just loosecommunication. but no, after this you never hear of witches ever again, muchless familiars or witch

bars. then you’ve gotBela, who caters to rich people who know magical artifacts exist, but there’sno exploration of what that could MEAN – if Bela can hold down a job, thenenough of the country’s elite own and exploit magic stuff that it could –SHOULD – have at least some effect on US politics, as in who gets power.there’s never a whisper of that, but okay, this isn’t exactly the winchesterboys’ social scene. but failing that, some of these magic-obsessed rich peopleshould turn up for a

few episodes, eitherhaunted or else guilty of inflicting a monster-of-the-week on someone. heck,one of them could be a recurring vaguely-helpful character that the boys stopby and menace a bit whenever they need access to some excessively obscureartifact. you already mentioned the mess of all those Alpha Monsters who werepowerful and unkillable and stuff, and had their own dread agendas withpotentially far-reaching consequences for their respective species, and thenjust… vanished. I don’t

even remember how. andthen there’s the hunter community, which is the most inconsistent of all. firstit’s just these two and their dad, and then they start finding out their dad’sold friends were all actually hunters or oracles or whatever. so far so good;these are just Mysteries Of Our Father’s Past, and valid character/plotdevelopment stuff. but there’s Bobby, who Knows Everyone, and Ellen, whose barevery hunter in the country frequents sooner or later, and this means huntersknow each

other, know about eachother, they have a network of communication and they share intel, gossip, tradesecrets. but the moment the bar blows up there’s just no network, noconnection, nothing at all binding hunters together, even though Bobby stillknows everyone and Ellen and Jo are still around and plenty able to found a newbar if they wanted to, or at least keep in touch with at least half of thepeople who used to swing by their bar. oh and also the demons! they talk aboutcomplex politics

happening in Hell, theyhave some sort of prophesied demon queen who takes the body of a young girl andhas glowing white eyes (I don’t even remember what happened to her), they havedemon religion and spirituality to the point where Lucifer is basically DemonJesus – I’m pretty sure this is explicitly stated, Lucifer is to the demonswhat Jesus is to really devout Christians, semi-mythical status and prophesiedsecond coming and everything – and the show makes an effort to flesh out itsdemonic

characters, give thempersonality and desires and drives, and it shows distinct differences in howdifferent demons feel about humanity, and about what they do, and all that. yetdespite all this, the only demon we meet who doesn’t immediately try to murderthe boys is Ruby. no one tries to bargain honestly with the boys, no one butCrowley tries to aim the boys at their own enemies, no one begs for mercy orlies about repentance. nothing. can you imagine if those demons who told Sam totake up

his antichrist mantleand lead a demon army decided that, since their Chosen One was unwilling, theyought to convince him? what if a bunch of demons had started discreetly tailingthe boys, showing up sometimes to rescue them from really bad fights or offerup dead monsters like housecats offering dead birds? ‘hey chosen one, we caughtyou this demon who’s high up in Crowley’s hierarchy, do you want to torture himfor information yourself or do you want us to do it?’ they solemnly swear that

that they’ve stoppedkilling humans, they keep quietly growing in number, and they always scrambefore the boys are conscious enough to kill them properly. sam and dean havemany arguments about whether they were REALLY too concussed to stab theirlatest demonic rescuer and get absurdly angsty and argumentative about it. Iknow my rant has gotten pretty thoroughly disorganized and this is moving backinto must-have-a-static-paradigm territory, but I am a little bitter.

THIS IS ALSO SUCH A GOOD POINT there is just so much to be bitter about with this show, like, good god, you’d think that sooner or later they’d run out of basic narrative rules to fuck up.

Speaking of rules, I think this is a manifestation of one of Supernatural’s wider problems, which is that they just DO NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THE RULES OF THEIR OWN UNIVERSE.  Like, all they’ve REALLY nailed down is that demons can be exorcised, but anything that isn’t a demon is pretty much at the mercy of the plot for A) how powerful it is, B) how hard to kill it is, and C) how ‘human’ it’s considered.  Like, everything from werewolves to wendigos are stated to be at least PART human, but basically their ‘humanness’ and subsequently the amount of sympathy accorded to them is predicated on how benign (or how attractive) they look in their human form.  The magic of this universe is wildly unpredictable--the Winchesters sometimes do/dabble in magic themselves, but we never really learn how magic works.  Does it require a focus?  Does it require badly-pronounced Latin?  Is it an expression of the user’s willpower?  Is it similar to what demons do (implied when All Witches Are Wicked for the first few seasons) or not?  Does it require natural talent or can anyone learn it?  THERE ARE SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT ARE TOTALLY IGNORED.  THEN there’s the question of societies in this supernatural underworld.  Like, I think I’ve expressed in my John Wick comments how much I like functional underworld societies with rules and systems, but honestly it’s CRITICALLY necessary if you’re doing what SPN does and having the society Matter.  I cringe every time I think about how clumsy and slapdash the hunting community was in Supernatural, because it had SO MUCH POTENTIAL, don’t talk to me about it, I made it work better when I wrote my spite novel.  I’m sure I can think of fifty million more incomplete universe rules, but I can honestly feel my blood pressure rising right now so I’m going to stop.

OH MY GOD GUYS, please, if you’re a writer, let me beg you right now in person to figure out the rules of your universe and then commit.  Here are some pointers.

Magic should work in a conceptually similar way to gravity: its rules should be consistent and should be able to be broadly extrapolated from the general effect, and if you’re going to BREAK those rules you’ve got to have a damn fine reason.  

The sliding scale of ‘humannness’ should...slide less, to be completely honest, work your shit the fuck out EARLY or make working your shit the fuck out a plot point (please see Stormdancer for a good example).  

If you’re dealing with questions of what makes someone human (@SPN FOR LIKE FOUR FUCKING SEASONS) then you should actively question like “Hey, my dude, can we morally kill this person for something they have no control over” unless your character took the trait ‘Callous’ somewhere in their history (which is also fine).

If you have an underworld society--or any society tbh???--WORK YOUR SHIT OUT.  How do they work together (ex: hunters pretending to be ‘the boss’ when someone calls the number on that fake business card)?  How do they support each other (ex: safehouses? maybe? this is never discussed in SPN? and I hate it?)?  What are the things people differ on (ex: whether or not to murder the Winchesters, which, like, I know you’re supposed to be against that because they’re the protagonists, but by the time I bailed I def wanted someone to shoot them)?  Is there an assumption of free exchange of favors or is there a strict financial/bargaining system?   How much does one person vouching for another matter in the community?  ANSWER SOME BASIC QUESTIONS FFS

Finally, most crucially, for the love of all that is good, Pick A Plot.  One plot.  It can have subplots (example: an overarching plot broken up by smaller missions, a la your average TV show) or multiple acts (as in a play, where you’ve got a couple major pieces that assemble into the main plot, like Much Ado where you’ve got (roughly) the matchmaking, the wedding, the vengeance, and the resolution), but it should be One Plot and you need to tie up those motherfucking loose ends.

This has been “Hey look turns out that 6K later I have Even More Complaints about Supernatural” with Moran.

City of Stupid

by Dan H

Monday, 06 October 2008

Dan "reviews" Cassandra Clare's City of Bones

I'd like to start this review (which like most Ferretbrain reviews will actually be more of an extended ramble and will involve strong spoilers from the outset) by citing a quote from the last page of City of Bones (told you there'd be spoilers) which I think perfectly highlights the problem I have with Urban Fantasy: 

"And there it was spread out before her like a carelessly opened jewellery box, this city more populous and more amazing than she had ever imagined: There was the emerald square of central park, where the faerie courts met on midsummer evenings; there were the lights of the clubs and bars downtown, where the vampires danced the nights away at Pandemonium; there the alleys of Chinatown down which the Werewolves slunk at night, their coats reflecting the city's lights. There walked warlocks in all their bat-winged, cat-eyed glory; and here, as they swung out over the river, she saw the darting flash of multicoloured tails under the silvery skin of the water, she shimmer of long, pearl-strewn hair and heard the high, rippling laughter of the mermaids."

Now I freely admit that this is a personal bugbear, but it actually kind of pisses me off that in order for the good Miss Clare to find any sense of wonder in the city of New York she has to imagine that it's full of cheap, derivative White Wolf characters.  Repeat after me, Urban Fantasy writers: vampires do not make the world more interesting. Werewolves do not make the world more interesting. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter.  Anyway, onto the book. By the way, this gets kind of incoherent. This is because reading City of Bones has actually caused me to suffer physical brain damage. 

First Things First: The Harry Potter Connection  I really, honestly, didn't want to do this. I spent the first half of the book saying "no, it's just because you know she was from that fandom, just because the villain's got an agenda of racial purity, a name beginning with V, and a secret society backing him up which he started when he was in high school, that doesn't mean it's not still an original work of fiction."  Then it turned out that the scruffy, bookish older character, who had a crush on the heroine's mother and while never popular at school had managed to find his way into a clique of popular kids and was very pleased about it was a fucking werewolf. His name is "Lucian," by the way.  In short: it's a Harry Potter AU in which Lily married Voldemort and gave birth to Draco and Hermione, while Remus Lupin hung around looking sad.  Okay, it doesn't map exactly: the Voldemort-analogue's Death-eater-analogue seems to have started out as more of a Marauders-analogue, and the Dumbledore-analogue appears to have been part of the group as well. There are enough parallels, however that if you're already aware of where the author started off you just can't stop making comparisons.  Although Mr Not-Lupin was my breaking point, it's the villain that really strikes me as being a bit similar to a certain well known figure from a certain well known series. His name is Valentine (that's his first name, by the way, his last name is Morgenstern). Everybody starts the book thinking he's dead. Many years ago he started a war which nearly tore apart the Shadowhunter World, and although he was defeated people still fear his return. His rise to power relied on a sinister organisation which he founded at the age of fucking seventeen. Oh, and of course he's dedicated to an agenda of racial purity, and talks about blood all the time.  So, yeah. Bit familiar really.  And I never thought I'd say this, but the difference between Valentine and Voldemort is that Voldemort actually works (at least until the point where he gets resurrected and starts acting like a muppet). In a children's series set in a boarding school, you can accept the idea that the path to world domination begins in the sixth form. In a Young Adult series set in actual New York you really can't.  But that's enough about Why It's A Bit Like Harry Potter, because it really is too easy.  Style, Plot and Pacing: Full Tilt to Nowhere  It has been said that Drama is real life with the boring bits taken out. This is almost certainly true, for a reasonably strict definition of the "boring bits". Certainly I wouldn't want to watch a drama that was actually, genuinely shot in real time, with hour long scenes of the characters doing housework or playing World of Warcraft (note that 24 in no way counts as "shot in real time," it's just a 24-episode drama series that happens to give its episodes numbers for titles). However it's important to recognise that there are lots of bits which don't count as boring, and which good drama leaves in. Things like establishing character, laying the groundwork for your plot, and having lines of dialogue that aren't fucking one-liners.  City of Bones is real life with all the bits that don't involve people being actively awesome taken out. So the dialogue consists entirely of characters exchanging pithy quips or heated emotional outbursts, the action judders from fight to explosion to exposition without passing through anything in the middle. Our esteemed editor gave up on the book on page 63 when she got to the "Jace on the Piano" scene, I very nearly gave up on the book about a hundred pages later when it was revealed that Clary's mother had been married to Valentine.  I'm just going to let that paragraph hang there for a bit.  Hopefully you're now thinking "hold on Dan, why did you find that so annoying, are you going to explain to us why we should care about this, or are you just going to leave it there with no context or explanation."  Which is exactly how I felt about that scene.  Valentine, in case you've already forgotten (and to be honest I wouldn't blame you) is the racially motivated villain of Clare's totally original fantasy world. By page one-hundred-and-whatever we know bugger all about the guy except that he's the Designated Villain of this particular secondary creation. He apparently started a (totally original) war a few years ago in an attempt to purge the world of non-humans, and everybody thought he was dead but maybe he isn't dum dum dummmmm!  The problem is that the only thing that Valentine has done so far is maybe not be dead and possibly be implicated in abducting Clary's Mother because he's maybe looking for a thing called the Mortal Cup. It's sort of like having the "I Am Your Father" scene in Star Wars take place before the destruction of Alderaan. We find out that Jocelyn (Clary's mother and before you ask, no, nobody in this entire book has a name that isn't stupid) was married to Valentine before we really find out why we should give a shit about either of them (insofar as we ever do).  Incidentally our esteemed editor has pointed out that, tellingly, the moment she gave up on the book was the moment that made it bad romance, while the moment I gave up on it was the moment that made it bad fantasy. Make of that what you will.  Anyway, the basic plot is that there's this waste of space called Valentine who started a totally original war about sixteen years ago, and who is now looking for a thing called the Mortal Cup because he wants to create an army of Shadowhunters to wipe out the Downworlders (non humans to you and me) and safeguard the world from demons for all time.  There's a couple of things I'd like to say about that.  Firstly: Bored. So bored.  Secondly: Apart from the fact that he's Designated Evil, what exactly is wrong with this plan? Half the Downworlders we meet actually are horrifically dangerous and actually do kill people. It's not unreasonable to suggest that they should be dealt with, and the idea of making more Shadowhunters is actually a really good one. But Valentine is evil so, whatevs.  Anyway, in order to safeguard the Mortal Cup from Valentine they for some unfathomable reason have to go on a long CRPG quest where they talk to people, who send them to talk to other people, who help them to unlock Clary's Super Special Self Insert Memories which apparently contain the Key to Everything. After about five chapters of "now you must go here, now you must go here, now you must go to a party with a gay warlock" they finally find out that actually her memories will come back on their own, she just has to give them time, and also the magic feather isn't really magic and it was just her all along.  Sorry, I'm actually boring myself writing this.  So then there's a filler chapter where they have to rescue one of the supporting cast from vampires and another filler chapter where the vampires are attacked by werewolves and Jace and Clary go flying on a vampire motorbike. Then there's some angst and drama, then they go get the Mortal Cup because Clary realises that she's known where it was all along, but only she has the power to retrieve it because zomg special. Then there is Betrayal! Then there is Exposition! Then eventually the fucking thing ends and I can go back to doing something more interesting like unblocking our waste disposal unit.  The final revelation of the book is that not only was Valentine married to Clary's mother but that he was also her father. The book seems to expect me to be surprised at this, but given that her real father was supposed to have died before she was born leaving no personal effects whatsoever or any evidence that he'd ever existed and since, true to form, Shadowhunters never marry Mundanes (because what would somebody who isn't Teh Speshul possibly have to bring to a relationship) anybody with half a brain has already worked out that Clary's father is probably her mother's husband.  But! It also turns out that Valentine is Jace's father, having faked both his and Jace's death, and assumed the identity of Michael Wayland (one of his followers, who he killed) in order to evade detection. Then he faked his death a second time and sent Jace to live at the Institute. The institute which is full of photographs of the real Michael Wayland, and of Valentine, which Jace somehow never recognised. This final whammy ends in a classic exchange that goes something like this: 

"But, the Wayland ring-" "Ah yes," said Valentine, looking at Jace's hand, where the ring glittered like snake scales. "The ring. Funny isn't it how an M worn upside down resembles a W."

No. No it fucking doesn't, you moron. For a start it's a ring, and rings are fucking circular. You can't wear it "upside down" because people look at your hand from different angles. And what the hell kind of family crest is it that's just the first letter of your freaking surname with no context or decoration? Where the hell did that come from, My First Heraldry Kit? And why didn't the people at the institute, most of whom were your former allies, recognise your family crest? And why didn't you just have him wear the actual insignia of the family you were pretending to be from you stupid, derivative stock villain?  In short the plot is stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. The pacing is shot to hell, full of scenes that seemed like a cool idea at the time, or which only exist to showcase some part of the setting. It's full of cheap shortcuts and copouts and unadulterated nonsense.  "Characterisation." You Notice I Used Sarcastic Quote Marks  There isn't any. I'm really sorry to come back to the fanfic thing again, but the fact is that the only way to get sense of personality from any of the characters in the damned book was to assume that they were their Harry Potter analogues and work from there.  That's right guys. This book makes Harry Potter look like a thoughtfully constructed work of character-driven drama. While Voldemort's actions frequently seem at odds with his alleged motivation (if he's so afraid of death, why does he treat his Horcruxes so carelessly, if he cares so little for life, why doesn't he kill the heroes when he gets the chance?) at least I know that he's supposed to have some kind of reason for his actions. Valentine on the other hand just feels like a puppet going through the motions of villainy in order to provide the story with some semblance of direction.  Then there's Jace. Who. Never. Says. Anything. That. Isn't. A. One. Liner. And okay, I know that part of the deal is that he's been so terribly hurt that he can't allow himself to have normal feelings which is why his love for Clary is so special but fuck that. "Makes constant wisecracks" is not a psychologically realistic portrayal of an emotionally scarred teenager, it's a cheap bit of sub-Buffy wish fulfilment. Towards the climax of the book they face an honest to god Demon Lord and he actually gives it sass.  Look, it really is very simple. Your readers take their cues from your characters. If you show us a scene in which your protagonists fight a Big Scary Demon and they act like it Isn't Scary At All, then we, the readers will assume that the Big Scary Demon is in fact Not Scary At All. If your characters are unimpressed by your world, it doesn't make the character look cool, it makes the world look unimpressive. Those who are following in their textbooks will find this principle outlined in Chapter One under the heading "Show Don't Tell, Dumbass."  Let's see, who else is actually in this turd of a novel? There's Alec, who is gay and Isabelle, who is his sister, who wears thigh high boots and carries a whip, and has hair "nearly the precise colour of black ink". Leaving aside the fact that the description makes her sound like the World of Warcraft Succubus her main function in the book is to be theoretically sexy but only enough to make the quiet, unselfconscious beauty of Clary to look special by comparison.  Then there's Hodge, who betrays everybody, which would come as more of a shock if I had the slightest grip on his personality beyond "well he's probably a bit like Dumbledore but I don't know really".  And that's it. Jesus Christ there are only about eight characters in the entire fucking book, you'd think one of them might have had some semblance of an identity. You would have thought wrong.  Unanswered Questions: Who Runs This Idiot World?  So, how did Jace not recognise that his father looked like Valentine, and not like the man who was actually supposed to be his father?  Why, if the only way to get more Shadowhunters is for them to be born to existing Shadowhunters, or for them to be made with the Mortal Cup (at a terrible risk) why the fuck don't Shadowhunters ever marry Mundanes?  Why isn't the Clave doing anything?  How did Valentine manage to put together a world-dominating secret conspiracy at the age of seventeen?  What's so fucking special about Clary?  Why is saving the world being left in the hands of five teenagers?  Are there really two more books in this series?  Why didn't I do the sensible thing and stop reading on page 114? 

Themes: Books, Sci-fi / Fantasy, Young Adult / Children, Cassandra Clare

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Comments (go to latest)

Wardog at 16:24 on 2008-10-09

You make me so damn glad I stopped reading at page 63. So. Damn. Glad.

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Wordless at 07:05 on 2009-11-10

I could've realized something when i noticed that the people who positively reviewed the series were a) Stephenie Mayer and b) Cassandra's close friends. To be honest I was a bit suspicious when Holly Black referred to her as "Cassie". but my main issue is this: 

Why, if the only way to get more Shadowhunters is for them to be born to existing Shadowhunters, or for them to be made with the Mortal Cup (at a terrible risk) why the fuck don't Shadowhunters ever marry Mundanes?

Why, if the only way to get more Shadowhunters is for them to be born to existing Shadowhunters, or for them to be made with the Mortal Cup (at a terrible risk) why the fuck don't Shadowhunters ever marry Mundanes?

Are Shadow Hunters...sterile? Obviously not, since Jocelyn had two children and both are successful shadow hunters....noting one even has "special powers" from them doing the nasty. Sooo what's the issue then? I pondered this for a good fat chunk of the book until i came to: "Sure," Jace said "But we haven't had the cup for years now, and a lot of us die young. So our numbers slowly dwindle." "Aren't you, uh..."Clary searched for the right word."reproducing?"....(skin a bunch of irrelevant ramble)"Sure he said."we love reproducing. It's one of our favourite things." okay heres the thing using the shadow cup 20% success rate, doing the old-fashioned ovaries and sperm route-about the same thing.So whats the point? I mean going after valentine would just kill the few shadow hunters they have and so why bother? Apparently seeing as everyone's doing like they do on the discovery channel let him have the cup. but this issue was left abandoned instead pursuing the predictable Jace heritage. in short i was bored and sickened....and confuzled but much later. After my feet stopped cramping.

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Wordless at 07:52 on 2009-11-12

Also the werewolves....*sigh*the werewolves...These are supposed to be human well at least half human. so I don't understand how sentient beings would kill each other for leadership of the pack. Really...that set evolution back at least a hundred years. Aleast. I mean even in the wild though male wolves fight they don't KILL each other...because that would be stupid. okay sure I'm taking some liberties but seriously when i read that i was like WTF.

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Shim at 13:15 on 2009-11-12

Actually, although I agree it seems kind of sad she can't find wonder in the city as it is - to me the most grating thing is that the "wonder" in America is all European. I'm just about willing to buy werewolves (being basically human) and even vampires, although I don't like the modern twist on vampires anyway. But mermaids in the rivers in ANY city? Easily visible? Not flippin' likely given the pollution, tidal barrages and so on you get. However, I'd like to reserve my major anger for the "faerie courts in Central Park". All fey-based mythology I know of has them inhabiting a kind of overlapping reality, usually underground or in magical hills or whatever, and rarely having any contact with humans. There's no reason for them to up sticks en masse and move to America. Especially given that in a world where this stuff is real, America would be quite full enough of the indigenous fantastic races like Baykok or Ishigaq or Kushtaka (all of which I just looked up; what do I know about Native American mythology? still more than CC, apparently). Or does she imagine the Faerie imitated their mortal cousins and had their own little genocide?

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C J Morgan at 17:03 on 2009-11-12

Or does she imagine the Faerie imitated their mortal cousins and had their own little genocide?

Now there is a story I would read. ...or write. *adds to list of ideas*

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Dan H at 23:58 on 2009-11-12

Hi guys, sorry for the lack of commentage, blame NaNoWriMo

okay heres the thing using the shadow cup 20% success rate, doing the old-fashioned ovaries and sperm route-about the same thing.So whats the point?

To be fair, presumably natural born Shadowhunters have about a thirteen year period where they're just kids, so the cup would be a better way to build an army *fast*. Of course Valentine does not in fact *do* this.