we still don't know why the carstairs owe the herondales...

Matthew Novella Bind-Up Theory and TLH (slight tin-foil)

I wanna build on an awesome theory made by @fair-but-wilde-child cus I’m 1. Always down for TSC theories and 2. part of the Protect Matthew Squad and, their theory combines both of these passions of mine.

I never allowed myself to consider the possibility that my biggest wish may actually come true, and that is that Matthew might get a bind-up novella. Lots of people have all the receipts from Cassie about the Matthew novella so I won’t like repeat all of it, but the prospect seemed too good to be true for me!!! So like, I shut down my own hope with a single dark blanket of anguish which was: Matthew needs to like, live for a long time, if he’s gonna be the MC of a novella bind-up. I mean, I know Simon himself wasn’t immortal yet he got TFTSA but that was set in 2007 and all the historical shorts were told as flashbacks. If Matthew is living in 1903 then flash forwards would be awkward, right?

However, Matthew living would make so much sense in a way. Remember, Cassie specifically said that the Family Tree leaves out Shadowhunters who either became mundanes or Downworlders. And there are many allusions to Matthew becoming, ahem, immortal, in addition to the fact that Cassie may well indeed choose not to finish his character arc in its entirety in Thorns. (I don’t think it’s impossible by the way, but I want a good ole excuse for more Matthew content... I find Matthew’s emotional arc seems like it needs more page-time, and this is, after all, the same problem that led to Simon getting TFTSA i.e. him regaining his memory required time and growth which a novella bind-up allowed him to have.)

Here are some of my ideas about Matthew's fate if it's not a quintessential one:

1. Matthew leaving the mainstream Shadowhunter community: I’m not saying he’s becoming a vampire per se, but remember how Matthew waltzed into our lives in Nothing But Shadows claiming he didn’t wanna be a killing machine and wanted to enjoy life and art and poetry and not die young fighting demons? Yeah, it’d be peak literary irony if that turned out to be true. I know my baby loves Shadowhunting but the irony would be such a wow if this happened.

2. Matthew and Dorian Gray, Addie La Rue, Magnus Bane, all the hedonists: Matthew wants to live life and enjoy it and experience. He’s got the same wiring as these afformentioned characters that can’t be tamed by mundaneness. Like he’s going to Paris and likely will stay at L’Hôtel where Oscar Wilde himself died (and maybe will speak with his ghost!!!). Matthew becoming immortal isn’t, yunno, impossible. Imagine a novella with Matthew and his adventures throughout time, cus it’d thematically make sense if it happened to the “larger- than-life” character.

3. Matthew breaking the Law: I’ve said in one of my theories that the whole truth potion thing isn’t gonna just go away by the end of Thorns with no strings attached. Like, in the same way the yin fen issue wasn’t completely resolved at the end of Clockwork Princess for Jem, and his story had to stretch over a century for that to be fixed, I think that Matthew breaking the Law is gonna have some major repercussions. Plus the whole message Ty found at the Scholomance from 1904 seems sus, even if it’s just a date. (I don’t like the idea of Matthew in that grimy old place but whatever, it’s still possible).

4. Matthew and the Fae: Matthew keeps evoking imagery of the Fae, like remember when he was just making Fae buddies and the evil fairy called him the “fairest of children” and shit (love the pun)? Yeah, that’s a thing, but also this post made by Cassie is just so telling that there is one last novella bindup that’s gonna link TLH and TWP. Remember, the whole point of TDA and TWP is dealing with the Faeries and the Fae courts. And Matthew’s emotional arc in TLH is defined by his relationship with that pesky Fae. I find it hard to believe he isn’t a potential link. The Fairchild family’s symbol is that of fairy wings, don’t forget that.

Furthermore, I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a link between Matthew and Ty- maybe the Scholomance especially since Ty found that note dated from 1904 on the walls as OP mentioned. Plus Cassie teasing that Ty has something to do with her special project makes me think this is plausible.

Major issue with these theories and a counterpoint @fair-but-wilde-child brought up that I love to death:

How tf is it that Tessa, Jem and Magnus don’t know/have never brought up that this important dude is secretly alive?

What if Matthew’s adventures are based around him being in Fairie. Like what if, say, Matthew gets sent to the Scholomance against his will but he escapes somehow into Fairie. Imagine he spends like, a year in Fairie and gains a lot of wisdom and falls in love and some shit and then boom! He gets fricking rescued by one of TWP characters (imagine him being found by Ty or something). He thinks only a year has passed but it’s been a century. This solves thee “why don’t Tessa or Jem or Magnus or Catarina or Ragnor” know anything issue. Heck, maybe Matthew chooses to live in Faerie under some bargain and his friends let him go? Maybe it’s a secret only James and the squad know about? That is... tragic, but it’s a very tinfoil possibility that can explain his so-called “immortality” which makes a novella bind-up more feasible.