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SPOILER WARNING: Plot details follow. Caution is advised!

I realized something. I want to be like you, Jules. Not this second, not right now, but someday. I want to take care of people, other Shadowhunters, people who need me. I want to run an Institute.

–Livia to Julian, Lord of Shadows

Livia Blackthorn was a Shadowhunter from the Los Angeles Institute. She was one of the seven Blackthorn children, twin sister to Ty Blackthorn.

Biography[]

History[]

Livvy was born into the Blackthorn family to Andrew and Eleanor Blackthorn in 1997. She is the fourth of seven children, including her half-siblings Helen and Mark, and was born within minutes before her twin brother Ty.[1][2][3][4] Livia was among the few people by whom Ty doesn't mind being touched, as well as one of the few people who could effectively calm him down.

A young Livvy was with Helen, Jules, and Ty while their family visited the New York Institute in 2007. According to Jules, she and Ty were eating wax, much to Helen's frustration.[5]

Dark War[]

In December of 2007, the Los Angeles Institute was attacked by Sebastian Morgenstern and his Endarkened army. Along with her siblings (with the exception of Mark and Helen, the latter of whom was in Alicante at the time of the attack), Livia managed to escape through a Portal, which was opened by the Clave upon Jules' emergency request.

Once there, Livia was among the children who were interrogated with the Mortal Sword, after learning that their father was among the Clave members who were Turned into Dark Shadowhunters by the Infernal Cup. Eventually, they also learned that their brother Mark had been forced to join the Wild Hunt.

The next time they saw their father was during the battle in Alicante, during which the children were sent to hide in the Accords Hall. There, Andrew quickly found his children and immediately began to approach them menacingly. Jules saw that his father was truly gone after being Turned, and ultimately killed him before he could hurt Ty or his other siblings. When Ty threw a fit afterwards, Livia tried to calm him down, knowing that Jules had no choice but to do what he did.[6]

Eventually, the children returned to Los Angeles where their uncle, Arthur, joined them shortly after taking over as head of the Los Angeles Institute. He remained a distant figure, however, while their new tutor, Diana Wrayburn, and Julian were more involved with their development.[7]

The Guardian[]

In August 2012, her half-brother Mark was returned to the Blackthorn family from the Wild Hunt as a bargaining chip to make them investigate who was killing faeries. Livvy and Ty were often tasked with the research aspect of the investigation, and they later insisted on being part of Tavvy's rescue when Malcolm Fade, whom they learned was the Guardian, kidnapped him.[7]

After Malcolm's death, Livvy grew closer to Kit Herondale, who began spending time with her and Ty. When Livvy got him alone once, she asked Kit to kiss her, having wanted to experience being kissed but hadn't had the opportunity to even meet anyone decent enough who was around her age until Kit arrived. The pair had no feelings for one another and Livvy later clarified that she did not want to be more than friends, and Kit did not object, only pleased to have friends in her and Ty.

Livvy joined Ty and Kit in investigating Annabel Blackthorn's history and was injured in a fight at the London Shadow Market, scaring Ty. Livvy and the boys later discovered Zara Dearborn's plans to take the Los Angeles Institute and told their tutor Diana Wrayburn about it.

After Annabel Blackthorn was risen from the dead by Malcolm, the Blackthorns brought her to Idris with the hope of proving that Zara Dearborn, the unofficial leader of the Centurions and The Cohort, was lying about killing Malcolm. While on the stand in the Council Hall, Annabel's attitude changed; wielding the shards of the broken Mortal Sword, Annabel killed Robert Lightwood and Livia, stabbing her in the chest after she had rushed to hand Julian a sword to protect himself.[8]

Life after death[]

The day after the meeting, Livvy's body was burned at her funeral, held at the same time as Robert's. Ty was unable to come to terms with her death and refused to accept it as being final. He climbed her funeral pyre to retrieve her gold necklace, intent on bringing her back with a resurrection spell found in the Black Volume of the Dead. Ty eventually put together all the ingredients needed for the ritual with the help of Kit and Shade, both of whom only meant to ensure his safety while secretly hoping that he would eventually give up.

Shortly after her death, Julian named the resistance against the Cohort "Livia's Watch", in honor of her memory and as a reminder of all the losses suffered because of the Cohort, drawing the banner with a saber and her locket to represent her.

AD Kit, Ty and Livvy 01

Ty and Kit resurrecting Livvy's ghost.

The night before the battle against the Cohort, Ty finally performed the ritual by the Lake Lyn, despite Kit's attempts to stop him. The spell only partially succeeded because of the corrupt catalyst Ty used, however, and Livvy was only brought back in the form of a ghost. Livvy despaired at being torn back suddenly into the world of the living and the consequences Ty might someday have to pay. She disappeared for a while, only reappearing the next evening to release Kit and Ty from their magical bindings to get to Emma and the Blackthorns on the battlefield.

According to Magnus Bane, her ghost had become tied to Ty, though her reappearances continued to be sporadic. After the battle, she was at the Basilias when Julian and Emma regained consciousness. She was also by the beach at Magnus and Alec's wedding, seen only by Ty and Kit.[9]

When Ty decided to attend the Scholomance, Livvy followed him. A few months later in 2013, while experimenting with her abilities near Dimmet Tarn, Livvy discovered a lynx cub and alerted Ty, who retrieved it and brought it back to the Scholomance to look after it. She later managed to teleport herself close enough to the warded city of Alicante to hear a discussion between Zara and Manuel about the Cohort's plans for a future attack. Continuing to test the limits of her skills, she visited both the Los Angeles Institute and Jem and Tessa's house in Devon, where she spoke with Kit and observed Tessa shortly before she gave birth.

While in Devon, Livvy briefly considered taking over the body of Tessa's unborn child in order to have a new life; her distress over this horrific thought caused the windows of the conservatory she was in to shatter, alarming Tessa, Jem and Magnus, who noticed Livvy and quickly assured the couple that everything was fine. While waiting to talk to Magnus Livvy felt that Ty was in danger and returned to the Scholomance, where she found her brother unconscious and being treated by Catarina Loss.

When Magnus arrived he explained to Livvy that because she was tied to Ty, being away from him would have a negative effect on both of them; Ty would take the strain of being bound to the dead through a failed necromantic spell, and Livvy would lose some of her humanity and become more like a regular, dangerous ghost. Magnus then gave Livvy a silver chain for Ty to wear that would protect him from the effects of the spell, which she gave to Ty when he woke up and reminded him to try to write to Kit to say thank you.[10]

Personality and traits[]

Livia was fiercely protective of the people she cared about. When Tiberius and Kit started getting closer, Livia was worried that Kit might hurt Ty and even confronted him about how long he would stay with the Blackthorns. This was also seen during fights, where she would often move to protect Tiberius or Kit. She was strong and brave, and she was more than willing to put herself at risk if it meant her loved ones would be safe[8]—having had to be held back when her younger brother Octavian was in trouble.[7]

Livia admired her older brother Julian. She planned to run an Institute when she got older, wanting to be like him. When he was not around, she felt like she must be in charge and stepped up to that role.[8]

Livia was very mischievous and often got up to high jinks with Tiberius. This included messing with their siblings, spying on people at the Institute, and going to places they knew they shouldn't go.[7][8]

She was also imaginative, being able to come up with dramatic scenarios just by observing people, and a bit of a romantic, wanting Cristina and Julian to fall in love when she first met Cristina and wanting Alec and Magnus to get married.[7][8]

Livia's favorite weapon was the saber. She chose it when she was twelve years old and worked hard to make sure she was good at fencing. She could talk eagerly about types of sabers and their grips, especially pistol grips.[7]

Physical description[]

Livia had the Blackthorn trademark curling brown hair and blue-green eyes.

Skills and abilities[]

  • Nephilim physiology: Being Nephilim, Livia possessed a variety of enhanced physical and mental abilities granted to her by the angel blood of Raziel in her veins and also by the angelic Marks of the Gray Book. This includes enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina, and coordination, which continue to improve over time and practice.
    • The Sight: As a Shadowhunter, Livia was naturally and easily able to see through most magical illusions and layers of glamour over reality.
    • Runic magic: Due to the angel blood in their veins, all Shadowhunters are able to apply runes on their skin without any real danger. These Marks, in turn, give varied effects that serve to benefit the wearer.
    • Use of heavenly weapons: As a Shadowhunter, Livia was also able to perform tasks unique to their species, such as the ability to use and call on the power of angels for their seraph blades, as well as to handle any heavenly weapons or objects with effect, which would normally not work for other species. In particular, these are tools made of adamas and forged by Iron Sisters.
  • Swordsmanship: Livia was a skilled fencer and sword fighter, especially with her saber equipped.

Possessions[]

Relationships[]

Tarot Runes Page
If you hurt Tiberius, I’ll kill you.

–Livvy to Mark, Lady Midnight

Livvy was very close to her twin brother Ty and was very protective of him—she was constantly trying to protect him from both physical and emotional pain. She knew him very well—knew his habits and tics—and knew just what to do to calm him and how to explain things he found confusing or didn't understand. For a long time, she wanted to become parabatai with Ty, but he was not interested, mostly because of his desire to go to the Scholomance.[7] After Livvy was injured at the London Shadow Market, Ty worried so much for her; when Magnus told them that Livvy having a parabatai would have helped her, Ty decided and later told her that they should become parabatai once things had settled down.[8]

Livvy, along with Ty, stuck close to Kit when he first came to the Institute, quickly befriending him as soon as he allowed. The twins made him feel welcome, always making him tag along with them, and helped him adjust to his new life. The three became somewhat of a team, almost always together during their assignments and their free time. When Livvy had Kit alone, she confronted him about whether or not he intended to stay with them, because he was getting too close to Ty, whom he would hurt if he decided to leave. He asked Kit to not lie to Ty and to not get his hopes up.

Kit was also Livvy's first kiss—she had wanted to experience kissing for a while but never met anyone decent who was around her age until Kit arrived, so she asked him to kiss her, with no strings attached or romantic feelings from either of them. The pair later cleared up that they shouldn't do it again, with Livvy saying that she didn't think they were meant to be more than friends.[8]

Appearances[]

Gallery[]

See more here

Etymology[]

Following the family tradition of Greek and Latin names, Andrew named her Livia after a Roman empress who was married to Tiberius Claudius Nero, after whom Andrew named her twin brother, a deliberate instance that Andrew found funny.[14]

Trivia[]

  • Livvy was mathematically-minded; she was fascinated by fractal patterns and often helped her siblings when they struggled with their math. She and Ty picked up the hobby of studying computers—whereas Ty liked analyzing and organizing the patterns, she was more involved with the mathematical aspect the programming and coding.[7] Sometimes even her tutor Diana wished she could go to college and take a higher-level math course.[11]
  • Livvy and Ty's rooms were across the hall from each other. Her room was clean and well-decorated. Her bed's headboard was covered with fabric decorated with a teacup pattern, bright costume jewelry hung from screens nailed to the wall, and books about computers and programming languages were stacked in orderly rows by her bed.[7]
  • She dislikes zucchini.[10]
  • Though she does not remember, her soul attended Tessa Gray and Jem Carstairs's dream wedding along with her siblings and Emma. She even briefly got to see her lost brother, Mark.[15]

  • She and Ty were originally supposed to only be nine months younger than Jules.[16] They were also supposed to have had a made-up twin language only they could understand.[17]
  • In earlier drafts or plans, she found her own name odd and would thus often tell people that her name was Olivia.[14]
  • Her death has stayed with/was hard for Clare and is the most visceral for the author despite it having always been the plan.[18]

  • References[]

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