The Infernal Devices

Fandom
Name:	The Infernal Devices
Abbreviation(s):	TID
Creator:	Cassandra Clare
Date(s):	2010 - 2013
Medium:	Novel Series
Country of Origin:	USA
External Links:	shadowhunters.com (series site) cassandraclare.com (author site)
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The Infernal Devices is a series of YA fantasy written by ex-fan writer Cassandra Clare. This prequel is set in the same universe as The Mortal Instruments, but in Victorian England instead of modern-day New York, and the two series even share some characters.

The "Faery Drug" Controversy

In December 2011, after the release of the trilogy's second book (Clockwork Prince), a small group of fans posted on Tumblr about their discomfort with a canon book scene in which two teenaged characters, Tessa Gray and Will Herondale, are drugged by Magnus Bane, an adult immortal warlock, who then proceeds to watch them from the bushes as they engage in sexual activity. Cassandra Clare refers to that scene in promotional materials and on her Tumblr at the time as the "DSBS," or "Dirty Sexy Balcony Scene." The fans upset with the content of the scene also disagreed with labeling as sexy, as the actions of the teenaged characters are undertaken while unknowingly drugged and nonconsensually being observed by an adult third party.

One notably vocal critical fan was aimmyarrowshigh, who wrote several Tumblr posts in rebuttal to Tessa Gray/Will Herondale shippers who claimed that the dislike was due to the pairing in question and not the content of the scene itself.

* Tessa was happy to kiss will in the attic scene in CA, too, when she was not under the influence of an inhibition-lowering drug. That isn’t the point. Just as a boyfriend can rape a girlfriend or a husband can rape a wife, “they wanted it previously” does not mean that a dubiously consensual or nonconsensual act is nullified just because “they wanted to before.” Jem’s yin fen does not impede his ability to calculate or act on his decisions — we know this because otherwise, it would make him useless and/or dangerous to other shadowhunters in battle, so he wouldn’t be able to take it before a fight — and both he and Tessa knew that he had ingested the yin fen.

• Yes, they drank lemonade. They did not know that they were drinking lemonade that had faerie drugs in it. That’s like saying “Well, the bitch drank the beer” in a case of college rape via GHB. No one KNOWS they’re taking an inhibition-lowering drug. That’s what makes it nonconsensual. Duh. Like, sorry, but: duh. AND, even if they DO knowingly take an inhibition lowering agent like alcohol/THC, it still doesn’t negate that they did not give INFORMED consent to an action.
• Any sexual contact, including making out, that happens without informed consent can be classified as sexual assault. I don’t see how that’s funny, but I do see that you have no idea what it’s like to be dosed and raped and feel physically ill after the revelation of the faerie drugs was given in CP1…
• Okay with it while under the influence of a drug that they did not know they had taken which has the function of increasing libido and lowering control over one’s actions =/= okay with it if they had not taken the drug = nonconsensual/dubiously consensual.
• Really, Jem didn’t care about the 100% sober girl who came into his room and asked for him to continue touching her, thus giving not only informed but enthusiastic consent? Consent is verbal, obvious, and enthusiastic — and sober. Tessa was. Jem’s yin fen functions like albuterol during an asthma attack as far as we know; should asthmatics not be considered able to consent?

aimmyarrowshigh

I didn’t say it was rape. I said it wasn’t consensual. ANY action can be nonconsensual, not just rape. Neither Will NOR Tessa were aware or in control of their actions due to the drug, so BOTH were victimized by whoever spiked the lemonade. I did not ever say that Will was who victimized Tessa; Will himself was equally victimized.

“Informed consent” means that both parties are not only awake and agreeing to the action, but fully in control of their actions and in full knowledge of both the act itself, but the condition of their mental state and the conditions of the act. Neither Tessa nor Will knew about the faerie drug. Neither could have given informed consent.

I do not think that *Will* did anything wrong. I think that the whole scene was wrong and the whole labeling of it as “sexy” is problematic and that the conditions of the whole scene were wrong. I can understand why, from a narrative standpoint, it may have seemed necessary to give a “reason” why Tessa wanted to explore her sexuality with both Jem and Will, but I DO NOT think that the reason should have been “an inhibition-lowering drug that she took without her knowledge.“

And yes, you’re right, rape is an action that involves an attacker and is an act of power-control reassurance. Neither Will nor Tessa had power or control during that scene, because the power and control were in the hands of whoever dosed the lemonade. It was an act of sexual assault, but you are correct that it was not rape – which I never said it was. I said it was nonconsensual. That’s it.

aimmyarrowshigh

In response to these posts in the "The Infernal Devices" Tumblr tag and subsequent messages of concern from Tessa Gray/Will Herondale shippers asking for defense of their reading of the scene, Cassandra Clare wrote an essay on her own Tumblr in which she compared two teenagers being unknowingly drugged and nonconsensually watched in sexual activity by a third-party adult to "a married couple sharing wine and getting cozy on the couch." This was understood by fans on all sides of the debate to be horrifically unrepresentative and dismissive of real sexual assault victims, and that part of the essay was later deleted, but a version of it is still archived in December 27, 2011 on Clare's Tumblr here.

aimmyarrowshigh responded with a very lengthy public letter decrying Clare's flippant response and misrepresentation of the problems with "the DSBS," and took to Clare's challenge in her post that "it’s a good idea not to invoke the specter of such serious and triggering issues as sexual assault, abuse and rape unless you really believe you can back that up with solid examples and research" by citing specific quotations and page numbers from Clockwork Prince that suggest the scene is nonconsensual on behalf of both Will and Tessa.

To specifically address some of your answers:

I have to say my searchings did not lead me to the conclusion that the opinion that the balcony scene is sexual assault is a common read. It seems to be part of a shipping fight over Jem and Will. My experience with shipping fights is that people say things during them that are more calculated precisely to upset the people on the other ship than they are said because they are meant.

No. Like I said above, as far as I meant when I initiated the dialogue, there is no question of shipping for me because both Will and Tessa were drugged. I put no blame on Will for the lack of informed consent in the scene, and as someone who – like both Tessa and Will in the balcony scene – has been given an inhibition-lowering drug without my knowledge by someone who honestly, I would have given informed consent if I’d had the choice (much like both Will and Tessa, again!) it doesn’t change my feeling on the scene to know that “they would have said yes anyway” or that “we know they have feelings for each other." That’s such a common argument of date- and acquaintance-rapists that the excuse for it honestly bothers me more than the scene itself does.

Neither of them was sober. Neither of them was in any possession of knowledge the other person did not have.

Correct, and I acknowledged (slash, pointed out) that BOTH were victimized in this case by whoever dosed the lemonade. I NEVER made an argument that either was in possession of knowledge the other lacked nor did I claim that Will victimized Tessa. In every post that I made about the issue, I acknowledged that BOTH were victimized by the drug, and I don’t know why people seem to be ignoring that aspect of my argument other than that they absolutely refuse to think that I might be looking at a problem larger than shipping.

And as a huge fangirl, and someone who DOES LOVE The Infernal Devices, I totally get how important shipping is!

But this isn’t part of shipping, and that people keep saying that my argument is about shipping Tessa with anyone is really insulting. It is. Because it’s saying that YA can’t be read with a broader social or academic eye than romantic preference, and it’s saying that rape culture can only be perpetuated purposefully and knowingly, which is not the case. Both Will and Tessa were victimized in this scene. I never said otherwise. And I’ve yet to see solid evidence that they were not other than an implication that we should infer that faerie drugs are inherently less evil than real-world inhibition-lowering drugs. There is no textual evidence given to lead this assertion. The novel itself phrases the drug as comparable to a real-world inhibition-lowering drug in its effects and purpose.

If the suggestion is that Will sexually assaulted Tessa, this makes no logical sense unless you are also suggesting Tessa sexually assaulted Will at the same time: This is impossible, because according to the definition of sexual assault, in a situation where both parties want to be kissing each other, there is no unwanted sexual contact and no assault.

You’re correct. The issue is that BOTH were victimized by the drug and yet we are supposed to find it sexy. If they had knowledge of having ingested the drug, as in your "married couple has some wine and snuggles LOL” argument – which is insulting my intelligence and my ability to differentiate between positive and negative sexual contact just because I am a rape survivor, just saying – then it COULD be sexy. NEITHER of them was aware. It’s not sexy. NEITHER could give INFORMED consent.

Consent and informed consent are similar, but not the same.

Tessa and Will both consent during the scene: AWESOME! They do not give informed consent because they are not aware of their mental status – drugged – when they consent. A person who is drunk, a person who is drugged, a person who is a child, a person who is coerced, a person who is financially dependent, a person who is manipulated, all can technically be said to have consented as well. Informed consent means that the party, or both, in the case of the balcony scene, are fully aware of their mental and physical status and any chemical influences on their person when they consent to a sexual act (like making out, as in the balcony scene).

Here are the passages from Clockwork Prince that cause me to see the scene as problematic. You will notice, I hope, that all of them include Will (and not as an aggressor) and that in fact, they all happen AFTER the sexual episode:

• “‘It has a bit of warlock powder mixed into it,’ said Magnus. … 'The kind that lowers your inhibitions and makes you do things you would’ – he coughed delicately – 'not otherwise do.’” (p.293)
• “'Oh,’ said Will. And then: 'Oh.’ His voice was low. He turned away, leaning his hands on the balustrade. Tessa felt her face begin to burn.” (p.293-4)
• “'Leave her alone,’ said Will. Tessa couldn’t see his face; he had his head down. 'She didn’t know what she was drinking.’” (p.294)
• “'Was it very dreadful?’ Tessa’s mind went back to the balcony, and Will’s arms around her. Oh, God. She pushed the thought away…” (p.301)
• “Or was it just that the time with Will on the balcony had been a madness induced by warlock drugs? Would it have been the same with anyone? The thought haunted her like a ghost.” (p.305)
• “It also made her think of the night before, with Will, on the balcony. But that had been different, she told herself. That had been a result of warlock powders, a temporary madness.” (p.325-6)
• “Was [Will] horrified by what had happened on the balcony between them last night… Warlock powders, she told herself desperately. She had not been herself, acting of her own will.” (p.327)*

• Emphasis mine.

aimmyarrowshigh

In summary of the controversy, deemed on Tumblr as the "Faerie Drug Debacle," user angel-gidget made a graphic she titled "Schema" in December 27, 2011

"schema" by angel-gidget comparing views between Tumblr user @aimmyarrowshigh and Will/Tessa's militant fans

Fannish Links

• clockwork_fans, a LJ community