For every late nineties kid who grew up with Harry Potter, fantasy, I am sure will be the biggest pull towards literary fandom. Every time a new fantasy series is dropped by an author, the curiosity to find out about the book, to see whether the characters are from the already celebrated pool of magical creatures like witches or vampires, or something entirely new keeps us all up. This is perhaps why when Cassandra Clare introduced a new type of supernatural being called the Shadowhunters, I couldn't help falling head-over-heels with her books. Clare’s Shadowhunter Universe started in 2004 with her first book City of Bones. Since then she has released at least seven series of books, each of which has gained a vast and dedicated fan following. Adopted as a television series, one of her works, although slightly, still added to the number of her followers. Additionally, the transmedia presence of the franchise also increased, making it one of the best fandom rooted in literature.

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Personally, when the Harry Potter series ended while I was still at school with very little information about the characters in their early twenties, I felt the formation of a large void within me. I wanted something to replace the little fantasy-obsessed self inside me that was identifying with Hermione. That is when I discovered, the Shadowhunter Universe. The characters were magical, and the universe within the book carefully interweaved the real world just like in the Harry Potter series. But then, as a bonus, the characters were young adults, with way more style and glamour than what I was used to. 

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The love stories started getting more complicated just like in life making everything relatable as well as alienated at the same time. Clare drew her allusion from a rich repository of myths that transcended the western boundaries. Added to that was the question of representation. My early college days were spent trying to understand people who belonged to marginalized communities, including people of color like myself. Clare's attention to bringing characters from such minorities, including gender minorities, reflected well in my own growing political awareness. 

But beyond all these, was the influence of fellow fans. Sometimes called as the 'shadow fam', the Shadowhunter fandom online is an actively performative community. The constant discussions in the Amino group, Tumblr, and Twitter pages along with the collective anticipation of the books that are constantly on their way is even now a beautiful thing to look forward to. Clare's continuous engagement with the readers through polls and Q and A sessions on Twitter, and bonus reading materials allowed us the chance to consistently be part of something that felt like a family. All of these created in me a very strong affinity towards the series that I restarted painting, a habit I had forgotten for so many years, simply because of the problems natural to growing up. To make the series an integral part of my life, I even got a tattoo of the tagline, "we are but dust and shadows". Something I am sure, I would be proud of forever.