#i love how this is an important moment for them and jesper is just like FLYING SHIP MAN

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Rewatching Shadow and Bone so here are some of my favourite little details that I haven’t seen loads of people talk about (this is almost definitely just part 1 so stay tuned)

The bird cage in Heleen’s office

The masks on stalls in the Ketterdam streets, including Komedie Brute masks, what look like the Jackal masks, and what I believe might have been a sun summoner mask

The song that Ravkan soldiers in Mal’s unit sing whilst they march in s1e4 is the Kerch drinking song Nina sings for Inej on the boat in Six of Crows

Matthias’ hesitation before saying “I feel nothing for you” and Nina replying “then I guess that makes you good at your job” is SO reflective of Matthias’ realisation that Brum didn’t have to drown the good parts of himself to do terrible things the way Matthias always did; Matthias had grown to admire Brum for what he believed was the ability to silence the good in himself in order to do what “must be done” because he found that so difficult to do, and acknowledging that Brum didn’t find those things difficult the way he did was one of the most important moments of being able to separate himself from the Drüskelle beliefs and begin to understand that what he went through was actually abuse and what’s implied to be at least similar to Stockholm Syndrome (I’ve written at length about this and if I get going I’ll never stop, so if anyone wants to know more lemme know and I’ll tag you in my post about it)

“Pomdrakon Players”, the group the Crows join to infiltrate the Little Palace, references Ravkan desert “Pomdrakon” where you soak raisins in brandy then set them on fire and try to grab them in the dark that Nina tells Matthias about on the ice

This isn’t an observation I just thought you’d all like to know that when I was watching the map room scene in episode 4 every time Alina said ‘Aleksander’ I repeated her in a stupid voice, which was really unfair to Alina because she doesn’t know but it was a genuine reaction and I stand by it because screw the Darkling

The comment that the Fjerdans don’t mark ash tress because they’re scared, I love that. I wonder if they pray when they mark trees, like they do when they cut them down? I personally got the impression that all trees were precious but ash trees were sacred when I read the book

The valve to turn out the lights in the Royal Archives Heist because all the lighting is gas powered!! Like I know this probably was just a thing we knew without really thinking about but it’s also really cool in that it reminds us about the class difference between the Crows and the others since, at least in the books, gas lighting isn’t as common to the Barrel as candles and bone lights are but is implied to be more common among the Merchants

Also not an observation but “you’re the quarter master, aren’t you?” “Yep” *wallop* will never not be hilarious and iconic

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the costume department for this show were goddamn miracle performers thank you for your service. I’ve banged on about the symbolism in the costumes before so I won’t now, but I have really only talked about s2 so I guess if you want more I could talk about s1

“No guns” *walking past Jesper* “no knives” *walking past Inej* “no weapons of any kind” *wait where’s Kaz* will always be fabulous

I genuinely have no idea how they did the Tailoring on Alina’s hair when Genya first does it for her but it is incredible like I don’t know exactly what changed but it just… I don’t know, it’s amazing

#grishaverse #six of crows #crooked kingdom #leigh bardugo #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #nina zenik #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #matthias helvar #shadow and bone #shadow and bone tv #sab show #sab netflix #shadow and bone netflix #grisha trilogy #kanej #wesper #helnik #fantasy books #alina starkov #genya safin #genya kostyk #genya x david #tamar x nadia

[lady-ashfade]

Can you too a six of crows x male reader who is always clumsy and shy but yet they love to tease him about it (it can be a female reader if you want )

But he’s just so cute.

Poly!Six of crows x Male!Clumsy!Reader

Of course I’m doing it, it so freakin cute to think about. Because as a very clumsy person myself, I think we’re fun. Also you didn’t tell me if you wanted romantic or not, so I just did what I felt was right.

Warnings: Reader being a bit of a air-head, small cuts and wounds, short, slight teasing.

You had a funny way of always walking into a room, either it was hitting your hand on the door frame, or tripping somehow. The crows were all over you, maybe just watching and cooing at how clumsy you are.

The first time they really noticed this was when you walked into your own room door, the handle didn’t work right. You couldn’t open it in the first try, and you didn’t even think about it as you tried to walk in but got face full of wood. But when they finally noticed you weren’t going to stop doing it, they fixed the damn thing. Because even if it was adorable, they didn’t like the bruising beginning to form on your forehead or nose.

“Sweetheart,” Nina batted her eyelids at you and stopped you by placing a hand in front of your chest, “There’s a hole in the floor.” She pointed down. A big hole in between the wood planks would sure injure someones leg. She watched your shy smile and look of shame, “Thank you.” Your pout and shyness had her freaking out. Nina just grabbed ahold of your arm and pulled you back and out of the old shop, nothing caught her eyes.

Lets just say you had bruised and small cuts all over yourself. The crows always had a eye on you. You could trip down the stairs again, almost giving them a heart attack when you first did it.

“Ten bucks says he walks into the table.” Jesper jokes and the group glares at him. “Don’t joke like that.” Wylan hit his chest and glared softly at him. “He already did that twice today, he can’t possibly do-” Matthias began to speak until he saw you bump into the table again. Jesper laughed as he called it.

“I swear I’m going to wrap him up with pillows.” Kaz groans and he stands up to make his way over to you. Inej just shakes her head, maybe she was was slightly amused but this was always happening.

Inej eyed you as you talked to kaz with a shy smile and tell him the story, him slightly already teasing you about it. “How he can always be a dangerous to himself at every moment is truly a wonder,” she looked at them and a smirk grew, “But he’s just so cute.”

They always cover the table or corners of everything if you bend down, knowing you’ll most likely hit your previous head. They also carry around bandages and band-aids for you. Anything they can have to prepare they have it. But kisses to each wound you have is a must. Cuddles even for the tiniest scratches.

Wylan doesn’t allow you near his things. Because you accidentally knocked over important vials, or you made a tiny explosion once and he had to pull you into the ground to protect you. “I love you, but this” he smiled while onto of you, not angry at all “This can’t happen again.” And he kissed you on the nose.

But they all tease you any chance they get, like it’s frustrating honestly. “My clumsy boy.” Jesper would say as he helps you down the stairs. Or when Inej would take away anything sharp away from you, “Let me handle these.” And she never let you touch her knives. Kaz wouldn’t let you on mission, but he would let you plan them with him. Because you were pretty smart at those things. Kaz will hold onto your waist when you’re about to fall, he would smirk at you just as acted.

Overall I think they would tease you a lot, even about things that happen months before. But you’re their clumsy man, and they will always love that about you.

#six of crows #six of crows x reader #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x male reader #Inej ghafa x reader #Inej ghafa #nina zenik #nina zenik x reader #matthias helvar x reader #Matthias helvar #jesper fahey #jesper fahey x reader #wylan van eck x reader #wylan van eck #poly six of crows #poly!six of crows x reader #kaz brekker

[thevashta-narada]

okay I can finally think vaguely coherent thoughts about it now that my brain has started working properly again (this is still very jumbled but I just wanted to get all my thoughts about it down) but the deleted wesper scene is so fucking important to me. the domestic wesper that we deserved and the way that it reflects what happens at the end of crooked kingdomis just amazing.

wylan feeling comfortable enough to tell jesper that he never felt like Ketterdam was really his home but now he was beginning to. albeit not directly but he implies it. and then also the confidence that he had talking about his demolitions expertise now shows how much he grew and how jesper makes him feel loved and amazing.

and jesper hearing wylan say this and immediately wanting to let wylan know that he is loved here and that he wants him to feel at home (cos my boy is so in love) and deciding to turn a coin into a key for the room (I saw someone write a post about how it was a coin - his ability to gamble - that he chose to use which was amazing but I can't remember who it was sorry) and then is very nervous about it and stands up when wylan guesses wrong and is a little awkward trying to ask wylan to move in.

and then when wylan realises what jesper means when he says the key is for this room and his eyes go wide and he seems so shocked that jesper would actually want that for a brief moment and then he says it's the nicest thing and jesper sort of warily asks if it's a yes and wylan gets up and moves towards jesper in the same way he rushed to jesper in their first kiss to reassure him but stops and let's jesper come towards him.

and jesper is suddenly very wary and says that sounds very official but he is just sort of rambling because he is concerned about what that means for the two of them and wants wylan to feel loved so desperately but doesn't really have the experience to know exactly what to do in this kind of relationship because he is not used to them and doesn't want to rush or mess up

but wylan wants to reassure jesper that he is happy and saying yes so he just cuts jesper off by kissing him and they both immediately just melt into the kiss because they are exactly what the other needs.

wylan is the exitment and the peace that jesper needs he is jespers balance and gives him the confidence to use his grisha powers and reassures jesper

and jesper is the unconditional love that wylan needs and he shows wylan kindness and love through every action and tries his best to show that he is wanted and loved

and them being so domestic is just so beautiful and everything I needed in my life and this deleted scene was just so so so perfect I could literally think about it forever.

#jesper fahey #shadow and bone #wylan van eck #six of crows #wesper #wesper deleted scene #shadow and bone s2 #this is kinda jumbled and doesnt make 100%sense but i just needed to write my thoughts downnn

[bi-bard]

The Easiest Way to Steal a Man’s Wallet is to Tell Him You’re Going to Steal His Watch - Jesper Fahey Imagine [Shadow & Bone]

Title: The Easiest Way to Steal a Man’s Wallet is to Tell Him You’re Going to Steal His Watch

Pairing: Jesper Fahey X Platonic!Sun Summoner!Reader (the sun summoner thing doesn't come up in this story)

Word Count: 1,408 words

Warning(s): gambling, mention of theft (?)

Summary: [Pre-Show] Jesper is always confident, he's just not always right. However, he was certain that the game he was playing was his. There was no way he couldn't win. So, when he doesn't, curiosity gets the best of him.

Author's Note: Because why deal with the main plot when I can just write this and show the beginning of cute besties?

MORE OF THIS OC HERE

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It all started with a single game between (Y/n) (Y/l/n) and Jesper Fahey

It was strange to know that such an important part of history could be traced back to something so... simple. Two people sitting across from each other, testing how much the other was willing to through into the pot. Any other player didn't matter. Each one was on a roll, seemingly taking turns on who got to celebrate a victory.

The pair had never met before that night. When looking back at it, neither one would be particularly shocked that they ended up being such close friends. It would have happened regardless of what followed that game. Regardless of the history that would be made on both parts.

Jesper was on his last game of the night. That's what he told himself. If he would have stuck to that promise would remain largely a mystery.

He was confident. A smirk sat on his face. He was certain that he was bulletproof in that moment. He just had to wait. Wait to take his winnings and leave for a night of happiness.

He underestimated (Y/n).

He wouldn't make that mistake again.

"Some extravagant guns you walked in with," (Y/n) said, nodding a bit as some way to indicate to them.

Jesper grinned. "Thanks."

"Important for work?"

"I just like to take care of my things," he shrugged. "You have to treat what you love well. It'll treat you well in return."

"Well, you're obviously going a good job of that," they replied. "And a life lesson. How moving."

Jesper chuckled and took half a second to glance down at the gun on his side. That half-second was enough to be his undoing. Not that he realized that.

No. Jesper wouldn't realize that until the cards were quite literally laid out on the table before him.

His confident smile immediately dropped as he studied the cards in front of him. Both his own and (Y/n)'s. His eyebrows furrowed.

That was impossible. He couldn't have lost. This was the one time that he was certain that such a thing was impossible. And maybe he had said that before and maybe he had been wrong many times, but this time was different.

"What," he managed to sputter out. "How?"

"Lucky day for me," (Y/n) shrugged to him, reaching forward to take their winnings for the night. "See you around... I didn't actually get your name."

"Jesper," he replied, still staring at the cards. "And yours?"

"Ask me when you win a game against me," they smirked before walking out.

Jesper didn't have a moment to question the game. He knew that he needed to. Something clearly wasn't right about it.

He stood up, quickly making his way outside.

They were already gone when Jesper made it through the door. He looked around, quickly scanning the streets to see if he could catch sight of the person.

Nothing.

He wouldn't see (Y/n) until the next day.

He hadn't even been looking for them. He had merely been walking by and caught sight of them leaning against a wall. They were chatting and laughing with some guy that Jesper had seen a few times. He knew the man was arrogant and rarely completely sober. He had been thrown out of Kaz's club once.

He was prepared to interrupt, assuming that (Y/n) was being harassed by some older man that could not comprehend that someone could be polite when they were uncomfortable.

And then, Jesper watched (Y/n)'s movements play out like a finely perfected dance. They reached over and touched the man's arm as they laughed, acting like it was a funny story. Then, their hand moved down, and they expertly slipped something off of the man's wrist. Jesper couldn't even catch sight of what was taken. He just knew that something was gone.

He paid closer attention to (Y/n) after that moment.

He kept himself at a safe distance, trying to observe without ringing any alarms for the thief.

He had seen them steal everything but the clothes off someone's back. Watches, jewelry, money. Anything that could be quickly grabbed and stashed away. These escapades were interrupted by (Y/n)'s tricks going seemingly unnoticed at different gambling joints. No commitment to any place in particular. Just going where the tricks could work best.

The only place not hit was the Crow Club. Jesper made sure to keep that in mind.

Jesper almost admired (Y/n)'s work.

If he hadn't been stolen from, then maybe he would have been.

It was a few days later that he insisted that Kaz listen to him. That he might have someone to pique the man's interest.

Kaz made sure to show that he was far too busy to worry himself with such a thing but listened to Jesper regardless.

The pair stood in Kaz's office. Jesper stood on one side of the desk with his arms crossed over his chest. Kaz stood on the other, shifting through the paperwork that was not nearly as unorganized as it often appeared.

"So, there's this pickpocket," Jesper explained. "Really good. Talented. They run tricks at gambling joints too. Whole sleight of hand act. it's impressive. They could probably be living like royalty if they truly wanted to."

"And you want me to hire them," Kaz concluded. "Based on your word?"

"Not right away," Jesper shook his head. "I want you to consider them."

"What need would I have for them?"

"Someone charming and clever. Who can apparently steal anything without getting questioned because they're simply too nice in the moment for someone to do so. Imagine the doors that someone like that could open."

"How did you learn of this person?"

Jesper was hesitant to admit to that, but when Kaz's glare didn't falter, Jesper's resolve did. "They got me during a game. Tricked me. But I followed them. I know what they're capable of."

Kaz scoffed. It was the beginning of the story that he expected to hear. He had few problems with Jesper's gambling until he lost.

"I'm not saying to just let them join," Jesper argued. "I'm saying we should see if they'd be a benefit because I think they could be."

"And when did you start deciding that," Kaz asked.

Jesper's head tilted as his expression hardened. Kaz showed no reaction to the glare. He knew very well that Jesper wouldn't truly act on any aggression that he may hold toward his boss.

"One chance," Jesper begged. "One chance for them to prove how good they are."

Kaz paused.

Jesper could see every gear working in the man's head. He couldn't imagine the scenarios that Kaz was working through, but he was confident that there were a million of them. That seemed to simply be how Kaz operated.

"I assume you've already offered this person a job," Kaz said.

"No," Jesper admitted. "They don't even know that I know what they're capable of."

"Will they come to a meeting?"

"Probably not," he muttered. "They pretty much ran from the table as soon as I started to question the game."

"So, how do you suggest we offer them a chance?"

Jesper paused for a moment. "I thought that you would come up with something brilliant because you're a great boss."

Kaz let out a sigh like an older brother would. His eyes closed for a moment and his shoulders dropped.

Jesper considered if he could sneak through the window in Kaz's office like Inej did. His conclusion was that he definitely could but would probably break his neck by falling from it.

"I need you to invite them here," Kaz instructed, snapping Jesper out of whatever daring escape plan he had formulated. "I will handle the rest."

"Alright," Jesper nodded. "Tomorrow night."

"Don't get distracted."

"I am not a child!"

Kaz raised an eyebrow at him. No. Not a child. But a very easily distracted man. One sight of a bet and Jesper wouldn't be seen for hours.

"I won't get distracted," Jesper promised after realizing he wouldn't escape the stare-down that he had been caught in the middle of.

Kaz nodded and Jesper abruptly turned around and left the office.

No one in the Barrel could have guessed that the following night would have changed everything for so many people involved.

For the time being, it was all normal.

Then again, who truly knows that they will make history until things start falling down around them?

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Author's Note: this quote-as-a-title thing is going to screw me over.

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#jesper fahey imagine #jesper fahey fanfiction #jesper fahey x reader #jesper imagine #jesper fanfiction #jesper x reader #imagine #fanfiction #x reader #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone imagine #six of crows imagine #six of crows fanfiction #six of crows x reader #kaz brekker fanfiction #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker x reader

[aphroditestummyrolls]

wesper, 6 and/or 26 please (much predictable, i know xD)

Beloved friend! I’m so sorry this took so long. But I’m really happy with how it turned out ❤️ it even broke 2k 😅 which is a little ridiculous for a prompt game, but I can’t say I mind. This is a continuation of the last prompt, where poor Wylan concusses himself in a workshop accident, and poor Jesper is terrified when he finds him.

The torrent of water— after a few long moments of ominous clunking sounds from the pipes— got hot enough to steam the mirror. It was one of the greatest luxuries in the Barrel, to have at least semi-regular access to hot water. Jes unfolded the canvas divider to separate a private little space for him and Wylan. Thankfully, everyone was still out at either the club or elsewhere in the Barrel, so the two of them had the place to themselves.

It wasn’t really good form to lock the door, but Jesper had more important things to worry about.

The washrooms on their floor of the Slat were the nicest in the building— it wasn’t saying too much, but it was still a considerable show of rank within the dregs.

The tub was a lovely burnished copper, and the tile wasn’t nearly as cracked under his bare feet as the bathrooms downstairs, or the washroom in the old club. There was no draft to chill his naked skin, even with the winter wind howling outside the window. It was clear that Kaz hadn’t forgotten to look after his crows’ creature comforts when he started throwing Nikolai’s money into restoring the old place. Jesper told himself that he would do his best to remember that when his boss came round to chew him out later.

According to Nina, he’d been nearly ready to send a search party out. Even if it’s murderously, it’s nice to know he thinks of me, I suppose. He rolled his eyes to himself.

He’d say the joke out loud if he thought his slow-eyed companion would be able to follow more than a few words at a time. But, in the ever-so-slightly brighter lamps of the bathroom, it was clear by the look of him that Wylan was not processing much. He swayed as Jesper deftly unbuttoned his waistcoat, and felt his grip tighten almost painfully at Jesper’s shoulder when he helped him step out of his trousers, shoes and socks.

Shouldn’t have let him sleep, he chastised himself, chewing his lip, lucky he didn’t fall into a bloody coma.

Wylan stumbled as Jes stood back up, and he caught him by the hips just in time. His merchling made a wounded little sound. It echoed in the sudden quiet after Jesper had turned off the spout, and tugged at his heart. Leaning heavily into his side, Jesper brushed a kiss to his temple.

“How’s the patient, then?”

Wylan hummed. “Tired. Cold. Everything hurts.”

Still not slurring, though. He let out a long breath, and made sure Wylan was stable on his own two feet before he stepped into the tub. It bordered on too warm, and Jesper hissed through his teeth like a kettle letting off steam, giving himself a moment to adjust before holding out his hands to his lover.

“Well, I can certainly fix one of those things. Nauseous? Dizzy?”

Wylan started to nod and went abruptly very white. He stumbled to Jesper’s outstretched hands, gripping tightly. His knees buckled like a newborn foal, and Jes didn’t hesitate to pull him in. The lip of the copper tub was the only thing between them, taking his poor lover at the waist. Wylan’s sooty face buried itself in his shoulder. “Alright,” he murmured, taking slow breaths as if that was in any way helpful, “okay— nauseous or dizzy?”

There was a moment where the only sound was Wylan’s breathing, roughly mimicking Jesper’s. “D-Dizzy.” He finally said.

“Let’s sit you down, then.” He kept his voice as soft as the amber lights, filtered through the haze of steam. Wy would be having sensitive ears and eyes for a bit. He’d never been the type to comfort or nurse someone, but… hopefully it was helping. “C’mere Love— just step carefully.”

Finally, they melted into the warm water. Wylan curled into his chest and seemed for all the world like he was about to fall right back to sleep. Jesper hated nudging his side.

“No sleeping, merchling— we’ve got a job to do.” He reached over to the small stool at his elbow, collecting a small cup.

“We have to?” He complained. Jes managed a half a laugh.

“Well, you look like the wrong end of a fuse, and both of us smell like a chemical fire. Because, there was very nearly a chemical fire, remember?”

Wylan waved away the thought with a slow motion flick of his bandaged hand.

“Tired.” He muttered. Jes could feel him pouting against his chest, and it made him feel like screaming for some reason. It made him want to bundle the smaller man up and away from the world; he never wanted him let him go; he never wanted him to go back anywhere near that damned workshop.

Suddenly, the idea of getting hurt as evidence of experience was an utterly idiotic metric to Jesper.

“Well, we can’t get you off to bed till you’re clean and dry, can we?” He smoothed a hand up and down his merchling’s back. He counted each bump of his spine until he reached his hips. “Let me get a look at you.”

It was best to get this out of the way first, right?

With hands so gentle they nearly shook, Jesper scooped water into the cup, and helped Wylan tip his head back. Careful to make sure that none of the cascade of water got directly into the bloodied spot on the back of his skull, he smoothed his hair back and away from those closed eyes. It felt like something was cracking open in Jesper’s chest, but he ignored it.

Water poured in rivulets down over Wylan’s neck and shoulders, running a greyish red into the tub. He hissed a couple times, flinching whenever Jesper got too close to the wound. Mostly, though, he just sat there, looking hypnotically pretty— his head tilted back and his face soft with sleepiness; his long, dark eyelashes fanned out and brushed the tops of his soot-stained cheekbones; his neck was an elegant, pale column, tensed gingerly to keep himself from tilting back too far. He looked… delicate.

That feeling in his chest was creeping up his throat like a sob or a scream, or something. It felt wild and helpless, and he hated how stupid it all was— what was the point of worrying now? He was safe now! But, there Jesper was, retroactively panicking and trying desperately to keep himself from doing something humiliating.

His breath shuddered as he let it out, pouring one last cup of water over Wylan’s drenched hair before he was satisfied that it was all running clear. The smallest little sound escaped his mouth— eyes still closed, a tiny smile on his lips. If he wasn’t a certified expert in Wylan Van Eck, Jes would’ve thought he’d fallen asleep sitting up.

The slight furrow of tension between his brows was the only thing that gave him away— the pain.

Get this all finished, get him to bed, make sure you wake him up at regular intervals. He told himself, swallowing what felt like cotton in his throat. That’s what Da did when it was bad. Right?

Right.

He reached for the soap— the nice one that he picked up in the zelvarstraat markt, with the shea butter and the fancy oil from the southern colonies— and he lathered it into a soft cloth. Starting with the pale expanse of his lover’s back, Jesper stuttered at the sight of it almost immediately. There were bruises. Saints, he could practically see the support beam’s wood grain stamped into Wylan’s soft skin. He’d really smacked himself around. He could have broken ribs; he could have punctured a lung; he could have fractured his skull; he could have…

He could have died. The words echoed around his brain like a ghost. Coming from nowhere and everywhere, they reverberated off the tiles just for Jesper’s ears. You could have found a body.

Blinking rapidly against the hot blur in his eyes, Jes scrubbed down his lover’s neck and over his shoulders. He winced, letting out a miserable little grunt when the cloth swiped over his back, and Jesper winced with him. This time, he forced his breaths to stay deep and even just for his own sake. He would not do something humiliating. Like crying.

“Turn.” His voice sounded thick and weepy the second he heard it, and he cleared his throat. Try again, one more time with feeling. “Show me that pretty face, Darling.”

He meant it to sound more flirtatious, and less like a dying man’s last wish, but it fell somewhere smack in between.

And Wylan may have had his brains coming out his ears a bit, but he still heard the crack in his voice. He saw the sheen in Jesper’s eyes the second he turned. The worst of it, though, was that he seemed so surprised.

“What- Jes, what—?”

“‘M fine. Just… just let me get the soot off you, and you can get some sleep.”

He wrung out the cloth, raising it up to his cheek, only for his hand to be caught at the wrist by bandaged fingers.

Wylan was pale as a ghost under the mask of soot on his face, flushed cheeks in high colour from the heat of the bath water. The tips of his ears were rosy.

The tip of his nose was ever-so-slightly burnt.

He looked at Jesper with glassy brown eyes, pinched with pain at the corners, but still shrewd as he took Jesper in. What did he even look like? He hadn’t bothered to look in a mirror a single time since they’d returned home, but he’d gotten a few wide eyed looks as they made their way from their room to the bath.

Whatever it was Jesper didn’t want him to see, his clever merchling saw it. He clumsily stroked his injured thumb along the delicate inside of Jesper’s wrist. “What is it?” He asked.

It cracked open his chest like a bullet, and all that desperate fear and relief came spilling out in a rush. There were too many words in his head, his tongue was heavy— so, he didn’t speak.

He dropped the cloth into the water, and instead reached out to take Wylan with both hands. He cupped his jaw, and kissed him with as much of those feelings as he could manage without his voice. It was deep and lush, and Jesper could happily spend every second of his life doing exactly this, if Wylan could please not die in the meantime.

His merchling didn’t let go of his wrist, holding them both right where they were as he belatedly got with the program. His breath shuddered out on a sigh and he melted into Jesper’s lips, pulling him flush as they settled back against the reclined wall of the tub. Jes cupped the back of his neck with a tender touch, and Wylan’s arms flailed to wrap around his shoulders.

By the time they parted, the water was finally starting to go lukewarm. Wylan still had a sooty face and Jesper hadn’t soaped a single inch of himself. He pecked the singed tip of Wylan’s nose.

“Whatever happened to those small sample sizes, huh?” He caught his breath. The bright grin on his face was too big to lend much authority to the question.

Wylan managed a huff of a tired laugh, resting his heavy head on Jesper’s chest. “‘M sorry. Vial tipped over— was never supposed to be in, in the compound.”

“Well, I’m awfully glad you didn’t die.” He said, his lighthearted attempt at the words immediately derailed by the way he squeezed him tight with both arms.

Wylan hummed. His eyes had drifted closed, and his face was buried in the crook of his neck— dark and safe. The bathroom was a quiet haven for his pounding skull, and Jesper’s frayed nerves. It wouldn’t be long before Kaz came for him, or somebody else stumbled home from the bars and couldn’t get into the bathroom. But for now?

For now there was just the quiet slosh of warm water and the occasional hiss of Wylan moving his head too much or too fast. Jesper wiped the soot away from his face, and scrubbed himself down until he was dusky pink.

As he dried off and collected their fresh, soft clothes, he glanced back to see Wylan’s big brown eyes fluttering, half asleep and miserably sore. He’d have to ask Nina to send up some coffee for him— Jesper wouldn’t be sleeping. Maybe he could even tell Kaz to meet him in their room, where he could still keep a close eye on those damp curls and that poor, battered body.

Jesper wasn’t letting Wylan out of his sight for a long while.

Any guesses on what Kaz wants to talk to him about? 👀 it’s only the most Me thing in the world.

Thanks for playing, my friend. I hope you liked this little thing.

#six of crows #wesper #wylan van eck #jesper fahey

[star-burst365]

We’re all sleeping on the gem that is Matthias Helvar: an essay

Crooked Kingdom spoilers!!

We’re all in denial about Matthias’s death in ck but also he had some bangers lines and scenes even before chapter 40 such as:

finding out his full name was Matthias Benedik Helvar omg why are we sleeping on this

“how about i bite your lip”

“don’t eat the snow” i dont think they were planning to 💀

YOU ARE EVERY BLOSSOM BLOOMING AT ONCE?? HELLO??

his constant feud with kaz

kaz could breathe and matthias would already be fetching the holy water

any demjin moment ever

“you’re all horrible”

to

“they all seem like practical choices 😀”

the grandpa energy

nothing but respect and admiration for inej “the little bronze girl” ghafa

MY GHOST WONT ASSOCIATE WITH YOUR GHOST

the big brooding yellow tulip

nina handed him a gun during the ambush of soc and he fr would’ve killed her if they weren’t being shot at

“I can drink your poison no longer” was so powerful. he went from extreme prejudices against grisha after being raised and literally brainwashed by hatred to bashing his ex-commander in the head to free Nina omg

friendly reminder his entire family was killed by inferni but he still moves past it

something nobody talks about: he combined his hateful past of serving as a drukelle, something made to hunt grisha to lead two of them (Jesper and Kuwei) out of a corner and get them back to the rest of the crows in ck.

he used military tactics made to kill grisha to save grisha

this was so important for his development i swear

and don’t forget Nina either

“little red bird” please im not okay

MY LOVE AS A PET NAME THATS SO PURE MY GOD

him and nina squeezing in the littlest places just to cuddle together and rest together is so dvfnjkvsfnks

him just wanting to be there for Nina for every step of the way as she recovers from parem

his wet dreams consist of three things:

her “glorious thighs”

a traditional fjerdan life and the domestic lifestyle Fr

literally just vibing in a field of flowers

he saw a nameless husband help a nameless wife with her hair in ketterdam and wished that could be him and nina that’s too sweet help

all he wants is a domestic little life filled with love

but then there’s “he considered brushing it off with his lips, then told himself he should take a walk”

he just told himself to touch grass my god

but also the enemies to lovers lingers, my one of my favorite quotes being:

”you’d flirt with a date palm if it paid you any attention” the shade

also his family? the way he still has memories? so much so he foot massages a pregnant woman?

friendly reminder this man is built like a giant and looks the most threatening out of the group

and he fr lets a girl sing her heart out AND OFFERS TO TAKE HER ON A WALK BY THE LAKE HES SO PRECIOUS

”sing. by all means, sing” famous last words

him complimenting nina on her hair and how she styles it??

the toffee on the boat in soc

constantly regretting his life decisions in soc but willing to die for the crows in ck

the found family trope is killing me

“trickery isn’t my native tongue but I can still learn to speak it” the demjin and crows influence

his lil commander voice to silence the prisoners when they were getting in the truck made inej, someone with the posture of a knifes edge, stand straighter like wtf

HE HAD A WOLF WHY ARE WE SLEEPING ON THIS

HE IS 100% A DOG PERSON

HE AND KAZ WOULDVE PETTED THOSE DOGS FOR HOURS ON THAT ONE CK MISSION

he went from saying meaningful and encouraging things to nina and then when she said she wanted to cry in a corner he switched in 0.2 seconds and said “but…this room is round” oh my god

made out with nina in front of two thirds of the grisha triumvirate

HE PERKS UP WHEN NINA LAUGHS THATS SO ADORABLE

nina and him being twin soldiers sdnnnojnididoskc

him and Jesper’s scenes are honestly amazing, we were robbed

THE DELETED HELNIK SCENE I WANT TO DIE I WISH LEIGH KEPT THAT

he’s literally kaz’s bodyguard when trading for inej

learned a language while in prison I mean that’s pretty impressive

eats honor for breakfast lunch and dinner

”i. Should. Let. You. Die.” He says while trying to desperately save kaz

ran to nina with a bullet in his stomach for one last kiss, for one final goodbye

”save some mercy for my people” that hurts oh my god

the grisha are the favored and children of Djel was so important because that’s him connecting both his past and his much better present together in an actuslly good way

he doesn’t associate his religion with witches and tree handshakes anymore, now he considers those witches blessed by his tree god

in conclusion: I sobbed for weeks over his death and will never recover. thank you for coming to my Ted talk

#matthias helvar #six of crows #nina zenik #jesper #inej supremacy #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #the crows #shadow and bone #matthias x nina #helnik #demjin #the dregs #crooked kingdom #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #wylan hendriks #i miss them so much #ive been crying all day

[ctlightner]

@summerchild-finn

Hi! Finally saw this reply, and I will absolutely explain.

First of all, I want to be clear that I love Alva. She's a spiritual successor to Megara from Disney's Hercules, and I think she has a very well done arc in the movie. This is not me hating on a canon female character for the sake of gay shipping. I think she and Jesper have great chemistry... I just think Jesper and Klaus have even better chemistry.

Part of that is the nature of the flim: it's a buddy movie, so it's important for the two buddies to bounce off each other and make us believe they're good together--if not romantically, then platonically. I can't say I've watched a lot of buddy movies, but if I were writing one, one of my top priorities would be to make sure the leads worked well together on a base level.

However, if we look more closely at the language of film--how the scenes are laid out, the shots, the cuts, etc--I think the movie starts resembling a romance when it comes to Klaus and Jesper.

(warning, this turned into 3k of film analysis. very long and image heavy. spoilers for klaus, and the discussion assumes youve seen it at least once)

Exhibit A: The Touch

Step one is a base of good chemistry, but then we add in things like Jesper accidentally touching Klaus' broad chest and pulling away quickly (~43 min in):

But that's not the beginning and end of this sequence, otherwise it would simply read more platonic. See, when Jesper firsts lays his hands on Klaus, his eyes travel to his hands. And then he realizes what he's done and glances up at Klaus:

The shot lingers on this quiet moment between them, filled with nothing but touch. And if that was it, well, yeah you'd get people reading it as romantic, but it still could just be platonic as Jesper realizes he's breached the personal bubble of the man he thought was an axe murderer two nights ago. But something happens between Jesper realizing he fumbled over the touch barrier and him pulling away:

A POV shot. Through Jesper's eyes.

When we shift into Jesper's head, we're privy to a full reaction from Klaus. We don't know exactly what's going on in his head, but he's not angry. If anything, he looks quizzical. Part of this is because Jesper doth protest too much about how much he cares about toy delivery, and this mountain man is re-learning social interaction after decades of isolation.

But again, the movie pauses here. It's not a long, long shot, but it is about one second long. That doesn't seem like a lot, but you can fit quite a bit of information in one second of a movie. Furthermore, the entire sequence, from the initial touch to pulling away is a solid 5 seconds. The movie purposefully delays us here, on this moment, to make sure we see them interact in this way.

Let's play Swap the Genders for a second. If Jesper was, idk, Jespina, how would this interaction be different? Theoretically, it's the same actions and the same, surrounding implications of plot context. But we as an audience have been trained to read "boy and girl share brief, awkward touch" as foreshadowing for a romantic future. In all genres, not just romcoms and dramatic romances, though you bet your butt they're extremely deliberate in those. And with how long the movie lingers here, it would absolutely read as romantic if this were m/f.

But Wait There's More!

Exhibit B: Jesper, The Light

At about the 55 minute mark, we get another interesting sequence. By this point, we know that Klaus' store of toys is drying up, and he hasn't been keen on making more. Jesper, meanwhile, is still a few letters shy of being able to go home to luxury, so he gets an idea on how to convince Klaus to make more toys for Christmas.

We see Klaus out chopping wood when the magic wind we saw earlier in the film (that convinced him to go on the initial deliveries), leads him up to his workshop. Once there, he's greeting by a curtain obscuring part of the shop. A lantern within exudes soft, comforting golden light, and we see a silhouette moving.

The silhouette is feminine, from the look of hair pulled back, to the curvy spine, to the soft triangle of the lower body that implies a dress. We're to assume there is woman there, and as the sequence continues, we're led to assume this is a woman Klaus knows.

He starts to approach, a look of surprise on his face. Then we get a close-up that further betrays his want and concern and hope. This is all portrayed without words, by the way. It's just a series of well-executed shots and poignant music. It's an excellent example of how to raise tension via shots when you have a very stoic character. Klaus doesn't really move his face much. He doesn't mug to the camera like a desperate Let's Player to illustrate that he's having Complicated Emotions. Instead, the shot changes intensify. By the time Klaus is ready to see who's behind the curtain, so are we.

And after all that buildup, the feminine figure reaches out and flings the curtain away to reveal...

Twink Supreme.

Klaus is annoyed the silhouette wasn't who he thought it was and gets more annoyed the longer Jesper tries to pitch him on making toys for Christmas. Klaus tries to get him to stop, but he helps himself to the workshop and starts touching things he shouldn't. This culminates when Jesper yanks a sheet off a wall.

He reveals a very dusty fixture with a familiar-looking masculine woodcut, and a less familiar, but notable feminine one. And underneath their slot are completely empty ones. This is the first time the scene has been shunted into darkness since Klaus entered the workshop.

Klaus is horrified at this thing, even though we can surmise he made it himself. This is forbidden, even to him.

He orders Jesper to leave. Jesper obliges, and we follow him back to the post office where he meets up with absolute cinnamon roll Margú and finally decides to help her write a letter so she can get her own toy like the townies. Jesper goes to Alva for help and via the power of pop ballad montage, we see them get a little closer and end the sequence with the letter in hand.

Now, Jesper knows he can't ask Klaus for help making Margú her toy, so he sets off to make it himself despite not being qualified in the slightest. It's the thought that counts, right?

As the ballad ballads on, we get a crossfade from Jesper working by candlelight to Klaus still sitting and brooding in his dark workshop. A crossfade is a type of transition from scene to scene where one picture gradually fades into the next. As we fade from Jesper to Klaus, we get an incredible image:

Jesper is in the forbidden zone. His visage has replaced the dusty, hidden remnants that have been there so long. Moreover, once again, the movie heavily contrasts light and dark. Much like how the curtains obscuring Jesper earlier were the only light in the darkness of the workshop, now again is Jesper the beacon of warmth. A beacon that Klaus has turned away from, much like he did the tree carving before.

Now, I need y'all to put a pin in this. I swear I have a conclusion to this sequence, but I need to talk about something else first.

Exhibit C: The Porch Scene

Klaus eventually shows up to the post office and sees that Jesper made a mess of the woodworking for the gift. He starts fixing it, and the two head out into the night to the nearby Sámi camp/village to deliver Margú's toy. The ballad is still going, by the way, and it rises back up in lyrics and power as the young girl tests out her... snow-windsurfing board? It looks dope. Jesper seemingly for the first time understands the meaning of doing good deeds. Eventually, they return to Klaus' home, all excited from the escapade. Especially Jesper.

As they stable the reindeer, Klaus admits that it's been a long time since he's felt this way, and that "she" used to tease him when he got that doofy smile on his face. Who is "she," Jesper asks.

"My Lydia," he replies.

Klaus recounts how he and his wife found enjoyed their little mountain hideaway. But, he says, it wasn't going to be the two of them for long.

Light blossoms again as we flash back to a younger Klaus and his wife, excited to start their lives together, and very excited to start a family, a large one. At least seven children judging by the niches on the tree. Unfortunately for them, no children came. And then Lydia got sick. And then she was gone. He supposes he lost his way after she died, making birdhouse after birdhouse because she loved birds.

"Then," Klaus says, turning to gaze fondly at Jesper, "you showed up."

He says that he never thought he'd feel this again--"this" of course being the joy of seeing children's faces when they got a new toy he worked hard on. No, "this" doesn't refer to romance, but again, if Jesper were Jespina, we would absolutely be expected to take this as, if not foreshadowing, then barely-subtextual confirmation that there are romantic feelings somewhere in the mix.

But that's not just looking too hard through a queer lens at this interaction. Remember that pin from the previous section? Pull it out and let's discuss. See, the movie, through film language alone, equates Jesper to Lydia.

We were expected to believe the silhouette from earlier was a woman's. A woman who we understood to be important to Klaus. Now, we know that she wasn't just important, he loved her, was married to her. To see her silhouette in Jesper's positions the two as equals if they can so easily be mistaken for each other. Essentially, something about Jesper reminded Klaus of Lydia.

But of course, the movie didn't do this just once.

The movie equates Jesper to Lydia when it crossfades between the post office and the workshop during the breakup sequence. I mentioned that Jesper is the light in the darkness here, but superimposing him over something so important and devastating to Klaus places him squarely within the field of those feelings as well. And once we learn that the carved tree was Klaus and Lydia's wish for family, suddenly Jesper being there in the frame puts him as family.

Now, could you read this as just platonic "found family?" Yeah, absolutely, and the film does a great job doing that later on when the Sámi enter the workshop. But I argue that the movie has gone out of its way several times to specifically equate Jesper and Lydia. These two people are both lights in the darkness for Klaus. They tease him good-naturedly. But most importantly, the porch scene recontextualizes a much earlier scene from being merely mysterious to Lydia outright endorsing Jesper's presence in Klaus' life.

Back around the 30 minute mark, Jesper approached Klaus after a successful day of getting the kids to write letters for toys. He implores Klaus to give away his myriad of toys that're just collecting dust in the workshop. Klaus is seemingly less than impressed, until a strange wind blows in. We see this odd wind several times throughout the movie, and Klaus seems to understand what it wants, despite it not speaking. During the porch scene, we learn that he believes the strange wind is Lydia's spirit keeping him company and giving him a nudge in the right direction if he needs it. At the end of the movie, the wind tells him it's time to let go and to move on. At the point where Jesper is trying to persuade Klaus to do deliveries...

The strange wind circles him in a halo, forcing Klaus to pay attention. The wind's approval--Lydia's approval--is what makes Klaus decide to help deliver the toys beyond the first one.

Essentially, not only does the movie equate Jesper to Lydia through imposing their likenesses over each other and through similar light/dark contrasts, it has her appear in the beginning and straight-up endorse Jesper's entry into Klaus' life.

Exhibit D: "Ah, Young Love!"

This next section is not so much about the homoeroticism as is it why, despite my love for Alva, her canonical romantic entanglement with Jesper pales in comparison to the accidental (?) homoeroticism of Jesper and Klaus.

There's a line that the boatman says about 39 minutes into the film after Alva has a very public, very angry confrontation with Jesper. At this point, the kids are very reward-driven, attending the school-turned-fish shop purely so they can learn to write so they can send a letter so they can get a toy. Alva yells at Jesper about how the violent, constantly feuding families won't stand for their children attending school together. She views his sending the kids to her as a threat to her ability to save up enough money to get away from Smeerensburg forever and pursue her dreams somewhere she'll be useful and appreciated.

After Alva leaves, the smug trickstery boatman says:

"Ah! Young love."

I have always found this line incredibly grating because it's a classic example of Telling rather than Showing. Now, people in recent years have pushed back against that old adage, but there are times you want to show something to the audience rather than just stating it in a straightforward manner. Romantic relationships, for one thing.

As I mentioned at the top of this post, this is a buddy movie between Jesper the Postman and Klaus the future Santa Claus. They are the main characters of the film. Both of them need to carry this movie equally, and the best way to do that is to make sure they have excellent chemistry with each other. The film succeeds at this, and then some.

Alva, on the other hand, is not the main character. She is a major supporting character, and I think the movie would be lesser if she were absent, but her and Jesper's romantic relationship was always doomed to be Told rather than Shown. Because theirs is not the most important relationship in the movie.

I think the film could have done better about this, though. Getting rid of that young love line, for one thing. It's the sort of line you have someone say in the hopes that you can sneak in some romantic foreshadowing for the canonical couple. Unfortunately, it's about as subtle as a brick to the face.

The film seems to be going for a Bad First Impressions/Enemies-ish to Lovers thing with Jesper and Alva, but it really falls flat. They just don't spend enough time with each other for me to believe they're falling in love. Not to say they don't have cute moments. The montage where they help Margú write her letter is really nice, and the film shows Alva scooting closer and closer to Jesper as they hang out more and get to know each other. However, it's a montage, one with a song covering the bits of dialogue we get from them as they work. If the movie wanted to make me believe that Alva and Jesper had as much, if not more, chemistry together than Jesper and Klaus, then they probably should have changed the scene to be less focused on the montage and more focused on them playfully bantering back and forth.

But again, I think the relationship was doomed from the start, purely because Alva is not a main character. They probably would have had to make Jesper the eventual Santa Claus and nix Klaus in order to give Alva the proper amount of room.

(However, I think that would have ended up making the movie a bit too much like Rankin-Bass' stop-motion Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. Think about it: that special starts with a postman narrating about letters; it emphasizes that the question "Why do people write letters to Santa?" will be explored and answered; the main setting is a depressing, grungy town headed by a cartoonishly evil leader; there's a jaded ginger-haired schoolteacher who learns to loosen up and love life again, etc.)

I wish things had been different with Alva, or maybe that they had been allowed a longer runtime to really sell the relationship. As it is, it's fine. It works for what it is. But Jesper and Klaus' relationship is simply deeper, more subtle, and more meaningful.

Conclusion

Thank you for coming to my post about why Klaus is an extremely gay movie despite not being a gay movie. I wish I could wrap this up more academically, but I've made my thesis obvious and I have work at 7:30am tomorrow.

Hope this answers your question!

#klaus movie #klaus (2019) #fandom meta #santa claus #merry christmas

[brekker-by-brekkerr]

general messy thoughts about sab s2 (spoilers ahead)

Things I liked:

- Genya. Daisy Head SLAYED completely she was SO GOOD. I didn’t like them downplaying her scars and I wished we had gotten the line “I am not ruined I’m ruination” especially knowing how much that line means to so many people but other than that Genya was everything Daisy did an INCREDIBLE job of playing her. I actually got teary-eyed at several points this season (and me and my emotions are not at all close so that’s a feat) and they were all either Genya or GenyaDavid scenes, which brings me to…

- Genya and David. They were so good. So wholesome. The best part of this season IMO. Like their brief scenes, them hugging in the woods, the tiniest moments STOLE the show. I cried for these two and these two alone. Also, David was so well-portrayed like I loved these two so much. 

- Several soft Malina moments that gave me butterflies and I felt accurately showed their dynamic, more toward the beginning of the season but they were there.

- Jack Wolfe as Wylan. I have some not-so-positive thoughts about the aged-up crows in general, but I still think Jack was a convincing Wylan and you can tell from both the show and from his interviews that he really cares about Wylan and his portrayal. Every time he LOOKED at Jesper I was like…wow just WOW.

- Getting to see Nina interacting with the Crows was nice. Especially when they turn around and she has waffles and Kaz has that annoyed moment but then we find out Nina got them the info they needed because she’s a spy and she’s incredible? 10/10 and one of the few moments that felt accurate to the real crows. Also, that part where she was talking to the guard and pretending she needed to pee (idk that was a weird way to describe it I know) but that was so Nina

- Also, just them together in a restaurant vibing was what I needed

- “The barrel doesn’t belong to kings. It belongs to bastards.”

- Tolya and Tamar were so cool in their introduction like they’re so hot and cool and powerful ahh

- When Genya, Alina, and Zoya are all at the Darling’s funeral pyre that was chilling

- The slivers of foreshadowing with Zoya.

Things I didn’t like:

- The weird slow motion in some of the fight scenes was so unnecessary lol

- Okay I’m not a fan of the Darkling and I’ve made that quite clear in the past, but I do think he’s a good and interesting villain and I like the Flavour he adds to the story but this season the Flavour was just…not there. It’s funny how many Darkling stans I’ve seen angry about this season because for once we’re in agreement. Like he was so boring and weird and just creepy instead of interesting and creepy? I wanted to skip all his scenes. Also, they took out so many of the awful things he did in the books like what about him killing Ana Kuya? When he says “you’ll have no shelter but me” that line hits so much harder and is so much more chilling and awful because he’s literally killing off the people in her life. Turning Nikolai into a monster himself?? The moment Alina loses her powers in the books and the Darkling tells her she’s nothing is SO IMPORTANT because it shows he’s just interested in her for her powers, which is a big theme in the books. As wonderful as Nikolai is, he needs Alina for what she can provide for Ravka. The Apparat just sees her for her power. Everyone wants to use Alina for something except for Mal who just wants them to be happy and able to make their own choices. Anyways, the Darkling didn’t feel like the Darkling from the books at all. Also, he was just cringy. Like I was laughing when he was like “I have returned. And I’ve made some new friends” and stared at the camera it was so bad.

- Ruin & Rising is my favourite from the trilogy and I was so disappointed with how much was cut out for the most random crap, like hallucinating and eating butterflies?? Instead of the bonding time with the whole TGT crew? And no Oncat I’m crying. There’s so much character growth that happens and so many relationships that are deepened in Ruin & Rising and WHERE WAS THAT?

- Personally, I didn’t think Paddy was giving Nikolai. Like he seems like a good person and actor and all that jazz but he just didn’t feel like Nikolai and since Nikolai is my favourite, this kind of hurt.

- Erasing Mal from the story and his struggles. Look, Mal is not by any means a perfect character. And he doesn’t need to be. Let him be messy. Let him struggle and sometimes be rude and make mistakes because that’s real that’s compelling. They could have shown all the book!Mal haters that maybe they were being too harsh on him because he was struggling SO MUCH but instead they just turned him into Perfect Supportive Man. His character growth in Ruin & Rising is so good especially after you’ve spent Siege & Storm thinking “what is going on with this man.” Seeing him owning up to his actions and seeing him working on his flaws and seeing his support for Alina is so good and we deserved it especially considering how talented Archie is.

- Cutting Zoya almost completely out, especially since this is the book where she goes through a lot of growth. Also, the fact that Alina choices they’re making are cutting into Zoya’s future story >:(

 Things I HATED:

- Killing off David. WTF. Obviously we didn’t see a body so he might come back but like…what’s the point. We didn’t even get to see Genya and David get married.

- Almost all of the Crows content. The rushed Crooked Kingdom plotlines with none of the significance from the books. Rushed Wesper. Matthias working with Pekka. Nina’s character completely revolving around Matthias. Kanej focusing on Kaz’s trauma but not Inej’s and making her contract with the Menagerie all about Kaz and his vendetta against Pekka and killing off Tante. Actually, pretty much everything Kanej this season was so awfully handled. Also, just not a fan of the Crows being aged up and I tried to be okay with it but this season made me more upset with the casting choices. The Crows stuff was so so so badly done I want to cry. Comfort rereading the duology right now

- The ending. Just…frick the ending. I hate it. Too many thoughts I just hate it I can’t even talk about it

- I’ve already reblogged a lot of posts that go into things I hated but just in general it was such a mess they combined too many stories without doing them justice and there’s more I’m upset about but this is it for now

#anti shadow and bone #anti sab show #anti s&b show #shadow & bone #sab show #sab s2 #sab season 2 #shadow and bone s2 #shadow and bone spoilers #sab s2 spoilers #anti the darkling #anti darkling #anti darklina #malina #malyen oretsev #genya safin #genyadavid #six of crows #grishaverse

[simplywylan]

so close (enchanted)

listen, this song is gorgeous. i will never, ever get over its beauty and how this long feels like falling in love. so, naturally, i have made an ENTIRE wesper scene to it in my head! let me lay it out for you.

WITH music time stamps :)))

-

it all starts when kaz comes to them with another silly little plan and they all need to dress up as fancy, rich people to get into a ball. a great big fancy ball, with lots of food, drinking, and most importantly, dancing.

so jesper and wylan are situated on the floor, right on the dance floor. they've been told to just blend in, don't look suspicious, pick up little bits of information. kaz has reminded them that, at ALL costs, they need to blend in, whatever is to happen.

the band starts up. everyone starts moving to dance, in their partners, all ready to go. wylan panics and is like 'shit, what do we do jes?' and jesper, without missing a single beat, grabs wylans hand and pulls him to the middle of the room, getting ready to dance with him. because, as kaz said, at all costs. (0:00-0:46)

the music finally kicks in and everyone starts to dance, including wylan and jesper. wylan has not a single idea what is going on, and just follows jespers lead, because he trusts him. trusts him that this is needed to get through the plan. (0:46-1:23)

so they start dancing, close together, flowing with the music as perfectly as they can. wylan had no idea that jesper knew how to dance like this, but hey, he learns something new every single day apparently.

wylan is just... heart eyes. the actual definition of heart eyes. he knows they're in the middle of something important, but he just help admiring how beautiful jesper is, how close he's holding him yet how soft his hands are on his waist. he's completely in love. suddenly, the plan doesn't matter as much anymore. its just him and jesper, on the dance floor, hearts and hands entangled with one another. (1:23-1:58)

they are both entirely entranced by one another, their eyes never parting. the rest of the room has picked up on this, the two handsome gentlemen dancing in the middle of the floor like they're dancing on clouds. naturally, the crowd starts to part as they spot this, just watching these two dance because it's all they can do. it's so natural. the crowd begin to watch in awe.

wylan and jesper dont even realise they are the only ones on the floor, all smiles and giddy giggles, just happy to be with one another. (1:58-2:18)

they are so incredibly in love with one another, it's unbelievable. nobody has anything seen something so pure and beautiful as this. as the music swells, jesper wraps a sturdy arm around wylans waist and picks him up off the floor, the two twirling around, having completely forgotten they are here to actually steal stuff. the only thing they seem to be stealing is each others hearts. eventually, as the music begins to soften again, jesper puts wylan down and for a moment, they stop. wylan wants to say so much, as so much, but he instead opts for the option he knows best; he kisses jesper with every ounce of love and wonder his body can produce. jespers hands are firmly holding wylans waist, wylans hands every so gently cupping jespers jaw, slightly pulling him down so that he doesn't have to strain on his tip toes. (2:18-2:30)

jesper is taken back, but smiles as they part. they rest their foreheads together and take a moment to catch their breath, before jesper whispers something to wylan that he at first thinks he imagines, and he looks at him all doe-eyed and surprised, about to burst with absolute joy. before wylan can respond or ask about it, the music starts up again, and jesper whisks him back into the dance, their bodies moving in perfect time. (2:30-2:46)

by this time every one is dancing again, but still keeping their eyes on these two love-struck idiots in the middle of it all. it is quite literally like the world revolves around them. again, its all smiles and giggles and stolen kisses, and wylan swears his heart is about to explode in his chest. (2:46-3:10)

as the music finally comes to an end, they slow to a stop, just standing and holding one another, their bodies pressed flush up against one another. kaz and nina are watching, hidden in the crowd that didn't join the dance floor. nina's jaw is basically on the floor as she turns to kaz, who actually has a bit of a smile smacked across his usually stoic face. its then she realises that kaz knew exactly what he was doing by placing them two on the dance floor together. she turns to him, smirking and says 'you had this planned all along, didn't you?' to which kaz just looks at her and says 'perhaps.' (3:10-end)

-

i am SO happy for people to take this idea and expand on it, give it edits, give it fics, give it art - whatever you want. because i love this, i am obsessed with it, and i need you all to know what i see when i listen to this song. hence why its in my wesper playlist.

#i know its long but READ IT #wesper #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #wylan x jesper #wesper drabble #wesper fic #wesper headcanon #wesper song #six of crows #soc #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix #give me mood boards too i fucking love mood boards #might make one myself lol

[sixofcrowdaydreams]

Six of Crows Thoughts

So I finally read Six of Crows and it was a ride. It was probably the first actual physical fictional book I've read in a decade.

I watched the Shadow and Bone show first and knew plot beats and general spoilers/important quotes from the books. And I'm not gonna lie, knowing what was going to happen, but not how it happened made reading the book so much more fun.

Thoughts below.

First of all, holy shit, the crows are so mean to Wylan in the beginning! Even Nina and Inej. That poor boy!

Like, knowing Wylan can't read and that his father tried to have him murdered for it made the rest of the crows' speculation about him running away so petty and unnecessarily mean. But it's not their fault because they don't know. Really glad the book shared the details of what's written in Van Eck's letters to Wylan. The message is so cruel, Wylan's better off know knowing what's in it them. If I hadn't been aware of the spoiler, I wouldn't have even registered all of the little hints Bardugo left. Like the unread letters. Wylan not labeling the map he made and pushing the pen toward Mattias to let him write the ice court names in Fjerdian when Kaz demands to know why it's not labeled. And asking what the book says when they pass it to him before he realizes it's a spyglass. As someone with the mathematical equivalent of dyslexia (math version called dyscalculia), Wylan and his learning disability representation is so important to me.

It was so exciting to hit the big plot beats. There's Inej getting stabbed and Kaz going feral to rip a man's eye out! *fangirls* Waiting for the goddamn tank to appear. Inej's shoes melting as she climbs the incinerator shaft. Nina taking parem.

Every. Wesper. Moment. God, I squealed so hard at the "Just girls?" "No, not just girls," line and had to read the scene out loud to my husband. (Thank you for indulging me, Love.) Their slow burn build up was so satisfying. I get to enjoy their speedrun show version and slowburn book version -- it's the best of both worlds! The shocking part was that the not-just-girls conversation took place while Wylan's hands were bloody from trying to hack away at the chain link. Like, Wylan may be new to crime, but like he goes all in and gives 100% the entire time. Ouch.

Despite knowing so much of the story before reading it, all of the things I didn't know were equally entertaining. Like, I knew Wylan sings a Fjerdian drinking song, but learning the context when and why was so satisfying. (Fuck netflix for not letting Jack Wolfe show off his voice in this scene. Fuck netflix in general.) I also have a new appreciation for Nina and Mattias and their very complicated ... everything. I probably knew the least about them coming into the book and walked away really liking both of them as characters far more than I expected.

Breaking someone out of jail: barely an inconvenience.

Boarding a ship: The most dangerous task of the entire book. lol.

The most unexpected moment in the books was the Crows stumbling across the burning bodies on the pyres. This is a YA novel. I had to remind myself that this gruesome scene straight out of a horror story Is. In. A. YA. Novel. Then Bardugo says, you think that's bad, and makes the entire scene so much darker! Goddamn. One of the bodies is still barely alive, suffering, and Jesper puts it out of it's misery like it's a horse with a broken leg. All Kaz can do is snap at Jesper for giving away their location with a gunshot. Jesus christ.

Speaking of ... Kaz is waaaaaaaaaay more violent in the books. Holy shit. The show neutered him. Little Kaz swearing at Jakob Hertzoon. Him climbing out of the harbor at 9 years old and robbing a kid in front of a candy store, taking the boys pants just to humiliate him. Cutting another kid's feet up just so that he can steal the boy's job. Brutal. Every time I came across those scenes, I summarized them for my husband (who is a saint for watching the Crows scenes of the show with me and listening to me talk about this series non-stop) because my hubby thought Kaz came off as the most useless member of of Crows because for someone said to be so violent, Kaz Brekker never actually did very many violent things. Hubby pointed out the Inej, Jesper, and even Wylan have a higher body count in the show than Kaz.) SO I felt obligated to prove just how insane and deranged Kaz was in the book.

Nina is a queen for taking parem and saving all of them. What a sacrifice.

I'm so proud of Inej for stealing Heleen's diamonds. Take back your autonomy!

I also really appreciated the irony of the entire Ice Court being Grisha made. Like, my druskelle dudes, you hate Grisha but you depend so heavily on them. You can't have it both ways.

Jesper's horror of the kefta lined tophy wall and his internal struggle after killing the tidemaker gave him so much more depth. He denies his powers pretty hard, but he acknowledges that it could have been him captured, strung out on drugs, or murdered. Part of him died after killing the tidemaker that was actively attacking him and Wylan ... it's so heavy. He knows that he should have volunteered to take the parem with Nina or in her place, but was too scared to do it. I love Jesper so much.

I knew there was going to be a body switch, but didn't realize it happened in Six of Crows. I thought it would just be in Crooked Kingdom. Van Eck's betrayal was ... woof. Sad that Kaz and Wylan's conversation about being a useless hostage/Wylan's disability/and the body swap plan was summarized in Kaz's narration and not shown. I have a mighty need to read that entire scene, dialog and all! Give. It. To. Me!

Kaz probably threatened the shit out of Wylan to not tell Jesper about the body swap onboard the ship. (That's book Kaz's usual style of persuasion.) But Wylan as Kuwei standing near Jesper on deck each evening is the most romantic, sweet gesture I've read in years. God, the pining. And it's just treated as a throw-away line! Excuse me, I'mma need some fanfic about this. Meanwhile, Jesper's like, why is this new weirdo following me? lol.

Jesper thought Wylan (and others) were on the ship as it blew up. And Kaz wanted him to think that. Goddamn. The book just straight up says that Kaz let Jesper think Wylan had died to punish him. Again, Kaz is insane. This cannot be understated. He really earned that title of Dirtyhands.

Random, but I also really enjoyed all of the names, whether characters or locations. The naming was a point and easy to pronounce, (aside from Kuwei, which I double checked the pronunciation but that's probably just me being overly cautious.) Fantasy names can be kinda tricky, either sounding too modern or using obscure letters to be an incomprehensible mess of x, q, and z. So well done with minor phonetic changes and lots of double letters.

I'm so excited to read Crooked Kingdom now.

#six of crows #my thoughts #shadow and bone

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Analysing my favourite lines from Six of Crows chapter by chapter: Chapter 3

As before, if there are any famous/popular lines missing it’s not because I don’t like them it’s just because I have nothing more to add to the analyses/ideas already present about them in the fandom. And if there are quotes that I haven’t analysed that’s just because I wanted to include it as a favourite quote but didn’t have anything to say explanation-wise.

This is a long chapter, so I’ll see how this goes and maybe split it into two parts.

“It would have been easy to make peace. Kaz could have told Jesper that he knew he wasn’t dirty, reminded him that he'd trusted him enough to make him his only real second in a fight that could have gone badly wrong tonight."

- this is really important for me because it tells us so much about Kaz and Jesper’s relationship in so few words, as well as telling us about the characters individually as well. Kaz trusts Jesper but he can’t tell him that and keeps him at arms length: we understand that Kaz has intimacy and/or commitment issues in both platonic and romantic relationships (since at this point in time the nature of their relationship hasn’t been explored but is presented as platonic, and Kaz had not been specifically stated to have a romantic interest this early on we as the reader make early assumptions). The specificity of the verb “knew” is SO important to me as well, because we have just seen Kaz have Big Bolliger shot in the stomach on the suspicion he was dirty based on a hunch about him going to a different cafe for breakfast but he ‘knows’ with complete certainty that Jesper is absolutely trustworthy. So within barely a paragraph of Kaz’s first POV chapter we understand that Jesper, even if their relationship is complex or rocky, is incredibly important to him and that he has considerable faith in him. The choice to not “make peace”, however, even though “it would have been easy” tells us that Kaz either feels the active need to keep Jesper at a distance or is incapable of expressing the closeness he feels in their friendship. Obviously later we’re able to learn that these are both true in their own way, but the importance of it in this moment is that we are immediately tuned in to Kaz’s fear of emotional connection and invested in understanding why this is, or exactly what he struggled with. Six of Crows is a novel I’d consider to be well balanced between plot-driven and character-driven, but I definitely think that these opening chapters are very character driven so this kind of set up is what pulls us into the book and makes us desperate to keep reading.

“ ‘Another bribe?’

‘I’m a creature of habit’

‘Lucky for you, I am too’ ”

“If you couldn’t walk out by yourself through Ketterdam after dark, then you might as well hang a sign around your neck that read “soft” and lie down for a beating” - I don’t know that I can coherently explain this I just love it; the worldbuilding??? the start of this brilliant presentation of the city as effectively it’s own character, which is one of my favourite things Bardugo does in her descriptions of Ketterdam?? The character implications about Kaz??? The way it ties into his initial judgements of Wylan!???? Perfection

“He realised he felt… Saints, he almost felt hopeful. Maybe he should see a medik” - I just love this so much, it’s so funny and it’s so quintessentially Kaz, I absolutely adore it

“Usually, he liked the quiet. In fact, he would’ve happily sewn most people’s lips shut” - we should talk about this quote more as a fandom, you know, because it’s brilliant and it’s so funny and again it’s just so brilliantly Kaz in the opening pages of his perspective we get so much information about his worldview and understand him to be quite a humorous character despite the initial appearance of him from Inej’s POV. As the novels go on we see the others notice his jokes more often, but in that introductory chapter it was incredibly important that the reader received the same image of Kaz that the Black Tips did, so now we get to be introduced to the closest thing to a real version of Kaz. I think there’s still a prevalent understanding that we’re seeing a mask, but this feels more real than Dirtyhands does… if that makes sense? I could be rambling about nonsense

"He'd heard other members of the gang say she moved like a cat, but he suspected cats would sit attentively at her feet to learn her methods" - this is just such a brilliant description of what Inej can do, it gives us such a clear image without having to overexplain anything and it also introduces us to this idea of Kaz putting her on a pedestal.

' "And what god do you serve, then?"

"Whichever will grant me good fortune"

"I don't think gods work that way,"

"I don't think I care," '

"He didn't see her go, only sensed her absence" - I can't explain it but something about this is so achingly romantic to me.

"But the fact that she could simply erase herself bothered him. She didn't even have a scent. All people carried scents, and those scents told stories -" - It wasn't until someone asked me to make a post about this quote that I really thought about it and realised why it has always stuck out to me. You can see the post on my page if you're interested, but in essence I think it's really important that Kaz struggles with any sense of permanence, so the idea that the one person he cares about more than anything else in the world could vanish so completely, as though she never even existed in the first place, is genuinely frightening - especially to a boy who several times in these novels fears that he has begun to hallucinate. Kaz seems very aware that he's on the edge of something he identifies as going mad, and the concept of visual and auditory hallucinations - Jordie's voice in his head, the panic at thinking he must have hallucinated when he first sees a Tidemaker walk through a wall, the immediate fear of being attacked by a ghost, etc - is something that constantly chases him. Kaz has also spent the last 8 years of his life living in a world that continued on as though his brother never existed, the salt in the wound being that not even Rollins remembers them, so the awareness of that happening to Inej, someone he has come to care for in a way that is entirely new and incredibly overwhelming for him - "there would be no grand funerals for them, no marble markers to remember their names" "What will you leave behind, but corpses to be burned on the Reaper's Barge?" "Out to the Reaper's Barge for burning, like all paupers go" - is a deeply upsetting. This then becomes a parallel with Kaz specifically noting that he can smell soap on her in the Crooked Kingdom Bathroom Scene; in this moment she us cemented so strongly in view and becomes the tether between Kaz and his sanity by continuing to so obstinately exist in a world that doesn't seem to want her to.

"Ghosts, Kaz thought. A boy's fear, but it came with absolute surety. Jordie had come for his vengeance at last" - oh my goodness there's so much to unpack here. I have talked about this a bit before, I think it was in my (very long) post about the potential for Wylan and Kaz to become each other, but it is SO important to look at this quote and remember that when we first read it we haven't the faintest idea who Jordie is or what happened to him. With the ousting of Big Bolliger and all the talk about your gang being your family and that even if you're a liar and a thief, you don't lie to or steal from your own gang, my initial assumption upon reading this was that Jordie had once been in a gang with Kaz, one of them had betrayed the other, and it had ended with Kaz murdering him. But, of course, this is very far from the truth and this tells us so much heart-breaking information about the fact that Kaz blames himself for what happened to them. He wonders later what might have happened to them if he hadn't insisted they go and find the magician that was the first step leading them to Rollins and to Jordie's death, but we never get anything about Kaz blaming himself quite as outrightly as this, the rest of it is usually just implied. So why show us this now? I would argue because this is how Kaz genuinely feels and in the moment he thinks it he is too terrified, confused, and to some extent concerned for his sanity to push the feeling away. Everything we see beyond this point id the construct that he has convinced himself is how he feels: that it's Rollins' fault. Obviously Rollins is at least partially to blame for Jordie's death, but if I may quote myself from a previous post It's the city that kills him, Rollins is just the weapon it chooses. Jordie even says it himself - "The city's winning now, but you'll see who wins in the end". Kaz's genuine belief is that Jordie's death is his fault, but he is in far too fragile a mental state to cope with that truth (and when I say truth I mean the that it's the truth he believes that, not that it;s the truth it's his fualt because he was jsut a nine-year-old who wanted to see a magician that's a more than innocent act and, again, he was nine) so he instead exists within a façade that he has built for himself - even on top of the one he's built for everyone else. We also see a hatred of the feeling towards blaming Jordie later on in the novels, and this is incredibly important. It's almost as if the idea that it's his fault isn't even the truth, but that's a façade to overcome the ultimate horror of seeing Jordie as accountable for it all - "What do you think my forgiveness looks like Jordie?". But ultimately, this is still the warped view of the world instilled in Kaz and so many of the other citizens of Ketterdam, possibly Kerch as a whole, arguably placing the city and its infrastructure as the ultimate villain rather than the tools of it. (Wherein the tools are Rollins and Van Eck).

"The phantom was upon him, and he felt the sharp jab of a needle in his neck. A ghost with a syringe?" - This is just so funny I love it so much I think I've read SOC and CK near to twenty times each now and this still makes me laugh every damn time.

I'm going to split this into two parts from here because this is the splitting point in the chapter and this is already a pretty long post. Thanks so much for reading this, sorry it's been a while for me to post it. I'm loving this line-by-line analysis series already (I know this is only the second post but I'm still excited) but they do take a long time to put together, particularly because at this time I don't currently have an annotated version of either book. Although I am planning to buy fresh copies for the purposes of annotating them when I get the opportunity, I currently don't have my ideas recorded anywhere except this account so whenever I write a post I'm working entirely from memory beyond the actual quotes themselves (and sometimes including them too haha) or even coming up with new ideas as I write. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any questions please keep sending them in I know I haven't responded to any for a little while but I love getting them and I am working through my inbox, if a bit slowly :)

#grishaverse #leigh bardugo #six of crows #crooked kingdom #inej ghafa #kaz brekker #nina zenik #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #matthias helvar #kanej #wesper #helnik #soc analysis #soc analyst #soc meta #six of crows analysis #fantasy book analysis #book analysis #chapter 3 #grisha #the grisha series #the grisha trilogy #sab #soc #ck

[vole-mon-amour]

2x05, part 2.

Kaz is like, "Do I look like a person who's gonna do any of your nonsense?" And with those bruises, lmaooo. "My husband" what a sigh your 'husband' is, lmaooo. Again, she's the the only one who can pull that off. They can kinda flirt and are borderline romantic, but in reality they're such platonic pals. <3 I adore their relationship in the book.

WHEEZING. Only she can pull that off without punished for that, lmaoooo. I love how different her relationships are with Kaz and Inej. Inej is all sweet and can sleep with her head on Nina's shoulder. That's the partner she needs, not Kaz. Nina, however, can troll him as much as she wants, and will still stay out of his league. She's simply more powerful than he is and isn't intimidated by him even one bit.

I don't think Nina understands how hard this is for him. It's so rare for anyone to see the bare skin of his hands. I fully expected him to do what he is asked of without taking his gloves off. This is a very important moment. Such a rare sight. It feels weird, even, to see his hands with the gloves off.

It's like it's not even him.

Darling, put the gloves back on. :( My heart aches for him. They think it's all a joke until it's not. My question is, though, why didn't she try to slow his heartbeat? I don't remember anything about this in the book, unfortunately. She just felt how bad it was for him and maybe could've helped. But idk, if he's having trouble breathing, then the slowing his heartbeat would probably not help.

This is where I thought he'd fall into the water tbh. Bumping into so many people, with his hands bare, which also amplifies a panic attack. I'm glad Inej understood she needs to IMMEDIATELY back off. If they push that "I'll have you without your armor" bullshit, I'm gonna be very mad.

And for that moment, he's in a pile of corpses. He's five years old. Jordie is dead. He's alone in this world. He uses Jordie's corpse to stay afloat. And my heart breaks for him yet again.

Him sharing food with Jesper and Nina is so cute. Foodies. <3 I like their friendship.

Sharing those glances, that bond once again. <3 Kaz even shares a smile/a scowl with him. Jesper doesn't care. He'll endure whatever Kaz throws at him and still be so chill about it. "Now to the real talk, okie dockie?" And Kaz starts talking. Love it.

That's what I'm talking about. Wylan looks so unnatural. Baby, can you snap out of it please? On the other hand, maybe I should reread the book first before saying this. I don't remember if he's on the specter in any way. If he is, it's understandable. If he isn't, I'd love for him to be more alive and have more personality and be a valuable member of the Crows, like in CK.

WRONG. Big wrong. Oh, the book... What he felt for her, how he loved her. Matthias deserved better. ;_;

!!!

Nooo wayy??? That is truly something new. Get his ass!!

That's brutal. I don't wanna go there. I'm not ready. :(

The moment when Nikolai gives Alina his compass was nice. I remember from what I've read that they've become really good friends. I actually like seeing it in the show. I liked seeing this side of him, and it feels like they've cast a proper actor to play him? But i don't know much about him, so it's not up for me to decide. He's still good though, imo. The emerald though. It's for Zoya, isn't it? Don't remember how they end up there, but yeah.

That talk between Wylan and Jesper at the end. "Because it's not a blessing, it's a curse! And you have no idea what it's cost me." They did a lot of things about them wrong, but those words and encounters they have at their cores, both of them, had to be included. And I'm glad that they are.

Holy shit. So it IS in this episode. Jordie pulling him out, then drowning him back. It's 11 pm, I woke up at 6, how am I supposed to sleep now??? My goodness, I was waiting for this scene. Gifs!! I NEED GIFS!!!

#ninej #kaz brekker #nina zenik #kazper #wylan van eck #alina starkov #inej ghafa #sabn #natiswatching #nikolai lantsov

[lunatheseus]

Movie/TV show ships that I'm thankful for and why

Beast Boy x Raven / Garfield x Rachael: Honestly, Teen Titans Go didn't do it for me when it came to this ship because it was almost too silly and cringe, but the live action (I know, I know, the actors have a HUGE age gap, but when talking about the CHARACTERS) really helped me visualize. It's not just about their romantic chemistry at this point (there's plenty of time for that later), but they already had a connection from the start, and that's incredibly important. They already care so much about each other that setting up their romance might be a little underwhelming tbh. They've already established that Gar has feelings/cares immensely for Rachael, and vice versa. They're also seen cuddling on a couch together, so it's not too far-fetched, you know?

Tina Goldstein x Newt Scamander: Honestly, this is already confirmed endgame. In the Harry Potter movies, it is already written in print that these two are endgame, so watching Fantastic Beasts (that occurs before Harry Potter) is incredibly comforting. These two are honestly my comfort couple, and sometimes I wish I could have what they did. My only ick is that Tina isn't around for the entire third movie? which is a little strange. I miss their quiet interactions and such. I also hate how she became so jealous of Leta so quickly without even checking with Newt... like what? Why? He's so in love with you, can't you tell? (Kudos to Eddie Redmayne for really selling the character) ... Anyway, I could go on. I'm just glad that when it comes to Fantastic Beasts, I don't have to focus so much on the rockiness of everyone's love lives and really focus on the real plot of the movie.

Wylan Van Eck x Jesper Fahey: OML do I really have to explain? Ok first off, MAJOR kudos to the actors (good job Kit and Jack) for having INSANE chemistry onscreen. The secretly insecure on the inside but confident on the outside Jesper Fahey falls in love with the shy but extremely intelligent Wylan Van Ek?? Yes please! These two are also SUCH a comfort couple of mine and I could not stop squealing on the inside when I watched their scenes in Shadow and Bone. They-UGH I can't its so good.

Nina Zenik and Matthias Helvar: I know, I know, in the books it doesn't exactly end well, but I love the Sunshine x Grumpy + Enemies-to-Lovers trope that these two absolutely embody. They teach each other so much and I really really hope Matthias doesn't get kicked off in future seasons.

Kaz Brekker x Inej Ghafa: Ok sooooo they're a little problematic, but that's the point. Let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that Inej says that she'll have him without his gloves, or not at all. I love that her character decides that it's not her job to "fix" Kaz. That's a really overused plotline, where one person fixes the person they love and helps them out of their trauma. Inej understands that Kaz needs to come to terms with his own fears and feelings by himself. I also love that Kaz keeps Inej around just to be in her presence, while she comes back from her adventures to visit to be in his.

May I also add that the entire cast of Shadow and Bone are an absolute VIBE! I love the chemistry they have with each other both on and off screen. I am absolutely in LOVE!

The Eleventh Doctor x Clara: This'll be short but I love how they challenge each other and enjoy each other's company at the same time. I was really sad when he changed faces and didn't end up with Clara. They (the actors I guess too) had insane chemistry and banter, which I personally am a sucker for, and I wish that they had more screen time together.

Daphne Bridgerton x Simon Basset: Again with the banter + friends-to-lovers + Simon's speech to the Queen!!! I wish talked more, you know, incorporate the open communication so that all of the misunderstandings would have never happened.

#bridgerton #daphne bridgerton #simon basset #doctor who #matt smith #kaz brekker #kaz being kaz #kaz x inej #inej ghafa #jesper x wylan #jesper fahey #six of crows #shadow and bone #wylan van eck #nina zenik #matthias helvar #nina x matthias #newt scamander #newt x tina #tina goldstein #beast boy #raven teen titans #teen titans #bbrae #movie rant #rant #rant post #rambles

[aphroditestummyrolls]

I’d love the engagement series for the wip

game. It’s one of fav you’ve done.

Hi anon! Thanks so much for sending this— writing out the rest of this little scene was such a nice break from working on BHaD chapter 3!

“I want to ask Wy to marry me.”

Well. Well, that was just… That was a bloody sunbeam through a cloud. That was what that was.

Colm couldn’t have kept the smile off his face for anything in the world. He couldn’t keep the happy little twitch from his fingers or try to squash the warm expansion that filled up his chest. He very nearly wanted to cry.

Jesper blinked at him. “What is happening to your face right now?”

“Oh hush, I’m so happy for you!” He gushed. His hands reached out and took his son— his grown, wonderful, clever, handsome boy— by the cheeks. By some miracle Jesper humoured him, and Colm was grateful. Through the misty eyed lens of time, he could see all the variations of wild and young that his boy had been, and all the ways he’d grown. All of the wonderful future paths he could take.

That he and Wylan could take together.

Jes patted his hand over Colm’s, only a little awkwardly, laughing a little. “C’mon Da, it’s not like he’s said yes yet.”

Colm tsked, swatting at the words like an irritation. It was a mere formality. “Oh, don’t give me that! I barely spent an hour with the two of you before I knew you two were special.”

“You did not—“

“The point is,” he let the bubbles of his joy settle a little, taking his son’s hands in both of his, “that that boy is clearly ass over tea kettle about you. And you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

That was the moment, it seemed, where Jesper finally let himself relax into the moment. His shoulders deflated, a proper grin spreading across his face like a sunrise. Those grey eyes were sparkling and bright, and he exhaled in a gust. It must be something, to get the weight off his chest.

“Is this the first time you’ve said it all out loud?”

He shrugged a little. “It’s the first time it feels really real, I suppose. I asked Marya for her blessing just before we left, but this feels… different.” It was a good different, clearly. It was the type of different that lit Jesper up from within, the type of different that glowed so bright, it warmed the whole room ten degrees.

It made him look terribly like his mother.

“Jesper, I…” it came out a little raspier than he’d like, clearing his throat. “Your momma—“

“Da, I—“

“Jesper Fahey.” They’d spent too long hiding her memory in the shadows, wearing her like a yoke around their necks. It still took so much to say the words aloud. But, they’d both promised to change, and this was the most important thing— learning how to carry her with them in a way that wasn’t stifling. “Your mother would be so, so proud of the man you’ve become. And she would love your Wylan.”

Jesper blinked hard, fluttering his short lashes as he looked down at their hands. But his smile didn’t waver.

“I, um… actually, I wanted to ask you about her. Is there anything of hers— her jewelry, I mean— around? Maybe something that I could fabrikate a bit?” He was fiddling with Colm’s fingers, not looking up at him. “It’s alright, if you can’t part with anything! It’s just that having something of hers, it would mean a lot, for making Wylan part of the family, I think. It would mean a lot to him— to us. And I wanted to make it, y’know? Like how you pass down and, and remake family rings in the Wandering Isle? It’s alright, though, if—“

Colm stood up and pulled Jesper with him, pulling him into a hug that could hopefully ease the nervous rambling. He didn’t even know what to say, or how else to express it all otherwise. Jesper had put so much thought into this. So much care.

He wanted to honour them.

Colm didn’t ease up his hold on his son until he finally let himself be held. He wrapped his gangly arms around Colm’s shoulders, and went comfortably quiet for a moment.

Thanks for playing! ❤️❤️❤️ (want to play? click the link for WIP list!)

#six of crows #wesper #wylan van eck #jesper fahey #colm fahey #the engagement series

[z1m1nys0ldat]

Shadow & Bone - S2

What I wanted to happen:

Kaz Brekker picking a lock 

Feydor showing of more of his heartrending abilities 

Feydor + Ivan reuniting 

Fivan (in general) 

Wesper (in general) 

Who I wanted to see:

Feydor Kaminsky 

Genya Safin 

Ivan

Kaz Rietveld (young Kaz)

Jordie Rietveld 

Favourite moments:

Jesper admitting to liking Wylan  

Kaz buries Pekka’s son 

David & Genya - “You don’t need fixing” 

Kaz fighting the Dregs 

The Crow’s flashbacks/hallucinations 

Baghra’s death

The Crows fight with The Disciple 

Genya finding David’s plans for a ring 

Inej & Kaz in the chapel saying their goodbyes 

Good things:

The sets were beautiful; Novyi Zem was so vibrant and full of life. The architecture and fabrics shown were so detailed, the streets honestly felt so full of life. I loved seeing more of Ketterdam and Kerch, it made it feel even more real. The darkness and grittiness of the streets was so clear and really added to the atmosphere of those scenes.  Shu Han was simply a work of art. The merchant’s tables and their wares were so intriguing and realistic, and the alter (if that’s what it’s called) where Zoya and Tolya paid their respects to the deceased was so beautiful. 

The costuming continues to impress me! The intricate details of each characters outfits really added to their realness and authenticity.  The Kefta’s were absolutely beautiful, as always! The details in each of them was amazing - I loved how Kirigan’s Kefta began to feature Alina’s gold throughout the season. 

The casting was fabulous! Jack was incredible as Wylan, despite not having red hair he really embodied Wylan for me.  I thought Patrick did an incredible job as Nikolai and really sold the performance. 

Some of the acting was absolutely incredible!  Freddy Carter really channeled Kaz Brekker this season, and not only that but he really channeled Dirtyhands. There were so many scenes where his performance gave me chills! His ability to really become his character is superb! The mannerisms, the posture, the facial expressions, the voice, everything just screamed Kaz - Dirtyhands - Brekker.    Ben Barnes continued to amaze me! His performance as Kirigan is honestly incredible. His ability to channel Aleksander’s vulnerabilities, manipulations, ambitions and cruelties all at once is something I will never not be in awe of. Kirigan’s pain and rage is so beautifully acted out this season and I found myself on the edge of my seat every time he was on screen! Amita Suman - Just Amita Suman! My God was she incredible! Not a single scene went by that she didn’t dominate. Her interactions with Mogen were so chilling and so harrowing. I wouldn’t be suprised if there was an Oscar with her name on it in the future.  

Matthias’ religion.  I loved how they showed Matthias relationship with his religion and how he is trying to reconcile wanting Nina while still believing in his God.    The fact that he refused to fight the wolves as they were sacred and important to his culture and his God, and then later calling out for Nina (A Grisha) and trying to get to her as he is dragged out of the ring is such an interesting dichotomy and I’m looking forward to how they might take this further. 

The transitions the season were insane: Kaz in The Disciples room -> Kaz in the river 

Bad things. 

Some of the acting left things to be desired.  There were a few characters whose acting was not at the level as everyone else’s, and I found this quite distracting and it did take away from my ability to suspend-my-disbelief a bit. An example of this was with some of the background Grisha characters, such as Fruszi. 

Some of the scenes could have gone further.  The scene where Kaz tells Pekka he buried his son was incredibly acted in the show and I did love it, however in the book the scene was much longer and there was no mention or motive of having Pekka confess to Heleen and the Constable’s murders or him releasing Inej. The focus is more on Kaz’s anger and revenge, he is much more insistent in the book that Pekka says Jordie’s name; however once he gives up the information about where Pekka’s son is after he begs and Pekka runs off, Kaz reveals that he had never even seen his son and his motive was simply to have Pekka seen running out of town with his medics in tow at the same time that the plague was appearing at his establishments. Kaz is far crueler in the books, mocking Pekka and saying how the sound of his son crying for him was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. I feel like in the show Kaz rolled over and gave in much easier and far quicker, whereas in the book the exchange lasted far longer.  

Inej should have gotten her own ship at the end instead of joining Sturmhond’s crew. 

I would have loved to have seen my two favourite characters come back - Ivan & Feydor Kaminsky. 

Overall 

I really enjoyed it! It was fun and dramatic and had some really cool action scenes. I think it followed the first season pretty damn well, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they might do with a season 3.  There was some bumps in the road along the way, things I wasn’t so keen on but isn’t that always the way... 

It’s definitely not an accurate and verbatim adaptation of the books but it is without a doubt an impressive and enjoyable one. 

#shadow and bone #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #matthias helvar #nina zenik #sankta alina #alina starvok #feydor kaminsky #ivan x fedyor #six of crows #shadow and bone s2 #pekka rollins #the dregs #the grisha trilogy #grishaverse #genya safin #david kostyk #darkling shadow and bone #darkling #netflix #shadow and bone review #z1m1nys0ldat

[cameliawrites]

For the fic asks, people probably beat me to them but: 🤡✨🦅 and just for funsies... 🧠 for Jesper since I'd love to know some of your thoughts on him

Cat, my beloved! Have some answers (with a bonus Kaz/Jesper friendship ficlet at the end, because I love these fools)!

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Maybe this errs on the sweeter side of funny, but there’s one tiny exchange in “what a mother wants” that I’m really fond of.

The backstory is that a few summers ago, I babysat quite frequently for some dear friends of mine. Their kids have an impressive collection of stuffed toys, and of course, each and every one of them has to have a name—and to my surprise and amusement, these little fuzzy pandas and sloths and such are often named after fully-grown, real-life adults in their lives. Like, first AND last name and all. 😂

SO. All that to say, I’m very very fond of this exchange between Kaz and his daughter, which I not-so-slyly slipped into a parenthetical aside near the end of the fic:

Say thank you to Aaji, Kaz had instructed her, and when Lieze complied, he’d asked her, What will you name it? Lieze had contemplated for a moment, face taking on an expression reminiscent of her father. Jesper Fahey, she’d finally declared decisively, and Kaz had groaned.

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it.

Oh goodness! Okay. Um…

Well, I’ve always been fond of this line near the very end of “someone to watch over me:”

When she entered her room, she noticed that the four showy flower arrangements had been removed. Instead, atop her pillow sat a small bouquet of geraniums, clearly hand-picked, and tied with a single red ribbon.

Inej opened the small note attached to the ribbon, already grinning widely, her heart fluttering like petals tossed to the wind.

I drew the imagery of “petals tossed to the wind” from that (iconic) scene where wild geranium petals rain over her when Kaz rescues her at the Goedmedbridge in Crooked Kingdom. The simile felt quite apropos for a fic scene where Kaz is leaving a little geranium bouquet for her. 🥰

🦅Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

👖👖👖My fics usually come together in patches—I’ll have a scene here, a scene there, a scrap of dialogue, a concept of a given’s scene choreography… but then all the connective tissue between those points isn’t determined until I’m actually writing. This is part of why I mostly write one shots; I think outlining a multi-chapter fic would be a nightmare for me. 😅 (And also, the time constraints of law school make it hard for me to plan ahead that much.)

I really enjoy the freedom I have in this creative process. For me, writing fic is a total escape from the strictures of academic/professional writing, and I worry that holding myself to a strict outline would suck a bit of the joy out of it. But I know that for other people, it’s just a helpful organizational tool! I spend more time on the back end of fic writing (editing and revising and figuring out how to piece existing scenes together) than on the front end (planning and outlining). Everyone’s process is so different!

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them. - Jesper

(why did this turn into a mini-fic? why do I do this? ….here, have a thing:)

Jesper is the first person to whom Kaz confesses that he loves Inej.

The moon is high and the bottle of whiskey is running dangerously low. The two of them are sprawled out on the grass of the Van Eck garden looking at the night sky, because it was suddenly very important for a very drunk Jesper to point out all the constellations Colm Fahey taught him, and to pass along the stories Colm had learned growing up on the Wandering Isle.

The first mistake Kaz makes is disputing Jesper’s account: “No, you’ve got it all wrong,” he slurs, “My Da told me and Jordie this other story about those three stars on the right…”

And because Jesper knows a bit about Jordie by now, he becomes solemn and quiet; sobered, even in his utter drunkenness, as Kaz tells the story.

“I’m sorry you lost him,” Jesper finally whispers, and for a long moment, the trickle of the water in the nearby canal is the only sound between them.

Kaz grumbles something unintelligible at first, refusing to meet Jesper’s gaze. “It’s been ten years,” he finally articulates, and Jesper can see him clenching the grass at his sides with his pale, ungloved hands. “It shouldn’t still hurt. If I were stronger…if I were stronger, it wouldn’t still hurt. I got even with Pekka Rollins. I got my revenge. What’s left?”

“What’s left?” Jesper retorts a bit too loudly, pushing himself up to sit on his elbows, then immediately collapsing back to the ground at the wave of dizziness that follows. “What’s left is that you loved him, Kaz. Like I loved my Ma—like any of us still love anyone we lost. The love doesn’t just…fade away, just because they’re gone,” Jesper spits out, gesturing wildly with his hands. “And you’re an even bigger podge than I thought if you think that makes you weak,” he finishes resolutely, waggling one drunken finger near Kaz’s face.

Kaz rolls his eyes at the insult (and the finger), but seems to let the words sink in; the expression on his face tells Jesper how intensely he’s turning them over in his mind.

“Ugh,” Jesper groans, “what are you scheming about right now?”

“I love Inej,” Kaz starts simply—and it is a simple statement; a simple truth; one that neither Kaz nor Jesper is really surprised by, even if Jesper is a smidge surprised Kaz is actually willing to admit it out loud. “But I haven’t told her. Just in case…” Kaz’s mouth clamps shut, then opens once more, as though he cannot resist the drunken spill of words from his mouth at this moment. “I don’t want to be left alone with that kind of hurt ever again.”

And the pain, the fear, that washes over Kaz’s face for an uncontrolled instant—too long to believe Kaz doesn’t feel anything, even if he tried to deny it—has Jesper sliding his hands over the pearl-handled revolvers at his hips, trying to resist the urge to reach out and do something stupid, like hug his best friend.

“You wouldn’t be left alone,” Jesper promises fiercely. “Not this time. Not ever again. I haven’t always made myself trustworthy, but tell me you trust me about that much?” he pleads.

Kaz nods slowly, his throat bobbing as his gaze remains fixed determinedly on the sky.

“Good,” Jesper breathes. “That’s—that’s good.”

When their voices fade to silence once more, something like relief rises in the quiet that they’ve left behind.

“Kaz?” Jesper can’t help but ask a few minutes later.

“Hmmph.” The hangovers are going to hurt tomorrow.

“You’ve gotta make me your best man, okay?”

Kaz shoots up in a panic. Jesper maintains his position on the ground, arms tucked lackadaisically beneath his head. “We’re not getting married, Jesper.”

“Of course you aren’t,” he laughs airily. “I mean, you’d be a real asshole if you didn’t tell her you loved her before you proposed.”

“Fuck you, Jes.”

“Love you too, Kaz.”

#i just love the friendship between kaz & jesper ok #see accidentally writing mini-fics when I get asks is why it takes me so fucking long to reply to each one lmao #camelia answers #lia talks #camelia writes