#back to grisha school

[savethegrishaverse]

Dear Grisha strudents, send these new postcards to Netflix 👇

What Grisha type would you like to be when going #BackToGrishaSchool ? We have you covered regardless of your choice! Print one of our Grisha order postcards, add a few lines about what makes you suited for that order and send it to Netflix!

tinyurl.com/CorporalkiPostcard

tinyurl.com/EtherealkiPostcard

tinyurl.com/MaterialkiPostcard

If you are not from the US, you can also use Postable.com - an online service that sends your postcard for the price of a coffee:

tinyurl.com/CorporalkiPostable

tinyurl.com/EtherealkiPostable

tinyurl.com/MaterialkiPostable

Let Netflix partake in your Grisha order pride by sending your physical mail at the following address:

Sunset Bronson Studios

ATTN: ___

5800 W. Sunset Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90028

Choose one of the names below for ATTN:

- Bela Bajaria: Chief Content Officer

- Cole Galvin: Director of Original Series

- Jinny Howe: VP, Original Series

[duckysprouts]

I don't know if you've answered this yet but do Zeke, Reiner, and Eren do for work in your Au's? If this is somethinging you've thought of at all.

zeke would be someone high-ranking in a major corporate company, but he has a medical degree. he probably never wanted to go to med school but his dad forced him and he hates him for it. he makes hella bank and funds all of spiky eren’s bullshit

reiner would be working beneath zeke in that company but he’s still fairly high up himself. he also hates his job and cries in the car to and home from work every day but his mom made him join and he can’t disappoint her because she guilt trips him about how hard it was to raise him or smth like that

spiky eren would be. like. unemployed lol. or maybe self employed cause he would not listen to anyone about anything. but he would do this thing where he rents a van, stuffs a mattress in the back, and drives out into the desert with his guitar and a bunch of weed to hang out with himself for a week. he doesn’t tell anybody or leave a note so if u don’t know him you’d think he went missing

squishy eren would be in med school, as per his dad’s wishes. he has a weird relationship with grisha but likes him enough to at least consider his advice, but eren himself is in school because of his own desires. in the future, he will find out that he hates being a doctor and would quit in his residency haha

[siriuslyobsessedwithfiction]

Zoya Nazyalensky: how to ruin a character

Zoya Nazyalensky was a mean-spirited, vain and ambitious character in Shadow and Bone trilogy. And while I didn't necessarily commend her bullying attitude, she seemed to hold some care for her people, so I was excited for her to get her own duology. To see her grow from a popular girl in school to an actual position of power and overcome hardships that come with it. Except we didn't get to see any of that. Why couldn't Zoya just be her own character instead of making her "the right version" of the Darkling?

Tell, not show

We never get to see actual growth or an actual struggle. We're constantly told she is a good leader, but we don't see it. What we see is Nina developing anxiety because instead of mentoring, Zoya constantly criticized her even at the things she was good at. We see Zoya lose her temper in delicate political situations. We see Adrik and Nina discussing how everyone in the second army was scared of her but also had a crush on her. That's your good leadership? Imagine if the Darkling did that, the fandom would bury him even further. What we see is Zoya abandoning the plan in RoW and going off on her own to fight. That's the general of the army right there. But of course, everything magically works out for her, which brings me to my next point.

Men and the narrative handing her everything on a platter

The crown? Handed to her by her simpering boytoy boyfriend.

The title of a saint? The Darkling shouts "Sankta", which makes people follow up.

Handling the Apparat? The Darkling is the one who shuts him up by making shadows come out of his mouth. It is only after that when Zoya does an unnecessary thunderclap (which used to be the Darkling's thing - "a sound like thunderclap" before the place would plunge into darkness) and orders to seize the Apparat.

Her powers? Given to her by a man after two days of training because he wanted to escape the limbo he was trapped in and she was the only Grisha there. Some chosen one she is. And for some reason, the famously ill-tempered Zoya has no problem with adjusting to immortality, her DNA being rewritten, and two ancient beings constantly living in her head.

Zoya saying "Will you have a Suli Queen?" only to be met with dead silence. There's the moment for her to speak up and put people in their places! And what happens? Some count jumps in to protect her because he has a crush on her. Why? Why is Count Karigan speaking for her?

Yes, it's YA, but the author is not acting or writing like it's not supposed to be taken seriously. And once you've established a universe with certain laws, you can't throw it all to the wind, give the readers a half-baked explanation and say it makes perfect sense. The SoB trilogy showed us how Grisha were not accepted even when they fought the Kings' wars for centuries and a Grisha saint destroyed the Fold. The SoC duology told us that the civil war destroyed the second army and Ravka was bankrupt and collapsing. Since the draft wasn't mandatory, no one wanted to go fight and die for a country that has given them nothing. But suddenly, the nation of Fjerda, who has hated and hunted the Grisha for centuries, is swayed by cheap tricks to worship them as saints and Ravka will be fine because because Zoya becoming a dragon magically solves every problem centuries of diplomacy, servitude and assimilation couldn't solve? Or what, Zoya can flap her wings and burn whoever opposes her? Yeah, 'cause that went so well for the Targaryen dynasty. Speaking of which, LB ripped off Daenerys Targaryen's story: both were child brides, Stormborn - Stormwitch, "If I look back I'm lost" - "Don't look back", the dragon Queen with flocking suitors, etc.

Weird sexualization

Why is being hot an excuse for everything when it comes to her? She constantly tears down everyone, is not a good commander, doesn't inspire or properly guide her subordinates, and yet everyone literally worships her because they had a crush on her. What the actual Sarah J. Maas hell is this? Not one character is constantly described as "perfect" and "elegant", except Zoya. Even when she's just standing, we are told about her "perfect profile in the moonlight". The otkazatsya nobles, who are supposed to see the Grisha as the lesser, who Zoya assures us would never accept "a raven-haired witch", constantly praise her. It's like all the problems, that would actually be problems, only exist in her head, because when it comes down to it, it's solved in half a minute. Not sure what happened, did LB realize she dug herself into too deep of a hole in KoS and quickly solved everything in RoW?

Her being "manipulated" by the Darkling

It's the typical "I thought my crush liked me back but since he doesn't, I now hate him". The Darkling didn't owe her anything. He was a general who travelled all year all across Ravka to protect the borders. Zoya was the one who thought she was the best and wanted to prove herself to him. Nothing wrong with ambition, but how was he supposed to know some young squaller considered him her father figure because of her daddy issues? All he did was not punish her when she screwed up: she took away an opportunity to claim an amplifier from a Grisha who actually deserved it, and marked the cubs she "freed" for death because she got her scent on them and they'd be killed by another tiger. And years later, she still refuses to accept the basic zoology fact and Nikolai supports her delusion. Childish naivety to just point fingers to blame we often see from her.

"When the children misbehaved, he slaughtered them". Majority of the second army was on Darkling's side. He killed like ten Grisha that were on Alina's side. And what otkazat’sya did he kill? Do you mean the soldiers Nikolai used to fight the darkling because for some reason he decided he was the best fit for the throne even though legally he had no right to it? Well neither did the darkling, why couldn't he be the King? Y'know, someone who actually had done things to make Ravka better? Or do you mean the brainwashed actual twelve year olds in Alina's cult she decided to use to fight the Darkling? They declared war on him and he still told her to stop and avoid bloodshed.

"When my aunt was killed by the Darkling" - her aunt wasn't killed by the Darkling, as she often claims. Zoya's aunt was a moron who saw the Fold, a giant wall of shadow moving in her direction, ran towards it and started pushing random people out of the way instead of grabbing her daughter and running in the opposite direction like everyone else was doing. When there's a catastrophe, people evacuate in an as orderly manner as possible. Since when is running into a tsunami considered bravery when you're not even a trained individual? This isn't a matter of bravery or cowardice, it's suicide. And the Darkling moving the Fold to destroy only the area near the docks wasn't a mad power-obsessed move, it was a military action to warn off the enemy countries from attacking Ravka, which they were planning to do and basically already doing with creeping occupation and clashes at the border.

Do the fans even realize that Zoya literally said "He could've told me what he had planned, if I could've warned them..." - I don't know Zoya, your aunt might've still ran towards the Fold. And why would he warn you? Even if you had been his favorite, which you weren't, you literally cracked the most precious Grisha's ribs out of petty jealousy, proving you weren't dependable. If the Darkling had told Zoya about his plan to destroy the docks near Novokribirsk, Zoya would've gladly stayed on his side and would've bragged about how she was his favorite (she wasn't. The Darkling was only close to his otkazatsya guards Oprichniki, and a few heartrenders. He had more important things to do than go around manipulating random young women).

“Where is the shrine to my aunt? To Saint Harshaw? To Sergei or Marie or Fedyor? Who will worship them and light candles in their names?” - All she cares about the Grisha she knew personally. Where are shrines for countless soldiers who died in King's wars? Where are shrines for Grisha who were executed in sham trials after Alina ran from Ravka? Where are shrines for Grisha who had to run from Ravka after the second army collapsed and got snatched up by enemies, like Retvenko, Anya and the Grisha working in the White Rose? Where are shrines for Grisha who were forcefully taken from Ravka because she couldn't do her job as the general? Zoya insulted Sergei, a double traitor, even after his death, but she brings him up when she needs to add names to her hate-list against the Darkling. She treats everyone like dirt when they're alive, but she will plant flowers in her garden after their deaths! Absolutely useless for them, but it makes Zoya look like this deeply compassionate, benevolent commander who grieves every soldier they lose on a personal level. That kind of pointless grand posturing is exactly what a self-absorbed narcissist like Zoya would do. They don't feel empathy, they perform it. (quote from @taragreenfield).

Giving Zoya's flaws to the Darkling and his virtues to her + never acknowledging Zoya's very much remaining flaws

I was flabbergasted when the Darkling being vain suddenly became a thing in KoS duology. Where did that even come from? But no, in SoB trilogy, Zoya was called vain by Alina (because she was), so obviously somehow it had to become his flaw.

The Darkling's good looks were mentioned by Alina and Genya, yes, but we are shown it had no part in making people respect him, and it was established that when he was a boy, he often had to change his appearance in a rough manner to look different in order to survive the witch hunters and amplifier hunters. Poorly dyed hair, shaved head, etc. But in KoS duology, Sankta Elizaveta tells Zoya that he always picked a handsome face when tailored because he was vain. Utter shite. Tailors were extremely rare and he couldn't have been tailored often. He couldn't even been tailored well because Grisha back then couldn't carry around a kit with materials like cells inside. The goal would've been to just become unrecognizable, like Nikolai/Sturmhond. And when he was, how is picking a handsome face when his real face was also handsome a bad thing? What, he had to be ugly and make himself an even more of an outcast during the time when he had nothing?

On the other hand, it was established that Zoya looked down on everyone and used her good looks in her advantage, turned her nose up and called people commoners, peasants and insulted their lack of fine taste, no matter if they were actually peasants or not. Examples: Mal, Adrik, Genya, Alina, Kaz, Jesper, etc. Typical bully rich girl behavior in order to contradict "I'm not like other girls" mindset Alina had because that was trendy when Shadow and Bone came out. However, when LB needed a sad backstory for Zoya, she made her a peasant who couldn't even afford food. So, she was just faking and shaming her own social class for years.

And Zoya never stops being vain. She didn't just destroy the Darkling's rooms, she swung the first hammer, then stopped because she didn't want to break a nail or get callouses. Does that seem like actual self-righteous rage to you? But she did pull away a bunch of Fabrikators from their work in a disbanded army to destroy the rooms entirely and remake it in her taste. In a bankrupt country when they couldn't even afford to buy metal to build weapons to defend themselves against two very well-armed enemy countries! In a bankrupt country where Grisha were being kidnapped off the streets and the people starved, the first thing to do is renovate perfectly intact rooms! What an empowering move! I cannot fucking believe this is canon.

LB hastily making her Suli for diversity points, not for Zoya herself

Zoya was considered white before KoS. Her features: blue eyes, black hair and I quote - "a perfect nose" (did you mean a small straight nose, Leigh? I sure hope not) were mentioned a lot while her skin tone was not. But, every time a character was Suli in the Grisha trilogy, no matter how minor, the text would explicitly state that. Before KoS came out, people were complaining that all three main characters in KoS would be white and upper-class, then LB commissioned Zoya's official fanart to look Suli, and everyone was happy that Zoya was a brown girl. THEN, we find out in Rule of Wolves that Zoya actually looks white and never bothered to say she's Suli, or to learn Suli language or one of its dialects taught in the Little Palace. It's framed as though the Little Palace, where Zoya grew up, was discriminatory towards Suli, when in reality, we only see Alina who was racist and was making fun of Suli accent. It was actually encouraged to learn Suli for missions and we see Marie and Nadia do it. The Little Palace had Grisha from all over the world, including the Suli, so if it was anywhere to feel safe and accepted, it was there. I guess Zoya's mother and some Ravkans being racist really stuck with Zoya and she chose to hide her Suli heritage in order to seem "perfect". But then that's on Zoya too, she had internal prejudices and it should be acknowledged.

Zoya admitting to be Suli could've been done in so many ways. I was so invested when it was revealed she was passing as not Suli. What would her feelings and relationship be to her heritage? Zoya was a proud woman, why didn't she reveal she was half-Suli when she came into the position of power as the general of the second army? Remember when Inej felt uncomfortable with the triumvirate in CK and didn't want to meet them because Ravka hadn't been good to Suli in recent years? Why wasn't that explored? It might be possible that during Nikolai's father's rule, while the Suli were on the Ravkan soil, they were tested for powers and taken to the second army since the draft was mandatory and that's why Inej didn't like them. Because there weren't a lot of Suli left anyway, especially ones who still led the nomad lifestyle. When the mandatory law for Grisha testing and drafting was abolished, what happened to Suli Grisha children? Suli also travel to Shu-Han, where they kidnap Grisha and experiment on them, so they wouldn't have been safe there. Why isn't that acknowledged? Instead, all we get is a promise that Zoya will include the Suli in her version of new Ravka (they were already included), the typical promise every politician makes? It feels like shallow performative progressiveness because it is.

And don't say "it's just YA, we can't expect more complexity", yes we can. If the author brings up an issue and uses it as a plot device, especially an issue that exists in the real world and has affected people, the readers are owed more than that. Naomi Novik's YA fantasy book The Spinning Silver executes the prejudices and marginalization a Jewish main character faces in a country based on Slavic countries masterfully. Even LB did better than herself in SoC duology with Inej. So we know she can do it, she just didn't bother.

And the grand reveal of Zoya admitting she's Suli was so awful. That scene where Zoya apologizes in Suli to the Suli in Kerch? Everyone acts so surprised when she struggles through a few words. Nikolai's jaw drops "How do you know these words?" as if he himself isn't currently learning Zemeni and doesn't know that every language was taught very well in the Little Palace to the point where you can speak like a native. But Zoya saying a sentence is sensational how, exactly? And why would the Suli believe Zoya? A man literally tells her she speaks Suli like a tax collector. These are the people who had to travel and stay extra careful because Kerch exploits Suli. They should know that even if someone speaks perfect Suli, they could be a Ravkan spy or someone indentured by Kerch. It could be a trap, a scam, a human trafficking attempt, etc. But no, they accept her with open arms because Kaz somehow knew they would because Kaz is all-knowing. It's an incredibly cheap execution. Yes, Suli don't forget one of their own but they also forsake one of their own if they plan to have a part in harming them. We learnt that from Inej. There are a thousand ways the reveal could've been done better.

But guess what was erased? The Darkling's Suli and Shu heritage. He is canonically Shu-passing and can speak the language fluently. His half-sister Ulla looks Suli in her human form (her skin is greenish grey in mermaid form). The mermaids/the sildroher in Grishaverse all have white skin and the ones Ulla is surrounded by, including her sildroher father, have white skin in human form too. Ulla's mother, Baghra, is described to have dark hair and dark eyes. Since the Darkling has pale skin and grey eyes, it must've come from his father while the dark hair came from his mother - Baghra. And since Ulla looks Suli with dark hair, dark eyes and "burnished bronze" skin, it must've come from her mother. So, the Darkling's mother Baghra clearly has Suli heritage, and we know that she often travelled with them in the past.

In conclusion, Zoya's character is one big wasted potential, and a lesson to discard responsibility and taking accountability in life, which sends the wrong message.

[allieslibrary]

Eren Jaeger HCs

These are just some hcs that I have of eren jaeger. I will eventually write a story that includes all of these

—He's German. He's from a little town outside of Munich, Germany. He was born and raised there but he and his friends decided to attend University in the United States. They specifically chose the south because Eren's older half brother lives in a southern state because he plays baseball for a southern team.

—He's an architecture major. He knew what he wanted to do from a very young age but didn't know what it actually was until high school where they began talking about University and future careers that he was 100% sure he wanted to be an architect. Every once in a while him and his family would go to Legoland Germany as a kid, especially since him and his family only lived a hour away by car. He always admired how they use the Legos to build different things. On top of that he was always the kid building things out of random items, especially a house out of cardboard for his older sister who would have toys.

—Eren is trilingual. His first language is German. The other two languages he knows is English and Italian. He would also spend some of his summers in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. His mother was Italian and her family were from there.

—Because of Zeke, his family grew up around Baseball, so he enjoys the sport. Because of his mother's Italian roots, he also grew up watching Formula 1 and rooting for team Ferrari. (However he was a fan of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, which offended his family that he was rooting for Mercedes. But they were finally happen when Lewis made the switch to Ferrari LOL)

—Eren is a big nerd. But if you've seen how hot his mother is and that he is practically a carbon copy of her, you wouldn't think he's a nerd. He's a big Star Wars and Lego nerd. He's one of those fans that can tell you everything about Star Wars, however, he isn't those one of those annoying fans that a lot of fandoms tend to have. He keeps his obsession of Star Wars at a minimum.

—He started wearing glasses his senior year of high school. He knew it would happen seeing as it happened to his dad, however, he didn't expect it to happen so soon. He wears those black square glasses, and he looks especially delectable when he wears it with his hair down hmmm. Without the glasses he looks like his mom but as soon as those bad boys are on, he kinda looks like his dad.

—Eren does smoke weed. His parents personally don't mind it but they aren't going to smoke it either (He has tried to convince his mom but his dad scolded him for trying to bribe her). Eren and his friends smoke weed, and Connie actually sells it with Onyankopon, who they all met when they began attending University.

—Eren is very clingy with the people that matter to him. Oh but he’s very clingy when it comes to his mother. Ever since he was a child, and it has gotten worse as he’s gotten older, much to Carla’s annoyance. She begs god to give eren a partner so that he can leave her alone.

—Speaking of god. Eren grew up in a Catholic town and went to Catholic school. His parents are Catholic however they aren’t too extreme like a good chunk of Catholics can be. The reason he’s sympathetic towards humanity and fights for their right is because of his parents and how they raised him. They raised him to love others and be kind to others. Even if he has a bad relationship with the Catholic Church he still respects it enough

—Because he’s from a family of doctors he grew up upper middle class. He grew up comfortable enough that his parents didn’t have to worry about bills. He acknowledges that privilege and uses it to give back to the less fortunate.

—Eren can cook because Grisha forced him to learn from a young age. Told him that he wasn’t going to force a woman to cook just because society might tell him that that is what a woman’s role is. Grisha told his boys that they were to serve women because women are the backbones of family and deserve to he worshipped.

—Lord we love Grisha in this household because the reason Eren is such a pathetic loser lover boy is because of what he picked up on from Grisha. That man treats Carla like the Queen she is. Eren learned that he was going to treat his future partner the same way.

—Eren is the youngest. (My personal head-canon is that Ymir is related to the Jaegers). Zeke is the oldest, then Ymir, then Eren. Ymir and Eren are two year apart.

—Eren, like his other siblings, are afraid of Grisha. If Eren did something that he wasn’t supposed to do, it was mostly his mother who would find out, however depending on how bad it was, is who would be the punisher. If it was something that wasn’t bad like a bad grade or not cleaning his room, it would be his mother. But if Eren got into a fight—and he frequently did—his father would be the one punishing him.

—Grisha has this blank stare, which makes it hard to read his expression. The blank stare is intimidating, and when he begins to raise his voice, Eren nearly pees his pants. But what pisses Eren off about that is after the scolding and punishment, his father goes back to being a sweet man, especially towards Carla. Eren doesn’t understand how and why but he doesn’t question it out loud

—Across campus Eren is considered very attractive and popular with the girls. However, he doesn’t realize the attention he has on him, especially when it comes to women. You could have 7 ladies ready to drop their panties for him and there he is talking about Anakin Skywalker and why thats his favorite character. He’s an airhead when it comes to women.

—It doesn’t help that he has a slight German accent when he speaks English. Listen those ladies will do anything for a night with the Eren Jaeger, especially for a chance to hear him speak German. But the loser is thinking of how much money he has to save in order to buy a new Star Wars Collectible.

—He’s pretty fit. He’s one of those people that eats a shit ton of food and barely gain any weight. However he goes to the gym three times a week and keeps himself in shape. He’s got some good biceps and can bench press 275.

[chrollohearttags]

CHARACTER ANALYSIS: EREN JAEGER AKA EJ THE DON

so in honor of me finally reviving Reverb, I decided to do some character analyses and info cards, if you will. These were so much fun (and a lot of work) to make and I really hope y’all like them. I was heavily inspired by a wonderful, talented mutual of mine and her amazing character analysis she did for her series a while back! As always, y’all know reblogs and comments are appreciated!! (Fair warning, this is a long read but it’s been in the works since last year and I hope y’all enjoy)

╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╗ ╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╗ ╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧. ✦✧.

name: Eren Michael Jaeger | date of birth + sign: March 31st, 1998 (aries sun) | age: 26 | aliases/nickname: EJ, Eren, EJ The Don, The Underground God, Rennie | pronouns: he/him/his | sexuality: straight (but a bit bi-curious) | race/ethnicity: white, italian/turkish + german

song in the video: ChainSwang - BONES (slowed and reverb ver.)

biography and early life: Eren was born in Montclair, New Jersey to his mother Carla and father, Dr. Grisha Jaeger. The couple met while Carla was working as a bottle girl at a gentleman’s club called Starlets in New York, when she was nineteen years old. (age gap oops)

Grisha, who was working at Mount Sinai as part of his residency, was twenty seven at the time and married to (but separated from) socialite and heiress, Dina Fritz. The two were a classic case of opposites attracting and it didn’t take long for their bond to flourish from a one night fling to something far more. A year into their relationship, Carla learned that she was pregnant and Grisha, who had annulled his first marriage some months prior, proposed right away and the couple settled in the suburbia township to raise their newborn son. Eren was described as a ‘very enigmatic and unique child’. Growing up, he was said to have always had a natural inclination towards music. From playing on toy keyboards to babbling songs into his Spider-Man karaoke machine at just three years old, it seemed that early on, the young prodigy was shaping his destiny. Eren attended the Montclair Township Charter Elementary, alongside his childhood best friends, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Artlert, who were among many of the children of affluent families. He was extremely intelligent and schoolwork was a breeze. The problem was that he could be less interested! Eren struggled to focus and with maintaining relationships, which worried his mom. She took him to therapists, sought counseling and even considered moving him to alternative school when he began getting into trouble.

She worried what would happen to him…but luckily, her fears were for nothing because soon, Eren would show her and the entire world his true purpose. When he was ten years old, Carla enrolled her son in lessons for piano and guitar. During this time, he began to really hone his musical talent, and needless to say, he was a prodigy. All but mastering everyone he picked up. This seemed to be the area that little EJ most thrived in. Even his friendships began to grown. Having left New Jersey before they went to middle school, Mikasa and Armin were the only two people he'd bonded with. But eventually, Eren found companionship in several people from all walks of life and other areas of town. He didn't care about how much money someone had or what they looked like, he just enjoyed like minded people. Finding himself hanging out, playing basketball, skating and of course, making music. However, his father was less than pleased with his academic performance and new group of comrades. As the son of a prestigious doctor, Eren knew that his father wouldn’t approve of his hobbies if his grades weren’t up to par but he never expected that the catalyst for his dreams would be their falling out..when Eren was 15 years old, he made the decision to leave home and emancipate himself from his parents after a horrendous fallout with his dad.

It came as a shock to his friends, who felt that his life was objectively better than their own. However, it was the principle and anyone who truly knew the situation..knew that it was a long time coming and much deserved. Years of being put down or not acknowledged for refusing to follow in his footsteps and the final straw came when his father's cowardice and lying caused him to lose someone very important to him. Something that Eren could not forgive (explaining this later in the story!) After receiving $300 from his older half brother, young EJ boarded a bus to Miami, not looking back once. And he was fully prepared to make a life for himself, one not attached to his dad's name..no matter the cost. After arriving in Florida, Eren would work odd jobs to provide for himself and found housing at a local boys home in the Northside area. Just two blocks from Ocean Shore High School, where he finished out the remainder of his junior and senior years. It was then that he met fellow classmates and future group members Connie Springer and Onyakopon 'Ony' Baptiste (he doesn't canonically have a last name that I am aware of so I gave him one and I will explain it in his own backstory). The three of them immediately bonded and only grew closer when they played on the varsity basketball team together and began working at a local shoe store in the Aventura Mall. This would be the first time that the world would get a glimpse into Eren's musical talents when his friends would record him singing Miguel's "Sure Thing' in the backroom of the store and posted it online.

career: After going viral, Eren began to take his craft even more serious. Going from penning rhymes in his notebook between periods to doing makeshift recording sessions in the chorus classroom, he would post covers and original songs to a YouTube channel as well his Sound Cloud. He would save a portion of his paychecks and do yard, mechanic and janitorial work for neighbors to procure studio time. He eventually saved up and purchased a MacBook, and began making instrumentals. It was during this time that he began working a temp job for a local underground club, where artists like Denzel Curry, Ice Billion Berg and Pouya got their starts. Hired to clean up after sets and during closing, Eren would listen in on the performances, watching, studying and observing the rappers' movements. Having never done an official performance, it was an area he had no experience in. But during an open mic night at the club, he got an opportunity and didn't miss! Debuting one of his now infamous tracks, First Degree, Eren once again shocked everyone with how talented and charismatic he was. It was almost as if rapping and singing came as naturally as speaking did. Now 18 years old, graduated from high school and riding the momentum of his first stage set, Eren continued to grind. Working by day and recording and writing by night. It was then that he began going by the name EJ the Don after Ony joked about his New Jersey and Italian origins, implying that he must have 'mafia ties' because he assimilated into life in this rough area so well. His image and brand slowly came together afterwards..embracing the dark, edgy aesthetic coupled with his buttery smooth voice and unique lyricism, Eren was in a league all on his own.

And it didn't take long for the rising star to catch the attention of some big names in the industry, including renowned Neo-Soul artist and five time Grammy winner Vivian James. Who was not only doing a show at the Miami Amphitheater for a music festival but scouting prospects for the talent agency giant, Ackerman Management Group. Known for catapulting the careers of some of the biggest names in music, modeling and acting. Still building his reputation, EJ got the chance of a lifetime when he not only received a job request but an invitation from Vivian herself, looking for a backup vocalist and pianist. Naturally, being a huge fan on top of a starving artist, Eren immediately accepted and the rest was history! Vivian was blown away that he was able to recite the songs verbatim and so perfectly on such a short notice..so much so, she gave Eren an offer he couldn't refuse: an audition with AMG on the condition that he would work as her protege regardless and it was a no brainer. Two days after his nineteenth birthday, EJ the Don officially signed with Ackerman Management Group, the family business of his old childhood friend, Mikasa. Who was going by the stage name Mika ASH. But it wasn't smooth sailing for the new rap sensation..although he was Vivian's protege, he captured the attention of other executives who was interested in more than his music. Unfortunately, it caused them to try and take advantage of him, both career wise and physically. Eren persevered and focused on what his goal truly was and that was sharing his gift with the world. Six months after being signed, he released his first EP, Living Dead Boy. He went on tour shortly after and released Living Dead Boy II: The Casket Chronicles a year later. Fast forward and Eren took the 'horrorcore' rap scene and the internet by storm, with his gritty wordplay and captivating visuals. Ten years later, he is hailed as the Underground God and widely credited for reshaping the genre as a whole.

musical muses: BONES (the character playlist can be found here), $uicideBoys, August Alsina, Jon Dretto

notable achievements: LivingDeadBoy I sold 50,000 units its first week and debuted number seven on the charts. But his debut single, First Degree was number two on the charts and widely viral on social media. LivingDeadBoy II: The Casket Chronicles sold five times with 250,000 units and at just 20 years old, EJ had his first sold out tour in North America. His debut album was very successful and received two Grammy nominations. (even though he doesn't give a shit about awards and accolades) EJ the Don has released over ten EP's and five mixtapes, as well as three studio albums, one being a visual series. He has gone on to produce, write with and direct for several other artists, including Prince Cee + Ony the God, his high school friends and fellow musicians. He has earned 2 VMA's and appeared in a BET Hip Hop Awards cypher. He has headlined two North American tours seperately and three international ones alongside his groupmates. EJ has made many accomplishments in his ten year rap reign and is far from done.

personality traits, flaws, etc: Eren can be described as very emotional by some yet stoic in the same breath. He can be temperamental, not thinking hostile actions through sometimes. He acts of his own accord without considering other peoples’ feelings. He’s very blunt, and won’t hesitate to speak his mind. He CANNOT hide his true feelings for shit (if his mouth doesn’t say it, his face surely will.) There are times when he’ll go days without answering his phone or making contact with anyone because he loves being in his own little world. Friendships, partners..it honestly doesn’t make a difference if you’re around or not. Especially when he’s locked in, working on important projects. He shuts down when he doesn’t want to deal with something and you’ll have better luck catching a pig flying than him apologizing or doing what he’s told! In the same vein, Eren can be very emotional..it’s almost like a dam breaking. When he finally cracks, it’s hard to control the flood with him. He gets really intense, whether he’s crying, laughing or angry. He’s very passionate when he cares about something and he’ll let it be known. Behind that rough exterior is a gentle, sweetheart of a man that just throws his all into whatever or whoever he loves.

relationship status: Eren is currently seeing the influencer and rising star of pole dancing, (Y/N) (L/N). The pair has been in a low key relationship for some months now, taking it slow and really getting to know one another. Although they started with a hot and steamy romance, sprouting from years of loneliness and celibacy from them both, they’ve really grown to care deeply for one another. He puts a lot of effort into making sure he contacts her regularly bc it is not easy to keep his attention and always gifts her the most expensive and thoughtful things. He never seen himself as the lovey dovey type, but anyone that knows EJ..will tell you that he’s fallen head over heels for miss (L/N)!

physical descriptors: EJ is 6���3, just barely 195 pounds with a slender but toned frame. He’s been working out quite a bit since his last project and tour so he’s a little more jacked than before. He has several tattoos including full sleeves with various pieces he’s been getting since he was 16 years old. A few of his most notorious being the serpent and chain going around his hand all the way to his shoulder, the pink rose with the name ‘Ma’Kiya’ tattooed in one of the petals on his back (🌚) and his mom’s name. He has dark green eyes, brownish black hair that he wears in a half up-half down style most of the time. Occasionally though, he’ll wear it down and grow out facial hair. He’s always wearing some sort of jewelry..his infamous ‘The Don’ chain, as well as his bottom silver grills. His fashion sense varies on his mood.

hobbies + interests: when he’s not in the booth, Eren is somewhere tinkering with cars! He particularly loves older model vehicles and will spend days working to fix them. He loves going to the racetrack, sitting in the skybox like a little kid and watching drag cars and motorcycles go down the strip. He also loves to paint and draw, even designing a majority of his tattoos. (fun fact: he gifted (Y/N) a portrait of one of his favorite photos of her on her birthday.) and of course, he’s a huge gamer. His fans look forward to seeing him on Twitch, being stressed out by whatever franchise he’s delving to at the moment. Especially when he’s with his friends or (Y/N).

@violetxxvenom @shamelesshoefairy @shawtuzi

[emrikae]

aot cast modern au jobs in my head:

eren: cybersecurity specialist. i feel like erens one of those kids that suck in subjects like lang-lit or fucking geography but have an impressive talent in anything techi. i think growing up eren was a competitive gamer and i imagine him being pretty rich in the sense where doctor daddy grisha and also big bro zeke are always spoiling his brat ass with the latest technology. he gets so good, he initially goes into uni wanting to become a game designer but after a brief fallout with his dad when he dropped out and eventually had his allowance cut (a period where i think eren dips into underground hacking and also modelling?) he falls upon the sexy salary in cybersecurity (and saw how thrilling- and damn easy !for him! - the job is) he changed course. i think eren eventually builds his own successful company and becomes one of those rich folks who say that school aint shit.

mikasa: president of a major sports team. mikasa takes over pretty young (like early 30s) after old uncle kenny was involved in some ‘reiss scandal’. initially mikasa was labelled ‘princess’ (derogatory) by dumb angry hooligans who thought a woman would curse their current standing, jokes on them cus that same season the club broke their 20 year curse by reaching the championships. i also think old pictures of gothkasa gets leaked on the internet but it only brought her more praise. but i actually dont think mikasa stays in this job for very long, shes always wanted a quiet simple form of income anyway so when her baby brother comes of right age and maturity she passes the baton to him and lays back as just a shareholder before shes even 40. i also believe mikasa in another universe wouldve loved to be an archivist.

armin: celebrity marine biologist/activist that went viral online during lockdown. he gets his own fanbase and is termed ‘biologist bae’ cus of his cute looks. a tv producer who fell into his corner pretty much fell in love with him after seeing armin deliver a spiel about endangered dugongs. invites him to a bunch of talk shows and the viewership goes so high (a large portion of it being teenage fangirls who want to ‘save the ocean’ too!) he manages to score his own show where he eventually meets his future wife.

annie: senior tv writer who got with armin after working with him on his show. she usually works on sporty reality shows and competitions even though shes a big time introvert. known for her sharp dont fuck with me work ethic, annie gags at how easily she fell into ‘biologist baes’ charm, hates how shes just like the 14 year old fangirls who try to sneak into their shoots. but anyways, annies the ace at her job been going hard for about 15 years but ultimately decides to retire early after having her second child and really liking how ‘biologist bae’ was making enough dough for the whole family.

sasha: influencer cus shes so pretty and fun. was a design major so all her vids have a ‘aesthetic’. now she prettily promotes lifestyle hacks for all the girlies. she also has a set of vids called “what my chef husband cooked for me today” . i think also further on she ends up being one of those moms who shoots vlogs and reviews with their kids.

jean: jeans a classy guy with artistic talents so i imagine him being a successful automotive designer for a luxurious car company. a mommas boy, he used his first fat pay-check to buy his mom a sleek ride thats a little too fast for someone her age. dudes insta page is what you’d expect from a posh car enthusiast with flashy posts of either him, his car, his mom or all 3.

connie: real estate party man. he really climbed his way up and becomes a man of many stories, friends with everyone and plenty of connections. the old hustle got him familiar with the best locations in the city, and now with his excellent salesmanship dude manages to sell at least 3 huge properties a week. i also feel like connies one of those dudes to finally settle down in his 40s -50s (with someone half his age).

historia: i believe queenbee was made for wedding planning. she has her own company before her first job ever but damn is she good at it. being brought up filthy rich, historia is familiar with the highest quality of things, knows whats on the market that only the small percentage of rich people know and will get clients their dream wedding to a t. moreover, she also loves to play cupid (canon!) and is always up to planning her friends weddings (and baby showers, and birthdays parties, and…)

ymir: i imagine ymir being on the board of directors for a bunch of ngos. she had a tough upbringing, was probably moved around from one home to another and could see how hard life is for anyone working at minimum wage. she grew up to be a little spitfire in school, hadnt taken it seriously until she reached senior year and bonded with a school staff named Ms Ymir Fritz. With the wisdom and kindness she learnt from her old teacher, ymir wanted to pay it forward and decided to make a living helping those in need.

reiner: idk why, but i feel like reiners a softie at heart and i imagine him having a nice cozy candy shop. probably fighting old childhood demons and the parental neglect he faced, his cute little shop comes as part of his healing journey to compensate what he missed out on in his youth. its sweet (but a little heartbreaking) that reiners favourite part about his job is getting to witness and be a part of the joy that emerges between families when they enter his shop.

bertholdt: a nurse just cus i think bertholdt would know how to be gentle with the patients. hes got a soft way of speaking that makes vulnerable people feel safe and comfortable. hes also wildly knowledgeable in flexibility and keeping your muscles in good shape that he conducts morning stretches and sometimes yoga in one of their recreational halls.

[cosmicjoke]

Man, people in this fandom give Kenny way too much credit. There's this trend in this fandom of acting like Kenny should be given credit for not letting Levi die, and excusing his shitty behavior because of the "time period", or because, supposedly, Kenny was just doing what was "expected" of him given the role of "men" in society and how little is supposedly expected of them. Like we're just supposed to accept that Kenny was shitty because society never taught him to be better. Says who? What about Grisha? He was a great father to Eren. What about Erwin's dad? He was a school teacher who clearly loved his son. What about Sasah's father, who was also a caring parent that treated his daughter well? What about Mikasa's father, who despite us only getting a few minutes of in the series, clearly did a good job of raising his daughter, given Mikasa's love for him and her mom? What about Connie's family? There's no indication at all that the way Kenny treated Levi was in any way, shape or form the "norm" for the time period, or what was expected of father's in general on Paradis.

This idea that we're supposed to excuse Kenny's abuse because he "didn't know any better" is bullshit, too. Kenny DID know better. His own grandfather makes mention of doting on him, to which Kenny offers no push back, so we know Kenny grew up with plenty of love in his life. That he came from a good background. His grandfather expresses clear disapproval for Kenny's violent behavior, too, so we know Kenny didn't learn his violence from him. Kenny was just naturally that way. And I'm sorry, but doing the bare minimum for a starving child doesn't make you a hero, not when it's no burden to you to do so, which it wasn't for Kenny. Kenny was flush and in a stable and respected position by the time he came into Levi's life. He was working for the royal family, for Christ's sake. He held a higher rank than most military officers, had more power and resources than most military officers. It would have been the simplest and easiest thing in the world for him to help Levi. It's what anyone would do who wasn't a complete and massive piece of shit. And Kenny only did it because Levi was Kuchel's kid. He wouldn't have done the same for any other, starving child (the way, for example, Levi did with Isabel). Kenny didn't care about children, despite the way he frames it, when he says "even I couldn't let some kid starve". That's just reflective of Kenny's narcissism and hypocrisy, trying to act like he's better than he was. He didn't have any such qualms about slitting Historia's throat. He saved Levi, not because he felt some genuine sympathy for a dying child, but because he felt some half-assed obligation to his dead sister, whom he also failed completely.

He as much admitted he was incapable of feeling empathy or compassion, or showing compassion to another, when he talked about his deluded belief that power is what makes someone capable of being a good person. He's admitting that he's never felt real empathy or compassion for anyone when he says that, because if he had, he would know you don't need power in order to feel those things or in order to be kind. What's more, Kenny did have power. He had the power to help Levi, to give him a good and happy life, and he still didn't, not in any genuine or meaningful way. To the contrary, he instead caused Levi irreparable harm, only caused him untold amounts of trauma and pain, flat out refusing to help Levi escape the despair of the Underground while he continued to live the life of Riley up above, which further demonstrates how his philosophy of power equaling compassion was always bullshit, and how gaining power wouldn't have in any way, shape or form compelled Kenny toward becoming compassionate. Having power didn't make Kenny a better person, it just further revealed his true and ugly nature. Again, he had power, he had strength, and yet he only ever used it for ill and selfish gain. He wasn't able to understand that selflessness is how compassion manifests, because Kenny himself was completely selfish. He couldn't understand doing anything for anyone but himself. He only ever did anything when it was to his own benefit. I would even say him taking Levi in and "raising" him was an extension of that selfishness, because, as I've said before, Levi was a project to Kenny. A guinea pig on which to test his philosophy of power. And we know he was always completely selfish because of Levi's shocked reaction when he, in his dying moments, finally commits an act of selflessness, by giving Levi the serum. That tells us that Levi had never seen Kenny do anything selfless before, and that it was totally out of character for him.

Kenny was a bad person. That's not a subjective statement. He was objectively bad. He was a murderer. He was a serial killer. He killed people for sport. That's the definition of a bad person. This isn't a matter of opinion.

I just get so sick of the excuse making I see from Kenny apologists. The way people act like Levi was lucky to have Kenny. Like Levi should be grateful to Kenny. Yeah, Levi would have died without Kenny. And? That doesn't absolve Kenny of his other actions or undo the lifelong damage he caused to Levi by immersing him into a life of horrific violence and then abandoning him. Also, the claim that Kenny was just teaching Levi to "survive", again, it's pure bullshit, because there was no REASON at that point for Levi to have to remain Underground. He didn't need to learn the skills to survive if Kenny had just given him a life on the surface, the way he was going to do for Kuchel. They say Kenny was teaching Levi to survive like he was doing him some sort of favor, when all he was doing was denying Levi a good life because he was too selfish and fucked in his own head to do right by a little boy who had no one else in the world.

Kenny doesn't get and doesn't deserve credit for failing Levi in every way conceivable other than not letting him starve to death. If that's the standard we're going to measure a parent's love by, then I guess we have to excuse every father ever who made sure their kid had enough to eat, but also beat the living shit out of them, or verbally abused them, or neglected them horrifically, or taught them violence. It's all okay, as long as they gave their kid food once in a while and put a roof over their head (something that's not even clear that Kenny did for Levi). Sure. Just... holy shit.

The way Kenny treated Levi wasn't normal or okay for ANY time period or for any reason. What father intentionally exposes a five year old boy to murder? Give me a fucking break. Kenny did LESS than the bare minimum. He abandoned Levi for long periods of time, he left him alone in a place he KNEW Levi was almost assured to be assaulted, and what's more, is you know Kenny WANTED him to be, so he could awaken his powers and Kenny could split for good. That's inexcusable. It's horrific abuse.

What nobody ever wants to admit is that the kind of life Kenny was living was the kind of life he specifically wanted for Levi. He literally tried to turn Levi into a mini version of himself. I just can't believe people make excuses for that shit. And we can see the damage Kenny specifically caused Levi by comparing him to Furlan and Isabel, who both also grew up in the Underground. Neither of them were as maladjusted as Levi was, socially speaking. That reflects a uniquely isolating and negative experience for Levi growing up, even amongst the harsh realities for children growing up in the Underground City. And again, that's specifically because Kenny intentionally brought brutal violence into his life and neglected him outright. This wasn't some typical case of Kenny just being a deadbeat dad or a little neglectful. He actively caused Levi severe harm, psychologically, emotionally and physically, by exposing him to brutal violence and leaving him on his own in a place filled with violent criminals. He wasn't taking care of Levi or helping him in any way beyond letting his reputation serve as some half-assed deterrent, which clearly wasn't really working, because we see how those men from "Bad Boy" didn't really give a shit about Levi being associated with Kenny. That fact did nothing to dissuade them from either kidnapping Levi or outright murdering him. The only reason Levi didn't die then and there is because his powers awakened, something that Kenny had no guarantee would happen. I'm sure Kenny understood too that his reputation alone wouldn't be enough to dissuade most of the criminals Underground from going after Levi. Kenny wasn't some idiot without worldly experience.

Given Kenny's worship of power and his obvious belief that only the strong deserve to survive, it's pretty clear from the way he neglected Levi that he applied that same attitude to Levi. That unless Levi was able to defend himself, he didn't deserve to live. Him leaving Levi on his own is indicative of that, him refusing to take Levi to the surface is indicative of that. We see that same attitude of Kenny's play out later, during the Uprising arc, when he does his level best to kill Levi. He obviously didn't give a shit if Levi ended up dying if he wasn't able to effectively defend himself against his and his squad's attack.

The apologist attitudes I see toward Kenny really need to freakin' stop, man.

[vallification]

zeke jaeger headcanons!!!

notes: au/noncanon oriented, some apply to canon too, maybe a few mature themes!!!

let me know your thoughts!!!

zeke’s eyes are a pale blue-grey (#a1b0c6)

zeke plays the guiter— he taught himself how as a teen. he still has the guitar he learned to play with, he bought it for $5 at a thrift store

zeke played baseball from childhood to college, that game is the love of his life. he still frequents all of the games he can humanly attend.

zeke is basically legally blind. he cannot function without his glasses, his prescription is too high for soft contacts, and he REFUSES hard contacts. scary…

being shirt-pants is hereditary in the jaeger family. zeke is very partial to a heavyweight cotton sweatshirt and good quality jeans.

he likes the beard, but he keeps it for another reason. without the beard, he’s starting to look more and more like grisha as he gets older.

one time he tried a mustache, but someone told him it makes him look like a bad pornstar who also owns an overpriced brewery. it doesn’t stop him from wanting to try again.

zeke owns a lot of vintage things from mr. ksaver. clothes, things, furniture, jewelry, kitchen stuff— mr. ksaver had no one else to give his old stuff to

back in the day when mr. ksaver played ball, he had the same jersey number as zeke did when he played. it makes for a lot of cool pseudo-custom vintage items

zeke smokes cigarettes and weed, but doesn’t vape or use carts/pens. he likes to say that “the real thing is better,” but in reality he hit a cart once and it made him green out so bad he thought he was dying.

zeke’s taste in music is dad rock. ironic! he loves grunge, post-grunge, and alternative rock.

zeke has two cars; an older model ford mustang from high school and a mid-sized truck. they’re both shit on gas.

zeke has a lot of “beauty mark” moles everywhere. pieck referred to them once as “tortilla-like”

zeke loves to cook but doesn’t know how to cook single-person meals. he shares often.

he likes typical “male” crime dramas, most notably the sopranos, but really enjoys gilmore girls. it’s nostalgic and the ambience of the show is irresistible.

he wears a lot of baseball caps because he has an abundance of them, and he wears them well.

zeke is secretly sentimental and has a tendency to hold onto his old stuff. hidden in a storage closet is the gameboy he taught eren how to play games on.

he’s a pc kind of guy and plays a lot of simulator games. one of his favorite games is truck driver simulator (i got this idea from @/casualaruanienjoyer!)

he keeps a lot of pictures of eren around, and even has a picture of him holding eren as a baby in his wallet.

they’re not as close as zeke would like them to be, but he understands that it’s hard because of their age gap and family circumstances.

zeke coaches little league baseball and if it payed better, he’d do it as a career. he loves teaching and he’s fantastic with children (got This from @/jeankirsteinsgrlfrnd, go check out their stuff!!!)

being an older brother is a huge part of his identity and it’s hard to turn the older brother mindset off. he takes on that role any time he’s around people his own age and younger

zeke REALLY loves going to concerts. they’re so cathartic and he feels like they allow him to be a little emotionally vulnerable, which is something he REALLY struggles with.

zeke sleeps very deeply but wakes up very easily.

he’s a hilarious guy with a big heart but his sardonic and snarky humor get in the way of seeing that.

despite his resentment (hatred might be a better word) towards grisha, he holds absolutely no resentment towards eren or carla.

zeke would spend his last penny to help out his friends and, of course, eren. he’d honestly spend his last penny just to make them happy if they asked.

zeke loves summertime and does not like the cold.

[is-today-tomorrow-in-nz]

Antis and Leigh Bardugo herself keep forgetting that the grishaverse is set in old feudal-like Russia and grisha (ALL GRISHA) were seen as property of the king - "She is grisha. She is the property of the King and will go to school to train" - Liliyana King of Scars - "So a grisha is no better than a serf?" [asked alina]. "We all serve someone," he said, and I was surprised by the harsh edge in his voice. Even the leader of the grisha second army was just a serf, a pawn for the king to use or dispose/kill whenever it became convenient

Exactly! You spoke my mind anon. Either LB and antis don't know how absolute monarchy works or they're choosing to be willfully ignorant.

Aleksander is mocked for not doing more for the Grisha when Nikolai is never called out for his inaction. Aleksander is shamed for his failures while Nikolai, who is the actual king of Ravka, is never held to the same standards. If Aleksander is half as powerful as the antis claim him to be, he would have sat on the throne right after the Fold. But all he could do was reinvent himself over and over again, start from scratch, see it all fall apart and then do it all over again. Atleast the other Grisha had the luxury of death but he had to live with his mistakes.

After 500 years(or more), he finally succeeded in building a safe place for his Grisha and that came with a price which none of the antis seem to understand- he bartered their freedom for their right to live. If the antis had read history, they would know that in an absolute monarchy(and feudal-Russia) this is a pretty sweet deal. It is such a shame that the antis and LB herself doesn't seem to grasp how little rights people had back then.

Let me draw a comparison. In the 21st century where we have the right to vote, right to ownership, laws to offer protection, social media to call out injustices etc etc, people still have to watch silently as their rights get taken away. Governments cares so little about the health or livelihood of its citizens and tax every hard earned penny out of them. The laws that were meant to protect the innocent has let murders, rapists and criminals walk free and people everywhere are simply mute spectators. So at a time when human rights is celebrated everywhere, is anybody able to make a meaningful change? No. Then how do they expect one man in a country resembling Feudal Russia to act as if he has all the rights in the world?

And even if antis claim it is simply a fantasy then why are they applying these real world rules to Aleksander alone?

[stromuprisahat]

Demon in the Wood (Leigh Bardugo)

Two of the Grisha sat by the fire: a handsome man in blue and a woman in red robes with a haughty, refined air. ... The woman in red turned back to Mal and Alina, her dark eyes blazing. “We are not witches. We are practitioners of the Small Science. We keep this country and this kingdom safe.” ... The woman in red looked down at them. “If, by some small chance, one of you is Grisha, then that lucky child will go to a special school where Grisha learn to use their talents.” ... The woman in red slides her hand around my wrist. I feel a sudden rush of pure certainty wash over me. I stop struggling. A call rings through me. Something within me rises up to answer.

Shadow and Bone- Before & Chapter 11

“And you’re a living amplifier. Like Ivan’s bear.” The hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Like Ivan’s bear.” An unpleasant thought occurred to me. “But that means—” “That my bones or a few of my teeth would make another Grisha very powerful.” “Well, that’s completely creepy. Doesn’t that worry you a little bit?” “No,” he said simply.

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 5

[storiesofaot]

Hello, hello. I hope your day has been treating you well. I come bearing questions from this post. Do you have any details or further ideas regarding Hange's crush on Keith Shadis? How they behaved around him, what the nature of the infatuation was, maybe more on why, etc.

Heey there! 😇 Yes, thank you so much - I had a good day with some tea and gingerbread hehe! Hope your day is going or has been good, too! ✨️

Ooh yes, Keith Shadis, our dear sunken-eyed, bald-headed friend 🤭 I actually did some thinking and rewatching this afternoon, and now I do have some more thoughts about the whole Hange&Shadis thing! (Still feeling gloriously inadequate to actually try doing an analysis on them, but it truly was a lot of fun! 😁)

I have my own personal timeline for Hange in my mind, so I created a comparison with Shadis's time with the Scouts. I don't know if it'll matter that much for the following ramble, but I'll share it anyway :)

In that flashback scene from 3x11 (Chapter 48), we get to hear Shadis himself talking about the time he met Grisha, and sharing some of his beliefs with us. He always had the drive to know what was outside the walls; he felt trapped inside and wasn't too happy about everyone living in "comfort", simply accepting the situation without actually wanting to change anything about it. I think Hange was also always curious about the world beyond the walls. Her focus was on the Titans, yes, but she was equally fascinated by the ocean and all the new discoveries they made in Marley = the world outside of the walls. In that sense, I believe she felt a connection with Shadis, as those were likely the values he advocated for during his time as Commander, and they clearly resonated with her.

But Shadis believed that in order to accomplish something, one had to be special. He wanted to be special, and over time, he was even convinced himself that he was special, and even better than the others? I think, though, that the whole feeling special thing might’ve sparked that little crush Hange had on Shadis. This is just my personal opinion - it’s not really based on anything - but I can imagine that when Hange joined the Military, she was already exceptionally smart but maybe lacked a bit of skill when it came to actual combat?

He might have been the one who saw beyond that "lack" - he recognised her curiosity about the world and her genuine desire to understand things. (We know he’s very good at reading people; we saw it when Eren & Co. were training). So he made Hange feel special in a sense, because, as mentioned above, he believed that only special people could accomplish (great) things. He recognised her potential and might've been the one who allowed her to join the Scouts, maybe even pushed her to get a better fighter, encouraging her so that she could unfold her full potential (a little like he did with Eren, he could've made sure he didn't enter but in the end, he yielded; and we know Hange can be very persistent, too!)

This might be a slightly silly thing to admit, but it's all for the sake of this analysis sooo xD I remember back when I was in secondary school - I must’ve been around 16 - there was one moment where someone made me feel "special" in a way that hadn't happened before. It was just a little, minor, innocent thing, not even worth mentioning (he pretty much just opened the door for me 😂) but it was such a nice gesture. Because it was the first time something like that happened, I guess it especially stood out to me, and I will (always?) associate it with that person.

Bringing this back to KisuHan (lol xD), Shadis might have been the first one to truly see her abilities, to acknowledge her amazing mind and not dismiss her due to the way she appeared or acted? That's where her infatuation with him started; she felt seen and valued, he made her feel special, so her 15/16/17 year old brain crushed hard on him 😁 (and he still had his hair, sooooo xD) I don't know if she actually wanted to feel special, but since it kind of happened, in a sense it made him feel special to her, too?

(Maybe that was also the reason why she seemed truly mad or hurt when he told them the story about Eren and Grisha, a story he had withheld from all of them for so many years. She might have always thought highly of him, and the first little damper was him stepping back from his role as Commander, and the fact that he kept all that information hidden was another big damper?)

Now if you've made it this far - thank you!! (this turned out much longer than I thought it would be lol) I know, I could've just said "Shadis made feel Hange special." but where's the fun in that? 😂 Of course, this is just my personal opinion or explanation, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts on their "relationship", too!

As a farewell, here’s a little photo of our buddy Keith. This was so much fun, thank you sooo much for asking, I really loved thinking about this! 🙌🏼

[savethegrishaverse]

Back to Grisha School: we present our new physical mail campaign, in tune with the beginning of school year enthusiasm that every wizard student awaits!

There is seldom a fantasy fan that at the beginning of autumn isn’t nostalgic about all things magic, whether it be about brewing rare potions, escaping to a secret abode in the middle of the woods or invoking the spirits of the ancestors’. But nothing quite encompasses this cozy sense of belonging like a school of magic.

When for Grisha there was no safe place, Aleksander promised that There will be. When Grisha scurried fearfully across the lands, no haven in sight, the Darkling vowed: I will make one. And that’s how The Little Palace came to be.

So pick up a pen and tell Netflix how the Grishaverse has made you feel included or how the fandom is a space of belonging for you, just how The Little Palace is for the Grisha and how at the start of autumn you can’t help but long to be a new Grisha enrolling or a new student at Ketterdam University. Remind them that this fan beloved theme - the school of magic - is right there among their adapted stories, awaiting continuation!

Use the following Mailing Address to send a letter or postcard to Netflix:

Sunset Bronson Studios

ATTN: __________

5800 W. Sunset Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90028

Choose one of the names below for ATTN:

Bela Bajaria: Chief Content Officer

Cole Galvin: Director of Original Series

Jinny Howe: VP, Original Series

[pinktsukki]

i have yeager brainrot *⁠.⁠✧

can't stop thinking about the brothers having a normal family with a (not really) wholesome life in a modern au! thingie so headcanons !

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

★ I don't think Dina should be 💀 (too sad can't have that) Grisha divorced her cause it didn't work and later met Carla and they fell in love <3

★ I just want Carla to adopt Zeke and be the mom he deserves!!!

★ Grisha and Carla would often be busy working so Tom Ksaver a really nice neighbor would offer to babysit Zeke, playing baseball with him and all that.

★Then Carla gets pregnant with Eren! just imagine the excitement in Zeke finding out he would have a brother, he would say something like "i'll teach him how to play baseball and I'll take care of him!!" baby 😭

★ I don't think Grisha would be the best of a father though (here comes the angst) ofc it wouldn't be THAT bad as it is in the canon but daddy issues give the yeager's character so I can't that away from them (at least i gave them a mom)

★ Since Eren was now born Grisha was the only one Working and having to bring more money to home so he was away a lot for the most part of his kids childhood and things started to get rocky as soon as Zeke was a teen

★ And maaaaybe it was because Grisha paid more attention to Eren in some ways since he was little.

★ I just imagine Grisha as one of those parents that are there but not emotionally involved with their kid, pays for stuff, although forgets about birthdays and special events (self indulgence moment) It's not that he doesn't love his kids but it feels like it sometimes.

★ Zeke's relationship with Carla wouldn't be bad but he would think that she loves more Eren since he's her biological son, although Carla would make everything what's on her hand to not make Zeke feel like that, she doesn't feel that way towards him either.

★ The brothers grew up close but as Zeke started to get older he distanced a little from his family, and poor baby (now a kid) Eren would knock on Zeke's door just wanting to play with his big bro while he's just in bed being an annoyed teenager tossing a ball towards the ceiling and then catching it with one hand.

★ He grew up playing baseball in a local team then dropped it as a teen.

★ He probably started smoking around this age too (16 or so) to fit more into the rebellious teenager persona.

★ However he wouldn't give that much of hard time, he would do great in school and would try to avoid conflict, inside of him he would just want to make his dad proud just to hear a "good job" from him, even a hug.

★ On the other side i think the real trouble would be Eren.

★ Coming back to Grisha not being the best dad, things would repeat and as Eren grew up he would get less involved with his kid.

★ But Eren wouldn't be like his brother at all, he would fight back, get into arguments with his family regularly, skip classes, fail them even, the overall rebellious teen thingy, i don't think it would be soooo bad, just his parents trying to explain that he is doing things wrong but him not listening and making a scene and complaining about them not letting him be free!!!.

★ Grisha and Carla would give up at some point letting Eren do his thing, that would usually be playing games ,spend time with with friends and smoke 🍃

★ Once in a while he would feel bad about his behavior mostly because of his mom, he knows his father being an asshole sometimes is not her fault, and he would go silently to apologize to her and be a mama's boy.

★ Carla would hug him and tell him that it's fine and that they love him nonetheless.

★ With his conscience clear he would roll one up because he is convinced that he deserves it (this man??)

★ Armin and Mikasa being his childhood friends would try to keep him with his feet on the earth when they feel he's getting too lost.

★ Armin and Zeke would get along really great and the younger would see him as a fraternal figure too.

★ I imagine the relationship between Eren and Zeke like a totally realistic and healthy brother brother relationship, they can't stand each other but are best mates and love each other (i don't really know i don't have siblings)

★ Eren coming home from School just to tell Zeke to play some videogame have an amazing time then not talk for a week.

★ I also think they would smoke 🍃 together sometimes. Eren would be smoking in his room with towel at the bottom of the door, then he almost throws the joint out the window as he hears a knock on the door (he is not allowed to smoke inside ofc) but just as he hears Zeke's "it's just me" he relaxes and let's him in.

★ Zeke would ask for some puffs or something and they would end up on Eren's bed looking at the ceiling and getting sensitive and philosophical talking about ife, the only time they would actually show affection towards each other.

★ If Zeke asks for some puffs once in a while, Eren asks him for cigarettes constantly, and just to mix the 🍃 with.

★ Zeke is definitely more caring towards Eren overall (big bro thingies i guess)

★ They will totally team up against their dad A LOT and have each other's back. Grisha would be scolding Eren for something and Zeke would nonchalantly get into the argument to defend Eren just to piss his dad, and Eren would just be like "look! It's not my fault even Zeke says so!!!" and then Carla would scold all of them and it would actually work.

★ As they became adults they both started to look much more like grisha, especially Eren.

★ At first sight they don't really look like each other, but it's just because Zeke's beard, if he shaved it would actually be much more obvious that they are related.

★ Eren likes to annoy Zeke saying that maybe he would be the pretty sibling if he shaves.

★ Zeke would start working as a bartender or something like that to try and help bringing money at home but probably would try to achieve something bigger like resuming baseball to be a coach or something like that.

★ And i picture Eren taking whatever job his brother previously left or ending up as a dealer (it's funny to me okay?)

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Sorry if this is kinda a mess! I'm not used to writing and putting my thoughts together like this and i feel like i can go on and on and on and forever about this so that's all <3

[siriuslyobsessedwithfiction]

Fates of antagonists in Grishaverse:

Jan Van Eck: Imprisoned (possibly put in an asylum).

Pekka Rollins: Lives a rich lifestyle with his son somewhere.

Tante Heleen: Her brothel went out of business. Lives a rich lifestyle, possibly started a new business somewhere else.

Previous King of Ravka who bankrupted the country, did nothing but rape servant girls: Sent off to live a rich lifestyle while he still can (shortened life because of his sickness).

Previous Queen of Ravka who did nothing but spend money and only protected her favourite servants from the King. But later removed her protection from Genya and let the King rape her: Gets sent off to live a lavish lifestyle in sunny Southern Colonies.

Jarl Brum, a genocidal maniac, who revolutionized Grisha hunting, made new weapons, new strategies, new training systems just to hunt down Grisha in every corner of the world to kindap them, dehumanize them in countless ways, experiment on them and later kill them. The man who either killed Grisha after a sham trial or drugged them until they died, who forced Grisha women to get pregnant over and over while drugging them, the man who bombed Ravka's capital, who draws satisfaction from their suffering because he thinks Grisha are vermin and insult God by existing: Gets spared multiple times and later loses his rank. Because apparently, he's "only a product of the system and Fjerda made him that way". As if he wasn't the main force enforcing that system, as if he didn't brainwash children and made them make killing as many Grisha as possible their life goal.

The Darkling who fought for basic human rights for his people for centuries, made a school and a law to keep Grisha children from getting sold off and slaughtered and to give them education, placed older Grisha under the protection of nobles since Grisha were still formally King's property, didn't send unprepared children to the front lines like the First Army did, dealt with threats from Fjerda and Shu Han, kept Ravka functional even with the Fold separating the country: Gets killed by a bunch of schoolchildren and deserters who haven't even seen real war, his centuries of work gets erased and his name is more demonized than ever. In his absence, the Second Army is in shambles, the economy collapses, Grisha get kidnapped off the streets and get experimented on and dehumanized, Fjerda bombs the capital, the protagonists can't figure out any measures to ensure Grisha will be safe in their own country. Later he gets brought back to life only to be forced to clean up the protagonists' mess, makes Zoya a saint, gets made fun of because the narrative (the author) magically solves centuries of prejudice and genocide for Zoya to be accepted but shits on his attempts, gets eternal suffering while being fused to a tree as a thank you.

[aleksanderscult]

My unpopular opinion for today? The Darkling was terrible at manipulating people

And that mostly comes from the author's incompetence on the matter.

Back in 2016-2017 on Tumblr she was asked which SoC character finds difficult to write and she replied "Kaz. Because he's clever and cunning".

So for her, writing manipulative characters is difficult and actually explains the reason why the Darkling's "efforts" seemed comedic in S&B.

I still remember how posts from 2020-2021 expressed bafflement about where did the Darkling actually manipulated Alina in S&B.

His first, full conversation with her? He lied to her three times and tried to figure her out. What her views are, what does she know about him, has her judgement been clouded by other people's opinions of him, how she feels about her supposed destiny. Apparently she failed in each one of them and the Darkling decided to withhold information since he didn't find her trustworthy. It was too early and she was too immature.

I've written about this scene here but I MUST put this reblog here as well because it's ✨gold✨

So for anyone who believes he should tell her the truth from the very beginning uhh....have you ever been to a job with a hierarchy?

(You can also read a very good meta about their first conversation here from @theweeklydiscourse)

His additional conversations with her? They lasted only ten minutes (maximum) and he mostly tried to soothe her fears and assure her that since she'll have the Stag she won't have to worry about the strength of her power. So, me, the reader, am I supposed to think "That walk that he took with her and lasted for five minutes was so suspicious"?. Ahh...ok.

That first kiss? Boy wasn't it awkward.

It was like I watched two high school kids being kissed for the first time💀

I'm sorry but if that was manipulating then he didn't succeed at making the reader say "Now that seems shady" but wonder "What the fuck was that?". The same thing Alina wondered apparently.

If he wanted to manipulate Alina, why didn't he stay longer with her? Why didn't he spend more time with her? The guy was missing for days from the Little Palace doing his duties and even Alina said that she didn't see him much. So where was the manipulation?

To the first, awkward kiss where he lost control for the first time?

To their Winter fete make out where he almost lost his pants?

(Homeboy couldn't even control his own feelings apparently)

Leigh describes him as "manipulative" but we have no context.

So basically it's like "Source? Trust me bro".

We only have a couple of characters accuse him of manipulation but no scenes to base the argument.

His attempts, in comparison to other truly manipulating characters in fiction (like Varys, Tom Riddle, Petyr Baelish, Tyrion Lannister, the Joker), seem honestly pathetic.

When the author doesn't know how to write such things then her "manipulative" characters and their attempts seem cartoonish, cringe and childish. There's no real danger to make the reader feel like there's something wrong. His scenes with her in the Little Palace only included attempts from his part to calm down her worries and their kisses only made the reader say "Oh he fell for her!" (Which is kind of funny because this is exactly what happened).

The only instance where he was manipulative and good at it was at the orphanage scene where he lied about the Grisha children and his plans with them in order to draw Alina out.

Besides that? Nada.

And it's actually strange to me when people call him "so manipulating" and it makes me think "Have you truly not read other manipulative characters from other authors to compare?"

Because, personally, I have and the Darkling seems like an idiot in comparison.

And this is not me trying to water down the Darkling but say how Leigh Bardugo is so incompetent in writing manipulative characters and try to present him as a "master" of it.

Because he was not.

(P.S. the fact that Leigh once said "I don't want my bad guys to carry a label saying "I'm evil" because I think the real bad guys are much more tactful in their attempts" is actually laughable considering how she gave her bad guy a label when she called him "the Darkling", gave him black clothes and a fearful reputation from the very first chapter. That man really didn't stand a chance from the beginning lmao)

[aruanimess]

Aot parents reacting to their kids coming out to them ✨

Hi, Luca!

I can't believe you're forcing me to write homophobic shit on the eve of Pride month, but here goes: 

Eren: Mom, dad, I'm gay!

Carla: *grabs Grisha's hand before he can speak* Thank you for telling us, sweetie!

Grisha: What about that girlfriend of yours?

Eren: Who? Mikasa?

Grisha: Of course not Mikasa. The blonde one.

Eren: ...

Eren: Armin is not a girl, dad.

Grisha: ...

Grisha: Oh... I see.

~~~

Zeke: Mom, dad, I'm gay!

Dina: Thank--

Grisha: No one cares, Zeke. Go back to training!

~~~

Reiner: Mom, I'm gay.

Karina: *voice trembling* I'm glad you're cheerful, son.

Reiner: No, I mean I'm queer.

Karina: *teeth clenching* You're not weird, my boy.

Reiner: No, mom! I'm a homosexual!

Karina: *red in the face* We're all Homo sapiens. Didn't they teach you in school?

Reiner: *at his wits end* MEN!!

~~~

Historia: Father, I have something to tell you. I'm attracted to women. Exclusively.

Rod Reiss: I understand, sweetheart.

Historia: *breathes a sigh of relief* Thank you, father.

Rod Reiss: However, as you have no siblings left, you'll still be expected to marry a man of noble blood and continue the line.

Historia: ...

~~~

Annie: So... I like girls.

Mr Leonhart: ...

Mr Leonhart: Do you want a reward or something?

~~~

And a palate cleanser:

Armin: Captain, Commander, I have to tell you something... I'm bisexual.

Hange: WOOOOOOOOHOOOOO!! Another win for the queers! You heard that, Levi? We got another one!!! We must celebrate!!

Levi: I'll bring the damned party hats. *is already planning the heart-to-heart he'll have with Armin in private later*