#Matthias -- big guy

[shit-talker]

"That's not canon!"

And??? Who's gonna stop me?? If I wanna write Wylan and Kuwei as identical twins in my modern say au thats none of your damn business 😌 who gives a fuck. Jesper's intersex now. Why? Because I said, that's why. While we're at it, lets give them all accents. I'm thinking Kaz can be the only british one. Wylan can be dutch. Nina can be russian. Inej has a missing tooth? Which one? Fuck it, I don't care. I could go on all day. Want one more?

Matthias can't ride a bike. He can load a canon, but the man can't ride on two wheels.

[feketeribizli]

well. would you hear them out

making hear-me-out cakes for my ocs but its weirdly specific hungarian media/things... do you guys wanna see

[lilisouless]

Kaz: what’s going on here?

Everyone sitting awkwardly as Inej also enters

Wylan: guys…it’s fine

Jesper: We don’t have to tell them!

Inej: tell us what?

Matthias: I’ll explain it before Jesper…

Jesper: Matthias kissed me!

Kaz & Inej: what?

Nina burst into laughter

Matthias: I’ll explain: we booked a room for both of our anniversary as a surprise for our partners but there was a mixup and we ended on the same room. I got there first so i took a nap under the covers…

Jesper: then I saw the bump under the sheets and thought it was Wylan so i uncovered the face and , without looking I…I…

Matthias: He kissed me

Inej: oh poor Jesper

Inej hugs him and stroked his head

Inej: why didn’t you tell me about such a traumatic event?

Matthias: what,no sympathy for me?

Kaz rolls his eyes and pats Matthias’s back with his cane: there, there

Matthias: it was Jesper’s fault,he kissed me!

Jesper: hey! I said “well hello pumpkin” before that , why didn’t you react?

Matthias: i thought Nina had perfected her baritone man imitation!

Nina: Not to brag but I make a very good one

Wylan: I still don’t see how it’s a big deal, it’s not like it’s a stranger and it’s not like we don’t have a history of kissing the wrong guy-

Jesper: i knew you’d gonna go there!

Wylan: but it’s an honest mistake between friends. Like that time i accidentally cuddled Kaz while falling asleep,thinking it was Jesper

Kaz: …what?

Wylan: that time, when i feel asleep on the couch and woke up on your chest

Kaz: So…you mean that our Friday June nap…

Inej: Saints,he named it

Kaz: that was a mistake?

Wylan: well,yes,why would cuddle on you if I didn’t think it was Jesper?

Kaz: yeah…i knew it, actually i thought you were Inej but didn’t want to tell you because you are a sentimental and may think that it was a special moment between friends celebrating that i was comfortable enough with touch to endure a whole nap and treasure it as a you and me memory….that’s what you’d think because you are a cheesy lame man

Wylan: well, you can be calm because i didn’t thought that

Kaz: no…you didn’t…who the hell is cutting onions?

[19burstraat]

unbelievably specific modern things the crows would love. too bad they live in a late-1800s fantasy world

Kaz: screenshotting nfts, those web weaving posts about dog metaphors, leaving people on read, stealing from the self checkout in supermarkets, emo phases, wearing headphones but not actually listening to anything so they're just there just as a conversation deterrent, winding up scam callers, escape rooms, pretending to know nothing about pop culture in order to annoy people, playing solitaire online, Knowing A Guy for everything

Inej: social media sleuthing, posting goodreads quotes, strictly come dancing, snoopy, easily accessible climbing shoes, mr darcy, shouting at the screen when someone's judged incorrectly on a competition show, getting unbelievably competitive about wii sports/duolingo scoreboards/goodreads goals/animal crossing islands/air hockey, texting..... With loads of elipses... Like your parents.... and dropping unprompted wisdom in them.....

Jesper: neon clothes, the 💯 emoji, making everyone as miis on tomodachi life but being so bad at it that kaz and nina's miis end up getting married, lisa frank art, scamming people on depop, cheap jewellery that makes you go green, complaining about how cottagecore videos don't correctly represent the Rural Farm Life, shitty 2000s club bangers, the kitsch movement, giving your car a name, hoiking your novelty socks really high so everyone can see them, shitty christmas films, first person shooters

Wylan: speedpaint videos, joe hisaishi, being judgemental about other people's spotify wrappeds, djungelskog, that gif of the japanese mascot costume running through a bunch of explosions, watching weird low-budget adaptations of shakespeare plays with kaz, those arcade crane games, piercing your own ears with a needle and a lighter then being somehow surprised when it gets infected

Matthias: making an instagram account in-character for your dog, posting low-quality graphics of inspirational or biblical quotes on facebook (yk the ones w the landscape or sunset behind them), taking frowning selfies from below like your granddad does, viking media of any sort, buying dozens of identical t-shirts from big tesco, mixing up celebrities all the time, perpetually caving and giving the scouts/guides/youth groups/football clubs/carollers/etc money for their fundraisers

Nina: making bait posts online in the style of 'why can't we just print more money', period dramas, wearing huge mother of the bride style hats to weddings, saving recipes/crafts/art ideas on tiktok and then never actually doing them, pink gin, tiktok edits of fit celebs/characters, 3 hour video essays abt pop culture, saying 'break up with him' in response to every relationship woe, buying cheerful tat from flying tiger

[pencildragons]

underrated part of gtn before All Of The Horrors begin occurring when griddlehark still hate each other is how much respect they have for each others crafts. harrows constructs are elegant. gideon could be matthias nonius come again if it werent for the fact that shes lesbian jesus. like guys please just admit you have a big fat crush on each other im beggimg

[jkriordanverse]

No but imagine the guy who's dating Kanej's kid like it would be hella hard.

Like tryna charm them with riches? Their father is Kaz Brekker and their uncle is Wylan Van Eck, they've probably seen/been spoilt plentilly, your tricks won't work.

Acting a teensy tiny bit suspicious? Nvm, their parent's are already onto you. They know your phone number, adress, meeting spot, circle of friends, and everything. There's no point in hiding anything, really. Especially if you're being an unfaithful partner.

Doing sth bad? Heh, bold of you to assume uncle Jesper won't shoot you on the streets. That is, unless Nina summons your dead ones to haunt your life and gets to you first.

On the good side, you can always seek out Matthias the big broody tulip for romance tips <333

[violets-and-books]

The Crows watching Horror Films

Kaz:

Loves horror movies

Is basically the perfect horror film watcher

Watches intently

Never jumps at the jump-scares, the most you'll get out of him is a startled 'oh'

Always guesses who the mystery killer is

Always guesses it correctly

Loves slasher films

Inej:

Not a big fan of most horror films

Likes the final girl trope

Prefers sci-fi horror to anything else

Will rant about the pseudo-sadist, purity-obsessed horror films and why they can be better to anyone who'll listen

Won't go out of her way to watch a horror but will make an effort if A) Kaz wants to or B) It's made by a diverse minority of some kind

Jesper:

Hates horror films

Watches them because Kaz and Wylan like them

Loves watching them with Wylan because it gives him an excuse to cuddle up to his boyfriend

"are you scared?" "no" (literally shaking in his seat)

Is that one guy who screams at the screen like a goat

"I wish Milo was here, I wish Milo was here, I WISH MILO WAS HERE, I WISH MILOOOOOOOO-"

"ThAt'S nOt WhErE bLoOd Is MeAnT tO bEeEeEEEEEEE-"

"Wy, hold me, I'm scared" "The film hasn't even started yet-"

Jumps at every jump scare. Every. Single. One.

Wylan:

Likes horror films, especially ghost ones

Finds them cathartic

Has long conversations about themes and analysing horror with Inej and Matthias

Has seen all the classics

Likes gothic horror films

Is the only one who'll put up with Jesper's antics

Can't watch slashers - too violent

If he gets scared, he'll cover his ears and scream in short bursts until he isn't scared anymore

Matthias:

Is that one guy who'll analyse the film while watching it

Points out how scientifically incorrect all the kills are

Has very specific catagories for what counts as a horror film

Loves cult films, especially the Wicker Man

Can't watch haunting films, hates them so, so much

Nina:

Doesn't like horror films

Makes fun of Jesper for being so scared but then screams just as loud as him

Yells and swears at the characters for being so stupid

Ended up practically glued to Matthias' lap, if she didn't start out that way

"NO ONE would be that stupid to actually do [X]"

Quotes Scream at every given opportunity

(whenever someone on screen has sex) "Ooooooooh, you gonna diiiiie"

Kuwei:

Laughs at the jumpscares

Not even like a nervous laugh, plain out, hilarious laughter

Knows everything about how the films were made

Loves horror, possibly even more than Kaz

"Jes, are you scared? You can hold my hand if you want"

Has to sit a safe distance away from Wylan at all times to avoid being murdered

Explains how they did that stunt on screen as the stunt is happening (but will shut up if asked nicely)

Really likes body horror

[fandomgirl002]

Six of Crows and School Bus Graveyard are the same characters in different fonts, you can't tell me otherwise

hear me out rq

The leader who's socially inept, shuts down their emotions, doesn't know how to communicate, and is later on changed by someone in the group?

Ashlyn and Kaz

The shy and nerdy kid who seems weak at first and is constantly underestimated, but is surprisingly strong and has a hidden talent?

Logan and Wylan

The sidekick who's the comedic relief, has a crush on the leader, is slightly psychotic, can't control their impulses, and has a traumatic backstory they don't like to talk about?

Aiden and Jesper

The big brooding guy who was forced to grow up at a young age, has lost family, is a strong fighter, is seen as angry and rude at first before looking into their trauma, and has a soft spot for someone close to them?

Tyler and Matthias

Is usually overlooked or underestimated, used to not being in the spotlight, previously loved performing, is separated from their family, and is known for their silence?

Ben and Inej

One of the only sociable members in the group and is only seen for that instead of their other qualities, and is underutilized by the author?

Taylor and Nina

Not even including the fact that, like Six of Crows, Sbg has 4 guys and 2 girls.

[iambicpentameterhamster]

What i think of you based on your favourite Six of Crows character

Matthias Helvar:

You probably read a lot in the fantasy genre and take yourself too seriously (no offense) probably busy daydreaming about profound things and writing poems that you'll eventually delete. You love bleak and gritty stories and you listen to Coldplay, Conan Gray or The Tortured Poets Department. No shade though, you guys are probably great friends with value for loyalty. In summary, i think you're all either really intense and ernest or totally shy and quiet. You're probably heterosexual to be honest.

Nina Zenik:

I think people who's favourite is Nina don't tend to be much like her in real life, but are the type of people that would really want to befriend her. I'd say you're more introverted and quietly friendly, but then you act totally different and comfortable with the right friends. Technically disapproving of gossip, but turn into Regina George if the rumour is juicy enough- secretly judgemental but it all comes out to your best friends. You have a good sense of humour and probably quite a cynical/pessimist mindset overall. I know you like campy films like Legally Blonde and Clueless. Oh, and your favourite subject is definately history.

Inej Ghafta:

If you're drawn to the steady and honest beat of Inej's thoughts, I think you're quite an anxious or scattered person who enjoys how safe and comforting she feels as a character. I'd say you're a sensitive person with a keen eye for colour and art. Your favourite chapters in SOC are definately the backstory and romance chapters. You cry often at films and music and just when you feel bittersweet or happy. You have Hozier, Mitski or Radiohead on your playlists. You're either artsy smart or english smart, there's no way your a science/maths kinda person.

Wylan Van Eck:

This one is split. You're either one of those people that infantalises and simplifies his character and reduces both him and Jesper to their ship and nothing else, OR you're literally the best person ever. If you're the latter, you're probably super empathetic and appreciate depth as well as a good laugh, and i severley doubt you yourself enjoy maths and chemistry despite loving that look for Wylan. I've also never met a Wylan stan who wasn't a HARDCORE fan of SOC in general. You guys are the loudest complainers about Shadow and Bone being cancelled, and honestly, power to you. I bet your room is a bombsite right now too- pick up those dirty clothes, for christ sake.

Kaz Brekker:

All Kaz Brekker fans are somewhat infatuated with him. Your favourite chapters/scenes are absolutely the action and sexual tension scenes. All about high stakes and excitement, and you love to be surprised. That or you have a big thing for the bad boy trope. I think you have "dark achademia" or grunge-ey pinterest boards that don't match your real life style. I also think you think chess and piano are really sexy but play neither yourself. You and your friends probably read terrible Wattpad stories for a joke. Generally, you're somehow relaxed and simultaneously intense as fuck. 70% of you are Queer women people, other 30% are intensely heterosexual.

Jesper Fahey:

You have Queen on your playlist. Queen or Gorillaz. You're probably a quite casual person who is taken with Jesper's charm and humour, and you appreciate the comedic relief as you don't enjoy too much grit and heavy stuff with no humour breaks. But despite being not the most sensitive person in the world, Jesper's backstory caught you off guard and it HURT. I think you love comedies and action, you're decent at school and you're quite popular with a good circle of friends. A social person. Potential theatre kid, but minor roles/tech, and the only musical you really like is Hamilton lmao. You are generally a funny person, but you've definately experienced that moment where you tell a joke and nobody laughs.

Anybody else:

Non-existent.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

New series idea: analysing my favourite (underrated) lines from Six of Crows

I feel like I haven't given you any analysis in a while, and I've had this idea for some time now so I thought it was worth giving it a try. This is going to be a list of my personal favourite quotes in Chapter 2 of Six of Crows with explanation/analysis for any that I have an explanation/analysis for - but if a famous or popular quote isn't included then it's not because I don't like it, it's just because I don't feel I have anything new to add to the existing analyses around it. And yeah, if you guys like this then I'll make it a more regular thing and go through chapter by chapter (probably sometimes including multiple chapters in one post), so let me know what you think!

(Also, I chose to start with Chapter 2 on purpose because I don't have loads to say about Chapter 1, but if anyone is interested I'm open to trying it in the future)

"every favour came with enough strings attached to stage a puppet show" - ugh words cannot explain my love of this quote. Not only is this a gorgeous and vibrant metaphor that brings forth very clear imagery, it also achieves two different concepts relating to the idea of the "puppet show". Firstly, we have the idea that Kaz is the puppet master and Ketterdam is his stage; he is in complete control, he can bend the city to his whims, and it's ultimate his say that can make or break someone. This is definitely the image we're given of Kaz in the opening two chapters, and this singular line really reinforces that, however the rest of the book and many of the descriptions in Crooked Kingdom unravel this view very quickly. This description far better fits Pekka Rollins, which brings me onto the other concept relating to the "puppet show": the question of who it actually is pulling the strings. Arguably Kaz is a puppet on Rollins' stage, and Rollins a puppet on the Merchant Councils'. each has power but each is ultimately at the whims of the other. This brings worth the suggestion that something darker is at play and that there's far more to Kaz than initally meets the eyes before we've even met him, so in short it's just completely and utter genius.

"Kaz hated a puzzle he couldn't solve, and he and Inej had concocted a hundred theories to account for the murder - none of which satisfied" - again, Kaz has thus far said a single line, and not one with a lot of information in it ("Yes and no. It's always good to have a country in debt to you, makes for friendlier negotiations) and yet we know so much about him - and even some details about his relationship with Inej! It even tells us a lot about Inej; we've been presented with a figure heralded as near-omnipotent in his city, someone no-one wants to be on the wrong side of, someone who has complete control over every conversation he has with you, and she is someone with whom he will spend hours trying to solve a riddle? So then, the reader is forced to think, what kind of power does she has? What makes her worthy of his closeness, why does he trust her, and why does she know him well enough to so intimately know his likes and dislikes? Inej hasn't even spoken yet.

"But it didn't feel neutral to Inej. It felt like the hush of the woods before the snare yanks tight and the rabbit starts to scream" - ok most of my enjoyment of this quote is just of the beautiful prose, however I would like to add that all six Crows experienced this sort of 'calm before the storm' leading up to the most painful experiences of their lives - Wylan thinking he could go to music school, Inej at the beach with her parents and calling sleepily to the man she though was her father, Kaz staying at the cafe and meeting Margit and Saskia, Matthias knowing he was going to be a big brother, Jesper seeing his mother for the last time when she picked him up and hugged him even though he was up past his bedtime, Nina feeling that she had purpose and loving the way she could help her country - so this could be considered foreshadowing.

" 'Care to place a wager?' Jesper asked.

'I'm not going to bet on my own death,'

Kaz flipped his hat onto his head and ran his gloved fingers along the brim in a quick saulte. 'Why not Bolliger? We do it every day,' "

"Kaz had done his best to teach her, but she didn't quite have his way with breaking and entering, and it took her a few tries to finesse the lock" - my main source for liking this quote comes from an analysis I did a while ago when someone asked me about comapring this quote and Kaz's self-proclaimed "shoddy job" of teaching her to pick locks. It's a while since I posted that so I'll run through it here briefly, basically it's very indicative of their relationship dynamic. Whilst both place the other on a pedestal, they do it in different ways, and Kaz particularly often glorifies Inej and almost finds it difficult to accept that she, like anyone, must be flawed. So if she fails at something, like picking locks as well as he can, and she cannot possibly be flawed then the error must be in his teaching - it can never be with her. It's also a glaring example of Kaz's self-destructive nature. My other reason for liking this quotes is just that it once again tells us about the characters so early on and without having to directly explain it to us - we know Kaz is good with locks because he tried to teach Inej and she isn't as good as him, but she still manages to get it open.

' "I'm a business man,' he'd told her, 'No more, no less,'

'You're a thief, Kaz,'

'Isn't that what I just said?' " - I ADORE this, but honestly all I can say for analysis is that it sums up the entire theme of the novels beuatifully.

"Now he looked like some kind of priest come to preach to a group of circus performers" - this sets up a great parallel that I've mentioned before in one of my "little details you might have missed/forgotten" posts, but it's also interesting to have it come from Inej's perspective since she's incredibly religious and performed as a travelling acrobat with her family. It's probably drawn from personal experience, someone in dark clothes who judges the brightness of Suli traditional clothing and/or culture and tries to preach religion to a group who've already long found it because they don't align with thier idea of religion. It's even possible that she links that idea with Kaz, not because of his actions but because he's from a country that has perversely sexualised and condemned her culture and he dresses like the rich merchants who would preach this exact kind of message - and possibly even have visited her at the Menagerie, where she was forced to appropriate her own heritage and way of life for the enjoyment of those who look down it with no reason for doing so.

"Inej pitied the boy who might die alone with no one to comfort him in his last hours or who might live and spend his life as an exile. But the night's work wasn't over yet, and the Wraith didn't have time for traitors" - this is one of the few but fabulous examples we get of the idea that "Inej" and "the Wraith" are separate entities; Inej being the girl she was, the girl she should have been, and the Wraith being a creation of necessity to aid survival. Inej is a religious young woman from Ravka who has been through far more than she should have done, but the Wraith was born and raised on the blood-soaked streets of Ketterdam and has every intention of surviving them - no matter the cost. This concept is only mentioned a few times, however it runs a beautiful parallel with the distinction between Kaz Rietveld and Kaz Brekker, or Kaz and Dirtyhands depending on how you look at it.

Ok I realise this is a pretty long post but thanks for reading it if you got this far, and I really enjoyed making this so please let me know if you guys would enjoy seeing more. And, in summary, Leigh Bardugo is a genius

[is-today-tomorrow-in-nz]

OMG that Rule of Wolves ending was a total Deus Ex Machina! Leigh Bardugo really destroyed ALL the magical system's balance so her favorite could become a God, Avatar, mindreader, emotion reader, and dragon (ironic because LB was a Dany anti for GoT) with no consequences! But Alina, with ONE power just trying to take down the Fold = GREED = STRIPPED OF ALL POWERS. It makes no sense, and causes migraines to think about how LB destroyed all the worldbuilding for poorly thought out wattpad ending.

Thank you! I was beyond frustrated too. Her magic system is like a mirage in a desert- it exists one moment and then vanishes the next minute. It does not help that she plays favouritism with her own characters. Zoya, Nikolai and the crows are clearly her golden children. Aleksander is her scapegoat child. For the sake of her golden children, she bends the plot and swathes them in plot armour. However she refuses to offer any sort of redemption or even decent plotlines for her least favourite ones.

Just the other day, I was lamenting about this in another post. Let me share my fav deus ex machina other than the ones mentioned in the original post.

1)SoC: Began well- foreign country, jurda, everything at stake, heist etc etc. After the disaster of the trilogy, I was excited to read something different. However, the climax just made me want to fling the book to a corner. So Jarl Brum knows the partial truth from Matthias, knows why the crows were there. But somehow they got away scott free. Like yes, Nina made some soldiers fall asleep, but doesn't Fjerda have a navy? Isn't Djerholm not a harbour? Do they not know the ship name? Do they not know how long the jurda effects last in Nina? And yet all Brum did was stomp like a villain at the end of scooby doo saying, "If it weren't for those meddling kids!" and did nothing. They literally attacked one of the most powerful country's capital, blew up a part of their palace, and stole a tank! Somehow destroying a bridge was all it needed to stop an army! And at the final standoff, the soldiers were just put to sleep not killed. even if Kaz was just a day ahead, the fierce Fjerdan navy should have caught up to them. 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ But no... Nina attacked them with parem. Suddenly nothing can be done. It's like Fjerda is this formidable enemy when LB needs it to be and then become a bunch of helpless idiots when her favourite characters need to escape!

2)S&S: Ivan's death or literally any Grisha death on the Darkling side. They were very dangerous and battle experienced one moment but somehow were nothing compared to two sword weilding mercenaries. With convenient plot devices, the man who is literally the oldest and the most powerful Grisha in Ravka, was defeated and left at sea- no doubt hit by LB's idiot hammer. The man literally created THE FOLD for god's sake!!! And yet he and his army of well trained Grisha were defeated in a matter of minutes.

3)Nikolai: The whole Nikolai spiel was that he is the 'good' guy. He desperately wants the throne but instead of doing anything about it he was literally waiting for his big bro to get bored of it and throw it to him. That was the 'most clever fox's' brilliant strategy. Because that's what good boys do. Only evil, dark wizards create a coup.

And when the plot doesn't move forward, the easily-defeated-at-sea Darkling, is suddenly a raging powerful villain who conveniently kills Vasily and hands the good boy his throne.

I could go on and on. She butchered her own universe and is fixing them with cello tapes.

[duckprintspress]

Genderfluid Characters for Genderfluid Visibility Week!

This week, October 17th to 24th, is Genderfluid Visibility Week! There are depressingly few books out with genderfluid rep, and even then it’s often open to interpretation whether a character is genderfluid or not, but we’ve done our best to gather a modest list. (btw, if you’re wondering why it’s 7 reads and 5 covers, it’s cause our anthology Aether Beyond the Binary has three short stories with genderfluid characters!) The contributors to this list are Meera S., Shannon and 2 anonymous contributors.

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A Flame in the Night (New Age Gothic series) by Morgan Dante

The start of bloody decadence…

The definition of marriage: Two people and their silver-haired vampire.

In 1924, Paris is a bastion of sexual freedom, even for shell-shocked Leon Laflamme, the most dramatic blond this side of the Seine. After years of loneliness and secrecy, he’s married the clever and sumptuous burlesque dancer Claire. However, Leon truly finds liberation when he meets the stoic, intriguing, and silver-haired Count Matthias, who offers true freedom in his dark gift: immortality.

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Both Can Be True by Jules Machias

Ash is no stranger to feeling like an outcast. For someone who cycles through genders, it’s a daily struggle to feel in control of how people perceive you. Some days Ash is undoubtedly girl, but other times, 100 percent guy. Daniel lacks control too—of his emotions. He’s been told he’s overly sensitive more times than he can count. He can’t help the way he is, and he sure wishes someone would accept him for it.

So when Daniel’s big heart leads him to rescue a dog that’s about to be euthanized, he’s relieved to find Ash willing to help. The two bond over their four-legged secret. When they start catching feelings for each other, however, things go from cute to complicated. Daniel thinks Ash is all girl . . . what happens when he finds out there’s more to Ash’s story?

With so much on the line—truth, identity, acceptance, and the life of an adorable pup named Chewbarka—will Ash and Daniel forever feel at war with themselves because they don’t fit into the world’s binaries? Or will their friendship help them embrace the beauty of living in between?

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The Brilliant Death (The Brilliant Death series) by Amy Rose Capetta

For Teodora DiSangro, a mafia don’s daughter, family is fate.

All her life, Teodora has hidden the fact that she secretly turns her family’s enemies into music boxes, mirrors, and other decorative objects. After all, everyone in Vinalia knows that stregas—wielders of magic—are figures out of fairytales. Nobody believes they’re real.

Then the Capo, the land’s new ruler, sends poisoned letters to the heads of the Five Families that have long controlled Vinalia. Four lie dead and Teo’s beloved father is gravely ill. To save him, Teo must travel to the capital as a DiSangro son—not merely disguised as a boy, but transformed into one.

Enter Cielo, a strega who can switch back and forth between male and female as effortlessly as turning a page in a book. Teo and Cielo journey together to the capital, and Teo struggles to master her powers and to keep her growing feelings for Cielo locked in her heart. As she falls in love with witty, irascible Cielo, Teo realizes how much of life she’s missed by hiding her true nature. But she can’t forget her mission, and the closer they get to the palace, the more sinister secrets they uncover about what’s really going on in their beloved country—and the more determined Teo becomes to save her family at any cost.

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The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: 

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride–or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia–the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion 

Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances–one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.

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Aether Beyond the Binary Anthology

The core concept of Aether Beyond the Binary is simple and compelling: create intriguing main characters outside the gender binary and set them loose to explore the modern world twisted or unchanged, enhanced or destroyed by magical aether. This power source may replace technology, supplement it, or oppose it. These characters may be agender, genderfluid, bigender, or any other non-binary identity. The thread that unites these tales is exploration: of the world around them and of the self. We propose no final conclusions; instead, we demonstrate how far-reaching the questions are and how expansive the range of possible answers can be, thereby broadening the discussion about the nature of gender and the place of genderqueer characters in fantasy fiction. We hope you’ll join us to explore the endless possibilities of these magical worlds. 

How Your Garden Grows by Nicola Kapron, True by Kelas Lloyd, and N(ae)ghbours by Scarlett Gale have genderfluid characters!

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What are your favorite books with genderfluid characters?

View all the books from this year’s and last year’s Genderfluid Visibility Week lists by visiting our shelf on Goodreads!

Browse this book as a rec list on Bookshop.org!

[some-weird-queer-writer]

I’m kind of sick of thin SoC character art

I mean, Kaz I get. Jesper, sure. Wylan, I’d like to see some more realistic body types but there’s little to work with from the book in either direction.

But Nina? The canon curvy and chubby queen who is unashamed of her love of food? Show me her love handles!! Show me her double chin!! Show me her thighs!! Matthias? The big burley guy whose initial personality trait is pretty much just Big? Show me his beef! Show me his physique!

Inej? The icon who is so strong she can pull herself up a practically flat wall with her fingers and toes? Sure, she’s ‘lithe’ but that does not mean skin and bones y’all! Give me her muscles!! Give me broad shoulders and thighs so strong even if they look chubby!

These people are not sticks. They have fat and muscle and curves. Diversity matters. Consider spicing up your art a bit, especially when canon gives you such great characters to work with.

[lilisouless]

Wylan: i tell you no

Matthias: there’s no way you didn’t have a crush on anyone before Jesper, what about the tutor?

Wylan: nah, we barely could stand each other when doing anything else than…

Wylan: wait,i just remembered! It wasn’t the tutor but once I was sneaking around the university I saw someone, it was a guy with frumpy clothes,weird hair and very very big and thick glasses. He sighed a lot and chew his pencil nervously. I thought he was pretty and wanted to talk to him but he was so out of my league, not only he had a pile of books , he was so smart he could read it upside down. I didn’t dare to ask him out and didn’t see him again next day i went there

….

Jesper: romance stories are a scam because when I was attending university I did the whole “making myself ugly with glasses and weird clothing” even got an ugly wig yet no scholar girl came to make me a make over nor scholar boy came to take off my glasses to help me realize i was beautiful all along.

[matthiasschoenaertsdaily]

Supergirl is based on Tom King’s 2022 comic book series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which Bilquis Evely illustrated. Ana Nogueira adapted the comic book for the big screen. In that comic, the bad guy is Krem of the Yellow Hill, who kills a young alien girl’s father. She draws Supergirl into the conflict.

The film will lens in January in the UK and hit theaters on June 26, 2026.

[jkriordanverse]

The crows celebrating their birthdays

Kaz - is the type of guy who puts their birthday and all their info on private. Nobody knows when his birthday is except for Inej but everyone can tell because he gets a little giddy (cuz Inej wishes him happy bd and buys him presents).

Inej - I think she'd want a small celebration but would secretly be super flattered and feel loved if everyone brings her lots of presents and gifts and wishes her happy birthday. Jesper of course, makes a big deal out of it and he & Nina decorates her ship and everything.

Jesper - Oh god. what can I even say? Expects ltos of things for his birthday. Especially from Wylan, to which he expects an abundance of snuggles and kisses and everything. Wylan even takes a leave from the Merchant Council on Jesper's birthday. I think he'd have a decent celebration with his friends before spending the rest of the time with Wylan.

Wylan- Forgets it's his brithday. Personally I hc that Wylan is super bad with dates or sometimes just gets super carried away with something he's doing that he doesn't realize that well, his birthday is coming. like,

Jesper: hey babe, what are you planning for your birthday? Wylan: what birthday? Jesper: Your birthday....you remember.....right? Next week? Wylan: MY BIRTHDAY IS NEXT WEEK???

Nina- This lady has an entire birthweek (Like Trina from Victorious [personally i feel like these two would get along sooo well]). And she plans her outfits according to the days in the birthweek too. And Matthias writes her extra letters and gives her extra snuggles and bath bombs with like flower petals and everything. Just loves birthdays and holidays in generally cuz it feels special.

Matthias - It's one of the only time of the year where Nina spoiling him is an exception he'll accept. Even though he wants a small celebration, Nina still makes a big one with the crows (but they celebrate alone in private tho). Pretends to not want to make a big deal but secretly loves being spoiled.