#cardan my love

[alwaysbeenasmartgirl]

Jude and Cardan

Ok, can we talk about how Cardan tried to make Jude leave before she was crowned the queen of mirth?

He obviously knew what Locke was up to and wanted Jude to go without making it seem that he cared about her enough to make sure she left.

I wonder how bad he must have felt when Jude did not leave and was insulted and made fun of.

This is exactly why we NEED Cardan's pov of the entire storyline.

How the king of Elfhame learned to hate stories was not enough.

[avendell]

Jude and Cardan 🥀

[atlasshrugd]

no but the thing is, when the hero falls in love with the villain she is falling in love with the darkest parts of herself. she is owning her shadow and the owning makes her stronger. it is not about whether a ship is toxic or romanticising abuse because it’s not about two individuals. the struggle is not one between two people, just like the love is not between two people. when the hero falls in love with the villain she is loving herself. when she loves herself she is stronger, better, able to transform darkness instead of running from it. at the moment of loving, a person changes. the loved changes. and the love of the villain changes the hero. it’s all about this, don’t you see?

[poltoreveur]

I could fix him but I kinda like him a little murderous and psychotic tho

[florsdelluna]

The High King of Elfhame 🧚🍷👑🖤✨ #thecruelprince

[tothestarsinvelaris]

Cardan trying desperately to get salt into Jude when Valerian is shoving the faerie fruit into her mouth is just such a good scene.

like, yes, he takes the vial of salt from her -- but he throws it in the air to sprinkle it all over. I feel like he was almost hoping and praying some would land on her or the fruit or the damn dirt and save her.

and then he takes off his shoe and tells her to kiss his toes. like, he's trying to act like he's degrading her along with everyone else, but he also knows that his sweat has salt in it.

and when that doesn't work and Locke is about to walk her home, Cardan gets desperate enough to do something fairly obvious, risking that his friends and everyone else will see that he's helping her but not being willing to let her go alone with Locke while she's so intoxicated. So he pricks her finger and pokes it into her mouth so she gets the salt from her blood.

I feel like he does this partially because of his growing feelings for her, but also because at this point he has already decided he really doesn't like how humans are treated, has seen the way they look when they're ensorcelled and has already helped some of them escape faerie.

he's just so great okay?!

[avelanlorelay]

I don't think we talk about it enough, but Cardan is simply the world's last romantic. Think about it, when most fae have an open relationship (even Taryn, who is considered the romantic character, didn't have a monogamous marriage) he ended his relationship with Nicasia when he discovered her betrayal. He never had anything more to do with her either. Even if it was just for sex, there was no love anymore. Even when Jude tells him to seduce Nicasia, Cardan doesn't go any further than a few kisses. Also because, for me it's canon, he was thinking about another girl.

The breach of trust was the main factor, of course, but I believe Cardan wanted to be the only one for her. In his novel, it is said that Cardan is a little afraid of Balekin wanting to get close to Nicasia, but she reassures him that she has no interest in another man - Locke not included, apparently. He's never been special to anyone, so having someone's heart all to himself was all he wanted.

In The Wicked King (after the kissing scene), Cardan goes to Jude to talk about that night. They didn't even get to "finally", but he was already completely in love and I'm sure that if Jude hadn't dismissed him, he would have talked about feelings and tried to formalize their relationship. Also, despite the fact that, using Jude's words, he was always "practically draped in courtiers", Cardan didn't try to pressure her. Although he desired Jude, it was never just about sex for him.

Now in The Queen of Nothing, even though they're married, Cardan never tries anything with Jude and when he does, he waits patiently for a signal and even when he gets one, he's totally cautious, pulling away at the slightest sign of Jude's discomfort. He still thinks she might change her mind. We only see Jude's pov, but it's evident from Cardan's nervousness that even though he's so experienced in the "art of love", he wanted their first time to be special, because Jude was special. The detail that they only have sex after the wedding is also so cute, not in a puritanical, annoying way, but as if they were both waiting for an important moment. When they finally trusted each other enough to give themselves completely.

Please, Cardan likes books, flowers, sleeping cuddled up with Jude and caress her with his tail. For me, he will always be the most sensitive, romantic and faithful husband of all time.

[katsitsiyo]

Your King and Queen will graciously accept your homage and fealty now. 😌

My loves Jude and Cardan, showcasing their mutual scary dog privilege. 😏👑🍷🗡️🐍🏵️

I comm’d this Jurdan piece from @hanelizabeth. (tysm!! ����) I love her TFOTA art so much and I’m so happy to have been able to get my vision done in her style. 🥰😍

[thejudeduarte]

Jude:

[taylrartz]

Soft Jude x Cardan for the soul because Autumn is Jurdan season hehe🤭🍂

Additional variant on my insta @taylrartz !💓

[lililunna]

Bewitched by each other 🫶

[darlingod]

Interact with this post if you would read a full length Cardan novel, I want to see how much of y’all want it

[starrynightsxo]

"Cardan looks taken aback. Or possibly I spoke so fast he's not even sure what I said. 'You need not say it out of pity,' he says finally, with great deliberateness. 'Or because I was under a curse. I have asked you to lie to me in the past, in this very room, but I would beg you not to lie now.'"

- Cardan Greenbriar, The Queen of Nothing

[sweetvillainjude]

actually wild of holly black to write cardan’s arc so powerfully that I went from genuinely hating him and never believing I’d like him to thinking “ok so maybe he’s not awful ALL the time” to desperately rooting for him and furiously wanting him to be loved and happy over the span of three books. like tfota was WILD for doing that (and doing it so well)

[madockisser]

since the fae have their own language, cardan is bilingual …

can u imagine him calling jude nicknames in his native tongue like ?!? he already refers to her as his “sweet nemesis,” and his “darling god,” but can you IMAGINE. pet names for jude in his own language… the possibilities .. and her being like “?? wtf does that mean are u insulting me” and he’d just smile at her bc he loves her sm but obviously has problems showing affection.

[mafiasliege]

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I announce to you, after a decade, jude still steals Cardan's clothes and even wears them in front of the kingdom.