#meanwhile esseks gay twink ass 20 intelligence in the corner?

[alliekitaguchi]

do you ever think about the fact that essek is probably a million times nicer to verin now than he ever was before?? and that verin, for the first time, gets the really meet his brother???

do you think about the fact that the cold mantle of the shadowhand is gone and withered, replaced by the warmth of the nein and caleb's love, and verin, for the first time in his life, gets to have a real relationship with his big brother that's not a facsimile of den politics or social standards??

the scene where verin and essek (in disguise) meet with vox machina is SO important, because essek--the former shadowhand to the bright queen, traitor to the entire dynasty, fugitive to two nations--smacks his brother on the arm and chides him for being embarrassing in front of people of high station. he doesn't try to hide himself AT ALL. he's just... open. warm. at peace.

there's no more cold smiles, there's no more polite aloofness, no more haughty attitude or snide remarks... essek's just a big brother again. a big brother whose little brother came to work with him one day, walked up to the president of the country and asked her to sign his pamphlet with a shit-eating grin, while essek tried not to burst a blood vessel in the corner.

no matter what verin's opinions are on the dynasty and the beacons and essek's crimes, i'm willing to bet that there was a part of him that wouldn't have changed a goddamn thing. because without essek having stolen the beacons and handing them over to the empire, and without him meeting the nein, verin would've never gotten the chance to have his brother back.