most people stay away from fire. observing it from a distance, watching the glow as it flickers and dances with the wind, cautiously coming closer to merely experience the warmth

they use it in their cooking and they use it in their destruction . but they never really want to get too close — no one likes being burned

and yet, when you find yourself confronted with an individual so unable to be ignored, so inherently alluring and frustratingly enigmatic that you cannot help but want to get close, that’s when you let yourself feel that burn, that’s when you surrender

julia and regulus find each other in the shadows cast by lantern glow , they search for each other between pages of old, tattered alchemy textbooks , they reach for each other like dripping wax reaches for the cool touch of the metal candle holder , the intrigue that holds them together is the stitched embroidery of stars that regulus points out to julia whenever they catch themselves spending another late night in their secret sanctuary, their shared haven, their abandoned classroom

you would think after weeks, after months of shared companionship, where the simmering connection between them keeps growing, there would be an inevitable end to the bitterness of past competition, but no . no no, regulus and julia thrive on that teetering balance of friend and foe, where the light they bring to each other is equally blinding on an intentional level — after all, they can’t let the other catch the snitch every quidditch match just because of their feelings, now, can they?

old habits die hard and it isn’t uncommon to find the pair fighting the instinct to resolve any disagreement with a duel (where their attacks will consist of blowing air in the other’s face, drenching the other with some cold water, making the other spin uncontrollably until they trip over themselves — petty , but it sends the message)

yet in the end, when all is said and done, who else can understand them if not the other?

because, you see, people are afraid of fire, but they need it

it’s that pull for warmth, for heat, for comfort, for passion, for life

when one feels a fear to fall, to let themselves go, to dive head first into a churning ocean of emotions that muddle their vision but call to their soul, it’s an undeniable intervention

you can fear the pull of another person, but you’d be a fool to ignore it

and let’s just say, julia isn’t a fool

listening to : julia x regulus — candlelit hearts ━━━━─────────────●── ⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤ ↻

now playing :

၊||၊▸ wicked game — chris isaak

၊||၊▸ third eye — florence + the machine

၊||၊▸ welcome and goodbye — dream, ivory

၊||၊▸ in too deep — why don’t we

၊||၊▸ unmade — thom yorke

၊||၊▸ run — daughter

၊||၊▸ die alone — finneas

၊||၊▸ shrike — hozier

၊||၊▸ sunlight — hozier

၊||၊▸ je te laisserai des mots — patrick watson

don’t swallow the tea leaves ! for they leave you a message 🍂

yes . hozier is on there twice , what’s it to you? askdja anyway.. this took a while to write up bcs of my perfectionist issues but . regardless, lookout for my other relationship moodboards !! (currently working on my arrowverse dr) which i will be posting.. eventually.. anyway i kinda got carried away with the playlist i’ll be honest — figured ten songs would be fair given this post is not just about me but also my dr s/o (also, heads up, i curated the order of the songs to fit the events of my dr ≈) and ofcs, this post is ib my lovely darling @elysian-fawn and our spark of collective consciousness that motivated this desire to create dr relationship moodboards <333 finally — THANK YOU FOR 200 FOLLOWERS !!!

chaai brews; tea assortments — dr archive

EDDIE CROWLEY — SHADOW OF KETTERDAM

born in ravka, eddie came to ketterdam as a young teen where he soon put his skills as a shadow summoner to use as a freelance assassin before getting roped in with kaz and the crows. now, eddie remains just as deadly as before, but with a newly acquired weak spot. or several. he isn't sure how the crows managed to each worm their ways into his heart, but he'd be lying if he said he was complaining about it.

KAZ BREKKER — DIRTYHANDS

kaz brekker, kerch native, forever changed after the death of his brother at the hands of pekka rollins, rival crime boss. now, kaz has gained the nickname 'dirtyhands' for his willingness to do whatever if the cost is worth it.

however, kaz finds himself weak and weak alone for his two shadows—inej ghafa and eddie crowley. though, getting an admission of weakness or care out of kaz is like pulling teeth. yet, he shows his care though his actions above all else.

EDDIE & KAZ — (rivals to lovers) the two started out their relationship rockily. eddie kept interfering with kaz's jobs—unintentionally but still. and once eddie realized the annoyance he made the stoic crime boss feel, he pushed his limits. eventually, kaz realized eddie's power and chaotic nature were better served working with him rather than against and recruited the grisha to the dregs. through eddie working for kaz, the two began to spend more time together. kaz began to develop a secret fondness for the sarcastic grisha, and eddie began to look out for the dreg leader outside of assignments. eventually, eddie got the nickname of "brekker's blade", though he can't say he minds all that much. he knows that belong to kaz means you're always taken care of, always loved even if not expressed in words—and eddie certainly has been both of those things.

INEJ GHAFA — THE WRAITH

raised as an acrobat in her family's traveling circus in her early life, inej was stolen from her home and sold as a slave to the menagerie. inej's acrobatic skills caught the attention of kaz, who bought off her indenture for her to work for him.

inej is a religious woman, who believes in the power of the saints. she thanks them for saving her from her imprisonment and bringing her to the crows, especially to the two members she's grown fond of—kaz brekker and eddie crowley—and the strange newcomer, nina zenik.

EDDIE & INEJ — (girlboss x malewife) inej started working for the crows shortly after eddie and the two bonded of their shared skillset. though, inej refuses to kill because of her faith. therefore, whenever she needs the help on a job she can't complete, she'll always call on eddie. the two began to work closely together on jobs after kaz saw how good of a team they made. with inej moving without making a single sound and eddie blending seamlessly into the shadows. though working together and saving each other's lives countless times, the two grew closer. inej's no-nonsense approach to her work contrasting with eddie's tendency to have fun with it. she does have a habit of needing to tell him off—but, he secretly enjoys hearing her tell him what to do. enough that, sometimes, he'll cause just enough trouble to get inej to take the lead. shh, don't tell her.

JESPER FAHEY — THE IMPOSSIBLE SHOT

originally from the wandering isles, jesper came to ketterdam under the guise of a university student. however, here he discovered his truest love—gambling. jesper is an incredible shot—if he can stop cracking jokes long enough to take it.

jesper can't say no to a bet, whether it's at the card table or amongst his fellow crows. though he doesn't always come out on top, he would say luck was on his side leading him to two people that changed his life—eddie crowley and wylan van eck.

EDDIE & JESPER — (dumbass x single brain cell) jesper and eddie originally didn't get along well, their personalities clashing sharply. eddie never liked how he never seemed to take anything seriously. however, after a late night in the crow club and far too many drinks, they had a fling. it was never supposed to mean anything, but they did it again, and again. casual, they both said, while knowing it was deeper than that. eddie kept jesper pushed away, not knowing how he'd feel about him having feelings for other people as well. but, jesper eventually found out about his worries and assured eddie that he didn't care so long as he could have him too. jesper and eddie's relationship develops into something very casual, but not in the usual tense. they're casually domestic, casually romantic, casually obsessive. jesper's flashy sharpshooting skills usually being scolded by a watchful eddie who can't keep a straight face as he does it.

NINA ZENIK — THE HEARTRENDER

raised in the little palace like all ravkan grisha, nina became a spy for her country at a young age. after being lost over the frejdan boarder, she barely survived and ended up in ketterdam to save both her life and her former captor—matthias helver.

born as a corporalki, nina trained to become one of the best heartrenders of her generation. her control over the human body is unrivaled by grisha, however she spends her time at the white orchid soothing anxieties and curing migraines. but, she also is connected to the dregs through kaz brekker to the dregs—where she met eddie crowley and inej ghafa.

EDDIE & NINA — (idiots in love) when nina and eddie first met, they thought nothing of each other. but, once they began working on a job together, nina realized that eddie was grisha as well, but not just any grisha—a shadow summoner. the kind that ravkans were taught to fear, the kind the black heretic was. it was only natural for nina to be nervous. however, nina has never been one to take stories as fact. she would never have fallen in love with a druskelle that way. and as she began to spend more time with eddie, she discovered he was more nervous about his abilities than she was. she found herself encouraging him to try and use them more instead of caution him against it. nina was the first ravkan to look at eddie without suspicious or anxiety. it felt good to be respected by a fellow grisha, not feared. and something in nina's eyes just made him feel safe. it's hard to hide a crush from someone who can quite literally feel every beat of your heart and nina quickly began to tease eddie about it. however, eddie had figured out how not to get flustered long enough to tease back. they're absolute idiots to each other and spend most of their time with each other giggling.

MATTHIAS HELVER — THE EX-DRUSKELLE

born in fjerda and trained as one of the mighty warriors known as the druskelle, matthias was raised to fear grisha and see their abilities as an abomination. however, a chance encounter with a grisha that saved his life—nina zenik—matthias' worldview was shifted.

but, betrayed by nina and sent to hellgate prison in ketterdam for a crime he did not commit, matthias wrestles with his beliefs. after being broken out by kaz and his crew for a heist in fjerda, matthias' split beliefs are challenge again by another grisha—eddie crowley.

EDDIE & MATTHIAS — (grumpy x sunshine) eddie and matthias met on the ice court heist. when matthias was still figuring out how to trust nina again, he started spending time with eddie on their long trip to fjerda. eddie's easy-going and teasing personality once again proved that everything he'd been taught about grisha was a lie. something about the shadow summoner reminded him of nina and he assumed that's what the feels that surfaced were—a missing of the woman he didn't know how to trust anymore. but, once he reunited with nina and forgave her, the feelings didn't fade, and when eddie and nina began to get together, he found himself wanting to be there with them. the two were more than happy with the arrangement. plus, matthias' grumpy front made him so much fun to tease.

WYLAN VAN ECK — THE DEMOLITIONS MAN

born to merchant jan van eck, wylan was always seen as the disappointment of a son, due to his inability to read. after his father tried to have him killed, wylan escaped into the barrel and tried to start a new life as a tannery apprentice.

however, wylan's genius in chemistry made him adept at creating explosions, which drew the eye of kaz. seeing through his alias of wylan hendricks, kaz recruited him to the ice court heist as leverage agains their employer. however, wylan didn't care why he was on the mission, so long as he was, and ended up meeting jesper fahey and eddie crowley.

EDDIE & WYLAN — (looks like a cinnamon roll, can kill you x looks like can kill you, is a cinnamon roll) eddie wasn't pleased about having wylan on the mission at first, as kaz put him in charge of watching over the newbie and making sure he didn't try and get away. eddie only saw him as a possible problem but, trusting kaz's expertise, did it anyway. however, through spending so much time with wylan, eddie began to realize the boy's genius. wylan would sometimes start rambling about chemical compounds—things eddie didn't really understand—and then get embarrassed about it. however, eddie secretly found wylan's genius attractive and seeing him go on those rants or stand up to kaz with that sense of morality made eddie get a sense of protectiveness for this newcomer to the crows.