#And let's also not forget Tamar and Nadia

[cottonspridet]

Shadow and Bone

TW: spoilers

I saw the new season of 'Shadow and Bone' and BY GOD

First Mal and Alina are finally cute with each other in a romantic way

RAVENS HOW I LOVE THEM

Jesper and Wylan make me cry, they are so cute and cuddly I adore all their scenes, they make me scream with emotion

finally my parents

kas and inej <3 Damn traumatized confess or steal your wife. Inej mommy I adore you

God how I love Nina, all beautiful and dangerous, how the hell can she fight in that dress?

The twins, Tolya and Tamar, give me a bi panic

[lilisouless]

Alina: maybe we have to redefine what fits on "its an emergency, come quickly"

Nikolai: its a million dollar plan, all we need to do its letting weird people to record us in a house

Zoya: we are NOT doing a reality , nothing its real anyway

Nikolai: duh, thats why i am assigning each one of you a role to play. I will be the protagonist

Zoya: there are no protagonist in reality shows

Nikolai: Zoya...please...alright, my role will be the guy with incredible charm, incredible leadership skills but still likeable that everyone admires and its incredibly modest. It will be easier since well...i play that everyday.

Mal: and i guess i´ll play the loser guy

Nikolai: i admire your self awareness Mal, but no, i actually need you to be my best friend which i have a borderline homoerotic relationship with that will be the most talked thing about the show. Now come here and hold my hand in a platonic-not so platonic way, and you better use a mint on our brotherly new year eve´s kiss

Mal: out what now?

Nikolai: We also need a diva, a queen, a girl who is cruel, rude but so and charming that people will see her rudness as "brutal honesty" and claim her as absolutely iconic, and we have the perfect person for the role, the only woman with the talent of creating such a charismatic yet outrageous persona...Zoya...

Zoya: ugh, if it means so much to you, then i-

Nikolai: plase move, i need to talk to Genya.

Zoya: seriously?

Nikolai: Genya, would you do the honor?

Genya: do i get to write my own lines and choose my victims?

Nikolai: absolutely

Genya: deal

Nikolai: now, Tolya, you will be the sensitive man

Tolya: oh, does that mean i get to recite my poems?

Nikolai: better...you´ll learn to play acoustic guitar, i need to you play it in every second the camera is on you.Now Zoya and Alina will be most of the time fighting over me-

Alina: no!

Nikolai:...over Mal?

Zoya: no!

Nikolai: ...over being Genya´s bestie?

Zoya & Alina: fair enought

Tamar: now if you think Nadia and I will kiss for a creepy male audience...

Nikolai: actually, i thought you could be besties and a come out as a couple a year after the first season...

Zoya: you want more than one?

Nikolai: Like, our secret weapon to regain audience and a renewal. Sure Mal and I will be the most popular thing at the show´s time but after the end, you two will have the "tamadia being cute" compilations

Tamar: fine, but we demand a higher paygrade

Nikolai: David is going to be the local relatable guy...

David: i still don't follow the "reality" but fake...

Nikolai: excelent work! and the glasses give it a nice touch...and about Leoni and Adrik, you will be the cute non problematic girl and the guy that everyone forgets exists...so, pretty much yourselves

More under the cut, to not make the most too long

Nikolai: what do you mean it got rejected?!

"Sorry man, but we have a new reality show"

Nikolai watching the tv: keeping up with the ketterdams?

Inej on tv: He can buy a boat but he can't fix his hear for me? i mean...does he really love me?

---

Wylan: i am changing the curtains, i want them in icy sapphire

Kuwei: icy sapphire? omg he is so pretentious, shut up! its blue...

---

Nina crying: MY WAFFLE FELL IN THE OCEAN!

Jesper: Nina , there´s people that are dying

---

Hanna staring blankly: huh...i thought this was going to be a cooking show...

---

Marya: oh Mr Fahey, shouldn't we talk about the obvious...(reads on smuged hand) huh...tension? between us?

Colm: Oh yes, our natural chemistry is undeniable and not fabricated for views at all

(awkwardly hold hands)

---

Alys: oh , i just randomly had the impulse to...SIIIIIIIING!

"SECURITY! WHO LET HER IN?! GET HER OUT AND YOU BETTER NOT FORGET TO EDIT THIS BIT OUT!"

---

"footage of Kaz falling facedown over a cake"

Matthias: is what he deserves (smiles)

[taricide]

I'm so mad at netflix for butchering the grisha trilogy AND crooked kingdom at the same time holy fuck. The grisha trilogy wasn't too great imo but i still really liked those books and Netflix just completely fucked it up in all the ways possible. Like Zoya for one, her character arc was so noticeable in the books and now it's not even there ???!!! i don't like the casting for her either but that's another thing. She was exceptionally powerful and an excellent commander and now she's just .. Someone We Know. Why did they have to kill off David so soon ? WHAT was the point. I also really liked alinas hair being bleached to white which completely was NOT shown. Also it's so dumb how Nikolai didn't need to get tailored to be sturmhond. book sturmhond is 100% times better. And the nichevo'ya look really really stupid. Nikolai being attacked by the Darkling in the books was a hundred times more impactful than just some random wound. Also I'm really confused as to how grisha can travel freely in shu han but whatever. Also i feel like the apparat and his cult was a fun thing to explore. And i imagined Tamar's axes to be much bigger, the ones she has in the show look so dumb I'm sorry. I'm still mad that everyone calls the darkling "kirrigan" because that just takes away some of the weight of his presence. I have so many more things to be mad about but I'm forgetting so let's talk about the crows. Inej's trauma was quite literally erased from the show and tante heleen being killed earlier just makes me 2?#+8*+₹ so annoyed. They just explored kaz's trauma like everyone else doesn't matter. Jesper is now sleeping around for some reason which is a very cool and normal way to show bisexuality. Jesper and wylan getting together before Nadia and tamar is so crazy to me... i HATE it. Pekka rollins being defeated and making up a plot specifically to defeat the crows makes no sense, and that wasn't even the point of his character . The point was that he didn't remember kaz because he's ruined countless lives. Some of the crows' exchanges seem so fake to me and the dialogue is so poorly written that it's laughable. I don't think theyre gonna adapt crooked kingdom since they've already adapted a bastardized horrible version of that book. Anyway i hope the show gets cancelled and the writers get fired and the show becomes obscure and everyone forgets about it.

[goldengoddess]

dating nikolai as a grisha

pairing: nikolai lantsov x female!inferni!reader

request: Dating nikolai headcanon as a grisha?

a/n: hello as someone that’s in love with nikolai this means a lot to me, also super self-indulgent so i made the reader female and inferni <3 also this just became dating nikolai i kinda lost the grisha part but is ok 

warnings: cursing i think, some sexual kissing, sexual jokes 

the two of you met when you were young

you became best friends at the little palace 

running around the halls with nikolai 

you grow up together 

you grow in power and he grows in responsibility 

when he leaves the palace you send each other letters 

no matter where in the world you are

one day the two of you cross paths 

and suddenly it’s not so easy to be just friends 

you know everything about him 

or so you thought 

until you start to learn 

that he liked to kiss you on the nose

or that he snores softly in his sleep 

or that pet names make him wildly blush 

“aw baby, look you’re so red! oh my god, i can’t believe i didn’t know this!”

you being grisha causes problems at first 

odd looks from palace workers 

and awkward moments in training 

the first few weeks you hold your head up high and pretend it didn’t get to you

but then you end up in nikolai’s room 

curled up into his arms 

crying quietly about the horrible things people had whispered about you

and nikolai holds you 

all night 

coaxing small laughs out of you

“they’re just jealous, i mean you do get unlimited access to the most handsome man in all of ravka”

slowly the two of you fall into a routine as a couple 

nikolai wakes up first 

always 

he watches you sleep 

tracing the shape of your face 

rubbing right above your eyebrow 

then he’ll get up and do some work at his desk 

until you wake up 

eyelashes fluttering 

and he grins

walking back into the bed 

kissing you right beneath your earlobe 

“good morning princess, your breath stinks”

you bring him coffee when he’s trapped in meetings for a long time 

his favourite from ketterdam obviously 

sometimes the triumvirate lets you sit in on meetings quietly 

he’ll bother you during your palace shifts with the second army 

even though he’s seen you do it a thousand times

he’ll always ask to see you use your powers

he’ll ask you to make drawings and stories out of the fire

“okay i know i ask every time, but hear me out, my face, are you getting this, made out of flames!”

when you’re sent away on jobs for the army 

he sends you letters every day 

updating you on the smallest things happening in the palace 

‘hey princess, nadia and tamar wouldn’t stop flirting and i miss you’

he’ll get his best ideas from you 

one day he’ll be sitting in, watching you train some younger grisha 

and he’ll jump up all excited running up to you 

“saints! i’ve got it, the fire, i can use the fire to-”

and then he’ll go mumbling off to work on his inventions 

sometimes you get so flustered 

that you can’t seem to control your powers 

nikolai will be kissing your neck

and suddenly the sheets are on fire 

“oh my god oh my god i am so so sorry i didn’t even realize- nikolai lantsov stop laughing right now”

he never lets you forget it 

ever

genya gushing to you about how much nikolai talks about you

ranting to nikolai about the stupid grisha prejudices that exist in the world 

asking him why he calls you princess

“well i think it’s a little premature to call you queen so for now, princess”

you burst into tears 

but in a good way 

giving him a little burn on his arm when you need to get his attention 

“princess ow! you could just call my name really i know how much you love to do that- OW HEY” 

him naming a ship after you 

super super playful 

so. much. tickling 

teases you about everything 

and you tease him right back 

“nikolai, you’re supposed to look like a prince not like a trophy case, take some of those stupid medals off”

nikolai is great under pressure 

always knows the right thing to say 

listens to the critiques you have for the second army 

loves grand gestures !!!!!

like big rom com energy 

room full of roses 

confessing his love for you in front of everyone even though you’ve been dating for months 

“i’m a prince,” he would say, “everything about me is grand”

and then he would wink

lets you sit in his lap 

while he sits on the throne 

takes you riding on all of his flying machines 

laughing as you scream your head off 

“NIKOLAI PUT ME DOWN”

“but you look so pretty with the wind in your hair”

dating a prince is a fairy tale 

dating prince nikolai, is an adventure 

[acharliek]

zoyalai kids headcanons

(Disclaimer: Some of it, I’ve picked up from other posts because i thought it was adorable, some of it I’ve thought of myself)

They have three kids

The oldest is called Yana Alina. (Yana as an hommage to Liliyana, Alina is probably obvious) Yana doesn’t look a whole lot like either of her parents, but she’s pretty much a carbon copy of her aunt Linnea, only her hair and skin are a few shades darker. While she shares Nikolai’s inventiveness and is very smart, her personality is very much like Zoya’s, meaning she is a snarky, sarcastic little shit. Zoya is so proud, Nikolai thinks it’s hilarious. She’s a total momma’s girl too.

Her best friends are a kaelish Fabrikator girl named Clara who grew up in Keramzin before coming to the little palace and Nadia’s and Tamar’s adopted son, Kenji, who’s basically always been her older brother.

The younger two are twins, a boy and a girl.

The girl is called Inessa Genya (I saw the name Inessa in someone else’s post and thought it was absolutely adorable) and the boy is called Dominik Kosta (Kosta being a wordplay on David’s last name Kostyk). Nessa is about 5 minutes older than Dom and she does not let him forget it.

As young kids, they were super close and loved being Nessie and Nicky (People would often assume that Nicky was short for Nikolai jr.), but they grew out of it eventually and started being Nessa and Dom.

Unlike their older sister, they’re both Grisha. Nessa is a tailor, Dom is a tidemaker. They both look a lot like Zoya, her dark hair, her blue eyes, but they both have Nikolai’s way with words and veery much know how to use it. To Nikolai’s delight, they’re also both weirdly obsessed with boats and the sea. Neither Zoya nor Yana relate.

Nessa is a HANDFUL, especially when she becomes a teenager. She’s very melodramatic about literally everything, very extroverted and always out and about. She’s crazy ambitious and tends to always give 110%. She’s quite attractive and knows how to use that, especially combined with being flirty and charming. Genya taught her how to flirt and how to tailor both herself and others they’re 100% the palace’s gossip queens. Zoya sometimes wonders how she managed to basically give birth to her best friend. Genya loves Nessa a lot, so much so that it makes her sad sometimes because it’s so easy to imagine what it could’ve been like if she could’ve had her own kids.

Dom is a little bit more chill, he reads a lot and loves discussing his books with Tolya. Much like both of his parents, he is very smart about pretty much everything except his own feelings. He likes a different person girl just about every month, but never really does anything about it other than write sad poetry??? No one really gets it, especially Dom himself.

He’s the only one of his siblings who’s truly interested all the ins and outs of the palace and ravkan politics. He and Nikolai often sit together for hours, discussing things that make the rest of the family yawn.

Anyways thats it for now feel free to add onto them

[nazyalenskyism]

Sankt Nikolai Day

Summary: Sankt Nikolai's day is celebrated on the darkest day of the year, and so the king and his friends have a little celebration of their own this year. ❤️❤️ A/N: Just a holiday Zoyalai fic! I hope you enjoy!              “No!” Genya exclaimed, batting Zoya’s hand away from the tray at the center of the table, “this one’s so much better.” Zoya stared at the snowflake shaped pastry that she was trying to grab as Genya placed a glimmering dessert on her plate. It was a soft golden yellow colour, complete with gilded edges, a beautifully crafted star. She shot Nikolai a look across the table, he’d ordered all the dishes served tonight, it had to be intentional, but she was the only one who knew about the star-shaped scar that sat directly atop his heart, a result of his ordeal in the fold. His eyes flicked upwards and he caught her gaze, shooting her a coy wink before turning back to his heated conversation with Tolya about how best to prank Tamar or something along those lines.

        What did the pastry mean, did it mean anything? Was she simply reading into something that wasn't there? She shook her head, looking back to her plate, he was even more insufferable tonight than usual, and she couldn’t figure out why. The whole day had been spent at bonfires, a banquet luncheon, sledding, all leading to this private dinner in Nikolai’s chambers with just the seven of them, maybe he was simply unburdened today. Either way as insufferable as he was, it was nice to see him happy. It wasn’t like he truly showed how stressed he was, but she could always feel it. It was a consequence of all the time they spent together, she would be doing a bad job if she didn’t know him as well as the back of her own hand, and Zoya refused to do anything poorly. There had been a few moments today though where she felt like he was acting even more different than usual, the looks he’d given her were puzzling to say the least.        After dinner they sank to the floor around the fire where they passed around drinks and stories that they rarely shared. Flushed with liquor and contentment, they moved on to yet another tradition of Sankt Nikolai’s day, the swapping of presents. Genya and David had gifted him a pair of fur-lined boots, Tamar and Nadia had given him a red wool coat, and Tolya a pair of woolen gloves, all the gifts Sankt Nikolai had received in the old saint story. They’d also presented him with bottles of cherry wine from that street rat’s club in Ketterdam, something he apparently enjoyed, but when a goblet had been passed to Zoya, she had to admit that it wasn’t terrible, it was actually quite good.

       As her turn drew closer, Zoya toyed with beading at her cuffs, she was starting to doubt her gift again. Her gift to Nikolai would be the last one opened tonight, and she worried that maybe it was too bold . She wasn’t sentimental, but she wanted to express her thanks to him. A thank you for the peace, the quiet, the companionship for the last three years, and since she couldn’t say it she wanted her gift to communicate it. But as it got closer and closer to the time Nikolai would open her gift she felt more nervous, a feeling that was very uncharacteristic for her.         And that wasn’t even the only thing bugging her. When it was time for the king to present his gift to her, he just smiled innocently and said, “Nazyalensky’s gift isn’t ready yet, she’ll get it later.” What was that supposed to mean? . Maybe she should do the same, and just pretend that she didn’t bring it to their little party-- but no, that would never work, it was clearly sitting in the middle of their little circle.         “Thank you, Tolya,” Nikolai said, his eyes glinting as he embraced his friend with one arm. At his feet lay a bound volume of poetry maybe, but it had Nikolai’s name on the cover.         “Wait,” she gasped, diving over Genya to scoop up the big book, “is this your poetry?”“Nazyalensky, give it back.” Zoya shot him a look in response and he sank back, “fine, you can read one, just ONE.”         She pushed her shoulders back, channeling her inner Nikolai, in all his theatrical glory. “This one is called--”“Not out-loud!”         “Think of this as my gift, since you clearly forgot mine.”=“I didn’t forget your gift, it’s just not ready yet.”         “That sounds exactly like what someone who didn’t get me a gift would say!”         He scrubbed a hand over his face, “fine. You can read one. Just one, commander.”         Tamar let out a sharp laugh, “I can’t wait to hear this.”         Zoya cleared her throat, “it’s called, ‘the harpy...’ really your highness?” At the cheering of Genya and a very tipsy David and Tamar, she continued, ignoring Nikolai’s pointed eye roll.         “floodlit break of day         a perfect, warm beauty fills         pushing away the dark         a brilliant ocean         a royal, sharp blue invites         calling to the eyes         twinkling nighttime          a radiant kiss softly         against the fingers”         ”Zoya frowned, “this wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. What is it supposed to be about?”         “Are you kidding me?” Nadia blurted out, “Zoya mmfmfm--” Tamar’s hand clamped over her mouth, keeping her from hearing the rest of Nadia’s sentence.         “What?”         “Oh Zoya, maybe you’ll get it one day,” Genya laughed, throwing an arm around Tolya, “try to work it out tonight. And with that, we need to get to bed, goodnight!” And with a flourished bow, she and the others had collected their gifts and closed the door behind them, leaving her and Nikolai alone, his poetry book still in her hands. She swapped it for the gift box she’d wrapped earlier in the day, the idea of presenting the items in it to him still making her stomach flutter.         “Here,” Zoya thrust the package at his chest, spinning on her heel and tailing towards the door. She didn’t want to stick around and see his reaction, giving him a gift had been embarrassing enough for this lifetime.“Nazyalensky, wait,” warm, calloused fingers grasped at her wrist turning her back around. Nikolai had a strange look on his face, he looked a little confused, a little amused and a little exasperated all at once. “You haven’t gotten your present yet.”         “Wasn’t the poem my gift? We have lots to do in the morning and I have to get to sleep.” She tried to tug free, but the king’s grip was like iron.         “You know it wasn’t, and no, we don’t. Sit.”         She sighed indignantly, strutting over to the armchairs before the fire, her back as straight as a rod, every muscle in her body tense. She really didn’t want to be here for this. Zoya hadn’t put this much consideration into a gift since she’d bought things for Liliyana, and it felt like she was exposing some innermost part of herself by doing it, she could only hope that Nikolai wouldn’t realize just how much time she put into putting the present together.         Nikolai settled into the chair beside her, slipping something under it before she could discern what it was. Odd. “Your wrapping skills are a seven, good, but clearly not as good as mine.”          “A seven ? As if. My skills are a ten, and even if you have absolutely no taste, you would know that they’re at least a nine and a half.”         “Fine. A seven and a half.”         “A nine and a half, take it or leave it.”         “Whatever you say, commander.” His nimble fingers carefully pulled the paper apart at the seams, and Zoya waited with bated breath.         This was a mistake, “Nikolai--”“Oh,” he said softly, holding up the miniature to the light from the fire, “oh.” His fingers trailed over the blonde hair of his mother’s portrait, tracing the golden hair that matched his. “Oh,” he turned his face away from her for a second, quickly scrubbing a hand over his features before he turned back to the box in his lap. ‘Oh indeed.’         Next he pulled out a framed piece of fabric, the flag with a red hound that had flown on his boat-- the Volkvolny. Thumbing the fabric, thoughtfully, he turned to her, “how did you get this?”         “I can’t reveal my secrets,” she replied, nodding at the box again, “there’s more.” She wasn’t about to tell him how enamored she’d been by the ride on his ship to Kerch, how it’d reminded her of what Liliyana used to tell her on their journey to the little palace. How she was surprised by his abilities as a captain, and how she’d enjoyed the trip so much, she’d charmed the crew into giving her the flag as a memento. Not tonight.         “More? You’re spoiling me Nazyalensky.”“Just get it over with.” When Nikolai turned back to the box, Zoya quickly made her way to the door, scooping up the real present from Tolya’s arms before quietly closing the door behind her.         “Zoya, is this meant to fit me?” He held up a small loop of ribbon threaded through a delicate bell.         “Well,” she began, holding the squirming kitten out towards him… "if you don’t want her, Tolya said he would take her.”         Nikolai blanched for a moment, and Zoya felt her heart stop again, what was he going to say? But then, he was lifting the cat into his own arms, “does she have a name?”         Zoya blanched, wasn’t the person whose cat it was supposed to come up with the name? “I can’t do everything for you, your highness.”         “Any suggestions?”         “You can name her if you take her.”         “Of course I’m taking her, Nazyalensky.” He rolled his eyes at her, setting the kitten on the floor where she curled up at his feet. “But why a cat?”         She shrugged, “cats have nine lives, they always find a way to stay on their feet, they’re excellent at keeping their balance, and they’re aloof, and you seem to have experience in dealing with aloof personalities.” Zoya clasped her hands together as she slumped back in her chair, “not to mention that you seemed a little bit lonely-- you know, given with the broken engagement and all.”         “I think I’ll name her Lisa.”         “You want to name your cat… fox?”         “Yes.”“Well, if that’s all,” she began to stand.         “Wait, we haven’t done your gifts yet,” Nikolai protested, “I promise I got you something.” He reached under his seat and pulled out a perfectly wrapped rectangular box, placing it gently in her hands. “I don’t want to overstep, but I hope you’ll at least think about the things in here.”         She arched a brow at him, but he was quiet while she pulled the paper apart. “Are these my beads, from my keftas?”“You drop them more often than you’d think.”         She turned the clip over in her hands, the silver sparkled in the light, and with it’s curved pattern it reminded her of illustrations of a gust of wind, fine lines of sapphire stones intertwined with silver beads. Zoya let out a startled laugh, her fingers pressing into the beads, she hadn’t received something as personal as this in a very, very long time, and here she was taken aback by a pin of all things.         “May I?” Nikolai asked, holding out his hand expectantly. When the confused look stayed on her face, he leaned forward and plucked the clip from her hands. Before she could protest however he was directly before her, his fingers brushing back her hair. Zoya wasn’t thinking anymore, hell she wasn’t sure if she was even breathing anymore. All she could feel was Nikolai’s hands against her hair, pushing her hair back, the barest warmth from his breath by her ear, the determination in his bright eyes.         “There,” he whispered as the clip clicked into place, but he made no move back to his seat. Instead his hand trailed slowly downwards, resting at her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered against her will, and it took everything in her to stop herself from shuddering. Nikolai’s thumb grazed her cheekbone, and the next thing she knew, his lips were pressed against hers. Zoya reacted instantly, her fingers curling into his shirt, pulling him closer. Saints, she hadn’t realized how badly she’d wanted this, she was barely known she wanted it at all, but in this moment she couldn’t remember wanting anything but this. She leaned in against his touch, her forehead resting against his when they broke apart.         “Zoya?”         “Hm?”“There’s more inside the box.” She let out a little sigh, her head still spinning, the enormity of her actions still not sinking in quite yet. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was her own way of surrendering to this feeling, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care either way, she had wanted to kiss him, and so she had. And now, she wanted to do it again.         “Nikolai, this is a piece of paper.”         “A piece of paper with words on it.”         “The harpy…” she hesitated for a second, letting the words wash over her. “That poem was about me?”         “Yes, Nazyalensky.”         “And the mornings and nights-- those parts were about me locking you in at night and coming to unlock you in the mornings?”         “Yes, Nazyalensky.”         His fingers threaded with hers and she settled her head against his shoulder, leaning into his embrace, “what did the star pastry mean?”         “It didn’t mean anything, I was only trying to see how oblivious you were.”         “Take that back,” she threatened, jabbing a finger at him, “I am not oblivious.”         “Fine,” he amended, raising his hand in mock surrender, “not oblivious, just too scared to admit how much you actually liked me.”

         “I’ve never liked you,” she scoffed, “I’ve been tolerating you for years, there’s a difference.”         “So when you kissed me, that was you tolerating me?”         “You kissed me!”         “Hmm sure, dear.”         Zoya huffed at this, grabbing at his collar with one hand and pulling him in for a kiss. “Will that shut you up?” “No, but you can keep trying.” “Fine, I will,” and she did.

[dregstrash]

king of scars re-read thoughts

i just finished re-reading King of Scars and boy oh boy I have some more thoughts (mostly on zoyalai, and damn this was a long post).

I ship Zoyalai even stronger than I did before

No seriously

Both of them are so determined to be noble and self-sacrificing that they lean on one another like two people who need the support of another (kind of reminds me of Nina and Matthias when they had to swim to shore)

Nikolai being so determined to save people. K I L L S  M E

While I love a good broody, edgelord. I do love the heroic, arrogant type of dudes who are just trying their best

Also Zoya literally has a vision to save all the Grisha ever and if she doesn’t end up being Queen by Kos2 then what’s even the point

Cause she says that the people won’t accept her, but girl, seriously. Pull a Sultan Jasmine and just change the law--the perception--save the Grisha

I also didn’t realize the depth of Nikolai’s optimism until this second reread. Like it seeps into everything he is or does. With Kirgin, he sees the noble heart and not the rake (for the most part). With his real dad and his half-sister, their very lives are threatening to his position, but he won’t pull the trigger on them just cause he thinks their very lives shouldn’t be forfeit simply for his existence.

Let’s not forget the fact that he really believes he can get his country out of a very very very difficult spot through sheer will and wit

I am also revitalized by the secondary relationships (Genya/David, Nadia/Tamar). It’s like a found-family dynamic with just a dash of “everyone’s getting together and there’s Tolya reading poetry in the corner”

Also Zoya and Nikolai subtly checking each other out is 10/10 content

I’m no expert but Nikolai is defff an extravert (maybe an ENFP) and Zoya is obviously an introvert (I’m thinking an ISTJ, but I could be wrong)

Kid Nikolai kills me each time I read his backstory

Like learning why Nikolai is the way he is. Knowing why he wears a thousand masks a day. Knowing that he saw monsters in his own family and has been fighting them since his childhood is absolutely amazing.

“My ruthless Zoya, I’ll load the gun myself” --> Iconic. Brilliant. Love of my life

Zoya saying the people would “never” accept her as queen is entirely laughable. Because as we know there’s really nothing quite impossible...just improbable

After re-reading all the stuff about the Starless Saint cult and The Darkling’s impact I’m here to report it’s just as horrifying as the first time I read it. The Darkling was a lonely, arrogant, narcissist with a delusion of grandeur and his followers are the kind of people who will forever be quoting other people’s pains as something to be taken for granted because to them “everything happens for a reason”

Nikolai has all these ideas that he’s always seeking for power and ambition, and while that may be true to a certain extent he’s awfully ready to hand over his country to his most trusted adviser

Also Zoya’s arc in this book is absolutely beautiful. Like just her process of grief and how that manifests into anger and will. And the fact that Juris doesn’t ask her to stop being angry or good, he’s just asking her to reconcile what was so she could move on fully. He’s literally just asking her to heal so that could be another scar she carries to make her stronger, just like the claw scars she has

And don’t get me started on the Juris/Zoya mentor relationship. I love it so much. Literally the only person who can match her snark for snark, and I love his “give no shits” attitude, but still be able to care kind of

Literally everyone in this book is advocating for Queen Zoya 2020, and I’m all here for it

And for real, there is so much foreshadowing to the fact that Zoya can’t be stuck being general forever. Despite her own protests or what dictates as “normal.” I think for Grisha to enter this new world where they can be treated like people, they need someone with significant political standing, and if that isn’t Queen Zoya than idek (cause i mean wouldn’t that solve a lot of their problems with Parem? With a Grisha Queen the use of Parem could be heavily regulated or banned, no other country wouldn’t dare use it against Ravka in case of enacting war, and it could finally finally unite Ravka and Grisha alike?)

Nikolai contemplating his own death is such a mood. I know I’ve talked forever about Zoya and her arc, but damn Nikolai. The Golden Boy hero who is willing to act for the rest of his life just so he can save others. And despite his strength he displays such a tenderness that makes him sooooo loveableeeeee. Also, don’t @ me but the iconic line of “if things were different. if he was led by his heart and not by duty” was the beginnings of a love declaration. i’m standing by that

One of the lines that kills me each time is when Nikolai is facing off the demon (one of my fav parts of the entire book tbh) and he says “he would never, ever turn his back on a wounded man-- even if that man was him.” just that hit me hard. that someone so confident and so self-sacrificing can survive by staring at his fears and deciding he was worth saving too is incredibly motivational. And while I aspire to have the Steel of Zoya Nazyalensky, I want Nikolai’s ability to be so Determined and Dedicated.

I also want to make a point about different views of love in King of Scars. Cause I think Zoya’s view on Love is the fruity, lusty kind of love that never lasts. Nikolai’s view of love is unattainable and based on pleasantries. I think they’re in love in the sense of choice. That love is the choice one makes after the attraction settles down and becomes normal. They just choose to be dedicated and choose Ravka (and each other) over and over again. And I don’t think they’re familiar with that kind of love to even recognize that that’s what it is (this is my own personal theory, I could also be wrong)

Reaching the end and realizing that Ehri doesn’t even want to be Queen, I really highly doubt that this marriage is going to work out. Not even because of the lack of love. It’s her lack of love for the people and zero political ambition. That’s pretty much useless to Nikolai who wants more for his people (i.e. Zoya will be Queen, I will keep saying it till the day I die)

Also, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Darkling is a piece of shit

Juris will be #1 Zoyalai shipper. I can see it. I can taste it. It’s going to be grand

I may have missed this the first time, but Nikolai saying that they’re about to go to war again is insane, and damn if I thought Ketterdam was a raging dumpster fire of a mess Ravka is a Whole Ass Disaster

Final thoughts: 

Nikolai is a good man and a good king despite his very mortal standing and him being vulnerable with himself and accepting his darkness is beautiful. 

Zoya is a powerful woman, who has a lot of capacity to love despite what she thinks and she’s going to make a kick ass queen. 

Zoyalai is endgame

Book 2 is going to be hella chaotic but I’m ready for it all

Ready for Zoya, Genya, Tamar, Nadia (literally all the Grisha women) to have their Avengers: Endgame moment, and destroy the Darkling for good

Ready for Nikolai to be himself unequivocally and be the King his country deserves

Ready for Zoyalai to realize that love doesn’t have to look like doe-eyes and silly platitudes, but it can look like understanding the other person and be willing to die for something greater

I almost wish that the Grisha TV show was about SoC and KoS, instead. That way the Grisha Trilogy can be told through flashbacks, and that way we can focus on the actual effect of the Darkling rather than glorifying him in this weird dark light (but that’s just me)

Anyway: ZOYALAI WILL BE ENDGAME 

[ariesmode]

as requested by @kestrel-of-herran ❤️

nikolai, the triumvirate, the twins and also nadia (henceforth known as the palace squad) are all twenty-somethings having the worst (best) time of their lives rebuilding something that was on its way to become a failed state, which is pretty scary, so their meetings are never 100% serious. some headcanons on what probably went down: 

nikolai’s first meeting with zoya, genya and david was basically everyone acting like they knew exactly what should be done (rebuild the second army!!), but they really had no fucking idea how to go about doing things and were like “let’s just make shit up as we go along for now, I guess”

ofc nikolai had a vague idea/plan, and zoya was probably up with some suggestions on matters like how to deal with the people who defected from the crown etc but they just had the realization that this was going to be really, really hard

obviously zoya was the one who suggested that they use the darkling’s war room for their secret meeting because she’s that petty (“that sounds like a wonderful idea” – nikolai, equally petty)

zoya, genya and david like these meetings so much more than the ones at the grand palace because they get to be candid and not deal with cabinet ministers who are only condescending to them because they’re grisha and “too young” to actually know anything. they can hold against snide comments well enough on their own, but it is pretty annoying to listen to an old hag talk about how he has more experience than them every single time

(zoya calmly reminded him that his experience has only been sitting in war rooms in a seat that was granted to him only by his privilege as nobility and not merit while she has personally been on the battlefield, thank you very much. genya cackled so much when the meeting was over) 

nikolai also likes these better because there aren’t any mind games. they all know exactly what they want and aren’t afraid of challenging him, especially commander nazyalensky 

it’s also never been really specified in the books, but i like to think that: david obviously specializes in military engineering, while genya organizes state events (nikolai was very impressed with how she handled his coronation) and oversees training in the little palace along with zoya, who also took on handling grisha matters abroad that are of interest to the state (imo it’s also pretty obvious that she’s the de facto leader of the triumvirate and it’s just not my bias talking) 

the meetings sometimes stretch for hours on end – especially in the beginning when they had so much work to do – and it really is exhausting so at some point they start getting distracted and talking/doing some ridiculous stuff

david hardly pays attention half the time (his mind starts wandering when they’re talking about something that isn’t science or grisha-related) though sometimes he’ll just randomly give his opinion about something he doesn’t even know about and it actually makes sense 

they’ve all definitely dozed off at some point, except for tamar and zoya. nobody knows how they do it 

before the poetry ban tolya could be persuaded to recite epic poems for a long time (“we have WORK to do” “we could do more of that later but that last verse was intriguing tolya please do go on”)

and then they’d end up having a literary analysis discussion that tolya is all too happy to lead, which zoya pretends she can’t be bothered to participate in and they think david isn’t paying attention but then he’ll end up giving his own take and everyone’s like, well that was a good point, how did we miss that?

there was a chess tournament once. everyone immediately agreed that it should never happen again 

david, nikolai and nadia, as the respective science nerds™ get really excited explaining new inventions. occasionally they’ll even come up with a brand new design on the spot, which would be pretty impressive if they hadn’t gotten completely sidetracked

nikolai once accidentally doodled on a Very Important document and they’ve never let him forget it 

tread carefully when zoya and/or genya are hungover the morning after they’ve had a drinking session or there will be consequences. nikolai learned the hard way 

tamar flexing that she and nadia are the first to get married because why not (they have definitely been told to get a room at least once because they’re so disgustingly cute)

genya planned the wedding, of course. they + adrik were the only ones present but that doesn’t matter, it’s still a wedding so it counts as something to be planned. yes, tolya cried 

speaking of: adrik definitely tried to eavesdrop on their meetings at some point. we all know that didn’t end well for him 

everyone has since learned that it’s not recommended to question genya when it comes to her plans for events. except when it comes seating arrangements, and even then you’d be on thin ice (this is especially so when it came to her wedding ceremony)

one word: hangman (plus crossword puzzles from the ravkan daily)

nikolai called zoya by her last name for the first time during a very long meeting about funding for grisha things while everyone else was half-asleep/already snoozing. needless to say that jolted everyone awake and raised eyebrows

genya whispering to tamar like did i hear that right. are my ears deceiving me and tamar is like no he actually did that and zoya didn’t even care (while they continued to argue) 

the banter (flirting) was funny at first but now the ust has become absolutely unbearable and they’re all just suffering. nadia hates them both so much. tolya reminds her that she’s not even present for all of their meetings and “imagine having to witness all of THAT [angry hand gesture] every day when you’re by the king’s side!” + nobody is profiting from genya’s betting pool which makes it worse

the silence™ when nikolai casually told zoya that he wanted her to be the one to lock him up every night when he started escaping from the palace as night mode nikolai would be remembered for years to come

when zoya had to go off to recruit more grisha overseas the rest of the group took turns to read her missives out loud in their best zoya impersonation. they all unanimously agreed that genya and (shockingly) tolya could not be surpassed. they just missed her a lot!

talking shit about some of the old hags that they have to deal with and gossiping about palace drama because tamar’s spies always end up learning... interesting stuff 

also talking shit about the lantsovs because wow a) worst rulers in the history of ever b) all that inbreeding LMFAOOOO c) some rooms in the grand palace were really badly decorated. and have you seen some of the heirlooms?! so ugly! 

squaller² bringing up stories from their training days: nadia talks about them having a rivalry and zoya is like pfft, i never even considered you as one 

tolya and tamar sharing embarrassing childhood anecdotes when they’re getting annoyed with each other 

LOOK, I REFUSE TO BELIEVE TOLYA DOESN’T HAVE HIS OWN FANCLUB IN BOTH THE LITTLE AND GRAND PALACE. POSSIBLY EVEN IN OS ALTA. he is a tall, Strong and Silent™ man who is loyal to the king and really likes poetry!! he definitely makes people swoon!! nikolai, genya and tamar love teasing him about this especially. it embarrasses him

on a more serious note, nikolai, genya and david are always the more optimistic when it comes to dealing with politics. tamar and zoya are the more pragmatic ones, and tolya and nadia are somewhere in between 

the ravkan economy is in a very sorry state and it’s absolutely depressing so the least they can do is make jokes about how everyone’s too broke to do anything ever 

“Your Majesty, how’s the budget?” – nadia  “HA, what budget?” – zoya 

a few years down the road they’ll start wondering when, exactly, did they start looking forward to these meetings because state affairs were something of an escape from the very exhausting job of parenting

[nomattertheoceans]

My thoughts on King of Scars

Ok so first of all, obviously, spoiler alert, do NOT read further if you haven’t read the book (I wanted to put a cut but I don’t have the option on mobile, sorry...)

So yeah I think I need some mindless screaming into the void before I can be constructive, so... OMGVRDCNIUBCHIRUFHEJKDFKLUHOSJDXW THIS BOOK WAS SO SO SO GOOD I WISH I COULD FORGET I READ IT JUST SO I COULD READ IT AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!! IT WAS SO AMAZING AND SO HEARTBREAKING AND SO FUNNY AND WITTY AND PERFECT UGH

Okay, I feel better now.

So... King of Scars. Where do I start?

Bardugo’s style improved so much since the Grisha Trilogy. It was obvious in the SoC duology, but it’s even more obvious now that she’s writing in the same setting, with some of the same characters. Her writing in this book is so good!

This book actually redeemed her in my eyes for the only thing I hated in SoC: Matthias’ death, that I found pointless and not very well handled. But man, did this book improve on it. Nina hearing his voice, her thinking of him when she talks about being a widow for her cover. The whole burying scene had me crying the entire time, it was so well written and so full of emotions, you could actually feel Nina get some form of closure from it, and it helped me accept his death too. So well done.

The prologue was great! I loved these in SoC and I’m glad she kept going with the idea, because introducing Nikolai and Zoya that way was a really good way to get the feeling of the current situation (and the POV of a random stranger works as well as it did in the duology).

NINA THINKING ABOUT THE CROWS ugh I’m dead, it was so amazing to read about how she wanted Inej to be with her to bury Matthias, how she used Kaz’s advice to craft her plan, how she thought about having inherited Jesper’s gift for bad decisions (I actually laughed out loud at that one XD). The whole idea that her year in Ketterdam really changed her and helped her grow into a better defender of the Grisha (even though she’s not as good at following orders ;) ), this was great. I miss the Crows so much.... OH AND NIKOLAI LEARNED TO PICK LOCKS WITH KAZ AND HE THINKS ABOUT HIM THAT WAS A GREAT REFERENCE TOO! Also, the fact that Leoni was the little girl saved by Jesper’s mom, that was such a great coincidence, I hope at some point they might meet and realize the connection, I don’t know how but it was a great detail to include, Leoni saving people thanks to Jesper’s mom’s sacrifice. (Yes, any reference to the Crows had me giggling to my book, I admit it)

So, I know a lot of people are going to be mad at me about this one because a lot of people hold the Darkling in high esteem, but the fact that he was framed as the main villain throughout the Nikolai/Zoya storyline felt really good to me. I honestly never understood how people could see him as a good person after everything that happened and that we learned in the Trilogy, and the fact that Bardugo focused mainly on him as the villain in Zoya’s story was a very good choice. Zoya feels angry and ashamed at how much she adored him and how he manipulated her and everyone around him. She cannot imagine people seeing him as a Saint because she witnessed his actions first hand and was also a victim of it, so she’s angry that even after all this, people can still ignore what he did. She’s mainly angry at herself about all this I think, but it was interesting to see this in her point of view. Continuing on the subject of The Darkling... OMG him being back at the end, I was so angry that he just wouldn’t STAY DEAD!! But I’m glad he’s back because I think his character in Bardugo’s improved style is going to be awesome (and I low-key want people to finally see him as the villain he is, but again, don’t be too angry at me, please!)

David and Genya are married now!! So are Nadia and Tamar!! And Tolya and his poetry XD and Adrik! It felt so good getting to reunite with all the Grisha characters, to see them evolve (again, thanks to Bardugo’s evolution in her writing) and become even greater than they were.

The secret laboratory was such a great addition, I can’t wait to see more of it!!! Also, Nikolai building a secret laboratory under a place of debauchery is SUCH a Nikolai thing to do XD

Nina in Fjerda is... so many emotions all along her storyline, it felt great. Knowing that she mostly managed to get over her addiction made me happy, she’s still an addict of course (kudos to Bardugo for including the fact that you never truly get over an addiction and that sobriety is a work of every day) but she managed to move past it and that’s great. Her new power is amazing but at the same time you can feel her nostalgia when she teaches Hanne, the fact that she stills misses her old powers. The experiments on the pregnant women were terrible, and so well-written, every scene with them killed me a little bit.

Hanne’s character is so good! I really love all of her evolution throughout the book, the way she’s willing to rebel at first but in small ways, and that she ends up actually rebelling with Nina. Also, even though I want it to be slow because I don’t think Nina is over Matthias yet, but UGH the way Nina describes her as so beautiful, I can’t wait for them to grow closer and maybe have a love story! Hanne’s being Brum’s daughter surprised me but in a good way, I love the irony that this monster would have a Grisha daughter (I hope he’ll find out at some point), and I love the way this laid out the plot line for the next book! Nina at the Ice Court!!!!! This is such an exciting thing to look forward to!

The whole Isaak storyline was great and ugh I was so NOT expecting this ending for it, I guess I’m a hopeless romantic because I wanted him to end up with the princess haha (but then I guess that’s what Leigh wanted us to think so good job ^^) and I really didn’t see the assassination coming! I had some doubts about the princess and the guard being interchanged but I had no idea what would be the point of that, so I guess I was seeing only half of the picture.

The fact that Nikolai was officially described as having some form of ADHD, this was a great scene, all of his childhood difficulties, and his friendship with Dominik, too. I loved all of this. I already loved Nikolai before (I mean... who didn’t?) but I love him so much more now! His struggle as King and doing what’s best for his country, knowing that letting his heart talk for him would be a mistake, preparing replacements for him in case something happens... I love him so much!!

Zoya... Zoya Zoya Zoya. She’s a great character, and she’s so interesting and complex and I’m so glad Leigh expanded on her character because it’s not often that women get to be strong and ruthless and beautiful and cold and not the villain of the story. So yeah, I love Zoya, she is amazing and all of her struggle over her past with The Darkling made her even more interesting than she used to be.

Finally, I think I’m going to end with Nikolai/Zoya relationship. I wasn’t completely sold at first, but then Nikolai had to go and think that:

“He’d come to recognize the bizarre phenomenon of Zoya’s beauty, the way men loved to create stories around it. They said she was cruel because she’d been harmed in the past. They claimed she was cold because she just hadn’t met the right fellow to warm her. Anything to soften her edges and sweeten her disposition - and what was the fun in that? Zoya’s company was like strong drink. Bracing - and best to abstain if you couldn’t handle the kick.”

And I was completely on board, never to leave again. Seriously. This quote is so perfect. Nikolai gets her, he loves being with her and how challenging she is to him, and he likes her just like she is, he doesn’t want her to change. And that’s great. Anyway, I really love their relationship throughout the book, its a challenging one but you can feel how much they like to work together and spend time together. The whole exchange when Zoya shows him the scars and he’s the first man she’d told the truth to... That was perfect. But omg, I knew there was going to be some sort of engagement for Nikolai (he’s a king after all), and during the entire book, him and Zoya both repeat more than once that they know it could never work if they let themself feel something for the other, but man I was NOT ready for Nikolai to get engaged to the Shu princess in the end.... Anyway, yes, I love them apart, and I love them together, and I can’t wait to read what happens next.

So overall, another amazing book to strengthen my complete obsession with the Grishaverse!! I will probably post a lot more about it in the coming days/weeks, and probably reread it! If you want to talk about it, don’t hesitate!!!

[shirewalker]

A Wicked Mistletoe Kiss - A Christmas Nikolina Fic

Rated T

Nikolina and mistletoe with a twist that only Nikolai could remember ;D

also on ao3

Mistletoe.

She scoffed at it. She scoffed at the couples happily getting caught under the dozens of random mistletoes hanging in the ballroom. She scoffed at the one person that was missing from the party. And most of all, she scoffed at herself for thinking of even something as “accidentally” kissing him under the mistletoe. Because she was too much of a coward to even admit to herself she wanted to kiss him, badly. Because she was such a coward that she needed the excuse of a mischievous mistletoe to get that kiss she’d been dreaming for weeks now.

Giggles erupted close by and she looked around. There, amongst dancing couples were Tamar and Nadia, caught under a mistletoe. Nadia was laughing after Tamar had dipped her for an extra-dramatic kiss. Alina couldn’t help a smile over her friends’ happiness. But that was short-lived as she saw more couples discreetly dancing under more mistletoe for even more mistletoe kisses.

Alina groaned and left the party.

Perhaps she should get some fresh air to lose some of that sour mood. Or perhaps the snow and the freezing temperatures could turn her into a lovely ice statue. She already had the white hair and the pale skin and the freezing mood.

Snowflakes fluttered in the air, falling down with a pace so lazy and leisurely it was as if they were enjoying the fall, feeling the air itself before finally meeting the ground. Alina caught one on her hand and watched as it melted away in her palm.

“Ah, so this is where you are, dearest Alina. Scoffing at the poor snowflakes.” Nikolai commented, startling Alina as he walked from behind a nearby tree. A new scoff graced her features and Nikolai flashed his best insufferable smirk. She felt like smacking it off his face.

“What are you doing hiding behind a tree? Trying to scare people to death?” she bit out.

Nikolai’s laughter filled the air and fluttered to her and into her belly, where butterflies of all sorts burst into life. Alina fought a blush to no avail, as she felt her cheeks heating up at the sound of that laughter she’d grown to love so much. “I was actually waiting for your scoffing and beautiful face, sunshine.”

That surprised her, “Oh?”

“Yes, I have a surprise for you.” He offered his hand, “Come along, sunshine.”

She took it with a wary glance, “Where?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not taking you to a bush for naughty activities.” A smirk flashed when he saw her blush growing brighter, “We’re going to the lake. To skate.”

Her stomach sank. Skate? That was as far away from mistletoes as possible… Still, she couldn’t complain. At least Nikolai hadn’t teased her over her traitorous blush.

Once at the lake, which was empty as the party was in full bloom, Nikolai produced two pairs of skates. The ones she always used and his own. She glanced at the king as she put her skates on. He’d most likely gotten help from one of her friends to get her skates. She wondered just who had been the accomplice.

“Now, Alina dearest, today’s skating will be a tad different.” Nikolai began, a hand under his coat as he looked for something, “We are playing catch.”

“Playing catch?” She deadpanned. Of course, he seemed to be putting as much distance between her lips and his as possible. Her damned luck seemed to get worse as time went by.

He beamed, “Yes! And this,” He pulled out a headband and Alina’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. It had a tiny mistletoe hanging over it. Nikolai looked ridiculous with it on. She almost laughed, if it wasn’t for the fact that suddenly his absence from the party seemed less accidental than before. “Is your reward. If you catch me, you might just get that mistletoe kiss you’ve been yearning for all week, sunshine.” He finished with a wink and skated away.

Alina stood there frozen. Torn between regicide and pure glee.

Then, “I haven’t been yearning for a damned thing, Nikolai!” She screamed after him before stepping onto the lake’s frozen surface. “And I’m only skating because I want to!” She added, feeling as though she was a child throwing a tantrum. Nikolai’s distant laughter only made her scowl grow and grow.

Still, she wanted to catch him. If Nikolai was offering a mistletoe kiss, she was going to get it. And act as though she didn’t want it, of course. She’d rather swallow a frog than admit out loud his easy smile and brilliant mind had won her heart in so little time.

Nikolai danced around her, just close enough to tease her into rushing after the king, but not enough to actually be caught. “Alina, you must up your game. This mistletoe will wilt soon enough!” He laughed.

She glared, “I’m only after tackling you! Don’t let your head grow too much!”

“Of course, sunshine. I believe you!”

That was it. She was going to tackle him and forget all about the chance of being accused of attempt of murder.

Alina got ready for her move. She took a deep breath. Her eyes followed Nikolai. And then, as he skated around her, the king caught her from behind in a bear-hug that had Alina yelping so loud birds flew away from the nearest tree.

When her yelp died out, Nikolai turned her in his hold and smiled down, shaking his head and the hanging mistletoe, “Oh dear. It seems you caught me, Alina dearest. What shall we do now?”

She rolled her eyes and glared at him. And scoffed. Nikolai’s smile grew more innocent with each new emotion of hers.

“Would you like that kiss now, Alina dearest?”

She forced her gaze away from his beautiful eyes, their hazel so dark it reminded her of dark and ancient forests. “Maybe.” She mumbled.

Once more Nikolai beamed, his perfect teeth and perfect lips throwing her head into a dizzy state, “I knew it.” His tease invited for a snappy remark, but before Alina could even breathe, his lips were on hers.

And oh saints help her.

Her knees went weak, her eyes rolled in their sockets and her hands buried themselves in his golden hair. A moaned groan climbed up her throat as this toe-curling kiss sent her into a whole new plane of existence. Nikolai’s lips moved slowly but surely, goading Alina into a dance that seemed to have been waiting to happen for far too long now. Oh, far too long.

The kiss went on and on, and it would have lasted the whole day if it weren’t for the lack of air. And the place where they were kissing. Nikolai pressed his forehead to hers, “Was that worth the wait, sunshine?” He was so breathless that Alina almost pulled him in for another kiss.

“You’re lucky this was a good kiss. Or I’d smack you for playing me so easily.”

His chuckle vibrated throughout her body, “I really am lucky, Alina. Truly.” She frowned, what did he mean with that? Then, “Would you like to go back inside for a safer continuation of our kiss? This mistletoe over my head won’t stop ordering us to kiss anyway.”

She rolled her eyes, “You’re ridiculous.”

“Maybe so, but it seems to have worked in my favour.”

“Fine. Let’s go inside.” She said at last, trying her best to not smile like an idiot.

She failed of course.

[ablackbirdsinging]

Like Calls to Like: Chapter 5

 Nina/Sturmhond, Grisha Trilogy/Six of Crows crossover!

After sleeping together, Nina and Niko figure out how to proceed with their relationship. (This chapter is not NSFW)

If you need to catch up: LCtL Chapter 1 LCtL Chapter 2 LCtL Chapter 3  LCtL Chapter 4

If you’d like to read over on AO3, here’s a handy link! 

@bharatanatyamandballet, @rowanismybae, @runesandfaes - here’s a new chapter! (If anyone else would like to be tagged, just let me know!)

Nina woke the next morning to the feeling of Niko pressing light kisses to the back of her shoulder. They slept wrapped up in each other, naked and under a pile of blankets.

“Good morning,” Nina said, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back like a cat. Niko ran his hands over her stomach and groaned.

“I want to stay here all day with you, but there are probably some things I need to check on.” Nina nodded.

“I understand. The ship can't go on without its pirate captain.”

“Privateer,” he growled against her mouth as he kissed her. “Tamar brought tea.”

She pulled back abruptly.

“Well, why didn't you say so?” They both rolled out of bed and reluctantly pulled on clothes. Nina’s undergarments were still damp from last night, so she threw one of Niko’s long, button-up shirts on and sauntered to the door. He caught her around the waist and kissed her again, moving his gloved hands up under the shirt to grip two handfuls of her ass.

“No pants?”

“I thought this was a pants-optional boat?” Nina said with a grin. Niko laughed.

“Tamar’s eyes are going to fall right out of her head when you walk in there like that.”

“Good,” Nina said with a devilish smile, and threw open the door to the antechamber.

----

It turned out Tamar had other things on her mind. Namely, Nadia, who was seated nearly in her lap on the big leather couch, kissing her thoroughly.

The two split apart guiltily as the door to Nikolai’s room flung open and Nina sauntered through.

“Morning ladies!” Nina chirped, as she settled at the table and went to work on a cup of tea, “Have a good night?”

“Probably as good as yours, judging by the very satisfied look on the Captain’s face,” Nadia laughed. Nikolai felt a hot blush spread across his face as the women turned  their attention to him. Damn ginger complexion, he thought.

Nadia and Nina started chatting about something, probably someone they both knew at the Little Palace, and Tamar studied him carefully. She was probably looking him over to make sure he hadn't sustained any sex injuries while she was off duty. He shook his head and then tapped his neck below his ear. Tamar’s face flamed bright red and she clapped a hand over the spot on her own neck where a mouth-shaped bruise had been sucked into her skin. He laughed internally and settled into a chair, pulled close enough that his knee could brush Nina’s bare one under the table.

She passed him a cup of tea made to his liking and he thanked her with a smile. How long had she been paying attention that she knew just how he took his tea? Guilt twisted like a knife in his back. She thought she knew him. Of course, she did. She knew him in a way so very few people had ever known him, but it was still a lie. She did not know his real name, his real face.

He had intended to tell her early on in their journey, never intending to have Tolya keep up his tailoring every couple days for the whole trip. But he had enjoyed his time with her as Sturmhond. She looked at him as an equal, not the way people looked at him when he was wearing his true face on the throne. So he'd decided to just let it go. Now that they'd taken their relationship to a new level, he feared what she would say if he sprang it on her.

Nina squeezed his knee under the table and he jumped guiltily.

“Are you ok?” She asked, frowning.

“Yes, of course. I'm, uh,  going to visit the loo.” She nodded and he could feel her eyes on his back as he went back to his room.

When he was finished, he found Nina propped up against the headboard of his unmade bed, biting her fingernails. The sight of her long bare legs against his red sheets took his breath away.

“Niko, is something wrong?” She looked young then, nervous. “You're not having...buyers remorse, are you?”

He crossed the room to the bed in a heartbeat, sitting beside her where she sprawled.

“I do not regret for a second what we did last night,” he said, running his gloved hand over his red hair. “Do you?”

“Of course not,” Nina said, rubbing her ankles together and watching him from below darkly lidded eyes. “In fact, I'd like to do it again, as soon as possible.”

He ran his hands up her legs, swallowing thickly.

“I do too, Nina. But I also want to do this right. You deserve to be treated well.”

“So what, you want to court me? Ask for my father’s permission? I hate to break it to you but I haven't seen him since I was a little girl and I'm pretty sure he's not on this ship, so I don't see that working out well for us.” Niko laughed. His gloved hands worked further up her thighs, skirting the edge of her shirt - his shirt - that she wore with nothing underneath.

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

“We have dinner together every night.”

“Alone, in the formal dining room.”

“There's a formal dining room?” Niko laughed.

“Yes, and it's very impressive. Candles in gold candelabra. A harp, not that anyone knows what to do with it.”

“Ok, and after this impressive and romantic dinner with gold candelabras and silent harps, you'll fuck me?” Niko’s hands stilled in their journey under her shirt.

“Saints, you’re shattering my resolve here, Nina.”

“Good,” she said with a devilish smile, and drew him down to her mouth for a kiss.

----

Nina tried to go about her usual routine and regain a sense of normalcy for the rest of the day, but her mind kept drifting to the feeling of Niko’s kisses, the way his fingers felt inside her, the heft of his cock against her palm. And inevitably, after thinking of Niko, her mind drifted lower to the place in the hold that Matthias’ dead body rested. She spent the day oscillating between euphoria and despair.

She laid out every article of clothing she had packed, trying to decide on something to wear. She drank tea. A lot of tea. She snuck into Niko’s room to wash her hair under his running water and spent too long breathing in the soap smell that reminded her of him. She caught sight of him on the deck and watched him for half an hour, standing tall at the ship’s wheel, coiling lengths of rope with two other sailors, then climbing into the Crow’s Nest to talk to Tolya. After that she hurried back to her room, where she shoved the pile of clothes off her bed, laid down and rubbed herself furiously until she came crying his name. Then she wrote a letter to Inej about the allure of men in gloves and all-consuming guilt.

Soon, a knock sounded at the door and when she shouted “come in,” Nadia poked her head into the room.

“Saints, what happened in here?” Nina looked around. It did look like her trunk had exploded over most of the surfaces of the room.

“I'm having a fancy dinner with Niko tonight and have no idea what to wear,” Nina sighed.

“Well show me the options and I'll help you decide.” Nina tried to organize the mess she'd made, laying out one dress, then another. It had been a long time since Nina had had a friend like Nadia. She and Inej hadn't exactly spent their time looking at clothes and braiding each other’s hair. But Nina liked Nadia, and especially in this moment, she valued the presence of another woman.

“Did you ever have lovers before Tamar?” Nina asked.

“Not really,” Nadia said. “I kissed a few boys down by the Summoner Pavilions because it seemed like the thing to do when we were in school. But there wasn't anything serious. I had a bit of a crush on my best friend for a while, but she had no idea. And then she found a boyfriend, and then we ended up losing her in the war. By that point I met Tamar and started to realize there wouldn't be any more boys behind the pavilions, if you know what I mean.”

“I'm sorry about your friend,” Nina said, reaching out to take Nadia’s hand. Nadia nodded and thanked her, squeezing her hand gently.

“I'm sorry about Matthias. It's not fair to lose someone so young.” Nina choked up.

“I feel so guilty. I'm here so I can take his body home, but there are days when I don't even think of him. I’m starting to forget his smell and the sound of his voice. And there are so many things we never got to talk about. So many things I never had the chance to ask him.”

“I know, I know, Nina,” Nadia said, wiping the tears off her friend’s cheeks.

“I want to ask Niko about these things - the things I didn't have time to ask Matthias about, but then I feel guilty that I could possibly learn more about Niko than I ever did about Matthias. I know that sounds stupid, but I'm just overwhelmed with this feeling that I don't deserve this.”

“Oh Nina, you can't punish yourself for moving on, for continuing to live. Don't you think Matthias would want you to be happy?”

Nina nodded.

“I know you're right. It's just hard to come to terms with it.” Nadia murmured her agreement and kept rubbing Nina’s hand until the tears stopped. Finally Nina’s sniffling ceased and Nadia sighed.

“It's not fair how beautiful you are, even when you're splotchy and red eyed with a dripping nose.”

“Oh, stop,” Nina said, smiling despite herself. “I'm going to tell Tamar you snuck into my room to flirt with me.”

Nadia laughed a roaring laugh.

“Please do tell her that. Jealous Tamar is my favorite Tamar. Did I ever tell you about the time she thought I'd developed a crush on her brother?”

Nina howled, shaking the entire bed with her laughter. And they spent the afternoon that way, joking and talking about their pasts while sorting through Nina’s wardrobe.

----

Nina settled on a dark, mossy green dress. It's something she would have worn in Ketterdam - sleeves that dripped off her dark shoulders, a deep neckline that showed off her ample cleavage. Altogether, she was dressed more seductively than the fashion in Ravka usually allowed. Nadia assured her that Niko’s eyes would fall out of his head when he saw her.

Nadia had pilfered a bottle of kvas from the kitchens, and they shared it while they tried to tame Nina’s hair. Inevitably they became too tipsy to work a braid, so she left it  down, curling in a riot around her shoulders. Then she closed her eyes and let Nadia draw a smudge of kohl across her eyes and a sweep of rouge over her high cheekbones.

“There,” Nadia said, stepping back to survey her work. “You look perfect.”

“Come over here and let me do you,” Nina said, brandishing the stick of kohl slightly drunkenly. Nadia came close and let Nina sweep the kohl around her eyes, too.

“Tamar won't know what hit her,” Nina said with a wink.

They toasted one last mouthful of kvas.

“To dinner,” Nina said.

“To love,” Nadia countered, clinking her glass against Nina’s.

“Or at least to sex,” Nina responded.

“Nina, you skeptic!” Laughed Nadia.

“Ok, fine, to love!” And they swallowed the last bit of their liquor before closing the door to Nina’s room tightly behind them.

----

The formal dining room was just a couple doors down from Nikolai’s own quarters. He had planned to meet Nina in the hall outside his rooms and escort her down to the room where they'd take their dinner. Tolya was on duty, but had instructions to keep a discreet distance.  

Nina took his breath away when she appeared. She was more formally dressed than he'd seen her on the journey yet, looking like a queen as she made her way toward him in the full skirt, neck held high, the full sweep of her collarbone and cleavage tempting his eyes away from the glow of her eyes, where mischief shone.

As she came close and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm, he noticed the high flush of her cheeks, the scent of kvas and - was that his soap? - clung to her.

A drunk queen then. His favorite kind.

“You look amazing,” Nikolai murmured as he stopped at the dining room door. He stopped to kiss her cheek and whisper in her ear. “I want to rip this off you.”

Nina laughed loudly, then reached up to bring his mouth down to hers, carding her fingers through his hair.

There was something wild about her tonight that had Nikolai already feeling his control slipping. His hands ran over the bodice of her dress while he kissed her, thumbs skimming the bottom curve of her breasts. She arched into his gloved hands.

“I haven't been able to stop thinking of you since this morning.” He'd almost immediately regretted leaving her to see to ship business that morning, and had already told Marco, his first mate, not to expect him at the helm tomorrow.

“I’ve felt the same way all day,” Nina admitted. “Although Nadia came by to keep my mind off you for an hour or two.”

Nikolai’s eyebrows raised.

“Did she now? Should Tamar and I be worried?” Nikolai was just giving her a hard time, of course. He’d never met a more dedicated couple than Tamar and Nadia.

“She's not really my type,” Nina said with a wink.

“Are you hungry?” He asked as they pushed open the door to the dining room.

“Do you really have to ask?”

Anton had outdone himself. The dark wood table was piled high with a beautiful feast for two. The room was dim, but candles were lit throughout, casting a glow over the lavishly decorated room. As promised, there was an abandoned harp set up in one corner.

Nikolai led her to one of the ornately carved chairs, settling her at the table before crossing to the chair opposite her. He couldn't help imagining dining with her in one of the beautiful private dining rooms at the Grand Palace.

Since the war and his coronation two years before, the Grand Palace was a more serious place than it once had been. He'd never wanted to be King for the parties or the courtiers or grandiose Palace. But it had all been part and parcel of growing up in the royal family. He never imagine his reign would be riddled with financial troubles for the crown, or the austerity measures of a country rebuilding after war.

There were many days when the Grand Palace felt cold and lonely and too large, a shade of the opulent place he had grown up. But then again, Nikolai as the King often felt like a shade of the young man he had once been, who spent his days traveling the world, working as a privateer, and tinkering with his flying machines. He had been happy then, if not necessarily content with his lot in life. Nowadays in Os Alta, Nikolai wasn't sure if he was either happy or content.

But in Nina’s presence, Nikolai felt different. Nina was quick to laugh and she did everything with an enthusiasm and passion that inspired him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked her. She was watching him thoughtfully as she sipped her champagne.

“Take those off.” She nodded toward his hand, which was curled around his own champagne glass, gloved.

“This is a nice dinner. I don't want to ruin it -”

But she cut him off.

“What? With the sight of the beautiful, strong hands I enjoyed so much last night?” Her eyebrows arched suggestively and she laid her hands out on the table between them, palms up. He looked down at her unmarred fingertips and then up into her beautiful eyes. He finally gave in and laid his still-gloved hands on top of hers.

She clasped his hands tightly in her own with a squeeze, running her thumbs across the back of his hands. She slowly started to pull the gloves from his hands.

“You. Are. Not. A. Monster.” She said as she pulled one finger after another free. He had to resist the urge to curl his hands up to hide the twisted, nearly claw-like nails. “If you need me to remind you of that fact every day for the rest of your life, I will. Although it will cost you. I'd prefer to be compensated in chocolate, but I'll also receive payment in the form of jewelry and sexual favors.” Nikolai laughed and gulped down his glass of champagne. The crystal was cold and smooth against his bare hand.

“Please don't forget that I'm not exactly free of my own dark shadows, Niko,” Nina said thoughtfully. “My wickedness isn't carved into my skin, but it's still there, fueling my dark powers.”

Nikolai smiled at her nervously. He didn't tell her that it wasn't exactly the same, but he appreciated the thought.

“Does it ever scare you? To know what's lurking inside us both? What we might - unleash - together?” A wicked gleam passed over Nina’s face.

“Oh yes, darling. I'm positively shaking in my boots.” Her laugh rang out loud and clear in the dining room. She rubbed her hands together. “Luckily my sheer terror over the thought has not dampened my appetite.”

And then her pillage of the feast between them began.

That evening they laughed and ate themselves sick. Nina ate with a fervor that he so rarely saw in other Ravkan women, especially women at court. He watched her intensely as she lifted bite after bite to her lips, tasting everything, and savoring it all. The way her long eyelashes fluttered shut for a second, the way her tongue darted out to catch a stray morsel at the corner of her mouth, the small noises from the back of her throat as she feasted on his favorite foods, had him gulping down his champagne, then brandy, at an almost alarming rate.

Having spent so much time hiding behind his leather gloves, everything felt more intense, more real with his bare hands. The cool press of his silver fork. The smooth lines of his cut crystal brandy snifter. The slender neck of a cherry stem as he plucked it from the top of his dessert. Nina daintily patted at the corners of her mouth with a linen napkin. His fingers twitched beside his glass of brandy again, aching to reach across the table and touch her face, the curls of her hair.

He felt heady and on edge from the alcohol, from the decadent food, from the sight of the flush of Nina’s cheeks and chest above the plunging neckline of her dress. It was almost too much to see her exist in front of him with so much passion, to live wild with abandon. He had been that way once, he thought, and missed it.

This woman across from him, riddled with her own kind of death, Nikolai decided, made him want to really live again.

[lilisouless]

Enought time has passed, this is are my character book vs show opinions , bassed on season 2 only. Personal opinions/taste like always

Like them better on the show

-Alina, i know the comprehesion hurt her screen time, but in concept i like that she is more pragmatic ,even if she messes up. The problem here is the time, but personality wise i do like her show better.

-Genya

-Baghra

-Don't kill me for this...Nikolai

Same ,honestly

Matthias: Like of course i like the book better but show!Matthias hasn't gotten there so is not fair to judge, and he hardly seems any different

Like them better on the books

-The crows on diferent levels, there is Wylan who is the same person only under diferent circunstances (come on, a guy pulling your pigtails is diferent from a guy that already saw your butt) whose only sin was not being good hidden his reading problem, and there is...Nina. The good thing is that they all seem closer in personality and essence (except for Nina,who got key elements taken out) to the book and individually work a little, but they really can't compare with the benefit of having their own story

-Tamar

-Tolya (however, if i hadn't read the version on the books i would have found him very endearing)

-Adrik

-David (but only by little, just because i missed "i create things, i don't destroy them" and was pretty wasted)

It´s complicated

-Sankta Neyar because i haven't read her book

-Zoya,i had talked about show and book Zoya many times to repeat it again, lets just say people sort of forget sometimes that Leigh wasn't always kind to Zoya

-Mal, like Wylan the thing with Mal is that his changes are very dependant on the circunstance and external behaviour, unlike season 1 where there were palpable diferences, this time he is put on diferent scenarios; we don't know how Show Mal would have reacted if put back to the army and on the show it`s Alina telling him she sees the darkling that stops a lot of their miscomunication. I still think Show!Mal has more likeability because of Archie giving him this himbo energy, but book Mal had more changes to get explored

-Nadia, its complicated because you know i am not a fan of her book self, but objetively she was given more to do than in the show (one day i will say everything about the zhabin siblings) so its very complicated because i don't really like book Nadia but show Nadia dissapointed me (blame on the writers obviously)

-The darkling, here is the thing: In the books to me S&S darkling was at his best and R&R darkling was at his worst, and this season happens to combine both which results in his vulnerable moments being more consistent than on the books BUT also way less menacing and so much easier to defeat. He is better on season 1 in comparission to SaB but on this season is making me miss some traits of him on the book (and i don't like him there at all)

This is kind of a shame because last time it was more balanced but this time it leans more on the books.I would love to see people´s opinions or doubts

[lilisouless]

What I would have done on season two without changing the concepts:

I was going to make a long post but you don’t like that ones so i am making polls

1- the S&S and R&R merge stays, but discount CK vanishes , except for Pekka Rollins taking over the crow club which is let on the air by the season ends

2- The crows (sans Matthias) instead of Ketterdam , spend most season 2 on the Shu Han arc. This may mean less crow screentime but more for Alina (the main character) Mal, Tamar and Nadia , i am not saying Nikolai because he had plenty. This one would allow a deep into Alina’s feelings and motivations and some justification in Mal’s desire to find himself

3- This is very simple: you can keep the wesper changes BUT, instead of having Jesper forget about Wylan, reveal that he actually didn’t forgot but faked it out of spite, also make it more clear that their rushed actions are a result of a feeling of loneliness from both sides

4-Zoya,Tolya still go to Shu Han with the crows but Adrik goes too, some small moments with Zoya and Nina and maybe other non book combinations

5- Take out Pekka Rollins gaining power on jail, have it space for Van eck being the one that takes him out and makes a deal with Matthias that actually sticks

6- You only drop subtle clues of Jesper being grisha but it’s revealed by Jesper using his powers, or at least have it be revealed by Aditi in the hallucination or Sankta Neyar (only implying that Kaz and Wylan know)

7-David can stay with Genya and the Darkling, but don’t take away his “i create things, i don’t destroy them” line, he is doing this for more than just Genya, both are their own person

8- The king doesn’t die

9- speaking of which, there are few minor sympathetic characters shown around so the darkling’s attack on Os alta is actually seen as tragic (Misha’s mom, Paja, a non awful version of Sergei, a stand in for Fedyor) on the show only Vasily and the king died (two characters we all hate) in order to make the darkling look better

10- Nadia takes over David’s role on S&S as the main weapon engineer since he is absent

[shirewalker]

tamar/nadia + 10, nikolina + 47

omg thank you gaia!!!! you’re a saint!

also, omg I’ve never written tamadia! I hope I did good or expect me to jump on the next airplane and running off the the closest irish cave.

Anyways! Both got longer than expected and both are rated T for kissies!

(I’ll also cross-post them on ao3 laterz)

send me “I found you” otp prompts

Tamadia + planning asurprise party for me

Tonight Nadia was extra… Nadia.

She wore her hair in a style that could only be favoured by mermaids. Herblonde hair was curled in perfect ringlets, each weaved with a string of ribbonor pearls or glitter. The style was finished with a beautiful braid thatcrowned her head as if she were a queen. Tamar couldn’t take her eyes off ofher.

But that wasn’t what tipped her off. Neither was the beautiful dress hergirlfriend had put on that day, blush pink and hugging her body in all theright places. No, what told Tamar that something was different today was thesecretive smile that seemed to take over a corner of Nadia’s mouth every oncein a while. As if she knew some major secret on the President of Ravka thatcould bring down the whole country in flames. The Shu-born hoped that wasn’tthe real secret she was hiding.

“So…” she started, lacing their hands together, “Why exactly are you alldressed up today?”

Startled, Nadia almost missed the key hole, “What?” she gasped before openingthe door to their building, “All dressed up?”

Tamar fought a smirk and tugged on her hand, “You’re extra pretty today.”

“Aww, thank you!” Nadia said before placing a quick peck on Tamar’s lips.For a moment, her focus wavered with the kiss and the taste of cherry lip gloss.And she almost, just almost, forgot about her curiosity. But she had beentrained to look for secrets and to never let go until she uncovered the truth.No kisses, no matter how delicious they were, could distract her for too long.

“As wonderful a kisser as you are, you can’t make me forget about myquestion.” She said, relishing in the startled blush that blossomed on her girlfriend’scheeks.

“Oh Ta, I wasn’t trying to distract you. You’re just bored, you haven’t hada big job in a few weeks and you’re already looking for plots to assassinatethe President in every corner.” Nadia’s quick remark hit the nail so perfectlythat Tamar found herself seriously doubting her suspicions for the first timein the whole day. Perhaps Nadia was right. Perhaps she had been just lookingfor secrets and mysteries and found enough material to come up with one.

“Maybe you’re right.” She finally said, the two already in the elevator.

A low, soft tune rang all around them, the elevator music just loud enoughto keep her restless mind at ease. Nadia giggled, “I AM right. Always.”

Tamar rolled her eyes and quickly brought her lips to Nadia’s, drinking inthe last remains of her girl’s laughter in earnest.

-

All right, she was bored. Tamarrubbed her bleary eyes and got up from her bed, Nadia’s side perfectlyarranged, while hers was… a crumpled mess. Nadia… Where the hell was sheanyway? It was half-past two in the morning and she was still in her study,which wasn’t a real study, more like a guest room with an extra desk and astuffed to the brim set of shelves. Tamar had gone to bed early, with the planto play some solo chess games on her phone and try to get her brain back tonormal. She’d been playing endlessly since then, waiting to distress, waitingfor Nadia. When it became obvious she wasn’t going to see her girlfriendanytime soon, she got up and went looking for her.

She found her in the study. Her blonde siren huddled over an old notebook,colourful notes all over the pages. Strange, Tamar had never seen thatnotebook.

“All right, are you sure it’ll work?” Nadia whispered into her hand. No,not her hand, her… phone? This was intriguing and had Tamar been in her bestself, she would have quickly discovered what was going on. But she was sleepyand in need of some action, vacations did no good to her. And so, she made amistake. She ran her pinkie toe headfirst into the doorframe.

“Tamar?!” Nadia’s eyes were rotund and enormous as she hastily closed hernotebook and ended the call. In her pain, Tamar missed where the two mysteriousitems went, her entirely focused on the throbbing pain in her toe. “What areyou doing still up?” she asked, already up and busy checking on Tamar’s hurtfoot.

Then she led her away from the room, making sure to lock the door in theprocess. Tamar hopped along, “You weren’t in bed yet,” she answered, “I waswondering what was keeping you up so late.”

She eyed her girlfriend with attention. The way Nadia bit the inside of hercheek told her she had almost caught something she shouldn’t have.

Nadia cleared her throat, “I was working on a thing. Lost track of time.Sorry, babe.”

Somehow, Tamar knew there was more to it than just a ‘thing’ but she wastired, in pain and in serious need of cuddling. She would pursue this mattertomorrow. Tonight she’d demand some cuddles and kisses.

-

A week had gone by and Tamar hadn’t found anything. The mystery was drivingher mad. And so were Nadia’s fantastic looks that she kept sporting every day.For some reason, she had gotten herself all dolled up every day during the pastweek, and while Tamar couldn’t and wouldn’t complain, she certainly grewcurious over the eye candy.

“Stop ogling me like that, Ta.” Nadia whispered, a smirk on her lips. Todaythey tasted of peach, as Tamar had found out earlier that morning.

She tried to, she really did. The elevator was crowded today, no one reallyneeded to be anyone’s third wheel. But Nadia was her very best today. If a weekago she had looked like a siren, tonight she looked like the queen of the sevenseas and beyond. Saints help her, Nadia would kill her one of these days andall just by looking too beautiful.

A playful smirk grew on Nadia’s lips before she pulled Tamar closer andwhispered into her ear, “If you don’t stop ogling, Mrs Taylor will startplanning our wedding in the next five minutes.” She pointed at the dark skinnedold lady standing in front of them. The woman was small and frail, her hairgone stark white years ago, but she had pure life running through her veins.And a love for love. She had also been a very successful wedding planner in herday. And nothing was more delicious for an ex wedding planner than a youngcouple in love.

Tamar nodded. She wanted to marry Nadia, sure, but not yet. And shecertainly didn’t want Mrs Taylor planning some big event. So, she sacrificedherself and locked her eyes on the elevator’s buttons.

-

Nadia took her sweet time with unlocking their door. And Tamar took hersweet time in feasting in the sight. Nadia smiled to herself, infinitelypleased with how well her plan was going, especially with how easy she coulddistract her girlfriend, all she had to do was to put on a beautiful outfit andbat her eyes. Finally, after pretending to fight with the keys for a good fullminute, she unlocked the door. She flashed a victorious smile at Tamar andopened the door.

The two went inside.

Darkness engulfed them and Tamar’s instincts kicked in. There were supposedto be lights on. Nadia’s fairy lights were always, always on. Why was everything in the dark? And… was it breathingshe heard from the lounge area? She took a step back, ready to protect Nadiafrom whoever had forced entry in their home when suddenly light flashed allaround her.

“SURPRISE!!!!” a crowd cheered, loud enough to make her jump on the spot.

Her eyes locked on the sight. Everyone, including Nadia, was standing inthe middle of the room, hands up, big toothy smiles on their faces. Colourfullights illuminated the whole apartment and there, on the centre table, was acake. A cake that Nadia carried to her right now, a… birthday cake.

She gaped at everyone, “What… Nadia? I told you, no party!” she said,finally able to speak. Zoya snorted somewhere in the back of the crowd.

“I told you she’d say that.” She said to Genya.

Nadia just rolled her eyes, paying attention to no one but the surprisedTamar, “I know. But you’re my girl, how could I NOT plan a party for you?” shesaid, stopping just a step away. Harshaw moved from the crows, matches in handand, with more flare than necessary, he light up the candles. At the sight ofthe burning flames, the lights were turned off and everyone started to sing,their happy and out of tune voices making Tamar smile wider than ever. When thesong was close to ending, Nadia spoke over the voices, “Make a wish, babe!”

Their eyes locked for a moment as Tamar made her wish and then, when thesong was over, she blew the candles.

Nikolina + Where I should have been looking in the first place

The nerveof him!

Alinahuffed in mild annoyance as her feet left craters on the snowed landscape.

Hide andseek?

Hide and seek?!

WhenNikolai had suggested they play a game, she had honestly expected something farmore interesting than a classic game of hide and seek. Certainly something thatinvolved more kissing and hands up her hair and less actual looking for thehazel eyed idiot all over the Little Palace grounds. It’s not that they hadkissed yet or done any feeling up at all, but for the past few weeks Alina hadcome to terms with the fact that yes, she had very well lost it over Nikolai.Of course, she didn’t want to admit it at all, but when the game suggestioncame up in their daily conversation, Alina had thought that Nikolai was finallygoing to make a move.

A wildgroan rattled her bones as her eyes searched for him. He was nowhere to beseen. And Alina had been so looking forward to being thoroughly kissed by him,while denying she had any feelings for the young king, of course. The fantasyhad played in her mind so many times by now. He’d tease her endlessly, she’droll her eyes and threaten him, he’d lean in close enough to have her resolvecrumble just a bit, she’d push him off only to have him capture her hands.Their eyes would meet and for a moment they would just look at each other. Andthen she’d do the mistake of looking at his lips and licking her own and then…Nikolai would flash that knowing smirk of his, that very smirk that drove hermad. He’d say something perfect, somethingright and then… then he’d finally kiss her. And only then would she admitit she was in love with him.

Her air gotcaught in her throat as the fantasy ended abruptly, interrupted by a thought thatsparked to life. She knew where hewas. How hadn’t she thought of it before?!

She ranthrough the thick coats of snow, through trees and doors and startled students.Her cheeks grew hot as burning coals, the chilly wind cutting through her likea well-honed knife. Her heart raced so fast she couldn’t tell where oneheartbeat ended and where the next began.

Finally, thereit was. That damned pier.

And at thevery end of it was… Nikolai.

Her stepsslowed to a silent pace and Alina placed a hand on her heart, trying to silenceits loud drumming, certain that the king could hear it with how loud it drummed.Suddenly she didn’t want to lose the game at all.

“Alina,sunshine!” He called, without so much of a glance over his shoulder and theformer Grisha wanted to scream in frustration. So much for catching him offguard. “What took you so long?” he said, and for some reason, she felt as if hewasn’t talking about her finding him.

“You’re ahard man to find, Nikolai.” She deadpanned, no longer trying to silence hersteps.

Hislaughter, pure and unrestrained, just like that of a carefree child, rang inthe cold winter air. The sound was so comforting that Alina felt it aimstraight to her heart and melt it in a blink. “Alina, love, come.” He pattedthe spot next to him. Her eyes fell on it, her mouth open and ready to complainabout the cold, when she saw that he was sitting on a thick blanket. A darkblue blanket large enough for the two of them to sit comfortably.

So, shesat. And she felt his gaze fall on her. She made sure to not look back.

“Congratulations,Alina. You won!” his voice was bubbly and light. After knowing him for so long,Alina knew this was his happy beyond limits voice. This was the voice not manypeople in the world got to hear. She felt a warm feeling spread its tendrils insideher chest knowing she had the privilege to hear it.

Stiflingdown the smile that threatened to crack her face in two, Alina kept her eyes onthe frozen lake when she answered, “And what did I win, Nikolai?”

She felthis body heat seconds before his shoulder touched hers, his breath tickling herskin before he whispered in her ear, “Whatever you wish for, sunshine.”Pretending not to be affected by his touch and his voice was an impossibletask. Goosebumps spread all over her skin, her blood turned to burning gasolineand her heart jumped straight out of her chest. If she were to look for it,Alina had an idea where it would be. Somewhere in Nikolai’s hands. How had shegotten like this? She simply had no idea. One day she was living a plain lifewith Mal, the next day things had gone south. And then she was back in Os Alta,just like that. And just like that, she and Nikolai fell back into the littleroutine they had forged so many months before. Walking from one place toanother, just the two of them, chatting about their day, joking about anything,going through crazy plans and outlandish ideas, casually flirting once in awhile. A detail that Alina might have missed if she hadn’t caught Tamar lookingat her and Nikolai with a shine that was unmistakable. She’d seen something andshe had no qualms in voicing her thoughts. Youtwo flirt like hopelessly in love teens.

Nikolaibumped her shoulder again and she realised with a startle that she’d gottenlost in daydreaming, again.

“What?” shebreathed, finally looking at him. The fire in his eyes caught her off guard,catching her breath in one handful and taking it far away from her.

“I said…Whatever you wish for. So…” his voice had grown raspier, as if he was holdingback something. She desperately wanted to know what it was. “What do you want?”he finished in a breath.

“I…” she wasforced to lick her lips, they had grown far too dry, and Nikolai’s eyesmomentarily got distracted with the movement. “Huh…” his attention went back toher eyes, and he waited. Alina readied herself, “I want to know…” she took adeep breath, this was after all… something she had been curious about for yearsnow, “That night… Here…” Nikolai froze in place and she realised he’d beenleaning in, “Why… Why did you want to kiss me?” She winced, that was not whatshe wanted to know, not exactly, “I mean… Why did you say those things?”

A sheepishsmile tugged on his lips, “I wanted to kiss you… Alina, I wanted to kiss youbecause why wouldn’t I?” she frowned, “You’re brilliant, you’re beautiful, you’refunny and you’re not afraid to say what you have to say. Plus, I’d never metanyone that got me as well as you do. You saw right through me and I never feltmore naked. And I loved it.” His smile grew so wide it had a shine of its own, “AndI wanted to kiss you,” his voice grew huskier with every word, “because youmade me feel like the sea does. Light, free, happy.” He raised a hand to tuck afew locks of white hair away from her face, his eyes followed the movement, “ButI knew the feeling wasn’t mutual, at least… not yet. I couldn’t kiss you whilefully aware your heart belonged to another.” A pause, “But I still want to kissyou.”

Where wasit… her voice… oh, right, there it was, “Oh? You do?”

“Yes.”

That wasit, he didn’t say anything else. He just… waited. For her. Alina wanted tosmack him. There she was, breathless and dizzy and unable to move, ready forthe taking, and Nikolai wanted her tomake a move. This man, this man was going to drive her mad one of these days.

“Well?” shesaid, growing impatient.

Nikolai’ssmile changed. Where it had been carefree just seconds ago, now it had aninsufferable edge to it. “Do you want me to kiss you, sunshine?” he asked andher whole body vibrated with that little nickname.

Shebreathed, “Yes, you big dolt.”

This timeNikolai wasted no time in kissing her still open lips. And Alina wasted no timein kissing him back. There were moans and chuckles and a yelp when Alinapinched him, but mostly, there was a lot of satisfaction ringing through theirbones.