#Lieutenant Matthias

[saanea]

― ⋆˚࿔ 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐬 & 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

[meltthefrozenheart]

One detail I like very much about the F2 ending is how they also reflect Anna and Elsa distinctive lines

From Anna side, everything has a correlation with being in love, a connection with a significant other, which is also the new symbol of Arendelle through Agnarr & Iduna statue, while from Elsa side everything has to do with the connection to nature and to protect the beauty and armony of the Enchanted Forest, and of course the possibility to freely reach Ahtohallan.

It maybe a bittersweet ending on a side ... but it's not a depressing one.

Still, this ending is also the reason why a F3 is, in many ways, a natural "consequence": we are left with Anna, now Queen, being engaged to Kristoff, and sincerly, with her whole arc in these two movies, it's just fair to see how a wedding could go, no? Maybe even happening in an unexpected way. And Elsa has now this duty to look after the Enchanted Forest and the Northuldra now that they are once again exposed to the outside world, and sincerly I think seeing her actually fulfilling this role is what we want, in order to understand this change much better ...

[supercalifragipopculturevomit]

Here's to one of the best actors of his generation, the versatile and multilingual king who's been pulling heartstrings for three decades with a variety of roles, faces, and languages... Happy 46th birthday, Daniel Brühl!

p.s. who's your favorite Danny character? Sound off in the comments or the tags—or don't. I'm not your mother. 😋

[thechaoticrow]

for people who haven’t read the shadow and bone/ six of crows books, but have seen the show:

- inej ghafa is a survivor of childhood sex trafficking. she has ptsd and reacts in a panic attack at even walking past the menagerie

- kaz’s trauma isn’t just pekka rollins being responsible for jordie’s death, and waking up on the barge. he had to swim to shore, age nine and barely alive, using jordie’s body as a float

- the darkling has done far worse things than are shown on screen. he is not a ‘lost man’ and alina is not his ‘balance’

- alina was seventeen upon the darkling being nsfw/ romantic with her

- matthias helvar did not lead drüskelle, that was jarl brum- matthias is only just barely an adult himself

- the crows are not their own separate gang, they are part of the dregs, who per haskell leads and kaz takes over from haskell after haskell sold out his lieutenant (kaz) to pekka rollins

- zoya, genya, and alina have personalities outside of either being traumatised or hating each other

- alina never wanted any of the power and fame and idolatry, and in the end of the books is stripped of it all. she is very happy about this

- jesper is a gambling addict and somebody who watched the death of his mother

[shootwithintenttokill]

I love Netflix's Shadow and Bone, and while a lot of the changes I approve of - like giving Mal a personality - there are some things that get me, particularly about the Crow's characters. One thing I've noticed in the Netflix adaptation of Shadow and Bone is the difference in Nina's Grisha abilities from her book counterpart. In the show, Fedyor references her as a 'skilled grisha, one of the best' (or something along those lines, it's been a while since I've watched the show).

This is a complete U-turn from her book character, when she is continually referenced as having never finished her training, that she can't do or struggles with many of the things Kaz asks of her: healing, tailoring, or sending guards to sleep, and in CK she spends most of her time unable to do anything at all. Her main skills aren't actually her Grisha abilities, but her skills as an actor and a linguist, which was what got her out of the Little Palace on a mission to the Wandering Isle in the first place. She is only considered an expert or knowledgeable among the crows because the only others with much time in the books are Jesper and Kuwei, both of whom have never been trained as have spent their life hiding their abilities. It's a subtle, but noticeable difference to her character.

And it's not just Nina, but all the crows. Book!Matthias was a young Druskelle who had only just finished his training, the mission when he captured Nina was meant to be his chance to prove himself and get officer status, Jarl Brum his superior. Instead the show gave him a reputation as a formidable slaver, and put him in charge of the other Druskelle.

Show!Kaz was a Barrel boss in his own right, rather than simply a lieutenant under Per Haskell, making a show of following orders while waiting for his moment to take over the gang.

Inej and Jesper this doesn't apply so much to, because their skills are so unique and they really are the the best at what they do even in the books, but I do hope that when Wylan is introduced in the new season, he has the 'what's demo?' line from his flashback in CK because the fact he starts off having no idea what he's doing is really intergal to his character.

But basically, the show has changed the crows from teenagers who really have no idea what they are doing, just trying their best to survive, make money and embody be gay, do crime, to young adults with reputations and importance within their own spheres, and I think that retracts from the character growth and potential for change that they have.

[jazzythursday]

Omg what’s sun summoner Jesper!?! 😱

Hi! I’m so glad you asked!

Sun summoner Jesper is a wip I started on a whim a while back. It follows show canon for sab but with Jesper in Alina’s place and Wylan in Mal’s (but with a lot of mixing and matching, i.e., Wylan is a cartographer and Jesper is a soldier, etc.) what I have so far is mostly based on the first 15 minutes of s1e1. Kaz and Inej also make appearances as Jesper’s friends and fellow soldiers (though I have Kaz as more of a strategist and assistant to Per Haskell, who in this is the lieutenant)

I want to tackle at least one other au before I dive into this one (probably my Rapunzel au) because if never written a long plot-driven fic, but I do definitely want to return to it eventually. There’s a lot still up in the air story-wise—I don’t know how Nina and Matthias will play into it, who the Darkling is, or if I’m going to use other characters to swap roles with the crows. I do know that it will span, at the very least, the plot of season 1 and probably a lot of season 2… and also that Kuwei is going to be Zoya.

You didn’t ask for a snippet, but I can’t really help myself, so here’s a decent chunk that takes place towards the beginning of chapter 1:

“Bit quick on the draw there,” Kaz chastens, as Jesper finishes re-loading the barrel of his rifle and pointing it at the target once more. He fires off a quick shot, one that lands directly between the eyes of the target dummie’s head. He follows it up with a second hit to the same spot, just to prove a point. Jesper cocks his head to the side, raises an eyebrow to match Kaz’s own arch look.

“You were saying?”

Unimpressed as ever, Kaz returns to his tent. That he expects Jesper to follow is just a given, one that he doesn’t bother with the directive for. He sits at his desk—a makeshift bureau of used crates and an old door strapped to the top—he finishes counting off his share of their earnings and passes the rest to Jesper.

“Don’t get cocky,” he says, continuing their conversation from before, “and don’t”—he points a judgemental, solitary finger at Jesper—“get fancy. I don’t need the other soldiers getting jealous enough to want to take you down a peg or two because of flash. Someone will get the bright idea to tell Haskell.”

“Aw, you think they’re jealous?” Jesper bats his eyes and pretends to swoon. “Of little ol’ me? Re-ally? Who? Tell me. Tell-me-tell-me-tell-me—”

“Bolinger looked like he’d rather use you for target practice more than that dummy after today.”

“Aw Kaz, are you worried? I never knew you cared.”

Kaz looks at him. If looks could kill, Jesper thinks, knowing Kaz Brekker would have killed him a thousand times over by now.

“Not just Bolinger. Keeg looked about ready to stage a mutiny.”

“Keeg’s a sore loser, that’s nothing new. It isn’t my fault he bet on the poor shot.”

“Would you just stop for—Hello Inej.”

Jesper blinks. “What?”

“Kaz is right,” says Inej, standing right next to them, and Jesper jumps.

“Fucking Saints!” he pants, hand over his chest to feel his racing heartbeat. “Warn the guy with the gun, people!” He lifts up his rifle and shakes it a bit for effect. “Gun, weapon”—he gestures to the rifle, then points to himself—“me, Jesper. What is confusing here?”

Kaz rolls his eyes and Inej smiles fondly at them both.

“What news?” Kaz asks her, their standard greeting.

“Nothing you don’t already know. Bolliger is whinging about Jes thrashing him in the match.”

Jesper can just feel Kaz’s eyes on him. There goes another life. “What else?” he asks, instead of giving Kaz the satisfaction of looking back.

“That’s everything. Oh”—her eyes widen—“and they just brought in a new caravan. Cartographers, from what I’ve heard. They're combining them with our unit to go south.”

Jasper starts walking straight out of the tent. He slings his rifle over his shoulder, tucking the prize winnings away, deep into his pocket. He doesn’t give his friends an explanation—he doesn’t have time to—he’s already striding across camp. Moving purposefully towards where he knows any new caravans full of cartographers would have been parked.

Cartographers, Jesper thinks, trying and failing to tamp down on the fluttery hope rising within him. Cartographers could mean—

“Jes!”

Jesper stops dead in his tracks. There's a swarm of butterflies made up of half hope and half fear flapping up his spine. He turns, and is met with familiar wild auburn curls and wide, crystalline blue eyes.

Jesper might not be special, but right now, he’s feeling pretty fucking lucky.

“Wylan!”

They run—literally run—to meet each other's outstretched arms, crashing and holding onto each other tightly.

“Wy,” Jesper whispers. He closes his eyes and rests his head on top of Wylan’s, soft curls pillowing his cheek. Wylan melts into him, head buried in Jesper’s large coat, hugging him even tighter.

Wylan looks up, but doesn’t try to put any further space between them in the slightest. He grins. “Jesper.”

It’s a good look on him, Jesper thinks. Smiling. It makes the freckles dotted all across the bridge of his nose to his cheeks crinkle up like clusters of stars. It makes his eyes look like precious gems. Like solid cut sapphire.

Thanks for playing!

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

The Phoenix and the Crow

part twenty-four

pairing: kaz brekker x fem!reader

genre: neutral, angst

el's thoughts: this was a fun part to write!! we see a little more of what y/n's life before the story started did to her, and more interactions with the crows :) i hope y'all enjoy it

main masterlist // series masterlist

Y/N could hear Nina yammering to Inej somewhere behind her, trying to teach her Fjerdan words. “No, Hring-kaaalle. You have to hang on the last syllable a bit.”

“Hringalah?” tried Inej.

“Better but- here, it’s like Kerch is a gazelle. It hops from word to word,” she pantomimed. “Fjerdan is like gulls, all swoops and dives.” Her hands became birds riding the currents in the air. 

Y/N saw Matthias look back past her to stare at Nina and quickly cleared his throat, turning back to face forward. The group was eager to get to their next stop and rest their feet, all of them silently grumbling about the bitter cold. 

Matthias, ahead of them, threw his arm out as if to stop them from contiuning forward. “Stop! You don’t want to-”

But it was too late. Nina clapped her hands over her mouth. Inej made some kind of warding sign in the air. Jesper shook his head and Wylan gagged. Kaz stood like a stone, his expression inscrutable. 

Y/N. Y/N had the most heartbreaking reaction caused only by silence. She stared with a cold stare, her mind racing through all the faces of the soldiers under her command. Those who were captured and tortured. Those who were caught and taken, never seen or heard from again. The people who placed their trust in her and this is where she had led them to.

The pyre had been made on a bluff. Whoever was responsible had tried to build the fire in teh shelter of a rock outcropping, but it hadn’t been enough to keep the flames from dying out in the wind. Three stakes had been driven into the icy ground, and three charred bodies were bound to them, their blackened, cracked skin still smoldering.

“Ghezen,” Wylan swore. “What is this?”

“This. This is what Fjerdans do to Grisha,” Y/N said. Her face was slack, and her eyes were ablaze.

“It’s what criminals do,” said Matthias. “The pyres have been illegal since-”

Y/N whirled on him and shoved his chest hard, pointing her finger at him threateningly. “Don’t you dare,” she seethes, fury burning like a halo around her. “Tell me the last time someone was prosecuted for putting a Grisha to the flames. Do you even call it murder when you put down dogs?”

“Y/N-”

“Do you have a different name for killing when you wear a uniform to do it?”

They heard it then– a moan, like a creaking wind.

“Saints,” Jesper said. “One of them is still alive.”

The sound came again, thin and keening, from the black hulk of the body on the far right. It was impossible to tell it the shape was male or female. Its hair had burned away, its clothing fused to its limbs. Black flakes of skin had peeled away in places, showing raw flesh.

A sob tore from Nina’s throat. She raised her hands but she was shaking too badly to use her power to end the creature’s suffering. She turned her tear-filled eyes to the others. “I… Please, someone…”

Jesper had brought out his gun but Y/N reached out to push his hand down. “Too loud.” Her voice came out tense and overflowed with emotion.

She pulled out a knife she had tucked into her side and walked forward. She pulled her shoulders back and sucked in a deep breath, the cold threatening to choke her. She knelt before the burnt figure and placed her hand under their head. 

“Lieutenant.” 

Her eyes widened as they spoke, their voice hoarse and cracking, barely able to be heard. 

“Lieutenant, please… Hurts.”

Y/N sobbed silently and held them tighter. “I’m so sorry. I failed you.” She shifted them so she could hold the knife to their neck. “May the Saints recieve you, soldier.” Within seconds she had slit their throat and ended their suffering. She muttered a quick prayer over them and quickly composed herself, brushing the snow off her clothes and took another deep breath. With every breath a wave of panic washed over her with the fear of the air freezing her lungs. She turned back to the group and walked over. She didn’t realize that the wind had carried their voices and the group of six before her heard everything. 

“Let’s not waste more time.”

“Thank you,” Nina choked out. She plunged ahead over the frozen ground, following the shape of the path through the snow. She was weeping, stumbling over the terrain. Matthias followed. 

“Nina, you mustn’t stray from the group-”

“That’s what you’re going back to, Helvar,” she said harshly. “That’s the country you long to serve. Does it make you proud?”

“I’ve never sent a Grisha to the pyre. Grisha are given a fair trial-”

“Then why has a Grisha never been found innocent at the end of your supposedly fair trials?”

“I-”

“Because our crime is existing. Our crime is what we are.”

Y/N mouthed the words with Nina. All second army Grisha knew the words. It’s what had been repeated to them when they talked about the outside countries. The people who hunted Grisha. Their only fault was existing and they had to deal with it. Nothing could change the way the world saw them, so why fight it. Embrace it and be prepared.

Matthias went quiet for a moment before he spoke. “Nina, had it ever occurred to you that maybe… you weren’t meant to exist?”

And that was it. Y/N snapped. Her eyes glinted with fire as she took a step toward the Fjerdan and stood inbetween the pair. “Maybe you’re the ones who shouldn’t exist, Helvar. Weak and soft, with your short lives and your sad little prejudices. You worship wood sprites and ice sprites who can’t be bothered to show themselves, but you see real power, and you can’t wait to stamp it out.”

“Don’t mock what you don’t understand.” He almost growled as he towered over her.

“My mockery offends you? My people would welcome your laughter in place of this barbarity.” A look of supreme satisfaction crossed her face. “Ravka is rebuilding. So is the second army, and when I get back, you better hope we give you the fair trial you deserve. We will put the druskelle in shackles and make them stand to hear their crimes enumerated so the world will have an accounting of your evils.”

“If you’re so desprate to see Ravka rise, why aren’t you there now?”

Y/N felt as if he had slapped her across the face. Her eyes that were burning aglow now dulled and turned cold. “I’m here to make sure this drug doesn’t get into the wrong hands. To keep our world from getting worse and falling more than it already has.” A spiteful rage bubbled in her chest as she spoke her next words. “I want you to have your pardon, Helvar. I want you to be here when the second army marches north and overruns every inch of this wasteland. I hope we’ll burn your fields and salt the earth. I hope we send your friends and your family to the pyre.”

“They already did, Y/N. My mother, my father, my baby sister. Inferni soldiers, you precious, persecuted Grisha, burned our village to the ground. I have nothing left to lose.”

Y/N’s laugh was bitter and short. “Maybe your stay in Hellgate was too short, Helvar. There is always more to lose.”

~*~

taglist: @katherinereid @littlecat21 @jahayla-parker @maliciousbrekker @brekkershadowsinger @brekkers-desigirl @clunaes @wonderland2425 @bookloverfilmoholic @karensirkobabes @bookworm-center @el-de-phi @so-get-this-sammy

[bazkrekkerbrokemyshin]

Give me a crash course

Okay, so I may have turned this crash course into a full on lecture about everything you'd need to know in order to understand the fandom...

Anyway, obligatory spoiler warning for Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom (the sequel) under the cut!

Let's start with the "Six of Crows" themselves:

Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker, 17 (criminal mastermind; lock picking extraordinaire; Lieutenant of the Dregs; scariest thing in the Barrel; always wears gloves for some spooky/mysterious reason; beats opponents up with his crow-headed cane)

Inej "Wraith" Ghafa, 16 (grew up as a talented acrobat in Ravka; sold into a brothel in the Barrel when she was 14 after being taken from her family; now the best spy around; carries an unbelievable amount of knives on her at all times, and is extremely capable with them)

Jesper Fahey, 17 (grew up on a farm in Novyi Zem; moved to Ketterdam for university; ended up dropping out and becoming a gambling addict; now the best sharpshooter around)

Nina Zenik, 17 (a heartrender; was in the Ravkan military with other Grisha; now occasionally works for Kaz and has an ulterior motive of getting Matthias out of the most secure prison in Ketterdam)

Matthias Helvar, 18 (grew up in Fjerda; was a druskelle AKA Grisha hunter; fell in love with Nina after capturing her; is now in Hellgate AKA the previously mentioned prison because of her)

Wylan Van Eck, 16 (son of wealthy and powerful merchant Jan Van Eck, who is an unfathomably terrible person; was disowned for being dyslexic, which Jan thought made him an unworthy heir; is now wandering around the Barrel after his father tried to have him killed)

Six of Crows takes place in the Grishaverse, where Grisha (people born with powers, AKA practice the "Small Science") exist, and are typically ranked in the following orders:

Corporalki: Order of the Living and the Dead (includes Heartrenders like Nina, who can control living matter, and are extremely powerful because they can do things like stop people's hearts with a gesture of the hand.)

Ethrealki: Order of the Summoners

Materialki: Order of the Fabrikators (includes Durasts, who can manipulate solid materials to their will. Jesper is a Durast, but we don't learn that until later because he was taught to hide it at a young age for his safety. Kaz always knew, of course.)

The book takes place in the Barrel, which is essentially the filthiest part of Ketterdam, a city in the island nation of Kerch. Here's a map:

Some background knowledge:

The Barrel is essentially where all the tourists go to throw their money at gambling rings and pleasure houses, but what's even more fun is that it's all gang territory. There are many gangs, but the most important one in this story is the Dregs, which most of the Crows (Kaz, Inej, Jesper) are a part of. After experiencing one of the most tragic backstories known to man, Kaz worked his way up in the Barrel and now essentially runs the Dregs, even though he's only the Lieutenant. Jesper is his right hand man, and Inej is his go-to spy (/BFF/eventual crush).

The thing about Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker is that he has a reputation of accepting even the dirtiest of jobs, the ones no one else is willing to take (for moral reasons, stakes, whatever). This leads into the main plot:

Kaz is offered an insane amount of money to break into the Ice Court---supposedly the most secure building in the world, all the way over in Fjerda---to abduct an imprisoned scientist who invented a powerful and dangerous drug (jurda parem). It kills regular people and makes Grisha overpowered (until it kills them, too). Fjerdans captured him because they wanted to use it against Grisha, their greatest enemy. The man offering was none other than Jan Van Eck, but we don't know he's evil yet.

Kaz accepts, and builds a team consisting of the six main characters. This is how they all come together. Kaz finally breaks Matthias out of Hellgate (he could've done it a long time ago when Nina first asked, but had no reason to), and Wylan is the final addition as the team's demolitions expert. As it turns out (Kaz always knew, he knows everything about everyone in the Barrel and brought the team together), Wylan is extremely skilled in chemistry and can build bombs!

A lot of the book follows how Matthias hates being brought on the team at first because he doesn't want to betray his home country, Nina betrayed him, and the druskelle (Fjerdan Grisha-hunters) would disown him if anyone knew he fell for her "tricks." Eventually he starts changing his way of thinking, becoming more open-minded and realizing maybe his druskelle brothers weren't necessarily the "good guys" after all. (This doesn't happen until way later, though. He's very brainwashed.)

After many obstacles, the Crows make it to Fjerda and start towards the Ice Court. Eventually we learn Kaz's tragic backstory, which explains the reason why he wears gloves 24/7. TL;DR: his entire family died in a series of unfortunate events, he ended up in a pile of plagued corpses in the canal (Reaper's Barge) because some employees thought he was dead, and he had to use his beloved older brother (Jordie)'s body to float to land. Now he can't stand skin-to-skin contact. He was 9 when this all happened BTW.

The person they were assigned to abduct from the Ice Court had apparently died before they got there, so they took the next best thing: his son, Kuwei Yul-Bo, who also happened to be in the prison cell and surely knew at least something about the jurda parem his father created.

Throughout the book, three romantic relationships are established. Kaz and Inej (Kanej), Matthias and Nina (Helnik), and Wylan and Jesper (Wesper).

During their escape from the Ice Court, Nina consumes jurda parem to heighten her Heartrender powers to escape the Fjerdan military. It makes her powerful enough to end the battle in an instant, but soon afterwards she deals with the withdrawals of addiction and her powers are changed. Now instead of the living, she calls upon the dead, thus explaining why you may see her referred to as a "Corpsewitch."

The book ends with the Crows arriving back in Ketterdam to make their exchange with Jan Van Eck, who we now know is extremely abusive towards Wylan and hates him so much he attempted to have him killed. On the surface, the exchange would be Kuwei for $30 mil. However, both sides had some tricks up their sleeves.

Unfortunately, the exchange goes in Van Eck's favor, Kaz doesn't get his money, and the Crows are attacked by Grisha drugged with jurda parem (extremely addictive, essentially turns them into mindless minions).

As the Grisha attack, Kaz briefly and instinctively looks over to Inej. Van Eck realizes this is Kaz's tell (she's the only thing he seems to actually care about), orders the Grisha to abduct Inej, and let's just say Kaz is not happy about it.

This leads into the sequel, Crooked Kingdom. I'm not gonna say much about this one, just the important bits.

They save Inej

We meet Colm Fahey, Jesper's dad

Kaz finally takes down Pekka Rollins, the leader of the Dime Lions (gang) and the man who destroyed his life

Kaz becomes the official leader of the Dregs, which makes him a "Barrel Boss"

Jan Van Eck is sent to prison thanks to another one of Kaz's insane yet genius plans

Jesper accepts himself as a Durast

Nina grows into her Corpsewitch powers

Matthias decides he wants to go with Nina back to Fjerda to change everyone's minds about Grisha, convincing them they're not unnatural monsters

...Matthias is shot and killed by a young druskelle who happened to recognize him (OH, THE PARALLELS!!!)

Everyone gets their millions of kruge (Kerch currency) from the job, so they are free from the financial burdens that were weighing them down (Nina gets Matthias' cut, too)

Kaz (like the simp he is) gifts Inej a ship to hunt slavers like the ones who took her, and surprises her even further by reuniting her with her parents

Jesper and Wylan live together in the Van Eck mansion, now that Jan Van Eck is gone

Nina goes back to Ravka, becomes a spy for them, and goes undercover in Fjerda to take them down from the inside

---

BOOM, DONE!

[ficwingrecs]

Nobody Likes You When You're 23

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56604880/chapters/143872939

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: The Empyrean - Rebecca Yarros

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Characters: Ridoc Gamlyn, Rhiannon Matthias, Violet Sorrengail, Sawyer Henrick, Bodhi Durran

Relationships: Bodhi Durran/Ridoc Gamlyn, Ridoc Gamlyn & Rhiannon Matthias & Sawyer & Violet Sorrengail

Additional Tags: Ridoc’s Birthday, Fluff, Comedy, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party

Summary: The squad forgets Ridoc’s birthday

Excerpt: When he woke up on the morning of his twenty-third birthday, the other half of Ridoc’s bed was cold, as it had been every day since Bodhi left for his post after graduation. He’d half expected Bodhi to show up in the middle of the night, but even he knew that was unreasonable. Bodhi was a lieutenant now and no one was going to grant him leave just because it was his boyfriend’s birthday.

[amanita-muscaria-lover]

How I picture characters from The Empyrean series

General Lilith Sorrengail

OR

Brennan Sorrengail/Lieutenant Colonel Aisereigh

Mira Sorrengail

OR

Rhiannon Matthias

OR

Fen Riorson

Garrick Tavis

Dain Aetos

[trillian-n7]

Elena von Valancius

Portrait is from Rogue Trader Generative Portaits.

Name: Elena von Valancius  Age: 38 Terran years Homeworld: Imperial World Origin: Navy Officer Conviction: Dogmatic Archetype: Bladedancer Planned Romance: Heinrix van Calox Appearance: Black hair, usually worn in a tight bun; grey eyes; light olive skin, tall and athletic build Style: Imperial navy uniform, white shirts, fitted grey pants, vest, black leather boots Personality: Confident, unrelenting, persuasive; loyal to the Imperium through privilege and wealth.

Early Life Elena van Mynaard was born on the small, yet prosperous, Imperial planet of Kessler. The Voss family was part of the nobility of Kessler and her mother hailed from the prestigious Von Valancius lineage. From an early age, Elena's sharp intellect and natural leadership skills were evident, which threatened her older brother, Matthias, the heir to the van Mynaard family, especially since she was clearly their father's favourite.

As Elena neared her eighteenth birthday, her father fell ill. Threatened by his sister’s popularity, Matthias seized the opportunity to secure his inheritance and pulled strings with the planet's Governor to ensure Elena's admission to the Kar Duniash Naval Academy. This honour left Elena with little choice but to accept.

Determined to avoid the commission, Elena secretly plotted to transfer the honour to her younger brother, Bastion, for when he turned eighteen. However, in a treacherous twist, Bastion orchestrated Matthias's murder and framed Elena for the crime. Heartbroken by his children's betrayal and unable to discern the truth, Lord van Mynaard concealed the murder within the family and commanded Elena to attend the naval academy.

Career At the age of 18, Elena attended the prestigious Kar Duniash Naval Academy in the Segmentum Ultima. Training was brutal, both from the expectations of the instructors and the conflicts between students, but her time at the academy was marked by excellence in both academic and tactical training. She graduated with honours and earned her first assignment as midshipman to the cruiser Indomitable. Her first deployment was in the Segmentum Obscurus, where she saw action against Ork raiders and Chaos incursions. Her strategic acumen and bravery in battle earned her several commendations and a rapid promotion to Lieutenant.

Elena's defining moment came during her deployment in the Gothic Sector where she played a crucial role in the defence of the forge world Aeolus. Her decisive actions and innovative tactics, luring a pirate squadron into a gravitational tear of a star, turned the tide of battle, saving countless lives and securing vital resources for the Imperium. For her heroism, she was promoted to Captain and given command of the frigate Drusus’s Blessing. 

As the commanding officer of the Drusus’s Blessing, Elena van Mynaard now patrols the perilous voids of the Segmentum Obscurus with the mission to safeguard Imperial interests and maintain the Emperor's peace. Known for her unwavering resolve and tactical brilliance she was promoted to Commodore and it was of little surprise when Elena received summons from Rogue Trader Theodora von Valancius to attend her ship.

Views of the Imperium Born to a lineage that has served the Imperium for generations, Elena's loyalty is woven as deeply into her being as her bloodline's honour. Sheltered by privilege from the many horrors of life under the Emperor's gaze, she nonetheless holds a burning conviction, a fierce dedication to the Imperium. This loyalty isn't a mere formality; it's the essence of her existence, sculpted through years of relentless service and countless battles. Each skirmish, each clash has only fortified her ideals, reaffirming her unyielding belief in the Imperium's cause. Elena's life is a testament to noble duty and the unbreakable spirit of the Emperor's faithful.

[kazscrows]

Six of Crows Reread🪶

Chapter 46: Pekka

I know this chapter happens but I cannot for the life of me remember anything about it

So this should be fun

Like reading it again for the first time

Poor Nina already sounds worse for wear because of the parem…

Pekka describes her as jutting bones and dark hollows, trembling hands…

She leaned against a giant Fjerdan with a shaved head and grim blue eyes. He was huge, probably former military. Good muscle to have around. Where did Kaz Brekker find these people?

Wait Matthias is bald—

When did that happen??

And Kaz just knows how to find the right people

It’s called making friends.. sort of and being kind.. ish

He’s also just a little lucky

The little canal rat had managed to make it to the Ice Court after all.

It was a good thing, too. If not for Kaz Brekker, Rollins would still be sitting in a cell in that damned Fjerdan prison waiting for another round of torture – or maybe looking down from a pike atop the ringwall.

This is the last time Pekka will think Kaz ever did anything to be glad about

…he’d seen him around the Barrel a few times. The boy had come from nowhere and been a slew of trouble since. But he was still just a lieutenant, not a general, a terrier nipping at Rollins’ ankles.

You created him Pekka

Ooh flashback to the ominous prison cell scene

“Hello, Brekker,” Rollins had said. “Come to gloat?”

“Not exactly. You know me?”

Rollins had shrugged. “Sure, you’re the little skiv who keeps stealing my customers.”

The look that passed over the boy’s face then had taken Rollins aback. It was hatred – pure, black, long simmering. What have I ever done to this little pissant? But in seconds the look was gone, and Rollins wondered if he’d imagined it altogether.

Ha- there and then gone again

“What do you want, Brekker?”

The boy had stood there, something bleak and mad in his gaze. “I want to do you a favour.”

It probably took everything in Kaz not to kill him right then and there

And then he offers him a favor on top of it!

“Why the hell would you help me?”

“You weren’t meant to die here.”

Somehow it sounded like a curse.

Oh it is

Just wait for Kaz’s vengeance…

And the Wraith-

“I owe you, Brekker,” Rollins had said as the boy exited his cell, hardly believing his luck.

Brekker had glanced back at him, his dark eyes like caverns. “Don’t worry, Rollins. You’ll pay.”

Yes, yes he will

Man we probably won’t get something like this on screen anymore

Will Pekka even be at the ice court?

Why did they already do Kaz’s revenge plot in the show???

Ughhh

He stood in the middle of Rollins’ opulent office looking like a dark blot of ink, his face grim, his hands resting on a crow-handled walking stick.

Wow this description of Kaz

He’s a stain in Pekka’s “kingdom”

Kaz just casually asking Pekka for two hundred thousand dollars (kruge)

He offers his shares for the club and fifth harbor too and it’s obviously painful for him

So maybe it’s not so casual actually

It’s weird how the show has flipped this all around

Pekka already has fifth.. he got the club.. it’s already been destroyed..

I don’t get why they did that

It’ll be… interesting to see what they do in the spin-off now to say the least

Rollins leaned back and pressed his fingers together. “It’s not enough, you know. Not to go to war with the Merchant Council.”

“It is for this crew.”

“This crew?” Rollins said with a snort. “I can’t believe you sorry lot were the ones to successfully raid the Ice Court.”

“Believe it.”

Kaz, if not saints, what do you believe in?

My Crows

SaB s1e7

“Van Eck is going to put you in the ground.”

“Others have tried. Somehow I keep coming back from the dead.”

“I respect your drive, kid. And I understand. You want your money; you want the Wraith back; you want a bit of Van Eck’s hide—”

“No,” said Brekker, his voice part rasp, part growl. “When I come for Van Eck, I won’t just take what’s mine. I’ll carve his life hollow. I’ll burn his name from the ledger. There will be nothing left.”

Just like when he eventually comes for you

Such a banger quote

Kaz really has never had a bad track

Pekka Rollins couldn’t count the threats he’d heard, the men he’d killed, or the men he’d seen die, but the look in Brekker’s eye still sent a chill slithering up his spine. Some wrathful thing in this boy was begging to get loose, and Rollins didn’t want to be around when it slipped its leash.

lol it’s already too late for you Pekka

When he held out his hand to shake on the deal, Brekker’s grip was knuckle-crushing.

“You don’t remember me at all, do you?” the boy asked.

“Should I?”

“Not just yet.” That black thing flickered behind Brekker’s eyes.

“The deal is the deal,” said Rollins, eager to be done with this strange lot.

“The deal is the deal.”

Watch your back Pekka…

Or don’t

Actually don’t

RIP (Rest In Pieces)

“What’s with those gloves he wears?” the bruiser asked.

“A bit of theatre, I suspect. Who knows? Who cares?”

Or you know… it’s just Kaz’s greatest weakness.. his greatest shame…

Rollins reached for his watch. It had to be about time for the dealers to change shifts, and he liked to supervise them himself.

“Son of a *****,” he exclaimed a second later.

“What is it, boss?”

Rollins held up his watch chain. A turnip was hanging from the fob where his diamond-studded timepiece should have been. “That little bastard—” Then a thought came to him. He reached for his wallet. It was gone. So was his tie pin, the Kaelish coin pendant he wore for luck, and the gold buckles on his shoes. Rollins wondered if he should check the fillings in his teeth.

I am CACKLING

No one got one over on Pekka Rollins. No one dared. But Brekker had, and Rollins wondered if that was just the beginning.

“Doughty,” he said, “I think we’d best say a prayer for Jan Van Eck.”

Oh it’s definitely only the beginning

And you better save your prayers for yourself

Rollins straightened the knot of his pinless tie and headed down to the casino floor. The problem of Kaz Brekker could wait to be solved another day. Right now there was money to be made.

And that’s what we call a very big mistake my friends

What an idiot

Thats the end folks! Six of Crows finished!

Crooked Kingdom reread… coming soon…

First | Previous

[bitchthefuck1]

Something random I’m also curious abt in regards to the books bc I seriously want to forget abt their show versions lol - who are the other lieutenants in the dregs besides kaz? I mean we know kaz is per haskells most trusted lieutenant but were there also other ones? like I can’t remember specifically if he might have mentioned that pim was one. idk why I just thought of this lol and was wondering.

The book itself never names anyone else in the Dregs as a lieutenant, and given that the "Cast of Characters" list at the end of Crooked Kingdom doesn't identify anyone else as a lieutenant and only has one character per gang named as a lieutenant, that would imply there's only one per gang. There is a line in Crooked Kingdom where Rollins says “Right about now, my lieutenants should be rounding up your crew and a certain priceless hostage at Black Veil Island,” which would mean he has multiple, however while Eamon, who leads the Dime Lions after Nina and Inej, is listed as a lieutenant, Doughty, who leads them after Matthias, Jesper, and Kuwei, is just labeled as a member of the Dime Lions, not a lieutenant, so like. Do with that what you will.

The fact that the story emphasizes that Kaz is Haskell's "favoured lieutenant" kind of makes it seem like there might be more, like he's the favorite of the bunch, but based on this info it's likely just referring to the fact that Kaz seems to have way more authority in the Dregs than a lieutenant technically should.

So TL;DR: Kaz is the only Dregs lieutenant.

[supercalifragipopculturevomit]

FUCK, MARRY, KILL: Daniel Brühl Cinematic Universe Edition

Just for funsies. Don't have an aneurysm. Leaning towards Zemo, Laszlo, and Böse, in that order, at the moment. At some other point, I might have said Thomas Lang, Niki Lauda, and Erik Jan Hanussen.

Because of the 30-photo limitation, I removed his minor and/or underdeveloped roles and the ones that wouldn't be difficult to "kill". I also didn't include the ones I haven't seen, so you won't see Salvador on this list. p.s. if anyone has a copy/link to that movie with English subs, I'd be forever grateful!

Lukas, The White Sound (2001)

Daniel, No Regrets / Nichts Bereuen (2001)

Alexander Kerner, Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)

Paul Krantz, Love in Thoughts / Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken (2004)

Jan, The Edukators / Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei (2004)

Andrea Marowski, Ladies in Lavender (2004)

Lieutenant Horstmayer, Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noël (2005)

Tonda, Krabat (2008)

Dr. Georg Rosen, John Rabe (2009)

István Thurzó, The Countess (2009)

Fredrick Zoller, Inglorious Basterds (2009)

David Kern, Lila, Lila (2009)

Hans Krämer, The Coming Days / Die kommenden Tage (2010)

Konrad Koch, Lessons of a Dream / Der ganz große Traum (2011)

Álex Garel, Eva (2011)

Iván Pelayo, Winning Streak / The Pelayos (2012)

Niki Lauda, Rush (2013)

Daniel Domscheit-Berg, The Fifth Estate (2013)

Thomas Lang, The Face of an Angel (2014)

Daniel, Colonia (2015)

Sebastian Zöllner, Me and Kaminski (2015)

Tony Balerdi, Burnt (2015)

Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, The Alienist (2018 - 2020)

Ernst Schmidt, The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

Wilfried Böse, Entebbe (2018)

Thomas Fischer, My Zoe (2019)

Daniel Weltz, Next Door / Nebenan (2021)

Erik Jan Hanussen, The King's Man (2021)

Baron Helmut Zemo, Captain America: Civil War (2016) / The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

Matthias Erzberger, All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

[lincolnchristie]

A Masque of Shadows: Your Suspect List

Uh I mean. Meet your lovely cast of characters!

Let's start with our exhausted detective who really didn't sign up for this, Matthias bar Aeneas:

And our victim, the controversial (some would say infamous) regent of Serenissima, Lord Dante di Fratelli:

The person who drags Matthias into this mess is his lifelong best friend and ex-girlfriend, Spymaster Festivity bar Corleone:

Festivity will do anything to serve her queen-ascendant Cassandra di Adriel, who is the number one suspect in Dante's death on the eve of her long-delayed coronation:

If you want information, there's no more reliable little eavesdropper than Sapphire, Festivity's protege and Matthias's affectionate pain in the ass:

While Matthias himself relies heavily upon his lieutenant Lyria, even if their favorite habit is playful insubordination:

We can't overlook two other suspects - Dante's own daughter Allegra di Fratelli, said to have inherited her father's ruthlessness and cunning:

And Dante's son, the charming liar Antonio:

Antonio's lover Piper probably had quite a few bones to pick with Dante as well, seeing he disapproved of their relationship with his son:

Our list wouldn't be complete without including the women Dante seduced and scorned, such as the beautiful (and married) Lady di Tigrana:

Or Cassandra's own trusted personal maid Lara bar Bini, who Dante left in the lurch:

Cassandra relies deeply on Lara, since her noble ladies-in-waiting can't be trusted - some of them have ties to other nations, such as Mari Von Musel:

And then there's the Duke of Mendax, Olivier Fisher, who holds a powerful strategic position and seems to be playing his own game:

But it might be his younger brother Jacques Fisher that brings it all crashing down, because the number one rule of solving a murder is never get involved with a suspect…

The stage is set, our players are in position, and we're ready for a very memorable twelve days of Masquerade.

[intosnarkness]

So IDK if any of you are interested, but I felt the need to write a sort of DVD commentary for Adding on Weight talking about easter eggs and inspirations.

General

Working title was "Die a Boring Death" but I decided that it didn't make sense past chapter 5.

I spent a lot of time trying to find something about longing, about wanting someone to want something. About wanting to be wanted, or wanting in general. I never found it and I'm not sure I like the title I landed on. 

(The song after the chapter is where the title is from.)

Chapter 1: Dial Drunk, Noah Kahan

I moved the timeline of the book because I wanted everyone to have more time to feel consequences. Kaz gets happy years before he gets imprisoned. Matthias is in Hellgate for longer. Everyone has a long enough time to actually work through the grief because I don't have to write YA where they're 17 years old.

Sir was originally 2 characters; a heavy and a talky guy. By the time I got to chapter 5 and knew what was going to happen when Kaz escaped, I knew I had to cut them to one. So we lost the talky guy and Sir just became more odious.

Kaz eats an apple because this is his Kobyashi Maru

The assignment was originally to wipe out the principal of the debt. Once I did math, that wasn't going to be near enough of an impetus.

The chef Kaz works for is named Kooken, which is just the Dutch word for "cook"

Chapter 2: Afraid of Heights, boygenuis

The party was not the original idea here, at the point of writing this chapter I didn't have the inciting crime totally figured out (originally Jordie just lost money he was carrying, but that wasn't good enough later to imprison and brutalize Kaz) and so I had this idea that he'd been breaking into the office of the brothel and doing like… audits that got him attention. And Pekka was going to send him to a Mercher's home to get their financial information. I scrapped that when I decided Pekka was going to be our major villain.

The entire point of this chapter was to get Kaz in eyeliner

No actually, the idea of Kaz being forced to sit on Pekka's lap and count cards came extremely early in the process, as did the idea of it being where Inej sees the potential. Originally she was going to be a Dreg lieutenant but I didn't want to have to deal with Per Haskell, so I gave her a gang of her own.

The tattoo knife thing would absolutely not work in reality. 

Card counting is not that reliable. 

The tray of glasses was a very late addition to the story, but I fell in love with the idea of Kaz having glass stuck in him that no one will help him with but Nina.

I always think the trope of a person sitting in the shadows waiting for another person is ridiculous because it implies that they broke in and sat in the dark for hours waiting. Doing fuck all. I still made Inej do it.

Chapter 3: Afraid of Heights, boygenuis

The chapter that boygenuis wrote, this whole thing is a mix between revolution 0 and afraid of heights

I just want to know/who broke your nose/figure out where they live/so I can kick their teeth in

There's been a run of fires downtown/On half-built construction sites/I know you never liked a townhouse/I've seen you climb a crane at night/If they ever catch you at it/I know you'd want me to be proud/That you took a rich man's dream/And brought it with you on your way down

Kaz thinks the Jam Tart House is a stupid name because I do. Who names a house that? But it's in the book!

They're drinking fantasy Strongbow at the night market.

Kaz crawling into Inej's bed is, to me, the saddest scene of this entire fic.

Chapter 4: Stick Season, Noah Kahan

A deck of cards and book of tricks gets left in Kaz's room, but he doesn't stop to think about who left them there. This is Inej, wanting him to want things.

"Good days" here is lying in wait for Jesper's question six chapters later. 

The client Kaz kills was an early idea, that he'd be set off by the word "daddy". Mostly because I am. 

The Floating Place is pure dissociation. Brought to you by my mental illnesses.

"So break me. Or buy me." is one of my favorite lines.

Kaz makes more than $1,200 a night. At the end of 8 years, assuming no days off and no fines, he would have made $3,504,000. He has paid off his principal 54 times. 

We learn later that his debt is held at 500% interest, which means at the end of 8 years with 0 payments he would have owed $221,709,240,000.

Kaz is getting fucked by the interest.

"Young, dumb, and down for everything" was originally "young, dumb, and full of come" but I couldn't bring myself to put that in a story.

Inej's story changed a few times, mostly her age at the time of the raid. At first she was 14 when it happened, but I needed more time for her father to drink himself to death and her to hunt down slavers before getting to Ketterdam. So now I imagine she left Ravka on her mission around 14.

Chapter 5: Afraid of Heights, boygenuis

Kaz's birthday is canonically in December or January, so I believe my exact idea for this scene was December 20. That's my mom's birthday.

Kaz's Kaelish is actually the gaelic for "you are an excellent lover"

Jesper's comment about using the curtains to hang youself is due to the way Margret Atwood describes Offred's room in the Handmaid's Tale. 

Getting them in year four would mean Kaz was 17, so after the leg, which he refers to as "breaking him beyond repair" later.

Kaz doesn't put on shoes because I wasn't sure he would own a pair. Why would he?

The Sir fight scene was originally much shorter, but I liked the idea of Kaz getting a little beat up.

I kinda regret killing Sir here. I should have done it after chapter 8, it would have meant more to the audience.

""No," he says. "I'm right here." was originally the last line of the story.

And then she's gone/And then he's alone is a reference to Come From Away and you can pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Kaz hiding under the bed is inspired by the one scene in The Haunting of Hill House that I have never watched, where the Tall Man comes for his hat.

Inej brings coffee because Kaz wished for coffee in chapter 1 as a luxury he didn't get. She doesn't know it, but I do.

Chapter 6: Harmony Hall, Vampire Weekend

Going to the exchange to see his debt posted was a night before publishing add or I would have written the entire scene. I should have.

I had to think of a reason for Inej to be painting. In reality, I think she just finds Ketterdam ugly and needs the beauty in her life.

"Wool socks" is inspired by that viral Danny Pudi clip 

I imagined Inej did a lot of the "hanging head first in a canal while the tide comes in" type murders because then she can tell herself that if the Saints want them to live, they will.

"Don't come into my club and refuse my hospitality" is based on something my grandfather would say if we came to his restaurant and weren't hungry. You could order a plate of nothing, but you had to order something. 

Kaz mentions that he should learn people's names here. By chapter 14, he will know the name of every Razorgull he meets.

Chapter 7: Dial Drunk, Noah Kahan

I forgot about the first tattoo knife for a long time and had to go back and write it in. I believe Nina had it with her on Heist Night.

Kaz's back being scarred from beatings was a decision I made because I needed him to be damaged in ways people didn't know about to echo his insides. 

This is the only time the word "rape" is used in the entire fic.

The private room where they have dinner is based very specifically on one at the Palm that my parents rented out for my dad's birthday once. There are fewer caricatures in Kaz and Inej's.

"Secret for a secret" was the only way I could make Kaz talk in this scene.

Chapter 8: revolution 0, boygenuis

Is the whistle Inej uses (and Wylan does later) the conflict motif from West Side story? I'll never tell.

Inej in the meeting with Pekka is heavily inspired by a specific Space Pirate RP Pixy and I did 12 years ago. "I didn't do it and you can't prove it" was her character's MO there.

$60,000 at 500% for 40 years would end up being $1,764,509,279,127,346,261,335,823,263,022,972,928 with 0 payments. 

We know Kaz makes more than $1200 a night, and works 7 days a week. Assuming he never had a day off and never incurred a fine, he would make $17,520,000 in 40 years. 

He was always fucked. 

I very nearly cut the leg breaking scene because it was just that brutal. I expected more people to be disgusted with Sir afterwards, anyway. This is why I shouldn't have killed him so early. If he was in the room for Kaz's flashback it would have hit harder.

The style of the leg breaking is deeply inspired by my friend Ruby, who writes such beautiful horrors.

Chapter 9: Afraid of Heights, boygenuis

Kaz counting his kisses starting over is something I borrowed from Natasha Romanoff fic. It doesn't count if you had to do it.

I also do not know how to make dry coffee be wet coffee but that's because I hate coffee.

Inej gets to show her smarts here, she knows what Kaz saw even if he still doesn't. He never mentions two sets of books, but she recognizes the behavior and names it.

Inej does angry dishes as a homage to my college friend Elle who used to clean my dorm room when she was pissed off.

Chapter 10: revolution 0, boygenuis

Originally Nina was going to be able to control dissociation a lot better until I reread her intro in SOC and she specifically says she can't control the brain. That's when I invented plan B for the heist: fantasy roofies.

Jesper and Kaz are flirting while picking locks and I ship it.

"You've been through it" is in fact the most insane way I could think of to respond to "I wish I could have picked locks so fewer people would have assaulted me," which is in itself a BUCK WILD thing to say.

The affidavit was a late addition. I needed Kaz to be more afraid.

"Torpor of constant terror" would be a good band name

Originally the painting had a representation of Kaz and Inej in it, but that felt too obvious to me.

Chapter 11: revolution 0, boygenuis

Inej is wearing a fantasy Sari. Kaz specifically got 9 yds of silk for it.

It is raining because something has to go wrong in a heist and it can't be something that the characters could have planned for. Adding it allowed me to slow down the escape from Pekka's office later (sealing the tray) and also set Kaz on high alert so he'd be more susceptible to the panic later

Chapter 12: Cool About It, boygenuis

Describing a person as "built like a ship- wide and low" gave me great joy.

The cloche tray was one of those happy accidents I wrote in that turned into a gift. Initially it was just a tray. Then it had a fork. Then it was a ledger containment device. But that all happened organically.

Originally Jesper left the code in his pants in the ceiling, but I decided that was a stupid mistake to make and I didn't want him to look incompetent.

The guards absolutely smell the acid and that's what brings them into the room.

Chapter 13: Harmony Hall, Vampire Weekend

The chapter of badass lines

There are 0 hits on google for the phrase "upstanding young criminal", which I was sure I stole from somewhere.

The tattoo knife being Kaz's weapon here was planned from chapter 2. I loved the idea of Kaz stabbing Pekka with a knife made of the ink Pekka put on him.

Maybe someday I will write a story about Dime Lion Hostage girl, because I love her an irrational amount.

The hero/corpse line gave me so much joy that I told it to my roommate who also thought I plagiarized it. I did not.

I knew Kaz had to think something happened to Inej, but I was disgusted at the idea of actually hurting her in a sexual way. In the first draft of this scene, I still didn't know why Pekka wanted to get her alone and I wrote a whole monologue about them joining forces and it was extremely bad.

I considered having Kaz tell Pekka that his son had already signed a contract to be a closer analogue to the book, but it just didn't make sense for this Kaz.

Chapter 14: House By The Sea, Moddi

Do not jump out of third story windows. I did a lot of research about this, you will injure yourself.

Here we have the first hint that Kaz has actually integrated into the Gulls, even if he doesn't know it yet. When he bursts into the guard shack Dael (who I also love?) speaks to him, and not Jesper.

The guardroom questions between Jesper and Kaz are my least favorite scene in this story. It feels like plain exposition to me, but it needed to happen and I never figured out how to make it better.

"You should see the other guy" is what Jesper said back in chapter 4 when he got stabbed. It was my brother's go-to response when he was hurt after wrestling matches in high school and college.

"I've been worse" is what Kaz told Nina back in chapter 2 after the beating. It's what I tend to say when someone at work asks me how I am.

Kerstan, the Razorgull who gives Kaz a blanket, is roughly 9 years old. I know his backstory vaguely (he is Dael's little brother), but mostly he's meant to invoke feelings of "what the fuck" in Kaz

I went back and forth about the scene with the caning scars. I almost cut it, but in the end I wanted Inej to assert that she loved Kaz, and I wanted Kaz to be able to tell her that he wasn't ready for her to love him that way, but he wanted to be.

Pekka in draft 1 was the captain of the ship, but if he was running the Dime Lions when Kaz was 9-13, that would only give him a few years to get to that position. So I adjusted him to the owner. 

Chapter 15: Harmony Hall, Vampire Weekend

I had the worst time with this chapter, it got rewritten about 90 times

This piece of paper (below) reads "Open before fall/house by the sea/contracts" as the three things I needed to remember to keep in it through the drafts. It was taped next to my computer.

Inej is talking about the Ice Court when she talks about the big job

This is the only chapter that was NOT finished when I started posting. I didn't know what the last line would be, but I knew I'd find it in editing.