#and don't even get me started about kanej at the end

[lunarthecorvus]

Six Of Crows College/University Modern AU fanfiction recommendations part of Lunar's soc fanfiction rec series

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Birds of a Feather by @sc11vb

Wordcount: 8.8k Chapters: 6/? (It's still being updated:)

Characters: Nina Zenik, Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker, Matthias Helvar, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Zoya Nazyalensky, Nikolai Lanstov, Tolya Yul-Bataar, Leoni Hilli, Alina Starkov, Maleyn Oretsev, Background & Cameo Characters

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, Friendship/Love, Plot What Plot, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff without Plot

Author's summary/notes: “You know what they say, ‘trouble is my middle name’.” “Your middle name is Deirdre,” Inej said. “Don’t remind me,” Nina groaned. My summary/notes: In this fic we have a years worth of Kanej pining and currently there is some drama between those two, let's just say the angst is angsting. We have some other grishaverse characters featuring in the fic as well, there's established helnik and established wesper. I love Nina so much and in typical modern!au Nina fashion she comes up with a plan to stop the Kanej pining and it certainly is a plan... Nina and Inej's friendship very important in this fic (as it should be) and its written so well.

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I Like You a Latte by sevenofcrows

Wordcount: 45k Chapters: 28/? (Hasn't been updated since Janurary but the last chapter works well and doesn't end on a cliffhanger)

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik

Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shop & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, Kaz Brekker Needs a Hug, Kaz Brekker is Bad At Feelings, Texting, Fluff, Tooth-Rooting Fluff, rated explicit but the chapters are marked + not related to the plot, so the explicit parts can be ignored

Author's summary/notes: "Kaz Brekker was not your usual college student. He didn't leave assignments until the last day, he didn't stress over finals, he never left the house in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He was always put together, dressed in jeans and a properly ironed shirt, the answer keys to his next three exams hidden away in his computer and essays already written even before they were assigned. He didn't leave things to chance. If you asked any of his friends, they would call him a control freak. He liked to say he was born to be in charge. So, seeing him rush into a coffee shop with his hair messed up and shirt wrinkled was a once in a lifetime event." What happens when Kaz Brekker meets Inej Ghafa, a bright eyed barista who seems to read his mind when it comes to his drink orders? They fall in love, of course. This is the story of what happens in between. My summary/notes: You ever get that fic that you don't entirely remember whats it about because you haven't read it in a while but when you read the title the flush of serotonin and you just start to smile because you just remember that it was SO GOOD, this is one of those fics for me. Honestly the author's summary is just perfect, but heres some notes. The recipe thing is so cute, the kanej here is so adorable, Inej with the doodles is again so cute. The last thing I will say is they're both down so bad, especially Kaz.

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honey, honey by halfahint

Wordcount: 21k Chapters: 3/3

Characters: Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, Wylan Van Eck, Jesper Fahey

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, POV Inej Ghafa, Friends With Benefits (sort of), To explain the Friends With Benefits tag it basically means that they agree to work on healing their respective touch phobia together, Intimacy, (but also emotional intimacy, feelings are hard

Author's summary/notes: “Look,” Nina says. Inej has startled her badly enough that she’s made a mess of her eyeliner – the wing on her right eye careens wildly to one side. “I’m all for reclaiming your sexuality. Seriously. Two thumbs up from me. But, honestly, Inej, does it have to be with the most emotionally unavailable man you know?” “Well, who would you suggest?” Nina’s eyes bulge. “Oh, I don’t know, literally anyone with a pulse and a conscience?” “Kaz has – “We don’t know that,” Nina says sternly. My summary/notes: A story of healing as Kaz and Inej work on their touch phobia and while doing that they fall harder for eachother (they already knew eachother 2 years before the events of the fic). They have some cute moments. The crows dynamics in this fic are showed so perfect, it defintely reminds me of book!crows.

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You'll Be With Me Wherever I Go by @rupturedhaven

Wordcount: 35k Chapters: 18/? (It's still being updated:)

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, Genya Safin, Maleyn Orestev, Nikolai Lanstov, Zoya Nazyalensky

Tags: Six Of Crows AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, Grishaverse, Texting, Drunk Texting, Chatting & Messaging, Fluff, Background Relationships, Background Characters Freeform, Slowburn, minimal angst

Author's summary/notes: It's their last year of university, and Jesper has insisted on starting a new group chat. There's chaos. There's bickering. There's friendship. There's love. Six of Crows texting fic. My summary/notes: Ok, ok, I love Rupturedhaven's fics, they write brilliantly so recommending this fic was a must. In this fic you get to see more of the Wylan and Matthias friendship dynamic. There is of course some Kanej pining after eachother and the latest chapter-. A TON of Wesper flirting and you get to see them go from friendship to lov- as well as going into some of Jesper's troubles. The Nina and Kaz dynamic in this fic is definitely siblingly and I adore it. Helnik also develops in this fic and we get to see them be as amazing as ever but also go through a couple problems but nothing can ever stop Helnik those two are so adorable in this fic. I was about to write about the amazing Nina and Inej friendship in this fic but I'm going to finish off by saying that all the friendships in this fic are just beautiful.

[hourglass-full-of-stars]

the reason why the whole pekka Rollins burying son scene didn’t quite work because of 1. lack of buildup, 2. change of audience, 3. change of plot/lack of outsider factors

*disclaimer: while i am writing out this whole thing, freddy carter killed it with this scene, and yet here i am

1. lack of buildup

In the books, it’s literally doesn’t even seem like the climax because you don’t see it coming. according to what the crows knew, it wasn’t the plan. it was the whole fake auction where they would auction up kuwei and trick everyone. and I see where they got the whole thing of pretending Kaz was caught, they replaced him with kuwei in that way because it was a similar thing. but it doesn’t work as well because while we’ve seen Pekka in the show before, and now Kaz’s backstory, I think we don’t quite see the whole “brick by brick” thing as much as the book emphasizes. Kaz legit lets Pekka out of the ice court because his death belongs to him (side note is this why they put him in hellgate?), and he even goes to him at the end of the first book to make a deal with him to get inej back. it’s also less powerful for the other crows because by that point in the book, pekka had clearly aligned himself with Van Eck— a common enemy. and the whole thing was to be able to get their money back. inej hasn't been kidnapped, the crows haven't made the deal with pekka, and they missed the part where kaz started a whole plague. all of that happens before the son scene, and it all builds and builds. it's really the scene you think it's almost over, but then this happens. and that leads me to my next point

2. change of audience

in the books, it was just pekka, a couple of his men, inej and kaz. there were no other crows, and there was no audience. because kaz didn't need to humiliate rollins in front of everyone, he needed him destroyed, and for that destruction to be able to ruin his reputation and force him out of town. and, as per usual, i will make everything about kanej, but this is a key kanej scene towards the end. first of all, kaz only trusts inej to bring her with him when he's talking about what happened in his past because no way would he say that stuff in front of everyone. he's got a reputation to keep. he only brought inej, nina and jesper were not there. he trusts her, but it also shows that despite the whole two books, he would still do something "she would not forgive him [for]" inej gets to see how he has changed, but also how he still needed this vengeance- still needed to bring rollins down in his own way. inej gets to hear what happened, and how it goes out. it was so....intimate between these few people, and it had to be this way to hit. even the first part of six of crows is called "shadow business" and that's more or less how it ended with this scene

3. lack of outside factors/change of plot

this goes along with the lack of buildup, but this is what's going on at the same time. every other member of the crows has something else going on as and before this was happening. we don't get jesper's whole thing with the grisha on parem, we don't have kuwei seemingly "died." the chaos of the auction isn't there, it's not as much stuff. also not only immediate outside factor, but we're also missing a key point that they took out of the "bathroom scene" and put into this scene. kaz tells inej he's paid off her indenture in the bathroom scene, but in the show, he has pekka fix it because of the weird thing they did with inej's whole plot. it's weird, and it's out of character for him. especially by now, kaz has learnt and relearnt that you know she's his tell. it got her kidnapped at the end of six of crows, and it would have gone badly if he had done that in front of everyone instead of just them. the scene just falls flat. we also don't get to see how it parallels the very first scene with kaz when he threatens geels (i think that's his name?) with the whole killing his mistress thing, but it was a bluff. just like this.

tl;dr: you can't put a scene that's at the end of two books without even having done the plot of the first one.

[blues-valentine]

S&B SEASON 2: THOUGHTS *a long ride*

I have conflicting emotions about that ending and overall how the whole season was handled for both SOC/S&B respectivelly.

First, I knew that I was going to be disappointed because they would mix S&S and R&R but this was a lot messier than I gave them the credit for. It left little room to develop Alina’s story line beyond the superficial. It felt to me like they were just trying to develop Nikolai for the KOS spin off and this seems unfair for Alina. She deserved her own time and it felt like they were just rushing to get her plot done.

I get TGT is not the most interesting and that the other books have been superior but it’s the start of the grishaverse and it sustains a lot of important things they just skipped over. Alina and her crew (Mal, Genya, Zoya, David, etc) deserved the time to breathe and their own exploration. Alina’s need/greed for power, the political aspect and her religious influence was glossed over and not developed further. Season 2 should’ve ended with Alina’s failed attempt to fully take down Darkling and being taken by the Apparat and therefore forced to become a religious pawn because this was an interesting aspect to Alina but also Tolya and Tamar, who ultimately were just there to fill the space in Nikolai’s story line and didn't get to explore that side.

Another thing about this season is that everything happened in such an anticlimatic way. Mal's amplifier reveal, Genya's backstory about the royal family and just so much that was more impactful in the books. David was killed off too soon. He didn't even get to marry Genya. Zoya deserved so much more and i'll hate it if I don't ever see her get to rule Ravka. Tolya and Tamar weren't given the level of depth I was expecting with their devotion to Alina. It was just too messy for me. I do think the season managed to improve some stuff. I think she Shu Han aspect was an interesting thing to add.

Don't even get me started with SOC because I feel like they have included basically everything so when the spin off does end up happening (we need good numbers for season 2 first) so many plots are not even going to happen. They took so many CK moments but without the right context so that didn't make it feel as impactful as it should've been. The actors truly did everything with those scenes especially with the Kanej scenes but it would've been so much better to have the full implications of what it means for their development. I wasn't too happy with how Inej's plot was handled. Literally we had CK before we even got SOC. And can we speak about the ableism with Kaz and his cane? Please.

Now, with that ending. I get what they had to change it. If they were to go with the R&R ending then there won't be actual story line for Alina and Mal. I’m still trying to understand why they couldn’t just use 3 seasons for the 3 books and wait to do the spins off, but I get that business is a whole different thing. So, that ending, like the whole season, it was rushed. You couldn't even feel sad because everything was happening so fast. The fact that Tolya and Tamar weren't the ones trying to bring Mal back to life was a shame because the friendship between Mal and Tolya was everything in the books. Alina clearly took part of Darkling's merzost powers to bring Mal back to life and this will cause her power corruption. But, the whole poison thing was so weird? This is a way to link the SOC characters and the KOS plot together but it's just so weird. About Malina’s ending, they did this to extend their arc in the show (x). I don't dislike the idea of them parting for a while until they get back to each other I just hated the way it felt too strange for both of them. I would have taken Mal asking Alina for time to be on it's own but not that weird excuse about his powers. And then, Alina had a whole struggle on R&R because she did not want to be a queen, because she wanted to be married for love and not for alliance. That Alina felt like a fanfic, not the real one. I have my own thoughts on where her story line will go for Season 3 (if there's one) and it could be interesting if executed right but I'm not too sure about that.

The season was far from perfect. It was messy and rushed. From both sides they skipped vital moments and interactions that could've made so many of the scenes have more sense and feel impactful. But I still would want a Season 3 and for those spin offs to be green lighted because those actors are too talented to lose for this.

[shesnake]

sab season 2 thoughts

sooooo. overall in itself as its own story, i think the show is good. alina's story is in an excellent place. nikolai's story is now presumably bearable because he and alina are sharing this now. it's good if you don't care about the books but can also only be understood with the books so idk what that really means.

crooked kingdom was butchered to hell. the crows duology is so meticulously structured and they threw that out the window. it's all out of order. it's all too fast. the groundwork for all the characters development and their epiphanies was Not there in this season. seeing the same end result is so jarring and just not as satisfying. the actors are so good I could enjoy the individual scenes but the speed-run to get to those points was awful. it's nowhere near as bad but for some reason I felt what I felt watching the cowboy bebop remake like seeing all my favourite scenes repurposed/appropriated for totally different contexts god I can't believe just frankensteined them like that.

I also just have no idea how good the ice court heist could possibly be without the stakes, which have all been resolved this season far too conveniently. I'm especially upset about how they nuked everything between kaz and jesper. jesper knowing about pekka in season 1, the fact that kaz should've already known jesper was zowa because he was the Only one who knew. that's all gone now. can't imagine the "ask me why, jesper" and "what does my forgiveness look like jordie?!" scenes making any sense now. can't imagine the "stop thinking of your pain as something you imagined" scene hitting either. jesper's sudden "you know what I'm gonna start loving myself and embracing who I am" 180 is great but that only came from dreaming about his mum, in a very "okay I'm gonna be normal now" way which just sucks because he and alina's (also abandoned) arcs of self-repression were so good..

and then there's the fact that we have no idea if the show is even going to come back for season 3 and/or crows spin-off... there's so many moments in this season that feel like the writers going "we're going to give the fans this in case we don't get to come back" including the kanej hallucination (which I ate up regardless). god i don't know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[meyhew]

you haven't watched sab2 yet have you? im dying to read what you think about it all cause you're one of the apparently very few people I share the same opinion about the books with and SIGH aint it tough out there for people w good taste these days 😩

well. um. i watched 6 episodes before the season was released and then i put off watching the last two bc i simply didn't want to. i enjoyed like the first... three? i had my qualms about them but i could put those aside for the most part and enjoy the stuff that i did like. then the further i got into it the more i just Deeply Hated everything that was happening. wesper arc? weird and unsettling for Me personally. helnik? basically nonexistent except for in matthias' fantasies. kanej? nothing happens but the vibes slayed. i was annoyed with how they used baghra in s1 and downright pissed about what they did to her in s2. and don't even get me started on darkles... i just know book darkling would kill show darkling out of spite and i'd cheer him on. book darkling is so cold and conniving and it's so annoying to see how much they've watered him down and humanized him to appeal to a certain demographic. malina tho... im so so so so so deeply angry about malina.

the entire thematic core of the grisha trilogy is that unrestrained power is Bad and that alina has never really wanted it for herself—she gets lost in her head for a while when she's overwhelmed by the euphoria of having multiple amplifiers but when she realizes that the cost of having unchecked power is sacrificing mal... well then she doesn't want to pay it. she literally brings him back from the dead because she can't cope with the grief of spending her life without him. her power literally explodes out of her because her body cannot contain all of it. she goes to live off the grid because she doesn't care for a life of power and politics anymore, never truly did. and the show erases ALL of that. this season shits all over the thesis statement of tgt and does such an unbelievable disservice to mal and alina's individual characters as well as their dynamic together. the two of them parting ways is tragic because it throws away the most crucial takeaway from the story: love, however ordinary, is all that matters. if love can ever be ordinary. taking that away from alina in favor of a political marriage and a crown is so disheartening because she has never wanted that.

"They wanted a Grisha queen. Mal wanted a commoner queen. And what did I want? Peace for Ravka. A chance to sleep easy in my bed without fear. An end to the guilt and dread that I woke to every morning. There were old wants too, to be loved for who I was, not what I could do, to lie in a meadow with a boy’s arms around me and watch the wind move the clouds."

[backgroundagent3]

for the grishverse asks…just all of them, if you’re okay with that ofc!

Thanks for the ask! This was so much fun to think about. 💙

There's some that I'd already answered, so I tried to give new responses. It got quite long, and there's a lot of spoilers, so keep reading under the cut.

Shadow: rank all the Grishaverse books you’ve read.

Six of Crows. Almost tied with Crooked Kingdom. This is one of my favourite books ever. The characters are some of my favourite characters ever, and the ships are perfect. I love how detailed their backstories and personalities are, it makes them so believable and nuanced. I'm a sucker for heists and plot twists I can barely comprehend, so this is the perfect book for me.

Crooked Kingdom. More of the characters, ships and storylines I've already fallen in love with? Yes please. I ate up all the Kanej content, and I was so sad when it ended, it's such a great duology.

King of Scars. Another great book. Maybe the plot wasn't as good, and it felt a little slow, but Zoyalai? The Grisha Triumvirate? Genya and David? Perfection. Honestly a book can have the most boring plot ever, but as long as I get interesting characters with great dynamics I won't care, I'm here for them and them only.

Ruin and Rising. I remember the original trilogy very vaguely, but I thought this was the best book out of all of them. It definitely wasn't perfect, I found the storyline of the tunnels so suffocating, and every time someone mentioned the Apparat I wanted to throw the book across the room, but overall it was a nice conclusion to the trilogy.

Shadow and Bone. It's not perfect, but clearly good enough to get me hooked. I was instantly amazed at the worldbuilding, and I liked the way we're introduced to the different elements of the Grishaverse. Sometimes it's too much information at once, or you get confused because something hasn't been properly introduced, but Leigh Bardugo did a great job of that, and paces it well.

Rule of Wolves. I liked most of the book and I absolutely loved the moments focused on Zoya, but it completely ruined Nina for me. I loved her so much before, but here I got bored on every chapter that was about her. I think a lot of her character development was ruined on this book, and her ending was so bad.

Siege and Storm. The only reason this book is ranked last is I can barely remember anything. I liked Nikolai, but Mal and Alina were so annoying.

Bone: have you seen the show? What’s the best part of it?

I have seen it, and even though it's far from perfect, it's one of my favourite shows ever. Even though it's hard, I do have to separate it from the books to be able to enjoy it properly though, because let's be honest, it's not a very good adaptation. So considering that, I loved the cast and the times the crows were on screen. I think my favourite part overall was during season 2, when the crows and Zoya went on their little side quest to Shu-Han. I also loved Genya and David, they were adorable, but I'm gonna have to go on to the next question before I start thinking about them too much.

Siege: if you got to kill off one character, who would it be?

I don't know, the Darkling? I couldn't believe he was still alive in King of Scars, and it felt a little forced to be honest. Or Tante Heleen.

Storm: share and tag your favorite fan art.

My favorite fanarts these Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom papercrafts by @rosiethorns88. The level of details is insane, I could look at it for hours. I also really love @kayadraws and @chemdoodles artworks. I couldn't choose a specific one because they're all so cute and fun, and I love the styles in which they draw the characters.

Ruin: favorite character?

Like I said, Leigh Bardugo writes amazing characters, so this is a really tough choice, but overall I have to go with Inej Ghafa. Honorable mentions to Zoya, Kaz, Nina, Genya and Nikolai.

Rising: what’s the best ship? Canon or otherwise.

Again, a lot of amazing ships, but Kanej will always be my favourite, closely followed by Zoyalai.

Six: favorite Grishaverse quote?

I've answered this one here, but another quote I love is this one from the King of Scars duology:

Zoya of the lost city. Zoya of the garden. Zoya bleeding in the snow. You are strong enough to survive the fall.

Both quotes hit really hard as I read them, cause they were such defining moments for Inej and Zoya, where they realise their potential and who they really are, so they were very special to me.

Crow: which crows do you most and least like?

I answered this here, so I'm gonna do my second most and least favourites. My second favourite is Kaz. I think it's really cool how he's such a complex character but in a way that doesn't redeem him, if that makes any sense. Like he might be willing to change and improve himself, but he's still very much a ruthless criminal. I also love how he is completely aware of that, especially when it comes to Inej. As for my second lest favourite, I guess Wylan? Don't get me wrong, I still love him, but the other crows are just perfect to me.

Crooked: if you got to rewrite the first chapter of Six of Crows, how would you do it?

I don't think I'd rewrite it, I'd just have another chapter before that one, with at least one of the crows and an introduction to the plot of Joost's chapter. I remember reading it and being so confused, because it jumps straight into what's a pretty complicated story. If I did have to rewrite it, I would write it from one of the crows' perspective, because it was really confusing not seeing Joost at all during the rest of the book, and I don't think it would have been very hard to have maybe Inej sneak into the Van Eck mansion to spy.

Kingdom: pick a character and give them a theme song.

I've answered this one here, but recently I've been thinking of Jesper whenever I listen to Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons.

King: what’s your favorite idea for a new series in the Grishaverse?

Maybe not for a new series, but I like the idea of continuing Rule of Wolves where they left it, so we could have another heist with the crows looking for Sankt Feliks's heart, which would tie in the Six of Crows and the King of Scars duologies together. I think it would be such a great story for so many reasons. For starters, it gives a reason for the crows and the King of Scars gang to interact more, which I'd love to see. Genya would be able to heal from losing David and maybe get a cool storyline focusing more on her. We'd get to see more of Zoya as the queen, and her relationship with Nikolai. Heist shenanigans. Wesper being dragged into a new mission. Kaz trying to trick the Ravkans. Zoya not having any of his nonsense. Kanej. Inej as Captain Ghafa. Kanej. Tolya and Tamar meeting the crows. KANEJ. And above all else, a chance to fix Nina's ending. So. Much. Potential.

Scars: which character deserved better?

Well on that note, I'm gonna go with Nina. Also Genya and David!!

Rule: favorite book cover?

Six of Crows. I love how the crow's feathers also act as the silhouette of Ketterdam.

Wolves: sort all the characters you can into Hogwarts houses, (or choose to give them zodiacs, mbtis, alignments, etc—).

I'm gonna go with Hogwarts houses because I know nothing about zodiacs or any of those things.

Kaz Brekker: Slytherin.

Inej Ghafa: Ravenclaw.

Jesper Fahey: Gryffindor.

Nina Zenik: Gryffindor.

Wylan Van Eck: Ravenclaw.

Matthias Helvar: Hufflepuff.

Kuwei Yul-Bo: Ravenclaw.

Alina Starkov: Hufflepuff.

Malyen Oretsev: Gryffindor.

Nikolai Lanstov: Slytherin.

Zoya Nazyalensky: Slytherin.

Genya Safin: Hufflepuff.

David Kostyk: Ravenclaw.

Tolya Yul-Bataar: Ravenclaw.

Tamar Kir-Bataar: Gryffindor.

The Darkling: Slytherin.

Ketterdam: change the ending of one of the books.

I think I'd just have something at the end of Rule of Wolves that indicated that there was definitely going to be another book about that heist I was talking about. I also said about how much I hated Nina's ending, but honestly, I don't think that could be fixed by just changing the ending, especially after spending two whole books undermining her character development.

Os Alta: when did you get into the Grishaverse? Tell us all about it.

It was in July 2021, and I went camping with my friends and family. Every night my friend read me and my other friend a bit of Six of Crows, which she had recently discovered and was obsessed with. We got really into it, and she convinced me to read the books. As soon as we got back home I started reading Alina's trilogy, then the duologies. Because my friend had only read the Six of Crows duology, I convinced her to read the rest, so full circle moment.

Djerholm: what pair of characters would you kill to see interact with each other?

Inej and Zoya above all, but also Kaz and The Darkling, cause I just think it would be hilarious. Picture the most powerful man in the world, who's been around for centuries, practically rules over a country and all the magical people in it, and is responsible for the most dangerous and horrific creation to ever exist. Now picture an emo teenager who's into magic and calls the love of his life an investment. The Darkling would not stand a chance.

The Unsea: what type of Grisha powers would you want to have? Or what crow’s skills would you want to steal?

If I was Grisha I would love to be a Tidemaker. As for the crows I think Inej's skills would be fun to have.

The True Sea: rant about whatever Grishaverse thing you want to (a hot take, something that bothers you, something you love, etc).

I think I've ranted enough for one post, and I'm too tired to think right now, but I would love to talk more about any of these things, just pop back in my ask box whenever you want.

This has been so much fun to write, so thanks again for the ask! 💙

[owlbeers]

Shadow and Bone season two thoughts

I tweeted a little as I watched, but I realised I wanted to put together my thoughts more longform, so here we go. In general: I liked it still but not as much as S1, I had Thoughts.

Spoilers for all of the season after the read more.

Idk maybe its the fact that they started referencing events from Crooked Kingdom - a source I care about a lot and um more than some of the other books - that I started to get pickier but I did.

To quickly get the Mal, Alina, Darkling, Nikolai plot of it all. I liked all the new casting (Nikolai took a little to grow on me, but Tolya and Tamar were great the whole way through). Generally I was fairly unmoved by it all, but this plot really isn't why I am watching the show. Genya gave me some feelings. Zoe Wannamaker is great. I preferred Ben Barnes' villain moments more in S1 but the end in the desert did make me feel a little bit.

I'll deal with the !!! end separately.

So, the Crows. I wasn't sure what I expected them to do - knowing that they wouldn't do The Ice Court - but idk I was a little surprised they mined Crooked Kingdom the way they did because in my mind it so clearly needs the events of SOC for emotional reasons for CK events to work, but I think they ... sort of pulled it off. Sort of.

I mean, they rushed the fuck out of it. I know they wanted to reunite the plots but I wanted more out of Kaz's revenge and yes we got a lot of investigation of Kaz's trauma but I wanted a bit more set-up for all the Crows. The cane fight was very good though. Freddy was great in the confrontation scene - so good - but I admit I missed the quiet of the book church scene and that only Inej saw it. Inej not being there, it being surrounded by lots of people ... it felt different.

The Kanej: they hinted at book stuff but it all just felt a little watered down. Yes we got the bandages scene but only nods to it because they're not really there yet emotionally, and yes he tried to get her out and got her freedom but I didn't really see the point in having that weird fight in the middle. Yes, he is pushing her away but it just seemed odd. The hallucination scene was feelings-y but kinda confusing in why they had that for Inej, but the recovery form it was nicely done with the softness in Kaz's eyes before the !!! sets in. However the final ep "I will have you without armour" scene was pretty great. And his looks when he saw her walk back with Alina and the sword! I love them.

Wesper: I liked Jack's Wylan from the get go and I thought him and Kit had good chemistry. Even with the plot changes I found them very cute and charming.

Also the bit where Jesper lists off how Kaz couldn't imagine doing this without him, and Kaz said yes all of that - but not the unlimited tab. I love me some Kaz and Jesper friendship.

Nina with the Crows was great. She doesn't take Kaz's bullshit and I loved the "there is five of us" moment at the end.

Matthias: welp sorry Calahan you had shit all to do. I did assume they were gonna get him out this season but uh guess that is for the Ice Court spinoff.

The end: haha they sure changed a lot there. A lot. Are they setting up something for S&B S3 and also SOC?? Now with Dark Alina in charge of Ravka and King of Scars Nikolai stuff?? Mal going away with Tolya, Tamar and Inej?? I liked that Inej is getting a pirate slave hunter moment (but I still need that Kanej boat scene. I need it). I guess they'll find a way to get her back? Will she get caught?? So many questions. So random.

I don't care about Mal x Alina really but uh if I did and that ending happened and I was expecting the R&R ending. Well.

Are they going to do a Tolya and Inej moment? I have mixed feelings.

Anyway in conclusion: I love the Crows! Some things were good! The actors were all great! But eh some choices I'm not sure about it. I need the Ice Court story though. Please Netflix.

Yes I have read book scenes and I might go hunt down some of my Kanej fic faves ...

[grishaverse-chaos]

as promised, here is:

grishaverse ships as taylor swift songs!!

malina - im only me when im with you

THE childhood friends to lovers song!!

just a small town boy and girl! living in a crazy world! trying to figure out what is and isn't true!!

and I'm only me when I'm with you!!!

don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground!!

it's SO malina

darkl!na - dear john (censoring the ship name so it doesn't show up in tags!)

sksadgshdh I had to

on a serious note it does fit very very well

don't you think I was too young to be played by your dark twisted games!! regret how I ignored when they said run as fast as you can!!

you'll add my name to your long list of traitors!!!! the darkl!ng literally DID add her name to a list of traitors sjdhshdgjdhd

genyadavid - paper rings <3

it's just..... so cute and soft, I love it sm

and you know something? david DOES like shiny things and he WOULD marry her with paper rings!!

nikolina - getaway car

taylor literally wrote this song for nikolina, I take no criticism

you were driving the getaway car!! we were flying but we'd never get far!! should've known I'd be the first to leave!!

no but they LITERALLY met in a getaway car. they were LITERALLY flying. but they didn't get far.

I'm sorry I will never shut up about this ever

ANYWAY!!

kanej - renegade

that one scene in soc where inej goes "I will have you without armour or I will not have you at all"

it's literally just GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER SO I CAN LOVE YOU!

there was nowhere for me to stay but I stayed anyway!! you wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody!!!

GOD the accuracy of this is killing me.

I can't lie I could write a whole essay on every line of this song and how perfectly it fits kanej.....

you fire off missiles cause you hate yourself but don't you know you're demolishing me!! let all your damage damage me!!

wesper - enchanted

idk how to explain this one it's just the Vibes

walls of insincerity.... playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks

just the whole thing where they first meet reminds me SO MUCH of enchanted I can't even

helnik - miss americana and the heartbreak prince

.....yet another that I could write a whole fucking essay on

nina IS miss americana!!

my team is losing! battered and bruising!

boys will be boys then, where are the wise men!

IT'S YOU AND ME THAT'S MY WHOLE WORLD, THEY WHISPER IN THE HALLWAY SHE'S A BAD BAD GIRL

and I'll never let you go!! cause I know this is a fight! that someday were gonna win!!!

zoyalai - peace

tbh I considered ciwyw as well but in the end I think this is ALSO such a zoyalai song I couldn't not pick it

honestly I can see this being from either perspective.... neither of them can give the other peace! and that's what they love about each other!!

I can't even choose any lyrics to highlight, just the whole song

actually wait that was a lie.

okay so think about zoya believing nikolai is too good for her. now think about "your integrity makes me seem small, you paint dreamscapes on the wall... it's like I'm wasting your honour....."

SIT WITH YOU IN THE TRENCHES!!!

the chorus.... I can't imagine it any other way than nikolai singing it to zoya tbh. I'll keep your brittle heart warm?? I would die for you in secret??

but you got a friend in me = as my general. as my friend. as my bride.

this is probably incoherent but OH WELL

tamadia - invisible string

again I cannot explain it's just the Vibes

isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?

it's so CUTE and I love it

also "cold was the steel of my axe"

because tamar and axes.

anyway! that's it!! this definitely got super incoherent and rambling towards the end but I hope y'all enjoyed it :D

[wraithblogging]

Overall thoughts on Shadow and Bone season two:

- They tried SO HARD to make everyone hate the Darkling. It was ridiculous tbh

- Meanwhile, they made everyone else way more likeable, especially Mal, Baghra, and Zoya.

- They did Kanej dirty by taking Inej out of formative scenes like the police wagon scene and the scene where Kaz threatens Pekka and instead made them more physical. They robbed them of their intimacy and that kiss scene... don't get me started

- It was very annoying to me how good Jesper and Nina were with their powers. I guess with Nina it was more established for the show, since she was pretty good in season one already. But Jesper?

- I did like that Matthias did get more of a plotline and we got to see him in Hellgate a bit

- I am DYING over Inej traveling the seas on the Volkvolny. Her being the lookout made everything this season didn't do well completely irrelevant!

- I'm glad they picked up on Inej's brother again, even though it was briefly. I think it served as a good bonding moment for Kaz and Inej without the same magnitude that him finding her parents has (cause that would have been way too early)

- I wish there would have been more Nina and Inej friendship and more bonding between Inej and Zoya. I missed that a lot tbh. Although there were moments.

- I was interestingly not annoyed by Malina in the show this time. It made sense kinda and their communication was better written, making them way nice than in the books. Also at so many parts their lovestory felt so much less fragile than in the books, especially with their split up (but not break up) in the end. It made them more their own characters even though the show was heavily relying in them as a pair

- I'm not quite a fan of the way Nikolai's demon was handled. It's very clear here that it's a setup for the Six of Crows Spin-Off but still, it didn't really vibe with me

- the pacing was kinda weird and there was a bit too much going on storywise imo.

- Jesper's plotline was a bit too fast for me. It was kinda handled on the by instead of showing what a deep issue this is for him. I guess they tried. But meh

- I kinda had some issues with how characters traveled from one place to another in seemingly no time? Especially at first it seemed like Nikolai was in Ketterdam and Weddle at the same time?!? Like mate, that's quite some way

- I did like what they did with Alina as a character. It felt like the showrunners listened to the complaints fans had with her being too passive and how many didn't like her ending, so they turned that around.

- I feel like the Crows got way too much screen time. Especially Kaz and his backstory sometimes made me forget I was watching a show about Alina

- I was kinda missing the whole 'exploring Alina's shu heritage' thing that they teased in some interviews? Like they mentioned it like twice. That wasn't necessarily exploring for me.

- I kinda feel robbed of Nikolina. Like, I did love how their friendship was portrayed but my Nikolina heart did want a kiss at least 🥲

- I'm glad they cut that whole sun summoner cult plotline! That was really annoying in the books imo

- can't believe they killed off Hellen off screen. David too. Like what? Also where were Ivan and Fedyor? Boyfriend grisha were exchanged for girlfriend grisha Tamar and Nadia lol

I might add more when I sorted my thoughts more.

[caspianxth]

Hi, more thoughts, sorry<3

like yeah i agree that kaz absolutely has a heart, but i think those acts of kindness are mostly reserved for the people he loves, even if wylan is new, you can tell he's already warmed up to him, and i really dont think he'd do something kind just because for someone he feels indifferent to at best, much less someone like a king, and wait omg i just remembered he's friends with sturmhund i take it all back, he would indeed give it up for his friend. and yeah youre right about wesper it was adorable, but i dont know i needed the slow burnnnnn, but yeah given netflix penchant for with gay shit, it was necessary.

And about everything else, yeah it made sense but it was really rushed, especially in s2, and like i get that they have to make everything as fast as they can in case it gets cancelled but im sad about it, but i just really hope malina does meet in the meadow in the end, cause at this point, this show is uncharted territory and completely new and i am so excited for it, and i think that was just setting up for nikolai i bet they will make him all scary later, or at least i hope. But like MERZOST!!!!! ALINA WTF!!! i loved the shadow cut it, like alina i love that youre very powerful but pls try not to turn evil, and like shes heading exactly in the direction the darkling said she would go which is so scary and obvious in a good way i love it. And omg the darkling, like in the books its neither easy to not root for him except maybe when he dies, but here omg, you're telling me he actually felt something for alina and it was not just manipulation!!!

Also Ben Barnes makes it really hard to not be on his side, Alina is waay stronger than me, "Make me your villain", for you? anything, also very simp i loved it, so its okay they omitted a lot of his character and relationship with alina, as they basically made a new one which i like. and about the white hair thing, it was iconic!!! i needed it!! but its okay, also i think the darkling probably experienced some shit associated with his power, but probably never like that cause the only amplifier he used was his mother, and it wasnt until he used merzost he became unstoppable, and it was slowly taking its toll on him, so slowy at first that it might have even been a plot hole, cause later it starts eating him from the inside.

Anyways Ice Court Heist is coming omgomgomgomg im so excited, i cant wait to see something really serious happening with nikolai and alina, and the crows just, just, yeah. i love them. i love jesper and wylan (the characters not their relationship in this instance) so much i could die just thinking about them.

And i think that's all my thoughts until now, I apologize in advance because I WILL think about it more and I WILL bother you about it<3

sturmhond my beloved <3 best of the grishaverse men truly!! also re wesper I love them I'd die for them plus with a tv show I need smth to be happy about and kanej: glacial pace, helnik: slow burn bc of the whole hellgate sitch. like I need smth to be diggin!!! re nikolai, a nichevo'ya is not how he should look and tbh I don't like how they're doing it in the show if that's the angle they take but hopefully I'm wrong. I do think paddy gibson did kill as nikolai like when they let book nikolai pop out? slayed!!! also yeah alina like don't be doin that (merzost) baghra made u promise!! but it is a way better end than her losing all her power and I'm excited to see where they take that, I saw on twitter somewhere that leigh has lots of ideas where to take it if given more so we shall see <3 also w the darkling, like, ok so 1 he is ben barnes so that's a thing bc I've been crushing on him since prince caspian but also!! like the thing is like, he really did love her for a bit there! he had peace when she surprise kissed him!! that's the moment he went right back to in his defeat right before alina mcstabbed him (which he did deserve btw). like the heartbreaking part w darklina is they really could've had it if he'd trusted her!!! but he didn't!!! and that was his greatest weakness!!!!! I do like malina but like, for me it's nikolina >>>>>>>>>> malina sorry. book or show nikolai is just *chef's kiss*. but also re nikolai, zoyalai >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>nikolina. so like, the setup there is also *chef's kiss*.

[thejudeduarte]

(skipping ones I've already answered in a previous tag game)

Last song: -

Currently watching: His Dark Materials, I'm a sobbing mess when it comes to Will and Lyra and don't even get me started on that ending

Three ships: Jurdan (Jude and Cardan from tfota, I don't know if you can tell but they're kind of my Roman empire), Kanej (Kaz and Inej from soc, they make me sick sick sick) and Evervale (Victor and Eli from vicious, I know they're not canon but they're canon to me)

Favourite colour: -

Currently consuming: nothing

First ship: honestly, Torak and Wren from the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

Last movie: -

Currently working on: nothing 😔 but please don't make me feel bad about it I've just finished my mocks okay

Also @enjoyerofstories I write about his dark materials without even realising you mentioned it in your post so omg I'm even more obsessed with you than I was before

+ tagging everyone who sees this!! I'm so tired rn I don't have the strength

Tag game: tag nine people you’d like to know better.

Tagged by: @oneshoulderangel

Last song: At the moment, I have "Losing Your Memory" by Alan Star stuck in my head, which I suppose makes it my current song, not my last song. Hm. I get songs stuck in my head very easily, but the last one I had there for a significant amount of time was a mashup of different language versions of "Les Rois du Monde" for about a week. "Lehetsz Király", the Magyar version, is probably my favorite of them. It's worth a listen.

Currently watching: Normally, the answer would be "random mostly terrible old movies/shows" or "nothing much", but I currently have a hyperfixation on the musical Roméo et Juliette and have been watching it in multiple languages. (Thus, the song).

Three ships: This is hard. Maybe as a result of being on the ace and aro spectrums, I'm more likely to care about which characters are interacting than whether it's romantic or platonic. Here goes:

Kedivere/Bedikay. It can be romantic, platonic, or queerplatonic, but whichever way, I'm here for it. I probably spend too much time thinking about how in Cullwch and Olwen, when Cai gets mad at Arthur and marches out, Bedwyr stays behind, keeps acting like nothing's happened, and isn't the one to avenge Cai's death. The feeling of betrayal on both sides has a lot of unexplored potential. And the version where Bedivere dies and Kay fights to bring his body back safely while mortally wounded himself... And the version where Bedivere survives Camlann and Kay isn't said to fight in it, so they might be left together after their world has fallen apart...

Platonically or queerplatonically, Galahad and the Grail Heroine. I really like the tragic Grail Quest friendships, but I like theirs most, maybe because there's something weird and otherworldly about them both. I like it when characters are strange and endearing and doomed by the narrative.

Ever since reading John Matthews' retelling, which I read before the original, I've had a soft spot for Caradoc and Guinier. The Story of Caradoc is very disturbing, and I have some major qualms with Caradoc over a detail Matthews cut out, but all the same, there's a reason these two have the best track record with magical fidelity tests. Each of them would go to the ends of the earth for the other, and together, they're stronger than any curse.

Favorite Color: Blue, particularly royal blue and some teals.

Currently consuming: Black licorice with chocolate.

First ship: This is a hard one, since through elementary and most of middle school, I tended to go along with whatever I thought the author's intentions were and was more likely to unship something. The first non-endgame ship I got invested in was Sonya/Nikolai in War and Peace. I didn't like Nikolai, but Sonya did, and she was my favorite character, so I wanted her to be happy. The first non-canon couple I thought was meant to be together was also in War and Peace: Marya Bolkonskaya and Julie Karagina. My eighth grade self did not think their letters could be interpreted platonically. I still don't.

Last movie: If the musical doesn't count, the last movie I watched was Quest for Camelot, which was awful. Though not Robot Monster-level bad, Robot Monster has an elegance to its simplicity which Quest for Camelot lacks.

Currently working on: Various fics, most of them Arthuriana or CotRK-related (I am woefully behind on the Badfic Bingo), and (theoretically) an epic-style poem, though I haven't gotten much of it written for quite a while now.

Tagging: @gawrkin, @emperorcandy, @wildbasil, @gorewound, @knightsofsomethingorother, @ladyminaofcamelot, @tasosotaso, @amashelle, @gingersnaptaff (I have no idea who's been tagged so far, apart from the people on @oneshoulderangel's post, so I apologize for any multi-tags)

[welllpthisishappening]

i am SO SAD about Matthias! I wanted to warn you when i saw you getting attached to Helnik, but I didn't want to ruin it... I too cried over Matthias Helvar. I still cry about Matthias Helvar. I will never be over Matthias Helvar. Welcome to the club (we meet on Thursdays and eat waffles and cry).

I AM SO SO SAD I CANNOT POSSIBLY TELL YOU. I CRIED! REAL TEARS! FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME! Like, ok—I knew it was a possibility that stuff would go south and they’d all already dodged catastrophe so many times, but (as I ranted to my husband yesterday) NINA AND MATTHIAS HAD BOTH ALREADY BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH THEY DIDN’T DESERVE THAT! THEY SHOULD HAVE KISSED MORE!

And the thing is! I saw all those gif set tags and responses that were like can’t think about them without crying and my DUMB brain was like—oh, that’s just because she betrayed him and everyone was so angst-ridden in Six of Crows. Ha! Not even close. And then! And t h e n. I got GUT PUNCHED. Air knocked out of my lungs sucker punched. To the very core of my feelings.

HE JUST WANTED TO SEE HER AGAIN

I ask you seriously, what the fuck am I supposed to do with that sweeping romance??? Probably cry about it some more, quite honestly. I just—aghhhhh. They might not perfectly fit into “the one that got away” trope, but that is, like, my ULTIMATE trope and they were just so GOOD. NINA AND MATTHIAS HAD BOTH ALREADY BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH THEY DIDN’T DESERVE THAT! THEY SHOULD HAVE KISSED MORE! HE LIFTED HER OFF HER FEET WHEN HE KISSED HER. I went back and reread the™ chapter, too. Because I’m a masochist, apparently. Also, I will gladly join the club. Do we get matching jackets?

(also, uh, if i write that super fluffy baseball au! idea for nina and matthias tomorrow to distract me from my sadness, that’s neither here nor there)

[southslates]

Dee, DEE, Oh My God, I started following you for your excellent Kanej content like what, one year ago ?? and only now are you hinting at watching Miraculous ????? I'm going to loose my freaking mind oh my God TELL ME ALL YOUR THOUGHTS ON MIRACULOUS PLEASE AND ALSO MARICHAT you might just convince me it's the best side of the lovesquare, I don't even watch ATLA and I'm sold to Zutara PLEASE

omg omg. i wrote a few miraculous fics back in 2016 and i watched the first season/part of the second when i was in middle school, and had a phase for a month or two where i read a ton of fic, but then i dropped off the miraculous fandom entirely and i haven't watched anything at all after the second season. it's been six years, which is so crazy haha but recently i've definitely been reading a bit of mlb fic. the fandom is to some extent more lighthearted than what i'm used to, and i'm not invested enough in watching the next few seasons/keeping up with everything, but i look at the art sometimes <3

and on MARICHAT. oh my god i love chat noir so much and i love marinette, i don't really have a particular reason for it i guess, but they were always my favorite because their interactions felt so much more genuine and un-romanticized than the rest

i honestly can't bear ladrien and stay away from a lot of adrinette because the way mari acts around adrien just gives me so much secondhand embarassment. and like, i know she supposedly sees beyond rich kid adrien and truly loves him for who he is, but it seems like chat is truly who he is? idk like adrien minus chat feels just like Perfect Model Boy (tm) to me, nothing about him feels like a character, but then again it's been so long since i watched the show. and because of how she interacts with him i feel like she's too far into her romanticization to ever like him more so for him. i love marichat and ladynoir for that, because mari is her true self, so sassy and fun around chat in those forms, and good for her lol. i think ladybug is more like mari than chat is like adrien. the two just seem so... not similar.

& also man, do i hate when girls are messy and stumbling and awkward around their crushes, these guys they put on a pedestal. like adrien is this perfect character right, but in real life that usually ends really badly with them getting taken advantage of, and ugh i just dislike it. also i dislike adrien getting to speak chinese, marinette having little connection with that side of her culture and she gets i... idk idk man. no adrien hate because he's a nice boy and clearly he's dealing with a lot of issues, but a combination of his naivete and perfection just rankles me with him. i feel like i only ever like him when he's revealed to be chat and is more comfortable acting like chat. but marinette is so much like ladybug when she's marinette when she isn't around adrien.

god i said i had no reasoning and then just ended up ranting i'm so sorry!! but thank you for sticking with me so long and i'm so glad i've recruited you over to the zutara dark side as well ;)

[sasakisniko]

For the ask game: malex & kanej

i'm dying of laughter because I literally just answered both of these. But I will try to give slightly different answers.

Also, this is going to be incredibly long, so

Malex

What made you ship it?

I don't know exactly what started it (other than that I was shouting at the TV for them to kiss before the end of the first episode), but I stuck around because they are my ship type. These two characters are both dealing with a shit ton of trauma. Alex has an abusive father who caught him and Michael together when they were teens and attacked Michael (and Alex blames himself for all the bad things that happened to Michael after, because he was missing a lot of context). Michael has a shit-ton of abandonment issues and Alex keeps leaving (because some part of him thinks Michael will be hurt because of him again). Basically, these are two damaged people who see the best in each other and who struggle with accepting the good in themselves.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Okay, I'm gonna lift this from the previous answer I gave, but with more context. And I have two answers.

First, these two idiots will sacrifice themselves for each other and face their worst fears for each other without blinking. So, back in s1, we all assumed explosions were incredibly triggering for Alex for obvious war-vet related reasons. And, when he was dealing with a building that was about to explode and Michael wouldn't leave, it wasn't even a question. He was going to stay until Michael left with him.

In s2, when Alex was missing, Michael confronted both Alex's father and brother (who he knew were basically trying to kill all aliens) using his alien powers because Alex was in danger. He proceeded to build a bomb that would kill all aliens (himself, his siblings, and his then-girlfriend) because that was what he had to do to save Alex.

Second, they both see each other as the best the universe has to offer.

Again, in s2, when dealing with Alex's dad, Michael goes off about how he used to think humanity was so cruel and awful and he was so superior to humans. And then he met Alex and fell in love. And he talks about how, even after all Alex has been through, he still has the capacity to love, that he's even able to love his father. And he says, essentially, that Alex is beyond him.

Alex literally says Michael is the best of him at the end of s2, so...

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I'm dying because you know me, Liddy! Of course there is.

I'm gonna explain this in C@ryl terms.

Basically, there's a large, very vocal, 'one true way' segment of the fandom that is all 'Alex is a badass' and they reduce him to that. You survived the Carol fandom with me, so I'm sure you can guess what I think of that.

Anyway, my boy is incredibly strong and capable, but he also has cptsd and some serious self-loathing (again, I have a type) and I just need both him and Michael to be there for each other and support each other. Alex shouldn't have to be constantly strong and badass and to suggest such... To me it shows a lack of understanding of the complexities of humans in general. And that's me being nice about it.

Oh, also, friends don't pursue relationships with their friend's ex, especially when said friend is still in love with said ex and hopeful about their future. I have a lot of other unpopular opinions about this particular situation, but... I'm gonna try to keep myself from getting into things that will send me spiraling.

***

Kanej

What made you ship it?

I don't know what started me with shipping it. I know I fell completely in love with Inej as a character. But, also, they are very much my type. They're both struggling with trauma (let's not look at that too close) and they see the best in each other. And they have each other's backs.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I mean, the thing that will always destroy me the most is how they end the series. How Kaz has given up everything he thought he wanted to give Inej her freedom. How, when they get their big win at the end, he still doesn't really focus on revenge. Instead, his money goes towards giving Inej her freedom, her dream, and her family. And how he's trying to pull himself together for her. Because it's what she deserves.

And I love the way Inej thinks about her own future and any future relationships. And how she wants someone who knows her and understands her. How, yeah, she could try to be "normal", but she isn't who she was before her trauma and she doesn't want to act like she is.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I'm sure I have a ton. I'm not really involved in the fandom though. So idk. Maybe the extent to which I adore Inej. I'm there for her first (and I think a large majority of the fans are there for Kaz first and, to be clear, no judgment, this is just a difference and not an argument). I love her heart. Her morality. She is so good and the fact that she struggles so much with what she has to do is just... Beautiful and heartbreaking.

[manikas-whims]

Turmeric Milk

A sequel to my other Kanej fic Holi

[Read on AO3]

Ship: Kaz Brekker X Inej Ghafa

Summary:

Modern AU

Kaz had told his neighbour Inej that he'd call up his doctor friend to get his wounds treated but she stills decides to check up on him.

And with a weird drink at that..

Note:

I've decided to turn this Modern AU into a series.

Hope you enjoy this one as well ♥

Kaz rouses from his slumber due to the noise of the cellphone buzzing and sits up, accidentally hurting the wound on his chest. He represses a hiss and looks around, finding himself on his living room’s couch. The wall clock that his eyes land on, make him realize its past seven at night. Great, sleeping at odd hours. Pushing off the duvet, he scrambles to his feet, a jolt of ache shooting through his bad leg. Immediately, he seeks purchase in the arm of the couch, taking deep breaths to help himself endure the ache.

His phone buzzes again and he picks it up in annoyance. ‘W. Van Eck’, the screen reads and Kaz sighs, receiving the call.

“What happened?” He grunts out.

He can hear a loud huff from the other end. “You know Kaz, those shouldn't be your words to initiate a phone conversation.”

He rubs his eyes, trying to bite back the string of colorful words at the tip of his cursed tongue. “What do you want, Wylan?”

There’s a long pause. “Jes and I wanted to check up on you.”

“I’m doing quite alright.” He grits out as calmly as possible.

“Listen Kaz, if you need–”

“I’m not a child Wylan. I can take care of myself.” Kaz reminds him. He likes his crew because they do their jobs perfectly well but thats all he expects of them. His health and personal lifestyle is none of their concern.

“..kay, I understand. Rest well.” Wylan mumbles and disconnects the call.

With that, Kaz tosses his cellphone to the couch and limps towards his bedroom. Its about time he takes a much needed bath and orders his dinner.

By the time he’s done, he changes into another pair of trousers and lets his towel dangle around his neck. There's several drawers in the side rail of his bed. He crouches down to open the middle one and rummages out a first aid kit from within.

Grabbing his cane from the mattress, he walks out to the living room. Immediately his eyes take note of the duvet falling off his couch and the half-filled bottle of brandy but he chooses to ignore them. He’s not in the mood for tidying up. He simply picks up his cellphone and places an order for hutspot from the Kooperom, a diner nearby. It should take around twenty minutes to arrive and as such, he decides to address his injuries.

He sits heavily onto the couch, placing his cane in his lap and pulls out a roll of gauze and a flask of liquid disinfectant. Dousing a cotton pad in the disinfectant, he starts swiping the cut that trails diagonally from the right side of his chest down to his navel, just like he'd done earlier in the morning. That punch to his face had blinded him for a moment and another Razorgull took advantage of that. The teeth of that man’s knife tore so callously through his skin that Kaz winces several times during the whole cleansing. Finally as his hand reaches for the gauze roll, the dinging sound of the doorbell interrupts him.

The food delivery guy can’t make it this quick. A single father and his son run the whole diner by themselves. The thought makes Kaz gaze uncertainly at the door.

The bell rings again and this time Kaz stands up with his cane. He takes slow steps, snaking out a revolver from behind a painting next to the door and then turns the knob.

“Ohh God!” a feminine voice shrieks, making Kaz flinch.

His deep, coffee irises clash with a pair of dark brown ones and he scowls. Its none other than his next-door neighbour— Inej Ghafa. She’s forgone her shimmering traditional garbs and is sporting a set of faded blue silk pajamas. Her long, flowing hair has been pulled together in a single braid. And she has a small jar full of something yellow in her hands.

“The hell!?” He grits out.

She flushes at the sight of his bare torso as she speaks, “I just came by to check up on you.”

Really? Kaz lets out an exasperated sigh and glares at the jar of the unknown yellow. His lips curl in memory of that excessively-sugary Indian sweet that she had shoved in his mouth this morning. He’s not falling for her words again.

Her own eyes follow his and she smiles, lifting the jar higher. “Ah yes! I brought turmeric for you.”

He scrunches his nose in suspicion. “I don’t think I need it.”

She rolls her eyes. “Says the man with a gun.”

Exactly! And she must be scared of this sight. Not strike jokes about it. But he has to admit he’s quite pleased that she’s mentioning the gun instead of commenting on the cane in his other hand. She doesn't even flash a single pitiful glance like the others who come across him do.

“Anyways, may I come in?” She waits patiently.

“For what?” He asks.

“To make you a glass of turmeric milk.” She states, as if its the most normal thing to do for a neighbour.

“Again, I don't need that.” It feels like arguing with a saleswoman.

“But its good for health.” She informs wisely and her eyes stray towards his chest. “And it'll help you heal faster.”

He quirks a brow incredulously. “Fantastic! Just what I needed. Give me the jar and I'll make it myself.”

“Just like you said you'll call you doctor friend?” Her eyes rove pointedly over the injured state of his chest and she shakes her head. “I think I should do this myself.”

Kaz gulps. He knows he will regret this later. Yet something tells him that rejecting her hospitality will only make her more persistent. And its not like his significant belongings just lie around the house. She won’t be able to figure-out anything about him. Yeah but what kind of a sane guy greets a neighbor with a gun? He dismisses the thought instantly. Maybe she’ll just make her energy drink and leave. Maybe she won't consider him a sociopath at all.

“Come in.” He slides the gun in his pocket and opens the door wider.

Inej neatly puts her slippers in the shoe-rack before following Kaz into the living room. While he resumes his task of bandaging his wound, she watches quietly, making him feel self-conscious for the first time since he was fourteen. Now that he isn’t focused on interrogating her, he is unable to be as nonchalant as he had been minutes ago.

“Your job sure keeps you entertained.” She remarks. “I thought your line of work didn’t allow action to this..severity.”

Kaz regards her curiously. He isn’t sure he’s aware of what she’s talking about. Is she a spy from another rising gang? Is she vaguely suggesting she knows about his position in the Dregs? His hands twitch as they tie the gauze.

“You are a Private Investigator, afterall.” She adds.

Oh. Kaz nods in relief. Of course she's talking about his cover job. She probably learnt this as well from the building management.

“Ye-Yeah..things do get messy sometimes.” He confesses imprecisely and starts returning the disinfectant, cotton pads and the remaining gauze into the kit. He needs a shirt. He's never felt so nervous in a woman's presence.

Thankfully, she ends the awkward moment for the both of them. “I..I should start on that milk. If your apartment has the same layout as mine, the kitchen should be the next room from the gallery?”

He nods once and picks up his cane, heading ahead of her in the direction of his bedroom.

Upon his return, and with a shirt on, he notices the absence of his brandy from the table. A package with Kooperom's logo sits in its place. His duvet has been folded neatly, resting on one end of the couch. And his neighbor is standing in the center of the living room, a glass of yellowish, creamy liquid in her hand. He’s assuming its the “turmeric milk”.

“So uh..a delivery man came by just as you left.” She gestures to the package and continues, “I’ve put the turmeric jar on your kitchen counter. Just add a spoonful to your milk daily and you'll be back in shape in no time.”

She strides towards him and pushes the glass into his free hand. “Goodnight, Mr. Brekker.”

And just like that..she’s gone. What’s with her swinging by and departing so abruptly?

Kaz locks the door and sits by his folded duvet. Its interesting how she managed to clean this room within the few minutes he was gone.

He unpacks the food, picks up a fork and takes a bite of the meat from the hutspot. Fulfilling as ever. He takes another bite and looks at the glass in his hand. Reluctantly, he brings it to his lips and takes a sip, bracing himself for another weird experience. To his surprise, it tastes alright. And strangely enough, his muscles do ease a bit. Maybe having neighbors isn't all that bad.

Hutspot: a traditional Dutch dish of potatoes, carrots and onions. Sometimes meat is served as a side dish with it.

Turmeric: a spice regularly used by Indians in their cuisine. Its said to be a natural antiseptic.

Turmeric Milk: drinking milk with turmeric is good for health. even gargling with turmeric water (hot) is good for throat.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading this..:3

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Read more Soc Fanfics, Headcanons & AUs here

(divider by @firefly-graphics)

[caspianxth]

SHADOW AND BONE SPOILERS!

okay first, Kaz would have not fucking given up his cane, and for a king?!?!? love it but he would not do that, it was adorable tho. Second, he just wanted to be loved:( i think i read it in the book cause they never said it in the show but all he wanted was the love of his people, and for them to be safe, and look what it cost him:( Third, why would they change all that, like yes i get this is basically a prequel for six of crows BUT i enjoyed jesper and wylan being slow burn and now theyre a thing?? like what happpens now instead of all the teasing and pining in both upcoming heists, and also with kanej, cause like yeah the love confession was word for word which was nice BUT theyre still TWO heists to come, what about the pining!?!?!! and speaking of inej, she's now free and also a slaver-hunting pirate, which is all she wanted but what about the heists!!!!! like i guess she'll come back out of the love in her heart but why have her achieve her dream just to give it all up?? And don't even get me started on Mal and Alina, like i get their story hasnt really ended, especially with the nikolai thing (poor baby), but wtf.

Despite all of that, I really enjoyed it, it was really well made, I just wish I didn't compare everything with the books, anyway, sending love, thanks for letting me rant none of my friends like s&b.

I do v much agree that it's v diff from the books, but I don't hate that! lemme dive in under the cut tho <3

I wish they had more time bc they were trying to do So Much though and I feel like nikolai's arc as a monster was just weirdly done. alas, lemme dive in!!

I actually disagree on the cane, and here's why. kaz had no reason to tell inej about jordie. he even says in his chapter he had no idea why he did it. was it because he loved her? or was it that he truly felt like she deserved to know? why would she deserve to know??? he also expands on this with jesper, someone who unwittingly betrayed him! he sees jesper as jordie and then when jesper asks who jordie is after kaz slipped and called him jordie, he doesn't tell jesper off, he doesn't shut down. he tells jesper that jordie was someone who meant a lot to him in a way that makes it pretty clear for me that he truly cares for jesper too. he didn't have to do that, but he did it for inej and for jesper, the crows who have been by his side longest. also in soc he allows the crows to drag him to a different cafe in djerholm after they stake out the prison transports. kaz's way is the highway at this point in soc, the crows haven't learned that they can team up on him the way nina and inej do for the ketterdam grisha in crooked kingdom, they didn't have to relocate, but they did. if kaz wanted to shut down their complaining he would have. instead he gave into their apparent need for sweet buns and hot cocoa. also, when we get flashbacks from the ferolind via wylan in crooked kingdom, kaz was the one who was warning wylan about tailoring his face using nina's powers on parem and it was kaz that believed that wylan's father still loved him. he even bet on it and lost (which is hilarious btw, I mean not for wylan but u get me). also, in crooked kingdom after kaz robs cornelius smeet and then crashes into him to return the dog whistle and returns his wallet, smeet gives kaz 5 kruge. he then turns and gives that to wylan. sure, they have pekka's money, but why would kaz brekker give wylan something for nothing? he also steals back jesper's pistols from club cumulus's safe. he claimed that a shooter's nothing without his guns, but jesper helped get his dad and wylan back to black veil just fine without his beloved revolvers. kaz also swore to inej that even if her legs were broken, he'd come back for her. yeah, he's in love with her, but would he do that if there wasn't still a kernel of kaz rietveld inside him?? would he give wylan 5 kruge or warn him that he might always have kuwei's face?? would he have worked so hard from the initial heist at smeet's to get wylan back his money by replacing jan's will??? no. dirtyhands wouldn't. kaz rietveld would. there's still pieces of him there, and that's exactly why he'd give his cane to nikolai. firstly, he still needs to be paid, a slow king is an easily killed king, and as kaz himself said he is more experienced with pain. it's the most logical move to make. kaz is also someone who still has kindness in him despite what he says, even in the show when he promises that he'll help nina w freeing matthias. there's a heart buried in him, and I for one love to get peeks at it. also I think they made his need to be loved by his crows in the show decently clear, like when he asks wylan when he last ate or when he gives up the deed for the crow club for inej (let's face it, dirtyhands could have found a way to get leverage on helene to make that work without risking everything for inej but he did it bc he cares about her) and with how he was keeping jesper's zowa powers a secret. even though jesper's zowa powers could have been pretty useful before, kaz said nothing. he also wanted all of the crows in the building when he took pekka down. inej was the only crow not in attendance (and matthias but he's in jail, so he kinda has bigger shit but kaz still paid the guards to keep him out of the fights).

w the wesper: gimme gimme gimme!!! I'd rather get it fast than not at all esp w how weird netflix has been the past year with what gets renewals and spinoffs and what gets cancelled. and I think they did it in a way that was very true to the characters!! it's so cute!!!! the stroopes!! you remember that nOW??!!??!?!?!? and can we talk about tolya being the #1 wesper shipper!!! also there's a gifset idk if I can find it tonight but it's kaz saying 'everyone's losing their minds' after wylan and jesper kiss outside ohval's and the caption on the gifset is 'my brother in ghezen you set them up' and I think about that a lot.

with inej I think that it's great that she's slave hunting early bc I think that it gives a really great opportunity for a bit of kanej closure that the books never had. at the end of crooked kingdom, inej prepares to leave and just says she isn't done w ketterdam (and by extension kaz) yet but that's p much it, even in king of scars / rule of wolves we don't get concrete kanej. I think with inej's story, it gives her that option to find her family and get that closure, and hell that could've been the payment kaz asked for when they returned to ravka, we don't know, but once she finds the slavers it'll bring her closure and I think that'll help give us a possibility of a definitive kanej endgame for the show.

also w the not malina end, I'm sorry but I'm all for it. I think it makes sense esp bc she used merzost to rip him away from death. we saw him in the field, he was content, he was at peace, and she legit Yanked him back. I think a part of him knows that. also, he did die. that no doubt changed him, so he's v right to explore who he is if not a mythical tracker and I loved nikolai dread-pirate-roberts-ing him by making him the new sturmhond even tho he isn't in charge. also I really really wish they'd done nikolai's monster story better. I wanted to see him w the wings and the talons and all they did was make him look like a nichevo'ya. boo!! but I think they were just trying to set up too much and cut a ton (harshaw and oncat 😭) and redo stuff to make it work, it felt like at times alina got sidelined for everything else they had to do.

also of course!!! ur welcome in my inbox bestie!!!