#ft. kanej

[capinejghafa]

the crows (ft. nina and inej) + incorrect quote

or the nina being kanej #1 shipper

[skepticalcatfrog]

Part 1/3 of drawing the crows using monochrome color palettes! ft. kanej

(Helnik edition)

(Wesper edition)

[five-of-cr]

kaz textpost ft. a tiny bit of kanej

[sparrowmoth]

❀ Wesper Fanfiction Masterlist

I've been writing (mostly) Wesper fics for over a year now, so I figured it was about time I put together a masterlist of my fics. You'll find b/g Kanej and Helnik sprinkled throughout many of my Wesper-centric fics. Mind the ratings/warnings because I write all over the spectrum.

➳ Oneshots

Inside/Outside Voices | Teen | 1.6K Kaz POV, pining, denial of feelings, love, missing scene, canon compliant

Yours, Mine, Hours | Teen | 11.5K Hurt/comfort, fake relationship, attempted assault, drinking, fluff, jealousy, humor

Armor and Amor | Teen | 1.5K Royalty AU, knight/prince, secret relationship, fluff, flirting, sexual tension

the perfect genius of our hands and mouths | Teen | 1.5K Modern AU, semi-epistolary, mutual pining, gay panic, romance, fast burn

The Only Heaven I'll Be Sent To | Teen | 3.2K Reincarnation, fate/destiny, true love, married Wesper, honeymoon, fluff/angst

We Go Down Together | Explicit | 11.1K Human/monster romance, aphrodisiacs, threesome, consensual kink, unsafe sex

My Kingdom for Your Kiss | Explicit | 5.6K Light angst, tentacle sex, fluff and smut, interspecies romance, love confessions

all this (but heaven too) | Explicit | 20.5K Non-con, graphic violence, serial killers, heavy angst with a happy ending

➳ Multichaps (Complete)

The Show Must Go On | Teen | 20K Kidnapping, body horror, torture, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort

i feel like i've known you (but we've never met) | Teen | 20.5K Modern AU, internet friends to lovers, fluff and angst, happy ending

➳ Multichaps (WIP)

cards on the table (we're both showing hearts) | Teen | 5K+ Modern AU, fluff and angst, emotional hurt/comfort, humor, college/uni

The In-Between | Mature | 19K+ Hybrid AU, Wylan-centric, Angst, body horror, hurt/comfort, happy ending

The Only Hope For Me Is You | Mature | 4.5K+ Dubcon, public sex, humiliation, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending

My Little Pony: BDSM is Magic | Explicit | 11.8K+ Pony play (kink), heavy BDSM, safe sane and consensual, dom/sub play

➳ Drabbles

les fragments de la nuit | Teen | drabble collection Divine/mortal, afterlife, love, fantasy, siren/mortal, reincarnation, love confessions

Pretty Face/Blank Canvas | Teen | drabble Gender roles, wearing make-up, fluff and angst, love, short and sweet

starlight starbright (too-ra-loo-ra-li) | Teen | drabble Memory loss, surreal, mild hurt/comfort, love, singing, short & sweet

➳ Poetry

Soul to Burrow (Little Rabbit) — and other poems | Teen | collection* Love, childhood memories, self-worth issues, dreams and nightmares, mutual pining

*ft. Kanej in the poem Her & the Sea

＋ Polycrows

Leather Collar Prayer | Mature | 4.5K Polyamory, puppy play (kink), praise kink, soft, no smut, emotional hurt/comfort

[alicntsdnce]

You find yourself at my door, just like all those times before You wear your best apology, but I was there to watch you leave And all the times I let you in just for you to go again Disappear when you come back, everything is better

━ THE LAST TIME (KANEJ'S VERSION), Taylor Swift ft. Gary Lightbody

[evermore-crow]

Tag game! Tag 9 people you want to get to know better (if you like)

Tagged by @ptork66. Thanks for the tag! 💖

3 ships: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa, and i’m gonna say Lucy Carlisle/Anthony Lockwood (😞😭😭) and Mare Barrow/Maven Calore

First Ship Ever: idk probably Anne Shirley/Gilbert Blythe as I read the Anne of Green Gables series in 7 and 8th grade. But Kanej trumps all, so

Last Song: according to Spotify, The Alcott by The National ft. Taylor Swift

Last Movie: Shrek 2 but i didn’t finish it bc i was watching it with my brother and he had to go help our dad put up a door for my brother’s room, so we had to pause it… that was last Saturday…

Currently Reading: …. [runs away]

Currently Watching: The Great, season 3!!!!!

Currently Consuming: nothing at the moment, but i did just finish my merienda (a cup of coffee and sweet bread)

Currently Craving: clarity

tagging @lady-a-stuff @frolicking-grandma @totallynots8tan @bigalockwood @do-any-of-you-see-it @loopsbyelle @thegetawaywriter @kakiwrites @tfotaandstuff

[dandelioncrownns]

my leading lady babiess ft. puffed sleeves galore 

(the girlies have tea and BONUS! the boyzTM play monopoly)

notes: this is really messy, but I really wanted to do something for season 2, and I have like -12 time rn lol

also, I watched s1+2 with some of my friends ystd, and s2??? LOVE, like yeah, there were some bits that I wished were a bit different but overall I’m just so- omg I NEED season 3. I mean, weeper? Kanej? Shu Han?? MAL TAKING TIME AND SPACE?? NIKOLINA????? Fave, show stopping, incredible, never been done before etc. words can’t express how much of an obsessed clown I am over this show

-

life update: i’ve got 2 uni offers so far yall! Still waiting on the rest. Exams in like 5 weeks tho (kickstarting with languages and ending with practicals) :|

[swiftie-as-a-coursing-river]

Ok so here are my track list predictions as of right now:

1. Fortnight: Matthias or Jesper (Jes bc of the post ft)

2. Tortured poets department- all of the crows…it’s giving a friend group for some reason

3. My Boy only Breaks His Favorite Toys- Darklina lmao, but it’s also giving KAZ

4. Down Bad- Matthias…need I say more that man was down BAD

5. So long, London- Kanej

6. But Daddy, I love him- Wylan, but it’s also giving forbidden romance so helnik too

7. Fresh out the Slammer- obviously Matthias after hellgate

8. Florida!!!- idk why this screams Jesper to me he’s so Florida coded

9. Guilty as Sin?- Inej, but especially Matthias

10. Who’s afraid of little old me- honestly, could be any of them

11. I can fix him (no really I can)- INEJ! But also Nina and Wylan lmao (it’s also INCREDIBLY Zoyalai)

12. loml- I’m so scared for this song you don’t even know but I’ll say Helnik

13. I can do it with a broken heart- Genya and Nina I’m sorry

14. The Smallest man Who Ever Lived- giving it to the Darkling rn

15. The Alchemy- both Wylan and Jesper, but not Wesper bc I think it’s gonna be sad (Wylan bc chemistry, Jesper bc his grisha powers)

16. Clara Bow- ZOYA!!!!! And Alina!

[antoniosvivaldi]

A YEAR IN REVIEW: CREATIONS OF 2023

Post your favourite and most popular post from each month in 2023.

I was tagged by @madeline-kahn & @bazkrekkers 💖

A short summary on 2023 as a content creator: This was one of my most prolific & fruitful years in terms of content creating since I've started using Tumblr in 2014 - both artistically and quantitatively. I look forward to what my creative muse will bring to me the coming year 🤩

January

Most popular: The Little Mermaid gifset — A relatively quick set that came together after experimenting with a handful of mermaid / aquatic themed Photoshop freebies that I've got!

Favourite: 2023 releases compilation gifset — Assembling this gifset made me realise how many anticipated media releases were coming out in 2023 & I've also discovered quite a few new musical artists to listen in the giffing process.

February

I've subscribed to Adobe Creative Cloud subscription & got my "bad boy" Max aka the trusty M2 Mac that I now primarily gif on! It's a night and day difference, what used to take a few days can be done within a single giffing session 🤩

Most Popular: Taylor Swift Lavender Haze gifset — My first gifset that I've giffed on Max and also my first attempt incorporating Neural Filters in my giffing workflow!

Favourite: Bridgerton characters + Certainly Not A Bot Description gifset — A highly entertaining gifset to assemble and I certainly had a lot of laughs while making this 😂

March

Most Popular: Rotoscoping Tutorial — I've finished my long overdue Rotoscoping Tutorial in March and it's the most popular post that I've made in 2023

Favourite: Assorted Female Musicians + Tropes gifset / playlists — I listen to music diversely and thought it would be fun to share a playlist set of the musical artists that I've discovered / listen to! This edit idea went through quite a few iterations and was very happy that it gets to see the light of the day!

April

Most Popular: Fantasia 1940 + animals gifset — Made under a bit of time crunch but enjoyed giffing a childhood favourite & playing around with Neural Filters!

Favourite: Taylor Swift + Four Seasons gifset — A remake of this gifset and inspired by my URL! Taylor Swift ft. Landscape Mixer Filter & Fantasia scenes that reminds me of the four seasons 🌸🌞🍁❄️

May

Most Popular: Olivia Rodrigo Sour anniversary gifset — May 2023 was a challenging giffing month for me, but making purple sets like this kept me going

Favourite: Kathony x Kanej gifset — A gifset to showcase two of my favourite fictional relationships (and I love that there are thematic similarities) 💜

June

Most Popular: Heartstopper characters rainbow gifset — One of the most wholesome shows that I've watched 🥺

Favourite: Gracie Abrams Good Riddance gifset — Originally, I was going to make a B&W Gracie Abrams gifset but ended up with something more colourful & something that I'm much happier with! A lot of videos Gracie Abrams released this year were in B&W / had horrific lightings, but I got around with the Colourise & Photo Enhancement Neural Filters ft. adjustment layers!

July

I took a break using Max this month and giffed on my Intel-based Macs from 2012 and 2015. This is to better gauge the performance required to comfortably run Photoshop's Neural Filters & to try out other Photoshop filters e.g. Adobe Camera Raw Filter.

Most Popular: Speak Now (Taylor's Version) gifset — A relatively quick purple gifset that I've made right before Speak Now (Taylor's Version) came out!

Favourite: Watch (Maisie Peters) x Sour (Olivia Rodrigo) gifset — Watch is one of the few songs that I've enjoyed back when standard version of The Good Witch came out and it struck me as a very Sour-coded song to me (and also something that's very neon pink & blue to me).

August

Most Popular: 1989 (Taylor's Version) gifset — Was very excited that Taylor announced that she's releasing the re-recorded version of 1989 💙

Favourite: Adaptations grand compilation gifset — I love making grand compilation sets! It's a fun way to showcase the things that I enjoy & do things as creatively as possible! In this set, I had a lot of fun experimenting with transition effects, as well as 3D text!

September

Most Popular: Olivia Rodrigo Guts gifset — I think Olivia Rodrigo's discography is very purple-coded to me and Guts is no exception 💜

Favourite: Maisie Peters YSUFT x Taylor Swift parallels gifset — A gifset idea that I held close to my heart for a while. Took quite some time to iron out the overall layout & it's one of the sets I've made on my Intel-based Mac to test Neural Filters performance, but I'm really happy with the pastel colour scheme produced from the Colour Transfer Neural Filter!

October

Most Popular: A more elaborate 1989 (Taylor's Version) gifset — This is very much a crunch time gifset that quickly came together 💙

Favourite: Kathony x BSC (Maisie Peters) gifset — The lyrics of BSC reminds me of Kathony. Then I came across a fun colour palette (that's a mix of purple & orange) and experimented with some fonts + organic shapes that I've recently installed. As always, the typography took a lot of time to grind out but had a lot of fun assembling the set & experimenting with the animated texts!

November

Max's sidekick aka Bailey (an M3-based Mac) arrived in late November & I've installed Topaz Labs plugins (very helpful for enhancing screencaps)

Most Popular: Taylor Swift Fearless anniversary gifset — Happy anniversary to Fearless 💛

Favourite: The Comfort Zone: The Joyful Issue + playlist + uquiz — I really enjoyed the creative process for this: I've learnt how to make 3D animations from scratch & had a lot of fun putting together the companion playlist + uquiz!

As an aside, the rendering process was so resource intensive that the workload was bifurcated between two computers, to ensure I was able to finish the set within the submission window.

December

This is one of my most inspired & prolific time in giffing since a while and I'm grateful that I'm able to wrap up my 2023 on a high note!

Most Popular: A Charlie Brown Christmas gifset — I've downloaded quite a lot of Christmas / holidays themed Photoshop resources in December and thought it would be fun to play around with those in a Christmas gifset! This Peanuts gifset is the end result 🎅

Favourite: Maisie Peters The Good Witch gifset — One of the biggest challenges giffing Maisie Peters is that most of the videos came from Youtube. I've got around experimenting with Topaz Labs (in addition to the usual Neural Filters) to enhance the gifs and have been very happy with the result!

As of the creative process of the set: I associate The Good Witch with blue & orange, played around with transparency in gif panels, and applied Neural Filters to bring out artistic effects for the component gifs.

Tagging (absolutely no pressure): @rogerhealey, @silversmists, @tayloralison, @laurabenanti, @fawad-khan, @goldrushkid, @cobbbvanth, @swearphil, @breakbleheavens, @imkindatheman, @miss-lauryn-hill , @muldery , @crushcrushcrushs , @matlillard , @deweyduck + anyone who wants to do this 💖

[putonmyfavoriteshow]

putonmyfavoriteshow's master fic writing post on-going ~ Violetta the heart of pretending (future franletta/leonetta reverse fake-dating au dramedy; my passion project) Soy Luna ...and they were roommates (post show jazmilia/delfma; self-indulgent rom-com chaos for side-characters who deserved more) BIA the celestial goat & her cosmic fish (platonic-for-now chiarleste's great astrology debate; a dynamic exploration between my favorite kind of bickering sidekicks) finished multi-chaps ~ Violetta a perfectly perfect gift (luty ft. franletta - my first official dcla multi-chap!) luty month (daily prompts from @iristhedeadflower) franletta month (daily prompts from @weirdthoughtsandideas) finished one-shots/two-shots ~ Violetta no boys, no problems (right?) (franletta s2 alternate ending to italy arc) an unexpected evening (jadangie fix-it fic - dcla gift exchange 2022 + bonus dcla pride month chap) midnights (a ludmila pov luty fic + bonus luty month chap) playing murder (and all that jazz) (violetta gang halloween fic - canon pairings) go figure (a naty pov luty fic) the mistletoe experiment (a natila story based on a dcla advent calendar prompt from @countessofravenclaw) welcome to new york (christmas version) (violetta gang xmas fic - canon pairings) it is what it is (luty - angsty ficlet) the deadfast club (violetta gang horror two-shot - luty focus ft leonetta/camcesca)

Soy Luna elevator goes up, elevator come down (simbar s3 missing scene - tumblr soy luna fic week 2021) unlock my heart (when lutteo got locked in the dressing room, except it's jazmilia aka the best non-canon ship ever made by a random wheel) there's a great big beautiful tomorrow (lutteo/gastina tomorrowland adventure - dcla gift exchange 2023) BIA losin' sleep (thiana s2 missing scene inspired by @assim-eu-sou) dream date (romantic chiarleste debut to ao3) non dcla ~ my sorta friend's sister's funeral (victorious - jori - angst/fluff one-shot) even crows have wings (six of crows - kanej - sl/roller skating au one-shot) page 55 (the villains of valley view - hartmy - missing scene drabble) if we were a horror movie (the villains of valley view - hartmy - hartmy watch jennifer's body)

other fan content: my tumblr edits tag my tumblr gifs tag

[capinejghafa]

kanej (ft. nina) + incorrect quote [insp]

[skepticalcatfrog]

Part 3/3 of me drawing the crows using monochrome color palettes, ft. wesper!

(Kanej edition)

(Helnik edition)

[aceinejghafa]

on the magic inherent in snowflakes and in laughter

Kanej | Rated general | tw for canon-typical discussion of the slave trade

Summary: Ketterdam is grey, when the Wraith docks in berth twenty-two of Fifth Harbour.

Or, Kaz and Inej take a walk in the snow, ft. reflections on magic and absolutely zero plot. 

Materialki: @cassecorrea (art here)

Etherealki: @swift-creates (fic here)

A/N: My fic for the Grishaverse Reverse Mini Bang @grishaversebigbang!

Read it on AO3 or below the cut.

Ketterdam is grey, when the Wraith docks in berth twenty-two of Fifth Harbour. Captain Inej Ghafa stands on deck, her hands on her hips, and looks out at the city that has broken her, rebuilt her, shaped her.

On second thought, maybe it’s not quite grey. It’s more black and white, city and snow mixed together and piled on top of each other until the first impression is that it’s all one grey mass. A closer look shows dark rooftops peeking out from underneath the snow, dark streets paled by drifts piling up to either side. The still-falling snow creates a mist that makes the city seem gentler, softer. 

Inej’s feelings for Ketterdam are complicated. Despicable things are done here, just as they are done everywhere else she has been — Ravka’s oppression of the Suli and general imperialist bent; Fjerda’s demonization and genocide of Grisha; Ketterdam’s refusal to value anything more than money. 

And yet, as everywhere, it’s a mix. Ravka has a half-Suli queen. Whatever Nina’s doing in Fjerda, it’s slowly chipping away at the Fjerdan hatred of Grisha. And Ketterdam — well, Inej is doing her fair share to clear Ketterdam of the least savoury aspects of its business, and between Wylan’s influence with the Merchant Council and Kaz’s willingness to help her take down any other barrel boss engaging in the slave trade, the city’s got a chance at not being quite so atrocious as it has been. 

But atrocious or not, grey or black-and-white — Inej has missed this place, missed the rooftops she’s ran across countless times, missed this dirty, complicated, greedy city where she has learned who she is, who she wants to be. 

She has missed the people, too: Jesper, his grin and his guns and his ridiculous waistcoats; Wylan, clever and red-haired and far less innocent than he looks. 

And she has missed a boy with dark hair and sharp edges, with a painful past that’s left him with gloved hands and armour, with a clever mind and a rare smile. 

Inej could spend the next few hours arranging for a food and water resupply for the Wraith. If not, she could head out into Ketterdam and catch up on anything she’s missed — there’ve been some rumours of a buyer in the warehouse district that she could investigate. She could even stay on her ship and spend time with her crew. 

But she doesn’t need to do any of that, and Specht is a perfectly competent first mate who can safely be left in charge of a ship — arguably more competent than her, although she’s learnt a fair bit about handling a ship since first stepping foot on the Wraith. 

She climbs easily down the Wraith’s side — her skills as a spider might not apply to sailing a ship, but they at least work in her favour to allow her to get off and on — and disappears into the maze of the city. 

~

The first time that Kaz saw a snowfall in Ketterdam, it seemed like a magic trick — like the street performers who hid coins in their palms and up their sleeves, reality concealed behind obfuscation. Some of the city’s dirt vanished beneath the white, nature flicking a wrist to hide what she did not want people to see. Drawing attention to the glittering piles of white so that nobody saw the beggar in the corner, the starving child, the scars on the girls in the pleasure houses. A veil thrown over the world to soften its edges. Sleight of hand to replace poverty with beauty. 

But Kaz knew that all the dirt was still there underfoot. The magician’s trick was not quite good enough, or perhaps Kaz was too good for it, too good at seeing through the magic to the mechanism behind it. That first year, the snow brought cold, and cold meant death. The veneer of white concealed a fate to which Kaz refused to succumb. 

He begged and lied and cheated and stole, that first year. He survived that first year. He survived every year, clinging to life, to revenge, to reality, refusing to drift down into the cold white comfort promised by the cold white snow. 

Today’s snow is deeper than expected, and Kaz wonders how many children are wandering the streets as he once did. How many are dying. Dirtyhands wouldn’t care; Inej would. Kaz does not know what he thinks. 

A girl, perhaps twelve at most, decides that the doorway of the Slat would be a good place to beg from. Kaz tells himself that she is good at faking an injured leg to get more sympathy. He tells himself that she seems clever and resourceful. He tells himself that she could be a useful member of the Dregs, one day. When she subtly inserts herself into the Slat itself and settles herself in a corner, he pretends not to notice, and his Dregs follow his lead. He doesn’t know if Inej is rubbing off on him, or if instinct tells him she’ll be useful, or if there is another reason altogether for his actions — but he lets her stay.

She’s still there in the corner when he heads upstairs to his office. The snow has, of course, another effect — his leg aches more than usual, and it’s a relief when he reaches the top of the flight of stairs. Once seated at his desk, he stretches it out under the table, allowing him a moment to massage away the ache; he knows from experience that a long walk without too many stairs would probably be good for it, but he needs to deal with the paperwork that’s accumulated for him to sign. The Dregs have prospered since the Dime Lions’ fall, but the downside is that he has several more properties to worry about. 

He glances out at the cityscape once or twice — his office shows him a panorama of snow-capped rooftops, the familiar view transformed but still fundamentally the same. 

But he’s focusing intently on the accounts for the new gambling den he’s recently opened up when he becomes aware of her presence. 

Kaz looks up, and there she is, perched on the window ledge only feet away from him. Her old spot, and for a moment he wonders if he’s dreamed her up, but there is a sparkle in her eyes that Kaz does not think his subconscious brain could invent. 

Her hair is windblown, a few white flakes scattered amidst the black. She wears a grey tunic with a dark red scarf and gloves; she wears confidence about her shoulders like a cloak. Her cheeks are glowing, and she grins at him when he meets her eyes. 

Kaz smiles. “Welcome to Ketterdam, Captain Ghafa.”

~

Captain Ghafa. Inej has gone by many names, some she hated and some she liked, all of them placing expectations on her shoulders — the lynx, the spider, the Wraith. Captain Ghafa is one she has chosen for herself of her own free will, and she likes it best of all. 

Kaz smiles like he’s a boy again, like he’s only seventeen years old, like he’s not a barrel boss with a reputation to strike fear into the heart of anyone foolish enough to cross him. Inej hasn’t seen that smile often, but she’s as helpless as she’s ever been to prevent her own lips from ticking up in response. 

“Kaz,” she returns. She’s missed him with an unexpected ferocity, in all her months at sea — missed his cleverness, his talent for getting out of any tough situation; missed his scheming face and the quips he trades with her; missed his company most of all, with a deeper ache than she’s cared to admit to herself. 

There’s a moment of silence between them, comfortable silence that doesn’t need to be filled with words. Kaz breaks it first, setting down his pen and leaning back in his chair to look at her, still perched on the windowsill. “What have you been up to?”

Inej takes the invitation for what it is and shuts the window, blocking the cold air out. “Figuring out how to sail a ship. Figuring out how to fight a ship. Figuring out how to track down other ships.” She shrugs. “Killing slavers, which requires a bit less figuring out.” 

“Living the dream, then,” Kaz observes drily. He shifts his leg slightly, and she catches the movement, remembering two winters of watching him limp slightly more than in the summer. He hides it well, of course, but Inej has learnt to be observant from Kaz himself. 

A walk would help him stretch it out, and walking allows for conversation as much as sitting. “Acquired a fair bit of info on the buyers,” she tells him. “Your competitors. I’ll tell you about them, but I’d like to walk around Ketterdam a bit while we’re at it.” 

Kaz raises an eyebrow, and she knows he’s seen her glance down at his leg — he is perfectly aware of what she’s doing. But he doesn’t object. “Gladly,” he says instead, and pushes his chair back to stand up. He doesn’t hide the faint wince on his face, and Inej knows that is an honour she will cherish: to see past the walls he puts up around every weakness, the masks that hide his pain. Kaz lets her through, and it is a gift. 

They walk down the stairs together. Inej does not offer Kaz a hand; she has pushed him enough for today. Instead, she follows Kaz into the Slat proper. 

“Inej!” Anika calls, as soon as Inej comes in sight, and then she’s surrounded by a crowd of Dregs — laughing, asking her how she’s been, congratulating her on the growing reputation she’s gaining. She was worried that they might resent her for leaving, or might see her as a competitor, but they greet her with all the comradeship she built with them over those years in Ketterdam. She hadn’t quite realised how much she missed them until now. 

Kaz stands by, leaning on his cane and watching from the shadows. It’s achingly familiar: Kaz never joined in with the conversations or games or jokes tossed around the Slat, but he always watched, and Inej knew he was secretly pleased when they all got along — and only partially because a more tight-knit gang is a more efficient one. 

Eventually, Inej manages to extricate herself, and walks out the door with Kaz. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Rotty open his mouth to wolf-whistle only to be elbowed in the side by Anika; he doubles over in soundless pain. 

Inej smiles, and steps out onto the street. 

~

The streets of Ketterdam are quiet, footsteps muffled by the fallen snow. The cold keeps most of the city in their houses. There are still a few hurrying about on errands, but nobody pays close attention to the two figures walking side-by-side down the street. Kaz is grateful; he isn’t in the mood to get into a fight if a rival gang recognises him. 

His knee still aches, but walking is helping, as he (and Inej) knew it would. His coat is warm enough to keep out the cold, especially with Inej walking at his side. He’s missed her in her absence, more so than his dignity would allow him to admit to anyone but her. Seeing her again is like a breath of fresh air after too long underwater. 

Inej tells him about which slavers she’s gotten rid of and which Barrel bosses she thinks have been buying from them, about the rumours of a buyer with a hideout in the warehouse district, about — in a quieter voice — catching the man who kidnapped her, two and a half years ago. 

Her feet come to a stop; she is not looking at anything around them. “The ship,” she says, quietly. “It was. The same one. That I was—” 

Kaz isn’t good at offering comfort, but Inej’s eyes look far away like she’s been pulled out of her skin, like she’s far away in a ship that brought her torment. “Inej,” he says, but she doesn’t seem to hear him; a shiver races across her skin. 

Touch, Kaz thinks, would help. To ground her. To draw her back to the snowy streets of Ketterdam, and away from where she is now. He doesn’t think he could touch bare skin right now — the cold has brought back memories of cold water and cold skin — but he’s wearing gloves, and so is she. 

“Inej,” Kaz says again, and brushes the back of his hand against hers. 

She shudders faintly, exhaling mist into the cold air, and grabs his hand properly. Her eyes flick over to him, present again in a way they weren’t before. “Kaz.” 

Kaz feels something in him relax at the sound of her voice. A small smile appears on her face; he feels his own lips tick faintly up in response. 

Talking about it, right now, in the open street, is not what she needs. So he returns to their earlier topic of conversation, offering his side of the puzzle that will show her where Captain Ghafa is needed most. 

Thanks to Inej, most of Ketterdam’s pleasure houses have closed down, and Kaz has been ensuring that no new ones open (quietly, because it feels like a crack in the armour that is Dirtyhands, but efficiently all the same). He’s also made a custom of keeping an ear to the ground, listening for rumours of anyone trading in people — whether that be regular indentured slaves, Grisha, or women — and finding out their veracity. 

Now, he tells her what he knows about the trader in the warehouse district, and they fall into planning out their next steps as they have a hundred times before. Except now, Inej isn’t the Wraith, indentured to Per Haskell, Kaz’s subordinate in the Dregs; she is free, and still choosing to walk beside Kaz with their hands still entwined. 

While plotting murder, naturally. But for them, that’s par for the course. 

~

Inej discovers that she’s missed plotting with Kaz. 

He has a tendency to make at least four layers of plans beyond what he actually tells her about, which can be a bit annoying, but she’s missed it nonetheless. Before the Ice Court, she’d bring him secrets and whispers from all over Ketterdam and he’d listen, and ask questions, and take her input on whatever plans he concocted. 

Now it’s — it’s not Kaz concocting plans and Inej bringing him the information he needs; it’s both of them sharing information, then building plans together. Plans that are actually the entire plan, not just the basics that Kaz sees fit to tell her; they are partners in this, equals, in a way that they weren’t before. 

Kaz trusts a very small number of people. Trust itself has been dimmed out of him by cruelty and plague and loss, and the Barrel is not exactly the best place to learn to trust again. Even with the Dregs, she knows that Kaz must always be on the lookout, always aware of the motivations of everyone around him in case those motivations should lead them to betray him. 

He trusts Jesper. Wylan, now, too, Inej thinks. Nina, perhaps; her allegiance to the Ravkan throne is an obstacle, but not an unsurmountable one. Rotty. 

And Inej. Even before the Ice Court, he trusted the information she brought, even relied on it — and today, he shares information with her in equal measure. He tells her what he’s planning, lets her see not only what but how he thinks. Kaz turns life into a series of magic tricks, performances, where he pulls the strings from behind the curtains. Now he’s letting her come backstage with him, and that is a gift. 

(It is also a gift that they’re still holding hands. Kaz hasn’t let go since he drew her from memories of a slave ship she’d rather forget, despite his aversion to touch. Their hands are gloved, yes, but he holds her hand like it’s nothing, like the demons of his past don’t haunt his skin like ghosts. She doesn’t know if they’re absent for once or simply being ignored, but either way, Kaz is choosing to keep holding hands of his own free will.) 

In this part of town — the wealthier, bourgeois district they’ve wandered into — they’re not going to be recognised as Dirtyhands and Captain Ghafa. They could be mistaken for any two sweethearts, wandering the streets despite the cold, speaking sweet nothings in low tones — and although they are not that couple and never could be, on this street, in the snow, they are — similar. 

They are two people broken by the cruelty of the world, two people who have pieced themselves back together into someone different, stronger, than they once were. Two people who have too many jagged edges to fit with anyone unbroken, unscarred; two people who, nevertheless, are walking down Ketterdam’s streets in the snow. 

Snowflakes are still falling, dusting Kaz’s hair with white, the outline of the city paled to something gentler than usual. Their breath ghosts in the air, and Inej is comfortable regardless of the cold, warmed from the inside out by her hand in Kaz’s and his smile when he looks at her. 

Gradually, the conversation shifts from planning to reminiscing, to storytelling. Inej talks about her crew — among them not a few former Dregs — and Kaz reciprocates with updates on how all the current Dregs are doing. 

Their words drift, like snowflakes, and Inej smiles and laughs and is at peace. 

~

Inej is telling a story, and Kaz watches her, drinking up the joy that emanates from her with such ease. She’s dusted with snow, and little curls of hair flutter around her face in the wind. She’s beautiful. 

She is, unquestionably, far too good for anyone so broken and crooked as Kaz. She deserves better than him, but she also deserves whatever she wants. And she has also been quite clear that she wants to spend this time with Kaz, so who is he to deny her?

If she deserves better than what he is now, then he’ll simply have to make himself into someone more worthy of her. 

So Kaz walks by her side and holds her hand and absorbs into himself all the goodness that she gives him freely. She’s brighter now than she ever was as part of the Dregs; this — fighting for what she believes in, fighting for everyone as powerless as she once was — is good for her. (Good for the world, too, most likely, but Kaz is more preoccupied with Inej.) Kaz doesn’t really believe that people have preordained destinies, paths they’re set to follow — but if he did, he’d say Inej is achieving her purpose. 

He doesn’t know what his own destiny might be, but he knows he wants his path to lie close to hers. 

Kaz is a cynical bastard, has been since he swam to shore using his brother’s corpse as a raft. He isn’t good at having faith, at hoping for the best outcome, at believing in a magic trick. 

But Inej laughs, and this is no sleight of hand — it’s more magic than trick, inexplicable and real all at once. There is no curtain to look behind, only truth. Only magic. 

It is fitting that Inej be crowned by snowflakes.

[rapha-reads]

Two thirds into the last episode of Shadow and Bone season 2 and I have one and only one question :

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Seriously, no. What the fuck is happening?????????????

Why are they pulling a Lauren Hirsch NOW after 6 solid episodes????

Episodes 1 to 6 made sense. They were good, coherent, fun and still true enough to Canon to be enjoyable.

Episoded 7 and 8 just threw out the entire saintsforsaken script out of the window and decided to go full AU, with some elements kept, some elements completely discarded and others moved around to early or to late in the timeline.

And I don't like it. It changes too much. It's not enjoyable anymore, not in the sense that the episode isn't entertaining to watch (I'm finally getting some Matthias screentime), but in the sense that it closes too many doors to tell future stories. It doesn't make sense, both inside the canon story, and inside the two-degrees-to-the-left alternate version thry had started to tell. The same way Lauren Hirsch fucked up The Witcher by completely changing the characters' personal timelines and the events of the story, the SaB team ft Bardugo also changed too much.

Yeah, if they had actually stopped season 2 at episode 6, and then kept following the events of the Ruin and Rising book with some prequel Six of Crows stuff, and made them into a 3rd season, it would have made more sense. And then give us the Six of Crows spin-off standalone show. (I demand an actual 6oC show, that actually follows the books, thanks)

Again, this is just my (and apparently the others too) opinion as a book-reader. I do wonder if none bookreaders who went into the show without knowing anything feel about season 2? Are you guys liking it, is it objectively good when one stops trying to reunite show with book?

Also they need to stop pushing Nikolai/Alina and Inej/Tolya, especially that second one, DO NOT BREAK KANEJ OR I WILL BURN YOU DOWN. And freaking give us Zoyalai ya cowards.

Okaaaaaay, as I was composing my review, I reached the end, and... the end of the episode makes as much bloody (see what I did there) sense as the beginning, that is to say: NONE.

STOP TRYING TO RUSH THE PLOT. The advantage of TV show is that you can take the time to establish your characters and your timeline of events. Stop. Trying. To. Make. Everything. Happen. At. The. Same. Time. Show is not movie!!!!! I'm getting upset now. Ugh. What a letdown. And it had started well.

[archiveoftara]

Thank you so much for tagging: @superpositvecloudshipper

Tag game! -> tag nine people you want to get to know better (if you want of course)

3 ships: Lockyle, kanej, jadine (though they broke up long time ago and I can't think of any ships right now)

First ship: Jadine maybe. (I don't remember)

Last song: lemme check my Spotify real quick. Feel this moment by Pitbull Ft Christina Aguilera

Last movie: Pride and prejudice

Currently reading: pride and prejudice and Lockwood and Co the screaming staircase. If anyone wondering why I'm reading pride and prejudice it's for my English lit major

Currently consuming: nothing at the moment. I had mango juice tho.

Currently craving: ice cream

Tagging: @wellgoslowly @stray-kaz @philliam-writes @incorrectlco @tangledinlove @shit-tua-probably-didnt-say @givemea-dam-break @neewtmas @wordsarelife

[katsu28]

rules: tag 9 people you want to know better and or catch up with, then answer these questions below!

i was tagged by @harringtonbf thank u angel ily <33

four ships: steddie, kanej, scira & percabeth

last song: do u really? by lyn lapid ft. ruth b

currently reading: things we never got over by lucy score

last movie: top gun maverick (yes i was oogling the sexy pilot men)

craving: a man. KIDDING i want pho

no pressure tags! @bradleybeachbabe @sunshinesteviee @munsonsbabygirl @maddipoof @stvharrngton @sw34terw34ther @rhettabbotts