#interactions : nadia & bones

[papcrrings-arch]

"It is a lot more humid here than I'm used to but I don't mind the heat too much," Nadia replied, "But here in America, you are big on air conditioning, no? Surely, the easiest solution would be to stay inside as much as possible, right?"

open starter for @hiddenstarters​

“I am definitely not ready for summer.” Bones was definitely more of an autumn guy. He wasn’t overly fond of the heat and being too hot. He got even more grumpy when he was uncomfortable and if he could avoid it then he would prefer it. He was glad that the hospital did have air conditioning on. “It just gets so hot and muggy here.” 

[gingernut1314]

Just A Bedtime Story ch. 4

Summary: You are out for a swim during your work break, only to stumble upon a fight on the docks. A fight starring a very familiar face.

Content: female reader, gendered terms, pre-season 1 arcane, introduction to Sevika and Nadia (my oc...though technically she's low-key canon lol), Canon typical violence (description of a fight), young Silco, young Sevika, young reader, reader using water manipulation, confirming friendship, slight Arcane season 2/League of Legends spoiler (Janna)

Word Count: 3.7K

A/N: This is a bit of a long one sorry. I caught a little too much in their interactions. Next chapter we will finally get them all aged up!! I hope you all enjoy!

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The waters of the Undercity had always been a comfort to you--a second home. No matter how freezing--no matter how polluted they got, you always found yourself swimming within them. 

People who knew you often said if you didn’t need to breathe, you would stay down in the inky depth. And they would be very much corrected. 

It was truly too bad you hadn’t developed gills and webbed fingers. 

You had just resurfaced to take a much-needed breath when a sound other than lapping water and the creaking of wooden ships caught your ear. It was faint. So faint you found yourself swimming out from under your boss’ dock and toward the sound. 

Not only were you an avid swimmer, but you were nosy as hell. A nosiness that got you in trouble more times than not. 

The closer and closer you swam, the clearer the sound grew. 

Sounds. 

Stomping and shuffling feet, grunts and shouts, bone hitting flesh, the sharp zing of a blade flying through the air and cutting through the skin. 

It was a fight you were hearing. 

You swam toward the ladder on the wall and climbed slowly upward, water dripping off your body and making too much noise. You doubted whoever was fighting could tell the difference between the water swooshing against the wood and your body leaving it, but you could never be too careful. 

Peeking your head up over the wooden dock, you found a cluster of boys all around your age or older. You recognized them all instantly as the gang that thought they owned the docks. As the gang that tormented you to no end. Who you had stolen from only two months prior. 

They had stayed under the radar since then. You could take a pretty good guess as to why, that being they were embarrassed about their defeat. They were bloodied, bruised, and some dead, and word of their loss had spread like wildfire.

Partially because you had fanned the flames. 

But even when you knew they knew you had spread the word, they hadn’t come out of hiding. Not until now. 

You pulled yourself a little further upward, trying to catch a glimpse of who they were beating on this time. Slowly and carefully you scanned over the scene and…

There. 

You found them. Him. And fucking hell--

It was Silco. 

You wondered what the hell he was doing all the way over here? Especially since The Last Drop, his territory, was located in the heart of the Undercity while the docks lay closer to Piltover’s borders. Too close to your liking but you really couldn’t do anything about that.

You wondered why the hell he would draw their attention when he knew they would be out for blood--his blood specifically. While Vander had beat them into a bloody pulp, Silco had killed a good handful of their members.

You had greatly enjoyed this fact, but it still didn’t make it a good idea for him to be wondering about over here where they knew the area best. 

It was a ten-on-one fight. Seemingly unfair odds but somehow Silco was still standing. Somehow he was making it nine then eight then seven against one the longer the fight went on. 

His movements, while not the most graceful, were ruthless. Movements you knew spoke volumes to the amount of fights he had waged. To the number of fights he had won. 

You were awestruck by it. So hypnotized by his fighting that you failed to spy one of the fallen members get back up. To see him grab a loose plank of wood and rush at Silco, who was busy fending off two nasty-looking members. 

You and Silco both didn’t see the plank until it was crashing over the back of Silco’s head. He went crumbling to the ground, his knives clattering beside him as he went. 

The gang seemed to hesitate. Like maybe they believe he was faking it. Hesitated as if he were some beast who would snap up and crush them between his jaws, but Silco stayed down and your throat tightened. 

You rushed up the rest of the ladder, pulling the attention of most of the remaining members just as they went to beat Silco further into the ground. 

“Little fishy,” You were disappointed to see Rotting Teeth was still standing, blood running from a deep cut on the ridge of his nose. “I’d say you were here to save your little boyfriend, but your weak as all shit.”

“Good to see your mush-filled skull can still come up with shitty insults.” He grits his rotting teeth at you. 

“You still haven’t learned your place, have you?” You blinked at him slowly. 

“My…place?” You spoke, mocking confusion. “I don’t know what you mean?” He growled, too easily annoyed. 

“You bitch--”

“Oh, gods.” You groaned. “Where is the originality? Little fishy’s good, but bitch? Really? Everyone uses that.” 

“Here’s what's gonna happen, bitch.” You shook your head in mock disappointment. “I’m gonna kill your boy toy and then I'm gonna kill you. Understand?” He pulled a very dull-looking knife from his pocket, brandishing it your way like it might scare you. 

“No. I don’t think I do, because you won’t be killing anyone.” Rotting Teeth and his gang gave howling rounds of laughter at your words. Laugher you used as a slight distraction as you felt for the water below your feet. Water your magic sung the same melody with.

“Get--” But before Rotten Teeth could give his commands, you yanked the water upward, it hissing sharply as it shot between the planks. 

Startled shouts sounded from the gang. Shouts that turned painful as you moved your hands around, guiding the water to shoot into their eyes and nose. 

The breath in your lungs grew heavier the longer you used your magic. Magic you knew you could only control for so long before growing too exhausted. 

So, with great effort, you willed the waters to wrap around the throats of the remaining eight gang members. They gave strangled and fearful yelps before you were yanking them towards the waters below with a great grunt. 

As soon as you heard them splash into the cold waters below, you released your magic quickly. The strain of using such power had you stumbling forward, your vision blurring and every breath pulling in with a slight, whistling wheeze.

Janna had told you to start out small. Exploding the flask being a perfect example. It was at your skill level and you could do it without much thought anymore. 

Fully manipulating water like it was a second limb? While very cool, it definitely was still something you were working on…even when you wished to prove the wind spirit wrong.

“You have magic.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement and it was coming from Silco who had at some point regained consciousness. 

“Magic’s just a bedtime story.” You huffed and puffed out. Swallowing down air, you wobbled over to him only to nearly trip over his long legs, which were still sprawled out over the dock. 

“Bedtime--I just saw you control water.” You gave another swallowed-down bit of air, your vision starting to focus and breathing finally beginning to even. 

“I think that asshole hit you harder than I thought.” You knelt down in front of him, grabbing a hold of his head to shove it down and get a better view of the back of it. 

“Get your hands off of me.” He hissed, slapping your hand away. You gave a little fake ow at the hit.

“Wow…not even a thank you for saving your life?” You gave a mockingly hurt shake of your head. “That hurts.” 

“Oh please.” He all but rolled his eyes, pulling his legs under himself as he prepared himself to get up. “I had it under control.” 

“Okay. Yeah. ‘Under control’. We can call it that.” Silco ran one of his hands over his face, showing off his newly split knuckles. 

“Where did you even come from?” You held out your hand for him to take. He eyed it for a moment, as if to deny your further help, but reluctantly took hold of it. You helped pull him upward, savoring the feel of his chill skin against yours before it ended a few seconds later. 

“Went for a swim. Heard you getting your ass beat--”

“I was not--”

“Swam over here and saved it.” Silco gave you an exasperated sigh through his nose. “This makes us even, ya know. You saved my life, I saved yours.” 

“Fine.” He gruffly said. It pulled an all too cheerful smile to your lips that only seemed to annoy him further. “Just don’t tell Vander, yes?” The words quickly fell from him as he passed you. So quick that you almost didn’t catch it.  

You had planned on telling Vander the next time you made your way to The Last Drop, but that look in Silco’s eyes…you couldn’t place your finger on it, though your ability to understand emotions was growing much better thanks to hanging around actual humans. 

It was a look that was--near animals. Like the thought of Vander finding out you had saved him was turning him into a cornered animal. One that would snap its jaw at anyone that came too close.

Whatever it was, you didn’t like it.

You hopped to his side, wanting to follow him wherever he was heading. 

“Okay.” Silco looked at you like he didn’t quite believe you. “If you really don’t want me to, I won’t.” 

“But--why?” You gave a shrug. 

“I cut into a fight you definitely could have won.” You added a bit of a playful tease to your tone. But even when you kept things playful, you willed your eyes to remain serious. To try and tell him silently you wouldn’t. “Why would I want to brag about my own dishonor.”

“Dishonor? I didn’t know there was honor between thieves and murderers to begin with.” Silco ran his thin fingers through his shaggy hair, trying to tame back the frizzled mess it had become in his fight.

Your own fingers itched as you watched him. 

You wanted to do that.

“Oh yes. There’s a code and vow and everything. Very official.” You gave a dead serious nod. “Did you miss that meeting?” An amused smile pulled at the very corners of Silco’s thin lips. Lips you wanted to see sport a full smile. One you wanted wide enough you could look at the V-shaped chip there fully. 

You felt bad about it, but damn it was cute. It just completely complimented him. 

“Damn. Must have.” You gave him a small chuckle as you came upon your boss’ shop. 

“This is where I work.” Silco looked over the gray, stone backing of the shop. Took in the small sign above the door and empty, fish gut-stained crates lining the back door. 

“Are you working now?” You a small nod.

“Breaks about to end.” Silco gave a matching small nod, seafoam eyes landing on you once more. 

“Ah.” 

“Yeah.” Silence filled the space between you two. A silence you didn’t like and was quick to fill. “Why’d you come all the way over here anyway?” Silco ran his fingers through his hair once more, eyes falling away from you as he kicked at an invisible pebble. 

“Vander’s helping open The Last Drop. Went for a walk. Ended up here.” You really couldn’t help the smile that pulled at your lips then. 

Had he come here to find you? Had he come here to--dare you say--hang out? 

It had a giddy feeling bubbling in your chest you had to shove far down. 

“Do you want to come inside? I can introduce you to Nadia and Sevika.” He glanced back up at you, brows furrowing the slightest bit. 

“And they are…?” 

“My friends. Nadia is super sweet. She can clean and wrap your knuckles and take care of any of your other wounds.” Silco subconsciously looked to his bleeding knuckles. You knew he probably wouldn’t take the offer but it was there if he did.

“And the other?” 

“Sevika?” He nodded. “Well, Sevika’s…Sevika.” You shrugged. “She’s great. I think you’ll like her.” You grabbed hold of the door handle, which was dented here and there. “Come on. I can sneak you some food too.” At the prospect of food, Silco perked up instantly. 

“Fine. But only for a moment.” You beamed at him as he followed after you. 

The clatter of plates and pots filled your ears as you shut the door behind Silco, the kitchen a beehive of cooks and dishwashers and the heavenly smell of food. The chef shouted something to one of the other cooks who shouted right back as you reached to grab hold of Silco jacket sleeve. 

“Okay so…try not to be so tall.” You whispered, beginning to pull him from behind the wall. 

“Wha--am I not supposed to be in here?” You shushed him much to his dislike. 

“Technically no. Boss isn’t a big fan of men so…” You thought of how your boss didn’t even like Nadia’s husband, who was probably the sweetest man on this earth. Boss hated men so much she only hired women to work in her diner and on her ship. Hated them so much she only interacted with male customers if it was absolutely necessary. 

Silco gave a great sigh, so you tossed him a mischievous smile.

“Don’t worry. She stays in her office most of the day.” But just as you spoke, the door leading out into the front of the house swung open, making you startle so bad it showed physically. 

A lithe woman came through carrying a plate of food that looked like it had been picked through by an all too picky customer. Her wild, ruddy red hair had been wrestled into a ponytail that was fighting to escape its confines, and her pale, near pearlescent skin was covered in faint speckling of freckles. 

“Chef, I fear they--” Her burnt gold eyes flickered over you, pinkish lips pulling thin. “What have I told you.” She spoke again, her accent thick yet added another layer to her melodic voice. “If you go for a swim you must dry off. Dragging a mess in with you.” She shook her head, “I left a towel for you--” Again she cut herself off when her eyes looked just past you to Silco. 

“Nadia, this is Silco.” Her eyes lit in recognition of the name. A name that may or may not have been spewed from your lips many, many times since you first met him. She gave a small shake of her head once more, blowing a deep sigh from her lips. 

“Take this,” She all but shoved the plate of food into your hands, before rushing you and Silco into the locker room. “Give me a moment.” She smiled kindly Silco’s way before rushing back out of the door, washing the room in silence. 

“See. Food.” You flopped down on one of the wooden benches, crossing your legs as you placed the plate beside you. When Silco continued to stand in the middle of the locker room looking too out of place, you waved him over. “What? Are you scared?” Silco rolled his eyes, following your gesture and sitting down beside the plate. 

“Of course not.”

“Then stop acting like a chicken.” You teased, grabbing a few french fries and all but shoving them into your mouth. “The fish is fresh. Caught it this morning.” You spoke around the food in your mouth. Silco’s nose wrinkled at you in slight disgust but he wasted no time in ripping a bit of the fried fish. 

“You caught it?” You hummed in yes, grabbing a bit of the fish yourself.

“Boss takes me with her when she goes out to sea. Calls me her good luck charm 'cause we always catch a good haul when I’m around.” Silco nodded, chewing the fish slowly. 

“Because of your magic?” You were quick to shush him again. “Oh, would you stop--” Another long shush. 

“It’s not magic.” Silco rose a brow at you, not believing it for a second. “And if it was…sure. Maybe that’s the reason.” 

“Is it maybe the reason you can swim submerged in the waters and not reap the consequences as well?” You watched him for a long moment, slowing your own chewing. 

“I don’t like this line of questioning.” Silco ripped another bit of the fish off. 

“Well, magic is rare. As you said, just a bedtime story. It is only natural I would be curious.” He popped the fish into his mouth. 

“It is just a bedtime story.” You insisted, messing with a fry between your fingers. “But…probably. But I think it also has to do with how my guardian found me. Just a newborn drowning within them. Someone threw me in.” You held a hand up showing your inky black fingertips, the darkness fading out around your knuckles. Silco’s own eyes scanned them over, then your face. “Use to be worse. Use to have glowing black and red eyes too.” 

“That is…horrid.” You shrugged, popping the fry you had been messing with into your mouth. 

“Eh. Seen worse.” You mused, grabbing up another fry. Silco’s seafoam eyes darkened in understanding. 

They’d all seen worse. Experienced worse. 

It came with the territory. It was the unfair truth they all had to live or it would crush them if them is they tried to deny it.

“Why tell me?” Silco’s voice came out quieter. Soft. Like he didn’t even want to ask but needed the answer. 

“Because you asked.” You shrugged again. 

“That can’t be the reason.” 

“I mean--it’s you.” Silco’s eyes narrowed slightly in confusion to your answer. “I--you’re my friend. We’re friends. And…I guess I trust you to know. I want you to know.” You suddenly felt your stomach hollow out and your palms begin to sweat. 

Nervous. 

He made you so nervous. 

You hated it but found you wouldn’t try to change it.

“We’re…friends.” Silco carefully said. Like it was a secret itself. 

“I mean--I guess we don--” Silco shushed you just as you had him. It was an unexpected thing for him to do. One that had you gasping.

“We’re friends.” He confirmed, offering you a small smile. A smile that only made your heart twist and turn in your chest. One you couldn’t help but copy and copy brightly. 

“Yes. Good. I’m glad.” He gave a small nod, turning his all-too-seeing eyes back down onto the plate between you two. 

Oh, you could giggle. Oh, you could jump up and down and giggle. 

“After I get off of work--” But your words were cut off by the door to the locker door banging open. 

Nadia was hushly shouting, grabbing hold of Sevika’s strong arm and yanking as if she could actually move the girl. 

Silco was quick to his feet, readying for a fight he might have to wage against the girl. You watched his calculating eyes take in the muscle-ripped teen as if already searching for weaknesses to exploit.

Sevika went right up to him, bending down to look him straight in the eyes when she truly didn’t need to. It was just her way of telling him she saw him as inferior until he proved otherwise. 

“This is him?” Sevika asked, eyes never once leaving Silco’s own. 

“Sevika, enough of all this.” Nadia tried again, but Sevika was quick to shake her off.

“I’m not doing anything, Dee.” She responded nonchalantly, but her demeanor was anything but. Nadia turned to look at you for help but you just shoved another fry into your mouth. 

Silco’d be okay.

“Awfully close.” Silco calmly said. Though, just like Sevika, his demeanor was anything but. 

“Small room.” She shrugged. “Come to see her?” Sevika shoved a thumb your way. 

“She found me wandering.” 

“Wandering? So far from the heart of the city?” 

“It gets a bit boring staying in one place for too long, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I guess I would.” Sevika leaned in ever closer. So close you were almost jealous, wanting to be that close to him too. “You gonna hurt her?” 

“Hasn’t given a reason to.” Sevika nodded at this, gray eyes having yet to soften into their normal gaze. 

“Play cards?” Silco nodded back.

“Of course.” Sevika's eyes finally softened, her plump lips pulling as she gave a laugh. Silco’s shoulders loosened as she backed away, looking back to you and Nadia. 

“Didn’t tell me he played cards.” 

“Why would I ask that?” Sevika gave a deep, almost irritated sigh that was only teasing. 

“Come on, guppy. That’s the most important question.” You gave an elongated sorry. “Guess you wouldn’t ask, seeing as you suck ass at playing any kinda card game.” You dramatically gasped, throwing a fry her way. The bit of fried potato bounced off her skin like she hadn’t even felt it. 

More shouting sounded from within the kitchen. Shouting that had you, Naida, and Sevika all tensing at the sound, Silco the only one not privy to who it belonged to.

“Boss’ll kill him.” Sevika laughed. “See you ‘round, Silco. If you escape.” And back out the door she went. 

“Oh dear, oh dear.” Nadia was ringing her apron between her hands. “You must go.” She insisted to Silco, “Oh dear--forgive Sevika for us. Oh, and your knuckles.” She gave a look like his wounds were her wounds. “Forgive me. They look painful.” 

“He’ll live.” You waved her off, the shouting growing closer. Shouting now joined in by Sevika trying to keep the boss at bay.  

“Will I?” He asked as you shoved the half-full plate into his hands. 

“Probably.” You gave him a mischievous wiggle of your eyebrows. He opened his mouth as if to say something against whatever you were about to do, but you grabbed his wrist and yanked him back out the locker room before any sound could leave it. 

You’re boss all but bellowed your name, Nadia’s nervous voice trying to calm her down as you threw open the back door and shoved Silco out of it. You watched him stumble out, losing a few fries, before turning back around, looking very much bewildered.  

“I get off work at seven. I’ll bring you dinner, yeah?” You called to him. Silco had just started saying your name as you shut the door in his face.

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[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

So I’m mostly curious about this for Muriel’s sake (he’s my favorite) but I have an HC request for if the M6, whether through a dream or magic, got to talk with their past selves from the darkest point in their lives, what would they say? Try to comfort/cheer themselves up? Assuming everyone got their Upright endings.

The Arcana HCs: M6 talking to their past selves

~ this is such an interesting one, @httyd-chocolate! thank you for the request, I hope you like what I do with it! (for hc purposes, this occurs as a magical dream where past and present selves interact) - brainrot ~

Julian

The dream is so vivid that he doesn't realize what it is until it's over

But right now, he's staring down at this gangly, scared, insecure almost-teenager, and every heroic bone in his body is telling him that this boy deserves all the safety and support in the world

It's weird to hear his young self saying the same deprecating things that he still does, but the jokes that normally make him laugh don't sound funny at all coming from a kid

And before he knows it, all the words he's heard you and Portia and Mazelinka say to him are spilling out of his mouth

"You're not alone. People are fortunate to be around you. You only drag everyone around you down when you refuse to let them lift you up. Sticking around to see the future is worth it."

At the same time, seeing himself in that kid's eyes is world-altering

Because to that younger self, the man he is now is smart, and heroic, and important, and somebody worth growing up to be

They stroll down to the seaside, at one point, as Julian listens to tiny Ilya's frustrations with his sister, and himself, and not knowing who he is or what comes next besides a call away from home

"You're pretty cool, mister," Ilya says at one point, "who are you?"

"I'm you," Julian says, and the look of hope and surprised delight he sees on Ilya's face makes him wake up with tears in his eyes

Asra

They know where they are as soon as the back alleys of the South End swim into view. They don't expect to see themself though

He's caught glimpses of the past once or twice, with you by his side, but those were moments of a childhood of wonder and escape. The kid in front of him hasn't found that magic yet

Little Asra is hiding in a corner behind a trash heap, clutching their lost mother's shawl and trying to hide the sniffles that shake their thin shoulders. Though all that disappears when they spot Big Asra

Suddenly, he's being scrutinized with the most curious gaze, and there's no hiding who he is. So he joins hands with him and starts wandering around, paying for lots of street food along the way

They'd forgotten how many questions they used to ask people

Until one hits him out of nowhere: "what's it like for us now?"

They don't want to leave that scared, lonely kid without something to look forward to, so they play with the dream a bit and lead Little Asra to a familiar magic shop a few streets away from the town square

In the dream, you're dozing by the fire, tea and snacks waiting on the table, and Big Asra watches his child self gaze at you in awe and remember what home feels like

It's sobering, to lead that child back to the docks and tuck them in to sleep under the pier, but it's a glimpse of warmth they're glad they got to share

Nadia

She has a suspicion of what's going on when she opens her eyes in her childhood bedroom, and that suspicion is confirmed when her 14-year-old self storms in and slams the door shut

She's ready to provide a haven. A listening ear. Ready to tell the young woman in front of her that she's right, that she's ready for more, that being held back and dismissed like this really isn't fair

Until the 14-year-old opens her mouth and starts to unload her day

For the first time in years, Nadia's not sure what to say. Does she want to tell this young woman that she's right, her parents and older sisters are being overprotective and unreasonable? Yes!

But does she find herself agreeing that a 14-year-old should not be allowed to go off to the battlefield her older sibling is serving as a medic on to lead the army to victory herself? ... yes ...

Does the embarrassed, hurting, angry teen in front of her need to know that? Absolutely not. So Nadia listens and nods instead

There are other things she sees that she realizes she remembers correctly. The fear of not measuring up. The frustration of having to wait to meet the milestones her siblings have already passed

So she tells this precocious, prickly young woman what you've been seeing in her all along: she is strong. She is smart. She is someone worth having faith in, and she doesn't need to be afraid

Muriel

He doesn't have to think twice. As soon as he sees that big, bony lad that was himself in his early twenties, huddled in a cell under the Coliseum after his first fight, he's breaking him out of there

He starts to wonder if this is a dream, when the iron bars give way under his grasp, but he's focusing on wrapping his cloak around those shivering shoulders and leading him out of the city

He's forgotten how scrawny he'd been before he bulked up on the meals provided for Lucio's prized fighter, and seeing spatters of his first opponent's blood on such a boyish face breaks his heart

They're both silent on the way through the woods. The younger him is still in shock, and the older him isn't sure what to do next

When the reach the clearing, the hut is more like what older him is used to. He helps young Muriel into the outside bath and begins putting together a hearty stew for the two of them to share

They both stay quiet. Older him watches every flinch and start and quiet pause of happiness and safety and keeps realizing that he deserves better. He deserves good things. I want him to have that.

They both turn bright red when younger him notices that the bed has two pillows on it, but they both know that that's a good thing

When the time comes for them to wake up, Muriel wraps that kid up in his arms. "... it gets better. Promise. You deserve it."

Portia

This is trippy, but after what she's been through with you, Portia guesses this is just par for the course. Why is she in Nevivon?

Her question is answered when a nine-year-old girl comes careening around the corner, fiery curls flying, just in time to collide with her and go sprawling in the dust by the road

Oh, Portia thinks, I remember being like this. I remember her.

Portia watches Pasha pick herself up, lower lip trembling with rage and eyes full of tears, getting ready to lash out at whoever just ripped her dress and made her day go from awful to terrible

And she pulls that little girl into the tightest hug she can manage

Once Pasha's made good use of the handkerchief she's been handed, she takes Portia's hand and shows her around town

She tells Portia all about her life right now. About the grandmas who take care of her, and the parents she doesn't remember

And she talks and talks and talks about her amazing older brother, the last family she has, who left several months ago to explore the world and find adventure and save people - without her

Portia listens and comments, but she keeps getting distracted looking at the strong, clear-eyed, purposeful little girl next to her

So she spends the rest of her visit telling that kid that she's strong, she's interesting, she's exciting, and she is so, so very important, even when it's just her

Lucio

He's back in the frozen woods. He doesn't like the frozen woods

And neither, apparently, does the six year old boy across from him

At first he's just concerned. Why is a small child alone in the freezing cold? He needs to help them get safe and warm

Then he recognizes the golden head of hair, and the big, silver eyes staring up at him, and the nose red from cold, and he has to bite his tongue to keep from yelling as he starts a fire and asks for a name

He likes having a different name, he realizes, when he gets to introduce himself as Lucio the Adventurer to little Montag

Montag, he learns, is alone on a quest to hunt down a bear per his mother's instructions, but he's cold and hungry and frightened

To Montag, Lucio is a hero. He's big and strong and has a cool arm and builds a fire to keep him warm and listens to him talk about how he wants to be a leader when he grows up, without scoffing at his dreams

So the two of them huddle together by the fire under one of the trees, sharing a cloak and talking about who they are

Lucio hears the beginnings of his downfall already in Montag's stories about growing up stronger than everyone so the people in his family and his tribe will have no choice but to praise him

And Montag hears humility and hope from Lucio, about the importance of recognizing mistakes and learning to love and be loved

[takaraphoenix]

Ok so I just finished watching Shadow and Bone for the first time and I knew you had watched it before so I came to see what your opinions on some of it was. Didn't really see anything for what what is probably my favorite ship is but I don't really care about that right now. I think I'm more interested in knowing what you're Top 5 favorite ships are (Top 10 if you feel like you're having a hard time narrowing it down to just 5 but from what I saw, I don't think that would be a problem???). Also, if you feel up to it, any favorite headcanons for the various characters or ships you might want to include. Much love to you Phoe!!! Now I'm off to go consume for content because I need my pretty men... gods, why are there so many pretty men in this show 😭😭😭 a lot of pretty women too, though I'm gay so it's just aesthetically pretty on their part, lol

oooh you watched ot for the first time! I hope you liked it! And well now I'm cirious what your favorite ship was.

Since I only have exactly 10 ships in this fandom, I will give you a top 10! lol Though since these are all the ships, they actually do span the entire spectrum of "I am obsessed with this", "I've written for this" to "it's a nice sidepairing! I liked when they were on screen but don't really think about them when they're not".

Aleksander/Alina

Inej/Alina

Kaz/Jesper

Genya/Alina

Tamar/Inej

Nikolai/Mal

Nikolai/Alina

Tamar/Nadia

Jesper/Wylan

David/Genya

+ bonus: Tolya/poetry

because I definitely came out of this headcanoning Tolya as aroace and I want this softest of boys to find someone who will platonically share his love of poetry with him. Please. He deserves it.

Not a secret that Darklina is my OTP. I'm not exactly quiet about it. They make me feel all shades of unhinged. I gotta get onto writing about them, honestly, can't believe that hasn't happened yet, but I guess that s1 left me too satisfied with canon overall to want to write just yet. Currently nose-deep in fics about them.

Alina and Inej is a solid second. They didn't have much interaction but what they had was gold. The blade protecting her saint. The worship and awe. These two badasses. I love them. And, much like Alinej, both Kaz/Jesper and Genya/Alina were also ships I came out of s1 with and wrote for after that.

Honestly, Tamar/Nadia would rank higher if the show had dedicated more time to them, but they happened so much in the background and I'm genuinely mad about that. I had to sit through so so so much straight drama especially in this season, but the only wlw ship in this entire show and they barely got screentime. They were cute together, visually, but... I didn't get enough of what made them click, or of Nadia's personality in general to be quite honest, to be as invested as I wanted to be (because I did. I knew that Nadia was a wlw and I knew that Tamar would be introduced this season and I was looking forward to this). So, with what the show gave me? I was like "daw, cute" when they were on screen, yeah.

On the other hand, I love both Tamar and Inej, and the potential of Inej now on the ship makes me think of the potential of those two together. Now, I am a lover of poly so I would not be opposed to just mashing these two ships together either. But I'm really intrigued by Tamar/Inej primarily here.

Nikolai and Alina worked surprisingly well. Didn't think I'd end up with another guy for Alina aside from Aleksander. But I really liked their chemistry and the fake marriage plotline absolutely ended me. He could be her trophy husband, I wouldn't mind.

Jesper and Wylan were honestly a positive surprise to me! You know me, you know my track-record with canon mlm ships! I usually do not like them. So that they made the list at all is great. I'm not super invested, but I thought they were adorable.

And Genya and David were cute too. I don't get why they killed David off? From what I gather, they don't in the books, so that was weird. But I thought they were nice.

Headcanons? Mostly sexuality wise.

Ace Kaz. Ace Kaz was the first once I had. I know his touch aversion roots in trauma but I recognize a lot of my own sex-repulsion in his behavior and am projecting hard so ace Kaz. Also definitely dom Kaz, have you seen that man rule his club, or bring Pekka to his knees (not that I want Pekka to sub for him, ew, but the power Kaz radiated in that moment was *chef's kiss*).

Nikolai the pan pirate who definitely should never have been a prince, like, I would love him so much more if he had just been a pirate but thoughts on the monarchy and how that plotline was handled are too much for this post. ANYWAY yeah I think Nikolai should go back onto his ship and pirate away with his boyfriend. Also, just, can you believe the Enemies to Lovers arc Mal and Nikolai had? I mean, they literally went from "I refuse to know your name" to "take my name", like that is explicitly something that happened in canon. Wild.

Lesbian Inej, which I know, not a popular headcanon in the fandom since the fandom seems to unanimously ship her and her endgame romance. I just... don't really get romantic vibes there at all, even after season 2. I like them as friends, a lot. But I'm getting huge lesbian vibes from Inej and will be clinging onto that, even more so after how little wlw love s2 gave me.

Mal as a suppressed gay would be fun. Like, his thing with Alina was annoying. He didn't give a damn about her romantic feelings for him until she had a boyfriend and suddenly he got jealous. I don't like these types of writings. So I'd love to see that more as Mal never having been romantically interested in her at all, just friend!Mal afraid to be abandoned. The cheeky pirate is his gay awakening. All the girls - and apparently book!Mal was kind of a slut - were just him trying really hard to be straight.

Alina is just a bi queen. And queen literal. That's where the "Niko should go sail with his bf" part comes into play, because... the monarchy needs to go down. She should rule, she should have never supported the damn royal family that's been enslaving and oppressing Grisha for centuries, I just. I don't like that part. I really don't. Ship to rule beside her is optional (Aleksander, Genya, okay fine Nikolai but like she rules, he's just her trophy husband), but queen!Alina is a must. Though gotta admit for my Alinej I still love her as a part of the Crows - post s1, I wrote some where Alina and Mal just... stayed with the Crows after they left Ravka and I'm still fond of that. I still think that would be a fun take.

[imgoingtofreakoutnow]

S&B TRAILER - a partial analysis

[Partial meaning I kind of lost time to do that... I'm sorry but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless! This analysis stops around 1:46 of the Shadow and Bone S2 Official Trailer ( also, @dumble-daddy @hellotvshowtrash might this interest you?)]

The first scene where Alina looks around and the Fold is expanding towards her could probably be a nightmare or a vision of some kind. The place where she is in the vision looks like a Ravkan village and it's probably what it is (since the Fold is right there), but it could as easily be a Zhemeni one? Anyhow, once again, it's probably a nightmare or something. I say this also because when she sees the Nichevoya, she's almost curious to what that is and not at all scared. If it had been the "real world", she would've already created the Bubble of Light, imo.

We've already seen the scene with the Darkling and the Nichevoya in the Twitter Valentine's Day sneak peek, so we already know that he's in the Fold and as quite a few people captured in there. If they follow the Siege and Storm plot, maybe this could be around after Sturmhond saves Alina and Mal.

The "It's Kirigan" scene, seeing the change of clothes of Nikolai (he ditched the Sturmhond blue coat for what looks like a goldish waistcoat), probably takes place at the Little Palace, at Os Alta. They might be talking at the attacks from Fjerda, since the Darkling (if I remeber correctly) was working with them at some point?

The shot with the Darkling holding up his hands is probably not connected to the following shot of darkness covering the glass dome of the Little Palace, since it looks like the lighting is that specific to the Fold (I might be wrong though). However we imeediately see again the glass dome, where the Nichevoya destroy it and start attacking people in the Little Palace. We see both Grisha and First Army soldiers (*coff coff* You go, Nikolai *coff coff*)

In the middle of those shots is Kaz, talking to someone. I'm guessing here, but the shoulder looks covered by a light white shirt, and we've seen mostly two people wearing those (that could interact with Kaz): Nina and Jesper.

While Alina does a voiceover, we have the Darkling with flames behind him. I think this could still be Alina's nightmare. The clothes Aleksander wears here are the ones we got used to in the first season, and even though the shot is a bit blurred, it doesn't seem like he has any scars on his face, making it seem more like a memory/hallucination than a real thing. Moreover, despite the flames could totally be those of the Little Palace, the cauldron on the left side makes me think this is more likely to be the same village Alina was in when the Fold took over it. However, to be entirely clear, the blue lighting is different than the gray one in the first scene with Alina and the Nichevoya.

Next scene is just Alina being a badass – and we're always happy to see that! – while Tamar and Nadia (our favourite backgrounf lesbians) are there. If I had to guess, they're probably in the Little Palace, but Nadia's clothing is not the Grisha one we're used to seeing... could they be somewhere else or are they just showing us that Grishas can wear other clothes other than their Keftas?

The next shot is a ship, still quite close to the shore (we can see the land and a couple cities in the distance). I'm guessing that's Novyi Zem but I'm not entirely sure, since the ship we're seeing is Sturmhond's, and following the events of Siege and Storm, it wouldn't entirely make sense. So it could also be Fjerda or still Novyi Zem, if they changed the plot of the book (which we already know they did in some parts).

Then we cut to inside the ship and we have Alina and Mal, Tolya in the background and NIKOLAI!! Ahem, I mean... Sturmhond (quick detour: I'm loving the "S" pattern on his coat). Also, he mentions that Alina can't tear down the Fold with just one amplifier, which means this probably happens before they get their hands on the second one, which means everything we readers knew about the plot of Siege and Storm has to be trashed... GREAT! Apart from that, nothing huge in this scene, but I'd like to mention Sturmhond's swagger (do you know how to sit in a chair, my love?), Alina showing off and being stunning in her Zhemeni clothing and Mal being proud of his wife-to-be. Quick shoutout to Tolya that, when Alina uses her powers, lets one hand fall from the gun.

After that we have Alina talking to the Apparat (we don't see him well but I'm pretty sure it's him... I completely forgot he didn't have a beard in the show). I'm also guessing we're back in the Palace library AND I think this is a memory, maybe? Alina has on her Sun Summoner Kefta (which means nothing, since I think she does get it back) and her hairstyle looks more like her S1 hair... also, the Apparat is not supposed to be around much... on the surface at least (IYKYK). We also have a shot of a book with Morozova and the amplifiers (the Sea Whip looks SO. COOL! I hope the CGI holds up).

Then we have another shot of Alina in her Sun Summoner suit and she's probably (most definitely) faicing the Darkling there. The lighting if the scene, the fact that she looks like she's in the Fold... once again, could be a nightmare/vision/memory/hallucitation (it is quite a plotpoint those visions in the books...), but it could also be real.

The ship we see next is still Sturmhond's, I think, and it's heading towards a high mountain. It seems like they're headed to Baghra (since in the following shot we see her), however Baghra should still be at Os Alta in season 2 and it looks like they're heading towards a mountain. The most important mountains we have in the books (aka Ruin and Rising) are Elbjen – which isn't anywhere close to the sea – and the Sikurzoi mountains, where the Firebird hides... could that be it or is it a completely different place?

When we cut to Baghra, Mal and Alina, they're entering a cave. It seems to be Baghra's cave from season 1, even though the entrance seems quite overgrown, so I'm not sure it's the same. The inside in the next few shots seems different, but it could just be another part of the caves we haven't seen yet. Talking about this underground "library", it reminds me the one in Ruin and Rising that the Apparat had in the cave system underground all Ravka...

Now that I've mentioned the underground tunnel system, we have to mention the elephant in the room: the Sea Whip is underground and not in the True Sea. A pity, which also means that maybe they have changed all the "Darkling captures Alina and Mal but then Sturmhond saves them". Not for sure, but maybe.

In the shot right after that of the Sea Whip, we have Tolya and Tamar in the undergorund caves (we already had a scene a bit like this one, also with Nikolai, in the first teaser) and also another dude with a hat, probably another one of Sturmhond's men (the red outfit made me think for a second that it was Ivan, but he's holding a gun – Ivan would never, since he's a proud Heartrender). Mal can be seen behind them and I'm already wondering WHAT THE HECK THE TRACKER IS DOING AT THE END OF THE GROUP! But let's go on.

Then we have Baghra and Alina talking. Baghra seems not to be blind (which is... okay? I guess?) but it looks like she was hurt since her right hand has bandages in it. Did the Darkling do that to her? Also, quick mention to Alina's wardrobe, since she's wearing what looks like a First Army outfit which matches Nikolai's in another shot (very neat!) so I'm guessing this happens when/after they're back in Os Alta, since after that Nikolai and Alina start matching their clothes (at least in the books).

Very quick shot of Alina using her Bubble of Light for the first time in the Fold (you can see she's wearing the red jacket she has also when they fly in the air for the first time on Nikolai's Hummingbird) followed by Alina and Mal's "Are you with me? - Always", which probably takes place in the Fold (once again, the lighting and blurry/foggy background, you know the drill by now).

We're now on Nikolai (look at him, so pretty!) and we can see a blurry shot of a ring (THE ring? It looks like an emerald...). Also, the way the Hummingbird takes flight? So. COOL! Here we can also see that they're going towards and through the Fold (in theory...) and Alina's red jacket, the one I mentioned before and that she also has in the following shot, when she's making the Bubble of Light. In that scene we can also see that she's quite happy, to which I have a couple of theories: 1. it's been a long time since she used her power to this level and the rush of it flowing in her veins is exhilarating; 2. she's actually using another amplifier and she's trying for the first time how powerful she now is. To support my idea, in that shot her right wrist is weirdly glowing. It could just be the light power or weird editing, but it could also be the Sea Whip bracelet glowing...

(Also, she has the red jacket when she's underground while – I'm guessing – fighting the Sea Whip)

Honorable mention to Nikolai being (as always) a ray of sunshine while watching in awe at the display of Alina's powers (thanks to @sixofbabycrows for pointing that out!).

Then we have the Genya/David hug (I can her the shippers still screaming at that) while Nikolai in the VO says "Danger". Well played, editors, well played. Also, is David hiding from the Darkling/other Grishas? 'Cause he's wearing a First Army uniform while hugging Genya, who's still in her kefta. Moreover, is the hug a 'real' hug (meaning, David initiated because he wanted to) or is it a way to protect Genya? We do see a silhouette moving behind him, and his eyes are focused on something behind Genya; maybe the Darkling?

Cut to Sturmhond being a treat and just a joy for the eyes (my eyes at least). He's still in the captain's quarter of his ship with Mal (we can see his head) and also Alina, since where Mal goes, she goes. And since we saw her there like... at the start of the trailer... and in one of the first promo still.

After that we get a nice aerial view of Ketterdam and it looks AMAZING (and do I spy Hellgate in the bottom right corner on the shot? Probably not though... oh well!).

And finally we see the Crows we have already gotten acquainted with. Kaz, brooding as ever; Jesper, who seems to be enjoying himself as always (is he so happy because they're going to get their demo man? Or are they simply going get money?). And finally Inej, who looks for just a moment at what they're headed towards before her eyes shot up to the sky, probably looking for a way to get on the roofs of the city and get a better view around.

Then we have Kaz hitting people with his cane, very satisfying. Also, the place where he's in when he's destroying those people looks like a bit like a pub or something (there are chairs and tables and boots), but it doesn't resemble the Crows club. Is it another Ketterdam's club?

Following that, we have Kaz opening the sliding door of a house which seems to be heavily inspired by Asian architecture (the sliding doors, what seem to be paper 'walls' with a tree pattern on them, the low roofs and the small peek we get at a round entryway). I hope this means the Crows are in Shu-Han because we will finally see it and I can't wait! Also, is that Tolya behind Kaz? How early in the season do we get the SOC/S&B team-up? Maybe they meet on the Sikurzoi?

We then cut to Inej being the hottest badass alive in a taxidermy workshop. There is not much that we can get from this scene. The only thing I can point out is that Inej seems to be wearing the same clothes she had in a few shots back (when she appeared with Kaz and Jesper), but she does tend to wear the same clothes over and over, as pretty much do the other Crows.

Jesper's clip that follows – apart from being another show of badassery, thank you very much – doesn't really have much to it. He has different clothes and he's shooting at, at least, two enemies, but I can't really tell much more than this from this small scene.

Then we have Kaz and his amazing one liner while he's talking with Nikolai (I literally can't wait for them to interact OMG!) while holding his cane, who now looks lika a crow's skeleton, while in the first season was still a crow's head. It might be a long shot, but this shot might be after the scene in the chapel we see later on. Just a hunch though, I have no proof of that other than a feeling.

In the following scene we have Alina using her powers on Sturmhond's boat (you can see him – or to be more accurate, his coat – in the far right of the shot, covering his eyes) and even though the scene does resemble the one in the Fold, here the boat is still on the sea. The waves can be seen when she uses her powers. Then we move a bit away from the boat and we see, other than the normal light Alina emits when she summons the light, also some swirly golden thinghies. So, imo, this scene can be either: 1. Alina using her power to keep away the Nichevoyas (even though we cannot see any in the scene) or 2. Alina using her power for the first time after killing the Sea Whip and trasforming his bones into an amplifier (which would kind of explain the swirly things, as they resemble the sea serpent?).

After that, we have the Darkling and Alina in what looks like the War Room. The entire setting is characterized by gold and black accent, both in Alina's "Darkling" dress and the lighting in the scene. I'm guessing so that this probably takes place in the Darkling's mind. Or maybe in some of the mutual hallucinations/visions the two of them have with each other.

___________________

If you reached this point, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this partial analysis! <3

[thefandomtraveler]

Everything I liked about Shadow and Bone season 2 (warning: much comments about the crows + fangirling about the cast):

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2!!!

- first off all the new characters are amazing, I'm in love with Nikolai, still not over how perfect Jack is as Wylan, and Tolya and Tamar were so god damn cool I can't

- also everyone looked so good

- loved the whole part where they were in Bhez Ju (and the story about Sankta Neyar)

- Freddy Carter I bow down to you that performance was amazing, seriously I couldn't picture a better kaz

- also Daisy was so good too, like I was crying everytime she was on screen

- and basically everyone else, I'm so amazed by this whole cast, they really all brought these characters to life

- while wesper pining is like one of my favourite things in the books, i still really enjoyed what they did in the show

- just Wylan looking at Jesper like he is the only person that matters

- Jesper's reaction to Wylan playing piano had me smiling like an idiot

- AND THE KISS i gasped so loud... i was giggling and kicking my feet in the air and had to replay the scene

- also kanej was everything this season, we got so many scenes from the books and more (really glad they didn't kiss, though... netflix really had me worried at some points that it would happen)

- Nina Zenik was amazing the whole time, just her comments and looks whenever Kaz was being an idiot

- helnik had me in chokehold

- Kaz' reaction at wesper kissing was so funny (also not him cockblocking them in the morning, a really Kaz thing to do + Jesper's "No!" had me rolling)

- "I kinda like your face." just let me die here and now

- Tolya talking about poetry and him helping wesper

- Jesper realizing he HAS met Wylan before, only when he was LAYING ON TOP OF HIM... in the middle of a FIGHT

- Wylan talking about butterflies while everyone is dying, please he just wanted to tell Jesper they are so cute

- Jesper meeting his mother again I CRIED

- just Kaz' whole backstory, already hung on every page when I read it, my emotions were all over the place seeing it on screen

- Kaz talking to Pekka Rollins, just that whole performance deserves an Oscar thank you

- literally every fight scene

- first meeting of Nikolai and Kaz/Jesper (and Kaz figuring Nikolai out SO FAST and him side eyeing Jesper)

- Jesper calling Kaz his brother... this show wants me dead

- Nina and Inej friendship

- Jesper in a Kilt for like half of the season

- Nikolai revealing who he really is had me on the floor, i love that man so much (also Alina punching him in the face for keeping it a secret lol)

- Alina being a badass queen. That's it.

- felt so bad for Mal this season, my man was really going through it damn

- Ben Barnes' performance as the darkling was so good, but we already knew that

- Genya and David had my heart... I was already emotional every time they were on screen together but when Genya found the ruby and the scetch of the ring I was bawling my eyes out

- everytime Genya and Alina hugged

- Tamar and Nadia just being happy lesbians in the background, good for them (wish we would have seen more of them)

- just every Tolya and Tamar interaction (especially the hug when Tolya came back), also wished we could have seen more them

- Jesper hugging Inej and twirling her around (they are best friends i love them so much)

- the whole sequence of Alina and Mal at the end destroying the fold

- Matthias seeing the wolves and feeding them + the scene at the end where he doesn't fight against them and they stand next to him instead

- the difference between Nina telling everyone Matthias is the love of her life and him being in hellgate, having the worst time of his life, because he hates her but also really doesn't

- Inej killing the shadow monsters with the sword (what a queen)

- Zoya just being herself

- "And how will you have me?", that whole scene had me holding my breath....

- "I will have you without your armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I won't have you at all." screaming into my pillow

- Jesper shouting "That's my man!" when Wylan threw the bomb at the shadow monsters (+ him saying that they don't have to put a label on it just after realizing what he said)

- Jesper trying to figure out how to get things right with Wylan (and failing rip)

- Wylan and Jesper standing in the background holding eachother after they talk and make things right

- Wylan trying to hide the fact that he is the son of one of the richest man in Ketterdam

- and him trying to convince Kaz that it isn't Alby's fault, who his father is because Wylan knows how that feels

- Genya looking for David's heartbeat

- David telling Genya she does not need to be fixed

- Baghra casually breaking out of her prison, because really, what did Kirigan thought? Leaving her and Genya without a supervisor and assuming she would sit still in her cage... really wasn't his smartest move

- "Someday, someone is going to sweep you off your feet so hard, you won't know what hit you." / "I could fix him." I can't WAIT for Zoyalai (if we ever get another season)

- Jordie and little Kaz 🥺

- Nina getting waffles and Kaz giving her a look of pure confusion

- also their whole interaction at the tea shop

- Inej not being able to leave Kaz after him panicking

- Wylan telling the others he wants to know the plan too and then crossing his arms (i'm sorry babes all you do is looking adorable we need to work on that one)

- "You guard against pain. You guard against joy. But when you allow yourself to be blindsided by love... two hearts make a universe" her whole speech had me in tears

- Neyar and Jesper's talk about his powers and that he has a lot to catch up to

- over all him slowly accepting who he is and not wanting to hide anything (including Wylan)

- Wesper healthy communication is all I needed actually, they mean so much to me you don't understand

- Wylan and Jesper breaking into that landhouse and pretending to want to fix the piano

- Nina getting the information about the office so easily and Kaz being impressed (i love her)

- Wylan looking away whenever he smiles

- "What you did back there, made you a Crow" and "When was the last time you ate"... Kaz Brekker you aren't beating those dad crow allegations

- the moment when you think Nina actually betrayed Kaz but then realise it was the plan all along because obviously, it's Kaz Brekker

- Tolya and Nina bonding over food (mood)

- Wylan being so offended when Jepser calls him a total stranger (i'd be too tbf)

- "Are you worried about me Jesper Fahey?"

- the scene of Baghra and Kirigan where she sacrifices herself (I really like that this scene shows that there is still something human about the Darkling)

- "My demolitions expert." / "Expert? I mean, yes, expert." Never change Wylan

- Nikolai and Dominik bromance

- Tolya and Tamar knowing the other is there and alive by their necklaces

- Jesper embracing his grisha powers

- Inej and Zoya fighting together is something I didn't know I needed

- the five of crows joke

- the parallel of Matthias seeing Nina in the beginning of the season and ignoring her vs both of them screaming eachother's names while being dragged away at the end

- Mal and Nikolai just getting along and trusting eachother

- the teasers about Jurda Parem, the ice-court heist and Sankta Lizabeta

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

An impromptu test

Nadia doesn't have an arm. The hand she still has -- a hand she's only just noticed, and which seems to her to have recently gotten bigger -- doesn't even look like a hand anymore. A lump of bone, a thing made of flesh and blood and skin, the remains of the human body Nadia didn't have, the remains of a Nadia she won't recognize again, not until the time comes to take her up out of the fleshy shell she's become and into the air.

I am not making it up. I am not going back and forth in her mind, or talking out loud, or writing it down for her as the sort of mental self-portrait one might provide for a stranger. She can't even look at a face.

An arm.

For a moment she thinks about using that hand to wave at something on the ground. It's strange -- impossible? -- to have this other arm and not have an elbow. It's strange -- unbearable -- to think she has never really had any elbow, any other arm, any other kind of arm.

A wave.

Wave at the hand.

* * *

"The last I saw you, I was just beginning to get better at this," John says.

"I wouldn't even call that getting better," Nadia says. She's not even sure it really was a real interaction. The closest thing to it they've had was in the beginning, when they were both trying to figure out what it was like to exist in that state. It was a confusing time. But this is like that, if John really is that close to the beginning -- before the time when the state is fully understood and stabilized. It's as if she has only been holding the arm the whole time.

"What the hell? You had an arm back there! What's next?"

"I guess a brain would be good? But it's still weird, you know? It's still something I need to do. I'm not even real yet!"

They're sitting on the floor of John's cell. It isn't like their other interlude. John isn't talking. Nadia feels a bit embarrassed. She wants to say something like "you really are quite a strange man."

But John looks quite a bit less like a man, even than usual.

It's an oddly transparent arm. The skin is still there, but the flesh is translucent and even the tendons are thin and translucent. There isn't even any hair.

In fact, the arm is hairless -- like a child's.

Nadia has never seen a human being this small. The whole thing is somehow just a sliver. The arm is just skin, and bone, and tissue, and no meat. Just skin stretched thinly across bone, like a puppet that can only act through its strings, like an empty glove, like a hand that is just skin stretched thinly over a skeleton and nothing more.

Nothing.

She touches the arm with her free hand. It is -- soft, squishy, rubbery, warm, almost hot. She thinks, a little bit horrified, about what she'll find when she peels it back. The arm, she realizes, must be made mostly of water, or of gas. A sort of gas -- not air -- that's been pushed into a shape.

Or maybe not.

Nadia doesn't have any idea what is making up this arm. But it is certainly not human.

A child's arm.

Something in her brain -- something in her -- shrieks in horror. The arm is too small. It is too small for a child's arm. It is too small for anything.

She thinks about that other little girl, the child she barely knew, who died so recently, so suddenly. Nadia wonders if that child is still alive, somewhere else. Hasn't had a proper death yet, in that state. The state that no one ever seems to talk about -- the state that's supposed to be like death, and which only happens, only happens once. The state where a child's arm doesn't exist.

A child's arm.

It seems that Nadia might have a brain that is too small for John. She has had a child's arm before, and now it has grown, and there is no more child's arm, and it is no longer her arm. Her old arm was small, but now there is a small arm, smaller. The arm grows, and her brain grows, and she shrinks into it.

Child's arm. Baby's arm. The same arm as a baby's arm, that Nadia had before the accident, back when she first met John, when she was a new Nadia. Her arms, her whole body, is the same as a baby's. It's the whole state of being a baby, from birth up to that point, which her arms and body were now, up to her current state of being a child again.

And John, too, is just as small. He has grown. His hair, his skin, his skin -- her skin -- are all smaller. Her arms -- her hands, her hands, Nadia's hands, and her hands -- all these things are smaller. All of it is smaller.

But John is not in that state. John is still that same John, Nadia's John -- Nadia, now -- but she is still a baby. It's the same size as the baby's body, even though its arms and hands are smaller. John's still there. The baby has gotten smaller, but it still has its John.

So that must mean that the arms and the hands -- the fingers -- aren't baby's arms, aren't baby's hands. John's arms and hands have grown, and Nadia's arms and hands have grown but haven't changed. So it is just a child's arm and hand.

There must be, Nadia thinks -- and this is John's arm and hand again -- an inside and an outside of being a child. She has her own arm and hand, like a child's. In the past, when she was a baby, when she was young Nadia, that was all she had. Everything else -- the rest of that new and strange world -- was the outside.

There was the outside of a baby, with its arms and hands, and body and skin and so on. And then there was an arm and a hand, just like a baby's. And then, once they knew what it was like to be a baby in the outside world, then they had a child's arm and hand in the inside -- her own arm and hand -- and everything changed, and everything became just like that. The same. Everything the same, with nothing new.

It's the simplest possible state, the simplest possible shape. It's like a single cell. A single cell can be in a million different states. It's like a circle. A square. A triangle

[stromuprisahat]

#lol they literally just made Zoya into his side piece (sorry but it’s true) it’s all as shallow as it seems #What I’m saying is that I don’t think that the text has enough evidence to support such an interpretation and it all just seems like a grasp #for Zoya to have at least SOME shred of meaning in a series where she’s so….bland and irritating

One of Zoya's greatest issues is that she believes herself to be both the main character and the heroine.

In books she acts as if the Darkling had some special interest in her, yet what we see even in her memories, is just an ordinary interactions superior has with in-future potentially useful subordinate.

Why she keeps lying about it? Daddy issues and status. She wants to be loved by a male mentor figure, and making herself look important makes other officer brats envy her (And who's THE idol of Little Palace?!).

“You look amazing, Zoya! How are you?” gushed Marie. “We missed you so much!” squealed Nadia. “I missed you, too,” Zoya said. “It’s so good to be back at the Little Palace. You can’t imagine how busy the Darkling’s kept me. But I’m being rude. I don’t think I’ve met your friend.” “Oh!” Marie exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. This is Alina Starkov. The Sun Summoner,” she said with a little pride.

Shadow and Bone- Chapter 11

You can’t imagine how busy the Darkling’s kept me. Crossing the Fold, while he's all over Ravka- from one front to another...

Show made it worse by sleeping with him. What could've been "sexually liberated" confident woman turned into an immature social climber, who did the most powerful man around, expecting faithfulness and commitment from his side, and helped trying to kill him as soon as he wasn't useful to her anymore.

(Let's not forget Zoya's an adult officer, who knows about Zlatan's assassination attempt and Novokribirsk's importance for West Ravkan separatist movement. She's in the best position to get her aunt to relocate AND manipulates Alina by forgetting to mention any of the above, including Marie's death... but the Darkling's bad for omiting his strategically dangerous past.)

I just have to laugh at readers who claim that the Darkling was Zoya’s abuser. The text and the Netflix adaptation does the barest possible minimum to allude to such an idea and then these fans proceed to reframe the shoddy writing and praise for it’s “brilliant” commentary.

Bardugo and the Netflix writers could’ve done that (with proper planning and thoughtfulness) but it’s obvious that they couldn’t be bothered to put the effort in. Sorry- Zoya’s just not all that interesting and cramming in some subtext about how she was supposedly the Darkling’s victim is pure fanfiction. Particularly when even in the show, we see Zoya pursuing him of her own volition and that relationship is never meaningfully explored or elaborated on after the fact.

[roseandsalt]

SHADOW AND BONE CAST MEMBERS REVEALED I REPEAT SHADOW AND BONE CAST RE-

THEY ALL LOOK SO PERFECT FOR THEIR ROLES OMG

[thepetrichorcollective]

Alters looking for sourcemates

feel free to interact even if youre not a sourcemate!

Undertale/Deltarune:

Sans

Ralsei

Undyne

TOH

Luz (host)

Eda

Amity

Danganronpa

Makoto

Aoi

Overwatch

Hanzo

Jesse

Genji

Tracer (host)

Dva/Hana

Aoi Shimada (oc)

Jack/Soldier 76

Pharah

Mei

Lucio

Youtube

Jacksepticeye/Sean

Corpse Husband

KallMeKris

Riley

Kristina

Mystic Messanger

707

'mc' (host)

Yoosung

Hades the game

Hypnos

Achilles

Meg/Styx (host)

dusa

Arcane

Ekko

Jinx/powder (host)

the arcana

asra

portia

nadia

julian

lucio

apprentice (host)

Faust

critical role campaign 1

pike

vax

keyleth + cassandra (host)

Scanlan

CR campaign 2

jester

molly

nott

beau (host)

yasha

Mha/Bnha

katsuki

apollo (dabi)

shoto (host)

denki

mina

jiro

momo

marvel

thor

valkyrie/wanda/layla (host)

khonshu

carol

Sif

dc

dick/nightwing

rachel/raven

kaldur

wally/kf

artemis

poison ivy

connor

black manta

harley/barbara/kori (host)

Jason todd

fire emblem

camila

corrin (host)

elise

she-ra

entrapta

bow

double trouble

scorpia

catra (host)

Adora

wrong hordak

stranger things

Will

El (host)

Tales of arcadia

jim

claire/douxie (host)

toby

AAARRRGGHH

Blinky

Strickler

Barbara

not Enrique

merlin

krel

TLOK

Asami

Korra (host)

MLP

Apple bloom

Sweetie Belle

transformers

Knockout

bee/soundwave (host)

Arcee

RVB

Tex/Maine/479er (host)

north

south

tucker

carolina

minnesota

rhode island

york

theta

delta

omega/o'mally

simmons

grif

caboose

Eta

Iota

Sigma

wyoming

Subnautica

Al-an

Robin (host)

RWBY

ruby

Yang (host)

qrow

blake

weiss

jaun

pyrrha

nora

ren

neptune

sun

Adam

Cinder

Oz

Neo

Mercury

HXH

Killua

Alluka

7DS

Elaine

Ban

King

Meliodas

Hawk

Elizabeth

Gowther

Merlin

Diane

Dragon Prince

Rayla

Ezran

Aaravos

Callum (host)

Claudia

Soren

Carmen Sandiego

Agent Devineaux

HTTYD

Astrid

Hiccup (host)

Sucker for love

Nyan

Monster prom

Zoe

Pokemon

Delcatty

James (host)

Pichu

Umbreon

Sylveon

Missmagius

MortalKombat

Cassie

Smoke

Res E

Chris

Jill (host)

Claire

Watch Dogs

wrench

sitara

josh

Clara

t-bone/ray

horatio

marcus

Genshin

childe

zhongli

aether (host)

lumine

paimon

venti

albedo

kaeya

diona

xiangling

lisa

hu tao

thoma

Monster high

Cawdeen

Clawd

draculaura (host)

Hetalia

england

canada (host)

Star wars

Padme

ahsoka (host)

Obi wan

JJK

nobara

panda

sukuna

The quarry

Ryan

Kaitlyn

Dylan

Abi(host)

JATP

Reggie

Luke

Jules (host)

Black Butler

Sebastian

Grelle

Ciel/Astre(host)

Ciel(Lyric)

TUA

Viktor

klaus (host)

Murder drones

Uzi

N

FNAF

Vanessa (host)

Phineas and ferb

vanessa

perry

/ngels of death

zack

rachel (host)

Artists

Ashnikko

Eddsworld

Tom

list may be updated in the future!! feel free to ask for someone specific or for other sources not listed! this isnt a full list of our introjects but its a huge chunk of our system

[romantichopelessly]

i said I’d make this post and now I am. here is a list of things I absolutely need to see in season 2 of Shadow and Bone (that aren’t specifically plot related):

Nina being a badass. I actually want to see her win a fight and be the excellent heartrender we know she is.

Nikolai in his teal pirate privateer coat.

Wylan with his satchel,,, it’s very important to me.

Nina and Kaz interactions. I want to see them calling one another Zenik and Brekker. I want to see Nina make fun of Kaz with 0 fear.

Jesper showing interest in at least 1 woman or mentioning being bi. Just. Let him be bi. This also goes for Nina. Please.

Also? Jesper in brighter colors. Let him be wearing a lime green waistcoat the first time he meets Wylan or so help me-

More of the crows actually showing off their abilities? I want more shots of Inej climbing/being on roofs. I want to see Kaz absolutely annihilate a rival gang leader. I want to see them being competent. Show the growth.

Also I want to see Wylan doing something badass and/or unhinged. I want him to build something astonishingly destructive and then pretend like he doesn’t know it’s a weapon of mass destruction lmao.

Tamar and Nadia interacting please oh my god.

Alina punching Nikolai in the face 💕

Genya….

Maybe???? A tiny Zoya side plot??? Maybe?

A few shots of Matthias in hellgate?

Nina asking Kaz to help her get Matthias back and Kaz saying no.

I don’t need it but I could also see them fitting in the beginnings of the parem plot line in this season with the shots of Bo Yul-Bayur that were cut from season 1

[windona]

For prompting night: Jaime finding out Khaji Da has an intense dislike for something almost bizarrely random (flavor, sound, tv show, whatever you find most entertaining).

Atmosphere: 30.7 Barr, 57% humidity, 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hector and Nadia had not texted about any supervillain attacks. None had been detected while on patrol.

Jaime had eaten his dinner at 1.35777 hours previously. He was gliding on the wind currents through the sky, curving on the flow as he angled downward and lightly touched down.

Ghrelin and leptin levels indicated that Jaime was slightly hungry. Training along with puberty had increased his appetite, but there was a 57.67% chance that the recent increase in hunger predicated a growth spurt.

Scanning the food vendors, Khaji Da processed the information to identify the optimal snack. Protein for muscle, calcium and vitamin D for bones, sufficient calorie profile, and of course a taste profile that would be appealing to Jaime all needed to be accounted for.

"Hey, they have limited edition chocos?"

[[Chocos are not the optimal snack. Carrots with hummus currently appear to be the superior option.]]

"Yeah, but depending I might not be able to get them again," Jaime whispered before exchanging money with the man at the newsstand. The man shrugged and gave Jaime his change: people in El Paso had long grown used to the quirks of the city's hero.

Jaime unwrapped them, and took a bite. Alerts went off.

[[WRONG. The chocos are POISON.]]

Jaime froze. "What? What are the effects?"

Khaji Da ran the chemical interactions. The results. [[None.]]

"...How is it poison?"

The man at the newsstand stiffened, but that was inconsequential.

[[The flavoring is WRONG.]]

"...Uh. You've had dulche de leche before."

[[Dulche de leche is made of milk and sugar. This is not and it is WRONG.]]

"Oh. This isn't a soap tasting cilantro thing, is it?"

[[<I> do not have genetics.]]

"Yeah, it is, huh? I guess mama will be happy to know all her cooking is fine."

[[It is nutritionally complete and not WRONG.]]

Jaime sighed, and crumpled up the cookies before throwing them in the trash. "That's good to know. Just warn me before I buy a food you don't like the taste of next time, okay?"

[blues-valentine]

S2 of Shadow and Bone means:

Tamar and Tolya!!

Nikolai and Wylan!!

The 6 crows interactions!

Mal and Tolya friendship.

Nadia & Tamar!!!

Alina using merzost and maybe white hair Alina!

Malina from childhood best friends to [finally] lovers and KISS!

KANEJ! WESPER!

More Genya! (and sadly what we all know, and I hope they do it right)

Zoya! (and hopefully Zoyalai crumbs)

Ravkan crew interactions!

[takaraphoenix]

Shadow and Bone: Season 2 Review

Now that I’ve sat with my s2 feelings for a day, I want to put something a bit more coherent together.

Second seasons are always tricky. They tend to fall victim to a major quality drop; very often, a first season manages to be mindblowing and the second season falls completely flat. With how much I loved season 1, I spent the past year very afraid of what kind of quality season 2 might have.

The short of it: I was pleasantly surprised, I don’t think there was a quality drop, I think that quality-wise it was pretty much en-par with season 1.

Sadly, that does include the major flaw - cramming too much plot into too few episodes. Eight episodes are just not enough for just how much they make happen, watching it all is so overwhelming in how quickly everything happens and how nothing is allowed to breath because we have to rush to the next thing because we just don’t have the time to sit with anything. And that’s a shame.

At the very least they could have given this 10 episodes to allow it all to be loosened a little bit more, though I still think that this would have been the perfect jumping off point for a Six of Crows spin off and splitting the two major plotlines this season - the Shadow and Bone season 2 focusing on Alina’s story and giving the Crows their own spin-off. Simultaneous release and make them crossover, when Zoya and Tolya go visit the Crows and when the Crows come join SaB for the season finale, those interactions could have still happened, but I think there would have been less whiplash and more focus if the rest had been allowed to happen in two separate shows.

My favorite thing about this show has been and still is that it has great characters. The plot’s... questionable - I’m not gonna lie, I’m very happy they mixed the book series (despite what I literally just sad; I think it served s1 very well to mix them) - but the characters are so amazing? I’m the type of person who usually really latches onto one characters, that’s mine, and the others become secondary characters to my fave. I don’t think I’ve ever latched onto as many characters before.

I love and adore Aleksander so much, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this feral about and attached to a villain before in my life. Alina is the most compelling female lead I’ve met since Buffy Summers, honestly - she is strong, capable, soft, beautiful, amazing. I fell for Inej so very hard so quickly, she is so amazing. Jesper is absolutely brilliant, that balance of snark and soft coupled with canon bisexual. And I even latched onto Kaz in my own way, because his trauma-response in regards to touch made me project my asexuality onto him and there aren’t many characters that I headcanon as ace so I have a very, very soft spot for those characters in particular too.

That’s already more characters than usual and I genuinely that that would be it. I knew that season 2 would bring new characters and I had hoped they’d be nice additions but I actually grew unreasonably fond of them too.

Tolya and Tamar are absolutely amazing. I wish we could have had more focus on Tamar and particularly her romance - I didn’t like that the Tamar/Nadia basically only happened in the background, like I get that we are pressed for time, I do, but you are wasting so much time on so much straight relationship drama because this show is playing Noah’s Arc to degrees that are very rare to see outside of CW shows honestly, so it would have been nice if I had gotten at least a little focus on the one wlw ship on this show, especially since they did have great chemistry on their scenes together. And Tolya is adorable, the big, strong guy and then he loves poetry and I’m gone.

Nikolai actually makes me feel like someone tailor made that guy for me. The snark! The jokes! The insistence on not remembering Mal’s name! The high levels of chemistry with Alina and the fake marriage trope with Alina! He’s a pirate! He’s a prince! He’s handsome! He’s amazing! What can’t he do! Gotta love him.

Genuinely my favorite part really was on Nikolai’s pirate ship. I would have absolutely watched an entire season of Alina and Mal as parts of Nikolai’s crew. Just. Pirate stuff with Nikolai, Tolya, Tamar and Miradi.

I really thought I would be... disappointed this season. Maybe that’s why I’m not. Because I set my expectations incredibly low so they were hard to beat, but honestly? I genuinely enjoyed the season.

The costumes were absolutely stunning this season, the costume department went all out!

The new characters were great. The plot is still whatever to me, I have thoughts on that that may be worth a separate post at some point but the thoughts aren’t changes from season 1 so it’s not really impacted by season 2. Nothing in season 2 really did anything drastic that disappointed me plot-wise. Well, that’s maybe untrue, but... nothing disappointing in an unexpected manner, perhaps, would be a better way to put that?

Aside from maybe the book spoilers I knew, like that firebird thing. I read about that. I was expecting some epic shot, with an actual firebird, some cool reveal. Not an info-dump from Baghra, of all people. That was... anticlimactic. And it also honestly made no sense? In the books, Alina and Mal went and found the actual firebird, because they were looking for the firebird. Because Alina wanted to use the firebird as her amplifier. And then realized that Mal was the amplifier that would work for her. The show kind of... muddled that together and decided that Mal couldn’t find the firebird because he was the firebird. But he... he wasn’t? He wasn’t a bird, he may have been the amplifier, but he wasn’t the actual firebird. That was... weird, boring and also kind of illogical.

I do think the show’s biggest issue is its pacing. It’s like we’re running a sprint, but it’s actually the length of a marathon. I feel out of breath. Please slow down.

I liked the ending. The ending surprised me in a positive way. I did not see a corruption arc for Alina coming at all. I really didn’t. Been advocating for this since like episode 3, nobody told me there would be actual Alina corruption in canon so that’s a nice surprise. I like how this could be a final ending that would leave things open for interpretation while still wrapping up all major plotpoints, but it definitely invites season 3. A very sensible way to end a season when you write for a Netflix show and never know if you will be allowed to live or die.

[endlessly-cursed]

𝑯𝑷𝑯𝑳 𝑫𝒂𝒚 𝟑— 𝑭𝒂𝒗 𝑴𝑪𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒆 pt.1

Today's a busy day and I haven't got much time, but I decided to make an appreciation.

Ladies:

Genevieve Davenport: I just love her! She's so amazing and I love her kind of character– so interesting!! Kinda have a gay crush on her 🤧 @gaygryffindorgal

Carolyn Nyberg: love her as well! She's such a badass and so amazing you can kinda forget she's a snob, but eh!! I love that snob 😤 @lifeofkaze

Ethel Hexley: Lovable and relatable!! I just love how amazing she is!! @the-al-chemist

Josephine Edwards: Her story and development is just amazing and I love her growth and her as a character 💕 @slytherindisaster

Stella Farrier Seabright– Her!! She's def a fave of mine. I love how amazing she is!! @cursebreakerfarrier

Nadia Erbland– Nadia my beloved!! What can I say about this iconic woman... She's just the best girl, loyal and amazing to the bone!! @gcldensnitch

Siobhan Llewellyn– Shiv my beloved <3 one of the baddest women of the whole Legacyverse and one of the strongest women ♡ @kc-and-co

Adelia Selwyn– One of the best women ever!! ♡ I just love her and she's been a long favourite @thatravenpuffwitch

Gentlemen

Arthur 'Teddy' Ellison– He's just amazing!! He's been a long favourite and my goal for 2022 is for any of my OCs to interact with him <33 @cursebreakerfarrier

William Berkeley– Ahh, one of my girl's found brother!! He's an amazing man, period. I love him very much and he's become one of my fave men of the Legacyverse 💕💕 @beloved-bucky

See part two because i'm not done!!

[anxiouspotatorants]

Whoopsy daisy I made a Shadow and Bone random thoughts post:

The costumes in this show are impeccable. I was drooling over all the keftas and the ball gowns in 1.05 and the crow outfits. Hell, even the winter-camo outfits that Mal, Mikhael and Dubrov wore in 1.04 were amazing.

Am I the only one who isn’t surprised by the kruge pronounciation? Because I thought it would sound like how English people say Scandinavian words and I wasn’t wrong.

Coming in to this show as someone who had only read the Six of Crows duology, I expected to at least tolerate Malina based on the trailer clips. I kid you not: less than five minutes into the very first episode they owned my ass. That might be a new record for me.

Seriously the friendship? The pining? The finding home in each other and being able to acknowledge their faults and apologize to each other? Both of them having massive “fight me” energy and protecting each other? Hugs?? Why am I surprised that I ship this?

Some of those scene transitions/flashback edits were so good! Like I know they repeated that meadow scene a lot throughout the season, but the cuts from kid-Mal looking at the rabbit to grown up Mal psyching himself up for the fist fight? Poetic cinema.

The Darkling was horrible and I love it. He wasn’t a carbon copy villain, nor did his complexity redeem him. He was a perfectly complex and understandable monster and I am living for it. I have not been so happy to despise a character in ages and I genuinely bow in gratitude to both the writers and Ben Barnes, because I finally got to enjoy watching a character I did not for one second root for ( #writevillainswellagain)

Look I already loved Jesper in the book but his on-screen translation elevated him from a fave to the fave. I was worried that they would push him into a comedic relief-role, but he got to keep both his heart, his depth, and his humour. Kit Young did an amazing job bringing what was already a great character on page to an even greater character on screen and I once again applaud.

Am I a bit bitter that the casting had some interesting choices for certain roles (aka hiring light skin and mid-size actors for explicitly darker skin and plus-size roles)? Kind of. Do I think there are important discussions worth having about this? Yup. Do I also think that every actor hired for Shadow and Bone did an amazing job and deserve zero hate and massive amounts of love? Also yes.

I had Alexei for one episode and one episode only, and I still miss that poor sucker. This show did a surprisingly good job with making me care about a massive amount of characters considering the screen time they had and the amount of episodes this season had. Good job.

For some reason I expected Inej to be a lot more brooding based on how I perceived her in the books but I love what Amita Suman did with her. Her translation completely recontextualised everything I remember from the books and just brought this truly fresh character to life. Assassin with a conscience indeed.

Also I did love the Kaz we got in this season but I can barely contain myself as I wait for season 2 to be made and for a certain flashback to take place because that moment in the book was visceral and it stayed with me for a long time and I knew before the show announcement that this flashback could become a television moment. 

Speaking of Kaz the crows were so chaotic and messy and I’m here for it. Their interactions with each other and their improvised back-up plans were everything. I somehow didn’t expect the crows to become the comedic relief of the season but it honestly makes so much sense.

A couple episodes in I still didn’t get the Zoya hype (remember I haven’t read the books) but was a massive Genya fan. By the end of the season I was like “oh both of these girls are getting redemption arcs and I am here for it”.

Speaking of redemption I still don’t like Matthias. I’m sorry but I just don’t. I get that he is important to many and that they like his relationship with Nina, but I just don’t have the patience for him and feel like Nina can do better. I still want him to get a redemption... but maybe not through a romance with the grisha woman he repeatedly slutshames, is bigoted towards and chokes at least once (twice if that SoC scene from book 1 happens). That being said this is just how I see him, so feel what ever you feel about him and ship to your heart’s content!

Alina’s journey through this season made complete sense to me. It hurt to see certain things, but they were necessary in my eyes. Seeing her go from this essentially insecure but brave girl to a manipulated pawn to an even stronger and more self reliant girl in spite of everything was amazing. It did feel like a well-written hero’s journey and I’m looking forward to seeing where she goes next.

Apparently a lot of book-readers don’t like Mal (and I am not here to change anyone’s mind about that) but the Mal I saw on the show was amazing. I actually kind of wish we had seen more of who he was outside of his relationship to Alina (f.ex. other flashbacks than the meadow, maybe something about any of his missions while separated from Alina pre-show), but I also loved what we got of him with Alina. We still got to see a guy who was brave, stubborn, flirtatious, a bit judgemental but with a strong sense of humour, and a lot of loyalty (to Alina but also to his friends). I can hardly wait to see what’s next for him.

Milo the goat. Where do I even begin. Not only did we get that Jesper-scene, but their farewell actually became a Chekhov’s gun for Mal in 1.07? Milo is the true hero of the season.

Speaking of 1.07 I loved the tent scene between Alina and the Darkling. She both got to be realistic about her feelings for the Darkling and stand up for herself and for others and call him out. The way I interpret the Darkling, he is the kind of villain who creates a saviour narrative around himself but cares more about power than anything else. He’ll say he’s doing everything to protect his people but is the first to kill the very people he claims to love. And Alina’s tent-speech really hammered that in for me.

I adore Baghra. Is she morally dubious? Yes. Was she incredibly mean to Alina during training to the point where it might have been excessive? Yes. Did she not take any of the Darkling’s bullshit and act as the proper mentor for Alina when the Darkling had said that he was going to train her? Yes. Am I kind of a Baghra stan now? I mean maybe.

The antler-collar was so evil and gross but from a visually narrative stand point it was perfect. 

Also I still have no idea who David is but I want redemption for him too. Honestly I feel like half the supporting cast is gearing up for redemption arcs next season and I am excited for most of them.

Nina’s reaction when she hears Kaz on the boat? Priceless. Actually the whole boat scene from when she goes up on deck again to the cut back to the fold was priceless.

That being said the final scene had me even more ready for season 2.

Jesper kind of gave me messy period-fantasy James Bond? Does that make sense?

And Mal kind of gave me Lois Lane energy? As in he’s the mortal love interest that many assume is the hero/heroine’s weakness but actually functions as their emotional strength and inspiration? Am I reaching here or am I getting somewhere?

Mikhael and Dubrov. What a duo. Absolute madlads.

Also I’d like to see more Nadia if that is possible? Because the few scenes we had of her had me intrigued but then she sort of disappeared? Is she going to be important or was she just more of a temporary supporting character? 

I entered this show a casual Six of Crows fan with mild interest in Kanej and I finished this season a mess. A mess who ships Kanej and Malina and Genya with that David guy even though they had about 30 seconds of screentime together and Zoya with redemption and Jesper with main-character status (hey we’re not getting Wylan until season 2 at least) and kind of those two Ravkan army guys and Nina with anyone else and Matthias with a better redemption storyline and the Darkling with karma! Also, a mess with a whole new set of comfort characters!